Before we start our November Disney day trip, lets go back a month to another Orlando day trip- Buzz and my first ever visit to Universal Studios Florida. I had originally anticipated to include this in the pre-trip report for November, but ran out of time before we actually left. Still, I wanted to include it somehow (and I know a number of you have been really interested in hearing about the trip), so perhaps it will make a nice prelude to the November report. Now, since this is the
Disney trip report board, Ill be keeping the Universal portion of the report somewhat more brief than I usually keep the Disney portions, but hopefully there will be enough photos and thoughts for you to enjoy. Without any further ado, here we go!
Buzz and I arrived at Universal about 40 minutes before park opening and quickly parked in the garage. For those of you who have never been, Universal doesnt have the kind of parking lots that Disney has. Instead, there are a couple of giant parking garages. After parking, instead of taking a tram, you go down moving sidewalk after moving sidewalk until you finally reach City Walk which is just a short walk from either Universal Studios or Islands of Adventure.
After all these years, we finally made it to Universal! I remember growing up watching Nickelodeon and seeing this globe at the end of all of their shows that were filmed there back then. Now we were actually here.
The Arch.
Even though we had only just gotten there, I was already impressed with the theming. The entrance area had some beautiful architecture and touches.
When it was time for the park to open, an employee (I guess theyre not called Cast Members here), did a little countdown or something, but I couldnt really understand what was being said. Oh, well. The important thing was that we were being let into the park. Our first stop was the Studios Store to pick up an autograph book since wanted to try and get some character photos and autographs here and didnt think bringing a Disney book might be appropriate. They had a number of different designs to choose from. I ended up getting a Simpsons book. One of the nice things about Universal was each of their autograph books came with a matching fat pen that was easy for the characters to use.
Once I had my autograph book, I was ready to hit some rides. First, we headed to the New York area. Again, the theming here was superb.
Our first Universal attraction was the Mummy roller coaster. Apparently, Universal has a policy that on particular attractions, you must store your belongings in a locker, but they let you use one for free for the duration of the time you spend at the attraction. I can see how this could become a hassle, but I really liked it. It was a lot better than either having to pay for a locker or hold onto your bags and cameras. There was no line to speak of, so we got right on. The ride was great- it reminded me a lot of Everest with both the thrill aspects but also some cool show scenes- particularly an amazing-looking animatronic mummy.
On our way to the next attraction, I got my first Universal character photos and autographs- Alex the lion and a couple of the Penguins from the
Madagascar movies.
Next, Buzz and I headed over to The Simpsons Ride. Were both fans of the show, so we figured that this ride would be right up our alley. Just outside the ride was Apus Kwik-E-Mart. It was closed at the time, but we went back later to check it out.
The Simpsons Family in front of the ride.
The theme of the ride is that youre going to Krusty the Klowns new theme park Krustyland and, as things so often to in Springfield, something goes terribly wrong. Being fans of the show, we enjoyed the ride a lot from the queue complete with classic theme park-inspired Simpsons moments (remember Itchy and Scratchy Land or Mount Splashmore?) to all the details in the preshow to the ride itself. So much fun!
After the ride, who should we see outside the Kwik-E-Mart but Homer Simpson himself. Now, those of you who have been reading probably know that Buzz doesnt usually join me when Im meeting characters, but he did this time. Homer was a lot of fun- one of the best characters of the whole day.
After leaving Homer, we headed next door to try the Men In Black Alien Attack. After storing our stuff in a locker, we quickly made it through the queue and onto the ride. Its another ride/ shooting game like Buzz Lightyear but a bit more intense with much more elaborate sets. Again, thought it was fantastic.
For you Disney fans, part of the story behind the ride is that the MIB headquarters is hidden in whats posing as a former attraction from the 1964 Worlds Fair similar to the Carousel of Progress or some of the others that Disney did for it. The whole area around it also has somewhat of a Tomorrowland feel which I thought was neat.
After the ride, Homer had gone elsewhere (Moes perhaps?) and Bart was hanging out at the Kwik-E-Mart. Again, both Buzz and I went to meet him.
It was had to pick a favorite ride of the day, but if I had to pick one, I think it would be Jaws. The theming on it was so well done, the story was good and the effects were fantastic. It was just a great ride in every possible way, I thought.
After the ride, we walked through Amity on the way to San Francisco.
A look at Fishermans Warf.
Next, we headed down to the ET Ride. Unlike most of the other attractions in the park, ET was less of a thrill ride and more of a traditional dark ride (think Peter Pan meets Small World meets Imagination). The ride was fun, but the queue through the forest was really fantastic too. There was so much to see if you actually take the time and look.
Since it was still Halloweentime, Universal was running a little show called the Star Toons Monster Bash with a number of different characters in Halloween costumes doing the Monster Mash and Thriller among other songs followed by a meet-and-greet.
First up were Scooby-Doo and Shaggy as a mad doctor and the mummy. These two were great- more of my favorites of the day.
Curious George as a pirate with The Man in the Yellow Hat. These two were a lot of fun as well. And, yes, George is still as mischievous as ever.
It looks like even Woody Woodpecker is no immune to the whole vampire craze.
Woody has a girlfriend, apparently- Winnie Woodpecker.
Since it was nearby, we headed to Woody Woodpeckers Kid Zone to take a ride on his Nuthouse Roller Coaster. Its very similar to the Barnstormer. There werent really any kids around though, so the only people riding the kids coaster were adults, which I thought was pretty funny.
Some more of the architecture of the park. Im not sure if this is based on a building in California or a set from a movie that Im not familiar with, but I really liked this building.
We headed off to the Hollywood area of the park next, and found the whole Simpsons family, so Buzz and I got some pictures. Heres Mr. and Mrs. Simpson. It seems like Marge is always in Homers shadow.
The brains of the family- Lisa.
By this time, we had only been in the park a few hours, but we had already done pretty much all of the major attractions that we knew that we wanted to see. The low crowds and the park were certainly working in our favor!
Next chapter: The rest of our day at Universal Studios
Meeko- Me. 20-something Disney fan. I enjoy taking pictures at the parks, especially character photos. I’m also interested in both musical films and theater. 
But I do agree, your playlist is perfect for a trip to DAK.
Hope you enjoy the report. 
You simply must get your picture with Woody when you go to Universal. I just wouldn't mention your special name for him if I were you.
Mom- My and Buzzs mother. Mom is interested in learning about history and different cultures, so World Showcase at EPCOT is one of her favorite places in Disney World. She also loves to go to the restaurants around the World and also enjoys visiting all the resorts, especially at Christmastime to see all the decorations. 
