You can take the girl out of Disney, BUT

[Caretames1]

Since I've never seen Spectro I have no comparison, but I do like MSEP. It is kinda spacey though.

I almost forgot this was a small part of a US trip!

Cute photo of the Mouse and and Claire, Kadence is "in jealous" again.



I really love that sweatshirt! If it's still there in Nov, I'm getting me one.



Kadence always falls asleep, and then denies it. Resting my eyes is the favorite excuse!

 

[petals]

Love the Magic Kingdom day.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I like both the SpectroMagic and Main Street Electrical parades but I think Spectro would get my vote if I had to pick one over the other. Cute picture of Claire and the mouse.

We've ventured offsite in the past too but I've gotta say that, like you, I'm a Disney girl at heart.

 

[dizneeat]

Jennifer, you watched the parade from my all time favourite spot! Never too crowded and a perfect spot to take photos!
Well done!

No wonder Claire fell asleep in the car, it had been such a long day.

I had to when Skip wanted to take the resort monorail back. Too funny!

 

[stephielela]

No pictures of headless Alice??

I totally know what you mean! I too am a Disney girl at heart. Our universal experience taught me that, not that I didn't already know. But at least we can say we've kept an open mind!

 

[jenseib]

Since I've never seen Spectro I have no comparison, but I do like MSEP. It is kinda spacey though.

I almost forgot this was a small part of a US trip!

Cute photo of the Mouse and and Claire, Kadence is "in jealous" again.



I really love that sweatshirt! If it's still there in Nov, I'm getting me one.



Kadence always falls asleep, and then denies it. Resting my eyes is the favorite excuse!

The music for Spectro is so much better in my opinion. But I also took Michael and Paige to Disney when they were kids and ti palyed then, so it has good memories.

I LOVE the sweatshirt!

Love the Magic Kingdom day.

I did too!

I like both the SpectroMagic and Main Street Electrical parades but I think Spectro would get my vote if I had to pick one over the other. Cute picture of Claire and the mouse.

We've ventured offsite in the past too but I've gotta say that, like you, I'm a Disney girl at heart.

Spectro is longer too. I just get swept up in that music.

Claire loves attention from characters like that.

 

[jenseib]

Jennifer, you watched the parade from my all time favourite spot! Never too crowded and a perfect spot to take photos!
Well done!

No wonder Claire fell asleep in the car, it had been such a long day.

I had to when Skip wanted to take the resort monorail back. Too funny!

That spot is excellent! I have watch the parade the almost every time. We have ventured off to mainstreet which is great too, but we had to get there really early...like an hour early, while we just came up 15 minutes prior to the start and were just fine.

Skip needs a lot of guidance or he would be so lost!

No pictures of headless Alice??

I totally know what you mean! I too am a Disney girl at heart. Our universal experience taught me that, not that I didn't already know. But at least we can say we've kept an open mind!

Universal was great...but Disney just wins over it a bit. I wil lsay Universal could teach Disney a few things though. They have some excellent rides!

 

[jenseib]

Day 5 ~ March 30, 2012

Again, I have no notes for this day, so I have to go by memory.

I’m sure I woke early as I never can sleep very long on vacation. I probably went down for breakfast and also caught up on facebook via my Kindle. I did love the free wifi at Quality Inn.

I also had the task of packing up. I brought along a luggage scale this time to be sure none of the bags were overweight and we did just fine.

I believe it was around 10 AM when we packed up the car and got on the road shortly after that. We didn’t have a discussed plan, we just left. So…as we pulled out, I asked Skip where we were going. Our flight didn’t leave till later that afternoon, and if I remember right we could basically play in the area till around 1 PM or so.
Skip gave me a deer in the headlights look. I reminded him that it was too early to go to the airport, so where did he want to go. We thought about options, and one was DTD, but that was shopping….evidently the devil word this trip. So we asked Claire which park she wanted to go back at Universal. She said she wanted to ride Disaster again. Skip vetoed that right away. Simpsons was the next choice, so off we were to the Studios!

We arrive just around 10:30 and took a leisurely walk to the park.

We found the majority of the people still head over to IoA first.

We made our way through the gate and headed over towards the Simpsons.
I believe this was Ricky Ricardos band out playing.

And there is Marilynn.

We came across a “hot set” and saw Sponge Bob. I’m not sure what was going on, but it appeared to be some sort of show with several kids involved.

More shots as we headed back towards our destination.

I’m guessing we stopped for a potty break.

I hadn’t taken a picture of this near the Men in Black ride, so I got a shot as we approached the area.

The theming around the Simpsons is just great.

Boy! Isn’t this true for a lot of those games?

I think the line was about 15 or 20 minutes…not bad at all.

Once again we were in the back seat and once again I could feel more motion back there. I also didn’t take any bonine, which was a big mistake. I need to remember to do this because as the day went on, the motion sickness got a little worse for me.

We still had time so we ran over to MIB. I put our bags in the locker and we got in line. It was a tad longer than the other day, but still moved fairly fast.

I swear we got the same exact car as we did the other day. My shooter seemed defective once again. I could hardly get points no matter what I did, yet Skip and Claire were having no problem at all.
When it came time to push the red button I pushed Claire’s and held it. She got the mega bonus points and was very happy to have beaten both of us.
We exited and I went and got the bags out of the locker.

 

[jenseib]

It was time to head out now. We still had some time to kill, but not really enough to do another ride.

I thought this was so cute.

Hey! There’s Betty Boop!

We found a friend who thought he might like a ride back to Ohio.

Bye Bye Universal!

And my try at getting artsy again….

When it comes to the day we are leaving, Skip always seems to find some extra energy.

I had been eyeing this shirt a bit and decided I wanted it..

I had said I should get all my kids “things” t-shirts to wear with me when I wear this shirt, but Skip said that Michael and Paige would never wear it. I agreed, but when I told them about my idea when I got home they both said they would’ve actually wore one.

One last friendly TM.

And back to the parking lot to find our car.

We needed to get a bite to eat before heading out as well. I was not feeling the best from the motion sickness and I was very hungry. Skip knows that I turn into a monster when I get a hunger headache…yet he seems to forget it and becomes very annoying at those moments.

He hem hawed around about where to go. I just kept saying pull in anywhere. I had told him which direction to go and he went the opposite way. So we passed several options and I was getting antsy. Now time was starting to slip away and I still had no food. We pulled around to circle back and we drove by the famous Burger King that had screwed our order up last time. I told him to go there, and he said I surely wouldn’t want to go back there again….and I think my eyes might’ve turned red and I just might’ve spoken with the devils voice and said “PULL IN THERE NOW!”

Sure enough, we pull in, make our order and get to the window and they tell us to back up again because we triggered something wrong. Then they told us to just go park. Skip said, “Yeah, we know the drill”. Luckily it didn’t take as long for our food to come out this time and I did double check the order before we pulled out. Skip told the guy he hoped they won the pizza party even though it inconvenienced quests and the guy gave him a funny look, like how did he know? LOL

I pulled out ibuprofen and bonine and popped those and started to eat…Ahhhhh…feeling much better now.
But before I actually was feeling better, Skip asked how to get to the airport. I told him and once again he ignored me. He said he knew there was a faster way. Ok, then take it. So he gets on the beeline, heading towards Port Canaveral. Um, the airport isn’t this way. I looked on the map and saw where we could make a turn off and be just fine. But he panicked and then had to turn around. More time being wasted.

Finally the food was kicking in for me and he listened to me and we were on the right road in the right direction.

As we drove on, I got much nicer. Skip made a comment to Claire to remind him to get me food when I need it fast because I am much nicer once I have eaten!

I took a picture of this while we drove. It was a neat building, but kind of not near anything else.

 

[jenseib]

Before long we were getting close to Sanford and we stopped and filled the car up with gas.

And before we knew it, it was time to turn in.

Skip dropped us off and then went to return the car. Looks like someone isn’t too happy about going home. I wasn’t either.

The line to check in was super long. It always is at Sanford. They usually are checking in 3 flights and only 2- 3 people working the desk, so it takes a while. We kept our eyes open for my friend Jenny who had flown down the same day as us. She was supposed to be returning today too. She never showed up while we were in line. We did listen to a couple behind us with what I assume was the guys Mom. I am not sure if all 3 were flying or if the Mom was seeing them off, but the guy was super impatient, but the ladies didn’t seem to care and talked away. I listened…..how could I not?…and it sounded like the guy had a super nasty ex-wife and she was doing things to threaten the new girlfriend. Oh the things you hear while waiting in line.

We finally got checked in and up through security, which was another long line. I usually take care of Claire for the most part, and hand Skip an extra item to take through. Next thing we know, he is being pulled off to the side. He set something off. LOL! He had forgotten to tell them about his hip replacement, so they took him off to a small cubicle and did a pat down and wand. Claire had big eyes….after all I told her if you did the wrong thing, you might get strip searched. Luckily he left with all his clothes still on and got the OK.
In the mean time I am trying to be sure the line behind us isn’t held up so I am trying to grab all our stuff plus what he was in charge of. The whole shoes and belt off thing is a pain in the rear.

We headed to our gate, found a spot to sit and Claire and I went to the bathroom and I got some mini Cinnabons. MMM! Can’t go past those. Skip went and got us some drinks and soon we saw Jenny and crew come in. They were actually smart and arrived later and had no line at all for check in. But I am too much of a worry wart and would fear we would miss the plane.

Here is the last shot of the trip…not too exciting!

We sat and talked with Jenny and Ray about our week. She had gone to Universal the day we went to MK. She had thought she was going to be there the same day, but when she read her printed ticket, she found it was for Thurs. instead of Wed.

After talking of all the fun we did, and they did some really neat things too, it was time to board. We had assigned seats so we boarded early on. They didn’t and had to wait till all the assigned seat people boarded. We did see Jenny and her son board, but no Ray. She said he was being a slow poke and she wasn’t waiting, so she left him. LOL. We did see him board later though.

Time to go! Or so we thought. We waited and waited and waited, and the plane was getting stuffy. It looked like they were talking to people near the front rows. We thought maybe someone was sick. Lots of whispers between other passengers about what was going on, but no one knew for sure.
I stood up a few times to look. I was starting to get an anxiety attack. I don’t get them often anymore, but I used to get them a lot. Then I was having anxiety about the anxiety attack. I was thinking about how I could sit trapped on this plane for a couple more hours yet. I breathed through it and I did eventually push it away.
The pilot finally came on and said he had to finish paperwork before they could take off. It would just be a few more minutes. I don’t think that was true. It did look like the people in front were now OK and the flight attendants were making rounds to be sure everything was in place.
The lady in front of us had a dog and it barked a couple of times. The flight attendant got nasty with her and told her to shut the dog up. People jumped all over her then as we were waiting with no explanation of when we would leave and the dog was just voicing what we all thought. She said we would be leaving soon and turned away…and we did eventually back out, which was met with cheers.

The flight home was uneventful. I had planned to write up notes, but with my new Kindle, it wasn’t meant to be. I played games on it the whole time. I am addicted to it. I mostly played Mahjong. I am slightly obsessed with that game. Claire played with her iPod and Nintendo DSXLi. I think Skip browsed some magazines and we also snacked on some goodies I had brought along.

I think I must’ve called Mom on the plane before we took off to let her know we were going to be late, because she had just pulled into the airport as we got off the plane. We met her in baggage claim and waited for what felt like forever for the bags to start coming through.

And it was cold. Oh how I hate Ohio winters. We all wore shorts home and it definitely was not shorts weather in Ohio. No snow, but not warm either.

We got the car loaded up and made a fast food stop on the way home. I wasn’t even going to think about cooking, and Claire would have to eat something for sure before she went to bed that night.

When we got home I started to unpack a bit, mostly to find Claire’s goodies and started the laundry. Oh the joys of coming home.
Skip disappeared as soon as the bags were in the house. He can’t be away from his cows for too long, and I am sure his brother was a basket case without him there.

And that’s the end of our Universal trip.

I really enjoyed the trip a lot. I learned and experienced so many new things and now have a more open mind about going back. I really think Skip liked it better than Disney, which I was surprised. We found some new favorite rides, and it was fun to compare things to Disney. In some ways, Universal can blow Disney away, but in other areas, Disney is much better. The main thing for me is the feeling of Disney. I didn’t get that same feeling at Universal. No magic for me. But yes, I would jump at the chance to go back in a heartbeat!

Thanks for following along!

 

[mickeystoontown]

So it's over already? But, you just got there. Seriously, It sound like you guys had a great trip. It's been years since we've been to Universal Studios but I know what you mean about now geting that "feeling". At Disney the "feeling" just overtakes you.

 

[Poolrat]

Always a great trip and report but so sad to come home. You will be back and that just makes you happy again.


Glad you got a little Dinsey in your US and IoA trip. Need to make it back there some time to take in the newset stuff.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Beth D]

Great TR! But it's only July! You need to keep this one going until it's time to start the next one! LOL What else will i read?

 

[dizneeat]

It's over already?
No good!!!

Thanks for writing your report, Jen and thanks for all the pics posted. It really made me realize that it will be time for us to return to UO in the near future. We were last three years ago and a lot of things have changed.

Can't wait for your November trip report though!

 

[Wicket's Mom]

I had a great time traveling along with your TR. Someday DH & I will have to check out Universal. Would love to see the Harry Potter stuff!

I do have your new TR to look forward to this fall! See ya around FB!

 

[Caretames1]

That's it? You're done! Seems like you just were getting started.


I'm willing to try US someday, maybe in a few years if we take the other niece to WDW in or around 2014-15. I think I'd love to see all the fun things like Simpsons and MIB.
Thanks for taking us along on your trip!

I'm a bear if I haven't eaten either, blood sugar gets low= Watch Out!

I love listening to people in any lines, what some talk about is hilarious!

John used to have anxiety like that. He's been good for a while, but he freaked out on our first trip to WDW. We were coming back to POR at night and he couldn't remember which bus stop to get off on. I told him which one, but he didn't believe me and he was ready to bolt off the bus at any stop. I told him that he could but we wouldn't , and he breathed through it. Which brings to mind this question...Why don't men listen to us??

Stuck on a plane.....he and I both would have had issues.


Claire sure does look sad, but soon she'll have smiles all around!

 

[jenseib]

So it's over already? But, you just got there. Seriously, It sound like you guys had a great trip. It's been years since we've been to Universal Studios but I know what you mean about now geting that "feeling". At Disney the "feeling" just overtakes you.

It was a short trip...monday night to Friday afternoon. But it was fun and really took that edge off the "I need to get away feeling"

Always a great trip and report but so sad to come home. You will be back and that just makes you happy again.


Glad you got a little Dinsey in your US and IoA trip. Need to make it back there some time to take in the newset stuff.

Thanks for sharing.

it was fun...different than our norm, but I really had a good time. Adding bits of Disney was nice for me. I can't wait for the next trip. it's so close yet so far away!

Great TR! But it's only July! You need to keep this one going until it's time to start the next one! LOL What else will i read?

I know. I am still writing my PTR...even though there isn't a lot going on right now with that either. I am "hoping" for another trip this fall (hopefully in Sept sometime). Still waiting on some details. It's not in my hands, so until I get some offical word (and not from Skip either, believe it or not) I just have to keep waiting and hoping it happens. I thinkg the "Tiki Gods" know I want to do this, so are delaying it as much as possible...trying to take Skips place I guess.

It's over already?
No good!!!

Thanks for writing your report, Jen and thanks for all the pics posted. It really made me realize that it will be time for us to return to UO in the near future. We were last three years ago and a lot of things have changed.

Can't wait for your November trip report though!

I have to say it's nice to be done with this report and have a breather for awhile. I can't post like the machine you are, working on month long trips all year long. You go girl!

Universal was great and I do hope for another trip there in the future.

We went away tractor pulling yesterday I came home to 200 Plus new emails....What the hecK? How could so many post on a Friday.

Most are facebook notifications, but today was another hectic day and I really have barely touched looking at any of them. I guess I have something to do for tomorow.....oh wait..birthday party then. Well I guess next week wil lbe when I start catching up.

I had a great time traveling along with your TR. Someday DH & I will have to check out Universal. Would love to see the Harry Potter stuff!

I do have your new TR to look forward to this fall! See ya around FB!

I am so glad you followed along. And before you know it, your trip wil lbe here too!

Do try and get over there one of these years. It was really fun to experience some new things.

That's it? You're done! Seems like you just were getting started.


I'm willing to try US someday, maybe in a few years if we take the other niece to WDW in or around 2014-15. I think I'd love to see all the fun things like Simpsons and MIB.
Thanks for taking us along on your trip!

I'm a bear if I haven't eaten either, blood sugar gets low= Watch Out!

I love listening to people in any lines, what some talk about is hilarious!

John used to have anxiety like that. He's been good for a while, but he freaked out on our first trip to WDW. We were coming back to POR at night and he couldn't remember which bus stop to get off on. I told him which one, but he didn't believe me and he was ready to bolt off the bus at any stop. I told him that he could but we wouldn't , and he breathed through it. Which brings to mind this question...Why don't men listen to us??

Stuck on a plane.....he and I both would have had issues.


Claire sure does look sad, but soon she'll have smiles all around!

It seems like I took forever on such a short trip...but I did take a lot of pictures.

I had a little anxiety last night too. We went tractor pulling and we came home late last night. Really late, and it was a little over 2 1/2 hours to get home. I just kept having that feeling off and on about being stuck in the truck. I kept trying to move my miond to other things. Its such an awful feeling. Being so late and my mind so foggy that it was really hard to think the happy thoughts. And fianlly I dozed off for a short time, only to pull up to a sote for a potty break for Skip. And of course us girls had to make sure to go as we had a good 1 1/2 hours before we could go again and we found that nothing was open in most of the small towns we went through.

Skip went back today, but Claire and I stayed home. We did some stuff with my Mom, sister and nieces. Then a nap, since we got home around 2:15 AM last night.

Skip wants my pictures edited...well he wil lhave to wait. he thought they would be done by 9 AM this morning...um nope!

 

[mom2rtk]

Man Jen..... that could have been our family in your car on the way back to the airport! LOL! I did enjoy Skip's comment to the BK folks. I like his style!

I do think it was cool that you got in the car and had to ask where he was going........ then ended up spur of the moment back at Universal. I always know where we're going each day so many months in advance, the odds of that happening are pretty low.

If I didn't say so, the photos of MSEP were quite wonderful. You do a great job with those. And they are very sharp. What lens were you using? I really loved the shot of Claire and the mouse. And I can't believe how empty it was along the parade route!

I love our long Disney trips, but some of our one day stops at Disney have been tons of fun too. You really can pack a ton of fun into even just one day there. You know.... as long as it's the Magic Kingdom!

I guess the consolation prize for this being over is that we have your next TR to look forward to!

Thanks again for taking us all along with you!

 

[Metro West]

I took a picture of this while we drove. It was a neat building, but kind of not near anything else.

That building is called the "I-4 eyesore" due to the fact that it's been under construction for more than ten years and as you know...still isn't finished! It's owned by a religious broadcasting company called SuperChannel. No one knows if the building will ever be completed. Here's an article from 2010 about it if you are interested:

http://westorlandonews.com/2010/10/07/broadcaster-sets-completion-date-for-i-4-eyesore

 

[jenseib]

Man Jen..... that could have been our family in your car on the way back to the airport! LOL! I did enjoy Skip's comment to the BK folks. I like his style!

I do think it was cool that you got in the car and had to ask where he was going........ then ended up spur of the moment back at Universal. I always know where we're going each day so many months in advance, the odds of that happening are pretty low.

If I didn't say so, the photos of MSEP were quite wonderful. You do a great job with those. And they are very sharp. What lens were you using? I really loved the shot of Claire and the mouse. And I can't believe how empty it was along the parade route!

I love our long Disney trips, but some of our one day stops at Disney have been tons of fun too. You really can pack a ton of fun into even just one day there. You know.... as long as it's the Magic Kingdom!

I guess the consolation prize for this being over is that we have your next TR to look forward to!

Thanks again for taking us all along with you!

Gosh I have to look, but the lens was a kit lens actually. It was like and 18 to something mm. Tells you a lot doesn't it?
I am actually having troubles with 2 of my other lenses. One kind of stick when I turn it to zoom. And it seems to have lost it's sharpenss. I knwo I should take it in...but I'll put it off forever because there isn't a close camera store near here. The other has had a problem from day one and it goes all whacky like it can't focus after using it. I can sometimes use it for about 3 days with no issue and sometimes only an hour. It seems to act up when I want an important picture.


Our 1 day at Mk was fun. But it was fun to be a bit more relaxed this trip too and just do some spur of the moment things.

I am ready for the nexttrip...but so many things going on before then.

That building is called the "I-4 eyesore" due to the fact that it's been under construction for more than ten years and as you know...still isn't finished! It's owned by a religious broadcasting company called SuperChannel. No one knows if the building will ever be completed. Here's an article from 2010 about it if you are interested:

http://westorlandonews.com/2010/10/07/broadcaster-sets-completion-date-for-i-4-eyesore

Thanks for that info. I'll have t ogo and read that.