The Dragon Coaster is a staple at all the Legoland Parks worldwide.
The newest of which just opened at Legoland New York.
This is easily the park’s biggest roller coaster and it’s a really fun ride.
In this video, I will be reviewing the Dragon Coaster.
And I’ll be comparing it to the other Legoland Dragon coasters across the globe.
All 12 Legoland parks currently open or under construction have a Dragon Coaster in their
lineups.
All of these coasters start with a dark ride section through a medieval town and past an
imposing dragon.
And then the coasters head outdoors for a more traditional coaster section.
The first one built by Legoland was Dragen at their Billund park, which was a Mack powered
coaster that opened in 1997.
The following year, Legoland Windsor opened their own Dragon, which was built by WGH Transportation,
who only built 6 different roller coasters.
In 1999, Legoland California opened with their own Dragon; this time it was a custom-built
Vekoma junior coaster.
And then Legoland Florida also has a Vekoma built model, but this one’s history is more
interesting.
This coaster originally opened as the Okeechobee Rampage in 2004 when the park was known as
Cypress Gardens.
This was an off-the-shelf Vekoma junior coaster.
When Cypress Gardens transformed into Legoland for the 2011 season, the coaster was upgraded
with a 148 foot or 45 meter long dark ride section.
However, if this Vekoma family coaster wasn’t already there, it likely would have been a
Zierer Force Five.
Every single Dragon Coaster built from scratch by Legoland since the turn of the millennium
has been a Zierer Force Five.
The first was Feuerdrache at Legoland Deutschland in 2002.
Legoland was so pleased by the coaster that they added the exact same model to Legoland
Malaysia in 2012, Legoland Dubai in 2016, Legoland Japan in 2017, and Legoland New York
in 2021.
And the same will be added to Legoland Korea in 2022, Legoland Sichuan in 2023, and Legoland
Shanghai in 2024.
Legoland is the only park to build a Zierer Force Five, which is the largest coaster in
their Force family coaster line.
This model stands 52.5 feet or 16 meters tall and reaches a top speed of 37 mph or 59.5
kph.
The original installation at Legoland Deutschland has 1476 feet or 450 meters of track.
The others have a similar length.
While the outdoor section is identical on all the Force Five coasters, the exact length
of the dark ride section varies slightly between them.
I’ve had the opportunity to ride all three American Dragon Coasters and the ones at Legoland
Dubai and Legoland Japan.
All five have similar dark ride segments in terms of the scenes and overall quality.
However, the Zierer versions I’ve ridden at Legoland New York, Legoland Dubai, and
Legoland Japan are way better than the Vekoma ones at Legoland California and Legoland Florida.
The Zierer versions offer a more intense ride experience.
It’s still a family coaster, but this one has some sneaky powerful turns.
While I have yet to ride the versions at Legoland Billund and Legoland Windsor, the Zierer versions
also look far wilder.
So I can see why Legoland has chosen to stick with the Zierer layout for any of their new
parks.
Legoland New York opened in late May 2021.
While Dragon Coaster wasn’t quite ready to go on opening day, it opened a few days
later.
Now I know a lot of parks have rides called Dragon Coaster.
RCDB says there are 64 to be exact.
And then there are 136 simply called Dragon.
But what’s funny with Legoland New York’s Dragon Coaster is that there is another ride
called the exact same thing just 2 miles down the road at Castle Fun Center.
And then an hour away, you have Rye Playland’s historic wood coaster that had been sporting
the Dragon Coaster name for over 90 years.
But back to Legoland’s Dragon Coaster.
I love this coaster’s placement.
When you enter the park, you drive past the Dragon Coaster, which builds anticipation.
And then Legoland New York is situated on a giant hill.
Since this coaster is in the very back of the park at the bottom of the hill, you get
some neat aerial views as you approach the ride.
Dragon Coaster is part of the Lego Castle area of the park, which has a whimsical medieval
theme.
The coaster’s station and queue line is housed in a giant Lego castle, similar to
what you can find on the other Dragons out there.
There isn’t too much to look at for a majority of the queue, but the final bit of queue adjacent
to the station and the station itself is wonderful.
You have atmospheric trumpets blaring, darkened lighting, and several emblem-baring shields
on the walls.
And I love the look of the trains themselves, as the green stylistic Lego dragon looks like
something out of a kid’s dream.
This coaster was operating with two trains the day I visited, but this ride actually
has three just like the Legoland Deutschland installation.
I believe the coaster could operate with all three trains since you have enough block zones
to do it, but two was more than sufficient the day I visited.
Dragon had no more than a 10 minute wait and the crew was pumping out trains.
They would almost always dispatch the next train before the prior one parked itself on
the brake run.
That’s really encouraging to see from such a new ride.
The only time dispatches were delayed was when a younger child would get frightened
and have a last second decision if they wanted to ride.
However, everyone who came off the ride was nothing but smiles.
The trains could be a bit tight if you’re a larger adult, but I had no issues with them.
The restraints are a simple lap bar, which is one of the reasons the ride can be dispatched
so quickly.
In terms of seat selection, I much preferred the back.
From a coaster perspective, the ride was more forceful back there.
But I thought the dark ride section was a bit better back there.
One or two scenes triggered after the front had passed them.
Once dispatched, the Dragon Coaster begins with roughly a minute long dark ride section.
I wasn’t able to find a copyright free POV for the recently opened New York version,
so I’m showing a POV of the Florida version.
The scenes through the medieval village are near identical.
Most of the figures are static, but a few have a small range of motion.
I honestly wish you traversed this section with a little less speed so you had a tad
more time to take in all the details.
There are roughly 100 Lego models in there and it’s mind-blowing how much detail is
captured with some tiny plastic bricks.
The finale of the dark ride sections varies between installations.
All pass a giant and impressive looking dragon.
Some, such as the one in Deutschland and Dubai, place the dragon above riders and then you
travel down a surprise dip.
This is my favorite transition since it offers a bit of thrills.
The others just have this long hallway.
This is what Legoland New York has, but at least this section is faster than the ones
at Legoland California and Legoland Florida.
Plus, it has green LED lights flashing and music to build anticipation for the outdoor
segment.
After a speedy booster wheel lift, you travel down this S-bend first drop.
Everyone raves about this element on Renegade at Valleyfair, but Dragon Coaster does the
same thing on a smaller scale.
In the back, this drop has some whip and weak lats as the 10 car train gets pulled through
it.
Then comes the most forceful part of the ride, the second hill.
This 180 degree upwards ascent was shockingly forceful and I started to greyout on each
of my rides.
Admittedly, I think I greyout more than most coaster enthusiasts, but the intensity of
this element is comparable to the helix on Backlot Stunt Coaster in that it’s an element
on a family coaster that looks innocent, but it packs a decent punch.
You then travel down a gradual drop into a 360 degree, upwards helix.
Like the prior ascent, this helix has some force to it.
Up front, it’s moderately forceful but in the back, it’s more intense as the train
is pulled through it.
The coaster then dives towards the ground on this stretched out, twisting drop.
It’s too gradual to offer any forces, but I think that’s fine on a family coaster
considering the force of the prior two elements.
You zip across the ground and head up another 180 degree curving hill, getting a mild dose
of positive Gs.
You then dip down the ride’s lone straight drop, which along with the rest of the ride
offers no airtime.
The coaster then twists into the brake run and this transition offers a tiny dose of
laterals before you come to a stop and re-enter the castle, ending your ride.
In terms of smoothness, the Dragon Coaster is immaculately smooth, which is what you’d
hope for and expect from a coaster that is less than 2 months old.
In terms of pacing, the outdoor section has good pacing for a family coaster mixing in
some decently forceful elements while offering reprieves in between.
And then the well-themed dark ride section at the start of the ride is just gravy.
So what would I rate the Dragon Coaster?
I would give Legoland New York’s signature coaster a 7 out of 10.
This is a really enjoyable coaster for all ages.
The dark ride section is what makes this family coaster unique and it’s really well executed
with the detailed sets and style.
The outdoor section is exactly what a family coaster should be.
It’s not large enough to scare kids, but the elements have some power to them.
They’ll make young kids feel accomplished and offer enough excitement to keep thrill-seekers
content.
And if you’ve only ridden the other two American Dragon Coasters, know this one is
a far better coaster experience.
So those are my thoughts on Legoland New York’s Dragon Coaster.
Have you ridden this coaster or have you been on any of the other Legoland Dragon Coaster’s
out there?
I would love to know what you think about this ride down in the comments.
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