Just got back from IOA and US!!!

[froggy76]

We just got back from Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure about 1:00AM Saturday Morning. We stayed the 18th through the 25th and had a great time! This is the first time we went to IOA and US and had a blast. Lines were short the whole time until Friday. Orange County Schools first day off was Friday, which probably explains the growth in crowds.
We rode Spider-man 9 times. We were able to walk right on the rides all week long. On Monday the Hulk was running with about half the coaster empty ALL day . My favorite coaster by far was fire of the dueling dragons. It was fast with great air time.
I heard mixed reviews about "Poseidon's fury", but we thought it was one of the best shows we saw while we were there. The final battle between poseiden and lord Darkenan was really cool.
Cat in the Hat was pretty fun as long as you were sitting in the front row. The back row loses the illusion of the crazy Suess world.
Dudley and Jurrasic park River were both fun and the drops were incredible. Universal Studios was O.K. but kind of a let down. Earthquake we thought sucked. You get on the train go into a subway tunnel and sit there while the train shakes and the station gets destroyed. The whole illusion is lost when you reverse, or back up to where you started. Twister was fun and Back to the Future rocked. MIB was a HUGE HUGE HUGE disappointment. I heard all the time how MIB was like Buzz Lightyear on steroids, so I assumed this meant it would be better, NOT! It was O.K. but lacked the "feel" Buzz has. Plus in buzz you can spin yourself!. Another thing I felt hurt MIB and many other of the US and IOA rides was the ability to disguise them as being rides. What I mean by this is the way the ride moved the people through it. for instance in MIB the themeing stopped after the buildings and aliens. If you looked up you see spotlights and wires hanging from the ceiling. Look down and you see the track the cart is riding on. Without these small additions it is dificult to draw you into the theme. It is easy to feel like you are in a video arcade shooting gallery aiming at cardboard targets. At the end the majority of the people's pictures looked fairly bored!
T2-3D was incredible! we saw it 3 times! Another ride I was initially disappointed in was E.T. I have always been a fan of the show and was looking forward to it. The first time we rode it we were in the third row and I thought it sucked. I decided to give it another go and asked to sit in the front row and OH BOY WHAT A DIFFERENCE! Sitting up front you see all the special effects and really feel like you are flying. I walked out with the biggest grin on my face. If you ride this MAKE SURE YOU RIDE IN THE FRONT! It will be worth the wait!
Well if anyone has any questions just let me know and I will try to get back to you soon. Also I found out you can get something called a corporate annual pass at the US fan club site until May 31 for 99.95. This is the same as the annual pass and INCLUDES free parking, meal discounts, and merchandise discounts.
Oh yeah!, There is a ghostbusters show that isn't listed in the books and stuff I readc and it was hilarious. It had the ghostbusters and Beetelejuice in front of the library from the Ghostbusters II Movie. C-YA!

 

[Bob O]

I enjoyed your trip report, but couldnt disagree more about the differences between a great ride like MIB and a ride like Buzz that used a old ride system to fill up a building. At MIB the aliens shoot at you and other riders also shoot at you, its very interactive, as compared to buzz which goes along the same old track at its main claim to fame is bright/cheesey cutouts!! One ride is totally innovative and a new experience while the other they used the old ride system and just threw it together rather than sstarting from scratch!!
MIB you can ride often and learn new tricks while buzz never changes!!

 

[froggy76]

I'm glad you enjoyed my report, we had a great time. I did not know Buzz was an old system or whatever, last year was the first time I had gone to WDW and this was the first time I had been to U.S. As far as the aliens shooting back, I think this was one of the disappointments for me. You can't tell the aliens are actually shooting back unless you happen to spin at some point. As far as this being innovative the idea of a shooting ride is far from innovative, it's been done. I guess the idea of aliens "shooting back" and riders shooting at each other is a new experience, but this doesn't add much excitement to the ride. One couldn't tell the difference if this part of the system was taken out and the cart just spun randomly. If the people working the ride told riders they would spin out when hit by enemy fire, nobody would be the wiser. As far as starting from scratch or using an old ride system, who cares? As long as the ride is fun I don't care if itt came from the 1950 world's fair. But the great thing about this country is that we can Agree to Disagree!

 

[Bob O]

The great thing about the ride is knowing all the little tips about the ride. Its great competition to try to get a high score and too know about shooting at the exhaust portal of the other car. The ride is interactive which makes every ride a different experience rather than just shooting at stationary targets. Too me one company tried to give their guests a unique experience that is different each time you ride it, while the other made a ride as cheaply as they could.
And i agree it is great that we can agree to disagree and discuss them here!! And i would agree with T23D, the best 3d show anywhere!!!!!

 

[ucfdude01]

I think MIB is a great ride, people pay the admission just to go on this ride, the same person will ride it over and over again, its just a ride where you feel like you have to get on it again just to try and beat your old score. I always hear how you shoot at cardboard cut outs, but if you pay attention during the movie, then you'd notice that that's what they do in the training mission. BTW the aliens do shoot back at you, in the outside track, you're hit 3 times, and inside track you are hit 4 times, meaning that the car spins. The whole part that you can shoot at each other is great, best thing to rack up those points. I believe the ride itself is great, and so are most the people that work there,
But all in all i respect your opinion and hope you had a good time either way.