New experiences at Universal Orlando About This Page:

[Shell_of_the_South]

Just wanted to share a few things we learned during our trip to Universal this week:

Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast (Universal Studios) - This ride officially opened yesterday, but we were able to preview it Monday. It took the place of the Hanna Barbera attraction. It is a motion simulator movie. In my opinion it is exactly like the old Hanna Barbera ride with a different movie. Cute, but not worth a long wait in line.

Also, we found out how to maximize your front of the line passes for Universal resort guests. We stayed Sun. night at Sierra Suites. Monday morning we checked into the Hard Rock about 9:00. Our room wasn't ready, but we got our room keys for front of the line access in the parks. We stayed 2 nights at the Hard Rock. The morning we checked out, our front of the line passes were good until 4:00 that day. We stayed that night at the Sierra Suites again. It was some additional moving around, but it saved us $60 + for those 2 nights.

Universal Horror Make-Up Show (Universal Studios) - we passed this one up our last trip, but decided to give it a try. 5 thumbs up! This was a hilarious show that showed some of the special effects used in horror movies. The actors are great and really interact with the audience.

Posideon's Fury (Islands of Adventure) - another one we didn't try our first trip. You tour the ancient palace of Posideon when Posideon and his arch enemy battle for control of the sea. Very loud but some good effects.

[AKLRULZ]

Steve <===== JEALOUS! Thanks for the tips, Michelle. We have also passed on the Horror Makeup Show because we thought it would be to extreme for the kids - didn't know it was a funny show - we'll have to hit it next time.

How did you like the Hard Rock?!?!

[Shell_of_the_South]

To be honest Steve, we got some bad service. Our room was not cleaned until 5:30 that afternoon - when we were trying to take showers to go out for dinner! Then they left us no extra towels, washcloths, or bath mat. I called housekeeping and they said they were out of washcloths!! The room they put us in first was at the end of the world with a view of the parking lot (I paid for a garden view), so I requested a different room which took a while. Then our luggage was lost for a while because no one knew if it was in the old room or in transit or whatever. Eventually all that was straightened out and they upgraded us to a pool view. Overall, the Hard Rock is a shorter walk to the parks and a great pool, but I liked the rooms at the Royal Pacific better.

[greystone98]

Steve <===== JEALOUS!

<font size="2" face="Comic Sans MS, Arial">Me too. Just 174 days away.

Since you both had passed on the Horror Make-up show in the past, it prompts a question. Are there any other shows or rides you haven't done at US (we'll be hitting IOA for the first time in our upcoming trip).

And Steve, we took our DS to T2 at age 5 a few years ago - major mistake. He will not return - it still terrifies him. The Horror Make-up show, however, was funny/interesting for both him and DH and I. The scare factor is all done with a wink and a laugh so as not to upset anyone, young and old alike.

[AKLRULZ]

Other than the Horror Make Up show, we actually have done it all - or make that I have. We didn't let our middle child or youngest do T2 but my oldest son did (he was 8 at the time) and it scared the heck out of me! But what a great attraction! I've done everything at IOA and my kids have too on the attractions they were tall enough for (only my oldest could do the extreme thrill rides). You will [img]graemlins/love.gif[/img] LOVE [img]graemlins/love.gif[/img] LOVE [img]graemlins/love.gif[/img] LOVE [img]graemlins/love.gif[/img] Spiderman!

Michelle, I"m sick to hear that you had some lousy service at Hard Rock! [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] That is so not how it was for us there - wondering if things have slipped since the grand opening. Hope it's better next time. How did you like the pool?

[chezp]

Thanks for the information. We're planning on doing Universal for the first time during our next vacation.

Cheryl

[Shell_of_the_South]

Originally posted by greystone98:
Are there any other shows or rides you haven't done at US.

<font size="2" face="Comic Sans MS, Arial">We have not seen the Wild Wild West Stunt Show, but we plan to see it in June when we go back. We've never seen the Beetlejuice Graveyard Review, as it just doesn't appeal to us. At IOA, we haven't seen the Sinbad stunt show. We started to, but DH said he saw something about it on tv and it was very similar to the Indy stunt show at MGM, so we skipped it.

Originally posted by Dadtojbj:
How did you like the pool?

<font size="2" face="Comic Sans MS, Arial">We visited the Hard Rock Pool last year when we stayed at Royal Pacific - guests at any Universal resort can use the other resorts' pools and amenities. But we loved it, especially the water slide. I even rode it a few times myself.

Oh, I forgot to mention one important thing: We are now officially Galaxy Defenders !!! Will Smith said we could pick up our new black suits next Wednesday. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] DS got a new all-time high score on MIB: 399,000! I only got 209,000. Of course we only rode it 8 times. Got into double digits on the Hulk. Word to the wise: don't hold up your hands on the Hulk. I did and I had a pain in between my shoulder blades for 2 days! DH sarcastically remarked that it didn't stop me from riding it about 10 more times!

[BostonTeaParty]

[img]graemlins/wavin.gif[/img] Hi Michelle. I couldn't let this post go by without adding my two cents. First of all, include me in the "Universal/IOA Rocks" club. Someone posted saying words to the effect that it was perfectly fine to like both Disney and Universal. I heartily agree. We couldn't imagine visitng one theme park and not the other.

I also want to say I agree with Dad2jbj's comments about the Hard Rock. We had such a wonderful time there, that my entire family --- husband, and both of my sons --- don't even want to try the other resorts at Universal. (I personally would like to try them all). [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] So I hope your experience at the Hard Rock Hotel was just a fluke. They bent over backwards for us and we had an incredible time. Have you considered writing to them and telling them what happened? Maybe they would offer you a special deal for another chance to show you a first class experience.

One other thing...we did take in the Horror Make-Up show and it was just as hilarious (and informative) as everyone has already mentioned.

Poseidon's Fury was so-so. Not one of our favorites, but we did get a kick out of the talking, wise-cracking fountain out in front.