AdamY

Well I just bought Teenage Dream - the Cotton Candy scented jewel case is awesome First physical CD I've bought for ages!

I did half think that when I saw it, yes! And yeah, they've evidently been taking marketing lessons over here Never mind, our one will be better.

I quite like it actually!

The plot thickens with X-Raptor, update courtesy of CoasterForce HERE. Very interesting

You have good taste, my friend! Are you going on the 30th or 31st? I'm sure some epic moshing will ensue at this one

^ <3Going to see them in October

There was a Saw pullover kinda thing, but I haven't seen it recently.I just watched Scream If You Know The Answer!

Biology A*Chemistry APhysics A*

^ Same! Feeling pretty nervous... Good luck Gemma & anyone else for tomorrow!

Agreed!

^ That's an awesome idea :PGoing in date order might be a fun challenge, I.e. oldest - newest!

Phone: Samsung S8000 JetiPod Touch 32GBCameras: Nikon D80 DSLR and Sony DSC-S980 CybershotDesktop - Kinda crap (for my requirements), soon to be replaced by something shiny with an I7 processor :DLaptop - Advent ModenaConsoles - Playstation 3 40GB, Playstation 2, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo GamecubeSennheiser Noise Cancelling headphonesSamsung Galaxy TabAssorted other gubbins I can't think of.I love technology!

It was fine for me! Nothing spectacular but I didn't get killed by a flying elephant or anything

I get it too. It really is quite unbearable and does make me think twice before riding now.

I like reading your stories on here Gemma!

Gotta say Forbidden Journey now. Close behind come Bilge Rat Barges, Spiderman, Dragon Challenge, Pirates of the Caribbean and Tower of Terror.

There are many things to consider when answering this question! Is it Pepsi Max, diet or regular? Is it Regular Coke or Vanilla, Lemon, Lime, Cherry? Is the drink cold or warm? With what food are you drinking the drink? In a normal situation - I.e. regular flavour of both, ice cold, with no food... Pepsi.Once you add pizza, popcorn, or the possibility of other flavours into the equation, it becomes impossible to answer!

Thanks, James and Alice. Mikey - I agree about AK needing another E-Ticket. Trouble is, the attraction which would have been it's next E-Ticket ended up at IOA (not that I'm complaining >: ) ) And to quote a certain Imagineer, Tomorrowland has gained a nasty habit of becoming 'Todayland', so I agree with you there too ------------So our last day in Orlando dawned, and we’d decided to use it for IOA – my favourite park.We were exhausted by this point, after a week of sightseeing and then another almost-week in Orlando so had quite a late start. We went over to Studios first just to hit Rockit, my sister had missed out on it the few days previous when I went on it. The queue was already 105 mins so we did it via SRQ. I already reviewed it before, but this time I chose Hella Good by No Doubt as my soundtrack, love No Doubt!We grabbed some breakfast then walked across to IOA, by which time it was about 12. We started a clockwise sweep of the park in Marvel Super Hero Island, with Dr Doom’s Fearfall. I’d forgotten how thrilling this ride is, the sheer speed and force of the launch is breathtaking! Gave me an idea for later on…We could see the queues were starting to get crazy, so we opted for Universal Express Plus passes, for the first time. We got 2 between the 3 of us because I go on everything, my mum hates the ‘scary’ rides and my sister hates the wet rides, so they shared one while I had one for myself. Worth every cent, I must say.So with Express in hand, we headed for the Incredible Hulk Coaster and skipped a 70 minute queue.I know I’ve criticized the ride on here before, but I think this go on it has converted me. I found it to be great fun! I’ve never criticized the opening though – and it didn’t disappoint me here. The launch, Zero-G, huge Cobra Roll and massive Vertical Loop are brilliant, and very exhilarating. The very steeply banked helix into a corkscrew is great, too. So, Hulk, I’m sorry!We carried on around into Toon Lagoon next, and did Bilge Rat Barges and Ripsaw Falls, in that order. I never could find a favourite between Kali and Bilge Rats before, but I think after this most recent trip, Bilge Rat Barges just edges Kali. You just get incredibly[/b] wet on this attraction – the raft itself soaks you, and the masses of cannons, waterfalls, squirt guns ect just add insult to injury! This kind of interaction is what is missing from Kali – on that ride only the ride itself gets you wet. So I finally have a favourite! As well as the soaking, BRB has a very fast drop which is great fun! I love the cartoon-ized world around it too, like the rocks. 80 Minute queue beaten with Express.Ripsaw Falls is a mediocre attraction, probably the weakest at IOA in my opinion. It’s fun, yes, but it tries to be something it isn’t. The whole point of the ride is the drop, but it tries to be a Splash Mountain-esque dark ride at the same time, but it doesn’t quite manage it. I still love the drop though! Skipped a staggering 115 minute queue for this.After Toon, we skipped through Jurassic Park, intending to return later but in the end not doing so, and returned to the Wizarding World.We headed directly for Flight of The Hippogriff.I’d never experienced this when it was Flying Unicorn, but could pretty much tell what to expect anyway! It’s a fun ride, and a much needed people eater to soak up some of the crowds. The new details are great – Hagrid’s Hut looks very good, and the full-sized Buckbeak animatronic at the foot of the lift is very cute!We headed back over to Dragon Challenge, for a go on the new ‘Chinese Fireball’ side. Fire was the only side I tried last year, and having now tried Ice / Hungarian Horntail as well, I can safely say Fire / Fireball is the better side. I think it keeps a much better pace throughout the ride, and I think it gives a better view of the near miss elements. Plus, the Immelmanns are great fun! I forgot to mention last time too, the new TM outfits are brilliant – they are dragon keeper costumes! They have extra padded trousers ect, it looks great!I said before I’d review Hogsmede and the shops separately, so here goes! Here are a few pics first.The Verdict? Much like FJ, brilliant. The whole place feels very cosy and intimate, and despite actually being very big it feels very small and the streets very narrow, which is good. All the shops have great displays in them, the vast majority of which are enchanted and move in some way. Some examples are the self-playing cello in Dominic Maestro’s, and the very graphic demonstration of Puking Pastilles in Zonko’s!Let’s take a sweep around the village, starting on the left of the arch and working around.The first store you come to is Zonko’s Joke Shop. This store looks great inside and out, and is very quirky and fun looking. Unfortunately, as far as actual items inside are concerned, there’s not much doing. The exception is the Pygmy Puffs – they sell like hot cakes, and had been sold out for weeks, re-appearing just the day before my final visit to the Wizarding World. The long-rumoured Extendable Ears are due to appear here at some point too, but no sign yet.Next door, and joined inside, is Honeydukes. This place, like Zonko’s, looks brilliant – the bright green interior with chess board style chequered flooring looks striking! There are dozens of varieties of sweets in here, including Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans, Acid Pops, Treacle Fudge, Cauldron Cakes, Coconut Ice, literally everything you could imagine and more! I tried quite a few things, and I just have some Liquorice Laces and Orange Slices left now The only problem here is price – I know theme parks rip you off at the best of times, and Harry Potter always had potential to be even worse, but $9.95 for a Chocolate Frog is quite disgraceful!Further up the street is the Three Broomsticks and adjoining Hog’s Head pub. We had dinner in 3B, and it is an absolutely charming place. The crooked wooden beams, old styled furnishings and TM costumes really set the scene. This place was actually designed before the one for the films – bit of trivia for you there! More excellent TMs were in evidence here – various Potter music pieces play in here all the time, and we were finishing dinner at about 10:15 as they started clearing the place up. Suddenly the Potter Waltz started playing, and some of the TMs started waltzing to it! That was pretty magical! I personally recommend the Strawberry and Peanut Butter ice cream, its lush! The Hog’s Head has all the charm of a quaint pub here in England, with the addition of the great puffing Hog’s Head animatronic growling away behind the bar.Not a shop as such, but a special mention to the bathrooms at this point! Myrtle haunting the place is quite un-nerving! Some rather cool signs denote 'witches' and 'wizards' sides.Further up from here are several empty façade shops, but they still look fantastic and have some great window displays. The Magic Neep sells Pumpkin Juice from an ice cart outside.Returning down the other side, you encounter Ollivanders. I can’t comment, we didn’t fancy the hour-plus wait to watch a stranger get a wand chosen.Further down are Owl Post and Dervish and Banges. D&B has the most ‘buy-able’ merch if you see what I mean, selling solid souvenirs rather than random little bits. In here you can buy Hogwarts uniform items, Quidditch equipment, stationary, pins and keyrings, random WWHP themed clothing, and the Quibbler! Of course, the Monster Book of Monsters is locked away in it’s cage in the centre of the store. Periodically it awakens from it’s sleep, and screams and growls, attempting to escape it’s cage at the same time. I bought some things in here. Owl Post is a nice area to sit and take a break, and watch the many owls sitting in the rafters hoot and ruffle their feathers.After FoTH, we returned to Hogwarts for another spin on FJ. The only major attraction still not accepting Express, we joined a queue with a posted wait time of 60 minutes. Unfortunately when we got to the greenhouse, the dreaded announcement came over the PA… Despite saying ‘continued delay’ this is the announcement used to tell people in the queue the ride has gone down, not just to tell them it is still down. Kind of strange, one minute all is rosy, then there’s a ‘continued delay’? Anyway, we had plenty of time to ponder this unconventional grammatical puzzle, as the ride was down for about 40 minutes. After what happened last time we left the queue in a shutdown, we weren’t going anywhere! Once the announcement went over that the ride was back up, the most tremendous cheer I’ve ever heard went up, followed by rapturous applause! Was quite a moment actually!So finally, after a queue totalling 2 hrs 5 mins, we boarded. Just as we neared the end of the moving belt, the ride stopped. Joy. Luckily, it was only a dodgy restraint not locking, triggering the belt and hence the entire ride system to stop, not an actual malfunction. We were soon off again, after hearing some very cool announcements, geek B)We stepped out and caught the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students in the stone circle.We crossed back over to MSHI and did The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman next. Still a stunning attraction, knocked off the top spot through no fault of it’s own. The blend of props and film clips is very impressive, like FJ but somehow in a different way. Either way, it works. Add in the fire effects and water, and 3D projection, and it’s still a winner 11 years on. Islands should be proud to have the 2 best dark rides on the planet in their park.Another go on Dr Doom’s Fearfall was next up - it gives stunning views at night, and I left a few inches on the OTSR which gave crazy airtime! Cat in The Hat rounded up our quota of rides for the trip, and we made a quick trip back to WWHP for dinner in 3B.So overall, another fantastic trip to Orlando. Plenty to think about and look forward to until next time, with Universal and Disney both having big projects coming up / ongoing. The Wizarding World has strengthened the already brilliant park that is IOA, cementing it’s position as my favourite park in the world. Hopefully now it will get the gate figures it has always deserved but struggled to achieve. Thanks for reading, I hope you’ve enjoyed the view over my shoulder through the trip!

Your version of the maze sounds amazing horry! I've long thought that Keys of Life would work really well in there. Plus as you said, the Steam Maze could be lifted straight from the films and would be just perfect!Sounds way better than what Thorpe came up with

I've been within a metre of a phone dropped from the top of Depth Charge. To say it shattered is an understatement!

I have three possible options I'd like to pursue.The first is Forensic Anthropology. I'd find it fascinating, and it's extremely well paid - especially if you end up a well known authority. Examining dead people may seem a bit macabre but it would be brilliant because of the sheer variety of cases you get to deal with, it's never the same scenario twice. Plus, in the forensic side of anthropology you get a bit of the criminal investigation side of proceedings, working with the police or FBI on high profile cases.The second option is taking a degree in aeronautical engineering or the like, and going on to work in the design of aeroplanes, preferably military. That would be great fun, and with the same degree it would be easy to transfer to designing cars, ships... Or coasters!The third, don't laugh, is working with either the ESA or NASA. I have and always have had a passion for space and physics, and without sounding full of it I'm good at it too. This isn't an 'I want to be an astronaut' childhood dream - I could see myself in either a similar designing role to that I'm talking about above, or as a research astronomer. Luckily, I could pursue any of them on either side of the Atlantic, so I'd seriously consider moving to America.

Nothing, quite literally.

Thanks again, everyone! This was longer than I expected so I'll finish with IOA tomorrow.----So, next morning was off to Animal Kingdom! We wanted most of the day for Magic Kingdom so we just flew around the main attractions at AK in a few hours. First up, we headed over to Serka Zong for Expedition Everest: Legend Of The Forbidden Mountain.Well, it’s pretty obvious what I’m going to say here. It’s just a stunner. Everything about this attraction is brilliant, it really feels ‘Disney’. Following on from the long history of Big Thunder, Splash, and Space, Expedition Everest seems the natural progression. A dramatic and thrilling ride, a queue with detail second to none, a clearly presented story, this ride really has the lot. I still take great vindictive pleasure in listening to the screams of first time riders who don’t know the backwards section is coming! The only shame at the moment is the attraction’s crowning glory, the massive Yeti Audio Animatronic, is still on ‘disco yeti’ mode, and that won’t be changing any time soon. It was thought that a repair to the foundation would be made when the ride is shut down for a major refurb, but the rumour mill suggests Imagineering are now working up designs for a new Yeti AA, which unfortunately won’t be as wild and scary as the original. Such a shame that the pure magic of that creature swooping down at the train won’t be seen again.Anyway, onwards! Time for a trip on…DINOSAUR! The ride formerly known as Countdown to Extinction is still one of the scariest and most violent Disney dark rides, delivering plenty of pitch black moments and sudden evasive manoeuvres to escape the dinos. The storyline is perhaps a bit cliché, but it’s still a decent and fun attraction – especially as it’s often walk-on now. I’m going to deviate slightly onto a different but related topic here – Dinoland USA itself. It’s no secret that Dinoland USA was built on a shoestring, and my goodness it shows. Even the Imagineers hate it – the random collection of un-themed, ‘plonked down’ fairground-style rides ruin what is otherwise one of the best gates on Disney property. So, time for a plea. Disney, get rid of it!. When you think also that it was built with some of the budget intended for the construction of Beastly Kingdom, it hurts even more. For anyone who knows the whole story of Beastly Kingdom, you’ll know what I mean. If anyone who doesn’t is interested in the biggest ‘might have been’ in Disney history, I’ll post a link.But on a more positive note, it’s on to Kali River Rapids! I must point out at this time, we later found out we had chosen the hottest week they’ve had for a decade to visit. It hit 102 degrees, which apparently felt like 110 bouncing off the concrete according to the TV. So understandably, we were very glad of Kali! We weren’t so glad to find the 70 minute queue, but this just proves the continued popularity of one of the best rides in the park. Once we finally beat the huge queue, we were given the customary soaking which this ride dishes out to everyone who rides it. Fantastic!After that, over to Harambe…Kilimanjaro Safaris is probably the attraction with the most variable ride experience in Orlando! Not only does it rely on having a good guide, it relies on the animals wanting to come out – something it’s impossible to control. Luckily, this time on it we had both an excellent tour guide and a good run of animals. It’s a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the park, to come on board and just sit for a while and watch the animals. So, another winner for Animal Kingdom. Still pulls a decent queue, but at least it’s under cover.With that, we left for Magic Kingdom.After a much-needed break from the sun and bite to eat in the Main Street Bakery – with our first experience of the week of the kind of service you expect from Disney, the girl in there was all smiles – we headed for Tomorrowland. Looks like I’d finally get on the ride which has for various reasons escaped me all my life…Space Mountain! Must say, I loved it! One of the true Disney greats, I was expecting a lot and it delivered. I was slightly surprised at how very rough it is, given it was completely re-tracked just last summer, but it didn’t impact on my enjoyment of it. The star effects are very cool, and I thought the station area was very nice. The seats are like armchairs! Definite thumbs up from me. We emerged just as the storm clouds you see in the picture above cleared off, having dumped their contents over the Magic Kingdom while we were inside. Good timing!We headed for Fantasyland next. Time for a major rant. Brace yourselves.I would have pictures to show you, but I couldn’t bring myself to take any. In a nutshell, the area is a complete mess. It honestly looks terrible. It’s a giant building site, and the charm and character which used to be present is gone without a trace. Understandably, one entire side is covered up with construction walls for the Fantasyland Forest project. Ok, fair enough you can’t build a huge project without a bit of disruption, I’d even have excused the massive piles of dirt and JCBs clearly visible over the walls normally. BUT. Who on earth decided to destroy the other side at the same time!? Small World is closed, and completely covered in construction walls, tarpaulins and scaffolding. Pooh has been given the same treatment as well, but at least it’s still open. So the result? You walk into fantasyland flanked by construction walls on both sides of you, with temporary queue lines all over the place, temporary drinks stalls littering the midway, and no cheerful facades or traces of what was there before. Oh, and a towering pile of dirt in front of your face. Not very impressive. Whoever decided to refurb all the dark rides simultaneously, and during FF construction as well, needs some sense knocked into them.So having come to the building site, we went on some of the building site attractions. Luckily, Snow White’s Scary Adventures and The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh are still just as charming inside as they ever were. Such simple yet brilliant attractions really made Disney what it is today, and they’ll always have a place in a Fantasyland which will hopefully look much nicer soon.With some time to fill until a Fastpass slot on Peter Pan, we took a circular trip around the Magic Kingdom on the Walt Disney World Railroad. It’s a nice relaxing ride, but I’m yet to use it as an actual means of transportation!So a bit later we returned to Fantasyland for Peter Pan’s Flight. The façade was still intact which was a pleasant surprise, and inside much the same applies as to the other two dark rides here I’ve already discussed – it’s an enjoyable classic.Doubling back across to Frontierland, we took a trip on the Wildest Ride in The Wilderness: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. This is another ride like Pirates, like Splash Mountain, which will never lose that distinctive ‘Disney’ feeling. It, like Expedition Everest, is a great blend of thrill ride, themeing and story. A fastpass took us straight past the fairly lengthy queue, and we were on quite quickly. This though, like EE, is a ride for which I don’t mind queuing because there’s so much to look at! Another all-round star attraction.Time for more pictures!The Main Street Electrical Parade made a welcome return this year as part of Summer Nightastic! and will now be staying on a permanent basis, it has been revealed. We grabbed a spot in Liberty Square to watch this glittering, shining spectacle pass by, and I was very impressed! Lead by Tinkerbell at the front, the parade stars all the usual characters from the day time parades, but in a much more magical and exciting setting! Some of the floats are stunning, and some even include effects such as smoke geysers. The music is fantastic too. A great addition to the entertainment at the Magic Kingdom.We decided to call it a night, and headed for the monorail. Completely by accident, we got the most spectacular view of the fireworks I’ve ever had, as our monorail encircled the lake opposite the Magic Kingdom, and we got a bird’s eye view of the glittering sky. Beautiful.Finally, our last day at IOA is up next.

Windows Vista. Usually Google Chrome but I've tried IE as well to try and fix the problem but it didn't help.