Top Shows at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida

When you take a trip to a major theme park, you're not only planning on riding roller coasters and getting queasy. You want the whole ambiance of the park. At Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, watching the signature shows the park puts on daily is a great way to do just that.

At Universal Studios, each show is family-friendly, and while there may be a few eyebrow-raising moments, nothing's going to make the parents (or the kids) squirm in their seats. The performances are also a great way to calm down in between bouts of rides and sweet theme park food. Here's some of the best shows we attended during our visit to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.

The Eighth Voyage of Sinbad

Enter Sinbad's great cave and pay attention to every nook and cranny in the cliffs. You never know when something beautiful, something grotesque, something funny, or something scary will jump out on center stage. Before you know it, Sinbad and his faithful sidekick, Kabob, are charming you with their wit and humor as they try to free Princess Amoura from the clutches of an evil witch and her henchmen. The show is filled with fantastic gymnastic feats and humor from both sides of the good and evil spectrum. As mentioned before, the show is family, but very young children might find a few of the costumes a little frightening.

Each show begins pretty much on time, so you won't have to wait too long once you find a seat before the show begins. If you want good seats though, try to get in about 10-15 minutes before it starts, unless it's very busy or they're not allowing people in that early. The show is located in Universal Islands of Adventure, in The Lost Continent section of the park, near the Dueling Dragons. There is no admission fee, as it is included in the price of your ticket.

Fear Factor Live

The TV show might not be the hit it used to be, but the live performance might be something to die for if you were a fan. This show is interactive for the most part, and theme park goers can sign up to get a chance to participate in the show themselves. Age restrictions vary on what they allow, however.

When we watched Fear Factor Live, there were contestants for a contest of strength in who could climb up a suspended, wet vehicle the quickest - which was harrowing to watch even for those of us on the ground. Then came the part that makes me squirm - the insect-eating, reptile-crawling, part. You know what I mean. One of the Fear Factor hostesses mixed up bug guts, rotten milk, and other nasty items in a blender and served it to teams, and whoever drank the most got a gift card to a Universal Studios merchandise store. Not worth it if you ask me, but the winners were pretty happy.

The same rules pretty much apply for seating and timing for the show, which doesn't run all year long at Universal. It is located at Universal Studios near the "San Francisco" end of the park. Again, there is no admission fee.

CityWalk Entertainment

When the park closes at night, take the family out to dinner in one of CityWalk's fantastic restaurants, then head on over to a guy on stilts. You can't miss him. In fact, he'll probably notice you before you notice him, and he'll invite you to join him and some very talented entertainers to CityWalk's family show.

When we visited Universal, there were trick bikers, trick jumpers, a magician, an electric fiddler, and some Russian acrobat enthusiasts, each of whom were excellent at their trade. There was never a dull moment between each act; the whole show didn't last more than 45 minutes or so. Again, admission is free here as well.