19 for ’99: Dueling Dragons at Islands of Adventure

Welcome to another installment of our “19 for ’99” series where we’re featuring 19 roller coasters that opened in 1999.

 

Our latest entry takes us to the former Dueling Dragons (later known as Dragon Challenge) at Universal’s Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida.

Opening with the rest of Islands of Adventure on May 28, 1999, the Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) dueling inverted coaster was situated in “The Lost Continent” land of the theme park, specifically in the smaller Merlinwood section.

A quick roller coaster semantics lesson: a dueling coaster like Dueling Dragons is comprised of two coasters with different (to varying degrees) layouts with carefully designed “near-miss” points where the two trains come within close proximity of one another.

A racing coaster typically features two nearly identical tracks that are often mirrored. Rather than focusing on the “near-miss” element, these coasters place more emphasis on pitting two trains against one another to see which reaches the “finish line” (brake run) before the other.

So with that in mind, let’s talk Dueling Dragons.

Dueling Dragons Backstory

In its original iteration, the Dueling Dragons story surrounded a battle between Pyrock, a fiery dragon, and Blizzrock, its icy foe.

Early concept art for Dueling Dragons showed guests seeing the shadows of two fighting dragons in a cavernous indoor queue.

The built queue, while perhaps not as elaborate, was themed to a dilapidated castle and stretched roughly half a mile long.

As they approached the loading station, guests were able to “Choose Thy Fate” — as a sign read — opting for either the “fire” or “ice” train.

Dueling Dragons Ride Experience

Once seated in the ornate fiberglass trains, guests prepared for their duel.

Both tracks of Dueling Dragons stood 125 feet tall and stretched 3,200 feet long. Each side featured five inversions.

The two trains paralleled each other as they climbed to the pinnacle of the lift hill. After cresting the peak, both trains maneuvered down one of B&M’s signature post-lift teaser drops.

Then, the action began. The Fire train dove to the left, the Ice train plummeted to the right.

The Fire train completed its first inversion, an Immelmann, while the Ice train sped through a 270-degree overbanked turn.

Photo © Stuart Newsom

Next came the first of three “near-miss” moments. The Fire train entered a traditional airtime hill while the Ice train spun through a zero-G roll.

The Fire train entered a second Immelmann, while the Ice train navigated a double-inversion cobra roll.

The two trains then entered a straight section of track as they careened toward the second near-miss moment — a pair of too-close-for-comfort vertical loops.

Photo © Joe Shlabotnik

The legs of riders in the opposing trains once again came inches from each other.

Photo © Brian Marshall

18 inches, to be exact. The coaster had both a minimum and a maximum height limit, the latter to prevent any actual collisions between riders.

Photo © Stephen Dettling

Following the vertical loop, both trains made 180-degree turns as they prepared for the final dueling moment, a pair of interlocked flat spins.

Following these intertwined inversions, both trains snaked their way back to the station.

The action-packed ride lasted well over two minutes with no reprieve from the moment the trains left the lift hill.

See the ride in action in this documentary clip below:


Harry Potter Takes Over

Following an extensive refurbishment, Dueling Dragons reopened as Dragon Challenge in June 2010 as part of the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter section of Islands of Adventure.

The coaster was incorporated into the new land and received a new entrance and a Potter-inspired backstory. The “Fire” and “Ice” names were retired in favor of “Chinese Fireball” and “Hungarian Horntail.”

The park described the newly rethemed coaster as:

You’ll need the courage of a Triwizard Tournament champion as you mount one of two dragons—an aggressive Chinese Fireball or a ferocious Hungarian Horntail—that twist and loop in an intertwining roller coaster chase across the sky. Dragon Challenge is actually two high-speed roller coasters—each “dragon” is a completely different ride.

It was a creative incorporation of the coaster into the new Harry Potter-themed land. But that came at the cost of the loss of some of the unique thematic elements that made the coasters special to so many. Those casualties included the iconic two-dragon entrance:

 

Original Dueling Dragons entrance (L), Dragon Challenge entrance (R)

The new entrance, while better matching the overall fabric of Wizarding World, was far less impactful than the original.

Photo © The Pop Culture Geek Network

While the ride itself was virtually untouched, the queue was updated with subtle and not-so-subtle Harry Potter references, like Ron Weasley’s flying car, flying Ford Anglia.

Dueling No More

Until 2011, the dueling “Fire” and “Ice” trains were dispatched at a specific interval to help ensure that they dueled as intended. Prior to departing the station, each train was weighed so that the dispatch time could be adjusted.

However, injuries stemming from loose articles resulted in the trains being programmed so that they would not duel. While the two rides were on their own still fun, many thought the loss of the dueling element diminished the additional thrill.

Retiring the Dragons

In the mid-2010s, rumors began to swirl in the coaster community that Universal was planning to remove Dueling Dragons to build a new attraction. Available real estate in Islands of Adventure is limited, and a dueling inverted coaster didn’t fit as seamlessly into such an immersive themed land that centered around high-tech indoor rides.

In late July 2017, Universal formally announced that Dragon Challenge would close on September 4 to make room for a new thrill ride.

By the end of September, the coaster was being torn apart, its mangled pieces soon spotted in a scrapyard:

To date, Dragon Challenge is the only B&M coaster to be closed and scrapped.

The coaster’s replacement, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, debuted to the public on June 13, 2019 — just over 20 years after its predecessor opened. The single-track, multi-launched Intamin coaster utilizes the former Dragon Challenge station and sprawls across most of the land formerly occupied by the dueling coaster.

Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure

Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure

While Hagrid’s may fit more aesthetically into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, it didn’t replace the high-octane thrills provided by a pair of B&M inverted coasters.


For more Dueling Dragons nostalgia, read about my last few rides on the coaster prior to its closing in 2017.

Do you have any fun Dueling Dragons memories? Share them in the comments section below.

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