Trip to US/IOA (March 13-15)
Sunday:
My brother and I woke up at the RPR on Sunday morning at 8am to a wake-up call by Spiderman! Great way to start the day! It was sunny and gorgeous outside, and we quickly got dressed and headed down for breakfast. We went to the Orchard court on the main floor, which was a continental breakfast (good, although NOT for low-carb dieters!). We then walked to Universal Studios around 9am.
Universal was empty as we walked through the areas. Just as beautifully done as IOA, but the separations between the worlds were not as apparent, so you would suddenly find yourself in NYC, or a fishing village. We walked to the back of the park (stopping by the BTTF Delorian to take pictures by the cool car!) and went to MIB first. It was empty! They did have lockers there to put stuff, but no one cared when we walked on with bags. Wow, this was such a great ride! We went on a few times, and my brother got over 400,000 (I guess that Playstation and Xbox really does help eye/hand coordination!).
We then walked counter-clockwise to Jaws. We were really surprised at how much fun it was! Maybe because there was a row of 5 year old kids in front of us, so the look on their faces was PRICELESS when Jaws attacked! It was great hearing the kids afterwards too, when they tried to tell each other that they hadnt been scared. The fishing village was great, and they did a beautiful job at making it realistic (all they needed was to pump in some fish smell!)
We went to Twister and Earthquake, which were pretty good standard rides, and then headed to Shrek. So cute! Amazing 3-D effects, although the preshow had nothing to do with the show (and scared some kids). Jimmy Neutron was great and surprisingly rough for a kids ride, and afterwards we took a picture with SpongeBob! We then walked around and did more rides (skipped ET since the lines were long and the ride isnt so great).
We ate at Richters Burger Company, which had amazing burgers. We then happened across the Breakdancing show (near the Mummy area) WOW! This is one show you SHOULD NOT MISS! The show was very family-friendly, only about 30 minutes, and the breakdancers were some of the best talent I have ever seen! Headspins, flips, spins, you name it! The kids (and adults!) were absolutely amazed, and it was a major highlight of our trip.
At around 2pm, we went back to IOA. US is fun, but most of the rides only need to be done once, so it didnt take as long to do. Also, there were a lot more families at US, since there arent any rollercoasters. The park was still great though, although on a slight tangent, we were amused and somewhat miffed by the incorrect street signs in the NYC area (we grew up in NY). Hey, Park Avenue doesnt intersect with Fifth Avenue! Wait, that street is uptown and the other is near SoHo! Thats not right! Leave it to us New Yorkers to nitpick stuff like that. J
So we went back to IOA and went on more rides until about 4pm. Then we headed back to the room for a little relaxing (despite our comfortable sneakers, our feet were very sore after two days)! At around 6pm, we decided to head downstairs to see if Emerils restaurant Tchoup Chop had any room. Lucky for us, they happened to have one table open near the bar! The restaurant was beautiful, and the food was amazing! The calamari was a huge portion, with a delicious chili sauce and gorgonzola. The crab cake was the BEST Ive ever had! I had the salmon (very good), and my brother had the duck (good, but kind of odd flavors). We then just had enough time to walk to Citiwalk for a movie! The theater was huge and had surprisingly reasonable prices (even a student discount!). Afterwards, we headed off to the room to pack and prepare for check-out the next morning, and finally get some sleep!
So we spent 2 full days at US/IOA, and I must say it went perfectly! Beautiful weather, big crowds but inconsequential since we had the hotel FOTL pass, great rides, delicious food, and just a lot of fun! We had enough time (thanks to getting up early and using the FOTL pass) to do every ride we wanted at least once. The RPR is unbelievable and so convenient, and next time I want to try out the beautiful pool. Ill write another short post with some tips and hints we discovered on our trip also. Hope youve had fun reading this, and enjoy your trips to Universal!
Sunday:
My brother and I woke up at the RPR on Sunday morning at 8am to a wake-up call by Spiderman! Great way to start the day! It was sunny and gorgeous outside, and we quickly got dressed and headed down for breakfast. We went to the Orchard court on the main floor, which was a continental breakfast (good, although NOT for low-carb dieters!). We then walked to Universal Studios around 9am.
Universal was empty as we walked through the areas. Just as beautifully done as IOA, but the separations between the worlds were not as apparent, so you would suddenly find yourself in NYC, or a fishing village. We walked to the back of the park (stopping by the BTTF Delorian to take pictures by the cool car!) and went to MIB first. It was empty! They did have lockers there to put stuff, but no one cared when we walked on with bags. Wow, this was such a great ride! We went on a few times, and my brother got over 400,000 (I guess that Playstation and Xbox really does help eye/hand coordination!).
We then walked counter-clockwise to Jaws. We were really surprised at how much fun it was! Maybe because there was a row of 5 year old kids in front of us, so the look on their faces was PRICELESS when Jaws attacked! It was great hearing the kids afterwards too, when they tried to tell each other that they hadnt been scared. The fishing village was great, and they did a beautiful job at making it realistic (all they needed was to pump in some fish smell!)
We went to Twister and Earthquake, which were pretty good standard rides, and then headed to Shrek. So cute! Amazing 3-D effects, although the preshow had nothing to do with the show (and scared some kids). Jimmy Neutron was great and surprisingly rough for a kids ride, and afterwards we took a picture with SpongeBob! We then walked around and did more rides (skipped ET since the lines were long and the ride isnt so great).
We ate at Richters Burger Company, which had amazing burgers. We then happened across the Breakdancing show (near the Mummy area) WOW! This is one show you SHOULD NOT MISS! The show was very family-friendly, only about 30 minutes, and the breakdancers were some of the best talent I have ever seen! Headspins, flips, spins, you name it! The kids (and adults!) were absolutely amazed, and it was a major highlight of our trip.
At around 2pm, we went back to IOA. US is fun, but most of the rides only need to be done once, so it didnt take as long to do. Also, there were a lot more families at US, since there arent any rollercoasters. The park was still great though, although on a slight tangent, we were amused and somewhat miffed by the incorrect street signs in the NYC area (we grew up in NY). Hey, Park Avenue doesnt intersect with Fifth Avenue! Wait, that street is uptown and the other is near SoHo! Thats not right! Leave it to us New Yorkers to nitpick stuff like that. J
So we went back to IOA and went on more rides until about 4pm. Then we headed back to the room for a little relaxing (despite our comfortable sneakers, our feet were very sore after two days)! At around 6pm, we decided to head downstairs to see if Emerils restaurant Tchoup Chop had any room. Lucky for us, they happened to have one table open near the bar! The restaurant was beautiful, and the food was amazing! The calamari was a huge portion, with a delicious chili sauce and gorgonzola. The crab cake was the BEST Ive ever had! I had the salmon (very good), and my brother had the duck (good, but kind of odd flavors). We then just had enough time to walk to Citiwalk for a movie! The theater was huge and had surprisingly reasonable prices (even a student discount!). Afterwards, we headed off to the room to pack and prepare for check-out the next morning, and finally get some sleep!
So we spent 2 full days at US/IOA, and I must say it went perfectly! Beautiful weather, big crowds but inconsequential since we had the hotel FOTL pass, great rides, delicious food, and just a lot of fun! We had enough time (thanks to getting up early and using the FOTL pass) to do every ride we wanted at least once. The RPR is unbelievable and so convenient, and next time I want to try out the beautiful pool. Ill write another short post with some tips and hints we discovered on our trip also. Hope youve had fun reading this, and enjoy your trips to Universal!
glad u had a good trip
