Orlando. Part 2. Universal Studios. Mar, 2014

When I was describing our trip to Orlando, I mentioned that we also visited some parks that impressed us even more than the Disney parks. Universal Studios were those very theme parks. If I had to describe them in one word, it would be: FANTASTIC!

There were so many incredible experiences! I’ll try to put them all together and show you the most memorable ones

Universal Studios opened in 1990, and in 1999 the second park in the complex, Islands of Adventure, was completed, along with CityWalk — a kind of downtown area where you can stroll around without buying a ticket to the parks. It has plenty of shops, pubs, restaurants, and other entertainment venues. To properly explore and enjoy each park, you really need one full day per park. Just like at Disney, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Universal parks have only a few high-speed roller coasters, while the attractions and shows are interesting for children of all ages as well as adults.

Similar to Disney, most of the Universal Studios attractions are “hidden” inside buildings. Visitors climb into a vehicle that takes them through rooms filled with elaborate sets and special effects.

The first park we visited was:

• Islands of Adventure

The most famous and magical part of the park is The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Many people visit Universal Studios specifically to experience the world of Harry Potter.

Here, the park creators have recreated the village of Hogsmeade, as well as Hogwarts Castle, where Harry Potter and his fellow students learned the art of magic.

We went on an incredibly impressive attraction — HARRY POTTER AND THE FORBIDDEN JOURNEY.

But before that, we had to stand in line. Although, no — we didn’t simply stand in line. We made our way through the corridors of the magical castle with our mouths hanging open in amazement, watching paintings come to life on the walls. We entered classrooms where Hogwarts students were learning the secrets of magic.

And then we climbed into our seats, and suddenly we were lifted into the air, flying right behind Harry Potter as he played Quidditch.

Our seats actually flew through the air, while screens and elaborate sets constantly changed before our eyes, creating the sensation of a real flight. It was absolutely breathtaking!

We left this part of the park, but later we came back again... We just couldn’t resist a little more magic!

Next, we entered the area called Jurassic Park. And here, of course, dinosaurs rule!

The men went on JURASSIC PARK RIVER ADVENTURE, while Iris didn’t meet the height requirement, so she and I stayed behind to wait.

As it turned out, we were lucky! After taking a boat ride and encountering all kinds of terrifying dinosaurs, the boat takes a sudden plunge — and everyone ends up soaking wet!

We continued our journey and found ourselves in The Lost Continent. We “lost” my husband here because it was almost impossible to pull him and his camera  away from all the beauty!

We watched the show THE EIGHTH VOYAGE OF SINDBAD. A huge stage, just four actors, and, of course, spectacular special effects. Then we headed into a cave. At the entrance, we were told it was simply a walking tour. In reality, it turned out to be an entire show — and we were part of it.

POSEIDON FURY. An archaeologist leads us deeper and deeper into the ruins. And in order to escape, we have to battle both fire and water.

It was incredibly impressive!

We took a ride on the CARO-SEUSS-EL, where, instead of the usual horses, you can climb aboard whimsical characters from Dr. Seuss’s books.

Then we went to visit the Cat in the Hat on THE CAT IN THE HAT — a children’s attraction where we ride through rooms filled with characters from the books. Everything was incredibly colorful and full of Dr. Seuss’s playful spirit!

We took a little walk around the park and tried a new dessert for us — DIPPIN' DOTS. Tiny little balls of ice cream in a variety of flavors. Very tasty! 

Next, we entered another part of the park — Marvel Super Hero Island.

We decided to try THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF SPIDER-MAN. It was unforgettable! The experience was very similar to our flight with Harry Potter. Wearing 3D glasses, we followed Spider-Man as we flew through the city streets in pursuit of robbers, troublemakers, and all the other “bad guys.” And, of course, our heroes won in the end.

We realized that we wanted to return to the world of Harry Potter. So we went back to the streets of Hogsmeade.

Then, noticing a line outside one of the shops, we asked what was going on. It turned out that inside, a magic wand was choosing its owner.

In the same shop, you could choose your own magic wand in any style you could imagine. At first, we were very excited, but then we noticed the tiny “Made in China” label on the box and decided that the wands couldn’t possibly be real)

The boys went on the roller coaster DRAGON CHALLENGE.

As we were leaving the park, we came across a small magical show. And once we were out of the park, we stopped by CityWalk and did a little shopping at the NBA basketball store

The next day, we headed to the second park:

• Universal Studios

At first, we didn’t see anything particularly impressive. The park looked like a city filled with pedestrians. But as it turned out, first impressions can be deceiving. Almost all of the attractions are hidden away, just as in the other parks. But each one is incredibly interesting and unforgettable.

Yes, at the entrance to each attraction there is a display showing the estimated waiting time. On average, we waited 20–30 minutes. Quite often, we practically walked straight in, while one attraction had us waiting in line for a full 70 minutes. But it was absolutely worth it!

Our first show was SHREK 4D. At first, visitors enter a theater where a short interactive story takes place. Then, wearing 3D glasses, we watch what seems to be a continuation of Shrek’s adventures. The seats move, and there are various other special effects.

Then we went on the roller coaster HOLLYWOOD RIP RIDE ROCKIT

Iris and I don’t play “those kinds of games,” so we stayed behind to wait for our men.

By the way, many attractions have these test seats at the entrance. At first, I thought they were simply part of the entertainment, but then I realized that wasn’t quite the case...The thing is, Orlando has a lot of very large and heavy people. For many of them, there’s no point in standing in line because they may not fit into the seats anyway. So they try the seats first to see if they can squeeze in...

We continued on. Along the way, we occasionally came across beautiful themed decorations, as well as snack stands

Our next attraction was REVENGE OF THE MUMMY. Scary, fast, and completely unexpected. Small children aren’t allowed, and rightly so.

For younger children, there is a great option called Child Swap. Right before the entrance to many attractions, there is a special children’s room. It is decorated in the theme of the attraction and has a TV showing themed cartoons. One parent stays in the room with the child while the other goes on the attraction, and then they switch. At the exit of every attraction, there is a themed souvenir shop.

Our next attraction was DISASTER!. We were taken to what was supposedly a movie studio. Several visitors were selected to participate in the filming. Everything was fun, unusual, and full of humor. After the filming was over, we were seated in a subway train. On the screen, we could see the movie that had just been edited.And suddenly — disaster strikes! Actually, several disasters at once. Something like a combination of a car accident, an earthquake, and a flood. The whole train shakes, cars come flying at us, things fall, crash, and rumble.

Well, there wasn’t much time left for jokes...

We got a little hungry and finally decided to try the smoked turkey leg. Throughout the entire vacation, we had watched people in the parks wrestling with these enormous legs. At first, we were shocked to see someone eating such a thing, then we found it amusing, and eventually we decided to give it a try ourselves)) It was delicious. Although, unlike the Americans, one leg was enough for our entire family.

We continued on and arrived at MEN IN BLACK: ALIEN ATTACK. We climbed into our space vehicle, each armed with a laser gun, while all kinds of aliens appeared around us. And we had to shoot them! You get points for every successful hit. The kids went on it twice))

And, as usual, here’s our “while standing in line” photo

Our next stop was THE SIMPSONS RIDE. My favorite attraction in the park. Simply magical! We walked through several rooms, then climbed into a vehicle, put on our 3D glasses, and flew right into the cartoon. An incredible experience. You really feel like a character in the cartoon, as if you’re inside the screen and all the action is happening around you.

We made our way to the children’s area — Woody Woodpecker's KidZone — where the kids cooled off a little

Next, we went on E.T. ADVENTURE. Remember that old American science-fiction movie by Spielberg — E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (the alien who looks like a turtle without a shell)? Well, we found ourselves in the forest, visiting this kind-hearted alien.

Walking past UNIVERSAL ORLANDO'S HORROR MAKE-UP SHOW, we noticed that the show was starting in just a few minutes, so we quickly slipped into the theater. On stage, two makeup artists demonstrated several tricks involving makeup and special effects used in horror movies. The show was full of jokes, not always appropriate for children, but those who understood the jokes found them very funny, and those who didn’t understand still enjoyed the show)

Next — TERMINATOR 2. A serious show, lots of effects, 3D glasses. The action seems to take place on the screen, but every now and then the characters somehow materialize out of the screen and appear right in front of us. Impressive.

We headed back toward the entrance of the park, hoping that by evening the line for one of the newer attractions would be shorter.

DESPICABLE ME MINION MAYHEM. An attraction based on one of the latest popular animated movies. The concept is very similar to my favorite Simpson ride. 3D glasses. We approach the screen and suddenly find ourselves inside an incredibly bright and colorful cartoon. It feels as though we are right in the middle of everything that is happening

We remembered that we had skipped one more attraction — TRANSFORMERS: THE RIDE 3D. This was the attraction where we stood in line for 70 minutes. A bit much, of course, although along the way there was some really impressive theming: buttons, levers, and diagrams on the walls. You could touch everything, pull the levers, press the buttons... and the time passed much faster. Everything was very solidly done, with spectacular effects. We entered the world of the Transformers — the good ones and the bad ones — and became part of their battles. Naturally, the good guys won.

When we came out of the attraction, the park was already closing. We managed to photograph a few vintage cars

But that’s not all of our journey. On the other days, we visited another very interesting park, a museum, and even made it to the beach... But that’s a story for another time...

You can read Part 1 of our Disney World adventure here

You can see the 3td part of our trip. about Sea World and Surroundings, here