Welcome to another Universal Orlando podcast.
I'm Nick. And I'm Melody. Why did you make that
face? That was a really long welcome. It's like
a theater or a... It's still not that long. Because
right now I'm thinking of a circus and they're
like, welcome! But it's not that long. That's
what I did. I went, welcome! Yeah, extra too
long. Not too long. Anyway. Just right. We are
going to Epic soon. Yes, we are going to Epic
Universe. Sorry, Universal's Epic Universe. Is
that really what it is? I think that's the full
name. Anyway, but before we do, for the next,
what, four episodes, right? We're going to be
doing a little deep dive into Universal Studios
and Islands of Adventure. Just get all of our
knowledge and stuff for these parks before we
jump into all new Epic Universe stuff. So we
want to focus on the first two parks first. Correct.
Sorry, Volcano Bay. You are not part of this
list for now. Yep. Universal Epic Universe. I
went on to the Discover Universal podcast because
I know they did an episode recently. That's the
full name. Lovely. Because every time they refer
to it, they always say, at Universal's Epic Universe.
And I'm like... Nobody calls it that. No. Just
call it Epic Universe. Then you're saying universe
twice. Universal Universe. So it's Epic Universe.
We settled that debate. You're welcome. Okay.
Well, today we're starting with Universal Studios.
What about socials? How are people going to find
us? And I was going to say, but before we get
into that, because I'm not bad with segues usually.
Socials. Yay. You do it. Go to our Instagram.
Click the link tree. There you go. Great. So
what's our Instagram? He's currently looking
it up because he still doesn't know. This is
what? Episode 68 or something. Another universal
podcast on Instagram. Just click our link tree
and it'll take you to everything else. And our
little child just woke up. So time travel. And
we're back. It is now. 20 hours later. Not 20
hours later. You can't do math. Still the same
day. A tiny child woke up. Now a tiny child is
asleep. Yep. For her bedtime instead of nap time.
Anyway. Where were we? We were talking about
socials. Yes. And I already did them. I already
did them. And where are you, Opod, on Twitter?
Slash X. I don't know if we ever said that, but
there we go. Or you could just go to the Instagram
and click the link tree. Okay. It's much simpler.
Now we get into the episode. Any small talk?
No. No? No. Fine. You're no fun. So today, we
are talking about Universal Studios. Isn't that
what we're always talking about? Universal Studios.
Not Islands of Adventure, just studios. Yeah,
we talk about Universal all the time. Okay. So,
I looked up some info, and I learned some stuff.
So, before we go into what... Universal Studio
has today. We'll see what it had when it opened.
You didn't even tell them what we're doing. Yes,
we did. No, you didn't. We're doing a deep dive
into Universal Studios. You said that already.
And Islands. Yes. In preparation for Epic Universe
Open. We're going to talk about the old parts
because you're going to be inundated. What did
you say? In preparation for Epic what? Universe.
Okay. That's not what it sounded like. Well,
that's what I said. For Epic Universe Open. Because
you're about to be inundated with... All of these
people talking about Epic Universe. And we are
going to be one of those people. Because it's
exciting. It is exciting. So you have to. So
if you don't want spoilers, it should be about
four episodes from now. Yes. Three more after
this one. No. Four more after this one will be
the first one about Epic. Well, it's this one.
Then three others. Studios part two, Islands
part one, Islands part two. Then our trip to
Epic. Then our trip to Epic. There. So if you
don't want spoilers to Epic, it is three episodes
from now. Four. Three. Three episodes from now.
Part two, part one, part two. Three episodes
from now. That's what I just said. Three episodes
from now would be the second part. Of islands.
The fourth one would be epic. So four episodes
from now, that's the spoiler episode. I still
think I'm right. No. Whatever. I even had to
show you my fingers. How you're wrong. Anyway.
Whatever. So we wanted to jump in and just do
everything. Everything? Everything that is in
the park. Blanketed. Okay. But anyway, before
we get into what's in the park today, we look
into the past. So, construction for Universal
Studios started in 1986. That's old. And it was
built for an estimated $630 million. Where are
you getting this information? It is not on our
news. FloridaDaily .com. Because I looked this
up before. We started recording earlier and did
not have time to put in our notes. Fine. I would
like to know, so you said 630 million built that
park. Yeah. How much did Epic cost? But continue.
Okay. Anyway, so for the original rides and attractions,
you had E .T. Adventure, Kongfrontation. Do you
want me to say what these are? Or just... Would
you like to know how much Epic Universe costs?
Oh boy, how much? This is the AI overview, so
I don't know how true it is. Six to seven billion
dollars. I mean, sounds about right. So, how
many hundreds of million did it cost for Universal?
630. 630 million versus six to seven billion?
So, yeah. Ten times more? Sure. Am I doing my
math right? Probably not. So, am I saying what
Kongfrontation is? Yes, because I don't even
know what it is. Kongfrontation was a thrilling
attraction at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando,
offering visitors an immersive experience in
the world of King Kong. Oh, I also said when
building commenced, but not when the park actually
opened. When did it open? Universal Studios opened
June 7th, 1990. Wow. Alrighty. So all these rides
opened the same day, obviously. The ride was
a technological marvel for its time, but it also
experienced frequent glitches that caused it
to shut down almost daily. Sounds like some rides
we know. So it says, inspired by the iconic 1933
film and its 1976 remake, Kongfrontation placed
guests aboard the tram in the heart of Manhattan,
under siege by the rampaging Kong, as visitors
journeyed through the city streets. Encountering
scenes of chaos and destruction, Kong himself
made dramatic appearances, shaking the tram and
roaring in fury. That sounds fun. You do realize
we have, like, a Kong right now, right? Ooh,
we sit in a bus, and it's a screen the entire
way through, except for the very last scene.
Wow. Then it was shut down and replaced by the
mummy. Okay, that's... That's okay. I accept
that. Next ride, Back to the Future, The Ride.
Yep. This one was based on the Back to the Future
movies. I can already hear it now. Kobe let out
an audible sigh. This ride catapults guests on
a high -speed adventure through time. Utilizing
revolutionary simulator technology, riders embark
on a mission to assist Doc Brown in thwarting
the nefarious plans of Biff Tannen. The attraction's
thrilling twists and turns, coupled with its
dazzling special effects, made it a must -see
for fans of the franchise. I miss that ride.
I cry every time I go into Universal Studios
and they're playing the Back to the Future music.
What a shame. So was it? Did it go from Back
to the Future straight to Simpsons? I think so.
Okay. It doesn't say what it was replaced by.
Next ride, Jaws. Good ride. Am I just basically
reading this article then? Apparently. Boat ride.
You're being attacked by a shark. Yeah, that's
it. Fun. Okay, this one. Don't know this one.
The Funtastic World of Hanna -Barbera. I have
no idea what that is. I know that was the first
ride. Then it was Jimmy Neutron. And now it's
Jimmy Fallon. Okay, apparently it's paying homage
to the beloved character No, not Jimmy Fallon.
Hanna -Barbera. Despicable being Minion Mayhem.
Yeah. It was a dark ride, led by Yogi Bear and
his friends. Okay. To thwart the villainous schemes
of Dick Dastardly and his sidekick, Muttly. Okay.
I know who Yogi Bear is. Same. And Dick Dastardly
looks familiar. Oh yeah, he does. But that's
also probably because a lot of Villains. Cartoon
villains look like that. But yeah. Alright. Next
one. Ghostbusters Spooktacular. Basically it
was a show. Almost like. Born. Not born. It was
it's own thing. You go into this one room. This
is all from memory. From me watching one singular
video on it. You go into this room. They're pitching
a. uh ghostbuster franchise to you and it's that
one nerdy dude who gets turned into a dog in
the first movie i forget his name basically he's
trying to get you to franchise out a ghostbusters
thing they call usually a kid up to the stage
they do like a slime thing with them and whatnot
it's all fun and then they're like all right
we're gonna move you into this next room and
we're gonna show you the holding chamber or whatever
and then the FBI comes in, and they try to shut
it down, so they turn off the power, and lo and
behold, it releases all the ghosts, all the lights
turn off, and then the room is small, but then
it silently opens up, and now you're in a much
bigger room, and it's the, pretty sure it's the
stair steps from when Gorza, the main enemy in
Ghostbusters 1. And it's, like, those steps,
and she's, like, coming out, and the Ghostbusters
have to come and fight her back. Anyway, ending
the not -so -quick summary. Yes. Apparently it
also had the Ecto -1 appear. I do not remember
that. That's what it says. I know the Ecto -1
appeared outside, and there was, like, a street
show for them. It was one of the show's highlights,
so. Weird. Then, another attraction or show where
I'm not entirely sure. Murder She Wrote Mystery
Theater. I don't know anything about it. Can
you guys tell we've gone to Universal? Not just
that, but it's just I didn't know Universal had
this. This was also before our time. I know.
Apparently it offered guests an immersive experience
into the world of crime -solving with the beloved
Jessica Fletcher. Fun. Inspired by the popular
television series, but I've never heard of it.
Oh well. Then we got Alfred Hitchcock, The Art
of Making Movies. I kind of wish they still kind
of had that. I mean, they have horror movies,
I guess. I mean, they got the horror makeup show.
They need to update that show. They're still
using, you know, older movies, which is okay.
Yeah, that's fine. But they're still using the
new Mummy movie. Yeah. And it's just like, don't
use that one. People would rather know about
the older Mummy movie. I'd rather know about
that one than the new one. I mean, it is cool
to learn stuff, but I don't know if movies still
use a lot of the effects in older movies. Probably
do. I have a mixture of the two, because I really
do like learning about it. Because it is cool,
but also at the same time, maybe add some new
stuff too. Say, this is how they did it, and
this is how they do it now. Preferably not with
the new Mummy movie. And then... The Phantom
of the Opera Horror Makeup Show. So I guess it
started as the Phantom of the Opera? Does it
say what it turned into? Because it says, now
known simply as the Horror Makeup Show. Oh. Then
yeah, I would probably focus a lot on the Phantom
of the Opera. I'm trying to remember if they
still even bring that back in the show at all.
I think they talk about it. I don't know. Move
on. Dynamite Nights Stunt Spectacular. All right.
Do we have a description? A thrilling attraction
premiered in 1998. So it wasn't open when the
park opened? Then why are you on this list? Anyway,
apparently it showed high -octane stunts, explosive
pyrotechnics, and adrenaline -pumping action
sequences set against the backdrop of a fictional
movie studio. And then it does stunt things like
motorcycle stuff and car chases. Why do I feel
like I've seen this? Maybe not at Universal.
I know some other place did a show with stunts,
but now I can't remember. Are you thinking of
Hollywood? Maybe. I think they have a stunt show.
I don't know. We'll figure that out in a few
months. Then the last thing I have on the list,
Nickelodeon Studios, which was... That's it?
Nickelodeon Studios. Okay. Which is no longer
used, unfortunately. How sad. So that was everything
that was... Some still here, but that's what
it practically opened with. And that was my little
deep dive into the past. I mean, you're also
forgetting E .T. E .T. was the first thing I
said. Oh. Yep. That's why we didn't really talk
about it, because it's still here. And also,
we're going to talk about it again. So now we
talk about stuff that is currently at the park.
And I made a long list. So basically, we're going
to go land by land. I used the Universal app
for this. Good job. I don't remember which place
it is, but something didn't have something, so
I added it. I know what it is. I don't remember
which land. We'll get to it when we get to it.
Alrighty. So basically, on the app, what I did
is I clicked attractions, then entertainment,
then dining, then shop, then guest amenities.
So you clicked everything. Yes, but that's the
order we're going in for everything. Okay. I
just don't remember where stuff starts and begins.
So, we'll start with Illumination's Minion Land.
Woo! Woo! What is this? Oh, it's not their newest
edition. Technically, that's now Dreamworks.
Technically, it's their newest land. No, Dreamworks
is. Dreamworks, never mind. Yeah. But it's still
newish. Like, they had Despicable Me. The Minion
Mayhem for a little bit, but now they have a
whole land. And in this land, we have what we
just said. Despicable Me, Minion Mayhem, the
ride. They don't have the ride in the name. So
you added more words. Shut up. Eh. Eh? Eh. We
haven't been on this ride in a while. What was
before this ride? We said it. It was like a whole
bunch of stuff, wasn't it? Jimmy Fallon? No.
No. Jimmy Neutron. And then before that, it was
the, what, Hanna -Barbera or something like that?
I don't care about that one. Which one would
you rather have, even though that's going to
be on one of our old news? Well, considering
that my text sound and my phone ring literally
has minions. Yes. My text sound is literally
a minion going, banana! I'm not a big fan about
this, right? They took away the 3D. I would like
it if they kept the 3D. And then you're basically
just watching a movie. Yeah. You literally just
sit in a chair, it shakes you a little bit. I
think, from what I can remember, because it's
been years of us riding it at this point, it
reminded me of the Minion Rush game that you
can play on your phone. Yeah, that's pretty much
it. I would like to go on it again, it's just
at the same time I don't. We'll go in November,
uh, September. We'll have Express Passes. Then
the next ride on the list... Illuminations VillainCon
Minion Blast, which I spelled wrong. I spelled
minion wrong. I put two N's in. Good job. This
is a ride? Question mark? Would you call it a
ride? No. It's a moving arcade. It's a moving
walkway. With an arcade feel to it. Pretty much.
I don't know. I've only done it once or twice,
and I have never had my... Yeah, I haven't done
it a lot. Oh. You're not missing much. I need
to get my phone to work, so then I can actually
have my points on my phone, and then maybe I
would like it more. Oh. But so far, it is empty,
because my points don't do anything, and I can't
edit my gun and whatever, because my phone won't
connect. Yeah, I don't know. Is it better with
the phone connecting or no? Okay, then I would
try again. If my phone connects, then I would
probably have a higher... Rating for the ride.
I don't know. I just don't like it that much.
Would I prefer it over Shrek? Yeah, because Shrek
was cool, but this is more interactive. Shrek
was cool, but it was something I could watch
at home. Pretty much. You just had like the outside
stuff that you don't have at home. Yeah. Then
you got Illumination Theater. This is a meet
and greet. Right. Trying to remember what that
was. I think you can meet, what, two minions?
And then you do the everybody dance party. No.
No? No? That's what I thought it was. You can
meet Gru. You can meet the Gorls. The girls.
The Gorls. Is it all three? Pretty sure. Maybe
it was just because when I saw it, they were
missing one of them, and I was very confused
as to why they had, like, two of the girls but
not all three. I have no idea. You can meet a
lot of Illuminations. You can meet some of the
same characters. I'm trying to remember their
names. Margo, Edith, and Agnes. There we go.
Right. They're all old lady names. Yes, they
are. Granted, they were at an orphanage, so that
also kind of makes sense. Mm -hmm. I feel bad
for them. Anyways, you meet a lot of Illumination
characters here. Because you can also meet Minions
at the end of the Despicable Me run. That's where
you meet the... Okay. At least they're in an
air -conditioned room. Yes. Moving on. Moving
on. Now we get into food. Illumination's Minion
Cafe. An actual... Good place to eat. It's actually
a pretty good place to eat. We've been there,
what, three times? Two or three. I've been there
more. Of course you have. Okay. I've been there
two to three times. Good job. Then next you got
Freeze Ray Pops, which I've still yet to go to.
You haven't been to Freeze Ray? No. Then again,
every time we go, we always have a different
goal because the last time we went without the
kids, we were eating Mardi Gras food. Uh -huh.
But then every other time we do have the kids.
To be fair, we could have grabbed one on the
way out. Yeah. I think we just keep forgetting.
We'll do it next time. We also haven't tried
the next place, technically. The Pop Banana Popcorn
and Drink Cart. Dad. We haven't tried the Banana
Popcorn. We did go to the cart because now we
have the Banana Popcorn Bucket. You went to the
cart. We have the Popcorn Bucket downstairs.
That you tricked me into. I did not trick you.
You tricked me. I thought it was common sense.
Why would I ask for a boring popcorn bucket?
Because it's easier to carry around than that
ginormous thing. Well, the kids love that ginormous
thing. They were actually playing with it today.
I'm surprised it's not broken. Me too. Now we
go on to a store. Super silly stuff. You can
find all of your Illumination Minions stuff.
And also, what's the movie? Secret Life of Pets.
You can find that stuff there, too. Then you
got Evil Stuff, which is, I think, the exit store
for VillainCon. Yep. Got my purple minion shirt
there. Yep. I like that shirt. Yes, you do. Then
we got another store? Question mark? Bake My
Day? Yeah, is that a store? That's a food shop.
Well, yes, but I don't call it a store. It's
a bakery. It's kind of like the bakery from Seuss
Land that you have to walk through when you get
off the High in the Sky Seuss trolley. Ah. Okay.
But I think this Bake My Day focuses more on
cupcakes. I don't know. I've never been in there.
We should. We'll go in there next time. We can
get the iconic minion cupcake that's in the movie.
Is that sold there? It should be. I'm pretty
sure that's what it's based off of. Because you
know how in the second movie they're going through
the mall? And their secret setup is the bakery
in the mall. That's what that's from. Do we need
to re -watch those movies too? Yes, we do. And
then the last thing we have on this list, a weather
shelter at Minion Cafe. What? Weather shelter.
What is that? Really bad storm, emergency. It's
an emergency weather shelter. Oh. I also didn't
add bathrooms on this list. Is this like an underground
shelter or something? Because I've never seen
this. I don't think it's underground. Or is it
just the whole building? I think it's just they
have stuff set up in the building to keep you
safe during a really, really bad storm. Interesting.
Because, you know, it's Florida. Bad storms can
just kind of show up a little bit. Or, you know,
the people who decide to go right before a hurricane.
Or during a hurricane. Or during a hurricane.
And it gets so bad that they have to shelter
people. And not just like, go to your car, because
that's smart. Just bunker down, and then you
can go to your car once it's over. Well, to be
fair, the parking garages are covered. Yes, but
don't drive away to get there, though. I'll be
fine. I go outside in hurricanes. It's quite
fun, actually. And that's all we got in Illumination's
Minion Land. All right. Yep. Moving on, we now
have Hollywood. Hollywood. And this is a lot.
Yes. There's only one ride in this area. What?
Yep. Do you want to go through this one? How
is there only one ride? Read the stuff from Hollywood.
Why do I have to read it? Fine. AT Adventure.
Converse. Still a good ride. Hopefully they don't
get rid of it. It needs some TLC. It does, I
guess. I don't know. I like it. Where does it
need TLC? I'm going to have some controversial...
They did do TLC. They made the little ETs work
again. Woo! What? I'm going to have a controversial
opinion. What? They need to shut it down for
a year, keep it the same, but put in modern animatronics.
But then it's not the original ride anymore.
No, but I'm saying put in modern animatronics.
Why? Because when you're flying over the cops
and whatnot... Because you're like five feet
from them. Yeah, but think about it this way.
It matches the movie itself, that aesthetic.
Yeah, but when you look down, you can see things
zip -tied together. Like one of the cops is holding
a flashlight, and you can tell it's zip -tied
to the dude's hand. Okay, yeah, that can be fixed,
but they don't need to completely replace it.
I don't know. That's my controversial opinion.
I still think it fits, and I like it. Okay, we'll
see. Okay. Okay. I would like to be evacuated
off that ride, though. That'd be cool. That'd
be a fun one. And you get to walk on the Green
Planet area. Every time we go on that ride, I
always look at the emergency walkway for some
reason. Same. I'm just like, oh, that'd be so
cool to just walk. That'd be fun. Anyway, so
yeah, that's the only ride in this area. You
now have Hollywood Character Zone. And I looked
up all the things in Hollywood for their Hollywood
Character Zone. It says who would show up, which
I'm going to read the list, and then you will
understand why I got confused a little bit on
this list. Is this from Universal? Yes, this
is on their app. Okay. So it says familiar faces
you might find here include Woody Woodpecker,
Scooby -Doo, Shaggy, Homer Simpson, Bart Simpson,
Marge Simpson, Lisa Simpson, the Simpsons, Marilyn,
Betty Boop, Hello Kitty, and Doc Brown from Back
to the Future. Okay. Okay, and then the reason
why I'm confused about this is because read the
next thing on the list. Uh -huh. Oh, the Simpsons
character zone? Yes. Okay. So why are the Simpsons
listed on Hollywood character zone? Maybe they
have their own zone. Two spots. Maybe. Because
I see the Simpsons outside Bourne all the time.
Yeah, but that's where the Simpsons spot is,
outside Bourne. I don't know. Ask Universal.
Moving on. Also, we should go. I wonder how Jack
would react if he saw Scooby -Doo there. Because
the last time we did this, he had no clue on
any of these characters. He was just very confused
as to why we kept standing up to random characters
and taking pictures with them. Does he actually
know their names? But now, he knows Scooby -Doo.
He has a Scooby -Doo stuffed animal on his bed.
And we watch Scooby -Doo Mystery Incorporated
on Netflix. Okay. Which is leaving this month,
which is sad. He likes Scooby -Doo now. We haven't
been to Universal, or at least we haven't seen
Scooby -Doo since he's learned. So that'd be
really interesting for him to actually interact
with Scooby -Doo. Well, we're going to have to
test that then. Moving on. The Bourne Stuntacular.
Boring. Not boring. It is a good show. Okay,
the show portion, yes, good. The pre -show, absolute
hot garbage. Yeah. The actual show itself is
great. It's just you've got to get through the
pre -show first. Which is hot garbage. At least
you don't have to watch the movies to understand
the show. You can enjoy it without knowing the
movie. Yeah, you don't have to watch the 30,
20 billion movies that they made about this one
boring dude. It does make me want to watch the
movie, though. Maybe I'll watch it without you.
Just to try it. I don't know. Next, we got another
show. We got some shows. A symphonic spectacular.
You skipped so many things. I skipped so many
things. Next, we got Marilyn and the Diamond
Bellas. Okay, we can skip talking about that
one because I haven't seen it. I've seen glimpses
of it. Oh, I have seen glimpses. I've never stopped.
I think they always do it outside Mel's Drive
-In. They do. Universal Orlando Horror Makeup
Show. We briefly talked about this one. We nearly
missed that one. Whatever. Good show. We stopped
to watch it a couple times. It's always funny.
It's a must -see. I wonder when we will take
the kids. Not any time soon. Because it would
probably spook them. Well, we already took Jack.
No, we didn't. Or was it Rose? Probably Rose.
We took one of the tiny children. Probably Rose.
Did we take a tiny child? Yes, we did. I remember
sitting by a tiny child, but I don't remember
having a tiny child. No, we took a tiny child.
Oh, yeah, because we sat on the edge. We specifically
asked for the edge. Yeah. And we asked if, hey,
if our child starts acting up, can we just leave?
And they're like, oh, yeah, sure. Just go right
out the door. And I do not remember which child
it was. I'm pretty sure it was Rose. Okay. Probably
because she was so small. We weren't worried
about it. Yeah. Anyway, next. We got the Mardi
Gras Parade, because that goes through Hollywood.
Just like the Universal Mega Movie Parade. Both
of which that we have yet to experience. I've
seen the Mega Movie Parade. Both of which I have
yet to experience. I haven't seen the Mardi Gras
Parade yet. Or me in it. I could care less about
watching it. I would rather be in it. Yeah, I
don't care about catching beads. No. It'd be
fun to... But I also don't like everyone expecting
me to toss beads at them. You're just going to
pick who you want to throw them to. Just pick
that unsuspecting person. Oh, yeah, sure. Play
ring toss. I am child biased. I would try to
find the kids to throw the beads at. Same. Or
just someone who looks like they're happy. If
someone looks like... Give me the beats. I'm
like, nope. Next. How rude. No, if they're being
demanding, then I don't feel bad anymore. Next.
Sinusational is a phonic spectacular. Very good
show. Very good. I cried. You did not cry. I
cried. What, when Ghostbusters came out, you
cried? When Ghostbusters came out, I cried. Then
you got... I want to go back to see it. We're
going to see it in September. That's what we'll
do. Okay. Oh, wait, no, maybe we won't. I don't
think we'll have... No, we won't. I don't think
they do it during HHN. Which, by the way, we're
planning a trip for that. I get to experience
the Rip Tour this year. For once. Yay. For once?
You've only done it once. For once. Anyway. Meet
SpongeBob SquarePants. You get to meet SpongeBob
SquarePants. That is another show I have yet
to show Jack. And I would probably show him the
older ones. I feel like the newer Spongebob is
even dumber, and I like the older ones better.
Yes. Animal actors on location. Another show.
I finally have seen this. Huh? I have finally
seen this. Is it good for current age of children?
Would Jack enjoy it? I don't think you could
sit through it. Oh. Is it long? Yes. But he also
really, really likes animals. Yeah. Oh, but then
he would want to get up and pet the animals.
Then he's going to want to get up and go pet
the animal. And then I run the risk of, because
they bring a kid up on stage, a couple kids.
Okay, but what's the youngest age you've seen
them pull up? I don't know, but Jack is tall
for his age. Okay, I still don't think they pull
up three -year -olds. Again, he's tall for his
age, and I've seen kids smaller than him run
up there. Oh, but he's very well -behaved when
need be. They run up alone. He's very well behaved
when need be. When he's in a location, he doesn't
know he tends to behave better. Anyways, I don't
think you'll be well behaved. Okay. Today Cafe,
another place I have yet to eat. Yeah, I'm realizing
I don't think I've eaten there. It's just because
every time I pass by there, I'm like, oh, it's
a coffee shop. I don't really drink that kind
of coffee. Oh, it's a coffee shop? Yes. I want
to go. I don't think I've ever been because I
didn't realize it was a place. Every time I get
coffee at like a Starbucks in Universal, I put
as much stuff into it that I think is going to
make the coffee sweet. They hand it to me and
it's as bitter as it can possibly be. Although
the last, didn't we once get you a coffee that
was too sweet? That was at the Starbucks on our
road. Yes, but we still successfully somehow
did it too sweet. Yes, I've found a coffee. I
like my caramel macchiato with... The vanilla
sweet milk. Vanilla sweet cream. Yeah. And I
think a pump of hazelnut or something like that.
I haven't added that. Unless you've been adding
it when you order it. I didn't add that for you.
I thought it was the sweet cream and something
else. I haven't added anything else. Okay, well,
the sweet cream makes a difference. And I experiment
with whatever I would like it sweet. But I go
to Universal and nobody can get my order right.
Well, now you know what you like. They probably
will. I guess we'll see. Anyway, Schwab's Pharmacy.
Another place. This is a milkshake place. Ah,
another place that I have not actually seen.
It's because... Or we walk by and I just don't
notice it. I don't like getting milkshakes at
Universal unless it's Two Sims. Fair. Because
all the milkshakes... If I get them after my
meal at like a burger place and I'm just trying
to... quickly eat something and I wanted something
sweet on the side and I'll get a milkshake with
my meal. Didn't we get a milkshake at Mel's Dining?
Yes. To me, all of the milkshakes are the same
across the park. You can get milkshakes at Mel's.
You can get milkshakes at the Simpsons cafeteria
type place. We'll get into that eventually. Yes.
To me, all of their milkshakes are the same.
So I don't bother ordering them. If that makes
sense. You want the superior milkshake. Yeah,
so I go to Toothsome's. So you don't waste money
on the not -superior milkshake that you can have
at home. Right, so, like, I'm afraid if I go
to Schwab's, it's gonna be just their typical,
you know, normal milkshake. And nothing special.
Yeah, but I still feel like we should at least
go to these places at least once. I'll go to
them. To say that we have. Fine, we'll go there
in September. We can't go everywhere in September.
Our trip isn't that long. We could. We have four
more Mighty Rock bars. Anyway, we talked about
it, and now we move on to Mel's Drive -In. My
place. This is your place. My place. Even though
very few people actually call me Mel. That's
true. It's very mediocre. It's a decent burger.
That's about it. It's calming. Now, when they
had the Passholder Poutine, it was superior.
So, Mel's Drive -In. Mel's Die -In. Amazing.
No, it wasn't even for die -in. No. Really? It
was during Passover Appreciation. Oh, okay. It
was also conveniently during HHN. I think I had
four orders of their poutine on that trip. Of
course you did. It was really good. I think at
one point I ate two at a time. Yes, I am fat.
I think it was my first. To be fair, the portion
was also kind of small. For us. Yes, for us.
We like to eat. Yes, I do. Another place that
we like to go to, or used to like to go to, Central
Park Crepes. They brought the brisket crepe back.
Oh, thank goodness. Ish. Ish. It's the normal
crepe, but I think they added some weird thing
to it. It's not the same thing exactly. There's
like two new ingredients, and I can't, it was
like a pineapple chutney or something like that.
Oh. It was like something sweet. I'm like, oh,
that doesn't belong on that. Well, did you try
it with it? No, I mean, I saw a post about it
today. Oh. And I forgot to screenshot it. But
sweet stuff with savory meat tastes good, though.
Again, I don't remember what it was. All I remember
is looking at it and thinking, ew. And why did
they have to go and ruin it? Maybe I can look
it up. Hold on. Where's their menu? I can't see
the menu. There's no menu. That's stupid. I can't
see the menu. I think it's because it's always
changing. Oh. Anyway, you don't care much for
the sweet crepes. Mainly just because they're
too messy to eat. Extremely messy. And I don't
like foamy sweet. Yeah, no, if it was like just
as they spread Nutella on it, like a classic
crepe. Nutella is always a hit or miss with me.
Sometimes I like it. Other times I really, really
don't. I don't know. When we went to, I think
it was in Egypt. I don't know. Of course, we
always bring up this trip. No, I have a picture
of you holding a broken fork with your crepe.
Yes. I remember that. That was a good crepe.
And that was good. And I wish we got two. But
I think it was just because it was just the crepe
and like Nutella. That was it. It was very simple.
I like simple, sweet crepes. That's what I wish.
I don't need all the extra fancy fluff. That's
what I wish the New York Crepes Place would do
or whatever it's called. Central Park. Central
Park Crepe. Same state. Another place I haven't
been to. I don't know if you've been here. Cafe
La Bamba. Technically, I've been there. But for
like events or... You can't really say Cafe La
Bamba because 99 % of the time it's closed. Oh.
Well, I have to say because it's in Hollywood.
Fine. This is part of this whole what is in Hollywood.
It's pretty... In all of my years of going there,
I think I've seen it opened two times to its
normal like Mexican themed restaurant. Huh. Two
times. All the other times it's closed because
that's where they do the RIP Tour Buffet. Do
they do other stuff there, too? I'm assuming
so, if it's closed nearly all year. Oh, don't
they also do the Mardi Gras stuff there, too?
Or no? No, that's outside it. Okay. Now we're
going into stores. Can't say much about Cafe
La Bamba if we haven't really been there for
Cafe La Bamba on purpose. So stores, we got It's
A Wrap. Okay. Pretty sure we've been to this
one a couple times, too, for some reason. I don't
even remember what store this is. It's A Wrap.
is the exit store. The one by the exit. Literally,
you see the little store as you're exiting the
park. You know when you exit, there's all the
shirts and stuff right next to the exit? You
can say it's the exit store like three times.
I'm talking to you because you look like you
don't remember this. I don't remember this. Anyway,
it's the small exit store. And it's called It's
a Wrap, which makes sense because you're wrapping
up your time at Universal Studios. Okay. Then
you got Studio Sweets. Yummy. We haven't been
here. I haven't been here. It's right next to
Universal Studios Store, which is the next thing
on the list. We've been here many times. Yes.
Mainly because we always try to find something
and we can't find it. We come here. So we end
up going there. I need to get the kids more matching
outfits because they've grown out of their old
ones. Yes, we do. They're at the point where
they're slowing down, at least enough to get
several wares in for clothing. Yes. Then we got
Tribute Store. I wrote Tribute Store because
it's currently in Hollywood, but it also can
be in New York, correct? Yes, there is two tribute
stores and studios. Then we got Five and Dime.
Also, where is the hat store? The Brown Derby?
The Brown Derby hat. Is this also in Hollywood?
Because it was not on the map. Where is it? It's
almost across the street from Five and Dime.
It's on that strip. It's not listed on the app.
Okay, well, it's not usually a store. Right now
it's the Passholder Discount Store. Okay. Now
we got SpongeBob Store Pants. Yay. E .T.'s Toy
Closet and Photo Spot. I also found out an interesting
fact. About? You know how there's a photo spot
back there with E .T. and the clothes or whatever?
The ride photos? No, okay. There's a photo op
in that store. I didn't know there was a photo
op. I've been in that store a lot, but I didn't
see the photo op. There's a life -size ET. You
know the one scene where it's wearing the girl's
clothing and the dress? Well, it's a life -size
ET in that, and it's kind of like a closet, and
apparently you're not allowed to go take pictures
of it. I read a Reddit thread where it was like,
oh yeah, I got chased out of the store being
screamed at to delete my photo. Weird. Why? Because
I think it's run by some other company, and they
reserve the right to not let you take photos
of it or something like that. Then take it down.
That's stupid. I agree. It's something that is
there for everyone to see. It's either that or
the store is getting no sales of photo spots
right there, so they're being more strict on
it. So it's like pay to get the picture taken,
not just take a picture? Yeah. Okay, then that
would make a little more sense. Then we got lockers.
Wow. You got one by the exits and one by guest
services. We haven't even reached guest services
yet because I went out of order. Good job. We
got rental services, Universal Studios. What
can you rent here? Of course. She is not prepared.
Shut up. You got electronic convenience vehicles,
ECVs, strollers, wheelchairs. Okay. That's it.
Wow. We almost... Rented a stroller before. Can't
I rent a child for Teardown Fires? No, because
it's the studios. That's right. Then you got
an ATM by the front gate. Because you always
need more cash. Guest services. Boston Found,
Production Central. Okay. Hollywood Service,
Animal Relief Area. Dog's got a pee -pee too.
Yep. And a weather shelter at Animal Actors on
location. That's a weird weather shelter, but
okay. Agreed. Then again, I don't know what's
inside. I mean, yeah, maybe where all the animals
are housed. Maybe. I don't know, but it's a weather
shelter, apparently. Now we're going to move
on to our last location for this episode. And
we will cover the rest in the next episode. Okay.
Okay. Okay. New York. We have the newly deceased
Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket. Newly deceased? Yep.
Oh, we're going in September. That'd be interesting.
No, it's going to be gone. I know, but we'll
be able to see it right after it's gone. Yeah.
And I'm pretty sure we'll see it being demolished.
We're going at some point. Yeah. In between now
and September. So sad. Goodbye. Yes. You won't
be missed. Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket, currently
on our list, but not for much longer. Yep. It's
been obvious that it was going to go bye -bye.
Yeah. I'm still very ticked off that my secret
menu thing didn't work. Uh -huh. But yeah, that
ride was rough. Uh -huh. And it's not a, it doesn't
look like a ride that should be rough. No. Compared
to all the other rides that are at Universal.
It was bad. It needs to go. Anyway. New ride,
please. Then we got Race Through New York starring
Jimmy Fallon. This also needs to go, too. I like
Jimmy Fallon, but it's weird to have a whole
ride dedicated to him. Like, it's cool. It was
cool when it was new, and you know. The queue
was fully utilized, but now it's kind of like,
yeah, it's a fun ride. We should probably utilize
the queue again. Maybe that would make us appreciate
it a little more. No, I mean like they had shows
in the queue. Do they not have shows anymore?
Like the Ragtime Gals or something like that?
I don't know. There was like a singing show.
Yeah, do they not do it anymore? Not that I've
seen. Oh. Panda hashtag would just be randomly
walking around. He might still do that. He still
does. No, I mean like in the queue. Oh, in the
queue. Well, I wouldn't be surprised, because,
you know, it's an air -conditioned place. It's
not like it's going to be dying inside. Yeah,
but it's money. True. Maybe the Reds just not
popular enough for them to do their shows and
stuff. Maybe. I don't know. Every time I go there,
there's really not that big of a line. Oh, well.
Moving on. I feel like that's a place that they
could do a lot of special events. Oh, they could.
And they don't. They kind of do. There's, you
know, the overhang up there? That's where one
of the bars at. is for RIP Tours. Oh. It's very
fun. I like that spot. Yes, but I mean, like,
do special events inside to kind of get people
to go through that ride. Oh, yes, they should.
Anyways, moving on. Revenge of the Mummy. Much
better ride. Much better. 10 out of 10. Amazing
ride. Don't get rid of it. We'll ride again.
And again. And again. Probably again. Oh, good
ride. Have you ever been on it when it broke?
Ever? Nope. Well, I mean, I guess that is a weird
ride to break down. It's possible. Yeah. But
I'm trying to remember when it, if we've ever
had, like, a ride delay because it broke down
or anything. Like, I know they did their whole,
it completely shut down to get refurbished. Mm
-hmm. But I don't remember ever having, like,
ugh, we're being delayed because... It's a dependable
ride. Yeah. Uh, Transformers The Ride 3D. Something
that is not as dependable. It's okay. I don't
care much for Transformers. It's a good ride.
It's a cool, like, I like it because it's...
It's another ride where you don't need to watch
the movies because the story is straightforward.
I don't need to know what the spark is, but okay,
we need to get it. Wait, do you not know what
the spark is? Kind of. Have you seen the movies?
We watched a movie and a third. That's all I've
seen is the first movie and like part of the
second. Well, now I know what we need to watch.
I didn't watch anymore. We got to pause our Doctor
Who. But we finally got to Amy. Oh, well. Which
is ironic. Yes. Because that's my sister's name.
But I also have a sister named Clara. So, ha!
That's true. And Melody is my name! Anyway. And
our daughter's name Rose. We gotta check. Anyway.
Are you done? It's late. And I'm getting loopy.
We move on. Meet the Transformers. I'm pretty
sure it is just Bumblebee and Destructo. What's
his name? Wait, what were you gonna say? Destructo.
Were you going to say Destructo -Con? No, just
Destructo. What's his name? Megatron. Oh. What
am I getting Destructo from? What? I don't know.
Sure. What did you say? Megatron. Megatron. Oh,
yeah, because that doesn't sound as silly as
Destructo. Now, when we go to Hollywood Studios
in California in November. Yeah, because we got
two trips planned. We have to meet Megatron.
Why? This Megatron... Our Megatron is boring.
He doesn't talk. He has, like, his pre -recorded
lines, and that's it. Oh. Their Megatron actually
talks to you, and he's really funny. Cool. Then
we got the show that apparently nearly killed
me, the Blues Brothers show. Yes. So what's the
next show? Uh, Vamos Bialo. Hope you said that
right. Probably didn't. I think that's another
show that we've seen in passing. Now, I did stay
and watch pretty much all of this. You went to
the bathroom and you were taking forever. And
I was sitting there just sipping on my drink
that I got at Mardi Gras. Taking forever? Yep.
You were taking forever. Right. I was really
scared because I thought a girl was coming over
to drag me in to go dance. Oh. Luckily, she was
not. She grabbed the person in front of me. Remember
that I thought you said a girl was going to come
over and hit on you or something? No. I was really
confused. No. Don't they normally? Oh, yeah.
I would have laughed if I came out and saw you
awkwardly trying to dance. Oh, well. Then we
got Beat Builders. I do like this show. Never
seen it. I see it in passing, but. It's fun.
They use like the construction stuff. Yeah, I
love it. And I've also, I'm pretty sure I've
seen Woman Wolf Whistle at them. Who? Woman.
Oh. Wolf Whistle at them. Is that what that's
called? I'm pretty sure. Okay. The owl. It's
weird. Yeah, please don't do that. I don't do
it. No, you don't. We're going to move on now.
Food. Finnegan's Bar and Grill. We have yet to
go there. Yeah. That's all we've got to say about
that place. We're going in September. Oh, my
word. We can't do everything. Although I would
like to try Vivo. Watch me. Watch me. I will
do everything. Because if you don't follow us
on social, you have noticed that there is a debate.
Well, at this point, it's not recently. It's
like a couple weeks ago at this point. Who's
debating? It was Mamadela's versus Vivo or something
like that. And who's debating? Kobe from the
UO Explorers voted Mamadela's against Angus,
who said Vivo. And John also popped in to kind
of be like, Vivo is better, but only by a little.
And then there's us just kind of being drawn
in. It's like, at least it's not McDonald's.
And me defending us by saying, excuse me, we
have excellent taste. Well, shoot, now we gotta
go to Vivo. Fine, we'll go to Vivo in September.
But then we also gotta go to Mamadela's so we
can compare the two. We've already been to Mamadela's.
I got there to go bucks. I have to have the full
restaurant experience. We got the full restaurant
experience. I didn't get serenaded. I don't count
it. I don't want to be serenaded. Okay, when
you went up to the room, I watched somebody right
next to me get serenaded. My phone came just
in time as the song was ending, and I ran out.
They were not going to serenade you while you
were by yourself. Yes, they would. Anyway, next
place. We didn't even talk about Finnegan's.
Because we haven't been. Okay, fine. We'll go.
Auntie Anne's. Pretzel place. It's a pretzel
place. We've been. I don't know if to this one,
but we've been to them. Yep. They're good pretzels.
The end. Moving on. Haagen -Dazs. It's ice cream.
Woo. Moving on. Starbucks. It's Starbucks. It's
Starbucks. But we've also been here a lot. Okay.
Louie's Italian Restaurant. It's frozen food.
What do you want? I feel like I've been here.
Pretty sure it's frozen. I don't know. It's your
typical theme park Italian, kind of. I think
I've just been in there a lot, but never actually
got food from it because the line was always
long. Yeah. It draws a big crowd because everybody's
just like, oh. It's not chicken fingers or pizza,
even though they have pizza. And I'm pretty sure
it's chicken fingers. I could be wrong on that.
Yeah, but I don't remember ever eating there.
I just remember being in there a lot for some
reason. Who knows? I mean, it's a good sit -down
restaurant. I think it's also because all the
trips I've been to with big groups like my old
youth group and school, I guess we just went
through there a lot for some reason. I just never
ate there. It also has the Coke Freestyle machines.
And again, it's a good group eating place. Anyway,
we got through all the food. Now we go through
the stores. The Tonight Shop. I don't care about
the Tonight Show. Supply Vault. It's Transformers
merch. Yep. The Exit Ride store. Yep. The film...
Oh, this one I have to stop in. The film vault.
And he makes me stop in it. Every time. All the
time. Which is so annoying because they also
have, what is it, Ghostbusters stuff in there
that I also really want? Mm -hmm. I need to save
my money for... So this is the place where...
Yeah, maybe stop splurging on everything else
and save. This is where, if you want, like, a
signed autograph of something, this is where
you go to pretty much find it. They have a lot
of stuff here. Yeah, they have a lot of stuff
here. They have, like, other stuff other places,
but this is where you may find it. You can find
stuff in, like, the Men in Black store, and then
there's a couple other stores that have signed
autographs, but... I know there's one in Islands
in the Jurassic Discovery Center, I think. Yeah,
in that top shop. I do want to get something.
Yes, I know. Especially Back to the Future. He
either wants the big poster that has everyone
who signed it. But that's like 4 ,000. Or like,
didn't you say you wanted a skateboard that was
also signed by everyone? I don't know. Or something
like that. I don't remember. I would have to,
if I got that skateboard, I would have to go
get it framed. Our framing lady does a good job.
She does, but oh my word. Where would you put
it? I wouldn't find a spot. It took us forever
to find a spot for our other thing, which is
finally up. I wonder if she could do, like, a
shadow box. A what? Is that the right word? Where
it's, like, in a big box. It's, like, displayed.
Like a glass box. Like at a museum when they
put them in the special box thingies? That's
stupid. Get some lasers. Oh, my word. Oh, yes,
because our children won't break that. Bulletproof
glass. Talk about the lasers. Oh. Moving on.
Sahara Traders? The mummy shop? Yeah. Which is
okay. I don't really see many people buy stuff
from there. We're not big merch people. We're
not big merch people. You're a liar. How? How
many Jurassic Park shirts do you have in that
closet? Two. No, three. I have three. What about
these giant posters that are on our wall? That
is an investment. Shrek glasses right above me.
Investment. The posters only go up and down.
Jurassic Park hoodie downstairs. That was like
$5. Jurassic Park jacket that I was wearing earlier,
and it's all around my waist, because I forgot
that it's around my waist currently. Oh, no,
that jacket was $5. The other Jurassic Park hoodie
that I have is my work hoodie. And we don't like
merch. And it was a tax write -off. You get plenty
of merch. It's just Jurassic Park. Yes. The Minion
popcorn bucket. That doesn't count. Blue bubble
wand. That also doesn't count. You forced me
into those. The kids thing one and two outfits
that they don't fit anymore. Mother of all things.
Father of all things shirts. Okay, we don't need
to keep listing everything we've ever bought.
Most of those. My lanyard stuff. I didn't even
list all the stuff we got from Harry Potter.
Okay, we're going to move on. We like merch.
We just don't like. We like stuff that we can
wear a lot. And Mummy is not full of stuff that
you can wear a lot. Rosie's Irish Shop. Okay.
I don't know what this is. I don't know what
this is either. Let me look it up real quick
again to find where it is. This is right by Louie's
Italian Restaurant, I think. Oh, I've seen it.
I keep meaning to go in there because I don't
know what's in there. It's interesting. I like
how it says it's stocked with apparel and keepsakes
to honor your Irish heritage. Or your affection
for St. Patrick's Day. Or, okay. Moving on. Hollywood
Rip -Ride Rocket Lockers. Lockers. They're lockers.
Moving on. New York Service Animal Relief Area.
This is where your cat goes poop. And this, if
I remember, this is like tucked back where we
had the Columbian Burgers. All the way back there.
Makes sense. It's a very remote, quiet area.
You don't want to be smelling stinky poo -poo.
But yeah, that's where that is. Revenge of the
Mummy Lockers. Again, there are lockers. Free
lockers. Some are paid. Are there? Yes. For the
mummy? Yes. Oh, okay. At every locker location,
I'm pretty sure there's at least one or two bays
that are paid. Okay. Because they're just a tad
bit bigger. Then you got an ATM at the arcade.
Wow. They also got an arcade. First aid, sponsored
by Walgreens. In San Francisco. Why is San Francisco
in... New York? Shouldn't that be in the San
Francisco section? There is no San Francisco.
Oh, there is. There is. Oh, I just realized that.
That is weird. Hold on. Let me double check that.
Universal, because I accidentally exited the
app completely. No, it's in the New York area.
That makes no sense. Anyways, moving on. It's
color -coded. Transformers The Ride 3D is a weather
shelter. Yep, which makes sense. This one makes
sense, because you can actually walk out onto
the track and take shelter. Whereas the animal
actors on location, that is an open building
where stuff can fly in. Maybe they can, like,
put down stuff so then you have just a big dome
kind of thing for people to shelter in, maybe?
We'll test this next time the hurricanes come
through. No. We will go to Universal on a day
that a hurricane is projected to come through,
and we'll just stand outside animal actors waiting
for them to open up the weather shelter. Okay.
Then last, we got Central Park Designated Smoking
Area. Yep. Please smoke there, but also please
don't smoke. Not good for you. Bad for your lungs.
And your teeth. Yes. That's all I gotta say about
that. Okay. There is your daily PSA. We're at
an hour and 13 minutes plus the intro, so anything
else you would like to add? Because that was
the last bit. Well, stay tuned for part two.
We got Harry Potter. World Expo, Springfield,
and DreamWorks. Now we'll cover everything in
there. Maybe we'll have magically found some
other deep dive stuff to add, but we will see.
We will see. So yeah, that's it. Alrighty. Bye
-bye.