Universal Orlando Resort (USO, IOA) Discussion Thread

Universal has released an official animation video which includes some POV footage for Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit, opening this Summer at Universal Studios Florida.

^Um... ok. Guess I had to watch it to get it. I forgot it was on, turned it on midway, and once the preview of New Moon came on, I turned it off. Wolves, very upsetting. (Must search for Twilight topic)

Back to HP now, the detail on these buildings are wicked! I am so psyched to see this complete. I thought I was excited for HRRR.... There is so much to look at in this park, and not just ride. I really shouldn't be all to surprised by the detail I guess, considering all the other areas are heavily themed. IMO, this will be a great addition to the THEME PARK, for fans, and non fans. I agree, maybe this will make a non fan become a fan. I think the movies are getting kind of eh myself, and I like the first few movies. I have yet to read the books. The last one, I completely just don't like. I am hoping for a new found liking for the next movie.

It looks like the ride starts out very strong, but seems to lose its speed over the course of the layout... Maybe its because of all the MCBRs placed throughout the ride.

The layout is top notch though. I'm very impressed.

Great! Thanks for the video. The ride looks pretty sweet I wish would could have a full POV though.

I was able to run over to Universal two days ago to grab a quick look at the latest happenings within the resort. Potter seems to be accelerating in speed with new set pieces sitting at the neighboring Nassal facility downtown. As construction climbs vertically along the side of the Potter Box and the village of Hogsmeade, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is beginning to truly take shape.

More steel frames are continually installed as this focal point for shopping and dining takes form.

Hogsmeade grows larger by the week...

Although the rest of the area remains visibly untouched, the addition of Hagrid's Hut can be seen without too much trouble.

Not too much seems to have been done with the Flying Unicorn... It currently sits dormant behind a construction wall.

During this week's visit to Universal Orlando, I had the chance to grab some closer photographs of the Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit as it looks in its almost-completed state. Plenty of work is still ongoing around the ride, but much of the final product is beginning to take form.

I always thought the Guggenheim could use a coaster of its own!

A look at the tall section of the ride, free of buildings.

I think there are a couple hundred pictures around the net, just like this.

The Ghostbuster's office has been busted thru...

I dub thee, "Majestic!"

The production facilities entrance has been cleared of most construction walls and work.

See what I mean?

These shots are all-too-easy...

95 degrees!!!

What a beauty!

The ride's station is visible from the new Music Plaza, teasing guests of what is to come.

Workers crowd around the ride's car, tinkering with various parts and pieces...

This area seems to be nearing completion...

The ride's lift and non-inverting loop loom over the park's airspace.

I don't know why, but I always find this element to be so photogenic!

The original Blue Man Group Citywalk path has been slightly redirected to allow for construction of the fenced pathway that will surround the ride's tilted helix.

Landscaping around the Citywalk/Blue Man Group portion of the ride has begun.

ahaha! tee hee...it still says spring...

great pic update! looks great! and thanks for that video update! can't wait til july!!!!!!!

Someone said they wanted to see a pov vid so here it is. (animated of couse) lol

Even though most of you guys have already seen this!

UO has removed the top 2 track sections from the lift hill today. Anyone know what's up?

^^^^^^^Lets hope thats a rumor.

-The ride itself looks great, reasonably long layout. Whens those rings around the lift going up? Forgive me if it has been said I havent browsed this topic recently. Also, does anyone know what they are for? Or just for show?

UO has removed the top 2 track sections from the lift hill today. Anyone know what's up?

Most likely to add the rings.

(Or the heartline roll)

UO has removed the top 2 track sections from the lift hill today. Anyone know what's up?

 

Most likely to add the rings.

 

(Or the heartline roll)

^^It's back baby!

But why would they remove TRACK to add rings? Took forever to get those pieces on pleaseeeee don't take them off!!!

Part of the lift is indeed missing, and a new piece was said to have been spotted in the construction area with new safety features.

Rumor is that they may have been waiting for this new piece of track for a while and they went ahead and installed another piece they had without those extra safety features so they could test it.

That rumor, however, doesn't make sense.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE:

An insider over at IOACentral had some info:

It does not have the anti roll backs installed yet which is why the lift track is coming down. And the sound you are refering to at the top of the hill is the trains chain dogs releasing from the chain and you hear nothing as it goes up. Also, the reason they are pulling the lift track down to put the anti roll back pieces on is because originaly the lift was going to have a dual chain system instead of a gator back anti rollback system but for some reason they changed their mind, now the pieces for the second chain have to be removed in order to install the gator backs.

In your post you first said you can't add roll-back stops on this verticle lift hill, and then later in your post you said it has roll back stops.

All someone has to do is walk by central shops and they will see the pieces of track that have been removed so far and since it is not a restricted area you can see the anti rollback pieces sitting close by.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He also posted some pictures:

http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/2439/img00101p.jpg

http://yfrog.com/5jimg00061jj

The original, full size pictures can be found here:

http://boards.ioacentral.com/index.php?showtopic=11441&st=3220&start=3220

Alright. Get ready for a looooot of things to read and see.

As mentioned above, yes there is a rollback problem with the top of the lift, thus the slow speed of the lift from those test videos. Apparently it'll take ten days tops to get the ride back up in running. Landscaping is in full force and so is painting.

Here's the lift as of today and look at that sunny Florida weather!:

Here's a new picture of the train from the Press Release and yes the LED's are on in the photo:

Here are the LED's:

Here's a Press Release from Universal.

Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit: Where High Tech Meets Hard Rock.

New Universal Coaster Uses Extreme Technology to Create Extreme Ride Experience

 

ORLANDO, FL (June 2009) - Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit is a high-speed rush of first-ever maneuvers, hit music and specially created take-home videos starring each rider. These experiences have never been brought together on a coaster before - and rely on extreme technologies being used in entirely new ways.

 

"This is where high-speed coaster meets outdoor mega-concert meets user-generated content - all shot on production-quality video," said Mark Woodbury, president of Universal Creative. "No one has ever created such a sophisticated ride experience. And no one has ever used technology the way we have to pull it all together."

 

The ride vehicle is a high-performance hot rod that features a revolutionary new restraint system designed to put riders closer to the experience than ever. They pick their own music using industrial-grade touchpads that operate with the sophistication of an iPod. Songs from five genres of music will be pumped through individual sound systems that rely on all-weather speakers typically reserved for high-performance sports boats. And the network of cameras that will create the guest videos are used on high-speed trains and engineered to work in the toughest conditions.

 

Here is how it all comes together:

 

Ride Vehicle

Guests begin their adventure when they slide into the bucket seat of the specially designed X-CAR. The X-CAR's wheelbase is short enough to allow for the tight, intricate maneuvers that only Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit will deliver. The vehicle features stadium-style seating so that everyone has an unobstructed view. And there is no over-head/pull-down restraint system. Instead, a revolutionary lap bar allows for unprecedented freedom of movement.

 

Guest Interface Panel

Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit is the country's only coaster where guests can choose the soundtrack to their ride from songs representing five different genres of music. They will use a personal touchpad - or guest interface panel - mounted on the lap bar to make their selection. The panel is designed for ease of use and visibility. It is military-grade durable and waterproof. And it uses wireless servers to upload each rider's music pick.

 

Audio

Each seat is outfitted with Polk Audio marine-grade stereo speakers that can push out 165 watts. Guests will rock to 90 decibels of music - and yet never hear the songs playing for other riders. This sound system - typically installed on wakeboard boats - gives riders an entirely new way to experience music.

 

Cameras and Video

There are 14 cameras that will capture the guest experience: six on-board each ride vehicle and eight along the track. They are designed to provide production-quality footage under intense conditions. Used on high-speed trains, the digital cameras will perform at ultra-high data capture rates for up to 14 hours a day - all at variable Gs and high-speeds.

 

A series of lasers will trigger timing devices and computers to ensure that the rider's music and video are in sync. After the ride, each guest video is downloaded wirelessly from the ride vehicle to a viewing kiosk in 25 seconds. Guests will be able to purchase a specially edited take-home version of their experience and share it with their family and friends.

 

Lighting

Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit is the only coaster in the world with daytime LED color-changing lights. Each ride vehicle has 36 different lights that will be programmed to change color and to either be steady, strobe, twinkle, race or pulse. That means the coaster will be an ever-changing light show for those on the ground.

 

Ride System

Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit features the country's only operating moving roller coaster load platform - meaning it uses a people-mover-style conveyer belt to get people to their vehicles so that riders and vehicles never come to a complete stop. This allows vehicles to leave the station every 23 seconds.

 

Power gets to each vehicle's cameras and computers via on-board capacitors that get freshly charged each time the vehicle passes through the load station - similar to how an electric subway train is powered. And finally - the brains of the system is a network of self-checking computers called Programmable Logic Controllers which constantly check the entire system and synchronize wirelessly.

Here's the piece removed today:

And here's a few views that i'm sure very few have seen:

Pictures by:

Mookie

NoelNo

JohnnyUpsidedown

&

Universal Orlando Resort®

this r some cool pic from johnnyupsidedown

http://www.johnnyupsidedown.com/new2009rr0.html

there go a july opening

I can't wait for this ride and honestly think it may be the best coaster in Orlando.

That said, knowing the issues they've already had with it...Reading that press release makes me even more worried that this coaster has the potential to have a 60%+ downtime.

So not having anti-rollback is another fail for USF....WTF..

Awesome pics! thanks!

Well, at least now we know that the loading platform will move with the trains when loading & unloading.

I'm going to Florida 28 June - 13 July, and I've been looking forward to this ride so much. I hope at the veryl east they have some soft openings whilst I'm there.

Thanks to this picture at johnnyupsidedown, it sort of looks like there is a treadmill like walkway next to the loading area. Was it ever confirmed to be a moving walkway as previously discussed?

Something just tells me they will be a lot of times when it will slow the line down when someone is afraid to move.

Something just tells me they will be a lot of times when it will slow the line down when someone is afraid to move.

I think it will be fine...with many of the Orlando residents used this style of platform from Disneyworld, I am sure it will transistion well to this ride.

These pics are amazing and the LEDs look like they will really, pardon the pun, shine at night.

The LEDs look ridiculously amazing! The ride keeps getting better and better. Country music + LEDs = my kryptonite.

In this vid you can see the rings, banner on the lift, and some of the queue. I wonder if there will be a net above the queue just in case some punk tries to spit or throw coins during the "crowd surf"

If you guys want to see the full unedited versions of the animation from all angles, here you go.

http://www.coasterwarriors.com/videos/

I'm getting the feeling that all this technology is bound to cause some problems on the ride. There seems to be so many computers onboard and on the ride itself that could go bad, causing a big headache for USO if the systems get damaged, crash, overheat, or something like that.

I'm really hoping that all the MCBRs placed throughout the ride don't screw up the ride's pacing as it shows in the POV.