Team USA

Hamartia Antidote · Aug 26, 2022

Universal continued...

Three Broomsticks Restaurant: Ate here twice..good stuff. B+.

As for most of rest of the the park it seems they are desperately trying to leverage as much of their Intellectual Property into the park as they can. Put it this way there was Betty Boop cartoon stuff (circa 1930's). This seemed very strange (to put it nicely).
The park was actually hard to navigate as there were twisting fingers going off the main path for rides. It was easy to miss something that was located off in some hard to see corner.

The Simpsons ride was far far better than I expected. It was basically a hard core airplane flight simulator machine with the legs violently dipping and twisting crazily. Give it an A+.

Hamartia Antidote · Aug 26, 2022

Epcot

Was there a few years ago. Trying to catch up on all the stuff we missed and what was new.

Soaring again. Twice more like last time. What can you say. A+.

Guardian's ride was insane. Totally unprepared for such a crazy coaster ride. Give it an A+.

Ratatouille...meh...could have been much better. B-

Hamartia Antidote · Aug 26, 2022

Epcot continued...

Test Track. I have spent years hearing about this ride and missed going onto it my previous two Florida Epcot trips because of the insane lines. Finally get on it and I'm giving it a super low mark for being such a @#$%% letdown. Epcot please get rid of it and put up anything better..like a bathroom. Geez... F

Gondolas are very cool. B+

Nine Dragons...meh..I've had 10 times better food at 2am in Chinatown. C-

Hamartia Antidote · Aug 27, 2022

Discovery Cove

Was there a few years ago..we went again this year. The $275/per person to get into this place is definitely above average. It was also full of British people. We spent 2 days in there. You can leave your wallet at the door as once you are in everything is free. Give it an A

SeaVenture: This certainly is not for the faint-hearted. I don't know what rating to give it because I spent the entire time trying to make sure my kids didn't slip and have their helmets tilt, fill full of water, and drown. Anybody who knows anything about full-face scuba masks and the dangers of dead space air would probably be uncomfortable being in one...even with it supposedly pushing the CO2 out.

The helmet window was almost a cube so your periphery was completely messed up. It was like having two big rear view mirrors in your periphery. So what you thought was next to you (like the hand railing) was almost behind you. So you'd be constantly reaching out for things that were not there.

Meet dolphins up close. A

Lazy river (no inner tubes). B+

snorkel with the fish. A

Hamartia Antidote · Aug 27, 2022

SeaWorld

Been there before. Kids like the dolphin/seals/etc shows. Can't argue with that.

Sharks Restaurant just an amazing view as we have been lucky to always get a tank window seat. Food pretty good. A

As for the rest of the food in the park it gets an F.

Bushe Gardens
Was there last time..nothing to add.

Gomig-21 · Aug 27, 2022

Great write-up, bro. Sounds like you really had a great time and especially the kids which it's really all about them in the end.

Surprised at those full-faced scuba masks and how terribly designed they are. I wonder if they've had accidents before with such a terrible feature. Are you sure there's a chance of them getting filled if tilted? Seems so dangerous and for them not to know about a potential liability of that caliber is super negligent. Anyway, great read and grading!

Hamartia Antidote · Aug 27, 2022

Gomig-21 said:
Great write-up, bro. Sounds like you really had a great time and especially the kids which it's really all about them in the end.

Surprised at those full-faced scuba masks and how terribly designed they are. I wonder if they've had accidents before with such a terrible feature. Are you sure there's a chance of them getting filled if tilted? Seems so dangerous and for them not to know about a potential liability of that caliber is super negligent. Anyway, great read and grading!

It sure is very dangerous. You sign your life away on the paperwork before they let you go in. The water level in the helmet is at your neckline. They explicitly tell you not to make the mistake of looking down. I think the reason the helmet is on the big side going partway down your chest is so people have to bend their entire body to look down instead of just their neck.

I noticed you had to climb up and down a slippery 10 foot ladder so I told my wife to skip going as she can't swim. She just said keep an eye on the kids. Well the ladder was probably the least of my worries as she probably would have had a heart attack even with no ladder climbing.

This is definitely one of the times where you find yourself caught in an "iffy" situation you were not expecting. You know that feeling of utter dread you get when the back wheels start getting real loose in a rainstorm on the highway as you start going into the curves and you know you could be seconds from complete disaster. I was feeling that for the first few minutes instead of enjoying the scenery.

The helmet was shifting on my shoulders due to buoyancy equilibrium issues i think. I was actually holding it down for the first few minutes until it settled down.

Gomig-21 · Aug 27, 2022

Hamartia Antidote said:
It sure is very dangerous. You sign your life away on the paperwork before they let you go in. The water level in the helmet is at your neckline. They explicitly tell you not to make the mistake of looking down. I think the reason the helmet is on the big side going partway down your chest is so people have to bend their entire body to look down instead of just their neck.

I noticed you had to climb up and down a slippery 10 foot ladder so I told my wife to skip going as she can't swim. She just said keep an eye on the kids. Well the ladder was probably the least of my worries as she probably would have had a heart attack even with no ladder climbing.

This is definitely one of the times where you find yourself caught in an "iffy" situation you were not expecting. You know that feeling of utter dread you get when the back wheels start getting real loose in a rainstorm on the highway as you start going into the curves and you know you could be seconds from complete disaster. I was feeling that for the first few minutes instead of enjoying the scenery.

The helmet was shifting on my shoulders due to buoyancy equilibrium issues i think. I was actually holding it down for the first few minutes until it settled down.

Yes, I certainly know that feeling wow. Crazy they would have such a dangerous setup. I would find it hard to believe they haven't had a few incidents before. How could that even be enjoyable when it created that much stress, right? With todays tech there could be so many other MUCH safer options than that crazy dangerous setup. Glad you got through it with the kids, though!

Hamartia Antidote · Aug 27, 2022

Gomig-21 said:
Yes, I certainly know that feeling wow. Crazy they would have such a dangerous setup. I would find it hard to believe they haven't had a few incidents before. How could that even be enjoyable when it created that much stress, right? With todays tech there could be so many other MUCH safer options than that crazy dangerous setup. Glad you got through it with the kids, though!

My oldest came out saying is was pretty scary in the beginning and said "so glad Ma didn't go in". My youngest who actually cries after going on little kid's rollercoasters because they are too much for her thought it was awesome and wanted to go back in again. My oldest and I were like "WTF!!!".

Hamartia Antidote · Sep 25, 2022

1940's LA

According to the comments the video starts here

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

www.google.com

You can see the same wavy mountains in the background.

1940's San Francisco

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

www.google.com

Again you can make out the matching mountains in the background when zoomed in

Hamartia Antidote · Sep 25, 2022

Check out the night part starting at 3:44. The AI has done an amazing job.

New York City, 1930's

I believe the video starts here with a sharp right turn onto 5th Avenue from E 60th Street. You can see a park entrance on the left and further down you can start reading the street numbers (like 820) on the awnings after you pass 3 street on the right.