Universal Studios

[ctrous25]

My girlfriend and I are planning on going to universal studios this winter. Just was curious to who's been there and if so, been there since Harry potter world has been open. . We're huge Harry potter nerds

 

[Bigdog]

I have been to the one in LA twice. It was a great experience. The tour was great and my suggestion is do it first thing in the morning. It gets crowded later on.

 

[Stash]

I've gone to the Florida version twice, but it was before the second Harr Potter attraction opened and right before they finished Transformers. But if you're Harry Potter fans, you'll love it.

 

[DallasEast]

My wife and I have gone there twice in Orlando. We're thinking of going there again this year but trying to decide if we will do Disney World (exclusively) instead. I highly recommend Universal Studios and both theme parks. CityWalk is a lot of fun also. We enjoyed the heck out of the original Harry Potter attraction. Like Stash, we haven't experienced the newer Potter attraction but I'm sure it rocks too. If you're thinking of staying at the resort, I recommend the Hard Rock Hotel. It's located nearest to both parks and a short walk away. Plus the service, rooms and amenities are fantastic. The Hard Rock is one of the main reasons why I want to go back to Universal.

EDIT: Get Express Passes for the parks! They cost more but well worth the money for avoiding long depressing lines.

 

[FloridaRob]

Getting too old for that. My grandson has season passes and convinced me to ride the new Harry potter ride a couple if months ago. The parts where my eyes were open were incredible. The rest my legs were going one way and the rest of me were going another but eyes were shut. They just opened a second Harry potter ride and the wait is like two hours. He said it was as good as the first. there is a train that connects islands of adventure where the older Harry potter ride is to universal where the new ride is. The train ride is full of virtual gizmos. Get the multi park pass.

 

[FloridaRob]

Yea the express passes are more than the tickets to get in but well worth it.

 

[FloridaRob]

Actually the best time to ride is about ,30 minutes before closing. Crowds have thinned out by then. If it is thin enough they may let you ride multiple times, back to back.

 

[FloridaRob]

Forgot one thing. the fast pass does not apply to the Harry Potter rides. You are waiting with the thousand other people for that.

 

[KJJ]

Been to the one in LA many times but not in the last 10 years. When I first moved to California many years ago I was a tour guide there for about 3 months did the back lot tour. Thought it would be an easy job to get but you had to audition. It was an open call consisting of over 100 people and they narrowed it down to about 20. You then had to take a test tram ride and do your thing to make the experience entertaining. Anyway, it's an enjoyable day whether you're with a girlfriend or your entire family. The back lot tour is a lot of fun you get to see façades and homes that were used in movies like the house used in Psycho.

They take you through the Leave it to Beaver neighborhood I would assume they still do it. Not sure they still take everyone around to see the mechanical shark used in the original Jaws but they probably do. The 3 most fun rides I ever went on there were the Back to the Future ride, Indiana Jones ride and the ET adventure ride. The ET adventure was my favorite not sure it's still around but that was an enjoyable experience. They would sit you on what looked like bikes and you would fly over what looked like a city at night it looked so real. They have all kinds of rides, attractions and food it's impossible to go there and not have a lot of fun.

 

[ctrous25]

Thanks folks for the advice

 

[trentmonster]

Wife and I went to Orlando back in October - we are Harry Potter nerds as well. Diagon Alley is really cool. Like someone else said, ride Gringott's and/or the Hogwarts ride first thing or later in the day. Express pass is probably not necessary in the winter (google search a park crowd calendar). Not a big thing, but look for the side door at the wand shop. Every few minutes they will walk a group through and do the "wand choosing the wizard" bit for younger kids. It's a fun little show.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Yea the express passes are more than the tickets to get in but well worth it.

Invest in the fast pass front of the line passes for sure. Only way you can even come close to enjoying the entire experience. Good call Robbie.

 

[Aikmaniac]

My wife and I went last year. Not a Harry Potter fan at all, but did watch the first three films to "prepare". It didn't prepare me for the hoard of people in attendance. I was blown away by how many people were in that area. The money is flowing over there. I did like the train ride from one area to the other.

I enjoyed the Jurassic Park portion and the Transformers ride.

I was disappointed at the lack of love Jaws gets these days. The only Jaws element is the shark hung by its tail on one of the docks. Sad face.

 

[KJJ]

I was disappointed at the lack of love Jaws gets these days. The only Jaws element is the shark hung by its tail on one of the docks. Sad face.

The one in Hollywood had the shark swimming through the water with the Jaws music playing and it would come up to the tram and leap out of the water with it's mouth wide open. Jaws has been around so long they have to keep things up to date but I always enjoyed that attraction. I tossed a pack of tic tacs in it's mouth once.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

My girlfriend and I are planning on going to universal studios this winter. Just was curious to who's been there and if so, been there since Harry potter world has been open. . We're huge Harry potter nerds

yeah I was there, it is great

you should try to stay on site as you can then get in early and get right to Harry Potter world.

 

[Doomsday101]

Been to universals studio in Orlando Fl. and been to Disney, Universal was much more enjoyable

 

[Tabascocat]

My new house is just North of Universal in LA. They have a new Fast and Furious ride that just came out. Couple that with the Transformers one, I have to get a season pass now

Had a season pass a few years ago and went once, heh.

 

[FloridaRob]

nobody around here likes Disney over Universal. Disney is an experience for little kids. For anyone older is is not worth the heat, crowds, or wait for a ride.