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Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit Soft Opens


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The ride looks interesting, but I couldn't see myself traveling down there just to pick this one up. Manta, yes, HRRR, no.

I definitely wouldn't make a trip down there to ride until later this year, because with all the problems it's already had there will probably be a few more to be ironed out. I wouldn't count on a consistent full daily operation for a while. I'm very curious to see some of the initial reviews, but honestly, this looks more like a bigger version of the Backlot Stunt Coaster to me than a true thrill ride.

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The ride looks interesting, but I couldn't see myself traveling down there just to pick this one up. Manta, yes, HRRR, no.

I definitely wouldn't make a trip down there to ride until later this year, because with all the problems it's already had there will probably be a few more to be ironed out. I wouldn't count on a consistent full daily operation for a while. I'm very curious to see some of the initial reviews, but honestly, this looks more like a bigger version of the Backlot Stunt Coaster to me than a true thrill ride.

I headed over after work on Saturday, after hearing it'd be opening at 6PM. I'm in the middle on the ride. I was told prior to my ride, from friends who had already ridden, that the backseat was rough and shaky. Well, as luck would have it, my first ride was in the backseat. Lets break this down:

Pros:

* Restraints were VERY comfortable for me

* 30 songs to choose from, however if you can get into the easter eggs you'll have 969 other songs to choose from. The difference is all the hidden tracks will NOT take your video if you choose to play them.

* Songs seem to be very well synced to ride. I chose Bring Me To Life by Evanescence. It was perfect. The soft ballad portion at the beginning of the song played during the QUICK climb up the lift before cranking up into the rest of the song as we crested the lift.

* The Non-Inverting Loop is hella fun! Its very smooth, graceful. You just roll right over the top.

* Drop into the firehouse facade was GREAT and the headchopper seems almost impossible

* The Treble Clef element was incredibly fun and very fast paced.

* LED lights on the trains look far better in person than in the videos that have surfaced on the internet.

* The conveyor systems used to get guests on the trains and to keep trains moving at all times looks like it'll be awesome when they get it functioning.

Cons:

* The portion of the ride that heads back towards City Walk, such as the Crowd Surfer, was very dull. Pacing was good, but the ride just didn't do anything for me.

* I was forewarned that the backseat was rough, I wasn't lied to. I had a headache by the time we reached the first block brake, so the remainder of my ride was very unpleasant....could have also affected my opinion on the last half as well. It seems like the train was hitting a speed bump at 65MPH. The jolt was quick but very painful. The train also shook pretty violently during a few transitions. I'm still scratching my head over why Universal went with Maurer.....

* Capacity is nightmarish right now, I'm not sure how it'll be effected when they run 5 trains.....they were running 3 trains on Saturday.

* Queue is a standard queue. No extensive theming really, but some fun videos that explain to guests how to select their soundtrack as well as available options.

Overall, its a nice addition for Universal. Least its something new to tide the crowds over until Wizard World of Harry Potter makes its debut sometime in 2010. The ride is fun, for sure, but its not a top 10 ride or anything of the such. The soundtrack DEFINITELY adds to the experience, as standing by itself the ride wouldn't be all that terriffic. Now that Universal has officially dropped the soft opening and announced that the ride is OPEN to ALL guests everyday now, I'm planning to go back and try it out again. I'm told there are some trains that are worse than others for the roughness, so perhaps I got one of the bad ones.

I can definitely say that SeaWorld took the win for the best new ride in Orlando this year, no question about it HRRR is NO Manta.

-Todd

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What's the difference between the soft open and then being open to all guests?

I think the difference is, they didn't announce it. Its like if they just said, Diamondback will be open some time next year and one day they randomly open it without telling anyone, and the people that are there just happen to be the first ones.

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Delirium Guy, thank you for the review. I'll be heading down in December and I'd like to prioritize my time based on well respected posters reviews of the newer stuff. I was leaning towards SeaWorld anyway so thanks for the confirmation that I'm making the right choice!

By the way, how good do you think capacity will be with this ride once it's fully operational?

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Delirium Guy, thank you for the review. I'll be heading down in December and I'd like to prioritize my time based on well respected posters reviews of the newer stuff. I was leaning towards SeaWorld anyway so thanks for the confirmation that I'm making the right choice!

By the way, how good do you think capacity will be with this ride once it's fully operational?

Well, I think you'll enjoy your visit to SeaWorld. Manta truly is a wonderful, wonderful ride....and I'm not being biased because I work there. It turned out to be far better than I expected, mostly due to the gorgeous theming and detail that they actually put into it. HRRR is a fun ride, I'd recommend a trip to Universal as well if possible....especially if you've never been. They say that when Rockit is at capacity, with the conveyor system function, a train will dispatch every 23 seconds. I seem to recall them stating around 1800 per hour, but that may not be correct. Information seemed to just trickle out since they announced the ride last year. Right now, imagine Italian Job. 12 person trains that have to stop, unload and load.

I think Rockit will be a ride that grows on me the more I ride. If I hadn't got a headache right at the beginning, I may have enjoyed it more. I'm gonna go try to catch a ride or two on Saturday to see if its any different.

- Todd

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It looks like an awesome ride. I was down at Universal at the end of April, first of May and they were still doing trackwork and general construction of the ride itself. I'm already looking into planning my trip down there for next year and definitely want to do Universal again. I'm also thinking about Sea World or Busch Gardens.

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