Universal Orlando Resort (USF, IOA, Epic) Discussion Thread

[Invertalon]

Just returned from our HHN trip... Did 4 days of HHN and ended up going through the houses a combined total of 46 times.

 

Insidious - 7

Freddy vs. Jason - 6

Walking Dead - 4

Wonderland - 4

25th Anniversary - 5

Purge - 5

Body Collectors - 5

Run - 4

Werewolf - 6

 

Overall the event was really solid... I liked the 25th Anniversary house best followed by probably the Purge, Freddy vs. Jason and Body Collectors. I didn't care for the 3D house much at all and I thought Walking Dead was pretty bad... Nice set but it is just so old at this point. Run was OK. Werewolf is a fun house, I enjoy it but since I had been in the other year its hard to really rank it with the others. I wish Body Collectors had more gore... It felt a bit weak in that regard for being what it is.

 

The carnage show was amazing. So well done! The zones were pretty good... Some really awesome people working their character. I didn't care for the steampunk zone (very, very weak), but the rest were good.

 

My only real complaint is that some houses felt a bit "thin" staffing wise. I felt like so many rooms could have used more energy by having another one or two people inside them.

 

I have a few hundred photos to go through and hope to get them up by the weekend... Including the lights-on house tour photos (we did both tours, so 6 houses total).

[scbt]

Not the best quality, but here's a video of some of the tracks being removed from Hulk.

 

[DJeXeL]

The scope of this project gets bigger....

 

 

[KarlaKoaster]

It's so weird seeing these pics. I'm not sure what I expected, though, it's just strange to see a roller coaster at the dump! So the bits of track they're removing... was that a particularly rough part of Hulk? It's been a while since I've ridden it. Just trying to get an idea of how much track they're likely to be removing. It's obviously not ALL the track because I guess otherwise they wouldn't have marked sections with tape. It also answers the question of whether they're replacing the sections totally or just reconditioning them.

 

It won't be long until there will be enough pieces in that rubbish pile to be able to build your own small B&M coaster

[DJeXeL]

Most likely portions that were getting stress fatigue and/or needing to be welded consistently. RRV @ SFMM has numerous spots where track has been welded. This leads me to believe we should be seeing some shipments of track on their way from Claremont Steel.

[KarlaKoaster]

Ah yes, that's a good point, I keep thinking obviously the ride has been used a lot and the rehab is from a rider comfort POV but of course there must be a lot of fatigue as well.

[A.J.]

Most likely portions that were getting stress fatigue and/or needing to be welded consistently. RRV @ SFMM has numerous spots where track has been welded. This leads me to believe we should be seeing some shipments of track on their way from Claremont Steel.

I thought that they were just gutting the whole thing and reconstructing it with new track and supports, as opposed to just certain sections.

[jarmor]

Is it just me or for the walking dead to be a top biller, it was the weakest house this year?

[cfc]

Is it just me or for the walking dead to be a top biller, it was the weakest house this year?

 

Wouldn't surprise me; then again, I'm over the whole "zombie thing."

[Garet]

Though the roller-coaster is not going away, and we've yet to see any B&M coaster be destroyed, are those the first ever used pieces of B&M track to hit the scrap pile?

[Dom497]

^Technically not....maybe. I know a piece of Parrot Coaster never left the factory (it was sitting in the back corner of the factory after the entire coaster had already shipped; you can see the track in some angles on Bing Maps) and one day just disappeared.

[necoastergp]

^Technically not....maybe. I know a piece of Parrot Coaster never left the factory (it was sitting in the back corner of the factory after the entire coaster had already shipped; you can see the track in some angles on Bing Maps) and one day just disappeared.

So used track then, yes?

[JRice92]

This is very interesting seeing what they are going to do. When the trains were in the scrap pile I wasn't surprised, I heard rumors of new trains. Now seeing track in the scrap pile I'm very interested in how extensive of a refurbishment this is.

[KPfan]

Most likely portions that were getting stress fatigue and/or needing to be welded consistently. RRV @ SFMM has numerous spots where track has been welded. This leads me to believe we should be seeing some shipments of track on their way from Claremont Steel.

 

Yes, that would be correct. Stress fatigue is the likely explanation. Track sections experience different types of stress depending on placement and design. Some are under constant stress that varies during the ride cycle. Other sections go from zero stress to load stress then back to zero after the train passes. This is why some sections wear out faster than others.

[scbt]

I would imagine that the track is probably reaching its breaking point, Hulk is one of the older B&M coasters and has been run pretty much non-stop since orlando pretty much has no offseason. I can't think of many other rides that have as much mileage on them as Hulk probably does. The only ones that probably come close are Kumba, Montu, and maybe Riddler.

[technfxrick]

So here is the real question. Now they are replacing the trains and a substantial amount of track, will it be a new credit....?

[kcurry11]

Same layout, same style trains (sit down still, even if they go floorless), I would say a no for this one.

[robbalvey]

So here is the real question. Now they are replacing the trains and a substantial amount of track, will it be a new credit....?

Who cares?

[robbalvey]

The scope of this project gets bigger....

To be honest, I expected to be replacing the trains and fair amount of the track (if not all of it), so for me at least, the scope of the project is about on par with what I expected. Anyone who has ridden Hulk over the last couple of years knows that it's probably become the roughest B&M coaster this side of Iron Wolf. I'm personally very happy about all of this. I actually really like Hulk a lot, but I've found it just not a good ride the last couple of times I rode it to the point where I don't think I've even bothered to ride it for the last year or so I've been at the park. This refurbishment is a welcome change, IMO!

[Superbatboy]

I can't think of many other rides that have as much mileage on them as Hulk probably does. The only ones that probably come close are Kumba, Montu, and maybe Riddler.

Well definitely Dueling Dragons/Dragon Challenge as well.

[Vigil]

So my roommate and I had been bantering over the past few days over how cool it would be to go to HHR. This has gradually turned into very tentatively planning it. We're grad students in Virginia, so if it were to happen it would involve driving the 12 hours down there on Saturday, doing HHR on Sunday (with the frequent scare pass...cheaper than the regular ticket), doing something (?) Monday, and driving back Tuesday. Now what I really need is people to tell me it's crazy and not to...but if it were to happen...anyone have any recommendations of really cheap hotels, tickets, things to do, etc?

[necoastergp]

So my roommate and I had been bantering over the past few days over how cool it would be to go to HHR. This has gradually turned into very tentatively planning it. We're grad students in Virginia, so if it were to happen it would involve driving the 12 hours down there on Saturday, doing HHR on Sunday (with the frequent scare pass...cheaper than the regular ticket), doing something (?) Monday, and driving back Tuesday. Now what I really need is people to tell me it's crazy and not to...but if it were to happen...anyone have any recommendations of really cheap hotels, tickets, things to do, etc?

**HHN

[Vigil]

Ah yes thanks. I guess I was thinking Universal and my mind confused HHN and HRRR.

[TCM]

As sad as I will be that I wont get to ride it when I go to Florida for IAAPA, I'm sure it will be much better after the treatment. I'm interested to see what they do with the trains/track.

[jarmor]

So my roommate and I had been bantering over the past few days over how cool it would be to go to HHR. This has gradually turned into very tentatively planning it. We're grad students in Virginia, so if it were to happen it would involve driving the 12 hours down there on Saturday, doing HHR on Sunday (with the frequent scare pass...cheaper than the regular ticket), doing something (?) Monday, and driving back Tuesday. Now what I really need is people to tell me it's crazy and not to...but if it were to happen...anyone have any recommendations of really cheap hotels, tickets, things to do, etc?

If you are driving, I would suggest hotwire.com. I sort by star ratings and get 4 star places near sea world for the price of a 2 star place closer to universal. You can't drive down fri? They have the rush of fear pass good for the first 3 weeks.