Universal Studios Anybody?

I'm sure that some of you have heard that Universal Studios made two "big" announcements on Thursday 19th May about some additions to the park for 2012.

The first announcement was regarding the Spiderman ride in Universal IOA. And don't worry, they're not binning it! Phew! Spiderman is going to get a makeover; according to the announcement's webcast, the team are completely re-animating all of the attraction movie, installing a new 3D projection system and are making it all HD. Of course, during the webcast, THE Spidey had to make an appearance on stage. It was only a fleeting visit though, and after giving the two Universal bigwigs some skin, he fled the scene. Probably to spin some webbage or something....

No. They're not turning Spiderman into a cow....I just thought this was pretty cool.

The second announcement was a bit more interesting; it was to introduce the new Despicable Me attraction! Now, I haven't got round to seeing this film yet, but I have heard a lot of good things about it. The attraction will be taking over what was Jimmy Neutron; I've only ridden this once, in 2009, and I really enjoyed it! I loved all that Nick programming! Personally, I'm a little sad to see it go, and it's a shame in my opinion that those shows are not really aired anymore. Sigh. Anyhow, we have been assured that there will be lots of "minions" and it also sounds like there's going to be some sort of minion dance off at the end of the ride.

You can never go wrong with a dance-off!

Uhh, uh uh uh uh uhh...

This stuff isn't scheduled until 2012, so why am I mentioning Universal Studios?

Well...personally, I couldn't head all the way to Orlando and not head to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. That'd be a crime! We are obviously being spoiled by Disney providing us with free entry to the 4 main parks, and therefore, I don't think it'll be too bad to pay for a visit to Universal :) I decided a couple of months ago that I would get a Universal Annual Pass for the summer, and seeing how it has been mentioned a couple of times on the ICP facebook groups recently, I thought I'd post some info about the tickets here.

So, lets start with a one day visit. Yes, a one day ticket that provides you access to just one of the parks will cost you a whole $82. A one day ticket that provides access to both parks comes in at $118.

"Ouch" I hear you all say! But don't worry; I guarantee it's worth a visit.

If you're like me though, spending just one day at Universal just won't be enough! And if this is the case for you, then come and join me in getting an "annual pass". The "2 park preferred annual pass" will cost us $229.99 and provides access to Universal for 365 days! So, use your pass two or three times, and you've saved! Apart from park access, there are also a number of benefits to owning an annual pass. These include:

• 10% off Universal Merchandise and Restaurants
• 10% off many of the shops and restaurants on Citywalk
• 20% off Blue Man Group tickets
• 25% off Admission to Wet n Wild

The other annual pass is the "2 park premier annual pass" coming in at a hefty $349.99. The main difference is a bit more of a discount off restaurants and merchandise, and free entry to Citywalk clubs at select times.

For what I'll need it for, the "preferred" pass is the way to go for me!

For more information: clickety click.