robvia
<font color=red>DIS Veteran<br><font color=indigo>
- Joined
- May 7, 2001
- Messages
- 3,983
TR IOA/USF/SWF/MGM/EPCOT (OffSite)
07/31/03 08/02/03
Cast: Me (39)
Drove up from Plantation Florida Thursday morning at 3:30am, arriving the parking lot of USF at 08:00am. First in line to a turnstile, USF opened at 08:45am.
USF/IOA 07/31/03
Ran to Shrek4D, let some people pass me in the preshow area so Id be in the middle of a row. I got annoyed at the person telling the people to move to the left in the preshow area. He kept saying Prisoners and Tortured over and over. Hed tell a joke and expect the crowd to laugh. Im there to be entertained, not treated like a bad child or something. I mean, one second the dude is scolding the prisoners, the next hes expecting everyone to laugh at a joke.
Wont say much about the show cause I dont want to spoil it for anyone. It was good, worth seeing, but nothing spectacular. Was in the 3rd row just off center. T2 on Steroids? I think not, in fact, I think T2 is better. Walked out and the line was now 1 hour. Went over to IOA.
Hulk 15 minute wait, got an express pass for 11am, Dr. Doom walkon using single ride line. 15 minute wait for RipSaw Falls. A few rides on Dueling Dragons, 5 minute wait. Used my express pass for Hulk, 5 minute wait. Then I bumped into Chris Nulph, a writer for IOA Central, and a friend. He was going to use single rider for Hulk, but I told him it looked like a 30 minute wait, so we went back to Dueling Dragons. Got a few rides because the re-entry door was still open, waited in row 2, and got the front, Chris was laughing, they did the same thing after me.
On all my rides, Ice was 2 yards ahead of Fire on the lift hill. I dont think the weigh the trains thing is working. This means that on most rides, Ice gets to the mid point ahead of Fire. If any insiders are reading this, see if you can get Fire and Ice to leave the hills even.
Now it was 1pm, hot. Another friend of Chris met up with us. We were talking about coasters and stuff. Asked Chris if IOA Central was going to get a construction update on the Mummy ride. He said its kinda top secret now. If the suits are reading this, please let IOA Central or Screamscape take new pictures of the building. It wont give anything away. He and two friends went to Suess Landing to ride Cat in the Hat. Here is what the wait times were.
One Fish Two Fish 60 minutes
Cat in the Hat 15 minutes
Dueling Dragons 5 minutes
Hulk 70 minutes
Spiderman 90 minutes
Dr. Doom 30 minutes
Went to the hojo and my room was ready. Checked in, took a nap, went to SWF.
SWF
Goal here was to see the new waterfront area. Rain storm was moving in at 4pm. Ran to the waterfront area and made it to the tower. I had envisioned the new bar to be under the tower, an enclosed capsule, but this was not to be. Instead, its a bar, outside, with tables and chairs. By now, it was raining. I ordered a beer and went into the wood oven restaurant. Place was completely full, just about every table taken. After finishing my beer, I got in line and got the spinach pizza, which comes with fries for about $8, a side salad, and another beer. Total came out to about $14. Found a table next to a group of people who took a train down from Maryland and had their car in the train, very smart kids. Pizza was excellent; its a lot of food, and tastes great.
Rain stopped, went to the hospitality house, got a beer sample, rode JTA (10 minute wait) and Kraken (walkon). Rode the sky tower. Dont like the way they have it set up now. You wait inside a stairwell, where its hot, even with fans blowing air. They need to knock more holes in the walls. I dunno, the pizza is great, but I think having the bar outdoors was a mistake, and the queue to the tower is a bad design.
Went back to IOA and watched the fireworks show at 09:50pm behind Mythos sitting up high on a rock. Excellent show, same as last year, but amazing.
MGM/Epcot 08/01/03
I cant believe Im going back to Disney after so many years. Drive to All Star Movies, flash my license and reservation for later this month to the guard, and get thru. Park for free, take the bus to MGM, get my Play 4 ticket, 2nd in line at 08:15am.
At 08:45am, they let us in, I run towards RnR, but theres a rope blocking that street. They hold us there until 9am, walk us down, then people can run once you get inside the RnR waiting area.
I got an express pass for RnR, got in the line, front row ride, no wait, nice. Then went to ToT, wait was about 20 minutes. Came back and used my express pass on RnR. By now, the queue was completely full, about an hour wait, but I walked right past it using my express, another walkon. Went back to ToT and got an express pass for an hour later. Did the movie ride, ate lunch at 11am at the ABC Commissary, had some kind of vegetable wrap that tasted great, then used my express pass for ToT, 20 minute wait, regular wait was over 1 hour. So by noon, I had gotten 2 rides on RnR, and two rides on ToT with barely any wait.
Left MGM, went to Epcot. Went to Test Track, used single rider line, 30 minute wait, regular line was 60 minutes. Went to Mission Space to see if they were doing a preview. It was Annual Passholder (AP) weekend. They had potted plants blocking the entrance and only let AP holders into the area. Oh well, I was a little frustrated because there werent that many AP people going thru, yet many GP (general public) were wanting to ride.
It was 1pm, hot, my feet were tired. Took the bus back to All Star Movies. Ended up at the Mighty Ducks pool, drank a few beers from my cooler, changed cloths in the locker room (they even have a hot shower with soap), and had pizza from the food court.
Went back to Epcot, tried to get on MS again, no luck, AP only. Use my express pass for Test Track, walkon. Frustrated with no MS ride, I left and went to IOA. Thunder storm was moving in, no rides running, had a happy hour beer at the Backwater bar, was waiting for the fireworks, but it was not to be. The storm hit, raining hard, drove back to the hotel.
IOA 08/02/03
First in line at the turnstile. Parked opened at 08:45am. Ran to Hulk, a girl followed me. First rider of the day, would have had the entire train to myself, but the girl caught up and got on. We were the only 2 on the train in the front. Got an express pass. Dr. Doom, walkon. A few rides on Dueling Dragons, walkon. Used my express pass on Hulk, line was now 1 hour, my wait was 5 minutes.
That was it, 4 hour drive home, end of trip.
I dunno, I may be getting burned out, because all I care about are the thrill rides. Going back with the family later this month to Disney. Maybe I'll enjoy it more seeing my daughter have a good time.
But there you have it. You can easily do the thrill rides with little wait, if youre at the gate early.
Found some great hotels at the north end of I-Drive on a road called American Way. Go on I-Drive, about 1 block past Universal Blvd, make a left, and youll see the hotels. Theres a Hilton Suites, and Hilton Garden Inn still under construction. Other hotels in the area are, Super 8, Motel 6, and Red Horse Inn. Hojo is cheap, but its old and smells. Think Im gonna try the Hilton Garden Inn for October because it will be brand new.
07/31/03 08/02/03
Cast: Me (39)
Drove up from Plantation Florida Thursday morning at 3:30am, arriving the parking lot of USF at 08:00am. First in line to a turnstile, USF opened at 08:45am.
USF/IOA 07/31/03
Ran to Shrek4D, let some people pass me in the preshow area so Id be in the middle of a row. I got annoyed at the person telling the people to move to the left in the preshow area. He kept saying Prisoners and Tortured over and over. Hed tell a joke and expect the crowd to laugh. Im there to be entertained, not treated like a bad child or something. I mean, one second the dude is scolding the prisoners, the next hes expecting everyone to laugh at a joke.
Wont say much about the show cause I dont want to spoil it for anyone. It was good, worth seeing, but nothing spectacular. Was in the 3rd row just off center. T2 on Steroids? I think not, in fact, I think T2 is better. Walked out and the line was now 1 hour. Went over to IOA.
Hulk 15 minute wait, got an express pass for 11am, Dr. Doom walkon using single ride line. 15 minute wait for RipSaw Falls. A few rides on Dueling Dragons, 5 minute wait. Used my express pass for Hulk, 5 minute wait. Then I bumped into Chris Nulph, a writer for IOA Central, and a friend. He was going to use single rider for Hulk, but I told him it looked like a 30 minute wait, so we went back to Dueling Dragons. Got a few rides because the re-entry door was still open, waited in row 2, and got the front, Chris was laughing, they did the same thing after me.
On all my rides, Ice was 2 yards ahead of Fire on the lift hill. I dont think the weigh the trains thing is working. This means that on most rides, Ice gets to the mid point ahead of Fire. If any insiders are reading this, see if you can get Fire and Ice to leave the hills even.
Now it was 1pm, hot. Another friend of Chris met up with us. We were talking about coasters and stuff. Asked Chris if IOA Central was going to get a construction update on the Mummy ride. He said its kinda top secret now. If the suits are reading this, please let IOA Central or Screamscape take new pictures of the building. It wont give anything away. He and two friends went to Suess Landing to ride Cat in the Hat. Here is what the wait times were.
One Fish Two Fish 60 minutes
Cat in the Hat 15 minutes
Dueling Dragons 5 minutes
Hulk 70 minutes
Spiderman 90 minutes
Dr. Doom 30 minutes
Went to the hojo and my room was ready. Checked in, took a nap, went to SWF.
SWF
Goal here was to see the new waterfront area. Rain storm was moving in at 4pm. Ran to the waterfront area and made it to the tower. I had envisioned the new bar to be under the tower, an enclosed capsule, but this was not to be. Instead, its a bar, outside, with tables and chairs. By now, it was raining. I ordered a beer and went into the wood oven restaurant. Place was completely full, just about every table taken. After finishing my beer, I got in line and got the spinach pizza, which comes with fries for about $8, a side salad, and another beer. Total came out to about $14. Found a table next to a group of people who took a train down from Maryland and had their car in the train, very smart kids. Pizza was excellent; its a lot of food, and tastes great.
Rain stopped, went to the hospitality house, got a beer sample, rode JTA (10 minute wait) and Kraken (walkon). Rode the sky tower. Dont like the way they have it set up now. You wait inside a stairwell, where its hot, even with fans blowing air. They need to knock more holes in the walls. I dunno, the pizza is great, but I think having the bar outdoors was a mistake, and the queue to the tower is a bad design.
Went back to IOA and watched the fireworks show at 09:50pm behind Mythos sitting up high on a rock. Excellent show, same as last year, but amazing.
MGM/Epcot 08/01/03
I cant believe Im going back to Disney after so many years. Drive to All Star Movies, flash my license and reservation for later this month to the guard, and get thru. Park for free, take the bus to MGM, get my Play 4 ticket, 2nd in line at 08:15am.
At 08:45am, they let us in, I run towards RnR, but theres a rope blocking that street. They hold us there until 9am, walk us down, then people can run once you get inside the RnR waiting area.
I got an express pass for RnR, got in the line, front row ride, no wait, nice. Then went to ToT, wait was about 20 minutes. Came back and used my express pass on RnR. By now, the queue was completely full, about an hour wait, but I walked right past it using my express, another walkon. Went back to ToT and got an express pass for an hour later. Did the movie ride, ate lunch at 11am at the ABC Commissary, had some kind of vegetable wrap that tasted great, then used my express pass for ToT, 20 minute wait, regular wait was over 1 hour. So by noon, I had gotten 2 rides on RnR, and two rides on ToT with barely any wait.
Left MGM, went to Epcot. Went to Test Track, used single rider line, 30 minute wait, regular line was 60 minutes. Went to Mission Space to see if they were doing a preview. It was Annual Passholder (AP) weekend. They had potted plants blocking the entrance and only let AP holders into the area. Oh well, I was a little frustrated because there werent that many AP people going thru, yet many GP (general public) were wanting to ride.
It was 1pm, hot, my feet were tired. Took the bus back to All Star Movies. Ended up at the Mighty Ducks pool, drank a few beers from my cooler, changed cloths in the locker room (they even have a hot shower with soap), and had pizza from the food court.
Went back to Epcot, tried to get on MS again, no luck, AP only. Use my express pass for Test Track, walkon. Frustrated with no MS ride, I left and went to IOA. Thunder storm was moving in, no rides running, had a happy hour beer at the Backwater bar, was waiting for the fireworks, but it was not to be. The storm hit, raining hard, drove back to the hotel.
IOA 08/02/03
First in line at the turnstile. Parked opened at 08:45am. Ran to Hulk, a girl followed me. First rider of the day, would have had the entire train to myself, but the girl caught up and got on. We were the only 2 on the train in the front. Got an express pass. Dr. Doom, walkon. A few rides on Dueling Dragons, walkon. Used my express pass on Hulk, line was now 1 hour, my wait was 5 minutes.
That was it, 4 hour drive home, end of trip.
I dunno, I may be getting burned out, because all I care about are the thrill rides. Going back with the family later this month to Disney. Maybe I'll enjoy it more seeing my daughter have a good time.
But there you have it. You can easily do the thrill rides with little wait, if youre at the gate early.
Found some great hotels at the north end of I-Drive on a road called American Way. Go on I-Drive, about 1 block past Universal Blvd, make a left, and youll see the hotels. Theres a Hilton Suites, and Hilton Garden Inn still under construction. Other hotels in the area are, Super 8, Motel 6, and Red Horse Inn. Hojo is cheap, but its old and smells. Think Im gonna try the Hilton Garden Inn for October because it will be brand new.
