jsmla
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2001
- Messages
- 4,498
(Pre-trip described in lengthy detail on WDW Trip Reports board)
Day 1
6:00 am
Up at dawn once again to check in at the Hard Rock Hotel. This is something Liz and I have been looking forward to since March. Guests at the HRH are given FOTL (Front Of The Line) privileges. A previous (Spring Break) visit to Universal leads me to believe this could be a great perk. We usually don't stay in classy places but the HRH was nicely priced on Hotwire ($125/nt.) and I just threw caution to the wind and went for it. I really like Hotwire because, if you're willing to do a little research, you can figure out which hotel you're likely to recieve. The Hard Rock is very cool with a sleek black/white/sage decor and rock memorabilia on display. It was still quite early so there was no wait to check-in. Our room wasn't ready yet but we were able to get our all-important resort ID's. We all have 5-day passes for Universal Orlando that I purchased from their website for $85. These passes expire 5 days after 1st use but were still the cheapest 3-day option. I am really looking forward to trying out the "Front of the Line" privilages. It just seems too good to be true. They offered to hold our luggage but we just left it in the car.
8:00am
It was still very early as we walked the path to Islands of Adventure. The walk is a very pleasant 5-10 minute stroll. At the turnstile we were the second group in line. The park opened exactly at the published opening time (9:00). We wanted to ride on the front of The Hulk, so we hustled over to Super Hero area of the park. As is usual with me I had trouble with the locker so we waited a few minutes in line for the front row. If you've never ridden on the front row you should give it a try. This is one of our favorite theme park experiences, definately worth the short wait in line. (FOTL privileges are not available for the front seats of any of the rollercoasters.) Off the ride and another struggle with the locker. I highly recommend limiting your stuff to what you can fit in your pockets. The lockers can be a hassle at times. Since we had no hotel room yet, we needed a bag for our rain stuff. The skies were ominously grey.
Today we're touring the park in a counter clockwise direction. This is in order to give Liz the chance to ride One Fish, Two Fish. She rides this ride solely in order to watch me get the directions fuddled and thereby soaking wet. If you haven't ridden this little treasure yet the premise is this: One Fish is a Dumbo-type ride in which you follow instructions issued by a sappy little song telling you to steer your fish up and down. Should you for any reason make an error in your navagations spitting fish will douse you with water. If you read the pre-trip reports you may have noticed that I have a little problem digesting oral information. This insures that everyone, including my children who are supposed to love me, gets treated to the sight of a 43 year old woman incapable of operating a ride for preschoolers. I get my first soaking of the day. (BTW, even though the guide books say this ride does not offer FOTL we saw a kiosk issuing passes.)
Sloshed over to Cat in the Hat (no line) which is not as mild as it looks, especially if you don't like spinning. Now wet AND dizzy I stumble over to Dueling Dragons in the Lost Contintent. DD not operating due to weather. Probably for the best considering the state of my stomach and it is beginning to rain. Our next stop is Jurassic Park River Adventure which is up and running. This ride is in a sort of a prehistoric Splash Mountain meets Dinosaur theme. You can see the big drop from outside the ride. Don't stand too close. This ride will soak bystanders. It also soaked me. We were in the front seat of the boat and a huge wave of water sloshed over the front of the boat and plopped right into my startled lap. Apparently there were no heated pools in the Jurassic era. I was the only one on the boat to get really wet. Of course this was quite amusing for everyone else. The big bad T Rex is pretty loud and scarey so you might want to check it out before you let any little ones or timid souls ride.
Pouring rain now. I hadn't planned on riding the attractions in the Toon Lagoon area because they will soak you and we had no place to change. For me at least this is now a moot point, so here we go. We used the Express line for both rides. There were no lines for either ride, probably since it was pouring rain and getting a tad chilly. I mean what kind of idiots get on these rides when its cool out? Apparently we do. Liz has her swimsuit on so she is able to keep her shirt dry. I'm already wet and Sam doesn't have any sense. Dudley Doright is a log flume ride, more cute than impressive. Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rats is another story. Think Kalli River Rapids on steroids. You will get absolutely soaked on this ride. Everyone in our raft was drenched except for the forward thinking Lizzie who has made a skirt of her poncho and kept her clothes in the little dry well in the center of the raft. Water is now streaming off me as I squish back to Super Hero Island for Dr. Doom. The rain has slacked off and the ride is open. This ride is not nearly as bad as it looks. After the initial blast-off it is more pleasant than fearsome. You softly float down to earth with all of Universal displayed before you. Quite Zen really. We used our resort ID's for FOTL. The folks at Universal are very diligent in policing the Express lines. We were held up by a few teenagers caught trying to cut in. When they became aggresive the Guardian of the Express Line called security. So here's a lesson. Don't mess with the Express line at Islands of Adventure or you may find yourself escorted from the park which will definately put a damper on your day.
Rain still holding off so we're away to SpiderMan. All I can say is WOW! IMHO this is the best ride I have ever experienced in any theme park. We used the Express line (no wait) but the standby line was posted at 60 minutes. This is one of the few things I would even consider standing an hour in line for. It's that good. If you've never been to IOA I won't spoil it for you except to say that if you can only ride one ride while in Orlando you should ride this one. It's very intense, however, and might be too much for some, especially if you don't like things jumping out at you.
Raining hard again so we're off back to the Lost Continent for Posidon's (sp?) Fury. The line here was huge, but with our handy little resort id's we waked into the next show. I'm extremely grateful because it is FREEZING in there. I don't know what the deal is with Florida theme parks and air conditioning. I mean almost everyone in line was wet to some degree and the temperature couldn't have been much over 65. I was shaking so badly that my teeth hurt from the chattering. Here's a handy tip for this attraction: The best spots are on the front (handicapped access) row. If you are one of the last ones into the second chamber you will probably be able to stand in the front. Of course you are taking the chance that it will be filled by parties with a handicapped member, but we never had it happen to us. (The operators keep this area clear untill the last group is in in order to keep space open for wheelchairs.) Hampered as I am by my inability to focus on the human voice, I never have been able to make out the storyline for this attraction. The special effects, however, are very cool.
12:00 pm
We had noon reservations at Mythos and a good thing too. The rain has brought everyone in the park here. We were seated very quickly. The A/C was going at full blast and the dining room was glacial. Sam and I had cappucinos and Liz hot chocolate. Sam had a burger and Liz and I split a large salad and a small pizza. Everything was delicious. Much, much better than the fast food court and not a whole lot more expensive. Mythos has a beautiful diningroom (Think Darth Vadar's home planet in Star Wars Episode One.) and lovely bathrooms. Definately worth the extra $. Still freezing, we hoofed it back to the Hard Rock to check on our room. The room still wasn't ready but the clerk at check-in took pity on us and gave us passes to the exercise/spa facilities to dry off. Liz and I sat in the sauna and took long, hot showers. The shower area is very nice and well stocked with towels, shampoo, blowdriers, etc. Love the Hard Rock and haven't even seen the room yet!
2:00 pm
The rain has slacked off so we head out for Universal Studios. This park has a whole slew of new attracions we were looking forward to. The first new attraction we experienced has a Shrek theme. This replaced the old Alfred Hitchcock show which I liked very much. The standby line was very, very long (90 minutes) but we walked into the next show with our FOTL perk. It's a great 3-D multi-sensory show but I don't know if I'd wait in an hour and a half long line to see it. If you plan on using Universal Express while at the Studios use it here. (Universal Express is Universal Orlando's version of FastPass.) We walked over to Twister next. FOTL is not a huge advantage here due to the way the attraction is arranged. Very cool special effects.
3:00 pm
Back to the Hard Rock and wonder of wonders our room was ready! Parking is distant in this hotel so I brought the car around to unload. Felt a little odd sweeping up to the entrance with all those limo's and shiny new SUV's. Found a downside to staying in a posh hotel though, tipping. Sam and I brought a bag each, but Liz insisted she absolutely had to have all 4 of her bags. Thats $6 tothe valet guy to unload them and another $6 to the kid who brought them to our room. Since you cannot park near the entrance there really is no other way to bring your bags up. My parents have never paid for anyone to handle their bags ever and I felt quite decadent. At our room we found that we had been upgraded to pool view. Very nice. The room is lovely with more of the blacks and sage green found in the lobby, two very comfy Queen beds and nice bath and sitting areas. No balcony but the window was large and the pool view an unexpected treat.
The only downside was that we were at the very end of the hall and it was quite a hike to the lobby. The room had a CD player and we were given a complimentary CD at check-in. It was still sprinkling but the pool was open, so we put on our suits went to check it out. It's very large with a zero-depth entry and a slide that we like even better than the one at Stormalong Bay. The music is piped under the water so you can hear it while you swim. Cool. The pool closed b/c of lightning so back to the room. Sometime during the afternoon, Liz developed a bad case of the hiccups. Ever prudent, Sam decides to cure his baby sister by jumping our of the closet and scaring the poop out of her. Subsequently Liz decides to kill Sam. A lot of yelling follows. Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. I have to find beer, and I mean soon, so I drag Liz with me to the 7-11. She can keep me company and I can prevent a fratricide all in one go. I also got one of those nifty underwater cameras to take pictures of our classy pool.
7:00 pm
We're all exhausted from trying to keep our body temps up so opt for sandwiches in the room, TV and bed. Who says we don't know how to party!
Day 1
6:00 am
Up at dawn once again to check in at the Hard Rock Hotel. This is something Liz and I have been looking forward to since March. Guests at the HRH are given FOTL (Front Of The Line) privileges. A previous (Spring Break) visit to Universal leads me to believe this could be a great perk. We usually don't stay in classy places but the HRH was nicely priced on Hotwire ($125/nt.) and I just threw caution to the wind and went for it. I really like Hotwire because, if you're willing to do a little research, you can figure out which hotel you're likely to recieve. The Hard Rock is very cool with a sleek black/white/sage decor and rock memorabilia on display. It was still quite early so there was no wait to check-in. Our room wasn't ready yet but we were able to get our all-important resort ID's. We all have 5-day passes for Universal Orlando that I purchased from their website for $85. These passes expire 5 days after 1st use but were still the cheapest 3-day option. I am really looking forward to trying out the "Front of the Line" privilages. It just seems too good to be true. They offered to hold our luggage but we just left it in the car.
8:00am
It was still very early as we walked the path to Islands of Adventure. The walk is a very pleasant 5-10 minute stroll. At the turnstile we were the second group in line. The park opened exactly at the published opening time (9:00). We wanted to ride on the front of The Hulk, so we hustled over to Super Hero area of the park. As is usual with me I had trouble with the locker so we waited a few minutes in line for the front row. If you've never ridden on the front row you should give it a try. This is one of our favorite theme park experiences, definately worth the short wait in line. (FOTL privileges are not available for the front seats of any of the rollercoasters.) Off the ride and another struggle with the locker. I highly recommend limiting your stuff to what you can fit in your pockets. The lockers can be a hassle at times. Since we had no hotel room yet, we needed a bag for our rain stuff. The skies were ominously grey.
Today we're touring the park in a counter clockwise direction. This is in order to give Liz the chance to ride One Fish, Two Fish. She rides this ride solely in order to watch me get the directions fuddled and thereby soaking wet. If you haven't ridden this little treasure yet the premise is this: One Fish is a Dumbo-type ride in which you follow instructions issued by a sappy little song telling you to steer your fish up and down. Should you for any reason make an error in your navagations spitting fish will douse you with water. If you read the pre-trip reports you may have noticed that I have a little problem digesting oral information. This insures that everyone, including my children who are supposed to love me, gets treated to the sight of a 43 year old woman incapable of operating a ride for preschoolers. I get my first soaking of the day. (BTW, even though the guide books say this ride does not offer FOTL we saw a kiosk issuing passes.)
Sloshed over to Cat in the Hat (no line) which is not as mild as it looks, especially if you don't like spinning. Now wet AND dizzy I stumble over to Dueling Dragons in the Lost Contintent. DD not operating due to weather. Probably for the best considering the state of my stomach and it is beginning to rain. Our next stop is Jurassic Park River Adventure which is up and running. This ride is in a sort of a prehistoric Splash Mountain meets Dinosaur theme. You can see the big drop from outside the ride. Don't stand too close. This ride will soak bystanders. It also soaked me. We were in the front seat of the boat and a huge wave of water sloshed over the front of the boat and plopped right into my startled lap. Apparently there were no heated pools in the Jurassic era. I was the only one on the boat to get really wet. Of course this was quite amusing for everyone else. The big bad T Rex is pretty loud and scarey so you might want to check it out before you let any little ones or timid souls ride.
Pouring rain now. I hadn't planned on riding the attractions in the Toon Lagoon area because they will soak you and we had no place to change. For me at least this is now a moot point, so here we go. We used the Express line for both rides. There were no lines for either ride, probably since it was pouring rain and getting a tad chilly. I mean what kind of idiots get on these rides when its cool out? Apparently we do. Liz has her swimsuit on so she is able to keep her shirt dry. I'm already wet and Sam doesn't have any sense. Dudley Doright is a log flume ride, more cute than impressive. Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rats is another story. Think Kalli River Rapids on steroids. You will get absolutely soaked on this ride. Everyone in our raft was drenched except for the forward thinking Lizzie who has made a skirt of her poncho and kept her clothes in the little dry well in the center of the raft. Water is now streaming off me as I squish back to Super Hero Island for Dr. Doom. The rain has slacked off and the ride is open. This ride is not nearly as bad as it looks. After the initial blast-off it is more pleasant than fearsome. You softly float down to earth with all of Universal displayed before you. Quite Zen really. We used our resort ID's for FOTL. The folks at Universal are very diligent in policing the Express lines. We were held up by a few teenagers caught trying to cut in. When they became aggresive the Guardian of the Express Line called security. So here's a lesson. Don't mess with the Express line at Islands of Adventure or you may find yourself escorted from the park which will definately put a damper on your day.
Rain still holding off so we're away to SpiderMan. All I can say is WOW! IMHO this is the best ride I have ever experienced in any theme park. We used the Express line (no wait) but the standby line was posted at 60 minutes. This is one of the few things I would even consider standing an hour in line for. It's that good. If you've never been to IOA I won't spoil it for you except to say that if you can only ride one ride while in Orlando you should ride this one. It's very intense, however, and might be too much for some, especially if you don't like things jumping out at you.
Raining hard again so we're off back to the Lost Continent for Posidon's (sp?) Fury. The line here was huge, but with our handy little resort id's we waked into the next show. I'm extremely grateful because it is FREEZING in there. I don't know what the deal is with Florida theme parks and air conditioning. I mean almost everyone in line was wet to some degree and the temperature couldn't have been much over 65. I was shaking so badly that my teeth hurt from the chattering. Here's a handy tip for this attraction: The best spots are on the front (handicapped access) row. If you are one of the last ones into the second chamber you will probably be able to stand in the front. Of course you are taking the chance that it will be filled by parties with a handicapped member, but we never had it happen to us. (The operators keep this area clear untill the last group is in in order to keep space open for wheelchairs.) Hampered as I am by my inability to focus on the human voice, I never have been able to make out the storyline for this attraction. The special effects, however, are very cool.
12:00 pm
We had noon reservations at Mythos and a good thing too. The rain has brought everyone in the park here. We were seated very quickly. The A/C was going at full blast and the dining room was glacial. Sam and I had cappucinos and Liz hot chocolate. Sam had a burger and Liz and I split a large salad and a small pizza. Everything was delicious. Much, much better than the fast food court and not a whole lot more expensive. Mythos has a beautiful diningroom (Think Darth Vadar's home planet in Star Wars Episode One.) and lovely bathrooms. Definately worth the extra $. Still freezing, we hoofed it back to the Hard Rock to check on our room. The room still wasn't ready but the clerk at check-in took pity on us and gave us passes to the exercise/spa facilities to dry off. Liz and I sat in the sauna and took long, hot showers. The shower area is very nice and well stocked with towels, shampoo, blowdriers, etc. Love the Hard Rock and haven't even seen the room yet!
2:00 pm
The rain has slacked off so we head out for Universal Studios. This park has a whole slew of new attracions we were looking forward to. The first new attraction we experienced has a Shrek theme. This replaced the old Alfred Hitchcock show which I liked very much. The standby line was very, very long (90 minutes) but we walked into the next show with our FOTL perk. It's a great 3-D multi-sensory show but I don't know if I'd wait in an hour and a half long line to see it. If you plan on using Universal Express while at the Studios use it here. (Universal Express is Universal Orlando's version of FastPass.) We walked over to Twister next. FOTL is not a huge advantage here due to the way the attraction is arranged. Very cool special effects.
3:00 pm
Back to the Hard Rock and wonder of wonders our room was ready! Parking is distant in this hotel so I brought the car around to unload. Felt a little odd sweeping up to the entrance with all those limo's and shiny new SUV's. Found a downside to staying in a posh hotel though, tipping. Sam and I brought a bag each, but Liz insisted she absolutely had to have all 4 of her bags. Thats $6 tothe valet guy to unload them and another $6 to the kid who brought them to our room. Since you cannot park near the entrance there really is no other way to bring your bags up. My parents have never paid for anyone to handle their bags ever and I felt quite decadent. At our room we found that we had been upgraded to pool view. Very nice. The room is lovely with more of the blacks and sage green found in the lobby, two very comfy Queen beds and nice bath and sitting areas. No balcony but the window was large and the pool view an unexpected treat.
The only downside was that we were at the very end of the hall and it was quite a hike to the lobby. The room had a CD player and we were given a complimentary CD at check-in. It was still sprinkling but the pool was open, so we put on our suits went to check it out. It's very large with a zero-depth entry and a slide that we like even better than the one at Stormalong Bay. The music is piped under the water so you can hear it while you swim. Cool. The pool closed b/c of lightning so back to the room. Sometime during the afternoon, Liz developed a bad case of the hiccups. Ever prudent, Sam decides to cure his baby sister by jumping our of the closet and scaring the poop out of her. Subsequently Liz decides to kill Sam. A lot of yelling follows. Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. I have to find beer, and I mean soon, so I drag Liz with me to the 7-11. She can keep me company and I can prevent a fratricide all in one go. I also got one of those nifty underwater cameras to take pictures of our classy pool.
7:00 pm
We're all exhausted from trying to keep our body temps up so opt for sandwiches in the room, TV and bed. Who says we don't know how to party!
