Drive-In Golf Is A Hole In One! (Part 2 Of My Trip Report)

©2012 Universal Orlando. All Rights Reserved

As with my last post, the following update comes courtesy of my recent anniversary trip to Universal Orlando Resort.  My wife and I went on two separate nights and played both courses at Hollywood Drive-In Golf.  Although we did not set course records with our scores, we had a blast.  The courses are especially good for killing a bit of time when everyone is rushing out of the parking garages at park closure.  I would like to thank my wife, Jennifer, for assisting with this blog post.  Lets get started, shall we?

Hollywood Drive-In Golf, located in City Walk at Universal Orlando Resort, is a diversion worth trying out.  There are two courses that you can take advantage of, either The Haunting of Ghostly Greens, a haunted/horror movie based course, or The Invasion of Planet Putt, a sci-fi based course.  It was said that the sci-fi course was more difficult, but the haunted course was more scenic.  However, both courses offered a variety of obstacles to deal with to reach the hole.

Even though the operating hours offer the option for you to play from 9am-2am, it is illuminating to play after dark on both courses.  There is a discount of $3 per person if you choose to play both courses and pay in the same day.  They offer a rain check if you do not want to play them both in the same day, but just be sure you hang on to your receipt.  However, if you decide to play only one it will cost you $13.99 a person for adults and $11.99 for children, but adding in the other course will cost you a total of $24.99 for adults or $20.99 for children.  The clubs are also brightly colored with neon green and purple, as well as the holes on each hole being lit up outlined with lights.  If you want a souvenir, you can purchase a golf ball with various colors or graphics to remind your experience.  Don’t forget to ask for your discount if you are a Universal pass holder or a Florida resident.  I also noticed that you can find 10% off discount cards at many of the restaurants around CityWalk. Now, on to the courses! 

Now Playing: The Haunting of Ghostly Greens

As you move from the first hole to eighteenth on the haunting course you see ghost in the hedges and watching over the course.  Watch out for the blast of air and water coming your way as you move over the bridge of one whole as you go by to complete the hole.  There are many special effects and gadgets along the way which capture your ball to take it up to be taken to the drop zone to be let out far or near the hole depending on the way it may go. Continuing to move through the maze, haunted trees, and grave yard sceneries all offer something eye catching to make the course more enjoyable along the way.

The haunted house at the 18^th hole offers an obstacle that calls for the right force and aim to hit the right spot of the broken stairs for your ball to go inside to complete the last hole of this course, but if you don’t hit it just right or hard enough it will come right back to you to repeat your shot as many times as you need to make it in. There are many other times that if you do not hit the ball hard enough or at the right angle it may come back towards you to call for a repeat of your shot, but hang in there and don’t let the ghostly haunts scare you away. The sceneries and effects take into account some of the funny aspects of old and new horror movies alike. This was a memorable adventure throughout this neon course with purple greens.

Now Playing: Invaders from Planet Putt

Let’s take a trip to the sci-fi adventure incorporating components from the early sci-fi to ideas we still think of today.  From the start of this course till the very end (where you reach the monster’s mouth) there are twists and turns along the way.  The greens stand out with bright green with bright yellow and orange added in along the way to highlight areas of the course, as well as the outlining lights which make the shape of the layout standout.

A tri-level circle hole is the starter that gets your journey underway for this course.  There is a large robotic structure that is the center of attention for this course with its multiple arms stretched out in different directions.  Moving throughout the course you will be greeted by little alien figures, stars, pumpkin or alien head scare crow and a giant bug, but don’t forget to keep a look out for the big eyed cows with the random noise that it’ll make as you walk on by.  No sci-fi scene would be complete without some UFO’s along the way, a space ship to enter into and even a farm area with a barn and corn crop for those ever so famous crop circles.  Other aspects included don’t leave you short of fun with the circle of bars that act like a trap, a psychedelic old television to capture your ball and watch it on the screen as it goes on through, objects suspended up by squiggly monster arms and even an old outhouse along the way. There is a three eyed monster waiting for you at the end with its mouth open wide and tongue stuck out ready for you to hit the ball inside its mouth.  It’s not so easy though because there is a twist at the end as a circle area containing the hole is continually spinning within.  These old school sci-fi scenes and effects make this course a fun filled course worth a look.  It was worth the time and experience to make some memories from our trip to play this course and its neighboring one.

Hollywood Drive-In Golf is an excellent addition to Universal Orlando Resort.  We really enjoyed playing both courses, but have to give a nod to The Haunting of Ghostly Greens as being our favorite and choice if you can only do one course.  I recommend giving them both a shot and deciding for yourself which course you find to be superior. 

Thanks for looking at this continuation of my Anniversary Trip Report!  If you have any questions or comments, you can leave them here or tweet me @MrX_381, my wife @UGAGirl23 or @Parkscope.  You can also find us on Facebook!

All pictures not marked otherwise were taken by my wife and me. Please excuse the quality as they are from our iPhone. 

Verbolten Documentary: From Dreams to Screams

Thanks to Screamscape for this link. A really good look at how a regional park builds and operates a themed attraction.




If you haven't yet, make sure to find a POV video to Busch Gardens Williamsburg's Spiderman/Transformers like attraction: DarKastle.

New HHN Permit Filed: More Questions than Answers

Universal filed a new Halloween Horror Nights maze permit today.  The problem is, the project name is the same as it was before "HHN 2012-BLD44 Herc&Xena.  It looks as if Universal is playing games with us again!

So, is it for Soundstage 33 or the Parade Building?  Casting and a few moves backstage suggest the Parade Building. I guess we will find out soon enough!

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"Alice Cooper Goes 2 Hell 3D" 4 Universal HHN 2012

Tonight on a webcast, Alice Cooper has announced a new HHN maze for the 2012 season, per HHN Addict, OrlandoUnited and Inside the Magic. The maze will be in both Universal Studios Florida and Hollywood.

Last year Alice Cooper: Welcome To My Nightmare was a maze in Universal Studios Hollywood, where each room was based on a song by Alice Cooper.

Not much more is known until Universal releases more information, but until then here's the 1978 episode of The Muppet Show with Alice Cooper.

I seriously hope this is in the maze.

Potter Waterfront Plans 7/23/12

Parkscope friend and fanboi deity, "Lee" has provided us with the plans for the new London Waterfront.

©2012 Universal City Development Partners LLC.  All Rights Reserved.
Please credit Lee and us when you use it.

As you can see, the waterfront will a nice smooth arc with pillars which resembles the Albert and Victoria Embankments found in London.  What is new is that it appears that there will be water or planters between the new waterfront and London.  There also appears to be a fountain feature (or a plinth for a statue).  This should look very nice when complete and should make people forget about the very cluttered Amity waterfront.  It will also be a nice place to watch Cinematic Spectacular from.

So far, two segments of the new wall have been poured, and they are currently working on the third.  There are eight segments of the new wall in total.  The reasoning for the dewatering seems to be apparent now because they will be doing considerable work to this area.

Perhaps a few details can be gleaned from the little of London/Diagon Alley we can see in the picture as well.

Hope you enjoyed this nice surprise.

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Evening Extra Magic Hours Slashed

According to the official Walt Disney World website, it appears that 3 Hour Evening Extra Magic Hour periods have been discontinued. Beginning in January, Extra Magic Hours will only last up to two hours post park closing. Extra Magic Hours in the morning, which allow Walt Disney World Resort guests entrance an extra hour prior to park opening, will remain the same.

 These changes come after Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s Extra Magic Hours for the evening were reduced dramatically in the past year, and while normal operating hours for guests remain woefully short of previous years when closings would often be 10 PM at the earliest.

 Strangely enough, curtailing hours in Walt Disney World comes after internal support of Disney’s Leap Year events that boasted record crowds and support from leadership. This support, of course, is wished to continue and it is rumored of Disney creating more “after hours” events that revolve around entertainment and guests being allowed extra time (perhaps up to 24 hours, again) in the theme parks.

Humanity

I have a confession to make: I really don’t care for anything horror related. I’ve never seen a Saw movie, never touched any Screams or anything by Rob Zombie. The closest I’ve come was Shaun of the Dead, which lets be honest, is on the horror scale up there with the Bratz movie (for different reasons, of course).

Image copyright Universal. YES, UNIVERSAL. WHY DO YOU NOT HAVE THIS AS A HHN HOUSE?

This also means I’ve never cared for, let alone been to, a halloween amusement park event. No Halloweekends, no Fight Fest, and especially no Halloween Horror Nights. Could it be my life is chaotic as it is, and I demand control at all times? Or that I naturally wish everyone is good and pure? I could fill several sessions worth of topics with my psychologist on this.

Image copyright Disney. This is my limit for 'horror'.

See, I don’t have much exposure with horror; but I do know of the movies, themes, and memes of horror in pop culture. I know about Jigsaw and playing games, psychos with chainsaws, and summer camp stories. And whatever you do, DO NOT MAKE OUT IN A PARKED CAR IN THE WOODS. Bad news.

As such, I know of the Walking Dead. The popular graphic novel turned AMC show has been a hit for years now. And now it’s part HHN scare house. Ok cool, I could get behind that.

Image copyright Universal. All rights reserved.

But I can’t.

Today I was listening to the GiantBombcast and the topic of the new Walking Dead came up. They praised it’s story telling and the impact your choices have on the world, but mentioned something really really interesting. There are very few zombies in the game. In fact, this is true of the novels and TV show.

The Zombies of the Walking Dead are a means to an end; the Walking Dead could just have easily been a killer asteroid or bubonic plague. The zombies are a means to an end of exploring the nature of human relationships, the bonds of family, and that we are the real monsters. Yet, as I look at the concept and PR release for the HHN house, I just can’t stop thinking Universal just doesn’t get it.

Image copyright Universal. HHN 19, sponsored by Home Depot.

Comedy lets you talk about the uncomfortable topics of our time, action is a pure revenge fantasy against the system or others, and horror has always shown what defines us as humans. Frankenstein, Dawn of the Dead, and yes Shawn of the Dead, show what it means to be human and interacting with a society at large, even one in disrepair.

Universal seems intent on focusing only on the zombie quotient of the Walking Dead. They are erecting a few hallmark locations of the novel and show, adding some zombie actors, then letting you walk around. This will probably entertain enough, but this seems like a waste if it's just a maze.

I am not privy to the plans of HHN coordinators, nor do I offer any consulting work (thank god). But Universal is missing a real opportunity to explore some dark depths of who we are, what we think of our fellow ‘survivors’, and most importantly, what we decide we stand for. I hope Universal has more surprises up its sleeve and really wows me. I hope we see real, honest, smart survivor actors in the house, who make us choose how we want the events to unfold. The best thing they can chose is to limit the zombies to a brief, tense encounter, one that is lead up to by deep character moments and hard choices.

Image copyright Capcom.

Will this happen? Who knows. I'm split. Some of their promotional imagery suggests it might, and a Jim Hill interview gives high hopes. Other bits hint that it will just be zombies, zombies, zombies. If Universal is only interested in the cheap thrill of brain eating, though, why not chose Resident Evil? It fits in with the video game theme of this year’s HHN and probably is cheaper, royalty wise.

I am being very picky right now. But I think it’s something worth thinking about. What if we really introduced some themes of humanity and being pushed to our socio limits. This is such a strong concept that, I think, it could be a haunted house attraction perfect for year around operation...