Its Nice To Share 11 - 18th July 2008

[wicket2005]

Guess what. 9 am and we were still all in bed and at least one of us still is at 9.50 am. We enjoyed our lie in this morning and feel refreshed.

As we have now done all the parks, I am just letting the kids pick where we go in our remaining days. As a result the kids have chosen to go back to Universal this morning which is fine by me. We have not really done Universal first thing that much and it is nice to have a lie in and a leisurely walk to the park.

It is cloudy this morning but white clouds as opposed to grey overcast ones that started yesterday off. I have not seen the weather report for the day yet but hopefully we will get Universal done before any rain pops up.

We walked 10 miles yesterday, I cannot remember if I said or not, making a total of 82. Some people may be under the impression that this is a fun lack of physical activity type of holiday but I think you probably walk more than if you were on a dedicated walking holiday. So those of you that having been before you can see why it is important to have comfortable shoes and if possible try to walk quite a bit before you come over here. I usually walk round the golf course with the hubbie and the lads which I feel has helped a lot this year to prevent me feeling tired. Last year I was having a nap by the pool every day, this year I think I have only had one nap in the day and that was after walking around Animal Kingdom.

Anyway better go and get ready for another fun packed day. Speak to you later.

 

[Pinky166]

Have fun at Universal!

 

[Beth__WDW23/6/02]

Have a great day

 

[Snowy-girls]

Hope your having a good day-i am sure you are .x.

 

[wicket2005]

Thanks.

Hope you have a good weekend.

We headed over to Universal this morning. The humidity levels are really high today because the water seems to be seeping out of every pore.

Again it took longer to get into the park than for the rides even though it was later. There was someone trying to get in using the wrong ticket again. Universal have been very strict with the Express Pass lines, as some people have tried to use it without the passes and have been sent away. They are also scanning the Express Passes you can buy thereby limiting them to one go per ride. Our hotel cards are just looked at and have no limitation.

The first rides we did were the Terminator (I can remember DS17 hiding under my jacket when we first went on it in 1998); ET (cute ride); The Simpsons (excellent motion simulator ride) and Men in Black (alien zapping ride). The sun was blazing down.

We went on Jaws where I always remember DS19 getting into the centre of the row with grandparents, auntie, parents and younger brother around him. This was in 1996 I would hasten to add but does show how realistic these rides can be to little ones. The end of this ride, this year, is like a sauna if you are sitting on the right.

As we walked to The Mummy we heard some English people dressed in jeans for a place to buy shorts. The American must have wondered why they wanted underpants as I believe that shorts means underpants in the USA. We enjoyed The Mummy ride.

We fancied trying the deli at the Portofino Bay hotel which is designed to look like the town facing on to the lake. We thought it looked very realistic but it has a lot quieter feel to it than the Hard Rock and Royal Pacific.

It took us about 20 minutes to walk to it from the exit of Universal. We were ready for food by the time we got there.

I had a Nostrano panini which was a tuna salad sandwich accompanied by a fresh fruit salad. It was delicious.DH And DS19 ordered an Americano LARGE pizza EACH and DS17 a small margarita pizza. The large ones were very large and really they should have just had one between them but they thought they were hungry. they ended up leaving half.

When we left the skies had darkened and thunder was in the air. Instead of taking the scenic route back to the Hard Rock we took the over the road route back which took all of five minutes.

We are now back at the room, thunder booming and large flashes of lightening. No rain yet, skies are brightening up so may have passed. Though DH and DS17 have just gone to see if the pool is open and they are not even letting you anywhere near the pool area because of lightening but it does look ok outside.

We will probably pop out somewhere for a while.

 

[madmumof2]

Sounds like you're having a great time. So lucky to be within walking distance of US!

Can't wait to hear more.

 

[Pinky166]

Glad you went over to Portofino....it is a very relaxing hotel, just what you need after a busy day in the park! I'm glad the food was good too!

Hope the weather clears up for you.

 

[NatalieMT]

Sounds like a great day at Universal! I've always wanted to go and try the ET ride - maybe one day.

 

[jjk]

another lovely day

 

[wicket2005]

We nipped out to the Mall of Millenium as the pool was closed due to possible lightening. Florida is the lightening state of America. It wasnt raining though. DS19 bought some clothes and I had a wander round. We joined back up as soon as they rang me, but they stood upstairs watching me for a while till I noticed the three of them.

No rain still and sunny so on our return to the hotel we went down to the pool. Me and DH had a little swim, followed by DH and DS. 19 DS17didnt fancy going in the pool. We sat by the pool for a while. Before we went both DH and DS19 tried the water slide which is 200 ft long. They could also hear the rock music underwater.

We headed out to Sea World as we wanted to catch the evening shows which we believe are better than the day time show. We saw the Seymour and Clyde show which has sea lions, a walrus and an otter in. As in previous years we loved seeing the walrus and enjoyed the show. It takes the mickey out of all the other Sea World shows.

We then had to leg it across to the other end of the park to see the Shamu Rocks show. We prefer this show as it is very vibrant and we love the music. It had a little baby whale in it trying to copy its parents. It tried to splash the crowd but its tail isnt big enough yet.

Afterwards we fancied a go on The Kraken in the dark, this was class. By then we were feeling tired and left the park picking up a subway on the way back to the hotel. Now we are just chilling, not sure if they are going down to the pool, the only place I will be going is bed.

 

[Pinky166]

What a great afternoon/evening!

 

[jjk]

what a great evening, we love Shamu rocks too

 

[irongirlof12]

great day, made me chuckle : trust brits to wear jeans and be asking for a shop that sells shorts. no wonder some americans think we are an odd lot

 

[Minniespal]

Another fantastic day.

 

[Snowy-girls]

Another great day.x.

 

[jockey]

Another great day

 

[mandymouse]

Oooh, Kraken in the dark sounds like fun

 

[Mandy62]

Another great trip report, makes me feel as if I am with you.

 

[wicket2005]

Oooh, Kraken in the dark sounds like fun

Oooh it was, all bright white lights, like a runway running up that first ramp. Not long for your holiday now, we dont want to come home.

 

[arieljasmine]

Great day. I would love to see the evening version of the Clyde and Seymour show. I much prefer the Shamu Rocks show too - Believe is a bit twee for me!

Laur's