Jurassic Park Visitors Get Soaked Twice

A record number of riders endured hourslong lines and dinosaur-sized hype Friday to make “Jurassic Park--The Ride” the most successful attraction ever to debut at Universal Studios Hollywood.

On its opening day, the highly anticipated water thrill ride had crowds lining up outside the theme park at 5:30 a.m., 2 1/2 hours ahead of schedule.

“The last time we saw a lineup like this was for our Star Trek attraction. All the Trekkies came out,” said Jim Yeager, a theme park spokesman.

By early evening, park officials estimated that 20,000 riders, or 2,000 an hour, had gone through Jurassic Park, despite occasional mechanical problems that temporarily shut down the ride throughout the day.

That was the “most successful attraction opening” in the park’s 32-year history, Yeager said.

The Weber family of Agoura Hills--dad Jay, daughter Sheri, 20, son Corey, 23, and nephew Mitch, 13--waited three hours Friday afternoon to get on the 5 1/2-minute ride. But by the time they got off, drenched with spray after the 84-foot water drop that provides the ride’s finale, they agreed Jurassic Park was worth it.

“It was wild. The drop was so steep it felt like I couldn’t breathe,” said a grinning Mitch Weber.

Both Mitch and Corey Weber said that the 16 dinosaurs featured in the ride looked realistic, including the life-sized Tyrannosaurus rex that swooped down on their boat. “This is the closest we will ever get to real dinosaurs,” Corey said, adding that he was glad his family got to experience the ride on its opening day.

“No one has been on it yet to tell you what it’s like and ruin all the surprises,” he said.

One potentially tough critic was Carrie Webster, 17, of Reno, who had already seen Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park” movie “hundreds of times” and read the book on which it was based. “It was tastefully done, the whole thing, from the ferns to the dinosaurs,” Carrie said.

After getting off the ride, swamped survivors were whisked in the direction of a second attraction with a big bite: an enormous souvenir store selling Jurassic Park T-shirts, Jurassic Park caps, Jurassic Park pins, dinosaur action figures and the most useful novelty, Jurassic Park towels.

Posted above the store’s entrance just steps away from the ride’s exit were three screens with images of the last, open-mouthed riders caught in stop-motion video just before the ride’s final descent. Inside the store, passengers could purchase photograph copies for $11.

“I like the idea of having the pictures, but this is a little too commercial,” Jay Weber said, waving to all the Jurassic Park merchandise.

The ride was five years in the making and cost $110 million. Universal Studios executives who mingled with the crowds were therefore pleased to hear the enthusiastic responses of park patrons, Yeager said.

“It’s like delivering a baby and all the executives are in the waiting room,” Yeager said. “You want to hear the baby cry to know it’s working and then everyone wants to take credit for how cute the baby is.”