Orlando- Tampa spring break

My school band will be taking a trip to Orlando and Tampa for spring break (leaving from Il). Since I have never been to most of the parks i'm visiting, I would like to know what rides to ride, and what order based on the usual lines they get (I understand its mostly non-predictable, though). I'm just curious as to what to expect.

April 13- Islands of Adventure- 10 hours
April 14- Magic Kingdom- open to close
April 15- Animal Kingdom- open to 3:00- 5:30 Epcot for instrument workshop (if I have time is M:S or TT better)
April 16- Busch Gardens- open to close
April 17- Blizzard Beach- 9:30- 2, MGM Studios- arrive until close)

Thank you for your time

IOA-hit hulk first, then spiderman, then dudley doo right (if open), popeye, then Dueling dragons, then cat in the hat, and one fish two fish. those are the best rides in the park. Hit up anything else if time allows, but don't miss those rides, the park is in a circle, the rides listed are in order clockwise

MK-Space mountain, thunder mountain (if open), haunted mansion, splash mountain, Buzz lightyear, dumbo, and overall enjoy the park. It truly is a magical place.

AK-not my favorite park, only been there once. hit Dinosaur and primeval whirl, its tough to be a bug, and check out the kilamanjaro raft ride. also the animal exhibits.

BGT-hit Gwazi, Python(for credits) Scorpion, Kumba, Montu, Cheetah Chase, Rhino Rally (if line is short-Turbo sadly disappointed :( ), and check out some shows at the parks

EPCOT-DEFINETELY HIT MISSION SPACE! skip band if you have to, as this is a one of a kind ride :)

Blizzard Beach- one of the best water parks around, it will be plenty crowded- but hit Summit plummet, splush gusher, teamboat springs, downhill double dipper, both headfirst mat slides, all of the slides you can-hit, as this is a great park

HAVE A BLAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MK: Pirates. Granted, it is a shell of the Disneyland version, but still not to be missed. I'd skip dumbo if it weren't for my kids. Beautiful ride, but really just a dressed-up version of something you've been on a thousand times in one incarnation or another.

And that goes for Astro Orbiter and the Magic Carpets, too. For as innovative as the Imagineers can be, my mind simply boggles at the thought that they put three different versions of the same damn ride in that park.

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ShockwaveXL said:

April 13- Islands of Adventure- 10 hours
April 14- Magic Kingdom- open to close
April 15- Animal Kingdom- open to 3:00- 5:30 Epcot for instrument workshop (if I have time is M:S or TT better)
April 16- Busch Gardens- open to close
April 17- Blizzard Beach- 9:30- 2, MGM Studios- arrive until close)

Thank you for your time

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Here's my stab at it. You're going to be there the week after Easter which is whan a lot of schools are out. You can -- and probably will -- have a great time, but be prepared for long lines and to take advance of FASTPASS at the Disney parks and Universal Express at IOA.

IOA -- If you are there when the park opens, the earlier advice is spot on -- just go down the park's "Port of Entry" strip and head left towards Marvel. Do Spidey then Hulk. Grab an Express Pass for Dr. Doom if the line is longer than 15-20 minutes at that point and move clockwise through the park. You will be ahead of the pack. If you get there after the park opens (by 30 minutes to an hour or more) grab an Express Pass for Hulk and get in the Spiderman single-rider line.

MK -- You're there when the park opens? Cool. Don't do Space Mountain first. Go left when you hit the end of Main Street and go back to Splash Mountain (first) and Thunder Mountain (second). Then grab a FastPass for Space Mountain because the line will already be notable. If you're a coaster credit hound you have Goofy's Barnstormer out in Mickey's Toontown Fair which opens an hour after the rest of the park (or just hit it at night when that area thins out).

AK -- Go against the flow. Everyone runs to the Safari at the open. Trust me. You'll see everyone making a beeline to the back of the park. Take advantage of this. Go counterclockwise to Dinoland and ride Dinosaur and Primeval Whirl (they will be walk-ons at this point) then go to Asia to ride Kali River Rapids. Then just go ahead and get a FastPass for Kilimanjaro Safaris. The Festival of the Lion King show is really good and don't forget that you have a cool 4D film showing inside that huge Tree of Life.

Busch Gardens -- A lot of coasters here but really only two outstanding steel ones and a decent woodie. The beauty is that one of them -- Kumba -- is WAY in the back of the park. The park can be open for an hour or two before the lines form there. So just hit Montu, Rhino Rally (if the line is short) and then head out to Kumba (take the skyway -- or the train -- if you want to spare your feet). Gwazi is the other must hit in the park but it's right by the entrance so the lines form early. Montu, then Gwazi on the way clockwise to Kumba would be a good coaster attack strategy.

One note on Busch Gardens: the back areas of the park may not open until 10am (whereas the park itself is open at 9:30am), which is what it did when we were there last week. In that case, Gwazi and Montu are your best best right off, unless you're interested in Rhino Rally (not that hot, really, but worth the ride if you're there first thing and don't really have to wait). Beware that Gwazi's line is very tedious and can get very long, so you may want to make that your first or else wait until later in the afternoon after it's thinned a bit.

Also: Scorpion has a new paint job, and was closed the day we were there. However, we could still smell the paint, so it may be completed and operating as normal now.

Have fun!

Any info on MGM Studios (skip Rock n Roller Coaster, i'm not interested) *** Edited 3/30/2004 12:52:25 AM UTC by ShockwaveXL***

No one mentioned JP at IOA. Is it worth riding. And what about MGM (above post).

JP is worth riding great effects and all a very good water ride...You definately need to hit Dudley Doo Rights though if it is open this is a log flume on steroids man its great. Do all the coasters even Flying Unicorn...and at Universal Studios if you go make sure you ride Woody Woodpecker it may be small but fun at that.

As far as MGM if you are a credit whore ride Rock n Roller Coaster...but if not dont worry about it and be sure to ride Mission Space.

Blizzard Beach

Summet Plummet is no where as intimidating as it looks. Although it looks to be very steep in tall, all it really feels like "the light at the end of the tunnel" is coming closer to you. Just get there early and go on summit right away. Also, run-off rapids is a great set of three slides, which have pretty high capacity.

Busch Gardens

Go Gwazi and get a quick ride on that, (they stopped doing the flybys!!!!!!!!) Then head to the back of the park to do Kumba and Scorpion. Rhino is an okay ride, but isn't worth it to hit it first. EAT AT ONE OF THE BUFFETS --> probably some of the best food you will have at a theme park. Hit Montu at the end of the day with the sunset.

Magic Kindom

Magic kingdom is not about the thrills so do the little kid rides, they are great. Space Mountain is probably one of the worst coasters in the world (at least I think so - other than the coasters in Vegas) - not scary, bumpy, dark isn't so dark, short, and long wait. I wouldn't waste our favorite fast pass on it either. BUZZ LIGHTYEAR is great! Go on its a small world just to say you did it. It is the most annoying ride - you hear the song "It's a small world" for a good 5-7 minutes. So many people working in the park make fun of it, "If you lose, we'll make you go on "it's a small world" 7 times in a row!" YOu have to go on it to understand. Splash mountain is worth riding, even though they took out a lot of cool aspects. ThunderMountain is a sucky rollercoaster with nice theming...which makes it good. Everything else at Magic Kingdom is pretty eh. Go on Winny the Pooh, great ride.

IOA...hulk, sit in the front, very worth it. Dueling, I personally like the inline twist on ice (dueling dragons is only good in the front unless you don't mind not seeing the other train scream toward you before you go into a loop). Fire in the front is VERY intense especially if you sit in the front row. The wrap around immelman...woah. Spiderman is good, I haven't been on Mummy yet so I have no idea what to compare it to. Best motion simulator in existance. Jurassic has a great drop other than that it is just loud and annoying. I haven't been on dudley since they modified the drop, but you get air time on the log shoot which is a first for most people. Also, Poseidon's Fury which is a walk through attraction is very cool when you walk in a tunnel with water swirrling around you and no glass protecting you from the water...very cool. The fearfall is so not worth it...do it at your home park. The best family raft ride in the world (in my opinion) exists at IOA with its Popeye Raft Ride...you go 20 mph...that is very fast for a raft ride and you fly over the rapids, and you get COMPLETELY soaked. A lot of fun watching people in Ralph Lauren, and designer sweaters and get soaked.

I didn't think Mission Space was that great...maybe 1.5 Gs (we all know Disney) and the whole floating sensation lasted a whole 15 seconds. That part was cool. Test Track is a lot of fun, and there is air time.

Animal kingdom has nothing. The spinning coaster is a piece of crap that one would not expect would come from disney.

IOA: Dont worry, you will have plenty of time to ride all the rides, but if you are there at opening go clockwise and hit Hulk, Spiderman, Dudley, Popeye, JP, Dueling Dragons.

MK: Do as much as possible, I agree with the Splash Mt first plan besides the mountains though do not miss Haunted Mansion, Pirates, and Jungle Cruise (all iconic rides). Whatever you do dont miss the Disney night shows, at this park that means a firework show and a night parade. If the parade runs at two times ride during the first one, see it the second time. Best place to view both shows is from top of main street by the castle.

AK: nothing more to add.

Epcot: What are you doing after 5:30?!? That park closes at 9, you should definatly be able to hit space. Also, convince your group to stay for Illuminations firework show (starts at 9) you wont be disapointed (market as a "musical experience" to your tour leader since it is set to classical music). Find what ever place you can on the lagoon where you have an unobstructed view to enjoy that show.

Blizzard Beach: Turbo is dead on on this park, follow his plan.

MGM: If you are going next week, then this park will be open til 10 if memory serves me correctly. Whatever you do there do not miss T:OT or Fantasmic they are worth the price of admission alone (allthough if you want a good seat for Fantasmic line up for the second show as soon as the first one starts, its still worth it dont sit to close to the front if you dont want to get soaked).

Sorry, I didn't find Mission: Space that great. Also, keep in mind that when going to Blizzard Beach, although the line may not look that long for Slush or Summit, the line moves between 120 pph to 180 pph so VERY slow.