WebmasterBarry
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 20, 1999
March 9, 2001
The cast:
Me (the 29 year old)
Donna (aka Molokai Gram, didn't ask age, from Hawaii)
Ohai (Donna's DH, didn't ask age either, from Hawaii)
I usually make a trip to Orlando in March to experience Universal's Mardi Gras, but this year was even more special because one of our Universal board members, Donna, was making a special trip. She hasn't been to the parks in about two years. I thought it would be fun to hang around with one of our special visitors. It would be also interesting to see how a visitor who doesn't get to the parks too often sees the parks. I usually make a trip to the parks every few months. I get excited, but I don't get as excited as I did during my first few visits. To me, visiting Orlando is like visiting an old friend. Other people who don't get to the parks as often might see the parks as visiting a new family member.
I left at around 7:30 am and headed to Orlando. The traffic wasn't too heavy on I-75. When I hit I-4, I was stuck behind an oversized load truck and then traffic came to a standstill at exit 25. I had to get off and take an alternate route. I took I-192 west and headed up Sherberth Street. This street is beside the Super 8 Maingate Hotel (which had signs outside saying it was the hotel formerly known as the Best Inn). I found the Best Inn to be more like the âÂÂAdequate Inn.â I can only assume the Super 8 will be the âÂÂNot Really Super, but Adequate 8.â This is a shortcut to Animal Kingdom. It is also a shortcut to avoid the construction mess on I-192. Somehow, I used a 10-year-old Orlando map and made it to I-Drive. Hey, whatâÂÂs this Republic Drive on the map? I took I-Drive to Sea World and arrived at around 11:45 am.
The meet was at the Anheuser-Busch Hospitality Center at 12 noon. I walked around the Hospitality Center and did not see Donna or any other board visitor. I stood outside and waited until about 12:10. I was ready to pack it up and head out in 5 minutes, but I heard "Barry?" behind me. I turned around and saw Donna. I didn't know who she was until she introduced herself. She looked different than I imagined! I met Donna and her husband, Ohai. She gave me a birthday present (I didn't open it then) and a lei. She gave me a lei made from seashells and she gave me a kiss. I almost blushed! I'm glad Ohai did not deck me one!
Donna wanted to treat me to lunch, so we were trying to decide between the Dockside Smokehouse and Bimini Bay Cafe. The Smokehouse always smells good when I pass by it, but I wanted to try Bimini Bay Cafe. We headed over to the cafe, but we didn't know where we were going! I'm the moderator of the Sea World board and I still don't know my way around! I know IOA like the back of my hand, but then again, IOA is pretty easy since it is circular! Donna had to ask for directions at a gift shop. The gift shop attendant was new and didn't know where to go, but she helped out as best as she could. I finally saw the Bimini Bay Cafe through the bushes!
We arrived around 12:30 and were seated immediately. The restaurant is very nice. Surprisingly, you could eat and maintain a conversation. Donna and Ohai said that they went to Bob Marley's at Citywalk last night. They said it was loud! I guess I will not be eating at Bob Marley's on this trip! We had munched on bread as we figured out what we wanted. Ohai ate the most bread out of all of us! It was pretty good bread. Ohai and I had the Neptune's Seafood Platter and Donna had the Filet Mingon. The Seafood Platter was pretty good. The highlight of our lunch conversation was Ohai's fishing experience. He had caught a line of fish and a shark was trying to take away the fish. He shot the shark with a gun! I don't think it's worth to mess with a shark for some fish! They were also talking about how their grandkid forced Ohai to ride ItâÂÂs a Small World several times. I can hardly ride it once! The server was pleasant, but slow. I'd eat here again!
While I was sitting in Bimini Bay, I noticed how different Donna and Ohai were. You can tell they are different because Donna is white (she is from Michigan) and Ohai looks like a Hawaiian. Ohai smokes and Donna doesnâÂÂt. Ohai is quiet and Donna is talkative. You would think a marriage like this wouldnâÂÂt work, but Donna said she thought their oppositeness was why their marriage had last so long. They donâÂÂt get in each otherâÂÂs hair!
After lunch, we headed to Wild Arctic. The Shamu Stadium show just got out, so the line became very long very fast. I thought the wait for the motion line would be 15 minutes, but it turned out to be about 25 minutes. The simulator ride seemed a bit jerkier than I remember. I haven't rode this ride in a long time, though. We hung around the Wild Arctic area for about 20 minutes. The polar bear was taking a nap. I think Ohai wanted to be like the polar bear and nap too! The walruses and beluga whales were awake and swimming around. The Wild Arctic area seemed warmer than I remember. Usually, the air temperature is around 50 degrees. This time, it felt like 60. There were a lot of people in the attraction, so that may have warmed things up.
It was getting close to 3:00 pm and we had a meet in front of Kraken, so we took the bridge shortcut across the lake and arrived at Kraken.
Barry Hom
Moderator, Universal and Sea World Boards
Click HERE for interesting Universal Orlando information!
The cast:
Me (the 29 year old)
Donna (aka Molokai Gram, didn't ask age, from Hawaii)
Ohai (Donna's DH, didn't ask age either, from Hawaii)
I usually make a trip to Orlando in March to experience Universal's Mardi Gras, but this year was even more special because one of our Universal board members, Donna, was making a special trip. She hasn't been to the parks in about two years. I thought it would be fun to hang around with one of our special visitors. It would be also interesting to see how a visitor who doesn't get to the parks too often sees the parks. I usually make a trip to the parks every few months. I get excited, but I don't get as excited as I did during my first few visits. To me, visiting Orlando is like visiting an old friend. Other people who don't get to the parks as often might see the parks as visiting a new family member.
I left at around 7:30 am and headed to Orlando. The traffic wasn't too heavy on I-75. When I hit I-4, I was stuck behind an oversized load truck and then traffic came to a standstill at exit 25. I had to get off and take an alternate route. I took I-192 west and headed up Sherberth Street. This street is beside the Super 8 Maingate Hotel (which had signs outside saying it was the hotel formerly known as the Best Inn). I found the Best Inn to be more like the âÂÂAdequate Inn.â I can only assume the Super 8 will be the âÂÂNot Really Super, but Adequate 8.â This is a shortcut to Animal Kingdom. It is also a shortcut to avoid the construction mess on I-192. Somehow, I used a 10-year-old Orlando map and made it to I-Drive. Hey, whatâÂÂs this Republic Drive on the map? I took I-Drive to Sea World and arrived at around 11:45 am.
The meet was at the Anheuser-Busch Hospitality Center at 12 noon. I walked around the Hospitality Center and did not see Donna or any other board visitor. I stood outside and waited until about 12:10. I was ready to pack it up and head out in 5 minutes, but I heard "Barry?" behind me. I turned around and saw Donna. I didn't know who she was until she introduced herself. She looked different than I imagined! I met Donna and her husband, Ohai. She gave me a birthday present (I didn't open it then) and a lei. She gave me a lei made from seashells and she gave me a kiss. I almost blushed! I'm glad Ohai did not deck me one!
Donna wanted to treat me to lunch, so we were trying to decide between the Dockside Smokehouse and Bimini Bay Cafe. The Smokehouse always smells good when I pass by it, but I wanted to try Bimini Bay Cafe. We headed over to the cafe, but we didn't know where we were going! I'm the moderator of the Sea World board and I still don't know my way around! I know IOA like the back of my hand, but then again, IOA is pretty easy since it is circular! Donna had to ask for directions at a gift shop. The gift shop attendant was new and didn't know where to go, but she helped out as best as she could. I finally saw the Bimini Bay Cafe through the bushes!
We arrived around 12:30 and were seated immediately. The restaurant is very nice. Surprisingly, you could eat and maintain a conversation. Donna and Ohai said that they went to Bob Marley's at Citywalk last night. They said it was loud! I guess I will not be eating at Bob Marley's on this trip! We had munched on bread as we figured out what we wanted. Ohai ate the most bread out of all of us! It was pretty good bread. Ohai and I had the Neptune's Seafood Platter and Donna had the Filet Mingon. The Seafood Platter was pretty good. The highlight of our lunch conversation was Ohai's fishing experience. He had caught a line of fish and a shark was trying to take away the fish. He shot the shark with a gun! I don't think it's worth to mess with a shark for some fish! They were also talking about how their grandkid forced Ohai to ride ItâÂÂs a Small World several times. I can hardly ride it once! The server was pleasant, but slow. I'd eat here again!
While I was sitting in Bimini Bay, I noticed how different Donna and Ohai were. You can tell they are different because Donna is white (she is from Michigan) and Ohai looks like a Hawaiian. Ohai smokes and Donna doesnâÂÂt. Ohai is quiet and Donna is talkative. You would think a marriage like this wouldnâÂÂt work, but Donna said she thought their oppositeness was why their marriage had last so long. They donâÂÂt get in each otherâÂÂs hair!
After lunch, we headed to Wild Arctic. The Shamu Stadium show just got out, so the line became very long very fast. I thought the wait for the motion line would be 15 minutes, but it turned out to be about 25 minutes. The simulator ride seemed a bit jerkier than I remember. I haven't rode this ride in a long time, though. We hung around the Wild Arctic area for about 20 minutes. The polar bear was taking a nap. I think Ohai wanted to be like the polar bear and nap too! The walruses and beluga whales were awake and swimming around. The Wild Arctic area seemed warmer than I remember. Usually, the air temperature is around 50 degrees. This time, it felt like 60. There were a lot of people in the attraction, so that may have warmed things up.
It was getting close to 3:00 pm and we had a meet in front of Kraken, so we took the bridge shortcut across the lake and arrived at Kraken.
Barry Hom
Moderator, Universal and Sea World Boards
Click HERE for interesting Universal Orlando information!
