Florida Diary Part 4 - Universal Orlando and Island of Adventure
Having not been to Universal Orlando for (gulp) 16 years we thought it was about time we went to see what was new. The first mistake we made was not buying our tickets online as we had to queue for an hour and a half just to get in. Get used to queueing though as that it how you will spend most of the day!
The first ride on my list was Transformers. If you are a fan of the films you will enjoy this. It's 3D, fast paced, high action and a lot of fun.
Anyone who visited Universal Orlando in the 1990's may remember the original Kong ride as it was notorious for breaking down at the crucial moment. I'm pleased to say that it has been updated in line with the recent films and is really good. You enter through the gorilla shaped rock and into dark caves. You are met with an animatronic witch heeding you warnings backed up by ritualistic chanting and drumming. The queue then filters into narrower tunnels. Just as I was contemplating how much further we had before I could rest my feet out the corner of my eye I noticed a dark figure lunge at me from a hole in the cave wall I hadn't noticed before, before disappearing again. Too my surprise I had only let out a little ooereghgh! and side stepped to the other side of the tunnel. The people behind all followed suit and walked as close to the wall and as far away from the dark hole as possible. A Japanese man raised his fists as he did so 😅. The queue in front had walked on quite a bit ahead by now and as we caught up I again noticed this dark figure lurch from the cave wall this time at a girl with her boyfriend. She shrieked so loudly and clambered all over her boyfriend trying to get away. It was now we realised the dark figure was actually a man who having gotten the reaction he wanted targeted the same girl a bit further up and again got the same reaction. People laughed and gradually word spread along the queue. As we neared the cars we could still hear the screams of unsuspecting victims. The ride was my second favourite after Transformers.
We decided to give the Amazing Spiderman in 3D a visit and I am happy to say that it still stands up as a great ride. By now our older bones were weary and the park was soon going to close so we made Shrek 4D our last ride. This was very clever and in keeping with Shrek humour. Adults and kids alike can enjoy this.
As night fell we made our way to City Walk for a meal. Universal Orlando is still a must visit attraction and the rides continue to get more and more clever and i'm sure they will continue to thrill new generations to come.
I did a Trip Advisor review here : https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g34515-d102432-r500061028-Universal_Studios_Florida-Orlando_Florida.html
The first ride on my list was Transformers. If you are a fan of the films you will enjoy this. It's 3D, fast paced, high action and a lot of fun.
Feeling a little confident and pumped up we made our way to Revenge of the Mummy. Now, I really should have paid more attention to the signs on this one. It stated that it was an 'indoor coaster' but the pictures didn't show the usual overhead bars that you get on coasters so I didn't think it could be bad. 😟 This ride accelerates at high speed uphill!, goes backwards, plunges you down and into darkness and even has fire..... let's just say my legs were a bit more wobbly when I got off. It was not what I was expecting at all but was still a good ride. I also didn't see the photo they take of you on the ride but I'm sure it must have been a humdinger.
What happens to all the unclaimed photos taken on rides at theme parks?
I'd like to think they make the best ones into slide shows for monthly employee meetings.
Feeling in need of something a little 'fluffier' we made our way to the comfort of Harry Potter and Escape from Gringotts. The queue winds through the gorgeous Gringotts banks and passed the sneering goblins. I also really liked that they recreated the newspapers complete with moving photos just like in the movie. This ride is 3D and part coaster and has Bill Weasley trying to aid your escape from the evil Bellatrix. Oh this is great....... oh shhhhhhhhhhhhhh whooooosh STOP. This ride was short but once again I happily wobbled my way out the exit.
We decided to revisit some old faves - Men in black for a bit of friendly fire family competition and Terminator which to me is starting to show its age.
We then decided to hop on the Hogwarts Express to Island of Adventure. (We did go to the Wizarding World but I'll post about that separately) The train ride is a nice little break and is cleverly done.
We made our way to Skull Island Reign of Kong.
Anyone who visited Universal Orlando in the 1990's may remember the original Kong ride as it was notorious for breaking down at the crucial moment. I'm pleased to say that it has been updated in line with the recent films and is really good. You enter through the gorilla shaped rock and into dark caves. You are met with an animatronic witch heeding you warnings backed up by ritualistic chanting and drumming. The queue then filters into narrower tunnels. Just as I was contemplating how much further we had before I could rest my feet out the corner of my eye I noticed a dark figure lunge at me from a hole in the cave wall I hadn't noticed before, before disappearing again. Too my surprise I had only let out a little ooereghgh! and side stepped to the other side of the tunnel. The people behind all followed suit and walked as close to the wall and as far away from the dark hole as possible. A Japanese man raised his fists as he did so 😅. The queue in front had walked on quite a bit ahead by now and as we caught up I again noticed this dark figure lurch from the cave wall this time at a girl with her boyfriend. She shrieked so loudly and clambered all over her boyfriend trying to get away. It was now we realised the dark figure was actually a man who having gotten the reaction he wanted targeted the same girl a bit further up and again got the same reaction. People laughed and gradually word spread along the queue. As we neared the cars we could still hear the screams of unsuspecting victims. The ride was my second favourite after Transformers.
We decided to give the Amazing Spiderman in 3D a visit and I am happy to say that it still stands up as a great ride. By now our older bones were weary and the park was soon going to close so we made Shrek 4D our last ride. This was very clever and in keeping with Shrek humour. Adults and kids alike can enjoy this.
As night fell we made our way to City Walk for a meal. Universal Orlando is still a must visit attraction and the rides continue to get more and more clever and i'm sure they will continue to thrill new generations to come.
I did a Trip Advisor review here : https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g34515-d102432-r500061028-Universal_Studios_Florida-Orlando_Florida.html
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