Erik Johnson Posted August 8, 2005 Share Posted August 8, 2005 We spent a half day at IOA today. On our first ride on The Hulk (around 6:00) we got into line for the front seat (about a 8-10 min wait). We both noticed that they only had two trains running at this time. They usually always have three going at the same time, but due to the lack of crowds, they must have been running only two. Anyways, after we sat down and got restrained on the coaster, one of the ride ops bent down and told my wife a secret. She had to promise not to tell anyone until the end of the ride. We then were dispatched and we had a really good run on the coaster. It just seemed slightly more intense than normal and we flew through the last brake trim before the last inversion. I turned to Leanne and told her that I thought we just ridden the best ride we ever had on the Hulk (mind you we probably have ridden this coaster around 50+ times). Then I asked her what was the secret the ride op told her. She mentioned that they slightly tweaked the ride to make it a little faster. When we came into the station I asked the ride operator how much faster the ride was on the trip we had taken. He said that the Hulk's speed is usually inbetween 65-67 mph, but for our car we were closer to 70-71 mph. I am not sure if this was a come-on...but it did seem to be faster than normal. We ended up riding the Hulk 4 more times and none of them were equal to the first ride we took for the day. Can people really notice a difference of 3-4 mph? I would not think so, but it was cool anyways. (Hulk now tied Sheikra for being the fastest coaster in Florida). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freestylenut Posted August 8, 2005 Share Posted August 8, 2005 That is awesome!!! Hulk is one of my personal Favorites & always will be, what a privilege. Â Now U mentioned the park had a "lack of crowds". Has the summer crowds truly waned?!?! Its a bit early for the parks, especially IOA, to be emptier. I'm surprised. I think it might be time to renew my AP & visit my fav park! Â Another thing...is what the operators did safe? Can pushing it another 4-5 MPH not mess up anything? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imhotep Posted August 8, 2005 Share Posted August 8, 2005 Ahh its funny you mention that!!! I went to IOA yesterday. Unfortunately I didnt ride hulk because it started raining by the time I got around to riding it, but I did notice something different. As you walk over the bridge heading toward MSI, Look up at the track. On the 0 g roll right out of the tunnel, I noticed what looked like a black cable running along the 0 g roll next to the box sectoin of track , and it stopped just right after the 0 g roll levelled out. Ive been to IOA plenty of times and I could swear I never saw this. It probably doesnt have anything directly to do with the launch , and Im not sure what it does. maybe a sensor or something. Anyone else see this? Or has it has always been there and Im just crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterfreak101 Posted August 8, 2005 Share Posted August 8, 2005 I've been to IOA twice, and that cable is ALWAYS there! Â Â Tyler "I'm not the only one going crazy" H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imhotep Posted August 8, 2005 Share Posted August 8, 2005 I went and looked for an older picture of the Hulks 0g roll and you are right, it has always been there. Stupid me should have checked the interweb first for a picture. Goes to show you can visit a place hundereds of times and you will always see something new! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Real Posted August 8, 2005 Share Posted August 8, 2005 The cable I believe you guys are talking about seems to be for a sensor, nothing more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redunzelizer Posted August 8, 2005 Share Posted August 8, 2005 [...] He said that the Hulk's speed is usually inbetween 65-67 mph, but for our car we were closer to 70-71 mph. I am not sure if this was a come-on...but it did seem to be faster than normal. [...] Can people really notice a difference of 3-4 mph? I would not think so, [...] FYI: G-forces are coupled to speed in a quadratic relation, so speeding up the Hulk from say 66 to 71 mph (wich is a quotient of ~1.076) will increase g-forces by about 15 - 16%. Of course, these speed difference will vary over the whole course, depending on whatever, so this is a very rough example of "cheapneez calculation". But IMO you should very well be able to feel that difference. Â redunzelizer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted August 8, 2005 Author Share Posted August 8, 2005 Actually thie summer had pretty decent crowds at IOA...esp on the weekends. We rode the Hulk after the big rain (at Mythos during the rain). I think a big part of the lack of crowds yesterday was that many of the central florida school age kids started school today. Busch Gardens seemed to be quite crowded this summer as well, but I understand yesterday's crowds were also lighter than previously (again due to school starting today). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoshiFan Posted August 8, 2005 Share Posted August 8, 2005 The crowds will probably pick up again soon. Since in a few weeks the northern states go back to school and people will be taking those week or two of summer vacation trips. We had planned to go to Orlando the last week of August and when we made reservations in Disney, the restaurants we wanted to go to were either completely booked or they had 1 or 2 reservations left. I expected that at Christmas but not at the end of the summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted August 8, 2005 Share Posted August 8, 2005 Am I the only one who doesn't believe this? Â It sounds to me like the rideop was joking with you. You might have perceived a difference due to any sorts of other reasons that can make a ride feel stronger or weaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Clinksalot Posted August 8, 2005 Share Posted August 8, 2005 ^ Especially after the "rumors" regarding Disney changing CA Screamin' without consulting Intamin. Â If they were going to change something wouldn't they need to consult B&M first? Test the ride, etc, etc, etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redunzelizer Posted August 8, 2005 Share Posted August 8, 2005 While it should be technically *possible* to trim launch speed a bit, it also could only have been some whitty "Ride Hypn-Op" doing an excellent job... 8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisFL Posted August 8, 2005 Share Posted August 8, 2005 ^ Especially after the "rumors" regarding Disney changing CA Screamin' without consulting Intamin. Â If they were going to change something wouldn't they need to consult B&M first? Test the ride, etc, etc, etc? Â I would say yes, but Hulk is unique in the fact that B&M didn't design the launch, only the coaster. Universal designed the launch system on their own. Â Still I'd expect that B&M would be consulted anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Real Posted August 8, 2005 Share Posted August 8, 2005 Am I the only one who doesn't believe this? It sounds to me like the rideop was joking with you. You might have perceived a difference due to any sorts of other reasons that can make a ride feel stronger or weaker.  Well, see he didnt know before hand. So he couldnt have ridden it thinking that, he had to come off then be told. Which he was and that could have triggered some sort of misinterpretation of the ride. However, the way it launches I could see it fluctuating a couple mph here and there. Plus steel rides can get a little faster or slower on any given day.  I remember riding BTR after the train was JUST rehabbed, it FLEW. It was moving around so quickly that the crew couldnt even keep the 2 train op moving at a decent speed. The regulars there definatly were noting a considerable difference in the train speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted August 8, 2005 Share Posted August 8, 2005 Also different senses (like how hot or cold it is, if you've eaten or not recently) can all make the ride feel different. Heck I've ridden Hulk and nearly blacked out thinking how intense and fast it was, and I've ridden Hulk thinking it was going to roll back it was so pathetically slow. All of that time it's probably only varied 1-2mph at most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagnumForce Posted August 8, 2005 Share Posted August 8, 2005 The midcourse off woudl make a big difference, but the launch being faster is way out there. Â This is like saying when it's really hot Millenium Force hits 100 MPH. Â To raise the speed of Hulk's top speed 5 MPH, you would have to add about 10 MPH to the launch, and I really don't see that happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted August 8, 2005 Author Share Posted August 8, 2005 After thinking about the situation, SharkTums is probably correct with the ride-ops playing a little joke. Come to think of it, one of the guys in the ride-operations booth was doing a Stevie Wonder impersonation while operating the ride. The ride-ops seemed to be have a really good time on both The Hulk and The Dragons that day. Yeah, I would think Universal would have to consult B&M before changing the Hulk's speed. I'm sure its in the contract for the coaster. Dragons Ice, which was our first coaster of the day, really gave me "butterfly stomach" on our first ride. So maybe I was just more sensitive to the coasters that day. Yes...there have been times I came close to blacking out (I see white!) on the Hulk during its cobra roll. Not one this trip though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScOtT k Posted August 9, 2005 Share Posted August 9, 2005 The crowds will probably pick up again soon. Since in a few weeks the northern states go back to school and people will be taking those week or two of summer vacation trips. We had planned to go to Orlando the last week of August and when we made reservations in Disney, the restaurants we wanted to go to were either completely booked or they had 1 or 2 reservations left. I expected that at Christmas but not at the end of the summer. Â I went to disney at christmas in 2004. There was no one there! I waited 20 minutes for rockin roller coaster all day! The parks were empty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterEricHP Posted August 9, 2005 Share Posted August 9, 2005 I used to work at Dueling Dragons and you could definately notice a difference in speed later on in the day.. and watching the ride in the summer and then in the winter.. it hardly looks like it's going to make it thru the circuit sometimes... we played with guests all the time making them think we were making it go faster, but in reality we dont have any control over the launch speed. Â I never worked at Hulk but if they control the speed of the launch or the trimming of the ride.. then i'd be realllyyy amazed. I don't think they can though. Â Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maliboomer Posted August 9, 2005 Share Posted August 9, 2005 I went to disney at christmas in 2004. There was no one there! I waited 20 minutes for rockin roller coaster all day! The parks were empty! Â Usually it is only unbearable on New Years Eve, Disney is very good at churning people through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterking Posted August 9, 2005 Share Posted August 9, 2005 Does DD have some type of propulsion at the top? I know an inverted usually wouldn't. But it felt like the speed increased faster like right away on the drop compared to the two Batmen and Alpengeist which are the 3 other inverteds I've ridden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted August 9, 2005 Author Share Posted August 9, 2005 There isn't any propulsion on DD....I just think its because the drops are higher as well as steeper than the other coasters. Dueling Dragons first drop (on both fire and ice) are really great (so is the rest of the coasters). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maliboomer Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 The speed of Dueling Dragons lift hills changes to suit the weight of the train so the fly bys are more close... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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