Blog

The rest of the trip last week went off with barely a hitch! We managed to ride every ride at both Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios (and Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure four times) while avoiding the daily thunderstorms and not getting sunburned in the Orlando midsummer heat. We haven’t given up on Disney (we’re probably going back to the House of Mouse in October), but we have a new appreciation for their distinguished competition. If I’m being honest, the biggest downside to Universal vs. Disney World is the food offerings, with the exception of the Goldfish Mac & Cheese Cone at Isle of Berk in Epic Universe (even for all the hype around Pizza Moon, it’s not as good as Via Napoli in E.P.C.O.T.).

Today me and Carly are at the newest Orlando theme park, Epic Universe, featuring Super Nintendo World, Universal Monsters’ Dark Universe, the Wizard World of Harry Potter’s Place Cachee, and How to Train Your Dragon’s Isle of Berk! We’ve only got one day of our four day stay to explore Celestial Park and its surroundings, so we’re powering through from rope drop to park close!

Next week sees the release of the Transformers Worst Bot Ever original graphic novel created & written by our very own pal Brian “Smitty” Smith! We’ll be doing signings at all three Ssalefish locations over the coming weeks to mark the occasion, but in case you can’t make it out in person, we’ll also be doing a signing & remarque Whatnot live show next Wednesday, July 9th!

Stephen’s So-Called Emo Life!

• Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom - I’m back on it with the Switch 2 upgrade patch, having just done what I needed to do to beat the story during my first plays when it came out. I’m finished all 152 shrines now and I’m lighting up all of the Depths, then I guess all that’s left is to find all the Korok seeds.

• Star Wars High Republic Trials of the Jedi - bittersweet saying goodbye to this era of the saga, but good for Charles Soule getting to bookend the initiative with this and Light of the Jedi.

• Etoile - this new show from Amy Sherman-Palladino gets way more in the dance-world sauce than even Bunheads did, but I’m a mark for any show she does, so I’m along for the ride.

Thanks to everyone that came out to our first Back Alley Sale last Saturday! The turnout was more than we could have hoped for, and despite the rain showers everyone seemed to have a great time. We’re planning on making it a monthly thing, so stay tuned for a July date shortly! We may even take this show on the road!