New Fast and Furious Coaster looks Awesome (And will Dad ride it?)
(This is a guest blog entry by my dad!)
It looks awesome. It really does. And nobody who knows me well would think that I - of all people - wouldn’t be excited about a Fast and Furious ride. Excuse me, FAMILY…
I should stop for a second and say this, though. If I had my way I would be headed over to UO today to get on Rip Ride Rockit. I genuinely love the Fast and Furious franchise, and I genuinely love(d :( ) RRR. It was “our ride,” the one where we always picked the same song from the secret menu. Always “103,” Jim Morrison, Break on Through… and going on RRR became known to us as “going on Jim,” or “going Jim.” … “Just a quick trip to UO for something to eat and going Jim real fast.”
More on that some other time…
But walking by there and taking the nostalgia and sadness out of the equation for a minute, “the new Family” looks really good, and really fun. It looks LONG, and that “spike” at the top looks JUST about like it’s going to be my “limit” for intensity. LOL! I did go on Stardust, three times, and it’s now one of those ones “I’m going to have to not do anymore.” Velocicoaster is close to that too, but I’ll go on it if someone really wants me to. I think Fast and Furious Hollywood Drift looks like it’ll be okay. I’ve gotta try it at least once. Then I will decide whether it’s one of the ones I do all of the time, or one of the ones where I let the kids go by themselves while I enjoy some popcorn on the bench.
What about you? Are you going to try it?
Why Fortnitemares at HHN 35 Feels Like a Waste
For the 35th anniversary of Halloween Horror Nights, Universal had decades of HHN history to pull from. Old icons, forgotten characters, classic scare zones, original concepts… and instead one of the scare zones is Fortnitemares.
I don’t hate Fortnite, but it just feels boring for HHN. Fortnite already has its own Halloween event, and turning it into a scare zone feels more like a big advertisement than something created specifically for Horror Nights.
This is HHN 35. I would much rather see a zone celebrating old HHN characters, past events, or something completely original.
Fortnite fans will probably love it, but for me, it feels like a huge missed opportunity.
HHN doesn’t need Fortnite to be cool. Fortnite needs HHN to make Fortnitemares real.
Why Fortnitemares at HHN 35 Feels Like a Waste
For the 35th anniversary of Halloween Horror Nights, Universal had decades of HHN history to pull from. Old icons, forgotten characters, classic scare zones, original concepts… and instead one of the scare zones is Fortnitemares.
I don’t hate Fortnite, but it just feels boring for HHN. Fortnite already has its own Halloween event, and turning it into a scare zone feels more like a big advertisement than something created specifically for Horror Nights.
This is HHN 35. I would much rather see a zone celebrating old HHN characters, past events, or something completely original.
Fortnite fans will probably love it, but for me, it feels like a huge missed opportunity.
HHN doesn’t need Fortnite to be cool. Fortnite needs HHN to make Fortnitemares real.
I Just Released My Third Book!
I just released my third book, which honestly feels crazy to say.
When I first started Theme Park Life, I never imagined I’d be creating books, growing a community, and sharing my passion for theme parks with thousands of people. As a teenager, I didn’t think I’d make it this far, but here we are!
So far, I’ve released:
📖 A Nostalgic Guide to Universal Orlando
📖 A Nostalgic Guide to Islands of Adventure
📖 The Scaredy-Cat Teen Guide to Universal Orlando
Looking at that list is still hard to believe. Three books!
On top of that, I recently reached 5,000 followers on TikTok. That’s another milestone I never thought I’d hit when I first started posting videos.
I’m incredibly thankful for everyone who has followed along, supported my projects, watched my videos, and encouraged me along the way. Every comment, like, share, and purchase means more to me than you know.
I’m excited to keep creating more content, more books, and more ways to share my love for Universal Orlando and theme parks.
Thank you for being part of this journey. I can’t wait to see what’s next!
— Theme Park Life
CABANA BAY BUGS?
Hey, if you’re heading to Universal Orlando, just a heads up about Cabana Bay. A lot of people have been dealing with bed bugs there lately. Guests on Reddit and TripAdvisor are saying they found them in the beds and even got bitten during their stay. Some mentioned the rooms felt pretty dirty with dust and stuff behind the furniture, and the staff response wasn’t always great at first. It messed up a bunch of family vacations. Not every room has the problem, but it’s happening enough that it’s smart to check your bed really carefully when you check in and keep your bags off the floor.
I had an idea…
When I went to Mardi Gras the other day, I pulled out my phone and saw a video of a mini basketball hoop held up in the crowd to get beads! So that got me thinking, I have a mini hoop… so maybe it should try that! So if you see a mini basketball hoop at universal Orlando during Mardi Gras it’s probably me or that guy in the video!
Halloween Horror Nights Rumor?
I was doing some research for my next TikTok video about Halloween Horror Nights and saw a rumor that Scream might be coming as a new IP house.
So I looked into it a little more and realized that Scream has actually never had its own house at HHN. The only time Ghostface ever showed up was in All Nite Die-In: Take 2(2006), where they recreated the iconic kitchen scene from the first Scream movie, but it was just a small part of the house.
Honestly, I really hope they bring Scream this year because it's one of my favorite horror movies.
Camp Jurassic Drainage?
Last night I was at Camp Jurassic in Islands of Adventure, and I noticed something really strange. None of the rocks with the waterfalls had any water flowing, and the ponds around the camp were completely empty too. On top of that, it smelled really bad.
I’m not sure what was going on or if they were doing some kind of maintenance, but it was definitely confusing and a little weird to see the whole area like that!
Menu Change at Aventura?
Last night my dad was like “I want Aventura for dinner! I need that build-your-own-bowl!”
“Sounds good to me,” I thought. (What else would I have thought!? LOL!)
So we headed over to UO and did a lap around Studios, while my dad and sister and brother went on Family (F&F Supercharged) and my mom and I went on ET. Then we headed to Islands because we “needed” one of those apple pies from the Captain America restaurant…
Anyway…………… I digress. HAHA So we finally got in the car and drove over (my sister drove, I still can’t believe she’s 16) to Aventura. We get up to the counter and BOOM… we noticed (well, my dad did), the menu was different! Hold up…
“So, you don’t have the build-a-bowl thing, with the rice and the pick your protein and…”
“No sir,” said the TM, “and it breaks my heart. But, new chef, new menu.”
Just thought I’d let you all know!