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If it matters to anyone, apparently the Jimmy Fallon ride at Universal soft opened. Not 100% up and running, reports says that the 4-D elements (e.g. Water and Smells) aren't working yet.
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Mar 5, 2017 21:36
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where do you go to get good info about Universal? Is there a good fan site?
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Mar 5, 2017 22:55
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Going on a trip to Florida at the end of April, and while it's mostly to see the national parks down south, we're spending a day in Orlando just to see the Harry Potter stuff at Universal. I'm looking at hotels and wondering if it's worth staying at Cabana Bay and paying about double the price of other well-reviewed hotels nearby just for the early park admission. Would it be difficult to cover what we want to see in both parks without the early admission?
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Mar 6, 2017 06:10
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End of April you should be fine. Cabana Bay is a really nice place though.
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Mar 6, 2017 06:31
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Empress Brosephine posted:where do you go to get good info about Universal? Is there a good fan site? I find orlandoparknews.com to be fairly good for Universal news. They have a review of Jimmy Fallon up.
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Mar 6, 2017 07:03
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Yeah Cabana Bay is REAL nice imho. Worth it for the views you can get.
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Mar 6, 2017 13:00
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Busy today at Magic Kingdom, surprised!!!
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Mar 6, 2017 20:24
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Also BBS are you working haunted mansion today yelling at people about fastpass lol
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Mar 6, 2017 20:43
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Anyone use the Best Friends animal kennel before? We have a 3 year old havanese (think shih tzu, but cuter) who isn't super into other dogs, but is otherwise very sweet. We're staying at a non-pet friendly hotel, so we wouldn't be able to keep him with us at night, and my in-laws are the only ones who can watch him. They have zero experience with dogs, so I'm worried. How are the rates to board your dog over night? Their website is very confusing. How was your experience? Also, the next time we go, we'll try to find a pet-friendly hotel so he can stay with us at night, so we'd be able to use the daycare. Has anyone had any experience with that process? What are the prices? We have an annual pass which I hear offers a small discount.
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Mar 6, 2017 20:50
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Empress Brosephine posted:where do you go to get good info about Universal? Is there a good fan site? Orlando informer is usually pretty good, but if you want just universal info, buy an ap and join the uoap facebook page.
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Mar 6, 2017 21:52
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Reinanigans posted:Anyone use the Best Friends animal kennel before? I had some friends who had their dog savaged there, she's a tiny little thing and they put her with big dogs that tore her up. I know they definitely will never board her there again. I've had a few adults apologize to me when meeting characters, nah, Disney World is for the young at heart too. You do you.
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Mar 7, 2017 05:01
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Some of the Pandora area food came out/leaked. Digging that one of them is a straight up tiki bar. http://ht.ly/JcXx309EB7a
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Mar 7, 2017 16:14
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Tim Whatley posted:Some of the Pandora area food came out/leaked. Digging that one of them is a straight up tiki bar. I didn't even think about how there would be Pandora restaurants
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Mar 8, 2017 02:38
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Tim Whatley posted:Some of the Pandora area food came out/leaked. Digging that one of them is a straight up tiki bar. My wife is making the desserts for Pandora and they were basically told to make signature level stuff for the quick service spots. She said they're going to be pretty awesome.
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Mar 8, 2017 03:33
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Bottom Liner posted:End of April you should be fine. Cabana Bay is a really nice place though. Okay, turns out my wife wants to stay there anyway. Are there any discounts for the hotel and/or tickets when getting both together? At first glance it looks like all their packages are for longer than our 2 night stay/1 day ticket. Is there otherwise any way to get this 1 day park-to-park "value season" ticket for less than the runawayturtles fucked around with this message at 07:03 on Mar 8, 2017 |
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Mar 8, 2017 06:48
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Bottom Liner posted:My wife is making the desserts for Pandora and they were basically told to make signature level stuff for the quick service spots. She said they're going to be pretty awesome. We have to speak in pandorian(?) when people call and ask about pandora lol.
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Mar 8, 2017 14:32
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TheEye posted:Okay, turns out my wife wants to stay there anyway. I don't think so unless they offer some kind of local Orlando discount or you have some other kind of discount ticket hookup. But as far as I know the price is the price.
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Mar 8, 2017 14:37
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Braksgirl posted:I don't think so unless they offer some kind of local Orlando discount or you have some other kind of discount ticket hookup. But as far as I know the price is the price. Alright, guess I'll just buy them then. Side note: it's unbelievable to me that Universal doesn't have free shuttles to/from the airport. Seems kind of absurd.
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Mar 9, 2017 06:11
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I do not enjoy their lack of free shuttles.
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Mar 9, 2017 15:24
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Rode Jimmy Fallon today over at Universal and well, the ride ain't good folks, but the queue, I can't gush enough about it. It's a great experiment on reducing the typical problems queues in theme parks have. FIrst off, I was able to get in line "virtually" before I was even in the park, via their app. It's different then a typical FastPass in that there are plenty of spots open and don't have to have everyone's tickets, just the amount of people in the party total and they reserve the space for you, since it's literally just holding your spot in line. Then when I arrived at my time, I walked right into the lobby and got a color coded card that would tell me when I was being called to the next area. The first floor is a museum of the Tonight Show history, which was neat, but the second floor has a Dapper Dan's style version of the show's Ragtime Gals and it's just wonderful entertainment that makes you forget you are in line for a ride. The ride is basically Star Tours but with no sense of story unless you really goddamn love the side characters that Jimmy creates for the show, which I only have a passing knowledge about. (why people go bananas over the stupid panda I'll never know. He shows up in the queue too, taking photos with guests until he has to go backstage for the next set of guests arriving) It also features the most uncomfortable seats in a ride I've ever had the displeasure to sit on, and I've ridden Gringotts and Mummy dozens of times, so that says a lot. All in all, the queue is almost worth it for itself, but not because of how immersive it is, but how creative it is at taking your mind off being in a "line"
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Mar 10, 2017 06:10
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Did people say similar things about the Kong queue as well? Sounds like Universal has that down to a science now
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Mar 10, 2017 06:14
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That's really cool, can't wait to see it. Wonder how long until Disney smartens up and does something better than just using magic bands for fast passes. They could easily manage something at this level or better with all the RFID tech they have and the bands.
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Mar 10, 2017 06:58
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It's honestly a very smart idea because every moment you're not waiting in line, that's more opportunities for you to buy something. People in line are literally stagnant money to the parks.
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Mar 10, 2017 14:14
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When you say museum of The Tonight Show, did they decide to just say "gently caress you" to Conan here too?
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Mar 10, 2017 14:45
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We're doing Disney Springs on Saturday, Magic Kingdom all day on Sunday, and HS/Epcot on Monday, with dinner at Teppan Edo during Illuminations. However, it's slated to rain most of the day Sunday/Monday. We've done Disney a ton, but thankfully never had to deal with rain. How do you guys deal with it? Should I be packing extra sneakers and socks? We're definitely buying some ponchos before we leave and taking some ziplock bags to keep the wet ponchos and our electronics. Aside from that, any other advice?
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Mar 10, 2017 15:30
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TheBigBudgetSequel posted:Rode Jimmy Fallon today over at Universal and well, the ride ain't good folks, but the queue, I can't gush enough about it. It's a great experiment on reducing the typical problems queues in theme parks have. So how long did you wait in your not a line?
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Mar 10, 2017 15:37
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Reinanigans posted:When you say museum of The Tonight Show, did they decide to just say "gently caress you" to Conan here too? I think there's a small tribute to Conan's tenure.
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Mar 10, 2017 16:43
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I've only seen YouTube videos of the queue, but yes, there is a little Conan O'Brien exhibit there which is nice given how nasty that split was back in 2010.
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Mar 10, 2017 21:56
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Edna Mode posted:So how long did you wait in your not a line? I reserved my time before I got in the park via the app (Once you are at the gates, it lets you do it. A friend had to argue with guest services for an hour, so I kept adjusting the time back) and went right up to the entrance when I got in the park for my time. After that, I waited in the downstairs area for about five minutes and the upstairs area for about 10 minutes before my color was called and I was ushered into the pre-show load area. In and out of the building in 20 minutes. which is good because the ride would have been annoying if I had waited a long time. Later in the day they had stopped taking virtual returns and just opened up the lobby and it was a 60 minute wait. No thanks. And yes, Conan is represented in the museum. They even have a Triumph puppet.
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Mar 11, 2017 02:45
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Just went to Victoria & Albert's. It is absolutely worth the money and we'll be returning toward the end of the year.
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Mar 11, 2017 05:11
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Aw cmon, you gotta give us the full run down now. We're debating going there to celebrate closing on our house, but I think we're going to do another Disney cruise instead.
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Mar 11, 2017 06:44
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Sorry, that was just a quick post on my phone in bed. The only luxuries we added on top of the baseline 10-course menu was the addition of Miyazaki beef to my steak entree and the wine pairings for Audi.          The portions are tiny, but the total amount of food is enough that I was barely able to finish the two desserts (I still ate almost every bite, leaving nothing but a few bites of the sugar glass at the end). The only course I didn't photograph was ironically my favorite: veal served two ways, both with shaved black truffles. The Miyazaki beef is the snowflake-cut beef; it's actual, no-bullshit Japanese wagyu imported from the Miyazaki prefecture. It's so tender it's like meat butter. Everything tastes impeccable, and every course comes with a small portion of wine to pair with it so you get to taste a whole world of alcohol.  The last wine we got was Pedro Ximénez Jerez 30-year aged sherry. It tastes like alcohol, chocolate, and raisins.  Coffee made in a $330 vacuum percolator. I ate actual Japanese wagyu, truffles, caviar, and 24k gold leaf with 30-year-old sherry. I have the most expensive poop in the world right now.
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Mar 11, 2017 15:05
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How much did that set you back?
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Mar 11, 2017 15:07
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Holy moly everything looks incredible. I gotta book that asap regardless of the cruise.
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Mar 11, 2017 15:22
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Victoria and Albert's will forever be on my bucket list.
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Mar 11, 2017 15:34
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Oh, sweet Jesus, that looks amazing. That's going on my bucket list now.
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Mar 11, 2017 15:41
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Reinanigans posted:How much did that set you back? The basic 10-course tasting menu is $235 in the Queen Victoria's Room and $250 for the Chef's Table. This only gets you the basic food, however. There are also luxury items that can be added on. Last night had: * An extra course with the most expensive caviar on the market, $105 for a half ounce or $210 for a full ounce. Served with various garnishes. * An extra course of wild turbot with capers and preserved lemon for $35. * 2 ounces of Miyazaki beef (the legit Japanese imported wagyu) in addition to the normal Australian wagyu for $55. I think you could also pay $110 to have your Australian wagyu replaced by the Miyazaki, but it's much better to pay the $55 to have both beefs and compare them. There's also the wine pairing for $150, where every main course and the dessert come with a small sample of wine paired to that dish. This gets you 8 or 9 individual wines (the turbot course, if you pay for it, comes with its own wine sample as well) from rose champagne to whites, reds, and 30 year sherry. Keep in mind that each of these prices is per person. At the absolute top notch experience, getting the wine pairing and every luxury item at the chef's table, it would cost $700 before tax and tip per person. If you eschew the wine and luxury items and eat in Queen Victoria's room like we did, it would only be $235 per person. Audi got the wine and I got the Miyazaki, and we each sampled the other's luxury upgrade so we didn't miss out on what the other person was getting. We're not wealthy by any means (admittedly we're fantastically paid for our age group), but she made the reservations in December and easily had enough money saved by dinner time to pay for both of our meals while I paid for the wine and Miyazaki (which was $218 after tax by itself). The veal was my absolute favorite. It consists of small hunks of veal prepared two ways (one is a simple cube of steak and the other is braised for 7 hours and served in a puff pastry), both topped with shaved black truffle. There's also some shiitake mushroom to go with it. I now understand why truffles are so beloved and why people hate overuse of truffle oil. Nothing compares to the real thing. I actually found the Australian wagyu better than the Miyazaki. The Miyazaki is so tender that it practically melts in your mouth, but the Australian was prepared with more flavor. Other fun tidbit: those little green crumbs with the colorful dessert are crystallized mint. chitoryu12 fucked around with this message at 18:26 on Mar 11, 2017 |
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Mar 11, 2017 18:24
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One thing we laughed about while eating there is how goddamn young we were. Just about every guest was either the adults in a family (father, mother, and maybe grandpa and/or grandma) out for a vacation dinner or middle-aged couples that clearly live in big houses and drive very shiny cars on their way to jobs where suits are mandatory. Meanwhile, I'm 24 and Audi is 21 and she's wearing a bright red dress. We've also got one of the few tables in the Queen Victoria's room, which only seats 8. We kept looking around at everyone else, worrying that we'd come off as uncouth. It took all of her strength not to drink the Gruyere fondue after running out of food to dip in it. Oh, I forgot that there's also bread service. There are three breads: a hand-rolled baguette, truffle brioche, and a rustic whole grain bread. Each is served as a single piece for each guest with a unique butter on the table, providing just enough for everyone to have a buttered piece. It helps pad out the calorie count and keep you from waiting too long for your next course without any food.
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Mar 11, 2017 18:33
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Heading to MK today! Anyone know of anything in particular I should look out for today? We've got reservations for Skipper Canteen. Any recommendations? Nanigans fucked around with this message at 15:03 on Mar 12, 2017 |
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Mar 12, 2017 14:59
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Reinanigans posted:Heading to MK today! Bring an umbrella- it's suppose to rain today. Make sure you use the fast passes and once you use your fast passes up make new ones via the Disney app. Wishes is going away in a couple months so stay and watch if you can.
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Mar 12, 2017 15:13
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