“Welcome… to Jurassic Park.” The iconic line’s delivery and associated fanfare will live on in cinematic history, as 1993’s Jurassic Park stunned audiences. The film transported guests to the one-of-a-kind wildlife preserve on Isla Nublar off the shores of Costa Rica, where bioengineering firm InGen had successfully done the unthinkable: harvesting fragments of dinosaur DNA from a prehistoric mosquito and repairing it with frog genes, Jurassic Park was inhabited by hundreds of real, living, breathing dinosaurs.
Of course, the park never saw its opening day. Before it could, a nasty breakout or two forced the park’s premature closure.
Even if things didn’t go as planned the first time (and trust us, they fared even worse the second and third go-round), InGen has finally cracked the case of the dino park. Twenty-two years after the accident on Isla Nublar, we’re invited to Jurassic World, built on the ruins of Jurassic Park.
The Upgrade
Perhaps you’re reminded of a similar real-life situation: when the concepts and attractions of Disneyland Park in California were super-sized and exported to Florida’s Disney World. Constructed with world domination in mind, Walt Disney World was billed from its start as the Vacation Kingdom of the World – unlike the tiny, local Disneyland, Walt Disney World was a destination.
While Jurassic Park would’ve been an exceptional wildlife preserve and zoological park (probably marketed at the “1%”), Jurassic World stomps on the former’s tepid and intellectual remains. Forget placid dinosaur exhibits and informational tours. This is 2015. People want a little bite with their entertainment. Fittingly, Jurassic World is a theme park, complete with rides, shows, and attractions that Jurassic Park wouldn’t have dreamed of.
Isla Nublar even houses an 18 hole golf course, botanical gardens, the Gentle Giants petting zoo filled with baby herbivores, the Origin nightclub, an IMAX theater, a full aquatic water park, and of course, a luxurious, deluxe hotel for parkgoers to extend their vacation at the mega resort.
You can read all about the happenings at Jurassic World and the outstanding attractions it offers at the park’s official website, which also includes an interactive park map for you to explore.
Come with us now to a time before man, when giants walked the Earth. Let’s take a look at 8 of Jurassic World’s most iconic attractions and explore where those rides might’ve taken their inspiration from the very real theme parks we know and love.
1. The Ferry
Then & Now: In Jurassic Park, access to Isla Nublar was as elite as the park itself: lifted in via helicopter and landing on an exotic helipad at the base of a hundred-story waterfall, it was clear that Jurassic Park was not the kind of place any old family could visit.
For Jurassic World, things have changed. Access to Isla Nublar is now provided via a ferryboat to carry guests from Costa Rica to the island. There, guests disembark at the Ferry Landing where another means of transportation awaits.
Inspired By: Magic Kingdom
The approach via ferry is something that will sound very familiar to Walt Disney World visitors. Since 1955, visitors to Walt’s original Disneyland stepped out of their cars and through the turnstiles. The infamously small Disneyland property meant that your transition from reality to the park’s fantasy was quite abrupt, and probably not what Walt would’ve preferred.
Blessed with ample space in the Florida Project, Imagineers decided to be a bit more dramatic. Magic Kingdom was built at the opposite end of the man-made Seven Seas Lagoon. Guests wishing to visit the park would first see it from afar and would need to travel to reach it, with the towering Cinderella Castle growing ever closer as they did. This conceptual journey has been discussed and debated by many Disney fans, but suffice it to say, it certainly adds something to the experience.
Jurassic World can only be accessed via ferry, too. While that certainly mirrors the Magic Kingdom entry, it’s also thoughtful: the massive ferries signal that Jurassic World is not an elitist park accessible only to a few, but a mass entertainment complex loaded with families who need mass-transit access.
2. The Monorail
Once you do land on Jurassic World, you’ve got a bit more traveling to do before your first encounter with the dinosaurs. In Jurassic Park, access beyond the helipad was via off-roading Jeeps carrying the park’s small, VIP groups.
But for Jurassic World’s international destination appeal, The Ferry Landing is home to the park’s first Monorail stop. Here, the sleek and futuristic monorail is waiting to carry massive groups of eager visitors into the wonders of the park. It’s the Monorail that features the iconic wooden gates of the park that swing wide to allow the train to pass through. Jurassic World’s Monorail circumvents the island, stopping at each attraction every 20 minutes.
Inspired By: Disneyland & Walt Disney World
Walt Disney’s Monorail was added to Disneyland’s New Tomorrowland in 1959 as one of three simultaneously debuting attractions with the new “E-ticket” designation. It was Walt’s theory that Monorails (and PeopleMovers) would become sincere mass public transit systems for the future, replacing buses and automobiles with their sleek “highway in the sky” systems that didn’t impede automobile or pedestrian traffic.
In an ironic twist, the inclusion of the Monorail in Disneyland and its subsequent use as resort-wide transportation for Walt Disney World ended up marrying the Monorail concept to Disney Parks. Instead of inspiring real urban transit systems with the prototype, Monorails are now practically synonymous with Walt Disney World. Of course, that makes it all the more certain that Jurassic World’s sleek Monorail is mostly based on Disney’s.
Jurassic World’s Monorail and its loop around the park’s perimeter also feels similar to the railroads that encircle many “Magic Kingdom” style parks.
Note, too, that many zoos and amusement parks use a monorail system to quickly, efficiently, and safely move guests through exhibits.
3. Main Street
Inspired By: Main Street, U.S.A.
Yes, Jurassic World is anchored by Main Street. The Monorail drops guests off at the area, where the day begins and ends. Main Street sounds like it would make a pretty smart and functional entry, with the classic lineup of modern amenities, the island’s deluxe resort hotel, and popular restaurants like Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville (plus more than a dozen other eateries).
While it doesn’t have much in common with the turn-of-the-century Main Street, U.S.A. land at almost every Disneyland style park, the name is clearly a nod to the universally well-known theme park land. Truthfully, the contents and style of Jurassic World’s Main Street would probably make “CityWalk Nublar” a more apt name…
4. Egg Spinner
Inspired By: Mad Tea Party / Dumbo the Flying Elephant / TriceraTop Spin
Ready to go for a whirl? The Egg Spinner at Jurassic World is a classic carnival ride given a lovingly themed overlay. We don’t get much of a view of the Egg Spinner during the film itself, but the park’s official website describes it as follows: “Spin until your brain’s scrambled on our exciting recreation of the Hammond Creation Lab’s egg spinner. You’ll have so much fun, you might feel like you’ve been genetically resequenced!”
5. Mosasaurus Feeding Show
Every two hours, the park’s central lagoon comes alive. But this is no World of Color. With a packed stadium, a giant, carnivorous, aquatic lizard called a Mosasaurus leaps from the water to capture its lunch – a suspended great white shark, dwarfed by the massive creature – and splashes the audience in turn. The Jurassic World website warns that this attraction “may be disturbing for small children.”
Inspired By: Shamu / Gatorland
There are two very distinct inspirations behind the Mosasaurus Feeding Show. First may be the various Shamu shows that have headlined SeaWorld over the years. Despite your personal thoughts on the captivity of orca whales, there’s no denying that SeaWorld’s iconic killer whales can still pack a stadium as they show off their size and power, yet their undeniable grace.
From the “splash zone” to the aerial tricks, the Mosasaurus Feeding Show is the perfect Jurassic World-sized version of SeaWorld’s famed show.
There’s another Orlando inspiration for the acrobatics. Just up the street from Universal Orlando is the historic Gatorland, whose opening predates the original Disneyland. One of its starring attractions is the Gator Jumparoo show, where one of Mosasaurus’s great-great-great-great-grandchildren leap vertically from the water to snatch a suspended raw chicken to the delight of onlookers. The stunning show of force and power was almost certainly a direct inspiration for Jurassic World’s version, and just as impressive.
6. Gallimimus Valley
The Gallimimus dinosaurs of Jurassic World roam free across the verdant valleys, eating vegetation and dining on insects and grubs. With a name meaning “chicken-mimicking,” you’d probably expect the agile flocks to be friendly if a bit scatterbrained. And indeed, the ostrich-like dinosaurs dart in and out of the road as guests aboard off-roading safari vehicles take all the photos they’d like.
Inspired By: Kilimanjaro Safaris
In the great tradition of perfectly-safe theme park safari attractions, the undisputed king is Kilimanjaro Safaris at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Passing through animal habitats where friendly creatures can approach the vehicle, Kilimanjaro Safaris is one of many safari attractions at parks across the world.
7. Cretaceous Cruise
You can “paddle with the plant-eaters” down Isla Nublar’s river ways. This calm, guided kayak tour perfect for park novices is meant to showcase the flora and gigantic fauna of the 145 million years of the Cretaceous era with 100 species of prehistoric life along the river’s edge. The website mentions, “a high level of fitness and endurance is required.”
Inspired By: The World of Pandora
The Jurassic World attraction seems to have quite a bit in common with an upcoming attraction earmarked for Pandora – The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Aside from the headlining “Soarin’ Over Pandora” style attraction, the land will feature a slow-moving boat ride through the glowing terrain of the alien forest. This attraction will allow guests to get a little closer to the unusual, giant, glowing plants of the planet, and perhaps include an encounter or two with the gentle creatures of Pandora.
We don’t yet know anything about the Pandora dark ride besides the single piece of concept art that we’ve seen. Our hope is that the dark ride will be a calm, beautiful, and peaceful tour of the planet’s gorgeous habitat. So far, it sounds like the ride will be more or less free of plot, and probably without a ‘villain.’ After all, many children visiting Walt Disney World probably won’t have seen Avatar, so the idea of a darkness-enshrouded forest will probably have them on edge to begin with. Not to mention, Animal Kingdom’s only other dark ride is the terrifying Dinosaur, which also takes place in a dark forest, and the park needs a family dark ride where nothing scary, loud, and threatening happens.
Was Cretaceous Cruise inspired by Pandora? Probably not. But in the theme park world, these recurring tropes happen everywhere, and this is a prominent example. You might also imagine that Cretaceous Cruise is in the same genre as Jungle Cruise, Living With The Land, or Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes.
8. Gyrospheres
With a maximum speed of 5 miles per hour, the relaxing gyrospheres may prove to be the most innovative and exhilarating transportation system in Jurassic World. Protected by advanced invisible fence technology, animals stay within their designated zones as the automated system of the Gyrosphere rolls through the enclosures of Jurassic classics: Parasaurolophus, Triceratops, Stegosaurus… Truly ultra-efficient systems of the future, the Gyrospheres are the gentle but functional heart of the park.
Real World Inspiration: The Peoplemover
When it comes to efficient, cutting-edge, brisk transportation systems, theme park fans know only one infallible one: The Peoplemover, originally part of Disneyland’s New Tomorrowland in 1967. The outstanding, simple, gentle attraction was the focus of our recent In-Depth investigation. While the Peoplemover probably didn’t directly inspire Jurassic World’s Gyrosphere, Disney Parks fans will immediately recognize the evolution of the Peoplemover concept of efficient, smart, innovative mass transportation.
Inspiration Comes Alive
In designing the ficitonal theme park of Jurassic World, it’s not that the film’s crew set out to copy well-known attractions and simply apply a dinosaur overlay. Rather, brilliant designers constructed an original amusement park that, like every other park on Earth, borrows and reimagines classics. Not all (or maybe even any) of the attractions we’ve pointed out here are “copies.” Rather, they’re inspired by the well-known attractions at Disney, Universal, and beyond, and creatively build on those foundations.
At the end of the day, Jurassic World is a theme park most of us would actually like to visit (minus the carnage, that is), and that’s a tremendous testament to the world-building work that was put into making a convincing, engaging, and exciting theme park that would sure get my admission money, Indominus rex or not!
