Universal Orlando Resort (USO, IOA) Discussion Thread

[MN16]

The original entrance with the two dragons was so much better.

I agree. It used to have one of the best entrances for a coaster, now you just walk under a little archway.

[SixFlagsAstroworld]

The original entrance with the two dragons was so much better.

I agree. It used to have one of the best entrances for a coaster, now you just walk under a little archway.

 

Archway: Extremely Lame! They could have keep the Dragons by making them look like the ones in the movie Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

[cfc]

Sigh! Agreed.

 

This is much better . . .

 

 

. . . than this.

 

 

But they did have to make a lot of changes to accommodate the Harry Potter stuff, so, what're you gonna do?

[Garet]

I'm kind of curious, what happened to the original dragons? Where they scrapped or stored?

[KBrylczyk]

^ JK Rowling burned them to the ground while laughing maniacally.

[Garet]

^ JK Rowling burned them to the ground while laughing maniacally.

 

[MARK]

 

Archway: Extremely Lame! They could have keep the Dragons by making them look like the ones in the movie Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

 

Or maybe build the archway in between and have the dragons wrap around it, and paint/render them so they look like stone statues (if the colours are too bright for the Harry Potter universe). It is a massive waste.

[SixFlagsAstroworld]

 

Archway: Extremely Lame! They could have keep the Dragons by making them look like the ones in the movie Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

 

Or maybe build the archway in between and have the dragons wrap around it, and paint/render them so they look like stone statues (if the colours are too bright for the Harry Potter universe). It is a massive waste.

 

Like I said. It would be cool if IOA kept those dragons.i still like to call Dragon Challenge "Dueling Dragons" because it sounds cooler. Same with the sides, to me, it's still Fire and Ice

[SixFlagsAstroworld]

^ JK Rowling burned them to the ground while laughing maniacally.

 

Some people want to watch the world burn

[KarlaKoaster]

Hulk's corkscrew has been installed. It looks like it has the same trajectory through the whole element and that there's not much of a snap at the top, but it's hard to tell whether it's the angle, or even whether it was exactly this shape before. I suspect the only changes we'll see to the layout will be to smooth out some of the transitions so the ride is smoother and to reduce wear and tear.

 

Image thanks to Attractions Magazine.

[DoinItForTheFame]

. . .I suspect the only changes we'll see to the layout will be to smooth out some of the transitions so the ride is smoother. . .

 

 

I am completely okay with that! Nothing wrong with taking a good ride, smoothing it out, and making it into a great ride!!

[gerstlaueringvar]

As a huge fan of the Werner Stengel snaps, nooo!

 

But for a coaster that runs 3 train at full capacity almost every day without scheduled downtime, eliminating snaps will definitely do great stuffs to the train and the track.

[Ed Farmer]

It's too hard to tell from one image, but I hope that's not the case. That snap is the difference between a good element and one that's just kind of there. Jack and Coke vs. a glass of lukewarm water.

[KarlaKoaster]

It might only be the angle of the photo to be honest, I only mentioned it as a possibility. It's crazy how different the same inversion can look from different angles. Nemesis' first inversion looks quite dull in this photo for example: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7124/7700160684_06a8f9d481_b.jpg

[southpuddle]

I don't remember Hulk's corkscrew having much of a snap in its original state to begin with, but that's just me. I mean, none of their above-the-track models' corkscrews have that "Batman the Ride corkscrew snap" by any means.

[rcjp]

^I haven't ridden the hulk but I agree that none of the "above the track" B&Ms I've been on had a similar snap to those on older inverts (especially BTR). They usually feel more "fluid" providing more or less constant Gs.

[Invertalon]

There are no changes being done to the track work on Hulk... No transition changes, no re-designed sections, nothing... Expect the same exact ride, although smoother and also quieter (due to sand). For those expecting something else, you will be disappointed.

[chargersmichael]

^ I didn't know they were filling it with sand! I was hoping the roar would be back!!!

[SixFlagsAstroworld]

The best part about being at a theme park is being able to hear the roar of a roller coaster

[KarlaKoaster]

There are no changes being done to the track work on Hulk... No transition changes, no re-designed sections, nothing... Expect the same exact ride, although smoother and also quieter (due to sand). For those expecting something else, you will be disappointed.

I didn't expect anything major anyway, so I don't mind either way. Where did you hear this out of interest?

[DoinItForTheFame]

There are no changes being done to the track work on Hulk... No transition changes, no re-designed sections, nothing... Expect the same exact ride, although smoother and also quieter (due to sand). For those expecting something else, you will be disappointed.

 

Do you have a source for this?? (Not that I'm calling you out, I'm just curious if I may have missed something.)

 

I have obviously ruled out any layout changes... But don't you think that they might smooth out some things, or minorly reshape some things just to make the coaster flow better?? Don't get me wrong I LOVED Hulk, but there were a few places that could have been smoothed out, and I don't see why B&M wouldn't make these very minor changes to make the coaster that much more enjoyable.

 

Obviously nothing major, or even very noticeable by looking at the coaster, but some few minor tweaks here and there to may make the coaster a little better. Keep in mInd how old Hulk is, and how far B&M has come since then.

[CoryPa77]

Invertalon knows his stuff! Go back and look at his posts from last summer and you'll see he accurately said what was going to happen to Hulk before any of the deconstruction or announcement happened.

 

Besides all that...

 

They're not changing the supports around or moving the footers - so that alone tells you it's gonna be the same transitions and everything. I'm pretty sure Universal didn't want to mess with any of the engineering of the track. Once you start "tweaking" anything then you have a waterfall, changing, effect of other elements from that point on and then it gets really difficult to keep everything in that same real estate area and re-use of the footers. This is going to be an insanely expensive refurb though, especially considering 90% of a coaster's cost is in the fabrication and construction (assuming a non-prototype) and this one even involved deconstruction. I'm thinking it has to be $20+ million.

[A.J.]

The best part about being at a theme park is being able to hear the roar of a roller coaster

Eh, don't be so sure about that. At least in the Florida parks' case, a loud coaster might be scary to small children.

[KarlaKoaster]

Invertalon knows his stuff! Go back and look at his posts from last summer and you'll see he accurately said what was going to happen to Hulk before any of the deconstruction or announcement happened.

 

Besides all that...

 

They're not changing the supports around or moving the footers - so that alone tells you it's gonna be the same transitions and everything. I'm pretty sure Universal didn't want to mess with any of the engineering of the track. Once you start "tweaking" anything then you have a waterfall, changing, effect of other elements from that point on and then it gets really difficult to keep everything in that same real estate area and re-use of the footers. This is going to be an insanely expensive refurb though, especially considering 90% of a coaster's cost is in the fabrication and construction (assuming a non-prototype) and this one even involved deconstruction. I'm thinking it has to be $20+ million.

Oh I wasn't doubting him to be honest, I just wanted the confidence to say "thanks for confirming" I didn't expect anything close to a layout change, but wondered if some of the elements might be smoothed out a little, but I'm happy for a simple CTRL+P of the existing layout

[StealthFan]

The best part about being at a theme park is being able to hear the roar of a roller coaster

Eh, don't be so sure about that. At least in the Florida parks' case, a loud coaster might be scary to small children.

 

I have to agree. While enthusiasts may love the raw of a classic B&M like Hulk was or Nemesis, I have seen first hand people look at a ride and say "yeah I will ride that". Then the train makes it way down the first drop, the roar begins and they start to question if they want to ride or don't ride at all.