3 days... from a Universal Newbie.

[Lees3rwe]

We just completed our 3rd day at the parks and I have to say, the rides were amazing.

We had the opportunity to ride Transformers THREE times! (If you can get the front row of the ride vehicle, DO IT!!! It is amazing).

We all really enjoyed the Studios much more than Islands of Adventure, which was totally not what we expected! My son is a huge Marvel freak! I was tickled to get his picture with Spiderman on the first day... that was awesome!

We found Universal to be very wheelchair friendly (my son has severe tendonitis in both knees from something called Osgood-Schlatters disease). He walked the first day, but we had to use a chair the rest of the time. They were very friendly and helpful.

I don't think we would ever consider doing these parks without staying on site and having the unlimited Express Access.
I do think it is a shame that the Studios don't open an hour earlier for guests though.

If you are an early riser and can get to Harry Potter Land at opening, it is very easy to do both of these parks. We rode Forbidden Journey twice and had no wait. It is an amazing ride.

My two complaints would be that
1. I don't think they do a good job of communicating. We had no idea that Studios closed at 6:00 one day of our trip and several of the ride ques were very confusing and unclear. There didn't seem to be many staff people on hand at the rides either. We also encountered quite a few grumpy staff.

2. I thought the food was awful. I am not a picky eater by any means, but the food was nasty. I had lasagna at 4 Corners (Marvel Island), The Fried Chicken Platter at the new Simpsons Fast Food Alley, and the Meatloaf plate at Monster Café. We had planned to go to Mythos, but the doors were locked at 6:00, no sign or anything on the door with hours. Confisco also had closed at 8:00. That night, we ended up eating at the Chinese place at City Walk.

All in all, it was a fun trip.

 

[LovesHauntedMansion]

Was it Monday that US closed at 6:00? I read it on the website and called my brother who is vacationing there now and told him not to go to US on Monday. BTW - As I am writing this, they are standing in a 75 minute line to ride the Forbidden Journey.

 

[Lees3rwe]

Yes, it was Monday, for the Blue Man Group Concert I guess.

The crowds absolutely picked up today... there was a big increase!
Have fun!

 

[Metro West]

I'm going to move this to the Trip Reports board.

Feel free to keep updating.

You picked all the wrong places to eat at the parks. I wouldn't eat at any of those places if you paid me. Thunder Falls Terrace is my favorite at IOA and Louie's my choice at the Studios. Try those once and I bet you will change your mind about the food. Also...check out the food sticky...lots of good information and recommendations within.

Glad you're having a great time!

 

[Lees3rwe]

Oh they weren't my first picks at all...

My 12 year old son picked them.
This was probably a one time trip (or maybe again in a few more years) for us, so I let him pick where he wanted. The theming at Monster was pretty cool. I did enjoy that part and the pizzas that everyone around us had looked pretty good.


One more tip for folks if you are staying at Royal Pacific... ask to be anywhere other than the room by the pet park exit.

I can't figure out how we ended up surrounded by animals when I specifically requested a pet free room due to my severe allergies and asthma.
I didn't have any issues in the room, but we were passed by dogs in the hallway several times (not to mention hearing them bark all night and hearing that blame door to the pet park open and slam shut at all hours).

That was really annoying when you pay that much for a hotel room.
I didn't ask to move because we had already unpacked all of our stuff and didn't realize how bad it would be. We suffered through it but if we ever come again, I will NOT be in that section of the hotel.

 

[Wee Annie]

One more tip for folks if you are staying at Royal Pacific... ask to be anywhere other than the room by the pet park exit.

I can't figure out how we ended up surrounded by animals when I specifically requested a pet free room due to my severe allergies and asthma.
I didn't have any issues in the room, but we were passed by dogs in the hallway several times (not to mention hearing them bark all night and hearing that blame door to the pet park open and slam shut at all hours).

That was really annoying when you pay that much for a hotel room.
I didn't ask to move because we had already unpacked all of our stuff and didn't realize how bad it would be. We suffered through it but if we ever come again, I will NOT be in that section of the hotel.

What section is this? We're going to RPR in November and never been there, so I'd love to know (and have two people with asthma and pet allergies in our family).

 

[Lees3rwe]

We were in Tower 2 Leeward Tower.