Universal Studios: Tradition! Tradition!...Tradition!!!
We debated whether or not to change into shorts before going to the parks, but we figured it would probably start getting cool as it got dark, and there would be plenty of opportunities to put on the shorts we packed later in the week. Right?
Ben’s middle school drama club will be performing Fiddler on the Roof in a couple of weeks. Ben decided not to audition for the show, but he will be working backstage crew. The title of this chapter is inspired by the show, and by the quirky habit my boys have with theme park traditions.
When we arrive at Disney, the first park the boys need to visit is Magic Kingdom. I’m not saying it’s wrong, I am just surprised that it is so important to them.
We started our previous two trips to the Dark Side with visits to Universal Studios. This is a decision that makes sense, because the next morning is early entry to IoA. Our arrival day traditions: Ride Mummy first, and then lunch (or what would be dinner this year) at Lombard’s.
****************************************************************************
First, we had to pick up our Annual Passes from the Will Call Kiosks. You bring the credit card you used to purchase the passes, insert that, type in your confirmation number and the machine spits out your passes. Easy-Peasy!!!
Now park entry, on the other hand, did NOT go smoothly. All week.
They have a finger scan system which seriously only works for about half the people going though. Some of it is user error- people who are using the wrong finger, or they remove their finger too soon, or press too hard (or too lightly) or really are just not bright enough to be out in public. You end up playing line roulette- you try to pick out the line that has the least likelihood to have a moron or large clueless group ahead of you. But it is not just the guests. Sometimes it is the machines when they get smudged. And to add to the mayhem, the finger scans do not work well in cold.
If you get behind someone who can’t get the finger scan to activate, you are held hostage in line. You don’t move until they do. No options just to go around to another machine. This is really frustrating when you know that you will be able to get the green light first time you try, once you are given the opportunity.
It took us about 10 minutes to get through the turnstiles which is really quite ridiculous at 4:30 in the afternoon!
****************************************************************************
But now we were in, and I needed to redeem my Photo Connect Star Card (Think Memory Maker). I purchased the Annual Photo Card for $50 before the price went up this year. This gives you a digital download of all of the ride photos and any photos with characters or at special places throughout the park. There are not that many photographers located throughout the parks (mostly at the entrance/exit), but I love having access to the ride photos.
My paper work said to bring my order form to any photographer and they would get me my Photo Connect Card. So I stopped the first photographer I saw, right outside the photo store and showed her my form, with the scan bar. She had no idea what to do, so she went into the very crowded photo store and asked one of the counter people to help. She said I would not have to wait in line, but I didn’t want to cut in front of the people who were there, so we just moved on. I figured I could just take care of it when we did the first ride, which is the traditional first ride in US for us.
We walked through some of the Mardi Gras areas on the way
[/URL
]
[URL=http://s657.photobucket.com/user/natebenma/media/Universal%202015/DSCF5254.jpg.html]
Although we were there for 4 nights, we never actually saw any Mardi Gras activities. Maybe they all take place on the weekend. We did just miss a concert by Bare Naked Ladies, who performed on Sunday night, the night before our arrival. I have seen them twice in concert and they are awesome!
We arrived at my favorite ride of all time (Sorry Big Thunder)- Revenge of the Mummy!
Plunge into total darkness on this indoor rollercoaster as you face fireballs, scarab beetles and an army of warrior mummies. This ride has a Single Rider Line and requires lockers for loose articles.
The special effects on this ride are amazing, and there was one effect that I had never noticed before (in the control room scene). This ride does not disappoint! But it does go backwards and has some very jerky starts and stops, so if that bothers you, you should probably skip it.
I have no photos from inside the ride due to Universal’s very strict no photo inside attractions policy. Now while Disney discourages photos in many rides, especially flash photography, Universal outright forbids it. No flash pictures, no non-flash pictures, if you even THINK about your camera on a ride, you get yelled at!
I do have our ride photo as well as a couple of stock photos that came with our photo connect card in 2013:
[/URL
]
[URL=http://s657.photobucket.com/user/natebenma/media/Universal%202015/USF1.jpg.html]
[/URL
]
[URL=http://s657.photobucket.com/user/natebenma/media/Universal%202015/USF3.jpg.html]
************************************************************************************
Since we had such a long travel day and only had sandwiches on the plane and a few snacks since breakfast, we were ready to eat when we were finished with Mummy.
I don’t know what the attraction for Lombard’s is for the boys. It is a San Francisco themed seafood restaurant, but I don’t find the theming to be compelling. The first time we went there we had a table right in front the aquarium, which we all loved. The food really hit the spot. On our last visit, they put us upstairs in a very formal looking room that really didn’t do anything for us theming-wise. So I was surprised when we were discussing lunch options for our first day and both boys said “Lombard’s, of course! But sitting downstairs”
Here are some picture from our past trips:
[/URL
]
[URL=http://s657.photobucket.com/user/natebenma/media/Hijinks%20Trip%20Report/Lombards/P1150042.jpg.html]
[/URL
]
2011:
2013:
[URL=http://s657.photobucket.com/user/natebenma/media/Hijinks%20Trip%20Report/Lombards/DSCF0365.jpg.html]
[/URL
]
[URL=http://s657.photobucket.com/user/natebenma/media/Hijinks%20Trip%20Report/Lombards/DSCF0361.jpg.html]
[/URL
]
****************************************************************************
It was about 5 pm when we walked into the entrance of Lombard’s.
“Party of 4”
“Do you have a reservation?”
“No” I answered, looking into the empty restaurant.
“We are only seating people with reservations”
“We are staying onsite- do we have preferred seating?”
“Yes. If you have a reservation.”
We walked back out. Fortunately, I had a Plan B.[/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]
I love the style and decorations in the room, especially the mirror that includes rocker's heights. The "blood" spattered mirror is... odd. I have no idea what that might stand for? 
I bet they liked Club Level more than they let on!
[/URL
[/URL
[/URL
