Other stuff at Universal Florida

[mmcirvin]

Honestly, apart from anything with Harry Potter stamped on it, I didn't experience a lot of the best stuff at the Universal resort. Partly this was stupidity/lack of research/occasional unwellness on my part; partly it was having to wrangle a frequently grumpy 8-year-old. I shouldn't be too hard on her, though; she was, as always, far, far more

Comments

[mmcirvin]

Apparently, The Simpsons Ride was formerly an early-1990s-vintage Back to the Future ride, with a complete theming makeover in 2008. That explains why the mechanism seems simpler and older than many of the other rides in the park. The engineering involved is more titanic than it seems, though.

[mmcirvin]

...One thing I did notice, fairly consistently, is that Universal does 3D movies better than Disney World does. Whatever system they're using provides a brighter image (one of the common difficulties of the polarizer 3D process), and the ones in the Gringotts and Despicable Me rides particularly seemed carefully planned to avoid the cinematic pitfalls that just give you a headache.

[agent_mimi]

"Cod-Hawaiian" as in the fish, or as in the Cape?

And how did everyone else like the Popeye ride?

[mmcirvin]

As in "imitation", but I guess that goes without saying

[agent_mimi]

Hey, I learned new British slang! I don't think I've ever seen "cod-[something]" in print before, though now that you've reminded me of its slang meaning, I'm pretty sure I've heard it said aloud. Wonder if it has any relation to "codswallop?"

Having been an 8-year-old who discovered a ride wasn't as "safe" and "fun" as my dad said it would be, I sympathize with Jorie on this. Though I disagree with her about the wet street clothes: raft rides are made for getting your clothes all soaked. When I was a kid, swimsuits on raft rides was declared "cheating."

I think Shrek 4D would probably give me nightmares, with the fake bug touchie-feelie bits.

[mmcirvin]

At 8, you'd never have gotten me near any of these rides at all. I rode the Trailblazer at Hersheypark around that age and thought it was almost too intense to take. Jorie's ridden the Trailblazer; when I tell her this she laughs and laughs.

Dandejamr1

[anonymous]

Matt,
Thanks for the info. Haven't been to Univeysal in years. Jack is, because of you tube, very interested in going. Maybe we will break out of the comfort of our Disney mode and venture there. I do find it, However, to be very costly. Ruth

Re: Dandejamr1

[mmcirvin]

Jack would probably like it a lot!

The main difference from Disney is that the rides are somewhat more thrill-oriented, on average. There are far more high-thrill rides, fewer mild family attractions just intended to entertain (though there are a couple of fair-sized areas for kids littler than Jack). The dark rides tend to be elaborate motion simulators with a lot of frenetic action.

But the Harry Potter attractions, apart from the big rides, are more Disney-like. You can spend a lot of time just hanging out there and looking at stuff.

Re: Dandejamr1

[mmcirvin]

...Things that looked very much worth doing, but that I didn't do:

- Transformers and Spider-Man (famous motion-simulator rides)
- Revenge of the Mummy (another heavily themed indoor roller coaster in the vein of Escape from Gringotts)
- Terminator 2 3D (a ride-film-show incorporating 3D movies, moving seats and human actors, maybe not long for this world)
- Jurassic Park River Adventure (a flume/"Shoot the Chutes" type ride with animatronic dinos), and
- all those big roller coasters. Hulk, a gigantic looper with a launch up the lift hill, regularly shows up on favorite-coaster lists written by hardcore thrill-seekers. Dragon Challenge was better-loved back before some idiot started throwing objects on the ride and they stopped letting the coaster trains "duel", but it's probably still worth riding.