Universal Studios Orlando
My family and I actually didn't know there were two separate theme parks at Universal until we got there, so that was a surprise! Overall, I think Universal has better rides than Disney. So Universal's definitely the place to go if you like rides, especially fast and thrilling ones. They also have a "fast pass" here too, but it's not free like it is at Disney. Although, it makes sense why it's not. The price of their version changes every day, but you get to use it on every ride, unlike Disney, where you can only choose three initially.
Universal Studios Florida
Rides/attractions we went on/to:
- E.T. Adventure: This isn't the most thrilling ride, but it's still pretty fun. The ride's seats are bicycles, like the one in the movie poster. You're trying to help E.T. run from the police and get back to his home planet. You go through the woods, into space, and end up in E.T.'s home planet. Then E.T. personally thanks you and says your name (unless the lady forgets to swipe your name card like me), which is pretty cool. I think this is a good ride for kids as long as they don't think E.T. is scary.
- Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringott's: Of all the Harry Potter rides I went on, which was all but the kiddie Hippogriff coaster, this was my least favorite. But I still enjoyed the ride! While you wait in line, you get to see the inside of Gringott's, and it looks just like it does in the movie, which is really cool. The ride is 3D, so you wear glasses during the ride, so it obviously doesn't go as fast or anything as a roller coaster, but it's still fun and feels like you're escaping from Gringott's on their track, running away from Bellatrix.
A dragon on top of Gringott's in Diagon Alley. - Lucy - A Tribute: Basically, this is a mini museum exhibit all about the TV show I Love Lucy. My mom used to watch it, which is why my family and I went inside. There are authentic costumes that were actually worn on set as well as interactive trivia to test fans' knowledge.
- Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit: This is a one-of-a-kind roller coaster. While you're on the ride, you get to listen to the song of your choice (out of their options, of course.) So you get to jam out as the coaster turns you upside-down and whatnot. Unfortunately for me, my touch screen pad wasn't working, so I didn't get to choose the song I listened to. But it was still a very exhilarating and fun ride. If you like roller coasters, this isn't a bad one to go on.
- Ollivander's: In case you didn't know, your wand can pick you when you go to Ollivander's, just like in the movies! Not everyone gets to do it though. You go in with a group of people into a room in the back of the store and line up at the right side of the room. There's a desk and about one light. There's a lady behind the desk who helps your wand choose you. She goes up to the group of people and chooses one of you to have your wand choose you. When we went, the lady chose me. As an introvert, it was sort of awkward, and I didn't even really want to do it and have all eyes on me, but what was I going to do? So I followed the lady to the desk, and she did what happened in the movies. She pulled out a wand, told me about it, told me to do some spell, and something bad happened when I did it with the first two wands. Then with the third wand, when I did the spell, a light lit up and some music played, and that's how you know when that's the right wand. Then the lady tells you to go with another Ollivander's employee, who tells you more about your wand and asks you if you want to purchase it. I don't remember much anything about my wand, so sorry if you wanted to know! Although it was sort of an awkward experience for me, it was still pretty cool.
- The Simpsons Ride: This is a motion simulator ride, but it is supposed to feel like you're on a roller coaster. Sideshow Bob is trying to kill the Simpsons by using this roller coaster in Krustyland. Your group, along with the Simpsons, are the first to try his ride. There was nothing too special about this ride, but it was still fun.
The signature pink doughnut from The Simpsons! You can get these from stores in the Simpsons part of the park. Be sure to buy one, because they're really good! - Revenge of the Mummy: If you don't like the dark, don't go on this roller coaster. It involves being in the dark and fire. It's quite a thrill though, if you don't mind the fire and dark! It turns out that going on a roller coaster in the dark is pretty fun!
- TRANSFORMERS: The Ride - 3D: If you like the movie, then you'll probably enjoy this 3D ride. It's an exciting ride where you're with the Autobots and are trying to take down Megatron and the Decepticons. It feels like you're right there in the war among the Transformers.
- TWISTER....Ride It Out: I didn't think this was exciting or worth it. It's actually not a ride, but more of a simulated show. This is supposed to simulate and show you what a high-level tornado is supposed to be like, but pretty much all that happened was a funnel cloud, some wind, some rain, and a fire that was caused by a fallen electrical pole. The way they describe it makes it seem like there'd be a lot more action and last much longer. It was only like three minutes long. I wouldn't go to this again.
Entertainment:
- Fear Factor Live: This show is exactly what it sounds like. What's cool and different about this show from what they show on TV is that the contestants are people who are actually visiting the theme park and audition for it. Plus, little kids get to volunteer and participate in the show by pressing buttons that will do something or spraying water at the contestants. It wasn't too gross or terrifying compared to the actual challenges on TV, so if you can handle watching it on TV, you'll be fine watching this one and will still be entertained.
Contestants dig through a tank of eels in search of bean bags to toss to their partners. - Terminator 2: 3-D: Even though it says 3D, it's more like 4D, because this show combines film clips with actual people running around a theater with weapons. I've never seen any Terminator movies, but this was cool solely due to the fact that it combined reality with film clips. Like, the set is built in a way that the actors can go into a part of the set and then their respective film character is on the screen in the film, so part of what you're watching is the film and then it goes into real life when the actors come "out of the screen" and go on the set.
Dining:
For lunch, we ate at Lombard's Seafood Grille. It's one of the sit-down restaurants at the park, so if you have a quick-service dining plan like we did, you can't use it there. But anyway, it's a seafood place, and it's pretty good, especially since it's in a theme park. I had the fish and chips, which were good. The rest of my family got a variety of things, and everyone was satisfied with their food. So if you're in the mood for some seafood when you're at Universal Florida, Lombard's is a great place to go to.
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| The cool Universal-logo-imprinted butter served with the bread at Lombard's Seafood Grille. |
Islands of Adventure
Rides/attractions we went on/to:
- The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man: If you're a journalist or are interested in journalism, you'll probably love this ride. Well, at least I did for those reasons. The line goes through the Daily Bugle's newsroom, so that was cool for me to see, as a journalism student. Then when you get your picture taken before you go on the ride, that picture is placed into a Daily Bugle template and says you helped Spider-Man save the city! The ride is 3D and a motion simulator one that takes you around New York City as you work for the Daily Bugle and cover this breaking news story. It feels like you're web-slinging across the sky with Spider-Man, dodging buildings and more, which is really cool!
- Dragon Exchange: This was one of my favorite Harry Potter rides and just one of my favorite rides at Universal Orlando overall. I'm a fan of roller coasters, and this one did not disappoint. The ride is based off the dragon challenge in Goblet of Fire. There are two different tracks, or "dragons," you can ride on this coaster, the Hungarian Horntail or the Chinese Fireball, so you can ride it twice, and it will be like you rode two different rides!
- Doctor Doom's Fearfall: This was probably the most disappointing ride I went on. I thought it would be like the Tower of Terror and go up and down a bunch of times and be really scary but fun. It wasn't. It went super high up and then suddenly went down really fast once, then went back up a little bit and down. Then that was about it. It didn't last very long, and the sudden drops were disappointing.
- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey: If you want to see the inside of Hogwarts, this is your chance! While you're waiting in line to go on the ride, you get to walk through the hallways and corridors of Hogwarts! You'll see moving paintings, classrooms, the entrance to Dumbledore's office, and more. As for the ride, it's quite enjoyable! Harry, Ron, and Hermoine help guide you through the castle as your feet dangle and you soar throughout the campus. It's not a super fast ride like a roller coaster or anything, but it's still fun and is great for the whole family.
- The Incredible Hulk Coaster: This roller coaster was a lot of fun. It starts off on a high note as it accelerates in seconds. This ride is supposed to make you feel like you're Bruce Banner turning into the Hulk, and it does just that. It goes really high, turns you upside-down, and has pretty much all of the characteristics of a good roller coaster. So if you like those, this is a must!
Entertainment:
- The Eighth Voyage of Sinbad Stunt Show: The story of this show is the typical male hero (who's pretty egotistical) saves damsel in distress. The stunts were alright, not quite Hollywood blockbuster quality, but there were flips and swinging on ropes, so that was cool. The characters also got pretty close to the audience, as there's a part of the set that's in the middle of the audience seats. There are some cool stunts that involve fire, so I though those were impressive. Overall, it was pretty good. I was expecting the some of the stunts to be cooler, but maybe I just have high standards because I was elite gymnastics all the time?
- Poseidon's Fury: This show was alright. An evil lord traps you in a tomb, and Poseidon and the tour guide are supposed to help you escape. I thought this was a little cheesy, but the fire and water effects were cool. If you don't like being in the dark, I wouldn't recommend it, because there are times when you are in complete darkness.
Dining:
We used our quick service Universal dining plan when we went to Islands of Adventure, which includes a meal (entree and drink), a drink, and a snack. For lunch, we ate at Fire Eater's Grille, where we used our meal. They have chicken fingers, spicy chicken fingers, gyros, hot dogs, and salads. I had the chicken fingers, and they were good. The meals at Fire Eater's include an entree, fries, a drink, and a choice of dessert (jumbo chocolate chip cookie, cookie brownie, or apple pie). The jumbo cookie is really big and tastes really good. It was warm and chewy. For my snack and drink, my sister and I just went to a Dippin' Dots stand in the Marvel part of the park. If you want to know if you can use your quick service dining plan at a place, there should be a little UD logo next to what you can use it on. You also can just ask the people at the place. I don't remember how much the dining plan cost, but when I was listening to the employees tell my parents about it, it sounded like a good deal.
Orlando Vineland Premium Outlets
This outlet mall is a pretty good one. There's a good selection of stores for different styles and ages.
My family and I were VIPs at Tommy Hilfiger thanks to the concierge at our hotel. We rode a Tommy Hilfiger bus to the mall from our hotel. It was a legit bus, like a public transportation bus -- not a shuttle, and it had Tommy Hilfiger graphics on the side all over it. It was really cool. Then when we got to the mall, the bus driver laid out a red carpet for us to walk on as we exited the bus. It was funny, but pretty awesome! As VIPs, we had access to their VIP room. The room had a cashier and register that we could use so we wouldn't have to wait in the normal line, as well as separate dressing rooms. We had couches and chairs to chill on if we just wanted to sit and do nothing, a cold water fountain if we got thirsty, and outlets if we wanted to charge our phones or tablets. It definitely felt like we were VIPs. So if you can get VIP status at Tommy Hilfiger, I'd recommend it!
In terms of the stores, I love the Hurley and Volcom stores. We don't have those in Illinois, and I love those brands, so I wanted just about everything in the store. Plus, I'm a Julian Wilson fan, and he's plastered all over the Hurley store.
There's also a Charlotte Russe outlet, which I've never seen, but it didn't seem too different from the normal store.
Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress
Like I mentioned in the first part, our hotel/resort had lots to offer. There are multiple outdoor pools, rock climbing walls, multiple golf courses, a tennis club, lots of rentals (bikes, paddle boats, water bikes), a sand volleyball court, a tether ball area, and a mini beach.
In terms of dining, there are a few different restaurants at the hotel/resort. There's a little bar by the pool you can order food from, and sometimes, there's a burger and hot dog stand there as well. That food was all good. My family and I only ate at one of the restaurants, Cascade, and it was good. They don't have the largest selection though. The dessert menu is small, but the Oreo ice cream cake was delicious.
There's also food at the bar in the hotel. Their selection is also pretty small, but their pepperoni flatbread is good. I had it twice while I was there.
Oh, and they have a parrot in their lobby, so that's cool. His name is Merlot, and he's a macaw.
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