Just got back from our first Universal trip (we have been a Disney World family for years)...

[UGA03]

I hadn't been to Universal since the 90's. Sorry for the TLDR but thought I would post my thoughts

First off, rides/shows:

VelociCoaster - Possibly the best theme park ride I've ridden. We'll see what Guardians offers up once it opens and Flight of Passage is great too but I don't think I've had that much fun on an Orlando theme park ride. Love the theming, the queue, great child swap system and that second burst of speed you get is just awesome.

Hulk - Fun rollercoaster but obviously not VelociCoaster. Really enjoyed the queue and that blast off you get out of the tunnel.

Rip-Ride - Fun as well and great first drop. Cool that you get to pick your own song. Nice being able to sit in the area by the stage to relax watching the ride during child swap.

Jimmy Fallon - Why do so many people bang on this ride? It's fun. Brings a smile to your face. Great queue, love the ticket system they have and the singers they had while waiting made the wait fun. I feel like I heard nothing but negative things about it prior to my trip. We rode it several times.

Despicable Me - Fun for the kids. Felt weird that you could see that you were a room so not very "immersive" but I don't think it needed to be for a kid's ride. My two kids liked it so that is what mattered.

Transformers & Spiderman - Lumping these two together as they are basically the same ride. Both were fun and I lean towards Spiderman being the better of the two. Not a ride I would wait an hour for but worth a 30-40 minute wait.

E.T. - Great classic dark ride. Basically Peter Pan only you're on a bike. All theme parks need a ride like this. I hope Universal keeps this one around forever for nostalgic reasons.

Woody Woodpecker - My 5 year old loved it. You're Barnstormer for Universal. Grew up watching Woody Woodpecker (my kids had no clue who that was) so it brought back great memories for me.

Fast & Furious - I mean, it is what it is. Went in with low expectations as I heard nothing but negative reviews. It kind of just ends abruptly without finishing out a storyline. I wouldn't wait more than 20 minutes for it.

Men in Black - Best ride shooter of the all the parks. It was better than Toy Story Mania and Space Ranger (which needs to be redone to something else at this point). My whole family loved it. A lot of fun.

Kang & Kodos & One fish, Two fish, etc. - What do you say about this? Kid's like it. It's a carnival ride. Space filler.

Simpson's Ride - I remember the Back the Future ride and I feel like I enjoyed that one more. It was ok. Kind of disappointed to be honest in this one.

Jurassic Park River Adventure - Nostalgic to hear the Jurassic Park theme play as you start the ride. Pretty generic and cheesy up until the end with the T-Rex and the drop. The drop was great and worth the ride. I feel like the dinosaurs could use some updating.

King Kong - The King Kong at the end is incredible. By far the best part of the ride. Great queue and I love the look of the ride from the outside. Odd that it's a "Land" considering it's just this ride. Ride was whatever, not bad but not great. Again, wouldn't wait over 30 minutes for it.

Storm Force Accelatron - Again, a carnival ride but I liked that I didn't have to work as hard as the Teacups to get us spinning very fast, LOL

The Cat in the Hat & Seuss Trolley Ride - The theming in all of Seuss Landing is phenomenal. A very well done land and my 5 year old loved it. These 2 rides are absolutely needed for the younger kids.

Bourne Stuntacular - Did not expect that. Just wow. I was blown away by that show. The new standard for shows, imo.

We didn't do either of the water rides but will next time (didn't want to deal with getting soaked) but they looked like a lot of fun. We need to get to the Horror Make-Up show next time too.

My kids loved the play areas (Camp Jurassic, Fievel, Curious George) - these are such great additions to the parks. Nice time for mom and dad to relax and to let the kids run around. I wish Disney had more of these in their parks (my kids love the ones in Animal Kingdom and Dumbo).

Finally, Harry Potter. Now let me say, I've never read any books or seen the movies. I understand and know most of the characters, plot etc. but never been a fan. The 2 Harry Potter worlds blow away anything Disney has at their parks (I will admit I have not been to Batuu yet at Hollywood Studios). The theming is amazing. Overall, Universal does an amazing job of theming in their parks and their queues. I came across most impressed with that.

Hagrid's - What's to say that probably hasn't been said already. Just an incredible ride. So much fun. I don't know how Universal will top that ride with the new land at Epic Universe.

Gringott's - Great queue, awesome ride and I loved the story. My 5 year old was tall enough to ride it and loved it too (scary fun as she said).

Forbidden Journey - Same as Gringott's. The non-screen portions were whatever for me but the Quidditch scenes were just great. Cool ride system.

We didn't get to ride Hippogriff but will get to it next time.

We ate at both Leaky Cauldron and Three Broomsticks and enjoyed both. I liked the theming in Leaky Cauldron better but both were fun. Butterbeer is gross, LOL but my 8 year old loved it. The frozen was decent but the cold was just like drinking liquid, butterscotch cotton candy.

A few random thoughts:

I will say, it is a different vibe vs Disney. Not a bad thing, just not a "magical" feel like you have at Disney but still extremely fun (we actually upgraded our tickets to Seasonal passes). Universal is so much more affordable than Disney right now.

Love the bus system (we stayed at Cabana Bay). There was always a bus waiting or there in a few minutes of us arriving at any bus station. Very impressed by this.

I love the security check. It was great to get it done and get to City Walk/Parks. I love the moving walkways to get you there.

The employees (do they have a name like Disney has Cast Members?) are just not Cast Members. Not rude or anything but just not the same level of service and excitement. Some seemed like they were working at Six Flags.

I love the Freestyles all over the park. We didn't buy a cup but it was so easy to fill up our water bottles vs. asking a quick service location for cups of water.

Their child swap was smooth and easy. Never had any issues with it.

I'm not sure early entry was worth it. The only day I stood in a crowd to get in was the day we decided to do an early entry. Hagrid's was 200 minutes by the time we walked through the turnstiles, LOL.

The tots from Green & Eggs and Ham were top notch.

Overall, we truly enjoyed it. I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. I'm excited for Epic Universe and I can't believe how much cheaper tickets/passes and hotels are at Universal vs Disney. Rant over.

 

[sherlockmiles]

Nice comprehensive review - thank you for sharing

 

[a1tinkfans]

Thx for sharing… literally on their site to add three days after an upcoming week at Disney. Have always wanted to go but just didn’t lol. I’m weighing whether I should upgrade the hotel ( to get express pass) or just stay less expensive n add on the express pass..late sept, so if anyone has any opinions feel free to jump in. It’d be Fri-Sunday 2 day/2 park pass ( atleast I think that’s what it’s called).
Loved reading ur take on the rides..

 

[ProudSoccerMom]

This is awesome!

 

[dclDream2018]

I hadn't been to Universal since the 90's. Sorry for the TLDR but thought I would post my thoughts

First off, rides/shows:

VelociCoaster - Possibly the best theme park ride I've ridden. We'll see what Guardians offers up once it opens and Flight of Passage is great too but I don't think I've had that much fun on an Orlando theme park ride. Love the theming, the queue, great child swap system and that second burst of speed you get is just awesome.

Hulk - Fun rollercoaster but obviously not VelociCoaster. Really enjoyed the queue and that blast off you get out of the tunnel.

Rip-Ride - Fun as well and great first drop. Cool that you get to pick your own song. Nice being able to sit in the area by the stage to relax watching the ride during child swap.

Jimmy Fallon - Why do so many people bang on this ride? It's fun. Brings a smile to your face. Great queue, love the ticket system they have and the singers they had while waiting made the wait fun. I feel like I heard nothing but negative things about it prior to my trip. We rode it several times.

Despicable Me - Fun for the kids. Felt weird that you could see that you were a room so not very "immersive" but I don't think it needed to be for a kid's ride. My two kids liked it so that is what mattered.

Transformers & Spiderman - Lumping these two together as they are basically the same ride. Both were fun and I lean towards Spiderman being the better of the two. Not a ride I would wait an hour for but worth a 30-40 minute wait.

E.T. - Great classic dark ride. Basically Peter Pan only you're on a bike. All theme parks need a ride like this. I hope Universal keeps this one around forever for nostalgic reasons.

Woody Woodpecker - My 5 year old loved it. You're Barnstormer for Universal. Grew up watching Woody Woodpecker (my kids had no clue who that was) so it brought back great memories for me.

Fast & Furious - I mean, it is what it is. Went in with low expectations as I heard nothing but negative reviews. It kind of just ends abruptly without finishing out a storyline. I wouldn't wait more than 20 minutes for it.

Men in Black - Best ride shooter of the all the parks. It was better than Toy Story Mania and Space Ranger (which needs to be redone to something else at this point). My whole family loved it. A lot of fun.

Kang & Kodos & One fish, Two fish, etc. - What do you say about this? Kid's like it. It's a carnival ride. Space filler.

Simpson's Ride - I remember the Back the Future ride and I feel like I enjoyed that one more. It was ok. Kind of disappointed to be honest in this one.

Jurassic Park River Adventure - Nostalgic to hear the Jurassic Park theme play as you start the ride. Pretty generic and cheesy up until the end with the T-Rex and the drop. The drop was great and worth the ride. I feel like the dinosaurs could use some updating.

King Kong - The King Kong at the end is incredible. By far the best part of the ride. Great queue and I love the look of the ride from the outside. Odd that it's a "Land" considering it's just this ride. Ride was whatever, not bad but not great. Again, wouldn't wait over 30 minutes for it.

Storm Force Accelatron - Again, a carnival ride but I liked that I didn't have to work as hard as the Teacups to get us spinning very fast, LOL

The Cat in the Hat & Seuss Trolley Ride - The theming in all of Seuss Landing is phenomenal. A very well done land and my 5 year old loved it. These 2 rides are absolutely needed for the younger kids.

Bourne Stuntacular - Did not expect that. Just wow. I was blown away by that show. The new standard for shows, imo.

We didn't do either of the water rides but will next time (didn't want to deal with getting soaked) but they looked like a lot of fun. We need to get to the Horror Make-Up show next time too.

My kids loved the play areas (Camp Jurassic, Fievel, Curious George) - these are such great additions to the parks. Nice time for mom and dad to relax and to let the kids run around. I wish Disney had more of these in their parks (my kids love the ones in Animal Kingdom and Dumbo).

Finally, Harry Potter. Now let me say, I've never read any books or seen the movies. I understand and know most of the characters, plot etc. but never been a fan. The 2 Harry Potter worlds blow away anything Disney has at their parks (I will admit I have not been to Batuu yet at Hollywood Studios). The theming is amazing. Overall, Universal does an amazing job of theming in their parks and their queues. I came across most impressed with that.

Hagrid's - What's to say that probably hasn't been said already. Just an incredible ride. So much fun. I don't know how Universal will top that ride with the new land at Epic Universe.

Gringott's - Great queue, awesome ride and I loved the story. My 5 year old was tall enough to ride it and loved it too (scary fun as she said).

Forbidden Journey - Same as Gringott's. The non-screen portions were whatever for me but the Quidditch scenes were just great. Cool ride system.

We didn't get to ride Hippogriff but will get to it next time.

We ate at both Leaky Cauldron and Three Broomsticks and enjoyed both. I liked the theming in Leaky Cauldron better but both were fun. Butterbeer is gross, LOL but my 8 year old loved it. The frozen was decent but the cold was just like drinking liquid, butterscotch cotton candy.

A few random thoughts:

I will say, it is a different vibe vs Disney. Not a bad thing, just not a "magical" feel like you have at Disney but still extremely fun (we actually upgraded our tickets to Seasonal passes). Universal is so much more affordable than Disney right now.

Love the bus system (we stayed at Cabana Bay). There was always a bus waiting or there in a few minutes of us arriving at any bus station. Very impressed by this.

I love the security check. It was great to get it done and get to City Walk/Parks. I love the moving walkways to get you there.

The employees (do they have a name like Disney has Cast Members?) are just not Cast Members. Not rude or anything but just not the same level of service and excitement. Some seemed like they were working at Six Flags.

I love the Freestyles all over the park. We didn't buy a cup but it was so easy to fill up our water bottles vs. asking a quick service location for cups of water.

Their child swap was smooth and easy. Never had any issues with it.

I'm not sure early entry was worth it. The only day I stood in a crowd to get in was the day we decided to do an early entry. Hagrid's was 200 minutes by the time we walked through the turnstiles, LOL.

The tots from Green & Eggs and Ham were top notch.

Overall, we truly enjoyed it. I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. I'm excited for Epic Universe and I can't believe how much cheaper tickets/passes and hotels are at Universal vs Disney. Rant over.

Did you get an express pass, or recommend it?

 

[UGA03]

Did you get an express pass, or recommend it?

We did not get an express pass but we were also there for 5 days. I think if you powered through you could possibly do Universal Studios in 1 day without it. However, if you only had 1 day at IOA I'd recommend getting an express pass. A lot more to do there and Hagrid's & VelociCoaster will eat up a lot of your day (no express pass allowed for either) so you need to allot for that as well.

 

[wdwrule]

Haha we enjoy Jimmy Fallon too! Basket full of ‘puppays’

 

[Smugpugmug]

I'm glad you had a great time, thanks for sharing! I have a trip planned in May that is Disney focused with one Universal day and weirdly enough I'm looking forward to that day at Universal the most. I'm SO excited for Hagrid's, Velocicoaster and getting my friend to try Butterbeer for the first time.

I also plan on skipping Disney and checking out Epic Universe once that opens.

 

[Skywalker3]

Thanks for sharing all the fun!!! I love reading TRs from folks going to Universal for the first time, or first time in a long time, and loving it! We've loved both WDW and UO since first going to both in 2000, but spend lots more time in WDW, mostly due to DVC, but this year, got a UO AP for the first time, and have already done 2 trips.
We still haven't done Bourne, so hopefully soon. Everyone's new favorite ride ever is Velocicoaster. Great fun! WWoHP is the most incredibly themed park area ever. and we're HUGE Star Wars fans (we still mourn the loss of SW weekends...) WW upped the theming game so much. Glad to read about the child swap still working so well, we used them years ago, and thought they were great then.
For those wondering about express, I think it depends on how long you'll be there, and when. Until last month, we've always had express from staying at premier hotels. This past March, spring break, we did not have express, stayed at Aventura/Surfside, and we did ok, but we are major rope droppers (like at turnstiles 30-45 mins before opening) and took advantage of early entry. Plus we skipped a LOT, since we'd been in Oct. For first timers, with just a day or two, I'd try and do a premier at least 1 night. But if lots of nights/time, maybe not.
Agree that Universal is a whole different vibe, but a wonderful and fabulous vibe!!!! Thanks again for sharing!

 

[redboat45]

We like Jimmy Fallon. It's a fun ride. I think people just don't like it because it's yet another screen based ride..

 

[Pooh's World]

I hadn't been to Universal since the 90's. Sorry for the TLDR but thought I would post my thoughts

First off, rides/shows:

VelociCoaster - Possibly the best theme park ride I've ridden. We'll see what Guardians offers up once it opens and Flight of Passage is great too but I don't think I've had that much fun on an Orlando theme park ride. Love the theming, the queue, great child swap system and that second burst of speed you get is just awesome.

Hulk - Fun rollercoaster but obviously not VelociCoaster. Really enjoyed the queue and that blast off you get out of the tunnel.

Rip-Ride - Fun as well and great first drop. Cool that you get to pick your own song. Nice being able to sit in the area by the stage to relax watching the ride during child swap.

Jimmy Fallon - Why do so many people bang on this ride? It's fun. Brings a smile to your face. Great queue, love the ticket system they have and the singers they had while waiting made the wait fun. I feel like I heard nothing but negative things about it prior to my trip. We rode it several times.

Despicable Me - Fun for the kids. Felt weird that you could see that you were a room so not very "immersive" but I don't think it needed to be for a kid's ride. My two kids liked it so that is what mattered.

Transformers & Spiderman - Lumping these two together as they are basically the same ride. Both were fun and I lean towards Spiderman being the better of the two. Not a ride I would wait an hour for but worth a 30-40 minute wait.

E.T. - Great classic dark ride. Basically Peter Pan only you're on a bike. All theme parks need a ride like this. I hope Universal keeps this one around forever for nostalgic reasons.

Woody Woodpecker - My 5 year old loved it. You're Barnstormer for Universal. Grew up watching Woody Woodpecker (my kids had no clue who that was) so it brought back great memories for me.

Fast & Furious - I mean, it is what it is. Went in with low expectations as I heard nothing but negative reviews. It kind of just ends abruptly without finishing out a storyline. I wouldn't wait more than 20 minutes for it.

Men in Black - Best ride shooter of the all the parks. It was better than Toy Story Mania and Space Ranger (which needs to be redone to something else at this point). My whole family loved it. A lot of fun.

Kang & Kodos & One fish, Two fish, etc. - What do you say about this? Kid's like it. It's a carnival ride. Space filler.

Simpson's Ride - I remember the Back the Future ride and I feel like I enjoyed that one more. It was ok. Kind of disappointed to be honest in this one.

Jurassic Park River Adventure - Nostalgic to hear the Jurassic Park theme play as you start the ride. Pretty generic and cheesy up until the end with the T-Rex and the drop. The drop was great and worth the ride. I feel like the dinosaurs could use some updating.

King Kong - The King Kong at the end is incredible. By far the best part of the ride. Great queue and I love the look of the ride from the outside. Odd that it's a "Land" considering it's just this ride. Ride was whatever, not bad but not great. Again, wouldn't wait over 30 minutes for it.

Storm Force Accelatron - Again, a carnival ride but I liked that I didn't have to work as hard as the Teacups to get us spinning very fast, LOL

The Cat in the Hat & Seuss Trolley Ride - The theming in all of Seuss Landing is phenomenal. A very well done land and my 5 year old loved it. These 2 rides are absolutely needed for the younger kids.

Bourne Stuntacular - Did not expect that. Just wow. I was blown away by that show. The new standard for shows, imo.

We didn't do either of the water rides but will next time (didn't want to deal with getting soaked) but they looked like a lot of fun. We need to get to the Horror Make-Up show next time too.

My kids loved the play areas (Camp Jurassic, Fievel, Curious George) - these are such great additions to the parks. Nice time for mom and dad to relax and to let the kids run around. I wish Disney had more of these in their parks (my kids love the ones in Animal Kingdom and Dumbo).

Finally, Harry Potter. Now let me say, I've never read any books or seen the movies. I understand and know most of the characters, plot etc. but never been a fan. The 2 Harry Potter worlds blow away anything Disney has at their parks (I will admit I have not been to Batuu yet at Hollywood Studios). The theming is amazing. Overall, Universal does an amazing job of theming in their parks and their queues. I came across most impressed with that.

Hagrid's - What's to say that probably hasn't been said already. Just an incredible ride. So much fun. I don't know how Universal will top that ride with the new land at Epic Universe.

Gringott's - Great queue, awesome ride and I loved the story. My 5 year old was tall enough to ride it and loved it too (scary fun as she said).

Forbidden Journey - Same as Gringott's. The non-screen portions were whatever for me but the Quidditch scenes were just great. Cool ride system.

We didn't get to ride Hippogriff but will get to it next time.

We ate at both Leaky Cauldron and Three Broomsticks and enjoyed both. I liked the theming in Leaky Cauldron better but both were fun. Butterbeer is gross, LOL but my 8 year old loved it. The frozen was decent but the cold was just like drinking liquid, butterscotch cotton candy.

A few random thoughts:

I will say, it is a different vibe vs Disney. Not a bad thing, just not a "magical" feel like you have at Disney but still extremely fun (we actually upgraded our tickets to Seasonal passes). Universal is so much more affordable than Disney right now.

Love the bus system (we stayed at Cabana Bay). There was always a bus waiting or there in a few minutes of us arriving at any bus station. Very impressed by this.

I love the security check. It was great to get it done and get to City Walk/Parks. I love the moving walkways to get you there.

The employees (do they have a name like Disney has Cast Members?) are just not Cast Members. Not rude or anything but just not the same level of service and excitement. Some seemed like they were working at Six Flags.

I love the Freestyles all over the park. We didn't buy a cup but it was so easy to fill up our water bottles vs. asking a quick service location for cups of water.

Their child swap was smooth and easy. Never had any issues with it.

I'm not sure early entry was worth it. The only day I stood in a crowd to get in was the day we decided to do an early entry. Hagrid's was 200 minutes by the time we walked through the turnstiles, LOL.

The tots from Green & Eggs and Ham were top notch.

Overall, we truly enjoyed it. I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. I'm excited for Epic Universe and I can't believe how much cheaper tickets/passes and hotels are at Universal vs Disney. Rant over.

Welcome to the Universal-Disney Family!

I would suggest one person upgrade to the Preferred Pass (2nd highest tier)
That way you get free parking and also 10-20% discounts at Universal/City Walk restraurants and stores.

 

[bchbetha]

The employees (do they have a name like Disney has Cast Members?) are just not Cast Members. Not rude or anything but just not the same level of service and excitement. Some seemed like they were working at Six Flags.

I enjoyed your compare and contrast. I do wonder about this one though. Have you ever seen how miserable Disney employees look when they think no one is watching? Then seeing them switch on to interact with guests again? I think I would rather they didn't force the happiness on the workers. We had one server at the end of the night (we were pretty much the last table in the place) and she was just worn out and candid about how her day had been. She provided great service but I feel bad that she was expected to be "YAY Disney!!" all day. I know that might be a really weird perspective from me! I really did enjoy your report!

 

[Smugpugmug]

I enjoyed your compare and contrast. I do wonder about this one though. Have you ever seen how miserable Disney employees look when they think no one is watching? Then seeing them switch on to interact with guests again? I think I would rather they didn't force the happiness on the workers. We had one server at the end of the night (we were pretty much the last table in the place) and she was just worn out and candid about how her day had been. She provided great service but I feel bad that she was expected to be "YAY Disney!!" all day. I know that might be a really weird perspective from me! I really did enjoy your report!

I agree with this. On my last trip while on Rise of the Resistance I noticed that when the Cast Members weren't directly interacting with guests they looked exhausted and defeated, I felt really bad for them. I bet on that ride specifically people give them a lot of trouble due to how long the wait times are.

My sister used to work at Big Thunder Mountain in MK and the stories she had to tell after each shift were astonishing. She worked at the merge point for standby and Fastpass and she had guests SCREAM in her face when they were stopped to let the other group through. That's why it doesn't bother me when the CMs act less enthusiastic about Disney and especially why it doesn't bother me that it's not as prevalent at Universal.

 

[georgina]

Thx for sharing… literally on their site to add three days after an upcoming week at Disney. Have always wanted to go but just didn’t lol. I’m weighing whether I should upgrade the hotel ( to get express pass) or just stay less expensive n add on the express pass..late sept, so if anyone has any opinions feel free to jump in. It’d be Fri-Sunday 2 day/2 park pass ( atleast I think that’s what it’s called).
Loved reading ur take on the rides..

Not sure of the makeup of your group age-wise, but Halloween Horror nights will be going on at the Studios side on fall weekends, so that park will close early for the separately ticketed event. (It is usually the early entry park because of the early close.)I would suggest doing whichever is more cost effective for express. Rooms are probably filling up at the EP resorts, HHN is very popular.

 

[djmeredith]

Thx for sharing… literally on their site to add three days after an upcoming week at Disney. Have always wanted to go but just didn’t lol. I’m weighing whether I should upgrade the hotel ( to get express pass) or just stay less expensive n add on the express pass..late sept, so if anyone has any opinions feel free to jump in. It’d be Fri-Sunday 2 day/2 park pass ( atleast I think that’s what it’s called).
Loved reading ur take on the rides..

It is best to think of Express Pass as a luxury and decide if it is worth the price difference given whatever budget you are working with. Even during busy times, most people can accomplish most everything they want to do in 2 days without EP. I hate waiting in lines, so it is worth the price to me to stay onsite in a premier hotel. EP allows us to have more time to hang out at the hotel pool or re-ride our favorites multiple times. I went to the parks yesterday for the first time in 10+ years without EP (because it was an impromptu half day visit), and I really missed it. Just one example: 45 mins before closing we jumped in line for Hogwarts Express. We waited about 35 minutes while the EP line was a walk on. Similar experience at Spiderman. I will never go without it unless I can no longer afford the premier hotel.

 

[DLgal]

How was Cabana Bay?

 

[Kit Jackson]

Finally, Harry Potter. Now let me say, I've never read any books or seen the movies. I understand and know most of the characters, plot etc. but never been a fan. The 2 Harry Potter worlds blow away anything Disney has at their parks (I will admit I have not been to Batuu yet at Hollywood Studios). The theming is amazing. Overall, Universal does an amazing job of theming in their parks and their queues. I came across most impressed with that.

I wouldn't call what you wrote a rant. It was actually more a rave, which a few legitimate criticisms. Not every person likes every ride, and that's totally okay. It's why there's a mix of different types of rides-to appeal to different people.

I agree with what you said about the Harry Potter sections. The only thing at Disney that comes close is CarsLand in California Adventure at Disneyland.

(Apologies to anyone who has read this next part on other threads that I have commented on). Universal did an excellent job recreating the world of Harry Potter. It is places from the books/movies almost perfectly recreated. You feel as though you are in the places you have read about or seen in the movies. Batuu is Star Wars because Disney says its Star Wars. Batuu is not something fans had a strong connection to before Disney created it. (The rides are fantastic, it's where you are and what there is between/around the rides that doesn't quite work for me.)

Thx for sharing… literally on their site to add three days after an upcoming week at Disney. Have always wanted to go but just didn’t lol. I’m weighing whether I should upgrade the hotel ( to get express pass) or just stay less expensive n add on the express pass..late sept, so if anyone has any opinions feel free to jump in. It’d be Fri-Sunday 2 day/2 park pass ( atleast I think that’s what it’s called).
Loved reading ur take on the rides..

If you are thinking about upgrading the hotel and can afford it, do it. Upgrading the hotel is usually less expensive than buying the passes per day for each person in your group.

 

[UGA03]

How was Cabana Bay?

We loved it. Same price (actually a little cheaper) than a Disney All Star but I would consider it a Disney Moderate Hotel. Great theming (the pictures on the website don't do it justice) and nice layout. The pool was great, there's a lazy river, food court with lots of options (still food court food) and the seating area for the food court is great. You get to watch old tv commercials.

It's our go to for Universal moving forward (per the request of the kids). Very close to the parks (I believe all the hotels are based on the way things are situated). We didn't do Volcano Bay but Cabana Bay has it's own entrance to Volcano Bay so you don't have to take a bus, car, etc. to get there. I would highly recommend it.

 

[mamamelody2]

Thanks for sharing!
We did our first ever UOR trip last June. Then went last month. Going again the week of Memorial Day and seriously considering the week of Labor Day. We have 15 month APs that cost us $350 each and all those trips will be on those passes. Come on, that's a great deal. Both trips that we have done were for a full week and it was just so nice to take it easy. Sleep in, go to the parks just for the evening if you want. Our kids are teens, so they are not down with early entry. LOL. We got a good amount of pool time and just relaxing. We did Cabana Bay too, and we really love it.

Oh, my kids loved the Curious George and Jurassic Park play areas, too. They are 15 and 21 but seriously had a great time in each one and asked to go back multiple times.

 

[mamamelody2]

Question:
Were there still chunks of Camp Jurassic closed off for refurb? Hoping it's all the way open when we go over Memorial Day.