DLR29
We create happiness
- Joined
- May 30, 2006
- Messages
- 5,482
Hey everyone. I don't have the time to do a whole long TR, although I have the pics to, but I wanted to check in and write about my recent trip. Some background first: I'm an 18yo (straight out of my first year at USC in LA) working at WDW this summer (blog in my signature). So I decided that since I'll be in Florida for the summer, I'd treat myself to a couple days at Unviersal by myself. Here's the only pic of me from this trip because I'm not a Myspace pic expert at all! The frozen butterbeer was delicious btw.
Basically, I stayed at a nearby cheap hotel (hey I'm a poor college student!) and got 2 day base tickets, which turned out to be definitely enough (I'm used to going all day at DLR).
Some trip observations first, then pics!
USO (5/29):
-Visited 24 attractions in total over the 12 hours I was there (9-9). I used the SR line twice at Mummy, twice at MIB, and once at HRRR. My favorite ride was definitely Mummy. Loved it!
-The Horror Makeup Show was a hoot! Definitely the unexpected hit of the trip.
-I auditioned and made the 5:00 Fear Factor Live!
It was a lot of fun. I won the first challenge (hanging from a bar suspended in the air with fans blowing at you) barely. Unfortunately, my partner and I lost at the eel/beanbag/octopus challenge, so we couldn't move on to the finale. It was still a super fun time and great opportunity!
-Loved the theming of the lines for Mummy and ET. Actually, I really liked ET. Kinda like a Peter Pan on steroids.
-Didn't wait more than 20 minutes for anything. Considering it was a holiday weekend, I'd say that's pretty good. I was expecting larger crowds though.
-Didn't really like the layout of the park. The lake in the middle was slightly annoying when I wanted to get from one side to the other but had to go around. Oh well, I got my exercise in. Very minor complaint.
IoA 5/30:
-Visited 29 attractions in the 10 hours that I was there (9-7). Used SR 3 times for FJ and twice for Spiderman. My favorite ride BY FAR was the Forbidden Journey. Wow! IoA really has something great with this thing.
-Crowds were nowhere to be seen. Longest line I saw all day was a 30 min line for FJ. Most rides were 5-10 or even walk-ons. I rode FJ 5 times. Spiderman, Hulk and both dragons 3x each. Everything else once or twice.
-IoA sure likes its water...Popeye was DRENCHING! Dudley-Do-Right was also super soaking, even riding in the back both times. Jurassic Park also got me pretty wet. But also water was used in FJ, Spiderman, One Fish Two Fish, Sinbad, etc. Yikes! Good thing it was a relatively warm day.
-Poseidon's Fury was closed all day, which was a disappointment because I just wanted to check it out.
-The technology that FJ and Spiderman use with the screens is so cool!
-I was planning on staying until 9, but I had ridden everything that I wanted (and a lot more than I had planned on), so I left early.
Overall:
-Felt like the ride wait estimators weren't all that accurate (both overestimating and underestimating, mostly underestimating though).
-Universal has Child Swap down! It's very efficient and easy to do here. That seemed different from Disney.
-Although it wasn't a busy couple of days, the Express Pass things would be a great help on busy days because almost every ride and show has this option. Granted, it's not free like Disney's, but they do cut down your wait time a ton! I just felt bad for the people that wasted their money on EP for non-crowded days.
-Hulk felt a little rough, but the dragons were running great! I loved the interaction between the two dragons. Great footchoppers at some points.
Now onto the pics!
Basically, I stayed at a nearby cheap hotel (hey I'm a poor college student!) and got 2 day base tickets, which turned out to be definitely enough (I'm used to going all day at DLR).
Some trip observations first, then pics!
USO (5/29):
-Visited 24 attractions in total over the 12 hours I was there (9-9). I used the SR line twice at Mummy, twice at MIB, and once at HRRR. My favorite ride was definitely Mummy. Loved it!
-The Horror Makeup Show was a hoot! Definitely the unexpected hit of the trip.
-I auditioned and made the 5:00 Fear Factor Live!
It was a lot of fun. I won the first challenge (hanging from a bar suspended in the air with fans blowing at you) barely. Unfortunately, my partner and I lost at the eel/beanbag/octopus challenge, so we couldn't move on to the finale. It was still a super fun time and great opportunity!-Loved the theming of the lines for Mummy and ET. Actually, I really liked ET. Kinda like a Peter Pan on steroids.
-Didn't wait more than 20 minutes for anything. Considering it was a holiday weekend, I'd say that's pretty good. I was expecting larger crowds though.
-Didn't really like the layout of the park. The lake in the middle was slightly annoying when I wanted to get from one side to the other but had to go around. Oh well, I got my exercise in. Very minor complaint.
IoA 5/30:
-Visited 29 attractions in the 10 hours that I was there (9-7). Used SR 3 times for FJ and twice for Spiderman. My favorite ride BY FAR was the Forbidden Journey. Wow! IoA really has something great with this thing.
-Crowds were nowhere to be seen. Longest line I saw all day was a 30 min line for FJ. Most rides were 5-10 or even walk-ons. I rode FJ 5 times. Spiderman, Hulk and both dragons 3x each. Everything else once or twice.
-IoA sure likes its water...Popeye was DRENCHING! Dudley-Do-Right was also super soaking, even riding in the back both times. Jurassic Park also got me pretty wet. But also water was used in FJ, Spiderman, One Fish Two Fish, Sinbad, etc. Yikes! Good thing it was a relatively warm day.
-Poseidon's Fury was closed all day, which was a disappointment because I just wanted to check it out.
-The technology that FJ and Spiderman use with the screens is so cool!
-I was planning on staying until 9, but I had ridden everything that I wanted (and a lot more than I had planned on), so I left early.
Overall:
-Felt like the ride wait estimators weren't all that accurate (both overestimating and underestimating, mostly underestimating though).
-Universal has Child Swap down! It's very efficient and easy to do here. That seemed different from Disney.
-Although it wasn't a busy couple of days, the Express Pass things would be a great help on busy days because almost every ride and show has this option. Granted, it's not free like Disney's, but they do cut down your wait time a ton! I just felt bad for the people that wasted their money on EP for non-crowded days.
-Hulk felt a little rough, but the dragons were running great! I loved the interaction between the two dragons. Great footchoppers at some points.
Now onto the pics!
) Then, I worked there full time after I graduated. So much fun and so many great memories. 
