Dragon Challenge (known as Dragon Duel from 1999 to 2010) is a pair of interlinked and reversed roller coasters in the Harry Potter Wizarding World territory of Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida, United States. The trip is themed for two dragons chasing, one side being Chinese Fire Balls and the other Hungarian Horntail . It features a layout in which two trains along an adjacent hill lift but traverse two unique programs. This trip was designed by Bolliger & amp; Mabillard from Switzerland. The Dragon the Chinese Dragon reached a top speed of 60 mph, and the Hungarian Hornet dragon reached a top speed of 55 mph. Both versions feature five inversions and total trip time of two minutes and 25 seconds.
When the Islands of Adventure opened on May 28, 1999, the vehicle was called Dueling Dragons and is located in The Lost Continent area with two sides named Fire and Ice. During most of the trip, the trains were delivered simultaneously, providing three near-miss meetings throughout the course. However, after two injuries related to loose objects hit the rider on another coaster, the roller coaster is sent separately. After the renovation period, the attraction reopened in mid-March 2010, and was officially renamed the Dragon Challenge with The Wizarding World of Harry Potter on June 18, 2010.
In July 2017, Universal Orlando officials announced that the Dragon Challenge will close on September 4, 2017. The coasters have reached the end of their service life, and the park is destroying the coasters to pave the way for a new fascination based on Harry Potter franchise. The new attraction is scheduled to open in summer 2019.
Video Dragon Challenge
Histori
Dueling Dragons (1999-2010)
Dueling Dragons is one of the original attractions of Islands of Adventure , opened with a park on May 28, 1999, at The Lost Continent area of ​​the park. At that time, it was the only completely reversed roller coaster duel in the world. The trip was themed two dragon duel. The line was decorated as a crumbling castle that destroyed two dragons. Once the riders arrive at the station, they choose which of the two placemat they want to experience. Blue Coaster named Ice and a red coaster named Fire .
Dragon Challenge (2010-2017)
In May 2007, Universal announced plans to build The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, a new section devoted to the popular Harry Potter series of books and movies. Dueling Dragons , as well as an adjacent Flying Unicorn roller coaster (later renamed Flight of the Hippogriff), is shown for inclusion in the new section. Universal later announced that the Dueling Dragons would be renamed the Dragon Challenge after the reopening of the attraction and that its two coasters would be renamed Hungarian Horntail and Chinese Fireball .
Construction of queue re-theming began in the third quarter of 2009. In the first quarter of 2010, the trip was closed to update the attractions to include the Harry Potter theme. In mid-March 2010, the roller coaster was reopened to the public. On June 18, 2010, with the opening of all the The Wizarding World of Harry Potter , the trip was officially a Dragon Challenge.
During the summer of 2011, there were two accidents (one serious) caused by what was believed to be a loose object that crashed into the rider on a roller coaster ride. The most serious accident is when a man is struck with an object and must get his eyes removed due to the amount of damage. On the same day that person was attacked, Universal Studios announced that the mats would not duel until the investigation was over. For two months the mats were sent separately and by mid-October 2011, Universal made the decision to remove the duel aspect of the trip permanently without any explanation causing the injury. No injuries have been reported since.
In July 2017, Universal Orlando officials announced that there will be a new roller coaster based on the Harry Potter franchise, which is scheduled to debut in 2019. The Dragon Challenge is set to close on September 4, 2017, to make space for a new roller coaster. At the end of September 2017, Dragon Challenge is being removed.
Maps Dragon Challenge
Drive experience
Queue
Upon first entering the line, guests were taken past banners for the Triwizard Tournament which showed support for four contestants. After passing Weasleys' flying Ford Anglia, they entered the 'Tent Champions'. From there, the guests passed a large pedestal with a Triwizard Cup shining at the top, and several dark "tunnels" leading up to the two coaster stations. Just before entering the station, guests must choose which placards they want to ride: Chinese fireballs to the Left or Hungarian Rabbit to the right. Once at the station, on the ceiling, there is a projection of a dragon.
The queue before Harry Potter's restoration was designated as a broken castle where the Fire and Ice dragon lives. Queues pass through the basement and include human skeletons, torches, and cobwebs. Just like the current queue, to ride the Fire, guests will go to the left while the rider who wants to hop on the ice will go right at the intersection point.
In April 2015, a metal detector was installed as a permanent fixture to the entrance. The pull officially has metal detectors, security with metal detecting sticks, and a zero-tolerance policy for cell phones, wallets, coins, watches, cameras, anything that can be placed in someone's pocket; all bags should be completely empty before boarding. The offending person will be sent to a locker or may be removed from the park without a refund.
Track layout
Chinese Fire Balls
After departing from the station, the train makes a left turn slightly toward the transfer line before starting up 125 feet (38 m) in height. After being on top and after going through pre-drop, the train makes a left-hand left fall 115 feet (35 m) to the ground. Then, the train goes back up, through Immelmann followed by a slight right turn before entering the air-time hill (this is the first of three near-miss points with the Hungarian Horntail train when the roller coaster duel). Next, the train falls back to the left turn slightly towards the second Immelmann. After the right-handed helix down and the short section of the straight path, the train passes through the second point that is almost missed by the other train, a vertical loop. After the loop and other parts of the track are straight, the train makes a right turn toward the third and final element near-miss which is a bottle opener. Then, the train makes a turn to the left followed by a small drop that leads to another part of the straight path before entering the last element in the coaster layout, another bottle opener. Train then turn left to last brake. After turn left, the train returns to the station where the rider lowers the load and the next rider loads.
Hungarian Horntail
After departing from the station, the train makes a right turn slightly toward the transfer line before starting up 125 feet (38 m) in height. After being on top and after going through pre-drop, the train makes a sharp drop of 95 feet (29 feet) to the ground. Then, the train goes through 270 degrees turn right before turning before entering the zero gravity scroll which is the first of three dots that were previously almost defeated by the Chinese Fireball train. Then, the train makes a right turn right toward the wall before entering the Cobra roll. After a straight section of the lane, the train enters the second missing point with another train, a vertical loop. The train then turned right toward the last point of near death, the bottle opener. Next, the train does a turn to the right followed by a turn to the left toward the last brake. After the turn to the right, the train returns to the station where the riders are dismantling and the next rider loads.
Track
The steel track is approximately 3,200 feet (980 m) in length and the lift height is about 125 feet (38 m) for both roller coasters. The first drop for Chinese Fire Balls is 115 feet (35 m) while the Hungarian Horntail is 95 feet (29 m). The Chinese tracks are red Fireball and the Hungarian Horntail is blue. Both coaster supports are white.
Train
Dragon Challenge is operated with several steel and fiberglass trains. Each train has eight cars with four seats for a total of 32 riders per train. The front seat of the train gives a semblance of mouth while the other gives a resemblance to the hand. All Hungarian Horngirl trains resemble blue ice dragons while all Chinese Fireball trains resemble red fire dragons.
When the coaster car dueled, in order for the train to meet in each of the three near-miss dots along the layout, the train will be weighed once they are loaded on the station to adjust the delivery time. (For example, if a Chinese Fireball train weighs more than the Hungarian Horntail train, the Fire Ball will be sent after the Horse's Tail.)
Reception
Dragon Challenge has generally been well received since it opened in 1999 and until closing in 2017. Guests usually prefer one of the saucers on top of the other.
In today's Golden Ticket Awards for Top Steel Roller Coasters, the Dragon Challenge is in the top 50 every year between 2000 and 2012. It peaked at 11th in 2002.
In the Best Roller Coaster Polls in the World Mitch Hawker, both tracks are ranked separately. In each year that roller coaster steel poll has been held, Chinese Fire Balls have higher ratings than Hungarian Horntail. In 1999, Chinese Fireball and Hungarian Horntail peaked at positions 9 and 18, respectively.
See also
- Incident in Universal park
References
External links
- Dragon Challenge at Universal Orlando Resort
- Media related to the Dragon Challenge in Wikimedia Commons
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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