OCaml Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 Most people grow apart from their high school friends after a year of college. I am lucky enough to know a few young men that I am still extremely close with, even after meeting a ton of new people at college. Given that this week was the only week we were all in town, we decided to take the three-hour road trip to Orlando and hit up Islands of Adventure. This was my first ever road trip, and I definitely enjoyed the drive up. It was great to chat with old friends like old times. I definitely plan on doing more coaster road trips in the future, given the success of this one. I don't like where Islands of Adventure is headed. I've been there many times throughout my life, and I think that the park has gone downhill recently. First of all, several employees were extremely rude to me and my friends to the point where I wanted to speak to a manager about it. Moreover, Universal and Islands used to have free lockers for popular rides that one could put their belongings in. Those lockers now cost $4 to use. Prices in general were also higher than I'd remembered, and food portions were smaller. The souvenir cups cost 79 cents to refill now, whereas almost every park I've ever been to has offered free refills on them. They changed the Jurassic Park River Adventure ride by adding more immediate brakes at the bottom of the drop, which actually hurt (my momentum carried me forward into the lap bar). The Dragon Challenge (formerly Dueling Dragons) no longer duels. They runs the trains separately, which pretty much ruins the point of the ride. So, while the rides are as fun, I don't think I'm ever going to go back to Islands of Adventure or Universal Studios. I've been to the park enough times now, and I can't imagine them opening any new rides in the near future. I'd be better using my time by going to Disney / Busch Gardens or by experiencing a new theme park. With that being said, I still enjoyed myself a ton. Here are some photos with witty captions. Heading north on the Turnpike and listening to some tunes. Some Busch Gardens advertisement on a Wendy's cup. I found this man to resemble Leonardo DiCaprio, and I found him to have a really funny facial expression. On the left is an excessively happy man eating potato chips. On the right is my imitation of him. A closer look at potato chip man (taken on a trip to Orlando last year). Oxygen is dangerous. Hulk was under repair (a storm knocked out some of its sensors), so our first ride was Dr. Doom. Found this gem in the Express Pass line for Dudley Do-Right. What the hell, Universal? "I'm excited to ride Dueling Dragons!" -Me "This is the Dragon Challenge. It's never been called Dueling Dragons." -Universal employee Hulk went back up by noon. Here's a nice cobra roll photo. Here's a nice barrel roll photo. The ride was boring, as you can tell by our faces. (No clue who the chick in the Red Sox shirt is.) But really, we're just trolls who wanted to take funny pics. Hulk was running great! We couldn't imagine taking an adventure to Jurassic Park without staying hydrated! The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride was really weird. Chris's facial expression is one of perplexion. New 3D glasses on Spiderman. How do we look? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Wanderer Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 That employee was wrong, it was called Dueling Dragons before Harry Potter... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCaml Posted August 12, 2012 Author Share Posted August 12, 2012 Yeah I know haha. I've been going here since I was like 8, and I still am not really used to calling it the Dragon Challenge. It'll always be Dueling Dragons in my heart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adeuce02 Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 There are still free lockers outside of every major ride that are free. Only the water rides are the ones that charge. By the way nice photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCaml Posted August 12, 2012 Author Share Posted August 12, 2012 Thanks for the clarification. I only tried getting a locker at Dudley Do-Right, so I assumed that the fees were...universal...for all rides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midgetman82 Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 1. I have got to do a troll ride photo one day! It's on my bucket list of things to do on rides I'm used to! 2. I haven't been to IoA in years, and I'd love to go back, though on a less crowded day. You seemed like you survived that day. How long did you have to wait for rides? 3. You need to venture out and do new parks if you're tired of IoA. Yo know what they say: You've done the best, now time for the rest! Crappy parks can still pull a great time if done with the correct people. 4. Nice trip report! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCaml Posted August 12, 2012 Author Share Posted August 12, 2012 Thanks for the kind words! The line situation was pretty weird - Hulk, Dueling Dragons, and Spidey were consistently at 20 minutes or less, despite being a summer Friday. However, the FLYING UNICORN was at 80 minutes all day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parallax Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 Thanks for the kind words! The line situation was pretty weird - Hulk, Dueling Dragons, and Spidey were consistently at 20 minutes or less, despite being a summer Friday. However, the FLYING UNICORN was at 80 minutes all day. Flight of the Hippogriff lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCaml Posted August 12, 2012 Author Share Posted August 12, 2012 They'll always be Dueling Dragons and the Flying Unicorn to me, as addressed in my trip report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midgetman82 Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 ^I refer to them by those names as well. The new names seem just weird to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCaml Posted August 13, 2012 Author Share Posted August 13, 2012 We as humans are naturally resistant to change. Most Florida thrillseekers that I know still use the old names, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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