Look back at our Orlando holiday 2015 - Part 1

One thing you should know about me is that I love Disney, but when I go to Orlando I do love seeing Universal Studios. These two places are my absolute favourites. No other places compare. If I'm not talking about them then I am dreaming about them, they are constantly on my mind, I even wear clothes that represent them and have quite the collection now.

I'm going through a moment where all I want to do is look at holidays to Orlando, but working in schools means I have to go during the school holidays so prices can be extraordinary.

I may have to do this post in two parts - Universal Studios and Walt Disney World. So let's get on with it. Let's begin with Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. I absolutely love these parks, and this time round it was so much more exciting for me, and here's why;

So when I went back in September 2015 I went with my husband Paul and my Dad. It was Paul's first time so this meant more to me than ever, because I thought if he likes it then he'd want to go back again, well I thought this wouldn't happen, during the flight and even getting off the flight he said he wasn't doing this again - basically couldn't hack the long haul flight and the waiting to go through customs.
Day 1 we decided to go to Universal Studios, usually when I've been in the past we've always done a quiet park or just had a quiet day but this time we got stuck right in, and I'm glad that we did.
We met Woody Wood Pecker as soon as we got there, so that was our first character meet.

We rode as many rides as we possibly could and saw everything we possibly could. I had already informed Paul of the rides that where there, he was excited to ride Spider-Man, Transformers and Hulk. We found out that the Hulk ride was under refurbishment the time so didn't get the chance of riding it this time. 

Anyway, we started off in Universal Studios and then came back for a further 2 more visits so we could do Islands of Adventure and for the 3rd day just to do it all over again.

Our first ride of the day was Jurassic Park, so this is now Paul's favourite. such a good ride, especially if you need a cooling down. We loved walking down the streets of New York and Hollywood, watching the different shows and parades that would pass us by, they were great fun.

           

We loved our days in Universal, we tried to ride as many as possible. Here are some of our favourites:

Jurrasic Park - Be warned, you will get wet. This ride is like a little boat ride, the boat represents the car from the movie, you go through scenes from the movie, until you come to a huge climb, and let's be honest, if you go up something then there's only one way to go, and that is where the huge splash comes in and yes you will get wet!!

Rip Saw Falls - Another wet ride! And oh my gosh this ride we just loved. it's a log flume ride and so much fun, we got soaked coming off this ride, but I did manage to find some dry patches.

Spider-Man - A 3D simulator racing through the streets of New York, such a good ride with effects.

Transformers - Another 3D simulator rid, had never seen this ride before I went to was all a surprise, but was really good.

The Mummy - A rollercoaster in the dark. I absolutely loved this ride the first time I went on so I had to drag Paul on it too, he wasn't fussed but I still enjoyed it. It goes forwards and backwards in the dark, what's not to like.

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (Even if we did come off feeling very sick afterwards) - Funny story about this one, I actually thought this was a different ride (Escape from the Gringotts) so we weren't expecting this ride to be the way it was. It was good fun, but it made us feel very erm, green we shall say. A lot of spinning forwards, backwards, tilting up and down and around, it was just a lot to take it. Simulators don't make me feel queasy but this one sure did. But we did enjoy it, was just the after effects that we didn't.

Bluto's Barge - Rapids comes to mind. And those dry patches I told you about, well they soon got wet. we came off this completely wet through. nice if you want to cool off though.

We did go on a few other rides but they were just our favourites. Park was looking forward to going on the Hulk ride, but when we got there we found it was closed for refurbishment, I was looking forward to it also as I'd never done it before but after watching videos of it, made me want to go on it so much (maybe next time).
Paul also wanted to Dr Doomfall and Rip Ride Rocket, but everytime I looked at the rides I would bottle it, I just couldn't bring myself to go on them, really wish I had though. So I have said next time we go I will defiantly go on them, I mean how bad could they be, right?!

 

The atmosphere around Universal is just amazing, I love all the attractions and different areas they have, for instance Simpsons Land and Comic Book World and of course Harry Potter World, which is split between the 2 parks and can be accessed via the Hogwarts Express, which in itself is a ride, its so much fun sitting on the train just like in the movie and watching the scenes of you going through the woods or through the city depending on which direction you are going. If you take the train from Universal then you come out in Hogsmead, but if you take the train from Islands of Adventure you end up in London. It's just amazing, the scenery and surroundings are just incredible, I could look at it over and over , which is good as I know there are plenty of things I've not seen.

All I can say is I can't wait for my next trip so that I can see even more of it.

Universal Studios will always have a huge part of my heart, I don't give it as much credit as it should, probably because I'm completely mad on Disney, but it is an amazing park and I'd love to do more next time I get the chance to go, I'd even do Halloween Horror Nights as I've been told it's amazing. 

That's all from Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.

Look out for Part 2 coming soon.