PantherPete
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 13, 2015
- Messages
- 441
My family and I spent Thanksgiving week at Universal. We've done this many times in the past (9 times over the past 10 years). Probably the last full week trip for us as my kids aren't kids any longer and week long amusement park vacations aren't exactly their thing at this point. But they enjoyed it.
Some general comments:
1. I found the park employee experience different than our last trip (in 2023). Some of the employees were spectacular and others were meh. I'm assuming they are having trouble hiring and retaining associates with the new park opening. Had to hire a lot of new people. So they may be at different stages of training. But overall great experience. We submitted a formal recognition for 1 associate who was great.
2. Big Fire is a great restaurant. Been there several times in the past and it is always good, but this trip it was even better than ever.
3. Antojitos on the other hand - still just ok. If we do ever go back for a full week, I'll probably double up on nights at Big Fire and skip Antojitos.
3. Mythos is still a fantastic experience overall. Food is good, not great. But the ambiance and service at awesome.
4. Counter service inside USO and IOA is pretty rough. Lines are way too long for lunch, even around 2pm or later. You can literally sit down at Finnegan's and eat faster than Fast Food Blvd or Mel's. And the prices aren't that much higher, although you do have to tip at Finnegan's. We ended up leaving the parks and going to the City Walk several times - mostly for Red Oven Pizza, which is better than the pizza inside USO or IOA.
5. Express Pass for Hagrid's is a game changer, both for the good and bad. If you have express, it is fantastic. Rode it 4 times, 3 times with posted wait times at 120+ minutes. Never waited longer than 30 minutes through Express. Having said that, it sure seems that express is making the stand by line unbearable, which I find to be a bummer. I don't believe I ever saw the wait go shorter than 60 minutes the entire week.
6. Velocicoaster is still the best coaster I've ever been on. Ridden it 25+ times at this point and it is fantastic every time.
7. We always stay at the HRH. Still love it after so many trips, I'm still not tempted to stay anywhere else. The club has upped their game as well.
8. The castle show was as good or better than ever and it seemed to be a bit more organized up there than in the past.
9. First time seeing the Cinesational show. Wow - best lagoon show yet. We debated going and we were all glad that we did it after we saw it.
10. Minion popsicles are expensive, but really good. I suggest trying them if you haven't.
11. The Macy's parade is getting stale. Need to add or make changes every year. Was hoping for a Donkey Kong Balloon or How to Train Your Dragon floats. Got the same as the past 10 years.
12. Skipped Breakfast with the Grinch. Didn't enjoy the changes they made to it a couple of years ago. Not sure if it has improved since then, wasn't willing to pay the $ and take the chance. Our splurge this trip besides Thanksgiving Dinner at the Kitchen was express pass for Epic.
13. The City Walk needs a new restaurant. A few are getting a little long in the tooth. I love Vivo & Big Fire though. Keep those for sure.
Some EPIC specific comments:
1. All the worlds are very well done - detailed and fully immersive. Hard to single out a favorite, but if I had to pick, I'd go with Dark Universe. Loved seeing the windmill on fire at night.
2. Beautiful park overall - love the fountains, architecture and lights. It is a big park, but the way they set it up with spokes makes it seem smaller and easy to navigate.
3. As breathtaking as Celestial Park is, it is a little too big with too much empty space. Hopefully they find ways to add a couple more attractions there.
4. The Asian restaurant was incredible to look at - but food was just ok. Most of you probably can get better Asian food within a 15 minute drive of your homes.
5. Counter service lines were short - much different than the experience in IOA and USO.
6. Monster's Unchained is the best attraction, followed by Stardust Racers. But don't sleep on Hiccup's Wing Gliders! We thought it was going to be a kiddie coaster like Trollocoaster or Hippogriff. Totally wrong - it is a legit coaster and a lot of fun. Don't skip it like we almost did. We even enjoyed the Curse of the Werewolf ride.
7. Probably blasphemous, but Mario Kart was a MAJOR disappointment. The ride queue was better than the ride. IMO, the worst attraction there, although we didn't go on Fyre Drill. OK, maybe Yoshi was worse, but we didn't expect Yoshi to be good - it just served its purpose of a cute ride to sit down on and enjoy the scenery. But Mario Kart? We got off with "what was that" looks on our faces. It was neither thrilling or fun. Villain Con was even more fun. Seriously. Mine Cart wasn't the best ride either, but it was still a lot of fun.
8. Ministry of Magic queue was incredible. Just a sight to behold. Ride was pretty good too - IMO a cross between Spiderman and Hollywood Tower of Terror at Disney. And Epic's Harry Potter world is hands down the best one. Much more space to roam. You don't feel claustrophobic there like you do in IOA and (especially) USO.
9. Thought there would be more character meet and greets - we didn't see many. Of course, we weren't really looking for them either. Did meet the Invisible Man. Would've liked to have seen all the monsters out. Maybe something like what Marvel Island does.
For the first time ever, we left without a definitive plan to return. But we are thinking that we will do some shorter trips in the future, perhaps around Orlando Informer events. Or a slower time in the second week of December. It has become a part of our Christmas time tradition, so we will have to figure out something that works.
Oh well, sorry if I offended anyone with my takes above or if anyone thought I'm being too negative. Wanted to give as fair and balanced of a review as I could. I'd be happy to answer any questions anyone has and will try to offer unbiased answers. Or at least as unbiased as a Universal nut can.
Some general comments:
1. I found the park employee experience different than our last trip (in 2023). Some of the employees were spectacular and others were meh. I'm assuming they are having trouble hiring and retaining associates with the new park opening. Had to hire a lot of new people. So they may be at different stages of training. But overall great experience. We submitted a formal recognition for 1 associate who was great.
2. Big Fire is a great restaurant. Been there several times in the past and it is always good, but this trip it was even better than ever.
3. Antojitos on the other hand - still just ok. If we do ever go back for a full week, I'll probably double up on nights at Big Fire and skip Antojitos.
3. Mythos is still a fantastic experience overall. Food is good, not great. But the ambiance and service at awesome.
4. Counter service inside USO and IOA is pretty rough. Lines are way too long for lunch, even around 2pm or later. You can literally sit down at Finnegan's and eat faster than Fast Food Blvd or Mel's. And the prices aren't that much higher, although you do have to tip at Finnegan's. We ended up leaving the parks and going to the City Walk several times - mostly for Red Oven Pizza, which is better than the pizza inside USO or IOA.
5. Express Pass for Hagrid's is a game changer, both for the good and bad. If you have express, it is fantastic. Rode it 4 times, 3 times with posted wait times at 120+ minutes. Never waited longer than 30 minutes through Express. Having said that, it sure seems that express is making the stand by line unbearable, which I find to be a bummer. I don't believe I ever saw the wait go shorter than 60 minutes the entire week.
6. Velocicoaster is still the best coaster I've ever been on. Ridden it 25+ times at this point and it is fantastic every time.
7. We always stay at the HRH. Still love it after so many trips, I'm still not tempted to stay anywhere else. The club has upped their game as well.
8. The castle show was as good or better than ever and it seemed to be a bit more organized up there than in the past.
9. First time seeing the Cinesational show. Wow - best lagoon show yet. We debated going and we were all glad that we did it after we saw it.
10. Minion popsicles are expensive, but really good. I suggest trying them if you haven't.
11. The Macy's parade is getting stale. Need to add or make changes every year. Was hoping for a Donkey Kong Balloon or How to Train Your Dragon floats. Got the same as the past 10 years.
12. Skipped Breakfast with the Grinch. Didn't enjoy the changes they made to it a couple of years ago. Not sure if it has improved since then, wasn't willing to pay the $ and take the chance. Our splurge this trip besides Thanksgiving Dinner at the Kitchen was express pass for Epic.
13. The City Walk needs a new restaurant. A few are getting a little long in the tooth. I love Vivo & Big Fire though. Keep those for sure.
Some EPIC specific comments:
1. All the worlds are very well done - detailed and fully immersive. Hard to single out a favorite, but if I had to pick, I'd go with Dark Universe. Loved seeing the windmill on fire at night.
2. Beautiful park overall - love the fountains, architecture and lights. It is a big park, but the way they set it up with spokes makes it seem smaller and easy to navigate.
3. As breathtaking as Celestial Park is, it is a little too big with too much empty space. Hopefully they find ways to add a couple more attractions there.
4. The Asian restaurant was incredible to look at - but food was just ok. Most of you probably can get better Asian food within a 15 minute drive of your homes.
5. Counter service lines were short - much different than the experience in IOA and USO.
6. Monster's Unchained is the best attraction, followed by Stardust Racers. But don't sleep on Hiccup's Wing Gliders! We thought it was going to be a kiddie coaster like Trollocoaster or Hippogriff. Totally wrong - it is a legit coaster and a lot of fun. Don't skip it like we almost did. We even enjoyed the Curse of the Werewolf ride.
7. Probably blasphemous, but Mario Kart was a MAJOR disappointment. The ride queue was better than the ride. IMO, the worst attraction there, although we didn't go on Fyre Drill. OK, maybe Yoshi was worse, but we didn't expect Yoshi to be good - it just served its purpose of a cute ride to sit down on and enjoy the scenery. But Mario Kart? We got off with "what was that" looks on our faces. It was neither thrilling or fun. Villain Con was even more fun. Seriously. Mine Cart wasn't the best ride either, but it was still a lot of fun.
8. Ministry of Magic queue was incredible. Just a sight to behold. Ride was pretty good too - IMO a cross between Spiderman and Hollywood Tower of Terror at Disney. And Epic's Harry Potter world is hands down the best one. Much more space to roam. You don't feel claustrophobic there like you do in IOA and (especially) USO.
9. Thought there would be more character meet and greets - we didn't see many. Of course, we weren't really looking for them either. Did meet the Invisible Man. Would've liked to have seen all the monsters out. Maybe something like what Marvel Island does.
For the first time ever, we left without a definitive plan to return. But we are thinking that we will do some shorter trips in the future, perhaps around Orlando Informer events. Or a slower time in the second week of December. It has become a part of our Christmas time tradition, so we will have to figure out something that works.
Oh well, sorry if I offended anyone with my takes above or if anyone thought I'm being too negative. Wanted to give as fair and balanced of a review as I could. I'd be happy to answer any questions anyone has and will try to offer unbiased answers. Or at least as unbiased as a Universal nut can.
