9am being hauled vertically with Abba's Waterloo blaring in your ears as the Rip Ride Rockit tips you over the top is a great way to blow the cobwebs out first thing in the morning, so good you have to do it again before escaping from Gringots and the Mummy all inside the first hour in the park. This was followed up with a trip round New York with Jimmy Fallon, then another visit to the Rip Ride with the rest of the party and a second encounter with Imhotep. The main benefit of the rest of the party turning up was they were able to look after the bags for us rather than having to use the lockers which at $3 a ride to store the rucksack was starting to get pricey. After watching the Blues Brothers show and a spot of lunch we headed to MIB which is one to avoid if you have motion sickness and then the Simpsons ride which is another queeze inducing one. It was at this point and being furthest from the gates that a massive storm hit and the roadways turned into rivers with ponchos being sought from every retailer and the restaurants filling up with park guests trying to stay dry. With no respite in sight we braved the rain and made it back to the main entrance soaked through where the smarter members of the group were able to change into dry gear. Why there is no covered walkways I can't quite fathom but its warm rain as opposed to dreary rain you get in the Uk.

We travelled to Orlando from Ireland and visited the 3 Universal theme parks in October with our three children two 16yos and a 12 yo. Our son who has autism, an intellectual disability and is non-verbal struggles with queuing so we qualified for Universal's GAP pass. This essentially allows you to use the express lane at each ride. This in itself was really helpful but we found some rides still had longish waiting times in the Express lanes (which is not always obvious when you start queuing). Whilst at Universal Studios, we went on a ride which had a longer than expected express lane queue and our son got very agitated and distressed at the length of time he had to queue in a fairly enclosed space. When we went to the next attraction we told the staff member at the entrance of the experience at the previous ride which had been very difficult to manage and had blighted the experience for all the family. The staff member was extremely helpful and understanding and took us to a different entrance to the ride so that we didn't have to queue as long. We were then able to make the same request at any of the other particularly busy rides and the staff always looked after us. I cannot tell you how much easier this made our visit which could have otherwise been very stressful for our son and our family. This assistance was also available at the other two parks Islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay which we visited and thoroughly enjoyed. I would like to congratulate Universal for providing not only the attraction assistance pass but for the training of their staff to understand and recognise needs of families with special needs children. This made such a difference to our holiday and it has been one of the most enjoyable vacations we have ever had as a family together. Well done Universal!

we went late mid October /November and found the parks extremely busy when they are usually quiet . there were too many construction walls up in both parks and some always seem to need work done on them . usually very good it is in my opinion better value than Disney .i try new rides each time i go and do enjoy the mummy which is my current favourite. universal are constantly changing and am happy for this to continue .

Angefangen bei der Einfahrt zum Parkplatz und dem riesigen Parkhaus wird einem erstmal die Dimension der Parks bewusst. Erstaunlicherweise verläuft es sich dann in den Parks ganz gut und wir hatten auch Glück und es war wenig los, sodass wir nie länger als 20 Minuten in der normalen Schlange warten mussten. Parken kostet happige 32 Dollar. Wer nach der Öffnung des Kinos ankommt, kann sich zwei Matinee-Tickets für etwas über 20 Dollar kaufen und bekommt dafür das Parkticket erstattet. Bei uns hatte das Kino noch nicht auf, deshalb haben wir nicht extra gewartet. Wir waren nur in den Universal Studios, weil wir nur einen Tag Zeit hatten und der Tipp, einen Park pro Tag, wenn man keinen Stress haben will, echt Sinn macht. Grundsätzlich macht es Sinn, sich vorab mit den Attraktionen zu beschäftigen und die App zu nutzen. Der Park ist tatsächlich nicht sehr gut ausgeschildert bzw. ist schlecht beschrieben, ob es sich um Achterbahn, 4D-Coaster oder einfach nur ein Erlebnis wie Ollivander beispielsweise handelt. Von der Aufmachung des Parks waren wir echt begeistert. Super detailreich und gut gemacht, schön anzuschauen, wenn auch natürlich fraglich ist, ob es gar so viel kosten muss. Aber wenn man sich etwas für die dargestellten Filme und Geschichten begeistern kann, lohnt es sich wirklich. Zum Thema Rucksäcke: es gibt kleine Schließfächer, die während der Fahrt nichts kosten und danach 3 Dollar pro 30 Minuten, und große Schließfächer, die von Anfang an etwas kosten. Pro Parkticket kann man ein Schließfach nutzen. Ein mittelgroßer Rucksack passt mit Tetris-Erfahrung auf jeden Fall in ein kleines Schließfach. Wir hatten die erlaubten 2 Liter Wasser pro Person dabei und haben dann halt erstmal Flaschen weggetrunken, bevor wir die Schließfächer genutzt haben. Zu essen haben wir nichts mitgenommen, weil das im Internet ja so stand, aber anscheinend hängt es vom Ordner ab, ob sie einen damit reinlassen. Wir haben viele mit mitgebrachten Sandwiches gesehen. Kleine Vorwarnung, Essen und Getränke sind sehr teuer im Park. Ein halber Liter Wasser kostet 3 Dollar, eine Cola 5 Dollar, ein Bier saftige 13 Dollar und ein Viertel Pizza 12 Dollar. Sehr empfehlenswert sind die Michshakes bei dem kleinen Laden neben Mel's Diner, bei letzterem war nämlich eine riesen Schlange...

We spent two days at Universal, one day at each of the parks, December didn't seem the right time to visit the 3rd, water park. Whilst the general layout and attention to detail is easily as good as what Disney provide, it was so refreshing to be away from the Disney experience, Homer Simpson being stupid in photos, Bart being a clown was hilarious. By the time we visited Universal on day 7 of our two week holiday, I was getting a little fed up of the 3d rides and simulators, whilst they are very clever, I longed for good ol' fashioned roller coasters. The "Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit" certainly did that, whilst we had to wait for the rain, thunder and lightning to pass, it was a crazy ride. I love you can choose your own music for the experience, once I had reattached my head at the end, I was just about able to walk to the exit. Other notable rides that I would gladly go on in a second, Men in Black, Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, VelociCoaster, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure is a long queue, but well worth it. Here is the shocker. The Food was actually edible, all the Disney / SeaWorld parks we have experienced so far have inedible, vile food, this was really good, I had the cottage pie which was delicious. Still a shortage of veg, but really tasty. Others reported the fish and chips was excellent too - noting proper English chips rather than crisps.

Bien sûr, c'est amusant, mais. . . Ils ont VRAIMENT exagéré avec les Minions jusqu'à l'absurdité ! Ils se sont débarrassés du bien-aimé manège Shrek 4 D (oui, je connais la zone DreamWorks qui inclura Shrek) et du café des monstres classique (ok peu importe) pour transformer une rue ENTIÈRE comme dans plusieurs bâtiments, panneaux et expériences en Minions ! Bien sûr, ils sont adorables, mais c'est au-delà de l'exagération. Le nouveau manège n'est pas vraiment un manège mais un jeu de tir debout. Pourquoi, alors que nous avons déjà les hommes géniaux en noir. Ensuite, il y a l'autre trajet qui comprend en réalité 2 files d'attente et un trajet en papeterie. Une fois que vous en avez terminé avec eux, vous descendez le pâté de maisons avec rien d'autre que des Minions et encore plus de Minions ainsi que leurs méchants maladroits. L’autre problème concerne le système de retenue idiot de Gringotts Rides. Je suis grand et j'ai froid, j'utilise quelques kilos comme tant de gens et les dispositifs de retenue vous poussent si fort dans le siège et les gardes s'enfoncent et vous blessent les tibias. Cela n’est vraiment pas du tout nécessaire. Le pire, c'était à quel point ils vous jaugeaient pendant la semaine des vacances scolaires à 180 $ le billet. Surtout pour les anciens manèges que j'aime beaucoup mais qui sont en place depuis des années, alors pourquoi facturer autant ? Et ils savent que nous sommes dans une économie épouvantable et que tout le monde souffre vraiment. Sur une note positive, j'aime vraiment la balade Jimmy Fallon Escape. Ils devraient ajouter plus de manèges, d’expériences et une pièce d’eau. .

My first visit to a theme park! First thing, the place is pretty big although, I've been told, not as big a Disney. Second, the tickets aren't cheap. You'll easily pay $200 a person for single day tickets to Universal Studios and Island Adventure. Third, be aware of the weather. Even late April/ early May can easily over 30c/86f, so plan accordingly. There's not a lot of shade, so use the shops/rides for the a/c. The park is, however, amazing with loafs of rides just be aware of the potentially long wait times (posted around the park so you can plan which rides to visit better). Tip: each a big breakfast, usually included at most hotels. That way you can try to avoid the very pricey food in the park.

After a somewhat disappointing visit to Islands of Adventure, we had a really good visit next door at Universal Studios Orlando. We learned a valuable lesson: visit theme parks before schools are out in late May. Other than paying $141 for each ticket, we enjoyed USO more than IoA for the first time! We arrived at 9 am again, and it was a great morning. It was in the upper 80’s, but the cloudy skies made it feel more like the 70’s. There were hardly any lines, so we quickly got on every ride. The highlight of the day was the very first ride you come to, the Ripride Rocket. Like the Hulk and VelociCoaster, it is not for the faint of heart, but it’s another great ride. One in our family likes the Mummy ride the most. We didn’t make the time to review the USO restaurants like we did IoA, so we went with Mel’s Diner, which is decent theme park fare. We enjoyed chicken strips, a hot dog and a salad for $56, a little higher than and not as good as Three Broomsticks the day before. $4.50 for a soft drink and NO free refills is frustrating! After lunch we went to the Jason Bourne Stunt-tacular. It’s a good show and a nice break from the heat. When we came out of the theater, the clouds were gone and the heat returned. As I said about IoA, we wish they had more shade and more places to sit. A second visit to Kings Crossing and the world of Harry Potter was just what we needed. It really feels like you are in the land of wizards. Take your kids to see the “show” at Ollivander’s Wand Shop.

Just returned from a 2 week vacation back to the UK after a 10 year absence. This time though with a 7 year old granddaughter in tow. She loves everything Harry Potter and had an awesome time visiting the Harry Potter world and travelling on the Hogwarts Express. We queued for over an hour for the Hagrid ride only for it to be delayed so that was disappointing. The Jimmy Fallon ride through New York was excellent and there wasn’t a big queue for this attraction so we we repeated it a few times during our stay. The Macy’s Holiday Parade was magical and was definitely worth seeing. Overall a great experience and left great memories of our time spent together there.

We did the 2 parks in 1 day, which requires a lot of energy. Some great rides and attention to detail is impressive, but why is there a charge to everything? We all pay for the tickets, which are not cheap, the cost of express tickets are ridiculous, then they charge you $32 to park your car and $3 every time you want to put your bag in a locker! We were going to play some Crazy Golf on the way out but that would have been an extra $50!! There were only 2 of us so I can’t imagine the financial hit it does to a family of 4. Choice of food was all ‘junk food’. We had a great day but the unforeseen charges are annoying. Didn’t realise having fun could be so expensive!