Possible replacement for Dragon Challenge

[Metro West]

I saw this on Facebook over the weekend and think it looks really cool!

Make sure you watch the video...the ride looks like lots of fun.

http://screamscape.com/html/islands_of_adventure.htm#Dragons

 

[damo]

Orlando United has a thread.

http://forums.orlandounited.com/threads/future-of-dragon-challenge.10118

 

[TheConsciousness]

To be completely honest, that looks like a really fun ride. When I first rode E.T. I was hoping that the ride would pick up to this speed. A little more intensity would have gone a long way.

 

[CoachZ]

Looks awesome! Thanks for sharing!

 

[maverik85]

As sad as I'd be to see Dragon Challenge to go this would make a great new ride and fit in well. Have thought it looked great since Arthur opened and hen the Dragon Gliders ride opned was thinking it'd be a perfect addition for Universal.

 

[Metro West]

As sad as I'd be to see Dragon Challenge to go this would make a great new ride and fit in well. Have thought it looked great since Arthur opened and hen the Dragon Gliders ride opned was thinking it'd be a perfect addition for Universal.

That's what I thought as well. As much as I loved DD this is a worthy replacement. Since the trains don't run together it's not fun any more. This new ride allows the whole family a chance to ride...can't wait!

 

[maverik85]

Yea it lost a lot of it's appeal once the dueling aspect ended. One of the best parts was the loop and seeing the trains heading right towards each other.
Make it more highly themed would fit in a lot better too. It's not too surprising that it is one of the shortest waits (if not the shortest) in either park. It has a cool queue but it is very basic compared to FJ and Gringotts.

 

[sherlockmiles]

It's never been the shortest wait for any of our trips except for the last hour of the night. We really like it - more than hulk - esp if you sit in the front.

 

[Metro West]

It's never been the shortest wait for any of our trips except for the last hour of the night. We really like it - more than hulk - esp if you sit in the front.

Agreed...did you ride it while the dragons dueled? I used to ride Fire at least four or five times a day when I first moved to Orlando...loved every minute of it. I have no interest in riding since the trains no longer duel so I'm not too sad to see it close. The waits were never really long since the coaster is in the back of the park...it takes a while for people to get around to it. I used to enjoy listening to the story in the castle and reading the drawings on the walls while in the queue. Ah...good times.

 

[sherlockmiles]

Never rode when they were dueling - hadn't worked up the courage at that point. We dd get lots of great photos of them dueling at least. For us, too, now its a ride we hit a few times every day.

 

[tink1957]

I rode fire once when it was dueling...but it was wasted on me since I had my eyes shut the whole time

Looking forward to seeing what they have planned.

 

[schumigirl]

I rode fire once when it was dueling...but it was wasted on me since I had my eyes shut the whole time

Looking forward to seeing what they have planned.

Lol.......I closed my eyes first time too.......after that I loved it.

Think I'm one of the few that still enjoy it even without the duelling.........and never waited more than 10 minutes to go on it.

Back in 2007 we waited a longer time but last 8 or 9 years it's always been a walk on with EP.

 

[Kivara]

I'm hoping it will take a while if/when they decide to tear it down. DC is one of my favorite rides. I know it takes up a lot of space, but it seems like they keep putting in more and more screen-based rides (which I love, don't get me wrong, I love every ride except Doom at Uni), but I will sorely miss having that real coaster feel.

RRR beats me to death, and I love the Hulk, but DC edges it out for me. I could care less about the dueling (and as a Potter-fan, I love the walk to the ride )

 

[bchbetha]

I'm sure I rode it back when it dueled but I don't remember it. I still think it's a fun roller coaster. For those of us who don't know how it was different (better), at least it's a thrill ride. Short line is likely not because it doesn't duel anymore (your average park attendee wouldn't know that) but because they're wusses. Or they hate the lockers there (man, that is one congested space!).

 

[maverik85]

I don't think the non-dueling has much to do with attendance either, but Uniersal is probably still seeing the short line as a lost opportunity compared to other Harry Potter attractions and other newer rides. Will be somewhat sad to see it go as I do still enjoy them and there aren't many major thrill coasters like it in the Orlando area (mostly just Hulk, RnRC, and the coasters at Seaworld). But that is a large area that they could do a lot with and a Frobidden Forest attraction could be amazing and a lot of fun.

Just need to have them build a Ministry of Magic dark ride next to Diagon Alley next (where Fear Factor currently is) and they'll have the main HP areas covered. And if they did use this system for Forbidden Forest and preferabbly a trackless dark ride system for MoM then we would have a nice variety of attractions for all of them too. I imagine a nice mix of indoor scenes with animatronics and screens and some outdoors more coastery elements through some woods for the Forbidden Forest. While I imagine a MoM ride could be a trackless dark ride through the Department of MYsteries (maybe set during the climax of Order like Gringotts is set during the bank scene in Deathly Hallows).

 

[maverik85]

New rumor out now saying that they might be looking at a different ride system for the Forbideen Forest and save this style of attraction for another ride. The new rumor is that it will be a launched motorcycle coaster themed to look like Hagrid's motorcycle with the sidecar (so have two differet ways to ride it then at least). It would have multiple launches allowing for it to stop at different points, or jsut slow down, for scenes to play otu with creatures in the forest.

While I think this sounds fun, and theming it to Hagrid in some manner would make a lot of sense for the FF (plus maybe have the queue go through his hut) I think I still prefer the prior rumored system like used in Arthur.

 

[Disxuni]

Never rode when they were dueling - hadn't worked up the courage at that point. We dd get lots of great photos of them dueling at least. For us, too, now its a ride we hit a few times every day.

That might explain why you previously stated that it was never the shortest wait for you until it was one hour before closing in the past. Ever since the dueling aspect has been taken away and started getting stricter with wanting everyone to put their belongings in lockers, the wait time has dramatically decreased over time I've noticed. At first it was as it was, but I noticed as time passed it would slowly turn more and more people off and the wait time has lowered dramatically. Now it does not get a long wait unless it's peak season.

I know personally from experience it was one of my favorites due to the dueling concept, but when that was taken away, then when it was a requirement to store all belongings away, that's when I stopped riding. It was just too much of a hassle to try to wrestle through the crowd and wait for a locker (since they never increased the capacity of lockers), so since the change and since I had my pass, I only rode it three times in total.

 

[sarahothomas]

I rode these while they were still "dueling." Great experience. Personally, it was my favorite ride when I last visited in 2014. I am just hoping I have one last chance to ride it when I visit this December, but I look forward to any new rides. This just means I absolutely HAVE to plan for a future trip once the new ride is open!

 

[sarahothomas]

Also - I can't say why this was the case, but lines were extraordinarily short when I was there over Thanksgiving week in 2014. At the worst, it was a 15 minute wait. Most times were a walk-on for me. This was much-appreciated after experiencing Disney crowds that same week.

 

[damo]

I rode these while they were still "dueling." Great experience. Personally, it was my favorite ride when I last visited in 2014. I am just hoping I have one last chance to ride it when I visit this December, but I look forward to any new rides. This just means I absolutely HAVE to plan for a future trip once the new ride is open!

Was it still your favourite even when they weren't dueling anymore? I think they are much better than Hulk.