Interesting as I was reading a post at Lisleman’s A Few Clowns Short, he asked have you done something or been somewhere that doesn’t exist anymore. Lo and behold, further down in my reading, I learned that the iconic Jaws Ride at Universal Studios Orlanda is closing.
Based off the 1970’s Jaws Movie, the ride has been a part of Universal Studios since it opened in 1990. They had a link to a video in the linked article but it was long so for the interested, here is a shorter video of the ride only.
So go ahead an answer Lisleman’s question. What place from your past is no longer around?
And before you ask, yes that is me in the top picture. The shark damage is the reason I don’t show my face.
Comments
66 responses to “End of an Era: Jaws Ride Closes”
The “Jaws” ride in Australia never closes and its free. Deadly, but free 🙂
And actually scary
But that is part of the thrill, you never know who he is going to pick…..da dum, da dum, da dum
Friggin Loon makes me laugh because it’s so true!!
Great so I should cancel my trip down under?
John is a very good skipper. 🙂
If he was he wouldn’t have gotten us in that mess.
Thanks for the shout-out blog buddy.
Yes old amusement parks and rides are things that I’ve seen disappear too. So the caption on your picture could be “hey mister did you lose something in there?”
You inspired my post so of course. After I took my picture that way, people started lining up to do the same.
I’d never been on that ride…So I watched the whole video and it didn’t seem too exciting to me…I bet they put together something else that will really rattle us.
Deb xx
It isn’t scary in the least but it is cool to see how they did animatronics in the water. So for the day it was state of the art.
At my age there’s lots of stuff that’s gone from my past. Mostly my memory.
I remember seeing Jaws when it first came out and it scared me to death. I watched it again recently and found it kind of cheesy. Funny how that works.
Have a terrific day. 🙂
Sandee, I think you just came up with next weeks Wednesday Question and your response need to go right up there.
The woods we used to play in as kids. They’re all housing developments now. Now there’s nowhere left to play Charlie’s Angels.
Your boys probably wouldn’t want to be cast as one of the girls anyway.
Great video, would’ve been fun ride to go on.
The Destroyer Escort HMAS Torrens that I served on back in the late 70’s early 80’s is no more. It was scuttled off Western Australia (Loon Territory) & now serves as a dive wreck. She was a good old ship. The other ship I was on HMAS Stalwart, a destroyer tender spent some post Navy years with a civilian company in the Mediterranean then ended it’s life at a shipbreakers in India.
If I had a ship I’m not sure I’d invite you. You sound like bad luck!
ha, I was thinking the same thing. I am thinking I don’t want to fly with you either Tony.
Ha! Shark Damage.
There used to be a Chain of Rocks amusement park that had the coaster the Mad Mouse. The coaster was set close to a steep hill at one point the coaster would
careen to a tight corner that seemed like you would fly right off the cliff. Good stuff.
It’s probably now gone because one day someone did careen off the cliff.
you have nice ankles bearman 🙂
What about my muscular calves?
There was an area in the mountain next to my house that had the wickedest, steepest sledding area around. The path was about the width of a sled and you had trees to the right and left of you and thorn bushes at the bottom.
Used to have some fantastic sledding and wild crashes in the winter time.
We had a sled run that you had to pull up or else you ended up in a creek at the bottom of the hill. Needless to say some of my friends didn’t know how to use the brakes.
LMAO just remembered how a girl broke her butt, going over the barrier we built to stop you from going into the creek. she had to carry a doughnut tube around school, haha.
Ouch…no that’s ok, I’ll just stand.
So I guess shark breath will turn your hair algae-green. Another one life’s questions answered for me. 🙂
I’ve only recently started riding roller coasters and adventure rides. My parents sheltered me and the riskiest thing I got on were bumper cars.
I sure wish I could ride that Jaws just once beofre it’s outta here. 🙁
Don’t you live in LA. How often could you have gone to Universal Hollywood. I think they had that ride. Don’t blame the world because you don’t get out.
I’d agree with Comedy Plus. These days I’m noticing all the developed/re-developed places of my youth.
For one, a grocery store where used to be a drive-in movie theater.
Another is a downtown city park, that was a shopping mall, and a outdoor roller/ice skating rink.
D’oh! I meant a roller/ice skating rink before the mall.
There are some places that I can’t remember what they looked like before they were so over developed.
I always suspected you might be a shark.
Loan Shark or Land Shark?
Blog Shark.
I don’t know if they’re losing it from their California location or not; I used to work at Universal Studios (as, what else, a caricature artist) and would occasionally use my lunch breaks to go see Jaws or King Kong (hey, they were more pleasant than the boss!).
How can I not picture you in khakis and a red golf shirt plying your trade to the tourists. You should post some of your old caricature work.
It’s mostly gone (the customers bought it…except when they DIDN’T buy it, which was never a fun situation), and thankfully the uniform wasn’t anything embarrassing (black pants, blue shirt, bra optional).
You have nice moobs.
So you have man boobs and it was suggested but optional? sorry could not help myself.
Yes he does.
Looks pretty terrifying, Bearman!
Is the shock from that experience what turned your avatar’s hair green?
🙂
All the algae that shark ate.
They rode that beast for twenty two years. I’d consider that a good haul.
Twilight isn’t universal? I hope that doesn’t replace it.
I know you don’t know who I am, and by those legs, I have to say I don’t recognize you either!
Look who came out from under a rock. And her I thought you would change your name back to the bean.
That is awesome. I grew up in Richmond, VA where we have Kings Dominion, which is now Paramount Kings Dominion. I miss the old Smurf Mountain, and Hannah Barbarra Land which included Yogi Bears Hideout. I miss it all.
We have Kings Island here. All the license for Hanna Barbara characters went away once Paramount bought them. And now Cedars owns at least KI so it is snoopy.
Weird, we don’t have snoopy, but I haven’t been there in a few years.
Technically it’s still around, but it’s going to be closed soon – the Nanuet Mall. It was one of the first malls built in the United States. My father was on the construction crew that built the mall. It’s claim to “fame” was that the Brinks robbery in 1981 occurred at the bank in the mall. It was a good source of eye candy and well as food and the arcade.
They going to build the new and improved Nanuet Mall?
Loved the Jaws ‘ride’ at Universal. even had season passes to the studio one year. Also miss Japanese Deer Park… which dates me. It has been closed for close to 35 years, but was down the street from Knott’s Berry Farm.
Ah, childhood memories.
Great post!
What happens in a Japanese Deer Park?
You pet and feed the deer. They also had seals (god knows why) which you could pet as well, as they came to the edge of their pool to be fed.
Just a peaceful place.
When I was a kid it was a 30 minute drive through orange groves to get to Knott’s and Disneyland. Now it’s nothing but decaying strip malls and dangerous neighborhoods.
Miss the orange groves, strawberry fields -obviously not forever- and agricultural part of southern California that’s gone.
Of course, I don’t live there anymore either.
Damn, still kills me that the Jaws ride is gone. Eeeeediots!
They need to do a haunted house with all the Universal Monster Movie properties they own.
I visited the USSR when I was 15 and went to Leningrad: now it’s Russia and Saint Peterburg.
I’m afraid to open my curtains; my name may change.
Do you have iron curtains?
I think they stole the soundtrack from my Santa Claus Satan Equation. Hmm….
NBC is really good at having great shows and then after two seasons yanking them off the air. Does that count?
Yes. But if you weren’t the only one watching them they might do more.
I like the rides that are just physically exciting, like the coasters. We went to the tower of terror when it first opened. It’s pretty cool to drop 8 stories in free fall.
I can’t do anything that loops or jerks start and stop…such a headache.
I thought it was definitely dated, but maybe it could have been updated and not closed. It wasn’t bad visually. Get rid of those captain kid hosts though.
There was once a place in Tulsa called Crystals Pizza. I don’t live in Tulsa anymore but I was disappointed to hear that it was gone.
Anymore I hate seeing new stuff being built.
I think definitely with the updated technology they could have made it a lot scarier. Put the boat on a track that makes you think it is getting hit or sinking, better shark animatronics…etc
LOL I think you got this spot on!
Oh crap, that comment was meant for the caricature comic, but I put it here instead. Hmm what is missing now that wasn’t before… I would have to say a lot of my childhood neighbourhood’s changed and become more industrialized and developed.
Oh well it works either way! haha