samara
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2006
We just got back from a quick trip focusing on the holiday events and I thought I would offer my thoughts on everything that we did!
Grinch Character Breakfast - 100% the highlight for us. He was so funny! It’s so entertaining to watch him interact with all of the guests. He is a little slow to make it around the room, because he plays so much with everyone. My best tip is to come up with something funny to say to him beforehand and you’ll get an even better interaction. My son was wearing a shirt with the Grinch and Max. Grinch said that he was the only one of us with sense, to which my son replied (as planned) “Oh no, I’m just a Max fan.” The next ten minutes were hilarious. Thing 1 and 2 are fun also, kept pretending to squirt ketchup on the table. I wish the Who’s would stay in character a little better, though. The buffet was fine, not overly elaborate but all your regular breakfast options. I quite liked the green eggs and ham breakfast pizza.
Grinch Show - This was a nice mix of the traditional cartoon and the Jim Carrey movie. Funny and entertaining. Don’t bother getting in line too early. The theater is huge and there is enough of an incline that all of the seats have a good view. The seats are a little narrow though, so be prepared to touch hips with your neighbor.
Universal Macy’s Parade - Better than I expected! The floats are really elaborate and the music is fun. The ending with Santa lighting the tree is great if you get a spot where you can see it. We found a great front row spot about 20 minutes beforehand, directly across from the Palace Arcade and in front of the roped off pretzel line. There’s no curb to sit on and I think most people thought it wasn’t a spot you can be.
Harry Potter projections - Maybe because it was a Saturday night, but this was really too crowded for us to enjoy. It was pretty, but if there was a storyline I couldn’t follow it because of all the jostling.
Overall Decorations - I LOVED Whoville. We walked through it several times and rode the trolley ride twice just to take it all in. Possibly the best decorated land I’ve ever seen. Both Harry Potter areas were nicely decorated as well. Overall, except for Whoville, I liked the decorations at Universal more than Islands.
Grinch Character Breakfast - 100% the highlight for us. He was so funny! It’s so entertaining to watch him interact with all of the guests. He is a little slow to make it around the room, because he plays so much with everyone. My best tip is to come up with something funny to say to him beforehand and you’ll get an even better interaction. My son was wearing a shirt with the Grinch and Max. Grinch said that he was the only one of us with sense, to which my son replied (as planned) “Oh no, I’m just a Max fan.” The next ten minutes were hilarious. Thing 1 and 2 are fun also, kept pretending to squirt ketchup on the table. I wish the Who’s would stay in character a little better, though. The buffet was fine, not overly elaborate but all your regular breakfast options. I quite liked the green eggs and ham breakfast pizza.
Grinch Show - This was a nice mix of the traditional cartoon and the Jim Carrey movie. Funny and entertaining. Don’t bother getting in line too early. The theater is huge and there is enough of an incline that all of the seats have a good view. The seats are a little narrow though, so be prepared to touch hips with your neighbor.
Universal Macy’s Parade - Better than I expected! The floats are really elaborate and the music is fun. The ending with Santa lighting the tree is great if you get a spot where you can see it. We found a great front row spot about 20 minutes beforehand, directly across from the Palace Arcade and in front of the roped off pretzel line. There’s no curb to sit on and I think most people thought it wasn’t a spot you can be.
Harry Potter projections - Maybe because it was a Saturday night, but this was really too crowded for us to enjoy. It was pretty, but if there was a storyline I couldn’t follow it because of all the jostling.
Overall Decorations - I LOVED Whoville. We walked through it several times and rode the trolley ride twice just to take it all in. Possibly the best decorated land I’ve ever seen. Both Harry Potter areas were nicely decorated as well. Overall, except for Whoville, I liked the decorations at Universal more than Islands.