HRH April 22-26 (Day 2)

jelly-beans

Mouseketeer
Joined
Mar 16, 2001
Day 2 (Universal Studios plus some IOA)

Had a wake-up call from Betty Boop at 8 am. Fell back to sleep until around 9. After a quick shower I woke up senor grouchy and we were off to US. We grabbed a cappuccino at HRH on our way out and were at US by 10 am. First stop was Hanna Barbera. This is another simulator and after a short film setting up the chase of the ride you enter a theater (instead of being strapped into a car like at BTTF). I enjoyed the ride as I love the theme. You run into the Jetsons, Flintstones and the gang of Scooby Doo on you way to assisting Yogi Bear in saving Leroy Jetson from Dick Dastardly. Although the effects at BTTF are a bit better I enjoyed this ride a little more because of the theme and the fact that you will not bump you rump so much. We passed on a second go and instead headed for Twister.

I had read many conflicting reports on this attraction so my expectations were not too high. After walking through a somewhat mangled building you see a short film setting up the effects to come. You then enter a set where you take your place on what appears to be the porch of a farmhouse in the middle of mid american prairie. The stage is very nice and realistic with an ominous feel. It begins to rain and you can see a twister form in the distance. The rain and noise build as the twister moves towards you. A few explosions follow as the Twister disappears before reforming directly in front of the stage. There are strong winds and a few explosions that may make things a little hot or splash you a bit. It is followed by a flying cow. Just before the twister disappears the top of the porch feels like it is about to fall down on you. I loved this attraction but I can see how small children may be frightened by the laud noises. There was a small boy (maybe 6 or 7) next to me that began to cry shortly after the start of the show and didn’t stop until he left the building. Parents of sensitive young children should be careful with Twister. We liked twister so much we decided to try it again immediately. There was a very short wait before we re-entered the building. This time we took our place in the front row of the porch to try and get the full effect. Twister, in my opinion, is a top notch attraction and is not to be missed. Next stop was Kongfrontation.

I was really looking forward to Kong but was wary of the fact that many reviews called it “dated” and “not very frightening”. I must agree that Kong is a bit dated and not at all frightening but I still enjoyed myself. I laughed a little at the effects but it was, in all, a nice trip on a tram through the streets of New York. Kong makes several attempts at you before grabbing the tram and shaking you up a bit. Although you won’t be scared or amazed I think most people should enjoy Kong and there are no real fears for small children.

It was off to San Francisco and Earthquake. I had the same fears with Earthquake as I had with Kong but they were unwarranted. In Earthquake you enter a waiting room where several volunteers are chosen from the audience to participate in the remaking of a seen from the 1970’s film. You then enter a theater where you see a short film on the Earthquake and the effects used in its making. They then recreate the seen with the audience volunteers. You also get to see a portion of the set used in the original film. The preliminaries are not boring but I have a hard
time paying attention when I am awaiting a thrill so forgive me if I missed something. After the show you are enter a San Francisco subway which you take one stop before the quake hits. Slight shaking leads to heavy quaking and the ceiling collapses complete with a massive truck sliding towards your train. A second train then derails and heads straight for your car when what appears to be an endless supply of water begins to funnel down the steps to the station and engulf the car. No fear, I don’t think anyone gets more than a splash but the effects are, in my opinion, very good. I rate Earthquake just a notch below Twister. It was definitely worth a second go so off we went.

We passed on Jaws as we had done it yesterday and went directly to MIB. I absolutely love this ride. There are no drops and you will not be frightened but it is thrilling none the less. Each and every time you take this ride it will be different and wonderful. We rode three times before moving along. I believe there is a real disadvantage to scoring if you are in the back middle seat as I recorded my lowest score from that position (140,000+ with the 100,000 end bonus). I am interested in what others may think on that topic. We wanted to catch Alfred Hitchcock at 12:30 and as it was only around noon we thought we could have a quick go on T23D or ET. We settled on T23D as it was closer to the building that housed Alfred Hitchcock. T2 is a top quality 3-D show very similar to “Honey I Shrunk the Audience” or “A Bugs Life” at Disney only with better effects and a mix in of live actors. The show is no quick stop however as we easily missed AH at 12:30 but T2 made it well worth it. This is an attraction that may have a real negative effect on small children. The terminators that appear on each side of the theater are frightening and the liquid, shape shifting terminator guarding the processor is amazingly realistic. I very much enjoyed T2 but I heard the crying of more than a couple of children after the show.

We missed AH but made the GG Make-up show. I found GGMS very entertaining as both ladies performing were energetic and funny. You are seated in a theater and displayed some of the tricks to making the effects we see in horror films. You get to see Chucky’s head shot and several grotesque body parts before it ends with a recreation of the fly. It was quite funny and not at all scary. I recommend the show but it is a one time only type of attraction (one time per vacation I suppose).

We headed straight for AH after GGMS and made it just in time. I was very much looking forward to this show as I am a big fan of AH films. You first enter a theater and see a short film on the best of AH. For all AH fans this will be very enjoyable as you witness all the most wonderful scenes from his terrific films. You then see a small 3-D portion of the Dial M for Murder film. The effects are OK but the film abruptly stops and is replaced by an attack from the Birds (in 3-D). These effects are much better. Although not frightening they will make you jump a bit. You then move into another room where some volunteers help recreate the “falling from the Statue of Liberty” scene followed by the “Carousel” scene from Strangers on a Train. The whole show is pretty long (45 minutes maybe? anyone know exactly?) but very much worth it. Afterwards you can wonder around a bit to enjoy some AH exhibits but we were ready to move on so it was off to ET.

The walk through the forest leading to the bicycle part of this attraction is wonderful. All FOTL passengers may want to take the regular line just once to experience the scenery and scents. The ride itself is not intense but very enjoyable as you ride you Bicycle through the town and forest in the sky and space followed by a landing on ET’s planet. The scenery is marvelous. I loved every minute of this ride and recommend it for all ages. I anxiously awaited ET to call my name at the end but he got it wrong (oh well). He got it right on ride number 2.

There was one last ride on MIB before we exited US and headed for IOA. We entered IOA about 2:30 and rode Hulk, Spidey, DD, JPRA, Popeye and Ripsaw falls to our hearts content. I just can not get enough of IOA. By 7:00 the park was closing so we headed for HRH. After another long shower we hit hard Rock Café for dinner. Although we were seated right away and the service was good I was not happy with HRC. The food just was not much to talk about. I got the Caeser salad (OK) and the pulled pork sandwich (not OK). I had read several very good reviews of HRC and the pulled pork sandwich so I was a bit disappointed. We took in Bridget Jones Diary at the Cineplex and finished the night with a couple of Margaritas at Margaritaville before heading back to HRH at about 1:30. All in all a very long day. To this point I couldn’t be happier with my overall experience. Day 3 was spent at MGM and Epcot to I will pass on reporting those details. Day 4 will be posted shortly.

jb
 
I was wondering if Kong still has banana breath? When we went to US in 96, my son got a big kick out of this, he was 8 at that time.
 
I smelled no banana breath but I had a little bit of a cold (Strong AC at HRH had a negative effect on my sinus).

jb
 
Great reports! Thanks for taking the time to write.
 



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