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

P. 625: Harry Potter Ministry of Magic revealed!

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I always thought it was dumb that they built the park with really no room for expansion... other than... well. This.

 

You can get away with that when you build one of the most amazing, complete, theme parks right from the beginning.

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Well, I've got two new photos to share, one of which has something we've yet to see--track!

 

I do apologize for the distance of the photo, but it was taken from my bus this morning as we were driving, so I didn't have much time to take the photo or even to zoom as I barely knew where to look...

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Supports for the coaster have lined this street for weeks now...

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You are looking at (from a distance) the first piece(s) of track for Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit.

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Hey folks. I was out at the park yesterday and they are starting to move along pretty well with the construction. There are many footers completed, especially in the area in front of Blue Man. I also saw a large hole in this area which seems to be the area of the Drop Tuning section, there are trenches everywhere but this hole is pretty deep. Some block work has started as well, it seems to be in the vicinity of the new permanent stage. There is re-bar work and footer framing through the entire constuction area. It wont be long now, we will be vertical soon.

 

I wish we could get a better look at the area, they have it blocked off really well.

 

I think the red and tan color scheme will look very cool.

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Well everyone, I've got another (distanced) photo of Hollywood Rip, Ride Rockit's track. Again, I apologize about the distance of view, but this is the best I could get while driving...

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The red track will look pretty nice... Reminds me somewhat of Manhatten Express' color scheme.

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^From what I've heard HHN has been a bit to blame for the delay in vertical construction.

 

But also remember, Manta will have a ton of theming added to it, including live animals. HRRR won't have near as extensive theming to it (from what I've heard).

 

I'm still not fully understanding what, if any, delays HHN had on the project. Everytime I was at HHN, they were working away full steam each night....and thats with two of the queue lines and exits crossing over the middle of the construction site. Originally, it was rumored to begin construction immediately following the close of Mardi Gras. Either way, it definitely seems like they are behind, but after seeing the explosion of progress on Manta I wouldn't count on HRRR opening too far behind schedule.

 

As for Manta's opening, there is a countdown clock posted above where we enter the park before we clock in.....the current countdown puts the opening somewhere around Memorial Day. I'm just curious, did Kraken have any sort of soft opening back in the day? Last I heard, Manta was actually *ahead* of schedule...lets hope that trend keeps up. At this pace, seems like the actual ride itself is going to be completed well before the end of the year.

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^^Exactly. Of course they can work on the ride during HHN, but they are somewhat limited in what parts they can work on with all the festivities. Similar to how Diamondback didn't have much built over the paths during the year. It wasn't unexpected, just an event they planned around by avoiding *big* construction around paths/mazes/whatever.

 

And considering how much of HRRR appears to be over paths and plazas, that's a nice chunk of work.

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^^Exactly. Of course they can work on the ride during HHN, but they are somewhat limited in what parts they can work on with all the festivities. Similar to how Diamondback didn't have much built over the paths during the year. It wasn't unexpected, just an event they planned around by avoiding *big* construction around paths/mazes/whatever.

 

And considering how much of HRRR appears to be over paths and plazas, that's a nice chunk of work.

 

I understand what you are saying, but again its not like they weren't planning on HHN Actually, given the proximity of the walls, it seems like very little goes over the main midways.....except out by Blue Man The rest runs down an undeveloped area *behind* the main midways. Its Florida, we could sit here and keep coming up with special events that could interfere with construction The Christmas stuff starts in about 2 weeks......after Christmas/New Years is over Mardi Gras will be following in February. Doesn't matter, point is they seem to have fallen behind schedule. Universal in general is just a hot mess right now with all the construction in both parks!

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^ Don't forget, there is the part of the coaster that goes between Shrek/Jimmy Neutron. That's going to be some major work, especially to keep those attractions open.

 

Actually, if you go and check out the layouts that have surfaced, the ride does NOT go between Shrek & Jimmy Neutron.....everything remains in the undeveloped area behind Jimmy Neutron. The closest to anything it gets in the Park itself is back by Twister, which of course already has the construction walls up.

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Thanks for the pics. The Rockit is looking pretty awesome. I love the way it interacts with the structure, there will be a lot of head chopper type stuff going on.

All of those cars on course at the same time will be interesting to see. I wonder if the brake runs will totally kill the pacing, that really is my only concern for the ride. However, they could provide some ejector going in and floater coming out. I see a lot of potential for air time thats for sure.

 

I would love to here you guys' opinions on the brake runs. I guess there are so many to allow more trains on course at the same time. How do you think this will affect the ride?

 

Good find, thanks again.

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Screamscape posted the following:

http://www.screamscape.com/html/islands_of_adventure.htm

 

(11/17/08) In a move that is sure to get quite a few fanboy’s panties in a bunch, we’ve heard a rumor that in the very near future the great Water Vortex effect that Poseidon’s Fury was pretty much built around will be turned off… forever. I don’t know if it’s just become too much of a maintenance headache or just a cost-saver, but I’ve also heard that the park may try to spin this move as part of the semi-new “green” initiative. But really, this was probably one of the two most impressive effects in the entire attraction (both versions), so this is a disappointing move if true.

 

Can anyone confirm this???

 

--Robb

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Looks like IOA is going for the "how to ruin the Lost Continent in 4 easy steps" approach.

 

1. Kill Enchanted Oak

2. Destroy Dueling Dragons entry

3. Make Poseidon even lamer and more confusing

4. ???

 

What's next, turning Mythos into a Starbucks, replacing the fountain with a Euro-Bungee, or redoing the Sinbad show so it's all about selling Proactiv?

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I'm not sure they could honestly do this without damaging the story presented. Plus, with Poseidon's Fury being the last remaining anchor for the Lost Continent (provided Potter doesn't eventually take over that area as well), to remove what few effects make the attraction worthwhile would be a mistake.

 

Taking it from the general guest stand point though, I could see a first time visiter walking through the vortex hall, showered in projections of water and mist rather than the vortex of water itself and not even noticing the difference.

 

It is hard to predict how Universal would handle this, but if it becomes true, it would be a shame. I always thought that Poseidon's Fury was one of the most innovative attractions in the park next to Spiderman.

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