The Complicated History of JAWS at Universal Studios Florida

JAWS Resurfaced

JAWS resurfaced at Universal Studios Florida on Oct. 1, 1993, with an opening ceremony featuring Spielberg and some of the original film’s stars.

The experience started off the same way as before: Guests passed through the Amity Island area, celebrating the Fourth of July. The festive town circle still led to a hanging shark photo op where countless families made memories for decades.

According to the backstory, this was the “real” Amity Island; Spielberg’s blockbuster film was just an overblown retelling of the town’s infamous shark attacks from 1974. Amity’s tourism fell on some economic hard times after that incident, but the best and only Captain Jake’s Amity Boat Tours was turning that around.

The JAWS queue went through the rustic boathouses of Captain Jake’s Amity Boat Tours with nautical decorations and some authentic props from the movie like Chief Brody’s jacket.

Hey There Amity!

In the queue, a 50-minute video played local programming called Hey There Amity!. The channel played ads for Amity’s local business plus Ocean Spray, an early sponsor of the ride. The video also had some talk show segments with the “real life” counterparts of the Jaws characters. The “real” Mayor Vaughn was denying shark incidents, the “real” Hooper was defensive about his portrayal in the movie, and someone claiming to be Quint said he survived the attack.