About 3 weeks ago, Universal Orlando announced that The Incredible Hulk Coaster would undergo a major enhancement and refurbishment. Today, this “incredible” coaster has shut down to undergo this major change. In Universal Orlando’s announcement, The Incredible Hulk Coaster was said to receive new enhancements to its storyline, ride vehicles, and overall experience and wouldn’t reopen until the Summer of 2016.
Screamscape.com made a compelling case in which we may see a complete replacement of the entire coaster. “We may actually be seeing a complete replacement of the entire coaster, track piece by track piece, support by support, where Hulk will be rebuilt as a brand new ride,” writes the website’s editor.
Previous rumors have suggested that the coaster will be receiving a brand new queue and although we cannot confirm this, we are sure that this work may be done to create “new enhancements to its storyline” and “overall experience,” as the resort’s blog indicates. What we can confirm is that the roller coaster will be receiving new ride vehicles and replaced accelerator launch motors.
The resort has not wholly said exactly what they plan to change. However, if the coaster is to receive enhancements to its storyline and overall experience, the coaster’s queue may not be the only thing changing. Earlier, we predicted that only the launch motors (confirmed in a filed permit), queue, ride vehicles (confirmed in Universal Orlando’s announcement), and the coaster’s technology would change or be updated; we predicted this change would take several months. Now that we know the coaster won’t reopen until the Summer of 2016, this project may be much more prodigious than we earlier suspected.
If Universal Orlando can construct an entire ride in just one year (TRANSFORMERS: The Ride-3D was completed in just one year, making it the fastest the resort has ever built and opened an attraction), why is The Incredible Hulk Coaster’s refurbishment taking approximately 9 1/2 – 11 months? Well, the coaster may be undergoing much more work than just receiving brand new ride vehicles, a newly themed queue, and new launch motors. As Screamscape.com mentions, the coaster could perhaps be rebuilt or somewhat changed to connect with the new storyline. Universal Orlando insists that the coaster “will still have the same ‘Incredible’ personality that makes it one of America’s most popular coasters.” With that being said, if there are any changes to the coaster’s track layout, we don’t expect any major changes as the coaster is so recognizable for its impressive stunts. Instead of a somewhat new track layout, we predict that the resort will rather replace the tracks with new track pieces to make the experience more smooth while still providing the same overall run-through.
A project of this size is complicated work, and Universal Orlando must work efficiently to ensure the attraction is viable and safe for all guests to ride. This may seem like a lengthy downtime, but if Universal Orlando actually is planning to somewhat rebuild the ride, it is a large amount of work and less than a year or about a year of downtime is relatively short.
DISCLAIMER: This article is tagged as a rumor. Please be aware that the information in this report can change or may not have been planned at all. Attraction Insight shall not be held accountable for the accuracy of any rumors.
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