Usually they're not too hard to figure out. Except when posters use an abbreviation that's a bit different from the actual name of the attraction. That's when it gets really annoying. I'm pretty knowledgeable about the parks, but sometimes I'll read something with an abbreviation that's off a bit, and I'll just sit here for a while trying to figure it out, and usually I can't. I know I'm getting old, but I'm not that old yet.
I am SO on board with this ride being a Universal interpretation of the Disney "mountain range" ride (minus the height of course.) Long track, long ride length, family thrills, indoor/outdoor layout with immersive theming running alongside the track, sense of speed conveyed and enhanced by the environment, etc.
I'm hearing we're getting a lot of rockwork which is awesome but I'm trying to figure out where in the Harry Potter universe there is land with low rocky outcroppings. We're assuming it's dark forest themed but is it possible that a large chunk of this takes place on the lower water-level area in and around the "base" of the castle like in the below image? Obviously the ride wouldn't literally be anywhere near the base of our castle façade but having the in-universe setting be "on the other side of the castle" is perfectly doable and kind of genius. Consistency with the existing castle can be retained pretty easily thanks to the remote and hidden nature of the queue approach and queue building. The queue is long and disorienting with loading/unloading hidden from guests so it's perfectly reasonable for the initial ride setting to be at the base of the mountain outcroppings somewhere on the outskirts of the castle. This would allow us to feel like we're really travelling from Hogwarts to the Forbidden Forest and back again on the ride itself instead of just having us board already in the forest. This also fully justifies retaining the indoor queue. If the castle façade is appropriately dressed up to include rockwork, we could be walking through hidden tunnels and passageways of Hogwarts grounds. Thoughts?
I'm thinking of it as a shorter Cheetah Hunt, only without the hills and drops, plus better scenery, and a few show scenes for good measure.
Coaster length actually. I meant shorter in distance. Pretty sure Cheetah Hunt has a pretty long path.
The Mummy is half the length at 2,200 feet, but is the same ride time as Cheetah Hunt. Show scenes make shorter tracked rides last longer. And Everest has a lift hill climb at the start, whereas this ride will not.
Got it. Thanks for tempering expectations a bit. I guess the confusion I have is the plot of land it's on. We're hearing it's taking up the entire footprint so even without a lift hill, I imagined it would be a pretty long ride by coaster standards (not dark ride standards).
I think because of the long fast straight bits and how it hardly ever overlaps itself it will take up a lot of space without too much track. Remember too, the sides of the track will be heavily themed and will try to keep itself fairly separate from scene to scene, which doesn't leave as much space for more track.
I know it will look like wooden bridges when passing overhead of other track in a couple spots. That's better theming than most steel coasters already right there.
If you count all the outside elements, yes. Some of the outdoor scenes you'll be passing through fairly quickly though, but they will still be scenes. When I say show scenes, I was talking mainly about the indoor ones.
"Long fast straight bits" keeps getting me more excited for this. It takes no time for 0-35, hulk does 0-40 in 2. So what is the speed looking like on this baby?
