Universal Orlando 2017

MONDAY, OCTOBER 16
Universal Studios opened at 8am on our first day, with Islands of Adventure opening at 9am. We met my parents in the lobby at Cabana Bay (they had driven over from Disney’s Old Key West Resort) and they picked us up and drove us to the CityWalk parking lot. I saved $25 on parking with my Universal AP we cleared security in about 30 seconds, their process is so efficient I applaud them! You put your bag in a tote and run it through an x-ray machine while at the same time you go through a metal detector. Any items in your pockets go in a bucket that also goes through the scanner. If you beep you get wanded, otherwise you’re free to go. They kept it moving and had plenty of staff – 2 per machine and 2 per metal detector. There was never a line. Disney could learn a lot from Universal in that respect for sure. Even 30 minutes before rope drop it took at least 10 minutes to get through Disney’s security. It was so inefficient. Everyone entering Universal from a taxi/bus drop off, or the parking lot ended up in the same spot for a security checkpoint. Those entering via the resorts had their own security elsewhere. There’s no way to avoid the checkpoint and when you’ve done it once there’s no need to go back through unless you leave the resort area.

At 8:10am we were inside Universal Studios and our first stop was Rip Ride Rockit, which was a walk on. So we did it again! We waited maybe 5 minutes max the second time. I love that ride! Such a perfect way to start the trip! After that we rode Race Through New York starring Jimmy Fallon. This was still under construction during our 2016 trip so we were riding for the first time. It was a confusing set up I found but we figured it out. There wasn’t really a wait so we didn’t have to use the virtual line. The pre-show area is slightly different each time and this time we got to see the Ragtime Gals which was so much fun! I was impressed! They called our group and we entered the theater for the show. It was decent, the ride technology was good and smooth, it was a fun ride, but there wasn’t really a story. I would be fine to do this just once per trip.

Next we rode The Mummy which I never get tired of. After that we grabbed a coffee at Starbucks in New York. We sat for a minute so my mom and husband could eat their food items. I love that Starbucks! It has such a great vibe and the outdoor seating area is one of my favorite places to sit and people watch. We then made our way over to the Hogwarts Express. There wasn’t much of a wait for that at all. We were on the second train that came through. I liked that Universal allowed me to join the line with my coffee, they only asked that I finish the drink before I boarded the attraction, which I did. Disney by comparison would not let me join any queue while holding a coffee. The one exception was Toy Story Mania but then as soon as I stepped inside the line another CM told me there was only 1 trash can and I was standing by it so I had to wait there until I was done drinking. I kind of get it, but at the same time if I’m going to be waiting in a long line, at least let me enjoy the time by drinking a coffee. I would never try to take the drink on a ride.

The Hogwarts Express dropped us off in Hogsmeade over at Islands of Adventure and we rode the Forbidden Journey (IOA’s Harry Potter attraction). I could see on the way in that just one loop remained of Dueling Dragons/Dragon Challenge I loved that ride and I’m sad to see it go. My only hope is it won’t be another screen ride because man am I getting so bored with those and it’s all Universal have created lately. Forbidden Journey was fun, not that I understand all of it with my limited knowledge of Harry Potter it’s my favorite of the two Harry Potter attractions. I can’t remember how long the wait was but the longest we waited for anything during our Universal trip was 20 minutes. We spent longer getting a locker for Forbidden Journey than we spent in line.

Next we moved along to the Jurassic Park area of IOA where we rode Skull Island Reign of Kong. I really enjoy that one and I think the technology is cool. I also laugh at the irony of them demolishing their King Kong only to bring him back again later. Oh and even though I knew he was there, that darn scare actor in the queue got me AGAIN! we waited abut 10-15 minutes for this one.

After Kong we took a quick spin on The Cat in the Hat because I love it and it was a walk on. After that we stopped for lunch at Mythos in the Lost Continent. My husband and I absolutely love it there! You’re in almost a cave with beautiful sculptures of Greek mythology. They have these huge windows that give you a view of the lake and Marvel Super Hero Island. The food is a mix of things with a Greek influence. We had calamari for an appetizer and my parents had the spanakopita. For my entree I had gnocchi bolognese and my hubby had a lamb burger with parmesan fries.

After lunch we rode The Incredible Hulk, followed by Spider-Man. Both were about a 10-15 minute wait. Next was Doctor Doom’s Fear fall and that was more of a 15-20 minute wait because they were only operating one tower. The weather was good and looking to be our best day during our Universal stay, so we headed back the resort at that point to change into swimwear so we could tackle the water rides! We walked from Islands of Adventure to Cabana Bay and arrived back at the resort at 3:15pm. It’s about a 15 minute walk and it’s beautiful.

We took a short break, got changed, packed a bag with dry clothes and a towel for later, and headed back to the park. I stopped on the way out to refill my resort refillable mug walking back to the parks we had to go through security again because we had left to go to our resort. No big deal at all! At the end of the resort walkway where it meets CityWalk, they have an x-ray machine and a metal detector. Only one with 2 members of staff, but that’s all you need. There were never any other guests there when we were. Security was just as quick as before, with the addition of one security employee asking to see and smell the contents of my resort mug. It was Sprite so I was fine.

We met back up with my parents who had rented a locker with extra clothes and we were back in Islands of Adventure at 4:50pm. Unfortunately, I had looked at the wrong day for park hours and thought IOA closed at 7pm that day, but it was actually 6pm. We had just over an hour to ride all 3 water rides we started with the least wet ride – Jurassic Park. The wait said 25 minutes but we walked on. My parents had already been on this ride while waiting for us and didn’t get wet. I however am I bad luck charm and I never get off of that ride dry. Sure enough we got put in the front row and we all got soaked

Next we rode Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls in Toon Lagoon, which is right next to Jurassic Park. You will get saturated on this one, no two ways about it. The posted wait said 40 minutes and at this point it was after 5pm. We figured this may be the last one for the day but we wanted to ride so we joined the line. The wait was more like 20 minutes, 25 at the absolute max, I can’t remember exactly. This ride is a ton of fun and I would encourage everyone to ride! Just be sure to bring a change of clothes or at least a towel we were laughing the whole way through and got done with that at 5:50pm. There was hope that we could ride the last water ride which was directly opposite.

We high tailed it over there (as best we could running in flip flops!) and joined the line for Bluto’s Bilge Rat Barges at 5:55pm – 5 minutes before close! We walked right on into a barge and set our stuff down. I guess in theory you could stay dry on this ride but I’ve never seen it happen. One guy avoided the first few soakings and was smugly laughing at every one else when his turn swiftly came we got soaked to the bone again but who cares we were already wet. It was so much fun! With that the park had closed so we went to the restroom to dry off a little and change clothes. At that point my parents left and hubby and I headed into CityWalk to get dinner.

We made it to the Toothsome Chocolate Emporium around 6:30pm and they were saying a 30-40 minute wait for dinner. We love this place so we agreed to wait. I found it funny that I hadn’t seen a line for a ride that long all day! We amused ourselves in the candy store they have and bought a box of chocolates while we waited. We were seated about 30 minutes later and our table was perfect! We were centrally seated on the upper level so we could see everything. To drink I got some fancy chocolate cocktail (I’d have to look it up to remember what it was) and hubby got the chocolate stout which is delicious. For food I got the Croque Monsieur because I miss French food so much it hurts and hubby got shrimp and lobster penne. My food was perfect! I would get that 10 times over! Hubby’s dish he said was a little too spicy and he wouldn’t get it again. Jacques and Penelope stopped by for a visit which was fun, we like seeing them when we eat there.

By the time we were done with dinner it was nearing 8:30pm and we had gotten pretty chilly sitting in the air conditioning with wet hair. We walked back to the resort for hot showers and I stopped to get a hot chocolate on the way in with my refillable mug we would be up again the next day for rope drop!

Nascfan wrote:

Wow! What an amazing first day! Very nice of them to give you an upgrade.

It was so perfect! We got everything done that we wanted to! I didn’t think we’d make it through all 3 water rides but we did! I just love that the crowds are so low, we left feeling like we’d really made the most of our day. That’s the first time I’ve ever gotten a free upgrade! They didn’t say anything, they just told us where our room was so when I got there I called down just to be sure. Th suites were $40 more a night and we didn’t need it so I wanted to make sure we weren’t put in the wrong room and incurring a $120 charge. When I called to check they said the room was complimentary!

Acamm wrote:

I’m so glad you’re writing this trip report as we are going in February ! I’ll be following along very closely The only difference is that we aren’t getting park hoppers… only 4 day regular tickets… so only 1 park per day for 4 days

Yay! I’m glad you’re enjoying my TR and following along! I hope it’s helpful! If you have any questions, just ask are you staying on-site? You can make single park tickets work!

I was just curious if you had early park entry or Express passes. I know where that’s at! You can totally walk to UO from there, in fact, I think maybe Tim Tracker did that one time in a video – or maybe that was a different hotel.

@Acamm I haven’t had an Express pass since they were free (aside from staying one time at Hard Rock) you really don’t need them during off peak times, as hopefully you can see from my TR. The same continued the rest of the trip. Things may be different on the weekend but we were there for a Saturday and Sunday last year and the crowds were nothing compared to Disney. You’re smart, you’ll be there for opening and I can give you some pointers on the rides that get the longest lines so you know what to rope drop.

I hope I’m right on the Tim Tracker video! Apologies if I’m wrong more will be coming soon! Unfortunately I only wrote detailed notes for the first day so the rest may be a little lacking

@Ferg Thank you! I’m glad you’re enjoying it! I apologize in advance that the first day will be the most detailed because I was taking notes as we went along. The next two days were more rushed so I didn’t really take any notes at all hopefully my memories will be accurate. Yes! I would love to read yours and see how your trip went! our first day was so much fun! The day started out perfect and we got so much more done than I thought we would – and we got to take a short break at our resort!