Mad Dog
V.I.P. Member
I mostly agree with you on the new Soarin being over rated. Not the worst ride to me, but still just a so so ride with a boring queue. This may sound theme park sacrilegious to some, and I've said it before, but last year I rode Soarin and the next day I was in USF and rode Fallon. I thought the Fallon ride was better, not counting the Fallon queue which makes Fallon way better. Easy comparison on back to back days... I love SSE. I can ride that a zillion times and not get tired of it. I like the new Test Track much better than it's predecessor. Glad to see the Norway stave church has returned to it's rightful occupants. Before Frozen, I always stopped in to view the Viking exhibits. This past May 2018 Universal visit, which was around the same time as yours, was the first time we used the ponchos we bought 7 years ago. The downpour on the first Saturday we were there was that bad. I'm probably one of the few that actually likes the Mexico ride. I'll usually do it once or twice a day. I like Living with the Land. When we were there last year a 15 minute listed line turned into a 45 minute wait, so I can see why you fast passed it.Now, Epcot!
- No real reason to book here other than nostalgia. And I have that. First went in 1984 and SpaceShip Earth, Horizons, and World of Motion are still core memories for me. I lovingly watch @Marni71 vids about Communicore and Wonders of Life.
- We haven't been here for 5 years for obvious reasons.
- The plan was such: FP+ were secured for Frozen Ever After @ 9:15, Living with the Land @ 10:15*, and SSE @ 12:00. Let's rope drop Test Track, do FEA, see if we can fit in Soarin' before LwtL. My must-do's are SSE a few times and American Adventure,
- *LwtL - weird choice for a FP+ right? No. Soarin' brings so many people into The Land pavilion and most spill over to this rider after. Not to mention it has one of the worst queues ever. All switchbacks, right up there with HRRR. Hasta!
- Got to parking gate @ 8:15 for a 9:00 open. But holy crap it was raining. This will become a theme.
- I was disappointed that I had to pay for parking after my DAK parking freebie. Oh well!
- It was raining hard, and the gate CM was nice enough to let us know that Test Track is closed while it is raining. We know this, and already are putting Plan B Soarin' rope drop into effect. Neat that he told people though. Imagine running over there and it is closed...
- So, they let us in under the geodesic dome to wait. I love this thing so much; even if they did ruin the descent.
- Soarin' is quite possibly the worst ride ever. It is inexcusable that feet dangle in your field of vision. I have no idea why everyone loves it and I am glad to have it out of my system for the next 5 - 10 years. New video sucks, too. The clouds/eagle/bs transitions are quite frankly insulting. And I like Navi River Journey and F&F!
- I loved Maelstrom, but I am okay with the Frozen overlay. Those AAs are pretty sweet.
- The Stave church in Norway has a really nice Viking Gods exhibit. See it. These are the type of touches that I remember, and it is really great that they put this in.
- New Mission Space: meh, jut like the old one. I may be still bitter about Horizons.
- SpaceShip Earth: I could ride this all day.
- Mexico has a really great Coco exhibit; again, one of those touches that I love.
- It was raining on and off all day, so no Test Track. I dont really care, but my 11-year-old really remembers it from our 2013 visit. Oh well what can you do. If WDW was more flexible, I would have rescheduled this day. But FP+, dinner reservations I made 6 months ago, and all that.
- It was a great day (how can a day when you go n SSE 3 times not be, despite the crappy ending), but it is bittersweet knowing what this park used to be.
- Quick word about ponchos! Buy your own. We also had a plastic bag to carry them around when it wasn't raining (in addition to our backpack). This worked great. Easy on, easy off, carry the dripping bag separately. And, best of all, the park is less crowded when rain is pouring down so you can hit whatever you want. Unless it is Test Track. :sick: