Travel column, anyone?
Years ago, prior to my daughters arrival on the planet, I had the occasion to visit Universal Studios Orlando. I did the Disney thing too, but that experience paled by comparison to Universal, given there were no rug rats in the picture at the time.
Not being big Worlds of Fun types, what struck my fancy at the time were the rides that simulated an actual amusement park thrill rides, but that were virtual rather than real. You know, 3D screens and seats that jerked and juked to make it seem like you were on the wildest ride of your life, while you were essentially standing still.
What I believe they call a simulated ride.
Back to the Future was one of the best:
“A roller coaster was the original concept for a Back to the Future ride, however, the designers realized it would be too hard to effectively tell a story due to the fast motion,” according to Wikipedia.” The second concept of a simulator ride ultimately came to fruition. Riders would board motion-based vehicles modeled after the DeLorean DMC-12 (car) featured in the films, and watch a film projected onto a large, dome-shaped IMAX screen.”
That ride opened in 1991 at a cost of $41 million.
While that may have seemed like a lot of dough at the time, Universal’s two year-old Transformers ride – arguably the park’s best – cost a reported $100 million.
But I’m not here to bore you with the particulars of each ride, I’m here to give you my grand plan and help you plot the best possible experience.
For starters there are two Universal parks today, not one like when last I went. Which means there are a number of ways to combo buy your tickets.
The cheapest way seems to be to buy the tickets through AAA – which Universal’s customer rep recommended. Most any AAA office can sell them, but the Lawrence AAA never returned my call.
I suggest you buy a two park, two day adult pass (which gives you a third day (that you probably won’t need) for free. That’ll set you back $156.99 per person or a little over $300 for two adults.
You can bump that to a park-to-park pass for $201.99 but don’t bother.
Choking out another 50 or so bucks to go back and forth between parks on the same day is needless, given that the best way to experience each park is to spend a full day there.
Unless of course you’ve only got one day and want to try and take in both parks or cherry pick which rides you go on.
Good luck with that.
Because even if you pop for the additional $60 to $70 per person (or more depending on the traffic) for an Express pass, you easily can kill an entire day in each park.
Speaking of which…
I was told by both AAA and Universal that going on weekdays, prior to most schools getting out for the summer that the Express pass wouldn’t be needed.
That bubble burst about two minutes into the Islands of Adventure when the first ride we saw had a posted 75 minute wait time. Buying the Express pass added nearly another $150 to the day’s expenses, but life’s too short if you can afford it.
Just don’t kid yourselves…
Buying the Express won’t elevate you to Taylor Swift status.
If Taylor wants to hop the Spider-Man ride she’s heading to the front of the line, no questions, no stops.
The Express pass merely gives you a separate entrance with a shorter line which still may set you back anywhere from 10 minutes to half an hour. Oh it’s worth it, alright, but you’re still going to pay some dues on the more popular rides…which means for just about all of them.
Do not cheap out though, by all means get the Express.
Unless you’re a giant family on a tight budget, a total cheapskate or a glutton for punishment. Because even standing in one of the relatively dinky Express lines on a weekday in the “off season” will take a toll on both your feet and your patience.
A word of warning: the two Harry Potter rides are not included on the Express plan, so prepare to rub elbows with the mere mortals if you want to get Harry.
The bottom line: I don’t care how old you are (or if you’re a self-proclaimed “sports agnostic” like Paul Wilson) Universal Studios Orlando is definitely worth burning two or three vacation days.
And staying at the luxurious Holiday Inn & Suites directly across the street from the park for $100 a night (thanks to AAA again) is a steal.
My only other suggestion: bring a friend or family member not afraid to ride life threatening rides like the Incredible Hulk Coaster.
Otherwise those long lines can get pretty lonely standing around all by your lonesome waiting to hook up with some stranger.
I suggest you find a company that can get you a guide for a day at Disneyworld
and get the line free passes we used about 5 years ago.
Go to craigslist…they have (or used to have) some hosts who could get you
thruthe longest waits a lot quicker.
If not…take a book like war and peace. You could read the entire book while
waiting for rides.
Then scary thing about those lines at Disney and Universal is looking at how little of there line divider turnstiles were in use when we were there…and thinking about when the summer hits and it’s boiling hot they’ll be using all them for the larger crowds.
The larger the crowd, the higher those passes rise in price, too.
Supply/demand.
They only sell so many of them so as not to piss off the people who buy them by making them stand in line too long. It’s definitely a scam, basically.
Like flying first class versus coach.
It’s really not a VIP experience, just a lesser of evils. But those evils will kick your ass if you don’t get the Express pass. It would not have been pretty otherwise and the park really wasn’t all that crowded.
Uh, I think people can do with out the tour guide action though.
Unless they’re really feeble of mind or something.
Speaking of which, why’d you hire a guide Harley?
This sounds like another horrible place I would never care to visit. If I have kids they will hate me.
actually hearne it was great. The guide we had had worked at Disney
for 11 years as head of the department. We were with some well known
people close to the Disney company and our wait averagedabout 15 minutes
per ride. Had a blast and since we got thru so fast that we got on all
the best rides in one day.
Cost us each an extra 50 dollars for the day but we evn gt a tour of their
offices and equipment areas the following day.
Pays to know people in high places.
I’m sure it went well, and 50 bucks in just shy of what it costs for the Express pass.
Like you, we were able to do both parks in a single day and 15 minutes is probably about right for the wait time. maybe a tad less.
Just not sure about the “guide” part. Don’t doubt it would have been nice, but other than maybe steering people away from the mostly mediocre dining options, not sure you’d need one.
The kids went last summer. 2.5 hour waits. Ten hour day, ride four rides? That’s just worlds of fun.
i’m not inclined to visit there, tho it probably be a blast. I recall days at the Disneyland in anaheim in the 60s, and a visit to universal in LA in the mid 90s. awesome rides for their time, both places. can’t imagine the the awesome technology now.
so Hearne while you won’t bore us with the ride details, the thing about this review is that you should include ride info… is it worth standing in line 45 minutes, buying the more expensive passes? if so, for what rides?
dude… you must reconnect with your inner child. and, if you have kids, and don’t let them experience “movie magic” made real, you’re doing them a diservice. I only make this point because one of my favorite, most memorable childhood memories was a road trip to Disneyland in 1961 (via the grand Canyon and Las vegas). I am quite sure my dad hated most the trip…except the Vegas part (think ‘mad men’). but his sacrifice to his sanity and patience on that trip meant that me and my two older brothers would have experiences we’d remember, and learn from, the rest of our lives. I could go on… but don’t want preach and prattle like harley.
Seventy minute to two hour wait times to get on a ride? You must like waiting in lines for a living. .
If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/14/skipping-lines-at-disney_n_3275836.html
I took my kids in the early 90’s. They had fun, I was exhausted. A wheel chair would have come in pretty handy. But shame still moved the needle back then.
They are cutting back on letting the Handicapped go to the front, because of customer complaints. Stephan Hawking can wait in line like the rest of us. Fu*k him, what’s he ever done?
If the handicapped have been euchred out of “Line jumps” by unscrupulous and well heeled suburban moms, then who deserves to be anointed at the head of the line?
Caitlin Jenner. God, what courage. Her/his intrepid foray into a new life, low key, respectful and humble, should be rewarded with a lifetime pass, guaranteeing his place first in line on all the rides there. If not all the rides, then at least the Peter Pan rides. Caitlin, sashaying to the front of the line, hounded by the paparazzi, is a feel good, gender neutral moment for us all. Plus, as we wait endlessly for the line to move, we can try and explain that sh*t to the kids.
Ive been there probably 20 times. The most fun park I have ever been to. My nephew lives in Orlando and has season passes for his family. The best way to visit? My opinion is to stay on property at the Royal Pacific Resort. It’s a beautiful place. You get line passes by just showing your room keys. The most I have ever waited in line, other than the rides that don’t accept the line passes, is 20 minutes and most rides has been 10 minutes. I mean I’m no Haahaaharley, but thats pretty good! Some of the rides we go on multiple times because it’s so fast.
I went around Thanksgiving time a few years back. Cooler climes but we dealt with a godawful mass of humanity.
The Monarch is a man of limited means but he would have gladly paid triple the price if attendance would have been cut by two thirds.
Cheapskate travel tip: call housekeeping at your hotel and ask if they have any park day passes that have been left behind by other guests. They almost always do and will unload them for a fraction of face value.
Good idea Monarch…never thought of that before. I’ll try that next time I go.
Took my son twice…your right Universal beats Disney hands down. A good deal is to actually stay on the property itself (three hotels) and the express pass is free…its your hotel key. You can even buy things from the gift shops and they will have them delivered to your room so you don’t have to lug them around the park all day. The rides are superior to anything at Disney and the best part is there is a beer stand on every corner as opposed to none at Disney. The kicker for me was when I took a cab from Universal to Disney Studios and they charged me $20.00 to park even though the cab was dropping me at the gate and leaving. No way around it.