MARVELOUS SIDE:

BY MEGHAN GOLETZ

When it comes to holidays and time off of school and work, most families decide to travel somewhere special. A debate amongst family members almost always occurs when deciding where to go for vacation. Often, the family ends up choosing the destination of a theme park. When vacationing at a theme park, no one will feel left out or disappointed since the numerous rides, shops and food choices almost always accommodate all family members. For families, going to a theme park is a great social and bonding experience. However, this begs the question, which theme park is the best choice? The state of Florida is a popular destination when it comes to theme parks, as it hosts two of the most well-known and competitive ones in the world: Universal Studios and Walt Disney World. While Disney World has its perks, Universal is the better theme park because of its amazing rides that appeal to all ages, spectacular shopping and dining options and helpful accommodations.

A big essential for theme parks is the rides, and Universal offers rides that are fun for all ages. Not only is Universal the perfect option for teens and adults that love the thrill of roller coasters, but it is also great for younger children and tweens are growing past “the princess stage” of Disney. In addition, Universal offers two whole theme parks, Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. These two parks offer an abundance of roller coasters that many people love. For example, the classic roller coaster “The Incredible

Universal Studios Is The Best Theme Park In Florida

Hulk” is in Universal’s Islands of Adventure, and Universal Studios has one of the biggest thrills in Florida with “Hollywood RipRide Rockit.” The two parks not only offer thrill rides for teens and adults, but also rides for younger kids and tweens as well. Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios’ kid-friendly rides include “The Cat in the Hat” and the incredible 3-D attraction “Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem.” With this wide variety of attractions to choose from, the whole family can have a fun time at Universal.

One of the most unique parts about Universal is its famous CityWalk. Universal CityWalk is composed of several dining, shopping and hangout opportunities. Most of Universal’s main restaurants and dining areas are designated here, so right when people arrive or leave the park they can grab a bite to eat. CityWalk has various quick dining and full service restaurants that are known for being delicious and fun. A couple of top dining options that Universal has to offer includes

“Red Oven Pizza Bakery” and “NBC Sports Grill & Brew.”

Not only does CityWalk have great food, but they also have outstanding entertainment. For example, CityWalk gives guests the opportunity to enjoy a luxury movie theater and a mini golf course. There are also multiple shopping opportunities for souvenirs and merchandise that can be purchased on the way out of the park. If there is a family member or individual who is not the biggest fan of riding rides, CityWalk offers a generous amount of games, shopping and entertainment options.

One of the worst feelings is losing a personal item on a ride or someone stealing a personal item from a cubby. Unlike other theme parks, Universal took this into consideration and put easily accessible lockers around their theme parks. Universal offers allday lockers for guests that want to leave their belongings for the whole day while they ride roller coasters. They also offer singletime use lockers at specific attractions so that guests can

WHICH THEME PARK WOULD YOU RATHER GO TO: UNIVERSAL OR DISNEY?

store their items while they ride a roller coaster, which they can then grab once they get off. This is not only convenient, but encourages guests to be responsible about their belongings.

Universal’s biggest theme park competitor, Disney World, may seem more appealing because it has four different theme parks, Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. Even though Disney has more theme parks than Universal, this does not automatically mean it’s better. In fact, attendees have to use a source of transportation to get to each of Disney’s spread-out parks. Meanwhile, Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure are connected and require no need for a possibly frustrating extra source of transportation. None of the four Disney parks are even within walking distance of one another, and being multiple miles apart can become pricey if a family or individual wants to travel to all four parks.

Universal proves to be the best theme park through its variety of rides which accommodate children, tweens, teens and adults. Universal even has its own CityWalk, which offers entertainment, food and fun for the whole family. They also give the option for guests to use their own lockers, which definitely comes in handy when riding intense roller coasters.

Individuals and families should not waste their time and money on tickets to any other theme park, as Universal is superior to them all.