Why 'VelociCoaster' has us SO Excited...
"Feel the rush of the hunt as you race through the jungle alongside raptors on the Jurassic World VelociCoaster, a new species of roller coaster coming Summer 2021." - Universal Orlando Resort
When news broke a few days ago that the new steel coaster being rapidly erected at Universal’s Islands of Adventure (Orlando, FL) would officially be called ‘VelociCoaster’ and would indeed be opening in the summer of 2021, we just about lost it. It’s not that we had never heard of the coaster - after all, anybody within a radius of about a mile can probably see the top hat of the fully-constructed track by this point - nor is it that we expected it any later than next summer. What excites us is having rumors confirmed, and the idea that we may now be able to solidify our plans to visit the park for the ride’s opening.
Despite all appearances, Katie and I would not consider ourselves ‘coaster enthusiasts’. We love roller coasters, and we know the work of certain manufacturers (B&M, Intamin, Arrow, etc.) better than others, and we can even speak the lingo when we need to - ‘airtime’ this, ‘jojo roll’ that. But at our core, we are theme park enthusiasts above all else. We love to be immersed. We love to see animatronics fitted to environments, we love to hear theme music from onboard speakers, and we love to follow storylines within the rides we board. We would both take an exceptional dark ride over a mediocre roller coaster any day of the week. If we continue to see further rumors confirmed as time goes on, then VelociCoaster will likely to turn out to be both an exceptional dark ride and an exceptional coaster, making it the second Intamin coaster at Islands of Adventure to do so.
Hagrid’s Magical Motorbike Adventure, which opened in 2019, is currently our mutual favorite coaster of all time - but the VelociCoaster may just top it. Based on layout, leaks and the hearsay among enthusiasts, we are assuming that the VelociCoaster will feature a launch (possibly several) similar to that of another Intamin ride at our home park - Storm Runner. In fact, one of our favorite sources, Amusement Insider has gone as far as to provide a CGI POV preview of what the full run of the ride might look like (see below).
Imagine boarding a train about as long as that of Storm Runner’s, an InGen logo stamped on each car. An attendant checks your harness to be sure that you aren’t going anywhere, and then your train slides smoothly out of the station and into the pre-show. Chris Pratt’s ‘Owen’ broadcasts a daunting message overhead, alerting you that predatory raptors may be on the loose and extremely agitated. Suddenly, one of those raptors drops down right in front of you - and you’re off like a shot!
For the rest of your ride, you’d be banking left through rockwork, banking right through a waterfall, shooting up into the sky and back down again as an animatronic Indominus Rex reaches out to grab you (a la Expedition Everest’s famous Yeti, before he took up disco) and misses you by a hair. Music pounds in your ears, and you’re so overwhelmed by the adrenaline that you can barely hear your significant other screaming in the adjacent seat. Your train enters a heartline roll and you’re almost able to reach out and touch the lake beneath your head, and long before you’re ready for the adventure to be over, you are back at the station again, preparing to unload.
Universal is well known for being a close competitor of Disney when it comes to theming and commitment to the immersive experience. For us, as avid theme park enthusiasts and mild coaster enthusiasts, this could truly be one of the greatest ride experiences we will ever have.
That said, there is another and more personal reason why we are excited for this ride to be opened up to the public: when we last visited Islands of Adventure in February of 2020, not a single track piece had been laid. When we return in the summer of 2021, we will be in for the ride of our lives. For roughly eight months we have watched this coaster hatch, grow and prosper, just like the dinosaur(s) on which the ride is based. Although the wait times are certain to be record-breaking, wild Dilophosauruses could not keep us away.
