My Day At Universal Orlando (But Mostly at IOA)

[degenerationxwwfwdw1]

Well I am back from my Orlando vacation. 8 Days at Disney and 1 at Universal and we had a great trip. If it didn't rain EVERY DAY it would have been alot better This is going to be pretty lengthy so be forewarned. Well on Saturday I went to IOA and the day didn't start out great. There was a big thunderstorm that woke me up around 7 am so I wasnt very positive about the day's weather. So I got at the IOA gates around 8:30 and there wasn't hardly anyone there so I went to the front of me turnstile line. As soon as I entered I couldn't resist the Hulk so I rode it. And because I am a single guest and the single rider lines in Marvel Superhero Island are practically made for me I went on to Toon Lagoon. I was Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges first rider and stayed on and rode it again without getting off Then I went over to Ripsaw Falls and rode it two times with no one else in the log (needless to say no wait again). Then I went to Jurassic Park River Adventure and rode it twice and watied a combined 30 seconds for the two rides Next I went over to Dueling Dragons and rode each coaster 3 times each before going to ride Cat in the Hat. Then I made my way back to Marvel and rode Spiderman 3 times (Singles Line wait about 5 min each time) and Dr. Doom 4 times (Singles Line no wait any time). Finally I headed over to Hulk and rode it 5 times (Singles Line wait about 5 min each and sometimes less). Then I did something I thought I would never do. That was go back to Universal Studios Florida. Yes I couldnt believe it myself I figured every park needs a second chance. I saw T2-3D and definately enjoyed it alot more the second time around (make sure to sit towards the front it is much better) but I still enjoy Honey I Shrunk The Audience a little better. Then I went over to Back to the Future and rode it. The First time I rode BTTF I enjoyed it alot but I didn't enjoy it as much the 2nd time around. To me the storyline isn't that great and the movements are too rough compared to what is being seen on the screen. I think that if it was toned down a little bit it would be better. Then I went to MIB Alien Attack. I wasn't very impressed the first time but I did enjoy it better the 2nd time around. But I still do not think it is in the same league as Spiderman, Tower of Terror, Splash Mountain, or Dinosaur as being a headlining attraction. Finally I went over to Twister and thought that it was still just good. Oh well T2-3D the 2nd time around was still worth the walk over to USF. And please nobody think that I even went near Jaws, Earthquake, ET, or Kongfrontation! I wasnt going to give them a second chance no matter what. I wouldnt want to put myself though those again Yes I am sort of half kidding but I still didn't enjoy these rides enough to see again. Then I went back to IOA and rode the Hulk 5 more times and rode Cat in the Hat before closing.

IOA Impressions
This was my 4th IOA trip and I have pretty much made up my mind about everything in the park. So here are my impressions on pretty much everything (Sorry if I am being too lenghty but I enjoy doing this stuff)

Hulk-Great coaster and is my favorite ride in the park. I wish more could be done with themeing. Maybe if there were some nice effects in the tunnel it would make it even better. I also wish the Single Rider Line never closed.

Dr. Doom-I love this ride and really think that the preshow video is top notch but the problem hardly anyone gets to see it. I think that this ride is under rated.

Spiderman-This ride is definately up there with Tower of Terror and Splash Mountain as being my favorite rides. Nuff Said

Dudley Do Right's Ripsaw Falls-Great queue themeing and is a very enjoyable ride. Great inside jokes.

Popeye- Excellent queue themeing and is the best rapids ride anywhere.

Jurassic Park River Advneture-Not as good as advertised. I enjoy this ride but the lack of queue themeing and a boring first half really hurt this ride for me. The drop isnt as bad as it looks but the T-Rex is a nice effect.

Dueling Dragons-One of the best queues ever built. The rides are too short but that is the only complaint. Excellent attraction

Posidens Fury (Sp? I can never spell that name)-To me I enjoy this alot more if I see it evey other year. The new show is much improved over the original.

The Cat in the Hat-A simply wonderful childrens ride that even teenagers like myself can enjoy. Along with Pooh the two best kiddie rides (But Cat is better).

Overall IOA-Wonderful park. I wish the staff was a little friendlier. Most of them really seem to hate their jobs. But this is the closest you are going to get to a Disney type experience (themeing wise) anywhere. I only wish more emphasis was put on storylines. Like having the preshows in briefing rooms (a la Test Track) so everyone knows the story line but really I guess the rides themselves are the most important things. I wont miss IOA anytime I go to Orlando.

I cant wait to hear people respond to my post. And remember even though I may be a little hard on USF I really enjoy IOA and it is definately a step in the right direction for Universal.

 

[MLindaG]

Thanks for the post. We leave in two days and are getting excited!! You seemed to do a lot in a day which we are also hoping to do since we have one day left on a two day park pass from two years ago. Did you stay on-site so you had FOTL status?? We are staying on-site at the new PRH.

 

[Winston112]

Just curious. What is it about Jaws, ET, Earthquake, and Kongfrontation that you don"t like? This will be our first trip to USF this summer, so I'm really interested in finding out about all of the rides and shows. When you ride Ripsaw Falls and go below water level, do you get immersed in the water? I'm debating whether to let my 4 yo DN ride it. Thanks in advance for your answers.

 

[degenerationxwwfwdw1]

I stayed at the Disney All Star Sports Resort so I had no FOTL access I just went in the Single Rider Lines.

Some people really enjoy the rides I mentioned but I really am unimpressed with them. I especially am unimpressed with Earthquake and Kongfrontation. I just expected these rides to be exciting but I was bored. But PLEASE do not take my advice and if it is your first trip to USF ride these rides. You might like them I just do not. Again if you go ride these rides.

And also do not believe the "underwater" hype on Ripsaw Falls. The only part you get wet on the final drop is way after the drop. It is when you are going through part right before you go under the bridge to Jurassic Park. You will get much wetter than Splash Mountain but if you set towards the back (and pretty much anywhere but the front seat) you will not get totally drenched.

 

[nascarfan]

Great report! We also just returned from Orlando. We did 5 days at the two Universal parks, one day at Magic Kindgom and one day at MGM. It was a lot of fun!

I would like to add a couple of comments. In the five days we were at the Universal parks, we had no problems with any of the staff members. They were well trained, polite and cheerful. Some were obviously new, but all were equal to or in some cases better than the Disney cast members. I was pleasantly suprised. However I did not encounter them all nor can I say we had any problems with the cast members at Disney. It was just a great trip.

We also structured our park visits so that we "ramped up" the experience. We did the studios first and the theme park later. This eliminated the complaints in our party about the studios not being as exciting. This worked out very well for us. My 8 yr old son enjoyed IOA more than Magic Kingdom (go figure). He did however insist on seeing Mickey Mouse, which we did and loved him. He also really liked the "stunt shows" at both studios. Universal had to cancel one of the "Sinbad" shows due to poor weather and we got to spend a bunch of time with the cast taking pictures and getting autographs! A rare opportunity and one of the most enjoyable parts of the trip. This may be what sold him on the "stunt shows".

Some rides can appear to be let-downs after you ride the likes of Spider Man, Tower of Terror and Men In Black. Kong, Earthquake, Jaws and some of the MK rides would easily appear lacking. However, I view these attractions in a different light. I keep in mind the age of the rides and the generation of people that they were originally intended for. This is especially true in MK. Think how many of these rides have stood the test of time. There are not too many things in the world today that my child can experience in the same fashion I did when I was his age. It is truly amazing and wonderful.

Enough about our experiences. I believe this was another persons post . I hope everyone has as good a trip as we did!

 

[degenerationxwwfwdw1]

It dosent matter whose post this is. Thanks for the input. But back to the Kong, Earthquake, etc... question. When I first rode these rides the park was only 2 or 3 years old (I can't remember for sure) and Spiderman, MIB, and Tower of Terror were not even built yet. So I had made up my opinion about those rides long before you could consider them "older". I can see exactly what you are saying though. But for me in present time comparing Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise, and Peter Pan's Flight to Kongfrontation, Jaws, and E.T. is like comparing shinny apples to moldy oranges. Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Cruise have stood the test of time and are still top notch attractions but Jaws and Kongfrontation have not been around that long and seem ancient. Again this is just my opinion and eveyone else is entitled to their own.

Back to the Universal employees. I must go on their worst days because I have yet to be around anyone that seems to enjoy their jobs. I swear it almost feels like The Hulk cast members have something covering their mouths that dosent allow them to talk or smile Oh well. Now the older staff are as friendly as possible but it seems the college age workers really hate it there. Again this is just what I have seen in my four days there.

 

[Disneymomma]

If it is your first trip, you will probably want to do the rides mentioned, ET, Jaws, etc., especially if you have never been there. I can understand degenerationxwwfwdw1's point however, if you have "been there and done that" you may not want to waste the time again. You could be riding other things. Even my 6year old daughter told me, "No Jaws this year, okay mommy?" Not because she was scared, but because now she is a bit bored by it. If you have not done the rides, you have to at least give them a try. If your lucky enough to go more than once, you start to realize what you can skip and what is a "must do" for the trip. Good post degenerationxwwfwdw1!

 

[degenerationxwwfwdw1]

Thank you very much disneymomma!
One thing that I mentioned that I didn't stress enough was how much more I enjoyed T2-3D the 2nd time opposed to the first time. One thing that is sort of the cardinal rule for 3-D movies is sit as far away from the front as you can. This is especially true for It's Tough To Be A Bug and Honey, I Shrunk The Audience (still my favorite 3-D movie of all time). But for Muppet Vision 3-D and T2-3D sitting TOWARDS the front can really increase your enjoyment of these shows. On Muppet Vision there are the very entertaining penguins to look at and because of the penguins you are not as close to the screen as you are in the previous two shows so the 3-D picture is perfect. This is especially true for T2-3D. Trust me DO NOT SIT IN THE BACK if it is your first time. Trust me I am a huge Terminator fan and I got a little lost in the story. Make sure to at least sit in the upper section so you can get the 4-D effects (water and moving chairs) that the back section dosen't seem to get (remember I just saw it one time in the back section so there could have been some technical difficulties that day). And if you can get front row you will have one of the best seats in the house. Because of the stage the front row is still pretty far away from the screen (like Muppet Vision). Sorry this sort of turned into my little guide to 3-D movies

But seriously as quick as I am to bash USF I will also praise T2-3D that much more because it is the only thing in the park that impressed me. From now on when I spend my day at IOA I will not leave without heading over to USF and see T2-3D and get the heck outta there Oh yeah the next time I visit Shrek 3-D will probably be open so I can check that out too. Then I can run back to IOA

 

[nhrenee]

degenerationxwwfwdw1, You went to Universal!! Wow, the planets must all be in alignment of something! lol!
Glad you had a great trip. I have to disagree with your comments about the employees though, for the most part I've found them to be pretty nice.

FYI: the back row of T2-3D is stationary seating, doesn't move. I mistakenly sat there once.

 

[degenerationxwwfwdw1]

Yeah I know the planets must have been in alignment because I never thought I would go back But that dosent mean I will ever go past T2-3D again

I have seen plenty of friendly employees all over the two Universal parks. And looking back MOST of them are just as nice as anywhere else but I guess alot of The Incredible Hulk cast members put a bad taste in my mouth. Also looking back I am sure that they have one of the most stressful jobs in all of Universal so I guess they have an excuse. It just seems like most of them are not human and are robots designed not to show any emotion But again it is sort of understandable and please no one take offense to this