Dragon Challenge at Islands of Adventure closes September 4th. What's next?

coastalthrillsnet
Jul 28, 2017
2 min read

After months of speculation and rumors, Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure has announced the closure of the two B&M inverts, Chinese fireball amd Hungarian Horntail, together known as Dragon Challenge.

PC: Theme Park Trader Dragon Challenge was a pair of intertwined inverted roller coasters in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter area of Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida. The coaster opened in 1999 as Dueling Dragons, and both inverts were named Fire and Ice. When the Wizarding World of Harry Potter themed area was added, the ride's name was changed from Dueling Dragons to Dragon Challenge and the inverts were renamed Hungarian Horntail and Chinese Fireball. Back when the ride first opened, it was phenomenal when the two inverts would duel at the same time, creating many near-miss moments for the riders. However, as the years went on, the Dueling came to a sudden hault.

PC: Orlando Informer During the summer of 2011, flying loose articles caused two accidents on the ride hurting guests and one nearly losing his eye after he was hit with a penny on ride. Because of this, Universal shut down the dueling aspect on the ride and installed metal detectors at the front of the coaster's entrance. Due to this, the coaster had lost lots of its fans and fame. Park patrons wondered if the coaster would ever start dueling again, as the metal detectors made guests feel that should there be nothing in any of guests' pockets then the two coasters could duel. However, Universal decided to stop the dueling for good.

PC: Wikimedia Commons Universal announced the ride's departure in summer 2017, with a new Harry Potter themed attraction to open in its spot in 2019. The new attraction was described as, "...One of the most highly-themed coaster experiences we've created. It will combine a new level of storytelling with an action-packed adventure...and a few surprises along the way". Let's hope that this new coaster they plan on adding will be as phenomenal as Dragon Challenge was.