freestylenut

Wow...U can almost hear the crowd laughing & carrying on at the LAMENESS of the waterless tunnel. w/o the vortex, the attraction loses MASSIVE points IMO. If this is a permanent decision, you can bet that the attraction's days are numbered.

I'm dissapointed to hear about the Water Vortex being removed...I'm heading up there this Saturday along with my sisters and their husbands...I'm thinking about skipping this attraction all together & STILL filing the complaint anyway....who do we go to to complain about something like that? Guest Relations?

Hope U don't get flamed for asking such a basic question (I won't be the one to do it). I'm an AP for the Orlando Universal parks...and I can tell you its a "day" event that is part of your theme park admission. Usually the park would be designed very "Christmassy" and add the How the Grinch Stole Christmas show. My kids LOVE it...but there's really not much else. Definitely go to their site.

That's great your living in Orlando and enjoying every bit of it. I'm a constant visitor to Orlando...but not to diss your new home, but I'm close enough to Orlando NOT to have to live there...and that's the truth. The traffic most of the year is HORRIBLE! A girl I used to work with in Tampa was a BIG TIME Disney head (as in collects everything Disney, toys, theme park memorabilia, etc) & she wanted to move to Orlando to be "near the parks"...she was kind of dense...I honestly think that she thought living in Orlando would be 24/7 theme park hoping...I couldn't help but laugh at that. Ya still gotta work (I would hope), ya still gotta DRIVE there, ya still gotta buy groceries, etc....and the parks CAN get old (kinda like how Busch Gardens Africa has become for me somewhat after working there for 4+ years).

Without pointing out the "racial" group..its obvious WHO gets bothered by line cutters...even if its a child with his mommy joining dad a step in front of you!

I've commented on similar threads before and even though I'm all for kicking out a jerk who thinks he/she shouldn't wait & just makes his/her way to the front of the line for NO good reason other then "I don't feel like waitin'", but the thought of getting out of the line for a sec to grab a drink while the rest of the party stays in line or a little kid in your party HAS to go the bathroom (I have two, so I know from experience) doesn't bother me much...especially if its just one or two people. I think you guys are grabbing at straws & being a little too picky with that one. the last thread, I got rung out...with the same ol "you should ALL go to the bathroom/get your drink THEN get on line" etc. DO ANY OF YOU HAVE CHILDREN? I'll drill it into their heads if U gotta go, we go NOW...and have forced them to use the bathroom even if a drop comes out....and they'll STILL bust out with "I gotta poop" out of the blue.... Some of you guys are just ruthless....I don't see anything wrong with one parent & child joining their party that's already on the line...but I AM against a party of 10 joining ANOTHER party of 10 because they were all grabbing some beers with their buddies (which you see at HHN alot)! Now THAT'S just wrong. I have yet to have anyone complain when I join my wife & daughter in line after taking my son to the bathroom...and so HELP me if someone does...love to meet some of you "tough guys" on the line that day. And fact is...I WON'T get kicked out. I got TOO nice a face & too GOOD a disposition for it...so would LOVE to see U try. Shoot, just this past Veteran's Day, a mother came back with her son from the bathroom on line for that Cloud Bouncer at Land of the Dragons whilst his siblings were still on line...the party was just in front of me...didn't bother me one bit. I don't see why it would bother YOu either. Let the flaming begin.

Dang, now I wanna KICK myself for missing out on the last $5 day (which was just this past Sunday, November 9th). I went late last year when they did that "if U have an annual pass to any other park in Florida, its free" promo...and for what its worth, we had a blast. Its one of the few places my 3 year old daughter (at the time) can ride rollercoasters that are a little less "baby" (I think the height requirement for almost all coasters was 36"). Doing re-rides all day to the point of getting nauseous was a great experience for us! The food near the ride area left a lot to be desired (their popcorn was part of what made me a bit nauceous), but riding those rides without having to do a lot of "baby swapping" was great. Would love to hit it this last weekend....

Fantastic pics! Felt like I was right there with you. This will be the first HHN I miss in roughly 13 years (I know..heckuva streak to break). Hey, times are tough & compared to last year's house theming (Jason, Freddy, Leatherface, Mary Shaw, etc), I couldn't justify the price tag this year for old houses being brought back (Scary tales, Skoolhouse, etc). I also feel Bill & Ted has turned more "Epic Movie/Date Movie" & has lost a lot of quality over the years & RHPS I did last year 9which was great). Still, kudos to that Wizard of Oz scarezone..the costumes are WICKED cool like only Universal can do it! Thanks for posting the pics.

I stayed at the Bonnet Creek resort on WDW property (next to Epcot) & had plans to hit some theme parks on Saturday & Sunday...instead got lots & lots of RAIN courtesy of Hurricane Gustav, and since I still have small kids, opted NOT to go anywhere til things cleared up...BIG oops! Kinda defeats the purpose of even staying on site doesn't it? Has anyone ever done this before? If I'm the first, I welcome all kinds of "flaming".

Totally agree with you. Having "express" access to the SHOWS?!? I mean, c'mon. I could get there right when the show starts in Spring AND Summer (with the only exception being the Believe show, which ALWAYS gets full) & still manage to get a decent seat. Still, express access to Wild Arctic, Kraken & Atlantis...VERY nice!

I wasn't "excited" to ride it, but mine would have to be Alien Encounters in WDW. Me & the wife (who were dating at the time), came out of there CRACKING UP...mainly because we both had our mouths open with that tube thingy sprayed at us during the climax (and the recorded voice says "I had my mouth open")... ...the second time several months later...well, let's just say it was kinda corny...the "spark" was definitely gone.

Ugh! HHN here in Florida is no stranger to that either...you get through what LOOKS like a short line, only to find one 5 times bigger in a "hidden" location. Very frustrating & my reason for getting an Express pass the last 5 or so years. I didn't read every single thread, but has anyone mentioned the Pteranadon Flyers at IOA? Friggin' ride is probably the cruddiest of all rides at IOA, but even on a rainy, stormy fall day, ALWAYS has a wait of 45 minutes+ MINIMUM!

Not necessarily in a "Theme Park", but Madam Tussaud's Wax Museum in Las Vegas has a "house of horrors" & is a mini-haunted house/maze! Great little scare. Wish Florida would have an "in theme park" permanent haunt! Closest I can think of is the Horror Make-Up Show at USF.

Great TR. I have NEVER seen City Walk so empty with the sun out before. And you guys all alone on JP River Adventure! Super sweet!!!!! Hulk with NO ONE on it?!?! Super Duper Sweet!!!

There's a Busch Gardens in ORLANDO?!?! I'll be danged! just busting your chops! As for this news...I was at Sea World Saturday & was already aware of the possibility of the sale. When August Busch IV came on the screen during 'Believe' and claimed all his "pride for America,/Pride for the troops, etc" I prompty wanted to slap his face...for selling out! At least he'll have a nice retirement package! Oh joy! As for the parks. It doesn't look positive right now. Someone on here mentioned sellign off the parks peace by peace to 3rd parties...I certainly hope not...at least not seperate the ones in Florida...that would Major League SUCK for annual passholders!

I don't care what anyone else thinks, but getting paid to SCARE is thee coolest thing since sliced bread. Sadly, I won't be doing my home park (Howl-O-Scream at BGA) this year.

My local news (Tampa) covered this...me & the wife weren't surprised. I have fond memories of when they first opened & how "Aww" and "magnificent" the club environment at PI felt.... ...going there again about 2 years ago, things did feel stale. We got the $20 "all access" pass & I felt it was a waste of money...with the exception of Mannequins (which played a lot of techno and high energy dance), all the clubs seemed to just play stuff you can hear on the radio...8 Trax was playing disco & early 80s, so was that other club at the end (I forget the name), I was hoping BET would change it up, but as soon as I heard Justin Timberlake, I kinda lost respect for PI in general. I had almost wished I stayed at Bongo's instead...we ate dinner there, but after a certain time they clear out a few tables & turn it into a "latin" club of sorts.... So let me get this straight, Downtown Disney DOESN'T have enough dining & shopping??!?!?! I felt the place had TOO much of those...alrighty then. I'm kinda hoping CityWalk doesn't follow suit. But that place is a madhouse on the weekends...U can't even get through the crowds sometimes its so thick.

They don't...they GIVE IT AWAY as complimentary beers. j/k...yes, I'm sure they make a decent killing with beer in those places...especially during concert events, etc.

Paint me "ignoramus", but I didn't even KNOW Kong was still at Universal Hollywood. I guess living here in Tampa, FL and being an annual passholder at USO...I usually just pay attention to the east coast news. And I remember the fire in the back to the future plaza all those years ago...I thought that had gone down permanently too. Sad to hear there are no more Kong's...doesn't Japan or something have one?

I was in Vegas just this February. I rode all 3 rides at the Stratosphere and found them pretty exhilirating (especially front row on that See-Saw one...yikes!). I was told it had a coaster atop the Stratosphere that's been removed. Wouldn't mind seeing some old pics just to have an idea of how it looked.

Used to get motion sickness on coasters in my pre-teen/teen years...it went away eventually (maybe it was just nerves). I DO still get sick on spinnnig rides...namely the Gravitron at most fairs.

^ This man speaks the truth. I was there about 3 weekends ago & Hulk's single rider line was closed (to our disapointment)...we went & rode Doom's Fearfall, by chance, walked back to Hulk & the single rider's line was RE-opened. The guy working the front DID mention its because they can't have too much of a backup between express & single riders (which are only divided by a rope on the same queue).

Nice TR. I swear, as an AP holder, I've been to IOA a MILLION times & never noticed Horton up on that peak! BTW, I like your mom's car. I have a 2006 Scion XB and wish I would've waited for the newer redesigned model.

I only read 3 pages worth of this thread, but doesn't Cypress Gardens in Florida have a "kid's" haunted house during their annual Phobia event that won't let adults in without children?

Wow...an HHN thread in April! I love Halloween & is my favorite holiday (despite it not being one of those "day off" holidays), but I don't even wanna THINK about Halloween quite yet. I usually work at Busch Garden's HOS event & the thought of me in that sweaty costume this early in the year is...disturbing.