HP Phase 2 News

From Disneyhead at Orlando United:

I have actually heard this "rumor" from 3 separate sources. 2 of which are basically clueless types of folks who just heard through the grapevine that it was happening. So I was pretty skeptical. Then I heard the exact same rumor from someone that I know to be VERY connected and VERY reliable. And I can tell you that the folks down at TDO DO believe this rumor.

I have heard NOTHING about what attractions/ shops/ potter locals are to be included. I have heard that Sindbad is history. Don't know anything about Posiden's or Mythos.

And the timeline is that construction will start very soon (like right after the Holiday Season) and they are aiming for a Spring 2012 opening.

Oh, and this is just my guess but I am betting it is going to just be the area from the arch just past Fire Eaters Grill to the current Hogsmeade entry arch by the train. That way they could use the temp bridge to get around the area and they will use the older bridge to access TWWOHP during construction.

But please keep in mind as of yet this IS still just a rumor.

So Sinbad is history... haha, I actually found it hilarious. But if it does go for something better (*cough*Ministry of Magic battle stunt show*cough*), then so be it.

And whoa, I'd take this with a grain of salt, but construction may begin by the end of this year??? If so, I'd probably imagine some permits getting filed in mid to late November-early December.

Should be interesting... =D

Cheetaka News

It seems like three things have happened in the past week:

1. Yellow support beams have arrived on site with the green track on Tuesday.
2. Construction walls have expanded to the area next to Caravan Crossing on Monday (here is a pic of the area from BGTGuide back when they were doing surveying in January: http://www.bgtguide.com/bgt/images/stories/4.jpg). This is supposedly the area where the rumored figure-8 launch tower will go up.
3. Another teaser has been posted by BGT showing the launch tower (with the first trench). It goes in the first trench and goes under a highly-themed arch (where the first launch will be). It then goes through the second launch (or booster?) and into the tower, which goes through a figure-8. It then enters the second trench.

This looks like on heck of a development. I can't wait for the announcement! =D

Harry Potter Phase 2?

From Screamscape:

Park News - (9/18/10) While Universal has other fish to fry, it hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from already lining up the rest of the Lost Continent area attractions to be scrapped in favor a Phase II expansion to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Personally I don’t really see this happening as a complete transformation as the rumors indicate, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see an additional attractions added down the line.
Some of the more popular rumors going around that could come to light include changing the Sinbad stunt show into a Harry Potter themed live show and the transformation of the market into a Diagon Alley area, complete with a Gringots bank location. Universally (not a pun) everyone feels that Mythos will be left alone, but Poseidon’s Fury will eventually have to make way for something new. Could it be Potter based or perhaps something entirely unique? Time will tell…

From JungleSkip at Orlando United:

Okay, take this with a grain of salt, but a very reliable friend has said that a WWOHP Phase II is a guarantee, and he is very confident in the person who told him this.

But again, take this with salt, because I have no idea where he is getting it from.

From MuggleNet:

Just a few weeks ago we told you Universal is looking to expand the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park by taking over the existing Lost Continent area within the next two to three years.

Today we're seeing that a two to three year wait may actually be too long even for Universal. In a new survey sent to some guests who visited the park, Universal asks the following:

What if -- instead of expanding it -- we DOUBLED the size of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter? How likely would you be to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter again within the next 12 months to visit a Wizarding World of Harry Potter that was twice as big with twice as much everything?

The options you can select are "Very Likely", "Likely", "Somewhat Likely", "Not Very Likely", and "Not at all Likely".

While this is by no means official confirmation of a sooner-rather-than-later expansion, it proves Universal is really considering doubling the park and wants to know if past guests would come back within just a year of their last visit.

It's also great to hear that Universal is thinking about more than a little expansion. Doubling the park's size would bring it to 40 acres. As always, we'll keep you updated! Thanks to Al for the graphic showing the survey question.

This should be interesting.

While I'd rather see the Lost Continent add more rides instead of tearing down, I'm all for a WWoHP Phase 2... and I'm also all for getting rid of Poseidon's Fury! Sure the effects/theming were decent (including the water vortex that returned), but the rest was kinda... meh...

So, I can't wait for more info! =D

This Just In!!!!

TRACK IS ON SITE AT BGT (by the Airstrip by Adventure Island)! Here's some pics for proof (BGTGuide):









http://bgtguide.com/bgt/images/stories/091810/

Here's a link for more pics.

EXCITEMENT TO THE SECOND POWER HAS COME TO ME!!!! =D

BGW Expansion Update

http://bgwfans.com/?p=998

The park has updated their “Big News” page to include information about the new attractions going into the park.

The new drop tower will be 250 ft. tall and named “Mach Tower”.

They also announce that they will be building a multi-launch coaster in 2012. It could be very similar to the coaster being built in Tampa that is set to open in 2011, which is common for the park to do when adding new attractions. The coaster in Tampa is said to be an Intamin with multiple launches and a high level of theming.

Stay tuned for more details as they become available. Follow us on Twitter and join us in the FORUMS to discuss this big news!

Update:
The park took down the page giving confirmed information and has replaced it with the teaser video we’ve seen before. I was able to grab a screen shot before it went down, here it is:

So the drop tower will be called "Mäch Tower."

And the thing that interests me is a multi-launch coaster for 2012. Could a Cheetaka clone be on the way for Big Bad Wolf's footprint?

Are The Yellow Track and X-Raptor Track the Same???

Remember that mysterious yellow B&M track at the Ohio Plant last year. I remember on the backside of those track pieces, it said "X-WORKS."

And that black B&M track which appeared in the plant in July also said "X-WORKS."

And some interesting theory was brought up by Ledgy at Theme Park Review:

Maybe it is this X-Works Track, but repainted. It could be that the B&M prototype wasn´t planned to build at gardaland first and they use now a different theme. For example, there was an announcement for Thorpe Park for 2010 in the past and now Merlin decided to built at first the Gardaland Project.

If this is true, this may finally solve the mystery of the yellow B&M track. And it seems that B&M might have been working on a 4D/WingRider design for years.

As some people say... sometimes the world does get weird...

Anyways, on the subject of Gardaland, X-Raptor's crown has arrived according to this pic by Danysan95 at TheParks (on September 6, 2010):



Still waiting for trains/vertical construction...

EDIT: Here's an article from Gardaland (translated by Google Language Tools):

Work continues to Gardaland: Once the first track and first columns for the massive and extreme roller coasters, novelty of the season 2011

They're coming the first track and first columns that will contribute to the majestic, impressive and extreme roller coasters, novelty of the 2011 season at Big Ben. You begin to reveal some characteristics on the track so that - remember him, covers an area of over 16 000 square meters - the equivalent of 60 tennis courts - a very large extent when you consider that Blue Tornado occupies 10 thousand, the equivalent of eight Olympic swimming pools!

The overall length of the route arriver to nearly 800 meters said Chris McCormack, Project Manager of Merlin Entertainments, project supervisor. The dramatic and extreme roller coaster, definitely much more fast adrenaline Blue Tornado, reach the top part 30 meters high with an inclination of 40 degrees above the ground path propose two reversals in head downwards, turns 90 and a series of exciting and special technical escamotages by literally leave you breathless

The manufacturer has already done to cut, weld and calendering over 1,500 meters of steel pipes of various sizes that will make the tracks, most of them heavy reaches 10,000 pounds! But much will total 76 items, the average length of 10 meters each, grouped together, to compose the entire path - continues McCormack. Over 10,000 bolts allow the assembly of the whole structure and to better understand the grandeur of creation, we can say that one component of pre-assembled, consisting of two main structural elements, reaches a total weight of 22,000 kg

Meanwhile, inside the park, the activities continue to involve the guests after the shocking discovery of a mysterious egg enormous, found a few days ago just inside the yard, continuing the frenzied activity in the mobile laboratory. Scientists are working tirelessly in mapping DNA, the object has features never seen before and not comparable with any genetic material so far known. A scan of the site in more depth revealed the presence of other eggs

The curiosity of the guests and fans of the Park can be met by surveillance camera (on site www.gardaland.it) that allows you to monitor periodically the area of the site and update on the progression of work as a countdown keeps track of time that separates us the first fast and wild ride on this incredible roller coaster.

http://www.gardaland.it/news/press.php?lingua=it&azione=Com&id=573&offset=0&archivio=F

Rockit Scenarios

I just came up with two scenarios as to what will happen with Rockit:

BEST CASE SCENARIO:

It just gets shut down for two months, while they get smoother trains without any flaws. And once the ride reopens (just before my Thanksgiving trip), Express will open with the ride.

WORST CASE SCENARIO (thought this is extremely doubtful you never know... but I hope this isn't the scenario):

Rockit ends up becoming the next Windjammer Surf Racers.

In case you don't know, Windjammer Surf Racers was a coaster at Knott's Berry Farm which had tons of problems (more than Rockit). It was known to many Knott's fanboys as a "mechanical nightmare." After years of operating, it closed and the park filed a lawsuit against the designer, TOGO, which led to the death of TOGO, as a company.

The ride was removed in 2001, and now the Xcelerator occupies that spot.

Personally, I take the BEST CASE SCENARIO if I were Universal. If they were to tear down Rockit, that will be just lazy of Universal, and the ride (despite all this) became a signature attraction and a favorite ride at USF to many (including myself). And the last thing the coaster world needs is the death of another coaster manufacturing company (Maurer).