Woody Woodpecker’s Nuthouse Coaster was a junior roller coaster located at Universal Studios Florida. It was the park's first roller coaster and the first roller coaster constructed at Universal Orlando Resort. The coaster originally opened in 1999, It was originally located between the outside queue area for E.T. Adventure and the original location of Hard Rock Cafe. The attraction was closed in January 2023 and rethemed into Trolls Trollercoaster inspired by DreamWorks'sTrolls reopening June 14, 2024. A design for the ride was also included in the original plans for the construction of Universal Studios Dubailand before the proposed park was scrapped.
History
In May 1998, Universal announced plans to introduce a new Woody Woodpecker's KidZone area featuring Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster and Curious George Goes to Town at its Orlando theme park location.[1] They were built near other family attractions, such as A Day in the Park with Barney and Fievel's Playland, and were aimed at a younger audience between the ages of 5 and 12.[1] Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster opened on March 13, 1999.[2]
After over two decades of operation, in December 2022, Universal Studios Florida announced that Woody Woodpecker’s KidZone would be removed at the start of the new year. The coaster was temporarily closed on January 16, 2023, while the nearby attractions Fievel's Playland, Fievel’s Water Slide, DreamWorks Destination, Curious George Goes to Town, and Shrek and Donkey's Meet and Greet closed permanently.[3]
Ride
As guests entered the queue, they passed Woody Woodpecker's insignia, along with certain bells which made various noises which guests could pull. They also passed a sign where Splinter and Knothead, Woody's niece and nephew, were arguing about who would first sign it. Guests then entered the factory, where they lined up in rows and soon entered the ride vehicles.
After guests were seated and Woody's assistants had pushed down their lap bars, a bell rang and the ride train left the station and started to climb a lift. As it neared the top, riders had a full view of KidZone. At the top, a sign read "Ready or nut...Here we go!" and Woody (voiced by Billy West) could be heard saying "Guess who?", and then did his famous laugh. The vehicle went down a winding drop and went up a hill and did a smaller drop and went in multiple winding turns before coming to a complete stop with signs in front of it which read "Stop! Track ends! Now!" The vehicle then came back to the station and guests exited.
Incident
On June 19, 2006, a 4-year-old girl injured one of her feet while exiting the train. She was taken to the hospital to be treated for cuts on her foot. Reports said that the girl's foot got stuck between the train and platform. Her foot was freed, but Universal closed the coaster so that staff could examine the ride. The attraction reopened the next day on June 20.[4]
In 2014, a similar event occurred when a 6-year-old boy injured his leg in the same way while exiting the ride.
