themepark
Wanted: Your trip reports!<br><font color=00cc22>I
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- Jul 1, 2003
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Cast of Characters:
Me...36 DD...10 DS...7
Wednesday, March 24
We woke up at 8:00am. While I was in the bathroom, the phone rang. DD answered and it was Spiderman. He talked to both DD and DS and told them to get ready and come on over to IOA to see him today. Pretty cool, huh? No it wasn't the wake up call. Ok, ok...my DH who was stuck at home working had a buddy call and pretend to be Spidey. The kids ate it up and thought it was very cool. While DD was talking to "Spiderman", DS was yelling "It's Dad. I know it's Dad!" Then he got on the phone and realized it wasn't his dad. HA!
We got dressed, ate breakfast in the room, and walked to IOA. We went to Spiderman first (as instructed
) Great as always! We then battled through the crowds to Cat In The Hat. DS would not hold my hand here and would not keep up. My little guy is growing up on me, huh? We rode CITH with a woman who looked to be a grandmother and a little girl. They screamed the whole time. I don't know if they were really scared or if it was the spinning or what, but it was pretty comical. We walked out and I saw the Grinch. I (yes just me) had my picture made with him. I love the Grinch. He was leaning on me and making kissing noises on my head. What a flirt! Too bad I left my Grinch gloves at home. He admired them and stroked them when I was there in January. DH told me to buy a pair of gloves for a friend at home who really likes mine, but I told him I couldn't do it. I want to be the only one here with those gloves. 
We walked over to the CaroSeussal. While waiting we saw the same friends from home who we had seen the day before. DS's Kindergarten teacher and her family were riding the CaroSeussal. I can't believe we saw them again! We chatted for awhile about where we were staying and what all we had done. They were staying offsite and she was mad. She said her husband wanted to stay offsite because he has stayed several times at Universal hotels for conferences and wanted to try something different. She said it was a huge mistake. The hotel they were in was nice, but obviously they were missing out on the perks of staying onsite.
When we parted, the kids and I headed for the Flying Unicorn. We rode twice and then I told the kids that if they ever want to get on Pteranadon Flyers, now might be the time since it was still early. Off we went! The posted wait was 30 minutes. DD, who is more spoiled than anyone with the FOTL, declared that was too long. DS really wanted to ride. We talked her into it and got in line. We waited 45 minutes (Shhh...don't tell the kids! I told them we only waited 30!) It was a fun ride and I am glad we waited. I wish it had been designed differently to allow more people to load. I also wish it was longer. It is a really cool ride and could have been so much better. They had 3 flyers running. Each flyer seats only 2 people. I timed the flyers as they passed by a certain point and they were passing every 45 seconds. So you can now see why there is always such a long wait for this ride. 2 people riding every 45 seconds = a long wait.
After the ride, we decided we were getting hungry for lunch. On our way out of IOA, we had to stop and ride Spiderman one more time. Spidey told us to keep our day jobs. Each time we rode Spiderman on this trip, all the effects were working. Awesome! We decided to eat lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe so we could use the $25 GC. I didn't eat breakfast, so I was quite hungry. I ordered a steak which came with macaroni and steamed veggies. The steak was perfectly prepared. The macaroni was ok and the veggies were...well they were steamed veggies. DS had spaghetti and meatballs which he declared great and DD had the usual cheeseburger. They had fun with the multi page kids menus. I enjoyed reading the history of the Hard Rock which is on each table and looking around at the memorabila.
After lunch, we entered US throught the Hard Rock entrance and guess where we went first? This is a quiz to see if you read and paid attention to my other trip reports. The kids always insist on riding Jimmy Neutron first. Afterwards, they played several rounds of Name That Nick while I sat on a bench watching and resting. Next we headed to Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster. They rode once. This ride loads slower than some in the Express line depending on how many people are there. Actually, it doesn't even have an Express Line but hotel guests can enter through the exit. They take one group from the hotel guest line on each train. That's fair. We saw Woody and Winnie, Shaggy and Scooby, the Man with the Yellow Hat and Curious George. We then rode ET which I think is a fun and magical sort of ride. We all heard ET say our names. We then rode MIB 2 times. I would tell you my score, but I was neuralized at the end and I just don't remember.
DD has got to stop stealing my bonus.
The kids were begging for Dippin Dots so we made our way over to Amity where I knew they sold the flavor (banana split) they like. DD really wanted to see the Ghostbusters again so we headed that way for the 3:45 show. Along the way, I stopped at Chez Alcatraz for a 1/2 price beer. Best deal in the park! The $5 beer was only $2.45 (so actually a little less than 1/2 price). It was cold and goooood. Since there was no red carpet out for us, we sat on the curb to watch the Ghostbusters. That really is a funny show. I can see why FlyFly loves it so much. They are easy on the eyes and it's a fun entertaining show. My kids think it is hilarious. I suggested we watch the Street Breakz show which was beginning soon, but they weren't interested. DS loves to watch people break dancing so this surprised me. Instead we headed over to T2-3D. This was my only request of the trip so the kids obliged. It was soooooper! The preshow is great and the show itself is a very good 3D presentation combined with live action. The show is so exciting. I love the motorcycle part. I told the kids "I'll be back." Yeah, like I am the only person who has ever said that when leaving.
Before leaving the park for the day, we rode Jimmy and Shrek one last time. I had a dud seat in Shrek. It only moved part of the times it was supposed to and I didn't feel the spiders.
DD had chosen Margaritaville for her night. We headed over and they were telling everyone hour and a half wait. I showed my room key and was told that there were several hotel guests ahead of us so the wait might still be an hour. They had the stilts people outside entertaining the kids so they had a good time with that. I found a chair and enjoyed a margarita from the walk up window bar. I was carded there and naturally did not have my ID. The bartender harassed me about that. He did give me the drink after saying I looked over 21. I said thank you but then said "wait a minute, I just thanked someone for saying I look old!" The margarita was so good that I ordered another one. I had a different bartender this time and he said, "you're the one who forgot her ID aren't you?" Am I a legend or something? More likely that stupid old chick who forgot her ID. We were finally seated after about an hour wait. I had the Cheeseburger in Paradise (with lettuce and tomato, Heinz 57 and french fried potatoes and a big kosher pickle...no draft beer). It was great. I also had the Perfect Margarita which I would not recommend if you would actually like to remember walking out of the place. Nah, it wasn't that bad but it was quite strong. DD had the cheeseburger plus a chocolate shake. DS had chicken. We got 3 balloon hats; a shark, a flower, and a tall twisted hat. We also got to see the volcano spew margaritas. We wandered into the gift shop after dinner where I bought a long sleeve t-shirt for $9.99. Good deal I thought.
We then headed down the walking path to RPR. DS enjoyed a short swim in the pool. DD stayed in the room to rest. She still wasn't feeling up to par. She wasn't feeling sick, but just lacking energy. She wasn't her normal peppy self for most of the trip. We were all sleep by 10:30pm. We have to check out tomorrow.
Stay tuned for check-out day and a wrap up!
Me...36 DD...10 DS...7
Wednesday, March 24
We woke up at 8:00am. While I was in the bathroom, the phone rang. DD answered and it was Spiderman. He talked to both DD and DS and told them to get ready and come on over to IOA to see him today. Pretty cool, huh? No it wasn't the wake up call. Ok, ok...my DH who was stuck at home working had a buddy call and pretend to be Spidey. The kids ate it up and thought it was very cool. While DD was talking to "Spiderman", DS was yelling "It's Dad. I know it's Dad!" Then he got on the phone and realized it wasn't his dad. HA!
We got dressed, ate breakfast in the room, and walked to IOA. We went to Spiderman first (as instructed
) Great as always! We then battled through the crowds to Cat In The Hat. DS would not hold my hand here and would not keep up. My little guy is growing up on me, huh? We rode CITH with a woman who looked to be a grandmother and a little girl. They screamed the whole time. I don't know if they were really scared or if it was the spinning or what, but it was pretty comical. We walked out and I saw the Grinch. I (yes just me) had my picture made with him. I love the Grinch. He was leaning on me and making kissing noises on my head. What a flirt! Too bad I left my Grinch gloves at home. He admired them and stroked them when I was there in January. DH told me to buy a pair of gloves for a friend at home who really likes mine, but I told him I couldn't do it. I want to be the only one here with those gloves. We walked over to the CaroSeussal. While waiting we saw the same friends from home who we had seen the day before. DS's Kindergarten teacher and her family were riding the CaroSeussal. I can't believe we saw them again! We chatted for awhile about where we were staying and what all we had done. They were staying offsite and she was mad. She said her husband wanted to stay offsite because he has stayed several times at Universal hotels for conferences and wanted to try something different. She said it was a huge mistake. The hotel they were in was nice, but obviously they were missing out on the perks of staying onsite.
When we parted, the kids and I headed for the Flying Unicorn. We rode twice and then I told the kids that if they ever want to get on Pteranadon Flyers, now might be the time since it was still early. Off we went! The posted wait was 30 minutes. DD, who is more spoiled than anyone with the FOTL, declared that was too long. DS really wanted to ride. We talked her into it and got in line. We waited 45 minutes (Shhh...don't tell the kids! I told them we only waited 30!) It was a fun ride and I am glad we waited. I wish it had been designed differently to allow more people to load. I also wish it was longer. It is a really cool ride and could have been so much better. They had 3 flyers running. Each flyer seats only 2 people. I timed the flyers as they passed by a certain point and they were passing every 45 seconds. So you can now see why there is always such a long wait for this ride. 2 people riding every 45 seconds = a long wait.
After the ride, we decided we were getting hungry for lunch. On our way out of IOA, we had to stop and ride Spiderman one more time. Spidey told us to keep our day jobs. Each time we rode Spiderman on this trip, all the effects were working. Awesome! We decided to eat lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe so we could use the $25 GC. I didn't eat breakfast, so I was quite hungry. I ordered a steak which came with macaroni and steamed veggies. The steak was perfectly prepared. The macaroni was ok and the veggies were...well they were steamed veggies. DS had spaghetti and meatballs which he declared great and DD had the usual cheeseburger. They had fun with the multi page kids menus. I enjoyed reading the history of the Hard Rock which is on each table and looking around at the memorabila.
After lunch, we entered US throught the Hard Rock entrance and guess where we went first? This is a quiz to see if you read and paid attention to my other trip reports. The kids always insist on riding Jimmy Neutron first. Afterwards, they played several rounds of Name That Nick while I sat on a bench watching and resting. Next we headed to Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster. They rode once. This ride loads slower than some in the Express line depending on how many people are there. Actually, it doesn't even have an Express Line but hotel guests can enter through the exit. They take one group from the hotel guest line on each train. That's fair. We saw Woody and Winnie, Shaggy and Scooby, the Man with the Yellow Hat and Curious George. We then rode ET which I think is a fun and magical sort of ride. We all heard ET say our names. We then rode MIB 2 times. I would tell you my score, but I was neuralized at the end and I just don't remember.
DD has got to stop stealing my bonus. The kids were begging for Dippin Dots so we made our way over to Amity where I knew they sold the flavor (banana split) they like. DD really wanted to see the Ghostbusters again so we headed that way for the 3:45 show. Along the way, I stopped at Chez Alcatraz for a 1/2 price beer. Best deal in the park! The $5 beer was only $2.45 (so actually a little less than 1/2 price). It was cold and goooood. Since there was no red carpet out for us, we sat on the curb to watch the Ghostbusters. That really is a funny show. I can see why FlyFly loves it so much. They are easy on the eyes and it's a fun entertaining show. My kids think it is hilarious. I suggested we watch the Street Breakz show which was beginning soon, but they weren't interested. DS loves to watch people break dancing so this surprised me. Instead we headed over to T2-3D. This was my only request of the trip so the kids obliged. It was soooooper! The preshow is great and the show itself is a very good 3D presentation combined with live action. The show is so exciting. I love the motorcycle part. I told the kids "I'll be back." Yeah, like I am the only person who has ever said that when leaving.
Before leaving the park for the day, we rode Jimmy and Shrek one last time. I had a dud seat in Shrek. It only moved part of the times it was supposed to and I didn't feel the spiders. DD had chosen Margaritaville for her night. We headed over and they were telling everyone hour and a half wait. I showed my room key and was told that there were several hotel guests ahead of us so the wait might still be an hour. They had the stilts people outside entertaining the kids so they had a good time with that. I found a chair and enjoyed a margarita from the walk up window bar. I was carded there and naturally did not have my ID. The bartender harassed me about that. He did give me the drink after saying I looked over 21. I said thank you but then said "wait a minute, I just thanked someone for saying I look old!" The margarita was so good that I ordered another one. I had a different bartender this time and he said, "you're the one who forgot her ID aren't you?" Am I a legend or something? More likely that stupid old chick who forgot her ID. We were finally seated after about an hour wait. I had the Cheeseburger in Paradise (with lettuce and tomato, Heinz 57 and french fried potatoes and a big kosher pickle...no draft beer). It was great. I also had the Perfect Margarita which I would not recommend if you would actually like to remember walking out of the place. Nah, it wasn't that bad but it was quite strong. DD had the cheeseburger plus a chocolate shake. DS had chicken. We got 3 balloon hats; a shark, a flower, and a tall twisted hat. We also got to see the volcano spew margaritas. We wandered into the gift shop after dinner where I bought a long sleeve t-shirt for $9.99. Good deal I thought.
We then headed down the walking path to RPR. DS enjoyed a short swim in the pool. DD stayed in the room to rest. She still wasn't feeling up to par. She wasn't feeling sick, but just lacking energy. She wasn't her normal peppy self for most of the trip. We were all sleep by 10:30pm. We have to check out tomorrow.
Stay tuned for check-out day and a wrap up!
Glad you all liked it! I'm always curious as to who you saw in the show! 
