I'll start with the stuff that was just okay, and then we'll get into the GOOD stuff and my advice for visiting these parks. Please note that we were traveling during low-season, so some of our experiences may be different that what you will experience during high season.
Our first night in Florida we visited Halloween Horror Nights. This event claims to be the number one rated Halloween themed event in the U.S. My husband and I are not big fans of horror movies or haunted houses, so we were a little skeptical about this event. I can honestly say it is checked off my list, and I probably wont ever be doing it again.
The bad: To get through certain areas of the park, you have to go through "scare zones" where actors try to scare you. Most of these were lame and annoying. I don't think that a guy chasing me with a non-functioning chain saw is scary, I just think it is loud and annoying (I must be getting too old). There was one scare zone that I thought was cool because it had fog machines, it was dark, had eerie music, and people dressed as bats who popped out and scared you, though most of the time you could see them clearly. It wasn't in your face scary or aggressive, just spooky. I don't mind spooky. Old episodes of Scooby-Doo, spooky, but not scary, that is what makes them great. There are also several haunted houses. The thing I felt these really lacked were themed lines. You were often brought through a back lot of the park and waited on a gravel pathway between some very ugly buildings. Then all of a sudden you were in the haunted house. It didn't have a very good transition into the haunted houses which I think would improve them. There were two haunted houses we went in to that I really liked. One was based on Edgar Allen Poe's the Raven. It was well themed and the whole thing really told the story well. The other that I liked was a cemetery in the middle of winter. It was cold and snowy, and spooky. Cemeteries give me the creeps so I had a good time and we weren't crowded by other guests in this haunted house so we were actually startled by many of the actors.
The good: Most of the locals who attend the event are there strictly to get drunk and participate in the Halloween themed activities. This is great for park visitors because some of the rides were open during the event with VERY short lines, so we were able to walk on to many of the rides. The best ride at Universal Studios has to be the Rip, Ride, Rockit Roller Coaster. This was the first coaster my husband had been on for almost 10 years and my first in probably 3 years so it was definitely a thrilling experience for us. Here is a video that someone took with a view from the front of the roller coaster so you get the idea.
Top notch roller coaster. We rode it that night and during our day visit to Universal. My favorite coaster is still the California Screamin' at Disney's California Adventure, but this might be a close second.
Our next day we spent at the Islands of Adventure where we spent most of our day in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I'll come back to this in a moment.
Our third day was spent at Universal Studios during the day. The highlight of this day had to be the $80 we earned for watching a television pilot episode. We earned $40 each for giving our opinion on an upcoming show for NBC. If it ever airs, I'll let you know. It was a great break in our day because it was a little rainy and we were a little tired, and thanks to our time at HHN, we had already seen most of the park. There are plenty of other great rides in this park, but I'll leave them for you to discover.
Islands of Adventure was a really great day, even with my accident prone husband.
The best advice I can give you about visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Get there EARLY! We booked our trip through Universal Orlando's website which gave us early morning access to the WWoHP. You get in an hour before the general public. Plenty of time to take some uncrowded pictures and ride the Forbidden Journey at least twice before the crowds pick up. And trust me, there will be crowds. This place is very popular. As soon as 9am rolled around, you could tell the difference. For most of the day the WW is hard to move around in. The spaces are small and with all of the people, it is very hard to move around. Expect to wait a long time to check out at Honeyduke's sweet shop, to beat this line try to get around to the Zonko's counter for a shorter wait (its the same shop). Here are two photos so you can see the difference between the two areas.
Before 9am:
Around lunch time:
Mmm. Butterbeer. Butterbeer is delicious. The best way to describe it is a butterscotch cream soda with a heavy cream topping. I really prefer the cold version to the frozen version, though many posts I read before our trip recommended the frozen. I tried the frozen first while my husband got the cold. My next two were cold. I wish I had some right now....
The WWoHP has many shops straight out of the books from Hogsmeade Village. We bought a bunch of stuff, but I really wish I had bought more. Especially of the sweets. They were great. I can't wait to open my chocolate frog!
The rides here include a small coaster, the Flight of the Hippogriff, two larger roller coasters which are intertwined, the Dragon Challenge, reminiscent of the challenges which take place in book 4, and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, the coolest ride of all time.
What makes the Forbidden Journey the coolest? It takes you through iconic scenes from the books and uses brand new ride technology to get you there. Its a big blend of many different types of rides and it is all put together seamlessly. Think Haunted Mansion meets Sum of All Thrills meets The Simpsons Ride (formerly Back to the Future). It was amazing. For someone who love Harry Potter as much as I do, it was definitely a highlight of our trip. Plus, you get to tour the inside of Hogwarts Castle as you wait in line (not that we waited in line). Here are some great shots from inside.
The house points
The entryway to Dumbledore's Office
The Pensieve
The rest of Islands of Adventure was very fun as well. There are loads of other things to do. My husband got hurt so we needed to take a bit of a nap break at the first aid station so he could get patched up, but then we were back at it for the rest of the day. The Hulk roller coaster really shook your brain up and lived up to its name, the Spider man ride was fun, and we really wanted to ride the Rip Saw Falls, but it stopped working when we walked up.
Some advice for the Universal Parks:
- If you are there during low-season you may not need 2 full days.
- If you want to see the WWoHP, get there EARLY! Book your tickets through Universal to get even earlier access. Remember each minute the gates are open to the park there are more people in front of you on the rides.
- Be careful of queue ropes. They can be dangerous.
- If you think you need to buy more, you should just do it. It may be a while before you are there again.
- If you aren't big into Haunted Houses, skip Halloween Horror Nights, it isn't worth the extra admission.
- Don't plan on eating in the parks after 4pm! All the eateries start closing up, even the snack stands in all the other sections of the park outside of the Harry Potter zone. You will probably be eating at the Three Broomsticks if you plan on eating later in the day. This baffled me since I can make a reservation in WDW for a restaurant in a park for 8:50 when the park closes at 9. These parks closed at 7pm and everything was closed at 4 to 4:30. This may have been an off season thing.
- When they say they close at 7, they mean it.
I hope this helps you in your planning a trip to Universal Orlando Resort. What do you think? Are you a big fan of Harry Potter? Will you be visiting these parks on your next trip to Orlando? And whatever happened to Nickelodeon Studios?
2 comments:
I really enjoyed reading your blog! Lots of great tips! I can't wait to get back to WWOHP!
Great blog! I love WWofHP too. I love the frozen butterbeer...I will have to try it cold next time, though! Enjoyed reading about your trip! I am looking forward to the next!
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