When it comes to malfunctions related to theme park attractions based on iconic sci-fi movies, you could run into worse issues than a hydraulic leak. Universal Orlando had that very fate befall its Jurassic Park ride, which caused the ride to shut down for some much-needed repairs. That downtime led to some interesting footage of the ride being posted on the internet, and things only got weirder when fans started sharing funny responses to the results of that prehistoric leak.
Theme park blog Universal Parks News Today was the source of the video that had fans of the Jurassic Park River Adventure cracking wise all over Twitter. One of the first offerings in the theme park extension to the Jurassic Park universe, the thrilling attraction puts guests head to head with many of the dinosaurs of the hit film. But as you'll see below, a menace of a different color was present for all to see:
The water at Jurassic Park River Adventure looks a little suspicious and the attraction is currently experiencing a delay. 🦖 pic.twitter.com/2zuxR1pwW5February 23, 2023
Taken at the bottom of the final drop, the water from the Jurassic Park River Adventure took on a rather odd appearance because of the previously mentioned leak. According to some other chatter on social media, vegetable-based oils are what tinted things rather grimly over the past couple of days. User “jonvasquez” kicks things off for us with a very on brand message that would sound about right in the fictional world of Jurassic Park:
Red Tide. Not good for the dinos.
Brown water the likes of what we’ve seen above is obviously going to draw some jokes out of very familiar hats. Fortunately, we can put off getting to the bathroom humor a moment longer thanks to tweeter “thechris_harris” inadvertently pitching an actually awesome-sounding ride idea in their response:
With the brown water it’s looks like it’s gone through a refurb and is now ‘Willy Wonka’s Chocolate River Adventure’
Considering how Universal Orlando already has the Toothsome Chocolate Emporium as a secret culinary weapon, it doesn’t feel like a huge stretch to actually have an attraction that dips into that same inspiration. Though, of course, if Universal was going to build a whole attraction around a fictitious chocolate factory, it'd probably want to secure the Willy Wonka rights and do it correctly.
Pushing aside the dream of an attraction built of pure imagination, it’s time to get to the Jurassic World poop jokes. You were waiting for them, I was waiting for them and commenter “starstruck1777” delivered this solid contribution in the category of humor that was just waiting in the wings:
That is probably what the water look like when you encounter Dinosaurs while trying to escape Jurassic World.
Ending our roundup of funny and interesting reactions to this Jurassic Park misfortune, profile “LorcanaDad” provided a story of historical context that I definitely need to look up now. Referencing some Disney Parks history in their reaction, one could imagine how much messier a Hall of Presidents breakdown must have been in Walt Disney’s time:
That is hydraulic fluid. Reminds of the story about when Walt was showing off the Lincoln Animatronic for the first time and a hydraulic line burst.
On a more serious note, this latest Jurassic Park River Adventure closure comes after some serious repairs in the recent past. Damage from Hurricane Ian had previously shut down the almost-30-year-old ride late last year, which came after another Jurassic shut down that took place in January 2022. With all of this activity, Universal Orlando fans might be asking if it’s time to revisit the idea of re-theming the Jurassic Park River Adventure into a more modern experience.
As Universal Hollywood used the success of Jurassic World to turn its legacy attraction into Jurassic World - The Ride, a different type of influence might drive Universal Orlando to finally follow suit. At this time, there are no official responses suggesting that Jurassic Park River Adventure will be replaced, and you can currently enjoy the ride since it’s back in operation.
