Electerik

I just want to say that I'm pretty excited about this. It's actually something I "complained" about in one of my HW trip reports. It seemed odd to me that such a large, new (at the time) food establishment didn't have indoor seating--especially since that left just one place that did, and it was way at the front of the park. So this sounds like an excellent addition/improvement to me. And while I'm sure it was prompted more by the hot summer we just had, I'm going to pretend it was all due to my feedback!

Yeah, possibly. I was hoping that at least some of the exhibits would be different, but they weren't. And then there were fewer of them, and they were (mostly) less good. So, yes, someone else who had never been to the other one might certainly like it. But while I made the choice early on to provide my own biased opinions along with the photos, I'd like to think that people could still use the photos to come to a different conclusion. Actually, if you look back at some of the earlier updates in the other thread, you'll see more of an effort on my part to be neutral and "unbiased." But that got boring pretty quickly. In any case, I feel honored that you signed up to TPR just to comment in our little thread!

Okay. But doesn't it sort of seem that the two things are connected? They "spent" all that real estate on benches that they could have used to make the shops bigger. Not disagreeing with either of your points, Just saying that, together, they just make Universal's choices here seem that much odder. Heard lots of people say that. Still don't get it. It's television sets with picture frames around them. In fact, it's become a running joke with me to excitedly exclaim, "It uses the same technology as Harry Potter!" every time I see a TV in a ride queue. I do like the hat. But come on, they had to dumb down Dueling Dragons' queue just to make this one seem better. On an unrelated note: How is it that no one has any trouble spelling a name like 'Smisty,' but 'Erik' is somehow difficult?? /Spider-Man is a better ride and a better queue!

Great photos. In fact, many of them made me quite angry, as I've taken much worse versions of them.

Actually, we liked Dinosaur World. I would say that the *worst* thing we've done, so far, is from the other thread: Gatlinburg's World of Illusions. The following is partial list of things we will most definitely not be covering in this--or any other--thread: Screaming-Baby Contests Pounding Nails Into Your Scrotum Courses Broccoli Farming Tea-Bagger Rallies Timeshare Tours Thank you.

No problem. It's what we do.

Last year, we visited the WonderWorks in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee--as documented in our Smoky Mountain Adventures thread--and gave it a somewhat middling review. So we were keen on visiting the original, here in Orlando, to see if it was any different and/or better. The verdict? The two are very similar, except that this one is smaller, more cramped, has fewer exhibits, and is basically inferior to the Pigeon Forge location in almost every way. Enough so that we really can't recommend it. But don't take mere words for it.... WonderWorks, Orlando This one is much closer to the road, and is much more imposing as a result. Which is probably a good thing. It should be noted, however, that it is on a completely level road. It's just really hard to take a straight picture of it. :OP And, right off the bat, my visit is ruined. Now I must return to the car to drop off my gat. The lobby is similar to that of Pigeon Forge's, but decidedly smaller. On the other hand, this one is more expensive. So it's got that going for it. Note: You will not actually be spun upsidedown. Thank you. Aaaahhhh!!! "Even Though You Will Want To, Because It Is The Coolest Thing Here" The Titanic thing--while not terribly entertaining--was at least not at the one in Pigeon Forge. (The Earthquake "simulator" is, though.) I don't care how bad an employee she is, "Hurricane Hole" isn't a nice thing to call anyone. (Brought to you by Mountain Dew. Do the Dew.) And then there's kind of a spinning thing with some crap up above it, and a monitor that shows the outside, but upsidedown. Ooh, hand sanitizer! This uses light to create the illusion that water is falling upwards. Or something. I don't really even care. Tic tac toe? And they're only charging $25 to get in here?? (Actually, the sad part is that people are actually playing it, so starved for entertainment are they.) What Erik & Smisty would look like if they were midgets (who were looking into a regular mirror). Bubbles. Yeah, they have it at the other one. Yeah, it's bigger there. So, Thor flies by throwing his hammer, and then holding onto it? That really has nothing to do with this update. It's just been bugging me. Yeah, they have that stupid Mind Ball thing here, too. And the "virtual" air hockey. Misty tries to end her misery by throwing herself onto a bed of nails. Just pee right there on the piano. (Look at the picture again. It'll come to you eventually.) When I'm feeling sad, I go to my happy place. Which is nothing like the Sound Lab. Fueled by anger, I kick this arcade device's ass. Note the "design your own virtual roller coaster" simulator in the background. I mean, if you want to. Whatever. I'm gonna go sanitize my hands. Hey, you know what would be cool? If they had something here that the other place didn't have. Anything, really. I'd settle for a mold-a-mattic machine, at this point. Holy fudging fudge-cakes!!! Upstairs in "the basement" (because the building's upsidedown, you see), is a 4-D theater (which we didn't do, but we assume is crappy, because they always are), laser tag, and an arcade. But first we must endure some optical illusions. Good job, Smisty! Okay, so there is one cool thing here that isn't at the other one: a ropes course above the arcade! Heading back down, you encounter these pictures made out of used chewing gum. So there you go. Back on the ground floor (or, erm, "attic"?) there's an eatery and then a gift shop. With this face, I was trying to convey, "How the hell did they get this picture without getting that light post in front of it??" I honestly don't feel that this shirt properly reflects the WonderWorks Orlando experience. There, that's better. So, in short, if you absolutely *must* visit WonderWorks, try to go to the one in Pigeon Forge. Thank you.

^ Um, yeah...despite what I said earlier, I think I'd rather just pay.

The impression I've gotten from talking to people who've had even the remotest dealings with this ride, is that it's a total piece of shit. Riding it hasn't done much to sway my opinion. It should be good, but it isn't. Now that they have all the money in the world, I bet Universal really wishes they had gone with B&M.

The physical and visual overlap between JP and TWWOHP bothers me. A lot. Expect lots of bitching when I finally get around to covering either of those areas in my little thread. Also, it's fine that you don't like Seuss Landing. Lots of people without souls don't.

^ Haven't heard of that one, but it sounds like our kind of place!

^^ There's a lot more to SeaWorld than just credits. In my opinion, it's the best park in Florida. /Rode HRRR the day before they shut it down. Yay...?

So, you went to Jaxson's, and you took a bunch of pictures of the menu and the decor, but not one photo of any actual ice cream. Harrumph! //The malt doesn't count. /6

I have no plans to get an iPad, but it's not because I'm an Apple-hater. It just seems like an intermediate step that, as a minimalist, I don't need. Why would I want to carry something around that's almost as useful as my iPhone but nearly as big as my laptop? For my lifestyle, it just doesn't make sense. /Tricky to hold onto, as well.

I really, really want that A+++ grade, so I've replaced the photo of the pretty purple flowers with one (hopefully) more to Robb's liking.

Didn't there used to be a "Most Beautiful Park" category that BGW always won? Was it replaced with "Best Landscaping"?

Absolutely. There's really not much we don't plan on doing, eventually. When we started our Smoky Mountain Adventures thread, we sort of knew it would be our 'farewell' to the area (even if we weren't exactly sure of the timetable). But, with this one, we plan on being in the area for some time. So, it might be a while, but we'll almost certainly do it eventually. Still, keep those ideas and requests coming!

I tried to tell y'all. Hauntings is a must do.

Not so surprising. When I worked at the park (back when Jeff Johnson was just a wee lad), lots of guests walked right by it, thinking it was a show of some sort. Its just a bunch of short plays and one grumpy cast member lol Jesus?

Crap, I knew I forgot something! Presumably because of all the guests and money Harry Potter is bringing in, IOA has been reborn. Effects that haven't worked in years have been repaired, venues that were shuttered are open again, and everything is staffed. On one of our recent visits, Cat in the Hat had a 10 minute wait, but 2 greeters, a grouper, 2 loaders, a dispatch person, and 2 unloaders! The only eatery I've not seen open is Wimpy's Hamburgers. I'm really interested in going, at some point. The only problem is, as an atheist, I really don't want to give them my money.

Islands of Adventure is a great park. And the best part of it is Seuss Landing. If you think it reasonable to call Seuss Landing a "kid's area," then it is surely the best one ever. Geisel Gulch just didn't have the same ring to it, I guess. Yes, you can order a green eggs and ham sandwich here (although I've never had the nerve). "If I Ran The Zoo" is an interactive play area. Let's check it out, shall we? "Cold"? This is Orlando. [Note: This caption is a reference to the sign in the picture above. So if you haven't read it (or can't), then never mind.] Wanna see what's in there?? Well, I guess you'll just have to go, now won't you? I wouldn't come out either if people were trying to catch me. [Dude, come on, start reading the signs!] Pump, Smisty, pump! Make the little dude rise! [Wow, that sounded dirty. Sorry.] Slides are cool. [And you do know that I'm not really sorry, right?] You get this guy to pop up by tickling his feet. [is that dirty, too? No? Okay.] Now what's all this then? For reference sake, the green table with the orange seats (in the background) is for the Green Eggs & Ham Restaurant. The biggest single area in If I Ran The Zoo. And the wettest. Don't disturb the giraffe cow! I must take a bath? [sign.] It's some sort of centipede cow. And Misty's riding it. Which is a fine way to leave If I Ran The Zoo, don't you think? "Young man, you're sort of a fool! You'll never catch fish in McElligot's Pool!" Successfully throw a coin into the fish's mouth, and you get squirted with water as a reward. If I recall correctly, there used to be a sign here that read, "Snack snack, eat a snack. Eat a snack with Brown & Black." Smisty gets suckered into sitting on some stupid bird's egg. "We looked and we saw him, The Cat in the Hat!" The queue. For those few. (Who care about such things.) [Look, I suck at rhyming, okay?] This is Misty's favorite ride at IOA, and her favorite dark ride anywhere. The grouping and loading area. Unfortunately, and for reasons unknown to me, Universal seems to have gone to a policy of "no photos allowed on anything that moves even slightly." So here's a photo of a sign in the gift shop that's very similar to something that can be seen on the ride itself. And here's Unload. Not really the full ride experience, to be sure, but what can you do? The aforementioned gift shop the ride exits into, "Cats, Hats and Things." An yes, don't worry, they do sell Thing merchandise here. [Trust me, as dry as it was, that joke is still absolutely hilarious if you've been to Universal Orlando lately.] The inside of the gift shop. [That joke is less funny.] She's really not that much trouble. [sign. Okay, well, shirt actually. But still.] Everything in Seuss Landing has a cool name. Even popcorn stands. Or, "This Place Is For Faces." The Street of the Lifted Lorax is a small outdoor walk-through... ...that leads to the entrance of the Caro-Seuss-el. I'm not quite sure this makes sense, but I still really like it. But you don't have to visit The Lorax to get to the Caro-Seuss-el. It's just an option. Okay, so, if you've never heard of this before, it's a carousel populated exclusively with critters from Dr. Seuss stories. I sort of blend in, but I actually am in this photo. "Now hear this, all fish that fly! Follow me, and you'll stay dry." Dude, seriously? No photography?! What on Earth...? Coolest "Dumbo" ride ever. Here's the deal: If you don't do what the song tells you ("one fish, red fish, up up up--two fish, blue fish, down down down") the 'bad fish' squirt you with water. Next to the ride is a show/meet-and-greet. Hey, what's in the wagon? I...can't. The main eatery in Seuss Landing is the very cool Circus McGurkus. The inside is very tastefully decorated. And, also, a ride goes through it. It's quick-service, but still pretty decent. Mmm, pizza. (And lemon cake.) Imma drive all your food away, bitches! Even the restrooms here are awesome. (As you can see from this gentleman's satisfied look.) The most completely random thing in Seuss Landing (at least, in my opinion) is this sign sticking up from over a fence. A shot of the midway. On the left is the Hop On Pop Ice Cream Shop, and on the right is All The Books You Can Read. It's a store. It's a Smisty! It's another store. (That's actually connected to the first.) Man, I really hope they have some Thing merchandise here. Meanwhile, across the street at All The Books You Can Read.... I mean, if I wanted to. For those that don't know: This ride was originally supposed to be a sort of elevated car ride based around Sylvester McMonkey McBean. But concerns that people might try to get out of it, and how exactly it might be evacuated in an emergency, led to it being abandoned midway through park construction. The track just sat there, for years, before finally being revamped as The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride. Hey, Misty, what's the wait time for this one? Oooh...! Push the button, get a star on yer belly. (I like to think that the story of the Sneetches was an allegory about the stupidity of tattoos. But that's just me.) Now it's more of a coaster-train-on-a-monorail than a car ride. It's still really cool, though. There are two different tracks. The teal one goes through Circus McGurkus. Heading over to the quiet side of Seuss Landing and Sneetch Beach. Okay, now remember, this photo update is just for Seuss Landing. So I need you to focus on Sneetch Beach and NOT on The Incredible Hulk Coaster on the other side of the park. Thanks. Legend has it that this was the first thing placed at Islands of Adventure, and everything else was then built around it. Instead of a gift shop, THITSSTTR (seriously) exits you into a candy store! (Awkwardly, but still.) Misty is just happy to see Moose Juice & Goose Juice open. Also, there was a Zamp in the Lamp. Q is for Quan. Quan is for Quandary. Seuss Landing. Way more awesome than Harry Potter.

I lived in Pigeon Forge for four years, and I never got to ride that coaster. That's how much it's closed. A quick check of RCDB just now lists it as SBNO.

Where? /Just kidding. //Don't hurt me.

Yeah, not much. Mostly little kids at the one in Penguin Plaza. The one at Wild Arctic gets some attention when the Shamu show lets out, but that's about it. At least from what I've seen, the DJ's are a bit pointless, really.

Did anyone actually do MagiQuest? We've only done the one in Pigeon Forge, but we quite enjoyed it.