Mitchada04

So it was the first day of our holiday, and waking up stupidly early due to jet lag we arrived at Universal after eating an IHOP. Yum.
We got our tickets, and we waited for IOA to open (even though studios opened at 8) not having a clue how busy it was going to be.
It opened a bit before 9, and after scanning our fingers we were in. We went straight to the back of the park for the Wizarding World.

Seeing the whole area, and Hogwarts for the first time is amazing. Photos, like of most places won't do it justice.

So much bigger than I thought it was going to be, looks so much better in person.
Not really knowing what to expect for my first proper dark ride (previous favourite being Dual) I was very exited to say the least.
Forbidden Journey
Was seriously amazing, and in my opinion better than Gringotts. Gringotts may be more thrilling, but as an overall experience Forbidden Journey was my favourite dark. Perfect combination of screens and proper theming, and the ride system is soo cool! Amazed as I came off, I went straight round the single rider queue for another go.
Whole area has lots of shops to go in and experiences like live performances. Even if you're not a fan of Harry potter the area is amazing, yes I've seen the movies but I'm really not a fan of harry potter myself, and Forbidden Journey is still my favourite dark ride. The area also has a small Vekoma coaster called Flight of the Hippogriff with insane operations, and then obviously dragon challenge.
Dragon Challenge
This ride literally never had a queue, the only queue was annoyingly for the metal detectors. If you didn't know, you have to go through metal detectors for both Dragon Challenge and Hollywood rip ride rocket, and I'm assuming Hulk as well which wasn't open at the time. This is so that no personal belongings such as phones can be taken in the queue line.
After a really long indoor queue, you then get to the point where you choose Chinese Fireball or Hungarian Horntail (easier to just say Fire and ice still )
They are both really good coasters actually, a lot better than I thought they were going to be! I do wish I rode them when they dueled. The entrance looked amazing back when it was dueling dragon! I personally preferred the Fireball however they were very similar!
Re-ride queue takes you straight to the front of the building again, so you don't have to queue to get through the metal detectors again. Great idea.
Jurassic park
So Jurassic park was next, a really really good experience, especially the inside section and drop. So well themed, and the animatronics are amazing. It was however a really short experience and only had the 1 drop, a lot shorter than I was expecting it to be, especially the inside section. It was more outside than inside.
Ripsaw falls
Getting all the water rides done at once, ripsaw falls was next, the best looking log flume I've ever seen by far

It didn't disappoint. Theming was great, and had quite a few good drops. Lap bars did make it uncomfortable, and I believe it didn't have them when it first opened? Guess they're there for a reason.
Theming in this whole toon area is really nice, and the music is cool.
Popeye
By far the best rapids I've ever done. The theming is amazing, has a themed troff the whole way round. All the water effects make it so so good because of the randomness, lots high speed points and some good drops. I've heard so many times its the worlds wettest rapids, and after 4 re-rides, enough was enough. Still took a few hours to dry off in the heat.
Spiderman
That facade

Spiderman is an awesome ride, mainly screens but lots of scenery which adds to it. Lots of effects including fire, the music is perfect, one of my favourites. The ride system is really cool as well, and theres one point where it spins round loads which is fun. Defiantly my 2nd favourite dark ride I've ever done.
Say this about every area but he whole area is really nice, but it was such a shame hulk was closed and the ride was boarded off. Most of hulk was still there when I was there, but as I was there it was getting taken down.
Dr doom fearfall
2 S&S towers next to each other. Was really looking forward to this as I love drop towers and had never done a launching one before. I really enjoyed it, and the airtime once you get to the top is amazing. Single rider worked really well on this with it being up the exit, so no one really knows about it
Seaus Landing
A really really nice kids area, defiantly the the nicest I've ever seen. Did a few of the rides including the cat in the hat dark ride which was nice.
It then of course had the Hogwarts express which takes you to Studios, such a fantastic idea and is really handy. Not once did we spend the whole day in one of the parks, so this is great to take you from each one, when it doesn't have a queue.

Overall I loved IOA, its seriously such a beautiful park with such a good atmosphere. The whole park is superbly themed and has some great soundtracks just walking around the park. It's home to my 2 favourite dark rides, 3 great water rides and good coasters. The only downside in my opinion was the lack of rides, it really doesn't take long to get it all done especially during quiet days like when we visited. Was such a shame to see Hulk closed but I'm looking forward to visiting again to ride that and Kong
The journey continues at Studios... http://forum.maniahub.com/blog/76/entry-750-universal-studios-orlando-october-2015/

So was in the park from around mid day. The event started at half 7, and the park closed for normal quests at 6. People for Howl O scream were aloud in at 5 and were given wristbands, so from 6 only people with wristbands were given access to all the rides. This was nice as it meant we didn't have to sit doing nothing for an hour like we did at Universal.
Was really looking forward to this event, open until 1am with 7 houses with all the main rides open. There was a also a show, live music and nightclubs for those interested.
There were no specific scare zones listed on the map like universal but there quite a few around the park, and groups of actors walking round the park similar to Fright Nights. There were people dressed up in ghille suits hiding in bush's and trees all around the park who just randomly just out at people or make a loud bang every so often. I found out the hard way when at 6 (still daylight) I shat my pants when one jumped out a bush and made a loud bang. Didn't expect any actors to be out at all, especially at 6. The event hadn't even started and I had already had a much bigger scare than I got the whole time I was at Universal. Such a great idea, and scared so many people. No one expected it.
There was a group of clowns roaming the park as well, and one of them made me jump again as well. At a corner there was a clown just standing there making strange noises distracting me, then another clown jumps out from behind a bin with a horn and scares you. Very well done.
Anyway onto the houses...
The Basement
So first up was the Basement. Turned up here about 15 minutes before it opened not knowing how busy/quiet it was going to be, but thought it was strange there being like 5 people in front of me when there was only 15 minutes until it opened.

As soon it was time, we were led down into the main queue and we were straight in. No talks like all the events in the UK, just signs at the entrance.

So at Busch gardens all the mazes were free flow meaning you didn't have to hold on the person in front of you, and they put you in the maze in around groups of 20, not as small as what they do in the UK but not as big as Universal (which is just a 1 massive conga line.)
Themed around mamas kitchen and how she is gonna cook you up and eat you. A brilliant house, better than all of the ones I did at Universal! Theming was excellent, water sprayed at you (as vomit) for example. All actors were great and stayed in roll the whole time, chainsaw ending on this one as well. 9/10
So next up located in Gwazi park (now closed during the day)...
Circus of superstition 3D

So being a 3D maze, you wear 3D glasses and everything in the maze is painted really bright UV colours, and all the glasses do is make the colours strike out a lot more.
After doing a dreadful 3D maze at Universal Halloween horror night I really wan't expecting much from this one. I walked up to the maze to see a completely empty queue, and got asked if I wanted to wait for a group or just go in alone (Didn't meet my family until after this house). So for the whole first half of the maze I was completely alone until I caught up with another group. It was one of the most intense experiences of my life. Full of scares, including actors on swings/bungees who come out of no where and swing of the wall right up to you (you can't see them on a wall before they swing at you, they just come at you out of nowherere and swing back again. ) Clown costumes were excellent, music was excellent, acting quality again was amazing and overall just an amazing house. Defiantly one of the best I've ever done. 9/10
Facade looked amazing.

And there was a giant clown running around outside as well.

Next up was the new house for this year, Unearthed scarlets revenge.

Waited around 15 minutes for this one, was a bit stupid of us going in the house at the entrance of the park just as the event started as it had no queue later on Gwazis queue was used as the queue for this house, and even went right up to the station...



So annoying having a beautiful woodie lit up next to us SBNO which closed months before we went All the trains are still there sitting in the maintenance sheds.
Anyway back to the house, it was alright. Theming was good once again and was creepy, but lacked scares, which wasn't helped by the fact too many people were let in meaning it was very slow moving inside there. The main character in there Scarlett was just weird, a sexy girl with horns? Don't know how she was meant to be scary, or how she linked in with the rest of the monsters in there and rest of the house. Was just all a bit weird. Was a good house but just no where near as strong as the first 2 I did. 7/10
Death Water Bayou
Didn't really know what to expect for this one. Walked up a long path to find a nice facade, looked like an abounded house. This house was seriously amazing. Probably the best house/maze I've ever done. Seemed to have so many parts of the houses all combined into one, for example the swings/bungees from the clown maze were in here. A ridiculous amount of scares, a spinning tunnel, actors were amazing, theming was amazing, was just a really strong house throughout, loved every second. Very intense, most amount of scares in a maze. 10/10!!
Zombie Mortuary
Wasn't expecting to be scared a lot from this one, had never been through a zombie maze but once again a very good house. Soundtrack was great with a strong organ sound playing throughout, made a creepy atmosphere. Zombie costumes were really good, theming was good surprisingly a lot of scares. Another really strong house. 8/10
Deadfull
Again a pretty strong house, not a lot to say about this one. Theming was great, remember seeing a Merry go round, a playground, a graveyard. Was more creepy than scary. 8/10
Zombie Containment unit 15
Unfortunately I didn't get to experience this one. It had over a 45 minute queue the whole night when everything else was pretty much walk on, so we really couldn't be bothered. Guessing the reason for this is low throughput, all I know is that you have a gun and have to shoot the zombies. My advice to anyone that goes would be to do this first before it builds up a queue, the queue did not go down the whole time we were there.
Rides open at night were:
Cheetah Hunt in the dark was very good with a lot of it being dark.

Dodgems were great with smoke, lazers and loud music.

Kumba :wub: :wub: :wub:

Sheikra

Falcons Fury, which the Americans seemed to love.

and Montu.
Overall this was by far the best Halloween event I've ever done. The park atmosphere was fantastic, actors all round the park were fantastic and obviously all the main rides are open for night rides. There was really good music throughout the park, lighting and smoke machines everywhere. It's crazy how much a huge place can all have such a good atmosphere.
All the houses were very good, all had excellent theming, nice facades, great soundtracks and full of actors. Obviously some were better than others, but all the houses were very strong and there was none that I thought were terrible.
Walking around the park in the day is completely different to walking around it at night, it just all comes out of no where. There are loads of really nice photo opportunities dotted around the park as well, with actors standing there and staff to take a photo for you. Have one of me and my Dad.

We left the park a few hours early, we got we wanted to do done multiple times as there was literally no queues. Busch are good with re-rides on the coasters as well which is nice.
Lots of actors at the exit when we left

Apologies all the photos are terrible but they were all taken on my phone and all turned out very bad at night.
Thanks for reading. Happy to do a trip report of Busch Gardens in the day, Universal halloween horror night, Islands of adventure, Studios, Sea World, Fun Spot if people are interested

I got back from a trip to Italy ab out 3 weeks ago. Personally, I think the trip could've been better. This was down to several reasons;
1. The people on it were eh
2. The people running it were rubbish
3. We were 20 minutes from Cinecitta world at one point AND WE DIDNT VIST WHY
buuuut it's sop picturesque I can't really complain too much
Anyway, here's a little collection of pictures and talk through my 5 day trip to Naples and Sorrento and Capri (no sun).
Day 1.
So we spent most of the day travelling but when we arrived in the evening a group of us (there were 40 people on this trip) decided to have a quick look round Sorrento's centre. There really isn't very much, but you get some nice views and architecture here and there.
(this was also a brilliant opportunity for me to get used to my new camera and see what it's like in the dark. The whole trip was basically a chance for me to play with it, as I was given the title 'officially official photographer of the trip guy')


You see right across the bay to Naples. Bare in mind it was very very dark, I couldn't even make out Vesuvius with my naked eye, so I sort of jumped when I saw the photo because it was like a ghost mountain.
Day 2.
Spent most of the day on the Amalfi coast, which is so stereotypiucally Italian you wouldn't believe it.

god h8s u lol



One thing very visible in Italy is the amount of stray pet animals you see. There were wild hot dog dogs. It was absolutely terrifying.


favorite shop of the whole trip tbh


One of the Michelangelo's crypt churches. It's pretty cool but unfortunately my lens was too small to take a picture of the entire structure so I had to take the photo through my friends phone XD
Day 3.
So today we visited Pompeii and Vesuvius. Again my camera's lens wasn't wide enough to take any good photos at the crater of Vesuvius, but yeah the Pompeii photos are alright.


It's not very clear from the pictures but it's mentally windy up at the top. It's a weird sensation, your head is absolutely freezing from the wind yet your feet are quite warm from the rocks.

There were some pretty fun rock formations at the top to take arty pictures with. Played around with the shadows and focus a lot up here; this one is probably my favourite.

After our traditional at every foreign country we go to we have to get a McDonald's at least once meal, we continued into Pompeii, where you're immediately greeted by a bunch of rock people who were caught in the blast, giving you a '15 minutes into Pompeii and chill and he give u dis look' glare.

The ruins were pretty cool to run around. I could see a themed area looking amazing with something like this at a big park like Universal, or maybe even Towers?




A couple cool facts: Pompeii was purposefully built in the shape of a fish, for strategic reasons. Whilst a lot of it is uncovered, archaeologists still reckon about 1/4 of it is under dirt, however after recent excurvations costed so much and actually caused damage to a lot of the artifacts, the excavations have stopped and the site is now being preserved. Also, the roman building technique of this entire city has a particular name which meant 'whatever' or, 'random', but I can't remember the name of the technique in Italian. But it's the reason for some of the structural collapses, and the reason why any of the buildings are prone to just falling over if they decide to.
day 4
We spent the whole day at the island of Capri. Really beautiful place, clearly the inspiration for some of the scenes in How to train your dragon.

probably my favourite picture of the trip. I borrowed someone else's lens for this, and oh my it's just so picturesque and look how blue the water is and the rocks are all so cute I want to hug them

clear httyd resemblance

and from above (with someone elses lens again)

18 people were sick on the boat trip around the island of Capri. I'm proud to say I was not, one of those 18.

Stray dogs everywhere!

Italy just does have the greatest ice cream.


Day 5.
The last day on our trip we were given 6 hours of free time to do whatever. Unfortunately from our hotel the nearest theme park was a 2 hour drive away and no one else wanted to give it a go.
I didn't take any pictures that day because I wasn't expecting to go anywhere particularly picturesque, but anyway, here's a couple from the evening pizza making thingy we did.




After pizza we did some bowling. I broke my all time high score of 27 and got 72!
Only those who went to Guildford know how much of an achievement that is for me.

Aaaaand then we congo lined all the way home.

Oh yes, and kinder bars. I lived off them for the week. You can buy pakcs of 48 for €7 so I was like buying 200 a day. They are great. Just yum.
Sorry for long non rolly toasty post, here's an Italian potato.

October is behind us, taking with it potentially the biggest time of the year for events all over the country! Each year I have slowly been doing more trips relating to Halloween events and this year was no different.
Like previously, it's great to start off at Tulleys on the first Saturday of the month. Tulleys is a great, well established Halloween event and really shows where you can end up from starting with selling pumpkins (this seems to be a recurring story, more on that later!). Providing 8 haunts, 4 of which were new, one changed and 3 well knowns remaining untouched. They have such a mix, Colony which uses length, suspense, darkness, exterior and interior, just about everything. Hayride which mixes comedy with fear, Hellements which tries to be unique but is just bad, Haunted House which is a classic. Then there's probably the best conga maze going, The Cellar. Volt was different, the circus good and Chop Shop okay. But they constantly change their line up with fresh, new ideas. No story feels the same, they're all unique each year.
Following week Thorpe's preview night arrived. Roll up roll up to an event that wasn't ready in time, filled with glitches and problems all over. It did get better over the week, Big Top was less of a flop, Containment a good concept just not a lot going for it especially at £10 a go, and the other mazes just felt repetitive with jump scares and screaming. I know people talk about cheap tactics, but Thorpe is one of the worst for this with simple tactics, no stories and rushed scenes. Big Top has so much potential, MBV is always a rush, Cabin is nice but can get old quite quick, BWP is the best improvement on park and Saw Alive was pretty good this year too (or maybe the others had got worse...) Either way, Thorpe needs a huge shake up next year for Fright Nights. It's a hugely successful event, they should boom with it, let it grow, go crazy! Not do the same old stuff. A maze with a really good unique story please next year.



Park is pretty though (or should I say Stealth is).

Was finally time for Scarefest!!!!! I'd been wanting to go here for a good 8 years but had never made it. And what a year I chose to go!
Sub Species is the highlight of the Halloween season for me and I'm sure it is for many others. It pushed the limits, many different tactics of scares, suspense, great length. It was just fab in every way! Park looked great as well, Nemesis in the dark was worth the 3 hour drive alone. Scare zones were cool, Ancestors great and the kids stuff looked pretty neat too.

Perfect

Great event! Especially considering what the park is going through.
Was time to round up the Merlin trio of Halloween events, Chessington and Howloween. Urm. Right, this event used to be great in every way, magical mazes, a brilliant park atmosphere. This year though, they might as well have just let the meerkats loose, that'd been scarier. Trick Or Treat wood is just dire. So surreal, but you don't come out laughing like some bad things, you come out thinking why. Just why. Maybe laughing at the fact people are doing it. Curse of Lost tomb was well, people hated on Krypt. You ain't seen nothing then. This was shockingly bad, story was building momentum and just died. We were told it'd be a 12 minute experience, 5 at most it was. Just oh. Chessington.

Best thing about the event, this projection in the hotel lobby.
It was time to end the Halloween season, ScareCon: Aftershock based at the Broadwitch Halloween event in Broadditch. The first half of the day was talks from other scare events such as Twisted Attractions and the Screamland team. Their events look great and are definitely on the hit list for next season. Also a few independent events that just take place over the half term week in one location with maybe a maze or two. Was quite cool as lots of these were just a small group of friends with a bit of spare money.
Broadwitch started like Tulleys, selling pumpkins! That's it kids, sell some pumpkins and in 7 or so years you'll have award winning mazes. They do an event in the day for kids with two little walkthroughs, a corn maze and a tractor ride. We got to go through them all which was fun and showed an often forgotten about side of the Halloween season. But then it was time for the bigger stuff. 5 mazes, Spooky Castle which is their first like the Haunted House at Tulleys, Thirteen, Massacre, Edge which is new for this year and the SCAR award winning Biometrix. We got to go through them all bar Biometrix without actors to have a nosey at them and the sets, and Spooky Castle and Thirteen were already great in this format. Then the show lighting came on and the actors unleashed.
Spooky Castle: Great maze with many many different rooms from this castle, lots of clever effects and smells.
The Edge: Based on vampires, set in shipping containers, it utilised its tiny footprint brilliantly and there were some good scares. Theming was topnotch.
Massacre: Set in the corn field, you are in the incestous hillbilly town or something. Pretty good, different from everything else.
Thirteen: Based on 13 fears, some are quite funny like walking under ladders, a dentist room, plane crash, dirty toilets. Definitely a different take on fears, and it had some good scares but was more action based than scare based I felt.
Biometrix: This maze is like Sub Species' test subject. Very physical, very different. Just brilliant and how touch mazes should be with larger groups. Not one of us was left out.
So Broadwitch is great, only niggle is the actors are very scripted making it hard to reride without it being repetitive. They struggle to improvise and interact as we found out. Other than that a great event and great way to end the scare season!

Some rides hit you right in the gut with their immediacy in impressing you. Over the years I've done countless rides and things like The Hollywood Hotel Tower of Terror or Katun will give that immediate buzz from the get go. From ride to ride, you come away with the immense feeling of doing something at the top of the tree. Some rides take a little longer; it's why I never judge a ride solely on the first go.
On this list are things like Rush, Thirteen and one that is rapidly becoming one of my favourite attractions, Space Mountain Mission 2 in Paris. I've heard all the criticisms and in some ways I understand them. It's rough, it needs new trains, it needs the old music back, the new theme isn't as good, it looks run down, half the effects don't work and so on. And yet when I'm next to the ride itself the smoke billowing and the loud roaring as a train leaves the cannon to embark on its Space mission, I get this warm fuzzy feeling inside. I feel like this is a ride geared to impress me, it wants to draw me in with it's giant cannon, it's Jules Verne furnishings, it's ride out of time look.

Lets talk about the ride first and foremost, ironically for me one of the least important parts of Space Mountain. I think it's great. Whilst the ride has never done well in enthusiast circles (It sits at 246 on the Mitch Hawker Poll for example), that original well paced layout punctuated by three inversions and a matching soundtrack runs rings around sister ride Rock N Rollercoaster next door. The proximity of new (or re-working effects maybe) such as the corkscrew through an asteroid storm or the way the first inversion takes a long time of winding through the building before hitting you is a great piece of coaster design. The lift hill towards the super-nova always messes with me, at first I couldn't work out what was happening and I'm not exactly a rookie enthusiast. The final inversion, well I still couldn't put a name to what it is without checking rcdb. So really, what I'm trying to say is that even though it has a fair bit of bite to it, this is a ride I would love to ride again and again. Unlike many, I don't find the ride particularly rough. That being said, I also rather enjoyed Goudurix....
My only criticism of this rollercoaster is the horrid jolt as you sit on the launch track. I've never enjoyed the backwards motion as you engage with the launch drive. The massive slow down at the top of the building is also a slight pace killer although thankfully it's almost forgotten the moment you descend into 'space.'

In the time since I first rode this attraction, it has gone through a lot of changes. It currently sits in the middle of a massive refurbishment plan. All the signage and the ride building has all been cleaned up and a lot of ride effects such as the smoke that billows from the cannon or the meteorite strikes are now thankfully working. Its heavy rumoured that during its next refurb next year that the old Jules Verne story plot line shall return. I'm not sure how I feel about this as I never got a chance to ride the older version. I do wonder if it will be a step backwards or if perhaps a happy home between the two themes could work. A mission 3 perhaps. Suffice to say the addition of new trains would be a welcome change to the ride. People do have complaints with the restraint system (although not something I take issue with) and if it was to make a smoother experience I'm all for it.

And finally, the ride theme itself. I think it's genius and puts it a step above its American and Asian equivalents. Before any complaints come in, I've not had a chance to ride Japan and Hong Kong but I'm talking purely form ride building perspective. Paris's version is pure steam punk glam. The glistening blues and golds of the ride structure is as aesthetically pleasing as it is original. And the Colombiard cannon is fantastic. I'll take points away from it because of the lack of a recoil but everything else makes this in my personal opinion, one of Disney's greatest triumphs. Overtime a track launches and the mechanical sound sounds of the cannon preparing to fire starts up, I stop and listen. Along with the on/off steam effects it really creates something special in Discoveryland.
It's easy to become jaded about these things, after all it's a twenty year old ride and whilst Disney has created bigger and better things (Radiator Springs and Expedition Everest I'm looking at you), there is no doubt in my mind that Space Mountain is one of my favourite attractions in Europe. And that is something I never thought I'd say two years ago.

Although we were at Efteling for 2 days and the evening of Baron's opening I didn't take that many photos of the park. And of Bobbejaanland I took like 5 in total, so this report will have a Bob ending. Random fact, the name works because Efteling has a ride called Bob.

We arrived at the village, checked in a walked to the park for one reason. It was 7pm, park closed at 8. Let's ride Baron I guess.

First impressions, it is gorgeous. It's not a ride, it's a piece of architectural art! It looks great.

Was kinda expecting it to look a bit bigger though, but I was open minded to the mini dive machine

Unsurprisingly it had a queue of 60 minutes (as we waited for front too which was nice, they let everyone in that queue ride in that row although trains were going out with just one row being used towards the end)

It was very slow moving. They hadn't quite grasped 3 train op on it so the next two days only ran 2.

But it was pretty

Nearly there! The whole queue is outside with inside all being preshows.

Was alright. Story and experience great, ride just missed some punch.

Detail was ridiculous

Bird invading my photos.

That night we went into Kaatshuvel, nothing was open bar one very nice kebab shop. After we went to the Efteling Hotel because their bar was still open. The guy in there was great and it looked like a nice hotel! We were in the village though, quite a walk but nothing bad.

Next morning we went on the pagoda thing.

Lovely area

Coaster central

I really liked this. Simple yet clever

Vogel Rock entrance, great little indoor coaster with effects and fab music

This show with a huge animatronic!

Lunch at an amazing pancake place! Also had amazing profiteroles!

More dragons

Very rude to keep yawning though.

This is the worlds largest pirate ship. Doesn't matter though, I've done Europes largest the day before so didn't see the need.

Flying Dutchman <3 was really surprised by this ride!

Sploosh

More Baron

Wood

And a bigger fountain show!

So much water

Baron told us we were running late the following morning, especially after Peaj left Bucky in the room and we'd checked out.

It's all I took photos of really

This was the village entrance. Went back after our final day for dinner

Josh loves napkins.
So that night we went to the last hotel place. Had a free breakfast in the morning which was a cheese, meat and bread platter. Better than nothing!

Rode this not so good ride

Was just dragged out after the first loop

Looks a mess too

And here is broken Kong who found Bucky. Wish I'd taken more photos at Bob now as it would have made such a good sarcastic report. Possibly the oddest park I've been too... Oh well, that concludes Belgerand for me. Next up I've no idea, Wales

For a park to stand out to me it has to be really special. Not many parks do that successfully, give such a great balance of fun, imersiveness, magic etc. But Phantasialand is right up there for me with the great parks of Florida (probably my 2nd or 3rd favourite park I've been too). My only tiny complaint, there didn't seem to be a like big impact entrance. But that might just be they only have one and it's at the Berlin park entrance, not the mystery one (so many entrances and car parks).

Not a bad thing to have at the entrance though (this was the only thing we saw over the trees driving to the park)

Crazy rapids!

It's just such a lovely park! Nothing opened at 9 that we saw so we did a bit of wandering and it's so beautiful. This is a madhouse. Yep.

The Berlin street (with a brilliant funhouse in it!)

Was now 9:30 so we went to our first ride, Maus Au Chocolat! And it's amazing!!!! Same system as Midway Mania and just so much fun!!! Highlight of the trip by far!

Not knowing how busy it was going to be on park (8pm close and lovely weather) we did Chiapas.

You don't get soaking wet, or really that wet at all but it's a sublime ride!

Boat travelling the station.

Hidden away in this area is Talocan. A really forceful topspin with brilliant effects, music. It was like a show to watch

So much fire!!!

We headed back through Berlin past this really cool looking chairswing!

Simple but so effective!

To find a hidden boat ride Hollywood Tour with Hitchcock.

Could tell it was old but was still great with all the different sets. This is Amity.

Kong

Can't remember

There's also a coaster up there called Temple of The Nighthawk. All enclosed, quite good but is a bit dragged out.

Now was to try Winjas

Now I won't spoil it but when riding it you think they're quite modern spinners with what they do. Surprisingly they open in 2002.

Fury and Spinball could have been special

Wooosh

They had one of these. We did the one at Plopsa and got the dirtiest looks ever. Plus they're not that good so no thanks.

Josh didn't want to walk under the bridge in the maze because it might get him wet.

There was also an interesting splash battle. Might have been good if the effects worked but yeah. No. It was at the back of the park hidden away, I can forgive them like it almost wasn't real...

It was time for the hyped up ride of okayness.

It looks great with its surroundings. And you can't work out the layout one bit.

But yeah. Even Jack points at it as a "oh I wanted that little bit more"

Definitely not a bad ride. Not at all. Just overhyped

So we had some Currywurst and watched a man through some ming vases around.

Was time for Mystery

With rapids

The drops are ridiculous. If you're unlucky in your seating you get soaked.

Again this looked amazing. Like sooo good!

It's the only imposing thing on park

It was just quite disappointing. Although we've now heard it has two settings and we caught the naf one.

Having done the park we hit up some rerides. Jack and Peaj did Talocan again so me and Josh watched the show

Bucky also enjoyed the show, shame it set his ears on fire

Yes, lower Peaj and Jack into the fire

We made sure we caught this.

So I've now seen the show in English with no effects and German with effects. Wish I'd just seen it at Thorpe jeez

I really like this ride sign! It's subtle, works with the theme and you get a great view of the ride in it!

We went and watched the ice skating show which was pretty good. Was nice to be able to see shows at a park, added a lot more to the day than just rides.

Their mine ride

Again very good. I liked here how everything interacted with something else basically.

More B&M

More Jack

Pretty

Woosh

Lovely view of China

And here is the cake we saved from those mice on Maus Au Chocolat!
This is the only park from the trip I really want to visit again. Was my favourite day, and the 11 hours were so easy to fill, we didn't even do that many rerides. We thought it would be our longest day, nope. Join me next time where we go to Toverland, and then dash off to Efteling to hit up Baron on its opening day

For a park to stand out to me it has to be really special. Not many parks do that successfully, give such a great balance of fun, imersiveness, magic etc. But Phantasialand is right up there for me with the great parks of Florida (probably my 2nd or 3rd favourite park I've been too). My only tiny complaint, there didn't seem to be a like big impact entrance. But that might just be they only have one and it's at the Berlin park entrance, not the mystery one (so many entrances and car parks).

Not a bad thing to have at the entrance though (this was the only thing we saw over the trees driving to the park)

Crazy rapids!

It's just such a lovely park! Nothing opened at 9 that we saw so we did a bit of wandering and it's so beautiful. This is a madhouse. Yep.

The Berlin street (with a brilliant funhouse in it!)

Was now 9:30 so we went to our first ride, Maus Au Chocolat! And it's amazing!!!! Same system as Midway Mania and just so much fun!!! Highlight of the trip by far!

Not knowing how busy it was going to be on park (8pm close and lovely weather) we did Chiapas.

You don't get soaking wet, or really that wet at all but it's a sublime ride!

Boat travelling the station.

Hidden away in this area is Talocan. A really forceful topspin with brilliant effects, music. It was like a show to watch

So much fire!!!

We headed back through Berlin past this really cool looking chairswing!

Simple but so effective!

To find a hidden boat ride Hollywood Tour with Hitchcock.

Could tell it was old but was still great with all the different sets. This is Amity.

Kong

Can't remember

There's also a coaster up there called Temple of The Nighthawk. All enclosed, quite good but is a bit dragged out.

Now was to try Winjas

Now I won't spoil it but when riding it you think they're quite modern spinners with what they do. Surprisingly they open in 2002.

Fury and Spinball could have been special

Wooosh

They had one of these. We did the one at Plopsa and got the dirtiest looks ever. Plus they're not that good so no thanks.

Josh didn't want to walk under the bridge in the maze because it might get him wet.

There was also an interesting splash battle. Might have been good if the effects worked but yeah. No. It was at the back of the park hidden away, I can forgive them like it almost wasn't real...

It was time for the hyped up ride of okayness.

It looks great with its surroundings. And you can't work out the layout one bit.

But yeah. Even Jack points at it as a "oh I wanted that little bit more"

Definitely not a bad ride. Not at all. Just overhyped

So we had some Currywurst and watched a man through some ming vases around.

Was time for Mystery

With rapids

The drops are ridiculous. If you're unlucky in your seating you get soaked.

Again this looked amazing. Like sooo good!

It's the only imposing thing on park

It was just quite disappointing. Although we've now heard it has two settings and we caught the naf one.

Having done the park we hit up some rerides. Jack and Peaj did Talocan again so me and Josh watched the show

Bucky also enjoyed the show, shame it set his ears on fire

Yes, lower Peaj and Jack into the fire

We made sure we caught this.

So I've now seen the show in English with no effects and German with effects. Wish I'd just seen it at Thorpe jeez

I really like this ride sign! It's subtle, works with the theme and you get a great view of the ride in it!

We went and watched the ice skating show which was pretty good. Was nice to be able to see shows at a park, added a lot more to the day than just rides.

Their mine ride

Again very good. I liked here how everything interacted with something else basically.

More B&M

More Jack

Pretty

Woosh

Lovely view of China

And here is the cake we saved from those mice on Maus Au Chocolat!
This is the only park from the trip I really want to visit again. Was my favourite day, and the 11 hours were so easy to fill, we didn't even do that many rerides. We thought it would be our longest day, nope. Join me next time where we go to Toverland, and then dash off to Efteling to hit up Baron on its opening day

For a park to stand out to me it has to be really special. Not many parks do that successfully, give such a great balance of fun, imersiveness, magic etc. But Phantasialand is right up there for me with the great parks of Florida (probably my 2nd or 3rd favourite park I've been too). My only tiny complaint, there didn't seem to be a like big impact entrance. But that might just be they only have one and it's at the Berlin park entrance, not the mystery one (so many entrances and car parks).

Not a bad thing to have at the entrance though (this was the only thing we saw over the trees driving to the park)

Crazy rapids!

It's just such a lovely park! Nothing opened at 9 that we saw so we did a bit of wandering and it's so beautiful. This is a madhouse. Yep.

The Berlin street (with a brilliant funhouse in it!)

Was now 9:30 so we went to our first ride, Maus Au Chocolat! And it's amazing!!!! Same system as Midway Mania and just so much fun!!! Highlight of the trip by far!

Not knowing how busy it was going to be on park (8pm close and lovely weather) we did Chiapas.

You don't get soaking wet, or really that wet at all but it's a sublime ride!

Boat travelling the station.

Hidden away in this area is Talocan. A really forceful topspin with brilliant effects, music. It was like a show to watch

So much fire!!!

We headed back through Berlin past this really cool looking chairswing!

Simple but so effective!

To find a hidden boat ride Hollywood Tour with Hitchcock.

Could tell it was old but was still great with all the different sets. This is Amity.

Kong

Can't remember

There's also a coaster up there called Temple of The Nighthawk. All enclosed, quite good but is a bit dragged out.

Now was to try Winjas

Now I won't spoil it but when riding it you think they're quite modern spinners with what they do. Surprisingly they open in 2002.

Fury and Spinball could have been special

Wooosh

They had one of these. We did the one at Plopsa and got the dirtiest looks ever. Plus they're not that good so no thanks.

Josh didn't want to walk under the bridge in the maze because it might get him wet.

There was also an interesting splash battle. Might have been good if the effects worked but yeah. No. It was at the back of the park hidden away, I can forgive them like it almost wasn't real...

It was time for the hyped up ride of okayness.

It looks great with its surroundings. And you can't work out the layout one bit.

But yeah. Even Jack points at it as a "oh I wanted that little bit more"

Definitely not a bad ride. Not at all. Just overhyped

So we had some Currywurst and watched a man through some ming vases around.

Was time for Mystery

With rapids

The drops are ridiculous. If you're unlucky in your seating you get soaked.

Again this looked amazing. Like sooo good!

It's the only imposing thing on park

It was just quite disappointing. Although we've now heard it has two settings and we caught the naf one.

Having done the park we hit up some rerides. Jack and Peaj did Talocan again so me and Josh watched the show

Bucky also enjoyed the show, shame it set his ears on fire

Yes, lower Peaj and Jack into the fire

We made sure we caught this.

So I've now seen the show in English with no effects and German with effects. Wish I'd just seen it at Thorpe jeez

I really like this ride sign! It's subtle, works with the theme and you get a great view of the ride in it!

We went and watched the ice skating show which was pretty good. Was nice to be able to see shows at a park, added a lot more to the day than just rides.

Their mine ride

Again very good. I liked here how everything interacted with something else basically.

More B&M

More Jack

Pretty

Woosh

Lovely view of China

And here is the cake we saved from those mice on Maus Au Chocolat!
This is the only park from the trip I really want to visit again. Was my favourite day, and the 11 hours were so easy to fill, we didn't even do that many rerides. We thought it would be our longest day, nope. Join me next time where we go to Toverland, and then dash off to Efteling to hit up Baron on its opening day

Welcome to the park down a road behind some houses on some grass where we parked next to a tree. Look who's in Jack's bag!

No temple not open yet.

Jack is unimpressed by lack of temple.

Correction- the temple thing that's now a mine shaft is open!

Correction- it's an awesome tomb!

See the awesomeness.

Temple of awesome mineshaft tomb with broken on board audio.

Well I'm glad I tried one.

Really doesn't feel like you tilt much at all on ride.

The excitement!

Look at the fun!

the lion mascot, called Lion approves (although he approves of most things...)

Shocked face!

Probably what we all pulled when we saw this coming.

Must be a shocking life

The local enjoyed it!

He was coughing spreading his Europeness... ewwww.

Oh no.

Aww

Tigers are the best.

The elephants laughed in disagreement.

The Lion probably approves of this, they said it was magic, I think there was a wild animal in their once.

called Houdini. They say he's dead, I don't think he is.

There's Houdini! A real wild one!

"Just you wait till you get round here..."

"We'll move here so you still don't get too close"

Houdini magiced us away to Niagra Falls.

A water ride, of dryness. Seriously, are Europeans afraid of water?

These guys weren't afraid! But they might be imported.

Fire.

This Leopard disapproved of the non natives.

So we went to India to ride the traditional rapids you find there.

The holiday in Mexico had ended when we got back though.

Temple must have taken them. Oh well time for 2.5 hours of driving that should've taken one! Thanks you accident prone natives in your cars!

Toot toot Brussels!

Very nice place

I'd play where's Wally... but it's too hard.

Nice surprise.

Nom nom! Dunno why but people love going to a restaurant to eat guitars.

Till next time where we get stuck in more Brussels traffic!

Much like a year of Britain, A Year of Europe looks to expand upon its predecessor by including some European parks (of which I already have gained 7). Aim is to end this around this time next year to start a further, worldwide one (one can dream). So, my first European park outside of DLP when I was 15, Plopsaland.

It was an early morning when we left Dover (5:15am).

To arrive before 9am at a park that opens at 10. Notice the oversized door, yeah we didn't understand why everything was so large until the end of the day.

What do you do when you're early? Go for a mile walk. They have horses in Europe (must be near a Findus factory)

Something the others had never seen were the war cemeteries they have. They are astonishing in size, and Belgium is littered in them.

R.I.P.

Just down the road though it was a birthday. My 15th birthday cake wasn't that big

Lovely entrance area.

Like stunning

European trees.

Apparently this is a ride station!

And this is a queue line

I thought we were invading a house and the owners were going to kick us out.

See, have something protecting your house Anubis! Dragons are the way.

Didn't work though, we still made it in.

Lights were cool too!

Zomg it's like home!

Well half like it.

There was a pedal thing.

A Vekoma Roller Skater called... Roller Skater!

With an oversized washing machine. From a dark ride on a boat we learnt that the Plops (a race of things) are very small people. Fair enough, why buy an already oversized machine? That will surely kill them.

More random house invasions!

Not even a mat for us to wipe our feet on.

Pirate boat of forever. Like a 5 minute cycle.

You could honestly race the boat from this splashing down to returning to the station with the pirate boat. Both took ages.

Start your watches.

Swan boats are faster.

It's a big lake though. Jack and Josh are awful drivers.

This duck agrees.

Time for the Mack watersplashofdrynessthatgoesbackwardsunderawobblybridge.





Sploosh.

So this has a height restriction of 1.2 or 1.3 can't remember. Still, I'm pretty sure the Plops are smaller than that. Can't even ride a ride in their homeland.

Luckily we could, was a very good ride.

yay land of bees.

Was all a bit overgrown if you ask me.


This was good fun though!

This was from the Plops water ride thing. I had no idea what was going on.

Oh look a nicely themed hill.

Wouldn't have even known the Disko was broken, can't even see it.

Minus that... shhhh

Splash battle! Was very welcome with the weather. Again though, the Plops so would not be able to reach the guns.

So Plopsaland, a very nice park, just feel bad for the natives. Might have even stood on one accidentally if they're that small.

Au Revoir Plopsaland, till next year with your GCI (just think about the height restriction yeah?)
And off to Hotel Joly we went (yeah, wasn't Jolly like we were hoping...)

So, as some on here might be aware, myself, scarycoasterboy (Adam), J.S217 (Jack) and Peaj did a bit of a European road trip at the end of last month / beginning of this month. 8 days, 7 parks, 3 countries - it was a big'un. Parks we visited were...
Plopsaland de Panne (27th June)
Bellewaerde (28th)
Walibi Belgium (29th)
Phantasialand (30th)
Toverland (1st July)
Efteling (1st-3rd)
Bobbejaanland (4th)
As we were visiting Belgium, Germany and Holland, we squished the three countries together to get the working title of 'BelGerAnd' for the name of the trip. Unfortunately, that terrible attempt just sort of stuck (much like Stealth's project name ey?). So that explains that.
(PS: Any feedback on the style of this would be great. I do plan on writing up reports from all the parks, so would be nice to do it in a way that people would want to read it!)
Anyway, enough set up, let's get down to TR-ing...
An early start beckoned us - leaving to get the 5:15 ferry from Dover. Naturally, this meant we arrived at Plopsaland - a realtively short drive from Calais - ridiculously before the 10am opening...

The entrance area looks very nice.
We wandered around the local area to pass the time, and about a 5 minute walk away, we found a Belgian War Memorial. It was somewhat surprising to realise that a theme park was so close to a place like. We had a wander around and it really hits home...

With our respects paid, we ventured off to the world of Plopsa. First up was the coaster I was most looking forward to off the day, Anubis.
It's the first launched Gerstlauer I've done, and indeed the first rolling launch I've done. I was looking forward to it, after hearing many good reviews. After a near walk-on through the nicely themed queue, we were on. Simply put, the ride is fab - the launch is great fun, and then the ride that follows mixes pops of airtime, inversions and bits of force nicely together. I found going up the initial hill quite intense too. The ride flows really well and it's very smooth too. It's a little on the short side and lacks any substantial outdoor theming, but at the same time, it doesn't leave you feeling short changed. All in all, a great ride that is really enjoyable.

A somewhat understated entrance.


Couple of ride shots.
We then moved over to Rollerskater, one of the park's family coasters. This immediately caught my eye for one reason - the random theming. From a giant washing machine, bird in a cage to a turtle on a plate, the ride seemed a bit wacky. The coaster itself is fun, but the random bits of theming just make it a right laugh.

Lift hill

The infamous washing machine

Station building
We then ticked off another cred, by doing their powered coaster, De Draak. It's got an extravagantly themed queue line, but it also has a long layout that interacts nicely with the surroundings. Picks up some decent speed and it's nice that it goes round twice too.

De Station.
With temperatures soaring, we decided to cool down on De Boomstammetjes, the park's log flume. It was okay, had a nice double drop finale, but didn't get you wet enough really. By now we had realised something a bit odd - the park itself felt very very busy, but the queues themselves didn't really reflect that. Not sure if that's the norm for Plopsaland given their target market or not, but we weren't really going to complain, as it gave a nice atmosphere to the park, but meant we could try out all that the park had to offer.
With this in mind, we did a few of the filler rides, including Waterfietsen; some pedal swan boats. Was a very nice tour round the lake, though have to admit my legs were aching after a while! Two filler rides that we didn't get done during this little period, however, were their Teacups, which is still being given its awesome-looking retheme, and Rox-Flyer, their Star Flyer. Ah well.

Two rides of spite.
With some flat rides done and lunch out of the way, we moved over to Supersplash, the 'water coaster' which anyone would have a hard time calling a 'coaster'. It was probably our longest queue for the day, at about 20-25 minutes - quite nice that it was indoors too! Following an interesting lift sequence, the ride does a drop underneath a bridge, before coming back up and then giving a nice-looking splash and then meandering back to the station. The lift sequence is nice, but lacking anything substantial really. The drop I found a bit rough in all honesty, but the splash was nice - not wet of course, but was refreshing. I'm a bit unsure on it as an attraction - it takes ideas from a couple of different rides, but doesn't really do anything with them. A bit of a shame.


A shame I didn't get a shot with a boat in really.
We then planned to tick off the two remaining creds on park - Vleermius, the random suspended coaster, and Viktor's Race, the park's kiddie coaster. Unfortunately, it became apparent that Vleermius would spite us - it was closed with no obvious work being done to it. Shame, as it's something I did want to try out, but I'm sure I'll get to try something like it in the future. Viktor's Race, however, was open. Nothing really to say about it, merely one done for the coaster count.

Neither ride was very photo-worthy for me, it would seem.
More wondering round the park was done afterwards, and getting in some rerides along the way. We were planning on heading over the to Wickieland to try out the Disk-o and splash battle over their, but noticed the Disk-o was closed due to it stalling, so we decided to leave that area till later. Instead, we worked our way over to the indoor area Maya Land, near the front of the park.
It's a great area for kids with some fabulous looking rides. The one that caught my attention the most though was De Waterlelies, a Zamperla Demolition Derby. After not getting on the one at Drayton for the past two years, this simply had to be done. Certainly a fun little ride, though it does sort of feel like it drags on a bit towards the end. We also did the slide in Maya Land before leaving to explore the rest of the park once again.

Spinning waterlilies <3
After a couple more rides on Anubis, we then headed over to Het Bos van Plop, an indoor boat ride. I really enjoyed it to be honest, the theming was lovely, the music was catchy and it was just a nice way to relax. Such a simple ride executed so well. We then did the train ride around the park before heading over to Wickieland again...

The Disk-o was still closed, but the car had been bought back to the station-area at least. Instead, we decided to the splash battle - Wickie The Battle. It was very nicely themed, a good length and got you to a good level of wet. Great water ride all in all!

With park close nearing, we dashed over to Supersplash for one more ride (majority vote over-ruled me unfortunately!). We then stayed in the park for a bit longer, looking around the entrance and such, before hitting the road. An hour-or-so drive later, we arrived at our French hotel, and after realising the hotel owners were out for the night and eventually being given our keys by other guests, we were finally in. A quick McDonald's and some French TV bought an end to our first - and fortunately longest - day!
Final Thoughts: I really enjoyed Plopsaland. It's a fab little park, with some nice little gems and great theming. The addition of a woodie next year is definitely music to my ears - one more family thrill coaster would complete the park's line up I think. It's certainly a park I want to go back to soon, and the proximity to me is a bonus!

Today celebrates the 25th anniversary of Universal Studios Florida (and in essence the entire Orlando Resort but more on that later). Instead of revising for my exams I've decided to share how the park has fallen, picked itself up hugely and become a real competitor to Disney.
It started nearly 35 years ago with the idea of Universal building a theme park on the East Coast coming into managers minds in 1981. It was a big move, Hollywood was already in place as a working studios with the studio tour built to it and the theme park slowly around it. This time, Universal would have to build from the ground up! With Disney and SeaWorld in place in Orlando and doing well, it was decided the park would be built in Orlando and the original piece of land they wanted is what they have today. When Disney were looking at building in Florida, they had also looked at this plot of land (a section between the I4 and Florida Turnpike) but decided there wasn't enough land available, but Universal were happy with the size.
During development between 1982 and 86, the park sought for other investors to help remove the risk. One company they approached was Paramount Studios (oh the irony of that today) and Eisner who was one of the executives at the time. He didn't take up the project but he sure did remember what he saw. Later in 1984, Michael Eisner became CEO of Disney and knew what Universal were up to. Disney had already been looking at a studios styled theme park but now plans were hurried along. In 1986, land clearing of the swamp land Universal purchased began and in 87 the park is announce with a proposed opening of December 1989. Although Universal had a years head start, MGM Studios (now Disney's Hollywood Studios) opened a whole year and a month earlier on May 1st 1989. Why? Disney has there own planning area/council that gives out building zone permits etc, the Reedy Creek Improvement District (basically why Disney can build what they want whenever).
It seemed Disney had the upper hand, but Universal now knew that Disney were rushing through a studios park with the main component supposed to be a studio tour (which is originally what USF was going to utilise). Universal decided to rethink its move, and instead of making the studio tour the main aspect, it looked to the Hollywood tour for inspiration. On that, you go through Amity where Jaws makes an appearance to attack your tram. Universal therefore decided to use this one aspect and build the boat tours through the village of Amity giving Jaws its own ride. Working closely alongside Spielberg, the E.T ride was developed and Kongfrontation. All of these were going to push the boat out with ride technology and thrills. Spielberg also wanted a Back to The Future Ride which began development. In 1988 the park delays their opening date till 1st May 1990 and in 1989 MGM Studios open whilst Universal claim Disney and Eisner stole many of the concepts they originally created.

Original entrance
Now 1990, and at the end of January the opening date of USF is once again pushed back, this time to 7th June 1990. Soft openings did begin in late May but all the main attractions were still undergoing testing and fixing glitches. 7th June arrives, but the park is filled with technical glitches everywhere! Jaws, Kongfrontation and Earthquake all struggle so much so the park begins to give out vouchers entitling guests to a free visit when the attraction are finally operational.

One of the first park maps (late 1990 early 1991)
Jaws didn't feature on this map however, because the ride was fundamentally flawed technically. So much so, on 30th September 1990 Universal close the ride to fix it up. They sue the original company (Ride & Show Engineering) and get Totally Fun Company to completely redesign and create the ride basically from the scratch. In 1993 Jaws reopens and in the two years closed, Back To the Future, The Blues Brothers Show and Fright Nights (which was renamed Halloween Horror Nights) began in the park. With the park finally finding ground and critics admiring the highly advanced rides (that were now working) the park announces it expansion into a resort complex with a second park to be built.
Before that let's take a look at a ride that is renowned and one I wish I had ridden, Kongfrontation! Based on the 1976 film and King Kong Encounter segment on the Hollywood Tour (which burnt down in 2008 to be replaced by King Kong 360) it was about escaping the Manhattan Island in these aerial trams as Kong is rampaging the city. Like many of the elder Universal rides, it relied on spieling as well as physical sets/effects to portray the story. I've heard from people who rode it that it was a brilliant experience, especially for its time when it opened and that the "Banana Breathe" King Kong animatronic was truly something!

It was designed by Totally Fun Company who re did Jaws, and manufactured by Arrow Dynamics. Sadly, it only lasted 12 years before it was replaced with The Mummy. http://www.themeparktourist.com/features/20141225/29776/5-things-you-never-knew-about-kongfrontation-universal-orlandoBrilliant article here on Kongfrontation and some secrets. Truly remarkable that Kong entered the ride car envelope which on most rides would cause an e-stop.

Universal Studios in 1990 (the car park in the forefront of the photo is now IOA)
Many of the parks original attractions now don't exist (only E.T, The Horror Make Up Show and A Lucy Tribute remain from 1990). Something I found out was the studio tour the park once had that went through the studios in use and the Nickleodeon Studios that were on the site that upon exiting the ride you went through the Universal Studios Store which still exists today in the same place!
With IoA moving ahead (although construction which was meant to start in 1995 started two years late in 97) Universal continued to open new attractions, such as Terminator2: 3D, Twister and A day in the park with Barney (all of which remain today). More attractions were built up to 1998 like Woody Woodpecker, Kidzone and Men In Black along with the IoA preview centre by Kongfrontation. In 98, Disney also opened Animal Kingdom, once again the two giants were battling each other head on.
May 28th 1999, Islands Of Adventures opens to the park with many new technologically advanced rides. At the same time, CityWalk, a replica of the restaurant district at Hollywood, and the first hotel opened making Universal a resort. Marketed as Universal Studios Escape attendance didn't rise as they had hoped. This was largely put down to people thinking Islands Of Adventure was just a new area of the Studios park, not a whole new park on its own! Disney are said to have had E-Ticket attractions ready and lined up for each of its parks in case Universal's attendance boomed but it's impact was non existent to Disney so these were cancelled. Beastly Kingdom was the planned one for Animal Kingdom but instead we got Camp Minnie and Mickey (soon to become Avatar... maybe Disney are battling Universal ride on ride, land on land).
In 2002 the Resort is renamed to Universal Orlando Resort and Kongfrontation is closed. For the next 7 or so years the parks direction was often slashed by enthusiasts as investors didn't seem to do much that was new and exciting. Island's had NO major new attraction invested in until 2010 and Universal just replaced outdated attractions with modern overlays. The Mummy replaces Kong in 2004 and is a sublime coaster with brilliant effects (although it does stick out a bit). Disaster overlays Earthquake in early 2008 which doesn't go down to well, nor does the closing of the classic Back to the Future ride to replace it with a Simpsons simulator (which when it opened stuck out like a sore thumb). The following year the park opens Rip Ride Rokit. The public enjoy the coasters, as do I, but its structure is an eyesore and it feels cheap (especially with all the problems it had and still has). It doesn't seem to fit in with the park one bit. Whilst all this is going on though, Island's have announced they're building a castle, a special Hogwarts castle! And in the background, Comcast is buying shares of NBC Universal from GE. And in 2010, the Universal that operates today with its non stop investing began.

Sure was popular
Wizardirng World Of Harry Potter opened to the public and was a huge success! Islands attendance increases from 5.2 million in 2008 to 7.6 million in 2011 which was the first time the Studios park was surpassed by Islands (and Islands remained ahead for 2012 and 13). With the Comcast agreement battling on as they seek to buy out all the shares from GE, Studios announces the closure of Jaws at the end of 2011, Despicable Me opens in 2012 and Transformers in 2013. The park then announces its main plans, Diagon Alley on the old Jaws site with the Hogwarts Express to link the two parks for summer 2014. Springfield is also announced which makes the Simpsons ride fit in much more into an area instead of just being a ride.
2014 arrives and Diagon Alley opens on July 18th in an attempt to put Studios ahead of Islands once more. By now, Comcast have 100% of the shares in NBC Universal and are investing left right and centre with a Springfield in Hollywood, Harry Potter in Japan and one in Hollywood for 2016. Diagon Alley is well received with its further immersion and realism to the films. Crowds flood to the park applying serious pressure to the star attraction (Gringotts) which opens on a reduced capacity and regular break downs.

The queue times achieved make news globally. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2686145/Hope-brought-book-Harry-Potter-fans-wait-line-SEVEN-HOURS-new-theme-park-ride.html
The 2014 TEA Theme Index report thing shows how Universal is booming evermore! Studios Orlando saw a 17% increase to 8.26 million causing it surpass IoA once again which is at 8.14 million (still nearly double the parks figuer of 4.27 million in 2009). The other Universal parks are growing well too though, with Hollywood having a 11% increase and soon a Potterworld of its own, and Japan's Potterworld opened last year giving the park a 16.8% increase to 11.8 million, making it the 5th most visited park in the world and jumping the 3 Floridian Disney parks that aren't Magic Kingdom. Comcast's persistence in investing may seem risky, but it sure is paying off majorly at the moment and why stop when figures are growing massively every year.
Universal is starting a theme park revolution. It is going all out on an immersive experience write down to what you eat and drink. The battle is on between Universal and Disney with both parks continually announcing expansions and the next best thing! Disney open Frozen next year to Universal's Kong. Disney open Pandora to Universal's amazing new waterpark Volcano Bay.
The Comcast era of Universal is one to enjoy. The company themselves say they'll invest in one major new attraction at each site every year for the next five years at least. With Kong opening next year, Volcano Bay in 2017 and potential rethemes of Twister or Disaster in that time as well, rumours are the Studios next big investment will be a further Potter expansion to replace Fear Factor Live. Although the Unviersal Parks division makes up a tiny amount of Comcast's profits, the company are happy to keep taking risks and invest big in an attempt to fight Disney. Will they ever win, no. But it's sure fun to watch and even better for new ride technologies as both chains plough money into developing the latest thing.
"Theme parks, I think, when we first showed up, were something that came with the rest of the company, now they're right at the core of what we're all about and we think provide a tremendous growth opportunity."- Steve Burk, CEO of the NBCUniversal division of comcast at Comcast's 2015 analyst report
So 25 years on from a park opening to take on Disney head to head on what was a swamp, the companies are finally clashing big time and the results are glorious! To the next 25 years!

Today celebrates the 25th anniversary of Universal Studios Florida (and in essence the entire Orlando Resort but more on that later). Instead of revising for my exams I've decided to share how the park has fallen, picked itself up hugely and become a real competitor to Disney.
It started nearly 35 years ago with the idea of Universal building a theme park on the East Coast coming into managers minds in 1981. It was a big move, Hollywood was already in place as a working studios with the studio tour built to it and the theme park slowly around it. This time, Universal would have to build from the ground up! With Disney and SeaWorld in place in Orlando and doing well, it was decided the park would be built in Orlando and the original piece of land they wanted is what they have today. When Disney were looking at building in Florida, they had also looked at this plot of land (a section between the I4 and Florida Turnpike) but decided there wasn't enough land available, but Universal were happy with the size.
During development between 1982 and 86, the park sought for other investors to help remove the risk. One company they approached was Paramount Studios (oh the irony of that today) and Eisner who was one of the executives at the time. He didn't take up the project but he sure did remember what he saw. Later in 1984, Michael Eisner became CEO of Disney and knew what Universal were up to. Disney had already been looking at a studios styled theme park but now plans were hurried along. In 1986, land clearing of the swamp land Universal purchased began and in 87 the park is announce with a proposed opening of December 1989. Although Universal had a years head start, MGM Studios (now Disney's Hollywood Studios) opened a whole year and a month earlier on May 1st 1989. Why? Disney has there own planning area/council that gives out building zone permits etc, the Reedy Creek Improvement District (basically why Disney can build what they want whenever).
It seemed Disney had the upper hand, but Universal now knew that Disney were rushing through a studios park with the main component supposed to be a studio tour (which is originally what USF was going to utilise). Universal decided to rethink its move, and instead of making the studio tour the main aspect, it looked to the Hollywood tour for inspiration. On that, you go through Amity where Jaws makes an appearance to attack your tram. Universal therefore decided to use this one aspect and build the boat tours through the village of Amity giving Jaws its own ride. Working closely alongside Spielberg, the E.T ride was developed and Kongfrontation. All of these were going to push the boat out with ride technology and thrills. Spielberg also wanted a Back to The Future Ride which began development. In 1988 the park delays their opening date till 1st May 1990 and in 1989 MGM Studios open whilst Universal claim Disney and Eisner stole many of the concepts they originally created.

Original entrance
Now 1990, and at the end of January the opening date of USF is once again pushed back, this time to 7th June 1990. Soft openings did begin in late May but all the main attractions were still undergoing testing and fixing glitches. 7th June arrives, but the park is filled with technical glitches everywhere! Jaws, Kongfrontation and Earthquake all struggle so much so the park begins to give out vouchers entitling guests to a free visit when the attraction are finally operational.

One of the first park maps (late 1990 early 1991)
Jaws didn't feature on this map however, because the ride was fundamentally flawed technically. So much so, on 30th September 1990 Universal close the ride to fix it up. They sue the original company (Ride & Show Engineering) and get Totally Fun Company to completely redesign and create the ride basically from the scratch. In 1993 Jaws reopens and in the two years closed, Back To the Future, The Blues Brothers Show and Fright Nights (which was renamed Halloween Horror Nights) began in the park. With the park finally finding ground and critics admiring the highly advanced rides (that were now working) the park announces it expansion into a resort complex with a second park to be built.
Before that let's take a look at a ride that is renowned and one I wish I had ridden, Kongfrontation! Based on the 1976 film and King Kong Encounter segment on the Hollywood Tour (which burnt down in 2008 to be replaced by King Kong 360) it was about escaping the Manhattan Island in these aerial trams as Kong is rampaging the city. Like many of the elder Universal rides, it relied on spieling as well as physical sets/effects to portray the story. I've heard from people who rode it that it was a brilliant experience, especially for its time when it opened and that the "Banana Breathe" King Kong animatronic was truly something!

It was designed by Totally Fun Company who re did Jaws, and manufactured by Arrow Dynamics. Sadly, it only lasted 12 years before it was replaced with The Mummy. http://www.themeparktourist.com/features/20141225/29776/5-things-you-never-knew-about-kongfrontation-universal-orlandoBrilliant article here on Kongfrontation and some secrets. Truly remarkable that Kong entered the ride car envelope which on most rides would cause an e-stop.

Universal Studios in 1990 (the car park in the forefront of the photo is now IOA)
Many of the parks original attractions now don't exist (only E.T, The Horror Make Up Show and A Lucy Tribute remain from 1990). Something I found out was the studio tour the park once had that went through the studios in use and the Nickleodeon Studios that were on the site that upon exiting the ride you went through the Universal Studios Store which still exists today in the same place!
With IoA moving ahead (although construction which was meant to start in 1995 started two years late in 97) Universal continued to open new attractions, such as Terminator2: 3D, Twister and A day in the park with Barney (all of which remain today). More attractions were built up to 1998 like Woody Woodpecker, Kidzone and Men In Black along with the IoA preview centre by Kongfrontation. In 98, Disney also opened Animal Kingdom, once again the two giants were battling each other head on.
May 28th 1999, Islands Of Adventures opens to the park with many new technologically advanced rides. At the same time, CityWalk, a replica of the restaurant district at Hollywood, and the first hotel opened making Universal a resort. Marketed as Universal Studios Escape attendance didn't rise as they had hoped. This was largely put down to people thinking Islands Of Adventure was just a new area of the Studios park, not a whole new park on its own! Disney are said to have had E-Ticket attractions ready and lined up for each of its parks in case Universal's attendance boomed but it's impact was non existent to Disney so these were cancelled. Beastly Kingdom was the planned one for Animal Kingdom but instead we got Camp Minnie and Mickey (soon to become Avatar... maybe Disney are battling Universal ride on ride, land on land).
In 2002 the Resort is renamed to Universal Orlando Resort and Kongfrontation is closed. For the next 7 or so years the parks direction was often slashed by enthusiasts as investors didn't seem to do much that was new and exciting. Island's had NO major new attraction invested in until 2010 and Universal just replaced outdated attractions with modern overlays. The Mummy replaces Kong in 2004 and is a sublime coaster with brilliant effects (although it does stick out a bit). Disaster overlays Earthquake in early 2008 which doesn't go down to well, nor does the closing of the classic Back to the Future ride to replace it with a Simpsons simulator (which when it opened stuck out like a sore thumb). The following year the park opens Rip Ride Rokit. The public enjoy the coasters, as do I, but its structure is an eyesore and it feels cheap (especially with all the problems it had and still has). It doesn't seem to fit in with the park one bit. Whilst all this is going on though, Island's have announced they're building a castle, a special Hogwarts castle! And in the background, Comcast is buying shares of NBC Universal from GE. And in 2010, the Universal that operates today with its non stop investing began.

Sure was popular
Wizardirng World Of Harry Potter opened to the public and was a huge success! Islands attendance increases from 5.2 million in 2008 to 7.6 million in 2011 which was the first time the Studios park was surpassed by Islands (and Islands remained ahead for 2012 and 13). With the Comcast agreement battling on as they seek to buy out all the shares from GE, Studios announces the closure of Jaws at the end of 2011, Despicable Me opens in 2012 and Transformers in 2013. The park then announces its main plans, Diagon Alley on the old Jaws site with the Hogwarts Express to link the two parks for summer 2014. Springfield is also announced which makes the Simpsons ride fit in much more into an area instead of just being a ride.
2014 arrives and Diagon Alley opens on July 18th in an attempt to put Studios ahead of Islands once more. By now, Comcast have 100% of the shares in NBC Universal and are investing left right and centre with a Springfield in Hollywood, Harry Potter in Japan and one in Hollywood for 2016. Diagon Alley is well received with its further immersion and realism to the films. Crowds flood to the park applying serious pressure to the star attraction (Gringotts) which opens on a reduced capacity and regular break downs.

The queue times achieved make news globally. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2686145/Hope-brought-book-Harry-Potter-fans-wait-line-SEVEN-HOURS-new-theme-park-ride.html
The 2014 TEA Theme Index report thing shows how Universal is booming evermore! Studios Orlando saw a 17% increase to 8.26 million causing it surpass IoA once again which is at 8.14 million (still nearly double the parks figuer of 4.27 million in 2009). The other Universal parks are growing well too though, with Hollywood having a 11% increase and soon a Potterworld of its own, and Japan's Potterworld opened last year giving the park a 16.8% increase to 11.8 million, making it the 5th most visited park in the world and jumping the 3 Floridian Disney parks that aren't Magic Kingdom. Comcast's persistence in investing may seem risky, but it sure is paying off majorly at the moment and why stop when figures are growing massively every year.
Universal is starting a theme park revolution. It is going all out on an immersive experience write down to what you eat and drink. The battle is on between Universal and Disney with both parks continually announcing expansions and the next best thing! Disney open Frozen next year to Universal's Kong. Disney open Pandora to Universal's amazing new waterpark Volcano Bay.
The Comcast era of Universal is one to enjoy. The company themselves say they'll invest in one major new attraction at each site every year for the next five years at least. With Kong opening next year, Volcano Bay in 2017 and potential rethemes of Twister or Disaster in that time as well, rumours are the Studios next big investment will be a further Potter expansion to replace Fear Factor Live. Although the Unviersal Parks division makes up a tiny amount of Comcast's profits, the company are happy to keep taking risks and invest big in an attempt to fight Disney. Will they ever win, no. But it's sure fun to watch and even better for new ride technologies as both chains plough money into developing the latest thing.
"Theme parks, I think, when we first showed up, were something that came with the rest of the company, now they're right at the core of what we're all about and we think provide a tremendous growth opportunity."- Steve Burk, CEO of the NBCUniversal division of comcast at Comcast's 2015 analyst report
So 25 years on from a park opening to take on Disney head to head on what was a swamp, the companies are finally clashing big time and the results are glorious! To the next 25 years!

Today celebrates the 25th anniversary of Universal Studios Florida (and in essence the entire Orlando Resort but more on that later). Instead of revising for my exams I've decided to share how the park has fallen, picked itself up hugely and become a real competitor to Disney.
It started nearly 35 years ago with the idea of Universal building a theme park on the East Coast coming into managers minds in 1981. It was a big move, Hollywood was already in place as a working studios with the studio tour built to it and the theme park slowly around it. This time, Universal would have to build from the ground up! With Disney and SeaWorld in place in Orlando and doing well, it was decided the park would be built in Orlando and the original piece of land they wanted is what they have today. When Disney were looking at building in Florida, they had also looked at this plot of land (a section between the I4 and Florida Turnpike) but decided there wasn't enough land available, but Universal were happy with the size.
During development between 1982 and 86, the park sought for other investors to help remove the risk. One company they approached was Paramount Studios (oh the irony of that today) and Eisner who was one of the executives at the time. He didn't take up the project but he sure did remember what he saw. Later in 1984, Michael Eisner became CEO of Disney and knew what Universal were up to. Disney had already been looking at a studios styled theme park but now plans were hurried along. In 1986, land clearing of the swamp land Universal purchased began and in 87 the park is announce with a proposed opening of December 1989. Although Universal had a years head start, MGM Studios (now Disney's Hollywood Studios) opened a whole year and a month earlier on May 1st 1989. Why? Disney has there own planning area/council that gives out building zone permits etc, the Reedy Creek Improvement District (basically why Disney can build what they want whenever).
It seemed Disney had the upper hand, but Universal now knew that Disney were rushing through a studios park with the main component supposed to be a studio tour (which is originally what USF was going to utilise). Universal decided to rethink its move, and instead of making the studio tour the main aspect, it looked to the Hollywood tour for inspiration. On that, you go through Amity where Jaws makes an appearance to attack your tram. Universal therefore decided to use this one aspect and build the boat tours through the village of Amity giving Jaws its own ride. Working closely alongside Spielberg, the E.T ride was developed and Kongfrontation. All of these were going to push the boat out with ride technology and thrills. Spielberg also wanted a Back to The Future Ride which began development. In 1988 the park delays their opening date till 1st May 1990 and in 1989 MGM Studios open whilst Universal claim Disney and Eisner stole many of the concepts they originally created.

Original entrance
Now 1990, and at the end of January the opening date of USF is once again pushed back, this time to 7th June 1990. Soft openings did begin in late May but all the main attractions were still undergoing testing and fixing glitches. 7th June arrives, but the park is filled with technical glitches everywhere! Jaws, Kongfrontation and Earthquake all struggle so much so the park begins to give out vouchers entitling guests to a free visit when the attraction are finally operational.

One of the first park maps (late 1990 early 1991)
Jaws didn't feature on this map however, because the ride was fundamentally flawed technically. So much so, on 30th September 1990 Universal close the ride to fix it up. They sue the original company (Ride & Show Engineering) and get Totally Fun Company to completely redesign and create the ride basically from the scratch. In 1993 Jaws reopens and in the two years closed, Back To the Future, The Blues Brothers Show and Fright Nights (which was renamed Halloween Horror Nights) began in the park. With the park finally finding ground and critics admiring the highly advanced rides (that were now working) the park announces it expansion into a resort complex with a second park to be built.
Before that let's take a look at a ride that is renowned and one I wish I had ridden, Kongfrontation! Based on the 1976 film and King Kong Encounter segment on the Hollywood Tour (which burnt down in 2008 to be replaced by King Kong 360) it was about escaping the Manhattan Island in these aerial trams as Kong is rampaging the city. Like many of the elder Universal rides, it relied on spieling as well as physical sets/effects to portray the story. I've heard from people who rode it that it was a brilliant experience, especially for its time when it opened and that the "Banana Breathe" King Kong animatronic was truly something!

It was designed by Totally Fun Company who re did Jaws, and manufactured by Arrow Dynamics. Sadly, it only lasted 12 years before it was replaced with The Mummy. http://www.themeparktourist.com/features/20141225/29776/5-things-you-never-knew-about-kongfrontation-universal-orlandoBrilliant article here on Kongfrontation and some secrets. Truly remarkable that Kong entered the ride car envelope which on most rides would cause an e-stop.

Universal Studios in 1990 (the car park in the forefront of the photo is now IOA)
Many of the parks original attractions now don't exist (only E.T, The Horror Make Up Show and A Lucy Tribute remain from 1990). Something I found out was the studio tour the park once had that went through the studios in use and the Nickleodeon Studios that were on the site that upon exiting the ride you went through the Universal Studios Store which still exists today in the same place!
With IoA moving ahead (although construction which was meant to start in 1995 started two years late in 97) Universal continued to open new attractions, such as Terminator2: 3D, Twister and A day in the park with Barney (all of which remain today). More attractions were built up to 1998 like Woody Woodpecker, Kidzone and Men In Black along with the IoA preview centre by Kongfrontation. In 98, Disney also opened Animal Kingdom, once again the two giants were battling each other head on.
May 28th 1999, Islands Of Adventures opens to the park with many new technologically advanced rides. At the same time, CityWalk, a replica of the restaurant district at Hollywood, and the first hotel opened making Universal a resort. Marketed as Universal Studios Escape attendance didn't rise as they had hoped. This was largely put down to people thinking Islands Of Adventure was just a new area of the Studios park, not a whole new park on its own! Disney are said to have had E-Ticket attractions ready and lined up for each of its parks in case Universal's attendance boomed but it's impact was non existent to Disney so these were cancelled. Beastly Kingdom was the planned one for Animal Kingdom but instead we got Camp Minnie and Mickey (soon to become Avatar... maybe Disney are battling Universal ride on ride, land on land).
In 2002 the Resort is renamed to Universal Orlando Resort and Kongfrontation is closed. For the next 7 or so years the parks direction was often slashed by enthusiasts as investors didn't seem to do much that was new and exciting. Island's had NO major new attraction invested in until 2010 and Universal just replaced outdated attractions with modern overlays. The Mummy replaces Kong in 2004 and is a sublime coaster with brilliant effects (although it does stick out a bit). Disaster overlays Earthquake in early 2008 which doesn't go down to well, nor does the closing of the classic Back to the Future ride to replace it with a Simpsons simulator (which when it opened stuck out like a sore thumb). The following year the park opens Rip Ride Rokit. The public enjoy the coasters, as do I, but its structure is an eyesore and it feels cheap (especially with all the problems it had and still has). It doesn't seem to fit in with the park one bit. Whilst all this is going on though, Island's have announced they're building a castle, a special Hogwarts castle! And in the background, Comcast is buying shares of NBC Universal from GE. And in 2010, the Universal that operates today with its non stop investing began.

Sure was popular
Wizardirng World Of Harry Potter opened to the public and was a huge success! Islands attendance increases from 5.2 million in 2008 to 7.6 million in 2011 which was the first time the Studios park was surpassed by Islands (and Islands remained ahead for 2012 and 13). With the Comcast agreement battling on as they seek to buy out all the shares from GE, Studios announces the closure of Jaws at the end of 2011, Despicable Me opens in 2012 and Transformers in 2013. The park then announces its main plans, Diagon Alley on the old Jaws site with the Hogwarts Express to link the two parks for summer 2014. Springfield is also announced which makes the Simpsons ride fit in much more into an area instead of just being a ride.
2014 arrives and Diagon Alley opens on July 18th in an attempt to put Studios ahead of Islands once more. By now, Comcast have 100% of the shares in NBC Universal and are investing left right and centre with a Springfield in Hollywood, Harry Potter in Japan and one in Hollywood for 2016. Diagon Alley is well received with its further immersion and realism to the films. Crowds flood to the park applying serious pressure to the star attraction (Gringotts) which opens on a reduced capacity and regular break downs.

The queue times achieved make news globally. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2686145/Hope-brought-book-Harry-Potter-fans-wait-line-SEVEN-HOURS-new-theme-park-ride.html
The 2014 TEA Theme Index report thing shows how Universal is booming evermore! Studios Orlando saw a 17% increase to 8.26 million causing it surpass IoA once again which is at 8.14 million (still nearly double the parks figuer of 4.27 million in 2009). The other Universal parks are growing well too though, with Hollywood having a 11% increase and soon a Potterworld of its own, and Japan's Potterworld opened last year giving the park a 16.8% increase to 11.8 million, making it the 5th most visited park in the world and jumping the 3 Floridian Disney parks that aren't Magic Kingdom. Comcast's persistence in investing may seem risky, but it sure is paying off majorly at the moment and why stop when figures are growing massively every year.
Universal is starting a theme park revolution. It is going all out on an immersive experience write down to what you eat and drink. The battle is on between Universal and Disney with both parks continually announcing expansions and the next best thing! Disney open Frozen next year to Universal's Kong. Disney open Pandora to Universal's amazing new waterpark Volcano Bay.
The Comcast era of Universal is one to enjoy. The company themselves say they'll invest in one major new attraction at each site every year for the next five years at least. With Kong opening next year, Volcano Bay in 2017 and potential rethemes of Twister or Disaster in that time as well, rumours are the Studios next big investment will be a further Potter expansion to replace Fear Factor Live. Although the Unviersal Parks division makes up a tiny amount of Comcast's profits, the company are happy to keep taking risks and invest big in an attempt to fight Disney. Will they ever win, no. But it's sure fun to watch and even better for new ride technologies as both chains plough money into developing the latest thing.
"Theme parks, I think, when we first showed up, were something that came with the rest of the company, now they're right at the core of what we're all about and we think provide a tremendous growth opportunity."- Steve Burk, CEO of the NBCUniversal division of comcast at Comcast's 2015 analyst report
So 25 years on from a park opening to take on Disney head to head on what was a swamp, the companies are finally clashing big time and the results are glorious! To the next 25 years!

Today celebrates the 25th anniversary of Universal Studios Florida (and in essence the entire Orlando Resort but more on that later). Instead of revising for my exams I've decided to share how the park has fallen, picked itself up hugely and become a real competitor to Disney.
It started nearly 35 years ago with the idea of Universal building a theme park on the East Coast coming into managers minds in 1981. It was a big move, Hollywood was already in place as a working studios with the studio tour built to it and the theme park slowly around it. This time, Universal would have to build from the ground up! With Disney and SeaWorld in place in Orlando and doing well, it was decided the park would be built in Orlando and the original piece of land they wanted is what they have today. When Disney were looking at building in Florida, they had also looked at this plot of land (a section between the I4 and Florida Turnpike) but decided there wasn't enough land available, but Universal were happy with the size.
During development between 1982 and 86, the park sought for other investors to help remove the risk. One company they approached was Paramount Studios (oh the irony of that today) and Eisner who was one of the executives at the time. He didn't take up the project but he sure did remember what he saw. Later in 1984, Michael Eisner became CEO of Disney and knew what Universal were up to. Disney had already been looking at a studios styled theme park but now plans were hurried along. In 1986, land clearing of the swamp land Universal purchased began and in 87 the park is announce with a proposed opening of December 1989. Although Universal had a years head start, MGM Studios (now Disney's Hollywood Studios) opened a whole year and a month earlier on May 1st 1989. Why? Disney has there own planning area/council that gives out building zone permits etc, the Reedy Creek Improvement District (basically why Disney can build what they want whenever).
It seemed Disney had the upper hand, but Universal now knew that Disney were rushing through a studios park with the main component supposed to be a studio tour (which is originally what USF was going to utilise). Universal decided to rethink its move, and instead of making the studio tour the main aspect, it looked to the Hollywood tour for inspiration. On that, you go through Amity where Jaws makes an appearance to attack your tram. Universal therefore decided to use this one aspect and build the boat tours through the village of Amity giving Jaws its own ride. Working closely alongside Spielberg, the E.T ride was developed and Kongfrontation. All of these were going to push the boat out with ride technology and thrills. Spielberg also wanted a Back to The Future Ride which began development. In 1988 the park delays their opening date till 1st May 1990 and in 1989 MGM Studios open whilst Universal claim Disney and Eisner stole many of the concepts they originally created.

Original entrance
Now 1990, and at the end of January the opening date of USF is once again pushed back, this time to 7th June 1990. Soft openings did begin in late May but all the main attractions were still undergoing testing and fixing glitches. 7th June arrives, but the park is filled with technical glitches everywhere! Jaws, Kongfrontation and Earthquake all struggle so much so the park begins to give out vouchers entitling guests to a free visit when the attraction are finally operational.

One of the first park maps (late 1990 early 1991)
Jaws didn't feature on this map however, because the ride was fundamentally flawed technically. So much so, on 30th September 1990 Universal close the ride to fix it up. They sue the original company (Ride & Show Engineering) and get Totally Fun Company to completely redesign and create the ride basically from the scratch. In 1993 Jaws reopens and in the two years closed, Back To the Future, The Blues Brothers Show and Fright Nights (which was renamed Halloween Horror Nights) began in the park. With the park finally finding ground and critics admiring the highly advanced rides (that were now working) the park announces it expansion into a resort complex with a second park to be built.
Before that let's take a look at a ride that is renowned and one I wish I had ridden, Kongfrontation! Based on the 1976 film and King Kong Encounter segment on the Hollywood Tour (which burnt down in 2008 to be replaced by King Kong 360) it was about escaping the Manhattan Island in these aerial trams as Kong is rampaging the city. Like many of the elder Universal rides, it relied on spieling as well as physical sets/effects to portray the story. I've heard from people who rode it that it was a brilliant experience, especially for its time when it opened and that the "Banana Breathe" King Kong animatronic was truly something!

It was designed by Totally Fun Company who re did Jaws, and manufactured by Arrow Dynamics. Sadly, it only lasted 12 years before it was replaced with The Mummy. http://www.themeparktourist.com/features/20141225/29776/5-things-you-never-knew-about-kongfrontation-universal-orlandoBrilliant article here on Kongfrontation and some secrets. Truly remarkable that Kong entered the ride car envelope which on most rides would cause an e-stop.

Universal Studios in 1990 (the car park in the forefront of the photo is now IOA)
Many of the parks original attractions now don't exist (only E.T, The Horror Make Up Show and A Lucy Tribute remain from 1990). Something I found out was the studio tour the park once had that went through the studios in use and the Nickleodeon Studios that were on the site that upon exiting the ride you went through the Universal Studios Store which still exists today in the same place!
With IoA moving ahead (although construction which was meant to start in 1995 started two years late in 97) Universal continued to open new attractions, such as Terminator2: 3D, Twister and A day in the park with Barney (all of which remain today). More attractions were built up to 1998 like Woody Woodpecker, Kidzone and Men In Black along with the IoA preview centre by Kongfrontation. In 98, Disney also opened Animal Kingdom, once again the two giants were battling each other head on.
May 28th 1999, Islands Of Adventures opens to the park with many new technologically advanced rides. At the same time, CityWalk, a replica of the restaurant district at Hollywood, and the first hotel opened making Universal a resort. Marketed as Universal Studios Escape attendance didn't rise as they had hoped. This was largely put down to people thinking Islands Of Adventure was just a new area of the Studios park, not a whole new park on its own! Disney are said to have had E-Ticket attractions ready and lined up for each of its parks in case Universal's attendance boomed but it's impact was non existent to Disney so these were cancelled. Beastly Kingdom was the planned one for Animal Kingdom but instead we got Camp Minnie and Mickey (soon to become Avatar... maybe Disney are battling Universal ride on ride, land on land).
In 2002 the Resort is renamed to Universal Orlando Resort and Kongfrontation is closed. For the next 7 or so years the parks direction was often slashed by enthusiasts as investors didn't seem to do much that was new and exciting. Island's had NO major new attraction invested in until 2010 and Universal just replaced outdated attractions with modern overlays. The Mummy replaces Kong in 2004 and is a sublime coaster with brilliant effects (although it does stick out a bit). Disaster overlays Earthquake in early 2008 which doesn't go down to well, nor does the closing of the classic Back to the Future ride to replace it with a Simpsons simulator (which when it opened stuck out like a sore thumb). The following year the park opens Rip Ride Rokit. The public enjoy the coasters, as do I, but its structure is an eyesore and it feels cheap (especially with all the problems it had and still has). It doesn't seem to fit in with the park one bit. Whilst all this is going on though, Island's have announced they're building a castle, a special Hogwarts castle! And in the background, Comcast is buying shares of NBC Universal from GE. And in 2010, the Universal that operates today with its non stop investing began.

Sure was popular
Wizardirng World Of Harry Potter opened to the public and was a huge success! Islands attendance increases from 5.2 million in 2008 to 7.6 million in 2011 which was the first time the Studios park was surpassed by Islands (and Islands remained ahead for 2012 and 13). With the Comcast agreement battling on as they seek to buy out all the shares from GE, Studios announces the closure of Jaws at the end of 2011, Despicable Me opens in 2012 and Transformers in 2013. The park then announces its main plans, Diagon Alley on the old Jaws site with the Hogwarts Express to link the two parks for summer 2014. Springfield is also announced which makes the Simpsons ride fit in much more into an area instead of just being a ride.
2014 arrives and Diagon Alley opens on July 18th in an attempt to put Studios ahead of Islands once more. By now, Comcast have 100% of the shares in NBC Universal and are investing left right and centre with a Springfield in Hollywood, Harry Potter in Japan and one in Hollywood for 2016. Diagon Alley is well received with its further immersion and realism to the films. Crowds flood to the park applying serious pressure to the star attraction (Gringotts) which opens on a reduced capacity and regular break downs.

The queue times achieved make news globally. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2686145/Hope-brought-book-Harry-Potter-fans-wait-line-SEVEN-HOURS-new-theme-park-ride.html
The 2014 TEA Theme Index report thing shows how Universal is booming evermore! Studios Orlando saw a 17% increase to 8.26 million causing it surpass IoA once again which is at 8.14 million (still nearly double the parks figuer of 4.27 million in 2009). The other Universal parks are growing well too though, with Hollywood having a 11% increase and soon a Potterworld of its own, and Japan's Potterworld opened last year giving the park a 16.8% increase to 11.8 million, making it the 5th most visited park in the world and jumping the 3 Floridian Disney parks that aren't Magic Kingdom. Comcast's persistence in investing may seem risky, but it sure is paying off majorly at the moment and why stop when figures are growing massively every year.
Universal is starting a theme park revolution. It is going all out on an immersive experience write down to what you eat and drink. The battle is on between Universal and Disney with both parks continually announcing expansions and the next best thing! Disney open Frozen next year to Universal's Kong. Disney open Pandora to Universal's amazing new waterpark Volcano Bay.
The Comcast era of Universal is one to enjoy. The company themselves say they'll invest in one major new attraction at each site every year for the next five years at least. With Kong opening next year, Volcano Bay in 2017 and potential rethemes of Twister or Disaster in that time as well, rumours are the Studios next big investment will be a further Potter expansion to replace Fear Factor Live. Although the Unviersal Parks division makes up a tiny amount of Comcast's profits, the company are happy to keep taking risks and invest big in an attempt to fight Disney. Will they ever win, no. But it's sure fun to watch and even better for new ride technologies as both chains plough money into developing the latest thing.
"Theme parks, I think, when we first showed up, were something that came with the rest of the company, now they're right at the core of what we're all about and we think provide a tremendous growth opportunity."- Steve Burk, CEO of the NBCUniversal division of comcast at Comcast's 2015 analyst report
So 25 years on from a park opening to take on Disney head to head on what was a swamp, the companies are finally clashing big time and the results are glorious! To the next 25 years!

Welcome to the last instalment of this blog before I venture off to Belgium in June So let's head to somewhere new and prepare myself for something I'll see a few times in Belgium.

Sign lies. Puddle will get my shoes wet, I'll walk into the bin which will hurt. Already looks painful.

KMG=Pain in my stomach

Vecoma

Schwartzkopf know for pain.

Let's get it over and done with.

Sure is difficult to understand. And rough, so PAINWOOD

This is good.

Like really good! So let's find some more pain

Plainfully bare wild mouse.

And I don't like swinging boat things. So pain for me.

Ew it's still bare. Oh, and HyperDrive which I didn't photograph as my phone would have killed itself is painful. In sense it's so slow, you crash and you can't get off the wall and it's illogical. Weirdest investment ever!

But this <3 Actually really good for a small park!

Just dangerous low beams which will cause pain if hit.

Urm... this is horrific. Goes on for an eternity and hurts your shins. No thanks. I'll pass on this pain.

Chairlift is painfully slow it makes the park feel huge!

The pain of the photo stands here. This one is placed away from the bottom of the slide so you have to squint to see anyone

If I tried to ride these I'd be in pain.

No comment yet.

Swan boats. Shame I'm competitive my legs were in pain after!

That KMG again...

Rattlesnake... or snake in the grass. Either way, it vibrates so much! Pain in my ass!

Bambi looks too happy...

because she put humans in pain!

Sharp teeth=pain.

OOOOO old stuff.

Look at this an operating carousel! Bet that pains some members who loved a certain one at Thorpe... This was better too

Good show. Benches of wood and pain so PAINWOOD.

Now this. It looks stunning! So well set in a beautiful area!

Lovely weather!

A cobra roll (of some pain)

And a pretty loop (I really like Vekoma track).
But wipeout wiped me out, hurt my head and was quite intense. Didn't really enjoy it and I'm not best pleased there's a few on my roadtrip. Oh well.
YEAR OF BRITAIN OUT! See you in June/July for some Belgerand goodness! (Belgium, Germany and Holland)

Welcome to the last instalment of this blog before I venture off to Belgium in June So let's head to somewhere new and prepare myself for something I'll see a few times in Belgium.

Sign lies. Puddle will get my shoes wet, I'll walk into the bin which will hurt. Already looks painful.

KMG=Pain in my stomach

Vecoma

Schwartzkopf know for pain.

Let's get it over and done with.

Sure is difficult to understand. And rough, so PAINWOOD

This is good.

Like really good! So let's find some more pain

Plainfully bare wild mouse.

And I don't like swinging boat things. So pain for me.

Ew it's still bare. Oh, and HyperDrive which I didn't photograph as my phone would have killed itself is painful. In sense it's so slow, you crash and you can't get off the wall and it's illogical. Weirdest investment ever!

But this <3 Actually really good for a small park!

Just dangerous low beams which will cause pain if hit.

Urm... this is horrific. Goes on for an eternity and hurts your shins. No thanks. I'll pass on this pain.

Chairlift is painfully slow it makes the park feel huge!

The pain of the photo stands here. This one is placed away from the bottom of the slide so you have to squint to see anyone

If I tried to ride these I'd be in pain.

No comment yet.

Swan boats. Shame I'm competitive my legs were in pain after!

That KMG again...

Rattlesnake... or snake in the grass. Either way, it vibrates so much! Pain in my ass!

Bambi looks too happy...

because she put humans in pain!

Sharp teeth=pain.

OOOOO old stuff.

Look at this an operating carousel! Bet that pains some members who loved a certain one at Thorpe... This was better too

Good show. Benches of wood and pain so PAINWOOD.

Now this. It looks stunning! So well set in a beautiful area!

Lovely weather!

A cobra roll (of some pain)

And a pretty loop (I really like Vekoma track).
But wipeout wiped me out, hurt my head and was quite intense. Didn't really enjoy it and I'm not best pleased there's a few on my roadtrip. Oh well.
YEAR OF BRITAIN OUT! See you in June/July for some Belgerand goodness! (Belgium, Germany and Holland)

Alton Towers finally happened!
SCB can tell you, we've had a countdown going for ages and finally we went, so I am no longer an AT 'virgin' as some would put it.
When it came to actually going I was nervous, as a lot of hate had been spread around about low standards and operations and the like compared with last season; however this time I once again found myself in the position I was in at CWoA, not knowing what to expect so practically being an ordinary punter.
So, day one.
We started the day at TP, as there were a few rides I wanted to compare to those at AT (namely Colossus and Smiler, Nemesis Inferno and the original Nemesis, Stealth and Rita, and yeah you get the picture). Got everything we wanted done plus a few extras within an hour and a half; bar Inferno which was already in it's full extension with only one train running... Yeah so as we wanted to get to AT at some point that day we decided it was best to not.
Arrived at Towers at around 2pm to find the car park practically empty. We definitely chose a good week to go, up North aren't on their Easter break yet, so it was mostly families and adults there, which helped a lot with both the atmosphere and the queue times for the types of rides we wanted to go on.
First thing we walked straight on to Smiler, despite the signs saying it had a 15 minute queue (still would have been good), and I really didn't get what everyone was on about it being rough. Yes I am a fan of Colossus and the fact that it's rough (even though it has gotten notably worse this season) but I will at least admit that it is rough. With Smiler, I don't know if it was the rain or that they'd done some work, but I found it as smooth as I knew Inferno to be.

Did all the big rides except Nemesis and Air, we had them on ERT the next day anyway and as I've been struggling with walking recently walking all the way over there wouldn't be great. So just to taunt SCB we took the monorail over Nemmy twice.
Found the staff all very friendly, after going round some areas multiple times (SMILER) some of them even started to recognise us, which made the atmosphere seem a lot lighter. Those staff with roles stayed in them well, and there was this one ride op on the Smiler who was pulling faces at everyone and waving through the glass.
Day two was much the same, started in Forbidden Valley and worked our way back round the park to the X-Sector, as SCB had booked a surprise lift hill walk and behind the scenes tour on the Smiler. It was awkward how they had Nemmy and Air on ERT, however two other rides over there so far out of the way that didn't open until 11. Still as we knew this we planned around it and didn't end up having to wait long.

Then it came to our behind the scenes tour. Earlier that day we had spoken to the awesome Smiler op in the bag room where he made some joke about giving him $0 for the wristband (the code on it was $0) to get our bag back. We discovered his name was Dave and as we waited for our BST we found ourselves wishing it would be him to show us around. Lo and behold a few minutes later over the tanoy came "Dave can you please go to the ride entrance" Yay!
Dave showed us around and showed that the ride staff all really know their stuff, telling us all about the ride systems and what they have to do in the winter maintenance - the amount they do is crazy. All the staff were joking around and chatting and made us feel really at ease, encouraging us to ask any questions we wanted, no matter how stupid. The other ride op Matt and a Smile Assistant called Anna took us up the lift hill and were really helpful, and then we toured the dark section of the ride down below the station learning one particular secret that SCB will go into more detail about in his blog all about the tour... It's hilarious. Watch this space, but for now here's a few photos I took...
Evening checks from the op box

The whole of the lift hill

The 'Smile' taken from the pit beneath the ride

The rest of the ride from the pit

What the inside of the dark section really looks like


Couldn't get over the view from the top of the Smiler... I think I found my next drawing project.

Come day three the Sun remembered the Earth existed and decided to come out a bit, which mean so did the people. Still AT reacted to this quickly and we hardly noticed at all. We knew Dave and Matt would be opping Oblivion so we went up to see them, and Dave called out to us over the tanoy (remembering both of our names, which was more than we expected) and had a little chat to us after. We'd found out the day before that Oblivion was his favourite ride in the world and he'd ridden it over 2,500 times! Wow. So he wanted to know how we found it and made a joke about having words with us later when we said it was a bit meh.
Went on Enterprise next and the member of staff there recognised us from the night before and asked how we'd enjoyed the lift hill which was really nice and made us feel really special, as he held the car for us to get out and everything. Saw Dave again later in the day opping Enterprise covering this guy's break, and he made some joke about it being my "16th" birthday and got all the people in the queue to sing for me, he also made some joke to SCB about if he felt sick my hood was right in front of him...
Also we felt a little adventurous, so decided to explore the Towers themselves. They were amazing and it's surprising how much you are allowed around, plus you get some brilliant views from the roof. My only problem was at the front by the exit for Hex there is a huge stained glass window that is in brilliant condition, however you can only see it from the outside which is disappointing. It would look much better from the inside; however after extensive checks every single entrance to this particular room is blocked off. So then we went back to the Smiler

Went back to Oblivion last thing to say bye to Dave and Matt and to say thanks before we went home, and Dave once again drew attention to me over the tanoy and we sang again, except this time I was 14. Typical. I do NOT look 14! He came to talk to us after and wished us a good journey back and asked us if we had any more questions, and then we went on our way.
It all just proved how much the staff make a difference, and how a few personal touches really can make your trip even if it's just them talking to you a bit before the ride, rather than ignoring you like they do at TP. Before this I hadn't been to a park that was huge on theming, as both Thorpe and Chessie have gone a bit downhill in that area recently, and the difference it made was huge. The atmosphere of each area was different and the stories were clear, unlike parks down here.
Meh, one can hope this might improve soon in these so called theme parks, but it seems recently all they've cared about is IPs and "world's first"s.
I guess we'll see.
PS, Sorry Colossus... I have a new favourite <3

Lots of people always go on about wanting to go to the greats of Florida for Disney and Universal. More people are able to visit DLP but there's a little place in this country that makes you feel like you're at Disney or Universal. Thing is, I couldn't quite work out which company clearly secretly owns this park. Of course, it is the one and only Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach. So let me show you why I'm not sure if it's Disney or Universal.

From the outskirts it doesn't look great. But hey, Universal don't theme their rides all the way around when they don't have too. And this path was cold along the beach so you wouldn't want to go there anyway. Think of it as a cast members rat run!

Oh yes, Splash Metal Mountain! 3 lift hills, 3 drops in a metal mountain frame!

Heck, that could even become the Universal globe on top of the structure.

Cattlepen to deal with the huge crowds!

And timed maintenance on off peak days so it can have full throughput for those busy summer days.

Argh!!!! Watch out for Jaws in Amity!

Right next to the land of Frozen! Hi there Olaf

Oh my favourite the vehicles from automobile and automobile 2! It's the finale of the the FORMULE 1 between Thunder McKing and Chuck Hicks!

Nice to see Universal using the old school Simpson characters again! You could learn a thing or two Orlando.

There was a fun house! Probably Minion related.

It's just like an inside version of Wishes or Dreams!

Disney needs to use the Mulan IP more, glad to see it being used here.

Truly a high quality ride by Disney

Surprise!

Ah Phantom Manor

Frankenstein's Monster from Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue!

Wacky Disney kids coaster. It's like Heimlich... or maybe it is!

What's this down here

Twister! Will be a sad day when it leaves Orlando but here at Great Yarmouth it keeps going strong

As well as other Universal THRILL rides.

Monorail to get you from one place back to that place

With a Dr Seuss like tunnel.
Lunch approached so we decided to take a walk from one park to find another

It had a rollercoaster called Spook Express. Was in a mountain, had dark bits, basically space spook mountain!

So nicely themed!

And more minions!

On ride photos taken by someone with a camera. True quality!

Look at the little snail they had!

Snails love airtime! I've no idea what Disney feed them but they love it!

Clearly waiting the Puss In Boots layover for the Goose in the beanstalk.

So Farm Cruise

Watch out for the Pirates of the Yarmouth!

Zoo Cruise.

Pinocchio dark ride section with It's A Small world playing. So urm It's a small boy?

Peter Pans not flying flight

Evolution.

Like the film as you can see.

They also had a roller coaster with a flame spitting tower thing at the top (flame wasn't working)

Prehistoric Twirl.

So whilst you all scratch your heads wondering if Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach is Disney or Universal I'll leave you with some pictures of Roller Coaster




Snail Always.

Lots of people always go on about wanting to go to the greats of Florida for Disney and Universal. More people are able to visit DLP but there's a little place in this country that makes you feel like you're at Disney or Universal. Thing is, I couldn't quite work out which company clearly secretly owns this park. Of course, it is the one and only Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach. So let me show you why I'm not sure if it's Disney or Universal.

From the outskirts it doesn't look great. But hey, Universal don't theme their rides all the way around when they don't have too. And this path was cold along the beach so you wouldn't want to go there anyway. Think of it as a cast members rat run!

Oh yes, Splash Metal Mountain! 3 lift hills, 3 drops in a metal mountain frame!

Heck, that could even become the Universal globe on top of the structure.

Cattlepen to deal with the huge crowds!

And timed maintenance on off peak days so it can have full throughput for those busy summer days.

Argh!!!! Watch out for Jaws in Amity!

Right next to the land of Frozen! Hi there Olaf

Oh my favourite the vehicles from automobile and automobile 2! It's the finale of the the FORMULE 1 between Thunder McKing and Chuck Hicks!

Nice to see Universal using the old school Simpson characters again! You could learn a thing or two Orlando.

There was a fun house! Probably Minion related.

It's just like an inside version of Wishes or Dreams!

Disney needs to use the Mulan IP more, glad to see it being used here.

Truly a high quality ride by Disney

Surprise!

Ah Phantom Manor

Frankenstein's Monster from Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue!

Wacky Disney kids coaster. It's like Heimlich... or maybe it is!

What's this down here

Twister! Will be a sad day when it leaves Orlando but here at Great Yarmouth it keeps going strong

As well as other Universal THRILL rides.

Monorail to get you from one place back to that place

With a Dr Seuss like tunnel.
Lunch approached so we decided to take a walk from one park to find another

It had a rollercoaster called Spook Express. Was in a mountain, had dark bits, basically space spook mountain!

So nicely themed!

And more minions!

On ride photos taken by someone with a camera. True quality!

Look at the little snail they had!

Snails love airtime! I've no idea what Disney feed them but they love it!

Clearly waiting the Puss In Boots layover for the Goose in the beanstalk.

So Farm Cruise

Watch out for the Pirates of the Yarmouth!

Zoo Cruise.

Pinocchio dark ride section with It's A Small world playing. So urm It's a small boy?

Peter Pans not flying flight

Evolution.

Like the film as you can see.

They also had a roller coaster with a flame spitting tower thing at the top (flame wasn't working)

Prehistoric Twirl.

So whilst you all scratch your heads wondering if Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach is Disney or Universal I'll leave you with some pictures of Roller Coaster




Snail Always.

Lots of people always go on about wanting to go to the greats of Florida for Disney and Universal. More people are able to visit DLP but there's a little place in this country that makes you feel like you're at Disney or Universal. Thing is, I couldn't quite work out which company clearly secretly owns this park. Of course, it is the one and only Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach. So let me show you why I'm not sure if it's Disney or Universal.

From the outskirts it doesn't look great. But hey, Universal don't theme their rides all the way around when they don't have too. And this path was cold along the beach so you wouldn't want to go there anyway. Think of it as a cast members rat run!

Oh yes, Splash Metal Mountain! 3 lift hills, 3 drops in a metal mountain frame!

Heck, that could even become the Universal globe on top of the structure.

Cattlepen to deal with the huge crowds!

And timed maintenance on off peak days so it can have full throughput for those busy summer days.

Argh!!!! Watch out for Jaws in Amity!

Right next to the land of Frozen! Hi there Olaf

Oh my favourite the vehicles from automobile and automobile 2! It's the finale of the the FORMULE 1 between Thunder McKing and Chuck Hicks!

Nice to see Universal using the old school Simpson characters again! You could learn a thing or two Orlando.

There was a fun house! Probably Minion related.

It's just like an inside version of Wishes or Dreams!

Disney needs to use the Mulan IP more, glad to see it being used here.

Truly a high quality ride by Disney

Surprise!

Ah Phantom Manor

Frankenstein's Monster from Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue!

Wacky Disney kids coaster. It's like Heimlich... or maybe it is!

What's this down here

Twister! Will be a sad day when it leaves Orlando but here at Great Yarmouth it keeps going strong

As well as other Universal THRILL rides.

Monorail to get you from one place back to that place

With a Dr Seuss like tunnel.
Lunch approached so we decided to take a walk from one park to find another

It had a rollercoaster called Spook Express. Was in a mountain, had dark bits, basically space spook mountain!

So nicely themed!

And more minions!

On ride photos taken by someone with a camera. True quality!

Look at the little snail they had!

Snails love airtime! I've no idea what Disney feed them but they love it!

Clearly waiting the Puss In Boots layover for the Goose in the beanstalk.

So Farm Cruise

Watch out for the Pirates of the Yarmouth!

Zoo Cruise.

Pinocchio dark ride section with It's A Small world playing. So urm It's a small boy?

Peter Pans not flying flight

Evolution.

Like the film as you can see.

They also had a roller coaster with a flame spitting tower thing at the top (flame wasn't working)

Prehistoric Twirl.

So whilst you all scratch your heads wondering if Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach is Disney or Universal I'll leave you with some pictures of Roller Coaster




Snail Always.

Lots of people always go on about wanting to go to the greats of Florida for Disney and Universal. More people are able to visit DLP but there's a little place in this country that makes you feel like you're at Disney or Universal. Thing is, I couldn't quite work out which company clearly secretly owns this park. Of course, it is the one and only Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach. So let me show you why I'm not sure if it's Disney or Universal.

From the outskirts it doesn't look great. But hey, Universal don't theme their rides all the way around when they don't have too. And this path was cold along the beach so you wouldn't want to go there anyway. Think of it as a cast members rat run!

Oh yes, Splash Metal Mountain! 3 lift hills, 3 drops in a metal mountain frame!

Heck, that could even become the Universal globe on top of the structure.

Cattlepen to deal with the huge crowds!

And timed maintenance on off peak days so it can have full throughput for those busy summer days.

Argh!!!! Watch out for Jaws in Amity!

Right next to the land of Frozen! Hi there Olaf

Oh my favourite the vehicles from automobile and automobile 2! It's the finale of the the FORMULE 1 between Thunder McKing and Chuck Hicks!

Nice to see Universal using the old school Simpson characters again! You could learn a thing or two Orlando.

There was a fun house! Probably Minion related.

It's just like an inside version of Wishes or Dreams!

Disney needs to use the Mulan IP more, glad to see it being used here.

Truly a high quality ride by Disney

Surprise!

Ah Phantom Manor

Frankenstein's Monster from Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue!

Wacky Disney kids coaster. It's like Heimlich... or maybe it is!

What's this down here

Twister! Will be a sad day when it leaves Orlando but here at Great Yarmouth it keeps going strong

As well as other Universal THRILL rides.

Monorail to get you from one place back to that place

With a Dr Seuss like tunnel.
Lunch approached so we decided to take a walk from one park to find another

It had a rollercoaster called Spook Express. Was in a mountain, had dark bits, basically space spook mountain!

So nicely themed!

And more minions!

On ride photos taken by someone with a camera. True quality!

Look at the little snail they had!

Snails love airtime! I've no idea what Disney feed them but they love it!

Clearly waiting the Puss In Boots layover for the Goose in the beanstalk.

So Farm Cruise

Watch out for the Pirates of the Yarmouth!

Zoo Cruise.

Pinocchio dark ride section with It's A Small world playing. So urm It's a small boy?

Peter Pans not flying flight

Evolution.

Like the film as you can see.

They also had a roller coaster with a flame spitting tower thing at the top (flame wasn't working)

Prehistoric Twirl.

So whilst you all scratch your heads wondering if Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach is Disney or Universal I'll leave you with some pictures of Roller Coaster




Snail Always.

Lots of people always go on about wanting to go to the greats of Florida for Disney and Universal. More people are able to visit DLP but there's a little place in this country that makes you feel like you're at Disney or Universal. Thing is, I couldn't quite work out which company clearly secretly owns this park. Of course, it is the one and only Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach. So let me show you why I'm not sure if it's Disney or Universal.

From the outskirts it doesn't look great. But hey, Universal don't theme their rides all the way around when they don't have too. And this path was cold along the beach so you wouldn't want to go there anyway. Think of it as a cast members rat run!

Oh yes, Splash Metal Mountain! 3 lift hills, 3 drops in a metal mountain frame!

Heck, that could even become the Universal globe on top of the structure.

Cattlepen to deal with the huge crowds!

And timed maintenance on off peak days so it can have full throughput for those busy summer days.

Argh!!!! Watch out for Jaws in Amity!

Right next to the land of Frozen! Hi there Olaf

Oh my favourite the vehicles from automobile and automobile 2! It's the finale of the the FORMULE 1 between Thunder McKing and Chuck Hicks!

Nice to see Universal using the old school Simpson characters again! You could learn a thing or two Orlando.

There was a fun house! Probably Minion related.

It's just like an inside version of Wishes or Dreams!

Disney needs to use the Mulan IP more, glad to see it being used here.

Truly a high quality ride by Disney

Surprise!

Ah Phantom Manor

Frankenstein's Monster from Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue!

Wacky Disney kids coaster. It's like Heimlich... or maybe it is!

What's this down here

Twister! Will be a sad day when it leaves Orlando but here at Great Yarmouth it keeps going strong

As well as other Universal THRILL rides.

Monorail to get you from one place back to that place

With a Dr Seuss like tunnel.
Lunch approached so we decided to take a walk from one park to find another

It had a rollercoaster called Spook Express. Was in a mountain, had dark bits, basically space spook mountain!

So nicely themed!

And more minions!

On ride photos taken by someone with a camera. True quality!

Look at the little snail they had!

Snails love airtime! I've no idea what Disney feed them but they love it!

Clearly waiting the Puss In Boots layover for the Goose in the beanstalk.

So Farm Cruise

Watch out for the Pirates of the Yarmouth!

Zoo Cruise.

Pinocchio dark ride section with It's A Small world playing. So urm It's a small boy?

Peter Pans not flying flight

Evolution.

Like the film as you can see.

They also had a roller coaster with a flame spitting tower thing at the top (flame wasn't working)

Prehistoric Twirl.

So whilst you all scratch your heads wondering if Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach is Disney or Universal I'll leave you with some pictures of Roller Coaster




Snail Always.

Lots of people always go on about wanting to go to the greats of Florida for Disney and Universal. More people are able to visit DLP but there's a little place in this country that makes you feel like you're at Disney or Universal. Thing is, I couldn't quite work out which company clearly secretly owns this park. Of course, it is the one and only Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach. So let me show you why I'm not sure if it's Disney or Universal.

From the outskirts it doesn't look great. But hey, Universal don't theme their rides all the way around when they don't have too. And this path was cold along the beach so you wouldn't want to go there anyway. Think of it as a cast members rat run!

Oh yes, Splash Metal Mountain! 3 lift hills, 3 drops in a metal mountain frame!

Heck, that could even become the Universal globe on top of the structure.

Cattlepen to deal with the huge crowds!

And timed maintenance on off peak days so it can have full throughput for those busy summer days.

Argh!!!! Watch out for Jaws in Amity!

Right next to the land of Frozen! Hi there Olaf

Oh my favourite the vehicles from automobile and automobile 2! It's the finale of the the FORMULE 1 between Thunder McKing and Chuck Hicks!

Nice to see Universal using the old school Simpson characters again! You could learn a thing or two Orlando.

There was a fun house! Probably Minion related.

It's just like an inside version of Wishes or Dreams!

Disney needs to use the Mulan IP more, glad to see it being used here.

Truly a high quality ride by Disney

Surprise!

Ah Phantom Manor

Frankenstein's Monster from Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue!

Wacky Disney kids coaster. It's like Heimlich... or maybe it is!

What's this down here

Twister! Will be a sad day when it leaves Orlando but here at Great Yarmouth it keeps going strong

As well as other Universal THRILL rides.

Monorail to get you from one place back to that place

With a Dr Seuss like tunnel.
Lunch approached so we decided to take a walk from one park to find another

It had a rollercoaster called Spook Express. Was in a mountain, had dark bits, basically space spook mountain!

So nicely themed!

And more minions!

On ride photos taken by someone with a camera. True quality!

Look at the little snail they had!

Snails love airtime! I've no idea what Disney feed them but they love it!

Clearly waiting the Puss In Boots layover for the Goose in the beanstalk.

So Farm Cruise

Watch out for the Pirates of the Yarmouth!

Zoo Cruise.

Pinocchio dark ride section with It's A Small world playing. So urm It's a small boy?

Peter Pans not flying flight

Evolution.

Like the film as you can see.

They also had a roller coaster with a flame spitting tower thing at the top (flame wasn't working)

Prehistoric Twirl.

So whilst you all scratch your heads wondering if Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach is Disney or Universal I'll leave you with some pictures of Roller Coaster




Snail Always.