Jay20016

Not a bad start, but maybe I'm just being nit picky, but for taking place in Colorado it seems awfully flat. I'm not expecting the park to be built in the middle of the Rockies but some elevation differences can really set things apart. Far too often it seems like people create flat custom parks where adding some hills and elevation changes throughout can really help add that sense of realism.

I'm pretty sure it's still open since it's a single car train.. and as far as i've read/understood it's the connection between the 2 cars that might be a problem.. Yeah, it looks like the coupler between the two cars making up the train. Mybrother is coming out to Orlando next week and he's not been to Universal since before the Mummy was installed and I was really hoping he could've tried this.

And yet, Blizzard is an even larger circle... with paths (even a chairlift) that can link the different stairs/slides. If you want confusion in a water park, head over to Aquatica

I really think that is the biggest thing that governs why people like Typhoon over Blizzard. They came to Florida for palm trees, beaches, and a tropical vibe... to escape the snow/mountains of the north. Apart from a larger/surf wave pool and the snorkeling area, Blizzard IMO trumps TL in every other way. Better kids areas (two for a good range of ages and abilities vs one for the smaller kids at TL) a longer lazy river, more slides for the whole family, a family slide that is like 2 minutes long, and more thrilling slides that are taller than most roller coasters in Orlando. As for the TR... I don't appreciate the hate on Keelhaul falls... Mayday is bumpy and bangs the crap outta ya. Keel is pretty fun when you intentionally throw your weight around before the big corkscrew. You can get spinning very fast if you're not careful doing so.

Having been in aquatics for years now, I just find it as a bit funny people need to clear a pool to make sure it is truly clear... If you aren't proactively scanning, finding a person at the 40 min mark is... not really going to help them... Do they not trust their guards? The wonderful AFR is always a joy to have, telling people we're just doing some spot cleaning and/or selective water quality checks is fun... Oh, they trust their guards. They are Ellis guards, and won the Ellis International Lifeguard Competition. No question there of how prepared they are. I still don't get the reason for a clear though... Apart from bathing load limits (which means you need a bigger pool or longer/more lines to soak up guests) what purpose does it serve? It sounds like an unnecessary action taken by the park that would only lead to headaches... I know a lot of constant wave pools will turn off their waves for say... 10 minutes an hour or so, just to keep the machinery from over heating and what not, but... fully clearing a pool every hour just seems like a crazy step to take for something that should've been caught before... I've cleared pools and it isn't fun, most people don't want to leave, you actually lose your 10/20 more trying to yell at people, than if they'd simply remained in the water IMO...

Having been in aquatics for years now, I just find it as a bit funny people need to clear a pool to make sure it is truly clear... If you aren't proactively scanning, finding a person at the 40 min mark is... not really going to help them... Do they not trust their guards? The wonderful AFR is always a joy to have, telling people we're just doing some spot cleaning and/or selective water quality checks is fun...

It sucks two fold... One, because Disneyland's Fantasmic lost one of its best portions. Two, with all of the troubles it has had in its short life, sort of makes it easier to say that Florida's version is not in need of a similar upgrade.

THere is a difference between a thrill park, and a theme park. Disney is always a theme park first with thrill rides. While places like Cedar Point, Six Flags, etc. are thrill parks with a smattering of theme... My 'beef' with WWoHP is that it really isn't what it was/still being advertised as. It isn't a new theme park, or even a park within a park.... and the words only help exaggerate how small it really is. Forbidden Journey is cool, Dragons will always be a great coaster. There are missteps throughout the entire area from not just theme stand points but crowd control and comfort. It is overly narrow, there is very little to no shade, and filled with mostly useless building facades. These problems are only exasperated by the crowds. The ride is great, but I just feel like the ball was dropped every where else, and that is my opinion, like it or not... As far as cutting edge goes, who knows what the Little Mermaid ride will be like... and if you do not consider that to be an E-Ticket, then you might want to reclassify what one really is.

Look, I like the Harry Potter ride as much as the next guy, but the glaring and gaping holes as to how Universal still doesn't get what makes a "theme park" are evident throughout the land. That they went for a lot of show and flash, but very little substance. Give HP a few years to cool down and you'll be able to do everything in it in an hour on a busy day. It is new and people are checking it out, but what real replay value is there? The Potter ride is good, Dueling Dragons will have an audience, but.... the shops? A glorified dollar store that is 1000% more costly? Average candy shop. Average merch store. The wand store will be the only thing that people will probably have to check out, and that is only if they do go about adding new effects. As for now, you're left with small streets, cramped shops, a "show" store with a longer wait than any of the rides combined... I'm wholly underwhelmed by the experience to be honest. What it seems you don't understand is that the Fantasy Land expansion is far larger than you're giving it credit... You're completely neglecting to mention any of the character spots. I see you're pretty young and if you've not experienced Disney as an adult, through the eyes of a kid, then you're missing out on one of the best things about it. Sure, you know that a dude is in a suit dancing for your entertainment, but that 4 year old doesn't. That is where the magic comes back, kids help you retain an innocence lost. I'm not but a couple years older than you, but my 4 year old niece is huge into Auroa, Belle and Ariel. She sees a glimpse of them at the park and her face lights up. A good deal of what this expansion is adding is a small group atmosphere with the characters in their various sections. I'm going off of memory but I think it was something about a surprise birthday party for Auroa where the kids make cards/gifts to give. You're telling me that little kids will not eat this shit up? I cannot imagine just how ecstatic she will be to not only just take pictures and say hello to these characters, but actually interact and socialize with... I know this is if everything they've promised comes to fruition, and it hasn't been completed yet.... so time will tell.

I blame the internet. Now every Dick or Jane with a computer can find out the best information for parks with a simple google search. But it does seem like there really is getting to be a constant level of tourists, with increases around the big holidays.

And people come back year after year. I would like to see the $15 parking fees lowered however...

It is different experiences though. If ultimate goal is to just get wet on a 100 degree day, why not just jump into a fountain? No line, same result, just might have the security guards follow you for a bit... Maybe I'm just a water park guy, but on a 5 day vacation full of hustle and bustle, a lazy river or lounge chair by the pool doesn't sound like a nice, relaxing part of your vacation?

That was my biggest gripe for a ride that was very cool. The closeness of the bench to the screen makes for a very blurry picture, especially with the rapid motion of the characters on the screen. Even without having an E-Stop, you can catch glimpses of the carousel of screens as you start to exit them if you look in the opposite direction of motion.

I think there isn't one... Of any animal in captivity, I do not think the ones at Sea World are the ones to be concerned for... Furthermore, most of their animals are breed at the facility. Any given time there are at least 4 or 5 calves in their Dolphin Nursery. Sure, at one point, a wild animal was caught and put into a tank, but... at this point, with how long these creatures have been away from the wild and everything learned there, wouldn't releasing them be the most inhumane thing to do? Sea World does a lot of rehabilitation. As a resident of FL I'm shocked that you would not know this. Many of a manatee off the Space Coast found a way to their facilities up and down the coast. Same for turtles...

The thing about Potterland for me is that apart from Flying Uni...er....hip....ogryph what really is there for the young kids? Forbidden Journey is a 48" height requirement so you're knocking out a lot of kids in the 5-8 demographic... hell even some small 9 and 10 year old. It is a great ride, but its existence is not an immediate counter-point. The idea of Harry Potter's world is a step in the right direction, if only it were expanded upon further...

Couldn't you argue that Potter was put on the long rumored "jeep" ride for Jurassic Park land? Early concepts had it there. As well as a Helicopter simulator(?) of sorts... Even then, most of the stuff they added amounts to strangely small and pointless shops with lavish fronts and facades.... but little else in the land. I mean, honestly.... the "joke" shop with its $10+ price tag for Dollar store items? On the topic of Fast Pass vs. Express Queue, I'm of the same mindset. I think that clever use of FPs can really make a day at the Disney parks. Paying a sliding scale in the case of Universal to jump ahead of everyone is just a huge money grab IMO. I get that a lot of the ones that do use it are those whom are staying on property, and you know, giving something extra like that isn't a bad thing. But averaging $50-60 per person, if not more if you wish to go park to park.... a bit ridiculous.

Uh, Wet 'N' Wild. oops.. i forgot universal owned wet n wild. Technically Blackstone owns it. And, if we want to talk about how IOA has fallen far... who's been to Wet n Wild lately? That park, while having some good slides (Disco H20 is by far my favorite slide, and Bombay is good as well), is just an example of how much park aesthetic factor in to the whole experience. It is run down, dirty, and just very untidy the times I've been lately.

It isn't an impression, it is a reality. I like the Universal parks, don't get me wrong, but there is a reason people continually spend thousands upon thousands of dollars at Disney. It isn't some right of passage, but an idea and expectation of what their hard earned money will net them. Sometimes people have outrageous ideas of what that is, but on the whole, Disney seems to be able to deliver most of the time. That is what people look at and think. Another side note, from the families that I talk to at our park, it seems that most of the Americans stay at/near Disney and do their 5 day vacations at Disney. While, the Europeans (mainly Brits) who spend 2 weeks here in Orlando/Florida/States seem to be the ones that include days at the other local parks. It is for this reason that I doubt there will ever be another full-blown park built by Disney here in Orlando. As far as IOA goes I remember when it opened it was phenomenal. A year or two later, the subsequent visits still had a lot of "Wet Paint" signs all around and the upkeep was top notch, but then... it just went to hell.

I think the biggest thing that hinders Universal is that if people come to Orlando, they will always be second fiddle to Disney. What Disney has been doing with "sales" on extra nights, free Dining Plan, as well as tons of Disney Dollars, it makes an all inclusive vacation at their resort a steal for the family, while Universal then just becomes extra money on top of what they've already spent. When you look at the difference in a 3-day to a 5-day Disney ticket, most people will just simply add that extra bit of money and stay at the Disney side of town. Do the 3-day ticket, add in another 1 or 2 day ticket for Universal/IOA and/or SeaWorld and it becomes quite expensive. Also, saying that Universal/IOA has become the Six Flags of Orlando, is giving Six Flags far, far, far, far too much credit. A bad day at Universal/IOA is still better than the best days I've had at Six Flags.

I really, really, like the look of this Black Mamba... Terrain hugging + loads of theme elements scatter all around + B&M? Why, yes please. Edit: Wow. Looked into the cost of this thing and the coaster price was the same as how much their theme budget was...

The ~2 year old that wouldn't sit tight and stop crying behind me at Indiana Jones two weeks ago would like to disagree with your friend.

I think the major difference between trying to group something like "Tomorrow Land" or "Adventure Land" with something like "Wizarding World of Harry Potter" is that one area (Disney in this case) has many different forms of IP to handle at one time. With these varying degrees of difference, a commonality exists that runs throughout their land. Using Adventure Land for an example at Magic Kingdom: you run the gamut of Middle Eastern bazaar to Caribbean sea town, shipwrecked families to a boat through the jungle. It isn't a single character or story that moves throughout the land, just the similarities that bring them together. The trick in the design process is finding the transition pieces to help the guest move through them... While with WWoHP, you've got an entire land based solely on one property. That gives a lot of room for growth and focus, but also makes it hard in that the underlying story is what acts as the tent pole to prop up this world, if it isn't rich enough or tapped in the right manner, it can come crashing down.

Get there early and do everything before the crowds get there. A lot of their slides get ridiculously long lines due to their nature of single tube/person/etc. at a time per slide (like the one pictured) and just poor management on Sea World's part. Why is it that if the line is too long for the slide pictured, do I have to do endless circles of the lazy river surrounding them in hopes that I *might* be able to get on the island to then stand for 30 minutes in line? Roa's Rapids their fast "lazy river" is probably their best attraction to be honest. I think of the half day we did there, it was probably more than 50% of the time spent in/on rides. The all you can eat food is also pretty good for the money. When we went we used it more for the drinks (and brownies ) all day than just food. It is a bit small as was said before and the rides themselves aren't all that tall or thrilling (for the most part) haven't been there to try out their newest one yet, but considering how effing hot it is down here presently, it will be a good way to waste a day.

I couldn't find anything of the vehicles themselves, just the exterior of the building... It sounds almost like a centrifuge (ala Mission Space) that rather than tilting in directions to create the forces moves up and down rather quickly... Though, I don't know for sure... Still sad to see things like this happen. Though, silver-linings do exist in that tragedies do bring about calls for better safety expectations...

So the reason that he feels that it's not worth visiting is that Universal didn't hire 100 Streetmosphere characters? I'm not trying to be a downer or anything, but I too was a bit underwhelmed by it all this past weekend. The new ride is great, a good addition to the park, don't get me wrong, but the pomp and circumstance of the opening just seem to be for almost nothing. 3 (relatively small) shops, a restaurant, 2 re badged rides, and a new one in a very nicely detailed castle. The construction is top notch. Everything looks great. I'm not even a mild-Potter fan, but I recognized things from the movies I've watched with my little cousins... It just seems like there are missed opportunity abound. I do agree with the writer in that it feels like there is a bit of magic missing from it. I know it is easier said than done, especially considering that I'm perusing a career in constructing these worlds, but... why are there not more effects littered throughout the world? Store fronts are one thing... but take Kim Possible's thing over at Epcot? The sporadic "show" pieces throughout the world for those on the missions. While they're not much at Epcot, why couldn't something similar be crafted for the village? Why couldn't you have wands issued to help fight back evil so often? Something that pulls you into the world in a way not so much as simply walking through it... How cool would it be to have a one of those wraiths attack the village? I don't think 100s of extras roaming the streets is needed.... more than just the tournament shows or even chorus... people simply living their lives out in a magical world. I mean, half of the fun of the movies is seeing this place that is oddly familiar but sort of turned on its ears. The idea of the magical seeing/investigating the non-magical. Roving comedians in a sense that look almost reciprocally back at tourists in a state of wonderment. Stuff that simply helps one experience the feeling of the world, rather than just simply waling through it. They've no doubt earned the money they spent on this place... so here is to hoping that they are able to keep it fresh and exciting for the years and decades to come, even when Potter is not at the fore front of pop culture.