nitrofan
01-09-2010, 06:09 PM
3/27 Universal Studios Orlando
After a good nights rest, we returned to the park and actually made it there on time! I wasn't sure what to expect since this park isn't advertised as much, but I had an open mind to what rides people said were good. I was not very happy to discover that this park was all about the shows and theming, and only had 1 ride that had any thrills. Hollywood Rip, Rockit, Ride will really help this park. The theming seems pretty generic, but it still has a while to go.
Since everyone told me how awesome Revenge of the Mummy was, I decided to try it. I'm not sure why, but I was expecting another simulator like Spiderman. I was pleasantly surprised before we even got to the station! The ride entrance looked just like that famous theater in Hollywood (can't remember the name, it might have been Kodak, idk) and the sign read a 5 minute wait. We walked through room after room of empty switchbacks themed to some sort of museum. I kind of got confused because we kept walking, and there was a sign saying hot set right after we passed some type of storage area of props. After we passed the sign, it appeared to be a mummy tomb with dim lighting, columns, other props, and amazing attention to detail. By this point, I was already impressed. We passed through another room of this, went up stairs, and the line divided to the dual loading stations.
We were ushered onto the vehicles by operators dressed as Egyptian Slaves. It was so nice to see employees dressed in something other than neon yellow polos. The vehicles were not trains, but a single car seating 16 people, 4 rows of 4. Basically, we were being attacked by mummies and we had to make our way through the pyramid without getting caught. We were captured, and then launched and the roller coaster portion started. We stopped in an area that looked just like the ride exit platform and there were instructions on how to get off when the glass on the operator window broke and we saw a mummy controlling the ride. The whole ceiling then erupted in flames and we went through a short coaster section, and then we were at the conclusion of the ride.
I was extremely impressed with this ride!!! It may have been because of how low my expectations were, but this ride was absolutely amazing! It had an amazing launch and the coaster part was fantastic because you had no idea which way to lean or anything. I think all premier coasters should be in the dark! It was also very cool how they stopped you in the middle of the coaster section and made you think you were getting off the ride, and the whole ceiling burst into flames. This video just can't do justice to the feeling you get at that part of the ride. It was so cool that we had to do it 3 more times before my friends made me move on. This was the first premeire coaster that I loved this much.
We moved on to Jaws. We loaded large boats with a "driver". Now when I say driver, it really means tour guide pretending to drive the boat. The boat proceeded through the town when a radio call came saying that the shark was loose. We saw it in the distance, and the "driver" took a plastic gun and shot at it, and of course, missed. I won't go on to all the details on this, but this animatronic shark looked really cheesy and fake. It was a fun ride with great excitement, but they need to get a more realistic shark.
After that, we went to Men In Black: Alien Attack. I really don't like these competition shooters, but everyone else wanted to ride "the world's largest shooter ride" so I went. It was really cool how you walked through what looked like a secret-agent base, and we were briefed, like we were real agents on a real mission. After boarding, we saw that the ride was taken over by aliens, and we had to kill them all. It was very exciting, and the spinning and jerkiness just added to the experience.
Next, we moved on to Simpsons: The Ride. I was expecting something more like Spiderman, but after we got through the long chain of pre-shows, we boarded a simulator vehicle and went into a large room with a giant screen. I liked the storyline, but I don't think younger kids understood much of it. I know Nuclear Material was over my head when I was at that ride's target age.
Our final ride for the morning was The Adventures of ET. We visited the pre-show where we learned that ET's planet needed saving, and we were going to ride bikes to go help him. We told an attendant our name, which they put on a computerized boarding card. Before boarding, the attendant scanned our card, and ET said our names' to thank us at the end of the ride. It was a great dark ride, but it barely moves, and he ride is starting to show its age.
Then we went to eat lunch at Richter's Burgers near Revenge of the Mummy. I had the Garden Burger and it was pretty good. I had a pre-paid voucher, but it was a $13 meal!
After that, we went back to mummy and rode it 15 times until we had to leave for our band performance. (we got 2nd place)
After the award ceremony, we were back in the park for the Mardi Gras Celebration and performance of Boys Like Girls. I had chicken strips at Mel's Drive-In ($7). The Mardi Gras parade started during our dinner, but we could see it through the restaurant window. It was an excellent parade and brought lots of excitement to the park. The parade was designed to bring people to the concert at its conclusion. It was way too crowded, so my group tried to get as far away as possible. We could still hear the concert just fine from across the park.
Coaster Count:
Revenge of the Mummy x18
Jaws x1
Men in Black x1
Simpsons x1
ET x1
3/28 Universal Studios Orlando
After dinner, we headed back to Universal Studios Orlando for the Kelly Clarkson concert. As opposed to the crowds of 10,000 the night before, they said they were expecting 42,000 guests in attendance for the Kelly Clarkson concert!
We entered the park at 5, 4 hours before the concert, and you could barely move without bumping into someone. We decided to ride Revenge of the Mummy, and got 4 rides in, before the single-rider line closed. We decided to cross the park and ride Men in Black again. When we got off, the concert was starting and that section of the park was clearing out a little. We decided to find at an Ice Cream Shop near the concert, but far enough away to stay away from the crowds. It turned out to be a fun evening, but I was sad that we only had one more day left on the trip.
Coaster Count:
Revenge of the Mummy x4
Men in Black x1
After a good nights rest, we returned to the park and actually made it there on time! I wasn't sure what to expect since this park isn't advertised as much, but I had an open mind to what rides people said were good. I was not very happy to discover that this park was all about the shows and theming, and only had 1 ride that had any thrills. Hollywood Rip, Rockit, Ride will really help this park. The theming seems pretty generic, but it still has a while to go.
Since everyone told me how awesome Revenge of the Mummy was, I decided to try it. I'm not sure why, but I was expecting another simulator like Spiderman. I was pleasantly surprised before we even got to the station! The ride entrance looked just like that famous theater in Hollywood (can't remember the name, it might have been Kodak, idk) and the sign read a 5 minute wait. We walked through room after room of empty switchbacks themed to some sort of museum. I kind of got confused because we kept walking, and there was a sign saying hot set right after we passed some type of storage area of props. After we passed the sign, it appeared to be a mummy tomb with dim lighting, columns, other props, and amazing attention to detail. By this point, I was already impressed. We passed through another room of this, went up stairs, and the line divided to the dual loading stations.
We were ushered onto the vehicles by operators dressed as Egyptian Slaves. It was so nice to see employees dressed in something other than neon yellow polos. The vehicles were not trains, but a single car seating 16 people, 4 rows of 4. Basically, we were being attacked by mummies and we had to make our way through the pyramid without getting caught. We were captured, and then launched and the roller coaster portion started. We stopped in an area that looked just like the ride exit platform and there were instructions on how to get off when the glass on the operator window broke and we saw a mummy controlling the ride. The whole ceiling then erupted in flames and we went through a short coaster section, and then we were at the conclusion of the ride.
I was extremely impressed with this ride!!! It may have been because of how low my expectations were, but this ride was absolutely amazing! It had an amazing launch and the coaster part was fantastic because you had no idea which way to lean or anything. I think all premier coasters should be in the dark! It was also very cool how they stopped you in the middle of the coaster section and made you think you were getting off the ride, and the whole ceiling burst into flames. This video just can't do justice to the feeling you get at that part of the ride. It was so cool that we had to do it 3 more times before my friends made me move on. This was the first premeire coaster that I loved this much.
We moved on to Jaws. We loaded large boats with a "driver". Now when I say driver, it really means tour guide pretending to drive the boat. The boat proceeded through the town when a radio call came saying that the shark was loose. We saw it in the distance, and the "driver" took a plastic gun and shot at it, and of course, missed. I won't go on to all the details on this, but this animatronic shark looked really cheesy and fake. It was a fun ride with great excitement, but they need to get a more realistic shark.
After that, we went to Men In Black: Alien Attack. I really don't like these competition shooters, but everyone else wanted to ride "the world's largest shooter ride" so I went. It was really cool how you walked through what looked like a secret-agent base, and we were briefed, like we were real agents on a real mission. After boarding, we saw that the ride was taken over by aliens, and we had to kill them all. It was very exciting, and the spinning and jerkiness just added to the experience.
Next, we moved on to Simpsons: The Ride. I was expecting something more like Spiderman, but after we got through the long chain of pre-shows, we boarded a simulator vehicle and went into a large room with a giant screen. I liked the storyline, but I don't think younger kids understood much of it. I know Nuclear Material was over my head when I was at that ride's target age.
Our final ride for the morning was The Adventures of ET. We visited the pre-show where we learned that ET's planet needed saving, and we were going to ride bikes to go help him. We told an attendant our name, which they put on a computerized boarding card. Before boarding, the attendant scanned our card, and ET said our names' to thank us at the end of the ride. It was a great dark ride, but it barely moves, and he ride is starting to show its age.
Then we went to eat lunch at Richter's Burgers near Revenge of the Mummy. I had the Garden Burger and it was pretty good. I had a pre-paid voucher, but it was a $13 meal!
After that, we went back to mummy and rode it 15 times until we had to leave for our band performance. (we got 2nd place)
After the award ceremony, we were back in the park for the Mardi Gras Celebration and performance of Boys Like Girls. I had chicken strips at Mel's Drive-In ($7). The Mardi Gras parade started during our dinner, but we could see it through the restaurant window. It was an excellent parade and brought lots of excitement to the park. The parade was designed to bring people to the concert at its conclusion. It was way too crowded, so my group tried to get as far away as possible. We could still hear the concert just fine from across the park.
Coaster Count:
Revenge of the Mummy x18
Jaws x1
Men in Black x1
Simpsons x1
ET x1
3/28 Universal Studios Orlando
After dinner, we headed back to Universal Studios Orlando for the Kelly Clarkson concert. As opposed to the crowds of 10,000 the night before, they said they were expecting 42,000 guests in attendance for the Kelly Clarkson concert!
We entered the park at 5, 4 hours before the concert, and you could barely move without bumping into someone. We decided to ride Revenge of the Mummy, and got 4 rides in, before the single-rider line closed. We decided to cross the park and ride Men in Black again. When we got off, the concert was starting and that section of the park was clearing out a little. We decided to find at an Ice Cream Shop near the concert, but far enough away to stay away from the crowds. It turned out to be a fun evening, but I was sad that we only had one more day left on the trip.
Coaster Count:
Revenge of the Mummy x4
Men in Black x1