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Universal Orlando Newsflash!

Hedy — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 05:06:30 +0000

Universal Orlando recently made some really cool announcements…that had nothing to do with Harry Potter (which ought to be an accomplishment in and of itself, if you ask me. Blue Man Group is getting an improved show. For whatever it’s worth, I saw the GIpads in the show in Boston and they were really cool. If you get a chance to see Blue Man Group (even if it’s not in Orlando), I highly recommend it. I had been saying for years that I needed to see the one in Boston, and I finally saw it last Summer-it was great.

A lot of the updates seem to be plussing: for example, The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman (AKA the best ride in Orlando) will be in HD and have a hidden Stan Lee, and the pathetic nighttime show will be redone as “Universal’s Cinematic Spectacular: 100 Years of Movie Memories” with Morgan Freeman.

As you know, Jimmy Neutron will be going away and replaced with a Despicable Me Minion Mayhem attraction. And ladies visiting the Orlando area are grateful that their girls will never have to do the Chicken Dance again.

Universal has clearly not given up on trying to be Disney: they are opening a mini-golf course and adding to their waterpark. Hollywood Drive-In Golf will be a 36 hole golf course that will be located at Citywalk. Wet and Wild will be adding a sandcastle area.

What’s your favorite bit of news? Let me know in a comment, Twitter , Facebook, or Google Plus. Come get pinned with me on Pinterest. Find and book Orlando tours and activities on Viator.com. Book ahead to save time and money!

Wordless Wednesday: January 2, 2012

Hedy — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 01:52:36 +0000

Amity sign at Universal Studios, August 2009. Now a piece of Theme Park history

For this week, I have a reminder of what was: Here’s what Amity looks like today.

WDW vs. Universal: Jaws vs. Jungle Cruise-Updated 12/2.11

Hedy — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 05:38:48 +0000

For this week’s comparison, we are going on a boat ride. The captain narrates the tour, and it’s kind of dated0eeling. It was an opening day attraction.

I’m talking about Jaws at Universal Orlando. Much like the Jungle Cruise, while I find the ride itself pretty dull, the theming around it is pretty cool. See the sign over to the left? That’s from “Amity” at Universal Orlando. It is a dead ringer for the signs on Martha’s Vineyard, where Jaws takes place.

The premise of the ride is that you are taking tour of Amity after the Jaws incidents. You have a tour guide. Ever think that a skipper or safari guide was a little dull? I swear, Universal Team Members are on the verge of falling asleep. Or maybe they’re just failed actors? The effects in Jaws are cheesy, dated, and pretty pathetic.

Update: The cheesy, dated, and pathetic Jaws will roar no more after January 2, 2012 (1/2/12-kind of a cool date). Universal is closing it (and the Amity area) to make way for a new attraction. I’m kind of sorry to see it go-Amity always made me homesick for Martha’s Vineyard, and my dad loved Jaws. But Universal’s new rides (The Mummy, The Simpsons) have been pretty awesome.

That is one thing which Universal does that Disney does not to as much-completely kill not just rides, but whole areas of the park.

Friday Favorites: The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman!

Hedy — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 19:36:37 +0000

So, I am raising my Universal for WDW fans series from the dead, mainly because two of my favorite WDW fans will be going there in August. Anyway, today I will be talking about the best ride, not just in Universal, but in all of Orlando. Yes, I said it, and I’ll say it again.

The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman, at Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure, is the best ride in Orlando. I’m not a superheroes fan at all; I did see all Spiderman movies, but I really don’t know much beyond Peter Parker got bit by a Spider and is trying to woo Kirsten Dunst. The “plot” of the ride is that you are a reporter working for Jonah Jameson and you put on your night vision goggles (3-D glasses) and head off. The ride begins with Spiderman jumping on your vehicle. I won’t spoil it to much, but imagine a classic dark ride. That classic dark ride includes a motion simulator. That ride also has video in 3-D. The 3-D also breaks the fourth wall, and includes hot fire and wet water. It’s awesome.

I cannot think of a ride at Disney that even approximates this experience. Not to put out the Spider signal for Captain Obvious, but this ride is located on Marvel Super Hero Island. You know, Marvel, the company owned by the folks down the street. Because of this, I was minorly concerned as to the fate of the ride. However, Universal recently announced that the ride will be reanimated in 2012, which I think means it will be sticking around for a while.

Have you ridden this ride? Are you filled with disgust at the thought of entering a Universal Park? Let me know in a comment, on Twitter or Facebook!

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Wizarding World of Harry Potter TR-Sunday Night

Hedy — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 22:44:15 +0000

I woke up at 1:00pm. Unless I wanted to head back out in the epic rain, I had to eat at Islands Dining Room. My cheese was meh, service was slow, but it’s amazing how much can be fixed by offering me a to go cup of cokewithnoice please. I wandered up to the lobby. I was off to DTD the next day, and I had this half-baked idea that if I took the shuttle to Seaworld, I could save on cab fare. However, the shuttle left after the outlets opened. Since clearly, getting to the outlets later than opening wouldn’t work, I opted to just take a cab. As I had dinner at Tchoup Tchoup that night, I opted for an afternoon in my hotel room. I got gussied up, and headed down to Tchoup Chop.
I was early for my reservation, which kind of made me there before it opened. I took the time to acquaint myself with the discount cocktail menu. I was seated. The restaurant was empty. I’m SO glad they require you to call to confirm you are coming. I decided on the Edamame and the tofu. I ordered, and I also ordered one of the island drinks. I noticed everyone else around me had a silver thing of what I thought was bread. I asked my waiter-they were shrimp chips (and I didn’t get one since I had told Opentable I was a vegetarian), last year I got won tons chips. Both my dishes were really good. For dessert I had Guava & Sweet Cream Cheese Dumplings with Mango and Lilikoi Dipping Sauce. Oh Em Gee. I would love to have a serving of these now. I headed back up to my room. The next day I was heading off to the lovely DTD.

Harry Potter trip report-Sunday morning…

Hedy — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 00:12:55 +0000

My alarm went off. I dressed myself in my “Muggle” shirt. I went down to the Orchid Court lounge and grabbed a cinnamon bun-it was good. I headed onto the walk to Citywalk, which was empty as all get out. I was meeting M at 7:15, so I waited in a chair at Margaritaville. She was right on time, so we entered by 7:30 and headed off to the WWoHP. We decided to give Ollivander’s a shot. As it was so early, we were the second group in. The young girl next to me (I’d say she looked middle school aged) was picked. It was really cool-Ollivander was great, but I wouldn’t wait too long for it. We went into the wand store, which was packed. If you are looking for a wand, I’d recommend checking out Ollivander’s express by Hogwarts.
From here, we headed into the FJ queue. The queue is awesome-the moving paintings, the 3-D core three, etc. Then we got to the test seats. Ok, warning-I’m going to be describing my body type-consider yourself warned. I’m a 40C, and a size 20 pant at Torrid, Old Navy plus, and Faith 21. Shirtwise, I prefer 2x but can make XL’s at the Gap/NY & Co work. I got three clicks!
I was thrilled. I popped my camera in the tiny holder, and we were off. The FJ was cool, but honestly felt like a different form of Spiderman. We headed into the gift shop. I picked up a Luna love good shirt. I was shopping for a birthday present for Ferdie, but the gift shops were so packed (at 8am, nonetheless) that I could barely think. We stopped by Ollivander’s Express, but I wasn’t wowed by Ferdie’s birthday wand.
We headed onto Flight of the Hippogrifff. Pros-awesome views, cool details (Buckbeak is currently the lock screen on my phone). However, it’s really the same as it was when it was flight of the Unicorn. We went into the Owl Post store-the luggage tags I’d wanted to get my sister and her SO were out of stock, so I ended up getting them quill pens and parchment. I also got Mordie, Ferdie, and Sharpay postcards with the Hogsmeade postmark (actually-I got Ferdie two-one I sent to him, the other I used as his birthday card.) M picked up a Hufflepuff robe and backsack. We decided to do Spiderman next, but it was down. We headed over to Universal Studios. The plan had been to go ride RRR, but it was down. I suggested we head over to the Simpsons and MIB. We were just past T-2 3-D when the skies opened up. We waited. It continues to rain. I finally decided to call it and head back to the resort. I took a pedicab back, and went up to my room. I debated what to do for

Wizarding World of Harry Potter Trip Report-Saturday Afternoon

Hedy — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 21:07:51 +0000

My dinner decision was based in a very logical, responsible choice: Bob Marley’s was celebrating Jamacian independence day. In my handy Citywalk party pass brochure, it indicated that this included $4 Bacardi drinks. I boarded the Water taxi. There was kind of a wait-your on-site hotel key pushes you up in line. I headed over to the bar, where I got a coke and Peach Bacardi. It was good. My table was ready. I ordered the veggie patties. They were good, there was a live Reggae band and people on stilts. I left right before things got really hectic.
So for whatever it’s worth, I was so over Citywalk last year, yet I loved it this year. Anyway, I treked over to IOA. I headed through Seuss Landing to WWoHP. I gotta admit, despite reading multiple TR’s and seeing photos, Hogsmeade took my breath away. It really was like walking into a scene from the movies. I had a mission-I wanted to see if I fit into the Forbidden Journey test seat. I went up. A very nice little Britsh team member pushed and pushed, but I did not fit.
I headed onto Dueling Dragon Challenge. I stored my bag in the locker, and headed through the queue. Holy revisionist history. Potter, Krum and Delacour were all mentioned, but there was no sign of Cedric Diggory. Um, what? I have heard that there is now a Cedric Diggory banner there. I wussed out of actually riding it, and got many confused looks as I used the chicken exit. Whatever.
I got in line for Butterbeer. The cold was very good-like cream soda on steriods, I also picked up a pear cider in a bottle, which was good. I went into the Owl Post area. Possibly the biggest WWoHP tip I can give is to do your souvenir shopping at the airport-the Hogsmeade stores are zoos. I loved the house merchandise-Ravenclaw represent. (It’s not that we’re smarter than you, except it totally is. LOL.)
I popped into to visit Moaning Myrtle, which is the coolest part of WWoHP in my book, and headed home. Quick funny story-the class dean my first year of college was named Tom Rydell. He began with “My name is not Tom Riddle, and this is not Hogwarts.“ I would be seeing Harry again at early o’clock the next morning.

Universal Orlando Trip report Day 2

Hedy — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 23:10:19 +0000

I woke up early, and headed to ride the Mummy. Even with my earplugs in, it’s a little loud for me. I then had my fortune told by someone in the New York area. I then headed onto the Horror Makeup Show, which was great as always. I was hungry-I quickly learned that 10am-ish there is really not anything open for food at Universal. I headed onto Shrek. It was cool. However, I think that Universa needs to a)be playing some of the Shrek the Musical soundtrack, and b)be cashing in on the fact that they produce both Wicked and Billy Elliot on Broadway. But I’m no businesswoman.
I headed over to drool at the new Veras at Fresh Produce. I had lunch at Pastamore’s counter service, it was meh. I had lost an earring at the Hyatt, so I wanted to stop being a unicorn. I hopped over to the RPR to grab a cab. I was not terribly impressed with the Disney Outlet at the Prime Outlets-I was hoping for more Christmas merchandise than there was. However, I was able to pick up a pirate princess knife and eye patch for $.50 each (for whatever it’s worth, I later saw the knife at Mickey’s Mart in Downtown Disney on the 4/$10 wall). I also got a pirate princess keychain. Some stuff was stuff they had last year-plastic ID bracelets, Pooh ID bracelets, and Tinkerbell personalized earrings. I bought all three items last year-the Pooh bracelet is freakishly big-it was falling off my wrist. I also saw the Tinkerbell earrings at the World of Disney on sale. I stopped in the Victoria’s Secret outlet-I didn’t get anything, but I was much more impressed with the setup this year than last. The entire store is laid out by size. They had panties for 5 for $10, and padded bras 2 for $20. For what it’s worth, my bra size is a little hard to find, and they had a decent selection. I also stopped in Forever 21, which was utterly trashed.
I headed headed back to the RPR. What was my plan for dinner?

Beta-potter

Hedy — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 12:47:42 +0000

This post is part of the Disney Blog
Carnival. Go check it out! Based upon the awesome Betamouse Podcast, I thought I’d discuss the techier side of Universal Orlando. Universal Orlando recently took down their mobile site, so I found that the Android App Ridehopper to be my only option. I’ll review RideHopper more in a later post, but I found it pretty meh. Henry from Betamouse had said he wasn’t impressed with it, but as he isn’t exactly a neutral source, I wanted to try it for myself. I paid for the paid version, which had what was probably my favorite feature: park hours, whenever I needed to find out Universal Orlando or Islands of Adventure I could just fire up the Android Futurebox and find them out. The wait times app was a mixed bag-while it did ok on general crowd info, I would often findthat wait times were off by a good 15-20 minutes.

This was my first trip with a future box. I studied up on the Betamouse Episode on bringing your Smartphone in the parks. I set up one of my HTC Sense home screens to be switches to allow me to turn airplane mode, mobile internet, and gps on and off with a touch. I turned airplane mode on when I went on a dark ride, especially if it meant I was storing my bag in a locker. I also reduced my screen’s brightness. I picked up the Duracell Instant Power Charger for USB Compatible Devices, which was a nice external power source that fit easily in my park bag.

I found that the Royal Pacific felt much more tech savvy that the on-site Disney resorts. While in-room internet connectivity does cost an arm and a leg, RPR had wifi as well as corded Internet access. Also, RPR and Portofino Bay have free wifi in their lobbies, and plenty of plugs to charge your electronics. There is even lounge area with cards encouraging you to stay and surf in the Internet at RPR. Also, my hotel bill was e-mailed to me automatically after check out. Finding outlets in my hotel room was do-able but not great-I really wish all hotels would switch to having the lamps with plugs on them or other easily accessible outlets.

The big techy thing that was anticipated in my trip was the tech in Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Truth be told, it’s a great ride, but I honestly wouldn’t claim it to be a game-changer. In the queue, they have Harry, Ron and Hermione talking to you in Musion Eyeliner technology. Musion Eyeliner is seriously cool technology-it really and truly looks like they are there in 3-D. However, outside of that, the technology did not seem much more complicated than in the Amazing Adventures of Spiderman-the blending of video and audio anamatronics is cool, but not new.

Wizarding World of Harry Potter etc.: win, fail or meh

Hedy — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 13:37:14 +0000

Woohoo! I am home from my Wizarding World of Harry Potter trip! I have a bunch of posts to come up, but I figure I’d start things off by taking a page from Betamouse’s book and play “win, fail or meh.”

Win:

Wizarding World: The theming of this area is beyond reproach. The touch of Moaning Myrtle in the bathrooms is awesome. Butterbeer is awesome-I prefer the frozen-imagine drinking a frozen Walker’s shortbread cookie.

Royal Pacific Resort (RPR): Service was great, and you can’t beat the location. I really did not miss club level, except for one day when rains created a resort day for me. I stayed in Tower 2, which is the pet-friendly tower. However, I neither saw any pets nor heard any barking. Also, despite being a convention hotel, there was not the drunk business people element there was at the Dolphin.

Dtd: Once again, my time at dtd was among my favorite. There’s just something about being there that gives me the warm fuzzies in a way that Universal Orlando doesn’t.

Tchoup chop: I had a delicious dinner there, and a great lunch as well. However, they offer shrimp chips as your bread course, so beware if you don’t eat shellfish.

Citywalk: Yes, despite being underwhelmed there previously, I had two enjoyable times and meals there.

Fail:

Dragon Challenge: it’s themed to the Tri-wizard Tournament in Goblet of Fire. However, it is themed for Fleur, Krum, and Harry Potter. Yeah. A little bird told me that a Cedric Diggory banner will be going up soon, but still. Cedric’s death is such a big part of everyone realizing that Voldemort is back that it seemed kind of crucial to me.

Islands Dining Room: I had a mediocre, over-priced cheese plate.

Forbidden Journey test seats: As those of you who follow me on Twitter know, I tried the test seat outside the ride and did not fit. However, I fit on the ride.

Meh:

Taxis: true to form, I took a few cabs about Orlando. There were a couple of great cabs; however, I also had a few mediocre cab rides. The lesser issue was a driver who stayed in the slow lane on I-drive. The worse one involved a driver going the wrong way, then playing the “I’ll give you a discount if you pay in cash.” card. When I said I was going to report him, he said he would “get in trouble.” A few well placed calls later, and I had gotten my rate reduced after speaking with his manager.