DAY 6 THURSDAY 26th OCTOBER 2006
Dining reviews for this day can be found at:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1295617
The Cast:
Heather the trouble and strife er, I mean my dear wife (mad about Winnie-the-Pooh)
Daniel my 15 year old son (mad about Jack Skellington)
Rhiannon my 13 year old daughter (mad about Tinkerbell)
El Tel Me, so old I need to be carbon-dated (just mad in general)
The plan for today is to head off to Universal Studios. Im then thinking of looking around International Drive and having dinner somewhere there Bahama Breeze gets good reviews, so its a possibility.
A pattern seems to be emerging every morning now the kids get up late-ish (9.30 today) and we have CS credit breakfast at Mara. Not ideal from my viewpoint but it is a couple of eons ago since teenage hormones were coursing round my veins making me a zombie before mid-day (instead I have Horlicks doing the same for me after 6pm
). We didnt get to Universal until noon!!! 
There have been a couple of new attractions at Universal Studios since we last came, but these seemed busy so we headed over to the old favourites.
First up was Terminator 2 3D. Rhiannon had never done this before a bit too scary for her previously. This time she thought it was good especially the characters and effects apparently. I thought they had upgraded the theatre to have some new effects built into the seats (I didnt remember these being there before).
It was then Heathers turn to choose something twee, so it had to be E.T. Adventure. It is best described as a Peter Pan ride with a grocers bike and tortoise-without-shell-like aliens. We always have a chuckle on this ride because they ask your name before you board. They somehow enter this information into the ride so that ET says goodbye to you personally when you exit. It works fine for Terry, Heather and Daniel, but his attempt at Rhiannon is hilarious. Sorry, youve got to be there (and be crazy) to appreciate it.
We saw some characters - Woody Woodpecker, Curious George and Scooby Doo. Of course it was obvious that these were people in costumes, not the real thing. Not like you get at Disney
We headed up to the Back to the Future ride. Hooray, it was still open Id read news on the Web that it had closed. We would be able to get one last chance to ride it. But not quite yet, it was way too busy.
We headed over to Men in Black a bit like Buzz Lightyear ride, but on steroids. Rhiannon scored 58,800, Daniel scored 41,000, Heather scored 18,000. Daniel was highly miffed that Rhiannon beat him. As for me? A respectable 190,000 very similar to my Buzz score. Lord knows how I achieved it probably because I closed one eye and succeeded in getting the lost contact lens effect
(see Day 2).
We moved round to Jaws next. For some reason the kids revolted and refused to go on the ride (probably chicken!). Heather and I went on it anyway whilst the kids amused themselves. Guess who got the splash seat?!? I got off the ride suitably soaked but having enjoyed the cheesy acting and rusty shark
(oh, Im so harsh).
We sneaked up on the kids and made them jump
, then we went to find somewhere for lunch. We found Richters Burger Company opposite Earthquake and ate there. Whilst Daniel and I queued for food, Rhiannon got her name done (illuminated letter style but with animals instead of saints and nuns). Daniel got himself a neckace heavy metal / rocker style.
We had a bit of a wander about to soak in the atmosphere:
Earthquake was busy so we headed to our first new ride Shrek 4D. This was based on the plot of the first film. It was very good and highly amusing. There were a few playful digs at Disney too in the queuing area and the show itself I guess that is Mr Katzenburg having fun. Rhiannon picked up a Gingerbread Man soft toy in the shop at the exit.
Next ride was Revenge of the Mummy. The reports I had read made it seem quite tame but, wow, it was powerful stuff. Even though there were no loops or launch start it was a dark coaster reminiscent of Rock n Roller Coaster. The bit that did me in was the sudden stops and starts ooh my poor back. It was a lot of fun nonetheless.
We then headed back to Back to the Future. The lines had reduce, so we all rode that next. Heather isnt keen on some of these rides. Despite being far more of a coaster addict than me she cant handle simulators (or Imaxes) too well. We let a family with small kids sit in the front (it was a new ride for them, and Im so big I could eclipse the sun) because of this we were sitting at the back of the car with a poor view out. I felt like some kind of back-to-front woodpecker as the back of my head kept thumping against the back wall. This combined with the poor view mad me quite queasy. Mrs El Tel was in a right state. She had to sit down and sip water for a long while afterwards. Even Rhiannon got a headache.
It was now closing time so we headed back to the car. On the way out we passed some of the Halloween props they had set up for their Not So Twee Halloween Party (or something like that).
After having been brained on the Back to the Future ride, Heather wasnt keen on spending the evening at International Drive. We were still keen to go to Bahama Breeze though, so we drove south down I4 and turned off to the Bahama Breeze at Vineland Avenue. This was an excellent meal but waaay bigger than the ones on the DDP at Disney. Ill tell you about it on the Dining Review.
We then headed home to AKL. The girls relaxed in the room whilst Daniel and I took the opportunity of night-time dip in the pool and Jacuzzi very civilised
. Then it was time for bed and plenty of zzzzz.
Tomorrow finish off Universal Studios and tour Islands of Adventure.
Dining reviews for this day can be found at:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1295617
The Cast:
Heather the trouble and strife er, I mean my dear wife (mad about Winnie-the-Pooh)
Daniel my 15 year old son (mad about Jack Skellington)
Rhiannon my 13 year old daughter (mad about Tinkerbell)
El Tel Me, so old I need to be carbon-dated (just mad in general)
The plan for today is to head off to Universal Studios. Im then thinking of looking around International Drive and having dinner somewhere there Bahama Breeze gets good reviews, so its a possibility.
A pattern seems to be emerging every morning now the kids get up late-ish (9.30 today) and we have CS credit breakfast at Mara. Not ideal from my viewpoint but it is a couple of eons ago since teenage hormones were coursing round my veins making me a zombie before mid-day (instead I have Horlicks doing the same for me after 6pm
). We didnt get to Universal until noon!!! There have been a couple of new attractions at Universal Studios since we last came, but these seemed busy so we headed over to the old favourites.
First up was Terminator 2 3D. Rhiannon had never done this before a bit too scary for her previously. This time she thought it was good especially the characters and effects apparently. I thought they had upgraded the theatre to have some new effects built into the seats (I didnt remember these being there before).
It was then Heathers turn to choose something twee, so it had to be E.T. Adventure. It is best described as a Peter Pan ride with a grocers bike and tortoise-without-shell-like aliens. We always have a chuckle on this ride because they ask your name before you board. They somehow enter this information into the ride so that ET says goodbye to you personally when you exit. It works fine for Terry, Heather and Daniel, but his attempt at Rhiannon is hilarious. Sorry, youve got to be there (and be crazy) to appreciate it.
We saw some characters - Woody Woodpecker, Curious George and Scooby Doo. Of course it was obvious that these were people in costumes, not the real thing. Not like you get at Disney
We headed up to the Back to the Future ride. Hooray, it was still open Id read news on the Web that it had closed. We would be able to get one last chance to ride it. But not quite yet, it was way too busy.
We headed over to Men in Black a bit like Buzz Lightyear ride, but on steroids. Rhiannon scored 58,800, Daniel scored 41,000, Heather scored 18,000. Daniel was highly miffed that Rhiannon beat him. As for me? A respectable 190,000 very similar to my Buzz score. Lord knows how I achieved it probably because I closed one eye and succeeded in getting the lost contact lens effect
(see Day 2).
We moved round to Jaws next. For some reason the kids revolted and refused to go on the ride (probably chicken!). Heather and I went on it anyway whilst the kids amused themselves. Guess who got the splash seat?!? I got off the ride suitably soaked but having enjoyed the cheesy acting and rusty shark
(oh, Im so harsh).
We sneaked up on the kids and made them jump
, then we went to find somewhere for lunch. We found Richters Burger Company opposite Earthquake and ate there. Whilst Daniel and I queued for food, Rhiannon got her name done (illuminated letter style but with animals instead of saints and nuns). Daniel got himself a neckace heavy metal / rocker style.
We had a bit of a wander about to soak in the atmosphere:
Earthquake was busy so we headed to our first new ride Shrek 4D. This was based on the plot of the first film. It was very good and highly amusing. There were a few playful digs at Disney too in the queuing area and the show itself I guess that is Mr Katzenburg having fun. Rhiannon picked up a Gingerbread Man soft toy in the shop at the exit.
Next ride was Revenge of the Mummy. The reports I had read made it seem quite tame but, wow, it was powerful stuff. Even though there were no loops or launch start it was a dark coaster reminiscent of Rock n Roller Coaster. The bit that did me in was the sudden stops and starts ooh my poor back. It was a lot of fun nonetheless.
We then headed back to Back to the Future. The lines had reduce, so we all rode that next. Heather isnt keen on some of these rides. Despite being far more of a coaster addict than me she cant handle simulators (or Imaxes) too well. We let a family with small kids sit in the front (it was a new ride for them, and Im so big I could eclipse the sun) because of this we were sitting at the back of the car with a poor view out. I felt like some kind of back-to-front woodpecker as the back of my head kept thumping against the back wall. This combined with the poor view mad me quite queasy. Mrs El Tel was in a right state. She had to sit down and sip water for a long while afterwards. Even Rhiannon got a headache.
It was now closing time so we headed back to the car. On the way out we passed some of the Halloween props they had set up for their Not So Twee Halloween Party (or something like that).
After having been brained on the Back to the Future ride, Heather wasnt keen on spending the evening at International Drive. We were still keen to go to Bahama Breeze though, so we drove south down I4 and turned off to the Bahama Breeze at Vineland Avenue. This was an excellent meal but waaay bigger than the ones on the DDP at Disney. Ill tell you about it on the Dining Review.
We then headed home to AKL. The girls relaxed in the room whilst Daniel and I took the opportunity of night-time dip in the pool and Jacuzzi very civilised
. Then it was time for bed and plenty of zzzzz. Tomorrow finish off Universal Studios and tour Islands of Adventure.
