Two’s Company, Three’s… the Mother-in-Law (Completed)

[xmattodx]

This is a trip report.

A trip to Universal studios.

A trip that was to be one thing but soon spiraled into something completely different.

“The Cast” (as they say):

You met Swell and Sheepie last year (http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1454722)).

Swell and Sheepie live in Atlanta, GA but are desperate to leave (wanna buy a nice condo in downtown Decatur?). To that end they spent three weeks in late February and early March working in Nome, Alaska and surrounding villages.

It was cold. Although not as cold as Swell feared. Sheepie is Canadian. The cold in Nome, Alaska is no worse than the cold in Edmonton, Alberta. The cold in Wales, Alaska on the other hand…

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Their job in Nome was a temporary job. They were there three weeks and then anticipated having six weeks off followed by another few weeks of work.

What should they do with six weeks off?

No really, I’m asking. What should they do with six weeks off?

Because they are irresponsible adult-children they decided to go and visit some good friends in…

…Maui.

You thought they should go to Universal Studios didn’t you? It’s ok, they will. This is just the long version of the story. If you want the short version you’re <s>plum</s> <s>plumb</s> simply out of luck.

Maui was fun. They had a cheap place to stay. (A friend was between roommates so they just took over the second bedroom). Sadness was found in Maui. A very dear friend’s father, K, –who had also become close to Swell when she lived with the family for a summer a number of years ago – was feeling ill when Swell and Sheepie met with the family for dinner. Jokes were made about not being long for the world. Two days later he was diagnosed with leukemia and is currently bravely battling for his life (http://kit-blog1.blogspot.com/) in Honolulu.

K is a pastor of a church in Maui. His last sermon before leaving for treatment was on Good Friday. It was moving and many tears were shed (http://www.hopechapelmaui.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=276&Itemid=471)).

Swell and Sheepie’s pleasant, restful vacation became emotionally and spiritually draining.

What should they do with their last four weeks of their break from Nome?

Don’t answer. This isn’t a choose your own adventure “novel”. What’s done is done. They went home.

To Atlanta *blech*.

To find more temporary work (they aren’t getting paid to sit around you know) and have their nephew visit from Edmonton.

And to clean their condo up (i.e. put junk in storage) so that it would look more purdy when the real estate agent starts showing it.

They were going to list their condo for sale… but that has become another problem that would be better told on a you-think-our-place-is-worth-what?-then-why-is-the-identical-floor-plan-listed-at-nearly-thirty percent-more?-the-building-is-over-priced?-are-you-delusional?-you-call-those-comps?
-they’re-not-even-in-the-same-city-now-we’re-out-of-state-and-have-to-find-a-new-realtor-on-the-internet? board.
Or a sub-forum on a board that just barely tolerates the topic.

Why, dear God, is this so long you may ask?

Well the author is literally stuck in the middle of nowhere and has run out of DVDs.

And is bored.

So bored.

Curse you Little Diomede, Alaska (http://www.kawerak.org/tribalHomePages/diomede/index.html) and your prevailing Northern winds! Let me go Nome!

Anyway to move along and get to the point/the gist/the climax/the food/the glorious food if the six weeks off turned to eight (a long story that need not ever be told) and an advertised three weeks of local work for Sheepie turned out to really be four days <b>over</b> three weeks what should they do?

Swell: “Thank you Sheepie for getting me those passes for Universal Studios for my Birthday so many months ago.”
Sheepie: “You’re very welcome. That’s just the kind of guy I am. I got you something that was really for me and gave it to you along with those other gifts – how is that broom working by the way?”
Swell: “We should use them before we move and to add to our emotionally and spiritually draining Maui vacation. Do you think we can go this week?”
Sheepie: “Well that is a very good idea. I think we should go soon. It turns out that I don’t work at all next week. Lets go and call it our Anniversary trip as we’ll be in Nome for our Anniversary and Nome is kinda boring.”

The preceding conversation took place on a Friday.

Swell and Sheepie hopped in their car on the next Tuesday with a two night reservation at the RPR and a four night reservation at the PBH (a split stay was required due to a combination of rates and availability).

Happiness was in the air.

Oh! Wait. This is still the “the cast” part of the story.

There is still one person you haven’t met.

Sheepie’s Mother-in-Law.

<b>Saturday</b>

Swell: “I told my Mum that she could come and visit me in Atlanta before we went back to Nome. She has five days off next week so she said she wants to come then.”
Sheepie: “But our trip.”
Swell: “Oh. Ummm…I’ll ask if she wants to go to Orlando with us instead.”
Sheepie to self: “But <i>our</i> trip…”
Swell: “Yep. My dad can get her a positive space ticket so she’ll be coming on Thursday and staying until Monday.”

So Mother-in-Law was on board. She lives in Washougal, Washington. She is a Romanian immigrant having fled communism over twenty years ago. Has never been to a theme park. Struggles that her only child didn’t move back home after 7 years of college. Struggles that her only child moved across the country and doesn’t write, call, or visit enough. Doesn’t listen to child when said child does write, call, or visit. Master at (un?)intentionally making child feel guilty.

<b>The Trip</b>

Swell and Sheepie woke up at 5:30 on Tuesday morning hoping to beat the Atlanta traffic. The car was gassed up and they were well on their way by 6:30. Pam-Pam (their trustworthy albeit temperamental GPS) was zeroed in on City Walk (the only Universal Orlando destination contained within Pam-Pam’s undersized database).

When they arrived at the RPR by 2 pm they were confused. They were also confused as to why Pam-Pam had told them to drive down a toll road this year. Last year she had done no such thing and the trip took an eternity.

They parked the car and entered the luscious and surprisingly un-busy lobby of the RPR. With Loews Gold Card in hand they approached the desk. As a heartfelt Aloha greeted them they realized that their vacation had started.

Check-in went very smoothly although their room was not yet ready.

That was fine. It was lunch time.

A short walk to city walk led them to Bubba Gumps. They had just eaten at the Maui Bubba Gumps and wanted to do a scientific comparison of the two.

Nah. They just really like Bubba Gumps.

Lunch was Fish and Chips for Sheepie and a Fish Sandwich and a Lotsa Lava for Swell (Sorry no pictures from today – camera was left in our luggage).

Lunch was, of course, great despite being seated at a dirty table. (When the waitress came and asked what we wanted to start with I simply said a clean table.)

After lunch we walked over to IOA to change our Costco tickets into real tickets. No problems with that so we decide to enter IOA. We made a beeline for Spiderman walking right on without having to break stride despite a 40 minute standby line.

After a very enjoyable ride we left.

That’s right we left.

One ride. And gone.

We were on vacation and were just going where the winds led us and at this time the winds led us to Publix to buy some water and fruit. While at Publix we received word that our room was ready.

We walked into our basic room and were surprised that our welcome gift of milk and cookies (remember we’re adult children) waiting for us. Delicious, delicious cookies.

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We looked around the hotel after checking out our room as we had never been to the RPR. We were duly impressed.

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Our plan was to head back to City Walk to have dinner but it was <i>freezing</i> out so we just headed back to the room. I don’t remember what we ate for dinner so it must not be important.

That was the end of day one. Day two would be our last day without MIL and was spent at US. I’ll write about it soon.

[Metro West]

Great so far! :teeth:

[pixeegrl]

Love your narrative! Can't wait for more!!!

[NH-R-T-Cha]

Love It! :rotfl: Can't wait for Day 2 ...

[tlinus]

I really enjoy your writing style - cannot wait to hear about the rest of your trip......please continue :thumbsup2

[macraven]

more more more .....

[xmattodx]

If this tale were a tale of fibs I would write “On the second day of their vacation Swell and Sheepie woke up at the crack of dawn to a beautiful sunrise. It was evident that today would be a beautiful warm Orlando day.”

Because this tale is not a tale of fibs I’ll have to write “On the second day of their vacation Swell and Sheepie woke up at the crack of 9 am to a cool blustery day. It was evident that today would be a not so beautiful Orlando day.”

Disappointment was evident in both Swell and Sheepie because of the cool weather but they would not be disheartened. They grabbed an apple and a bottle of water each and began their walk to US.

They choose to walk to the parks or City Walk more often than take the water taxi because:
1) It is usually faster than waiting for the water taxi
B) Sheepie is fat and needs the exercise
iii) It is a very pleasant walk

So they walked bundled up in sweatshirts eating their apples and drinking their water. It was a cold day.

So it was a Universal Studios day. No water rides. No windy outdoor roller coasters. Just a lot of fun indoor type things.

Being adult-children the first ride they wanted to ride was ET.

They arrived at the gates around 10:00 am for the first of many problems with entering the parks. You see Swell’s finger scan thingy never, ever works. One gate attendant hypothesized that her fingers were too narrow and light was escaping on the sides rendering the scan non-functional.

Whatever the cause may be it sure was annoying. On top of that the gate attendants would later in the week inform Swell and Sheepie that their <i>Costco tickets</i> were locking down the scanners.

Oops. Sorry for anyone that was behind them.

If you know anything about Universal Studios you’ve already figured out the flaw in their plan.

ET doesn’t open until 11 am.

They thought that they were being oh so bright in taking shortcuts to get to ET lickety split.

They got there quick as bunnies only to find the area roped off. Bummer.
What to do?

Well why not MIB?

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Jack Nicholson is apparently a ride attendant on MIB now. Times must be tough for him. Or he just likes helping tourists out.

Watch for him when you ride MIB. He doesn’t talk much but he’s there.

In the flesh.

We won’t talk about Swell or Sheepie’s score on this, their first ride of the trip. We will say that the lines were short, the ride was fun and that tourists are stupid. How many times must they be told to put their things in the lockers and to use only one of the three lines available? Sheesh.

In order to get to MIB from ET Swell and Sheepie walked by the Simpsons ride. They were sad that it was yet to open but took some pictures to tide them over until they get to ride it some other time.

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After MIB (they only did it once this time around as they wanted to keep moving. Did I mention it was cold? So cold.) they headed over to a new treat for them. Disaster.

Without giving it away it away they thought it was a hoot. A lot of fun. The second part of the pre-show (after they pick volunteers) was quite amazing. Very well done.

The wait for Disaster wasn’t too long either. It was still early and they were using their Manna from Heaven (FOTL passes).

After Disaster it was still too early for ET (you can get a lot done with FOTL in a short time) so they went onward to Mummy.

Now Swell does enjoy this ride but it takes her a little while to gather her courage. This is the unfortunate part of FOTL. She has no time in line to gather her courage. For others this is the good part of FOTL they don’t have time to lose their courage.

Well they walked all the way down the FOTL line up the stairs and with barely a pause were told to sit in Row 1.

Swell froze. And an almost primitive sound came from her lips. It sounded like a wounded animal gasping its last breath.

“Nooo…ugh..ooo”

Translation – “under no circumstance am I going to sit in the front row on this, my first ride of the trip.”
So they were ushered to Row 2. (Like that 2 feet really makes a difference).

Last year they had been disappointed in the Mummy as they had remembered it being a darker ride. This year? No disappointments. It seems that they turned out the lights once again.

Fantastic ride and the only thing that kept them from riding it again were:
1) Swell’s knocking knees and
2) The fact that it was 11:00 o’clock!

Time for ET!

They skipped hand in hand down to the wonderful area of Universal Studios that holds that fantastic treat of a ride known as ET.

They were among the first to ride that day. Sheepie was first in line to give his name and said “Hi my name is Ronald.”
Swell then gave her name “Hi my name is Reagan.”

Truth be told it took them hours to come up with such a stupid plan.

In the queue it was beautiful. The trees were still there. The spacemen were still there. Everything was as grand as they remembered.

They gave the worker their interplanetary passports (interesting note the family in front of them were disappointed that they didn’t get to keep them – the ride attendant ended up scanning them and handing them back. So if you want yours just ask.) and were soon on their bicycles.

Front row with a prime view of ET.

What a cute little guy they thought.

When they were finished saving the green planet (you’re welcome) they listened intently for their names… Reagan, Ronald…

Dagnabit they scanned the passports in reverse order.

Oh well. They still had fun.

After ET?

LUNCH TIME!!!

They love them some lunch.

Where to go when in US? Well Finnegans of course.

It’s a tradition.

They were among the only ones in the restaurant as it was an early lunch (around 11:30 am) but were still given a kinda crappy table. Oh well. The food was bound to make up for the non-prime seating.

And it did.

Remember that Swell is Romanian. She lived there until she was almost 10. When growing up in a Romanian family bread becomes an important staple of any meal.


If a Romanian is eating anywhere near you, you better hope that there is bread around. Or watch out.

Going out to restaurants is often a hoot with Swell and her parents. No matter what type of food is being served the cry of “Where’s the bread will be heard?”.

Asian? Where’s the bread?
Italian? Where’s the bread?
Middle Eastern? Yippee they eat a lot of bread here!
Mexican? This isn’t bread.

And so on.

And so forth.

Finnegans serves bread. Really very good warm bread with apple butter. A meal in itself. Yummy.

Swell had Homemade Misty Isle Potato and Leek Soup which she loved. Sheepie devoured the delicious New Castle Chicken (described on the menu as Grilled chicken breast topped with our homemade garlic mashed potatoes, root cellar vegetables and topped with peppercorn butter).

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No desert. Remember Sheepie is fat. He’s not allowed desert.

After lunch both Swell and Sheepie were feeling on the full side.

ALL SHE HAD WAS SOUP AND BREAD HOW CAN THAT BE FILLING?

I really have no idea.

But feeling full they were so it was off to T2 for a post meal rest. Sheepie likes T2. Swell thinks it’s too loud.

Sheepie likes it because he can actually see the 3D part of the show. Due to some minor eye issues (Convergence excess for those that care) he can’t fuse fast moving 3D movies. His eyes just don’t relax quickly enough so he gets a nice little headache and two movies for the price of one (i.e. double vision).

T2’s 3D parts are not all that rapid moving and Sheepie is able to appreciate the full effect.

And for that he is happy.

They just missed a seating and were forced to stand in the waiting area for some time. Wait they did as they didn’t really want to be anywhere else.

They were excited to see their favourite PR/media control woman as the host.

Not being facetious. They really like this one in particular (the actress if you want to be crude).

The show was enjoyable as usual and upon exiting the theater it was still super cold outside.

And overcast.

And blah.

After T2 it was back to MIB.

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Scores improved but were still pretty bad compared to many. It was after this ride that they started to question how they could do better. The answer to that question would be hotly debated for the rest of the week.

After MIB it was back to the Mummy and the back row. It was at about this time that they started to notice that the express lines were a tad longer than they’d ever seen them before. This would be a trend that would be hotly debated for the rest of the week as well.

They love the Mummy especially in the back row. The best row on the ride if truth be told. Funny faces were made at the camera. Sheepie on purpose. Swell because she was still a touch scared.

A big baby she is.

At this time Swell breaks the news: “All I had for lunch was a bowl of soup and some bread. I’m still hungry.”

So they got her a stale Churro (disappointing <b>and</b> expensive a great combination!) and a Starbucks.

Sheepie doesn’t <i>do</i> coffee as it is the most disgusting beverage known to man. If you want to drink garbage water go ahead but don’t expect him to join you. For that matter don’t expect him to drink any warm beverage with you. Yuckity yuck!

After spending a good long time with the stale Churro and the coffee and the people watching they returned to MIB. Scores still improving. By this time Sheepie was getting in the low 300 thousands and Swell was getting in the high 100s low 200s. This was better than anyone else in their car but not up to their high standards. They would keep practicing.

The lines were longer than they wanted to deal with – even in express – so they left the park after running into these two.

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And wandered and looked in stores and shopped without spending money and looked at what movies were playing at the theater. And took pictures.

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They eventually ended up at Margaritaville and shared the largest plate of Nachos either of them had ever seen.

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And had some drinks.

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But not those kind of drinks.

They don’t drink those kind of drinks.

Why not?

They just don’t.

Well Sheepie doesn’t. Swell does on very limited occasion. Like after hearing a sad sermon on Good Friday.

That’s right she went to the store bought a tiny little alcohol after church ON GOOD FRIDAY to drown her sorrows (well really it was for her ice cream but still!?).

Heathen

Day 3 soon.

[jakuch]

Thank you so much.

Karen

[NH-R-T-Cha]

Too funny :rotfl: ...:rotfl: (or is it two funnies?)
This is a trip report that I hope goes on FOREVER!!

[chrissyc]

Oh boy! This is a great report! Can't wait to hear more!

[tlinus]

loving the report - can't wait for more popcorn::

[NH-R-T-Cha]

Hurry Hurry Hurry
My face is turning blue from holding my breath waiting for Day 3 :faint:

[xmattodx]

Sorry, sorry, sorry.

Work took a toll on me this week and next week I'll be doing village travel which means 14-16 hour days and no internet(?). I'll write while I'm in villages and then have something up next weekend.

Thank you to all who are reading. It will be finished soon!

[NH-R-T-Cha]

Ahhhhhh (That's the sound of me exhaling)
Have a great week. We'll look forward to the next installment of your trip :thumbsup2

[tarheelmjfan]

Great trippie! I'm looking forward to more.

[ldadar]

Hooray for sleep deprivation. Love your TR!

[xmattodx]

If Swell and Sheepie were to label the days of their vacation today would be simply “Thursday”.

Not a day that turned into anything special although there was hope at the beginning of the day that it would be special.

Today was the day that Swell’s Ma was arriving.

So the day started early. Ma was arriving at 6:45 am and Swell and Sheepie were to pick her up from the airport and take her to RPR for a short rest before checkout time came around. Then they would transfer all there stuff to the PBH for the rest of the vacation.

Sheepie entered Airport as the destination into Pam-Pam and they were on their way.

Sheepie: “I think we’re on a toll road. Do you have any money?”
Swell: “Yep”

Toll was paid.

Sheepie: “What the heck? Another toll! Do you still have money?”
Swell: “Yep”

Toll was sadly paid.

Sheepie: “For goodness sakes. Did you see that sign?”
Swell: “What sign?”
Sheepie: “The one that said Airport ¾ of a mile and Toll plaza ½ a mile.”

Toll was very grudgingly paid.

A toll ¼ of a mile from what is seemingly an important and oft sought exit further cemented the idea that some people have no souls in the minds of Swell and Sheepie.

But despite paying the requisite tolls they were happy to be at the airport. It’s always fun to introduce someone to the wonderful world of Universal Studios. While it’s fun to re-experience Universal Studios it is a different kind of fun to see someone experience it for the first time.

Ma’s flight was on time and despite her across country red-eye flight she was rather chipper.

She was, after all, in the same city as her daughter.

The drive back to the RPR was uneventful.

Traffic was light and the sun was shining – but the wind was blowing. Another disappointingly chilly Orlando day.

Ma was fascinated by the RPR. She loves Hawaii and spent a number of weeks in Maui when Swell was doing an internship there many moons ago. Ma felt that the RPR was able to capture the feeling of the Pacific Islands. She was particularly fascinated with the frog sculptures along the walkway to the lobby. It took many, many minutes to walk those few feet.

Ma insisted – foolishly – that she was not tired and did not, in fact, need the last couple of hours before checkout to sleep/rest.

So they checked out.

Sheepie is fascinated by TV check out. But has never, ever been able to get it to work right. He’ll go through the entire process and then the TV will say something about processing the checkout.

It will process.

And process.

And then process some more.

Just when he think that a TV couldn’t process anymore than this TV is processing it comes up with the wonderful message that the checkout could not be processed and they should report to the front desk.

As if.

He’ll never report to the front desk.

They’ll ask if he had a car.

Then he’d have to pay for parking.

He’ll never pay for parking.

Ever.

So he did the “quick” checkout of dropping the little piece of paper in the bin in the lobby.

He thinks the checkout bin is simply a pretty garbage can.

They were checked out and on their way.

Parking was not paid for then nor was it put on their credit card bill.

Score.

The car was loaded up with their suitcases and they made the long drive to the PBH.

Not surprisingly their room was not yet ready. An upgrade was requested. They are after all GOLD Loew’s members. The front desk person smirked a little as they said they would try.

You see there was a European McDonald’s restaurants convention somewhere in Orlando and the hotels were packed to the rafters with seemingly wealthy McDonald’s franchise holders.

Have you ever eaten at a McDonald’s overseas? Its like heaven. Swell and Sheepie NEVER eat at McDonald’s in the US but overseas? Sometimes you just get tired of eating what the locals eat.

They walked for miles looking for a McDonald’s in Cairo. They found one and it was good. For goodness sake they had a Chicken Big Mac there. No word of a lie Sheepie ate a Big Mac made with Chicken instead of beef.

They made the silly mistake of asking for a cheeseburger at the airport in Jerusalem. Apparently Cheeseburgers aren’t kosher. Who knew?

Any way the folks who sell these treats in European McDonalds’ were at the PBH in full force.

After receiving their Manna from Heaven (FOTL passes) it was brunch time and Swell was hungry. And only Swell was hungry.

First stop before brunch was

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/xmattodx/Day3/photo?authkey=MWtln_ArDx4#5201474221366578402"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/xmattodx/SC9ZPujoDOI/AAAAAAAACKQ/h1W205JzFdE/s400/IMG_6523.JPG" /></a>


Swell wanted to treat her Ma to a Mani/Pedi. Sheepie was invited to join them but refused because he knew if anyone in his family found out he would be ridiculed for decades. That and he hadn’t painted his nails in years…


An appointment was made for both Ma and Swell for a few hours later. Now setting up this appointment was not all that easy. It took FOREVER. Sheepie found the staff to be lacking. The services offered at this spa are rather expensive and one would assume that the staff would act accordingly. They didn’t. Very aloof. Didn’t look at you when they spoke to you. It was like being in Atlanta. Not a great first impression.

The staff told Ma and Swell that they should arrive 30 minutes before their noon appointment.

So the trio hopped on the water taxi. They took the water taxi only because it was there. Calling to them as they walked past the dock.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/xmattodx/Day3/photo?authkey=MWtln_ArDx4#5201476171281730834"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/xmattodx/SC9bBOjoDRI/AAAAAAAACKo/-T5KMaFo1Lg/s400/IMG_6527.JPG" /></a>


Ma’s park ticket had been purchased online with the Pick up at the park option. So they went to get her ticket. They had the confirmation number available.

And it was long.

So long.

My goodness that was the longest confirmation number ever.

They had time to kill before the mani/pedi appointment and no one was hungry (but Swell and who really cares if she’s hungry?) so they entered US.

AGAIN!!! you might shout.

Again they would answer.

It was cold out and they were only going to do one thing.

Shrek.

They took out their key cards. Entered the Express line excited to show Ma how they rolled.

Front of the Line.

Royalty among peasants.

After standing at the merge point of the lines for a bit the line attendant kindly re-routed the line as it was getting too long.

This wonderful re-routing started by telling Swell, Sheepie and Ma to turn and walk down this way and that way. It soon dawned on them.

They were being re-routed to the back of the stand by line AFTER group after group had entered the stand by line.

They would have been further ahead in the line had they entered the standby line rather than the express line.

Irritating.

Because they are above standing in such long lines.

But it was Shrek and half of the city of Orlando can be seated in that theater.

So they Shreked. And Ma screamed and dug her undone nails into Swell’s arm throughout the show.

And her introduction to fun began.

Swell’s parents don’t do fun.

They do work and they do home and they do travel to Bucharest, Romania but they don't do fun.

As everyone knows Bucharest is the armpit of Romania and worse than that is Pantelimon which is a small community located on the outskirts of Bucharest.

If Bucharest is the armpit of Romania, Pantelimon (where Ma’s family lives) is the infected sweat gland of the armpit of Romania.

Yuck and blech. Bucharest/Pantelimon is as far from fun as one can get.

Dang communists took away all the fun and it has yet to return.

But Shrek was fun and Swell was hungry.

And they had to leave fun for pampering.

And that would be fun.

And Swell was hungry. And a hungry Swell is not fun.

It was too early for a big meal so they walked back to the PBH enjoying the wildlife along the way.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/xmattodx/Day3/photo?authkey=MWtln_ArDx4#5201477438297083170"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/xmattodx/SC9cK-joDSI/AAAAAAAACKw/Wf51D9D2s_g/s400/IMG_6529.JPG" /></a>

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/xmattodx/Day3/photo?authkey=MWtln_ArDx4#5201478885701062002"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/xmattodx/SC9dfOjoDXI/AAAAAAAACLY/ZBUZE1nF8vQ/s400/IMG_6541.JPG" /></a>

Now the PBH is a great hotel. Great to look at.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/xmattodx/Day3/photo?authkey=MWtln_ArDx4#5201477726059892018"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/xmattodx/SC9cbujoDTI/AAAAAAAACK4/skA8oTJwoE4/s400/IMG_6531.JPG" /></a>

Nice rooms. But they do lack affordable food. So Swell got a very, very expensive bagel (Point of information – if you are staying at PBH BYOB (bring your own bagels)) and ate it.

And liked it.

But hated that it was so expensive.

But it solved the hunger problem.

They sat and watched the sights. The rich McDonald’s kids throwing balls around.

The rich McDonald’s kids chasing birds.

The rich McDonald’s Dad ensuring that all those around him knew that he was on the phone with someone and they were going to do a multi-million dollar McDonald’s deal.

You go European McDonald’s dude. You go.

Well it was nearly 11:30 and as luck would have it Sheepie was getting hungry.

Well let’s not lie. He was always hungry. He just wasn’t saying anything because he had a plan.

His plan was to gorge himself on bad food while the women were being more beautified.

So they headed over to the Spa and while the women were checking in for their appointment Sheepie was ordering food from that place by the pool.

Hamburger please.

Of course I’ll take fries with that.

Oh and a coke thank you very much.

His sneakiness didn’t work though.

Because just as he ordered his food and picked up his coke Swell and Ma appeared.

Swell: “Well we went in to check in for our appointment and they said ‘Well you’re early so you’ll just have to sit and wait.’”
Sheepie: “But they told you to come early.”
Swell: “I know. You know. Apparently they forgot.”

So they sat some more. Sheepie hoping they were gone before his food arrived.

They weren’t.

Ma and Swell didn’t say anything.

But they were thinking it.

Noon rolled around.

Ma and Swell went to the Spa. Sheepie went to the poolside and found a nice lounge chair under an umbrella.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/xmattodx/Day3/photo?authkey=MWtln_ArDx4#5201474637978406130"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/xmattodx/SC9Zn-joDPI/AAAAAAAACKY/QYiRfHIh7jI/s400/IMG_6524.JPG" /></a>

Very important that someone with Sheepie’s pigmentation (read lack thereof) get an umbrealla.

And he sat.

And sat.

And sat some more.

While he sat he waited.

And waited.

And waited.

He heard a pool staff member get yelled at for being late to work the previous day. (Ummm… recommendation. Manager of the pool people go to the office to ream your staff out. Vacationers don’t want to hear your staffing issues.)

He also saw a young girl of 7 or 8 who he is sure was a McDonald’s daughter running around topless.

He was pleasantly surprised that the pool staff tracked the parents down and told them she needed to put a top on.

Well they didn’t tell them. They pantomimed it as it seems that the family did not speak English.

The five minutes of pantomiming was quite entertaining as Sheepie waited. And waited.

How long can a mani/pedi take?

Apparently two hours.

And the women weren’t even that impressed.

True they had fun but hey found the service to still be lacking.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/xmattodx/Day3/photo?authkey=MWtln_ArDx4#5201477880678714690"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/xmattodx/SC9ckujoDUI/AAAAAAAACLA/j40op_1AH10/s400/IMG_6533.JPG" /></a>

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/xmattodx/Day3/photo?authkey=MWtln_ArDx4#5201478129786817874"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/xmattodx/SC9czOjoDVI/AAAAAAAACLI/lmqpcGAiCNU/s400/IMG_6536.JPG" /></a>

And Swell got poked with some instrument of torture. A little blood was drawn but luckily an infection never followed. They weren’t offered more than flavored water to drink. Basically it wasn’t worth the money. Swell thought her Pedicure in Maui was far superior even though it was done in a strip mall for ¼ of the price.

So if you’re going to Universal Studios don’t feel bad about skipping the spa for more time eating and playing.

Coming up: Back to US. Again? Again. And the now infamous PBH room debacle.

[pixeegrl]

waiting for more more more!!!!

[macraven]

i don't understand why you wanted to get out of paying the charge for parking your car at the hotel?

[xmattodx]

i don't understand why you wanted to get out of paying the charge for parking your car at the hotel?

Thank you. That part of the "trip report" was only partially true (artistic license). I was perfectly willing to pay for parking. For some reason we've never, ever been billed. We've told them we have a car each time we've gone and have never been billed.

We never had to scan our card to get in or out. The gate was always opened for us by the attendant. I've read others haven't paid for parking either.

[xmattodx]

The pampering being finished and the room not being finished the trio head back toward the parks.

It was still a chilly day in Orlando and Ma was quickly tiring out having just traveled the red-eye across the country. It was decided that they rest of the day (or at least until the room was ready) would be spent at Universal Studios.

First stop after finally getting through the finger print/card scanning nightmare – eventually they were let though sans fingerprinting as the machines just would not register both ticket and fingerprint – was of course ET.

As Steven Spielberg and ET gave us the intrepid trio their instructions they were further treated to a different kind of pre show. A very young teenage couple found the ET line to be the ideal place to perfect their make out skills.

It was an intense display.

And nothing more should ever be said about it.

Ma yelped a yelp of glee when the bike she was riding was lifted off the ground by ET and she flew over the city.

After ET it was time for MIB. Swell and Sheepie did much better while Ma, this being her first time on MIB, just closed her eyes.

They also visited the Horror Make Up show which was great as usual. Swell and Sheepie had never seen an English speaking volunteer before this visit and found it interesting to be able to understand the volunteers objections and exclamations. Always a great show. Ma even liked it and humour is sometimes lost on her (probably due to language issues).

Jaws was, of course a hit, although Sheepie found it awkward sitting in the middle of the front row with a female boat captain.

“Don’t look straight ahead was his refrain”.

So he didn’t.

And she did a good job.

Many of the boat captains are very good at what they do. They should be applauded more than they are. They can make or break this ride. On this occasion she did a very good job and the ride was enjoyed by all. Ma was, admittedly a little frightened, but was excited to experience such a thing.

Then came The Mummy.

Now Swell said over and over to her Ma that this was a fast ride. Very fast. Dark too. Are you sure you want to try this? Ma insisted that she would and that it would be fine.

Throughout the ride all the car they were in could hear was Ma screaming.

After the ride Sheepie heard a gentle whimpering coming from Ma who was two seats over.

With the whimpering came tears.

With the tears came the phrase “You’re so stupid” over and over.

And over.

Ma wasn’t a fan of the ride.

Or at this point of Swell.

Swell reminder her that she warned her. Many times.

Many, many times.

But if you recall Ma sometimes has a listening problem.

And because of this listening problem she rode the Mummy.

And cried.

Ma soon regained her compsure but will be scarred for life.

The Mummy ended their time at Universal Studios – what with a life scarring and all.

The women wanted to get back to the hotel as with any Spa service you have access to the whirlpool for the day you had your spa services done.

While on the way out of the park the trio, finally, received word that the room was ready.

No, there was no upgrade available but the booked deluxe room was ready.

The walk back to the hotel was pleasant and the trio recounted their day of fun. And Swell and Sheepie laughed at Ma.

Not a mean laugh.

You know that teasing laugh you give a family member when they deserve it.

Upon arrival at the front desk they turned in their current key cards and received new ones for their deluxe room in the West Wing.

They ran down to the car and grabbed their luggage and then headed over to the room.

Immediately upon opening the door Sheepie knew that they would not be staying in this room.

Swell is very particular about hotel rooms.

If there is the faintest smell of smoke in the room they would not be staying in the room. If no other room is available in the hotel they would have to find a new hotel. No matter the time or the place.

Now this room didn’t have the faintest smell of smoke.

It had the overwhelming stench of smoke.

So they called the front desk.

Another room was located.

Sheepie left Ma and Swell in the hallway and made the very, very long walk back to the front desk where he was given another set of keys.

The front desk people were very kind.

And apologetic.

The keys gathered it was off to the new room.

Which turned out to be two doors down from the first.

And smelled worse.

So they called the front desk.

Another room was located.

Sheepie left Ma and Swell in the hallway and made the very, very long walk back to the front desk where he was given another set of keys.

The front desk people were very kind.

And apologetic.

The keys gathered it was off to the new room.

The new room was on a different floor but was also in the West Wing.

The first two rooms were on the ground floor and it was hypothesized that smokers had left the patio doors open while smoking on the patio.

Nice rooms but just not appropriate for Swell and Sheepie.

The third room smelled great. Sheepie = happy.

Swell not so much.

She was the one who had booked the rooms. She is very particular when booking hotels or booking flights. She will compare prices for days on end finding the best deal and the best room/flight available.

For this trip the best room available with an acceptable/good price was a deluxe room.

She insisted that this third room was not a deluxe room.

So back they headed back to the front desk.

The front desk people were very kind.

The young man at the front desk insisted that this was in fact a deluxe room. Sheepie said “see Swell you’re confused.”

And then he got that look.

THE look.

And he shuddered.

And he decided he shouldn’t have anymore to do with this discussion.

The Front Desk Man said that all rooms on this floor were deluxe.

Swell said but our room doesn’t have a sitting area or a separate shower, or a window cut out.

The Front Desk Man, who was very kind and considerate, replied “Yes all deluxe rooms have sitting areas, separate showers and window cut outs”.

Swell said but ours doesn’t.

The Front Desk Man said but you’re in a deluxe room.

And Swell said, “Well we’re supposed to be.”

Sheepie just stood there with a headache because he had no idea what a deluxe room was nor couldn’t follow the conversation if his life depended on it.

The gist of the conversation seemed to be that the Front Desk Man insisted that the room given to the trio was a deluxe because it was in a “deluxe area” of the hotel and Swell insisted that it wasn’t because it didn’t look like it was describe to her when she made the reservations.

Eventually the very kind and considerate Front Desk Man went back to talk to the manager.

He came back.

Still kind.

Still considerate.

And said “You’re not in a deluxe room. You’re in a handicap accessible room. I didn’t know that these rooms were different. We’ll get you a different room that I’ll walk you to in order to ensure that it is acceptable.”

So he walked them to the new room. Which was a long walk from the front desk. A very long walk.

He was apologetic as it was now two hours from when the first keys were handed to the trio and they had yet to get their room.

As they walked they talked about the hotel and the area. The young man telling them all that their keys were good for, FOTL, priority restaurant seating, getting into their room, etc.

He offered them a bottle of wine for their troubles.

“Thank you but we don’t drink wine” was the response.

“How about some Tuxedo strawberries then?”

“Sure, thanks. What about our welcome gift?”

“I’ll make sure it is sent to your room immediately.”

The room was great.

Apparently deluxe and smoke free.

As they were preparing to go to the spa to use the whirlpool a knock on the door revealed a hotel employee with their milk and cookies on top of the cookies were three halve strawberries.

Was this to be their “make up gift” a few small strawberries on top of their cookies? As the employee put the cookies on the counter they internally pondered this question and then heard another knock on the door.

It was another hotel employee, from the way he was dressed he was seemingly a management type, carrying another plate of cookies and more milk.

Apparently the first employee had transferred the welcome gift from the first room the trio was given and the second was bringing the recently requested cookies.

It is important to note that the strawberries were on the first plate of cookies.

The trio did not note this at the time of the cookie delivery.

Two sets of cookies!

Two sets of milk.

Heavenly.

Although to be honest Swell and Sheepie though that the cookies and milk were better at the RPR. There the milk was in a carafe and at the PBH it was two little containers of milk.

But a cookie is a cookies and all cookies are good.

Eventually the trio left and went to the Spa’s whirlpool.

Sheepie left before the other two as they were going to try out the Sauna. Eventually the all met back in the room before heading out to get dinner.

Dinner was simply a pizza in the Piazza.

It had turned into a pleasant evening and they enjoyed eating outside under the twinkling stars.

Ma was exhausted so the night finished with some TV in the room and an early lights out.

Next: IOA (finally) and some Mythos first timers.

[bubba's mom]

Just when he think that a TV couldn’t process anymore than this TV is processing it comes up with the wonderful message that the checkout could not be processed and they should report to the front desk.

He’ll never report to the front desk.

They’ll ask if he had a car.

Then he’d have to pay for parking.

He’ll never pay for parking.

Ever.

So he did the “quick” checkout of dropping the little piece of paper in the bin in the lobby.

He thinks the checkout bin is simply a pretty garbage can.

They were checked out and on their way.

Parking was not paid for then nor was it put on their credit card bill.

Score.




I am sorry...but I agree with macraven. This seems like a blatent attempt to NOT have to pay for parking.

It only makes EVERYONE'S prices go up.

On the DIS, we do not condone trying to cheat the system :sad2: You should have paid for parking your car. If you don't WANT to pay for parking (and, really, who does?), then you should grab Mears, a taxi or car service.

[LeslieR]

I lovvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvve this report!!!! Brought tears to my eyes imagining "Ma" on mummy! Can't wait to hear what you thought of Mythos...

So you got to use the whirlpool at the spa even though you didn't have a treatment? Does that mean if I get a massage, my whole family can go later and use the whirlpool or am I missing something????

And...I can't belive the strawberries they brought you were only half each!!! That seems a little cheap to me...

[xmattodx]

I am sorry...but I agree with macraven. This seems like a blatent attempt to NOT have to pay for parking.

It only makes EVERYONE'S prices go up.

On the DIS, we do not condone trying to cheat the system :sad2: You should have paid for parking your car. If you don't WANT to pay for parking (and, really, who does?), then you should grab Mears, a taxi or car service.



Here is the truth behind what will now be known as the infamous DIS parking fiasco written without what I find to be entertaining "add-ins".

We booked the hotel fully expecting to pay for parking.
We checked in fully expecting to pay for parking.
They asked "Did you park your own car here?"
We answered "Yes we did. It will be here the whole time." Still fully expecting to pay for parking.
We got our itemized receipt there was no parking charge on it. Pleasently surprised.
We tried to do TV checkout. There was no parking charge on it. Still pleasantly surprised.
We couldn't get TV checkout to work. Because I'm stupid.
We didn't want to wait in line at the front desk so we did the other type of checkout that was offered to us - express checkout which had no parking charge on it.
We still were expecting a charge on our credit card. It never materialized.
This has happened to us four times now. It must be a flaw in the system.
I am not going to go up to the front desk and say you forgot to charge me for parking. Please let me fork over some more money.

The quotes you picked out of my trip report were solely written in the spirit of fun/trying to be entertaining. I understand that none of you know me so it didn't go over well.

Trust me when I tell you that I am a rule follower. It just so happens that we have never been charged for parking DESPITE telling them that we had parked a car (at one stay TWO CARS) in their parking lot.

I ask now in all seriousness what would you have had me do? If the consensus is to point out their not charging me for parking I will be surprised.

I lovvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvve this report!!!! Brought tears to my eyes imagining "Ma" on mummy! Can't wait to hear what you thought of Mythos...

So you got to use the whirlpool at the spa even though you didn't have a treatment? Does that mean if I get a massage, my whole family can go later and use the whirlpool or am I missing something????

And...I can't belive the strawberries they brought you were only half each!!! That seems a little cheap to me...

Thank you.

We asked (no gaming the system here) and they allowed me to use the whirlpool even though I didn't have a service in the spa. I'm not sure how many "tagger-alongers" they'll allow but they did allow at least one on our trip.

More about the strawberries later today (but I'm on Alaska time so it will be much later regular time).

[ldadar]

It's amazing what some people can get all worked up about.

Forget about it.

You're writing a wonderful, engaging trippie.

Some DISers have too much time on their hands. Obviously. Look at their post count.

:hippie:

[bubba's mom]

Last edited by xmattodx : Today at 03:16 PM. Reason: Must calm down. Must calm down. Mustn't be disappointed that of my few responses two of them were calling me a bad person.

First of all...where exactly does it say we are calling you a bad person? :confused3

Here is the truth behind what will now be known as the infamous DIS parking fiasco written without what I find to be entertaining "add-ins".

We booked the hotel fully expecting to pay for parking.
We checked in fully expecting to pay for parking.
They asked "Did you park your own car here?"
We answered "Yes we did. It will be here the whole time." Still fully expecting to pay for parking.
We got our itemized receipt there was no parking charge on it. Pleasently surprised.
We tried to do TV checkout. There was no parking charge on it. Still pleasantly surprised.
We couldn't get TV checkout to work. Because I'm stupid.
We didn't want to wait in line at the front desk so we did the other type of checkout that was offered to us - express checkout which had no parking charge on it.
We still were expecting a charge on our credit card. It never materialized.
This has happened to us four times now. It must be a flaw in the system.
I am not going to go up to the front desk and say you forgot to charge me for parking. Please let me fork over some more money.

The quotes you picked out of my trip report were solely written in the spirit of fun/trying to be entertaining. I understand that none of you know me so it didn't go over well.

Trust me when I tell you that I am a rule follower. It just so happens that we have never been charged for parking DESPITE telling them that we had parked a car (at one stay TWO CARS) in their parking lot.

I ask now in all seriousness what would you have had me do? If the consensus is to point out their not charging me for parking I will be surprised.



Thank you.



If that is what happened, then that is what you should have said. The way you are telling your story in your report makes it seem like you are out to beat the system and not have to pay to park.

If there is someone researching their trip, and they've never stayed onsite before, they would read your report and think "wow...that's a great idea!" You should have posted originally what you posted above.

OR...more something along the lines of--- we were lucky and were never charged for parking...even tho when we checked in, we told them we had a car. <--- THAT would lead me to believe the hotel messed up....not like you were trying to get out of paying to park.

See MY point??? ;)

[keishashadow]

It's amazing what some people can get all worked up about.

Forget about it.

You're writing a wonderful, engaging trippie.

Some DISers have too much time on their hands. Obviously. Look at their post count.

:hippie:

:rolleyes1 or is it that they choose to carefully research their trips to make them as much of a positive experience as possible (whether deluxe or on a dime, it's all spelled out here if you look hard enough)...

along the way they:

*find out that this board is a wealth of information...

*decide to join the community in general:goodvibes and, if

*if very lucky, find good friends that they share common interests with and actually get to meet in RL:thumbsup2

Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.
CS Lewis

[bubba's mom]

It's amazing what some people can get all worked up about.

Forget about it.

You're writing a wonderful, engaging trippie.

Some DISers have too much time on their hands. Obviously. Look at their post count.
:hippie:


I certainly hope you are not speaking about me...fyi, I work 2 jobs/6 days a week...if anything, I don't have ENOUGH time! (IF you notice, I have been around here for years also....)

Besides, if you happen to be speaking about me, what does MY post count have to do with the subject I was speaking of?? :confused3 Let's not get off topic.....

[tlinus]

It's amazing what some people can get all worked up about.

Forget about it.

You're writing a wonderful, engaging trippie.

Some DISers have too much time on their hands. Obviously. Look at their post count.

:hippie:


don't
even
go
there.........

[tlinus]

:rolleyes1 or is it that they choose to carefully research their trips to make them as much of a positive experience as possible (whether deluxe or on a dime, it's all spelled out here if you look hard enough)...

along the way they:

*find out that this board is a wealth of information...

*decide to join the community in general:goodvibes and, if

*if very lucky, find good friends that they share common interests with and actually get to meet in RL:thumbsup2

Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.
CS Lewis

who loves ya???? yeah - even tho the pengs got the boys - you da woman!!!

[xmattodx]

Day 4, also known as Friday, started the same way the previous three days started – sleeping until <i>whenever</i>.

Breakfast was skipped with an early lunch in mind.

The trio arrived well rested and excited as this day was much warmer than the previous days. It was, in fact, a beautiful Orlando day. What they were all hoping for.

Today would be their first day in IOA.

They were very excited that there was no fingerprinting going on at the front gate. They were just scanning tickets with a handheld ticket scanner. Swell and Sheepie hadn’t been having much luck with the whole fingerprinting/ticket scanning thing.

As they entered IOA Ma was very impressed with the look of the park. Ooohing and aaahing the whole way.

As the crowed turned left toward the Hulk and Spiderman the trio turned right and headed into the beautifully themed Suess Landing.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/xmattodx/Day4/photo?authkey=OuD1VQlXGeA#5202345210669436450"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/xmattodx/SDJxZ-joDiI/AAAAAAAACOI/rH1FHtyaTzg/s400/IMG_6617.JPG" /></a>

Destination?

Why Cat in the Hat of course.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/xmattodx/Day4a/photo?authkey=oLc3s5GdMtg#5202338428916075986"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/xmattodx/SDJrPOjoDdI/AAAAAAAACM0/ppFJYMKBbfs/s400/IMG_6620.JPG" /></a>

The standby line was not all that long, the express line even shorter.

An enjoyable ride even though it is for children and none of the trio is really a child. Very well themed although the spinning is a little violent for Sheepie. Ma really enjoyed looking at all the things but neither she nor Swell had ever heard the story of the Cat in Hat before (Swell immigrating to the US at age nearly 10).

As they walked through Suess Landing they couldn’t help but notice that the colours seemed to have faded somewhat. They remembered it being brighter in the past. It is still a great area and very neat to walk though but not as whimsical as it was with brighter paint on the buildings.

After Cat in the Hat it was off to the High in the Sky Trolley. This express line was quite long but they were willing to wait.

A surprise for Swell and Sheepie when the train started and they went in a direction they had never gone in before. They were on a different track than they had ever been on before. This track didn’t go through the cafeteria. The story being told was also different than they had heard before. It was a pleasant surprise.

Ma enjoyed the ride until the train went over the lagoon. She was quite scared over the water and closed her eyes.

She was scared enough that she decided she didn’t much feel like doing that ride ever again.

The trio strolled about taking pictures, watching the children enjoy their day with their families. Eventually leaving Seuss Landing and ending up outside Poseidon.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/xmattodx/Day4a/photo?authkey=oLc3s5GdMtg#5202338514815421922"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/xmattodx/SDJrUOjoDeI/AAAAAAAACM8/SG8EcXmglxk/s400/IMG_6626.JPG" /></a>

They decided why not. We’re here we might as well do it. Swell and Sheepie had only done it one time before and had enjoyed it quite a bit.

It was again a lot of fun with a great tour leader.

Walking out of the “ride” they were greeted by a very pleasant day. One forgets what the day is like when they are in Poseidon as it is dark and chilly while inside.

The sun was bright and it was a very warm day.

After Poseidon?

Well remember Ma has a listening problem.

Swell said “Let’s go on Dueling Dragons. Ma, you probably don’t want to go on this. It goes upside down.”
Ma “No, I’ll do it”
Swell “Maybe we should look at it first and then you can decide.”
Ma “No I don’t want to look at it I’ll just do it.”

All the way down the queue Swell kept insisting that they stop and look at the ride. She tried her hardest to convince Ma not to go on it.

Ma has a listening problem.

They chose Fire Dragon as their first dragon.

Ma was chiding her daughter up the climb saying that this wasn’t that bad.

Then they crested the hill and all that could be heard in IOA was Ma screaming and Swell yelling “Ha, Ha I told you so.”

Swell and Sheepie weren’t too concerned as Ma had just had her annual medical physical a few weeks prior.

Heart? Good.
Blood Pressure? Good.
Death on a ride? Highly unlikely.
Speaking to her daughter again? Perhaps.
At the end of the ride with a quiver in her voice Ma indicated that she survived but would NOT do that again. She then slapped her daughter’s arm and asked “Why didn’t you warn me? Why did you let me do this?”

Swell just rolled her eyes, laughed and exclaimed: “I did”

Because of this near death experience and the lack of breakfast they decided to go for lunch. On past trips to IOA they either left the park for City Walk or went to the Enchanted Oak for something quick.

Knowing that Ma needed sometime for her heart to descend from her throat and knowing that this was to be a relaxing-go-with-the-flow trip they decided to try the world famous Mythos.

They were told that there would be a 20 minute wait (it was around 11:30 and the restaurant was only open from 11:00 to 3:00).

While they waited (much less than 20 minutes) they looked over the menu. It was reasonably priced for </i>real</i> food geared for a captive audience.

The chairs in Mythos are the heaviest chairs in the world.

The themeing is great.

The view – they were sitting by big windows overlooking the lagoon with Hulk in the distance – great.

The pasta of the day was a surprising Chicken Pad Thai. Surprising because none of the trio would have considered that a <i>pasta</i> dish although they guessed it truly was.

The Risotto of the day was beef tenderloin.

The order was placed:
For all – Shrimp sushi appetizer which was good. Not great but far from bad. Good and enjoyable.

Sheepie – Chicken Pad Thai – which was amazing. Sweet, tangy, filling. Amazing.

The women shared the Risotto which they really enjoyed but both agreed that they couldn’t have eaten it by themselves both due to portion size and saltiness.

It was a pleasant lunch and they agreed that it was very nice to not feel rushed or overly crowded.

Upon exiting the restaurant they decided to do a round of water rides before leaving the park.
First stop was Ripsaw Falls.

The lap bar?

Sheepie hated it.

Swell loved it.

Swell loved it because she was always frightened by the final drop. She always felt like she was going to go flying out. This made her feel much more secure.

Sheepie hated it solely because it dug into the side of his legs. The way the bar juts out just banged the side of his legs the whole ride.

Nonetheless it was as usual a great ride and even Ma enjoyed it.

They also enjoyed Jurassic Park after ensuring Ma watched the final drop.
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/xmattodx/Day4a/photo?authkey=oLc3s5GdMtg#5202338373081501122"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/xmattodx/SDJrL-joDcI/AAAAAAAACMs/C8q2rtEDuU4/s400/IMG_6610.JPG" /></a>

She decided it would be ok.

And it was.

Although it took her a while to recover.

They didn’t feel like getting completely soaked so they bypassed Bluto’s.

But decided to go on Spiderman on the way out of the park.

Ma wasn’t told anything about Spiderman except that it wasn’t scary and she would have fun.

The express line moved quickly and they were soon in their vehicle. The ride progressed and they were all enjoying it.

As the ride approached the big lift sequence the car started to shudder. Eventually stopping.

After a brief few seconds the car started moving again but was not in tune with the “picture” part of the ride.

As the car approached the top of its ride the pictures disappeared completely and thus the ride lost all of its “ride”.

The whole car groaned at this misfortune.

It was decided that Sheepie would ask the ride attendant if everyone could just go through again but that question was unnecessary.

The ride attendants simply told the entire car to go through the baby swap line and get on again.

This time the ride was flawless and all enjoyed it.

Well Ma tolerated it.

But was fascinated by it.

And was scared of it.

They left the park so the women could do the pool and Sheepie who doesn’t “do” pools could watch some TV.

When the entered the room to prepare for their respective events they were met with a very pleasant and delicious surpise!

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/xmattodx/Day4/photo?authkey=OuD1VQlXGeA#5202345030280809986"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/xmattodx/SDJxPejoDgI/AAAAAAAACN4/YVYzqz5_aJg/s400/IMG_6544.JPG" /></a>

Their strawberries! The three half strawberries from the day before were simply decoys. The real ones were here now... but not for long!

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/xmattodx/Day4/photo?authkey=OuD1VQlXGeA#5202345099000286738"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/xmattodx/SDJxTejoDhI/AAAAAAAACOA/yC2TUxYw4ig/s400/IMG_6545.JPG" /></a>

After the pool a great debate occurred. Swell and Sheepie were going to go see a movie. Ma was invited along. First she said she would go. Then she said no. Then yes. Then no.

She finally decided she wouldn’t go but would rather spend some more time in the hot tub/pool.

Swell and Sheepie walked back to City Walk and saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall and were very, very grateful that Ma decided not to join them.

Full frontal male nudity and one’s mother don’t mix.

Overall the movie was crude and funny. It was a very enjoyable night which ended with a fruitless search for food.

But that was ok.

Because they were at Universal Studios and most importantly they were together.

[xmattodx]

First of all...where exactly does it say we are calling you a bad person? :confused3

It doesn't. Another lame attempt at a joke. I couldn't care less what anyone thinks of me on any internet forum. You all seem like very nice people but we really don't know each other. I'm writing this for fun. It is a word document that we will read 30 years from now remembering some of the fun things we've done.

We've kept a blog for four or five years that accomplish the same thing. This is just not blog material so I put it up here to hopefully entertain some people who are looking for entertainment.



If that is what happened, then that is what you should have said. The way you are telling your story in your report makes it seem like you are out to beat the system and not have to pay to park.

If there is someone researching their trip, and they've never stayed onsite before, they would read your report and think "wow...that's a great idea!" You should have posted originally what you posted above.

OR...more something along the lines of--- we were lucky and were never charged for parking...even tho when we checked in, we told them we had a car. <--- THAT would lead me to believe the hotel messed up....not like you were trying to get out of paying to park.

See MY point??? ;)

I do see your point but I don't accept it. It is not my concern what people choose to do. If they are dishonest enough to truly try to "steal" parking I highly doubt they became so because of something I wrote.

:rolleyes1 or is it that they choose to carefully research their trips to make them as much of a positive experience as possible (whether deluxe or on a dime, it's all spelled out here if you look hard enough)...

along the way they:

*find out that this board is a wealth of information...

*decide to join the community in general:goodvibes and, if

*if very lucky, find good friends that they share common interests with and actually get to meet in RL:thumbsup2

Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.
CS Lewis

I'm glad all y'all have found friendship here. Perhaps we can share that friendship with others. Perhaps rather than calling me out again after I had already answered the concern (Macraven's initial post) was a bit much? Understanding that ldadar was simply trying to be encouraging to me rather than mean to all y'all would also be the friendly thing to do.

I certainly hope you are not speaking about me...fyi, I work 2 jobs/6 days a week...if anything, I don't have ENOUGH time! (IF you notice, I have been around here for years also....)

Besides, if you happen to be speaking about me, what does MY post count have to do with the subject I was speaking of?? :confused3 Let's not get off topic.....



I'm sorry if you felt insulted but we are far off topic now and I think its time to get back on topic.

Thank you.

[RVGal]

I'm glad all y'all have found friendship here. Perhaps we can share that friendship with others. Perhaps rather than calling me out again after I had already answered the concern (Macraven's initial post) was a bit much? Understanding that ldadar was simply trying to be encouraging to me rather than mean to all y'all would also be the friendly thing to do.

So, if we are looking for the friendly thing to do, perhaps we could consider bubba's moms post as looking for clarification instead of "calling you out"? I mean, if we are going to consider Idadar's post as strictly encouraging to you, and ignore the "have no life" comment as insulting... why not extend the same courtesy to all?

FWIW, what you see as "entertainment" is being posted on a Trip Planning forum. A message board that people use to help them plan future trips to these destinations. When you make a statement indicating that "we've always parked for free" with no supporting information, it leaves the feeling that there must be some way that everyone that goes should be able to park for free. They might go with that expectation and then get angry if/when it doesn't happen.

I'm going to guess that what motivated macraven and bubba's mom to single that point out is that, as regular posters on this board, they are going to be the ones to field the "how come I got charged for parking" posts that may spring up after an unclear "we park for free" statement.

That's it. No need for name calling or indicating that anyone is being less than friendly or needs to get a life.

Carry on.

[damo]

Great trip report. One of the best ever!!!

PS -- Don't tell anyone but I have had trips where I didn't pay for parking either!!! SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! I've also had trips where I have been upgraded and trips where I haven't been upgraded. I've had good rates and bad rates. I figure that it all evens out in the end. But I must confess that it is pretty exciting when they forget to charge you for parking.

[keishashadow]

So, if we are looking for the friendly thing to do, perhaps we could consider bubba's moms post as looking for clarification instead of "calling you out"? I mean, if we are going to consider Idadar's post as strictly encouraging to you, and ignore the "have no life" comment as insulting... why not extend the same courtesy to all?

FWIW, what you see as "entertainment" is being posted on a Trip Planning forum. A message board that people use to help them plan future trips to these destinations. When you make a statement indicating that "we've always parked for free" with no supporting information, it leaves the feeling that there must be some way that everyone that goes should be able to park for free. They might go with that expectation and then get angry if/when it doesn't happen.

I'm going to guess that what motivated macraven and bubba's mom to single that point out is that, as regular posters on this board, they are going to be the ones to field the "how come I got charged for parking" posts that may spring up after an unclear "we park for free" statement.

That's it. No need for name calling or indicating that anyone is being less than friendly or needs to get a life.

Carry on.

hey, u stole my post

fyi, i appreciate a work of fiction as much as the next peep...just standard MO (by virture of the definition of report) that we (the friendly, trusting, welcoming bunch that we are) will take you at your word & consider all TRs as based in fact. Perhaps a disclaimer if you want to take literary license?

If something stated in your report is out of the norm as to standard practice in the parks/hotels, prepare to be questioned as to clarification as to your original statement(s)...inquiring minds need to know.:confused3 . While the parking fee doesn't seem to be expensive to many vacationers, i can see it putting yet another ding in a strapped budget...hate to see peeps get the wrong idea that it's easy to avoid.

Now that we're all on the same page as to the parking issue we're good to be regaled by more of your TRpopcorn::

FYI, it's not unusual for the hotel to be contacted by regulars when standard MO seems to be changing (as evidenced by a TR) and report back here so we all know what to expect. Many have had a less than stellar experience and have been advised to contact management...they will make it right for you.:thumbsup2

[LeslieR]

Another great installment! Keep 'um coming...

Glad to see you got the real strawberries!

[ldadar]

.

Full frontal male nudity and one’s mother don’t mix.

.

I couldn't agree more. And even worse with your mother-in-law.

Thanks for another great installment.

[NH-R-T-Cha]

Dear Sheepie,
Have you abandoned your loyal readers? :worried:
I love your style of writing and hope you'll continue to entertain us.
Signed,
A DISer who gets it

[damo]

Dear Sheepie,
Have you abandoned your loyal readers? :worried:
I love your style of writing and hope you'll continue to entertain us.
Signed,
A DISer who gets it

Yes. Please come back. I loved your TR!

[xmattodx]

Sorry! It wasn't my intention to leave this unfinished but between village travel, illness and internet outages this has dragged on far too long.

It will be completely finished this weekend.

I promise.

[iluvpluto27]

Loving your report.

[orlandonyc]

yeah please do. i love humorous reports and like writing that way.

[xmattodx]

This, the second last day of the trip, started – not surprisingly – like the previous days. They woke up when they felt like it.

The plan for the day was simple.

Go back to US with Ma to finish the things she had yet to do and repeat a few favorites then over to IOA to pass some time before returning BACK to US for the Mardi Gras parade and perhaps listen to the band.

The trio walked to US from the PBH and again enjoyed the scenery.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/xmattodx/Universal0419/photo?authkey=caQc2YfNumQ#5206717141425470546"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/xmattodx/SEH5p1yaPFI/AAAAAAAACZU/O_1mnLrp9lo/s400/IMG_6551.JPG" /></a>

Walking was quicker than taking the water taxi and it was a pleasant, warm day.

Upon arriving at US the trio could see that it was a busy day. It was, after all, Saturday. Not wanting to stand in a long frustrating line at the front gates they took the Blue Man group shortcut and were very quickly in the park.

Being the adult children they are they headed straight for ET. Just as they arrived they were treated to this:

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/xmattodx/Universal0419/photo?authkey=caQc2YfNumQ#5206717248799652962"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/xmattodx/SEH5wFyaPGI/AAAAAAAACZc/G946vcOQAXY/s400/IMG_6555.JPG" /></a>

What a show!

Well it was a show.

And they watched 2 minutes of it.

As they entered the ET line they noted that the express line was quite busy but didn’t think much of it. Arriving at the head of the line they were once again treated to a front row bike.

After ET they took quite a long time to explore the ball room.

Sheepie went up top to try to shoot Ma and Swell with the balls but accidentally hit some poor woman in the face instead.

Oops. Sorry.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/xmattodx/Universal0419/photo?authkey=caQc2YfNumQ#5206717313224162418"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/xmattodx/SEH5z1yaPHI/AAAAAAAACZk/E0OY1D1M2nw/s400/IMG_6557.JPG" /></a>

The woman who was supervising the area was very nice and after throwing a few balls at Swell she took the time to explain to Swell how to use the guns. Swell then lobbed a few balls at the upper level hitting a few poor kids. They in turn sent a volley in her direction.

The trio left the ball area surprised by how fun it was. They were further surprised that a large percentage of the people in the ball room were above the age of 16.

Following the long ball break they walked quite aimlessly eventually finding themselves in front of the Mummy.

Swell and Sheepie decided to ride again. Ma was asked if she wanted to ride. She said “yes”. Swell took a long time to explain to her that this was, in fact, the ride which caused tears just a couple of days earlier. Ma then changed her mind and decided to just sit and people watch.

They approached the line and found a large group of people just standing about trying to figure out which of the three lines they should enter.

As the attendant helped the group Swell and Sheepie were astonished that the vast majority of the group entered the express line.

And the vast majority of the vast majority had the purchased express passes. As they walked down the queue they soon hit the end of the line. They hoped that Ma had found a comfortable place to sit as it was going to be a long wait.

As they were waiting in line they struck up a conversation with the family in front of them.

This family had spent the preceding number of days at Disney and were now exploring Universal. It sounded like they had a full day of both parks ahead of them but they had FOTL passes as they were staying on site.

The young man was anxious to learn about the ride. Swell stated that it was fun. It was dark. It was fast.

Swell continued by indicating that she was very scared of the ride when she first did it but now it was one of her favourite rides out of both Disney and US.

She then took it a step too far.

“We rode with my Mum the other day. She was so scared that she started to cry.”

The family laughed and the boy said; “I don’t think that I’ll be scared like that. It’ll be fun.”

A few moments later Swell felt a tug on her pants.

Turning around she was soon looking down into the doe eyes of a young girl.

“Lady, is this scary?” she asks with a very concerned look in her eyes.

Swell, not being a parent answers “Yes.”

As soon as the word yes passed her lips two things happened simultaneously:

1) Swell realized that she probably should have worded her answer differently
2) The young girl’s doe eyes went from a look of concern to a look of fear.

Swell tried to make up for her blunder by saying “Its just fast. Its fun. You’ll like it. Have you ever been on Space Mountain? I think that Space Mountain is scarier! My Mum was scared but she did ok.”

It soon became apparent that the young girl had been listening to the conversation that had taken place between the duo and the family in front of them. She was not going to be convinced that this ride was not the worst thing on the face of the planet.

When the front of the line was finally reached Swell and Sheepie looked over their shoulder and saw the young girl and her family continue past the ride and out the chicken exit.

Swell was greatly upset that she accidentally talked this young girl out of riding.

C’est la vie.

And sorry to that family.

After the Mummy the met back up with Ma and headed over to MIB which they rode three or four times Swell and Sheepie continuing to improve but not being able to exceed 300,000 and 400,000 respectively.

The fifth time entering the queue they hit a wall of people just as the line entered the building.

Being too privileged to stand in such a long line they walked back outside and decided it was time to eat.

The plan for the afternoon was to go to IOA so they left US and headed to City Walk for lunch.

They decided to go back to Bubba Gumps and fine food and drink were had.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/xmattodx/Universal0419/photo?authkey=caQc2YfNumQ#5206717373353704578"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/xmattodx/SEH53VyaPII/AAAAAAAACZs/-PN-yYCYvCo/s400/IMG_6562.JPG" /></a>

While eating an enjoyable lunch the decision was made to forgo IOA and head back to US rather than having to keep an eye on the clock to ensure they made it back to the parade.

Sheepie went along with the plan although he wasn’t terribly pleased with having to spend so much of his vacation at US.

They went to Twister which neither Ma nor Swell enjoyed. Not that the Twister was too scary they simply found the rain to be far too cold. Both wished they had brought a jacket.

Sheepie likes Twister. Being old enough to remember Edmonton’s Black Friday Tornado well he finds that it brings back interesting memories he also enjoys watching the mechanics behind the effects.

After Twister they went back The Mummy with Ma deciding to join the duo for this ride. Swell, once again, ensured that Ma understood that this was the ride that caused her palpitations earlier in the week. Ma was insistent that she would be willing to go on it again. She survived but said that she would not be doing that again.

The final rides of the day were all done on MIB. On one of their many rides they ended up in a car where the two fellows riding in front of them scored 600,000 and 700,000 without using the “Red Button”.

At the end of the ride Sheepie asked them for any advice they could give. They were not fountains of information but they did suggest aiming only for high targets and then they said “Follow us.”

Thinking that they were going to go on a re-ride with the fellows and be granted a grand tutorial they followed them.

Followed them right through the baby swap line and back into line.

Swell and Sheepie were immediately struck with an overwhelming sense of guilt as the two guys gleefully said “Now you know a Universal secret.”

“Can’t you get in trouble?”

“Who cares.”

They rode through again this time both Swell and Sheepie doing a little bit better by ensuring that they aimed at higher targets.

As they exited the ride they saw the guys go back through baby swap as Swell and Sheepie went through the normal exit and back into the end of the line.

This would be their last MIB ride of the day and they met back up with Ma who had decided not to ride – The Mummy having finished her off.

They headed over to Starbucks where Swell and Ma bought some coffees and the trio sat passing the time before the parade started.

The coffees done. The trio started to look for a good place to sit.

Passing by Shrek they decided that they had time to go in before the start of the parade.

As the line weaved in and out Sheepie was very confused. It seemed that the line was heading away from the entrance.

And they did. They entered some sort of magic backdoor and entered the theater on the opposite side as usual. Sheepie remains confused to this day. Was it a second theater? Or just a different entrance? And why did they go in that way?

Shrek was fun and after the show was over the trio found a spot to sit across from Shrek to wait for the start of the parade.

They sat and waited and waited and were soon told that upon the start of the parade they would not be permitted to have their feet on the “road”.

As they waited Swell and Sheepie soon realized that they were exhausted.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/xmattodx/Universal0419/photo?authkey=caQc2YfNumQ#5206717609576905906"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/xmattodx/SEH6FFyaPLI/AAAAAAAACaE/dFgM2_yV8bY/s400/IMG_6570.JPG" /></a>

As the parade made its way past the trio Sheepie became confused.

Why were all of these people going so crazy over cheap plastic beads?

Why was Ma going crazy? Screaming until she was hoarse. Jumping up and down squealing like a child. This was a side of her he had never seen before.

Why was he the only one raising his shirt?

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/xmattodx/Universal0419/photo?authkey=caQc2YfNumQ#5206717751310826706"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/xmattodx/SEH6NVyaPNI/AAAAAAAACaY/j0r92ivkzw4/s400/IMG_6579.JPG" /></a>

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/xmattodx/Universal0419/photo?authkey=caQc2YfNumQ#5206717832915205346"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/xmattodx/SEH6SFyaPOI/AAAAAAAACag/L_et9AI-qNU/s400/IMG_6580.JPG" /></a>

After being hit in the head a few times by both people and beads Sheepie was glad to see the end of the parade.

The trio decided they were too tired to stay for any of the music and left via the Blue Man Group exit. Much quicker than following the large mass of humanity heading for the regular exit.

It was dinner time and the trio decided on going to the Latin Quarter.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/xmattodx/Universal0419/photo?authkey=caQc2YfNumQ#5206717961764224258"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/xmattodx/SEH6ZlyaPQI/AAAAAAAACaw/bsNARn7hAME/s400/IMG_6593.JPG" /></a>

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/xmattodx/Universal0419/photo?authkey=caQc2YfNumQ#5206718026188733714"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/xmattodx/SEH6dVyaPRI/AAAAAAAACa4/98pZCMu5s9Y/s400/IMG_6594.JPG" /></a>

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/xmattodx/Universal0419/photo?authkey=caQc2YfNumQ#5206718086318275874"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/xmattodx/SEH6g1yaPSI/AAAAAAAACbA/G5lf2Y5WAwQ/s400/IMG_6596.JPG" /></a>

Dinner was great and the day ended quietly.

[RAPstar]

What was the drink Swell had at Bubba Gump's? It looks very yummy!!

[xmattodx]

The last day.

The last full day.

The trio were quite sad that their trip was coming to an end but excited by what the day had to offer.

Not surprisingly the day didn’t start early. Not late but not early. Who wants to be there at opening if they don’t have to be?

Not this trio.

Ma was getting tired of the whole theme park thing but was willing to do it for one more day.

One more day.

Fully devoted to IOA.

As had become routine the trio walked to the parks and enjoyed the beautiful weather and scenery.

Their previous time at IOA the trio went right instead of left but this time they followed the crowds and headed past the Hulk to Dr. Doom’s Freefall.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/xmattodx/UniversalLastDay/photo?authkey=a2Gpg22tHgI#5207343746100241538"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/xmattodx/SEQzjCGoJII/AAAAAAAACik/TFqU1f57Y-s/s400/IMG_6631.JPG" /></a>

After a very short wait they were loaded in and on their way. It was much more enjoyable than Swell and Sheepie had remembered. It was only their second time on the ride ever as they had made a point of avoiding it in the past – claiming it not all that fun. It was definitely worth doing and they’ll ride it again in the future.

As they continued their way around the park they came to Spiderman and of course wanted to ride it. As they approached the door there was a large group of people trying to figure out where they were and what they were doing. Again, surprisingly, the vast majority of the group entered the express line. It was the longest Spiderman express line they had ever encountered. Still – it was an enjoyable ride after the wait.

The group walked through Toon Lagoon promising each other that they would return to it before the end of the day.

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They happened across the Sinbad show just as it was about to start.

They figured: “Why not?”

It is an enjoyable show and they sat much closer than they had ever sat before getting a better look at the actors.

A fun way to spend some time.

After Sinbad is was lunch time.

Back to Mythos for this group!

It was a short wait but they were seated relatively quickly even without reservations. They were given the exact same table as they had previously. The specials ended up being the same as their previous visit. This caused a little concern for Sheepie. His concern concerned the waitress as she explained that when the parks are slower they run the specials for a few days using up all the ingredients.

Sheepie was quick to correct her concern, “Oh no! I’m fine with it being the same special I just need to figure out whether I want to eat the same thing again now.”

Sheepie is very predictable when it comes to food at restaurants. He’ll very often get the same thing at the same restaurant every time they go.

“Why try something else when you know you like something already?”

He was convinced by the women to try something different so he did.

He chose steak.

It was yummy.

Very, very yummy.

The woman each had a soup and shared a salad. They also found their lunches to be yummy.

They ensured to save room for dessert.

They each had a dessert shot.

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One Tiramisu, one Cheese Cake, and one Chocolate Mousse cake. All three were thoroughly enjoyable and just the right size.

After Mythos it was Jurassic Park for the last time and then Swell and Sheepie went on both sides of Dueling Dragons while Ma waited patiently.

They ended their day by going on water rides a number of times. They went on Bluto’s three times in a row with varying waits – none of which were all that long. They find it enjoyable to go on Bluto’s with other families and watch their enjoyment.

They often feel bad that these other people will have to walk around in wet sneakers, and denim for the rest of the day.

Swell and Sheepie ensure that they wear quick dry clothes when they go to IOA and then they enjoy getting soaked.

And soaked they got.

After a few times on Bluto’s they headed to Ripsaw Falls which had been down for a large portion of the day. They were excited to find it back open but even the express line was packed. They didn’t deter them and they went on Ripsaw Falls twice.

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With those two rides they were spent and ready to go back to the hotel.

Following a leisurely walk back to the resort and a few hours of rest they headed back to City Walk with the hope that they could eat at Margaritaville. When they heard that it was at least a 90 minute wait and wouldn’t be much quicker even with their room key Priority Seating they took a pager but tried to find a quicker way to eat.

A quicker way to eat was found at the Porch of Indecision. They were seated immediately the host returned their pager for them and large portions of good food were soon had!

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Following dinner the trio just wandered around city walk for awhile doing touristy things like this picture:

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That's right. They're that cool.

Their last night was had and they were up very early the next morning to drive Ma to the airport.

The tolls were paid there and back again.

Swell and Sheepie returned to PBH to checkout and upon loading the car they headed to US to do MIB a few more times.

And then they were done.

And they left.

And drove home.

And didn’t have to pay for parking.

By some miracle from above and not by crook.

[xmattodx]

What was the drink Swell had at Bubba Gump's? It looks very yummy!!

Its a Lotsa Lava. They also have a version with alcohol called a Lava Flow.

[LeslieR]

Totally enjoyed your report...so sad it's over! Thanks for sharing...

[jakuch]

Thanks for the wonderful report. What is the Porch of Indecision? I'm clueless.

Karen

[xmattodx]

Thanks for the wonderful report. What is the Porch of Indecision? I'm clueless.

Karen

You know, I'm not entirely sure. It's part of Margarittaville, off on the side, outside seating. I've never actually been inside Margarittaville so I don't know if its the same menu or limited or what. They often have live music being played. Very pleasant.

[NH-R-T-Cha]

I've loved reading your TR. You've got a great writing style.
Thanks for the Laughs!

[Rubbertops]

Great report.
Thanks!

[minniejack]

:thumbsup2 Great report--very entertaining!::yes::

[Disneychix]

I enjoyed your report! I can't believe "Ma" went on the Mummy 2x after crying over it! What a trooper!

Not to bring up the whole parking issue again but I just don't get how you kept getting your car out of the parking lot at PB without paying? We just went for the Spa while staying at RPR and they tried to charge us for parking and it was quite a long delay trying to get our car out of the lot without paying. We thought it was a rip-off that we had to pay $15 at RPR and also at PB for the same day. Maybe you really are getting charged and they are "hiding" the charges or calling them something different that you don't recognize?