IanSo today was my first theme park visit, and I learned some valuable lessons along the way!!
Hi all, today was my Universal Studios Day; it’s one of the parks within Universals 3 parks. It was an awesome day, and I took way too many pictures. It was also very hot! So equipped with several bottles of water and drink, I jumped onto the shuttle bus to be taken to City Walk.
The park is bigger than I thought it would be! I started on the right this time as I read advice from other people who have been before to go right instead of left, as that is where everyone goes! The theme was a 1930s town with quirky buildings and shops.
My first ride was the E.T. ride; it was pretty pleasant. I enjoyed it, and I thought it was well-designed and fun! The queue experience was great too! Also, it was darker than the camera showed, adding to the atmosphere.
The next ride I did was the Simpson’s ride which is basically a visual show with the cart moving all over the place; I would akin it to a 4D experience, so there was water chucked at us, and you could feel the heat at times! It was fun! The Simpson’s area was well-detailed and really showed off Springfield from the cartoons! Here are a few pictures of Springfield Land!
After I explored Springfield Land, I went to the MIB ride, which is basically a shooter game with rollercoaster experiences; it was fun! Although I did get a bit dizzy after the ride, though! I scored 109,560 points, the highest in the cab, so go me!!
Following the MIB ride, I headed to Harry Potter Diagon Alley. They have set it up to look like London, and to be fair, they did a good job, and it did look like London. Afterwards, I wandered around and took lots of photos ( head to the Gallery to see them all!); after I had taken the pictures, it was time for the Escape from Gringotts Ride; I had to make sure I fit in the chair; luckily, there is a test chair to make sure you fit; luckily, I did, and boy, it was a fantastic ride!! I enjoyed it; it immersed you well and was great fun!
After I did that, it was time for lunch, I took an early lunch so I could avoid the queues later, and since I was in Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley, I had to check out the food there! They had Fish and Chips, and as a British man, it’s my duty to ensure it is up to standard, and to be fair, it was lovely!
With lunch out of the way, I decided to jump on the Hogwarts Express ride, which isn’t a ride, I suppose, but it was cool to watch the video on the way. This ride takes you to the Islands of Adventure to Hogsmead.
After arriving, I went and explored Hogsmead; it was ok but hectic. I couldn’t get around and explore it properly as there were a lot of people there, it was ok, but it wasn’t as good as Diagon Alley, in my opinion. I didn’t stay around long as I intended to explore Islands of Adventure tomorrow, so I went back onto the Hogwarts Express and continued my Universal Studios tour.
I was starting to flag a bit here, I was tired, and my feet hurt; this brings me back to what I was saying earlier. I learned a lot today! It was very hot, with highs hitting 29c. I kept applying sun spray, but I did not drink enough. I thought I had, but I was exhausted when I got to the hotel and had a headache. So, lesson learned – DRINK MORE WATER! I think we Brits don’t appreciate the importance of this as we don’t get the hot weather often, but today proved I need to drink more going forward.
Now carrying on, I only went on three more rides as I was getting tired, but I was happy with the rides nonetheless. The next ride I went on was the Fast and Furious Supercharge, which was a really good ride! It immerses you into the story and makes you feel a part of it.
The next ride I went on was Revenge of the Mummy, which was awesome! I had heard really good things about it, and I wasn’t disappointed. It was a rollercoaster with special effects; I really enjoyed it!
For me, the final ride of the day was Race Through New York, Starring Jimmy Fallon, which was a good ride; again, this was just a special effect and rocking cart, but it was fun nonetheless.
There were a few rides I’d have liked to go on, but by the time I had finished Jimmy Fallon’s ride, there were long queues. I wanted to go on the Transformers: The ride and Despicable Me Minon Mayhem, but the lines were approaching 60 minutes for both rides, and I was exhausted after spending 5 hours in the park. So will try and get those done in the coming days!
And that was it, really; I headed back to the hotel and slept for a bit which helped, and then I will go down and grab some food shortly and chill for the rest of the evening.
Overall I had a great day. I really enjoyed the park and the rides I went on. I have learned important lessons today, like drinking more water, especially with the heat!! The plan as it stands for tomorrow will be for me to hit Islands of Adventure, but that will depend on how I feel in the morning!! Thanks for reading, and see you tomorrow!
