June, 1990. Things were not looking good. After perhaps the worst opening day debut in theme park history, the bad press nearly finished Universal Studios Florida before it had begun.

Disney had gotten the jump on Universal Studios Florida by opening their movie theme park, Disney/MGM Studios (now Disney’s Hollywood Studios), a full thirteen months ahead of the Universal park. In an ill-conceived rush not to fall too far behind, Universal Studios opened their Florida theme park before its rides had been thoroughly tested. The Jaws attraction did not work at all (the water was causing short circuiting problems), Kongfrontation (replaced, now, by Revenge of the Mummy, the Ride) was down more than it was up and the Earthquake ride (now called Disaster - A Major Motion Picture Ride ... Starring You!) was experiencing almost as many shutdowns. In fact, almost half of the attractions at Universal Studios Florida worked sporadically, incorrectly or not at all.

Although things improved progressively each month, it took nearly a year for Universal Studios Florida to get to the point where every ride was working properly. Well, almost every ride, that is. The Jaws attraction was so messed up, they had to scrap it altogether and start over. If memory serves me correctly, it would be three years from the theme park’s original opening date until the ride would finally be working with any degree of regularity.

Universal Studios Florida has come a long way since its inauspicious beginnings. Not only has the theme park revamped its rides, but some of the technology being utilized today by Universal Studios Florida has a few Disney “Imagineers” scratching their heads. It is no longer “the little park that couldn’t” and instead, has transformed itself into a state-of-the-art theme park worthy of competing head-to-head with “the Mouse.”

Easily drivable in twenty minutes or less from most of the Orlando vacation area, the theme of Universal Studios Florida is “Ride The Movies.” There are a few attempts made that focus on the “how’d they do that” factor but the majority of the attractions exist purely for fun and to immerse park guests into the center of the movies, themselves.

The navigation bar at the top, left will direct you to the main sections of the Universal Studios Florida theme park. They are arranged in the order that I would visit each section if I were heading to the theme park. I do just the most popular things in each section before moving to the next part of the park. I then make a second lap around the park and pick up the other attractions (mostly shows) that I know won’t have me waiting in a huge line of people. By heading to the back area of Universal Studios Florida first, you will be getting to some of the most popular attractions before the crowds. By hitting the sections that I have listed last, you will be entering the sections that tend to thin out later in the day. This is assuming that you are at the park early, when the turnstiles are just opening. The order that you progress through Universal Studios Florida should be determined by the age makeup of your family and what are the most important attractions to you, however.