HUGE Photo TR: Disney World and Universal Orlando

[ETapley0687]

Portofino Bay Hotel?! That's the hotel I thought about staying at this summer! How did you like it because I'm still not sure which one to choose. It's going to be me and my girlfriend so I don't want nothing to kid like and I figure Hard Rock would be like that...

[cprocks22]

Portifino was an amazing hotel. I really think all their hotels would be, they're all owned by the same company (Lowes). I recommend Portifino though, very very very nice. I will have some pics in the next few updates (which will probably be Thursday, Friday or Saturday at the latest, sorry they're so spread out! It's finals week ).

[cprocks22]

Sorry for the double post, wow I was off, its monday

 

Ok so, since I'm tired of doing updates, Universal will be one BIG update, spread out into three posts. The first post (this one) will be Universal Studios, the second post will City Walk/Blue Man Group/random stuff, and finally the third will save the best for last and will of course be Islands of Adventure. I'm also doing this because I went to both parks every day (I think) so there would be no possible way for me to remember the order of things.

 

Universal Studios

Day 1: Our first day at Universal, and I was pumped. We checked into the hotel, and I was pretty bummed about leaving Disney World (hell who isn't bummed when they leave Disney World?) so I needed something to pick me up. While the bar was closer and cheaper then the tickets probably were, I'm only 15 and didn't feel like getting kicked out of the hotel, so the park was the next best thing. About 15 minuets after getting there I was on a water taxi off to Universal Studios

 

Because it was so gorgeous outside that day I took my time after I got into the park on my way to Mummy. I used my express pass and got on in about 5 minuets. Such a cool ride! I didn't expect a lot of the effects, very cool! After mummy I went over and walked around outside enjoying the nice area. I went back through San Francisco/ Amity to World Expo to hit up MIB. Very fun ride, thanks to that ride I now know that I can handle spinning rides better then I thought! Thanks MIB!

 

After MIB I went through the rest of the "loop" hitting ET and Terminator. I also embraced my inner credit whore and used the express pass on Woody Woodpeckers Nuthouse Coaster, incredibly sad and pathetic yes, but hey I got the credit. ET was fun, air conditioning felt nice and the ride was kinda cool. Terminator was a waste of time, and I really wish I got that 20 minuets (it was 20 minuets in the ride, I had no wait) of my life back. Boring, loud, annoying, and it hurt my elbow .

 

My next day at Universal I went on mummy a few more times, which was still freakishly fun. I hit up jaws once out of respect. My expectations for the ride were... well I thought it was going to be old and stupid (with lots of porcelain deer, but alas there we're none). I was surprised to find it wasn't too bad, I even rode it again a few days later with my family!

 

Also while I was back there I checked out the preview for Disaster! Overall... it kinda sucked. No offense to anyone that likes the ride, but our ride broke down, and I expected the ride part to be more then just the subway scene. The one thing that would have made it immaculate, is if the actor who plays Frank Kincaid would have said at some point "I need more cowbell!". If that happened, my life would be complete.

 

Other rides that I don't remember when I went on them:

 

Jimmy Neutron-HILARIOUS! I have no clue why I find this so funny but I died laughing during the chicken dance when I went on it. Very very fun.

 

Shrek 4D-I expected a 3D motion simulator, but it was more of a 3D movie where the seats moved a little. No matter, still pretty fun, nothing I would go out of my way for though.

 

Twister-The actors attitudes were the best part. Overall fun, but nothing spectacular.

 

Horror Make Up Show-Also freaking hilarious! Very inappropriate for kids though. And I don't mean the blood and gore...

Oops how did that get in there , more to come later. Comments/criticisms are always welcome!

I liked this poster, the small text says "Tomorrow is the first day of the next to last day of the rest of your life".

Fella's I NEED more cowbell! XP

Horay its 2008! And I'm back at Universal, which was DEAD this morning, I'm guessing everyone was too hung over from the night before.

Back over to Mummy, I got some REALLY dirty looks for taking this picture with a flash, heh...sorry!

I could pull a really bad "thats what she said" joke right now, but I refuse to sink that low when I can't think of a caption.

Credit, CHECK! No not the girls you pervert!

... I was VERY tempted to buy one of these, anyone tried one?

Over in the Kwik-E-Mart...

I started laughing when I saw this shirt, I also got some strange looks.

AAAAAND over to ex-BTTF (RIP) where the Simpson's have taken over.

Over to MIB, where apparently giant yellow frisbees have started mating on top of the poles.

Mmmm delicious. All it is is lemon sorbet, strawberries, apple juice and ice blended together but its so delicious.

Yay its Mummy! I just wish that the seats were just a little more comfortable, plus for no OTSR though.

Contrary to popular belief (also known as this picture), the park really wasn't that busy.

First thing I see when I walk into the park. Hey I need a picture of you *click*, NEXT.

[Broadwayboy2007]

Nice TR so far. Makes me reeeally miss WDW (it's been 6 years since my last visit). The Universal pics look awesome so far and makes me really excited about my trip to HHN 18 in a few months.

[lil jimmy norton]

Awesome tr. The castle looks fantastic.

[ETapley0687]

Still a good TR!!! I love Universal and I think you got some great pics! BTW Next time I go I'm gonna try the Energy Drink. lol

[cprocks22]

So I want to finish this report, so I'll skip the extra post with Blue Man and stuff cause theres hardly any pictures anyway, so here I present: Islands of Adventure!

 

I can't say enough about this park. It very well could be my favorite park in the U.S for theming, tied with Magic Kingdom and Epcot. The theming in just port of entry alone is outstanding, let alone every single land down to the smallest detail. My favorite land...Dr Sues, cause its just so freaking cool!

 

Ride reviews in no particular order:

 

Hulk - Pretty good, but it has a nice rattle to it which took away from the ride, leaving me with a headache. Overall very fun though and I LOVED the launch into the zero-g roll. 7/10

 

Dulling Dragons- Wow, best B&M invert(s) I have been on, noting that I haven't been on Nemesis. If I had to pick between the two... I would pick Ice. I'm not sure why but I found Ice much more fun, even if it slower. Fire is very very very close though. 9/10

 

Spiderman - Before I went on it I was fairly nervous, mostly because I don't do well at all on spinning rides. But OMG I'm so glad I went on it! Kicks pretty much every other dark rides ass! So much fun, and it didn't make me dizzy at all! 9.5/10

 

Poseidon's Fury - This deserves more credit, I loved this! Although the actor was cheesy, it was cool! Thank god for express line though cause while cool its not worth a 90 minuet wait. 7.5/10

 

HITSSTTR - Gets the award for longest name ever for a ride. Very fun though, offered some nice views. 6/10

 

Cat In The Hat - First time on it broke down, so the second time was MUCH better. Very fun little dark ride, again surprisingly the spinning didn't bother me, I guess it was because it wasn't constant. 6.5/10

 

Unfortunetely I didn't get to ride a few things:

Dr Doom Fear Fall

Dudley Do Rights Ripsaw Falls - I was really upset about this one, its just another reason to go back

Popeye & Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges - Again fairly disappointed about missing this one too

 

TR and Pictures in the next post (probably about 7 EST).

[cprocks22]

So yeah I want to be done, heres the pictures from IOA! I'm still trying to decide where it falls on my favorite parks list. It's right up there with Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Holiday World. The theming is better then any other park I've been to, the only thing that took away from the experience were some of the operations, but still better then a few Six Flags parks I've been to.

 

And for the last bit of closure on this wonderful trip to Florida, my first time to AK, and Universal, and my first time back in 9 years, here are the last set of pictures. If you made it this far in the TR, congrats, you have more patience then any normal human being! IOA pictures:

And I leave with this picture, as with most IOA trip reports. While I am extremely sad that I had to leave this amazing vacation, I know that I will come back, and if I have any say in it, it will be soon... very soon . Thanks for reading!

I enjoyed every last bite .

Our waitress come over, and she explains the special. She then continues to say "We have a special thats from when the restaurant first opened, balsamic chicken something..." .

Story time! So we sit down in Mythos, and I start reading over the menu, which didn't include Balsamic Chicken, I was disappointed.

Its Mythos! Yay! I'm still trying to figure out how to pronounce the name though, I heard about 4 different ways.

My favorite Dr. Sues book! Kudos to anyone who knows what book it is.

Ok so it wasn't my ONLY picture of HITSSTTR, I have this one too.

This picture covers 3 things:

1) My only picture of Posideons Fury

2) My only picture of HITSSTTR =(

3) A transition into Sues Landing

I love this picture. My first time on it (I believe it was Fire) the loop made me yell "HOLY %@^#!!!", and I apologize to any small children that were in the area.

Best invert ever! Seriously, if you haven't been on it go buy a plane ticket NOW!!!

Charlie The Unicorn ride credit, CHECK!

Only picture I got in Toon Lagoon, next time I'm there I need to spend more time there, and ride Ripsaw Falls!

Yay Spiderman, best dark ride ever!

Everyone loves Hulk pictures!

Hulk sexy in motion blur!

Now into Marvel Superhero Island, and because its a law I went on Hulk first almost every day.

BTW this isn't going by day, I'm just posting by area.

Does anyone know what this says? It's on the side of one of the buildings.

More theming, I love this place.

Awesome theming, and this is just Port of Entry!

I don't believe this picture needs a caption.

[jackskellington101]

Major props for Charlie the Unicorn ride. All they need to add is Candy Mountain, a bridge, and a magical Liopleurodon and it would transform it into the best ride ever. Besides, the ride already tries to rip out your kidney anyway!

[Broadwayboy2007]

The Dr. Suess book is The Lorax!

[Gav]

Whats going on with that first DD shot? Do they commonly run only one side?

[cprocks22]

^It depends, most of the time they run both, or at least try to. But for some reason they will run one side ever other time and run the other every time, making one train by itself, then duel, and so on. It's strange, I'm not sure why it happens though.

[ETapley0687]

Sorry for being a lamer guys but what is HITSSTTR? lol

 

btw nice pics!

[cprocks22]

^High In The Sky Sues Trolly Train Ride, thus the reason for making it HITSSTTR

[ETapley0687]

lol thanks, I'm familiar with that ride but i didn't realize how long the name is.

[voodoobones]

lol thanks, I'm familiar with that ride but i didn't realize how long the name is.

 

Thanks, I was wondering the same thing. Way to many letters getting thrown around these boards.

 

Cool pics. I can't wait to go some day.

[natatomic]

Poseidon's Fury - This deserves more credit, I loved this! Although the actor was cheesy, it was cool! Thank god for express line though cause while cool its not worth a 90 minuet wait. 7.5/10

 

The original story line was SO much better. It was Zeus vs. Poseidon (at least, I think it was Zeus...anyone wanna confirm?), and a feeble, old man was the "tour guide;" though at the end we find out that he was actually Zeus in a mortal disguise trying to protect us. That's right, *protect us* because POSEIDON was the bad guy.

 

So when they changed it to Poseidon vs. Darkennon (how dumb of a name is that, anyway?), I was all like, "I gotta root for the original villain now? Something in my conscience just does not sit well with that."

 

But the special effects were basically the same in both versions, and that's pretty much what makes the show, so I guess the meat of the show kept it's dignity. The only other difference was that treasure room (or whatever it's called - the 2nd room) was decorated differently, but that's about it. Still, the original? Soooo much better.

[ETapley0687]

Yea that would be weird to be all of a sudden cheer for the villain. When i went it was the new version so it wasn't like that for me. But i enjoyed it!