Hellapalooza!

[SOB_TOM]

A few weeks ago, Boddah called asked me if I wanted to go down to Orlando for a week, and of course I had to agree to it. We left March 15th, and it was a blast.

Day 1: Fun Spot, Oldtown, and Citywalk

We got off the plane in Orlando around 2, and got picked up by our host for the week, Delirium_guy, around 3. After settling in, we decided to hit up two side-of-the-road parks, Fun Spot and Oldtown. These two parks are literally side by side, and well within walking distance. Fun Spot has the world's largest Skyflyer at 300 feet (which we did not partake in I might add,) and some wicked scooters. We bought 5 tickets each, with the hope of hitting up some go-carts while we were at it, and spent all of our tickets on the scooters (and two extra rides because the ride op was entertained by us.) I would put Fun Spot more of a non-moving carnival than anything, but it was still fun.

We walked over to Oldtown, and I was impressed by how the place looked. It really did not offer that many rides, but this park looked beautiful. Running the length of the entire property were shops with facades that reminded me of an old Wild West style town. We poked around a few of the stores before deciding to go to Citywalk for dinner.

How to describe Citywalk? First off, there is nothing in the Cincinnati area like it. Restaurants galore, shops galore, even walk up margarita bars, flanked on one side by Universal Studios and IOA on the other. We ended up eating at Bob Marley's, where the food was good, and the entertainment was great (of course I have always like the sound and feel of Reggie music.)

Day 2: Sea World Orlando

I'm mystified at the fact that people do not like this park. I have always had an interest in animals, and this park delivered in a way only Sea World can. Greatest example of this is Manta. While waiting in line, you are surrounded by rock walls on the right, complete with carvings of all forms of manta rays and even a carving of Shamu hidden in the rock work, and a huge manta tank with over 100 different manta rays swimming around. It was the most entertaining queue line I have ever been in. Then you actually ride Manta, and it is a great ride by itself.

The ride package is small (but well done,) but what puts this park over the top are the shows. From what I have heard, I watched a water down version of Believe, the Shamu show, but it was still good. We then watched A'lure. If you have ANY interest in a Cirque Du Solei style show, watch this one. Acrobats were swinging over the audience while holding on to nothing more than cloth, and if I find the music from the show, I am buying it. The best show, however, was Blue Horizon. This is the dolphin show that incorporates a Cirque Du Solei style into it. Everything in that show meshed perfectly, making it one of the best shows I have seen not only in a theme park, but anywhere.

Day 3: Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot

Lets get one thing straight: I understand that those who buy Fastpass get priority, however Disney does it the worst BY FAR. At Sea World, a few rows were blocked off on Manta for their Fastpass system, and the line still moved. At both Epcot and Animal Kingdom, however, we sat in line and watched as trainload after trainload of Fastpass were allowed to go, and we did not move. On average, I would say that 4 trains of Fastpass would go before 1 of the regular queue. This is totally unacceptable in my book. If anything, allow a 1:1 ratio, one train of Fastpass (which naturally has a shorter line,) one train of queue.

That being said, we were trying to knock out all 4 Disney Parks in one day because we did not think we would have an opportunity to come back to them later in the week. Magic Kingdom was a bust. Average wait times were well over 60 minutes, so we rode The Hall of Presidents (which was well done, even though it was mostly video,) and Haunted Mansion and left for Animal Kingdom. This is where the problems started. Expedition Everest had a 75 minute wait time, but since I did not go on it yet, we waited. And waited, and waited some more. 90 minutes later, we were close to the front of the line and saw the Fastpass system in action. Expedition Everest has some cool moments to it, but I would not wait more than 25 for this ride. We were going to try to catch the showing of The Lion King, however we were stopped by a poorly timed (and poorly laid out) parade which made getting to the front of the park, or across the park, virtually impossible, so we were forced to skip that. So we headed out for Epcot.

Epcot has always been one of my favorite parks in Orlando, and I would have to say that it still is. Spaceship Earth was an interesting experience. I did not get to ride it since the early 2000's, so to see that it has changed really helped my impression (and the fact that the last portion is laugh out loud stupid doesn't hurt either.) Even though we waited for 90 minutes for Mission: Space (30 minute queue posted, and once again Fastpass issues,) it was a fun and interesting experience. We rode the Great Fiesta Ride (as I'm calling it,) in the Mexican section (if you get a chance, ask BoddaH to sing his song about that ride,) and ate some chinese in the Chinese Pavilion (complete with strawberry red bean ice cream, which was good.) But the best part of this park happens at 9, Illuminations. I have heard how good this end of night show is, but I was still blown away. Every inch of that park (or it seemed this way,) was involved in some way, from lasers being pointed from each end of the park towards the show, to the burn barge in the middle of the lake. Absolutely mind-blowing. Great way to end our Disney "experience."

Day 4: Universal and IOA

Universal was a good choice for first this day, since we went on Mardi Gras night, and got rides in on Rip Ride Rocket (which apparently was behaving great that day, I recommend Bring me to Life by Evanescence for your musical choice,) The Mummy (great special effects, definite jewel of this park,) MIB, and headed over to IOA.

My advice to this park: AVOID the new Harry Potter section till after 5. When we got to the park around 4, the section was blocked off because of how many people were in there. We headed over to Spiderman (must ride,) Dr. Doom's freefall, Dudley Do-Rights Ripsaw Falls (campy, but fun,) Popeyes (River Raft ride with some very evil rapids,) Hulk (night rides are awesome on this one,) and Jurassic Park (Dinosaurs at Disney is better, but this was Jurassic Park.) Then we ventured into the new area.

If you want to see what it looks like to print your own money, go to this section. Hogwarts Castle is absolutely beautiful, both inside and out, and Hogsmeade (the town outside the castle) is spot on to the movie. Never got a chance to try Butterbeer (the line for it was about 50 people deep,) but Pumpkin Juice is pretty good. I never had a chance to look at the queue for the old Dueling Dragons, but from what I hear, the new queue is pretty much the same, minus a ton of bones missing from the walls (oh, and Ice is better than Fire in my opinion.) But the jewel of this area is the Harry Potter ride. The ride vehicle itself is a robotic arm with 4 seats attached to it shaped as cabinets, but the use of video and live props puts this over the edge. At times, you are surrounded by a dome screen which moves with the ride vehicle, allowing you to fly with Potter. A must for any theme park fanatic.

Day 5: Bush Gardens Tampa

This place has some good rides, but I was sorely disappointed in this park. I have worked both in maintenance and as a ride operator at KI, so I know what good operations and bad operations is at a theme park. This park, however, has yet to figure out what good operations and customer service is. Each one of their coasters were running multiple trains, but those trains were constantly stacked, the ops seemed to be more interested in talking to their friends than doing their jobs, and when we had a run in with an op, they were rude and inconsistent. Here is my example: One of our party was not riding Kumba, and was holding our bag after she waited in the queue with us. The operator at the front of the queue demanded that we do not carry the bag on the ride, gave us no other option than to either have us not ride or one person sit out. This happened on Gwazi as well. I am interested in riding Cheetah Hunt (the ride looks amazing,) but until I hear that the customer service and operations have changed, I will shy away from this park.

Day 6: Aquatica

Not many people take the time to visit a water park, but we took this day to visit Aquatica, Sea World's water park. Again, Sea World took the time to incorporate animals into their slides. One slide has you slide through a tank with dolphins, very good visual while on the slide. They also offer a lazy river that moves very quickly, and I could have floated in that all day. If you have the time, I recommend that you stop by Aquatica and take a look.

Day 7: Hollywood Studios

Hollywood Studios has some good stunt shows, but the problem with them is that it does take time to reset during the show. Basically, you get 20 seconds of action, and about 5 minutes of talk. However the rides make you feel like you are on a backlot, not a theme park. The best, in my opinion, is Muppets 3d. I was a big fan of the Muppet Show when I was growing up, and this ride puts you right in the middle of one of their shows. Tower of Terror was amazing (as always,) and the Aerosmith Coaster delivered as well as a Vekoma can. I don't know if this park is better suited for the Fastpass system or not, but we did not have an issue with the system here.

I have never been a fan of American Idol, but the set up for the American Idol Experience is one that you should watch, at least once. The winners move on to the final show of the day, where that winner wins a ticket to the front of the line at a real American Idol audition. Interesting idea, would recommend a watch.

The final thing that we did in Orlando was watch Fantasmic. This show incorporates live actors, pyro, and water walls that allow projections to be played. This show is packed, over 10,000 people watch two shows a night, and its well worth it. Definitely show up at least an hour before the show to get a good seat.

All in all, this trip was a great experience, and I had a blast. I do want to thank Delirium_guy and BoddaH for the trip, as well as the friends I have made along the way!

[Browntggrr]

Nice TR, and it is too bad about your experience at BGT.

I do have a question though:

One of our party was not riding Kumba, and was holding our bag after she waited in the queue with us. The operator at the front of the queue demanded that we do not carry the bag on the ride, gave us no other option than to either have us not ride or one person sit out.

Do you mean she was not allowed to wait in line with you?

[Outdoor Man]

great TR. that is a trip you'll talk about for a while. 1 week, 12 parks... (big $$$'s probably too).

[SOB_TOM]

No, she was not allowed to wait in line with us and not ride. She had to wait at the exit while we waited in a half an hour line. I understand not wanting bags on the loading platform, but if someone in your group is not riding with you, its stupid not to allow her to carry it.

[Browntggrr]

^ What that employee did (or decision BGT has made) makes no sense.

I don't see a difference between what you wanted, and having a child to small to ride being able to wait with an adult in line.

[UnrealNightmare]

They wouldn't allow us to do this on Dragster last summer either.

[SOB_TOM]

My issue with that policy is this: The girl we were with wasn't going to ride anything all day, she made the hour drive with us (which turned into almost 3 hrs of gridlock on I-4 thanks to our hastily planned trip on the first week of Spring Break...) just to hang out with us, and to force her to wait outside the ride when she was not riding is not customer friendly. Especially since it was a flat rate $2, and we were all wearing swim trunks because of the water rides we were planning on riding.

There really is no good solution to this, because I'm sure there are some people who would say that and still have everyone ride. I was more confused about the rudeness of the ride op. It wasn't "I'm sorry, you can't bring bags in line," it was "No, you aren't taking that in line," and he gave us no options until I started to get upset.

Sometimes its not the words you say, its how you say them.

[The Interpreter]

You couldn't do that under the last management at Six Flags, either. I think it was a way to drum up business for the $1 lockers.

[jcgoble3]

^Or the $2 lockers at KI for Firehawk...

[DaveStroem]

Lets get one thing straight: I understand that those who buy Fastpass get priority, however Disney does it the worst BY FAR.

You don't buy fastpasses at Disney!!!!

Everyone with a ticket or a room key can get them. It is explained in every park map. IMO Disney requires a bit of planning especially if your doing multiple parks in one day or going during spring break. You did both and from what I have read just tried to wing it.

[SOB_TOM]

Buy it or pick it up, there is no reason Disney can't do their fastpass different and in a way that works, like the rest of Orlando. Also, we arrived shortly after 11, and the earliest fastpass time was 6:55, so it wasn't feasable.

Next time I go to Disney, I will get your input, since you seem to have a great grip on how things work there. Want to make sure I have a plan to enjoy my day at Disney...

[The Interpreter]

Two words......Spring Break.

[KIfan1980]

Thanks Terp - I Ieave on Saturday for a Spring Break week at Disney

Actually, although I know it will be crowded, I hope I've adjusted my expectations appropriately and have tried to plan according to recommendations for busy weeks.

[Browntggrr]

Buy it or pick it up, there is no reason Disney can't do their fastpass different and in a way that works, like the rest of Orlando.

Probably because the rest of the individual venues in Orlando do not have the occupancy (hotels) Disney does.

[CoastersRZ]

Go in off peak times, like early December, and you will find the Florida themers with virtually no lines! I know when I went to Busch Gardens Tampa in early December, the park was eerily empty the first couple of hours. It was so empty, that Jesse and I had an entire train on Skeikra to our selves, multiple times! See the image below to see how empty the midway was by Sheikra`s entrance!

[Browntggrr]

^ My wife and had the same experience at BGT with Kumba on our honeymoon almost 11 years ago.

But that was in mid June.....

Another *different* experience with BGT; the park closed really early, I believe about 7-8pm.

I guess it may have to do with the summer months??

[SOB_TOM]

The parks are normally open later during the summer months, but it could be that BGT is mostly animal exhibits. It closed at 8 when I went, same with Sea World.

[bkroz]

That's true, too. Isn't Disney's Animal Kingdom's hours 8 to 7 usually? My understanding has always been that animal-based parks operate the same number of hours, just shifted back a bit since animals are active during the morning, and lazy come afternoon. Guests who come primarily for the animal exhibits would probably end up disappointed if the park didn't open until 10 just so it could stay open until 9... They'd miss all of the animals active times.

[SOB_TOM]

All the parks down there opened at 9.

[Colonel_SoB_fan]

he case for ^ Parks will open at 8 AM for EMH one day a week, or in the case for Disney's Animal Kingdom two mornings a week.

Also Magic Kingdom does sometimes open at 8 AM for all guests

[TheSnapper]

It was nice to finally meet you when we went to SeaWorld together!

Glad you loved Kraken and Manta!

You need to come back down for Cheetah Hunt!