Lenaapple1974

WOW! After reading this, I immediately ran to the Universal site. They have totally changed it! It is definitely outrageous that they increased the price by THAT MUCH! I was a huge fan of the two park/seven day ticket. I almost feel that Universal Studios will end up suffering in the end as a result, because everyone I know want to skip that to begin with, and only go to IOA. Now with these new ticket prices, those people will definitely be skipping it. I like that park, and I will probably be as well. I haven't gone to Disney as much because of their pricing. Now, Universal suffers the same fate. Sure HP will bring in the business this year. Smart on Universal's part, but in the long run...with the pricing similar now - this may chase people on over to a Disney vacation after all! Sure, you have those people that will go no matter what, but lots of people are out of jobs (for awhile), or want to save here and there. Good news (so far) is that the Flex tix prices seem relatively untouched, minus $10 that I think the 6 park pass was raised since I went in July. So the 5 park adult pass is $259+ and the 6 park pass is now $299. THAT is where you get the deals!! Hopefully, after this year's HP craze - they will have some more specials.

This ride really does not look all that impressive to me...but I do like to go fast!!

Great PTR! Makes me want to return to BGA! I went for the first time last July. And like you, Montu and Kumba did not disappoint at all!! I wanted to ride many more times, but everyone I was with,did not! Sheikra was rained out...so I will get to experience Griffon before Sheikra. Thanks for posting!

Awesome PTR! I have not been to MK since 2005. I am so looking forward to possibly getting there this year for Halloween when I check out HHN & HP! P.S. Your photos speak to me! lol Were you shooting manual or on auto? I am glad to see they still allow patrons with cameras on the "big" rides. Yours is not that small! Probably one of the only parks that never said no to me. edited to correct some G-d awful grammar!

But of course I would like an Xmas Card! lol. Not too sure if I am sending my own out this year though... I have to say... been really busy still - and this weekend is no exception....got some plans in the city for Saturday.... Meeting up with a cool dude that I haven't seen in a bit with Mel and possibly some of the group. (Haven't confirmed anyone else yet though)

Eric, most awesome that you shared this stuff! Thank you!! I honestly do not remember all that stuff in Circus World! Sadly, my only memory is that button with my pic on it while my face was painted. I only hope that one day someone finds pics and posts them. These brochures were great!!

My original one was a picture of the castle I took on my very first WDW trip, but this August, I finally changed it to a group shot that includes Big Mike. Worthy of the change I think.

Erik, (hi! lol) That is exactly what I was thinking. I was just about ready to bring up a map because I haven't looked at one in years. I navigate that park without one because I know my way around... I never saw it from above though. It stumped me! In the concept art, looks like a small castle to the back of Belle's area. That is pretty cool. I never rode Dumbo before either. Looks like I will have to, just to check it out. I truly hope the Little Mermaid is better than just the average sit in a car and watch the animatronics or screen as we pass. BUT, it will at the very least be two things... a place to get out of the heat for a little bit, and another attraction to draw crowds away from my fave rides & attractions!

Yes, actually, it will be.

I agree. This park, while nicely themed, just lacks lots of fun. The best part for me (and my son) was the rapids... lazy river, whatever it is called. We wore vests, and the current just dragged us around... loads of fun! I left very disappointed, but we would go back just for the rapids.

Sadly, I never made it back out to Great Adventure within the last three weekends due to crappy weather. (Been happening alot this year actually) Tomorrow was my last chance, but either way the last ride of the season would have been the same... NITRO!

I have to say, when you let me know it was up, I went, checked it out real quick, then jumped ship because I had so much going on! I was terrified I had missed so much more between then and now, but alas, only a few pages remained! Either I can read reallllly fast, or you are slacking! Again, it was great meeting you! You are like a long lost friend - just so easy to talk to! I am so glad we got to meet up. Hopefully next year we have the same luck! And grrr... I am so jealous about your upcoming Orlando ventures...lol. (Not like I wasn't just there...tee hee) You must promise to ride Sheikra for me. Since I didn't get to... someone I know has to!! I cannot wait to see the PTR's from there! It will make 2011 seem so much further away, but I love it all!

This one word expletive is all I have - WOW! This truly takes the cake for me, much more than the boring looking i305!

Big crane How many pictures can you take of the same stuff?? No, I do not feel like getting soaked…lol. The music here is just amazing… dum dum. … very eerie. What are you staring at? NO AMEILIA, do not feed the animals!! Why is it, that I just do not remember these things ever? Did they always have them here ? Some HP updates. And apparently, not too much is going on in that thread, because there is only one page more since the last time I checked just after I came back. I hope they make use of this when everything is finished. I was playing around with the Shutter Priority setting for these night shots. I have to eventually learn, right? This place is pretty cool at night This was just the beginning…of what was to come the entire week! No Lines = more fun! This is our first time on this. Some of the same usual sights, but at night… Ameilia being silly - sometimes she thinks she can fly! Another try at the Olive from a different angle The Hulk…yeah, ok. Can you even see it? J Empty lines… Yes, I know, this is the line for tickets. No one is getting in at 9pm. But it was like this in the day too, and this was a cooler shot. It is pretty at night Which way do we go? Wait, it all points that way à I’ve never been in there… We end the day waiting at the airport for my brothers. While waiting, Ameilia found a friend to share with.

^^ I heard KK was up and running this past week!!!!!!!! GRRRR!! I cannot believe it has been over a month since I posted. My trip came and went, and I have even been to Great Adventure since then... more of that much later. - I have days and days of FL first. We went to parks seven of the 10 days. I really do not want to bore anyone with words. I almost feel like it has been too long to remember things correctly anyhow. I just have to say again, that I really do not feel I did any justice in taking pics of the coasters. I had such high hopes coming in with my cool camera. But either there was too much sun, not enough sun... rain... etc. So how long do you stare at a coaster for a cool angle before people start to poke you to move? lol. No, no one poked me. But I did stop and stare for a bit. We drove down to Florida this year. With the rising costs of just about everything, we decided it was smart. We saved over $1200 between air and car rental this way. We stayed at The Villas at Seven Dwarfs Lane, through Magical Memories. I highly recommend Magical Memories. (They have lots of different properties, all around Kissimmee, all about 10 minutes from the parks) True, you need a car, and it does not have the magic of Disney, but it is magical all on its own. If you have a big family and friends going all at once, this makes it so much easier to be on a trip in a place like this. After a quick dip in the pool, my daughter and I decided to go to IOA, to wait for my brother's flight. After their original flight was completely cancelled earlier that morning, (nice of Jet blue on the fourth of July weekend!) their new flight had been delayed from a 9pm arrival to a midnight arrival! {To all who do not like when people post this way… Sorry, but I tried twice, and wasted over an hour of time trying to do it here. I got two errors, telling me that I could not connect to the TPR server upon clicking add photo, and then totally lost everything I had just done. I totally forgot why I do not do it that way to begin with! UGH! My images are all 800x600 for this report, and that was not the issue. } The first pictures are of the villa. There were four bedrooms, and three bathrooms. (One Master King with large whirlpool tub, two twin bedrooms and another Master Queen with bathroom) Living room, fully equipped kitchen, BBQ areas, pool, lake, little park, club house with a small arcade, pool table, gym. One block off of 192, and there is Walmart one way, and Publix another. Sam’s club on the corner, along with a Wendy’s. Of course, there is lots of stuff on 192, including Olive Garden, and Old Town. Also, pay no attention to that blurb of dust in the pics. I just am too lazy to fix the pics that it was in. For some reason, it keeps bouncing around. I fix it every now and then, but it shows up when least expected! I call him Fuzzy. I did not ever realize that you could see so much of the parking garage from the street. Universal welcomes us Luckily we arrived at 6:15 p.m. To the parking garage on the left. The next day, we got to experience the parking lot from the roof! Always remember where you have parked! It is funny watching people use the car alarms to find their car. Although, I have to say, when I picked up my brothers, I did not pay attention to where I parked. I never do that!!! That was not fun. I had the general area right at least! I see you HRRR Too bad you never even tested during my entire 10 day stay! There were lots of people in the parks during this week. I was hoping I did not regret the decision 2011 will have to do Once in the day… My daughter’s favorite! Cardboard Dippin Dots! Now you will see why I say I failed at these pics… I wanted people pics this time out, and it just wasn’t happening! So I stuck with structure… I really like this coaster Looks like some TLC is needed

Sheikra...due to a torrential downpour... + mechanical problems.

^ NICE THROWBACK! That was definitely the word of the day! It is great how something so silly can be so much fun! Can't wait to see the schedule!

There was absolutely nothing going on that I could see. I was not on the side of the entrance though because we knew it was closed. I fear this will not be open for the rest of the season!

Great updates! I also like the idea of one thread for the updates! I am sad that I am going to miss BBW. I am not expected to go until next year. I am actually in a quandry trying to figure out exactly when the best time to go is. My husband can only take vacation between May and September. Also, the kids and school... So that leaves the dreaded months of July and August. So, in your opinion, when should be the better time for me crowdwise? (Just not Friday, July 3rd, right?) OH, yes, and are there any suite like hotels there? With the kitchens... Although I probably will stay closer to KD. And yes, did I mention great updates?

Got a question about the music. I thought I read somewhere in the soft opening comments that the music lasts exactly how long the ride is. Is this true? I think then we got the answer to why there are certain tracks only. Timing. Just a thought. Also if I am not mistaken, the video for Hulk was about $30. I wanted to take a look and see exactly what that was about, but forgot to. I think that the HRRR video would probably fall in the same price range. Maybe..lol The lockers were running at a free price for up to 45 minutes. After that you start to get charged. Still worth it for not loosing anything! I hate carrying things on lines!

Hey Big Mike, Thank you so much, that comment rocked!!! And you were equally as awesome! And Ameilia is very impressed. I must say, I think she thought I was a bit batty for this coaster mania biz... (I know Scott does!!), but now she may just be suckered in too! Now, I am going to do my best to try and meet up with you again... exactly how does the park schedule look for Labor Day weekend? I will see if any of that fits into the plans I already have. Now, to do some catch up reading! lol. (from July! >:O I was not kidding!!)

Nice article! Thanks for sharing that! I would love to see the combining of films actually. Even if they do not physically combine movies, Cage could go and look for the fountain, but find something left there by Sparrow or Bilbosa, a clue of sorts, etc, leading him to the actual fountain. Something like that could work better than bringing the characters actually together. I am a fan of both series. I am also a fan of Cage in these types of films. Good to hear they will keep going with a few more movies! There are so many ideas they can use for them. And BTMR, my most favorite ride in Disney... a movie would be awesome! I think this one would do good. How many people actually know the story? I do not. I remember hearing it once, but my mind is so busy lately, certain things had to go! lol.

KK was down again! I was supposed to ride for the first time yesterday if it was up... and it just sat there, with the lights flashing away... The closest I got to KK yesterday...

I would imagine that they are going to use Harry's dragon, and forgive me, I am not up on which was which. Did he have the horn tail? I have seen it so many times, but just cannot remember. Honestly I never paid THAT much attention. Anyway, and the other dragon that was chasing him. That makes the most sense, instead of picking or choosing two of four. They can be very creative in this sense, and still somehow use the other two dragons in other ways, maybe in the queue. I am sure in the end, whatever they choose to do, it will work.

It was awesome meeting you Big Mike! It was definitely fun! Too bad KK was not up and running! As much as my stomach would not have liked that drop, I would be on the front seat! But doing Nitro twice equals the KK drop - almost... does that count? I am glad that even though it got stuck at the top of the lift, that I got to ride it three times. Pics are already in your email!!!! Here are some.... EDIT: Pheonix Phall thing is Oct 10th, so I am in! Your Fl trip is when we are going to be at Fright Fest (told ya! lol) What parks are you planning for Labor Day weekend? And I leave you off with a pic of Big Mike and Ameilia! Self group shot (Ctsy of Ameilia a.k.a. my daughter) FAIL: I guess later for Nitro! Checking off New Jersey while we wait to see if Nitro is running yet... I got to meet Rick and Gwen! first meeting! Me and Speedy. One of my self portraits.