simtanic8

Before I start, I will say that I am a potter fan. So if I sound insane, biased, and am just "fanboying" all over the place, you know why. Reading the books, watching the movies, and then actually being able to live the world is a dream come true. Even to non-potter fans, it's hard to deny that this whole land is beautiful and amazingly detailed. In my opinion, you "Leave" Universal and enter a whole new world. Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts is mind blowing. The ride system is fantastic and the "coaster" sections are indeed short like Robb said but they pack a punch for the first time. If you want to not be lost in the story and want it to make sense, go through the regular queue. In single riders you bypass the entire preshow and the lift. To me the lift makes the Stretching room at Haunted Mansion seem like a county fair ride, I was mind boggled both times I got on the lift. To non potter fans, the preshow explains why you're at Gringotts. You're here to open an account and the goblins are going to take you to your vault, but in good old Universal fashion, something goes terribly wrong. After riding through and returning to the station my entire cart erupted in applause. The show scenes are massive, filled with detail and beautiful transitions. I was lucky enough to ride twice, once with no wait, second with about 45 minutes. First time in the back very back row, second in the very first row. I arrived at Universal around 5:50 or so. Not a car in sight, even the toll plaza was empty. They were prepared for the rush that just didn't come at that time. They had barricades running from Fossil all the way to IOA and back. Lined with staff and carts, but still not many guests in sight. Park was open to let guests in, but still not many to be seen. Barricades and staff wrapped around Simpsons and MIB, but I finally made it. about 500 or so in London, everyone else waited outside. My view point of the opening. The ceremony was short and sweet. The fireworks set off were in the colors of the four houses which I thought was a nice touch. Looking back, shows just how many guests arrived after me. With the ceremony finished, we were let in. They gave us the red carpet treatment, literally. Confetti was flying everywhere and the streets were lined with all the shop keepers. The amount of tears shed around me was astounding. I threw my bag in the fluffy, fluffy bunnies filled with medicine and goo and darted for the single riders queue, which at this point no one was using. Everyone darted for the regular queue, which was at a 75 when I entered. They only had 2 rvs, but each rv has two carts with each holding twelve. My first time and I went straight on with no wait. So I went back in line and rode again, this time waiting for 45minutes. Leaving after my second ride, the wait time jumped to 300. There was even a wait for the fluffy, fluffy bunnies filled with medicine and goo. I saw nothing but organized chaos when I left. No pushing, shoving, no angry guests. I was shocked thinking I was in a dream, but I think everyone was just high off of Butterbeer ice cream. Required fire dragon shot. Confetti, Confetti everywhere! After leaving, the line wrapped backstage into the queues for HHN and all the way to Transformers. Now for some random shots taken from the past few days. Overall, I give it 23.5 out of 10 stars, Universal definitely stepped up their game. .

Spiderman hands down for me! So much better than Transformers in my opinion. Spiderman keeps that superhero feel that everyone has as a kid. As far as coaster, I got to say Hollywood Rockit, and not just because I work at it but because it has good airtime and you get to listen to music. Hidden song list please!

Team Member Preview was last night, and even though it was a rehearsal, Horror Nights was pretty amazing. One word..... FOG! The streets are absolutely fantastic this year, the scare zones are back along with a "mini-house" located near Mel's, Hershel's Barn. They really increased the amount of fog machines in the entire park, not only that but the entire lagoon is misting up and covered in fog. There were points where you couldn't see two feet in front of you! The Walkers can get pretty big in numbers in some areas such as the Clear and Atlanta, but others it felt empty and lacking. The houses were mind blowing in the amount of detail put into the sets. All of the houses pack a punch, each in their own way. Though some felt like they were not as populated as they should be, every house is a winner in my book. I won't give any spoilers but, if you have seen any episode of The Walking Dead Season 3, you will LOVE the Walking Dead house! Even if you haven't, the scares are great and the sets are phenomenal! Here are a few photos I took, apologies for the poor quality. iPhone plus night lighting = bad. Waiting to get in, a LOT of people showed up to the preview. The amount of fog was overwhelming, you couldn't escape it. This was one of the scare zones, the Clear. Lighting was top-notch this year! And here is the Arch in all of it's glory! I HIGHLY recommend taking a trip to Horror Nights this year, just be careful though. This was the Preview and we just barely got all eight houses done by closing time. Plan smart, hit the back houses first and work your way to the front.

I think I was just very VERY lucky last year. The first time I went was a Sunday, and I only got to do about 4 houses that night and saw three of the roaming hordes. The second time was a Thursday I believe, and I did every single house and saw every single roaming horde all in the first three hours without an express pass, but after the last house everything got to a 70+ minute wait. Just have to get there VERY early and also, not on a weekend.

Working at Universal has its perks, and one of those is being able to go to the Team Member preview night next week. Will definitely give a report and opinions on the houses as well as everything I am able to do that night. This year already looks incredible just like the others, plus there is an army tank outside near Mummy.....so you know....that's a thing.

Two more houses! Witness the brutal vengeance of his victims as they turn his afterlife into an inescapable hell... This fall, 2000 volts of electricity are going to send serial killer, Bobby “The Blade” Galleta into a horrific realm of suffering at HHN23 in this new, original haunted house, Afterlife: Death’s Vengeance WARNING: In this all-new original house the train convoy has derailed and the bloodthirsty maniacs are loose. Escaping them this time will be a hard feat…the “Dogs of War” return to HHN23 in this sequel house, Havoc 2: Derailed.

Yep! Rockit is still closed as themeparkguy said. Tech members are working on a few blocks right now.

I'm heading over to the park now with a friend, so I can try to find out more once I head to the studios side. This happened on my day off, but from the article and that it was a minor injury to one guest, what most likely happened is that the RV was heading into a block and stopped suddenly causing her to hit her head on the back of the seat. I will find out more today though if possible.

I think I am one of the few who are excited for this. The Walking Dead is what got me into the "horror" scene. Last years Walking Dead house was my favorite, it seemed to never end and the actors really got me in the house. Having an entire park dedicated to the zombie apocalypse!? Now that is what I want to see! I am a little sad though that there will not be different themes to the zones, but at least they brought the zones back.

Rocky Horror is back? Maybe I will finally get to see what all the fluff is about. Also, I am pleased to announce that I have been hired at Universal, and will be an attendant at the Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit!

See this is what happens when you're a game artist, you just keep making random things all from scratch. [vimeo] [/vimeo]

Not an exact duel but still greatly timed. Seems like it opened for a bit yesterday or some time. Wish I was back in England!

You beat me to it! I'm mostly excited about Moe's Tavern, also Kang & Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl just because it's another ride to get on.

Will also be attending Friday and cannot wait! Going to the other parks first then will end up at Magic Kingdom.

It's newer than the originals, but Mulan at Pleasure Beach Great Yarmouth is still standing. Canopy and everything!