15 Things That Shock Universal Orlando Guests

virtual cues weird Beverages and a troller coaster these are the most shocking things you need to know about Universal Orlando before you go hey everybody it's AJ for Disney food blog so Universal Orlando has really put itself in the spotlight lately especially with all the Epic Universe News coming out but whether you're planning a universal trip before that third gate opens or after it's important to expect the unexpected even when preparing to Universal's currently existing Parks Universal Studios Florida Islands of Adventure and even volcano Bay so let's get the shock factor out of the way now so you're not surprised by these Universal planning factors later on you don't want to be the one in the dark so new parades and nighttime shows are coming soon I'm not just talking about when epic Universe opens up I'm talking like in the next few weeks Universal recently announc two new shows coming to their Parks the first is called cational it's a symphonic spectacular which will officially debut on June 14th Universal shared that the new show will celebrate the emotional power of music by leveraging the iconic scores and scenes from Blockbuster films they also added that the show is going to feature 228 fountains that reach Heights up to 131 ft there'll be 4K projection mapping an original composition featuring newly arranged scores and more than 600 drones we love a drone show cational will take place in the middle of the central Lagoon inside Universal Studios Florida then on July 3rd Universal Mega Movie parade is also going to make its Grand debut inside Universal Studios Florida this is going to feature tons of universal favorite characters and sets from movies like ET Back to the Future Jaws Ghostbusters Jurassic world Minions sing trolls and Kung Fu Panda the Parade's going to run on select days and become the Park's largest parade to date with 13 new floats and over a 100 performers in honor of this debuting parade Universal Orlando summer tribute store is going to be themed around the different films that Mega Movie will represent meanwhile over in Islands of Adventure Hogwarts always will also debut on June 14th 2024 this is going to be the Wizarding world's newest Castle projection show that's going to take guests on a journey through iconic moments of a school year at Hogwarts and get this there'll be multiple endings for the Newcastle show too according to Universal Hogwarts always will feature four different endings that celebrate each hogwart's house and will culminate with a colorful pyrot Technic display I hope you get the house that you want when you're there now Universal has always been known as the park that has a lot of real rides and adult Centric rides but they are bringing some more kids stuff right now the DreamWorks cast is here to save the day Universal Studios will be opening their DreamWorks land on June 14th so June 14th's a real hoop in day for Universal this new area is replacing the former Kid Zone land that used to be housed here right next to the ET Adventure Dark Ride which by the way they better not replace or I'm going to riot at least I'll cry a whole lot so what's going to be in this new DreamWork section firstly we're going to have a trolls troller coaster which is going to be a familyfriendly junior coaster that'll put you on the back of a caterbus to explore the colorful World straight out of the trolls movies then in direct contrast to all the bright shades of orange yellow and purple over at the troller coaster you've got the mossy greens and muddy Browns of Shrek swamp which is going to be a fun meet and greet location where you can hang out with Fiona and donkey and the onion layered ogre himself Shrek finally the Triad of DreamWorks land will be complete with Po's Kung Fu training camp where you're going to get to experience the panda Village and meet and train with po himself there'll be several interactive elements around the village to make this area all the more immersive for all ages now the next thing that's going to shock you at Orlando is the thing that shocked me the most when I first started going and that's the sheer cost of Express passes you thought Disney Genie plus was expensive just wait till you hear about Universal's Express passes the current price of a basic Express Pass which allows you to bypass the main lines for most Universal rides just one time ranges from $79.99 to $289.99 and that's on top of what you're already paying for a park ticket per person but that's not as expensive as these Express passes get Universal Orlando also offers the Universal Express unlimited pass which removes the once per ride restriction you can ride as many times as you want and these passes cost $109.99 to $319.99 per person for those going to Universal's Water Park volcano Bay you can get an express pass over there as well which allows you to skip the virtual line once per participating ride for $ 199.99 to $149.99 per person again this is on top of what you're already paying for the ticket all these price ranges are based on what time of year you're visiting the parks and how busy they are but unfortunately the higher the express pass price the more likely you're going to need it since that's when crowds are going to be their highest so here's the good news about Express passes they're so so so so easy to use there's no strategizing like what you have to do when you use Genie plus where you're booking and stacking and planning out your lightning Lanes all day long with an ex pass you can literally go up to pretty much almost any universal ride and go yeah I'd like to skip the line for that and then just scan your card and skip the line easy as pie and what makes the unlimited Express passes even better is if you're planning on staying at one of Universal's Premier hotels like Lowe's Royal Pacific resort Hard Rock Hotel Lowe's porino Bay cuz when you stay in a room at any of these locations then you get those unlimited Express passes for free that's right I said free for everyone who's staying in your room with you so if You' got five people staying in your room and the express passes are super expensive like $300 then paying for a night in the hotel is potentially going to save you hundreds and hundreds of dollars and since Universal's Premiere hotels range around the price of Disney's moderate Resorts you really are getting a pretty sweet deal there so yeah Express passes are pricey extremely so but they're also convenient and they might even be complimentary for you depending on where you decide to crash each night of your trip so yeah there are a lot of pros and cons when it comes to universals Express passes but one of the biggest cons for this premium line bypassing service only happens over on the Islands of Adventure side of things and this is a shock to a lot of people as well at Universal Studios Florida you can use express passes for literally any ride Park wide but at ioa you can't use express passes on two of the rides here the first is torontoon Flyers which isn't a big deal this one's for the kids anyway and the second is Hagrid's magical creatures motorbike Adventure which is a big deal since this is the ride that gets the longest lines in the entire park and this goes for either express pass that you purchase even if you splurge on the unlimited pass you're still not going to be able to use it on this Wizarding themed coaster so how do you cut down your weight for hagrids unfortunately even a 60 plus minute wait may be unavoidable the best plan of attack we've got for you is to get to this park early early and hit up Hagrid's first thing is this what the majority of Universal's guests are doing yes but it's still one of your better chances of not having to wait as long for this ride as you would if you were getting in line for it say midday it's also cooler temperature-wise to wait in line when the sun's not directly beating down on you like it will become afternoon time if you have access to Universal's early Park admission during your visit which allows all Universal Orlando resort hotel guests and select annual passholders 1hour early entry to Universal Studios Florida or Universal Islands of Adventure or both during extra busy times of the year then you can actually get even more of a head start to your uni day giving you the chance to jump in Hagrid's line an hour before the general public which is the most significant way we've found a decree increase our wait time keep in mind that during early Park admission you'll only be able to access the Wizarding World section in Islands of Adventure as well as velocci coaster over in Jurassic Park all other areas of the park will remain closed until the official Park opening time you may also want to try getting in line for hagrids in the last hour or so of the day when crowds are starting to dwindle again now this isn't foolproof and you're still probably going to find yourself waiting for a significant amount of time to ride but at least you knocked out all the other Islands of Adventure rides that you wanted to before getting in line for this one and again with the sun going down you won't have to worry about melting where you stand cuz a lot of this line is outside next thing that surprises Universal Orlando guests but you need to know about is that there are lots of good single Rider opportunities don't want to pay for Express passes yeah me neither you may still be able to cut down on your ride weight times for free many of Universal's rides have a single Rider option that lets Universal team members fill in all the leftover ride seats with guests who have volunteered to ride alone since many guests prefer sticking with their families or groups the single riders line could be a much speedier option for you emphasis on the could single Rider lines are available for several popular Universal rides including but not limited to attractions like Harry Potter and the escape from Green gots Revenge of the Mummy Transformers the ride 3D in Universal Studios Florida also velocci coaster incredible HT coaster and even sometimes hagrids ride over in Islands of Adventure so here's the big downside of single Rider cues aside from the fact that you're going to have to split up your group if you want to potentially cut down on your weight although that might not be a bad side depends on how you're feeling about your group that day anyway Universal takes great pride in their ride cues and that includes setting up the story you're about to embark on with their pre-shows single Rider lines sometimes will weave around all the Q details and shows or at least part of them so make sure you're okay with sacrificing a section of the World building in exchange for again a potentially shorter weight listen I got nothing against screen-based rides some of my favorite rides of all time are screen based flight of Passage and Animal Kingdom for examp sample but Universal Orlando has a lot of them like a glut and when you ride them back to back any of you out there who are like me and have motion sensitivities might find yourself struck with a nasty stomach ache or headache early on in the day 3D screen rides can make you feel sick for two reasons it either feels like you're moving when you aren't so your equilibrium is set out of place or you can experience nausea when you are actually having simulated movement to go along with a screen it's always best to pack your preferred motion sickness relief with you in your Park bag whether that be non drowsy Dramamine or em motion sickness patch or even Ginger candies to suck on but even if you forget or run out you can actually pick up single doses of certain over-the-counter medications for free at Universal's First Aid locations if you need them at Universal Studios Florida you can find First Aid at Family Services at the front of the park and at Islands of Adventure you'll find First Aid stations inside the guest services Lobby to the right of the main entrance turn Styles I hate to sound like I'm just bashing Universal rides cuz I'm really not I love them a lot but again I'm here to lay down the shocking truth today so I'm not not holding back this is stuff you need to know and you want to be prepared for that's our job here and the shocking truth this time is many of Universal's ride Vehicles don't also accommodate every body type even with Universal's tester seats that you're going to find before you enter the cues sometimes you'll still find that a ride seat doesn't work the way it promised and that can feel really unfair if you've already waited all that time in line to ride a ride one of our reporters actually went to the parks with a friend recently who has a larger body type and when that friend tried out the tester seat for escape from gring gots the tester seat seemed to work for them just fine but after standing in line for the ride and getting up to the vehicle to board his friend couldn't get through the narrow door of the vehicle to get to the seat itself which as our reporter put it was the moment when morale evaporated completely Universal even States on their website that guests whose waistlines are 40 in or greater may not be accommodated on select rides so here's the good news certain Universal rides have more accommodating seats that aren't as clearly advertised because they're not always a guarantee for instance the back rows of Revenge of the Mummy and escape from grots have slightly more room than the other rows do ET Adventure also has modified bench seats on the back row of one of their trains according to our reporter who went to the parks with his friend ET actually seemed to be the most accommodating ride across Universal Studios Florida just something to keep in mind on the hul coaster select seats will be modified with two seat belts instead of just one to provide guests with more room while only select rows are going to have these modified seats typically rows 1 four five and eight you'll be able to easily spot which seat in your row has been modified when you find the red belt buckle straps and you can request these particular seats as well on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey the far end seats are going to give you more room than the middle ones will for Forbidden Journey you're just going to have to talk over the seating arrangement with your fellow group members since you'll all be free to choose one of those end rows for yourself but on rides like mummy and green gots where the rows are assigned for you it never hurts to ask one of the ride crew members if you can be placed in the back row for your comfort or on Hulk asking for one of those modified seats again back seats aren't always a guarantee modified seats aren't always a guarantee but more often than not Universal will work with you to make sure you can experience the ride as comfortably as possible listen I will die on this hill I think it's absurd that Wizards have apparently never heard of a thing called Diet Coke because you can't find normal muggle soda anywhere in the Wizarding sections of either Park I know I know I'm just whining but I want you to know about it in case you are a soda Goblin like me yeah I know y'all are about to come at me with your torches and pitchforks ready to defend butter Beer's honor I'm not saying I don't like butterbeer it's just when I want something refreshing and carbonated and not so sickly sweet butterbeer isn't going to satisfy me the same way a trusty Diet Coke well I understand that it's sweet too I get it also hot butterbeer is better than Frozen butter beer anyway while the Wizarding World sections do have some more normal drink options like coffee tea lemonade and ghilly water which is just water the more adventurous drinks you might encounter in either area include stuff like the pumpkin juice the tongue tying lemon squash which is a sweet and tart lemon flavored beverage basically like a lemonade but they're using squash in there cuzz that's like a British thing otter fizzy orange juice fishy green ale made with mint and cinnamon and popping blueberry fish eggs call me out if you want to but any drink that has fishy in the title sure doesn't sound like something I want to have with my bangers and mash anyway fortunately you're not going to be soda less inside Universal there are several places to order a Coke or a DI of Coke or a Sprite Etc in each Park as well as in CityWalk and volcano Bay too just don't be surprised if you want to eat a meal at the three broomsticks and Islands of Adventure The Leaky cauldron in Universal Studios Florida and you can't find any normal soda options listed on the menu they are not there they have never been there you might be better off purchasing a drink in another location and carrying it on into either quick service with you that's what I do okay I hope you've forgiven me for that last point I know I know you're frustrated and angry now hopefully this next little tip is going to help you restore your faith in my Humanity we're going to talk about parking garages it's great that the Universal Property is so walkable you've got the hotel CityWalk volcano Bay both theme parks in the same general area so you don't have to worry about a whole lot of extra travel time when you're trying to get from one place to another around property at least not now when epic Universe opens you will but we'll talk about that later however if you're not staying at one of the Universal Hotels and you're planning on driving yourself to the parks each day then I got to warn you you're going to have quite the daily journey to deal with regardless of which Park you plan on visiting you only have the option of parking in one of two garages that means everyone going to any of the parks is trying to park on one one of the multiple levels inside those two garages which can feel a bit like a parking nightmare especially in the morning when everyone's getting there at the same time once you've parked you then have to make your way up to security before entering the CityWalk area which you'll have to walk through before you get to either Islands of Adventure or Universal Studios Florida regardless of where you've parked everyone goes to the same security point and the security checkpoints at Universal Orlando aren't like Disney's at Universal you'll feel more like you're going through a TSA checkpoint since you'll have to put all your loose items into a tub that goes through a security screening think you can avoid all the chaos by using a ride share service well that can actually kind of be a pain too while an Uber lift might save you the hassle of having to drive yourself through the parking parade you're also going to have to be dropped off on the very top of the parking garage with the Jurassic Park and Kong and Jaws parking zones level five so you may end up having an even longer walk to security and then into the parks so why am I telling you all this well because if you're trying to get to the parks right at Park opening to make the most out of those limited morning crowds and get yourself into that hagrids line immediately you're not just going to be able to drive on up and Waltz up to the front gate it's going to be about a 30 plus minute procedure when all is said and done so make sure you plan accordingly give yourself plenty of extra time before Park opening to brace yourself for all the parking garage Halo now like I said it's time to talk about epic Universe not being in the Universal bubble Universal is expanding in a big way and in order to get to the new third gate when it opens in 2025 you're not going to be able to just walk there like you can walk between Islands of Adventure in Universal Studios Florida the new theme park is actually going to be located just a few miles from the existing Resort in Southwest Orange County specifically it'll be South of San Lake Road and East of Universal Boulevard which is next to the Orange County Convention Center and about 15 minutes away from the traditional Universal Orlando complex interestingly the Epic Universe site is actually closer to Disney World than it is to Universal's other Parks which will arguably make it easier for Disney guests to get over there and check things out hm now to get to Epic you won't want to park at the main Universal parking garages by Universal's other theme parks instead you're going to want to drive directly to where the new park is located this might sound like a relief after the parking parade situation we just got done talking about but the verdict still out when it comes to parking at Epic we'll just have to wait and see what kind of wildness is in store for us over there Universal has confirmed that there will be free Transportation connecting the entire Universal Orlando Resort destination so you'll still be able to travel between Parks much like you can over on the Disney World scene with their free bus transfer ation now Universal doesn't mess around with their water rides this isn't a situation where I can tell you oh if you sit and row so and so you won't get a soaked as you will in row this and that nope there is no escaping getting absolutely drenched on Universal's water rides especially for making a circuit over at toon Lagoon and Islands of Adventure now that's all fine in Dandy that's not the thing that's shocking you probably already knew that and if you're in the parks on an incredibly scorching day it's actually kind of nice but let me warn you Universal's indoor location like restaurants gift shops stage shows run cold which is great if you're not soaked to the bone but absolutely chilling when you are if you need a quick dry off guess what I love this both ton Lagoon and the Jurassic Park area have giant people dryers you know like a bathroom hand dryer if said hand dryer turned into an archway and was able to dry off a family of four all at once these dryers do cost extra like around $5 to $8 each so if you plan on using them prepare to pay for them and pack in as many people as you can okay empty out your pockets friends cuz some Universal rides are going to be really strict about what you bring onto the actual attraction and depending on which ride you're wanting to go on you might not even be able to bring anything with you at all which is incredibly freeing but also kind of a hassle there's a no loose items policy for Universal's most intense coasters including the incredible Halk coaster Hollywood Rip Ride rocket and velocci coaster while complimentary lockers are available for many rides lots of them will still allow you to keep your phone with you just as long as it's secured in your pocket during the duration of the attraction these particular coasters aren't going to let you ride if you're still holding on to your iPhone or Android in fact you must walk through a security screening with metal detectors and scanning wands before you're allowed to board these rides fortunately there are a couple of exceptions to this rule lanyards holding Express passes Etc can still be worn but must be tucked inside your shirt and apple watches are okay to have on you too since they'll be latched and secured to your wrist the whole time speaking of complimentary lockers your locker might not be be so complimentary if you've got a bigger bag that you're carrying or you're toting around a giant souvenir I get it the Hagrid Plushies are hard to skip over but they aren't going to make it easy to fit all your stuff into one little tiny ride locker and that's when you might have to pay for a large Locker which can fit big backpacks and multiple purses these large lockers cost $2 each and $3 for every additional half hour with a Max of $20 but my tip is to just make sure you bring a small enough bag that it's going to fit into those free lockers you don't want to keep paying for lockers over and over again now overall Universal food is okay decent it's cute and creative and leans into the novelty of each area pretty well but do you find me craving any of the snacks from Universal m not really maybe the baked potatoes from the London taxi Hut in Universal Studios Florida but I can always get a baked potato from someplace else or flori and foris skues or the Crepes but Bria is going to disagree with the Crepes because she doesn't like masarone cheese but I like masarone cheese and it was in this incredible strawberry chocolate Nutella crepe situation and you know Bria and I agree to disagree but we still very much enjoy each other's company anyway where can you find the really good Universal food the better question is when can you find the really good Universal food and the answer is during a universal Festival especially during marra Universal Marty gr International flavors of Carnival is typically held during the beginning of February and up to the beginning of April and features tons of limited time events and shows parades and even some celebrities exciting however what we're always looking forward to the most with this event is the globally inspired Marty Gro food Universal will release their Marty gr special te menus on their website before the festivities kick off giving you plenty of time to look things over and pick out your must tries ahead of your trip we really don't talk enough about volcano Bay on this channel and I hate that cuz it's probably the coolest water park in the Orlando area sometimes water parks are just not my cup of tea and that's cuz it can be a pain getting out of the water waiting at a long line for a water ride and then getting all dried off while waiting only to find get on the ride get wet again and then have to do the whole process over but volcano Bay has fixed this problem thanks to its tapoo tapoo system this is an interactive bracelet not unlike a Magic Band you'd buy at Disney that you'll be given when you enter the park this bracelet is not only free to use but it's actually a required tool that you'll need to use to access the rides and slides you'll give it back when you leave at the end of the day so here's how you use them when you arrive at a ride you'll see its current wait time posted on a totem pole close by to get in line for the ride just touch your tapoo Tapo on the tote pole and then you wait it's all a virtual queue so you can head to the wave pool chill in The Lazy River grab a cocktail and a bite to eat your tapu tapoo will alert you when it's your turn to ride you can only reserve one ride at a time so if you find a shorter weight time at another ride you can reserve it instead but you'll lose your other virtual spot in line be on the lookout for rides that say ride now you can hop right into those rides without losing your spot in a virtual line for another attraction tapoo tapoo also gives you the ability to do other things around the park like unlock Interactive features download photos or even pay for things yep that's right you can also have the option to add a credit card to your tapoo tapoo for the ultimate handsfree Park experience it's not required but it does add another level of convenience to your day so you don't have to keep going back to your locker and grabbing your card at anytime you want to pay for stuff you can set up your tap to pay at the park or in advance on your Universal online account if you set up an account your card will be automatically linked to your tapoo tapoo when you enter the park and at the end of the day all of your personal information is unlined from it if you happen to lose your tapoo Tapo during the day which can happen on occasion just make sure you go to Guest Services ASAP so a team member can disconnect your band immediately all right the next thing that shocks Universal guests and it really does shock them is that Halloween Horror Nights goes real real hard hhn which takes place over Universal Studios Florida during the Halloween season isn't anything like Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party that happens in Magic Kingdom Universal Studios overall is a familyfriendly park but their Halloween specific after hours event that you'll need a separate ticket for is not familyfriendly not even a little bit Halloween Horror Nights takes place on select nights throughout the months of September and October after the park closes for regular guests usually around 6:30 and after the general public leaves it's time for the once happy go-lucky park to be filled with nightmares from its outdoor scare zones to its haunted houses to its frightening stage shows it's just a night full of constant jump scares until 2: a.m. so here's my big mom warning for y'all this event is intent and there aren't any no scare lanyards available for the kids like you can find at some other Halloween theme park events in the area so if your kids got a ticket to Halloween Horror Nights they're going to be a jump scare Target just like everyone else they don't go easy on the kids so please please please don't take your kids to this event thinking that Universal is going to water down the scares Universal Prides themselves on their horror effects and sets and they do them a little too well while we might be called Disney food blog we got reporters in the universal theme parks on The Daily too ready to take on that shock factor for you so you don't have to experience it during your next trip so don't forget to keep checking back here with your good friends at dfb for more tips and tricks and news to come and be sure to check out our Universal playlist over on our channel that features planning videos like The Ultimate Guide to Universal Orlando 2024 and the best things to eat in Universal Orlando this year thanks for listening everyone and thanks for watching as always this is AJ for Disney food Vlog and we'll see you real soon

Channel: DFBGuide

Views: 55,164

Keywords: disneyfood, disney, disney world, disneyland, disneyvideo, disneyvacation, food, disney parks, disney travel, disney tips, disney guides, disney planning, disney trip, disney how to, disney vlog, disney vlogger

Id: ROrmh98UsSg

Length: 24min 58sec (1498 seconds)

Published: Tue May 14 2024