- Oct 14, 2012
- 1,466
- 75
Bringing up The Hulk, I disagree that the interest is "moderate". The Hulk regularly has at least a 20 minute wait. During mid-season it can easily pull a 35 minute wait. Double the capacity and you have something very comparable to Dueling Dragons. Islands of Adventure has always marketed to families with teenagers and tweens. They have that market completely cornered. Those kids wants to go on Dragons Challenge and their younger siblings might not want to but there are other attractions for them.
Some of you aren't calculating that a large group of people don't ride because it is seen as terrifying. A good number of those who do ride are terrified and do it for their children or as a bravery test. I have ridden DD maybe 15 times, but each terrified me. The good news is that Hulk seems like "It's a Small World" to me because of it. IOA isn't six flags. The guests are more mixed and looking for a dark ride experience somewhere in-between.
So, please stop suggesting that the ride is a failure or falling short. The throughput is high and the desire to ride is moderate at best.
I set you (and others) up for this argument. I have highlighted the reasons in your own post. "Kids, teens, tweens" is my argument and it is quite solid. The parents don't want to ride DD/DC.
"Kids, teens, tweens" don't feel that they can make mistakes that could turn deadly. 35'ish and older come to realize that we all make mistakes and friggin yikes if one of these young operators make one on my time on earth. That is why many people don't ride such an intense ride as this. Capisce?
I certainly understand that many people are simply afraid of intense coasters, for a variety of reasons... but I am not convinced that "many people" pass on intense rides because they are specifically afraid that the operators are going to make a mistake and kill them. (I'm not even sure how that would happen??) Furthermore, what exactly would make DD more prone to deadly operator error than Hulk? (You mentioned in an earlier post that you're fine with Hulk, but not with DD.)