The History of the Iconic Universal Studios Jaws Attraction

Summer is the best time to revisit Steven Spielberg's first summer blockbuster, Jaws (now available from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment). Released in 1975, it kickstarted a film franchise and even theme park expansion at Universal Studios Hollywood.

When the Jaws experience was added to the Universal Studios Tram Tour in 1976, it became a huge hit with moviegoers and tourists. Plus, it provided the park designers proof of concept that if Universal built more complex rides and experiences into their backlot tour, guests would show up in droves.

With the summer theme park season underway, SYFY WIRE decided to take a look back at the history of the Jaws backlot experience, which was launched just one year after the movie's huge success. Today, it's still an integral part of the Universal Studios Hollywood Studio Tour and a separate attraction at Universal Studios Japan. 

Looking Back on the History of the Jaws Experience at Universal Studios

Universal Studios Hollywood's Jaws Lake in 1996. Photo: Universal Studios a

Back in the '70s, Universal Studios' Hollywood Tram tour took visitors around the working Universal lot, where they could experience live stunt shows and a look behind the scenes at special effects. When Jaws became a runaway hit for the studio, they decided to incorporate some of the actual sets and props into the tour experience. Using the location of Singapore Lake, which featured a live "storm experience" featuring a wave machine and a wind machine, the studio built a faux, mini version of Amity Island around the lake. 

Renamed "Jaws Lake," the studio sought the talents of special effects artist Robert A. Mattey, who created the animatronic sharks for Jaws and the ride technology for Disneyland's Jungle Cruise ride, to give tour participants a breathtaking Jaws-themed experience. The tram would ride into the lake area where the Amity Island poster featured in the movie would welcome guests into the recreated town. Inside the lake, they placed the actual screen-used Orca boat and fisherman Ben Gardner's partially sunken boat. 

In the first iteration of the Jaws experience that opened in April 1976, tram riders witnessed Gardener in a small boat fishing in the lake, and John Williams' ominous score was played. Inside the lake, a shark fin would rise, then knock Gardner's boat into the water, which then turned blood red. A yellow barrel would then pop up showing the location of the great white until it pulled a small dock away from the landing, just like in the movie. Then the shark would leap out of the water in front of the tram and travel down the length of it to the very end, scaring passengers. Unfortunately, the Jaws shark itself came out pretty wonky, with too many teeth and a less than terrifying silhouette.

Even with the too-toothy shark, the Jaws portion of the tour became a huge attraction, paving the way for the future additions of the King Kong experience and the Earthquake experience as part of the tram tour. 

By the end of the first year of the Jaws experience, the shark was given some dental work to focus just on a single line of scary teeth which improved his overall menace.  In the late ‘80s, a new round of refurbishment took away the dock scene and replaced it with a gas station on a pier that would be attacked by the shark. It allowed for an impressive pyrotechnic element to be added to the experience, which blew flames near the riders and amped up the physical stakes. And then in 1986, the removal of the screen-used Orca caused a big stir when Spielberg found out about it after the fact. 

With no fanfare or communication, the Orca was just thrown out and a piece of movie history was lost. Of course, no one was thinking of the future value of these sets and props. At that time, they were just rotting materials that needed to be taken away for safety reasons. 

In the '90s, there was a complete overhaul of the shark and its mechanics, which remains the same Jaws shark that current Universal Studios Hollywood Studio Tour riders experience today. Also at that time, the fisherman in the middle of the lake was replaced by a police scuba diver who gets taken down in a bloody, bubbling attack. Plus, more intense fire effects were returned to the experience. Then in 2005, Ben Gardner's prop boat was taken out of the lake and destroyed because of the decomposition of the wood. 

Universal Studios Hollywood's Jaws Lake. Photo: Universal Studios

Also in 1990, The Jaws Ride opened as separate experience at Universal Studios Florida. As there is no tram experience at the Florida theme park, Universal built a free-standing Jaws ride. Leaning on Mattey's water ride technology, guests loaded into a tour boat guided by a narrator/skipper from Amity Island that would show you the sights until a shark attack interrupted the "fun" for everyone.

The first iteration of the ride ended up having a lot of technical issues so it was completely overhauled by a new design company for a relaunch in 1993. In 2012, the entire Amity Island section of Universal Studios Florida was closed to make way for the Diagon Alley expansion of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

In 2001, a new iteration of the stand-alone Jaws experience opened. It features similar theming as the revamped Florida ride, with pyrotechnics and animatronics that happen in the water around visitors inside a boat near Amity Island. It continues to operate to this day.

You can find more information about visiting the Jaws attractions at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Japan. The entire Jaws movie collection is now available from Universal Studios Home Entertainment!