This week, Universal Epic Universe begins previews for the general public, and as such it will be the first time many get to experience what lies inside the park's gates. However, reviews and impressions have been pouring out from the employee and media previews, giving some idea of what may be expected in the park. Obviously, many of the headliners are getting much of the attention, but among the secondary attractions one I'm seeing quite a bit of talk around is Dragon Racer's Rally. As a stock model Gerstlauer Sky Fly enhanced with some theming to fit into the Isle of Berk, this might be the most generic offering at the park, but there's a good chance for the majority of the park's visitors, this will be their first experience with the attraction. Unfortunately, I'm hearing a lot saying that the ride is kind of dull and it's difficult to spin the seats, but fear not...I'm here to teach you how to turn it into one of the wildest flat rides you'll find outside of a traveling carnival.
First off, full disclaimer: I haven't actually visited Universal Epic Universe or ridden Dragon Racer's Rally. However, I have ridden this exact same attraction at over a half dozen parks, both in the United States and abroad in Germany (where the attraction is as common as giant frisbees are in the US), so I've figured out how to reliably get some cartwheels while soaring through the sky. Some of it was trial and error, but one of the installations I rode abroad (the Erlebnispark Tripsdrill one if I remember correctly) had an instructional video for riders that revealed a few tricks that many people are doing wrong.
While some try to get a spin going based solely on the wings, that's simply not enough unless the wind is quite strong. Instead, the basic principle to getting this ride to spin is similar to pumping a playground swing to go higher, but you're moving side to side instead of forward and backward. Once the seats unlock, push one wing down and throw your upper body weight in that direction, leaning into the rotation. At the same time, pull up on the opposite wing and (important but often forgot) swing your feet out in that direction. Since you'll be rotating around your center of gravity, you want all your weight trying to spin you in the same direction, and leaving your feet to dangle will simply oppose the torque you're attempting to generate.
Since the seats are weighted to remain upright if no action is taken, your rotation will stall out and begin to reverse. When that happens, reverse the wings and reverse your body position so you're leaning into the rotation. Timing is more important than strength, as you want to drive the rotation through the neutral position rather than riding it and then leaning in. You should rock further in the opposite direction if you do it right, and should that not be the case, perform your direction switch earlier on the next swing.
It will take a few swings, but eventually you'll make it over the top. As you do so, pull your legs in as far as you can and lock your ankles to keep them in place. This will reduce your inertia, slightly increasing your spin speed and enabling you to keep rotating. As long as you remain in the same position from this point forward, your seat should continue to spin until the motion of the ride slows down. Had enough? Simply extend your legs and reverse the wings (or bring them to neutral), and you'll damp out your spin very quickly.
There are some factors that affect the ease of getting full rotations. Most notably is wind speed and direction (if you're flying into a headwind over the top, it's easier to get going), and the other major contributor is where you sit (the two front seats and two outside seats on the three person rows are the easiest to spin...the middles on the three person rows are the hardest). However, if you're persistent at it, you should be able to get at least some spinning going on and wow all those jealous they don't know how to repeat the feat.
I'm not going to say anyone visiting Epic Universe should prioritize a flight on Dragon Racer's Rally, but if the queue is short and you feel like giving it a whirl, I hope these tips let you create an experience matching your preferred intensity. If you'd rather not roll and prefer a more mild experience, nothing wrong with that, just don't be a flapper (someone who sits there and rapidly moves the wings up and down with no effort) unless you're just trying to look silly.
thank you for the tip! I actually really needed that, as I was hearing complaints about this ride as you were, and wondering if they were doing it wrong. why don't they put that video in some sort of animated tapestry so it fits berk and teaches the guests how to fly?