The First Years, Sippy Cups; a Review

The First Years Sippy Cups, a Review

Sippy Cups, they come in so many different characters, designs and styles.  For the longest time I thought my kids would only drink from Playtex cups. Then Playtex changed the lids for their cups. I began to find that this new design leaked alot! They still required the removal and cleaning of valves. These valves over time could need to be replaced which equaled more money. And they were easily lost, tossed or chewed up by the garbage disposal.

A few weeks ago I read a Facebook post from a grandmother that was mad as a hornet over her grandchilds sipper cups. Since I still have a child that uses cups I was compelled to read about it. She claimed that her GD's cups had been making the child sick. She showed photos of them where she had cut them open. There was indeed debris and water trapped in between the two sealed areas. And it looked like black mold. 

I had just replaced all of our Playtex cups with The First Years valveless cups a few months ago. My son is almost done with sealable cups. So I bought just enough to get us through the last year. About 12 of them. They come in such cute designs, with all his favorite charcters. Unlike the new Playtex cups that are not as cute. The oldest ones we own are Monsters Inc, the design is printed inside and outside on the cup. This style has been discontinued.

After reading that Facebook post I was frightened. What had I done? Had I just bought my kid plastic jars of death? I didn't know! I wouldn't do something to hurt him intentionally. And as parents we try to keep our kids safe by not doing dangerous, stupid things. So what did I know? My cups so far were fine. I inspected them and came to the conclusion her cups must have been defective. She might have tampered with them, boiled them (it says not to do that on the cups), ran over them. And why? Just to cause hysteria in a person.  See some folks get a thrill out of putting alarming news, provocative pictures, and down right shocking, horrible accounts of harming children! It's truly disgusting, but the news does this everyday. 

So I chalked up this "report" to an angry grandmother that didn't get a satisfactory report from Tomy or her money back. She had to go out and discredit a good product, get a reaction etc. . .

That is what I thought until, this morning, I was unloading the dishwasher. A few our cute cups were in the drying rack. I pulled one out, it had Mickey Mouse (cup 1) on it, and I noticed condensation inside the sealed area. I was brought back to that angry grandma. I wasn't angry at this point, I was alarmed and baffled. The other cup, Nemo (cup 2), looked cloudy on the inside. I decided to rewash the load of dishes. Maybe if they went through another drying cycle this would help them.

After the second dry cycle Cup 1 showed more signs of a leak, the image on the inside was peeling away. Cup 2 looked cloudy, but after it sat on the counter for a few hours it cleared up. Not completely, but as I called Tomy Customer Service it looked much better. 

So I did call them. I didn't wait long to get a Rep on the phone. She was so nice and helpful. I explained about the Facebook Post and how I was a fan of the cups. And how I was experiencing this issue; almost the same issue as the FB Post. The Rep told me she would email me a link to a shipping label. Send back the defective cups and in the meantime, she will mail me some cups of my choosing. I was pleased with the result pending the replacement items. Considering my cups were easily about 5 months old, I had no receipt or proof of purchase. I was never even asked any questions about the purchase, care, age etc. . .


The cups arrived about 2 weeks after my initial contact. The only issue I have with them is I specified I wanted my cups replaced with the same type of cup I purchased. I was mailed the non insulated type. Well at this point I am not going to complain. It was a rather easy process.  I will say I am
disappointed. I paid more for the defective cups than the non-insulated. On the flip side, I could have just tossed them in the trash and had 0 replacement cups.

Despite the 2 cups that are defective, I have 10 more that are still in good condition. I would say if you choose to go valve-less, they are more convenient since they have less parts. You will run the risk of this happening to your cups. I only wash mine on the top rack of the Dishwasher (an acceptible method of care). I think I would still buy these cups if I needed more. My youngest is just about to graduate to real cups; so for me, I don't mind using them.

My advice to you is to follow the care instructions (which I did), watch closely for any deterioration. Contact Tomy if you have anything suspect. I still love these cups and the insulated ones are fine unless you plan on keeping milk in them for longer than an hour.


Until next time thanks for reading,
StMS

Banzai Sidewinder Blast, Inflatable Water Slide, a Review

Banzai Sidewinder Blast Inflatable Water Slide, a Review

2011 4th birthday party

 It's finally gotten warm enough to let the kids play in the backyard with cool water from the hose. So this weekend we got out our water slide. While I was watching my kids enjoying and having fun; I thought this slide has been really awesome! Mainly, because it's lasted for 4 years and at least 3 kids parties (with tons of kids from 2 to 9) and tolerated a move with storage. 

I have read many reviews about inflatable water slides. Some hated the work it takes to clean and put away. Others say the quality is bad. I admit my husband is a BOSS at putting it away, and it's a job! But, with sweat equity and downright brutality this water slide has

2011 Lots of kids using the slide

taken a licking and keeps on ticking. 

I ended up buying this for my daughter's 4th birthday party. We had a big backyard water bash. My husband was not hopeful about the slide holding up. He has doubts every year LOL! And, it was hard to get it into the storage bag. But having a July birthday made this such a HIT! Kids were using the canons and sliding into the pool. The little kids at the party were able to do the smaller part of the slide. I loved that kids of all ages could enjoy it. 

The next year we got it out again and for another year it impressed us. We gave it a Birthday Party off only last year. Only getting it
out for a little back yard fun for a few friends. 

2012 5th Birthday Party

And then this year, 2015, we pulled it out for our kids to use. My husband noticed a few tears on the bottom liner...we found out it's double lined. So the underneath that has small tears didn't effect the collection of water in the Pool.  This year I did have a problem with it. The hose connection came off when I turned our water on. So my HH (Handy Husband or Handsome; whichever he prefers) came to

 the rescue. He was able to cut the tubing that had been stretched (and breaking down from age) and it made a snugger fit. I still couldn't open up the water full blast, but it was wet enough for our kids!

2012 5th Birthday Party

There is definitely some fading going on. I think that started the first year. Also the first year we pulled it out, we lived in Coastal
Carolina. There were tons of Bumble bees attracted to the bright
orange. So I don't really mind the color fading.

2013 Tons of kids on this slide

So I would totally recommend this or a home water slide to anyone.  When you are done with it, you can NOT just roll it up and put it away. You must let it dry out completely! That could take a few days. If you can get it off the ground to let air under it that helps. But a few hot days in the sun with no rain does the job. Roll it up as tight as you can get it. It may take two people to get it in the storage bag, but my HH does the job by himself.

In 2013 we had a ton of kids that were aged from 5th graders to PreK. I think it is best used for 3 to 10 year olds.

Overall Grade: A

I feel for the time, money invested and quality of the product it's a great investment. This slide has lasted for 4 summers, 3 parties, and

2013 Tons of big kids having fun! 

a move. Still making my kids happy! 

Thanks for reading

StMS

2015 8 & 3 year old playing on it

2015

Slide the City, a Review

A Review of "Slide the City" 

  A week ago my daughter and I got together with some friends to have a little good clean fun! We signed up for a city wide event called "Slide the City". It's a 1,000 ft. long slip n slide built for those that are brave enough to be silly, and put their pride aside for a few hours.  We all recently had participated in a 5K Color Me Rad, and they gave us a discount code. Of course, as soon as, our little racing buddies saw the post card ad they were all about this event. If you would like a short version scroll to the bottom for my event grade. 

  They offer a few different options for the day, and we decided that we would sign up for 3 slides. We thought we would want to do it at least that many times and since we were getting a rate discount it seemed like a great plan. And a bonus, they gave us an inner tube to use and keep.

  We arrived all decked out in tasteful, but appropriate waterpark attire, others didn't mind standing around a public park in their swimsuits. Our girls were ready to get in line and get the water party started. After check-in, a very painless process, we were directed to the line. Our hearts dropped when we saw the end of it! But, hey we were there to have a good time with friends. We were also instructed to blow up our "free" inner tube while we waited. 

 So my friend and I blew up 2 each and I had a funny feeling mine might have a leak in it, but the check-in line was so very far away from where we were. And I managed to get it inflated enough; or so I thought. By now we could see the people actually tubing down the giant slip in slide. It was huge with 3 lanes; the one in the middle being a triple wide. What we saw made us uncertain of our fate. 

People were not able to coast smoothly down the lanes. They had to slide about 10 ft, then stand up and "try again". The Slide took up an entire width of a street and at the very end was a large pool that collected the runoff. The street it was set-up on had a good bit of a grade, but I think that was one of the issues, there was not enough water flowing to make a steady stream. The surface of the slide appeared to be very slick. We saw many people, grown ups mostly, falling flat on their behinds. And if you stood up to walk but someone behind you was sliding good, you might get knocked down from a collision. This happened a few times while we waited. 

Next, we saw event volunteers with water hoses, they were spraying people as they went by them on the slide. We even got sprayed while waiting, and it sure helped to cool us off since most of our wait was in the hot sun with little shade! 

Another thing we didn't think about were keeping our keys dry or cash/credit cards....no lockers, no others in our group, and if you have electronic keys UH OH SHAGGY! We had to get creative, but we had plenty of time to figure it out in that long long line. Did I mention the line was really long? 

We ended up getting a Slide the City cinch top bag. It was used to hold flip flops/shoes, keys, sunglasses, wallets etc.  . .the bag itself was okay, but remember those water hoses? Our floats were in plastic packaged bags so we made use of that and carefully wrapped our keys in it. Since we paid for 2 spots we got 2 bags. We placed our keys in one bag and then put that in the 2nd bag. So at least we had a few layers. 

We FINALLY made it to the top of the hill, end of the line and beginning of the slide! Our kids were so excited to try this gigantic slide and get wet! A lady watching the event, asked us how long we waited. . .. .a quick time check later and we figured the wait was 1 hr and 30-40 minutes, give or take! We started off pretty well, but quickly realized it was going to take a minute to get to the bottom in one piece. Our group was able to go all at the same time.  I realized one of the problems is the road we were using was slanted to the right. So the water was great if you started on the left side, but you inevitably you will get pushed over to the right and wall will bring you to a halt. My float was doing fine until I had to stand up a few times and hurl myself down the slide. I noticed half way down my float was getting wimpy wimpy wimpy. At one point I did a split on the slide (I can't do that in real life) but my friend and I managed to stay close together. She kept getting attacked by a guy on a String Ray float. Despite the event people staggering sliders it gets crowded. 

I was about 3/4 of the way down when I had the idea that I must look so silly rolling around on this half deflated float trying to inch my way down to the end! Listen up, I am not a tiny girl, nor am I a big girl. But I can honestly say this is the SILLIEST thing I have found myself doing lately. I felt like a wet pig rolling around and the lack of water only added to this humiliation. At the end there is practically no water flowing. 

My friend and I both had other things we were expected to do that afternoon. So we both decided to forgo the other 2 slides. With a wait time of 1 hr and 30+minutes we weren't going to be able to wait again. In the end this was not the most horrible way to spend my day. Yes they offered an early rider ticket, as well as, the one ride option. But the thing I loved about this was the hysterical memory that I will never forget of hanging out with my daughter and our friends! Just a few fun loving Nuts willing to try anything! Id't do it again, if they can work out some of the kinks....

Review Wrap Up:

Cleanliness: B        It's hose water from the city

Entertainment C      

The local radio station was out spinning records, but it's supposed to be family friendly. He played a few songs that were not appropriate for young ones to hear. For Example, "I don't Mind"...Remember your AUDIENCE PEOPLE!!!

Organization  B       

They had 3 lanes but only 2 were open. More WATER, More WATER, More WATER. Maybe even a flatter surface would have helped. Lines were so so so long-maybe offer a fast pass option with a window of time to show up. Races do this in "waves" could easily be done with this event as well. 

The Snowcone lady, Chick Fil A and Country's BBQ were available. An ATM was on site, but we walked a good distance from our car and were not about to walk there and back 4 times. It smelled great though! 

Value B

I think if were able to get in our 3 rides, YES it would be.  Because I can honestly say after that 1 time, all of us were wiped out! I wish I had not paid for the 3 ride, and I wish I would have brought our own floats. Mine was defective....They did replace it after I was done, but since I had to leave that did not help me that much. 

FINAL GRADE: C-

It was the first time the City of Columbus tried this event. It was a novel idea and has plenty of potential and room for growth. Could easily turn into an annual festival event. The kids absolutely had a blast. I would do it again with the right friends to keep me company. But I would modify my plans a little. 

Thanks for reading StMS

Hard Rock Hotel Orlando, a Review

Hard Rock Hotel Orlando, review

My family of 4 recently took a trip to Universal Studio's Orlando, in Florida. In our party is myself, my husband and our 2 kids, a 3 year old boy, and a 7 year old girl. Over the years we have figured out a few tips here and there to make our theme park experiences go smoothly. While getting the most fun for our time and budget.

So this review is of our hotel experience and why I feel that this hotel deserves it's own review. First of all it's a beautiful resort. If you like to take pictures of your family members the Hard Rock Hotel is a picturesque location for capturing those fleeting moments.

Upon our check-in the staff was friendly and inviting. One person even remarked that I seemed like a "rockin lady" LOL!! I would not call myself a  "rock n roll" chick, but there were plenty of other genres of music memorbilia to delight any music fan. The hotel clerk informed me of  our basic amenities, and one of the biggest reasons we chose to stay on property was the free unlimited Express passes for each member of our party. These passes were good all day for the arrival and departure date, so we were covered for both days! Each person had a pass with there photo and name printed on it.

If we had bought our passes out right for the one week day and one weekend day we would have paid $859.92....that is buying for 4 people. The Express pass has a different rate during the week than on the weekend.Now you may be thinking, but you may not need an Express pass for the 3 year old, and that is true. He was extremely limited on the Express pass uses that he could do. Buying 3 unlimited Express passes still cost $644.94. What about just for 2 people, then you are paying $429.96. Our room was discounted and we paid $254.00 for the one night. Which more than justified our decision to stay on the property. Our room was a standard room with 2 queen beds, it overlooked the front the of the hotel. But honestly, we didn't mind the view because we were not there to stay in the room. We were there to go to the theme parks.

Another great perk of being on the Universal Property is not needing to take a shuttle to the park or drive your vehicle and pay for parking. Although there was a nightly fee for parking. It was secure and convenient. We parked our car in the hotel guest parking early that morning, picked up our passes and walked to the theme park. Our room would not be ready, but we left all our luggage in our vehicle and planned to get it that evening when we were done for the day. The hotel also offers to hold your bags and put them in your room for you when the room is ready. They also alert you by text when the room is ready and available to you.

Along the short path of the Hard Rock Hotel to Universal Studio's Orlando we enjoyed great scenery. It was gorgeous and mostly shaded by lush palm trees, foliage and bamboo. There is a Butterfly garden and tons of lizards. My sons favorite thing is a creepy lizard! The path follows the lake. There are other transportation options like riding a rickshaw, or the water taxi. On the path you must watch out for the rickshaw drivers, but other than that a pleasant walk to and from the park.

Later than night, we tried to enjoy the pool and it's claim of being heated. But, my son's lips were purple and I don't think it was actually heated. We did go in mid May, so I'm not sure when they turn the heat down, maybe May 1st LOL! Also we missed the super slide, because it was too cold for us. They had a poolside family movie night, and we would have enjoyed that. But everyone was over crowded the hot tub to try and stay warm. We called it a night shortly after getting in the cold water.

Back in our room, the beds were oversized Queen beds. The kids were given inflatable Hard Rock Hotel guitars to play with. After a nice hot shower we all layed down for bed. The beds were super comfortable and the pillows were nice. Great for a long day running around a theme park!

The next day we stopped at Emack & Bolio's Marketplace for a quick breakfast. We had hoped to save money in the park. It ended up being pricey to feed us all at the HRH, but we we did save  money in the park later for lunch. As you can see my daughter picked a healthy option....that donut is bigger then her head!

Review Wrap Up: A+

For the price and savings, I would recommend this resort to anyone! We only needed the room for one night as we made other arrangements for the next evening. It was worth the rate we paid to get the unlimited Express Pass. And I would definitely stay here again or at another Universal Resort if  I were coming back. I did meet a lady in the park that mentioned she was at the new Cabana Bay Beach Resort. We actually tried to stay there, it's the lowest tier offered at this theme park area. It was totally sold out.  She said the room was really small and she wasn't that impressed. I personally don't think that would have mattered to us, although our room was huge.

thanks for reading
StMS

Universal Studio's Island's of Adventure, a Review

A Review of Universal's Islands of Adventure

  This is a review of my recent trip to Universal's Islands of Adventure. I have a family of 4, a 3 year old and a 7 year old, myself and my husband. He and I wanted to try Universal since we kept seeing all the commercials.  The day we visited was a Saturday, and it was crowded. But the weather was great. The day before we played at Universal Studios Florida. For a review of that park you can go here USFL Review As always if you would like a quick summary scroll to the bottom to get my final grade. 

   We stayed the night at the Hard Rock Hotel which is on the property of Universal Studios. We took a short walk to the park from the Hotel. And staying at the Hard Rock automatically upgraded us to Unlimited Express rides. For my Review of that Hotel click here Hard Rock Hotel Orlando


    We started our day at Marvel Super Hero Island. Our first ride was the Incredible Hulk Coaster. It was an Excellent rush and if you enjoy coasters, DO NOT miss this one! While my husband Express
 passed it, I took my kids on the Storm Force Accelatron. It's a speedy version of the classic teacup ride. They loved it!




We linked back up and walked over to Seuss Landing. I quickly realized that we were at another theme park filled with water features. I'm really ok with kids getting wet, but walking around in swim suits I don't understand? I didn't bring my kids swim suits, so we had to forgo, "If I Ran the Zoo" --a play ground area.

My sweetie pie daughter, spotted the Cat in the Hat and jumped in line for a quick autograph and picture. Then we all walked over to the Caro-Seuss-el, where we chose our "beast" and enjoyed the breeze of the merry-go-round. Some of them open and close their mouths, and eyes.

Next up was The Cat in the Hat ride. I rode with my daughter and my son and husband hopped on a fish, at One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, and Blue Fish. Yes this is a water ride, but if you listen closely to the song you can avoid getting totally soaked. Some water is okay, but drenched is not, haha!


When they were done it was time for a show at, "Oh! The Stories You'll Hear!" My daughter was standing waiting for her brother when "Sam I am" took her by the hand and brought her over to see him! The park characters were so sweet to all the kids. They made sure that they gathered all the kids in the area to come see the show about the Lorax! I was so amazed by how they interacted with everyone!! My son made it over, but he was being really shy. So he was not as thrilled at the characters as his sister was. He didn't even want to go near Thing 1 or Thing 2!


Once that was done; we split up so my husband and daughter could ride, The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride! A ride that again I thought my son could have handled, but to ride you must be 40" I think this park needs a serious over hall of their height requirements! So he and I walked around the area and he chased a birds. He chased it inside Circus McGurkus Cafe Stoo-pendous, we ended up sharing a pizza and getting our Freestyle Cups activated.

The Freestyle cup is a great value. The cups have microchips in the bottom and must be purchased that day. They will be active for 16 hours (longer than the parks are open). Throughout the day you can refill them all over the parks. I will say some of the machines were empty of ice and that made it a pain to track down. But still over all the way to go. I bought 2 the day before and we brought them back the next day to be reactivated.

Next we decided to take a walk over to the "The Lost Continent". We stumbled upon Poseidon's Fury a special effects guided tour. We all could participate and it had Express, so we said why not? It was really crowded and my kids were not able to see much. It was a little scary in parts, but they made it through. This area of the park also had a Mystic Fountain, that was interactive. My daughter tried to tell it a knock knock joke. The Eighth Voyage of Sinbad (Stunt Show) is also in this area, but it was closed for seasonal maintenance.

Hogsmeade

BUTTERBEER!

It was time for our visit to Hogsmeade! Hogsmeade is the Harry Potter area of this park. You can pretty much buy all the same items in Diagon Alley, but they are very different from one another. We did see the Hogwarts Express at Hogsmeade Station. In order to ride it to the other park, you must have a "park to park" option on your tickets.

I was getting thirsty by then for a Butterbeer. Especially since the weather was heating up.You notice a different feel for Hogsmeade as you enter. It's not as mysterious, it's larger and more open than D.A. They both have street shows throughout the day, but different rides to experience. There was actually a small roller coaster that Sweetie Pie could ride, the Flight of the Hippogriff. But the big thrill ride was the Forbidden Journey.   This ride was my FAVORITE of all the rides in the park. It's a motion based scenic dark ride and this technology is rare in the theme park world.

The Forbidden Journey @Hogwarts

The Forbidden Journey starts with the que line to lockers. There is no loose items to be taken on the rides. A common theme for Universal Parks. Many of the rides had this rule. This ride had a few options for us such as, Child Swap area, Single Rider line, and a non motion experience if you request that. The day we went the ride was being tested, so the wait was incredibly long. But, we finally made it to the front and as we waited to be called over to load, we were passed by Sir Paul McCartney, like really! No photos since no phones were allowed in the ride area :( But pretty neat experience to see him being a "regular guy".

Then we jumped in line for the Dragon. This is a super coaster that has two ride options. You can choose the Red Dragon or the Blue Dragon. Each ride is a different experience. We ended up riding only the Blue one and it was a fantastic rush!

The ride Attendants had trouble keeping up with the line rules. As we entered the que we were told there was not Express option, and that Child Swap could be done at the ride exit. So I went through the security check point and got buzzed, still have no clue other than clip for my express pass? But, when I made it to the line que, I saw a sign and an attendant for Express. So I asked why they would say it didn't have Express, and was told, there is no Express for the Security check point....DUMB ANSWER! My Sweetheart was at the exit and there was another security checkpoint and the attendant was rude when we explained that we were doing a child swap. He insisted that we had to wait in the other line. He finally scanned my husband with the security wand and let him go. Since we had so much trouble we decided the Red Dragon would not be worth the fight and didn't try to ride it.

Jurassic Park 

From there we walked over to the Jurassic Park area. My Sweetie Pie has always been scared of the big boat and hill water rides. But, she got brave and jumped on the Jurassic Park River Adventure. She had a great time and the ride was pretty fun for it's age. I'm sure with the new movie coming soon this ride will be getting an upgrade.

In this part of the park was nothing much for my Sweet pea to do except play in the Camp Jurassic play ground and the Discovery Center. There is also another ride that he was a half inch too short for, but Sweetie Pie was able to ride the Pteranodon Flyers. This ride is a flying coaster meant for kids. Parents can ride but must be accompanied by a child 36" to 56". If your child is over 56" then they will need a child that meets the height requirement to get them on it. There is also no Express option for this ride.

We were almost done with our day, but we still needed to visit Toon Lagoon and make our way back to Marvel Super Hero Island for Spider Man. We decided to grab some snacks and let the kids play in Me Ship, The Olive. It was a Popeye themed boat playground that over looks Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges. A water ride you can interact with, by shooting the Barges with water cannons from the 3rd deck of The Olive. If you decide to ride the Barges, you will get TOTALLY SOAKED. We skipped that ride, because our little guy couldn't ride it.

Cyclops 

Spider-Man

Our next stop was the Amazing Adventures of Spider Man ride. Another ride Sweetpea was too short for, but Sweetie Pie was tall enough. She loved it and since it offered Express she got to ride twice. I waited with  Sweetpea for a photograph with Spider Man. He was totally excited, but Spidey showed up late and we missed getting a photo with Captain America :( and with the Green Goblin :((

Review Wrap Up:

Rides and Attractions: 

Under 35"  Storm Force Accelatron -the only requirement is you must be able to sit up without help

                   Me Ship, The Olive-a 3 story playground with slides

                   Camp Jurassic-a net, caves and splash pad playground

                   Hogwarts Express-must have park to park option to ride this train

                   Poseiden's Fury- a special effects guided tour, sort of scary for my 3 and 7 year old

                   Caro-Seuss-el -a carousel ride

                   One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish- a dumbo like ride with water

                   If I Ran the Zoo- a playground with splashpad

Over 36"    Pteradon Flyers-children must be less than 56" anyone over 56" must have a child under                                                 to ride with them

                   Fight of the Hippogriff -a small roller coaster

                  The Cat In The Hat- takes 3 slow spins (not all at the same time either) *see notes below

40"             The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man-3D dark ride, really great for kids!

                   The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride!-Very slow coaster above the rooftops                        of  Seuss Landing, again I think this height requirement is ridiculous

42"             Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges -you will get drenched on this one

                   Jurassic Park River Adventure -you will get wet on this one

44"             Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls -a "log boat" water ride, you will get wet 

48"             Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey   -this ride was amazing!    

52"             Doctor Doom's Fearfall -150 ft drop 

54"             The Incredible Hulk Coaster- Such a rush!!! Do NOT miss this one if you like coasters

                   Dragon Challenge- Choose Red or Blue Dragon, each a different coaster experience 

                                           

                 

Food: B  

The food was okay but super pricey. Since we spent so much money the day before at Universal Studio's Orlando on our lunch we were trying to go a little cheaper. To start we ate a large breakfast at the Hard Rock Hotel. We shared a few items early in the day and we bought the Freestyle refillable cups. Later in the day we got some snack items to tide us over until we left the park. I felt that we didn't over spend in this park on food. Since we basically snacked most of the day. 

Cleanliness: A+  

I was very pleased with the custodial staff at this park. I actually witnessed them cleaning restrooms multiple times throughout the day. It makes a huge difference. The parks were crowded that day too, so they were working extra hard! 

Attendants and Staff: C

I was disappointed with this aspect of the park. It seemed that the ride attendants were not as nice and accommodating at this park as they were at Universal Orlando. When you have a great experience at one park the day before it's easy to compare. I didn't feel the attendants knew the "line rules" or at least they didn't convey the rules in a way that made sense. You either have an Express option or you don't, you either have a child swap area or you don't. This made me lose confidence in them pretty quickly. I also don't feel like they should speak to customers in such a rude way. We pay a lot of money to be at the park, and should not be chastised by a College Student. Rules are rules and we can certainly understand that, but then the staff need to stick to one set of rules! 

BUTTERBEER!

Value B

Sure this park has the Hulk Coaster, Hogsmeade, and BUTTERBEER! But, I felt the food was too expensive, and the tickets were super pricey (especially for children). I felt this place was more expensive than other local themeparks (aka the big D). I personally could not afford to spend more time at Universal than our 2 day trip. I did feel that I was entertained sufficiently. But if you are going to charge those prices for tickets then food needs to be more reasonable or vice versa. We usually buy all the theme park photos from the rides, characters etc. . ..but I didn't even bother to look at them while we were there! 

Not a good value for children. Especially not a good value for a child under 36" and look out for that if your 3 year old is not yet 36"! I did not buy my little one a ticket and I was pleased that I didn't! 

FINAL GRADE: C

I had a good time at this park. My husband and I both agreed it would be a great theme park to leave the kids at home to enjoy some adult time. Neither of my kids got to ride or do much. And we did end up needing to buy a child ticket for my 7 year old. She was just shy of 48" :( And then my 3 year old, had just turned 3 the week before was still under 36". Technically he is supposed to pay to be there, but I am so glad I didn't buy him a ticket. He enjoyed running around the playgrounds and the splash pad areas, but we have those in our local neighborhood (for free) So my final thoughts;





wait until your kids are at least 40" to take them. Enjoy this theme park with a friend your own age or your spouse.

Thanks for reading
StMS

*The Cat in the Hat ride says 36" or taller. My 35 1/2" tall son could have ridden this one with no issues. I was told it spins 3 times. But I put him on the Storm Force Accelatron, which I rode with him, and that spun us so fast and forceful he could have hit his head on the rotation wheel in the middle. I did ride The Cat in the Hat ride with my 7 year old and after I got off the ride I was again disappointed that my 35 1/2" wasn't allowed to enjoy it! He would have tolerated the "spins" if you can call them spins, with no issues!

I think the Height Requirements at this park need a serious overhaul. As you can see they are spaced out so far apart that for some kids it would mean each year they could get one more thing to ride. I see that is good for business, but when thinking of value I would skip this park for a while.