Re: First Time Evah in Florida - DAY 1
furie said:
Posts in topics only available to signed up users don't appear. There are members only areas and it's not right to have those linked on the front page.
Not good enough I'm afraid.
I say let the world know.
And why do you have to be a member to read trip reports? lol
furie said:
I'm sure
you can come up with some way of advertising the topic
It's a trip report Phil. Not a Youtube video.
Anyway. It's the moment you've all (all two of you) have been waiting for...
DAY 2: Disney's Hollywood Studios
We agreed before we went on the holiday that because we were going in the middle of summer we had to get to the parks for opening time each day to make the most of it. Sadly this didn't happen once and it was a occurring thing throughout the whole trip to get to the parks several hours after they had opened.
This wasn't due to us getting up late. Everyone was up at 7am almost every day. All we had to do was get dressed, eat then go.
Sadly this never happened once because of my dad. Who HAS (and he says he really has to) have two cups of tea in the morning before he does anything. This is fair enough but it shouldn't take that long. Then after that there was loads of faffing about with bags (which we weren't even taking) and I don't know what. Stuff that generally wasn't needed for the day. Luckily on the first day we got to the park at about 10:30am (it opened at 9am) so we hadn't missed too much but it's frustrating being stuck at the villa wanting to get on and do things and then having to wait around for 3 hours.
Anyway we finally got in the cars and headed to our first park of the trip.
In the entrance we go.
Then you follow the maze of roads towards the park you want.
You then get to the stalls where you pay for the car parks. People moan that Alton is expensive. But here it's $14 a day (Universal is $15 and Seaworld and Busch are $13). Good job we didn't go in a tractor as that would have cost us $16 (yes they have a list of prices for vehicles like tractors haha).
So once Disney have already taken your money before you've even got there you're allowed to go in and park. This is VERY organised with plenty of staff and cones leading you in and filling the spaces ones by one. The bays are angled the direction you're going so you can easily drive in as you're not allowed to reverse into spaces in America (or at least Florida) as there's only a numberplate on the back of the car and it has to be visible at all times.
Anyway once you've parked you walk forward to the row in front (where they're already parked) and head down the road towards the tram stop. This is done very well and the way they fill up the bays so well means people aren't dodging cars or waiting for people to park.
Anyway each section of the (massive) car park has a tram stop. These comes at a constant rate (literally between 0-60 seconds between each one) and load up guests. Then it takes them DIRECTLY to the park entrance. These trams have their own closed off lanes as well so it keeps them away from other cars and traffic meaning no stopping and saving time. You also have a guard on the back who talks to you on the way to the entrance and tells you about the park and what times the shows are etc.
Anyway within no time we were at the rather basic looking entrance to the park.
For some reason when you go in all the parks and water parks in Orlando you have to scan your fingerprints as well as your ticket goes through the machine. I assume this so noone else can use your ticket but if anyone can confirm this then let us know.
I saw a couple of people where it wasn't matching and then they just kept trying and trying until it worked.
It is a good idea but can make getting into the park take minutely longer.
Here's a picture of the one at Blizzard Beach as it's the only one I got a picture of.
Once in the park there's a small street (don't know the name of it) that leads up to the central point where you can go off into all the different sections.
As soon as we got in the park a parade came out. This one here always seemed to be on when we walked past the area so it seemed like it was going non-stop all day lol. It comes out by the park gates and then goes up the street and stops in front of the big Mickey hat for a show.
Once we got to the hat we decided to head right and go straight to Tower of Terror. It's quite a long walk and there's not much down here apart from Tower of Terror, Rock'n'Rollercoaster and a couple of shows (including the gate which then turns into a really long path that takes you to where Fantasimic is in the evenings).
Anyway... Tower of Terror.
I think the board outside said the queue was either 30 mins or 45 mins. Either way we were on in 15 minutes.
Most the queue boards throughout the trip were SUPER unreliable. Almost always it was MUCH less than what it was so we didn't mind. But why have them if they're nowhere near what the queue actually is?
Anyway my aunt, uncle and cousin don't really do rides so they went to go see the Beauty and the Beast show while we went on the ride. Sam (my cousins boyfriend) decided after a while that he wanted to come on the ride with us.
I'd hate to be outdoors in the queue in the hot weather. Luckily we weren't waiting outside for more than 10 minutes.
A member of staff dressed as a bell boy. Sadly none of them seemed to be in character much at all which took away from the ride slightly.
The themeing inside the building is amazing. So much detail to everything.
After the pre-show room you go into yet another queue themed to the basement of the hotel. Here you go into one of 4 lifts and start your ride.
Anyway thoughts on the ride...
Tower of Terror
Was REALLY looking forward to this ride.
It started off well and the build up was done rather well. Loved the effects going up the lift but when you leave the shaft and go along the corridor it didn't have the feel I wanted it to have. On videos it seems like it's meant to be an optical illusion and you don't know whether you're going forward or not.
I know now this is probably not the case. But it was far too light in that corridor and you could see the track and down the sides of it almost the whole time. The bit with the stars was cool though.
Once into the drop elevator I was ready for some great airtime and ejector. Sadly it wasn't quite there. It didn't hold you up the top long enough to take in the view and it wasn't up high enough either and there was stuff blocking you seeing out as well. Also I found the drops rather weak. They were good fun but wasn't intense at all which was a bit of a disappointment.
I know it sounds like Im picking apart the ride. But I was really looking forward to it. And the weak drops and not having enough time to look outside at the top did take away quite a bit from the experience.
I've heard they have different sequences so maybe we had a crap one. But I did come off the ride thinking it was good. But having the air of disappointment around it.
As we came out the ride much earlier than we expected to we came out just before people in the show did. So I went to the toilet then we stood around for 10 minutes as people came out keeping an eye out for my aunt as there were about 3 exits to the theatre all spread out so we had to keep an eye on all of them.
We finally saw them and my dad was shouting for his sister. But the way he ran up shouting made him sound urgent and they though something was wrong (My cousin thought her boyfriend had fainted on the ride or something). So they relieved to find out it was just him letting them know he was there. haha
Once we were all reunited we grabbed a drink from the food place opposite. Before going on Rock'n'Rollercoaster we thought it might be a good idea to walk up to Toy Story Mania and get fastrack for it as someone on here before I went said that they go really quickly and it usually has the longest line with the slowest moving queue.
By the time we got there the fast-track said it was for some super late time in the evening just before the park closed. And by the time we'd stopped to look they'd all run out.
As we were there we said we might as well ride it and get it out the way. The queue board said it was only a 60 minute queue but we were on and off within 45 minutes.
The queue was well themed with stuff to look at on all sides and even above and below you.
At the end of the room is a giant animatronic Mr Potato Head. I thinks it's similar to the tree at Chessington where someone can see what's going on and talk to people. Although I can't remember now if it did or not so it may just be pre-programmed stuff.
The coolest bit is about every 15 minutes he takes his ear out. Really clever hows it's actually able to grab it and pull it out while gripping it and then put it back in.
Although the first time we saw it do this he pulled his ear out but dropped it on the floor. Then it just went into a quiet standby mode where it just stood looking around the room and moved slightly.
After about 5-10 minutes a rather embarrassed member of staff appeared and put his ear back in to the cheers of the people in the crowd and he was off again.
Once you've got round the massive cattlepen you pick up your 3D glasses before heading up some stairs and over and down onto the platform.
It was a neat idea how they had a separate bit of track for a car to go off so it can stop and load guests who are in wheelchairs without messing up the flow of the ride for everyone else. That way they can take as long as they wont and then just go off when they're ready.
Once you were loaded into your car and strapped in you were off.
Thoughts on the ride...
Toy Story Mania
LOVED this ride. I thought it was just going up and down shooting at screens but it was loads better than I expected. The cars spun quite a lot more than I thought they would and the layout was more mixed up than the simple up and down I was expecting it to be.
It was great fun going head to head with people in your car going from game to game. It was fast paced, easy to play and had loads of harder targets for players with better aim to hit and get more points.
Also enjoyed how you weren't just shooting the same things all the time. In one game it was hoops, another it was darts and another was balls. Really kept it fresh all the way though.
Also the ending was great where you started playing the long stall while moving sideways then you had to fire as rapidly as you could at the massive target to get those last few points in.
I won in my car with quite a lead and wasn't far off getting the high score of the day. My shoulder was absolutely killing though by the end of it and was hurting for the next few days.
But yeah. Amazing fun ride and not to be missed.
My aunt and Uncle didn't go on the ride so once we were out there was a lot of waiting around again trying to get hold of them and find where they were. We looked round the little outdoor shop area at some of the cool stuff they had.
I liked some of the attention to detail as well. Like painting this to blend in with the brick wall.
They also had cool balloons (they lit up as well).
The actors dressed as the green toy soldiers walking around was a nice addition as well.
Once we had all met up again we went to the Studio Catering co for lunch. Luckily we got her just before a massive rush so we didn't have to queue long.
After lunch we wanted to do something gentle and nearby. With the Studio Tram Tours within site we headed straight into it.
The queue for this seemed massive. But after about 10 minutes of waiting the whole queue emptied as it eats up loads of people at a time and has quite a large capacity.
I've been on the version in Paris and quite enjoyed it so was looking forward to this expecting it to be the same but on a bigger scale.
The first thing you go into is a show where they show you how they do some special effects on an action film. It's alright. Just some water and fire cannons and multiple tipping buckets to simulate a massive wave hitting the side of a building.
After this they send you into another queue past a house from Hannah Montana.
Then you go into a prop warehouse in which you queue some more waiting to get on the tram.
Finally we made it to the tram. Although due to the way they were loading it and the point we appeared, our group ended up getting separated with 4 of us right at the front of the tram and the other 4 right at the back.
We went past a plane.
Past the Earful Tower.
And past some windows.
Then into Disaster Canyon.
Here's a video I did of it. Not as good as it could have been because we were at the front of the tram away from most things.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qbANpvhf4I[/youtube]
After that section it's basically it. You just head back to the unloading dock via the metal structure behind the canyon and a junkyard or random crap from films noone's seen.
After the ride you go through another room with some more stuff from films.
And then after that you go into a shop.
As you can tell I wasn't really bothered to say much about the ride and you can find out why in...
What I though...
Studio Backlot Tour
It was ****. Such a long build up to the ride then going from one queue to the next. The actual tram ride was long and boring. Just took you past a load of junk and dragging it on as long as they could. The canyon bit was ok. But it seemed a bit out of sync and being at the front meant we were away from most the action in the middle.
At least in the Paris version you have two massive scenes like that (the other is London being destroyed by a dragon) and the stuff you go past is far more interesting.
But yeah. Came off rather disappointed and it takes up quite a bit of time as well.
Next we headed to Star Tours via this street with this optical illusion at the end making it look longer. We agreed that after we'd meet up and see the Lights, Motors Action stunt show together.
The queue for this said an hour I think but it was only 40 minutes. For those who don't know they've redone the ride so it's all in 3D and there's over 40 different destinations so each time you ride it it should be different.
The screen in this section was broken. It hasn't been open that long since they redid it.
The glasses are cool because they look like goggles.
Thoughts of the ride...
Star Tours
I'd been on the one in Paris but don't remember much of it so riding this was like riding it new again. Plus it was with all the new films.
It was alright. As far as simulators go it was good. The animatronic C3PO in the car was good and the motions were quite fluid and realistic. We ended up going to the Wookie planet. It's a bit generic where you're going along. Have loads of near misses etc and things go wrong. But it's quite fun and a couple of times during the ride the simulator tilts quite far so you're leaning forward pretty steep at one point which all adds to it.
So yeah. It was alright. For a simulator it was good but I wouldn't queue more than 30 minutes for it.
We headed to the stunt show next that they stole from Disneyland Paris.
I didn't get to see it when I went there and heard it was good so was quite looking forward to this.
We couldn't see our aunt anywhere and it was starting in a couple of minutes so we headed in. First off though you have to do a MASSIVE long walk around the stadium to get in. Right down the left hand side, along the back, then down the right hand side, then up the stairs and along to a seat.
Lights. Motors, Action
The show was really good. Gave you a good insight into how they film car chases and stunts. Car loves will probably enjoy all the technical details about the cars. The stunts are really worth watching although it does take a while to set up each one and move the sets around. But they try to keep you entertained in between. At one point they had Lightning McQueen from Cars who does a show style thing while they're setting up a stunt.
Here's a HD video I edited together with the highlights from the show. It's worth watching as it's got all the main stunts in it and I cut out all the boring or less impressive bits. Remember to watch it in HD.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cn102NRWLA[/youtube]
By the time we came out there was just 10 minutes before the Indiana Jones stunt show began. Everyone seemed to have the same idea as there was a massive surge of people down the street you saw earlier back down past Star Tours to the show. We go in and managed to find a space about 4 rows back. Although we were quite far over to the side.
It's quite a long show. And starts off looking like it's all going to be indoors. Here it's proper old style Indy with spikes coming out the floor, swinging axes and rolling boulders. All good fun to watch.
After the scene had played out the director shouted cut and they started packing away the scene to get the next one ready.
Shows how light the boulder is.
Then they started to pull apart the sets and it turned into an outdoor show.
While they've setting this up they bring out some people that volunteered about half an hour before the show started and made them act out stuff. There was also one person who was an actor who they used to pretend to fight with. Although he was pretty convincing to begin with by doing things like pretending to gesture people in his party to take pictures. This dragged on a bit long but it was something to watch while they were getting things ready for the next scene.
Then it moved on into it's third scene involving a plane and a massive man who must be at least 2 metres tall.
Indiana Jones: Epic Stunt Spectacular
I've always enjoyed Indiana Jones and enjoyed the first bit of the show in the temple. After that it soon seemed to go on for too long. Especially when they had people from the public with tea towels on their head and you could tell they were desperate for the next seen to hurry up and were trying to drag things up. The stunts were ok as well but nothing new. Just lots of fake fighting and falling off things. It's worth seeing if you're near it when it's on. But I'd rather go on a ride than see it again.
Once we came out of this we had a toilet break and refilled our water bottles at the water fountain.
As we'd come back out into the centre of the park again we decided to go on the Great Movie Ride.
The queue for this was empty but it took 10 minutes to get on as we had to wait for the doors to open for them to load the vehicles.
While we waited though there was a big screen showing really old trailers for the films were were about to travel into.
Each car has a guide who gives you information about the films you're travelling through. At one point the car stopped and an actor from the mafia came out and there was a shootout and then she hijacked the vehicle kicking our guide off and becoming our new guide. She was a great actor and stayed in character the whole time. We then went through some other films including Alien where you go through the space ship and get attacked by the alien.
At one point we went through an Indiana Jones scene and the mafia woman stopped the car and got out to try and steal the gem. This all turned out to be a trick and our original guide managed to defeat her and steal the car back. There were also some cool interactions between the guide and scenes. Like The Wizard of Oz. At the end of the ride the two cars pull up side by side and you watch a montage of the great movies that have been out.
Anyway here's what I thought...
The Great Movie Ride
REALLY enjoyed this ride. It's a nice combination of a track ride, well themed scenes from films, animatronics and live actors. Some scenes are fun, others are scary and it's a film nerds dream and also a great fun for the general rider.
Well worth doing if you go here and not one to miss.
The only ride we had left to do was Rock'n'Rollercoaster. As we were walking over there we noticed all the attention to detail, even with things like flowers.
We reached the other end of the park again where we began in the morning and got in the queue for our first coaster of the trip.
The queue inside was ok. But I remember the one in Paris being better and having much more to look at as you were going through a rock museum. Also a couple of times in the queue it seemed to stop dead for a while. The queue took about 40 minutes in the end.
Before the ride there's a small pre-show room which is themed to a recording studio and Aerosmith invite you to take their super super stretch limo to get to their concert.
After the pre-show it's into another short queue to get on the coaster. It does provide some nice views of the launch. Apologies for the quality of the photos. The lighting levels in there mean the slightest movement blurs your picture.
Rock'n'Rollercoaster
A good fun ride. Launching into the dark is great. Although after about 30 seconds (maybe even less) the layout seems to die and just roll around the edge of the building for ages. Just seems like it doesn't know where it wants to go. Also the themeing inside the coaster building isn't as good as the Paris version. In Paris there's lights flashing everywhere and massive lighting and sound rigs set up that you dive under. Here it's just a few street signs lit up in uv lights. It's still a fun ride. Just the Paris version is much better. The music still adds to the ride though and it's good fun having a soundtrack playing loudly out of your seat as you're going round. The exit station to this ride was cool and was themed to the red carpet and you going backstage at a gig. And as usual, you go straight into a shop.
After all the rides we were hungry so decided to get some food from Cantalina Eddie's. I got a massive burger and chips (sorry, fries) and they were om nom nom. It's making me hungry just looking at the picture.
Also forgot to mention. Before we went on Rock'n'Rollercoaster (at 7pm) there were already LOADS of people queueing up outside the gates to Fantasmic waiting for the 9pm show to start. And by the time we'd come out of the coaster (at around 7:40pm) there was an announcement saying that ALL the seats had been filled for the 9pm show and that the show was standing only and children would have a limited view. Crazy stuff.
We decided to head out the park as my dad wanted to try to get back in daylight the first night and we said we'd come back another night for Fantasmic.
So with that said we headed back to the car park.
Overall it's a good fun park. It's got some really good rides and shows but most the stuff it has Paris does loads better (even though the Studios in Paris is about half the size).
Sorry for the long report and loads of photos. I got a bit carried away. It may be a bit boring and crap as well as halfway through writing it CF went down and I had to do it again.
Anyway I hope those that bothered to read it enjoyed it.
Next trip report will be
ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE which I'll try and do tomorrow.
