I've been lurking for a while, but it's time to come out the woodwork and pipe up again. Two weeks ago, some of my friends came to Orlando and wanted to see Potter. I haven't been to Universal since I got into the HP premiere for free with someone, and I'm probably one of the few locals without a dirt-cheap AP to the place. I prefer my AP to Sea World and Busch Gardens, and I get into Disney for free. This time I had to pay for IOA. Simply put, the park wasn't worth $95.
Now before anyone says that we should have purchased multi-day tickets, there is NOTHING at Universal Studios that interested any of us. The Simpsons? Twister? No thanks. My friends only wanted to ride the Forbidden Journey, and I looked forward to another go.
Potter exceeded everyone's expectations, even though it's clearly not Disney. Yes, the show building is visible throughout the entire park, including directly in front the main entrance. You don't have to look for it; it's just there. All of Universal has this problem; you can see Spiderman's building from across the lagoon, too. It's gracious to call the Potter stores "small"; they're tiny. Dragon Challenge is an inferior redressing of Dueling Dragons, and Flight of the Hippograff is the Barnstormer.
BUT the Forbidden Journey attraction is easily, hands down, unquestionably the most technologically advanced, impressive thrill ride on earth. Disney doesn't have anything that comes close to it. I hesitate to call it the "best" ride overall in Orlando because I prefer the experiences Disney offers with fully realized environments like the HM, POTC, and Splash. FJ definitely had noticeable budget cuts that Disney wouldn't have allowed: you can see the show building ceilings, the screen edges, and the theatrical lighting, especially in the Whomping Willow and Dementors segments. The mirrors used in the loading area look cheap. Yet the moment you enter the observatory and make your way out of Hogwarts, the attraction is a series of Wow moments. I normally don't care for Universal's style of attractions where the ride keeps yelling, "Watch out!" For example, Spiderman has never impressed me because I feel like I'm just watching a 3-D movie on a shaking chair. Potter is different. The attraction blends technology and a storyline so well, I can confidently call it the closest thing to classic Disney on the east coast since Tower of Terror opened.
So why didn't we feel like we got our money's worth? Because the rest of IOA is a dressed-up Six Flags. The entrance has impressive facades, but the interiors are unfinished. Painting ductwork black doesn't make it go away. Marvel Super Hero Island and Toon Lagoon look like Six Flags, with painted flats, rusted buildings, peeling paint, plain queues, and carnival games. Hulk and Spiderman are good rides, but aren't fully realized environments. Jurassic Park River Adventure is a joke. I wouldn't call the dinosaurs animatronics; they're pretty much robots that barely move. And Seuss Landing would be better if it had a fresh coat of paint. I can't think of anything at WDW, Sea World, or Busch Gardens that looks as bad as Seuss Landing. Lost Continent features impressive, DAK-style facades that house two shows and the same carny games as Toon Lagoon.
The food was awful. We didn't eat at Mythos because we wanted the full WWOHP experience. This decision was a mistake. To be fair, Butterbeer is indeed delicious and surprisingly inexpensive. But the food itself was overpriced by theme park standards and disappointing. My fish and chips were greasy and my friend's shepherd's pie tasted like Taco Bell with mashed potatoes on top.
That's why we didn't feel like we received our money's worth. Universal needs to improve its overall product. Yes, they have WWOHP, and yes, FJ is an incredible ride. But IOA is not worth $95 after tax. We finished everything by 2:00 and spent the rest of the day re-riding three attractions (FJ, Hulk, Dragon). Just like DAK isn't worth the price of a one-day admission, IOA isn't either. Universal offers reasonably priced multi-day tickets and wants to compete with Disney as destination resort; yet Disney has the MK and Epcot to justify multi-day passes, and Universal doesn't. If Universal wants to price itself like Disney, it needs to overhaul its entire property. I would have paid $45 just to enter WWOHP, or $65 for IOA. At $95 plus $15 parking and nasty food, I won't be visiting Universal again for a long time.
At least let me explain. IMHO--my extremely humble opinion--the cardboard-flat queue at Spidey leaves much to be desired. It's almost a comic-book aesthetic, but on the cheap. Then the ride basically whisks you through 3-D screens and some blacklight sets while villains yell that they're gonna' get you. Your vehicle shakes every time they touch it. The final scene where you "fall" is impressive, but there's so much confusion leading up to it, I don't feel any connection to this ride. I get the same feeling from the Mummy. It's just a series of scenes where someone yells he's gonna' get you. (One way...or another...I'm gonna' find ya...I'm gonna' get ya, get ya, get ya, get ya...)
