Updates! Updates! UPDATES!!!
My Cheeky Monkeys I have some very exciting news for you all!!! Hot off the presses!!! Boys bring in the pic!!
ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?! AND I CANT MAKE IT!!!!! AGHHHHHH!!!!! Damn ministry of Magic is crafty and casted Anti-Vaporative spells over the parks….must of caught wind…hmmm…Anyway! This is happening and some of the details rolling out are awesome. So far one I’ve seen shows magic shop windows. Yes…now you will be able to use the wands you buy in the park. By finding little medallions around Diagon Ally…you will be able to try out a little magic and see how the other half of your kind does it. I’m just soooooo excited. The only thing better is visiting the Universe those stories take place in.
In other news…not so hot off the presses…some HHN 24 news hit last week. This one is bitter sweet…The Walking Dead will be heading back to HHN for the third year in a row. I’m not happy about this mostly because it appears the deal to get TWD involves AMC’s logo feces spread all over everything. The good part however is this years Walking Dead maze is supposed to be the biggest one in Halloween Horror Nights history. That could be interesting if done right…..Octobers still a long way off my Monkeys…
Until Next Time, My Cheeky Monkeys,
Malice Psychotik
Come take a look at Awesome!!!!
Are you ready for this? Because it’s AWWWWWWWWWWWESSSOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMEEEEEEE!!!!
To quote The Miz….lol
So it’s been out for about a week but I love furthering news. Universal recently released some inside looks at the Escape from Gringotts ride and the Hogwarts Express ride. They look totally epic and I can’t personally wait to see them in person. The Gringotts ride is supposed to show you the events that unfold just after Griphook, Harry, Hermione, and Ron get dumped by the waterfall. From there you battle Bellatrix, The Dragon, Voldemort and other things….did I mention it is all in glorious 3D? Because that’s important….
Also, managed to find a look at the Hogwarts Express. I have to say when I first heard the rumor of this ride…way back before Wizarding World was open and everyone was speculating about the possibility of moving to Uni…I was interested to see how it would be done. Didn’t think it would be possible. Now I’m seeing it ready to be opened to the world. In the video they tell you about their being a unique experience both ways. They also talk about the possibility of having the actual characters on the train…I just want to see this happen already. I’m sick of waiting!
I’ll try to keep you up to date as I find some more. So far I’ve not seen an open date. I’ll check Screamscape later!
Until Next Time, Cheeky Monkeys,
Malice Psychotik
Universal Studios Travel Report: LOTS OF NEW STUFF!!!
So my Cheeky Little Monkeys, I was at Universal on Holiday a couple of weeks ago with the mini Psychotik. Had some real good fun. It’s changed so much since the last I was there back at HHN. I was impressed at the progress that was made on the City Walk. Lots of new things springing up all over the place. We got to see the new Beetlejuice Graveyard Mash Up show. It was amazing. The new Diagon Ally area is looking so swell. You can see a lot of things are finished. I didn’t get to visit MegaCon this year. It was so crazy busy we got stuck on I-4 in a traffic jam for an hours and a half! But anyway, let’s get on with the review.
City Walk Construction
I’m very excited to see the big additions rolling into City Walk. I remember back a few years when they did some minor updates and tweaks, but this…this is a complete overhaul and new looks. Seemed like construction was going good. Very fast it seemed. It had only been a month maybe two since I had heard about the transformations taking place. I could be wrong. Pastamore had already been changed into the Red Oven. This new pizza concept looked a little better than Pastamore. I wanted to stop in and see how it tasted, but time didn’t really permit the stop. I did see the new Cold Stone up and busy. A few of the other places looked like they were coming nicely such as Anajito’s, The Universal Studio Store rebuild, The expansion to Margaritaville, and the new Starbucks. I didn’t get a good look at some of the others like Bread Box, Hot Dog Hall of Fame, or Cowfish. I think when this is all done, it’s going to look fantastic. I’m sure by now the Starbucks and a few other minor projects are done. Like I said, construction was moving very fast.
Cabana Bay Resort
Well, while we were there it was still getting some finishing touches, but from what i saw it looked great. The Cabana Bay is actually now up and running. It opened a week or two after we left. Would have loved to stay there as the pictures I’ve seen make it look fantastic. I will be staying there next year especially if the price holds. $100 bucks a night sounds like a lot, but your average cost for a hotel on I-Drive that isn’t on site is going to run you about $80 soooo…Yeah! You may not get the express pass that the other hotels give you, but you still get the convenience of being on site which is what I would like. Plus the whole retro thing has me totally sold!
Beetlejuice Graveyard Mashup
This was one of my highlights to the weekend. We hit it once a day for the whole weekend. Little Psychotik loved it so much. It was very refreshing to see the new show. It is totally more music driven than joke driven and a lot more fast paced. I love it! I have a video I will be posting below of the show. I thought the addition of Cleo and Phantasia would be a bit hoaky. Adding in Monster High style characters with BJ…ehh…But it was actually very entertaining. The two sets that I saw of each character were really entertaining. Thought about vaporating on stage and asking Phantasia’s number…but I think seeing a large top hatted gentleman appear on stage out of nowhere…would have caused a panic. And what kind of example would I be setting for the little one…using your powers in public…that’s just bad parenting! The best musical number I think in the whole show is the one between Drac and Phantasia. The whole Possession is 9/10ths of the law gag comes back and if strangely funnier this time regardless of being shorter. Over all…you all need to run out and catch this show. It’s totally worth it.
Diagon Alley/ London Expansion
I was surprised the amount of things I saw. I mean I guess the angles in Universal prevent them from completely obscuring a lot like they did in IOA with Wizarding World. Construction looks beautiful at this point. I’m super excited for this area. If you go to the Fear Factor live show you get a real nice looks right down Diagon Alley. It was still being heavely worked on through there, but it still looked amazing. From what I’ve seen on the concept art this area is going to quickly be my favorite and I’m going to love having both of these areas together as an experience. My cosmic friend Samhain and I promised ourselves to take a trip and do the whole experience. Shop for wizarding stuff, take a trip on the Hogwarts express, go to Hogwarts….we are nerds! Editors Note: Yes I realize as a Cheshire Cat I can just go to the real Hogwarts…I have been to the real Hogwarts…how ever it’s on thing to go to the real thing and see how that is and a complete other to live the adventure as you cheeky little monkeys interpret it!I think everone is going to have the best of times when this bad boy opens its doors. You all won’t want to miss it!
Mardi Gras 2014
We had a blast this year! The best I think I’ve been too. The little one had so much fun. I even got to catch one of the concerts. The theme this year was “Around the World in 80 days” so it was very much so Steampunk…which was totally awesome. All different modes of transportation where shown…ah you should have been there. I did manage to get pictures…however the sheer awesomeness of the parade drained my battery and I didn’t get the whole thing…poo poo. We ended up catching A Great Big World. They were surprisingly good. I enjoyed them a lot as did Jazz. Check out their music. They do the song “Say Something” with Christina Aguilera. They have a new single too called “Already Home” and another called “Everyone is Gay” Check them out they are worth it. They are easy listening. They are not hard at all, but they are good at what they do, and their music has meaning unlike a lot of bullshit that is out there.
New Dinning Plan
So i found out that the Meal Deal is gone…which is sad. However the new prepaid meal service isn’t to shabby either. It’s a way I could see totally controlling cost and still very much so worth it if you plan it right. Now I didn’t use the fancy expensive one. They do offer one that is a bit on the pricey side but would be perfect if you were on a date with a fancy lady or just had a lot of money. That one includes a snack, an extra drink, a quick service meal and drink, and a sit down fancy restaurant meal. The one that my little companion and I got costed $35 for the day for both of us. We both got a snack, and extra drink, and a quick service meal. The best values are if you get them at Mels Drive in at Uni and The Three Broomsticks at IOA. They also have a Coke Freestyle Souviner cup now. It’s cool, I wish i would have gotten it. Much better deal than the other cup. 13.99 for the day covers as many refills for the day at a Coke Freestyle machine. There is a chip in the bottom of the cup that tells the machine its ok to dispense. TECHNOLOGY!!!
Overall Experience
Our overall experience was a great one. It was so great being there all weekend and getting to enjoy everything. All of the new attractions were up and running. It was the first time there with a pass for Jazmin’s Autism. Editors Note: I’m not sure if I have ever mentioned that before. The little Psychotik is Autistic. That is not to say she is not normal. Dad and Mom are far from it. Really she is just on a different wave length from everyone else. Really this is a conversation for another time, and I will revisit it.The staff was very accommodating and sweet as could be to her taking everything into consideration. Living in this town, you forget that there are people out there that understand the condition and work with it on a daily. Universal earned so many cool points with me. I can’t wait to see what else Universal has in store for us this year. It’s going to be great.
Until Next Time, My Cheeky Monkeys,
Malice Psychotik
Universal and IOA Update for February!
Hi Freaky Darlings! I’m gonna try to make a general update on construction for Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Orlando one a month. I figure this will be easier to keep up with. Not to say that if something really cool comes up I won’t post it earlier, but I would love to just have a monthly article for this. This year is going to be big. Lots of construction. I thought there was a lot last year….no buddy! This year takes the cake!
The Simpsons Update
Last September, I started seeing rumor mill about The International Food and Wine Festival restaurant closing to make way for a new Simpsons themed eatery. Well rumor turned to truth and then grew to rumor…AND EXPLODED!!! Now we sit at beginning of February and all sorts of construction is going on. Rumor mill says you have this to look forward to: The Krusty Burger, Moe’s Tavern, Kentucky Fried Panda, New Simpsons Flat Ride near MIB, and Other Facades. I’m really excited for this experience. I’ve always been sort of luke warm toward The Simpsons. Mainly because of Back the the Future. But I think it’s high time to let go of old grudges. Simpsons are here to stay, and the sooner I get savvy with it…the better. It’s really not that bad of a ride, I just miss BTTF… Anyways…I’m not too sure about Kentucky Fried Panda, but i can’t wait to sit down to a Krusty Burger. I’m curious as to what the new Flat Ride is going to be…Supposedly it’s supposed to be like the Dumbo ride…we shall see…
Transformers The Ride 3D
A long, long time ago…in an article far away…I spoke of the demise of Building 44. Shortly after that came the news that we were actually going to have a Transformer ride for the east coast. Now months after that construction is in full swing and we are looking at a possible summer opening. I’m so stoked for this ride on Multiple levels. First off, it’s the Transformers. It may be Michael By’s Transformers…but it’s STILL the Transformers. Second it’s a dark ride modeled after The Amazing adventures of Spiderman, IOA’s best ride. If you don’t believe me, the proof is in the pudding. I’ll post a ride video below just so you can see. It’s also worth mentioning their exists rumors of the Monster Cafe being axed for a Transformers Themed eatery. I really hope this isn’t the case. I love the Monster Cafe with all of my heart. To me, it’s a rich part of not only film history…and not only Universal’s history…but the park as well. It reminds me of the hey day for whatever reason…probably because it’s themed after old movies? I don’t know. That’s all I on this front for now.
Harry Potter Phase 2
We’ll there isn’t much official as they have not made any official releases. Even since the last time we chatted this, we are still technically running off of rumors. Construction has begun though, and we can discuss the speculations. Of course there is a big ass building to house the huge ride through Gringott’s Bank. The only other named project is the Hogwart’s Express that will connect the two Harry Potter Areas. Still no exact details on how it will work, but rumor mill is pointing to something like the Kong 3D attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood. As far as other rumored attractions…well they are the same as last time. It’s Diagon Ally and Kingscross Station. Shops so far are as follows: Ollivanders, The Leaky Caldron, and Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes. Hopefully we will hear more closer it is to open.
Not enough info about Phase 2? Where do you think the info is being kept?
Random Rumors
One last random rumor that hasn’t panned out yet before I go. This one I’m not sure how to feel about it. Mostly I hate it. Supposedly, Toon Lagoon is up on the chopping block. Not sure why. They recently. a couple of years ago, had to do extensive work on Ripsaw Falls. Then again, the maintenance is pretty high…anyway…It is rumored that a Middle Earth attraction is on the horizon. Really there is nothing more than hearsay and whispers at this point. Just know it’s out there. Only other one to report is the possible rehashing of Posiden’s Fury to a sort of Grinch Attraction. Again, not much to go off of.
Mardi Gras 2013
ONE MORE THING!! Mardi Gras is upon us, and they have announced the bands and concert dates. Here they are:
| FEB 9 | LIFEHOUSE | MAR 2 | DEMI LOVATO | APR 6 | KOOL & THE GANG |
| FEB 16 | STEVE MILLER BAND | MAR 9 | MONTGOMERY GENTRY | APR 13 | PITBULL |
| FEB 17 | BOYS LIKE GIRLS | MAR 15 | SEAN KINGSTON | APR 20 | THE ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS |
| FEB 23 | TREY SONGZ | MAR 16 | MATCHBOX TWENTY | ||
| MAR 22 | AUSTIN MAHONE | ||||
| MAR 23 | PHILLIP PHILLIPS | ||||
| MAR 30 | PAT BENATAR & NEIL GIRALDO |
Pick your dates and get your tickets. It’s always fun and you won’t want to miss it!
That’s all for now my Freaky Darlings. Hopefully by next time, I will have more to say. I was using this one to catch up. Next go round, we should have more. Stay tuned for more madness to come. More Psychotik Crew Profiles, and maybe some real news type stuff to boot!
Until Next Time, My Freaky Darlings,
Malice Psychotik
Editor Note: Be sure to check out these neat sites! They are where I got the info for this article!
Screamscape
Orlando Rocks
Universal Orlando Home Page
2 Big Announcements…1 Post!!!
Hello My Freaky Darlings! I hope you all had an excellent October and a most glorious Halloween. It’s that time of year again where all of the ghouls, ghosts, and monsters have to tuck away for another year. Very Sad indeed…well except those Christmas Ghosts…lucky bastards get to have all the damn fun they want. October is behind us and the Christmas Holiday Season ahead of us. If you still follow the word of the Mayans, the end of the world will be coming too! (You’re going to be so disappointed!) If your like me though, and you believe that the world will still be here in a couple of months, I have some big news. One is about some changes being made to the site that I’m sure you will all come to love dearly. The other is a big announcement coming from that loveable theme park just above my head, Universal Studios (I’ll close with that!)
As for the big announcement for the site, I’ve come to realize something. I can’t do this by myself anymore. It would be totally cool if I could, but between work, creative writing, being a boyfriend, and having a little time to myself…I just feel I’m letting you down. Look what happened this month! It’s October, I got to make one post…one….WELL NO MORE!! Your dear Uncle Malice has worked up his Cheshire Cat Magik and pulled some characters out that I’m sure you are all dying to meet! We will have two new writers…two artists…a photographer…and count it…SEVEN (like the number of deadly sins!) models, The Psychotik Girls! I’m currently working up a proper intro to all of them as we speak..ur..uh…write…for now! If you look below we will have some pictures of what some of us were up to over the holiday (Yes people, get used to it…I do consider Halloween a Holiday…Get over yourself!)
Be sure to go up to Universal this Weekend and get your picture with Bumblebee! It’s just this weekend…BE A DREAMER!! LIVE IT!!!
The next announcement comes from Universal Studios Orlando. Yesterday night, they made it known that Transformers was going to be finding a home on the backlot. Yes the demolition over at SS44 has finally been confirmed as Transformers: The Ride (But all you good Freaky Darlings already knew that didn’t you!) I can’t be more excited over this! I know the Transformers movies have their problems, but face it! It’s the only realistic looking Transformers movies we have got!! And the ride looks awesome (See video below) Incase most of you don’t know, it is going to be very similar to The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman. Same ride car, same mixture of 3D and practical effects. So get ready Orlando…the War for Cybertron is coming your way Summer 2013!
As I said, we will have a proper intro to everyone soon enough. Some of the writers are currently working on some articles right now. That is if they aren’t fighting…you wouldn’t belive how hard it is to run on an office with a bunch of monsters and ghouls. Thank Cthulhu my secretary is Vampire, or I’d have my hands full!
Until Next Time, My Freaky Darlings,
Malice Psychotik
My Shmexy self as The Crow
Seras as her sexy vampiric self!
On the left is one of our guest artists and on the right is one of our new-ish artists!
One of our seven Psychotik Girls, Chasity!
Artist Lotta Pieces in her Halloween best…or worst! lol
No Escape…Halloween Horror Nights 22
Happy October, My Freaky Darlings! It’s that time again! The joyous time of year where all of us freaks, madmen, monsters, and weirdos feel are just a little more accepted (Not that it really matters!) Well, a week ago we made our annual trip to Halloween Horror Nights. I have to say another great year down, was a shaky start at first with lack of website among other things. They really surprised me this year though. Not to say it was perfect, but definately some of my favorite houses. I will warn, this year I didn’t make it to the shows. Funds being what they were, we just couldn’t go Express (Something that will be remedied next year!) The last couple of years though I haven’t been too impressed with Bill and Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure anyway…so no big deal. Would have really enjoyed 20 Penny Circus, but alas it wasn’t in the cards. Let’s stop the dilly with the dally and jump into this thing huh?
No Escape…Halloween Horror Nights 22
We ended up getting out…they are going to be soooo pissed!!!
Houses
7) Universal’s House of Horrors– I really wanted to like this house more. I loved the concept, I think there was a lot of room for good scares. I did receives at least two really good scares. I just think it could have been better. What made me have a bad taste about this one? Simple! The house scenes and everything were done in UV paint. I know what they were going for, trying to make you feel as if you were walking into the living film, it just could have been better. In fact, I really feel houses like this are lazy. To top it off, there was no facade. You just walked into the beginning scenes which were very much like the beginning to All Nite DIE-in: Take 2. What was the reason for this house being so thrown together? Again…Simple! Remember a couple of months back when I reported that the seventh house was going in SS44? I have no proof, but it’s my opinion that this house really was thrown together pretty quick. I never did find anybody who posted a building permit for that location. Also looking around, the floats that were supposed to be housed in that area were next to it in a rather temporary storage. Not bad if they did throw it together last minuet…but it had room for improvement.
6) Alice Cooper: Welcome to My Nightmare– This house was a lot better than people give it credit! I love Alice Cooper and his style of shock. This house displayed that nicely…Alice’s own personal brand of madness. Why so low on the list then? Well that’s just how good the other houses were! I managed to go through with a real energetic cast. You had twisted nurses, asylum patients, angst teens, and of course Steven and Alice. The theory was you walked through several of his greatest hits showing the personification of the songs themselves. My only real problem was I wanted more! I think the one in Hollywood was better. I know they wanted to make it different, but maybe they should have made it the same. At any rate, don’t miss it…Alice will know! (P.S…Keep an eye to the writing on the walls for a hint to what you are about to see next. If you’re an Alice Cooper Fan…you’ll know.)
5) Silent Hill– First house of the night and really set the pace. I love Silent Hill and I love this house. I was in total fanboy overload!! The nurses, the music, the other creepy tidbits…every Silent Hill fans dream. Even managed to catch Pyramid Head, which Seras tried to take home…I think she scared him. The best parts are the opening scene and facade, the janitor scene (which is very disturbing to say the least), and Pyramid Head. Really wish there would have been more of him. You did have a mess load of nurses though…I suppose that made up for it. Room for improvement? Maybe a little more energy on the scareactors part. As far as design wise, Universal possess tech to make it ten fold scarier. Maybe when they optioned the rights, they got a few more years out of it…and this won’t be the last we will see of good ol’ Silent Hill. One could hope! Either way…don’t miss it!
4) Penn & Teller New(Kd) Las Vegas– For a funny house this was higher on the list because A) it was trippy B) it had surprisingly good scares C) the interactive aspect D) Penn and Teller paid my $40 bucks to bump it up! LOL Just Kidding…they gave me $10 and thats why it’s #4! Anyway, this was the best of the typical fun houses I have been though. For years, Psychoscarapy: Home for the Holidays was my favorite…this house dethroned it. In this house you will find everything you love about sin city…everything you love horribly irradiated with nuclear waste. You see, Penn and Teller aren’t the kind of people to let a little thing like nuclear waste get them down…NO!! In fact the see the wonderful opportunity to turn a negative into a positive…and make some cash on the side. My favorite parts in this house is the kitchen scene and then the wedding scene. Both got me good…some more than others…Seras. Would have been higher on the list if we would have went the week before when Penn and Teller were actually there!!! Would have been number one!!!
3) Gothic– You know I almost skipped this house? We were running low on time, and so far all night I hadn’t heard any good things about this one. We ended up lucking out though and hit Gothic and Dead End last minuet…I would have been mad if I had missed it. I was taken away by how cool this house really was. You really felt like you walked onto the site of an old cathedral being renovated. So many good scares…I really lost count! Kudo’s to the Gargoyle that got into the Italian “Eh!” match with me…you made my night. I absolutely loved the candle scene, the catwalk scene, and the nice midnight stroll on the roof. You will be scared in this house and you will be taken away by the beauty at the same time (Pretty much how they get you! Bait and Switch!) This house again proving that Uni doesn’t require fancy movie and TV properties to scare the crap out of you…however…the next house sort of ruins what I just said…
2) The Walking Dead: Dead Inside– This is THE perfect zombie house…never will there be anything more accurate for a zombie house or scarezone. So many emotions felt in one house! Universal was able to bring to life The Walking Dead in a way I never though possible. The scenes that you walk through are every bit as iconic as they are in the show. You really never know when a walker is going to come at you. Could be here…could be there! The very end is my favorite part. Let’s say…i think they were lying when they said House of Horrors had more scareactors in a single scene…wait till you get to the end of this one. Without giving too much away…let’s say your personal bubble is greatly reduced and if you are afraid of zombies…your going to love this. Don’t miss it…as a matter of fact…go through it twice!!!
1) Dead End– Well we are at the end of the count down…may favorite house of the year. Another one I nearly didn’t get too. Boy I’m glad I went. Really wish I could have moved into this old house…it has a certain character…By character I mean it scares the piss right out of you at every turn. By far the most scares in one house all night. This is why it got number one!! Could tell whether it was all the things that weren’t what they seemed…or the glowy white ghost that get’s you at every turn…but this house just got me! And that’s rare!!! Do not…and I repeat…do not miss this house! It will become your White Buffalo. I can’t even peg down a favorite scene it was that good. I suppose the scenes with the glowy white ghost were the best…BEWARE OF THE GLOWY WHITE GHOST!!!
Street Performance
I will touch on this real quick. I wasn’t big fan of the idea of roaming hordes of scareactors. The no scarezone idea had been tried before in 07′ and failed horribly. This year made me a believer. You never know who is going to catch you and where they are just kept moving all night. What I thought was even cooler was the music queue was moving all night. They actually moved the sound track to fit who was in the area…nice touch. I also loved that fact that when I was amongst the vampires…I was mistaken as scareactor…like 20 times! Had three pictures taken of me…(I hope they caught my good side!) I really wish I would have gotten more pictures of them for you, but that night was hectic…little one was sick, no express passes, having to rush whilst being worried…pictures were just not on my mind this year. I will add what I have though to the Encyclopedia Psychotika Facebook page though if you want to have a look. I think my favorites ended up being the Vampires (Real surprise there!)
In closing, this was a good year to go. I definitely felt like it was money well spent. Can’t wait for next year, and wish I could go again this year! As I said i was not able to hit the shows. My dear friend Samhain however was able to hit Bill and Ted, so maybe she will be so kind as to send me a small review. Also!! I will be collecting some reviews from our fellow cast of weirdos that went with us, and post them as well…why just take my opinion on the night…right? (Hee Hee That rhymed) Stay tuned for more madness to come!
Until Next Time, My Freaky Darlings,
Malice Psychotik
P.S I re-preposed to Seras under the archway to the cemetery….SHE SAID YES!! CONGRATS TO ME!!
Seras, Me, and ArnieFreeze…the rest of you should have been there damn it!!!
We’re Not Worthy!!! Halloween Horror Nights House Leaked…Sort of! ***UPDATE***
Hello Freaky Darlings! I interrupt your planned post for another one!!! Good Friend and Encyclopedia Psychotika fan, Joe “Coke Man” Edenfield (No, you limey dust heads Coke as in the Cola!), brought to my attention a very interesting thing. Apparently, there was a Pod Cast just the other day featuring none other than shock-rock king, Alice Cooper. Very nice little show featuring live questions from fans. The real cool question doesn’t get asked until the 42 minuet mark (link for the video will be posted below!) It’s at that moment someone asks a HHN question. Albeit, Alice messes up the name of the event a bit…BUT…you can tell what he means. He all but officially confirms that there will be an Alice Cooper House at this years Halloween Horror Nights. Even gives us a name, Alice Goes to Hell…In 3D…Oh Ya! (Had to add that! lol) Maybe that was the announcement that they were going to give us but then got delayed? Hmm…
Anyway, I guess we will all have to wait for Universal to confirm. I can’t wait for this year. Sooooo so good! To top it off I really wanted to see Alice Coopers house last year in Hollywood. Will be great to finally have one of our own! Hope this tides you over until I finish the next article…
Until Next Time, My Freaky darlings,
Malice Psychotik
CLICK ME AND SEE FOR YOURSELF!!!
***UPDATE!!!***
Universal Orlando has just confirmed that Alice Cooper will in fact have a maze at this years event. Here is the proof!!!
Halloween Horror Nights 2012: Fact and a Bit of Speculation
Well, it’s that time of year again. School is letting out, Hurricane season is getting ready to loom its ugly head, and Universal Studios Florida has began construction for Halloween Horror Nights 22. Uni has been pretty tight-lipped this year. No hints to the theme or the house names, just permits. The Permits were filed for construction the 8th of May. So far it looks like they are only going to have 7 houses, but then again it’s early we could see another. Some seem to think we could see a return of a double house ( I get so excited when this info comes to light. I know there are some other info that has been out for a while, however, that info has now been pretty well dashed to bits. Let me explain…
A couple of months ago I ran across a rumor mill over on Behind the Thrills. It was pretty good, but I felt it was the same old same old that had been rumored before. About every year since the last one that was in two parks, there is a rumor that the event will spread back to the two parks. I just don’t think it will ever happen again. When the event takes up both parks, I just feel that it’s too over the top. The walking from park to park really kills you, not to mention that there are several parts of IOA that are hard to theme. HHN 15 had no theme to speak of in Suess’ Landing. Not to mention…rumor has it (no not that song) Universal can’t have HHN in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter due to something in the contracts. Now mind you, they can close that area off and use the bypass but I don’t think that will be the case. Now they did have a nice rumor that Uni was going to take a shot at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party with a similar event. Believe me, I wanted to see this. You never know it may happen. But with the permits already surfaced…I don’t think we will see anymore. Still though, give it a good look because you never know what may come out of it as far as theme and icon.
Getting back to the permits though, there was some interesting clues pointed out by Park Rumors. Apparently there were a few scene names revealed within the permits. One has something mentioned of a “Bat Belfrey” and “Mirror Room.” They think that leads to a castle or a cathedral. I sort of agree with that. I can’t come up with anything better than that. The next one says something about a “Hospital Hallway” and a “Rooftop.” Now they don’t seem to think anything other than Hospital. I agree with some of the other readers that posted below on that page. Some others believe that there could be a Walking Dead themed house. To help substantiate that thought, look HERE. Seems Behind the Thrills noticed a certain property in the Cyber Image store that I did my last visit. Honestly, I didn’t think much of it at the time. Cyber Image generally is home to some pretty cool merchandise from all over the place. They also had some True Blood stuff at the time. Can’t imagine a house after that, but you know I wouldn’t be surprised either soooo….yeah. Back on Topic, the last house had a scene in it called “Creature Pit.” This had them stumped and me too. It’s too vague of a term really, Creature could mean anything. Maybe a long rumored Army of Darkness house? Who knows! I think it all will depend on the theme.
Remember the first link I told you to look at from Behind the Thrills? There is an excellent little bit in there about the theme having to do with two’s. Like having a double icon and theme it around choices and duality . At first I thought maybe this one wouldn’t hold water. With the rumor floating around though of a double house, I don’t know there could be a bit more to it. Personally, I think with the hundred year anniversary, we are more likely to see something along that lines. Again this is only speculation. Hopefully we will get a bit more in the next month or so. Until then, this is it! Stay tuned for more soon!!
Until Next Time, My Freaky Darlings,
Malice Psychotik
Spiderman Get’s a Makeover!
Good Morning, My Freaky Darlings! I’ve been dying to talk about this for some time now, but the craziness that’s called life has prevented me from doing so. My favorite ride at Islands of Adventure recently got a little more than your average refurbishment. The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman got a new look, and let me say it was damn impressive. Normally, when you see a ride go down for refurbish, it’s just paint and a few minor tweaks. Universal announced almost a year ago that the ride was going to get a big retorque. Not only were they going to redo the old screens and bring them up to date with new High Definition ones, but they also planned to introduce a more realistic ride video. I have been eagerly awaiting the chance to ride the new tricked out Spiderman ride since that tidbit of info went across my screen. Last week, I got my chance! Before I get into this though, let me take you on a trip back to what made the ride so special before it had the “Pimp My Ride” experience…
The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman ( 1999 )
When Islands of Adventure first opened back in 1999, this young Psychotik couldn’t have been happier. I was finally going to get to go to a theme park involving my childhood hero’s, The Marvel Comic’s Superheroes. I was excited for Jurassic Park Island too, but I could have spent ALL DAY in Marvel Island. I remember the first ride I wanted to go on was Spiderman, unfortunately my cousins wanted to ride Doctor Dooms Fear Fall (Something I didn’t mind at the time. Their first choice was The Incredible Hulkcoaster. Which since I was less experienced with rollercoasters, I was absolutely terrified of! I knew the Fear Fall would take that idea right out of their head) So alas, I had to wait. When we did get to ride it, we had to wait like 2 hours. (Average wait time back then…and you people bellyache over 30 minutes) It was soooooo worth it. A 3D romp through the pages of my favorite superhero! HOW COULD YOU GET ANY BETTER!?
As you can see...Day and Night difference between the two...
The main story line follows Doc Ock and the rest of the Sinister Syndicate (Hobgolblin, Shreik, Electro, and Hydroman) stealing an experimental levitation gun from Stark Industries. J.J. Jameson not having any reporters left to cover this mess, sends you and your other fellow riders in the experimental SCOOP vehicle. Now the SCOOP is supposed to be the most amazing invention to hit media. Capable of going anywhere, and getting any shot…how could anything go wrong? Well, after a warning from your friendly, neighborhood, wall crawler…the screwy thing takes you right into the hideout of the Sinister Syndicate. And in true J.J. fasion, he opens his big yap and get’s you found. From their the Syndicate tries it’s best to catch you while Spiderman tries to save your silly ass. You first encounter Electro, who gives you a rather…eh hmm…”Shocking” experiance (No ladies he didn’t pull his pants down…family friendly) From there you rattle on over to a room withe a tank where you have a close encounter of the symbiotic kind. As you are trying to escape, Doc Ock fires a few levitation blasts over head making some pieces of the stolen Statue of Liberty float above you. Escaping down, what seems to be a sewer way, Spidey and the SCOOP get a few second break before you are attacked by Hydro. As you get hit by a flying pipe your sent to a room where Doc Ock busts through a brick wall to roast your hide (I mean it too…) From there you jerk back and forth before you bust out onto the street. Think your safe, think again! Hobgoblin tries to blow you away with some pumpkin bombs (I must also add that he has one of the most quotable lines from the whole ride! lol) Spidey saves you from getting blown up, but unfortunately finely get’s bested by Doc Ock and you get blasted with the levitation ray sending you up, up, up…all the way to the top of the sky scrapers. Spiderman tries to web you down sending you on one bumpy ride as you get pulled around through the air while a fight ensues. The end result? The Doc reverses the effects of the ray, sending you on a simulated 450 foot free fall! Spidey spins a web just in time, setting you on the ground where you can get safely back to the Daily Bugel! So tell me…What could possibly be wrong with this ride entailing an overhaul?
"You would think a revision of my graphics would have helped to make me thinner! They did offer me this happening new jacket though. I suppose I will let the animators live...for the time being!"
Simply put, it was made in the 90’s! The animation wasn’t the best, the 3D was sort of fuzzy, and there were even a few scenes (that up until now) you could completely tell what was going on unless you were a seasoned veteran. STILL!!! This ride was completely innovative and way ahead of it’s time. Even after the release of Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey some, including myself, still held this ride in higher regards. Now that you get the idea for the ride, let’s talk about what they did to make an epic ride even better…
"I don't know what Ock is complaining about! I look absolutely SHOCKING!!! Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha haaa! What theirs broccoli in my teeth?! Where...!? NOOOOO"
The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman: The Ride ( 2012 )
To start off with, like I said, they added some High Definition screens to provide a much better picture and better 3D effects. Then they totally remade the ride video to look more realistic AND have even more depth. The difference between the two is just staggering. Were the old video made the rooms have a bit more depth, the new ride video really gives you the feeling of being in a wide open space. With much better video and the HD screens you are able to see all of the scenes the way they were meant to be seen with no blurring. You don’t even get the weird cross-eyed effect that most 3D attractions give you. The new way that the characters are all presented are just out of this world as well. You can actually see the stitching on Spiderman’s glove. Doc Ock has a sort of combination between Spiderman 2 version and the comic book. Shreik just looks absolutely terrifying. You can even make facial expressions out on some of the other characters!
"Well at least they didn't give me the "Sam Raimi" treatment! Ha ha ha haaa!!"
In addition to all of the above mentioned, sound effects and the ride soundtrack were made much better. The soundtrack now has a much more modern rock and roll tone to it. The added sound effect of squealing tires and many others add even more to the experience. Quite possibly one of the coolest additions for fans is the appearance of Stan Lee! (If you look at the couple running away when Doc Ock levitates the theater marquee and then again at the final scene with the man in the green sweater….you will see Stan “The Man” Lee) I just couldn’t believe how different the ride was, but at the same time how it was still my old childhood favorite. You could say the ride was…well…”Amazing!” (I will post a video of the ride below from Coaster Force…Mind you it in no way captures the overall effect or feel. But if you are veteran as I am, you will see some of the changes that have been made.)
It still amazes me how with Shreik we go from mildly threatening to...."OH MY GOD THAT THING IS GOING TO KILL ME!!! DEAR LORD WHY!? OH GOD WHYYYYYY!?" You people think I'm over telling it? Go ride it ya' chump!
In closing, I encourage all of you to make a trip to ride the new version of the ride. I assure you, it is worth the trip. Any self-respecting Spiderman fan will just love it. That’s all for now my Freaky Darlings…I’m rather liking this regular posting thing! Now I just have to think of some more to talk about…alas…this is the only problem.
Until Next Time, My Freaky Darlings,
Malice Psychotik
Farewell JAWS…Hello Harry Potter?
Well Freaky Darlings, another year down and gone. But with that we have a whole new year of nonsense to look forward to and enjoy. Some people even think the world will end this year. I suppose it could…the world could be chipping away underneath our feet as we speak. A super weird mutated virus could turn everyone you know and love into flesh eating zombies. Or the world could just keep on spinning (Much more likely) and prove all of the doomsday theorists to be a bunch of whack jobs incapable of enjoying life! What ever happens, there is something definitely ending that has garnered my attention more, and that is the JAWS: The Ride attraction at Universal Studio’s Orlando. I did promise you all I would post a final farewell as well as my theories as to what is going in (Better post em’ now, because they may post whats going in tomorrow!) So let’s dive into some shark infested waters for the last time shall we!
Farewell Bruce…
Tomorrow will be the last day of operation for one of the last surviving original rides at Universal Studios Orlando. Riding it one last time was a bit bitter-sweet. I had the pleasure of making that last ride with Seras, Jazmin, and my best friend Todd. As we were going through the familiar twists and turns of the ride, I looked around and remembered all of the special memories I had from the ride. The first time I ever rode….the first time I dragged Seras on…late night at Halloween Horror Nights…the times when we had a skipper that felt the need to ham it up a bit or make it their own. So many fond memories…then it hit me. I looked around at all of the effects. Everything was dirty…it all looked so bad and it justhad a rehab a short time ago. Then, an epiphany finally hit me! I finally understood why this ride was going away. In the history of this ride, it does go down quite a bit. The cost of maintenance has to be astronomically high as compared to some of the other attractions. The fire effect has even been indecisive as to whether it would stay or go, because of the cost! Looking around…I just realized it was time.
Now don’t take me the wrong way, I will miss the ride. It may have gotten stale for me, but I have fond memories attached. More I’m saying, it won’t be as bad as Back to the Future leaving. As we progressed through our final ride it ended in the same way it always did. The only difference is for the first and last time, Jazmin saw the shark. Poor thing got the poo scared out of her…literally! One last memory was made, and I’ll remember it forever (as I’m sure Jazmin will…I’m not looking forward to the therapy bill!) I must also mention that it was somehow the first time Todd had ridden as well. His opinion, it was cool. I just wish he could have seen it on a good day. At least he got the experience of seeing the one scared child that always managed to ride…to bad it was my kid…I feel so bad, but it’s something we will laugh about later…I hope!
At any rate, we all had a nice time. It will be sad to see it go! But, at least we all got to say goodbye. Just one question remains….what will replace it?
What is going to replace it?
This is the question on everyone’s mind. What will replace JAWS and Amity? Well Darlings, it’s looking like the general census is Harry Potter Phase II. Now this isn’t just a guess! A lot of reasearch from other sites as well as my own research has been done. It looks pretty likely. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a team member to talk as I’ve done before (Ever since Water Boarding was deemed inhumane, this work is just impossible…lol…Seriously though…)
The full rumor is,(I still say rumor, Uni could throw a wicked curve ball!) The replacement will be The Diagon Ally/ London area from the movies and books. The ride looks like it may be Gringott’s (Yeah you remember that really cool scene with the white dragon in the last movie…that!) The most unbelievable of all the rumors though, is a Hogwarts Express that will link the two parks and use the Kong 360 technology. This is the evidence:
* Universal is contract bound to deliver a Phase II to the Harry Potter Park
* The contract also states that Phase II will have to have elements from the last film
* The Harry Potter attraction is contract bound to be updated every so often
If you want to see more, check my source links below. One link in particular. I won’t say too much, but I will say HHNRumors found some pretty cool info on a ‘Project 722.” A lot of speculation as to what 722 means (Some say it’s a reference to page 722 of Deathly Hallows which references Kings Cross Station. Some say it’s in reference to Gringott’s because all of the vaults 700 and above were considered High Security…can it be both?) Check them out!
HHN Rumors
Screamscape
Theme Park Insider
/Films
More info is sure to come as the month progresses. Rumor is announcement will come January 24th. Uni has other projects in the works though, so that announcement may not be about Potter Phase II. Could be sooner…could be later…but I’m sure something will be this month since the popular belief is that construction will begin February 2012. At any rate, that’s all for now. Stay tuned to more madness to come.
Until Next Time, My Freaky Darlings,
Malice Psychotik
JAWS…Closed…FOREVER!?
You know, I really hate it when Universal Studios decides to kill a classic ride. It pained me to see Hannah Barbara go (like wise for Jimmy Neutron)…Shot my dreams down when Ghostbusters made way for Twister…Wrecked me when Kongfrontation took a dirt nap…and DESTROYED ME when Back to the Future was shut down for The Simpsons. Now another one of the legends is about to go belly up…JAWS The Ride will stop their shark filled Amity boat tours FOREVER effective January 2nd 2012. This is a huge blow to us lovers of the classic Uni. To be honest, I thought E.T would have bitten the big one first. To be even more honest, I would have thought anything that had Steven Spielberg attached to it would be immune forever! To make matters worst, the blow isn’t even softened with a hint to what the next attraction may be. This is a sad time indeed…The future at my favorite theme park is hazy and unclear…So to try to brighten things up…I do so hate dreary posts…Let’s speculate on a few things that this announcement has begun to toil in my head!!! What is going in the area? What kind of ride will it be? What will they do with one of the eight HHN locations down? SO MANY QUESTIONS AND NO ANSWERS!!!! ALL WE HAVE ARE….
SPECULATIONS!!!
What IS going to replace JAWS and Amity? Their has actually been talk of JAWS getting the ax for a little while now. At the very least the las couple years. The first rumor I had heard was just after completion of the Wizarding World. The rumor was an expansion to Harry Potter. Some seemed to think it was a valid idea for them to add a Harry Potter themed area and attraction to Universal. I suppose it may be possible. Harry Potter is a large enough world to spill over to Uni as well. I just hope it doesn’t! As much as I would love to see Diagon Ally in real, too much is too much!!! I’m sure they could make it work, but this is at the bottom of my list for hopeful ideas. PLUS…their really is no evidence that would point to this. They have said WWOHP will have a Phase 2, but as far as I know that will be the rest of the Lost Continent….Cthulhu’s Tentecles, I hope that’s not what replaces JAWS and Amity…
Another theory I have thought of is…TRANSFORMERS!!! Awesome ride in Disguise! Seriously, they could put it there…it could happen. As far as the area, they could just make it an expansion to the World Expo area. I’m just not sure what it would all look like. As much as I want to see the ride, I’m thinking more and more as I type this that ir won’t happen. They would have to tear down EVERYTHING, fill in the area, construct a building…I just don’t know. No evidence that this may happen at all, but if I find something I’ll let you know…
Either way, we are talking about a large piece of land being developed. Whatever comes in I’m sure will impress. Universal hasn’t let me down yet. However, there is still one more question on my mind…The JAWS que has been home to HHN Haunts for quite some time. What are they going to do with a missing location….well….
What about Halloween Horror Nights?…My second favorite house from 21 was housed in the que for this ride. In years past, this has always been a location for a house when HHN has been at USO. So what about next year? Are they going to ax a house? Will they find a new location?….OR…Will we see a return of the Islands of Fear. Next year will be the 10 year anniversary. Uni is really good about playing up numbers. I can tell you they’re were many hints at it this past year. Hints that the event may find its way back to IOA. I’m not going to lie, I would love to see this. If not just to see WWOHP taken over by Death Eaters, and a Harry Potter themes house. Rest assured, I’m keeping an ear to the ground for this one.
Either way, JAWS…The Ride will join the ranks of other classics taken out to pasture. I sure am going to miss that Shark. If I get too lonesome hearted though, I could always find a way to Universal Tokyo. Not only are they keeping their JAWS…BUT they have the only surviving Back to the Future The Ride. That’s all for now Freaky Darlings…If I find anything in the future I will let you all know. As of right now, I should be going to Universal the 22nd of this month. I’m good at sleuthing, and if there is a rock to be turned over…I’ll find it.
Until Next Time, My freaky Darlings,
Malice Psychotik
MegaCon, Mardi Gras, Harry Potter…Oh My!!!
You know in retrospect I feel I sit on my content a little to long. I apologize for this. The last little bit has been nuts. Trying to find ones place in the world and juggle to many things at once can really kill you if you let it. Fortunate for me, I have people around me constantly that act as muses. Top that off with my special girls that have this really cool ability to center me and make me see what is more important in life. So you may be saying “OK GET WITH IT YOU SLACKER PIECE OF CRAP!!!”…I’m getting to that SO LAY OFF ME WILL YA’!?…
Most of you that were in Florida last month…more acuratly Orlando…Know what was going on. The annual MegaCon convention took the Orange County Convention Center by storm, and turned I-Drive upside down. I’m not usually one to go to MegaCon…not that I haven’t wanted too, I just never end up going. This year was a little different though…This year they had my idol there Stan “The Man” Lee of Marvel Comics Legend. So I just had to do it. There were also a few things I was wanting to cover on Universal Orlando, so it gave me the perfect excuse to pack up the Psychotik clan on a ROAD TRIP!!! Even when things were looking grim, a good friend (Todd) stuck his neck out to help make it happen. I saw a lot of really cool things. Some good, some funny, and some really irritating! But it’s all here, in this review on my March off and on in Orlando…
MegaCon, Mardi Gras, Harry Potter…Oh My!!!
The best way for me to do this, is to break it down into sections. So let’s start at the beginning…
Section 1: Once Upon a Time…At Mardi Gras Universal
This year I had the distinct pleasure of enjoying Universal Mardi Gras twice in one month. This year like my last visit was pretty top-notch. The food as always was good. Now I didn’t try any of the “Authentic Cajun Cusine” for what ever reason I just wasn’t into it. They did however have these really cool twisted potatoes on a stick. I got one dipped in Garlic butter, and it felt like a sin eating it! Speaking of a sin, the drink for this year was Voodoo Juice. You know I really can’t describe it to you other than saying it was a Rum Runner with extra fruit and booze chased with a Full Throttle stinger…Basicly, I could see myself going crazy overboard with the stuff while not being supervised. As sure as I am that most would love to see a rather blitzed, super-charged Malice…Mardi Gras Universal Orlando is not the time or the place.
The band line-up this year wasn’t too terrible. It just seemed we never got to see the one’s we wanted. We were there the night Lynard Skynard played, but we didn’t stay. I only like two songs and one of those they open with the other they end with. I’m not staying for the in-between, I just don’t care enough. The next day we had went that month Blake Shelton was there, and to that I say: HELL NO!! I wouldn’t have minded seeing the B-52’s, OneRepublic, or 30 Seconds to Mars. Things being what they were, the timing was all off. Oh well, I guess there is always next year! It would be really neat if they could get Pat Benetar again. Culture Club is touring next year, so you never know…maybe we will see them…(Leave me alone Culture Club is awesome to chill out to!!)
Lastly while I’m on the subject of Mardi Gras, I will mention the parade. As always it was a sight to see. The Psychotik family has lots of fun, and caught lot’s of beads (The little Psychotik, poor dear, caught some with her face…) This year seemed to not really be a theme but more like the best of the last few years. I had only really went to 2008 before this one, and then they had all of the different Mythological lands. This year had a few of them, but also had some other very interesting ones as well. I have seen pictures of the other ones, so like I said I think it was just a best of kind of thing. I have a video for the parade I will post below. It was from the beginning of the month. I was going to try for a better one the second time around, but it seems I’m always filming the damn thing or taking pictures. I never get to enjoy it, so the second time i said to hell with it and caught me some beads!!!
* Editor Note: Unfortunatly due to a lot of problems I am unable to embed the video of the parade here….HOWEVER…I offer you the link to it on the Encyclopedia Psychotika Facebook page… Enjoy!
Section 2: I Spit on Your Con….MegaCon 2011
In the anime/manga Full Metal Alchemist, they talk about the laws of equivalent exchange. To gain something you must first give something in return. I find this holds true to good times. For every truly awesome time you have, you must first hand over a BIG disappointment. That disappointment was…survay says…MegaCon 2011. If you know anything of the guests that were supposed to appear at MegaCon 2011, you might ask yourself how it was such an utter fail? Well my darlings, let me just say you weren’t there.
The big draw for me this year was going to be meeting my idol in the flesh, Stan “The Man” Lee. It was going to be the peak of greatness for me, the God Father of Marvel comics was going to be in Orlando!! Needless to say, me being there had to freaking happen. So I’m all psyched up! I got the little one (I couldn’t miss letting her meet him too!) We get to the show sign in. There were some awesome costumes I must say. Add that to the giant pirate ship in the middle, and the S.H.E.I.L.D team promoting the hell out of the new Thor movie, it was looking pretty cool. The guest list was top-notch. You had names like Stan Lee (God-Father of Marvel Comics), William Shatner (Capt. Freakin’ Kirk), Lou Ferrigno (The Original Hulk), Doug Jones (Abe Sapien, Silver Surfer, Epic Creature actor), Vic Mignogna (Epic Voice actor for over 100 different Animes), James Marsters (Spike from Buffy and we will just forget about that live action Dragon Ball Z movie nonsense) , Colleen Clickenbeard (Very talented voice actress), Kevin Sorbo (Fucking HERCULES!) , Arthur Suydam (Cover artist for Marvel Zombies)…these are all just to name a few of the massive guest list this con promised to have. But what could possibly wreck this good time? The same thing that can wreck most shows with a guest list this massive…NO FUCKING ORGANIZATION!!!
Honestly it was awful! The lines for some of these guests were an amorphous blob. They had virtually all of these high draw guests in a small area. When I say small, I really mean small! We are talking no bigger than a Hot Topic! Will Shattners ques went right through the center of it all, making things even more chaotic. As they day went on it just got worst. I had to walk out of Vic’s line because it wrapped the room 3 times and was at a stand still because no one would come organize it. Poor guy, I felt bad for him. Wasn’t his fault. And just to give you an idea who Vic is to anime fans, he is like a Shattner or a Lee. The con should have planned for his line. The biggest upset though, I’m going to have to devote a whole other paragraph to…
The big question when I got there was…Where the hell is Stan Lee!? This was a question that stuck with me for nearly three hours. No staff could answer me, hell they couldn’t even find a con guide so I could find it myself. No, I found the con guide (In a food section I might add!) From there it still took me a good 20 minuets to find him off in a separate room away from all the madness. By the time I had got there they had already line capped it. The bald gent that was there did tell me however I could wait in a little line in the back for about 30 minutes and they would tell me whether or not they would let more people in.I waited for 45, and 15 minuets later I saw the people I was in line with walking the walk of shame. You know it might have been a good thing to post on the website that there would be a limited amount of signatures. The did have were to could pre-buy them, but the way they advertised them was like you would be able to no matter what and weren’t limited by the con closing or such. Not that “Hey, you better buy these, because we cap that shit at 11:30 AM…” Needless to say that was a bust…
Moving on to other aspects of the show, they didn’t shine for me either. Most of the vendors were just hocking crap. I didn’t really find anything of interest and when I did it was something with a price jacked way up that I just didn’t need. There was a very cool vendor in the back that had all kinds of picture ops for Star Wars fans. They even built life-sized remote control R2 units. The people there were all very cool (save for a stuck up group of Trekkies, but that was expected!) The costumes I saw were very cool. I’m always fond of cosplayers. Really the best parts of the show were spending time with my little girl who was a champ, and one of my best friends and college Seth (Video Below). It will be rather sketchy as to whether or not Malice Psychotik will go back to this show. I will have to have nothing else going on, and just be going to screw around mostly. In a small defense for the show, I was there on Friday. But to pigeon-hole that defense I was not the only one complaining this was the worst year for organization anyone had ever seen. Moving on…
The Biggest Man at the show:
Section 3: Repairs, Rebuilds, and a Regal Review
Let’s end this little review on a rather high note shall we! Back to Universal Studios Orlando, my home away from home. There was a lot of stuff going on from February to April other than Mardi Gras. Yes, lots of rehabs and rebuilds and let’s not forget that Wizarding World of Harry Potter still drawing record-breaking crowds. I hadn’t really got to go until my little March trips, so I’ll take the time to review it here. Really sorry that most of this info is late. It doesn’t make sense to do the research and not post the article until 2 months later. At least it will be out in time for any summer crowds that may be making USO it’s vacation spot.
First, let’s talk about the Incredible Hulk Coaster’s rehab. For the first time since I think the park was built, the coaster finally got a fresh coat of paint. Even if you are not a regular visitor to the park, it was getting a little hard to deny the ride needed a fresh coat of paint. Especially when you get to the back part of the ride. The track looked very rusty and didn’t encourage much faith that it was kept in repair. Really it surprised me that they let it go this long. Below there is a slide show showing off some spectacular views. I even have a shot of what was the last pieces not painted yet. I’m sure by now the whole thing is done and looking great. It still runs fantastic! Not that a paint job has anything to do with that. Rumor has it that it may go under a little more of update soon, but that is for a future article.
My next ride of interest was Dudley-Doo Rights Ripsaw Falls. The ride under went a massive overhaul because of a fire that damaged a good portion of the ride. It was actually pretty fun going on this one, as I hadn’t really gone on it since the park opened. I can tell you based on that, they did a fantastic job restoring it. It was like nothing had changed in 12 years. The restraint system was a little funky, but ultimately improved on the experience a little (for those of you that avoid log flumes because you hate the “Free Fall” experience). The ride is real laugh riot and trip down memory lane for old school Rocky and Bullwinkle fans. You really have to love that the ride throws in not just one, but multiple false drops. I highly recommend that if you have never checked it out, you really should. Especially with the hot, HOT summer ahead. A good drenching goes a long way in the Florida heat.
Last point of interest I will touch on in…you guessed it…The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. To start out with, all I can really say is there are no words to accurately describe the experience. If you are a fan of the books you’ll love it. If you are a fan of the movie’s, you’ll love it. Hell, if you know nothing about it, it will make you want to learn more…AND you’ll love it!! The shops are overwhelming with all of the props and tiny details that make the whole experiance..pardon the pun…but magical! I was in that part of the park 5 times and still never got to see all it had to offer. Everytime I went through I found a new detail I missed. I know in the future I will have to devote one whole day to doing a comprehensive review. For now though, I offer you this run down:
1. Shops: The shops are an attraction all on their own. From candy to wands you will find all the things you have dreamed of having from the Potter universe. The candy shop was my favorite. Be sure to pay attention to the price tags though. I pretty confident that you could go broke easy in Honeydukes Sweet Shop. I did not get a chance to do Olivander’s because of the massive lines for this attraction. I will say on a down side that you will have to prepare to wait in line to get into many of the shops. Try to hit this part as early as possible.
2. Dinning: I was really disappointed I didn’t get to enjoy a meal at The Three Broomsticks. I will tell you from the reactions that I heard, that there weren’t any displeased customers. Everyone praised the food and loved the atmosphere. I did get to try the infamous Butter Beer. This comes highly recommended and get’s the Encyclopedia Psychotika seal of approval. Make sure to try both frozen and regular to see which you like. I prefered it more as a drink than a slushy.
3. Attractions: Here is where it get’s really fun. there are three rides in the WW. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Dragon Challenge, and the Flight of the Hippogriff. The Dragon Challenge is of course the old Dueling Dragons. They did a very cool job re-theming the castle to become the ground of the TriWizard Tournement. The only thing I was confused with was I thought they were re-themng the tracks and the cars. So far, it still appears to be the Fire and Ice even thought they call it the Chinese Fire Ball and the Hungarian Horntail. Maybe that will come later. At any rate it is still as awesome as ever. Flight of the Hippogriff is actually much more fun with it’s new theme. It’s very cool seeing an animatronics Buckbeard bow to you before you take off. Nice touch, and it get’s the little Psychotik’s approval! Last but not least is the amazing Forbidden Journey ride. It goes without saying that walking into Hogwarts pumps you way up for the ride. You might even say the que is an attraction all on its own (I know they do offer you being able to walk through and then just exit the building without riding. My only problem (besides the oversized arachnids!) is the restraints. They really are not that accommodating to the larger masses. I do hope they plan on fixing this. If somebody of my size has trouble riding, your harnesses are WAY to small. It just doesn’t make sense that I can ride The Hulk or even Dragon Challenge no problem, yet this indoor dark ride throws everyone issues. Come on Uni, get it together for your plus size fan boys and girls!
4. Atmosphere: The over all feel of the island is breathtaking. Whether it is being greeted by the Hogwart’s express or standing under the massive Hogwarts castle, you are just stripped of your descriptive vocabulary. Pay attention the shop windows for little extras here and there. Better yet pay attention while you are in the store’s because they are just as rigged up! The street performers and the actors are very good and very dedicated to bringing you the best experience possible. defiantly a must see if you are in Orlando anytime soon.
*Editor Note: I’m not sure if it was done all to recently, but I did notice that the Monster Cafe on the Universal Studio’s side was looking mighty fancy. I do know there was talk of it going under much needed rehab, but I can’t remember when…at anyrate I have some pictures included in the slideshow for it…Enjoy!
Really this was my whole March! I have even more that I will touch on in a week or so. Rumors of new attractions, upgrades, replacements, and hopefully a Halloween Horror Night rumor or two by then. Unfortunately the site I get most of my rumors from is down right now. I’ll leave you all with this small assessment for the month of March: Universal Rocks my world and MegaCon smells like Turd!!!
Until Next Time, My Freaky Darlings,
Malice Psychotik
Encyclopedia Psychotika 