First Time Evah in Florida - DAY 12 BUSCH GARDENS TAMPA BAY!
- Thread starter Ollie
- Start date
Rush
Giga Poster
Re: First Time Evah in Florida - DAY 3 ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE!
Excellent reports Ollie, keep them coming in!
I was also in Florida around about the same time as you so it's really weird coming back and seeing your photos and recognising it all instantly! I have to say I agree with you about the queue board times being inaccurate, particularly for Jurassic Park but I always presumed they add a bit on in case a ride breaks down or so that people don't complain that it's actually longer.
I see you also had trouble getting your family out to the parks and I agree it's really frustrating. :lol:
Boo for not liking Hulk though, Hulk is really awesome. Oh and you didn't miss out much on Poseidon's Fury, it's **** awful.
What did you think of the park overall?
Looking forward to hearing more!
Excellent reports Ollie, keep them coming in!
I was also in Florida around about the same time as you so it's really weird coming back and seeing your photos and recognising it all instantly! I have to say I agree with you about the queue board times being inaccurate, particularly for Jurassic Park but I always presumed they add a bit on in case a ride breaks down or so that people don't complain that it's actually longer.
I see you also had trouble getting your family out to the parks and I agree it's really frustrating. :lol:
Boo for not liking Hulk though, Hulk is really awesome.
Oh and you didn't miss out much on Poseidon's Fury, it's **** awful.What did you think of the park overall?
Looking forward to hearing more!
Ollie
CF Legend
Re: First Time Evah in Florida - DAY 3 ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE!
^You should have said. I could have said hi
And I understand them adding maybe 5 minutes. But to say it's 60 minutes when it's actually 20 is ridiculous.
And I did like Hulk. I just found the section at the back a mess of track and seemed like a 5 year old had been let loose on the plans with a new set of crayons.
And we went on Poseidon's Fury near the end of the trip when we went back to Islands of Adventure to get stuff from the shops.
Overall I thought the park was great. Some brilliant rides and themed areas.
^You should have said. I could have said hi
And I understand them adding maybe 5 minutes. But to say it's 60 minutes when it's actually 20 is ridiculous.
And I did like Hulk. I just found the section at the back a mess of track and seemed like a 5 year old had been let loose on the plans with a new set of crayons.
And we went on Poseidon's Fury near the end of the trip when we went back to Islands of Adventure to get stuff from the shops.
Overall I thought the park was great. Some brilliant rides and themed areas.
Martyn
Giga Poster
Re: First Time Evah in Florida - DAY 3 ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE!
Wet n Wild is mega by the way. It's proper pikey compared to the Disney waterparks, but more fun I think. There's loads of stuff to do there, unlike (if I remember rightly) Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon which are pretty, but everything's a bit spread out. Been a while since I've been though. And Wet n Wild is worse now that they've gotten rid of the Hydra Fighters... the bastards... that ride was ace.
Wet n Wild is mega by the way. It's proper pikey compared to the Disney waterparks, but more fun I think. There's loads of stuff to do there, unlike (if I remember rightly) Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon which are pretty, but everything's a bit spread out. Been a while since I've been though. And Wet n Wild is worse now that they've gotten rid of the Hydra Fighters... the bastards... that ride was ace.
alexr
Hyper Poster
Re: First Time Evah in Florida - DAY 3 ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE!
We went to wet and Wild but it was to busy to enjoy however had a few good rides.
Good to see a IOA Tr Hulk is a good ride, I like it. I also think Fires better than ice.
Can't believe you queued that long, Thank god for express pass
Also if you went to Camp Jurassic at the opening of the park you might have got the credit as its quiet.
We went to wet and Wild but it was to busy to enjoy however had a few good rides.
Good to see a IOA Tr Hulk is a good ride, I like it. I also think Fires better than ice.
Can't believe you queued that long, Thank god for express pass
Also if you went to Camp Jurassic at the opening of the park you might have got the credit as its quiet.
Re: First Time Evah in Florida - DAY 1
Two reasons:
1) People may only want members, not the entire world looking at their private trips.
2) You have to keep some stuff back to encourage people to join up
Anyway. It's the moment you've all (all two of you) have been waiting for...[/quote]
Yeah, I saw the links all over the social networking sites this weekend
Again, really enjoyed it. I think it's the detail you go into with the photos. Most people assume that everyone has been to Florida, but I haven't so a step by step, detailed PTR like this is superb. So yeah, it's been a joy to read, even the stuff about tea and toilets (madame_furie is the same, she cannot function without two cups of tea/coffee - so I get up earlier and force her up earlier to try and get that out of the way to keep us roughly on time).
Ollie said:Not good enough I'm afraid.furie said:
Two reasons:
1) People may only want members, not the entire world looking at their private trips.
2) You have to keep some stuff back to encourage people to join up
It's a trip report Phil. Not a Youtube video.furie said:I'm sure you can come up with some way of advertising the topic
Anyway. It's the moment you've all (all two of you) have been waiting for...[/quote]
Yeah, I saw the links all over the social networking sites this weekend
Again, really enjoyed it. I think it's the detail you go into with the photos. Most people assume that everyone has been to Florida, but I haven't so a step by step, detailed PTR like this is superb. So yeah, it's been a joy to read, even the stuff about tea and toilets
(madame_furie is the same, she cannot function without two cups of tea/coffee - so I get up earlier and force her up earlier to try and get that out of the way to keep us roughly on time).
nadroJ
CF Legend
Re: First Time Evah in Florida - DAY 3 ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE!
The dementor effect thing you talked about does work, but it's quite temperamental. We rode about 5 times and I think the effect only worked twice. When I noticed it thought it was amazing =] Did you do anything in Seuss Landings the whole trip? I only ask because Cat in the Hat is so much fun and it'd be a shame if you skipped it!
Also, someone correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the construction is the new epic mini golf they're building?
Also, Bubba Gump do do a burger and fries? Maybe your family didn't read the menu properly. No offence, but they sound like a real pain in the arse to me! I'd be so frustrated </3.
The dementor effect thing you talked about does work, but it's quite temperamental. We rode about 5 times and I think the effect only worked twice. When I noticed it thought it was amazing =] Did you do anything in Seuss Landings the whole trip? I only ask because Cat in the Hat is so much fun and it'd be a shame if you skipped it!
Also, someone correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the construction is the new epic mini golf they're building?
Also, Bubba Gump do do a burger and fries? Maybe your family didn't read the menu properly. No offence, but they sound like a real pain in the arse to me! I'd be so frustrated </3.
Ollie
CF Legend
Re: First Time Evah in Florida - DAY 3 ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE!
Furie it was you that gave me the idea to post in on Facebook so thanks for that.
And another annoying thing with the two cups of tea thing was that my dad kept waking up early at about 6am. But instead of doing it then he'd just lay there and still get up at normal time and do it.
But trust me. The worst is yet to come. Just wait till the day we went to Seaworld haha.
And Jordan I think we did see that but they said it was about a 40 minute wait for a table so that might have made us move on. But even with burgers Andrews fussy. He doesn't like cheese so he asks for cheeseburgers with no cheese lol.
We didn't get time for anything in Suess Landings in the end. Just got to walk through the area a couple of times.
It's a shame the Dementor effect wasn't working as it sounds pretty cool. We didn't get ANY re-rides on the trip even though most queues were really short or even walk on.
And I forgot about the mini-golf. It probably is that then. As construction was both sides of the bridge and they're making two courses if I remember correctly aren't they?
Furie it was you that gave me the idea to post in on Facebook so thanks for that.
And another annoying thing with the two cups of tea thing was that my dad kept waking up early at about 6am. But instead of doing it then he'd just lay there and still get up at normal time and do it.
But trust me. The worst is yet to come. Just wait till the day we went to Seaworld haha.
And Jordan I think we did see that but they said it was about a 40 minute wait for a table so that might have made us move on. But even with burgers Andrews fussy. He doesn't like cheese so he asks for cheeseburgers with no cheese lol.
We didn't get time for anything in Suess Landings in the end. Just got to walk through the area a couple of times.
It's a shame the Dementor effect wasn't working as it sounds pretty cool. We didn't get ANY re-rides on the trip even though most queues were really short or even walk on.
And I forgot about the mini-golf. It probably is that then. As construction was both sides of the bridge and they're making two courses if I remember correctly aren't they?
nadroJ
CF Legend
Re: First Time Evah in Florida - DAY 3 ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE!
^All you have to think is that at least you've been now and I'm sure you're already planning yourself to go back in the future, and when you do you can do your own thing and do everything you want to do. Going in a big group can suck if everyone isn't into it as much as you are.
^All you have to think is that at least you've been now and I'm sure you're already planning yourself to go back in the future, and when you do you can do your own thing and do everything you want to do. Going in a big group can suck if everyone isn't into it as much as you are.
spicy
Giga Poster
Re: First Time Evah in Florida - DAY 3 ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE!
Great report so far Ollie! Really enjoyed reading it so far makes me want to go back to Orlando so bad!
Also the Harry Potter land looks incredible, I haven't been there yet and your pictures make it look amazing.
Looking forward to reading more!
Great report so far Ollie! Really enjoyed reading it so far makes me want to go back to Orlando so bad!
Also the Harry Potter land looks incredible, I haven't been there yet and your pictures make it look amazing.
Looking forward to reading more!
Re: First Time Evah in Florida - DAY 3 ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE!
This report is making me excited for my holiday in a week's time.
Although the excitement wains a little every time you slate a ride. I think maybe you were going in the wrong mindset, and were expecting the rides themselves to be superb, whereas I think you need to be looking to have a good time just being in the parks, and enjoying the theming and atmosphere.
This report is making me excited for my holiday in a week's time.
Although the excitement wains a little every time you slate a ride. I think maybe you were going in the wrong mindset, and were expecting the rides themselves to be superb, whereas I think you need to be looking to have a good time just being in the parks, and enjoying the theming and atmosphere.
Ollie
CF Legend
Re: First Time Evah in Florida - DAY 3 ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE!
Day 4: Blizzard Beach/FunSpot USA and Old Town
As usual we didn't leave the Villa till around 10:30am. We got to Blizzard Beach at around 11ish.
BTW I didn't take my camera this day but as we had to go back another day (you'll find out later in the trip report) I took my pictures then when all the slides were shut.
Before I start let me give you a little back story. Last time we went to a massive outdoor waterpark with the family was at Siam Park in Tenerife. We got dropped off at the entrance and told to go and find them some sunbeds before they all got taken while they parked the cars. The place was packed and our car got the last space in the whole car park. We found them one right over on the beach area and were stuck there waiting for about half an hour until they found us. After that my dad spent ages sorting towels and bags out and made us all put suncream on again. Then we had to find the building to get a locker. Then we spent ages walking around the park looking for said locker. So in the end we missed about 2 hours off the start of the day and didn't get everything done.
Before we came on this holiday I told my dad to make sure we don't have a repeat and not to get any sunbeds as you don't use them anyway in a waterpark as you're on the slides. All you should do is go in, dump your stuff in a locker and spend the day on the slides. He said that's fine and said we'd be doing our own thing anyway.
Here's a map of the waterpark so you can refer to it where all the slides etc are. If the you can't read the text clearly then click on it and it'll get bigger.
Once we were in Blizzard Beach. Surprise surprise "we need to find some sunbeds first" as my aunt and co wanted one. As we'd got there late they'd all been taken and we walked round the entire front half of the water park. We then stood outside one of those hut things you can hire and they debated for ages if they wanted to get one or not. I told my dad that I thought we were going to do our own thing but he just said "oh well it'll be handy to get a sun bed as we can keep our stuff with them".
So once they decided they wanted to rent a hut we had to go right over to the other side of the park to the place where you rent them and lockers. There they found out it was $300 a day to rent a hut so they said they'd forget it but then they found out about the sand area where you could rent sunbeds for about $50 so they did that. After that we had to walk right over to the other side of the waterpark to the beach area and sorted stuff out there. Then we had to walk over to the other side again to get a locker for our stuff. And my dad takes absolutely ages with lockers. We were there for about 15 minutes trying to find our locker and waiting for him to get everything in as it has to be stacked neatly etc. FINALLY we were ready for a slide. But my dad said to go and find Laura and Sam and ask if they wanted to do one with us. So back over we went. We then decided to all do Teamboat Springs.
You can just see it going the top here.
We walked over to the massive staircase and a member of staff stopped us at the bottom and started telling us to do Runoff Rapids at the back of the park. It was annoying as we just wanted to get on a slide so we said we'd do it after.
Teamboat Springs is a family raft ride that sits up to 6 (or is it 8?) people. I think it's the longest in the world or something as well. The queue was about 10 minutes or so but because you got a boat with quite a few people going every 15 seconds or so the queue moved quite quickly. Once they saw that Richard was disabled and might have trouble getting into the boat as it goes along the moving conveyor they kindly stopped it for us so we could all get in.
The slide was fun although it was bumpy going off the top and going down some of the drops which hurt your bum. It didn't pick up much speed or go up the edges very high but it was a descent length and quite fun.
Once we were off we decided to take the lazy river to the back of the park to do Runoff Rapids.
The lazy river was alright. It goes round the whole park and through a cave. The only annoying thing about it is that you can't get off wherever you want. So you'll go past the slide you want to go on but have to continue to the next stop, get off there and walk back to where you want to go.
Don't have any pictures of these slides as you can't go far when the slides are shut because of a nearby thunderstorm (when I took the pictures) so you can't get that many.
So instead, just have a few photos of the park.
These things were a good idea and kept the floors cool.
Anyway, Runoff Rapids is made up of three separate slides. Two outdoor and one indoor. There's two separate lines at the bottom as only single rings are allowed in the indoor slide and only double rings are allowed to be used on the outdoor one. We went for the indoor one first and Laura and Sam went or the outdoor one. Obviously because there's twice as many outdoor slides and they both take twice as many people per tyre their queue shot off. We ended up queuing about 5 minutes at the bottom before you get a ring and have to make a long trek up more stairs to get to the top of the slides.
Once at the top you have to get in another queue for each slide. The outdoor ones go off each side of the starting pool and had about 4 people in each queue and the indoor one (called Black Hole I think) went off in the middle and had the longest queue and a small cattlepen. The staff told everyone coming up to put the rings behind their backs and hold the handles so more people could fit in the queue in single file and to go all you had to do was sit down and you were in your ring. Quite a good idea.
The queue at the top here was about 10 minutes which meant overall the queue was 15 minutes including the top and bottom.
I went first down the slide. It was alright. A couple of nice little drops but throughout the whole slide there were small circular holes in the side letting daylight in. What's the point of having an indoor slide and calling it the Black Hole if it's not dark inside? Anyway it wasn't that great but once we were all out we decided to get in the queue for one of the outdoor slides. The queue for this was just 5 minutes and there was no queue at the top. For those that have been we did the outdoor slide on the left as you stand at the top looking at the start of all 3. It was a bit better than the indoor one but still quite slow and you just went left, right, left, right then left some more and you were out.
We couldn't be bothered with the last outdoor slide so we went to go do the Toboggan Racers. We had to go up more stairs and keep to the right. And you've got to make sure you keep to the right side of the path otherwise you end up getting in the queue for the wrong slide.
On the way there we past this fun looking slide where you race side by side in rings down quite a steep bit of slide. Was fun watching people just fly out the bottom of it.
The queue for it was to our left going up to the Toboggan Racers and it looked horrible as it was just a big cattle pen.
The only picture I got of the Toboggan Racers is this one where you can just see it behind the tree to the right.
The queue for this was about 20 minutes. You then grab a mat which has the front curled up with handles on the side. You then lie down on your front then push off and racer everyone in the other lanes. It's quite fun although quite slow and doesn't have as many hills as the one in Siam Park.
I won out of my dad and brothers but came either second or third out of everyone.
After this we decided to do Downhill Double Dipper (which was the slide we past on the way up) to get the big queue out the way.
The queue was pretty boring and took 60 minutes as you had to queue in a cattle pen to wait for a ring. Then once you had a ring you went up some more stairs to the platform at the top. While queuing on the stairs you could look down at Runoff Rapids. Was surprised to see how much the slides actually bend and move when people go round the corners. The plastic moves quite far but I assume it's meant to do that to take the stresses etc.
We finally got to the top but the way it worked out with the queue splitting for each side I ended up racing a stranger. I didn't see who won but most people seemed to get down the slide in either 5 or 6 seconds.
Once we'd all been down the slide we got back in the lazy river (it's actually called Cross Country Creek) and got off at the next exit to go see my aunt for a bit.
After that we decided to do the big slides. First up was Slush Gusher which is the slide to the left in this picture.
As we didn't feel like taking the stairs up to it we decided to queue up and take the chair lift.
The queue to get onto a chair was about 15 minutes and as it only takes 3 people per chair we split into two and two. The parks are quite good at using single riders so we both ended up having a stranger next to us.
As I was next to Richard I had to help him off at the top. But because the seats were moving I had to try and get him away but be there so he can keep his balance. Meaning the seat swung and hit my in the back of the knees a couple of times.
The queue for Slush Gusher was about half an hour. Just before I went the lifeguard said it looked like a storm was coming as the wind had picked up a bit and the clouds looked gloomy.
The slide was quite good fun. Going over the hill my body lifted COMPLETELY off the slide which was cool but when we got to the bottom you skimmed along the water on your back which was quite painful.
After this we went up to get in the queue for Summit Plummet (except for Richard as he doesn't like the look of big slides like that). As soon as we got there though they did an announcement saying that a storm was about 5 miles away and they had to shut all the rides and everyone had to get out the water. ****.
Me and Andrew hung around for a bit hoping for them to re-open the slides. After about half and hour there still hadn't been a thunderstorm. We asked the lifeguards how long it'd be and they said if they shut the slides they have to keep them shut for at least half an hour for health and safety reasons but he didn't know how long after that it'd be but he guessed between another half hour to an hour. After we heard that our dad said we might as well leave and get some food so we headed back to the lockers and got dry and put our stuff back on.
Once we were dressed and dry we went into the shop by the entrance where we were looking for magnets. Parks in Florida seem to hate magnets as there were hardly any of the whole trip and all they did was key rings and pin badges. This annoyed my dad as he collects the magnets and has loads all over his fridge and freezer. We found a Blizzard Beach one in the end although it was absolutely tiny and cost $8 which made no sense as there were ones 5 times the size for less than half the price.
He took it to the till to buy anyway and it'd been reduced to $3 something which wasn't bad. Anyway as we were leaving the turnstiles Richard said "Oh I think the slides are back open now" we asked him how we knew as you can't see the park from the shops and he said "I heard an announcement for it just before we went to the lockers"
We had a moan at him for not telling us earlier so Andrew and I threw everything off so we were down to our trunks again and ran back to the slide which now had a 45 minute queue again so we couldn't be bothered so walked back.
My overall thoughts of Blizzard Beach were that it looked nice from the right angles. But all the slides were a bit tame and meh and a bit of a let down. I think we were quite lucky with the queues as I'm sure they can be much worse although I personally think none of the slides are worth more than a 15 minute queue.
On the way back to the villa we had our first ever American McDonalds. I think I had an Angus Deluxe burger. But for a drink I had one of the Wild Berry fruit smoothies which was amazing and I wish they did them over here.
Before we went I found out that the worlds tallest Sky coaster was in Orlando. And even closer to when we went I found out it was just round the corner and down the road from where we were staying.
So later that evening we headed to Fun Spot to do the rides.
We got there in the daylight as I wanted people to film me and Andrew on the Skycoaster.
My dad parked but we found a sign in another section of the car park saying that it's a towaway zone then he got all worried his car might be towed even though it's probably for people who park in the road blocking it. None of the other cars had tickets or anything. But my dad being my dad wanted to be sure so him and Richard got in the car and went off to find somewhere else to park. It took them about 25 minutes before they appeared again as they'd parked on the other side of Old Town (which is next to Fun Spot).
After that wait I needed a toilet so went into the arcade quickly. We still couldn't go on the sky coaster as my uncle said he'd come down with everyone and film us on the ride as well before they went to Downtown Disney so we walked round the park. The place is just like a giant fun fair. It's got two coasters, a screaming swing and three go kart tracks (one having an insane layout).
Anyway have some pictures.
After a while we got a call from Sam asking where we were as they had arrived. We met up and Andrew and I headed into the building to go on the Skycoaster.
We'd already looked up the prices before we went so we had enough saved to do it.
As it was just the two of us doing it it was $35 each. Unlike Vertigo at Oakwood where you have to book a time slot and come back we went straight into this one. We got harnessed up and had to wait for the people in front to go on. Then it was out turn.
I know it's daytime again in some photos but I'm just trying to group them together in ride order as a I was snapping away as I walked round.
I let Andrew pull the cord this time as I did it when we went on Vertigo with Leighton. From memory of Vertigo it was fun to start with but after the first swing slowed down dramatically and got boring.
The best thing on Skycoasters apart from the first drop is when you're going into the flying position. You're told to lean forward and not to put your arms out. Then as you lean forwards you fall onto your front which is really weird as you fall and stop suddenly with your face close to the floor. But obviously as you're falling you think you're going to smash your face in on the floor haha.
Shortly after beginning to be lifted upwards we heard a clink and were like "uh-oh that doesn't sound good".
Heights don't bother me AT ALL. Unless I feel like Im going to fall. And being in that little harness we were going up and up and up and up. Let me tell you this for free. IT WAS **** HIGH!
The view from the top is amazing and you can see for miles and miles. When you think you're near the top you look up and then realise you have ages to go still.
Finally we reached the top and I was actually really nervous on a ride for once haha. As soon as the cord snapped and we fell it was pretty scary.
When you fall on a Skycoaster you free fall until you reach the length of the cable then you swing. But when you fall you fall HEAD FIRST!.
We saw the water below us getting closer and closer and I was wondering if we were still attached to the cable lol. Once we were quite close to the ground we swung right out, through the arches (once you've gone through the arch for the first time you can unlink your arms) and over the heads of everyone below us. You go out quite a distance before turning round and coming back. It's great fun but after a couple of swings they slowed right down and we weren't going that far. Then once you've done a few swings the staff below hold up a hoop that you have to grab onto that comes out on a wire and slows you down so they can stop you over the crane thing they get you in and out of.
Overall I loved it and it's worth the money.
I'll try and get the videos of us on it online but for now here's another video someone else did that gives off a good idea of how high it is.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9BlhtKuF6o[/youtube]
After we had our ride Richard wanted to do one of the go-kart tracks. He went on the Vortex in the end which has the worlds steepest banked corner at 32°.
Richard was in his own kinda dream world as he loves racing and go karts and F1 etc and he loved the look of all the tracks here.
The queue for this was about 20 minutes I went and got a drink while I was waiting for Richard to get on then I took some photos of him on it for him. After this Andrew and I decided to go and do the Bungee Ball ride as we've seen them before and always wanted to try one so thought we might as well do the one here as it's a massive one.
This ride wasn't park of Fun Spot. It's in Old Town which literally runs side by side next to Fun Spot. The ride was $25 each and we went straight on.
The ride op was quite funny and was talking to us as we were getting in and being loaded into the launch position.
Here's a quote from our conversation.
Op: "Where you guys from?"
Me: "England"
Op: "England? I love that place"
Me: "You been?"
Op: "Nah I play you guys on Xbox Live"
He then went on and on about Call of Duty and how it was the best game in the world etc. Typical American.
The ride was alright. It wasn't as intense as I thought it would be but with all the bouncing and spinning by the end I felt like I was about to enter the stage where if I rode it again straight over again I probably wouldn't enjoy it as much. It felt like a waste of $25 after but Im glad we did it and Im not bothered about doing one again.
Anyway here's a video of us on the ride. Richard filmed it but it came out a bit crappy. And from where he was filming it makes the ride look tiny and slow. Trust me. It's not lol..
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5x7TD3Xd5JE[/youtube]
After this I wanted to do the Scare Attraction in Old Town. It's the only one that's open all year round in Orlando. I've heard from everyone who's done it that it's crap and tacky but I still wanted to do it to say I'd done one in America.
Voted #1 attraction in Kissimmee. By who?
In the end I saw the prices they were charging for people to get in and decided not to do it. I'd already spent quite a bit of money already and in the end doing this just seemed like a waste. If I ever go back and take some more money I may go in. But this holiday it just didn't seem worth it.
Before walking back to the car I decided to get one of the credits. It's their newest coaster called Power Trip and as you can see it's a spinning wild mouse.
Except for the fact it doesn't spin.
Literally when you hit the thing that turns the spin lock off you stay facing whatever direction your facing for the rest of the ride. So when we hit that corner we were facing the Skycoaster and we faced it for the whole journey.
Here's my POV I filmed of it. If you want to put it on CF or whatever then you're welcome to. Same with all the images I post.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QSH25j9Iug&feature=channel_video_title[/youtube]
After that we headed back to the villa to relax for the rest of the evening.
Anyway I hope you enjoy reading it. Tomorrow it's Universal Studios.
Day 4: Blizzard Beach/FunSpot USA and Old Town
As usual we didn't leave the Villa till around 10:30am. We got to Blizzard Beach at around 11ish.
BTW I didn't take my camera this day but as we had to go back another day (you'll find out later in the trip report) I took my pictures then when all the slides were shut.
Before I start let me give you a little back story. Last time we went to a massive outdoor waterpark with the family was at Siam Park in Tenerife. We got dropped off at the entrance and told to go and find them some sunbeds before they all got taken while they parked the cars. The place was packed and our car got the last space in the whole car park. We found them one right over on the beach area and were stuck there waiting for about half an hour until they found us. After that my dad spent ages sorting towels and bags out and made us all put suncream on again. Then we had to find the building to get a locker. Then we spent ages walking around the park looking for said locker. So in the end we missed about 2 hours off the start of the day and didn't get everything done.
Before we came on this holiday I told my dad to make sure we don't have a repeat and not to get any sunbeds as you don't use them anyway in a waterpark as you're on the slides. All you should do is go in, dump your stuff in a locker and spend the day on the slides. He said that's fine and said we'd be doing our own thing anyway.
Here's a map of the waterpark so you can refer to it where all the slides etc are. If the you can't read the text clearly then click on it and it'll get bigger.
Once we were in Blizzard Beach. Surprise surprise "we need to find some sunbeds first" as my aunt and co wanted one. As we'd got there late they'd all been taken and we walked round the entire front half of the water park. We then stood outside one of those hut things you can hire and they debated for ages if they wanted to get one or not. I told my dad that I thought we were going to do our own thing but he just said "oh well it'll be handy to get a sun bed as we can keep our stuff with them".
So once they decided they wanted to rent a hut we had to go right over to the other side of the park to the place where you rent them and lockers. There they found out it was $300 a day to rent a hut so they said they'd forget it but then they found out about the sand area where you could rent sunbeds for about $50 so they did that. After that we had to walk right over to the other side of the waterpark to the beach area and sorted stuff out there. Then we had to walk over to the other side again to get a locker for our stuff. And my dad takes absolutely ages with lockers. We were there for about 15 minutes trying to find our locker and waiting for him to get everything in as it has to be stacked neatly etc. FINALLY we were ready for a slide. But my dad said to go and find Laura and Sam and ask if they wanted to do one with us. So back over we went. We then decided to all do Teamboat Springs.
You can just see it going the top here.
We walked over to the massive staircase and a member of staff stopped us at the bottom and started telling us to do Runoff Rapids at the back of the park. It was annoying as we just wanted to get on a slide so we said we'd do it after.
Teamboat Springs is a family raft ride that sits up to 6 (or is it 8?) people. I think it's the longest in the world or something as well. The queue was about 10 minutes or so but because you got a boat with quite a few people going every 15 seconds or so the queue moved quite quickly. Once they saw that Richard was disabled and might have trouble getting into the boat as it goes along the moving conveyor they kindly stopped it for us so we could all get in.
The slide was fun although it was bumpy going off the top and going down some of the drops which hurt your bum. It didn't pick up much speed or go up the edges very high but it was a descent length and quite fun.
Once we were off we decided to take the lazy river to the back of the park to do Runoff Rapids.
The lazy river was alright. It goes round the whole park and through a cave.
The only annoying thing about it is that you can't get off wherever you want. So you'll go past the slide you want to go on but have to continue to the next stop, get off there and walk back to where you want to go. Don't have any pictures of these slides as you can't go far when the slides are shut because of a nearby thunderstorm (when I took the pictures) so you can't get that many.
So instead, just have a few photos of the park.
These things were a good idea and kept the floors cool.
Anyway, Runoff Rapids is made up of three separate slides. Two outdoor and one indoor. There's two separate lines at the bottom as only single rings are allowed in the indoor slide and only double rings are allowed to be used on the outdoor one. We went for the indoor one first and Laura and Sam went or the outdoor one. Obviously because there's twice as many outdoor slides and they both take twice as many people per tyre their queue shot off. We ended up queuing about 5 minutes at the bottom before you get a ring and have to make a long trek up more stairs to get to the top of the slides.
Once at the top you have to get in another queue for each slide. The outdoor ones go off each side of the starting pool and had about 4 people in each queue and the indoor one (called Black Hole I think) went off in the middle and had the longest queue and a small cattlepen. The staff told everyone coming up to put the rings behind their backs and hold the handles so more people could fit in the queue in single file and to go all you had to do was sit down and you were in your ring. Quite a good idea.
The queue at the top here was about 10 minutes which meant overall the queue was 15 minutes including the top and bottom.
I went first down the slide. It was alright. A couple of nice little drops but throughout the whole slide there were small circular holes in the side letting daylight in. What's the point of having an indoor slide and calling it the Black Hole if it's not dark inside? Anyway it wasn't that great but once we were all out we decided to get in the queue for one of the outdoor slides. The queue for this was just 5 minutes and there was no queue at the top. For those that have been we did the outdoor slide on the left as you stand at the top looking at the start of all 3. It was a bit better than the indoor one but still quite slow and you just went left, right, left, right then left some more and you were out.
We couldn't be bothered with the last outdoor slide so we went to go do the Toboggan Racers. We had to go up more stairs and keep to the right. And you've got to make sure you keep to the right side of the path otherwise you end up getting in the queue for the wrong slide.
On the way there we past this fun looking slide where you race side by side in rings down quite a steep bit of slide. Was fun watching people just fly out the bottom of it.
The queue for it was to our left going up to the Toboggan Racers and it looked horrible as it was just a big cattle pen.
The only picture I got of the Toboggan Racers is this one where you can just see it behind the tree to the right.
The queue for this was about 20 minutes. You then grab a mat which has the front curled up with handles on the side. You then lie down on your front then push off and racer everyone in the other lanes. It's quite fun although quite slow and doesn't have as many hills as the one in Siam Park.
I won out of my dad and brothers but came either second or third out of everyone.
After this we decided to do Downhill Double Dipper (which was the slide we past on the way up) to get the big queue out the way.
The queue was pretty boring and took 60 minutes as you had to queue in a cattle pen to wait for a ring. Then once you had a ring you went up some more stairs to the platform at the top. While queuing on the stairs you could look down at Runoff Rapids. Was surprised to see how much the slides actually bend and move when people go round the corners. The plastic moves quite far but I assume it's meant to do that to take the stresses etc.
We finally got to the top but the way it worked out with the queue splitting for each side I ended up racing a stranger. I didn't see who won but most people seemed to get down the slide in either 5 or 6 seconds.
Once we'd all been down the slide we got back in the lazy river (it's actually called Cross Country Creek) and got off at the next exit to go see my aunt for a bit.
After that we decided to do the big slides. First up was Slush Gusher which is the slide to the left in this picture.
As we didn't feel like taking the stairs up to it we decided to queue up and take the chair lift.
The queue to get onto a chair was about 15 minutes and as it only takes 3 people per chair we split into two and two. The parks are quite good at using single riders so we both ended up having a stranger next to us.
As I was next to Richard I had to help him off at the top. But because the seats were moving I had to try and get him away but be there so he can keep his balance. Meaning the seat swung and hit my in the back of the knees a couple of times.
The queue for Slush Gusher was about half an hour. Just before I went the lifeguard said it looked like a storm was coming as the wind had picked up a bit and the clouds looked gloomy.
The slide was quite good fun. Going over the hill my body lifted COMPLETELY off the slide which was cool but when we got to the bottom you skimmed along the water on your back which was quite painful.
After this we went up to get in the queue for Summit Plummet (except for Richard as he doesn't like the look of big slides like that). As soon as we got there though they did an announcement saying that a storm was about 5 miles away and they had to shut all the rides and everyone had to get out the water. ****.
Me and Andrew hung around for a bit hoping for them to re-open the slides. After about half and hour there still hadn't been a thunderstorm. We asked the lifeguards how long it'd be and they said if they shut the slides they have to keep them shut for at least half an hour for health and safety reasons but he didn't know how long after that it'd be but he guessed between another half hour to an hour. After we heard that our dad said we might as well leave and get some food so we headed back to the lockers and got dry and put our stuff back on.
Once we were dressed and dry we went into the shop by the entrance where we were looking for magnets. Parks in Florida seem to hate magnets as there were hardly any of the whole trip and all they did was key rings and pin badges. This annoyed my dad as he collects the magnets and has loads all over his fridge and freezer. We found a Blizzard Beach one in the end although it was absolutely tiny and cost $8 which made no sense as there were ones 5 times the size for less than half the price.
He took it to the till to buy anyway and it'd been reduced to $3 something which wasn't bad. Anyway as we were leaving the turnstiles Richard said "Oh I think the slides are back open now" we asked him how we knew as you can't see the park from the shops and he said "I heard an announcement for it just before we went to the lockers"
We had a moan at him for not telling us earlier so Andrew and I threw everything off so we were down to our trunks again and ran back to the slide which now had a 45 minute queue again so we couldn't be bothered so walked back.
My overall thoughts of Blizzard Beach were that it looked nice from the right angles. But all the slides were a bit tame and meh and a bit of a let down. I think we were quite lucky with the queues as I'm sure they can be much worse although I personally think none of the slides are worth more than a 15 minute queue.
On the way back to the villa we had our first ever American McDonalds. I think I had an Angus Deluxe burger. But for a drink I had one of the Wild Berry fruit smoothies which was amazing and I wish they did them over here.
Before we went I found out that the worlds tallest Sky coaster was in Orlando. And even closer to when we went I found out it was just round the corner and down the road from where we were staying.
So later that evening we headed to Fun Spot to do the rides.
We got there in the daylight as I wanted people to film me and Andrew on the Skycoaster.
My dad parked but we found a sign in another section of the car park saying that it's a towaway zone then he got all worried his car might be towed even though it's probably for people who park in the road blocking it. None of the other cars had tickets or anything. But my dad being my dad wanted to be sure so him and Richard got in the car and went off to find somewhere else to park. It took them about 25 minutes before they appeared again as they'd parked on the other side of Old Town (which is next to Fun Spot).
After that wait I needed a toilet so went into the arcade quickly. We still couldn't go on the sky coaster as my uncle said he'd come down with everyone and film us on the ride as well before they went to Downtown Disney so we walked round the park. The place is just like a giant fun fair. It's got two coasters, a screaming swing and three go kart tracks (one having an insane layout).
Anyway have some pictures.
After a while we got a call from Sam asking where we were as they had arrived. We met up and Andrew and I headed into the building to go on the Skycoaster.
We'd already looked up the prices before we went so we had enough saved to do it.
As it was just the two of us doing it it was $35 each. Unlike Vertigo at Oakwood where you have to book a time slot and come back we went straight into this one. We got harnessed up and had to wait for the people in front to go on. Then it was out turn.
I know it's daytime again in some photos but I'm just trying to group them together in ride order as a I was snapping away as I walked round.
I let Andrew pull the cord this time as I did it when we went on Vertigo with Leighton. From memory of Vertigo it was fun to start with but after the first swing slowed down dramatically and got boring.
The best thing on Skycoasters apart from the first drop is when you're going into the flying position. You're told to lean forward and not to put your arms out. Then as you lean forwards you fall onto your front which is really weird as you fall and stop suddenly with your face close to the floor. But obviously as you're falling you think you're going to smash your face in on the floor haha.
Shortly after beginning to be lifted upwards we heard a clink and were like "uh-oh that doesn't sound good".
Heights don't bother me AT ALL. Unless I feel like Im going to fall. And being in that little harness we were going up and up and up and up. Let me tell you this for free. IT WAS **** HIGH!
The view from the top is amazing and you can see for miles and miles. When you think you're near the top you look up and then realise you have ages to go still.
Finally we reached the top and I was actually really nervous on a ride for once haha. As soon as the cord snapped and we fell it was pretty scary.
When you fall on a Skycoaster you free fall until you reach the length of the cable then you swing. But when you fall you fall HEAD FIRST!.
We saw the water below us getting closer and closer and I was wondering if we were still attached to the cable lol. Once we were quite close to the ground we swung right out, through the arches (once you've gone through the arch for the first time you can unlink your arms) and over the heads of everyone below us. You go out quite a distance before turning round and coming back. It's great fun but after a couple of swings they slowed right down and we weren't going that far. Then once you've done a few swings the staff below hold up a hoop that you have to grab onto that comes out on a wire and slows you down so they can stop you over the crane thing they get you in and out of.
Overall I loved it and it's worth the money.
I'll try and get the videos of us on it online but for now here's another video someone else did that gives off a good idea of how high it is.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9BlhtKuF6o[/youtube]
After we had our ride Richard wanted to do one of the go-kart tracks. He went on the Vortex in the end which has the worlds steepest banked corner at 32°.
Richard was in his own kinda dream world as he loves racing and go karts and F1 etc and he loved the look of all the tracks here.
The queue for this was about 20 minutes I went and got a drink while I was waiting for Richard to get on then I took some photos of him on it for him. After this Andrew and I decided to go and do the Bungee Ball ride as we've seen them before and always wanted to try one so thought we might as well do the one here as it's a massive one.
This ride wasn't park of Fun Spot. It's in Old Town which literally runs side by side next to Fun Spot. The ride was $25 each and we went straight on.
The ride op was quite funny and was talking to us as we were getting in and being loaded into the launch position.
Here's a quote from our conversation.
Op: "Where you guys from?"
Me: "England"
Op: "England? I love that place"
Me: "You been?"
Op: "Nah I play you guys on Xbox Live"
He then went on and on about Call of Duty and how it was the best game in the world etc. Typical American.
The ride was alright. It wasn't as intense as I thought it would be but with all the bouncing and spinning by the end I felt like I was about to enter the stage where if I rode it again straight over again I probably wouldn't enjoy it as much. It felt like a waste of $25 after but Im glad we did it and Im not bothered about doing one again.
Anyway here's a video of us on the ride. Richard filmed it but it came out a bit crappy. And from where he was filming it makes the ride look tiny and slow. Trust me. It's not lol..
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5x7TD3Xd5JE[/youtube]
After this I wanted to do the Scare Attraction in Old Town. It's the only one that's open all year round in Orlando. I've heard from everyone who's done it that it's crap and tacky but I still wanted to do it to say I'd done one in America.
Voted #1 attraction in Kissimmee. By who?
In the end I saw the prices they were charging for people to get in and decided not to do it. I'd already spent quite a bit of money already and in the end doing this just seemed like a waste. If I ever go back and take some more money I may go in. But this holiday it just didn't seem worth it.
Before walking back to the car I decided to get one of the credits. It's their newest coaster called Power Trip and as you can see it's a spinning wild mouse.
Except for the fact it doesn't spin.
Literally when you hit the thing that turns the spin lock off you stay facing whatever direction your facing for the rest of the ride. So when we hit that corner we were facing the Skycoaster and we faced it for the whole journey.
Here's my POV I filmed of it. If you want to put it on CF or whatever then you're welcome to. Same with all the images I post.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QSH25j9Iug&feature=channel_video_title[/youtube]
After that we headed back to the villa to relax for the rest of the evening.
Anyway I hope you enjoy reading it. Tomorrow it's Universal Studios.
Re: First Time Evah in Florida - DAY 1
I just read the entire thing not logged in... Dont know what you're chatting about Phil...
furie said:Ollie said:Not good enough I'm afraid.furie said:
Two reasons:
1) People may only want members, not the entire world looking at their private trips.
2) You have to keep some stuff back to encourage people to join up
I just read the entire thing not logged in... Dont know what you're chatting about Phil...
Ollie
CF Legend
Re: First Time Evah in Florida - DAY 4 BLIZZARD BEACH & OLD
Day 5: Universal Studios
Left the villa late again (like that's a surprise) and headed to the park.
We past these on the way.
Does anyone know what these coloured flags are for? Saw them everywhere in the area around Seaworld.
We then arrived at Universal, paid the $15 parking charge and got directed into the monster of a car park.
Looking at CityWalk from the edge of the car park.
As usual as you walk to the parks there's places selling tickets and tat all over the place.
Once at the end of CityWalk you reach a junction to get to the parks as they're side by side. Today we went right as we were going to the Studios park.
Once in we went straight to the nearest ride to start working our way around the park. First up was Shrek 4D which is in this big yellow building to the right as soon as you enter the park.
I'd already done this ride in Movie Park Germany so wasn't too bothered doing it again. Plus I already have the film on DVD that they show on the ride. There's plenty of stuff to read in the queue and the TV's show clips from the first film to keep you entertained. The ride had no queue when we got there but we had to wait for about 5-10 minutes for the doors to open to let the next lot of people in.
The attraction starts with a pre-show inside the torture dungeon. Here you have characters from the film locked up in boxes and giving you an introduction to the film you're about to see (set in between the first and second films). After this the door opens and you go into the cinema to watch the 4D film.
The pre-show here took ages to begin and when it did it seemed to go on for much longer than I remember. There was a member of staff talking to us before for ages and it was boring and dragged on for ages. I did like it when everyone was coming in though when he told everyone to raise their arms and take a deep breath. Then he said "if you can't smell the person in front then you're not close enough, MOVE FORWARD". In Germany once everyone was in they just started the pre-show. But this guy seemed to love himself too much and went on for ages. By the time he finished I wasn't bothered with the pre-show as my legs were aching and I jut wanted to get in. The pre-show is good though.
We finally got in and the film started. The film is good fun and quite funny in places and you have to see it if you haven't before. Especially if you like Shrek. Although in Germany they didn't tell us anything about the seats so it was a great surprise. But here they kept saying that if you wanted a static chair then go to the front row which spoilt the element of surprise.
My thoughts...
Shrek 4D
The ride is great and it's good fun to do. But like I just said the pre-show took ages. Especially with the staff member spending ages pulling crap jokes and making us stand for ages. The film is still good fun even though I've lost count how many times I've seen it now. The seats were really noisy though and really covered up the audio from the film which sucked. As instead of immersing you and making you feel like you were there all you heard was really loud TSSSSCCCHHH TSSSCHH, TSSSSCCCHHH TSSSCHH, TSSSSCCCHHH TSSSCHH which was really distracting and annoying. It's still fun though.
But yeah. It's still worth doing. Just wasn't as good as I remembered it in Germany. They need to not drag it on as long either as people just want to get in and watch the show.
Next up was Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. We got the the entrance and I asked the member of staff if UC was working and he said he wasn't that day which was a shame. So we got in the queue which said it was 60 minutes outside (it was 45 minutes in the end). Throughout the whole queue you're told how to select your song for the ride on loads of TV screens on their sides through the queue. There's also boards telling you the steps.
The TV's also go through the genres of music on by one and give show you the songs you can choose from and play you a short snippet so you can make up your mind way before you ride.
The queue is just a massive cattle pen although it wasn't too bad.. I don't think I've ever been on a coaster before where the train is moving through the station as you board it. You have to step on the conveyor and then into the train.
Once I had my restraint down I chose my song (Bring me to Live - Evanescence).
My thoughts...
Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit
This ride looked good fun and from off-ride it looks pretty smooth (it should be because it's quite new). Sadly this isn't the case and the ride is actually quite bumpy/rough/painful. I wasn't expecting it to be like that at all and it doesn't help in getting me to like those restraints. The loop where you go over the top was fun and something different and the section at the end was quite good. It was just the rest of the ride I was getting shaken around quite a bit which took away from the enjoyment. The music was good and was loud enough to hear it all the way round the ride. You couldn't hear the music the the person next to you chose either so that was good.
Overall it's a bit of a let down. It's a fun ride although a ride this new shouldn't be this rough.
Continuing round the park Twister was up next.
They seem OBSESSED with cows on this as they were everywhere.
We went straight into the building where there's about 3 pre-shows before you get to the main ride bit. Almost all of them are just clips from the film with the main characters talking about tornadoes and telling them how hard it was for them to film scenes etc. I had Richard asking me the whole time "is this the room?" in every room we went into. Of course in the clips in the pre-show they had to show a cow getting lifted up by a tornado.
We finally got into the main room where they try to recreate a tornado. It's obvious as soon as you get into the room what's going to happen at the end. The show is alright. The effects are a bit dated and you can tell it's quite an old ride. Obviously it's nothing like a real tornado and the speed of the wind is about the same you get from a fan and of course they have to have a plastic cow fly across the room (what is it with them and cows? All the Americans found it hilarious and cheered every time there was a cow).
My thoughts...
Twister
I've been told before I went that it wasn't that good and it's dated and aged quite badly. And I agree. It's still fun though. They just need to reduce the pre-show to just one room and redo all the effects to bring them up to date a bit. Also get rid of the cow and make the place where you stand better as if you're stuck behind someone like I was you can't see a thing. But it's still worth doing as it's fun to watch and it builds up quite nicely.
Overall it's alright. I'm glad I did it and some of the effects are pretty cool.
After this we decided to get a snack to eat so went to this which is right opposite the entrance to Twister.
Here my dad and Richard got some popcorn to share and Andrew and I both had our first ever Churros (they were nice)
As my dad refuses to eat or drink while walking (at other parks we can be sat around for an extra 15 minutes waiting for my dad to finish his drink because he refuses to drink while walking to the next ride to save time) we found a bench and sat down to eat.
Anyway I'm going to end the trip report there for now as if you have me on Facebook you'll probably understand it's one of the last things I'm worried about right now.
I'll try and finish it asap though but at the moment I've just lost the will to carry on tonight.
Anyway I hope you enjoy reading it. I know it sounds like I hated most the rides, but I didn't I liked them all. It's just I'm trying to give good AND bad points about each ride.
Day 5: Universal Studios
Left the villa late again (like that's a surprise
) and headed to the park.We past these on the way.
Does anyone know what these coloured flags are for? Saw them everywhere in the area around Seaworld.
We then arrived at Universal, paid the $15 parking charge and got directed into the monster of a car park.
Looking at CityWalk from the edge of the car park.
As usual as you walk to the parks there's places selling tickets and tat all over the place.
Once at the end of CityWalk you reach a junction to get to the parks as they're side by side. Today we went right as we were going to the Studios park.
Once in we went straight to the nearest ride to start working our way around the park. First up was Shrek 4D which is in this big yellow building to the right as soon as you enter the park.
I'd already done this ride in Movie Park Germany so wasn't too bothered doing it again. Plus I already have the film on DVD that they show on the ride. There's plenty of stuff to read in the queue and the TV's show clips from the first film to keep you entertained. The ride had no queue when we got there but we had to wait for about 5-10 minutes for the doors to open to let the next lot of people in.
The attraction starts with a pre-show inside the torture dungeon. Here you have characters from the film locked up in boxes and giving you an introduction to the film you're about to see (set in between the first and second films). After this the door opens and you go into the cinema to watch the 4D film.
The pre-show here took ages to begin and when it did it seemed to go on for much longer than I remember. There was a member of staff talking to us before for ages and it was boring and dragged on for ages. I did like it when everyone was coming in though when he told everyone to raise their arms and take a deep breath. Then he said "if you can't smell the person in front then you're not close enough, MOVE FORWARD". In Germany once everyone was in they just started the pre-show. But this guy seemed to love himself too much and went on for ages. By the time he finished I wasn't bothered with the pre-show as my legs were aching and I jut wanted to get in. The pre-show is good though.
We finally got in and the film started. The film is good fun and quite funny in places and you have to see it if you haven't before. Especially if you like Shrek. Although in Germany they didn't tell us anything about the seats so it was a great surprise. But here they kept saying that if you wanted a static chair then go to the front row which spoilt the element of surprise.
My thoughts...
Shrek 4D
The ride is great and it's good fun to do. But like I just said the pre-show took ages. Especially with the staff member spending ages pulling crap jokes and making us stand for ages. The film is still good fun even though I've lost count how many times I've seen it now. The seats were really noisy though and really covered up the audio from the film which sucked. As instead of immersing you and making you feel like you were there all you heard was really loud TSSSSCCCHHH TSSSCHH, TSSSSCCCHHH TSSSCHH, TSSSSCCCHHH TSSSCHH which was really distracting and annoying. It's still fun though.
But yeah. It's still worth doing. Just wasn't as good as I remembered it in Germany. They need to not drag it on as long either as people just want to get in and watch the show.
Next up was Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. We got the the entrance and I asked the member of staff if UC was working and he said he wasn't that day which was a shame. So we got in the queue which said it was 60 minutes outside (it was 45 minutes in the end). Throughout the whole queue you're told how to select your song for the ride on loads of TV screens on their sides through the queue. There's also boards telling you the steps.
The TV's also go through the genres of music on by one and give show you the songs you can choose from and play you a short snippet so you can make up your mind way before you ride.
The queue is just a massive cattle pen although it wasn't too bad.. I don't think I've ever been on a coaster before where the train is moving through the station as you board it. You have to step on the conveyor and then into the train.
Once I had my restraint down I chose my song (Bring me to Live - Evanescence).
My thoughts...
Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit
This ride looked good fun and from off-ride it looks pretty smooth (it should be because it's quite new). Sadly this isn't the case and the ride is actually quite bumpy/rough/painful. I wasn't expecting it to be like that at all and it doesn't help in getting me to like those restraints. The loop where you go over the top was fun and something different and the section at the end was quite good. It was just the rest of the ride I was getting shaken around quite a bit which took away from the enjoyment. The music was good and was loud enough to hear it all the way round the ride. You couldn't hear the music the the person next to you chose either so that was good.
Overall it's a bit of a let down. It's a fun ride although a ride this new shouldn't be this rough.
Continuing round the park Twister was up next.
They seem OBSESSED with cows on this as they were everywhere.
We went straight into the building where there's about 3 pre-shows before you get to the main ride bit. Almost all of them are just clips from the film with the main characters talking about tornadoes and telling them how hard it was for them to film scenes etc. I had Richard asking me the whole time "is this the room?" in every room we went into. Of course in the clips in the pre-show they had to show a cow getting lifted up by a tornado.
We finally got into the main room where they try to recreate a tornado. It's obvious as soon as you get into the room what's going to happen at the end. The show is alright. The effects are a bit dated and you can tell it's quite an old ride. Obviously it's nothing like a real tornado and the speed of the wind is about the same you get from a fan and of course they have to have a plastic cow fly across the room (what is it with them and cows? All the Americans found it hilarious and cheered every time there was a cow).
My thoughts...
Twister
I've been told before I went that it wasn't that good and it's dated and aged quite badly. And I agree. It's still fun though. They just need to reduce the pre-show to just one room and redo all the effects to bring them up to date a bit. Also get rid of the cow and make the place where you stand better as if you're stuck behind someone like I was you can't see a thing. But it's still worth doing as it's fun to watch and it builds up quite nicely.
Overall it's alright. I'm glad I did it and some of the effects are pretty cool.
After this we decided to get a snack to eat so went to this which is right opposite the entrance to Twister.
Here my dad and Richard got some popcorn to share and Andrew and I both had our first ever Churros (they were nice
)As my dad refuses to eat or drink while walking (at other parks we can be sat around for an extra 15 minutes waiting for my dad to finish his drink because he refuses to drink while walking to the next ride to save time) we found a bench and sat down to eat.
Anyway I'm going to end the trip report there for now as if you have me on Facebook you'll probably understand it's one of the last things I'm worried about right now.
I'll try and finish it asap though but at the moment I've just lost the will to carry on tonight.
Anyway I hope you enjoy reading it. I know it sounds like I hated most the rides, but I didn't I liked them all. It's just I'm trying to give good AND bad points about each ride.
Re: First Time Evah in Florida - DAY 5 UNIVERSAL STUDIOS!
Don't take this the wrong way, but reading your reports reminds me why I don't go anywhere or do anything with my family, and they're a lot more easy-going and less anal than your dad seems to be. Sorry to rag on your family, but you are giving us every minor detail here. I just couldn't/wouldn't be able to put with it at all.
Anyway, nice report and all the rest of it. I went to Florida as a kid, but so much has changed since then. I really need to get back there at some point. It's just not the sort of place I'd want to do alone though (usually I'm more than fine with that), and there's NO WAY ON EARTH I'd do it with family now that I'm an adult and everything.
Don't take this the wrong way, but reading your reports reminds me why I don't go anywhere or do anything with my family, and they're a lot more easy-going and less anal than your dad seems to be. Sorry to rag on your family, but you are giving us every minor detail here. I just couldn't/wouldn't be able to put with it at all.
Anyway, nice report and all the rest of it. I went to Florida as a kid, but so much has changed since then. I really need to get back there at some point. It's just not the sort of place I'd want to do alone though (usually I'm more than fine with that), and there's NO WAY ON EARTH I'd do it with family now that I'm an adult and everything.
Ollie
CF Legend
Re: First Time Evah in Florida - DAY 5 UNIVERSAL STUDIOS!
Day 5: Universal Studios - Part 2
While I was waiting for everyone to finish eating I decided to go to the toilet. I went to the one past Revenge of the Mummy so I could see what the queue time was.
On the way I went past this cool looking climbing wall. Much better than those plastic things in a fenced off area you get in UK parks.
Finally arrived at the toilets so went in and emptied my bladder [/tmi].
Once I got back we only had to wait another 5 minutes then we were able to head over to Revenge of the Mummy.
The queue line for this (not the actual queue) was MASSIVE. Does anyone know how long the queue is when it's all full up? We just went from room to room with cattle pen after cattle pen (thankfully you could just walk past them) and even in the main queue in the tomb I could see bits of extended queue going off round corners.
Anyway the first part of the queue is kinda themed to the behind the scenes of the films. Like photo stills from filming, props and costumes and of course a video of Brendan Fraser and other people.
Then you entered the tomb where the lighting got a lot lower and there were a few more things to look at and interact with.
This thing in the middle made the lights flicker and some weird wind noise go through the tomb if you touched it and put your hand on it.
Even more queues for them to open up when it's busy.
Throughout the whole queue I couldn't help but think how amazing it would be to have an Egyptian themed scare attraction in there. They do (or have) done that before at Halloween Horror Nights before haven't they?
They also had some a screen here to see another part of the queue and if you pressed the button something happened (I think it was just some air cannons) and you got to watch their reactions.
They also have one of those hologram things like they do in Hocus Pocus Hall.
The themeing and detail in the queue was incredible though.
The only thing with indoor queues like this is that you don't know how far you have left to go. Fortunately the queue wasn't too bad (was only 30 minutes for us) and for those who haven't been yet. Once you're upstairs and got to this bit you're there.
As usual you exit into a gift shop.
My thoughts...
Revenge of the Mummy
This is one of the coasters I was most looking forward to. Great theme, dark ride to begin with and great special effects. It was a fantastic ride although it does look better on video. I liked the bit where the door was closing and you just got under it in time. The backwards section was hardly worth it and I was expecting some sort of in seat effect with the scarab beetles.
The launch was a bit weak although the effects were brilliant. The coaster section is great fun and it's good that it's more than just track in the dark. Although the things kinda don't fit in with the style of the rest of the ride it still makes it much better. The fake station bit wasn't done as well as I thought it would be. It would have been better if it looked and sounded more authentic and there was an actual sense of danger there.
Overall it's a great ride and easily the best in the park. The effects and theming were amazing and I wish we had something like this in the UK.
Next up was Disaster. The queue seemed to take forever as it was really slow moving as a group goes in every 15 minutes or so. The queue in the end was about 45 minutes. Although I did get to be a nerd and watch people building the new maze for this years Halloween Horror Nights.
This was the queue. Urgh another cattle pen </3
This is where you go in. You're stood here for AGES waiting for the doors to open.
Anyway I know you all want an exclusive sneak peak at this years HHN so here are some pics I got. Can anyone guess what film or whatever the maze is themed to?
Queueing up we were stuck by this man. It must be horrible being that fat as he looked so uncomfortable. Especially in the heat in Florida.
After 45 minutes of boredom we got to the doors of long waiting.
I was hoping just to go on the ride but when the doors opened I was like urgh. I knew this pre-show wouldn't be the only one either.
You weren't allowed to take pictures from here onwards. Basically it's just more American actors who love themselves too much. They went on for ages and ages in a massive pre-show doing rubbish jokes and picking people from the audience to come out and act for them. This first room went on for about 15 minutes.
Then the next room you sit in a theatre and your guide goes on stage and there's a projection of the guy who runs the special effects company that you're mean to be in. This scene is kinda pointless and goes on for about 10 minutes.
Then next you all go into a TV studio and the actors all get filmed. Nothing seems to make sense in here (it does later). You have a girl standing against a wall with a picture of a road on it. A guy in a massive green bath tub full of green balls, an old woman pretending to do the gardening, and three men who have to pull a rope which makes rocks drop on their heads. This whole scene goes on for about 15 minutes as well.
After this you FINALLY get onto the ride in the subway car. My dad and Richard are always slow so in EVERY ride or show where you go from room to room like this we always end up at the back. And if me and Andrew go off to go in at a slow speed anyway so everyone can stay together we get moaned at for rushing off.
Anyway by the time we got in there we had trouble finding a free row so were stuck in the front of one of the carriages with a massive window in the way and facing people opposite us.
Anyway the train moves off down the tunnel and the guy appears on TV and tells you you're going to the set. After a while you stop in the set of another subway station. Here it's the usual things like fire and water. Although because stuff is happening all around you and we were in the middle of the train facing backwards it was hard to see everything going all around you. The whole time you're on the ride you're being filmed so they ask you to scream at certain points. It's sorta like an indoor version of Catastrophe Canyon from the Disney tram tours. Even down to the water rushing down towards you.
It's a good job Andrew poked me and told me to look to the other side or I would have completely missed the roof collapsing and the truck sliding towards the train. It's just too hard to know where to look and you end up missing stuff as so much stuff is happening at once.
Once you've been pounded with loads of effects the train goes back to the station you got on. Although on the way back the screen shows the trailer using the footage that's all been edited together and it's pretty funny. Especially the effects they do with the granny at the end.
This is where you come out.
My thoughts...
Disaster
Before I start. This ride isn't crap. It's good fun although it just goes on for so long and it just drags and drags. There's so much they could cut out to keep the queues shorter and keep it shorter and more entertaining.
The effects are great and the end trailer is pretty funny. Just that the length it takes to get there kinda takes away from the enjoyment in a way. Also in the actual 'ride' part the seating is awkward meaning you miss half the effects if you don't know where to look.
It's worth doing. Just be aware that even if there's no queue it's going to take a good 45 minutes out of your day.
After this we decided to grab some food. America seems to have the slowest service EVER. In the McDonalds we went to there was like 2 people in front of us and it took 20 minutes to get our food. It's like everything is cooked from scratch even though they know people are going to want it.
In the place we went to it was either Fish and Chips or a Fried Chicken.
World Famous for what? Slow service?
It took them about 10 minutes to take an order for 4 Fried Chickens. And then we were stood there waiting for 20 minutes waiting for the food. They've only got two things on the menu and this was during peak time for lunch (between 12 and 2). Lucky there was only one person in front of us and even he was saying how crap the service was. Once we finally got our food there wasn't anywhere to sit so we just had to sit on a step. After we'd ordered our stuff there the queue got to about 20 people long and I'd hate to be in it that long.
After this we literally had 5 minutes before Fear Factor Live started so we headed over there. Of course someone needed the toilet so we all waited. We got in to the show bang on time and found a seat.
I used to enjoy the TV show so was interested seeing this live. The contestants are all guests from the park who signed up about an hour before the show.
First up was the intro videos for the contestants and all the Americans shouting and cheering at every place the contestants said they were from.
The first challenge was for them to hold onto a bar. Then the floor drops away and they have to hang on for as long as they can and the 4 who hold on the longest go through to the next round.
I'd be rubbish at this challenge as I have no upper body strength at all.
In between rounds they did stuff with the audience. People were selected to do things. First up was this chair with a tank you put your head in.
They then spin the wheel to see what they're putting in the tank.
They only did one thing before moving onto the next stunt.
Here the person who won the first round got to pick who they paired up with for round 2. Although if they won they would have to go face to face with them in the final round.
Oh and in most the stunts people got to do stuff around the edge to put them off. Like in the first round they had fans to try and put them off and in this one they have water cannons. In the first part of this challenge they harnessed up one of the pair and the other had to run across to a tank of eels to find a bean bag and throw it for the team mate to catch in their bucket.
After this challenge two people got lifted up and released so they were swinging (kinda like a sky coaster but you remain upright) and they had to throw squids down to their team mates to catch in a bucket.
I assume the squids were either already dead or fake as I don't see how they would be able to get away with throwing live squids everywhere.
Lol at the person swinging on sideways here.
After this some people from the audience did the eating challenge. Here it consisted of Blended Oysters, something I can't remember, Sour Milk and Crickets.
Whichever pair managed to finish their drinks first got an exclusive Fear Factor "I ate a bug" mug.
By the time that was done it was time for the final stunt. Here the two finalists had to climb the building and collect the flags then the key at the top, slide down the fireman's pole and get into the car. Then the car got lifted into the air and they had to climb over onto the bonnet to get to get more flags and the same on the back. If they fell off then the other person won if they finished. Then once they did that they picked up a rocket launcher and shot the target on the wall causing it to fall down so the gap where the window was goes over one of the presenters sitting in a chair below.
The show was pretty good. Not too long. Entertaining and the stuff in between what was happening on stage was actually good.
After the show we decided to go on Jaws as the entrance was right next to where you come out. I think everyone had the same idea as the queue was an hour long.
Does anyone know what these coloured dots mean on the lights? They seemed to be on quite a few things.
My thoughts...
Jaws
Ride was good fun. The tour guide was good and made the ride different and more realistic. Although the whole thing as usual with Americans and guns and having to save the days kinda spoils it. A couple of sections are good like inside the building and a couple of the attacks. Although they need to find a way to update it as it's aged quite badly. It's still quite fun and the reaction of everyone in the boat when someone spots a shark fin is quite funny.
It's a good fun ride although it seems to rush through most the scenes. It's done quite well though and is certainly something different.
As we got off the boat we were told that due to a nearby thunder storm all outdoor rides are closed until further notice.
Although come to think of it that's only really Jaws and HRR. All the boats behind us on Jaws were empty so we were lucky we got on.
Next up was Men in Black
Shoes with toes?
The queue outside wasn't too long. Once inside my brother actually believed that we'd queued up for a half hour walking tour lol. But after the stuff happened he was relieved.
It was slightly annoying that there's another queue hidden inside. But the queue looks cool and futuristic
As usual...(you know what's coming next) you exit into a gift shop.
My thoughts...
Men in Black: Alien Attack
Quite a fun ride. I enjoyed how you go head to head against another car and the spinning is quite fun. Especially when you hit the light at the back of their car and send them spinning.
The target practise bit at the start is good but with the main ride you're not sure what to hit. It all seems so empty and open. And I'm used to just shooting coloured lights. I also seemed to be the only one to hear about the red button so obviously I won. I liked at the end as well they try to make you forget and you get the sign that you can see in the image above below the one of the car.
Overall it's a fun ride and the spinning and going head to head makes it different than all the others.
My dad hates the Simpsons so we ended up walking straight past that ride as he "refuses to lower his intelligence by watching that rubbish"
So we headed into the Kid Zone to ride ET and the kiddy credit.
First up was ET.
The inside queue was awesome.
My thoughts...
ET
This ride was good fun. Having the cars as bikes was pretty cool and going around the track was fun. I liked the way it went from scene to scene and the audio made the ride loads better. Loved the bit where you went over the city as well it's all good fun. The ending was a bit weird but it was cool seeing the planet change as you went on. Only downside was that the name thing at the end is messed up. My dad didn't even realise it was saying our names and I could barely make out it saying mine.
It's a fun ride though and worth going on. It's not a credit though Steven.
After this Andrew and I went to queue up for the Woody's Nuthouse coaster. The queue looked really short so we joined the queue. It's the only credit we needed to get from Universal so we waited it out. The loading for this was really slow and they only had one train so it made the wait even longer.
All we did was go round the corner and go out and back once to get to the station.
After waiting half an hour for a kids credit we managed to convince everyone to go back to do the Simpsons ride.
Although that annoying noisy group appeared after about 10 minutes which was irritating.
There was plenty of stuff to watch in this queue though. The TV showed clips from the TV show as well as exclusive things made for the ride which is pretty cool. Just a shame the queue is just a MASSIVE cattle pen. And if you haven't been on it before you have no idea where it ends as it looks like people are queueing all the way upstairs as well. After about 45 minutes we got to the pre-show bits. First of all you're in a room where there's screens around you that talk. Then you go into some pointless lift thing that doesn't move and they play another video with a background about SideShow Mel.
Getting into the car is fun though and it's quite funny. Especially when Homer made immature noises as you were getting into the car.
My thoughts...
The Simpsons Ride
I know it's just a simulator but it is a fun ride. The movie could be better quality but I liked the way all the cars lifted up so they were all watching the same screen and the scent thing was cool.
Overall it's a fun ride and quite funny and if you like the Simpsons then you'll like the ride.
After this we had to leave which sucked as we didn't have time to do Terminator 3D
Oh well.
Anyway that's it for today.
Next days trip report will be on the Kennedy Space Center.
Day 5: Universal Studios - Part 2
While I was waiting for everyone to finish eating I decided to go to the toilet. I went to the one past Revenge of the Mummy so I could see what the queue time was.
On the way I went past this cool looking climbing wall. Much better than those plastic things in a fenced off area you get in UK parks.
Finally arrived at the toilets so went in and emptied my bladder [/tmi].
Once I got back we only had to wait another 5 minutes then we were able to head over to Revenge of the Mummy.
The queue line for this (not the actual queue) was MASSIVE. Does anyone know how long the queue is when it's all full up? We just went from room to room with cattle pen after cattle pen (thankfully you could just walk past them) and even in the main queue in the tomb I could see bits of extended queue going off round corners.
Anyway the first part of the queue is kinda themed to the behind the scenes of the films. Like photo stills from filming, props and costumes and of course a video of Brendan Fraser and other people.
Then you entered the tomb where the lighting got a lot lower and there were a few more things to look at and interact with.
This thing in the middle made the lights flicker and some weird wind noise go through the tomb if you touched it and put your hand on it.
Even more queues for them to open up when it's busy.
Throughout the whole queue I couldn't help but think how amazing it would be to have an Egyptian themed scare attraction in there. They do (or have) done that before at Halloween Horror Nights before haven't they?
They also had some a screen here to see another part of the queue and if you pressed the button something happened (I think it was just some air cannons) and you got to watch their reactions.
They also have one of those hologram things like they do in Hocus Pocus Hall.
The themeing and detail in the queue was incredible though.
The only thing with indoor queues like this is that you don't know how far you have left to go. Fortunately the queue wasn't too bad (was only 30 minutes for us) and for those who haven't been yet. Once you're upstairs and got to this bit you're there.
As usual you exit into a gift shop.
My thoughts...
Revenge of the Mummy
This is one of the coasters I was most looking forward to. Great theme, dark ride to begin with and great special effects. It was a fantastic ride although it does look better on video. I liked the bit where the door was closing and you just got under it in time. The backwards section was hardly worth it and I was expecting some sort of in seat effect with the scarab beetles.
The launch was a bit weak although the effects were brilliant. The coaster section is great fun and it's good that it's more than just track in the dark. Although the things kinda don't fit in with the style of the rest of the ride it still makes it much better. The fake station bit wasn't done as well as I thought it would be. It would have been better if it looked and sounded more authentic and there was an actual sense of danger there.
Overall it's a great ride and easily the best in the park. The effects and theming were amazing and I wish we had something like this in the UK.
Next up was Disaster. The queue seemed to take forever as it was really slow moving as a group goes in every 15 minutes or so. The queue in the end was about 45 minutes. Although I did get to be a nerd and watch people building the new maze for this years Halloween Horror Nights.
This was the queue. Urgh another cattle pen </3
This is where you go in. You're stood here for AGES waiting for the doors to open.
Anyway I know you all want an exclusive sneak peak at this years HHN so here are some pics I got.
Can anyone guess what film or whatever the maze is themed to?
Queueing up we were stuck by this man. It must be horrible being that fat as he looked so uncomfortable. Especially in the heat in Florida.
After 45 minutes of boredom we got to the doors of long waiting.
I was hoping just to go on the ride but when the doors opened I was like urgh. I knew this pre-show wouldn't be the only one either.
You weren't allowed to take pictures from here onwards. Basically it's just more American actors who love themselves too much. They went on for ages and ages in a massive pre-show doing rubbish jokes and picking people from the audience to come out and act for them. This first room went on for about 15 minutes.
Then the next room you sit in a theatre and your guide goes on stage and there's a projection of the guy who runs the special effects company that you're mean to be in. This scene is kinda pointless and goes on for about 10 minutes.
Then next you all go into a TV studio and the actors all get filmed. Nothing seems to make sense in here (it does later). You have a girl standing against a wall with a picture of a road on it. A guy in a massive green bath tub full of green balls, an old woman pretending to do the gardening, and three men who have to pull a rope which makes rocks drop on their heads. This whole scene goes on for about 15 minutes as well.
After this you FINALLY get onto the ride in the subway car. My dad and Richard are always slow so in EVERY ride or show where you go from room to room like this we always end up at the back. And if me and Andrew go off to go in at a slow speed anyway so everyone can stay together we get moaned at for rushing off.
Anyway by the time we got in there we had trouble finding a free row so were stuck in the front of one of the carriages with a massive window in the way and facing people opposite us.
Anyway the train moves off down the tunnel and the guy appears on TV and tells you you're going to the set. After a while you stop in the set of another subway station. Here it's the usual things like fire and water. Although because stuff is happening all around you and we were in the middle of the train facing backwards it was hard to see everything going all around you. The whole time you're on the ride you're being filmed so they ask you to scream at certain points. It's sorta like an indoor version of Catastrophe Canyon from the Disney tram tours. Even down to the water rushing down towards you.
It's a good job Andrew poked me and told me to look to the other side or I would have completely missed the roof collapsing and the truck sliding towards the train. It's just too hard to know where to look and you end up missing stuff as so much stuff is happening at once.
Once you've been pounded with loads of effects the train goes back to the station you got on. Although on the way back the screen shows the trailer using the footage that's all been edited together and it's pretty funny. Especially the effects they do with the granny at the end.
This is where you come out.
My thoughts...
Disaster
Before I start. This ride isn't crap. It's good fun although it just goes on for so long and it just drags and drags. There's so much they could cut out to keep the queues shorter and keep it shorter and more entertaining.
The effects are great and the end trailer is pretty funny. Just that the length it takes to get there kinda takes away from the enjoyment in a way. Also in the actual 'ride' part the seating is awkward meaning you miss half the effects if you don't know where to look.
It's worth doing. Just be aware that even if there's no queue it's going to take a good 45 minutes out of your day.
After this we decided to grab some food. America seems to have the slowest service EVER. In the McDonalds we went to there was like 2 people in front of us and it took 20 minutes to get our food. It's like everything is cooked from scratch even though they know people are going to want it.
In the place we went to it was either Fish and Chips or a Fried Chicken.
World Famous for what? Slow service?
It took them about 10 minutes to take an order for 4 Fried Chickens. And then we were stood there waiting for 20 minutes waiting for the food. They've only got two things on the menu and this was during peak time for lunch (between 12 and 2). Lucky there was only one person in front of us and even he was saying how crap the service was. Once we finally got our food there wasn't anywhere to sit so we just had to sit on a step. After we'd ordered our stuff there the queue got to about 20 people long and I'd hate to be in it that long.
After this we literally had 5 minutes before Fear Factor Live started so we headed over there. Of course someone needed the toilet so we all waited. We got in to the show bang on time and found a seat.
I used to enjoy the TV show so was interested seeing this live. The contestants are all guests from the park who signed up about an hour before the show.
First up was the intro videos for the contestants and all the Americans shouting and cheering at every place the contestants said they were from.
The first challenge was for them to hold onto a bar. Then the floor drops away and they have to hang on for as long as they can and the 4 who hold on the longest go through to the next round.
I'd be rubbish at this challenge as I have no upper body strength at all.
In between rounds they did stuff with the audience. People were selected to do things. First up was this chair with a tank you put your head in.
They then spin the wheel to see what they're putting in the tank.
They only did one thing before moving onto the next stunt.
Here the person who won the first round got to pick who they paired up with for round 2. Although if they won they would have to go face to face with them in the final round.
Oh and in most the stunts people got to do stuff around the edge to put them off. Like in the first round they had fans to try and put them off and in this one they have water cannons. In the first part of this challenge they harnessed up one of the pair and the other had to run across to a tank of eels to find a bean bag and throw it for the team mate to catch in their bucket.
After this challenge two people got lifted up and released so they were swinging (kinda like a sky coaster but you remain upright) and they had to throw squids down to their team mates to catch in a bucket.
I assume the squids were either already dead or fake as I don't see how they would be able to get away with throwing live squids everywhere.
Lol at the person swinging on sideways here.
After this some people from the audience did the eating challenge. Here it consisted of Blended Oysters, something I can't remember, Sour Milk and Crickets.
Whichever pair managed to finish their drinks first got an exclusive Fear Factor "I ate a bug" mug.
By the time that was done it was time for the final stunt. Here the two finalists had to climb the building and collect the flags then the key at the top, slide down the fireman's pole and get into the car. Then the car got lifted into the air and they had to climb over onto the bonnet to get to get more flags and the same on the back. If they fell off then the other person won if they finished. Then once they did that they picked up a rocket launcher and shot the target on the wall causing it to fall down so the gap where the window was goes over one of the presenters sitting in a chair below.
The show was pretty good. Not too long. Entertaining and the stuff in between what was happening on stage was actually good.
After the show we decided to go on Jaws as the entrance was right next to where you come out. I think everyone had the same idea as the queue was an hour long.
Does anyone know what these coloured dots mean on the lights? They seemed to be on quite a few things.
My thoughts...
Jaws
Ride was good fun. The tour guide was good and made the ride different and more realistic. Although the whole thing as usual with Americans and guns and having to save the days kinda spoils it. A couple of sections are good like inside the building and a couple of the attacks. Although they need to find a way to update it as it's aged quite badly. It's still quite fun and the reaction of everyone in the boat when someone spots a shark fin is quite funny.
It's a good fun ride although it seems to rush through most the scenes. It's done quite well though and is certainly something different.
As we got off the boat we were told that due to a nearby thunder storm all outdoor rides are closed until further notice.
Although come to think of it that's only really Jaws and HRR. All the boats behind us on Jaws were empty so we were lucky we got on.
Next up was Men in Black
Shoes with toes?
The queue outside wasn't too long. Once inside my brother actually believed that we'd queued up for a half hour walking tour lol. But after the stuff happened he was relieved.
It was slightly annoying that there's another queue hidden inside. But the queue looks cool and futuristic
As usual...(you know what's coming next) you exit into a gift shop.
My thoughts...
Men in Black: Alien Attack
Quite a fun ride. I enjoyed how you go head to head against another car and the spinning is quite fun. Especially when you hit the light at the back of their car and send them spinning.
The target practise bit at the start is good but with the main ride you're not sure what to hit. It all seems so empty and open. And I'm used to just shooting coloured lights. I also seemed to be the only one to hear about the red button so obviously I won. I liked at the end as well they try to make you forget and you get the sign that you can see in the image above below the one of the car.
Overall it's a fun ride and the spinning and going head to head makes it different than all the others.
My dad hates the Simpsons so we ended up walking straight past that ride as he "refuses to lower his intelligence by watching that rubbish"
So we headed into the Kid Zone to ride ET and the kiddy credit.
First up was ET.
The inside queue was awesome.
My thoughts...
ET
This ride was good fun. Having the cars as bikes was pretty cool and going around the track was fun. I liked the way it went from scene to scene and the audio made the ride loads better. Loved the bit where you went over the city as well it's all good fun. The ending was a bit weird but it was cool seeing the planet change as you went on. Only downside was that the name thing at the end is messed up. My dad didn't even realise it was saying our names and I could barely make out it saying mine.
It's a fun ride though and worth going on. It's not a credit though Steven.
After this Andrew and I went to queue up for the Woody's Nuthouse coaster. The queue looked really short so we joined the queue. It's the only credit we needed to get from Universal so we waited it out. The loading for this was really slow and they only had one train so it made the wait even longer.
All we did was go round the corner and go out and back once to get to the station.
After waiting half an hour for a kids credit we managed to convince everyone to go back to do the Simpsons ride.
Although that annoying noisy group appeared after about 10 minutes which was irritating.
There was plenty of stuff to watch in this queue though. The TV showed clips from the TV show as well as exclusive things made for the ride which is pretty cool. Just a shame the queue is just a MASSIVE cattle pen. And if you haven't been on it before you have no idea where it ends as it looks like people are queueing all the way upstairs as well. After about 45 minutes we got to the pre-show bits. First of all you're in a room where there's screens around you that talk. Then you go into some pointless lift thing that doesn't move and they play another video with a background about SideShow Mel.
Getting into the car is fun though and it's quite funny. Especially when Homer made immature noises as you were getting into the car.
My thoughts...
The Simpsons Ride
I know it's just a simulator but it is a fun ride. The movie could be better quality but I liked the way all the cars lifted up so they were all watching the same screen and the scent thing was cool.
Overall it's a fun ride and quite funny and if you like the Simpsons then you'll like the ride.
After this we had to leave which sucked as we didn't have time to do Terminator 3D
Oh well.
Anyway that's it for today.
Next days trip report will be on the Kennedy Space Center.