UPDATE: Rip Ride Rockit begins public soft opening at Universal Orlando (video inside)

August 14, 7:43 PMOrlando Tourist Spots ExaminerMichael Salerno

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© 2009 Universal Orlando Resort. All Rights Reserved.

It was only just this afternoon when a joke was posted on the Twitter feed for Theme Park Insider reading that Universal Orlando would rename its oft-delayed Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit coaster "Chinese Democracy" because it felt like it was being delayed as long as the Guns N' Roses album, which took over a decade to create and was finally released last year.

Now, Universal Orlando confirmed that Rip Ride Rockit will undergo a soft opening within the next four weeks at random times, according to jacobmdicke from Twitter and Sabi from Orlando United.

That confirmation came just moments after the coaster opened for Universal Orlando team members tonight (Aug. 14).

Team members took to the Internet to inform they had just gotten off the ride beginning around 6:30 p.m. Mikey from Magic City Mayhem revealed that the coaster will remain open for team member previews tonight until 9:45 p.m. Mikey also heard from Universal that if Friday's team member preview was successful, the soft open to the public would begin tomorrow (Aug. 15). Doombot from IOA Central was more specific, posting that a team member told him a public soft open would begin at 2 p.m.

"Im kind of a big deal... Just rode Rip Ride Rockit!" Matt Green posted via text message to his Twitter stream just before 6:30 p.m., the first to break the news via the social networking site.

Not all team members have had the opportunity to ride the coaster yet, but the response so far is mostly positive, with reviews ranging from "Worth the wait" (Chris from Orlando United) to "Totally incredible...!" (Jamie Vecanski from Twitter).

One critical reaction came from Duncan Reilly, who said, "Ehhhh. It's no Manta," referring to the coaster at SeaWorld Orlando that opened this past May.

Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit is an interactive, multisensory roller coaster with a top speed of 65 miles per hour that tracks around and inside the Universal Studios park entrance. Passengers can select one of 30 songs to provide the background music of their ride.

UPDATE: Mikey from Magic City Mayhem uploaded this video featuring footage of the queue line and the coaster with people riding.

UPDATE 8/15/09: It appears that the public soft opening began as planned, although hours later than the expected 2 p.m. start time. Twitter and IOA Central users reported Universal Orlando began allowing park guests to enter the queue line around 6 p.m., shortly after team members took down the walls behind the entry point. IOA Central user Son_Of_Quint said there is a three-hour wait on the coaster and the line is now closed. Video from the soft opening can be viewed below, courtesy of Joseph Burke.