Hulk Coaster Needed Its Own Power

When Universal Orlando built The Incredible Hulk Coaster for Islands of Adventure in 1999, the ride’s launch system demanded an enormous burst of electricity every time a train shot out of the tunnel. Reports on the coaster said that if Universal had relied directly on the normal Orlando grid, each launch could have caused visible brownouts or dimming lights nearby. To avoid that, the park built dedicated on-site power infrastructure with custom motor-generator sets and large flywheels to store and release energy for the launch. A superhero coaster needed so much power that Universal had to treat it like an industrial machine, not just a theme park ride.

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