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

P. 625: Harry Potter Ministry of Magic revealed!

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A little late to the Dueling Dragons indignation myself, I'll post my own experience with these sadly departed beasts; I rode Ice, once, in March 2007, not in the front row either. I was with my drama class and after walking through the (magnificent, and then empty) queue line, they didn't fancy doing so again to let us all switch sides. The first duel with Fire scared me, the sucker was barrelling right towards me like a deranged lunatic then we flipped away at the last moment. I distinctly remember not really noticing the following two duels. Sucks I never got to ride Fire, or indeed even try the front row at all, but at least the duel was on that day. I feel the claustrophobia of the queue was meant to contrast with the freedom of flying.

 

A casual HP fan myself, seen the films once or twice, haven't bothered buying them yet. Read all the books once. A simulator is no replacement for this complete, satisfying B&M experience. Is it really a simulator we're getting? Sheesh

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I was interested to see what they did with the shining house to see how they portrayed that film but it looks like they nailed it.

 

When they announced the Blumhouse attraction it seemed kind of lazy to me like they just said eh lets just throw in 3 random movies into one house. I've never seen any of those movies but seemed like that attraction was getting quite a bit of buzz on social media, I guess it worked.

 

The Shining house is the main reason why I have decided to go this year. Ash Vs Evil Dead would be the second. It has to be good right? Jacksonville is represented in a house!

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Ash Vs Evil Dead. Jacksonville

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^Yeah, I've never seen any of the Evil Dead/Army of Darkness stuff so I don't get the joke, just assuming we're being made fun of haha.

It's actually just the location in the show where Ash retires to. It's like his "dream location." It's sort of being made fun of, but it's also very funny!

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^Yeah, I've never seen any of the Evil Dead/Army of Darkness stuff so I don't get the joke, just assuming we're being made fun of haha.

It's actually just the location in the show where Ash retires to. It's like his "dream location." It's sort of being made fun of, but it's also very funny!

 

Yeah, it is simply hilarious. I spit out my drink the first time it was mentioned in season 1.

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^Yeah, I've never seen any of the Evil Dead/Army of Darkness stuff so I don't get the joke, just assuming we're being made fun of haha.

It's actually just the location in the show where Ash retires to. It's like his "dream location." It's sort of being made fun of, but it's also very funny!

 

"Jacksonvillle, Florida! It's everything I ever dreamed of!"

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2017 will forever mark a paradigm shift in Florida's theme parks in general, but perhaps Universal has been most affected. Many classic attractions are leaving this year as we speak. Disaster in particular did not need to go. That being said and all........

 

I think it's time for Florida's parks to change, even if only to a small extent. Dark rides in general get stale for me very fast, and in many cases they do not age well with time, unless they are by Disney. Even Disney has trouble keeping their dark rides from being stale. But I feel like the classic Universal attractions for the most part did not age well with time, and in a whole state's worth of parks that evolve at such a rapid pace this is not a good thing. Of the myriad of classic attractions leaving this year in Florida, many of them are either very dated (Disaster) or have been more or less butchered by the park at some point in time (Dueling Dragons). Think about it. Was Disaster really "educational?" When was the last time the Dragons dueled each other 'till bitter defeat? I think it's time for us to move forward. Universal's Florida parks are not exactly targeted towards enthusiasts, sacrificing things the general public does not like seems logical.

 

As for why Universal would scrap Dueling Dragons rather than send it to a park in Vietnam or something? Actually I have no idea. Surely at least one person working there knows they will be upsetting scores of coaster enthusiasts across the globe, right? And for sure they do not wish to carry the dubious honor of being the first park to scrap not one but two classic B&M inverts, right? Really, I think Universal needs the money to build whatever will be replacing Dueling Dragons. Why else would they scrap a functional B&M invert?

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Really, I think Universal needs the money to build whatever will be replacing Dueling Dragons. Why else would they scrap a functional B&M invert?

 

Im quite confused by this statement. If Universal needs the money for their next E-Ticket attractions, why not sell the coasters to another park? Considerimg how great the ride's condition was, surely it would sell off for a lot of money that would surely pay off for their next attraction.

 

Money doesn't look like the big motive for them, especially considering how large their attendance is with both theme parks, Volcano Bay, and all the people that stay in their resorts. What most likely is the biggest motive for Universal is how "out-of-place" the ride is, especially after it stopped dueling. It wasn't getting rough, it wasn't losing popularity, and the new ride could have simply replaced the remainder of The Lost Continent. But no, the reason was there ever since the Wizarding World first arrived. Dragon Challenge's condition got worse and worse with the removal of the original theming, the addition of metal detectors, and the removal of the iconic dueling aspect of the ride.

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I know I'm chipping in on this discussion pretty late, but I always found it odd that after installing the metal detectors and lockers they didn't reprogram the ride to duel. Insurance companies are anal, I get it, blah blah blah ... but none the less still unfortunate.

 

I never had a problem with the lockers, although I know plenty of people oh here couldn't stand them. Sure they were tight, but at least they were free and insured the safety of the few items I do carry into parks (namely just my phone). And IIRC correctly, they were the fingerprint ones too, where you didn't have to carry your ticket, correct?

 

If they would have brought back dueling, I would have most certainly actually welcomed the lockers.

 

Anyone else feel the same?

 

Anyway, I just thought I'd pop in to say that before it someday becomes completely irrelevant.

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I never had a problem with the fluffy, fluffy bunnies filled with medicine and goo, although I know plenty of people oh here couldn't stand them. Sure they were tight, but at least they were free and insured the safety of the few items I do carry into parks (namely just my phone). And IIRC correctly, they were the fingerprint ones too, where you didn't have to carry your ticket, correct?

 

Here is my issue with them:

 

- The fact that if there is a long line (and I've often seen Hulk or Rockit with a 45 minute line) you can't bring your phone in line with you to pre-occupy yourself with! Name another park in the entire world that does this. I'll bet you can't. You know why? BECAUSE IT'S STUPID!!! That's why!

 

- While the systems are either fingerprint or scan a ticket, the fact that you usually have to wait in line while some idiot in front of you can't figure out how to use the damn system to actually get to the kiosk to rent a locker is so annoying.

 

- Oh, and not only do you have to wait in that annoying line behind that idiot to rent the locker, you have to do it AGAIN to re-open the locker while when it's done.

 

- So yeah, in order to ride Hulk you have to stand in THREE LINES. 1. A line to put your crap away. 2. The line for the ride. 3. A line to get your crap back.

 

- Half of the time, even when I have NOTHING AT ALL in my pocket and the metal detector didn't go off, I still get wanded. Why. WHY!?!?!? Does Universal know how infuriating this is? I'm just trying to get on an amusement park ride.

 

Bottom line is this: I don't want to go on attractions where it is a frustrating hassle and they treat me like a criminal just to get on a damn ride.

 

If they would have brought back dueling, I would have most certainly actually welcomed the fluffy, fluffy bunnies filled with medicine and goo.

You know, I probably would have been "okay" with them too. But they didn't and now they are gone, and it's still annoying af to get on Hulk and Rockit.

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^Even more infuriatingly, Universal is not the only park with a no phone in pocket policy, but they are somewhat unique with their policy in which you have to get rid of everything BEFORE you get in the line.

 

For example, on Karnan people are told (or at least strongly recommended) to empty their pockets. However, this is not done until the front of the line is reached. Everything can be placed in the bag dumbwaiter. And I feel safe keeping everything in there, as no one can access your stuff except the people in your train. This is an amazing idea. I would not mind Universal's system if there was a way to get rid of your stuff at the front of the line, not before you get in it.

 

Hansa Park is a small park in the north of Germany. Some of the locals I met were even downright shocked to see a foreigner there. But they managed to come up with a better loose article system than one of the most visited theme park resorts in the world. I wish the managers of Hansa Park, Phantasialand, and Europa Park could come to the US to teach managers here how to properly run a park.

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^Even more infuriatingly, Universal is not the only park with a no phone in pocket policy, but they are somewhat unique with their policy in which you have to get rid of everything BEFORE you get in the line.

 

For example, on Karnan people are told (or at least strongly recommended) to empty their pockets. However, this is not done until the front of the line is reached.

Yeah, ok, wow... you COMPLETELY TOTALLY MISSED what I said...

The fact that if there is a long line (and I've often seen Hulk or Rockit with a 45 minute line) you can't bring your phone in line with you to pre-occupy yourself with!

That is totally different from having to empty your pockets right before you board a ride. Several parks do this. Although I've been to Hansa Park many many times and I don't remember having to take my phone out of my pocket to ride, even on Karnan. But even if you did, my point is still remains...

 

I cannot think of a single park in the world (and I've been to most of them) that MAKES YOU take EVERYTHING out of your pockets BEFORE getting in line for a ride and makes you walk through a metal detector to even get in line.

Edited by robbalvey
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^I was not trying to downplay your point. I was actually trying to strengthen it. I know you have been there, but I distinctly remember being told to completely empty my pockets on Karnan. I guess maybe they are inconsistent with their policy? Maybe this is a newer policy? I was talking about how Universal's policy is especially stupid because they go about it in the worst possible way. Yes, having to take your phone out of your pocket is bad enough, but they also managed to find a terrible way to implement it. I know many GP who are angered by this as well.

 

I am not personally against Universal making their rides idiot proof, but they also managed to find an idiotic solution. People should not have to go through two modes of metal detecting and give up all electronics for an hour for a ride that they already paid for.

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- The fact that if there is a long line (and I've often seen Hulk or Rockit with a 45 minute line) you can't bring your phone in line with you to pre-occupy yourself with! Name another park in the entire world that does this. I'll bet you can't. You know why? BECAUSE IT'S STUPID!!! That's why!

Six Flags Great Adventure does. They have people standing in front of the queue preventing guests from even getting in the queue if they have anything in their pockets, and they also have security pull people back out of line if they sneak a phone through that checkpoint and have a phone out in the queue. I personally witnessed this happen in the queue for El Toro; the guest was pulled out of line, told to go to the kiosk, put their phone in a locker, and re-enter the queue at the very beginning again. Bonus: The park actually charges guests to use that locker.

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I know a park with ridiculous operations and the strictest loose articles policy known to man.... Fuji Q. I mean I once got unlocked to put a small tissue in the locker I didn't even realize was there myself and had to put a watch in the locker to be replaced by an even larger band..... and even they still let you keep your phone to keep you occupied in a queue line.

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^I was not trying to downplay your point. I was actually trying to strengthen it. I know you have been there, but I distinctly remember being told to completely empty my pockets on Karnan. I guess maybe they are inconsistent with their policy? Maybe this is a newer policy?

I seem to remember they were a bit back and forth when Kärnan first opened but the pre-show video they installed last year pretty much tells you you're supposed to remove any loose items.

 

A more clear example would be what some parks do with their Star Flyers albeit there's a very good reason for that.

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