u/ExistingExplanation3

UPDATE: Solved with assistance from AI. E O Mai by Keali'i Reichel. Beautiful track.

This one has me stumped, and none of my online listening tools can place it. I feel like this is a famous Hawaiian song, beautiful and slow, that I knew of years ago. The name escapes me now, and I think the flip flop squishes are giving Shazam etc. a hard time. I went through all of Israel K's catalogue and cannot find this tune - as well as some other old time Hawaiian singers - still no luck. If you can help that would be amazing. I'm hoping it's known enough that someone will know it instantly and I'll slap my forehead and then smile.

For what it's worth, this was captured at Universal Volcano Bay in Orlando. I tried Shazam directly at the time and it couldn't place it then either - so I recorded the sound in hopes of tracking it down later, with your fine help. THANK YOU!

Song is here: youtube.com/watch?v=Xr3BNJy6wsI&feature=youtu.be

Just back from a few days at Universal and man do I love the new Epic park. We went with four families, all with boys 10 and under. For reference we have all done Disney and while Universal can't touch that magic memory of the first time walking with kids down Main Street, I mean the new park is incredibly well done - especially if you stay at the Helios. I don't get the hate.

Now, I understand the drawbacks. Nothing is perfect. Agree there is no shade - we lucked out on weather. Going in summer would be brutal. We had some ride stoppages, but they were actually at the other parks (even getting stuck totally inverted on Forbidden Journey which was horrible - can't believe the carts are even capable of stopping in that position). And I've heard it isn't as friendly to disabled riders though I can't really comment on that. One general complaint I guess is Universal in general is too reliant on screens (not so much in Epic) - and the rides in Epic are a bit limited I suppose. Lastly, agreed the overarching theme is pasted on and I never really felt Celestial Park as a thing. And park food is always overpriced and mediocre (though Toad Cafe and the BBQ spot in Celestial - and the ice cream place - wasn't bad). With all that out of the way...

...So what? The park is awesome. The immersion of Super Mario World alone and watching kids smash those power bands was absolute joy. It's like being inside the game, they did such a good job. Staff was super friendly to us (most of the time). And staying at the Helios added such a level of convenience, especially compared to Disney, it's hard to imagine how easy logistics became. Admittedly, we reserved our rooms early over a year ago when it first opened and I understand prices have more than doubled since we booked. Can't comment on price, only on value.

The ability, especially with kids, to breeze in and out of the park to go to the pool (where the food was actually pretty good though incredibly overpriced even moreso than the park) was second-to-none. Game changer. On our last day we did call it 3.5 parks - rope dropped Epic to meet Toothless (the actor playing Hiccup was awesome), met friends at Studios, took the Hogwarts Express to Islands of Adventure in the afternoon, and came back to finish up at Epic and watched the light show from Bar Helios to end our trip. Wing Riders, Frankenstein, and Stardust Racers were highlights - as was just running around in Nintendo land. Fighting Bowser Jr. was legit fun. The Mario Kart ride with aggressive AR was ok but the kids loved it - I wasn't a big fan of Mine Cart Madness.

Unlike Disney where you plan everything from meals to rides - down to the minute - a month or two in advance, and stress about fighting for Lightning Lane times or reservations, Epic with an Express pass is a totally stress-free vacation when it comes to logistics. We did every ride we wanted without waiting. The Helios was great. Decided on the spur of the moment where to eat and it was all fine even with big groups. Maybe it wasn't as busy as other times but you can't even compare the level of ease between the two.

So I don't get the hate. Love the new park. And it should only get more Epic as they expand with more rides, experiences, and hopefully shade and meal options.

Beautiful (well-known?) Hawaiian song challenge due to flip flop sounds!