nerdboyrockstar
here to change the world.
- Joined
- May 1, 2005
- Messages
- 2,011
We arrived at Universal at about 8:15 a.m. We checked into our hotel, the amazing Royal Pacific Resort, and got our very important hotel key cards. Ive stayed here a bunch of times before and its definitely my favorite out of the three on-site hotels. I just love the atmosphere of it for when Im on vacation. Ive stayed at the Portofino before but only visited the Hard Rock so Ill be staying at the Hard Rock at the end of May. The rate I got for the Royal Pacific was about $250 for 3 adults which
IS expensive.. But if you think about what an Express Plus pass wouldve cost for 2/25, itd be $50 per person for 2 parks. So
$250-$150... You know.. Its a deal. Haha..
Plus, when youre my age (21).. You have to think about the huge benefits of staying onsite.. You can drink all you want and be just a short walk or boat ride from your hotel.
I was traveling with 2 friends, Luis & Maria, who are brand new Preferred Annual Passholders (a-thank you..). We got into the park and went straight to Vacation Services so we can have our pictures taken. I havent had a new picture in 2 years and when I saw how the card looks now I was like.. Theres no way there gonna have that shiny new card and Im not. So I retook mine too. That only took like 3 minutes.. So then, it was time for some rides.
Shrek 4D
This is the first time Ive been on it that I noticed there was a second theater (I was last here in December so Im pretty sure it was already open.) Ive never actually watched it from the second theater though. Im sure its exactly the same. Either way, it made SUCH a difference on wait times. I think it still got to 60 minutes later that night but still its been well over 120 minutes in the past. After we exited the gift shop, we stuck around for a few minutes to watch Shrek & Donkey interact with the kids. I really think its great how they do this. The voice is spot on and it leaves you wondering how they did that. Either way, its a really cool experience for kids to meet their favorite characters.
We also did..
Jimmy Neutrons Nick Toon Blast
Twister: Ride It Out
Revenge of the Mummy (2x)
Earthquake
Fear Factor Live
Men In Black
It was Marias first time watching Fear Factor Live. She had a hard time believing it was actual park guests and not casted actors. I told her if I saw anyone Id seen before, Id call shenanigans. But she really enjoyed it and wanted to catch another showing of it later. On our way out, I showed her the park guests being auditioned for the next show time. This time, we had this blonde guy hosting and he definitely wasnt as good as Patrick, I think his name is? Im not sure but he has a deep voice and has darker hair. Anyway, hes a great host but this new guy didnt have as much personality.
We headed to lunch at International Food & Film Festival. This is where I ALWAYS eat at the Studios. I always get the Southern Fried Chicken meal with extra gravy and its just good comfort food. My friends got the cheeseburgers and werent impressed. I felt bad cause I was having such a good time dipping my biscuit in the gravy.. And then the fries in the gravy.. Alright Im getting explicit.. I think were gonna try somewhere else next time. Ive only eaten at Mels Drive-In and Richter Burger Co. other than International Food & Film.. Ive wanted to try Lombards because I love me some seafood. But its hard to fit in a sit-down during a day at Universal.. I dont really feel theres enough time, even with Express. So maybe you guys can suggest something else?
What my friends WERE impressed by were the discounts given on the Preferred Annual Pass. Every time wed buy something, they loved to bust out the receipt and look at the savings. Me and Luis also have annual passes to Disney and are constantly shocked at the lack of discounts. We even have a joke when were at Disney where we always say Whos d*** do I have to suck to get 10% off around here? Okay, you probably dont think thats very funny.
After lunch, we headed over to..
E.T. Adventure
Universal Horror Make-Up Show
Terminator 2: 3D
The original plan was to head over to Islands too and do that before heading back to the hotel to rest up before Mardi Gras. I dont know what we were thinking. Universal is a full day so we decided to put off Islands till tomorrow and head back to the hotel for a nap (by this time, it was about 3). I was asleep for maybe 20 minutes before I was awaken by my friends sticking Doritos in between my toes, squirting shampoo on my feet, taking the covers off of me and taking pictures. Were at the freakin Universal Orlando Resort and THIS IS WHAT THEY DO FOR FUN??
At about 6pm, we headed back to the park for Mardi Gras. It was SO packed! We headed straight to the New Orleans Courtyard for some grub. I wanted to try a few of the things but my GOD the prices were expensive. I got the Jambalaya ($8) and the Andouille Sausage Sandwich ($8). Yes, both. You can say it. Im a fatty. The portions they give for the Jambalaya is so ridiculously small, it wouldnt have even hit the spot as an appetizer. Im exaggerating but still.. The food was really good but it was too expensive for what it was. I probably wont eat here when I visit Mardi Gras again. Oh wait! I did wanna try the Shrimp Po Boy damn, got me again.
I didnt like that there were separate lines for alcohol. These were even longer than the food so I didnt even bother. Ill try to get here earlier next time so I can get a few drinks in.. I wonder how much those were OH! And I spotted the syringe jello shots from Halloween Horror Nights! Those are SO good especially the red ones.
Jaws
After eating, we headed over to Jaws. I always like to save this for night-time because I think its so fun at night. Its scarier, the skippers let loose a lot more and are usually a lot funnier Ive had some great times on Jaws and me and my friends have a lot of memorable quotes from the skippers. I just dont think theres a comparable experience anywhere else.
Unfortunately, this was my first time riding Jaws Lite, the new gasoline-saving version of the popular attraction. The Jaws Hybrid, if you will.. Im exaggerating but I rode a lot of attractions in Universal that use fire really freely (Poseidons Fury, Earthquake, Twister, Mummy). I dont understand why its such a financial concern for Jaws. The fire effect across the water is sorely missed. Its an impressive effect and now it really seems like something is missing when the skipper says were gonna have to go through it or whatever he says. Its just a long stretch without anything. The line was 30 minutes and growing so I hope Universal sees that this attraction is popular enough to not close it seasonally and to preserve its fiery integrity.
After that, we decided to go on Revenge of the Mummy before we headed to the parade and concert viewing area. The line was 60 minutes but we were ready to board after about 3 minutes with Express. BUT it broke down right before we were about to board. We probably waited around 30 minutes. People were getting impatient and heading to the exit. When we finally got on, the first animatronic mummy was running in B-mode. You could still hear him speak perfectly but the tomb was closed and lighting effects appear on the tomb making a talking mummy face. The timing was really off during this ride. For example, during the scarab room, you could still see the treasure room. And other effects were just off up until the rollercoaster part. Either way, it was still fun.
Oh, and its official. Revenge of the Mummy is the hardest ride for looking into the camera for the on-ride photo.
We headed towards the parade and concert viewing area. It was so packed. There was hardly room to walk down Production Central. Ive been to Mardi Gras before on a busy night and I know that theres no such thing as a good parade viewing spot AND a good concert viewing spot. So I dont get too far into the pit for the concert but I like to stand just outside of it and Ill see as much of the parade as I can. What I did see was great though.
LL Cool J came on at about 9:15. Im definitely a fan of his and Ive seen him live before. His set was great. He did ALL his hits! Hey Lover, Headsprung, Mama Said Knock You Out, I Need Love, Rock The Bells, Phenomenon He even did his new song Control Myself with Jennifer Lopez (she was only there on the video screens, obviously) and Doin It!!! I didnt think he would do it since Universal IS a family park but for those of you concerned, it was edited.
Overall, Mardi Gras was really fun. Im definitely going again in April. I cant wait!
Let me give you some tidbits about Islands the next day
I saw the Eighth Voyage of Sinbad show for the first time in a few years. I didnt remember liking it so I always skipped it but I enjoyed it this time. Its a fun little show with great special effects. Ill definitely add to some of my Islands days now.
I also got to visit Mythos for the first time freakin finally!!! But I had a bit of a strange experience. Me & my friends got to the park at about 11am and went straight to the restaurant. We made a Priority Seating for 1:30, a few minutes after the Sinbad show got out. When we came back to the restaurant, we got this strange vibe from the older woman hostess who checked us in. It was about 1:25 so we were a few minutes early. We waited for a while, like over 25 minutes. My friends said they let a few parties in who we definitely arrived before. I wasnt going to say anything because I really wasnt sure if that was true. A party of 8 without a PS did arrive after we had been there for 15 minutes and were told it was about a 20 minute wait. My friends said they got a racist vibe from the woman but I wasnt going to pull that card just yet. But I did feel like we waited a long time. I joked that the Priority Seating was actually for the waiting area..
When we finally got inside, my friends noticed that there were some empty tables. I said they were probably reserved for people with Priority Seatings but I didnt know why we didnt get one of them. The party of 8 that arrived without a PS were seated only 2 minutes after we were seated. I thought it was the strangest thing. If I notice something like that again, I will definitely say something. Im not one to keep quiet and Im not afraid to hit an old lady.
Just kidding anyway so the restaurant! Its spectacular inside. Its really nice. I LOVE the view of Islands. The food was really good too. Me & Luis had the BBQ Fried Chicken & Cheddar Mashed Potatoes Wrap.. It was SO good. Maria had the chicken club. The bread was really good too. Oh yeah, for appetizer we ordered the Shrimp Tempura Sushi. Now Ive had a lot of sushi in my time so this didnt exactly measure up. But it was still good, especially for a theme park. It was fried. You know I liked it..
Anyway, when we got home, Maria looked up Mythos reviews and found a recent review complaining about a racist hostess. So maybe something was off Anyway, if you really do experience something like that, the only way to fight ignorance is education and an *** whoopin.
Ill be back to Universal in April.. Until then, heres some pictures! Theyre random I didnt plan these for a trip report at all
-Anthony
That's me..
In the Mardi Gras spirit!
The view from our room in the Royal Pacific..
Waiting for the concert.. did not know this was being taken
LL Cool J (yes, that is a **** shot)
Me, Maria & The Grinch (the non-Grinchmas Grinch... haha)
Luis & The Cat In The Hat
Plus, when youre my age (21).. You have to think about the huge benefits of staying onsite.. You can drink all you want and be just a short walk or boat ride from your hotel.
I was traveling with 2 friends, Luis & Maria, who are brand new Preferred Annual Passholders (a-thank you..). We got into the park and went straight to Vacation Services so we can have our pictures taken. I havent had a new picture in 2 years and when I saw how the card looks now I was like.. Theres no way there gonna have that shiny new card and Im not. So I retook mine too. That only took like 3 minutes.. So then, it was time for some rides.
Shrek 4D
This is the first time Ive been on it that I noticed there was a second theater (I was last here in December so Im pretty sure it was already open.) Ive never actually watched it from the second theater though. Im sure its exactly the same. Either way, it made SUCH a difference on wait times. I think it still got to 60 minutes later that night but still its been well over 120 minutes in the past. After we exited the gift shop, we stuck around for a few minutes to watch Shrek & Donkey interact with the kids. I really think its great how they do this. The voice is spot on and it leaves you wondering how they did that. Either way, its a really cool experience for kids to meet their favorite characters.
We also did..
Jimmy Neutrons Nick Toon Blast
Twister: Ride It Out
Revenge of the Mummy (2x)
Earthquake
Fear Factor Live
Men In Black
It was Marias first time watching Fear Factor Live. She had a hard time believing it was actual park guests and not casted actors. I told her if I saw anyone Id seen before, Id call shenanigans. But she really enjoyed it and wanted to catch another showing of it later. On our way out, I showed her the park guests being auditioned for the next show time. This time, we had this blonde guy hosting and he definitely wasnt as good as Patrick, I think his name is? Im not sure but he has a deep voice and has darker hair. Anyway, hes a great host but this new guy didnt have as much personality.
We headed to lunch at International Food & Film Festival. This is where I ALWAYS eat at the Studios. I always get the Southern Fried Chicken meal with extra gravy and its just good comfort food. My friends got the cheeseburgers and werent impressed. I felt bad cause I was having such a good time dipping my biscuit in the gravy.. And then the fries in the gravy.. Alright Im getting explicit.. I think were gonna try somewhere else next time. Ive only eaten at Mels Drive-In and Richter Burger Co. other than International Food & Film.. Ive wanted to try Lombards because I love me some seafood. But its hard to fit in a sit-down during a day at Universal.. I dont really feel theres enough time, even with Express. So maybe you guys can suggest something else?
What my friends WERE impressed by were the discounts given on the Preferred Annual Pass. Every time wed buy something, they loved to bust out the receipt and look at the savings. Me and Luis also have annual passes to Disney and are constantly shocked at the lack of discounts. We even have a joke when were at Disney where we always say Whos d*** do I have to suck to get 10% off around here? Okay, you probably dont think thats very funny.
After lunch, we headed over to..
E.T. Adventure
Universal Horror Make-Up Show
Terminator 2: 3D
The original plan was to head over to Islands too and do that before heading back to the hotel to rest up before Mardi Gras. I dont know what we were thinking. Universal is a full day so we decided to put off Islands till tomorrow and head back to the hotel for a nap (by this time, it was about 3). I was asleep for maybe 20 minutes before I was awaken by my friends sticking Doritos in between my toes, squirting shampoo on my feet, taking the covers off of me and taking pictures. Were at the freakin Universal Orlando Resort and THIS IS WHAT THEY DO FOR FUN??
At about 6pm, we headed back to the park for Mardi Gras. It was SO packed! We headed straight to the New Orleans Courtyard for some grub. I wanted to try a few of the things but my GOD the prices were expensive. I got the Jambalaya ($8) and the Andouille Sausage Sandwich ($8). Yes, both. You can say it. Im a fatty. The portions they give for the Jambalaya is so ridiculously small, it wouldnt have even hit the spot as an appetizer. Im exaggerating but still.. The food was really good but it was too expensive for what it was. I probably wont eat here when I visit Mardi Gras again. Oh wait! I did wanna try the Shrimp Po Boy damn, got me again.
I didnt like that there were separate lines for alcohol. These were even longer than the food so I didnt even bother. Ill try to get here earlier next time so I can get a few drinks in.. I wonder how much those were OH! And I spotted the syringe jello shots from Halloween Horror Nights! Those are SO good especially the red ones.
Jaws
After eating, we headed over to Jaws. I always like to save this for night-time because I think its so fun at night. Its scarier, the skippers let loose a lot more and are usually a lot funnier Ive had some great times on Jaws and me and my friends have a lot of memorable quotes from the skippers. I just dont think theres a comparable experience anywhere else.
Unfortunately, this was my first time riding Jaws Lite, the new gasoline-saving version of the popular attraction. The Jaws Hybrid, if you will.. Im exaggerating but I rode a lot of attractions in Universal that use fire really freely (Poseidons Fury, Earthquake, Twister, Mummy). I dont understand why its such a financial concern for Jaws. The fire effect across the water is sorely missed. Its an impressive effect and now it really seems like something is missing when the skipper says were gonna have to go through it or whatever he says. Its just a long stretch without anything. The line was 30 minutes and growing so I hope Universal sees that this attraction is popular enough to not close it seasonally and to preserve its fiery integrity.
After that, we decided to go on Revenge of the Mummy before we headed to the parade and concert viewing area. The line was 60 minutes but we were ready to board after about 3 minutes with Express. BUT it broke down right before we were about to board. We probably waited around 30 minutes. People were getting impatient and heading to the exit. When we finally got on, the first animatronic mummy was running in B-mode. You could still hear him speak perfectly but the tomb was closed and lighting effects appear on the tomb making a talking mummy face. The timing was really off during this ride. For example, during the scarab room, you could still see the treasure room. And other effects were just off up until the rollercoaster part. Either way, it was still fun.
Oh, and its official. Revenge of the Mummy is the hardest ride for looking into the camera for the on-ride photo.
We headed towards the parade and concert viewing area. It was so packed. There was hardly room to walk down Production Central. Ive been to Mardi Gras before on a busy night and I know that theres no such thing as a good parade viewing spot AND a good concert viewing spot. So I dont get too far into the pit for the concert but I like to stand just outside of it and Ill see as much of the parade as I can. What I did see was great though.
LL Cool J came on at about 9:15. Im definitely a fan of his and Ive seen him live before. His set was great. He did ALL his hits! Hey Lover, Headsprung, Mama Said Knock You Out, I Need Love, Rock The Bells, Phenomenon He even did his new song Control Myself with Jennifer Lopez (she was only there on the video screens, obviously) and Doin It!!! I didnt think he would do it since Universal IS a family park but for those of you concerned, it was edited.
Overall, Mardi Gras was really fun. Im definitely going again in April. I cant wait!
Let me give you some tidbits about Islands the next day
I saw the Eighth Voyage of Sinbad show for the first time in a few years. I didnt remember liking it so I always skipped it but I enjoyed it this time. Its a fun little show with great special effects. Ill definitely add to some of my Islands days now.
I also got to visit Mythos for the first time freakin finally!!! But I had a bit of a strange experience. Me & my friends got to the park at about 11am and went straight to the restaurant. We made a Priority Seating for 1:30, a few minutes after the Sinbad show got out. When we came back to the restaurant, we got this strange vibe from the older woman hostess who checked us in. It was about 1:25 so we were a few minutes early. We waited for a while, like over 25 minutes. My friends said they let a few parties in who we definitely arrived before. I wasnt going to say anything because I really wasnt sure if that was true. A party of 8 without a PS did arrive after we had been there for 15 minutes and were told it was about a 20 minute wait. My friends said they got a racist vibe from the woman but I wasnt going to pull that card just yet. But I did feel like we waited a long time. I joked that the Priority Seating was actually for the waiting area..
When we finally got inside, my friends noticed that there were some empty tables. I said they were probably reserved for people with Priority Seatings but I didnt know why we didnt get one of them. The party of 8 that arrived without a PS were seated only 2 minutes after we were seated. I thought it was the strangest thing. If I notice something like that again, I will definitely say something. Im not one to keep quiet and Im not afraid to hit an old lady.
Just kidding anyway so the restaurant! Its spectacular inside. Its really nice. I LOVE the view of Islands. The food was really good too. Me & Luis had the BBQ Fried Chicken & Cheddar Mashed Potatoes Wrap.. It was SO good. Maria had the chicken club. The bread was really good too. Oh yeah, for appetizer we ordered the Shrimp Tempura Sushi. Now Ive had a lot of sushi in my time so this didnt exactly measure up. But it was still good, especially for a theme park. It was fried. You know I liked it..
Anyway, when we got home, Maria looked up Mythos reviews and found a recent review complaining about a racist hostess. So maybe something was off Anyway, if you really do experience something like that, the only way to fight ignorance is education and an *** whoopin.
Ill be back to Universal in April.. Until then, heres some pictures! Theyre random I didnt plan these for a trip report at all
-Anthony
That's me..
In the Mardi Gras spirit!
The view from our room in the Royal Pacific..
Waiting for the concert.. did not know this was being taken
LL Cool J (yes, that is a **** shot)
Me, Maria & The Grinch (the non-Grinchmas Grinch... haha)
Luis & The Cat In The Hat
