US/IOA... it was great!!!

[twoprincesses]

Hey everyone! We finished two days (July 26/27) at US and IOA, which was a side trip to our 7 day cruise on the Carnival Glory.

First, I must say that I really disliked Orlando International Airport... I don't know whether they were short staffed or whether it was because there was so many people coming in, it just seemed unorganized... going through security was a mess... this was when we arrived to orlando and when we departed. It also seemed really outdated, but anyway, it didn't ruin my trip so it really wasn't that important....

The last time I did US was in 2000, IOA was a first for me and both parks were new for DH, DD5, DD6, and another family of 4 that we traveled with. We purchased the Express Passes which were well worth the $40 a day per person... It was so HOT, I would have paid $60 per day per person for those!! They are so much better than Disney's Fast Pass.

We did US first. I kind of expected more from The Mummy but it was still good. I liked the Hannah Barbera (sp?) ride better than the Nick Toons thing that replaced it. I think that's where it was..?? Shrek and Terminator were awesome, the kids LOVED MIB, Fear Factor was only good when they got 4 people to drink this curdled milk and fish concoction, and the Horror Make Up show was really funny. We ate at Finnegans for lunch since it was the only place we could find somewhere to sit at lunch time. It's kind of like an overpriced Bennigan's... the fish and chips were pretty good and my kids ate up the cheeseburgers. We watched the 360 laser/firework show thing at night. It was a great way to end the day.

IOA was my fave between the two. Spiderman and the Hulk are now two of my favorite rides. The kids loved the Popeye water ride and Ripsaw Falls. DH liked Jurassic Park and Dueling Dragons. Poseiden's Fury was a bore but the kids thought it was great. DD5 thought they used real dinosaurs on the Jurassic Park ride, she was so amazed. lol... We had Gyros and chicken strips for lunch at an outside counter service place near the Simbad show. They were delicious. We were able to ride everything and finished up around 5 or 6, which was great because we needed to get to our vacation rental home to pack up for the cruise.

All in all, we will be going back... DH is looking forward to the Simpsons and I am looking forward to Harry Potter. We had so much fun! Can't wait to head back... I'm starting to save for a Disney/US/IOA trip!

 

[Cass]

Hi there, glad you had fun!

Was the water tunnel working in Poseidon's Fury? when we went through it wasn't and that made it even lamer. The tunnel of water is the only really cool part IMO.

 

[Metro West]

Glad to hear you had a good time. I understand about OIA...it seems they're always doing some construction just like the rest of the area. Maybe one day they'll get the airport finished......nah.

 

[Spidey7]

Glad you had fun. One thing on the Mummy I'm guessing that the main animatronic mummy may have been down when you were there. He is really great and adds a lot to the ride, but he doesn't work all the time, and was down all but one day on our 5 day trip last week.

I know what you mean, when I first did the Mummy I was expecting a little more animatronic stuff, but I still love it. The best dark ride anywhere IMO.