Photo Update: Jurassic Park ‘Velocicoaster’ makes amazing progress

Universal Orlando Resort has begun the process of re-opening its parks in Florida. In the meantime, they have been hard at work on the rumored “Velocicoaster” in the Jurassic Park section of Universal’s Islands of Adventure. These new photos, provided by @bioreconstruct on Twitter, showcase how Universal can no longer hide that they are building something big.

UPDATE – 06/1/20, 7:02 p.m. EST: New in-park photos and a virtual ride POV have been added to end of article.

This one image alone should be enough to get you very excited for this future attraction. Concrete footers and steel supports have gone up everywhere! This currently looks like a bit of chaos, but in the end we should see foliage brought back, way less dirt and way more steel.

This above graph is our current best guess as to the track layout for the Velocicoaster. Guests will start at the load/unload station in red. They will move forward through the pink area. Expect heavy theming in this area with perhaps metal bars, raptor claw scratches, and Jurassic Park signage. After guests make the purple turn, they enter an enclosed space where a short show sequence will happen. Rumors suggest we will see a raptor break free of an enclosure here, which will scare guests and thrust the ride vehicle forward.

This initial launch takes us down the dark purple line towards the first vertical turn. The blue line has a small drop before heading into another elevated turn that sweeps above the show sequence and parts of the queue. This drops into the teal section, where the track begins to look insane. Guests will be taken into numerous sharp-banked turns with varying degrees of elevation until they end up on the straight green line. This green line is rumored to be partially-enclosed and surrounded by screens. This section may show raptors beginning to run on the screens as the Velocicoaster launches to catch their speed.

After the secondary launch out of the partially-enclosed tunnel, guests are skyrocketed upward toward the top-hat element. Guests will fall from the highest part of the ride down over its entrance and queue. From here, riders will head into the larger green turn over the water before coming around for a second over-water turn maneuver. The light orange line continues over the water for a few over-water banked turns and a small hill. Finally, riders will slow to a stop in the straight orange section.

The two circle points of interest are going to be some of the most thrilling portions of the attraction! The circle on the right features the end of the partially-enclosed launch. This will send guests rapidly skyward towards the left circle which appears to be a top-hat element. This extreme change in elevation, combined with the speed, is sure to be a fan-favorite portion of the ride.

After experiencing the height of the top-hat, seen on the left, guests will fall downwards towards the center of the image. This drop will accelerate guests as they sweep and head towards the top right of the image where the large crane is parked.

The Velocicoaster will continue on toward this massive set of over-water turns. The views from this portion of the ride should prove to be gorgeous as guests will be able to see many of the park’s lands. It is also interesting to see how close the turn will be to Hogsmeade, the Harry Potter-themed land. These two turns also fly over the bridge and walkway, helping to build hype for those heading toward the attraction.

This view is from the very beginning of the ride. Guests, in the coaster train, will come from the arrow around the turn into the building on the right side of the image. A close examination of the building the arrow points to makes me believe it’s a large, covered queue under the track. The entryway on the top left side of the building is probably where themed signage will reside to warn guests of entering the velociraptor enclosure. Alicia Stella of Orlando ParkStop suggests that the large tower on the structure could be a themed tower for the ride. It may even have a practical purpose as stairs or part of the tower control for the attraction.

This picture gives an idea of the insane amount of turns and twists the Velocicoaster will have. When track is installed, it will look like someone dropped a plate of spaghetti, and I mean that in the best way possible. @bioreconstruct suggests that the white steel where the arrow is pointing will be themed rockwork. With the numerous turns and changes in elevation, there may not be a lot of foliage in this area. The coaster theming may stick to smaller plants, rockwork, and themed steel and concrete. This will avoid anything getting too close to guests on the ride.

This shot showcases the new Raptor Encounter area. The arrow points to signage that is beginning to be installed for this section. Following the steelwork back, you can see the large grey building with the black raptor insignia painted on it. Based on the walls and pathway leading to it, it can be assumed this is where the raptors will rest when not meeting guests.

A positive of guests not currently in the parks can also be seen in this shot. Large trucks and construction workers can be seen on guest paths. That’s something that couldn’t have been done with the parks running every day. Universal will certainly never confirm, but it’s interesting to ponder if this downtime has actually sped-up construction efforts.

Hogsmeade borders Jurassic Park, and construction can be seen here as well. This smaller construction endeavor is rumored to be additional lockers for the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey attraction that’s located inside the Hogwarts Castle.

The arrow above points to one of many social distancing markers that are located in Hogsmeade. These particular marks are for the on-stage shows that take place in the land. They appear to be an aid for guests to know where to stand.

More social distancing markers can be seen at the outdoor vendors in Hogsmeade. These marks appear to be the same that we saw in Universal CityWalk when it partially reopened. Expect to see marks like these scattered throughout the park in areas where guests normally stand or wait.

Thanks to team member previews at the Universal Orlando Resort, we were able to get new views inside the park. This image is taken near the first launch where guests will soar into the first vertical turn.

And here we have an amazing shot of the set of over-water turns. This has confirmed our thoughts on the coaster taking the turns above the guest bridge. The turns are certainly sharp, angled and aggressive.

Finally, we get this view from Hog’s Head eatery in Hogsmeade, where we can see track going upside-down. This is a different angle of the over-water turns from the image before.

This virtual POV, made by AmusementInsider, is close to what we believe the attraction will look like. This may not be exactly what is built by Universal, but it is fairly close to what we have detailed above. This ride POV is not made nor endorsed by Universal and should be treated as a rumor.

Between construction projects and the parks reopening, Universal Orlando Resort is undergoing quite a lot. While we don’t know everything about the rumored “Velocicoaster,” this article is a culmination of our best guesses. Nothing is official until Universal themselves declares that it is. (But, we have been pretty good at guessing in the past.)

Either way, we are stoked for the future of Universal’s Islands of Adventure and cannot wait to return next month. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!