Theme Park Rides – Orlando Attraction Tickets blog

December 14, 2017

Construction of Ray Rush is in Full Swing

Hey Thrill Seekers,

I’m extremely excited about Ray Rush which is opening in the Spring of 2018 and yesterday Aquatica uploaded some construction pics, lets take a look..

As we can all see, the primary colours of the slide are blues and greens – sticking with the ocean animal theme of rays.

Lots of parts ready and waiting to become a piece of Ray Rush!

I can see parts that look like pizza slices in the right side of this photo, I wonder what part of the slide they will be home too… I’m not sure if the guy on the right is taking the photo or scratching his head as to say ‘I’ve left the instructions at home Dave’

Here we can see that Hooroo Run is no more so that we can make way for Ray Rush which will now be next to Walhalla Wave on the left hand side of the photo and is closed until Ray Rush opens in Spring.

Who’s excited for this to open?! If you can’t remember what Ray Rush is going to look like then see below..

Triple your fun with the three-in-one thrills of Ray Rush, new at Aquatica Orlando. Ray Rush is the fully-loaded water adventure with three ways to slide, splash and soar like never before. First, water jets launch your raft from zero to awesome in just seconds. Your adventure takes a twisting turn as you spin inside a colossal water sphere. Finally, dive into the giant manta wings, swooping up and down a different path each time. Fill your raft with family and friends for three times the thrills on the exciting Ray Rush at Aquatica, SeaWorld’s waterpark.

It looks and sounds awesome!

Smiles Included,

Abby

July 11, 2017

Is Tron Lightcycle Power Run coming to the U.S?

Hey thrill seekers,

Rumours have it, Shanghai Disneyland’s TRON Lightcycle Power Run roller coaster may soon be making its way overseas to the major U.S. Disney parks! According to sources, budget and preliminary design teams for Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts have been sent out to Shanghai to transform the idea into reality in the U.S.

The addition of a TRON ride to Disney’s U.S. theme parks would be a great addition to the new movie-themed coaster and attractions at Disneyland and Disney World. The Guardians of the Galaxy mission : BREAKOUT attraction is now under-construction at Disney’s California Adventure park, while the massive Pandora: The World of Avatar has recently opened in Animal Kingdom. Furthermore, Star Wars Land rides and attractions are currently being made ahead of their openings at Disney parks in both California and Florida. Therefore, it would make sense to announce another movie-themed coaster.

The Lightcycle ride momentarily places fans into the world of Tron in a lightening speed roller coaster. As seen in the video here, the experience is over in less than two minutes, but it still looks amazingly fun!

It is yet to be confirmed but with D23 just round the corner, we are left to ponder whether Disney will announce the coaster as soon as this weekend!

Let us know in the comments, what you think of this new coaster, which we could see in our parks within the next couple of years!

Smiles included…

Cameron-Jai

June 6, 2017

Universals Fast & Furious – Supercharged will Debut in Spring 2018!

Hey Thrill Seekers!

Universal have recently released some exciting news – especially exciting for me as Fast & Furious is my favourite film franchise EVER!!

The attraction is going to be called Fast & Furious – Supercharged and will open in spring next year.

You’ve seen the cars. You’ve seen the ction. And soon, you’ll be able to live it.

Back in 2015 Universal announced that a Fast & Furious attraction will be coming to Universal Studios in the future and we now have a exact-ish release time! Fast & Furious is one of the most successful film franchises of all time and this ride is going to be one of Universals most action packed experiences!

You’ll feel like part of the “Fast family” as you embark on a thrilling new Fast & Furious adventure that will put you right in the middle of the action.

The ride is set to fuse everything people love about the films with an original storyline and incredible ride technology. Universal have said that you will be able to check out some of the high-speed, supercharged cars you’ve seen in the films and that you’ll be immersed in the underground racing world made famous in the films. You will even get to explore the headquarters of Toretto and his team. “Then, you’ll board specially-designed vehicles for an adrenaline-pumping ride with your favourite stars from the films.”

This action-packed ride will take guests on a high-octane journey that fuses an original storyline, incredible ride technology, popular characters, exhilarating environments, nonstop action and, of course, high-speed cars. You’ll feel like part of the Fast & Furious family as they join Dom Toretto, Hobbs, Letty and Roman on a thrilling new Fast & Furious journey.

Fast & Furious – Supercharged will also feature the Virtual Line experience. If you haven’t heard of this before it allows you to select a time to ride in advance so you can wait in line, virtually, (not standing getting achy legs) and allows you to enjoy other experiences throughout the park while the app queues for you.

I, for one, am absolutely bursting with excitement for this one! What do you think?

Smiles Included,

Abby

April 13, 2017

SeaWorld Confirm Kraken Unleashed VR Opening Date

Hey Thrill Seekers,

SeaWorld are really spoiling us today!

Another big thing for SeaWorld is the re-naming of their roller coaster ‘Kraken‘ to ‘Kraken Unleashed‘ which will debut on June 16th 2017 we already know that the new addition to the ride will include virtual reality headseats or in this case helmets. For those of you who don’t know much about virtual reality on coasters (really, where have you been?!) then here’s a fun fact for ya! The VR helmets will synchronize a video with the twists, turns and loops of the ride to enhance the experience.

Kraken originally opened on June 1st 2000 and whopping 17 years later (thank you, thank you I know my maths is great) guests will finally get to see the mighty Kraken.

These images show what kind of sea creatures and surroundings riders will find when they are immersed in the lost City of Atlantis during the ride. One of the creatures is called a Liopluredon. SeaWorld say that the unique creature was “an apex predator of the Middle to Late Jurassic seas.”

Born from tales that struck terror in sailors for centuries, SeaWorld Orlando’s mighty Kraken is a monster coaster like no other.

With the element of virtual reality, creatures such as the 21-foot Liopluredon will come to life. The already brilliant Kraken roller coaster includes a 149 foot dive, top speeds of 65 mph and 7 different times that see riders upside down. I think that the use of VR will completely change the whole experience of Kraken for the better and guests will really feel as though they are in the moment.

Kraken is a floorless coaster that see’s riders feet dangle as they are seated in open sided seats on a pedestal above the track. I think a spray of water during the ride would enhance the experience of being underwater even more. 😉

‘Kraken will feature custom digital overlay with uniquely designed virtual reality headsets, fully integrated both mechanically and electronically into the coaster train delivers a new one-of-a-kind adventure.’

I cannot wait for this to debut on the 16th June!

Smiles Included,

Abby

April 11, 2017

Are Universal Closing Dragon Challenge?

Hey Thrill Seekers,

Who doesn’t love a bit of gossip?! I love it! When there’s rumours around, Jamie and I basically fight over them. I don’t know if you know, but there’s been rumours flying about for quite some time now about Universal looking to replace Dragon Challenge.

I for one am pretty upset about this because I love a roller coaster more than the dark rides and I think Universal should continue to have both amongst their parks. The majority of attractions at Universal Studios are 3D, including Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem, Shrek 4-D, Terminator 3D, The Simpsons Ride, TRANSFORMERS: The Ride 3D and The Escape from Gringotts. Although I absolutely love these attractions, you just can’t beat a good old roller coaster like Rip Ride Rock It or Revenge of the Mummy.

Over at Universal’s Islands of Adventure (IOA), they have a bit of a mixture with a couple of 3D rides, a couple of coasters as well as my 3 favourite water rides: Dudley Do Rights Ripsaw Falls, Popeye and Bluto’s Bilge Rat Barges and Jurassic Park River Adventure.

Here is what my debate is about. Yes, ok, IOA have the Incredible Hulk coaster (which I absolutely love) but it’s always good to have at least a couple of coasters in a park! For starters, the Incredible Hulk coaster keeps you tucked into the cart whereas Dragon Challenge lets your legs dangle in the air..

I just love all coasters in general and all the adrenaline however if I had to choose I guess I prefer the coasters with my legs dangling. I feel like it’s a bit more daring!

In my opinion, technology has taken over and, understandably, the parks are making the most of all of their wonderful tech knowledge to wow their customers time after time but what’s wrong with keeping some of the old school coasters instead of replacing them. Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing all of the new ideas that come along but I’m still adamant that the way forward is more about coasters.

Overall, if Universal do decide to close Dragon Challenge, I hope they replace it with another coaster rather than a dark ride. Theme parks definitely need more of these about!

What would you like to see replace Dragon Challenge?

Smiles Included…

Louise

March 7, 2017

Pandora: World of Avatar Ride Requirements

Hey Thrill Seekers,

So on our last Facebook Live we had a couple of questions about Pandora: The World of Avatar and in particular, will the rides be included in Fastpass+ and what d’ya know Disney released this exact information yesterday!

Lets start with Avatar Flight of Passage, Disney’s description of Avatar Flight of Passage is making me so impatient.

“Get a banshee’s-eye view of the beauty and grandeur of Pandora on a rite of passage you won’t soon forget! Deep in the heart of the Valley of Mo’ara, discover Avatar Flight of Passage—an all-new expedition that lets interstellar explorers like you climb atop a mountain banshee for a breathtaking, first-person flight over the moon’s incredible landscape. Bonding with a mountain banshee is a crucial step in the life of a Na’vi hunter—and flying on the back of one of these powerful winged creatures represents an important rite of passage.Now, as a visitor to Pandora, you’ll finally have the chance to test yourself in a similar way! “

The height requirement for this ride is 44 inches which is approximately 3.6 feet. The age interest is kids, tweens, teens and adults. Most importantly, can you use FastPass+ for Avatar Flight of Passage? The answer is yes. Wooo!

Next up is Navi River Journey, Disney’s description on their website gives me goosebumps..

“Glide down a gentle, mysterious river and feel a sense of wonder as the full beauty of Pandora reveals itself. Located within the Valley of Mo’ara, Na’vi River Journey offers explorers an experience that has to be seen—and heard—to be believed! As your expedition begins, climb aboard a reed boat and drift downstream. After coasting through a series of caves, and passing by exotic glowing plants and amazing creatures of the rainforest, you’ll soon find yourself face-to-face with the Na’vi Shaman of Songs. The adventure comes to a conclusion as the Shaman demonstrates her deep connection to the life force of Pandora—and sends positive energy out into the forest through the power of her music!”

Sounds beautiful doesn’t it? What’s better is that there is no height requirement for this ride as well as the age interest being for everyone meaning the whole family can enjoy it together. You can also book your Fastpass+ on the Navi River Journey. 🙂

Next is Valley of Mo’ara, this isn’t something that I knew a lot about so looking on the Disney website has really got me excited to have a wander around the valley..

“Walk about through the Valley of Mo’ara and get ready to discover a world like no other! There’s more to Pandora than expeditions like Avatar Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey… much more! All around its enormous floating mountains, you’ll quickly uncover the valley’s one-of-a-kind dining and shopping experiences—along with sights, sounds and experiences that include: Exotic plants that come to life with beautiful bioluminescence each night, A Na’vi-built drum circle containing instruments playable by all, Na’vi totems and other cultural items found throughout the land, Brand-new Wilderness Explorers challenges and badges to collect. You may even come across tour guides from Alpha Centauri Expeditions (ACE), scientists from the Pandora Conservation Initiative (PCI), or even an eclectic expat or two!”

There is no height requirement and the age interest is for everyone. There is no Fastpass+ available for the Valley of Mo’ara as there will be no queue lines.

With the opening of Pandora: World of Avatar on the 27th May getting closer and closer we are loving any information that Disney are releasing about it.

Welcome to Pandora—a world similar to Earth… but distinctly unique in so many ways!

I don’t know about you but I really can’t wait and i’ll definitely be booking my fast passes for the Navi River Journey and Avatar Flight of Passage!!

Smiles Included…

Jess

February 15, 2017

Disney’s Retired Attractions

Hey Thrill Seekers,

Theme parks are constantly making improvements to their parks. Attractions are always coming and going; some we’re happy about and some we’re not. I’m going to take a look into some of the iconic Disney attractions that have been retired.

Disney’s Magic Kingdom is a great starting point with Extra TERRORestrial Alien Encounter which was a brilliant attraction that was replaced in 2003 with Stitch’s Great Escape! Rumour has it that even Stitch will be leaving us soon as the park has already scheduled Stitch’s Great Escape for seasonal closures! 🙁

Mr Toad’s Wild Ride is talked about on so many Disney forums so I can only imagine how amazing it was. Originally due to be a roller coaster, it ended up being a dark ride with the left and right tracks being 2 completely different experiences! Unfortunately, I’m too young to have seen this as it closed in 1998 to be replaced by The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

Snow White’s Scary Adventures opened way back in 1971 but was deemed a little too scary for some guests so closed for a refurbishment in 1994 before opening back up to the public until 2012. Princess Fairy-tale Hall is now in it’s place.

Let’s pop over to Disney’s Epcot and see what’s been changing here over the years shall we? One of my all time favourites that I remember from the first time I ever visited Orlando, Honey! I Shrunk The Audience! I’m not usually a fan of 4D attractions but how can you not love this?! I was gutted when this got taken away but it was temporarily replaced with Captain EO Tribute in 2010.

Maelstrom was an indoor log flume ride which would have it’s twists and turns before moving you backwards. Sadly, this ride closed in 2014 although I was so happy to finally see a Frozen ride, Frozen Ever After!

Horizons was a dark ride taking you through the ideas that could be used in the future to make the world even greater! Horizons was then replaced by Mission: SPACE, a motion simulator ride in 1994.

Over at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Journey into the Jungle Book was a theatrical show filled with animals as well as costumed-humans which closed in 1999 and was replaced later on by Tarzan Rocks.

Tarzan Rocks was another theatrical show lasting about 30 minutes (perfect for the AC) which closed in 2006 before being replaced with Finding Nemo – The Musical.

Pocahontas and her Forest Friends opened with the park in 1998 and had an array of live animals as well as the lead character from the movie. The theatre seated 350 guests at a time but ended for good in 2008! Nothing major has replaced this show yet even today, but you can still have a meet and greet with Pocahontas herself!

Next stop, Disney’s Hollywood Studios where it used to be best known as the home to Mickey’s Sorcerer’s Hat which was inspired by the apprentice segment in Fantasia! Since 2015, his hat can no longer be found at Hollywood Studios, but instead, a view of The Great Movie Ride.

Journey into Narnia: Prince Caspian was a walk-through attraction, testing your knowledge on the movie and even includes a character meet and greet! This closed in 2011 being replaced with The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow before becoming Toy Story Land. Toy Story Land is currently under construction to become even larger in the near future.

Isn’t it amazing how much Walt Disney World has changed throughout the years?! Can you think of any other Disney attractions that we can no longer visit?

Smiles Included…

Louise

February 6, 2017February 10, 2017

Top Secrets at SeaWorld Orlando

Hey Thrill Seekers,

We’ve looked at Universal, we’ve looked at Disney and now we’re gonna have a look at SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. I’m looking forward to this one because so many people don’t know about all the great things that SeaWorld get up to and how good they really are!

What you may not know, is SeaWorld actually rescue hundreds of animals, treat them and then release them back into the sea when they are ready!

SeaWorld have a talent for providing attractions for everyone and by that I mean if you’re a thrill seeker you’ve got Kraken, Manta and Mako. If you’re not so much of a thrill seeker you have Journey to Atlantis and Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin which are smaller, fun rides. If you don’t like rides at all, SeaWorld cater for you too with all of the animal exhibits! There really is something for everyone at the SeaWorld parks.

For those of you that aren’t thrill seekers at all and prefer to visit the animal habitats, while your party are on their way to Manta, you can pop into the Manta Aquarium just opposite. Holding more than 3000 marine animals, including a Pacific octopus, you will be amazed by the 360-degree aquarium.

Similarly, Journey to Atlantis has the Jewel of the Sea Aquarium inside the rides gift shop. The colour and luminescence is waiting to be explored. This aquarium also has an interactive back-light to keep the kids entertained for ages!

If you haven’t had enough of aquariums yet, there is another one. My favourite one. The Shark Encounter is alongside the Sharks Underwater Grill. You don’t have to be eating in here to visit but it is one of the worlds largest underwater viewing tunnels filled with sharks!

Most people that visit SeaWorld will walk straight past Sea Garden not realising what it actually is. Here you can experience close-up encounters with some beautiful animals and learn about how SeaWorld care for the natural world. Here is where you can learn more about the rescuing of animals that SeaWorld takes part in too.

When the park opens, SeaWorld employees get the pleasure of walking the flamingos through the park from their home behind the scenes to their in-park exhibit. If you’re there early enough you might get to see them on their walkies!

When someone says there’s a show on at SeaWorld, most people think about One Ocean or Blue Horizons etc but I bet you didn’t know that they also have street shows on throughout the day?! You can catch these around the waterfront area near the gift shops!

What else do you know about SeaWorld?

Smiles Included…

Louise

January 14, 2017

What’s Next For The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter?

Hey Thrill Seekers,

To say Universal’s partnership with JK Rowling has been successful would be a massive understatement! Many people put the rise of Universal solely in the Wizards robes and the evidence is pretty hard to ignore with attendances rising since its introduction. So it only makes sense that Universal will look to expand this area.

Back in 2015 Jamie wrote a piece about what he’d like to see introduced to the Wizarding World and the majority of this article still stands. So I’ll try to steer away from the same answers apart from the Ministry of Magic, this rumour doesn’t seem to want to go away…

Ministry of Magic

As some of you may already know, if you head inside one of the famous red telephone boxes and dial MAGIC (62442) you’ll be answered with a message stating ‘the ministry of magic is not open’ on that day which to me, is a little clue that maybe one day it will be…

There has been loads and loads of rumours surrounding “phase 3” and the Ministry of Magic – the largest rumour being that Fear Factor Live is going to be demolished to make way for London.. and the centre of the British magical community’s government. To place it here would mean it would be an expansion of Diagon Alley and not a third Wizarding World attraction. Universal don’t do things by halves though and I would still expect new rides, shops and food places if this were to happen.

I’ve had a little think about what sort of attraction could appear along with the Ministry of Magic and I think it would be something along the lines of battles within the Ministry of Magic, fighting off dementors , watching a duel between Professor Dumbledore and Lord Voldermort or as Jamie mentioned in his previous blog – more interactive wand opportunities and maybe even classes for young Wizard and Witches.

All of the talk and hype about this potentially happening will hopefully give Universal a push to maybe confirming the rumours to be true? 😉

New Universal Park?

Now, I bet if we ran a poll to ask what you would want a new Universal park to be based on, I would be very confident in saying a Harry Potter themed park would be top of that list.

As you probably already know, Universal have purchased a whole load of land – around 450 acres which is approx 25 minutes away from the current Universal parks. If a new Harry Potter land was placed here I reckon the majority of Universal guests wouldn’t mind making the journey down I-Drive to the new park if it’s as good as the others!!

The question on everyone’s lips is if it’s going to be a Harry Potter park then what would it be based on? I think Ministry of Magic is out the picture and Hogwarts Castle and Diagon Alley have already been done. Maybe, just maybe they might not stay in the ‘United Kingdom’…

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them… The film is set in 1920’s New York where wizards are being hunted by descendants of the Salem Witch Trial perpetrators and a range of magical and rare exotic beasts have been let loose. The Fantastic Beasts concept is definitely a great one and a rumoured two additional films could lead to tons of content and ideas for a new park. I – Drive could act as the Atlantic Ocean from U.K to U.S.A and maybe wont make the journey from park to park feel as boring. :-p

It doesn’t look as though anything will be open until the 2020’s though so I guess it’s another waiting game.

Dragon Challenge

There has been some speculation regarding the Dragon Challenge ride being replaced so I have taken it upon myself to do a bit of thinking (I know!) as to what it could be replaced with.

My favourite idea is Azkaban being incorporated into an attraction.. A prison that’s supposed to be impossible to escape from on a solitary island in the North Sea and guarded by dementors – How cool would being able to breach Azkaban’s walls be, especially for Halloween events! – Maybe a 3D ride where you can drive around the prison, maybe even use the interactive wand concept. Although this could lead to a pretty scary ride for the younger ones and as Dragon Challenge was a thrilling roller-coaster maybe it could be making way for a all new, improved coaster.

Another idea is that it could be replaced with a Triwizard Tournamant ride.. Dragon Challenge was said to ‘honour the first task of the Triwizard Tournament so if they’re wanting to stay within that theme then any type of ride could become of the Triwizard theme – the possibilities are pretty much endless. Here are some ideas; a race through the maze (from the third task), a ride through the forest to look at the dragons, a black lake based ride or maybe even something based on the other schools arriving to the tournament in their own magical ways.. Beaxbatons – in a carriage pulled by Abraxan horses and Durmstrang on a magical ship.

There’s just a few ideas, it really could be anything but who doesn’t love a bit of hearsay. What would you want a new ride to be?

Now none of these have been confirmed just yet, it’s just some things that we would like to see come to Universal, the interest in Harry Potter doesn’t seem to be diminishing at all and while the interest is high, Universal will do its best to give the public what they want.

Smiles Included,

Jess

January 13, 2017

Universal announce opening date for ‘Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon’

Hey Thrill Seekers,

Rumours of Jimmy Fallon getting his very own ride at Universal Studios had been flying about for a while and then it was finally announced by Universal and Jimmy himself, back in October 2015! That’s such a long time ago but feels like only yesterday! But now the opening date has been confirmed too, April 6th 2017! Jimmy Fallon also mentioned this on his show (I think he’s rather excited, don’t you?!)

Throughout the ride you will get to see some of New York’s biggest landmarks like the Statue of Liberty as well as sights, sounds and even smells! That’s right, smells! According to Jimmy you’ll get to smell some freshly cooked pizza! 😛

‘The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon’ will be filmed at Universal Orlando Resort between April 3rd – 6th and you will have the chance to become part of the audience! Not only that, but there will be special celebrity guests there too! Talk about a grand opening!

Not only have Universal announced the opening date for the attraction, they’ve also announced their new virtual queue system to be used, allowing you to spend more time enjoying the thrills in the park and less time queuing up!

‘Race Through New York starring Jimmy Fallon’ will be the first attraction to feature the Virtual Line experience at Universal Studios Orlando. Universal’s app will give you access to this new experience as well as kiosks located outside the attraction entrance. You can book your time to ride and the app will allow you to virtually wait in line while you’re off enjoying the thrills and just head back to the attraction when your time is ready.

Get ready for the race of a lifetime!

Smiles Included…

Louise