New: Raptors Encounter at Universal

When one visits Universal Studios Hollywood, one knows that they'll A) get a bit of sun and B) probably enjoy an ice cream cone and C) potentially run into a few dinosaurs bent on showing their big teeth.

It's just a fact that if you venture into the theme park's Jurassic Park -- The Ride you'll spy ancient reptiles of the menacing, claw-bearing variety. What you don't expect is to cross paths with a fearsome, scale-covered monster outside of the ride, which has, until now, been traditionally a dinosaur-free zone.

That's changing thanks to Raptors Encounter, the new experience located next to Jurassic Park. The encounter "pits guests in a daring face-to-face standoff with these terrifying, now free-roaming carnivores."

Eeps.

Good thing these particular Velociraptors come with their own entourage. These "highly skill handlers... adeptly guide them to within feet of the guests," says the theme park. Guests may be on the receiving end of "intimidating eye contact" from the beasts, which also produce "ear-piercing screeches." The Raptors also show their 12-inch talons and 56 "razor sharp, bone-crushing teeth."

Eeps again.

Clearly, all of the dinosaurs at Universal Studios Hollywood are not ensconced inside Jurassic Park. Now you even have to be on your run-from-a-Raptor toes as you're milling outside the ride, getting a bit of sun and enjoying an ice cream cone.

The Raptors -- and they're totally and completely real, right? -- are some impressively rendered creatures, cool cousins to the Saber-toothed Cat at the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits, at least in realistic spirit. If you've seen that puppet, you know how nifty -- and scary and realistic, too -- these new-to-Universal guys'll are.

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