In a really, really good way.
I have never done any kind of trip report so please bear with me. I'll make it short & sweet.
Starting with a rundown, we went as a family of four to Orlando for the first time since our oldest couldn't take off of work to join us. We have gone to Busch Gardens here in Va, Tampa, Seaworld, Disney, Dollywood, & Kings Dominion. I can honestly say, IMO, that Universal blows every park & ride out of the water compared to anything we have experienced. We totally fell in love.
So, we leave bright & early Saturday morning (well not so bright), at 4am from VA. We have an awesome & uneventful ride into Orlando a record breaking 12 hours & 15 minutes later. We check into our cheapo hotel, The Econo Lodge on International Dr, eat some pizza from the nasty Pizza Hut next door, walk around for a bit then crash early, anticipating our early check in at RPR the next morning.
Up & out of the cheapo hotel at 6:45am. Get to RPR within 10 minutes (had to stop for coffee of course). Go to check in & guess what??? Our room is READY!
So, of course we have to go check it out & drop our luggage. The room was beautiful just like the rest of the resort. Stunning. I only got one of the three requests though. I requested Tower 1, high floor, facing the parks. I got Tower 2, 7th floor, facing Orlando. Still, a great view & we were very pleased. So then we are off. We must get there on time because our 10 year old DD is just about to burst with excitement over Harry Potter
(really, she is a total Harry Potter nerd). We then take a very scenic & beautiful walk to the park.
IOA: After a very short wait to get in (they opened 10 minutes early, so 7:50) we went straight to Ollivander's first. Waited for about 3 minutes, went in & my DD was about to burst. For all of her biting nails excitement, it earned her to be chosen. What an awesome experience for her! Paid for her wand & we were off to Forbidden Journey. We did have a bit of a wait (I think the ride was down for a few since they were making an announcement about it), but it wasn't long at all. Then we rode! WOW! What an awesome, awesome ride!
Well done. Then we grabbed a cup of butterbeer. Meh, I was glad we only got one, not a huge fan. Then we went off to ride Spiderman.(not sure of the order after HP) Well done AGAIN! At this point I'm telling my DH that these rides make all of the other rides we have ever been on look like child's play. These two rides were definitely everyone's favorites. The park itself was just such a fun place to be & we loved every minute. We did everything, I think, but probably not & ended up at Citywalk for an early dinner at the Nascar Grill. It wasn't busy, the food & service were great & the portions were huge. Then we went back to RPR for a little R&R & enjoyed the pool (which we had to wait to enter because of an accident
) Finally ended a great day.
Monday: We pack our stuff & check out
. We then walk again along the beautiful pathway to Universal Studios. Rode Despicable Me, Shrek, then Rip Ride Rocket. We love it sooo much, we got right back in line & rode it again! What an awesome ride! Did some other stuff, had a delicious slice of pizza at Louie's & were done by 3pm.
Overview of Universal. Loved the resort (DH & I are plotting an adult getaway for early spring next year). This resort is great for families & would also be perfect for a romantic getaway. Loved both parks, but really liked IOA the best I think. My favorite rides at IOA were Forbidden Journey & Spiderman. At US, Rip Ride Rocket. Least favorites were Poseidon's (not really a ride, but still), Twister (boring), & Terminator (I was falling asleep). We did miss a few things & that hopefully will be fixed when just DH & I come back alone. I really wish we would have had more time. I think atleast two nights to enjoy the parks & the resort. When we went to Disney we stayed at a moderate so I can't really compare it to the deluxe resorts there, but will say that we are definitely more Universal people over Disney. No contest.
We then left Orlando & stayed two nights in Kissimmee & had a visit to Seaworld. Which only emphasized how much better Universal is when comparing ride technology. We then left for home at 8am.
Got stuck in I-4 rush hour traffic, then got stuck in a really bad tractor trailer accident on 95 in South Carolina. (every freakin time it's always SC) Made it to the inlaws in Lake Gaston, NC in 12 hours.
Thanks to all here on the boards for all of the information here. It helped so much.
I have never done any kind of trip report so please bear with me. I'll make it short & sweet.Starting with a rundown, we went as a family of four to Orlando for the first time since our oldest couldn't take off of work to join us. We have gone to Busch Gardens here in Va, Tampa, Seaworld, Disney, Dollywood, & Kings Dominion. I can honestly say, IMO, that Universal blows every park & ride out of the water compared to anything we have experienced. We totally fell in love.
So, we leave bright & early Saturday morning (well not so bright), at 4am from VA. We have an awesome & uneventful ride into Orlando a record breaking 12 hours & 15 minutes later. We check into our cheapo hotel, The Econo Lodge on International Dr, eat some pizza from the nasty Pizza Hut next door, walk around for a bit then crash early, anticipating our early check in at RPR the next morning.Up & out of the cheapo hotel at 6:45am. Get to RPR within 10 minutes (had to stop for coffee of course). Go to check in & guess what??? Our room is READY!
So, of course we have to go check it out & drop our luggage. The room was beautiful just like the rest of the resort. Stunning. I only got one of the three requests though. I requested Tower 1, high floor, facing the parks. I got Tower 2, 7th floor, facing Orlando. Still, a great view & we were very pleased. So then we are off. We must get there on time because our 10 year old DD is just about to burst with excitement over Harry Potter (really, she is a total Harry Potter nerd). We then take a very scenic & beautiful walk to the park.IOA: After a very short wait to get in (they opened 10 minutes early, so 7:50) we went straight to Ollivander's first. Waited for about 3 minutes, went in & my DD was about to burst. For all of her biting nails excitement, it earned her to be chosen. What an awesome experience for her! Paid for her wand & we were off to Forbidden Journey. We did have a bit of a wait (I think the ride was down for a few since they were making an announcement about it), but it wasn't long at all. Then we rode! WOW! What an awesome, awesome ride!
Well done. Then we grabbed a cup of butterbeer. Meh, I was glad we only got one, not a huge fan. Then we went off to ride Spiderman.(not sure of the order after HP) Well done AGAIN! At this point I'm telling my DH that these rides make all of the other rides we have ever been on look like child's play. These two rides were definitely everyone's favorites. The park itself was just such a fun place to be & we loved every minute. We did everything, I think, but probably not & ended up at Citywalk for an early dinner at the Nascar Grill. It wasn't busy, the food & service were great & the portions were huge. Then we went back to RPR for a little R&R & enjoyed the pool (which we had to wait to enter because of an accident) Finally ended a great day.Monday: We pack our stuff & check out
. We then walk again along the beautiful pathway to Universal Studios. Rode Despicable Me, Shrek, then Rip Ride Rocket. We love it sooo much, we got right back in line & rode it again! What an awesome ride! Did some other stuff, had a delicious slice of pizza at Louie's & were done by 3pm.Overview of Universal. Loved the resort (DH & I are plotting an adult getaway for early spring next year). This resort is great for families & would also be perfect for a romantic getaway. Loved both parks, but really liked IOA the best I think. My favorite rides at IOA were Forbidden Journey & Spiderman. At US, Rip Ride Rocket. Least favorites were Poseidon's (not really a ride, but still), Twister (boring), & Terminator (I was falling asleep). We did miss a few things & that hopefully will be fixed when just DH & I come back alone. I really wish we would have had more time. I think atleast two nights to enjoy the parks & the resort. When we went to Disney we stayed at a moderate so I can't really compare it to the deluxe resorts there, but will say that we are definitely more Universal people over Disney. No contest.
We then left Orlando & stayed two nights in Kissimmee & had a visit to Seaworld. Which only emphasized how much better Universal is when comparing ride technology. We then left for home at 8am.
Got stuck in I-4 rush hour traffic, then got stuck in a really bad tractor trailer accident on 95 in South Carolina. (every freakin time it's always SC) Made it to the inlaws in Lake Gaston, NC in 12 hours.Thanks to all here on the boards for all of the information here. It helped so much.
. We did not get any of the genuine good vibes when we went to Disney as we did at Universal. I don't think I can even think of one negative about our experience.
) maybe we'll make a second trip and try onsite before the 12 months is up. But we are going for two weeks, so with that amount of time (and a flexpass, so we can go every day for 2 weeks if we want), I don't feel the need for the express pass. I must say, so many "happy customers" is trickling away at my resolve, though. What a great greeting to get into your room right away!
