Traveling Disers are lost and adrift somewhere?

[suzannen]

Castlegazer, I have to admit I've never seen it either. My DD has always been too tired, so I'd love to go. (And, IRL we swear we're going to see it next time even if we drag her there asleep!)


And, goofy4tink - I'd also love to do the Brown Derby. Did I read that this is the restaurant where Caesar Salad came into vogue, or did I dream that?

Doesn't matter - I think we should all dress up like we are in Hollywood. I know! We can dress up like the Stars! You'll recognize me from my Marilyn Monroe white standing over the subway dress. (Yeah - and I look just like her!) Who are you going to dress like? (Did I just hear a rumor that Ed was coming as Ahhnold in The Terminator? Or was it John Belushi in Toga from Animal House - I always get those confused.)

 

[edcrbnsoul]

Good morning all I'm going over to Crystal Palace for Breakfast any want to come with me, its one my favorites, and I like going into the park before the crowds it fun to walk up Main St all by yourself.

 

[TLinden16]

I'm right behind you, Ed!

Karen

 

[edcrbnsoul]

Stop tripping me, or I'm telling

 

[castlegazer]

Goodmorning everyone! Fantasmic was AWESOME! There is a woman here at work who is a huge fan and she keeps telling me I am severely missing out not having seen it.

Oh by the way, Ed's mum about it this morning but it was the John Belushi look he evoked last night, toga and all.

OK - Pooh Bear here I come! I want to do the dance around the restaurant this time following Pooh. Last time, I wasn't sure what you all would think of me if I did it - now I know I won't be alone signing and dancing behind Pooh!

 

[edcrbnsoul]

Hey you said you left your camera at home!

 

[castlegazer]

 

[deadheadbelle]

mmmm, Crystal Palace. I'll be having the Breakfast Lasagna this a.m. YUMMY!!

 

[IASW Rider]

Loved seeing Fantasmic with you all, last night - that's my absolute favorite show in WDW! In fact, I have a friend who works there and have been privileged to see how the show is controlled and how it all works, from the control booth! (He just accepted a position at the new Motor Stunt Show, so hopefully I'll get to see some nifty "behind the scenes" stuff there, eventually, too!) Definitely try to see Fantasmic on one of your upcoming trips, Castlegazer and Suzannen - you'll love it!

So glad that we all had dinner at the Brown Derby last night - it's one of our favorites! It was actually the Cobb Salad that originated at the Brown Derby, Suzannen - and boy, are they yummy!

Oh goody - the Crystal Palace! Save a seat for me - I'm going to find Eeyore!

Hope that you all will join us for another EWP Suite get-together, this evening! Since you've all been all over the place in WDW, you all pick the location and activities, and it will be our treat!

 

[edcrbnsoul]

I'm headed to the Haunted Mansion after Breakfast

 

[goofy4tink]

Oohhhh goody. My favorite attraction. Let's go Ed. Breakfast was so yummy that I may have to jog over there to work some of it off. So, did any of you remember to bring your death certificate??

 

[castlegazer]

You know guys, I am trying to think of what I want to do today, and ..... um..... well, since this is a trip sans wee ones, and since I have not been able to go up to Universal Studios / Islands of Adventure for a long time - well, since my honeymoon actually - I have been dying to go back. Would anyone like to join me? I am a huge fan of riding dueling dragons over and over again an dthen having a beer (you gotta love that you can have a beer in this park) afterwards.

Description: "Past this point of no return, your only choice is freeze or burn!" - At the entrance to this attraction, two rather large stone dragons, Pyrrock and Blizzrock (Fire and Ice), are frozen in battle, a foreshadowing of events to come. Dueling Dragons undisputedly has one of best and most complete themed queues of any ride in the world and has often been called an attraction by itself. The majority of the queue takes place inside a ruined castle that has been overtaken by two powerful dueling dragons, evident by the charred and frozen castle corridors. The story is further explained by other interesting means during the walk through the fortress. When the end of this long queue is reached, a choice must be made to ride either the Fire Dragon or the Ice Dragon. The ride itself takes place outside, twisting, turning, looping, and dropping at high and intense speeds. It can be best summed up as an arsenal of heart-pounding near-misses, incredible forces, and amazing speeds in an aerial dogfight between two ferocious beasts.

Facts:
• Top speed for the ride is 57 mph. Some sources say Fire reaches a speed of 60 mph while Ice reaches 55 mph.
• Fire Dragon has a 105 foot drop, while the Ice Dragon has 95 foot drop. The height for both coasters is 125 feet.
• Both Fire and Ice have 5 inversions each.
• Fire Dragon has a turn that produces 5gs.
• The lift hills for both tracks are 125 feet.
• The ride features three 12 to 18 inch near misses.
• The combined track length is 6,226 feet, about the same as 4 Empire State Buildings.
• Ride time is approximately 2 minutes and 25 seconds.
• Elements on both tracks include an immelman, one 70 degree inclined loop, 2 vertical loops, 1 cobra roll, one 45 degree inclined loop, 1 zero G-roll, 1 flat spin, and 2 interlocked flat rolls.
• Computers weigh each train to insure that they will meet at precisely the right times on each of the three near-misses.
• Dragon Lake, the body of water that the coasters are built above, is shaped like a dragon.
• The supports are filled with gravel to minimize noise.
• The queue is reportedly 3,180 feet in length.
• The over-the-shoulder restraints on Fire Dragon are yellow to resemble warmth while Ice Dragon's are blue to resemble coldness. However, the first row of both dragons' over-the-shoulder restraints are pink because they are the tongues.

 

[castlegazer]

Ed, if you were planning on taking us over to Universal/ IOA later in our trip, forgive me - I will come right back then after one ride. Just let me know if I am jumping ahead on your plans. But now that I have thought about it - I gotta go!

The Dragons' "backstory" is to be discovered as you walk through what the park has billed as the world's longest and most elaborate ride queue: 3,180 feet of twisting trails.

The exterior portion of the queue winds through Merlinwood Forest, where we can watch the Dragons perform their nasty business. Various signs, hung by locals long gone, warn us to keep away (to no avail, of course). Eventually, we enter Merlinwood castle, where the Dragons have taken up residence. Inside the first chamber, the stained glass windows at the far end come to life and Merlin himself recounts the legend of the Fire and Ice Dragons. Seems these two ancient monsters have been endlessly fighting to rule over the kingdom and those who have strayed into their domain have met with a most unpleasant end. Only if the bravest of the brave can ride, and thereby tame one of the beasts, will the kingdom be saved.

Moving deeper into the castle's endless recesses, we pass through all sorts of nearly pitch-black rooms and the further we go, the creepier it gets. In one long chamber, the frozen bodies of knights long dead hang overhead, icicles dripping off their corpses like daggers.

Soon the craggy walls start to close in... and they become ever more encrusted with hundreds of bones and skulls, arranged in morbidly elaborate fashion. We're nearly at the point of no return where we must choose our fate: freeze or burn.

Once inside the dimly-lit loading dock, we can see just how lovingly these Dragon trains have been designed. The claws that curl up beneath each seat, the way the front rows form the creatures' open jaws, the scaly cowlings around the top of the vehicles... My favorite detail? Each Dragon's over-the-shoulder restraints are color-coded - warm yellow for Fire, cool blue for Ice - except for those on the first cars, where they're pink on both Dragons... because they're the beasts' tongues. Exceptional.

The best way to ride the Dragons will no doubt be the source of endless debate, but my vote goes either for the Fire Dragon's rear row or the Ice Dragon's front row. The first near-collision happens as FD lunges over the top of Ice's first inversion and looking down from FD's back seat as all those feet swing up to hit our dangling limbs is furiously wicked. Plus, the Fire Dragon course features a weird new high-G element that's best appreciated in the far position: halfway through the layout, the trains begin an inversion but while we're still upside down, they tip to the side and whip us through a horizontal spiral. Sweet.

Ice, on the other hand, serves up two moments that are front-row musts. Entering Ice's Cobra Roll, you can almost hear your toes scrape the rock as we scream past the castle walls. And, before we hit the vertical loop, Ice makes a beeline down a long straightaway, giving us plenty of time to watch as Fire's trains barrel right at us. Awesome.

But no matter where you sit, you're in for a fine time. Bolliger & Mabillard simply don't know how to build a disappointing coaster. As promised, the coasters do properly "duel;" if one train is ahead of the other upon release, its lift pauses to allow the second to catch up. And one more thing... there ain't a single trim brake in sight.

Some of you may need a stiff drink after wobbling off the Dragons, and the Enchanted Oak Tavern and Alchemy Bar is conveniently located just across the way (it's no surprise that you can find plenty of adult refreshment throughout the Islands; Universal's parent company is Seagram). If you're in the park after dark, watch as those eyes in the Oak's massive truck slowly change colors. And be sure to look up at the beautiful stained glass canopy inside the Tavern's peak.

 

[suzannen]

Originally posted by IASW Rider
It was actually the Cobb Salad that originated at the Brown Derby, Suzannen - and boy, are they yummy!

Thanks, IASW Rider - I remembered it was some salad, and I actually like Cobb Salads better than Caesar anyway.

Crystal Palace sounds great this morning. Everyday that begins with Pooh and friends is a good one.

I'd then love to go in a Doom Buggy as long as Ed promises not to show up in the toga.

And, I certainly accept IASW Rider and the other EWPs invite to their suite tonight. Sounds like fun.

 

[edcrbnsoul]

Nope great idea castlegazer Let me get my cell phone and call the limo driver to bring us over...hey isnt Margaritaville over there?

 

[deadheadbelle]

Yipee!!! I've never been to US/IOA. We're waiting for the monkeys to get older. You guys lead the way. I'm just following. I'll ride ANYTHING. Wahoo!!!

 

[castlegazer]

Oh, I am so excited! People to ride the coasters with! My husband is not a coaster guy - he wears glasses and he thinks that has scared him because he has to take them off and he can't see anything then.

 

[castlegazer]

Ok, which way first - I know where I am heading but its at the opposite side of the park from the Port of Entry - which way do you all want to go to get there - through Seuss Landing or through Marvel and then onto Jurassic Park?

 

[deadheadbelle]

I don't know!!!! I've never been here before!!!! Which way should we go??? AAAAHHH!!! I am freaking out!!! This is so much fun, I have no idea which way to go .....

 

[castlegazer]

Ok , here we are walking through the port of entry

The music surrounding you is awesome - I bought the park's soundtrack just because of this music - its THAT cool! Its very rythmic and evocative of a far off land.