Happy, funny, fearful faces on Jurassic World VelociCoaster
The Jurassic World VelociCoaster at Universal Orlando officially opens June 10, 2021, but it’s already getting raves as one of the best roller coasters anywhere from those who have gotten preview rides. Yesterday was the first day guests could ride without face masks on and the fun and fear can now be fully seen on their faces.
I have been taking photos of the attraction for our upcoming Summer issue cover story. But guests on all of Universal Orlando’s attractions have had to wear face coverings as part of Universal Orlando’s Covid-19 health and safety measures – until yesterday.
So with my camera in hand, I went back out yesterday afternoon to not only gather some more photos, but also some slow motion video to fully show the range of emotions this Islands of Adventure theme park roller coaster brings.
The location of VelociCoaster allows for some spectacular views of riders speeding by from many points. This is something roller coaster designers like to provide for those who aren’t fans of riding high-speed roller coasters or are otherwise unable to ride. For all my photos and videos, I concentrated on filming from VelociCoaster’s entrance area. From here you can see riders coming down the 155 foot drop known as the top hat (seen above), spinning upside-down for what seems like way too long, and down along the river where the overflow queue is set up, you can see them spinning around the “Mosasaurus Roll” AKA heartline roll.
Here’s the full video with lots of guests showing a full range of emotions on their faces:
If there’s no way you’d ever ride the VelociCoaster, here’s a point of view look at what front row riders see:
Jurassic World VelociCoaster officially opens June 10, 2021, but it’s been open each day for technical rehearsals. Technical rehearsals means it may or may not be open if you visit before the 10th, but your chances are good. Leave a comment below if you’ll be riding or have ridden, and tell us what sort of faces you’ll make.
