Universal Orlando Resort (USO, IOA) Discussion Thread

[gatorchomp83]

Maybe the POV is so terrible because it's a rough ride?

 

I've had a couple friends who have ridden it who have said they couldn't enjoy it because after the loop, it gave them a pounding headache...And this is coming from people who love intense/rough/violent rides.

[King_K.]

I've heard it's actually incredibly smooth. I think it might have to do with which train you're riding in.

[Shellemonster]

Great pictures guys!

I couldn't figure out what tower that was from the concept art, but I'm sure it will all come together soon enough.

[Snicket]

There are many conflicting reports on roughness.

 

Only three trains have undergone appropriate testing. The testing of the other two trains have been taking place under the cover of night without LEDs turned on. When only two trains were available yesterday and today, they were switching out the trains for the third that was in the garage most of the time. Several adjustments were made yesterday and today to a particular train that could have affected one's ride as being smooth or rough.

[coasterfan21]

The rules are there for SAFETY. I am sure Universal and/or Mauer Schone are not intentionally barring people from their rides.

 

They have minimum heights requirements as well as maximum. I know that most stand up coasters have a maximum height requirement.

 

I guess I'm thankful that I'm not too tall to ride!

 

Ya I know the rules are there for safety, but I like the feeling I get going to Disney or Universal and not feeling like i'm too tall to ride anything. Still theres nothing I can do but o'well.

 

As of right now though i'm happy that i'm still 6' 4 1/2" but being 17 I still might reach 6' 6" so I guess that i'd better go ride it soon.

[kamikazewatermelon]

Great pics. It seems like it was so short between the beginning of construction and the opening.

(BTW what else does this "word filter" do?)

[King_K.]

Yeah, the 6'6 height limit is there cause of the Firehouse entry. Universal and Maurer wouldn't want to be sued for decapitation.

[chemical_echo]

At least the lock ers are free, that will engourage more people to use them

 

Take that Robb, I got pass word filter

I haven't been to Universal in about 4 years now, but I remember their lockers being free then. Well, free up to how long they figured the line and ride would last and charging beyond that.

 

As for the height issue; most river rapid rides, inverted coasters, and go karts all have maximum heights as well. Rapids and go karts because if the ride somehow flips, the park would prefer the weight of the vehicle on the headrest/roll cage than your neck.

[King_K.]

They're all free for a certain time, I think an hour or 90 minutes. Then it's a dollar per hour or half hour. My memories are a bit fuzzy.

[monsterfan99]

I got a chance to ride the ride today and enjoyed it. We waited from 9 am until 12:30 pm when it opened. The line was 90 minutes to 2 hours the rest of the day with the single rider line filling up like crazy The coaster in no way, shape or form is worth the wait it has. But a 30-45 minute wait without a doubt.

 

The ride tends to be rough depending on the person. For me (5'7 and 240) it was quite rough in the section by Citywalk. For my fiancee, she thought it was rough after the loop. I heard the same things from other people that rode at the same time, some thought it was rough, some not.

 

The audio is a nice feature and basically makes the ride. This ride during the day without audio would be a boring ride. The bonus songs do work (112 or 122 is Freebird) but not all numbers do. I tried out 10 or so and had no luck. I went with the 902 Kermit song, but could not hear much of it. The audio does need to be turned up some, but it is true you can not hear the people next to you's audio.

 

 

Overall, the ride is good for the park. I defiantly think the coaster will be a night ride more then anything. I'd give it a 6/10, but might be higher at night.

 

Some notes

 

- The max height is 6'7. We thought it was 6'6, but the ops told it was 6'7. Also, it will be a tight fit to some people. I was able to get a few clicks, but I saw people around 260 getting rejected. I don't think there is a test seat yet, so it will be trail and error. Also, you will be given a chance at the bigger seats (not sure which ones) if you do not fit.

 

- Universal Express does not work on the ride and were told not to expect it to for a while.

 

- The lock ers are require for anything, including lanyards and fannypacks. They are free for the length of the que plus 1 hour.

 

- Lines were very short once the ride opened. The longest wait all day after it opened was 25 minutes on Simpsons. The week before has been at least a 60 minute wait during the day.

 

- They were having problems in the on-ride photo area. You can pay at the photo/video terminal or at the main photo store. Problem is, they were forgetting to check if they pre-paid. Also, our picture would not print, so it was sent to package pick-up, but was wrong photo. It was no problem to get ours once we went back, just some new ride problems that will get worked out.

 

- The on-ride photo prices are $17.95 for 5x7 and 19.95 for 8x10. The photo does have the date of the ride printed on the front.

 

- The on-ride video was being tried out and maybe working later in the day around 5. It looks like a neat feature, just unsure of price.

 

If there is anything else anyone wants to know, I can try to help.

[coastakid]

Do you know if the coaster is the coaster going to be open everyday for the next two weeks?

 

 

-Jon

[testtrack321]

Yeah, the 6'6 height limit is there cause of the Firehouse entry. Universal and Maurer wouldn't want to be sued for decapitation.

 

I heard from a good source that was possibly one of the delays in opening: they miscalculated the opening and if you raised your hands they could get hit...

[amichancoasterfreak]

i need to ride this

[coastercrzyjames]

Thanks for the Photo TR of the soft opening, it was really good! Looks like a good addition to Universal Studios. I'm sure the GP will absolutely adore it. I look forward to riding it next time I'm in Orlando. Liked the questionaire too, hopefully you gave them the rave reviews they were looking for. It'll be interesting to see how the ride videos that guests can purchase turn out.

[coasterfan21]

With all the technological stuff on this coaster i'm interested to see how long it will take them to get it all up and running at the same time, and once they do that if they can keep up with all of it. I have had a strange feeling from the beginning and still do that they are gonna have a hard time getting this coaster working at 100% and if they do, can keep it that way on a day to day basis.

[coasterfan21]

If the castle is gonna look like the concept art when done, this is gonna be one amazing addition to the park.

[TheRapidsNerd]

Good to see the coaster open and I'm sure they'll get things tuned up in the coming weeks. The videos of HR3 at night are pretty cool. Love the LEDs.

[hobbit]

LOOKS HIGH TECK AWESOME!

 

does anyone has a FrontSeat pov?

[Hercules]

^ Just illegal ones. Not really a surprise considering all of the HRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR fanatics out there.

[pianojohn]

Just got back from Universal Studios and two rides on HRRR.

 

My thoughts:

 

It's NOT rough. I have been on a LOT of rough coasters (Gwazi, Mean Streak, Viper at SFGAdv) and HRRR is nowhere near these monsters. There is some bouncing but nothing that gave me a headache. I also rode the coaster in the very last row as well as the very front.

 

The front gives a MUCH better ride. Visually you can see everything, and everytime you crest a hill, you get some airtime. I assume this would be similar to riding in row 4 which is the front row of the 2nd car.

 

Since there is tiered seating, you can see from anywhere.

 

The ride goes by pretty quickly, and the transitions between elements is pretty fluid.

 

It's just a fun ride, and the music element adds to it. I chose "Pump Up the Volume" for my first ride and "Intergalactic" for my 2nd. You really can't hear any other audio when you are riding it.

 

They were moving the line as quickly as they could, but with only 3 trains on the track, the line grew from 30-120 minutes as soon as it opened.

 

I did the single rider line the 2nd time and lucked out with a front seat ride. The moving sidewalk is not moving, so they had to stop to load and unload the trains.

 

Looking forward to night rides, but those will have to wait until Halloween Horror Nights.

 

Also met a fellow TPR'er named Taylor! We got to do the front seat which was awesome!

 

Enjoy the pics!

They took a train off and put another one on.

Waiting...

See?

Representin'

This was full when I got off the ride about a half hour later

The outside queue

The lift hill

My first ride!

The entrance

As soon as the line opened

Testing right before they opened around noon today.

[hobbit]

is that loop thing intense?

and goes the HRRR queline fast?, al those braken in the ride .... they can do a lot of trains in one hour.

[pianojohn]

Here is a short video clip of them moving a train onto the track from the repair/storage shed area.

 

Exciting as watching paint dry!

HRRR 8-17-09 040.avi

The video of a train being moved from shed onto the transfer track and onto the ride.

[~mike~]

It would have been cool if they put songs on there from Woodstock since this is the 40th anniversary weekend of it...I would have loved listening to Jimi Hendrix Purple Haze on there....

[mcjaco]

The ride's exit provides a great view of the ride's largest features...

 

Kind of like the zipper on my pants.

[ParkTrips]

Beastie Boys on the soundtrack? Thats pretty kickass, too bad they are followed up by the Black Eyed Peas