I'm all for trying new things -- had been to Universal 10 years ago (and must have parked in a lot close up, because we sure as heck didn't have to hike a mile to get to the entrance -- that I would have remembered).
So this trip it was U and IOA, then Disney. Universal Studios was pretty much as I remembered it. Really enjoyed Men in Black. Thought Shrek wasn't up to par with the Disney 3D movies (Philharmagic is the best of the lot in all the parks, in my opinion, even though I actually prefer the Shrek characters to most Disney characters!) Earthquake, Jaws and Back to the Future were pretty much what I remembered. I thought Twister was a bore -- I was really expecting something tremendous, but like the Poseiden attraction in IOA, was seriously underwhelmed. Unfortunately I missed The Mummy -- my niece had just consumed a full soda as we were approaching it and I thought we should do some tamer rides until she had digested it -- never made it back.
Overall, IOA was head and shoulders above the original park in our book -- the theming was phenomenal -- in the outlying area. I'd still give Disney the nod in terms of theming the long wait lines. Spiderman was okay, but I couldn't see what made people so passionate about it. That ride's line was beautifully themed, as opposed to, say, The Hulk, which was the best ride of all, but which had pretty much nothing theme-wise in its very long line (I know there were television monitors, but the sound quality stunk so I ended up tuning them out. That was a similar problem at Disney, too -- all the parks need to devote a little time to cleaning up their audio)
Loved just walking around IOA, and the Seuss-themed kiddie rides surpassed Disney (though that could simply be that they were new to me).
Between Hulk and Rock n Roller Coaster, I'd have to give the nod to Hulk -- if nothing else, it lasts a whole lot longer -- but aside from the physical thrill you really get to enjoy the beauty of the park.
I didn't find the line waits terribly long last week, but I still found it hard to move through the parks efficiently. Maybe the attractions are simply larger and farther apart (we did ride more rides more quickly in the Seuss area which is more congested).
Had some terrible food at the Enchanted Oak, but that's my fault -- we wanted fast instead of good. Chicken fingers at the little fast food restaurant near Spiderman were excellent. The refillable mug was a good value on hot days.
So this trip it was U and IOA, then Disney. Universal Studios was pretty much as I remembered it. Really enjoyed Men in Black. Thought Shrek wasn't up to par with the Disney 3D movies (Philharmagic is the best of the lot in all the parks, in my opinion, even though I actually prefer the Shrek characters to most Disney characters!) Earthquake, Jaws and Back to the Future were pretty much what I remembered. I thought Twister was a bore -- I was really expecting something tremendous, but like the Poseiden attraction in IOA, was seriously underwhelmed. Unfortunately I missed The Mummy -- my niece had just consumed a full soda as we were approaching it and I thought we should do some tamer rides until she had digested it -- never made it back.
Overall, IOA was head and shoulders above the original park in our book -- the theming was phenomenal -- in the outlying area. I'd still give Disney the nod in terms of theming the long wait lines. Spiderman was okay, but I couldn't see what made people so passionate about it. That ride's line was beautifully themed, as opposed to, say, The Hulk, which was the best ride of all, but which had pretty much nothing theme-wise in its very long line (I know there were television monitors, but the sound quality stunk so I ended up tuning them out. That was a similar problem at Disney, too -- all the parks need to devote a little time to cleaning up their audio)
Loved just walking around IOA, and the Seuss-themed kiddie rides surpassed Disney (though that could simply be that they were new to me).
Between Hulk and Rock n Roller Coaster, I'd have to give the nod to Hulk -- if nothing else, it lasts a whole lot longer -- but aside from the physical thrill you really get to enjoy the beauty of the park.
I didn't find the line waits terribly long last week, but I still found it hard to move through the parks efficiently. Maybe the attractions are simply larger and farther apart (we did ride more rides more quickly in the Seuss area which is more congested).
Had some terrible food at the Enchanted Oak, but that's my fault -- we wanted fast instead of good. Chicken fingers at the little fast food restaurant near Spiderman were excellent. The refillable mug was a good value on hot days.
