Veater
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2000
- Messages
- 66
THURSDAY, MARCH 8 â Universal
Today we went back to the Universal area and went to that park. Gary was going over to check out the Holy Land park then meet us at the park. So he dropped us off which saved some walking time. We did not bring our coats since it seemed fairly warm but I regretted that decision for the first couple of hours. It was very chilly with the wind. I was okay but I felt bad about my son shivering.
We made it to the front gates about 8:40. They were letting in people from their hotels at one set of gates so we went to stand at the other ones with the huge lines. My sister decided that she would go over and ask for a map and just about that time, they started letting everyone in. So we all moved over to those gates and were let in. Off we went to Back to the Future. It was quite a walk back to that part of the park. Since we had never been there before, we werenâÂÂt sure that we were going the right directions but it was. We walked right on the ride. It was pretty good but awfully jerky. Charlene said that it was the jerkiest ride she had been on â they had gone on it several times in the California park. Anyway, we then went over to the Men in Black ride. The entrance confused us as there was a small sign pointing another direction for Entrance but we did find it. You have to check your backpacks there in their lockers so I did that. Those locker setups are pretty nice. They were free for two hours then would cost you money after that.
We walked onto this ride which was great. My score was the worst of all until I hit the red button first and got a 100,000 bonus. Yippee. When you sit in the back you definitely have a different perspective than the front. The other car beat us by a small margin so we had to go again. Crystal was the big winner on this one with 190,000 points I think. Our average was around 90,000. So we went again and this time, Bethany got the red button bonus. I rode in the front this time and we beat the other carâÂÂs average scores pretty easily. So one more time around we went and the line was actually shorter this time. Not that there ever was really a line. It was great. At this point, the kids were getting pickier about where they wanted to sit so we had to work that out but it was still fun. I figured out how to hit the other carâÂÂs target and make them spin over and over again. Those poor people â I loved it! We rode on the other track that time also, so it was a little different.
We couldnâÂÂt do this all day, so off now to Jaws. The line was pretty short there. We had to wait for one boat. This ride was pretty intense and Miles was sitting right where the shark got electrocuted. Then we stopped at Earthquake since it was next. Here they had us wait in a room that was packed with people â quite stuffy. Chad waited outside for us as he had no desire to wait in that stuffy room. Then they had us go into another room and showed us some stuff and then another room where we could sit for a few minutes. At this point the doors behind us opened and we were loaded onto a tram car. They said that each row seated 7 so we figured that the 5 of us would fit easily. Anyway, the seating was quite chaotic and we were near the back of the area and there were no seats with us together. They rather harshly told us to sit in the first seats that we could find. The kids got together in one place but Charlene and I had to go clear to the middle of the tram to find a seat. The CMâÂÂs didnâÂÂt seem to be concerned about helping us find a seat or getting people together. Fortunately, my kids were old enough to be somewhat on their own but it did bother me the rest of the ride. It was quite an experience to be on that subway car during the "earthquake". I would have enjoyed it except that I was concerned about how my kids were doing. Of course, they did just fine.
We were starting to tire at that point so we thought about lunch but decided to do a couple more rides first. We headed off to Kongfrontation. It had a bit of a line so waited about 10 minutes but that was fine. This was better than I expected. It was a surprise at the end of the ride when the "news camera" shows a picture on the monitor that is really our car of people. That was fun. Charlene wanted to get a picture with King Kong so we stopped and had the photographer take it. I got a copy also and that turned out to be one of the best pictures of the trip. They put you in his fist leaning over the side like you are terrified of this creature. It is hilarious! We decided to have it sent to the front of the park so we wouldnâÂÂt have to carry it around with us. This turned out to delay us some as it wasnâÂÂt there when we decided to leave 3 hours later. But they brought it up within about 10 minutes of when we asked for it so it worked out in the end.
We decided to check out one more ride before lunch and the lines at Hanna Barbara were pretty long looking. So we got express passes. Now this is the crazy part. It was about 11:30 at that time and the express pass was for 11:35. We were like â Great! So we got them and immediately got into the express pass line. This was wonderful! We got into the loading area pretty fast. This was way different that I expected. I didnâÂÂt realize that it was one big room with groups of "cars" all around. Anyway, a fun ride to be sure! The shop was fun also. At that point, Gary called on the radio that he was in the park. So we met at MelâÂÂs Diner for lunch. The food was great and we enjoyed the break. The boys really wanted to see the Wild West Show at 1:00 and the girls were not, so we split up. We went over to Woody Woodpecker coaster and rode it. It was fun but at this point, I was glad that we didnâÂÂt have our coats. It was hot out now. Charlene, Chad, Miles and I went over to the Wild West Show. There was a huge crowd of people waiting and I wondered about this whole thing but eventually they let us in and we got seats. The boys were in the "soak zone" but Charlene and I said a little higher. The show was okay but not something that I would need to see again. After the show, we split up as Chad wanted Dippety Dots Ice cream and Miles wanted to ride Woody again. So we planned to meet around 2 oâÂÂclock and off we went. This time, I let Miles ride alone on Woody. I wanted to go on ET but he had no desire to do it. It had a 15 minute wait so I decided that I could pass on that also. Next we were off to Twister. While we were in the waiting area for it, Bethany called on the radio and said that she thought that it was too intense for Miles. So I wanted to leave but he really wanted to stay and the doors opened right then so in we went. I was nervous about how he would do especially since they really dramatized everything on screens as we moved from room to room. But when it got to the actual "Twister" he did just fine! I was glad that we did it. We then met up with the rest of the group over by Terminator 2. Charlene had gone into that show and we were waiting for her. She came out about 2:30 so we decided that we were tired enough for the day. I wish we could have gone back to Islands of Adventure and seen it in the without rain but our feet and energy level was just not up for it. No use dragging ourselves around the park if we werenâÂÂt going to enjoy it.
We walked and walked and walked back to the car. The parking lots are so far away from the parks. I realize they have the moving sidewalks for part of the way and all but you still have to walk all the way through Citywalk to even get to them. We drove back to our hotel and decided to stop at that new outlet mall by Crossroads. It was an enjoyable stop but the stuff was very similar to what we had seen at the other outlet malls. We did pick up some CBR Sweatshirts for a really good deal. That evening, the kids went swimming and Charlene and I took a walk around part of the hotel over by Jamaica and Aruba and Barbados. I had had big plans of exploring the resort but this was as far as we got during this trip. It is so pretty, there are all these wooded areas to walk through and just so nicely themed. We had an early evening of it which was really nice.
Today we went back to the Universal area and went to that park. Gary was going over to check out the Holy Land park then meet us at the park. So he dropped us off which saved some walking time. We did not bring our coats since it seemed fairly warm but I regretted that decision for the first couple of hours. It was very chilly with the wind. I was okay but I felt bad about my son shivering.
We made it to the front gates about 8:40. They were letting in people from their hotels at one set of gates so we went to stand at the other ones with the huge lines. My sister decided that she would go over and ask for a map and just about that time, they started letting everyone in. So we all moved over to those gates and were let in. Off we went to Back to the Future. It was quite a walk back to that part of the park. Since we had never been there before, we werenâÂÂt sure that we were going the right directions but it was. We walked right on the ride. It was pretty good but awfully jerky. Charlene said that it was the jerkiest ride she had been on â they had gone on it several times in the California park. Anyway, we then went over to the Men in Black ride. The entrance confused us as there was a small sign pointing another direction for Entrance but we did find it. You have to check your backpacks there in their lockers so I did that. Those locker setups are pretty nice. They were free for two hours then would cost you money after that.
We walked onto this ride which was great. My score was the worst of all until I hit the red button first and got a 100,000 bonus. Yippee. When you sit in the back you definitely have a different perspective than the front. The other car beat us by a small margin so we had to go again. Crystal was the big winner on this one with 190,000 points I think. Our average was around 90,000. So we went again and this time, Bethany got the red button bonus. I rode in the front this time and we beat the other carâÂÂs average scores pretty easily. So one more time around we went and the line was actually shorter this time. Not that there ever was really a line. It was great. At this point, the kids were getting pickier about where they wanted to sit so we had to work that out but it was still fun. I figured out how to hit the other carâÂÂs target and make them spin over and over again. Those poor people â I loved it! We rode on the other track that time also, so it was a little different.
We couldnâÂÂt do this all day, so off now to Jaws. The line was pretty short there. We had to wait for one boat. This ride was pretty intense and Miles was sitting right where the shark got electrocuted. Then we stopped at Earthquake since it was next. Here they had us wait in a room that was packed with people â quite stuffy. Chad waited outside for us as he had no desire to wait in that stuffy room. Then they had us go into another room and showed us some stuff and then another room where we could sit for a few minutes. At this point the doors behind us opened and we were loaded onto a tram car. They said that each row seated 7 so we figured that the 5 of us would fit easily. Anyway, the seating was quite chaotic and we were near the back of the area and there were no seats with us together. They rather harshly told us to sit in the first seats that we could find. The kids got together in one place but Charlene and I had to go clear to the middle of the tram to find a seat. The CMâÂÂs didnâÂÂt seem to be concerned about helping us find a seat or getting people together. Fortunately, my kids were old enough to be somewhat on their own but it did bother me the rest of the ride. It was quite an experience to be on that subway car during the "earthquake". I would have enjoyed it except that I was concerned about how my kids were doing. Of course, they did just fine.
We were starting to tire at that point so we thought about lunch but decided to do a couple more rides first. We headed off to Kongfrontation. It had a bit of a line so waited about 10 minutes but that was fine. This was better than I expected. It was a surprise at the end of the ride when the "news camera" shows a picture on the monitor that is really our car of people. That was fun. Charlene wanted to get a picture with King Kong so we stopped and had the photographer take it. I got a copy also and that turned out to be one of the best pictures of the trip. They put you in his fist leaning over the side like you are terrified of this creature. It is hilarious! We decided to have it sent to the front of the park so we wouldnâÂÂt have to carry it around with us. This turned out to delay us some as it wasnâÂÂt there when we decided to leave 3 hours later. But they brought it up within about 10 minutes of when we asked for it so it worked out in the end.
We decided to check out one more ride before lunch and the lines at Hanna Barbara were pretty long looking. So we got express passes. Now this is the crazy part. It was about 11:30 at that time and the express pass was for 11:35. We were like â Great! So we got them and immediately got into the express pass line. This was wonderful! We got into the loading area pretty fast. This was way different that I expected. I didnâÂÂt realize that it was one big room with groups of "cars" all around. Anyway, a fun ride to be sure! The shop was fun also. At that point, Gary called on the radio that he was in the park. So we met at MelâÂÂs Diner for lunch. The food was great and we enjoyed the break. The boys really wanted to see the Wild West Show at 1:00 and the girls were not, so we split up. We went over to Woody Woodpecker coaster and rode it. It was fun but at this point, I was glad that we didnâÂÂt have our coats. It was hot out now. Charlene, Chad, Miles and I went over to the Wild West Show. There was a huge crowd of people waiting and I wondered about this whole thing but eventually they let us in and we got seats. The boys were in the "soak zone" but Charlene and I said a little higher. The show was okay but not something that I would need to see again. After the show, we split up as Chad wanted Dippety Dots Ice cream and Miles wanted to ride Woody again. So we planned to meet around 2 oâÂÂclock and off we went. This time, I let Miles ride alone on Woody. I wanted to go on ET but he had no desire to do it. It had a 15 minute wait so I decided that I could pass on that also. Next we were off to Twister. While we were in the waiting area for it, Bethany called on the radio and said that she thought that it was too intense for Miles. So I wanted to leave but he really wanted to stay and the doors opened right then so in we went. I was nervous about how he would do especially since they really dramatized everything on screens as we moved from room to room. But when it got to the actual "Twister" he did just fine! I was glad that we did it. We then met up with the rest of the group over by Terminator 2. Charlene had gone into that show and we were waiting for her. She came out about 2:30 so we decided that we were tired enough for the day. I wish we could have gone back to Islands of Adventure and seen it in the without rain but our feet and energy level was just not up for it. No use dragging ourselves around the park if we werenâÂÂt going to enjoy it.
We walked and walked and walked back to the car. The parking lots are so far away from the parks. I realize they have the moving sidewalks for part of the way and all but you still have to walk all the way through Citywalk to even get to them. We drove back to our hotel and decided to stop at that new outlet mall by Crossroads. It was an enjoyable stop but the stuff was very similar to what we had seen at the other outlet malls. We did pick up some CBR Sweatshirts for a really good deal. That evening, the kids went swimming and Charlene and I took a walk around part of the hotel over by Jamaica and Aruba and Barbados. I had had big plans of exploring the resort but this was as far as we got during this trip. It is so pretty, there are all these wooded areas to walk through and just so nicely themed. We had an early evening of it which was really nice.
