Universal's Islands of Adventure · Marvel Super Hero Island
The Incredible Hulk Coaster
A 54-inch launch coaster that fires uphill instead of dropping, then turns you upside down seven times in under two and a half minutes.
Ride facts
- Type
- Roller coaster
- Height
- 54in (137cm)
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Motion sickness
- High motion risk
- Getting wet
- Stay dry
- Indoor / outdoor
- Outdoor
- Air conditioned
- No
- Single rider
- Available
- Rider Switch
- Available
- Inversions
- Yes
Last verified July 2026
What it is
The Incredible Hulk Coaster does one thing no other major coaster in Florida does: it launches you up the lift hill. Instead of a chain dragging the train to the top, a tire-drive launch system accelerates it from a standstill to roughly 40 mph inside a tunnel in about two seconds, spits it out at around 110 feet, and rolls it immediately into an inverted zero-gravity roll before you have processed what happened. Twenty-seven years on, that opening is still the best two seconds on any coaster in Orlando.
The rest is a well-shaped, fast, relentlessly paced Bolliger and Mabillard sit-down layout: seven inversions, two of them over the water of the lagoon, a cobra roll, a top speed around 67 mph and a run time of about two minutes fifteen. It is not subtle and it is not story-driven. It is a very good, very loud roller coaster in a park that now has a better one three islands away.
The 2016 rebuild replaced the entire track, the trains and the queue, which is why a ride from 1999 does not ride like one. The layout was reproduced faithfully and the roughness that had crept in was engineered out. It is smoother now than it was when it opened.
What riding it is actually like
The queue moves down into a laboratory set with the launch tunnel audible above you the whole time, which is a large part of the psychological work. You will hear roughly forty launches while you wait, each one a compressor blast and a rising scream, and by the time you reach the platform the anticipation has done most of the job.
Sit in the front row once if you can bear the extra wait - the launch out of the tunnel into open daylight is a completely different experience with nothing in front of you. The back row is the more violent ride and the better choice for anyone chasing forces, because the train whips over the crest of each inversion.
Two of the inversions run out over the lagoon and one takes you into a below-grade tunnel, which is where the ride pulls its strongest sustained force. It ends abruptly. There is no gentle brake run build-up here; the train hits the brakes hard and it is over, which is part of why the ride feels shorter than its stated runtime.
Is The Incredible Hulk Coaster scary?
The fear here is entirely physical rather than atmospheric. You are launched uphill from zero to around 40 mph in about two seconds, go straight into an inverted zero-g roll at the top, and then take seven inversions in under two and a half minutes. Nothing jumps out at you. The launch itself is the thing people are frightened of, and it is over before you can react to it.
Scores are editorial, on a 1–5 scale, judged against what frightens a typical four- to seven-year-old rather than an adult.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair
- Must transfer to the ride vehicle
- Audio description
- Not offered
- Handheld captioning
- Not offered
- Assistive listening
- Not offered
- Sign language
- Not offered
- Service animals
- Must use a kennel or wait with a companion
Full transfer to a fixed seat with an over-the-shoulder restraint. A test seat sits outside the entrance and is the same hardware as the train - use it. All loose articles including phones must go in the free lockers, and there is a metal detector at the platform.
Tips that actually help
- Use the single rider line. It regularly turns a 45-minute posted wait into ten, and the trains have a lot of single seats to fill.
- Everything goes in a locker, including phones in zipped pockets, and there is a metal detector on the platform. Turn up with empty pockets and you will save five minutes and an argument.
- Ride it at night. The launch tunnel, the lagoon inversions and the lighting package all work better in the dark, and this is the best night ride in the park.
- Use the test seat outside the entrance if there is any doubt about fit. The over-the-shoulder restraint has a hard stop and larger guests are turned away at the platform.
- Repeat-visitor note: the back row is a noticeably rougher and faster ride than the front. Do the front first for the launch view, then the back for the forces.
Timing
- Best time to ride
- After dark, or in the last ninety minutes of the day when waits collapse and the launch tunnel is at its most theatrical.
- Typical wait
- Typically 30-60 minutes midday, dropping under 20 late. Single rider is often a third of the posted standby time.
- Express Pass
- Universal Express Pass
The Incredible Hulk Coaster: common questions
How tall do you have to be to ride the Hulk?
54 inches. That is the tallest requirement at Islands of Adventure and one of the tallest in Orlando, and it rules out a large share of children who can ride everything at Magic Kingdom. There is no exception and measurement is taken with shoes on at a fixed stick.
How many inversions does the Hulk have?
Seven, starting with a zero-gravity roll immediately after the launch and including a cobra roll and two inversions out over the lagoon. Total ride time is a little over two minutes.
Is the Hulk rough?
Much less than it used to be. The entire track and all the trains were replaced in the 2016 rebuild and the ride is now smooth by the standards of a 1999 layout. The back row is still noticeably more violent than the front.
Can I take my phone on the Hulk?
No. All loose articles go in the free lockers outside the entrance, zipped pockets included, and there is a metal detector before the platform. The lockers are free for the length of the ride cycle plus a buffer.