Universal Trip Report

[Tampa]

Well I'm back from UO and I gotta say, it was one of the better trips there that I've taken. Considering I'm so close to Disney, and not there.. .

The weather was perfect. Enough overcast to keep large local crowds away, and the sprinkling rain was just enough for me to sport my Mickey umbrella! Everything was perfect untill I had my DWT bag taken away!



My friend Jared and I were able to do anything worth doing twice. Only complaint I had (and trust me, being hardcore Disney, I'm ALWAYS looking to criticize other theme parks) was that the second time around on Spiderman, THE AUDIO WAS COMPLETELY OFF!!! I complained aloud to the girl aloud saying our whole car should go through again! She gave me the dirtiest look as raised my small scene which angered me even more. I went to her personally and was like to where she tried hard to act like a "CM" and she was like, "I have no clue about anything". Kinda like: but I didn't have the heart to tell her, so I left, unsatisfied with SM untill a 3rd and final try later in the day..

I was unaware of the opening weekend of:



but was very happy to see it! Instantly I felt like Lou or Trendy and put my "Researcher" cap on! You could tell it was brand new and even the show workers were nervous! It came out GREAT though, complete with "volunteers" eating funky junk, to contestants hanging for dear life! I left out alot of the show in my pictures to not show you all of the show, but I'm sure the show's stunts will change from time to time, and hopefully make it to tv. A little off base for us Disney lovers, but a definite must see though, in my book!



I wish I had a digital camera because I always run out of film. I had ran out of film by the time we had our first.. top shelf.. Jimmy B margaritas! Extremely delicious and the waitress was a cool gal. Just a little something I've always wanted to do, and recomend the same to you..

visit My Albums for more trip pics!

btw my MIB score is 404,040! Beat that!

[rvastro]

Cool! Love the dino pic with the Disney Triva bag in its teeth .Did you go on Hulk and Dueling Dragons? DD is best in the front row when you can see the other train comin' straight at ya. May have to make a trip over soon to see what has been done since last December.

We were drenched at Busch yesterday, but rode in the FRONT ROW of Sheikra. Cannot describe it. My friend was like I was like . A young girl that was in our group was kicked off of Kumba. There was a small discussion between two of the ride hosts-one said she was the correct height, the other booted her off the ride. The kicker was-the folks looking after her were we stuck on the ride and the girl had to wait by herself doing this:. I was up front and the rest of the gang was at the tail end of the train. I am still upset about that.
The most thrilling ride: Cheeta Chase!! Felt like I was going to fly off the edge of the track car and all!

[Tampa]

that poor girl.. apparently the front queue girl was clueless! And I'm not familiar with Cheeta Chase?

Yup we hit DD's after some margaritas so you can bet I was like .. but suprisingly I handled three total rides in the evening, once being on the RED and twice on the BLUE dragon! The second time on blue I was next for the third row and I ALWAYS watch the front (and back) row loading. Well as the stars had it, there were three loading up, leaving the fourth outside seat open! After almost knocking down a mom and kid (of course I said sorry) I sat and the worker came right up (thought I was in trouble) and buckled me in! It was like 3 minutes to 8pm so they wanted people loaded and out lol!

As much as I enjoy myself in UO, I'd much rather have a BG AP. Just so I could relive the good ol' days of being in Tampa and who can pass up free beer... on a daily basis?

Sorry to hear about the weather man, we got lucky over in Orlando.

[#1EeyoreFan]

I think the Mummy Ride is the best there yet. I like Spider Man, but the Mummy is unlike any other ride I have ever been on.

[DissyLove]

Thanks for the trip report, and photos (of course!) Tampa! I enjoyed reading it. Did you hit Suess Landing? (Little Jack's fav, except for Disney, of course!)

[Tampa]

You're welcome and thanks for the feedback Dissy! Glad you enjoyed.

yup we hit Suess, it was cool but it threw me into deep Figment depression.

[DissyLove]

Yea, we never miss Figment either. My kids could ride it all day, but the skunk smell gets to me after a while....

[JLTraveling]

I think the Mummy Ride is the best there yet. I like Spider Man, but the Mummy is unlike any other ride I have ever been on.

Yuck...probably going to make myself very unpopular by saying this, but I hate hate hate the Mummy. I'm a huge coaster freak, and dark ride freak. Although I was really upset when Kong closed (you would be too if you worked that ride off and on for almost 10 years), I honestly thought I would love Mummy. Nope. I think it's waaay too short, the theming is weak, it's about half as intense as it should be, and the special effects are marginal at best. I think it's a fad ride that won't last nearly as long as Kong survived. I ride it every time hoping to convince myself that I actually like it, but so far no dice. It's just part of an overall disappointment that I feel towards the Universal experience now, as opposed to what the park used to be....Fear Factor being a huge exception, I was very impressed with it. And IOA rocks as always, but the Studios needs some changes badly. Just MHO.

[Tampa]

I think the Mummy Ride is the best there yet. I like Spider Man, but the Mummy is unlike any other ride I have ever been on.

Yup, Mummy kicked butt! Not only was it completely awesome, but the single rider line to it is amazing! You can ride it over and over till your little heart is mummified and when my friend and I rode it that way, he normally ended up a row in front of me which worked out great... I was able to smack him in the head a few times! eeeyyy!

My personal fav is a cross between MIB (yo the mib's the mib's ) and Hulk.


My jolly's still belong to Tower Of Terror folks, lets stay on track..

[Tampa]

I hate hate hate the Mummy.

you must alter your state of conciousness by means of margaritas and other well known substances, once this higher level of being is achieved, then the glory of the mummy (and propane), shall become much more ummm... in tune with your spiritual state.... grasshopper..

eeeyyyy!

[20K]

Great to finally see an inside pic of Fear Factor Live! Love the bag in mouth pic as well!

[Tampa]

yeah 20, it was fun to do a little "researching" for the crew, just wish I could've done it in WDW but then again, I like both parks for what they offer.

And I totally recomend the DWT Bag to anyone thinking about buying it. It has compartments inside and the top flap that closes the bag has a huge zippered pocket (which security overlooked EVERYTIME) along with adjustable straps. It was great for carrying The Book for food break quiz's, an umbrella, a hand towel (for water rides), a 2nd shirt, camera, some snapples, PB&J sandwiches, and of course.. some black n' milds. The bag seperated the food from the stuff from the fabrics nicely so needless to say, I felt like one organized dude while advertising the site on forbidden grounds !

[BelleGurl]

Well I'm back from UO and I gotta say, it was one of the better trips there that I've taken. Considering I'm so close to Disney, and not there.. .

The weather was perfect. Enough overcast to keep large local crowds away, and the sprinkling rain was just enough for me to sport my Mickey umbrella! Everything was perfect untill I had my DWT bag taken away!



My friend Jared and I were able to do anything worth doing twice. Only complaint I had (and trust me, being hardcore Disney, I'm ALWAYS looking to criticize other theme parks) was that the second time around on Spiderman, THE AUDIO WAS COMPLETELY OFF!!! I complained aloud to the girl aloud saying our whole car should go through again! She gave me the dirtiest look as raised my small scene which angered me even more. I went to her personally and was like to where she tried hard to act like a "CM" and she was like, "I have no clue about anything". Kinda like: but I didn't have the heart to tell her, so I left, unsatisfied with SM untill a 3rd and final try later in the day..

I was unaware of the opening weekend of:



but was very happy to see it! Instantly I felt like Lou or Trendy and put my "Researcher" cap on! You could tell it was brand new and even the show workers were nervous! It came out GREAT though, complete with "volunteers" eating funky junk, to contestants hanging for dear life! I left out alot of the show in my pictures to not show you all of the show, but I'm sure the show's stunts will change from time to time, and hopefully make it to tv. A little off base for us Disney lovers, but a definite must see though, in my book!



I wish I had a digital camera because I always run out of film. I had ran out of film by the time we had our first.. top shelf.. Jimmy B margaritas! Extremely delicious and the waitress was a cool gal. Just a little something I've always wanted to do, and recomend the same to you..

visit My Albums for more trip pics!

btw my MIB score is 404,040! Beat that!

When were you at the studios?!?!?! I was there last Friday (the 10th I believe...) with my new DH.

[Tampa]

I was there last June 3rd... on a saturday..

congrats on your new hubby! !

[BarryH]

The most thrilling ride: Cheeta Chase!! Felt like I was going to fly off the edge of the track car and all!

Cheetah Chase was the worst mouse coaster I've ever been on. It's so heavily breaked that it just creeps around the corners. I nicknamed it "Brake: The Ride" or "Worst Mouse Ever!" Better mouse coasters are Ricohet at Paramount's Carowinds and Bug Out at Wild Adventures.

I agree with you on SheiKra. It is a lot of fun! I rode it 4 times even!