Yzerbear19
I'm beautifully tragic - Elphaba (Wicked)
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2006
My sister and I had decided that we only wanted to spend one day of our trip at Universal since we weren't overally impressed with when we went in late April 2005. It stunk having to actually pay for parking since as a Disney resort guest we never did. It seems like the parking is a mile away from either park. I hate how you have to walk through City Walk to get to either park. We went to Islands of Adventure first since I wanted to get Jurassic Park out of the way first. We wandered around Dr. Seuss land for a little bit since my sister wanted some pictures. Then headed over to Jurassic Park.
Since we rode it the last time we were there, we decided to pay $2.00 to put our stuff in a locker to make sure it wouldn't get wet. I asked the cast member if it would be OK if I had my sunglasses on or if they would fall off on the drop. She said it would be OK to wear them. We then proceeded to walk through the que line. Part way through we realized we were in the express lane, but no one said anything. The cast member at the beginning never even asked if we had the express thing. We were allowed to get right onto the ride. The first time I rode it I didn't know how tall the drop at the end was and this time I did. I also made the mistake of seeing the building while we were on the ride. I was too scared to even scream. Afterwards I was thinking about buying our photo, but changed my mind when I heard the price. I believe it was something like $22 for ONE 5x7 photo. I paid $20 for TWO 5x7 photos from Dinosaur at Disney. I think the 8x10 at Universal was $27. Quite the ripoff IMO.
After Jurassic Park we were going to ride Spiderman. There was a 40 minute wait time posted for it. My sister who really doesn't like simulators read some of the warnings and decided that she didn't want to ride it. After a freak out experience earlier in the week we had agreed not to pressure each other into riding something they didn't want to ride. So we did a little bit of shopping then went to lunch at Bubba Gump's Shrimp Co.
I was surprised that Bubba Gump's wasn't busier. It was probably about 12:30ish that we went to go eat and there was hardly anyone at the restaurant. I don't know if there was just no one at the park or if its because the restaurant is newer. When we've gone to the one in Chicago its pretty much always packed. We had a nice table with a view of the path leading into City Walk. They had the windows open which provided a nice breeze. The food was excellent. I had the Cheeseburger and fries. I'm not a shrimp fan, but my sister loves it. She had the fried shrimp and fries. Our waiter was also very good.
After lunch we went to Universal Studios. The first ride we went on was Back to the Future which we were surprised was still opened. We had front rows seats and enjoyed the ride. I know I said my sister doesn't like simulators, but she loves BTTF for some reason. Go figure!
After BTTF we went to Men in Black: Alien Attack. This was one of my favorite rides from last time. We waited in line for what seemed like forever. Just as we got to the front of the line to board the ride, it broke down. They then sent all the cars through empty before anyone could board. It was fun. I actually beat my sister! Ha!
Next was Jaws. The day was getting late. I had hoped to be heading back to Disney by 4:00 since we were flying out the next day and to pack, etc. Jaws had a 20 minute wait. Our boat driver wasn't that great. In fact I would say he was quite bad. Last time our driver had made it fun. I hardly even got wet.
I still liked it, but it was kind of lackluster.
After Jaws we decided to skip Shrek 4D and Earthquake looked shut down, which was a bummer. We did some shopping then left.
All day long it seemed that almost everything that Universal did was imitation Disney (the photographers, express plus, etc), but none of it was as good as Disney. Overall it was a pretty disappointing day after 5 fun filled days spent at WDW parks. For us, because we aren't thrill riders, it isn't worth the money to go to Universal. It was $78.80 for a one day/2 park pass and that just seems too much money for what you get. Universal also doesn't seem as family friendly. And I hate how you have to walk through City Walk which at times can be very crowded and difficult to navigate through.
I like the rides we rode, but honestly I can get the same type of ride at Disney. The next time we go to Orlando, I don't think we will be going to Universal.
I will post some pictures later after I get home. I haven't had time to upload any of them yet.
Since we rode it the last time we were there, we decided to pay $2.00 to put our stuff in a locker to make sure it wouldn't get wet. I asked the cast member if it would be OK if I had my sunglasses on or if they would fall off on the drop. She said it would be OK to wear them. We then proceeded to walk through the que line. Part way through we realized we were in the express lane, but no one said anything. The cast member at the beginning never even asked if we had the express thing. We were allowed to get right onto the ride. The first time I rode it I didn't know how tall the drop at the end was and this time I did. I also made the mistake of seeing the building while we were on the ride. I was too scared to even scream. Afterwards I was thinking about buying our photo, but changed my mind when I heard the price. I believe it was something like $22 for ONE 5x7 photo. I paid $20 for TWO 5x7 photos from Dinosaur at Disney. I think the 8x10 at Universal was $27. Quite the ripoff IMO.
After Jurassic Park we were going to ride Spiderman. There was a 40 minute wait time posted for it. My sister who really doesn't like simulators read some of the warnings and decided that she didn't want to ride it. After a freak out experience earlier in the week we had agreed not to pressure each other into riding something they didn't want to ride. So we did a little bit of shopping then went to lunch at Bubba Gump's Shrimp Co.
I was surprised that Bubba Gump's wasn't busier. It was probably about 12:30ish that we went to go eat and there was hardly anyone at the restaurant. I don't know if there was just no one at the park or if its because the restaurant is newer. When we've gone to the one in Chicago its pretty much always packed. We had a nice table with a view of the path leading into City Walk. They had the windows open which provided a nice breeze. The food was excellent. I had the Cheeseburger and fries. I'm not a shrimp fan, but my sister loves it. She had the fried shrimp and fries. Our waiter was also very good.
After lunch we went to Universal Studios. The first ride we went on was Back to the Future which we were surprised was still opened. We had front rows seats and enjoyed the ride. I know I said my sister doesn't like simulators, but she loves BTTF for some reason. Go figure!
After BTTF we went to Men in Black: Alien Attack. This was one of my favorite rides from last time. We waited in line for what seemed like forever. Just as we got to the front of the line to board the ride, it broke down. They then sent all the cars through empty before anyone could board. It was fun. I actually beat my sister! Ha!
Next was Jaws. The day was getting late. I had hoped to be heading back to Disney by 4:00 since we were flying out the next day and to pack, etc. Jaws had a 20 minute wait. Our boat driver wasn't that great. In fact I would say he was quite bad. Last time our driver had made it fun. I hardly even got wet.
I still liked it, but it was kind of lackluster. After Jaws we decided to skip Shrek 4D and Earthquake looked shut down, which was a bummer. We did some shopping then left.
All day long it seemed that almost everything that Universal did was imitation Disney (the photographers, express plus, etc), but none of it was as good as Disney. Overall it was a pretty disappointing day after 5 fun filled days spent at WDW parks. For us, because we aren't thrill riders, it isn't worth the money to go to Universal. It was $78.80 for a one day/2 park pass and that just seems too much money for what you get. Universal also doesn't seem as family friendly. And I hate how you have to walk through City Walk which at times can be very crowded and difficult to navigate through.
I like the rides we rode, but honestly I can get the same type of ride at Disney. The next time we go to Orlando, I don't think we will be going to Universal.
I will post some pictures later after I get home. I haven't had time to upload any of them yet.
You stated you werent impressed when you went in 2005 I must have missed the part where you said you liked the rides.
