The #UOInstaMeet

Aside from doing weekly vlogs for Orlando Attractions, it's been no real secret that the focus of Magic City Mayhem over the last couple years has been photography. Using Instagram as a way to share my images, taking photos within the parks has been a fun new hobby of mine!

You could imagine my surprise when Universal, pardon the expression, slid into my IG DMs inviting me to their second Instagram meet-up! I heard that only 30 people were invited to this exclusive event, so it was truly an honor to get an invite. I'm going to share a few of the photos I took on this blog, but Universal will also be sharing some on a blog post of their own and more over the next year on their social channels.

A few of my friends that were also invited to this meet-up were @Attractions, @orlandobrothas, @asheradamsphotography, @orlandoinformer, and @themeparkreview. Be sure to check out their Instagram pages also! The whole group met in front of the entrance to USF and after they gave us shirts, ponchos, and nametags(which didn't last long due to weather). Then they divided the group in half. One group started at Islands of Adventure, and the other at Universal Studios Florida. My group started at USF.

The event was held in partnership with the Instagrammers of Orlando (@igers_orlando) for the World Wide Insta Meet 13(#wwim13) to celebrate Earth Day. We were supposed to focus on foliage in the parks, the sunset, and anything with an "earthy feel". Mother Earth must've been so overcome with emotion we were celebrating her because she cried for the first hour of the meet-up. That meant we had to hide indoors and wait for the rain to pass. But it gave us some time to wander the lobby of the Horror Makeup Show and the queue for E.T. Adventure. It was cool to be able to linger in the E.T. queue and take photos of the trees and random figures spread throughout the woods. I think we were all itching to get back outside after being in there for about fifteen minutes because we were ready to venture out while it was still drizzling.

The weather was trying to clear up as we made it to Springfield. The park was still open for guests too so there was a good amount of foot traffic. Eventually we were going to be allowed to photograph both parks after they've closed for the evening. While we were in Springfield, most of the park guests were either heading towards the exit or looking to find a spot for the Cinematic Spectacular. Combine that with the peek a boo rain, shooting in Springfield turned out to be the most challenging for me.

We were able to tour the queue of Men In Black but we opted not to do the Immigration Room tour because we knew we were slightly pressed for time. The Cinematic Spectacular was about to start and we wanted to see that instead. They gave us two options for viewing areas. Diagon Alley or Lombard's. They told us we'd be spending time in Diagon Alley after the Spectacular anyway, so I chose Lombard's. We were escorted upstairs to a viewing area right as the show started. A few minutes in, one of our guides asked if anyone would rather go downstairs to the main viewing area. And I'm very glad I did! It was my first time shooting fireworks and I got really nice photos! But the realization of my biggest regret of the whole night started here. I wasn't utilizing a tripod. Both Asher, and Trevor(orlandobrothas) offered me an extra one, but I declined. Stupidly. When you shoot at night, it's best to use a long exposure. And when doing so, you need to hold the camera reeeeeeally still, otherwise it will look blurry. Or you can luck out and find a ledge to assist in holding the camera steady, which is what I did at Lombard's for my fireworks photos.

And finally, it was about to happen. It was time for something I've been looking forward to ever since the area opened. The chance to be able to walk around Diagon Alley with little to no crowd! It was completely empty aside from my fellow Instagrammers! They even allowed us to venture into the Gringotts queue! It was a little creepy inside of Gringotts because most of the lights weren't on and the Goblins were still moving. Attractions Magazine captured a video of it, and you can see that HERE. 

After Diagon, we walked over to the New York/Mummy area. We did one on one video interviews with the Universal social media team before making our way towards the exit of USF. My interview will be completely horrible. I am terrible at interviews so I'm sure I will be nice and awkward. The meet-up was scheduled to end at 10:30pm. It was already almost 10pm and we hadn't made it into Islands of Adventure yet. But the moon was absolutely stunning that night while ducking in and out from behind the clouds so we just had to take a couple of photos with the archways before leaving USF and heading over to IOA.

Check back soon for part 2 of my #UOInstaMeet experience! In the meantime, be sure to follow @UniversalOrlando on Instagram and keep up with their blog for when they post their entry on the meet-up. Sorry I couldn't get the photos to line up in an organized fashion. If anyone has any tips on that, shoot me an email! Thanks for reading and have a good one!

Mikey

Back To The Future Day

We all knew this day would eventually be here. October 21, 2015. The day Marty McFly and Doc Brown arrive in the "future" to try and alter events. The question buzzing around the theme park social networks was whether or not Universal Orlando would even recognize the day. I for one was optimistic and hoping for at least the appearance of the ultra rare Marty meet and greet character. So obviously I had to spend the morning at my favorite park in hopes we would get something. And ultimately, what we got exceeded my expectations!



The hardcore speculation started about a month and a half ago when this t-shirt appeared in the Film Vault store. Ok, this obviously means Universal is aware of it.
Right?
We're not just getting a t-shirt are we?
I can't find their exact tweet, but I think Universal even teased something might happen in the park a couple weeks out. Add that to all the other hype surrounding "Back To The Future Day", (a "new" Jaws trailer, and a Hoverboard commercial) I found myself parking at Citywalk around 7:30am on the morning of October 21 to be at the entrance of the park when it opened at 8am.


Just a couple concerns as I walked in...

• What if they weren't going to do anything at all...
• What if I was going to be the only one there in hopes for something to happen...
• What if I missed whatever they were going to do because I was waiting in the wrong place...
• What if what they were going to do wasn't going to happen until later in the day...

I was able to knock at least one of those concerns off the list when I looked up to see I was walking in with Marty and Jennifer themselves! I suddenly felt slightly under dressed. I was wearing a shirt that said "We are the future", and that's about as themed as I got. But I thought if anything, in the least creeptastic way possible, I'd get a photo of these two in front of the DeLorean. And as we approached the entrance archways of Universal Studios Florida, the Back to the Future theme started to play. It was fate. This was going to be a great day!

To my surprise, they were allowing guests into the park and it was only about 7:45am. Naturally when I made it through the gate, I bee lined it for the DeLorean. Turns out that the park wasn't actually "opened" yet and they were holding guests by Mel's. There was maybe 8 people including myself and the previously pictured couple. When they finally let us through, we all kind of meandered our way to the vehicles. At least the three of us were there for the same reason! In the most awkward way possible, I asked them if I could grab their photo in front of the car. They were more than happy to oblige! Their photo wound up being retweeted and faved several times! That was quite exciting! And then I just sat off to the side... and waited for something to happen.

Over the next hour or so, I was lucky enough to witness at least 4 more people dressed like Marty McFly come and get their photo near the car. Many guests were wearing the previously pictured commemorative t-shirt. It was obvious that people knew what day it was and they were seeking out this special photo opportunity specifically. But there had to be more, right? I mean, I haven't even seen Doc Brown yet and it's almost 9am. I started to panic that I wasted my trip. But then, I overheard something. A guest thought they just saw an actual DeLorean driving past Minion Mayhem. So I booked it to the front of the park.

I didn't see anything out of the usual when I made it back to the front of the park. Woody Woodpecker and Curious George were greeting guests as they entered the park near the turnstiles. Betty Boop and one of her bodyguards were more inside the park closer to the entrance of the Studios Store. And that's when something unusual happened. A second Woody Woodpecker emerged from the Studios Store to greet guests! I started to say something to Betty Boop but she had already realized what was about to happen. She ran over to Woody's handler and urged him to take Woody number 2 back to the dressing room. I took this as an opportunity to take advantage of kinda helping the situation and asked Betty's bodyguard if he had seen a DeLorean driving around this morning. He was a little confused at first that I even had that much info, but then I guess he figured I deserved to know what was about to go down.

"You see that gate over there? The one next to Terminator. Right where the sun is shinin'. That's where you want to be. You'll see him there."

I felt like I had just pulled the sword from the stone or something. I was just given the ultimate cheat code of the day! I had about 20 minutes to wait at this point, so I found a shady area across the street from Terminator. While standing there, one half of the owners of the @OrlandoBrothas Instagram account, Trevor, was walking down the street. I called him over and asked if he was there in hopes to capture anything special for Back To The Future Day. When he thought that he should be heading for the DeLorean, I told him it might be best to hang with me. I started seeing little packs of plain clothed Team Members gather. That pretty much sealed the deal for me that something was definitely going to happen!

Here is the episode we did for our Attractions show highlighting everything from that morning. I know it's not on the level of Star Wars or Harry Potter, but I think there is a good amount of people out there with a lot of love for this franchise. The big deal about this day is because it was the actual day from the film. Would that be a good day to have an annual BTTF celebration on? Or maybe November 5th, the day Doc Brown invented the Flux Capacitor which of course is what makes time travel possible. And I'm not looking for a huge celebration. Just something recognized by the park where it's ok for people to dress up. Maybe some merch. Special meet and greet. Basically, what they did in the video below would be good but just a little bit more.

I'm glad I spent a couple hours there that morning to capture those special moments. I just wish Uni would spill the beans on something like that. This routine happened 4 times that day to pretty decent crowds. But that was nothing compared to the 200+ that showed up at the DeLorean's permanent spot at 4:29pm. Doc did his usual meet and greet with little fanfare. I can only imagine how crazy the day would've been if Uni gave a heads up about it. Maybe it was better this way. Until next time. Have a good one! Mikey

Ketchup

Welcome back!

It's been quite some time since my last entry. It was a review of Cowfish from back when it first opened. You can find that here.

I am happy to report since that post, we have stumbled upon a new opportunity for us regarding theme parks and attractions. You may or may not know that we have a weekly vlog on Orlando Attractions Magazine's YouTube channel! Every week, Lauren, Harry, and myself venture out somewhere and film it. Then I edit it all together and BAM! We have our very own weekly "show". I am going to start writing accompanying blog posts to go along with the videos each week. To fill in the blanks and go more in detail about things on the video.

We are always looking for suggestions of things to do for the show. You can post them in the comments of the videos or email them to me at mikey@magiccitymayhem.com Look for the next blog post soon!

Have a good one!

Mikey

The Actual CowFish Orlando Post

It finally happened! After almost a whole year of anticipation, on Wednesday December 10 the Cowfish Orlando grand opened to the public. It was in a soft open phase for about a month and a half. That means they can blame things on "they're still working out the kinks" if something goes absolutely haywire while training the staff. Through the whole soft opening period, the only bad thing I heard about was long check times. That can be expected in a new kitchen facing the end of the day Universal crowds. I ate there twice during this soft open time, and can't complain about the speed of service either visit. I sprinkled some photos throughout this post, but there are quite a few at the bottom showing construction of the building and food offerings!

There's definitely a few contributing factors to my fascination with this place.
To be able to watch a project from construction to open is something pretty special! The building itself underwent a major overhaul. Connecting the upper level with a lower level, adding an elevator, another level for dining and patio seating! That's some facelift! Before it was Cowfish, the upper level was Starbucks, and the lower level was mostly in front of Pastamore. Now complete with multiple interactive displays throughout the restaurant, indoor and outdoor seating with spectacular views of the resort, and an actual Cowfish swimming in a tank, this place has quickly turned into the new cool and trendy place to eat at Citywalk!

The design of the interior is really vibrant with loud colors and bright lights. The music each time I ate there sounded like it could've been a Beastie Boy Pandora station. Lots of hip hop, Sublime, and Foo Fighter/Weezer genre rock. I had a different server each time I went, and they were all very good. Attentive, informative and were easy to talk to. When you go to a place that has something called Burgushi on the menu, you're going to want to ask about it and they don't make you feel dumb for asking. They let you take your time, or offer advice if you need to be walked through your order. There's so much to choose from and it can be overwhelming, but the servers don't make you feel rushed at all.

Something else that contributed to the fascination and anticipation for the new restaurant was their engagement on social media. Based out of North Carolina, the home office loved seeing progress reports about how the new place was coming along. They were always quick to favorite or retweet photos or other construction related tweets about the new venue. I like it when businesses or venues are on social media and can be active and engaging. It gives the concept a sense of personality. A voice if you will. If a brand is warm and welcoming on social media, imagine how they are in person! Being someone who works in that field, I know the smallest thing like a brand interacting with you on Twitter or liking your photo on Instagram can make your day. I had quite a few interactions with the Cowfish brand leading up to the opening of the restaurant. I think they even read my last blog entry about the weird dream I had about them. I've been having the same interactions with The Orlando Eye on Twitter. They share the photos I take of the progress of it with their Twitter followers and Facebook fans and I think that's awesome! That's free publicity for them, and gets a few new followers for Magic City Mayhem. Now if only I could get on Universal's list for media events...

Time to talk about the food and the actual concept itself. I like burgers. I like sushi. How can this be bad? I've eaten there a total of three times since it soft opened and it has been absolutely fantastic each time! The first visit I was very lucky to be invited to try a couple of menu items. I had the Tuna & Avocado-tini appetizer, and the Grilled Salmon BLT. That first experience was completely unexpected and a very special surprise. I was all by myself and ate on the patio. The views of the sunset I saw that night were amazing! The food was also very good! The appetizer was almost enough to satisfy me as a complete meal. And the Salmon BLT was exactly what you'd expect and very tasty. The other choice I could've had that evening was a Cobb Salad and I'm happy with what I picked to sample that night.

The second time the whole family went. It was still in soft open phase so we did wait a little bit

longer to be seated and the food took just a little long to come out of the kitchen. It still came out hot and correct so there was no real need to complain about it. We know how it goes. It was this visit that we tried their Fried Pickles for the first time. We consider ourselves fried pickle connoisseurs and
the Cowfish has some pretty good ones! The breading is very light and isn't spicy at all. The pickles themselves are half sours and those are my favorite kind! They don't seem to just batter one pickle chip at a time either. I had more than one pickle fried together which made it even more delicious! They were served with the standard horseradish and ranch dipping sauces. For our entrees, Lauren chose to go off menu and build her own burger. Nothing too crazy about it. Maybe just the fried egg is something you wouldn't normally see on a burger. She's not big on seafood so this will probably be her standard every time we return. I had a burger as well, but I selected one off of the menu. "The Big Squeal". Half pound burger, pulled pork, bbq sauce, onion straws, smoked gouda cheese and bacon coleslaw. I could've finished it if I wanted to. But I had to stop myself because I didn't want it to end. It was the

best burger I've had to date! Very flavorful and not too messy that you couldn't eat it properly. Harry got the standard ninja (chicken) nuggets both times he went. It came in a bento box looking dish with fries and a Rice Krispie Treat that was made to look like a sushi roll with a Swedish Fish on top.

The third and last time we went, we were joined by my mother and she opted to build her own burger as well. She didn't get anything fancy. She's a pretty basic burger kind of gal and they were very happy to accommodate. She was happier than she should've been that they had sweet potato fries, but hey, it's the little things! We got the fried pickles for the appetizer again and they were consistent with the first time we got them. They came out quickly, hot, and delicious! Lauren got Fuji Apples on her burger this time and she said it was just as good as the last time. My family is not very adventurous when it comes to trying new things. I tried something a little different this time and got an item from the Burgushi menu. They describe Burgushi as

"...a unique fusion of burgers and sushi". What I got was called the "High Class Hillbilly" and wasn't a burger but it was pulled pork. They roll it in a potato wrap with caramelized onions and bbq sauce then flash fry it. They cut it up into sushi rolls and top it with their bacon coleslaw. Fried potato straws stacked in the middle and the whole thing has more bbq sauce drizzled on it. I used chopsticks to eat it and it was so good! Now, I love sushi. But I also love feeling full after going out to eat. Sushi never satisfies me! This is why I'm afraid to try it at Cowfish. When I go out to eat, while I like to be adventurous, I also like to get my money's worth. Unfortunately, the Burgushi I had, was pretty close to this feeling. I was almost satisfied, but I wasn't quite full. I could've eaten another 2-3 pieces of it and then maybe I would've been ok. Maybe it's the way sushi is presented that I feel like I'm not getting a lot of food. It's a mind trick. Either way, the pulled pork version of Burgushi was very tasty, but fell just short of being filling. I ate all the fried potato straws then felt like I ate a garnish as opposed to something that was supposed to be eaten.

The next time we go back, which I hope will be sooner rather than later, I am probably going back to a burger. There's a fried banana and peanut butter burger that has me very intrigued. It should be noted that I intend to eventual try the traditional sushi and I also heard their desert menu is to die for. Not to mention there's also spiked milkshakes that I heard are quite yummy! The Cowfish is a great addition to Universal's Citywalk and I look forward to many more visits in the future! Check out more photos from the construction and food from our experiences below! Be sure to tweet at them (@CowFishOrlando) to tell them you were inspired to go for a visit because of what you heard from me!

Enjoy it!

Mikey

Cowfishy, you've got a hold on me...

I had the weirdest  and most vivid dream last night.

It started with my wife Lauren and I on the moving sidewalks going into Citywalk. There was a huge line for Cowfish that ended right in front of Bubba Gump's and had turn backs in front of Starbucks. Lauren started freaking out because that's where we were supposed to be going for dinner. I told her
not to worry and I took her by the hand.

I had a plan.

We walked into Bubba Gump's and right through the kitchen as if we knew where we were going. There were servers trying to run food, chefs cooking, and just the normal kitchen chaos during a dinner rush. We made it to a door in the back of the kitchen and it led us to Starbucks. We cut through their prep area. I stole a cake pop and slipped a Barista a $20. We eventually found our way into the guest service offices where TMs pick up their comp passes. If you don't know where I'm talking about, it's the long corridor in between ColdStone and the guest services window.

This was seriously a weird dream.

After signing out our quarterly comps (which we don't even get anymore), and me slipping the administrator a $20, we somehow wound up in Red Oven. We went back to a store room where there was a random door. We knocked three times and Brittan (@omgzbrittan,
CityWalk Host Trainer Extraordinaire) opens the door. She leads us down a long dark hallway which eventually takes us to the Cowfish dining room. Mind you, it's a dream and it doesn't look how it does in real life. It looked more like a supper club. There were small tables all draped with a white table cloth and they all faced a stage towards the front of the restaurant. @omgzbrittan snaps her fingers and out of nowhere, bussers from Hard Rock come out and set up a table for two for Lauren and I right in front of the stage. I hand Brittan a fictitious $35 bill, and we finally take our seats in the lavish version of Cowfish.

And now the climax.

As we settle in and start to look over the menu, my favorite Celestina Warbeck comes up to the table. She presents us with a wine bottle of Frozen Butterbeer.
"Compliments of the gentleman at table 42."
I look over and Craig Evans (@TheCraigEvans, Universal marketing) raises a glass and nods to me. I nod back in a "thanks for the bottle of Frozen Butterbeer" sort of way. Then I look on stage to find Sonny Eclipse is performing.
"Cowfisheeey. You've got a hold on me..."
I look over to my wife, but it isn't her anymore. It's Matthew Miller  (@wewamiller, Universal tech guy) and he has taken her place. He looks at me, looks over to Sonny, and back to me again and says, "Can you believe this TECH?!?!"

And then the dream ended.

I don't know where the hell that all came from. Try to interpret my dream in the comments. Tell me what it means!

I did have the opportunity to eat at Cowfish Orlando last Monday. Now that it has soft opened to the general public, I'm going to go back to take some more photos of the interior before posting a blog entry about it. What I ate was excellent! Try to go around sunset, and ask to sit on the patio. It's a great addition to Citywalk and I can see myself making many return visits. Full review coming soon.

Until then, enjoy it!

Mikey

HHN 24: It's a wrap!

Where to begin?

Halloween Horror Nights (or HHN) 24 happened very fast. And I mean the set up and run of the actual event. Maybe it was because we were all still so hyped over Diagon Alley. Maybe it was because social media is so much a part of the event now, that it almost feels like you virtually attend it every night. Or maybe it was just because we're looking ahead to 25 so much already. Well, at least I was. I admit it. Even before HHN 24 opened I stated no matter what happens this year, I can't help but to think ahead to 25. It is such a milestone that they're just going to have to do something big! Bring back an icon! Possibly both parks! More houses! More scarezones!

Wait.

You see how hyped up I'm getting myself here? With this line of thinking, can you really blame me for not having the best time at HHN this year? I shared my history with HHN in a previous entry, so you know I'm a seasoned veteran. I have high (and sometimes unreasonable) expectations for every year. I always want to see something new or different. I don't really get scared anymore at the event. Sure, I'll get startled just like anybody if someone yells in my face out of nowhere. But the thought of something at the event or sight of it doesn't scare me at all. I know it's fake. Chances are I know the person who might try to scare me. And I've been going so long, I'm just trained to know where to look to not get scared. I go to watch the crowds and to admire the artistry of the whole thing. From the actor's wardrobe to the sets of the scarezones and houses, there's so much to take in and appreciate. Want to scare me? Have someone come up to me and tell me I filed my taxes incorrectly and the IRS is out to get me or that my HOA is going to fine me for my hedges being out of code. That will scare the hell out of me! Clowns, chainsaws, and creepy dolls don't. If anything, I like to get as close as I can to see the details of those things.

And this kind of brings me back to HHN 24. It is really hard for me to say anything bad about this event. But I will in a minute. And it is really hard to do! Every single thing they had to offer this year was amazing! I only missed the Alien Vs Predator haunted house and the Bayou of Blood sacrifice show (very short lived), but everything else I experienced was excellent! I can't remember the last time a Bill & Ted show was so quotable and memorable! The Purge scarezone and The Walking Dead house were both massive! The wardrobe and choreography of MASKerade was something I really enjoyed! But there was this undeniable feeling that it was coming up just a little bit short. Something was missing.

The park itself has gone through several changes over the last couple years. Some of these changes ultimately altered the face of HHN. With the addition of Springfield, the Transformers meet and greet, and now London/Diagon Alley, there's less space for HHN to operate. This resulting in less scares and just less HHN in general throughout the park. Like I was saying earlier, everything they had this year was awesome! Great details, themes, everything! Can't say a bad word about it. I just can't stop thinking about all the areas of the park where absolutely nothing is going on that's HHN related. Would having it in both parks solve this problem? Yes and no. While they can compensate more scares in more area, you'd still be walking through the previously mentioned "dead zones" in Universal Studios Florida anyway.

So is HHN as we know it dead and gone forever? I remember when just about every inch of the park was something. Scarezones. Freak shows. Something. I have high hopes for 25. Universal Orlando Resort sent out a press kit of sorts to some very lucky peeps today. It contained a USB with this video containing some teasers for next year on it. Here is Theme Park Review's video:

Obviously we're being led to believe Jack is coming back. Jack appearing in the video happens at the same time they show the Giggles & Gore house. He's an Easter egg within that house. But if his appearance in this video is in fact telling us he is coming back next year, then why tell us so soon? And before the previous year's event has ended. Weird, right? Makes me think that maybe we are going to get another video like this in a couple months featuring another icon of the past. But that would be just like HHN 20, and they wouldn't do the same thing so soon would they?

And again. Talking about 25.

HHN 24 was great. Lots of great houses. Lots of great photo opportunities. Lots of great jokes and quotes. There just wasn't enough of it for me. It was too concentrated to one side of the park. Then you had to walk through lots of nothing to get to the most popular house and Bill & Ted. Also, I hope they address the issue of the wait times for the houses. If you didn't go more than once or buy express passes, chances are you didn't see all the houses. And for the price of the ticket to simply walk through the gate, you should be able to at least see all the houses in a single visit. And that's really my only two complaints. Too much "dead zone" and too much time in the (boring) queue line.

Let the HHN 25 speculation begin! (Bringing back all original icons and Freddy, Jason, Leatherface, Chucky, and any other major intellectual properties (or IPs) that have been used for the event over the years.

Until next time, enjoy it!

Mikey