Universal Studios

But this theme park goes to 11...

Ken had decided that he wanted to rest on this day. This was probably for the best, as it turns out. I had never been to Universal in my 4 trips to Orlando, so I wasn't aware that everything at Universal is louder, faster, scarier, and wetter than Disney attractions. Therefore, if Test Track and Catastrophe Canyon push your limits, don't go to Universal.

Since I was alone, I put on my "Theme Park Commando" hat and planned out the strategic attack on the park. Universal Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios are both accessed from the same parking garage, so you can do them both in the same day if you hustle.. and hustle I did. (so much that I ended up screwing up a tendon which still bothered me a month later...).

I had heard that many of the rides in these parks get you wet. Therefore, I didn't bring the digital camera and only took a small waterproof disposable camera. The resulting pictures are not very good, sadly.

Islands of Adventure

Islands of Adventure is similar to a traditional theme park - many fast rides. I knew the lines for these would build up quickly, so I had picked out my targets and hit the front gate at T minues 45 minutes to opening. From the start, I went the The Hulk, a large green roller coaster currently up at the top of the steel coasters in America. (note- for those of you who have "unusual upper body dimensions", there is a seat on each row made a little bigger. Ask the attendant for directions... otherwise you may not fit.)

You start up a tunnel like a normal coaster. Then you are picked up by linear induction motors and shot out of the top and immediately flipped. Notice the net below the track - it had already gathered some hats by the time I left the park an hour later. This thing was wild speed overload, and was a great coaster.

Another ride in the Marvel area of Islands of Adventure was Spiderman. They throw everything at you in this ride.. not only are you wearing 3-D glasses and see several 3-D films, but you are in a car that is moving and bucking on a track. So, it combines the real sensations of moving like a rollercoaster and bucking like a simulator, but you are also seeing 3-D images of Spidey fighting bad guys to boot! It is one heck of a ride... and just like the Hulk, your senses are in overload the whole time.

The queue on this ride reminded me at work; at one point you are queueing through a cubicle farm. I guess that would be a "queuebicle farm", then, wouldn't it....

I have a number of friends who enjoy comic books, so I took pictures of the of the ambiance of the Marvel area. You can visit those pictures, or continue down the page if you don't know/care about comics.

 

From the Marvel area, I ran over to Seuss land to enjoy riding in fishies. The land was, well, just like a Dr. Seuss book.

 

The other attraction I wanted to visit, the Dueling Dragons inverted coaster, was not running. So I left this park and began the speed-walking to Universal Studios.

Universal Studios

Much like MGM Studios, Universal contains a number of movie-themed attractions. The Universal parks have a system similar to FastPass called Universal Express. I used this to my advantage to avoid many lines on this day.

I must have been having a bad day, as horrible things kept happening to me. There I was, peacefully riding a cable car in New York City, when this giant gorilla jumped up and attacked us! I was in a subway in San Fransisco, and an earthquake struck! Just minding my own business, taking a tour of the Cyberdine Systems offices and we were caught in the middle of a Terminator battle! Just one disaster after another....

And then there were reminders from the Twister ride of the city near where I grew up...

Yes, I'm an Okie from near Muskogee. There is no such place as Muskogee State College, by the way. I saw them filming some scenes at this glorious fake institution when I was at the University of Oklahoma. I learned later that those scenes were cut from the movie.

Many of Universal's attractions are very intense. If you enjoy thrill rides, you'll enjoy this park. Take caution if you don't like being scared, have motion sickness, or can't handle loud situations.

There were two highlights of Universal that I'll share here.

 

The Men in Black ride was very entertaining; I rode it three times. They have a single rider line which lets you skip the queue and jump to the ride. I timed how long this took.. the normal line took over 30 minutes at this point. I went from walking in the front to getting on the ride in 3 minutes.

This is an interactive ride..more of a live-scale video game, really.. where you shoot at pop-out aliens and another car to gain points. Each rider gets a score at the end, and the average score of the car determines the ending. One key to a higher score is to watch the gun. You will see a green light when you get a hit. When you see that, keep the gun steady and keep shooting, as you can get more and more points this way (I ended up with about 360,000 on my 3rd try).

Also, watch the theming at the beginning and end of the ride carefully. There is a secondary theme wrapped around the primary theme of the ride. The first time I rode, I didn't notice it at all, but the second time, I was laughing as I left. Pay attention to the details in the first room and the place where you exit to get more enjoyment out of this ride.

 

The second highlight came from the Woody Woodpecker children's area. There was a warning sign that you may get wet, so I didn't feel bad about doing this. There is a city that has water dumping everywhere on screaming kidlets. Usually, there are parents standing out of the wet pavement watching their children get soaked. Notice the guns I have highlighted in pink in the picture below:

These guns are powered by pushing a handle in, and they shoot out air. When a kid pushes the handle, the air doesn't shoot the water too far. But if a mischievous fellow with really strong legs puts his knee to a handle, he can put a LOT of pressure behind that water, usually soaking the parents who think they are safe.

Hey.. they were warned! :)

 

Worn out yet? Venture over to the Final Thoughts, or choose a new destination from the following list.

 

 

 

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