Awesome, have fun at Magic Kingdom and happy bday to your wife. Hope you enjoy the rest of your vacation
Cheers, mate. Will do!
A Scot's on his way.
- Thread starter Scott W.
- Start date
-
Signing up for a Premium Membership is a donation to help Inside Universal maintain costs and offers an ad-free experience on the forum. Learn more about it here.
Cheers, mate. Will do!
She's still a big kid although every adult has the same reaction from what I could see. It's one of the greatest transitions in a park.
I've been expecting the i4 to be a nightmare but it's been smooth sailing so far. It took 11mins to get to TL from CBBR yesterday morning and that was about half 9.
She's still a big kid although every adult has the same reaction from what I could see. It's one of the greatest transitions in a park.
I've been expecting the i4 to be a nightmare but it's been smooth sailing so far. It took 11mins to get to TL from CBBR yesterday morning and that was about half 9.
To give a rundown on my thoughts of the past few days for anybody who's interested. This is going to be a long post as a forewarning.
Day 1 was Universal and day 2 was Typhoon Lagoon.
Cabana Bay has been good for the most part but the parking is awful and check in was a bit more stressful than it should be with the parking situation. Besides that, it's a good resort in terms of what it offers and scale and the location is actually pretty great with how easy it is to get to and onto the I4. Walking to the parks took 15mins tops and using my Fitbit, the walk to and from only accounted for about 15% of the total steps that day. The walkways were surpassingly nice too.
Sapphire Falls is so much bigger than pictures show and it looks perfectly at home besides the other high end hotels on property.
Volcano Bay is also going to be so much bigger than I thought. It's interesting being able to watch the construction and where you can see it when driving about. I think once it's complete, it's going to be the new resort icon.
I Drive although prettier than it was, is just hell on earth to drive through now. It was bad before and worse now. I was border line prepared to go to the Orlando Eye but as long as I can avoid it, I won't be down I Drive for the rest of the vacation.
Wet n Wild is looking in awful shape and it's actually pretty sad to see but I'll be making a final farewell visit at some point.
Universal was as good as ever and I appreciated the early access thanks to CBBR. The park was extra busy because of the Rock The Universe event but I managed to get a fair amount done.
Kong wasn't that good. It wasn't bad and kind of impressive but for the longest ride in the park, it felt like almost nothing happened and the lack of plot was terrible.
First time on Gringotts and I mentioned it in another post but I really enjoyed it. Far more than I would have expected.
I wasn't the biggest fan of FJ but everything seemed a lot sharper this visit.
Spider-Man was as awesome as ever. The ride is great but the queue is looking dated and the place needs a good clean. The office section was thick with dust.
Drinking in the parks is also awesome. Duff beer was actually pretty good and refreshingwhen it was so warm.
I took my wife on ET for the first time and she loved it. I would have wanted it to go as it seemed irrelevant but I think it's still a great good old fashioned ride that deserves its place in the park.
I had breakfast at Polynesion this morning and it looked like a great hotel. It seemed to have a far superior atmosphere than CBBR which thinking about doesn't really seem to have one. It's a nice hotel but I could never justify the cost. The bizarre thing about the reservation is that we showed up 5mins early and it was to the second when we got shown to our table even though Kona Cafe was mostly empty and nobody was waiting for a table.
Typhoon Lagoon was surpassingly quiet for a Sunday, I don't think any queue was beyond 10mins at any stage. It's feeling dated though. The slides up the back of the park all feel like they need replaced.
I had thought it was a little unbalanced that TL was getting a new ride and not BB but it seems completely justified now.
Magic Kingdom tomorrow for my wife's birthday. I'm curious to see how well the FP+ system works along with the reservations, magic bands and memory maker.
Edit: Something I noticed is that Universal seemed to be closing off screens when they noticed somebody trying to take a photo of their on ride photo. I noticed this happening 3x at Mummy.
I know that Nintendo is meant to be going into kids zone but I think it will be a logistical nightmare as that place is currently a haven for parents.
Here's some videos of my wife I thought I'd share.
This photo after the scare actors in Kong has pretty much cemented that we will not be able to visit HHN. Ever.
And again, drinking in the parks is awesome.
Wait.. so if that's not you in your profile pic, who is it?
You're in 'murica now, time to start speaking american. :box:
I'll make a post about it later when I get back to the hotel. Was really good though. I'm completely sold on FP+ and MagicBands now.
It's Begbie from Trainspotting. I would link a video but I don't think anything would be appropriate.
Do you not say half past here?
- Jul 22, 2016
- 63
- 54
Very cool to read your impressions and live vicariously through them. Drinking in the parks -- and being able to walk around with the drinks like one big open container land -- is one of the best parts!
- Mar 30, 2015
- 3,663
- 6,366
We do, but your average American doesn't know what to do with "half nine." Me, I've been serving Brits for the last decade, so I'm hip.
I've only heard half past nine in America before (or half past 8 for half nine), never half nine unless its a foreigner. I would agree most American's won't know what to do with half nine.
I'll need to keep this in mind for future reference. I thought that was a universal way of telling the time.
Another wall of text is coming so apologies in advance again.
Monday was Magic Kingdom using FP+ and Magic Bands with Memory Maker. I've had my doubts about using the system but I'm completely sold on it in terms how well it worked and how simple it was to use. Not only that, but it's slightly made Universal and SeaWorld look severely dated. The simplicity in coming off a ride, putting my wrist to the photo and then having a high res photo within 20mins on my phone is actually incredible. In comparison to Universal if I wanted to buy an on ride photo from a coaster, I would need to go back to my locker, get my phone or some form of payment, remember the photo number and then connect it all. I'm so completely sold on this, I would maybe consider staying on site just so I could have a credit card associated with my Magic Band. I'll make a small list of things that stood out and what's new to me.
Be Our Guest was a little hectic but the food was surprisingly good and fairly reasonably priced. I also liked the magic touch of the food finding it's own way to your table.
The reservation system worked fairly well but my only complaint is that you need to cancel 24 hours in advance. I had reservations for Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen for 8:35pm but after being in the park since 7.30am, my wife and I having blisters on our feet and still being jet lagged, it was too much and we left about 7.30pm.
The park was relatively quiet considering. We managed to almost walk on SDMT first thing which was a pleasant surprise. It wasn't great but it's a solid addition to the park. Besides the 40min wait for Splash Mountain, I don't think we waited more than 20mins for anything and managed to use the FP system fairly well after with filling in the gaps. I think we used 7 FP all in.
The park was that quiet.
One thing I was surprised about was how many photographers were about and how good some of the photos turned out.
The only thing that really slightly irritated me was that Disney don't offer a refillable drink service in the parks but they do at the water parks. It's minor but it would be nice.
Tuesday was a relatively quiet day given how tired we were from Monday. We went to the outlets and then to Universal at night and filled some of the gaps from the previous trip although we arrived just as a thunderstorm hit.
Hulk was as good as ever but the whole queue is a complete disappointment. Whatever story there is, is passed by so quick, I have to wonder what the point of it even is. The on board audio is only noticeable for the first few seconds and it felt smoother than the last time I rode but it wasn't smooth. What makes that more confusing is that I rode Kraken today and for a ride that's 16 years old, it was smoother.
We almost walked on Gringotts and rode in the front this time and it felt like a totally different experience. I'm so impressed with how good it is
We went for dinner at Toothsome and it's a truly great addition to CityWalk. I'm some where between an 8 or 9 /10. The food was really good and it was really nice to have a meal here that isn't a ridiculous size. Strangely I never had a desert but I'll have something next time I'm passing by. I think it's different enough to make it a must visit place for anybody visiting UOR and it's priced well for what it is and the theming is great too. I'd compare it to Cheesecake Factory (I was there tonight) but the experience is completely different. The only negative I would say is one of the walk around characters started talking to us just a couple of minutes after our food came out. The timing felt off and she seemed a little insistent on talking.
We were at SeaWorld today and HS and AK tomorrow which I will probably create another wall of text for. The only small thing I'll say is that Mako was awesome and is probably my favourite coaster in Orlando now.
Monday was Magic Kingdom using FP+ and Magic Bands with Memory Maker. I've had my doubts about using the system but I'm completely sold on it in terms how well it worked and how simple it was to use. Not only that, but it's slightly made Universal and SeaWorld look severely dated. The simplicity in coming off a ride, putting my wrist to the photo and then having a high res photo within 20mins on my phone is actually incredible. In comparison to Universal if I wanted to buy an on ride photo from a coaster, I would need to go back to my locker, get my phone or some form of payment, remember the photo number and then connect it all. I'm so completely sold on this, I would maybe consider staying on site just so I could have a credit card associated with my Magic Band. I'll make a small list of things that stood out and what's new to me.
Be Our Guest was a little hectic but the food was surprisingly good and fairly reasonably priced. I also liked the magic touch of the food finding it's own way to your table.
The reservation system worked fairly well but my only complaint is that you need to cancel 24 hours in advance. I had reservations for Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen for 8:35pm but after being in the park since 7.30am, my wife and I having blisters on our feet and still being jet lagged, it was too much and we left about 7.30pm.
The park was relatively quiet considering. We managed to almost walk on SDMT first thing which was a pleasant surprise. It wasn't great but it's a solid addition to the park. Besides the 40min wait for Splash Mountain, I don't think we waited more than 20mins for anything and managed to use the FP system fairly well after with filling in the gaps. I think we used 7 FP all in.
The park was that quiet.
One thing I was surprised about was how many photographers were about and how good some of the photos turned out.
The only thing that really slightly irritated me was that Disney don't offer a refillable drink service in the parks but they do at the water parks. It's minor but it would be nice.
Tuesday was a relatively quiet day given how tired we were from Monday. We went to the outlets and then to Universal at night and filled some of the gaps from the previous trip although we arrived just as a thunderstorm hit.
Hulk was as good as ever but the whole queue is a complete disappointment. Whatever story there is, is passed by so quick, I have to wonder what the point of it even is. The on board audio is only noticeable for the first few seconds and it felt smoother than the last time I rode but it wasn't smooth. What makes that more confusing is that I rode Kraken today and for a ride that's 16 years old, it was smoother.
We almost walked on Gringotts and rode in the front this time and it felt like a totally different experience. I'm so impressed with how good it is
We went for dinner at Toothsome and it's a truly great addition to CityWalk. I'm some where between an 8 or 9 /10. The food was really good and it was really nice to have a meal here that isn't a ridiculous size. Strangely I never had a desert but I'll have something next time I'm passing by. I think it's different enough to make it a must visit place for anybody visiting UOR and it's priced well for what it is and the theming is great too. I'd compare it to Cheesecake Factory (I was there tonight) but the experience is completely different. The only negative I would say is one of the walk around characters started talking to us just a couple of minutes after our food came out. The timing felt off and she seemed a little insistent on talking.
We were at SeaWorld today and HS and AK tomorrow which I will probably create another wall of text for. The only small thing I'll say is that Mako was awesome and is probably my favourite coaster in Orlando now.
Great review, glad you had a good time. Are you going to do Halloween Horror Nights? @scott_walker
Just be aware that SeaWorld opens at 10:00 this morning (they're doing 10 instead of 9 for this month for some reason). It's been catching a lot of the tourists off guard that the park opens later.
I'd love to but given how scared Laura was with the queue at Kong, I can't see it happening
I noticed that. It was open till 6 as well when it was advertised as 5.
I'd love to but given how scared Laura was with the queue at Kong, I can't see it happening
I noticed that. It was open till 6 as well when it was advertised as 5.
You should get her to try it!! My girlfriend was absolutely terrified the first year so I FORCED her to go. Told her to have some drinks before hand with me to take the edge off. Walking up to the first house, she was freaking, didn't want to go, said we would stay for one house then we're leaving no matter what. Went through the first house with me and my brother on either side of her to "protect" her. She didn't know about the whole, scare-actors looking for people just like her, it was fun.
Once we made it though, she absolutely fell in love with HHN and went on to do all the houses with some twice over; been going back ever since. NOTE - Although she made it through just fine, my arms were sore for the next few days because of how hard she was gripping me.
We're doing food and wine next week, that's going to be as good of a time as any to convince after drinking all day.
Currently a 120min wait for TOT.
