ECZenith Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Part 1/4 Disney's Animal Kingdom Sept. 28, 2006 Thursday Finally, I have returned to central Florida after about a year of... well... not being in Florida. I just bought a brand new Olympus Stylus 7.1 mp camera and it definately got a workout on the trip. I must first apologize for the Everest POV photos. I know similar shots have been posted but this is my first photo TR with a "good camera" so bear with me for this first part. So after a 2.5 hour flight from Providence and a night at a Days Inn (only the finest for us!) it was off to DAK! Oh yeah, Animal Kingdom also has some animals. Here are a couple of massive fruit bats. Thanks for reading, part 2 will be here soon... My parents with Chip & Dale in front of Primeval Whirl. We never get to go to parks together anymore so it was a good time... An impressive plaster-cast of a carnotaurus skeleton. At least they have one of my favorite dark rides ever, it's no Indy but Dinosaur is one hell of an experience! Dumbo, Magic Carpets, Astro Orbitor and Triceratops Spin are all literally the same ride. Disney-MGM is the only park without one. I have a feeling we'll be riding on giant film reels soon enough. Thank you Zamperla for contributing to the madness! Hop in and I'll take you to the horribly gaudy Dinoland, USA... What were they thinking when they designed this area besides budget? Carnival games, bright colors and dinosaurs, WTF? NEXT! Kali River Rapids, awesomely themed, real fire, and chainsaws. Can't ask for more! Also a walkon on this 90 degree day... For some reason, I like this photo but I'm not sure why. Down the first drop which took me by surprise! Yeti being all destructive and such, must get him some medication for that. I do agree, the bird on a stick is very cheap. I would not allow him to be in this photo. So far so good... I love the sound effects of the train struggling to make it to the top of the peak. The chain itself, as you know, is virtually silent thanks to magnetic antirollback devices. Winding through the tea fields. The front seat was a walkon all day, what a way to bust my Everest cherry... A view from the front seat queue of the first bit of track. Awesome upward helix. A "steam donkey" climbing the silent lift up into the mountain. Being 90 degrees, the snow never had a chance. Now without the yeti sacrifice temple, because no one has this shot... or the next dozen or so photos. A distant shot of Florida's newest artificial mountain. The decent crowd at the park's opening swarmed right along with me to take a few rides... good thing Everest is a capacity monster. Impressive every time, just like most of Disney's stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socalMAN123 Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Awesome photos Sean! I was really impressed by this park when I was there this summer. Everest was awesome and Dinosaur was an added surprise. Thanks for posting! ---Brent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECZenith Posted October 2, 2006 Author Share Posted October 2, 2006 Part 2/4 Busch Gardens Africa Sept. 29, 2006 Friday About an hour and a half down I-4 is BGA, once again the weather was hot and dry and the crowds were nowhere in site! Splashdown! Thanks for checking out part 2, part 3 (Universal/HHN) will be posted soon. Going vertical once more. How can you be a walkon?!?! Can you tell I really like this first drop? SheiKra and some random star burning in the background... It's hard to believe they're making a dive machine that could possibly be better than my SheiKra. Shakira Shakira! I love this inversion over the Egypt gate. Montu, the coaster with a walkon front seat. Yeah, should have taken the photo in the OTHER flat spin. Roarrrr.... All freshly painted and such, threading the loop like a sexy B&M should. Kumba, which is Swahili for 'Mountain Dew' EXTREME! Remove this and you DIE! Ooo, Scorpion is running! It was closed on my last visit. Why can't I ever get the Gwazi lion credit?!?! You've done well Python, hopefully you're relocated and not recycled! I paid my respects to this poor bastard arrow corkscrew. Down the big drop, you get the point... Up the lifthill. Mom looks like she's having a blast... Being in the upper 80's today and the rides all being walkons, we were able to ride Stanley Falls log flume. The runaway pontoon bridge is pretty cool. A land rover heads into elephant territory. Time for some rides... Here's Rhino Rally, the safari ride that seems to be missing some SFX and not a whole lot of animals to see. Serengeti Express, best way to view the animals is Busch Gardens mini railroad. Loud parrots on the way to SheiKra. I was not able to stay for Howl-O-Scream but check out that impressive facade! My mom with one of the less active turtles. Galapagos Tortoises Moving on to the reptile department, we find BGA actually has three alligator/crocodile exhibits, not including Montu's little surprise. And now the moment you've all been waiting for - a sleeping lemur in a cage. OMG! Grab the camera, a tiger that's actually awake! This guy was the only one on Tiger Island, where have the rest of them gone? While we're in the mammal department, here's a couple of elephants playing over by Rhino Rally. BGA has much more animal exhibits than DAK, even though DAK has the superior safari ride. Oh yeah, here's a camel. Let's start off with an ass shot... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECZenith Posted October 2, 2006 Author Share Posted October 2, 2006 Part 2.5 EPCOT/Disney-MGM Studios Sept. 28, 2006 Thursday Now that I've resized them, I can post the rest of the WDW photos from Thursday. (still getting used to the whole digital camera thing) So after Animal Kingdom (which only took about 3 hours to complete) we decided it would be a good idea to get EPCOT and Disney-MGM done to reserve a whole day for the Magic Kingdom. (Sunday) World's biggest McDonald's on International Drive, for you McD's fans out there. Bigass guitar. I didn't get too many photos here as we didn't stay long. lights, motors, action was closed, too bad. I really wanted to check it out. Thanks for reading part 2.5, sorry for the mixup in order of photos. I had just seen Aerosmith live the day before we left for Orlando, so it was pretty cool riding it so fresh from the concert experience. Inside the lobby. Another angle, can't have too many photos of Tower Of Terror... Front view of the awesomeness that is ToT. But YOU... you're something special. You were pretty good this past May... Mission Space was a walkon despite test Track having a 20 min wait and when we rode Soarin' later that evening, a 30 minute wait. Are people afraid? After a couple hours at EPCOT, MGM was next. My 3rd favorite ride at WDW, behind Everest and Tower, is of course, Test Track. TT had about a 20 minute wait so we took advantage of the single rider line. I love this ride technology, if only AK would get a JTTCOTE... Rumor has it Spaceship Earth will be renovated with a "time travel" themed E-ticket, I'll believe it when I see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECZenith Posted October 2, 2006 Author Share Posted October 2, 2006 Part 3/4 Universal Studios, Islands Of Adventure HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS XVI Sept. 30, 2006 Saturday And now for the part of the trip I was most looking forward to - Universal Studios Florida, in particular - Halloween Horror Nights: Sweet 16. After a few years at Islands of Adventure, horror has finally come back home to where it all began. Let's begin with Islands Of Adventure to start things off... And of course I got my Horror Nights 16 pin, bringing my theme park pin collection up to about 170. I like this year's design the best out of the ones I have. If only I could get a HHN XI pin, the only one I missed. I don't usually wear theme park shirts but this year's t-shirt was too cool to not buy. The entry of Run 2. The last house of the night for me was Psycho Scareapy Maximum Madness. I didn't wait more than 20 minutes for all of the other houses but Pscyho Scareapy had an hour and 45 minute wait. I sucked it up and got in line. Run: Hostile Territory was my favorite house of the night. My only gripe, NO EDDIE! I know the house is based on the movie Hostel but Eddie's right on the logo! Scenery: ** Scares: **** Actors:**** BRAVO to the scareactors in this house, everyone here stood out WAY more than other scareactors in other mazes. Scenery: *** Scares: *** Actors:***** I think this was the best version of Screamhouse yet, but it's not THAT much different from the other 2 previous Screamhouses. Scenery: ***** Scares: *** Actors:**** I really wanted to check this one out as well, but was not abe to. Express passes were sold out and it was getting late. Oh well, 5/7 mazes isn't bad. I was not able to go through this one because the line was just too long for a maze in a tent and I was pressed for time. First house of the night was Dunegon Of Terror, closeby to Stay n scream. I was the first person to walk through DOT that night. Scenery: * Scares: *** Actors:*** Harvest of The Souls was the best looking scarezone, IMO. The only sign of Eddie all night, no pun intended. Dancin' in the fog, how cute. "Take my picture with the barrels please, thanks." Radioactive materials truck. The wheels on the bus do NOT go round and round as it is surrounded by random objects. Random crap in Deadtropolis: Zombie Siege. No way! The chainsaw drill team is back! They resulted in the first tears of the night from a 10 year old boy waiting in Stay 'N Scream. Universal Studios closed at 5pm, and literally the 10 or so people who did stay and scream, including myself were herded over to Amity to wait the hour until the event began. These photos are not in chronological order... Here is the entry gate as seen at night. It's time for Halloween Horror Nights! I really like the architecture here. Half an hour wait? I'll take the single rider line, again... Half an hour wait? I'll take the single rider line. A photo of the globe because ya know... you have to take this picture if you go to USF. On to the studios, check out the new HHN emblem beneath the entry gate. My favorite S&S towers. Aww, I can't leave without hitting Dr. Doom real quick. Didn't get to eat here as I was still full from the sinful McDonald's breakfast I had eaten. An unusual view of Dueling Dragons from "All Nite Die-In Take 2" queue later that evening. I'll spare you the vertical loop shot that everyone has, I've done enough damage with my Everest POVs. I started with the Blizzrock track as I have been on the other lots more times. Here is it's finest moment. Huge queue ahead with no one in it. Just up ahead... Yeah, the splash is actually much larger than that. Time for a spin dry on the most impressive attraction at IOA. Just as I start to dry up in the 75 degree Orlando sun... I'm moist. =( NO, I don't count this as a credit. Dudley Do-Rights Ripsaw Falls was next on the list. No complaints here, seriously SUCH a good ride. WALKON? WTF?!? Hulk just might be the coaster with the best beginning ever, an unusual 45 degree, 45 mph launch into a zero-g roll and then the cobra roll and vertical loop. The not-so-jolly green giant as seen from Lost Continent. I then hiked back to Marvel Superhero Island to meet up with my party and get a ride on Incredible Hulk Coaster. Ironically, the standby line was empty while the express line was pretty full. Fools... I waited 10 minutes but it was actually better then I expected it to be, lots of swinging and plenty of lush vegetation below. I finally get my PF credit! Thank you Erik Johnson for your tip on getting a ride on Pteranadon Flyers, I headed straight for JP while everyone else went for Hulk and Spidey. You've gotta love the music that overcomes the Port Of Entry, really sets the mood with the incredible theming surrounding you on all sides. Ahhh, it's good to be back at my favorite theme park. Not too many people here for a Saturday morning, but we all know the number of people will rise as the sun goes down. They had a poster for sale this year, pretty neat. So overall, HHN was great, I don't ever care for Bill & Ted so I skipped it in lieu of mazes. "Cut" was OK but nothing special. My 2nd fav HHN behind 2001. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandaman Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 I have about exactly half of the AK photos you took in my Photo TR. Great job so far, keep it comin'! P.S. Everything was a walk-on at BGA when I went last month. 4 times in an hour for Shakira = total ownage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECZenith Posted October 2, 2006 Author Share Posted October 2, 2006 Part 4/4 The Magic Kingdom October 1, 2006 Sunday For our final day in Flroida, it was off to the Magic Kingdom mainly to check out the modified Pirates Of The Carribean and the Mountains. Lots of people at the park today but lines never got longer than half an hour on the major attractions. This update will feature lots of Splash Mountain photos as I feel it was the most photogenic of the rides at Magic Kingdom. Thank you very much for reading my report, I hope you enjoyed my first "real" photos as much as I enjoyed taking them. Space Mountain is always fun but I'd like to see it get the Mission 2 treatment. After this, I had to sit through the godawful Stitch attraction that replaced my beloved Alien Encounter, and then we were done for the day. Haunted Mansion had about a 10 minute wait as well. We checked out the awesome Philharmagic 4D movie before heading to Tomorrowland. The mountain itself. Down the drop... Round the curves... Incredible theming. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, wait time 10 minutes for this classic mine train. Home safe. Pleasantly moist but not wet... The 50' plunge into the briar patch. A view from the top. Up the final lift to the summit of Splash Mountain. Drop to the laughin' place... Brer Fox and Brer Bear Brer Rabbit Splash Mountain's loading platform. After a ride on Jungle Cruise (Fastpass eliminated the 30 minute wait) We did Splash Mountain which was a walkon. They're still removing the 50th Anniversary decorations from the castle, the crane is parked directly behind it. First ride of the day was Pirates and I thought the updates were pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frade Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Awesome dude, great pics, and I am glad you had alot of fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pvcoasterguy Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Space Mountain: Mission II effects and soundtrack? Sure... it'll make the ride better. Same track layout? Please, no. The track layout on WDW's Space Mountain is great, and I love the in-line seating. Airtime city! But, I'm all for new effects and a soundtrack. HHN seems like a great event--I hope I can get down there sometime. Nice TR! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disneylanddork50 Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Cool pictures . i really liked them . >>disneylanddork50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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