Entrance to the Dragon Challenge ride
Dragon Challenge was one of the three main ride attractions at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, part of Universal's Islands of Adventure theme park in Orlando, Florida.
Dragon Challenge was a pair of intertwined inverted roller coasters, which featured two completely separate track layouts. The inverted roller coaster trains were designed to resemble dragons, and the trains were dispatched in a staggered manner in order to simulate a "chase" between the two trains that resembled Harry Potter being chased by the Hungarian Horntail in the first task of the Triwizard Tournament in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.[1]
Miniature structure of a Dragon for the "Dragon Challenge" ride
The red coloured track on the attraction was called the Chinese Fireball, while the blue coloured track was called the Hungarian Horntail.
On 24 July 2017, it was announced that the attraction would close and be replaced with a new and better themed Harry Potter roller coaster attraction, with the final day of Dragon Challenge being September 5th.[2]
Basic facts[]
- This attraction originally opened on 28 May 1999 as Duelling Dragons, in the Lost Continent section of Universal's Islands of Adventure. After the announcement of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, in May 2007, the attraction temporarily closed in 2009 to be slightly rethemed and incorporated into the new area. The attraction officially reopened on 28 June 2010 as Dragon Challenge.
- After entering the queue, located inside a castle, participants walked through the champions' tent and saw some artefacts such as the Goblet of Fire.[1]
- The queue had banners for Viktor Krum, Fleur Delacour, Cedric Diggory and Harry Potter. There were only three golden eggs on display as opposed to four.
- The riders had the option to ride the red dragon (the Chinese Fireball) or the blue/green dragon (the Hungarian Horntail). However, the Hungarian Horntail was actually black, having been modified from the original conception.
- Originally, both roller coaster trains on this attraction were dispatched simultaneously to simulate a "duel", however the trains ceased to duel in 2011 after an incident where a rider was severely injured by flying debris.[3]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film) DVD 2nd-Disc Special Feature: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Sneak Peak
- ↑ https://blog.universalorlando.com/whats-new/new-ride-wwohp-hogsmeade/?__source=sm.awr.ao.TWITTER&linkId=40127679dead link
- ↑ Universal Orlando's twin dragon coasters will never 'duel' again
See also[]
- The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
- Flight of the Hippogriff
- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
- Dragon Challenge on Coasterpedia
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