Universal Orlando Resort (USF, IOA, Epic) Discussion Thread

[chargersmichael]

Here is my trip report including Halloween Horror Nights 24!

 

Sunday, September 28th

We arrived early at Islands of Adventure to get some rides in!

 

Our first ride was Incredible Hulk. We were the first ones on for the day in the Front Row! Then we did it again in the front row! Great way to start the day!

 

Our second ride was Doctor Doom. Scares me everytime right before we launch up. Fun ride, but short.

 

Third was Spiderman! I didn't know there was a new photo thing in the queue. They gave me a Photo Connect card but wasn't really sure what to do with it. Btw, this ride is awesome!!!

 

Fourth was Ripsaw Falls. One of my favorite water rides! I just wish they could clean up/update the ride a bit. Still love it though!

 

We were going to ride Jurassic Park but it was closed...as usual lately. Also, it is weird walking into Jurassic Park from Toon Lagoon. There is no Arc Entrance anymore and there aren't any trees to the left! It is weird. #kingkong

 

Fifth was Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. The colors on the ride projections seemed really weird. It was almost as if the contrast levels were down. Still a fun ride. We walked on the ride. We went into single rider line and we ended up riding together!

 

Next was Dragon Challenge. All I can say is...INTENSE! <3

 

Then we did the Hogwarts Express going to Universal Studios! Such a cool experience!

 

--

 

After we went to our hotel and slept until it was time...HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS 24!

Houses (by order I visited them)

 

1) From Dusk til Dawn 9/10

Great way to start the night with lots of scares and strippers! I didn't really understand what was going on in the house but oh well! Strippers and scares! Fun!

 

2) AVP 7/10

This house I feel like I went in with too high of expectations. I mean it was good but I wasn't blown away by it. A few scares but nothing terrifying.

 

3) Dracula Untold 6/10 WORST HOUSE OF NIGHT

There's not much to say about this house. I kind of wish the movie came out before the event but oh well. I had no idea what was happening in the house and nothing was really scary. The only thing that I liked really was the burning house thing. The burning smell and the effects were cool.

 

4) HALLOWEEN BEST HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 10/10

From the facade out front, to the little show projected on the house of the first scene of the movie, to just everything! This house was amazing! Michael Myers everywhere! It followed the movie so well! The creepy music, the attention to detail, the scares, everything was just perfect! Michael Myers is creepy. That ending though! BEST HOUSE!

 

5) Giggles & Gore 8/10

This was just creepy. There were lots of buttons and things throughout the house. I kept pressing them and was not sure if anything happened. The only thing that did happen was the actual "DO NOT PRESS" button. Clowns are creepy.

 

6) The Walking Dead 10/10

This was an amazing house. The sets were huge! The house seemed like it went on forever! Lots of great scares! Finally, a really good Walking Dead house! 2nd best house.

 

7) Roanoke Cannibal Colony 8/10

There was like a 10 min wait (I mean I had Express Pass but still. Halloween was at 75 minutes all night. Walking Dead at 65 minutes...10 min really?) I honestly didn't get scared in this at all as I could see all of the scares before they popped out but I thought it was a really creative and well themed house. I really enjoyed it!

 

8) Dollhouse 9/10

CREEPY! CREEPY! CREEPY! This was a great house as well! Lots of great scares! Only a 15 min wait. The tent houses were really good this year! I don't know if I saw some things correctly in the house though. Were there men in diapers wearing a Baby mask crawling in a crib? I wasn't sure what was happening!

 

ALL SCARE ZONES WERE AWESOME! PURGE WAS THE BEST ONE THOUGH!

 

--

 

Monday September 29th

We woke up early (somehow) and used our early entry for Diagon Alley at 7am. We were really tired.

 

Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts I don't care what anyone says...I absolutely love this ride! It is just so much fun! We walked on it today with absolutely no wait!

 

After we rode Rockit, Mummy, and MIB. Got a new personal record on MIB with 458,000! Transformers was closed all day yesterday and was closed this morning. Idk if it opened later on but I was upset. Oh well.

 

Overall, I had a blast at Universal this past weekend!!!

[cfc]

According to the Orlando Sentinel, Universal has removed the "human sacrifice" show from the Bayou of Blood scare zone.

 

This is being referred to as a "creative decision."

[DaveDowning]

Well, judging from the video, the show was not that great anyway, so I don´t feel so bad about this.

 

Quick question:

Is anyone from here around for Horror Nights on the 5th of October or in the park for the following two days? We´re flying in from Germany for our first trip to Florida ever. And we love meeting new people. So if someone wants to meet up, let me know! Trip Report will follow of course.

[Hockeyman55]

Went to Universal for opening weekend of HHN and had a bunch of first on this trip. For starters was our first time stay at Cabana Bay Beach Resort and can guarantee it will not be our last. Loved the rooms and for cost of the family suite think its one of the best values in the Orlando area and super huge plus its onsite.

 

Our second new experience was this was our first time seeing Diagon and words couldn't even describe the feeling off walking in there and seeing the dragon for the first time, just a jaw dropping sight. Loved Gringotts (my head Is still spinning trying to process what I just saw, lol) and HE and really like the fact that it was a ride my whole family could ride together.

 

Then there was Antojitos and Hot Dog Hall of Fame, do I even need to comment on how good the food was at both places.

 

 

Pool area at Cabana Bay, was getting kicked out of the area since it was closing time but still managed to get the shot

Cabana Bay Beach Resort lobby. Such a cool look and vibe

Beach area at Cabana Bay

Scare Actor in the Face Off scarezone

Bayou of Blood stilt walker was pretty cool

Have you had your annual purge

The dragon, im sure you have seen a 100 photos of this already but still impressive to see in person

Skull on display at Borgin and Burkes

Pumpkin on the façade of the Halloween house

[DJeXeL]

Stunning pictures, as usual.

[ernierocker]

^^Nice photos! Looking forward to staying at the Cabana Bay in 10 days.

[Mrlittle]

^^^Yes, I agree. Great photos.

[Hockeyman55]

Thanks guys

 

Still have a lot to go thru and will post more as I get the chance to.

[ScreaminNewEngland]

Woohoo! Another trip to Universal Studios! My absolute favorite place to go on vacation. Everything is so close, the rides are amazing and the food is great. I stayed at the Royal Pacific Resort. It was the first time I didn't stay at the hard rock. The Royal Pacific was.... eh. Not as nice as the other two hotels but it did the job and it was clean. Plus it still has the free express passes included. I got a four day pass which is a MUCH better deal than getting a one day pass. All the rides were in great shape and the parks really look nice. Here's my ride count on this four day adventure:

 

Universal Studios:

Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket: 10x

Revenge of the Mummy: 13x

Transformers: 4x

The Simpsons Ride: 2x

Men In Black: 3x

Kang and Kudos: 1x

E.T: 2x

Woody Wood Pecker Nuthouse Coaster: 3x

Fiffel's Waterslide: 3x

Gringott's Bank Coaster: 2x

Shrek 4-D: 1x

Despicable Me: 1x

 

Islands of Adventure:

Incredible Hulk Coaster: 18x

Doctor Doom's Fearfall: 5x

Spiderman: 5x

Stormforce Acelatron: 2x

 

Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls: 17x

Popeye's: 2x

 

Jurrasic Park River Adventure: 1x

 

Dueling Dragons (fire): 16x

Dueling Dragons (Ice): 7x

Flying Unicorns: 2x

Hogwort's Express: 2x

 

High in the Sky Trolley: 1x

Cat in the Hat: 2x

One Fish Two Fish: 2x

 

Diagon Alley:

Okay so here it goes, Diagon Alley. I love this area, the detail, the theme and the complete movie look. It really felt like you were there. The little alley ways were so cool, the indoor part is amazing. The stores were very nice and looked spot on. The dragon was INCREDIBLE. It blows out fire and is pretty loud. I loved the secret entrance way to the new area.

 

New Rides that I haven't been on yet:

 

Gringott's: Awesome ride, even better queue line. I love the unique, spinning trains on the ride. The themeing is incredible and it really feels like lord voldemort is gonna kill you! The ride is quite short though. I was really hoping for more, not a whole lot of coaster, so don't get your hopes up for that. The first scene was crazy! 10/10

 

 

Transformers:

One of the best rides in all of orlando. This ride more than exceeded my expectations, I hate to say it, but I prefer this over Spiderman. Transformers is action packed and thrilling. It's amazing how long of a ride they could make in such a tight building. 10/10

 

Despicable Me:

It was already open last time I visited. Finally got to ride it. Wasn't a fan. It was very dizzieing and blah. I loved Jimmy Neutron, so sad it's gone. The introduction video laster forever, it was so boring. I don't understand why they haven't added a spongebob ride yet, so much spongebob retail, no ride! 6/10

 

Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket:

So many haters, such a fun ride. I really like this ride, it doesn't have the craziest elements but it's just one of those " throw your hands up and have a blast" rides. Blasting rollin' by limp bizcut and Bring me to life by Evanecances! Theire is several very forceful spots on this ride, and it runs like 24/7 right now. It opens early at 7 for the hotel guests and closes after 2am when Halloween Horror Nights ends. Some train work would be nice but other than that, I like it still. 9/10

 

Revenge of the Mummy:

I still love it! Easily my favorite indoor coaster! The ride is thrilling, it has awesome detail and it looks so believable. I just wish it was longer! 10/10

 

Notes on USF:

Springfield is INCREDIBLE! The food is spectacular, the themeing looks awesome and the new Kang and Kudos ride really compliments the main attraction. I wish the saucers would have spun though... oh well.

The simpsons ride is still one of my favorite simulator rides out there. The queue line got some nice new paint too!

 

Woody Woodpecker area really wasn't in that bad of shape, in fact, it was pretty popular still. I love the area! The waterslide is so much fun along with the huge playground and rollercoaster. So much fun with the family!

 

E.T was in much better shape than I remembered. Such a nice relazing ride and if I reacall, it's the last original ride in the park. Only a couple scenes could use some work. It still pulled an average wait time like the others during the time I was there. 10-20 minutes.

 

Halloween Horror Nights was well underway. This park was basically up 24/7. They open at 7 and close late at night after HHRN. I really wish I went, the Michael Myers house is being praised as the best and scariest house there ever was. AVP is supposed to be amazing too.

 

All the areas were in much better shape than last time I was there.

 

Men In Black is still my favorite shooting game and is still drawing big crowds! I'm sure it'll be more popular with Diagon Alley and Springfield right next door. Easily the best A/C in the park!

 

Transformers building is very impresive and is a perfect addition to the park.

 

Much more is coming.....

[Invertalon]

Spent the past week down in Orlando for HHN... Overall, very good year! We ended up going through 41 houses in 4 nights at the event.

 

I think the house line-up was not as strong as last year but the zones were fantastic. Dusk till Dawn, AVP and Halloween were really good houses. Dracula, Dolls of the Damned and Gore and Giggles were at the bottom of my list. The others fell in the middle somewhere.

 

I hope this can be the last year for Walking Dead, it is just so uninspired anymore. The house was decent, but zombies are just not exciting...

 

While Halloween was a fun house, I think it is a bit overrated myself. It was far from scary and more-so cool just because the movie is so iconic. It was well done though, for sure.

 

Roenoke is a really "pretty" house, but scares are lacking. Also, it is a very gory but you hardly see any of that unless you do the lights on tour. Incredible detail throughout, but it just fell flat in terms of experience.

 

Alien vs. Predator I looked forward to the most... It did not disappoint at all! Amazing detail. Loved this one! I wish we had more houses of this caliber at the event this year.

 

Dusk till Dawn ended up being the house we went through most (10 times)... I am a big fan of the series and this house was awesome. I can see others not being impressed, especially if they never saw the movie or just wanted something more scary... But IMO, it was just a fun, solid house. High energy and great scares. Tied between this and AVP for top house.

 

Bill and Ted was pretty weak this year... Or I am just clueless to this past years pop culture, not sure.

 

All the zones (except Face Off, if you could call that a zone) were well done. I enjoy the unique zones over a park-wide one for sure. The interaction with the crowds in the purge zone was really awesome, especially during the auction.

 

Overall, not my favorite year... But still really good.

 

I am working on all my photos (and video) from the event.. We did both lights on tours, so plenty of shots within the houses will be included as well. Some previews on my FB page if interested (here!) but I plan to do an update here once I get them all uploaded with a better TR.

[robbalvey]

I'm sure you've been seeing us post about Halloween Horror Nights 24 to our Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube channel, and now it's time to put all those photos, videos, together, with a few more we've added for one giant "HHN 24 Update!"

 

Also, everything you need to know about getting tickets, booking RIP Tours, etc, can be found here: http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/orlando/

 

Enjoy...

It's that time of year again and terror has taken over Universal! Halloween Horror Nights still proves to be one of the top theme park haunt events in the USA if not the world!

Look, we know it's the third year in a row for Walking Dead, but it's a huge house with one of the longest lines all night. People love it, so why not?

"Hey, aren't you that weird guy that runs Theme Park Review???"

"GO AWAY!!! DIE! DIE! DIE!!!"

Apparently, they have rolled out the red carpet for someone...this looks like a good event to crash!

Elissa met some of our TPR trolls at the media night.

The Face Off characters looked absolutely AMAZING!

Elissa has found herself a new date!

We got to interview Laura Tyler, Face Off Season 5 winner and also a make-up artist for HHN 24! She was super nice and said she'd come babysit KidTums! (Who is also a HUGE fan of the show!)

Do these pretty girls look like they have an evil side? No? But they do!

"Hey, look! Me and Mike just hanging out..."

"Is this a theme park blogger or a monster? Can't tell? Neither can we!"

Loved this creature! One of our favorites!

Elissa: "I took all these photos in the last 90 seconds! This pretending to be a blogger is EASY!!!"

Hanging out with Mike Aiello, Creative Director for Halloween Horror Nights!

It's the "blogger elite!!!" (or...just a bunch of nerds...you decide!)

Time to go out in the streets and check out the event!

It wouldn't be HHN without Mel's Die-In!

Tonight we are on an RIP tour, which is an exclusive tour with front-of-the-line access to all the houses and a VIP tour guide! We highly recommend this experience and it can be booked via the website! (link above)

First stop...the PURGE!!!

I support anything that supports the killing of random people.

Either too much drinking or too much purging...

...I guess it was the purging.

Loved the little "show" they did with the van coming in from the streets...

...grabbing people and taking them away!

"Don't worry...this won't hurt much..."

And any scare zone with FIRE and EXPLOSIONS is instantly AWESOME!

The Purge "auctioneer" was awesome! One of my favorite characters of the event!

I have a feeling she's not the only one that wants to Purge me!

And then there is this guy...

"Oh, we shall!"

"Want to buy some blood?" These girls are everywhere...that's not a bad thing!

"Oh, no you just didn't take a picture of the sign that says no pictures did you?" "Yup, yes I did!"

Here's a photo of the stage and this will be the last picture you'll see of Bill & Ted since, as always, no photography is allowed.

EXCEPT OF US!!! Here we are enjoying Bill & Ted! (Well, at least sitting down before the show started!)

Bill & Ted were around for photos with pretty girls after the show. I was denied because my man boobs out cupped many of the other women at the event. (although I lost to several of the other bloggers!)

Time for the Halloween house!

Trick or Treat!

I like where this is going....

I like to call this my "every Friday night!"

He seems to love them women!

Dollhouse of the Damned was up next...

There were dolls...and they were damned!

Creepy!

And HOT!

Next up, probably my favorite part of the event... the Face Off Scare Zone!

Loved the detail of all the Face Off creatures.

And that you could actually get photos of them!

So many of the scare zones make it impossible to get pictures, but I think capturing some of this horror is one of my favorite parts of the event!

So man different Face Off creatures that we recognized from all the different seasons.

I kind of hope they do a scare zone like this again.

In addition to the creatures on display, there were plenty of other characters out in the zone jumping out at you.

Axe Girlfriend was by far my favorite!

The re-creations they made from the show to the theme park was outstanding!

Completely stunning!

This guy was offering me some head. I turned him down. I'm sure he'll have plenty of takers, though!

Thank you for the AWESOME Face Off section. Seriously loved this!

Wait times are getting up there! Glad we have the RIP tour!

Next house - Aliens Vs Predator!

Love this series and the house was one of my favorites of the event!

Lots of awesome touches from the films.

The scares and animatronics were fantastic!

Loved the little vignette's with the actors.

Dracula was just "ok" - Maybe if the film had been out and I'd seen it I would have liked it more.

Still some really nice set design and characters.

Plenty of scares!

Bayou of Blood was a voodoo-themed scare zone.

Witch doctors and black magic were all around.

Had a really cool vibe to the scare zone.

This took me back to my Oingo Boingo days!

MASKerade: Unstitched was like a ballroom gala gone wrong.

Loved the "theatrical" setting of this scare zone.

Kind of had a bit of a "Phantom of the Opera" vibe to it as well.

The costumes were amazing.

I heard some people complain that they didn't like that the scare zones weren't that "scary", but I honestly really liked the mix of scares and theatrics to all the zones. I liked that there were things you could get pictures of and really capture the event. I feel like some people don't realize the importance of that. I liked all the scare zones this year and hope that this sort of trend continues.

This ended up being my favorite maze of the event!

No, not because of this creepy dude out front trying to sell me girls...

but because there were lots of girls!

And they were nice to look at and I didn't mind them jumping out at me one bit! (or should that be bite?)

Walking Dead. I've never seen the show (I know, I know...) so some of this is lost on me...

Poor little guy...he was just trying to get some left over churros!

This maze had a TON of actors in it though...

Lots of zombies!

Giggles and Gore was the last house we walked through. If you like gore and comedy...this is the house for you!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-oUSUVSoNc

Everyone, make SURE you push this button when you go through the maze!!!

Once again, Halloween Horror Nights has to be in the top three best halloween events in the world! If you're into Halloween, even just a little bit, you MUST do this event!!!

Construction Photos from early Feb 2005

In case you get lost wandering through the gardens, just look for one of these signs!

Oh, no Chris! Watch your step!!!

Edited October 3, 2014 by robbalvey

[Diamondbacker27]

Awesome TR Robb!

[cfc]

The scare zones do look pretty cool; they've been lacking during the last few HHNs (Night Maze, anyone?).

[Meteornotes]

Cool photos and video. Love the Fact Off stuff, we watch that show all the time, and would really like to see that scare zone.

 

dt

[Dschu]

A I'm hearings the delay between dispatches on dragon challenge is now shorter. Now it's partially dueling!

[doublestufforeo]

I don't know if I just got a bad run through but my least favorite house was Dusk Till Dawn. It just wasn't that scary and it felt kind of ... cheap compared to the standards that I'm used to. (What with the curtains and all, I understand it fits the theme, but it just didn't do it for me.)

 

My favorite house so far (setting my bias for the Walking Dead aside as that will always be my number one,) was Halloween. (I've yet to do Dracula but will be very soon.)

[Hilltopper39]

Every year I find it interesting how differently each house is reviewed by different people. The same house that is one person's favorite of the event is someone else least favorite house in 10 years. Has there ever been a year where one single house was the absolute majority favorite? Seems like it really comes down to what you like personally.

[Hockeyman55]

Every year I find it interesting how differently each house is reviewed by different people. The same house that is one person's favorite of the event is someone else least favorite house in 10 years. Has there ever been a year where one single house was the absolute majority favorite? Seems like it really comes down to what you like personally.

 

Id say American Werewolf would be the only house I can think of that I saw a majority people love but this year has been all over the place, Halloween would be my guess to this years in a popularity contest, although it wasn't my favorite

[DaveDowning]

Just a quick report from me with a longer one following.

 

We´re in Florida for the first time at the Universal Orlando Resort and in our first American Theme Park. AND IT IS AWESOME ! We love it. We have two more days to come here and some rides left to do.

 

Some thoughts. A full photo TR ouf our three weeks in Florida (not just parks) will follow when we´re back.

 

Royal Pacific:

 

Really beautiful hotel, nice pool. Rooms could be bigger for the price. The bathroom is the biggest let down for me. Stayed at an airport hotel before we left for 80 Euros and hat a better room and a better bathroom than here. Nice perks which make up for a big part of the price, which makes it just seem like a "little" waste of money for me. Considering that it´s just a 10 Minute walk, I´d choose a cheap hotel somewhere around IHOP and buy unlimited express next time. Overpriced food and drinks.

 

Horror Nights:

Visited yesterday and it was awesome. We did AVP, Dracula, Giggles, Dollhouse and Walking Dead just with early entrance which was nice. Great Scareszones. Scareactors there were totally on top of their game and got us a few times. My girlfriend used the photo op in Face/Off and one sneaked up behind us. When we were done he totally got us. Also two at Maskerade got us really bad Great.

We actually already think about coming back for a short stay next year. Yep. We seriously consider coming again. From Germany. For this.

 

Harry Potter:

I´m really not a big fan of Harry Potter, so many of the movie details are lost on me. But these two areas really just look like a giant money printing machine to me. Shops, Shops, Shops selling useless stuff for prices that are totally through the roof. These wands and robes and stuff.. I would never buy something like that for my child. It rather make them myself.

The theming.. well the buildings are nice but I´m used to great theming at my home park and while I agree that the attention to detail is great, there are some places where it is lacking. For example the marble walls in Gringotts. It´s just some foil glued to the wall and not even glued correctly in many places. Looked and felt fake.

 

On the construction site of Kong:

Vertical construction is underway with lots of steel rising and a huge crane at the site. Took some pics that I will post later tonight.

 

So, the rides:

 

Gringotts:

I was seriously disappointed by this one. Praised as the best ride ever, it was nice and fun, but it also has some faults. You can see switch tracks during the ride. And the final scene was a big bummer for me as I thought this would be a completely enclosed dome but you could see the end of the screens which broke immersion for me. We waited 45 Minutes (with 60 Minutes posted), the ride broke down for around 15 minutes so it would have been 30 I guess. Would not wait more than 30 Minutes for this one. And when we got out, 75 was posted but the queue looked to be less then when we started. I personally think that they keep the times high to make it seem like there is a huge demand.

 

Forbidden Journey:

I liked this WAY better than Gringotts. The flying sequences are really great to feel and the animatronics are awesome. The dragon, womping villow, dementors and so on. I was SERIOUSLY scared. I would wait an hour for this, but I´d never wait more than 30 Minutes for Gringotts.

 

Transformers:

AWESOME. Loved the movement on this one. Better than both potter rides. The scenes played out perfectly and even though I didn´t know anything about Transformers (I have never seen a transformers movie), I understood the story - which I did not on the Potter Rides.

 

Spiderman:

3D was really AWESOME. Great water, fire, heat fx, also better than both potter rides. (I have never seen a spiderman movie). But this story just made sense to me. I don´t know who the bad guys are and so on, but still, I understood the story (pretty much the same as with Transformers).

 

The Simpsons:

I loved this one. Great fun and the best simulator I was on so far. The whole Springfield area is just plain beautiful. Great Photo Ops as well. We didn´t try the food because somehow the smell in most of the Burger / Quickservice Restaurants in the parks kills all my appetite. Don´t know whats different in comparison to Europe. But I never had that at any european park.

 

Dudley Do Rights:

Nice ride and soaking wet. I would have loved this if my home park didn´t have Chiapas which, for me, is ten times the better flume. Ok, it´s 15 years younger, but all these unthemed passages just didn´t work for me. Loved the first little drop with the camelback, that came completely unexpected. Loved it.

 

Jurassic Park:

Loved it! Loved the last drop on that one. Yes, it´s aging and some of the animatronics could use a little love. Hopefully this will happen when they open kong. Jurassic Park is my favourite area at IOA, and I´m a huge fan of this ride. A part of me still hopes that this expansion will be for Jurassic World and have a new ride thats themed to that and not to Kong.

 

Dr.Dooms Fearfall:

I still haven´t decided if I love or hate drop towers. Phantasialand has Mystery Castle which I love due to the story and the theming, and this is quite similar, except for the fact that you don´t stop at the top. This ride gives some serious airtime. And who doesn´t love airtime? I´m excited to try out Falcons Fury this week.

 

Poseidon´s Fury:

I don´t think it stands out in the park´s contest but still a nice ride.

 

Minion Mayhem:

We love Despicable Me, so it was clear that this was a hit for us. Loved it. Minion Dance Party is a funny idea.

 

Areas:

 

Lost Continent:

Beautiful theming.

 

Port of Entry:

I love the music here. Nice theming and great photo ops.

 

Seuss Landing:

This is so cute! My girlfriend still has her inner child, so she was just laughing and squeaking all the time. I enjoyed it as well. We rode Red Fish, Blue Fish just for fun and had a fun time. Though there were some evil looks from parents, especially as we used our unlimited express

 

The coasters:

 

Incredible Hulk:

My favourite coaster in the park. My girlfriend blacked out twice in the second loop. I love how this thing roars around the track. The sound of it is just nuts and it makes the ride seem so intimidating. Swimming in the pool at the Royal Pacific and hearing Hulk roar through it´s track is great. The corkscrew at the end rocks. A bit of refurbishment (think floorless trains) and most of all some new paint could do wonders on this one.

 

Dragon Challenge:

I prefer Fire over Ice. The Airtime hill is so cool and so unexpected on a invert. I found it interesting how different the two Immelmen (is that correct ??) ride. Of the inverts I rode so far I would put this on number three after Black Mamba and Nemesis, before Ice on rank four and Oziris on five.

 

Flight of the hippogriff:

Theming is cool in the station, but it´s really just a kiddie coaster. I would have preferred a mine train instead. It´s also quite rough.

 

Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit:

I think this one is seriously underrated. It delivers great forces and some airtime aswell. The non-inverted loop rocks. Will ride this many more times tomorrow.

 

And as the last thing, my only real point of criticism:

 

I know it´s in the law here that you have to provide ID if you want to drink, but what happened is just ridiculous (Keep in mind, we are both over 30 and also look that way..). We both have German IDs and German Drivers licenses on us, and we experienced six different situations:

 

a) No asking for ID

b) German official ID was ok

c) German official drivers license was ok

d) German official ID and drivers license together was ok

e) ID and Drivers License was not ok, asked for passport (WTF ???)

f) Are You over 21?

 

Cases a) and e) even happened with the same person behind the counter (Loaded Fries at HHN).

 

So, more too follow in the next days if I find time.

[Hockeyman55]

Just a few photos from opening weekend of HHN as well as one form Cabana Bay

[coastercoaster5]

Does the Cabana bay have an easy connection to the parks?

 

Does it have the boat, i mean did they connect the river???

[jarmor]

It does not have the water taxi access. You have to walk or ride a bus...

[coastercoaster5]

How long does it take to walk/bus??

[jedimaster1227]

The walk can be done in 10-15 minutes at a casual pace, even less time if you walk quickly.

[coastercoaster5]

Thanks so much. What about bus?