Dueling Dragons

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Dueling Dragons
The entrance to Dueling Dragons.
Location	Islands of Adventure
Park Section	The Lost Continent
Type	Steel - Inverted
Status	Open
Opened	May 28, 1999
Manufacturer	Bolliger & Mabillard
Designer	Ingenieur Büro Stengel GmbH
Model	Inverted Coaster
Track layout	Dueling
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Track name	Fire	Ice
Height	125 ft (38.1 m)	125 ft (38.1 m)
Drop	115 ft (35.1 m)	95 ft (29 m)
Length	3200 ft (975.4 m)	3200 ft (975.4 m)
Max speed	63 mph (101.4 km/h)	57 mph (91.7 km/h)
Inversions	5	5
Duration	2:25	2:25
Height Restriction	54 in (137.2 cm)
Dueling Dragons at RCDB
Pictures of Dueling Dragons at RCDB

Head-to-head on Dueling Dragons

Dueling Dragons is a pair of dueling roller coasters at Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure. The ride is the only dueling inverted roller coaster in the world. The ride is themed to two dragons, one side being Fire and the other Ice. It features a layout in which the two trains share a common lift hill, but then traverse two completely unique courses. The ride features three near misses between the two trains, two of which bring riders feet within several inches of riders on the other train. The ride was constructed by Bolliger & Mabillard of Switzerland. The Dueling Dragons coasters reach speeds between 55-65mph and get within 12 inches of each other at some points. Each dragon's 2 and a half minute flight includes a total of 5 inversions, including a zero-g roll, a Cobra roll, two corkscrews, and two vertical loops.

1 Quotes
2 Trivia
3 See also
4 References
5 External link

[edit] Quotes

Ride layout

After walking through one of the longest and certainly most elaborately designed queues for any theme park ride, riders come to a decision in the path they follow. At this intersection, riders will turn right to ride on the Ice Dragon and left for Fire Dragon. Merlin frequently taunts riders with some of the following lines.

"Turn right for Ice and left for Fire! Now, pick the dragon you desire."
"The left burns hot, the right turns cold, whichever you choose you best be bold."
"Past this point of no return, your only choice is freeze or burn." (commonly misinterpreted as "freezer burn")
"Turn left for Fire, turn right for Ice! I know not which is best advice."

Also, the ride attendants use several quotes when dispatching the trains:

"Battle Bravely."
"I bid thee farewell."
"May the fates be with you."
"May the dragons spare you."
"Ice/Fire Dragon, you are clear for battle."
"May the best dragon win."
"Keep your hands inside the dragon."
"Fires' red, Ice is blue, I'd turn back if I were you."
"Once beyond the castle gate, there is no turning back. It's far far too late."

[edit] Trivia

The ride features interlocking corkscrews

During the aerial "combat" between dragons - the suspended coasters - there are three times that guests will come within 18 inches of their opponent.
When the trains are loaded, they are weighed as they are being dispatched in order to properly time the near-miss points.
Every train has two seats (rows 3 & 6) designed to fit guests with large "body dimensions."
Each dragon's 2-minute and 25-second flight includes several inversions, including a zero-g roll, a Cobra roll, Immelman, two corkscrews, and two vertical loops.
The Fire Dragon is faster at 63mph, but the Ice Dragon has more side-to-side motion.
The restraints on the Fire Dragon trains are yellow, and the Ice Dragon trains' restraints are blue. However, the front row restraints on both sides are pink, as they represent the dragons' tongues.
This attraction was originally intended for Disney's Animal Kingdom park, but was scrapped after the Park's constructions budget could not allow the ride to be built.
The huge walls behind the ride were put up after local residents complained about the screaming.
The Fire Dragon is the only Bolliger & Mabillard inverted coaster that does not include a Zero-g roll.
The tracks are filled with sand to reduce noise, because of the proximity of the coaster to Dr. Phillips High School. Similarly, Talon, an inverted B&M coaster at Dorney Park, also has its tracks filled with sand because neighbors of the park were concerned about the coaster's noise levels.
Coaster enthusiasts consider the best seat on the Ice "Dragon" to be the front row, right-side seat to be the best, due to the number of near-misses to which that seat is the nearest.
Conversely, the best seat on the Fire "Dragon" is considered to be the back row, left-side seat, due to the increased lateral motion and its proximity to the other "Dragon" during the near-misses. The back row is also the best row for the ride because of the intense floater air received from Fire's second hill and drop.