First Day: Universal Studios

We chose to go to Universal Studios first. There were several new rides or shows since our first visit nearly twenty years ago, and we love movies. Well, I love movies.

I was not able to take pictures inside the rides, nor did I take pictures of everything we did. Most of the time I forgot I had a  camera because I was having fun and didn't want to miss a single sight or sound.

Here's what we found to be the most fun, and worth doing twice if one had the time:

Twister...Ride it Out! The line was long, but moved constantly. You don't just walk through and get on a ride here. The line snakes through a house that has been hit by a tornado. Very realistic (but safe of course), with wires, pipes, broken and torn apart furniture, walls, windows... the place is all but flattened. As we walk through all this, ceiling mounted TV screens show Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt talking about the making of the movie Twister, with some favorite scenes. Then we get into the main event, where we are standing in the back of a warehouse or other structure, beneath an aluminum awning, facing a parking lot and field, a tree, telephone pole, house, restaurant, trucks, tractors, etc. All arranged in a realistic fashion, all life-sized. Then a storm appears in the distance, overhead the sky grows black. Thunder, lightning, rain... the wind is blowing, building in intensity. A tornado appears before us... we can't figure out how they managed that, but there it is, twisting and blowing just twenty feet away from us. The rest is special effects designed to make us feel like we are standing before the finger of God! No one gets sucked up, however, a cow flies past our viewing area, the tree gets struck by lightning, and the telephone pole falls onto the truck... there's more! Don't want to spoil all the fun for those who want to see it... or experience it is a better word. Kids were scared! I was in awe of the special effects people.

Revenge of the Mummy: The walk through, again, is made interesting so you don't get bored waiting in line. We walk through a darkened, but dramatically lit place that leads us into a pyramid, an ancient pyramid, with heiroglyphics, and great authentic paintings, sculptures, artifacts, and mummies... as if they are being stored for some great museum delivery. Then we board the ride itself. It's a roller-coaster ride like none other... often in total darkness. Fireballs follow us, giant scarab beetles scurry across the walls before us, and warrior mummies pursue us. It's great fun... more thrilling because it's in the dark and you don't know what's coming up next. First time I ever heard Steve holler during a ride!

Men In Black: Alien Attack. We did go back for a second turn on this one. While walking through the line, you are prepared. You are an MIB agent in training. You are shown a myriad of space-age weapons, taken through the control center (same as in the movie), and finally, you step into the vehicle (which holds six people). Each agent gets a "laser" gun. We had to shoot targets that varied in size, alien looking targets, like aliens seen in the MIB movie. Scores for individuals shone before each participant. Steve scored way more than I did. That's why I wanted to go back and do it again later in the day. I did score better the second time, but he still scored better than I. Not a fast moving nor a scary ride. Just fun.

Terminator 2: 3-D Battle Across Time: Of all the 3D shows, this was our first, only we didn't know it at the time. It was one of the best. There was more live action integrated with the 3D and special effects. It was like a mini Terminator 2 movie in itself, telling another stand alone story. The Terminator returns to save the boy John, future hero. Lots of action, cleverly melding 3D and live action. Might be scary for some kids, but most are used to this kind of action on the tv and movies. They may not be prepared for the 3D effect, however, and the silver creature appears to reach out into the audience many times to destroy us. However, it was very entertaining. The special effects came from every direction, sprinkling us, fogging us, bumping our seats, and vibrating all around us. Loud. Very sophisticated technology.

Back to the Future: The Ride. Pretty much the same as it was twenty years ago. The line is interesting because we are told a story, of how we become involved in the story, and why we have to go back in time in the latest time travelling vehicle designed by Doc Brown. Even the people paid to direct the lines are in character, one looking very much like Michael J. Fox himself, even speaking like him in character. The ride itself is bumpy, jerky, fast.... more simulated than a real ride, but the screen upon which the scenes are projected is huge, and we feel like we are truly being hurtled through space/time, dodging mountains, attempting to avoid giant dinosaurs. I was nauseous by the end of the ride. But it was fun.

Shrekd 4D was fun 3D movie with lots of interaction coming from the floor, the seats before us, the ceiling above us... the effect was that we were in the carriage being pulled by a donkey, or that we were riding the horse, or flying through the air. I loved the movie Shrek, so I really loved this show.

These were but a few of the rides... we did not go into the Woody Woodpecker's Kidzone. Jaws wasn't fun enough for me, but little kids loved it. Earthquake was boring by comparison to the other rides only because, I suppose, we had been on it before. So if you haven't done Earthquake, do it, but if you have, you can bypass it. It hasn't changed in any way. The ET Adventure is slow... great for ET lovers, and small kids, and folks who don't like jerky, bumpy rides that make you nauseous.

All in all, Universal Studios was a fun day in the park. We did not take a break and come back...stayed there all day, was totally wiped out by end of day and left before the evening performance. Wish we had, though.

Tip#1:  If you bring large backpacks or diaper bags, you may not be able to store them in the lockers provided. The lockers are there to store your bags, purses, cameras, for the faster, bumpier rides. They won't let you on these faster rides with anything. The lockers are small, though. I saw one kid who had won a huge stuffed animal and it wouldn't fit in the locker. Unless you have someone with you who can watch your things while you ride, you should try to carry what you'll need for the day in as small a bag as possible.

Tip #2: Bring water. We carried two water bottles with us. I kept them in the backbag I carried. Whenever we drank all the water, we could refill at the water fountains. Better yet, don't bring any water, and just drink at the water fountains. Sometimes the water is cold, sometimes not. Beverages are very expensive here. A small bottle of water was $1.25; One can of soda from a machine was $2.50; drinks in cups were as much or more.

Tip#3: Dress for the heat in the summer time. There are plenty of shaded areas to sit in and get out of the sun. Most of the lines are arranged to run through shaded areas and buildings. I wore a hat, but it became a hassle. Made me sweat even more. Some people were leaving their hats behind in places because they'd take them off and forget that they had taken them off. I found one on the floor under my seat at the SHrek show.

Tip#4: Wear sunscreen... high number. I wore spf 45 and got a great tan. Like I said, most of the time, while you are standing in line, you are in a shady area.

Tip#5: Use the fast passes as much as possible. I will explain more about those in the next entry. At Universal, we didn't know about the fast pass. We wondered how other people were getting on the rides quicker than we were. But we didn't bother to look into the fast pass that first day. It would have enabled us to do two or three more rides that day had we used them.

Next: Animal Kingdom