Thumping Our Way Through Disneyland.
- Thread starter Thumper_Man
- Start date
Ah - he may have more fun on FJ, but you will be able to see the queue, which is better than the ride, in my opinion, and he will still be in the dark. Bwa-ha-ha... ahem...sorry about the evil laughter there.
Seriously... the queue is worth it & if you can make it through all those you mentioned, you can make it through at least one ride of FJ. I think I disliked it so much because it did remind me of the paper-towel-tube ride at Kings Island.
pkondz
Brace yourself for immediate disintegration
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2007
Ummm... you might want to check out your TR for details.
Just Man. I understood every word. I mean, what else is there to say?
Hey, you never asked. I would've been there, otherwise.
Shall we start fundraising, just to see if she would do it?
I still have three li... OW!... Two lives left.
Ha! I was actually going to write that, then thought maybe it made me sound a little full of myself.
Hi Tammie! 
bankr63
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2010
Like Nebo, I kind of thought of him as Thurston as well, casting Smidgy as our beloved Lovey. The Professor would have to Perfessor Pecans.
Ok, TM is Gilligan, and TMW get's her choice of Ginger or Marianne. Oh PRAC, that makes me the Skipper, doesn't it?
pkondz
Brace yourself for immediate disintegration
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2007
Excellent use of the new PRAC expletive, skipper. But lousy seamanship.
MAGICFOR2
Condimentessa
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2005
MAGICFOR2
Condimentessa
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2005
Whew! All caught up now. I'm glad you survived the Backlot Tour - it is quite a harrowing experience! 
I see it has really been upgraded since the fire - guess we need to go again.
Um, yes along with the baloney sandwich you had for lunch, the escalators have been there at least since our first visit -17 or 18 years ago. I was just so impressed by them and the view of Hollywood that I couldn't forget. (country girl easily impressed )
Sorry you weren't able to get your shower near JP
Thanks so much for your prayers!
We are seeinig that we will have some somewhat permanent boxes in the garage too! 
We have the main living area about done now, just to hang pictures and decorate for Christmas. Now to start putting away clothes and blankets upstairs. I actually just found the bedding for our bed yesterday - we've been sleeping on top of quilts for over a week!
Well, I'll look forward to you taking a "road trip" to AZ then!
If I don't catch up to you before your trip, have a fabulous time in the World!
I see it has really been upgraded since the fire - guess we need to go again. Um, yes along with the baloney sandwich you had for lunch, the escalators have been there at least since our first visit -17 or 18 years ago. I was just so impressed by them and the view of Hollywood that I couldn't forget. (country girl easily impressed )
Sorry you weren't able to get your shower near JP
Welcome back! I wondered where you had disappeared to.I remember how crazy moving can be, so my prayers are with you my dear. I hope you can settle in soon without the worry of boxes. Although, not to put a damper on it or anything, but we have been in our house now for almost 5 years and we still have boxes of stuff in the garage...
And thanks, After having to dress up for work on a regular basis, it's always so nice to just put on jeans or shorts and a t-shirt for the parks, but I would feel silly walking into a place like this dressed like a bum. The one thing I won't do is wear heels while on vacation. I just can't do it.
As for letting you know if we are ever in your neck of the woods, we would be happy to. I don't know when that would be, but with the way T-Man talks about wanting to go on road trips just to hit up a Shula's and the closest one being in AZ, it could be sooner rather than later.
Thanks so much for your prayers!
We are seeinig that we will have some somewhat permanent boxes in the garage too! We have the main living area about done now, just to hang pictures and decorate for Christmas. Now to start putting away clothes and blankets upstairs. I actually just found the bedding for our bed yesterday - we've been sleeping on top of quilts for over a week! Well, I'll look forward to you taking a "road trip" to AZ then!
If I don't catch up to you before your trip, have a fabulous time in the World! 
Thumper_Man's Wife
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2009
Hmm...That's a hard choice. But since I would probably scare everyone if i let my midriff show, I may have to pick Ginger just by process of elimination and of course for the fact that my hair is now red.
I love that PRAC is being used now. It's the little things that make me happy!
Whew! All caught up now. I'm glad you survived the Backlot Tour - it is quite a harrowing experience!
Um, yes along with the baloney sandwich you had for lunch, the escalators have been there at least since our first visit -17 or 18 years ago. I was just so impressed by them and the view of Hollywood that I couldn't forget. (country girl easily impressed )
Sorry you weren't able to get your shower near JP
I loved the backlot tour, and there were quite a few upgrades since the last time I was there, so it was in essence a new experience for myself as well. I encourage anyone to go see it. Even if they have been many times before. It's just an awesome adventure.
As long as it's fried, Baloney tastes fine no matter how long it's been around. I have no idea why I can't remember these escalators. No one in my family remembers them from the time we went. It's just plain weird. I remember the splash zone area having a glass wall around it as well, because the splash was so huge. This time around it was completely open and we got nothin'.
Thanks so much for your prayers!
Well, I'll look forward to you taking a "road trip" to AZ then!
Finding the bedding is good...maybe next week you'll find the towels, so you won't have to drip dry after the shower.
Just kidding...I know how that goes. But it's really a never ending project. Once you finish unpacking, it's time to pack up the christmas stuff, and find a place to store all of that. I'm sure that didn't help matters, did it...
OK All...I'm working on the next chapter. I hope to get it up today. I'm already on vacation mode and don't want to do anything at the office...We'll see how long they let me get away with that.
Thumper_Man's Wife
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2009
I'm finally done with this chapter. Between work and packing and work and resting, I'm plumb tuckered out and really need this vacation. I'm breaking this chapter into two parts back to back only because I have quite a few pictures in it. I hope you don't mind. And if you do...well...tough!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We left off as we were being ushered into Evac, our trusty escort on our mission. As we settled in, Evac gives us the cue to put on our protective gear (i.e., 3D glasses). We round the corner and are immediately faced with red warning lights and warning sirens. There has been a safety breach and NEST is now on lockdown. Looks like the Decepticons found us, and they found us pretty fast. Now what?!
The All Spark is right in front of us, when Ravage one of the D-Cons shows up and tries to swipe it. The little bugger grabs it and takes off. Well Evac is having none of that, and tries to go after him, only to be face to face with Bumblebee who is fighting off another decepticon. I get some of them confused, and cant remember all their names. Ill have to take better notes next time, but its hard to write things down when you have 3D glasses on and the car you are in wont stop long enough to write legibly. Plus i get car sick if im doing things that like in a moving vehicle.
Anyway...Bumblebee is fighting off one of the mean guys, He seems to be enjoying himself as his radio goes off into a happy tune. Ravage tries to pounce on him, but Bumblebee throws him off with no problem. In the same motion, the All Spark flies out of his hands and Evac catches it.
Evac puts the pedal to the metal as Megatron and Optimus fight it out. Giving us the opportunity to get away. Unfortunately Megatron had other things in mind. He grabbs hold of Evac and thrashes us around. I think they forgot to add helmets when they handed out the glasses...
As we try to escape we land up in a dead end. Great...we are doomed. There is no way out, unless we go back to the fight, and with Megatron willing to kill us all for the All Spark, Im thinking that wouldnt be the best choice.
Low and behold, that is exactly what happens. Evac backs up, lands face to face with the mean one and he starts firing at us. Explosions are going up all around. One of them landing just near us, and opens a hole in the wall. Our escape route.
Then the weather takes a turn for the worse. The winds are gusting like crazy. Evac and all his passengers (including us) are up inside the cyclone. Toto, I dont think we are in Kansas anymore...Oh, wait...Wrong movie...
Devastator, one of the many decepticons, is trying to suck us in, literally. The force is strong, and I dont think Evac will be able to hold his ground much longer. We get some cover from some of the Autobots (The good guys), and once again try to escape. They arent able to handle Devastator for long and he tries once again to come after us. We are close to death when another one of the mean guys grabs us and starts thrashing us around. Now we are driving through top floors of buildings and hoping to all that is holy that someone will come to our rescue.
Did they really think that a rookie like Evac would be able to handle a car full of more rookies to take this All Spark to safety? Where in the handbook did it say that was the best idea ever?
Once again we are faced with certain death, as Megatron looks us square in the eyes and pronounces our doom. Optimus tells us to protect the All Spark at all cost, and now is when Evac has a revelation and decides that running away is not an option. Great time to grow a conscious Evac!
Evac takes the All Spark and shoves it into Megatrons chest. Sparks fly and smoke rises, as he stumbles over the edge of the building we are on top of. As Megatron falls to his death, he grabs hold of us in one last valient effort and down we go. This is it. My life is flashing before my eyes. I never thought i would die falling 20 some odd stories off a building.
Wait a minute...Isnt Evac an autobot. Cant be transform? Of course that would require us not being in him because who knows what would happen to us if he did. We would probably end up crushed inside his robot body and never see the light of day. Maybe dying this way would be a little more pleasant.
Fortunately, Bumblebee comes to our rescue, and catches the falling car inches before it slams to the ground. His radio springs up a happy tune and we are cheering him on. Optimus congratulates us on a job well done.
As we make our way back to base, we see a mangled Megatron hanging from the ceiling. Gone for good! Evac tells us that we did a great job and we can ride with him anytime! We are welcomed back with a round of applause and good jobs and lead off the car to an exit to our right were we drop off the glasses and make our escape to the inevitable shop.
I will say, this has got to be one of my all time favorite rides. As most of you know by now, Im not a thrill type person. I like my feet on the ground, with a steady block of concrete under it for stability. But this wasnt your everyday roller coaster or thrill ride either.
If you have been on Spiderman at Universal in Orlando, then you have a feel for what this ride is like. Once you are thrown into the action of the 3D scene you forget that youre even in a car that is moving on a track. The action in front of you practically pulls you in and now you are part of the action. You are in the city, you are helping protect the world from the Decepticons. You are a hero.
Once you are caught up in the moment, you forget that you just spent about 45 minutes on your feet in line, inching closer and closer to the front. You forget the heat outside and just bask in the glory that you are in this scene. It doesnt hurt that after 45 minutes on your feet you are also extremely excited that you can sit down for just a few moments.
It always bugs me that you wait forever, just for a minute or two of thrill and excitement only to be tossed out on the street again just to wait in another line. But I guess thats what we as thrill seekers choose to do for that moment of pleasure. Why does it sound like Im no longer talking about park rides?
Moving on...
We decide that a beer is in order. So we go back up the escalator (Being that i forgot about these before this trip, I started to wonder if they were really there at all, or if they would disappear before we got to them...but nope. Still there).
There was also a nice electronic directory at the base, telling us the wait times for all the major rides and the upcoming show times for major shows. Disney really needs one of these in each park!!!!
Oh look, theres a nice picture of my backside for you all...(roll eyes). Almost didnt recognize myself with long hair.
We get up to the top of the world, or at least the top section of Uni, and start walking around to see where we can find beer. We didnt have to look far. Just a little ways down to our right, there was a small beer stand. We each got a Corona, they even had lime!!! We started to look around for a place to eat. I was starting to get a little grumpy, I get like that if I havent eaten, and if i continue to not eat, I will eventually get a headache and be worthless the remainder of the day. Worthless and grumpy is not a good look on me.
As we looked around at some of the food options, we came across this:
Why is this such a big deal you ask?
Because T-Man and I are avid Coca-cola collectors. Anything we find that has the coke logo on it, we will buy if given the opportunity. As of right now, we have so much coke stuff in our living room we have run out of room to store it and are now contemplating putting up track shelving.
So coming across this was a collectors dream. Too bad there was no way to disassemble it and put it in our backpacks.
We did however, stop to play for a bit. The place was deserted. I believe they had another little water park for the kids set up on the other side of the park, So this one wasnt as interesting, at least to the little ones. To us big kids, it was awesome. The two things at the bottom of the picture pretty much controlled the water throughout the area.
Each button controlled a different section. For the next few minutes, we pushed each button at least once, if not more, to see what it would do. Obviously I learned nothing from pushing the big red buttons in the que at Transformers...
At one point, there was only one button we hadnt pushed, and when T-Man wasnt paying attention, I pushed it. Unfortunately, the button controlled the control area, and splashed T-Man right in the shorts...
Oops... Sorry honey...
As we began to walk around again to find a place to eat, we noticed that the next showing of Terminator 2D was not too far off. We got there just in time. The last show was just letting out, we let the crowds thin out and made our way into the waiting area. We stood towards the back, There was no point in trying to weave in and out of the crowds until just before they open the doors.
This is where the curse of the mummy really got started. As we stood around, waiting for the show to begin, we started to realize that it was taking a lot longer than it should. Finally, the pre-show began, but somewhere in the middle of it, things went haywire. They apologized for the inconvenience and told us to sit tight...or more like stand tight, as there are no seats in the pre-show area.
The natives were starting to get restless, and you could tell some of them were not happy at all with this sudden issue. No one would come out and say what the actual issue was, they just kept saying they were having technical issues and would be up and running shortly.
Eventually people started leaving, one or two at a time, then finally the lights came on and the TMs ushered everyone out. They had us going back and forth. One TM thought we should all go out the way we all came in. As they opened the doors and we started to work our way out, another TM decided that we should be snuck out the back door.
I should have known something was up, when the eyes on the first TM who originally had the entrance doors open, became wide and worried.
We slowly made our way back to the other side of the area, one of the TMs had a black bag in his hands. This is it I thought, They were going to put bags over our heads and lead us to our doom. They are all in this together. They all dont want anyone else in the park to know they had a technical glitch, and if we go out this way, and see the back of the park, we are definitely never seeing the light of day again. Once they have us all out back, they will cover our heads with bags and shoot us all!
My imagination can run pretty wild huh...
We were ushered out the back, but there wasnt much to see. A few fenced off areas, which we were curious about, but didnt get a chance to peek through, because the TMs were leading us pretty hastily through. Im guessing they didnt want anyone to see a hasty exit from the attraction, at the same time that the attraction was supposed to be starting, hence the backstage exit.
As we rounded back into the actual park, we decided that we should probably find something to eat and maybe wait around to see if they would re-open it. I was still hungry, and cranky, and the whole issue with Terminator didnt help my mood.
As we began to walk around again to see what we could find, we heard over the loud speaker that the next showing of Water World would begin in 15 minutes. We both looked at each other, I wanted food, T-Man wanted to hit the show, this way we would be able to get it out of the way, and hopefully there wouldnt be too many people in there now, since it was lunchtime and everyone was trying to eat first.
I gave in, and off we went to the amphitheater for Water World. As we walked on through the park to the amphitheater, we came across an interesting show:
Honestly I cant remember what song they were dancing to, but it was Fivel, Scooby and the woodpeckers. We stopped to watch for a moment, they were just finishing up. Their final looked like this...
Im wondering if Scooby saw the water on T-Mans shorts and started laughing thinking it was something else, or if he found something else entirely funny...But I liked the shot.
Now, If anyone has ever seen the actual movie Water World, starring Kevin Costner and Dennis Hopper, then Im guessing the idea behind this show is based off of the movie. Since i have never seen the movie, I cant tell you for certain how close it is or is not. I know that the last time I was here with my family, we also saw this show, so its been around a while. I also know that the movie itself was sort of a bust in the box office, but went on become a star as an attraction at some Universal sites across the globe. The last time I saw this, we were up in the top seats, with my little brother finding a seat in the splash zone. This time around, both of us were in the splash zone. In the very first bench in the middle section.
The show starts off with the water world crew trying to get us to scream louder than the other teams, and if you didnt scream loud enough, they would throw water at you. For that matter, if you did scream loud enough, or too loud, then they would throw water at you. Only this time not as much. Sometimes, when pretending to throw water at us, the stunt men would turn around and drench the other team, resulting in a huge laugh from the other two teams, who would then be drenched by the first teams leader.
Once the show began, we were taken to a futuristic time, where there was no land, only water. People learned how to live off the water, and built rafts and buildings as best they could on the water in order to live.
The heroine of the story rides in on a boat, claiming to have found land.
Only she was followed by some evil people who want to know where this land is and try to get her to talk. As a massive fight ensues, stunt men are falling from great heights straight into the water. Swimming from one end to the other, only to be blasted back into the water. Zip lining and chasing each other on jet skis. There was a ton of action in this show.
Then comes the hero. The Mariner. No one seems to know his real name, thats all they know about him. He saves the heroine and they kill the evil people, and they all live happily ever after as they jet off to find dry land.
Once the show let out, we made our way to the locker, so I could re-apply the sunscreen to my fair skin. We finally found a place to eat close by the locker area. Lunch consisted of an individual sized Pizza Hut pizza, an order of breadsticks and a refill on the soda in our refillable mugs.
The refill station was awesome. It looked like a futuristic vending machine. It was all touch screen except for the ice which you dispensed the usual way at a refill station. Once you had your ice, you chose your beverage from the touch screen. It was all coke products, which included Dr. Pepper, Sprite, Coke, Fanta, and RootBbeer, among others, and all its flavor elements, i.e., cherry coke, coke with lime, vanilla coke, Cherry Dr. Pepper, etc. I filled our drinks while T-Man grabbed a table in the shade outside, and we enjoyed a few moments of rest and relaxation.
From here, we started walking around, trying to decide what to do next. Shrek was getting ready to start, so we decided that it would be fun to watch it. It was exactly the same as the one in Orlando. In the pre-show area, you had the 3 little pigs, each held hostage in their building material of choice.
You also had Pinocchio locked in a cage, you could only tell it was him because his nose had grown through the iron bars. On the big screen, The Gingerbread man lay strapped to a cookie sheet. It looked like he was waiting to be dissected. However, he managed to escape, and this is when the doors opened and we were let in to see the actual show.
It was a fun show as always. Of course any time you get a chance to sit down for a bit, is welcomed in my book.
From Shrek, we went back to our beer kiosk and got another beer for the long escalator ride back to the bottom section. We wanted to check out the wait time for Transformers, in hopes we could ride it again.
As we made our way down, enjoying the view. We figured we would have plenty of time to enjoy our drinks as we made our way through the que, but nope. According to the wait time notice, it was a 25 minute wait. We still had almost full beers at this point, so we went into one of the Museums next door. Its sort of a timeline area of all the movies and a few costumes and items from the movie sets set up behind glass. There is also trivia information provided for each movie. It was pretty cool to see. I remember stuff from Apollo 13 and Back to the Future, I think there was even something from Psycho. It was sort of a mini reminder of the backlot tour.
Finishing our beers, we decided to see what the wait would be now, hoping it wouldnt go up in the time we spent dawdling. The wait time showed 35 minutes now, but didnt look too bad. We figured, most of that would be the que, and we were right. My phone has a timer on it, so I decided to test their wait time and see what it would actually take us from the main entrance to the time we got into Evac.
As we walked through the que, there was no one in front of us most of the way, We were able to clear the first couple of sections without any problem. As we make our way through the tunnels of NEST, the line started to back up a little, but seemed to be moving pretty quickly. It was a steady trickle down the tunnels until we came across the Army dude handing out the 3D glasses. As we got to the main gate, we were ushered into the last line of the car.
I stopped the timer just as the gate opened and the army person yelled at us to move Move MOVE! 11 ½ Minutes. Nice...
We enjoyed the ride just as much this time around. I dont know what it is about this ride, but I could do it over and over again.
I think T-Man was able to read my thoughts. As we finally defeated the Decepticons, were congratulated by Optimus for the 2nd time, and made our way out of the vehicle, T-man mentioned how much fun that was and we should go again.
I was ready to tell him to give me a moment to catch my breath, I dont do rides back to back. I usually cant. I need a breather before I can strike up the nerve inside to do any of the rides he likes more than once, and usually it doesnt happen.
As we walked out into the bright sunlight, we looked over to the entrance and noticed the quick turn around once again. We thought, what the heck, and went directly to the entrance again. This time around was a little longer wait. We were actually backed up a little as we entered the Scorpion Tail section, but again, the standing around wasnt long. This time around, from entrance to gate took us about 16 ½ minutes.
By the end of this ride though, I was feeling a little woozy. Between the high speeds and the 3D effects, I needed to rest a little. T-Man was raring to go again, but i told him I would need another beer before we could go again. He heard, blah blah blah, go again and looked at me like i was from another planet, and then smiled...That means you will go again right?
I laughed and told him, yeah, but buy me a beer first!
We walked out and found a beer stand near by. As we drank our beer, we people watched. There were restrooms near Jurassic Park, so we walked that way. Once the beers had been emptied, we decided to give Transformers a small break, and ride The Mummy. The wait was posted at 5 minutes. So we figured we would be in and out with no problem.
As we began our journey through the line, a little girl and her dad were right in front of us. They had commented on our shirts, as we weaved in and out of the ropped off areas in the que. We had worn our Harry Potter T-shirts today. The front of the shirt says I solemnly swear I am up to no good. Then on the back it says, Mischief Managed. The father/daughter duo were excited to talk to us about the Orlando park, where The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is, as they are avid fans as well and are hoping to go there someday soon.
It seems that the duo had just gotten off the ride and since there was no line to speak of, decided to go right back through the que and ride it again. We all got up to the main gate, were given the opportunity to stand in the first row, with the duo standing right next to us in row 2.
As one of the cars approached and stopped in front of us, we all got ready to move past the opening gate to sit down. All the TMs pushed the lap bars down in each of the seats and then sent it on its way empty.
Hmm...That was odd, we thought...Maybe because its not as busy now, they are putting away some of the cars.
The next care came by, and just as it pulled up, the TM s did the same exact manuever.
Hmmm...You would think they would at least let us on it's not like we are invisible...
This happened another 2 or 3 times before the overhead lights went on. The Curse of the Mummy Returns!
This is what we kept seeing as they drove the cars in and out of the station.
It seems someone in the previous run, had lost his wallet on the ride. The TMs were frantically searching each car, and sending it through the ride empty to come back around. After searching all the cars and finding nothing, they sent a few of the TMs in to see if they could spot it somewhere in the ride. The TMs each took a hard hat, each equipped with a light on it and went off to work...
Hi Ho, Hi Ho, Its off to work we go...*Whistle*
As the 7 dwarfs went off in search of the wallet, we stood around wondering what to do. They hadnt said anything about the ride being shut down or closed. There was a line now forming behind the gate and the duo was now starting to sweat.
Evidentially, the mother (the childs, not the fathers) was calling to find out what was taking them so long. It seems, they had told her they were only going to ride it once, but since the line was so short decided to do it again, without her being the wiser. Unfortunately The Curse took hold of them too, and now they were stuck.
You could see the man start to sweat a little as he held the phone closer to his ear. He was calm and sweet as he kept trying to explain to his wife that they were stuck at the moment waiting for the ride to get going again. He asked her if she wanted them to back out of line and meet them. You could tell whatever she said wasnt pretty, and he sort of sagged his shoulders a little and said OK...then we will meet you as soon as we can.
He looked at his little girl and you could tell she knew. Is mom mad? Should we leave? He told her that she was a little upset, but not to worry. Mom will wait for us and we will meet up with her after we ride.
I worried for them. I could only imagine the tongue lashing he would get once they met up later. But for now, the dwarfs are back and are resetting the ride to finally let us on.
This time around we were in the very first row, and we made sure to secure our items like we did before, in hopes of not having to thrown off the ride for the next people in line.
This time i was prepared for the ride to go SDRAWKCAB but still screamed out PRAC as it did. No matter how much you prepare it still gets to you.
Once we were off the Mummy, we needed one more fix before heading back up for the day. Off to Transformers we go for the 4th time.
This should tell you how awesome of a ride this is, if I...the dumb wife...ride this 4 times in one day!
This time the wait time notice said 15 minutes. Awesome! I once again timed it just to see. I figured if the 35 minute wait time was 15 minutes, then how long would a 15 minute wait really be.
We cruised along the que, this time we really didnt stop to take any pictures, there was no need after being here 3 times before. We just sailed through, almost at a jog. There was no one in front of us. As we got to the front of the line and were handed our glasses, we asked the TM if we could get an upgrade.
The last 3 times we rode, we were in the back seat once, and the middle seat twice. This time we HAD to have the front row.
Our request was granted and we were ushered to our spot. As EVAC pulled up, we jumped in. Excited to see it from this vantage point and see if it would change anything that we had seen so far.
In essence, it wasnt that much different. But you do get some of the better 3D effects up close and personal in the front row. I think the couple next to us were laughing when we told them this was our 4th time riding today. At one point, during one of the action scenes, EVAC tells us something along the lines of a little warning next time? so right as the scene begins, T-Man and i yell, WARNING, of course he didnt heed our advice and the couple next to us looked at us funny until EVAC said his line and then they laughed.
Maybe 4 times was enough...
Once done there, we took a few pictures as Optimus was outside signing autographs and posing with the kids.
we decided to go back up to the top and grab another beer and see what else we were missing. As we cruised the escalator, we had to stop at take these breathtaking pictures.
The Warner Brothers Studios were just over the hill and through the woods...
It really was nice to check out the scenary from that vantage point. Once we got to the top, we found out that the kiosk we were buying our beer from before had closed for the day. Cursed again! Darn Mummy!
So we went in search of another beer establishment. We walked by the Simpsons Ride, but it was a 35 minute wait and there were tons of people walking towards the entrance at the time. I wasnt a big fan of this ride the first time I did it in Orlando, it was fun, but not one i would wait 35 minutes for. So we took some pictures and moved on...
The next part continues below.
I'm breaking this chapter into two parts back to back only because I have quite a few pictures in it. I hope you don't mind. And if you do...well...tough! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We left off as we were being ushered into Evac, our trusty escort on our mission. As we settled in, Evac gives us the cue to put on our protective gear (i.e., 3D glasses). We round the corner and are immediately faced with red warning lights and warning sirens. There has been a safety breach and NEST is now on lockdown. Looks like the Decepticons found us, and they found us pretty fast. Now what?!
The All Spark is right in front of us, when Ravage one of the D-Cons shows up and tries to swipe it. The little bugger grabs it and takes off. Well Evac is having none of that, and tries to go after him, only to be face to face with Bumblebee who is fighting off another decepticon. I get some of them confused, and cant remember all their names. Ill have to take better notes next time, but its hard to write things down when you have 3D glasses on and the car you are in wont stop long enough to write legibly. Plus i get car sick if im doing things that like in a moving vehicle.
Anyway...Bumblebee is fighting off one of the mean guys, He seems to be enjoying himself as his radio goes off into a happy tune. Ravage tries to pounce on him, but Bumblebee throws him off with no problem. In the same motion, the All Spark flies out of his hands and Evac catches it.
Evac puts the pedal to the metal as Megatron and Optimus fight it out. Giving us the opportunity to get away. Unfortunately Megatron had other things in mind. He grabbs hold of Evac and thrashes us around. I think they forgot to add helmets when they handed out the glasses...
As we try to escape we land up in a dead end. Great...we are doomed. There is no way out, unless we go back to the fight, and with Megatron willing to kill us all for the All Spark, Im thinking that wouldnt be the best choice.
Low and behold, that is exactly what happens. Evac backs up, lands face to face with the mean one and he starts firing at us. Explosions are going up all around. One of them landing just near us, and opens a hole in the wall. Our escape route.
Then the weather takes a turn for the worse. The winds are gusting like crazy. Evac and all his passengers (including us) are up inside the cyclone. Toto, I dont think we are in Kansas anymore...Oh, wait...Wrong movie...
Devastator, one of the many decepticons, is trying to suck us in, literally. The force is strong, and I dont think Evac will be able to hold his ground much longer. We get some cover from some of the Autobots (The good guys), and once again try to escape. They arent able to handle Devastator for long and he tries once again to come after us. We are close to death when another one of the mean guys grabs us and starts thrashing us around. Now we are driving through top floors of buildings and hoping to all that is holy that someone will come to our rescue.
Did they really think that a rookie like Evac would be able to handle a car full of more rookies to take this All Spark to safety? Where in the handbook did it say that was the best idea ever?
Once again we are faced with certain death, as Megatron looks us square in the eyes and pronounces our doom. Optimus tells us to protect the All Spark at all cost, and now is when Evac has a revelation and decides that running away is not an option. Great time to grow a conscious Evac!
Evac takes the All Spark and shoves it into Megatrons chest. Sparks fly and smoke rises, as he stumbles over the edge of the building we are on top of. As Megatron falls to his death, he grabs hold of us in one last valient effort and down we go. This is it. My life is flashing before my eyes. I never thought i would die falling 20 some odd stories off a building.
Wait a minute...Isnt Evac an autobot. Cant be transform? Of course that would require us not being in him because who knows what would happen to us if he did. We would probably end up crushed inside his robot body and never see the light of day. Maybe dying this way would be a little more pleasant.
Fortunately, Bumblebee comes to our rescue, and catches the falling car inches before it slams to the ground. His radio springs up a happy tune and we are cheering him on. Optimus congratulates us on a job well done.
As we make our way back to base, we see a mangled Megatron hanging from the ceiling. Gone for good! Evac tells us that we did a great job and we can ride with him anytime! We are welcomed back with a round of applause and good jobs and lead off the car to an exit to our right were we drop off the glasses and make our escape to the inevitable shop.
I will say, this has got to be one of my all time favorite rides. As most of you know by now, Im not a thrill type person. I like my feet on the ground, with a steady block of concrete under it for stability. But this wasnt your everyday roller coaster or thrill ride either.
If you have been on Spiderman at Universal in Orlando, then you have a feel for what this ride is like. Once you are thrown into the action of the 3D scene you forget that youre even in a car that is moving on a track. The action in front of you practically pulls you in and now you are part of the action. You are in the city, you are helping protect the world from the Decepticons. You are a hero.
Once you are caught up in the moment, you forget that you just spent about 45 minutes on your feet in line, inching closer and closer to the front. You forget the heat outside and just bask in the glory that you are in this scene. It doesnt hurt that after 45 minutes on your feet you are also extremely excited that you can sit down for just a few moments.
It always bugs me that you wait forever, just for a minute or two of thrill and excitement only to be tossed out on the street again just to wait in another line. But I guess thats what we as thrill seekers choose to do for that moment of pleasure. Why does it sound like Im no longer talking about park rides?
Moving on...
We decide that a beer is in order. So we go back up the escalator (Being that i forgot about these before this trip, I started to wonder if they were really there at all, or if they would disappear before we got to them...but nope. Still there).
There was also a nice electronic directory at the base, telling us the wait times for all the major rides and the upcoming show times for major shows. Disney really needs one of these in each park!!!!
Oh look, theres a nice picture of my backside for you all...(roll eyes). Almost didnt recognize myself with long hair.
We get up to the top of the world, or at least the top section of Uni, and start walking around to see where we can find beer. We didnt have to look far. Just a little ways down to our right, there was a small beer stand. We each got a Corona, they even had lime!!! We started to look around for a place to eat. I was starting to get a little grumpy, I get like that if I havent eaten, and if i continue to not eat, I will eventually get a headache and be worthless the remainder of the day. Worthless and grumpy is not a good look on me.
As we looked around at some of the food options, we came across this:
Why is this such a big deal you ask?
Because T-Man and I are avid Coca-cola collectors. Anything we find that has the coke logo on it, we will buy if given the opportunity. As of right now, we have so much coke stuff in our living room we have run out of room to store it and are now contemplating putting up track shelving.
So coming across this was a collectors dream. Too bad there was no way to disassemble it and put it in our backpacks.
We did however, stop to play for a bit. The place was deserted. I believe they had another little water park for the kids set up on the other side of the park, So this one wasnt as interesting, at least to the little ones. To us big kids, it was awesome. The two things at the bottom of the picture pretty much controlled the water throughout the area.
Each button controlled a different section. For the next few minutes, we pushed each button at least once, if not more, to see what it would do. Obviously I learned nothing from pushing the big red buttons in the que at Transformers...
At one point, there was only one button we hadnt pushed, and when T-Man wasnt paying attention, I pushed it. Unfortunately, the button controlled the control area, and splashed T-Man right in the shorts...
Oops... Sorry honey...
As we began to walk around again to find a place to eat, we noticed that the next showing of Terminator 2D was not too far off. We got there just in time. The last show was just letting out, we let the crowds thin out and made our way into the waiting area. We stood towards the back, There was no point in trying to weave in and out of the crowds until just before they open the doors.
This is where the curse of the mummy really got started. As we stood around, waiting for the show to begin, we started to realize that it was taking a lot longer than it should. Finally, the pre-show began, but somewhere in the middle of it, things went haywire. They apologized for the inconvenience and told us to sit tight...or more like stand tight, as there are no seats in the pre-show area.
The natives were starting to get restless, and you could tell some of them were not happy at all with this sudden issue. No one would come out and say what the actual issue was, they just kept saying they were having technical issues and would be up and running shortly.
Eventually people started leaving, one or two at a time, then finally the lights came on and the TMs ushered everyone out. They had us going back and forth. One TM thought we should all go out the way we all came in. As they opened the doors and we started to work our way out, another TM decided that we should be snuck out the back door.
I should have known something was up, when the eyes on the first TM who originally had the entrance doors open, became wide and worried.
We slowly made our way back to the other side of the area, one of the TMs had a black bag in his hands. This is it I thought, They were going to put bags over our heads and lead us to our doom. They are all in this together. They all dont want anyone else in the park to know they had a technical glitch, and if we go out this way, and see the back of the park, we are definitely never seeing the light of day again. Once they have us all out back, they will cover our heads with bags and shoot us all!
My imagination can run pretty wild huh...
We were ushered out the back, but there wasnt much to see. A few fenced off areas, which we were curious about, but didnt get a chance to peek through, because the TMs were leading us pretty hastily through. Im guessing they didnt want anyone to see a hasty exit from the attraction, at the same time that the attraction was supposed to be starting, hence the backstage exit.
As we rounded back into the actual park, we decided that we should probably find something to eat and maybe wait around to see if they would re-open it. I was still hungry, and cranky, and the whole issue with Terminator didnt help my mood.
As we began to walk around again to see what we could find, we heard over the loud speaker that the next showing of Water World would begin in 15 minutes. We both looked at each other, I wanted food, T-Man wanted to hit the show, this way we would be able to get it out of the way, and hopefully there wouldnt be too many people in there now, since it was lunchtime and everyone was trying to eat first.
I gave in, and off we went to the amphitheater for Water World. As we walked on through the park to the amphitheater, we came across an interesting show:
Honestly I cant remember what song they were dancing to, but it was Fivel, Scooby and the woodpeckers. We stopped to watch for a moment, they were just finishing up. Their final looked like this...
Im wondering if Scooby saw the water on T-Mans shorts and started laughing thinking it was something else, or if he found something else entirely funny...But I liked the shot.
Now, If anyone has ever seen the actual movie Water World, starring Kevin Costner and Dennis Hopper, then Im guessing the idea behind this show is based off of the movie. Since i have never seen the movie, I cant tell you for certain how close it is or is not. I know that the last time I was here with my family, we also saw this show, so its been around a while. I also know that the movie itself was sort of a bust in the box office, but went on become a star as an attraction at some Universal sites across the globe. The last time I saw this, we were up in the top seats, with my little brother finding a seat in the splash zone. This time around, both of us were in the splash zone. In the very first bench in the middle section.
The show starts off with the water world crew trying to get us to scream louder than the other teams, and if you didnt scream loud enough, they would throw water at you. For that matter, if you did scream loud enough, or too loud, then they would throw water at you. Only this time not as much. Sometimes, when pretending to throw water at us, the stunt men would turn around and drench the other team, resulting in a huge laugh from the other two teams, who would then be drenched by the first teams leader.
Once the show began, we were taken to a futuristic time, where there was no land, only water. People learned how to live off the water, and built rafts and buildings as best they could on the water in order to live.
The heroine of the story rides in on a boat, claiming to have found land.
Only she was followed by some evil people who want to know where this land is and try to get her to talk. As a massive fight ensues, stunt men are falling from great heights straight into the water. Swimming from one end to the other, only to be blasted back into the water. Zip lining and chasing each other on jet skis. There was a ton of action in this show.
Then comes the hero. The Mariner. No one seems to know his real name, thats all they know about him. He saves the heroine and they kill the evil people, and they all live happily ever after as they jet off to find dry land.
Once the show let out, we made our way to the locker, so I could re-apply the sunscreen to my fair skin. We finally found a place to eat close by the locker area. Lunch consisted of an individual sized Pizza Hut pizza, an order of breadsticks and a refill on the soda in our refillable mugs.
The refill station was awesome. It looked like a futuristic vending machine. It was all touch screen except for the ice which you dispensed the usual way at a refill station. Once you had your ice, you chose your beverage from the touch screen. It was all coke products, which included Dr. Pepper, Sprite, Coke, Fanta, and RootBbeer, among others, and all its flavor elements, i.e., cherry coke, coke with lime, vanilla coke, Cherry Dr. Pepper, etc. I filled our drinks while T-Man grabbed a table in the shade outside, and we enjoyed a few moments of rest and relaxation.
From here, we started walking around, trying to decide what to do next. Shrek was getting ready to start, so we decided that it would be fun to watch it. It was exactly the same as the one in Orlando. In the pre-show area, you had the 3 little pigs, each held hostage in their building material of choice.
You also had Pinocchio locked in a cage, you could only tell it was him because his nose had grown through the iron bars. On the big screen, The Gingerbread man lay strapped to a cookie sheet. It looked like he was waiting to be dissected. However, he managed to escape, and this is when the doors opened and we were let in to see the actual show.
It was a fun show as always. Of course any time you get a chance to sit down for a bit, is welcomed in my book.
From Shrek, we went back to our beer kiosk and got another beer for the long escalator ride back to the bottom section. We wanted to check out the wait time for Transformers, in hopes we could ride it again.
As we made our way down, enjoying the view. We figured we would have plenty of time to enjoy our drinks as we made our way through the que, but nope. According to the wait time notice, it was a 25 minute wait. We still had almost full beers at this point, so we went into one of the Museums next door. Its sort of a timeline area of all the movies and a few costumes and items from the movie sets set up behind glass. There is also trivia information provided for each movie. It was pretty cool to see. I remember stuff from Apollo 13 and Back to the Future, I think there was even something from Psycho. It was sort of a mini reminder of the backlot tour.
Finishing our beers, we decided to see what the wait would be now, hoping it wouldnt go up in the time we spent dawdling. The wait time showed 35 minutes now, but didnt look too bad. We figured, most of that would be the que, and we were right. My phone has a timer on it, so I decided to test their wait time and see what it would actually take us from the main entrance to the time we got into Evac.
As we walked through the que, there was no one in front of us most of the way, We were able to clear the first couple of sections without any problem. As we make our way through the tunnels of NEST, the line started to back up a little, but seemed to be moving pretty quickly. It was a steady trickle down the tunnels until we came across the Army dude handing out the 3D glasses. As we got to the main gate, we were ushered into the last line of the car.
I stopped the timer just as the gate opened and the army person yelled at us to move Move MOVE! 11 ½ Minutes. Nice...
We enjoyed the ride just as much this time around. I dont know what it is about this ride, but I could do it over and over again.
I think T-Man was able to read my thoughts. As we finally defeated the Decepticons, were congratulated by Optimus for the 2nd time, and made our way out of the vehicle, T-man mentioned how much fun that was and we should go again.
I was ready to tell him to give me a moment to catch my breath, I dont do rides back to back. I usually cant. I need a breather before I can strike up the nerve inside to do any of the rides he likes more than once, and usually it doesnt happen.
As we walked out into the bright sunlight, we looked over to the entrance and noticed the quick turn around once again. We thought, what the heck, and went directly to the entrance again. This time around was a little longer wait. We were actually backed up a little as we entered the Scorpion Tail section, but again, the standing around wasnt long. This time around, from entrance to gate took us about 16 ½ minutes.
By the end of this ride though, I was feeling a little woozy. Between the high speeds and the 3D effects, I needed to rest a little. T-Man was raring to go again, but i told him I would need another beer before we could go again. He heard, blah blah blah, go again and looked at me like i was from another planet, and then smiled...That means you will go again right?
I laughed and told him, yeah, but buy me a beer first!
We walked out and found a beer stand near by. As we drank our beer, we people watched. There were restrooms near Jurassic Park, so we walked that way. Once the beers had been emptied, we decided to give Transformers a small break, and ride The Mummy. The wait was posted at 5 minutes. So we figured we would be in and out with no problem.
As we began our journey through the line, a little girl and her dad were right in front of us. They had commented on our shirts, as we weaved in and out of the ropped off areas in the que. We had worn our Harry Potter T-shirts today. The front of the shirt says I solemnly swear I am up to no good. Then on the back it says, Mischief Managed. The father/daughter duo were excited to talk to us about the Orlando park, where The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is, as they are avid fans as well and are hoping to go there someday soon.
It seems that the duo had just gotten off the ride and since there was no line to speak of, decided to go right back through the que and ride it again. We all got up to the main gate, were given the opportunity to stand in the first row, with the duo standing right next to us in row 2.
As one of the cars approached and stopped in front of us, we all got ready to move past the opening gate to sit down. All the TMs pushed the lap bars down in each of the seats and then sent it on its way empty.
Hmm...That was odd, we thought...Maybe because its not as busy now, they are putting away some of the cars.
The next care came by, and just as it pulled up, the TM s did the same exact manuever.
Hmmm...You would think they would at least let us on it's not like we are invisible...
This happened another 2 or 3 times before the overhead lights went on. The Curse of the Mummy Returns!
This is what we kept seeing as they drove the cars in and out of the station.
It seems someone in the previous run, had lost his wallet on the ride. The TMs were frantically searching each car, and sending it through the ride empty to come back around. After searching all the cars and finding nothing, they sent a few of the TMs in to see if they could spot it somewhere in the ride. The TMs each took a hard hat, each equipped with a light on it and went off to work...
Hi Ho, Hi Ho, Its off to work we go...*Whistle*
As the 7 dwarfs went off in search of the wallet, we stood around wondering what to do. They hadnt said anything about the ride being shut down or closed. There was a line now forming behind the gate and the duo was now starting to sweat.
Evidentially, the mother (the childs, not the fathers) was calling to find out what was taking them so long. It seems, they had told her they were only going to ride it once, but since the line was so short decided to do it again, without her being the wiser. Unfortunately The Curse took hold of them too, and now they were stuck.
You could see the man start to sweat a little as he held the phone closer to his ear. He was calm and sweet as he kept trying to explain to his wife that they were stuck at the moment waiting for the ride to get going again. He asked her if she wanted them to back out of line and meet them. You could tell whatever she said wasnt pretty, and he sort of sagged his shoulders a little and said OK...then we will meet you as soon as we can.
He looked at his little girl and you could tell she knew. Is mom mad? Should we leave? He told her that she was a little upset, but not to worry. Mom will wait for us and we will meet up with her after we ride.
I worried for them. I could only imagine the tongue lashing he would get once they met up later. But for now, the dwarfs are back and are resetting the ride to finally let us on.
This time around we were in the very first row, and we made sure to secure our items like we did before, in hopes of not having to thrown off the ride for the next people in line.
This time i was prepared for the ride to go SDRAWKCAB but still screamed out PRAC as it did. No matter how much you prepare it still gets to you.
Once we were off the Mummy, we needed one more fix before heading back up for the day. Off to Transformers we go for the 4th time.
This should tell you how awesome of a ride this is, if I...the dumb wife...ride this 4 times in one day!
This time the wait time notice said 15 minutes. Awesome! I once again timed it just to see. I figured if the 35 minute wait time was 15 minutes, then how long would a 15 minute wait really be.
We cruised along the que, this time we really didnt stop to take any pictures, there was no need after being here 3 times before. We just sailed through, almost at a jog. There was no one in front of us. As we got to the front of the line and were handed our glasses, we asked the TM if we could get an upgrade.
The last 3 times we rode, we were in the back seat once, and the middle seat twice. This time we HAD to have the front row.
Our request was granted and we were ushered to our spot. As EVAC pulled up, we jumped in. Excited to see it from this vantage point and see if it would change anything that we had seen so far.
In essence, it wasnt that much different. But you do get some of the better 3D effects up close and personal in the front row. I think the couple next to us were laughing when we told them this was our 4th time riding today. At one point, during one of the action scenes, EVAC tells us something along the lines of a little warning next time? so right as the scene begins, T-Man and i yell, WARNING, of course he didnt heed our advice and the couple next to us looked at us funny until EVAC said his line and then they laughed.
Maybe 4 times was enough...
Once done there, we took a few pictures as Optimus was outside signing autographs and posing with the kids.
we decided to go back up to the top and grab another beer and see what else we were missing. As we cruised the escalator, we had to stop at take these breathtaking pictures.
The Warner Brothers Studios were just over the hill and through the woods...
It really was nice to check out the scenary from that vantage point. Once we got to the top, we found out that the kiosk we were buying our beer from before had closed for the day. Cursed again! Darn Mummy!
So we went in search of another beer establishment. We walked by the Simpsons Ride, but it was a 35 minute wait and there were tons of people walking towards the entrance at the time. I wasnt a big fan of this ride the first time I did it in Orlando, it was fun, but not one i would wait 35 minutes for. So we took some pictures and moved on...
The next part continues below.
Thumper_Man's Wife
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2009
As we were looking around for a place that sold beer, we came across the Animal Actors show. It was just starting to fill up and the next show would be taking place pretty soon. We figured we could get a decent spot and watch the show for a bit.
The first thing you notice as you are settling in, is a prop off to the side of the stage. Its one of those menu boards, showing the special of the day. As we walked in and sat down, the menu board said the special was Chicken fingers...
Not too long later, a chicken runs across the stage and changes the sign to read:
I got such a kick out of that.
As the show started, the animal expert came out with a parrot, who flew out over the audience and then showed us how they suspend in midair or look like they are flying in slow motion or for long periods of time.
Of course, then they bring out the dog actors and ask for a volunteer. A young boy was called up and you could tell that he was overly excited. I wondered if he could speak much English, he had a very thick accent when he said his name and spoke in broken up sentences. He also kept trying to take the microphone away from the host.
At one point she brings out this beautiful dog, and tells the kid to tell the dog a particular item of clothing, afterwards, the dog will then go back stage and rummage through the closet to find that particular item.
Well the boy first off wanted the microphone to tell the dog what to get. When the lady told him just to tell the dog out loud, he wanted to then whisper it to the dog. You can see even the dog is looking at the kid like, give me a break!
Eventually the kid did as he was told, and the dog went back stage and came out with a bra...I know that was probably a joke, however, I wouldnt have been surprised if that was what the kid asked for...
Next came the obstacle course:
Since there was already a communication problem with the kid, and it took him a few minutes to understand that he was the one that was going to be an obstacle and would not have to run through the course himself.
Everything ran pretty smoothly though, and the two dogs raced each other, one doing the course the way it was supposed to be done, the other outsmarting everyone but going around the obstacles and getting to the finish line quicker.
Then the Pig came by and changed the daily special:
and finally one of them was smart enough to change it to please everyone:
Once we left Animal Actors, we continued our search for beer. Finally finding a kiosk near the Blues Brothers Stage. This time they gave us the big 24 ounce cans of Corona. Im not a huge fan of Corona in a can, but its beer and at this stage of the game, Ill take it.
We figured it would be a good idea to grab our bags from the locker, as the park closes early and we wanted to beat the rush.
Once that was done, we saw that there was one last show that would begin shortly for the Blues Brothers. There was minimal seating available in front of the stage so we took the opportunity to once again rest our aching feet and enjoy our beer as we waited.
While we were waiting they had some music playing the background. Off to the side, around the handicap entrance there was a lady, who seemed to be guarding that area. As the music began to play, she began to dance. And while she looked like she had been around the block a time or two, she could still move!
She was pretty entertaining. We must have watched her for a good 10 minutes or so before the show started.
The guys who played the Blues Brothers were dead on. They acted like the originals, sang like the originals, and for being the last show of the day, they had so much energy and were so lively, it really was a great way to end the day.
As we finished off our beers, we went into one of the candy stores. We have been searching high and low for these honeysuckle candy sticks that we used to have as kids, and cant find them anywhere. We figured it couldnt hurt to look here. You never know.
No luck on the candy, but we did finish off our beers and finally head out of Universal for the night. Our plan for the evening was to hit Hard Rock Cafe located on City Walk, right outside of Universal.
As we began our trek down through the neon lights,
We noticed these in a nearby window.
As we walked on, there was a popcorn place we passed called Popcornopolis. Now I love popcorn, but this was just crazy! Every kind of popcorn you can think of, plus combos of different types. Cinnamon flavored mixed with chocolate covered. There was cheese covered and caramel drizzled. Popcorn everywhere!
As we were still taking in the sights, another store caught my attention. I grabbed T-Mans arm and pointed.
T-Man and I are Dodger fans. It never occurred to me that they would have the clubhouse store here on CityWalk. Its a good thing we dont come here often. We did some pretty good damage in that store.
We left with our loot and headed on towards HRC before we ran out of money and we couldnt eat.
Along the way we captured a couple of photos.
There was a show that was going on, on the stage near the HRC. I couldnt tell you the name of the band, but they seemed pretty decent. We hoped that the restaurant wasnt too packed.
Luckily we were seated with no problem and first thing first, we ordered a Hurricane. I dont know what it is about these drinks here, but they are definitely good.
We ordered nachos. These things are huge! Normally we get an order of these plain for my DSIL. She isnt much for add ons. But this time, since we were alone, we figured we could go all out. So we added shredded pork and extra jalapenos.
Once we were done eating and drinking, we spent a little money in the shop. I needed a new pair of sweatpants and T-Man needed to add to his collection of pins. He has so many of them; we have to get a new case to add the new ones.
As we made our way out of HRC,. We noticed that there was practically no one around. There were still a few people milling about inside the restaurant, but outside on the CityWalk, there were only a few stragglers Did we enter an alternate universe? Pop into a rabbit hole no one knew about? Was the Curse of the Mummy still out to get us, and when it hit, we were protected only by the HRCs outer shell, and that is why only those inside the restaurant are the only people we see? Can you tell Ive been reading about time travel and rabbit holes and mysteries? Darn that Stephen King
Since no one was around we decided to take some pictures now that everything was lit up and pretty
Great pic of T-Man, me, not so much. You could tell I got a little too much sun that day and my make-up had already worn off.
This sign turned different colors, so of course T-Man had to take one of each.
We took our last ride of the day down the escalators to the parking structure. By that time, we were one of the only cars left in that section. It seemed a little eerie. I was waiting for a hord of zombies to start popping out from behind the poles or something. Once we got in the car, and locked up to make sure no zombies could get to us, we headed back towards Anaheim.
Remember in the beginning how I was too in awe to take any pictures of anything on our drive in, and how i would take better ones at night? Um Yeah...That didnt happen. By the time I tried to get a picture of anything, it would wiz by and all I would get is a blur of lights. So much for that bright idea.
We got back to our hotel kind of late. And I knew we would have to be up bright and early tomorrow morning for DCA. So, as we got ready for bed, T-Man got us a beer, and we sat outside on our balcony, talked about the adventures we had for the day, caught up on the goings on via our smart phones and then hit the hay.
Whew...I didn't realize until I was writing this all down, how much we actually did that day. We packed a lot in. It doesn't help that I talk to much...
Alright, I'll shut up for now...T-Man will take over for the next chapter. As he mentioned earlier, we are trying to get everything done this week before we leave for WDW. This will be an interesting trip. Since we started going, we have never been left alone. We have always had either DSIL or DSIL and some friends with us. This time, DSIL will join us for the first week, but after that...it will just be us. Plus this time, we will get to meet Nebo and Smidgy! Very exciting trip indeed.
Hopefully by the time we get back, this TR will still be here and we can continue to delight you all with our story.
I was going to say I should really get some work done now, but looking at the time, I wouldnt get much done anyway Figures.
The first thing you notice as you are settling in, is a prop off to the side of the stage. Its one of those menu boards, showing the special of the day. As we walked in and sat down, the menu board said the special was Chicken fingers...
Not too long later, a chicken runs across the stage and changes the sign to read:
I got such a kick out of that.
As the show started, the animal expert came out with a parrot, who flew out over the audience and then showed us how they suspend in midair or look like they are flying in slow motion or for long periods of time.
Of course, then they bring out the dog actors and ask for a volunteer. A young boy was called up and you could tell that he was overly excited. I wondered if he could speak much English, he had a very thick accent when he said his name and spoke in broken up sentences. He also kept trying to take the microphone away from the host.
At one point she brings out this beautiful dog, and tells the kid to tell the dog a particular item of clothing, afterwards, the dog will then go back stage and rummage through the closet to find that particular item.
Well the boy first off wanted the microphone to tell the dog what to get. When the lady told him just to tell the dog out loud, he wanted to then whisper it to the dog. You can see even the dog is looking at the kid like, give me a break!
Eventually the kid did as he was told, and the dog went back stage and came out with a bra...I know that was probably a joke, however, I wouldnt have been surprised if that was what the kid asked for...
Next came the obstacle course:
Since there was already a communication problem with the kid, and it took him a few minutes to understand that he was the one that was going to be an obstacle and would not have to run through the course himself.
Everything ran pretty smoothly though, and the two dogs raced each other, one doing the course the way it was supposed to be done, the other outsmarting everyone but going around the obstacles and getting to the finish line quicker.
Then the Pig came by and changed the daily special:
and finally one of them was smart enough to change it to please everyone:
Once we left Animal Actors, we continued our search for beer. Finally finding a kiosk near the Blues Brothers Stage. This time they gave us the big 24 ounce cans of Corona. Im not a huge fan of Corona in a can, but its beer and at this stage of the game, Ill take it.
We figured it would be a good idea to grab our bags from the locker, as the park closes early and we wanted to beat the rush.
Once that was done, we saw that there was one last show that would begin shortly for the Blues Brothers. There was minimal seating available in front of the stage so we took the opportunity to once again rest our aching feet and enjoy our beer as we waited.
While we were waiting they had some music playing the background. Off to the side, around the handicap entrance there was a lady, who seemed to be guarding that area. As the music began to play, she began to dance. And while she looked like she had been around the block a time or two, she could still move!
She was pretty entertaining. We must have watched her for a good 10 minutes or so before the show started.
The guys who played the Blues Brothers were dead on. They acted like the originals, sang like the originals, and for being the last show of the day, they had so much energy and were so lively, it really was a great way to end the day.
As we finished off our beers, we went into one of the candy stores. We have been searching high and low for these honeysuckle candy sticks that we used to have as kids, and cant find them anywhere. We figured it couldnt hurt to look here. You never know.
No luck on the candy, but we did finish off our beers and finally head out of Universal for the night. Our plan for the evening was to hit Hard Rock Cafe located on City Walk, right outside of Universal.
As we began our trek down through the neon lights,
We noticed these in a nearby window.
As we walked on, there was a popcorn place we passed called Popcornopolis. Now I love popcorn, but this was just crazy! Every kind of popcorn you can think of, plus combos of different types. Cinnamon flavored mixed with chocolate covered. There was cheese covered and caramel drizzled. Popcorn everywhere!
As we were still taking in the sights, another store caught my attention. I grabbed T-Mans arm and pointed.
T-Man and I are Dodger fans. It never occurred to me that they would have the clubhouse store here on CityWalk. Its a good thing we dont come here often. We did some pretty good damage in that store.
We left with our loot and headed on towards HRC before we ran out of money and we couldnt eat.
Along the way we captured a couple of photos.
There was a show that was going on, on the stage near the HRC. I couldnt tell you the name of the band, but they seemed pretty decent. We hoped that the restaurant wasnt too packed.
Luckily we were seated with no problem and first thing first, we ordered a Hurricane. I dont know what it is about these drinks here, but they are definitely good.
We ordered nachos. These things are huge! Normally we get an order of these plain for my DSIL. She isnt much for add ons. But this time, since we were alone, we figured we could go all out. So we added shredded pork and extra jalapenos.
Once we were done eating and drinking, we spent a little money in the shop. I needed a new pair of sweatpants and T-Man needed to add to his collection of pins. He has so many of them; we have to get a new case to add the new ones.
As we made our way out of HRC,. We noticed that there was practically no one around. There were still a few people milling about inside the restaurant, but outside on the CityWalk, there were only a few stragglers Did we enter an alternate universe? Pop into a rabbit hole no one knew about? Was the Curse of the Mummy still out to get us, and when it hit, we were protected only by the HRCs outer shell, and that is why only those inside the restaurant are the only people we see? Can you tell Ive been reading about time travel and rabbit holes and mysteries? Darn that Stephen King
Since no one was around we decided to take some pictures now that everything was lit up and pretty
Great pic of T-Man, me, not so much. You could tell I got a little too much sun that day and my make-up had already worn off.
This sign turned different colors, so of course T-Man had to take one of each.
We took our last ride of the day down the escalators to the parking structure. By that time, we were one of the only cars left in that section. It seemed a little eerie. I was waiting for a hord of zombies to start popping out from behind the poles or something. Once we got in the car, and locked up to make sure no zombies could get to us, we headed back towards Anaheim.
Remember in the beginning how I was too in awe to take any pictures of anything on our drive in, and how i would take better ones at night? Um Yeah...That didnt happen. By the time I tried to get a picture of anything, it would wiz by and all I would get is a blur of lights. So much for that bright idea.
We got back to our hotel kind of late. And I knew we would have to be up bright and early tomorrow morning for DCA. So, as we got ready for bed, T-Man got us a beer, and we sat outside on our balcony, talked about the adventures we had for the day, caught up on the goings on via our smart phones and then hit the hay.
Whew...I didn't realize until I was writing this all down, how much we actually did that day. We packed a lot in. It doesn't help that I talk to much...
Alright, I'll shut up for now...T-Man will take over for the next chapter. As he mentioned earlier, we are trying to get everything done this week before we leave for WDW. This will be an interesting trip. Since we started going, we have never been left alone. We have always had either DSIL or DSIL and some friends with us. This time, DSIL will join us for the first week, but after that...it will just be us. Plus this time, we will get to meet Nebo and Smidgy! Very exciting trip indeed.
Hopefully by the time we get back, this TR will still be here and we can continue to delight you all with our story.
I was going to say I should really get some work done now, but looking at the time, I wouldnt get much done anyway Figures.
pkondz
Brace yourself for immediate disintegration
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2007
Ummm... Now I know more about Mike than I really needed to.
Thumper_Man
DDC 684
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2009
Good job honey. I'll comment more a little later. Elaborate on some of the things you mentioned. Maybe post a couple more pics. We'll see what happens.
Looks like I'm up again. One of the good things is, I've been working on DCA while she was working on Universal. So hopefully I can at least provide you with a chapter or two before we leave. IF I don't decide to just wait until we get back. I know we've been dragging this out, but as Lady H stated, work has gotten in the way. That and getting ready for WDW. Still have packing we need to finish up.
I know everyone is anxious to hear about Carsland. I hope I can do it justice.
Looks like I'm up again. One of the good things is, I've been working on DCA while she was working on Universal. So hopefully I can at least provide you with a chapter or two before we leave. IF I don't decide to just wait until we get back. I know we've been dragging this out, but as Lady H stated, work has gotten in the way. That and getting ready for WDW. Still have packing we need to finish up.
I know everyone is anxious to hear about Carsland. I hope I can do it justice.
Thumper_Man's Wife
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2009
MAGICFOR2
Condimentessa
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2005
I know you went to the dark side, but what a great day at US! 
Too bad you missed out on T2D. It is "SUPER!" YOU KNOW! I didn't know the Blues Bros. did a stage show - I thought it was just a street performance. How Cool! 
Looks like we need another visit for sure! What Honeysuckle candy are you talking about - was it a sucker, or a taffy?
Too bad you missed out on T2D. It is "SUPER!" YOU KNOW! I didn't know the Blues Bros. did a stage show - I thought it was just a street performance. How Cool! Looks like we need another visit for sure! What Honeysuckle candy are you talking about - was it a sucker, or a taffy?
Thumper_Man
DDC 684
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2009
I know you went to the dark side, but what a great day at US!
We go to the dark side quite often actually. We'll be going to the dark side on this trip as well. We have fun where ever we go.
The best way to describe them is they are like the flavored hard candy sticks, but with the texture of a candy cane. I remember them back in the 80's. Only place I used to find them was Hallmark stores. They were sold in a little bag and you would get about 20 to a bag. There were 3 different colors, all light in color: pink, yellow and green. They were about 3 inches long. They were the perfect size to stick in a lemon and they would act like a straw. So when you would drink the lemon juice, you would get the sweet and sour taste at the same time. I'm guessing they've been discontinued as I haven't been able to find them anywhere.
Sounds like a good time was had by all. Although I think we should all refer to the escalators as The Beer Ride.
The views were amazing! That picture of Warner Bros looks like it should start wavering into the 50th/75th -whatever anniversary that was - logo.
Have fun with Nebo on your visit to the Dark Side Orlando. And SIL. And most especially when you two are on your own.
The views were amazing! That picture of Warner Bros looks like it should start wavering into the 50th/75th -whatever anniversary that was - logo.
Have fun with Nebo on your visit to the Dark Side Orlando. And SIL. And most especially when you two are on your own.
Thumper_Man
DDC 684
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2009
Sounds like a good time was had by all. Although I think we should all refer to the escalators as The Beer Ride.
That's a good way to think about it. Every time we went up and down the escalators, seems it was to get a beer.
Once we zoomed in as far as we could with our cameras, we noticed it was WB. Who knew it was so close by.
The views came from where we took the pics with Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon and Bill Paxton. Have fun with Nebo on your visit to the Dark Side Orlando. And SIL. And most especially when you two are on your own.
We will actually be meeting up with Smidgy and that other guy over at AK. They will be done with the Dark Side way before then. We don't have no set pattern as to how we're doing the parks. One day Dark Side, one day Disney. Not all of Dark Side first then all of Disney last.
We are looking forward to spending some time alone at WDW for once. D'Sis has always been with us the whole time. She was going to stay with us at WDW also, but her job wouldn't allow all the time off she needed.
orangecats2
Stitch Lover
- Joined
- May 6, 2008
Great huge chapters!
Where are you staying this time?
Where are you staying this time?
Thumper_Man
DDC 684
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2009
orangecats2 said:
Staying at our timeshare for the first portion of our trip. Last 5 days it will be just Lady H and I staying at CBR. Day we switch to CBR is the day D'Sis leaves back home.
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