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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 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
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.
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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
not 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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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. |
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." |
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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. |
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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"
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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. |
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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. |
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.
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. |
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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. |
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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.) |
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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. |
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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. |
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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.
Beetlejuice & The Universal Monsters pose pictures
for like 20 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 & Princess Fiona
The Rugrats
Sponge Bob
Jimmy Neutron
Eliza & Donny from Wild Thornberry's
Beetlejuice & The Universal Monsters
Blues Brothers
Doc Brown
Marilyn Monroe
Barney
Crash Bandicoot
Ricky & Lucy
Zorro & Elena
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