[MarkD]

Just go to YouTube and search for Kuka robot arm or Kuka robocoaster and you'll see many vids of what it is. Someone also did a RCT3 design with it. It could be an interesting ride.

[Jonathan]

[youtube]XwK4uMEBPKY[/youtube]

[coasterbruh]

If I werent already sold on the ride before seeing that vid the other day I would have been 100% sold! Man, thats amazing. I just wonder how that snow is gonna stay white...

[rctdcifreak]

Oh so that was snow? jk. I wonder how often they are going to have to paint everything in Harry Potter land. That Florida sun can be hard on exterior paint.

[coasterdave]

I am encouraging that you folks make the trip down to see the new area when it opens up. There are some pretty awesome things in that area from what I am 'hearing'. I will post pics when I can or if I can when I get down there in a week or two. Going to be a great next few months and if you guys are down then give me a shout out.

[CarowindsFreak]

I was at wet n wild orlando this past tuesday and was waiting in line for one of the slides. I looked over towards universal and IOA and that castle is really big and it looked nice. It looked taller then some of the coasters over there. hopefully the ride is just as good as it looks.

[Wormy]

I don't usually watch Celebrity Apprentice, but the last episode featured the 'Wizardy' World of Harry Potter. So if you didn't catch it, and if you have 85 minutes to kill, and if you want to check out some footage of the attraction, and if you like reality TV crap, AND if you want to see Rod Blagojevich being an idiot:

http://www.nbc.com/the-apprentice/video ... s/1216189/

Skip the first three minutes.

[PhantomCat]

Thank you everyone for all your links and info on the new addition to Universal/Islands. I simply love these parks and now have another reason to revisit.

[CarowindsFreak]

I have been reading articles and saw a few pictures and I have to say it looks nice. The que line looks neat and you just have to give credit for the people who have been working on it for the past 5 YEARS. It opens June 18 (i think that's what I saw). Anybody know what a softopenimg is because I heard today was one and the forbidden journey is running now without any errors. I can't wait to go latter this year and see it all in person.

[coasterbruh]

soft opening is a sneek peek before it officially opens

[PhantomCat]

Yes. Kind of like a Media Day.

[coasterdave]

This friday is D-Day for Potter. Hope some of you folks can get down to enjoy this new and exciting land at Islands of Adventure. Been a great ride so far.

[CarowindsFreak]

Has anybody been yet. If so how long did you wait to get in. I am going in less than a week.

[cwgator]

With all the issue going on with this ride, I'm in no hurry to experience it. Then again, I don't do Harry Potter either. Here's the latest report of malfuntion that happened last Friday evening leaving people stranded on the ride.

http://www.wesh.com/themeparks/24397634/detail.html

In case you don't want to click the link, here is the story from WESH Orlando (local NBC affiliate):

Universal Quiet About Potter Ride Problem

Firefighter Say Evacuation Flawless

ORLANDO, Fla. --

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Officials at Universal Orlando wouldn't disclose on Monday exactly what caused its Harry Potter ride to stop Friday night while it was loaded with passengers.

Authorities said everyone got off safely, but some guests who paid to see the new attraction weren't pleased.

Officials with the Orlando Fire Department said a capacity crowd of 132 parkgoers were aboard the ride when it malfunctioned on Friday. Whether it was a computer glitch or some other type of problem, representatives from Universal Orlando would only say it was a stoppage they consider rare and harmless.

A guest called 911, when the stuck ride left her in an awkward position. Firefighters assisted park staff to get those aboard the ride to safety.

"Universal, of course, handled it professionally, and we assisted, as needed," Orlando Fire Department District Chief Paul James said.

James said nobody was hurt -- or even on edge -- by the time they arrived.

"They had their evacuation equipment in place, and they were using it to unload the cars. Everyone was calm; everyone was professional," James said.

"The part break while I was waiting to enter and stopped the attraction," a guest said.

A guest from Brazil said he was scared at first, but he said he was OK.

Universal officials said on Monday that the problem was a "minor moment in the history of an innovative attraction that has performed flawlessly for more than a half million people. Ride and safety systems reacted exactly as they were supposed to, and our team members performed flawlessly ... quickly resolved the issue and the ride opened on time the next day."

Officials with the Orlando Fire Department pointed out that it trains for evacuations from theme park attractions before the rides open, and Friday's incident went according to plan.

[coasterdave]

I have not been there since the grand opening of the area. I have heard that the crowds are pretty heavy for that area during the day but lets up as the day goes on. The ride is worth the wait inline if you are a Potter fan.

And yes the ride does have problems since it is pretty new technology but it must have been a slow day in florida for that to make the news for it is not the only time the ride has had to be evaced. And I can tell you that the staff is pretty good at it since they have practiced it alot. I even think the guy who came up with the evac system is a member of this board if I recall.

Prepare for a crowd when you go.