"Not so" Live Report (With Photo's) DL, NY, WDW, DCL & NASA Done - U.S. in progress

[DizOz]

This is our last full day on board and it is at sea for the day.

We have an earlish start. DW has a Spa treatment booking whilst I took the girls to breakfast at Tritons.

Farook the head server is there and comes over to say hello and even asks after DW. The girls bacon and toast but I only have a cup of coffee as we have a booking for brunch at Palo's. We take out time before heading back to the room and meet DW.

She had a great time at the spa despite getting told off about the condition of her feet.

We take the girls down to the Oceaneers club and sign them in. Then with our friends we head off to Palo's up on deck 9. We checkin and are seat straight away by the window.

Our server is a young guy from Serbia and we get talking about where we are from etc. He mentions his best friend on the boat is from Asutralia and so is another server. So he brings them over and we have a good chat.

We asked about their job. They work 6-7 months on with no break and 3 months off. Dsiney flys them back home during their time off. As a server it is a tips only position no salary. So most of them have side businesses such as haircuts, massages etc.

Anyway we are then taken and shown the buffet. OMG the food looks sensational. You have a 4 or 5 presentation areas each with a theme and them a menu of items you can order. Each dish is also cooked and presented at the front of the kitchen to see what you can order.

Every dish is esplained during the tour.

The seafood area has every type of seafood you could want such as crab claws and legs, oyster, muscles, scallops various fish, caviar seafood mousse.

Then there is like an antipasta area with fresh cut cured meats, olives peppers ect.

There is a cheese and biscuits area with avrious cheeses available. You also have a selection of breads and pastries.

The deserts are heaven. With about a dozen mini deserts to choose from.

I am sure I am missing some things but you get the idea, a foodies heaven.

We are served some champagne and orange juice to start along with some coffee.

I start with the seafood and try to be delicate and not over the plate. Its mission impossible. Ok I'll have one of them and two of those, next minute you have a foot high plate of food.

I polish off the sefodd and then tried some of the antipasta offerings. Again these are great.

We then order our main courses. I chose eggs benedict. It was great leaving just enough room for desert.

I start with a Tiramisu and then sampled a few of the little sampler deserts.

All up we were there for 2 hours eating and talking. Afterwards we went for a walk around the deck. The wind was blowing an absolute gale today. At times it was hard keeping your feet but still very warm.

DW and I on our walk around the deck.

We went and picked up the kids and took them for lunch by the pool. They had pizza and soft drink. After lunch the girls went for a swim in the pool which took up much of the afternoon.

We then headed back to the room to pack as the bags were being picked up that night. So we had to get organised with clothes for the next day and tagging our bags. Then we had to sort out the tips for the crew. There is a suggested amounts and people.

We had the:

• Head server Farook
• Server Ion
• Assistant Server Yukiko
• Concierge (As we were in a concierge cabin)

We went down to the service desk to hand it in. They then give you a receipt for each person and envelope which you can write a message and hand it to them if you wish.

I had a look at what some people put and boy are they stingey. Many didn't even give the recommended amount which wasn't really much. A few dollars per day per person. We had a great time so I think we tipped them very well.

Also in our room was a limited edition disney print from the concierge. So we packed it away very carefully.

We headed off to dinner at Tritons just before 6pm. Tonight is the pirate night and quite a few people are dressed up in costume. Some of the adults are right into it with better costumes than they have for their kids.

We start with the traditional cocktail tonight I have the Imagination which has Baileys Irish Cream, Tia Maria, Vanilla Ice Cream, dash of Grenadine.

As a starter I have the snails. By now I am really into eating snails, this is about the fourth time on this trip.

For mains I have the lamb shank with polenta. Wow it was so tender and the polenta nice and creamey.

After the main meals all the servers disappear and then they have a parade of nations with flags of every country of the crew. There is a lot of clapping and stomping as they parade around. The executive chef then makes an appearance along with his staff and they are thanked for their work.

For desert I can't resist the Grand Marnier Souffle. Again perfect.

At the end of the night Ion and Yukiko do their origami and magic tricks and we get a photo with them. We thanked them for everything and pass on our tip envelop to them. They put it away and thanls us for everything. They then asked if everything was OK and to make sure we complete our survey.

The girls head to the movies and we head to the Cadillac bar again for a few beers. We call it a night early as we have any early start. Disembarkation day we have a 7am booking for breakfast and will be off the boat by 8.30am.

DD with face painting from the pirate night

Little towel rabbit

DD with Daisy at character greeting on the ship

 

[DizOz]

We woke up early on our last day as it was going to be a busy one.

We showered and dressed and headed to Triton's for breakfast.

On the last day you are scheduled to eat in a restaurant at a particular time. Those on the early sitting for dinner, were assigned 7am and the later sitting at 8am.

We arrive and are seated at our table Ion and Yukiko are there serving us again this morning. I have my usual omelet and coffee with some juice. The kids have their pancakes.

We finish our breakfast and say goodbye again to Ion and Yukiko. On the way out we stopped off to say goodbye to Farook.

We head to the room and pack our travel bag and head back down stairs.

We check out as we head off the ship and make our way to the baggage area. A porter helped us with our bags. We hand him our slip and he went off and found them for us. We get to customs our friends are in the line next to us. They get through straight away it tales us approximately 20 minutes. Not sure what the problem was.

We head outside to the Avis pickup area and wait. We are third in line and it is building. Every other car company has been and gone and we are still there. Finally we see the Avis bus turn the corner. All our bags practically fill the bus. Lucky the other have little luggage.

We head off to pick up our van for the day.

We get to Avis and pickup our Van. Lucky me I get to drive as friend will operate the GPS on his phone. We load up the van which is a task.

Finally we head off to NASA.

Its a pretty easy drive from Cape Canaveral.

I am doing the limit on the freeway which was 70 mph. Everyone is passing me as if I am standing still.

We reach the turn off to NASA and follow the road around. Almost a full circle. We reach the car park and it is practically empty.

We go to the box office and get some tickets. We get the basic ticket with the tour and head inside.

We get through security which is the norm everywhere we go.

You come out of the entry building to a large open quadrangle. We got our bearings and look at the map and head straight for the shuttle takeoff simulator.

We find the building and check all our belongings into a locker. You aren’t allowed anything loose on the attraction. We then head up the gangway and line up inside. There is a preshow staging area with a video about shuttle crew and their experiences. Then you are taken through to the attraction. It’s a little like mission space lined up in rows.

DW and eldest DD didn’t want to do the ride so they were taken to a viewing area. They could watch us on video screens.

The doors finally open and we head in. It is a large room with rows and rows of seats. We take our seat and buckle in.

The ride starts the whole room is lifted and shakes violently as you go through different stages of the takeoff. Best description I have is to compare it to one of those paint mixers at your local hardware store. Combined with the roar of the engines it is all very realistic.

After the ride we collect of things and go to the large space shuttle next to the simulator. You can look at two parts of the shuttle. The flight deck and the cargo area with a view of crew quarters.

After that we head back to the Imax theatre and watch a 3d movie about the Hubble Telescope. Wow it was fantastic. Even the kids thought it was fantastic. You felt like you were actually there as they fixed the telescope.

After that we headed to the bus area for a tour around the complex. We are loaded on NASA buses that have video screens and commentary by the driver.

The first stop is the shuttle launch pad viewing platform. On the way you see various buildings such as the Vehicle Assemble Building (The large building you can see for miles) and the tracks out to the launch pad. You can see the indents from the tracks of the vehicle that moves the shuttle to the pad. Also on the way we passed were they we filming Transformers 3 at the space centre.

As we arrive we are shown into a small building at the base. There is a small film about the platform and its history. Then a little museum with displays etc. The main point of interest is viewing the launch pad. We are in luck there was a shuttle on the pad ready for launch. Discovery was sitting on the pad waiting the next launch. Also in luck the platform was open so we got a better view.

You can use the binoculars on the viewing platform to get a really close up view.

We then boarded the bus for the next stop which was the Apollo/Saturn centre. Again there was a movie and presentation in a mock up of the Apollo command centre. The movie was all about Apollo 8 being the first to go to the moon. Its orbit and the famous Earth Rise picture.

After that you head out to the exhibits. The first thing you see is an Apollo rocket which stretched the length of the building. It is broken up into it separate stages.

There are exhibits everywhere. There are copies of newspapers announcing the moon landing, an actual Apollo capsule, a moon buggy, space suits through the ages, log books from different missions. There was so much to see we could have spent the whole day in there and still not seen it all. One of the biggest thrills was a moon rock you could touch.

There is a café at the complex that had a good range of food, hot and cold, healthy and not so healthy. So we sat and had lunch and took it easy.

For a space junkie like me I was in heaven. It was much better than I ever expected.
After lunch we had a further look around and then into the gift shop. There was everything in there with NASA on it. We bought some gifts and shirts etc and headed back to the bus.

It was stinking hot and we timed it right. The waiting area although covered didn’t offer much protection from the sun. Behind us were a large crowd. We had 5 minutes to wait for the next bus. The run on a loop around the centre.

We boarded the bus and headed back to the visitors centre. On the way back we got to see the local fauna. An alligator sunning itself on the side of the road, an eagle nesting in the trees.

Back at the centre we split up and the DW and eldest daughter went to the shops and we went to the robot scouts exhibit. It is an exhibit about the different robotics NASA has used and will use over time. Moving from exhibit to exhibit it tells the story of their development.

It was starting to get late and we had to drive back to our next stop Universal Studios and drop of the van. So we headed off back to Orlando. We could have spent another day on the things we missed.

The drive back was pretty easy. We decided to buy some water on the way back and pulled in at a local store across from wet and wild.

It was a short drive from there to Universal Studios. We found the entrance to the Portofino and drove in. The drive way went for ages. Finally we reached the entrance and we all unloaded. Checkin was smooth and easy and the porter showed us to our rooms.

First we dropped off our friends in their room and then headed to ours. We take the elevator down and head out into this piazza as if you were in Italy. It was unbelievable the details. Finally we made it to our room. We are on the opposite sides of the resort.

The room is huge. There is a kingsize bed for us and the girls have their own room. It is a Dr Seuss room. Everything with Dr Seuss characters on the wall and the furniture to match. It was our little surprise for them. They were so excited. They had their own little table and chairs, Tv etc.

We settled in and then made arrangements to head to the pool. There are two pools. A beach pool and a normal lap type pool. The beach pool has a great slide so the kids want to stay there. We get comfortable and have a cool down swim.

That night we go to Mama Della’s for dinner. We didn’t have a reservation but they managed to fit us in.

The food is fantastic as well as the ambience. They have opera singers going from table to table singing to you. They make it to our table and ask us what song we want. We ask for That’s Amore. For the next 5 minutes we are serenaded to the tune of That’s Amore.

As a starter we have Bruschetta, it was so fresh it was fantastic. DW order meatballs and spaghetti. It was huge. I had a veal chop wow it was superb.

The kids had some desert and then it was off to bed. We had an early start in the morning. We were off to Harry Porter.

The front of the KSC

Typical tourist photo op

The Space Shuttle on Display

Vehicle Assembly Building

DD's at the Observation Platrom

Launch Pad

Newspapers at Apollo Centre

Apollo Command Centre

Moon Buggy

Saturn Rocket

DD in front of Apollo capsule

 

[Mum from oz]

The Cruise looked awesome. I can't wait to do mine

You have made Kennedy Space Centre look much more interesting. We have it on our itinerary but I was not sure about it. I'm just hoping it won't be too boring for the little ones.

Can't wait to hear more!

 

[DizOz]

The Cruise looked awesome. I can't wait to do mine

You have made Kennedy Space Centre look much more interesting. We have it on our itinerary but I was not sure about it. I'm just hoping it won't be too boring for the little ones.

Can't wait to hear more!

Thanks Mum from Oz,

Can honestly say we could have spent a lot more time out at KSC. Our girls aged 7 and 11 at the time loved it.

Our bed at Portofino

Girls room

Our view over the lake

Views of the Piazza and lake

 

[PrincessInOz]

Your pictures of Portofino are great. And I love visiting KSC too. DH is a space junkie from the Apollo days and I was surprised at how interesting KSC was for DS and myself.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[DizOz]

Your pictures of Portofino are great. And I love visiting KSC too. DH is a space junkie from the Apollo days and I was surprised at how interesting KSC was for DS and myself.

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks. KSC was definitely a highlight for me as I am a space junkie as well. I manage to tape and watch anything on Foxtel remotely related to space.

 

[DizOz]

Our first full day at Universal we started early (AGAIN) and ventured out into the piazza. It was a cool morning for once. It was so refreshing not having that heavy humidity all day.

Anyway the first morning we went in search of coffee and we were in luck with a little café in the piazza. We got our fix and headed to the docks to wait for the boat to take us around to the park.

We got to the park just after openers and had to show our room keys etc to get in early. Once in we got our maps and headed straight to Harry Potter.

On the way we went thru Seuss Landing. DD wanted to stop for a ride but told her to keep going so we could get to HP. I knew it would get crowded very quickly.

As we approached the world of HP came to life. It was so realistic the buildings, the snow looked a bit odd when it was getting so humid and hot.

Once inside we headed straight to the forbidden journey. DW who hates most thrill rides (Loves Dinosaur) asked me how bad it was. I told her it isn’t too bad so she decided to try it.

We found a locker as you aren’t allowed to take anything on the ride with you. Be careful though it is free for the first 30 minutes then you have to pay. If you are stuck in line for longer and put your wallet or purse in the locker you may have nothing to pay to get it out. You then have to go and find someone to open it for you.

The queue is half the fun. The different rooms you go through there are surprises around every corner. DW was getting worried as there are warning signs every 20 meters or so about motion sickness etc.

Well after 20+ minute wait we arrived at the loading area and we get seated. Each ride vehicle seats 4 people in a very snug seat. Anyone bigger than me would struggle to get into them.

Wow the ride was fantastic a mixture of a number of ride technologies. Youngest DD and I loved it. DW just swore at me and headed to the toilets.

Next ride was the Hippogriff. Well what an experience that was. As we were staying on site we had the express tickets we were shown the express line. The guy running the ride had no idea. The express line was 50 meters long and the standby was virtually empty. But he kept letting the standby go first and we had to wait. When we asked why he said they have a system. He got a little nasty and threatening when we suggested his system sucked. At one stage I thought he was going to take a swing at us.

Well the ride certainly isn’t worth waiting for.

DD and friends then tried the Dragon Challenge. Other DD, DW and I checked out the shops. I also tried Butter Beer both the frozen and unfrozen versions. They serve them out of these wagons that look like old style wooden kegs.

I preferred the unfrozen and DD loved the frozen. We also got souvenir mugs with the drinks.

The others were ages and turned out the youngest pair were not allowed on Dragon Challenge.

By now HP was so crowded you could barely move so we headed out and back to Seuss Landing. We rode the cat in the hat and Caro-Seuss-el and trolley train. We then headed back to Jurassic Park and rode it. Wow the fall at the end is breath taking. Luckily we didn’t get too wet.

We headed over to the Toon Lagoon. As we entered there we saw Dudley Do Right. I had ridden it last time we came and we didn’t get too wet so I suggested we all ride it now and Popeye later as we would get wet on it. Big mistake.

We all went on it in 2 logs. DH of friend and I went in one with a group a large English guys. The weight of us made sure we got soaked. Every fall the log buried itself in the water and we were all covered in water.

Well we got off and DW of friends gave me a mouth full about not getting wet. We were drenched so we decided to do Popeye. Well if we weren’t wet we so were. At one stage DW friend unbuckled and moved to avoid a wave, too late.

After the ride we tried a drying booth but we were too wet and the clothes too heavy to dry. So we ended up buying sun dresses for the girls at the nearby stand.

After that we had some lunch at a little café on the way to the Super Hero Land. Food was pretty good and a good choice.

After lunch we had dried off a little and headed to Super Hero Land. DD and I went on Spiderman whilst the rest went on the Hulk. We got on without any wait so we rode it again.

Again 2 youngest were not allowed on so they rode Dr Doom instead.

It was getting hot and crowded so we decided to head back to the hotel for a swim.

The pool is fantastic at the hotel and so is the slide. Just have to be careful at the end you don’t hit the bottom of the pool.

That night our friends decided to take it easy with a pizza so we went to Bice. An upscale Italian restaurant at the hotel.

The food and service was superb. It started with Tuna Tartar. It was a huge serve but lovely.

For mains I had the Scaloppine it was so tender and full of flavor it was great. DW had a risotto. She almost died when they brought it out, it could have fed an army. She managed to finish less than half but she loved it. The staff were worried she didn’t like it.

We were so full we couldn’t fit any more in. So we called it a night and headed back to the room ready for an early start.

A view up HP from the entrance

DD in front of the Serious Black wanted sign

The Butter Beer Wagon

DD in front of Honeydukes and some of there goodies

The Hogsmead Sign

The HP Entrance Arch

DW and DD's with Castle in background

The Hogsworth Castle

DD's with Butter Beer

The Mug

 

[QuirkyButterfly]

Your photos of Harry Potter look amazing, I can't wait to go there. My DBF doesn't want to set foot in that area though (not a big HP fan) so it will just be me. I told him he can spend a few hours in Jurassic Park.

How did you find it going to Universal after Disney. We are planing to go to Universal first because I am more excited about Disney and wanted it to be the end of the trip.

Apart from the park order, your holiday is exactly what I want to do. Except I can't convince my DBF to go to DL, New York or on DCL.

Oh well at least we are going to the world. How long did you go for, I know that you have probably said before but I can't find it.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Another great update! I so wish I was back at WWoHP for another round of Butterbeer....I prefer the frozen. But your picture of the beverage will just have to suffice.

Did you buy any of the Ton Tongue chocolate? I looked at it, figured it was way too big and put it back. Someone.slap.me!

 

[DizOz]

Your photos of Harry Potter look amazing, I can't wait to go there. My DBF doesn't want to set foot in that area though (not a big HP fan) so it will just be me. I told him he can spend a few hours in Jurassic Park.

How did you find it going to Universal after Disney. We are planing to go to Universal first because I am more excited about Disney and wanted it to be the end of the trip.

Apart from the park order, your holiday is exactly what I want to do. Except I can't convince my DBF to go to DL, New York or on DCL.

Oh well at least we are going to the world. How long did you go for, I know that you have probably said before but I can't find it.

Quirky,

Tell your DBF not to miss the Forbidden Journey. It is a great ride. Make sure you do HP first thing as it is a crazy house after that.

Universal is not Disney. It is all the small things such as staff attitude. The number of staff managing rides. Universal has cut back which caused delays.

Good luck coinvincing DBF on the rest of the trip. We always find stopping in LA re-charges our batteries before starting our trip. We went for a month and spent 12 days at WDW. 6 at DL, 3 NY, 4 DCL and 6 at US.

Another great update! I so wish I was back at WWoHP for another round of Butterbeer....I prefer the frozen. But your picture of the beverage will just have to suffice.

Did you buy any of the Ton Tongue chocolate? I looked at it, figured it was way too big and put it back. Someone.slap.me!

Found a recipe for Butterbeer on the internet so at least we can try it at home now.

No did not get any sweets. DD's did get some but they ate it that qucik not sure what they bought.

 

[DizOz]

Today we were heading for Universal Studio for the day.

Headed down and got our morning cup of coffee. Unfortunately we just missed the boat. It was a cool morning so we decided to walk to the park. Its a nice walk along the canals and the garden settings. The walk took approx 15 minutes and we entered the park as it opened.

We headed straight for the simpsons ride. This ride replaced the Back to the Future ride and the concept is every similar just with a different theme. We were the second ones in the queue and had a great time riding it so we went on it again.

Then we headed to men in black. I love this ride especially when it goes through the tunnel with the smoke and it starts spinning. DH of our friend got the high score, his tactics was to fire continuously no matter what. Its much harder than the Buzz Lightyear ride as there are no clear targets on the aliens.

Next was jaws and my pet hates of Universal where they will not let you photograph or video any of the rides. At this stage youngest DD had a headache so her and DW sat down in the shade. At this stage we thought it was just the Men in Black ride that caused the headache (More on that later).

We rode the jaws ride and I loved it as did the rest of the kids. Thye almost jumped out of the boat when the shark appeared. After the ride DD still was not the best so they decided to sit a little longer and we went and did the Disaster Ride.

DH of our friends got chosen to play one of the villains in the show. All up about 8 people are chosen to play parts. We went through where they taped the scenes to a distaster movie. After the taping we went through to the ride section and got on one of the cars. It takes you through to the disatser set where an earthquake happens, subway collapses, fire and floods etc. At the end of the ride the show the movie that was edited on screens in the cars.

Afterwards we went back to see how DD was. She was a little better so we went on Revenge of the Mummy. Fantastic indoor roller coaster with a difference. With our express passes we only had a 5 minute wait. The ride cobines a number of affects and is very fast in sections.

Unfortunately the Rip and Ride Rocket was closed. I was not that disappointed. So next we did Shrek 4D. This is exactly the same as the one at Movie World in Queensland. Warning don't do this attraction if you have a bad back. The 3D film has the seats moving and other affects during the show.

Next was Jimmy Neutron. DW hated this attraction last time so she sat it out. We headed in and loved it as you are emersed inside a Jimmy Neutron adventure. The cars move as you fly through the movie on the screen making it all very realistic.

It was startig to get hot so we decided to split up. Our family went to the Citywalk for lunch.

We looked around and headed to Bubba Gump. Well it definitely smelled like seafood.

We order come specialty cocktails with the souverign glass. I order the Shrimpers heaven which has 4 different types of shrimp. Coconut, chilly, fried and tempura. I loved it.

After lunch we headed back to the room and then a swim. DD still was not well so she and DW stayed in the room for a sleep.

We had a swim in the pool for a few hours. Our friends joined us and we swam till about 6pm. We got back to the room and DD was still asleep not a good sign.

DW told us to go to dinner and she would order a pizza for them from the restaurant downstairs. We headed back to Mama Dellas again for dinner.

Tonight we took it easy on the food. Tonight we had a reservation. We checked in there was a strange unwelcoming vibe tonight. The palce was half empty but it seemed like we were troubling them by eating there tongith. Totally the opposite from the previous night when we didn't have booking.

Anyway once we were seated things improved. A different singer was on tongiht and again they came around and asked us what song we wanted. We just said to surprise us. Guess what they sang, That's Amore the same song from 2 nights ago. Anyway it was just as nice.

I had a chicken Marsala dish in a creamy sauce. It was very nice I just needed some breaded to mop up the sauce.

We had an early night and DD and I headed back to the room to see how DW and young DD were. She still was not well so we had the hoyel arrange a doctor for the morning. It was very easy to arrange and the staff were magnificent in helping us.

Simson Ride

 

[ehsmum]

Thank you so much for the cruise report! I'm not sure if we're going to be able to do the Mexican Riviera in 2012 yet, but it's definitely on my wishlist .

We skipped Kennedy Space Centre in favour of an extra day at Universal. I'm kind of bummed about that now that I see your photos and rave review. It will have to be on the agenda next time!

Sorry to hear that your DD was sick at Universal. I hope that she recovered and was able to enjoy the parks for the rest of your stay. We really loved Universal, especially having the Universal Express pass .

 

[PrincessInOz]

I'm also hoping that there was nothing seriously wrong with DD.....

 

[DizOz]

Day Three at Universal Studios.

We planned to head to Aquatic today. Aquatic is part of Seaworld and is a water park. Its biggest claim to fame is the water slide that goes under water through the dolphin pool.

We woke this morning and DD is worse again. She had a fever and was off her food. When this happens we know she is not well. She also had a sore throat.

DW had the doctor booked for 10am. He arrived on time, luckily for us he was a pediatrician. He was great. He checked her out from top to bottom including bacteria test on the spot and diagnosed her with an infected throat. He mixed her medication enough to last us until we got home. All up it cost approx US$350. On the medication she was back to normal in 24 hours.

Eldest DD and I packed up and were ready to go. We headed down stairs to breakfast at Trattoria del Porto. They have a buffet or a la carte choices. We both went to the buffet. DD had pancakes and bacon whilst I had an omelette. At breakfast we ran into DW of our friends she mentioned we needed to buy tickets for the bus to Aquatica. So after we finished breakfast we went to the ticket office and brought our tickets for aquatica and the bus.


The bus arrived and I noticed she only gave me one ticket for the bus. Bus driver let it go. The bus does the rounds of the 3 US hotels and then goes to Aquatic, Seaworld and Wet and Wild. So we were first on and first off.

We got to the park and found a nice shady place near the wave pool. We dumped our bags and put our valuables in the locker. They cost $5 for the day.

First ride we went on was the Dolphin Plunge. It is a single rider side by side fully enclosed water slide that twists and turns in the dark until you hit the dolphine pool and it is clear so you can see the dolphins. You have to be lucky with your timing to see them.

Next we did Tassie Twister. It is a 2 person ride in tubes. You go down a slide into what looks like a large toilet bowl. With your momentum you go around 3 or 4 times before falling through the hole and down the slide into the pool. DD and I did this ride and loved it.

Next we did Omaka Rocka and Whanau Ride. Both a tube rides dwon water slides. One is twisting the other full of bumps etc. One of them turns you around and you end up going backwards. These can be ridden and doubles or singles.

We then did a trip around loggerhead lane which is just a lazy river ride.

Next was Hooroo run. It is a large tube water slide that can fit 4 people. The wait here was the worse for the day. Aproximately 30 minutes.

We were going to do the Walhalla Wave but the wait was even worse.

The kids wanted to go to walkabout waters. Is a water play ground for big and small kids.

While they did that the big boys did the Taumata Racer. It is a 8 lane timed racing slide. The first part is enclosed and when it opens up you have a massive dip. You are going so fast at this stage you usually are air borne as you come over the dip.

After that we went back to walkabout waters and played there with the kids for almost an hour. On the way back to lunch we did Roa Rapids. It is a river ride with a difference. It is much faster with small rapid areas along the ride.

We had lunch, hamburgers and the like where we dumped our bags.

In the afternnoon we pretty much went back and did a number of the kids fasvourite rides again. Then we all did the Taumata Racer twice.

The bus was due at 3pm to pick us up. Thank god it was there when we went out. It was so hot out in the paved car park and the bus was nicely air conditioned.

We got back to the hotel and found DD much better.

That night we went to Trattoria del Porto for dinner. I had a rib eye steak. Wow it was huge and couldn't finish it all. At 7.30 each night for 30 minutes they have opera singing in the piazza. They sing from the balcony of one of the buildings. So we were able to sit outside eating our meals to 30 minutes of opera. You almost felt as if you were in Italy.

 

[Travel Mum]

DisOz, how do you compare Aquatica with Blizzard Beach? Which did you prefer?

 

[PrincessInOz]

Glad to see that DD was feeling much better at the end of the day. And at $350...you got off lightly.

On one of our trips, we found the DS had blood in his ears at LAX; and we couldn't see where it was coming from. Thankfully, We were in transit and had 5 hours in between! Paramedics, ambulance trip to the local clinic, doctor check-up and 3 hours later....(and DS had scratched himself badly, so it was a surface wound as opposed to a problem with his ear drums)...$680.

And I ended up being really sick at Vegas and had to call a locum....a 10 minute house call, some drugs....and a bill of $475!

 

[QuirkyButterfly]

It is such a shame that she got sick, I hope it didn't last too long and that she enjoyed her time anyway. Did your travel insurance cover the doctors bills. I still have to find someone to get insurance with and I have no idea who to go with

Glad you liked Aquatica, I did have a look at it but decided to stick with just BB and TL.

 

[DizOz]

It is such a shame that she got sick, I hope it didn't last too long and that she enjoyed her time anyway. Did your travel insurance cover the doctors bills. I still have to find someone to get insurance with and I have no idea who to go with

Glad you liked Aquatica, I did have a look at it but decided to stick with just BB and TL.

QuirkyButterfly,

Thanks, one good thing about DD is when she is not well you can tell but she gets over it very quick. In 24 hours she was back on her food and keen to go on rides.

 

[DizOz]

Day 4 at Universal

DD is much better so she is able to join us today.

This morning we head back to IoA and straight to Harry Potter. The lines are much longer for the ride this morning and we have a 30 minute wait even though we are at the early openers.

While we are on the Forbidden Journey DW and eldest DD go to olivander's to get a wand and see the show. They wait in line for 20 minutes and nothign is happening until a cast member tells them it has broken down so they will not be opening for a while. DW leave the line and start to walk away as they do she overhears another cast member say its now working so thye jump back in line.

One child gets picked to do the show where they get to select their wand with lights etc going off. From the show the shuffle you off into the store next door to select your personal wand.

As we get off the ride they are still in the shop so I sneeked our youngest in the exit door so she could select a wand.

You have 2 choices for wands. You can get a character wand at any of the stores or for the same price get a personal one from Olivanders.

We try Butter beer again, I am hooked on this stuff now. I have seen a recipe so we can make it at home now.

We head over to Jurrasic are and ride the Jurrasic Park. The fall at the end seems to get higher and higher everytime I am on it. Then we have a go on the Pterandon Flyers. It is restricted you must go on it with a child. So we pair up and head up to the ride. It was suprisingly good ride with a great view of the park.

We double back and headed over to Sueass Landing and have a go on all the rides there at least once and in some cases twice. The girls hit the shops there and buy a few Dr Seuss items such as Thing 1 and 2 shirts and nighties etc.

The trolley train is a nice way to relax and get a great view of the park. It is slow loading so the lines are long. We are lucky with the express passes to skip the lines. The are two separate rides here which take different paths so we have riden both of them now.

We head over to Spiderman and ride that twice whilet the rest of the group rode the Hulk and Dr Doom.

We deicde to switch parks and head over to US. Once over there we have some lunch. We go to Finigan whuile our friends head to a quick service. I had the corn beef and cabbage with a nice cold beer and it was great. It was so hot outside the beer barely touched the sides.

As we finished lunch our friends met us at Finigans and the Blues Brothers started just outside. They arrive in their Blues mobile and have a little stage area on one of the old buldings. So we watched the show which lasts approx 20 minutes. The belt out 3/4 songs and dance around in the crowd. A crowd of 10+ people gather and are all clapping, singing and dancing along. A good show and I love the music from the movie so I really enjoyed it.

After the show we do Shrek 4D againand then head over to the terminator show. Love this show, the live actiona nd special effects are great.

After that we do ET. A bit Corny but love how he says your name at the end. At least this time they got my name right. For some reason when I tell them my name is Michael they think I am saying Marco.

After that we head back over to Simpsons and ride that again. We use our express passes and skipped the huge lines. In the end that didn't help as they could not manage the lines properly.

Once inside you a queued into 10 separate lines. Each line goes into one ride vehicle. Pretty simple concept you would think. We are in line 5 on the right hand side. One person comes and take lines 1-4 at various times and put them on the ride. Another person takes 6-10 at avrious times and takes them on their ride. While this is happening they refill the lines.

Now another person comes and takes 1-4 and puts them on a ride and same with the other side. Refill the lines again. You woudl think it is a simple taks but seems to be little system in taking the lines onto the ride.

When they start taking lines 1-4 and 6-10 again we start to get a bit annoyed. One guy just looks at us when we question him why we were not getting on the ride. No response just turns his back and starts taking th other lines again.

Another guys comes out to take more lines so we ask him. He was surprised we had been there that long. He questions the other staff and then asks one of the lines about to go to the ride load area to wait and we are finally loaded on. We thanked him for helping us out.

We rode the ride and loved it. DW was sitting outside the whole time and asked what took so long? We told her the whole story.

No one wanted to do Men in Black with me so we skipped it and we did Jaws again with yougest DD this time.

The heat was getting a bit much so we decided to head back to the pool.

That afternoon we relaxed by the pool with a few drinks and nibbles.

 

[QuirkyButterfly]

Glad to see that the good times are continuing. I have only scheduled 2 days at universal/IOA, do you think that this will be enough time to see everything?

Can you give me some more information on the Mummy ride, DBF isn't too keen on roller coasters, will he be ok on this ride. Every time I see something on this ride, it is always explained as a roller coaster with a difference. So I am not sure how he will take it.

Thanks for your help.