For our family’s final day in Orlando, we decided to finish out at the two parks that really kick-started our love for theme parks in general, Universal Studios and Island’s of Adventure. Since my mom and brother hadn’t visited either in quite some time, this day was extra special, as Olivia and I had a blast showing them the new additions and changes around the park. Check out the video below for our all-encompassing final day at Universal Orlando Resort:
Kicking off our last early morning of the trip, we grabbed a quick breakfast from the hotel’s Starbucks location and were able to arrive at the Portofino water taxi shortly after 8am. With Island’s of Adventure being the first park on the agenda, we scurried off the boat and got to the gates at the tail end of our early entry window (8am to 9am). Initially, I was a bit worried we had missed our shot at riding Universal’s newest coaster, Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure, as I knew the crowd levels would garner a need for a virtual queue. Luckily, while standing in line for the park’s entrance turnstiles, I was able to secure virtual line passes with a return time of 10:00am. Anxiety instantly subsiding, I was ready and eager to lead the group into our first round of attractions. We decided to kick things off on the slower side by taking a spin through everyone’s favorite children’s book: The Cat in the Hat. This is a classic dark-ride attraction with some amazing animatronics and an overall excellent representation of the timeless story. A great way to get things started.
From there, we made the short walk over to another Suess Landing attraction that Olivia and I ride very infrequently, the High in the Sky Suess Trolley Train Ride. This is an underrated family attraction that deserves much more attention than it receives, as I would compare it to Universal’s version of the classic Disney PeopleMover. I do, however, wish it were slightly longer. Thankfully we were some of the first in line so there was it was a straight walk-on. Another quality ride to get us going this early morning.
We then trekked over to the Hogsmeade area of the park in anticipation of our upcoming Hagrid’s virtual queue. It was a few minutes before our 10:30am return window, so we decided to head towards the Hogwarts Castle for a ride on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Such an innovative and downright fun attraction, this one is a must-ride for me on nearly every visit. Probably also helps that I’m a huge Harry Potter nerd, but even non-HP lovers will get a kick out of this ride. The creativity that went into the queue, the façade, and all the different elements & show scenes of this attraction—I will forever be in awe.
After departing Hogwarts castle, we were just about ready to get in line for our turn on Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure. The anticipation grew as we entered the queue and the group got their first look at this mesmerizing attraction. The amount of track and kinetic energy involved with this coaster is palpable, and I was hyped to get the family on for their first ride. Unfortunately, a couple lengthy delays killed a bit of that gusto, but we were able to finally board after just over an hour of waiting. So all things considered, not too bad. And my brother and his girlfriend loved the ride so much they had to book a return trip for the following day to ride again!
We began to head counter-clockwise within the park, heading over towards the Jurrassic Park section of Island’s of Adventure. We were starting to get hungry after our long wait at Hagrid’s so we started scouring the area for lunch options. We were able to secure a mobile order at Thunder Falls Terrace, and this turned out to be our best decision of the day. We were seated pretty much as soon as we arrived at the restaurant, with gratuitous amounts of air conditioning and plenty of room around us to spread out. The food was delivered to our table within another five to ten minutes, and everything we ordered was fresh and delicious. I got the rib sampler tray, and I was so impressed by the quality of the food itself, this is something I would for sure order again. In addition to their fantastic flavor, the ribs were super tender and fell right off the bone. The side options were also great, and everyone else seemed to enjoy their meal as much as myself. A win in my book, as we were able to sit down and recharge in the cold A/C while indulging in some delicious BBQ.
Wrapping up our hour-long lunch break, we ventured back out into the Florida heat to find our next attraction. The Jurassic Park River Adventure was high on our list, but a lengthy maintenance delay would send us over to Kong: Skull Island instead. This ride gets a lot of unnecessary hate, and even though I would agree it is not as good as the original incarnation of Kongfrontation, it is still a very entertaining attraction that has some really cool elements throughout. Hell, the animatronic at the end of the ride is worth it enough for me. I think most theme-park goers would agree, as this attraction routinely garners a wait of sixty minutes or longer.
We had made our way to Toon Lagoon, the wettest area of the park, and knew we had to snag a ride on the legendary Dudley Do-Rights Ripsaw Falls. Another one of my favorite log flumes, this particular ride got us all soaked, with Olivia taking the brunt of the impact in the first seat. After giving into our wetness, we decided to take a spin on Popeye and Bluto’s to top it all off. Mom joined on this ride, so we had to be careful placing our belongings in the covered storage area provided in the middle of the raft. This attraction is so much fun and gets you absolutely drenched. The theming is some of the best in the park, and it’s a nice long ride to boot. A must-do if you’ve never experienced it before.
Continuing our jaunt around the park, we made a stop at Marvel’s Super Hero Island to take a spin on it’s trio of ride offerings. Starting with Spiderman and working our way to Dr. Doom’s and finally the Hulk, we had three great rides on these (still) world-class attractions. I know the Marvel area is always rumored for a re-theme, but I love it just the way it is now and hope it sticks around for a long time to come, especially considering some of the recent updates to both the Hulk and Spidey (re-track and new hi-def projectors, respectively).
With that, we had concluded our time at Island’s, but we weren’t done yet as we immediately headed across CityWalk to Universal’s Studios. Our first stop, of course, had to be our favorite bar: Chez Alcatraz for a round of cold drinks. I can’t stress enough how much you need to make this a stop on your next visit. The bartenders are all super friendly and we always have a great time ordering the Ocean Attack drink, as the staff makes a very entertaining show of it. Check this place out!
Drinks in hand, we sauntered over to the London section of the park, through the vanishing bricks and into Diagon Alley. This area always provides an unreal stroll through the world of Harry Potter, and getting the reactions from my family for their first-time seeing it was a treat as well. After a bit of looking around, we made our way to the entrance for Escape From Gringotts. Another family-friendly attraction, my mother was able to join us for this ride. Everyone enjoyed this one-of-a-kind 4D coaster experience, and after completing our time in Diagon Alley with a round of Butterbeers, we were on our way to our next attraction.
We were unfortunately getting a little low on time, so we picked up the pace for the last hour of our park visit. In quick succession, we hit Men in Black, Transformers, the Mummy, and capped off our afternoon with the last ride of the day on Hollywood: Rip, Ride, Rockit. We breezed through each and every queue with our resort-provided Express Passes, and had way too much for on all of them. With that, it was 5pm and Universal was closed for the afternoon, marking the end of our time in Orlando. Every one of us had reached our limit, and with close to 30,000 steps logged, we were ready to get off our feet.
What a fantastic four days it was for us. Starting at Disney and finishing with Universal, our family had an amazing time together and we can’t wait for our next visit. Although exhausting at some points, everything went according to the plan I had drawn up and it truly was a perfect vacation. Thanks again for tuning in and following along with another trip report. Be sure to stay tuned for the final two legs of this epic spring break adventure. Up next, a weekend in South Florida for more family time and a road Hurricanes hockey game against the Panthers!
– Walker
Texas-Ranger Travels 