You do realize you could fit 2 or 3 FJs where DC is, right?
And you do realize that that's not the point, right? Who said that IOA needed 2 or 3 more Forbidden Journey rides? Yes, I fully agree that a park can never have too many innovative dark rides and IOA definitely needs more family rides, but they don't need to neuter the park to do so. Universal can not, will not, and should not ever be Disney…while I think it would be smart for them to look to the Disney model a bit more closely, they don't need to completely replicate it; IOA needs thrill rides that set them apart from Disney World, and having TWO great roller coasters most parks would kill for is a great way to do that if you ask me.
the hook for Dueling Dragons is gone. I loved the ride back when they dueled and you had the close encounters with the other train. Back when the queue was creepy and had skeletons everywhere, the atmosphere was perfect. Potter has removed that, and the ride sticks out like a sore thumb now. After seeing what Universal is capable of, I'd like to see what they can do with DC after they fix the rest of IOA.
Yes, the dueling was cool, but Raptor and Montu don't duel and they still hold their own…B&M inverts are just solid rides in general. And as for the queue, it was a place to wait to get on the ride, so I can't take the argument that the queue was the main hook for the ride seriously. So they removed a few skeletons and recordings…it's still a cave that people wait to ride in. To my knowledge, nobody ever went up to Dueling Dragons and said "oh my God, can we please go on this to see the great queue!!!!! The ride is ok too I guess."
And it sticks out no less than it did when it was Dueling Dragons in the Lost Continent, which was themed just as superbly as WWoHP is. I mean, what changed? Medieval markets are allowed to have steel roller coasters but imaginary wizard towns aren't? Let's not forget we're still in a theme park.
You're telling me a naked steel coaster with little semblance of sticking to theme (no mountains, ruins, AA dragons, fog and fire effects, etc) would be better than a lavishly themed coaster on par with Big Thunder, Everest, or even Mummy?
Um…I never said that lol. Themed coasters are great! But we already have several of them in Orlando. Universal isn't going to beat Disney at their own game. As great as the Mummy is, it's no Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. So if I'm going to ride a roller coaster that's limited in intensity because it's bound to the rules of theming, I'll go to Animal Kingdom or Magic Kingdom. The draw to IOA's roller coasters is that they're intense. You can't have a top-tier roller coaster completely confined to rock work or theming or whatever all the time. It's a tradeoff I'm willing to make.
To be honest, when Disney fans complain about things like Universal's Six Flags-esque coasters, I agree with them. Hulk and Rockit are fine because they don't take up much space and Hulk actually adds to MSHI as far as atmosphere goes.
I don't understand that, though. Ok, you say Universal is Six Flags-esque because it has roller coasters…but Hulk and Rockit, which are far more in the way and un-themed than Dragons, are ok. That's kinda a double standard don't you think? I mean, I don't think having a roller coaster makes a park like Six Flags, but if I did, I'd be against Hulk and especially Rock-It. I'm just confused as to where you're at here. Dragon Challenge is the better of those rides…Hulk is aging kinda badly and has some pacing issues and Rock-It can be very rough, very unreliable, and is braked to death. So if we're even just looking at the quality of the rides, I'd say Dragon Challenge is worth keeping over the other two.
By removing DC, you actually get MORE rides. It's similar to JAWS getting replaced by Diagon Alley. You get more bang for your buck.
There are a lot of pretty bad attractions at Universal that need the axe more than Dragon Challenge. I could say that about any ride, really. I mean, you could get a bunch of flat rides if you ripped out Camp Jurassic. Is that something we should do, though?
DC isn't unreplaceable in the way something like FJ or Spidey are.
This is completely YOUR opinion. I respect that you don't like Dragon Challenge for whatever reason. But there IS an audience for it. And the thing is, I honestly don't think you're right that it isn't unreplaceable…if it's as detrimental to the park as you're making it out to be, I don't think JK Rowling would have approved of it. I mean, if the ultimate stickler is ok with it, I think it's pretty safe……..