Universal Orlando Park Trip Report - April 4th, 2012

    On Wednesday April 4th, 2012 Coaster Of The Day went to Universal Orlando (Universal's Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Orlando).  On that day the park was very crowded. When we got the the park at approximately 10 am the park was already packed. First we headed to Islands of Adventure,  like most people.  The first thing we went to was Incredible Hulk Coaster. The wait for it was already over 1.5 hours.  We decided not to wait and headed around the park.  Each ride had over an hour wait.  By the time we got to the Jurassic Park section of the park, we decided to get the Express Pass. The pass was for both parks, and unlimited rides, and it was about $230 dollars for two people. The price was very expensive, but if we have not gotten the pass, we would have only been able to do a few rides. 
     After we got the pass, we headed to the Wizening World of Harry Potter. At about 11:30 am the line for Harry Potter and the forbidden journey had a wait time of over 3 hours.  On that attraction Express Pass was not allowed, so we headed to ride Dragons Challenge.  We waited about 5 minuets with the pass (compared to over an hour).  This was the first time I rode Dragons Challenge (Dueling Dragons).  I enjoyed the ride a lot, but the ride would have been complete if both sides were racing, and sadly they were not. It was very heard to decide which side was better (because they were both great), but I would have to say the Hungarian Horntail (blue fire) was a better Coaster.  After that we then headed back to the Incredible Hulk.  This was also the first time I rode this Coaster and I was very impressed.  I rode it front row and it was breathtaking. It is currently B&M's only launched Coaster and it was great, and defiantly one of there best creations. (I hope B&M created more launched Coasters in the future!).  While we were there we went on Spiderman.  This year the film clips were converted into HD and it looked great!
     It was about 1 pm then, and we headed to Universal Studios.  We headed to Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, but Express Pass was not permitted on that Coaster. Instead we went for lunch at Finnegan's Bar and Grill (the restaurant across the Mummy Coaster). It was a good place to eat with great Irish food, and it was nice to go to a sit down restaurant to relax for a quick meal.  With our stomachs full we headed to ride the Mummy Coaster. Even with our Express Pass we still had to wait about 30 minuets to  ride.  Manufactured by Premier Coasters, this was a great family launched Coaster.  It was enjoyable for adults and also smaller kids will like it.  We then headed to ride Men in Black: Alien Attack.  On the way there we passed the old site where Jaws was. It was very sad to Jaws gone, but whatever goes in its place, should be amazing. Like always Men in Black was a great fun ride. About half way through the ride, it broke down. We were stuck on it for about 15 minutes. It was fun and interesting to be stuck on that ride and see the town full of aliens frozen and dead with movement.  Then we headed over to The Simpsons ride. Being a big fan of the the Simpsons, I loved the ride. The pre-shows and the ride itself made me crying with laughter. It was one of the best simulator ride I have ever gone on.  (Check out our Construction Update on Universal's Cinematic Spectacular Lagoon Show)
     We then headed back to ride the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. There at the rockit I meet a ride attendant, Zach.  We started to talk about Roller Coasters. He was very nice and took us to the front of the line, on the front row.   I highly thank him for this, and he made our day!  Here is a special shout out to Zach!  
     It was about 5 pm then, and we headed back over to Islands of Adventure.  We got back on a quick ride on Hulk, and headed to ride Jurassic Park River Adventure. JPRA was a great ride, and it had great themeing. It was awesome to see like dinosaur animatronics.  After that we made the mecca to Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. We never rode it before and waited over 2 hours to ride it. It was a good ride and worth the wait to ride it at least once. (I will never ride it again and wait that long). 
     It was about 8:30 and we headed back over to Universal Studios. We made sure we got to the 9:00 show of Terminator 2: 3D. As always, that show is amazing, and one of the best amusement park shows.  If you are a big fan of the Terminator movies, this is a must ride. It was 9:30 then and we had 30 minuets in the park left.  We went to ride Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit a few more times at night. (Check out our Construction Update on Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem)
     Then our day was sadly over.  It was a great day, but the parkways wickedly crowded.  We did miles of walking and our legs were sore. If we have never bought the Express Pass, we would not been able to ride all the Coasters that we did.  I recommend getting this pass at Universal if you go.  It truely was worth the money for it.  At the park we got over 1 hour of Coaster Video footage and we hope to release it soon!