Sorry for my late review post! It's been a crazy couple of days... My phone completely died yesterday after days of issues, and I had to go get a new one from the store before heading out to UOR, which delayed me quite a bit... I finally got to USF around 8pm. More phone troubles ensued, as Sprint's reception in the parks sucks majorly. I kept trying to reach out to USO92 with many failed tweets for a few minutes until we connected tweets and I finally found him.
We got in the stand-by queue and we were indoors withing a few minutes. I was pretty engaged in conversation with USO92 and fiddling with my new phone, so I didn't pay much attention to the outdoor queue, but if I'm not mistaken, it was not completely full. I think they were only using like half of the outdoor queue by Monsters Cafe, and the extended one by the street was obviously all empty. One thing that
was noticeable outside, and all around, was the enthusiasm and engagement of the TMs. I, mean, WOW! Not just here, but also in Springfield, TMs are doing an amazing job! If any of you are reading this, kudos! Excellent job! It makes these experiences so much better, as if they weren't already quite wonderful in and of themselves!
So, we entered the indoor queue and I thought it looked amazing! Bigger and longer than I expected (another recurring theme here). I think the theming is top notch, I love the lighting, the details... everything is great and really sets the mood for the ride, in a way the outside of the building cannot. Everyone was fidgeting with the buttons, knobs, switches, etc. Every room had cool Transformers Easter eggs and builds more and more excitement that culminates with the actual ride. BTW, the big TVs were very impressive. You can tell this is the newest, most technologically advanced ride at USF.
Once you get to the loading dock, the TMs were again very energetic and enthusiastic, and their excitement is really contagious. They seemed to be doing a very efficient job as well, situating the riders, directing them what to do with their carry-on items, etc. Once in the RV and lap bars checked, we began our ride to save the planet from the evil Decepticons! It helped that we had a flawless ride, but I thought it was FANTASTIC! The sets, the clarity and depth of the screens, the special effects, everything was spectacular!
Sure, comparisons can be drawn with Spider-Man; that has been known for long. I personally don't mind it as much, especially since I find Spider-Man to have a great formula for a dark ride. Apart from the similarities, Transformers gives you a completely different rush and feel than Spider-Man. With the realism of the sets and video, the non-stop action, and I found it to be more immersive than Spider-Man. I think this is because we're closer to the screens, and because the sets are less open and more realistic than Spider-Man.
One thing that was just a bit disappointing was the fire effect, for lack of real fire. I think the reason for having "fake" fire instead of actual fire might be the tightness of the sets. Spider-Man has a more open space during the fireball scene, and in Transformers all the sets are more compressed. Other than that, I think they did an excellent job everywhere else. I really loved the wind effects to enhance the feel of speed. I guess they could add more wind to some scenes, but you did feel the wind and it was very effective to me.
Another aspect I loved about the ride was its long length! Again, I think this may be because of the smaller sets, which can be a hindrance in some scenes (like the fire), but it allows for more scenes and a longer, more satisfying experience overall. One of my biggest pet peeves is having to wait a long time for a short ride, and Transformers couldn't be farther from that. Also, like with most of Universal's latest projects, they put such detailed quality work into the queue, that it really goes beyond being just a line for the ride; it becomes part of the whole experience, and that helps a lot too.
So, overall, I found the Transformers experience to be excellent, and running like a really well oiled machine. I think that for many years to come, this s going to be a hit for all guests, and a favorite of many. I'm personally looking forward to riding this beast again very soon!
Shout out to USO92!! Such a great guy! Waited for me and was all around awesome!
It was great to meet you, and looking forward to hanging out again, my friend! :thumbs: