MrBestDayEver

I'd have to disagree with you. Sure Hulk has always had a couple awkward transitions that led to head banging but I remember the ride developing much worse head banging and heavy vibrations as it got older... But then again when it comes to anything Universal, if you can't already tell, I tend to see things through rose colored glasses. So my view might be a little biased.

Those pictures... so much yes

I can confirm that this version of Hulk is not an exact recreation of the 1999 version. Their have been a few design changes. Now how much these new changes will smooth out some of those awkward transitions, if at all, has yet to be seen. And a big reason why it was so rough was because it was old. I know that older B&M coasters exist but their is not a beemer on the planet that hit at minimum 40 cycles an hour every day for almost 16 years. I'd be willing to bet that Hulk had more total cycles than any B&M anywhere. And yeah I've just never been a fan of the new restraints. They make me feel claustrophobic. So I'll be hoping for the old restraints... Or even better yet maybe hyper restraints. But like I said I really, REALLY doubt it.

Well to me the biggest problem KI has with haunt is the fact that each house isn't well enough staffed for people to take breaks. Minors obviously have to take breaks but Majors, I've been told, usually don't. And when it comes to Haunted Houses breaks are key. They keep your actors energetic all evening. The problem they have now is that by the end of the night the actors are usually not very scary because they are tired. This could easily be fixed by better staffing one house so you can rotate people out. It'll keep things fresher and more lively. But it also goes beyond staffing. When you're supplying a budget for a Halloween event you also have to worry about maintenance and upkeep. Parts and props break and have to be replaced. In the off season you should update areas of your haunt that didn't work well to make them better and when you spread the budget to 11 houses you forfeit a lot of opportunities. To be honest I shouldn't have compared KI's haunt to HHN. Considering KI's budget is probably a couple hundred thousand and HHN 25 had a budget in the tens of millions. But I stand by my argument that I would rather see KI focus its energy and resources into less houses and make them stronger. Because as of right now I (as well as many others) find them very weak. And I also understand that KI will never be able to do something to the size and scope of HHN. Also not to be mean, but to say that HHN is more of a regional event than Halloween Haunt is just wrong. While the local audience does make up a big part of the HHN attendance, I have yet to see to anyone flying in from Europe and Asia or even the west coast just to experience Halloween Haunt.

I hope not. I hate the new B&M restraints the vests are so constrictive. I'll take the old ones over the vests any day. Plus I've learned that when it comes to restraints Universals philosophy is the simpler the better so I'm hoping for the old style.

Well look at Halloween Horror Nights in Hollywood. They have a WAY higher attendance than Halloween Haunt and they only do 6 houses and they have less rides open as well. I mean even HHN in Orlando, the biggest most attended Halloween event in the world, only does 9 houses. If an event with practically unlimited resources only dares to do 9 houses, KI has no business doing 11. The problem is the quality of the event has dropped because they are trying to spread resources way to thin. I'd much rather wait in an hour and a half line for a good house than 45 minutes for a lame one. Like I always say I'll take quality over quantity any day. Plus if they were to go down to 5 or 6 houses they wouldn't have to add anymore permanent structures. And it would keep the rotation of houses fresher because each house couldn't last more than 4 or 5 years.

If they build another one of those gray buildings for a haunt in River town I'll flip a switch. I mean really KI buy a tent and put it back stage. If it's good enough for Halloween Horror Nights it's good enough for Halloween Haunt. Plus Haunt has way to many mazes as is. Once again... Matt I know this great manufacturer and it rhymes with Hockey Fountain Destruction.

So not Kong... but guys get excited for Nintendo Land. They're coming to Universal Japan, Hollywood and Florida and they supposedly all have a budget of 350 million dollars. If they can do Diagon Alley for 256 million I can't wait to see what UC has in store for Nintendo. http://www.engadget.com/2016/03/05/nintendo-land-universal-japan/ Nothing special or insider. Just an article I read.

If it was on a floorless train you couldn't have hyper restraints. You wouldn't have a floor to attach the restraint to.

They turn bad coasters into great coasters... how is that a bad thing at all? They take old beaten down woodies and turn them into incredible new masterpieces. Six Flags and RMC should be praised for this! I mean I think Six Flags is doing a WAY better job than Cedar Fair right now and the biggest reason is because of these new RMCs (and their incredible new collection of Dark Rides.) Why Cedar Fair hasn't signed on the dotted line bewilders me.

Please Matt Ouimet... Please. A highly themed, high capacity RMC. I'll stop making fun of Cedar Fair I promise!

Well you have to remember that at Universal the big crazy coaster isn't king. The E-Ticket is. Potter changed everything for Universal and because of this UC has changed their agenda. They are now much more interested in highly immersive lands and E-Tickets than big thrilling coasters. The only reason they are refurbishing Hulk is because it's an iconic part of Islands of Adventure and is still very popular. Dragons has been loosing popularity and more importantly doesn't fit the bill for an ultra immersive world like Hogsmeade. It's taking up prime real estate, real estate that could be used for another E-Ticket. I don't have concrete evidence that this is happening and plans can always change. But I do feel confident in saying that its future is questionable. If I hear otherwise I'll definitely let you know. Edit: So I just heard the craziest rumor about Hulk ever. I don't believe it at all but someone suggested that Hulk's new trains will have B&M hyper restraints. Like I said I don't believe it at all... but if it did... new best roller coaster ever.

Unfortunatly... And I don't for sure... It's looking like Dragons life at IOA is coming to an end.

I'm so excited for Storm Chaser! I really hope it's a huge success for the park and brings lots of paying customers so Kentucky Kingdom can stay open for a long time. Mostly so I can have an RMC close to me because clearly Cedar Fair isn't going to do it.

If your referring to Volcano Bay I know a very little bit. If your referring to theme park 3 I know nothing. Only that they didn't buy those 500 acres on the other side of I-4 for their health. As for Jurassic Park I've herd so many ideas thrown around for years. In fact Kong was born from the Jurassic Park jeep adventure ride originally planned for that space. But I'd be willing to bet with the success of Jurassic World that their will be something added in the future. I've herd a few rumblings about a glass sphere ride... but nothing concrete so don't hold your breath. However something to note about UC, great ideas never die... They are just improved and reborn! For example a proposed ride for Islands of Adventure was a ride based off of Van Helsing/ Dracula. You would enter his castle and board very special ride vehicles attached to robotic arms. I bet you can guess what that ride became.

You know someone suggested that to me but when it comes to the actual ride I have no idea what is going on. I just know that the que is getting an update. I don't know what it entails all I know is that it will be different. When it comes to Universal I know a lot about Kong, a little bit about everything else and a trail of crumbs about some future projects. Also let's get one thing straight right now. UC operates on a faster time frame than WDI. Period. Diagon Alley went from Blue Sky in June of 2010 to opening in July of 2014. Avatar went from Blue sky sometime in early to mid 2011 and will open in 2017. UC is just a lot smaller than WDI so things get finished quicker. That's not to say that WDI hasn't had some amazing success in that time. Cars Land at DCA is simply wonderful and I truly believe that when Star Wars land is finished in 2019 or later it will be a worthy competitor for Diagon Alley. Universal will just have opened 5+ new attractions, a new hotel, a hotel expansion, update resort wide infrastructure, a new water park, new restaurants and will be well into planning park 4 by that time.

I suck at editing photos. But you get the point. If you don't know who these gentlemen are, on the right is Mark Woodbury President of Universal Creative. On the left is Bob Weis President of Walt Disney Imagineering. Also if anyone was curious... regarding Hulk, more than just the track is getting an update

Man it seems that Six Flags never gets a break on these forums. My favorite thing at WDW are the pixie dust snorters. Every time I go to Disney World I find someone with a pin collection or limited edition magic band, tell them "Universal is better" and listen to them list off every reason under the sun why you should sell your soul to the Walt Disney Company... Most of them haven't stepped foot in Universal Studios. Hours of entertainment. Also as promised: It's going to be so awesome when all the effects are working and the gate doors swing open as your car approaches.

Guys... I've got it. All the clearing in river town and by Banshee are connected. You'll board the 365 foot RMC/ B&M giga coaster hybrid in river town. The lift hill will go over the Eiffel Tower and the drop down into the international street fountains. You'll then hit a series of air time hills all the way to the SOB clearing where their will be the world's first ever triple Chuck Norris back flip turn around launched spicy tuna sushi roll. After which you will be subjected to the world's longest most annoying brake run all the way back to river town. Name: Cedar Fair's anti theming/ concrete exhibit record breaking coaster: The Ride

Ladies and gentlemen behold: The Pixie Dust Snorter And just my luck... Mako Madness has posted a video of Kong testing outdoors! If you'd like to see it check out their Instagram. (Umakomecrazy) They've promised to put up a better video of it later, and when they do I will post it here.

Noted and updated!

They've already announced that AK will be open at night starting April 22nd. Check the WDW website. According to that Animal Kingdom will only be open until 5pm all of July. It might just be an error, but i'm wondering if it has something to do with the recently announced budget cuts at WDW.

Ok... because some of you have shown some interest in this new ride; I've given it a forum of its own. I have a lot of information about this ride... so lets get started. Skull Island: Reign of Kong will be a 140 + million dollar E-Ticket dark ride at Universal's Islands of Adventure theme park. It will combine 3D elements with practical sets and some of the most advanced animatronics ever built. Photo Link: http://blog.universalorlando.com/whats-new/reign-of-kong/ Photos link: http://blog.universalorlando.com/whats-new/reign-of-kong/ The ride will be the longest attraction at Universal Orlando and will clock in at around 6 minutes. It will also feature both an indoor and outdoor section. Roughly 1 minute will be spent outdoors while the remaining 5 will be spent indoors. The ride has also been designed with a bypass track so that the ride can operate in inclement weather by skipping the outdoor section. A company called VDL containersystemen in the Netherlands developed the technology that the Kong ride vehicles will operate on. They will be self driving ride vehicles that will be guided by a very sophisticated WIFI navigation system. So no, their will not be any visible track or guide rail. Each ride vehicle will hold around 72 riders; with a total hourly capacity of over 2000 riders per hour. WARNING! FROM HERE ON OUT THEIR WILL BE SPOILERS!!!!!! IF YOU WANT TO BE SURPRISED WHEN YOU RIDE STOP READING!!!!!!! First off the que is being designed like a haunted house where you will encounter many hostile natives. It was designed with the help of the Halloween Horror Nights team and will contain scare actors. If you are interested in hearing more about this I recommend you tune into the Season 10 finale of Face Off on the Syfy channel. From what I've been told their final challenge is designing a very special costume for this attraction. Now onto the actual ride. The rides basic story: Their will be 6 scenes on Kong (8 if you include load and unload) I know of 3 of them. 2 are confirmed... 1 is a rumor but is very likely to be included. The first scene I know of is the "Insect Pit." This is the rumored scene. From my understanding... this scene will not contain any 3D. All animatronics. I've attached a video of what you might be able to expect but let me warn you right now... Some might find this video disturbing. The second scene I know of is a smaller version of the Kong 360 3D ride at Universal Studios Hollywood. The third scene and the ride finale is a "Kongfrontation" with the big ape himself. Even though you will meet him earlier in the ride here you will really get to see him in his full glory. This animatronic will be massive and probably the most life like creature ever built. The company that made him has built a Kong animatronic in the past for the King Kong Musical... And let me tell you, as far as I know, this one will be even more impressive. I've attached a video of the one from the musical. As far as I know this Kong will not need anyone to operate him unlike the Kong in the Video. And that is everything I know about Skull Island: Reign of Kong. If you'd like to follow along on the fun i'd recommend visiting two websites: The first is http://mythexplorer.com/ It follows Erin Ryder as she rediscovers Skull Island... and the Remains of the 8th Wonder Expedition Company. The second is Universal Orlando's blog. http://blog.universalorlando.com/ They should on occasion release new information on Kong. As for an opening I've been told Kong should be doing Soft Openings in May and will be fully open in June. Hulk should have a similar time frame. Get excited everyone... This ride is going to be Universal once again redefining what a theme park attraction can be. Photo link: http://blog.universalorlando.com/whats-new/reign-of-kong/ Also if someone finds a grammatical error let me know... I did type this pretty fast.

This show looks fantastic! If it's half as good as the original World of Color it'll be fantastic. I just wonder how they will do it this summer with Animal Kingdom closing at 5pm all of July.

Well if I did that they wouldn't be surprises anymore now would they? Actually I think I will give Kong its own thread. And I'll tell you everything I know for sure.