In a stunning display of efficiency, Universal Studios Florida is currently building a new attraction within the footprint of an old attraction before the demolition of the old attraction is even complete. New aerial photos from Bioreconstruct show the progress that Universal is making on a new roller coaster while in the end phases of tearing down the former Rip Ride Rockit roller coaster. Here’s a closer look!
Rip Ride Rockit Replacement Under Construction
While Universal Orlando Resort has not announced what will replace Rip Ride Rockit, the rumor mill has kicked into high gear. Not only has the rumor mill taken off, but so has construction of whatever is replacing Rockit. As you’ll see in the recently posted aerial photos, construction is well underway on the next attraction to fill this space before demolition has even been completed for Rip Ride Rockit.
There are three areas of interest right now for the Rip Ride Rockit demolition and new attraction construction. On the east side of the site, there are a number of forms and footers being installed for the new roller coaster. In the middle of the site, demolition is wrapping up on the vertical lift hill and area around the former load station. On the west side of the site, there are more footers being installed.
We’ll start on the east side of the construction site and make our way west as Bioreconstruct circles the site in a counterclockwise direction.
Starting with an area between the Hard Rock on the left, and the exit to Universal Studios Florida theme park on the right, we can see that demolition activities are wrapping up, and there is plenty of new concrete in the area. Rectangular forms and concrete pads are visible, as well as circular forms and rebar for the upcoming roller coaster’s footers.
Turning our attention to the “middle” of the site, we can see that demolition activities are concentrated around Rip Ride Rockit’s lift hill and former load/unload station. This is a mess of metal as crews carefully deconstruct the roller coaster, set amid soundstage buildings.
On the west/northwest corner of the site, we can see that construction is only slightly behind the east side of the site. We can see that Universal is still working on getting footers in place. It is believed that this area will be the maintenance barn and new load station for the next attraction. Again, Universal hasn’t announced a theme for the new roller coaster, but they are certainly moving fast on the project.
The work here is impressive for two reasons. First, the simultaneous demolition and new construction is impressive alone. It’s not entirely unheard of, but it isn’t common to see a major theme park like Universal or Disney building something brand new in the same footprint where demolition is occurring. The Space Mountain 2.0 project in Tokyo Disneyland comes to mind, but it isn’t fully an apples-to-apples comparison.
Another layer of complexity here is that this demolition is not only happening in a tight space, but it is happening literally on the other side of the fence from Universal Studios Florida’s most popular seasonal event of the year – Halloween Horror Nights. Universal has significantly altered the walking paths during HHN, but they have found a way to make the event functional while tearing down a roller coaster that is literally steps away from guest areas.
It’s wonderful to see that Universal is still pumping capital into its existing theme parks quickly after opening the expensive Epic Universe theme park earlier this summer. Projects are underway or soon-to-be-underway in both of the “legacy” theme parks as construction gets ready to pick up a bit at Epic Universe.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com for not only the latest Disney Parks news, but also news, photos, and info from great offerings Outside the Bubble!
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