Comments on: Islands of Adventure trip report – April 2014 (Hogsmeade Station looking good, Zonko’s looking sad & a heart-warming Seuss story)

By: dianapantz

dianapantz — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 01:56:35 +0000

i worked in the autism community for a few years and this story made my heart so huge!
thanks so much for sharing!

By: CaptainAction

CaptainAction — Sun, 13 Apr 2014 14:18:03 +0000

Hey David, if you go to the search box near the top of the Orlando Informer site and enter special needs, several great stories are listed there. They seem very helpful and list lots of hints and things to avoid when traveling with guests who have special needs.
Also, if you are able, please look into staying on site at one of the Universal resorts. The boats handle folks with special needs very well and make it easy to get around, skip lines, and enjoy early mornings before most guests are allowed in.
Buying one Universal Annual Pass gets the best discount on rooms at these resorts. Only one guest needs an Annual Pass to get the discount. Nobody else in your party needs to have an Annual Pass. Also, the Universal Annual Pass has a 20% discount in the restaurants and stores. We find that the Universal Annual Pass saves us more money than it costs.
I believe you can get the discount on 3 rooms at the same time so other folks in your group can benefit from your single Annual Pass.
The resorts on the canals which offer the boats and front of line access are Royal Pacific, Hardrock, and Portofino Bay.
I hope you have a great time with your family at the Universal parks.

By: CaptainAction

CaptainAction — Sun, 13 Apr 2014 13:52:35 +0000

As many times as we have been to Universal and love it, we have never seen this show! We have had our pictures taken with these characters but we thought it was just a photo op.
I don’t know where the sign for this show is but it must not be too well positioned.
We will see this show the next time we get to Universal.

By: Kristen DC

Kristen DC — Fri, 11 Apr 2014 18:30:27 +0000

Maureen Deal Kristen DC Thank you for the info!

By: Kristen DC

Kristen DC — Fri, 11 Apr 2014 18:29:54 +0000

OrlandoInformer Kristen DC Thank you for the info!

By: CaptainAction

CaptainAction — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 22:34:15 +0000

Wow, so happy for you and your family. So happy for you guys and so proud of the Universal castmembers for being so cool and giving you all a great memory. Thank you for sharing a sweet blessing with us.

By: TyMiller

TyMiller — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 21:09:55 +0000

I cried, I cheered, I don’t feel weard! ( But I do feel very glad you and your son were so blessed with that wonderful gift. Thank you for shareing.)

By: DragoHarley

DragoHarley — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 08:48:35 +0000

I am crying so hard. This story really touched me. What a beautiful family. Such a magical experience in the park. You are so kind to have shared it with us all.

By: Stacy

Stacy — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 02:16:46 +0000

What a beautiful story!!! I am a special educator who works with students who have autism and this made me so happy I cried! So touching! best wishes always

Stacy

By: Bob Rumpke

Bob Rumpke — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 22:03:43 +0000

We’ll be at the parks in Feb. with our grown Autistic son and can’t wait. He loves all the rides but can’t stand in long lines. Hopefully we’ll be able to get a GAC for him.

By: OrlandoInformer

OrlandoInformer — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 20:06:39 +0000

bev13 The show has been at IOA for at least the last four years (since I’ve been covering Universal intensely). It can be tough to spot, however, because the stage is basically hidden behind Cat in the Hat and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish in Seuss Landing. However, the times are always printed in the in-park guidemap.

Here’s a link to the exact location: http://goo.gl/maps/aV3Mp. It will help to switch the map to Satellite View and zoom way in.

By: bev13

bev13 — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 19:35:50 +0000

Is the Dr. Seuss show new? We haven’t been to Universal Orlando since January 2012 and I don’t remember seeing a sign for it at that time. My 21 year old daughter has autism and is mostly non-verbal (we understand some words). I think she would enjoy this show as well. She really enjoys the Barney show at Studios but it would be great entertainment for her in IOA. I wish Universal Orlando would add a few more rides/attractions for younger kids because those are the ones that work best for my daughter.

By: Rebecca Morgan

Rebecca Morgan — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 19:02:53 +0000

Glad we went in Zonko’s for the last time in Feb. love HP world

By: David Maxwell

David Maxwell — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 17:51:19 +0000

Thanks Marc

By: Suzy Stockwin

Suzy Stockwin — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 17:21:54 +0000

Lovely 😉 xx

By: MikeFrom502

MikeFrom502 — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 17:18:52 +0000

Great Photos! would be awesome if we had a Like Option on them! Keep up the good work!

By: OrlandoInformer

OrlandoInformer — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 17:03:42 +0000

Maureen Deal We answered at the same time 🙂

By: OrlandoInformer

OrlandoInformer — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 17:03:22 +0000

Kristen DC Universal announced they’re just expanding Honeydukes, although once upon a time there were rumors of a new indoor photo op.

By: Maureen Deal

Maureen Deal — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 17:03:14 +0000

Kristen DC The Team Members were awesome. My understanding is they are just going to expand Honeydukes into the Zonko’s space.

By: Kristen DC

Kristen DC — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 16:54:56 +0000

This is such a heat-warming story! I’m so glad your family, and your son especially, got to experience this. How great are those team members?!
On a side note, do you, or does anyone know what they’re going to replace Zonkos with?

By: julie y

julie y — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 16:49:08 +0000

Wow!!! That was so cool! And it looks like you all had a brilliant time!!

By: Lou Lou Priddle

Lou Lou Priddle — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 16:06:11 +0000

Donna Hart x

By: Carol Jakes

Carol Jakes — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 16:06:09 +0000

My fave park in the whole world!!!

By: Matt Peters

Matt Peters — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 16:00:11 +0000

This was awesome to read! Thanks so much for sharing and it was really awesome of those team members to do this.

By: Stuart Nielsen

Stuart Nielsen — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 15:39:59 +0000

Great blog Maureen!

By: David Maxwell

David Maxwell — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 15:27:12 +0000

This is a real heart warmer . I have an uncle with MS and my mum has problems with her mobility and chronoc asthma and my younger brother has sacral agenisis . We are all going in june this year there are 13 of us travelling from scotland . Would u have any ideas on who would be best to email about disabled access . Just we have never dealt with this kind of thing before . Any help would be greatly appreciated . And i hope ur son has many more happy and fun filled trips to IOA

By: Regina Garry Russo

Regina Garry Russo — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 15:10:04 +0000

That was GREAT!!!

By: Amanda Gibbins

Amanda Gibbins — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 14:53:53 +0000

Great read and fantastic video so glad your son got to enjoys the characters in a private setting xxx