Kendra and Joe Duggar 6: Sitting in a tree...M.A.R.R.I.E.D!

[VineHeart137]

@Karma Just a note in case you didn't realize - You can't ride the Hogwarts Express if you don't have a 2 park pass (since it takes you back and forth between Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios). Just wanted to let you know since I basically almost cried of happiness the first time I rode it and I don't want you to miss out!

[JDuggs]

@Karma Okay this is something I have an opinion on too. I’ve been to Disney World about 8-10 times, Universal twice and the Kennedy Space Center once. This sounds like your first visit to Florida and you are a Disney person. You should spend one day each at the four Disney parks or get a four day hopper spending extra time in your favorite ones. HP is great at Universal but you only need one day at both parks, especially if you’re not doing the coasters. My sisters and I were there during spring break this year and the one day at Universal was fine even with big crowds. Use single rider whenever you can. Don’t ride the big HP rides twice in a row. You’ll feel dizzy. Save the space center for your next visit. Focus on all the stuff at Disney World that they don’t have at Disneyland.

 

[SapphireSlytherin]

Agree with @JDuggs - if all you want to to at Universal/Islands of Adventure is the HP stuff, you can do it in 6-8 hours. You do have to get the park-to-park ticket though, as mentioned above, if you want to ride the train. Take it BOTH WAYS - the story is different each time. Start at Universal, ride the train to IoA, then ride it back to Universal. That way, you'll sort of follow Harry's timeline (you'll begin in Diagon Alley, take the train to Hogsmeade (where Hogwarts castle is).

 

If you don't do coasters, there are two dark rides associated with the Harry Potter parts of the park:  Escape from Gringotts in Diagon Alley - it's not too jerky, and there's only one good "drop" - but my daughter gets motion sickness and found the ride unpleasant. At Hogsmeade, "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey" is the dark ride inside the castle. Again - no big drops/jerks, but you do flip ALMOST upside-down. You're in a seat with total leg/back/head support. You'll have to put all of your belongings in a locker while you ride, so take as little as possible with you.

There's a "kiddie" type roller coaster at Hogsmeade too - Flight of the Hippogriff. It's fun.

But yeah - you don't need two days just for the Potter-y stuff.   Don't buy any souvenirs until you're on the way out of the park. You can get EVERYTHING at the gift shop just inside the gate of U.S.

[karen77]

2 hours ago, VineHeart137 said:

@Karma Just a note in case you didn't realize - You can't ride the Hogwarts Express if you don't have a 2 park pass (since it takes you back and forth between Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios). Just wanted to let you know since I basically almost cried of happiness the first time I rode it and I don't want you to miss out!

And you should definitely ride both ways.

[Jinder Roles]

Butterbeer is a must! If you get motion sickness (from turns) easily, then I'd be cautious on Escape from Gringotts and the Quidditch Ride. Just don't eat before you go, made me feel queasy but not sick. 

I agree, Universal is better for rides and less babies crying. I recommend.

- Jurassic Park ride (if you like vertical drops, no turns. It's my favourite!)

- Pirates of the Caribbean Ride

- Terminator Ride. 

- The Hulk (if you like rollercoasters) 

- The Mummy Ride (if you like rollercoasters) 

- The Simpsons Ride (if you aren't prone to heavy motion sickness) 

[front hugs > duggs]

We were a Disney World family growing up, so I've been countless times and think it's just so magical, especially around Christmas.

We did spend a lot of time at Universal last year, and apart from Harry Potter World (which was the absolute bomb), I didn't enjoy many of the rides. I found so many of them were just simulators and so similar to each other, just with different themes (Spiderman, Transformers, Minions. Simpsons).

That said, after riding so many of the similar rides, I was pleasantly surprised by the Mummy ride - I thought that was really awesome.

[TheMustardCardigan]

The Mummy is one of the best rides at Universal and they need to make more rides that are similar to it instead of doing all the motion simulator rides with screens. Tons of people have voiced the opinion that they're tired of the screen rides so hopefully Universal takes the hint, especially when it comes to whatever HP ride is going to replace the Dragon Challenge roller coasters.

[front hugs > duggs]

1 minute ago, TheMustardCardigan said:

The Mummy is one of the best rides at Universal and they need to make more rides that are similar to it instead of doing all the motion simulator rides with screens. Tons of people have voiced the opinion that they're tired of the screen rides so hopefully Universal takes the hint, especially when it comes to whatever HP ride is going to replace the Dragon Challenge roller coasters.

I didn't realize those shut! Any idea why? I thought they were so fun!

[TheMustardCardigan]

@front hugs > duggs yep! They're already completely demolished and the site is now a big pile of empty dirt. I loved those coasters too, but basically the story is this... Back before HP was put into the parks, that area was a medieval-themed land and the coasters were called Dueling Dragons. The two coasters used to run at the same time and "duel" so if you were on the ride you'd get the feeling of near misses with the other coaster at a couple different times and it was really fun! Sometime after HP world opened, there was an incident involving a rider getting hurt by a flying object, something that riders on the other coaster were either throwing at the other car, or came out of their pockets (something like loose change). The coasters were no longer allowed to duel and later the metal detectors were instituted in the line for the ride, but dueling was never brought back. The ride lost a  great deal of its luster when it didn't duel anymore but it was still pretty fun.

Wait times were always short, basically always a walk-on in an otherwise crowded part of the parks. I think guests were just not too interested because outdoor coasters are naturally less themed than dark rides. Guests in the HP part of the parks seem to really want to soak up all that HP atmosphere in the dark rides, shops, etc. and Dragon Challenge didn't add much to that experience because the queue was kind of uninspired and once you were on the roller coaster there was no sign of it really being an HP ride. Fine by me even though I love HP because I love roller coasters, but not a must-ride for people traveling from far away and want to focus on the HP magic.   Plus, the coasters weren't new, just retrofitted to fit the HP theme, so maybe people saw them as old hat.

So the fact that they couldn't duel anymore, a seeming lack in popularity, the fact that the coasters occupy a tremendous footprint where they could add a lot of new stuff or a large new ride on that land instead... All big factors leading to the demise of Dragon Challenge. They also just completely replaced the track on the Hulk, the other coaster that opened at the same time as Dragons, so I would imagine the Dragons were nearing a point where it'd be time to replace the tracks and they opted to get rid of them instead. 

Sorry, that was an essay. I love Central FL theme parks and Universal has been a big part of my life since I was a kid!

[Karma]

Aaagh, so much to choose from!  Thanks everyone for your input  . I get motion sick on simulator rides, so will give them a miss.  Miss K loooovvvveeeesss roller coasters, so she will want to go on all of them.  I’m willing to suck up a bit of feeling sick/having to take voltarin to have to fill HP experience.    Mr K leaves for London and NY on Tuesday - he will fly down and meet us in Orlando.  He’s been to Florida a few times, including Disney, but it’s the first time for our daughter (21) and I.  It seems odd to be going on a family holiday without our 17 yo son, but he hates travelling and jumped at the chance to stay at my parents (3 suburbs away) instead!

[karen77]

12 minutes ago, Karma said:

Aaagh, so much to choose from!  Thanks everyone for your input  . I get motion sick on simulator rides, so will give them a miss.  Miss K loooovvvveeeesss roller coasters, so she will want to go on all of them.  I’m willing to suck up a bit of feeling sick/having to take voltarin to have to fill HP experience.    Mr K leaves for London and NY on Tuesday - he will fly down and meet us in Orlando.  He’s been to Florida a few times, including Disney, but it’s the first time for our daughter (21) and I.  It seems odd to be going on a family holiday without our 17 yo son, but he hates travelling and jumped at the chance to stay at my parents (3 suburbs away) instead!

I get motion sickness too and I did do the castle HP ride, almost lost it at the end, so skip that, even though it's cool. The gringott's ride was fine though.

[Shadoewolf]

Can you still do the walk-thru on rides? Because inside Hogwarts for the Forbidden Journey ride is super cool, even if the ride itself made me horribly ill. If you can just walk thru do it!!

[SapphireSlytherin]

Yes, you can still walk through--GryffindorDisappointment did that, then waited for me to ride Forbidden Journey. Even though she knew she'd get sick if she rode it, she still felt left out though.

 

[Swamptribe]

59 minutes ago, SapphireSlytherin said:

Yes, you can still walk through--GryffindorDisappointment did that, then waited for me to ride Forbidden Journey. Even though she knew she'd get sick if she rode it, she still felt left out though.

 

You can't really walk through on Gringotts.  I love to do it on Forbidden Journey, then stand where people are getting off the ride and point them in the right direction, to the exit.  It's amazing how disoriented they are after the ride.  Last time I did it, an elderly gentleman joined me and we had fun doing a dramatic pointing to the exit motion.

[JoyJoy]

On 10/19/2017 at 4:35 PM, IReallyAmHopewell said:

Did we learn where Joe and Kendra will live??

Kendra and Joe said they were building a house. It was in a video that I think was posted in this thread.

[LegHumperBibleThumper]

23 hours ago, TheMustardCardigan said:

@front hugs > duggs yep! They're already completely demolished and the site is now a big pile of empty dirt. I loved those coasters too, but basically the story is this... Back before HP was put into the parks, that area was a medieval-themed land and the coasters were called Dueling Dragons. The two coasters used to run at the same time and "duel" so if you were on the ride you'd get the feeling of near misses with the other coaster at a couple different times and it was really fun! Sometime after HP world opened, there was an incident involving a rider getting hurt by a flying object, something that riders on the other coaster were either throwing at the other car, or came out of their pockets (something like loose change). The coasters were no longer allowed to duel and later the metal detectors were instituted in the line for the ride, but dueling was never brought back. The ride lost a  great deal of its luster when it didn't duel anymore but it was still pretty fun.

 

This really was a great ride back in the day. Other than anything HP, The Mummy is my favorite ride in US/IOA. But I think they got rid of the fire wall. Do you know if that's true?

[Shadoewolf]

It was still there 3-4 years ago. Was my favorite ride when we went!

[VineHeart137]

I was there in July and there was definitely still real fire on the Mummy ride!

[HarleyQuinn]

I haven't done the park thing since I was 11. I know it's all changed so much, I plan to go back in a few years.

I'm dying to see Harry Potter World though. Personally I don't like rides that take me upside down, they give me headaches, but I'd probably suck it up if some of those HP rides did that. 

[SapphireSlytherin]

None of the HP rides make you go upside down.

Although the Forbidden journey comes close. But you're in a seat that completely surrounds your side/back/head - in a row of four. Single "cars" so to speak.

If you check YouTube you can see it in advance, but I reeeeeaaaallllllyyyyyyy don't want you do to that because it's so awesome to be surprised on the ride.

[nastyhobbitses]

All this talk of theme parks is giving me a new goal: if my half marathon next month goes well, maybe I'll spring to sign up for the half marathon at Disney World. That would be a really fun excuse to go to Disney World, wrapped up in motivation to keep working hard on my running.

[TheMustardCardigan]

On 11/10/2017 at 2:26 PM, LegHumperBibleThumper said:

This really was a great ride back in the day. Other than anything HP, The Mummy is my favorite ride in US/IOA. But I think they got rid of the fire wall. Do you know if that's true?

Still fire last time I went on the Mummy maybe 2 months ago! 

[bashfulpixie]

10 hours ago, nastyhobbitses said:

All this talk of theme parks is giving me a new goal: if my half marathon next month goes well, maybe I'll spring to sign up for the half marathon at Disney World. That would be a really fun excuse to go to Disney World, wrapped up in motivation to keep working hard on my running.

I'm an annual passholder at both Disney and Universal and have been to both countless times (so I'm probably a bit biased), but I really enjoy race weekends.  It forces me to workout knowing that I have something coming up that I've already paid for.  Everyone there is for the same goal and it's just a really nice time.  I've done 4 race series so far and I'm doing the Princess weekend in February.  If you have any questions, don't hesitate to hit me up   

[Nikedagain?]

QUESTION! I am taking my daughter (severe autism) to WDW mid April. It will be the first time I have attempted this alone! We have taken her once before and to other theme parks, but I had my older kids with me. So now it's just me. Taking her to the most over-stimulating place on earth! Yay!  But will it be warm enough to swim? We went a few years ago in late March and the pools were freezing. We had to walk by the beautiful pool to go anywhere at our resort, she could see it from our room. She perseverated and melted down a lot. I've told our travel agent that we need to be a bit away from the pool this time, But, She will freak out if she can't swim each day... I need to be prepared

[feministxtian]

y'all are making me homesick...I lived 15-20 minutes from Busch Gardens Williamsburg and had season's passes for years and years. We'd go, ride the coasters and then go home. Since we left VA we haven't been to a single amusement park. There's one here called "Adventureland" but I'm not sure it's got the kind of adrenaline rush I'm looking for. We went to the air show today and I'd have killed to have a ride on that F-22...DAMN...90 degrees straight up, slide down and into an aileron roll...then a couple of good loops to boot. The Thunderbirds performed too...made me so homesick. When I was in "college" (aka "Harvard by the Highway"), the engineering building was on the approach to LAFB. The F-15's and 16's would fly so low we could see the pilots, and those things are LOUD!!! The instructors would have to stop lecturing because you couldn't hear yourself think. I want to go live under the approach to Nellis but their runways run pretty much east/west and way up in the northern part of the city. Dammit!!!! 

(for the uninitiated, LAFB is Langley Air Force Base and "Harvard by the Highway" is Thomas Nelson Community College...where I finished my AAS but was too fucking dumb to get past Calc 1 to go on to Old Dominion)