This Universal Announcement Could Be a Game Changer for Islands of Adventure

Recently, Universal made a series of major announcements about the future of Islands of Adventure. After years of speculation, the company finally confirmed that the opening day land, Lost Continent, is finally closing for good to be rethemed. These closures include the park’s flagship Mythos restaurant.

With those major changes grabbing the headlines, another announcement slipped comparatively under the radar for some. One which may lead to the extinction (nope, couldn’t resist) of Jurassic Park as we know it.

In the midst of the Lost Continent announcements, Universal also confirmed that the Thunder Falls Terrace quick service restaurant in Jurassic Park would also be closing to make way for an “all-new dining concept that will become the park’s new signature full-service restaurant” to replace the aforementioned Mythos. That has, in turn, led to speculation that a version of Hammond’s is coming to Islands of Adventure.

For those not steeped in Jurassic franchise lore, Hammond’s — named after John Hammond, the mercurial founder of Jurassic Park, memorably portrayed by Richard Attenborough in the 1993 film — is a restaurant that sat at the heart of Jurassic World. While the establishment is only seen briefly in the 2015 film, it was used heavily in pre-release material.

Sidenote: Big theme park fans should definitely seek out the promotional material from the first Jurassic World film online, as Universal produced a great deal of in-universe material that mimicked a real theme park, complete with maps, attraction descriptions, hotel photos, and lists of all the stores and restaurants that called the fictional park home.

Fiction became reality in 2021 when a real-life Hammond’s opened as part of the Jurassic World Isla Nublar land at Universal Studios Beijing.

So, let’s circle back to Islands of Adventure. If Thunder Falls Terrace is turned into Hammond’s, it might not only be a new signature restaurant for the park, but it may also be a sign that the decidedly 1990s Jurassic Park Island — complete with its green, yellow, and red color scheme and tropical aesthetic — could be transformed into the modern blue and grey look of Jurassic World.

While a restaurant alone may not be proof of this, it’s arguably one in a line of clues. For starters, there’s VelociCoaster. First opened in 2021, the coaster has become one of the most popular rides in all of Universal, and dominates the skyline of Islands of Adventure. It’s also decidedly a Jurassic World attraction. It’s set within the timeline of the recent film trilogy, features characters including Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), and features the aforementioned blue and grey aesthetic.

There’s the matter of the Jurassic World River Adventure. While the Orlando version of the ride still retains its Jurassic Park-era theming, its west coast counterpart, Jurassic Park: The Ride, was rethemed to Jurassic World: Ride in 2019. In the 7-years since, many have assumed it’s only a matter of time until the Orlando version receives the same overlay/retheme.

Of note, the River Adventure is currently closed for a long refurbishment; however, reports indicate it’s not being rethemed at this time.

However, if the River Adventure is eventually rethemed, it would make a second Jurassic World-themed E-Ticket paired with the VelociCoaster. Those two, plus the presence of the hypothetically Hammonds, would certainly go a long way into turning the whole land into a Jurassic World-themed area.

While there’s no concrete proof as of yet that Jurassic Park is turning into Jurassic World, a potential addition of Hammond’s to the land may prove to be another clue that it could happen one day. Stay tuned to AllEars for further speculation on the future of Islands of Adventure.

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Would you like to see Jurassic World come to Islands of Adventure? Let us know in the comments below.

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