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

Universal's Superstar Parade: SpongeBob Set

I was never a huge fan of parades. But with the help of my son, there's one parade in town that I enjoy every performance every time I see it. At one point, with the exception of Islands of Adventure, you could find a daily parade at every local theme park(SeaWorld too?). Universal's Superstar Parade is still running daily at USF and is my favorite of all current parades in town. It's underrated, and almost a hidden gem. I know it doesn't have some steampunk fire breathing dragon. But there's another one of those around these parts and viewing it isn't limited to once a day.

The parade is broken down into four different casts:

• Despicable Me
• Spongebob Squarepants
• Characters from the movie "Hop"
• Dora The Explorer

There are two very unique qualities to the parade. Throughout the day, each cast comes out by the Horror Makeup Show and performs 2-3 different routines each time. For example, the cast of the Spongebob set will come out(random time given just for the sake of giving examples) at 11am, they might perform this number:


They'll go back in around 11:25am after a meet and greet with guests, and then the Hop characters come out at 11:30am. Each cast rotates throughout the day, and I believe this area has been dubbed "The Superstar Partyzone". If it's not official, I'm totally taking credit if it takes off. This would be the next performance from the Spongebob cast(not our video):



After that performance, there is just one more meet and greet opportunity before the parade. A couple of the characters will come out right near the gate by the Horror Makeup Show. It's usually one of the stilt walkers, a couple of the dancers in blue (they are called the "Jellyfish")  and Squidward. It will be a quiet meet and greet without any music or performance.

The other unique quality of the Superstar Parade I enjoy is the way it stops and performs as opposed to constantly moving. There are two spots along the parade route where each cast performs a dance routine. There are some aspects that make the dance unique to each cast, so you almost have to see the parade more than once to fully appreciate that. And believe it or not, you can do it in the same day! The parade comes out next to Beetlejuice's Graveyard and finishes next to Horror Makeup. The first dance performance stops with the Despicable Me float in between the entrance to Twister and the corner where Macy's is. And the Dora float, which is bringing up the rear, will be stopped almost in front of Starbucks. Once that performance is finished, it continues around and will stop again right before Mel's. You can backtrack by Transformers and catch another cast perform the dance that you didn't see the first time! Here is the Spongebob cast performing the Superstar Parade dance at it's first stop by Revenge of the Mummy:



There are rumors of the parade changing in 2015. I'll be very sad to see it go because Harry loves the rollerskating fish so much. I'll be interested to see what would be replacing it. The current state of the parade gets a lot of flack because of how scaled back it has become since it's debut. Numerous performers have been cut from the show, as well as pieces of the sets have been removed. Either way, the song is infectious and we love it in our house. It really grows on you and it's one of our most favorite shows in any theme park. Here's a video of the parade from Singapore and a possible preview to what might be coming(not our video):


Until next time, enjoy it!

mikey

MCM & HHN: A History

I've gone to Halloween Horror Nights annually since 2000. Since 2003, I've had the benefit of going as many times as I wanted each year thanks to being a third party Universal Team Member. There's quite a few times before 2007 that I can't recall what house I went through or what my favorite scarezone was. We can probably thank Cigarz for that. But when I got my first recording device in late 2006, I started documenting the event each year.

As many of you know, I had a YouTube channel before Magic City Mayhem. It was a bunch of videos of me doing stupid stuff with my friends. You know, same old same old. Jumping into bushes and filming arguments with parking garage attendants. Usual stuff. I also sprinkled in the occasional theme park video. One of the first theme park videos, and the first Halloween Horror Nights video I ever uploaded was from HHN 17. It was the year of Carnival of Carnage. Jack the clown summoned some of Hollywood's most feared killers and brought them to Universal Orlando for the event. Among them was Leatherface and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. There was a scarezone dedicated to this, and a good friend of mine happened to be in the cast. For a long time this video was my most viewed video ever, and was one of the reasons why I started a channel entirely dedicated to theme park videos. Check this video out from 2007:
In 2008, HHN brought us Reflections of Fear. This was the year of Bloody Mary. Magic City Mayhem was just getting started and I didn't film much at the event that year. Only two videos made it on to the channel. They were of the zombies that were in front of the Men In Black ride, and a scarezone called Asylum in Wonderland. One of the scareactors "mistook" my video camera for a cell phone and some other cool visuals happen in this video. The video got hundreds of views in just a short time and made me realize Horror Nights is a gold mine! I was going to remember this for next year. Here is a video from HHN 18:

2009 was our "breakout" year in HHN coverage. I uploaded numerous videos leading up to the event. It was HHN19: "Ripped from the Silver Screen". The year of The Usher. Combining these HHN videos with the videos we shot at Disneyland, and the beginning of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter construction, we started to gain a really big following. I was told scareactors were burning DVDs of my videos and playing them in the break room before their sets. Here's two of my favorites from that year. One shows a virtual side by side comparison of the props during the day in normal parks hours and at night and in use by the scareactors of HHN. The second video shows our good friend Monky! Back with his trusty chainsaw:
In 2010 for HHN 20, I tried my best to replicate the coverage I did for 19. I made a couple preview videos showing what might be coming to the streets, and I also did videos of the actual event showcasing scarezones and the icon itself. Views were strong and along with the opening of the WWoHP, 2010 was a great year! Here's two videos from that year. A look at "Fear", the icon. And Saws and Steam. And guess who is in that one? Monky!
It started to feel very routine in 2011. I did the preview videos showing what the props to the scarezones looked like during the day. Also uploaded videos of scarezones during the event and at night as well. My video of the icon for HHN 21, Lady Luck, remains to be the most viewed video from that year:

But then something happened.

We only attended employee preview night of HHN 22. The very next day we had an appointment with the doctor and found out we were having a baby! Thus brought almost all of Magic City Mayhem's productions to a screeching halt.

Harry was born in May, and by the time HHN 23 rolled around, we were kind of able to get back out to the event again. Kind of. Lauren and I went together once and it was our first official date night since Harry was born. So no cameras. No MCM business. I was able to go into the event several times after either while on break from work or immediately after work. I took a lot of pictures and it's because of these, helped get our followship on Instagram off the ground. It would be our second year in a row without video coverage, but with a few photos being shared by Universal and Horror Nights themselves on Instagram, we represented very well. Here are some of my favorite photos I took from 2013:


And this brings us to today. Halloween Horror Nights 24. Videos of props on the streets have been shot and uploaded, and our Twitter coverage of HHN prep was unmatched this year. Magic City Mayhem is slowly getting back to where we were before when it came to theme park coverage including HHN, and new attraction builds. More videos will be uploaded to YouTube. More photos will be posted to Instagram . And more blogs will be uploaded here. There are several videos from past HHNs that I didn't share with you today. Maybe another time. But these are a couple of my favorites so far from this year! I can't wait to bring you so much more!
     

Enjoy it! See ya next time!

mikey

Fire breath.

Diagon Alley.

What can I say?

Because of you, we lost a great friend. You replaced something that held a very special place in many people's hearts.

But honestly, I was never a huge fan of the Jaws ride. I rode it. More than once. I was ready to move on.

So, Diagon Alley.

You're the best. 

It is everything I wanted the original Wizarding World to be. Bigger stores. More interactivity. Expanded food options. It's an area that doesn't feel like you have to follow a constant flow until you find yourself out of it. There's a fork at the end of the main "street". Dark alleys. It may only have one true attraction and another that makes you exit the park, but it really is a fully immersive and fanciful place where I can get lost for hours.

When I decided that I wanted to write a blog entry that was Diagon Alley centric, I quickly realized it would take me forever to write it. There's too many things to talk about! Just the London facade area alone would be a whole entry to itself. Eventually, I'd like to discuss these points of DA in detail:

• Architecture
• Stores within the architecture
• Interactive wand experience
• New food and beverage offerings
• Live performances that take place in Carkitt Market (The Tales of Beedle the Bard & Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees)
• Knockturn Alley
• The Hogwarts Express
• Harry Potter and the Escape From Gringotts

...and then there's Jake. The dragon.

A Ukranian Ironbelly that sits atop Gringotts is almost an attraction itself. It's the first thing your eyes are drawn to when you step through the bricks from London. Your nose is drawn to that fish and chip smell, but that's another story. Even though there's an "auditory warning", people still wait there while holding their camera held high for that perfect photo. We will talk a little more about Jake's fire breathing later, now, lets talk about how she got here. And yes, you read that right. I said "she".
Some people believe that Jake is a girl. And yes. They still call her Jake. I'm ok with her being a girl and calling her Jake. I can't seem to remember that story from anywhere. But for arguments and this blog's sake, from here on out, I'll refer to the dragon as Jake and a female.

Like I said earlier. I wasn't a huge fan of the Jaws ride. The TM video "How to tune a fish" was better than the attraction itself in my opinion. I'd rather watch it than go on the actual attraction. But, I am a fan of a good homage and nostalgia. The thought of naming the dragon Jake after Captain Jake's Amity Boat Tours was ok in my book. Some people call it Neville. Some people call it Bruce. Apparently there's an official name for the dragon but it's kept under tight wrap and nothing but speculation is known. I like Jake. Not Captain Jake. Just Jake.

She was one of the last pieces added before Diagon Alley was complete and started being shown to celebrities and the general public. Twitter friends @AmusementBuzz and @HateToFly were one of the first people with photos of them lowering the dragon down on to the roof of Gringotts. The body was first installed without the wings attached. According to a HP fansite, the actual size of a Ukrainian Ironbelly is about 60 feet long!  If you went in the queue for the Simpsons Ride, you were able to catch a glimpse of Jake all the way in DA. Her body was clearly visible for about a day before they surrounded her with scrim and scaffolding. Eventually, one wing at a time was installed about a day apart from one another and finally she was complete.


 Next was fire.

We all knew once the dragon started blowing fire, that it would only be a matter of time before soft opens happened. False reports were coming out daily that people heard the dragon roar, and yet no video or audio surfaced to back it up. The making of Diagon Alley on NBC aired before any of the soft openings to the general public happened. No fire. Hardly a mention of Jake at all. They used CGI fire for the brief time she was on TV for the Fallon Show opening sequence. Weird, right? People were starting to doubt that the dragon would even breathe fire at all. But she does.

Every ten minutes or so, if the weather is right and barring any technical difficulties, she will let out a huge fireball and dazzle the crowd below waiting to capture the perfect moment. I don't have a photograph of it myself, but she has a constant pilot light burning on her tongue all day. Any time of day gets you a great shot of her breathing fire. Doesn't matter if the sun is shining, or it's dark as night. It's always impressive, and it almost always gets a round of applause from the spectators. At first, you hear her grumble just slightly. Just to grab your attention. Then she stops and it gets quiet. You almost put your camera down because you think it's not going to happen, and then suddenly... BOOM! She lets out a powerful four second blast of flame that pleases the crowd and startles the unsuspecting.

Why is she there?

Well, I'm not going to tell you. Read a book. See a movie. Or maybe, ride a ride. Any of those should help you Muggles who don't "get it". I've included below some of my favorite photos of Jake that I have taken. Enjoy!

Until next time....

mikey