No more Jaws

[wolf29]

I always wondered how long they would keep it going...Universal has announced that they will be doing away with the Jaws ride early 2012. Even today, with all the computer effects of todays films, my kids loved the mechanical shark. The nostalgic side of me is sad.

 

[donaldduck352]

The news of this has also got me mad.

There is a big thread on this on the Universal Boards,we are not alone.Here is the link:http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2841265

 

[BOTL76]

Wow, shocking news indeed. Jaws is one of my all time fav movie franchises! I am so happy now that for our first visit to Universal just this past Friday we got to go on it.

Sad to see it go.

 

[TheWog]

DS is very disappointed. Going in March and no Jaws.

 

[Detailor]

I walked through Amity at USO on Sunday and was thinking about how old that movie franchise is - I think the original Jaws movie was out in the mid 70s so it's got to be around 35 years old or so. Juxtaposed against the relatively new Harry Potter franchise, I think Jaws is pretty antiquated and now more than a generation has grown up without direct knowledge of it. So I think that this is a good move as long as it gets replaced by something more current - Transformers(?), probably not a bad concept.

I thought that the retirement of Back to the Future was a big loss but I don't feel the same way about this one. Maybe they should take Twister with it and replace it with a more current special effects attraction. And maybe Terminator, too, (just re-watched the original Terminator movie and realized that we're almost upon the future world time that the terminators came from). How about a 3D attraction based on the Fast & Furious franchise before that one gets too outdated?

Oh, and bring Old Mr. Toad back to the Magic Kingdom!

Just thinkin'...

Dick Taylor

 

[mikkiwikki]

Oh, and bring Old Mr. Toad back to the Magic Kingdom!
Just thinkin'... Dick Taylor

HERE HERE ...raising my glass to that. Good man cherry-o!


SoOoOooooooOOOOooOoo miss Mr. Toad's..

Anyways we are going in a few weeks and I definitely will make sure to go on Jaws given that its going away..boo!

 

[Straitlover]

ISo I think that this is a good move as long as it gets replaced by something more current - Transformers(?), probably not a bad concept.

Dick Taylor

I read today that Harry Potter will be expanding into that space. It was in a story where theyw ere talking about the new Harry Potter section at US Hollywood.

 

[Detailor]

I read today that Harry Potter will be expanding into that space.

Yep, there seems to be a lot of speculation out there.

But I bet that the Florida expansion of the Harry Potter area will occur within IOA and something else will come up in the current Jaws space.

Only time will tell...

Dick Taylor

 

[DOOM1001]

This has all been covered in the Universal board but the rumor of putting London in Universal with a Gringot's coaster and a train connecting it with the WWOHP in IOA is one seriously juicy rumor,the biggest thing about it is how it makes sense financially to get people into both parks rather than just doing IOA for Potter,I still think Potter will also get expanded into the Lost continent but also adding it to the Jaws area is just too good a rumor for it not to be true.

The removal if Jaws has been a huge shock to tons of people,tons of othee message boards have like hundreds and hundreds of replies on the topic,I loved Back to the Future and tons of people were not happy about it's removal but it never got as big an outcry as Jaws is getting because BTTF was a ride that needed upkeep to the movie that it didn't get all that often and a lot of people didn't like the bumpyness of the ride.Jaws on the other hand was an original to the park,as others have put it it's like Magic Kingdom removing Pirates of the Caribbean,the movie itself and the sequels play all the time on cable so I'm sure it's known by most people of all ages.There's also been a rumor of King King 360 going in somewhere,I'm hoping it's a replacement for Disaster as that ride is one that truly needs to go or get reworked,all those pre-shows especially the Christopher Walken one are soo boring,which is why I feel so sad Jaws is going but attractions like Disaster and Twister get to stay.I'm hoping if Transformers comes over it'll go into the old Hard Rock cafe site,however I have a feeling they might hold it back for a refurb of Spider Man if Universal is forced to get rid of it due to financial reasons one day.

 

[Detailor]

Jaws on the other hand was an original to the park,as others have put it it's like Magic Kingdom removing Pirates of the Caribbean,the movie itself and the sequels play all the time on cable so I'm sure it's known by most people of all ages.

I appreciate your passion for the Jaws attraction but, IMHO, it isn't anything like Pirates in terms of status in the parks or its movie relevance - and not sure that that analogy holds up.

True, Jaws is an original attraction at USO but Pirates came to the Magic Kingdom a couple years after the park opened. While Jaws, the movie, spawned the theme park attraction it's just the opposite for Pirates. Pirates, the movies, I think, have a current or near-current run in the theaters which I think makes them more relevant to today's audiences - particularly kids - and that fuels interest in the ride (the fact that Disney updated the ride to include Cap'n Jack certainly speaks to the company's belief of the power of the movies). However, the last of the Jaws series of movies came out about 25 years ago. Cable or no cable viewing opportunities, those Jaws movies are more likely to be a trip down memory lane for, ahem, middle-aged people like me than they are for my children or my childrens' children.

We might glamorize some of these rides but a discerning and dispassionate eye might well see that the older attractions are a little "tired" and the crowds waiting to ride them aren't what they used to be.

Of course, that's just my opinion...

Dick Taylor

 

[DOOM1001]

Hold on,I might be upset that Jaws is going but I'm all for new attractions going in the parks.My point was that I frequent several other theme park boards and Jaws getting removed has been the big issue being discussed.The truth is that Disney classics like Pirates obviously have longer staying power than a Jaws,Universal obviously realizes changes have to come for them to keep drawing the crowds.

 

[Epcotopia]

Hold on,I might be upset that Jaws is going but I'm all for new attractions going in the parks.My point was that I frequent several other theme park boards and Jaws getting removed has been the big issue being discussed.The truth is that Disney classics like Pirates obviously have longer staying power than a Jaws,Universal obviously realizes changes have to come for them to keep drawing the crowds.

Disney has the power to take old rides/attractions and make them current or relevant. Pirates is a DL classic from the 1960's and is probably Disney's most popular series half a century later. I dont think its a matter of staying power as much as it is Disney redeveloping their older attractions.

 

[DOOM1001]

Disney has the power to take old rides/attractions and make them current or relevant. Pirates is a DL classic from the 1960's and is probably Disney's most popular series half a century later. I dont think its a matter of staying power as much as it is Disney redeveloping their older attractions.

Pirates of the Caribbean is relevant because of the movies, because the refurb at least for me added very little to the attraction,Johnny Depp popping his head in and out and the final scene are OK but overall it's 95% the same,this is fine as it was a great attraction before and after.It is true that I'd rather see a few minor changes to great rides like what they've done to Haunted Mansion than to just have the same experience over and over for years,but honestly the changes to Disney rides lately are usually minor,and again that's fine as these are classic attractions that can't be messed with too much but I kinda dislike when they make a bigger deal than they should about the small changes that are made.In a way while I will miss Jaws I prefer they just remove the whole attraction to come up with something new and amazing than to add a new interactive queue to Jaws which is the kind of things Disney hypes up too much lately.

 

[DOOM1001]

I got my last rides on Jaws last night,once at the daytime and once at night,got them both on video and amazingly something happened on the night ride that's never happened before in the hundreds of times I've ridden this ride.In the last scene where they tell you that you're going to unload I was sitting in the left side right where the shark comes at you,well it came it was right at me and brought in a wall of water that went over the side of the boat and literally soaked everything from my waist down,shorts soaked,shoes soaked,everything soaked.I'm still not quite sure how I ended up looking like I just rode Popeye as this level of soaking has never happened to me on this ride,a little wet sure but never a huge wall of water going over the side of the boat.Memorable last ride though.