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Random Universal Orlando Thoughts (March 19 – March 26, 2022)

CMM

Jul 26, 2019
23
69
This was only my second ever trip to Universal Orlando so I am not a crusty Universal veteran (our first trip was in March 2019). We stayed in a Bay View room at Portofino Bay for the duration of the trip and primarily did the Universal parks with the exception of a day each at Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.

Volcano Bay

- First time ever at VB – a truly excellent water park!

- Tapu Tapu worked much, much better than I expected.

- The selection of slides and attractions is fantastic. The adventure river is an absolute winner.

- Purchased premium seating (the pair of loungers) and knew it would be sort of slow getting set up there, but still ridiculous that even though I was front and center and one of the first people to the concierge desk and then the premium seating check-in stand, it still ate up about 20 minutes of the 30 minute early entry time. The staff were simply in zero hurry to help out and get things done. That said, still enough time to get one ride in on Krakatau, which is about all I wanted to knock out anyway.

- Waiter service at the premium seats was excellent. Our waiter was an absolute character, super friendly, and always there within a few minutes. Orders came pretty quickly. Since you can’t have an open tab and must pay for each order I recommend tipping well early and you’ll get faster service.

- Very, very busy which lends to sort of a chaotic vibe, but it was Spring Break so not real surprising. The premium seating area was an extremely relaxed atmosphere and a world away from the general seating in that regard.

Random Thoughts

- Hagrid’s is a truly exceptional ride. Fun and exhilarating in all of the best ways, with story elements and several excellent surprises. It deserves all of the kudos it gets and the huge demand to ride is 100% justified.

- Velocicoaster is impossible to describe – equal parts terrifying and just flat out fun. It’s just non-stop madness from the first launch until the final brake run and it feels like your butt is barely on the seat.

- Forbidden Journey hasn’t aged well for me. I rode it a dozen times during my first visit with no issues. Each ride this time around was making me queasy – for sure the screen based portions. Maybe I’m just getting old (or maybe the video was a little out of sync).

- Weather moved in late Thursday morning/towards mid-day and all of the outdoor rides shut down so everyone scattered indoors and into restaurants for an early lunch. Managed to walk up to a 15 minute wait at Confisco. First time there and my impressions were: the BLT was absolutely next level. Fantastic sandwich! But the interior was strangely scattered with tables (as though they still had them spread out for COVID precautions) and the staff seemed like they’d rather be anywhere else. I’m guessing they were particularly understaffed for some reason, and the staff they did have almost seemed like they were moving around in some sort of fear-based fugue like state. Our waitress looked like she expected me to start yelling at her every time she visited our table. It was one of the strangest restaurant experiences I’ve ever had. But that BLT tho!

- I absolutely love what Universal is doing in terms of opening up new, and largely industry-leading, rides every year, and the massive investment into Epic Universe. But it’s absolutely embarrassing to have three large theaters sitting empty (Sinbad, Fear Factor, Toon Lagoon) and the Kid’s Zone area is terribly dated and looks like crap. It’s just an awful look, and given the giant crowds descending on Orlando would be wonderful to actually have operating attractions in those areas.

- I know everyone hates Fast and the Furious. And they are right. It’s truly, truly awful. But it’s also impossible to describe why it’s so bad. You have to experience it to understand. Please turn this into a Knight Bus ride. Or just tear it down and salt the earth.

- I also hate the Jimmy Fallon ride for reasons I find difficult to properly articulate.

- I may have eaten my weight in soft serve Butterbeer ice cream.

- While Diagon Alley is truly amazing, it really, really needs another attraction. Please get cracking with that Fear Factor theater replacement!

- Toon Lagoon is a conundrum. I actually think Ripsaw Falls and Bilge Rat barges are underrated and tons of fun. But kids have absolutely no idea what any of the IP is. Super nostalgic walking through the land, but there’s ZERO buzz. Seems like people just pass through without even looking around.

- I really love the theming in Lost Continent but they have to figure out what the long term plan is here, as well. Restaurants, shops, and Poseidon’s Fury make it little more than a pass through to figure out where the beginning of the Hagrid’s line is at the moment. Such a shame.

- Went to Toothsome in 2019 and it was horrible. My son asked to go back so I reluctantly acceded. Had a lovely meal this time around – flatbread and meatloaf were very good. I’m guessing it’s dish by dish and day by day as to quality here.

- Both Studios and IOA have a Starbuck’s problem. Waaaaay too small and understaffed locations for the demand (compare to Creature Comforts in Animal Kingdom which has like 10 stations taking orders and firing out drinks whereas the Universal locations are an infuriating mess).
 
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