The Incredible Hulk (roller coaster)

The Incredible Hulk is a launched steel roller coaster located at the Islands of Adventure theme park in the Universal Orlando Resort, Florida. As the name suggests, the ride is themed after the popular comic book superhero character, the Hulk. The ride opened on May 28, 1999, and has generally been well received. The roller coaster closed on September 8, 2015 for major enhancements and is expected to reopen in Summer 2016.

The Incredible Hulk was the first Bolliger & Mabillard roller coaster to feature a launch system; however, this mechanism was subcontracted to another company. The roller coaster is also unique because it features a launched lift hill as opposed to a conventional chain lift or horizontal launch track. This means the train accelerates to 40 mph in approximately two seconds before speeding through seven inversions. The 3700 ft ride features a top speed of 67 mph.

History
In 1991, planning began for a new theme park adjacent to Universal Studios Florida. By the end of 1993, it was decided that one area of the future Islands of Adventure theme park would be themed after Marvel Comics, with a Hulk theme being selected for a thrill ride. The designers of the ride wanted to simulate being fired out of a cannon and subsequently set about prototyping a launch system. Universal Creative and MTS Systems Corporation had a working prototype in January 1995. Methods to achieve this acceleration were investigated into mid-1996. On-site construction of Islands of Adventure was underway in 1997, with Superior Rigging & Erection being responsible for erecting the supports and track of the roller coaster. On May 28, 1999, Islands of Adventure officially opened to the public, with The Incredible Hulk being one of its debut attractions. On August 14, 2015, Universal announced that the coaster would undergo major enhancement and refurbishment work. The ride closed on September 8, 2015 and is expected to reopen in summer of 2016.

Characteristics
The Incredible Hulk is a Sitting Coaster by Swiss firm Bolliger & Mabillard. The 3700 ft ride features seven inversions including a zero-g roll, a cobra roll, two vertical loops, and two corkscrews. The ride features a maximum height of 110 ft, and a first drop stretching 105 ft. Riders reach a top speed of 67 mph on the 1-minute, 30-second ride. Each of The Incredible Hulk's trains feature eight cars which seat riders four abreast. Riders, who must be at least 54 in tall, are restrained with ratcheting over-the-shoulder restraints. This train configuration allows the ride to achieve a theoretical hourly capacity of 1,920 riders per hour. The ride features two subterranean dives, is partially built over water, and is illuminated green at night.

A unique launch system propels riders up the 110 ft hill. The system was developed by Universal Creative and MTS Systems Corporation. A prototype launch system was designed by January 1995. The prototype consisted of a series of boxcars welded together to form a launch tunnel. A track-mounted dune buggy was then propelled inside the tunnel through the use of a weight drop launch mechanism. The designers then experimented with different rates of acceleration, each emitting between one and five times the force of gravity. The final system which was implemented on The Incredible Hulk sees trains launch from 0 to 40 mph in 2 seconds. Riders travel at an angle of 30 degrees through a 150 ft tunnel, pulling 1 G. To power this launch the designers investigated a variety of systems ranging from hydraulic, pneumatic, cable, steam catapult, and conveyor belt. In the end a drive tire system was selected, where 230 electrical motors power a set of tires that pinch the train's underside to provide propulsion. As this system required eight megawatts of power to launch a train, the park built several customized motor generator sets with large flywheels. Without these stored energy units, they would have had to build a whole substation and risk browning-out the local energy grid with every launch. The launch system made The Incredible Hulk the only Bolliger & Mabillard ride to feature a launch, until Thunderbird opened at Holiday World in 2015.

Queue
Riders enter the science laboratory of Dr. Bruce Banner with many televisions showing the story of the Hulk. Bruce is now trying to find a way to reverse the effects, which the guests are about to take part in. While walking through the lab they encounter items including the generator, the gamma core and the towers of power. Riders are also able to watch the roller coaster through large holes in the walls as well as listen to the ride as it does a number of passes.

Ride
Once riders have boarded the train, it departs the station entering the gamma-ray accelerator, where the anxious voice of Bruce Banner issues from speakers in the walls: "Everything looks good...I think...I think this time it's...going to work!" On cue, a female voice announces that there has been a malfunction. Klaxons begin to sound inside the tube as Dr. Banner screams in terror: "No. No! No!!!" The last "No!" is synchronized with the launch mechanism, which propels the train from 9 to 40 mph in 2 seconds. Upon exiting the gamma-ray accelerator, the train immediately goes into a zero-g roll, down a 105 ft drop, and into a cobra roll over the park's main lagoon. Riders complete a vertical loop, then enter a subterranean tunnel full of mist. The train encircles the gamma-ray accelerator and is sent into the back area via corkscrew. A smaller vertical loop wraps around the mid-course brake run, which is flanked by two over-banked turns. The train is slowed down by the mid-course brakes before being sent down another hill to a corkscrew and turn-around. Riders then travel sideways through an on-ride camera zone and then to the ride's final brake run after a helix.

Reception
The Incredible Hulk has been well received. In its debut year, the ride was voted the #1 roller coaster by Discovery Channel viewers, appearing on the Thrills, Chills and Spills documentary. Amusement Business described The Incredible Hulk as one of Islands of Adventure's two world-class roller coasters (the other being Dueling Dragons, now known as the Dragon Challenge). Dewayne Bevil of the Orlando Sentinel rated the ride as his eighth favorite attraction in Orlando. He states the ride is "too intense to take back-to-back trips. It rattles our nerves, in a good way." Arthur Levine of About.com gave the ride 9 out of 10 stars. Levine describes the ride as "both terrifying and exhilarating" and "not for the faint of heart".

In Amusement Today's annual Golden Ticket Awards, The Incredible Hulk consistently ranked highly up until the 2013 poll. It debuted at position 19 in 1999, before rising to a high of 9 in 2001. The ride appeared in the poll every year, up until 2013.

In Mitch Hawker's worldwide Best Roller Coaster Poll, The Incredible Hulk entered at position 3 in 1999, before slowly declining to a low of 65 in 2013. The ride's ranking in subsequent polls is shown in the table below.