Part 2. Universal Orlando Resort

Universal was the main reason we flew into Orlando a few days early before our cruise. Kinda like to have a Pre Vacation before the Actual Vacation. It had been nearly 16 years since I had been to Orlando and Universal Studios and Kiera had never been. We figured we were going to be in Orlando anyways so we might as well have a little theme park fun while we were there. We did look into going to Disney World however at twice the cost of Universal and only 2 days to spend there we wouldn't have near enough time to do all we would want to do. So we decided to spend 2 days at the Universal Orland Resort. Plus there $99 tickets that are good for 7 days was just too good of a deal to pass up.




The reason we booked the Hotel that we did was because of how close it was to Universal. They really advertised that it was within walking distance. We thought this would be a great deal since we would have to pay for parking. Well the walk takes about 20 minutes. It wasn't too bad going to the park but after a long day it seemed like the walk took forever. For our first day at the Resort we went to the oldest park they have. Universal Studios Florida.



Universal Studios was alot of fun. Every bit as fun as I remembered it being as a child. If you are in the Orlando area I recommend checking it out. Yeah its not Disney. But at the same time its not trying to be. It has its own unique feel and vibe. In fact I think Universal did alot of there rides that are similar to Disney's offerings better then Disney did.






We went around the park in a circular motion hitting whatever rides we came to. We did Jimmy Neutron and Shrek adn then headed to Universals newest ride. The rollar coaster pictured above called Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit. This Coaster was awesome. One of the best i've been on. The strait up hill scared the crap out of me. Unlike Wicked at lagoon you don't get launched up the hill. You slowly got dragged up it. The coaster is also very cool cause each person gets to pick the song they want to liston to while on the ride. We also watched the Twister show wich was also cool and the Mummy ride which is about 100x better then the one at Universal Studios Hollywood. We also stumbled across some of movie cars from Fast and Furious and Back to the Future.





The next to rides we came across were Disaster and Jaws. Disaster is now what use to be the Earthquake ride. However instead of just boarding the train and heading into the subway station where the earthquake happens they have it set up like a movie studio and pick people to help "film" a movie. Its actually a pretty unique Idea which turned out to be pretty cool. The whole "ride" took like 30 minutes to get thru though. Jaws is still how I remember it. It was fun but it was also the longest wait we had the whole day and wasn't worth the wait.








We next made our way to the back of the park where the Simpsons and Men in Black rides are. The Simpsons is the exact same ride as what they have in Hollywood. However it is still very good and funny and in my opinion the best motion simulator out there. The Men in Black ride was easily one of my favorite rides in the whole resort. Think of it like Buzz Lightyear but much much better. From the second you walk in the building tell you walk off the ride you are totally emerssed in the Men in Black world as you help then stop an alien take over.








After Men in Black we made our way to the final ride of the day. ET. This is still a cute little ride. I was sad that they took it out of Universal Studios Hollywood and was glad to get to ride it in Orlando. By the time ET was over everyone was getting hungry. So we went to Guest Services and picked up our Halloween Horror Night tickets and went and found some food at an Irish place called Finegans which was really good. It was also priced better then the other crap theme park food you'd find thruout the rest of the parks. It was also right next to the HHN holding area where we would have to wait before HHN began. As we were waiting there was also this squiarl running around right by people.










Finally the time was near for Halloween Horror Nights to begin. HHN is one of the top Halloween events in the country that Universal puts on every year. Being the fans of Halloween and Haunted Houses that we are we decided we needed to check it out. We bought what is called Stay and Scream passes. Basically it was and additional ticket you could buy for HHN if you were already at Universal Studios for the day. It was also the cheapest ticket for the night we were there and a great value considering the $30 got you into 8 Haunted Houses as well as 6 scare zones and 2 shows. Normally the event costs around $60-70 bucks to go to. Also with the Stay and Scream pass we got a head start before they started letting the crowds into the park so we got 2 houses done before they opened the gates and 4 done witin the first hour that it opened.





The Houses are very detailed. Much more detailed then any i've seen in Utah. However because there are so many people at HHN they have to keep the line constantly moving so we found we kept barely missing alot of the scares. Of the 8 house we ended up doing 6 of them before we left. My favorites went Frankenstein, Chucky, Saw, Wolfman, Silver Screams, and Dracula. I also expected more out of the scare zones. Maybe there weren't as many people working since it was an off peak night or something. I don't know. But we didn't really have anyone jumping out at us in these. In fact Rachael managed to scare one of the scare actors.







Overall HHN was a pretty good event. I wouldn't fly to Florida specifically for this event though like so many people do. I don't even think I would pay full price to go to it. However if you are in the Orlando area when its going on and are planning on going to Universal Studios I would recommend checking the event out. Its pretty good at what it does. Theres just so many people there. After finishing with HHN we then made out way thru citywalk and made the nice long walk back to the Hotel.





The next day we went to the other theme park at the Universal Orlando Resort. Islands of Adventure. This park is alot of fun. Even many of the themeing elements were on par with what Disney does. I even thought the entry to the park was one of the best i've seen.




Our first stop was at the Marvel Superhero Island where we rode the Incredible Hulk Coaster and the Spiderman ride. The Hulk is a very good coaster. If you like inversions and going upside down this one is a must for you. Spiderman to say the least is AMAZING. There isn't anything like it. I don't even know how to discribe it. This was one of the only rides I wish we would have had time to ride again. It will be interesting to see what Universal will have to do with this Island since Disney recently bought Marvel.







The next Island we came to was Toon Lagoon. Basically it transports you to the world of the Sunday Newspaper comics. We didn't ride any rides in this area at this time because they are all wet rides. Since we didn't want to get wet we decided to save them tell the end.






The next Island was my favorite. Jurassic Park. I am a huge fan of the movie and the Island is very detailed. You really feel like your on an island somewhere. Its so green and pretty. The main ride here was also a water ride so we would be saving it tell the end. They also have a small Kid type rollar coaster and play area and a visitor center just like in the movie.










Between Jurassic Park and the Lost Contenent the new Harry Potter Island is under construction. It looks so cool already so we imagine its going to be pretty amazing when it opens next summer. We already look forward to when we can go back to Orlando and check out this new Harry Potter Island.







The next island is the Lost Contenent. We didn't do much here except for ride the Dueling Dragons coasters. These coasters are pretty amazing. Especially when timed together right. The near collisions of the 2 coasters are unlike any other roller coaster i've ever been on. These too will soon be rethemed to Harry Potter as well. Other then that we didn't do anything else here since there other offerings are just shows.





The final Island at Island of Adventure is Suess Landing. Basically being a land for kids being themed to the Dr. Suess Books. Its actually pretty cool. There literally isn't a strait line anywhere. Not even the trees. But as I said its mostly a kid area with kid type rides. We only rode the cat in the hat dark ride wich was one of the best dark rides i've ever been on (yes even better then most of disneys) and a train ride themed to the Star Bellied Snitichs.








After finishing up with Suess Landing we made out way back to Jurassic Park to begin the first of our three final wet rides of the day. I love the Jurassic Park River Adventure. It is easily my favorite flume type wet ride. The one here in Orlando was really good. However the one in Universal Studios Hollywood is still better. Both rides are pretty much the same. The Hollywood one just is longer and has a few different scenes you go thru. However both have the same excellent drop at the end. Suprisingly we didn't get very wet on this ride.




Our final two rides were in Toon Lagoon. Dudley Do Right and Popeye's Rapids. If you do not want to get wet these rides are not for you. These rides not only get you wet. But they get you SOAKED. You will not walk off ether of them dry. I don't even think a poncho would help. Dudley Do Right is a log flume ride like splash mountain. It was really good and the drop is the best drop i've seen on a log flume. Popeye is probably the best rapid ride i've been on ever. The point of these rapid rides is to get you wet. And this one surly will.




Now that we were soaking wet and still had a 20 minute walk back to the hotel we decided to call it a day. Universal Orlando is alot of fun. If you are planning a Disney World Vacation you must make time to check out Universal. It is every bit as good as Disney. Just in differnt ways. We had a great time there and would love to go again when we have more time. It didn't help that we were still tired from the time differences as well as the Florida weather being pretty miserable considering they were having record heat and the humidity was almost unbearable. But still we made the best of it and had a great time.