TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
Some bands sound great when you're 18 and then when you listen to them in your 30s you start to believe you didn't have it all figured out in your youth.
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The Spirited Seventh Heaven ...
- Thread starter WDW1974
- Start date
Some bands sound great when you're 18 and then when you listen to them in your 30s you start to believe you didn't have it all figured out in your youth.
bhg469
Well-Known Member
I actually saw them in my thirtys, it was still one of the most fun concerts I've ever attended. That band is all fun.
bhg469
Well-Known Member
Aside from halloween, universal doesn't close their parks early just to charge you for reentering. You can always abstain from spending the extra money bot only one of them kicks you out.
steve2wdw
WDW Fan Since 1973
It was actually TWO snacks per day....we had so many on our last night (of 8 nights-5 of us), that I bought popcorn for my daughter, myself, and 19 people in line behind us. So much food we vowed we'd never do it again, and we haven't. Of course the menus have been dumbed down considerably since then too.
Mike S
Well-Known Member
Man wish I was one of those 19 people. Can't tell you how many people still owe me a churro from the Laugh Floor......
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
Incoming love letter to Harry Potter
So Universal thoughts... @WDW1974 (since the park hours for whatever reason are very early in my opinion and I have nothing better to do in Florida).
I've been growing more and more cynical about all their recent additions. I think it is in part due to the hyperbole and fanboism that is really running rampant, I don't trust people who think one company is the second coming of Christ and the other the pure scum. Despite following the project very, very heavily for the last two something years (side note - I am a Potter fan) I avoided most spoilers post opening and began stewing. The last time I was at Universal - completely unplanned - was Jan 2nd 2012 for the final run of Jaws.
But despite my growing angst, Diagon Alley totally met and exceeded my expectations. It's an E-ticket land, that's really hard to grasp since it doesn't technically exist at WDW. I'm a bit of a run from ride to ride type person, but I spent hours simply exploring, checking out all the endless junk I desperately wanted to waste loads of money on, taking pictures, eating etc. I could have left without actually going on Gringotts or Hogwarts Express and been totally satisfied and impressed. That's whats really hard to quantify unless you go experience it for yourself. It really is a walk through attraction in a sense (absolutely stuffed with animatronics, kinetics and surprises everywhere). Stick yourself on an ECV if you need some sort of a vehicle to justify it as the attraction that it is.
Radiator Springs and Hogsmead are the precursors in a sense. TDS's Mysterious island is in some ways on par but lacks the Merch and the sheer kinetics. Heck I even like New Fantasyland, but when you strip away the rides it's basically a D-ticket land. Very beautiful like Mysterious Island, but doesn't hold the same amount of substance. Someone else mentioned it I think too, but the entire alley feels 5 degrees cooler than the rest of the park, it's just so pleasant. @WDWFigment gave a good analogy of plopping Ratatouille in WDS, when I finally emerged out from Wyndham again I was like "oh right, I guess there is this other stuff".
Alright so I clearly loved that part, another thing that really impressed me more than I thought it would was the Hogwarts Express. I did not realize how big the station was inside (before you even get to the platform). It's a D-ticket mind you (well I'd qualify it as a D+), but that's the "revolutionary" idea in this whole thing. It's magical escapism and highly impressive that you actually go somewhere else (well somewhere worthwhile, not Rafiki's Planet watch...). Honestly, if you cut out the portions of the Wizarding World and plopped them in the middle of nowhere, for me that would actually be a superior park than DHS as a whole.
The last bit is Gringott's. Yes the thing was closed for the first half of the day and I wasted tons of time for my first ride through. I was reaching the point where I couldn't believe it was still in such poor working condition...
But, I'm a lucky person...
After all that it ran smooth as silk, my second wait was under 20 minutes, my third time ride took me less than 10 minutes. I could have gotten on again in likely less than 5 at 8:20 (when it was still open) if I really wanted to, but I hardly go on anything more than twice so they are always somewhat fresh experiences. It seems despite the fact it was non-functional for half the day, the ride is finally starting to handle the crowds when it does decide to work!
Gringott's is very good. Yes it's an E-ticket, yes it's evolutionary (Spiderman meets Mummy meets Harry Potter). It however does not feel revolutionary.
I think because it feels like we've been there before though. Not in a bad way, but as Transformers is to Spiderman, Gringott's is to Forbidden Journey. It's very fun, I enjoyed it. If it was a different IP or it was done by Disney I think we'd all be saying it is more of a revolution than evolution. That speaks to the previous success though of Universal and Harry Potter. It's a more cohesive story than Forbidden Journey, but for now Journey has the leg up on the crazy vehicle tech and a better mix of sets and screens.
It's not all screens all the time at Universal though. I'm sure someone with time could count for me, but I have a sneaking suspicion the Diagon Alley expansion uses more AA's than New Fantasyland... That's why for even the AA purists out there, you can sort of admit the land is actually an attraction in itself.
I'll have more thoughts on the rest of Universal after another day when half my energy isn't devoted to fawning over Potter and convincing myself why I really don't need an interactive wand...
They don't have a Gilderoy Lockhart replica wand though (my last name), such a travesty. Who the heck wants a Cho Chang replica...
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Next Big Thing
Well-Known Member
Ummm... are you forgetting Forbidden Journey? After what Uni did with FJ, I would be disappointed if the Gringotts queue WASN'T up to the quality that it is.
Mike S
Well-Known Member
What time did Gringotts go back online? We left Universal for Epcot since we basically got everything done. Not my decision to leave and not wait for Gringotts to reopen, I was in the minority.
bhg469
Well-Known Member
But I did mention it! The FL queue was incredible.
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
I think like 4 or 5. I was in IOA when it happened. It was a miracle with so much pent up demand that I could get on it so easily in the end. My mistake was freaking out and thinking there was a chance it could be down for two whole days and I might as well just accept any wait (I had to make my first ride in standby to see the queue), I should have just waited for late in the day like I was planning all along.
On a side note I sat in row 1 twice and row 6. There is actually a pretty big difference, at the very least I think the first car is preferable if not the first row only. Like Mystic manor it's interesting experiencing the options, but the first is definitely superior.
Mike S
Well-Known Member
Wow, that's right about the time we left
At least I've already been on the ride a few times. I could always go back before my trip is up.
WDWFigment
Well-Known Member
Glad to hear this from someone I respect.
One thing I want to make an issue of is Gringotts. In sort of a weird way. You like it, but I think not enough. I'm wondering whether part of that is because people who haven't experienced it have been harsh towards it. Since you're about the only person here who has a solid frame of reference, considering the entire attraction (queue to post show), where does it disappoint? Personally, I put Mystic Manor before it (of modern attractions), but I can't think of anything else deserving. Can you...?
StageFrenzy
Well-Known Member
I still listen to mostly 3rd wave ska, for the Disney fans I always suggest Suburban Legends.
bhg469
Well-Known Member
I'll look for that.
I know you weren't asking me but hopefully you won't begrudge me a reply. My trip last June was my first that included UNI and my first to WDW in 3 years. I was so certain that UNI would ruin WDW for my group, I scheduled our UNI trip for the last 3 days. In the end, I was mildly let down by UNI and pleasantly surprised by WDW, but for the opposite of what you suggest about Gringotts.
The raving I'd read about UNI led to unrealistic expectations that left me feeling a bit let down. It was really good, but all the over the top praise oversold the place. It magnified the glaring faults because I wasn't expecting there to be any. All the negative I'd read about WDW had me expecting to be disappointed, but my low expectations led to me being pleasantly surprised by how much fun I had. The glaring faults, though they were there, turned out to be less than I had been expecting.
As an example, FJ was by every measure a much better ride than 7DMT. But after riding both the first time after about the same wait time, I was let down by FJ and impressed by 7DMT. This is only attributable to my expectations based on over the top praise and criticism. So IMO, I think the harsh reviews of Gringotts would lead to skeptical riders being more impressed if it is better than expected.
Yep...
Mike S
Well-Known Member
I just want to say that my current judgement of both resorts is based on what they're doing NOW. While Disney makes us wait and wait and wait for major new E ticket rides (11 years between Everest and Avatar, that's just insane) Universal is giving them out in a much better timeframe (Forbidden Journey 2010, Transformers 2013, Gringotts 2014, King Kong 2015/16). Which company would you root for? I'm not even including all of the rumored additions to Universal in this comparison.
I agree its hard to not pull for Uni because of what they re doing right now
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
Tough question, definitely nothing to do with the those who haven't ridden it (possible Pixie Dusters) trying to downplay it. Maybe more to do with the fact people have been very generous to it that have ridden it and haven't seen some of Disney's recent best. I was trying to steer clear of hyperbole because declaring something the best ever could cause unachievable expectations. It is one of the few attractions I can't really find a flaw without getting super nitpicky.
Realistically, it's the best attraction in Florida today. It uses all of Universal's best tricks in a sense (Spiderman, Mummy, an amazing queue [yes that's ok as long as the ride is amazing too], cool new ride tech and the Harry Potter IP). The only real negative is it is more of a great thing repackaged as opposed to something completely different.
It falls in my currently very fluid depending on the day top 5. Mystic Manor surprised me slightly more too. Yes, it's probably the only modern ride that competes outside of FJ (with story flaws but a ride system that initially shocked me) and RSR that probably just misses by a hair.
I like the land itself even more, which is something I can't say about any of those other great rides. All those things I was rather concerned about (bad berms, visibility across the bay, extended queues behind unthemed show buildings) all melt away when you finally step inside.