BlahBlahson

As much fun as the Bill Paxton experience was, I think this is all I really need from the show, for this to be preserved. Probably the greatest acting ever.

I'm not that excited about the Frozen overlay of the Maelstrom mini-flume, as well as half of the country of Norway (or the ever-present 100 minute wait times the ride will command). But then again I totally am. Also, I wish Valravn was shattering Dive Coaster records rather than just slighty edging them out. That was as meh as that announcement could really be.

This Jimmy Fallon ride actually sounds more fun than Fast and Furious (at least the ultra-fake looking Hollywood version). But seriously Comcast, you have got to stop with 3D. After these additions, MOST major attractions in the parks will be 3D simulators, it's not a good mix.

Are the Cedar Fair haunts all stupid busy on the OTHER haunt nights or just Saturdays/(Fridays?)?

In Orlando, I really don't ever need to do Shrek 4D, The Voyage of Sindbad or Stitch's Great Escape ever again. There are a handful of Rides/shows that aren't that great besides those, but those are the three I really have no desire to ever give another chance. Stitch is certainly the worst attraction I've ever done, I went on it once 3 years ago and haven't even gone again, it is literally an annoying experience. Outside of Orlando i wouldn't miss Ninja at SFOG, Any Vekoma Hang N Bang with the old ear-hugging restraints, Europe in the Air (So Lame!), or any Chance Inverter anywhere!

^With express, absolutely. Without express, you will miss some minor things, but you can do all the headliners just fine. In a one day plan, I would definitely recommend starting with Despicable Me and Rip Ride Rockit. Both get dramatically longer later in the day up to 90 minutes for each depending on season. Then do transformers and Mummy, Take the Hogwarts express over to Hogsmeade and do Flying Unicorn, then Forbidden Journey, then the water rides of Jurassic Park and Toon Lagoon, then Spiderman and the rest of the IOA loop in turn (including Dragons a bit later). This Itinerary takes out all the long waits at UO quickly, and then almost all of IOA before noon. Gringott's and Diagon would still be left but that ride has good capacity. MIB, Simpsons and E.T usually don't have long waits at all.

The light pollution argument is utterly Ludicrous. I can see the green skycoaster and the Pink Eye from 10-15 miles away at some points in Orlando. I can see Holy Land's permanent Christmas lights from a mile away driving on the interstate. I can UNIVERSAL's rotating searchlights from my house, from the interstate, from everywhere practically in the area. The Skyplex will have a dramatic positive effect on the nighttime views of orlando. What a cool tourist landmark that will be visible from miles and miles away. We have no mountains and our land is flat, so the tower would be a very cool Icon to let tourists know "Hey that must be where the action is on I-Drive, there's that Skyplex Tower". It's going to look great and I completely don't understand how they can use this as an argument against the tower.

Like...I will literally never spend another dime at Universal if their lawyers have any leeway in getting this project cancelled. Fighting against a 520 foot Intamin is high Treason.

Why would anyone rule out something new in the layout when the ENTIRE back half of a 16 year-old, extremely popular rollercoaster (from a company that has never had a ride destroyed before) has already been completely scrapped. Is it really such a crazy idea that things could change in the layout when it is getting an extreme track rebuild, a new launch system, a new theme, new effects, new trains... I'm waiting and seeing, mostly just hopeful that nothing about the ride gets "toned down."

Will you have the Express Pass? That is personally the only way I do HHN and we just go for one night. I will usually get to the entrance at 5:30 and go where the line is the shortest. But be prepared for lots of people to show up to get in front of you. If you want to be the first ones in for the event then you can go at 5. I usually arrive at 5:30 and wait probably 2 minutes or less to get in the park. I also usually use the left side of the gates as many people don't make their way over there. Before when I didn't use Express, I wouldn't go on any of the rides as I wouldn't be able to see all of the houses in the night. The IP houses will be the most crowded as well as the 25th anniversary house. I would try to tackle those as fast as you can. Also, the last like hour of the event there is like no one in the park for the event (or at least to the ones I've been to). There you can go through many houses and almost go through by yourself! It's a lot scarier that way too! I hope your trip goes well! So I've been 3 nights now to HHN. Number one piece of advice i can give: ARRIVE EARLY. The first hour is 25% as crowded as 9PM-10PM. If you have Rush of Fear as your highest priority access to the park, then you will be able to enter the front gate between 6 and 6:15 when they open (go to the far left or far right and just get to the front). Whatever your path into the park, you should be able to do 5 or 6 houses by 8pm. Freddy V Jason, 25 Years, and Insidious are the priority houses this year. If you can do any of these with less than a 20 minute wait, go for it. They will hit 1.5 hours later in the night. American Werewolf and RUN are the Non-Priority houses. Both of them will be under 20 minutes or walk in for the first hour of the event and very likely the last hour, and neither should reach more than 45 minutes really at any point Walking Dead, Body Collectors, and Asylum in Wonderland are the Variable houses. Definitely short at the very beginning, Higher wait times between 7:45 and Midnight, but at any given time of the night could be short or long depending on crowd flow. The latter two will be short at the end of the night. The Purge will be very very dead in the last hour but peak in the middle of the night. Also, be aware it's entrance is in Kidzone/Walking Dead and it's exit is by Men In Black/Insidious. I've done two nights without express access and hit each house by ten pm, but it does take some waiting and you have to keep moving. But you have two nights, and houses are like 99 percent uptime so don't worry about doing everything in one night. I would recommend, don't eat or stop much before 8 PM, just do houses or the two rides that get longer lines later (Rockit, Gringott's, other rides should be 10 minutes or less throughout). Also, Universal does an ehhhh job of updating their wait times. Often they are far too optimistic, sometimes the other way (in case you plan around set times, like shows). Comfort Tips: It's Florida, check the weather before you go. Might rain, might be HOT, who knows. Carnival Jack show is standing room-only, so tired feet beware. Bill and Ted DOES fill up 10 minutes before the show, they might shoo you away for showings in the middle of the night and I wouldn't cut it closer than 10 minutes, sometimes up to 15-20!. And Best food in-park is in Diagon Alley or Simpsons Area, restaurants close at 10pm though.

^^How much is one row? Or even a restraint? I would LOVE to have something from these and I live close enough to do something about it. I've always dreamed about having a B&M living room chair, though the Hyper version would be my first choice.

Uber is your only option (besides renting a car). This question is asked 3-4 times a week on reddit. Mears is a huge area monopoly who has bought out the mayor and his government and is doing what it can to supress Uber service, but Uber still works great everywhere but FROM the airport. Do not consider any Bus. None of them run at convenient times anywhere in the city except Disney's Magical Express.

My advice for HHN would be, as always, to arrive super early and stay late. Really try to only do houses in the first 2 hours. Priority house lines are Freddy V Jason, Insidious, 25 years of Fear, and Walking Dead/Purge. Body Collectors, Werewolf, and Run have been short at the beginning each night, Asylum in Wonderland varies but is a little busy upon opening. In order, busiest nights are: Fridays, Saturdays, Thursday/Sunday...Wednesdays. If you can go on a Wednesday do that. Every regular daytime attraction has had pretty short waits. Rockit and Gringotts have hit 30 minutes but everything else at ten or less. I would say there is a 5 percent Chance that Kong or Hulk is open for spring break next year. All indications are Summer for both.

Werewolf should be open by 620 each night. But be forewarned, it was the least trafficked house out of any this past weekend. People have seen it before, recently. Insidious/Fvj/25 years/ walking dead had the longest lines. Run is the other house they gets less traffic (probably because it's terrible) And if you really really reallyreally want it spoiled...25 years had several icons, including caretaker, jack, usher, every classic monster, some woman split in half, the bears from scary tales, the psychoscareapy Christmas house, giggles and gore, Gothic, I think foresaken and a few others I think.

The evil roots scare zone is best for the same reasons you described...there's lots of fog to hide in and people actually jump at you when you don't expect it. I feel like the only good scare zones are the ones that force you into the action and set the mood...kind of like houses... Big plus to Orlando this year is that ALL the scare zones are well stocked this year. Tons of actors. Chainsaws are also huge in this year's event. More than I could count. Went back for night two. As far as best houses, 25 years of fear is in a tier by itself. Is definitely the best. From there is hard to separate the next group, they're all pretty good but not much "never seen before" to this event. I preferred Asylum in Wonderland to most. Run is definitely the worst house though. Nothing in it makes any sense and the sets are boring. I will say that most houses seem to be missing a "grand finale" this year, they just kind of dump you. Great event as always but I might be getting a bit desensitized to it.

HHN is fabulous this year. The HHN25 house is amazing and well done, as is Freddy V Jason. Bill and Ted has some mediocre dancing this year but it's the same ole' B&T and lots of fun jokes especially at the very beginning. Asylum is one of the best 3D houses in a while, some good costuming and overall design there. American Werewolf is the same house but it's my favorite ever so no problems by me. And Diagon Alley is open!

Only Cedar Fair could make something this awesome look quite so mundane. But I'm happy it's being built at such a quality park. I wonder how the total capacity of rides at CP compares to Disney or Europa these days.

I'm all about HHN. Getting scared is a bonus, but for me the biggest thing is that it's like having a brand new attraction at the park every year. It's the only halloween event that basically changes everything out from one year to the next. Last year the Baby powder room in Dollhouse, The entire Halloween and AVP houses, the updated Bill and Ted show, the Purge auction...all of those things and entertainment and sets are cool as hell for me. It's content directly for my age group, unlike some parks in Orlando getting a new standard flat ride or a short boat ride themed to Ice princesses. And it comes again EVERY year, back with 3 or 4 or 5 cool and pretty immersive experiences. The cost and crowds of the event are a LARGE detractor from the experience, and the scareactor "noise buttons" get pretty old. I get people getting tired of the event for those things and honestly I don't think HHN is a 1 night thing without expensive express or VIP because you can't do it all. But getting the pass and casually enjoying each original entertainment portion of the event is much worth it for me as a local. Halloween is my favorite season. Even not-so-scary with basically the exact same thing each year is worth it for the costumes and candy and ghouls and villains and great parade.

If they do anything to Monster Mansion this off-season.. I..Will..F*cking...RIOT! But I feel like the Axis Arena or the Bumper Cars would be a good spot.

^I'd rather have a re-opened Hulk and completed Skull Island and Dolly-launcher. Can we fast forward?

I would agree with this...but the problem is that ENTHUSIASTS have this issue as well. We all know somebody or even ourselves have carried loose articles which then became lost on high speed coasters. I don't want to call Anyone an "idiot" (and I absolutely know and respect greatly what you deal with in securing mounted cameras on rollercoasters and the history of coaster POVs vs many others out there), but I think the base problem is that the vast Majority (or at least MANY guests every day) of people think they are immune here, just like people texting and driving, and universal's zero-tolerance policy is in relation to the vast majority of people who will wear sunglasses, hats, or drop lip balm at 40 mph on a guest sitting near the ride. It sucks to not have the ability to text or play games in line (which I DO dislike, but not as strongly), and detectors are a very finite solution, but educating 100 percent of guests really isn't possible, and even then people would ignore it, just like the dude ignored the signs and jumped the fence at the Point. I mean, Universal isn't doing this on Mummy, Gringott's, MIB or even Forbidden Journey. It is only the big, fast coasters with guest pathways nearby. Disney World has only Test Track's big turn that is comparable in the level of speed vs the danger (and you are very low in that car). Or maybe the big drop on Everest if some criminal intentionally threw something. And trust me, I myself prefer Disney's relaxed (European) approach on loose articles, but maybe it just says something about the way I am that neither policy matters to me anywhere near the quality of the rides, the food, the line lengths, the prices, etc. It's low on my personal list. And that's a reasoned decision. If the same policies were applied at Cedar Point I think it would detract from the experience greatly, since there are so many more rides that it would be enforced on. But for me having to place my items in a locker at Universal has never been close to outweighing the thrill of riding their rides, and this extra policy is only in effect at 3 rides out of 40ish. But even if they did it at the Point, I would only say that they need good queue entertainment if I can't use my phone or camera there in line. It wouldn't keep me away at all, the same as I still fly (without WIFI on most planes) whenever I need to or go to sporting events when I want. I would just sigh, and then agree to not use my phone much. And still enjoy the rides and the people I'm with. And i would continue to avoid days where waits for everything are really long, the same as now. And also, Morey's Piers does the EXACT same thing on the Great Noreaster inverted coaster. Wands, detectors, free lockers the whole bit. And they never get any flack for that choice. On security: This does nothing against those who have phones, glasses, or even [knives] in their pockets. It's a good idea for all the annoying people who get their cameras out on the ride. It's better than stopping the ride several times a day on the lift hill to walk up and collect Cell phone cameras for sure, but it doesn't solve the whole problem better than Metal Detectors might. I have NO insight on how the Metal detectors are really performing at Universal in particular financially or in guest satisfaction, it could be an all-encompassing solution to the global loose-articles issue, and have the ability to SPEED UP overall wait times. Which is why I'm again very happy to see someone try it. And about repercussions, that's a hell of a lot of societal re-education we are talking about. Making that option realistic is way bigger than any single park or any single visit. I too, wish America wasn't regressing.

Hey, remember when I posted this in April and everyone joined in to laugh in my face about the rumor I had heard? Thanks guys. It may not be the entire track in the end but at least I was on the right vein of thought.

And I'm fine with people having different opinions on the metal detector subject. I feel like the main issue people have with it is that the park is blatantly and openly saying "We don't trust our guests" and violating their personal freedoms. I think that is an absolutely valid concern and I don't want to take over this topic talking about it. But on the other hand, I REALLY don't trust the public to responsibly deal with their articles. If you do, then listen to all the people just in this thread (of knowledgable people) who admit to loosing their phone at high speed, or carrying it on with them in loose pockets. If that cell phone never gets on this ride, this .0001 percent of Cedar Point's annual guests doesn't then make this unfortunate decision (though in another of many scenarios maybe he drops his phone while in line into the restricted area, you CANNOT blame the park for any of this or any other scenario). And at the cost of even one life it's something I don't think Metal-detecting parks should be vilified for. It's considerable. Cell phones on coasters just really suck for all parties and I just think that Metal Detectors and mandatory policies are an option that I'm happy to see explored.

THIS is why i'm extremely happy when parks like Universal and Morey's piers eliminate cell phones from the picture with Free l ockers and metal Detectors. And the same with Selfie Sticks at Disney and Six Flags. I hope more parks will follow. Loose articles have absolutely no place on fast-moving rides and we have the tech to prevent these accidents.

This is 100 percent a picture of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in Santa Cruz California. You can see the Hurricane, Giant Dipper, Chairlift and Log Flume from that park at that time. http://rcdb.com/4573.htm