Jeremy Nolen
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2017
Part 2 of a 4-part series on my family's first trip to Universal (part 3 will be USF, and part 4 will be dining and other thoughts)
For context, we are fairly serious theme park fans (despite the fact that my wife and son do not like 'thrill rides') and have made many trips to WDW, Silver Dollar City in MO, and the Six Flags parks in Texas.
Going in, my expectations were that Universal would easily beat out the Six Flags parks as an overall experience, but fall way short of WDW.
After spending 2 full days (open to close) and 2 half-days (1PM-close on Thursday, and open to 4PM on Sunday) at both USF and IOA, I think my preconceived notion was not too far off, but certain parts of the parks were significantly better than I was expecting (Wizarding World, most of IOA) and other parts were about what I expected (most of USF, Marvel Island @ IOA.)
Right out of the gate I was a bit perturbed with the paper ticket system (seriously, Disney has had Magicbands for how many years now?) and, at all future entries to the park / transfers via the train, at how finicky the fingerprint readers were. At our very first ride (the Hulk Coaster) I was surprised and annoyed that I had to empty my pockets of EVERYTHING. Yes, they posted that outside the ride. But I've never encountered that particular rule at any other theme park, including some rides that are much crazier than the Hulk coaster. At any rate, I eventually got used to it, but it didn't get us off to a great start.
The entry area at IOA, on the other hand, was surprisingly well themed and lavishly decorated. I found Marvel land and Toon land a bit garish (although they did make for some good kid pictures) but Jurassic Park and Lost Continent were extremely well designed and immersive. Much like EPCOT, the park seems designed to handle huge amounts of foot traffic and has a simple ring-road layout that prevents a lot of cross traffic collisions (unlike certain other parks, ahem...) I actually really liked the Seuss Landing area and enjoyed exploring it with the kids, finding lots of clever references to their old favorite books.
And then of course, Hogsmeade. Seeing this early on a cool December morning, with early park entry keeping the crowds low, was pretty much worth the whole trip. The kids got to cast spells, tour Hogwarts, attend a wand choosing ceremony, send owl-postcards, and the team members constantly complimented them on their Hufflepuff attire, helped with spell casting, etc. The train ride to USF was a very cool experience too (although having to deal with the ticket check before entering the line is a huge pain.) That being said, the Hogsmeade experience at 1PM, with a heat index of 90+ and throngs of fellow park guests clogging up the entire area, was not particularly charming.
The rides were all quite good. Hulk, Spider-Man, Kong, and Forbidden Journey are all at among the best rides available at any park, and the Bilge Rat raft ride is the best ride of that sort I have ever ridden (although unlike most variations on this ride, they are NOT kidding when they say you will get soaked!) I was a bit underwhelmed by the Jurassic Park water ride (it's showing its age) and the Rip-Saw falls, while fun, is no Splash Mountain.
My only real knock on IOA is that it doesn't seem to have enough 'attractions' for a park of its size, if that makes sense. If you eliminate the marginal rides (Storm Force, Pterodactyl thing, Red Fish Blue Fish, and the carousel) the park only has what, 9 rides (including the Dr Doom drop tower and the Cat in the Hat dark ride) which struck me as a bit lightweight. There are also not a lot of non-ride attractions, other than just walking around enjoying the scenery. The Camp Jurassic playscape is amazing, but apart from that there's 1 stunt show (the lame Sinbad show) and the campy but entertaining Poseidon's Fury (full disclosure - I didn't care for it but my wife and kids LOVED it and insisted on doing it multiple times.) Plus a few periodic street shows and character meets, but compared to the density of attractions at WDW, this felt a bit underwhelming.
Overall, IOA exceeded my expectations. It isn't quite as good as Magic Kingdom, but it hands-down beats DHS as an experience and has more rides than EPCOT or Animal Kingdom. Next post will focus on USF.
For context, we are fairly serious theme park fans (despite the fact that my wife and son do not like 'thrill rides') and have made many trips to WDW, Silver Dollar City in MO, and the Six Flags parks in Texas.
Going in, my expectations were that Universal would easily beat out the Six Flags parks as an overall experience, but fall way short of WDW.
After spending 2 full days (open to close) and 2 half-days (1PM-close on Thursday, and open to 4PM on Sunday) at both USF and IOA, I think my preconceived notion was not too far off, but certain parts of the parks were significantly better than I was expecting (Wizarding World, most of IOA) and other parts were about what I expected (most of USF, Marvel Island @ IOA.)
Right out of the gate I was a bit perturbed with the paper ticket system (seriously, Disney has had Magicbands for how many years now?) and, at all future entries to the park / transfers via the train, at how finicky the fingerprint readers were. At our very first ride (the Hulk Coaster) I was surprised and annoyed that I had to empty my pockets of EVERYTHING. Yes, they posted that outside the ride. But I've never encountered that particular rule at any other theme park, including some rides that are much crazier than the Hulk coaster. At any rate, I eventually got used to it, but it didn't get us off to a great start.
The entry area at IOA, on the other hand, was surprisingly well themed and lavishly decorated. I found Marvel land and Toon land a bit garish (although they did make for some good kid pictures) but Jurassic Park and Lost Continent were extremely well designed and immersive. Much like EPCOT, the park seems designed to handle huge amounts of foot traffic and has a simple ring-road layout that prevents a lot of cross traffic collisions (unlike certain other parks, ahem...) I actually really liked the Seuss Landing area and enjoyed exploring it with the kids, finding lots of clever references to their old favorite books.
And then of course, Hogsmeade. Seeing this early on a cool December morning, with early park entry keeping the crowds low, was pretty much worth the whole trip. The kids got to cast spells, tour Hogwarts, attend a wand choosing ceremony, send owl-postcards, and the team members constantly complimented them on their Hufflepuff attire, helped with spell casting, etc. The train ride to USF was a very cool experience too (although having to deal with the ticket check before entering the line is a huge pain.) That being said, the Hogsmeade experience at 1PM, with a heat index of 90+ and throngs of fellow park guests clogging up the entire area, was not particularly charming.
The rides were all quite good. Hulk, Spider-Man, Kong, and Forbidden Journey are all at among the best rides available at any park, and the Bilge Rat raft ride is the best ride of that sort I have ever ridden (although unlike most variations on this ride, they are NOT kidding when they say you will get soaked!) I was a bit underwhelmed by the Jurassic Park water ride (it's showing its age) and the Rip-Saw falls, while fun, is no Splash Mountain.
My only real knock on IOA is that it doesn't seem to have enough 'attractions' for a park of its size, if that makes sense. If you eliminate the marginal rides (Storm Force, Pterodactyl thing, Red Fish Blue Fish, and the carousel) the park only has what, 9 rides (including the Dr Doom drop tower and the Cat in the Hat dark ride) which struck me as a bit lightweight. There are also not a lot of non-ride attractions, other than just walking around enjoying the scenery. The Camp Jurassic playscape is amazing, but apart from that there's 1 stunt show (the lame Sinbad show) and the campy but entertaining Poseidon's Fury (full disclosure - I didn't care for it but my wife and kids LOVED it and insisted on doing it multiple times.) Plus a few periodic street shows and character meets, but compared to the density of attractions at WDW, this felt a bit underwhelming.
Overall, IOA exceeded my expectations. It isn't quite as good as Magic Kingdom, but it hands-down beats DHS as an experience and has more rides than EPCOT or Animal Kingdom. Next post will focus on USF.
