Nate Goes Cuckoo With The Cru Crew--The Report
- Thread starter Aerobics
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WDW Poly Princess
Needs a Disney Fix
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Woohoo, cant wait for the spiderman day! ;-)
C
cocit
Guest
I was getting a little bit worried. "What happened to Nate?!" But now you're back and writing again. And I can stop worrying and start enjoying your wacky-but-oh-so-true-tale-telling-talents. Looking forward to your next post.
debster812
<font color=blue>DIS Earth Angel!<br><font color=0
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2001
- Messages
- 9,820
*chanting* MORE MORE MORE MORE
Keep 'em coming Nate, you truly have a talent, and paint a great picture.
And..congrats on the new relationship!
Debbie
Keep 'em coming Nate, you truly have a talent, and paint a great picture.
And..congrats on the new relationship!
Debbie
Hi, all you crazy Disney nuts! No, not the kid in the Mickey ears behind you! YOU!!! 
Sorry to make you wait so long between installments--as if I needed to expound on exactly what (or WHOM?) has been keeping me busy! But, the good news is that Nathan and I have decided to make a mini-jaunt to WDW in late August to celebrate both of our b-days and his first official trip--Woo hoo!!! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the next installment!
As always, you guys are the best! I must confess to rereading (more than twice) all of your comments and compliments--honestly, you really know how to make a guy feel proud of his efforts, so THANK YOU!!!
Nate Goes Cuckoo With The Cru Crew--Day 2, Part 1: Spider-Man Sure Has A Nice Set Of...
Before I begin this installment, I need to give a few disclaimers.
First of all, on this day, we visited Universal Studios--Islands of Adventure. If the mere mention of that name makes you retch and/or break out in hives, perhaps this installment's not "the one" for you. However, if you're curious to hear a certified Disney aficionado's take on the competition, read ahead.
Additionally, Brant (Joe Carioca) has already done an incredible job on describing this day's activities, so please do expect a bit of overlap. As usual, he's been THE MAN w/the details, whereas I just kinda ramble until something materializes...somehow, it's a rather good tandem for us, eh, Joey? However, it does make me wonder what sort of worth my trip reports provide when one can easily read a report like Brant's or any of the other wonderful reports on the PassPorter forum (and the other forums, too!) and get the same quality information (if not better) without all the tiresome chatter about sexy buns, berets, Speedos, World Showcase Cast Members in lederhosen.......
Hmmm? The trip report, you say? I have no idea what came over me!
Anyway, since we needed to (as usual) maximize our time in the parks, we were up at the booty crack of dawn (also known as 6:30 a.m. in some cultures). After a few of us had begun our morning scrub-up (foo-fooing included, lest we forget), Tim, David, and I hopped in the van to head over to Port Orleans--Riverside, where Brant would (hopefully) be waiting for us.
I think it's time to set a new decree from this point forward--DO NOT, under any circumstances, listen to a word I say when it comes to directions while driving around WDW. As those old Nike(tm) commercials used to say, "Nate don't know diddley!" For some reason, though, Tim and Cruella were all-too-patient with me, and actually humoured my suggestions (while probably secretly rolling their eyes and saying something along the lines of, "Why on earth did we invite this moron?" ).
Nevertheless, we found our way to Riverside (but only after we turned into the French Quarter--guess whose suggestion THAT was!). Sure enough, as we pulled up, Tim said, "There he is!" ("He" being Brant, of course.)
Now, don't take this personally, Brant, but while we were pulling up, I happened to notice a few other individuals standing outside of the main lobby--I'd know those shirts anywhere!!! What on earth were Dave and Jennifer (yes, THE Dave and THE Jennifer) doing here?!? I quickly bounded out of the van and bolted over to say "Hi" (fortunately, pausing long enough to introduce myself to Brant so he wouldn't think I was a complete jerk! Ha ha!).
After a hug from Jennifer and a hearty handshake from Dave and a round of "Oh my God!"s and "What are you doing here?"s, I realized that there was a possibility that Brant had not met the esteemed authors and so, being true to my former-social-chair-of-Alpha-Epsilon-Pi self, I attempted to introduce all involved parties to each other. Of course, they already had met, and all of my social-chair-y-ness was for nought.
As it turns out, today was the day for the big 4-park, umpteen-resort, 20-hour (or so it seemed) RADP Scavenger Hunt, and, not at all surprisingly, Dave and Jennifer were going for the gold! (I never did find out how you guys did...or even if you finished it, for that matter!)
By this time, Tim had joined the party and, even though it was only 7:30-ish, we were all excitedly chatting as though we had been up for hours. Soon after, we said our goodbyes to Dave and Jennifer and headed back to our resort for a quick breakfast at the actually-not-that-bad buffet breakfast (Hey, it was free, so you ain't gonna hear much complainin' from me, y'hear?).
Not long after, we were on our way to Universal (thankfully, for the sake of everyone's sanity, I sat rather mutedly in the back seat perusing my PassPorter--wouldn't you know it? Not a single wrong turn! Anyone see a trend here?). One thing that's a little different about the setup at Universal is that, regardless of which park you're going to (i.e., IoA or Uni Studios), you have to park in the same ol' big-butt honkin' parking garage.
Recalling the previous night's "Chip & Dale Drama", I made a point to note in our PassPorter that we were parked in King Kong 109 and we began our (seemingly endless) trek to the Islands of Adventure. As you approach the point where you "split", depending on which park you're going to visit, you pass through CityWalk, Universal's (rather wimpy) mimic of Pleasure Island. I guess it might be cool (and, hey, I think admission is free), but we snottily turned up our noses (no doubt dreaming of Kungalooshes to come!).
Due to some sort of discount thingy at my work, I was able to get a rather decent discount on 2-day passes, so we already had our admission media. Once Brant had purchased his ticket, we were in.
Now, I have to say, the theming and detail at IoA was rather impressive--very impressive, actually. The majority of the attractions were also rather enjoyable. The park is separated into 6 areas (somewhat like MK, I suppose). They are:
* Port of Entry
* Marvel Super Hero Island
* Toon Lagoon
* Jurassic Park
* The Lost Continent
* Seuss Landing
Since Brant was the only one in our party who had already been to IoA once, we all nominated him to be our guide (and what a good guide he was, too! You all should consider renting him for your next IoA excursion!).
By his recommendation, we bypassed the Hulk rollercoaster (which looked freakishly daunting, anyway, and so you heard no complainin' from us on that deferral) in favor of the The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man.
The park guide describes it as follows: Don your 3-D Spider-Vision glasses for an eye-popping, pulse-pounding, first-of-its-kind, high-tech 3-D thrill ride. (Is that enough hyphens for you?)
Heed the guide's words--this ride was in every way as fulfilling and enjoyable as the map suggests. And, let's just get one thing perfectly straight here: The map should really make a point of explaining exactly WHY one's eyes will pop, pulse will pound, and thrills will spill on this ride. Look no further than the title character--I have found my new crush. Ladies, I'd almost say that the, um, eye-candy is worth the admission price.
As we exited the ride, the "boys" (i.e., everybody but me and Cruella) excitedly chatted and gushed about the special effects, the thrills, and the animation. The first words out of my mouth (to Cruella)? "Girl, did you see those..." Not surprisingly, Cruella was already there filling in the blank, "...buns? Oh, yes, honey! Let's ride it again!" LOL!
Oh, well--to each his/her own, eh? Needless to say, this ride gets an absolute 12 thumbs up from the 5 of us (I think one of us voted twice). And, thankfully, even though we got to have 2 back-to-back encounters with the man with the web, that wasn't the last we'd see of him that day.
Since the only rides in Toon Lagoon are (appropriately) water rides, we simply strolled through on our way to the Jurassic Park area. If I recall (Cruella, correct me if I'm wrong), since it has a drop at the end similar to Splash Mountain, Cruella decided to sit out the Jurassic Park River Adventure, so the rest of us walked on (with no wait, by the way, which was more the rule than the exception on this day).
This is also a well-done ride; a sort-of Alien Encounter-meets-Splash-Mountain with a sprinkling of Dinosaur!, I think. Of course, our happy-go-lucky tour boat steers down the wrong path into the VelociRaptors area (you'd think we'd have learned our lesson after watching the movies, no?).
Probably in an effort to protect himself, Brant made a point of pointing 2 or 3 of the more terrifying moments--it's a good thing he did...I just don't handle those "freak you out" moments very well. Definitely a must-do for those of you keeping score on the attractions so far.
As we emerged from our river adventure, we noticed these odd 2-seater suspended "swings" moving around on what looked like a monorail track. To us, these "Pteranodon Flyers" seemed awfully cool--of course, they're restricted to those individuals 56" and under. Phooey!!! (How come they never had this stuff when I was a kid?
)
Once we all regrouped, Brant led the way to what would turn out to be my (and probably a few others') favorite "island", The Lost Continent...
And, still to come: Nate Goes Cuckoo With The Cru Crew--Day 2, Part 2: "Hey, Isn't That Thing Dos?"
Sorry to make you wait so long between installments--as if I needed to expound on exactly what (or WHOM?) has been keeping me busy! But, the good news is that Nathan and I have decided to make a mini-jaunt to WDW in late August to celebrate both of our b-days and his first official trip--Woo hoo!!! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the next installment!As always, you guys are the best! I must confess to rereading (more than twice) all of your comments and compliments--honestly, you really know how to make a guy feel proud of his efforts, so THANK YOU!!!
Nate Goes Cuckoo With The Cru Crew--Day 2, Part 1: Spider-Man Sure Has A Nice Set Of...
Before I begin this installment, I need to give a few disclaimers.
First of all, on this day, we visited Universal Studios--Islands of Adventure. If the mere mention of that name makes you retch and/or break out in hives, perhaps this installment's not "the one" for you.
However, if you're curious to hear a certified Disney aficionado's take on the competition, read ahead.Additionally, Brant (Joe Carioca) has already done an incredible job on describing this day's activities, so please do expect a bit of overlap. As usual, he's been THE MAN w/the details, whereas I just kinda ramble until something materializes...somehow, it's a rather good tandem for us, eh, Joey?
However, it does make me wonder what sort of worth my trip reports provide when one can easily read a report like Brant's or any of the other wonderful reports on the PassPorter forum (and the other forums, too!) and get the same quality information (if not better) without all the tiresome chatter about sexy buns, berets, Speedos, World Showcase Cast Members in lederhosen.......Hmmm? The trip report, you say? I have no idea what came over me!
Anyway, since we needed to (as usual) maximize our time in the parks, we were up at the booty crack of dawn (also known as 6:30 a.m. in some cultures). After a few of us had begun our morning scrub-up (foo-fooing included, lest we forget), Tim, David, and I hopped in the van to head over to Port Orleans--Riverside, where Brant would (hopefully) be waiting for us.
I think it's time to set a new decree from this point forward--DO NOT, under any circumstances, listen to a word I say when it comes to directions while driving around WDW. As those old Nike(tm) commercials used to say, "Nate don't know diddley!" For some reason, though, Tim and Cruella were all-too-patient with me, and actually humoured my suggestions (while probably secretly rolling their eyes and saying something along the lines of, "Why on earth did we invite this moron?"
).Nevertheless, we found our way to Riverside (but only after we turned into the French Quarter--guess whose suggestion THAT was!). Sure enough, as we pulled up, Tim said, "There he is!" ("He" being Brant, of course.)
Now, don't take this personally, Brant, but while we were pulling up, I happened to notice a few other individuals standing outside of the main lobby--I'd know those shirts anywhere!!! What on earth were Dave and Jennifer (yes, THE Dave and THE Jennifer) doing here?!? I quickly bounded out of the van and bolted over to say "Hi" (fortunately, pausing long enough to introduce myself to Brant so he wouldn't think I was a complete jerk! Ha ha!).
After a hug from Jennifer and a hearty handshake from Dave and a round of "Oh my God!"s and "What are you doing here?"s, I realized that there was a possibility that Brant had not met the esteemed authors and so, being true to my former-social-chair-of-Alpha-Epsilon-Pi self, I attempted to introduce all involved parties to each other. Of course, they already had met, and all of my social-chair-y-ness was for nought.
As it turns out, today was the day for the big 4-park, umpteen-resort, 20-hour (or so it seemed) RADP Scavenger Hunt, and, not at all surprisingly, Dave and Jennifer were going for the gold! (I never did find out how you guys did...or even if you finished it, for that matter!)
By this time, Tim had joined the party and, even though it was only 7:30-ish, we were all excitedly chatting as though we had been up for hours. Soon after, we said our goodbyes to Dave and Jennifer and headed back to our resort for a quick breakfast at the actually-not-that-bad buffet breakfast (Hey, it was free, so you ain't gonna hear much complainin' from me, y'hear?).
Not long after, we were on our way to Universal (thankfully, for the sake of everyone's sanity, I sat rather mutedly in the back seat perusing my PassPorter--wouldn't you know it? Not a single wrong turn! Anyone see a trend here?
). One thing that's a little different about the setup at Universal is that, regardless of which park you're going to (i.e., IoA or Uni Studios), you have to park in the same ol' big-butt honkin' parking garage.Recalling the previous night's "Chip & Dale Drama", I made a point to note in our PassPorter that we were parked in King Kong 109 and we began our (seemingly endless) trek to the Islands of Adventure. As you approach the point where you "split", depending on which park you're going to visit, you pass through CityWalk, Universal's (rather wimpy) mimic of Pleasure Island. I guess it might be cool (and, hey, I think admission is free), but we snottily turned up our noses (no doubt dreaming of Kungalooshes to come!).
Due to some sort of discount thingy at my work, I was able to get a rather decent discount on 2-day passes, so we already had our admission media. Once Brant had purchased his ticket, we were in.
Now, I have to say, the theming and detail at IoA was rather impressive--very impressive, actually. The majority of the attractions were also rather enjoyable. The park is separated into 6 areas (somewhat like MK, I suppose). They are:
* Port of Entry
* Marvel Super Hero Island
* Toon Lagoon
* Jurassic Park
* The Lost Continent
* Seuss Landing
Since Brant was the only one in our party who had already been to IoA once, we all nominated him to be our guide (and what a good guide he was, too! You all should consider renting him for your next IoA excursion!).
By his recommendation, we bypassed the Hulk rollercoaster (which looked freakishly daunting, anyway, and so you heard no complainin' from us on that deferral) in favor of the The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man.
The park guide describes it as follows: Don your 3-D Spider-Vision glasses for an eye-popping, pulse-pounding, first-of-its-kind, high-tech 3-D thrill ride. (Is that enough hyphens for you?
)Heed the guide's words--this ride was in every way as fulfilling and enjoyable as the map suggests. And, let's just get one thing perfectly straight here: The map should really make a point of explaining exactly WHY one's eyes will pop, pulse will pound, and thrills will spill on this ride. Look no further than the title character--I have found my new crush. Ladies, I'd almost say that the, um, eye-candy is worth the admission price.
As we exited the ride, the "boys" (i.e., everybody but me and Cruella) excitedly chatted and gushed about the special effects, the thrills, and the animation. The first words out of my mouth (to Cruella)? "Girl, did you see those..." Not surprisingly, Cruella was already there filling in the blank, "...buns? Oh, yes, honey! Let's ride it again!" LOL!
Oh, well--to each his/her own, eh? Needless to say, this ride gets an absolute 12 thumbs up from the 5 of us (I think one of us voted twice). And, thankfully, even though we got to have 2 back-to-back encounters with the man with the web, that wasn't the last we'd see of him that day.
Since the only rides in Toon Lagoon are (appropriately) water rides, we simply strolled through on our way to the Jurassic Park area. If I recall (Cruella, correct me if I'm wrong), since it has a drop at the end similar to Splash Mountain, Cruella decided to sit out the Jurassic Park River Adventure, so the rest of us walked on (with no wait, by the way, which was more the rule than the exception on this day).
This is also a well-done ride; a sort-of Alien Encounter-meets-Splash-Mountain with a sprinkling of Dinosaur!, I think. Of course, our happy-go-lucky tour boat steers down the wrong path into the VelociRaptors area (you'd think we'd have learned our lesson after watching the movies, no?).
Probably in an effort to protect himself, Brant made a point of pointing 2 or 3 of the more terrifying moments--it's a good thing he did...I just don't handle those "freak you out" moments very well. Definitely a must-do for those of you keeping score on the attractions so far.
As we emerged from our river adventure, we noticed these odd 2-seater suspended "swings" moving around on what looked like a monorail track. To us, these "Pteranodon Flyers" seemed awfully cool--of course, they're restricted to those individuals 56" and under. Phooey!!! (How come they never had this stuff when I was a kid?
)Once we all regrouped, Brant led the way to what would turn out to be my (and probably a few others') favorite "island", The Lost Continent...
And, still to come: Nate Goes Cuckoo With The Cru Crew--Day 2, Part 2: "Hey, Isn't That Thing Dos?"
Everyday I peruse the Trip Reports Board...hoping that this will be the day that the next installment from Nate is posted. And TODAY is it! Thanks for another great report.
Hoping you'll finish this report before you leave on your trip in August (just kidding!)
Looking forward to your next report!!!
Hoping you'll finish this report before you leave on your trip in August (just kidding!)
Looking forward to your next report!!!
Poohbear123
<font color=CCCC00>Will travel without lipstick<br
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2000
- Messages
- 16,433
WOW! Nate is BAACCKKK! YIPPEE! Okay, anyway, Love your reports, and YES Spidey does have a nice set of.....****!
Okay, anyway, Love your reports, and YES Spidey does have a nice set of.....****! 
TigrLvsPooh
Travel Channel's Ultimate Disney Fan
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2001
- Messages
- 12,074
Anxiously awaiting another installment Nate!!!
I enjoy reading your trip reports soooo much!! The first time someone sent me the link to the NASTEE report I read the whole thing in one day!!!! I just couldn't stop. You are an amazing writer.
I'm so glad to hear that you found a *new love*!!
I enjoy reading your trip reports soooo much!!
The first time someone sent me the link to the NASTEE report I read the whole thing in one day!!!! I just couldn't stop. You are an amazing writer. I'm so glad to hear that you found a *new love*!!
First things first: You all are the best! Thanks so much for all of your kind words re the trip report. I just love this community so much!!!
Secondly, here I *FINALLY* find myself with about 3-4 hours to spare, able to write another installment, and all I want to do is read the other 9,754,365 FABULOUS reports that have been posted. So, I've let myself read just snippets here and there (still in shock over the surprise, Steve--you are the MAN!!!). I'm so glad for the holiday on Thursday--my booty is going to be way sore from sitting on this chair reading all of the reports!!!
Thirdly (is "Thirdly" a word?), I do apologize for taking so long between installments. I always make up excuses, so this should come as no surprise, but I really just have not been able to devote enough mental energy to the task (those of you who've written or who are currently writing a report can most definitely relate)...
Fourthly, an update on Nathan (for those who inquired)--we ended things a few months ago. It was truly for the best, and I'll sum things up just by saying that I learned A LOT about what concessions one can and cannot make in a relationship and still remain "true" to himself...
Fifthly (is the Grammar Police going to come after me for all of these awful made-up words?), enjoy the next installment!!!
Day 2, Part 2: "Hey, Isn't That Thing Dos?"
(I had to go back and reread my last installment just to remind myself where I was in the story--it really has been THAT long since I last was able to think about this trip. I'll have to have a serious conversation with my Day-Planner real soon about freeing up some of that overbooked time...)
As we made our way over to The Lost Continent (which, in my opinion, is one of the coolest looking areas in all of Universal...very unique detailing), we were cautious not to be TOO commando (who, us?), and tried to pause every now and then to drink in the atmosphere. For those who haven't been to Islands of Adventure, it's a bit hard to put into words the theme in this land. My impression of it is a hybrid of old-world mythology (think The Odyssey and The Iliad) and fantasy fiction (a la Piers Anthony). Maybe I'm like way out in left field on this, but I thought it was put together magnificently, so definitely take the time to enjoy the beauty of this world.
Ok, old-fart oohing and aahing time is over--get thee to a roller coaster! And, boy, does IoA have one that will thrill the socks off of you (and if you aren't wearing socks, you best keep an eye on those toesies of yours...). Its name--Dueling Dragons. Its claim to fame--2 suspended roller coasters on separate tracks (Fire and Ice) which "charge" at each other 3 separate times, giving one the impression that (s)he is about to collide with the oncoming traffic (in actuality, this really wasn't THAT much different than your every day drive around the Capital Beltway).
The verdict--Oh my God! (Becky, look at her butt...oops, you'll have to forgive me. I just got a new aerobics music CD which has on it "Baby Got Back"--awwwww, yeah!) The guidebooks all recommend riding this one shotgun (that is, in the front row).
Now, being the semi-chicken that I am, I never did brave it in the front row (apparently, only the bravest (i.e., Joey Carioca, Tim, etc.) can do the front row).
However, the middle row was just fine by me. If there's one thing that IoA's got over Disney, it's their thrill rides (although Tower of Terror and Rock 'n Roller Coaster are the bomb in their own right). Also, you can still catch a glimpse of the "near-miss" if you look down at your feet as you're charging at the other train--just beware of the aforementioned flying socks.
Apparently, the Fire Dragon is supposed to "ravishing the town of Merlinwood", while the Ice Dragon stalks Merlin's Castle. All I remember is a bunch of screaming, flying socks, and unattended toes. Oh, well--now I have something to look for next time.
What's also cool about this ride is that once you depart, you don't have to walk through the 10-mile long queue again to experience the other side (my vote, both thrill-wise and aesthetically (i.e., the "prettier" colors) goes to Ice), but both sides are worth riding. However, as mentioned, walking through the queue(s) takes just as long, if not longer than the actual ride; so, if you've got people waiting for you outside (e.g., Cruella), make sure they bring along a good novel (might I suggest The Iliad?), as chances are, they'll be waiting a few eons or so for ya.
Once we had all departed from Dueling Dragons and regrouped, we backtracked slightly to a much tamer rollercoaster, The Flying Unicorn. This one ranks up there with Big Thunder Mountain Railroad on a "scariness" scale, but BTMRR definitely wins in the theming department. All in all, though, this one's a sleeper hit--and Cruella wins major bonus points for screaming so loudly that people walking by couldn't help but draw closer to see what all the drama was about.
As we made our way through the rest of The Lost Continent, we came upon a stone fountain surrounded by a swarm of little kids all yelling at it at the same time. Upon closer study, we were quite surprised to find that this fountain was talking back to these youngins, each time eliciting another round of questions and comments from them (not unlike the talking trash can in Tomorrowland).
As no surprise to anybody in our travel party, Cruella took an instant liking to Ms. Fountain, and began involving her (it?) in a rather lengthy dialogue; all I can say is major snaps to the witty woman who was able to banter with Cruella. Of course, being that I'm quickly approaching old age (I'll be 26 in less than 2 months!!!
), I can't remember any of the particulars of the conversation, but this fountain definitely had us howling...
Again, another small attraction which, at first glance, would be easily "passable", but upon further inspection, turns into a great memory for anyone willing to take a chance.
Our final stop in The Lost Continent was supposed to be Poseidon's Fury, but we had missed the cut-off time and the next show wasn't for another 45 minutes or so, so we headed on to the only land that we had yet to visit, Seuss Landing.
Oh, how I loved Seuss Landing (and what kid-at-heart wouldn't?). It was Christmas time in Seuss Landing and every Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small, was singing, "Fah-Who For-Aze", as snow fell down on our slightly scorched heads. All was merry and bright (especially that stupid sun)...oh, wait, there was one who wasn't particularly merry or bright. In fact, he was a downright Grinchy old soul.
Both Brant and Cruella were wearing red and white checkered shirts, and that crafty (and rather witty) Grinch instantly harped on their "picnic table" fashion statement, drawing a bunch of chuckles and giggles from the crowd (myself included). Had we not been so wilted from the heat, we probably would've tried to diss him back, but I have a feeling that someone in that position could out-putdown us any day...
One thing that made Seuss Landing so neat was that nothing was a "straight line", including sides of buildings, window frames, all the way down to the poles in the queues for rides such as One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish (basically a wetter version of Dumbo), and the Caro-Seuss-el, which was an absolute hoot to ride.
It was time to queue up for Poseidon's Fury, so we walked back to The Lost Continent. We were all kinda curious as to the specifics of this attraction, but Brant was appropriately vague in describing it.
Us: Is it scary?
Brant: Uh, not really.
Us: Will we get wet?
Brant: Uh, not really.
Us: Will it be dark in there?
Brant: Uh, not really.
(You get the idea...)
This show was kinda cool. The crowd control inside is a bit of a nightmare actually as you get ushered from room to room. The special effects, however, are awesome, and there are definitely times when I was a wee bit startled, but I wouldn't bill this attraction as an absolute Must-See (is there such a thing as a Yeah-It'd-Probably-Be-Good-If-We-Saw-It-But-We-Won't-Die-If-We-Don't attraction?).
By this time, we were getting pretty hungry, but thought it best that we experience the remaining high-thrill (translation: possibility of losing your lunch) attractions, so we headed back over to Marvel Super Hero Island, where all of us sans Cruella and David experienced the Incredible Hulk Coaster.
This coaster, like many of the newer era ones, is of the linear-induction family (i.e., the 0-60 in 0.0000003 seconds type). What makes it stand out, though, is that rather than catapulting you on a straightaway (as in the Rock 'n Roller Coaster), you are catapulted up a hill (while in a tunnel, mind you), and when you emerge you're already 100 (or so) feet in the air AND upside-down. Thank Goddess we did this one BEFORE lunch!
On this ride (and a few others), they require you to place ALL of your personal belongings in a locker (which are free if used on a short-term basis). It's slightly annoying, but it's one way to ensure that you don't lose your favorite Mickey Mouse hat on the ride (and what are you doing wearing a Mickey hat at IoA, anyway, huh?).
I forget the number of inversions on this coaster, but it was certainly up there...definitely a must-do for any coaster fanatic. Also, the design of the restraint system is incredibly comfortable--I usually walk away from most high-tech roller coasters feeling as though I had climbed into a washing machine and hit the Spin cycle button, but this one hardly banged me up at all (and no, we aren't touching that one with a 59 and a half foot pole).
Next up--Dr. Doom's Fearfall, which looks a lot worse than it is. 4 riders sit in a little thingy (sorry, can't think of a better word for it), and are catapulted straight up about 150 feet or so, and then gently brought back down to the ground. The worst part is the waiting for the stupid thing to take off (which seems to take FOREVER), but it's worth it. Unfortunately, due to the "only 16 people can ride at a time" (4 people x 4 thingies = 16 people, unless my math is wrong ) design, the line moves agonizingly slowly. You could probably skip this one and not lose any sleep over it.
Our final ride before lunch ended up being a slight disappointment. It had a really cool name that I can't remember now (something about an Accelatron or something?), but it starred Storm (the way-cool goddess from the X-Men) and was basically the Mad Hatter's Tea Party with some pretty rockin' industrial music in the background. I think the "theme" (if you can call it that) was that you had to spin your little Accelatron-y thingy to gather energy so that Storm could go kick some bad guy's butt...or something. Whatever it was, it was lost on me.
However, we did get a cool pic of Brant in the middle of a full-fledged spin (I think he posted it on his site)--check it out if you get the chance.
For lunch, we chose to eat at the Comic Strip Cafe, which was really cool, as it had 5 or so separate queues, each offering a different type of food. I don't really remember what anyone else got (boy, am I the worst note taker or what?), but I ended up getting a really yum vegetarian noodle bowl, which was basically a cold Asian noodle salad in an edible bowl (think tostada), with just enough spices in it to give it a nice kick.
Unfortunately, about 0.46 seconds before they processed my order, the computer crashed. Not just the one at which I was standing, but THE ENTIRE food court's system...so, out came the paper receipts (but only after about 10 or so minutes with a bunch of employees standing around staring at each other with "Ummmm...what do we do now?" looks on their faces...).
Poor Tim, who was ordering for 4 people, apparently had to wait forever while the employees searched high and low for a calculator ("Is there an actuary in the building?" :::raising hand::: ).
After lunch, the boys, for some reason out of Cruella's and my grasp, wanted to hit Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls (Warning: One square inch of your entire body MAY stay dry on this ride...but probably not).
When the boys returned 20 minutes later, all sloshy and soaked, we knew that we had definitely called that one right...
One more trip through Jurassic Park, as we paused one more time at the Pteranodon Flyers to see if perhaps Cruella could ride with Andrew, but no dice... (Cru, if it makes you feel any better, the Unofficial Guide claims that this ride is, like, one of the lamest rides in the entire universe... )
Back through the Lost Continent one more time and over to The Cat in the Hat ride. I found this dark ride to be eerily similar to The Many Adventures of Winnie-The-Pooh, except that the individual who designed The Cat in the Hat ride must've thought that people wanted to spin around 32 times every time they turned the corner. Honestly, the spinning was a little too much that soon after lunch.
Thankfully, though, my stomach worries were quickly forgotten as I saw my all-time favorite Dr. Seuss character, Thing Dos (pronounced "Dose"). He's actually Thing 2 (and, yes, there is also a Thing 1), but for some reason, ever since childhood, I've had this, um, Thing, for Thing 2. Throw in my inexplicable obsession with the number 2 (in Spanish), and you've got an obsessive-compulsive's dream come true--Thing Dos.
I really can't explain, when Thing Dos looks exactly like Thing 1, why I prefer Thing Dos more...it's just one of those Things, I guess.
So, after we exited the ride and headed back over toward Super Hero Island for one more spin on Spider-Man (I'll keep it clean since this is a family board), I froze in my tracks. Straight ahead of me, in the flesh (fur?), were The Cat in the Hat, Thing 1, and THING DOS!!!!!!
Forget patiently waiting my turn--I needed my picture with them!!! Thankfully, only one child was in front of me, and as soon as he departed from them, I ran straight over to Thing Dos to tell him that he was my favorite, that I've always wanted to meet him (in retrospect, I probably sounded just like all those teenage girls when they bum rush Justin Timberlake).
Unfortunately, in all of this fray, Thing 1 overheard my unending gushing, and quickly came over to give me a raspberry and a noogie for not showing him any love (I suppose even a Thing 1 can feel dissed every now and then, eh?).
Once the drama subsided, we all happily posed for photos and all was well in the world (I need to remember to scan in all the pictures from this trip as well, and post them for you all to see...let's see, I'll add that to the Day-Planner for 2007, how's that? ).
Sadly letting go of Thing Dos so that some other kid could have her turn with him, we headed off toward The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, when something (someone?) blue and red caught my eye...
And, hopefully coming sooner rather than later: Nate Goes Cuckoo With The Cru Crew--Day 2, Part 3: Ummm, I Don't Hear Crap!
Secondly, here I *FINALLY* find myself with about 3-4 hours to spare, able to write another installment, and all I want to do is read the other 9,754,365 FABULOUS reports that have been posted. So, I've let myself read just snippets here and there (still in shock over the surprise, Steve--you are the MAN!!!). I'm so glad for the holiday on Thursday--my booty is going to be way sore from sitting on this chair reading all of the reports!!!
Thirdly (is "Thirdly" a word?), I do apologize for taking so long between installments. I always make up excuses, so this should come as no surprise, but I really just have not been able to devote enough mental energy to the task (those of you who've written or who are currently writing a report can most definitely relate)...
Fourthly, an update on Nathan (for those who inquired)--we ended things a few months ago. It was truly for the best, and I'll sum things up just by saying that I learned A LOT about what concessions one can and cannot make in a relationship and still remain "true" to himself...
Fifthly (is the Grammar Police going to come after me for all of these awful made-up words?), enjoy the next installment!!!
Day 2, Part 2: "Hey, Isn't That Thing Dos?"
(I had to go back and reread my last installment just to remind myself where I was in the story--it really has been THAT long since I last was able to think about this trip. I'll have to have a serious conversation with my Day-Planner real soon about freeing up some of that overbooked time...)
As we made our way over to The Lost Continent (which, in my opinion, is one of the coolest looking areas in all of Universal...very unique detailing), we were cautious not to be TOO commando (who, us?
), and tried to pause every now and then to drink in the atmosphere. For those who haven't been to Islands of Adventure, it's a bit hard to put into words the theme in this land. My impression of it is a hybrid of old-world mythology (think The Odyssey and The Iliad) and fantasy fiction (a la Piers Anthony). Maybe I'm like way out in left field on this, but I thought it was put together magnificently, so definitely take the time to enjoy the beauty of this world.Ok, old-fart oohing and aahing time is over--get thee to a roller coaster! And, boy, does IoA have one that will thrill the socks off of you (and if you aren't wearing socks, you best keep an eye on those toesies of yours...). Its name--Dueling Dragons. Its claim to fame--2 suspended roller coasters on separate tracks (Fire and Ice) which "charge" at each other 3 separate times, giving one the impression that (s)he is about to collide with the oncoming traffic (in actuality, this really wasn't THAT much different than your every day drive around the Capital Beltway).
The verdict--Oh my God! (Becky, look at her butt...oops, you'll have to forgive me. I just got a new aerobics music CD which has on it "Baby Got Back"--awwwww, yeah!
) The guidebooks all recommend riding this one shotgun (that is, in the front row).Now, being the semi-chicken that I am, I never did brave it in the front row (apparently, only the bravest (i.e., Joey Carioca, Tim, etc.) can do the front row).
However, the middle row was just fine by me. If there's one thing that IoA's got over Disney, it's their thrill rides (although Tower of Terror and Rock 'n Roller Coaster are the bomb in their own right). Also, you can still catch a glimpse of the "near-miss" if you look down at your feet as you're charging at the other train--just beware of the aforementioned flying socks.
Apparently, the Fire Dragon is supposed to "ravishing the town of Merlinwood", while the Ice Dragon stalks Merlin's Castle. All I remember is a bunch of screaming, flying socks, and unattended toes. Oh, well--now I have something to look for next time.
What's also cool about this ride is that once you depart, you don't have to walk through the 10-mile long queue again to experience the other side (my vote, both thrill-wise and aesthetically (i.e., the "prettier" colors) goes to Ice), but both sides are worth riding. However, as mentioned, walking through the queue(s) takes just as long, if not longer than the actual ride; so, if you've got people waiting for you outside (e.g., Cruella), make sure they bring along a good novel (might I suggest The Iliad?
), as chances are, they'll be waiting a few eons or so for ya.Once we had all departed from Dueling Dragons and regrouped, we backtracked slightly to a much tamer rollercoaster, The Flying Unicorn. This one ranks up there with Big Thunder Mountain Railroad on a "scariness" scale, but BTMRR definitely wins in the theming department. All in all, though, this one's a sleeper hit--and Cruella wins major bonus points for screaming so loudly that people walking by couldn't help but draw closer to see what all the drama was about.
As we made our way through the rest of The Lost Continent, we came upon a stone fountain surrounded by a swarm of little kids all yelling at it at the same time. Upon closer study, we were quite surprised to find that this fountain was talking back to these youngins, each time eliciting another round of questions and comments from them (not unlike the talking trash can in Tomorrowland).
As no surprise to anybody in our travel party, Cruella took an instant liking to Ms. Fountain, and began involving her (it?) in a rather lengthy dialogue; all I can say is major snaps to the witty woman who was able to banter with Cruella. Of course, being that I'm quickly approaching old age (I'll be 26 in less than 2 months!!!
), I can't remember any of the particulars of the conversation, but this fountain definitely had us howling...Again, another small attraction which, at first glance, would be easily "passable", but upon further inspection, turns into a great memory for anyone willing to take a chance.
Our final stop in The Lost Continent was supposed to be Poseidon's Fury, but we had missed the cut-off time and the next show wasn't for another 45 minutes or so, so we headed on to the only land that we had yet to visit, Seuss Landing.
Oh, how I loved Seuss Landing (and what kid-at-heart wouldn't?). It was Christmas time in Seuss Landing and every Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small, was singing, "Fah-Who For-Aze", as snow fell down on our slightly scorched heads. All was merry and bright (especially that stupid sun)...oh, wait, there was one who wasn't particularly merry or bright. In fact, he was a downright Grinchy old soul.
Both Brant and Cruella were wearing red and white checkered shirts, and that crafty (and rather witty) Grinch instantly harped on their "picnic table" fashion statement, drawing a bunch of chuckles and giggles from the crowd (myself included). Had we not been so wilted from the heat, we probably would've tried to diss him back, but I have a feeling that someone in that position could out-putdown us any day...
One thing that made Seuss Landing so neat was that nothing was a "straight line", including sides of buildings, window frames, all the way down to the poles in the queues for rides such as One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish (basically a wetter version of Dumbo), and the Caro-Seuss-el, which was an absolute hoot to ride.
It was time to queue up for Poseidon's Fury, so we walked back to The Lost Continent. We were all kinda curious as to the specifics of this attraction, but Brant was appropriately vague in describing it.
Us: Is it scary?
Brant: Uh, not really.
Us: Will we get wet?
Brant: Uh, not really.
Us: Will it be dark in there?
Brant: Uh, not really.
(You get the idea...)
This show was kinda cool. The crowd control inside is a bit of a nightmare actually as you get ushered from room to room. The special effects, however, are awesome, and there are definitely times when I was a wee bit startled, but I wouldn't bill this attraction as an absolute Must-See (is there such a thing as a Yeah-It'd-Probably-Be-Good-If-We-Saw-It-But-We-Won't-Die-If-We-Don't attraction?).
By this time, we were getting pretty hungry, but thought it best that we experience the remaining high-thrill (translation: possibility of losing your lunch) attractions, so we headed back over to Marvel Super Hero Island, where all of us sans Cruella and David experienced the Incredible Hulk Coaster.
This coaster, like many of the newer era ones, is of the linear-induction family (i.e., the 0-60 in 0.0000003 seconds type). What makes it stand out, though, is that rather than catapulting you on a straightaway (as in the Rock 'n Roller Coaster), you are catapulted up a hill (while in a tunnel, mind you), and when you emerge you're already 100 (or so) feet in the air AND upside-down. Thank Goddess we did this one BEFORE lunch!
On this ride (and a few others), they require you to place ALL of your personal belongings in a locker (which are free if used on a short-term basis). It's slightly annoying, but it's one way to ensure that you don't lose your favorite Mickey Mouse hat on the ride (and what are you doing wearing a Mickey hat at IoA, anyway, huh?).
I forget the number of inversions on this coaster, but it was certainly up there...definitely a must-do for any coaster fanatic. Also, the design of the restraint system is incredibly comfortable--I usually walk away from most high-tech roller coasters feeling as though I had climbed into a washing machine and hit the Spin cycle button, but this one hardly banged me up at all (and no, we aren't touching that one with a 59 and a half foot pole).
Next up--Dr. Doom's Fearfall, which looks a lot worse than it is. 4 riders sit in a little thingy (sorry, can't think of a better word for it), and are catapulted straight up about 150 feet or so, and then gently brought back down to the ground. The worst part is the waiting for the stupid thing to take off (which seems to take FOREVER), but it's worth it. Unfortunately, due to the "only 16 people can ride at a time" (4 people x 4 thingies = 16 people, unless my math is wrong
) design, the line moves agonizingly slowly. You could probably skip this one and not lose any sleep over it.Our final ride before lunch ended up being a slight disappointment. It had a really cool name that I can't remember now (something about an Accelatron or something?), but it starred Storm (the way-cool goddess from the X-Men) and was basically the Mad Hatter's Tea Party with some pretty rockin' industrial music in the background. I think the "theme" (if you can call it that) was that you had to spin your little Accelatron-y thingy to gather energy so that Storm could go kick some bad guy's butt...or something. Whatever it was, it was lost on me.
However, we did get a cool pic of Brant in the middle of a full-fledged spin (I think he posted it on his site)--check it out if you get the chance.
For lunch, we chose to eat at the Comic Strip Cafe, which was really cool, as it had 5 or so separate queues, each offering a different type of food. I don't really remember what anyone else got (boy, am I the worst note taker or what?), but I ended up getting a really yum vegetarian noodle bowl, which was basically a cold Asian noodle salad in an edible bowl (think tostada), with just enough spices in it to give it a nice kick.
Unfortunately, about 0.46 seconds before they processed my order, the computer crashed. Not just the one at which I was standing, but THE ENTIRE food court's system...so, out came the paper receipts (but only after about 10 or so minutes with a bunch of employees standing around staring at each other with "Ummmm...what do we do now?" looks on their faces...).
Poor Tim, who was ordering for 4 people, apparently had to wait forever while the employees searched high and low for a calculator ("Is there an actuary in the building?" :::raising hand:::
).After lunch, the boys, for some reason out of Cruella's and my grasp, wanted to hit Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls (Warning: One square inch of your entire body MAY stay dry on this ride...but probably not).
When the boys returned 20 minutes later, all sloshy and soaked, we knew that we had definitely called that one right...
One more trip through Jurassic Park, as we paused one more time at the Pteranodon Flyers to see if perhaps Cruella could ride with Andrew, but no dice... (Cru, if it makes you feel any better, the Unofficial Guide claims that this ride is, like, one of the lamest rides in the entire universe...
)Back through the Lost Continent one more time and over to The Cat in the Hat ride. I found this dark ride to be eerily similar to The Many Adventures of Winnie-The-Pooh, except that the individual who designed The Cat in the Hat ride must've thought that people wanted to spin around 32 times every time they turned the corner. Honestly, the spinning was a little too much that soon after lunch.
Thankfully, though, my stomach worries were quickly forgotten as I saw my all-time favorite Dr. Seuss character, Thing Dos (pronounced "Dose"). He's actually Thing 2 (and, yes, there is also a Thing 1), but for some reason, ever since childhood, I've had this, um, Thing, for Thing 2. Throw in my inexplicable obsession with the number 2 (in Spanish), and you've got an obsessive-compulsive's dream come true--Thing Dos.
I really can't explain, when Thing Dos looks exactly like Thing 1, why I prefer Thing Dos more...it's just one of those Things, I guess.
So, after we exited the ride and headed back over toward Super Hero Island for one more spin on Spider-Man (I'll keep it clean since this is a family board), I froze in my tracks. Straight ahead of me, in the flesh (fur?), were The Cat in the Hat, Thing 1, and THING DOS!!!!!!
Forget patiently waiting my turn--I needed my picture with them!!! Thankfully, only one child was in front of me, and as soon as he departed from them, I ran straight over to Thing Dos to tell him that he was my favorite, that I've always wanted to meet him (in retrospect, I probably sounded just like all those teenage girls when they bum rush Justin Timberlake).
Unfortunately, in all of this fray, Thing 1 overheard my unending gushing, and quickly came over to give me a raspberry and a noogie for not showing him any love (I suppose even a Thing 1 can feel dissed every now and then, eh?).
Once the drama subsided, we all happily posed for photos and all was well in the world (I need to remember to scan in all the pictures from this trip as well, and post them for you all to see...let's see, I'll add that to the Day-Planner for 2007, how's that?
).Sadly letting go of Thing Dos so that some other kid could have her turn with him, we headed off toward The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, when something (someone?) blue and red caught my eye...
And, hopefully coming sooner rather than later: Nate Goes Cuckoo With The Cru Crew--Day 2, Part 3: Ummm, I Don't Hear Crap!
TigrLvsPooh
Travel Channel's Ultimate Disney Fan
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2001
- Messages
- 12,074
Hey Nate! It's about time you got back here!! You know everyone is waiting to be entertained. 
Sorry to hear about Nathan, but it sounds like it was a good decision. You are going to have to find more time in your schedule for writing and posting!!!
You know everyone is waiting to be entertained. Sorry to hear about Nathan, but it sounds like it was a good decision.
You are going to have to find more time in your schedule for writing and posting!!! hunnypotmama
<a href="http://www.wdwinfo.com/dis-sponsor/index.
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2002
- Messages
- 382
Hey Nate! I'm a recent reader of all your reports (I even went back in time and read The NASTEE!) and I've enjoyed the heck out of them!
So glad you got to see Thing Dos! I don't think I would've recognized him...did he have a sign on his belly or something?
Keep 'em coming! when is your next trip planned?
hunnypotmama
So glad you got to see Thing Dos! I don't think I would've recognized him...did he have a sign on his belly or something?
Keep 'em coming! when is your next trip planned?
hunnypotmama
debster812
<font color=blue>DIS Earth Angel!<br><font color=0
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2001
- Messages
- 9,820
tapping her foot, looking at her watch (err, Dayplanner)
It's about time you got back here!!!!
Great installment, I would like some more
Please, sir, may I have another???
Keep 'em coming Nate!!!!
It's about time you got back here!!!!
Great installment, I would like some more
Please, sir, may I have another???
Keep 'em coming Nate!!!!
WDW Poly Princess
Needs a Disney Fix
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2000
- Messages
- 4,873
Nate! Its so good to hear from you! Great tale of IOA, looking forward to the rest!
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Test Track Reopens in EPCOT at Walt Disney World on July 22
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