Sea World

Susan, Jenn, and I have been discussing getting new passes to Sea World for a couple months, and this week went ahead. Wednesday morning we spent a few hours in the park so we could pick up physical cards and the passholder’s perks for August. It’s been almost three years since we’ve had Sea World passes.

We walked around a bit and looked in some shops, then stopped and rode Exhibition Odyssey, which took the place of the old Wild Arctic simulator ride last year. It’s a pretty good ride, a lot like Disney’s Soaring, but smaller and a little faster, but not quite as well done. 

Adjacent to Wild Arctic is where Sea World’s next ride is being constructed. From what I’ve seen so far, it appears to be a simulated dark ride through the ocean.

The other thing Sea World’s added recently was Penguin Trek, a family roller coaster that replaced the Penguin trackless dark ride. It’s a fun coaster and uses parts of the old ride’s queue, so it’s decently themed for Sea World. Like the old ride and similar to Expedition Odyssey, the exit is into the penguin habitat. We grabbed some lunch at the cafe across from the ride, then headed out.

Universal Passholder Night

Friday morning I went on a backstage tour of Tron: Lightcycle / Run with some cast members from MK Watercraft and Monorails. We got to walk in the gravity room while the Tron cast members cycled the cars getting ready for the day, and rode the coaster twice, once with the lights on and once in the dark with the effects on. 

On Monday, construction crews moved Floridian Way traffic onto the new configuration, and begun demolishing the old lanes. From Seven Seas drive south to the exit of the MK parking lot, both directions of traffic are on the new southbound lanes. 

Friday afternoon Susan and Jennifer drove to Panama City. They stayed overnight then did a book signing on Saturday at an independent bookstore. They drove home Saturday night.

Last night we went to the Annual Passholder Appreciation Night at Universal Studios. We arrived around 4:30 and walked the long way around to the New York area, where we got dinner and rode Mummy. Universal is preparing the park for Halloween Horror Nights, which start in two weeks. 

The event started at 7, and we walked around some more and enjoyed a few more rides. Universal had lots of characters out for meet and greets, but we didn’t wait for those. We left around 10. 

Islands of Adventure

 

On Tuesday, both Susan and I attended the Transportation Cast party. This year it was held at 5he Coronado Springs convention center and the theme was Hollywood. Because we attended on work time, we weren’t able to go together; I arrived right after she left.

Wednesday morning we went with Jennifer to Universal for early entry at Islands of Adventure. A new restaurant, Luke Combs’ Category 10, is being built across from Margaritaville in CityWalk. 

During early entry, the rides in the Harry Potter area and Velocicoaster are open. We headed to them through the Last Continent, where the Poseidon walkthrough building is being demolished and the Sinbad amphitheater is already gone. We planned to ride Hagrid’s Motorbike, but the wait time was already over an hour, so we had breakfast at the Three Broomsticks instead. 

After breakfast we walked through Jurassic Park and Toon Lagoon and rode Spider-Man, then headed out. Over at the Studios, the new Fast and Furious roller coaster has gone vertical.