The Complicated History of JAWS at Universal Studios Florida

“The Shark is Not Working”

From a guest perspective, JAWS was a well-received ride. It left riders screaming, laughing, and cheering along the action-packed journey, complete with a good payoff at the end. It was an ambitious ride, but that ambition was also the cause of its major issues and malfunctions.

In the early days of Universal Studios Florida, JAWS was often closed. The ride would typically operate only for a few hours on a regular day before going down for maintenance—if the ride were even open that day to begin with. Maintenance crews worked on the attraction over many nights to make it operational for the next day. The underwater mechanisms caused frequent issues. After a bit, Universal Studios Florida stopped promoting the ride to avoid disappointment.

One of the leading causes of the ride’s problems was the attack scene. The turntable effect had two synchronized elements—the boat and the shark—which moved independently. This effect relied on accurate timing by the skipper, which happened inconsistently. The boat and the shark in that case would not connect, causing a very awkward and anti-climatic scene at best. Plus, the precision of multiple moving parts was made more complicated with the resistance of water.

The animatronic also had real shark teeth, which fell out if bumped by the boat. People are afraid of shark teeth, not gums. This not only made the shark look silly, but the bumps also could have damaged the boat.

The low success rate of this effect was only part of the issue. Park executives were well aware of the ride’s pitfalls and were quick to consider possible adjustments. Leadership, including Steven Spielberg, rode JAWS to evaluate what repairs were needed. In case it hasn’t been obvious, it was a lot.

JAWS had been nearly inoperable, limping along with its lingering issues. Universal Studios Florida, following its rough opening day, had been able to sort out the technical issues at other major attractions, such as Kongfrontation and Earthquake. JAWS, however, had too many complicated issues to overcome.

The inevitable happened on Aug. 22, 1990, just over two months after opening: Universal Studios Florida closed its anchor attraction, JAWS. The ride was shuttered for further evaluation and repairs.

Pointing Fins

Lawsuits for a ride this problematic were inevitable.

The first lawsuit happened while the ride was in operation. A 39-year-old guest fell into the water after his lap bar allegedly broke. The lagoon was fairly shallow in most areas except for the deep pits for the animatronic sharks; unfortunately, that was where the guest fell. The skipper reacted quickly by pressing the emergency stop button, which immediately shut down the ride and its effects. The guest was pulled back into the boat with no serious injuries. The numerous reports of this incident tell inconsistent details about what happened, some stating the other guests thought it was all part of the show. After the incident, the guest sued Universal Studios for $1 million, claiming negligence and poor maintenance.

The other lawsuit came after the ride closed. Universal Studios Florida took a huge loss by pulling the plug on JAWS. It was a $30 million investment plus the millions of additional dollars it would take to get it properly up and running. So, Universal Studios opened a 40-page lawsuit against the ride’s manufacturer, Ride & Show Engineering. Universal claimed poor workmanship and a defective design, such as underwater animatronics that were not fully waterproof.

The manufacturer defended that the park rushed development. The unrealistic deadlines resulted in key effects not being tested underwater before being installed on the ride. Having enough time to test prior to installation may have prevented malfunctions. The ride was also designed to operate in filtered water; Universal Studios allegedly mixed clay into the JAWS lagoon to make the water murky and hide the underwater mechanisms. However, the clay caused complications to the underwater equipment.

The chief executive of Ride & Show Engineering commented that Universal Studios wasn’t experienced enough to properly maintain the ride.

“Basically, Universal didn’t have any experience with a ride like this. If we had built something like this for Disneyland, Disneyland maintenance would have taken it over and made it work.”

— Eduard Feuer, chief executive of Ride & Show Engineering

The two sides settled out of court in April 1991. Universal Studios moved forward.