On September 16th Universal Orlando closed its second most popular attraction at Universal – Rip Ride Rocket. Surpassed only by the Forbidden Journey, the roller coaster closure has lead to waits of over an hour at Universals most popular attraction which is in Universal Orlando’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Fortunately the closure comes during Orlando’s slowest tourism season of the year.
The ride manufacturer had announced a major flaw in the roller coaster’s connection system of the ride’s trains which could lead to loss of life. Although Universal has denied this is the reason for the coaster’s closure; even saying they caught the problem and fixed it prior to the advisory being announced. Seems a bit fishy to me since this closure was not announced in advance, happened very suddenly and Universal will not comment on when this popular attraction may return.
Universal is calling it routine maintenance but typically routine maintenance does not take a month or longer. Coupled with the fact that they can confirm no date for the coaster’s return is troublesome. One has to wonder what Universal is keeping so secret. A coaster that is just over a year old should not require such an extensive down time unless there are serious issues. With the busy holiday periods quickly approaching, Universal Orlando has to be working as fast as they safely can for its return.
The roll out last year of Universal’s Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket was behind schedule and its eventual roll out was not smooth with multiple problems plaguing the launch. If the coaster’s problems are not linked to the manufacturer’s recent advisory then one has to ask – what is wrong with Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket? Universal is still refusing to announce anything on the sudden unplanned closure other than routine maintenance issues. The problems may run deep and Universal has left its customers wondering what is wrong with Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket.
