A Scot's on his way.

[anihilnation]

Glad you and your wife are having a good time, except for the two hour wait lol

 

[Scott W.]

Glad you and your wife are having a good time, except for the two hour wait lol

Luckily we had a FP. From what I could tell one of the towers was down but it seems to be up and running now. Service resumed back to normal.

If GOTG replaces it, it will be a travisity.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

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.

Great review. Have you tried the Star Card or whatever for Universal photos? When I had it was very similar to Disneys implementation except it was a barcode and the app was more clunky.

 

[Scott W.]

Another wall of text coming. I really need to get on top of these updates but it's a bit of a pain doing it on a phone screen but if I don't get on it with I'm sure I'll forget all the details.

Wednesday was SeaWorld. It was pretty much as it always was but it was deadly quiet. This is my first visit post Blackfish.

Mako was awesome. We managed to walk on 3x in a row and it so good. I've only been on one other hyper coaster before so it was a nice change from the other rides in Orlando. The air time was great, the seats were comfortable and it was silky smooth. It was a little dishearting to see the ride so quiet and there was quite a bit of graffiti in the queue already.

Kraken was as good as always and it's a little infuriating that it's 16 years old and still smoother than the Hulk which isn't even 16 weeks old yet.

The shows were great but a storm was approaching around 3 so we never got to ride Manta or see the Shamu show but the time flew in while we there.

Empire of the penguin was down but I've rode it once and I think that's enough for a life time.

Journey to Atlantis was ok but it was rough. I don't know if this is a regular thing but when we started the lift hill, the chain backfired or something and the boat jerked violently forward which was more painful than it should have been.

I've always found Turtle Trek to be a bit of a lost gem and I enjoyed it as much as I always have.

We had free parking with our tickets and the refillable cups with a nice bonus, especially since we could get icees since it was incredibly hot at spots during the day. Overall it was a good day out and relatively cheap.

At night we went to Mall Millenia and Cheesecake Factory for dinner which is about as you'd expect. One thing I did find is that the shops were cheaper than the outlets with a better selection. Managed to get an Orlando City soccer jersey for $40 compared to the $120 at the outlets.

Thursday was DHS and AK.

We had FP for Twilight Zone, Star Tours and Toy Story. Including Rock n Roller Coaster, Muppets and Indiana Jones, we managed to get everything done by 1pm including multiple rides on Twilight Zone and Rock n Roller coaster.

Twilight Zone was down to only 1 tower in the morning but was quickly back up and running. I don't think the queue exceeded 10mins all day. It was a blast as always.

Rock n Roller coaster was so much better than I remember. It was relatively smooth, the audio was loud and noticeable and everything looked great.

Star Tours was also surprisingly quite good especially with the updated scenes. The shop was a little disappointing though.

Muppets was great as always. With the exception of the ending, it's aged perfectly and I hope it stays for a long time.

Toy Story was fun as always and the queues were far smaller than normal making it a more overall enjoyable experience.

We went to AK about 2pm using the Disney Bus which was a first for us but it was hugely convienent. By the time I got to the car and left the car park, I was already there on the bus.

AK looked great by Everest was pretty much the only ride to go on and it was pretty much a walk on every time.

We went to the Yak and Yeti for lunch which was great. It was something different from the usual park food and was reasonably priced. Nice decor too.

We went back to HS about 6 and got a few more rides on pretty much everything again. We originally had planned to go to the Sci-fi Diner at 9.30pm but switched to Mama Melrose at 7.45pm learning our lesson from MK. I've still not received a cancellation fee yet.

Dinner was a huge disappointment after lunch. The chicken in the pasta tasted like it had been lying in a fridge for a day longer than it needed and just overall wasn't very nice. Laura seemed to enjoy her meal though.

We managed to get a relatively good view of the Star Wars fireworks considering we only showed up a couple of minutes before it started. I went in with low expectations but I enjoyed it. The heat from the fire shooting into the sky was crazy even though I was good distance away, I imagine it would have been unbearable near the front.

Overall it was a fun day out. FP worked well all day and Memory Maker is great. Being able to get food quality photos by a professional photographer with a good camera and a good location is a huge asset to a couple travelling. The other options are having random members take the photo for us and from experience, their photos have been terrible. All the on ride photos are a huge bonus too, especially the videos on Tower of Terror and the simplicity of getting them on your phone.

I can't tell if there's more photographers about or it's just that we're looking for them. Is but we certainly took advantage of them all. I'm hoping that when Star Wars an Toy Story open, it will make DHS great like how I remember it as a kid. The bus stop at AK allowed for a great view of Avatar and I think it looks like it will be spectacular. Unfortunately I don't think it's going to help AK any where near what it needs but time will tell.

I'm sure I've forgot some details and I'll add them as I remember them.

Friday was a pool day and today was at Kennedy Space Centre and I'll make a small report of both tomorrow some time.

 

[Scott W.]

Great review. Have you tried the Star Card or whatever for Universal photos? When I had it was very similar to Disneys implementation except it was a barcode and the app was more clunky.

We did look at it and had toyed with the idea but it seems a little pointless now as we're only planning a few hours back at Universal next week to fill the gaps of the rides we missed out. It's something we'll keep in mind for our next trip and hopefully the system will be a bit more advanced and better by then.

 

[WAJAS]

Antarctica's been down for a few weeks now. I wonder what's up. Are they finally creating a real 'wild' profile? Or is another improvement coming?

 

[AzaJ12345]

Just wanted to pipe up and say I have really enjoyed reading your reviews over the past week Scott. Obviously you are one of the more prolific posters on the boards but it comes across really well how passionate you are about the parks and how you can point out both the pro's and con's of Disney/Uni & Seaworld is nice to see.

Keep up the good work, looks like you and the wife are having a cracking time! :thumbsup:

 

[IAmFloridaBorn]

You're finally here dude! Awesome.

 

[Teebin]

having a cracking time!

I have never heard this phrase before. World culture... gotta love it.

 

[Mad Dog]

I have never heard this phrase before. World culture... gotta love it.

Just heard it for the first time last week at Pittsburgh's huge Irish Festival. Two folk singers from Nova Scotia were discussing ideas they had to name their new Canadian bar. They, tongue in cheek, said they were thinking along the UK phrase " a cracking time", and would name their tavern "The Crack House". Then they realized the other meaning and immediately squashed that idea.

 

[Scott W.]

Friday was meant to be a day at Blizzard Beach but on Thursday night, the rental car started having a warning saying he car needed a service in 300 miles, it was 4000 miles when I got the car on Friday and 200 miles less.

Taking the car back to sixt in Disney, I thought it would be a quick swap but it took the best part of an hour as the woman tried to fix it by googling the problem. This was concerning as I have a 3 series at home, similar model to the one I had and I know how much of a pain this can be when warnings start showing up and nothing will fix it outside of taking it to a BMW garage. After an hour I got another 3 series but it was in pretty bad shape and I got upgraded to a Mercedes e350 which was a nice turn.

After taking so long we decided to go back to the hotel and lie at the pool for a few hours as it would be too late to go to Blizzard Beach.

I think this was the first time that CBBR really started to shine with how good it can be as a resort. I'll give an overall impression of the hotel when I leave.

Friday night was a trip to Disney Springs and what a mess this place is. The printed map is all over the place. They have a map with numbers and the numbers to side aren't in numerical order, I actually don't have a clue what order they're in so it's a pain to find any reference to what you're looking at.

Went to D-Luxe burger which was relatively quiet and nice but a little expensive for what you get compared to Five Guysor Wendy's.

I thought the photographers at Disney Springs were a nice touch and the multi story car park was a good improvement but I can't see any real reason to return for the foreseeable future.

Saturday was a trip to the Kennedy Space Center. I haven't been in a long time. Last time I went they were building the International Space Station.

It was awesome as always. I've always loved the US for having the real deal visitor complexes like this. It's always incredible to be at the location of so much history and seeing what the future holds.

The new Atlantis exhibit was great. Beautifully displayed with informative videos and great displays. The show piece being the real shuttle in the middle of the room.

Saturday night was back to the outlets and the ones at the end of I Drive next to Fun Spot have really went down hill compared to the ones just past SeaWorld. Finally got to try Taco Bell for dinner which is exactly my kind of fast food.

Sunday was Blizzard Beach which was surprisingly quiet. I've always thought that I preferred TL but I can't think why now. BB felt like a superior park in almost every way minus the wave pool and water coaster. TL feels like it needs the new ride coming and just a general update for the older rides which BB still feels relatively new and modern.

It was a relatively cheap day as we could use our cups again which was only $8 to reactivate. I'm still kind of annoyed that the parks don't have the same kind of refillable cup. I'm also slightly bummed that the water parks don't have photopass photographers or if they did, we didn't see any.

Sunday night was a trip to The Melting Pot which was a nice surprise. It was better than I thought it would be and well priced especially since we use the Orlando Magic Dining menu which was recommended to us before we could ask for it. I'd recommend it to anybody looking for something a little different and more laid back than the majority of restaurants here.

It's been a long day so I feel this has all been a little more vague than normal. Today was EPCOT which has completely changed my opinion of the park for the better (I love Food and Wine!) Yesterday was Universal again but I'll give a review of both days shortly.

 

[LieutLaww]

Are you doing a split stay or just staying at Universal ?

 

[Scott W.]

Are you doing a split stay or just staying at Universal ?

Just staying at Universal. The slight irony I've found is that beyond the obvious advantages of being on site at Universal is that this is probably the best location hotel I've stayed at, especially getting to Disney as it's cutting out all the busy parts of I Drive and Sand Lake Rd.

 

[snayberry]

Food And Wine was good this year? @scott_walker I'm going to universal and staying Royal Pacific this weekend. Staying for three days but thought about going to Epcot for food and wine for one day.

 

[Joel]

Friday was meant to be a day at Blizzard Beach but on Thursday night, the rental car started having a warning saying he car needed a service in 300 miles, it was 4000 miles when I got the car on Friday and 200 miles less.

Taking the car back to sixt in Disney, I thought it would be a quick swap but it took the best part of an hour as the woman tried to fix it by googling the problem. This was concerning as I have a 3 series at home, similar model to the one I had and I know how much of a pain this can be when warnings start showing up and nothing will fix it outside of taking it to a BMW garage. After an hour I got another 3 series but it was in pretty bad shape and I got upgraded to a Mercedes e350 which was a nice turn.

After taking so long we decided to go back to the hotel and lie at the pool for a few hours as it would be too late to go to Blizzard Beach.

I think this was the first time that CBBR really started to shine with how good it can be as a resort. I'll give an overall impression of the hotel when I leave.

Friday night was a trip to Disney Springs and what a mess this place is. The printed map is all over the place. They have a map with numbers and the numbers to side aren't in numerical order, I actually don't have a clue what order they're in so it's a pain to find any reference to what you're looking at.

Went to D-Luxe burger which was relatively quiet and nice but a little expensive for what you get compared to Five Guysor Wendy's.

I thought the photographers at Disney Springs were a nice touch and the multi story car park was a good improvement but I can't see any real reason to return for the foreseeable future.

Saturday was a trip to the Kennedy Space Center. I haven't been in a long time. Last time I went they were building the International Space Station.

It was awesome as always. I've always loved the US for having the real deal visitor complexes like this. It's always incredible to be at the location of so much history and seeing what the future holds.

The new Atlantis exhibit was great. Beautifully displayed with informative videos and great displays. The show piece being the real shuttle in the middle of the room.

Saturday night was back to the outlets and the ones at the end of I Drive next to Fun Spot have really went down hill compared to the ones just past SeaWorld. Finally got to try Taco Bell for dinner which is exactly my kind of fast food.

Sunday was Blizzard Beach which was surprisingly quiet. I've always thought that I preferred TL but I can't think why now. BB felt like a superior park in almost every way minus the wave pool and water coaster. TL feels like it needs the new ride coming and just a general update for the older rides which BB still feels relatively new and modern.

It was a relatively cheap day as we could use our cups again which was only $8 to reactivate. I'm still kind of annoyed that the parks don't have the same kind of refillable cup. I'm also slightly bummed that the water parks don't have photopass photographers or if they did, we didn't see any.

Sunday night was a trip to The Melting Pot which was a nice surprise. It was better than I thought it would be and well priced especially since we use the Orlando Magic Dining menu which was recommended to us before we could ask for it. I'd recommend it to anybody looking for something a little different and more laid back than the majority of restaurants here.

It's been a long day so I feel this has all been a little more vague than normal. Today was EPCOT which has completely changed my opinion of the park for the better (I love Food and Wine!) Yesterday was Universal again but I'll give a review of both days shortly.

Did you say this was your first time at Food & Wine? If you like Food and Wine, I think you'd also love the Flower & Garden festival. It's a mix of food & wine and then awesome topiaries spread across the park. The difference in regards to food & wine is flower and garden focuses more on fresh, farm to table type dishes. I usually prefer Flower & Garden over F&W.

 

[Mad Dog]

Did you say this was your first time at Food & Wine? If you like Food and Wine, I think you'd also love the Flower & Garden festival. It's a mix of food & wine and then awesome topiaries spread across the park. The difference in regards to food & wine is flower and garden focuses more on fresh, farm to table type dishes. I usually prefer Flower & Garden over F&W.

Yes. I actually like Flower & Garden much better. It has the positives of Food & Wine without the negatives. And the gardens & topiaries are just fantastic. That may be one reason I was disappointed with Epcot last fall. I was used to the beauty of the spring festival and Epcot felt lacking and less interesting without it.

 

[Porkchop]

We did flower and garden and it was phenomenal.

 

[IzzyB]

It was a relatively cheap day as we could use our cups again which was only $8 to reactivate. I'm still kind of annoyed that the parks don't have the same kind of refillable cup. I'm also slightly bummed that the water parks don't have photopass photographers or if they did, we didn't see any.

They do have photopass photographers, but they wander the park and are not stationed anywhere. I notice them most in the kiddy areas as I guess they think parents will buy more pics. I have gotten some with my daughter crossing over the iceberg things in the kid area.

 

[Scott W.]

I've not forgot to update this, it's just been a busy few days trying to get as much done as possible.

I'll probably give an overview of the past few days in one post, a review of CBBR in another and then might make a separate thread about my concerns about Universal because after 4 trips, 3 of them weren't great and the future is looking like a mixed bag.

 

[Scott W.]

Orlando, you've been so much fun as always!