ORLANDO!

[coasterdime]

Parks covered:

Old Town

Universal Studios

Islands of Adventure

Disney's Animal Kingdom

Disney MGM

Magic Kingdom

EPCOT

Our cars left Cincinnati on Wednesday night. (12-29) After many, many stops along the way, we arrived in Orlando early Thursday afternoon. Although tired, we were all overcome by that buzz you sometimes get when on a coaster trip.

We spent a good deal of Thursday adjusting, and doing a few non-theme park activities. Enough was enough....We were ready to begin riding.

Old Town was our first stop. For those who don't already know, Old Town is home to the world's tallest Sky coaster. This thing has to be seen to be believed. I won't do skycoasters, so I was happy to just watch for a few minutes. Good stuff. We decided to walk around Old Town for a little while. The place is simply a collection of flats, a few pay-per attractions, shops and resturants. I walked past all of that to get my coaster credit.

Windstorm was not a bad ride. (was that the name, Todd?) The best drop was in the middle of the course...a steep, dramatic, twisting dive. Again, a good ride....just did it once, due to the $5 price.

After Old Town, we decided we should probably get a little sleep. Some of us had been up for 30+ hours.

Friday brought us Universal, and IoA. Our first stop was Mummy. I had heard a lot of things about this ride, and was very curious. The ride vehicles are simple 12 passenger single cars. The ride begins like a dark ride, with really good special effects. Not too far into the ride, the car stops. We were then lauched backward, and stopped again. The car sits on a piece of track that acts like a roundhouse. We were turned around, track and all; and lauched again. Instead of flat track, we were launched uphill...giving some pretty good air at the top of the hll. A darn good collection of air hills, intense turns, and effects fills the next few seconds. The finale was well done, and I won't spoil it here.

We did most of the studios, and even rode the Woody Woodpecker coaster. It was time for the park I came for....IoA.

This park is themed so well that I can't find the words to describe it. I won't try, but I will talk a little about the rides...

Incredible Hulk is a B&M sit-down, with a little twist. Most of you know that there isn't a traditional lift. The train is tire driven, and tire launched...up, up, and into the first inversion. It was surreal, being that upside-down while being that high in the air. Very nice. A cobra roll, vertical loop, a weird little diving loop, ANOTHER vertical loop, and a few corkscrews later, we pulled back into the loading station....wondering what happened to us. An incredible ride!

Spiderman, for me, was probably my favorite ride of the trip. I really can't describe the ride itself, but can tell you that it is far and away the BEST dark ride I have ever experienced. Everyone needs to try this one for himself.

The Flying Unicorn was a 'once for the credit' coaster. The layout is very similar to reptar...just not inverted.

Buzzsaw Falls is the park's flume ride. The theming is impeccable, and the final drop is beyond words. I understand that this drop had to be modified since it opened. Still, very effective drop! I rode this LATE on Friday, and was freezing as a result. Try this one in the middle of the day.

Before I get to Dueling Dragons, let me stress that if you go, you HAVE to stop to see everything. The other dark rides and shows (even in Suess) will keep you entertained. I also understand that ther restaurants are second-to-none. (I was on a STRICT budget this time....so I missed out)

Dueling Dragons is a beautifully done attraction. The ride (for those that don't know) consists of a pair of B&M inverts. They are designed to have really close encounters to the train on the other track. Our first ride was on Fire....in the back. I was already sold on this ride. Front seat rides waited for a few days. We arrived early that following Tuesday to enjoy multiple front seat rides. Because the rides weren't even close to full, the dueling aspect was a little off, much to my disappointment. There were a few hints of how great the real duel would have been... Fire is my personal favorite side.

An added note: We spent New Year's Eve at IoA. There were DJ's, drinks, fireworks and coasters. Not a bad way to welcome the new year.

The Disney megaplex is next. Many of you have already experienced Disney, so I'll (finally) be breif. I'll just do a quick highlight recap.

Having an A-list friend has its benefits. We passed a 2+hour wait for Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Big Thunder, and a couple of popular shows.

Splash Mountain was perfect. Long ride, great theming, and fun drops!

Space Mountain was much better than I ever remembered. The ride seems MUCH faster than it actually was. I could have ridden this many, many more times.

Big Thunder MR was what I expected, and remembered. A solid, fun ride!

We also tackled Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Carribean, which are sentimental favorites.

EPCOT was home to my other favorite of the trip: Mission Space. I really thought this ride was incredibly effective. The trip takes you from Earth with an unbelievably strong launch! (my favorite part of the ride)

We did most of EPCOT easily, as there were really never any crowds. I especially liked our 'walk through the world' It was a brief walk through a laundry list of well themed 'countries." I'll definitely spend more time here next time.

MGM and AK were smaller parks, that we just touched on. MGM was home to Tower of Terror, and Rock & Roller Coaster. Both rides are quite good, but of the two, I prefer R&RC. It hints of our own FoF, but features a very smooth ride, (even with OTSR's) Incredible theming, and even a killer soundtrack in the trains themselves!

Animal Kingdom was a park we tackled VERY quickly. Our first stop was Primeval Whirl. which is a spinning Wild Mouse. Not great theming, (unusual for Disney) but a very fun ride. There was no one in line, so we opted for a reride. There was also that Dinosuar ride...whose name I can't remember. The ride vehicles are jeeps, and the ride is absolutely action packed. Someone will respond to name this ride, I hope. We also stopped to see "It's a Bug's Life," which was actually a very fun show....

Before we left, we stopped to check on construction of Expedition Everest. This ride looks to be insane! The two visible drops were very dramatic, and we even saw an air hill or two. This ride won't be open for business for a while still...but is looking great!

One more quick Universal note: Men in Black. This is a must ride. I'm not the biggest fan of shoot-em-ups, but this one is really done right. Not a bunch of cardboard cut-outs, this ride is REALLY interactive. On my last trip, I scored an impressive 574,000 points!

Those are most of the highlights. There were many other great rides I'm leaving out, but maybe my good friend Todd can respond to help fill in the gaps!

Thanks for reading!

[Delirium_Guy]

Nice TR, James! I'll add a few highlights of mine.

Old Town -- I skipped out on the SkyCoaster this time. I've done it before, 300 feet still gets me everytime I ride it. Very cool! Yes, James, the coaster is called Windstorm. It certainly packs a punch for its small size, you may be surprised when you ride.

Universal

* Revenge of the Mummy....WOW. I had ridden during the soft openings in April. Holy cow, has this thing changed. The animatronic Imoteps throughout the ride are unreal, very fluid and realistic movements.....especially when he sucks the soul from Reggie at the beginning. The ride itself was running remarkably faster than April, resulting in some serious air time and an overall intense ride all the way through. As James mentioned, my favorite part is where the train is lurched backward and spun around to launch up the hill. Imotep is shown on a screen above and follows the cars every move until it launches! Poor story for the ride, but VERY well executed! Awesome ride!

* Men In Black: Alien Attack is fantastic. Completely interactive on both sides...the aliens can shoot YOU and spin your car out of control. We took advantage of the single riders line multiple times and get lots of rides.

* Islands of Adventure is still amazing for me. The theming, the soundtrack for the park, exceptional details. Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls still remains one of my all time favorite water rides....it just makes me laugh my rear end off and that drop and bunny hop are a killer combo. Dueling Dragons are two very solid and intense rides......something hard to find by B&M as of recently. Hulk is still very fun, love the first half of the ride....unfortunately it kinda craps out in the end for me.

* Did James mention New Years?! New Years Eve at IOA ruled! Had many yummy, very loaded, glow in the dark beverages.....even managed to score a freebie from the bartender. Let me tell ya, it coudln't have gotten much better for me. I was hammered at one of my favorite parks, great music, dancing, spending time with some of my best friends, then topped the evening off with a front seat Hulk ride at around 1AM! Whew, what a night!

* Disney is just great. Sad that we only spent one day there, but what a day. We hit all 4 theme parks and rode EVERY major E-ticket attraction on property. Tower of Terror still gets me everytime, phenominal attraction. The mountain range at Magic Kingdom still hold their own and offer some fantastic rides! On a negative note, Stich's Great Escape is WEAK. I'm told and have read other places that a rehab is already in the works (it just opened in October)

* I did manage to escape off on my own on Thursday to purchase my Sea World / Busch Gardens annual pass. I was finally able to snag some rides on Kraken. Folks, if you are in Orlando for thrills, Kraken is your ride. Most of my top ten steel consist of hyper coasters, this guy managed to break into the top ten. The floorless factor works well, especially when it swings you 150 feet over the lake. The pacing is perfect, intense elements, strange transistions into each of them, and the ending is superb with a dive into Kraken's lair before being flung into the final corkscrew.

* Journeys to Atlantis at Sea World was interesting. I got soaked. The dark ride portion can only be described as whimsical. The flume/coaster portion is just wrong. :-) After the first lift, you spin around a 180 turn and hit a second lift. Another 180 turn leads into the steepest flume drop I've encountered. Its crazy. Surprisingly you don't get that wet from the splash, just from the darn wave that comes over the boat as it slows down. The final lift leads into a room dimly lit with candles. Darker, darker, darker, until its pitch black. Then you just drop. But this is a twisting drop down to the left, then you suddenly vear back up to the right, over a bunny hop and into the splash down pool. Great ride.

* Sea World was a beautiful park. The rides are located off to the side, away from the animal exhibits. Not that it matters, Kraken is dead silent. I highly recommend stopping by. Kraken is worth the admission price alone. Its THAT good.

- Todd, who hopes to be making the move to Orlando by April

[HabloRM]

I'm jealous.

[flightoffear1996]

Holy crap that was long!

[familyman]

Ya just have to love a great road trip. Especially when the only goal is riding rides!

[Ryan]

The Dinosaur ride is titled just that, Dinosaur. Upon its original opening, I believe it was called Countdown to Extinction, but when the Disney Dinosaur movie was released, the ride's name was changed to reflect upon it. I personally found Dinosaur one gigantic suck fest of a ride, but that's most likely because I had rode the true use of that wonderful ride technology, the Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland in California. IJ dwarfs Dinosaur in que line theming, story, and ride theming and the ride itself. Though the tracks bear resemblances, and may infact be the same, the ways each ride is executed are completely different, and Dinosaur just didn't receive the theming that IJ did, with the lights off so much in Dinosaur, you just can't get a feeling like you're moving fast or at all, it's just alot of sound effects and darkness. If you ever get a chance, check out Indiana Jones, I love that ride if you can't tell, haha. I'm glad you had fun at Universal, I'll be taking my first trip to IOA this spring and can't wait to ride Spider-Man and the other excellent rides there. Nice trip report!

[BoddaH1994]

Did they keep IOA open especially late for this event?

[coasterdime]

Did they keep IOA open especially late for this event?

Yep, they stayed open until 1 am...

[Delirium_Guy]

The Dinosaur ride is titled just that, Dinosaur. Upon its original opening, I believe it was called Countdown to Extinction, but when the Disney Dinosaur movie was released, the ride's name was changed to reflect upon it. I personally found Dinosaur one gigantic suck fest of a ride, but that's most likely because I had rode the true use of that wonderful ride technology, the Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland in California. IJ dwarfs Dinosaur in que line theming, story, and ride theming and the ride itself. Though the tracks bear resemblances, and may infact be the same, the ways each ride is executed are completely different, and Dinosaur just didn't receive the theming that IJ did, with the lights off so much in Dinosaur, you just can't get a feeling like you're moving fast or at all, it's just alot of sound effects and darkness. If you ever get a chance, check out Indiana Jones, I love that ride if you can't tell, haha. I'm glad you had fun at Universal, I'll be taking my first trip to IOA this spring and can't wait to ride Spider-Man and the other excellent rides there. Nice trip report!

Yes, when the ride opened it was titled Countdown to Extinction. I agree with you for the most part. I've ridden Indiana Jones as well, prior to riding Dinosaur. Indiana Jones is the far superior attraction. The queue is, perhaps, one of the most detailed and well themed out there. The only other attraction that I can think of that could rival it would be Dueling Dragons at IOA. The two attractions are identical in layout, but Indiana Jones definitely makes better use of the technology. Dinosaur is fun for what it is, but it certainly appears that Disney cut some corners with it.....typically of what they've been doing lately.

Enjoy your trip to IOA! Spiderman rocks! :-)

- Todd

[elitescr3]

Nice TR, James! I'll add a few highlights of mine.

Old Town -- I skipped out on the SkyCoaster this time. I've done it before, 300 feet still gets me everytime I ride it. Very cool! Yes, James, the coaster is called Windstorm. It certainly packs a punch for its small size, you may be surprised when you ride.

Universal

* Revenge of the Mummy....WOW. I had ridden during the soft openings in April. Holy cow, has this thing changed. The animatronic Imoteps throughout the ride are unreal, very fluid and realistic movements.....especially when he sucks the soul from Reggie at the beginning. The ride itself was running remarkably faster than April, resulting in some serious air time and an overall intense ride all the way through. As James mentioned, my favorite part is where the train is lurched backward and spun around to launch up the hill. Imotep is shown on a screen above and follows the cars every move until it launches! Poor story for the ride, but VERY well executed! Awesome ride!

* Men In Black: Alien Attack is fantastic. Completely interactive on both sides...the aliens can shoot YOU and spin your car out of control. We took advantage of the single riders line multiple times and get lots of rides.

* Islands of Adventure is still amazing for me. The theming, the soundtrack for the park, exceptional details. Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls still remains one of my all time favorite water rides....it just makes me laugh my rear end off and that drop and bunny hop are a killer combo. Dueling Dragons are two very solid and intense rides......something hard to find by B&M as of recently. Hulk is still very fun, love the first half of the ride....unfortunately it kinda craps out in the end for me.

* Did James mention New Years?! New Years Eve at IOA ruled! Had many yummy, very loaded, glow in the dark beverages.....even managed to score a freebie from the bartender. Let me tell ya, it coudln't have gotten much better for me. I was hammered at one of my favorite parks, great music, dancing, spending time with some of my best friends, then topped the evening off with a front seat Hulk ride at around 1AM! Whew, what a night!

* Disney is just great. Sad that we only spent one day there, but what a day. We hit all 4 theme parks and rode EVERY major E-ticket attraction on property. Tower of Terror still gets me everytime, phenominal attraction. The mountain range at Magic Kingdom still hold their own and offer some fantastic rides! On a negative note, Stich's Great Escape is WEAK. I'm told and have read other places that a rehab is already in the works (it just opened in October)

* I did manage to escape off on my own on Thursday to purchase my Sea World / Busch Gardens annual pass. I was finally able to snag some rides on Kraken. Folks, if you are in Orlando for thrills, Kraken is your ride. Most of my top ten steel consist of hyper coasters, this guy managed to break into the top ten. The floorless factor works well, especially when it swings you 150 feet over the lake. The pacing is perfect, intense elements, strange transistions into each of them, and the ending is superb with a dive into Kraken's lair before being flung into the final corkscrew.

* Journeys to Atlantis at Sea World was interesting. I got soaked. The dark ride portion can only be described as whimsical. The flume/coaster portion is just wrong. :-) After the first lift, you spin around a 180 turn and hit a second lift. Another 180 turn leads into the steepest flume drop I've encountered. Its crazy. Surprisingly you don't get that wet from the splash, just from the darn wave that comes over the boat as it slows down. The final lift leads into a room dimly lit with candles. Darker, darker, darker, until its pitch black. Then you just drop. But this is a twisting drop down to the left, then you suddenly vear back up to the right, over a bunny hop and into the splash down pool. Great ride.

* Sea World was a beautiful park. The rides are located off to the side, away from the animal exhibits. Not that it matters, Kraken is dead silent. I highly recommend stopping by. Kraken is worth the admission price alone. Its THAT good.

- Todd, who hopes to be making the move to Orlando by April

kraken is easily my favortite ride, it is just amazing. i like it better than both ttd and m force, it is totally awesome.

[Delirium_Guy]

kraken is easily my favortite ride, it is just amazing. i like it better than both ttd and m force, it is totally awesome.

Absolutely! I haven't really been impressed with any multi-looping coaster since SFGAdventure's Medusa on opening day. Kraken really left me breathless after my first ride....not a dead spot on the ride. It definitely sits in my top ten steel!

- Todd, flying to Orlando in 3 weeks to enjoy some more rides! :-)

[King Bowser]

People often wonder why paramount parks wont get an Indy Jones ride that reason is simple Indy Jones rights for rides etc are only held by disney thats why we will never see a Indy ride in paramount parks.

I love Dinosaur and LOVE Kraken they are both great

[Delirium_Guy]

People often wonder why paramount parks wont get an Indy Jones ride that reason is simple Indy Jones rights for rides etc are only held by disney thats why we will never see a Indy ride in paramount parks.

I love Dinosaur and LOVE Kraken they are both great

While we may never seen an Indiana Jones themed ride, I see no reason why something with similiar technology couldn't be brought over to Paramount Parks. Take a look at Busch Gardens Williamsburg with DarKastle.....basically a scaled down version of Spiderman. I'd love to see the ride system thats in use for Indy and Dinosaur spring up else where. Its great, not to mention can be reprogrammed from time to time to give a different ride experience.

- Todd

[Legend Rider]

The only parks I have been to...

Old Town

Universal

Neither of which did I ride anything

I rode my first coaster by my own concience in 2002

before that, I was forced, meaning, I was chicken inbetween...

[MarketingExpress]

How is the Mission Space ride at Epcot? The last time i visited they were just finishing it but it wasn't open.

[The-Snapper]

You guys Quit Hattin!!!!! JAMES and TODD!!!

[jjmisskick]

Its called Rip-saw falls, not buzzsaw falls.

buzzsaw falls is at Missorri's Silver Dollar City.

[Jasper]

Dang that was long!