So there is good news and bad news - the bad news is that the opening of the new roller coaster at Universal Studios, the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, has been delayed. The good news, and perhaps it’s a purposeful distraction on the park’s part from the bad news, is that Universal has also released specific details on what riders on the Rip Ride Rockit can expect.

As opposed to its originally announced opening date of “spring 2009,” the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit (HRRR) will now open in “late spring/early summer,” according to Universal. It’s still a rather vague date, but most are interpreting the date change as proof that the rollercoaster will now open a good deal of time after SeaWorld Orlando’s Manta opens on May 22, meaning that June is likely the earliest the ride would open.

“Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit is the most sophisticated roller coaster we’ve ever created, so we’re working to make sure it’s going to be an amazing experience for our guests,” Universal spokesman Tom Schroder said. “We're going to open it when we believe it’s absolutely ready.”

On the bright side though, roller coaster enthusiasts now have more reasons to look forward to the opening of HRRR as Universal has now revealed never-before-released details on the ride’s unbelievable maneuvers.

In addition to its high-tech audio and visual components, the HRRR will be the tallest, largest, and fastest X-CAR style roller coaster. What does X-CAR mean, you ask? It’s essentially a type of roller coaster vehicle that is more maneuverable than other kinds of vehicles and uses innovative restraints that are less restrictive, more open, and ultimately, more exciting. This kind of design also allows for more kinds of maneuvers that other roller coasters are incapable of performing.

Some of those breathtaking maneuvers on Rockit include a vertical lift that shoots riders at a 90-degree angle toward the sky at 11 feet-per-second. Once the coaster has scaled 167 feet to the top in just 16.5 seconds, riders will be at the highest point of any coaster in Orlando.

Afterwards, riders descend from the vertical lift at 65 mph and ascent into the Double Take, a first-ever maneuver and the world’s largest non-inverted loop at 136 feet tall and 103 feet in diameter. The coaster car zooms along the inside of the track until it reaches the top, where it twists to the outside of the track and rides over the top of the loop, then twisting back inside the loop for its descent.

Other first-ever maneuvers include the Treble Clef, where the steel track bends into a treble clef musical symbol. First sketched out on a paper napkin, this never-before-done coaster move even bursts through a building façade in the New York area of the park. There’s also the Jump Cut, a negative-gravity maneuver that defies tradition by spiraling instead of going straight up and down.

The RRR also features the Crowd Surfer, a 95-degree angle maneuver that flies the car over a crowd on the loading platform; Drop Tuning, a drop into an underground chasm; and the final maneuver, Plot Twist – an inclined loop with a 150-degree banking turn and a complete 360-degree turn.

And let’s not forget that this entire adrenaline-packed journey is accompanied by a musical soundtrack of the rider’s choosing, making it a really rockin’ experience – no pun intended.

Start planning your trip for the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit’s debut by checking out Universal Studios tickets from OrlandoFunTickets.com. And stay tuned to our blog for more info on one of the city’s newest and most exciting roller coasters.