Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure Construction Discussion

[youhow2]

I'm gutted next time I'll be in the parks is for HHN opening two weeks after it closes, but the writing has been on the wall for years now... Time to move on.

Dueling Dragons was one of the most unique roller coaster experiences in the world, and is/was pretty iconic. It's understandable that many who coast these boards would be fairly upset. I'm just glad I was someone lucky enough to get to ride it... Not everyone is so fortunate.

 

[rhino4evr]

Dueling Dragons was the very first ride I went on when I visited the park for the first time in 2000? I think?, Anyway, I 'll never forget walking through that queue the first time and being completely blown away. It felt like having a walk through haunted house as the line for the ride. It was dark and spooky, so much that I could barely see. There was a Merlin walk around character inside the line that we took pictures with. It totally set my expectations for the rest of the park.

 

[Joel]

joe summed up the whole situation pretty perfectly so instead of inserting the multi quote I had lined up, I'll just continue with all the feels I'm having..

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Dueling Dragons was the very first ride I went on when I visited the park for the first time in 2000? I think?, Anyway, I 'll never forget walking through that queue the first time and being completely blown away. It felt like having a walk through haunted house as the line for the ride. It was dark and spooky, so much that I could barely see. There was a Merlin walk around character inside the line that we took pictures with. It totally set my expectations for the rest of the park.

I totally forgot about the live actor in the queue!

 

[Andysol]

I was at work when this announcement dropped... and it crushed me. I'm not a fan of Potter... it made me like Potter even less when that stupid overrated wizard took over The Jaws Ride (Diagon Alley/Gringotts will never be as good or better than The Jaws Ride... sorry, not sorry).

Man- if you want more salt on the wound- with no Potter, not only would you still have Jaws and a fully realized LC, but you'd likely still have twister, beetlejuice, etc.
To add to that, prices would probably be 30% less than what they are now, hotels would be discounted even further (although there would likely be no sapphire or cabana bay).
And crowds would be manageable on any date of the year- walk-ons all over the place.

And likely the biggest change we'd have today without Potter in Orlando actually has nothing to do with Universal. Say bye to Avatar, Tron and a plethora of other expansions at WDW

 

[Quint]

with no Potter

UO might not still be there. They were in dire straights prior to 2010.

 

[Joel]

Man- if you want more salt on the wound- with no Potter, not only would you still have Jaws and a fully realized LC, but you'd likely still have twister, beetlejuice, etc.
To add to that, prices would probably be 30% less than what they are now, hotels would be discounted even further (although there would likely be no sapphire or cabana bay).
And crowds would be manageable on any date of the year- walk-ons all over the place.

And likely the biggest change we'd have today without Potter in Orlando actually has nothing to do with Universal. Say bye to Avatar, Tron and a plethora of other expansions at WDW

 

[Living_Bread]

As gutted as I am, Montu is only an hour away. Without the dueling aspect, there really isn't all that is special about Dueling Dragons now. Dueling coasters don't seem to fare well in Florida. Gwazi was unbearably rough, and this stopped dueling because of that phone incident. It's a shame. I love dueling coasters and the way they interact with eachother

 

[Mad Dog]

UO might not still be there. They were in dire straights prior to 2010.

This!....How things have changed. In 2009 Sea World Orlando was going great & Universal Orlando was sinking fast. Now everything is reversed. Potter turned everything upside down.

 

[Disneyhead]

UOR's situation prior to Potter is a bit overblown. 2007 was the end of a 5 year drought of additions that was caused by NBC purchasing Universal and them attempting to sell off the Parks and Resorts division. And pressure from Blackstone to cut capital investments. Which makes perfect business sense if you actually end up selling.

But they didn't find a buyer, and Blackstone divested so NBC/Universal was forced to invest. They started with Simpson's and then Disaster!. They closed on the Potter deal while building Simpson's. 2009 ended up being a really down year because of people holding off visiting because they were waiting on Potter. But UOR was never really on the ropes. Even in 2009 they made a profit. But they were definitely limping along on autopilot for a good five years. And it hurt them.

 

[jarmor]

I remember getting a FREE 2 or 3 day ticket for the resort one year as a result of a superbowl offer! I miss those days lol.

 

[wizwit]

I remember getting a FREE 2 or 3 day ticket for the resort one year as a result of a superbowl offer! I miss those days lol.

In July 2009, 14-day two park unlimited tickets were $99.

 

[Scott W.]

And to address several topics at once I've seen in the thread here, USF and IoA was not designed as an alternative to the "family" rides of WDW, they were designed to one up Disney in all departments (famously they wanted their hot dogs larger, their restrooms with more stalls, and the paths bigger) with the Jay-bang flair. IoA was a direct response to complaints and issues with USF; people wanted outdoor attractions, coasters, flat rides, and water rides. IoA was in a spot where all but TWO attractions would close in the rain, now that count is up to four.

Dueling Dragons is an ok B&M inverted coaster, it's not the best nor the worst. Dueling shouldn't have been removed as that added a lot of the thrills. Universal neutered the coaster and B&M was not happy about that and rumored to look into legal action. B&Ms rumored threats, maintenance issues (UOR's fault for sure), low guest counts (UOR's fault for a poor new entrance), WB's disappoint in using metal detectors, and the desire to round out the park with an indoor attraction puts DD on the chopping block.

Universal picked its language very carefully for their blog post, it made sure to highlight that this will be a coaster, that this will be heavily themed, and that it will be family friendly. Universal's definition of family is very different than Disney's and I don't think we're going to be working with a Gringotts or SDMT style coaster here. Each of the points Universal highlights also covers the issues with a DD replacement: this will be a coaster, it will not be over retention ponds and grass, and it won't scare the pants off of Michael Gambon.

Last point with UOR is there are consistent and predictable arguments against their attractions whether they are deserved or not. In the early 1990s the attractions didn't work as reliably as Disney's, in the late 1990s and early 2000s it was Universal "just built unthemed steel coasters" (remember THOSE complaints?), Universal didn't built new attractions and just did overlays, and now Universal just does screens. I get those who will miss DD and want a more intense experience, but please remember there are many who view this attraction as a DETRACTION to the park.



You are taking one data point and extrapolating a trend for both UOR and SeaWorld. I get you are disappointed about this change but nothing about the UOR or SeaWorld parks is fundamentally changing. SeaWorld opened Antartica and is still going to add Sesame Street and a river raft ride. Universal rebuilt the Hulk and is still going to be adding new coasters (two of their next four park projects are coasters). The new attraction will not be a B&M Invert but it doesn't automatically mean it won't be a physically intense coaster. I have seen many posters already jump to major conclusions on this attraction and UOR's plans; just chill out. I get that we don't have all the answers or information right now but we should not spiral into doom and gloom or uncheck euphoria.

There's been a lot of talk recently about IOA being a response to much of the criticism of USF and this should be one of the main ideas when in the blue sky 4th park thread.

 

[Alicia]

There's been a lot of talk recently about IOA being a response to much of the criticism of USF and this should be one of the main ideas when in the blue sky 4th park thread.

Yes. No screens would be the new response to complaints for the existing two parks.

Last year a survey was sent out that had users design their own perfect new theme park. A huge amount of attention was placed on classic style dark rides and boat rides, and it even described what they were by saying NOT simulators and NO screens. Moving character figures and story inside a building.

I imagine a new park will be their chance to compete with Magic Kingdom, and they may dive in head first. Still with an edginess to it of course. It is Universal after all, but a lot more classic style rides than we've seen from them before might be on the table.

But that, is a conversation for the 4th park blue sky thread, so I digress.

 

[DK745]

In July 2009, 14-day two park unlimited tickets were $99.

I remember visiting in January 2010 (last time I visited prior to that IOA was still under construction) and tickets were $99 for 7 days. I think it was a record cold too since I remember something about oranges being at risk of being frozen or something, but the park seemed fairly empty.

Things have certainly changed.

 

[Scott W.]

Yes. No screens would be the new response to complaints for the existing two parks.

Last year a survey was sent out that had users design their own perfect new theme park. A huge amount of attention was placed on classic style dark rides and boat rides, and it even described what they were by saying NOT simulators and NO screens. Moving character figures and story inside a building.

I imagine a new park will be their chance to compete with Magic Kingdom, and they may dive in head first. Still with an edginess to it of course. It is Universal after all, but a lot more classic style rides than we've seen from them before might be on the table.

But that, is a conversation for the 4th park blue sky thread, so I digress.

I've recently been getting quite reminiscent about USF and I'm starting to get slightly irritated by the current state of the park and the direction it's heading. Looking back to when it first opened, it was all about riding the movies and how movies are made. Potter, Simpsons, Nintendo and a few others just don't belong in that park and I think the park has completely lost its way and is now just a generic park.

To get this back on topic, I think IOA has stayed true to its form and I think Potter and this expansion fits the vibe of the park perfectly.

 

[Paulio]

Hopefully after Fast and Furious Supercharged,

I've recently been getting quite reminiscent about USF and I'm starting to get slightly irritated by the current state of the park and the direction it's heading. Looking back to when it first opened, it was all about riding the movies and how movies are made. Potter, Simpsons, Nintendo and a few others just don't belong in that park and I think the park has completely lost its way and is now just a generic park.

To get this back on topic, I think IOA has stayed true to its form and I think Potter and this expansion fits the vibe of the park perfectly.

Well, isn't what Potter is about? Considering Universal is a theme park based on "riding the movies", Potter definitely fits in the park, as most Universal attractions are based on movie IPs anyway. That said, as I do recall, there was a Hanna-Barbera 3D simulator show which had really nothing to do with the movies. Then it followed by Jimmy Neutron and later Despicable Me theater, which is definitely based on the animated movie. So I definitely felt Simpsons and Despicable Me perfectly fits in the park. Back then when it was created, there was no internet or anything to post things online so guests get to experience how the movie is really made. Now people post things online for everyone to see and everyone can just go back and watch the rides all over and over again online. It starts to lose its generic "ride the movies" form as a result.

 

[Living_Bread]

I feel like it used to be "ride the movies", and USF feels kinda like "watch the movies" now. In fact, I feel Islands has a more "ride the movies" feel than USF now. USF is literally just a bunch of screens now.

 

[rhino4evr]

As gutted as I am, Montu is only an hour away. Without the dueling aspect, there really isn't all that is special about Dueling Dragons now. Dueling coasters don't seem to fare well in Florida. Gwazi was unbearably rough, and this stopped dueling because of that phone incident. It's a shame. I love dueling coasters and the way they interact with eachother

An hour is being pretty conservative. It's almost 2

 

[Living_Bread]

An hour is being pretty conservative. It's almost 2

It honestly depends. I've had quicker drives sometimes, and I've had longer drives. Still, it's not all that far away. For tourists, Sea World even offers free shuttles to Busch Gardens. It's not hard to get to, and is honestly close enough to Orlando in my honest opinion that while I'll miss the coaster, I know i can easily get the same/ifnot better experience just two hours away.