WillMontu Posted April 10, 2006 Posted April 10, 2006 Erik (you know, the mod with the Donkey hat) and I headed down south to Universal Orlando today. We first hit Universal Studios, and headed to IOA later in the day. At Universal - I did not take very many pictures, mostly video - I got my Woodpecker credit! Yay for Vekoma goodness! - Jaws was operating, with approximately 15-20 minute wait - We did MIB twice, both times going through the "sad and pathetic" line - We did Mummy several times, BTTF once - I finally got to experience Twister and ET. More pictures are on the way "Not our Dino" Another "TPR Exclusive" What day at IOA would be complete without Dragon Hopping. On the other hand, the Dragons really need a new paint job (they still have those "test spots" on the Fire track just below the lift hill) Some of the track for the Sky Trolley Construction is moving rapidly on the SKy Trolley/Driving Machines attraction. This appears to be one of the new cars on site. It definitely looks more like a coaster car than the old Driving Machines Islands of Adventure. Here's a nice "coaster geek" picture you won't find anywhere else Erik gets the chair This is definitely NOT SharkTums approved Jaws was open. Unfortunately, they did not allow photography/videotaping on the ride itself. This escalator lacks music and cool lighting effects, but it's still an escalator Billboard for the "World's Largest Entertainment McDonalds". I didn't know there were other "Entertainment" McDonalds restaurants out there Here's one for the tollbooth enthusiasts out there Heading southbound on the Interstate
SLUSHIE Posted April 10, 2006 Posted April 10, 2006 Nice pics. When will the new driving machines thing open?
WillMontu Posted April 10, 2006 Author Posted April 10, 2006 More pics from IOA A few things: -Ripsaw was open. There appeared to be no major changes to the ride itself. The drop is still the same and there are no seatbelts. A ride op said that this was the first day the the ride was re-opened, although only one side (the left side) of the drop was working -We tried to the the Flyers credit, but we were unable to "borrow" kids to do so, and the line was too long anyway -Dragon Hopping, Dragon Hopping, and more Dragon Hopping, although the Dragons do need a paint job -The park was open until 10pm, so we got some night rides in (I will be posting pics) -Mythos still hasn't fixed their menu Over of Seuss Landing, showing some of the new Sky Trolley track Some of the theming from Popeye and Bluto. We were smart enough to skip this one, though we did get drenched on Ripsaw Falls (partly due to the water cannons) Flying Unicorn was a fun ride. We noticed that it had magnetic brakes. What does it think it is? An Intamin ride? "Time". The first dino appeared to have a broken neck Close up of one of the boats. No seatbelts or anything. Same as it'has always been Another angle Close up of the airtime drop on Ripsaw Falls Here's another for you Derek More Beemer goodness Anyone going to get Elissa on this? Erik wonders what happened to the old Express Pass machines
Erik Johnson Posted April 10, 2006 Posted April 10, 2006 Here is a picture of the old track that was used for Ripsaw Falls. The only thing I noticed that was different was the color. Unless the old track used to be blue. Old Ripsaw Falls track.
Imhotep Posted April 10, 2006 Posted April 10, 2006 Wow looks like they got alot of progress done on the driving machines ride since I was last there a week ago. Looks like they have alot of the "purple" track up. They didnt have any up at all when I was there.
CoasterFanatic Posted April 10, 2006 Posted April 10, 2006 The magnetic brakes on Flying Unicorn are a "retro-fit". The ride used to have a very hard brake at the end of the ride. Actually, the particular brake that is on the Flying Unicorn is MUCH better than the Intamin brake. It adjusts to the speed of the train and engages in proportion to that. That means that the train is always going the same speed at the end of the brake run. http://www.velocitymagnetics.com/ You can also find their products on most of Kennywood's coasters.
WillMontu Posted April 10, 2006 Author Posted April 10, 2006 Some more IOA pics, mostly taken at night. Some of these are a little blurry, but many came out fairly well. Another "coaster geek" picture. Who couldn't appreciate a cobra roll at night This looks like the queue line for the Seuss Sky Trolley ride Night shot of Hulk Erik attempts to do a "Vekoma Impression", but this is difficult due to the nature of the B&M seats The loops at night Did I mention that this castle is also bigger than Disneyland's (which isn't a hard feat for that matter) The Lost Continent Ripsaw falls a night. The long exposure time lead to the "snow" effect of the water Marvel Superhero Island at night Spidey after dark I immediately recognized this coaster, even though I've never been there. Note the "Credits 1/6". I guess that's if you count Flying Turns, Jet Star, and Whirlwind
Erik Johnson Posted April 10, 2006 Posted April 10, 2006 Ohhh some of those came out nice. I really like IOA at night, as you already know. I have never seen the DD stations as empty as they were for our 9:30 Fire and Ice rides. I think there was about 6 people total on our fire train that evening.
CoasterFanatic Posted April 10, 2006 Posted April 10, 2006 I am digging on that Dudley at night picture. I might have to try to get one of those on my next visit.
pvcoasterguy Posted April 10, 2006 Posted April 10, 2006 They must of just added the magnetic brakes to Flying Unicorn. I was there in mid-March and the typical Vekoma brakes were there, along with the incredibly hard stop.
chaos Posted April 10, 2006 Posted April 10, 2006 Yay, I feel so relieved. I thought they had ruined my favorite water ride. Thanks for the pictures. -Luke
TwistedTrack Posted April 10, 2006 Posted April 10, 2006 I never noticed that IOA was so awesome at night. I might get their this year. Nice pics by the way!
DerekRx Posted April 10, 2006 Posted April 10, 2006 Nice photos (especially the vertical loops. Too bad it's not interlocking.) I always liked IOA at night. Shame that it (and a few other Florida parks) are hardly ever opened after dark.
dougstanton Posted April 11, 2006 Posted April 11, 2006 Regarding DD's paint job, I think that it is supposed to look like that. I had never seen the different shades of gray on the supports until this past March when I was there. They also tried to do some shading on the track itself, I think. I think they are going for an aged look, and this is the way they want it to look.
JT3000 Posted April 11, 2006 Posted April 11, 2006 No, they're repainting it soon. I'm disappointed in the fact that Dudley was down for so long and they didn't make any actual improvements to it. They didn't even fix anything that was already broken. That's just a tad bit ridiculous. All they did was retrack the drop and add a brake to the top of it so you go over it more slowly.
Erik Johnson Posted April 11, 2006 Posted April 11, 2006 Hmmm, I did not notice any brake on the ride. I thought they did a bunch of repainting as well.
USRoadTripper Posted April 11, 2006 Posted April 11, 2006 Didn't Ripsaw Falls used to have two seats instead of four? I seem to remember riding it and having a large gap between me and the seat in front of me when I sat all the way back. I thought it used to be two seats that held one person with another person between their legs. Maybe I'm wrong? Maybe I'm thinking about some other flume (yes, I know DL's Splash is like that). -Julie
Guy T. Koepp Posted April 11, 2006 Posted April 11, 2006 Awesome pictures guys! I so loved the time I spent at this park. I can't wait to get back. October can't get here soon enough.
Erik Johnson Posted April 11, 2006 Posted April 11, 2006 Didn't Ripsaw Falls used to have two seats instead of four? I seem to remember riding it and having a large gap between me and the seat in front of me when I sat all the way back. I thought it used to be two seats that held one person with another person between their legs. Maybe I'm wrong? Maybe I'm thinking about some other flume (yes, I know DL's Splash is like that). -Julie The only times I have ever ridden it (in the last year or so) each log seats 5 people. There is an individual seat for each person.
CoasterFanatic Posted April 11, 2006 Posted April 11, 2006 I do believe that the boat used to only be divided into two parts. I could be wrong though.
ECZenith Posted April 11, 2006 Posted April 11, 2006 At least they didn't get rid of the bunny hop! I was hoping they were going to spruce up the "animatronics" they have throughout the ride...
blackcurrent Posted April 12, 2006 Posted April 12, 2006 come to think of it I remember it only having 2 seating areas rather than individual seats in the boats I always remeber my wife hiding behing me..... but maybe im wrong cant remember really.....
resonancej Posted April 12, 2006 Posted April 12, 2006 Someone said DD was going down from the end of April to the beginning of June for a paint job, can anyone confirm or deny this? It needs it pretty badly. And what's up with this thing in Seussland? I was there just last night and I didn't see any track, guess I'm blind or something...
JT3000 Posted April 12, 2006 Posted April 12, 2006 Someone said DD was going down from the end of April to the beginning of June for a paint job, can anyone confirm or deny this? It needs it pretty badly. And what's up with this thing in Seussland? I was there just last night and I didn't see any track, guess I'm blind or something... The green and purple tracks that cover the entire island. You've never noticed it?
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