Great Adventure Outpost
Industry => Industry News => Topic started by: GADVwow on March 19, 2008, 07:33:27 AM
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http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-universal1908mar19,0,957861.story
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Sure after I visit this year they build this .... Well that means another trip to plan at least next year or the year after .. Can't wait :)
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Yeh I just got back a month ago
but its about time they needed some more Coasters .
Looks Like Universal will Have a big attendance increase next year with Harry Potter and this Coaster
from screamscape.com \/
"As you can see in the artwork, this is clearly a Maurer Sohne creation and appears to use a two unit X-Car train along with the vertical lift hill.
I?ve got one more important item to note however about this coaster. A Screamscape source tells us that the article is wrong on a few important facts. They tell us that the coaster will have no inversions at all. It will instead have a ton of heavily banked and over-banked turns and one major unique feature? the world?s first non-inverting loop. It will look like a vertical loop at first, but the track will twist around as you go up allowing the train to go over the top of the loop upright, then twist and dive on the way down to keep you upright again"
(http://www.orlandosentinel.com/media/photo/2008-03/36909946.jpg)
March 19, 2008
Universal Studios is about to build a new signature ride: a high-tech roller coaster full of lights, music, loops, twists and turns -- and a quick trip over the heads of people walking through the nearby CityWalk entertainment district.
The Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit is planned to be big, bright and brash enough to become the new visual symbol for the theme park when the coaster opens in about a year. Universal Orlando officials said Tuesday that it also will feature enough digital technology to appeal directly to what they refer to as the "YouTube culture."
Universal Orlando officials said the coaster will rise 167 feet into the air and feature numerous loops and corkscrew turns. Rockit -- the first big, outdoor thrill ride for Universal Studios -- is set to open in spring 2009.
It will provide another link in Universal Orlando's recent chain of big new attractions. An overhauled version of an old ride, renamed Disaster!, opened in January. The Simpsons Ride, a 3-D fantasy-simulation ride replacing the old Back to the Future, is set to open in a few weeks. And several still-undisclosed attractions are to open together in late 2009 as the "Wizarding World of Harry Potter" in Universal Studios' sister park, Islands of Adventure.
The flurry of activity follows a dormant period of nearly three years during which Universal offered no big new rides.
Although it will be the tallest coaster in Central Florida and one of the fastest in the state, the Rockit will be nowhere near the tallest or fastest in the amusement-park business. But like the Incredible Hulk in Islands of Adventure and several other Florida coasters, it aims to use innovation and novelty to make up for any lack of record-setting height or speed.
"We like to go for the best," said Mark Woodbury, president of Universal Parks & Resorts' creative division -- though Universal would not comment on the project's cost.
Rockit will offer high-energy video displays in the waiting line; high-intensity, color-changing LED lighting and digital audio and video effects during the ride; and various engineering innovations.
'A whole new level'
And unlike any of the other big roller coasters in Central Florida, Rockit will loom over its park's entrance and beyond. Universal plans to squeeze its track between the Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast ride and the Sharp Aquos Theatre, which houses the Blue Man Group show. From there the track would run along the boundary between Universal Studios and Universal's sound stages, then rise over the fence to twist over the sidewalks of CityWalk, outside the theme park -- a brightly lit, scream-filled advertisement for the park.
"We like to look at this as taking the thrill ride to a whole new level, both physically and figuratively," Woodbury said. "It's iconographic in its position. It's going to do some things no ride has done before. And it combines entry into the digital age with the ability to customize and personalize the ride for each rider."
That particular digital-age feature will allow riders to select their own music and create a music video of the ride. Afterward, a rider could download the video and use it on personal Web pages or video-sharing sites.
But the ride -- which Universal officials had referred to for months by the code name "Project Rumble" -- still draws principally on the basic thrills of a roller coaster: speed, height, loops, corkscrews, twists, turns and drops. Universal officials said Rockit would have several signature moves and a record-breaking loop, though they would not elaborate. The artist's rendering that they released shows the track climbing a 167-foot-tall peak, then corkscrewing downward, twisting eight times.
'It's a natural for us'
The ride's Internet-based theme digresses a bit from Universal Studios' original theme, which was all about "riding" the movies. But Universal officials insisted that the coaster will justify the inclusion of the word "Hollywood" in its name -- a term also adopted earlier this year by Walt Disney World when it renamed its rival movie-studio theme park.
"We've always fancied ourselves as embedded into the Hollywood culture with Universal. It's part of our essence. It's a natural for us," Woodbury said. "The name is very specific to the attributes of the ride. It combines creating your own movie, to customize it; that's the 'rip' part. You can download it to your personal site. And you ride it, of course. You have the 'Rockit' part, which combines the thrill and the music."
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Nice... another reason why living in Florida will be so nice :)
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Yes they knew you we're coming so they built you another coaster. ;)
and More Hotels at Universal :P etc,
I make my yearly or Bi annual visit to Universal so this is a good thing
I still got to get the Tampa
Looks like someone will be the Orlando host / tour guide ;)
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"I'll be your damn tour guide, take all of the damn pictures you want. If you have any damn questions, save them for the end of the damn tour."
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Nice... another reason why living in Florida will be so nice :)
Just booked my plane tickets to come visit ya for a few days! I gotta ride a Mauer Sohne badly...
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You better book a hotel room too... you aren't staying in my house!
Just messing with you though, and I too, need to ride an MS coaster.
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A non inverting loop huh...Thats going to be sick. When I first read it, I was like oh its just a pretzel loop but then I looked at the picture, and thats when I noticed it was not.
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That should be a pretty disorienting element. The more I think about it, this ride looks like it'll be A LOT of fun!
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I like the way it will ride above the incoming crowds and above the "action" and building
we need more "building coasters" like THunder Dolphin
when we stay at Royal Pacific the Express pass is included with the hotel room so no waiting inlines :)
and within walking Distance.
last month we did the Blue Man group.
I guess I could have noted all this if I ever got around to doing my PTR from last month ::)
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Yeah Tom... what are you waiting for?!?! GET ON IT!
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so ,many pictures to little time
i did have some good pics of harry potter
I walked behind the scences
I thought i had a scoop ?
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A scoop of ice cream?
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OK I'm on the Southwest now heading to Florida
I'm over North Carolina west of Myrtle Beach going 393 MPH
(http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/5439/gpsbm4.jpg)
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"The use of portable electronics such as CELL PHONES and LAPTOPS are prohibited at this time, please enjoy your flight" :)
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Yeah
I was sitting in the front row and the fying waitresses were watching. They don't care, that's why I had to wait till she gave the OK.
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A scoop of ice cream?
near Spiderman \/
I always ask them to Load it up, I tell them I'm very Hungry and they always overfill it for me $3.90 he he
(http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/7073/scoopzz2.jpg)
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^LOL!
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remember season pass to Universal is only $129 with holiday blackouts (Christmas, New year )
and 2-7 days is around $85-89
so if you go twice a year get a pass
and with the Southwest free airfares I been getting using the Visa card it can't be beat
Nice \/
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You can also pay $17 a month for a pass with parking and no black out dates. $12 a month without parking.
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video News link of Robs new "home park" or one of them ;) and the new coaster
http://tinyurl.com/2tgg97
http://mfile.akamai.com/12909/wmv/vod.ibsys.com/2008/0319/15645762.200k.asx
links will open Windows media player
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posting from Orlando airport
Loop going up
March 8,2009
(http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/2656/loop2.jpg)
(http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/1868/loop1.jpg)
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Some Testing of the coaster remember to Click on the HQ button for Higher Quality
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA93_f5m0MY#noexternalembed&feature=player_embedded (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA93_f5m0MY#noexternalembed&feature=player_embedded)
Below lift very slow for now \/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9qpFNIzoa4#noexternalembed&feature=player_embedded (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9qpFNIzoa4#noexternalembed&feature=player_embedded)
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Looks sorta like a rip off of Farenheight (this ride was awesome!) Not saying it won't be good but, enough "we got the biggest best and the first ,hahahaha!"
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Yes, but it also has onboard audio (that you can really hear) with your own mp3 playlist to choose from from up to 80 songs. It also creates an on-ride video from several vantage points and they can instantly rip to dvd afterwards.
This ride is so many times ahead of farenhieht that they probably won't even be close to the same ride.
Of course this is coming from the guy that likes storm runner more than farenheiht anyway lol
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Plus take a look at any gerstlauer euro-fighter , that lift hill style has been around since 06 . When was Farenheiht built 08.
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I think most people prefer Storm Runner over Fahrenheit. At least Storm Runner is more than half a coaster. ;)
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^ come on , we like that one air time hill.
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It almost as powerful as el toros hills or even as powerful.
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When I was there they had the loop up... never saw it up close though.
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After seeing it test several times tonight, all I can say is this ride looks amazing! It glides effortlessly and smoothly and quietly through everything. And although you may notice it stops sometimes on the blocks in the videos, that is only for testing the zones. It will glide right through them assuming each zone is clear.
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Florida again ? nice
Yes I'm excited for another coaster I go there once or twice a year and stay on property and get bored of the other two big coasters so this should make my stay more enjoyable. Or I should just rent a car and run to some of the other parks in the area.
And loop looks very cool
I got my Universal pass renewal up
I save about $100 if I renew with the discounts and perks and one or two visits a year it pays for itself
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Looks sorta like a rip off of Farenheight (this ride was awesome!) Not saying it won't be good but, enough "we got the biggest best and the first ,hahahaha!"
The only things similar between this and Fahrenheit are the red track and vertical lift hill. Rockit looks, to me anyway, way better than Fahrenheit. I cannot wait for it to open. I'll let everyone know how it is after media day.
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(http://www.theotherorlando.com/blog/uploaded_images/rrrlogo-799906.jpg)
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Hmm looks good
NEW Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit coaster POV Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR8cbXaMOfg#noexternalembed (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR8cbXaMOfg#noexternalembed)
TRAINS \/
http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/4875/ripx.jpg (http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/4875/ripx.jpg)
larger size (http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/4875/ripx.jpg)
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/6122/ripseat.jpg (http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/6122/ripseat.jpg)
seat closeup (http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/6122/ripseat.jpg)
updated info \/[/b]
-- The ride vehicle, called an X-CAR, will feature stadium-style bucket seats ensuring all riders have unobstructed views. And it won't have an over-head/pull-down restraint system; instead riders will be secured only by a newly designed lap bar, which Universal says "allows for unprecedented freedom of movement."
-- Guests will choose their ride soundtrack from touchpad screens built into the lap bar. Universal says the screens are "military-grade durable and waterproof."
-- Each seat will have 165-watt stereo speakers that pump out 90 decibels, in a sound system similar to the kind installed on wakeboard boats.
-- Fourteen video cameras will be mounted throughout Rockit, six on each vehicle and eight along the track, which will operate for up to 14 hours a day. The same kinds of cameras are used on high-speed trains.
-- Laser-triggered timing devices have been installed to ensure that each rider's music and video are in sync and the resulting video package will be wirelessly downloaded from the X-CAR to a viewing kiosk in 25 seconds. Guests can buy the "an edited take-home version of their experience."
-- Universal says Rockit will be the only coaster in the world with daytime LED color-changing lights, which will be programmed to change color and rotate between steady, strobe, twinkle, race or pulse patterns. The result will be an "ever-changing light show" to spectators on the ground.
-- Rockit will also feature the country's only moving coaster load platform -- essentially a people-mover-style conveyor belt that speeds up the loading process and allows vehicles to leave the station every 23 seconds.
-- Each vehicle's cameras and computers are recharged each time they pass through the load station, similar to how an electric subway is powered.
"This is where high-speed coaster meets outdoor mega-concert meets user-generated content -- all shot on production-quality video," Mark Woodbury, president of Universal Creative, said in a press release. "No one has ever created such a sophisticated ride experience. And no one has ever used technology the way we have to pull it all together."
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I was expecting a real POV by now.
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:D
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I wonder how much room are under those lap bars?
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^ They look squishy.
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Did they forget the inversions that X-Car coasters can handle like the Bent Cuban 8?
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The ride has been testing, but isn't again because they took parts of the lift off to add anti-roll backs.
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Seems like this ride is more hassle then beneficial.
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/\ That is so true! ;)
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So far it seems that way, but I have a feeling once it opens it may be one of the best coasters in Orlando.
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/\ Yes that seems to be the case!
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I don't think were are getting a real pov in a while. People want to enjoy their first time on this "beast" and not concentrating on holding their camera strait.
I was expecting a real POV by now.
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Being that nobody has ridden just yet, I'd say holding a camera is of no concern ;). Other than the anti-rollbacks, nothing about this ride has been a nuisance. Other logistical challenges in and around the site have certainly slowed things up but the anti-rollbacks are really about it as far as the actual ride itself. And even there we are really only looking at a 2 week delay. It is simply faster to remove the track and work on the ground rather than in place.
The current testing is nothing more than putting the systems through their paces so things are moving along nicely.
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sorry i just need one more post to get up to 75 posts.
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Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit gets its own specifications breakdown (http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/10/hollywood-rip-ride-rockit-gets-its-own-specifications-breakdown/)