9.5 rides in 3.5 hours (how I took US by storm & lived to tell about it)

[imaginerd]

I was fortunate enough to have a few extra hours on my hands during a recent business trip to Orlando. What did I do? Storm Universal Studios to see how many rides I could do in 3 hours (without breaking any Florida laws).

Here’s the Cliff’s Notes version for those in a hurry. (A detailed account follows below.)

2:40pm – land a Orlando airport
3:49pm – in line at E.T. Adventure (sweating like Santa in a sauna)
4:06pm – Simpsons: The Ride
4:34pm – Men In Black Alien Attack
4:46pm – JAWS
5:00pm – Terminator 2: 3D
5:32pm – Mummy
5:45pm – Mummy (a second time, oh yeah!)
5:54pm – Twister
6:18pm – Disaster! (I bolted 7 minutes into the “tour” after being skeeved out by the tour guide—the full story below.)
6:38pm – Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit
9.5 rides in 3.5 hours. No arrests. Not too shabby. :ROFLOL:

But if you want all the juicy details, read on, my adventure-seeking friends…



Here is the precise minute-by-minute account of what happened on Tuesday, August 30, 2011.

2:39pm – Landed at MCO (Orlando’s airport) – FYI, Kansas City’s airport is MCI, go figure.

3:21pm – Arrive at Universal Studios parking lot via my mid-size rental car.

3:22pm – It starts to rain.

3:25pm – It stops (thank Heaven!).

3:33pm – I get in line at US. There was only one kiosk open (are you kidding me?) and there were 30 people in line. The biggest mistake I made besides forgetting to wear pants (just kidding) was not purchasing my tickets online ahead of time…doofus!

3:44pm – FINALLY I purchase my one-day ticket and Universal Express Plus pass (after waving a Benjamin and a Jackson in the air and kindly asking an Albanian family of nine if I could step in front of them to buy my ticket).

3:49pm –I get in the EP line for E.T. Adventure.

3:58pm – I get on the actual ride (by myself I might add) and if you know the story of this ride, it’s all up to the riders to save E.T. That’s a lot of pressure for one guy.

4:06pm – Get in line for Simpsons: The Ride using the EP line and still it takes for-EVER! I felt like I was waiting for a month and a half , but it was probably closer to a month.

4:27pm – Actually get on the Simpson ride – AWESOME ride by the way, one of the best!

4:34pm – Get in EP line for Men in Black.

4:37pm – Ride the ride. (I scored a paltry 132,434 which means I’m just an average alien killer.)

4:46pm – Join the JAWS EP line. No one was in front of me.

4:47pm – I’m in a boat heading off the coast of Amity. This is a fun, but goofy ride. Really love the motor boat and exhaust smell in the boat house.

4:57pm – Get in EP line for Terminator 2: 3D. This was after a dead sprint across the park. I was so fast I could have set an Olympic record in the 400 meters. Keep in mind, I’m bald so I have a slick, aerodynamic skull that slices through the wind (and fellow park goers) like a hot knife through sweet creamery butter.

5:02pm – T2 show starts. (I was secretly cheering for the cyborgs. But that darn Sarah Connor and her whiny son messed everything up.)

5:32pm – Join Mummy EP line.

5:40pm – Ride the Mummy. Totally freaked my noodle, still have the burn marks to prove it. One of my favorite rides. Wish Indiana Jones at Disneyland & Animal Kingdom were more like this ride—smooth and fast.

5:45pm – Line up again for Mummy in the EP line. (The US ride checker dude didn’t check my EP card the first time so I just lined up again. Tee hee.)

5:48pm – Ride the Mummy again. So good you have do it twice. Front row is the best. Terrific roller coaster.

5:54pm – Get in EP line for Twister.

6:02pm – The ride, I mean walk begins. After the “tornado” sweeps through the pretend small town and wrecks the drive-in theater, I couldn’t help thinking of the musical “Cats.” I mean, what just happened? Did anything happen? Did I black out for 10 minutes? Shoulda skipped this “ride.” :snore:

6:18pm – Get in Disaster! EP line. Hopeful. Excited.

6:35pm – Disaster! Ride begins. Our tour guide Lonnie begins by asking the group for a few volunteer “actors” to help out the movie director during the tour. Fine. But then I decide to bolt from the ride when Lonnie asks if there are any hot grandmas in the audience. Really? Check please!

6:38pm – I arrive at Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit and join the single rider line.

7:00pm – The park officially closes, but I’m still rockin’ the Rip Rockit line, baby! (I love gaming the system.)

7:19pm – I ride the Rockit. It totally rocks. I choose Crystal Method’s “Get Busy Child” as my musical accompaniment and I got busy.

7:23pm – I take two Tylenol. (Just kidding. It was Advil.)

7:24pm – I stride out of the park with my head held high.

And that, my friends, is how it’s done. :sohappy:

 

[BigTxEars]

Sweet report and well done sir!

You did promise that you were going to knock old ladies down as you ran across the park, I want those details! :ROFLOL:

Awesome day and something that very few can boast of!

You sir are a thrill park Demi-God.....like Hercules......without the super human strength :ROFLOL:

 

[CoasterKing]

Nice going!! The most astonishing part was getting your ticket with one kiosk open and 30 people in front of you in eleven minutes. I have stood in that line with multiple kiosks open and less people and waited almost 45 minutes. Guess I had a bunch of slowpokes in front of me. How were you able to remember such precise times for each event? Did you keep a journal?? Seems like that would have slowed you down, though. No bathroom breaks? I am assuming the park was fairly empty then?

Job well done, sir!! :sohappy:

CoasterKing :king:

 

[imaginerd]

Nice going!! The most astonishing part was getting your ticket with one kiosk open and 30 people in front of you in eleven minutes. I have stood in that line with multiple kiosks open and less people and waited almost 45 minutes. Guess I had a bunch of slowpokes in front of me. How were you able to remember such precise times for each event? Did you keep a journal?? Seems like that would have slowed you down, though. No bathroom breaks? I am assuming the park was fairly empty then?

Job well done, sir!! :sohappy:

CoasterKing :king:

30 people, one kiosk, 11 minutes? There were several large groups. Remember, I finally pleaded with a family of 9 to let me jump in front of them so it was really only 21 people. I have to say, it was very frustrating because the ticket lady had to explain single vs. multi-day tickets, single ride EP vs. unlimited EP... :dazzle:

Precise details? Yes, I kept a journal. It didn't slow me down because I made all my notes while I was waiting in line.

No bathroom breaks? I'm part camel. In fact, I'm 1/4 camel on my mother's side. :lookaroun

Park fairly empty? Yes, but my EP totally saved me.

Loved the whole experience. I'm going to Tampa on business in November and I'm tempted to do Busch Gardens commando style, too. :wave:

 

[CoasterKing]

I know what you mean about the Universal ticket sellers having to explain everthing over and over to people. It does get very frustrating. Yeah, Universal Express is a wonderful thing. Once again, congrats on your success!! I think you even surprised yourself on how much you were able to accomplish. Maybe you can take on Islands of Adventure or one of the Disney Parks sometime.

Enjoyed reading your detailed and rather funny report!! :wave:

CoasterKing :king:

 

[SyracuseOrange]

Nice work. Wish I had the opportunity to prove my agility by taking on a similar challenge. I've always been proud of my ability to handle the Disney parks in speed. I'll have to keep record one of these days of how fast I bolt from ride to ride...

 

[JillC LI]

Pretty impressive. But you neglected to mention how the bald/aerodynamic thing weighed into the equation!

 

[imaginerd]

Pretty impressive. But you neglected to mention how the bald/aerodynamic thing weighed into the equation!

Actually, if you read carefully in the more detailed description at "4:57pm" I refer to my bald head slicing through the wind (and people). And I think there's a part about sweet creamery butter, too.

:lol:

 

[JillC LI]

Actually, if you read carefully in the more detailed description at "4:57pm" I refer to my bald head slicing through the wind (and people). And I think there's a part about sweet creamery butter, too.

:lol:

LOLOLOL, I take it back. My mistake. You were very thorough in your report!