In the past, we shared with you information about Universal Studios’ upcoming expansion, the Epic Universe. Last May, we had the chance to head down to Orlando, Florida, and see some of the changes that Universal Studios and NBC Universal have made to the parks since 2013, before the opening of the Epic Universe. Yes, it has been a decade since I was last there, and a ton has changed, while some of the rides have remained the same. When we went to Universal, we expected that some of the themed areas would have changed, but that there would still be a ton of familiar attractions. So, how was our Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure experience? Find out.
Starting off, we sadly did not get the chance to check out the Epic Universe during this trip. We did reach out to NBC Universal staff about the possibility, but were not able to; however, we were granted a single-day pass with Express Pass benefits. In order to get the most out of the pass, we decided to ride some of the longer line rides first and then work our way around the rest of the park.
Sadly, the only ride we were not able to use the Express Pass on was Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. Seeing a video of the ride online, we knew we had to try it; disappointingly, after waiting an hour in line, I was unable to ride it due to my height. Now, this was caused by how the lap restraint works
Islands of Adventure
With our last visit to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure being over a decade ago, there was a lot to see and experience. Before going to the park, we decided to go in blind and see what had changed. On the Islands of Adventure side, not much had changed about the overall look of the park beyond the addition of new rides. In Jurassic Park World, NBC Universal added Skull Island: Reign of Kong and Jurassic World VelociCoaster. The Lost Continent has shrunken drastically since the last time we were there and feels more like a loading/unloading area zone for the Hogwarts Express Train from Universal Studios.
Toon Town remains the same, offering a ton of water rides for guests to enjoy and help cool off on hot days. The Dr. Seuss Land continues to bring Dr. Seuss’s wacky imagination to life and create smiles on children’s and adults’ faces. Marvel Island remains the same as when it opened with the Incredible Hulk Coaster, Storm Force Accelatron, Doctor Doom’s Fearfall, and The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man providing thrills to guests. Once Universal closes some of the rides, we could see Disney adapting their park with some of the characters, but that won’t be until the 2030s to the 2050s.
Harry Potter Hogsmeade has received a bit of an update with Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure and new interactive points for guests to use their wands; despite new interactive points, the Diagon Alley side in Universal main has more interactive areas for fans to engage with. Guests can still find butterbeer and great food opportunities in the Hogsmeade portion. The Hogwarts Express is a fun way to commute between the two parks if you have a park hopper pass, however, be warned that on hot days, the train does not have an air-conditioner and can be rather uncomfortable.
After exploring the Islands of Adventure side for most of the day, I decided it was time to head over to the Universal Studios side.
Universal Studios Side
Between the two parks, the Universal Studios side has changed the most since 2013. In 2013, the Transformers: The Ride 3D and Despicable Me Minion Mayhem were two of the newer rides. Minion Mayhem had replaced The Jimmy Neutron’s Nicktoon Blast, while Transformers took a formerly closed ride’s spot. Twister has been replaced by the Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon ride; although the ride is an interesting 3D experience, there are too many other 3D experiences in the same area, and it is rather lackluster comparatively.
Despite replacing Fievel’s Playland and Woody the Woodpecker Zone, DreamWorks Land will not feature the Shrek 4-D ride; the Shrek ride was one of my of favorites growing up, and Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast moving pathway-shooting ride feels like a bit of a downgrade in the overall experience compared to Shrek.
Yes, the ride is flashier with newer technology, but unless you wait in line for over 30 minutes, there is no real story with it. Shoot things, get coins, and save Universal. The Bourne Spectacular has replaced the Terminator ride, and although it is a fun experience, it doesn’t match the charm of the Terminator show spectacular; yes, it does make one less 3D/4D ride, and the stunts are great, but we can easily see this being replaced within the next 5 to 10 years.
On the other side of the park, the Fast and Furious Supercharged Ride has replaced Earthquake. The ride itself was fun to experience once, but after that, it was a pretty dull experience that should have stayed in the backlot tours of Universal Studios Hollywood, just like King Kong. The walkthrough area of the ride was more enjoyable than the ride itself.
When we last visited Universal Studios Florida, they were working on Harry Potter Diagon Alley. You could see the dragon being set up, but that portion of the park was not yet available. Now, if you aren’t looking for it, you can easily miss it. Unlike the Hogsmeade side, the Harry Potter Diagon Alley portion only has Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts ride and the Hogwarts Express.
Most of the Diagon Alley side is focused on the interactive experiences guests can enjoy using the special wands. Additionally, the Dragon above Gringotts will spew out fire and let out a loud roar every few minutes. Despite having more to check out, the Gringotts side feels smaller, potentially due to the placement of shops, restaurants, and interactive areas.
Hopefully, the Ministry of Magic adaptation in Epic Universe will combine what we love about Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley to make a fun, memorable experience.
City Walk
At Universal City Walk, guests could head over to Universal’s Great Movie Escape to participate in two potential Universal movie-themed escape rooms; the two escape rooms revolved around either Back to the Future or Jurassic Park. During my visit, I decided to check out the Back to the Future Escape Room. Due to the time of the year or its cost, I was the only one to do it and had to be assisted by one of the employees.
The Back to the Future Escape rooms featured areas based on different time periods within the Back to the Future franchise. As an escape room themed around a franchise that I love, it was an enjoyable time, but doing it solo felt a bit lackluster. I could see this being a lot of fun if you have a group of friends to do it with.
Most of City Walk has changed. Most of the nightclubs are gone, and even restaurant staples have changed. The three restaurants that remained the same were Pat O’Brien’s, Margaritaville, and Starbucks. Although it makes sense to update and innovate, it felt like there were way too many universal shopping areas in City Walk when there could be other activities outside of restaurants.
Takeaways
With being away from Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida, for over a decade, there were a lot of new things to check out. Between the two Harry Potter parks alone, guests could spend an entire day between Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. While visiting the parks, we attempted to do the single-rider lines as much as possible in order to reduce wait time for rides.
Sadly, during our visit, Universal staff did a poor job of managing the single-rider queue and would let rides go without filling in the gaps, sometimes leaving entire rows open. Additionally, some staff would not know if the single riders line was open or not, which meant waiting around in the normal lines when we could be moving throughout the park faster.
Shockingly, the food and drink prices were pretty fair and were typically cheaper than the food outside of the park. In fact, you had to drive 20 to 30 minutes away to get better deals. We did find out that the Ale House outside of Universal Studios had a Prime Rib meal deal that was half the price of any meal in or out of the park; in fact, it was cheaper than most of the fast food on City Walk.
Outside Universal Studios and City Walk, there are a ton of food options if you want to explore the area. Personally,. I would recommend checking out Too-Jays, Soupa Saiyan, God & Monsters, Vault 5421, and Arcade Monsters. If you are exploring, just make sure that you avoid Orange Blossom Trail as much as possible, ex, Gator Land.
The rides at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure are fun when it is your first time experiencing them; however, if you are a returning guest, the journey there might not be worth it unless you have favorites. The Annual Pass does make entry into the park less expensive, but is better for locals who can enjoy the parks regularly, vs guests who will only be there for two or more days; if you plan on going to the park for three or more days, then it is worth picking up even if you are only down there for just that trip.
Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure are definitely something cool to check out if you are going to be in the Orlando area for Disney, Warped Tour, or a convention, but it is not something you have to seek out annually. Now, our opinion could change once we check out the Epic Universe park expansion; the Epic Universe is set to include Nintendo World, a new Harry Potter area (Ministry of Magic), How to Train Your Dragon, and a horror movie monster area.
We will miss you, Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit.
