Day 2
Sunday
USF
Hard Rock Hotel
Cast: Myself
AJ (14 year old son)
AJ (14 year old nephew)
We got up early and hit the Bonanza breakfast buffet across from the hotel. Standard breakfast buffet but a great deal for $3.99 each. Then it was off to the Hard Rock Hotel.
Ive stayed in this hotel before and just love it! We arrived at 7:30 so of course the rooms werent ready. The bellmen took them for storage and we checked in and got our room keys. A very quick process. Then it was off to USF.
USF is one of my favorite parks. Even though Ive been here several times I still love it even if the rides are all the same. I just remember how amazed I was by all of it when I first went to the park. Using our Express Access we did MIB, BTTF, Jaws, King Kong, EarthQuake and Twister by 11:00. We went to Hannah Barbarra and were riding that. The ride broke down in the middle so we were stuck in our seats for about 15 minutes. There was a lady in our car with us and we started chatting. It is such a small world! She ended up being from Iowa as well. I told her about the Fan Club rate at the Hard Rock. She had wanted to stay there so I told her I would meet her later and give her an extra Fan Club card that I had so she could see if they still had Fan Club rates available. We arranged to meet at the Nascar Café at 6:00. After that we rode ET, went to Hitchcock and did MIB one more time. We were tired and the parks were getting hot so we went to Margaritaville for lunch and for the DisMeet. We got there around 2 and the meet wasnt until 3 so we went ahead and ate. Food was good as usual. The boys really liked it there. I looked around at 3 but couldnt find any Dis members so I went back to the hotel for a nap and the boys went back to USF. It rained during this time but it isnt really a problem at USF because most of the rides are inside (I think all except Jaws are).
I napped then met the boys and the people from Iowa at the Nascar Café at 6:00. They were really great people (as are most Iowans!) and we ended up chatting over a couple of beers for about an hour. We exchanged email and the boys and I were off to Epcot for our Illuminations cruise.
Let me start by saying that I never really got why everyone made such a big deal out of Illuminations. I mean it really just boils down to fireworks right? I was so wrong! I ended up watching it 2 more times. I taped each time and the boys were like, Why are you taping again? Youve already got it. Thanks to the great road construction we ended up being a little late (I think it was about 5 or 10 minutes). I was panicked on the way there. I called the Yacht Club and got transferred to the Marina where all I could do was leave a message. I let them know that I was coming, just stuck in traffic. I had found 2 other families to share the cruise with and we ended up with me and the two 14 year old boys, Ruthanne and her husband and 15 year old son and Lucki4 and her husband and 12 year old and 14 year old sons. It worked perfectly. I rushed to the dock and they were there waiting for us. After talking via email it was so nice to finally meet all of them. I couldnt have been happier. They were all great people and we hit it off great. Kimi was our skipper and she was great as well. Very personable and she was a lot of fun. We made our way over to Epcot and chatted along the way. We had brought some beverages and snacks along. The boys were a little shy at first but by the end of the cruise they were chatting away. Illuminations was wonderful and we had a great view!
After the cruise it was back to the Hard Rock and nestled down in our down comforters for a good nights sleep!
Sunday
USF
Hard Rock Hotel
Cast: Myself
AJ (14 year old son)
AJ (14 year old nephew)
We got up early and hit the Bonanza breakfast buffet across from the hotel. Standard breakfast buffet but a great deal for $3.99 each. Then it was off to the Hard Rock Hotel.
Ive stayed in this hotel before and just love it! We arrived at 7:30 so of course the rooms werent ready. The bellmen took them for storage and we checked in and got our room keys. A very quick process. Then it was off to USF.
USF is one of my favorite parks. Even though Ive been here several times I still love it even if the rides are all the same. I just remember how amazed I was by all of it when I first went to the park. Using our Express Access we did MIB, BTTF, Jaws, King Kong, EarthQuake and Twister by 11:00. We went to Hannah Barbarra and were riding that. The ride broke down in the middle so we were stuck in our seats for about 15 minutes. There was a lady in our car with us and we started chatting. It is such a small world! She ended up being from Iowa as well. I told her about the Fan Club rate at the Hard Rock. She had wanted to stay there so I told her I would meet her later and give her an extra Fan Club card that I had so she could see if they still had Fan Club rates available. We arranged to meet at the Nascar Café at 6:00. After that we rode ET, went to Hitchcock and did MIB one more time. We were tired and the parks were getting hot so we went to Margaritaville for lunch and for the DisMeet. We got there around 2 and the meet wasnt until 3 so we went ahead and ate. Food was good as usual. The boys really liked it there. I looked around at 3 but couldnt find any Dis members so I went back to the hotel for a nap and the boys went back to USF. It rained during this time but it isnt really a problem at USF because most of the rides are inside (I think all except Jaws are).
I napped then met the boys and the people from Iowa at the Nascar Café at 6:00. They were really great people (as are most Iowans!) and we ended up chatting over a couple of beers for about an hour. We exchanged email and the boys and I were off to Epcot for our Illuminations cruise.
Let me start by saying that I never really got why everyone made such a big deal out of Illuminations. I mean it really just boils down to fireworks right? I was so wrong! I ended up watching it 2 more times. I taped each time and the boys were like, Why are you taping again? Youve already got it. Thanks to the great road construction we ended up being a little late (I think it was about 5 or 10 minutes). I was panicked on the way there. I called the Yacht Club and got transferred to the Marina where all I could do was leave a message. I let them know that I was coming, just stuck in traffic. I had found 2 other families to share the cruise with and we ended up with me and the two 14 year old boys, Ruthanne and her husband and 15 year old son and Lucki4 and her husband and 12 year old and 14 year old sons. It worked perfectly. I rushed to the dock and they were there waiting for us. After talking via email it was so nice to finally meet all of them. I couldnt have been happier. They were all great people and we hit it off great. Kimi was our skipper and she was great as well. Very personable and she was a lot of fun. We made our way over to Epcot and chatted along the way. We had brought some beverages and snacks along. The boys were a little shy at first but by the end of the cruise they were chatting away. Illuminations was wonderful and we had a great view!
After the cruise it was back to the Hard Rock and nestled down in our down comforters for a good nights sleep!
Krissy
