Universal Orlando Resort (USO, IOA) Discussion Thread

[Shellemonster]

So my conjecture as to what all that steel and concrete means...

 

First thing, all that inwardly angled rebar is THICK. The size of the anti-impale-me caps means that is some serious stuff. I think we're looking at a forest with a big tree and some smaller ones you can make out around the sides. The thick one could be a willow that womps, but i don't see any room for hydraulics or a data line coming up in the middle.

Now, that big PVC pipe looks like it houses data lines, and that the cap was put on very sloppily for a final seal (look at how runny the pvc cement is) so i would say it was put on temporarily to protect the lines before a box goes there to distribute the information.

With that in mind, and the knowledge that the bus bars are already installed in the building, this implies that the vehicle will not be traveling down that concrete slope in the foreground. Perhaps a character, or more likely creature, will reside down there and move up the slope to accost the riders.

I really don't know what's up with the U-shaped short steel braces bolted to the floor, but from that I gather, we're looking at the forest scene where the riders encounter giant spiders.

I wish I still had a copy of the American Scenic layout concept art that was yanked off the interweb in like 5 minutes, then what scene that actually is would be pretty easy to figure out.

 

Oh, and the wood in the center is probably just used so that the cherry picker can cross over things on the floor without breaking them.

 

I'd love to hear other ideas!

[King_K.]

Here's a couple ones from RCPRo.

 

 

 

[King_K.]

Ask and you shall recieve..

 

[Shellemonster]

Thank you sir!

 

And look what happens to be in the outside corner of the building where that picture was taken. A forest, and spiders.

[Shellemonster]

Wait, I'm wrong, spiders are the scene before that. There is a yellow box with writing that I can't make out what is says, but it happens to be in that area that I was referring to (the blue ground).

 

Huh....

[Shellemonster]

Holy hot dog batman, it says voldemort and dementors or voldemort and something...

 

and that very big tree is right across from that spot in the drawing.

[pianojohn]

Great pics. I was at CityWalk yesterday, and you can see it from the moving sidewalks. It really is that HUGE!

 

I doubt it will ready for Spring Break or even late April. My bet is on late May early June. There is still so much work to do on it. If you compare it to Manta, I bet Sea World will open there coaster much sooner.

 

Manta has all of the track completed, yet they are still months away from opening, and HRRR still has the main tower to complete.

 

Anyway, should be a great addition to the park and Orlando in general.

[DATman]

^Death Eaters.

 

My guess is that the ride is a compilation of the exciting scenes from the books, thereby taking the rider through all of them while skipping the bits that would make a boring ride. Which means:

 

[spoilerS IF YOU HAVEN'T READ BOOK 7]

 

 

 

 

 

 

That could be the forest scene in which Harry "dies" Or perhaps a mutated version of Voldemort's rebirth. Those are the only two times I can think of him and the Death Eaters in an outside setting.

[King_K.]

Yeah, and that's just the MCBR. When they finish the lift you'll be able to see it fairly quickly from the interstate.

[Shellemonster]

Good call, that is two words. Death Eaters.

 

I think that recent ideas have been going towards the ride following the chamber of secrets, but they have the sorcerer's stone chess scene in there as well. nice to flip these things around.

 

I don't know how they can tie these story elements together, but I was just refreshing my Potter history, and there is a common thread between the spiders right before this and the next scene that would involve voldemort and death eaters outside...

 

Book Seven Spoilers Ahoy! ... again

 

 

 

The death eaters and voldemort amass their army for the assault on Hogwarts in the spider camp.

Now wouldn't the battle of Hogwarts make for a thrilling end to the ride!

Granted, I think the previously mentioned possibilities are more likely.

 

End spoilers

 

 

So, that concept art... I only have a faint idea what the middle profile drawing represents. If I had to guess, it may be when Harry and Company slide out of the pipe into the room with the basilisk skin from COS. That vent at the top right looks very important with all the notes. A fire vent? Any idea?

 

 

 

Also, the HP website has a new poll about shopping locations.

http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/index.html

[Ziggy Stardust]

This is pretty big for a coaster concerned with appealing to a wide age range.

[TheHulk]

I don't know if anyone noted this, but RCDB has the height at 167'.

 

http://www.rcdb.com/id3866.htm

[Cyber.Fiber]

I really am finding this ride very unattractive... It feels like it is a LITTLE over supported... but other than the random supports that seem very strange and unneeded the ride is looking great!

[Jew]

Eeek! It looks like the Potter box could possibly be larger than my beloved Indy box! I can't believe I'm this excited about a ride where a) I don't like Harry Potter at all, and b) we don't really know what it is yet... Still excited though, with visions of Kuka arms dancing in my head.

 

I'm almost certain it is bigger than Indy's show building.

[spacemtfan]

I like how the ride is turning out.

 

However, everytime I see the red track and yellow supports I think..."Manhattan Express".

 

Nonetheless, it looks great!

[coasterboy25]

I thought the same thing when I saw the colors and the fact it's over buildings. It reminds me of "rollercoaster" at nyny casino or whatever it is called now days. But I know universal would not let us down like that or would they?

[andyuk200523]

Those photos make it look a bit like a classic Schwarzkopf design......gonna look forward to riding this when it opens..........and when I finally get back to Orlando after 10 years! am missing some serious coasting action!

 

Andrew

[niiicolaaah]

What am I supposed to be seeing in the last photo?

[BeemerBoy]

I'm not happy that I might eventually have to watch the movies for any of this crap to make sense. I hate you Potter. I hate you. (shaking fist offscreen)

[xcastn0shad0wx]

Is it just me or do the supports slightly look "outdated"? They kind of remind me of an arrow!

[hyyyper]

You guys must remember that they aren't building this on a huge flat piece of concrete. This coaster is being build over the main street, which has besides a street where people have to walk over, a lot of buildings to the sides. So they have a lot of limitiations of where to put there supports, this is the result.

[max harvey]

I cannot wait to ride this in the summer. It looks amazing!!!

[ash.1111]

Wow, this coaster looks fantastic! All they need is some damn good theming and you've got yourself one big hit!

[alpengeist04]

I'm sticking with a mid-May opening myself, with Memorial weekend being the latest. The question is, does a soft opening count? Seriously, it wouldn't surprise me to see a soft opening in the first week of May.

[leighton123]

This ride is going to be quite a unique experience, but to me it looks like a bit of an eyesore .