Tag Archives: Universal Studios. Universal Islands of Adventure

Secret places at Universal Orlando

There’s so much more to Universal Orlando than the rides. Amongst the hustle and bustle are quiet secret places just waiting to be explored. If you haven’t been to Universal Orlando before it consists of three Parks; Universal’s Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios and Volcano Bay. There’s also City Walk which you pass through before entering the parks; here you’ll find shops, restaurants, movie theatre and crazy golf. Universal Orlando also has seven resort Hotels

Universal Studios
Universal Studios

There’s so much to see and do especially if you’re only there for a couple of days. However if you’ve time on your hands take the opportunity to savour those secret, out of the way , off the beaten track areas.

In case you haven’t noticed my other half and I are no longer teenagers although we’re still seventeen at heart. Many of our friends and colleagues don’t believe it when they ask if we go on the rides and I say yes. However we do get tired especially in the heat of Florida.

I’ll show you where to stop for a rest, admire the view and escape the crowds and queues long enough to recharge your batteries. Each time we go we still manage to discover something new and not just the latest ride.

Where to find secret places at Universal Orlando

Universal’s Islands of Adventure is divided into themed lands

  • Port of entry
  • Marvel super Hero Island
  • Toon lagoon
  • Skull Island Reign of Kong
  • Jurassic Park
  • The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade
  • The Lost Continent
  • Seuss landing

You will enter the Islands of Adventure through Port of Entry. Instead of going left to Marvel Super Hero Island or right to Seuss Landing go straight forward to the waterfront. You may not have noticed that all the themed areas are built round a lake from here you can even see Hogwarts Castle. There are several points off the beaten track where you can see the other lands from the lakeside.

Usually, because of the way the park was designed you can’t see the next Island from the one you are currently in until you turn a corner and if you listen carefully you can hear the theme music subtly change. Standing on the lakeside you can make out the other islands. The views are just as photo worthy and you will be almost guaranteed a little peace and tranquillity.

Me Ship, The Olive at Toon Lagoon

View from top of Me Ship Olive
View from top of Me Ship Olive
Me Ship,The Olive
Me Ship,The Olive – at Toon Lagoon

This is the rear of Me Ship, The Olive. It’s a children’s play area but it’s not usually crowded as it’s a bit off the beaten track. You’ll find it near Popeye and Bluto’s Bilge Rat Barges. The river from the ride runs beneath the side of the Ship and there are water cannons to soak the riders a little bit more. If that’s even possible, because this is my favourite ride and I’ve been known to ride it four times in succession and believe me you get soaked. From the top deck of the ship there’s an excellent view of the park for more photos.

Read my review of the wet rides here.

Mythos at the Lost Continent

Rear of Mythos Restaurant
Rear of Mythos Restaurant

Mythos is a themed restaurant in the Lost Continent. The photo above shows the view of the outside which is to the left of Mythos’ entrance. Instead of following the crowd to the next ride choose the path round the back of the Mythos Restaurant. It’s highly themed and leads down to the waterfront. You’ll pass over a bridge where rumour has it you’ll hear the troll who resides under it. I have listened but he must have been out for lunch at my last visit.

Rear of Mythos at The Lost Continent
Rear of Mythos Restaurant The Lost Continent
Rear of Mythos Restaurant, Universal's Islands of adventure, Orlando
Rear of Mythos Restaurant, Universal’s Islands of adventure, Orlando

Jurassic Park

Believe it or not this beautiful tranquil scene is shot near the Jurassic Park River Adventure ride. Universal is short of places to sit and rest but we found this lovely seating area with tables which I think is a smokers zone. The pond is teaming with wildlife such as birds, ducks, fish and dragon flies, even the odd turtle.

Lily Pond, Jurassic Park, Universal's Islands of Adventure
Lily Pond, Jurassic Park, Universal’s Islands of Adventure

The Discovery Centre below the Jurassic Park Restaurant leads onto the lakeside Plaza where you’ll probably be the only visitor. Here you’ll discover all about DNA and watch a Dinosaur egg hatching.

Also in the Jurassic Park area is Camp Jurassic – a play area for kids with places to explore, an amber mine, rope bridges and caves. It always appears quite busy to the left of the entrance but if you head to the right and take the steps you’ll come across an area with a splash pad overlooking a Jurassic Park style containment area with big steel gates. We always seem to have this area to ourselves and make the most of it. There’s a bank of water guns aimed at the path below where you can soak the unsuspecting park guests as they pass through. It gets really enjoyable when they find they have water guns too concealed in the back of dinosaur heads and are capable of firing back. We’ve often spent almost an hour playing with guests from all over the world – laughter being the common language.

Water guns at Camp Jurassic, Universal Island's of Adventure
Water guns at Camp Jurassic, Universal Island’s of Adventure
Water guns at Camp Jurassic, Universal Island's of Adventure
Water guns at Camp Jurassic, Universal Island’s of Adventure

Universal Studios is divided into

  • Production Central
  • New York
  • Hollywood
  • World Expo
  • San Fransisco
  • London – Diagon Alley – The wizarding World of Harry Potter
  • Woody Woodpecker’s KidZone

Again the zones are set around a lake and seamlessly run in to one another. There are quiet places to be found if you have time to explore.

New York Set at Universal Studios

New York Street Sets, Universal Studios, Orlando
New York Street Sets, Universal Studios, Orlando

I found this amazingly quiet street between The Mummy ride at one end and Transformers The Ride at the other. It’s Delancy Street and it’s based on New York in the 1930’s and 40’s. This street only tends to get busy when the Blues Brothers Show is on. In this area you’ll spot recreated sets from films such as Adrienne’s Pet Shop (Rocky), the O’Rourke’s Bar and Grill (The Godfather) and The Kitty Kat Club ( Cabaret).
There’s a few steps where you can sit down and take a break. I usually sit here when my other half is watching the Blues Brothers Show for the umpteenth time. There’s some interesting shop windows with plastic food and more authentic props of the era which are worth a browse.

San Fransisco zone

Jaws - San Francisco zone, Universal Studios
Jaws – San Francisco zone, Universal Studios

Since the Jaws ride was closed the shark has been moved to a quieter area of Universal Studios. It’s now in a quiet back water between Richter Burger and Chez Alcatraz. It’s a perfect spot for a photo and a well deserved sit down.

Parklands

Universal Studios also has two parkland areas. One near the rear of Mel’s Dine In resembling a miniature central Park and the other Near the Monster’s Cafe resembling Gramercy Park. They both have seating areas. More information can be found on open spaces at Universal Orlando from Orlando Informer

Berlin Wall at City Walk

Piece of Berlin Wall behind Hard Rock Cafe Universal Orlando
Piece of Berlin Wall behind Hard Rock Cafe Universal Orlando

Behind the Hard Rock Cafe on the path towards The Blue Man Group is a Piece of the Berlin Wall standing about seven feet tall with a plaque. again it’s a quiet spot off the beaten track.

Take the path to the right from the Blue Man Group entrance and you’ll find another secret – a little known entrance and exit to Universal Studios. It’s usually only open after 10am and brings you out near the rear of the main gift shop. It also saves on walking if you’re visiting Islands of Adventure next.

Universal Orlando Resort Hotels

I must include the Hotels at Universal as they are like small resorts in themselves and as most people are at the parks they are usually quiet and peaceful during the day. Discover the boats at the CIty Walk dock – you don’t have to be a guest to use them or take the beautifully landscaped walking paths.

Portofino Bay is themed on a real Italian village and is very scenic – a great photo spot. If you are a Universal Guest you can use the pools at the other hotels and Portofino Bay has three. The boat ride itself is relaxing and enjoyable and is complimentary.

Boats to Universal Hotels
Boats to Universal Hotels

So – I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about these secret quiet places and hope one day you find time to check them out.

If you can add to my list please do in your comments and I’ll check them out when I return to Universal in September.

Tips for beating the queues at Universal Orlando

After saving your hard earned money for your once in a lifetime trip to Universal Orlando; the last thing you want to do is wait in line to get on your favourite ride. Over the years I’ve discovered lots of tips to get you on that ride a little bit quicker. Some of you, like myself, will be crossing the Atlantic and most likely will spend more than a few days at Universal but others may only have one or two days there. Standing in a long queue in Florida’s heat can be exhausting combined with walking miles around the parks.

The Circus McGurkus Cafe at Seuss landing

9 Tips to help reduce ride waiting times at Universal Orlando

  • Buy an Express Pass –  Most rides and attractions have an express queue as well as the regular line. The only rides that don’t take them at the time of writing are Pterandon Fliers at Islands of Adventure and Fievel’s Playground at Universal studios. You wont necessarily get on the ride immediately but you shouldn’t have to wait much longer than 15 minutes. They last for one day only and prices vary according to the season. There are a few choices of pass. The basic Express Pass is valid for use at all participating rides once only, whereas the Unlimited Express Pass gives you unlimited use at participating rides. You can buy a pass for each park separately, or for Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure together. You can also buy an Express Pass for Volcano Bay. Prices are on top of your general admission tickets. Universal Orlando also sell the complete package with Park tickets and Express Pass combined. Express passes are scanned in the queue so there can be no queue jumping. These Express passes are not valid at Halloween Horror Nights which is a separate ticketed event and also has it’s own Express Passes.
  • Stay at a Universal Premier Hotel – Portofino Bay, Hard Rock Hotel or Royal Pacific and you automatically get an Unlimited Express Pass included for each guest booked into your room for the length of stay. Just join the Express Riders queue and get your room Key card scanned. Yes, it is expensive to stay at a premier Hotel but it compares favourably to staying at a cheaper hotel and buying everyone a pass each day. One night gives you two full days to use your pass. This is our favourite way to eliminate waiting times and we usually stay at the Royal Pacific.
  • One hour early entry – for all Universal Hotel guests with park tickets. Each day you get early entry to the Wizarding World of harry Potter at whichever Park has early opening that particular day. Also early entry to Volcano Bay. This gives you chance to ride Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey or Escape from Gringotts an hour before the general public are admitted. Even when the general public are let in you’ll have a head start on the other rides and will be one of the first to take the Hogwarts Express train to the other Park. Note: You need Park to Park tickets to ride the train as tickets and fingerprints are checked before boarding.
  • Buying your tickets in advance – means you can go straight to the turn styles rather than queue to buy tickets then queue up again to enter the park. At the turn styles the bar code on your ticket is scanned and your fingerprint. This much match at subsequent visits. Downloaded tickets usually have a bar code also.
  • Single Rider Line – Many of the rides have a separate queue for single riders. Last year we couldn’t get in at a premier Hotel to get the free Express Pass so it was the first time we experienced the single rider queue. We are normally joined at the hip but when we saw the wait times for Escape from Gringotts we gave it a try. We rode three times in about twenty minutes. Single riders are used to fill the seats on a ride; for example if there are four seats in a row and a family only has three members. We get to queue together and are only separated for the ride which is only for around three minutes at the most.
  • Visit during term time – There isn’t really a quiet time and of course some parents will take their children out of school to go but its definitely going to be busier when the kids are on holiday. We generally go in September as the weather is still hot but it is a little quieter. However it can get busy when Halloween Horror Nights is on and the fact that universal Studios closes at 5pm for this event means less time in the park. This results in a queue for the Hogwarts Express to get to the Islands of Adventure if you have tickets for both parks.
Hogswart Express
  • Ignore the rain – A few of the rides may close if inclement weather is due but the majority of them stay open. Many visitors will head home leaving the queues a little shorter. You can always take in a show or grab a bite to eat till the rain passes. An inexpensive plastic poncho comes in handy. They sell them throughout the parks but are expensive. Dollar shop ones work just as well.
  • Be there early or stay late – The queues are shorter the earlier you get there and as it gets nearer to closing time those who took advantage of early entry will be ready for home and waiting lines get shorter again. We’ve often grabbed that extra ride on our way to the exit.
  • A ride breaks down – It’s bad enough when a ride breaks down when you’re on it as has happened to us four times now over the years; but when you’ve queued for what seems like forever only to be told the ride has broken down, don’t despair. There’s usually a team member guiding you back to the entrance or a short cut to the exit and they’ll offer you a coupon with an Express Pass to one ride …Yippee. We’ve also been offered an Express Pass when riding Escape from Gringotts after it stopped at a crucial point for a while then carried on. Not exactly the best way to obtain an Express Pass when you’re wondering if you’ll ever be rescued; as there’s no way of getting out with your legs and body pinned down in the seat and you might need the bathroom.

So quite a few tips there to help you get on your favourite ride a little quicker. However there are a few cons. On some rides the Express queue and single rider queue take a completely different route to the general queue, which means missing out on some of the fantastic theming. It’s worth taking the general queue if its short especially on a ride like Escape from Gringotts where the queue is like a ride in itself; (not wanting to give anything away to those who haven’t experienced it yet).

Transformers – The Ride

Have you any more tips for beating the queues at Universal Orlando ? I’d love to read your comments.

Fun Photo Spots at Universal Orlando

Apart from getting a photo with your favourite Universal Character there are numerous locations to capture that all important holiday snap. As we’ve visited Universal so many times now it’s hard to distinguish one years photos from the next. However we are always finding new fun spots that we’ve missed. For those making a once in a lifetime special trip it’s easy to miss those opportunities. Here are my favourites.

17 Fun Photo Spots at Universal Orlando

The Shark from Jaws

This is a nod to the Jaws ride that closed in 2012. The shark was at the entrance to the ride which was demolished to make way for Diagon Alley but is now found in the San Francisco area between Richter’s Burger Co. and Chez Alcatraz, at Universal Studios. As it’s just off the beaten track there is usually no queuing for a photo op.

Lard Lad Donuts Boy

Springfield area of Universal studios


Barney Gumble in Moe’s Tavern

Springfield, Universal Studios. Order a Flaming Moe for another great photo.


Marmaduke

Toon Lagoon Universal Islands of Adventure

Curious George goes to Town

Children’s ( adults ) play area at Universal Studios

Millhouse

Outside Kwik- E- Mart, Springfield Universal Studios

Bubba Gump’s Bench

Outside the Bubba Gump Restaurant at City Walk. Complete with shoes, box of chocolates and suitcase.

Universal Orlando’s Horror Make up Show

Universal Studios. The one time they allow your fellow guest to take a photo or video during a show and get your 15 minutes of fame. I’d been dreading being picked to participate for years.

The Mystic Fountain

Islands of Adventure. Great opportunity to get a fun photo or video of your youngsters getting wet especially if they don’t know what’s coming. The Mystic Fountain will have a conversation with you and soak you with its numerous jets when you least expect it. It also enjoys soaking adults.

Splash Zone

At the end of Jurassic Park River Adventure in Islands of Adventure.

Tyrannosaurus Rex

Jurassic park, Islands of Adventure.

Mel’s Drive – In

In Universal Studios. Based on the diner from the film American Graffiti. For classic car fans there’s usually a selection of classic American cars outside. During Halloween Horror Nights the sign changes to Mel’s Die – In.

Pile of Burgers

Near Wimpy’s quick service kiosk in Toon Lagoon Islands of Adventure. Based on the character Wimpy in the Popeye cartoons. I think Hubby has had one too many.

Blues Brothers Car

In Universal Studios. The Blues Brothers show runs a few times daily and they usually but not always arrive in their car. You can get a good photo whilst the show is on or you may be lucky and get one with Jake and Elwood.

Mythos Restaurant

In Universal’s islands of Adventure. Amazing rock formations and waterfalls surround the restaurant. This carving is to the rear.

Mythos Restaurant

Universal’s islands of Adventure. This carving is to the left of the entrance to the restaurant.

Hogwarts Castle

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Universal Islands of Adventure. This view is taken from the bridge from Hogsmeade to Jurassic Park. It’s a busy spot as everyone is trying to get a shot. There are so many great photo points here which deserve a future post of their own.

Have you any favourite photo spots ? I’d love to read your comments.