Once Upon A Dream - Our Disneymoon May 2019 - DAY 7

rosiela · 31 May 19, 10:29 PM

Saturday 12th May

We are both feeling it this morning and find it quite difficult to get up - I think the pace and heat of the holiday are both getting to us a bit at this point. We have a light breakfast (bagel and pastry) before ordering an Uber to take us to Universal. We have decided to split Universal into two days so we are doing the Studios today and will go back next week for Islands of Adventure.

Getting an Uber was extremely easy (and fast!) and it feels quite nice to be going beyond the Disney parks - even if I do nearly nod off in the car...

We arrive at the park and are immediately struck by how quiet it is in comparison to Disney. We enjoy taking in the theming and the general atmosphere as we head straight to the Diagon Alley area first.

Neither of us are huge Harry Potter fans but the theming here does seem excellent, and we join the queue for Escape from Gringotts.

This ends up being a looooong wait. It turns out the ride has gone down and just as we start making some progress, it goes down again, so we end up waiting over an hour for this. It's not the best start to the day but the ride is great (not worth an hour wait, but nothing is, in my opinion!).

Then we do the Simpsons ride, which is always great fun.

Everything is so quiet that we don't wait more than about 10 or 15 minutes for anything. In quick succession, we do Men In Black, E.T. (for the pure nostalgia), Transformers and Shrek 4D.

Men In Black is okay, but we aren't really blown away by Transformers. Already we can tell that Universal really love their 3D technology...

Shrek 4D, I had seen before, but this time it's not a great experience. I don't know if there's an issue with the screen or the glasses but the effects don't really seem to work properly. We use it as a chance to sit down and rest ourselves mainly!

After this, we go and grab lunch at Mel's Diner where we have the most delicious (and extremely fattening, undoubtedly) chocolate milkshakes. We have to wait a little for food but the cheeseburger and fries are both actually very tasty, and we are both starving by this point so it goes down well!

After lunch, it actually starts to rain - our first experience of Florida rain! I am just commenting on how it doesn't seem to be too bad when it goes from just a few drops to completely torrential. It's quite funny, really. After about 20 minutes it disappears and is really hot once again. DH is quite impressed by it all!

While the rain is going on, we head off to ride The Fast & The Furious which is a complete waste of time... we are starting to feel that everything is just a little bit samey, but we do appreciate the short queues and quiet crowds!

We take the obligatory photo with Jaws, and I lament the loss of the ride. It was something different amongst all the 3D rides and simulators.

We head over to The Mummy and I feel slightly nervous as the last time I rode this (in Universal Studios in LA, back in 2008) I was absolutely terrified! However... we both absolutely love this ride. So much so we ride it twice in a row.

We do Jimmy Fallon's Race Through New York - we have absolutely no expectations of this, and know very little about Jimmy Fallon's show, but we really enjoy it! Some really good effects on this ride. This is followed by the Minions, which I also love. It's so cute and fun.

Before we leave the park, we go and do The Mummy one more time and it's a walk on. Definitely the best ride of the day and in the park.

Overall, we have had a great day, but it definitely feels like a one day park - we don't feel any hankering to return, unlike the Disney parks, as we feel we have covered it all. On the other hand, we really love the theming and the crowd levels, and it feels much easier to manage a full day there unlike Disney!

We eventually find where to pick up an Uber from, and get back to the hotel about 5pm - tired and very hot!

After picking up our refillable drinks, we head to the pool to cool down and just relax. I have to keep reminding myself it's a Sunday night and I'm outside swimming in this lovely warm weather...

We have a very casual evening, and pick up a pizza to share from the food court, then take back cookies and hot chocolates to the room. The Mummy is on TV so we watch a bit of that and then, as usual, crash out!

Back to Index

sotagals · 1 Jun 19, 02:35 PM

Great day. Enjoying your report.

**Taffy1959** · 4 Jun 19, 06:30 AM

Great day at Universal and good that you got so much done.

**mick** · 4 Jun 19, 05:36 PM

Great day

Joan

caitlinsmummy · 29 Jun 19, 07:35 PM

Great day at Universal, the crowd and queue times are great aren't they. You got so much done today and that pizza looked lovely! Xx

collybird · 30 Jun 19, 12:22 PM

I love Disney pizza, seems like you managed to do a lot today even without Express passes.

31 May 19, 10:29 PM	#1
	31 May 19, 10:29 PM rosiela Apprentice Imagineer
rosiela Apprentice Imagineer Join Date: Jul 14	Once Upon A Dream - Our Disneymoon May 2019 - DAY 7 Saturday 12th May We are both feeling it this morning and find it quite difficult to get up - I think the pace and heat of the holiday are both getting to us a bit at this point. We have a light breakfast (bagel and pastry) before ordering an Uber to take us to Universal. We have decided to split Universal into two days so we are doing the Studios today and will go back next week for Islands of Adventure. Getting an Uber was extremely easy (and fast!) and it feels quite nice to be going beyond the Disney parks - even if I do nearly nod off in the car... We arrive at the park and are immediately struck by how quiet it is in comparison to Disney. We enjoy taking in the theming and the general atmosphere as we head straight to the Diagon Alley area first. Neither of us are huge Harry Potter fans but the theming here does seem excellent, and we join the queue for Escape from Gringotts. This ends up being a looooong wait. It turns out the ride has gone down and just as we start making some progress, it goes down again, so we end up waiting over an hour for this. It's not the best start to the day but the ride is great (not worth an hour wait, but nothing is, in my opinion!). Then we do the Simpsons ride, which is always great fun. Everything is so quiet that we don't wait more than about 10 or 15 minutes for anything. In quick succession, we do Men In Black, E.T. (for the pure nostalgia), Transformers and Shrek 4D. Men In Black is okay, but we aren't really blown away by Transformers. Already we can tell that Universal really love their 3D technology... Shrek 4D, I had seen before, but this time it's not a great experience. I don't know if there's an issue with the screen or the glasses but the effects don't really seem to work properly. We use it as a chance to sit down and rest ourselves mainly! After this, we go and grab lunch at Mel's Diner where we have the most delicious (and extremely fattening, undoubtedly) chocolate milkshakes. We have to wait a little for food but the cheeseburger and fries are both actually very tasty, and we are both starving by this point so it goes down well! After lunch, it actually starts to rain - our first experience of Florida rain! I am just commenting on how it doesn't seem to be too bad when it goes from just a few drops to completely torrential. It's quite funny, really. After about 20 minutes it disappears and is really hot once again. DH is quite impressed by it all! While the rain is going on, we head off to ride The Fast & The Furious which is a complete waste of time... we are starting to feel that everything is just a little bit samey, but we do appreciate the short queues and quiet crowds! We take the obligatory photo with Jaws, and I lament the loss of the ride. It was something different amongst all the 3D rides and simulators. We head over to The Mummy and I feel slightly nervous as the last time I rode this (in Universal Studios in LA, back in 2008) I was absolutely terrified! However... we both absolutely love this ride. So much so we ride it twice in a row. We do Jimmy Fallon's Race Through New York - we have absolutely no expectations of this, and know very little about Jimmy Fallon's show, but we really enjoy it! Some really good effects on this ride. This is followed by the Minions, which I also love. It's so cute and fun. Before we leave the park, we go and do The Mummy one more time and it's a walk on. Definitely the best ride of the day and in the park. Overall, we have had a great day, but it definitely feels like a one day park - we don't feel any hankering to return, unlike the Disney parks, as we feel we have covered it all. On the other hand, we really love the theming and the crowd levels, and it feels much easier to manage a full day there unlike Disney! We eventually find where to pick up an Uber from, and get back to the hotel about 5pm - tired and very hot! After picking up our refillable drinks, we head to the pool to cool down and just relax. I have to keep reminding myself it's a Sunday night and I'm outside swimming in this lovely warm weather... We have a very casual evening, and pick up a pizza to share from the food court, then take back cookies and hot chocolates to the room. The Mummy is on TV so we watch a bit of that and then, as usual, crash out! Back to Index Edited at 10:14 PM.

4 Jun 19, 05:36 PM	#4
	4 Jun 19, 05:36 PM mick VIP Dibber ✓Premium Member
mick VIP Dibber Join Date: Apr 04 Location: Rugby mick's Reviews Hotel Reviews: 1	Great day Joan __________________