Universal Passholder Night

Yesterday we visited Universal Studios for one of their Annual Passholder Appreciation Nights. We arrived around 4:30 in the afternoon and headed for the main gate. Then realized we needed to walk back into the area between the exit gate and the Hard Rock to check into the event and get wristbands. A sign would have been nice. 

Once in we used our express pass to ride Gringotts, ET, and Mummy, and grab some discounted drinks.  After the park closed to regular guests we did the Villian Con, Minion Mayhem, and the Jimmy Fallon ride. This was my first time on the latter. It’s okay, a lot like the Minion attraction, as it’s a theater with moving seats. Universal won’t start their Halloween parties for a couple more weeks, but they had started putting out booths for it. 

 

We then had some snacks and went to watch the new CineSational show, which happens on the lake in the middle of the park. We were too late to get a good viewing spot, but a Universal team member suggested watching it on the lower level near Duff’s Brewery. We found an open table, but once the show started we realized we couldn’t hear the music over the music of the brewery, so ended up moving about halfway through. The show uses fountains, lights, mist screens, projections, fireworks, and drones to highlight various Universal properties. I wouldn’t mind seeing it again from a better spot.

On our way back to our car, we stopped in CityWalk to see the new Epic Universe Preview Center. Besides merchandise to buy and videos of what the park’s areas will look like, there was a great model of the park.