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Universal Orlando (Studios/IOA/Epic Universe) : General Discussion

Universal have shared some more details about Hagrid's Rollercoaster:



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Universal said:
New Details Revealed for Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure

Last month, we announced that Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure is opening on June 13, 2019 in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade. We are excited to share with you more details on this epic new addition – along with two special guests. Tom Felton, who plays Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, and Alan Gilmore, Art Director for the Harry Potter films, are here to share more details about the new adventure:

THE EXPERIENCE:

It begins when you join Hagrid’s Care of Magical Creatures class and board magical motorbikes specially designed to make you feel the freedom of flight. For your journey you can either ride the motorcycle or board the adjacent sidecar, providing two unique experiences. For the first time, you will soar through the Forbidden Forest and come face-to-face with some of the wizarding world’s rarest magical creatures… but as often the case with Hagrid, things don’t go as planned.
  • This new experience combines a new level of storytelling and innovative coaster technology with rich environments and sets – including an actual forest with 1,200 live trees!
  • Experience a freewheeling coaster flight where you’ll twist, turn and rush forward – and backward – at speeds of up to 50 mph into the dark forest
  • Encounter some of the wizarding world’s rarest magical creatures, such as a majestic Centaur; a swarm of mischievous Cornish Pixies; Fluffy the three-headed dog; and even one that’s never been seen in the films
  • Hurl past challenging obstacles, drop into an endless pit of Devil’s Snare and so much more …while encountering a few surprises along the way
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Matt N said:
Wow; I think this looks absolutely fantastic! The theming looks world class, and it should definitely be an outstanding addition to an already outstanding area!

This theming does seem to be dividing opinion, however; some (like myself) say it looks fantastic, whereas others say it looks awful.
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For the record although I've critised the ruins that doesn't stop everything else looking fantastic. The concept of a Forbiden Forest coaster full of magical creatures is great, and so far it's almost exactly what I wanted.

Maybe there's a good story reason for the ruins, but I'd have preferred it if they had used some natural element or the Quiditch Pitch or even the Shrieking Shack for the ride to burst through, rather than generic ruin.
 
"It's better than nothing."
-Sorry, I mean,
"It's better than anything we get out of Merlin."
 
Depends how many of you are going and where you plan to stay?

I would recommend 1 night at the Hard Rock Hotel, that way you'll get 2 days of unlimited express passes for universal. It's also a very nice hotel and means you can enjoy city walk at night.

Just a thought.
 
Hagrids is nearly finished. Human riders also been seen on ride. Scaffolding starting to come down across the site with just the drop track building and entrance to finish.

I'm hoping we could see an early/soft opening in the coming weeks as I'm off to florida in just over a week for two and a half weeks.

 
Ted said:
I'd love there to be a soft opening and I do think it's pretty likely if there is this much progress done.
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We have two week universal tickets so if I will be refreshing twitter a lot and drop anything to get on park if I hear anything whilst I'm there from the 12th to the 23rd.

Externally there appears to just be the scaffolding to come down around the drop track and most of the painting on that is already done as well as whatever is hidden behind the scaffolding around the entrance Plaza.

If I do get in/on i will be sure to post up what footage I can!
 
Have to say I'm surprised at how nippy it looks. The pacing however remains to be seen when you add in the stop/stars to the equation.
 
Press previews have been done so fingures crossed for a soft opening in the coming days (I'm have 2 more days in florida and can but hope)
 
Have an article written by Theme Park Insider documenting what they saw: https://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201905/6786/

Some other interesting facts about the ride that I thought it might be worth mentioning:
  • Ride reaches a top speed of 50mph.
  • Has 7 launches, which is a world record.
  • Is the world's first "dual drop free fall coaster", but you will only experience one of the drops; the other is there for capacity reasons.
  • Drop track is 16ft tall.
  • More than 1,200 trees have been planted for this ride.
  • I can't seem to find an official source for this, but the ride length is apparently 5,053ft, which would make it top Mako at SeaWorld Orlando as the longest coaster in Florida!
All in all, I think this coaster looks phenomenal; top job, Universal! It would seem that as per usual, no expense has been spared with the theming and landscaping, and the ride itself actually looks a lot more thrilling than I was initially expecting; some of those transitions do not look like those of a family ride!
 
Sorry for double posting, but it would seem that Universal's Jurassic Park launch coaster is opening in 2021 as opposed to 2020 like many thought:

On a side note, is it only me who is more excited for this than RMC Gwazi at Busch Gardens Tampa? Both sound world class, though!
 
I'm pretty sure the consensus was it was opening in 2021 anyway; at least that's what most of us had a stance of.
 
Hagrid's Magic Motorbike thingy has had some media previews. Seem to be generally positive reviews so far with a fun and fast paced ride, however you do pass some of the show scenes too quickly to really see them.

It is apparently going to run 12 trains. Here is a look at the station/loading procedure which features a moving walkway:

 
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