Monday, April 4, 2011

Experience it for yourself!

I've made a few references to Universal Studios in previous posts, but now I'd like to actually go a little deeper into my experiences. I've been to Universal three times, and it is by far my favorite vacation. When my family travels to Florida, we always go the same way-- we leave for Baltimore a day early and leave from there to either a connection flight or straight through to Orlando. Plane tickets these days cost a small fortune, but I assure that Universal is worth it.

Universal is broken up into two parks: Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. Universal Studios is where you can actually live the movies. Movies such as Men in Black, Jaws, The Terminator, the Mummy and others are all present in ride form, ranging from roller coasters to boat rides with "deadly" sharks. Islands of Adventures is a little more extreme. The park is broken up into different "islands," like Toon Lagoon, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the Lost Continent, and Superhero Island, just to name a few. Here you can find huge coasters that shoot you out of a tube as you transform into the hulk, ride through Hogwarts and the Forbidden Forrest for yourself, ride through Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat, and even help Pop-Eye rescue his beloved Olive Oyl from the dreaded Bluto.

Like I said, I love this place. I would go here every year if I could. Not only does Universal have all of this to offer, but they also have tons of great restaurants, such as Margaritaville, Bubba Gump's, and even Emeril's, a fine-dining restaurant, many nightclubs, quite a few shops, and even a few movie theaters. Don't get me wrong, the Florida heat is stifling, but it is so worth it.

Check out some pics from my family vacation there last summer. We had a lot of fun, even thought the Wizarding World of Harry Potter had just opened and there were crazy lines all the time!

I love this picture. This is in City Walk, the part 
right before the park, right as all the lights come on .

Hogwarts!

Inside the castle. This was so surreal for me.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione

Outside the Dragon Challenge roller coaster. 
Two separate coasters that "duel" each other. 

Hard Rock Cafe in the daytime. 

The Rip Ride Hollywood Rockit. It takes you straight 
up at a 90 degree angle, AND you pick your own tunes 
to listen to as you ride! For added fun, 
you're recorded throughout the experience. 

Me getting attacked by Jaws and my boyfriend being whimpy. (:

The entrance to Universal Studios. If you look 
closely, you can see me and Kyle (my boyfriend).

Kyle, my brothers, and myself with SpongeBob.

Twister: Ride it out! It's not actually a ride, but a scene
 from the movie is recreated before your eyes. Super cool.

Men in Black Headquarters!

Entrance to Seuss Landing, where literally 
everything is based on Dr. Seuss.

Entrance to the Lost Continent. Not many rides here
 anymore, but some wicked awesome shows.

Entrance to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

Superhero Island from across the water. You can see 
Dr. Doom's Fear Fall (two pointy towers) and the Hulk coaster.

Toon Lagoon.

Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls. A great and entertaining 
way to cool off. They even have a people dryer close by! I'm not kidding.

Dr. Doom's Fear Fall. Crazy.

The Hulk! You won't like him when he's angry.

The Mummy. A fast and furious indoor coaster.

Hogwarts express! (I was so happy!)

Hogwarts at dusk.

In front of the famous globe.

Our hotel. It is amazing there.

If you ever have the opportunity to go, do not pass it up. The memories I made on this trip are priceless. I can't wait till I can go again!

No comments:

Post a Comment