Jumpin' Jellyfish
| Jumpin' Jellyfish | |
|---|---|
| Park | Disney California Adventure |
| Land / area | Paradise Gardens Park |
| Type | Paratower |
| Opened | February 8, 2001
|
| Height req. | 40 ft (12 m) |
| Status | Operating |
Jumpin' Jellyfish is a Paratower, a parachute jump-style tower ride, in Paradise Gardens Park at Disney California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. Two kelp-themed towers carry riders in jellyfish-shaped vehicles that rise slowly into the air and then drift back down in a series of gentle bounces. It is a child-scaled counterpart to the tall drop towers found in many theme parks, designed to give younger guests a floating, under-the-sea sensation rather than a freefall.[1]
History
Jumpin' Jellyfish opened with the park on February 8, 2001, as one of the original Paradise Pier attractions. The ride hardware is a children's parachute tower built by Intamin. Two towers were installed rather than one to double capacity, since each tower carries only six two-person vehicles.[2]
The attraction was developed at the same time as a sister version for Tokyo DisneySea in Japan, where a ride of the same name opened on September 4, 2001, inside Mermaid Lagoon, the park's Little Mermaid-themed land. The California and Tokyo rides share the same basic mechanism and jellyfish theming; in California the theme stands on its own as an undersea garden beside Paradise Bay, while in Tokyo it forms part of Ariel's world. The pairing reflects the two parks being designed in parallel at the end of the 1990s.[3]
Jumpin' Jellyfish survived the park's billion-dollar expansion of 2008–2012 essentially unchanged, at a time when several of its Paradise Pier neighbours were rethemed, removed or rebuilt. It was reportedly considered for removal during that programme but was retained. When Paradise Pier was divided in 2018, the ride fell on the Paradise Gardens Park side of the boundary, opposite Pixar Pier, keeping its original 2001 appearance alongside the nearby Golden Zephyr.
Experience
Guests board a two-person bench seat beneath a translucent jellyfish canopy, which serves as the "parachute". The towers themselves are wrapped to resemble strands of kelp in an underwater forest, and painted sea creatures decorate the ride area at the edge of Paradise Bay. A lap belt secures riders; the minimum height requirement is 40 inches (102 cm).[4]
Once loaded, the jellyfish rise about 40 feet (12 m) — the towers stand roughly 50 feet (15 m) tall in total. At the top the vehicle pauses briefly, giving a view over Paradise Gardens Park and the bay, then descends in a sequence of soft, bobbing drops rather than a single fall, rising partway and sinking again as though drifting on a current. The full cycle lasts about a minute and a half.
The scale is deliberately modest. The park's former Maliboomer, a 180-foot tower ride that once operated nearby, required riders to be at least 52 inches tall; Jumpin' Jellyfish offers the up-and-down tower motion in a form aimed at children who have only just cleared its lower requirement. The ride may close early on nights when World of Color is performed on Paradise Bay.