Hulk's rusty track
Racheal Yates
Before the grand opening of Harry Potter last month, work was done park-wide on several different attractions at Universal's Islands of Adventure. Work was done on attractions such as the Jurassic Park River Adventure, Dudley Do-Right Ripsaw Falls, Disaster (at Universal Studios), and Dueling Dragons. One ride that was missed desperately needs some tender caring love: Hulk.
This roller coaster, based on the popular comic, Hulk, is supposed to be a green, however the coaster is beginning to turn brown and is covered in rust (pictured above). A few years ago, Hulk was a brilliant and bright colored green (pictured below).
Hulk brilliant and green & Skipper Tours
Rob McCullough
According to a poll on theme park fan site, Orlando United, the majority of it's members believe Universal Orlando will do work to the roller coaster within the next four months. However, there are busy times ahead that may prevent the park from doing any kind of major maintenaince, or closure of a ride for a long period of time.
The park is currently in their "summer crush" and it has been pretty busy ever since June 18th, when The Wizarding World of Harry Potter made it's grand debut to the public. Once summer wraps up, Universal Studios will be setting up for Halloween Horror Nights next door, and then Christmas will come along for both parks. Unfortunatley because of the busy season ahead, the park may not do any kind of extensive work, such as repainting or track work, until early 2011.
Back in March of this year, a cherry picker sat underneath of Hulk for weeks with the water below the track completely drained. It appeared work was going to be done before Harry Potter opened, but the cherry picker eventually disappeared with little to no visible sign of a repaint any time soon.
.JPG)
Cherry picker underneath Hulk in flooded area from rain
Racheal Yates
Besides the color and apperance of the track, many theme park entusiasts have been complaining about how rough the ride is. While Hulk is a menacing creature, a Bolliger and Mabillard roller coaster is typically known for it's stand against time. Will a refurbishment in the future fix all of these problems, or are fans just going to see the ride worsen in the future?
Fore more information about Universal Orlando, their Theme Parks, Citywalk, or hotels, visit their official website.
Comments
Please fix this great attraction!
You do realize it's the portion of the ride in which the coaster goes under a mist filled bridge. What you're seeing is water staining the paint. Water is constanly on that area of track. It's not rust. If it was rust the ride wouldn't be operating. Also your comment about sprucing up Dueling Dragans, that ride was re themed to Dragon Challenge to fit the new theme of the Harry Potter area much like the Flying Unicorn was re themed to the Flight of the Hippogriff.
This will be my first time going to Universal Studios [ Graduation Present ] and I've been dying to get there ever since I saw the Hulk coaster on The Travel Channel. Why didn't they do the re-painting and such a months ago? Well either, I can't wait to ride it!
Hulk fan must work for universal. It's ok just admit it!
The Hulk may look rusty, but the ride's roughness depends on its WHEELS. If they're new, Hulk rides smoothly. If they're not, Hulk is rough. Haven't we learned this from Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit?!
I don't work for Universal. I've just been on enough coasters to learn a thing or two about how coasters work. As far as painting a coaster, it cost a lot of money, something parks just can't afford to throw around all the time to re paint the same rides. Take Six Flags for example. When a company or park has multiple rides it's almost too expensive to paint every ride every year. Some rides my not get painted for several years others may get painted to refurbish an area of the park like Universal did for Dragon Challenge at Harry Potter. You also have to consider how much money the park is already spending on their new project. I bet Harry Potter ride and area probably cost them $150-200 million or more. Most parks can't spend that kind of money like it's water. Perhaps Universal may do somethng big with the Hulk once their contract with Marvel runs out or perhaps it's part of a multi-year plan.
@HulkFan If that was the case then why would they START on a hulk refurb? It clearly fell behind as they didn't want to have a major ride down for Spring Break. They also did sandblast Dragons, as that was in the contract.Repainting it, while many thought they would, was not.The track on Hulk is worn, weathered, and though not rusted, is banged up. A new coat of paint is in need, but it's not going to solve the problem. That thing needs a lot of TLC, and Universal is clearly not in the business of keeping up the rides. I also have seen the eye on JPRA, once. For the record, Potter cost $200 million, it was in the press releases everyone had, and they will make that back this year alone. Kumba is a prime example, it was down for three weeks and is now louder and smoother than ever. Shut the coaster down for 3 weeks, after labor day, just before HHN and get that monster back! And you do sound like you work for PR.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!