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Just having moved to Orlando this past summer I was very excited to experience my first Christmas here. I have always wanted to see all the decorations around WDW and UO. So, I headed out a few days ago with my camera in hand and checked out all the holiday offerings. P.S. This is my first trip report so please excuse any errors. First Up: Magic Kingdom and the surrounding resorts.

Especially if you sit in the back seat, the laterals are awesome. Both the front and the back give some fun pops of airtime too. I vote for Shockwave (SFoT), Superman Krypton Coaster (SIFT), Steel Eel (SWSA), Terminator Salvation The Ride (SFMM), and Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket (UO). I think the reason that a large majority of the Texas coasters are underrated is because a lot of enthusiasts haven't ridden them. I personally think that Shockwave is a great ride with awesome airtime in the back. SKC is my favorite floorless and the way it utilizes the terrain is amazing. Steel Eel is a really fun ride and it has great airtime, especially in the back. TSTR is a really fun ride and I know a lot of people like it, but I prefer it to alit of other GCI coasters. HRRR, I really don't understand why this ride is just being put off as mediocre by a lot of enthusiasts. It is fun (nothing too intense or crazy) but just plain old fun. The airtime is great coming in and out of the block brakes, and it has some really neat elements. I think a lot of this may have to do with the trains. Some trains provide great rides, some provide OK rides, and others are just flat out painful... UO is now only running 2 train operation (which kills capacity) but these 2 trains provide great rides.

Yes indeed. I went to the Magic Kingdom yesterday and while walking through Fantasyland I noticed the sign at Ariel's meet and greet said "You are 60 minutes from meeting Ariel!"... A lot of children want to come to WDW just to meet the characters, and those kid's parents want to make them happy. I like the new idea. But like everyone else said, I don't know how this will work smoothly with only one parent.

That's what I thought as well, I personally find the name to be generic and cheesy. I mean, if the plot of the ride ends up being based around the number and it's mythical unluckiness then it will be more fitting. But still, it seems like the name of a cheesy carnival haunted house to me. I preferred Surrender

Very good point! I fully believe that the HP series will be in pop culture for a long time to come. And even if it's not, WWoHP will do fine, lust like all the lands/rides that have ties to the movies you mentioned.

I go to Universal about every other week and to be honest there really isn't very much *visible*noteworthy progress that occurs on the WWoHP. I always bring a camera with me just in case but it's never very exciting. However if you guys want some construction updates just let me know.

I really hope so lol... But in all seriousness, I wonder which actors from the Harry Potter films will be present on opening day? I may have to try and go through all that mayhem just to get a glimpse of Hermione

I rode Firehawk during its debut month, I haven't ridden it since, so it was still fairly smooth back then (I don't know how it's aged). From that experience I agree that Firehawk is a more solid ride than the Superman clones. However, I have ridden both Tatsu and Manta and they are infinitely better than both the Vekoma and the Superman models. I wouldn't judge all B&M flyers off of their most boring layout... Come ride Manta and I'm sure your opinion would change, it's my personal favorite.

^ Thanks for the video! Apart from all the old attractions being referred to as new, it was a great video. After watching this I am actually fairly excited for this new land to open (I wasn't before as it didn't seem like there was much to do). HPatFJ queue seems like it will give the old Dueling Dragon's queue a run for its money!

I've only watched the first three videos so far but all I have to say is great job! These vidoes are amazing and would be very helpful for anyone planning a trip to WDW. Awesome job!

Welcome to Jurassic Park...? I hope this doesn't ruin JP's atmosphere.

^^ I agree with the fact that there should be more on ride footage, but you have to remember that this isn't supposed to be an on-ride video it's supposed to be a music video. The whole point of the attraction is that you, the rider, are starring in a new music video to the song of your choice. So, I think it accomplishes that fairly well but there definitely needs to be a lot more on-ride footage.

HRRR didn't open until about 2 hours after the park did today, though they continuously tested the ride until it opened. Anyways I got on the ride three times today. The first time I rode in the third row and found the ride to be enjoyable but incredibly rough at times. The second time I rode in the second to last row, the third time in the second row, and I found both of those rides to be completely awesome! The coaster IMO has great airtime on the non-inverting loop, each of the block brakes, the airtime hills, and (depending on where you sit) the first drop. The speakers were great, I could hear my music loud and clear without being disrupted by anyone elses songs. What I found to be interesting though was that you could have a conversation with the person next to you, hear them fine, and not hear their music. One of the trains LEDs were not working, and another train had a seat covered up (I am assuming the seats computer wasn't working). Continuously throughout the day a train would get stuck on the final break run (right at the very end of it) causing the whole ride to shut down (for only a minute or two) and the mechanics would have to reset something at the beginning of the brake section. I saw this happen probably three times today so that's what I am assuming held the ride from opening on time. All in all I think that the ride is awesome and it's probably my favorite coaster in Orlando. I just hope Universal will get the moving walkway up an running to shorten the wait time.

I went to Universal today to try and get on HRRR for the second time this week (I went yesterday, waited in line for and hour and a half and then it started pouring and the ride closed for the rest of the day). So I got there early today, around 10, to find out that the "ride was having technical difficulties and we don't know when or if it will be opening today." I went on some other rides and came back to see if it was open, but when I got to the entrance it was still closed. So, I talked to a manager out front, and he told me that the ride was new and therefore it was expected that it would be having problems. I asked him why it took so long to open in the first place and he said that OSHA didnt want it to open without some parts and now they're having difficulties. Meanwhile there were maintenance workers all over the blocks, and a train was stuck on the lift right outside the station. I went to IOA for a while (everything had pretty short lines) and came back to the studios to see maintenance workers on the 2nd to last MCBR. I left around 2:30 so I don't know if the ride ever opened, but I doubt it. I hope Universal can fix it soon, people were NOT happy at all (especially considering the off season started today and most of the guests were locals). On a happier note, while waiting in line on Sunday everyone coming off of the ride seemed to be thoroughly enjoying it (clapping and screaming when they got back to the station) so it appears Universal has a winner on its hands. Hopefully they can get the bugs worked out soon...

Awesome PTR! I love SFoT. It is by far the best Six Flags park I have ever been to. It is huge, has great theming and landscaping, an amazing atmosphere, and awesome rides (with a large variety). I know all you guys are going to have a great time on the Deep South Trip at all of the very underrated (IMO) Texas parks. Have Fun!

Wow... those are really bright! They look pretty cool though, I am very excited to see the completed coaster at night.

After an extensive search of the news letter, it saddens me to say there was no mention of the rings. How is this possible?! The rings are the most important part of HRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!! They are what makes the ride so innovative.

Looks interesting if it is indeed true. The only question I have is how are people supposed to get back up to the top of the tower? Once they are back down at ground level do they have to stay, or can they take the obnoxiously long walk back down the elevators?

I completely agree with your statement about Terminator Salvation's theming being superior to HRRR's. I'm assuming those of you who are disagreeing with this haven't looked at the great job Six Flags did on Terminator Salvation which in my opinion out does the theming on any previous Six Flags ride. I mean the queue may be mostly outside and full of switchbacks, but there are plenty of props to look at while in line as well as a lot of theming that makes it appear as if you are really in a post-apocalyptic setting. Then the coaster has three superbly done pre-shows that really tie the entire attraction together. All I've seen from HRRR is a ton of shaded and un-shaded switchbacks and some paintings on the surrounding walls. Seems like real amazing theming to me... . I really think that HRRR's theming will be mediocre compared to all of the other attractions at USO. Though I am saving my opinion until the ride is open, I just don't have my hopes up at the moment. I'm not trying to knock down USO in any way, I just feel they could have done a lot better with this attractions theming. I am also curious as to if the attraction will have a pre-show. Does anyone know?

That looks amazing! Airtime a plenty! lol Did anyone else think a few of the hills closer to the end of the ride look like they were shaped weird?

This is really a huge problem that I hope gets fixed. I'm all for the pre-show being awesome and everything, and I'm sure people do not mind watching the pre-show as "something to do while they wait in line" but if a pre-show a keeping them from riding the coaster and they have to wait in line a second longer due to watching the pre-show, that is unaccetpable. On a positive note, when I was there on Saturday the crew was dispatching a train as soon as one his the brakes, which is awesome, but I too did notice a few empty rows during my visit. --Robb 100% agreed. The experience is by far the best thing Magic Mountain has ever done, but I still wonder how many guests actually care about the "experience" part (getting involved with the story) vs. "oh, this is cool...now bring on the ride!" I hope they will continue to tweak until they find the perfect balance, since I personally believe the majority of SFMM's clientele care much more about the ride than the experience. I am sure that a majority of SFMM customers care more about the ride than the experience. Most of the group I was with didn't even pay attention to the pre-show and they had no idea what was happening. I think once SFMM opens more rides with pre-shows, the rider's interests will change. But, as for now, the ride experience doesn't really fit in with the rest of the ride options (hopefully that will be different one day). I think the park has a real winner on their hands and if they continue in the is direction they will have a bright future.

I rode Terminator on Saturday. I had to wait in line for about two hours, which wasn't too bad considering most of the queue was shaded and had mist. The pre-show was pretty good but a little long. My only complaint with the ride is that with the multiple pre-shows going on, the station wasn't always full and therefore there would be empty rows on some of the trains. I heard a lot of people complaining about this while having to wait in line for two hours. After going through the pre-shows I was assigned to the first row. The ride itself was awesome and I was very impressed with the theming and overall experience of the coaster. It was very smooth, very fast, and had many pops of airtime. I wont bore you with anything else considering you've probably heard most of it already. Out of the four GCI's I have been on (Terminator, Roar, Thunderhead, and Renegade) Terminator Salvation is by far my favorite. It is an amazing roller coaster!

My favorites are: 1. Superman Krypton Coaster 2. Medusa (west) 3. Dominator (back when it was still in Ohio) 4. Scream Superman Krypton Coaster is by far my favorite. The mixture of elements along with the terrain makes an amazing experience.

^ oh lol that makes more sense. I was thrown off by the 500ft spinning and the referring to the riders as "thrill riders"

^ actually the article mentions what sounds like a 500 ft tall intamin drop tower and a smaller roller coaster. I am skeptical that this will actually happen, but who knows. I doubt that this would ever be able to compete with SFoT for local attendance.