How It Worked: JAWS The Ride 

Did you get to ride Jaws or the even rarer 1990 version? Share your memories below. 🙂 Support these videos: patreon.com/amusementlabs

I can’t be the only person who’s had nightmares about falling off this boat and seeing a bunch of mechanical sharks surrounding me

The live actors/actresses is the best part of this shows. Always grade A performance

I was a Skipper from 1995 to 1997. I have so many good memories of working on this ride. Summers were brutally hot and Winters would be pretty unbearable at times. My biggest fear was always falling in the water in the part @9:35. That scissor lift could potentially grab you and drag you underwater, crushing you. That was one of the reasons a giant "Emergency Stop" or "EStop" button was installed. We were also equipped with a cord that would pull the EStop if we happened to fall in the water. In addition to all of that, we had to be water safety trained. It was a fun job for a college kid.

With Universals’s new park, Epic Universe, opening in the near future, I feel like they should bring this ride back for the 50th anniversary of Jaws. New tech advancements would make it even more fun and scary!

I went in this ride 12 times in a row one day on my birthday and wanted to be a skipper my whole childhood, I memorized the entire script and would mouth it along every time until it closed. Rip I’m luv u jaws

When I was a kid, this was THE ride. Universal really did have the most ambitious rides back then and Jaws was the top of my list. Now the wife and I are passholders and I still relive the nostalgia, even if Ghostbusters, Kongfrontation, Earthquake, and Jaws are distant memories of my childhood.

For everyone that got to ride this your a legend!

The fire was so intense... I can still feel it today.

This ride traumatized me as a child. I wish I could experience it again

“The 1st of the eight sharks” is all I needed to hear they went all in on this attraction

man imagine how many times this skipper of of this ride and jungle cruise have to reenact over and over during their shifts, daily, weekly, monthly. props to these performers and BRUCE!

I’ll always remember riding this with my family! One of my favorite pictures of my now passed dad is him smiling on this ride. :)

It’s kind of sad to see complex practical effect attractions like this going away. Dark rides will never capture the same experience of actually seeing, hearing and feeling things actually happening before your eyes. I still vividly remember feeling the heat from the gas dock explosion on this ride.

Propane fire effects? Now that's a clean burning set piece, I tell you hwat. - Hank Hill

I can still feel the intense heat on my skin when the gas station blew up. Absolutely loved this ride! It was the highlight of my 13th birthday back in 1996

I’m a Harry Potter fan, but I really miss Jaws. This was probably my favorite ride at Universal; I always made sure to ride it at least once when I was there.

I rode this ride when I was around five years old and my dad purposefully sat me right on the edge of the boat conveniently forgetting to tell me the shark was not real. I was so scared by the end of the ride I almost started crying.

We still have Jaws the Ride in Japan

This ride was a lot of fun. You knew the shark was coming but still jumped a little when it happened kinda like the Pillsbury can🤣

The wall of fire was always really cool. That said, underwater machinery combines all of a person's worst fears. Electrocution, being crushed, and drowning (which is already a combination of suffocation, heights and a bit of the fear of the dark). Water rides are the ones that people need to be the most careful around.

Can you do a video on how Revenge of the Mummy works?

Most underrated theme park channel! I’m currently interested in theme park engineering and this is by far the best “how it works” channel. Keep it up!

Back in July 97, we queued for over 4 hours to get on the ride, well worth it, I was "lucky" enough to be directly in line with Bruce when he bit the power cable, got some great photos!

Went on this in the very early 90's, maybe 91/92. It was working. Possibly the best holiday I've ever had, to this day!

Fun fact: my father in law was part of the engineering team that broke the ride down in order to make room for Diagon Alley. The feeling of betrayal for my husband was strong 😹

From 2000 to 2004, I was in highschool and a member (cocaptain) of the cheerleading squad. Every year, we would go to National Competition that would take place at Disney, Orlando Florida. After the competition, we always had 3-4 days to roam the parks and do whatever. I made sure to ride this ride _every single year_ that I went. Oh, the nostalgia! I can't believe they did away with it, but times change and they have to keep up with new attractions, etc. ♡

This ride was very immersive for its time. Loved loved loved it! The emcees made the experience incredible. I miss this one!

When the travel ban goes away you can always come to Japan and ride it over here!

Wow! The first incarnation looked really good. The shark looked great!

Found your channel after riding Flight of Passage in November of last year. I was really curious about how it worked and found a literal GOLDMINE in your channel! It's clear how much attention and detail you pour into each of your high-quality videos, and I appreciate it a lot! I still cannot believe you ONLY HAVE LESS THAN 50K SUBS??? WHAAATT?!?!? I will be sharing your channel with all of my friends. Keep up the good work!

You should make one of these for the King Kong ride too. That one scared the shit out of me as a kid

THANKS I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO RIDE BOTH RIDES IN CALIFORNIA AND FLORIDA. IF I CAN PULL OUT THE VIDEO I TOOK OF THE 1ST ONE IN CALIFORNIA I WILL TRY TO UPLOAD IT GOD REST BOTH RIDES.

As an adult, I rode this in the early 1990’s and loved it. It felt quaint and nostalgic for the Jaws movie I had a wonderful time.

The most ambitious ride show ever devised.

Jaws. It work reliably (pause) almost never 🤣

Dang, i would have loved to go on that ride before it was gone.

I remember how long the wait was for this ride back in the 90s when I was a kid. Same with King Kong. Too bad kids these days will never experience these kinds of rides again.

Rode it in 1994, my one and only time. So sad it is now gone

I had the privilege of going on the Jaws ride and I loved it!

Glad I saw this. This was one of my favorite rides as a kid. Those damn buckets broke my moms hearing aid and soaked us in the boat house. Rip to her. This was our ride. I’m glad they kept Bruce hung up by the earthquake ride. Still sad it’s gone though:( even though my husband and I LOVE diagonally

My mother was on the first team at Universal in group sales so I went often and remember both versions of this ride and it was always a favorite. There was a time during the first version where the shark didn't pop up like he was supposed to so they sent us around again only for it to still fail. The third time it popped up only to go back down like a whack a mole in the water. I remember that we all joked about it being the Jaws trilogy ride. That was back when you would hear rides closing due to technical difficulties. Kong and Earthquake had similar issues. I miss the old rides and shows, even Funtastic World of Hanna Barbara, Hitchcock's Art of Making movies, and even the Murder She Wrote show. Those were the days!

My favorite ride of all time! That damn fire 🔥 FEELS LIKE HELL!!!

Imagine being the boat Captain and having to reenact The jaws experience every six minutes 😳 Can you please do one about king Kong? I remember walking in there as a little kid and it literally smelled like New York.

I had the pleasure riding this ride! And i truly miss it!!! I also rode the old Kongfrontation and Twister. I miss all these rides! I wish universal had a special backlot to put these old rides where we could ride them again....but i know thatd impossible!!

HERES BRUCE!!!! i rode this ride several times as a child and young adult never got old just because the ride was so mechanical i loved it!!

I have never been more scared in my life. Went on this when I was like 9 Extremely scary. I can remember the fear to this day lol.

This ride singlehandedly gave me submechanophobia, when I was a kid I wanted to avoid it at all costs because my imagination of what lie below the water didn't do me any good

finally made the video I've always wanted you to make!! love this video, keep up the great work!!

i just wanted to thank you for bringing back some great memories. i maintained and painted all of those sharks for over a decade. The Jaws crew was always the best and most hard working crew in any ride on Universal property. And as someone who was out in that filthy ride track in the middle of the night trying to scrub the mold and river slime off and keep their teeth pearly white it makes me feel total joy for all the love this ride still. June 1990-Jan 2021 " We needed a bigger boat"

Rode Jaws in mid-August 1993 for the 1st time. Had no idea the version I rode was only a few months old!!! Rode it once annually for the next few years. It was fun and I got soaked and scared when Bruce surfaced right next to me on a few of those rides!!

Sad thing is, an attraction of this scale could feasible work using modern water dark ride or water coaster-like system.

We were there the first day it was open to the public. There had been a private opening the day before for executives and celebrities. When we were there, NOTHING worked except E.T. The shark was hanging limp out of the lagoon. Everybody there was given a freelifetime pass. Fortunately, when we came back 4 years later, we got to ride it!

Took my kids to DW in 01...they were 9 and 6...huge Jaws fans. It was like an outer body experience watching my kids excitement experiencing the Jaws ride. Had a blast...

I cant believe it has been 10 years. I feel like I just rode this not long ago. Time flies!

Great video. Got to ride jaws and loved it.

Hey. My jaws behind the scenes video footage is on there. Sweet. I went on the original version once when it was working. Of course I forgot to bring my video camera.

I miss this ride I remember riding it when I was a kid in like 93 and it terrified me at first but went back a few times later in life and loved it more and more. I feel so lucky to have been able to experience all the old rides including jaws!

Definitely a classic. Glad I was able to experience

I remember when I was a kid in the early 90’s, and wanting to ride it and it was down for repairs. I did get to ride it some years later several times and glad I got to experience it. Easily one of the most memorable rides I’ve ever been on, and arguable one of the best. After watching this video it’s easy to see why it broke often… so many moving parts, water, hydraulics etc. Lots of things that can break.

1993. I still remember it as if it was yesterday. Thanks for this.

My parents took me on this ride as a kid growing up in the 90s. I was a fairly tough kid and there wasn't much that scared me but oh man how I totally freaked out on this ride. The boat house was when my panic started to set in bc it was dark inside it and by that time we were already being "tracked" by the shark. However when we got out of the boat house and we trapped by the ring of fire, with the shark then lunging at the boat, I totally lost it. For some reason my young brain by that point had completely forgotten it wasn't real and was just a ride lol. I remember experiencing the same kind of panic on the Earthquake ride when the diesel truck fell/slid toward our ride and the place began to fill with water. I look back on it all now very fondly and I am so happy I got to experience those rides. Rides nowadays (for the most part) at Universal Studios are such a let down and not thrilling.

I miss this ride i always had to sit at the edge of the boat to see Bruce!

I remember seeing Jaws at universal studios LA in 1980 and it's still going strong.

I have NEVER subscribed to a patreon but every video you post pushes me closer and closer

I experienced this ride in 2003 & 2006 as a kid. Great memories of a unique ride.

The jaws attack almost gave my little brother ptsd

I was very fortunate and got to go to a special media day event that was held prior to reopening it to the public. I got to also ride the Earthquake ride. Both were awesome! I had the best time. I was really sorry to see it go.

Never got the chance to ride this in Orlando and Hollywood has only one scene during the Studio Tour but I was fortunate to ride this attraction in Japan.

Not only did I ride the original (everything miraculously worked!) we snuck around back to watch the meat machine reset. :)

I love the video. I rode on this in 2002. Everything seemed to be working fine. Lucky me! There was a little girl, with her father, on our boat. She was just freaking out as the sharks attacked. Her father was calmly saying "Remember we talked about this. It is all just pretend." But then the shark came over, the boat rocked, the water canons fired, and she started screaming again. The skipper just carried on like nothing was happening. A very rememberable ride.

When I was a senior in high school, our class went to Universal Studios Florida (this was in the spring of 1993). The new Jaws ride was nearing completion but not up and running at the time, so alas, I never got the pleasure of going on it...

This is a great video, thanks for posting it. I was a kid and me and my dad went to the park the summer it opened in the early 90’s. Stood in line for the Jaws ride for two hours only to be told they had to close it due to technical issues. The Kong ride wasn’t operational either. They did give us tickets to the park that were good for several years if we wanted to come back. Unfortunately I never got to, but it has been cool to watch the videos people have shot video of the ride after they worked out the technical problems :)

It's a disappointment the early 90s JAWS ride didn't work properly. It had the most realistic looking shark.

Great video! My parents dragged me on this ride when I was 5 back in 95 during our trip and thats why I have a deep fear of the ocean and sharks

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS CHANNEL! Just subbed! I love this!

I count myself lucky, as a child we travelled from UK to USA and went on the 2nd incarnation of the Jaws ride and it brings back memories seeing this. Thanks!

I had the chance to ride it several years ago shortly before it closed. It was fun. Great video, thanks.

This is one of the few rides I remember from when I went in 1998. We had a decent sized group (it was a youth trip), we had already went around once and met up with another part of our group and decided to ride again, we knew where we were supposed to scream, and we all did, we startled the lady so much she almost fell in. She anticipated it on the next turn, but we had a fun time with it!

I’m actually very curious to how backdraft works. It was incredible seeing it! The fire is definitely real.😉

I remember riding the version of this that existed in California with my parents back when I was 7. Immediately before we came up along the water's edge where the shark lunges at you, I started FLIPPING OUT, going full-on small child meltdown and forcing my mother to switch seats with me mid-ride. Minutes after we completed the switch the shark animatronic came lunging up beside the ride...directly next to where I would have been sitting, had I not thrown a temper tantrum.

Well done! By far your best and most professional video yet!

I have never been there, but the possibility of riding Jaws was the only reason why I ever wanted to go! Oh and the King Kong one.

My mom worked at universal growing up and this was my go to ride every time. I went on it like 20 times

This was the reason i wanted to go to universal back in the early 90's, loved it, id had books and magazines on universal as a kid so was a dream come true.

That was one our lead techs at the end with his wife.

I just wish they could make this ride as an inspiration to make jaws 5

Sick man great work!!!!

Finally a photo of the underside of the boats 👏👏👏 fantastic job ☺️ and great video 👌

Great video dude!! I definitely got to ride it when I was younger so I’m glad I got the credit before it closed.

Another wonderful video! Some terrific details and history. I was the show director for the second (1993) iteration, and spent many long hours driving in circles around that lagoon with Marc Plogstedt, the programmer from ITEC. It was an insane experience, but it's good to know that people still remember the old Amity boats so fondly...

awesome video! I saw this ride in CA around 1988/89 i think, and Japan/osaka in 2015. Always great!

Classic ride! This was so fun as a kid!

I’m 13 and never got to ride this however I would’ve loved to have ridden it. I spend most of my time watching videos of this ride and LOVE learning more information about it. I have no idea why I’m so passionate about this ride but I just am

Universal Epic Universe Is Opening Next year so get Hyped for it Amusement Labs.

Fabulous video, thank you so much

This video is amazing. Thank you for the insight.

Definitely worth subscribing to after this gem 💎! Absolutely brilliant and informative 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

Caught this ride 3 times. Nostalgia at its finest

Awesome video 👍🏼