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TR: Universal, Disney, Busch Gardens and More...


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This week has become my designated "Theme Parkin' Week" as I go from park to park trying to ride old rides before they are removed and new ones before everyone else can. Day One and Two are now over and I will start with those two updates with Day Three at Disney and Day Four at Busch Gardens.

 

Comments are welcome for my first real trip report. Enjoy!

 

Update: To see the videos that go along with my trip report, please go here.

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The Food and Wine Festival was going on and I definitely took advantage of it. Tomorrow, I will be back to pig out some more!

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Spaceship Earth is still the best theme park icon, even if it has a stupid Mickey arm and wand attached to it.

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The Seas (formerly The Living Seas) was going through Cast Member Previews today. Tomorrow I will be back after previewing it as an annual passholder.

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In my quest to meet more TPR members in person, I met my second: Soren!

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Day Two: I had to grab this one for Elissa at Animal Kingdom. These are actually from Tokyo Disneyland off of the backpack of a girl from Tokyo. I got a rodent-credit!

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I was able to ride Back to the Future one more time after waiting 45 minutes. Now wait! Does a ride that has a 45 minute wait seem like it needs to be removed? Why can't you just remove Earthquake or Jimmy Neutron?

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Soon there will be no more Deloreans to stare at!

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This store will close only a few days after Back to the Future closes for good. So, if you get to Universal before the ride closes, get your merchandise while you can.

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The globes for Universal's new nightime spectacular is larger than I expected.

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Halloween Horror Nights "Sweet Sixteen" is already in full swing at the Studios.

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The golden arches of Universal welcome its guests.

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Day One: Today, I go to Universal to say my goodbyes to one of my favorite attractions based on one of my favorite movies- Back to the Future.

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Even the patio to Nascar Cafe has been shut down.

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Nascar Cafe is under rehab as it prepares to break in its new owners.

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Funny, I was actually at EPCOT today for the Cast Preview. I must say, the new attraction is quite enjoyable. I'm a big Nemo fan, plus I used to work at the Living Seas.

 

Great pictures. I look forward to hearing how you enjoyed the Seas with Nemo and Friends.

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^Thanks!

 

Continuing with my Trip Report: Day 3

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Canada's Cheddar Cheese Bacon Beer soup is amazing.

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Greece has awesome Spanikoppitas (a spinach pastry).

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EPCOT Center's original logo is engraved in the ground at the midpoint (or center of the park) between the World Showcase, the hub and Future World.

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Ever wonder what happened to the original Dreamcatcher from the original iteration of Journey into Imagination? Look no further. This can be found if you look hard enough in MouseGear.

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Lots of wine!

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Lots of wine glasses!

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This module/pod is currently being gutted so that it can become a path to the second pre-show theater (the one that was previously untouched by the construction of the ride) to the expanded theater version of Turtle Talk with Crush. The new theater will a

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This is the one portion of the tank where the ride actually shows real water and projects characters like Nemo, Dorey and Crush into the tank.

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After walking through one of the coolest queues that I have ever seen (they really went the extra mile with this one), you board your redone Seacabs (I mean Clammobiles) to help find Nemo.

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The old pre-pre-pre-show holding room (yes, I meant to type that) has been redecorated to make you think that you are walking up/down the beach.

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From the minute you walk up to the pavilion, you feel like you aren't in Epcot anymore.

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A wall of ferns was set up in front of The Seas with Nemo and Friends (formerly The Living Seas) so that the park could organize and allow passholders to preview the new ride.

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Is that Gilbert Godfried working at Epcot now?

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Epcot's Hub really shined this morning!

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The new fingerprint scanners have been added to Epcot's Turnstiles. Too bad they weren't being used.

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More from Day 3

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Its a small world! is still the most annoying attraction in all of Walt Disney World.

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Someone wasn't able to get off of Space Mountain fast enough, so the ride shut down as part of its built in safety mechanism. The lights came on, giving us a nice view of the aging tracks.

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Space Mountain was running both Alpha and Gemini sides tonight and yet, it still had a 70 minute standby wait. Thats what makes the fastpass so handy!

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I love Tomorrowland at night!

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Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor Comedy Club is replacing the Timekeeper (one of my favorite shows). Anyone planning on going to the passholder previews?

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I decided to skip out on Stitch's Great Escape. I can still smell the chili dog from last week's ride.

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We got into the park right as Spectromagic was beginning.

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We came back to Disney later in the day, parking at the Contemporary so that we could take the monorail to the Magic Kingdom.

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See what I mean when I say obsessed?

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Does the person on this box really need a cellulite waist?

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I am starting to think that the Japanese are obsessed with fighting cellulite.

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Japan is selling a cannibal control mask like the one that Hannibal Lector wears. Isn't that interesting?

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I promise I am telling the truth when I say that this cast member demanded that I include him in my photo.

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Ireland didn't really have anything that fit my tastebuds. It never has.

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Poland had incredible Pirogis and Kielbasa. If you can't already tell-I love Epcot's Food and Wine Festival (though I have a few more years before I can enjoy the wine)!

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^Thank you very much. I also have plenty of footage from this week that I have yet to put together. Between all four parks that I went to, I will have plenty (hopefully) to make a nice trip report video. I also plan on releasing my raw footage from the trip which includes Cheetah Chase, the Python and Back to the Future.

 

This is the last photo portion of the trip report. The videos should be up within in the next few days.

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Um...Yeah...

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Due to Howl-O-Scream, the park closed at 5:00 p.m. leaving us with less time to enjoy the rides. I guess I will just have to come back another time!

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The old monorail station has now become a scare zone for Howl-O-Scream. The suspended monorail once traveled over the Serengetti but was removed to make way for a larger animal area and Rhino Rally.

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One of the nicest and most detailed topiaries I have ever seen sits (or leaps) in front of my favorite restaurant, Crown Colony.

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Akbar's Flying Carpet Tours has been closed for over five years now. It is still considered a working attraction, leaving its status left as SBNO (Standing but not Operating). The ride building is currently being used as a scare zone for Howl-O-Scream.

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What Theme Park Review Trip Report would be complete with a Donkey?

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The skyway was open and closed on and off today due to high winds. I thought the sign was pretty funny.

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The Howl-O-Scream map doesn't look all that different from the park's regular map.

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The best coaster for airtime in all of Florida.

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Yeah...That is me on the Phoenix. This is a rare sight.

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I worked up my courage and finally faced the Phoenix for the first time.

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Being a passholder, you get to enter through the Nairobi Gate.

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