Ride closures at theme parks are to be expected. Nothing that contains so many moving parts can run all the time without some regular maintenance. We keep track of what's closed at Disney World specifically because doing so can be difficult for the average guest. Sometimes a minor issue causes a ride to shut down for a few hours or even a day, but we rarely see unscheduled closures last too long, Universal Orlando’s marquee attraction, the Jurassic World Velocicoaster, looks to be having significant issues, that may not be fixed for some time.
Over on the Inside Universal forums, fans are reporting that over the weekend, Velocicoaster was either closed or running at a reduced capacity, with only a couple of trains running. Problems continued yesterday and, as of this writing, the attraction is currently closed and guests are reportedly being told the coaster will be closed all day today. A user on Reddit, who says they spoke with a team member, reported that something “pretty bad” happened recently during ride testing and that the attraction could remain closed for a week if not longer.
None of this, especially the reported timeline for reopening, has been confirmed by Universal Orlando and thus must be taken with a grain of salt. A question to the resort’s Twitter account referencing the week-long closure, neither confirmed nor denied the timeline, saying only there was “no information at this time.”
Velocicoaster opened more than three years ago and has run without a major refurbishment. So the idea that something might have happened requiring a longer closure certainly isn’t crazy. We’ll have to wait and see what happens. Even if it’s able to continue running at reduced capacity, it's already one of the most popular attractions for Universal attendees with one of the longest lines, so this could only make that worse. It will likely also make the line for Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, which I honestly like better, even worse.
This is certainly bad news for fans who were planning Universal Orlando Resort trips in the coming days. The roller coaster is the newest attraction at the resort and is seen by many as the best ride at Universal’s Islands of Adventure. Anybody who hadn’t ridden it before would certainly have it at the top of the “must-do” list, and most who had would probably want to do so again.
If something is literally broken on Velocicoaster, requiring a new part to be added, that alone can cause a multi-day closure for a major attraction like a roller coaster. Most of the time can be attributed to the wait for said part, as one can frequently be hard to come by. If that is the case, you can be sure UOR is doing whatever is possible to get what it needs as quickly as possible. Nobody wants to see a long-term unscheduled closure of any attraction, but least of all something as popular as this particular ride.
