Tag: Universal Studios Orlando

It’s About to Get Crazy- Star Wars, Disney, and Japan

On By Brent AbellIn Brent's Crossroads, cruise, Cruising, disney, Disney Adult, Disneyland, Japan, Star Wars, Star Wars Celebration, Tokyo, Tokyo Disneyland, Travel, Travel Blogger, Travel Vlogger, Traveling Writer, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Welcome to the Crossroads! I’ve said recently that there are many roads one can take here at the Crossroads. I am a horror fan and writer, Disney Adult, Universal Studios guy, traveler, cruise enthusiast, and Star Wars nerd. All of these different roads converge at a central point, and that central location is what I refer to as Brent’s Crossroads. At various times, each of these passions of mine meet here as I travel around the world. I will share my thoughts, ideas, and experiences with everyone in a no BS manner. Everything I post is my honest opinion and not influenced by any outside forces. If I tell you I liked something I did. Likewise, if I say something wasn’t great, I didn’t think it was great. I wanted to say this because things are growing, and I want everyone to know where I stand at the Crossroads.

So, what’s going on? I haven’t posted here as much as I wanted recently, but that is about to change. I will be embarking on a trip soon to Tokyo, Japan, and there will be plenty of new content related to the trip. Tokyo Disneyland will have multiple posts. The park is an entirely different entity from how US parks or those in Paris operate. There will be information about the differences and tips on how to navigate the Tokyo Disney experience. I will also cover my other travels in Japan, including the food and snacks, as well as Star Wars Celebration Japan.

During the trip, I will be posting short videos and pictures on the Crossroads Instagram, Threads, TikTok, YouTube channel, and Facebook pages. Once I return, the full YouTube videos will be released, and the posts here will chronicle the tips, tricks, and experiences I had in Japan. If you haven’t followed the Crossroads on our other social media platforms, please do! You’re support goes a long way in helping keep the lights on here on the Crossroads and allows the whole venture to grow. In the coming weeks, I will be showcasing the new logo and releasing some branded merch to help support the various sites and YouTube channel.

That is what is happening, my friends. I have a lot of irons in the fire, but the desire and love I have for creating and for my hobbies drive me to continue. Trying to grow the Brent’s Crossroads project is exhausting, but I’ve loved every minute of it. Thank you for being here and for your support. It means a lot to this guy; you have no idea how much it does.

On that note, I have miles to go before I sleep and camera equipment to prep for the trip. Let’s take a ride together, shall we?

I’ll meet you all out at the Crossroads,

Brent

Is Universal Orlando Leaving Disney in the Dust?

On By Brent AbellIn Brent's Crossroads, Dark Universe, disney, Disney Adult, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Epic Universe, Haunted Mansion, Jim Henson, Magic Kingdom, Muppet*Vision 3D, Muppets, Rocking Roller Coaster, Travel, Traveling Writer, Universal Studios Orlando, Walt Disney, Walt Disney WorldLeave a comment

Hey gang, and welcome back to the Crossroads! The snow, ice, and prolonged power outages have created a world of havoc on my end, and I have found most of my work behind schedule. So, I’m back and ready to get the conversation going with you about the impending opening of Universal Studios Orlando’s Epic Universe park. The new park appears impressive, and I’m not sure Disney has been up to the task of combating the threat to their Orlando theme park dominance. What this means for the summer season at the parks is anyone’s guess, but I’ll give you my thoughts and have you weigh in.

First off, I want to start with Universal. They are opening a new theme park gate on May 22, 2025. Epic Universe looks like it will live up to its epic name. The park has three new hotels and is divided into five worlds. You can enter the Worlds of Harry Potter, Nintendo, How to Train Your Dragon, Celestial Park, and my most anticipated area, Dark Universe. I am a huge Universal Monsters fan, so a theme park world dedicated to them excites me. Universal decided to build a new park from scratch, allowing them to create something truly special. They also took some Disney Imagineers, which could be part of the Disney park problem.

Multiple YouTube channels have covered the construction, and there is some fantastic drone footage of the lands taking shape. I suggest checking out Theme Park Stop and Bioreconstruct for the best footage and updates. I feel Disney has been lacking the level of detail given to the Epic Universe lands lately. Look at Communicore Hall in Epcot or the DVC building at the Polynesian Resort for some examples of uninspired work.

I must admit, the theming around Epic Universe is something I always expected from Disney, but don’t feel like we’re getting any longer. Watching the footage of the illuminated Stardust Racer roller coaster cars streaking around the track at night is a testament to the care Universal put into making this park incredible. The immersive feel for Dark Universe is capped off with The Burning Blades Cafe, which features windmill blades that catch fire and burn at various times. I can’t wait to walk the streets of Darkmoor to explore the monster legends.

Now to Disney World…

The response to Universal and Epic Universe has appeared to be tepid. It feels like Disney was caught on their heels and can’t react fast enough to compete with the new park opening down the road. So far, all the announcements Disney has made about new attractions to the parks have been met with reservations, disappointment, and anger in some cases. Disney has announced some nice rides, but instead of building new ones and expanding the park’s capacities and footprints, Disney is destroying attractions instead.

A new Monster’s Inc. coaster and themed area in Hollywood Studios? Sounds good, but instead of tearing down the underused Animation Courtyard, they are destroying Jim Henson’s final Muppet project before he died in Muppet*Vision 3D. The kicker is that the ride isn’t taking over the building or being torn down; it’s just ceasing to exist. The same can be said about the new Cars area in the Magic Kingdom. Instead of building it behind Big Thunder Mountain as the Blue Sky Beyond Big Thunder project plans hinted at, Disney is tearing down Tom Sawyer’s Tree House and filling in the Rivers of America. This dramatically changes the landscape and ruins the peaceful and serene queue for the Haunted Mansion. Replacing water with concrete in the Florida summer doesn’t seem like a sound idea, and losing the River Belle will be ripping a wound in the heart of the Magic Kingdom that will never heal.

Imagine being in the extended queue for the Haunted Mansion. The once quiet and still waters of the Rivers of America, where you could peacefully contemplate the impending tour of a haunted estate, will be replaced by the noise of cars racing by. You lose the anticipation of the Haunted Mansion to loud motors and screaming riders. Next thing you know, they’ll tell us that Aerosmith’s Rocking Roller Coaster is being replaced by the Muppets.

Oh wait…

I won’t even mention what’s happening at Animal Kingdom in Dinoland today; I’ll save that for later this week. I will also talk a bit more about the Rocking Roller Coaster situation and how it doesn’t make a lot of sense to be made into a Muppet attraction. Be sure to stop back by and we can continue this conversation a little more about how Disney is being left behind.

I gotta go and catch up on stuff, so I’ll catch you all later at the Crossroads!

Brent

Picture Copyright NBC Universal

Disney Vs. Universal- Refillable Cups

On By Brent AbellIn Brent's Crossroads, Coke Freestyle, Disney Adult, Halloween Horror Nights, Magic Kingdom, Travel, Traveling Writer, Universal Studios OrlandoLeave a comment

Greetings, and welcome to the Crossroads! I’m a little behind on seeing you all again due to some traveling and holidays. One of the things I will talk about here on occasion is the differences between Walt Disney World (or other Disney Parks) and Universal Studios Orlando (or another park). Today, I want to discuss a topic that has really bugged me about the two parks since October.

I want to compare the refillable cup systems at the two Orlando parks. I will explain each program and then give you my take on the best one.

I will start with Walt Disney World. If you’re visiting a Walt Disney Park in Orlando, drinks are served in either paper cups or plastic bottles. In the parks, there is not a refillable option. You can refill cups at water fountains, but there isn’t anything like a Coke Freestyle machine. The resorts are the only place you can buy and use a refillable cup for sodas on the Walt Disney World property.

The resorts all sell refillable plastic cups, but they can only be refilled at the soda stations at a resort. You can’t buy a refillable cup at the Caribbean Beach Resort and refill it in a park during the day. There are Coke Freestyle machines in some of the resorts, however. During my last stay at Caribbean Beach, I found one in the room areas (not the main resort restaurants) close to our room. It was a pain to refill at times from the room, but it beat going back to the main building for a refill. I really wish you could do this in the parks.

Next, we look at Universal Studios Orlando. When I visited during Halloween Horror Nights, I decided to try their refillable cup option. The cup wasn’t a cheap plastic one but a sturdier one. The Universal cup was also more insulated than the Disney one, keeping my drink cooler longer. This was advantageous because the afternoon and evening we attended were hot. The cups are refillable at any Coke Freestyle machine in the Universal theme park areas. The park has them located at various points, making them easy to find and use.

The other plus to the drinks is you can get Icee fills in the cup. This isn’t at every Icee station, but they will post it on the menu board if you can refill it with an Icee at that cart. The only drawback to the Coke Freestyle machines at Universal was that the ice had to be refilled in the machines manually. Team members had to carry out large tubs of ice to refill the machines instead of making their own ice. This can lead to downtime for the Freestyles when the ice is refilled, or the machines run out of ice. A problem, but the drinks still taste cool when they come out of the Coke Freestyle. They also sell a cool sling to hold your cup while you run around the park.

Overall, they both have a couple of issues, but Universal Studios Orlando wins this bout. Walt Disney World wants to think it is a super green park, but it can eliminate a ton of plastic waste by not selling bottled soft drinks in the parks. Disney already has a Coke deal for the parks, and bringing Coke Freestyle machines in shouldn’t be a problem. I see plenty of people who buy the cups at the resorts, and charging a little more to have them usable in the parks would be a win-win for everyone. The process at Universal was smooth, and I feel I got a better bang for my buck with the Universal Studios Orlando cup.

Maybe Walt Disney World Orlando will follow suit one day, or maybe not. They could also make merchandising money from selling cup slings like Universal does. I don’t think Disney would turn down the chance to make some extra merchandise cash if they can. What do you think Disney should do? Should they add Coke Freestyle machines or stay the course? Comment below to let your voice be heard.

Before I go, be sure to check out my friend Bobby Linn at Pixie Travel Co. for help booking your next trip to the Magic Kingdom and beyond! Email him at bobbyl@pixietravelco.com and tell him I met you at the Crossroads and sent you.

Well, back to the writing and planning the next trip,

Brent

Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights 2024

On By Brent AbellIn Halloween Horror Nights, HHN House Reviews, Scare Zone Reviews, Travel, Traveling Writer, Universal Studios Orlando1 Comment

Good afternoon! Welcome back to Brent’s Crossroads, and thanks for coming along on the journey. This fall, I hit both Walt Disney World’s Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and Universal Studios Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights 33. I will discuss Mickey’s Not So Scary next week, but now it’s time for the real scares.

Besides traveling and being a Disney Adult, I am also a dark fiction writer and a huge horror genre fan. Attending Halloween Horror Nights is something I’ve dreamed of experiencing. I was not disappointed. The event spans the main park area and features ten houses, five scare zones, a live stage show, and lots of food and drinks created for the festivities. The houses and scare zones are a mix of original concepts and IP (intellectual property) themes. Lastly, it wouldn’t be a huge even like this without plenty of exclusive merchandise. Now, I want to run through the houses and scare zones with how I ranked them. The placement is NOT a slight against the team members or scare actors- they were all fantastic and worked their asses off to scare the crap out of everybody. The ranking is based on concept and if the design worked or not.

And now, the rankings…

10) The Museum: Deadly Exhibits- The theme of this house was that an ancient cursed artifact has gone on display in a museum and causes all the employees and exhibits to rot and mutate. I wasn’t big on the theme or the way the sets looked. This appeared to be the one with the least budget amount.

9) Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodline- Great set pieces, but a lackluster story. I’m not sure if the right amount of scare actors were on duty when we went through, because I questioned why the house protagonist is the one jumping out at me all the time. I expected more from a battle between Van Helsing’s daughter and the Bride of Frankenstein versus Dracula’s daughter. This should’ve been a homerun, but fell short.

8) Major Sweet’s Candy Factory- This house was based on a previous scare zone. The house had some annoying PA announcements you were forced to loudly listen to before you entered the door, and the story didn’t do anything for me. Kids on a school fieldtrip eat the candy and turn into little murderous brats who kill the adults. The brutal kill scenes were very good, but the story felt boring.

7) Goblin’s Feast- Tour a goblin kitchen and home where human is on the menu. The house had some nice set pieces, but didn’t strike as anything special.

6) Triplets of Terror- Follow the triplets as they murder people while they celebrate a birthday. The house isn’t bad, but when you get to the middle you ‘step’ into a true-crime podcast, it loses the story flow. I would’ve preferred the house stay focused on the killing spree and not the publicity the murders brought about.

5) A Quiet Place- Great sets with amazing props for the monsters, but the only thing that jumps out at you are the survivors jump scaring you to be quiet while they make a ton of noise to alert the creatures. I also wish it had something to tie to A Quiet Place: Day One.

4) Monstruos: The Monsters of Latin America- This house was based on Latin American legendary monsters. The sets were great, and scenes nice and gory. I got jump scared good in this one.

3) Slaughter Sinema 2- This house was a trip through horror movies being shown at the Carey Drive-In. The movie themes and sets were top-notch with some very graphic scenes. I also have to give props to the designers for the shark animatronic and walking through the dude’s split in half body.

2) Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire- This house surprised me. I fully expected to hate this house since I wasn’t a fan of the movie, but I loved it. It wasn’t a scary house, but the sets and effects were all great fun. Slimer and Ecto-1 won the house for me.

1) Insidious: The Further- I was very excited for this house when it was announced, and it didn’t disappoint. I love the film series, and being able to explore the Further made for a really fantastic house. The rooms were creepy and moody with the best scare actor placement in the whole park. The Black Bride was played perfectly by the actors and scared the hell out of people. This was also voted the best house for 2024, and it earned it.

Now for the Scare Zones…

5) Demon Queens- Walked through and didn’t even notice.

4) Duality of Fear- Like the zone above.

3) Swamp of the Undead- This one tried. You could tell the Scare Zones seemed mailed-in this year with all the money going into Epic Universe. Great sets, and the zombies looked good shambling around in the fog.

2) Enter the Blumhouse- This zone was based on Blumhouse films such as The Black Phone, Megan, Freaky, and The Purge. Nice idea, but it was essentially a photo-op area. Most of the main characters were on stages you couldn’t get on, and they didn’t come down. The only actors milling around the zone were Purge actors.

1) Torture Faire- A fine faire based on death and torment. Great sets and great actor interaction around the zone.

Overall, I loved HHN, and I want to go back every year now. The experience is worth it, and I highly recommend going at least once if you love horror. For more travel shenanigans follow me over on TikTok @brent.abell and follow here! Subscribe or like!

Well, back to working on the next book and planning for the next trip!

Later,

Brent

Welcome to the Crossroads

On By Brent AbellIn Halloween Horror Nights, Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, Travel, Traveling Writer, Universal Studios Orlando, Walt Disney WorldLeave a comment

I want to welcome you to Brent’s Crossroads. If you know me, you know I am an author who loves to travel and share my experiences. The purpose of this new site is to separate my writing work from my travels. I am also a huge Disney adult, and I have plenty to say and share concerning that as well.

The picture above is from this year’s Universal Studios Orlando Halloween Horror Nights. During the same weekend, I also attended Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom’s Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. To kick this site off, I will have an article on both experiences in the next few days.

If you like traveling or like someone with a warped sense of humor about traveling, this is the place for you. I will talk about my trips, explore the sights, and review the local snacks I bring back from foreign lands on this site. Soon, there will be an accompanying YouTube channel, Facebook page, and other media sites for you to join in the fun with.

This is a work in progress, so please don’t mind the dust and sounds of the hammering. I want to give you a place to learn about other places to visit, what they offer, and what the food is like. Feel free to kick your feet up, grab a drink, and converse. This is your page, too, and you can always share your tales with everyone, but please be respectful.

You can find my author website at www.brentabell.com. If you feel so inclined, you can also join the TikTok page for videos about my travels and other musings about writing and the horror genre at @brent.abell.

Welcome again to the Crossroads, and I hope we can have fun traveling around together!

Brent