The sixth day of our vacation took us back to Universal –
this time to Universal Studios. There’s no particular rhyme or reason why we
put a Disney day in-between our Universal days... it just seems to feel like
we’re stretching it out a bit more by not going back to back days. For whatever
reason, this is how we like to do it for now! As always, before heading out to
catch our shuttle, we grabbed a light breakfast and made our way to the bus!
View of the entrance to Universal Studios
We got to Universal just before park opening and headed to
Universal Studios as far as the line would allow. We had a basic idea of what
attractions we wanted to hit but without fast passes we had the flexibility to
change our mind on the go. The park was quickly filling up and we decided that
it was in our best interest to do the new Transformers 3D ride first. We both
really enjoyed this ride and found it to be a really good length. Some
attractions and rides at Disney and Universal can be very short (especially
after waiting in long lines) but this one seemed to the perfect length. Keep an
eye out for the Transformers themselves. They’re often near the ride and are
available for interaction and pictures! Later that day we had just missed Optimus
Prime but were lucky to catch Bumblebee for a picture.
After Transformers we made our way over to one of our
favourite attractions – the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. After conquering our
nerves for this ride in 2012 we knew it was a must-do! We love that you can
rock out to whatever song you like through individual speakers. The lines were
still minimal at this point so after the first go-around we decided to do it
again!
One our way to our next stop – Shrek 4D – we found Homer and
Lisa Simpson and knew we had to snatch a few pictures with them! To the best of
our knowledge, Universal doesn’t necessarily schedule times for the characters
to be out and about for pictures (much like Disneyland, they wander around or
show up unexpectedly). This keeps the wait lines pretty short if you’re in the
right place at the right time! We waited a matter of minutes for Homer and Lisa
and got some great pictures!
After our pictures we headed to Shrek 4D. Much like Muppets
3D at Disney, you head into a pre-show where you wait and are entertained by the
characters of Shrek on two big screen televisions. Once in the theatre, the
show begins and you experience the full 4D experience! It’s a cute and fun show
and an excellent way to rest your feet in an air-conditioned theatre.
Our light breakfast had begun to wear off at this point so
we decided to stop for a snack – corn dogs! This isn’t something we often eat
at home so it was a yummy treat!
While we were eating our corn dogs, we noticed a small line
forming near the Shrek ride. We knew it was separate from the queue so we
decided to check it out. It was Shrek himself and Donkey! They were interacting
with park guests and taking pictures so we hopped in line (still short at that
point) to take part! This was a very fun and interactive experience. We’re not
huge on doing character meet and greets and Disney simply because we’d rather
spend our time on the attractions but Universal makes it so easy to take 5
minutes that we couldn’t resist! Shrek was typical of characters and mimed with
us to interact but Donkey was having full-on conversations with us! He was
hilarious and made the experience very memorable.
At this point, we were exploring the park a bit deciding
what attraction/ride to do next when someone came up to us and asked us if we
wanted to be part of a filming for The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon. Ryan had joked about
it on our previous Universal day because we figured we had missed the filming
in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We even took a picture with the Tonight Show sign because we thought it was as close as we would get to it!
The Tonight Show was filming at Universal all that week promoting the opening of Universal Studios newest section, Diagon Alley, in the coming weeks. We excitedly made our way to “Springfield”.
Once there, we saw that there was definitely something going on outside of
Moe’s Tavern. We jumped in the crowd and tried to catch a glimpse. After
waiting for quite a while, we had made our way to the front of the group and
eventually filming started for a segment of The Tonight Show with Pitbull. They
played a game of giant Duff beer pong which was fun. After being there for a while,
the shooting wrapped up and the crowd dispersed. They were both very gracious and came and shook hands with us before filming began.
Here is the youtube clip from The Tonight Show of the Duff Beer Pong sketch. You can see us on the right hand side up against the gate near the tavern door when they come out:
While in the area, we took
advantage of splitting a Lard Lad’s donut which was delish! The Springfield
area of the park had expanded quite a bit since we were there in 2012 so we
were excited to check everything out. After our snack we went to The Simpsons
Ride which is always a blast. It’s a simulated ride and is really well done, we
always love doing it!
Mmmmmm Doughnut
Great Ride!
Relaxing in the Simpson living room
Duff Man
Springfield Founder
At this point it was lunch time and there was no doubt that
we wanted to check out the Fast Food Boulevard. We decided to get separate
meals so we could try a bit of everything and ended up with a Krusty Burger and
Cletus’ chicken and waffle sandwich. The Krusty Burger was super good and the
chicken waffle sandwich was good too but a little too sweet for Ryan’s taste.
Ryan also decided to try a Duff Beer which he found to be very citrus-y.
Overall we enjoyed the Fast Food Boulevard and would definitely go back.
Krusty Burger!
Krusty Burger and Curly Fries
Cletus' Chicken and Waffle sandwich with Tater Tots
Ellen trying out the Love Tester in Moe's
Sharing a Duff Beer with Barney in Moe's Tavern!
After lunch we made our way to ET Adventure which is an
easy-going attraction where we board a “bicycle” for the magical ride. Next up
was Terminator 2 3D. Ellen may or may not have fallen asleep for part of this
ride but it’s not because it was dull or boring. It was just a dark, cool place
to sit after a long day of standing and walking.
Phoneeee Homeeeee
When we exited the theater we saw Optimus Prime and
Bumblebee taking photos. It was at this time that we took the photos mentioned
above!
The second last attraction we hit was Disaster! We did it in
2012 and really enjoyed it so we wanted to do it again. It has a great mix of
scenes involving a veteran director making a disaster movie (Director is played by Christopher Walken!) and interaction and if you’re lucky enough – you can star in the role
yourself!
The last ride of the day was Revenge of the Mummy. This
attraction is fast, dark, and full of unexpected surprises. It’s defiantly one
of the best in the park!
We finished our second and last day at Universal Orlando. We
were tired but felt accomplished and were happy we fit in everything we wanted
to – and more! I don’t know if there’d be a trip to Orlando where we didn’t do Universal.
We love the high thrill attractions, restaurants & more! Also with Diagon Alley opening weeks after we left, we also have new attractions to check out when we come back again!
After a full day Universal we were excited to be back at
Disney and eager to start the day! As always, before heading out to catch the
bus we grabbed some breakfast from our resort. Ryan fueled up with a famous
bounty platter and Ellen enjoyed an even more famous Mickey waffle! We enjoyed
a quick but yummy breakfast and headed out to catch our bus to – Disney’s
Animal Kingdom!
Animal Kingdom is one of the smaller parks in our opinion so
it isn’t as full of a day as you may have in Magic Kingdom for example. We love going to Animal
Kingdom for a relaxing but adventurous day. We find it’s best to get there
before park opening as many sites suggest early morning is the best time to
ride the safari. We take advantage of the early morning and get everything done
by noon-ish and then spend the rest of the day at our resort or another park!
We began our day on the Kilimanjaro Safari and saw a lot of unique
and exotic animals and creatures. In this attraction you ride in a safari truck
through an African-like savannah.
Hippos
Elephant
Crocodiles
Since we were in the area we decided to take a ride on the
Wildlife Express Train to Rafiki’s Planet Watch. We hadn’t visited this
area of the park before so we were excited to check it out. It’s a petting zoo/museum type area of the park where
you can learn about many different animals and species and event pet them! It’s
a great spot for children and animal loves alike.
Transportation
Gift Shop
Path to Rafiki's Planet Watch
On the Train
Petting Zoo
We rode the train back to the main area of the park and
rushed over to the Festival of the Lion King. We think this is definitely a
must-do at Animal Kingdom. It’s a live theatre style show with acrobatics,
dancing, singing, and of course – the Lion King characters! It’s a half hour show
and the lines fill up quickly so a FastPass or early arrival is recommended. It’s definitely worth the wait though! The photos do not do it justice.
Waiting Eagerly
Showtime!
Up-Close and Personal
After watching the show we made our way to Expedition
Everest to ride the coaster with the Yetti! We love the fast-paced excitement this
attraction provides and consider it a must-do as well.
Exterior to Expedition Everest
Hands Up!
By this time it was getting pretty hot outside so decided to
stop for a cold snack – frozen orange juice & strawberry lemonade – so good!
Delicious!!!!!!
Next up we rode the Kali River Rapids and stayed somewhat
dry with the help of our poncho’s which was nice! It was a good opportunity to
cool down without walking around uncomfortably for the rest of the morning.
We visited It’s Tough to be a Bug which is a 3D film/live
show inspired by the movie! It has some unexpected surprises that make it
exciting but could be unnerving for little ones.At this point we were in the time period for our next
FastPass so we headed back to Expedition Everest for a second ride!
Our third FastPass was for Dinosaur but the line was minimal
so we decided to skip the FastPass and hop on immediately after Everest. Ellen
loves the Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom, It takes you through a non-stop
race to rescue a dinosaur before the meteor strikes! It’s fast-paced, bumpy, and has a lot of fun twists and turns.
At this point we felt like we had gotten in everything we
wanted to a Animal Kingdom. We enjoyed looking through the shops and visiting
some areas of the park that we hadn’t seen before as well as partaking in our
must-do attractions. We decided to head back to the resort to rest up and go
for a swim before heading to Magic Kingdom for the night!
Smaller Pool at All-Star Sports
When we arrived at Magic Kingdom for the night we took the
Steam Train to the other end of the park to hit up the Haunted Mansion – Ryan’s
all time favourite attraction. He loves
Halloween so this is always a must-do (multiple times) when we visit MK!
Next up we visited Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin which is
an interactive, laser shooting attraction where Ellen has been known to reach Galactic
Hero status.
On our last trip we took in the Country Bear Jamboree and
the Tikki Room which weren’t overly exciting for us. For some people they’re nostalgic
& classic must-do’s but aren’t high on our must-do list. This time we decided
to take in the Hall of President’s instead. This attraction features all US
Presidents in audio-animatronic characters. It’s an informative and feel-good
show (even for us Canadians!) narrated by the one and only Morgan Freeman. The fact
that Walt Disney was so passionate about audio-animatronics and their
technology makes it even more special.
At this point we had used up all of our original FastPasses
but were able to book one more at a time at the Kiosks throughout the park. While most
of the popular attractions like Space Mountain are booked solid, it’s a good
opportunity to grab a couple of other passes for attractions such as the
Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan, or It’s a Small World if you want to skip the
lines. We booked an additional FastPass and made our way back to the Haunted
Mansion.
Inside It's a Small World
We then took a ride on the Mad Tea Party, Pirates of the Caribbean
and Prince Charming’s Regal Carousel. Afterwards we rode It’s a Small World and
caught some of the Wishes fireworks from Fantasy Land. We finished the evening
off with Peter Pan’s Flight and made our way back to the resort.
