Old Rumors of Rockit

I'm interested in the history of Rockit and Manta when they were just rumors. Well, here are the rumors I have found for Rockit (unless I miss something, these are all the rumors of Rockit before the announcement):

2009 - Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit (Project Rumble) - Confirmed - (3/20/08) Today I can add the official artwork and logo for Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit. Thanks to having access to the high-rez artwork, I can zoom in on that giant loop and as you can see, this is exactly the non-inverting loop that I mentioned yesterday. I’ve also included a photo I took at IAPPA 2003 which is a close up of the unique lap-bar only restraint system they use on the X-Cars as well as a new aerial image of the site. Please note that the red area does not indicate the exact area where the coaster will go, only the general open areas where we think it could go. So far the description only says it will go between Jimmy Neutron and the Blue Man Group theater, and nothing at all has been said about the old empty Boneyard site.
I’ve also posted the official descriptions of the ride from Universal Orlando below:
Adrenaline pumping and music thumping, you find yourself heading straight toward the sky. Suddenly, you are doing 65 mph, 17 stories over Universal Studios. Gasping with excitement, you rock out to a song you picked before strapping in. And, it’s all on video. Once the adventure is over, you edit the video to send to your friends.
This is true high-tech, customizable, multi-sensory entertainment. Scheduled to open in spring 2009, Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit will stake its claim as the most technologically advanced roller coaster in the world. The Universal Creative team is combining audio and special effects engineering, sophisticated on- and off-board video and one-of-a-kind guest personalization to create a roller coaster experience unlike any other.
“This is the perfect intersection of the digital age and theme park entertainment,” said Mark Woodbury, President of Creative for Universal Parks & Resorts. “Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit blends roller coaster intensity and guest interaction in a way where no two experiences will be the same.”
Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit touts six near-miss moments and first-ever thrills including a record-breaking loop. Ride vehicles feature the brightest and most innovative color changing LEDs in the world. High-energy visual displays fill the queue line. With up to four ride vehicles on the tracks at any given time, and with concert lighting and special effects mixed in, Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit will be a true high-intensity, multi-sensory experience that is unmatched.
Guests can customize their ride experience by choosing what song will play while they’re on the roller coaster. LED boards in the queue lines will display song options from five genres (classic rock, rap, country, pop and disco). Once on-board, guests can choose their song or let the coaster’s digital sound system choose for them. When the ride is over, guests will be able to customize footage from their experience and compile it into a take-home music video.
Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit will be located near the Jimmy Neutron attraction traveling the southern perimeter of the Universal Studios theme park, over to the CityWalk lagoon and back.
(3/19/08) The Orlando Sentinel has posted a first look at Project Rumble, now officially called “The Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit”. The high speed coaster ride will feature a massive 167 foot tall tower and feature several inversions, twists and turns as well as run out over a section of Citywalk when it opens in Spring 2009. Universal explains that the ride will feature video displays in the queue, color changing LED lighting, digital audio and video effects during the ride. The rest of the ride was described as squeezing in between Jimmy Neutron and the Blue Man Group theater building on it’s way to Citywalk. On the tech side, Mark Woodbury (Pres. of Universal Creative) claimed that the coaster would enter the digital age by allowing riders to customize the personalize the ride experience by choosing your own music track and the ability to download your music video run on the coaster for use on the internet. As you can see in the artwork, this is clearly a Maurer Sohne creation and appears to use a two unit X-Car train along with the vertical lift hill.
I’ve got one more important item to note however about this coaster. A Screamscape source tells us that the article is wrong on a few important facts. They tell us that the coaster will have no inversions at all. It will instead have a ton of heavily banked and over-banked turns and one major unique feature… the world’s first non-inverting loop. It will look like a vertical loop at first, but the track will twist around as you go up allowing the train to go over the top of the loop upright, then twist and dive on the way down to keep you upright again.
(2/15/08) A number of new permits have been filed for Project Rumble lately: “Project Rumble Media” to David Kuida, “Offboard Surveillance System” to Technomedia, “Onboard Lighting, Audio and Power” to Show Systems Integrators, “Project Rumble Trusses” to Universal Manufacturing Corporation as well as another contract to Magic Carpet for “Project Rumble Conveyor Belt System”.
(1/16/08) A Screamscape sources dug a little deeper into the Project Rumble permits and noticed that they mention the site as “potion of Lots 6 and 12.” From what they were able to find out, Lot 6 is the soundstage area and Lot 12 is the main Universal Studios Florida theme park, which indicates that the narrow strip between the two I highlighted a few weeks back may very well likely be the site. Of course, ignore that big lot in front of the Blue Man Group theater… most people agree that the coaster will not venture out there.
(1/14/08) For all the Nay-Sayers out there who always think I’m full of crap, today we have the proof that Project Rumble is indeed a Maurer-Sohne coaster with a permit filed by Universal Orlando on 1/11/08 for the “Project Rumble Ride System” to contractor “Mauer Rides GmbH”. (Okay, technically they did misspell Maurer… )
(12/24/07) The latest buzz on Project Rumble backs up the rumors that the coaster will be from Maurer Sohne. It was also mentioned that the coaster will likely feature a “Vertical Lift” though previously we had heard that it wont have the Skyloop element, so perhaps this may be something closer to the vertical lifts we’ve seen on Gerstlauer Eurofighter coasters.
(12/17/07) Orlando Rocks has posted a few photos of the general area behind the boneyard site where I believe the coaster may run.
(12/11/07) Given some of the various clues and hints I’ve been uncovering about Project Rumble, I’ve come up with the following graphic showing off the “open” areas where I think the coaster could go without closing anything, running mostly up the long narrow empty strip that runs from the front of the Blue Man Group theater field, behind Neutron, a station in the Boneyard and room to put a turnaround or other elements back by Twister’s outdoor queue and the end of the New York street area. I have no idea how much of this site will be used, this is just a rough idea of the possible open areas where they “could” build it.
(12/10/07) In the latest updates about Project Rumble, Screamscape is now hearing some conflicting stories about the fate of Jimmy Neutron. Despite previous rumors indicating that Neutron could be closed to make way for the new ride, new information claims that neither Neutron nor Twister will be closed for the new coaster project.
In other news, the name of yet another European coaster company, Maurer-Sohne, has come up as the possible builder of the new ride. Maurer has never been known for their big coaster projects, nor much of anything involving long coaster trains. They’ve mostly focused on short single car style coaster experiences (Wild Mice, Spinning Coasters) and their new X-Car creations, staying away from larger long layouts. If this development is true, then I have to wonder if this ride will be a Junior or Family Hyper style coaster ride at all. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
(12/7/07) Screamscape sources tell us that the Jimmy Neutron attraction was signed to a 5 year contract when it opened in 2003 which will obviously come to an end sometime this year, making it the most likely victim at this point for being closed down. While a cute attraction and a cheap makeover of the old Funtastic World of Hanna Barberra ride, the low capacity for this ride system has always been a concern.
(12/6/07) Screamscape has heard a few new updates about the Hollywood Dream project. First off we’ve been informed that it was decided that this coaster will not be called Hollywood Dream. I didn’t think that the name would stay myself… but apparently they have yet to come up with a new suitable name at this point in time. Meanwhile some new construction permits have been seen filed from Universal for a “Project Rumble”, which I’m assuming is likely for this new coaster. The “Notice of Commencement” is for “Project Rumble Architectural Services” being contracted out to BRPH Architects. Their website doesn’t show much in the way of theme park related construction, but I’ve seen them credited before in the overall construction of Islands of Adventure, some Citywalk improvements, work at the Brevard Zoo and the new Shuttle Launch Experience attraction at Kennedy Space Center. I’m guessing that this early design work could perhaps be for a new large structure to take up the current Boneyard.
Now for a little bad news… B&M will apparently not be involved in this new coaster as they were unable to fit the project into their busy schedule for a 2009 completion date, leaving the bidding war between Premier Rides and Vekoma. The early buzz is that Vekoma may have made the winning bid, and I’m not sure I like the sound of that. Of course, the new style track Vekoma used on Expedition Everest did give a great smooth ride, so if they use a similar system on this ride things may turn out well. On a related note, we’ve also heard that Twister may not be the attraction to be removed after all… so now I’ve got to wonder if it’s really Jimmy Neutron getting the ax. Anyone know more?
(12/5/07) A Screamscape source tells us that if you look carefully around the old boneyard area between the Jimmy Neutron and Twister soundstages you can see survey markers. This was one of the possible locations we had heard mentioned for the rumored Hollywood Dream coaster. From what we’ve been told the survey work was done as part of the planning for a new attraction that could start construction sometime in 2008, which would most likely mean a 2009 opening. Again, this matches the rumored Hollywood Dream timeline. Even stranger however, is that our source tells us that not only will the new attraction take up this space, but also take over one of the nearby attractions as well who’s contract is apparently just about over. Since Jimmy Neutron is only a few years old, I’m going to guess that the clock is ticking on Twister, though the film itself was co-financed by both WB and Universal. Twister opened in 1998…so the timing is certainly right for what could have been a 10 year contract. Time to get your last rides on Twister in I suppose, just in case they do shut it down later this year.
(11/2/07) I’m not sure if these mean anything or not, but I’ve been told that orange survey markings were spotted on the asphalt “in front of the Theatre and Television Production building just behind and off to the right of the Boneyard (about 40 feet outside the portable queue barrier.)” I kind of forgot about it, but the large empty Boneyard location would perhaps be an ideal location to locate the station for the Hollywood Dream coaster.
(10/30/07) Screamscape has heard that Hollywood Dream project has been bid out to several major coaster manufactures right now: B&M, Premier Rides and Vekoma. All three of which have provided coaster hardware for Universal Orlando before… B&M with Hulk and the Dragons, Premier did Mummy and Vekoma did Flying Unicorn and Woody’s Nuthouse. The only problem is that of the three… only B&M have experience with Hypercoasters, though Premier Rides has done it’s share of large outdoor coasters, but I believe they have all been LIM launched creations. Vekoma… ummm… no. I don’t even want to think about what a Vekoma hyper would be like.
(10/26/07) For the last several weeks I’ve been hearing a new rumor that honestly I just wasn’t ready to believe. Not that it wasn’t believable… but the way things are shaping up in 2009 for the Central Florida theme parks, it was just the icing on the cake for an park enthusiast’s dream come true. If the rumor holds out, we’ve heard that Universal Studios Florida may be planning on adding their very own version of the Hollywood Dream coaster added to Universal Studios Japan earlier this year. In that case, it was a family sized junior hyper-coaster style design made to swoop, turn and dive over the entrance and Hollywood themed area of Universal Studios Japan, all with an on-board soundtrack system allowing riders to choose one of five different soundtrack options. Now I’m hearing that a similar concept is in the works for Universal Studios Florida in 2009 since in all likelihood we wont see the Harry Potter area completed until late that year or in 2010. Universal’s previous track record says that they would buy a B&M most likely for this project, but right now if all the rumors hold true (SeaWorld & Busch Gardens), that means we could be seeing three new B&M coasters added to central Florida in 2009 along with a rumored spinning Ratatouille coaster at Disney’s Hollywood Studios followed by the rebirth of an all new version of Space Mountain as well. Like I said… a coaster enthusiasts dream come true. Do we dare to dream?