Here’s a look at some of my favourite moments with Characters from Universal Orlando. Everyone has a favourite character whether they’re young or just young at heart like myself. At Universal Orlando you’ll always find someone who reminds you of a favourite film, TV show or toy from your childhood. We’ve been to Universal for the past 13 years and still haven’t managed to meet them all. However last year we did manage to tick a few more off our list.
As you may have noticed we are getting on a bit but we still feel the same excitement when entering the parks as we did on our first visit. Then there’s also the fact that being older means we can go further back to those characters from our youth.
Some characters make a scheduled appearance. To find the times pick up a park map after you go through the turnstiles so you can plan your meet and greet. These type of appearances are organised and you may queue for around ten to fifteen minutes – which is a long time for the poor cast member in a heavy outfit in the Orlando climate. You get the chance to meet your favourite character and have a Universal Photographer take your photo or they will use your own camera or mobile phone. From my experience they usually take more than one photo.
The other type of appearance appears to be random and we’ve just spotted them and grabbed them for a photo without having to queue (unless everyone has noticed them of course). You’ll usually find them walking about in their relevant zones, such as Beetle Juice near Mel’s Drive in Diner or Popeye in Toon Lagoon. I couldn’t believe it when I turned a corner into the Lost Continent and bumped into Puss in Boots, especially as Shrek was in Universal Studios and the Lost Continent is in Islands of Adventure. Not that I was complaining – He’s so cute.
Marvel Super Hero Island
Marvel Super Hero Island is the first zone you arrive in after going through Port of Entry at Islands of Adventure. Here the Super Heroes and Villains take it in turns to make an appearance usually hourly. The Super Heroes arrive on 3 wheeler Can-Am motorcycles, then park up and make their way to their individual spots. Whereas the Villains tend to hide somewhere in plain sight.
We’ve got our own Super Hero – my son. In the photo above – at six foot three inches he manages to make Wolverine look small.
The above photo was taken when i bumped into Spider -man in the almost empty gift shop at Islands of Adventure. Most characters are obliging and will stop for a photo.
Character dining
At present, every Saturday morning at The Royal Pacific you can book breakfast with characters from Despicable Me. We were lucky enough to meet Scooby-doo as well.
My Favourite Universal Characters
I can’t take my husband Pete anywhere without him falling for the ladies and pretending to be bashful.
Marilyn Monroe
Popeye and Olive Oyl.
Betty Boop
Beetle Juice
Doc Brown
Gallery
There’s lots more Characters that I haven’t mentioned but I will be returning later this year so I’m hoping to meet the rest and add more to this post.
Who are your favourites ?- please leave a comment.