8.18.13 Riding all the rides

We got up early to take advantage of the early entry for hotel guests. We headed straight back to Harry Potter. I had illusions that I would go on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Ha! Ha! I was so nervous I barely made it through the line. I chickened out at the last minute. Waiting in the line is worth it though. It is rrally incredible what they have done! Glenn said the ride was fantastic!!

We headed over to ride Spiderman two more times. Then Glenn rode The Hulk. His quote when he got off: "You don't realize how many times it goes upside down." After that we had ridden all the rides and seen all the shows at Islands of Adventure so we went back to Universal Studios. Glenn finally got to ride Rip Ride Rockit roller coaster. He said it was good.  It starts by climbing straight up and then drops you.

We grabbed a snack - a turkey leg for Glenn and a korean beef taco from Bumblebee Man's tacos. It was really good. We decided to go hunt some aliens on Men In Black. You shoot aliens and rack up points but there is A LOT of spinning. We got a Squishee and a Buzz Cola to rehydrate after all that shooting. Then we went over to Disaster! It is a fun tour similar to the Backlot Tour at Disney Hollywood Studios. With that ride, we had done almost everything and decided to call it a weekend.

Glenn: I liked the parks a lot. I thought it was well run and the people are friendly. The express passes are a huge benefit. The food overall was just okay. The pizza and rotiessiere chicken were good. The meal plan is not necessarily a real deal. Favorite rides: Spiderman, Simpsons Krustyland and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. I thought the Shrek movie was clumsy and the moving chairs weren't used to their full potential. Men in Black was fun, but the guns weren't accurate.

Angie: I was impressed with how friendly and helpful the employees were. I was also really impressed with the Harry Potter world and the Simpsons area. Disney really doesn't have anything like that where a particular place is completely recreated down to the smallest detail. Even the napkins in the Simpsons land said Welcome to Springfield USA. My favorite ride was SpiderMan. I thought it was just awesome. I was also impressed with the Fury of the Poseidan as a walk through special effects attraction. The hotel was fantastic. The unlimited Express pass makes for a fantastic experience. Because Universal is smaller, I really like that you can walk to everything an an here there so many options for dining out side of the park. We will be back.

8.17.13 Islands of Adventure

We started the day at Islands of Adventure. Like all visitors, we lg World. Even though I have not read the books, the World is impressive. The attention to detail is exceptional. Glenn rode the Flight of the Hippogriff and Dragon Challenge. And we had to sample the butterbeer.

We continued to make our way through the park. Glenn rode the Jurassic Park River Adventure. It is a flume ride through Jurassic Park after the dinosaurs have taken over. He got a little wet which was a nice cool down. Then we had a lot of fun taking pictures in Toon Lagoon plus a fun ride down the rapids on Popeye and Bluto's Blige Rat Barges. We got soaked! We headed to Seuss Landing to ride some Angie friendly rides and dry off. 

The caro-Seuss-el, Cat in the Hat, and trolley train ride were fun. We grabbed some lunch and went to see the Sindbad stunt show. The show was heavy on hand to hand combat. We like the Indiana Jones show at Disney Hollywood Studios much better. We took a walk through the special event show Poseidan of Fury. That show was very good. We both had a "Wow!" Moment so that is a win. 

We headed back to Marvel Super Hero Island to try the Amazing Adventures of Spider Man. That is an awesome ride!!! You are on a track and move through a series of 3D IMAX screens. It was fantastic! 

We said goodbye to Islands of Adventure and went back to Universal Studios. We found a secret entrance behind the Hard Rock Cafe so we had a shorter walk and no line. First stop was Despicable Me Minion Mayhem. This is another simulation with a 3D movie except this time we were in a large theater. It was very cute and fun. Keeping on the 3D Trend, we went to Shrek 4D. It was a fun 3D movie and the seats move. We took a snack break and then hopped on Transformers 3D. It is very similar to Spiderman. Very cool, but we both liked Spiderman better. We walked over to ET. Still a fun classic. 

I took a Guinness break at the Irish Pub while Glenn rode the Mummy. He said it was really fun. The ceiling catches on fire right above your head! Then we headed back to the Simpsons to drink some Duff beer.  It was very good. We also has to try the Flaming Moe. It was so fun and a tasty orange soda. We walked back over to Islands of Adventure for dinner and then returned to our bar stools to view the night time show. The show features film clips from 100 years of movies plus lights, fountains, lasers, and firworks. It is pretty good. We think the Disney shows are better. Overall - a fantastic day!