Advertisement
breaking news:

Rays' Tyler Alexander has perfect game going vs. Blue Jays

Theme Park Rangers Radar 49: Escaping Universal, zipping above Gatorland, eating eggnog igloos

dewayne bevil, orlando sentinel
·6 min read

Yep, we’re making lists and checking them twice, just like Santa recommends. This week’s Theme Park Rangers Radar shares tips from inside Universal’s Great Movie Escape, newly opened at CityWalk, the views from above Gatorland and the looks and licks of an eggnog igloo from Today Cafe.

Radar is a weekly gathering of notes, news and notions from Orlando’s theme parks and attractions. It is posted at OrlandoSentinel.com on Wednesdays.

How to escape

Universal’s Great Movie Escape has opened at Universal CityWalk, featuring “walk-through puzzle adventures” based on the “Back to the Future” and “Jurassic World” film franchises. After experiencing both options, a series of rooms with mental and mildly physical challenges, I have a few pieces of advice to share.

  • Belly up. There are two bars at Escape, one on the main floor and one upstairs, and you don’t need a Great Movie Escape admission to experience them. Both blend in with the movie house décor and service specialty drinks. There’s a fair amount of lounge-like seating plus several tables on a balcony that overlooks CityWalk. Part of the idea: Folks like to talk about their escape routes afterward.

  • Listen to glisten. Inside either experience in an on-screen actress acting as your guide. She gives instructions. Listen to them. Tell your escape roommate to shut up and listen to them. Granted, they are rapid-fire but full of jargon, but listen anyway. If you appear to be struggling, she will repeat them (listen again), and there’s usually a reworking or a valuable clue in the second spiel.

  • No stuff left behind. The format of the experiences is one room right after another. Doors open automatically when it’s time to move on. Then they close, so you can’t go back again. Shorter version: Don’t leave your possessions. (There are storage lockers in the lobby for your consideration.)

  • Distraction action. The experiences are expertly themed, almost to the point of distraction. For me, it was the hoverboard in the “Back to the Future” story, and the way some rooms were set up like museum displays that made me not pay enough attention to the instructions. Look around at first, but no need to memorize.

  • More and merrier. We had three people in our “Jurassic” preview, but just two in “Future,” and I don’t think it was built for a problem-solving duo. Parties, Universal warns, can be merged, and more opinions/brainstorming is probably welcome, even from strangers.

Tickets start at $49.99 per person per experience, and the pricing varies with date and time. Private parties of up to eight people start at $300 per group. For more information and purchases, go to www.universalorlando.com.

Gliding over Gatorland

Time zips by. It had been more than a decade since I went on Gatorland’s Screamin’ Gator Zipline, an add-on attraction at the South Orlando Blossom Trail park. Yes, the course glides over crocodiles and the alligator breeding marsh, which has a population of 130 reptiles. No, it’s not impossibly harrowing, but I curl up in a flying fetal position just in case.

Here are three joys of the Screamin’ Gator I had forgotten over the years.

  1. Before the second leg of the course, the guide will tell you to take off backward so you’ll be facing the photographer. Do it. The captured image is you dangling over a set of crocodiles. To look extra unhinged, let loose of the harness too. The photos are for sale in the gift shop/exit, naturally. Bubba and Cooter aren’t new to these parts.

  2. A rope bridge connects the final two zips, and participants must walk over to complete the experience. Folks are tethered just like they are on the zippy stretches, but my stomach and white knuckles indicates this is the most unnerving part.

  3. Take a moment on the launch areas, some of which are seven stories high, to look around at Florida nature. Of course, you can also see a strip mall and hear a highway if you’re paying attention, but that’s home to us, right?

The Screamin’ Gator Zipline costs $69.99, which includes all-day admission to Gatorland. For more information or to make the required reservations, go to www.gatorland.com or call 407-856-3226.

Treat o’ the week

This week we have ventured away from all things chocolate to try the eggnog igloo, which is sold at the Today Cafe inside Universal Studios theme park.

This is a light little treat that won’t weigh a guy down after a hearty lunch. The nog has a subtle taste, and there’s a hint of cinnamon going on. It’s white and looks expertly crafted to look like block of ice although we would wager a mold is involved for mass production.

It’s also kind of small, fitting into the palm of an adult hand. I didn’t want to share. The eggnog igloo price is $5.99.

Weekend outlook

  • The Wheel at Icon Park is featuring new holiday light show on its trademark round structure. See it daily at 8 p.m., plus there’s an addition showing at 10 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. More info: www.iconparkorlando.com

  • Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex debuts a new nighttime projection as part of its Holidays in Space event on Friday. The production, shown on the side of the new Gateway: The Deep Space Launch Complex, runs through Dec. 30. More info: www.kennedyspacecenter.com

  • Epcot International Festival of the Holidays continues nightly with Candlelight Processional narrators Neil Patrick Harris (Thursday through Sunday) and Mariska Hargitay (Monday and Tuesday). More info: www.disneyworld.com/candlelight

  • Universal Orlando’s celebrations continue daily with its Holiday Parade Featuring Macy’s and the “Grinchmas” stage show at Islands of Adventure. Both parks of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter have holiday offerings (and hot butterbeer for sale). More info: www.universalorlando.com

  • Gatorland wraps up the final weekend of its Ho Ho Ho-Down Saturday and Sunday. (Look for Krampus Croc and other characters.) More info: www.gatorland.com

  • SeaWorld Christmas Celebration with fireworks, Sesame Street parade, Sea of Trees, figure-skating show, “O Wondrous Night” stage show and more, continues nightly. More info: www.seaworldorlando.com

  • Gaylord Palms Ice exhibit, featuring “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” continues daily. Other holiday options at the resort include ice tubing, “Cirque: Spirit of Christmas,” gingerbread decorating, atrium light show, Elf Training Academy and more. More info: www.christmasatgaylordpalms.com

  • Night of a Million Lights, which benefits Give Kids the World Village, continues nightly at Island H2O water park. More info: www.GKTW.org.

  • “Christmas Nights in Lights,” a drive-through holiday display, is open nightly at Dezerland Action Park on International Drive. More info: www.nightsinlights.com and www.dezerlandpark.com

  • Fun Spot’s Huge Christmas events (themed dining, festive trees) runs daily at Orlando and Kissimmee locations. More info: www.fun-spot.com

  • “Dinos in Lights” show runs daily at Orlando Science Center. More info: www.OSC.org

What’s on your radar? Email me at dbevil@orlandosentinel.com