New Roller Coaster coming to Universal

[Ed]

'Rockit' will roll 'em at Universal Orlando in 2009
Scott Powers
Sentinel Staff Writer
March 19, 2008

Universal Studios is about to build a new signature ride: a high-tech roller coaster full of lights, music, loops, twists and turns -- and a quick trip over the heads of people walking through the nearby CityWalk entertainment district.

The Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit is planned to be big, bright and brash enough to become the new visual symbol for the theme park when the coaster opens in about a year. Universal Orlando officials said Tuesday that it also will feature enough digital technology to appeal directly to what they refer to as the "YouTube culture."

Universal Orlando officials said the coaster will rise 167 feet into the air and feature numerous loops and corkscrew turns. Rockit -- the first big, outdoor thrill ride for Universal Studios -- is set to open in spring 2009.

It will provide another link in Universal Orlando's recent chain of big new attractions. An overhauled version of an old ride, renamed Disaster!, opened in January. The Simpsons Ride, a 3-D fantasy-simulation ride replacing the old Back to the Future, is set to open in a few weeks. And several still-undisclosed attractions are to open together in late 2009 as the "Wizarding World of Harry Potter" in Universal Studios' sister park, Islands of Adventure.

The flurry of activity follows a dormant period of nearly three years during which Universal offered no big new rides.

Although it will be the tallest coaster in Central Florida and one of the fastest in the state, the Rockit will be nowhere near the tallest or fastest in the amusement-park business. But like the Incredible Hulk in Islands of Adventure and several other Florida coasters, it aims to use innovation and novelty to make up for any lack of record-setting height or speed.

"We like to go for the best," said Mark Woodbury, president of Universal Parks & Resorts' creative division -- though Universal would not comment on the project's cost.

Rockit will offer high-energy video displays in the waiting line; high-intensity, color-changing LED lighting and digital audio and video effects during the ride; and various engineering innovations.


'A whole new level'

And unlike any of the other big roller coasters in Central Florida, Rockit will loom over its park's entrance and beyond. Universal plans to squeeze its track between the Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast ride and the Sharp Aquos Theatre, which houses the Blue Man Group show. From there the track would run along the boundary between Universal Studios and Universal's sound stages, then rise over the fence to twist over the sidewalks of CityWalk, outside the theme park -- a brightly lit, scream-filled advertisement for the park.

"We like to look at this as taking the thrill ride to a whole new level, both physically and figuratively," Woodbury said. "It's iconographic in its position. It's going to do some things no ride has done before. And it combines entry into the digital age with the ability to customize and personalize the ride for each rider."

That particular digital-age feature will allow riders to select their own music and create a music video of the ride. Afterward, a rider could download the video and use it on personal Web pages or video-sharing sites.

But the ride -- which Universal officials had referred to for months by the code name "Project Rumble" -- still draws principally on the basic thrills of a roller coaster: speed, height, loops, corkscrews, twists, turns and drops. Universal officials said Rockit would have several signature moves and a record-breaking loop, though they would not elaborate. The artist's rendering that they released shows the track climbing a 167-foot-tall peak, then corkscrewing downward, twisting eight times.


'It's a natural for us'

The ride's Internet-based theme digresses a bit from Universal Studios' original theme, which was all about "riding" the movies. But Universal officials insisted that the coaster will justify the inclusion of the word "Hollywood" in its name -- a term also adopted earlier this year by Walt Disney World when it renamed its rival movie-studio theme park.

"We've always fancied ourselves as embedded into the Hollywood culture with Universal. It's part of our essence. It's a natural for us," Woodbury said. "The name is very specific to the attributes of the ride. It combines creating your own movie, to customize it; that's the 'rip' part. You can download it to your personal site. And you ride it, of course. You have the 'Rockit' part, which combines the thrill and the music."



Scott Powers can be reached at [email protected] or 407-420-5441.
Copyright © 2008, Orlando Sentinel

[GoinGoofyPlanninThisTrip]

Sounds like they may have outdone Disney this time with their version of interactivity.

[DizneyFreak2002]

They seem to be outdoing Disney all the time lately, just not in attendance....

[JPL]

It really is funny how people are quick to say Universal is out doing Disney again. While I agree that a few attractions they have are a step above of some the recent Disney attractions. They don't put the total package together. This sounds like a bells and whistles version of a standard coaster that can be found in any major amusement park through out the country. Sure it might offer choose your own song but the song you choose will not be synced to the ride. Making a music video of the ride to share online if just free advertising for the park(which by the way isn't a bad idea). I just see an out doing here. I mean the Simpsons while a cool idea is just a simulator using an existing ride technology and changing out the film and retheming the ride vehicles. The rides at Universal that out pace Disney to an extent are very limited and still have their short comings. I would say the only ride that really blows anything Disney currently has away is Spiderman.

[DisFan01]

No matter what Universal does, I will still like Disney a lot better...

IMHO, Disney just does everything better than Universal...sometimes it's the little touches that count...

[DizneyFreak2002]

Let's see.. Universal has The Simpsons Ride opening, contruction going on for the Harry Potter themed land, which will have yet another awesome ride (as well as a re-themed coaster) that will blow away anything Disney has, and now this awesome sounding coaster that was announced today... What does Disney do to answer???? Toy Story Mania (no matter what they say, it is nothing more than Buzz Lightyear in 3D), a new parade, and oh yea... American Idol (which, despite being number one on TV, has lost its mojo).... Universal isn't out doing Disney???? They sure are....

How will Disney answer??? A Narnia walk through?? Oh wait... already in the works... Maybe we will get a new Hannah Montana Land.... to go along side Rock N Roller Coaster Featuring High School Musical... Now that's what I call progress... Forget the Star Tours 2.0 project (makes sense to scrap the idea because it sounded way too cool...) And we can forget anything new with Indiana Jones because that stale stunt show still knocks them dead...

yes, Jeff.. Universal IS out doing Disney....