I was re-watching Jurassic Park (1993) recently, trying to follow the characters' paths on a map, and noticed something a bit strange. Note this question relates to the film, not the novel.

Based on the Isla Nublar map found on the Jurassic Park Wikia (and others, as indicated below), when the group starts the tour:

  • They get in the electric cars at (1);
  • Enter the park gates at (2);
  • Go past the no-show dilophosaurus enclosure at (3);
  • Go on to the no-show T-rex enclosure at (4);
  • And finally stop next to the sick triceratops at (5) where they decide to head back to the Visitor Center because of the incoming storm:

enter image description here

Maybe it's just me missing something but wouldn't it have been a lot easier/faster from the sick triceratops (5) to just continue along the tour route back to the park gate (2), instead of going all the way back around via the T-rex enclosure (4)?

The reasoning above seems to hold when looking at other detailed maps of the film version of the island as well:

  • 4
    Is this map official? No such map appears in the original novel – BlueMoon93 Jun 12 '17 at 10:33
  • 1
    In the film, relative to the building don't they go the other way? – Max Hayman Jun 12 '17 at 10:34
  • @BlueMoon93 It's the map I found on the Wiki. It's labelled "movie version", which I assume differs from the original novel: jurassicpark.wikia.com/wiki/Park_Map – Flavvy Jun 13 '17 at 2:31
  • Maybe it's a dino-version of "One does not just walk into Mordor...." – PoloHoleSet Jun 30 '17 at 15:01
  • Hm.. Also at all times the cars are always facing the same direction within the T-Rex area (of course, until the hero attacks the cars). – Mikey May 8 '19 at 13:08

Firstly the map you provided only approximates the layout of Isla Nublar.

Here's what we see on screen...

enter image description here

As you can see they are not the same and there are some essential differences.

We get additional information regarding the layout of the various paddocks when the fences go down.

enter image description here Triceratops Paddock

enter image description here T-Rex Paddock

The position of the vehicles is somewhat inconsistent from the action on screen but is close enough.

There is no Dilophosaurus paddock shown on any of the screens but perhaps they are part of a larger paddock.

Is it shorter?

To your main point, it does appear, at first glance, that the distance from the Trike area back to the Visitor Center by continuing on the the anti-clockwise route is marginally shorter than just reversing the tour.

So, why don't they continue that way?

Well, we don't actually know but there may be a couple of reasons.

Firstly, we know that this is an inspection tour where Hammond wants the park seen in it's best condition.

Gennaro, the lawyer says...

Let's get something straight, John. This is not a weekend excursion, this is a serious investigation of the stability of the island.


Dashing through the last few bits of the tour would be rushed and Hammond might want to them seen at a more leisurely pace.

Secondly, we don't know what that route entails.

The area might be more dangerous in the middle of a storm than just turning around.

It could be shorter but still take longer for other geographic issues like rivers, hills etc.

Thirdly, and more likely....it's a mistake. The movie makers overlooked that the "return" to the Visitor Center was shorter than turning around or just ignored it for dramatic licence.

  • Thanks for your answer, @Paulie_D! That's good enough for me. – Flavvy Jun 30 '17 at 0:15

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