The Dueling Dragons Roller Coaster at Islands of Adventure is now calledThe Dragon Challenge Roller Coaster!In the slide show above, you're viewing pictures of the Dragon Challenge roller coaster at Universal's Islands of Adventure theme park in Orlando, FL. Formerly known as the Dueling Dragons coaster, this thrill ride has been re-themed (because it's now a part of the Harry Potter theme park area at Islands of Adventure...as you probably know.) We won't be getting pictures of the ride's new look until the lines die down. However, the track layout and stats are the same as they've always been...and you may read about them on this page. The Dueling Dragons roller coaster has been named "Dragon Challenge"The Fire and Ice tracks have been re-named Chinese Fireball and the Hungarian Horntail!
The Dragon Challenge "roller coaster" isn't really a coaster...It's TWO coasters! When Harry Potter's World opened at Universal's Islands of Adventure, a brand-new, re-themed "look" for this popular set of twin roller coasters was unveiled. And new names were given to the former "Fire" and "Ice" tracks, as well. Now, their names are the Chinese Fireball and the other Hungarian Horntail. How does it feel to ride this coaster? At first, the ride seems exactly the same for both of them. When both coasters begin, they even rise up twin lift hills together! But when the coasters dive into the first plunge, that's when it gets very clear that these are 2 very different coaster tracks. 
And, it's also from that point where the fans of Dueling Dragons can get intensely personal about WHICH of the two coasters they think is better!Some fans think that Chinese Fireball (formerly known as FIRE) is the best; in fact, they're sure of it! But other fans speak just as fiercely in favor of the Hungarian Horntail (formerly known as ICE!) And, they have their reasons, too! Are the two coasters really so different from one another?
Of course, since the Dragon Challenge/Dueling Dragons spawn so many Dueling Fans, we wouldn't even dare mention which one we feel is better...or try to presume which one that YOU will like best. This is one duel in which we do NOT want to get involved! So, which is better? You'll just have to ride BOTH of them and reach your OWN conclusion! Photo note: In the picture of Dueling Dragons to your left, you can see one of the "near misses" these 2 roller coasters make along the course of their routes! How tall are the Dragon Challenge coasters?And how tall do riders need to be to board?
The Dueling Dragons/Dragon Challenge twin roller coasters look similar. They're both suspended coasters which leave rider's feet dangling in the breeze, as you can see in the picture of "Ice" roller coaster (to your left.)In fact, if you're wearing flip flops, you'll need to remove them in order to ride. They could go flying and clonk another rider on the head! But there are more similarities than simply the way these 2 rollercoasters look! They're both identical in height, length of the track, and duration of the ride! The Dueling Dragons roller coasters are both 125 feet tall! And the length of their tracks are both 3200 feet long. (It may be difficult to tell that just from looking, because both tracks are configured differently.) And, you'll spend just under 2 1/2 minutes riding either Fire or Ice, zooming at speeds of about 55 MPH. How similar they sound! Riders need to be 54 inches tall to enjoy the Dueling Dragons roller coaster. This is true BOTH for "Chinese Fireball" AND for "Hungarian Horntail." Important NEWS: the Dragon Challenge coasters will no longer "duel"These two coaster trains will NO LONGER feature "near misses" of each otherBeginning October, 2011, the two coaster trains will no longer duel! If you'll miss this feature, you should know that the change was made because the "near misses" are no longer deemed safe. It's NOT because the riders will bang into one another. It IS because riders have not been obeying the "no loose objects" rule. Several injuries...one of them severe...have been caused by flying objects. No, not every time a rider pulls out a cell phone to take a picture (or has an item fall from a pocket) is an injury caused. But, on occasion, objects that weren't put into the ride's safety lockers DO come loose. And, when someone on the other coaster train gets hurt by the objects, then the ride isn't fun any more; in fact, it can become a nightmare for the victim. Ride responsibly! Be sure that YOU aren't one of the people who end up causing an injury to someone else! But, now, there will be much less chance of falling objects causing an injury: Each train will depart from the station at different times. There will be NO MORE NEAR MISSES between the two coaster trains. Is there a best seat on each train? 1.) Despite the absence of near-misses, a rider's view will still be best from the front of each train. You ARE allowed to wait to sit in the front row...but the extra wait can add a substantial amount of time to your ride experience. You'll have to decide if the front-row view makes it worth an extra wait. 2.) When there isn't much of a crowd, only one coaster train runs. So, in other words, having less people in the park might not mean you wait less if only one train is running.
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Yes; even though "on paper" their stats look pretty similar, they each have different layouts and each one has a different "feel" to it.
