The natural disaster that almost destroyed ‘Jurassic Park’
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Visit Kualoa Ranch, the Hawaiian filming site for ‘Jurassic Park’, ‘Pearl Harbor’ and more
In 1993, Steven Spielberg capitalised on the success of Jaws with another blockbusting natural horror movie. The first film of the Jurassic Park franchise yielded over $914million worldwide during its original theatrical run as it became the highest-grossing film ever at the time, a record that was broken in 1997 by James Cameron’s Titanic. Spielberg appeared to get just about everything right with Jurassic Park, from the casting to the filming locations.
While much of the filming for Jurassic Park could be coordinated from Warner Bros Studios in California, they required a setting fit for dinosaurs for some of the outdoor scenes. The crew considered tropical locations in the banana-friendly climates of the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica but ultimately decided to remain within the United States and flew their equipment out to the scenic yet tempestuous setting of Hawaii.
While in Hawaii, the crew filmed the majority of the scenes on Kauai, the fourth largest island in the state. It was here where they were unfortunately caught out by Hurricane Iniki, a category four storm with whipping 145 mph winds that almost completely ruined the set. Despite this major setback, brave crew members emerged from shelter to film shots of the heavy wind, rain and waves that buffeted the island that autumn to use in the final production. The scenes of the actual storm can be seen in the film as the workers on the Isla Nebular attempt to flee the park before the storm hits.
While in Hawaii to film the deep green, tropical scenes, Spielberg and his crew visited one of the state’s most popular filming sites, Kualoa Ranch on the island of Oahu. The picturesque 4,000-acre private nature reserve sits at the base of a prominent, imposing hill range approximately 24 miles north of Honolulu.
Spielberg used the site first for the famous Gallimimus chase scene, which was originally planned for Kauai, but after the hurricane difficulties, they decided to relocate. After falling in love with the site, crews returned for the filming of 2015’s franchise revival, Jurassic World.
The tourist hot spot has also been host to countless other blockbusting films and TV programmes, including Mighty Joe Young, 50 First Dates, You, Me and Dupree, Hawaii Five-0, Magnum P.I., Pearl Harbor, Windtalkers, Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island, Jumanji, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Snatched and Lost.
With such a rich history of filming fame on the ranch, it has become an unmissable attraction for visitors to Oahu. With a prime focus on Jurassic Park, the ranch offers a two-and-a-half-hour ‘Jurassic Adventure Tour’, which takes film buffs to the iconic filming sites across the Hakipu’u and Ka’a’awa Valleys, where some elements of the set design still stand. For a more generalised tour, the ‘Hollywood Movie Sites Tour’ takes visitors around the sites of over 300 Hollywood productions with options to traverse the vast area via UTV, zip-line, bicycle, and even on horseback.
For those worried that Kualoa Ranch might be consumed by its history of Hollywood affiliation, the park offers much, much more. With a border to the sea to the east, the ranch boasts its “Secret Beach”, where visitors can either relax in a hammock sweeping over the perfect sands beneath a palm tree or set off to sea on a glass-bottomed boat, kayak or paddleboard.
Elsewhere, you can take a deep expedition into the dense rainforests or immerse yourself in Hawaiian culture by participating in the Malama Experience (Malama is the Hawaiian word for preservation or protection). The two-hour tour is described on the ranch’s website as an “eco-adventure” where participants will “learn about how important Kalo was to the Hawaiian people for sustenance and its cultural tie-in to Kualoa.” The activities include “thatching of traditional Hawaiian hale (grass huts) … assisting with cleaning, planting, harvesting the Kalo (taro) … or mālama of the laʻau lapaʻau (medicinal plants).”
In 2018, Kualoa ranked number four on Trip Advisorʻ’s list of ‘Top Trending Worldwide Attractions’, even managing to beat Disneyland, which was ninth. So whether you’re a fan of Jurassic Park or not, you will find plenty of activities to keep you occupied on Kualoa Ranch. Visit the Kualoa Ranch website here.
