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 Review of Triwizard Tournament - Hungarian Horntail (Blue) @ Islands of Adventure
2 Rating Posted by: Canobie Coaster on 9/3/2008 10:40:00 PM
Dueling Dragons has been a ride I wanted to experience for years since it combined two of my favorite types of rides- dueling coasters and B and M inverts. Surely the combination would be flawless right? Even when walking up to the ride, it’s layout still is pretty well concealed from view, but the occasional glimpse of screaming riders flying by only makes me even more anticipated for my ride. Well the experience begins with the elaborately well themed queue (or should I say walkthrough attraction) through an ancient castle’s dark corridors complete with the devastation that both the fire and ice dragons have caused. Honestly, even if I disliked coasters (though that is just unimaginable), I would absolutely enjoy this walkthrough. In fact, Universal has apparently taken this into account since there’s an exit right before the actual ride itself. Anyway, eventually the corridor diverges and a choice must be made- fire or ice.

Whatever side you choose though, a great ride is sure to follow with the quality that has come to be expected from B and M. The entire ride is just a capacity machine, with two separate tracks, two trains on each, and not to mention incredibly quick dispatches. On a Friday I didn’t end up waiting longer than 5 minutes…for the front. Of the seats, I preferred the back on both sides just because of incredibly powerful the Gs are on these dragons. That being said, the front still is well worth trying because of the near-miss collision effect.

Both begin with a side-by-side climb to the ride’s highest point, only to diverge their separate ways, but trust me, they will meet again. Ice begins with a swift and graceful swooping drop to the right that provides some incredibly powerful Gs throughout the train. My legs felt like they would be ripped right off! I do like Fire’s drop better though just because the drop itself is longer. Anyway, as an encore Ice roars into a massive helix with powerful Gs that actually rival those of the first drop, especially on the subsequent swooping drop. Without loosing a step, Ice soars into a gigantic zero-G roll that gives copious hang-time along with an extreme near-miss collision with Fire’s brave riders. This is easily my favorite element of the entire ride and at the time I rode my favorite zero-G roll I’ve ever experienced (well it lasted all of 4 hours until I rode the Hulk). It’s just so fast and powerful, while at the same time providing that heavenly hang-time and not to mention that moment of cardiac arrest. Then Ice zoomed into a cobra roll. Honestly I just find cobra rolls extremely awkward on inverts since the trains really just get whipped and jostled around, even on a B and M. Not only is it slightly uncomfortable, but it lacks any forces, something none of Dueling Dragons’ other inversions lacked.

Following their close encounter at the air hill, the train barrels head-on into it’s very powerful, picturesque vertical loop that really defines what a “near miss” is. Maybe my eyes deceived me due to the forces, but there seems to be just barely more than 5-6 inches of clearance between the two trains. These are moments I crave since usually the ride’s stand-alone elements aren’t enough to give me a real good thrill anymore. While it’s one of the ride’s best elements, I honestly like the element better on Fire since it really seems to catch me by surprise more since it lacks the gigantic straightaway before it that Ice has. Afterwards is a powerful turn followed by an incredibly intense corkscrew with the powerful Gs Ice had been dishing out all ride. Following that is a slow turn into the brake run that gives the final near-miss of the ride. Sure Fire comes close to Ice for sure, but it’s just not as good as the first two near-misses due there being less speed.

Ice is a very good B and M invert for sure thanks to the many powerful elements it contained. However, it pales in comparison to Fire in pretty much all aspects. While Fire had absolutely no dull moments at all, Ice had a few in the aforementioned cobra roll and some sections of track lacking elements (straightaway before vertical loop and section after final corkscrew). Still while Fire is an all-around better ride, Ice is still a roaring good time thanks to some powerful elements highlighted by that breathtaking zero-G roll.
 
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