Trip Report: Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure

Instead of giving you a play-by-play of my day at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, I’m just going to touch on the highlights and give some of my overall general thoughts.  I’ve been to the Universal Orlando Resort a few times in the past, so this one day trip was focused on seeing all of the attractions that had been added or upgraded since my last visit in 2009.

Crowds

Given that we were visiting on a Tuesday in early February, I was expecting the crowd levels to be very low.  Even though wait times were manageable, the crowds were generally much heavier than what I had anticipated.  I knew the American crowds would be down since it was the middle of the work week, schools were in session, and there were not any holidays coming up.  What I did not expect was the large number of international travelers and tour groups.  This was great to see for Universal’s bottom line, but it was a bummer for someone like me looking for walk-ons to everything.  Luckily, the longer than expected wait times did not prevent us from experiencing all of the attractions that we wanted to see.   

Harry Potter

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Hogsmeade was still under construction during my last visit back in 2009.  As a fan of both Harry Potter and theme parks, to see the Hogwarts castle in all its glory and not be able to experience it was truly heartbreaking.  Fast forward six years later and I finally had the chance to see not only Hogsmeade, but Diagon Alley and the Hogwarts Express as well.  Let me tell you, they did not disappoint.  I was blown away by the level detail in everything from the shop windows, to the restaurants, and of course the headliner attractions.

The Forbidden Journey, the Hogwarts Express, and Escape from Gringotts were unbelievable.  Technological advances and a mix of screens and physical effects truly set these attractions apart from your run of the mill theme park rides.  The queues could easily be considered attractions in their own right.  Even the second tier attractions and experiences like the Flight of the Hippogriff, Dragon Challenge, and Ollivander’s are highly themed.

As for the rest of the Wizarding World, there is so much to see and do that I could easily spend an entire day in just Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley and never be bored.  From the unique shops, the stage performances, the restaurants, and the other attractions, there’s enough to experience that everyone will have a great time even if they aren’t interested in theme parks or Harry Potter.

Other New to Me Attractions

Since my last visit, Transformers, Despicable Me Minion Mayhem, and Springfield had been added to the parks, along with an updated Amazing Adventures of Spiderman.  All of these seemed like positive additions to the landscapes of the parks.  Transformers was good even though the storyline was difficult to follow.  Springfield was a big upgrade to the concrete jungle that was there before.  Despicable Me was so popular that we decided to skip it in order to see our other higher priority attractions.  The Spiderman upgrades only enhanced this world class attraction.  All in all I was very impressed with the additions that Universal has installed, and it’s great to see that they’re not slowing down anytime soon (I’m looking at you, Kong).

Other Attractions

After experiencing all of the new attractions that we wanted to, we had some extra time to take a spin on some of our other favorite attractions.  Revenge of the Mummy, E.T. Adventure, and Men in Black: Alien Attack, were just as great as I was remembered.  It’s good to see them hold up over time, and it’s reassuring to see that Universal isn’t letting expansions overshadow the maintenance of their current attractions.

Food and Beverage

All of my food and beverage purchases occurred in the Wizarding World, and I was more than willing to shell out my galleons for the specialty items.  For lunch, my family had the Great Feast in the Three Broomsticks and it definitely lived up to its name.  The food itself was good, the ambiance was fantastic, and we were all stuffed.  We were so stuffed in fact, that we didn’t eat dinner that night.

The food was good, but the beverages were the real stars.  I either ordered or tasted the following drinks:  Hot Butterbeer, Frozen Butterbeer, Pumpkin Juice, Pumpkin Fizz, Pear Cider, Otter’s Fizzy Orange Drink, Fishy Green Ale, and Gilly Water.  The standouts for me were the Frozen Butterbeer and Otter’s Fizzy Orange Drink.  Although I enjoyed everything I tried, other members of my family did not care for the strong pumpkin spice flavor of the Pumpkin Juice and Pumpkin Fizz.

The only other food or beverage that we tried was ice cream from Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour in Diagon Alley.  Chocolate Chili, Butterbeer, Sticky Toffee Pudding, and Salted Caramel Blondie were among the flavors we tried, and they were all very, very good.  The Butterbeer soft serve was slightly disappointing only because I loved the beverage equivalents so much, but I would still order it again.  Chocolate Chili was the biggest hit for me.

Overall

I went into the day with high expectations, and Universal not only met those expectations but they far exceeded them.  The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was beyond amazing and everything else was incredible as well.  A trip to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure is always a great time is considerably less stressful than a trip to other theme parks in the area.  With all of the additions coming to the resort in the near future, it’s certainly an exciting time to be a Universal fan.   

NBA City Restaurant Replacement Idea

With the recent announcement of The NBA Experience coming to Disney Springs at Walt Disney World, the days of the NBA City restaurant in CityWalk at the Universal Orlando Resort were numbered.  It didn’t take long for Universal to announce that NBA City will be closing in August to make way for “an exciting, new concept for that space.”  While Universal didn’t explicitly state that a new restaurant will be replacing the basketball themed eatery, for the sake of this blog post I will assume this is the case.

As I began to think of possible replacement options, I asked myself a few questions:

• What gaps are there in Universal’s food offerings?
• What type of food would draw the largest crowd?
• What are some potential themes?

For sake of discussion I’m just going to look at options for dinner, and therefore I’m ignoring the eating options inside the parks.  This leaves us with the restaurants in CityWalk, as well as the restaurants at the on-site hotels.  I used these parameters to determine any potential gaps in Universal’s current offerings and identify potential areas for the resort to capitalize upon.

Let’s take a look at the types of cuisines that are currently offered at the Universal resort.  The Italian, Mexican, American, Asian, Caribbean, Creole, and Asian genres are currently well represented.  Sushi, burgers, steak, pizza, seafood, and ice cream are among the specific types of food offered.  There’s also a mix of counter service and full service restaurants available.

When I look at all the all of the options available to diners at the Universal Orlando resort, the type of restaurant that seems to be missing is a buffet.  There’s a huge opportunity here in my opinion.  Think of a family that’s looking for a place to eat after a long day at the parks.  Dad wants to go to the Hard Rock Hotel and get a steak at The Palm.  Mom wants some pasta and a glass of wine from Vivo.  The kids want to grab a burger at the BK Whopper Bar and then play some Hollywood Drive-In mini golf.  The last thing anyone wants after an exhaustive day at the theme parks is an argument about where to eat dinner.  A buffet would offer something for everyone.  (Side Note:  The Wantilan Luau at the Royal Pacific Resort is technically a buffet, but I’m ignoring it since it’s only available on Saturday nights and the price point is out of reach for the typical CityWalk guest)

The question then, is what kind of food should this buffet offer?  What would bring in the largest crowd night after night?  I went back and forth on this, whether the buffet should be a hodgepodge offering of several genres of cuisine, or if it should specialize in a single type.  Ultimately I decided that a single genre would work best in terms of differentiating the restaurant from the other eateries at the resort, and it would also help create a centralized theme.

After reviewing the genres of cuisine currently offered, I think a buffet of classic American BBQ would fill a hole in Universal’s restaurant lineup.  The smell of smoked meat wafting through CityWalk would be a magnet, drawing guests from the exit of the parks straight to the cash register.  Pulled pork.  Baby back ribs. Brisket.  Smoked chicken, turkey, and sausages.  Sides of mac n’ cheese, coleslaw, potato salad, baked beans, cornbread, and grilled vegetables.  A salad bar, a baked potato bar, and a regular bar with a full beer selection.  Add in some banana pudding and a sweet tea and you’ve got a hit restaurant on your hands. 

A BBQ buffet would appeal to local tourists looking to fill up on something familiar, while also appealing to foreign tourists looking for a taste of Americana.  The buffet style would allow everyone to find something to appease their palate, and there’s a guarantee that everyone leaves with a full stomach.  With an affordable price point (~$20 seems reasonable) you’ll have a sure fire hit on your hands.

As far as theming goes, the stereotypical Texas barbecue joint décor would be a natural fit.  Rustic wood floors and picnic tables with checkered tablecloths would be fantastic.  A few animatronic animal heads hanging on the walls would be a fun touch, and you could even have the flying cow from Twister soar across the dining area every half hour (once Twister closes of course).  For entertainment, a stage could house honky-tonk bands on the weekends, and a player piano the rest of the time.  You could even set-up the piano to play requests for a nominal fee (like a unique jukebox, except more fun).  The bar area could be themed like an old western saloon with a wide selection of whiskey and beer.  The wait staff could be dressed as cowboys and cowgirls.  The ideas are endless.  I wonder if the façade from the old Wild Wild West Stunt Show is sitting around anywhere, waiting to be repurposed?

Anyway, there you have it.  My idea for a replacement of NBA City is a classic American BBQ buffet with a western theme.  It would fill a void in Universal Orlando’s restaurant lineup and would be sure to attract a large crowd.  The theme would fun and entertaining, but would still be appropriate based on the type of food being offered.  I would definitely want to check this place out.

What do you think?  Would you be interested this a restaurant like this?  Leave a comment below with your thoughts or feel free to chime in with your own ideas.