Hoeter Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Hey all...just returned from my trip to Florida. It sure was nice and relaxing to get away from the stresses of everyday life for little over a week. I did a lot of interesting things, went to some interesting places, and just had a good time with the people that I love the most. I will be describing my trip (only the amusement park portion- the rest you'll find rather boring!) and the things and places I experienced while down in Florida. I am having problems uploading the pictures to this post, so if you are my friend on Facebook- my name is Andrew Hoeter, you can check out my pictures. I appreciate any feedback. Thank you for reading this TR. I hope you enjoy it! BOOKING OUR ROOM: Our original plan was to book a 7 night stay with 2 day park tickets at Disney's All Star Music Resort. Disney had a promotion running where you book 4 nights, and get 3 nights free. In addition to said offer, we were also going to get a $250 Disney gift card for use anywhere in Walt Disney World resort. We stayed at the All Star Music Resort back in 2007, had tickets to all 4 Disney parks and just had the best time! We called right after Christmas to make our travel arrangements for this year, and we were treated rather rudely by a Disney cast member on the phone. I politely told the cast member that I refuse to do business with Disney again. The cast member didn't seem apologetic or willing to try to earn my business. He had a "don't care" attitude. That being said, we ended up booking 7 nights at Westgate Lakes Resort. We had a one bedroom villa with a sleeper sofa in the living room area and a spectacular 5th floor view of Lake Buena Vista and Cinderella Castle. This is mainly a timeshare resort, but they rent out villas as well. WHAT I DID: As I said earlier, I refuse to do business with Disney after the ordeal on the phone. That being said, we took advantage of a deal that Universal was running. Pay for a one day, two park ticket and get in for 7 days for only $99 per person online. We hadn't been to Universal in about 3 years, so we jumped at the offer. The kicker about this deal: parking wasn't included, about $12 per day and Universal Express, a pass that you can purchase for your ticket that gets you little to no wait for the major attractions, wasn't included either. Aside from those two drawbacks, we had an absolute blast! Our first visit to Universal Resort took us to Universal Studios Florida. We've been to this park before, but not for about 3 years. We went on a Tuesday, the crowds were light, so we didn't purchase the Express passes. First ride was E.T. Adventure...a ride based on the bike chase scene from the movie E.T. Wait time for this ride was about 15 minutes. Next up was The Simpsons Ride, a motion simulator. Last time we visited, Back to the Future was in this location, was also a motion simulator, and was far more enjoyable than its successor. We waited about 20 minutes for The Simpsons Ride. After that, we rode Men in Black: Alien Attack. This ride is similar to SDATHC in a sense that you shoot at targets to get the highest score. We waited about 10 minutes for this ride. We then rode Jaws, a ride based on the 1970's film of the same name. It took 15 minutes to get on Jaws. Finally, to close the day off...we rode Revenge of the Mummy, a Premiere Rides LIM coaster. We rode it twice: 15 minutes for the first ride, and a walk on the second time around. The next day took us back to Universal Resort, this time to Islands of Adventure. We've never been to this park and I have to tell you, I haven't had that much fun at an amusement park in a long time! We went here on a Thursday, and the crowds here were a lot heavier than the park next door, so we decided to get the Express passes. All of the major attractions in the park that we got on was no longer than a 5 minute wait. As soon as we entered the park, we were greeted to bright green track, that distinctive B&M roar, and riders screaming their heads off...yes, The Incredible Hulk. If you have ever been to Universal's Islands of Adventure, or are thinking about going---you must ride The Incredible Hulk. Right now, it is by far the best coaster I have ever ridden and it is so darn smooth and cool that I enjoyed this ride not once, but twice! This is the only launch B&M coaster, and the launch, approximately 0-40mph in 2 seconds is absolutely out of this world! After I got off The Incredible Hulk with the biggest smile on my face, we decided to check out The Adventures of Spider-Man. This ride was unique in a sense that you wear 3D glasses and travel through the world of Spider-Man, but you are in your own separate ride vehicle. Next up was Jurassic Park River Adventure. This is a water ride, the trains are very similar to those on Congo Falls. You take a tour through Jurassic Park, all is calm and serene until the ride vehicle takes a turn into an area where the raptor is loose. The finale of the ride...an 85 foot drop straight down. What a rush! After that, we decided to ride Dueling Dragons. In case you didn't know...this is a B&M inverted coaster and the first dueling inverted coasters in the world. We rode Fire Dragon first. This ride focuses more on lateral motion and speed, and there are two Immelman's on Fire Dragon. We then rode Ice Dragon. This ride is a bit slower than Fire Dragon but has more inversions. I have reached a verdict...Fire Dragon is a whole lot better than Ice Dragon. There are three near misses on both coaster where you are merely inches from the other train. It was so surprizing but so fun! Kings Island needs one of these desperately! And finally, we checked out Poseidon's Fury, a live action show involving all kinds of different special effects, including fire and water. We came back to Universal on Saturday to hit the rides that we missed. We didn't get the Express passes for this day. First we went back to Universal Studios and experienced Twister. This ride is based on the drive-in scene from the movie Twister. We waited about 15 minutes for this ride. And the last ride that we didn't get a chance to do on Tuesday was Disaster! If you have ever been to Universal Studios, this ride was formerly known as Earthquake: The Big One. This ride features Christopher Walken as Director Frank Kinkaid and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. The person who conducted the ride picked people out of the audience to fulfill certain roles in a disaster movie that they were shooting. When we got to the next room, the people that were chosen before to fulfill certain roles filmed their parts in front of a live audience. Finally after this was done, everybody was cast as extras to film the finale to the movie, which takes place in a San Francisco subway. We were filmed and the parts filmed by those chosen earlier were dubbed into a movie trailer which was very cool. I have to tell you, this a cool ride and something that should definately be experienced should you visit. We waited about 30 minutes for this ride. We also got another ride in on Revenge of the Mummy, which was a 5 minute wait. After leaving Revenge of the Mummy, we were stopped by a Universal employee, which wanted to ask us some questions about the type of television shows that we watched. The employee invited me and my family to watch a pilot for a new TV show called Operating Instructions, set to air on the USA network. We got paid $30 each to watch this show and give some feedback on it, so we earned $120 between the four of us which wasn't bad. After this, I had to go to Islands of Adventure to get one last ride in on The Incredible Hulk. We waited for 15 minutes and that ride is such a rush. SOME FINAL NOTES: During my visit to Universal Resort, I found some things that Kings Island should take note of. Lockers are provided FREE of charge for 45 minutes or so for the major attractions that have inversions or attractions that run the risk of article loss. These lockers are controlled by a computer and there is a fingerprint reader for privacy. Also, food and drinks at both Universal parks cost way less than that at Kings Island. For example, a large soft drink was $2.99 and a small soft drink was $2.49. Thank you very much for taking the time to read this TR. I hope you enjoyed reading this. I appreciate any feedback and I will be glad to answer any questions that you may have. - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dvo Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 ^Can't agree more about the lockers and the drinks. It seems to me that if they're going to force people to use the lockers for certain rides (Firehawk!), they should offer a cheap place to put stuff just for that ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiko_coaster Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Andrew, Here are ssome of your pictures that you put up.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avatar Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Andrew I enjoyed you frequent Facebook updates and your trip report here. Yeah the Hulk was a cool ride, I had no idea the launch was coming and it took me half the ride to recovery from the shock. Glad to hear your a fan of The Mummy as many on here are too. I just wished KI would get a cool dark ride of any kind, but they say they do not get many requests for them, HUH!!!!. Also sorry to hear about your bad experience with ONE of Disney's hired out contractor caller service employee. I'm sure Disney would want to know about your experience, as Disney truly will go out of their way and to great lengths to prevent a unhappy potential guest who would vow to never return. I had a odd experience at Kings Island Snake Pit Grill on Sunday but I know that it is just one employee and not a normal experience. On the upside it sounds like it all worked out for you guys for the good. I'll head over to Facebook to view your photos and again thanks the updates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoeter Posted May 5, 2009 Author Share Posted May 5, 2009 I forgot to add....construction was ending on Hollywood, Rip, Ride, Rockit when we were there. I also have some pictures up on my Facebook if you want to check it and you can visit the official website at www.hollywoodripriderockit.com/. Maurer Sohne is the manufacturer and they're trying things that have never been done before on this ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiko_coaster Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Here are a few more pictures Andrew asked to put up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiruler102 Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 awesome pictures. Great trip report it sounds like u had a great time on vacation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoeter Posted May 5, 2009 Author Share Posted May 5, 2009 Thanks for uploading those pictures keiko_coaster! Avatar, you said that you rode The Incredible Hulk, but did you head over and try Dueling Dragons? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiko_coaster Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Thanks for uploading those pictures keiko_coaster! Avatar, you said that you rode The Incredible Hulk, but did you head over and try Dueling Dragons? No problem.. It cant be a PTR without the pictures.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avatar Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Yes Andrew I did and enjoyed many of Universal Studios attractions solo while attending Universal Horror Nights. If you would like to see how my day was you can read about it my Fall Vacation Trip Report, I'm giving you a direct link to that part and you'll find it about half way down in that section. http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?...st&p=250796 I plan to take the family to Universal and IOA during our up coming Fall Trip, especially since we won free tickets from the SuperBowl give away. I hope you are getting some rest and readjusting to the real world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnrealNightmare Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Yes Avatar Halloween Horror Nights is one of the best Halloween events a park has to offer. I say if you ever have the chance to go you should take it! Also great Trip Report. Thanks for the info on HRRR. It looks like it should be ready to open just in time for my Florida trip this year! (June 19th-29th). Since I used to live right near Universal I got a whole lot of rides on DD. And I agree with you Fire side is better. If you can though ride it at night. The only real time to ride it in complete darkness is probably at HHN. That's if they reopen IOA for the event. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 What an incredible trip report and what awesome pictures! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoeter Posted May 6, 2009 Author Share Posted May 6, 2009 Unrealsk8er- I guess that Universal is in the off season right now. I would love to ride The Incredible Hulk and Dueling Dragons in the dark. Every day that we went, both parks closed at 6pm. I talked to an employee and he said both parks will be open until 9pm when the vacation season picks up. That is a nice area down there. We did some exploring and found some nice areas around Dr. Phillips and Windermere. Quite a different climate up here, huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnrealNightmare Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Very different lol. But I'm still glad to call KI my home park. That's surprising though I always remembered them closing at 8 every nightno matter what time of year it was. It also seemed like the best days to go to the park were on holidays. I think one year my friend and I made 100 trips . Even at 9 at night thought it still really isn't dark enough during summer to get a good dark ride on the rides there. And when I lived there I lived in a town called Port St. John. It's right across the Indiana River from the Space Center. My high school was actually called Space Coast lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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