I don't want to say goodbye. I can't remember the first time I went on the ride, but I do remember I was terrified of going on it . The shark plus the flames were enough to put a young tot like me runnning for the hills. I remember watching the old video with John Forsythe and seeing the flames from the Jaws ride in the vid. I thought the boat actually would sail right into the flames and burn up. I remember the old ads with the shark eating up the boat, I thought that was really going to happen. It all seemed larger than life to me. I was terrified, but somehow I did eventually go on it and a love affair was born.
I made sure to ride Jaws numerous times whenever I would go to USF (one day I actually rode it 14 times!!!!), I memorized the Skipper spiel (one of my dreams was to be a Jaws Skipper one day, was going to apply sometime this year for a position) and still act it out in my home today. If I had to choose my favorite lines they would have to be: "Wait...you mean these things are actually loaded???" and "WE'RE THE BEST and only scenic cruise on the island". My favorite scene? Hard to say honestly, the whole ride is just tops!!!! I'm going with Amity 3's wreck/the first fin.
One of the things that kept me coming back was the theming, not just of the ride but of the whole Amity area as well. Once I step under the Amity 4th of July Celebration banner it's like I am actually in the REAL Amity Island. From the boardwalk games (Amity is the only area where the games actually fit into the established theme), to the little shops, to Nathans, to Captain Jake's Town Square....everything fits perfectly into the area. I always enjoyed getting to soak up the atmosphere of Amity while I was in the area, of the town and of Amity Boat Tours queue line as well (YES, there is tons of theming in the queue itself, tons of little knick-knacks in the waiting line that are fun to look at), the WJWS Hey There Amity video also helped to firmly establish the storyline of the ride (if you actually take the time to watch it). I still stand by my statement that Amity was the best themed area in USF, and it's sad that we are losing it.
As you can imagine, I was shell shocked to learn that Captain Jake's/ Jaws would be closing down forever. At first I thought it was some kind of sick joke (I first heard about it on the official Jaws Facebook page), after Universal made the announcement the reality of the situation first started to set in. I felt sick. On the 3rd of December I created my own Jaws Fan Forever T-shirt and ran to USF to catch what would end up becoming my final tours around Amity Island. I said a personal goodbye to the Bruce Photo-op that night and went home and cried. A part of my childhood and a ride that helped to inspire me would soon be gone forever.
I would end up becoming a part of what some people called Captain Jake's Army. I wrote to Universal (and received what was essentially a copy-and-pasted response), posted numerous things about the ride's closure and encouraged people to fight on Twitter and Facebook, I signed petitions...in short, I fought for a good 30 days. Naturally, my efforts were in vain... Jaws would still met its end. Now, all I can hope for is for Uni. to salvage some ride props, hopefully place the Bruce Photo-op somewhere else in the park.
I used to have vivid dreams about the Jaws ride, that's how much the ride had imprinted itself on my psyche. I must have had at least 5 dreams about it, probably more. I hope I will continue to dream about it, that way I can continue to take Boat Tours even while the ride is gone. I will miss the Jaws ride and Amity Island very much, and will probably think about them every time I pass by their replacement. The memories that were made for me there will last a lifetime, I know I will never forget them. So, sail into the sunset Captain Jake's and Jaws....You were the BEST and only scenic cruise on the Island and I Love You. CHOMP CHOMP