The Rebirth Conundrum: Does a New Movie Justify Another Billion-Dollar Dino Land?

Does a lukewarm movie justify a billion-dollar bet on a new ride? How a so-so sequel could reshape Universal's Orlando parks.

Well, it’s here. Jurassic World: Rebirth has roared into theaters on a wave of… well, a wave of something. Now that the opening day crowds have seen it, the box office numbers are trickling in, and the first reviews have hit the web, the theme park community can finally ask the question that really matters: So, when do we get the ride?

Let’s be honest, the moment a new Jurassic film gets announced, the executives at Universal Creative don’t see a movie; they see a master plan for a new E-ticket attraction and a line of themed lunchboxes. But Rebirth, which critics are kindly calling "a mixed bag" and less-kindly "overstuffed" with a "plodding first half," presents a unique challenge. The film, which opened today, sends a new team of vaguely defined mercenaries and an inexplicably shipwrecked family to yet another forgotten dinosaur island. It’s a perfectly fine way to spend two hours and sell some popcorn, but does it have the creative DNA to inspire a permanent, nine-figure addition to the parks?

The short answer is: maybe, but it’s complicated. And that, my friends, is where the fun begins.

Option A: The Islands of Adventure Bulldozer Approach

The most obvious, and frankly, most discussed path forward lies within the familiar territory of Islands of Adventure. The Jurassic Park section, despite the roaring success of the VelociCoaster, is showing its age. The beloved River Adventure is a classic, but its animatronics are getting a bit long in the tooth, and the storyline is firmly planted in 1993. The calls to give it the "Jurassic World" overlay that Universal Studios Hollywood received years ago have never quite died down.

But the most tantalizing target for a Rebirth-themed replacement is the land’s hulking, gorilla-shaped neighbor: Skull Island. Let's face it, Skull Island: Reign of Kong has always been an awkward fit. It’s a fantastic queue attached to a ride that heavily relies on screens and has a notoriously unreliable outdoor section. Fans have grumbled for years that the massive footprint occupied by Kong could be better used to expand the Jurassic offerings.

Imagine it: razing the ape’s temple and using that prime real estate for a new attraction based on Rebirth. The movie features a daring raid on an abandoned, overgrown research facility filled with "genetically altered freaks." This scenario practically builds itself. A dark ride, perhaps using the same trackless ride vehicles as Kong (or similar to the Jurassic World Adventure ride overseas), could send guests on a mission alongside Scarlett Johansson’s mercenary crew, navigating decaying labs and dodging some of the film's bizarre new dino-hybrids. It keeps the dinosaurs consolidated, reinvigorates an existing land, and finally gives the park a cohesive "Jurassic World" identity.

Option B: The Epic Universe Blank Slate

Then there’s the shiny new toy down the street. Epic Universe was built with expansion in mind, and eagle-eyed fans know there are plots of land just waiting for a blockbuster IP to call home. What’s more epic than dinosaurs? Universal’s new park currently has monsters, wizards, and plumbers, but it is conspicuously missing the T-Rex-sized hole that a dinosaur franchise leaves.

The problem, as even the film’s fans would admit, is that Rebirth lacks a truly iconic, park-worthy set piece. There’s no towering visitor center, no majestic gyrosphere valley, no Mosasaurus lagoon. Could you really build an entire immersive land around the idea of an abandoned convenience store and a cliffside nest? It feels a bit thin.

A Rebirth land at Epic would feel less like a fully realized world and more like an add-on. Without a strong visual anchor from the movie, it risks feeling generic—a jungle with a ride in it. While any new land is a good land, forcing a theme based on a moderately successful sequel with a forgettable landscape feels like a creative step backward for a park that’s supposed to be… well, epic.

The Verdict from the Amber Mine

Ultimately, Universal is in the business of making money, not just movies. If Jurassic World: Rebirth pulls in massive box office numbers, you can bet your last dollar that plans for an attraction are already being sketched on a whiteboard.

The smart money is on a targeted strike at Islands of Adventure. Replacing Kong with a fresh, modern dark ride based on Rebirth solves multiple problems at once. It placates the fans who want new Jurassic content, it fixes the thematic weirdness of Skull Island’s placement, and it avoids the immense pressure of creating an entire new land at Epic Universe from a film that simply may not have the legs for it.

So, as you watch these new heroes run from genetically-altered monstrosities on screen, just know that the real chase is happening behind the scenes, as Universal Creative desperately tries to extract a theme park-worthy idea from the cinematic chaos. Because in this world, if there's one thing that has proven more resilient and adaptable than dinosaur DNA, it's a theme park intellectual property.