Universal Studios – Post 2 of 2

Here are photos taken in January, 2018 at Universal Studios theme park in Orlando, Florida.  I have previously posted photos from the Harry Potter portions of the park but there is much more there to see.  There are three main areas to the park and we spent 4 days walking through two of them.  The third park is mainly a water park and since it was mid-January the days were cool and some of the nights got chilly, so that area wasn’t open the day we tried to go.  Believe me, there is PLENTY to see in the other two areas.  We had a “pay-for-two-days and get two days free” ticket which I recommend if you want to visit the Harry Potter areas.  They are split between the two parks and that ticket allows you to ride the “Hogwart Express” train between them.  As you will see, there are many other theme areas in the park and I didn’t even take pictures in some of them.

I was glad we were there 4 days so we didn’t feel rushed.  We rode most of the rides, some more than once.  There is an app you can download to your smartphone which provides wait times to help you plan your day “on the fly”.  We didn’t ride either of the big roller coasters (1 in each park) but enjoyed most of the other rides, many of which feature videos with special effects.

My friend from Pennsylvania who went with me knew a little-known fact about the “Men in Black” ride.  As you are passing through the entry line to wait for your turn on the ride there is a point where you look down into a mock up of the “control room” which was featured in the movie.  When you are finished with the ride, and if you ask (and there are staff members available) you may be escorted down to this room where you may then roam around and take pictures (as we did).  Another tip – if you take the “single rider” shortcut lines you may miss some of the staging areas (like the control room).  Many of the rides (especially in the Harry Potter areas) have a variety of things to entertain you while you wait in the queue (like going through the bank at one of the Harry Potter rides, or moving pictures in the Harry Potter castle) so while it may expedite your getting on a ride, you may miss out on some interesting aspects of the park.