The Coaster Critic / May 27, 2011
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter inherited an awesome roller coaster in the re-themed, Dragon Challenge. Formerly, Dueling Dragons, the ride has to be one of the most awe-inspiring inverted coasters to watch. With three near-misses, on-lookers are frozen in their tracks as the trains pass within feet of each other. Unfortunately, from a rider’s perspective the near misses are
The Coaster Critic / April 14, 2010
Universal has been promoting the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter like crazy. A few months ago there was the augmented reality map that went out in an issue of a USA Today. I thought it was the coolest marketing idea I’d heard of in a long time. Unfortunately, the execution left something to be desired. Augmented Reality Map After
The Coaster Critic / January 21, 2010
Augmented Reality Preview of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter USA Today & Universal have teamed up to provide a pretty interesting preview of the highly anticipated Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Set to open in Spring 2010, the multi-million dollar section of Islands of Adventure has Potter fans and theme park fans anxious to see details of this new
The Coaster Critic / November 1, 2009
Dueling Dragons | Fire Dragon @ Islands of Adventure The Dueling Dragons is a popular dueling roller coaster at Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida. It consists of a red (Fire) track and a blue (Ice) track. The inverted tracks share a lift hill, but after that their layouts are unique. They boast three duels or near-misses where the trains
The Coaster Critic / October 25, 2009
Dueling Dragons | Ice Dragon @ Islands of Adventure The Dueling Dragons is a popular dueling roller coaster at Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida. It consists of a red (Fire) track and a blue (Ice) track. The inverted tracks share a lift hill, but after that their layouts are unique. They boast three duels or near-misses where the trains
The Coaster Critic / September 1, 2009
Will Spidey Be Climbing Disney’s Castle? Are the Heroes Leaving IOA? File this one under: “No one saw it coming”. Yesterday, Disney announced that they were planning to buy Marvel for $4 billion. In case you’re not into comics or haven’t been in a theater for the last decade or so, the Marvel brand includes popular super heroes like: Spider-Man,
The Coaster Critic / July 11, 2009
Next year, Universal Studios Islands of Adventure is set to open The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It’s taking over a portion of the Lost Continent section of the park as well as a plot of land that was previously unused. It will include locations from the books and films including Hogsmeade, the Forbidden Forrest, and Hogwarts Castle. It is
The Coaster Critic / May 16, 2009
Next week I’m headed down to Orlando for SeaWorld’s grand opening of Manta. It’s been open for over a week, but the Media Day will include the ‘Manta Cam’. It will basically be a personal camera pointed at me while I ride. It’s also supposed to include other point of view shots and angles. Now that I think of it,
The Coaster Critic / February 19, 2008
Islands of Adventure’s Hulk Coaster is IncredibleIslands of Adventure’s Incredible Hulk is one of the best looking coasters you’ll find anywhere. The twisted mess of bright green track is built partially over the park’s lake. Hulk’s enclosed lift hill and massive cobra roll and vertical loops dominate the skyline at Islands of Adventure. The layout is right on top of
The Coaster Critic / June 10, 2007
Harry Potter Attraction Planned for Universal’s Islands of AdventureWarner Brothers and Universal will be teaming up for a new Harry Potter attraction at Orlando’s Universal Islands of Adventure. It has been described as the world’s first fully immersive Harry Potter themed environment. Also, as a theme park within a theme park. Guests will be able to visit the village of
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