Hold on TIGHT! First Look: Universal Orlando's new Rip Ride Rocket Coaster

Universal Orlando Resort is getting ready to unveil one of the most radically innovative roller coasters ever created - Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit - set to open late spring/early summer. The coaster combines hit music, breathtaking first-ever maneuvers and highly sophisticated audio and video for a one-of-a-kind ride experience.
Riders will pick their own soundtrack and listen as it blasts through individual concert-quality audio systems - all while hurtling through a series of never-before-attempted maneuvers and at speeds up to 65 m.p.h. Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit's audio system will carry songs representing five genres of music: rap/hip-hop, country, classic rock/metal, pop/disco and club/electronica. Each rider's song pick will also be featured on a ride video they can purchase that uses a network of sophisticated cameras to mix music, moves and special effects.

Since announcing Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit last year, Universal Orlando has not revealed details of the ride - until now.

Universal Orlando's Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit is the tallest, largest and fastest X-CAR style roller coaster in the world. The X-CAR coaster vehicle is more maneuverable than other coaster vehicles and uses innovative restraints that are less restrictive, more open and more exhilarating. That X-CAR design also means Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit is capable of maneuvers other coasters are not. The coaster design also allows for more vehicles on the track at one time than with other coasters - creating non-stop movement and action.

Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit features 3,800 feet of steel track, a 17-story vertical lift and six maneuvers - three of which have never been built before. For the first time, Universal Orlando shares details on Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit's signature moves below. Brace yourself for Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit's catch-your-breath maneuvers.

Vertical Lift
You strap in, select your soundtrack and race 11-feet-per-second at a 90-degree angle toward the sky. You conquer all 167 feet of the vertical lift, the tallest point of the coaster, in just 16.5 seconds. At the top, you will be at the highest point of any coaster in Orlando.

Double Take - First-Ever Maneuver
You drop from the vertical lift at 65 m.p.h. and ascend into the Double Take, the world's largest non-inverted loop. You zoom along the inside of the track until you reach the top, where you twist to the outside of the track and ride over the top of the loop. You then twist back inside the loop for your descent. The Double Take stands at 136 feet tall and is 103 feet at its largest diameter.

Treble Clef - First-Ever Maneuver
You rock out to music during your Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit journey, but when you reach the Treble Clef, you get to ride a music symbol. Universal Orlando engineers and designers worked to bend the steel of the track into the shape of a treble clef music symbol. Not only is it the first time this maneuver has ever been done, but the Treble Clef also bursts through a building facade, sending you roaring over the New York area of the park. Fun fact - this move was first sketched out on a paper napkin.

Jump Cut - First-Ever Maneuver
Typically, a negative-gravity maneuver is straight up and down (often referred to as a camelback). Instead, the Jump Cut is a spiraling negative-gravity move, making it a first-ever coaster maneuver. When you reach this point on the track, you feel like you are experiencing a corkscrew without actually going upside down.

Crowd Surfer
Soaring 33 feet above ground, you are turned at a 95-degree angle as you fly over a crowd cheering you on from the load platform as they jam to in-queue music.

Drop Tuning
As you barrel past the Blue Man Group theatre toward Universal CityWalk, you'll drop underground and emerge from a chasm near the entrance to Universal Studios.

Plot Twist
The final maneuver is an inclined loop - meaning it leans at an angle to the ground - and has a 150-degree banking turn as well. You also fly around a complete 360-degree turn before heading back to the station.
Now sit back, strap in and select your song!