It's Andy Fish!

I’m jumping ahead in the trip to the resort we’d be staying at starting Sunday. Saturday we were still at the Double Tree by Hilton at Universal.

We headed over to Epic Universe where specifically several of us who are classic monster fans wanted to check out the new Dark Universe area– which is simply put the Universal Monsters version of Mario World.

Getting to Universal I met the kids at their hotel and we ubered over to the park. The weather this particular day was 90 and extremely sunny– humidity wasn’t so bad that it made things brutal but it was hot.

Checking into Universal is a lot like going to Epcot but slightly less complicated, we were through security pretty quickly and found the portal to the Dark Universe where you’re greeted with really nice replica’s of backround items from those classic films. The graveyard where Boris Karloff as The Monster tumbles over a tombstone of the Grim Reaper was there, as were various shops, taverns and inns from the Frankenstein films. The park itself was smaller than I expected but what they had was extremely well done. In the back of the park is the Windmill from the finale of the first Frankenstein film and at dusk it lights on fire as it did in the film.

We jumped in the Monsters Ride line which was down to about 45 mins which if you know anything with theme parks that’s not bad. The wait is made much more interesting by the props and displays you pass as you go through a winding maze of coffins, a Karloff Frankenstein entombed in a giant gel filled glass tube.

There were body parts and anatomy displays, lab books, reading rooms, tea rooms, all around us. Eventually we made it through the room and arrived at the waiting area where Ygor comes out and explains the ride.

Now, to be fair, we were told this was a pretty simple ride–like Haunted Mansion, it was the type of ride that you are basically seated and a bar holds you in place. I can handle that kind of ride, I don’t like rides that flip me around or upside down. I love wooden roller coasters, I hate modern loop style coasters.

The demo showed us the device we’d be strapped into, and how it would flip us around. Immediately several members of our group jumped out through the EXIT. Sons number two and three and I were the last men standing, we pulled a character guide aside and convinced them to level with us, without the Transylvania Accent, what exactly was entailed in this ride. Once we got the deets straight we bailed and joined the other members of our party who were outside. Veronica, Gina and Caitlin stayed behind and rode the ride. The members outside chastised us for being chickens and we laughed that they were outside too.

For me the big thing was this was still early morning, I had a greasy ham and cheese Omelette less than an hour or so ago and it was 90 degrees, I needed a little more time for things to settle.

Would we go back and try again? Next time.