Universal Orlando Resort (USO, IOA) Discussion Thread

[SixFlagsAstroworld]

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.

 

I guess some people like it (including me) and some don't. I'm near SFSTL and the roar from Batman gives it a Theme Park feel

[DorneyKid14]

http://www.insidethemagic.net/2016/02/universal-orlando-to-get-significant-park-expansion-with-comcast-corp-confirming-land-acquisition/

 

Is this completely different from the 450 acres they bought not to long ago?

[gerstlaueringvar]

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.

 

I guess some people like it (including me) and some don't. I'm near SFSTL and the roar from Batman gives it a Theme Park feel

I feel like certain coaster can definitely benefit from being loud but most coasters would be better if they are quiet. Five machines and Gigas, or plus size loopers and inverts would more likely to be better with a roar. The roar will give people a sense of challenging and that tend to work better on huge coasters.

[doom1001]

http://www.insidethemagic.net/2016/02/universal-orlando-to-get-significant-park-expansion-with-comcast-corp-confirming-land-acquisition/

 

Is this completely different from the 450 acres they bought not to long ago?

It's gotta be the same,I had heard a rumor that they were looking at also buying the land across from Universal on Kirkman rd so when the article mentions the land purchased being next to the resort I also had to ask myself if is this a separate purchase,but later in the article it mentions the land running along Universal blvd which means they're talking about the acquisition that most people already knew about,where the land is not right next door but across I-4 closer to the Orlando eye.

[Jew]

Even though we all kind of knew Universal bought the land, it was never officially confirmed by Universal until the earnings report from today.

[CoryPa77]

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

 

While it's gonna be a clone of the original, I do think that we'll likely see a slightly smoother ride, just because a) it's new again! And b) I think their (Clermont Steel) manufacturing in 2016 is WAY more precise than it was in 1998 (which was still coaster industry leading back then).

[mpmbee]

 

No midcourse brakes??

 

Picture taken from http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/theme-park-rangers-blog/os-hulk-roller-coaster-universal-20160204-story.html

[DJeXeL]

Brakes will be installed once track work is complete. It is odd though as B&Ms usually come with brake equipment pre-installed from Claremont Steel.

[StealthFan]

Brakes will be installed once track work is complete. It is odd though as B&Ms usually come with brake equipment pre-installed from Claremont Steel.

 

I dont think they will have brakes here it will just be the hulk standing in front of the train and slowing it down before jumping out of the way once it has slowed down enough.

[rcjp]

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.

But is it because of the roar or because of the sight of the train racing down the drop? I mean, I guess it can be a bit intimidating but I think looking at the ride in motion is a bigger factor.

I feel like certain coaster can definitely benefit from being loud but most coasters would be better if they are quiet. Five machines and Gigas, or plus size loopers and inverts would more likely to be better with a roar. The roar will give people a sense of challenging and that tend to work better on huge coasters.

Honestly I feel like the only rides that should not have a roar are more family orientated rides. I know it could get unbearable if every single big coaster on a park were great bear loud so I'm okay with just one or two rides being louder (which is usually the case). What "worries" me is how newer rides (especially B&Ms) don't seem as loud as the older ones used to be. When was the first B&M with sand built? It looks like now more than half of their new coasters have some.

[DJeXeL]

Brakes will be installed once track work is complete. It is odd though as B&Ms usually come with brake equipment pre-installed from Claremont Steel.

 

I dont think they will have brakes here it will just be the hulk standing in front of the train and slowing it down before jumping out of the way once it has slowed down enough.

 

I would be OK with that.

[Brassinthegrass]

^ sounds like the universal version of the disco yeti....

[A.J.]

Honestly I feel like the only rides that should not have a roar are more family orientated rides. I know it could get unbearable if every single big coaster on a park were great bear loud so I'm okay with just one or two rides being louder (which is usually the case). What "worries" me is how newer rides (especially B&Ms) don't seem as loud as the older ones used to be. When was the first B&M with sand built? It looks like now more than half of their new coasters have some.

If I'm not mistaken, Talon was the first B&M to be "quieted down". I would assume that it had to do with Dorney's neighbors.

 

I would then guess that the noise regulations are probably different now than they were when the first Hulk was built.

[B&MIntaminGCI]

Looks to be the same shaping to me, but who knows

 

Then

 

Now

[DoinItForTheFame]

Kinda hard to tell when there is a train in the middle of one of the pictures.

[JRice92]

While it's gonna be a clone of the original, I do think that we'll likely see a slightly smoother ride, just because a) it's new again! And b) I think their (Clermont Steel) manufacturing in 2016 is WAY more precise than it was in 1998 (which was still coaster industry leading back then).

 

When I took the behind the scenes tour of Busch Gardens Williamsburg they said when Alpengeist was built B&M allowed a 1/8 of an inch margin of error in track manufacturing, while when Griffon was built there was only a 1/16 of an inch margin of error allowed. Griffon was 10 years ago so I could only imagine it's even more precise today.

[southpuddle]

Comparing those two pictures, you can clearly tell that this isn't a 100% exact copy-paste. The support connectors are in different locations on the corkscrew in relation to where the track sections come together. That's not to say the actual track and rails are in the exact same location, but there are some minor changes.

[Stealth1]

I just came back from spending 3 days at both parks I haven't been to Universal since 1993 or so. I can't get over how much it has changed. Mostly for the better but there is a few attractions I find lacking. Shrek 4-d was alright but the effects felt really dated even so I am amazed at how popular it is. It was one of the few rides with over 40 minute wait most days.

 

I remember the Horror Make-Up Show to be much better then it is now. They don't really show much in the show. Mostly seemed to be film clips. I was hoping there would be more detail on how they did horror make-up. The only other thing I was a bit disappointed in was T2-3D. I had never seen before as it was not there the last time I went but I found it to be just ok. Another show where the effects seem dated.

 

Now on to the things I found to be really good about the park. I am amazed at how good Spiderman and Transformers are for simulator rides. The details between the scenes is nothing I have ever see before. Both are fantastic rides and the best part both had low wait times all 3 days I was there. The best ride for me in the park is the Revenge of the Mummy. I have never had so much fun on an indoor coaster in a long time. I must have rode it close to 10 times between the 3 days. For being one of the best rides in the park it never had a wait time longer then 15 minutes. I know Harry Potter is the new kid in town and everyone rushes to that part of the park but how everyone seems to pass up some of the older rides is what I don't get. All 3 days I was there, the park didn't seem to busy except in the Harry Potter areas. I guess, since I have never read the books or seen the movies, I don't understand it. How you could spend most of your day in that part of the park is beyond me. Don't get me wrong I walked around both Harry Potter lands for a bit each day but to want to spend the entire day there I couldn't do.

 

All in all I had a wonderful time at the park and I hope to come back next year when the new rides open. If the new rides are as good detail as Spiderman or Transformers I will be very impressed.

[B&MIntaminGCI]

Comparing those two pictures, you can clearly tell that this isn't a 100% exact copy-paste. The support connectors are in different locations on the corkscrew in relation to where the track sections come together. That's not to say the actual track and rails are in the exact same location, but there are some minor changes.

 

The old picture is from the opposite side of the corkscrew, if you could walk into the construction site and look through the corkscrew to where the new picture was taken from, everything lines up perfectly, as with the shaping. (as you can see the supports line up from that angle and so does shaping)

[Dom497]

Both supports for the corkscrew are different. In the old photo there are three columns on each support, the new supports only have two.

 

EDIT: Never mind, the angle of the photo blocks the third column on each support.

[Jcoaster]

. The best ride for me in the park is the Revenge of the Mummy. I have never had so much fun on an indoor coaster in a long time. I must have rode it close to 10 times between the 3 days. For being one of the best rides in the park it never had a wait time longer then 15 minutes.

 

I find the Mummy coaster to be criminally underrated. Such a fun ride that never gets much praise.

[DaveDowning]

. The best ride for me in the park is the Revenge of the Mummy. I have never had so much fun on an indoor coaster in a long time. I must have rode it close to 10 times between the 3 days. For being one of the best rides in the park it never had a wait time longer then 15 minutes.

 

I find the Mummy coaster to be criminally underrated. Such a fun ride that never gets much praise.

 

Sooo true!

I don´t know how many times we rode it when we were at Universal. 20, 30 times? We marathoned it spontaneously as we had express and it was basically a walk on for us. Such a great coaster!

[viking86]

Have to repeat what everybody's saying about Mummy, such a fun ride that you usually never hear people talk about.

[Jcoaster]

The launch is deceivingly strong and you get a nice pop of airtime coming out of it.

[Stealth1]

The launch is the best part. Its a very underrated coaster. I realize Gringotts is newer but it uses the same type of ride system.It amazes me how more people will ride that cause its Harry Potter over one of the best rides in the park. I find Forbidden Journey to the better of the Harry Potter rides. Like I said before I just to get it with Harry Potter. Never been interested in the movies or the books, but kids seem to love it.