Mark and Chris's Satisfactual Florida trip

[Mark9]

Afternoon all, I didn't want to clog up Nicky's Florida trip report topic so here's mine! For our second anniversary Chris and I went off to Walt Disney World Florida for ten nights in what has ended up to be the hottest May in Florida since 1916. The parks were busy, the rides packed out, you'd be lucky to get near the parades and yet it was the best ten days off my life. To try something different I'm doing my trip report in the wrong order. So here we go..I'm going to start with Animal Kingdom which we spent two of our days at, the reason for this will become apparent as you read. Animal kingdom is the park I'd heard the least about and for me was the park I was least looking forward to. It ended up being the surprise hit of the trip and is far more then just three rides and a safari. The Disney parks don't just open, they roll out the characters on trains, jeeps, buses, monorail trains and have a big countdown to let guests in. I'm not going to lie when I say this is magical. It diverts interest away from the tedium of waiting. The only other park I've seen do that is Warner in Madrid. Other parks take note.So when you go to Animal Kingdom, what ride do you start with?Yeah, of course, Expedition Everest. A ride that with hindsight is what Th13teen was trying to be and utterly failed to be. Expedition Everest is stunning. I'm sure you all know about it's little trick but its not this that impressed me, it's the stunning attention to detail all around the ride. From the beautiful queueline that talks about the legend of the Yeti to the small gift-shop that sells yeti t-shirts. I actually got a bit annoyed about the queue actually; it moves to fast. I wanted to read about the yeti but because the ride eats people by the bucket loads, I never got the chance. With 5 trains seating 34 people each, it was crazy. The ride itself is sublime, the drop out the mountain is full of speed, air time and beautifully smooth, and the lift hill is a superb touch; it slows down slightly and the train lets out a honking speed as if its stepping up a gear to get you up the mountain. The other stand out attraction for us was Dinosaur. No one speaks about it. Good, the ride is excellent and far scarier then its's queue and surrounding area. The photo point is also.. perfect. Kali Kali Rapids was.... okay. After its drop it kind of died a quick death and just meandered back to the station. It's theme is deforestation. Loads of burnt out trees decorate the top of the ride. It's quite wet and American reactions to rides have to be seen to be understood. It just lacked length for me.So onto the other major attraction at Animal Kingdom, Kilamanjaro Safari, basically a trek through a reserve where you can see Hippos, Lions, Ostriches, Elephants, Zebras and Alligators. Very popular but very interesting at the same time. They try to intersperse the ride with a story of poachers stealing a baby elephant. It's slightly bad taste really but on the other hand gives the ride a certain finale.So why did we spend two days at Animal Kingdom. Well we were at the meet and greet area hugging Goofy and Pluto when a guy came to us and said he wanted out help in a little project. What we didn't know is that the project was to be part of the park parade. If you know Disney, you know the parades are massive and a huge majority of the park will state their turf, refusing to move so they could get a chance to see the gang on themed cars. We were on the Mickey float to!The most magical moment of the trip without a doubt. Buh Bye Animal kingdom

[James6]

Epic :PGlad to see you had such a good time, is making me very excited for my trip there in the Summer!Also, what a great little surprise being selected to be a part of the parade, not seen that done before

[Benin]

Instead of clogging it (Nicky's topic) up you instead steal the limelight :)I mean, part of the parade... Fab <3

[Sheepie]

I'm glad you loved Animal Kingdom Mark. It's my favourite park out there; it's beautiful and the whole park is a work of art (except Dinoland USA.).The safari has had quite a few story lines over the years. During the very first previews, the climax of the ride ended in the poachers succeeding and involved a dead elephant prop at the end of the ride. However after complaints, they quickly rewrote that scene to have a happy ending.I've heard it's also changed again slightly within the last couple of years too. It seemed from your report Mark, that the poacher element is a lot less prominent than it once was.I agree with you with Kali River Rapids, although you've gotta love Disney for their visuals... even if the ride hardware isn't the best and there are better; I love the theme and it also has a mind- blowingly decorated queue-line along with Everest.Looking forward to hearing the rest of your report Mark. I'm so stalking those picture albums on Chris' Facebook.

[Dan]

Awesome pics and hottest may I'm jelous looks amazing glad you had nice time and enjoyed yourself over there

[Mark9]

So to speed forward, the next park I'm going to cover is Islands of Adventure.And I'm going to be controversial at the same time. Islands of Adventure is essentially what Thorpe Park is but slightly better themed. When I mean slightly, I mean when Islands of Adventure have bothered the theming is second to none. But areas they think of unessential have been left. Good example is any ground under the Dueling Dragons. It's just concrete troughs.So to start with rides, Harry Potter and the Hogwarts area.Mm, gorgeous ain't it. Everyone photoing a castle and by far the most popular ride on the trip. but whats this I see...Slightly takes the sheen of an amazing looking front when you see a giant shed behind it. They've tried to hide it in the queue with greenhouse roofing but its so easy to see. Regular guests probably don't notice... but I'm a geek and I'm afraid after a week of well hidden Disney dark rides, Harry Potter dissapointed. The ride itself is good, very good in fact and certainly throws your balance of guard. The idea of trying to fit 7 books into one ride is quite commendable, the fact they've done any justice at all is credible. So next is the Dueling Dragons, two rides I highly anticipated. They're fun but neither really have anything on Nemesis and Black Mamba. I think one of the main issues is that because of the dueling elements there's a lot of dry bits during the ride where it's just waiting to lead up to the leg chopper moments. They are memorable moments but they only last for about 2 seconds each so I'm not quite sure if it's worth the duelling ness of the ride. The Ice dragon was by far my favourite thanks to its cobra roll and jerkier moments during the ride. Despite Fire having more inversions and faster moments it didn't quite flow as well as Ice. I do realise I'm calling them by the rides old names.. but bothered. I liked the queueline. I understand it was better when it was the Dueling Dragons, but as far as I could see the new one is just as impressive. very windy, very long and almost an adventure in itself. One of the more unique things I picked up on was this is the only B&M I've seen so far that has separate loading and unloading areas. This really didn't help the throughput of the thing as having to wait for floors to go up and down and the front/back rows having to have their bars down before the train moved.. felt very laborious. And thanks to the duelling element of the ride if your train is dispatched first, you'll be waiting a good while for the other train to catch up. And because one ride seems to be longer then the other, chances are you'll be waiting a long time. So I'd rate Ice Dragon 8/10 and Fire Dragon 7/10.Onto The Incredible Hulk, certainly a very impressive ride. Located right next to the entrance watching the ride splurt out trains every minute certainly makes you take note. Neither Hulk or Dragons had longer then 10 minute queues when we visited which made re-riding Hulk very easy. I got a good indication of the rides quality. There's a certain train that can rock you to hell, very rough and very teeth chattering. The other two trains gave much nicer rides. Hulk is a ride of two halves. It starts off incredibly fitting in a launch and five inversions into it's first 30 seconds. And then the ride seems to lose it a bit with very tame helixes and banked turns. The corkscrews and zero g roll are very very good and the ride is very striking with its neon green and white supports. Universal like you to clap, whenever a train returns from its journey all staff members act like they've seen a play and clap crazily. Hulk gets an 8/10 from me.Stay tuned for part two

[AdamY]

Hm, I'm a bit surprised at some of what you've said to be honest Mark!To start with FJ, I think it really depends on the kind of person you are regarding the show building bothering you or not. When I was there sure, I could look up, and see the show building. But I didn't look. I don't see how, when surrounded with all the amazing stuff in that ride area, all you can think of is that you can see the show building. I really think you have to be looking for something to be disappointed about if it bothers you that much.Second, I completely fail to see how you can compare the park to Thorpe in any way!? It is consistently voted as, and generally thought of as, one of the best parks in the world in terms of themed experiences. Spiderman rightly held the top dark ride spot for 10 years, and a lot of people now say IOA have the best two dark rides with the addition of FJ. Where are they at Thorpe? In terms of the park as a whole, where is the mystic fountain? Where is Mythos? Where are all the tiny details stuck all over Port of Entry? Perhaps you were too busy looking at the Forbidden Journey show building to notice them...Also, some of the stuff you thought about DD seemed a bit odd to me... I don't really see how you could think it's queue is as good as it was before, when it's so much more plain now? Also, the dispatch at different times is done on purpose so that the correct lift hill speed can be set to get each differently weighted train to the duel points at the correct time. If they were dispatched simultaneously, they wouldn't duel. I have the train weighing and dispatch system patent somewhere if you want to see it... So under this system, the throughput would be far worse if it didn't have dual onload/offload.I'll be interested to see what you think of the rest of the park... Oh, but you win cookies for still calling DD by it's old name

[Benin]

^I can see where Mark is coming from in regards to some similarities to Thorpe... Whilst it has amazing theming, it is rather flat and has a rather selective atmosphere, especially around the coasters...And Mark never went on Duelling Dragons, so he cannot judge on the old queue... And really? They can't dispatch simultaneously? That makes even less sense... I doubt that the system is THAT flawed and I'm sure I've ridden it with simultaneous dispatching, only because of the different lengths of the track to the lifts they don't get there at the same time...

[Fred]

Well, he did say the non-themed areas feel like thorpe... :mellow:Interesting report, nice photos. Love it.

[Mark9]

To start with FJ, I think it really depends on the kind of person you are regarding the show building bothering you or not. When I was there sure, I could look up, and see the show building. But I didn't look. I don't see how, when surrounded with all the amazing stuff in that ride area, all you can think of is that you can see the show building. I really think you have to be looking for something to be disappointed about if it bothers you that much.

You see you make a very good point, why should I be bothered about the white shed when I'm in an immersively themed queueline and all the impressive stuff thats going on inside there. Because if the first thing I see when I view the ride is a white shed then no amount of atmosphere or theming is going to get rid of that initial first impression. Especially when you have this amazing themed castle but just one step to the right and you see the white shed of doom.

Second, I completely fail to see how you can compare the park to Thorpe in any way!? It is consistently voted as, and generally thought of as, one of the best parks in the world in terms of themed experiences. Spiderman rightly held the top dark ride spot for 10 years, and a lot of people now say IOA have the best two dark rides with the addition of FJ. Where are they at Thorpe? In terms of the park as a whole, where is the mystic fountain? Where is Mythos? Where are all the tiny details stuck all over Port of Entry? Perhaps you were too busy looking at the Forbidden Journey show building to notice them...

I don't care if its voted as the best park in the universe to be honest Adam, I make my own mind up judged by my own experiences. I did call Islands of Adventure a better themed Thorpe. Yes there are some fantastic touches such as Poseidons Fury and Hogsmede for example (which I'm covering in part two ) But then there are rides like the Dragons and Hulk which have ride areas through concrete trenches. There's no queueline interaction and no will solid views of the Dragons in particular.

Also, some of the stuff you thought about DD seemed a bit odd to me... I don't really see how you could think it's queue is as good as it was before, when it's so much more plain now? Also, the dispatch at different times is done on purpose so that the correct lift hill speed can be set to get each differently weighted train to the duel points at the correct time. If they were dispatched simultaneously, they wouldn't duel. I have the train weighing and dispatch system patent somewhere if you want to see it... So under this system, the throughput would be far worse if it didn't have dual onload/offload.

That seems ridiculous to me, I can't believe that B&M would build a ride where its trains can't be dispatched together and they'd design a ride where the first train has to wait on the lift hill for ages to let the other one catch up. Grand National has been doing it for 70 years before Dragons even opened. Never experienced the old queue, I had heard it has better but I never saw it so can only judge from what I have seen.

[AdamY]

It's not that they can't, it's just that if they both dispatched simultaneously and ascended the lift at the same speed, they would be out of sync at the duel points due to the trains' differing masses. It is a system to circumvent this problem - read if you will!And re FJ, do you go into a theatre and think, "This is rubbish, they're actors on a stage! This isn't real!"? We all know the ride is in a show building really, but it's all about suspending your disbelief!

[Benin]

But since both lifts can have their speed changed for the differing masses by computers, why should that cause such a hoo-hah if they were dispatched at the same time?THIS is the point being made... Why prevent simultaneous dispatch when surely there is a way to have it work when it does it anyways?

[Nicky]

Sometimes one of the trains really crawls up the lift so they reach the top at the same point. They also vary the speed on the lift hill so its changing all the time. Surely dispatching at the same time is better as it gets them round faster, higher capacity.

[James6]

Basically, they're dispatched when they're ready, whether that's simultaneous or not.

[Mark9]

And re FJ, do you go into a theatre and think, "This is rubbish, they're actors on a stage! This isn't real!"? We all know the ride is in a show building really, but it's all about suspending your disbelief!

You're using two different mediums and different context. If you go to a theme park you expect the ride to be hidden or themed in a certain way. For instance, Poseidon at Europa Park the rides station by all intents and purposes is a Greek Colosseum. Forbidden Journey doesn't try and hide the metal shed convincingly (or at all) and so my suspension of disbelief goes. Look at Hex for example, because you never see the ride building from the queue or from the outside. You'd think it was part of the Towers. The join is so perfect, I still can't tell when I leave real and enter fake. Harry Potter doesn't even try and hide the shed.By using the theatre analogy, if everyone is performing well then suspension of disbelief remains because they are those characters. But if you have someone actihng badly, chewing the scenery then the suspension of diseblief is gone.

[AdamY]

But the whole point of suspended disbelief is that you know it isn't real, even if that isn't glaringly obvious. By extension, I'd argue that it doesn't really matter if you can see it or not.Don't get me wrong, I'd prefer it wasn't there. All I'm saying is, it really doesn't ruin the experience. Go look at the mandrake roots instead, much more fun

[Mark9]

But the whole point of suspended disbelief is that you know it isn't real, even if that isn't glaringly obvious. By extension, I'd argue that it doesn't really matter if you can see it or not.

One wonders why any park bothers to hide their dark rides then. Just have the sheds out in the open, call it suspension of disbelief and all is fine.

[Nicky]

IMO the Harry Potter shed isn't that bad. You have to look up and around the greenhouse roof to see the shed. The money is probably best if spent in other places rather than on hiding the sheds.

[TraX]

I'm surprised that you didn't see Dragon's Challange, or whatever dispatch their trains separately, the two lift hills slow the faster train until the slower train catches up. Both trains then go the same speed. Odd that wasn't happening!Did the Dementors on FJ give you a shock? Gets me every time, even when I know they're coming. Something that big shouldn't be able to follow you and jump out so easily!!Oh and Animal Kingdom is fantastic, totally agree about the Everest queue line, fast moving and tons of story. Just how I feel about Saw-the ri... No, sorry, moving on.NEXT park Number 9!

[TraX]

I would say it's because the rest of the park is so highly themed. It's a shame with FJ, they went to extrodanary lengths to make the highest themed ride-I think that I have ever seen-although they somehow couldn't finish the small detail of hiding the show building. Some trees would do the job nicely, just ask Disney!

[Mark9]

Part two of Islands of Adventure.So a little known ride called Spidermen is quite unlike anything I'd ever ridden, Fantasticly themed queueline, good story. Apparently Dr Octopus has invented a levitation gun and has stolen the statue of liberty. He then proceeds to drop a train load of people into water, killing them all I assume. Our job is to follow Spiderman and defeat all the evil people. Avoid the rest if you don't want it ruined. You board big blue cars that take you through the ride, you wear 4D specs and various things are sprayed at you and fire effects dry you off from the water rides and every character bounces on your car and threatens you with various methods of death. I make it sound tedious, but it's actually really good fun. It almost seems strange that they have Spiderman and Harry Potter in the same park as both are very similar rides in terms of what they are trying to do. I like that Islands of Adventure not only have the scary rides such as Hulk and the Dragons, but they have experience rides to.Now, the water rides. Ridiculously wet, we're talking soaked to the bone. I'm not even sure where the waves came from sometimes as we seemed to be just mingling on and then a giant wave topples us. No wonder it has seatbelts frankly. Dr Do's Ripsaw Falls wasn't a favourite. After Splash Mountain it just felt very empty and lacking. The drop is very effective sending you through mist and tings, but not a favourite unfortunately.Now, Jurassic Park, I was so excited to ride it, couldn't wait, the music echoing over that area of the park. Oh it's closed. Thanks for the warning guys. This happened just after we were told Dragons were closed because of technical difficulties so maybe some will understand why I compared with Thorpe earlier. Now, Hogsmeade which is the main part of the Harry Potter area. It is absolutely stunning and it is clear that is where most of the money seemed to go. I have never seen an area so busy, and so happy and its testament to the franchise that it can attract so many people in Florida's quiet time. Unfortunately what Harry Potter does is overbalance the park. That area of the park was heaving, you had to queue just to enter the tiny shops and Hippogriff which looked like Pegasus from Europa Park had a 60 minute queue all day. When you have three B&M's going round with 5 minute queues, it's obviously going to be missed out on. Other rides all had 5 minutes, but the Harry Potter area, packed. Really nice area though, the view when entering is so picture-esque and its no wonder people would enter Dragon's queueline just to take pictures in front of the castle.I did have some butterbeer. It's amazing just how much it tastes like Vanilla Coke Finally onto one of the most shocking and over the top attractions, Poseidons Fury. Wow, if you've never done it you'd have no idea any of that was coming.

[Sheepie]

Hogsmeade does look awesome. I'm looking forward to spending a day just exploring Hogmeade itself and the shops. It looks phenomenal.I'm also one for not being a fan of Ripsaw Falls at all. It just feels so bare and tin shed like, especially compared with Splash Mountain which is one of my favourite dark/ water rides ever and is full of detail: you could go on it many times and still notice new details.Bilge Rat Barges on the other hand, is a genius attraction and is fully realised, immersive experience. It's hilarious as well; getting to look at everyone getting drowned. :mellow:I'm sad to hear you didn't get to experience River Adventure, Mark. It was having a scheduled refurb which many of the rides do during the quieter periods, especially the water ones.On your views about the various attractions around IOA- I do tend to agree. If you do Disney, then go to Universal, it does make you realise just how well Disney really do hide many of the backstage areas around their parks. The shed on Forbidden Journey is a shame, I've not heard much about it, I'll have to judge when I go for myself this summer.I've always said that Hulk is overrated and I personally don't think it's one of the better attractions, as well as Dragons. It seems to fizzle out and as a coaster leaves me feeling deflated after a powerful first half. I found it rough, too, as did other members of my family. Creatively though, I suppose it makes sense for it to fizzle out, as that what happens to the Hulk, he has intense rage which slowly comes back down.I love the effects and scenic design in Posideons Fury, though I find some bits a bit cheesy and can be a distraction to the wonderful, rich environment that the attraction immerses you in. I find myself against a potential Potter expansion, that will engulf this area. I personally found the Lost Continent theme much richer and more exciting, as faithful a vision as Potter is.What they did to Duelling Dragons' queue was sacrilege.

[AdamY]

Funnily enough, after disagreeing so violently with your last part Mark, I also agree about Ripsaw Falls. Not up to the standard of the rest of the park. Bilge Rat Barges is one of my favourite rides ever though, utterly hilarious

[Deleted Users]

I know that the shop shows are small on purpose to make them feel more intimate but that doesn't mean that there can't be multiple show rooms. Seems a bit silly.

[Benin]

The shops are small for realism I believe... Unfortunately, practically was kinda missed out by Ms Rowling...