Me and some buddies have been planning this for a while, and we were on a tight schedule. The easiest day for us all to go was today, the Thursday before Easter weekend. Allow me to recount my trip and provide opinions on all the rides that I rode.
We arrived at Universal studios at 10:30 this morning and made a beeline for Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. It's closing soon, but in a weird way, I feel kind of sad it's going. It's ugly, it's rough, and it's not even that fun, but it was less bad than I remembered. I chose "Humble"as my song in case any of you guys ask. The helix after the first brake run still gives me a gray out - the only coaster I've ever ridden that can do that to me. 4/10, but a fun 4/10.
As a group of Coaster Junkies, we went straight to the Mummy. It works well at blending roller coaster and dark ride, but the elements are mostly not that intense. Still one of the best at the park.
Then we made our way to Diagon Alley to grab a few Butterbeers ($10 a cup?! Robbery!) and we went to Gringotts. The queue is excellent and moves quickly, setting up a quality ride experience with a pre-show and fairly convincing elevator scene. The cave is atmospheric, and you step into the minecart, and you just get. . . Screens, a basic spinner ride, and noise. Then it's over. Diagon Alley is so cool, but its only ride is borderline incoherent.
After that, my first- ever Hogwarts Express ride. It's excactly what you'd expect - a train with some screens. However, unlike Gringotts, it's not quite billed as an epic adventure.
Hogsmeade was so crowded you couldn't stick your arm out without hitting multiple people. We had already made the decision to skip Hagrids and Forbidden Journey because the lines were so long, but it was disheartening to walk past them regardless. We stopped by HoneyDukes to grab ourselves some candy ( I got a butterbeer caramel. So. Many. Calories.) and we were on our way.
Arriving at Jurassic Park, we debated eating somewhere, but the lines were long and the park was crowded. We decided to go straight to Velocicoaster.
Velocicoaster is a rare 10/10 ride. I love it so much. The queue, to start, is air-conditioned with some good animatronics. It's not FJ or Gringotts, but it's the second best in the park. It experienced a 30-minute breakdown, but just like that, we were on the ride.
Hands up the whole time. Grin spread across my face. I'm laughing one second, holding on for dear life the next, and being flipped around like jeans in a dryer. Forceful, but not too forceful, smooth, exciting, and most importantly, fun. Anybody who thinks Hagrids is better I don't blame, but no Disney ride can top this. Expedition Everest comes close. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is a good ride. But Velocicoaster? Untouchable.
Even though it was worth the wait, our house of cards came tumbling down. The 30-minute delay stopped us from riding Hulk, which would have been the last ride of the day before dinner reservations at city walk for 5:30. Dinner would be early, sure, but we had a long drive home. The wait for Hulk was too long, and we turned it down. We made lemonade from lemons when we rode Storm Force Acceletron. Surprisingly forceful, more so than any teacups spinner I've ridden.
The day was over. I don't blame universal for the crowds, nor the delay, being Easter Weekend and all. And it's not like universal doesn't consistently do everything in its power to get Hagrids wait below two hours, or tear out old things frequently (HRRR) To make room for the new.
Out of all the rides I would have ridden if we had more time, only one of them is at Studios- MIB. I hope they come up with a good replacement for Simpsons land.
For Islands, I wish we had time to ride Hagrids, Hulk, FJ, and Spider-Man. Don't worry, I'll make a visit again soon to see Epic Universe and ride all of these.
Tell me about it. . . I would do terrible things for a butterbeer. . .
Plus the north east schools were out that week - also adding to the attendance.
Over the years the price of the butterbeer keeps going up and every time I channel Fry from Futurama. "Shut up and take my money".
Butterbeers ($10 a cup?! Robbery!)
Then I say, Rob me....... It is worth it...