The ABC Commissary is located in the center of MGM Studios on the "Streets of America", and is one of the better counter service locations within MGM Studios. The ordering lines are typically on the longer side, but do move quickly. At the ABC Commissary, the food is quite tasty and the menu offers park guests combo selections such as a cheeseburger and fries, fish and chips, vegetable stir fry, and various wraps and sandwiches . They also serve delicious desserts such as chocolate mousse and Strawberry Parfaits. Beverages such as sodas and beer are also available.

After you order and pay for your food, you can then take your tray into the dining area where the decor highlights some of ABC's current hit television shows, such as the life-size replicas of a couple Grey's Anatomy's doctors. While you are eating you can also watch one of the several televisions that are mounted high up on the walls showing clips and commercials from more hit ABC shows such as Ugly Betty and American's Funniest Home Videos.

The ABC Commissary really isn't anything more than your typical counter service restaurant, but the food is pretty good and we return here every time we visit the MGM Studios theme park. I also find this to be one of the cleaner counter service restaurants with the staff always being attentive to the cleanliness of the dining area, which is a big plus as well. The interior decoration and television entertainment also makes this an enjoyable place to stop and eat, rest your feet, and cool off for a bit, out of the reach of the hot Florida sun.

Please review our other Walt Disney World journals:
Walt Disney World Vacation - 2006
Disney Dining Plan 2007
How To Save Money at Disney World
Orlando Vacation 2005 at the Sheraton Vistana.

We went to Universal Studios mainly because of all the superhero memorabilia. We did not get our money's worth. When you go to Disneyland, you have tons of rides to go on, a bunch of interactive activities, and there's something for everyone.

1. The first let down for Universal was that it cost the same or a little more than Disneyland.
2. Where other amusement parks have hundreds of rides, Universal has less than 20, and half of those were tours in a cart, which were uninformative and boring. Not even really rides.
3. There is one show to see. I don't even really see shows, but the selection alone was horrible.
4. When you go to most amusement parks, it's impossible to fit everything you want to do there, into one day. This isn't the case with Universal Studios. After seeing everything there was to see, we were bored and ready to leave after 5 hours.

The only highlight were the shops on the way out of the park, and the 3D show Terminator 2:3D.
In short, there's hardly anything to do, you're severely overcharged, there's absolutely nothing for kids, and not much more for adults. Unless you are absolutely obsessed with the film studio, Universal Studios, this will be a severe letdown!

Now it’s time to cool down. We’re entering the world of the dinos in Jurassic Park, the Ride. In this ride, you get in a boat the goes through the jungle. You’re attack by dinosaurs. At the end of the ride, the boat goes down a waterfall. It’s one of the best water drops we’re experienced. When you enter the ride, know that you’re getting wet. The scenery is great.

The only roller coaster in this park is Revenge of the Mummy, the Ride. It’s an indoor roller coaster. At the entrance are lockers for your backpack. Each car of the coaster is equipped with surround sound. The car is launched into the dark with a high speed, so be aware of your neck. Half way the ride, it turns backwards. It is one of the better roller coasters we have done in our life!

Back in the upper lot, we go our last attraction of the day: Van Helsing, Fortress Dracula. This is a haunted house you need to walk through. Inside are some real actors who try to scare you, but as for the rest, it’s not really spectacular.

For the people who love shows, you can go to Waterworld. This show should be great, but we missed it. Maybe we’ll see it next time. If you’re hungry, you can get a lot of food, but it’s expensive. For our dinner, we did choose a restaurant on City Walk.

It was a great day!!!

After parking our car, we walked through City Walk to the ticket boots. A ticket for the park costs around $50, but there are many ways to get a discount. You can use your AAA card or search for a voucher in your hotel. Almost in every hotel in LA you can find vouchers for a discount. Ours was good for a discount of $8 per person.

Upper lot
Our first attraction of the day is the Shrek 4D show. As a fan of the movie, I find this show great. After that, we go "Back to the Future." In this show, you get in Doc Browns high-flying time-traveling machine. It’s a rough ride, but we never saw such a good simulator.

After our journey back in time, we’re going for the most important attraction of the Universal Studios: the Studio Tram Tour. You will be driven through the back lot of Universal Studios, where you can see real movie sets like a New York steer of "The Sting," the creepy, old mansion from "Psycho," the snowy Whoville of "The Grinch," and many more. But there is also more action. Jaws attacks the tram as it passes over a bridge. You’re in a flash flood, and just as the tram crosses a bridge, it collapses. The two most sophisticated attractions are King Kong and Earthquake. If you want to know what really happens to you, you’ll have to be part of the action. During the 45-minute ride, you’re informed about everything you see through a live guide, but you can also see movie scenes on the screens in the tram.

Another good show is Terminator 2:3D. It’s a show with some real actors and a 3-D movie. This gives you the feeling that you’re in the middle of the action. It’s nice to see, but we found it not too spectacular.