HOT! HOT! days @ IOA & UNIVERSAL STUDIOS!

First i would like to start off by mentioning that this vacation was the best i've been on in a long time! The employees of these two parks should be recommended to train every train op/ customer service person in the business. Nevertheless me and my fiance' were treated really well, seeing as though this was my first trip to florida i will always have fond memories. Anyways let's get to the good part.

I will rank a few 3d rides but not all, i was unable to ride The Mummy ride because we would arrive at the park early and the wait was very , very long and the express passses were already distributed for the day.

I will use the ranking system of: 1-10

Let's start with IOA.

THE HULK:(30 min wait)TEMP: 85 degrees,Humid

When i actually was able to see this ride in person i was very impressed very photo friendly coaster. great setting with the water and mist effects. Well i arrived early to ride this coaster and i can tell you that the que to this ride was very nice, cool inside sometimes you forgot how hot it was outside. I was able to board the coaster fairly quickly the ride ops were great they checked restraints moved them out simple and well done. The launch on this coaster was great very intense and right in to the cobra roll and boomerang loops, very exciting then this is were it went bad. The rest of the ride was pretty boring standard loops and twist taken at very low speeds, sometimes i thought we weren't going to make it through the inversions. Very unmemorable second half of ride.

Rating: 7.0

Dueling Dragons:Ice side:(20 minute wait)Temp:89 degrees, Humid:

Very nice Theming short wait. The ride itself wasn't very intense but some nice near misses. I couldn't help but compare this ride to the other B&M's this one has to be the less intense of the type of invert's . But still a fun ride.

Rating: 7.5

Dueling Dragons: Fire Side: (20 minute wait)

I don't get it but this side seemed a bit more intense on the first drop and a lot more exciting ride than the blue side. I don't know if it was the heat but i really like the fire side more than the ice side.

Rating : 8.5

Dr Dooms Freefall ride: 93 degrees, very Humid!

Okay at this point of time it was sooo hot my brain felt like it was baking in the sun. I'am from upstate New York it just doesn't get that hot were i'am from, but make no mistake this was the worst freefall ride i have ever had the displeasure of riding, just god awful. The turbo shot up the tower was not very intense just very standard fare it was over before it started very short ride.

Rating: 2.5

Now on to the various 3d and 4d rides located at both parks.

Spiderman:

Great dark ride. Period. Probably one of the best, this ride and Back To the Future really impressed me the visuals really put you right there in the action, seemed very intense.

Rating: 10

Back to the Future:

You probably already know what i'am going to say about this ride. Awesome. I bit jerky if you sit in the back of the car but if your in the front your in for a treat. can someone please let me know how old is this ride. It has held up pretty good if it has benn around for a while. Great Que also.

Rating: 9.5

Jaws:

One of the first of it's kind decent thrill nothing to get all excited about but still great effect when Jaws pops out of the water, got me every time.

Rating: 7

Twister:

Pretty boring up until the end of the show then that's when it gets cookin' the effects with falling ceiling and fire: great.

Rating: 7.5

I expierenced sooo many other shows there to many to list. I feel bad i didn't get the chance to ride The Mummy ride, there was still other great shows Like MIB The Ride, which was pretty fun with the laser guns and all, Shrek 4D was really great also.

All and all a very hot, fun vacation to IOA and Universal Studios, great staff clean park very well maintained.

The only thing that kind of put a damper on things was the fact i went and saw the new Spiderman 2 movie which i thought was so boring i was acutally wishing that the movie would end, horrible movie in my opinion.

I hope everyone had a great time at Beastbuzz and i hope you have a great summer! *** Edited 7/6/2004 8:45:13 PM UTC by darienlakefan***

Great trip report. If you want to go when it's cooler (lower 70's average and no wait for coasters) go in Novemeber, between Halloween and Thanksgiving.

I am staying at the resort two nights in late October and I guess they have a fast pass for their guests!

Did you just spend just one day there? I am worried that even two days wouldnt be enough time to enjoy the parks and just simply relax.

eightdotthree smart move staying on the property you will never wait more then 15 mins for a ride and most of the time you will just walk on to them (The Mummy, while it was a 1 hour wait for stand bys, was a walk on for express I got on it 4 times in a half an hour before the park closed). Check out my Universal and Islands of Adventure to see how many rides I rode in in 2.5 days. Seriously, youll be able to recite whole attractions from start to finish after your done. Have fun!

By the way which one are you staying at? *** Edited 7/6/2004 10:41:18 PM UTC by Touchdown***

Thanks for the links, I forget which hotel we are staying at, I let my girlfriend make all the reservations. :)

I actually spent 1 day at Universal studio's and 2 days split betweeen IOA and the studio's both were very fun days, just like i mentioned before just not used to all the heat and humidity.

You guys are lucky. I only got to spend 4 hours at IOA on our last trip. (Mainly because my dad didn't like the rock music blarring in MARVEL Super Hero Island, so he went over to Universal and we had to meet up with him in 4 hours. Good thing is we hit all the major attractions.)