Sounds good. I'm a total newb when it comes to Universal so I have some reading to do. I'm also thinking of staying at the Hard Rock hotel and the express pass sounds enticing.
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Theme Parks & Roller Coasters |OT| The Happiest Place on GAF
- Thread starter Goldrusher
- Start date
Sounds good. I'm a total newb when it comes to Universal so I have some reading to do. I'm also thinking of staying at the Hard Rock hotel and the express pass sounds enticing.
I'm not 100%, but I think you get an express pass by default when you stay at an on-site hotel. Definitely look into that.
aparisi2274
Member
You only get the express pass when you stay at their deluxe hotels, which Hard Rock is part of.
Take a look at this link:
https://www.universalorlando.com/Hotels/On-site-Hotels-Comparison.aspx
It shows what you get when you stay on site.
I think I'm going to Six Flags Fiesta Texas.
I used to be a member of ACE and loved the hell out of coasters, but my wife is not a fan.
But my brother in law and sister in law are, so I'll third wheel it with them.
Park is sort of janky though. I think they've added 3 coasters since I was in high school.
1 is a Batman: the Ride Clone (which also exists at SeaWorld San Antonio)
1 is a wild mouse
1 is a 4d ride.
So, lots of progress in 12 years :/
I used to be a member of ACE and loved the hell out of coasters, but my wife is not a fan.
But my brother in law and sister in law are, so I'll third wheel it with them.
Park is sort of janky though. I think they've added 3 coasters since I was in high school.
1 is a Batman: the Ride Clone (which also exists at SeaWorld San Antonio)
1 is a wild mouse
1 is a 4d ride.
So, lots of progress in 12 years :/
aparisi2274
Member
Ooof that stinks.
I hope you enjoy the trip though.
I hope you enjoy the trip though.
Exterminieren
Banned
The BBC has signed a contract with the people behind the Paramount Resort being built in Kent, opening in 2020.
The BBC are bringing their brands to the table, with Top Gear, Doctor Who and Sherlock leading candidates for attractions.
The BBC are bringing their brands to the table, with Top Gear, Doctor Who and Sherlock leading candidates for attractions.
SpacePirate Ridley
Member
Doctor Who is so easy to make a ride from it that i feel they are not going to do it, or are they are going to butcher it for a lame idea, or action live show.
Hope im wrong.
Thanks guys. I also started reading some trip reports about Universal and I'm pretty excited. I still like Disney but after my 2012 trip I just don't feel the need to return just yet. Maybe once Star Wars or Avatar gets going that'll change.
That's plenty of time since you can easily do SeaWorld in a day, as others have mentioned.
You could probably see most everything at Universal/IOA in 2 days, especially if you have an express pass.
The Xtortionist
Member
Two days is the perfect amount of time for Universal if you have express. Plenty of time to re-ride your favorites!
OchreHand, you're going to love it. Best theme park resort in the country next to Disneyland, and Universal's E-ticket lineup is second to none.
OchreHand, you're going to love it. Best theme park resort in the country next to Disneyland, and Universal's E-ticket lineup is second to none.
aparisi2274
Member
some new aerial photos of the Kong building going up at IOA:
http://jakeadventures.com/2014/12/15/king-kong-aerial-photo-update-universals-islands-of-adventure/
http://jakeadventures.com/2014/12/15/king-kong-aerial-photo-update-universals-islands-of-adventure/
aparisi2274
Member
Nobody knows for sure yet... hell, most people arent even sure its a Kong attraction... but it is the leading rumor right now
It's supposed to be a Jurassic Park, but with Kong, right? or is it Kongfrontation 2.0?
aparisi2274
Member
It may be something like the Hollywood version of the ride, but on a grander scale...
With a building that large? That would have to be an insane screen dome, but that sounds interesting. Something in the vein of the old Terminator 2 3-D show?
Ah okay, I found an article that says that it's going to be a dark ride, so I'm expecting a Transformers/Spiderman type ride.
aparisi2274
Member
The last rumor I heard was that it was going to be a dark ride, but with an AA version of Kong at the end...
The Xtortionist
Member
Haven't heard much about Kong's ride tech. I've only really heard that the vehicles won't be too advanced...not in a bad way, but most of the innovation will be in other parts of the ride. RVs are also rumored to be very high capacity. The building is absolutely massive (saw it in person two days ago) so the ride taking place on two levels via elevators is a possibility. We know the ride will take place both indoors and outdoors, and feature 3D screens in some capacity. There is also said to be a substantial "scene" following unload; it isn't just a simple walk from unload to the exit, there's apparently going to be something pretty special there.
aparisi2274
Member
They should put the AA of Kong at the exit, so he can swipe at people
I feel like that would be underusing an AA kong. And people would pose for pictures and cause traffic.
I want to know what the story is. Cityscape or skull island, because if if it's skull island and theres a bug trench scene I'll be hesitant because screw that scene. It's one big NOPE.
A city one would be cool but I think kongfrontation did all you can do with that setting.
The Xtortionist
Member
I've read nothing but Skull Island, and Orlando United's podcast specifically mentioned a bug scene a few months ago lol. The Orlando United forums has a great thread on the Kong attraction that you guys might want to check out. Probably the best source for Universal Orlando rumors.
They'll probably do what Kong 3D does with the screens and make several large ones that are simultaneously playing two sides of the same area.
Spiderman and Transformers were actually really light on the animatronics. I don't think there are any aside from a few moving inanimate objects.
Spiderman and Transformers were actually really light on the animatronics. I don't think there are any aside from a few moving inanimate objects.
The Xtortionist
Member
Having dual screen setups could be a really neat twist on the Spider-Man formula Universal's been playing with for a while. Would definitely give Kong a unique feel.
It really makes you feel like you're in the middle of it with a combination of hydraulics and screens, like Kong jumping from one screen, climbing over the tram, and showing up on the other screen.
The Xtortionist
Member
Heading out for a one night stay on property at Universal Orlando! Gonna cheat lines like a motherfucker with express 
The Xtortionist
Member
Front row on Transformers is still so goddamn awesome
aparisi2274
Member
I went on that like 4x in a row with my express pass because there is so much shit going on that you miss a lot of crap...
It's like Spider-man on crack.
The Xtortionist
Member
Yeah I need to hit up some rerides. Basically hit everything once today. I plan on going at 7 am tomorrow for early entry. Gotta make it count!
Heading out for a one night stay on property at Universal Orlando! Gonna cheat lines like a motherfucker with express
I'm so jelly!
The Xtortionist
Member
Rode Gringotts 6 times today. Someone send help
If the ride breaks down do they call it breaking the bank?
The Xtortionist
Member
It stopped while I was on it for about 5 minutes today. Though that felt like an eternity just sitting there. I think the ride vehicles got backed up.
Had the weirdest glitch on a different run today. At one point all of the low end sounds from the speakers died. Gringotts' audio is super bass heavy so it made the rest of the ride awkward as fuck.
The Xtortionist
Member
Shit man, that sucks. I have a lot of quibbles with Gringotts but audio is definitely not one of them. It's some of the best, if not the best I've heard on any ride. Hopefully it works for you sometime. I'm pretty sure it's a vehicle issue and not a general ride issue. I let the TM at the glasses drop off know, hopefully it moves up the chain.
The Xtortionist
Member
Merry Christmas, Theme Park GAF. Godspeed if any of you guys are visiting a park today.
Not until around January 5th when the crowds go away and Disneyland goes into off-season.
Goldrusher
Member
The Xtortionist
Member
It's free and pretty decent.
aparisi2274
Member
fellow theme park gaffers, Disney is having a contest where you can win the following:
All you have to do is go to their site and enter every day. Good luck!!!
http://parks.disney.com/disney-flip-side-sweepstakes
All you have to do is go to their site and enter every day. Good luck!!!
http://parks.disney.com/disney-flip-side-sweepstakes
Decent enough for a stable FaceTime session?
Wait, what?
aparisi2274
Member
What??? Why would someone who was asking about a face time session be an asshole? Would his face time session somehow ruin your trip to Universal Orlando??
Okay, thanks?
I'm going to assume someone's FaceTime session deeply scorned you in some way in the past.
The Xtortionist
Member
Gonna try and hit up Universal on Saturday. Hopefully the New Years tourists will have left
It's just that facetime takes up decent bandwidth, and if a lot of people are doing facetime it ruins the bandwidth for other guests.
Like, I traveled 23 weeks this year for work and there's always someone on the airplane trying to watch Netflix, HBO Go or facetime with someone while in the air. It's unnecessary and ruins the experience for everyone else on the plane. That's all.
Nothing against Quick. I'm sure there are a hundred other ways I could've gotten that across without sounding like a dick.
Like, I traveled 23 weeks this year for work and there's always someone on the airplane trying to watch Netflix, HBO Go or facetime with someone while in the air. It's unnecessary and ruins the experience for everyone else on the plane. That's all.
Nothing against Quick. I'm sure there are a hundred other ways I could've gotten that across without sounding like a dick.
Gonna try and hit up Universal on Saturday. Hopefully the New Years tourists will have left
I tried going on Monday without thinking about holiday crowds and it was awful. Despicable Me was 130 minute wait, Rockit was 75. That was the same day Gringotts broke down and they had to call in the fire department to get people off the ride.
I had snuck my wife's 11-year-old cousin into the park.. I think we were there for 15 minutes before I decided to get out and find something else to do.
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