Times Colonist

New VelociCoas­ter ride will soar 47-metres high, hit 110 km/h mark

- DEWAYNE BEVIL

ORLANDO, Florida — Universal Orlando has unveiled new facts about its Jurassic World VelociCoas­ter ride, which is scheduled to open at Islands of Adventure theme park in summer 2021. They include numbers (up to 110 km/h) and celebrity power (Chris Pratt and other movie stars).

The new roller coaster, which the company officially acknowledg­ed and identified on Friday, will feature an original storyline about Jurassic World’s “carnivore explosion.”

On the VelociCoas­ter “riders embark on a high-speed chase and feel the rush of the hunt while racing alongside a nimble Velocirapt­or pack,” according to a Universal statement on Monday. It also mentions original movie cast members Bryce Dallas Howard,

B.D. Wong and Pratt.

Among the coaster’s described manoeuvres is a 360-degree barrel roll “just inches” above the Islands of Adventure lagoon. Park visitors can already see the rail in place for that part of the attraction over the water.

A video simulation with glimpses of the ride has been posted by Universal. It shows racing dinosaurs, fleeting shots of the coaster’s train (12 rows, two passengers across), the roll over the lagoon and the tagline “get ready for a new species of coaster.” Universal says riders will be held in place with merely a lap restraint.

Other numbers revealed:

• VelociCoas­ter will go as high as 47 metres.

• The ride will include 1,430-metres of track.

• Two launches, including one that hits the 110 km/h mark in-2.4 seconds.

• A “zero-gravity inverted stall” will send rides down 30 metres of track.

• Airtime count: 12 seconds.

By comparison, IOA’s Incredible Hulk coaster has 1,130 metres, tops out at 34 metres and hits 108 km/h, according to the Roller Coaster Data Base.

The thrill ride has been under constructi­on for months in the Jurassic Park section of IOA.

It is visible from many inpark angles, and the path loops around near the back of the Three Broomstick­s restaurant in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Coaster watchers have monitored the progress, including the rolling in of velocirapt­or figures.

It will be Universal’s first coaster since Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventures opened nearby last year.

 ?? UNIVERSAL ORLANDO ?? Jurassic World VelociCoas­ter will include racing dinosaurs and passengers during a barrel roll over the Islands of Adventure lagoon.
UNIVERSAL ORLANDO Jurassic World VelociCoas­ter will include racing dinosaurs and passengers during a barrel roll over the Islands of Adventure lagoon.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Canada