louise1928
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 27, 2001
Listed below is Part 2 of my trip report (VERY LONG)
Scale - 1-10 (As a rule I never give anything a 10, so my best score will be 9.5)
I ended yesterday with the TGIF restaurant adjacent to the Holiday Inn Universal...
THE HOTEL SHUTTLE: 6
I give this a low score because on New Years eve night, the shuttle was a joke! There was absolutely too many people waiting for this bus...There was a bus at 115am and the last bus at 200am, with more than 100+ people waiting, forget... Otherwise using on the previous days were okay..But used a cab most of the time, and ended up with same driver...
If you are only there for a weekend the shuttle is fine, but you can walk to parks from Holiday Inn and Radisson Twin towers, at least a 15-20 minute walk...
THE PARKS!!!!!!!!!!
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS -
This is a such a cool park....The design of this place is amazing!
Music flowing from everywhere, which I thought was really cool, especially if you were videotaping, as we were...I read some review where people thought the music was too loud, It was fine with us! It made it more exciting!!!
My favorite movie rides:
BACK TO THE FUTURE - 9.5
(In my opinion, the absolute best!)
MEN IN BLACK: 8.5
Really cool ride
HANNA BARBERA: 8.0
(definitely a kiddie ride, but worth a visit, lot of fun, I felt like a kid again)
SHOWS, starting with my favorite,
TERMINATOR 3D (excellent) 9.5
ALFRED HITCHCOCK 7.5
(this was okay, the movie, THE BIRDS, wearing the 3D glasses was fun, but otherwise it was okay..would not do it again)
Walking through the streets was a lot of fun, and although it was crowded, it was easy to move around, except during the times when the characters appeared, and people, (including myself), stopped to take pictures, then it got a little conjested, but otherwise it was fine..
One thing we noticed, which I thought was cool thing to do to make you spend your money (or at least try), whenever a ride or show ended, when you left, you entered the giftshops!!
FOOD: 8.0
The food was good, but I warn you, it is not cheap!! A decent lunch can you cost upwards of $25.00 to $30.00 per couple, not including kids...We did notice large families, with fannie packs filled with sandwiches, drinks, etc. I thought it was the best thing to do, and we will definitely do it the next time..
EXPRESS PASSES: These worked out very well for us....Our first full day at the parks, I wanted to ride MIB and Back to the Future last, but that was a mistake....THe later you go to get express passes the worse it gets...THey were sold out for both rides by 130pm!!!!!
So I would recommend getting your express passes early as you can... Another thing that pissed me off, people getting express passes, were getting 5, 10 and 20 of them at a time....This I am sure accounted for them selling out so quickly....Universal/IOA needs to get a grip on that, and have security guards there to monitor the people...
OVERALL RATING FOR UNIVERSAL: 9.5
*****************************
ISAND OF ADVENTURE:
This is another very cool park....I was so fascinated by the design of this park...From the moment we entered it was incredible.....Many places to eat, shop, a good number of rides and shows...
Favorite rides for me:
Spiderman would have been the best, but due to technical difficulties, the last 5 minutes of the ride would not work...The beginning was cool,but thats it, so I will rate my experience here a 7.5
My husband thought it was the COOLEST RIDE, he did this ride the day before I did, when it was working fine, so he rates it a 9.5
The only other ride for me was in Dr Seuss land so I will not rate any of these rides, because they were kiddie rides...But it was a lot of fun, and I thought this area was great, especially for small kids.
The entrance to Grinchmas was very cute and neatly designed...
Once again, food here is expensive....Pack a lunch, or bring many many dollar bills!!!!
We did see a 20 minute show called Xtreme Adventures..
There were about 6 or so young adults and teens on roller blades, skateboards, etc. entertaining people with their acrobatic-type moves etc. Rate 7.5
OVERALL RATING FOR IOA/ 9.0
**********************************
I was told by a security guard that 1800 tickets were sold for this event!
CITYWALK: This place is by far the best entertainment venue I have seen in years...My husband and I have been to many nightclubs, bars, restaurants etc, and this is by far the best.
We explored citywalk our first night just to get a general idea of what to expect for New Years Eve, WOW!!! is the best word to describe it....Bob Marleys, CityJazz, PatObrien's, Margaretville, Motown Cafe, Latin Quarter, awesome!!!
NEW YEARS EVE! We had purchased our tickets by phone back in September and they arrived to our home about 8 days prior to our departure.... We decided the next time, we will order them by phone and pick them up at the ticket counter....
When we first entered, we had to wait in line for a wristband, have our ID checked, and turn over our tickets...They also searched my bag.... Once inside, it was so cool...If you did not have a ticket there was no way you were getting in here....They had the clubs doors locked from the front entrance, so the only way to enter was through the tents....
Dress code: We asked a barmaid earlier that day at Motown cafe about this, and she said, no jeans or sneaks, so we dressed up a little, but wouldn't you know it, there were many guys and some women in jeans, with nice dress shirts...Next time, we will definitely dress more casually.. OF course there were people there that were very dressy...
Entertainment: Three musical events - WAR, EDDIE MONEY AND MEN AT WORK!
Food: I can't say enough about this, incredible!!!!!! Food flowing from everywhere....Lobster tails, shrimp, jerk chicken, barbeque ribs, salads, lots of dessert......The lines were pretty long for the food outside, but if you went inside the clubs, you could get your food in 5 minutes..CityJazz and at least 2 tables full of desserts...
We did manage to get our party favors later in the evening, at first we thought, will we ever get them?? They were not easy to get!!!
The glass of champagne was a little tough to get too, but we did get some outside near food tables. My husband managed to get at least 6, 2 for 1 drink cards on one of the shuttle buses, and we able to use them at the clubs. That worked out great, and saved us money...The alcoholic beverages in the parks and clubs are not cheap...
At the stroke of midnight, we were in Motown Cafe, and by then the clubs were pretty full and everyone was dancing, singing, having a good time, and then we proceeded outside to watch the fireworks which were very good!
OVERALL 1ST TIME EXPERIENCE AT CITYWALK FOR NYE: 9.0
Would I do again for NYE, you betcha!!!!
*****************************************
Our final day, we had a 610pm flight back to philly, and decided to go back to the parks, ride a few more rides, do a little shopping, and then we took the ferry over to the Portofino Bay Hotel.. One word to describe this hotel: AWESOME!!!!!!!!
We arrived at the airport about 2 hours before takeoff, and then our flight was delayed due to mechanical problems, was taken of care of rather quickly, and we boarded the plane about 715...Right before take off, a little girl about 7, became ill...It looked like she was breaking out really bad with Hives..She was itching everywhere, so the Stewardesses escorted her and her family off and told them they would be able to fly out later...
Well the end of a long, but very fun and entertaining vacation....We will definitely return within the next 2 years.....
What we will do differently on the next visit: When we go back for the NYE event, we will definitely stay at one of the onsite hotels to avoid taxis, bus shuttles, etc...we can just use the water taxis....
Take a few snacks, and sandwiches in the parks with us...
OVERALL VACATION: 9.5
I hope you enjoyed my review, and if you have any questions, please send me an email!!
Yours Truly,
Georgia and James Williams
40 something married couple, with two boys,ages 19 and 21...
They did not want to join us this year! HAHA, they missed a good time!!!
Scale - 1-10 (As a rule I never give anything a 10, so my best score will be 9.5)
I ended yesterday with the TGIF restaurant adjacent to the Holiday Inn Universal...
THE HOTEL SHUTTLE: 6
I give this a low score because on New Years eve night, the shuttle was a joke! There was absolutely too many people waiting for this bus...There was a bus at 115am and the last bus at 200am, with more than 100+ people waiting, forget... Otherwise using on the previous days were okay..But used a cab most of the time, and ended up with same driver...
If you are only there for a weekend the shuttle is fine, but you can walk to parks from Holiday Inn and Radisson Twin towers, at least a 15-20 minute walk...
THE PARKS!!!!!!!!!!
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS -
This is a such a cool park....The design of this place is amazing!
Music flowing from everywhere, which I thought was really cool, especially if you were videotaping, as we were...I read some review where people thought the music was too loud, It was fine with us! It made it more exciting!!!
My favorite movie rides:
BACK TO THE FUTURE - 9.5
(In my opinion, the absolute best!)
MEN IN BLACK: 8.5
Really cool ride
HANNA BARBERA: 8.0
(definitely a kiddie ride, but worth a visit, lot of fun, I felt like a kid again)
SHOWS, starting with my favorite,
TERMINATOR 3D (excellent) 9.5
ALFRED HITCHCOCK 7.5
(this was okay, the movie, THE BIRDS, wearing the 3D glasses was fun, but otherwise it was okay..would not do it again)
Walking through the streets was a lot of fun, and although it was crowded, it was easy to move around, except during the times when the characters appeared, and people, (including myself), stopped to take pictures, then it got a little conjested, but otherwise it was fine..
One thing we noticed, which I thought was cool thing to do to make you spend your money (or at least try), whenever a ride or show ended, when you left, you entered the giftshops!!
FOOD: 8.0
The food was good, but I warn you, it is not cheap!! A decent lunch can you cost upwards of $25.00 to $30.00 per couple, not including kids...We did notice large families, with fannie packs filled with sandwiches, drinks, etc. I thought it was the best thing to do, and we will definitely do it the next time..
EXPRESS PASSES: These worked out very well for us....Our first full day at the parks, I wanted to ride MIB and Back to the Future last, but that was a mistake....THe later you go to get express passes the worse it gets...THey were sold out for both rides by 130pm!!!!!
So I would recommend getting your express passes early as you can... Another thing that pissed me off, people getting express passes, were getting 5, 10 and 20 of them at a time....This I am sure accounted for them selling out so quickly....Universal/IOA needs to get a grip on that, and have security guards there to monitor the people...
OVERALL RATING FOR UNIVERSAL: 9.5
*****************************
ISAND OF ADVENTURE:
This is another very cool park....I was so fascinated by the design of this park...From the moment we entered it was incredible.....Many places to eat, shop, a good number of rides and shows...
Favorite rides for me:
Spiderman would have been the best, but due to technical difficulties, the last 5 minutes of the ride would not work...The beginning was cool,but thats it, so I will rate my experience here a 7.5
My husband thought it was the COOLEST RIDE, he did this ride the day before I did, when it was working fine, so he rates it a 9.5
The only other ride for me was in Dr Seuss land so I will not rate any of these rides, because they were kiddie rides...But it was a lot of fun, and I thought this area was great, especially for small kids.
The entrance to Grinchmas was very cute and neatly designed...
Once again, food here is expensive....Pack a lunch, or bring many many dollar bills!!!!
We did see a 20 minute show called Xtreme Adventures..
There were about 6 or so young adults and teens on roller blades, skateboards, etc. entertaining people with their acrobatic-type moves etc. Rate 7.5
OVERALL RATING FOR IOA/ 9.0
**********************************
I was told by a security guard that 1800 tickets were sold for this event!
CITYWALK: This place is by far the best entertainment venue I have seen in years...My husband and I have been to many nightclubs, bars, restaurants etc, and this is by far the best.
We explored citywalk our first night just to get a general idea of what to expect for New Years Eve, WOW!!! is the best word to describe it....Bob Marleys, CityJazz, PatObrien's, Margaretville, Motown Cafe, Latin Quarter, awesome!!!
NEW YEARS EVE! We had purchased our tickets by phone back in September and they arrived to our home about 8 days prior to our departure.... We decided the next time, we will order them by phone and pick them up at the ticket counter....
When we first entered, we had to wait in line for a wristband, have our ID checked, and turn over our tickets...They also searched my bag.... Once inside, it was so cool...If you did not have a ticket there was no way you were getting in here....They had the clubs doors locked from the front entrance, so the only way to enter was through the tents....
Dress code: We asked a barmaid earlier that day at Motown cafe about this, and she said, no jeans or sneaks, so we dressed up a little, but wouldn't you know it, there were many guys and some women in jeans, with nice dress shirts...Next time, we will definitely dress more casually.. OF course there were people there that were very dressy...
Entertainment: Three musical events - WAR, EDDIE MONEY AND MEN AT WORK!
Food: I can't say enough about this, incredible!!!!!! Food flowing from everywhere....Lobster tails, shrimp, jerk chicken, barbeque ribs, salads, lots of dessert......The lines were pretty long for the food outside, but if you went inside the clubs, you could get your food in 5 minutes..CityJazz and at least 2 tables full of desserts...
We did manage to get our party favors later in the evening, at first we thought, will we ever get them?? They were not easy to get!!!
The glass of champagne was a little tough to get too, but we did get some outside near food tables. My husband managed to get at least 6, 2 for 1 drink cards on one of the shuttle buses, and we able to use them at the clubs. That worked out great, and saved us money...The alcoholic beverages in the parks and clubs are not cheap...
At the stroke of midnight, we were in Motown Cafe, and by then the clubs were pretty full and everyone was dancing, singing, having a good time, and then we proceeded outside to watch the fireworks which were very good!
OVERALL 1ST TIME EXPERIENCE AT CITYWALK FOR NYE: 9.0
Would I do again for NYE, you betcha!!!!
*****************************************
Our final day, we had a 610pm flight back to philly, and decided to go back to the parks, ride a few more rides, do a little shopping, and then we took the ferry over to the Portofino Bay Hotel.. One word to describe this hotel: AWESOME!!!!!!!!
We arrived at the airport about 2 hours before takeoff, and then our flight was delayed due to mechanical problems, was taken of care of rather quickly, and we boarded the plane about 715...Right before take off, a little girl about 7, became ill...It looked like she was breaking out really bad with Hives..She was itching everywhere, so the Stewardesses escorted her and her family off and told them they would be able to fly out later...
Well the end of a long, but very fun and entertaining vacation....We will definitely return within the next 2 years.....
What we will do differently on the next visit: When we go back for the NYE event, we will definitely stay at one of the onsite hotels to avoid taxis, bus shuttles, etc...we can just use the water taxis....
Take a few snacks, and sandwiches in the parks with us...
OVERALL VACATION: 9.5
I hope you enjoyed my review, and if you have any questions, please send me an email!!
Yours Truly,
Georgia and James Williams
40 something married couple, with two boys,ages 19 and 21...
They did not want to join us this year! HAHA, they missed a good time!!!
