New Prehistoric Thrills Coming to Universal Resort Orlando

Florida’s fastest and tallest launch coaster—along with a pack of fierce Velociraptors—will be unleashed at Universal Orlando Resort in summer 2021 with the debut of Jurassic World VelociCoaster.

The coaster, concepted and designed by the award-winning Universal Creative team in partnership with acclaimed filmmakers from Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment, touts a series of intense maneuvers that will send riders catapulting up to 70 mph and more than 150 feet in the air with the swiftest of prehistoric predators.

Opening at Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park, Jurassic World VelociCoaster will be the world’s first coaster based on the blockbuster franchise, and will feature an original story that expands upon the thrills, dinosaurs and environments fans have seen on the big screen. Students will be able to join the original cast of the films—Chris Pratt as Owen Grady, Bryce Dallas Howard as Claire Dearing and BD Wong as Dr. Henry Wu—as Jurassic World unveils the next evolution of its “carnivore expansion”: the VelociCoaster, where riders embark on a high-speed chase and feel the rush of the hunt while racing alongside a nimble Velociraptor pack.

Spanning more than 4,700 feet of track and reaching heights of up to 155 feet, the coaster’s signature maneuvers will have students twisting and soaring above land, barrel rolling just inches above water, speeding through near-misses and launches within the paddock, and more:

• Accelerate through two pulse-pounding launches, the fastest reaching 70 mph in 2.4 seconds.
• Encounter a one-of-a-kind, 360-degree barrel roll right above the Islands of Adventure lagoon.
• Experience a zero-gravity inverted stall that will send riders upside down across 100 feet of track in a jaw-dropping maneuver that is the first of its kind.
• Go airborne during the towering “Top Hat,” which propels riders 155 feet in the air and then immediately into an 80 degree drop—Universal’s steepest drop yet.
• Brace for a total of 12 heart-pounding seconds of airtime—the thrilling sensation of weightlessness riders feel when they’re lifted from their seats—throughout the entire adventure.

Jurassic World VelociCoaster will be the next exciting addition to Jurassic Park at Universal’s Islands of Adventure. Only in this immersive land could students come face-to-face with life-size dinosaurs in incredible theme park experiences. This includes Jurassic Park River Adventure, where a leisure raft ride turns into a daring eight-story plunge to escape a ferocious T. rex; and Raptor Encounter, where students could test their bravery and get up-close to Velociraptor Blue and the newest additions to the paddock—baby raptors—while learning more about the clever carnivores.

More details about the coaster will be revealed by Universal in the months ahead.

Written by Sarah Suydam, Staff Writer for Teach & Travel.

Photo courtesy of Universal Orlando Resort.