Universal Studios VIP tour is a bargain
CHRISTINE HICKS- USTA Travel
I'm not all that crazy about roller coasters. And adventure parks are not where you'll generally find me. There is, all the same, a soft spot in my heart for Universal Studios Orlando, which I recently whizzed through - once again - in a day.

Part of my splurge on my $500 (well, not exactly) weekend in Orlando included the VIP tour of Universal Studios Orlando. I was introduced to this tour on my first visit, a business venture that didn't involve my wallet, admittedly. Having seen the park this way once, however, I can't imagine doing it any other way.

The tour we took is one of many offered. It's a nonexclusive eight-hour romp through both sides of the complex (Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure). You are booked together with a few strangers, and you walk with a VIP resort guide on a flexible schedule of rides, shows and other venues within the parks.

This tour begins at the Island of Adventure Guest Services area, a small, air-conditioned nook near the entrance to that park. Here you exchange your computer-generated confirmation of admission tickets for smaller park tickets; you are given an ID badge confirming your participation on the tour; and coffee is offered, plus bottled water to go. At 10 a.m. you are off.

The VIP access lines often run counter to the exit traffic. You board in minutes instead of waiting in line, far faster than even the Express line system.

We walked to the Incredible Hulk Roller Coaster. There is a reason why you go here first. If you're going to be jet-propelled through a tube, accelerating from zero to 40 mph in two seconds, the less time you think about it, the better. On to Dr. Doom's Fearfall.

We clicked through The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, the (two) Dueling Dragon roller coasters and the Jurassic Park ride, easily finishing before lunch, a feat impossible without the tour.

There's a method to this madness. My stolid intrepidness, resolute at day's start, began to wane after the fourth coaster ride. How much can one take? More before a meal than after, evidently, for our next stop was The Revenge of the Mummy, a truly hair-raising coaster that took us to the brink, in more ways than one. Fortunately, before our stomachs turned on us, we had reached the end of the coasters, headed into a less turbulent afternoon.

We accomplished 14 attractions between 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., when we entered our last ride. Melissa, our guide, had managed to pack in an enormous amount. The cost of our VIP tour was $125 per person plus tax, and you must also purchase an admission ticket. The admission ticket means you can return to the park that day (or subsequent days, depending on the kind you buy). While at first glance it sounds costly, if you value your time and consider the comforts of not waiting in hot, humid, long lines, it quickly becomes a bargain. Be a VIP. You'll thank yourself.

(Christine Hicks-Usta has enjoyed more than 30 years of globe-trotting as a member of the travel industry. Direct questions to her at Bee Group Newspapers, P.O. Box 150, Buffalo, NY 14231-0150.)