Wow, thanks for sharing!
My experience with Orlando (and perhaps Singapore and Japan as well) is a bit different. Normally, I try to be open when it comes to experiencing different parks around the world. So whenever I visit Universal Studios Florida, that open perspective usually results in a honeymoon period for about a day. That's when all my wonder and amazement comes rushing in at a park that does things differently than our home base here in Hollywood. Usually, I'm struck at how well Universal actually competes on the normal theme park experience - I mean, for once, you have a normal, bonafide theme park! There's your fair share of rides, shows...and more rides. It's all good and fun, and the layout and theming usually leaves me thinking about what Hollywood should become.
However, after that first day, I get a bit frustrated. Again, it's odd to have Hollywood as a basis of comparison, but I start noticing the spread out nature of most theme parks and how there's a need to literally walk across the park to find something that you've missed.
...and there's the aspect of realism. For whatever reason, I start believing that these parks (Singapore, Florida and Japan) are not truly authentic - as in, there's a sense that you're always stuck in the theme park world. Everything is fabricated, and nothing is actually being used for their intended purpose. So in other words, these "mock" soundstages aren't actually soundstages, and I'm willing to bet most haven't seen any monumental filming.
Again, it's odd to have Hollywood as the standard, but that's what happened to me as I traveled to Florida, Singapore and Japan. 1-2 days of amazement, followed by 1-2 more days of agitation. That's not to say these parks aren't excellent in their own right - they are. But they're just different.
Hope that makes sense.
