I really wish they would bring back the dueling aspect of this ride. I've only ever ridden it without because the only time I was at Islands of Adventure was in 2011 and by then they had discontinued it. This ride is just not the same without it actually "challenging" the other color!
+Andie Bunker Now that they're doing security checkpoints before you even get on the ride, I don't see why they can't bring the dueling aspect back. It really isn't the same anymore. That's why the wait time never really exceeds 10 minutes anymore.
Such a shame they demolished it. It was one of my first upside-down rollercoasters, and it helped me become a roller coaster enthusiast. Now with it gone, I’ll never be able to bring back my initial nervousness, but hey! The new ride they’re putting up looks promising, so next time I go, I’ll see what’s that all about
While I was riding this the last few times I was at Universal before it closed for replacement by Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, the chain lift for Chinese Fireball at 2:41 still slowed down, but probably just to give the Hungarian Horntail time to clear enough track on the opposite side. They send the Chinese Fireball and Hungarian Horntail out the stations at the same time btw.
@CeletialDarkness actually both coasters have 5 inversions. the cobra roll on the Hungarian Horntail/Blue side is considered to be two inversions in one.
The best thing to do with a roller-coaster is just to DO IT. I have never been afraid of them and went on the once Duelling Dragons when I was 10. The scariest part is waiting in the queue, you tend to over think it. Once you get on the ride you'll be having way too much fun. If you don't like heights close your eyes and just feel the sensation of the ride instead. Good luck :)
@wwwCOASTERFORCEcom It's definitely open. Yes, people were throwing things at eachother back when the dragon coasters were 'duelling'. That is, both coasters went at the same time, and met at the loop at the same time. But since people were hurting others, the ride has since stopped 'duelling'. The coasters now leave at different times so that they no longer meet at the loop.
I miss the days when these coasters 'battled' with each other. Dragon Challenge was one of the most exciting rides on the planet, and it such a shame that the fun has been spoilt. Just one day, I hope, push will come to shove and the ride will operate once more with both sides running at the same time...
When I rode it (which was when it was the dragon challenge and not dueling dragons) It was definitely in sync I looked over at the other people and waved and we were sync for that loop. I didn't even know they stopped the sync which is ridiculous because it makes the ride so much better.
I've been there about 2 weeks ago, and it wasn't busy at all :) Like the longest time we needed to wait was 15min for the forbidden journey. But we did every ride at least once, mostly twice on one day :D And it was great!
I just went here yesterday and rode this 3 times! The Dragon Challenge is my favorite ride there, but now that they've done new ronovations, inside the building (where you wait in the lines), It's SO dark! I was in a group and one person fell 2 times and hurt her knee... You can barely see in front of you!
Actually, it was a recurring problem. Someone may have been purposefully throwing something as the incident kept occurring. First it was a guy and his eye. Second, someone else got hit with something. The third time, a guy ended up with a nasty bruise up the side of his body from it. We may see them duel again one day, but that will be after the problem is figured out and the necessary precautions taken
The first day we got our annual passes this year, we went on the Fireball, as they weren't running the Horntail, and we went up the ENTIRE lift at the speed seen at 2:44. It was pretty neat though.
@koasterkav I prefer the Red one, but they are both equally amazing in their own way. I just prefer the drops on red as opposed to the spins on the blue.
The seats haven't changed, right? The track is still above you (unless you're upside down), and they still have the overhead things? Shaped like a U, kind of? And it goes upside sown what, like, five times?
@CyberChick2011 Actually some of the people who went on both said that the red dragon is faster than the blue one, but they all appear the same to me. You should definitely check out the Flight of the Hippogriff one since that one is slower and does not go upside down. But I would highly advise trying this Dragon Challenge too. Being a HP fan, I'd shove myself out of my fear and go on every single one to get the full experience. :]
@Missy84 No because people got hurt because of flying objects in the other coaster so they decided that its safer without them running at the same time. Sucks, right?
I can't believe that they are closing such a good ride. When I think of Universal, I think of Dragon Challenge and Hulk. It's almost as bad as when Busch Gardens Williamsburg scrapped Big Bad Wolf. Hopefully this one will be moved.
When I went in May 2004 when they actually duelled, both coasters came within inches of each other at 3:50. They don't seem to race them anymore although they seem to in this one?
@AliceIdella24 The Hulk is always everyone's favorite, and the new ride Rip Ride Rockit, it has been a very new design that I loved. There is not a lot of selections for songs, but it still creates a great ride, especially the first loop. These three, plus the new Harry Potter adventure ride, are my favorite four rides in the park
And really that's not Universals fault, It was the people that chose to not follow the rules and have loose items in pockets on the rides. It's a shame people had to ruin the real fun of the dueling atmosphere.
@Love2Listen2TheMax i say dragon challenge is better. and if your going to ride it, i suggest riding hungarian horntail first (blue) and then chinese fireball (red). but rock n rolla roller coaster is really fun too
Hulk closes Public:no my baby! Hulk reopens Public:few! Dragon challenge closes Public:nah it’ll be fine. Dragon challenge removed Public:*dead inside*
People on the oppisite coaster were hit with "flying projectiles". In other words people were throwing things/dropping them and they were hitting people on the other dragon ride
I went on this ride the other day, the red and blue back to back and when you get to the front the sign said 10 minute wait. Seemed like it took 10 minutes to walk through the entrance. After we got through there we got right on the coaster haha
hey coasterforce, did they stop running these two tracks simultaneously? because in 2005 when I went there when it was still called dueling dragons they ran at the same time but now I hear otherwise.
They stopped letting the rides launch in sync because a guy had a coin in his pocket and when the ride hits that part where your feet almost touch the feet of the people on the other coaster, his coin fell out and hit a guy on the other ride in the eye. The guy lost his eye and that's why they don't run it in sync anymore. Pretty stupid if you ask me.
No the tracks are still running only reason why they changed the name is because they put in the Harry Potter World therefore they had to change the name of the rollar coasters
@Love2Listen2TheMax no its really fun. this was my first rollercoaster and i got a bit nervous when your going up, but as soon as it starts, its awesome. i wanted to ride it again and again after that. and i was 10! lol
I’ve only been to universal once when I was 8 and I really wanted to ride this but I wasn’t tall enough and I was really sad when I heard that they closed it because now I’ll never get to ride it
I really wish they would bring back the dueling aspect of this ride. I've only ever ridden it without because the only time I was at Islands of Adventure was in 2011 and by then they had discontinued it. This ride is just not the same without it actually "challenging" the other color!
I think they stopped it because people were getting hit by loose objects from the other cart. Someone had to get there eye removed because of it
+Andie Bunker Now that they're doing security checkpoints before you even get on the ride, I don't see why they can't bring the dueling aspect back. It really isn't the same anymore. That's why the wait time never really exceeds 10 minutes anymore.
16_Sophie_01 There WERE metal detectors back then.
@@Galistia I think it was "a bunch of idiots ruined it for everyone", like vandals who intentionally snuck rocks or whatnot onto trains.
Such a shame they demolished it. It was one of my first upside-down rollercoasters, and it helped me become a roller coaster enthusiast. Now with it gone, I’ll never be able to bring back my initial nervousness, but hey! The new ride they’re putting up looks promising, so next time I go, I’ll see what’s that all about
I have recently fallen in love with the back row on both of these. It's so amazingly intense. An entire different experience.
The person riding it going "Oh yeah, that's what I'm talkin' bout...bum baba bum" made me LOL.
rode it in sync! wish they wer still in sync! and i like this better than ice
Nice to see ur channel here!
Ride starts from top of the drop 3:16
I needed that
David Rey k
While I was riding this the last few times I was at Universal before it closed for replacement by Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, the chain lift for Chinese Fireball at 2:41 still slowed down, but probably just to give the Hungarian Horntail time to clear enough track on the opposite side. They send the Chinese Fireball and Hungarian Horntail out the stations at the same time btw.
It would be cool to see a video of both of these clips side by side, synchronised to see what they are doing from both POVs.
The red one is better than the blue , but both are fun ! Rode them this past weekend.
So fun
Bloody loved it. Line took ages (not so much the line but waiting to be seated), but the interior design was absolutely amazing:)
@CeletialDarkness actually both coasters have 5 inversions. the cobra roll on the Hungarian Horntail/Blue side is considered to be two inversions in one.
pls let this coaster dual again
The best thing to do with a roller-coaster is just to DO IT. I have never been afraid of them and went on the once Duelling Dragons when I was 10. The scariest part is waiting in the queue, you tend to over think it. Once you get on the ride you'll be having way too much fun. If you don't like heights close your eyes and just feel the sensation of the ride instead. Good luck :)
@wwwCOASTERFORCEcom It's definitely open. Yes, people were throwing things at eachother back when the dragon coasters were 'duelling'. That is, both coasters went at the same time, and met at the loop at the same time. But since people were hurting others, the ride has since stopped 'duelling'. The coasters now leave at different times so that they no longer meet at the loop.
I went on it at nightime. 9:30 PM. Park closing soon. Front row. Best time of my life. My glasses almost fell off haha
I miss the days when these coasters 'battled' with each other. Dragon Challenge was one of the most exciting rides on the planet, and it such a shame that the fun has been spoilt. Just one day, I hope, push will come to shove and the ride will operate once more with both sides running at the same time...
Just got to ride these beasts last week! Loved them both and in my opinion Chinese Fireball felt a bit more intense.
They may not be the best inverts based on ride quality alone, but they are by FAR the coolest and most original.
I wanna go on it screaming "FOR GRIFFINDOR!!!!!!!!"
Nah scream, "HAIL GRYFINDDOR"
yugioh guy I see you on every single coaster video everywhere! LOL😅😆
Well it's perminatly closed now so you can't. Rip dragon challenge.
When I rode it (which was when it was the dragon challenge and not dueling dragons) It was definitely in sync I looked over at the other people and waved and we were sync for that loop. I didn't even know they stopped the sync which is ridiculous because it makes the ride so much better.
I've been there about 2 weeks ago, and it wasn't busy at all :) Like the longest time we needed to wait was 15min for the forbidden journey. But we did every ride at least once, mostly twice on one day :D And it was great!
I just went here yesterday and rode this 3 times! The Dragon Challenge is my favorite ride there, but now that they've done new ronovations, inside the building (where you wait in the lines), It's SO dark! I was in a group and one person fell 2 times and hurt her knee... You can barely see in front of you!
Actually, it was a recurring problem. Someone may have been purposefully throwing something as the incident kept occurring. First it was a guy and his eye. Second, someone else got hit with something. The third time, a guy ended up with a nasty bruise up the side of his body from it.
We may see them duel again one day, but that will be after the problem is figured out and the necessary precautions taken
And I still feel whiplash from this ride 4 years later.....
*3
😂😂😂😂
What *whiplash* its a b&m invert these things barely give you whiplash if you mean you greyed out then thank me later
Closing on September 4th for good this year :( It sucks they can't take out Flight of the hippogriff instead. This ride was amazing.
The ride starts at 2:10 btw
RIP Dragon Challenge. You will be missed by many.
Went on the blue side yesterday. Awesome ride!!
The first day we got our annual passes this year, we went on the Fireball, as they weren't running the Horntail, and we went up the ENTIRE lift at the speed seen at 2:44. It was pretty neat though.
Blue definitely doesn't have as much airtime - there is a huge airtime hill on Red which is my favorite element because it's so rare on B&M inverts
I hated the queue line before but now it looks even more scarier! Love the ride though
So glad I got to experience this before it was closed for good.
This was my first coaster. Loved it I was on blue though, and that line through the castle is ridiculous. It's dark and hard to see.
Universal Orlando will be closing Dragon Challenge with last rides on September 4th and a new Harry Potter thrill/dark ride will go in its place
Who else skipped to the ride footage?
Me
@Love2Listen2TheMax i think its true. blue has more zero g rolls and cobra rolls, while red does alot of corkscrews and 1 air time hill
@koasterkav I prefer the Red one, but they are both equally amazing in their own way. I just prefer the drops on red as opposed to the spins on the blue.
Favorite ride a universal. Rode it 11 times in one night
the coasters dont ride in Sync anymore because there were too many injuries,one guy had change in his pocket and it hit someone in the eye
dude that's awesome. but man, it would be EPIC if they made a coaster with all FOUR dragons.
@EggnogOctopusMan
Ice is tamer. Ice Dragon (or Hungarian Horntail as it's called now) was also my first rollercoaster with loops. I recommend it :)
The seats haven't changed, right? The track is still above you (unless you're upside down), and they still have the overhead things? Shaped like a U, kind of? And it goes upside sown what, like, five times?
half the fun of the Dueling Dragons back when I last rode it years ago was the sync of the rides. We would act like its a race between the two
there was no wait for this ride when i went so much fun!
@CyberChick2011 Actually some of the people who went on both said that the red dragon is faster than the blue one, but they all appear the same to me. You should definitely check out the Flight of the Hippogriff one since that one is slower and does not go upside down. But I would highly advise trying this Dragon Challenge too. Being a HP fan, I'd shove myself out of my fear and go on every single one to get the full experience. :]
@Missy84 No because people got hurt because of flying objects in the other coaster so they decided that its safer without them running at the same time. Sucks, right?
I remember the old queue said choose thy fate, the new one is like it has a red flag and a blue flag of dragons and they are on different sides
The red is more extreme, but the blue does some cool stuff, either way it's the second best ride right behind "The Incredible Hulk"
This rides reminds me a lot of Montu. I can't wait to go to Universal for the first time.
Except Montu is much better
I'm not a roller coaster person at all, but this is my all time favorite ride!(besides tower of terror)
I can't believe that they are closing such a good ride. When I think of Universal, I think of Dragon Challenge and Hulk. It's almost as bad as when Busch Gardens Williamsburg scrapped Big Bad Wolf. Hopefully this one will be moved.
It used to be called Dueling Dragons before the Harry Potter section was built, after it was built, then it was called Dragon Challenge
@AliceIdella24 yes, same track and seats. just different name and when you head up to it in the line
When I went in May 2004 when they actually duelled, both coasters came within inches of each other at 3:50. They don't seem to race them anymore although they seem to in this one?
@AliceIdella24 The Hulk is always everyone's favorite, and the new ride Rip Ride Rockit, it has been a very new design that I loved. There is not a lot of selections for songs, but it still creates a great ride, especially the first loop. These three, plus the new Harry Potter adventure ride, are my favorite four rides in the park
And really that's not Universals fault, It was the people that chose to not follow the rules and have loose items in pockets on the rides. It's a shame people had to ruin the real fun of the dueling atmosphere.
OMG this was sooo awesome(having never ever been on a rollercoaster)!!! The G force was crazy tho lol
Best ride yet!!❤️
@rsfanatic1 Thanks. :) Considering going on it this time around. Can you tell me how this and the Hulk are as compared to Rip Ride Rockit?
Such an awesome ride! Front row is the best! :D
@Love2Listen2TheMax i say dragon challenge is better. and if your going to ride it, i suggest riding hungarian horntail first (blue) and then chinese fireball (red). but rock n rolla roller coaster is really fun too
If I'm able to handle this (a little white knuckled,but otherwise ok) will I be able to handle the stuff at Busch Gardens Tampa?
I miss this ride.
I rode this a few days ago and I don't remember the begining at all, could it be that they changed it? If so, you should update this
Hulk closes
Public:no my baby!
Hulk reopens
Public:few!
Dragon challenge closes
Public:nah it’ll be fine.
Dragon challenge removed
Public:*dead inside*
Dueling Dragons que was and always will be better. I hope they tear these down if they are not going to Sync them anymore.
Awesome! My favorite coaster I've ever been on!
(even though im only 12)
no one could give any less of a shit how old you are and rode it it really isnt an accomplishment
thx ur nice
+matt13ms someone woke up on the wrong side of the mattress today
In the three broomsticks cafe did you notice the shadow of dobby
Same
is that inside the old skull room? Outside is still the same.
I remember this ride... I miss it so badly :(
People on the oppisite coaster were hit with "flying projectiles". In other words people were throwing things/dropping them and they were hitting people on the other dragon ride
I went on this ride the other day, the red and blue back to back and when you get to the front the sign said 10 minute wait. Seemed like it took 10 minutes to walk through the entrance. After we got through there we got right on the coaster haha
I like how the guys in the back are just havin a nice lil conversation.
hey coasterforce, did they stop running these two tracks simultaneously? because in 2005 when I went there when it was still called dueling dragons they ran at the same time but now I hear otherwise.
How smooth is this ride?? Going to universal in 4 days
@twirler2016 no, never expect roughness from a b&m coaster, because they r not
@EpicDuck01 when i went to america this ride was closed so i never got to ride it
Well it goes upside down multiple times. Pretty sure that makes it a looping coaster.
IS THIS A GOOD BEGGINER ROLLERCOASTER IF YOU WANT TO GET STARTED IN BIGGER RILLERCOASTERS
i remember you go through the gates and there's a right and left lane left to the islands right to studios
They stopped letting the rides launch in sync because a guy had a coin in his pocket and when the ride hits that part where your feet almost touch the feet of the people on the other coaster, his coin fell out and hit a guy on the other ride in the eye. The guy lost his eye and that's why they don't run it in sync anymore. Pretty stupid if you ask me.
When I was here last, I went on this 9 times in a row
Is the beginning bit just the queue to go on the ride?? :) xxx
No the tracks are still running only reason why they changed the name is because they put in the Harry Potter World therefore they had to change the name of the rollar coasters
I think ill stick with Revenge of the mummy.
Hissy Hissy Snakey Ik I'm late but this really isn't that bad. It may seem like it but it's not.
What's up with that pre-show thing? or is it a show?
2:44
Was is waiting for the other train to align with it?
And which one do you think is more fun, fire or ice?
@wwwCOASTERFORCEcom good thing if the ride ops are not in sync the ride will fix it for them...
they don't let them go at the same time anymore?
3:24 At this part of the ride, I said to myself, "I regret making this decision."
@maxxman96 No. It does that when the the other train catches up on the lift.
are both of the dragon coasters designed the same
@Love2Listen2TheMax no its really fun. this was my first rollercoaster and i got a bit nervous when your going up, but as soon as it starts, its awesome. i wanted to ride it again and again after that. and i was 10! lol
what a ride this was so much fun chinese fireball side FTW
I’ve only been to universal once when I was 8 and I really wanted to ride this but I wasn’t tall enough and I was really sad when I heard that they closed it because now I’ll never get to ride it
Backseats are always fun! I rode this 6 times last week! Two words backseat. Always ride the backseat that's where the you can feel the g forces!
My friend is making me go on this next time we go to universal.. Oh god
@wakingthestorm... The Incredible Hulk ride is just amazing!! :) xxx
is the both roller coaster the same thing. like the same tracks
IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!! best roller coaster in the park. i rode the blue one twice. if u sit in the front it is so cool