just came back

[ninac.]

I want to thank everyone for all their advice which really helped make our trip the best it could possibly be!!!!!!

Below are some of my observations, tips, advice etc.

A good time to do spiderman is at 9:30 pm, there was only a 15 minute wait and another time we did the single rider line and my 2 children ended up in the same car as me.

We saw and took pictures with many characters. The lines for pictures weren't that long either. The best was spiderman in the Marvel store across from the ride. He actually took the time to speak with each child and did many "spidey" poses. Was very impressed with him.

Dueling dragons hardly had more than a 15 minute wait. My children rode it 6 times. (not all consecutively)

While we were there the Hulk ride was stuck with people at the launchfor about an hour (could have been more, not sure). Luckily my children had ridden it twice before this happened and as soon as they were able to get the people off, the ride was closed and tested.

Poseidon's fury and voyage of Sinbad were awesome and not to be missed.

At Universal first thing in the morning we headed to shrek which had a 20 minute wait but by afternoon had 2 hour waits. While we were on line for Shrek I went to the express pass booth for Jimmy Neutron (which was opened as soon as the park opened
and we were able to get express passes for it as well)

You absolutely must go to the Beltz outlet and check out the universal store. They had so many bargains. My son got a dueling dragons cap which cost $2.50, we saw the same cap at IOA for $17.00 He also bought a statue of the fire dragon which was originally $25.00, he paid $12.50. They had some nice islands of adventure hats for $3 and change.

Now back to reality, came home to NY to a blackout, we were in the sky, 20 min. from the airport when it happened and we had no power for 26 hours. Felt like we were in the twilight zone!!!!

The kodak express passes came in very handy and I'm glad we bought them. We were able to do all of the "big" rides more than once.

nina

 

[SpideyHulk24]

Sounds like you had a great time. Hope you don't mind me asking, but where did you stay? Was it off or on site?

Thanks for sharing your wonderful report and sorry you had to come home to darkness. Hope all is well now though.

 

[ninac.]

We stayed at the Days Inn at Caravan Court which was very very close to Universal but we will never do that again. The room had a musty smell and people were partying by the pool til very late. Heard the music blasting. I did not know about FOTL access at the time, I hadn't discovered these boards yet (and my travel agent neglected to mention it and she's the one who recommended the Days Inn) I will definitely try to get a good rate with a Universal hotel next time around or a better offsite hotel than the Days Inn. Good luck to you.

nina

 

[vellamint]

Great trip report.....wasn't the blackout great!! LOL - not!!! How long were the lines and do you think the express passes are worth it?!

Do you happen to have directions or an address for the Beltz Outlets??

Thanks.

 

[tarabl]

Also could you tell me if you remember seeing lots of marvel stuff at the outlet in Belz? My son is hot into comics and I'd rather he get things cheaper if he could.

We leave in five days and I was worried about the crowds at Universal. We have the five day pass and figure if it's crowded we'll just pace ourselves and use the five days, we are taking one day to do Disney since I have left over passes with one day on them.

Thanks

 

[ninac.]

Originally posted by vellamint
Great trip report.....wasn't the blackout great!! LOL - not!!! How long were the lines and do you think the express passes are worth it?!

Do you happen to have directions or an address for the Beltz Outlets??

Thanks.

The Beltz outlets are very close to Universal. The address is 4949 International Drive. You can't miss it because it's at the end of International Drive going away from Disney world. The Universal outlet is in Mall #1 and there's a Disney outlet there as well called Character Premiere. Mall #2 has a disney store as well called The Character Warehouse. Both malls are within walking distance from each other.

The lines weren't as long as I thought they would be. Most times Dueling Dragons had a 10-20 minute wait which I just couldn't believe. My kids were able to do it 6 times, once in the front as well. I think you will be able to get away without buying the passes. I thought it was worth it for us as we were able to do the big rides more than once, and I didn't have to worry about going to get the free ones. I don't think the lines will be that long. We also had good strategy going. Hit the park the first night around 5pm and did all the water rides and big rides and saved most of our express passes for the following day when it was more crowded.

Also, we got to the park each day by 8:30 am and were able to do quite a bit with very little wait. Have fun!!!!!!!!!!! nina

 

[ninac.]

Originally posted by tarabl
Also could you tell me if you remember seeing lots of marvel stuff at the outlet in Belz? My son is hot into comics and I'd rather he get things cheaper if he could.

We leave in five days and I was worried about the crowds at Universal. We have the five day pass and figure if it's crowded we'll just pace ourselves and use the five days, we are taking one day to do Disney since I have left over passes with one day on them.

Thanks

I don't remember if there was A LOT of marvel stuff but we got my brother in law this really cool tank top with Marvel characters on the front. I suggest going to the outlet the first or second day to assess the merchandise and then you can buy whatever the kids really want at the parks if the outlet doesn't have it. I didn't find the parks too crowded, get there early, and hit the big rides first or when the firework show is in progress is a great time to do spidey or hulk. Have a great time!!! nina

 

[robvia]

Agree, Days Inn and Hojo's are cheap, but have a smell to them.

I've found some newer hotels to the north end of I-drive 1 block north of Universal Blvd. Drove around the area and saw the Red Horse Inn, Motel 6, and Super 8 on American Way. The newest hotel is the Hilton Garden Inn with is still under construction. Next to it is the Hilton Suites which just opened. They're on a street called Hospitality Way. I"m going to check out the Hilton Garden Inn for my trip in October.

 

[TigerLaw]

ninac, could you expand on your character comment-what characters did you see, where, were they listed on the park guide or unannounced, etc.

thanks for the help!

 

[ninac.]

Originally posted by TigerLaw
ninac, could you expand on your character comment-what characters did you see, where, were they listed on the park guide or unannounced, etc.

thanks for the help!

The characters are walking around during the morning/afternoon hours. We didn't see any at night. Most of them are announced on the "attraction and show times" paper next to the guide maps but we just lucked out and stumbled onto them while walking around and lined up for pictures.

At IOA:
Right before entering Seuss Landing we took pictures with the cat, thing 1 and thing 2.

We found Sam I am and the Grinch opposite the Carouseussal.

At 10:40 am Spiderman, Storm, Wolverine, Rogue, Captain America, Dr. Doom appeared down the street of Marvel super hero island and posed for pictures. They also come at 11:40am, 12:40 pm, 2:40pm,3:40pm and 4:40 pm.

Spiderman can be found at "The Marvel Alterniverse Store" for picture taking. This is where we took our picture with him. He was the the most impressive of all the characters. Really took his role seriously and made some great poses. He's in the store from 9:10 am - 6:30 pm. They take professional pictures here too but you don't have to buy them.

At Universal:

The Rugrats were near the entrance of the park. We posed with Angelica, Chuckie and Tommy.

Jimmy Neutron was in front of his attraction.

I can't remember where we posed with Scooby and Shaggy.

Men in Black were outside the exit of their attraction.

Shrek was across the street from the exit of his attraction. This line was incredibly long.

Sponge Bob was at the "Nickstuff" store. He's there from 10:00 am - 1:00 pm and from 1:30 - 4:15 pm

Woody and Winnie Woodpecker were opposite Woody's rollercoaster.


Hope this helps. Nina

 

[ninac.]

Originally posted by robvia
Agree, Days Inn and Hojo's are cheap, but have a smell to them.

I've found some newer hotels to the north end of I-drive 1 block north of Universal Blvd. Drove around the area and saw the Red Horse Inn, Motel 6, and Super 8 on American Way. The newest hotel is the Hilton Garden Inn with is still under construction. Next to it is the Hilton Suites which just opened. They're on a street called Hospitality Way. I"m going to check out the Hilton Garden Inn for my trip in October.

Let us know how you find the Hilton Garden Inn when you go. nina