Islands of Adventure
IOA is still one of my favorite theme parks around, and after 12 long years I had to start things off with one of my favorite attractions of all time...
The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man
What can I say, it's really one of the best around. An new for me was the 4K refurbishment which makes the ride look fantastic! Apparently I arrived at the right weekend too, as I also saw the just added projections to the levitation scene. I thought the people in the windows were part of the 2012 update, but none the less it's great to see them still plussing it to this day!
Hulk
Since I was last at UO, Hulk definitely changed a bit. Full-track refurb, new queue/story, soundtrack and the mandatory lockers/metal detectors. This was my first time having to really use the lockers at the park, and honestly it was fairly simple and painless. As for the metal detectors, while I've seen people on other forums just go on and on about how much they despise them...they honestly didn't bother me. An since I don't see them adding this to future coasters, throwing any kind of fuss over them just seems silly. *shrug*
The new queue is pretty nice, the little videos of the various test subjects were amusing as well, and as for the ride, Hulk's still got it! Even though I feel the original's launch quip was the best (Ok, I think it's going to work...) I do like the screen/projections in the tunnel since it's a effect that works well even during the day. As for the soundtrack, couldn't hear a dang thing for the first half, but it was nice to hear during the second.
After Hulking out, I made my way back through PoE, Seuss Landing and Lost Continent (which is definitely on borrowed time) to check out the addition which has seemingly changed everything...
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade
So I walked through the main entrance, saw the train on my right and saw Hogwarts peeking up in the back over the town...and I got chills. The land looks wonderful, and I'd probably would've spent a lot of time to take it all in. However since I was crunched for time, I was moving briskly to the back to check out the start attraction.
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
First off, that castle façade is something else as you feel tiny approaching and walking under it! Second, I'll admit I've seen videos way back of the ride, and I thought it looked pretty good...but it seemed like a hodgepodge of a story and not much of a climax, so I didn't know if it was up there with the likes of Spider-Man.
Since I was crunched for time, I decided to just use the single rider line and immediately got a entire bench to myself. I was whisked away, proceeded to drop the loudest F-Bombs I have every dropped on a ride thanks to Aragog and the Dementors, I got off the ride...and immediately ran back into the single rider line and did it again.
I was legitimately blown away by this ride, and there is no doubt why this got duplicated in Osaka and Hollywood, it is just that good. Videos don't do the ride justice, as a video can't replicate the crazy maneuvers the ride performs, it doesn't show how freakishly close the AA's/set pieces get to you, and it doesn't replicate the amazing sensation of flight the ride pulls off. Yes, the story is still a bit of a hodgepodge and doesn't have the same kind of WHAM climax like Spider-Man, but it's such a assault on the senses from beginning to end that the issues aren't really glaring.
Now is it as good/better then Spider-Man? Spider-Man is still tops for me, but FJ is a really close second. Either way, I feel these two attractions are some of the greatest in the world, and proof that when the creative team can really flex their muscles, they're gonna' give you something uniquely amazing.
Later in the day, I did go through the queue and thought it was really impressive. The Musion effect for Dumbledore and the trio are really impressive, and same can be said for the moving portraits and the Sorting Hat.
Skull Island: Reign of Kong
I was pretty excited to check this ride out, especially since I actually avoided any kind of videos for this one. Starting with the queue, it's a pretty killer queue! I love how progressively creepy it gets, which was clearly evident by the line being slow due to a poor kid who was getting legit freaked out. The room with the shamaness was awesome, and the loading area was quite nice with the AA worm and such.
As for the ride itself, I honestly enjoyed it. The 3-D is great, there's a lot to take in especially with the 360 room, and the motion was pretty sweet. An the big guy himself was pretty jaw dropping in AA form, so overall it's a wonderful addition to IOA. Oh yeah, one more thing. I didn't expect to get a taste of HHN in the queue, guess that answered my thought if they were going to keep that element around!
Now after Kong, I went back to the hotel to meet up with my friend, and I found out he's never been to Universal before! So I immediately took him on a crash course through IOA, hitting up Spider-Man, Hulk and Forbidden Journey (He loved all three!) and then we decided to head over to the studios.