The Chit Chat Chit Chat Thread

Figgy1

Figgy1

Premium Member
Goofyernmost said:
No need to run and hide because whether other Disney fans refuse to admit it, Universals theming is superior to Disney's in many ways. You are completely absorbed in illusion, Disney has for the most part only partially done that. Granted walking along from one area to another there are distractions that you don't see at Disney. Things like the huge external roller-coasters and so on. However, once in the lands it is completely and thoroughly themed. Seuss is one, but, the all are quite impressive. Potter, Simpsons, Hollywood, Jurassic Park and so on, as well as the internal attractions. Many are just comfortable with WDW or Disneyland, had a lot of great memories and don't want to be unfaithful to the Fatherland, but, everyone needs to go to Uni and see it for themselves. Go with an open mind and they will find out that there is more then one way to build a theme park (not a six flags) To me Universal took Disney's play book and improved on it (plussed it as Walt would have said.) Some of the attractions are mind boggling in detail. To me there is more to see and do in WDW, but, two days will pretty much cover, for now, the Uni touring and with the express pass, nothing should have to be skipped unless you want to skip it.
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I think to be able to really enjoy all the nooks and crannies you need 5 days at a minimum. We did 8 and still missed a few. Granted we resort hopped, the guys did all the spells in HM and DA, did a bit of exploring CW, caught every show and ride, etc. In that respect it is like Disney you can do most everything in any given amount of time but the details can take forever.
 
Mr Ferret 75

Mr Ferret 75

Thank you sir. You were an inspiration.
Premium Member
figmentfan423 said:
I think to be able to really enjoy all the nooks and crannies you need 5 days at a minimum. We did 8 and still missed a few. Granted we resort hopped, the guys did all the spells in HM and DA, did a bit of exploring CW, caught every show and ride, etc. In that respect it is like Disney you can do most everything in any given amount of time but the details can take forever.
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CW ???
 
Figgy1

Figgy1

Premium Member
Goofyernmost said:
To me, I don't have to be a huge fan or even a fan to enjoy it if it is done well. One of my favorite attractions is Terminator 2, and I have never seen the movie even once. I have never seen a Potter movie or read a single book. I have picked up the general idea just from bits and pieces of things that I have seen. It is still incredibly interesting and well done. Men in Black is really just a variation of Buzz Lightyear or Toy Story Mania. Same exact pretense but well done and fun to ride even at my advanced age. The one noticeable flaw that I have seen with Uni is that they tend to repeat stories. They are the same story line with different characters. For example, I wouldn't be surprise to find out that the track for The Transformers is exactly the same as Spiderman. Same story different characters! Even the same ending just slightly altered to be the ending of Despicable Me. Still well done and fun, but, they could have done better I think. Also Uni does use 3D a lot, but, I like that so it's not a problem for me at all.
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Terminator was great and yet like you I've never seen one of the movies. Although I liked the Horror Make Up show just a bit better
 
Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
Final Installment (Bet you thought it was never coming)

Day Two at Universal went much better. I got the aches and pains to subside to a degree where I could ignore them and it was another beautiful day. I got there a few minutes earlier then I had the day before and ended up parked pretty close to the center of the path to the parks.

I headed first to the Studio's half because that area contained the majority of the attractions that I wanted to experience or re-experience. I went directly to Despicable Me and was amazed at the line that had already formed. The day before I had watched wait times and was also surprised that it had one of the longest wait times of both parks. That ride also had a few start up problems that stopped the line for a while. They made the announcement that the moving pods that went with the 3D movie were not functioning so if anyone wanted to leave the line they could get an express pass for later. For those that wished to stay would be rewarded with just a 5 minute wait. My plan was to do Studio's and then take the Potter Train back to IoA and finish my day there. I was ok with just seeing the movie because it was quite funny even without the movement. So I stayed and 5 minutes later, I was inside. As it turned out, apparently just as we got there the ride started to work again so movie and movement were active. Score.

From there I made my way to ET just for nostalgia purposes, but, I do enjoy that simple ride with such intense theming. From there it was over to The Transformers, which as I stated elsewhere was almost exactly the same as Spiderman, but, with different characters and a slightly different story, but, not by much. It was a walk on at the time, but, also, had a single rider queue that wasn't really necessary at the time. Finishing that I made my way over to Terminator 2, my favorite 4D adventure. It was still great, but, the film was in dire need of upgrading, digitizing or whatever. Seemed very fuzzy to me. Still liked it as much as I always did. To me it's the CoP of Universal.

Here I should add that some of the in-between time was occupied by the many street shows that they have. Things like “The secret life of pets”, Sponge Bob and others. Also I mentioned yesterday about the detail of the Train Stations for Potter. The one big surprise was that they stationed entertainment in the internal parts of the stations. The first day there was a person playing guitar and singing, the next day a guy playing violin very much like you would find in a real station. Set up with donation cups and everything. Totally blew me away, was not expecting that.

Moving on I once again jumped into the single rider line at Men in Black and once again killed a huge amount of aliens thus saving the plant. I then went to the Potter area and found it to be packed with people. I really wasn't all that sure that I would be able ride the ride and decided I didn't want to invest that much time in line only to be turned away, so after looking around Diagon Alley, watching the dragon breath fire and observing kids with the black robes and magic wands activate things in the store windows decided to move on to King's Cross station and back to IoA. Kings Cross is the side where you see people walking through brick walls. The drawback is that you don't get to see yourself do that just others that are in front of you. Still was neat to watch. The trip back was not exactly the same as the way over except in reverse. Different scenes and different shadow characters walking by our sitting rooms.

After that it was time for lunch so I had that at Doc Sugrue's Kebab House, very good btw, and then I got a phone call from one of my girls and sat in the shade for awhile and just chatted. My next stop was Poseidon's Fury which is a great show that involves water effects, fire and lots of noise and comedy from a live performer. Well worth the visit if anyone hasn't ever been there.

Shortly after that is when I did yet another face plant that although nothing serious happened I did manage to get blood to flow from my thumb and my knee. I got the minor bleeding to stop and headed down through Seuss Landing, a place that looked to be directly out of the cartoons and books. Next and last stop was another jump to the single rider queue and a repeat of Spiderman. By then the aches and pains were starting to show back up again plus the additional throbbing thumb and knee so I decided that I had gotten my money's worth and headed back to the hotel to rest, start repacking for an early morning departure and a 10 hour drive back to North Carolina.

I know that doesn't seem like I did a lot, but, actually, for me it was. I never try and cram to much into my vacation time and considering age and infirmities, I did pretty well. I don't feel that I missed anything that I was looking forward too other then the two Potter rides that I wanted to do with one exception. I did want to get one last look at the Great Movie Ride in DHS, but, ran out of time and energy to go there just for that one thing. I still remember it fairly well, so I will survive with just a minor disappointment. I realize that I missed some massive areas of, not only Universal, but WDW as well. I don't know when I will return. It depends on my health and what gets me interested again (i.e. new attractions or altered ones)

This was my 45th visit to WDW since 1983 as a family man with young children, to being an escort for physically and mentally challenged adults, to just a couples experience, to a large family trip including grandchildren, all the way to many solo visits. Disney has always been an important part of my happy life. As I get older I am getting a little more melancholy about it, because I feel it is just a matter of time before I will no longer be able to do those experiences, but, so far, the trips have never failed to help me look forward to another day.
 
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Cesar R M

Cesar R M

Well-Known Member
figmentfan423 said:
They have an animal show you'd love and the food is for the most part as good as Disney's and cheaper and in some cases much cheaper. The Seuss area is on par with Disney theming if not better (runs and hides under large rock) it even has a people mover:joyfull: You don't have to be a HP fan to enjoy both areas. Royal Pacific runs about the same as the Swalphin per night and staying there gets you unlimited express pass as well as emh. It's like fp but you don't have to book it you just get on the line. The other thing I liked is even though there were gift shops galore they seemed more like an after thought
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Seuss's peoplemover is.. actually too short. And only goes around the tiny portion of land. Not in the long way like People mover's but in a very tight confined space :(

I wanted to try Jurassic Park's flying chair transportation.. but it was for children only :(
 

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