#5 – Blue Man Group > La Nouba
I would consider both Blue Man Group and Cirque du Soleil: La Nouba must do’s for any vacationer. Both are visually creative and wildly imaginative. Some get scared off by their ticket price, but I guarantee you’ll remember both shows far longer than any attraction at the parks. Blue Man gets the nod over La Nouba because of its interactivity with the audience and for the fact that it has already updated major parts of the show. La Nouba has been around for almost 15 years and for all intents and purposes is the same show as when it started.

Fun tip: buy a program and after the show a Blue Man will “sign” it for you outside the theater.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjtrnQa0B04

#4 – Clubs

Downtown Disney is great, if you have kids and like to go to bed early. CityWalk offers something for adults, and for people who might like to do something after the theme parks close for the night. Whether it’s dancing at the groove, enjoying drinks at Fat Tuesday or Pat O’Briens, or doing karaoke at Rising Star, there’s something for anyone (of age) at CityWalk. Whether it’s “date night” or a group of friends getting together to go out, CityWalk has what you need until 2:00 am, whereas your carriage at Downtown Disney turns back into a pumpkin at midnight (even earlier, most nights).

#3 – Mini golf
I love mini golf, and judging by the massive amount of courses located in Orlando, I’m not the only one. While Disney has two very good mini golf areas (Fantastia Gardens and WinterSummerland), Universal has the best minigolf in town and it’s located right in CityWalk! Hollywood Drive-In Golf is separated into two separate courses, The Haunting of Ghostly Greens and Invaders from the Planet Putt. Ghostly Greens has 18 holes dedicated to horror movies, while Planet Put’s 18 holes are themed to classic sci-fi films from the 1950s.

Both courses are filled with great sight gags, challenging holes, and have a dedicated soundtrack playing throughout. My favorite mini golf hole of all time is located in Ghostly Greens, where you play through a hedge maze that reminded me of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Another thing I had never seen before in mini golf is over on Planet Putt, where you play through a gigantic spaceship, which actually has a Star Trek-like door that you can open and close.

#2 – Location! Location! Location!
While Downtown Disney has the amazing World of Disney store, you have to drive to get there from any of the parks or hotels. CityWalk is located in between the Universal parking garage and the parks themselves! CityWalk is mere steps away from both Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida, just a gingerly stroll from the Royal Pacific and Hard Rock hotels, and a relaxing boat ride from Portofino Bay Hotel (not to mention a short bus ride from Cabana Bay Beach Resort).

#1 – The restaurants
How many times have you been at a Disney theme park, wanted to get something to eat at a good restaurant, but doing so would mean leaving the park, getting to your car, and then driving to a place? That’s why so many of Disney’s in-park restaurants, with truly awful food at outrageous prices, stay busy; it’s just too much of a hassle to go somewhere else. Meanwhile, while you are inside the Universal parks, you are just a hop, skip, and a jump away from some decent restaurants like The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar, Margaritaville, and Emeril’s. CityWalk also has the the upcoming NBC Sports Grill & Brew, where you’ll be able to watch all the major sporting events on hundreds of TVs.

I will concede that Downtown Disney has two beautifully themed restaurants in T-Rex and Rainforest Café, but that comes with the caveat that both come with what I consider mediocre food for a premium price. Having good food at a restaurant shouldn’t be considered a “luxury.”

That’s it for this edition of the BIG 5! We’ll see you again real soon.

Think Disney is actually the top dog here? Let us know in the comments below.

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#5 – Disney Mouse Ears at Twister: Ride it Out
There are many playful “jabs” at the Disney company throughout Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida, from playful posters mocking Pirates of the Caribbean and The Jungle Cruise at The Simpsons Ride to the nice homage of old style Disney posters throughout the MIB: Alien Attack queue. However, at Twister… Ride it Out, guests can see a pair of Mickey ears that have been “run over” and are currently lodged in the tire of a jeep! This jeep can be found inside Aunt Meg’s house during the attraction.

#4 – Matt Groening makes an appearance on The Simpsons Ride
We know about the Dr. Seuss reference in Seuss Landing, but The Simpsons Ride also contains a reference to their creator Matt Groening. In the pre-show area right before guests load on to the ride, a picture of Krusty the Clown and Matt Groening is hanging on the wall.

#3 – The artist of Marvel Super Hero Island hid his name throughout the island
There is a lot of larger than life artwork at Marvel Super Hero Island, making every guest feels as if they are walking straight into an action packed comic book. One artist did all of the drawings for these characters (including Spider-Man, MODOK, Professor X, The Incredible Hulk and others) and “hid” his name in all the art! The artist was Adam Kubert, and if you look very carefully (some are very hard to find) you will see the name “Adam” within the drawings.

You definitely want to click on the image above to view it full-screen. To see more of Adam’s signature, check out the photo gallery at the bottom of the page.

#2 – The Navigator’s Club
Island of Adventure’s Port of Entry is one of the most elaborately themed Main Street’s you’ll find in any theme park in the world. It expertly captures the essence of walking through another era of time in an exotic land. There are many little hidden details to look for while you are walking through, but one thing to look for is “The Navigator’s Club.” Located near Confisco Grille is a large gate with a rather neat looking logo for The Navigator’s Club. This is one of those “hiding in plain site” type of deals.

That gate leads a set of stairs going up to a second floor (as well as an elevator). Upstairs you first encounter a sitting room, with a couch in a nicely themed room. There are doors that lead you to an inside room filled with tables (probably used for private parties or team member events) and another set of doors that lead you outside to a walkway giving a rather cool view of the park.

The jury is out as far as whether guests are allowed to venture up the stairs and into the club, so you might want to check with a team member before exploring. However, there are no signs anywhere warning that the area is off limits to guests.

#1 – Confisco Grille ties in all of Universal’s “Islands”
The backstory behind Confisco Grille is that it is a restaurant where “explorers, merchants, adventurers, and travellers from around the world” stopped by to try the exotic dishes. Those very same people passed through Port of Entry with “strange and unusual items” that were confiscated and put up for display. If you look carefully throughout the restaurant you will see items that represent all five Islands from the park’s opening, plus one small item from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

These items include a gold coin with the face of the Kingpin from Marvel Super Hero Island, Rocky & Bullwinkle from Toon Lagoon, a gigantic prehistoric skull from Jurassic Park, a decorated urn from the Lost Continent, Cat in the Hat’s Hat from Seuss Landing, and guests who look very hard just may find a wand from The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. There are so many items hidden throughout Confisco Grille that it is definitely one of the places a Universal fan needs to at least walk through.

What’s your favorite most obscure detail at Universal Orlando? Tell us all about it in the comments below.

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This week’s list is the Top Five Secrets of Disney’s Art of Animation Resort. Back in 2003, Disney created the Pop Century Resort, whose theme revolved around all the different decades in the 20th century. Disney built buildings based around the 1950s, ‘60s, ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s and had planned to complete the project by building another set that would cover the 1900s through the 1940s. For several reasons construction of the second half of Pop Century stopped, and the area stood vacant until Disney announced in 2010 that it would use this area for the new Art of Animation Resort.

The Art of Animation property focuses on four of Disney’s most popular animated films: The Little Mermaid, Cars, Lion King, and Finding Nemo. Since one building was almost completed before Disney gave up on the Pop Century expansion, that building was converted over to Little Mermaid and has the standard Disney hotel room layout. The wings for Lion King, Cars, and Finding Nemo were built from the ground up and are the first-ever Disney “family suites” that can sleep up to six people, have two bathrooms, and a small kitchen area. Until Art of Animation, families with more than four members would have to buy two separate standard hotel rooms.

An instant hit from the day it opened on May 31, 2012, the overall theming at Art of Animation wowed guests. Disney also took a new approach to the standard check-in procedure as well as introducing a wide array of food choices in the Landscape of Flavors food court, both of which are huge improvements over what takes place in the other Disney value resorts, including Pop Century and the All Star Resorts. Having stayed at Art of Animation several times, it has quickly become my favorite place to stay on Disney property. Therefore I am proud to present my top five “secrets” you didn’t know about this amazing resort.

#5 – There are hidden mickeys everywhere
Fans of Disney’s Hidden Mickeys will love Art of Animation as the entire resort, from the check-in area all the way to your room, is filled with them. There are several hidden mickeys in the overhead light fixtures at the Landscapes of Flavor food court including an photograph of Mickey Mouse in Ariel’s treasure room and a hidden “Lightning McQueen” in the Cars themed lights. There are hidden mickeys in the decorative fish outside of the Finding Nemo building. There are hidden mickeys in the carpet walkways. There are hidden mickeys in the guest rooms.

So keep your eyes open and you’ll see the iconic three circle Mickey head all around, as well as some other hidden surprises.

#4 – Discover changes made to some of your favorite films
Because Art of Animation is designed for guests to experience all aspects of creating an animated Disney film, Animation Hall gives a glimpse to how a movie can evolve over time. When you walk into the lobby, you will first see early concept work from Disney artists and gradually as you walk down the hallway the artwork becomes more and more finished until, by the end, we see the characters that we know and love today. It’s within that early concept work that we can see some real secrets. For example, we see pictures of Ursula (from Little Mermaid) and Timon (from Lion King) that look much different from the final drawings that appear in the movies. You can also see a drawing of Lightning McQueen with the number “57”…

John Lasetter, the director of Cars, was born in 1957 and the number was a dedication to him. However, when Cars was released to theaters, Lightning McQueen’s number had been changed to “95,” which pays tribute to Pixar’s first hit Toy Story that came out in 1995.

#3 – You can find a little Downtown Disney at the food court
The Landscapes of Flavor food court already has the widest array of food choices at any Disney food court. The quality of food is heads and tails above any other value resort. To top it off guests even get real plates and silverware to eat with. However, the true secret here is over in the refrigerated cases: along with almost any drink and snack you can imagine, there is the opportunity to pick up a four-pack of Babycakes NYC brownie cupcakes!

Babycakes NYC, a vegan bakery, is located at the Downtown Disney Marketplace directly next to T-Rex — for the time being, at least.

#2 – All the little details in the Cars section
Believe it or not, the section of Art of Animation that Disney has the hardest time filing up with guests is the area dedicated to the movie Cars. There could be several factors behind this: The Little Mermaid rooms are less expensive to stay in. The Lion King and Finding Nemo are two of the three highest grossing animated films of all time and more well known “brands”. The Finding Nemo area is also connected to The Big Blue Pool, the largest pool on Disney property. However, after staying in all four wings, I can say that the Cars area may be the best. Its “Cozy Cone” pool is the only one that offers cabanas (neither the Little Mermaid pool or the Big Blue Pool have them), which can be very helpful when it gets hot outside. The cabanas are free, have a small table and lounge chairs in them, and are offered on a first-come-first-served basis.

The pool also seems to be the least crowded of the three swimming areas. There are a whole bunch of photo ops to be had, including ones with every major character from the movie and in front of the stunning Wheel Well Hotel.

But the best part of the Cars area is all the little details throughout. Every guest will love taking a picture in front of the huge stack of tires next to Lugi and Guido, but how many will notice they are “Lightyear” tires, in reference to Toy Story character Buzz Lightyear? The clouds on the buildings have a hidden Lightning McQueen in them. And my personal favorite is all the little signs and knickknacks that adorn the Cozy Cone pool area. There are a whole bunch of Cars themed postcards in the front window, and signs for “Knights of Combustion” playing off the real world Knights of Columbus organization.

The Cars area is the most immersive and well done area on Disney property outside of New Fantasyland — it’s that good.

#1 – Sketches from some of Disney’s most famous directors in the lobby
Animation Hall, the lobby for Art of Animation, gives a deluxe feel to this value resort. While most Disney resorts have a long check-in desk where each guest is called up, Art of Animation is filled with smaller desks allowing the cast members to come out and have a much personal interaction with each family checking in. Besides the vibrant colors and artwork adorning all the walls, the highlight of Animation Hall is the incredible chandelier created by Imagineering that seems to “explode” with sketches.

If you look closely at this chandelier you’ll see three sketches that are hand signed by four of the biggest directors in Disney animation history. Many people can spot the Cars drawing done by John Lasseter, but keep looking and you’ll also see a Finding Nemo drawing by Andrew Stanton (see it) and a Little Mermaid picture signed by Ron Clements and John Musker (see it), who were co-directors on Mermaid back in 1989. Another trivia note: Musker and Clements also co-directed the Disney film Aladdin in 1992, and can be spotted early in the movie flanking Aladdin as the suitor on the white horse comes calling for Jasmine.

What are your favorite secrets at Disney’s resorts? Share ’em below.

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This week’s list is the Top Five Extreme Eats at Universal Orlando. That’s right – the five craziest edible products that you can find at the parks, CityWalk, and the four on-site hotels.

#5 – King Donut from the Hard Rock Hotel
There are donuts, and then there are donuts. This is the latter. Found at Emack and Bolio’s in the bottom level of the Hard Rock Hotel, the King Donut is the monster breakfast of champions for those enjoying a vacation at Universal Orlando. The $6.00 donuts are available as honey glazed or, for those needing an even bigger sugar rush, chocolate frosted. Regular sized donuts can also be purchased for those of sound mind.

#4 – Giant gummy bear
This particular gummy bear was bought for $6.95 at the San Francisco Candy Factor at Universal Studios Florida.

Unfortunately, I was informed that if I tried to give the super sized gummy bear to the three year old in our party, I would be thrown into the park’s lagoon and left to drown, my spirit haunting the Cinematic Spectacular for years to come.

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#3 – Scorpion lollipop
This “treat” was bought in the gift shop at the Revenge of the Mummy attraction, but you’d be surprised how many stores on Universal property carry candy made out of actual bugs and insects. It is actually kind of disturbing that it’s much easier to find a piece of “amber” candy with ants in it than a Butterfinger or Kit Kat. There were members in our party who refused to believe these were actual bugs, but on the ingredient list for this lollipop it listed “scorpion.” It was banana flavored, and even the three-year-old in our party enjoyed licking the lollipop until she started getting too close to the scorpion.

Because the scorpion was encased in a banana-flavored lollipop, it actually tasted like banana for those of us who were brave enough to eat it.

#2 – Rocky Road Gourmet Apple
I passed by a lot of bakeries at Universal on my quest to find the most Extreme Eats, and I kept coming back to the Rocky Road Gourmet Apple. This particular one was obtained at the Croissant Moon Bakery in Island of Adventure’s Port of Entry. The sheer size and weight of this apple is crazy once it is in your hands. It’s a huge granny smith apple, covered in caramel, then covered in chocolate, with pecans and seemingly thousands of marshmallows liberally applied on top. Then there was a chocolate and caramel drizzle to top it all off.

I don’t know what it is about the combination of apple and sugar (via the caramel and chocolate), but it’s mighty good. The fact that the treat is the size of a human being’s head is a bonus.

One thing that did concern me is that we didn’t get around to eating the apple until several days after our vacation, and yet everything was perfectly preserved, as if it was made that morning; the marshmallows, which I assumed would be hard as the ones coming out of a box of Lucky Charms, were still soft and chewy. So clearly these are all conjured up over at WWoHP using dark magic.

#1 – The Kitchen Sink Challenge at the Hard Rock Hotel
The (relative) new kid on the block is also Universal’s Extreme Eats champion. Not too long ago, The Kitchen restaurant at the Hard Rock Hotel introduced the Kitchen Sink Challenge. To complete this challenge, a participant must eat a Kitchen Burger (10oz beef patty, bacon, cheddar, onion rings, lettuce, tomato and chipotle horseradish aoli), a side of french fries, a fried pickle, and a slice of Kitchen Sink Cake (a three-pound slice of cake with seven layers including – brownies, peanut butter crunch, chocolate chunk cookies, cheesecake, pecan pie, devil’s food cake, and vanilla chiffon cake, all covered in chocolate butter cream frosting, chocolate chips, chocolate sauce, and Heath bar crunch; served with vanilla bean ice cream and fresh strawberries). Everything has to be consumed within a 30-minute time limit.

Beating the Kitchen Sink Challenge is feat in which not a single person on Earth has yet to accomplish. I was personally a victim of The Challenge, and those around bearing witness to the carnage will remember it for years to come.

Did we miss your favorite extreme dish? Tell us in the comments below.

The post Top 5 extreme eats at Universal Orlando appeared first on Orlando Informer.

Please note that we don’t literally mean these are Hidden Mickeys. Rather, we’re using a bit of theme park slang to refer to “hidden objects of interest” that even devoted fans may have overlooked or misunderstood for years.

Enjoy…

#5 – Dennis Nedry’s Barbasol can in Jurassic Park
For those who weren’t there, it’s hard to understand just how big of a movie Jurassic Park was when it came out in 1993. This was the movie EVERYONE was talking about and possibly the first movie ever that seamlessly combined CGI graphics and traditional Hollywood special effects. A key part of the Jurassic Park film was the movie’s villain, Dennis Nedry, stealing a bunch of dinosaur embryos and hiding them in a high tech storage container that looked like a common can of Barbasol shaving cream. This can was then lost by Nedry, and the way it was perfectly shot in the movie convinced us that it would come into play in later sequels.

While the two sequels ignored the implications of Nedry’s theft, the designers of Jurassic Park at Islands of Adventure threw in an Easter egg for fans of the movie. For a long time the can could be seen outside, near the defunct Triceratops Encounter, but has now been moved inside the Jurassic Park Discovery Center.

#4 – Dr. Seuss in Seuss Landing
Seuss Landing has many wonderful touches that separate it from any area in any theme park, let alone Islands of Adventure. The crazy color scheme, the “mounted heads” from animals straight out of Dr. Seuss books, an entire land that is almost devoid of any straight lines (try to find one), and even an appearance by Dr. Seuss himself. That’s right, the man behind The Cat in the Hat and The Lorax is not only rather unhidden in Seuss Landing, he’s actually in a photo op! Right off Mulberry Street, in the photo op with the police motorcycle, Dr. Seuss is one of the three dignitaries watching above. He is on the far left, holding a banner.

#3 – Sign at IOA’s Wheelchair, Strollers, and ECV rental area
To me this sign exemplifies the near indefinable, but magical and fantastical spirit within Islands of Adventure’s Port of Entry. I find PoE to be one of the best “Main Streets” of any theme park, with just amazing theming and terrific background music. The sign for “Reliable Rentals” having items such as a time machine, currently “stuck in the 6th century,” adds the perfect type of whimsy to a place that makes visitors feel like they are in a completely different exotic locale (and era). The best part of a “hidden mickey” is that 99.44% of people will walk by it a thousand times and never notice it, but when you do, it can bring a smile to your face.

#2 – The “bodies” of the Fantastic Four near Dr. Doom’s Fear Fall
Some of Marvel Comics’ all-time best stories have revolved around an alternative universe where the heroes we love today have died. Whether it’s the popular X-Men: Days of Future Past or the more recent Old Man Logan mini-series, there’s just something powerful about finding out classic characters have passed away. Dr. Doom’s Fearfall has a sly nod to this archetype, with several decorative “chalk outlines” of the Fantastic Four, positioned as if they had fallen off the ride and met their deaths on the pavement.

#1 – “Doc Brown” and DeLorean vehicle in The Simpsons Ride queue video
There are still many people upset at The Simpsons Ride replacing Back to the Future, but if you pay attention to the preshow videos in the queue you will see a quick one that pays homage to BTTF. The segment has Professor Frink looking for the Institute of Future Technology (IFT) and finding Krustyland instead. He takes the DeLorean “Back to the Future” to find out what happened. Going back two years, Professor Frink comes back just in time to run over the lawyer who was about to have Doc Brown sign a deal allowing IFT to stay open for years. Now Doc Brown has to sell the property to Krusty the Clown, who rides off in a limo telling Doc Brown to get a haircut.

Honorable mention – Professor Agassiz statue in Richter’s Burgers Co.
This honorable mention may go down the most visible “Hidden Mickey” in the world.

Next time you visit Richter’s Burger Co. in the San Francisco backlot of Universal Studios Florida, look to your right as you walk in and you’ll quickly spot a 10-foot upside-down statue. While it is easy to see, here’s the real challenge: figuring out what in the world the statue is and why it’s in the restaurant — because Universal doesn’t display any information about the spectacular headless man.

If you’d like us to help you out with that challenge, here are the basics courtesy of Wikipedia: during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, a statue of Professor Agassiz fell from its niche on the front of the Stanford University zoology building. Stanford President David Starr Jordan later wrote, “Somebody – Dr. Angell, perhaps – remarked that ‘Agassiz was great in the abstract but not in the concrete.'”

The 1906 San Francisco earthquake continues to rank as one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history, so I won’t get into the details here. Needless to say, now that you understand what the statue represents, it makes perfect sense to find it greeting guests as they enter Richter’s Burger Co.

Learn more about these subjects on Wikipedia: 1906 San Francisco earthquake or Louis Agassiz. Or you can just learn more about Richter’s Burger Co. on our site.

Have your own favorite “hidden Mickeys”? Be sure to let us know in the comments below.

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