UNIVERSAL FANS! We need your REVIEWS!!

[Blizzrock13]

Just got back from Islands of Adventure (Thursday, 13 May 04). I used a military discount ($50.00 per ticket x 4). I was astonished at what that $50 buys you.

There are 10 major attractions at IOA. The best by far is the Dueling Dragons roller coaster attraction. The Cat in the Hat is the amazing attraction in that the wait to go on it is typically 30 minutes. For about 90 seconds of pseudo-amusement. And FearFall is just plain lame. Less than 45 seconds after a 25 minute wait.

Poseidon's Fury was closed for refurbishment.

We did a calculation of the time spent on the attraction (timed a bunch of them) and found that the ten major attractions involved less than 13 minutes of actual on-ride time. The Jurassic Park and Dudley Do-Right attractions skew the curve due to their longer durations. Flying Unicorn and FearFall are less than 45 seconds. With an average wait of 25 minutes that means over 4 hours of standing in line for less than a quarter hour of actual attraction time.

Aside from that, large drinks cost a mere $2.99 (plus tax).

Parking is $8.00. At least after 6:00 pm the cost is free, good for going to City Walk.

Recommendation: Spend the $$$ elsewhere. Some of the attractions ARE very good, but the waits and short durations don't justify the expenses.

What the heck are you talking about! You get more bang for your buck in both Universal Orlando's parks than you do in Disney! The rides are much better, the lines are better (except for Dr. Doom), everything is better!

....................................

How do I submit reviews again? I clicked the link in the first post of this thread and a got a 'this page cannot be displayed'. I must give awesome reviews on UO!

 

[allie&mattsmom]

We just got back from USO/IOA last week and we had an amazing time! We are big Disney people and I must say I think we all enjoyed this trip more than Disney! We stayed on-site (IMO, only way to do it with FOTL access!). Had short walks to the parks and Citywalk. Loved all of the rides but our fave was Revenge of the Mummy. My kids who are 8 & 10 loved the Hulk and Fire & Ice. Dr. Doom was just okay. My kids thought it was lame and said our city's annual fair had a ride similar to it that is much better. The long & short of it is we cannot wait to go back!!! We are going on a Disney cruise in May and had planned on a few days at Disney afterward, however, my plan is to try to convince DH to go to Universal instead! This may be difficult since we already have Disney park passes but I'm gonna give it my best shot!

 

[muffinman71]

Went to USF this past Tuesday (10/18). I was concerned about the crowds, so I prepaid for Express Pass Plus. I also bought my USF tix over the website and saved about $5 per ticket. It was nice to have them so I did not have to wait in line.

I have not been to USF since they built CityWalk. The parking deck was nice, but I parked on the first level (King Kong) and had a VERY, VERY long walk (through Citywalk past the shops, of course) to the front gate of USF. Felt like I was back in Orlando airport with all the people movers and escalators. Holy Christ. Wasn't Citywalk the parking lot before?

Anyway, stopped at cinnabon for a quite bite. $2.50 for a soda. Christ.

Walked right up to the front gate, and the workers were having trouble getting the scanners to work, so it was a bit of a wait to get to enter. Kinda frustrating.


There was never more than a fifteen minute wait for any ride, so the express pass was a bit of a waste. But, you never know how the crowds will be.

Terminator 2 - rocked. All the characters (Arnold, Linda Hamilton, and that kid) from the movie make an appearance. After the show, dumped into the themed gift shop.

Horror Make Up Show - sucked. I like the old show much better. The "new" show is more an ad for universal movie classics, and some dopey jokes, then actually showing how horror effects are done (like in the old show). The props from the movie van helsing made up for the lame show.

Lucy A tribute - was okay for lucy fans. I did see a teenage girl (in full goth gear) laughing at the clips of the show. Attached to a gift shop of course.

Shrek 4d - was great. Poor crowd control has the entire theatre going out one door in a very cramped themed giftshop.

Twister - was awesome. Again, themed giftshop.

Mummy - an absolutely incredible ride. themed gift shop too. At this point, I asked one of the attendants if there was any production going on, considering they used to have it when i was there in 1998. Nope, she said. They dont do production that is open to the public anymore. What a let down. Oh well.

Animal Planet - a cute show with animals doing tricks. For animal lovers only.

ET - Was a lot of fun, but ended too quickly.

Earthquake - awesome.

MIB - was a lot of fun. One disappointment, was that my laser gun aimed off center (it was down and to the left) which made it difficult to be accurate. But, the ride was great. Cool to see Will Smith make a guest appearance. My group was "bugbait", but I had the highest score at 67,000. Not bad for a first timer. Themed shop again. Ugh.

Back to the future - was great. Themed shop. Ugh.

The park was a bit empty which was surprising. I did not see many on street performances going on. There was a brief meet and greet in the kidzone with woody woodpecker, shaggy and scooby doo, and curious george. Also, there were two trolleys that carried around the flintstones on one, and lucy, olive oyl and popeye, doc from BTTF.

We ended up eating in Cafe La Bamba since Mel's and the International Food place was completely overrun. La Bamba was totally empty, cool, and nicely decorated. However, the food prices were outrageous. A medicore cheeseburger and dry fries was $7.50. A soda was an extra $2.39. The chicken wrap was also $7.50 and was decent.

After the park closed, we headed over to the Hard Rock. Of course, I had to get some tshirts. There was a five minute wait for a table. The memorabilia on the walls is incredible. I sat near the bar, and over our table was the cure, ramones, and the cramps. Very cool. The stained glass window with Elvis as god was funny. Our server was great too. But, the prices were insane. For their signature hamburger they wanted $13.50. ***?? A hamburger? You are kidding right? Most entrees were in the $13 to $20 range. Drinks were very expensive too, costing $1 or more than I would have gotten in a restuarant outside of Citywalk. My long island ice tea was $6.55 and the Bass draft was $5 and change. The onion rings were great. The hamburger was just okay and came with 12 french fries (yes, I counted). I could have gotten the same for half the cost anywhere else in Orlando. Dinner for two with an appetizer, two entrees, two drinks, and dessert was $68.

If I had to do this again, I would have just gotten the USF tix online and not done the express pass plus. And, skipped the hard rock and went to pastamore.

 

[Nellas Elensar]

I've posted three reviews tonight...I'll add more later...

Nellas Elensar

 

[Sterm26]

I like Universal but I love and live Disney. Maybe that will change when my daughter is older (she's 6), but Universal is no more than a one-day diversion during a week at WDW. Maybe it's because most of the Universal rides are based on violence/mayhem, and are geared toward older children and adults.

Don't get me wrong...most of the the movies the rides at Universal are based on are among my favorites of all time! Jaws, M.I.B, BTTF, Spiderman, Shrek. IOA is a world-class thrill-ride park. But at the end of the day, I'm going with my corny "pixie dust" at Disney.

 

[boxarox]

hmmm...I tried to submit a review, but get this error message:

Your Post contains one or more URLs, The DIS requires a minimum number of posts before allowing the posting of URL's

I might be stupid, but my review contains NO URLS? whaada?

 

[Charleyann]

I love Universal Studios. Next to Magic Kingdom/ closely tied with ,it is my favorite.We loved Spiderman, Mummy, MIB, Shrek, jurasic park ride, cat in the hat. Grinch (whoville at Christmas). twister, earthquake, ET...all of it was very good.

Much more laid back then Disney, with less crowds!

This October will be my third time since 2001! We'll keep coming back as long as we vacation in Florida.

 

[dancegrl1093]

I just wanted to say that anyone who loves splash mountain will like dudley do-right ripsaw falls even more! Since the drop is curved, you swear that you are going straight down at the end!

 

[lostsoulz]

Universal is really great they have lots of good thrill rides.

 

[aztecgoods]

What can you say awesome awesome awesome. I love Disney, Six Flags and the other parks too, but Universal to me is just the Best and by a long shot. I stay at the Royal Pacific. Not only because its cheaper, but just love the whole Asian tropical theme. And I ask for a room with the IOA view. Love seeing that lighthouse at night, it is soooooo cool. And just having the whole IOA park in the window view is truely a unique experience in and of itself. I love the Portofino too, but for the $$$ Royal Pacific is my pick, plus its closer to IOA and if you take the walking path, the first spot you hit is Jimmy Buffets which is my personal favorite.

The Mummy, truely great ride, and the creepiest, darkest ride at both parks. Great theme-ing and great animatronic mummys. Probably the best ride at the old park. Also highly recommend ET, MIB, Jaws, Twister and the Terminator and Shrek. MIB love those worm and octopi creatures in the lines. They look and move just like the ones out of the movies. Personally I like the fact that they always shoot you out of the ride at the themed gift shops. That way if your kid has a favorite ride, you know which gift shop to go too. But I could go on and on about MIB, Twister and ET too, but just go.

Now the real park Islands of Adventure, the BEST park in the world bar none. Highly recommend everything there. I am working on making enough money so I can practically live there. My goal is to spend about 3 months or more out of the year at Universal, i will hit Disney some too, but just love those Universal hotels and the whole on property experience you get there when you stay on property.

Love everything about it, the lighthouse is truely magical when you enter, the sign that says "The Adventure Begins", is soooo true, although the adventure really begins the second you hit the property. And the Port of Entry section makes you feel like you just landed in the Lord of the Rings or something extremely cool entrance area. And the Suess Landing and the Lost Continent sections, great architecture. The guy that designed these sections is truely a genius and that is coming from a designer. (I design and build houses among other things for a living.) Suess Landing makes you feel like you are really living inside a Dr. Suess book, or world that Suess created. Circus Mcgurcus Cafe really cool place for the kids, everything there is cool for the kids. Not bad food at all but you have to go to the next section to get really great (non-typical theme park type food), But overall very cute section.

The Lost Continent is actually my favorite section, love those giant griffen statues guarding the exit and entrance. And seeing the giant broken statue from afar and then walking up on it is realy awe inspiring, with the broken arm and sword sticking up into the sky. This section really makes you feel like you are living inside the Lord of the Rings. Not to mention the tree bar/restaurant is also great, they actually have good food there too. That's another great thing about Universal is THEY SERVE ALCOHOL!!! You can't beat it. And the Mythos restaurant, voted best park restaurant anywhere, great 5 star or 4 star dining forget which. Great place to eat, it ain't your typical fast food amusement park joint. It is absolutely gorgeous inside, looks like you are in some kind of beautiful cave, kind of like Calrsbad Caverns or something. But the tree bar/restaurant is also a great spot. Highly recommend either one, Mythos is typically where I eat. Unless I am back at the hotels.

Also, the way they work the themed music into each section is also brilliant adds to the feel and experience so much, really helps put you in the fantasy world environment. And the landscaping and architecture of the whole park, you should really take a week and explore every path, nook and cranny, each little area has surprises and just cool stuff you may not see if you are in a rush.

Best rides are the Jurassic park boat ride, love cruising the river and getting attacked by dinos, plus I just love themed boat rides. And the Jurassic Park section is my second favorite spot on the property next to the LCont. They have really done the JP section great. Makes you really feel like you are on the Island. And the actor walking around that plays the John Hammond character from the movie is so cool.

Next sections, toon section and comic book sections area also cool. Dudley Du-Rights Falls is probably the best log ride in the world. Spider Man 3-D is overall maybe the best ride at any park anywhere. The way they work the 3-D in with the live action is groundbreaking and just a terrific ride. And the Hulk Coaster is a great ride. Very original shoot-out up the lift from 0-62 mph in 2 seconds, awesome and very original coaster. Probably the best coaster for its size in the world. Personally I prefer mega coasters (over 250ft.) but its a great one nonetheless.

Dueling Dragons in the LC section is also a a must do. One of the best lines anywhere too, that stained glass in the castle that comes to life and turns into a movie that explains the story of the ride is really beautiful, magical and so original. But ride both dragons, both are different rides, not the same at all. And Poiseidon's Fury is a neat show, not the best thing there but worth seeing for sure, probably wouldn't say the same about the stunt show unless you have a full 3 or 4 days.

But there is not really anything there that's lame its all great. Its just a matter of degrees of greatness. Can't wait to go back!!!!!

P.S. you people that complain about the lines should stay on property, you get to the front of the line with your room key card. And ending every ride in a themed gift shop I think is a great idea, they're going to have gift shops everywhere anyway, why not theme them to the rides. And for complaining about the $$$ just get over it, yes it is a money trap but that is just part of it. I wish I could stay for free but that's not going to happen. You just have to frame your mind around blowing a lot of $$ at these places. Family of 4 for a week, if you do nice hotels you are looking at probably $4 Grand, depending on if you fly or drive, cheaper if you drive of course. Minimum I think you could possibly spend, (driving, cheapest hotels) is still going to be about $1500-$2000, unless you don't feed or let your family drink anything for a week.

 

[Scrappy Annie]

Good Afternoon fellow Universal Lovers..I just wanted to stop by and INVITE all of you to Cheer on our Favorite Team competing in the Upcoming WPASADI Tournament!!!! We really Need Cheerleaders and the team is representing the Universal, SeaWorld and Orlando Hotels!! We would really appreciate your support of the team! If you follow the Discussion Forums to the WPASADI Hangout Forums You will find Our Thread. Please Stop by and introduce youself and let's all have some fun!!! Hope to see you all there!!!

 

[greenban]

Posted two glowing reportsfrom our first US experience, August 2006.

-Tony

 

[paladin311]

I created a review of my trip to Universal here of our trrip the Halloween Horror Nights. Awesome place! mylivingtimes.com/Universal/universal.htm