(also) See Day 1, Part 1.
Transportation to USO/IOA (Grade A+)
From our room location, you could hop right onto the start of the footpath from the bottom of the stairwell (very convenient), or you could walk to the boat dock in about 2 minutes. The footpath to IOA takes about 10 minutes, add another 5 minutes for USO. The walk is very pleasant and follows the river taxi route. The water is a deep blue-green and there is tropical foliage all along the path. We walked a few times and saved our legs using the river taxi the rest of the time. There are separate river taxis for each resort at Universal so you don't make any other stops along the way (unlike the boats at the Swan which make stops at Yacht/Beach Club and the Boardwalk on route to Epcot). The boat captains at RPR were sooooo nice and a couple of times they held the boat when they saw us walking up from a distance instead of leaving without us. The boat lets you off in front of the NASCAR Cafe, which is just outside USO, and a few minutes walk away from IOA. The river taxis are covered, but there is no fully enclosed area on the boats as there are at WDW, so dress warmly if it is cold.
Electronic ticketing kiosks at entrance to IOA (Grade A+) purchased tickets online with promotional discount (5-day pass for about $81 plus tax), kiosk worked like a charm, took about 1 minute to get tickets, easy to use. Strangely enough, there was an extra 5-day ticket sitting in the machine that someone must have left there by accident. DW turned it in at the front gate.
Now we enter IOA ................................ and straight to Seuss Landing.
Seuss Landing (Grade A+) if you should have any fear that the theming at USO/IOA won't match up to WDW, you will leave those fears behind the second you walk into IOA, and this is coming from someone that loves WDW and was wondering all along if USO/IOA would compare. Dare I say that we left three days later completely blown away by these two parks. I won't compare them directly to WDW so as not to upset any fellow DIS friends. Cat in the Hat is a bunch of fun, One Fish ... Two Fish was nice though water spouts were off (maybe because it was only about 55 degrees in the morning), Caroseussel was kinda neat how each "thing" does something different. We waited 10 minutes w/FOTL the first time for Cat in the Hat and One Fish ......, all other rides with FOTL were walkon the rest of the time we spent at the parks.
Grinchmas (A+++++) WOW!!!! The Who's walking around Seuss Landing to celebrate Grinchmas were unbelievable. The one-on-one interaction from each of the Who's with the kids was so nice, there was snow falling, they threw balls to the kids, played basketball, etc. And the 15 to 20 minute play they put on is very nice, I love the song at the end (sa may dor a, sa may dor a ..... well you know what I mean). We came back to IOA two days later and Cindy Lou Who remembered DD7 from the first day she saw here. Kids got autographs from ALL the Whos. Found the Grinch just sitting around in a shop with a few Whos and DD7 sat down with him for a minute or so. You feel like the Whos really live there!!! The makeup, or are they real (hint hint!), is very realistic too, check out their noses.
Lost Continent (Grade A) nice theming, we didn't have time for Sinbad and I had no takers for Dueling Dragons so I can't comment on those attractions. DDs enjoyed Flying Unicorn and some of the midway games. DH (me) enjoyed the beer stand, and the large number of restrooms conveniently located throughout the park.
Jurassic Park (Grade A) again, nice theming, but too cold and no takers for River Adventure. IMHO, Camp Jurassic is easily the most inventive and best-themed children's play area (maybe the biggest too) in all of the Orlando parks. The theming is so good that DD7 was actually a little scared of this one cave you walk through with an erupting molten lava type thing, and there are other surprises you will find in Camp Jurassic I won't reveal here. It was also dark out which made it nice and spooky. Easy to lose kids in there, but since there is only one way out, parents can be at ease.
Quick break to talk about "CM's" at USO/IOA (Grade A+) almost without exception, the CMs were extremely friendly, helpful and polite, and this is coming from someone who is very critical about customer service. We got an even "fuzzier" feeling from everyone working at Universal than at WDW, and that is saying an awful lot. CM's went out of their way to "talk" to you and even joke around with you for fun. Granted, parks weren't that busy and they were probably bored a lot of the time.
Toon Lagoon (Grade B) theming is very colorful, but there is not a lot to do here, mostly because we weren't doing water rides since it wasn't that warm, and one of the two water rides was down each day we were there. Me Ship the Olive play area doesn't compare to Camp Jurassic, but it IS very tall with a nice view from the top.
Marvel Super Hero Island (Grade A+) simply put, Spiderman and Hulk were the two best rides I've ever been on (Kraken is a close third). Walked on Spiderman three times in a row with zero wait using FOTL. Also walked right on the Hulk. Since park was closing in less than an hour, regular lines were only about a 5 minute wait, if that. You've already heard all the hype about Spiderman from others on these boards and perhaps some guide books you've read, and it's all true. This ride will absolutely amaze you, and even DW who NEVER goes on thrill rides loved this one. The ride was a little different than what I expected which made it even better (I won't describe it in detail here so that you will be just as surprised).
To be continued .................. See Report Card, Day 2 for USO.
Transportation to USO/IOA (Grade A+)
From our room location, you could hop right onto the start of the footpath from the bottom of the stairwell (very convenient), or you could walk to the boat dock in about 2 minutes. The footpath to IOA takes about 10 minutes, add another 5 minutes for USO. The walk is very pleasant and follows the river taxi route. The water is a deep blue-green and there is tropical foliage all along the path. We walked a few times and saved our legs using the river taxi the rest of the time. There are separate river taxis for each resort at Universal so you don't make any other stops along the way (unlike the boats at the Swan which make stops at Yacht/Beach Club and the Boardwalk on route to Epcot). The boat captains at RPR were sooooo nice and a couple of times they held the boat when they saw us walking up from a distance instead of leaving without us. The boat lets you off in front of the NASCAR Cafe, which is just outside USO, and a few minutes walk away from IOA. The river taxis are covered, but there is no fully enclosed area on the boats as there are at WDW, so dress warmly if it is cold.
Electronic ticketing kiosks at entrance to IOA (Grade A+) purchased tickets online with promotional discount (5-day pass for about $81 plus tax), kiosk worked like a charm, took about 1 minute to get tickets, easy to use. Strangely enough, there was an extra 5-day ticket sitting in the machine that someone must have left there by accident. DW turned it in at the front gate.
Now we enter IOA ................................ and straight to Seuss Landing.
Seuss Landing (Grade A+) if you should have any fear that the theming at USO/IOA won't match up to WDW, you will leave those fears behind the second you walk into IOA, and this is coming from someone that loves WDW and was wondering all along if USO/IOA would compare. Dare I say that we left three days later completely blown away by these two parks. I won't compare them directly to WDW so as not to upset any fellow DIS friends. Cat in the Hat is a bunch of fun, One Fish ... Two Fish was nice though water spouts were off (maybe because it was only about 55 degrees in the morning), Caroseussel was kinda neat how each "thing" does something different. We waited 10 minutes w/FOTL the first time for Cat in the Hat and One Fish ......, all other rides with FOTL were walkon the rest of the time we spent at the parks.
Grinchmas (A+++++) WOW!!!! The Who's walking around Seuss Landing to celebrate Grinchmas were unbelievable. The one-on-one interaction from each of the Who's with the kids was so nice, there was snow falling, they threw balls to the kids, played basketball, etc. And the 15 to 20 minute play they put on is very nice, I love the song at the end (sa may dor a, sa may dor a ..... well you know what I mean). We came back to IOA two days later and Cindy Lou Who remembered DD7 from the first day she saw here. Kids got autographs from ALL the Whos. Found the Grinch just sitting around in a shop with a few Whos and DD7 sat down with him for a minute or so. You feel like the Whos really live there!!! The makeup, or are they real (hint hint!), is very realistic too, check out their noses.
Lost Continent (Grade A) nice theming, we didn't have time for Sinbad and I had no takers for Dueling Dragons so I can't comment on those attractions. DDs enjoyed Flying Unicorn and some of the midway games. DH (me) enjoyed the beer stand, and the large number of restrooms conveniently located throughout the park.
Jurassic Park (Grade A) again, nice theming, but too cold and no takers for River Adventure. IMHO, Camp Jurassic is easily the most inventive and best-themed children's play area (maybe the biggest too) in all of the Orlando parks. The theming is so good that DD7 was actually a little scared of this one cave you walk through with an erupting molten lava type thing, and there are other surprises you will find in Camp Jurassic I won't reveal here. It was also dark out which made it nice and spooky. Easy to lose kids in there, but since there is only one way out, parents can be at ease.
Quick break to talk about "CM's" at USO/IOA (Grade A+) almost without exception, the CMs were extremely friendly, helpful and polite, and this is coming from someone who is very critical about customer service. We got an even "fuzzier" feeling from everyone working at Universal than at WDW, and that is saying an awful lot. CM's went out of their way to "talk" to you and even joke around with you for fun. Granted, parks weren't that busy and they were probably bored a lot of the time.
Toon Lagoon (Grade B) theming is very colorful, but there is not a lot to do here, mostly because we weren't doing water rides since it wasn't that warm, and one of the two water rides was down each day we were there. Me Ship the Olive play area doesn't compare to Camp Jurassic, but it IS very tall with a nice view from the top.
Marvel Super Hero Island (Grade A+) simply put, Spiderman and Hulk were the two best rides I've ever been on (Kraken is a close third). Walked on Spiderman three times in a row with zero wait using FOTL. Also walked right on the Hulk. Since park was closing in less than an hour, regular lines were only about a 5 minute wait, if that. You've already heard all the hype about Spiderman from others on these boards and perhaps some guide books you've read, and it's all true. This ride will absolutely amaze you, and even DW who NEVER goes on thrill rides loved this one. The ride was a little different than what I expected which made it even better (I won't describe it in detail here so that you will be just as surprised).
To be continued .................. See Report Card, Day 2 for USO.
