For most stateside theme park goers, Universal’s Jaws ride is a thing of the past. Once a staple of Universal Studios Florida, the ride closed there in 2012 to make way for the expanded Wizarding World of Harry Potter. There’s one place in the world, however, where you can still ride it, and that is Universal Studios Japan, a.k.a. USJ.
From Tiger Shark to Great Whites
In USJ’s Amity Village area, you’ll see the familiar tiger shark from Jaws (the one the movie fishermen mistake for the true great white) strung up out in front of the ride. The tiger shark itself has survived in the San Francisco area at Universal Studios Florida, but at USJ, there’s still a ride building behind it, too, with a big red sign in the Jaws font.
Jaws was our first ride of the day on our first trip to USJ in December. We rode it again in January, and both times, one of the great white animatronics appeared to be down. The only other thing I could figure was that maybe they just rotate which sharks pop out of the water, so guests don’t always know when they’re coming and they have a different ride experience each time.
Jaws: The Revenge at Universal Studios Japan
The first time we rode Jaws, we were sitting on the left side of the boat, toward the middle, and we could see the great white breach the surface before the gas dock went up in flames, as it usually would. At the end of the ride, though, where the shark should have come out of the water again with a power cable in its mouth, there was only a rainbow over the water, followed by some explosive spray. I could see the animatronic shark underwater, but it never came up.
The second time, we were seated on the left again, but at the very back of the boat. This time, the shark in front of the gas dock never appeared, but the one chewing the power cable did.
The robot shark, Bruce, in Steven Spielberg’s Jaws was notoriously plagued with technical difficulties (as was Florida’s first Jaws attraction), but not seeing the shark works better in the movie than it does on the ride. I’ve seen Jaws ride videos shot at USJ (like this one from Attractions Magazine) where the shark appears on the left three times (and once on the right, in the darkened boathouse), so it was disappointing on our first go-round to feel like we weren’t getting the full ride experience.
After doing a revenge ride (as if living the movie sequel, Jaws: The Revenge), I felt a little more satisfied that we’d had enough shark sightings. Both times, we had a good, up-close view of the part at the end where the shark is rendered toast—much like Florida’s Jaws ride.
The Amity Landing Restaurant
The Jaws ride lets out by the Amity Landing Restaurant, which serves things like Shark Meat Nuggets and Cream Soda Swiss Rolls with blue shark fins. The jury’s still out on whether it’s real shark meat in those nuggets. They tasted kind of fishy, both literally and figuratively.
One of the last things we did at the end of our first day at USJ, before leaving for the night, was to stop back by the Jaws tiger shark photo spot on our way out of Super Nintendo World. It’s easier to get a quick picture with the shark near closing time, when there are fewer people lined up for it.
We’ve talked about visiting Universal Studios Japan again next year when the new Donkey Kong area opens, and if we do, I’d like to give the Jaws ride one more whirl, maybe sitting on the right side of the boat this time, even though it offers less of a chance for shark sightings. Until then, happy shark hunting.