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WHAT TO DO BEFORE
GETTING TO THE PARKS?
I
have been going to Universal since before it official opened
and I have been going back ever since, so I have picked up a
lot of helpful information to help you plan the perfect
vacation.
Lets start with what you should do before
arriving at Universal Orlando, here are a few helpful tips you
should really consider before arriving.
Buy your
tickets in advance, you don't want to waste time at the front
of the park buying tickets, you can buy them online
at Universal's Official Online Ticket
Booth.
Never buy your tickets from Discount Ticket booth or
Discounted Ticket website, they don't work and you would have
blown your money and your vacation will be spoiled. I have had
people share that nightmare on my yahoo group so don't do it.
If you buy your tickets in advance or online check
to see if they have expiration dates or redeeming dates on
them, this would only apply to Annual Passes and Consecutive
Day Passes. So if you are not getting one of those you need
not worry. Again I have people share that nightmare of showing
up at the get with an expired ticket and not being allowed in.
Be sure to check the weather before you go out to
the parks, Florida is not the "Sunshine State" it's the "Rainy
State" so check the weather reports on the local news
channels. It might look beautiful outside and in an hour you
get caught in a severe thunder storm.
If you tend to
burn easily in the sun you might want to put on some sunscreen
before heading out, towards winter time the weather is nice
and the sun is shining bright and since it's in the 60's to
70's you won't feel your skin burning.
If you don't
want to pay Theme Park prices for food you might like to pack
a cooler in you car and fill it with sandwiches, you can
always leave the park and come back if you get your hand
stamped. It might sound stupid but I have seen families eating
lunch in the parking deck from a cooler in their car. You can
bring a backpack with you inside the park with drinks and
snacks so you can do it that way if you want.
Bring
some Ziploc bags with you. Their are plenty of water areas and
water rides at the parks and it would be a safe plan to put
your cameras, wallet, or anything you don't want to get wet in
them.
One of the most common items I seen people
buying at the parks on hot days are those portable misty spray
bottles with the fan. They are rather expensive at the parks
so if you are going on a 90+ Degree day you might stop at a
drug store and pick up a couple. You should be able to buy
about 3 for the price of 1 at Universal.
Bring some
Advil or Alieve with you, if you are not use to loud noises
and thrills of a theme park you'll probably get a headache
fast, plus if you are not use to walking a lot or being on
your feet all day you will start to feel it and nothing is
worse then standing in line with your back or feet hurting and
having a headache that will ruin a vacation really fast.
Money, I would say bring at least $75 in cash with
you, because something's you can't buy with a card you might
want to give some money to the kids for food and drinks if you
part ways. |
PARKING AND GETTING TO
THE PARKS? Two of the most common
questions I am often asked are about parking and getting to
the parks. So I'll answer those questions hear and hopefully
this can help you.
If you are staying around I-Drive
or neat Universal, most of those hotels have free
transportation to the parks.
http://www.yourride.net/ or http://www.golynx.com/ or http://www.mearstransportation.com/ or http://www.iridetrolley.com/ will take you to Universal and are relatively
cheap and fast.
Some people can't decide between
Preferred, VIP & Regular Parking at the parks. So I'll
honestly say Preferred & VIP Parking are a waste of money.
VIP Parking takes you to the final moving sidewalk before you
hit CityWalk. All 3 parking will give you a good walk to the
parks so regular is the way to go if you don't want to waste
money. |
| ONCE AT THE PARKS!
The #1 Tip
is get to the park early, half an hour before it opens that
should be enough time to park, get to the front gate. Once you
get to the gate get a park schedule and start to plan which
shows you want to see and when you want to go and see them.
This will help you plan out your day faster without any
hassle.
Depending when you
go to Universal you may want to hit Universal's most popular
rides first before the crowds build up around 11am. Here are
Universal's most popular attractions in order from most
popular to least popular.
Revenge of The Mummy
Shrek's 4-D
Adventure
Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast
Men In
Black: Alien Attack
Back To The Future... The Ride
Terminator 2: 3-D Battle Across Time
JAWS
E.T.
Adventure
Twister... Ride It Out
Earthquake...The
Big One
That would be the order I would ride them, or
you can spend $20 at for an Express Pass Plus pass to ride all
the rides once without waiting. |
| TIPS FOR RIDING RIDES:
Alright this is
your job, you need to know that you are able to fit on a ride,
you have to know if your kids are tall enough to ride a ride,
you need to know if you can bring a wheelchair onto a ride.
You would think the employee would point these things out to
you before you got on, but most don't want to be the barer of
bad news. I have seen it several times where someone hasn't
tested the "Display" seat out in front of an attraction and
were told they were too big to ride the ride and had to exit
the attraction. I have seen people bring their kids who were
too small on the ride and get all the way to the loading
station to be told the kid is too small and can't ride and
then the parents get really pissed off. So just know what the
restrictions are and all that stuff before riding.
(TIP FOR SEATING)
You can
always request a seat on a ride, where you would like to sit
and usually the employee is nice and will seat you in that
spot. If it is busy, then you can request to sit in a certain
row. I do this all the time on Jaws, I did it for Kong as well
and I did it for Mummy. So all you have to do is ask.
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| The Nickelodeon
Studios: (Only
if your kids want to see it) The Slime Fountain is what
the kids love to see and that erupts every 30 minutes. It's
not on a clock so don't go there at 1:29 and except it to go
at any minute. Slime Time Live does shoot there so if your
kids want to be on T.V. as soon as you get into the park make
a right and go the room straight in front of you call
Production Schedule. You can pick up tickets there if it's
being shot that day. Look at the billboard they have posted
for things being filmed that day.
They hand out 200-300 tickets each day
and they do go fast so do that first thing. Usually they hand
them out near Jimmy Neutron where the entrance to Nickelodeon
is located. |
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Jimmy Neutron: There are no real tips for Jimmy Neutron, the
best thing to do now that it is new is to ride it early. All
odd rows equal front seats, and if you don't want to have to
look over someone's head try and get an odd row. Jimmy Neutron
usually poses for pictures outside the ride, but mostly you'll
find him and Spongebob in the interactive area after the ride.
You can enter through the store if you don't want to ride the
ride. |
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Shrek 4D: GET EXPRESS PASSES 1st THING!!! Shrek has LONG
LINES!!! There are no real tips for Sherk either, just
that you need to get express passes early. They will be out by
12pm. They best seats are in my opinion in the middle of the
center. The back is ok but the closer you are the more you see
and the bigger the screen is. Shrek's Photo Op is inside the
store, so if you miss him when you get off the ride, go back
to the store later because that's where he is.
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Twister...Ride It
Out: There is nothing to tense
about this ride, I do go to Universal a lot and I over hear
people talking about rides and such. Once on MIB a women had
her daughter who was around 8 or 9 and the mother asked me if
I have been on MIB, I said of course so she asked me about
Twister. Her question was "How bad is the ride? and is it too
intense for her do you think?" Well Twister is not a ride, it
is a show much like Beetlejuice. You in a garage type area in
front of you is a complete recreation of the set in Twister
where the tornado hit the Drive-In Movie Theater. The show is
not intense, but does have parts that can scare a child. The
opening is all where from out of the blue you hear a loud
lightning strike. That is all I can think of that will scare a
child. The tornado is not scary but I am not a kid so I don't
know how I would react to seeing it.
"You will get wet in this show, if you stand up front
up against the wall you will not get wet. Also it will get
windy in there so if you have anything loose just secure it or
you might loose it." |
| Revenge of The Mummy:
Since this is a
brand new "Mega-Attraction" which is intended to bring crowds,
Single Rider is the way to go on this ride. It's fast and has
less hassle then Express Pass you'd be lucky to get before
they are given out. There is a draw back to Single Rider
though, you will skip the awesome queue of ride. Sometimes the
Single Rider lane has taken longer then the actual line,
because so many people use it because it is faster it backs
up. So you have to use your best judgment, and determine which
lane appears to be moving faster. Express Pass is something
you need to do at 9AM, because if you wait until noon the
Express Passes will be all out. Another tip, test the ride
vehicle out front of the attraction, if you cannot get the
lapbar down you cannot fit on the ride. To save yourself from
embarrassment you would be wise to do that, because you
shouldn't have to wait 2 hours to get on to be told you are
too big, get off. That ride has incredibly small seats, and
with a growing number of larger people Universal should have
taken that into consideration. I am 6'3" 290lbs and I can fit
on the ride, but just barely so just check out the seat before
you get in line. As far as where to sit, both the left and the
right side have their share of great moments. The left however
is where the most action occurs so the left side would be the
side to sit on. The thrill seekers would love the back which
has the most air time and rougher ride. |
| Earthquake:
This is by far my least
favorite attraction in the park because of the three preshows
you have to wait through before the ride. If you are a first
time rider you will like the show if your like me and have
seen the show hundreds of times you will be bored of it. So if
you want to skip the second and third preshows once you get in
the building make your way straight to the front. Once your
first preshow is over rush through the doors and hurry down to
the end, you can catch the door before it closes. If you do go
through it and hurry to the double doors. The double doors
will be shut to open it look and see if people are still
loading, if so walk in there. That is how I do it. (If you
want to be a part of this show they pick 5 people, 3 stand in
actors, 1 grip, and 1 stuntman. They pick almost anyone with
there hand raised and they will pick kids. If you want to do
this, once you get in stay to the left, in front of the stage.
Why? The host will see you better and you don't have to work
your way though the crowd to get up
there.)
"Sit to the left
side of the tram the
middle section that is the best to sit to
view the action, if you want to get soaked sit in the same
spot only move all the way to the
right" |
| Jaws: If possible if
your getting pictures/video sit to the left of the boat Jaws appears there more. If
you get the 4th row and sit all the way at the left, you will
have the BEST SEAT in the
house. |
| Beetlejuice Graveyard Revue:
There are no
real tips for this show, other then the fact that the front is
really loud so if you don't want to go deaf the back or middle
is where you want to sit. |
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Back To The Future: This ride does toss you around and you
might not be able to handle it, so you need to read the
warnings posted out in front of the ride. The BEST SEAT
is the front row, that is the way to ride this ride. (If
you ask, try to get row 4 or 5 they will get you the middle of
the IMAX Screen. 3rd Level is the best place to seat but it's
rarely open off season.) I do need to caution anyone over
6' Feet Tall, sit in the back at your own risk. I have been
injured twice in the back, I was lucky but you might not be so
don't sit back there. If you don't get a front seat request to
wait back in the waiting room for the next ride. Also should
you get motion sick, if you look out of the car at the other
DeLorean's or close your eyes you'll be ok.
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Men In Black:
Any seat is a good seat on this ride. The only real tips you
need to know is how to get a 999,999 point score. If you
follow these tips if you will get a really high score. Usually
you need to try more then once to get the tips to work for
you. You will get at least 100,000 point score even if you
don't do anything.
To get a 999,999 point score follow these tips if you
follow them you will get a really high score. Usually you need
to try more then once to get the tips to work for you. You
will get at least 100,000 point score even if you dont do
anything. I have won the game and if you follow my tips you
can as well.
1. Keep your finger on the trigger (DO NOT LET GO OF
THE TRIGGER)
2. Aim for the Aliens in the windows your laser turns
into a cone so you have a better shot at hitting
them.
3. Shoot the same aliens over and over your
points DOUBLE 10, 20, 40, 80,
160.
4. The Fusion
Exhaust Port will give you some high points so hit that (BUT
ONLY AFTER THE ALIEN SCANNER) Hitting it before you are
scanned will get you nothing.
5. As soon as you see the "BIG BUG" push and
hold the little red button under your gun holster and you will
receive a 100,000 Point
Bonus. |
| E.T. Adventure:
If Possible
get a front seat, on the left side. The left is the best
because you can see the town and E.T.'s home planet better.
|
| Animal Planet Live: This is a cute animal show as the name
suggests. I would recommend it highly for the little ones you
have in your party. If you are lucky from time to time they
bring out some of the animals out front near E.T. for people
to get pictures with and pet. It's not a common thing to they
do it's rare when they do, so just keep a look out for them.
(Shows usually 1:00-3:00
22 Minutes Long.) |
| Curious George Goes To
Town: Even
though it is a kids area I have seen many adults without kids
playing here. On a HOT day this area will get really busy
really fast. This will definitely be a stop your kids will want to make, and a good spot to
sit down and relax while your kids run around and have fun.
TIP: If you are in that middle of the play area and you
hear a bell ringing that means if you don't want to be soaked
by 500 Gallons of water you need to move out from the
center. |
| Fievel's Playland:
Another water
area, home to a Water Slide & Rollercoaster both themed
for kids. Adults can ride the Woody Woodpecker Nuthouse
Coaster and The Fievel Playland Slide. |
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The Horror Make Up Show: There is nothing too intense
for kids, its actually a funny show. (If you want to be part of the show, sit in the
front seat, in the middle.) The host will ask for a
volunteer and they usually pick a girlfriend, wife, mother,
it's always a women with someone. They always pick a women in
the front row middle section. You get a free picture too if
you are picked!!! |
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Terminator 2: 3-D Battle Across
Time: (Expect a
long wait & to be standing for up to 40 minutes) The best
spot to sit is around the 12th row from the front. You can see
the live action well and the movie better. I always sit there
and the 3-D movie is better there then in the back and try to
sit in the middle. You can do that by just letting a crowd
fill it up and getting in there when the left side is full to
the middle. |
CHARACTERS AND AUTOGRAPH
SESSIONS: Universal has several characters around the park that
pose for pictures and sign autographs, so you need to check
your "Attraction & Show Times" schedule for Character
Locations and Times. So you know when and where to meet them.
Some will just be out and about strolling the park.
The Blues Brothers hang on the corner of the street
they perform on for about 5 minutes before the scheduled
performance so you can get pictures with them before the show.
The Ghostbusters pose for pictures with Beetlejuice
for 5 to 10 minutes after the show and sign autographs.
Other then them the "Attraction & Show Times"
schedule will inform you on who and where to meet the rest of
the Universal Characters.
Here is a current list of
characters you can see at Universal Studios.
Shaggy & Scooby
Curious George & Man in the Yellow Hat
Woody &
Winnie Woodpecker
Sherk, Lord Farquad & Princess
Fiona
The Rugrats
Sponge Bob
Jimmy Neutron
Eliza
& Donny from Wild Thornberry's
Popeye & Olive
Oyl
Fred and Wilma Flintstone
The
Ghostbusters
Beetlejuice
Blues Brothers
Barney
Crash Bandicoot
Ricky & Lucy
Imhotep & Anck
Su
Namun |
