The Closed History of Dueling Dragons and Merlinwood | Expedition Islands of Adventure

the lost continent was split into three different themed areas one of which was Merlin work a land of dragons and unicorns which opened the park in 1999 two iconic dragon statues marked the way to one of the most intense thrill rides in the park a roller coaster that was never the same after Merlin wood was transformed into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter my name is Sam and welcome back to expedition islands of adventures with the story of Merlin wood and the Julien dragons this is the castle of Merlin wood forest the site of a powerful battle between two fearsome Dueling Dragons [Music] Merlin word was themed around medieval Britain and Ireland and seen as the most thrillin of the lost continent subsections the creation of each Lambeth in a land took an immense amount of work with unique soundtracks created that would be completely different from one another for Merlin would the soundtrack would feature Celtic style music that would sound happy on the outside but was layered on a bed of uneasiness the whole subsection was inspired by the legends of King Arthur within it was impossible to miss the highly detailed quick-service restaurant called the enchanted oak tavern and alchemy bar located within an enormous hollowed-out tree that restaurant served a medieval feast of smoked chicken ribs and turkey legs the alchemy bar inside also offered live entertainment and was a great place to relax the highlight of Merlin's wood though was the two dragons leading the way into the area's flagship attraction first known before opening as Merlin's Dueling Dragons it was later shortened to just julienne dragons the creation of these huge dragons will be a challenge by itself Adirondacks Cena King we built a number of sculpture pieces of the land including the entrance Griffins would take Universal stories and build two giant dragons each of them were built from a digital image and converted to skeletal structures that could withstand 120 miles per hour winds still frames were welded to the Dragons before sprayed foam was carved to create the level of detail required one will be painted blue and the other red each of these dragons represented two different elements high rock represents him fire and bliss Rock ice locked in an eternal battle those who ignored Merlin's war lens entered into the ruins of the castle to write over these dragons in this separatist poster from other coasters there are two coasters in one completely independent roller coasters and the close proximity passes are the attraction the two roller coasters designed by bnm featured a combined track length of six thousand two hundred and twenty six feet twisting within each other at high speeds while not the first inverted coasters or the first jeweling coasters when combined they created a unique story in each with a different track layout reaching speeds of 60 miles per hour they will create three near-miss elements when the trains look set to collide to control this the computers weighed each train upon dispatch and adjusted the lift hill speeds of match the near misses were close really close eighteen inches apart of the closest point which required the right to have a maximum height restriction the story though didn't begin on the ride it began as soon as you pass through those giant entranceway dragons the ruined castle had been morphed into the dragon's lair creating one of the most atmospheric and fiend queue lines ever the rides were expected to be so popular that the queue line was over half a mile long while some show scenes were cut due to budget constraints the final version had guests walking down the ruined corridors of the parcel along the way you would learn about the story of the castle and the Battle of the Dragons an enchanted stained-glass window would introduce Merlin in one of the more unique pre shows of its time [Applause] [Applause] as you travel deeper into the ruins around you lay the skeletons and remains of full of knights who are dead enter one room contain the fates of Pi Rock's victims with mortem remains at nights the next room showed the Knights who fell to Blizz rock frozen in place and covered in large amounts of ice eventually after walking down the tight corridors full of skulls it was time to choose your fate ice or fire this cue set the attraction apart from any other coaster and was a pioneer at the time for a fiend entrance the queue line set up the atmosphere story and was as memorable as the ride itself there is no escape but to ride the dragon [Music] both unique coasters were intense and the Julian element was to highlight each offer in a 2 minute 25 different experience to the other who trains crafted to look like the Dragons themself the fire track began by turning left down a 115 foot drop while the ice began with a 95 foot drop to the right before fire entered an Immelmann followed by an airtime Hill which was the first of the near-miss points on the track at this point that ice track would enter a zero-gravity roll bringing the trains close together fire headed into a second Immelman before the iconic second near-miss the vertical loop the ice track had a cobra roll before the vertical leap riders feet were inches apart of both threw up together in sync both tracks final near-miss element was a corkscrew before fire took one final corkscrew and both returned to the load station each track featured five inversions and there was something special about seeing them jewel the whole experience created one of the best jewel and roller coasters ever created jordan dragons was heavenly used in the marketing of the brand-new islands of adventure it was a huge hit when opening that long queue line was required as they had one of the longest lines in the park on opening day one year after the park had opened an additional right was added to merlin work with the flying unicorn the first new Reiter debut after the parks grand opening taking place inside the enchanted forest it told the story of a wizard who found a baby unicorn horn he used the horn to create this right right in in mechanical unicorn carts the family coaster traveled through the area reaching speeds of 28 miles per hour a different wizard though who was about to change Merlin would forever the first pitch to bring Harry Potter to universal was all the way back in the year 2000 and had nothing to do with violence of adventure at all designer Gary Goddard had made a pitch to bring a Harry Potter stage show to Universal Studios Hollywood one year before the Sorcerer's Stone movie had even released another plan was in the works though and that was a Harry Potter lon Islands of Adventure Potter was planned to move into the existing Merlin wood area not as a replacement though but as an overlay the enchanted oak tavern remain of a small ravine merchandise shops would open to sow Harry Potter themed attire the flying unicorn would have been refined with Hagrid's hut as a Hippogriff and those giant stone dragons would have been kept at the entrance way to julen dragons on the northern end of the land which was once looked for a van Heusen ride would set Hogwarts castle - hogs need instead Merlin wood would be demolished for the grandeur Harry Potter lon the Wizarding World there's a lot happening right now in the world of Harry Potter the final book is due out this summer and the fifth movie is also coming in July we're here in Dumbledore's office set at leaves in studios a very special place to make a very special announcement today and we with our partners at Warner Brothers have been working on a very exciting project of our own and I'm very excited to tell you folks first that we are adding a new dimension to the world of Harry Potter and bringing it to life in an entirely new way we are creating the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at universals Islands of Adventure theme park in Orlando on may 31st 2007 Universal in partnership with Warner Brothers officially announced the Wizarding World of Harry Potter will be coming to islands of adventure the enchanted oak tavern and surrounding areas were completely demolished and rebuilt from the ground up as the Three Broomsticks and the hogshead Merlin wood was being transformed into hogs meet Julian Dragons remained open through most of the construction it closed for a short period in 2010 to add the Harry Potter theme from June 18th of the same year it was renamed to dragon challenge the unique Julian Dragon story and cue line elements were removed and now you entered into the Triwizard Tournament at the champions 10 inside was the Triwizard Cup followed by several dark tunnels to the station no longer Isum fire the tracks were renamed to the chinese fireball or hungarian horntail the unique foreboding cue line and experience was gone dragon challenge was beginning to now feel more like a generic coaster in a land it did not belong by 2011 perhaps the biggest loss came when due to two separate incidents of loose items hitting riders on opposite trains the most serious of which had a guess halftime as I removed julen dragons would never duel again later Metal Detectors would be added and no items are to were allowed on the ride but the Julian aspect never returned the experience was a shell of what it once was and looked increasingly out of place and it's well themed surrounded Oh happening today go ahead get out there it's your last chance if you want to ride the dragon challenge rollercoaster at universals Islands of Adventure dragon challenge will become the first major attraction from opening-day islands of a venture to permanently close and one of only three bnm coasters in the world to close ever if you count the first hole it was officially closed on September 4th 2017 construction began in early January 2018 on its replacement and dragon challenge was removed in its place will be a new harry potter experience the world's most spellbinding journey is about to take its wildest turn yet prepare to face the forbidden forest and join Hagrid to encounter the rarest of magical creatures in the epic new addition to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter only and Universal Orlando Resort a brand new roller coaster which continues the highly detailed femen of the land surrounding it Hagrid's magical creature motorbike adventure a high-speed experience reaching up to 50 miles per hour taking you through the Forbidden Forest and ruins outside of Hogwarts castle launching you backwards and forwards with a record-breaking 7 launches and dropping you 17 feet through Devil's snare as Hagrid takes you on an adventure complete with multiple audio animatronics the Hagrid animatronic is especially lifelike with 24 different body movements and expressions even if you do only spend a few seconds with him [Music] [Music] Hogsmeade has now been part of islands of adventure for longer than merlin would ever was it was a unique subsection of one of the greatest feelings ever created and jewel in dragons offered an experience not found anywhere else over the years though it became less and less of why it was intended to be and the new attraction is an incredible placement for these wants iconic Julian coasters interestingly the flying unicorn was refined to fly of the Hippogriff like those early plans the history of Hogsmeade and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a story for another time as we continue our expedition through the lost continent with the demise of Merlin wood and the jewel in Dragons Universal remove one of the most unique areas of the original part and left the lost continent feeling a little lost Merlin word is no more but one of the most unique theme park lands ever created was replaced with another land that would spark the beginning of increasingly immersive lands and experiences as long as they now have an IP attached to them of course as for Hagrid's magical creatures motorbike adventure the cue lime would find its third iteration the second half still consists of long tunnels mostly unchanged from dragon challenge the place skulls used to cover the walls the first half though was completely abated and an upgrade from the Triwizard setting of the past rooms now are covered in empty cages of magical creatures and unhatched eggs a pre-show welcomes you of our four Weasley setting up the attraction but one thing stands out on the walls sits a drawer entitled the dueling Club with of course a red and blue dragon thank you so much for watching this episode of expedition islands of adventure if you enjoyed it make sure you subscribe to join the expedition do you think Hagrid's motorbike adventure is a worthy replacement for dragon challenge let me know in the comments below follow us on Twitter and Instagram for updates on upcoming expeditions and a special thank you to our patrons for support in the channel we will see you next time [Music]

Channel: Expedition Theme Park

Views: 187,457

Keywords: expedition theme park, expedition islands of adventure, islands of adventure, harry potter, universal orlando, dueling dragons, dragon challenge, hagrid's motorbike coaster, hagrid's motorbike coaster pov, hagrid's magical creatures motorbike adventure, lost continent, hagrid ride, dueling dragons roller coaster, dueling roller coaster, hagrids motorbike, hagrids, motorbike, adventure, universal studios, harry potter rollercoaster, wizarding world, hogsmeade, theme park, merlin

Id: 5hpGGWqzl3w

Length: 14min 26sec (866 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 13 2019