First destination in Orlando was Universal Studios. I had never read about Universal Orlando so had an idea that it would be a ‘studio’ rather than a theme park, where we can have a tour of sets. I was wrong, I figured out it was a theme park based on movies/ TV shows mostly from the Universal.
Universal Studio has two parks, first one is Universal Studios Florida and other one is Island of Adventure. Universal Studios is divided into several regions – Production Studios, Hollywood, New York etc. Each area is setup exactly like the famous locations from that place and we get the complete experience of which the corresponding place.
On the entrance we see the familiar Universal Globe rotating. The park has a small pond and all the attractions are around it. We started with the Krustyland, which is The Simpsons based ride. It was the best simulation (till that time) I had ever been to.
Krustyland – The Simpsons Ride
Then we moved to the MIB ride, this was more of a game rather than a ride. We move over the rails and we have the laser guns. We shoot the aliens and score points and compete amongst our group.
Moving on we went to Terminator 3D experience. Usually 3D movies are just about the glasses and screen, but when one can have a complete setup they can do wonders. This movie has real actors performing roles, real smoke, lighting effects, moving chairs and a lot of 3D effects to give the complete experience.
Next was the ‘ET Adventure’ based on the movie Extra Terrestrial. This ride is simulated as we are riding on one of the bicycle and go around the sky discovering new places. This was a very good simulation, even the odor of the area was changed for simulation. It is said that Steven Spielberg personally monitored and contributed a lot in developing this ride.
Moving on we went to ‘Revenge of The Mummy’ based on the movie The Mummy. It is a indoor roller coaster, before this day I had thought we don’t have roller coasters indoors. This was a good ride, completely in dark so we had no idea where we are heading to, with real water spray, fire bursts and complete darkness combined with 360 degree turns and few falls simulate a very good “tomb” adventure.
‘Disaster Movie’ was the next attraction. This is not a ride but simulation of a disaster, we are seated in a underground subway and suddenly earthquake shakes everything. We experience water rushing in, a truck falling on us, moving earth, fire in a controlled environment to feel what actually can happen during a disaster. Before the ride, a few actors from audiences are selected which are filmed in front of everyone doing some “non-sense” but by the end of ride, we see all that in one rendered movie with changed background. This is supposed to be trailer of “Mutha Nature” movie. Pre-show of this has a 3-D hologram of Christopher Walken directing us how the movie is going to be. I must say, was very impressed by the 3-D hologram and the way it was used on that set.
We did few more things such as Shrek 4D movie, but those did not impressed us much. We moved to the next park – Island of Adventure. This park is known for roller coasters and we tried every ‘adventure’. We started with Jurassic Park adventure ride, which basically is a boat which goes through the park and finally had a 85 ft fall (splash).
Next up was another roller coaster (I don’t remember the name), but it was pretty neat too. We were seating on chairs hanging and it went upside down a few times. Incredible Hulk was next up, at first I was reluctant but my friends pulled me in. It goes from 0-60 mph in 2 seconds and has the world’s longest cobra roll. I had maximum fun in it, and went once again for it.
The Incredible Hulk
Spider man ride was next and that proved to be most realistic show of our tour, it was an amazing simulation with all the villains in the movie. This ride had a drop, many 360 rotations, fire, water spray, fog and excellent graphics.
We went ahead to Dudley Do-Right ride and then the wrong happened. We were on the top of the hill and just before the fall there was a glitch. We were stuck for 15 minutes on the top, first we thought it was part of ride as there was Dudley Do shouting “I won’t let the ride fall”, but when it repeated over 20 times we realized there was a problem. We were not soaked after the splash, but there was place (we didn’t know of) where people from over the bridge can put quarters an squirt us with water.
Dudley Do Right Ride
The last part was a tour of Greek building. It was a sort of adventure and was done very nicely. A lot of fire all around, a bridge made of water and video projecting over a thin layer of water. It was another cool simulation.
There were many other things in park, but it was night and we moved to Universal City Walk, this was a good place, on a lake side at night all the places lighted up gave a very scenic view. Usually it would take a lot more time to cover, but since it was off-season we could walk into any ride anytime and that is why we could do things multiple times. Overall, it was a lot of fun. But this was just the start, next three days at Disney World proved to be much more fun, about that on next post.
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