Universal Orlando Resort Hotels

I love staying in on resort hotels at both Universal and Disney, despite that fact that the cost is ridiculously high, relative to hotels in the general vicinity (but it’s a theme park so what do you expect?)  JN and I usually do not stay in them for this reason. In fact other a few times we don’t stay in hotels at all as JN lives less than an hour away from Orlando.  But when I can I do like staying on the resort as it not only makes it for more convenient access to the parks but also the theming and amenities of the resort hotels are often top notch.  The rooms themselves not always but personally the rooms themselves don’t really make or break a hotel for me, as long as they have all the necessities  (plus a few more as I am paying a lot).  JN would disagree with me here as he a lot hinges on the room itself for him but perhaps he can elaborate some other time.

I have unfortunately not stayed in many Disney Resorts.  I have stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and have been inside of the Grand Floridian to eat at the Grand Floridian Café.  So I can’t really say much about Disney’s resorts as Riverside was only in the moderate price range and did not stay at the Grand Floridian (and probably won’t anytime soon unless I one of my get-rich-quick schemes finally pay off).  But I have stayed at all three hotels at Universal.  Luckily that is because my family enjoys going to Halloween Horror Nights and Universal in general so I don’t have to fork over a couple paychecks just for two to three nights.

In case you don’t know the three hotels at Universal are Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Loews Royal Pacific Resort, and the Hard Rock Hotel.  Loews is a hotel chain, as is, Hard Rock, of course. My favorite hotel at Universal is the Portofino. It is themed after an Italian seaside town and I will say in this aspect they did very well.  I have been to Italy and I will say other than looking a little flat and painted in some places (it is still a theme park hotel, not actually thing) it captured the Italian feel very well. It looked and felt like I was an Italian town with an abnormal number of American tourists, from the outside.

                                  Portofino Bay Hotel Exterior from fodors

From the inside it was still themed really well but started to lose some of it initial magic. Once you go to the hallways and the rooms it begins to feel like more like a hotel, but a very nice hotel. But fortunately the first thing you see is the exterior bay which is actually the back.  The visually main exterior is the back of the hotel with looks like an Italian town on a bay.  To get to the hotel you drive around the bay and can see main exterior as you approach.  It is very impressive in my opinion.  Once you enter it still feels as if you are in a theme park resort but does fell a bit enclosed for a resort lobby. There are multiple pools here but the main one is definitely awesome.  While it is not the greatest or biggest pool in general, it is definitely comparatively nice.  The entrance is like a wave pool entrance giving it a beach-y feel.  On the far end there is a fortress like structure with a small water slide. What makes me remember this pool fondly was the fact that it wasn’t very crowded (at least at the time I went) and I was able to chill under the arch of the structure with my family peacefully.  The Portofino is definitely the best theme park I have stayed at (although that may change if I stay at any of the Deluxe Disney resorts).

                              One of Portofino’s pools from orlandoinformer                            

The Pacific is anther great resort. Actually it may be better than Portofino in a pseudo-objective sense. Meaning it is bigger and has more amenities.  But it does not live up to it theme in my opinion.  The interior looked more like a ski lodge than anything and the exterior look like a moderately themed resort hotel.  Definitely all the work went into the resort aspect of the place not the theming, which is something some people prefer and is completely fine.  Personally I prefer hotel theming over amenities at a theme park as I am only usually there for a few days. Don’t get me wrong the theming isn’t horrible, it is actually pretty good, but it just does not capture an essence like Portofino does. But if theming isn’t you bag and you are looking for the nicest resort, Royal Pacific is definitely the one.  It is also the further away from the parks so you might want to take the ferry to CityWalk unless you want a good long walk.

                                         Royal Pacific entrace from vslive

Hard Rock Hotel on the other hand is right next to the parks. In fact you are only a few yards away from some parts of Studios (and the old Hard Rock Hotel) when you are in the parking lot. But convenience to the parks is just about the one advantage of this hotel.  I don’t know how Hard Rock Hotel’s are in general but it honestly felt like a really nice hotel with a few pieces of rock and roll memorabilia placed about.  I have honestly seen more memorabilia in most of the Hard Rock Cafés I’ve been in than I saw in the entire hotel (and I walk around through all the floors of the hotel).  I read that the nicer rooms and suites are themed after notable bands, and it would have been neat if I got to stay in a Led Zeppelin or Queen room but overall the hotel is rather lackluster as both a super-nice resort and in its theming.  If you have the money to and it is between an offsite hotel and this one always go with the Hard Rock but if you want a resort experience at Universal I would definitely suggest trying one of the other two first.

Hard Rock Hotel from travelape

 

-JS

Attractions and Theming

Would a theme park be a theme park without the attractions? What I am trying to ask here is if a theme park where not to have attractions (I’m particularly talking about ride here), would it be worth going. I would argue no.  Regardless of how well themed parks like Universal and Disney are, especially in places such as World Showcase and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, I couldn’t imagine spending money to shop and eat in a well themed place.  I wouldn’t even call such a place a theme park: consider the city of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. There are very few people that live there, it is particularly a tourist town with countless shops, restaurants, and museums, but this place is a town, not a park.  Thus I would claim that attractions (and again I’m talking particularly about rides here) are the most important part of a theme park are the rides.  This seems counterintuitive given that the name is “theme” park; the theming should be most important.  But theming is extremely imperative as well.  No one wants to pay ninety dollars a day to walk around an bland park with unthemed or poorly coasters all day (They’ll pay fifty dollars and go to Six Flags, ZING!).

-I don’t care if you have a Batmobile, Six Flags, your theming sucks

     There needs to be a proper balance of expert theming, entertaining shows, and thrilling, innovative and kid friendly rides; restaurants are important as well.  A great balance of all of these is important but to me attractions are the most important.  Perhaps JN would agree with me, perhaps not, but I do know he ranks theming and particularly restaurants higher than I do; why do you think EPCOT is his favorite park.  As much as I love restaurants and think every park should have a few nice ones, I don’t, for instance, hold Magic Kingdom’s or Animal Kingdom’s lack of a plethora of full service restaurants against it. I usually rank parks solely on their theming and attractions.

Yet I have still never determined a favorite park.  Magic Kingdom has numerous classic rides yet there are only a couple that stand above the rest.  The intuitive choice then would seem to be Islands of Adventure. It does not have the same quantity of rides as say Magic Kingdom, the quality of almost every one is a step above Disney’s.  The theming is great as well, but the only place it is on par with Disney, I would say, is in Wizarding World.  That is a consensus JN and I have reached, Universal Orlando is superior in ride quality and Disney is superior in theming.  Still, at Universal there is not quite a ride like DINOSAUR! and Disney has not been able to capture the essence of a story like Wizarding World has.  Thus my favorite park is still a mystery to me.  But I digress.

-Built in the early 1970s and still possibly the greatest theme park  structure in all of Florida.

      Rides are what bring me to parks.  Whether it is the story immersion or the thrilling sensations that are hard to achieve elsewhere, I could ride rides all day, if I don’t I don’t feel like I’m getting my money’s worth.  I feel as if I could just go from ride to ride and only every now and then enjoy the scenery and be perfectly content.  Though, maybe I don’t know what I actually like.  For instance when I was two years old, I reportedly could not get enough of the Magic Kingdom, I stayed up all night the night before in anticipation, ran everywhere in the park while my family tried to keep up.  I did the same when I went in first grade.  I don’t remember wanting to rides to many rides though. I had to be forced onto the mountains, and was too scared to go onto the Haunted Mansion in first grade (but apparently enjoyed it at age two). Today if I don’t go on all the major attractions at a park I feel cheated, but then it clearly wasn’t about that.

Also JN and I are quite similar when it comes to theme park prefreneces and he has been to the parks much more than I have, particular Universal.  He has been to Studios and Islands of Adventure probably over two hundred times.  And although he keeps going back, he says that he could (and has) spend a day in the parks and enjoy the scenery, without riding anything (this is the joy of having an annual pass, I recommend you go buy yours right away!).  Perhaps if I had been as much I would feel the same.  Perhaps my raw desire is to enjoy the rides only but as I go to them parks more my aesthetic preferences will change to appreciate theming even more than I do now. Who knows?

This has been a digression and random thoughts into my opinions or theming and attractions at various theme parks. I could say so much more but I wouldn’t want to bore you. Thanks for reading!

-JS

Favorite Places to Relax in the Parks

I love going to theme parks and by now you all are probably sick of hearing me say that. I love going to theme parks, but what I do not love so much is the tiredness that comes with walking around in 90 degree weather for endless amounts of time. So, I am really glad that there are spots in most any theme parks that are ideal for relaxation between attractions. In this post, I am just going to discuss a few of my personal favorite spots, and why I love them as much as I do. Disney and Universal excel on theming and this is a definite reason why some of these places are as relaxing as they are. I love any area that can take my mind away from the tiredness or hot day. Side Note: Some of these places I have definitely almost taken a nap in, and sometimes I wish I would have. Ha-ha.

Central Park in Universal Studios

So I just looked for photos of this place for 30 minutes, and I could find literally none. The only photos available were those from an aerial view… That was frustrating! Anyway… Central Park is small section at the end of the Hollywood section of the park, and it is on one edge of the lagoon next to Battery Park. It is a small version of Central Park in New York, and it is one of the most peaceful places in the park. A lot of people simply walk away from it and do not even know it exists. There are rocks, lots of grass and trees and benches by the water. It is awesome place to sit by the water under a tree and chill for a few minutes. I also love to just stroll through it in order to avoid crowds. Central Park is one of my favorite aspects of Universal Studios Florida, and most people don’t even acknowledge it.

The Second Floor Dining Area of Burger Digs in Islands of Adventure

Burger Digs, while quick service, is one of my favorite restaurants in Islands of Adventure because of its quiet, breezy, and centralized location, and how big the burgers are for the price.

Burger Digs has an amazing view because of its centralized location on the lagoon. I love this place because of how quiet it is. I assumed because it was a busy quick service restaurant that it would constantly noisy, but I have never had a bad experience there. There also tends to be a nice breeze that goes throughout. Many people don’t even notice the outside setting area or opt to sit inside, so it is definitely a prime spot to rest and eat.

Cinderella’s Wishing Fountain in the Magic Kingdom

from Allears.net

Magic Kingdom is hectic at all times. There are people EVERYWHERE, but ironically the Wishing Fountain that is on one side of the castle is usually empty. I think that because it is off the beaten path, many people do not notice it. There are a couple of benches around, and it has great scenery. It also offers a wonderful view of the Cinderella’s Castle. The only complaint I have with area is that there is a smokers spot nearby, and I hate having to walk by in order to get to the place. To find this area follow the small path near the entrance to the Rapunzel meet and greet. This has to be one of the best places in Magic Kingdom to rest your feet, although there is little shade.

Japan Pavilion in Epcot

from gogobot

The Japan Pavilion has to be one of my favorite places in any theme park ever. I just really love and appreciate Japanese aesthetics. The Japan pavilion has faithfully recreated the feel and look of Japan, and it has peaceful tranquility. As I stated in my earlier post about the Katsura Grill, the area around the quick service is breathtaking. The koi pond is a sight to be seen. One drawback is that parts of the Pavilion are usually busy and hectic, and this is mainly the issue with the store portion. The garden area, on the other hand, is often open and empty and is a great place to take pictures and rest your legs. I personally like walking through the garden while waiting for crowds to dissipate.

Bonus spot: Free Soda in Epcot

Club Cool in Epcot offers free Soda’s from around the world. It is an awesome spot to quench your thirst for free. The cups are tiny but you can get as much as you want.

From Wikipedia

Theme parks may be hectic but there are always places to take a rest if you become weary. I hope some of you  will try out some of the places that I really enjoy. Question: What are your favorite places to chill while at the parks?

-JN

Disney Trip Planning

One thing that you need to know about me is that I love to plan trips. I hate doing anything in the spur of the moment, and it makes me uneasy if I don’t plan. Some may call this uptight but I see it as a “fun” disorder ; ).  As I stated in an earlier post, we plan to go to all the Disney Parks from Feb 29th- March 3rd. I am really excited for this because I have been so busy since December that I have not been able to use my Annual pass. Anyway, ever since we decided that we are going, I have begun planning the whole thing. Here is a general Outline of the trip:

Parks-

Feb 29th- Arrive at Epcot at around 9am and enjoy the day until around 4pm. Arrive at hotel and take a nap! Arrive at Magic Kingdom at 10pm and stay until 6am.

March 1st- Sleep until 1. Arrive at Epcot for lunch. Park Hop and/or Explore Epcot

March 2nd- Wake up and drive to Universal. Visit both parks and leave around 1pm. Return to Disney and spend the rest of the day at Hollywood Studios. End the night at Epcot.

March 3rd- Wake up and go to Animal Kingdom for the morning. Leave around 3pm.

Side Note: As you can tell, we end up at Epcot a lot. There are several reasons for this: 1. They have the best food options hands down. The Restaurants there are awesome! 2. Epcot is my personal favorite and I don’t think it will ever get old!.

Food:

Here are the current plans I have for where we are eating:

29th- Restaurant Marrakesh for Lunch and Dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe

1st- Le Cellier for Lunch and Dinner at La Hacienda de San Angel

2nd- Lunch at Mythos and Dinner at Via Napoli

3rd- Lunch at Tusker House

There will undoubtably be a few trips to various bakeries and goodies throughout the expedition.

I am just excited that there will probably not be the usual hordes of people at the parks. The end of February is not really a high demand vacation time, and I look forward to not waiting hours in line for Everest or Soarin’. Commenters or followers: What are some of your favorite places to dine while at Disney or Universal?

Photo Spot Shark

Just a quick random thought, with Jaws demolished, they’re going to have to do something with the shark photo spot, most likely the most popular photo spot of the Universal Studios. Hopefully they’ll but it in another part of the park, just as they have the Delorean and Time Train. But where? I’m thinking someone near Disaster but I do hope they keep it.  It may seem silly to some people who aren’t as “into” theme parks as much as JN and I, but it’s little things like this that help us remember classic rides that are no longer with us. I know I just spent my last post talking about how change is a good thing a theme parks and I agree that sometimes the old should be moved to make room for the new.  But mementos likes these don’t hurt.  Besides is good for Universal to have things from several of their movies scattered around the park, especially when it’s a popular photo spot like this.

-JS

Rolling with the Changes

With Jaws closing there is a lot of griping about change in theme parks.  I personally think change in parks is a great thing.  Don’t get me wrong, I loved Jaws, it was one of my favorite rides, and I would rather have it back, but I understand classics must sometimes be lost or changed.  Universal seems to be constantly updating several of their attractions, Hanna-Barbera became Jimmy Neutron which is becoming Despicable Me, King Kong became the Mummy, Spiderman is getting a facelift, etc.  But Disney, particularly Magic Kingdom, seems to like to cling onto old ride designs.  Now this isn’t always the case, of course, Star Tours has improved greatly and Haunted Mansion recently underwent some changes as well, and there several other examples.  But then you look at rides like Pirates of the Caribbean and Peter Pan’s Flight and they feel very dated.

-Pirates of the Carribbean from guestofaguest

One of the problems is long time fans of the parks will revolt at any changes and even many occasional visitors might complain “that’s not the way the ride was when I was a kid, why did they change it?”  But wasn’t Walt Disney himself who believed that Disney would always be changing and developing, never to be finished.  A possible counter argument to this would be that he meant continually adding, not getting rid of what you already have, but you can’t expand infinitely.  No, I am not suggesting getting rid of any rides at the Magic Kingdom now (except Buzz Lightyear, that one is pretty bad), but revamping them.  Look at how much better the Jack Sparrow animatronics looks in comparison to the older ones. Imagine if they spent some money on updating the rest, the ride would be improved phenomenally.  Now in this particular ride it might be hard to resist making it more movie oriented i.e. placing as many movie characters as they can for the sake of recognition, but hopefully they wouldn’t go that far.  But Pirates is still at least decent as it is, some rides are not.  Such as Peter Pan’s Flight which, even on slow days, might but upwards or 80 minutes long because of the ride loading system. And then the ride isn’t even that great. I know it was probably wonderful when I opened over in Disneyland but know it seems beyond dated.  The walls look as if sheets were hung up to conceal the walls, and you see simple statues of characters.  This is a ride, if they weren’t to update the animatronics to match the soon to be opening Little Mermaid, then should be scraped all together. Sure “it’s a classic” or what-not but look at Snow White, that’s an old one getting replaced with a better ride in the Fantasyland Expansion, and that seems for the better.

-Peter Pan’s Flight from onlywdworld

Now I don’t think Disney should necessarily have a completely different set of attractions ten years from now but if they don’t developed what they have and lose some of the more dated attractions, then Universal will eventually completely surpass them in attraction quality. But it is Disney we are talking about here, so I don’t see Universal doing a complete eclipse it anytime soon (and probably never), but many of its rides already surpass many of their counterparts in the Magic Kingdom, i.e. Ripsaw Falls is better than Splash Mountain, E.T. is better than Peter Pan (but both are still dated), Jaws was better than Jungle Cruise (yet JC still stays puntastic today), and Men in Black drives Buzz Lightyear into the ground (as you can see have a certain animosity for that ride’s quality).  But this seems to be a probably isolated to the Magic Kingdom.  Disney’s other parks do not seem to have a probably rolling the with changes; as mentioned before, Star Tours is greatly improved, and I love the new additions to Spaceship Earth. Also you can see a quality improvement when looking at the attraction themselves at Disney’s newer parks, when compared to their Universal counterparts: Tower of Terror is better than Dr. Doom’s Fearfall, Muppet*Vision 3D is better than Shrek, Kali River Rapids and Bluto’s Bilge Rat Barge are pretty much tied, there’s nothing like Mission Space or Dinosaur at Studios or Islands, and Expedition Everest would beat the Mummy if they got that dang Yeti to work (the last on is a direct correlation but relatively close).  Now I still love the Magic Kingdom, the whole place is jammed pack with nostalgia inducers.  And some of the older technology on many rides still feels like it works with the rest of the ride, such as It’s a Small World, which has simple, rigid animatronics fit well with its them and reputation.  But the Magic Kingdom should still keep up with the time with most of its attractions.  It seems my point may be moot though, as they seem to be doing this with the Fantasy Land Expansion and the Haunted Mansion update.  Hopefully this trend will continue throughout the next few years.

-JS

Upcoming Attractions

We are really looking forward to some of the coming attractions and improvements at Universal.  You probably already know about the updates but in case you didn’t here’s a link to a video that lays it all out: http://www.universalorlando.com/Rides/New-Attractions-2012.aspx?__source=EDW902422&ptyid=284364

Spiderman, a ride that’s already in classic status, is getting visual screen makeover, and apparently Stan Lee is going to make a cameo (we’re guessing as the driver of the truck the SCOOP vehicle nearly hits). Everything is going to be in HD, and the renderings that they have  created are absolutely amazing. They are also doing set  enhancements which guarantee that this will almost feel like a whole new ride. Spiderman has always been one of best rides in the history of Theme parks, and this revamp is sure to continue the success of the ride. Side Note: I wonder how it is going to feel during the moments we are floating in the air, it felt rather real with the older animation, and the since the new animation will be in HD I’m thinking it will boost the intensity of the ride.

-Updated Spiderman from usfaddicts

Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem looks good as well, I wonder though, if they will continue to change the theme of this ride every few years to accommodate the current children pop culture.  Despicable me is getting a sequel but it can’t stay relevant forever.  I personally think it would be cool if they made the queue (and possibly the ride itself) interactive, a la Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. One of the biggest drawbacks for this attraction is the space it is in. We figure that they must be using the same ride system at Barbara and Neutron, but I seriously hope that the new 3D animation will be enough to set it apart. The queue/preshow room looks amazing, though, and full of detail! Side Note: Neutron’s line during peak times reached over 2 hours because of the popularity with the children, and this will probably be the same.

-Minion Mayhem Queue from micechat

Former Amity/JAWS area: No one currently really knows what is going to go there. The speculation currently is that  Diagon Alley from the Harry Potter books and films will be taking this land.  There is rumored to be another Olivander’s, several new shops (Including Weasley Wizard Wheezes), Leaky Cauldron, and a brand new state of the art attraction housed in Gringotts bank.  The most interesting rumor I have heard is that they plan to connect the two parks (USF and IoA) with the Hogwarts Express. This all seems very interesting and elaborate, and I personally would be very excited if any of these turn out to be true. While JAWS was one of my favorite attractions, I trust Universal to bring these pieces of the films and books to life because of how well the Wizarding World of Harry Potter turned out.

Night Show: The lake show looks sweet as well. I get excited just seeing the montage at the end of The Great Movie Ride (best part of that ride) so I can’t imagine how much I’ll love it seeing this new lake show, displaying universal best movies.  JN says they may even use some of the retired sharks from the unfortunately closed Jaws ride.  The unfortunate closing of that ride is especially touchy for JN who knew the entire monologue from that, his favorite ride, but perhaps I’ll let him talk about that some other time.  Universal is making a lot of changes though; for better, for worse, who knows, I’m hoping the former though.

-JS and JN

Jurassic Park Vs Dinosaur (Vs Indiana Jones?)

Universal and Disney both have movies about dinosaurs, Jurassic Park (1993) and Dinosaur (2000) respectively, and there are rides based upon each of these movies at their parks. There is Jurassic Park River Adventure at Islands of Adventure and DINOSAUR (originally called Countdown to Extinction) at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.  Now there is really not much debate over which is the better movie (it’s Jurassic Park, Dinosaur being the first post-Disney Renaissance film) but which is the better ride?

You might be asking “JS, these rides aren’t really comparable are they? One is a flume ride and the other a high-speed dark ride?” Well that is true, but you see, they can be compared on the basis of their queues, theming, story, and animatronics as well and I could rank my favorite flume rides for you to compare Jurassic Park but I’m sure you’re not interested in that; (okay you convinced me it is 1. Ripsaw Falls, 2. Journey to Atlantis, 3. Splash Mountain, and 4. Jurassic Park; and I love JPRA to put that in perspective for ya, it just too short to make it higher on the list, i.e. the Jungle Cruise-esque beginning should have been longer but I digress).

Okay let’s start with the queues.  JN just posted about queues earlier and although you may only be waiting in them briefly it is important, we believe a good ride is improved by a good one.  DINOSAUR is the clear winner here.  Jurassic Park’s outdoor queue is simply walking along a stone path with jungle-like greenery about.  Sure there is a miniature model towards the beginning but like I said, it towards the beginning, and even when the line is longer, you never really get a chance to look at it unless you stop, and let’s face it most people when entering the ride will run right past it.  In fact I’ve been on the ride many, many times and even I don’t know what it looks like.  Oh and you also have Richard Attenborough, AKA John Hammond, talking to you on some TVs but not very many people pay attention to that.  There’s a couple other thing here and there but in general if fails to impress. Perhaps if they had an indoor section of the queue with some game-like things to play with a la Jurassic Park Discovery Center, but that is probably asking too much.

-Jurassic Park Entrance from Wikipedia

DINOSAUR doesn’t have the world’s greatest queues, but it is definitely impressive compared to its Universal Dinosaur counterpart.  In the outside section there is dinosaur bones (some of which are real, both inside and outside of the queue, but that is unconfirmed). There is also models/stuffed modern animals which are related to dinosaurs.  Inside there is more dinosaur bones, murals and description of dinosaur distinction shown through a model in the center of a large room, and narrated the one and only Bill Nye the Science Guy (who pops up a lot around Disney World). The pre-show of DINOSAUR also sets up more of a story than Jurassic Park, although, the story is quite farfetched, as most ride stories are, but this one particularly absurd. You, guest at the Dino-Institute, the place in which the queue is meant to be part of, are going to be sent back mere minutes before the asteroid impact that killed all of the dinosaurs to retrieve an Iguanadon (who is Aladar form the movie but you only know that if you have seen the film, as clips are show in the pre-show).

-DINOSAUR Entrance from Wikipedia

So in general DINOSAUR wins the queue battle but what of the story?  I’ve already described the pre-story of DINOSAUR and I don’t want to spoil the ride for anyone who hasn’t ridden it so I won’t describe the ride itself.  But the JPRA story is relatively well known, you go on a river boat tour of some herbivore dinosaurs and you get knock of course and encounter some carnivores.  So if we accept both time travel and dinosaur cloning for the sake of argument the more realistic premise is definitely JPRA, but more realism doesn’t necessarily equate with better, does it?  I’m going to go with JPRA, as the better premise as it lines up with the movie better. Your about to get a boat tour of the new and improved Jurassic Park and it suddenly goes awry, so basically the plot of the movie.  I’m not saying a ride should follow the plot of the movie but that is Universal’s goal, is it not? To “Ride the Movies.”

DINOSAUR’s premise on the other hand has absolutely nothing to do with the movie as the ride wasn’t originally theme for that.  The inclusion of the movie at all is unnecessary and was only included to promote the movie. Now that the film is long forgotten, it feels as if it is just another dinosaur ride, especially to the children who have never heard of the movie.  It’s a shame the movie was forgotten though, it wasn’t that bad (JN would probably disagree but I, once again, digress).

Okay, probably the most comparable thing about these two rides is the animatronics. They both have dinosaur animatronics in ride that came around about the same time, which means, they had access to roughly the same technology.  I qualify with the word “roughly” as Disney has a lot more money to do stuff with, but that doesn’t mean Universal is poor either.  The animatronics on DINOSAUR have the upper hand I believe.  They are relatively similar, but the major distinction I can see is in their depiction of the large carnivore, Tyrannosaurus-Rex for JPRA and Carnotaurus for DINOSAUR.  The T-Rex only appears once at the climax of JPRA, and simply leans down. (SIDE NOTE: This affect is much more awesome if you go on a cool day, as their will be fog/mist around the T-Rex and it will appear as if out of nowhere, at the last second).  The Carnotaurus, on the other hand, appears several times, one time it is running at you from the side.  This look quite real and given the dark nature of the ride can be quite scary as well.  That is also something to note, because much of DINOSAUR is so dark and fast, it is hard to see all of the animatronics but they are definitely superior in quality.

But which ride wins in the end? Jurassic Park River Adventure! Sure DINOSAUR is the more thrilling ride, has better animatronics, and a better queue, but all of those things could have been used towards an Indiana Jones Ride.  While DINOSAUR is a truly great ride, it is a re-themed copy of Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye at Disneyland in California.  I have never had the pleasure of visiting Disneyland, but I am aware they have a ride based upon one of the greatest film series of all time.  This may be a little bitter but I believe JPRA to be the better ride because DINOSAUR to be preventing an Indiana Jones ride from ever occurring in Orlando.  True DINOSAUR could be re-themed but then it would not fit in with the area, Disney might be accused of being lazy (by DINOSAUR fans mainly), and a legitimately good ride would be gone.

-Indiana Jone Adventure Poster from Wikipedia

Perhaps JN has some different opinions about these two rides themselves, but I know he agrees with me about Indiana Jones. But my opinion is that Jurassic Park River Adventure is the superior dinosaur ride; and if they were to improve their animatronics, that opinion would be unquestionable for me.

-JS

Best Attraction Queues?

What is a queue you ask? Many people will simply say that it is the painstakingly long line in which they have to wait in before a ride. Other say that it is where the attractions story is meant to start. I personally would say that both of those are correct. I, like mostly everyone, have waited at some point for long periods of time in a long line for a ride(At certain points thinking that the line will NEVER move), but in this post I am going to highlight two attractions that have such interesting and detailed queues that I almost don’t mind waiting(well almost).

My top choice would be the queue for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. This is a top notch portrayal of the halls of Hogwarts, and there is SO MUCH detail I always find something new when I roam the grounds. It starts from the dungeons of Hogwarts and ends in the Room of Requirement. The Harry Potter fanboy inside me almost exploded the first time I went through it. My favorite parts of the queue are: The Statue that leads to Dumbledore’s Office (Acid pops!), Dumbledore’s office itself with the pensieve, the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom with the snow(So awesome, be sure to stay and watch the scene), and the Sorting Hat which is so very close to the movie. Every room is faithfully created to look like the movie portrayals. Overall, an experience in its own. Side note: For anyone that would just like to experience the halls of Hogwarts, they offer “Castle Tours” starting at the entrance of the attraction. These tours go all the way through the queue and allow for plenty of time to stop, take pictures, watch the scenes, and find all those details I was discussing. This a great aspect if you do not want to be rushed through the line.

Entrance to Dumbledore's office from Jaunted

Second would be the queue for the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. The one thing about this queue that I like beyond all others is how complete it feels and looks. It SERIOUSLY looks like a real hotel, and Disney has assured that you can look at it from practically any angle. There is so much detail located in this attraction, and I definitely feel that the imagineers  have outdone themselves. My personal favorite areas are: All of it! I would love to stay at that hotel even with the shotty elevator system. The gift shop is nice as well, and it feels like the spa area of a resort. I really really love the main check in area with all the old newspapers and cobwebs, I always try to make out what the papers say. The boiler room gives a great sense of foreboding, and makes you feel like you are in a dank, dark, service shaft. Pretty amazing over all.

Tower of Terror Check In Area from Squidoo

Not all queues are created equal, and I am glad that both Universal and Disney have stepped beyond the tradition outside queues. I love been transported to a different place or through a ride, and these queues, especially, offer an amazing transition.

-JN

JS and JN

Sup, this is JS, JN’s former “theme park apprentice” and current co-author of Disney World Showcase! Ya see, being from the area, JN’s been going to Orlando Parks for years; he once spent a year going to Universal almost every single weekend (he can perhaps elaborate some other time).  So when he and I became best friends, we began to go to the parks together, and he taught me everything he knew: all the tricks and secrets about going around Disney and Universal in the most efficient way while still getting the most fun out of the parks.  And now two years later, we have annual passes for both parks.  But along with all those tricks and secrets, he also told me about some common annoyances.  Such as large groups, usually families or Brazilian tour groups, while deciding whether or not to enter an attraction, lingering right in front of the attraction’s entrance, blocking it.  Seems like a minor nuisance but it happens more than you’d think.  What JN didn’t know was one of those “large groups” is my family when they come to theme parks. But he’s not going to complain when they’re putting him up with a resort on the park grounds.

-JS