This is going to be a long post as this was our most full day of the whole trip. The days on the cruise the shows didn't start until the afternoon and for the most part we only saw 1 show at a time. At Universal we would ride and do as many attractions as we could.
We woke up around 8 and went to the hotel lobby for their complimentary hot continental 
breakfast. By 10, we drove over to Universal as the entrance was just down the highway from the hotel. After parking in the Spider-man parking deck we made our way to the Islands of Adventure. We waited almost a half hour for tickets. They have a bunch of ticket options and the best one for us was the 2-parks 1-day option for $82.95 per person.
Our first stop was:
Marvel Super Hero Island – “Enter a gleaming comic book city where the world’s greatest Super Heroes pit themselves against the world’s most diabolical Super Villains in the ultimate battle of good versus evil.”
Of course this is what I wanted to see the most so if we did it first we definitely wouldn’t miss it. We figured that since the Hulk ride had the longest line we would go on that ride first. I don’t usually like roller coasters but after doing the canopy tour zipline in Jamaica we were ready for anything. We waited in line for about 45 minutes and the ride was amazing. It was the first roller coaster ride Stan can remember that he had his eyes open the whole ride. After that great adrenaline rush we went over to the Spider-man 3D ride. This had about a 40 min wait. We did 2 rides and it took almost 2 hours. We figured that if we wanted to get the most out of the 2 parks we needed to get an Express Pass that allows you to go to the front of the lines for the more popular rides. It costs an extra $30 per person and you only get to use the express pass once on each ride. Without that pass we would not have done as much as we did. After the Spider-man ride there were comic characters hanging around taking pictures with kids (and Stan). Stan got his picture with Storm & Rogue, Capt America, and Wolv
erine. We went into a comic book shop that was really cool and all of a sudden you hear a lot of sirens and a large commotion outside. Not knowing what it was we went towards the sirens. When we got there we see all the comic characters running to get on custom ATVs and drive off. Apparently there was a villain causing problems and the characters put on a little show. This happens after they take pictures for about a hour. Very cool and unexpected. After leaving Marvel Island, the next stop was
‘Toon lagoon – “Splash through the panels of your favorite cartoons and comic strips on the wild and wacky water rides of Toon Lagoon. The Sunday Funnies were never this much fun!”
Walking through 'Toon Lagoon is like walking through the Sunday Funnies that have come to life. Everywhere you look there is a different comic strip character adn there are a lot of fun photo-ops throughout the park like the one to the right.
breakfast. By 10, we drove over to Universal as the entrance was just down the highway from the hotel. After parking in the Spider-man parking deck we made our way to the Islands of Adventure. We waited almost a half hour for tickets. They have a bunch of ticket options and the best one for us was the 2-parks 1-day option for $82.95 per person.Our first stop was:
Marvel Super Hero Island – “Enter a gleaming comic book city where the world’s greatest Super Heroes pit themselves against the world’s most diabolical Super Villains in the ultimate battle of good versus evil.”
Of course this is what I wanted to see the most so if we did it first we definitely wouldn’t miss it. We figured that since the Hulk ride had the longest line we would go on that ride first. I don’t usually like roller coasters but after doing the canopy tour zipline in Jamaica we were ready for anything. We waited in line for about 45 minutes and the ride was amazing. It was the first roller coaster ride Stan can remember that he had his eyes open the whole ride. After that great adrenaline rush we went over to the Spider-man 3D ride. This had about a 40 min wait. We did 2 rides and it took almost 2 hours. We figured that if we wanted to get the most out of the 2 parks we needed to get an Express Pass that allows you to go to the front of the lines for the more popular rides. It costs an extra $30 per person and you only get to use the express pass once on each ride. Without that pass we would not have done as much as we did. After the Spider-man ride there were comic characters hanging around taking pictures with kids (and Stan). Stan got his picture with Storm & Rogue, Capt America, and Wolv
erine. We went into a comic book shop that was really cool and all of a sudden you hear a lot of sirens and a large commotion outside. Not knowing what it was we went towards the sirens. When we got there we see all the comic characters running to get on custom ATVs and drive off. Apparently there was a villain causing problems and the characters put on a little show. This happens after they take pictures for about a hour. Very cool and unexpected. After leaving Marvel Island, the next stop was‘Toon lagoon – “Splash through the panels of your favorite cartoons and comic strips on the wild and wacky water rides of Toon Lagoon. The Sunday Funnies were never this much fun!”
Walking through 'Toon Lagoon is like walking through the Sunday Funnies that have come to life. Everywhere you look there is a different comic strip character adn there are a lot of fun photo-ops throughout the park like the one to the right. That crazy Marmaduke!!
The first and only ride we went on in this area was the Dudley Do-Right ripsaw falls. This was a very funny and very wet flume ride. This was quite possibly the funniest ride I have ever been on. We got SOAKED!!! I don’t know if it was the ride that was funnier or if it was how wet we got. We literally 'wrung out' our shirts when we got off!! After this we needed to stand in the sun to dry off a little. When we were a little dry we started walking over to
Jurassic Park – “Experience the real Jurassic Park, where dinosaurs have been brought back to co-exist with man for the first time anywhere. It’s an adventure 65 million years in the making!”
The main ride in Jurassic park is the River adventure which you get wet on and since we were already wet we figured why not. We were on a Jurassic park river ride at universal in LA so we knew what to expect and this was just as good however we didn’t get too wet, which Amy was happy about. After Jurassic Park were went to
The Lost Continent – “Explore an ageless land of ancient myths and epic legends. From a castle guarded by warring dragons to a battle of titans beneath the sea, heart-pounding adventure awaits around every corner.”
Here we rode the Flying Unicorn, a fast little roller coaster with a lot of steep
turns. It was really fun. Next we did Poseiden’s Fury. This really wasn't a ride as much as it was an attraction. This was a 20-min walk-through attraction in an “ancient temple”. It was a let down after all the other exciting rides. Next to this was the Duelling Dragons roller coaster. This was the only thrill ride that we didn’t ride. The only reason I can think of is that it was getting late and we still had the whole other park to do. After this we headed to
Seuss Landing – “The only place where all of Dr. Seuss' whimsical children's tales come to life before your eyes! It’s a treat for all of your senses…especially your sense of humor!”
I am not a real big fan of Seuss but it was cool to see the crazy buildings. We only went on the Cat in the Hat ride. It was pretty fun.
This would have been enough for 1 day but we were not done yet.
Jurassic Park – “Experience the real Jurassic Park, where dinosaurs have been brought back to co-exist with man for the first time anywhere. It’s an adventure 65 million years in the making!”
The main ride in Jurassic park is the River adventure which you get wet on and since we were already wet we figured why not. We were on a Jurassic park river ride at universal in LA so we knew what to expect and this was just as good however we didn’t get too wet, which Amy was happy about. After Jurassic Park were went to
The Lost Continent – “Explore an ageless land of ancient myths and epic legends. From a castle guarded by warring dragons to a battle of titans beneath the sea, heart-pounding adventure awaits around every corner.”
Here we rode the Flying Unicorn, a fast little roller coaster with a lot of steep
turns. It was really fun. Next we did Poseiden’s Fury. This really wasn't a ride as much as it was an attraction. This was a 20-min walk-through attraction in an “ancient temple”. It was a let down after all the other exciting rides. Next to this was the Duelling Dragons roller coaster. This was the only thrill ride that we didn’t ride. The only reason I can think of is that it was getting late and we still had the whole other park to do. After this we headed toSeuss Landing – “The only place where all of Dr. Seuss' whimsical children's tales come to life before your eyes! It’s a treat for all of your senses…especially your sense of humor!”
I am not a real big fan of Seuss but it was cool to see the crazy buildings. We only went on the Cat in the Hat ride. It was pretty fun.
This would have been enough for 1 day but we were not done yet.
Time to go to Universal Studios Park.
Universal Studios Park is more of an attraction park and no real thrill rides.
Walking clock-wise through the park, the first ride we went on was Jimmy Neutron’s Nicktoon Blast. It was fun ride but we were sitting near the front all the way on the side and it was a little disorientating. Like most of the rides in Universal you are sitting a in big room and the seats move up, down, back and forth with what is happening on the screen. Next up was Shrek 4-D. This was fun and it was in 3D, they gave you glasses to wear. Since I wear glasses the effect was not as good on me as others. Next we went on the Revenge of the Mummy ride which is an indoor roller coaster. It was really good and kinda scary. At one point the ride is in complete darkness and you are speeding through not knowing which way you’re going. Next we did Disaster. This was an attraction that we was similar to one we did in Universal LA. It was like being on a movie set filming a disaster movie. You are sitting in a “subway terminal” where there is an earthquake and all heck break loose. It was pretty cool. After this, one of the rides we wanted to do was the Men-in-Black Alien Attack ride. This was pretty cool as it was an interactive ride where you had to shoot aliens while on the ride. It even took score. It was fun. Now it was getting dark and we had about an hour to do a couple more rides. One of the rides we want to do was The ET Adventure ride. When we got to the ride, it was not working at that time. So instead of going on that we went on The Woody Woodpecker Nuthouse Roller Coaster. This was a fun little coaster like the Flying Unicorn from earlier. While waiting in line for this in front of us were a brother and sister that were about 8-10 years old. They said this was the 16th time they were on this ride over the past 2 days. I guess they liked it. Well we did too. When we got off this ride we saw that ET was open again so we went over there. We did this at universal LA and we really liked it so we did it again and it was just about the same but no less fun. When we were done it was about 7:15 and the last showing of the Terminator 2: 3D attraction was at 7:30 and all the rides closed at 8 so we almost ran to the Terminator ride. This was almost a 30 min 3D show. It was here that I finally figured out that I was wearing the 3D glasses too close to my face and I was able to fully get the 3D experience. This was over at just about 8.
Universal Studios Park is more of an attraction park and no real thrill rides.
Walking clock-wise through the park, the first ride we went on was Jimmy Neutron’s Nicktoon Blast. It was fun ride but we were sitting near the front all the way on the side and it was a little disorientating. Like most of the rides in Universal you are sitting a in big room and the seats move up, down, back and forth with what is happening on the screen. Next up was Shrek 4-D. This was fun and it was in 3D, they gave you glasses to wear. Since I wear glasses the effect was not as good on me as others. Next we went on the Revenge of the Mummy ride which is an indoor roller coaster. It was really good and kinda scary. At one point the ride is in complete darkness and you are speeding through not knowing which way you’re going. Next we did Disaster. This was an attraction that we was similar to one we did in Universal LA. It was like being on a movie set filming a disaster movie. You are sitting in a “subway terminal” where there is an earthquake and all heck break loose. It was pretty cool. After this, one of the rides we wanted to do was the Men-in-Black Alien Attack ride. This was pretty cool as it was an interactive ride where you had to shoot aliens while on the ride. It even took score. It was fun. Now it was getting dark and we had about an hour to do a couple more rides. One of the rides we want to do was The ET Adventure ride. When we got to the ride, it was not working at that time. So instead of going on that we went on The Woody Woodpecker Nuthouse Roller Coaster. This was a fun little coaster like the Flying Unicorn from earlier. While waiting in line for this in front of us were a brother and sister that were about 8-10 years old. They said this was the 16th time they were on this ride over the past 2 days. I guess they liked it. Well we did too. When we got off this ride we saw that ET was open again so we went over there. We did this at universal LA and we really liked it so we did it again and it was just about the same but no less fun. When we were done it was about 7:15 and the last showing of the Terminator 2: 3D attraction was at 7:30 and all the rides closed at 8 so we almost ran to the Terminator ride. This was almost a 30 min 3D show. It was here that I finally figured out that I was wearing the 3D glasses too close to my face and I was able to fully get the 3D experience. This was over at just about 8.
Whew! We did it-got everything in that we wanted to and then some!
Tonight was the first night of Universal’s Mardi Gras celebration. As part of the celebration they had a huge parade through Universal Studios. The parade started at 8 and we found a spot on the curb to watch the parade. It was crazy. It was the closest to being in New 
Orleans as you could get. It was really fun and the floats were throwing beads. We ended up with quite a few beads. After the parade there was a Brett Michaels’ concert. Brett Michaels is the lead singer from Poison. We listened to a couple songs but it was getting close to 9 and we didn’t eat dinner yet. We were going to eat Mel’s Drive-In inside the park. It looked just like an old drive-in complete with the cars from American Graffiti, including Milner’s 32 Ford. It was kinda crowded there so we left the park and decided to eat at the NASCAR Sports Grill, a NASCAR themed restaurant. It was pretty cool and all the booths had TVs that you could change the channel on, we chose to watch a hockey game. It was after 10 and we figured it was time to go back to the hotel. Since the hotel was only up the highway it shouldn't be hard to get back. Wrong! We must have taken a wrong turn leaving the park and we got lost. We ended up going the opposite direction from the hotel. When we finally got back to the hotel it was around 11. After a very full day we were exhausted and we had to do our final packing. I don’t know how we did it but we ended up packing better and lighter than we originally packed at home. With everything packed we got to bed at around 1am.
Orleans as you could get. It was really fun and the floats were throwing beads. We ended up with quite a few beads. After the parade there was a Brett Michaels’ concert. Brett Michaels is the lead singer from Poison. We listened to a couple songs but it was getting close to 9 and we didn’t eat dinner yet. We were going to eat Mel’s Drive-In inside the park. It looked just like an old drive-in complete with the cars from American Graffiti, including Milner’s 32 Ford. It was kinda crowded there so we left the park and decided to eat at the NASCAR Sports Grill, a NASCAR themed restaurant. It was pretty cool and all the booths had TVs that you could change the channel on, we chose to watch a hockey game. It was after 10 and we figured it was time to go back to the hotel. Since the hotel was only up the highway it shouldn't be hard to get back. Wrong! We must have taken a wrong turn leaving the park and we got lost. We ended up going the opposite direction from the hotel. When we finally got back to the hotel it was around 11. After a very full day we were exhausted and we had to do our final packing. I don’t know how we did it but we ended up packing better and lighter than we originally packed at home. With everything packed we got to bed at around 1am.Another long but great day!!
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