Animan1
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 3/5/2007 11:03:02 PM
Let me begin by saying that I say surprise because I don't think I had mentioned on here before that I was possibly going to be visiting USO this year, but it was certainly not a suprise to me, as I've known for several weeks.
At any rate, my family and I spent a couple of 3/4 length days at the two parks that constitute USO this past Friday and Saturday. I will try, as ever, to keep this short, especially seeing as most of you have probably already read some other TR of mine for these parks at some point.
We got to the park sometime after 11 on Friday. The weather forecast called for some possible rain later in the day, so we decided to head to IoA first in case closures started in the afternoon. A ride in the front row of Hulk started the day off with a bang, and the launch theme continnued with a blast on Doctor Doom. We got to face the park, so it was nice to get a good view (as good a view as I could get without my glasses, anyway). Following Doom we headed for Spidey, and we ended up in the front of the car for it as well.
The day was turning out to be nice and sunny, as well as warm (they had called for 80s, and on Saturday the forecasters claimed that we made it up to 89 degrees on Friday), but it was quite breezy and we opted to skip on the water rides for this visit. Walking through Toon Lagoon and Jurassic Park, we made it to the Lost Continent, where we took a spin on the Flying Unicorn. It may be small, but we almost always take one circuit when we visit, and always have a lot of fun (Bob will be proud  ).
After the expanded Roller Skater, we made our way to something that's a little more my speed...the B&M inverts that are Dueling Dragons. I wanted to try and ride both sides in the same row for this visit, and it was agreed that that row would be the back. They were only running one train on each side this day, which really increased the wait time, but even so, we were on Fire in about 20 minutes. It was really hauling some a$$, and provided a nice gray-out on the downward spiral from the 2nd immelman.
We skipped on Ice for the time being and made our way to Seuss Landing, where my sister and I rode Cat in the Hat, which we hadn't ridden for several years. I still like the ride, and no matter how old I get, the world of Dr. Seuss is still great. 
We now trekked over to Universal Studios to knock out a few rides over there before calling it a day (by now, it was about 4). We were able to fit in a showing of Shrek (overall decent, but nothing spectacular, in our party's opinion), an experience of Twister (corny pre-shows, but fun ride), and a trip through most of the queue for Mummy before it died and did not resurrect for some time, at which point we jumped ship and decided to call it a day. To summarize our first day, with our approiximate wait times in parentheses:
Hulk (20 min.)
Doctor Doom (15 min.)
Spider-Man (15 min.)
Flying Unicorn (2 train cycles)
Dueling Dragons - Fire (close to 30 min. with the walk through the queue)
Cat in the Hat (walk-on)
Shrek 4-D (walk-on)
Twister (walk-on)
Mummy (breakdown)
We got to the park a bit earlier on Saturday, and decided to start with Universal Studios since we had more left to do on that side of the park. We made a bee-line for Mummy, and were able to get 2 rides fairly quickly. Skipping Earthquake, we proceeded to Jaws, where my sister and I rode (it was cloudy and in the high 60s this day, and my parents didn't want to chance getting wet). Men in Black was next, followed by the still partially-open Back to the Future. It was nice to get at least one final ride on, since it seems that its permanent departure from the park is iminent, but only time will tell.
E.T. was next in line, and opting to pass on Terminator, we made our way to IoA as the first drizzle of the day started to permeate our environs. We got another ride on Hulk, this time in the back row, and it was satisfingly more-powerful this ti
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Animan1
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3/6/2007 7:23:25 PM
Ah, well, after only a brief delay, the pics have arrived. Here is the link for the album. Again, any questions or comments on these are welcome too.
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larrygator
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3/6/2007 9:13:12 PM
Doesn't seem you got as much done as I would have expected with those short wait times.
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Animan1
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3/7/2007 8:19:55 AM
Well, part of that was the fact that we were only there for a little more than half-days each day (roughly 6 hours each day). I do see what you're saying, though, it does seem like we could have done more. But we didn't rush, took our time enjoying ourselves, and still had a great time, so I guess either way, the trip was a success.
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larrygator
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3/7/2007 10:37:01 AM
You're right. Now that I think back I was exhausted after my single day at IOA/USO because I rushed like a madman to get everything to the point of skipping meals.
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hrrytraver
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3/7/2007 10:59:50 AM
larry, i think you approach parks more militaristically than many do. i think calling you a completist is an understatement.
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taylorb251
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3/7/2007 6:25:23 PM
^ I agree.
Animan1 glad you had fun. I was wondering how much it cost for the one day ticket for both parks? I'm thinking about going in 2008.
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Animan1
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3/7/2007 6:33:15 PM
Thanks, taylor. The admission for a one-day, two-park ticket is $73 on-line ($77 at the park). However, you can get a two-day, two-park ticket for only about $10 more, at $86. If you have the time, I'd definitely recommend two days, unless you're going in the winter and don't mind rushing through both parks.
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taylorb251
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3/7/2007 9:32:44 PM
Thanks for the info. I think that I will only have one day. Most of my time will be at Disney.
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Animan1
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3/7/2007 10:04:18 PM
Sure thing. I like that on Universal's website, they happily inform you that their two-day/two-park ticket is less expensive than one day at Disney with the Park Hopper option. 
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larrygator
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3/8/2007 12:07:47 AM
Quote:
hrrytraver said:
larry, i think you approach parks more militaristically than many do. i think calling you a completist is an understatement. |
true - a new park is there to conquer
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Scott
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3/8/2007 8:16:14 PM
Quote:
Animan1 said:
Sure thing. I like that on Universal's website, they happily inform you that their two-day/two-park ticket is less expensive than one day at Disney with the Park Hopper option. |
Yeah, it's cheaper, but I still believe disney offers an experience that IOA can't even match.
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BobFunland
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3/8/2007 8:56:05 PM
Universal really started pushing to bring guests away from Disney a few months ago. I guess having a "compare to Disney" page is cheaper than actually adding a new attraction, something that I think Disney is good at timing and executing to get repeat visits.
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coaster05
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3/8/2007 10:37:22 PM
I really like Universal, but Disney is just so much more for me.
Glad you had a great time Animan.
BTW I personally enjoy how Larry does a new park. Very efficient and he even gets to see a woman slap a monkey.
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larrygator
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3/8/2007 11:02:58 PM
^that's when I'm not busy getting punched by a woman.
Back on topic Universal and Disney are going to appeal to different types. Yes, some people will love both but these all two parks that are hard to knock. Hey it might get boring to someone living in Florida who goes often that Universal doesn't change, but I would have no problem visiting the park every two years.
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BobFunland
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3/9/2007 1:13:11 AM
Quote:
coaster05 said:
BTW I personally enjoy how Larry does a new park. Very efficient and he even gets to see a woman slap a monkey. |
me too. I've stolen a lot from him. I look at it this way - if Im out of town, I probably paid a decent amount of money and put in some considerable effort to make the day happen, so I wanna maximize my time and not miss stuff I may not be able to see again for a while...
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RCGenius
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3/9/2007 7:31:35 AM
Good TR Animan1. Universal's definitely one of the better theme park chains around. Many people seem to like Disney though because of the all-around amazing family atmosphere & just for the fact of running into Mickey Mouse characters. I haven't been to Disney for about eight years, so I can't really say how they're doing. Universal seems to be suitable for people who're into extreme thrills since Disney doesn't really follow that personna. However, from what I remember about their parks, they're definitely something magical & unworldly. The rides, though tame, are always heavily themed & a lot of fun. The only downfall about both of these theme park chains are that they're so expensive, but I know it's because of both of them being such high-tourist attractions. I guess it doesn't matter for most people because they're still willing to spend as much as they want to experience that special place they'll never have back at their hometown.
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Animan1
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3/9/2007 8:15:54 AM
I have never actually been to Disney, and I can't say that I feel especially bad about that. I'm sure the parks are good fun, and provide a great atmosphere for families (and even thrill seekers), but my family has just never had the inclination to go to Disney over Universal. I may eventually get to Disney one day, but I don't have any great childhood memories from there to reel me back in, so I would be testing new waters when and if I ever do visit the Mouse House.
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taylorb251
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3/9/2007 9:13:11 AM
I went to disney in the 6th grade and hated it. I went back a couple of years ago (I was 26 years old) I just loved the place. I went to IOA on the same trip and had fun. But Disney was just better in about every way. I will always pick disney.
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Scott
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3/9/2007 10:15:28 AM
Quote:
taylorb251 said:
I went to disney in the 6th grade and hated it. I went back a couple of years ago (I was 26 years old) I just loved the place. I went to IOA on the same trip and had fun. But Disney was just better in about every way. I will always pick disney. |
I feel the same way. Disney takes about 4-5 days to see everything. I can ride everything at universal/IOA in 1 day.
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Animan1
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3/9/2007 7:49:16 PM
I would actually say that you need 2 days to properly do everything at IoA/Universal. Is it possible to do everything in 1 day? Yes. Is it better to do it in 2? Yes.
Or that's my opinion, anyway.
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Scott
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3/9/2007 8:26:51 PM
it depends on lines. I was able to eat a relaxing lunch and take multiple rerides last november.
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BobFunland
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3/9/2007 9:17:15 PM
Yeah, but the same with Disney. In October we could have very well done the entire resort in 2-3 days... it depends on the time, but of course Disney will take longer since they have 4 parks (+2 water) compared to 2 at Universal...
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coaster05
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3/9/2007 9:26:26 PM
I will NEVER take 2 days at the Universal complex again. There is so little on the one side I want to do that I will have almost a whole day at IOA. Which means I know for sure everything I want to reride so it would be no problem to get it done in a day. I can also say 3 days for Disney to really do what I want. However with Disney I enjoy the feel of there park so much more that if I was going to do relaxed and easy I could easily go five days and not be bored.
Joe, we just tore those parks up though in October, didn't we?
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larrygator
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3/9/2007 11:07:31 PM
not to state the obvious but both parks are expensive because of the great theming.
You can't have it both ways.
Both parks are willing to lower the admission prices if one is willing to visit for multiple days
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BobFunland
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3/10/2007 8:10:38 AM
Quote:
coaster05 said:
Joe, we just tore those parks up though in October, didn't we? |
yup, Im not sure its possible to do more in a 5 day span
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Danny
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3/10/2007 9:38:47 PM
Quote:
Animan1 said:
I will try, as ever, to keep this short, especially seeing as most of you have probably already read some other TR of mine for these parks at some point.
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I always enjoy your TRs. Make them as long as you want
I can't believe you didn't do the water rides though!  Anyway, it's cool to hear you got a last ride on Back to the Future.
As for the Disney vs. Universal discussion, I have to say that I love both resorts and can't imagine visiting one without visiting the other. Magic Kingdom and IOA are both amazing parks, and are securely my two favorites.
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Animan1
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3/12/2007 11:02:43 AM
Thanks, Danny. It was a bit of a bummer that we didn't do water rides, and it wasn't that we didn't have time or that the waits were too long...we just didn't feel like getting wet. But knowing how great the rides are does kind of make you want to ride them whenever you visit, no matter what the weather is!
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Danny
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3/16/2007 1:43:27 PM
Yeah, the weather in Florida this time of year isn't always perfect for getting drenched on Popeye.
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