 Hey friends today, we are hanging out in Universal Studios, Florida It is officially 2024 So I wanted to come out and give you guys a little tour of the park and talk about some of the things I'm excited for in the upcoming year and then also I've been noticing that Universal has been stepping their game up when it comes to theme park snacks And I wanted to grab a couple of my favorite snacks to show you so we're gonna ride some rides eat some food and have A cozy Universal Studios kind of day any hoos Let's go do this. I Picked the perfect day to come out to Universal Studios It is so beautiful out the temperatures in the 60s and we're gonna go to both parks We're gonna go to islands of adventure and Universal Studios But I think we're gonna start here at Universal Studios, Florida and then take the Hogwarts Express Maybe over the island's adventure later on I'm wearing one of the new Shrek Roosevelt shirts on right now So I want to see if I can find Shrek or donkey in the park So I can show them the new shirt and then also I'm kind of interested in seeing a lot of characters today I love going to the Transformers area where they have like the meet and greet with some of the characters from there And also in the back of the park. They have some other really cool character meet and greets There's a lot to do in the park So I feel like we're gonna have a good mix between characters food rides Maybe even a parade or two. Who knows today is Tuesday So it's not a weekend Usually the weekend is crowded and the weekdays seem to be a little bit not so busy but I'm still interested in seeing what the wait times are gonna be like my Express pass with my annual pass doesn't start till 4 p.m. So we got to wait in the regular lines The game's all here Yeah, that was so awesome They are the best and as you're walking down this main area or heading into Beverly Hills You can see tons of characters actually just hanging out. You got chef chef Look at this the mystery machine is over there Hi Betty move. Hope you have a great day Me Is that Dora Dora the explorer over there no way Wow right outside the dark room there with my annual pass I actually get a Express pass every single day I come but it's only after 4 p.m So if I wanted to use the express line I would have to buy a regular express pass for the daytime and That goes anywhere from $122 to $150 if you pay for the hundred and like $22 one You get every ride just once and then if you do the hundred and fifty dollar one. It's all day So like it's still like kind of expensive. I know a lot of people complain about lightning lane That being thirty dollars But honestly, I'd rather pay a hundred and twenty two dollars in guaranteed to ride every single ride Then pay thirty dollars to just maybe not even get on a ride or just get one ride in you know what I mean I feel like if you know they can come to like in the middle part there I think it might be better, but this system I think works better than Disney I'm meeting up with a friend today who is a baseball fan. So I wanted to bring a little Fanny pack from Roosevelt so good. It's the big league chew one. You remember this gum I thought that was fancy, but that's why I'm carrying this around in case you see it like this Yeah, I don't want you to be wondering if I got a big bag of big league chew in me They're Shrek and Fiona over there. I'm coming back for Shrek and Fiona and also Doc is over here Look at that. So at least I know I get to see Shrek in a little bed Universal just announced all of the theme lands for their brand-new park that they're building epic universe And it's so cool because there's gonna be five different themed lands They have a celestial park which is gonna be like the hub and center and that area actually is gonna open up portals To the Super Nintendo Worldland the dark universe where they're gonna have one of the best dark rides ever Then they also have the how to train your dragon and then the wizarding world of Harry Potter the ministry of Magic, how cool is that that park is gonna be amazing and it's gonna change the theme park game But there's still a lot of great things that are changing in this park So I wanted to walk around today and explain and point out a couple of the ones that I've uh, I'm a little excited for Eventually the Dreamworks land is gonna open up This used to be where Woody's woodpecker Roller coaster was and then they had Barney over there, but it's gonna be turned into like a G dream works themed land We used to meet all of your favorite characters from a lot of different dream works movies That's why you also get to meet a lot of characters over here just walking around the trolls are over there right next to the sign there Look at that. So you got a nice new land to look forward to it's coming along great right next to ET You can't record on Universal's ride so any rides that I'm going on today I'll probably insert like a POV footage from a Universal Studios stock like you know just a you know just so you guys could see what the ride is like But for the most part, we're just gonna hang out the park And I'm just gonna just kind of document and show you what it's like just kind of hanging out day to day at the Universal Studios feel so fancy the way I move my elbows 20 minute wait for ET. Well, no, that's not a 20 minute wait. I think that's just a walk on The mystery the suspense the venture ET adventure You have to get an inter Planetary plat passport interplanetary interplanetary interplanetary passport and You have to give them your name so ET can talk to you at the end of the ride Botanicus Thank you botanicus My interplanetary passport I said it right interplanetary passport Come celebrate with us Fighting ET and now we're in the gift shop and they have a really cool photo opportunity and since I bought the my universal photo pass It's kind of like a year-long Photo pass. It's like I think it's like $180. I'm not too sure how much I'll find an exact price But I get to have all these nifty perks like special photo opportunities and one of them is with ET in the closet and on the bike The ET store actually has a lot of great merchandise You have regular ET merchandise look at little snow globe here. I Love it and then even some back to the future merch too. Look at that The hoverbird sign is pretty cool All of this is we're waiting in line because we want to do the ET photos How cool is that you get in there? It's just like the from the movie. You can see oh look There's a Jurassic Park t-rex there. That's kind of cool Well, I'm not not exactly like the movies but operation monopoly Now that I got my photo with ET and we got to ride ET I think we're gonna go grab a snack and find a place to get some lunch I was thinking maybe mythos mythos If you haven't heard has been voted the best theme park restaurant by theme park insider for several years now And I'm pretty sure it was also the best theme park restaurant in 2023 We'll find out and probably for 2024, but it's very good food. So no, no, no, that's on island side So maybe we would just might make a walk now and I come back. I love days like this You kind of just go with the flow and just kind of eat food The most unlikely treat that I've ever had in a theme park that like I just I'm just Mind-blown on how good it is is actually here at the bake my day bake my day They have a rice krispie treat and it's just a plain rice krispie treat But for some reason it's the best rice krispie treat I've ever had in my life So I wanted to come in and grab it real quick They have a lot of great like other like things Including like banana cakes and stuff, but this rice krispie treat down here plain krispie It's just so good Everything else, but this banana cream cheese Swiss roll is really good That's more right here Oh boy I Confirmed with the team members in there that they do make these rice krispie treats crash every day But look at this like I said, there's nothing special about it. It's just a rice krispie treat, but it's just it's done, right? Look at that It's so good. Trust me. You got to come try it if you come get the rice krispie treat if you're a fanatic like me You're gonna love it. I Might dare to say that this might be one of the best rice krispie treats. I've ever had if not the best like honestly It impresses me that much that I would speak so highly of it. I Really hope that we get a chance to see Shrek eventually I saw him but every time I get to go up to him they cap his line like they have to cut the line off So he can go in for his breaks and I'm just missing by like one minute So maybe hopefully but until then I think we might head to islands of adventure Erica you want to try the rice krispie treat the best rice krispie treat I've ever had Made fresh in house. I think we're gonna walk over to islands of adventure now See if we can get on the walk-up list for mythos. That's the restaurant I was telling you that's like the best theme park restaurant If it's not too long of a wait, maybe we'll have lunch there and ride a ride or two, you know It's only like a two-minute walk outside city walk You could take the Hogwarts Express But I'm not gonna do that because my express pass probably is until four and the lines most definitely at least a 30-minute wait So a quick two-minute walk be right islands and now the adventure begins over on islands of adventure side I do want to do dr. Seuss maybe the can the hat and the Zeus trolley train Check on the loss of coaster Hagrid's would be good like obviously I think I would want to do everything So we're just gonna see what we can do We're gonna just go straight over to mythos to put our name in on the list But if we have some time in between maybe I'll cut back over here ride the cat in the hat The good old cat in the hat We'll get some green eggs and ham Man, it is such a beautiful day out today. Look at the loss of coaster go Wow I could easily spend all day just chilling out here What is this a little submarine? When it comes to trying new snacks at Universal I tend to not do it that often only because I wait for the Orlando informer meetup The Orlando informer meetup is a special ticket event that you could buy tickets to and all the food is included in it I make videos all the time going there I'm telling you it's like the best thing ever because you come to the park There's no waits for lines and all of the food like if I wanted some of those green eggs and ham tots I would just walk up and they would just give it to me like I want to pay for it's all included and the ticket prices are just About the same exact get as like your daytime tickets So that's why I don't like to try new foods, but I do want to try a restaurant that I have been to and that is mythos Here it is mythos The restaurant itself and there is the old Poseidon's fury This attraction closed this year and the lost continent is soon to be speculated getting replaced with something new Oh, and right here's a restaurant. Look you can see it's got the flag on the outside awarded world's best theme park restaurant theme park insider for 2024 too, I bet This restaurant overall theming is exceptional the food I think is so good and the desserts are some of the best desserts I've ever had now, you know this sign being on the outside I really would actually put this up up there with one of the best theme park restaurants I can actually agree with that I think the total package value theming and specialties and even the Team team members that work here really make this restaurant like so as as amazing as it is and I'm excited to show you guys some of the food The backside of the restaurant has one of the best views of the parks and I always come back here And I like to show it off you get to see Velosa coaster Actually taking off and the best part is when you go upside down on Velosa coaster Look at that right there like we're right here and then it's gonna come under there It's gonna look so cool I'm gonna get up here so you can see it Look at that the castle over there Okay, isn't that beautiful? It hasn't been confirmed But I have seen plenty of like post and blogs and even videos of people Talking about how Zelda will be coming to the lost continent It's gonna be like a new Nintendo theme like Zelda themed land and I can see that it fits in So hopefully the beloved mythos can actually stay one of the cool things is the ride will the attraction Poseidon's Fury the Trident from the show is actually now inside mythos here And they have it displayed on the wall so that kind of makes me think this restaurant's here to stay Maybe hopefully but I gotta show you the Trident because I love this place Here is mythos it can get a little bit loud in here, but look at how beautiful it is. I love it they got water down here and Also Poseidon's Trident is over here. They have it on the wall Look at that Isn't that so cool? Little Easter egg, and I think we're dining outside Here is a quick look at the menu at mythos. They've got a lot of lamb They're known for their baked lamb meatballs and their braised lamb shank and the prices are not that bad Like if you want to get their most expensive thing I think it's that lamb shake at $38 which is you know, actually a really lower price menu because most like Theme park restaurants like their highest menu item in my experience is like around 50 maybe $60 So that's a good sign right there. They also have a Mythos signature lamb burger and a fork and knife and spoon grilled cheese It's a little bit windy, but we're gonna sit on the outside here got a nice little view of all of the park. Look at that This is what I'm paying like this is like these are the things I'm showing you why I would feel like this is the top contender for best theme park restaurant because look at this Like I said, you can't beat this view. You can't beat it. You get to see every coaster even velocity coaster We got the grilled octopus as a starter. Look at that It actually looks so amazing and then some calamari a Little fancy calamari this the lighting in here is cool, but it's hard to actually show you guys I like it I don't like sauce too much and I like the ring parts of the calamari who's my camera following me then oh This is good. Wow very light very airy Some topping is it good Erika Give me one of the tentacles There we go My lanta, I don't know if it's gonna pick up on it. Oh, yeah, look at that This is charred perfectly and I also love how I'm eating this and I can hear people rotting the roller coaster I don't know if you pick it up there or not, but cheers That's amazing The appetizers were amazing and now my steak has arrived and I love these carrots This actually looks really good and has a nice little red wine reduction there But I'm excited to dive in everything has been exceptional exceptionally good I Got my new camera all set up and it just still every time I like mooned a little bit. It just it kind of trips me out Isn't that so cool? All right, but here we go. I'm gonna get a little bit of the steak just a little bit and Then some of the veggies and the potatoes all together Got a banger and then look at even look at that now Scoop see potato I Love this little medallion plate the potatoes are good the carrots and then we also got meatballs My friend Erika got lamb meatballs, and they're pretty good All very polenta very polite polite polenta The desserts here are exceptionally good like everything else has been but I just don't think I can do it Especially if we want to try something else in the park already had a rice Krispy treat a filet medallion dinner And an old-fashioned and it's 1 p.m. It's 1 p.m. So I gotta I gotta I gotta pace myself here. I Don't even think I can finish the medallions the steak was really good The white rind with the white wine Reduction was amazing, but the best thing out of the whole dish was probably the carrots and mashed potatoes I've been picking out these mashed potatoes. They're so good like everything seems like it's like homes like like home scratch cooking home scratch cooking That's what I'm looking for home scratch cooking Mythos was amazing like I said I would literally consider that one of the best theme park restaurants out there like the overall experience so good And now I think we're gonna make a we're gonna do a little lap around We're gonna do a little wrap around go over to Hogsmeade and maybe down through Marble superhero island and then back on over to Universal Studios side just do a complete wrap around you know It's sad to think that the last continent is leaving maybe Look at how cool this is I'll just order This little store here old hollow Z boutique I Love it always in here. It always has great things a lot of months. Oh, it's so the Mardi Gras Speaking that Mardi Gras coming up soon this year beads or bust. Are you ready for Mardi Gras? Wow, I like it beads or bust This whole store is kind of cool, isn't it? Mardi Gras actually starts I think here in just a couple of days. I think February 3rd February 3rd, I'm excited. They have a lot DJ Khaled is coming here DJ Khaled will be here from Mardi Gras and then a lot of other big bands and Musicians so now I think we're gonna make it in the Hogsmeade Look at how cool this is I love coming here every single time It gives me like the little goosebumps The train One of the best rides is definitely gonna be Hagrid's it's an 85 minute wait. I wonder if the single rider line is open Single rider line is open. I'd wait Sometimes it could be 10 minutes. It could be way less Hagrid's is such a great ride. It's so fun, especially because it mixes animatronics with roller coasters I feel like two essential theme park like things, you know There's not too many like crossbreeds like that, but I hear the new epic universe is gonna be Amazing they're they're constructing the biggest their best dark ride over a dark universe It looks like I said the things universal has planned is quite impressive Look at this Hagrid's was amazing And now I think we're just gonna hang out here Maybe try to wake our make our way into the forbidden journey. It looks like it's a low wait time 15 minutes It's that on the app But yeah, we have a lot I want to do for the day so kind of just touching down here But then making our way back out into the other park. That's the goal, but you never know Now that we're over here. We might as well just walk over to Hogsmeade I mean Hogwarts Hogsmeade that's hogwash Look at this hog's head. Oh fantastic beast man merchandise Where to find them to holy moly? Look at that There it is Hi have fun on Hagrid's Yo, look at that castle isn't she a bute Clark before we start making our way out of The hogsmeade area, I think we're gonna stop in here and hogs head get ourselves a maybe a butter beer or a deathly hollows drink We got the deathly hollows drinking because of licensing purposes I'm gonna spill it, but they can't call it that but it is Guinness strong bow and hogsmeade, and then I also got a little hot butter beer This is not a great combination. I don't even know what I'm gonna do Like what am I gonna sip a little butter beer? Hot hot and then I got a little deathly hollows drink That just tastes like Guinness. That's just the top. That's a Guinness. Yeah, that's it. It's a good. Oh, I Like it This butter beer is so good though. I mean, it's not even cold outside It's a little chilly, but a hot butter beer. I'll take it on a 90 degree 90 degree day. I Think I'm gonna take my beer with me. It's getting very busy here in hogsmeade So I think we're gonna hop lands now. Look at it. It's very crowded here Get a bobbin weave bobbin wave. How you doing? Look at that. Nothing like walking underneath these archways Look at this Velasa coaster 35 minute wait We can get this done. I especially with a single rider Velasa coaster is such a great ride Hagrid's I like I said, I think a lot of people I'm all team Hagrid's Velasa coaster is about the thrill it has some theming But this one is I get scared of riding it like it's good though. It's a good scare There it goes Velasa coaster can just take your breath away. I love it. It's just so thrilling And now we're gonna make our way through like the little Jurassic park or Jurassic world gift shop This whole area is just so cool I love the movie Jurassic park. I like Velasa coaster, but I wish we'd get a little bit more Dino lands Like I want more Jurassic. I want more dinosaurs I think I'm just gonna keep making my way out of islands of adventure I would stop off and do some of the water rides, but the water rides at universal You just can't come back from you get so beyond soaked That like you just can't dry off like this one Oh boy, there is a big award ceremony today and it's called Congratulations. You're a soggy bottom boy That's literally when it comes down through here you get drenched Here it comes done for I think it's time we head back to universal studio side I want to go ride the new minion ride and then also if the horror makeup shows going on I wouldn't mind actually catching that too There's just so much to do here like honestly I love coming to universal studios and I love how we can just do a big lap, you know You can literally just make a big wrap around between two parks Something else that's new is the universal Orlando annual pass holder like Pass holder lounge open 11 a.m. To 4 Look at this fancy Can you show your ID? Oh Well, I get a free lanyard. I'm taking it I'll take a lanyard Wow, look at a nice little Area you can chill over here. So refreshing Probably charge up a little bit They know how to treat their annual pass holders. I tell you So many bonus benefits all happening in january. Just got to scan that little code right there They even have nice merchandise too Nice little raincoat. Look at all the foodies and the snacks. I'm telling you universal stepping up their snack game They're getting on it. They know what they got going for themselves. Look at this is proof in the pudding proof in the pretzel Perks of being a pass holder you get free lanyards I like it though at least now I can scan because uh my express pass is starting soon So like now I can be able to use my annual pass at 4 p.m And I don't have to wait in the long lines anymore It's so easy to hop from islands of adventure back to universal and now just like that Here we are Vanderpump rules Huh looks interesting Get pumped And why isn't the globe spinning anymore the the globe hasn't been spinning for a while If you guys watch this video and you you know come to the parks Let me know if the globe is spinning because it's been like that for a while and I miss it I miss it a lot Now that i'm back on the universal studio side I'm not even too sure why I needed to come back here I think my string is flying all over the place being a little stringy But um, I think maybe I'll just walk around. I mean, I I don't think I got to spend enough time in here I guess I wanted to get a little bit of a lunch. That's why I left and went over to mythos um But yeah, maybe I'll make my way over to doggen alley and over to the uh, new york and central park area Who knows there's a lot to do over here. I'm just kind of happy to be hanging out on a nice day like today Bumblebee's coming, uh-oh The blues brothers man, I'll tell you I'm glad that we came back over this is beautiful I just walked through there and I was like wow the blues brothers just came by there Yeah, you know what I'm getting a pretzel. I'm getting a pretzel Oh, yeah, I got a nice little cinnamon pretzel. I'm gonna find a nice spot to hang out and uh Maybe uh eat my pretzel and just chill relax It's so cool. There's so many nooks and crannies like What's down here come down here. I can eat my pretzel down here I'll just stand here. Oh, I could go over there Like universal is amazing. Look at this It's so nice like these aren't like unrestricted areas. These are places you can go you can't go up there But look you can come down here And there's so many back here I'm just looking for a spot to eat my pretzel. Oh, this reminds me of hhn I come over hang out here by the barber shop It's crazy that it's like a crazy theme park out there and then we're walking through like Sets and streets where like there's nobody around Busy world behind me and look at me. I'm just walking to where everything's quiet It's like two separate worlds Look at this over here Am I living in a different universe? Everyone's going up and down this way. This is where it's at I'm hanging out here By the music company. Actually. Oh, no, I'm going to the barber shop I'm eating my pretzel on a stoop right here at universal studios, Orlando at the barber shop Honestly, that cinnamon sugar pretzel probably wasn't the best idea, but I was in the moment I was like, you know what I'm getting a pretzel and now I feel tired. I feel exhausted I did. I mean, we did make a full lap. I really didn't get to show anything off over at universal Marty Gra is coming soon. So I'm probably going to be doing a video once that opens up But yeah, I think we're gonna head home want to check in on Gracie girl I'll show you guys our little nightly special with Gracie This is so crazy But I got a package From universal studios that I just got I just got home from universal studios And I got home and there was literally a box from universal studios How crazy is that Gracie? What are you doing? What's going on here? You want to go for a walk and then we can open it up? Yo That is just actually kind of hysterical like I got home from universal studios And there's a box from universal studios. I literally a guy got pulled up and I'm like, what's that big box? And then I'm gonna get up there and I look at the top of the the uh, the uh, The mailing address and it says universal studios, Orlando, and I'm like, yo No privacy at all in this place. Oh, what are you laying down? Oh, okay. Are we laying down already? All right. I thought you're going to pee Let me take this let me have this what a what Oh You're the best All right now It's time to open up the box that universal sent me and I am like shocked because I was at universal studios today when they announced everything Because I don't normally go to the park early, but I was meeting a friend there So they were making all the announcements and I happened to be at universal studios And then when I got back there was like this big box waiting for me And then I started looking through like instagram and stuff and I seen a lot of my Friends post stuff that they got something from universal and I'm like holy moly I wish I would have known like I didn't know I was getting anything or anything like that before I started making this video And before universal even announced this stuff like I was already at universal studio So this is all just like perfect timing, but look at this. They sent me this They sent this to me. I feel so honored like it's amazing because this is a big deal This is a brand new theme park coming to central florida a brand new universal theme park. Look at this Oh my lanta. I don't even know I'm gonna have to I'm gonna have to switch the camera It is heavy it's got a nice little uh lock it looks like oh Oh Wow, this is like one of the fanciest things I think I've ever seen With sun and oh With sun and moon the stars in time the chrono spins and worlds align This is the chrono. This is the it's a device that actually opens up the portals to other Worlds like I was talking about celestial park in the beginning Your compass true and stars to chart beyond this gate find gardens green and epic worlds to fill your dreams I'm afraid of things falling over again Holy moly So this is like I know exactly what this is. This is the entry way To epic universe. This is the entry way to celestial. This is like the tool It's a tool the chrono's tool and this is what opens up the portals to the other worlds This is so cool. I thank you universal Sending me this because the box opened up the top Like I I don't know what to do. Oh my god. It's so heavy. Holy moly This is amazing. I am so excited. Look at that Epic universe 2025 This is so cool. I am so excited. Thank you so much This is like such a cool thing to be able to show you guys too. Like I got to share this with you Oh, there's there's something on the back What is this? There's actually a big note on the back of this little collector postcard that I almost not fell over and crushed Like whatever was inside and it says welcome to the beginning of all that is to come Your journey to epic begins now Inside is your exclusive collector edition of chronos While it may appear to the untrained eye as a tower Marking the entrance to the world's most anticipated new theme park It is actually a portal to the breathtaking new worlds of universal's epic universe Your personal chronos contains a medallion Making your first destination celestial park an imaginative world of lush living guardians nested along shimmering waters Here stunning architect inspired by astronomical and metal mythological I'm sorry elements surrounds an area of simpata. These are very fancy words Thrills to the senses in the months to come You will receive new medallions that reveal other worlds for you to explore Your chronos is designed to hold each one But for now keep an eye to the stars for what the future may hold Instructions for accessing your chronos can be found here This is so amazing So they're gonna be sending me medallions to put in here They sent me the first medallion which is for the one themed land celestial park Then they're gonna send me all of these medallions to actually make The chronos portal work and Transport me to Different worlds. This is I'm I'm shocked. I this is amazing Honestly, this is like the coolest thing. I will keep you guys posted As we get more medallions and uh, yeah, this is I'm honestly like I couldn't have asked for a better way to end a video So I hope you enjoyed the video. I enjoyed making it and uh We'll see you next time. Bye