Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit is a steel roller coaster at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando, Florida. With a height of 167 feet (51 m), a length of 3,800 feet (1,200 m), and a top speed of 65 miles per hour (105 km/h), it is the largest X-Coaster ever built by German manufacturer Maurer Söhne.[5][6] Announced on March 19, 2008, the coaster officially debuted on August 19, 2009, despite original plans to open several months earlier in the spring. Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit features on-ride music LED lighting, and on-ride photos and videos captured from cameras mounted in each passenger row.
History
Construction on vertical lift and first drop in April 2009
During the second week of January 2008, Universal Parks & Resorts filed a Notice of Commencement with Orange County, Florida indicating that they were to construct a ride system that they had code-named "Project Rumble."[7] The notice also stated that the contractor was "Maurer Rides GmbH," located in Munich, Germany.[7]
The new attraction was officially announced by Universal Studios on March 19, 2008.[8] Although the layout was not revealed, the original press release stated that the roller coaster's vertical lift hill would be 167 feet (51 m) tall, and that the trains would reach a maximum speed of 65 miles per hour (105 km/h).[8] It also mentioned that each train would be equipped with a multi-media package, LED lights, built-in video recorders, and the option for riders to choose a song from a list to be played during the course of the ride.[8] The ride would also include six near miss encounters.[8] At the time, the new roller coaster was scheduled to open in Spring 2009.[8] Also, in the months after the announcement, Universal Studios surveyed guests on what songs they think should be included in the roller coaster. Some of the artists that guests could choose from were: The Black Eyed Peas, Bee Gees, The Beach Boys, and Johnny Cash.[9]
Construction began in May 2008 with preliminary land clearing, which caused the removal of some of Twister...Ride it Out's outdoor extended queue.[10] The first track pieces were installed during the week of December 7, 2008.[11] In February 2009, Universal launched a website for the attraction, which included a construction blog and photographs chronicling progress of the attraction's construction.[12][13] The track layout was completed at the end of April 2009 with the crowning of the lift hill.[14][15]
In April 2009, Universal confirmed that the roller coaster would not open as originally planned and said it would open in the summer. Though Universal has never mentioned what the exact problem with the roller coaster was, it is believed by newspapers that issues with the anti-rollback devices on the lift hill that were not working correctly caused the delay.[2]
After the issues with the ride were resolved, Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit began public previews in mid-August 2009.[16] On August 19, 2009, Universal Studios Florida officially opened the attraction.[17] It continued to experience technical issues early on after opening. A number of its features worked sporadically or not at all. There were also operational issues, such as slower-than-expected loading times that diminished capacity and led to long lines. One of the notable complaints was the rough ride experience, especially for guests sitting in the back seat.[18]
Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit closed indefinitely in September 2010. Maurer issued an alert warning that stress testing of its X-Car ride vehicles had found that the coupling bars holding the trains together would not be "fatigue endurable."[19] It eventually reopened on October 28, 2010, with refurbished trains to improve the ride experience.[20]
Ride experience
Queue
Guests first enter into one of three queues; either the main queue, the express queue, or the single rider queue. As of 2015, riders must pass through a metal detector in order to board, and may not board with any loose items on their person or in pockets. Lockers are provided for storage of these items.[21] In each of the queue lines, there are several large screen displays that explain how to pick a song to play during the ride and important safety instructions. In the video, characters called "Video DJ's" are used as demonstrators to provide a visual explanation.[3][22]
Ride
A train ascending the vertical lift.A ride vehicle for "Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit", traversing the first "loop" element. The vehicle uses Maurer Söhne's B-Car Coaster design.
The station for the roller coaster is a unique design, in which trains enter and slow down but do not stop. There is a moving sidewalk on both sides that moves at the same speed as the train allowing riders to board. Riders have approximately 30 seconds to take their seat, lower the lap-bar, and make their song choice. After the restraints are checked, the train immediately begins to climb the 167-foot (51 m) vertical chain lift, and the song selected by the rider begins to play as well as a male voice stating "Hold on tight baby as we take you to the sky. Are you ready to Rockit?". The on-ride video recorder also begins recording. When the train reaches the top of the lift, it drops back to the ground, reaching a maximum speed of 65 mph (105 km/h). The train then enters a non-inverting loop nicknamed "The Double Take", followed by an upward right turn into one of the several mid-course brakes. It drops back down, going through a hole in a wall before entering a left, upward helix section of the coaster that is nicknamed "The Treble Clef". Next the train enters a quick element nicknamed "The Jump Cut", a non-inverting corkscrew. This is followed by a large dip that takes the train into a second set of mid-course brakes. Following a small drop to the left, the track straightens for a moment before making a right turn, a left turn, and then another right leading into the third set of mid-course brakes. An s-bend turn follows, which leads the train into an inclined loop and a fourth set of brakes. Finally, the train drops once more, travels over a small hill, and then enters the final brake run as the song playing ends.[5][3][23]
Track
The steel track of Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit is 3,800 feet (1,200 m) long, and the height of the lift is approximately 167 feet (51 m).[24] Because the lift hill is vertical, a special evacuation system is used in the event that a train stalls on the lift.[6] Also, the track is filled with sand and gravel to reduce the noise when a train is on the track.[3] Throughout the layout of the roller coaster, there are 6 sets of brakes to control the speed of the trains.[23]
Trains
The roller coaster operates with seven stadium-style seating X-Car trains. Each train has two cars that can hold six riders each for a total of twelve riders per train.[24] On the headrest of each seat there are two speakers that play music during the ride. The speakers have been designed so that only the rider's selected music track will be audible. On the restraint is a small touch screen where riders can choose which song they want to listen to during the ride from popular musical genres such as pop and hip-hop. Additionally, the trains are equipped with multi-colored lights that can be seen during the night.[3]
Incidents
On August 1, 2013, an unidentified woman received minor injuries when the ride came to a sudden stop. [25] On November 24, 2023 riders were stuck in a near vertical position and had to be rescued by the local fire department.
Universal Express available
Single rider line available
Must transfer from wheelchair
Closed captioning available
