Oh I love that! I hope it’s still there next summer.
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I ended up being surprisingly busy yesterday, with little downtime for live updates. But here’s the review of the day.
By the time I got to UOR the rain was pretty light and I didn’t feel the need to poncho up. My first stop — thanks to the hype — was Voodoo Doughnuts and it was good. Visually interesting selection, and the one I chose was fine. The coffee was meh, but I guess that’s not their speciality.
Now, just go back to the third picture and look at the “Texas”. It’s huge, right? No-one would order that, surely. Maybe to share. Well, folks, this is the US. So sure enough, at an adjacent table there was this kid:
Don’t go all liberal snowflake on me. I’m not fat-shaming the kid, despite the fact he did actually eat the entire thing himself. I just thought the juxtaposition of a giant doughnut and a small kid was funny.
To my disappiontment Rip Ride Rockit was closed all day. Because of the rain my plan was to walk purposefully between attractions and minimise outdoor time. As I’d just eaten, I didn’t want to go on anything too rough, so I tried Fast & Furious.
And you know what? I’m really glad I did. I think I’ve only read negative reviews on the internet and I’m here to tell you that they’re FAKE NEWS. I genuinely thought it was terrific. The queuing area is long, but split up into lots of visually interesting sections. Disney Imagineers would be proud. (Note the number of people in line. It was late morning, and the park wasn’t crowded at all, no doubt because of the rain.)
Eventually you get to the first of two pre-shows. An actor interacts with pre-recorded videos explaining the plot of the ride. I’d read these were bad. Well, I guess they reworked them because I thought they were genuinely very funny, though I did get a different set of actors on my second ride and they were maybe not quite so good.
From there a couple more queuing areas and then you’re on the party buses.
(Photos are not allowed on the ride — @ryan1 will be glad about that.)
Now, yes, the ride vehicles are the same as the Kong ones. But the ride is not 3D like Kong. But the technology makes that unnecessary. During the first scene the bus is static while you watch the action, and I didn’t find it too difficult to believe it was real. But during the second scene the ride really distinguishes itself from Kong. The bus “moves” and it moves really fast through a chase scene across a long stretch of highway in San Francisco. I thought it was tremendously exciting and very compelling. So much so I rode it a second time later on in the day.
From there to The Mummy, which I rode last year but didn’t remember. Not a huge fan, to be honest.
And then to Jimmy Fallon, which is richly themed and a really fun ride. Again, I rode it a second time later in the day.
At this point I was hungry. Now they have a really weird system at UOR, so let me try to explain how it works. So . . . you’re hungry and you want to eat. They make you decide right then and there where you want to go from a wide variety of options. I fancied table service so I went to Lombard’s Seafood Grill. You show up and are greeted by someone who tells you there will be a “five to fifteen minute wait, while we try to find you a nice table with a view”. Five minutes later they call your name and escort you to the table. Crazy system, right?
This was the view from my table:
The service was very prompt and efficient. I started with the clam chowder, which was not great. And then the mahi-mahi:
This was much better. The potatoes were delicious and the vegetables were superbly well-cooked. Just right.
I didn’t have a dessert as I didn’t want to get too full so that I could continue to go on rides.
But when I emerged from the restaurant the rain had picked up a little. I was a little full so I started thinking of what I could do that was indoors and not too energetic. None of the shows appealed to me. Hmm.
And then I realised: they have a huge movie theatre on CityWalk. I never go to the cinema at home because I never leave my dog on his own. So this was a genuine treat. I ponchoed up and headed for the theatre. I had the choice of Jurrasic Wolrd or Ocean’s 8. I’m a fan of both franchises, but JW started later and finished much later and would have cut too much into my park time once I got out.
I loved the movie. It ranks equally with the other three in my view. Very pacey, never gets boring, clever and intriguing plot. I’d watch it again.
Once I emerged from the theatre the rain had died back down, so no need for the poncho. I had a very clear mission: re-ride Fallon and F&F, then Gringott’s, Hogwart’s Express, Nighttime Lights and home.
I whizzed through Fallon and F&F but got nervous about how long Gringott’s would take, so skipped it and went straight to HE. Arrived at Hogsmeade with ten minutes to go before the first Nighttime Lights. (It was shown every 15 minutes from 9pm.) It was crowded, but not difficult to find a good spot. The castle is much higher up than Cindarella’s, so pretty much anywhere is a good spot. The cast members (or whatever UOR calls them) all had wands with lights on the end directing people.
I’ve already posted a picture. I didn’t get great ones, to be honest.
The show finished at 9.05pm, so I whizzed back to HE to go back to Diagon Alley and Gringott’s. As I did so I realised I was hungry again and hoped I’d have time to get to the Leaky Cauldron. It was tight, but I managed it with minutes to spare.
Now, I wasn’t that hungry so I didn’t want a big meal. Turns out they have secret options if you ask for them. They offered me a plain chicken breast. And I added a butterbeer mousse-type thing.
When I emerged I decided to have a bit of a nighttime look at Diagon Alley. But here’s a difference between WDW and UOR. Once the park is closed UOR want you out of there. There was a line of security guards ludicrously dressed as fake modern US policemen to make them look important and intimidating (thanks for ruining the theming) basically telling you to leave. “Can I just use the men’s room?” “No. Find one near the exit to the park.” Wow.
So off I went. Quick picture of Voodoo Doughnuts at night:
In the Lyft on the way home I fell asleep.
So, despite the rain — which never stopped, so that “oh, it rains every day, but only for half an hour” BS is, well, BS so stop saying it — it was actually a pretty good day. Disappointed not to ride RRR.
Oh yeah, one last thing. We need to talk about toilets. I’ve written before about how the toilets at UOR smell so good. They pump in the most delicious, sweet smell. So much nicer than the WDW ones. And they seem to keep them cleaner, too.
But what is it with you people and your no-privacy bathroom stalls? In one (at WDW, actually) the “walls” were so low, the tall guy using the urinal next to my stall could actually look down into it. Then there’s — what? — a two foot gap at the bottom of the door. And have you not discovered the technology that enables an indicator on the door to let people know if it’s occupied? So that they don’t have to test the doors to find out.
These are not original opinions. Similar complaints are all over the internet.
Oh, and why have bathroom designers the world over not yet figured out how to make hand-washing stations that work consistently, and don’t leave vast amounts of mess everywhere. And why does everything have to be automated (and, therefore, non-functioning half the time)?
It’s a mystery. You can put a man on the Moon . . .
Today I move to the Poly and try life as an on-property guest. Back to the WDW forum for today’s report.
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I guess Fast and Furious is back on my list! And I would absolutely order the Texas, except it looks a bit lacking in chocolate.
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BRILLIANT!
Yummy goodness which inflicts horrible pain on a horrible person
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I LOVE the Ocean’s movies!!
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As an occasional forum reader, I spent most of last night reading all the way through the first five days with @profmatt . Shows how exciting my social life is that I chose to do that on a Friday night. Loved all of it though. You all kept me very entertained. I’m glad I’m caught up though and can follow along daily! Carry on @profmatt - can’t wait to read the rest.
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We are usually on chat in the DLR. I am one of the few who wishes that it move to the forum. You can only put so much in chat, then you have to continue into another reply. Which is really annoying.
She is a Disneyland savant!
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Glad a had a great day
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I wish it were more in the forum too! Before my time as a Liner they tried the forum & the core group didn’t like that the park specific boards are public & for some reason didn’t get around La Cava either. The more I use the forum though, the more I just love it!
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That’s what the gap at the bottom of the stalls is for; you look to see if there are any feet showing…
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Hooray! This gives me hope once again!
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The twenty million (more or less) of us who reside here full time, as a rule, don’t say that. But, according to the tiniest of tiny Disney bloggers, Floriduh Man has neither the economic nor intellectual wherewithal to express him- or herself more eloquently than a series of moos and grunts.
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