Photo TR: Islands of Adventure

I've ate at both the Hard Rock Cafe (lunch) and NBA City (twice for dinner), as well as Margaritaville. They have really great food; you should check it out sometime in your life.

The animatronics are pretty bad too.

Imhotep is the most advanced AA Universal has. They purposely made the guards static figures.

I know a lot of engineering went into Imhotep, but I personally don't think it was as well spent as it could have been. Body movement is fine, but his face doesn't move an inch when he talks like some other recent animatronics do. I may have been a bit too critical, but I still think it could have been pulled off a bit better.

and I shall finish up the TR later on this week. It will be exciting, and climactic! Just like something else...

I know a lot of engineering went into Imhotep, but I personally don't think it was as well spent as it could have been. Body movement is fine, but his face doesn't move an inch when he talks like some other recent animatronics do. I may have been a bit too critical, but I still think it could have been pulled off a bit better.

Sometimes his mouth moves well, other times it does not move at all. I guess it really depends on Imhotep's mood that day. At least he did decided to say "hello" for you. There are times he decides to stay in the coffin for the day and they roll the silly Mode B image on the front of the coffin instead.

After much procrastination and a fatal computer virus....

I present to you the final chapter of Gnome and Immel Man's journey to IOA.

So the night before we went to IOA, we decided we would get a head start. So after

we had finished everything at USF, we head over IOA. That way we could get a head start

on the rides incase the next day was crowded, and we weren't able to go on much... if anything.

So we walked into IOA, and we walked around the park and we went on both sides of Dueling Dragons, Hulk, and Dr. Doom's Free Fall.

After that it was park closing and time to go home. Lucky for us, we still had another day.

So we came back the next day at around 10:00. For the first hour or so we just ran around taking video and pictures of the seaport and Marvel Island. Since we had taken care of the most important things the night before, we weren’t in TOO much of a hurry.

So then after we were done with that, I went and I bought myself a coke and 2 express passes. The EP work, but I think they were way over priced, especially seeing as how you paid $40 just to go on each ride once… with shorter lines. Although in some cased you didn’t even get a shorter line, like on Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Fall, when we first tried to get on it there was over a 2 hour wait! But eventually the line became shorter…so it we eventually got on it when it was worth while to do such. So anyways, over all, it’s a good idea, especially for the water rides which have the 3 hour long lines, and you only want to go on them once anyways, but for rides like Spiderman, or hulk where you want to go on again… you can’t. So I propose that they sell 2 passes.. the Express pass for $20 and the super Express for $40 or $45. Or something of that sort… any who….

After I met back up with Connor, I gave him his EP and we went to go get a locker, we didn’t feel much like dealing with the hassle of bringing on items anyways… besides more often then not, you lose the battle.

So now that we had our locker, we decided the first thing we would go and do would be Spiderman. And I must say… the ride system is brilliant. If you haven’t been on it, I will briefly describe it to you. Its like the EMV system used on Disney rides such as Indiana Jones and Dinosaurs, except you have on 3D glasses, and you move around this building and you stare at a bunch of screens which have 3D figures floating about you. And while the 3D figures float around, your vehicle interacts with whatever you are seeing happening on the screen. For example, my favorite part of the ride was when you start climbing up the buildings. They simulate it to feel like you were actually rising… like in an elevator, even though you never actually hit the ground. And then you dip forward and all that other stuff. I guess the best way to describe it is 3D star Tours, except 100x cooler.

So after Spiderman we skipped across over to hulk. The weight was like an hour or 2 by then so we sure as hell were going to use our EP. So we got on in about 20 minutes. The EP lane is pretty cool because you get to see some cool angles of the B&M track that you generally never get to see…. But you miss all the architecture that you see in the normal stand by line (which you can see at 8 once half the park clears out )

Anyways, hulk is pretty cool. It was a lot better then what Connor had told me before riding, but it wasn’t all that way off base. Its definitely better than silver bullet, and I think I like it a little better then Scream at SFMM, but it really wasn’t anything superb, like Dueling Dragons. Basically you launch, which is ok, but isn’t anything special to me, I think Knott’s Montezuma’s revenge has a more powerful launch, and I’m not all that effected by that one either. But after the launch you dive into the 0 g roll, which is more like a negative g roll since it’s so drawn out. You basically fall into your restraint as you go into, then after that you go into the cobra roll, which is pretty sweet imo, and followed by the first of 2 loops. This is where the ride starts to lose it for me is after this element. Because after this it goes into elements that are way to drawn out for how fast your going into each element. The turn around the launch was very bla, you feel basically near next to nothing beyond normal 1 g, and then you go into the flatspin, which is ok, but there was nothing about it that was exceptionally great, but I think I liked it better then the second one. After that you fly into the loop which I think should have been more like Kraken’s second loop where it pummels you with g’s, but this one was just bla as well. Then you go into multiple twists and turns, which should have been very fun as well… but we have that to drawn out for the amount of speed sort of problem I was talking about earlier. Then you go into the mcbr, and then you have the drop out of it, which is also blah, but most are, then you go into the wingover turn around, and finale into the helix which should have been more like Silver Bullet’s or Kumba. But overall it wasn’t that bad, just not as good as it could have been had more intense. I guess they could have made it less intense on purpose, though, so you never know. Anyways, overall I give it a solid 8, nothing special, but better then Silver Bullet, I would say, and it’s very re-ridable, assuming the lines aren’t 2 hours long.

So after that we just walked around Marvel Island as we were heading towards Toon Lagoon. We took time to appreciate everything around us, and its very cool how they themed it all to be a comic book instead of theming it to reality… with super hero’s in it. So now that were coming up to Toon Lagoon, we had to say good bye to marvel island for the moment, and I had a hard time letting go, but I knew I would be back later in the day so it wasn’t that big of a problem.

So now we’re in Toon lagoon. Its basically everything Toon Town tried to be, but just was never quite there. Toon lagoon basically has nothing but little water things to get yourself wet with, 2 of the best water rides out there, and a bunch of photo ops. Its really a fun place just to run around with, and I can see myself in the future bringing my kids to IOA and spending a while just watching them splash themselves with water, or running around the tugboat.

And of course we would go on Popeye’s and Bluto’s Bilge Rat Barges while we were there. And let me tell you…. It’s outstanding. Although the first time we went on it was about miday, and it was pretty hot. So we were right up near the loading turntable thing about to be let on when… wouldn’t you know it… it broke down. But we decided we would wait. Anyways, the staff did a good job at entertaining the people waiting around, and they were nice enough to let us people stuck out in the sun to come sit in the shade area with the rest of the ride ops. So we waiting around for about an hour and we thought that it was almost fixed several times.. but we eventually just gave up and decided we would come back later since they were going to let us re-use our EP for the ride.

So we headed over to Dudley Do-Rights only to discover that 2 hour wait I was talking about earlier. And I must say I was pretty disappointed simply because it was pretty hot during the day and I just really wanted to get cooled off. Of course I could have gone playing in one of those fountains located in the main part of Toon Lagoon, but that was sooo beneath me. So instead we just went and had lunch at the Jurrassic Park learning center. It was delish! =P

So since there was nothing more to do at Toon Lagoon at the moment, we trekked through Jurassic Park and went back to our lockers to get our cameras, and when we got there, we noticed that our locker was broken. Apparently they use windows 98 or ME for the locker system… I must say… I was perplexed. So we went to go tell Guest Relations (which for various reasons we were in and out of all day) only to find out we had to go over to maintenance, so before we did that, I decided I would double check to see if it had been fixed or not, and it was… all in a matter of 5 minutes.

We then went back over to the Jurassic Park are to ride the Jurassic Park River ride. It was pretty good, but I think I like California’s better simply because it has a little more to it, like the car being pushed over the side, and the 2 t rex animatronics as oppose to the one. But none the less, it was a good ride, and it has the perfect splash that gets you slightly wet, but not soaked like on perilous plunge. I think all raft rides should be designed to splash like Jurassic Park splashes.

So since we were wet we decided we would go check on Dudley Do-Right again, and to our surprise, the EP wait was at a reasonable time frame. So we went on it. And overall I really enjoyed it, compared to Splash Mountain (which is basically its competitor) its on par. Mainly because this one is more actual ride experienced based for the fun factor where as Splash Mountain is more animatronic. The air hill after the first ride was pretty cool to experience, I got about an inch off my seat (give or take a little bit) and I was glad to see that they didn’t re-profiled it.(because if they had, it sure as hell wouldn’t have been operating when I went )

So after that we went to go check back on Popeye, and…. It was still broken. We were so glad we left when we did. At least it wasn’t one of those “you leave and a minute later its back up and running” sort of thing. Its always that idea that keeps you waiting in line in the first place.

So since that was still down we started heading towards Dueling Dragons. We went on both sides twice. Once in the back seat, once in the front. Also, while we were waiting… “inclement weather” started approaching. The clouds had subtly started to come in about mid day, but at first it was just a couple of clouds, but eventually it became full on overcast at round 3 or 4. But it was alright, because the ride was still scheduled to remain open, and we only got a slight sprinkle (which sort of stings a little) but overall not to bad. Overall, I really liked Dueling Dragons…. both sides. Although I slightly favor fire over ice simply because it has the extra kick with the final corkscrew where as ice just sort of wanders to the brake run leaving you with no special feelings. If it had a helix at the end, I probably would have like it better, but it didn’t, so I don’t, but its not to far behind.

After that we went back over to Popeye’s and it was working, so we were exited to go on it, and we crossed our fingers it wouldn’t brake down again. Lucky for us, it didn’t. Its easily one of the best raft rides ever. Its #1 in my list, followed by Grizzly Rapids at DCA, and then Shipwreck Rapids at SWS. The fact that it has actual white water rapids instead of just some crappy splashes here and there was pretty cool. And what was even better about it is its probably the longest raft ride I’ve ever been on. It has 2 parts to it, split up by the lift hill. You start out from the station and go through a beginning part with a ride experience pretty much like any other rapids ride, except better than the standard for most. Then after that you go up the lift, and you have this whole other part which finishes up the story you started in the first half, as well as pummels you with lots of rapids and other water effects. Its easily worth an hour and a half wait. (2 might be pushing it, though )

So after that, we got our stuff from the lockers and went over to film DD and Popeye’s (since that was finally running again.) We then decided to go back over to marvel island because I did not film everything there that I wanted to get, from there we ran back through Suess Landing, to get over to Mythos. We had dinner there, and it was pretty good. The theming inside was amazing simply do to the fact that most restaurants never really consider doing anything like that. The closest thing to it that I can think of would be Rain Forest Café, and Blue Bayou at Disneyland, but Rain Forest Café isn’t actually in a theme park, and Blue Bayou has good theming, just not quite as good as Mythos. And not only is the theming good, so is the food. The menu was a lot better then anything at Club 33 (the exclusive dining restaurant at Disneyland) not only did they have more of a selection, the food also tasted a whole hell of a lot better. It was just a very good restaurant and I can see why it’s ranked so high.

After that we went on Poseidon, which was pretty cool. The ending was a little lame though, with the projections, but the special effects made up for it. Although I wished that I had seen the original show as described by Wikipedia, who knows, since the park is doing a lot better then when it first opened, maybe one day they’ll bring it back. After that we ran around the park doing God knows what (frankly, it’s all a blur to me after we watched Poseidon), anyways, I recon we didn’t do to much. But none the less, we did something and then we finished the night with Dueling Dragons Fire which was the perfect end to a near perfect day at IOA.

Overall, it has probably the best staff I’ve ever seen at a theme park. They’re extremely friendly, and very efficient. They know what they’re talking about and they’re very helpful if you have a question. There really is nothing more they can do except be a little less stingy on their rules (like when they want cameras attached to your belt taken off) but overall, those are just some very minor things compared to the rest of the experience.

I want to leave you coaster fans with one more pic!

Indoor Food! Aaawwwww

Indoors Theming! OOOoooo

This guy might have drank a little to much...

I ate at the #1 Theme Park Restraunt!

Mythos

It's Immel Man!

You get some wierd floater air in the back seat.

These riders must of had lots of fun!

Look at that tounge to tounge action!

Get a room you 2!!!!

But that doesn't stop this fierce griffen from doing his job!

Inclement weather approaches.

The sexiest shot of Hulk... In the world! Only found at toon lagoon!

Silly people, that's not water! It's acid!

Yay! It's working again!

To my surprise, the virgin mary appeared in my ketchup. I would have sold it on Ebay, but my finger fell in it.

Its lunch time! You get a nice view of the Hulk from the Jurassic Park learning center.

We went back to our locker only to find out it was kaput...

if you turn that picture upside down, you'll see that the 09 is actually a 60, which could only mean that this ride is the devil!

Ka Splash! I hope no one allergic to h2o!

Jurassic park is frightning in the dark, with all the animals running wild!

This air hill is fun... and wet!

Captain America and his posse started ganging up on little kids so they could steal the kid's lunch money.

Where did these fruit cakes come from?

This is! =P

No Connor, that's not the spider man ride!

Helix of DOOM!

Sup 0 homie g roll!

The fantastic 4 have thier own cafe whilst Dr. Doom has his own ride.

This shot is so ghetto

Its so graceful.... and FUN! =P

How marvel-ous... uck uck uck.

The tallest Cobra roll I've ever seen....

OMGLMAO ITS A LOOP!!!11110000

Exotic!

Barely 20 feet into the park, and you already see how beautiful the place is.

Our Journey began several times that day

A Phallus type object.

Those flags look like replicas of the prayer flags flown throughout the himilayas, the buddist say a prayer and tie a flag on the string, so the wind can come and carry the prayer away to be answered. Just thought somebody would be interested. Credit Michael Palen's Himilaya series for that fact.

-James Dillaman

Nice reference to Weird Al...

Anyway, great TR.

Ok, that TR was amazing..

BUT

the Strongbad reference made it EVEN MORE amazing.

You get 1,000,000,000.44674 points for being AWESOME.