BarryH

The front of the line entrance at USH is denoted by a big yellow star. Just show your pass and you get access. At shows, you get a special seating section.

Great PTR! I should visit the funfair, only to see who I can smother on that ride.

Oh, one more thing...if you haven't bought tickets yet, look into buying the 7 day, $85 ticket Universal has advertised on their website. If you stay onsite and want to use the 2 days to Express access, you might as well buy the ticket. Heck, a one day/one park ticket is around $67. A 2 day/2 park ticket is around $77. Might as well spend the extra $8 and go for the extra days! The $85 tickets are good for 7 consecutive days of Universal fun. I'd still watch the Horror Makeup Show. If you don't like it, I will send you $1.95.

Great photos! I tried to new ticket machines and it would not read my finger! The entrance employee guy just waived me through.

If Mythos still has the banana gooey cake, then that alone is worth a trip to Mythos. Mythos still has some good stuff, like the Mythos burger and the sushi. They brought back the Balsamic chicken last year. I had it and it just didn't taste the same.

That's a pretty cool shirt design!

I can't wait for the re-design! I will have to buy another TPR shirt for the Japan trip.

If you happen to miss the I-75 exit on I-4 (I don't know how since it is clearly marked), you can take I-4 to I-275, head north on I-275, and take the BGA exit. Sometimes during rush hour, the intersection of I-4 and I-75 can get backed up.

There's more shows at USF than IOA, but here's a rundown of what I think of them: IOA: Sinbad: I actually enjoy this show. It's good to watch and get off your feet for 20 minutes. Cool explosions and fire effects. Posideon's Fury: The only good thing is the water vortex. Otherwise, it can be skipped. I only watch it if I'm hiding from the rain. USF: Shrek 4-D: Good 3-D show. T2: 3D: Another good 3-D show Twister: Not bad. I'm neutral about this show, but the GP seem to enjoy it, as people always clap nd cheer at the end. Neat fire effect, though. It's like Backdraft at USH with a tornado. Beetlejuice Graveyard Revue: Enjoyable music show with Universal monsters. Music is mostly 80's rock tunes, like Van Halen's "Jump" and Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark." Fear Factor Live: I've seen this show once and have no desire to see it again. If you meet the requirements, it might be fun to compete in it. Universal Horror Makeup Show: Universal's underrated show. I love this show! You can laugh and learn something about movie makeup at the same time. Barney: 'Nuff said. When I saw this show, it felt like I had undergone a lobotomy. I assume your party would be beyond the age bracket for this show. The Kidzone also has a stage show where characters like Curious George, Woody Woodpecker, Shaggy, and Scooby do a short dance show to 80's music and then do a meet and greet. I tend to walk by this one on my way to E.T. The Blues Brothers show is a singing and dancing show with Jake and Elwood Blues. They sing songs from the movie like "Flip, Flop, and Fly" and "Soul Man." I enjoy it. Universal 360 is sort of a poor man's Illuminations. You probably won't see it when you visit, but here's a link with a video: http://www.ioacentral.com/07_25_update/ If you only have time to see one show, watch the Universal Horror Makeup Show. I recommend it!

The only people that should be bald are guys and Sinead O'Connor. Unless she got cancer treatment, she shouldn't be bald. It looks pretty awful.

These rides have onride photos: IOA: Incredible Hulk Coaster, Jurassic Park River Adventure USF: Revenge of the Mummy, Men in Black Although not an on-ride photo, the gift shop in E.T. has a photo area where you can pose on a bike and get your photo taken. Universal is very restrictive on on-ride photos. No videotaping or photography of any kind is permitted on any of the rides or roller coasters. You can, however, take photos and video of the shows. Posideon's Fury and the 3-D shows (T2, Shrek) do not allow videotaping or photography.

The best way to gauge crowds at Universal is to check the price of Universal Express Plus tickets. If the price is high ($40 for 1 park, $50 for both parks), then you can expect large crowds. If the price is low ($15 for 1 park, $30 for both), then you can expect low crowds. For your visit on March 12, the price of Universal Express Plus tickets are $20 for 1 park and $35 for 2 parks. From this price, the crowds will probably be moderate. As for onsite hotels, I like all three. Honestly, I stay at the one that gives the best deal. If you're a CAA/AAA member, you can get a discount on your stay. I checked the AAA discount on www.aaa.com and it was $233.10 for a standard room with 2 queen beds at the Royal Pacific Resort. The Royal Pacific is very nice (probably nicer than the Polyesian at WDW) and the staff is very friendly. The best part when you stay onsite is you get unilimited Universal Express access at the rides that have Universal Express. You can get 2 days of Express access with one night's stay. Your keys are good for Express access from 7 am on the day of check-in to midnight on the day of checkout. So if you check in early, you can get your keys and have fun. You can leave your bags with the bellhop if your room is not ready. If you're not a CAA/AAA member, I would suggest becoming one. In addition to the onsite room discounts, you get discounts at many restaurants and gift shops if you show your card. I believe the discount is 10%. The discount really adds up if you eat 2 meals and buy souvenirs at the gift shop. I don't think you can get discounts at the food carts, though. As for the Nick Hotel, honestly, I think it is overpriced for what you get. The price of a room at the Nick Hotel is about as much (many times more) than the price of an onsite room at Universal. If you do stay onsite, you don't really need to make a gameplan. I would recommend hitting the rides at IOA that don't access Universal Express: Pternandon Flyers and the front seats of Fire and Ice of Dueling Dragons. Normally for Pternandon Flyers, you have to have a kid to ride. An unofficial workaround for this is to hit Pternandon Flyers first thing in the morning. If the wait time is 0 minutes or less, you can usually ride without a kid. You can get the credit! Then hit Dueling Dragons and ride the front seats of Fire and Ice. You got to ride in the front because it is very cool! I haven't heard of any rides refurbished during your visit. I believe Jaws is currently down, but should be open during your visit. Have fun!

^There was also a rumor Canada was to get a river raft ride themed around Brother Bear.

What I'm doing now is when I post a video on TPR, I also post it on YouTube. I don't know if this will prevent people from posting my stuff as their own, but I have a feeling it does. I think searching YouTube for people posting your videos would be time-consuming, as the site has a ton of videos.

^Forgot about Living with the Land! I was thinking more of World Showcase.

Have fun! If you want to hit Delware, you can go to Blue Diamond Park. It's not the greatest, but it might be good for the loop trip or a day excurison from DC.

MSAP was across the street from the ocean. I don't know about you, but I don't think I would want a condo across the street from the ocean. I'd buy one right next to the ocean. Saying "I own a condo across the stret from the ocean" is like fingernails on a chalkboard.

^^I agree with Robb. I've had a few Sony camcorders and they are pretty durable. I don't take them through what Robb does, but my camcorders go through bumps and bruises too. Sony camcorders are like Timex watches -- they take a licking and keep on ticking!

Does Speed Monster at Tusenfryd have a launch spiel? I don't recall if it had one or not.

I'm cheap, so I try to stay at the cheaper WDW resorts. That said, I generally end up in the All-Stars. It's not a bad resort. The pool is nice. you have a food court with pretty good food and a gift shop. It's a bit gaudy, but nice. I've also stayed at the Swan/Dolphin because I got a special rate (which I can't get now) and I enjoyed it.

Oh, one more thing...in addition to the Maxx Pass, if you're going to SFKK and SFA, buy a SF season pass. I think SFKK sells them for around $50.

I do recall a British store at Old Town, but I'll be there next month to check it out.

^I've never seen Irn-Bru sold in the U.S.

If you do the loop thing, you can do: - Ocean City, NJ coasters - BGE - Kings Dominion - Camden Park - Beech Bend - SFKK - KI - Holiday World - Credit whoring at Coney Island, Wonderpark, Wyanot Lake (if still open) - Cedar Point - GL - Kennywood - Idlewild - Knoebel's - Dorney - Hersheypark - Dutch Wonderland - SFA There's a few Jeepers you could credit whore in Maryland too.

Personally, I drink Pepsi, but if someplace serves Coke, I won't go "Ooh, yuck" and I'll drink it anyway. I usually drink the Publix brand soda. That's the best generic soda out there. Sweetbay's generic soda gives me headaches when I drink it!