CHOOSE THY FATE! History of Dueling Dragons in Pi Minutes! š
23Velocicoaster is cool and all, but it isn't Islands of Adventure 's first thrilling, high speed roller coaster based on a ferocious reptile! That honor goes to the opening day classic: Dueling Dragons!
#HistoryInPiMinutes #DuelingDragons #IslandsOfAdventures #DragonChallenge #UniversalOrlando #RollerCoaster
Buy Stuff!
https://www.teepublic.com/user/pi-guy
If you don't like buying stuff, donate on Ko-Fi!
https://ko-fi.com/pithedisneyguy
History in Pi Minutes is a series where I look at some popular topics in Disney or Theme Park History and cover them in a bite size format.
Today we are gonna look at the history of the Dueling Dragons! An opening day attraction in the Merlinwood sub land of the Lost Continent inside Islands of Adventures at the Universal Orlando Resort in Florida in the United States on Earth in the Milky Way Galaxy on this plane of existence we call "reality." Merlin Wood was themed to Old English literature and Arthurian Legends. And Dueling Dragons was a B & M inverted coaster that was themed to an epic battle between two dragons! The mighty red fire dragon Pyroc! And the fearsome blue ice dragon Blizzroc! The coaster was a fan favorite with an immersive queue. But it's days were numbered.
When Dumbledore beat Merlin up in a back alley knife fight, MerlinWood and that side of the Lost Continent was rethemed to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! Guests could visit Hogwarts and Hogsmeade village! And Dueling Dragons became Dragon Challenge. A very simple update to base it around the dragon fights in Goblet of Fire. Later on, the roller coasters were demolished to make way for the new highly themed family friendly Harry Potter themed Roller Coaster : Hagrid's Magical Creature Motor Bike Adventure!
But some still miss ye olde days when Merlin invited them to Choose Thy Fate!
Want to learn more about the history and go in depth?
Inside Universal did an excellent retrospective on Dueling Dragons after the ride's closing including info on the incident where someone was injured in a roller coaster accident :
https://www.insideuniversal.net/2017/...
B-Roll / Archive Footage:
Original Dueling Dragons queue line walk through at Islands of Adventure
Courtesy of Coaster Jeff
Ā Ā Ā ā¢Ā OriginalĀ DuelingĀ DragonsĀ queueĀ lineĀ w...Ā Ā
Dueling Dragon B-Roll - Dueling Dragons / Dragon Challenge Vintage Footage Universal Orlando Islands of Adventure POV
Courtesy of Theme Park Review
Ā Ā Ā ā¢Ā DuelingĀ DragonsĀ /Ā DragonĀ ChallengeĀ Vi...Ā Ā
Harry Potter Dragon Challenge Coaster Queue Line Walk-In POV HD Wizarding World Universal Orlando
Courtesy of Front Seat Media
Ā Ā Ā ā¢Ā HarryĀ PotterĀ DragonĀ ChallengeĀ Coaster...Ā Ā
Harry Potter Ride - Hagrid's Magical Creature Motorbike Adventure Ride through- Universal Orlando
Courtesy of SoCal Attractions 360
Ā Ā Ā ā¢Ā HarryĀ PotterĀ RideĀ -Ā Hagrid'sĀ Motorbik...Ā Ā
This Video was made by Zach (AKA Pi the Disney Guy).
Islands of Adventure's FIRST Reptile Roller Coaster! History of Dueling Dragons in Pi Minutes!