Marathon day - not really a trip report

[skeptic555]

OK, this is not a trip report, since I am dog tired and do not have the strength. But I pulled off a marathon visit today, and have a coupla things bouncing around my head.

(the setup: visiting the Out-laws - out of state ex-in laws - in Tampa, and took a side excursion with the intent to do both parks. TO enable this I also picked up the express pass for $40. Drove to Orlando, stayed from 9a to 10p, and drove back. This is what I learned.)

- It *is* possible to do both parks in a day - rather easily - as long as you arent interested in shows, and are a single rider.

- The parking lots open at 745. I know this because I made better time than expected and got there before they opened. Had Clark W Griswold flashbacks. Yes, I was first in the lot.

- The electronic pickup kiosks are brutal. Touch screens not sensitive, and first machine crashed before printing. SECOND machine printed ticket, pretty much every other line. SO, universal is using a $59 inkjet in those things, apparently. THIRD machine printed the Express Plus. Finally. But not a great start.

- UO should have used whoever provided Disneys Biometrics system. Theirs could not recognize my fingerprint. After multiple times.

- Single rider lines RULE. Much, much better than express pass. But not enough of them. Used it on Mummy, Spidey, and MIB.

- Speaking of Mummy, that was the new ride for me this time around (its been a few years.) An unreserved thumbs up. Runner up best queue award as well (Dueling Dragons retains however).

- Spidey died just before our Scoop made the ride ending drop. This was perfectly fine, as looking around was really cool, and of course a no wait reride takes the edge off.

- Oh, and Shrek was new to me as well. I liked it OK. A little tired of the 4D thing, but the familiar characters helped things. No reason to do twice however.

Re express pass, only rides where the ticket was scanned/marked was Mummy, and interestingly enough, Cat in the Hat. Everything else could have been reused over and over.

-Went for the Meal Deal, which was a mistake. Not enough variation in the menu. Id like to see them make it for ANY (non wait service) restaurant, and price it accordingly.

- Speaking of food, I dont look for quality in a theme park, so no judgements there, but the combination of confused patrons and unenthusiastic (or poorly trained) staff made this the most frustrating aspect BY FAR.

- On the flip side, the ride staff were good to great. "Acting" roles (poseiden, terminator, jaws etc) were all very good as well.

- speaking of poseiden, count me among those missing the "old" show. This new one - with the escapee/reject from Super Hero island - was easy enough to follow, but man do I miss the shocker of being transported into the previous room that capped off the old show. That never failed to flat out amaze me.

OK, enough rambling for now. Perhaps more tomorrow once I recover.

 

[robvia]

Welcome aboard, great post.

 

[skeptic555]

well, have been lurking for a while now. This board has been by far the best source of information about UO out there - just funny that its a DISNEY board! Anyway, figured I finally had something to add to the conversation.

Couple more things:

- Studios side opened about 30 min early, but as you came in, you could could only go into the shops, or JImmy Neuton, or Shrek. But this turned out to be very good, as with the preshows etc by the time Shrek ended the rest of the park was ready to go.

- I preferred Ice to Fire dragon, although likely related to the fact I waited for front row for Ice. Really is worth the wait on the inverted coasters.

- Nothing new to report on rides like Jaws, JPRA, Twister, Earthquake. Still wonders of engineering and timing.

- Same for T2 3D, but just a note that I liked that one more than I remember liking it in the past. Lots of fun.

- Went for what will likely be a final ride on BTTF. A classic ride, and a groundbreaking one as well. But times roll on I suppose. I'm looking forward to what they can come up with if another A list attraction is in the books. Just hope its not another 4D thingy.

- As always, I am amazed at people who walk up to a ride and ask the employee "What is this? What does it do?". I know I am a research monkey, but come on people! I am sure a number of folks were rather surprised at the LIMs on Mummy.

 

[Motherfletcher]

- As always, I am amazed at people who walk up to a ride and ask the employee "What is this? What does it do?

That could have been me. I always ask my kids in a tone loud enough for others to hear, "Does this go upside down?" Even on shows like Horror MakeUp.

 

[anty30]

Just returned from our first trip there too.
Cast: me, DH, DD9 & DS6

Just a couple of my observations:

-The parks are very easy to do.

-We arrived at UO 4pm sat. and rode EVERY ride by 10pm!

-Stayed offsite and did not get the express pass. No problem. Walked onto just about every ride and/or showed our reg. tix to CM's manning "express" lines, and were let through without a second glance. Glad we did not pay for it.

-Single rider lines are wonderful. 99% of the time we all rode together.

-The service in the restaurants is the slowest I have ever encountered, anywhere!

-The food leaves a lot to be desired. The positive was that we had the package where the kids eat free the whole vacation and we were all able to eat for free from the kids menus. Again, glad we did not get the meal deals for adults.

-Sun. is a great day to do IOA. No lines all day.

-Favorite rides and shows: Spiderman, Hulk, Jurassic Park River Ride, Popeye Bilge Barge, Fear Factor, MIB, Jimmy Neutron, Mummy, and the kids LOVED Cat in the Hat.

-Least favorite rides and shows: Beetlejuice, Dr. Seuss Trolley, BTTF (sorry to the fans out there), Animal Planet show, Flying Unicorn, JAWS, and ET

Overall, it was really fun. The service (or lack of) cannot be compared to Disney. I would say it is more on the level of a Six Flags. We did every single ride and show easily in 3 days. We had the five day passes, but 3 days is more than enough time.

 

[jtimmons]

Wait, you flashed your regular park ticket and they let you in the express lane? How many times did you attempt this, how many did you succeed?

 

[Nana Annie]

.....

 

[TigerLilly's Mom]

Ok - edited to say I missed the whole troll thing - now that I read that the post is actually pretty funny!

Does anyone else think it is funny that anty said the food leaves a lot to be desired and then goes on to say that the entire family ate off the kids menu! I would think it would leave a lot to be desired if you are not 5! Personally, I think Universal has some of the best theme park food, and yes I have been to Disney many times and enjoyed good and bad meals there.

 

[goofy!]

I agree, it is very funny.

I find it very amusing (about Anty's report) that not only did they use the express passes, but they also used the single rider lines with a 6 year old, and 99% of the time they got to ride together.

Thanks for the laugh Anty

 

[Amity 3]

Just returned from our first trip there too.
Cast: me, DH, DD9 & DS6

Just a couple of my observations:

-The parks are very easy to do.

-We arrived at UO 4pm sat. and rode EVERY ride by 10pm!

-Stayed offsite and did not get the express pass. No problem. Walked onto just about every ride and/or showed our reg. tix to CM's manning "express" lines, and were let through without a second glance. Glad we did not pay for it.

-Single rider lines are wonderful. 99% of the time we all rode together.

-The service in the restaurants is the slowest I have ever encountered, anywhere!

-The food leaves a lot to be desired. The positive was that we had the package where the kids eat free the whole vacation and we were all able to eat for free from the kids menus. Again, glad we did not get the meal deals for adults.

-Sun. is a great day to do IOA. No lines all day.

-Favorite rides and shows: Spiderman, Hulk, Jurassic Park River Ride, Popeye Bilge Barge, Fear Factor, MIB, Jimmy Neutron, Mummy, and the kids LOVED Cat in the Hat.

-Least favorite rides and shows: Beetlejuice, Dr. Seuss Trolley, BTTF (sorry to the fans out there), Animal Planet show, Flying Unicorn, JAWS, and ET

Overall, it was really fun. The service (or lack of) cannot be compared to Disney. I would say it is more on the level of a Six Flags. We did every single ride and show easily in 3 days. We had the five day passes, but 3 days is more than enough time.

way to cheat your way through the system, hope you're proud of yourself.

I highly doubt you showed actual park passes and were waved through EP lines, there would be no need for you to use single rider lines if that were the case. not to mention, EP's are scrutinized at the front of the queue.

Animal Planet Live was changed to Aninmal Actors months ago as well.

 

[anty30]

Gosh, I am really getting flamed!

jtimmons: yes, flashed reg. park ticket and got through many times.

nanaannie: did not realize I was hijacking OP's post. Just wanted to add to skeptic info. Sorry if I offended anyone by doing this.

Tigerlilly's mom: yes, we did eat off the kids menu. You are right in that it is great for a five year old, but I have to say, DH had a reg. burger and thought it was pretty bad. Also, we went to SeaWorld one day and ate at the Shark Grill for lunch, which was fabulous. Hit the Pirate dinner Adventure one night and, although the show was lots of fun, the food was horrible. So, we did eat off the kids menu, but we did not have every meal there. Also, I agree with what you said about Disney, there is good and bad food there. However, at Disney the service is always impeccable. And there are much better food options IMHO.

Goofy: the single rider lines are great. My 6 yr. old has no problems going on rides. He was always in the same car if not right next to DH or myself. We would never let him go all by himself with strangers.

Amity 3: I dont feel like I cheated my way through the system. I do feel the same as skeptic in that the staff is unenthusiastic and poorly trained. They certainly did not seem to be on top of checking EP's too well otherwise we would not have walked right through. I know that the name of the animal show has changed, but I figured everyone would know what I was talking about.

Anyway, skeptic, I am sorry if I highjacked your post. Did not mean to. Just wanted to post my opinons and maybe give my point of view.
It was our first trip to UO and IOA. Like I said, it was a lot of fun. The kids enjoyed it.

 

[goofy!]

Gosh, I am really getting flamed!

What did you expect? Every single point you posted was how you cheated the system. Did you really think that those of us who enjoy Universal and tour respectfully and abide by the rules were going to applaud you?

Goofy: the single rider lines are great. My 6 yr. old has no problems going on rides. He was always in the same car if not right next to DH or myself. We would never let him go all by himself with strangers.

If you would never let him go by himself with strangers, then why in the world would you chance the single riders line? The whole idea of the line is to fill single seats on a ride. You are taking a huge chance that when you hit the end of the line that a car would have two available seats instead of one. There is absolutely no guarantee that anybody would be able to sit together. So, I don't know how you planned to never let him go with strangers in a single riders line.

Unless of course, you planned to browbeat the TM when it was your turn to load to make sure you had two seats together - upsetting the loading schedule and taking 2 seats together away from the people that patiently waited in the regular line. I guess this would be consistent with the rest of your post.

Hopefully, you did not really do all this in front of an innocent 9 year old and 6 year old and are just trying to , but if it is actually true, then I guess forcing the TM's to put you together would not be out of character for you.

Glad you had an overall good time though. Universal is a very fun place!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

- speaking of poseiden, count me among those missing the "old" show. This new one - with the escapee/reject from Super Hero island - was easy enough to follow, but man do I miss the shocker of being transported into the previous room that capped off the old show. That never failed to flat out amaze me.

I didn't know Poseidon's Fury had changed. How did I miss that tidbit of info? We didn't even go to the show this trip. We've seen it a few times, & don't feel a need to see it every trip. If I'd know it changed, we definitely would have seen it. Oh well, there's always next time.

 

[Nana Annie]

.....

 

[TigerLilly's Mom]

Gosh, I am really getting flamed!

Tigerlilly's mom: yes, we did eat off the kids menu. You are right in that it is great for a five year old, but I have to say, DH had a reg. burger and thought it was pretty bad. Also, we went to SeaWorld one day and ate at the Shark Grill for lunch, which was fabulous. Hit the Pirate dinner Adventure one night and, although the show was lots of fun, the food was horrible. So, we did eat off the kids menu, but we did not have every meal there. Also, I agree with what you said about Disney, there is good and bad food there. However, at Disney the service is always impeccable. And there are much better food options IMHO.

I'm sorry, I just don't think you can comment on the food options at Universal if you only ate off the children's menu. You chose to have limited food options by doing what you did. 2 Emeril's restaurants, Margaritaville, Mythos, Lombards, Finnegans, NBA, NASCAR, The Kitchen, Hard Rock Cafe (which I hate for food), Pastamore, Confiscos, Jakes - the list goes on and on. If you had eaten at any of those places (and not off the kids the menu) your comments would have some validity for me. Unfortunately, they don't.

 

[goofy!]

My apologies to the rest, but...
TigerLilly's mom - just had to say I love your new picture. That is just the sweetest pic of a girl and her dog!

 

[skeptic555]

well, no offense here on the "thread-jacking" accusation. That what boards are all about - starting a discussion that sometimes goes where you didnt anticipate.

There *are* some strong opinions and strong personalities here to be sure - and folks are often emboldened by the anonymity of the forum to say things they would not say face to face...But that doesnt mean their opinions are wrong!

If you think there is little patience here for non-rules followers, try the Disney section of this Disney board. It can be quite shocking.

Now, that said, yeah, flaunting how you figured out ways around the system wont get you many kudos. Figuring ways around the rules isnt hard to do - most employees are afraid to enforce those rules for fear of being accused of being anti-customer... a mortal sin in Orlando. So aggressive, irrational, or sneaky customers usually get their way. Sad, but true. Its generally up to the people to play fair lest the parks decend into chaos.

 

[anty30]

Goofy, just wanted to let you know that I did not "browbeat" anybody. Anytime we got to the front of the single rider line they asked for 2 or 3 single riders to fill spaces. Not once did I ask to ride with my son or daughter. I certainly dont think you could "force" the TM's to do anything. Did I break some kind of law by going on the single rider line? I dont believe I did, so to be flamed for that is ridiculous.

Nana Annie and tigerlilly's mom, the kids and DH and I shared meals. The service in the restaurants is extremely slow. Everyone on line with us agreed. I never sent my kids through just to get a meal for us. We would pick from the kids plates and finish whatever they did not. We are not big eaters and so eating their pizza crust and some fries were fine. We did the character breakfast with Spiderman. We have eaten at Margaritaville, Nascar, Hard Rock Cafe and all of the other touristy restaurants too many times to count. We live in NY for goodness sake. We have done them all. What I said in my original post was that I was glad we did not get the meal deals because we were able to share what the kids got and felt full. Especially since it was so hot. Who wants a big meal in that heat? You mean to tell me that none of you have ever shared a meal with your kids? Come on now. The flaming is getting to be a little too much.

Our family travels quite a bit and I feel I am entitled to give my opinion. Again, I will tell you we all had a great time. It was a lot of fun. Very much enjoyed the rides and entertainment. I have read many posts regarding whether or not the meal deals and express passes are worth the money. I have also read many posts where people talk about sharing meals. I know I am not the only one who has ever done this so give me a break.

 

[goofy!]

Goofy, just wanted to let you know that I did not "browbeat" anybody. Anytime we got to the front of the single rider line they asked for 2 or 3 single riders to fill spaces. Not once did I ask to ride with my son or daughter. I certainly dont think you could "force" the TM's to do anything. Did I break some kind of law by going on the single rider line? I dont believe I did, so to be flamed for that is ridiculous.

I am glad it worked out for you that you never had to ask for a seat together. But what would you have done if you got to the end of the single rider line and the TM said there was only one seat available? Which from my experience is very often the case. Would you have continued to step aside and let those true single riders fill the seats? Or did you assume that the TM, seeing your 6 year old, would, although against policy, seat you together for customer service sake. If that is the case, then your argument that the customer service at Universal is lousy goes down the drain.

As somebody else posted, just the mere fact that you entered the Single Rider line with no intention of ever letting your 6 year old be split from you, means you had the intention to circumvent the rules if need be. So, yes, you did break the spirit of the law of the single rider line. The single rider line is for single riders. You had no intention of being split from your child - which made you a double rider, and double riders belong in the regular queue.

Sorry to sound so harsh, but lines are frustrating as it is. It is even more frustrating when you have stood in line for awhile and then you see people purposefully flaunt the rules and get away with it because the Team Members are so conscientious of customer service.

Glad you had an enjoyable time.

 

[TigerLilly's Mom]

Amty - I never once flamed you for sharing meals with your kids - I simply refuse to comment on that. My gripe is that you are saying the food options at Universal aren't good, when you only ate off the kids menu at select restaurants. Even you can agree that you can't comment on the quality and selection of food at Universal while you ate off the kids menu! Right?? LOL

Goofy - Thanks, I love the picture too. He is so devoted to her at only 6 months, I don't know what I am going to do when she goes back to school in the fall!