Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<So my son went out to IOA today to see HP. Got to the park before 8:30am. He said there were very long lines already. They opened the gates early and like everyone else he made a dash to the HP area. By the time he got there the line was in Toon Lagoon. He said the line snaked around the Popeye Boat. It took him 45 mins to get to the HP area. There was a 75 min wait for Forbidden Journey. My son has been going to Disney since he was born and we have had AP's for Universal/IOA, SeaWorld/Busch Gardens thru the years. He said that HP and the Forbidden Journey is the absolutely best thing he has ever ridden. He said the attention to detail was amazing. He also said that IOA was packed. We have been going to IOA since it opened and he and I have had AP's for many of those years. He said he has never seen IOA that busy. Even more busy than the holidays.>> Thanks for the report. It follows everything I've been hearing ... it sounds like UNI has put out the best product in O-Town and people are responding. That's great to hear on so many levels.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<Now that I actually may go, I'm starting to get excited. >> There are MANY things at IOA worth seeing. From Spidey to Dueling whatever they're calling it now to the whole Seuss land to the shops and dining in Port of Entry. It is a very nice park that has seemingly gotten infinitely better in the last month! But no magic, wishes or pixie dust ... just som wizardy and top flight story-telling.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<Is it bad that I really want to see SeussLand? >> No. Suess Island rocks my socks.
Originally Posted By MPierce The talent to expand, and produce high quality NFL teams, and MLB teams just isn't out there. The expansions that have taken place have only diluted the existing teams. American sports like football will never be popular anywhere else. That's just a fact of life. Euro football had very limited talent playing the game. In areas that culturally could care less about the sport. Yes, some sports only belong in certain regions of the World. I could never imagine Cricket or Caber Tossing catching on here in the States. I've always found Forbes to be factual, and fairly acurate.
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy << Is it bad that I really want to see SeussLand? >> I only think it's bad from the perspective that Dr. Seuss was always outspoken against the kind of hyper-marketing and commercialization of his characters that Seuss Island represents. I'm sure he's rolling over in his graves to see how much his heirs have compromised in terms of his values in their race to get top dollar for the rights to all the Seuss characters. Otherwise, I'm sure the land is quite entertaining.
Originally Posted By sjhym33 I love SuessLanding. Its a great part of IOA. Dr Suess's wife had creative control over many aspects of the area and it shows. There are several nice small touches throughout that make it a great area.
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy << Dr Suess's wife had creative control over many aspects of the area and it shows. >> If only she'd exercised the same control over the horrid Cat in the Hat movie.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<Amen. And I didnt care for the Grinch movie either.>> I love the Grinch movie, but I agree about Cat in the Hat. What a horrid film.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer I dislike both. Can't make those into live action movies...Animation is the only way. Horton Hears a Who was good, on that note.
Originally Posted By sjhym33 I had a friend who told me that the evening had been empty at HP but the theme park blogger at the Orlando Sentinel says don't believe it. Thurs night there was a 90 min wait in the evening to ride Forbidden Journey. Guess that bodes well for IOA this summer.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> I had a friend who told me that the evening had been empty at HP but the theme park blogger at the Orlando Sentinel says don't believe it. Thurs night there was a 90 min wait in the evening to ride Forbidden Journey. Guess that bodes well for IOA this summer. << I wonder how long they can maintain that kind of attendance?
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 ^^It appears that WWoHP is doing exactly what UNI hoped. It also appears WoC is doing the same for Disney ... in Anaheim. I wonder if MSEP is driving similar attendance gains at MK? ;-)
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer I can't wait to help out Uni. The possibility of actually going opened up the excitement for me, I think.
Originally Posted By sjhym33 We had given up our AP's for Universal in Jan. My son rode HP the other day and informed me that we were getting AP's in the fall. It's our new father/son thing.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 My daughter just got back from WWoS where she was last week playing in the National volleyball championships. My wife went with her and she said Downtwon Disney the ight of WWoHP opening was literally wall to wall- similar to MK on 4th of July...so I guess not everyone syated on Uni property. Also the brother of one of the girls waited opening day from 5AM or something like that and it still took 6 hours to get to Potter-- but 2 days later they walked in in the afternoon ? So those are first hand accounts- make of them what you will.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<Also the brother of one of the girls waited opening day from 5AM or something like that and it still took 6 hours to get to Potter-- but 2 days later they walked in in the afternoon ?>> That's about right. From park opening to about 4-5 oclock, there's a wait to get into the area, and then around that time the crowds have dispersed to other parts of the park and you can walk into WWoHP, but still have substantial waits for Forbidden Journey and some of the shops.
