Post by Bud Parsley on Apr 3, 2012 10:12:08 GMT -8
Went to Universal Orlando for the first time ever a couple of weeks ago. I could write a book on this trip, so I'll try to keep things to the point.
First up, wow. That's about all I can say to properly sum it up. This is an AMAZING resort. The two parks each offer a completely different feel, and the connecting CityWalk, Lake, and Hotels give it all a very "complete" feel. Very cool.
So let's get to the parks themselves. I'll start with Universal Studios. They have some great offerings, and some that, well, are just so-so. Rip-Ride-Rocket was a great coaster. I LOVED the on-board soundtrack where you get to pick your own song during the ride. I very much enjoyed the lack of OTSR's. And the vertical lift was very fun as well. A little bumpy toward the end, but not unbearable.
Their Mummy coaster was fun. For some reason I really expected it to be way better than California's but I found myself feeling like the two both have their pros and cons. I missed the backwards coaster part of the California version, though. But still a great ride.
Men In Black was an interactive shooter dark ride. I thought it was just OK. Nothing to write home about. Toy Story is much more entertaining in my opinion.
They also have some stuff that is the same in Cali: Simpsons (makes me feel sick), Terminator (fun 3-D show), and Shrek (4-D). All good attractions.
OK, so on to the other theme park: Islands of Adventure. This park was INCREDIBLE. First park I've ever been to that could give Disneyland a run for its money. It was just top to bottom elaborately themed, and had an incredible offering of rides.
Seuss Landing was just brilliant. I spent a lot of time here just taking in the sights. The Cat in the Hat dark ride was great, and the “spinning” was an added plus that I really enjoyed (vs. having to spin yourself like Roger Rabbit at Disneyland). The Caro-Suess-el was very fun to watch with all of its interactive characters. One Fish Two Fish was like Dumbo but with the fun interactive fountains to try to avoid during the ride. Just a great land for kids and kids-at-heart.
Marvel Superhero Island was a blast. The Hulk Coaster is in my Top 10, possibly Top 5. Just pure adrenaline from start to finish. Smooth, incredible, fun. The uphill launch with the roll at the peak got me every time. Wow, wow, wow.
Toon Lagoon has the two of the best water rides I’ve ever been on. I would put only Splash Mountain ahead of these. Popeye is hands down the best themed (and wettest) raft ride I’ve ever been on. There were elements and surprises on that raft ride I have never seen anywhere else.
Dudley Do-Right was an INCREDIBLE log flume. Very wet. Watching this thing come down the final drop and then do that “roller coaster” part out over the lagoon with all that water spraying on the track was amazing. I sat there and watched that over and over for about 20 minutes. Again, never seen ANYTHING like it.
Jurassic Park was the one “Island” I was a bit let down by. The Jurassic Park river ride was just like California so that really wasn’t anything new for me. I was disappointed that adults could not ride the Pteranadon Flyer coaster without a child – it looked fun.
Lost Continent was excellently themed and even though there isn’t a big ride there, the Poseidon show and the shops were all a lot of fun.
So now, I’ll get to Potter Land. This one lived up to all the hype. The theming was off the charts. The rides were great, and even though the Dragons don’t “duel” anymore, they are both still excellent inverted coasters. Tried Butterbeer and Pumpkin juice. Both were great. Went in the shops and was just blow away by all the goodies and gadgets you could purchase. Loved it all.
The big ride – Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey – was incredible. Believe the hype about this one. What a ride. The combination of live sets and movie were just so much fun. It was great to be able to experience the movies in that way. I would give this ride a 9 out of 10 only losing points for one detail which I will mention later. Overall, an excellent ride with a lot of scares and incredible Kuka technology. Everyone should experience this and soon it will be in California which will be great for those who can’t make it to Florida that often. This one is going to have a long, LONG life.
Finally, I want to come back to Marve Superhero Island to what is indisputably the single greatest theme park attraction I have ever ridden in my life, and that is Spider-Man. I understand that they have just recently upgraded this ride to HD, with a new soundtrack, and added some other new features. I could not believe this ride. I’m not much of a comic-book fan to begin with, but WOW. With the HD and 3-D, I could not tell where the physical sets ended and the movie began (this was my one complaint with Potter – it was not in HD/3-D and it was very obvious when you made the transition between movie and physical set.) Everything on Spider-Man was in sync so perfectly and I really believed it was all happening. Nothing seemed fake or out of place at all. I had to ride this one over and over and over again. I just could not believe how incredible it was. 10 out of 10 and like I said, no other theme park ride/attraction/coaster/show has ever come close to being as impressive as this single ride was. If transformers even comes close to this, the entire theme park game in California is about to change.
So I will end there. We were at the parks for 2 days and even though this was supposed to be “Spring Break” we never waited more than 30 minutes for any ride. We did not need the express passes either. I highly encourage you to get to Universal Orlando as soon as you can. This is one incredible Theme Park Resort.
First up, wow. That's about all I can say to properly sum it up. This is an AMAZING resort. The two parks each offer a completely different feel, and the connecting CityWalk, Lake, and Hotels give it all a very "complete" feel. Very cool.
So let's get to the parks themselves. I'll start with Universal Studios. They have some great offerings, and some that, well, are just so-so. Rip-Ride-Rocket was a great coaster. I LOVED the on-board soundtrack where you get to pick your own song during the ride. I very much enjoyed the lack of OTSR's. And the vertical lift was very fun as well. A little bumpy toward the end, but not unbearable.
Their Mummy coaster was fun. For some reason I really expected it to be way better than California's but I found myself feeling like the two both have their pros and cons. I missed the backwards coaster part of the California version, though. But still a great ride.
Men In Black was an interactive shooter dark ride. I thought it was just OK. Nothing to write home about. Toy Story is much more entertaining in my opinion.
They also have some stuff that is the same in Cali: Simpsons (makes me feel sick), Terminator (fun 3-D show), and Shrek (4-D). All good attractions.
OK, so on to the other theme park: Islands of Adventure. This park was INCREDIBLE. First park I've ever been to that could give Disneyland a run for its money. It was just top to bottom elaborately themed, and had an incredible offering of rides.
Seuss Landing was just brilliant. I spent a lot of time here just taking in the sights. The Cat in the Hat dark ride was great, and the “spinning” was an added plus that I really enjoyed (vs. having to spin yourself like Roger Rabbit at Disneyland). The Caro-Suess-el was very fun to watch with all of its interactive characters. One Fish Two Fish was like Dumbo but with the fun interactive fountains to try to avoid during the ride. Just a great land for kids and kids-at-heart.
Marvel Superhero Island was a blast. The Hulk Coaster is in my Top 10, possibly Top 5. Just pure adrenaline from start to finish. Smooth, incredible, fun. The uphill launch with the roll at the peak got me every time. Wow, wow, wow.
Toon Lagoon has the two of the best water rides I’ve ever been on. I would put only Splash Mountain ahead of these. Popeye is hands down the best themed (and wettest) raft ride I’ve ever been on. There were elements and surprises on that raft ride I have never seen anywhere else.
Dudley Do-Right was an INCREDIBLE log flume. Very wet. Watching this thing come down the final drop and then do that “roller coaster” part out over the lagoon with all that water spraying on the track was amazing. I sat there and watched that over and over for about 20 minutes. Again, never seen ANYTHING like it.
Jurassic Park was the one “Island” I was a bit let down by. The Jurassic Park river ride was just like California so that really wasn’t anything new for me. I was disappointed that adults could not ride the Pteranadon Flyer coaster without a child – it looked fun.
Lost Continent was excellently themed and even though there isn’t a big ride there, the Poseidon show and the shops were all a lot of fun.
So now, I’ll get to Potter Land. This one lived up to all the hype. The theming was off the charts. The rides were great, and even though the Dragons don’t “duel” anymore, they are both still excellent inverted coasters. Tried Butterbeer and Pumpkin juice. Both were great. Went in the shops and was just blow away by all the goodies and gadgets you could purchase. Loved it all.
The big ride – Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey – was incredible. Believe the hype about this one. What a ride. The combination of live sets and movie were just so much fun. It was great to be able to experience the movies in that way. I would give this ride a 9 out of 10 only losing points for one detail which I will mention later. Overall, an excellent ride with a lot of scares and incredible Kuka technology. Everyone should experience this and soon it will be in California which will be great for those who can’t make it to Florida that often. This one is going to have a long, LONG life.
Finally, I want to come back to Marve Superhero Island to what is indisputably the single greatest theme park attraction I have ever ridden in my life, and that is Spider-Man. I understand that they have just recently upgraded this ride to HD, with a new soundtrack, and added some other new features. I could not believe this ride. I’m not much of a comic-book fan to begin with, but WOW. With the HD and 3-D, I could not tell where the physical sets ended and the movie began (this was my one complaint with Potter – it was not in HD/3-D and it was very obvious when you made the transition between movie and physical set.) Everything on Spider-Man was in sync so perfectly and I really believed it was all happening. Nothing seemed fake or out of place at all. I had to ride this one over and over and over again. I just could not believe how incredible it was. 10 out of 10 and like I said, no other theme park ride/attraction/coaster/show has ever come close to being as impressive as this single ride was. If transformers even comes close to this, the entire theme park game in California is about to change.
So I will end there. We were at the parks for 2 days and even though this was supposed to be “Spring Break” we never waited more than 30 minutes for any ride. We did not need the express passes either. I highly encourage you to get to Universal Orlando as soon as you can. This is one incredible Theme Park Resort.