This article could be titled, "Why Can't Diagon Alley Be Placed in a Better Park?" It is really Day Two of Our Trip to Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort vacation. The Studios may very well be my least favorite theme park of the bunch. It is definitely the lesser of the two at Universal, but Walt Disney World has a park that may be the very bottom of the barrel.
Now, Islands of Adventure is one of the best theme parks in Florida. No qualifiers in that statement. Our first day on the Universal property was everything we expected it to be and more. Their second park has a couple of my favorite attractions and some pretty incredible design work behind it. It has its flaws- as I pointed out in Day One of my trip report- but it is definitely worth your hard earned money.
Since I wrapped up all the Islands attractions into one report, I'll do the same with the Studios.
We took the Hogwart's Express over to the Universal Studios Florida park because early entry hours was only for Islands of Adventure. Our plan was to make sure we took in a variety of attractions we missed last trip even if it meant missing some things we enjoyed last time.
Such an incredibly well themed area!
For a few years now, I've maintained that Diagon Alley is the best themed land ever designed around a single Intellectual Property. You may not agree, but I make a pretty convincing case here. Collectively, we have taken hundreds of photos of this second Harry Potter land, and it is so rich and full of design detail, that we have spent hours there with only going on a single ride. Escape from Gringotts is a family favorite. The story is solid, from beginning to end the effects and sets are wonderful, and the use of the ride vehicle is thrill without inducing nausea. You walk off with a smile on your face. This is something I cannot say for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. The shopping in Diagon Alley is unique, the food is decent, and then there's Butterbeer- a definite reason alone to visit.
So why would I even dare write I may never visit Universal Studios Florida again? The problem begins when you step outside of Harry's world.
We were in and out in less than 10 minutes.
We were there prior to the recent opening of the revised kids area with Shrek, Trolls, and Kung Fu Panda areas. DreamWorks Land was still behind walls. This meant the entire Studios park was a full cityscape of streets even if the theme varied. Harry Potter 2.0 aside, this gives the first Universal Florida park a redundant landscape and very cold feel.
Playful atmosphere with two good family friendly attractions.
Minion Land is really cute, colorful, and contains a couple of family friendly attractions that we really enjoyed: The brand new Villain-Con Minion Blast shooter game, and the Despicable Me Minion Mayhem simulator. How can you not love minions and more minions? You just can't! But again, it's still a street just like all the other areas. The other themed areas San Francisco, New York, Hollywood, Springfield U.S.A., are all just streets. More streets everywhere. Concrete and more concrete. When you add in that the buildings are full sized and not scaled down, walking them can become a bit overwhelming too.
The reputation is well earned.
Other attractions to see on our list included the less than impressive Transformers The Ride 3D, a huge rip off of the still excellent Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man next door in that other theme park. It's loud, and action packed but with 2/3 less the fun.
Even less successful was Fast and Furious Supercharged. It has rightly earned the reputation of being the worst ride on the Orlando property by far. Universal Creative blew it. Big time. The closest comparison is the much better Skull Island, again at the other park. See a pattern here?
In contrast to what was poor, we found The Bourne Stuntacular an excellent show. Creatively designed, staged and executed, it was one of the highlights of our time in the Studios. This is the show not to miss. No spoilers here but I will say it is very different than what you expect, and these differences make it a winner.
Sorry, Universal, but I don't think anyone
associates Julie Andrews with your company.
The star of the equally lovely Olivia Newton-John.
The Hollywood Walk of Fame was unexpected as was the Brown Derby. The Old Hollywood settings were a nice change of pace. I'm sure I missed several other stars on the walk. I just got tired of looking down.
Where the streets work is when the doors of the shops and restaurant open up to real places to explore. I found most of the time, it seems the proprietors' locations are just false fronts for a show building. There's no life here. It feels empty and even deserted in spots. Something's got to give.
Springfield, the Home of the Simpsons Ride holds one of the cleverest attractions in the park. Destroy an entire amusement park? Who do you think we are, Disney Imagineers working on plans for California Adventure? Speaking of all that, we absolutely love the satire of the Disney attractions in the queue. It's both sincere and snarky at the same time. The main ride is a little much on the stomach toward the end as it is pretty lengthy for yet another simulator, but you've got to do it at least once. The vibe is appropriately different than Back to the Future which was there prior. But I'd say it's even more fun. I'll hate to see it all go away.
The Haunted Condo ad in the queue.
World Expo's sole ride, Men in Black Alien Attack may be my favorite shooter ride in Orlando. But I could see it on the chopping block. Will Smith has probably moved this to the delete list. It's too bad. The ride is clever and competitive- even if all the effects were not working compared to our previous trip.
Unless big plans and a major redesign happen, I won't come back unless I'm visiting with first timers- or our son who is a huge Potter fan and will insist on seeing all three lands, soon one in each park when Epic Universe opens. BUT Diagon Alley is just so good...
While Islands of Adventure has layers of subtle beauty, the Studios is loud and in your face. In one more Disney comparison, it's like the difference between Disney Springs and Universal's City Walk. Two totally different experiences.
The evolution of Universal Orlando Resort can be seen here: The big box, simulator heavy Studios was first. They learned from there, and the more creative and beautiful Islands of Adventure was next. It was a huge leap in themed entertainment. This all makes me even more excited for Epic Universe in 2025. If the increase in quality is equally huge, Disney had better watch out because it will be fantastic!
I'll pop in some City Walk restaurant Dine or Ditch reviews in future articles, but we will move onto Disney World next. Lots to share. Great stories, first visits to new attractions, and some surprises both good and bad.
(Photographs copyright Mark Taft.)
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