freestylenut

I side BG on this one...it was more of a judgement call & if the dude HAD lost his leg on the ride, he would've been suing over the damage to his leg & emotional damage cause he watched his leg fly off, etc, etc. Though if BG doesn't have a stipulation on prosthetics...he may win it!

Last year I went on an off-peak night AND purchased the express pass thingy & I paid about $55 a piece for 7 people, tax & all with the Universal AP discount. Of course, this year I am NOT an AP holder and I have a wedding to go to in NYC the week before Halloween, so I doubt I'll be making it this year unless I can get REALLY discounted....but those options, even for Florida residents, are getting pretty thin. S**tkicker is I've gone every year since HHN III...I know I might even shed a tear this year for not attending. I've seen HHN grow from a 3-year old child to a teenager and I gotta tell ya, the quality went down for a couple of years, but got REALLY good last year...in fact, they out did themselves last year with both parks being open & the quality of the houses. Not to be Captain Obvious here, but the biggest change I noticed over the years are the CROWDS. I remember III & IV were not even close to being as full as recent years have been. Its gotten to the point where you NEED the fast passes to get to see everything in one night...that wasn't the case just 3 to 4 years ago. I will vouch that Busch Gardens Tampa's Howl-O-Scream is a great alternative to anyone trying to save a few bucks and not deal with as many crowds. Don't get me wrong it gets full....but since BG is so HUGE, its a scarier experience and doesn't feel as crowded as IOA does. I'm also wondering about Cypress Garden's Phobia event. Prices & events? Anyone?

I'm reviving this old thread cause I just got through watching Child's Play 3 and there's a haunted house coaster-ish ride at the end of the movie...anyone know if this is an actual ride? They're supposed to be on a carnie ride, but one look on the inside U can tell there's NO way its a carnie house. Any help would be appreciated.

I'm reviving this old thread cause I just got through watching Child's Play 3 and there's a haunted house coaster-ish ride at the end of the movie...anyone know if this is an actual ride? They're supposed to be on a carnie ride, but one look on the inside U can tell there's NO way its a carnie house. Any help would be appreciated.

Actually, for the record, I'm Puerto Rican...but I AIN'T about none of that line jumping junk & I'm VERY respectful. I'm 5'10" about 190lbs...so I've held my own in the past. Damn, some wild stories up in here! Just to have to have a situation in a theme park like this really ticks me off!!! Knock on wood, but I've NEVER had a problem with line jumpers. And I'm a pass holder to several theme parks. I take that back... I went to go see that terrible, boring a$$ movie Dark Water this last Sunday and some 40-ish dude with his very young son I guess was in such a rush to see Fantastic Four, he skipped the wrap around line & took the next attendant at the box office as soon as one opened up! And yes, I was next! I was gonna tell him some s**t (cause I be doing that sometimes ), but he had a little boy with him...I tell ya, I'm tired of being Mr. Nice Papi!

If I'm pretty close to the front...or IN the front for that matter. I ain't going nowhere (has happened to me). If its a pretty deep line, I'm OUTTY!

...Either get into a fight or get into a heated shouting match? I know its unusual to ask, but the reason why I ask is I almost got into an altercation on July 3rd at Busch Gardens, Tampa...not by my own doing (of course). I found $10 bucks on the floor near the Katonga theatre, some kid must've seen me & tried to be slick about it saying "I think I lost "some" money around here, can U let me know if U find it?", so I say, "nice try kid". the kid decides to be a real ass & lets everyone know walking in front someone lost "some money". Argh!!! So what happens? Some redneck looking dude with tattoos all up & down his arm is like, "hey, I dropped some money" (notice the term "some money"...no one can tell me $10). Guy is staring me down like he wants to swing..he has a big party of rednecks with him. I give him a teeny big of a hardtime...but I was with my wife, 2 little kids & sisters and didn't have much backup, so to avoid possibly getting my ass handed to me in front of lots of guests, I hand him the crumpled bill. Was it his??? I dunno, could've been, but maybe he knew he had a better chance of getting it than anyone in that vacinity. I'm from Brooklyn, NY and I'l admit I somewhat "pussied out" (will I ever live it down?), but I think the scene would've turned a lot uglier had I decided to keep the dough. If I had at least 1 of my boys with me...oh well. Never had this happen to me at a PARK of all places, and I've been to HHN & Howl-O-Scream many times (when people are getting drunk like a skunk all night long). Just thinking about it again gets me pretty heated up! After all, its pretty fresh. Anyone have an ugly situation crop up while your trying to get your "fun on"?

That was one of the BEST haunted houses Universal has come up with...and I've been going ever year since HHN III! I'd be really, REALLY surprised if Universal does it in one park this year...bottom line is, more capacity...MORE MONEY!!!

The latest on Dennis is it might miss us after all. The weather dudes got the storm moving toward the gulf westward this morning. Here's hoping it misses us! Its a pretty powerful Cat 3 right now.

Bringing this thread back to life to warn some of youse guys that might be heading to our state this weekend (July 8-10), Hurricane Dennis is likely hittin' the US, though if it hits Central & Western Florida is undetermined, but it WILL enter the gulf. Not to put a damper on anyone's plans, but I thought some of ya'll might wanna know. Hopefully it'll be a "miss"!

Hey good for CG! My son had a really good time at the park when we took him. Hardly any waiting, VERY low height requirements for the coasters. The shows could use a little work, but its still in development. Here's the 1 piece of the article that REALLY stood out for me: I'm curious to know what THIS is gonna be all about! Geez THREE Halloween Events at major theme parks to attend every Halloween is getting a bit expensive, but I'm a sucker for this kind of thing!

I am IN Tampa, have annual passes to BG and STILL haven't rode the friggin' thing! I went this last Sunday to ride it, but some lightning & thunder killed that idea with the quickness. I feel like crying everytime I think about it! I shoulda been 1st in line for that mofo!!!

Dag, I posted way back on the 1st page & read through most of this thread and U guys have tall 4-year olds!!! My son is only about 40"-41"! Crap, I hope he doesn't turn out to be a "shorty". I'm 5'10"...but my wife is a midgety 5'0" even! As for intensity, my 4-year old son has ridden Spider-man & Flying Unicorn (with a 40" & 38" height requirement respectively) at IOA and Back To The Future (40" requirement) at USF. Plus ALL the coasters at Cypress Gardens...in fact he enjoyed those CG coasters so much we rode 'em maybe 4-5 times EACH! I haven't been to Epcot in more than 5-6 years, so I know NOTHING of Mission Space or Test Track...2 of the new "intense" rides at Epcot. In defense of the unfortunate parents, if my son was tall enough for Mission Space, I'd probably just bring him along, not necessarily "screening it" for my son beforehand. Considering... A. I'm from out of town/on vacation/won't be back for a LONG A$$ time! B. The wait times to ride the friggin' thing I keep hearing so many bad things about. I honestly think my son can take it. He's a tough little guy. It truly is a tragic thing

this news really struck a chord with my wife....after all, our son is 4-years old. We tend to ride him on as much as we can when we go to theme parks too. Sometimes he takes a little coaxing (like I told him I'd buy him a Back To The Future mini-car if he'd ride The Flying Unicorn at IOA and the like). Now, I almost feel guilty forcing him to do the intense rides when I read stuff like this. I will say that if he's 44 inches or more, he is DEFINITELY tall for his age. My son is exactly 4 1/2 years old and he's still only about 40"-41". Disney can get into BIG time trouble if further investigation is done and the kid turned out to be shorter than the ride requirement. Still, a truly sad story. Very heart breaking.

Posted twice...my bad!

Universal is THEE BEST when it comes to interesting ride ques. Some of my favorites are: E.T. - Its so dark, mysterious (cool John Williams slow music playing in the background) and most importantly COOL (away from the hot Florida sun). Dueling Dragons I think more work was put into this than the ride itself. I've always wanted this to be a Haunted House area for HHN, but I guess there no place for the ghouls to pop out of since some areas are ULTRA thin. Poseidon's Fury - Same as E.T. More dark, cool, forboding atmosphere. Anyone notice the cell phones don't work in there??? That's all I got for now.

Sorry, but since when can a weatherman predict the weather? I'm in Tampa and no one in heck could've predicted early last year we were gonna get slammed by 4 hurricanes! Now everybody is sh**ting their pants that its gonna be WORSE, stock up on hurricane supplies, etc, etc. Gimme a break!!! I think a lot of these "weather pros" are crying wolf since he came a visitin' 4 times LAST year. And don't get me started on the stores & supermarkets down here, some already have signs saying "stock up now, hurricane season is here" & whatnot! I've lived here for 10+ years and a majority of the hurricanes were MISS rather than HIT during that timeframe! I wouldn't worry too much about the "hurricane predictions". Its just the news trying to put a scare in us again.

I'm a Gold Annual Passholder and I'm getting a little bored with Seaworld. Kraken & Atlantis are the shiznit, but the park doesn't have much else as far as getting the blood pumping. My 4-year old son loves it though...must be the Sea Cows or somethin'. Is it another Anheuser Busch park all together? I'm unsure how much room they have to play with, but a seperately themed park next to Seaworld a la IOA/USF would be awesome!!!

How about the "spoiler", my last visit to Halloween Horror Nights at USF after we did everything "Halloween" my sister never saw Shrek 4D...she happened to sit next to someone that apparently saw it one TOO many times and was saying all the dialogue line by line & even saying what was gonna happen before it happened. Kinda ruined the experience for her!

On Doctor Doom's Fear Fall at IOA, we were going up slightly (before the blast up) and Doom did his speech about "Ignore all safety warning and blah, blah" and suddenly everything seemed to turn off, we glided back down slightly and we sit there for about 2 minutes. Funny part is we were conversing leaning over as we talked since its 4 in a row and OUT OF THE BLUE and without warning we shot up! My sister banged her nose on the restraint & we pretty much made fun of her all day! I tell ya, it was much scarier that way!!!

Shoot, I lived in Brooklyn all my life and despite of my love of Coney Island the way it is (nostalgic in a sense), the place can use the overhaul. I'm for it! They better not tear down the Cyclone though!

Dude, don't say that! As high tech as those rides are at USF, I'd hate to think some funkalicious dude works on these rides at night. As for me, I worked at Busch Gardens, Tampa Bay from '91-'92 as a Level II Corn-Popping Technician (or the popcorn guy) from the area that spans Stanleyville to the Congo River Rapids area (back of the park). I made the bet 'corn in the park, it was yellow and fat inducing! I had people come back for seconds everytime. I work for a bank now, but am heavily considering doing Howl-O-Scream this year as a seasonal "scarer". I've had people tell me its really fun, U can set your own schedule (to a point) and there's some pretty kewl perks! It also helps Halloween is my fav holiday.

Fav has to be The Amazing Adventures Of Spider-Man at IOA. The amount of work put into this type of ride. The timing of the movies to coincide with each of those cars & the amount of WORK seemingly put into the ride are amazing. I never get tired of it. Fav coaster is Hulk also at IOA. For some reason Kumba at Busch Gardens, Tampa stands out, maybe cause I rode it 7 times in a row one day and I had the best sleep of my life that night.

As many times I've repeated coasters in Florida, the only one I've been on in the rain is Seaworld's Kraken. Oooh, those rain drops can sting at those speeds!!!!

This is how I originally got my annual pass close to 3 years ago now. They did it again last year, but I passed up on since my wife & I had a baby. We're ready to start going again though. Just for clarification this was the Preferred Annual Pass to both Universal Studios Florida and Islands Of Adventure. I know that NBC owns 'em now & I don't know if this is something I can look forward to. Any info would be appreciated.