Out of this World? (Universal Studios (Florida))

Member Name: kellylouj

Product:	Universal Studios (Florida)
Date:	01/04/06 (478 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Ride some of the most famous movies of all time

Disadvantages: Long Queues, Out of date

Having planned a two week trip to Florida Universal was being built into the second week of our stay and on a saturday we visited Universal Studios Florida.

Out of all of the parks this was the one that I was most looking forward to this one as I had high expectation that this was the place to visit in Florida.

We had the Orlando 5 park flex tickets which allowed us to visit all of the parks listed there unlimited for a 14 day period, however I think 7 days would be sufficient dependent upon the time of year that you want to travel.

We went on 16th march for 2 weeks and this was when the spring break was in the United States so it was a little more crowded that we had anticipated but overall the parks were not as full as they can sometimes be.

However is you do think that the parks are busy they have Universal Express Tickets which cost $20.00 per person but these work as a fastpass ticket which allows you to get to the front of the ride and bypass the majority of the queue, but there can still be a bit of a wait, and Universal to be honest is pretty quiet in the morning so my tip is get there early and get on the rides that you really want to go on first as the queues tend to get bigger after 2pm.

As we were using the complimentary transportation from our hotel we got dropped off in the coach park at the bottom of the escalators that lead to the long walkway to the entrance to both Universal and Islands of Adventure.

To the right is the entrance to Universal which was our first point of call, so we walked through to the entrance, we arrived at 8.30am and the park was not due to open until 8.45am but there were a large number of queues forming already so we decided to join them, on average it took 10 minutes to get to the front of the queue as the system is pretty slow. You have to hand your ticket to a member of staff and they will scan it and advise you to place a fingerprint should your ticket be lost this will trace it back to you, you then pass through the turnstile and your arriving into Universal.

As you first enter Universal you are greeted with a number of shops this street is called Plaza of the Stsrs and leads all the way to the back of Universal. We turned right and walked along Hollywood Boulevard which had a number of shops including the I love Lucy memorabilia store and a range of ice cream parlours and restaurants to eat in.
We ate in the Boulangerie which is also stocked with a range of cheesecakes from the ever popular cheesecake factory and we had to try a piece at $4.29 per piece it was pretty costly but well worth it, the food was delicious. For $6.89 we got a filled croissant or baguette served with potato salad and melon and a strawberry which is pretty average for foods in the theme parks.

After Rodeo Drive is Hollywood and this is where you find some of the shows. Universal Horror Make up show is great you are in a small theatre where you can see how special effects are made from some of the most popular Universal Movies and also see authentic props and a behind-the scenes video, show times are listed outside the show and also on your park guidemap but are normally very popular we were arriving about 20 minutes before the show to ensure that we could get a seat.
Next to the Horror Show is Terminator 2 which is a 3-D show with live action, special effects and a 3-D film. This show I felt was pretty good as you had the characters acting out and the way that it was done it was seamless the characters jumped in and out of the 3-D set providing a thrilling show.

After Hollywood you come to Woody Woodpecker's Kidzone and this features more shows and rides, some were more suited for younger children so I did not experience everything.
Animal Planet Live was great as it has live animals and a lot of volunteers are required so if you are not shy, get your hand up and act with some animals, with dogs, monkeys, chimps, birds, cats and ducks this really is a good show and again is very popular with just 5 showings all day so make sure you get there early and this will last for 25 minutes.

E.T Adventure just like the film step onto a bicycle similar to those featured in the movie and enjoy a slow moving ride to E.T's home.

Also featured but I did not experience was A Day in the Park with Barney, Curious George goes to Town, Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster, Fievel's Playland.

World Expo is at the far right hand side of the park and features some excellent rides.
Men In Black is great you act as a Men In Black Agent and using your special alien zapping guns compete for the highest scores! Don't forget to hit the big red button at the end though to get a bonus score!
Back to the Future ride is a simulator created to the style of the Dolorian Doc Brown sends you on an advenure from the future to the past and experience one of the most thrilling rides at Universal.

San Francisco/Amity is next and features the thrilling Jaws ride board a boat as your tour guide takes you on a tour of Amity with a shock suprise throughout your tour.
Earthquake- The Big one is a combination of a show and a rid as the beginning you are guided through by a member of staff who shows you how special effects are created on camera and how they look so real, you can then volunteer to take part in stunts and special effects used in Hollywood Films before finally boarding an underground train to Earthquake, this has amazing special effects but can be quite scary for younger children.

Beetlejuice's graveyard revue is an excellent show that I can not recommend enough, here you can sing along to popular rock and roll tunes with the comical genius that is beetlejuice! Fantastic show that provides that something different!

New York is next and that includes Twister- Ride it out. Now I have to admit that this I felt was a waste of time, you just get wet as you see a small twister in the far distance and some objects fly around your head whilst water sprays on you, not impressed by this at all and the queue is always pretty long.
Revenge of the Mummy is the best ride that is at Universal and really impressed me it is the latest addition to the Universal Studios park and by far the best to wait for. Board your ride and visit tombs meet mummys, beetles as you plunge into total darkness with a twist at the very end, fantastic ride from start to finish.
Also located in New York is Delancey Street Preview Centre which I did not get chance to look at as well as the Blues Brothers, so if someone has managed I WOULD love to hear their opinion on the two I missed out on.

Finally you reach Production Central which contains the fab Shrek 4-d this takes over from where Shrek left with a thrilling story in 4-D which includes movement and water!!
Jimmy Neutrons Nicktoon Blast is also located on here but as we had no children we thought we may of got laughed at for attempting to ride this rocket!

Universal on the whole was a good trip but we managed to complete it in one morning as there is not that much to do there, Universal could do with revamping and adding some more rides as it is starting to look outdated compared to other parks and they are still living by the films that were popular 20-30 years ago.

All the same it is good for those that remember the old favourites not so good for the younger children.

Summary: Don't spend too much time here as you will run out of things to do.