HAUNT MANIAC

Thank you, Morgan, now I know that I indeed did see the Avatar construction. SharkTums, there is nothing wrong with my grammar and too my knowledge, I have never made a spelling mistake on this forum as I proof-read all my posts before actually posting them and then I proof-read it again. If you had a problem with my ellipses, then you would not like my punctuation, not grammar or spelling. Ellipses, today, are being used to make posts seem longer, for example - I saw my girlfriends today dot dot dot, or they can be used to skip over an offensive word, for example - what the .... are you doing? Niether of which is what I use it for. I use it as if you were actually talking to me as I don't really like talking through text, so for example, If I'm writing when I'm tired, it would look something like this - I'm . . . feeling . . . tired . . . now . . . zzzzz. I didn't leave out grammar or make a spelling mistake, you see? It's just like a pause in my speech, and has nothing to do with punctuation, grammar or spelling, and even if someone is having trouble with punctuation, grammar or spelling, as a site administrator, you shouldn't be descriminating against someone who didn't do well in english class, just saying, I was at the top of my english class and won many spelling bees . . . remember, as a site administrator, you should have a sense a humor or in Canada, we have a sense if humour. HA! I just made a funny . . .

Thanks everyone, perhaps they will bring back a revamped parade after the Avatar expansion, I inquired a cast member about the cranes in the area of Animal Kingdon and the cast member told me they were at Epcot . . . could that be right? Are Animal Kingdom and Epcot that close together or did I see Avatar construction and the cast member couldn't tell me about the Avatar construction . . . tomorrow, I will Youtube the Disneyland Lion King parade and see if I can recognize the Animal Kingdom Lion King show floats . . . going back to sleep now . . . thanks again . . . here's a Disney trivia question, has anyone ever seen a Disney cast member clean out a garbage bin at the Magic Kingdom? yes or no . . . if you answered no, do you know why . . . zzzzz . . .

The hub construction really has no impact on fireworks/projection show, however we found it best to be on the castle side of the bridge that way you are not trying to look over the construction walls . . . twice my family saw the fireworks from behind the castle . . . it is a different show if you have never seen it from back there . . . they actually shoot off fireworks from two different locations . . . you can't tell that from in front of the castle, it just looks like one location all together . . . quite a different perspective from back there . . . are you only going for one day A.J.? If so, have a magical day! . . . we'll talk when you get back to PA . . .

This might have been discussed already, but, when my family and I were recently at the Animal Kingdom, we thought we missed the Jammin' in the Jungle Parade but, as we now know, it was cancelled in June . . . my question is this, does anyone know why? Also, it has been stated that parade floats are now in that AMAZING Lion King show . . . what parade are these from? Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom? Thanks . . .

A.J., try to get a reservation at Crystal Palace, you will not be disappointed! Look for Jack(server) and Tehren(I think she is a manager) and tell them the 50th anniversary family who put pins on their cake recommended you go.

Yes, Orlandoguy, my family had a FANTASTIC trip to Orlando, Disney and Universal . . . the Unlimited Park-to-park Fast Pass is absolutely necessary to see both parks in one day. We really had to keep moving and only had time for Rip Ride and Hulk for repeat rides but those rides alone make the unlimited fast pass worth it. I'm sure Florida residents don't buy a fast pass every time as we don't buy a fast pass for Canada's Wonderland, however, when you renew for a 2015 Canada's Wonderland season pass, they are including one Fast Pass to try this year . . . my family were spoiled using fast pass at Disney and Universal and now we are excited to be treated with a free fast pass at our own park! Does Universal offer a free Fast Pass to Florida resident Season Pass holders?

I'd just like to add this . . . I just came back from a FANTASTIC trip to Orlando and although we got one-day unlimited fastpass park-to-park passes, we just didn't have time to ride either of the Harry Potter rides, but we did have some butterbeer . . . did you know there are only two places you can buy butterbeer in North America? . . . Orlando at Universal and in Toronto, Ontario, Canada . . . my home town! I had some this past weekend! Guardian should never be compared with anything Universal has or will ever have . . . Guardian has many issues that Universal would have resolved a long time ago . . . including broken laser guns, dirty 3d glasses and blurry screens . . . Transformers is an INCREDIBLE ride! Crystal clear screens, full motion ride vehicles, what Guardian could have been . . . do you people think Transformers or the new Potter ride is better . . . I'm not a Potter fan, but I think Transformers is just INCREDIBLE! . . .

Hey AJ, I just got back from a FANTASTIC trip to Orlando. If you need any help/information about my experiences with the new fastpass or any details about my trip, then be sure to let me know before you go . . . oh, and be sure to buy some Micaroni pasta! It's the best mac and cheese you'll ever taste! Also, try to get in the Crystal Palace for dinner, it's at the end of Main Street on the left side, you'll need a reservation. It's a fantastic buffet for only about $40/person.

Well, sfstlmo. We saved Fantasyland for our last day at the Magic Kingdom because we thought we would need a lot of time to see the 'new' Fantasyland . . . the first thing we noticed was the size of Beast Castle . . . before we saw it, we didn't know it was just a model with a restaurant underneath it. Then around noon it poured rain . . . after it stopped raining we joined the line for SDMT. After abour 15 minutes of not seeing any trains going around, we asked a cast member when it would be opened again and we were told the thunderstorm had to be 10 miles away. We then went on all the 'classic Fantasyland rides, pan, small world, pooh, then came back to SDMT at night . . . this was the longest line we had to wait in for our entire trip, about 40 minutes which wasn't bad as the sign said 65 minutes . . . even at night time, the waiting line area was very hot . . . once we got on . . . the theming is incredible, but a little on the short side, the animation is amazing! It is a great addition to Fantasyland, we stopped for about 3 minutes in front of Snow White's house and it gave us a great view of the party going on inside . . . I don't think it is at the top of my family's list but overall, it was a great ride, we liked playing with the gems when we were in line . . . we also thought the animation on the new Little Mermaid ride was fantastic! New Fantasyland is twice as big as old Fantasyland, but that is because of the new restaurants, with only 2 new rides, it doesn't seem like it is twice as big, however, we really did enjoy New Fantasyland and spent the most amount of our time in that area . . . anything else you want my opinion on, just let me know, thanks sfstlmo . . .

Hi everyone, I just got back from a FANTASTIC trip to Orlando. The Florida hospitality that was given to myself and my family was amazing . . . if you live in the Orlando area, you should be very proud . . . I was going to post a traditional trip report, but I believe I might crash this site if I posted every amazing detail, so I thought it would be cool, if anyone wanted a Canadian perspective on my Disney experience to ask me on this forum, kind of like an interview . . . you could ask me about Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Pin Trading and what pins I got, what and where I ate, our experience with the Fast Pass program, anything like that . . . I will keep watching this post to see if any of you are interested . . .

I have just awoken from a week long sleep, back from my FANTASTIC trip to Orlando. Anyone who lives in the Orlando area should be very proud of the hospitality that was shown to me and my family. Thank you very much Orlando! Now, I thought about posting a traditional trip report, but I truly think that I might crash this site as I could write for days about every amazing detail, so, I thought it would be cool if some of you were interested in a Canadian perseptive on my Universal and Disney experiences, you could ask me, like as if you were interviewing me. You could ask me about Transformers, food that I ate, Universal unlimited fast pass vs Disney fast pass, that sort of thing . . . I will watch this site if any of you are interested . . .

The report for my FANTASTIC trip to Orlando is coming soon . . . as soon as I get a couple more days of sleep recovery . . . but I can tell you, my family went to the Magic Kingdom 3 days, Animal Kingdom 1 day, Downtown Disney, CityWalk and BOTH Universal Parks in 1 day with unlimited fastpasses, well worth the bit of extra money for sure, but for now . . . need . . . more . . . sleep . . . zzzzz . . .

I'm back . . . zzzzz . . .

This is a discussion I've gotten into up here in Canada, and I will not give an opinion specifically about Gringotts, as I still have to wait a few days until I get there . . . I'm just saying, in my opinion, and my experience here in Canada with a very similar physical 'high-tech' ride . . . that there are always going to be technical issues with these rides. Gringotts has been open for less than a week and everyone thinks the technical problems will just one day suddenly dissapear . . . Guardian has had nothing but technical issues since it has opened . . . this is just my opinion and I know the concept is amazing, but technically speaking, these rides will be very difficult to maintain . . . at least Gringotts doesn't have video issues or laser guns not working . . .

That's what I'm thinking OrlandoGuy. The crowds must die down sometime around dinner time, it just makes sense, put off dinner a bit, go on Gringotts and eat dinner after, makes sense to me, rather than standing in that amazing but very hot Florida sunshine, I think I'll save that for Daytona Beach . . . also, I think they should rethink about these new 'high-tech', well, I call them simulators. Guardian at Canada's Wonderland is very similar, although not nearly as well themed, but Guardian has about half that capacity right now, including 'break-downs'. If they built a high-capacity, highly-themed coaster in Diagon Alley, I think people would be just as happy and alot more people would be able to ride it without waiting a ridiculous amount of time in line . . . just my opinion . . . thanks David, I know we're gonna have a blast!

I know this is a bit of a gamble but, even if we wait until about 4 hours before it closes, say around 6pm, I just don't think it would still be a 3 hour wait at that time of day . . . what do you think . . .?

Has anyone tried to go on Gringotts near closing time, say, about an hour before park closing time? I've heard that Universal gets really quite near closing time as people head out to CityWalk at night . . . any thoughts? What time do they cut off the line at night? I just don't think there would be a 3 hour line up at 9pm, I just don't think so.

Thank you all so very much! My family and I went to IOA in 2012 and were blown away! The theming is uncomparable anywhere else on this planet! The level of detail is incredible. I have not heard anything negative about the quality of the video screens on Gringotts, so I'm guessing it is pretty good. The new ride, Guardian at Canada's Wonderland is 4D and is having some technical issues with the quality of the video screens becoming quite blurry due to not sync-ing (is that right?) the speed of the cars with the motion on the screens, however, that doesn't seem to be an issue on Gringotts. Only a few days until my family gets to go on this incredible ride, I'm just hoping for a really slow day and hopefully a less than 2 hour wait perhaps in single rider line . . . how has the length of the line been, say near closing time at night? In 2012, we went on Jurassic Park river ride twice in about 10 minutes, about a half an hour before park closing . . . we'll have to come back in a couple of years after the Jurassic Park expansion, I think we already know that is probably going to be incredible as well!

Please, can anyone tell me the height of the drop(s) on the new Gringotts ride as my 11 year old nephew will not go on it if he doesn't know how high the drops are, and are the drops straight down or on a slope? We are going next week, please help us, thank you . . .

Thank you very much, necoastergp. You have been very helpful and thank goodness the wait times have gone down from 7.5 hours, we wouldn't have waited that long but 1.5 - 2 hours for single rider line is much more reasonable. I will post my reviews when I return in a couple of weeks. If you ever need any information about Canada's Wonderland near Toronto, then please, be sure to let me know, I'd be happy to give you the help you just gave me and my family. Thank you again, talk to you soon . . . off to Springfield, Jurassic Park and Hogwarts we go! . . . oh, and how big are the drops on Gringotts in terms of number of feet, as my nephew is 11 and doesn't like big drops.

Thank you, necoastergp. but I have educated myself with the Universal express pass system in that you can just walk on rides without wait times. I have bought 1-day park-to-park unlimited express passes for my family . . . my questions are these, (1)How much are the express passes going to help me in saving waiting time, and (2)Are theses passes going to cut wait time at all for Diagon Alley, Gringotts, and Hogwarts Express? What do you think? Also, can you go both directions on Hogwarts Express with Unlimited Express Passes, or just one way? Sorry, more than a couple of questions, but if anyone could answer my questions, that would really help me plan my trip to these amazing parks next week. Thanks! I'll even post a Canadian review of the park and new Harry Potter area and let you all know what my family thinks of it! Our trip was planned months ago, it just happens to be a week after Diagon Alley opened, ha! Perhaps the rest of the park will be really empty. We're looking forward to going to Springfield and having a Flaming Moe. We are 5-pin bowlers here in Canada and we think there should be a bowling alley in Universal's Springfield area, what do you think?

I don't get this . . . so, there is a line just to get into the area and then another line for Gringotts? So, you can fast pass into Diagon Alley and then you still have to line-up again for Gringotts? Please, correct me if I'm not understanding this. That would be like lining up for Fantasyland and then joining another line for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, am I correct? I find waiting for any ride more than 2 hours crazy, 7.5 hours just would not happen . . . and these very technical rides are always going to have problems. We just got a new 4D interactive ride at Canada's Wonderland and they have had nothing but problems with the guns, with the screens, with the glasses . . . I think parks really have to rethink the reliability of these things, they will always have problems because they are just too technical.

Hmmmmm . . . so the fastest way to get on is the single rider line-up? How long is that averaging? Hey, how long is the Canadian line-up . . . ha! Wait! I saw someone with a Gringotts fast pass for between 4 and 5pm, someone posted a picture of the return ticket. It's on page 1048.

I'll be going to Universal next week, does anyone know if you can use a fastpass on the new Gringotts ride?

Cal, Sledgehammer has always been a favourite of a lot of people but the reliability of it is not very good. The amount of stress on those arms is incredible! Try quickly moving your arms up and down outward like Sledgehammer. See how many times before your arms get tired. Same idea, same amount of stress. We need more cute girls like you up here in Canada. Have you ever been to Canada's Wonderland?