Potter 2.0 Construction Thread

[BryceM]

Universal did a decent job keeping the steel track hidden from the rest of Potterland, but within the ride it's a pretty major black mark on the immersiveness that made the Potter project a success. I'd almost rather the ride be torn out and replaced with a dark ride or something else that could do a better job sticking to the theme.

That would be awful. I would have a hard time saying that The Incredible Hulk is the only major roller coaster at Islands of Adventure... Plus I love the ride. I just miss when it was Dueling Dragons...

 

[IAmFloridaBorn]

Universal did a decent job keeping the steel track hidden from the rest of Potterland, but within the ride it's a pretty major black mark on the immersiveness that made the Potter project a success. I'd almost rather the ride be torn out and replaced with a dark ride or something else that could do a better job sticking to the theme.

No

 

[JustInTime]

That would be awful. I would have a hard time saying that The Incredible Hulk is the only major roller coaster at Islands of Adventure... Plus I love the ride. I just miss when it was Dueling Dragons...

Why does everyone miss Dueling Dragons so much? What was the difference?

 

[flynnibus]

Why does everyone miss Dueling Dragons so much? What was the difference?

A better queue... And coasters that actually dueled and made close passes to each other

 

[BryceM]

A better queue... And coasters that actually dueled and made close passes to each other

And a better ride entrance (the awesome dragon statues).

 

[IAmFloridaBorn]

Why does everyone miss Dueling Dragons so much? What was the difference?

Better name, queue line, entrance, and overall ride experience. Not to mention the awesome show building it was in!

 

[JustInTime]

Better name, queue line, entrance, and overall ride experience. Not to mention the awesome show building it was in!

I don't think that last part is true, right? LOL

 

[bubbles1812]

A better queue... And coasters that actually dueled and made close passes to each other

Weren't they like that though at the beginning when it changed over to Dragon Challenge? And then some idiots started throwing things and someone got hurt? So Universal had to change it? So even if Dueling Dragons still existed as is, they would no longer be actually dueling... It's amazing how just a few people can ruin the enjoyment of so many.

EDIT:Ahh... just looked it up... they suspect it was just loose objects flying, not people actually throwing things. But still people being idiots by not securing loose items. Either way, would have lost the dueling part no matter what the ride was named.

 

[BryceM]

Weren't they like that though at the beginning when it changed over to Dragon Challenge? And then some idiots started throwing things and someone got hurt? So Universal had to change it? So even if Dueling Dragons still existed as is, they would no longer be actually dueling... It's amazing how just a few people can ruin the enjoyment of so many.

EDIT:Ahh... just looked it up... they suspect it was just loose objects flying, not people actually throwing things. But still people being idiots by not securing loose items. Either way, would have lost the dueling part no matter what the ride was named.

I wonder if they will ever duel again...

 

[bubbles1812]

I wonder if they will ever duel again...

I would guess that is a no unfortunately. They don't want to risk law suits and a bad rap.

 

[JT3000]

I suspect they'll quietly start dueling again... eventually. They want the (fairly) recent incidents to be a distant memory. And so far, those have been the *only* incidents. It's not like the ride is a disaster waiting to happen.

 

[flynnibus]

EDIT:Ahh... just looked it up... they suspect it was just loose objects flying, not people actually throwing things. But still people being idiots by not securing loose items. Either way, would have lost the dueling part no matter what the ride was named.

Yes, a series of incidents over the life of the attraction eventually caused them to just avoid dueling all together. But the question was 'why did people like it better when it was the dueling dragons..' and that was part of the experience people miss. That and the queue was actually tied into the idea of different dragons.. ice vs fire. Now all of that is gone.

 

[BryceM]

Yes, a series of incidents over the life of the attraction eventually caused them to just avoid dueling all together. But the question was 'why did people like it better when it was the dueling dragons..' and that was part of the experience people miss. That and the queue was actually tied into the idea of different dragons.. ice vs fire. Now all of that is gone.

The dining hall part of the line with the soldiers frozen against the walls and ceiling...

I want it all back!

 

[IAmFloridaBorn]

I suspect they'll quietly start dueling again... eventually. They want the (fairly) recent incidents to be a distant memory. And so far, those have been the *only* incidents. It's not like the ride is a disaster waiting to happen.

They said NEVER again.

 

[JT3000]

They said NEVER again.

Who is "they?" I read the press releases following the incidents, and I don't recall Universal ever using the word "never" in regard to anything.

 

[IAmFloridaBorn]

They is Universal obviously.... and I was working there and they said they were never running the dragons again to duel.

I also remember an article about 2 months ago saying that they were going to remove the loops so they can duel them again, but that doesn't seam feasible.

 

[flynnibus]

They said NEVER again.

But it was done for legal/safety issues - things like that you never simply 'slide back into' without making changes. Because if they were to start dueling again, and another incident happened, a lawyer would have a field day proving negligence on the part of UNI for operating the ride in a manner they knew to be unsafe.. proven by UNI's own actions to stop dueling previously.

The only way they'll duel again is if the ride is changed in a way to avoid the previous conditions - and since it's a feature that isn't really even a signature attribute of the HP version of the ride.. I doubt they'll invest anything to make it happen.

 

[IAmFloridaBorn]

But it was done for legal/safety issues - things like that you never simply 'slide back into' without making changes. Because if they were to start dueling again, and another incident happened, a lawyer would have a field day proving negligence on the part of UNI for operating the ride in a manner they knew to be unsafe.. proven by UNI's own actions to stop dueling previously.

The only way they'll duel again is if the ride is changed in a way to avoid the previous conditions - and since it's a feature that isn't really even a signature attribute of the HP version of the ride.. I doubt they'll invest anything to make it happen.

In the post above thats basically what I said.

It doesn't bother me anymore, I've accepted that lol. I just hope they go ahead and re theme or replace it. IMO Nothing of dueling dragons should be left anymore.

 

[JT3000]

But it was done for legal/safety issues - things like that you never simply 'slide back into' without making changes. Because if they were to start dueling again, and another incident happened, a lawyer would have a field day proving negligence on the part of UNI for operating the ride in a manner they knew to be unsafe.. proven by UNI's own actions to stop dueling previously.

The only way they'll duel again is if the ride is changed in a way to avoid the previous conditions - and since it's a feature that isn't really even a signature attribute of the HP version of the ride.. I doubt they'll invest anything to make it happen.

Using this argument, any attraction that has seen a small handful of incidents over its lifespan, without being fundamentally altered, would have to be deemed unsafe. That's a lot of attractions. I mean you're making it sound like this was happening on a regular basis. It was two separate incidents that just coincidentally occurred around the same time. The attraction operated with an otherwise clean safety record for over 10 years prior to these (and the maintenance worker getting hit.)

From a liability perspective, is Dragon Challenge potentially unsafe? Yep. So is every other theme park ride in existence. DC may inherently present a bigger risk than many others, but they all present potential safety hazards of their own, many with worse safety records than DC that are still in operation.

And the potential fix for this ride doesn't have to be something drastic like changing the layout (which they wouldn't even contemplate.) It could be as simple as making people empty their pockets and secure other loose items before boarding. Given the nature of the ride, they should've been doing this from the beginning.

 

[flynnibus]

From a liability perspective, is Dragon Challenge potentially unsafe? Yep. So is every other theme park ride in existence. DC may inherently present a bigger risk than many others, but they all present potential safety hazards of their own, many with worse safety records than DC that are still in operation.

The difference is the company by making a change DUE to the problem - basically acknowledges the problem exists. If they were to reinstate the behavior without making specific changes to remove the problem - a lawyer would go after them for negligence in a future accident.

It's no different then if the operator inspected a train.. found faults with it.. and sent it out anyways. If an accident were to happen, the company would face liability and negligence. Even if the accident wasn't with that train, but another, discovery would find such behavior and prosecution would use it to show the company didn't follow procedures or had unsafe procedures, etc.

The company has basically undermined any ability to downplay the severity of the issue by taking the action to stop using that feature of the ride. Lawyers would use that decision to argue the park knew it was unsafe - and any future use of something they knew to be unsafe.. would equate to negligence. Their action has basically shown that the company itself believes the risk is too great. It's pure candy for lawyers in future incidents. The company has basically no hope of arguing that the risk is minimal and doesn't pose a safety risk - because they themselves have admitted that with their existing actions.

And the potential fix for this ride doesn't have to be something drastic like changing the layout (which they wouldn't even contemplate.) It could be as simple as making people empty their pockets and secure other loose items before boarding. Given the nature of the ride, they should've been doing this from the beginning.

They already do this - no there is no physical inspection - but people are not supposed to ride with loose items. It's why lockers were there to start.