Universal/Islands of Adventure PTR

TheCrypt · June 6, 2012

Hello, all! So, I recently got back from Florida and took the opportunity to visit Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. I hope you enjoy the pictures!

This, to me, is a really cool entrance that I think would be great to see at KI (or something similar)

The first ride of the day: Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit.

The Rockit was really fun. I got an insane amount of air on the pretzel loop, and the songs fit the ride really well (I chose the one by Motley Crue (who's name escapes me)).

Pros: The layout, the forces, the unexpected turns, the lap bars, capacity (how efficient the ride operators were, how many trains were going at a given time, etc), the moving station, the (working!) audio and lighting effects-those were sweet!

Cons: Where the music selection screen was placed (it wasn't centered on the lap bar! :angry: ), the amount of MCBRs, and the borderline annoying videos in the queue-while entertaining(ish), the music and the way the people spoke was kinda getting annoying. Good thing there was only about a 20 minute max wait for the ride all day!

Next up: Revenge of the Mummy!

I was totally blown away by Revenge of The Mummy. I wish I could get more pictures inside, but it was too dark. Oh well. The ride itself was really cool, better than I expected. I like how the mummy warriors popped up while the room was dark. I rode this in the front, and it was amazing to see all the effects and such. The turntable effect was cool, but I didn't understand the thing moving across the wall... The brakes were pretty forceful, but it didn't hurt the overall experience.

Pros: I got to sit with my entire group (4 people total in my riding group), the effects were great, there was a bit of fog on the ride (only a little bit, but why isn't this possible at Kings Island when it's obvious it works well here? :huh: ), launches were fun, the brakes were fun, and the overall feel in the queue made me feel like I was in the movie.

Cons: There was only one brake section that I felt could be tamer, whichwas the one where the "ride op" says "Thank you for riding!", but overall, that is the only one I can think of!

After that, we went to Richter's Burgers and got, well, burgers! My friend's friend from Utah was with us and made fry-sauce, which consisted of mayo and ketchup :blink: , but it actually tasted pretty good! At Richter's, I only bought a souvenier cup and fries. However, in the souvenier cup, I got multitudes of flavors from the Coke Freestyle Machine, like various forms of Powerade, lemonade, Coke, Diet Coke, Rootbeer, Coke Zero, Sprite, etc. It kinda tasted like gum!

Next, we head to "Disaster!"

I thought that these painted "holes" on the show building were actual holes in the building... Imagine the looks on all my friends' faces when I asked that!

There were all these hilariously rediculous comments over the queue- I just KNEW I had to get a picture of at least one!

Disaster! was really cool. The way the show is set up, is that you first are put into a large group, and a person coordinating the movie scene will ask for people in the audience to come up and be in some special action scene takes. Then you are moved into another room where you "meet" a hologram of Frank Kincaid. Then you are shuffled off into another room where the selected people are to take part in the shootings.

So, naturally, my friends and I all volunteered our chaperone to take part!

At the end of the "tour", we go into a shuttle monorail, where we ride along in the monorail train to the "station", where you experience flooding, roof cave ins, explosions, etc. Then, the monorail train traverses in reverse and slowly makes it back to the actual load-unload station. By slow, I mean snail-slow, but during this time, a movie trailer comes on with all the shots taken in the previous room, edited and all. It was pretty cool.

Now, the effects were pretty cool, but I don't see it as something I would do again.

___________________________________________________________________

After this, we went and had dinner, pizza! You can't go to an amusement park and not have pizza... Except maybe Dollywood...

After food, we rode Men in Black: Alien Attack.

After having been at Universal Studios all day, I realize why everyone wants the themed uniforms back. It just adds so much more to the experience and atmosphere.

The Ride: The ride is a shoot 'em up kinda game, like Boo Blasters on Boo Hill, except with less cardboard cutouts. It was like Phantom Theatre with shooting laser guns (that work!). A really unique spin was put on the ride where in certain parts of the ride, the ride vehicles (containing six shooters) spun around, and forced you to one side of your seat, thanks to the laterals. Also, a duel loading station was used, and occasionally both sides would meet up either next to or across from each other, allowing for another unique thing.

Pros: Effects were superb, all the guns worked, theme was way better than generic, the spins and meetups were unique, and the "elevator" in the queue was interesting.

Cons: You could obviously see the lighting fixtures illuminating the various sets.

!

My score. Not bad, eh?

impsons ride, which was really fun and a lot different from what I expected. Thought it was gonna be a wild mouse!(?)

Since my friend's friend had to go soon, we decided to go to Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit one more time before she had to leave. This time, I chose Stronger by Kanye West, like my friend told me to do. It fit the ride well, also. We ended up riding Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit thrice during the day.

We ended up having enough time to do it again, and I chose the song by Motley Crue again

Well, after that, my friend's friend had to go, and would not return tomorrow for Islands of Adventure. So, we kinda just roamed the park for the remainder of the day (we had to leave at 6:30).

Thanks for reading! More to come tomorrow.

Edited October 26, 2012 by TheCrypt

thekidd33 · June 6, 2012

I too, had thought that The Simpsons Ride was some sort of wild mouse-esque thing, I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that it wasn't (my gf was not though). The only real disappointment I had at USF/IOA was Rockit, which I thought was terrible. Thanks for sharing your pics, glad you had a good time!

jcgoble3 · June 6, 2012

Nice report and photos! I'm looking forward to the IoA section of the report.

TTD-120-420 · June 6, 2012

I thought the Universal Studios side over did the simulator type attractions. Most of them are nauseating and they all seem the same. I personally think Disaster was better when it was Earthquake.

Did you do Twister? That is always enjoyable. Can't wait for the IoA report. That, by far, is my favorite park.

TheCrypt · June 6, 2012

^Yeah, I think my group got kinda bored real quick (although, I did think the Simpsons ride was a good surprise--And I really liked the pre-show! "Amount of people who put together these surveys: 15. Amount of people reading this: 0. :lol: ) I did not do Twister, unfortunately, but I did take an artsy picture of the sign! I'll see if I can find it...

^^^Kidd, what exactly did you not like about Rockit?

^^Thanks.

EDIT- Does anyone here know what E.T. was? Was it like an Indiana Jones/Dinosaur or another motion simulator? The latter wouldn't surprise me.

kblanken · June 6, 2012

The E.T. ride is more like the Peter Pan ride at Disneyland. You get into a vehicle that is themed to a bicycle, with the E.T. guy in a basket on the front. Then you fly around over things.

westcoaster · June 6, 2012

Great Posts, glad you had a great trip. Fry Sauce, is great for sure.

Great pictures.

thanks for sharing!

The Interpreter · June 6, 2012

ET was a very early version of the Spiderman ride system. So, yes, mostly a simulator, but different.

TTD-120-420 · June 8, 2012

I would say ET is a lot like a dark ride. A non-shooting dark ride.

TheCrypt · June 10, 2012

Hey guys, sorry this took so long. Anyways, I will try a different approach with this PTR since I took a lot more pictures. Monday morning, May 21.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

So, we parked the charter bus around 9:30, but we didn't actually set foot in the park until somewhere around 10:00 (now that I look back, I think the park itself wasn't open just yet--we thought it was ticket issues).

The very first thing we headed to was Incredible Hulk. The ride wasn't open for the day just yet, so we waited for about 3 minutes whie they were still making empty test runs. This was a wonderful opportinity to get some great photos. I was getting excited from just hearing the distinct B&M roar roaring over our heads. This was one of the rides I looked forward to most, and it did not fail my expectations. I must say, the POV's on Youtube don't capture anything of what this ride experience was like. I loved the minor details that were included with the ride, like the mist, the water jets, etc. The ride was phenominal. 1 billion/10

After this, we went to Storm Force Acceleration. At first, I thought that this was another motion simulator (like what almost every ride at Universal is <img alt=" <_< " class="bbc_emoticon" src="http://www.KICentral.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/dry.png" />), so I was a little hesitant to ride. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was a well-themed teacup ride! I haven't been on one of these in awhile, so my group and I went straight there! I was glad that Islands of Adventure put effort into theming an almost impossible to theme flat. 7/10

It about 10:20 at this time. Some of the groups from yesterday (not ours) went to IoA when they were finished with Universal, and they reccommended "the circley raft thing". You guessed it, we were off to Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges. This ride is the same model of ride as White Water Canyon, except instead of traversing through the woods, there are these really cool sets that we travel through (and plenty of opportunities to get soaked!). My favorite thing about this ride was that I lost track of where we were. There are so many twists and turns, you wonder why you never see any other part of the basin or the park for that matter. I didn't really like how far you have to walk back to get to the ride though (and on a cold morning with noone in line and no turnstiles open, it's really long! I just can't imagine waiting a full queue for this!) It's a great water ride, I highly reccommend it. 9/10.

We liked Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges so much, we rode it again! We weren't allowed to stay on, so we had to walk all that way AGAIN! Good exercise, though.

It was about 11:30 am now. After Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges, since we were still really wet, we figured that we might as well get all this water over with by the time we have to leave! So, we headed for Dudley Do Right's Rip Saw Falls. This log flume is very unique. Whenever we thought we reached the end, wrong! This log flume tricks you into thinking that "Here's the big one!" so much, that when it does come, you say "Oh this isn't it!" and you get a real surprise. There's a double-down, so you get some really good airtime on that drop. The theming was very good, too, all making the ride better. 8.7/10.

11:45 comes rolling along. Since Jurassic Park was nearby, I suggested that we ride Jurassic Park River Adventure. Our chaperone said we were wet enough already, so she said "maybe later". We didn't get a chance to ride. <img alt="" class="bbc_emoticon" src="http://www.KICentral.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/sad.png" />

By now, we all wanted to go to "Harry Potter World" (I always had to correct them by saying "NO! It's the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!") We kinda just wandered over, using Jurassic Park as a walkthrough (like many do with Kings Island's Oktoberfest) to get to Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. I must say, this is a must-ride for anyone going to Islands of Adventure. I loved how they used the Hogwarts facade, and making you go through the castle to get to the ride. I loved how the station had those endless "floating candles". The ride is a motion simulator, but not the kind of the Simpsons' Ride of likes. It's kinda like the Robotic Arm in RCT3 (wow... I can't believe I just made that reference! <img alt=" :rolleyes: " class="bbc_emoticon" src="http://www.KICentral.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif" />). It's a great ride that captures the Harry Potter world very well.10/10.

It's about 12:30 now, and we decided to take a break. Someone in our group saw a stand in Hogsmeade that had pumpkin juice. She got some for her, her sister, and her friend. While we were at the stand, I saw churros! I've never had an amusement park churro before, so I decided to get a churro. I do say, those cinnamon churros taste great.

It was about 1:00 now, after mozying around for a bit. I really wanted to do <strike>Dueling Dragons </strike>Dragon Challenge, so we did that. It was a bit of a tossup between Hungarian Horntail and Chinese Fireball. In the end, we chose Hungarian Horntail (blue). I really wish there was an on-ride photo section for this ride, or I would get it! Oh well, I ended up getting one at the end of the day. The ride was really fun (we sat in the front row, so that made it better), I just wish that we were dueling. Would have been better. I love how the track weaves in and out of itself (dueling would have made an epic ride-- and an epic photo opportunity!) It was really smooth, and blows Raptor out of the water IMO. 7.9/10

After this, we got the world famous butterbeer! I got frozen, and let me tell you, this is a must-get for an IoA trip.

Since it was about 1:30 now (our group+chaperones moves slow), and we were leaving around 2-2:15, my three friends and I all picked up the pace to get to the Hulk one more time for the final ride of our day, since it was by far the general favorite ride there. We ended up getting to ride it twice, both times as amazing as before. I got a ride photo at the end of it all.

Pros:

<li>The park was extremely clean.</li>

<li>Safety seemed paramount.</li>

<li>The overall feel to the park felt like I was actually there, be it in a comic book or in Hogsmeade.</li>

<li>The employees (for the most part) were great with interacting and kept great dispatch times(--someone's been trained right!).</li>

<li>I did not see a single ride down at all.</li>

<li>Every ride was great.</li>

</ul>

Cons:

<li>None! Everything about the park was great, and I look forward to visiting IoA again at some point in the future.</li>

</ul>

Rides I rode:

<li>The Incredible Hulk (x 3)</li>

<li>Storm Force Acceleration</li>

<li>Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges (x 2)</li>

<li>Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls</li>

<li>Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey</li>

<li>Dragon Challenge (Hungarian Horntail / Ice / Blue)</li>

</ul>

Rides I didn't ride:

<li>The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman</li>

<li>Jurassic Park River Adventure</li>

<li>Flight of the Hippogriff</li>

<li>Poseidon's Fury</li>

<li>Everything in Seuss Landing</li>

</ul>

The crowds weren't really bad, things remained a walk on pretty much the entire day (scarce you'd find a line more than 20 min), but our group moved slow.

The Incredible Hulk

Incredible Hulk flare

Incredible Hulk sign and train in mid corkscrew.

I just barely missed the train in this shot. I clicked the button on my camera a moment too soon.

Incredible Hulk in tail end of cobra roll

For some reason, I love this fountain. Why? No idea.

Seuss Landing lamp post

Solar flare

My attempt at being artsy with the butterbeer truck

One of my favorite shots of the day. I love how the track from Hungarian Horntail and Chinese Fireball wrap around each other.

The big track mess that is Dragon Challenge.

Jurassic Park sign

I love how crazy this queue looks. I just can't imagine waiting in a full queue for any of these rides--Seriously, it's like every ride here has a Flight Deck-like line (long, empty)!

The unloading station for Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls.

Also one of my favorite shots

Storm Force Acceleration.

I sadly did not get to ride Spidey today. I was looking forward to it (like Jurassic Park), but it built up a line right at park opening.

Hogwarts castle from Dragon Challenge queue

Hogwarts

Wish I was allowed to go on Pterodon Flyers... Too tall.

Edited August 6, 2012 by TheCrypt

jdawg1998 · June 11, 2012

Oh no! You missed out on Jurassic Park? It's the best water ride there! Ripsaw Falls was a lot of fun too. The airtime is pretty good!

Nice TR (PTR).

BB1 · June 11, 2012

Thanks for the photos and TR, great park that Universal and IA is.

By the way, happy 600th its been great posting with you guys!

TheCrypt · June 11, 2012

Updated with pictures.

LongliveKingsCobra · June 11, 2012

Awh, you didn't get to do JPRA OR Spiderman?! Both are the best of their kind (IMO). You'll have to go back and do it again! Although realistically 10 - 2 isn't a long time to get everything in (Esp. w/o Fast Passes!)

TheCrypt · June 12, 2012

That's what I'm looking forward to: "Oh no! I didn't do everything! Guess we'll have to do that again!"

jdawg1998 · June 12, 2012

Well, at least you rode Harry Potter. It's a lot like Spiderman, anyway, besides the robotic arm in Harry Potter. But IMO Harry Potter is much better (but Spiderman is still awesome too!).

The Interpreter · June 12, 2012

Some of us are so old we got to ride the Pterodon Flyers, at an age even then old enough to be many posters' here Grandpa. Much like Scooby's Ghoster Coaster, but without the scrunching to get in nor the braking pain.

luff · June 12, 2012

ooh I remember that braking pain. Even bouncing against the ghoster in front of you.

TheCrypt · June 12, 2012

I never got to ride Scooby's Ghoster Coaster (the one at Kings Island, not Dominion), so I don't have any reference to the "braking pain" many here refer to. My mom never wanted to wait in a long line (still doesn't).

However, why is it that an adult is allowed to ride in a ride when accompanied by a child under x inches, but a person over x inches cannot ride alone? Is this to keep lines down? (Some exceptions, though, like Veggie Tales' Sideshow Spin at Dollywood.)

The Interpreter · June 12, 2012

It was done to reduce lines. And it has.

TheCrypt · June 12, 2012

Hmm... Does anyone here (yes!) have a machine that shrinks people?

...

I've got it! WonkaVision!

TTD-120-420 · June 12, 2012

I wasn't able to ride Jurassic Park either as it was down for maintanance. :'(

Sad to hear you missed out on Poseidon's Fury. It really is such an incredible experience.

TheCrypt · June 13, 2012

Rumor has it that Poseidon's Fury is on the chopping block soon, to make way for expansion for Harry Potter...

But honestly, what is there to do in the Lost Continent, anyways? Eat, walk,. That's how the public sees it, anyway.

jdawg1998 · June 13, 2012

Rumor has it (Oooooo Ooo!) that Poseidon's Fury is on the chopping block soon, to make way for expansion for Harry Potter... But honestly, what is there to do in the Lost Continent, anyways? Eat, walk.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Poseidon's Fury is awesome! As is the 8th Voyage of Sinbad! and the Mystic Fountain is pretty cool too! Noooooo! Please don't be true!

bkroz · June 13, 2012

The Lost Continent was probably the most popular of all the islands when the park first opened (second to Marvel Island, if any). Since the former "Merlinwood" sub-area was annexed to Potter, it leaves only the Atlantean sub-area and Sinbad's Village sub-area. The result is, unfortunately, that the area appears to have no rides even though the stunt show is nice (maybe a little tired after a decade), Poseidon's Fury is truly awesome, Mythos is incredible, and the Mystic Fountain is Disney-level and beyond.

If the Lost Continent were to be overtaken, it would be a shame to lose Posidon, Mythos, and the fountain, but the real loss would be the incredible architecture - Poseidon's Fury in particular is just massive and absolutely beautiful with its crumbled giant statue.

Obviously it's become accepted by most that Potter's expansion will taken place in the Studios park where Jaws once was. Maybe that will exterminate the popular rumor that already-existing Wizarding World would expand out into the Lost Continent. Maybe both expansions will happen.

RingMaster · June 13, 2012

The main aspect of the expansion is to bring the other major half of the Harry Potter universe - Diagon Alley - to Universal. The first centerpiece attraction, much like Forbidden Journey is to the original World, is a dark ride coaster combo themed to the Gringotts Bank. In the books/films, Gringotts has its money and treasures locked in vaults deep underground, and the only way to get to them is via a special minecart. Think the mine chase sequence from Temple of Doom, and you'll get a gist of what to expect. Some similar technology used in Forbidden Journey (ie: the domed/3D projection screens) will be used, but the Gringotts attraction is a completely different ballgame compared to the former. I'm under the assumption it is a cross between Spiderman (or, rather, the recent Transformers ride) and Revenge of the Mummy, combining a motion simulator base to an actual roller coaster track, or perhaps a point in the ride where the car locks into a separate platform that's a motion base (Tower of Terror is a perfect example of this).

Which brings us to the second centerpiece attraction connecting the two lands from both parks together - the Hogwarts Express. The number two thing people have requested when rumors hit years ago of a Harry Potter theme park (the first being Hogwarts, duh), rumors suggest a tram-styled ride will transport guests to and fro between Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley just like in the books/movies, similar to the Backlot Tram Tour at Universal Hollywood. And to further enhance the experience of riding in a train and watching the English countryside out the window, the technology used in both Kong 360 @ Uni Hollywood and an attraction in Hong Kong called the Ocean Express is rumored to be used here, as the "trains" themselves are actually on an elevated rail traveling through the backstage in-betwixt the parks, allowing for trucks to still pass through.

TheCrypt · June 13, 2012

What was Merlinwood? Judging by the name, I can see why it was axed from the park's line up, to be replaced by another magic-themed area that everyone can relate to.

TTD-120-420 · June 14, 2012

My girlfriend and I have already promised to travel back to IoA if they announce the demise of The Lost Continent. I really hope the rumors are false. I'll miss that place.

bkroz · June 14, 2012

What was Merlinwood? Judging by the name, I can see why it was axed from the park's line up, to be replaced by another magic-themed area that everyone can relate to.

The northern part of the Lost Continent. It contained the Dueling Dragons (now Dragon Challenge), The Flying Unicorn (now the Flying Hippogriff) and the Enchanted Oak Tavern, a beautifully crafted restaurant and bar nearly on par with Mythos in terms of beauty. It was a generic "medieval" area, but just as beautifully done as the other two parts of the land.

TheCrypt · June 14, 2012

The Enchanted Oak Tavern... Couldn't Universal have kept that? Just rename it to the Whomping Willow Tavern or something. Sure, it's not in Hogsmeade, but I doubt dragons or hippogriffs were, too.

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Universal/Islands of Adventure PTR

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