I Love You Orlando (The Best Part of Orlando)

ORLANDO! ORLANDO!

Sea World and Disney and Putt Putt Golfing...and UNIVERSAL STUDIOS ORLANDO! (Apologies if you don't get the Book of Mormon reference.)

We actually started this post out as being about Orlando in general but we realized Universal is the best part and we can write about it for FOREVER.

What makes Universal Studios The Greatest Place On Earth?

Butterbeer!!!!!

1) You'll Forget All Your Problems

How could you NOT when you're on the World's Best Roller Coaster, THE HULK?!

2) You'll See All Your Favorite Things

Comic book nerd? Check out Marvel Superhero Island and hang out with Spidey and the gang! Aspiring paleontologist? Get up close and personal with a T-Rex in Jurassic Park. Harry Potter geek? OMG the Wizarding World of Harry Potter will BLOW YOUR MIND. Not to mention a general celebration of film.

3) Butter beer. 'Nuff said.

Seriously though, it's awesome!

Universal is probably our favorite place in the entire world to visit, and we like visiting a lot of places. In the space of three years we went twice with our friend Ash Tree, once alone together, Sputnik went once with Miller Time, and Jade tried to go twice (neither time successful) with visiting friends. It's now been more than two years since either of us has had a fix and we're going a little crazy.

Nothing beats the hulk...

There aren't many things that get the two of us out of bed at 6 o'clock in the morning (we're both confirmed night owls), but when we're in Orlando, we're up and out the door in plenty of time to get to Universal the moment it opens. (Jade actually did this once after only about 3 hours of sleep. Quote: "Totally worth it.") These first few minutes in the park, as the rides make their first runs and before the crowds start pouring in, are magical. It's a time before the lines, the beating sun, and the obscene hordes.  We always take advantage of this by riding The Incredible Hulk a half-dozen times (100% completely NOT exaggerating). Nothing gets you pumped for an awesome day like a high-speed roller coaster (just make sure you pack the Dramamine). More of us might be morning people if we could ride one of these every day before breakfast.

Where else can you explore Hogwarts, drink butter beer, and ride dragons?

The little details make
 all the difference

Not far from the Hulk is the Wizarding World of Harry Potter-Hogsmead. Since this part of the park is relatively new (and Harry Potter related) it's always busy. We try to hit it in the morning of off days to avoid the massive amounts of people. (Seriously, they will start keeping people out of this part of the park on really busy days.) The Dragon Challenge, which is actually two inverted steel roller coasters modeled after the triwizard task, is the major traditional coaster but the main event at WWoHP is the Forbidden Journey. This dark ride takes you throughout Hogwarts on a mixed media adventure giving Harry Potter fans a closer look at the magical world. One of the things Universal does exceptionally well is making the queue part of a ride's experience and the Forbidden Journey is no exception. As one of the most popular rides in the park the wait time is frequently well over an hour but no one could possibly be bored as they walk through the castle seeing sights such as the Green Houses, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, the Headmaster's Office, and many others. Throughout both the line and the park itself small details, many of which move or make sounds, add to the experience. In the ladies' room outside of the Three Broomsticks you can actually hear Moaning Myrtle as you use the loo.

There is also a station for the Hogwarts Express which, as of earlier this year, carries passengers from Hogsmead (in Islands of Adventure) to Diagon Alley (in Universal Studios Florida). We can't wait to explore the Escape from Gringotts, the Leaky Cauldron, and Weasley's Wizard Wheezes next time we go in this new section of the park.

Ash Tree in front of the Hogwarts Express

But wait, there's more!

As if all of that wasn't enough to fill your time there's a whole 'nother park. The Wizarding World-Hogsmead and the Hulk ride are both part of the Islands of Adventure, arguably the better of the two parks. (So says Sputnik. We'll save the debate for another day.) But don't choose just one, because Universal Studios Florida (that's the other park) has some noteworthy attractions.

The Siiiiiimmmmpsooooonss........and the Mummy

The Simpsons Ride (it replaced the old Back to the Future ride) is well worth the lengthy line (plus, you'll get fun clips from the show to entertain you). The first time we rode it we literally walked out with dropped jaws. And the Revenge of the Mummy is a spooky indoor high speed roller coaster with its own plot line (SPOILER ALERT: avoid the Mummy!). One of the best features of this ride is three separate LIM launches which take the rider from a complete standstill to 45 mph in about 3 seconds.

We ARE galaxy defenders

We kick butt at our favorite ride

But above and beyond all else (as of our last visit in 2012) our favorite ride in this park is Men In Black: Alien Attack. We usually save it for the very end of the day so we can do it over and over and over again. This is not in any way an exaggeration. We once rode MIB 10 times in a row. In it, you ride around an indoor track and shoot aliens on the streets of Manhattan. So it's both a ride AND a game! You rack up points based on the number and kind of targets you hit. DON'T PRESS THE RED BUTTON! Until the end. Then PRESS THE RED BUTTON!  But be careful, right before you leave Agent J might neuralize you if you don't make the cut and you'll forget the whole thing. We've ridden this dozens of times, kind of kick ass at it, and have learned most of the tricks (with the help of the very friendly staff). Not to brag, but we've even unlocked the MIB suit.

And then it's time to go home 

At the very end of the night in Universal Studios Florida there's a lagoon show to close down the park. The first two times we went it was Universal 360: A Cinesphere Spectacular. This fireworks attraction, which graced the body of water for five years, combined scenes from Universal films projected on inflated spheres with various fire, light, and water effects. It has since been replaced with Universal's Cinematic Spectacular: 100 Years of Movie Memories which opened about a week after we visited the last time. The glimpses we saw of test runs though made it clear it was just as good and definitely the perfect way to finish off an amazing day.

We'll be back

These are of course just some of the highlights of Universal Orlando Resort. It's kind of fitting that one of the attractions we didn't speak of is Terminator 2: 3-D Battle Across Time. Arnold must have been channeling us when he grunted "I'll be back." Hopefully it'll be soon (we actually kind of are already planning our next trip) and we can tell you about all the other amazing parts of Universal then.

~Sputnik & Jade