1/2 Jaws Closing at Universal Studios Orlando, Photos of the Ride and Amity Area from December 2011

Hi everyone!

The Jaws ride (and Amity area) at Universal Studios Orlando is closing forever just hours away as I write this. We’d learned a couple of months ago that Harry Potter would be expanding into this area.

I first visited Universal Studios back in 1990, right after it opened. What I remembered from that first visit is that nearly nothing was working – not Jaws, not Kongfrontation, etc. I ended up with a free ticket to return, as did everyone else that day.

Jaws was never my favorite original ride in Universal Studios – that distinction would go to Kongfontation. I can’t believe it’s been nearly 10 years since it closed! But it’s always sad to see an original ride close, and we had great skippers for our last two rides.

Here are photos from today.

 

Sharks inside The Surf Shack:

 

 

 

A full range of merchandise was available to buy. Jeff picked up a shirt, magnet and postcard to remember the ride by.

 

 

 

We posed outside Jaws:

 

 

The sign said 25 minutes, but it wasn’t:

 

Amity Island Welcomes You:

 

I didn’t see Jaws: The Revenge. With a 2.6 rating on the IMDB, I’m guessing I didn’t miss much!

 

Jeff poses with his Jaws postcard:

And we pose in front of the ride:

 

A walk through the queue as we ride for our last time:

And Josh Young gave us a photo to use, this is Jaws menacing guests on the last day today. Thanks to Josh for the picture!

 

Note: I just was asked why Harry Potter is going into USF. We learned about it a while ago, and now Theme Park Insider has the details (and concept art, which I’d not seen). This is Universal’s way of making the Wizarding World of Harry Potter a 2 park experience, with a train going back and forth between the two areas. 

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is the main reason we have visited Universal Studios in the past year. While I have never read the books and have only seen one film, I love the details in the land. I am looking forward to the expansion (though I wish Universal could have kept Jaws in the process).