My trip to Universal Orlando

[hopemax]

Originally Posted by Cristen

My questions:

1.) Do you think there is enough for the little ones to do at IOA? Megan is about 48-49 inches and Lauren is 50" or something. Both LOVE roller coasters now and are dare devils. (they rode the big white coaster at Elitch's that you see off the freeway for the first time this month and now feel like they can conquer the world!)

The coasters at IOA (Hulk and Dragon Challenge) have a 54" height requirement. Dr Doom Fearfall (like the Maliboomer) is 52". Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is 48" and everything else is lower. So except the first 3, they can ride everything. Plus, since they are under 56" you can go on the Pteranodon Flyers with them, which we couldn't do. But without the coasters, I don't know how much of a full day park it would seem. Seuss Landing is very cute, and I like it, but if they are feeling Seuss is for "little kids" and if they think that Spidey and Jurassic Park are too "boyish" then I might wonder how satisfying they would find it all.

We looked at IOA, and saw that Universal is just as capable, if not more so, of delivering a quality theme park experience than Disney. But what is there now, may not be quite enough for everyone.

Over at the Studios side, the big coaster Rip, Ride Rock-it is 51", Mummy is 48" and everything else is lower.

2.) Should I stick with Sea World in Cali and wait to take them to Universal in Florida for the IOA? Or will they still have fun at Universal in Cali?

I've never been to a Sea World park anywhere, so I have no idea how they compare. Now that we've done Universal, my parents are in agreement that we really need to get over to Sea World.

3.) I have not been to Universal since I was like 6. Does it suck compared to Florida?

We are planning a trip to see HP sometime in the fall anyway, hopefully when things die down. Should I just wait?

The last time I was at Universal in CA was 1996, and prior to that was 1980. I remember us not really being impressed with it, which is why we had been so hesitant to go to the one in FL. The most interesting thing in CA was the Studio Tour, so since FL didn't even have that, what was the point? In CA it is really shoehorned in the studio, with attractions on 2 levels. We had my Grandma with us in a wheelchair, so we had to take a van to get up and down, so it was inconvenient. And I think in CA, you have a bit of different vibe...teen hangout vs family theme park.

I would wait until fall just because of the heat factor. I didn't write about that in my report, but it was 95 degrees the whole time, and there wasn't much afternoon rain so it stayed hot into the evening. I was afraid I had lost my AZ ability to be out in the heat, but I was okay. But it was uncomfortable.

[Cristen]

Sea World is nice though I haven't been keeping up with what's happened since the death.

Well, is it good to go at least once? I am torn going to see the animals, and hating them because they have the animals. They should be free.

So except the first 3, they can ride everything.

Perfect.

Seuss Landing is very cute, and I like it, but if they are feeling Seuss is for "little kids"

We are planning a DL trip in October and I asked Kaetlyn if she is too old for DL now, if she thinks it's cheesy and childish. She looked at me as if I grew a second head and said NEVER will DL be like that for her. So I think we should be ok.

they think that Spidey and Jurassic Park are too "boyish"

Seeing as how Lauren has a crush on Spider Man and for about a month she wanted to be a paleontologist, I think we are ok there as well.

teen hangout vs family theme park.

Thank you! You gave me everything I wanted to hear. Sea World in Cali and I will wait for Universal when we go to Florida.

Glad you enjoyed the parks and that they were a pleasant surprise. Did you go to WDW at all? I would like to hear what you thought of them as well.

[YoHo]

Cristen. I know a number of people that won't go to Sea World, not just because the animals are captive, but because of their old practices of capturing them.

The fact is though that their practices have changed and even more to the point, Sea World does a lot of good work for marine species around the world. Compared to other Killer whale parks, they are extremely good for the creatures and for the environment.

So I guess in short, what I'm saying is that it makes sense to be concerned about them. They have a less than stellar history, but they do good work now. This accident was tragic, but they do contribute to our understanding of Killer Whales, it isn't just a show.

So I guess its up to you how you feel about it.
I personally enjoy going. Aside from their oldest whales, they're all born in captivity, they have large pools for them, they're well taken care of and they spend a lot of money protecting wildlife across the globe.

Sure, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is a better place, but Sea World isn't evil either.

[Cristen]

Oh! I think you misunderstood me. I wasn't targeting Sea World, I was saying in general. I know that they do great work, I love that. If I wasn't so old and out of touch with the world doing laundry all day, I would love more than anything to go into that field and help.

And even though I love to see dolphins up close and personal, I hate ALL things that keep animals in a cage for our viewing pleasure. It's why I have only been to a zoo maybe 6 times in my life.

When I went to the Cayman Islands just recently, our tour guide took us to the dolphin show thingy to watch. It was raining pretty hard, so the people who had paid for the interaction hadn't come out yet. All that is burned into my brain was seeing the dolphins in this holding block and jumping in one spot over and over and over and over, because they couldn't swim. I was soooooo heartbroken. Maybe, they don't know, maybe they don't care, I dunno. I was just sadden by it. They should be able to swim freely.

[hopemax]

Day 3 - Monday June 28th

This was Harry Potter Day. We planned it for the last full day I was in Orlando, so that hopefully crowds would have died down. That didn't really happen. We had three things we hadn't done yet...Ollivanders, the Frog Choir and Triwizard Spirit Rally, and maybe another FJ ride, so I figured this would be a partial day. As it turned out, we didn't leave WWoHP until 4PM.

Since Ollivander's was our primary destination, I wanted to be in line relatively early. I told my parents we should leave their house between 7-7:30, and they surprised me by being ready closer to the 7AM. So we made it to the WWoHP, which was by the Jurassic Park Discovery Center by 8AM. At 8:50, we were let into WWoHP and we went directly to Ollivanders.

When we got in line, the switchbacks next to Ollivanders were about half full. From this point it was a 40 minute wait. A child from the first people to enter, was selected. I've read this is pretty standard, although sometimes someone not from the first party to enter is chosen. I got a picture with two wand sellers, as one was about to replaced.

In the shop, I bought my birthday wand, which is elder. It has a skull handle, which I'm not thrilled about, but I figured my DH would like it, and it would look cool next to his short sword. With everything being so successful, it would be nice if they expanded the choices to provide a feminine and masculine option for each of the woods. I heard a couple kids object to their wand because it had a snake or looked too girly. They were completely sold out of Harry Potter and Voldemort Wands. And a couple of the wood wands, but I don't know which ones. We also got some post cards, which we had stamped. And I got the Spectroscope glasses, although I agree, they really should have a full copy of the Quibbler for sale.

I went to get into the line at the Hog's Head for butterbeer. I had read that was the fastest. Unfortunately, I seemed to choose a time where the line was huge. By the time we got to the counter there was barely anyone in line.

While we were waiting, my Mom took my wand down to Lost Continent, because they were not set up for package pickup in WWoHP. This is the biggest problem we experienced. We bought the wand, but it wouldn't fit in a locker. No package pickup, and we were told to take it to LC. However, when you go to leave, the TM's tell you that you can't get back in, without waiting in the line to get into the land again. So what do they expect you to do if you want to ride the rides that require you to store your bags? Luckily, my Mom talked to a very nice TM who told her to bring him her the receipt from package pickup and he would let her back in. But she felt uncomfortable while doing that because Security was watching. She didn't want to get in trouble, or get the TM in trouble.

My Dad and I each got both types of butterbeer, because we couldn't decide! I think I still prefer the frozen, but it's only because it was so hot. I thought the entertainment might begin on the half hour, and I tried to hussle my parents over to the performance area. They weren't paying attention to me, so we arrived just at the conclusion of the Spirit Rally. So that meant a 20 minute wait for Frog Choir, and 50 for another Rally.

We went back up to Honeydukes for another look around. We noticed that several things we had seen the first day weren't on the shelves anymore. No Pepper Imps, no Canary Creams, no Ton Tongue Toffee, no Fudge Flies. We wanted some Peppermint Frogs, but we figured it was much too hot to buy them now.

Back up to the performance area for the Frog Choir. Those poor TM's, sweat was dripping from their faces, but they still put on a good show. After they finished, we waited for the Rally. I think this was the hottest day we had, and it was pretty brutal. The Rally, I didn't find as interesting. Not something I would wait for again, but if I timed it right, I would stop and watch.

With those finished, we got in the FJ line. This was the first time we were held at the gate. We spent about 10 min outside, before we were allowed enter the locker area. Posted time was 90 min. It took about an hour. Like I mentioned before, while we were in the Quidditch scene, we first lost sound, then our vehicle stopped for about 5 min. I was really hopping for a walk-off but no luck. When we exited, we determined it wasn't the ride that had the problem. Instead there was a line of people trying to exit the unload area but couldn't get into the locker area because of the backup. So we think they had to stop the ride because it got too backed up.

We were starting to get hungry, so we looked at the line at Three Broomsticks. The first time we ate there, it was only inside the building. This time it was inside, outside, and running down toward the bathroom. My Dad decided he would be willing to wait, while my Mom and I re-rode Dragon Challenge.

I had taken some of the books, and the first 4 movies with me, so that my parents could see what everything was all about. We had watched the first 3 movies before our first visit, but my Dad was still reading book 4. Now, he had finished the book, and we watched the 4th movie so I took my Mom back through the queue so I could point out all the flags, and the trophy. So the big question, why is their nothing for Cedric in the queue? Did the designers just assume there were three schools and so only three champions? Poor Cedric, he deserves better than that.

When we got out of the ride, my Dad was almost to the inside portion of the restaurant queue. He said it was fast moving, but of course as soon as we got there, it came to a dead stop. The delay, did allow us to see the owl come out of the steeple at the Owlrey which seems to happen every quarter hour.

This time my Dad got the ribs, my Mom the Cornish Pasties and I got the ribs & chicken platter. The food was so good! Much better than the fish & chips. We also got the Chocolate Treacle. It was good, but not as good as the Raspberry Napoleon we had at USF.

After lunch, we picked up our Peppermint Toads, a bottle of pumpkin juice and another cauldron cake to take home. We had actually tried Pumpkin Juice on the evening of the 2nd trip. It was just too sweet and not refreshing when we were so hot and dehydrated. I did try it again, the next morning and it tasted much better. Not something that I would drink a lot of though, but if you like apple juice.

After our full day in WWoHP, we all decided we would rather just go home than do anything more at either park. We did consider doing the Hulk, but didn't want to mess around with a locker. I bought a T-shirt in Seuss Landing, and we picked up my wand from package pick-up and we were on our way.

The walk back to the car, was much more pleasant since we weren't on our last legs. We even managed to walk into the Universal Orlando store. They were selling a bunch of HP stuff, even chocolate frogs, peppermint toads and Honeydukes candy bars. Also sneakascopes and remembralls from Zonko's. These things are also sold in the Port of Entry shop, and the store at the airport. The wands, however, are exclusive to the shop in WWoHP.

[hopemax]

A few other random thoughts.

Lockers: This trip was our first experience with forced lockers. It has both positives and negatives. The positive is that it did make for a much easier loading experience. On the rides, we could take our bags, my Mom was always fussing with hers, annoying the TM who was trying to make sure she was properly restrained by the end of the load area. The negative is that the locker area is just too small. Inevitably the entrance would be taken up by people retrieving their stuff, and we would have to push through them to get to a free terminal. Or the lines from the right and left side would run into each other. Just a horrible bottleneck. And some rides, it was hard to find a station with empty lockers available.

Note for 1955: you are not allowed to take bags on Hulk, Dragon Challenge, Forbidden Journey, Men In Black, Rip, Ride, Rock-it, and The Mummy. Free lockers are provided for a certain period of time depending on queue length. If the line is 30 minutes, you might have a 1 hr free locker period. If it's 90 min you might have 2 hours. There is basically only time to ride once, without going back to the locker and switching stuff around. So inbetween riding both sides of Dragon Challenge, we had to switch our stuff. This does probably keep the queue length from growing too big with re-riders. Because of this, I did purchase a cheap camera I could fit in my pocket to take pictures of the queue (more important for FJ, less for the Hulk)

Ollivanders: My Dad and I wondered if a better alternative, would have worked better to have it set up like the Meet Mickey. One line, but it goes to 3 different rooms. I think with the walls of wand boxes it would have been rather easy to have set it up, so it didn't appear like there were multiple rooms. The problem, though is that those three rooms would still empty into a tiny shop. With the Dragon Challenge queue exit behind the building, it would have been hard to build a bigger building. But given an ideal location, I think it would have been possible to build a smallish looking entrance into the shop, but most of it built in a bigger building, like in a hill or surrounded by trees so it couldn't be seen. It could be like the tents the Weasley's use at the World Cup, or the car they took to the train station. Looks small on the outside, but inside there is plenty of room.

Dragon Challenge: Needs a paint job. When we got back home the first day, my Dad and I were talking about which dragons the coasters were supposed to be. We correctly guessed the Chinese Fireball, to match the red coaster. But when I said the other one is the Hungarian Horntail, my Dad insisted I must be wrong because that dragon was black not blue. I tried to tell him they were red & blue because of fire and ice and they hadn't repainted. So here he is, hadn't had any experience with Harry Potter until a month ago, insisting that if the dragon is supposed to be the Hungarian Horntail, it can't be blue!

Better properties: I already mentioned where was more SpongeBob, but I also wondered where was Dora. I did laugh at the American Tail theming in the Woody Woodpecker kidzone. I was 10 when the movie came out, and I don't remember it being super popular then. And Woody Woopecker my Dad was excited about when he was a kid. While, I certainly appreciate the use of older properties, I do think it makes sense to feature more current properties too. I saw there was a Madagascar meet & greet. Didn't get to do it, but I thought about it. I like that movie a bit more than it really deserves. I know finding the money is always a problem, but if they want to bite into Disney, they need a few more "hot" properties.

Refillable Containers: Universal sells both a refillable drink cup, and a refillable popcorn bucket. Drink refills are $.79, popcorn $1.99 but while we were there they were running a special for $.79 popcorn refills. And the drink cups were buy 2 get one free. My parents had bought them the day they bought their AP's. In a throwback to the lovely discussions from the DIS themepark boards...refills are meant to be day of visit only, but every TM will happily tell you to bring them back on your next visit!

Footnote: I called my Mom today, and she told me my Dad is already itching to go back. He wants to wander around WWoHP at night, because he read it's easier to see the stuff in the windows. I told him about the burger place recommendation, and he was ready to head to the park tonight! They are going to wait until after the holiday period though.

[hopemax]

Yes, I did spend some time at WDW too. I have a few interesting things to say about that! But I will probably wait to post those until tomorrow. I also have a bunch of photos, so I am trying to get some of them online somewhere.

[JasonMa]

Originally Posted by hopemax

Ollivanders: My Dad and I wondered if a better alternative, would have worked better to have it set up like the Meet Mickey. One line, but it goes to 3 different rooms. I think with the walls of wand boxes it would have been rather easy to have set it up, so it didn't appear like there were multiple rooms. The problem, though is that those three rooms would still empty into a tiny shop. With the Dragon Challenge queue exit behind the building, it would have been hard to build a bigger building. But given an ideal location, I think it would have been possible to build a smallish looking entrance into the shop, but most of it built in a bigger building, like in a hill or surrounded by trees so it couldn't be seen. It could be like the tents the Weasley's use at the World Cup, or the car they took to the train station. Looks small on the outside, but inside there is plenty of room.

Sounds like a TARDIS.