USF's Rocket Coaster

So, I've seen the online animation of the ride and, aside from the unique lift hill and the non-inversion loop the layout is leaving me a little...unenthused.

I'm not big fan of critiquing rides I have not been on yet but with the new virtual animation it is easier to do than ever. I hope I'm wrong because it is a ride, as a Floridian, that I was looking forward to.

Anyone else of that mindset?

I am looking forward to it, I am guessing it's going to be really fun and re-ridable.

It took me a second to figure out why the University of South Florida was installing an Intamin Rocket Coaster, but then I realized we were talking about Rip Ride Rockit at Universal :)

I can somewhat agree and say that the ride doesn't look to be out of this world as far as the layout, but I think the on ride video/music systems as well as the LED lit trains and such will make this a very cool coaster to watch and ride, and I think it will be a big hit for the park (as long as the downtime isn't overwhelming). I am anxious to see how the moving loading platform will work out.

FYI, it's not an Intamin Rocket Coaster. It's a custom X-Coaster form Maurer Söhne. More info here.

He didn't imply that it was an Intamin ride.

I'm not the only one who saw "Rocket Coaster" in the title and thought "Intamin."

He's right, you know. I did the same thing.

Oops...my bad. Rockit. Sorry I misspelled the misspelled word.

It didn't really grab me from the animation either but in person the non-inverting loop looks crazy. The drop off the first block brake looks to be quite good as well.

Heck to be honest I'm just glad we are finally getting a large non-looping coaster in Orlando.

They very easily could have gone with a clone of B&M's Hollywood Dream, so I guess I'm glad that didn't happen.

I was there in February and got to see a lot of it up close (through the fence) and the thing that struck me is that in a lot of sections the track seems to twist slightly, back and forth, maybe in a direction that isn't quite "natural" if you will. The drop off the last block is a good example- the bank of the track seemed, from where I was standing, contrary to the angle and direction of the drop, if that makes sense. If the ride is speedy throughout without a lot of stoppage it could be a blast.

The part closest to CityWalk was the most complete then, so I can't really say about the rest. I'll certainly give it a try though, and look forward to it. .

There is testing video on YouTube, just search for the ride name.

^Cool vid.

In other news, I'd love to know what goes through people's minds when they select music for their videos. Or is the answer simple: nothing?

I didn't see it, because I think it's a "Universally" stupid name. :)

Agreement!

Yesterday, the "launch/lift" section of track had been removed from the tower... not sure what that means, but wonder if they will even make a July 4 opening at this point.

Update (I guess) Rock'it was testing today, although the ride never seemed to go full-circuit, only block-to-block. A cast member said they were likely to begin training crews by the end of the month...soft opening could begin in early August. Or later... ;)

Video of a complete circuit with lift at full-speed here.

Wow, assuming that video was edited in sequence and nothing was missed, I have to wonder if it's not going to be boring. Granted, what they didn't appear to get video of was the turns out in front of the Blue Man Group theater, which looked pretty cool in stills (not the higher up helix, the stuff lower to the ground).

It especially looks rather uninteresting after the second brake run. I never felt any excitement for this coaster.

It's looks like a mix part thrill and part kiddie ride. Do a sequence hit the brake....again again yawn and again. Let's hope for the best.