Some good info from TPG on the new Hagrid ride at IOA:
Unfortunately, nothing newâŚbut if you havenât followed along up to now, worth reading.
What Iâm surprised about is, based on the descriptions as to what weâll expect, the mock-up rendering of the ride I posted a couple weeks back seems to be likely more accurate than I had expected.
Agreed. The one thing that struck me was the height requirement. I had previously heard it described as a âfamily friendlyâ ride, due to no inversions, etc. Therefore I was not expecting much of a height requirement, and was surprised to read 48".
I wasnât expecting that either and Iâm quite pleased! It may be less of a kiddie coaster than I was anticipating.
Thatâs trueâŚalthough I suppose given the motorbike aspect of it, I guess it shouldnât be a surprise. Probably harder to design such a coaster to accommodate a wider variety of sidesâŚand they also probably donât want to have to police making sure the âshort kidâ ends up in the side-car.
I never thought it would be a kiddie coaster, but âfamily friendlyâ does imply it being more accessible.
Overall, though, Universal doesnât know how to do âfamily friendlyâ as well as Disney does.
I am still waiting to hear about express pass. I am booked for December and I will be riding it one way or another.
The words âfamily friendlyâ filled me with dread when we lost 2 amazing coasters to build it!
I donât think it will have EP for our Aug trip but youâve got a better chance!
My sister and I already agreed that we are doing it even if it means lining up during early entry.
Yes thatâs our plan.
WellâŚwe lost two coasters, at least. Amazing? Not really. They were rough and had seen better days. Nothing special about them compared to the inverted coasters found pretty much everywhere else. So I think this replacement is a much better alternative, even if it is truly family friendly. A very unique ride experience much better themed to HPâŚversus Dragon Challenge, which was just kind of rebadgedâŚand not even running in a mode where they face off at all.
Sure they do - they want you and your family to be friends. You know, the nice sort of friends who patiently wait on a bench while you go on kick-ass rides without them.
It was better when it was Duelling Dragons but they were still great coasters! Everything doesnât have to be inverted or backwards or in the dark⌠I never found them rough either. Which is interesting because wasnât it you who, when I described RRR as rough, said that it was really smooth?
Nothing rough about RRR at all, so probably so.
Inverts tend to be rough by design, though. Even some of the best ones toss you around quite a bit. As they age they become more so. I was shocked when Kingâs Island opened Banshee. Smoothest Invert Iâve ever been on.
I donât think Dragon Challenge was OVERLY rough. Only that it was rough in the way aging inverts tend to be. And while they were fine coasters, without the dueling nature, they were, as I said, just like any invert I can ride in any amusement park around the country. Had they stayed, I would ride them. But Iâm glad they were replaced with something extremely originalâŚwhich is what Iâd expect from Universal in general as it competes more and more with Disney.
Oh. Okay. Well, that makes more sense, then.
The first thing it says about RRR in the UG is how rough it is! It literally leaves me with bruised ears. I think we decided that it was because of our differing heights.
I like original, but if Iâm on a coaster I want it to be a proper coaster. It doesnât necessarily have to go upside down but I do enjoy being thrown about. Wicker Man at Alton Towers (my nearest theme park) is good for that - itâs a wooden coaster, no loops but itâs fast and youâre in no doubt youâve been on a ride!
Could be. I actually rode it a few times our last trip and specifically paid attention. I couldnât call it rough. But Iâm 5â 10", so body size may play a factor. I always ride hands up the entire time! Play either âRainbow Connectionâ or âMovinâ Right Alongâ.
Upside down is fine, but as iâve gotten older, I prefer NOT going upside down too much. Starts to make me dizzy! But I love me some good air time! I see that Wicker Man is a Great Coasters International coaster (GCI). I love GCI coasters. They do an awesome job.
Me too. I am 5ft 6in and the last time I rode it, it was painful in the ear area.
I ride hands up, maybe I need to hold on Wicker Man is so much fun. And it has a really low height restriction! So maybe Iâm talking myself out of my original point.