10 Things You Might Not Know About Universal Orlando’s Most Intense Rollercoaster

VelociCoaster is easily the most intense attraction at Universal Orlando. The coaster features two launches, four inversions, a 155’ tall top hat, and an 80° drop. Among these impressive stats, it also holds the title of the fastest launch coaster in Florida. The coaster also provides guests with multiple ride experiences. At the start of the ride, there are multiple twists and turns, as you dodge through the jagged rocks of the Raptor paddock. Afterwards, the track seemingly stretches out, giving riders a more leisurely, cruising feeling.

While all of these facts make up one truly incredible coaster, the ride also holds a number of Easter eggs, secrets, and lesser known facts. Join us as we journey to Jurassic World to study the apex predator of coasters and explore some of its most unique and interesting attributes.

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1. Dueling Dragons Reference

When Universal Islands of Adventure first opened on May 28th, 1999, it featured a dual-track inversion coaster called Dueling Dragons. This ride was themed around the battle between two elemental dragons – Blizzrock the ice dragon and Pyrock the fire dragon. The two tracks twisted and intertwined, which created the feeling of “near miss” experiences between the two coasters that launched simultaneously.

Besides the thrilling experience, Dueling Dragons was well-known for the two giant dragon statues that stood at the attraction’s entrance. The display showed the two dragons at a standoff. Blizzrock was on the left in a higher stance, with his mouth wide open and tongue out, while Pyrock was on the right in a crouched position, looking to be snarling back.

On the trail that leads to VelociCoaster, Guests are met by two raptor statues, which pay homage to the Dueling Dragons statues. While much smaller, these raptors are in nearly identical positions as Blizzrock and Pyrock. The raptor on the left, like Blizzrock, is in a higher position with its mouth wide open and tongue sticking out. The raptor on the right holds a similar crouched position as Pyrock.

2. Ripples in the Water

In one portion of the queue, there are observation windows where you’ll be able to view the VelociCoaster train zooming past with the raptors following close behind. Sitting next to one of these windows is a try. On it, you’ll see a clipboard with papers and a cup of water.

Pay close attention to the water in the cup. You’ll notice that it has a ripple effect, due to the powerful force of the coaster and raptors speeding by. This is a direct reference to the first Jurassic Park movie. In the infamous scene where the T-Rex is loose, the first sign of its presence are the ripples in the cups of water. As the T-Rex gets closer to the vehicle, the tremors become more powerful and more frequent.

3. Familiar Authors

As we make our way through the queue, we find ourselves in the Raptor Training Room. In this room, there’s a shelving unit which houses a number of training items as well as a few books.

If you take a look at these books, you’ll notice that we’re familiar with two of the authors – Dr. Alan Grant and Dr. Ian Malcolm. Both of these characters originated in the Jurassic Park films and returned in the Jurassic World trilogy.

Dr. Alan Grant’s book, Dinosaur Detectives, can be seen in the first Jurassic Park movie. Dr. Hammond’s grandson, Tim, carries the book around with him and even questions some of the theories that Dr. Grant expresses in it.

The other book, How the World Will End, was written and published by Dr. Ian Malcolm in Jurassic World: Dominion. It actually played a pivotal part in the movie, as it served as a reconnection piece between the original Jurassic Park characters, which ultimately led to the connection between the older and newer generation of dino enthusiasts.

4. Raptor Youth Training

On the same shelving unit, you can also see a number of training items. This includes the leather arm guard that Owen wore when training the young raptors as well as some toys that were kept in their pen. These items can all be seen in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

In the movie, video footage of the training that Owen did with the little raptors resurfaces. In the footage, we can see that Owen did an exercise where he showed the raptors weakness to see how they’d react. Most of the time, as soon as he lets his guard down, the raptors would attack. This is where the leather arm guard came into play.

When they’d attack, he could protect his face by raising his arm up and blocking them. With the leather guard on, he was able to protect his arm from their sharp teeth. The only time he didn’t need to utilize this, was when he was working with Blue. Rather than attacking, she showed concern and affection for him, which was one of the early signs of the strong bond between her and Owen.

When we see Owen working with little Blue, we can see a football, rubber ball, and a twisted tire ball in the background. These are the same toys that can be seen on the shelving unit in the queue. Take a look at the toll that the young raptors took on these toys. You’ll be able to see that they’re very worn out. You can even see teeth and claw marks on them!

5. Negative G’s

Samuel L. Jackson says it best in Jurassic Park. When you ride VelociCoaster, you’re going to want to “hold onto your butts”. Roller coasters have the capability of producing Negative and Positive G-forces. While VelociCoaster has both, it specifically has a large number of Negative G’s.

Negative G’s are achieved when your body is being pushed up. When this happens, your body feels lighter, which gives you a feeling of weightlessness. This feeling is achieved because blood is being forced up to your head, due to the push of gravity.

Because of the Negative G’s on this ride, you’re going to feel like you’re flying out of your seat, no matter what size or shape you are. This is done intentionally for a more thrilling experience.

This feeling is even more intense since VelociCoaster has a lap bar as opposed to a shoulder harness. Without the shoulder restraints, you’ll feel like there isn’t much holding you down while the Negative G’s are giving you the sensation of flying out of your seat.

6. The VelociCoaster Timeline

VelociCoaster actually takes place before the first Jurassic World movie. While you’re on VelociCoaster, you’re supposed to feel as if you’re visiting the Jurassic World park before it experienced its demise.

Hints to this can be seen within the attraction building. Along the walls in the locker area, there are posters for different rides and attractions that Guests can experience at Jurassic World. A few of these, such as VelociCoaster, Pteranodon Flyers, and River Adventure, are all real attractions that can be found in Universal Islands of Adventure.

The other two, Camp Cretaceous and Indominus Rex, are ones that will be coming soon to Jurassic World. As we know, the Indominus Rex encounter did indeed open up at Jurassic World. Unfortunately though, it didn’t end up working out well.

7. Universal Creative’s Gregory Hall

Gregory Hall, Universal Creative’s Art Director for VelociCoaster, can be thanked for the sleek looking ride vehicles. In an interview with Discover Universal, Greg shared that even Steven Spielberg, the director of Jurassic Park, had only nice things to say about the appearance of the coaster. Greg recalls Spielberg saying, “Stop. Is that really what the ride vehicle is going to look like?”. He continued by saying, “I absolutely love it! It looks so modern”.

VelociCoaster isn’t the first big name attraction that Greg’s worked on during his time with Universal. To note a few, he helped create the stylish new ride vehicles for the refurbishment of The Incredible Hulk Coaster as well as the first ever motorcycle and sidecar roller coaster ride vehicle, which was used for Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.

Greg not only helped with the design of VelociCoaster, he’s also part of the attraction! In the final stage of the queue, a presentation video is given by Claire and Owen. In one portion of this video, Greg can be seen behind Owen as one of the ACU (Asset Containment Unit) members.

8. Throwback to Triceratops Encounter

From 1999 to 2012, the Triceratops Encounter occupied the area where VelociCoaster stands today. This was a walkthrough attraction that featured three lifelike Triceratops. The dinosaurs were “sick” and under watchful veterinary care. This is why they were being kept in the paddocks where visitors could get an up close look at them.

The Triceratops Encounter was fully immersive. The area contained props of items that would be used to care for the animals, including the food that they eat. At the attraction, you would see white bags of food that read “Enriched Dino Chow”. One of these bags can be seen on VelociCoaster!

This is something that you’ll need to keep a close look out for or else you may miss it! After all, VelociCoaster is extremely fast. In order to spot it, it helps if you’re sitting on the right hand side. As you’re making your way out of the second inversion, you’ll be able to spot the bag of food on the ground, laying next to a building.

To get an idea where it is, you can watch this POV video. As the coaster is making its way out of the second inversion, pause the video. This will be at around the 19 second point. After pausing, take a look at the right side of the track. You’ll be able to see a white rectangle laying on the ground next to the grey building. This is the bag of dino chow! Make sure you try to spot it in person the next time you’re in VelociCoaster.

9. Up Close With the Mosasaurus

Many Guests don’t realize that they have a close encounter with the Mosasaurus while they’re on VelociCoaster. However, the 53 mph barrel roll that takes place over the lagoon is actually referred to as the Mosasaurus Roll.

As a reminder, the Mosasaurus is a giant, aquatic dinosaur. Many compare its appearance to a whale or shark. However, don’t forget, in Jurassic World we see the Mosasaurus make a quick snack out of a great white shark, which shows just how large and powerful it is.

Remember, when you’re on VelociCoaster, you’re actually in Jurassic World. So instead of going over the Universal Orlando’s lagoon, you’re going over the Jurassic World Lagoon, which is where the Mosasaurus lives.

10. Keep the Raptors Hungry

In one portion of the queue, you’ll be able to encounter two of the raptors in the Raptor Stable – Delta and Echo. This is an exciting part of the queue, because the animatronic dinosaurs look absolutely fantastic. You can even feel the dinosaurs breathing if you get close enough!

In this room, there’s a jar that’s labeled “Velociraptor Incentive Treats”. On the label, we can see that the treats are approved for all four of the raptors in the pack. However, it does specifically note that you shouldn’t overfeed the raptors. This is because the raptors are supposed to chase the VelociCoaster trains. (Remember how we can see them chase the coaster through the windows in the queue?)

The raptors would have no incentive to chase the trains if they weren’t hungry. They need to be on the hunt! That’s why it’s so important that they aren’t fed too many treats.