Monday (December 28, 2020) - Universal Studio Day1
This would be the very first time anyone in my family had been to Universal Studios. We are a WDW family. I am comfortable there, I know how to tour, how to avoid as many lines as possible, where to eat and generally what to expect. Though I had done my research, I felt like a green horn going in, and it showed. I normally subscribe to the “Lines” app, but opted to follow something FREE online. Oops, but I’ll get to that in a bit.
So our adventure started early. We got up quickly and got on the road. We just followed Google Maps to the parking garage. We opted for the standard parking and paid our $26. Our van ended up on Spiderman 5 and we followed the crowds. They took our temperature at the entrance to City Walk, just before security. We had no problems. We just stayed in the herd and made our way though City Walk, admiring what we might want to look closer at later. For now we were on a mission. As we veered to the right we could see the Universal Globe, so we knew where to go.
We had purchased tickets from Sam’s Club. They had a promotion called Buy 2 Days Get 3 Days Free (Park To Park), so we had enough tickets to get into the parks for 5-days. The total for our tickets was right at $1,500. That was for 4 Adults, and 1 Child Ticket. We had loaded them into the Universal App and had no problems getting into the park. We had printed them out, but never needed the printouts. They were directing people to the lines to get into the park and and told about social distancing markers. By the time we were fully inside the park, it was 7:50 am. We left the condo at 7:10, drove, parked and we were inside getting in our first ride queue at 7:50. I did not think that was too bad.
Now, this is where things start to break down. To save money, we did not purchase Express Pass. I also knew that resort guests got to start riding rides at 7:00 am, so I knew we would be behind the curve. We also realized that we were traveling at the absolute busiest time of the year -- but we were not prepared, and I had NOT done enough research.
I looked at several free touring plans online, but I chose the wrong one. The one I chose said to get in line at
Minions first, then head to the back of the park. We looked at each other and got in line for Minions. The sign already said 60 minutes, and the park is not even officially open yet.
Keep in mind that we have been to Disney enough to know how to navigate and avoid lines. As a general rule, 45-minutes is our max. Our kids just can’t handle more than that. Here we are in our first line, and already planning to wait an hour. We debated MANY times if we should get out of line, but as we looked at the Universal App, all the lines were already 80, 90, 120 minutes. Some rides were at capacity at 8:30 am. My mind was blown. My oldest is pitching a fit that he can’t stand in line this long. Things are not looking good, and going downhill fast.
True to its word, in 60-minutes were finally getting on our first ride -- Minions. We had a blast and I think it was perfect for a first ride. It exposed us to the type of experiences we could expect at Universal. The theming inside the building was sooooo fun and the ride experience was unlike anything we experienced at WDW. We had a lot of fun.
However, now off the ride, what do we do now. I could already tell the touring plan we had as a joke. We heard that both parks had already reached capacity and every ride is bursting with people. My wife opened the app to discover that there was a virtual que for
Jimmy Fallon, so she snatched it and headed that way. As we sat in the que/lounge we had a chance to kind of calm down. As a family we had a little “Come To Jesus” talk and changed our expectations. By this point we knew that we were going to just need to pack our patience with the park, the people, and especially each other. This debrief really seemed to help. Then we got on Jimmy Fallow and again loved it. Had heard some people complain that it was not their favorite, but we really had fun. However, I am already noticing a trend -- SCREENS!
From here we headed to
Men In Black which touted only a 40-minute wait. I think that was pretty accurate, maybe even a little less. What a fun ride. Reminded me of Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. I did of course have the high score in the family. This would be one of our family favorites. I think it is because the ride vehicle actually moved. The theming in the building was so much fun, and because the lines were so long we got to enjoy it.
It is midday, but the weather is so amazing. It is sunny, but not hot -- Perfect weather all week. As we are getting hungry we decided to do a mobile order for
The Leaky Cauldron which was nearby in Diagon Alley. This would be our first food experience, and it did not go as we thought. I thought that it means that you order, then skip the line to go get your food. That is not the case.
So we make our way to Diagon Alley, find our way inside and -- WOW! This place is soooo amazing. You really feel as if you have stepped into a different world. It does not feel the same, except for the crowds. We spotted The Leaky Cauldron, and were quickly pointed to the line which wrapped all the way through Knockturn Alley, all the way back to the bathrooms. So we decided to take turns standing in line and letting the others go exploring. So while still in line everyone was able to explore all the shops. I must admit that I was more impressed by the meaning of the world, more than inside the shops. I am not sure what I expected, but inside just felt like any themed merchandise store. My family is not big on souvenirs, and our kids really do not even ask for them. So it was fun to look, but I had more fun outside window shopping.
Finally we made our way into the restaurant and were seated. They had obviously removed a lot of tables, so we felt comfortable with the social distancing. The theming was so fun. Once seated they told us to go ahead and indicate that we were there on the app and place the order. Very quickly our drinks arrived, which included the famous
Butter Beer. I got one of the mugs to take home. The jury was out on the taste. I really liked it. It just tasted like cream soda to me. The kids were not crazy about the foam on top. It was something to try, but I was okay saying I had done it. It was good to have a bit to sit and rest. We all ordered the fish and chips, except my wife who ordered a special chicken sandwich. We all loved it!
After lunch we headed out to get in yet another line. We found ourselves in line for the
Fast & the Furious. This line touted a wait of 180-minutes. We groaned, but got in line. I have to say, this was the worst line of all. A good portion at the beginning was outside between buildings, and in the sun. about halfway through the line stopped moving and they announced a problem. They did not know when it would come back up. At this point we were in the garden area outside the garage, and had already been in line for over an hour. We stayed, and finally the line got moving again. In the end, I don’t think we waited more than 180-minutes, but at that point who cares. I admit that this was a cool ride, and it was intense. More than I expected. By this time I found myself looking at the ride mechanisms, and trying to figure out how they worked. This huge vehicle was on some type of platform, and it is cool how realistic it feels.
As we were getting off the ride, the app said that
Escape From Gringotts was only a 40 minute wait, so that was our next trip. This ride queue is misleading. There was a line outside the queue, but then you get up there and think you are going inside, only to find you are being pointed to the back of the building where there must be a mile or more of queue that moves slowly. As we twisted and turned we did not think we would ever make it. Then the line stopped for a good 10-minutes. We just knew the ride was down and we are about to be told to leave. Then, all the sudden it started moving again and from that point it did not stop until we were inside the bank. We were blown away by the theme and the goblin. It was so cool. It is every bit as amazing as the world where it exists in Universal Studios. The ride itself is a cross between a roller coaster and screen based. I did not expect the drop in the middle of it, and I am not talking about a normal roller coaster drop. In this ride, you literally fall. I was a little concerned for my 9-year old daughter as I was kind of scared myself. However, in the end she loved it and asked if we could go get ice cream in the ice cream shop -- so we did. I admit, she gets pretty much what she wants.
As we enjoyed ice cream, my wife found a virtual pass for
The Mummy. She and the boys took off for that, but Ella did not want to go on it. So the two of us just wandered around for a little while and ended up setting outside Ben & Jerrys at a table to watch people. It took awhile for them to ride, and when they got off we decided it was time for dinner.
Louie’s Italian Restaurant was close by, and everyone loves pizza, so we headed over. I had pasta and the rest of the family shared a pizza. My alfredo with chicken was okay, but the pizza looked better. I did not have any. Though it was great to take a break and rest, we all agreed, this was not worth eating again.
After dinner something really cool happened, the crowds started to leave. The night got cooler and the crowds got lighter. We started to see the wait times get shorter and shorter.
The Simpsons ride was a 30-minute wait, but once we were in line, it was constantly moving. Again, neat ride to nowhere. Another screen projected experience.
By now it is nearly 9:00 and we are tired, but the crowds are so light we decided to stick around. We went to ride
ET, which again the line never stopped until we were inside the building. I have to admit that this ride took me back to my childhood, when ET was one of the few movies my mom took me to see more than once in the theater. It was so nostalgic. Setting on the bike with Elliot and ET was so special. I was a little freaked out by some of the odd characters they made up for ET’s home planet, but it was still fun. However, I knew this was a ride we would have to do again before we left for the week.
Leaving ET, we decided to get in like for
Transformer. Another where the sign said 30-minutes, but the line did not stop until we were on the ride. We hurriedly passed several interesting props in the que, but sadly the line moved too fast to stop and see them. Again, cool screen based ride.
Once off Transformers it was 9:55. We hoped to have enough time to run to
Shrek 3-D. I knew that if we got into the line, they would let us ride. We made it just in time. We thought Shrek was a lot of fun. Reminded is all of It’s Tough to Be A Bus at Animal Kingdom. We loved it, but let's be honest, this experience could use an update.
Wow, what a day. Park open to park close. I have to say, even on one of the busiest days of the year, we managed to ride every ride we wanted to ride. My kids call me the vacation Nazi. I'm not sure that is a complement, but I think it means I run them to death. We had a great time, but had to drag ourselves back to the car to head back to the condo.
My Ride Rating (**** Possible)
2* - Minions
2* - Jimmy Fallon
3* - Men In Black
3* - Fast & Furious
4* - Escape From Gringotts
2* - The Simpson Ride
3* - The Mummy (According to my kids)
4* - ET
3* - Terminator
1* - Shrek
My Restaurant Rating (**** Possible)
3* - Leaky Cauldron
1* - Louie's Italian
2* - Diagon Alley Ice Cream Shop
We decided to sleep in a little bit tomorrow, so check back soon to see how that turned out for us. . .
