I have been to Orlando a few times. There is a helicopter tour that flies over the parks every hour or so. Him saying he's a very good customer means he probably gets a discount for flying with them so much and just brings a good camera and zoom lens.
A mystery person who spies on theme parks from the sky
51–58 of 58 posts
Re: A mystery person who spies on theme parks from the sky
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
Like you said, it's difficult to articulate but let me try. Growing up in FL, my family would go a lot of parks even though I was deathly afraid of roller coasters and most rides to be honest (wish I could go back in time and tell myself that I'd regret not riding all these classic now removed Universal and Disney rides). In my early teen years that fear turned to obsession and I was devouring all the information abo…
Have you been to DisneySea?
I've been trying to make my way out to Japan for the last couple of years but Covid has gotten in my way. Looks like it's finally going to happen later this year. And I'm so excited for it!
Re: A mystery person who spies on theme parks from the sky
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
Like you said, it's difficult to articulate but let me try. Growing up in FL, my family would go a lot of parks even though I was deathly afraid of roller coasters and most rides to be honest (wish I could go back in time and tell myself that I'd regret not riding all these classic now removed Universal and Disney rides). In my early teen years that fear turned to obsession and I was devouring all the information abo…
Thanks for the insight! If I had a few days, which parks in Florida, or really anywhere, would you say are the highest priority to experience for the kind of theming you enjoy?
I'd say the first one you need to visit is Islands of Adventure in Orlando. When it opened in 1999, it really invented the idea of the IP land, a themed area dedicated to 1 IP as opposed to the standard of multiple IPs in one land (like how Tomorrowland might have Buzz Lightyear and Tron and Star Wars). IOA still has what many consider a top 5 dark ride in the world in Spiderman. And the Harry Potter area which opened in 2010 was the first what I'd call hyper immersive land where great pains are taken to make every aspect of the experience immersive, from the food (the food is all British food and not regular theme park fare), drink (butterbeer is great), environment (even though it limits the amount of people in the area, the paths are very narrow since that's how the area is in JK Rowling's world) to even the bathrooms (Moaning Myrtle makes appearances). Most new modern lands built by Universal or Disney follow this blueprint. Velocicoaster in IOA is also widely considered a top 10 coaster in the country so if that's your thing IOA has a great one.
If you had a few more days after that, I'd probably pick out a Disney park or two. It probably depends on which IPs you're interested in. Hollywood Studios has Tower of Terror and Star Wars so that would be my choice (Rise of the Resistance is the best ride I've been on in the world) but I've heard good things about the latest Guardians of the Galaxy Ride at Epcot.
Re: A mystery person who spies on theme parks from the sky
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
I do! And themed dining like Rainforest Cafes and the like. My previous job was famous for their elaborately themed offices (I worked in the Alice in Wonderland building). Wasn't a fan of the job, loved the office themeing.
Was that Epic systems? I worked there ages ago and had the same sentiment about their campus - very cool looking but terrible culture.
Yep, you got it! I concur with that.
Re: A mystery person who spies on theme parks from the sky
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
I didn’t realize that theme park fandom was a thing. I suppose it may be hard to articulate, but I’m curious if you can share what you find fascinating about them?
Do theme park fans write Theme Park Fan Fiction about what they would do if they could sneak in at night?
We definitely like to trade stories of the days where the parks were so empty that we might as well be in there alone!
Re: A mystery person who spies on theme parks from the sky
#56Woah, surprised seeing bio on the front page of HN. I'm a massive theme park fan (which you can probably see from my comment history here) and I follow Orlando theme parks particularly closely. Bio is a huge asset to the community and their tweets are super widely spread on all of the forums that I visit. Like the article says, we don't know much about them except that they likely do use one of those tourist helicop-…
I didn’t realize that theme park fandom was a thing. I suppose it may be hard to articulate, but I’m curious if you can share what you find fascinating about them?
Gosh, I couldn't imagine not being a theme park fan!
EPCOT for example is such a classic piece of America to me. Like most classic American ideas, it ended up way different than expected for better or worse. But tracking every bit of every ride/attractions evolution over thelast 40 years is one of my favorite hobbies. You'd never guess but there's more documented history behind the Imaginarium at Epcot than most several hundred year old buildings.
Re: A mystery person who spies on theme parks from the sky
#57Re: A mystery person who spies on theme parks from the sky
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
The way it's going, DeInsanetis is probably going to order F15's to fly sorties over and B52's to drop bombs on Disney World. DeSantis Looks to Punish Disney World Guests in Latest Retaliatory Move Against Disney: https://blogmickey.com/2023/04/desantis-looks-to-punish-disn... Ron DeSantis threatens to build prison next to Disney World as he continues vendetta against company: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world…
This isn't reddit.
I am not an appeal to elders? kinda guy, but https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Hopkins
Look at his awesome post history.