In September we traveled to Universal Studios in Orlando with a company in Florida called Universal Action Travel. They were able to get us the Universal Star Passes which allowed us to get to the front of the lines and not have to wait in those long lines -- definately worth it. We were able to see all the main rides, and even hoped from Universal to Islands of Adventure during the day. We loved the roller coasters and definately enjoyed the food at these parks. I would recommend bringing a camera, as the disposable we bought (left ours at the hotel by mistake) are quite expensive.

Universal Action Travel was awesome at arranging our stay at a resort with a shuttle to the park, so we saved on parking, and this was definately appreciated as we were exhausted on our way out of the park and not having to worry about driving was nice. I would recommend shuttles to all singles and couples as they drive you to and from the resort about 3 different times a day.

Orlando was not a short drive from Fort Myers, it was a good 3.5 hour drive. But we could not pass up the opportunity to spend the day at Universal Studios in Orlando.

It began early as we left Fort Myers Beach for Orlando around 6:15am. With both youngsters groggy-eyed we pulled onto the road in search of fun for the whole family. 3.5 hours later we pulled into the massive parking structure just outside Universal Studios. Only a maze of moving walkways separated us from fun.

Since we purchased electronic tickets we went straight to the ticketing machine, entered confirmation number, and it spit out all of our tickets and passes. We opted several different plans:

2-Park tickets (Both Universal Studios Park and Island of Adventures).

Express Pass allowed us to skip the lines and go up ahead on the rides. This was valid one per ride (although many of the attendants did not mark the ticket so we were able to use it over and over on several rides).

Meal Deal pass allowed us to order food without dishing out money. It only worked on about a select three eateries per park but that was enough for us Sipper Cup allowed us unlimited refills which was great with the kids who were always thirsty.

I think we got our money's worth minus the Meal Deal. But still it allowed us to get food and feed the kids rather than rummaging for money to pay. A nice convenience.

We started the day by entering the Islands of Adventure. Our first step was Suess Landing which the kids thoroughly enjoyed. The whole section was built in the scheme of Suess backdrop from Thing 1 and 2 to The Cat in the Hat. We were able to ride all the rides from the Car-Suess-el to the new The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride.

Some more of my favorite rides in this area where the Spider-Man ride which my daughter thought was the coolest! The Hulk Coaster was probably my favorite although the Mummy's Revenge in Universal Studios side of the park might have something to say about that. If you are a roller coaster fan the Dueling Dragons is a fierce ride. Twists and turns and go two roller coasters at a time.

We moved over to the Universal Studios Park which centers around the movie industry with sections named after Holloywoodesque themes such as Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, and the back lots of some of the neatest scenery you will see. The kids and (adults) loved the Shrek 4-D ride and my daughter had a fit over the Jimmy Neutron ride. The JAWS ride was the old standby that nearly scared my daughter to death. The must ride in this park had to be the Revenge of the Mummy Ride.

In closing, Universal did it right with this park. Fun for all ages!

There are 2 parks at Universal Studios, "The Islands of Adventure" and "Universal Studios Florida." We were fortunate to get a deal with RCI online. We bought 2-day passes for each person and received a week's unlimited admission for both parks. I don't know the exact admission price but I believe the 1 day, 2 parks was about $75 for adults and $65 for children. There is so much to see and do I would recommend a 2-day visit. It is a lot of fun for all ages. The rides can be intense and lifelike. I wouldn't recommend many of them to people who are prone to motion sickness, or who scare easily. It is an incredible experience into the "make believe" world of motion pictures and my family loved it!

When you choose to go to Universal, don't expect the large Disney like theme park with tons of rides. This park focuses on rides that involve movies such as Men in Black, Alien Attack, or Jaws. With less than twenty rides you'll probably finish the park in one day but the amount of detail in every ride makes you feel that you are actually riding in the movies. (Keep also in mind since it is smaller than Disney, the lines are much longer for the rides, but are still worth it!)

In as much as I hate to give anything a bad review, I must start this one out by saying that this is quite possibly the most over-rated tourist attraction I've ever been to. Being one of the things that Orlando, and in fact Florida is well known for and one of the things that brings in so many visitors from places far away, it has the potential to be extremely disappointing. But also, as with most things, it does have its positive parts. I'll try to lay them both out in this review, so that any considering visiting this well known and generally well liked theme park will have some idea if it will meet their expectations.

The first thing I will say, is that if you have kids, in particular kids in that awkward age that are too old for Disney but who still want a bit of childhood fun theme park entertainment, this could well be a good thing. Growing up right outside of Orlando I spent most of my preteen years wishing desperately to get to Universal Studios and sadly never made it. As an adult, with friends visiting from abroad also wanting to see what all the hype was about, we excitedly made our way to Orlando for a trip around some of the best known theme parks. For an adult, this is a very disappointing experience, especially if you had been wanting to go when you’re a kid.

I highly recommend if you, or the people you are travelling with are over 17, go to Islands of Adventure next door instead which has a lot more adult entertainment and actual roller coasters which I wasn't aware that Universal completely lacks. But despite your age, I have to say I found this theme park over all disappointing. It was very dated and more than a few of the 'seams' were showing.

All in all it was very expensive (tickets for the day at $50 each not including any parking or extras) and consisted mostly of a lot of walking around in very hot, very busy lines for short, childish things that I can hardly even call 'rides.' There were some very good bits, like seeing the Back to the Future De Lorian, or the Jurassic Park jeeps...movie memorabilia to photograph yourself in front of. But the 'rides' on a whole were bad. Many involved just standing in a room watching a screen that made you 'feel' as if you were in a bit of a film. Not impressive if your not 10.

The Jaws ride was the highlight of the day, and was enjoyable, but the well known King Kong ride was old, dirty and actually kind of shabby (and after standing in line for over an hour). Again, had I been 8-13 I may have found it fantastic, but as a 22 year old I and my friends wandered out half way through the day and had nachos at Margaritaville.