Day Seven: Going Commando at Universal/IOA
Our cast of characters includes: Me (Jen) 31, planner of all things Disney; Bill (DH) 32, the yin to my yang; BJ (DS) almost 14, the reason for this trip his graduation from middle school; Nico (DF) 14 BJs compadre; Bob (35) DB, Gina (35) DSIL, Steven (DN) 8, Brianna (DN) 2-1/2.
We woke up bright and early today to make it to Universal by 8:30. We hoped to get to both parks in one day. We were lucky enough to find a deal online where we got annual passes for $99. This was $12 more then a ticket to each park in one day. We are banking on a possible return before our year is up, since Bills parents now live in Florida.
Gina decided to stay at Magic Kingdom with Brianna so the big kids could go coaster crazy and she is glad she did. Magic Kingdom was quiet when she arrived, allowing her to do Small World, Pooh, Peter Pan and see Mickey Mouse in under two hours.
Meanwhile, we got through Universals almost non-existent security quickly and had our pictures taken for our passes. We decided to do IOA first to hit the big coasters before the crowds came.
Thursdays must be slow at Universal, because our longest line all day was 20 minutes!
We started on Hulk, waiting only 10 minutes. This is the BEST roller coaster Ive ever been on! It has it all-loops, corkscrews and it is SMOOTH! No jarring around at all! We then got Universals equivalent of Fast passes for Spiderman and headed to watch the parade of characters as they came to sign autographs and take pictures with kids. We saw: Spiderman, Captain America, Storm, Wolverine, the Green Goblin, and Bills absolute favorite-Doctor Doom.
Here was one great difference with Disney-the villains were mean (funny mean-but mean). Doctor Doom would pose for pictures by giving noogies. If asked to sign an autograph book-hes do it. God forbid it was a Disney autograph book. Hed growl and toss it to the ground when he was done. It was HYSTERICAL!
Bill had his picture taken with Doctor Doom. This thirtysomething was in heaven! We puttered some more in that area until it was time for Spiderman. This movie ride has the best 3-D effects Ive ever seen! When Spiderman jumps on your vehicle the vehicle shakes. If a fire monster shoots at Spiderman, you feel a blast of heat on your face. It was intense. My eight year old nephew loved it I wouldnt bring littler ones on though.
After Spiderman we bolted back to Jurassic Park. We WALKED ON! No wait we didnt even share a car with anyone. We had it to ourselves. It was great! Once again Steven LOVED it, but I was glad Bri had stayed at the hotel with Gina. The Dr. Seuss Land looked awesome for little ones, but there wouldnt be much else.
We walked around the Jurassic area and had Steven describe all of the Dinosaurs to us. There is a pathway where you step on embedded prints in the cement and the speaker system echoes those dinosaurs. It was really neat!
After that we headed to Dueling Dragons which was Nicos favorite from his familys last trip. Bill and Steven waited for us and scouted out where we would have lunch. Dueling Dragons was another great coaster, but more jarring them Hulk. Afterwards, we were ready for lunch and a break. It was almost 12:00 and we had already done a lot! Steven and Bill found us an indoor counter service place across from Dueling Dragons. Thanks to Blondie...we know it was the Enchanted Oak.
They were expensive, but the food was good. I remember especially the corn bread that came with everything was amazing and they let you substitute other things for French fries which is always good.
After we finished we walked through Dr. Seuss Land and stopped to ride the carousel because there was no line and it was all Seuss characters. The primary colors at Universal are bright and comic strip come to life. It was loud but well done.
We crossed over to Universal Studios and it was another world. The primary colors were gone and it all seemed subdued. The streets looked like Hollywood and things seemed quieter even. We started at T2. WOW! I love the Terminator movies, so this was great to watch. Very well done. The line was only 20 minutes our longest of the day.
Then it was off to get Fastpasses for Back to the Future. Just as we found a new burst of energy, Bill was losing his. He decided to go see movies at City Walk and we agreed to meet up with him later. First, he would come with me to walk around while Bobby, Steven, BJ and Nico did ET. Steven loved it. The older boys not so much.
Meanwhile, Bill and I found ourselves in character heaven. We met Woody and Winnie Woodpecker, Rocky the Squirrel, and we saw the Rugrats kids, The Wild Thornberries, Spongebob Squarepants, Popeye, Beetle Bailey, Scooby Doo, and the Men in Black. Bill was excited to have his picture taken with Woody, and it was nice to get a brief respite from commando style park attending, which we both agreed didnt suit us. I also promised him a trip to Wet & Wild on our next trip as well as another day at Discovery Cove.
We met back up with the boys and sent Bill off to relax in the air conditioning. We then headed for Men in Black, which had a 10 minute wait while we waited for Back to the Future. I sat and enjoyed the sun as the boys went with Bobby. It was similar they tell me to Buzz Lightyear at MK.
Back to the Future was another great sim ride and we all enjoyed it. We then headed over to the Wild Wild West Show to relax some more as it was HOT! The show was very corny but the stunts were ok. It was shady in there so it wasnt a total loss!
We then walked through Amity and enjoyed the set up. We had been on Jaws years before in California so skipped it. We headed to Twister, which was a lot of fun. It is amazing how they get so many people to revisit their old roles.
The boys wanted to ride Earthquake and I wasnt interested, so I sat and enjoyed a Pina Colada and watched the world go by. I also did a little shopping and bought Bill a stuffed Woody Woodpecker that holds a picture frame, hoping his picture would come out well (it did!).
The boys came out and by now it was about 6:00. Bobby and Steven wanted to head back to do T2 again and BJ and Nico wanted to head to Kong and then out. They looked exhausted. I guess commando wasnt their cup of tea either. I didnt get to meander and enjoy the scenery much, but we all got to ride the rides wed wanted to, so we parted with Bobby and Steven and headed off to find Bill. We all agreed to try to come back to Universal even if briefly before our passes expire so we can catch up on what we missed. We could have easily spent three days there.
Bill had just come out of seeing Insomnia when we called him. He LOVED it by the way. He was surprised to hear from us early and thrilled when the boys requested a trip to Sonic for dinner.
We headed out of Universal and hit the Sonic by Belz and discussed our day over milkshakes, tater tots, and breakfast sandwiches.
We made it back by 8:00 and headed to the pool to cool off before bed. None of us had the energy to do much though and were all in bed by 10:30. We couldnt believe tomorrow would be our last full day.
Link to Photo Website
http://members.photofun.com/Jen80370/Florida2002
Link to Day Six:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?threadid=232019
Link to Day Five:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=230134
Link to Day Four
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=230111
Link to Day Three:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=230024
Link to Day Two:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=229468
Link to Day One:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=228858
Link to Preamble
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=227144
Link to V & A Review
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=229459
Our cast of characters includes: Me (Jen) 31, planner of all things Disney; Bill (DH) 32, the yin to my yang; BJ (DS) almost 14, the reason for this trip his graduation from middle school; Nico (DF) 14 BJs compadre; Bob (35) DB, Gina (35) DSIL, Steven (DN) 8, Brianna (DN) 2-1/2.
We woke up bright and early today to make it to Universal by 8:30. We hoped to get to both parks in one day. We were lucky enough to find a deal online where we got annual passes for $99. This was $12 more then a ticket to each park in one day. We are banking on a possible return before our year is up, since Bills parents now live in Florida.
Gina decided to stay at Magic Kingdom with Brianna so the big kids could go coaster crazy and she is glad she did. Magic Kingdom was quiet when she arrived, allowing her to do Small World, Pooh, Peter Pan and see Mickey Mouse in under two hours.
Meanwhile, we got through Universals almost non-existent security quickly and had our pictures taken for our passes. We decided to do IOA first to hit the big coasters before the crowds came.
Thursdays must be slow at Universal, because our longest line all day was 20 minutes!
We started on Hulk, waiting only 10 minutes. This is the BEST roller coaster Ive ever been on! It has it all-loops, corkscrews and it is SMOOTH! No jarring around at all! We then got Universals equivalent of Fast passes for Spiderman and headed to watch the parade of characters as they came to sign autographs and take pictures with kids. We saw: Spiderman, Captain America, Storm, Wolverine, the Green Goblin, and Bills absolute favorite-Doctor Doom.
Here was one great difference with Disney-the villains were mean (funny mean-but mean). Doctor Doom would pose for pictures by giving noogies. If asked to sign an autograph book-hes do it. God forbid it was a Disney autograph book. Hed growl and toss it to the ground when he was done. It was HYSTERICAL!
Bill had his picture taken with Doctor Doom. This thirtysomething was in heaven! We puttered some more in that area until it was time for Spiderman. This movie ride has the best 3-D effects Ive ever seen! When Spiderman jumps on your vehicle the vehicle shakes. If a fire monster shoots at Spiderman, you feel a blast of heat on your face. It was intense. My eight year old nephew loved it I wouldnt bring littler ones on though.
After Spiderman we bolted back to Jurassic Park. We WALKED ON! No wait we didnt even share a car with anyone. We had it to ourselves. It was great! Once again Steven LOVED it, but I was glad Bri had stayed at the hotel with Gina. The Dr. Seuss Land looked awesome for little ones, but there wouldnt be much else.
We walked around the Jurassic area and had Steven describe all of the Dinosaurs to us. There is a pathway where you step on embedded prints in the cement and the speaker system echoes those dinosaurs. It was really neat!
After that we headed to Dueling Dragons which was Nicos favorite from his familys last trip. Bill and Steven waited for us and scouted out where we would have lunch. Dueling Dragons was another great coaster, but more jarring them Hulk. Afterwards, we were ready for lunch and a break. It was almost 12:00 and we had already done a lot! Steven and Bill found us an indoor counter service place across from Dueling Dragons. Thanks to Blondie...we know it was the Enchanted Oak.
They were expensive, but the food was good. I remember especially the corn bread that came with everything was amazing and they let you substitute other things for French fries which is always good. After we finished we walked through Dr. Seuss Land and stopped to ride the carousel because there was no line and it was all Seuss characters. The primary colors at Universal are bright and comic strip come to life. It was loud but well done.
We crossed over to Universal Studios and it was another world. The primary colors were gone and it all seemed subdued. The streets looked like Hollywood and things seemed quieter even. We started at T2. WOW! I love the Terminator movies, so this was great to watch. Very well done. The line was only 20 minutes our longest of the day.
Then it was off to get Fastpasses for Back to the Future. Just as we found a new burst of energy, Bill was losing his. He decided to go see movies at City Walk and we agreed to meet up with him later. First, he would come with me to walk around while Bobby, Steven, BJ and Nico did ET. Steven loved it. The older boys not so much.
Meanwhile, Bill and I found ourselves in character heaven. We met Woody and Winnie Woodpecker, Rocky the Squirrel, and we saw the Rugrats kids, The Wild Thornberries, Spongebob Squarepants, Popeye, Beetle Bailey, Scooby Doo, and the Men in Black. Bill was excited to have his picture taken with Woody, and it was nice to get a brief respite from commando style park attending, which we both agreed didnt suit us. I also promised him a trip to Wet & Wild on our next trip as well as another day at Discovery Cove.
We met back up with the boys and sent Bill off to relax in the air conditioning. We then headed for Men in Black, which had a 10 minute wait while we waited for Back to the Future. I sat and enjoyed the sun as the boys went with Bobby. It was similar they tell me to Buzz Lightyear at MK.
Back to the Future was another great sim ride and we all enjoyed it. We then headed over to the Wild Wild West Show to relax some more as it was HOT! The show was very corny but the stunts were ok. It was shady in there so it wasnt a total loss!
We then walked through Amity and enjoyed the set up. We had been on Jaws years before in California so skipped it. We headed to Twister, which was a lot of fun. It is amazing how they get so many people to revisit their old roles.
The boys wanted to ride Earthquake and I wasnt interested, so I sat and enjoyed a Pina Colada and watched the world go by. I also did a little shopping and bought Bill a stuffed Woody Woodpecker that holds a picture frame, hoping his picture would come out well (it did!).
The boys came out and by now it was about 6:00. Bobby and Steven wanted to head back to do T2 again and BJ and Nico wanted to head to Kong and then out. They looked exhausted. I guess commando wasnt their cup of tea either. I didnt get to meander and enjoy the scenery much, but we all got to ride the rides wed wanted to, so we parted with Bobby and Steven and headed off to find Bill. We all agreed to try to come back to Universal even if briefly before our passes expire so we can catch up on what we missed. We could have easily spent three days there.
Bill had just come out of seeing Insomnia when we called him. He LOVED it by the way. He was surprised to hear from us early and thrilled when the boys requested a trip to Sonic for dinner.
We headed out of Universal and hit the Sonic by Belz and discussed our day over milkshakes, tater tots, and breakfast sandwiches.
We made it back by 8:00 and headed to the pool to cool off before bed. None of us had the energy to do much though and were all in bed by 10:30. We couldnt believe tomorrow would be our last full day.
Link to Photo Website
http://members.photofun.com/Jen80370/Florida2002
Link to Day Six:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?threadid=232019
Link to Day Five:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=230134
Link to Day Four
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=230111
Link to Day Three:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=230024
Link to Day Two:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=229468
Link to Day One:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=228858
Link to Preamble
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=227144
Link to V & A Review
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=229459
