Non-Ride Must Do's and Little Secrets

[Mikeb1892]

My wife and I will be going solo without our kids in June to celebrate our anniversary. Not including rides, what are you must see attractions/areas in either park? I'm looking for the not too well known items. We have been to the parts a few times and have hit all of the "normal" touristy stuff, now looking for the more unique items/shops/snacks/etc.

 

[macraven]

I always do the shows
Bourne
Horror Make Up Show
Animal actors on parade
( name heading might be off but zero in for animal actor for key words)

The meet and greats of the super Hero’s in Islands of Adventure
They do a snazzy entrance and then mingle with guests for pictures and autographs

 

[CynBeth]

We also enjoyed those shows macraven mentioned.

 

[Mikeb1892]

We've done the shows and I agree they were fantastic. Never did the meet and greet in IOA so we'll check that out. Thanks for the suggestion @macraven.

 

[Kit Jackson]

There are behind the scenes tours of rides, but it depends on how busy the people working the rides are. This is one of those times you have to ask, and you may get lucky and the answer is yes, or they may be incredibly busy and the answer is no. I did the Kong one and it was enjoyable.

Universal Studios
Men in Black Alien Attack Immigration Tour
Revenge of the Mummy Production Tour
Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon VIP Studio Tour

Islands of Adventure:
Skull Island: Reign of Kong Temple Tour
The Incredible Hulk Coaster Gamma Tour
Jurassic Park Discovery Center Nursery Tour
Velocicoaster

City Walk:
Hard Rock Cafe VIP Tour

 

[Monykalyn]

Love to grab a drink at Chez Alcatraz, then head past Bruce the shark to the little seating area there and rest legs, people watch. Watch the Fountain of Fortune (if he's on) reactions of the people he interacts with. Ask to see if the tours are running: Immigration tour at MiB, tour at Jimmy Fallon, Mummy tour (if they are open and doing them after remodel).

Take your time through regular queue's if you haven't already-there's a ton of detail and alot of the queue's tie into the story of the ride.

Not really "hidden" secrets but stuff I enjoy that the average guest will miss in a quest to ride as many attractions as possible.

If you like cocktails-one of my all time favorite bars are Swizzle lounge at Cabana Bay and Strong Water Tavern at Sapphire Falls. Great and personable bartenders. Also dinner and bowling at Cabana Bay is fun!

And make time to see the Blues Brothers show, Beat builders and just generally the street performers. If Scooby and the gang is back in form-just hanging out with an ice cream on the benches on Rodeo Drive can be entertaining (Beetlejuice also runs around here).

Wow I miss UO! Been too long since I've been back!

 

[Monykalyn]

Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon VIP Studio Tour

At the end of this tour you get to put a pin on a map of where you are from too!

 

[Mikeb1892]

There are behind the scenes tours of rides, but it depends on how busy the people working the rides are. This is one of those times you have to ask, and you may get lucky and the answer is yes, or they may be incredibly busy and the answer is no. I did the Kong one and it was enjoyable.

Awesome suggestion. This is exactly what I was looking for, things like this. Thank you @Kit Jackson

 

[Mikeb1892]

@Monykalyn Thank you for the suggestions. We wanted to hit Strong Water on our last trip but didn't make it. Thank you for the reminder.

 

[The Foolish Mortal]

If you are a Simpsons fan like me, you might enjoy just wandering around the Springfield area and taking in/taking pictures of the details related to the show. No matter how many times I visit, I still always get a kick out of seeing the "Bort" keychains. And my partner loves going to Moe's and having a Duff

 

[Mikeb1892]

...going to Moe's and having a Duff

Not much of a Simpsons fan but this sounds like a must do regardless!

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

If you’re HP fans the TriWizard Spirit show and Tales of Beetle the Bard are good. ToBtB has 2 skits that alternate.

 

[damo]

Walking through Camp Jurassic is nice even for adults!

 

[Skywalker3]

Lots of great recommendations already in the thread. DH and I enjoyed a couple of drinks/snacks, just sitting between the NY and SF areas. Love that the themed areas are still there, stoops to sit on, all the shops, etc. We LOVE GE at Disney's HS, but miss the old theming of the NY facades of MGM. Universal still has so, so many areas still themed like that. Take the time to take lots of pictures!
Last couple trips, took time to try the unique brews in HP, Hogshead brew from the Hogs head in IoA, and Dragon Scale from Hopping Pot in Diagon.
eat at restaurants the kids don't want to go to. or just snack from festival booths if there's a festival
Take all the time you want to go through the queues, and roam around. Molly from Allears has such great videos on HP easter eggs, etc
watch all the shows, Blues Brothers, etc. and the HP ones. Do the meet/greets, etc.
would love to try one of the behind the scenes tours. Sounds fun!
DH doesn't like to do this, even at Disney, but I've enjoyed going around to the various resorts and just looking around, maybe get a snack, but only if you have extra time. wouldn't take park time away for it.
Have a great trip!!!!

 

[kbelle8995]

Celestina Warbeck and her Banshees. Also the Drum guys at San francisco.

Areas that I love to meander around: Diagon Alley, Camp Jurassic, Port of Entry.

Checking out the Prop shop at Universal Studios. This is not your average souvenir shop. Lots of prop, antiques and things from the theme parks events. Also checking out the Christmas shops in both parks. What can I say? I'm Xmas decoration Addict and there is no cure.

Riding the boat to different resorts. The boat ride in iteself is so relaxing. Especially when it was just me and they played Harry Potter Music