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

P. 625: Harry Potter Ministry of Magic revealed!

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So I went to the park today to shoot some video of test rides. Alas, they were not testing!

 

But I did take some pics and most importantly the t-shirts are already for sale!

 

Sorry for the quality. I took stills with my Insignia digital camcorder.

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And the non-looping loop!

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Still an awesome view

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I love how they re-lined the street to make way for the coaster!

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And the official RRR shot glasses

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T-shirt 7

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T-shirt 6

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T-shirt 5 (I like the retro 80's vibe on this one)

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T-shirt 3 and 4 BACK

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T-shirt 4 FRONT

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T-shirt 3 FRONT

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T-shirt 2

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T-shirt 1

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There was a train in the station. See it towards the back.

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See?

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The epic fail is fail no more!

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High as an airplane!

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The walls are down around the back turn so you can get some close up shots.

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Im pretty sure the cars dont leave the station regardless of whether people have boarded or not, some people not in wheel chairs may take longer than that to board.

 

Your statement is very peculiar.

 

LOL...I miss you Piers.

 

Anyways, a 23 second dispatch interval is entirely possible, especially with the people-moverish type system. Madness dispatches every 17-18 seconds if you time it out. And there are basically 2 cars cleared to leave the station at any time. Another 5 seconds to check two more rows isn't expecting TOO much.

 

And like Piers said, the trains won't leave if the Guests aren't ready. It won't be hard for them to hold a train from dispatching.

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King_K, thanks for those photos! That is an angle of DD that I have never seen before... in a picture that is. (I think.. is it from the lift?) I would love a full size copy of them to put on my desktop at work! I have been making the new coasters/additions my desktop for inspiration!

 

I feel that even though there are changes with all the HP stuff, from update to update, I almost can't recognize the new stuff. LOL.

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^I'd probably say it's even a safe thing to guess that the trains will be capable of knowing if all restraints are down and locked so that it can stop the train itself in the event of running out of station before everyone is in properly. And if a person in a wheelchair wants to ride, I'd take a guess in saying that they will probably just stop a train towards the end of the station so that they can load easier and then once they are in, continue with their day. No need to worry whether they will have enough time or not to load.

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Nice pics!

 

I'm also a little bummed that Hogwarts looks to only be a very glorified ride building. But at the same time I have no doubt that whatever is in that building is going to totally rock

 

All dark rides take place in "glorified ride buildings." If the castle is just a facade, what difference does it make? You can still see the inside of Hogwarts through the attraction itself.

 

Have you ever been on the Haunted Mansion and thought to yourself "It's really a shame that the facade isn't real. This would be so much better if I were in an actual mansion?"

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1. The ride looks absolutely amazing. I can't wait to see this in operation.

2. I'm really hoping the new People Mover-style line works. I'm getting the feeling that some riders would have trouble using the restraints, hesitate getting on, etc... and holding back the trains.

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2. I'm really hoping the new People Mover-style line works. I'm getting the feeling that some riders would have trouble using the restraints, hesitate getting on, etc... and holding back the trains.

 

Wouldn't there be some form of "instructional video" in the queue line to show everyone how to get on the ride? Like on Jurassic Park?

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^^Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but during loading isn't it similar to say, Peter Pan in which you step onto a moving walkway early on and you move at the same speed as the train. This removes that hesitation that's seen on some rides that you have to step into a constantly moving train while standing still.

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^I think you might of missed the point they were trying to make. Instead of Hogwarts being the facade of the main ride, they wish there was an actual section of Hogwarts Castle that they could walk through. Obviously, you wouldn't expect to see every nook and cranny of it, but like the main hallway with some fake stairs and such. Kind of like the Disney castles that you can walk through.

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Yeah, I just thought it would have been cool to have something more than only a ride in Hogwarts. Something that everyone (riders and non riders) could walk through and see some different parts of the castle. Plus a "great hall" full service place would have been great!

 

But looking at the model (currently on Screamscape I think) it looks like there's an attraction entrance.. and exit.. and thats it.

 

I'm not knocking anything about what they've done so far. I think its great! But you have this concept that COULD have more fanfare and worldwide interest than the opening of the actual Islands of Adventure park itself, and I'm just starting to wonder if one new ride, a few rethemed rides, a few new stores, and a quick service food place is going to do the Harry Potter insanity justice.

 

Again.. I'm not hating! Just raising a point. I guess my main point is I hope they leave some room for the future..

 

Edit-

http://www.wizardingworldharrypotter.com/?page_id=8 has some awesome pictures of some Hogsmeade facades and Hogwarts stuff! Looks sweet!

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Those facade photos are awesome! I bet it's going to be a challenge to get those transported. I don't understand why they're building some things off site, although I'm sure it works into the plan somehow. The construction seems to be quite extensive, too much so to just be samples.

 

Have you ever been on the Haunted Mansion and thought to yourself "It's really a shame that the facade isn't real. This would be so much better if I were in an actual mansion?"

 

Haunted Mansion works to me because it's easy to imagine yourself within the building facade. Obviously you couldn't fit the whole ride inside the mansion, but rooms like the one where you go past the large glass window that can also be seen from outside, add to the illusion. (I don't know a better description for that room, sorry)

 

Point being, that is a very large building in both footprint and height. I think it would be exceptionally easy to accommodate rooms inside that could resemble what is seen on the outside that we the public won't know about until Universal deems it time to make an announcement. It doesn't make much sense to build a giant structure when they could have saved money by building certain sections higher as need be. Let's trust that Universal will deliver on an excellent experience.

Besides, when the general public comes to the park and sees "Hogwarts" they are going to be mightily disappointed if they find out they cannot go inside. I sure would be.

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^Well there's a large difference in the number of people that can ride on each of those rides. I think due to the larger number of guests riding HRRR, loading would be significantly easier if the station had the people mover keeping the people moving at the same speed as the train.

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I forgot to post a link to the full interview:

http://www.thecoastercritic.com/2009/05/interview-designer-of-hollywood-rip-ride-rockit.html

 

There's a little more about why they chose Maurer and the on-ride music videos. I wish I could have gotten a tour of the station. Obviously it was a construction zone, but I was able to get into Maximum RPM last year while they were working on it.

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I don't know if anyone has tried this before, but I downloaded google earth and tried to get the same perspective that is shown in the owl's eye view mock up that universal published. Google earth says this was the look of the area as of October of 2006, and I tried to match up the angle from everything I have seen in construction photos posted here and then from the mock up picture itself. I saw in one of the construction photos that the archway entrance is being built by "the frozen desert" and found that on the google earth map, and it matches up pretty well, IMHO, to Universal's mock up. Let me know what you think and if this gives anyone new ideas!

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Universal's mock up

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A replica of the owl's eye view from google earth

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Another more accurate angle I think. I tried to add in the pushpins and titles so it shows more accurately the comparisons between the two.

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This one has some of the focal points from the original drawing pointed out in the place they would be, if I got this angle right. (I hope I did.)

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Cool stuff cutebutpsycho96. The only thing I am enlightened about is really how there is no more room for expansion and everything is laid out nicely.

 

Looking at that wonderfully large version of the owl's eye view, and connecting the name with the architectural models we have seen earlier... the Owlery looks structurally like it is meant to divide the path. You can see most people have gone to the left of the building, but a good many are walking along the right, and apparently down a ramp to a small building. I have no idea what that is.

 

Perhaps King_K can post that picture of the owlery so others can tell what building I'm talking about?

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