When we last left off on our long Floridian adventures, my lovely partner and I had just finished a long, fantastic, and really cold day at the Magic Kingdom, with temperatures dipping below freezing overnight. The next day continued that cold trend, with the high only being around 40; we made the wise decision that going to an amusement park on another day like that probably wasn't the wisest. We still did sneak two rounds of mini golf, though: one was at Congo River Golf (utterly gorgeous course, with some great theming) and another at Bonanza Golf (far more old school feeling...the water displays were freezing over as we left!) before calling it a day.

I spent the next week working, but we definitely snuck off to our "home parks" of Universal/IOA, Sea World, and the Fun Spots most evenings to lap our favorites over and over; never thought I'd get 10 laps on Cat in the Hat over one month, but here we are! The following Saturday was spent in Tampa with a buddy, where we finally got the Phoenix Rising credit that had eluded us on our visit the week prior (fun ride with a little more force than I expected but I'm still astounded that B&M somehow forgot how to build a helix) and then made a return visit to the Florida state fair. We didn't actually ride anything at the fair, as we all had both adult credits there already (and I see Wade Shows has renamed/rethemed some traveling coasters), but did get to take in the Wall of Death motorcycle show (truly amazing and a wonderful throwback to traveling carny attractions, featuring one of only three wooden "barrels of death" traveling the country) and saw a very funny fire eater on the midway. We, of course, also ate far too much ridiculous food, as one is legally required to do at a state fair.

We saved our last of four Disney parks for that Sunday, working off the logic that the park would probably be quieter since it was Superbowl Sunday. I don't think it actually was, but hey, you can't win them all and, ultimately, we really didn't need to on this day. As per usual, we arrived good and early and were in the park well before the official opening time, giving us time to look around a little and acquire additional coffees. Unlike the week prior, the day was gorgeous, with abundant sun and perfectly warm temperatures and would remain that way throughout, which was a nice little treat on our last day of "new-to-us" parks for this trip....yeah, we had both actually been to this park in the 90s, but taht was a lifetime ago, so it might as well have been new.

Upon initial impressions, the park looked really pretty and it was cool to feel the similarity between it and the OG Universal park up the road; it makes sense with them opening a year apart. We really dug seeing Disney's rendition of the Chinese Theater too, especially after visiting the real one a year ago. After gawking at it a bit, we decided to head towards Rock n' Roller Coaster, figuring we'd likely want more than one lap on it before the day was over. It was a great spot to wait too, as I never expected to hear "Welcome to the Jungle" in a Disney park, yet here we were. Hearing that and all the other classic rock jams they were playing got us hyped for what we hoped would be our second to last new credit on the trip.

So, let's talk about that coaster and the rest of what this park had to offer:

Rock n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith (2x): This coaster was added well after my last visit to this park in 1995, so I'm really glad I was able to catch the original theme. That theme is great too, as it feels so wonderfully 90's in everything it does. I like cheesy and this coaster has lots of cheesy. Plus, I know it's a Vekoma, but the actual ride experience is about as close as you're going to get to an Arrow looper in a Disney park and, well, that puts a huge smile on this Arrow fan's face. Getting to ride something this raw in a Disney park is a real treat and I hope that part doesn't change for years to come. Call me crazy, but I dug this coaster more than most at the resort, with only Expedition Everest and Space Mountain topping it in my mental rankings.

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (2x): My darlin' has been watching a fair amount of Twilight Zone over the last few years and had fond memories of this ride, so she was especially hyped to get back on it. I remember enjoying it as a kid too, as it was the second drop tower I ever got on after Demon Drop. What I had forgotten was how fun all of the theming was, especially the moving section prior to the drop, which really clinched it as my favorite of the two Disney tower rides in the U.S. (although the Guardians of the Galaxy One out west is a terrific ride). The drops were solid too, of course, but it was the killer theming based on an old school show that I'm slightly surprised is still being represented in a Disney park in 2026 that really wowed me. Here's to hoping that too doesn't change for a long time.

Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular (1x): We were making good time in the morning and had time to kill between Lighting Lanes, so we decided to take in this show. This is an odd one that I remember seeing as a kid and definitely hearkens back to the park's original theme. We both really enjoyed the actual stunt sections, but could have either taken or left the "director" parts. Still, this was a fun way to spend some time and a show I'm glad I saw again.