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Universal Orlando Resort (USO, IOA) Discussion Thread

p. 623 - New Epic Universe details, including Celestial Park!

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I read this earlier too and it doesn't really make sense to me. Although I never visited in the mornings, we were there most nights for 2 weeks. The one place that never was really busy was the tavern. While I (and the family including kids) were in the tavern, I ordered the Hogsmeade and a couple Butterbeers. There were a couple people follow us in and ordered the Butterbeer. The barkeep seemed surprised we were in there ordering and when I told him the line outside was about 30 minutes. At no time when entering the tavern was it extremely busy. The main Butterbeer cart always had a line and the other "extra" carts charged an extra dollar just cause they could. There were also lines into all the shops. Never of those issues really get rectified by not selling alcohol. Maybe I was just there always at the right time. My first thought was that the specialty brew's stock was depleted faster than they thought. Does this mean those wanting the souvenir cup can't get it?

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Weren't there some MagiQuest rumors attached to this? I guess they were, in fact, just rumors. Seems like a natural fit, though.

 

My thoughts: The area looks much better in person than it does in the photos I've seen. Unicorn's theming has been improved, Dragons' theming has been improved in some ways but weakened in others. Butterbeer is actually pretty tasty (and not really that expensive, if you don't get it in the souvenir cup). They've crammed a lot into a relatively small space, but the stores are way too small (especially considering how much real estate was spent on the Owl Post--which is, ultimately, just a bunch of benches). Lots of cool animatroinic details in the fake shop windows (but will they still work in a year?) The border between WWOHP and JP is awful, with lots of visual spillover between the two. And (*drumroll please*) I am too fat for the new ride! (For the record, I've never not been able to ride any coaster or other adult ride due to my mild fatness problem. Therefore, I predict lots and lots of guest service issues for the park on this one.)

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  • 2 weeks later...

132 Evacuated When Harry Potter Roller Coaster Breaks Down

 

Orlando Fire Department Crews Respond To Incident

 

A new roller coaster at Universal's Islands of Adventure broke down Friday night, leaving riders stranded.

Orlando Fire Department officials responded to 911 calls at about 8:15 p.m. There were 132 people on the ride, and OFD officials said all passengers had been removed without medical complaints as of 9:45 p.m.

 

Universal officials only said that a roller coaster was stuck and crews were attempting to evacuate guests. They would not initially say which roller coaster was affected.

 

WESH 2's Michelle Meredith confirmed that it was the new attraction "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey" in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

 

The same ride came to a standstill with a WESH 2 crew on board in June. The breakdown left reporter Amanda Ober and photographer Scott Pisczek lying horizontal on their backs with their legs up in the air.

 

OFD officials said one rider called 911 when the roller coaster stopped Friday night because he thought he was upside down. However, Universal officials said the Forbidden Journey ride doesn't go upside down.

 

An OFD official told WESH 2 that there was some sort of mechanical issue on the ride. He said the evacuations proceeded smoothly, without panic or injury. Guests used the provided catwalks and ladders to exit the ride.

 

In all, 52 cars full of passengers were unloaded as Universal worked to repair the Harry Potter ride.

 

http://www.wesh.com/entertainment/24375560/detail.html

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The same ride came to a standstill with a WESH 2 crew on board in June. The breakdown left reporter Amanda Ober and photographer Scott Pisczek lying horizontal on their backs with their legs up in the air.

 

*bow-chicka-wow-wow*

 

Obviously Deep Throat was their secret informant.

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OFD officials said one rider called 911 ...

 

Just like card counters in Vegas - this "rider" (aka: IDIOT) should have their picture posted at the entrance to every amusement park in the world, and denied entry. Idiot.

 

 

I fully expect cell phone jammers to be installed on this ride shortly.

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I found the ride pretty disappointing. The video sections of the ride are incredibly blurry and I think ruin the whole experience. It's paced way too fast and way too much stuff is going on. The 2nd day I rode it the effects on the dragoin weren't working and since it doesn't move or anything it looked really bad just sitting there with the sprinklers sticking out of its mouth. Spider-man is a way better ride.

 

The crowd control is pretty bad too but at least they are working on it. The first time I went we had to get in a line that went though Jurassic park to get a pink ticket, then get in another line and had our pink ticket to somebody to get in the area. The 2nd time on a week or so later we were given a receipt with a time to come back later, like a fastpass or something.

 

The line for the ride also needs to be worked on. The line extends way out the entrance because of people having to put stuff in lockers. People can just go in the gift shop at the exit (which I admit to doing) and skip the whole first half of the line. There is hardly any wait for the single rider line though

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The Frequent Fear Passes with Express Access are now available, just brought mine.

 

http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/orlando/frequent_fear.html

 

The non-peak FF with express access is $154.98, which is the equivalent cost of 1 night's admission plus 2 non-peak express passess. The FF Express with Fridays included $239.98.

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^I concur, I'm going on Sunday 10/3 and Thursday 10/7 and I always going to get Express Passes - so I saved $74.99 on the second nights admission. Now I've got to figure out the best deals on the rest of my Florida stuff - heading over to Club TPR.

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Interesting you guys think its a good deal - its actually a bit higher of a price than I thought it would be. I was hoping for around $120 for the normal FF pass with express and $180 for the one that includes Fridays. If either included parking - it would be a slam dunk for me...but as it is - its a little high.

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^I was expecting something closer to $180 as well. My thought on the whole thing is that I'll be buying the Fear Pass Plus unless I know someone else that I'll be going with that also has Express on their pass (or has bought it for the night). I can justify it if I'm going to use Express more than once, but between the fact that I don't mind waiting in (reasonable) lines & the fact that I'll be going far too many times this year anyways, it doesn't bother me to save a good deal of money by sticking with the Express-free option.

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My view on the Frequent Fear pass is based on what I am doing - I'm going on 2 non peak nights and I was definitely going to get Express Passes both nights, so it's saving me $74.99 on the second night's admission, which is better than nothing. I wish they had an unlimited Front of Line like USH, that was worth every cent last year, and I'd be prepared to pay $$$ for it because I'm coming from 12,000 miles away so I want to do as much as possible.

 

I found with the mazes at USH that there was so much you can miss if you weren't in a room at the right time, I did the Halloween maze at USH 18-20 times over two nights and I when I checked out a video on youtube I still missed one (relatively minor) scare.

 

Adam or Tyler, is it worth making a 2010 Tampa Howl O Scream thread? They have just announced that a band called MyX will be doing shows every night and all tickets are now on sale.

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Another day, another informed article, but at least this guy has a weight-loss goal, so kudos to him.

 

ORLANDO, Fla. — One man, who weighs 300 pounds, is now using a theme park's size restrictions as motivation to lose weight.

 

Usually, people are tuned away from theme park rides and roller coasters because they are too small. At the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter, some people are too big to ride, according to Universal Orlando.

 

The roller coaster, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, has size restrictions.

 

Universal said all the seat restraints on the ride require three clicks from the safety bar. If the bar does not click three times for someone, the patron is asked to get up.

 

Banks Lee, who was turned away from the new ride, launched his own blog, called "Three Clicks," to motivate weight loss.

 

"And it just blew up. People said I was positive motivation, saying I am inspiring them. It's such a breath of fresh air that people are not complaining or suing, because it is my fault — because I'm overweight," Lee said.

 

Lee said he is determined to get back on the ride and hear those three clicks by the end of the year.

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38537353/ns/travel-family_travel/?GT1=43001

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A quote that was submitted from dandaman:

One man, who weighs 300 pounds, is now using a theme park size restictions as motivation to lose weight.

 

Well, good for him; I did the same thing for another attraction and I am happy to announce I was able to ride that ride I couldn't ride the year before.

 

I think that this could be the newest trend in the world of weight loss: either lose that big fat or lose your seat. Your choice.

 

"As for me, I can ride anything because I can fit into any restraints, but nobody ever takes me to an amusement park. Oh well, I can always dream about it.

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