Here are some overview shots of the parks at Universal Studios. Islands of Adventure is on the left with themed areas such as Marvel Superheroes Island, Jurassic Island, and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. To the right is Universal Studios with all of its movie rides like Men in Black, Terminator, and Twister.
One of the most unique B&M steel coasters out there is The Incredible Hulk. What makes it so unique? Well it shoots you out of the top of a tunnel to get the ride started. For the most part, this ride has held together over the years, but it still has its rough spots.
Bow before Doom! I think I've only ever been on this ride like twice in my life, and that's probably because it's not that great. In fact, this ride may be the worst drop tower ride ever made. But for the sake of saying that I've done it, I did it. Unfortunately, all that happens is one initial launch and then it slowly bounces you back to ground level. Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios blows this thing out of the water.
The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man saw a fairly recent upgrade to its 3D capabilities with the addition of HD 3D. This ride is a must-do for all Universal visits and is truly enjoyable every time. The same technology found on this attraction was also used to create the all-new Transformers ride. I took a picture of MODOK, too.
I legitimately feel sorry for all the Universal employees that have to work shops/games/attractions in the Toon Lagoon portion of Islands of Adventure. The Toon theming is fairly obscure and not really all that popular (and I'm not sure if it's ever been). Since I had never bothered to stop and ride of the water rides in this section, I took a chance and rode Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls today. It is a super wacky log flume ride with multiple drops and even a double-down at the end of the ride. I actually really enjoyed it, but I did end up getting super soaked. The other water ride in this area is Popeye's Bilge Rat Barges, but I didn't try it out today.
Rumor has it that this area may be going away in the near future to make room for an entirely different area. The most popular idea at the moment is to replace it with a Hobbit/LOTR themed world. Some critics think that may force a little too much fantasy on the area, but pretty much anything would be better than Toon Lagoon. Heck they could even keep their wacky water rides, but just put dragons and crap all over the place.
Welcome to...Jurassic Park!! I can't believe the first Jurassic Park movie came out 20 years ago. Even nowadays, the animatronics in that movie are incredible. Jurassic Island is still pretty busy, even though you probably won't ever be waiting more than 10 minutes for any of the attractions. While the River Adventure ride is obviously a must-do, there is way too much capacity for it to ever get backed up. The ride has its moments, but the stagnant pace of the watercraft kinda takes away the element of surprise. In my opinion, Animal Kingdom's Dinosaur is a much better dino ride, since it features variable movement and multiple surprises lurking in the dark. Regardless of how short the attraction lines are, I think JP is going to be sticking around for a long time.
I'm not really going to bother explaining these next pictures since I'm sure all of you already know what they are. Quick rundown: 1. Forbidden Journey (inside the castle) was the first ride since I was a child that actually made me nervous. A few of those spiders and dementors got a little too close for comfort. 2. The butterbeer was okay, but mine was a little flat. 3. Dragon Challenge was good, but I still miss the dueling aspect from the old days where both trains would run at the same time.
Ah yes, Lost Continent. And why is it lost? Because no one really knew what they were going for when they built it. While Toon Lagoon actually features some famous cartoons like Popeye, Rocky & Bullwinkle, and Dudley Do-Right, Lost Continent is kinda like a generic mythology section. No specific movie is really featured in this area, except for the Sinbad show, and I'm too lazy to really look up if that was even a thing. Anywho, there's a Sinbad stunt show here which isn't all that bad and there are some cool shops too. It also boasts one of the best theme park restaurants in the world (oooh ahhhhh). The main drawpoint of this area is Poseidon's Fury, a special effects guided tour. I really like the concept behind this attraction, but the theme is generic and uninteresting. The tour has some really cool surprises though, so I won't ruin it for you. As with Toon Lagoon, there have been talks about making Lost Continent the location of the new Hobbit world as well.
One fish, two fish, red fish, I'll have a cheeseburger. Seuss Landing is an interesting and highly detailed place with attractions themed around Dr. Seuss' storybooks. Most of the attractions in this section are aimed at children, but I usually end up stopping here for lunch at the Circus Magurkus(spelling?) I bit the bullet today and decided to ride Cat in the Hat. It was strange and there was a lot of spinning, but I'm sure it's enjoyable for the kids.
Heading over to the original park, I snapped some pictures of the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. This coaster
opened just 4 years ago, but it feels like it's been through a lot. Much of the track looks heavily worn and it is definitely not the smoothest ride out there. It also has about five break sections which make for a lot of annoying stops. However, it looks really cool and you can pick what song you listen to while riding.
When I first rode Twister a couple weeks ago, devastating tornadoes had just blown through Oklahoma the day before. It was definitely a different experience with that in the forefront of my mind while listening to Helen Hunt describe her experience filming Twister. This ride has some cool effects, but it is becoming a little dated. I hope they continue to keep it around, however.
The Revenge of the Mummy continually fights for a spot at the top of my personal "Most Favorite Ride" list. On most days, I will claim it is my favorite, with Maverick at Cedar Point sometimes booting it out. Regardless, it is a fantastic indoor coaster with plenty of surprises. The best part, however, is that there is even a single rider line for it! When you visit Universal Studios, don't overlook this ride. Admittedly, it can be easy to miss since it doesn't really looks like an attraction entrance for a roller coaster. Even if you don't use single rider, the line only takes about 30 minutes.
RIP Jaws. The old Amity Island tour ride featuring Jaws is now a thing of the past, but the life-size shark model is still around for photo's sake. So what's taking it's place? I'm not telling. Okay okay I'll tell, but only because I like you and you could honestly find out through Google in about 13 seconds. The construction in the picture below is for Diagon Alley, an expansion to the Harry Potter world next door at Islands of Adventure. There will be new shops, a train that travels between both parks, and an indoor Gringott's Bank mine coaster ride. This new section is supposedly opening next summer.
While the television edition of Fear Factor may now be old-hat, the Fear Factor Live show is still going strong. Contestants are actual park guests that audition to take part in the show and probably sign a ton of waivers. The stunts featured hanging from tall buildings, throwing octopuses into the audience, and using VR cannons to deface local buildings. Eh, you had to be there. The lucky winner from the show I watched was an older gentleman who wanted to prove to his kids that he could win.
Although I've never really watched much of the Simpson's, the new Springfield area is pretty entertaining. The ride itself replaced the old Back to the Future ride and uses the same setup of stationary motion simulators and a freakishly huge screen. The motions felt pretty cool and the ride was actually funny. If possible, I would recommend trying to ride on one of the upper decks, or you will be looking straight up for most of the ride. Also, avoid riding on the far end of any of the decks since the image will be warped and make the ride less convincing.
The animal show was also pretty cool, although I wish it would have been a little longer. I am still not sure how they trained a cat to do what they want. I thought cats were all un-trainable beasts...
And last, but certainly not least, I have a report on the new Transformers 3D Ride. I heard via Twitter the other day that the park had been opening up this ride in the evenings as part of "tech rehearsal" even though the grand opening isn't till June 20th. After getting off the Shrek ride (ugh, btw) I decided to swing by the huge NEST building to see if there had been any sign of life. There was a pretty large group of people out there already, just sitting on the ground and looking at the amazing, life-size Optimus Prime statue perched above the entrance. Several ride attendants were standing outside and just kinda looking at everyone, explaining that the ride won't be opening till June 20th. After about 5 minutes of waiting, however, they signaled for everyone to move to one side and form a line. I've never been to Best Buy on Black Friday, but what I witnessed today must have been very similar. People were nearly trampling each other to get in line. I saw several pairs of flip-flops come flying off as people bolted to the entrance. Luckily I was close to where the line had formed, because about 30 seconds later the line was backed up to the Disaster! ride.
We all proceeded in an orderly fashion (more or less) into the building, and I managed to get inside just seconds before it began dumping rain. The interior of the building was pretty neat, but most of my pictures came out blurry since we were moving quickly to the front of the ride. The ride itself, as mentioned earlier, uses the exact same technology as Spider-Man, but with a greater usage of 3D projection screens and not as many real-life props. The ride overall looked pretty good, but was super hectic, much like the Transformers movies themselves. I was definitely glad I got to experience it. Having accomplished my mission, I finally headed back home. Not even the pouring rain could have dampened my spirits. (hehe GET IT!!?!?)
As promised, here are some Disney pictures. Enjoy!
Welp, That's all Folks!
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