Hulk Vs. Dueling Dragons???

[tlady]

Heading back to UA in April. Have never ridden either of these coasters - we took one loook at Hulk and chickened out on our last trip to UA, LOL. But we are going to ride them this time.

Which do you consider the more intense ride - Hulk or Dueling Dragons?

I'll preface it by stating we've ridden everything at WDW and none of the rides there scare us at all. The launch on RnR is fun, but I'm not sure if the Hulk launch is comparable or more intense.

Also, none of us has ever ridden a coaster where your feet dangle.

Anxious to hear what Hulk and Dueling Dragons vets have to say.

BTW - We've ridden HP multiple times with no problems and much enjoyment, along with Revenge of the Mummy. We have not and will not be riding Rip Ride Rocket.

 

[DOOM1001]

Hulk and Dragon Challenge are both great rides,the launch on Hulk is probably the greatest 5 seconds on any coaster.I used to ride Hulk over and over a decade or so ago when it was newer,I think it's gotten a bit rougher over the years but is still a great ride.Dragon Challenge is just fun,I love inverted coasters and this is a good one.Not as good as the amazing Montu over at Busch Gardens Tampa which is probably the greatest inverted on the planet but the Dragons are still a fun ride.They used to be better when they dueled but some idiot decided to ride it and throw stuff off one train to hit people on the other train so they removed the dueling aspect of the ride which was amazing.I remember my first ride ever being on Fire(now called Chinese Fireball) and having the Ice train pass about 5 feet under Fire and just instinctively lifting my feet.Today I can still ride this ride over and over all day as it still feels like it did new.

Overall Hulk is probably more intense and they're both more intense than anything at Disney.Rock n Roller coaster is somewhat close but still less intense,the launch on Hulk is slower but being on a lift hill and then going directly into a zero G roll makes it more intense.Even though Rip Ride Rockit is my least favorite I still think it's worth trying out,going up at 90 degrees is different but the rest of the ride is still pretty fun.

 

[tlady]

Thanks for the input. Your comments mirrored what a worker at the Hard Rock hotel told me 2 years ago. Like I said, we chickened out on riding either of those coaster then. But we will ride both on this trip.
I have ridden other coasters at other parks. The only part of a coaster ride I don't like is the air time on the older style coasters, where you only have a lap belt to hold you in. I don't mind inversions at all nor launches.
I actually feel more secure on coasters that lock you in from shoulder to waist, such as Hulk and Dragons do. Can't wait to try them out.

 

[bumbershoot]

I dislike both of them but ride them because I don't feel right sending DS on alone. I would choose to ride hulk before dragon.

And apart from the "elevator"-like start on rip ride, I would willingly ride rrr before I would ride hulk or dragon. After the first time on rrr I looked at pictures of the restraints and felt more comfortable with them for that ride on up.

 

[rowan555]

I find Dragon Challenge to be slightly smoother a ride than Hulk - after 2 or 3 times on Hulk, I begin to get a headache. My 12 year old daughter was not bothered by it, though, and probably rode it another 5 times in a row by herself once I tapped out. Neither are what I would consider terrifying. When we rode Manta at Sea World for the first time, we were both SCARED - but then we ended up riding it a dozen more times and LOVING it.

 

[JillyBean1899]

The launch on Hulk is 0-40 in 2 seconds, but it's up a hill so I think you feel it more, plus you immediately go inverted at the top of the hill.

RnR's launch is 0-57 in 2.8 seconds, so they're comparable, although you have no warning on the Hulk before it launches, where on RnR you do. The Hulk is pretty intense, inversion wise, you go upside down 7 times in 2 min 15 seconds (the first 4 elements after the launch are all inversions, one right after the other bam bam bam), RnR is just 3 inversions in 1 min 30 seconds.

Dragons isn't as intense as Hulk, I rode it 32 times in a row with no trouble (we were doing timing testing and literally just moved over one seat each time the train came back in, until someone had to get off cause they were sick ... 10 of us made it all the way through), but 8 non-stop runs in the back of Hulk made me not be able to walk. Hulk is gentlest in the 3-5 rows if you don't want to wait for the front; same thing with both Dragons trains, although I highly recommend the first row of the blue dragon (whatever it's called now) and the back row of the red dragon, those are the best seats on each train IMO.

 

[rowan555]

THANK YOU for the info on which part of Hulk is smoothest. I have chronic migraines, and I was not sure I'd be able to do the Hulk coaster more than once or twice this trip. I did notice it felt smoother in certain spots, but I couldn't remember which. The front row was awesome, but it's good to know where to try to sit if we don't want to wait in the front row line.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

I've only been to US, but I am heading to IoA in a few months. I didn't find Rip Ride Rockit too bad, but I had trouble holding my head back and banged it a few times and my neck was a little sore from the effort. How will Dueling Dragons and Hulk compare in that regard, and any advice from more veteran coaster riders? I was a chicken as a teenager/young adult and then spent the last thirteen years creating and raising small people, so I don't have much coaster experience. It sounds like which car you pick matters?

 

[DOOM1001]

The last row is pretty much always going to be the most intense row on coasters.Front row might be scarier to some due to the visuals but as far as feeling the g-forces you're going to feel them the most in the back.Over at Sea World Manta is a pretty interesting example of this because in the front row very few things are as freaky as going up the lift hill in a laying down position looking down but there's nothing in front of you,only the lift hill on top of you.Right after the first drop on Manta it goes into a pretzel loop which is probably one of the most intense maneuvers out there,you get some serious G's on your chest and the further back in the train the more you feel them,in the back seat it feels like you're entering the Martian atmosphere.

 

[rowan555]

The last row is pretty much always going to be the most intense row on coasters.Front row might be scarier to some due to the visuals but as far as feeling the g-forces you're going to feel them the most in the back.Over at Sea World Manta is a pretty interesting example of this because in the front row very few things are as freaky as going up the lift hill in a laying down position looking down but there's nothing in front of you,only the lift hill on top of you.Right after the first drop on Manta it goes into a pretzel loop which is probably one of the most intense maneuvers out there,you get some serious G's on your chest and the further back in the train the more you feel them,in the back seat it feels like you're entering the Martian atmosphere.

Yes, we found that the last row on Manta was easily twice as fun as the front row. We loved it! It was, by far, our favorite coaster in Orlando.

 

[JillyBean1899]

Riding the front row of a coaster is a completely different experience from the back. On out and back air time style coasters especially, if you ride in the front you feel like you're being pushed along the track, and in the back you feel like you're being pulled along. The front car will be going fastest at the bottom of a hill, and the back will go fastest at the top (which also means more air time). It's not quite as pronounced on twisting coasters like Dragons, Hulk, etc, but you can still feel it a bit.

 

[wiigirl]

Yes, we found that the last row on Manta was easily twice as fun as the front row. We loved it! It was, by far, our favorite coaster in Orlando.