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

[DATman]

I'm kind of shocked that Universal hasn't made some sort of announcement about the state of the ride.

[Homeboy23]

^ I'm not. They never set an official opening date so it has "technically" never been delayed.

[ryno1986]

Actually, it says Spring 09 on all the posters around the park. Since we're halfway through Summer, it has officially been delayed.

[dewthedew]

New sid vinyl video on youtube

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8xVybObveo

[HELIXJ]

I got the same e-mail

 

I thought the same thing

 

Dissapointed

[RctInfinity]

I love Syd Vinyl's videos. They're a great way to promote.

[sam06pr]

New sid vinyl video on youtube

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8xVybObveo

 

lol that was great

[Fenderbabi14]

was eating lunch at a restaurant and saw a glimpse of a news topic that was about rollercoasters, HRRR was its feature, showing the test runs of the coaster, but I couldn't hear what it was about unfortunately =[

[blueberrybunchx]

I am so excited for this year's HHN!! Bloody Mary last year was my first HHN and I fully enjoyed it. Me and my friend went opening night and got all the houses in twice, it was a great night. We plan to do the same this year.

 

As for this year...I'm a huge fan of the Saw series for all the blood and gore and the backstory of Jigsaw. I really hope they do a good job with this house. I also really like Chucky, not so much for 'horror' or 'gore' (which I think it lacks both) but raunchy comedy. I hope, somehow, they find a way to get that into the house, and if not, bring back the Insult Emporium. And as for The Wolfman, ehh, I dont really have any strong feelings on that one, lol. I'll be following the website closely. I'm just so super excited for this year!!

 

Woahh, sorry for such a long post!

[blueberrybunchx]

Cool find.

 

Ooooh "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey" sounds pretty intense. (:

[testtrack321]

Forbidden Journey... sounds kinda, familiar....

 

[Ed]

They should keep the name as Dueling Dragons (hopefully they will see sense). They could totally fit that around the Harry Potter theme.

 

Ollivanders? Think they'll make me a wand? Haha!

[Swminn6]

I was watching a youtube video and someone said something about August 16th. But I doubt it because there has been no release dates as of the 1st of August!

[ECZenith]

The hype for this ride has driven me to finally watch the second film of which the attraction is rumored to be based off. Some previous construction photos showed some giant snake head statues which lines the hall of the Basilisk, a 60' long snake that can kill you just by you seeing it. If the rumors are true and the Basilisk is part of the dark ride, that is going to be one intense scene! I'm sure they won't leave out the giant creepy spiders. Universal has impressively kept "The Forbidden Quest" a mystery as to what it will actually contain, but it won't be long now until we can see for ourselves...

 

As for Dueling Dragons becoming "Dragon Challenge", that to me is a bit of a downgrade as far as names go, maybe slap a " 's " after Dragon and it would flow a little better IMO... Has anyone been told specifically which dragons from the Harry Potter world would be represented for the coasters? An earlier post mentions the "Hungarian Horntail" but there are dozens of other kinds the other could be.

Hungarian Horntail

This ride is going to be scary! The 60' Basilisk as seen in the film.

[KPfreak519]

"Dragon Challenge" seems kinda...Cedar Fairish to me. I would have thought IOA could come up with something at least a LITTLE more creative then that.

[retroeric]

This ride will open up when school starts. It will miss the ENTIRE summer. Terrible planning/execution on their part. I'm sure it will be a great ride but boy did they blow it.

[cfc]

^Hmm--not so sure about the "terrible planning" part. This is a big project, and the bigger the project, the more things that can go wrong. Hell, Knoebels has been working on the Flying Turns, a much smaller project, for how long now?

 

We shall see.

[Maximo37]

Maybe unfair to compare (or even mention, but I will anyhow), look at Kinda Ka and all its problems right out of the starting gate...

[Vondroff]

Yeah but you guys are comparing like the first of its kind rides. Flying turns uses a completly different approach to rollercoasters and kingda ka is the tallest in the world. HRRR is nothing special of its kind. Vertical chainlift has been done. Its a simple drop. The uninverted loop may be different but its not Insanly crazy. Its a medium sized ride but other monsters like Millenium Force are way more advanced that this. The point I'm making is that there is really not a reason this ride should be postponed for so long.

[cfc]

Yeah but you guys are comparing like the first of its kind rides. Flying turns uses a completly different approach to rollercoasters and kingda ka is the tallest in the world. HRRR is nothing special of its kind. Vertical chainlift has been done. Its a simple drop. The uninverted loop may be different but its not Insanly crazy. Its a medium sized ride but other monsters like Millenium Force are way more advanced that this. The point I'm making is that there is really not a reason this ride should be postponed for so long.

 

Flying Turns is hardly a "first of its kind." Knoebels is trying to resurrect a very old design here and encountering a number of problems.

 

As for there being no reason for HRRR's delay, Universal begs to differ with you on that point. Do you have any extra "insight" as to why they shouldn't be having any problems with this ride? I'm not an engineer, so I wouldn't care to speculate, myself.

 

Although I'm pretty sure Universal wishes that this ride was open now, too.

[QU!roz]

I can't wait

[Vondroff]

Flying turns is a little bit more complicated than this in my opinion. I just don't think Universal is trying to get the ride open anytime soon. They need to stop making dates untill they know exactly when the ride will open. Like all the july opening claims.

[SharkTums]

^Sorry, but there is no way that Flying Turns is more complicated than HRRR. Flying Turns existed way before any technology was even being thought about for HRRR. HRRR probably has 10 times more sensors and computers on it then Flying Turns.

 

And as for those of you saying how Universal Screwed up and missed the Summer, whatever, they're a year round park and it's really not that big a deal to miss Summer. As opposed to say, Knoebels, that is seasonal and has missed what, 4 seasons of Flying Turns now!?!?

[TheStig]

Flying turns is a little bit more complicated than this in my opinion. I just don't think Universal is trying to get the ride open anytime soon. They need to stop making dates untill they know exactly when the ride will open. Like all the july opening claims.

 

Funny, the only date I've seen from Universal is "Coming Soon".

[robbalvey]

I have only seen documents refering to a time period, like the following taken from a press release I got in April:

 

set to open late spring/early summer at Universal Studios Florida.

 

So yeah, they are behind.

 

BIG. FUCKING. DEAL!

 

Did Test Track being a year late affect it's operations today? No.

 

Stop whining and complaining. The ride will be open when it's open.

 

And then you all will have even more to whine and complain about.

 

--Robb