I visited USF and IOA yesterday. I'll first give a report of what I did before riding ROTM, and then go to my review.
I, myself (I met my parents later in the afternoon), took a shuttle from the hotel I was staying at, the Sheraton Studio City, at 8:40 to UO. Once we got to the bus drop-off I literally ran off the bus, through CityWalk, and to the gates of USF. It wasn't even 9am but of course, people were being let into the park. I went directly to Shrek 4D, walked right into the pre-show, waited 5 minutes for them to start it (they couldn't start it until 9), and saw the main show. After riding I went directly to the Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast Express machines and picked up a pass which would be usable at 9:45. I then went straight to ROTM, but they said it wasn't opened yet. Ok.....so I walk through San Fransisco, Amity, and into the World Expo where I walked on Back To The Future....The Ride. After riding I went right back to ROTM, where I was told they were STILL closed. I then realized it was time to use the Express pass for Jimmy Neutron, so I walked down to it and got on. I rode and then went to ROTM once again....they say it's still closed. I then lost all hope of riding and decided to walk over to Islands of Adventure. Once inside the park I went to the Incredible Hulk Coaster, which had a 20 minute wait, so I decided to get an Express pass, good to use in 20 minutes. I then walked to The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, used the Single Riders line, and walked right on. After Spidey I went to Dr. Doom's FearFall, used the Single Riders line again, and walked on. After the ride I went back to Hulk, put my camera and cell phone away in a locker, and got into the Express line, where I waited for about 5 minutes. I then walked to the Wait Times board over in the Port of Entry. Jurassic Park River Adventure's 10 minute wait was tempting....but I decided to go back to USF, hoping that ROTM would be opened (this was at about 11:15).
*MILD SPOILERS*
As I walked past Shrek 4D, I looked past Grammercy Park. I saw that people weren't walking past ROTM....but walking into it. I then ran my heart out to the Entrance to find it open! Wait time posted was 30 minutes, but I could care less. My heart was beating fast as I ran through the empty queue inside the old Paradise Theater building. It was then into the Kongfrontation building, and then into the Egyptian tomb-themed queue. I marveled at the fabulous themed queue....simply amazing. I then found myself walking up the stairs, and standing in a line to the left....at this moment I had only waited about 15 minutes. A cast member then asked if there were any single riders in line, I raised my hand, and he directed me to the front, and in the boarding area I was put in row 1. The car then pulled up to the loading station....I still couldn't believe I was getting on. We then left the station, turned, and saw the first scene. Reggie worked perfectly, and then Imhotep stepped out. The animatronic was amazing.....I thought better than The Wicked Witch in the Great Movie Ride, or even S.I.R. And from that point on, I enjoyed every single minute of the ride.
*MILD SPOILERS ENDED*
I got off and decided to ride again. Then I got off, and rode again, and repeated the process 4 more times after that, for a total of 6 rides in a row. I also rode three other times in the day as well, for a grand total of 9 rides. I was simply addicted to it and couldn't get off of it!
So, what did I infact think of it? I thought it was 10 times better than The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, and it was the best thing to come to Orlando since Splash Mountain opened back in '92. It's quickly become my second favorite ride out of any theme park, because absolutely nothing can beat my Splash Mountain. Even though the coaster portion had no inversions, I thought it was better than Rock 'n Roller Coaster. The theming was very good.....up to par with Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland. Universal has definitely created a winner here.
Pictures up soon.....
I, myself (I met my parents later in the afternoon), took a shuttle from the hotel I was staying at, the Sheraton Studio City, at 8:40 to UO. Once we got to the bus drop-off I literally ran off the bus, through CityWalk, and to the gates of USF. It wasn't even 9am but of course, people were being let into the park. I went directly to Shrek 4D, walked right into the pre-show, waited 5 minutes for them to start it (they couldn't start it until 9), and saw the main show. After riding I went directly to the Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast Express machines and picked up a pass which would be usable at 9:45. I then went straight to ROTM, but they said it wasn't opened yet. Ok.....so I walk through San Fransisco, Amity, and into the World Expo where I walked on Back To The Future....The Ride. After riding I went right back to ROTM, where I was told they were STILL closed. I then realized it was time to use the Express pass for Jimmy Neutron, so I walked down to it and got on. I rode and then went to ROTM once again....they say it's still closed. I then lost all hope of riding and decided to walk over to Islands of Adventure. Once inside the park I went to the Incredible Hulk Coaster, which had a 20 minute wait, so I decided to get an Express pass, good to use in 20 minutes. I then walked to The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, used the Single Riders line, and walked right on. After Spidey I went to Dr. Doom's FearFall, used the Single Riders line again, and walked on. After the ride I went back to Hulk, put my camera and cell phone away in a locker, and got into the Express line, where I waited for about 5 minutes. I then walked to the Wait Times board over in the Port of Entry. Jurassic Park River Adventure's 10 minute wait was tempting....but I decided to go back to USF, hoping that ROTM would be opened (this was at about 11:15).
*MILD SPOILERS*
As I walked past Shrek 4D, I looked past Grammercy Park. I saw that people weren't walking past ROTM....but walking into it. I then ran my heart out to the Entrance to find it open! Wait time posted was 30 minutes, but I could care less. My heart was beating fast as I ran through the empty queue inside the old Paradise Theater building. It was then into the Kongfrontation building, and then into the Egyptian tomb-themed queue. I marveled at the fabulous themed queue....simply amazing. I then found myself walking up the stairs, and standing in a line to the left....at this moment I had only waited about 15 minutes. A cast member then asked if there were any single riders in line, I raised my hand, and he directed me to the front, and in the boarding area I was put in row 1. The car then pulled up to the loading station....I still couldn't believe I was getting on. We then left the station, turned, and saw the first scene. Reggie worked perfectly, and then Imhotep stepped out. The animatronic was amazing.....I thought better than The Wicked Witch in the Great Movie Ride, or even S.I.R. And from that point on, I enjoyed every single minute of the ride.
*MILD SPOILERS ENDED*
I got off and decided to ride again. Then I got off, and rode again, and repeated the process 4 more times after that, for a total of 6 rides in a row. I also rode three other times in the day as well, for a grand total of 9 rides. I was simply addicted to it and couldn't get off of it!
So, what did I infact think of it? I thought it was 10 times better than The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, and it was the best thing to come to Orlando since Splash Mountain opened back in '92. It's quickly become my second favorite ride out of any theme park, because absolutely nothing can beat my Splash Mountain. Even though the coaster portion had no inversions, I thought it was better than Rock 'n Roller Coaster. The theming was very good.....up to par with Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland. Universal has definitely created a winner here.
Pictures up soon.....
Also, is it just me, or do most rides at Universal suffer from poor sound balance? If they toned down the music/effects just a little, so you could hear what is being said, it would be a great improvement - Spiderman at IOA is the same 
