VelociCoaster Preview & Concept Art Released!
Earlier this evening Universal Orlando Resort released a short preview clip hyping up the VelociCoaster, and it is 0:46 seconds of sheer awesomeness. The clip begins with a concept rendering that all but confirms a show scene with animatronics to begin your fast-paced journey through 4700 ft of track. Although we don’t see too much of the themed course in the rest of the preview, we do catch a rendered glimpse at a six-car, twelve-row train traversing through the top hat, the heartline roll and an incredible cave system of rockwork. And do our eyes deceive us, or are we even seeing pyrotechnics at work?
The only complaint we could possibly have about anything we see in the video above is the harnesses. Intamin has manufactured another (hyper)coaster with similar harnesses at our home park in Hershey, PA: Skyrush. Locals and enthusiasts know this coaster to be an absolute monster worthy of its consistently long wait times, but almost all of us agree that the harnesses on Skyrush could use a rework. The airtime hills throw the pressure-locked lap bars into fits and lead to a rider affliction that we affectionately refer to as “thigh crush”. Does it ruin Skyrush for us? Absolutely not. Will it ruin VelociCoaster for us? Absolutely not. Would we prefer to have different harnesses for this brand-new blitz coaster? ….there is not enough ‘yes’ in the word ‘yes’ for our response.
Concept art released by Universal Studios Orlando on September 28th, 2020.
In addition to the preview video above, we also got two (2) new pieces of concept art that show we still have quite a bit of outdoor theming and rockwork left to see constructed! By the time this ride is ready to go, there will be an obvious visual obstruction between the neighboring Hogsmeade and the Jurassic Park/World areas, maintaining the illusion and the immersion of both themed lands. And, as an added treat, Universal has also unloaded all of the ride’s (very) impressive stats!
Height: 155 feet
Length: 4700 feet
Launch: 70mph / 2.4 sec
Drop: 80 Degrees
In summary, our hype level has gone to 11. This is still looking to be the best overall coaster experience that we’ve ever had, and if you’re a coaster enthusiast you have one wild back row ride to look forward to. As for us, we’re looking forward to an obscenely busy opening weekend for the ride and an 8-10 hour wait that shatters the records that Hagrid’s Magical Motorbike Adventure left behind. VelociCoaster is set to open in summer of 2021.
