Dueling Dragons
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dueling Dragons | ||
 The entrance to Dueling Dragons. |
||
| Location | Islands of Adventure | |
|---|---|---|
| Park Section | The Lost Continent | |
| Type | Steel - Inverted | |
| Status | Open | |
| Opened | May 28, 1999 | |
| Manufacturer | Bolliger & Mabillard | |
| Designer | Ingenieur Büro Stengel GmbH | |
| Model | Inverted Coaster | |
| Track layout | Dueling | |
| Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill | |
| Track name | Fire | Ice |
| Height | 125 ft (38.1 m) | 125 ft (38.1 m) |
| Drop | 115 ft (35.1 m) | 95 ft (29 m) |
| Length | 3200 ft (975.4 m) | 3200 ft (975.4 m) |
| Max speed | 63 mph (101.4 km/h) | 57 mph (91.7 km/h) |
| Inversions | 5 | 5 |
| Duration | 2:25 | 2:25 |
| Height Restriction | 54 in (137.2 cm) | |
| Dueling Dragons at RCDB | ||
| Pictures of Dueling Dragons at RCDB | ||
Dueling Dragons is a pair of dueling roller coasters at Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure. The ride is the only dueling inverted roller-coaster in the world. The ride is themed to two dragons, one side being Fire and the other Ice. It features a layout in which the two trains share a common lift hill, but then traverse two completely unique courses. The ride features three near misses between the two trains, two of which bring riders feet within several inches of riders on the other train. The ride was constructed by Bolliger & Mabillard of Switzerland. The Dueling Dragons coasters reach a top speed of about 55 MPH and get withing 12 inches of eachother at some points. Each dragon's 2 and a half minute flight includes a total of 5 inversions, including a zero-g roll, a Cobra roll, two corkscrews, and two vertical loops, for an excellent riding evperience.
Contents |
[edit] Quotes
After walking through one of the longest and certainly most elaborately designed queues for any theme park ride, riders come to a decision in the path they follow. At this intersection, riders will turn right to ride on the Ice Dragon and left for Fire Dragon. Merlin frequently taunts riders with some of the following lines.
- "Turn right for Ice and left for Fire! Now, pick the dragon you desire."
- "The left burns hot, the right turns cold, whichever you choose you best be bold."
- "Past this point of no return, your only choice is freeze or burn." (commonly misinterpreted as "freezer burn")
- "Turn left for Fire, turn right for Ice! I know not which is best advice."
Also, the ride attendants use several quotes when dispatching the trains:
- "Battle Bravely."
- "I bid thee farewell."
- "May the fates be with you."
- "May the dragons spare you."
- "Ice/Fire Dragon, you are clear for battle."
- "May the best dragon win."
- "Keep your hands inside the dragon."
[edit] Trivia
- During the aerial "combat" between dragons - the suspended coasters - there are three times that guests will come within 18 inches of their opponent.
- When the trains are loaded, they are weighed as they are being dispatched in order to properly time the near-miss points.
- Every train has two seats (rows 3 & 6) designed to fit guests with large "body dimensions."
- Each dragon's 2-minute and 25-second flight includes several inversions, including a zero-g roll, a Cobra roll, two corkscrews, and two vertical loops.
- The Fire Dragon is faster at 63mph, but the Ice Dragon has more side-to-side motion.
- The restraints on the Fire Dragon trains are yellow, and the Ice Dragon trains' restraints are blue. However, the front row restraints on both sides are pink, as they represent the dragons' tongues.
- This attraction was originally intended for Disney's Animal Kingdom park, but was scrapped after the Park's constructions budget could not allow the ride to be built.
- The huge walls behind the ride were put up after local residents complained about the screaming.
- The Fire Dragon is the only Bolliger & Mabillard inverted coaster that does not include a Zero-g roll.
- The tracks are filled with sand to reduce noise, because of the proximity of the coaster to Dr. Phillips High School.
- Coaster enthusiasts consider the best seat on the Ice "Dragon" to be the front row, right-side seat to be the best, due to the number of near-misses to which that seat is the nearest.
- Conversely, the best seat on the Fire "Dragon" is considered to be the back row, left-side seat, due to the increased lateral motion and its proximity to the other "Dragon" during the near-misses. The back row is also the best row for the ride because of the intense floater air recieved from Fire's second hill and drop.
[edit] See also
[edit] Extended Reading
[edit] References
- The Book : Dueling Dragons, Megan S. Holmes, March 10th, 2005
- RollerCoasterDatabase, http://www.rcdb.com/id558.htm, 2006
| Roller coasters at Universal Orlando Resort |
|---|
|
Dueling Dragons - Flying Unicorn - Incredible Hulk - Pteranodon Flyers - Revenge of the Mummy - Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster |
