Most exhilarating roller coaster

[Tenacious E]

I need to return to try the Velocoaster. I did not love the rockit and don't foresee a 2nd try. Probably my favorite coaster at either park is the goddamn Mummy. Kind of a perfect balance of fun, no long wait, and don't feel like you need an internal organ correction after the ride.

Did you stay onsite at Universal?

My favorite so far is hulk.

 

[Tenacious E]

I need to return to try the Velocoaster. I did not love the rockit and don't foresee a 2nd try. Probably my favorite coaster at either park is the goddamn Mummy. Kind of a perfect balance of fun, no long wait, and don't feel like you need an internal organ correction after the ride.

Did you stay onsite at Universal?

I will add I am just now normalizing after an hour or so. Not sure if I was dehydrated from being in the sun, but I felt like I was in shock for about 30 minutes.

 

[JupiterHawk]

Still here, staying at the hard rock. Probably the best hotel I’ve ever stayed at. Not sure if that makes me a poor. That gives us the express passes which are really good here. Had a 1-minute wait for hulk, when the other line was 45 minutes

That's awesome. I stayed at the Royal Pacific which I think is the less expensive of the 3. The express passes make all the difference there. Is today your first day?

The restaurants at the resort are just ok in my opinion but again it's been like 8 years since I have been there. I think we liked the NBA restaurant the most and always ended up eating somewhere there. Who wants to get in the car and drive offsite after decompressing from the parks?

 

[FSUTribe76]

Still here, staying at the hard rock. Probably the best hotel I’ve ever stayed at. Not sure if that makes me a poor. That gives us the express passes which are really good here. Had a 1-minute wait for hulk, when the other line was 45 minutes

All of the on-site hotels at Universal are excellent. Of the three high end hotels (Hard Rock, Royal Pacific and Portofino) my favorite is Portofino. But I typically stay (and will be again for Hollywood Horror Nights in Sept) at Cabana Bay as in my book it’s the best bang for your Buck. Really there are no bad choices amongst the onsite hotels.

 

[artradley]

Pretty much a copy of top thrill dragster except I think they made it a little taller.

Same company built Kings Da two years after - a little taller and a little faster.

 

[Tenacious E]

That's awesome. I stayed at the Royal Pacific which I think is the less expensive of the 3. The express passes make all the difference there. Is today your first day?

The restaurants at the resort are just ok in my opinion but again it's been like 8 years since I have been there. I think we liked the NBA restaurant the most and always ended up eating somewhere there. Who wants to get in the car and drive offsite after decompressing from the parks?

We just finished day 2 at the park. We all were ready to tap out. With the express pass, you get a lot of rides in and my 49-year old body can only take so much excitement. But my kids 18 and 15 were also ready, so not too bad.

And actually, I have been pretty impressed with the food. And normally, I am a pretty harsh critic.

 

[Tenacious E]

All of the on-site hotels at Universal are excellent. Of the three high end hotels (Hard Rock, Royal Pacific and Portofino) my favorite is Portofino. But I typically stay (and will be again for Hollywood Horror Nights in Sept) at Cabana Bay as in my book it’s the best bang for your Buck. Really there are no bad choices amongst the onsite hotels.

What makes portofino better? Short or having a suite with more than one room, I’m not sure how the room and hotel overall at hard rock could be improved, short of putting in Clearwater beach. I am utterly impressed, as is my wife.

 

[FSUTribe76]

What makes portofino better? Short or having a suite with more than one room, I’m not sure how the room and hotel overall at hard rock could be improved, short of putting in Clearwater beach. I am utterly impressed, as is my wife.

-Really well themed grounds that perfectly matches resorts on Italy’s coast versus semi-generic American resort hotel
-Great selection of restaurants versus a mediocre selection within the hotel (both obviously have access to Citywalk). Bice is an exact duplicate of a famous restaurant in Milan run by the same Northern Italian family and is my favorite or at worst second favorite Italian restaurant that I’ve been to. Mama Della’s is pretty decent Southern Italian/American “Italian” red sauce restaurant that’s a nice change of pace from the sophisticated authentic Northern Italian at Bice. Sal’s has the second best pizzas at Universal after Red Oven in Citywalk. And the Trattoria has a great brunch. Meanwhile at Hard Rock only the Palm is worth going to over the CityWalk options and it’s ridiculously expensive for what is in essence a Ruth’s Chris or Capital Grille.
-Free Opera singers entertaining the grounds every 6:30 by singing from the balcony.

 

[fredjr82]

All of the on-site hotels at Universal are excellent. Of the three high end hotels (Hard Rock, Royal Pacific and Portofino) my favorite is Portofino. But I typically stay (and will be again for Hollywood Horror Nights in Sept) at Cabana Bay as in my book it’s the best bang for your Buck. Really there are no bad choices amongst the onsite hotels.

We stayed at Cabana Bay last July. Zero complaints. Will probably move to Hard Rock, once Epic Universe is completed

 

[The Tradition]

How long have you been waiting for this topic to come up?

Wait until @FSUTribe76 shows up...

 

[The Tradition]

Wait until @FSUTribe76 shows up...

LOL! Waaaaay too late!

 

[gojojo]

Well, they didn't get to 500 ft but this looks like a good time. We've been 4 times and the original was probably up and running for a total of 8 hours, thankfully we hit it twice. Might have to get one more trip in next summer.

 

[Tenacious E]

Well, they didn't get to 500 ft but this looks like a good time. We've been 4 times and the original was probably up and running for a total of 8 hours, thankfully we hit it twice. Might have to get one more trip in next summer.

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