Hi Everyone,

Today I’ll reflect on my second day at Islands of Adventure (my third overall at Universal Orlando). This visit was on July 5th, 2020.

My second day at Islands of Adventure was unfortunately much rainier than my first, so I did not get to go on as many rides.

Rides Ridden:

The Incredible Hulk:

This was my first ride on this B&M sit-down looper since it was retracked/refurbished in the 2015/2016 offseason. The ride is noticeably smoother than I remember it, and the new paint job looks fantastic. There are some subtle updates to the queue as well, with additional theming to Bruce Banner’s Lab. The ride also produces a loud Hulk “roar” when riders are propelled to the top of the first launched hill (The “gamma accelerator”) into the first inversion, a zero-G roll. I was lucky enough to get a ride in the front row, and the views were fantastic. I waited about 20 minutes in the Express Pass line; standby was 45 minutes.  This ride is just as intense as I remember it, with the iconic cobra roll over the lagoon producing some strong forces, followed by an excellent vertical loop. The second half of the ride loses a bit of steam as you navigate through a second vertical loop, two corkscrews, and a pair of helixes, but is still very fun. Overall, this is still a great ride, but it has fallen out of my top 20. I think this is more a testament to how rapidly roller coaster technology has advanced in the past 20 years than a knock on Hulk itself. This ride is still one of the all-time greats.

Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure:

I was lucky enough to get a second ride in on Hagrid. This time, I rode on the bike itself, as opposed to the side car, and there was less of a difference between the two seating positions than I expected. Either seat will provide an amazing ride. Check out my vlog for my impressions of this ride.

Flight of the Hippogriff:

This is a small Vekoma family coaster. There is some theming related to the Hogwarts grounds, although it is not as extensive as some other rides in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I got a back row ride, and found that the cars were relatively small, and there was little airtime. I only waited five minutes for this ride, and I wouldn’t say it would be worth much more of a wait than that.

The High in the Sky Suess Trolley Train Ride:

This ride most closely resembles a powered roller coaster (aka, a roller coaster that doesn’t run due to gravity, but rather an electrified rail on the track), although it is not classified as one by RCDB, so I do not count it as a credit). The ride literally had no wait; we walked on right after a storm finished up around 4:30 p.m, and got the front car. The ride itself is very gentle; I don’t think you rise or drop more than 10 feet, or go faster than 10-15 miles per hour. Still, the ride provides some great views of the park’s lagoon, so I would recommend it just for the visuals/picture opportunities if the wait is 10 minutes or less.

Other Experiences/Notes:

• We waited out the rain in Marvel Superhero Island at the arcade between Spiderman and Dr. Doom’s Fearfall. I would recommend this spot if you find yourself caught in a typical Florida afternoon thunderstorm. There is a nice variety of games to play, like air hockey, skee-ball, pop a shot, etc.
• We ate an early dinner at Mythos. This is still one of my favorite theme park restaurants. The Greek theming is really cool. You also can get some great pictures of the park on the patio behind the restaurant, and in terms of the food, you can’t go wrong with the balsamic chicken.
• We stopped at Voodoo Doughnuts in Citywalk on the way home. The doughnuts were great, just as advertised.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Everyone,

Today I’ll provide some preliminary impressions of my visit to Universal Studios on July 4th. I got a lot of footage and it is going to take a while to put together/edit the vlog but it should be up sometime this week. Personally, I have always considered Islands of Adventure to be the superior park at the Universal Orlando Resort, but my last visit to the Studios has changed my opinion quite a bit. Overall, I still consider IOA to be the better park, but the parks are very close in quality, and that is not something I have been able to say in the past.

Rides Ridden:

Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit:

I have a soft spot for this Maurer coaster. Check out my top 10 underrated roller coasters video for a more in-depth analysis. I still find the vertical lift hill on this ride very intimidating, the onboard sound selection feature is great (I always play Stronger by Kanye), and I really like that massive non-inverting loop. The ride gives you some great views of the park as well. I waited about 20 minutes, half of which was spent waiting to drop off my stuff in a locker. Overall the ride is a ton of fun, and a must-ride if it’s your first time to the Studios. I would recommend getting on early in the morning; Hollywood Rockit is one of the few rides at the Studios that is outdoors, so if a Florida afternoon thunderstorm rolls in, you may not get the opportunity to ride.

Fast and Furious: Supercharged:

Check out my video for my impressions of this ride.

E.T. Adventure:

I love this dark ride. The theming in the queue does a convincing job of making one feel they are in the woods outside of Los Angeles where E.T. takes place. The ride system is similar to a suspended roller coaster, and if you’ve ever ridden Peter Pan at Magic Kingdom, it’s the same basic concept, with riders sitting on Elliot and his friends’ bikes, with E.T. sitting in the front basket. The ride itself extends beyond the original story of E.T., with riders arriving and exploring E.T.’s home planet with some very unique animatronics/theming. This ride is getting a little long in the tooth (it turned 30 this year), and I am concerned that Universal may attempt to replace it in the future, so if you find yourself at Universal anytime soon make sure to go on this gem of a ride.

Men in Black Alien Attack:

This is one of the best shooter dark rides ever built. The story goes that riders are new trainees who have joined the MIB, and they are brought on a ride-along to assess their skills at neutralizing threatening aliens. The queue is a little bit on the plain side, but the ride itself has some great theming, including an interactive element where different “recruits” are forced to shoot at one another. The line typically moves very fast and this was the case during my visit, as I only waited around 15 minutes.

Despicable Me Minion Mayhem:

Check out my video. I will say that Minion Mayhem is a big upgrade from Jimmy Neutron’s Nicktoon Blast, the ride it replaced. This ride is in the vein of a simulator, but instead of enclosing the riders, it is instead in an open theater with bench seats that secure riders with a lap bar, and rotate, shake, etc. in sync with the actions on screen. This ride consistently had 60 minute waits during the day, but I went on it about an hour before closing and was able to get on in around 15 minutes.

Harry Potter and The Escape from Gringotts:

This is a fantastic hybrid roller coaster/dark ride (more so the latter, there is a small drop that feels to be around 30 feet and a brief launch but overall it is much more of a dark ride. For the record, Roller Coaster DataBase does classify this ride as a roller coaster). The theming in the queue is among the best of any ride I have ever been on. Guests walk through Gringotts and stare with amazement at the impeccable details, and this is before even boarding the mine-car themed trains. The ride itself has an emphasis on screens for its effects, but there are also some real-life props/animatronics and coaster elements. Overall, it’s a must ride, and serves as the cornerstone of Diagon Alley.

Transformers The Ride:

This is a dark ride that uses similar technology to Spiderman at Islands of Adventure. This means that it uses 3D effects, interacts heavily with screens, and features many abrupt motions. I enjoyed it, but it’s not quite a top ride at the park to me. If the line is less than a half-hour, it’s worth a ride.

Didn’t Ride:

Revenge of The Mummy:

I had been on this ride around 5 times already, and ended up missing my virtual queue time towards the end of the day. It’s a great roller coaster, with elaborate Egyptian theming, three forceful launches, and a backward section. I felt bad that I missed an opportunity to take another spin, but given my familiarity with the ride, I put more effort into riding other attractions this time around. That being said, this is a top 3 ride in this park, and thus it is a must-ride for anyone’s first visit to the Studios.

The Bourne Stuntacular:

This is a brand new (literally opened a few weeks ago) show that replaced Terminator. Everything that I have heard about the show is positive, but I unfortunately arrived at the attraction after they had stopped doing performances for the day. Given that Terminator was a great show with many cool special effects, I can only imagine that a show themed to the Bourne franchise would be of similar quality.

Miscellaneous:

Diagon Alley is incredible. Although Hogsmeade in Islands of Adventure has better rides (I would take Hagrid and Forbidden Journey over Gringotts, although it is close), the shops/theming of Diagon Alley are on another level. Make sure in particular to visit Knockturn Alley, which has some . . . interesting characters. Check out my video and you’ll see what I mean. We spent half the day in Diagon Alley, and I still felt that it wasn’t enough. For perspective, I have read all the Harry Potter books and have seen all of the movies. I consider myself a “fan,” but I am not intimately familiar with a lot of the details of the series. I think that someone who was a little more engaged with the franchise would have difficulty spending “only” the 10 hours the park has been open in this area alone.

In general, the crowds were very manageable considering it was July 4th. Everyone was good about keeping their distance, and wearing masks when it was mandatory. I really appreciated Universal’s staff, who are managing a lot right now with logistics related to the pandemic, as they have risen to the challenge to deliver as close to a “normal” theme park experience as possible.

 

 

Hi Everyone,

I was recently presented with a unique opportunity, in that my summer internship was moved to a remote format, thus allowing me to work from anywhere in the world. It has been a dream of mine to live in Orlando ever since I was young, and I decided to seize the moment and make this dream come true, at least until the end of the summer. I am currently living in a converted garage studio in Orlando, roughly halfway between MCO and Universal. It’s not much, but the location is fantastic. The immediate area has a lot of restaurants/amenities, and I am 20 minutes from Disney World. Because tourism has been down so much due to COVID-19, I am renting for roughly 50% of what this Airbnb would normally go for. Not surprisingly, I have been hosting various friends and family members throughout the summer as well.

So far, things are going great. I visited Funspot Orlando for the second time in three months, with my primary objective being to ride Freedom Flyer. It was a solid Vekoma family suspended coaster. I liked the centralized location of this one, and it was very smooth, likely because it had lap bars, and not OTSRs like many similar Vekoma suspended coasters do (the Bat at Lagoon, for example, comes to mind).  My sister had also never been to Funspot, so she got her first ride on White Lightning, and really liked it. Check out my Funspot Trip Report from March in one of my earlier posts for some pictures of the park.

More importantly, I visited Islands of Adventure today. This was the first major theme park I have visited since the pandemic began, and I was very impressed with the park’s operations given all the difficulties that come with social distancing in a theme park. I recorded quite a bit of video on my trip, and my vlog will be up in a few days, but for now I wanted to give some thoughts and pictures from my visit.

Social Distancing/Masks:

Social distancing is being strictly enforced. You will be asked to remain 6 feet away from all other parties in line. The mask policy is also fairly strict. You can remove your mask when eating, seated at tables designated for eating, or for taking pictures. Other than that, you will be wearing a mask pretty much the entire time. Masks are also required in Citywalk. I found that wearing the mask was bearable for a few hours, but after a while, you would need to take a break and change it, particularly if you are using a non-paper mask, like a neck gaiter. I personally rotated between the neck gaiter and paper “blue” surgical masks. I would not recommend wearing a gaiter on the roller coasters or other high-speed thrill rides: it will likely fall off, and they just aren’t as “breathable.” In terms of how being required to wear a mask affects the entire experience, I described it to one friend as “like going to Universal, but only enjoying it at 75% of its potential.” It is still worth going, as this is an amazing park, but it does detract a little bit from the experience. Personally,  as someone who is obsessed with roller coasters/theme parks, it is still worth it to visit for me, but your mileage may vary.

Security/Temperature Checks: 

The process was relatively smooth and worked well. It is very reminiscent of TSA screening at a large airport, if you added a temperature check. I would budget 20-30 minutes to get through the entire process. I believe I have some video of this that I will post to give you a better idea. It will be pretty crowded in the screening area, but the crowds will empty out as you approach Citywalk.

Crowd Levels: 

The best way to assess this is by watching the video I will be posting. The parks weren’t crowded per se, but were busier than you might expect.

My Ride Experiences: 

Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure: Watch my video. We were lucky to get a virtual queue time around 11:00 am before they were unavailable for the rest of the day. If you want to get on Hagrid, I strongly suggest getting to the park early. Many people were unable to secure a reservation time.

Spiderman: Same as always. It’s a really fun dark ride. We only waited about 10 minutes, although this was at 9:30 in the morning, so it may have been more crowded during the day.

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey: Still an amazing dark ride. I also only waited 10 minutes, which if you know anything about this ride, is incredible. I don’t think prior to today I have ever waited less than 45 minutes for this ride.

Jurassic Park River Adventure: More or less a walk on today. The drop was less intense than I remembered. Always a good time.

Skull Island: Reign of Kong: Watch my video. Screens for days. I wouldn’t go on this ride without an Express Pass.

Cat in the Hat: I had never been on this dark ride. It was pretty fun, with some unexpected spinning. I only waited 5 minutes, so that may have contributed to my positive impression of the ride.

Didn’t Ride:

Popeye and Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges: I have been on this raft ride multiple times in the past. It’s very fun and well-themed, but it was closed today.

Hulk: I love this ride and took some video, and was in line for about 10 minutes towards the end of the day when a big storm rolled in. Since I’ve been on it around 20 times already, I decided to leave the line and head home. I’m going back to IOA on Sunday, so I may get a chance to ride it then.

Miscellaneous Thoughts:

The new Intamin Blitz coaster, believed to be named Velocicoaster, being built in the Jurassic Park section of IOA looks amazing. Some cool overbanked turns, launch sections, a heartline roll, and a stall mean that this will be a seriously intense coaster. I am very curious how it will stack up to Hagrid.

I got the fish and chips at The Three Broomsticks for lunch today, along with pumpkin juice. I recommend both of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was awesome to get back on some roller coasters for the first time since the shutdown! Check out my Trip Report below:

Hi Everyone,

I’ve been thinking recently about the best, worst, and really just . . . weirdest names for roller coasters. While a lot of roller coasters have names that don’t strike me as particularly inspiring, or offensive (i.e. Goliath), there are a distinct few that stick out. Here they are:

*Spoiler Alert*: If you haven’t been on Expedition Everest, please skip my thoughts on it below.

Best:

New Texas Giant: This ride is an RMC rebuild of the legendary Texas Giant that Operated at Six Flags Over Texas. This was RMC’s first roller coaster, and debuted to critical acclaim. While it has been overshadowed by other RMC creations such as Iron Rattler or Steel Vengenace, this ride is still a ton of fun, with cool 1960s Cadillac Deville themed cars, a fun first drop, some great overbanked turns, and a tunnel. It’s also a very rerideable ride. Personally, I’m glad they essentially stuck to the original name, and I now also refer to the ride as the “Notorious NTG.”

Alpengeist:

Opening in 1997, Alpengeist is themed to both a ski lift, and an encounter with an abominable snowman. As its name would suggest, the ride is located in the Germany section of the park. While this is not the only roller coaster with this theme (*cough* Matterhorn *cough* Expedition Everest) I think it is a fantastic name for what was such an imposing, record-breaking roller coaster at the time. Alpengeist still stands as the tallest full-circuit inverted coaster in the world, and is my favorite invert, just edging out Montu and Afterburn, and I think part of that can be attributed to the theme/setting.

Expedition Everest:

Another Yeti-themed roller coaster, Expedition Everest is one of the most elaborately themed, and expensive roller coasters ever built. I think its name is simple, yet memorable and adequately describes the fantastic voyage its riders are taken on, from the initial ascent to the summit, the backwards drop, encounter with the Yeti, and that signature 80 foot plunge down the mountain into a banked turn. I went on EE for the first time during preview days prior to its official media opening in 2006, and I remember being blown away with the level of theming. While newer, elaborately themed roller coasters have popped up around the world in the past 14 years, this ride still stands as one of the best, and still makes the Amusement Today top 50 steel coasters list.

Rock n’ Roller Coaster:

Well with a name like that, it had to make this list. It just works. Rock n’ Roller Coaster is themed to Aerosmith, with a fairly elaborate preshow, and a course that simulates a sprint through Hollywood to get to the band’s concert on time. It’s been around for 21 years and yet is still a signature attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

The Voyage:

This enormous wooden (*steel structure, wooden track*) roller coaster located at Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana is one of the best ever built. Featuring a great first drop, several tunnels, and some of the most airtime of any roller coaster, The Voyage lives up to its name, with a near three minute ride time as it traverses 6442 feet of track, the second longest tracklength for a wood roller coaster. Appropriately, it is also located in the Thanksgiving section of the park. Every second of this ride after the train crests the lift hill is pure exhilaration, and this ride is comfortably in my top 5.

 

Worst:

Judge Roy Scream:

Name after a 19th century justice of the peace, I’m not sure most of us can understand the reference. He was apparently a Wyatt Earp or Doc Holliday type western figure. Either way, this is an extremely rough wooden coaster, although it does have a very nice setting on a lake near the entrance to Six Flags Over Texas.

Backlot Stunt Coaster(s):

These rides used to have a fairly cool name: Italian Job: Stunt Track. However, as the Paramount Parks were bought out by Cedar Fair, I presume the IP for the Italian Job did not come with the purchase. As a result, these three cloned coasters now have generic, Roller Coaster Tycoon-esque names.

Montezooma’s Revenge:

Let me start by saying that this is a very fun ride. It’s the last surviving Scharzkopf Shuttle Loop, and was recently named an ACE Coaster Classic. That being said, the name is a play on Montezuma’s Revenge, which is a phenomenon experienced when one gets food poisoning while traveling, which is decidedly not fun.

 

Nickelodeon Slime Streak:

A family coaster at Nickelodeon Universe in New Jersey, this ride is not particularly notable except for surprisingly forceful first drop. While I’m aware of what the park was trying to go for with the “slime” theme, it really just doesn’t seem to work as a roller coaster name.

 

Mineblower:

Yes, Fun Spot, we get it, it’s themed to dynamite, and the ride is supposed to “blow your mind.” That doesn’t take away from the cheesiness of the name. Hence why it makes this list.

TMNT Shellraiser:

I know the shellraiser was the vehicle that TMNT used to ride around in during the animated TV series. I’m not really sure it works as a roller coaster name, but again, I wasn’t a big fan of the show, so some may feel differently.

Names that are Just Bizarre:

Python in Bamboo Forest:

This roller coaster is in China, so I’m assuming the name was just sort of lost in translation. Well if nothing else, it’s oddly specific. “Python” would have been fine. On a side note, this coaster looks fantastic.

 

Flying Dinosaur:

Another awesome looking ride, I’m not sure why the park went with a name like this as opposed to “Pterodactyl,” although perhaps it was for the purposes of simplicity. “Flying Dinosaur” does give off a bit of a Rollercoaster Tycoon vibe. Either way, this looks like an incredible flying coaster.

Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure:

Well, from what I’ve heard, it’s an accurate name. And it looks like a great ride. But man, is that a mouthful. Maybe “Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure” would have sufficed. Either way, I’m really looking forward to riding this next time I’m in Orlando.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Everyone,

So yesterday after SeaWorld (check out my video review below this post) I decided to take two quick trips to both Funspot locations.

First up was Funspot Kissimmee. Overall, I really wasn’t impressed with the park. It’s in a somewhat sketchy area and had a bit of a “run down” feel to it, although it was pretty busy when I went. My main reason to visit was to ride Mineblower. Overall, It was a solid ride, and very intense. Unfortunately, it was very rough, with some pretty consistent jackhammering throughout the ride. The first drop was great, I got some awesome airtime. There are some pretty intense twists, and the corkscrew was pretty fun as well. I’m giving Mineblower a 7/10. For $10 a ride, I would say it’s really only worth it if you happen to be in Kissimmee, otherwise just head over to Funspot Orlando.

Funspot Orlando is located in a relatively commercial, I’d say “hopping” area not too far from Universal. The park is also very clean and the staff were friendly. I visited just to ride White Lightning. This is a very photogenic GCI coaster, about 70 feet tall. It features a strong twisting first drop, a double up, and some nice banked turns. I rode toward the back and found it to be relatively intense, although maybe somewhat less than Mineblower. What is lacked in intensity, it made up for with smoothness, as this coaster has only a few rough spots. I’m going to give it a 7.5/10, and I’d say definitely come out to Funspot Orlando to ride it if you are in the area, which you might be if you are going to Universal.

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Hi Everyone,

I had an awesome day at SeaWorld! It’s been so great to be back in Orlando. I was able to go to both Fun Spot locations after as well, and rode Mine Blower and White Lightning. I will post reviews of those in the near future.

Check out my review below: