Just Got Back Today! Trip Report with Pics

[KStarfish82]

I am going to be posting my Trip Report probably sometime in the next 24 hours.

Just got home at about 6ish and haven't had the chance to download the pics.

Can't wait to get things up and running!

 

[KStarfish82]

Arriving in Orlando...(after 21 straight hours in the car!)

We checked into the Ramada on 192 at around 4ish. Luckily, we got the room that we wanted, poolside and on the first floor. Everything was going great. Then our next favorite place....now don't laugh.....WALMART!

Being from NY, our Walmarts our pathetic and small. In Florida, it is like going to an amusement park! And in that Walmart, another Florida favorite...SONIC!

OK, I know it seems sad about being excited about these things, but it does bring the spirit of Orlando to us!

That night we went to Orlando Airport...and I must say, it certainly is lovely!
We had to pick up my sister at 12:30am. We did and got back to the hotel and crashed! We had to be up at 7 the next morning!

Officially Day 1..off to Universal....................(to be continued)

 

[KStarfish82]

Day 1: Universal - Islands of Adventure

We arrive at the park. It is amazing how quiet an serene City Walk is at 8:30 in the morning.

We had picked up our tickets the previous evening so we wouldn't have to wait when we got to the entrance.

My Fiance and I. (This was his first time to Universal)

We headed to Marvel and rode Hulk, Spiderman, and Doom. Getting there that early is definitely a bonus. By 10:30, Marvel is already PACKED!

We then proceeded to Toon Lagoon. We all went on Dudley Dooright...which is a great ride! Then my fiance and brother went on Popeye and got drenched!

We hit Jurassic Park, which was my Fiance's favorite ride! Entering Jurassic Park with the music in the background is just like it is from the movie.

Then we went to Suess Landing....we didn't go on the rides here because we were hot and the lines were already getting crowded.

So we left the park and went back to the hotel for a while where we continued to relax and sit in the sun and try to get some color. Meanwhile, my aunt had come down from Georgia and rented a house with a pool in the area.

So the following day, we picked up and moved into a new place......

 

[Motherfletcher]

Walmart is my wife's favorite place too. Sounds like you had some fun.

 

[ATAfamily]

Sounds like your vacation is off to a great start. Can't wait to hear all about it.

 

[KStarfish82]

Day 2: Off to Wet n Wild!

Well we got up early, packed up the rest of the stuff in the hotel and headed off to Wet n Wild. It was empty! Yes it was hot too, but many people do not like to go to water parks early I guess.

Well they are building a new ride, something like a family tube funnel thing. We could only see the metal skeleton of the funnel. But unfortunately, they are building it off the the Der Stuka and Bombay tower so those slides were closed. Also, the two twisty slides are no longer there. I think they were called Blue Niagra.

Well we went on all the rides and then chilled in the lazy river. It truly is wonderful in the morning and not crowded!

** On a side note, I rarely see people posting threads and singing the praises of Wet n Wild. This is a great park when it comes to the rides and fairly affordable. Why is that?

We stayed til about 3 pm and then visited the Olive Garden for an early dinner. Then we went to the house my aunt rented and unpacked. We sat by the screened in pool for the remainder of the day.

 

[cybertheo]

great trip report so far...
makes me want to go back!!!

And like it or not, I am always forced to the closest Walmart first. I have even been to a Walmart in Hawaii.

 

[Dismom+two]

Great report...I can't wait to hear more! I really enjoy the pictures...they really got me exicted about my up coming trip!!!

 

[KStarfish82]

Day 3: Back at the Islands of Adventure!

This was a shorter day. We followed the same path as we did on Day 1, doing most of the rides earlier. I added some more pictures:

Welcome to Jurassic Park!

Now that's high!

Big Dino

Ohh no!

The highlight of this day was.....Golden Corral. Yes you heard right! We really don't have these in NY and they are awesome. All you can eat for $7! Especially for the six of us! And don't forget about the 10% off coupons in those little books!

I know, we get really excited about our meals!

That evening, we took a trip to Old Town....you know, the place with those little rides and shops. I have been there many, many times, but always love peeking in those little shops. And I always pick up a few of those 49 cent glass Pepsi bottles (they used to be 25 cents ).

Then we went to Checkers, which is right there, and picked up some yummy Flavor Burst ice cream.

Then off to bed for Day 4....

 

[Joann]

Enjoying your trip report! I love Universal!! We will be visiting it again this year when we go in May

 

[KStarfish82]

Day 4: A vacation day from the vacation...

I know everyone out there knows how exhausting it is to be on a relaxing vacation at a theme park!

Well midweek, we decided to take a day off. By day off, we mean mini-golf and shopping. We decided to go to Hawaiian Rumble Golf that afternoon. Can you believe the price of mini-golf nowadays??? $!0!!! for an 18-hole game. Luckily we had coupons for $3.99 games!

Then we took a detour to the Belz outlets, which are almost all knocked down now!

And then we went to Festival Bay Mall...where I discovered Hilo Hattie had closed!

We ate at Fuddrucker's that night....delish!!! Highly recommended!

Then crashed for the night.

Getting ready for another day to Universal......but this time, we are headed for the Studios!

 

[BEZ]

Great Jurassic Park pictures

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

Great trip report so far. Thoroughly enjoying the pics. Can't wait until we go back (in 33 days)

 

[macraven]

how did you keep your camera dry on the drop at river adventure?
you have some great pics !



btw, i keep walmart in business.
ours is the super walmart, open 24 hours and has a full grocery and produce section.

 

[KStarfish82]

how did you keep your camera dry on the drop at river adventure?
you have some great pics !



btw, i keep walmart in business.
ours is the super walmart, open 24 hours and has a full grocery and produce section.

My sister has a waterproof digital camera.

 

[KStarfish82]

Day 5..Universal Studios Day. Meal Deal Day!

We got there early and got our bracelets for our Meal Deals! Yum!

We headed to Shrek right away because we knew that the line would get ridiculously long in about two hours. And my finace wanted to go on the first. I love Shrek, but our seats didn't move! We saw everyone around us galloping, but we were only shaking a little.

From there we went to the Mummy. Which we LOVE!!! Well, all except my fiance, his arm got pinched between the seats and he has a bruise that he still has to this day. Was originally disappointed when they took out Kong, but this is definitely a GREAT replacement.

As soon as 11 o'clock rolled around. We hit Louie's for our first taste of the Meal Deal. Delish!

I cannot say that enough! Meal Deal is awesome!

So we continued on in Universal throughout the day and had a blast MIB was the fiance's fave.

My camera with the Studios photos is giving me some problems so I will post some more os IOA.

Some views from the Suess Train.

 

[damo]

Great pictures and trip report!

 

[bubba's mom]

Sounds like your fiance is hooked and you'll be planning another trip! Thanks for taking the time to post and post yer pix....i pix!!!!

 

[cheetara]

Awesome trip report and pictures! We're from NY State also so your tips on Wal-Mart and the golden corral are great resources for us when we go in December / Jan. My kids are just going bananas over all the fun things you've done!

Any other great tips for us NY Staters would be awesome!

Thxs again for the great trip report & pics

 

[KStarfish82]

Day 6....Wet n Wild for the last time this trip

We arrived at Wet n Wild at 9 am for our last day at the waterpark.

Well when we got there, we found that the Kneeski and Wakeboarding was open! Which was odd, because it was only supposed to be open on the weekends. Well as this as an added bonus, we enjoyed our day and left at about 3.

We went back to the house and decided that we were going to head over to Old Town. Just a word of advice, be wary of the weekend evenings, there are alot of characters around. And not really a time for young kids. So we walked down the street, stopped at a few shops, picked up my 49 cent glass Pepsi bottles. (I'm actually sipping on one as we speak ) That evening, they were having a car show and we watched the "parade" of cars go by.

After that we headed back to prepare for our last day.....