- In the Parks
- No
First, let me say that I was extremely impressed with what we saw from Universal Orlando. I have been a Disney geek for about 25 years now and never thought about going here and never did until a few weeks ago. I want to thank you all so very much for the recommendations that were given to me the last few months, which proved to be very helpful on our trip.
Sapphire Falls-
Brand new hotel that was perfectly situated to the parks, and an easy boat ride to CityWalk. There was a mix up here (an error with Universal not the hotel) but they upgraded me and gave me 1 day of free unlimited express passes, so that was awesome. I would recommend staying here, and its reasonably priced, I think we paid $125 a night. (Keep in mind, self parking is $22 a night)
Universal Studios-
This was a great first park to visit. We really enjoyed all the attractions, expect The Simpsons Ride which basically made me sick for most of the morning. Escape from Gringotts is by far the most stunning and exciting ride I have ever experienced. Me and my wife just kept going in the Single Rider line and rode it at least 15 times. We would come back to the park for this ride along along with Diagon Alley which is stunning in its own right. We loved the Leaky Cauldron and of course the Butter Beer. Another highlight here was Transformers. We were lucky enough to be here during Marti Gras, so the parades were awesome as well as the free concert (we saw Ne-Yo).
Islands of Adventure -
This was our favorite overall park, themactically and attraction wise. While it was a bit chilly we still rode 2 of the 3 water rides (Barges and Jurassic Park) and loved them (got soaked!!) Spider man was just as incredible as everyone described, I can't believe how realistic all the show scenes were (especially the part rising building part). Forbidden Journey's queue is an absolute stunner as well. I can't beleive how realistic they made Hogwarts look. The ride itself was so impressive, we had to ride this one a few times too.
All in all, I can't wait to get back. They have made us Universal fans and we will most likely go again next year. One small complaint would be, that they do have a ton of screen based rides and 2 more to come in the next couples years, so it would be cool to see them branch out a bit on that front but I still loved everyone (except The Simpsons of course)
Sapphire Falls-
Brand new hotel that was perfectly situated to the parks, and an easy boat ride to CityWalk. There was a mix up here (an error with Universal not the hotel) but they upgraded me and gave me 1 day of free unlimited express passes, so that was awesome. I would recommend staying here, and its reasonably priced, I think we paid $125 a night. (Keep in mind, self parking is $22 a night)
Universal Studios-
This was a great first park to visit. We really enjoyed all the attractions, expect The Simpsons Ride which basically made me sick for most of the morning. Escape from Gringotts is by far the most stunning and exciting ride I have ever experienced. Me and my wife just kept going in the Single Rider line and rode it at least 15 times. We would come back to the park for this ride along along with Diagon Alley which is stunning in its own right. We loved the Leaky Cauldron and of course the Butter Beer. Another highlight here was Transformers. We were lucky enough to be here during Marti Gras, so the parades were awesome as well as the free concert (we saw Ne-Yo).
Islands of Adventure -
This was our favorite overall park, themactically and attraction wise. While it was a bit chilly we still rode 2 of the 3 water rides (Barges and Jurassic Park) and loved them (got soaked!!) Spider man was just as incredible as everyone described, I can't believe how realistic all the show scenes were (especially the part rising building part). Forbidden Journey's queue is an absolute stunner as well. I can't beleive how realistic they made Hogwarts look. The ride itself was so impressive, we had to ride this one a few times too.
All in all, I can't wait to get back. They have made us Universal fans and we will most likely go again next year. One small complaint would be, that they do have a ton of screen based rides and 2 more to come in the next couples years, so it would be cool to see them branch out a bit on that front but I still loved everyone (except The Simpsons of course)
