disneyfan1313

Thanks for all the great photos! Were those night shots done with the handheld mode? Great night photos are the main reason I continue to stick with Sony cameras!

Ross - I would go for Ruby Princess. Very highly reviewed, good itinerary and new ship. Joel - Even if you have an inside stateroom you are going to see the ocean all the time when you are walking about the ship. Even in calm seas you *will* realize you are on a ship at some point unless you can drug yourself up the entire time. That being said, I have known a few people that swore they were deathly afraid of being on a boat/ship until they got on a cruise and due to the size of the boat and the things to distract you, they ended up without any problems at all. I gotta ask one other thing though - if you stay on land you will spend 3 days at BGT? What on earth are you going to do at BGT for 3 days!?!?

Little late to the party - but are there any other options besides the NCL Star and Carnival? It might be worth investing a little more $$ for a better experience. If you have to stick with those two I would 100% choose the star. While it is not the highest regarded NCL ship, it should be a good time with a better balance of activities for everyone in your group compared to Carnival. NCL has a decent main dining room that is included in your cruise fare. While they promote the heck out of the "freestyle" options you can get away with only having the free food your entire vacation!

Woot! Another great perk for being a Club TPR member!

^ Please post some pictures either way!!! That would be awesome to see. January 26th can't come soon enough!

^^ I had the tables in wonderland card last year and *loved* it. Very easy to use and a couple of big ticket dinners will pay for the cost. We got it to get a discount at Victoria And Alberts and just eating there paid for it!

^ Nights in White Satin was AWESOME. Was that a Sally ride?!?!

How about some more GAUDY!!! Please stare into the elevator as I hypnotize you with its hideousness. The carpet with their version of what an 8 would look like. WTF? The hallway art by our stateroom. The one non-gaudy part of the ship was our stateroom. Actually not too bad! Very well laid-out bathroom. We really liked the individual door and window to our balcony instead of all floor to celling glass. Next stop Jamaica.. land of people offering to sell you drugs... and creepy tree carvings. Best part of Jamaica - Ting grapefruit soda! This has more subtle theming than our ship... I love this movie theaters rules! NOTED! Back safe on the ship - we watched this CRAZY rain storm roll in. I bet all those people waiting in line in the rain are happy carnival has ONE metal detector on this huge ship! During a show about the Beatles, they gave out glow for no reason. I decided to wear it. Just in case you thought there wasn't enough colors on the ship so far... The celling tiles throughout the ship are especially low-key.. Don't forget the random statue of liberty theming in the buffet... with a 2 story tall GLOWING statue of liberty! Main drag of clubs.. lots o' neon. The "classy" wine bar. They charge for "better" pastries in their coffee shop. They sucked as much as the free ones. Strawberries were good though. They also charge for popcorn. They managed to F up popcorn. WTF?!?!?!!?!!??! I leave you with a picture of a chair that looks like that thing from the winter olympic sport of curling. Thanks Carnival for reminding me why I don't like you!

Those of you who have been reading this thread (or know me) for a while, know how I feel about Carnival. I had been on one previous Carnival cruise before and just hated it. Bad food, bad service, crappy atmosphere - really not the line or brand for us. We have a pretty good idea after sailing on all the major brands what we like...and are pretty flexible as well. Needless to say, when my brother-in-law announced he was getting married on carnival we tried everything we could to get them to change their mind.. No luck. Luckily it was on one of their newer ships - the Carnival Freedom - and it's itinerary was pretty good. It was 6 days and went to Key West (love it!), Grand Cayman (meh..) and Ocho Rios (new for Stacey and I haven't been there in years). Overall feeling on Carnival... hasn't really changed. Boat is ugly... REALLY UGLY. Like someone barfed up technicolor randomly in every hallway of the ship. Food was BAD (unless you think Denny's and Golden Coral are the the height of gourmet) with the exception of the daily Indian Buffet. Entertainment was shockingly lacking...not much on the ship outside of live music. Main stage shows were actually pretty good. Service was bad... REALLY REALLY bad. I've received better service from a Pizza Hut than we got in the main dining room. I realize there are folks who like Carnival... I respect that - I just don't understand it. It's not my cup of tea - I prefer less Bud Light and more sauvignon blanc, if you get my drift. Anyways... on to the pics! The only non-gaudy part of the ship! This is another ship that doesn't use its poolside screen well.. only one movie a day! Leaving Port Everglades is my favorite... this dude has a Flow Rider in his backyard! Those of you who went on the TPR Cruise in January know I take pics of my food.. It isn't an ugly ship from the outside.... Taken from Key West. This is one of our favorite places to eat in Key West.. Blue Heaven. Lots of Roosters and cats running around while you eat. That day was the wedding.. here is Stacey as the Maid of Honor. Their "chapel" is asian themed! While the wedding felt very rushed - the reception food was some of the best on the whole cruise. Next day was a day at sea.. time for mini-golf with this weird pic of Stacey! We did a cooking demonstration that was horribly planned.. Long thin room that you couldn't see anything! However you did get full samples of food which were big! It was held in the gaudy upcharge "Sun King" restaurant. It was *really* gaudy. Best part of the cruise each day? Indian Lunch Buffet! SO Flavorful and unique options each day! They actually have tandoori clay ovens on board and make their own real naan!!!! Time to visit the show lounge - gives you some idea of the detail and theming. Its LASER TAG TIME!! Carnival does Laser Tag on sea days for $5 up charge They set up an inflatable arena on the main stage and put on loud rock music. Its surprisingly fun! Bad shot from inside! It is exhausting running around a "bounce house" for 5 min though. Here is a shot of the main atrium area. Those lights on the right are LEDs that do trippy patterns. When I think of Grand Cayman - I think of Dunkin Donuts! ...and Hell! Hell is these cool limestone formations that are a tourist attraction. They also have Dolphins! Grand Cayman is a "tender" port where your ship doesn't dock. Carnival had one metal detector for the whole ship so we waited almost an hour on the tender..

Carnival is saying that those who were on the cruise are receiving a full refund, free transportation back home and a free cruise in the future. That is about what I would expect in this situation. Here is a bit more info from today... How would you react if you were in a situation like this.. would you think it was a cool story and go with the flow or would you freak out about being trapped on a ship with no electricity? Could you imagine if this happened mid-way through a trans-atlantic cruise when you are 3 days away from the nearest land? Spam being loaded to be delivered to the ship!

Oh Carnival... Here is the latest update. It does not look good for your cruise at all. Let us know what Carnival offers you for compensation!

^^ It would be amazing if you post some photos of the MSC ship in this thread! We don't see them very much over here and it would be interesting to see the differences. ^ The QM2 is an amazing ship! One of these days I should post some photos from when I sailed on her.

^ There are actually some pretty cheap cruises out of Fort Lauderdale for the end of December. It would be a 7 day but on a much newer ship. That being said, Enchantment of the Seas (which I am assuming you are talking about) is actually a really nice ship. I sailed on her a few years ago (pre stretching) and really enjoyed myself. Could you possibly go earlier in December? Dirt cheap deals then...

^^ There is nothing wrong with a Caribbean cruise at all. It just depends what you want on your vacation. Just out of curiosity - why did you look at sailing out of Baltimore? Flights down to Fort Lauderdale where the options are much more varied are probably about the same as flying to Baltimore. Also - you don't have to deal with a full day or two of being cold until you get to the Bahamas!

^ Post it in this thread! I will update the sub-title of the thread to reflect your TR when you put it up!

There is an article in the Orlando Sentinel today as well. Nothing new in the way of information, but it does have a pic of a coaster they say they want to build. www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-i-drive-thrill-park-otp-20101012,0,1945422.story WTF is this!?!?!?!?!?

The video really is totally awesome! I really wish we could have made it on this trip. Thanks Robb for continuing to add value to the ClubTPR membership!

Thanks for all the updates. It is really interesting to see all the changes and challenges this park is going through. Please keep them up!!!

I have to agree with Elissa on this as well. A baltic or med cruise really is the way to go. One of the big reasons (besides the ability to see all these amazing places in a short amount of time) is the money. With the current exchange rate you would have challenges even getting hotel rooms in each of the cities you visit for what you pay for your cruise fare. Factor in food, transportation and the safety of always returning to the ship and you have a great deal. The downside is you only get a little bit of time each place but there are some itineraries which concentrate in one area (greece or italy) if you have a particular passion. Please ask if you have any more questions! As far as booking I almost always price on all the major sites (travelocity, orbitz, etc) then the cruise lines then a few online travel agents. Rarely is one drastically cheaper than others and 90% of the time I will book directly with the cruise line.

I'm a little late to the party.... buuuuuuuut. I think what bothers me most about this whole situation is not only the ignorance...but people HUMORING the ignorance. It's the equivalent of the mom on American Idol who tells her daughter "you are a GREAT singer and they don't know what they are talking about" when her daughter obviously should never sing again. I have no problem giving people hope - but when the hope is misguided, wasteful and down right dangerous I feel that others need to get involved. It is horribly silly to think that they will be able to re-create this coaster anywhere even with the help of a major manufacturer (which I doubt will happen). It is sad and wasteful that they spent thousands upon thousands of dollars on this pipe-dream which could have been better spent... ANYWHERE (much less the argument it could have gone to charity or something else worthwhile). It is DANGEROUS because now they are probably going to have people without any construction experience trying to dismantle and cart away a huge structure. We need pick up trucks... WTF!?!?!?!?!?

Finally have some time to give this years event a review! Some background to give my review some perspective... I've attended almost every HHN since the first one and almost always go on the first weekend. I realize the event generally improves after the first weekend but it gives you a good idea of the original intent of the event. Overall I would place this year somewhere in the middle of previous years. I think I would have been a bit more impressed if it wasn't marketed as a huge anniversary year. I love the fact that they continue to be more innovative with the houses each year and try new and improved technologies and scares but the outside scare zones seemed to me to be the weakest they have been in MANY years. As others have said, the fog was SERIOUSLY out of control.... I have never seen them use this many fog machines. Even with the downsides to this years event - it really is still the best halloween event in the country. I'm going to continue to be more critical than I would with other events because I know what they have done in the past. My thoughts on the individual houses and scare zones are below - ordered from favorite to least. Spoilers Below... Houses - - Legendary Truth - Wyandot Estate: This is not only my favorite house of this year, but one of my favorites of all time. The use of never before seen effects and a fun storyline make it an absolute winner. Make sure you look to your feet at the beginning of the house and go multiple times to catch all the hidden things. - Horror Nights : The Hallow'd Past - This is the "best of" house. I am VERY glad they didn't just make it about the icons but had some really cool scenes from lesser known by favorite houses like "Ship of Screams". The warehouse scenes in the beginning and end are amazing and really makes you want to go through again and again. - Catacombs: Black Death Rising - This had some of the only real "scares" for me at this years event. I love the museum theming and the freaky masks just creeped me out. - Hades - I think I would have rated this higher if I didn't go through during a cast change. Seemed a bit cheesy at first but the medusas gave some awesome scares and the theming is top notch. - Zombiegeddon - This years "funny" house. I love the tie in with the scare zone outside and the fact they tried to make a storyline with the Zombie Awareness Program. Fun theming outside with zombie traps as you walk in the building. - The Orfanage - I had such high hopes for this house with the promise of Cindy's appearance and REAL FIRE! The house itself is OK with some very creepy moments and good scares but is a bit crippled by being in the hot and tight jaws queue. The fire effect is exceedingly lame.. no idea why it has been hyped so much. - Psychoscareapy - This one just made me mad. The other psychoscarapy houses in the past have been AWESOME. Dark, funny and creepy. This one was just.. meh. One cool jail scene effect and the rest was a little boring. - Havoc : Dogs of War - Wha? This was bad.. really bad. Basically just "soldiers" shooting and screaming. VERY loud with almost no scares.. almost everyone who was walking out was saying how lame it was. I hope they tweak it a bit because in its current state its a little embarrassing. Scare Zones - Zombie Gras - This one was just FUN. Really no scares but great theming, fun music, great costumes and great makeup. I love the fact that it ties into the house that it is right outside. HHN 20 Years of Fear - Well put together with lots of random characters that will jar memories. Heavy on the props to give lots of good scares but all characters were very open for photos. Fear Revealed - Not a real scare zone...but the big XX logo wit the old icons and fear himself. Really well done little area with backdrops for all of the icons. You can tell there was a lot of care put into this. Esqueleto Muerte - Once again..no real scares but fun costumes and a good idea to use "Day of the Dead". The Shrek area really is a horrible place for a scare zone. Saws N Steam - So much promise! Cool steampunk theming but TINY and cramped with WAY TOO MUCH FOG! The Coven - Um. A couple of 2X4's, random "witch like" characters and some fog does not make a good scare zone. I felt like this was a last minute "lets throw together one more scare zone with the extra $100 we have laying around. LAME. Bill and Ted - Pretty slow this year. I've heard they have already tweaked it a few times and I hope they will continue. Lack of good movies to make fun of hampered their style but even the dance number was rather boring.

Thanks for the TR! I really have a difficult time "getting" howl-o-scream. When USF down the road has completely new houses each year, using the same houses over and over again does not make me want to go back to your event. Once every 5 or 6 years makes it feel like a new event for me!

^^ Welcome to TPR! I'm not going on the 21st but here is some advice for this years event... -You are going on a Thursday so the lines shouldn't be THAT bad - but if you want to see everything you really do need to get an express pass. That way you will also have some time to do your favorites a second time waiting in line. - GET THERE EARLY! Plan to be there by 6pm at the gate and in line. They generally open the gates around 6:15 or 6:30. Head immediately to the "tent" houses that are back by Men In Black and Barney. Once you do those two (Havoc and Catacombs) head to the Jaws Queue and do Orfanage. If the lines haven't gotten long at this point do Zombiegeddon in the earthquake queue. - First Bill and Ted generally has the shortest lines of the night. If you have Havoc, Catacombs and Orfanage done by the first show - then see bill and ted. If you got there late do the last show of the night. Enjoy! If you have time we would love to see a trip report when you are done!

http://themeparkreview.com/upd_images/1285411862_4.jpg Welcome to the opening weekend of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando MEGA THREAD! TPR regulars will be bringing you coverage of the opening weekend of Halloween Horror Nights XX all weekend long! For those of you who don't know, Universal Orlando is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the premiere Halloween event in the world - Halloween Horror Nights. In my opinion - it really is the best of the best out there. Completely new houses and scare zones each year, new and creative characters, "icons" and awesome shows. This and many other reasons is why the TPR Staff continuously vote Halloween Horror Nights as the #1 Halloween event of the year on the Golden Ticket Ballot. It really is THAT great! This event stretches throughout late september and early october and is worth a trip to Orlando to experience. With the popularity comes the crowds - it is HIGHLY recommended that you get an express pass or the RIP tour to get through all the houses and scare zones in one night. On peak Saturday nights wait times will stretch over 2.5 hours for some houses! I will be posting some of my thoughts about the houses and scare zones later on in this thread - but now I want to share with you some of the fun (and scares!) that we had this evening... You will notice there are no photos in the houses - Universal has a very strict no photos or video of ANY type policy in the houses. Uh-Oh! A Storm is brewing over Universal Orlando... Could it be FEAR himself? It really is the nations premiere event. It's insane the amount of time and money put into this each year. Stacey does not want the gross blood cup! A little plain at the entrance this year.. just a screen playing the video. Stacey's new name is "Guest"! Part of the fun of arriving early is seeing the scare zones before the scare-actors get in them. NOTED! The media kick-off event took place in the Pantages Theater which is usually home to the Horror Make-Up Show. Jack is ALWAYS back! Here is FEAR himself! Nice and Creepy! The little minions around him look very cool after dark. The director is my favorite icon - in the Fear Revealed scare zone you can meet them all. The storyteller was a bit upset that I liked the director more! Each icon has their own little "setting" where they hang out. Here is the Storytellers. Universal does a great job with the directional signage for HHN - very tough to get lost! This is what Rip Ride RockIT would look like if it was in an apocalyptic waste land! Brian Brushwood (host of Scam School) is doing two different magic shows each night.. collect them all! The event hasn't started and the lines are already getting long for Zombiegeddon! Saws and Steam is the attempt at a Steampunk themed scare zone... great details. No! Don't stick your head in there! Something is missing... hmmmmm.. A look down the Saws and Steam scare zone before the scareactors arrive. This years theme was smoke.. everywhere. The Esqueleto Muerte scare zone was already hopping! Not very heavy on scares - but pretty fun! One nice thing about HHN is the scare zone scareactors will always pose for photos with you. Chainsaw drill team was extra fun this year with a military theme and some new moves. It's starting to get dark and creepy! The large XX looks really cool with the fire f/x. This year they are trying a VIP lounge. For 9.99 you get private access to a cash bar and lots of cool displays to look at. The museum is REALLY impressive and worth the $9.99 There are items from almost every year. Some never seen before as well. From my favorite year... the director. The really cool totems that FEAR has on his belt. They represent each icon. The details and concept art are amazing. They will have special speakers and presentations in the lounge on certain nights. I'm a hungry raptor - give me some candy apples! The wolfman is a bit angry with Stacey! Love this guy from the 13th year. The icon looks even cooler at night! No trip to HHN is complete without a visit to the blood bag shot girls! 45 Minute wait? That is why we STRONGLY RECOMMEND you get an express pass or RIP tour! NOTED! They were even more strict than usual this year at Bill and Ted's! The entrance of Zombiegeddon had really cool details like this Zombie trap! Stacey got to meet a musical zombie in ZombieGras! I will end this photo TR with a pic of a shark... 'nuff said.

Don't forget - Universal Orlando will be doing a live feed of the Opening from 6-6:30 eastern time and a house from 930-1100 eastern time. Here is the link - www.HalloweenHorrorNights.com/orlando/news_index.html Click on the WATCH LIVE FEED button on the upper right when it is time. Also - check back all throughout the weekend for TPR's OFFICIAL opening weekend coverage of the event! We will have multiple photo trip reports with lots of cool info!