Universal Opinions

[naplesccbob]

Its been years since I have visited Universal. Two adults visiting the last week in January (Hoping for smaller crowds?). Will be visiting both parks

Please share your opinions:

1. Your favorite rides in each of the 2 parks (We are not big thrill ride type of guests) that we should not miss?

2. Your favorite spots for lunch in each of the 2 parks (Counter Service or Sit Down)?

3. Your favorite snacks from each of the 2 parks?

4. Any tips that you'd like to share?

I look forward to your responses.

Thank You

 

[damo]

Check out the food stickies polls for favourite restaurants.

My favourite snacks are the Big Pink Donut, baked potato, butterbeer in any form (warm, cold, frozen, ice cream), one of the many treats in the treat store at IOA.

Favourite rides are Gringotts, Mummy, Men in Black, ET, Hagrids, Forbidden Journey, Cat in the Hat, Kong, Jurassic Park River Adventure, Spiderman.

Even if you don't want to ride some of the rides like Gringotts or Forbidden Journey, make sure you still go through the queues.

 

[f1gm3nt]

I'll chime in here. A lot of this is going to depend on whether or not you are big Harry Potter fans, that's the premiere attractions at both parts.

1. My favorite rides are Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (could be considered thrill) in Islands of Adventure (IOA), and the Mummy (definitely a thrill ride) in Universal Studios Florida (USF). My second favorites are Hagrids (a thrill ride) in IOA and then Hulk (a thrill ride) in IOA. So for me, two of the top rides are Harry Potter rides. For non-thrill rides, I'd say good ones would be the Jimmy Fallon ride, the Cat in the Hat, and Men in Black.

2. Don't forget you can eat in CityWalk, it's really not a big deal to leave either park and re-enter. I'd suggest using Yelp ahead of time, or looking over the menus on Universal's web site.

3. For snacks, I'd suggest butterbeer. The bakeries at Universal aren't look that great.

4. Get a park-to-park ticket so you can ride the Hogwarts Express train, otherwise you won't be let on. An annual pass probably isn't much more expensive than an multi-day ticket with park-to-park, and it comes with discounts, especially on Universal hotels. The single rider lines at Universal are way more useful than at Disney, most rides have them, but you may need to ask the team member up front if they are open. Express pass will make your life so much easier if you can either afford it or stay in a premium Universal hotel. The Fast and Furious ride is terrible. Poseidon's Fury is....something.

 

[schumigirl]

https://www.disboards.com/threads/w...do-including-menus-updated-regularly.2681315/

This is a fabulous sticky......it has all menu‘s for all restaurants whether it the parks, Citywalk and hotels......excellent place to start.

 

[Disxuni]

1. I put mine into three category's - Harry Potter, IoA, Universal - FJ, Spiderman, Mummy. I'd rather narrow it down to my absolute favorite. I'm sure you'll get plenty of suggestions.

2. Your favorite spots for lunch in each of the 2 parks (Counter Service or Sit Down)? The Three Broomsticks in WWoHP, Thunder Falls Terrace in IoA, Springfield Fast Food BLVD in US. As for sit down places, all places are good in both parks. In CW I personally like HRC for it's vibe, atmosphere, and what they offer for food. Also, they have a free tour, so call them if you want details on that if you're interested in rock history.

3. Your favorite snacks from each of the 2 parks? A personal favorite of mine is pumpkin juice, although everyone seems to prefer butterbeer and any of the Harry Potter related snacks, or treats. Other than that no particular snacks stick out to me right now.

4. For advice, not sure if you ever did it before, but I would suggest if you're into the history of horror, into special effects, or just chill / want a laugh with relatively kid friendly, but a little bit of an adult comedy vibe to watch the Horror Make Up Show. I'm sure everyone else will give plenty of advice and have fun!

 

[nb75685]

Favorite Rides - Harry Potter & The Forbidden Journey, Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringott's, Kong Skull Island

Lunch - The Three Broomstick's, Finnegan's

Snacks - Butterbeer in any variety, Lard Lad doughnuts

Tips - Go to shows to break up the day. I enjoyed the Hollywood Horror Make Up shows and Grinchmas a lot. It's nice to find a corner in Mel's and sit down with a milkshake when you need to get away from the hullabaloo for a second.

 

[TommyJK]

My tips are the following (and they go hand in hand).

1. Before you go, study the park maps heavily so you know where everything is. Having your bearings in the parks is invaluable so you will already have an idea at any one time where you are in relation to everything else
2. Use to app as much as you can in terms of seeing ride wait times as you are touring. They can ebb and flow so much throughout the day with a popular ride ranging anywhere from 15 minutes to well over an hour.

With the above 2 in hand, you could be say near one set of attractions that have really high wait times. But then look down at the app and see some others with really low wait times. Knowing where you are, and where everything else is can help you decide to jump over elsewhere to maximize your time in the parks by migrating towards where the waits are the lowest.

 

[MickyLynn]

If you don't love thrill rides but want to do the best ones, I'd say The Mummy for sure. I'm also a big fan of The Simpsons ride, because it is visually so different from other rides of that type.
I haven't been on the newer HP rides, but those two really stuck out over and above the rest last time I went.

 

[smiths02]

I've only been once last April

1. Your favorite rides in each of the 2 parks (We are not big thrill ride type of guests) that we should not miss?
I am also not a big thrill ride person, Mummy at Universal and Space Mountain are kind of my limit (although I might try Hagrid's this time , if I fit)
IOA-Spiderman, Jurassic Park (it does have a drop and you may get wet, but my 6 year old could do it), Forbidden Journey
USF-ET, Mummy, Men In Black, Gringotts

I liked most of the rides, I thought Gringotts and Spiderman were especially good, compared to most theme park rides in general (even Disney)

2. Your favorite spots for lunch in each of the 2 parks (Counter Service or Sit Down)?
Mythos
The Bumblebee taco truck was good in USF, but we also love the Simpsons. The rest of the food in Fast Food Blvd was just okay

3. Your favorite snacks from each of the 2 parks?
IOA-Dr. Seuss cotton candy
USF-Big pink donut
Harry Potter snack-the cauldron cake and Florean Fortescue ice cream (sticky toffee pudding)

4. Any tips that you'd like to share?
Use mobile ordering when you can. We spent the most time waiting in line for food (worse than lines, but we had Express Pass)
Pack light, the free lockers are small
Motion sickness medicine if you think you may be at all impacted