After listening to the hype and reports for the past year or so, I just spent the day there on Thursday. Firstly, I should say that it was totally dead. No lines at all.
Well, the architect should get an award. The buildings are simply wonderful, highlighted by the Poseidon Fury building which is just so dramatic, and the whimisical use of colour for the kid's areas. Jurassic Park is very evocative of the movie. The best area though was Port of Entry with a dazzling array of off-beat buildings generating a terrific theme without looking like anything you'd find in reality. Overall, the design and buildings get very high marks.
Dr.Suess's area would have enthralled me as a child, but there wasn't much in the way of rides. Certainly nothing to compare with say, Roger Rabbit. Nothing for me to do but walk through.
Unfortunately, the attractions housed in those wonderful buildings are a mixed bag.
SpiderMan - lives up to the hype. Very clever concept and thrilling execution. Rode it four times (no wait), and it really took until the second to realize just how awesome it was. If I had to nitpick, I might say there could have been more sense of motion and less of villians sticking their faces in our face like an MTV video. But hey, it's 3-D. The line is also pretty rudimentary, but the ride is fantastic with a great climax. A+
Hulk - A good coaster but not a great one. The launch and first roll are good, but then it goes downhill, so to speak. B-
Dr. Doom's Fearfall - still baffled by this one. The lady next to me asked if it would be scary. I explained I didn't know, but I'd ridden similar rides. By the time I finished explaining, the ride was over. I was still waiting for it to start. You go up, you bob a couple times and that's it. Did I miss something? Was is not working? If that's it - a dismal D.
Jurassic Park - I've ridden this in L.A. and they still can't get that first dino to lift it's neck. Lame first half, super second half with the raptors and the T-Rex. A solid B.
Dueling Dragons (four times)- stop the presses. This comes in three sections. The castle line-up is wonderful. I love castles. I had to chuckle though after reading the stories that they'd borrowed the idea from Disney. As simply a coaster, both Fire and Ice are awesome. Lots of swoop-ability (key to hanging coasters), great turns. Terrific variety. But of course, they're dueling coasters and that puts them over the top. Sitting at the front and playing chicken with the other coaster. It doesn't get much better than that. Only drawback -ugly coaster. Grey beams for fire and ice? A+
Poseidon's Fury - Totally pointless. What the heck was this? Major lame-ville. I was frankly shocked. This must have been a late Friday afternoon metting when they came up with this. Utterly pointless. Fire and water shooting up! That's it. D.
Sinbad - As Universal stuntshows go, this is several cuts below the grade (comparing with say Wild West). Not much in way of stunts. Nothing spectacular. Cute and corny without being funny. When Sinbad said to the Evil Queen, "Is that your final answer?" I knew the writers weren't getting paid enough. C.
Ripshaw Falls - Hmmmm. Excellent final plunge, but totally horrid theming leading up. Pathetic actually. The paint looked worn, parts were just drab grey with no theming. Trying hard to be Splash Mountain-ish I suppose, but just cheesy with a wet finish. Final Drop - A. Theming - D.
I think this is everything I rode. They should keep Spiderman, Dueling, Jurassic and toss everything else. Keep the buildings and Lost Continent. I was done at 1pm. No shows, or entertainment. Not a big effort for my attention.
Other than Spider and Dueling, don't know what all the fuss is about. Only twenty attractions, seven or eight for thrill-seekers or the rest for kids. Not a lot in the middle.
Overall, an OK day.
Well, the architect should get an award. The buildings are simply wonderful, highlighted by the Poseidon Fury building which is just so dramatic, and the whimisical use of colour for the kid's areas. Jurassic Park is very evocative of the movie. The best area though was Port of Entry with a dazzling array of off-beat buildings generating a terrific theme without looking like anything you'd find in reality. Overall, the design and buildings get very high marks.
Dr.Suess's area would have enthralled me as a child, but there wasn't much in the way of rides. Certainly nothing to compare with say, Roger Rabbit. Nothing for me to do but walk through.
Unfortunately, the attractions housed in those wonderful buildings are a mixed bag.
SpiderMan - lives up to the hype. Very clever concept and thrilling execution. Rode it four times (no wait), and it really took until the second to realize just how awesome it was. If I had to nitpick, I might say there could have been more sense of motion and less of villians sticking their faces in our face like an MTV video. But hey, it's 3-D. The line is also pretty rudimentary, but the ride is fantastic with a great climax. A+
Hulk - A good coaster but not a great one. The launch and first roll are good, but then it goes downhill, so to speak. B-
Dr. Doom's Fearfall - still baffled by this one. The lady next to me asked if it would be scary. I explained I didn't know, but I'd ridden similar rides. By the time I finished explaining, the ride was over. I was still waiting for it to start. You go up, you bob a couple times and that's it. Did I miss something? Was is not working? If that's it - a dismal D.
Jurassic Park - I've ridden this in L.A. and they still can't get that first dino to lift it's neck. Lame first half, super second half with the raptors and the T-Rex. A solid B.
Dueling Dragons (four times)- stop the presses. This comes in three sections. The castle line-up is wonderful. I love castles. I had to chuckle though after reading the stories that they'd borrowed the idea from Disney. As simply a coaster, both Fire and Ice are awesome. Lots of swoop-ability (key to hanging coasters), great turns. Terrific variety. But of course, they're dueling coasters and that puts them over the top. Sitting at the front and playing chicken with the other coaster. It doesn't get much better than that. Only drawback -ugly coaster. Grey beams for fire and ice? A+
Poseidon's Fury - Totally pointless. What the heck was this? Major lame-ville. I was frankly shocked. This must have been a late Friday afternoon metting when they came up with this. Utterly pointless. Fire and water shooting up! That's it. D.
Sinbad - As Universal stuntshows go, this is several cuts below the grade (comparing with say Wild West). Not much in way of stunts. Nothing spectacular. Cute and corny without being funny. When Sinbad said to the Evil Queen, "Is that your final answer?" I knew the writers weren't getting paid enough. C.
Ripshaw Falls - Hmmmm. Excellent final plunge, but totally horrid theming leading up. Pathetic actually. The paint looked worn, parts were just drab grey with no theming. Trying hard to be Splash Mountain-ish I suppose, but just cheesy with a wet finish. Final Drop - A. Theming - D.
I think this is everything I rode. They should keep Spiderman, Dueling, Jurassic and toss everything else. Keep the buildings and Lost Continent. I was done at 1pm. No shows, or entertainment. Not a big effort for my attention.
Other than Spider and Dueling, don't know what all the fuss is about. Only twenty attractions, seven or eight for thrill-seekers or the rest for kids. Not a lot in the middle.
Overall, an OK day.
