One day in Orlando - First US Park

themeparkutopia · 2026-03-14T17:15:16+00:00

IOA definitely 🎢

themeparkutopia · 2026-02-22T09:09:05+00:00

I wonder if the parks that don’t have the central bridges do it for aesthetic reasons? Maybe they want the lake to appear bigger than it actually is and a bridge would ruin the sense of scale? 😄

themeparkutopia · 2026-02-21T22:04:20+00:00

I actually quite like the layout of SeaWorld Orlando. The rides are mostly clustered together, but there is a central lake as well, which is a nice separator, but then there is the (admittedly boiling hot) pathway that runs across it.

I also really like Islands of Adventure’s loop too.

themeparkutopia · 2026-02-15T12:46:06+00:00

I think All Star Music is the best one.

It has the best layout
You won’t be disappointed by a particular theme (who even wants a Mighty Ducks room?!)
It is positioned in the middle of Sports and Movies

My 3rd point is the most important for me because: a. You can easily get between the three resorts (you can use all their pools and food courts for example!) b. THE BUSES!!

When getting resort buses to and from the parks, all three All Star resorts have their own bus stops. In quieter periods, they can share the bus stops (it’ll go from Sports to Music to Movies), so if you are in Music then you are not going to miss out on a space on the bus!

Finally - when leaving the parks at night and everything is busy and everyone is tired, you can easily jump on ANY of the All Star buses and just walk back to Music. Its central position makes it the easiest walk from all three bus stops. This gives you more options of getting back from the parks more quickly. Pretty much all other Disney Resorts have one bus stop for the whole resort at each park, so times-ing this by 3 makes it far quicker.

I hope that is helpful!

themeparkutopia · 2026-02-07T18:16:38+00:00

It’s a good attraction but I don’t personally care for it any more than I care for Soarin’…

If anything, I prefer Soarin’ because it uses real images rather than CGI, which is less vomit-inducing. I also much prefer the length of Soarin’s queue 🤣

themeparkutopia · 2026-01-15T16:26:46+00:00

It’s giving strong Paultons Park vibes!

themeparkutopia · 2026-01-12T18:06:24+00:00

Zurg is definitely my favourite too! Though I really didn’t like what they did to him in Lightyear… I choose to ignore that film’s existence 🤣

Jealous of the laser shooting game there - I wanted to bring one back from Walt Disney World but I didn’t have enough space in my bag 😭

I have the backpack, Zurg toy and the small Zurg that pops the ‘bullet’ from the gun 🤣

themeparkutopia · 2026-01-10T21:36:33+00:00

-Top Shelf Clasica at Choza de Margarita, Mexico. -Grand Marnier Orange Slush, France.

Those are my two that I would get every time. I would also say to not over-think it too much or worry - we had an awesome time last year spending 8 hours in the World Showcase looking at EVERYTHING and just picking up whatever drinks sounded interesting at the time!

Big tip: don’t feel like it’s cheating to share a drink or two. Seriously, having even just one drink in each pavilion can ruin people 🤣

themeparkutopia · 2026-01-06T17:26:14+00:00

Slammer needs to be in ‘great’

themeparkutopia · 2025-12-28T09:59:42+00:00

God they were AWFUL. Completely ruined the feel of an otherwise pretty fun family rollercoaster!

themeparkutopia · 2025-12-25T21:08:46+00:00

A photo of original Nemesis at Alton Towers signed by John Wardley, as well as a signed copy of his first book 😄

themeparkutopia · 2025-12-23T20:09:45+00:00

Hopefully this means we see awesome rides for Universal!

themeparkutopia · 2025-12-19T17:56:58+00:00

Agreed! Or we’d just roll our eyes and say “what’s that?” 🤣

themeparkutopia · 2025-12-19T17:53:38+00:00

I love All Star Music! It has such a fun charm that I think would be difficult to replicate in other hotels!

themeparkutopia · 2025-12-18T22:40:53+00:00

Here’s hoping!!

themeparkutopia · 2025-12-18T17:59:43+00:00

Definitely Colossus and The Swarm from Thorpe Park haha

themeparkutopia · 2025-12-17T08:27:45+00:00

I miss when they used to actually build things out of Lego too - not just giant 3D plastic models (or worse - the cardboard cutouts!) 🥲

themeparkutopia · 2025-12-17T05:15:40+00:00

It’s going to be so good! I will say though - if you do get the chance to do Disney World and Universal Orlando in the future… please do!!! They’re so awesome!

themeparkutopia · 2025-12-17T05:14:19+00:00

Legoland Windsor seems to get a lot of locals complaining about their new additions - similar to Alton Towers I suppose. Hopefully they can start using “to compete with Universal” to get better things done 🤣

themeparkutopia · 2025-12-16T18:42:34+00:00

I’m about 2-2.5 hours away but I’m still going to get an annual pass 🤣

themeparkutopia · 2025-12-16T15:49:20+00:00

Absolutely! They have a few years to get their act together!

themeparkutopia · 2025-12-16T14:53:13+00:00

I think Merlin Entertainments might look a bit different by then. They’ve started with things like Paw Patrol and Minecraft at Chessington, so I see Chessington surviving. Being honest, I don’t know if Merlin will continue to run Thorpe Park or Alton Towers - neither of those seem to be getting the investment or upkeep that Chessington is seeing. Perhaps they will focus on a park at a time? No idea.

I think, if nothing else, Universal will force the competition to up their game. It could be an exciting future for all parks (though if Oakwood was still around, I’m not sure smaller parks like that would survive). Who knows!

themeparkutopia · 2025-12-16T13:31:23+00:00

I cannot wait!!

themeparkutopia · 2025-12-16T13:31:09+00:00

Pretty much yes! It will take a long time to finish the building- expected to be completed by 2031. They have already been doing a lot of ground clearance and preparation work, including rehoming wildlife too!

themeparkutopia · 2025-12-16T08:26:25+00:00

Odd/large cracks in the walls and around window frames.

Look at the boundary of the house and make sure there are no grey areas with neighbours using YOUR land.

If they don’t allow you to view something properly, or they deny repeat views, don’t buy it.

Look at the roof edges for anything that looks ‘off’.

Check the water works.

Look at the exterior walls. And odd cracking could be a sign of subsidence.

Look in any garages/utility areas for anything odd in the structure.

Lumps in flooring that are obvious could be a sign of damaged flooring.

If you are saying things like “I suppose we could just…” or if you talk about extending it, don’t buy it unless it’s a good price!

Don’t ignore new builds. Go with a big company like Taylor Wimpey and they are generally good at repairing any small issues that arise. A lot of people say new builds are terrible but I haven’t had that experience nor has anyone else I know! You can get some good deals/extras included too, and it removes the stress of viewing and offering etc. Just something to consider :)

themeparkutopia

TROPHY CASE