PACKING A PREHISTORIC PUNCH : JURASSIC RIDE ROMPS 'N' ROARS.Byline: Reed Johnson Daily News Staff Writer Caroline Squires brought along an expert Saturday to help her gauge the authenticity of the new $100 million Jurassic Park ride at Universal Studios Hollywood. Her dad, Richard Squires, a paleontologist at Cal State Northridge, was especially impressed by the imitation trilobite trilobite (trī`ləbīt'), subphylum of the phylum Arthropoda that includes a large group of extinct marine animals that were abundant in the Paleozoic era. They represent more than half of the known fossils from the Cambrian period. fossils etched in the walls outside the snack bar. The scientist, from Santa Clarita, said his only regret was that he didn't get a better look at the tyrannosaurus Tyrannosaurus (tīrăn'ōsôr`əs, tĭr–) [Gr.,=tyrant lizard], member of a family, Tyrannosauridae, of bipedal carnivorous saurischian dinosaurs characterized by having strong hind limbs, a muscular tail, and short rex because his glasses had fogged up. Both he and Caroline declared themselves mightily entertained. ``That's one ride that won't be extinct for a long time,'' he said. Scores of voracious paparazzi pa·pa·raz·zo n. pl. pa·pa·raz·zi A freelance photographer who doggedly pursues celebrities to take candid pictures for sale to magazines and newspapers. and dozens of toothsome celebrities turned out to preview the theme park extravaganza, which will open to the public Friday. Director Steven Spielberg, actor Jeff Goldblum - both of ``Jurassic Park'' movie fame - and retired Gulf War Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf led the parade of sun-baked visitors hoping to be the first on their block to be attacked by a robot velociraptor Velociraptor (vəlŏs`ĭrăp'tər) [Gr.,=swift robber], swift bipedal carnivorous dinosaur of the late Cretaceous period. It was relatively small, being approximately 6 ft (1.8 m) long. . Also in the mob were 10 area kids and their parents, including the Squireses, who offered to help the Daily News critique the Spielbergian spectacle. Like the other guests, they endured long lines and an 84-foot drop in pitch darkness - the gasp-inducing climax to the 5-1/2-minute raft trip. Though reactions to Jurassic Park - The Ride varied, the most common was ``awesome,'' closely followed by ``cool'' and ``scary.'' ``I was so scared,'' said Andrea Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. , 15, a Granada Hills High School Granada Hills Charter High School (Granada Hills High School) is a public, charter, co-educational, secondary school consisting of students in grades 9-12. The school colors are green, black, and white. sophomore who came with her brother Evan. ``I learned one thing out of this ride - don't eat before you go on it.'' A water-logged Kristin McCoy seemed to concur. ``When you go down the waterfall, you can't breathe and your heart stops. It's weird,'' said the Camarillo seventh-grader. Joey Manella, a 13-year-old from Chatsworth who'd brought his cousin Vinnie Pellegrini from Chicago, bestowed the ultimate compliment: ``It makes Splash Mountain look like road kill,'' he said, referring to Disneyland's popular aquatic attraction. By any standard, Jurassic Park is a masterpiece of marketing and crowd control. A cleverly designed waiting area, built to accommodate 3,000 people an hour, keeps the human traffic flowing constantly, even though it can take up to 90 minutes to actually get on board one of the 25-person rafts. Once you've survived mist-enshrouded Stegosaurus Stegosaurus (stĕgəsôr`əs) [Gr.,=roof lizard], quadriped ornithischian dinosaur of the late Jurassic period. About 29 ft 6 in (9 m) long, it had short forelegs, four long bony spikes on a flexible tail, and two rows of upright Canyon and that long, vertiginous ver·tig·i·nous adj. 1. Affected by vertigo; dizzy. 2. Tending to produce vertigo. vertiginous adjective Related to vertigo, dizzy drop, the helpful staff leads you out through the gift shop, past $18 T-shirts and $200 baseball jackets with the Jurassic Park logo. In addition to serving as a three-dimensional plug for Spielberg's 1993 big-screen blockbuster, Saturday's event also helped benefit the Starbright Foundation, which links seriously ill children at hospitals around the world and lets them cavort ca·vort intr.v. ca·vort·ed, ca·vort·ing, ca·vorts 1. To bound or prance about in a sprightly manner; caper. 2. together in cyberspace. Certain scenes from the ride appear to have sprung to life from the pages of Michael Crichton's best seller, and the Daily News previewers gave the animatronic robots high marks for realism - with one or two exceptions. ``The first two dinosaurs sucked!'' complained Brad Stone, 17. ``They didn't suck!'' replied his friend Matt Spero, 18, a classmate at El Camino Real High School El Camino Real High School (also known locally as "ECR" and by some more recently as "ELCO") is a public secondary school located in the Woodland Hills district of the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, California. . ``Yeah, they did! You could see where, like, the head was separated from the body.'' Nevertheless, when last spotted, Brad was heading off to take the ride again, and he says he'll return after graduating Thursday. ``Friday morning, I'll be here, first in line,'' he said. CAPTION(S): 3 Photos Photo: (1--color) Adventurers previewing Jurassic Park - The Ride ogle o·gle v. o·gled, o·gling, o·gles v.tr. 1. To stare at. 2. To stare at impertinently, flirtatiously, or amorously. v.intr. animatronic dinosaurs Saturday in the 5-1/2-minute trip. (2--color) A velociraptor drops down on unsuspecting ride-takers at Universal Studios Hollywood. (3) Retired Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, front center, and ``Jurassic Park'' film star Jeff Goldblum, behind and right, splash down at ride's end. David Sprague/Daily News |
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