No Work and All Play – Disney on the Company’s Dime! (8/1 There and Back Again)

WOW!! That is some action packed fun you were having!!! So fun to be "in the know" as far as theming goes when you hit a park too. I'm afraid much would have been totally lost on me!!!
 
It looks like you were having a great time! I'm not a comic book person per se, but from what I've seen on your TR and a couple of others, it seems like Universal really has it on the ball with the theming of the area :goodvibes: Looking forward to the next "episode"!
 
Always with the cliff-hangers! :happytv: Such the comic book geek. :lmao:

I can imagine just how excited you were to geek it up completely in your element. :thumbsup2

Dude, Marvel Island rocked!
Too bad there's only one ride.
The Storm "teacups" is okay and I avoid the Hulk coaster (although the gang said it was fun) so those don't really count.
But I could "live" on Spider-Man!!

You look like you were having an incredible time! Looking forward to more!popcorn::

We had a blast!

WOW!! That is some action packed fun you were having!!! So fun to be "in the know" as far as theming goes when you hit a park too. I'm afraid much would have been totally lost on me!!!

It definitely helps to be a fanboy when you're on Marvel Island.
You appreciate the details alot more.

It looks like you were having a great time! I'm not a comic book person per se, but from what I've seen on your TR and a couple of others, it seems like Universal really has it on the ball with the theming of the area :goodvibes: Looking forward to the next "episode"!

Well, Marvel Island is well done but before you're sold on IOA, let's move on...
 

I have to agree with you that Spiderman is one of the best rides EV-R!!!!!. It is sooooo realistic. If I was there I would have to ride that thing over and over again. It's great! I also really like the Hulk.

Can't wait to see where you went next!
 
Great update on Marvel Island :thumbsup2 DS6 would love meeting all the marvel heroes & villains . As for the rides I don't think this girl would be able to ride either one of those , I feel my motion sickness coming on just thinking about it !:laughing: Can't wait to see where you explore next popcorn::popcorn::
 
You look like you were having an awesome time! I would have been so lost, though. :rotfl2: The Spiderman ride sounds really cool; I'd love to try it out!
 
I have to agree with you that Spiderman is one of the best rides EV-R!!!!!. It is sooooo realistic. If I was there I would have to ride that thing over and over again. It's great! I also really like the Hulk.

Can't wait to see where you went next!

Spidey definitely tops the park (and WDW as well).
Too bad they just can't pick it up and move it to DHS now that Disney owns Marvel! :confused3
 
Great update on Marvel Island :thumbsup2 DS6 would love meeting all the marvel heroes & villains . As for the rides I don't think this girl would be able to ride either one of those , I feel my motion sickness coming on just thinking about it !:laughing: Can't wait to see where you explore next popcorn::popcorn::

You HAVE to try Spider-Man.
I can't wait to get my DS8 and DD5 on it next January!!

You look like you were having an awesome time! I would have been so lost, though. :rotfl2: The Spiderman ride sounds really cool; I'd love to try it out!

That's why you go with a geek like me!
You'd never get lost!!
:rotfl:
 
After Marvel Island, I decided it would be best to backtrack.
I led our gang of merry geeks back toward the entrance plaza.
There, a big screen was set up and it looked like they were gonna show videos.
More on that later.
Instead of checking it out, we headed to the islands on the right.
But first, we stopped at an Adventure Outpost-themed restaurants for some kebobs.
The theming here is nice and they even flashed our conference name in lights!
IOUG2009397a.jpg


With kebobs in hand, we crossed the bridge to Seuss Landing.
This is basically IOA’s kiddie park.
IOUG2009398a.jpg


Interesting fact in Seuss Landing - there are no angles.
All of the buildings and even the trees are curved - just like you would expect from a Dr. Seuss book.

As for attractions, they are pretty simple.
First there’s the Caro-seuss-el which is a basic Carousel filled with Seuss characters.
Then there’s a kiddie playground “If I Ran the Zoo” based on the story of the same name.
The headline attraction here is Cat in the Hat which is a dark ride similar to the Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh.
Then there’s One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish – a Dumbo style ride with fish instead of flying elephants.
Lastly, the new attraction - The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride – but it wasn’t open yet.
It’s basically a TTA-type ride around Seuss Landing and looks like fun.
So, while my friends were willing to be kids to a point, it was only to a point.
Everyone opted to skip everything here and I didn’t press them.
There were plenty of other things to see.
From past experience, the Caro-Seuss-el was okay and the playground wasn’t too exciting.
We did enjoy Cat in the Hat and the new trolley train ride looks like fun – we’ll do that with the kids next time around.
However, before we ran through, some of the gang grabbed some food in Circus McGurkus Cafe Stoo-pendous.
I, on the other hand, opted for some pictures with some “friends”
IOUG2009399.jpg


You never what kind of THINGS you may meet! ;)
Then, off we went…
 
Interesting fact in Seuss Landing - there are no angles.
All of the buildings and even the trees are curved - just like you would expect from a Dr. Seuss book.

Cool! I bet kids really love that area; sounds like they have some fun rides for the family!
 
Loving the mug of Thing 3!!
:lmao:

Fun theming here!
 
I love Dr. Seuss so I thought Seuss Landing was great when we visited! You're IOA adventures are getting me excited for our visit in Aug!
 
I love Dr. Seuss so I thought Seuss Landing was great when we visited! You're IOA adventures are getting me excited for our visit in Aug!


I have to agree with this. I definately think I need and US/IOA visit in the near future!
 
You HAVE to try Spider-Man.
I can't wait to get my DS8 and DD5 on it next January!!

I think the only way I could do it based on your description is without the glasses . lol

I can't even wear the glasses on TSM ! I have such a week stomach I have to close my eyes durning the star parts of Buzzlightyears Space Ranger Spin & SE ! lol

Great update :thumbsup2 Seuss Landing looks like it would be just my family's speed :) The character picture is great , I know the kiddies would love that !
 
Cool! I bet kids really love that area; sounds like they have some fun rides for the family!

I imagine so.
Last time we hit IOA, we were still w/o children.
We plan to bring them next January so we'll let you know how it goes!

Loving the mug of Thing 3!!
:lmao:

Fun theming here!

Hey, I'm the cute one! :laughing:

I love Dr. Seuss so I thought Seuss Landing was great when we visited! You're IOA adventures are getting me excited for our visit in Aug!

And reliving the trip is getting me jealous knowing you guys are going back so soon! :guilty:

I have to agree with this. I definately think I need and US/IOA visit in the near future!

Maybe a 1/2 day visit if you run out of the things to do at Disney (yeah, right).
But honestly, other than Spider-Man (and possibly the new Potter stuff), IOA is not worth it.

I think the only way I could do it based on your description is without the glasses . lol

I can't even wear the glasses on TSM ! I have such a week stomach I have to close my eyes durning the star parts of Buzzlightyears Space Ranger Spin & SE ! lol

Great update :thumbsup2 Seuss Landing looks like it would be just my family's speed :) The character picture is great , I know the kiddies would love that !

Oooh, then maybe you should skip Spidey.
Seuss Landing is fun - it's just hard to justify IOA admission for Spidey and Seuss.
We'll see if Potter makes it worth it...
 
After a quick run through Seuss Landing, we approached an ominous bridge.
IOUG2009401a.jpg


At the end of the bridge was a statue and some writing.
We had arrived at The Lost Continent.
IOUG2009403.jpg


This was an “island” based in mythology.
There’s a Sinbad stunt show, Poseidon’s Fury, and 2 rollercoasters.
The rollercoasters are the headliners here and even have an interesting back story.
Flying Unicorn is being turned into the Flying Hippogriff and transferring into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter complete with Hagrid’s Hut.
The Dueling Dragons is the other coaster and it, too, is destined for the Potterverse.
It is being rethemed as The Dragon Challenge.
This one is interesting as it’s basically two rollercoasters which weave around each other.
Even more interesting is that it’s a Disney ride.
Yep – that’s right.
Originally designed for Animal Kingdom’s Beastly Kingdom, this was going to be of the centerpieces.
Didn’t you ever wonder why there was a dragon on the Animal Kingdom logo?
Well, this is one of the reasons…
Turns out when the Beastly Kingdom “land” was nixed, the Imagineers who designed this rollercoaster headed for Universal.
And thus launched the Lost Continent.

Now that the history lesson is over, you might imagine that I easily skipped both rollercoasters.
Even my fellow geeks weren’t too interested.
But that’s basically because we were all in a bad mood.
Why, you ask?
Well, here is the story of Poseidon’s Fury.
IOUG2009404.jpg


You walk through ancient ruins through a long and windy cavernous queue.
An actor there becomes your tour guide into the depths of the caverns which supposedly unlock a secret portal to Poseidon.
Several rooms follow – each with their own minor effects until you reach the grand finale which was supposed to be magnificent.
Now, my wife and I tried this when we came back in 2001 and there was a problem while we were on line.
After the technical issues were resolved, we finally got into the main room to start our tour.
Two rooms later and the glitches reappeared and we were escorted out.
Basically, we wasted over an hour and never saw the climactic scene.

So I told my friends the story and was determined to see this thing.
With only our conference here, I figured the line would be short.
I was wrong.
20 minutes later, we made it to the first room and our adventure began.
Then about 4-5 rooms later, we finally arrived at the finale.
I had heard it was a culmination of water and fire effects much like Fantasmic!
What did we get?
The cheesiest, most out-of-date technology you’ve ever seen!
Supposedly on the ocean floor to watch a deadly battle between Poseidon and his foe, we instead stood in a big cavern.
The screens displayed poor animation.
The “gods” were also poorly animated with bad dialogue and not-so-impressive effects.
Some random pyrotechnics shot off around the show area and water spouted here and there.
But this?
This is what I waited for?
Ugh.
I was cursing on my way out.
Not only did I stay with my wife for over and hour but now I was suckered in again.
My friends didn’t let me live this one down either.
A TOTAL WASTE OF TIME. :sad2:
Please do not make my mistake and even attempt this attraction.

After our utter disappointment of Poseidon’s Fury, we wandered around a bit to find no Sinbad shows being performed.
Outside, however, we did meet some "entertaining" characters:
IOUG2009408.jpg


But basically this “island” was a wash.
The Lost Continent should stay lost.
My advice is to skip this area entirely and hopefully it will all be swalled up into the Potterverse.
Speaking of which, here’s a shot of the Hogwarts being built.
It was interesting that they were working still at this late an hour:
IOUG2009411a.jpg


And with that we headed over the bridge and away from the Lost Continent.
Stay tuned to find out what's next but my guess is that Chester and Hester have been here before...
 
I just wanna know where your hands are on that 2nd to last shot! :lmao::lmao::lmao:
 
Interesting backstory on the rollercoasters! I'd never heard that.

We were not impressed with Poseidon's either but at least it was a walk on when we did it so we didn't waste that much time.

Hopefully, the "characters" you met helped improve your mood after the frustration of the bad attraction :laughing:

I think what's up next was my favorite thing there popcorn::
 
Wow sounds like the Lost Continent was a bust especially Poseidon’s Fury :( I'm glad your giving us such a detailed account of IOA cause it is further confirming why we have never done this park . So far from your descriptions it just seems to me there wouldn't be much for my family & I to do here :confused3 I suppose there is more to see though , so before I say totally no I'll wait to read about every Island .
 










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