![]() On June 18, 2010, with the opening of the entire The Wizarding World of Harry Potter section, the ride officially became Dragon Challenge. In mid-March 2010, the roller coasters reopened to the public. In the first quarter of 2010, the ride closed in order to refurbish the attraction to incorporate the Harry Potter theme. Ĭonstruction on re-theming the queue began in the third quarter of 2009. Universal later announced that Dueling Dragons would be renamed Dragon Challenge upon the re-opening of the attraction and that its two coasters would be renamed Hungarian Horntail and Chinese Fireball. Dueling Dragons, as well as the adjacent roller coaster Flying Unicorn (later renamed Flight of the Hippogriff), were shown to be included in the new section. On May 31, 2007, Universal announced plans to construct The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, a new section devoted to the popular Harry Potter book and film series. The original name for Dueling Dragons was going to be "Merlin's Dueling Dragons," and the dragons both had names Blizzrock for the blue dragon, and Pyrock for the red dragon. Once the riders arrived at the station, they chose which of the two coasters they would like to experience, the Fire dragon or the Ice dragon. The queue was decorated as a ruined castle that the two dragons destroyed. ![]() The ride was themed to two dueling dragons. At the time, it was the only fully inverted dueling roller coaster in the world. Dueling Dragons was completed on time for the opening of Islands of Adventure on May 28, 1999. The coaster would be situated in the Merlinwood area. It would be placed in a fairy tale-themed land known as the Lost Continent. ![]() The new ride would be a unique dueling inverted roller coaster by Bolliger & Mabillard. In 1997, it was announced that Dueling Dragons would be a part of a new second theme park at the Universal Orlando Resort, Islands of Adventure. History Dueling Dragons (1999–2010) Entrance to the coasters when they were known as Dueling Dragons Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure opened in its place in 2019. Universal Orlando officials, citing that the ride had reached the end of its service life, made the decision to close Dragon Challenge permanently on September 4, 2017. Multiple incidents in 2011 involving injuries to riders, who were hit with loose objects, resulted in an operational change to dispatch trains separately to avoid close encounters. It was renamed Dragon Challenge for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter grand opening on June 18, 2010.ĭuring much of the ride's history, the trains were dispatched simultaneously, creating three near-miss encounters along the courses. After a renovation period, the attraction reopened in March 2010. It was located in The Lost Continent area, and the dueling trains were named Fire and Ice. The ride debuted as Dueling Dragons during the grand opening of Islands of Adventure on May 28, 1999. Both tracks featured five inversions and an identical ride duration of 2 minutes and 25 seconds. Trains on the Chinese Fireball track reached a maximum speed of 60 mph (97 km/h), while trains on the Hungarian Horntail reached 55 mph (89 km/h). ![]() Its layout involved two trains sharing adjacent lift hills, with each traversing unique courses. Designed by Bolliger & Mabillard of Switzerland, the ride was a dueling roller coaster featuring two tracks – one side was called Chinese Fireball and the other Hungarian Horntail – that were themed as two chasing dragons. Riders are arranged 4 across in a single row for a total of 32 riders per train.ĭragon Challenge, formerly named Dueling Dragons (1999–2010), was a pair of intertwined inverted roller coasters in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter area of Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida, United States. Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure Ĩ cars. Previously known as Dueling Dragons (1999–2010) ![]()
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