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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.
In most case you can buy them online and print them
from your printer. You can also have them mailed
to you. Either way it allows you the headache of
waiting in line to buy them when you arrive at the
park on a crowded day.
• 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. There
are temporary lockers at most of the wet attractions
but its still a safe thing to have with you.
• 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 credit card you might want to give some money
to the kids for food and drinks if you part ways.
You can obviously bring more, but flash wads of
cash in Orlando or theme parks is a real big mistake
and if the wrong people see you with tons of cash
you'll probably followed to your hotel and robbed.
This has happened in the past, not connected to
theme parks but on I-Drive Orlando's busiest tourism
area where people have been kidnapped and robbed
because they were spotted with wads of cash. So
I am trying to warn you against carrying a lot of
money with you.
• Camera Equipment I don't really need to explain
the logic behind that. |
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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. |
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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 Islands of Adventure you
may want to hit Islands of Adventure's most popular
rides first before the crowds build up around 11am.
Here are Islands of Adventure's most popular attractions
in order from most popular to least popular.
• The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man
• Incredible Hulk Coaster
• Doctor Doom’s Fearfall
• Dueling Dragons
• Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls
• Popeye and Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges
• Jurassic Park River Adventure
• The Cat in the Hat
• One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
• Caro-Seuss-el
• Storm Force Accelatron
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.
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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 Amazing Adventures
of Spider-Man-
This
is the most popular ride in the entire park, this
is the 1st ride you should ride. *The best seat
is the front, as far as having the best view.
The back is the best if you want a bumpy ride. I
am surprised how bumpy the back is and how tame
the front is.* Spider-Man has Single Rider Lanes
so if you are alone or don't mind splitting up your
family you can use that to shorten your wait dramatically.
TIP: If you become
motion sick, you may want to close your eyes or
look at the ceiling or props and not at the screens.
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The Incredible Hulk
Rollercoaster-
The hulk has temp lockers for storage, before you
ride you should put you belongs in there. So you
don't loose them on the ride. Check the net above
the bridge entering the Island, those shoes, or
hat, or glasses could be yours so put them in a
locker its free. |
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Doctor Doom’s Fear
Fall-
There are no real tips
for this, unless you want to see Universal next
door or downtown Orlando you would sit on the right
side of the lift. The Front face the park, the left
faces Toon Lagoon and Dr. Philips High School.
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Dudley
Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls-
A very popular ride in Islands of Adventure, toward
the afternoon when it gets hot that line will be
PACKED. Therefore, before noontime you should
ride it or just before closing time ride it. Towards
closing people, do not go on it because they do
not want to be soaked while they are driving home.
You might want to get a front seat because the middle
and back are not too comfortable plus you don't
have to look over someone's head to see what is
coming next. |
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Popeye
& Bluto’s Bilage Rat Barges-
This
is the “WETTEST” ride in the park. Therefore,
a good tip is to leave your wallet, cameras, and
anything that will be ruined by water with family
or friend you are with. They have pouches on the
raft to store things in but to be on the safe side
I would bring a ziploc bag for extra protection.
The rafts spin so if you see someone get off the
ride with just splashes and you take his seat, guess
what you are not going to be as lucky. They don't
follow a track, the water spins you so it's never
the same ride twice. |
River
Adventure-
The most common questions I hear people ask the
employee outside the ride are “How long is the drop?
How bad is it? and Can my son ride it?” I
will answer them for you here. It is an 85-Foot
Drop at a 61 Degree Angle. It really feels like
a free fall, but the feeling lasts 2 seconds it
is over that fast. If your son is tall enough 42
Inches is the height requirement.
*If you want to get great video or pictures the
best place to sit is the front middle seat*
*Bring a Zip Lock bag with you to keep your camera
in when you go down the drop*
*If you don’t want to get soaked, wear a poncho
or sit in the very back* |
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Camp
Jurassic-
This is a really well themed kid’s area, I really
find it fascinating, there are so many surprises
that you never know what is around the corner. I
just recently found out these dinosaur footprints,
if you step on them, they make dinosaur sounds in
the woods. There are caves, slides, water guns,
waterfalls, and it is really a cool place. Your
kids will love it, so expect to be here for awhile. |
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Pteranodon
Flyers-
There part of Camp Jurassic and there not for adults,
unless you are with a child 46 inches or under.
If you get into the park early before the crowds
get in, they are usually nice and let adults on,
as goes for off season times as well. However this
has never worked for me, but I have seen several
adults get on. |
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Dueling Dragons-
Fire & Ice are the 2 coasters what is the
difference between the 2? Most prefer Fire
as the better of the 2.
Here
are the differences between these two coasters
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FIRE:
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ICE:
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Drop
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Drop
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Immelman
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Inclined helix
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Camelback
Hill
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Zero-G Roll
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Spiro-loop/Immelman-Helix
Combo
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Cobra Roll
(2 Inversions)
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Vertical Loop
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Vertical Loop
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180-Degree
Left-Hand Turn
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180-Degree
Right-Hand Turn
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Flatspin
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Flatspin
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S-Curve
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S-Curve
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Flatspin
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Turn Into
Brakes
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180-Degree
Left-Hand Turn
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Brakes
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Brakes
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The
Flying Unicorn-
This
is a kids coaster and a pretty nice one too, it’s
better then Universal’s Woody Woodpecker’s Nuthouse
Coaster, which in itself is ok too. Adults who are
afraid of the bigger coasters can ride this coaster
as well. Top Speed is 22MPH so hold on tight. |
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The
Eight Voyage of Sinbad-
If you want to be part of the show sit in the front
row to the left of the boat in the small bench and
if you are video taping or taking picture Kabob
will take your camera and take a picture or video
of the crowd then one of himself. He did that with
my camera on 10.3.02 while I was there. I thought
it was pretty funny. |
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Poseidon’s
Fury-
If you want to have the best spot to view the Chamber
of Secrets once you get in to the first chamber,
head to the wall on the left. You will see a slit
in the wall that is where you want to go. Once the
door opens head to the left to the railway there
head all the way down. Then as that show is coming
to an end the vortex wall will open head through
it head all the way to the front middle and you
will have a great view of the final act. |
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The
Cat in The Hat-
This is a cool ride for Adult as well as kids. I
really liked it, it is pretty fun. You sit in this
little couch and you ride through the book. I recommend
everyone to ride it. The couches do spin and can
create some good G-Force, if you don't want the
couch to spin you can request to the attendant to
turn it off. |
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Islands of Adventures 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.
Here is a list of Islands of Adventures current
characters.
Rocky & Bullwinkle
Woody & Winnie Woodpecker
Storm
Rouge
Wolverine
Captain America
Spider-Man
Kabob & Sinbad-
(Sinbad Performers)
The Princess & Queen with Villains-
(Sinbad Performers)
Cat in The Hat
Thing 1 & 2
The Grinch (Chartoon Version)
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