Cast of Characters
Me - Mom
Dad
Son -10
Son 8
Granddad/ma
Monday - 4/16
8:25 shuttle to USF. Arrived gate at 8:45 and gates not opened. Wondered why they couldn't let people in to the park before opening rides like Disney so the line to get in doesn't get too long. But no big deal. Gates open at 9 sharp and off to MIB (short cut to right, past the bathrooms). Got express pass and stowed stuff in lockers (very easy to use) and walked on twice. Great fun. Perfect for 8 & 10 year old boys. Back track to meet grands at ET. Still early and no sight of them so we go on. I loved it. The que is wonderful. Really sets the mood. Still no sign of grands so I walk back to customer service to replace one of our multi day tickets which got very wet on Popye yesterday and wasn't working in the express pass machine. Short wait, very friendly and am on my way. Met grands got express pass for T2 and back to ET. 30 minute line now so we get express pass and head back to MIB to use express passes. Kids and grands use passes while husband and I use single riders line. What a great invention. We got through faster then they did. ET again and then T2. Enjoyed T2 more that I thought. Well done after the boring intro.
Express passes for King Kong and Earthquake, (the ones for Jaws were for too late in the day) and off to lunch. That is the great thing about express pass. It lets you do things like eat and just walk around without feeling like you are wasting time. Mediocre hamburger at Richter's. Why don't the fast food places as US have kid's meals like the full service restaurants? My kids ate cheaper at dinner than lunch. I resent having to pay $7 to get my 10 year old a cheeseburger and fries. Earthquake was fun, thought the pace is a little slow.
Head back to room for quick rest and back to IOA for dinner at Mythos. Food OK, service very slow. 10 year old begging to go back on Hulk. I warn him the lines may be prohibitive. We make our way there. Broken down, but only about 20 people waiting so we stick it out. 15 minutes late we are rewarded. We both love it. Other son and Dad go back to Storm Force, again. Only thing with out lines at this point (9:30 pm) is Cat in the Hat. We ride and go home exhausted, but feeling like we saw a lot with minimal waiting, which is great during the holiday season. If you get up early and work the the express pass system, it can be done.
We ended our trip with one more morning. First to Spiderman. Walk on, everything working. Now I know why everyone raves about this ride. Unbelievable! Walk back on immediately. By far the best thrill ride I've been on. Wave of the future. Back to Hulk (the 10 year old and me, again!) and then to One Fish, Two Fish to meet husband and 8 year old. This ride is so much fun. Pure silliness. Off to MIB to ride singles line twice, BTTF one more time (8 year old's favorite). Lunch at Monster Cafe (OK, dark and cool inside). One more thing on wish list, Hitchcock. Show just starting and we're the last ones let in. What luck. Enjoyed the last part where they let audience members do some of the stunts and you could see the props up close. Worthwhile if you are a fan. Last stop, the slime fountain and off to the airport feeling we had really "done" both parks. Boys at a great age to enjoy Universal. We will definately be back.
Me - Mom
Dad
Son -10
Son 8
Granddad/ma
Monday - 4/16
8:25 shuttle to USF. Arrived gate at 8:45 and gates not opened. Wondered why they couldn't let people in to the park before opening rides like Disney so the line to get in doesn't get too long. But no big deal. Gates open at 9 sharp and off to MIB (short cut to right, past the bathrooms). Got express pass and stowed stuff in lockers (very easy to use) and walked on twice. Great fun. Perfect for 8 & 10 year old boys. Back track to meet grands at ET. Still early and no sight of them so we go on. I loved it. The que is wonderful. Really sets the mood. Still no sign of grands so I walk back to customer service to replace one of our multi day tickets which got very wet on Popye yesterday and wasn't working in the express pass machine. Short wait, very friendly and am on my way. Met grands got express pass for T2 and back to ET. 30 minute line now so we get express pass and head back to MIB to use express passes. Kids and grands use passes while husband and I use single riders line. What a great invention. We got through faster then they did. ET again and then T2. Enjoyed T2 more that I thought. Well done after the boring intro.
Express passes for King Kong and Earthquake, (the ones for Jaws were for too late in the day) and off to lunch. That is the great thing about express pass. It lets you do things like eat and just walk around without feeling like you are wasting time. Mediocre hamburger at Richter's. Why don't the fast food places as US have kid's meals like the full service restaurants? My kids ate cheaper at dinner than lunch. I resent having to pay $7 to get my 10 year old a cheeseburger and fries. Earthquake was fun, thought the pace is a little slow.
Head back to room for quick rest and back to IOA for dinner at Mythos. Food OK, service very slow. 10 year old begging to go back on Hulk. I warn him the lines may be prohibitive. We make our way there. Broken down, but only about 20 people waiting so we stick it out. 15 minutes late we are rewarded. We both love it. Other son and Dad go back to Storm Force, again. Only thing with out lines at this point (9:30 pm) is Cat in the Hat. We ride and go home exhausted, but feeling like we saw a lot with minimal waiting, which is great during the holiday season. If you get up early and work the the express pass system, it can be done.
We ended our trip with one more morning. First to Spiderman. Walk on, everything working. Now I know why everyone raves about this ride. Unbelievable! Walk back on immediately. By far the best thrill ride I've been on. Wave of the future. Back to Hulk (the 10 year old and me, again!) and then to One Fish, Two Fish to meet husband and 8 year old. This ride is so much fun. Pure silliness. Off to MIB to ride singles line twice, BTTF one more time (8 year old's favorite). Lunch at Monster Cafe (OK, dark and cool inside). One more thing on wish list, Hitchcock. Show just starting and we're the last ones let in. What luck. Enjoyed the last part where they let audience members do some of the stunts and you could see the props up close. Worthwhile if you are a fan. Last stop, the slime fountain and off to the airport feeling we had really "done" both parks. Boys at a great age to enjoy Universal. We will definately be back.
