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

P. 625: Harry Potter Ministry of Magic revealed!

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11 hours ago, coasterbill said:

I get why some people would like it; mainly locals who want the festive atmosphere and know a bunch of their friends in the hobby will be there and they can hang out all day while standing in line and knowing that they'll probably ride like one thing all day but you're not really there to ride much and you're okay with that. If I were traveling to be there I would hate it. Also, personally if I were a local I wouldn't care about that at all and would just wait 3 weeks and ride it on a random Wednesday morning or something but if that's your thing, hey... you do you.

If I lived nearby I would either avoid the park like the plague that day or I would go to the studios park in the morning and walk-on every single ride for a few hours since you can basically never do that before getting the hell out of there.

Yeah, I dunno. I don't even plan to go to Great Adv right away when Jersey Devil opens and that's an hour away.

We did that one time with Twisted Timbers, but I did that reluctantly. It was kind of chilly/overcast and everyone who was there was there for that so we did I305 and Volcano and hung out with friends and got FL+ anyway riding TT a bunch so it worked out. But these like 3/4/6+ hour waits for something... efffff that. It's a brand new ride, it's not going anywhere. I'll ride it when you psychos are through with it.

12 hours ago, Garet said:

^ You and I have very different definitions of fun.

Basically.

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It's not something I'd do, but if you're a local I can see the appeal of going for a ride opening. So long as you accept the early morning, possibility of disappointment though breakdowns etc, then I can totally understand why you'd want to go - it must have bit of a festival-like atmosphere and at least you can enjoy the ride before over-exposure to all the reviews and everything. I'm definitely not going to look down on someone for wanting to be a part of it.

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And the crazy thing is that even if you DO get to ride it on opening day, you are far from the first person to do it. The coaster will have been soft opened for weeks in addition to the media events. I still remember opening day of WWOHP and the 10+ hour wait just to get IN the park. As I watched the madness unfold from home, I laughed since I had already gone a few times prior, and after the hype died down, I went many times over the summer. 

But you will still see the "gotta be first" crowd bragging about being the first on the ride. Better them than me.

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I've been to plenty of opening days for coasters at parks like Kings Island and Holiday World several years ago, but back then it wasn't as big of a deal as it is now. It was pretty much here's the opening day of the park, the new coaster for the year opens that day, there might be a 2 or 3 hour line for that ride but the rest of the day was still pretty enjoyable. It's just a different world now with social media and how popular the parks have become. Opening days are kind of a fun experience though, lots of energy and excitement, I just hate how now there's so much uncertainty around the opening day for new attractions at major parks. Like if I showed up at 6am at IOA on June 10th, will I even get to ride? Will it be on a virtual que where's it's a crap shoot to get a slot? Mechanical break downs aside are they even going to run it the entire day? 

 

Something like Iron Gwazi or Ice Breaker I'd go to opening day for no problem, but attractions at Disney or Universal it's not worth it anymore to me. 

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^Why is it OBVIOUS they'll do soft openings?  There were zero soft openings for Hagrid's.  Sure the ride has been running with people for six months now but we're also in a pandemic when no one seems to know what's actually going on.  They are still running it almost every day and I would LOVE to see it soft open but I am not assuming anything.

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Orlando Informer meetup trip at Universal....anyone here got a quick review or opinions? I've heard it great from people. Just seeing if folks here have opinions.  Thinking about maybe doing the Dec one this year.

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On 4/7/2021 at 9:56 AM, coasterbill said:

I get why some people would like it; mainly locals who want the festive atmosphere and know a bunch of their friends in the hobby will be there and they can hang out all day while standing in line and knowing that they'll probably ride like one thing all day but you're not really there to ride much and you're okay with that. If I were traveling to be there I would hate it. Also, personally if I were a local I wouldn't care about that at all and would just wait 3 weeks and ride it on a random Wednesday morning or something but if that's your thing, hey... you do you.

If I lived nearby I would either avoid the park like the plague that day or I would go to the studios park in the morning and walk-on every single ride for a few hours since you can basically never do that before getting the hell out of there.

A very wise policy.

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Got the pleasure of watching Velocicoaster cycle last weekend and can't overstate how incredible this things looks in person. Between the pacing, the wonky transitions, and the fantastic theming (the foliage looks like its been growing for decades)...seems like this is going to be the coaster experience to beat.

Crazy how much my interest in the Universal Orlando Resort has grown with just two (very wise) additions.

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  • 2 weeks later...

that looks great!

 

love hearing y'all's opinion on it.. the theming looks better than what they did on Hagrid too - talking about the zooming among the rockwork portion (tho the Raptors in the queue are great)!

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I'm glad this ride is every bit as good as it looks.  I can't wait to check it out.  I'm going to wait until I see how Universal handles the opening.  I want to make sure I can ride it a few times in a visit before heading down.

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Looks awesome, like a blend of Maverick and I305.  Unfortunately I'll probably never ride it, since I can't justify the cost of Universal tickets for what I'm interested in, but yeah, looking really good.  Glad you locals get to experience it!

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My advice for everyone who balks at the price of a one day ticket (considering you basically have to park-hop) seems counter-intuitive but it's to get an annual pass (I know how stupid that sounds but hear me out).

The Seasonal Pass has no benefits except for park admission but it's 349.99. A one-day ticket on most weekends is $187 or sometimes more so the pass pays for itself in less than 2 visits (aside from consecutive-day combo tickets or mid-week visits during the slowest time of the year). They also frequently run promotions where you can get additional months added on to your pass for free. We got ours last October and it's good until some time in January of 2022.

Sure, this pass has blackout dates but only a few select Mardi Gras concert days that you can work around. The other blackout days are days where no intelligent person would want to be caught dead in Orlando anyway if they didn't live there (Christmas Week / Spring Break / July... the hottest month of the entire summer)

That said, when we renew one of us will get the preferred pass for the free parking and in-park discounts and one will keep the seasonal pass. That's the move if you're going to travel with friends or a significant other.

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Thanks for the review, your thoughts definitely seem in line with my expectations of this being a ride of two halves. It's nice to see that with two decent coasters in such a short amount of time that Universal are restoring a bit of balance to their line-up too after several screen-heavy years.

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1 hour ago, coasterbill said:

(Season Pass Advice)

You might be right about that.  Do these passes expire a year after purchase, or first activation, or are they tied to a calendar year like SF/CF passes?  And I'm correct to assume that a pass purchased in Florida is only valid at the Florida parks, right?  I could probably swing two trips in the span of a year.

From OrlandoInsider, it appears that crowds are very light the first two weeks of December...might be worth another trip down to Florida for that, and hopefully IG and Icebreaker.

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Passes expire a year from the first date that you use them (unless it's longer because there's a promotion going on). They are not tied to the calendar year.

The first 2 weeks of December are an amazing time to visit Orlando but keep that on the down-low. 😂

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