Hey! I promise not to spam my dA account with constant blather about my webcomic but I haven't done a webcomic journal on here so let me have just one T_T Unsounded has started regularly updating and if you haven't checked it out you should maybe go and glance at it! If you checked it out and hated it I totally understand. I hate the vast majority of webcomics I've tried to read too. But here is a link to my efforts! www.casualvillain.com/Unsounde…So, I visited The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Islands of Adventure in Orlando on Friday and it was super amazing. The attention to detail on display was awesome, easily rivaling anything I've seen at a Disney park. The store displays in Hogsmeade were clever and authentic, the Owl Post station featured a soaring tower out of which a mechanical owl would now and then pop like a cuckoo clock bird, and Moaning Myrtle was haunting the girl's restroom. There were two coasters in the area, neither of them particularly spectacular, but the main ride - Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey - was hands down the best theme park ride I've ever been on. Half of the awesomeness starts before the ride even begins, as the queue winds through Sprout's Greenhouse, the portrait-lined halls of Hogwarts (the moving portraits were amazing and absolutely believable in person), and finally Dumbledore's office and the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Something really awesome and - dare I say - magical happens in the last room that I won't spoil, but it was an effect I've never seen in another attraction before. Some of the best parts to me, though, were just seeing props and spectacles from the books brought to life in person, like the talking fat lady portrait in front of the Gryffindor dorm, or the giant golden statue of Gryffindor himself, or the hourglasses that store all the House points throughout the year. It was Very Cool.
The ride itself features new footage of all the movies' principle cast, which I found impressive. Once you're strapped in a coaster car you follow Harry around on his broom stick in a frantic, seamless mix of IMAX-like footage and physical effects (picture giant dragons breathing scalding mist at you and Aragog spitting venom [well, cold water] in your face.) There's a story behind it all and Dementors show up but you don't die so that's good!
I had lunch at The Three Broomsticks which served baked chicken, shepherd's pie, pasties and the like. The Thing To Try there is Butterbeer though and damnit, it is the most delicious swill imaginable. Pumpkin juice runs a close second for excellence and I lament that you can't buy this stuff at the market 'cause I'd drink it daily. It's all pretty expensive though, along with the candy and gags and souvenirs you'll find at the Hogsmeade shops, and it's eighty bucks to get inside at all, so save your pennies if you want to go. Gotta say, if you're a Harry Potter fan, this place is unmissable.
What else... my excellent friend TheLadyFox finished up her story "This Shaking" and it's a good read if you're one of those rare souls that still cares to read. Go check it out and leave her lots of comments!
I owe octogone a commission and then I'm caught up! Sorry I'ma be a few days late on that, man, I'll make it up to you with extra awesomeness. After that it's back to Midnight Tea Party for a few more pages and onwards to glory! Or maybe just more commissions? You should see my right big toe, the nail is all purple, I think it's going to fall off.
That would probably turn into a huge trip around America which would still be cool. 