Universal Orlando
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I rode the Jurassic Park ride with a poncho, and my hair was SOAKED like I just got out of the shower, but my clothes were perfectly bone dry
I highly recommend ponchos if you don’t want to get wet 
Yeah like Aimee said, unless you hold the hood of your poncho up to stop it blowing down, a poncho won’t protect your head from getting wet
And that one is the “driest” of all of them!
You are correct, that is the only ride where you may escape getting wet. There is absolutely no way to avoid it with the other two, you just may not get as wet as someone else riding with you
I had NO idea about the lockers for this one and would have made that mistake. THANK YOU for saving us from that! I would have assumed it was just like Buzz Lightyear. And yes, I need tips. I need to beat the family!
It hasn’t always been that way, so glad I could help! It’s a little like Buzz Lightyear, but you don’t control your car. Also the guns come out of the holsters so you have way more freedom to aim and move around unlike buzz. Another difference is there are two tracks (hopefully they’ll run both, sometimes they didn’t when I was there because it’s off season and it ruins the experience) and you’re battling against each other. If they shoot your car, you’ll spin, and if you shoot theirs, they’ll spin. At the end of the ride you’ll have an individual score and a ride vehicle score, Agent J will declare which team won. Okay, tips are coming!
We will be there in off-season as well. But I bet we still have fun even if we don’t shoot each other and just the aliens. Still fun. I mean, how often do you get to shoot aliens??! :yoda:
(No offense by the emojis but it is the best I could find for Aliens!)Of COURSE they aren’t! LOL! But we will pay the money anyway because it is less expensive than ruined stuff! So do you think ponchos will help us get less wet? That is what I am hoping for instead of having to change clothes.
Yes, that’s true, it’s just nice to be prepared
to be honest, I don’t think a poncho will help you at all on Dudley Do-Right or the Bilge Rat Barges. The speed with which you travel on the former will blow your poncho around and on both rides the water comes from every direction. My bottom half got the most wet from water coming over the sides of the boat on Do-Right, and on the barges there is no protection from the ride vehicle if you get what I’m saying. But you don’t really have anything to lose by wearing one anyway. A poncho does help for Jurassic Park however because there’s really only one splash and you could avoid it entirely if you’re lucky. Here’s some wet folks using the people dryer:
Sounds like we will get to “ride” the human dryers! HA!
Watch Shrek 4-D (Production Central) with Express Pass. Lasts 20 minutes. Good for everyone.
If those in your party can handle Despicable Me Minion Mayhem then this is a moot point, but there are also stationary seats for Shrek 4-D if anyone you’re with needs them
If time, grab a snack dessert from Beverly Hills Boulangerie (Hollywood, near entrance).
I really like the boulangerie! It’s not unique food or anything, it’s wraps, paninis, pastries, etc. but it’s all so good!
Ride Transformers: The Ride-3D (Production Central). Do NOT sit on front row. Last 5 minutes. Use Express Pass if line is very long otherwise just do stand-by line. Should be fine for everyone.
This is very similar to Spider-Man over at Islands of Adventure, so if your party is able to handle one they will be fine with the other
Ride Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket (Production Central) with Express Pass. Put EVERYTHING out of pockets into lockers. EVERYTHING! Not safe for grandfather. Choose the genre of music you wish to hear during the ride but do it fast or it will choose it for you! Lasts 4 minutes.
I don’t think I mentioned before that while you’re waiting in line they preview clips of various different songs on offer so you’ll have an idea of what’s available. They have pretty much every genre you can think of: pop, soul, country, EDM, rock, hip hop, the list goes on…
10:45 – Watch Universal Orlando’s Horror Make-Up Show (Hollywood) with Express Pass. Lasts 27 minutes.
This is a great show! Glad you’re doing it!
12:45 – Watch Terminator 2: 3-D (Hollywood) with Express Pass. Lasts 22 minutes. Safe for everyone.
My favorite show at Universal Orlando!
5:00 – Stay put and watch the Universal’s Superstar Parade. May have to wait a while for it to reach us. Lasts 18 minutes. While waiting for the parade, divide into two groups and have one group save parade watching space while the other group runs over to Chez Alcatraz (San Francisco) to get cocktails to-go. Then trade places.
This is a good plan!
I’m all about cocktails 
especially while waiting for a parade! 
I’m going to have to remember to stop by Chez Alcatraz on our trip this fallI can’t believe we miss you by a week @Ferg! We’re at Universal Orlando from 10/15-10/18 and then we move on to Disney until 10/29
one more thing that I can’t remember if I said (too lazy to go back through this thread and check) the rule of thumb for an Express pass is that it will cut the posted wait time in half. This may be useful in lining up the timing of your touring plan. So worst case scenario, if a posted wait time is 60 minutes, you can expect to wait 30 minutes with your Express pass. Generally speaking in October you will have very minimal waits with your Express, but if a wait is long like 45-60 minutes (which will happen by the afternoon for some rides, especially on the weekend), you will be waiting about 20-30 minutes even with Express. Just wanted to put things in perspective as some folks have the misguided idea that Express means “no wait”. It’s more like a FastPass in that respect, you get a different line but you don’t skip the entire line and walk right on. I’m sure you knew that wasn’t the case but people don’t always know realistically how long they’ll wait with an Express pass. • Moe’s (milkshakes, specialty drinks, Duff Beer)
You can get a Flaming Moe at Moe’s
This is on my to-do list for next trip! It’s kinda pricey, but I feel like it’s worth it to try once!
Ferg wrote:
“5:00 – Stay put and watch the Universal’s Superstar Parade. May have to wait a while for it to reach us. Lasts 18 minutes. While waiting for the parade, divide into two groups and have one group save parade watching space while the other group runs over to Chez Alcatraz (San Francisco) to get cocktails to-go. Then trade places.
Starbee: “This is a good plan!
I’m all about cocktails especially while waiting for a parade! I’m going to have to remember to stop by Chez Alcatraz on our trip this fall”I am excited about trying the different drinks! The menu looked tasty here.
I can’t believe we miss you by a week @ferg! We’re at Universal Orlando from 10/15-10/18 and then we move on to Disney until 10/29
Oh man!!! So close! Are you doing HHN or just the regular park stuff? Let me know any last minute tips you discover while you are there! Wish our trips overlapped better.
• Moe’s (milkshakes, specialty drinks, Duff Beer)
You can get a Flaming Moe at Moe’s
This is on my to-do list for next trip! It’s kinda pricey, but I feel like it’s worth it to try once!
What is a Flaming Moe’s? Do you know?
How do they preview the music? Are they playing it, is it listed on a sign, how do we know so we can be prepared?
They have TVs throughout the queue that show clips of music videos of the songs on offer. It will say what that is, for example “Now playing – Paralyzer by Finger Eleven, select this track”. Every now and again it takes a break from the music to give safety announcements so if you see that, give it a second and it will go back to the music. You can also see the full selection here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Rip_Ride_Rockit
You might not have a whole lot of time in the queue when using Express, you could keep a few in mind if you need to make a last minute decision
I don’t know what you’re in to but my favorite is “Born To Be Wild” by Hinder. My husband’s fave is “Intergalactic” by Beastie Boys, and my brother’s favorite is “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” by Charlie Daniels Band. This is fun to ride multiple times choosing a different song each time
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