New Harry Potter Coaster Confirmed for 2019 (Dragon's Challenge Closing Sept 4th)

djdan888

Active Member
So I wrote a thought out post and you come up with I like Disney better than Universal??


My point was Universal already has the male oriented crowd with rides such as Harry Potter, Transformers, king, etc, etc, etc.
For example, Disney, has spent the past 5-10 years hyper focusing on the Princess thing, and Magic band stuff, which I believe was a smart move. They are now diversifying with male oriented attractions and more transportation stuff.
I know a lot of females who love Potter. I would almost wager it is more popular with females than males. Its a new age. Little girls are not stuck getting only My Little Pony and Disney princess stuff for their birthdays anymore. Stores like Target re becoming gender neutral in toys. Its ok for a girl to like Potter, or Spiderman, or Transformers even. Its also ok for a boy to like My Little Pony and Little Mermaid. Look at kids at that young age. Little boys love the Mermaid ride just as much as little girls. They don't know any better. Nothing wrong with that, just a stigma we place on objects for some reason. Nintendo land will appeal to all ages and genders.
 

BubbaQuest

Well-Known Member
I'm bummed this is happening. I know it didn't fit thematically and blah, blah, blah, but I liked that IoA was a thrills park and not a "family" park. I'm really bummed that Uni is losing two great coasters.

My only hope is that as the two parks get more kid-friendly (Potter and Nintendo), the 4th gate will have some new extreme thrills.
 

ThemeParkJunkee

Well-Known Member
I go to Orlando for 15-16 days, every four years. My next trip is October 2018 for Pandora and HHN. During our trip many attractions will have been closed forever and probably some for re-furb. While I welcome this news, Hubby loves roller coasters and we were going to skip Busch Gardens this trip. Now I will need to find a day and rent a car for that. Not enough Coasters in the two parks to make it worth the price tag for him now. Sigh.
 

imperius

Well-Known Member
I'm bummed this is happening. I know it didn't fit thematically and blah, blah, blah, but I liked that IoA was a thrills park and not a "family" park. I'm really bummed that Uni is losing two great coasters.

My only hope is that as the two parks get more kid-friendly (Potter and Nintendo), the 4th gate will have some new extreme thrills.
With no inside info I'm going to say there is 0 chance of the new park having many extreme thrill rides. Steel coasters in Florida are just problematic as during the busy season they close almost every day due to rain and storms.
 

Tom Morrow

Well-Known Member
Oh...and how come the Dragons are getting the axe, yet that piece of garbage Rip Ride Rockit is still standing? Or the Sindbad show? Or Fear Factor Live? Or even the abandoned Toon Lagoon amphitheater? Priorities....should've expanded into one of these garbage attractions before going back to Potter IMO.
Well, according to some internet chatter, Hulk needed to be rebuilt due to wear and tear and Dragons was scheduled next. If this is true I can understand opting to not rebuild an attraction that is missing the main element that made it unique, and also is not up to par with the theming of the rest of WWoHP.

I do have my doubts as to the legitimacy of this though, as there are many B&M coasters older than Hulk which have not been rebuilt and 16 years is a pretty short shelf life. However, Hulk does have a unique launch system and puts out more cycles than really any other B&M, so it's possible.
 

Bairstow

Well-Known Member
Well, according to some internet chatter, Hulk needed to be rebuilt due to wear and tear and Dragons was scheduled next. If this is true I can understand opting to not rebuild an attraction that is missing the main element that made it unique, and also is not up to par with the theming of the rest of WWoHP.

I do have my doubts as to the legitimacy of this though, as there are many B&M coasters older than Hulk which have not been rebuilt and 16 years is a pretty short shelf life. However, Hulk does have a unique launch system and puts out more cycles than really any other B&M, so it's possible.

My theory is that like an aircraft frame, the need to rebuild steel coasters is related to total lifetime stress cycles. Thus, even though there are plenty of similar B&Ms older than Hulk and the Dragons, few if any were in parks with as high attendance numbers that operated year-round.

Even though they were built years later, it wouldn't have taken long for the Dragons to match and then exceed the number of cycles that the various Batman inverts had accrued.
 
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Bairstow

Well-Known Member
Love Gringotts, and I'm including the queue, I jusdr wish the coaster part was longer. I'd give up the troll scenes & 3D for it. I'm more excited about this than anything Disney is doing.

I was hoping that Gringotts was going to be the evolution of the Mummy ride, but it barely deserves to be called a coaster at all.

Has anyone speculated about the possibility of a dedicated VR coaster? Combined with a proper themed queue, which VR coaster installations always seem to lack, that could be really amazing.
 

imperius

Well-Known Member
I was hoping that Gringotts was going to be the evolution of the Mummy ride, but it barely deserves to be called a coaster at all.

Has anyone speculated about the possibility of a dedicated VR coaster? Combined with a proper themed queue, which VR coaster installations always seem to lack, that could be really amazing.
God no. VR coasters IMO are nightmares. Take forever to load and unload and really are just a bad fad.
 

Bairstow

Well-Known Member
God no. VR coasters IMO are nightmares. Take forever to load and unload and really are just a bad fad.

I think that's because all we've seen up to now have been half-baked retrofits. The load time problems, at least, could be largely ameliorated by designing the load stations to better accommodate the extra time needed by having multiple loading stations feeding the same track, as on Mummy or Manta.
 

mm121

Well-Known Member
This sums up my feelings on this bit of news:

355194ef6b48a4d4d71a0b46e81dce7e.jpg
Dragon challenge was never the same after they stopped racing them though.
 

21stamps

Well-Known Member
I feel like I'm in an alternate universe. Lol

On the Disney threads- "Disney needs teen/adult thrill rides!"
Me- "No, I like that Disney is a family park."

Also me- loved Universal as a teen, loved it as an adult, been counting down the day til my kid is tall enough to ride all of the coasters..it's been just over 7 years since I've been there, and I miss it..excited to return.

But--- over here we have "IoA needs more family rides!!"

Me- "Wait, what?!?!"

I have always loved Disney AND Universal, for such different reasons.. I don't want them to become more alike than different.
 

HonorableMention

Well-Known Member
I'm wondering what the story is going to be with this ride. The press release talked about seeing some memorable characters and creatures, but would they be the main heroes? Uni couldn't get Radcliffe or Watson for DA, and I doubt many people would enjoy "Bill Weasley's magical tour of the Forbidden Forest".

I'm really excited for this, hopefully we get a centaur animatronic or two!
 

imperius

Well-Known Member
I'm wondering what the story is going to be with this ride. The press release talked about seeing some memorable characters and creatures, but would they be the main heroes? Uni couldn't get Radcliffe or Watson for DA, and I doubt many people would enjoy "Bill Weasley's magical tour of the Forbidden Forest".

I'm really excited for this, hopefully we get a centaur animatronic or two!
Hagrid.
 

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