Infinitus/Universal Studios TripTips and Observations, with no real spoilers

[amanuensis1]

Tips/observations for Universal Studios, day 1: Islands of Adventure, pt 1

-Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is one of those rides that makes me say, "AGAIN!" as soon as it's done. This may or may not be a good idea; the second time through the motion sickness hit me and I had to nix my plans of both Butterbeer and Duelling Dragons immediately after, and fabularasa, who had had plenty of the ride after trip one, got to have the last laugh.

-Again, for HP and the FJ: if you are like me and wear loose, comfortable slides on your feet, either 1) take them off when they seat you and tuck them between your back and the seat, or 2) ask the attendants for some rubber bands so you can lasso your shoes on. (No, I'm serious, they have them and it works.) Taking your shoes off and leaving them in a locker at the start is, I'm told, a no-go because you aren't allowed to walk through the whole pre-show line barefoot. But I spent the first go-through holding my dangling feet at an acute angle so my shoes wouldn't slide off and be lost somewhere in the ride's depths.

-Pumpkin Juice is DELICIOUS. Omigod, a mouthful hits you with gentle cinnamon/ginger/allspice mix awash on a pumpkin mouthfeel, and then ends on an apple finish. I so wish I could take home a sixpack of this.

-You will thank me if you skip Flight of the Hippogriff. Seriously, it's too intense for little ones, like the beginning of a good rollercoaster ride, but it's like TWELVE SECONDS LONG. Who is this for?

-Leaving HP-land: you can get a surprisingly delicious chicken caesar salad at Circus McGurkus; they mix it up right when you order it and they cut up an actual hot fried boneless chicken breast and top your salad with it. Nice change from those prepackaged jobs you find too often.

-fabularasa and I have decided that so far our favorite ride in the park (we haven't done many yet) is the High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride. Seriously, I could just stay on that thing all day, looking at the view from above.

-Adults cannot go on the Pteranodon Flyers (another aerial view ride) at all unless they are accompanying a small child. So either bring a small child with you or create a nanny service on the spot, or don't bother.

More later!

Comments

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

We went in with the before-hours, staying-at-the-hotel crowd, which meant HP and the FJ was a walk-on both times. Then, being one of the staying-at-the-hotel crowd, that meant we got to use our passes to jump to the head of the line on everything else. But there wasn't a lot we wanted to do that was open, since we were feeling shy of wild rides at that time and preferred to see a show or two, but shows weren't going until noon. And we were only there until about noonish, and that's when the crowds were certainly starting to pick up. So it's hard for me to judge so far, sorry!