Pteranadon Flyers (Re-opened Feb. 2025)

[JustLikeMe]

Pteranodon Flyers has been closed for months now with no official statement from Universal. Has anyone heard any rumours re what is going on, and if it will eventually reopen?

There was an interesting comment on a Reddit post on the topic a few months back that said…

‘Setpoint is a relatively small ride manufacturer, and since the 1990’s, they’ve been absorbed and absorbed again. Much like Seuss Trolly Train Ride, which ironically opened seven years after Pteradon Flyers, the original attraction construction is not the attraction that opened to the public. Severn Lamb, the original manufacturer of Sylvester McBean’s Very Unusual Driving Machines (the attraction that came before Trolly), would go out of business before the ride ever opened amid continued development stalls.

Pteradon Flyers, on the other hand, was originally developed by a company called SpectraF/X. This company, somewhat unknowingly to Universal, subcontracted much of the actual design work to a firm Caripro. Before construction could complete, SpectraF/X would go bankrupt and the project would be turned over to Setpoint.

Setpoint is a theatrical machine and automation designer. They only hold four roller coaster credits to their name, and only two of those are still operational. (Pteradon Flyer’s credits somehow belong to SpectraF/X). Setpoint still exists, but is a small division of JR Automation, which itself is a small division of Hitachi.

All of this is to say: This antique is a very niche ride with absolutely zero support. Anything that breaks on it beyond “basic hardware” is incredibly challenging to replace or repair, and often times requires dedicated machining and engineering for a single part.

It’s closed because a niche part broke, the part has to be reverse engineered to be replaced, and there’s honestly no timeline on how quick that could be. Caripro was bought by Vekoma, and Setpoint is still around so there’s some minimal support I suppose. Could be a few days if the engineers are good. Could be a few weeks. Early IoA attractions aren’t known for their longevity and maintainability. Many of them were built by firms that don’t explicitly design rides, but like USO next door, had some working partnership in the Studio Lot that made relationships for building rides. Not a good long term plan, but one Universal has learned from.’

But I can’t find anything more recent than the above.

 

[Brian G.]

Pteranodon Flyers has been closed for months now with no official statement from Universal. Has anyone heard any rumours re what is going on, and if it will eventually reopen?

There was an interesting comment on a Reddit post on the topic a few months back that said…

‘Setpoint is a relatively small ride manufacturer, and since the 1990’s, they’ve been absorbed and absorbed again. Much like Seuss Trolly Train Ride, which ironically opened seven years after Pteradon Flyers, the original attraction construction is not the attraction that opened to the public. Severn Lamb, the original manufacturer of Sylvester McBean’s Very Unusual Driving Machines (the attraction that came before Trolly), would go out of business before the ride ever opened amid continued development stalls.

Pteradon Flyers, on the other hand, was originally developed by a company called SpectraF/X. This company, somewhat unknowingly to Universal, subcontracted much of the actual design work to a firm Caripro. Before construction could complete, SpectraF/X would go bankrupt and the project would be turned over to Setpoint.

Setpoint is a theatrical machine and automation designer. They only hold four roller coaster credits to their name, and only two of those are still operational. (Pteradon Flyer’s credits somehow belong to SpectraF/X). Setpoint still exists, but is a small division of JR Automation, which itself is a small division of Hitachi.

All of this is to say: This antique is a very niche ride with absolutely zero support. Anything that breaks on it beyond “basic hardware” is incredibly challenging to replace or repair, and often times requires dedicated machining and engineering for a single part.

It’s closed because a niche part broke, the part has to be reverse engineered to be replaced, and there’s honestly no timeline on how quick that could be. Caripro was bought by Vekoma, and Setpoint is still around so there’s some minimal support I suppose. Could be a few days if the engineers are good. Could be a few weeks. Early IoA attractions aren’t known for their longevity and maintainability. Many of them were built by firms that don’t explicitly design rides, but like USO next door, had some working partnership in the Studio Lot that made relationships for building rides. Not a good long term plan, but one Universal has learned from.’

But I can’t find anything more recent than the above.

That sounds like a pretty damn good answer...

 

[Parkscope Joe]

That sounds like a pretty damn good answer...

Depending on the part or component needed the turn around could be months to over a year. Wouldn't be surprised if this gets replaced sooner than later because of this reason.

 

[JustLikeMe]

That sounds like a pretty damn good answer...

It does - but that was posted three months ago and no updates since and radio silence from Universal.

 

[Brian G.]

It does - but that was posted three months ago and no updates since and radio silence from Universal.

“and there’s honestly no timeline on how quick that could be”

They’re working on it and it’ll open when they fix it. That’s about as good of an answer as can be provided, unfortunately. Universal isn’t one to provide weekly updates on maintenance.

 

[UNIrd]

Or maybe it's time they scrap it and put something that more of us can actually experience in its place. They have a similar attraction I was able to ride in Singapore and now the one in Beijing. No reason we can't have something like that.

 

[Brian G.]

Or maybe it's time they scrap it and put something that more of us can actually experience in its place. They have a similar attraction I was able to ride in Singapore and now the one in Beijing. No reason we can't have something like that.

There’s actually several reasons you can’t… lol

 

[UNIrd]

There’s actually several reasons you can’t… lol

Can't have a ride like Pteranodon Flyers that doesn't have restrictions? By all means. Elaborate.

 

[Brian G.]

Can't have a ride like Pteranodon Flyers that doesn't have restrictions? By all means. Elaborate.

Well, a ride like USB can’t fit due to size, logistics, cost, etc.

A simple retrack to make it similar to USS is probably more feasible; but I don’t know if that’s on the forefront of necessity right now considering other areas of need.

 

[Ahmanet]

Pteranodon meet and greet should replace it short term , this land is too dominated by those spotlight hogging Raptors

 

[GA-MBIT]

Well, a ride like USB can’t fit due to size, logistics, cost, etc.

A simple retrack to make it similar to USS is probably more feasible; but I don’t know if that’s on the forefront of necessity right now considering other areas of need.

This would be an interesting option for them. If they were to rebuild it with the newer USS Swing Thing model, I wonder if we could see it be opened up for older riders? I've always assumed the age limitation for PF is more of a capacity fix than anything, and a way to prioritize ride access for its' primary demographic. But with that said, an extra two seats per car could help with that capacity issue haha! I wanna get on that thing again!

I agree though. Right now, it's unfortunately just another thing to get around to eventually. I really hope they end up fixing this thing sooner than later, it's a crazy niche ride system in a really prominent location with a great Triple-A IP attached. It'd be a shame to lose such a unique attraction to plain old entropy.

 

[ReelJustice]

Go figure. I finally have children, and now this thing glows away forever

 

[Viator]

I kind of hope if a version of the USS Flyers were to open; that they could find a way of interworking it with JPRA.

Would love to see the flyers go overhead the flumes in a way that'd add the island being more and more alive, even if it'd be more probably of a retrack than all else.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Go figure. I finally have children, and now this thing glows away forever

Send Mike Jr to the bismuth mines.

A simple retrack to make it similar to USS is probably more feasible; but I don’t know if that’s on the forefront of necessity right now considering other areas of need.

So did a quick rewatch on YT of the ride, the big issue will be load as that's designed for narrow ride vehicles. It is the same issue they had with Hulk and why it has the same train set up/restraints. I think they could probably use the same supports, just need to change from the weird ass iron angle track mount to something more traditional like a flange to support the heavier trains and more guests. Doubling the capacity feels doable.

 

[Rideguy70]

Caripro is the same company that made Spellbreaker at Legoland San Diego. That makes sense, because the rides are similar in that they're a single rail inverted. Spellbreaker had an elevator lift system, had two dueling parallel tracks, and the seating was different--akin to a 1 or 2 person suspended log flume car.

It literally lasted a year before it was removed, but I actually did get to ride it... one of my more rare credits! Still haven't made it on to Pterandon Flyers, though. Can't have it all.

 

[Freak]

Man I’m glad I was able to score this credit when I was 11 years old.

Don't know why they don’t just replace this with the suspended coaster from Singapore. Maybe capacity concerns, but at least it would be more “rideable” than this.

 

[GAcoaster]

They have bigger priorities than replacing this. I get everyone wants something new, with more capacity, but that would probably require major modifications to Camp Jurassic. Everything was built around the existing coaster.

 

[sonoma15]

They have bigger priorities than replacing this. I get everyone wants something new, with more capacity, but that would probably require major modifications to Camp Jurassic. Everything was built around the existing coaster.

Agreed, I kind of fear that to add a higher capacity ride they would have to get rid of some parts of Camp Jurassic, mainly the cave area since it butts right up against the station, and I wouldn't really want to see that happen since it's such a unique part of IOA.

 

[GA-MBIT]

Camp Jurassic is a superior experience without Pteranodon Flyers, than an expanded Pteranodon Flyers with a trimmed down Camp would be imo. I'd rather them just wait to see how they can custom order parts for the current model, even if that takes a long time.

 

[SkiBum]

Well, a ride like USB can’t fit due to size, logistics, cost, etc.

A simple retrack to make it similar to USS is probably more feasible; but I don’t know if that’s on the forefront of necessity right now considering other areas of need.

I could see them figuring out a way to fix the broken part as a bandaid solution and keep it running for the young ones while they get Epic up and running, Zelda under construction (hopefully), and the Rocket replacement underway.