So Long, Jaws.

Besides hopefully missing the tourist madness that hit the Orlando theme park area during the holidays last week, anyone visiting Universal Orlando today got the opportunity to say goodbye to a classic attraction, as Jaws sailed its last Amity tour.  Based, of course, on the 1975 Steven Spielberg film, the Jaws ride took guests on a guided boat tour through the shark-infested waters of the film's island town of Amity. 

The attraction opened along with the park in 1990...and then promptly closed for nearly three years due to major technical issues that led to the ride being almost completely redesigned.  However, once the revamped version was up and running, it became those classic rides that you had to check out right after you finished riding Back to the Future and the Mummy rollercoaster. 

To commemorate the closing of Jaws, fans and Universal team members took the chance to share their favorite memories:

I loved the Jaws ride.  Yes, it was cheesy and scripted.  Yes, the shark looked fake (and that didn't stop me from screaming out loud when that damn thing popped up right next to my side of the boat once).  But it was fun, it was freaking Jaws, and you have to love any "tour" that involves your tour guide firing a fake shotgun at a fake shark:

I don't think I want to know how many Jaws fans ended their final spin on the ride today yelling "EAT THIS, YOU SON OF A BITCH!", although I'm pretty sure that doesn't happen when rides close at Disney World.

So what's replacing Jaws?  Universal hasn't officially said yet, but it's assumed at this point that Amity (the ride and the whole boardwalk-themed section around it) is making room for more Harry Potter stuff.  Plans that leaked this weekend on Theme Park Insider show designs for a Diagon Alley-type land, compete with a rollercoaster/simulator ride based on the Gringotts bank vault scene from Deathly Hallows Part 2.  It's also rumored that Universal will be building a Platform 9-3/4, where guests will be able to board a Hogwarts Express that will take them to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter over at Universal's Islands of Adventure.

But here's the really clever part:  the two parks, Universal and Islands of Adventure, require separate admission, so in order to see all of this Harry Potter awesomeness, you'll need to buy tickets to both parks.  So...that will end the days of people just buying tickets to Islands of Adventure to see the Harry Potter stuff.  Slick, Universal.  Genius, but slick.

As far as Jaws fans, they join Back to the Future and Kongfrontation fans forever in mourning over their favorite theme park rides at Universal's closing time today.  There is a little light at the end of the tunnel though...we are getting a blu-ray edition of the original Jaws film in August.