New
York, New York... Ah, the hustle and bustle of this huge city... But,
wait! I’m in Orlando, Florida. Hmm, this must mean that
I’m also in Universal Studios Florida. Yep, this well-appointed—and
very exciting—park includes a chunk of New York City. And it is
glorious.
For
those of you just tuning in, this is a continuation of a series of articles
based on my vacation to Universal Studios Florida. My husband and I
traveled from our hamlet of Davis, CA to celebrate my big 6-0 birthday with
thousands of strangers. Enough about me, let’s get walking on those
streets of NYC.
A New York-Street Scene
Attention
to detail was extensive with the brick, iron, and streetlights. The
R.H. Macy’s Department Store looked so authentic (from the movies) that it
brought back warm memories of the movie, “Miracle on 34th Street”—one of
my favs. The charm of this area oozes from every storefront
and facade. I felt as if I was magically transported to a movie set
of the Big Apple.
Great Place to Eat!
Speaking of food, great smells surrounded us as we pass iconic restaurants like Finnegan’s Bar & Grill (menu—few of the same items are served at the Three Broomsticks and Leaky Cauldron) and Louie’s Italian Restaurant (pasta, pizza, salads and sandwiches). Both restaurants serve yummy food for reasonable prices.
Nevertheless,
I tended to gravitate to the only Starbucks in the Universal Studios Florida
and the Ben and Jerry’s right next door. My favorite Ben and Jerry’s
flavor—yum!--is Chocolate Therapy, which is chocolate heaven.
(Cobb Salad at Finnegan’s)
The Entertainment Surprised Us
Watch
out! The Blues Brothers are on a mission from
God. Actually, they rocked an entire block of this
park. Wow!
The amazing sax player begins the excitement with a jazzy toon as he strolls toward
and onto a raised stage in front of a realistic restaurant façade. Mable,
played by Aretha Franklyn in the movie, joins him as she leads the crowd in the
song, “Think (Freedom)”. The singer in this case does Aretha
proud.
The
crowd is already jumping, yelling and clapping as—you guessed it—a black and
white police car, replete with a giant speaker on top, arrives carrying Jake
and Elwood Blues. They join the other two performers on stage and
rock the crowd beginning with the country song, “Rawhide”. If you
remember the movie, you’ll get why that choice is hilarious.
(Video by Elias Alberto Elvir Godoy)
Revenge of the Mummy was...interesting.
Since
we are older and less agile than we once were, we tended to stay on the safe
side with the rides, except when it came to Harry Potter-related rides—more on
that in another article. So, we usually asked about the intensity of
a ride before joining the queue.
The
ride we chose in the New York section of the park is the Revenge of the
Mummy. My hubby decided that this one would be too wild for him and
I had my doubts. Nonetheless, on the last day, I decided to try it
out alone. I really should have gone for ice cream instead.
The
ride offered a bit of a backstory for those in the queue, not much, but
enough. I now knew that we are all going to experience the mummy’s
revenge. Scary. I suppose the ride would have been move
frightening if I wasn’t so afraid of losing my clothes and eyeglasses. Think
on that for a bit...yep, this was a very wild ride.
The
story and special effects were right on. However, it was so jerky
while racing up, down, backward, and forward that the straps of my summer dress
fell down my arms and I had difficulty keeping my glasses on my
face. Everything on my body wanted to flee for
safety. Now, that was frightening.
(Yep, that’s me, shaking, as I left the ride—terra firma.)
Revenge
of the Mummy aside, the New York section of the park is a wonderful place to
hang out, appreciate the architecture and find great grub. I
can’t wait to return!
Exploring
Production Central in Universal Orlando
Exploring
Woody Woodpeckers’ Kidzone & World Expo, Universal Orlando
How to
Maximize Your Visit to Universal Studios Florida
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