The players:
DH(37)-loves amusement parks and will ride anything
DS(10)-still working on his "ride courage" but doing well
DD(14)-typical moody teen who LOVES to ride anything
Me(36)-master trip planner and master coaster chicken!
Just a few background notes...this trip was originally intended to be our first time to Universal/IOA only. We did the Disney thing three years ago and DH agreed to go back to Florida if I promised something besides Disney. Eventually he agreed to me sneaking in a tiny bit of Disney and a few other little things as well, so some days will be posted here and others on the Disney boards. Day one of this trip was spent at TL (if you want to read about it head over to the Disney boards) after a 14 hour straight drive in a variety of thunderstorms and checking in and resting up in the beautiful condo we rented.
On to Day 2...our first time at Universal....yayayayayay!
First of all I have to say a big thanks to everyone who posted various info and answered all my questions here at the boards. It was really a big help and I felt so much better prepared planning all this. You guys are all GREAT!
We pulled into the parking garage of Universal at about 8:35am Tuesday morning. We ended up in the King Kong section and started our long trek to the gates (and boy was it a long one). The moving sidewalks helped of course, but we were so excited we practically ran them.
Hurried through CityWalk ( I figured we'd check all that stuff out later) and finally made it to the giant Shrek peering down on us over the main gates. Got through the main gates pretty fast, bag check was minimal and they didn't seem to care that we had packed frozen water bottles and lots of goodies in our backpack. I had decided in advance (after listening to some advice here on the boards) that we would go directly toward the back of the park and start from there (after getting an Express pass for MUMMY of course. I have to say this worked INCREDIBLY well and I really recomend this for anyone who isn't blessed with the magical FOTL key...LOL! DH ran ahead of us and got our Express passes for Mummy (11:30-12:30 yeahh!!!) and we headed for MIB!
We walked right on to MIB, no line at all. I have to say we all LOVED this ride, its a tiny bit similar to Disney's Buzz Lightyear but WAYYYYY better. Much more fun! My score of course really stunk (57,000) because I spent much of my time whooping it up in there, especially when the spinning started. Oh well, I'll do better next time. This had to be ridden AGAIN! We got off MIB and still no line to speak of, so we decided to ride it again (this was already becoming a family fave and we just got there!) and I did even worse! What was wrong with me? My aim was horrible, I guess I'll have to try it again later!
We hurried over to BTTF and guess what? Still no lines!! We were in seventh heaven, because this was of course mid-June and I was waiting for horrible long lines. I'm guessing everyone was still at the front of the park, trying to do Shrek. We walked right on to BTTF and got in. DS was pretty nervous, as he had a bad experience with a simulator ride in another park a few years ago and had not gotten on one since. We snugged him up close to DH, DD and I hoped in back and we were off. Let the bumping begin!! This ride was ROUGH!!! Although I enjoyed it (face it, I love ALL simulator rides)I felt bruised and sore after we got off. DH said NEVER AGAIN, he liked his spine in one piece..LOL!
DD had been whining about wanting to do Jaws, so we headed over there to experience the great white. I could tell more people were finally making it to the back of the park, but it still wasn't bad at all. We took our time and looked around the village of Amity and then walked on (about a 5 min wait) the ride. DS enjoyed it, but the rest of us couldn't believe how hot it was (the temp was already 91 with VERY HIGH humidity when we first entered the park) and if that wasn't enough, then the flames and sitting in that boathouse thing really made things worse. We were a soaking, sweaty mess by the time we got out, and DH and I were not impressed. We checked our watches while we broke out the melting water bottles.....was it time for MUMMY yet? At the mention of MUMMY DS starts to whine, he's VERY nervous and afraid. One of his friends told him MUMMY was a giant coaster inside and I'm afraid he inherited my coaster chicken genes.......guess we will just have to work him onto it...LOL!
As we walk toward MUMMY we decide we had enough time to do Earthquake and got in line. It took longer than we expected (about 20 min, even though the wait posted said 10) and we were relieved to get inside to the air conditioning. We all agreed that Earthquake was ok AFTER we got into the subway part. The before stuff was BORING and none of us were interested. More fire and more heat..whew......do I smell bacon sizzling??????
Finally, finally it was time for MUMMY!!!! As we get our lockers (what is it with these lockers, they HATE my fingerprints!! What a PIA!)DS starts to whine again, this time louder and more annoying. DD tells him to shut up and stop being such a baby and a typical sibling fight ensues...oh the joys of a family vacation!!! I play referee as usual and assure DS that if MOMMY is going to get on MUMMY it can't be that bad......after all the whole family knows what a coaster chicken MOMMY is and the nice people on the DIS boards have assured me its no worse than Space Mountain and we all rode that three years ago!!! This seems to appease DS (after all MOMMY IS a terrible coaster chicken so if SHE is getting on it must be ok!) and we walk to the Express line. The attendant informs us that we may go in, but the ride is experiencing "technical difficulties" that they hope to resolve soon. That's to be expected since its new and we happily make our way in. Someone jumps out and yells "THE CURSE IS REALLLLLLLLLL!!!" at DD and she screams her head off....I LOVE IT!!! So does DS who laughs at his sister and tells her to "stop acting like a baby"...another fight ensues...DING DING.....Mom to the rescue! After about 20 min. they announce the ride is working again and we all cheer! Ten minutes later we are actually getting on, once again with DS snugged up against DH to help quell his fear. We are off!!! It's starts and I think...."oh this isn't so bad...nice effects..how cool" and then I get the holy heck scared out of me and the roller coaster part begins. This is WAY WORSE than Space Mountain and my stomach begins to protest in a very unhappy way. OMGGGGGGGGGGG! This is NOT what I bargained for. I have never "caught air" on Space Mountain, which I do more than once on MUMMY. Finally it seems to be over, but WRONGGGGG.....more terror! By now my stomach is really screaming to be OFF THIS RIDE. I just close my eyes and try to hold on. We finally come to a stop and I realize it really is over this time. I am shaking BIG TIME!!! My legs feel like spaghetti...DS looks over at me and says "Mommy, your friends LIED!!!"......ROFL!!!! The rest of us had to all laugh at that and DH had to help me out of the seat as I was still shaking so badly. DH and DD LOVED it and wanted to ride again. NOT ME!! I have had ENOUGH MUMMY!!
We make our way out into the sunlight and after getting our stuff out of the locker, walk over to sit down at some tables outside of Monster Cafe, as I really need to catch my breath. DH runs off to get some more Express Passes and I sip my water, trying to quell my stomach. DH comes back with passes to Twister, and a Sprite for me. WHAT A MAN!!! I knew there was some reason we have been together for 17 years! I sip the Sprite and start to feel better. A street dancing group called Streetz Beatz has started a show nearby and we stop to watch. Very interesting stuff.....wish I could spin on my head like that.
We make our way over to Twister and after about a 15 min. wait we "experience" the twister. The wind actually feels good because we are all so hot. The shop outside is cute.....I collect cow stuff, so I pick up a few things.
By this time we are all starving, so we decide to head back to CityWalk and find a nice cool AIR CONDITIONED place to sit and relax and chow down. Margarittaville it is!!! We get there and have about a 10 min. wait (it's almost 2pm by now) till we are seated in the glorious cool air!!! Our server, Shelly is EXCELLENT, one of the best we will have the whole trip. She knows the entire history of the place and is able to answer DH's questions. We are IMPRESSED! DH gets the jerk chicken and the rest of us get burgers, and of course I get a strawberry margaritta! We get to watch the volcano, while we snack on the volcano nacho appetizers and just sit back and enjoy the atmosphere and the COOL AIR (did I mention how blazing and miserable it is outside???) The burgers are DELICIOUS, but DH says his jerk chicken is overdone and has no flavor. I give him half my burger because it is HUGE (and I ate to many nachos!). After paying the bill (a bit pricey but hey, we are on vacation and MY food was good) we head back outside and notice the sky has turned very dark and a storm is about to let loose. Oh yeah this is Florida! The sky opens up and pours, complete with a spectacular lightening show!
Since we are so close to the Ciniplex, we decide to run over and see "Harry Potter", while the storm plays out. A nice English family sits behind us and asks my DH the time, so of course we strike up a conversation while we wait for the movie to start. I think all of England must be in Florida while we are there and I am in 7th heaven. I LOVE the accents, they seem to be everywhere and every English family we talked to while we were there were just the nicest people! We watch the movie and I am VERY disappointed. I think they left out some very important stuff and it is not as good as the first two. I know its a different director this time, and that explains a lot. I've also read he won't be directing the next one...THANK GOODNESS.
We get back outside and see that the rain has pretty much stopped, so we head back into the park. We look around in some stores and realize that there is no wait for T3, so we walk right in. We get into the "cattle herding" area (can I just say how much I dislike these things??? Why they need to keep shoving people in a room until we all feel like a herd of cattle and can barely breathe or move is beyond me. With the heat and sweatiness of this time of year, the smells can be AWFUL!!) and are kept there for what seems like an eternity. Several people leave through the side doors and once again they announce they are having "technical difficulties". AHHHHH! I can't take being stuffed into this room, and am about to leave when they finally let us in. WHEW!!! The show starts and we all enjoy it, although the person playing the teenage boy looks older than my DH! LOL! All and all its a good show!
We continue walking and head over to E.T., once again there is only a 10 min. wait so we go right in. You can tell this ride is old, but its still nice and we bicycle our way to psychedelic land. DD asks me "exactly what the people from E.T's planet are on"......Nice...LOL! The name thing of course does not work, and we head off once again.
By now it is getting pretty late and we realize the park is about to close. DS is begging to ride Woody Woopecker before we leave, but doesn't want to ride alone. I bribe DD to get on with him, and DH and I sit down to relax and watch the kids ride. As we are chatting I see something move in a bush not to far from us. I look again and OMG its a RAT!!! Not a mouse, but a RAT!!! I point it out to DH and he in turn points out another one in another bush a few feet away!! He jokes that Mickey must have sent his spies over to see what Universal is doing ...LOL! We then see a THIRD rat, and visions of "Ben" are dancing through my head. EWWWWW! I'm not particularly found of rats, so I keep my eyes on them to make sure they don't get too close. The kids get off the ride and DS comes over yelling "Mom did you see the RATS????"I hush him up (people are looking and some are nodding their heads yes!)and we head for the gates. The park is now officially closed and we are officially exhausted!!! We head home to our waiting crockpot full of dinner, to relax and recoup for our next day....IOA!
DH(37)-loves amusement parks and will ride anything
DS(10)-still working on his "ride courage" but doing well
DD(14)-typical moody teen who LOVES to ride anything
Me(36)-master trip planner and master coaster chicken!
Just a few background notes...this trip was originally intended to be our first time to Universal/IOA only. We did the Disney thing three years ago and DH agreed to go back to Florida if I promised something besides Disney. Eventually he agreed to me sneaking in a tiny bit of Disney and a few other little things as well, so some days will be posted here and others on the Disney boards. Day one of this trip was spent at TL (if you want to read about it head over to the Disney boards) after a 14 hour straight drive in a variety of thunderstorms and checking in and resting up in the beautiful condo we rented.
On to Day 2...our first time at Universal....yayayayayay!
First of all I have to say a big thanks to everyone who posted various info and answered all my questions here at the boards. It was really a big help and I felt so much better prepared planning all this. You guys are all GREAT!
We pulled into the parking garage of Universal at about 8:35am Tuesday morning. We ended up in the King Kong section and started our long trek to the gates (and boy was it a long one). The moving sidewalks helped of course, but we were so excited we practically ran them.
Hurried through CityWalk ( I figured we'd check all that stuff out later) and finally made it to the giant Shrek peering down on us over the main gates. Got through the main gates pretty fast, bag check was minimal and they didn't seem to care that we had packed frozen water bottles and lots of goodies in our backpack. I had decided in advance (after listening to some advice here on the boards) that we would go directly toward the back of the park and start from there (after getting an Express pass for MUMMY of course. I have to say this worked INCREDIBLY well and I really recomend this for anyone who isn't blessed with the magical FOTL key...LOL! DH ran ahead of us and got our Express passes for Mummy (11:30-12:30 yeahh!!!) and we headed for MIB!
We walked right on to MIB, no line at all. I have to say we all LOVED this ride, its a tiny bit similar to Disney's Buzz Lightyear but WAYYYYY better. Much more fun! My score of course really stunk (57,000) because I spent much of my time whooping it up in there, especially when the spinning started. Oh well, I'll do better next time. This had to be ridden AGAIN! We got off MIB and still no line to speak of, so we decided to ride it again (this was already becoming a family fave and we just got there!) and I did even worse! What was wrong with me? My aim was horrible, I guess I'll have to try it again later!
We hurried over to BTTF and guess what? Still no lines!! We were in seventh heaven, because this was of course mid-June and I was waiting for horrible long lines. I'm guessing everyone was still at the front of the park, trying to do Shrek. We walked right on to BTTF and got in. DS was pretty nervous, as he had a bad experience with a simulator ride in another park a few years ago and had not gotten on one since. We snugged him up close to DH, DD and I hoped in back and we were off. Let the bumping begin!! This ride was ROUGH!!! Although I enjoyed it (face it, I love ALL simulator rides)I felt bruised and sore after we got off. DH said NEVER AGAIN, he liked his spine in one piece..LOL!
DD had been whining about wanting to do Jaws, so we headed over there to experience the great white. I could tell more people were finally making it to the back of the park, but it still wasn't bad at all. We took our time and looked around the village of Amity and then walked on (about a 5 min wait) the ride. DS enjoyed it, but the rest of us couldn't believe how hot it was (the temp was already 91 with VERY HIGH humidity when we first entered the park) and if that wasn't enough, then the flames and sitting in that boathouse thing really made things worse. We were a soaking, sweaty mess by the time we got out, and DH and I were not impressed. We checked our watches while we broke out the melting water bottles.....was it time for MUMMY yet? At the mention of MUMMY DS starts to whine, he's VERY nervous and afraid. One of his friends told him MUMMY was a giant coaster inside and I'm afraid he inherited my coaster chicken genes.......guess we will just have to work him onto it...LOL!
As we walk toward MUMMY we decide we had enough time to do Earthquake and got in line. It took longer than we expected (about 20 min, even though the wait posted said 10) and we were relieved to get inside to the air conditioning. We all agreed that Earthquake was ok AFTER we got into the subway part. The before stuff was BORING and none of us were interested. More fire and more heat..whew......do I smell bacon sizzling??????
Finally, finally it was time for MUMMY!!!! As we get our lockers (what is it with these lockers, they HATE my fingerprints!! What a PIA!)DS starts to whine again, this time louder and more annoying. DD tells him to shut up and stop being such a baby and a typical sibling fight ensues...oh the joys of a family vacation!!! I play referee as usual and assure DS that if MOMMY is going to get on MUMMY it can't be that bad......after all the whole family knows what a coaster chicken MOMMY is and the nice people on the DIS boards have assured me its no worse than Space Mountain and we all rode that three years ago!!! This seems to appease DS (after all MOMMY IS a terrible coaster chicken so if SHE is getting on it must be ok!) and we walk to the Express line. The attendant informs us that we may go in, but the ride is experiencing "technical difficulties" that they hope to resolve soon. That's to be expected since its new and we happily make our way in. Someone jumps out and yells "THE CURSE IS REALLLLLLLLLL!!!" at DD and she screams her head off....I LOVE IT!!! So does DS who laughs at his sister and tells her to "stop acting like a baby"...another fight ensues...DING DING.....Mom to the rescue! After about 20 min. they announce the ride is working again and we all cheer! Ten minutes later we are actually getting on, once again with DS snugged up against DH to help quell his fear. We are off!!! It's starts and I think...."oh this isn't so bad...nice effects..how cool" and then I get the holy heck scared out of me and the roller coaster part begins. This is WAY WORSE than Space Mountain and my stomach begins to protest in a very unhappy way. OMGGGGGGGGGGG! This is NOT what I bargained for. I have never "caught air" on Space Mountain, which I do more than once on MUMMY. Finally it seems to be over, but WRONGGGGG.....more terror! By now my stomach is really screaming to be OFF THIS RIDE. I just close my eyes and try to hold on. We finally come to a stop and I realize it really is over this time. I am shaking BIG TIME!!! My legs feel like spaghetti...DS looks over at me and says "Mommy, your friends LIED!!!"......ROFL!!!! The rest of us had to all laugh at that and DH had to help me out of the seat as I was still shaking so badly. DH and DD LOVED it and wanted to ride again. NOT ME!! I have had ENOUGH MUMMY!!
We make our way out into the sunlight and after getting our stuff out of the locker, walk over to sit down at some tables outside of Monster Cafe, as I really need to catch my breath. DH runs off to get some more Express Passes and I sip my water, trying to quell my stomach. DH comes back with passes to Twister, and a Sprite for me. WHAT A MAN!!! I knew there was some reason we have been together for 17 years! I sip the Sprite and start to feel better. A street dancing group called Streetz Beatz has started a show nearby and we stop to watch. Very interesting stuff.....wish I could spin on my head like that.
We make our way over to Twister and after about a 15 min. wait we "experience" the twister. The wind actually feels good because we are all so hot. The shop outside is cute.....I collect cow stuff, so I pick up a few things.
By this time we are all starving, so we decide to head back to CityWalk and find a nice cool AIR CONDITIONED place to sit and relax and chow down. Margarittaville it is!!! We get there and have about a 10 min. wait (it's almost 2pm by now) till we are seated in the glorious cool air!!! Our server, Shelly is EXCELLENT, one of the best we will have the whole trip. She knows the entire history of the place and is able to answer DH's questions. We are IMPRESSED! DH gets the jerk chicken and the rest of us get burgers, and of course I get a strawberry margaritta! We get to watch the volcano, while we snack on the volcano nacho appetizers and just sit back and enjoy the atmosphere and the COOL AIR (did I mention how blazing and miserable it is outside???) The burgers are DELICIOUS, but DH says his jerk chicken is overdone and has no flavor. I give him half my burger because it is HUGE (and I ate to many nachos!). After paying the bill (a bit pricey but hey, we are on vacation and MY food was good) we head back outside and notice the sky has turned very dark and a storm is about to let loose. Oh yeah this is Florida! The sky opens up and pours, complete with a spectacular lightening show!
Since we are so close to the Ciniplex, we decide to run over and see "Harry Potter", while the storm plays out. A nice English family sits behind us and asks my DH the time, so of course we strike up a conversation while we wait for the movie to start. I think all of England must be in Florida while we are there and I am in 7th heaven. I LOVE the accents, they seem to be everywhere and every English family we talked to while we were there were just the nicest people! We watch the movie and I am VERY disappointed. I think they left out some very important stuff and it is not as good as the first two. I know its a different director this time, and that explains a lot. I've also read he won't be directing the next one...THANK GOODNESS.
We get back outside and see that the rain has pretty much stopped, so we head back into the park. We look around in some stores and realize that there is no wait for T3, so we walk right in. We get into the "cattle herding" area (can I just say how much I dislike these things??? Why they need to keep shoving people in a room until we all feel like a herd of cattle and can barely breathe or move is beyond me. With the heat and sweatiness of this time of year, the smells can be AWFUL!!) and are kept there for what seems like an eternity. Several people leave through the side doors and once again they announce they are having "technical difficulties". AHHHHH! I can't take being stuffed into this room, and am about to leave when they finally let us in. WHEW!!! The show starts and we all enjoy it, although the person playing the teenage boy looks older than my DH! LOL! All and all its a good show!
We continue walking and head over to E.T., once again there is only a 10 min. wait so we go right in. You can tell this ride is old, but its still nice and we bicycle our way to psychedelic land. DD asks me "exactly what the people from E.T's planet are on"......Nice...LOL! The name thing of course does not work, and we head off once again.
By now it is getting pretty late and we realize the park is about to close. DS is begging to ride Woody Woopecker before we leave, but doesn't want to ride alone. I bribe DD to get on with him, and DH and I sit down to relax and watch the kids ride. As we are chatting I see something move in a bush not to far from us. I look again and OMG its a RAT!!! Not a mouse, but a RAT!!! I point it out to DH and he in turn points out another one in another bush a few feet away!! He jokes that Mickey must have sent his spies over to see what Universal is doing ...LOL! We then see a THIRD rat, and visions of "Ben" are dancing through my head. EWWWWW! I'm not particularly found of rats, so I keep my eyes on them to make sure they don't get too close. The kids get off the ride and DS comes over yelling "Mom did you see the RATS????"I hush him up (people are looking and some are nodding their heads yes!)and we head for the gates. The park is now officially closed and we are officially exhausted!!! We head home to our waiting crockpot full of dinner, to relax and recoup for our next day....IOA!
were they close to people?
Lots of details & hilarious reading. Can't wait for more!
