Some thoughts following the first trip I’ve had to Universal Orlando in about a decade:
- It was great! I loved the whole thing, pretty much. Stayed at RP which was nice and the convenience of being able to not only skip the lines, but have easy walking or boat access to the room was a huge plus.
- IoA is my second favourite Orlando park now (and probably NA based on my experience so far), outstanding themeing for almost the whole park and a very good selection of offerings (didn’t see it all, but most)
- WWoHP is the best themed area of any theme park I have seen so far, including Disney (though I have yet to see Carsland), the ride the shops, all great. Three Broomsticks with its piles of rafters (which real birds have clearly made their home) was a great touch. The arrangement of the area when you first entered was a marvel to look at. Pictures and videos in general do not accurately give you a sense of how good this place looks.
- Tried Butterbeer, but didn’t care for the mix of Ginger Ale and butterscotch (or so it tasted to me)
- Didn’t ride Dragon Challenge because every time I was there I just ate something. No RRR for me either.
- Top 3 rides for me were HP, Spider-Man and Mummy (the suprise ending really did fool me, lol).
- Speaking of Mummy I was stuck in the single rider line for over 30 minutes the first time, while putting up with the dreaded Brazillian tourists through most of it. Why must they chant and clap?
- I think after Transformers an HP 2.0 are done I’ll rank USF>DHS, even with my love for ToT
- E.T. is much better than WDW Peter Pan. The latter looks really sad and old compared to it and its cousin in DLR. A number of things (sadly) at MK look old and tired compared to DLR and USO for that matter.
- Simpsons pre-show stuff is easily funnier than the ride itself, though that was still fun
- They don’t have anything Universal Monster related for sale. Lame.
- The monster make-up show and exhibit was much better than I thought it would be. Went back to read all the displays
- Terminators pre-show is really dated (in kind of a funny way), but I was very impressed with the main show. Did not see the 3 screen effect coming
- Best piece of merch for sale was the unicorn plush from Despicable Me
- I couldn’t pick a Marvel/Avengers or Spider-Man shirt I wanted because I could never get the right combination of background and logo I wanted. I guess I’m picky when it comes to such merch
- Got stuck on Dudley for 15 minutes (at least) and then found out sitting up front not only gives you zero leg room, but enough water to make you feel like you jumped into a pool. That’s fine cause it was so hot, but up my nose too? Not so much
- What makes the BK Bar a bar? Looks like any other BK to me
- Wanted to try the mini golf, but not enough time.
- I think in the future I’d prefer to stay here and make a side-trip to Disney (as I did with MK for a day). I like resorts where I don’t have to worry about driving or bussing to everything and I found more to like here than WDW in recent visits
That about sums it up for now, may post later.
- It was great! I loved the whole thing, pretty much. Stayed at RP which was nice and the convenience of being able to not only skip the lines, but have easy walking or boat access to the room was a huge plus.
- IoA is my second favourite Orlando park now (and probably NA based on my experience so far), outstanding themeing for almost the whole park and a very good selection of offerings (didn’t see it all, but most)
- WWoHP is the best themed area of any theme park I have seen so far, including Disney (though I have yet to see Carsland), the ride the shops, all great. Three Broomsticks with its piles of rafters (which real birds have clearly made their home) was a great touch. The arrangement of the area when you first entered was a marvel to look at. Pictures and videos in general do not accurately give you a sense of how good this place looks.
- Tried Butterbeer, but didn’t care for the mix of Ginger Ale and butterscotch (or so it tasted to me)
- Didn’t ride Dragon Challenge because every time I was there I just ate something. No RRR for me either.
- Top 3 rides for me were HP, Spider-Man and Mummy (the suprise ending really did fool me, lol).
- Speaking of Mummy I was stuck in the single rider line for over 30 minutes the first time, while putting up with the dreaded Brazillian tourists through most of it. Why must they chant and clap?
- I think after Transformers an HP 2.0 are done I’ll rank USF>DHS, even with my love for ToT
- E.T. is much better than WDW Peter Pan. The latter looks really sad and old compared to it and its cousin in DLR. A number of things (sadly) at MK look old and tired compared to DLR and USO for that matter.
- Simpsons pre-show stuff is easily funnier than the ride itself, though that was still fun
- They don’t have anything Universal Monster related for sale. Lame.
- The monster make-up show and exhibit was much better than I thought it would be. Went back to read all the displays
- Terminators pre-show is really dated (in kind of a funny way), but I was very impressed with the main show. Did not see the 3 screen effect coming
- Best piece of merch for sale was the unicorn plush from Despicable Me
- I couldn’t pick a Marvel/Avengers or Spider-Man shirt I wanted because I could never get the right combination of background and logo I wanted. I guess I’m picky when it comes to such merch
- Got stuck on Dudley for 15 minutes (at least) and then found out sitting up front not only gives you zero leg room, but enough water to make you feel like you jumped into a pool. That’s fine cause it was so hot, but up my nose too? Not so much
- What makes the BK Bar a bar? Looks like any other BK to me
- Wanted to try the mini golf, but not enough time.
- I think in the future I’d prefer to stay here and make a side-trip to Disney (as I did with MK for a day). I like resorts where I don’t have to worry about driving or bussing to everything and I found more to like here than WDW in recent visits
That about sums it up for now, may post later.
