Trip Report: 9/21 - 9/25 - Is that it?

[KordovaJD]

Trip Report:

Thursday 9/21
We flew into MCO after being delayed by weather, arriving at about 8:30. Grabbed an UberSelectXL to Royal Pacific (About $50 ride and much nicer than Mears shuttle). We were starving, so we hit Jake's American. I definitely recommend this place. The burger is good. The hot wings are pretty great (we went back for more later). And the Golden Monkey is a drink that will knock you out after a travel day. Passed out in anticipation of a big day Friday.

Friday 9/22
Up early to hit USF. Took the water taxi and enjoyed this transport. Quick, easy, nice. Hit the park, grabbed breakfast at Boulangerie just inside the gates. Had a stuffed biscuit and coffee. Very good. Not too expensive. From there took the following path, generally: Minions, wife rode Rockit, Jimmy Fallon, ET, Simpson, MiB, and then on to the main event. Met my cousin, a Universal team member in corporate, for lunch at Leaky Cauldron. Had scotch eggs, fish and chips, wife had stew. Enjoyed thoroughly. Then spent the remainder of the day in Diagon Alley, twice through Gringotts, lots of shopping, but we did jump out to Mummy really quick and back. Hopped Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade. We were actually quite let down by Hogsmeade, compared to Diagon Alley. General Diagon Alley thoughts: Honestly, couldn't find it, after seeing King's Cross, just decided to follow everyone into what looked like bathrooms, and BAM, there you are. Alley is tight and can get backed up in busy times, but there's a lot to see, so slowing down is not a bad thing. Really enjoyed the art work and design. Fully immersive and really enjoyed it. Very Disney like. Check out Hogsmeade, and decided to call it a day. Back to hotel via water taxi. Rested a bit then off to City Walk meet my cousin again for dinner. Wanted sushi, so she suggested Cowfish. SO GOOD. Can't recommend it enough. Then over to Toothsome for desert. Okay, quick thoughts on Toothsome. The decor is AMAZING. The whole concept is expertly pulled off. The food itself (milkshake on this trip) was a bit of a let down, but I'm not a sweets person anymore really. It was a good chocolate milkshake I guess, but could get it anywhere. For the record, I fell deeply and madly in love with Professor Doctor Penelope Tibeaux-Tinker Toothsome. I think my wife was a little upset. But, seriously, I cannot even... I'll stop there.

Saturday:
Up early to hit IOA. Breakfast buffet at Royal Pacific Island Dining Room. Very good, and cheap by Orlando standards I suppose at $22. Off to IOA via water taxi (I love this thing). Left to Hulk (I couldn't ride, I'm about 6' and big shoulders was a college fullback - didn't fit into seat - never a problem i've had at disney). Dr. Doom then Spiderman. Wanted to go on Pterodon Flyers but it's kids only, such bullss... Parents can go with kids, but no solo adults. We don't do wet rides, so skipped Jurrasic Park. Enjoyed King Kong, but it was just the same old thing as every other ride in the park. Off to Hogsmeade. Went through the line at Forbidden Journey, sat down in car, seat clicked 4 times, team member unlocked and pretended to push is closed again and decided not enough, made me get out. Not terribly disappointed. I know I'm a big dude. But, again, Disney doesn't have these problems. On to Dr. Suess area. Enjoyed Cat in the Hat. Appears to be the only dark ride on property. Hit Toothsome for lunch and was generally disappointed with the food again. I have nicoise salad, tuna was good, dressing was note. Wife was very disappointed with her shrimp macaroni and cheese, as was I. My cousin get the country french toast, it was basically a croque monsieur on french toast. I actually ate some of this and it was very good. All in all, I should have just gotten a croque monsiuer. But my dearest Penelope was there and we made sweet, sweet eye contact, so there's that. Headed back into the park to catch the Hogwarts Express the other direction to see other part of the show. Did some shopping. Hit Gringotts again. Then shopped on our way out, caught Transformers and Mummy again. Grabbed a showing T2 to say I had before closing. Called it a day, off to the pool and hot tub for drinks. Dinner at Jake's again. The wings are good y'all.

Sunday:
Character breakfast at Island Dining room. Same buffet as day before, didn't realize it was character until I was attacked by Scooby Do. Still only cost $25 for character breakfast, which is pennies compared to Disney. Packed up, off to airport.

Okay, so here's my hot sports opinions on my first trip to Universal. I had to go to see Harry Potter aspects. I couldn't miss them. Absent the Harry Potter portions of the park, Universal is dead/dying/no better than Six Flags. I can see why people make this a day trip from Disney. It would be better, maybe, if they didn't just have like 12 of the exact same ride. The motion deck 4-D ride is not fun, and it doesn't become fun when you do it over again for the 10th time. There's essentially no difference between Kong, Forbidden Journey, Gringotts, Simpsons, Transformers, Mummy, and Jimmy Fallon. Though Mummy, is reminiscent of the Rock'in Roller Coaster at DHS, it's like a bad haunted house version comparatively. Maybe I just have Disney running through my veins too thick. I don't know, but it wasn't super awesome. We considered driving out to Disney on Saturday as opposed to returning to Universal. The Royal Pacific was nice. I would stay there anytime or place. We hear Portofino is equally as nice. Some questions I have are, why not make more varied types of ride. Being "first to market" is one thing, but being first to market with the same old tired design as before is not a good plan. Also, I fit on every ride in disney parks and always have. Certainly their engineering could do a little better. My other cousin is 6'2" and about a 28 inch waist, very tall and skinny. He can't stand to ride Hulk because it hurts him so much. Lastly, why create a ride everyone cannot go on, i.e. Pterodon Flyers and Flight of the Hippogriff. If adults can ride with kids, I don't see why adults can't ride by themselves.

Anyway, the weather was good, crowds were small, and it didn't rain.

I'm happy I got to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Otherwise, I'm glad I got out cheap. My cousin comped our tickets, I used points for airline tickets. Hotel and food/bev and merch cost about $1700. Glad I didn't pay full price. Glad I don't feel like I have to go back.

 

[Rob562]

I'm curious about your attempts on Hulk and Forbidden Journey. Did you try riding in the "larger person" seats? I think on Hulk they're Row 4 or 5, and Forbidden Journey it's the outside seats on the bench.

I'm 5'11", a bit chunky but I have broad shoulders and a long torso (to the point that when my 6'3" friend and I sit next to each other I'm taller than him by an inch or two).
I often have a problem with the restraints on B&M coasters (manufacturer of Hulk and the now-closed Dragons). My long torso means my shoulders and chest are higher up and closer to the hinge-point of the restraints. So the top of the restraint hits the front of my shoulders long before the lower part comes near my stomach. This keeps the bar from getting to that lock point where the belt will fasten. So I often have to sit in the "big boy" seats in the middle of the B&M trains where the restraints are designed so they can be slightly higher but still considered "locked" and there are two belts that attach to the bottom of the harness.

I've heard the outer seats on FB have a similar setup, and I'm fully prepared to have to use them in November on my first Universal visit since any of the Potter stuff was built. (I may even have to slouch in the seat slightly)

-Rob

 

[KordovaJD]

I'm curious about your attempts on Hulk and Forbidden Journey. Did you try riding in the "larger person" seats? I think on Hulk they're Row 4 or 5, and Forbidden Journey it's the outside seats on the bench.

I'm 5'11", a bit chunky but I have broad shoulders and a long torso (to the point that when my 6'3" friend and I sit next to each other I'm taller than him by an inch or two).
I often have a problem with the restraints on B&M coasters (manufacturer of Hulk and the now-closed Dragons). My long torso means my shoulders and chest are higher up and closer to the hinge-point of the restraints. So the top of the restraint hits the front of my shoulders long before the lower part comes near my stomach. This keeps the bar from getting to that lock point where the belt will fasten. So I often have to sit in the "big boy" seats in the middle of the B&M trains where the restraints are designed so they can be slightly higher but still considered "locked" and there are two belts that attach to the bottom of the harness.

I've heard the outer seats on FB have a similar setup, and I'm fully prepared to have to use them in November on my first Universal visit since any of the Potter stuff was built. (I may even have to slouch in the seat slightly)

-Rob

Hopefully I can provide some help here. I am about 6'0", just under. I have a 46 waist and a size 54 (sizes, not true measurements, haven't measured lately). I am very barrel chested. I have attached a picture for reference. Yes, I'm a big guy, but would still consider myself athletic cut.

On hulk for example, there are two belts that come up and attach to the bottom of the shoulder restraint. My stomach was not the problem. Instead, if I pushed the shoulder restraint down far enough to close the clasp, I had to compress my spine into a very very uncomfortable position. What would fix this would be to slant the angle of the flat portion of the seat away from the hip point. As it is, the hamstring portion of the seat is too high, preventing me from settling into the seat really. It kind of folded me up strangely. Basically, the angle of the seat and back is too acute, which raises my shoulders up and hurts when the restraint is down. I have this problem on other B&M coasters, like Superman at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Batman at Six Flags Over Texas. Interestingly, Great White at Sea World San Antonio is not a problem for me. I saw several people much shorter and fatter than me walk up and easily snap themselves into the Hulk seats because of their height. Stomach isn't really an issue.

I had a little less of this problem on Forbidden Journey. In the tester seat, I got into the seat, pulled it down, the green light came on, so I went in. Got in, pulled the restraint down, it clicked 3 or 4 times, it was locked. The team member then reached down under my legs, pulled the release and then pulled back against it as I pushed it down into my chest. I am sure it was for my safety, I am not terribly bothered by it. But, the reason I got upset was because it was locked and fine, then rather than let me push it down, she actively pulled it back up from me. But, again, stomach really isn't the issue here. It's shoulders.

 

[Evolution]

The seats on Hulk aren't a Universal or Disney thing, it's B&M. Sounds like you should've fit on FJ but I guess the TM was being extra cautious.

The "just like Six Flags" comments will never make sense to me. Six Flags just recently finally got one decent 4D ride; outside of that, it's nothing but barely-themed coasters and carnival rides.

Mummy is nothing like Simpsons, Transformers, Fallon, etc. There's no screens or 3D. Personally one of my favorite attractions ever (and MUCH better than RnRC). I do think there are too many of the 3D/screen rides but there's also a bunch of ominmovers/boat rides at WDW... no one ever mentions that.

 

[JT3000]

Says he couldn't even ride Forbidden Journey, then lists it amongst rides for which there's "essentially no difference." I'm dumber now for having read that. But it's my fault, I shouldn't even still be here. I should be busy preparing for Universal's funeral. I might still get there on time if I catch the next omnimover.

 

[KordovaJD]

From the sound of it, you might spend a lot of time alone without the benefit of friends and family to keep you company. I however had a good group of people with me to report back on their trip through FJ. Based on their collective disappointment, I trust their review which I have included here. But have fun starting flame wars on a Walt Disney World fan board.

 

[KordovaJD]

From the sound of it, you might spend a lot of time alone without the benefit of friends and family to keep you company. I however had a good group of people with me to report back on their trip through FJ. Based on their collective disappointment, I trust their review which I have included here. But have fun starting flame wars on a Walt Disney World fan board.

 

[JT3000]

From the sound of it, you might spend a lot of time alone without the benefit of friends and family to keep you company. I however had a good group of people with me to report back on their trip through FJ. Based on their collective disappointment, I trust their review which I have included here. But have fun starting flame wars on a Walt Disney World fan board.

I'm happy to hear you've found a good hivemind to act as your support system and help you form opinions on things you've never experienced yourself . Sadly, I don't expect many here will trust your review, what, with it being based on hearsay and filled with more fairy dust than the hyperbole recipe called for. If I wanted expert analysis such as this, I would read the comments sections on Youtube.

 

[imperius]

I know everyone has opinions and I don't fail them for them since screens are an issue, but Forbidden Journey is literally nothing like those other rides. It's easily a top three ride in all of Orlando and better than just about everything in Disney and if someone told me it was like the Simpsons I would ask if they were mental.

 

[celluloid]

I am not sure how you came to the conclusion that Cat in The Hat is the only Dark Ride on property?
MOST attractions at Islands of Adventure and Universal are actually dark rides or dark ride Hybrids, but IOA has arguably the best int he world. I know it sounds like you disagree but Jurassic Park does not get you as wet as other large splash boats. I wish you would have ridden it. Camp Jurassic is the best kids themed area on the planet.
Even with screens, one could see why Spiderman, Kong, Revenge of The Mummy Jurassic Park, ET and Men in Black are just as much of dark rides as anything Hollywood Studios are EPCOT have to offer right now.

And you mention the same thing with 3D/4D experiences without variation. Hollywood Studios right now is a huge victim of that if not worse because there are less attractions to do. Star Tours, Muppet Vision and Toy Story Mania are all primarily 4D effect based with variation with only one of those being a ride, and only one being accessible to anyone under 40 Inches. The only other two rides in the park right now are thrill rides with one just being a launch coaster in the dark with theme at the beginning and end(blacklights through the rest so very light compared to Mummy's larger sets and pyrotechnic and practical effects)
There are more things for my 2 year old son to do at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure than Hollywood Studios or EPCOT. Even after Hollywood Studios opens Toy Story land it will just add another lightly themed coaster experience of giant toy scale(another repeating problem Disney parks suffers from)

Also, when The Star Tours attractions open they will be primarily projection based and Mickey's Runaway Railway will be Projection Mapping.
I am not going to flame war for your opinions but more objectively I wanted to bring up attractions you might of missed out on.

I am sorry you did not have a good enough time to return and feel it was worth money you would of spent, but I am happy you now know.

 

[disneygeek90]

The seats on Hulk aren't a Universal or Disney thing, it's B&M. Sounds like you should've fit on FJ but I guess the TM was being extra cautious.

The "just like Six Flags" comments will never make sense to me. Six Flags just recently finally got one decent 4D ride; outside of that, it's nothing but barely-themed coasters and carnival rides.

Mummy is nothing like Simpsons, Transformers, Fallon, etc. There's no screens or 3D. Personally one of my favorite attractions ever (and MUCH better than RnRC). I do think there are too many of the 3D/screen rides but there's also a bunch of ominmovers/boat rides at WDW... no one ever mentions that.

Omnimovers and boat rides don't make people feel nauseous after riding them all day, either. But then again, those are my favorite.

 

[celluloid]

Omnimovers and boat rides don't make people feel nauseous after riding them all day, either. But then again, those are my favorite.

I could ride Forbidden Journey, Tower of Terror, Spiderman, Splash Mountain or Revenge of The Mummy all day.
I love a good omnimover too but I don't think Mermaid or Nemo are very good at all. But to each their own.

 

[Evolution]

Omnimovers and boat rides don't make people feel nauseous after riding them all day, either. But then again, those are my favorite.

He didn't mention anything about getting sick or nauseous so I assume he didn't have that problem. He mentioned that they were all similar, which is something that he seems to ignore at Disney.

 

[UpAllNight]

My take on Universal. For some context I went in 2000 as a kid, returned in 2015 and 2017, from the UK. Apologies for the mini life story haha:

- As a kid, Islands had just opened. It was without question the wow park of the trip, and I loved Jaws, Kongfrontation, MIB was brand new. Spider-Man blew my mind, I didn't make it onto Hulk Or Dueling Dragons but the 3 water rides, the theming...awesome.

-I returned to Orlando in 2015 mega excited, remembering good times as a kid...it didn't disappoint. Felt like It hadn't been 15 years...seemed like yesterday, such was my memory and the impression it made on me as a kid. The 2 parks seemed fresh, vibrant, had changed beyond recognition in some areas, but retained enough that made me fall in love with them. I missed Jaws, but appreciated what replaced it. Potter was increadible...I came off FJ thinking it was the best thing I'd ever ridden. The Mummy & Transformers were great additions. Diagon had just opened and oh lord...increadible. Gringotts got better with every ride.

- Part of my added appreciation for Uni was the contrast in fortunes since my previous visit...they'd invested...and big. Disney appeared stale in contrast, which was increadible for me since I love it, but hadn't actually been to DisneyWorld for like 15 years. You have to remember at this stage there was no DHS announcments, nothing for Epcot beyond Frozen, no Pandora, no Tron etc. It seemed like they were on different paths, one was exciting, one was in terminal decline. Indiana Jones, Mermaid & Fantasmic were headline shows when I was a kid...it just seemed wrong.

-Wind forward to 2017, mega excited again. We went for even longer. Naturally my mind gravitates to Disney, despite Universal being my favourite on previous 2 trips (I actually preferred Seaworld to Much of Disney too in 2015).

- I don't know what happened, but seeing the parks relatively soon after last seeing them, we all looked at them all differently. We gained a new appreciation for the extras on the Disney trips, the atmosphere, the side streets, the detail. But key was screen based rides just simply did not have the reridabilty of set based attractions. We must have done Test Track, Everest, Dinosaur, Splash etc 10-20 times each on the trip...I couldn't hack the Simpsons more than once. I came off it thinking "I'd gladly never go on that again". Fallon...good, but no desire to go on it again on the same trip.

- We scheduled 6 days in total to do the 3 Universal parks, 3 would have been enough for us. We didn't feel the need to reride many things, beyond the obvious (spiderman, FJ, Gringotts, Mummy)...love all 3 waterrides but you need to commit to being drenched so they too were all a ride once kind of thing (although I believe we gave JP another go as it's the least wet)

- Started to notice the newer stuff at Uni wasn't living up to the Potter areas. Kong I enjoyed but I expected more. It was weird in places, the story all over the place...randomly rolling past Kong. A final screen and a better story, another AA or 2...it could have been the best. Hulk...I kind of pictured new effects. Again the story seemed weak. Closing Disaster for F&F...meh. More of the same. Contrast to how, Disney have gone big on announcements, and Pandora was breathtaking. VB in my eyes disappointing for the hype, but I'm looking forward to giving it another go.

- So from that, I attain that Universal hits you with a bigger wow factor than Disney. But once you get past that Disney shines through. Pandora, and maybe some of the announced additions could help.

So 3 trips...Disney 1 Universal 2...but the tides turning for me and Disney are on the comeback. Universal need to go big, and preferably, screenless for a little while.

 

[disneygeek90]

I could ride Forbidden Journey, Tower of Terror, Spiderman, Splash Mountain or Revenge of The Mummy all day.
I love a good omnimover too but I don't think Mermaid or Nemo are very good at all. But to each their own.

I agree. The problem for me is that there are far too many in the like of Simpsons, Minions, Shrek, and Fallon. Give me an Omnimover or boat ride over those any day. ET in all it's age is a great little ride. But I know this conversation has been beaten to death.

I know Mermaid doesn't get much love on these boards, but I think it's a fine C ticket attraction.

 

[Tom Morrow]

There's a lot to criticize about Universal but comparing it directly to a Six Flags shows that you don't know what you're talking about.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Trip Report:

Thursday 9/21
We flew into MCO after being delayed by weather, arriving at about 8:30. Grabbed an UberSelectXL to Royal Pacific (About $50 ride and much nicer than Mears shuttle). We were starving, so we hit Jake's American. I definitely recommend this place. The burger is good. The hot wings are pretty great (we went back for more later). And the Golden Monkey is a drink that will knock you out after a travel day. Passed out in anticipation of a big day Friday.

Friday 9/22
Up early to hit USF. Took the water taxi and enjoyed this transport. Quick, easy, nice. Hit the park, grabbed breakfast at Boulangerie just inside the gates. Had a stuffed biscuit and coffee. Very good. Not too expensive. From there took the following path, generally: Minions, wife rode Rockit, Jimmy Fallon, ET, Simpson, MiB, and then on to the main event. Met my cousin, a Universal team member in corporate, for lunch at Leaky Cauldron. Had scotch eggs, fish and chips, wife had stew. Enjoyed thoroughly. Then spent the remainder of the day in Diagon Alley, twice through Gringotts, lots of shopping, but we did jump out to Mummy really quick and back. Hopped Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade. We were actually quite let down by Hogsmeade, compared to Diagon Alley. General Diagon Alley thoughts: Honestly, couldn't find it, after seeing King's Cross, just decided to follow everyone into what looked like bathrooms, and BAM, there you are. Alley is tight and can get backed up in busy times, but there's a lot to see, so slowing down is not a bad thing. Really enjoyed the art work and design. Fully immersive and really enjoyed it. Very Disney like. Check out Hogsmeade, and decided to call it a day. Back to hotel via water taxi. Rested a bit then off to City Walk meet my cousin again for dinner. Wanted sushi, so she suggested Cowfish. SO GOOD. Can't recommend it enough. Then over to Toothsome for desert. Okay, quick thoughts on Toothsome. The decor is AMAZING. The whole concept is expertly pulled off. The food itself (milkshake on this trip) was a bit of a let down, but I'm not a sweets person anymore really. It was a good chocolate milkshake I guess, but could get it anywhere. For the record, I fell deeply and madly in love with Professor Doctor Penelope Tibeaux-Tinker Toothsome. I think my wife was a little upset. But, seriously, I cannot even... I'll stop there.

Saturday:
Up early to hit IOA. Breakfast buffet at Royal Pacific Island Dining Room. Very good, and cheap by Orlando standards I suppose at $22. Off to IOA via water taxi (I love this thing). Left to Hulk (I couldn't ride, I'm about 6' and big shoulders was a college fullback - didn't fit into seat - never a problem i've had at disney). Dr. Doom then Spiderman. Wanted to go on Pterodon Flyers but it's kids only, such bullss... Parents can go with kids, but no solo adults. We don't do wet rides, so skipped Jurrasic Park. Enjoyed King Kong, but it was just the same old thing as every other ride in the park. Off to Hogsmeade. Went through the line at Forbidden Journey, sat down in car, seat clicked 4 times, team member unlocked and pretended to push is closed again and decided not enough, made me get out. Not terribly disappointed. I know I'm a big dude. But, again, Disney doesn't have these problems. On to Dr. Suess area. Enjoyed Cat in the Hat. Appears to be the only dark ride on property. Hit Toothsome for lunch and was generally disappointed with the food again. I have nicoise salad, tuna was good, dressing was note. Wife was very disappointed with her shrimp macaroni and cheese, as was I. My cousin get the country french toast, it was basically a croque monsieur on french toast. I actually ate some of this and it was very good. All in all, I should have just gotten a croque monsiuer. But my dearest Penelope was there and we made sweet, sweet eye contact, so there's that. Headed back into the park to catch the Hogwarts Express the other direction to see other part of the show. Did some shopping. Hit Gringotts again. Then shopped on our way out, caught Transformers and Mummy again. Grabbed a showing T2 to say I had before closing. Called it a day, off to the pool and hot tub for drinks. Dinner at Jake's again. The wings are good y'all.

Sunday:
Character breakfast at Island Dining room. Same buffet as day before, didn't realize it was character until I was attacked by Scooby Do. Still only cost $25 for character breakfast, which is pennies compared to Disney. Packed up, off to airport.

Okay, so here's my hot sports opinions on my first trip to Universal. I had to go to see Harry Potter aspects. I couldn't miss them. Absent the Harry Potter portions of the park, Universal is dead/dying/no better than Six Flags. I can see why people make this a day trip from Disney. It would be better, maybe, if they didn't just have like 12 of the exact same ride. The motion deck 4-D ride is not fun, and it doesn't become fun when you do it over again for the 10th time. There's essentially no difference between Kong, Forbidden Journey, Gringotts, Simpsons, Transformers, Mummy, and Jimmy Fallon. Though Mummy, is reminiscent of the Rock'in Roller Coaster at DHS, it's like a bad haunted house version comparatively. Maybe I just have Disney running through my veins too thick. I don't know, but it wasn't super awesome. We considered driving out to Disney on Saturday as opposed to returning to Universal. The Royal Pacific was nice. I would stay there anytime or place. We hear Portofino is equally as nice. Some questions I have are, why not make more varied types of ride. Being "first to market" is one thing, but being first to market with the same old tired design as before is not a good plan. Also, I fit on every ride in disney parks and always have. Certainly their engineering could do a little better. My other cousin is 6'2" and about a 28 inch waist, very tall and skinny. He can't stand to ride Hulk because it hurts him so much. Lastly, why create a ride everyone cannot go on, i.e. Pterodon Flyers and Flight of the Hippogriff. If adults can ride with kids, I don't see why adults can't ride by themselves.

Anyway, the weather was good, crowds were small, and it didn't rain.

I'm happy I got to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Otherwise, I'm glad I got out cheap. My cousin comped our tickets, I used points for airline tickets. Hotel and food/bev and merch cost about $1700. Glad I didn't pay full price. Glad I don't feel like I have to go back.

I had two really good back-to-back days at Universal this month. I liked it much better than before, even if I think the movie park has seen better days. I lack a true emotional attachment, but the rides at IOA were solid and UNI's cityscapes pretty.

You are right, there is complete overkill of 'motion + screen' attractions in Universal. It's not an abstract overkill, but a concrete one, you get sick and tired of them before dinner.

Here's the cruel irony: everybody knows this is the case. So Uni is now killing two of the 3d screen attractions (Shrek and T2). Whereas WDW, in its bid to resemble Universal more, is now building them.

 

[macefamily]

Very interesting. We were in FL on visit for the exact dates : 9-21 / 9/25 from Pennsylvania visiting my daughter who is in the Disney College program.
We spent our Saturday at Universal Studios. It started off horribly. We bought our tickets via phone app on the way over. My daughter and her boyfriend bought Universal season passes so parking was free. When we showed up at the ticket kiosk our tickets were not recognized. We went to one of the manned assistant stations nearby and the man told us that your ticket transaction sometimes can take up to an hour. ???!!! He told us to come back to him with a confirmation number and he'd take care of us immediately. Universal was quick to charge my Amex, but we sat there for another :45 minutes until we received a confirmation number. We stood in line behind a family who literally spend :15 minutes asking every question and complaining to this assistant. When they finally were done, my wife stepped forward and he said, "I'm sorry, but the line is over here." There were four others waiting next to him. That was it. He set me off. I cursed (sorry) and walked away. Luckily my wife has a cooler head and she worked it out with him. On to the next issue. I have always found the Universal ticket admission process slow and inefficient. Of course, I always pick the line where there's an issue with a ticket and the line stalls for five minutes. I did that twice. It took :15 minutes to get through the line after an hour wait to get our tickets. Universal needs to take a page from Disney and improve this process.
The park was packed. Just about the most inflated I've seen it in years. I was frustrated so my daughter and me wanted to grab some mixed drinks over at Alcatraz. I wanted my usual; a Long Island Iced Tea. There were five people in line. We stood there for about :10 minutes and the line didn't move. That's when I noticed....there was one bartender on duty ! The bar was full and people were waiting to place orders.I told the group to pack up and move on; no mixers. We rode the Mummy and watched the Blues Brothers show. I love the BB's. Great show. The MIB line was all the way back to where the elevator doors open. I never saw it so packed. That was at least a :30 minute wait. We headed off to HP. Wanted to get a beer there, but the line had to be twenty deep; no drink yet. We did not do a Potter ride at all on this visit. Wait times were not less than :45. We walked over to Islands. Went to the Backwater Bar. You gotta be kidding me ! One bartender and six people waiting for drinks. Move on. We did Forbidden Journey. Love that one. Only about :30 minute wait. FINALLY got served at the Watering Hole. I forget the bartender, but she made an awesome drink. We went on to the wet rides. It was 90 degrees with a dew point in the 80's...muggy. Dudley Doright was first. I go bareback; no poncho. I was soaked. We were already wet, so why not, onto Popeye and Bluto's. I got it the worst. Squishy shoes, shirt stuck to my body and soaked shorts. We did Kong as our last. It was a :35 minute wait. Everyone was ready for some food so on the way out we stopped at Cowfish. :45 minute wait. Nope. Bubba Gumps. :40 minute wait. Daughter suggested NBC so we can watch the Penn State game. Yes ! :30 minute wait for a table. But I want to watch the PSU game and 40 friggin' TV's have Florida on !!! We found a smaller TV near one corner of the bar that had the game. We set up there, and eventually commandeered a table right behind us to watch the game. Let me just say that the waitress must have gotten five things wrong with the orders and we waited up to :20 minutes for drinks at times. My wings sucked. I ate one. I sat there, wet and frustrated, but at least it was a good game. I was too wet to even walk over to Fat Tuesday's for my favorite, a 190 Octane. We left the park, still damp, after a long day. Not the best, but at least I was with family.
Planning on heading back down in October. Considering the Universal Halloween ticket. Should we or not ?

 

[disneygeek90]

Very interesting. We were in FL on visit for the exact dates : 9-21 / 9/25 from Pennsylvania visiting my daughter who is in the Disney College program.
We spent our Saturday at Universal Studios. It started off horribly. We bought our tickets via phone app on the way over. My daughter and her boyfriend bought Universal season passes so parking was free. When we showed up at the ticket kiosk our tickets were not recognized. We went to one of the manned assistant stations nearby and the man told us that your ticket transaction sometimes can take up to an hour. ???!!! He told us to come back to him with a confirmation number and he'd take care of us immediately. Universal was quick to charge my Amex, but we sat there for another :45 minutes until we received a confirmation number. We stood in line behind a family who literally spend :15 minutes asking every question and complaining to this assistant. When they finally were done, my wife stepped forward and he said, "I'm sorry, but the line is over here." There were four others waiting next to him. That was it. He set me off. I cursed (sorry) and walked away. Luckily my wife has a cooler head and she worked it out with him. On to the next issue. I have always found the Universal ticket admission process slow and inefficient. Of course, I always pick the line where there's an issue with a ticket and the line stalls for five minutes. I did that twice. It took :15 minutes to get through the line after an hour wait to get our tickets. Universal needs to take a page from Disney and improve this process.
The park was packed. Just about the most inflated I've seen it in years. I was frustrated so my daughter and me wanted to grab some mixed drinks over at Alcatraz. I wanted my usual; a Long Island Iced Tea. There were five people in line. We stood there for about :10 minutes and the line didn't move. That's when I noticed....there was one bartender on duty ! The bar was full and people were waiting to place orders.I told the group to pack up and move on; no mixers. We rode the Mummy and watched the Blues Brothers show. I love the BB's. Great show. The MIB line was all the way back to where the elevator doors open. I never saw it so packed. That was at least a :30 minute wait. We headed off to HP. Wanted to get a beer there, but the line had to be twenty deep; no drink yet. We did not do a Potter ride at all on this visit. Wait times were not less than :45. We walked over to Islands. Went to the Backwater Bar. You gotta be kidding me ! One bartender and six people waiting for drinks. Move on. We did Forbidden Journey. Love that one. Only about :30 minute wait. FINALLY got served at the Watering Hole. I forget the bartender, but she made an awesome drink. We went on to the wet rides. It was 90 degrees with a dew point in the 80's...muggy. Dudley Doright was first. I go bareback; no poncho. I was soaked. We were already wet, so why not, onto Popeye and Bluto's. I got it the worst. Squishy shoes, shirt stuck to my body and soaked shorts. We did Kong as our last. It was a :35 minute wait. Everyone was ready for some food so on the way out we stopped at Cowfish. :45 minute wait. Nope. Bubba Gumps. :40 minute wait. Daughter suggested NBC so we can watch the Penn State game. Yes ! :30 minute wait for a table. But I want to watch the PSU game and 40 friggin' TV's have Florida on !!! We found a smaller TV near one corner of the bar that had the game. We set up there, and eventually commandeered a table right behind us to watch the game. Let me just say that the waitress must have gotten five things wrong with the orders and we waited up to :20 minutes for drinks at times. My wings sucked. I ate one. I sat there, wet and frustrated, but at least it was a good game. I was too wet to even walk over to Fat Tuesday's for my favorite, a 190 Octane. We left the park, still damp, after a long day. Not the best, but at least I was with family.
Planning on heading back down in October. Considering the Universal Halloween ticket. Should we or not ?

I’ll try to break down some of your issues/complaints.

As far as the ticket purchasing goes, you can’t assume computer systems for online purchasing will be immediate. In fact, I think they tell you to buy your tickets online 24 hours in advance. I was looking into DL tickets for a trip in November and it explicitly states that if you are arriving today to buy your tickets at the booth rather than online. This was quite preventable and could have saved you lots of time had you went and purchased even the night before.

For the wait times, I don’t see anything in your post that’s outlandish. 30-45 mins is, imo, a decent and fair wait for most universal rides. I don’t know if you were expecting everything to be under 15 minutes but that’s not viable too often. I would also recommend the single rider line if the wait time is your biggest concern, as Universal has many single rider lines for their attractions.

I’m not sure what the procedure is for all restaurants, but the Chocolate Factory has a nice concept where you can “check in” at the podium and they will text you when your table is ready. You could even send one person out to put the name in and depending on how long the quoted wait is, head back into the park for a bit. I like to just go grab a drink while I wait, though.

Halloween Horror Nights, from what I have heard, are mostly packed. If you wanted to go, I would recommend doing it on one of their “slower” nights. I know some houses get up to a couple hours long. That may not be worth it for you.

 

[Tom Morrow]

If you go on a busy night of HHN the lines without Express pass are excruciatingly slow, but they become more manageable later in the evening once all the Express holders have already powered through every house.