Amanda PhillipsExperiencing Universal Studios, Florida
Hear from one of our staff members about their trip to Universal Studios.
Hi, my name is Sarah Lemasurier and I was lucky enough to go on a familiarisation trip to Universal Studios Resort in Orlando, Florida. On hearing the news, I was so excited as I literally only had 2 weeks until l I was due to travel, so of course I started packing straight away!
We flew with Virgin Atlantic and we got upgraded to PREMIUM ECONOMY! Wow, it was amazing. Could this trip get any better, I wondered? Well, the answer to that was a definite Yes.
Our group stayed at the Cabana Bay, which had just opened this year, and we were met there by our rep from Universal. She told us that, not only would we be going to Universal, there would be a VIP guide to escort us around for the 2 days – amazing!
Staying on site at Universal Studios was awesome and there were so many plus sides to it – I loved the fact that you could charge everything in resort on your room key. This makes it a lot safer for anyone staying there, because they don’t need to carry around a lot of cash. Also, the early admission into Harry Potter was brilliant! We were able to enjoy the rides and walk through Hogsmeade without it being too busy. I’d definitely recommend doing this.
I loved the Portofino hotel so much that I am looking at going there for my honeymoon next year. ! It’s absolutely stunning – the pictures in the brochure don’t do it justice! It’s one of the nicest hotels I’ve ever been in.
I would definitely say that for me the biggest attraction for families is the child swap facility – this is somewhere that parents can sit with their children whilst one parent is on board the ride or rollercoaster. It’s a huge help to families and I’m sure that lots of my clients will be interested in this. Confession time – I didn’t know this existed, and it’s something other theme parks don’t offer. I have told all my colleagues about it and they agree it’s a fantastic Universal feature.
I have to be honest… I didn’t think I would enjoy the Blue Man Group, but happily I was proved wrong. This show was fantastic. It was so new and different to anything I have ever seen before. Loved the interaction with the audience and the technology used was superb. In fact, I loved it so much I actually bought the DVD!
Universal Studios is much bigger than I ever imagined and the rides are superb. I didn’t realise there were so many roller-coasters! I also loved City Walk. I thought this was a great place to stroll around of an evening and there were plenty of things for us to do, from the cinema to eating out to dancing the night away. There is literally something for everyone and for all ages.
Again I loved the fact that you could charge everything on resort to the room. I also didn’t realise how many rooms Universal had! I would definitely recommend anyone travelling to Universal to stay on site.
I love the idea of a VIP guide round the resort and have already recommended this service to my customers! I also feel a lot more confident in advising about the Universal product now I have lived the experience myself. I loved that William, our tour guide, gave us some really interesting facts about the park and we learned things that not a lot of people would know, which I can now pass on.
Before the trip, I would have recommended the resort to younger couples and families with children age 6 and above for the rides. After being there, I would say it is a place for everyone. Even if you don’t want to take part in the rides etc. there is plenty to see and do. The attention to detail in the parks is extraordinary. Each world is completely different and there is something to suit a wide variety of different tastes. Even parents with younger children are good to go, thanks to the child swap area, so parents can ride the rides and not have to queue up again.
The trip was extremely well organised and Hannah, the Universal Studios representative, was exceptional at making sure we all had a good time! She kept us on schedule and always went through our daily itinerary so we knew what was happening. We always knew our meeting points and I felt very safe in her company.
William looked after us very well also and even came on some of the rides with us! He was very informative and could answer any questions we had about the parks. His experience shone through. I would highly recommend his services to any of my customers.
10 out of 10 for this trip!