Universal Studios Hollywood · Lower Lot
Jurassic World — The Ride
A boat ride through a dinosaur park that goes badly wrong, ending in an 84-foot drop in the dark — the best big ride here.
Ride facts
- Type
- Water ride
- Height
- 42in (107cm)
- Intensity
- Intense
- Motion sickness
- Low motion risk
- Getting wet
- You will get soaked
- Indoor / outdoor
- Mixed
- Air conditioned
- No
- Single rider
- Available
- Rider Switch
- Available
Last verified July 2026
What it is
Jurassic World — The Ride is the 2019 retheme of Jurassic Park: The Ride, which opened on the Lower Lot in 1996 and was for years the most expensive attraction ever built. The bones of the original are intact: a boat drifts through a dinosaur preserve, something goes wrong, and the escape route is an 84-foot drop through the dark. The 2019 work updated the scenery, the animatronics and the story to the newer films.
The animatronics are the reason to ride. The Mosasaurus in the lagoon at the start is enormous, the Stegosaurus and Parasaurolophus sequences are well staged, and the Indominus rex in the final building is one of the biggest figures Universal operates. It is also the only ride at Universal Studios Hollywood where the scenery does most of the work rather than a screen.
The drop is the headline. Eighty-four feet, steep, in near-darkness, and considerably more severe than the family-boat-ride framing prepares people for. It also produces a genuine soaking rather than a splash, which matters if you have a long walk and a set of escalators between you and your car.
What riding it is actually like
You board a boat from a moving platform and drift out into the lagoon, where the Mosasaurus rises out of the water at close range — a good, cheap thrill in the first ninety seconds. The early sections are slow, bright and full of herbivores.
The mood turns when the boat is diverted off course into the containment building. The lighting drops, alarms start, and the scale of the animatronics steps up sharply. The Indominus rex sequence in the dark is the best single moment at Universal Studios Hollywood.
The lift hill takes you up in near-total darkness with the sound of something following you, and then the drop. It is 84 feet, steep, and the wave at the bottom soaks the front two rows completely and everyone else substantially.
Sit in the back if you want to stay drier. Sit in the front if you want the full effect. There is no middle option that keeps you dry.
Is Jurassic World — The Ride scary?
The first two thirds are a gentle boat ride past dinosaurs in daylight. Then the boat goes indoors, the lighting drops, the Indominus rex appears at close range, and the ride finishes with an 84-foot drop in near-darkness. That drop is the tallest at the park and it is genuinely steep. Children who clear 42 inches frequently are not ready for it.
Scores are editorial, on a 1–5 scale, judged against what frightens a typical four- to seven-year-old rather than an adult.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair
- Must transfer to the ride vehicle
- Audio description
- Not offered
- Handheld captioning
- Not offered
- Assistive listening
- Not offered
- Sign language
- Not offered
- Service animals
- Must use a kennel or wait with a companion
You must transfer out of a wheelchair or ECV into a boat from a moving platform, stepping down over a raised sill. You will get wet, which for some conditions matters more than the transfer does. Lockers are available near the entrance and should be used.
Tips that actually help
- Ride it first thing. This is the best thing on the Lower Lot and the Lower Lot is nearly empty in the first hour while everyone else is up top.
- You will get soaked, not splashed. Use the lockers by the entrance for phones and bags, and think hard about riding this at 7pm in February.
- The single rider line works well here and is one of the most effective at the park.
- The front row gets the worst of the water and the best view of the Indominus rex. Pick your priority before you reach the platform.
- Children who just cleared 42 inches often handle the dinosaurs fine and are genuinely shaken by the drop. It is much steeper and darker than the rest of the ride suggests.
Timing
- Best time to ride
- The first hour of the day, when the Lower Lot is empty, or a hot afternoon when the soaking is a benefit.
- Typical wait
- Usually 30 to 60 minutes from mid-morning; often under 15 in the first hour.
- Express Pass
- Universal Express Pass
Jurassic World — The Ride: common questions
What is the height requirement for Jurassic World — The Ride?
42 inches. That is two inches above the 40-inch threshold that governs most of this park, and it locks out a band of children who can do Transformers and Mario Kart but not this.
How wet do you get on Jurassic World — The Ride?
Soaked, not splashed. The 84-foot drop throws a large wave over the boat and the front two rows take the worst of it. Use the lockers, and think twice about riding late in the day when you still have the Starway escalators between you and the exit.
How big is the drop?
84 feet, in near-total darkness, and it is steep. It is the tallest drop at Universal Studios Hollywood by a wide margin and the part of the ride that surprises people who assumed a boat ride through a dinosaur park would be gentle.
Is it scary for children?
The first two thirds are not. The final building is dark and loud with a very large Indominus rex at close range, and then there is the drop. Children who have just cleared 42 inches frequently find the ending too much even when the dinosaurs were fine.
Is this the same as the Orlando version?
No. Orlando's Islands of Adventure has Jurassic World VelociCoaster and a separate river adventure; Hollywood's is the original 1996 river ride, rethemed in 2019 with newer animatronics and story. The Hollywood version has the better final animatronic; Orlando has the better coaster.