Cast:
Myself (cindy) 30
DH (Jeff) 38
August 28, 2001
Mickey Mouse calls us again at 630 am. WE are up and ready to go to Universal by 730 or so. We had never been to Universal Studios, only Hollywood. My last time at Hollywood was 1985 and DH's last time was 1987. The traffice from I4 is fine. Of course, no matter what the traffic is, its always better in a convertible.
We arrive by 755. WE parked in Spiderman Section 351. As we are putting the top down, we hear the Spiderman theme song in the parking garage. (nice touch!), also the moving sidewalks in the garage are great.. that annoucer is something else! We walk no problem to Universal Studios, it takes about 7-10 minutes leisurely. Of course we are all taking in Citywalk as we walk.... I was impressed with the Newness, cleanliness of the buildings.
Of course the studios isnt open yet, but there is a smallish crowd about 50 people there. There is one "gatekeeper" that kept everyone is stitches. Frank (ie?) was his name.. he had all us adults singing the Barney theme song, and doing Universal trivia with us.
Finally about 850, the gates open, and we do a brisk walk to MIB. WE were one of the first ones there. The ride operator (STeve?) was a trip. He did a little pep talk with us..He said "Are you ready to zap aliens?" Some of us meekly said yes, then he said "I cant hear you", we all shout yes... The que area is fun, loved the coffee room and the weapons on the wall. WE get on the back row of the right hand side as you walk down. WE loved it, it wasnt scary at all, but boy do you spin as you hit the big bug. DH got like 125K the first time out. I got like 40K.
WE go in and do it again right away.. no wait, and then go to Back to the Future. Again no lines, but it takes about 5 minutes to go up all the ramps. That rides was awesome we were in the front row of the car, with some Japanese tourists.. they loved the preshow movie while you were in the persons "office". We were completely amazed at the wraparound screen and the force of the ride. It was a blast.
From there we were walking towards the front, so we tried ET. We both thought it was going to be the "blue screen" attraction from the 80's at USH.. It was pretty neat. Our son would love it! It was a bit dark though.
From there we walked towards the front. Did Terminator 2. It said 25 minutes, but I know they had a larger capacity theater so It really didnt take long, once you got in the room before Kimberly Duncan speaks..Good show, but too scary for our kids. I actually understood this one! When the Terminator movies are on TV.. I dont get it.. I liked the blending of live action/3D. When over, we both were like WOW!The casting for the show was good.. although the Arnold Schwargener person was on the slightly paunchy side!
From there we did Hanna Barbera. Great fun, and it really packs a punch. I thought it was going to be mild but No it wasnt. WE liked it and the exit area was fun as well. From there we did Twister. I appreciated the mister fans while you were waiting outside. Although unless you are in the front row, its hard to see anything in front of you. Maybe a gradual stadium seating thing would be ideal.. Some kids were complaining that they couldn't see. Twister was good, but not what I was expecting....
From there we decided to wait for the 1200 opening of Hitchcock. It was good, but honestly it was nice to just sit as well, during the movie montage. The 3D effect was fun. The second part, I was expecting more but at least you got to see the Psycho scene in its entirerity. The third part was crowded so we went up to the top balcony. I was more excited at the Rear Window scene than the other parts. The merry go round sequence was pretty cool, but the original kid chickened out, so they got a replacement.
From there we went to King Kong. Well, honestly, not truly worth the wait. Most NY subways dont look a thing like that. It was very campy..and the TV sets had dated pictures/promos. The ride was more funny than scary. Then on to Earthquake... got an Express pass for the first time, and decided to eat. We got two sandwiches at the Amity Bakery... They were pretty decent and took off 10% for the AAA card. WE also had two cafe mocha cooler, mmmm!
Earthquake, pretty interesting, but the ride was slightly corny as well. The shopper extras didnt do anything, just stood there.
On to Jaws, they were out of Express Passes, and it was just after 230 pm! So we waited it said 30 minutes, but I think it was less. I loved the TV spots in this one, they made us laugh. WE had an okay captain.. but Jaws came right near DH! that was fun, we could feel the heat from the explosion. We took some pictures and walked toward MIB again. Did single rider, and wound up in the same car together!
WE got to the 430 show of the Gory Gruesome and Grotesque Horror show was going to start. This was my suprise HIT! I loved it, they were really funny, and it was just great, and no it wasn't truly gory.... From there we walked through Lucy.. I'm not a huge Lucille Ball fan, but it was interesting....
From there we were still awake and kicking so we said Lets go to IOA for two hours or so.. (it was just after 5). So the first thing we go on is Jurassic Park... What a great ride, and that drop, if you aren't expecting it..it is a DOOZY! We just basically took everything in..looked at things, etc... Did storm force, (yawner) and DH convinced me to go on Hulk.. after Kraken.. I was NOT in a roller coaster mood. I'm glad I did. Its a fun ride, I like the launch! I actually kept my eyes open, it was very smooth, and fast, but not bone jarring like Kraken.
From there we did Spiderman... wow.. what a ride! The preshow area is fun, in fact my computer geek DH noticed that one of the cubuciles the computer needed a reboot... he could read the error message on the monitor from the line... (you can tell he needed a vacation from a computer!) and the line was fast. I loved the thud of Spidey on the scoop, the feel of heat, the water.. and the sensation of falling... but the words were a bit loud...GReat ride though.
It was time to go.. the park was closing, and although it was closing time, there wasnt a huge exodus out of the parking garage....guess they all stayed at Citywalk. WE put the top down and headed back to the hotel
Next report IOA!
Myself (cindy) 30
DH (Jeff) 38
August 28, 2001
Mickey Mouse calls us again at 630 am. WE are up and ready to go to Universal by 730 or so. We had never been to Universal Studios, only Hollywood. My last time at Hollywood was 1985 and DH's last time was 1987. The traffice from I4 is fine. Of course, no matter what the traffic is, its always better in a convertible.
We arrive by 755. WE parked in Spiderman Section 351. As we are putting the top down, we hear the Spiderman theme song in the parking garage. (nice touch!), also the moving sidewalks in the garage are great.. that annoucer is something else! We walk no problem to Universal Studios, it takes about 7-10 minutes leisurely. Of course we are all taking in Citywalk as we walk.... I was impressed with the Newness, cleanliness of the buildings.
Of course the studios isnt open yet, but there is a smallish crowd about 50 people there. There is one "gatekeeper" that kept everyone is stitches. Frank (ie?) was his name.. he had all us adults singing the Barney theme song, and doing Universal trivia with us.
Finally about 850, the gates open, and we do a brisk walk to MIB. WE were one of the first ones there. The ride operator (STeve?) was a trip. He did a little pep talk with us..He said "Are you ready to zap aliens?" Some of us meekly said yes, then he said "I cant hear you", we all shout yes... The que area is fun, loved the coffee room and the weapons on the wall. WE get on the back row of the right hand side as you walk down. WE loved it, it wasnt scary at all, but boy do you spin as you hit the big bug. DH got like 125K the first time out. I got like 40K.
WE go in and do it again right away.. no wait, and then go to Back to the Future. Again no lines, but it takes about 5 minutes to go up all the ramps. That rides was awesome we were in the front row of the car, with some Japanese tourists.. they loved the preshow movie while you were in the persons "office". We were completely amazed at the wraparound screen and the force of the ride. It was a blast.
From there we were walking towards the front, so we tried ET. We both thought it was going to be the "blue screen" attraction from the 80's at USH.. It was pretty neat. Our son would love it! It was a bit dark though.
From there we walked towards the front. Did Terminator 2. It said 25 minutes, but I know they had a larger capacity theater so It really didnt take long, once you got in the room before Kimberly Duncan speaks..Good show, but too scary for our kids. I actually understood this one! When the Terminator movies are on TV.. I dont get it.. I liked the blending of live action/3D. When over, we both were like WOW!The casting for the show was good.. although the Arnold Schwargener person was on the slightly paunchy side!
From there we did Hanna Barbera. Great fun, and it really packs a punch. I thought it was going to be mild but No it wasnt. WE liked it and the exit area was fun as well. From there we did Twister. I appreciated the mister fans while you were waiting outside. Although unless you are in the front row, its hard to see anything in front of you. Maybe a gradual stadium seating thing would be ideal.. Some kids were complaining that they couldn't see. Twister was good, but not what I was expecting....
From there we decided to wait for the 1200 opening of Hitchcock. It was good, but honestly it was nice to just sit as well, during the movie montage. The 3D effect was fun. The second part, I was expecting more but at least you got to see the Psycho scene in its entirerity. The third part was crowded so we went up to the top balcony. I was more excited at the Rear Window scene than the other parts. The merry go round sequence was pretty cool, but the original kid chickened out, so they got a replacement.
From there we went to King Kong. Well, honestly, not truly worth the wait. Most NY subways dont look a thing like that. It was very campy..and the TV sets had dated pictures/promos. The ride was more funny than scary. Then on to Earthquake... got an Express pass for the first time, and decided to eat. We got two sandwiches at the Amity Bakery... They were pretty decent and took off 10% for the AAA card. WE also had two cafe mocha cooler, mmmm!
Earthquake, pretty interesting, but the ride was slightly corny as well. The shopper extras didnt do anything, just stood there.
On to Jaws, they were out of Express Passes, and it was just after 230 pm! So we waited it said 30 minutes, but I think it was less. I loved the TV spots in this one, they made us laugh. WE had an okay captain.. but Jaws came right near DH! that was fun, we could feel the heat from the explosion. We took some pictures and walked toward MIB again. Did single rider, and wound up in the same car together!
WE got to the 430 show of the Gory Gruesome and Grotesque Horror show was going to start. This was my suprise HIT! I loved it, they were really funny, and it was just great, and no it wasn't truly gory.... From there we walked through Lucy.. I'm not a huge Lucille Ball fan, but it was interesting....
From there we were still awake and kicking so we said Lets go to IOA for two hours or so.. (it was just after 5). So the first thing we go on is Jurassic Park... What a great ride, and that drop, if you aren't expecting it..it is a DOOZY! We just basically took everything in..looked at things, etc... Did storm force, (yawner) and DH convinced me to go on Hulk.. after Kraken.. I was NOT in a roller coaster mood. I'm glad I did. Its a fun ride, I like the launch! I actually kept my eyes open, it was very smooth, and fast, but not bone jarring like Kraken.
From there we did Spiderman... wow.. what a ride! The preshow area is fun, in fact my computer geek DH noticed that one of the cubuciles the computer needed a reboot... he could read the error message on the monitor from the line... (you can tell he needed a vacation from a computer!) and the line was fast. I loved the thud of Spidey on the scoop, the feel of heat, the water.. and the sensation of falling... but the words were a bit loud...GReat ride though.
It was time to go.. the park was closing, and although it was closing time, there wasnt a huge exodus out of the parking garage....guess they all stayed at Citywalk. WE put the top down and headed back to the hotel
Next report IOA!
