SATURDAY SIX: Celebrating 5 Years of Universal’s VELOCICOASTER

This week’s SATURDAY SIX celebrates the Five Year Anniversary of Universal’s VELOCICOASTER in Islands of Adventure.

Hard to believe it’s been half a decade since the VelociCoaster opened in June of 2021. The entire theme park world was still shaking off the disastrous year of 2020, which includes all the parks shutting down for months, a re-opening that involved social distancing & plexi-glass barriers, and an unbelievable battle between Universal and an Osprey. 2021 felt like a brand new start, and there was no better way to celebrate than with the opening of one of the best new attractions in years: The VelociCoaster. Today we’re going to look at what this incredible coaster brought to the theme park world, starting with…

# 6 – Mr. DNA Returns!

While the VelociCoaster came off the heels of the wildly successful Jurassic World films, one main character featured in the ride dates all the way back to the very first Jurassic Park movie. Mr. DNA was an immediate fan favorite when he made his on-screen debut back in 1993, despite only being featured on screen for a relatively short amount of time. Mr. DNA was the cartoon character used to explain the science behind Jurassic Park to the park’s guests and – more importantly –  to us, the audience. Who knew that a simple DNA helix with arms and legs could be so charming?

Mr. DNA made his triumphant return to pop culture in the VelociCoaster, as he meets us in the queue’s lobby area to introduce us to the ride.

Mr. DNA also reappears later to show us one of the coaster’s coolest features (but we’ll get to that in due time).

# 5 – E-Ticket Queue

It’s fair to say Universal has been KILLING IT on theme park queues over the past decade plus. With attractions like Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Skull Island: Reign of Kong, and Escape From Gringotts they built the first ever queues people want to spend more time in. Think about it. For 50 years all of us theme park guests have been doing everything we can to get through lines faster, and here comes Universal building queues that makes us want to stop and admire them. The impudence! The audacity! The unmitigated gall!!

Keep your head on a swivel as you walk the queue, as there are a whole bunch of references for Jurassic Park film fans.

We also get to see the actual actors and actresses from the Jurassic World series of films, including BD Wong playing Henry Wu.

The glass of water you’ll see in the queue is a clear reference to one of the most iconic scenes in cinema history.

Here’s one for the true theme park sickos. This radar gun is reading the number 79.1. The VelociCoaster was codenamed Project 791, which means very little to most people reading this, but means a heck of a lot by people obsessed with the construction of theme park rides.

One of the true highlights of the queue are several raptor animatronics in the VelociCoaster that are so lifelike it is downright creepy. With their eye movements and snarls, you feel like they could break loose at any moment.

Later in the queue we are given a great sequence involving the two main characters of Jurassic World, Claire Dearing (played by Bryce Dallas Howard) and Owen Grady (played by Chris Pratt). The two have some fun interplay as Owen is losing his mind about a theme park ride being built around his velociraptors. Behind Claire, we can see she is in front of the VelociCoaster.

But it gets even better, because when it becomes night time in real life, the background behind Claire reflects that it is night time in the ride as well!

Even this pre-show video has details to look for, including what appears to be a group photo of the VelociCoaster design team on the desk and some triceratops toys paying tribute to the area’s previous resident: the Triceratops Encounter attraction.

Here’s another great reference for the theme park fans. Remember, the theme of VelociCoaster is that you’re visiting a theme park (Jurassic World) to ride a roller coaster. Well, roller coasters in the real world have lockout stations. So naturally the queue for VelociCoaster has a faux lockout station to add to the immersive feel.

VelociCoaster’s queue is one of the best at the resort, but it also came with a new feature that revolutionized getting guests through a “necessary evil” of Universal’s coasters…

# 4 – Game Changing Lockers

When the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade Village originally opened in 2010, you could make a case for the only negative in the entire land was the complete mess of the locker situation for Forbidden Journey. People don’t like using lockers in the first place, but making the entire experience miserable can sour what would have been a great ride experience.

In the following decade we saw Universal create some amazing things at the resort, from world class attractions like the Bourne Stuntacular, to incredible hotels like Sapphire Falls, to the best water park in Florida with Volcano Bay, but the thing that has probably had the biggest impact on the most amount of guests is fixing their “locker situation” that bottle necked guests at thrill rides including The Incredible Hulk Coaster, Revenge of the Mummy, and Forbidden Journey. Getting in and out of the thrill ride lockers is now simpler, easier, and – most importantly – less stressful for everyone.

The VelociCoaster took the locker situation to the next level, incorporating lockers into the actual ride experience. Midway through the attraction, we meet  back up with our friend Mr. DNA and he’s here to tell us how to keep our belongings safe.

The Mr. DNA videos go into great detail on what you need to put into the lockers (basically, everything on you except your park ticket) and how the lockers work.

Guests are reminded that shortly after the lockers area, they will be going through metal detectors, so make sure your pockets are empty.

The one thing you will need to have on your person is your park ticket, because that is what is used to open the locker. Don’t worry if your park ticket is only on your phone, Team Members in the area have printed out cards for you to use.

The VelociCoaster makes it as easy as possible to remember which locker you used. There are several banks of lockers, with each bank individually numbered, color coded, AND have a unique dinosaur as a key marker.

Here’s where the VelociCoaster goes above and beyond. Guests put their stuff into a locker before they get onto the ride, but when they retrieve their belongings it is from the opposite side of the locker bank.

The Key Markers is another brilliant idea, because you’re going to get many careless guests – like me – who realize after they get off the ride that they accidentally left their annual pass inside the locker with their belongings. However, because I remembered the area where my locker was, a Team Member was able to easily open it for me.

Thanks to master cartographer Tommy Hawkins, here’s a breakdown of how the VelociCoaster double-sided locker system works and how efficient it is for guest flow. Just an ingenious idea by Universal that should be replicated for every single attraction that uses a locker system going forward in the future (and it looks like it is, as the same concept has been applied to not only coasters such as Stardust Racers at Epic Universe, but implemented into others including Efteling’s Baron, and Cedar Point’s Top Thrill 2.)

# 3 – The Thrills and Chills

For the longest time it seemed there were good roller coasters in the world and Orlando roller coasters. The good (thrilling) roller coasters were found at the Cedar Fair, Six Flags, Kings, and Busch parks while the fully themed family coasters were in Orlando.

In the early 2000s, Islands of Adventure added Hulk and Dueling Dragons to the mix, and then SeaWorld Orlando built Kraken, but those always felt a little older and not as grand as other coasters. Other parks built coasters over 400 feet tall, with a record number of inversions, having new launch technology types, along with coasters that hug the ground & speed around, mind-bending air time machines, and out-of-this-world experiences, while most coasters in Orlando you could still ride with your backpack. It was hard not to see Orlando as just falling farther and farther behind the pack.

That changed with VelociCoaster – it’s a coaster fans’ coaster, while still being an attraction built for theme park fans. This ride proudly wears its coaster bonafides on its sleeve with great airtime, speed, zero trim brakes, and the incredible Mosasaurus Roll while also giving a fully themed immersive experience even if you don’t want to ride. This creates a perfect combination of opposites to help VelociCoaster stand head and shoulders above other Orlando additions and ascend to roller coaster greatness. In a word: PERFECTION.

In Hollywood there is often talk a movie being a “four quadrant” film, meaning that it appeals to every demographic. According to TouringPlans surveys, VelociCoaster is rated 4.5 stars by grade schoolers, and a full 5 stars by teens, young adults, and over 30s. Even seniors give it 4 stars!

Don’t worry, if you somehow didn’t empty all your pockets at the lockers, the VelociCoaster will empty them for you.

There are a whole bunch of amazing details in the coaster part of VelociCoaster that take the entire ride experience up to an “11.” In the photo below a train is passing by the incredible detailed rockwork, but it also contains several raptor eggs.

There are so many places throughout Islands of Adventure where you can take amazing photos of VelociCoaster, including this one taken from Me Ship, The Olive in Toon Lagoon.

How about this one taken from Aventura Hotel? Wow!!

The photos above and below are capturing one of the most memorable moments of the VelociCoaster –  insanely cool Mosasaurus Roll over the water. It takes your breath away.

I love this photo below because it gets across the excitement and thrill of what it feels like being a guest on the VelociCoaster.

In a great touch, Universal has signage for guests walking underneath the VelociCoaster giving details of the Mosasaurus “in the water below.”

In fact, in the extended queue of the VelociCoaster you’ll see this park map of the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World area of Islands of Adventure, and note the Mosasaurus silhouette in the water by the VelociCoaster. Just a wonderful detail.

# 2 – Inspiring Creativity

Around the time of the VelociCoaster’s opening, Orlando was in the middle of a coaster renaissance with Disney also building a Tron coaster in the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT’s Cosmic Rewind. However, the VelociCoaster struck a creative chord with the theme park community in ways that the other two did not. Let’s take a look back at some of the amazing things which the VelociCoaster has inspired.

Artist @blockbrakes spent 38 hours from sketch to final signature on this gorgeous drawing of the VelociCoaster’s twisting track. Do I also spot in the background my favorite Volcano…

Our next drawing is watercolor pencil from artist Mikhile Williams that took 18 hours total to finish. It is titled “Red Alert” to go along with how the lights on the 2nd launch turn red when the VelociCoaster train goes by.

One of the SAT 6’s favorite artists – SonderQuest – drew a VelociCoaster train along with the attraction’s rock work and a velociraptor.

There is nothing I love more than seeing the artwork from kids who are passionate about theme parks. There is just pure joy in each piece.

For those unaware, there is a gigantic crossover between the theme park audience and LEGO builders. I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise considering the amount of Disney Parks LEGO sets over the years, but once you stumble into the world of custom LEGO projects, you’d be amazed at how much is out there. A whole community that is dedicated to letting you know which LEGO pieces you would need to build your own theme park ride vehicle, including the VelociCoaster.

Once you purchase the directions and list of pieces needed from sites such as Etsy, you can go to work on creating your own masterpiece.

The LEGO set below is based on the raptor pen gate located near the 2nd launch of the coaster. It is made out of 1,324 LEGO pieces!

Longtime readers of this fine blog series know how much we love LEGO, and our Plastic in the Parks series is dedicated to photographing our official LEGO pieces in their appropriate settings.

If there is one group of people that the VelociCoaster has inspired more than any other it’s theme park photographers. We have been blessed with so many amazing shots of this coaster over the years. Here’s some of my favorites.

The lighting features on the VelociCoaster ride vehicles allow photographers using long exposure to get some truly sublime pictures…

I love when the photographers can combine the VelociCoaster with other attractions in the parks, especially the Hulk Coaster. It takes patience, but you can get some absolutely amazing photos.

My personal favorite piece of VelociCoaster inspired art? Well, it doesn’t get any better than this…

The details are PERFECT.

I love that the Toaster oven itself in the logo has speed lines as if it is racing along with the raptor pack below. Slow clap. Standing ovation. Place your superlative here because I am blown away.

# 1 – The Churro Stand is Open

The Universal Orlando Resort social media team is truly the best in the game. One running theme they had during the construction of the VelociCoaster was that Universal was building an elaborate churro stand in Islands of Adventure instead of a roller coaster. This gained a lot of traction online, and was even referenced in the radio ads for the resort. This was a whimsical take on the normal “no sell” response we get from theme parks when asking about construction projects.

That’s right, Universal did open a “churro stand” and offered a free churro to riders coming off the attraction!

Before the VelociCoaster officially opened for guests, Bill Davis –  at the time the president of the Universal parks and resorts – welcomed everyone. However, in a baller move, Davis was holding a churro. Thankfully someone was there to catch this moment on film…

This picture then went viral on social media as people had a lot of fun with it.

Here we have Bill plugged into a memorable moment from Jurassic World…

…and an even more memorable moment from Jurassic Park.

Others said what we were feeling.

The following meme is an insanely great deep dive into the backstory of The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man attraction and features a moment from a video seen in the queue.

The more next level bonkers a meme is, the more I like it, such as Rob Yeo’s use of Bill Davis in the game Tetris.

Even Universal’s social media team got in on the action.

Honorable Mention – Isla Nublar beer

The opening of VelociCoaster also brought with it a new brew added to the arsenal of Universal’s exclusive brews made by Florida Brewing Co. First we had the amazing Duff Beer in Springfield USA, which was then followed by Wizard’s Brew and Dragon Scale in Diagon Alley. Isla Nublar IPA made it’s debut with the greatest beer tap in the history of theme parks…

…which is referencing a memorable moment from the first Jurassic World movie. Here’s another angle of the tap handle. How great is that?!!

Lots of great photo-ops in Jurassic Park to make your beer look pretty for social media.

As many reading this know, I’m a tried and true Miller Lite Guy, but those who actually like drinking beers say Isla Nubler IPA is fantastic. Don’t take my word for it, here’s the review from TouringPlans functional alcoholic resident hops and barley expert Joseph Matt:

Easily my favorite exclusive beer at any theme park, this IPA is refreshing and delicious. The hop selection gives the beer a taste of tropical grapefruit and orange. Unlike some IPAs this is easy to drink and will not make you regret your choices. – Joseph Matt

So there you have it: Celebrating 5 Years of Universal’s VelociCoaster! See you next weekend for the latest installment of the SATURDAY SIX, where we’ll look at something fun from the world of Disney and Universal. If you enjoyed yourself, be sure to check out the THEME PARK ENJOYMENT INDEX, giving a monthly recap of all the theme park news you need to know (and a lot more you don’t need to know, but we’re gonna tell you anyway). You can also follow Your Humble Author on BlueSky (@derekburgan).

If you enjoyed this article, you will surely like the following: 

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TPEI Tribute to Bret Taggart (AKA @Schmoofy)

Special Thanks to The Elite Brandon Glover, Digital Maestro Scott Walker, the bio-est of all reconstructs @bioreconstruct, Captain Cruiseline Scott Sanders of the world famous Disney Cruise Line Blog, Ace Photographer Diservations, my personal protege Hunter “Elvey” Underwood, artist @SonderQuest, the mighty maven of merchandise Hedgehog’s Corner, the SAT SIX Fun Squad of Parkscope Joe and “the Dadalorian” Nick, hot shot Michael Carelli, charter member of the Universal Four @Nitro230, the permit princess Alicia Stella, master cartographer Tommy Hawkins, and Hermione Granger’s tutor Megan Thickey for their invaluable assistance with this article. Absolutely no help was added by Lightning Lane Influencer Professor Leisure. The SAT SIX is inspired each week by goofballs Aengus Mackenzie and LitemAndHide.