Just Back - Observations

[cdpa4d]

Hi Everyone -
I just returned from our week long trip to Orlando. I spent two days of the trip at USO. I was there last Thursday and Friday. Here are some observations.
- A few rides at IOA were not functioning because of technical difficulties. The Hulk was down all day Friday. Spidey was having problems on and off. The movie screens through the ride would black out and the ride would stop. Pterandon Flyers were not functioning either. This caused longer lines on the other attractions.
- Friday was Grad Bash day. Why did I pick this day to go. IOA and US were both busy.
- Despite the technical difficulties on Spidey, it is still the best ride I have ever been on.
- The food and service at Mel's is bad.
- The characters at USO and IOA were everywhere. My 3 yr. old Daughter loved that.
- My 3 yr. old Daughter loved the Flying Unicorn. I had to ride it 6 times with her before she decided she had enough.
- Very few people realize they can shoot the exhaust port of the other car on MIB to make it spin and earn points.
- Jimmy Neutron was a big hit. I like that ride. I won't spoil it for the ones who have not rode it yet.

We had a great time. If you have any questions, let me know.
ADP

 

[MaryLynne]

i'm taking my 3 year old at the end of may. I would love any advise that you may have. Which rides/shows did she like/dislike? Did she ride on Spiderman? I think this will be too much for my little man. I never been to IOA, so I am having a hard time judging what we can ride on. Thanks for your report.

Mary Lynne

 

[cdpa4d]

My Daughter is a bit daring. She loved the Flying Unicorn at IOA. I rode it with her 6 times. She is barely 36" tall which is the ride height. She loved the Seuss Landing rides.
At Universal, she loved Woody Woodpecker's Roller Coaster, Curious George's play area. She could have spent all day there. There is a cool area with balls, air guns, etc which she loved.
The ride height on Spiderman, I believe is 48". Your 3 yr. old will probably not be tall enough. Try the areas I've suggested. You will be able to spend a full day at all of these attractions.
ADP

 

[kellymonaghan]

I have to agree with you on Mel's, unfortunately. I've always felt they were missing out on a good thing there.

They could theme it more (think Sci-Fi Dine In), with waitresses on roller skates, better food, higher prices (and better profits, I'd imagine).

Then again, there's probably a reason I'm not running a theme park.

 

[Dagny]

The height requirement on Spiderman is only 40" - my three, almost four year old LOVES this ride, but he is a bit of a daredevil. Spiderman has some visual effects which may frighten smaller children and the car does spin fairly quickly during some parts of the attraction. You might want to ride it first to judge how he might handle it.

There are a few rides at IOA which are geared for younger kids. Suess' Landing has a couple of rides - The Cat in the Hat and One Fish - Two Fish - Red Fish - Blue Fish (a ride like Dumbo) which are cute (no height requirement). Storm Force Acceleration (Tea Cups like) is located in Marvel Hero Island (no height requirement). Pteranadon Flyers, located in Jurassic Park has a height requirement of 36" and the Flying Unicorn (a small roller coaster) is in the Lost Continent (also 36" inches).

There are some other attractions which are shows which you child can do... hope this helps!!!

 

[ls1222]

Were you there two "full days"? Was that enough time? I'm trying to decide if we should stay 2 or 3 nights. Thanks.

 

[cdpa4d]

I think two full days would be enough. You could do 1 day at each park or park hop and be able to do all the attractions. However, 3 days would be fine too. Honestly, I could spend a week at Universal and enjoy everyday. Have a great time!
ADP

 

[ls1222]

Thank you for your replies. Decision, decisions.......... Maybe we will do two full days and a half. Thanks again.

 

[>>^..^<<]

Hi there...

We did 5 days last year and we are doing 6 days this year... we love those parks ... so much to do.

I hate having to rush through to the next thing... we like to stop and smell the roses so to speak and not have a rigid schedule...

My daughter loved the Fievel (sp) water area and we ended up being there for 2 hours one afternoon... you just never know what you are really going to like and want to spend more time at.

Also the Dinosaur Discovery Center.... she was in there forever. hatching dino eggs, looking at fossils etc... it was so much fun and I would have felt guilty dragging her away to the next thing on the list.

We quite often did rides 2 or 3 times in a row..... once is just not enough on our favourites... if you are trying to do the whole park in one day - no way can you have this luxury.

Also there are several shows - at both parks... (Animal Planet Live, Hollywood horror makeup, wild west, slimetime live... etc ...etc)

I don't think it is possible to see/do everything in one park in one day.. also you need time to eat lunch, sit and have a treat etc...

Some of the attractions have long preshow waits, like Terminator II, Earthquake, MIB & Twister... you might end up being in there for 45 minutes - just for one attraction byt the time you are out... then there are the cool gift shops...

Unless you are staying ONSITE - with Front of the line access - please allow as much time as possible so you can enjoy without rushing the kids through...

>>^..^<<