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Both stranger things houses kicked rear end and were some of the best I’ve ever seen in the event. The first one alone having it’s own title card and the amazing realistic upside down with little flakes of whatever floating around was incredible
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Sep 26, 2023 19:12
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There are other perks some people will miss out on. Free parking at Disney hotels. Buying things with your magic band. Early lightning lane reservations? Not important to some, of course.
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Sep 26, 2023 19:13
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"The bubble" is important TBH.
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Sep 26, 2023 19:17
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Arquinsiel posted:I think this is the only thing that'd make me actually bother to go take a look TBH. As much as I've largely stopped caring about horror in the last decade or so I really enjoy that show and would enjoy poking around a nice set. FWIW imo and many I’ve talked to, the Stranger Things house is one of the weaker ones and has been each time. Often the houses based on IP that Universal doesn’t own are not as impressive as the ones based on IP they own or the originals. This is not a me disliking IP thing though - you can just kind of tell how the IP houses are working around a ton of stipulations whereas the creative team is free to go all out with their own properties and ideas. There are some exceptions of course. The Poltergeist house from a few years ago was IMO one of the scariest of all time. Edit: I guess I had a very different experience than CelticPredator SweetMercifulCrap! fucked around with this message at 19:40 on Sep 26, 2023 |
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Sep 26, 2023 19:35
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WithoutTheFezOn posted:There are other perks some people will miss out on. Arquinsiel posted:"The bubble" is important TBH. As for the bubble, though... you're still very much in the bubble. You're within walking distance of Disney Springs, on Disney-owned land, there's still Disney themeing in the decor. e: I also saw that they're planning to give you on-ride photos with a Genie+ purchase, which changes the math on those a bit, since PhotoPass isn't cheap. If they gave you full PhotoPass it'd be better, but still, something to think about. CapnAndy fucked around with this message at 20:42 on Sep 26, 2023 |
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Sep 26, 2023 20:38
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CelticPredator posted:Both stranger things houses kicked rear end and were some of the best I’ve ever seen in the event. I really liked how the last one took you through the 3 seasons kinda, including most of the big set pieces. I was hoping they'd repeat that and just add on S4 stuff but I guess that would need a lot more space.
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Sep 26, 2023 20:56
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CapnAndy posted:Fair point on the first three (though technically you're supposed to be able to link a credit card to your magic band and buy things with it that way, but I've never gotten that to work), although in my defense the free parking wasn't a thing for a few years there. For me, it's really different. But I also feel like Disney Springs is a drunken frat party hellzone that makes my skin crawl. I have never, ever found anything at Disney Springs that I am missing and while I often use it as a hotel hopping hub (to go look at new stuff at the WDW hotels), I just. Yurgh. I would literally rather not go to WDW than stay anywhere near Disney Springs. The bubble doesn't really hit me until I'm at a Disney-owned hotel, but it is probably my enormous dislike of Disney Springs that does that. I don't even stay at Saratoga at this point.
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Sep 26, 2023 22:00
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Disney parking isn’t free, it’s just baked into the cost of the $225 a night motel upfront.
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Sep 26, 2023 22:54
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Bottom Liner posted:I really liked how the last one took you through the 3 seasons kinda, including most of the big set pieces. I was hoping they'd repeat that and just add on S4 stuff but I guess that would need a lot more space. Same plus the last one had a giant monster! Same with killer Klowns! I go to Orlando which has objectively better houses and effects lol
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Sep 26, 2023 23:03
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Given there is zero chance of us going to HHN, are there good YouTube videos or do you just need to be there?
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Sep 26, 2023 23:15
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Haven't really seen any videos that do a decent job of capturing the atmosphere as they're usually slow and overexposed to show as much as possible but that kinda kills the mood. Also the sound is a big part of it, as well as sightlines. You can at least get an idea of the set design and stuff, but it's definitely not close to recreating the good houses.
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Sep 26, 2023 23:22
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smackfu posted:Given there is zero chance of us going to HHN, are there good YouTube videos or do you just need to be there? There are plenty of YouTube videos, but: 1. The cameras can't capture how loud and chaotic the houses actually are. It often makes them look lame when they are not lame in person. 2. Vloggers tend to capture the actors and not enough of the sets. 3. People are only allowed to film the Orlando houses on media day, so you get a combination of a toned down version of the house so it can be filmed plus the actors not being entirely comfortable or good at their roles yet.
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Sep 26, 2023 23:23
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This is probably not the crowd that gets their nails done before every Orlando visit - but the salon trip the day before you head down is a great kick off to the parks.
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Sep 26, 2023 23:44
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Disney Springs rules because it has the best food at Disney, short of a handful of items from festival booths or like...Takumi Tei? I think that's the only real exception. Morimoto Asia, Frontera Cocina, Maria & Enzo's, the chocolate shop, Gideon's, Salt & Straw, etc. etc. All great. They'll also occasionally have decent music going on. And other than park-specific stuff, we usually wait to buy any merch until we go to the big store at Springs on our way out. Saves us having to haul around anything inside the parks. We always either stay at the Disney Springs hotels or Pop when we want Skyliner access. When we stay at Springs, we either walk there or just drive ourselves to the parks since we're semi-local. I haven't been on a bus in over five years, not sure how that situation is these days. But in the past, it was so awful that I swore them off forever. YMMV of course, because if driving your own car isn't an option, you either have to rent a car or deal with the long waits for busses. My time is much more valuable to me than that. So, yeah, big fan of staying near Disney Springs and getting most of those "on-property" bonuses is just the cherry on top, usually.
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Sep 26, 2023 23:50
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Nanigans posted:Disney Springs rules because it has the best food at Disney, short of a handful of items from festival booths or like...Takumi Tei? I think that's the only real exception. Morimoto Asia, Frontera Cocina, Maria & Enzo's, the chocolate shop, Gideon's, Salt & Straw, etc. etc. All great. They'll also occasionally have decent music going on. And other than park-specific stuff, we usually wait to buy any merch until we go to the big store at Springs on our way out. Saves us having to haul around anything inside the parks. On one hand, you have the Nanigans stay. On the other, the Fluffy Bunnies stay: which usually involves Coronado Springs or the cabins at Fort Wilderness, absolutely 0 Skyliner, and being sad that 1900 park fare is probably never returning at this point.
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Sep 26, 2023 23:52
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CapnAndy posted:e: I also saw that they're planning to give you on-ride photos with a Genie+ purchase, which changes the math on those a bit, since PhotoPass isn't cheap. If they gave you full PhotoPass it'd be better, but still, something to think about.
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Sep 26, 2023 23:58
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Nanigans posted:Disney Springs rules because it has the best food at Disney, short of a handful of items from festival booths or like...Takumi Tei? I think that's the only real exception. Morimoto Asia, Frontera Cocina, Maria & Enzo's, the chocolate shop, Gideon's, Salt & Straw, etc. etc. All great. quote:And other than park-specific stuff, we usually wait to buy any merch until we go to the big store at Springs on our way out. Saves us having to haul around anything inside the parks.
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Sep 27, 2023 00:12
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The bus is worth it for me just so I don’t have to deal with driving to the parks at 2 loving am and then having to drive back after a half marathon lol. Depending on how much we wrangle the stroller sometimes we’ll bus, sometimes we’ll drive. Occasionally when we drive we get front row parking and that’s neat. It’s been what, ten years? I don’t think they’re ever going to try to add payment to magic bands for off property guests. Maybe if they get DLR to pay for developing it.
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Sep 27, 2023 00:18
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Chicken Guy is thoroughly mediocre. I bet it just prints money though. Just spend all day frying chicken tenders and fries and charging exorbitant prices for 20-some different sauces. We ate at Jock Lindsey's the last time we were down there and I thought it was great. We got the deviled eggs and snakebite sliders. Would recommend. Great bartenders providing entertainment, cool theming, and excellent food.
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Sep 27, 2023 00:27
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Cais posted:It’s been what, ten years? I don’t think they’re ever going to try to add payment to magic bands for off property guests. Maybe if they get DLR to pay for developing it. CapnAndy fucked around with this message at 00:55 on Sep 27, 2023 |
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Sep 27, 2023 00:30
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CapnAndy posted:You'd think that they wouldn't have to, given that you can already link a credit card to the same account your magic band is linked to. How card can "look up linked card, charge it" be? This is the company that launched a brand new PhotoPass web site for Disneyland and forgot to make sure people could actually buy things on the site. For months. For probably six or seven months, people would call in, be like “I can’t buy my photos”, we would try a few workarounds, it would fail, and we would give them their photos for free.
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Sep 27, 2023 00:52
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I really likd Chicken Guy. I guess I'm an easy mark for sauces that aren't ketchup or mayonnaise though 
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Sep 27, 2023 00:55
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Chicken Guy is above average chicken tenders. IMO Huey MaGoo's has the best tendies. There's a few in the Disney area, though none at Disney itself of course.
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Sep 27, 2023 00:58
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Chicken Guy lets you swap your side to fried pickles for no upcharge and for that they deserve some praise.
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Sep 27, 2023 00:59
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The problem with HHn videos is the the vlogger isn’t insanely drunk and gross which is what makes HHN so much fun.
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Sep 27, 2023 01:23
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Hazo posted:Chicken Guy is thoroughly mediocre. I bet it just prints money though. Just spend all day frying chicken tenders and fries and charging exorbitant prices for 20-some different sauces. Ooh, yeah. I had never been to Jock Lindsay’s until last year and left very happy and very buzzed, despite not really being a drinker. The drinks and service were great. My wife was pretty impressed with Chicken Guy, but yeah. A solid meh from me. I’d rather get a pizza bao (lol) from Yesake or something from the food trucks, or a slice of pizza from Pizza Ponte (so good) if I want a quick bite at Springs.
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Sep 27, 2023 02:04
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I wish they still had the souvenir cups. Give me more Indiana Jones stuff, Disney.
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Sep 27, 2023 02:10
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Jock Lindsey's was a lot better when they had themed music 
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Sep 27, 2023 03:00
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CapnAndy posted:You'd think that they wouldn't have to, given that you can already link a credit card to the same account your magic band is linked to. How hard can "look up linked card, charge it" be?
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Sep 27, 2023 03:28
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WithoutTheFezOn posted:I’m no suit, but I’d guess it’s easy to do but adds a lot of potential legal headaches that are avoided when you give them explicit permissions regarding your credit card as a resort guest.
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Sep 27, 2023 03:35
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Got back from Disney a few weeks ago, and had a great time. Genie+ sucks but besides that I enjoyed it all and would do it again. I thought about Universal, but last time I went with my family I really wasn't into it (Not a big Harry Potter fan, and definitely won't be with Rowling in charge of it all). Is the parks worth it just for the two coasters people heap praise on?
Willo567 fucked around with this message at 17:26 on Sep 27, 2023 |
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Sep 27, 2023 17:02
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Willo567 posted:Got back from Disney a few weeks ago, and had a great time. Genie+ sucks but besides that I enjoyed it all and would do it again. I thought about Universal, but last time I went with my family I really wasn't into it (Not a big Harry Potter fan, and definitely won't be with Rowling in charge of it all). Is the parks worth it just for the two coasters people heap praise on? I mean I think its worth it. But I also have a Velocicoaster tattoo soooooooooo might be a little biased
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Sep 28, 2023 22:19
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Willo567 posted:Got back from Disney a few weeks ago, and had a great time. Genie+ sucks but besides that I enjoyed it all and would do it again. I thought about Universal, but last time I went with my family I really wasn't into it (Not a big Harry Potter fan, and definitely won't be with Rowling in charge of it all). Is the parks worth it just for the two coasters people heap praise on? As someone who went last year to Universal for a week for the first time in like 8 years, I'm gonna say it depends if you can stretch it to other things. For example, Volcano Bay is maybe the best water park ever, and even if you don't like slides and stuff it's still just such a cool vibe and chill area. Especially if you stay at Cabana Bay you get your own private entrance. I would say making the most of that and combining it with Halloween Horror Nights (which is a whole other discussion) really made it into a pretty awesome week stay for us. CityWalk is also pretty cool and I liked just hanging out with a drink and the nice weather. Velocicoaster destroyed me and I will never ride it again but I respect it to hell. What a ride.
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Sep 28, 2023 22:31
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Willo567 posted:Got back from Disney a few weeks ago, and had a great time. Genie+ sucks but besides that I enjoyed it all and would do it again. I thought about Universal, but last time I went with my family I really wasn't into it (Not a big Harry Potter fan, and definitely won't be with Rowling in charge of it all). Is the parks worth it just for the two coasters people heap praise on? I like Potter but just went for the first time in 20 years to universal. Velocicoaster is the real deal, especially front seats. I road it six times with an express pass. I loved Hagrids but not as much as Velocicoaster. I can't say I love all the screen rides like Fast and Furious or Simpsons, but it's worth a day or two to do the s tier rides.
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Sep 29, 2023 01:22
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Tim Whatley posted:Velocicoaster destroyed me and I will never ride it again but I respect it to hell. What a ride. Heard this exact sentiment enough to stay far away.
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Sep 29, 2023 01:37
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I have said it here before Ill say it again Iron Gwazi rules, I love you Velocicoster! Both are a nightmare of fun
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Sep 29, 2023 05:41
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So Universal had stopped selling the frequent fear passes for the rest of the event. Kinda interesting as we were just talking about that as an option to make the event less insanely crowded.
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Sep 29, 2023 07:06
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They've always had the asterisk that those can sell out. Is it the first time they actually have?
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Sep 29, 2023 13:34
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I almost said something but yeah, I’ve been going since 2012 and I think this is the first time I’ve seen them sell out. They have stopped selling them temporarily (often Thursday- Sunday of opening weekend, because opening weekend sold out) but they would then be available for purchase the Monday after. Don’t think I’ve seen a total sell out before.
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Sep 29, 2023 13:48
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What is it about Velocicoaster that kills people? You can spoiler tag it, I am not going to Universal any time soon (at least until Minions go away, or JKR dies)
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Sep 29, 2023 14:32
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