Dining Review: Bigfire at Universal City Walk

Bigfire is the newest table service restaurant to open at Universal’s City Walk. The restaurant, which opened earlier this year, replaced Emeril’s Orlando after it closed back in July 2018. Bigfire describes itself as the following: Open fire cooking is center-stage, where elevated American fare like steaks and freshwater cuisine are given the fire-kissed treatment with pairings of different woods, flavoring your meal with smoky … Continue reading Dining Review: Bigfire at Universal City Walk

Let’s Visit Universal’s Islands of Adventure

Today we are going to take a look at the best best non-Disney theme park in the United States. Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure park opened in 1999 as part of a massive expansion of Universal Studios Florida. The debut of a 2nd gate, along with the opening of Universal CityWalk cemented Universal as Disney’s main competitor in the Florida theme park industry. Just this … Continue reading Let’s Visit Universal’s Islands of Adventure

Review: The Wok Experience at Loew’s Royal Pacific Resort… Better Than Ohana?

So, apparently there are more reasons to visit Universal Orlando other than just donuts… who knew? The Wok Experience is a dinner option at the Islands Dining Room located at Loew’s Royal Pacific Resort. The Islands Dining Room is a casual but pleasant setting located on the ground floor near the pool at Royal Pacific. The resort as a whole is themed to the the … Continue reading Review: The Wok Experience at Loew’s Royal Pacific Resort… Better Than Ohana?

Review: Voo Doo Doughnuts at Universal City Walk

Today, we head over to Universal Orlando’s City Walk to take a look at what’s probably the most exciting aspect of the entire resort… quality donuts! Voodoo Doughnut is a shop that originated in Portland, Oregon known for it’s pink boxes and fun illustrations. The independantly owned company has opened 5 shops outside of Portland, one of which is at City Walk. The shop is … Continue reading Review: Voo Doo Doughnuts at Universal City Walk

Disney Parks News & Rumor Roundup: June 13, 2019

We are back with another exciting weekly Disney park (guest starring Universal Orlando) news and rumor roundup! A new restaurant at Coronado Springs, a new e-ticket ride at Universal Orlando and lots of construction updates make up the bulk of this weeks news. Three Bridges Bar & Grill has opened at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. The quick casual restaurant is located within the new Villa … Continue reading Disney Parks News & Rumor Roundup: June 13, 2019

Top 11 Rides at Universal Orlando

Universal Orlando is Walt Disney World’s biggest competition in the Orlando area, and for the most part it delivers. I personally don’t think it is in the same league as Disney, but there is a specific demographic who will prefer it (mainly teens or young adults who want nothing but thrills,  or kids these days who like to stare at screens for hours on end). That being said, I love to see Universal do well as strong competition can do nothing but good for Disney park fans.

Where Universal falls short for me is its lack of ride variety, paid express pass and various issues I’ve had or witnessed with customer service / employee attitudes. The paid express pass really irks me, not only because it can cost as much as entry to the park itself, but also because I routinely still waited 20 minutes to ride each of the two times I purchased it. The dining is also terrible.

One thing I can’t deny however, is that Universal Orlando has some killer attractions. Sadly, none of these have opened within the last 3 years, which means I haven’t been a big fan of recent park additions (I’m looking at you Fallon). That being said, here are 11 fantastic rides you can experience at Universal Orlando. Continue reading “Top 11 Rides at Universal Orlando”