Traveller: Me, myself and I.
Destination: Coronado Springs Resort
Duration: From 29 april through 13 may.
Chapter: DAY 9 (wednesday 7 May).
Early up today. Scheduled is Universal Studios Florida. Transportation is arranged allready. Although Seaworld is a nice place to go, Universal is the second player in the worlds themeparks industri, just after Disney, which is of course the number one.
Went to the Pepper Market for Breakfast. Today no Bakery stuf. I wanted to have something stronger. Choosed the Breakfast borito. Just something different and it was not too little.
About 8.05am I was in the lobby. My pick up time was 8.15am. Got some money out of the ATM machine. Since charging to your room is easy on Disney property I hadn't run out of cash till now, so I needed to fill up my wallet. Taking money out of the ATM was wasy, also for me as an European.
After this I waited outside the lobby for the Mears Shuttle. Looked for a bus or something with Mears on it, but didn't see anything comming up. Waited for about 10 minutes and in the meantime it was 8.20am. One of the Hotel staff at the lobby asked me what I was looking for. Told them that Mears should pick me up at 8.15. Waited another 10 minutes. They told me that there must be something wrong, since it was allready 8.30.
Walked inside the lobby and asked at the bell desk if they were able to call to Mears and ask what happened. They called and told me that within a few minutes Mears should show up. Not a traditional Mears shuttle, but a Towncar. Wow a town car! Thats nice. I reserved a shuttle service for $13 and they will transport me in a towncar. The towncar showed up in no time and nobody was inside. I thought should I be the only one who wants to visit Universal Studios? The answer is Yes and No. The driver drove to Port Orleans Riverside where a family was waiting. He asked me to take the front seat, so the family could sit together. It was a family of four. After this he drove to Discovery cove, the destination for that family. After that I got a solo drive to Universal Studios Florida. It was not a direct drive of course, but it was in a Towncar and half of the drive he drove only for me. Can you believe it? Finally I arrived at Universal about 9.30am not too bad.
First I walked straigt ahead to Islands of Adventure and looked for their 'famous' will call machines. Was a little bit nervous about it. Paid online per credit card and got a personal code. Of course I had made several copies of the code, so it could not be disappeared. Of course I brought the correct code with me. Inserted my creditcard through the reader and pressed my personal code in on the keyboard. A few seconds later my Universal Bonus pass dropped out. Yes it had worked without any problem. With this pass you can go five consecutive days to both parks at Universal Studios Florida. I will use to days to go there. Why I bought a five days pass? Online it was cheaper then a two days pass you can get at the parks.
Through the turnstiles and this is different from how they do this at Disney. Here you go first through the turnstiles and after that there was bagcheck.
First thing I did was 'of course' Spiderman. Its a Unique ride system in the world. It can be compared with a simulator ride like star tours, but here your vehicle is also moving in real. This combined with large movie screens with 3d movie on it (3d glasses are provided) makes it a very unique ride. Think that you can compare it a little bit with rides like Dinasaur at Animal Kingdom, but this is much different. The theme of the ride is fun, but not very special, but the effects you experience during the ride are amazing.
I had luch, it wasn't busy at all. Did the ride three times after each other. After this I walked to the Hulk entrance. Here you have to put your backpack in a locker. At Seaworld yesterday the lockers were a few quarters, but here its for free for a limited time. Something like an hour. Its a very modern system. You touch a screen and can choose your language. I couldn't believe it. My language Dutch was in the list. Of course it should not be a problem for me if I had to choose English, but it was nice that my own language was in the list. After this you get a coupon out of the machine and it tells you what your locker number is. You place your stuff in the locker and after that you press a button and the locker is closed automaticaly. Don't loose your coupon. There is a code on it that you need to open your locker.
Now I was able to ride the hulk. Not a long line at all, but longer as Spiderman. This Hulk coaster is my most favorite conventional steel looping coaster with a blast off in the world. Also disigned by the famous duo Brothers B&M Also the other two inverted coasters Duelling Dragons are disigned by them.
For your information, the best rollercoaster I did ever is in France in Park Asterix. They have a woodie called Tonnerre de Zeus. Thats the best rollercoaster in the world. This one is the best isteel ride in the world. Of course this is also one of the highlights of my florida trip. And as expected it was good as I could remember. I went two times now, knowing I will do the Hulk more times later.
the wheater was hot 90+ degrees Farenheit, It should be more then 30 degrees Celcius. I wanted a wet ride now and here at Islands of Adventure they have three of them. Went on the Doodly Ripsaw Falls ride. There was nobody on the ride, so there was no wait and I got my own log. Very nice exiting and after all very very wet. I was soaked. It was not a problem, because in this hot weather it will dry fast. It was also nice I didn't had any irritations on my shoulders.
Decided that it was needed to dry up and what is a better choice fot that as the Duelling Dragons coaster. There are actually two coasters, Fire and Ice. There is one line and before the station you can choose whick you want to ride. Of course I did both of them several times. Can't count how much rides. I think I could do three rides after each other till the time comes that I needed to unlock my locker (same system as the lockers at the Hulk).
I really love this type of cousters, especially the B&M brand. A famous coaster building company in my country "Vekoma" has this type of ride, but you can't compare it. The B&M brand is much smoother.
After finishing three rides I was almost dry, so I went on the second water ride. This time Jurasic Park. On my way to Jurasic Park I noticed a very short line at a sort of kidy coaster. Why not I thought and did one ride. Not very special, but nice for a ride. Jurasic Park remains a good attraction. A little bit outdated in my opinion. The version in Hollywood is maybe a little bit better, but I think there isn't much different. On this ride you don't get as wet as on the other two water rides they have.
After this I went to Sues Landings. The theme area where most attractions are more kid based. Here I did one ride. The only dark ride in this park. The Cat in the Hat ride. Its a fun ride with a few fast turns during your ride what makes it funny. Of course not as good as a Disney ride, but hey I'm at a Universal park. Now I was getting hungry. It was about 1pm. For lunch I had a Pizza and also a dessert.
I was happy that I had done so much rides in such a little time. It was not busy at all. In about 3 hours or so I had done most rides.
After lunch I went to the Voyages of Sindbad stuntshow. Needed some more time to sit down after all the rides and the show was just about to start after I had finished lunch. Its a nice show, but nothing very special. After the show I went for another couple of rides on the two Duelling dragoons coasters. After that some more rides on the Hulk. Finally I did one more time Spiderman before I exited Islands of Adventure for the day. This with the knowledge that I will return another day to do all the great rides again. Also in the afternoon it was not busy in the park, so I think it was about 3.30/4.00pm when I exited.
But the day is not over. Still one park to do. Of course the orginal Universal Studios itself. Its just a short walk to the other park, so shortly I was able to go on with riding etc. They asked me to write my name at the turnstyles, every guest was asked to write his or her name. What the reason is for this I don't know. It wasn't needed while entering Islands of Adventure.
Straight ahead I went to the ET ride. Noticed a line. Of course it was not bad at all, I think it was at least 15 minutes. No surprice, since the capacity of this ride is not so big. What can I tell about the ET ride. Just the same as I remembered. Its fun to tell your name and hearing it at the end of the ride. Next was back to the future. One of the best rides in Universal Studios. Also here the wait time was longer then 15 minutes. Also not very bad, but now it was clear to me that this park was busyer then the Islands of Adventure park. Maybe a little bit outdated, but still an excellent ride. Also nice is that the famous moviestars are also participating in the ride. Its like star tours a simulator ride, but you look into a very big screen. The vihicle is actually a replica of the car they used in the movie. That also make this ride a very special experience.
Next was Man in Black. Also here you need a locker for your stuf. Also here the same system as in Islands of Adventure. Here they have a single riders line, so the wait time was not much.
Its a ride where you need to shoot the aliens. The concept is like the Buzz lightyears ride in Tomorrowland. In my opinion this one is better. Think its the best ride in the world of this type. Rode it two times.
Next was earthquake. One of the classic Universal attractions. Unlike Universal Studios Hollywood where it is part of the big tramtour here its a separate attraction. The main part of the attraction is of course very good, but the pre shows are a little bit boring.
Looked at my watch. It was allready 5.30. Needed to find a phone to call to Mears to confirm my return trip. Return trip was possible at 7.30pm. Walked a little bit through the park and entered the que at the Nickelodeon simulator ride. At the park map it was marked as new. That was strange, since I did it allready three years ago. During the ride I noticed that they had a whole new ride movie inside. Also they added some special effects like water etc. Couldn't remember them from my previous visit two years ago. Next was Terminator 2 3D. One of the best 3D movies ever created. Its not a normal 3d movie. Its a whole show with live actors in it. Allways a must do at Universal Studios. After that I did Twister. One of the best special effects shows in the world. This was the last attraction of the day.
This was a full day with much rides. Had a good feeling about today. Of course the Disney parks are better themed and organized, but Universal as I mentioned before are a good second. Here is also good theming. Universal is superior in special effects, but less good in darkrides and animatronics. You don't get that special magic feeling here, but all the great rides do compensate it a lot.
After some shopping I exited the park and walked at a small pace to the exit. While I was a little bit early Mears was allready waiting. This time they had a normal shuttle van.
Also this time I got the front seat. This time it was straight to Disneyworld, but not straight to my resort. After dropping people of at the Animal Kingdom lodge and the three All stars resorts I was the only one left on the shuttle. Of course the next destination was Coronado Springs. The ride was not direct, but it didn't matter. Now I had the chance to look at some of the All stars building in real. A resort where I should not go just for visiting with a Disney bus.
Think it was about 8.30 when I was dropped of. First thing I did was to get a free Coke in my mug. In the meantime thinking about where I wanted to have dinner tonight. Decided that I wanted to go first to Boardwalk to eat there something.
Went to the bus stop in the hope a MGM studios bus should come up. From there I should be able to take the boat ride to the boardwalk. Indeed a bus come up and I with a few others entered. The bus driver asked us why we wanted to go to the MGM studios since it was about 9pm and the park closes at that time. Also the other few people wanted to go to the Boardwalk and one of them told that to the bus driver. I also told him I want to go there. It turned out that the driver took us straight to the Boardwalk. That was really nice of him.
At the Boardwalk I asked to look at the menu of the Big River Grill & Pub. One thing I wanted to do is try a beer at the Board Walk pub, but for some reason I hadn't done till now. The menu looked good, so I decided to dine here along with a good beer. I was able to sit at the bar and eat my dinner there. Ordered a steak from the menu and choose the Red Rocked Pale Ale. I know its the strongest beer they have, but I'm a real beer drinker and and after only Budweizer and Heineken I wanted a really good beer now. And it was good. Expensive also, but it was excellent.
The food was just OK. Ended up drinking two beers. Didn't order a dessert.
After the meal and the beers it was past 11.15pm. After some walking around at the Boardwalk I went to the bus stop.
I was the only one waiting for a bus. In a few minutes there came an empty bus. Not empty, but all people get off. The driver asked me where I wanted to go. Of course I told Downtown Disney. I asked if I needed to transfer at Downtown Disney to go to a resort. Yes of course I needed a transfer to the Coronado Springs. He told me I will take you there straight.
That was really great. A solo drive in a Disney bus and he wanted to drive me where I wanted to go. Isn't that super? Had a nice conversation with the driver. He asked where I'm from and he know the Netherlands. He visited not just Amsterdam, but he remembered also other cities of my country. He told me that this was his last drive. After driving me to the Coronado Springs resort he should go home. Don't know the name of the driver, but it was a very good one. Much thanks to this nice driver.
At my room I watched some TV and went to bed. Tomorrow I will go to Animal Kingdom. I only visited Animal Kingdom this trip for a short time during early entry. Tomorrow I will take the time for the Animals. In the evening I will hop to MGM stuidos.
Comming soon DAY 10
Destination: Coronado Springs Resort
Duration: From 29 april through 13 may.
Chapter: DAY 9 (wednesday 7 May).
Early up today. Scheduled is Universal Studios Florida. Transportation is arranged allready. Although Seaworld is a nice place to go, Universal is the second player in the worlds themeparks industri, just after Disney, which is of course the number one.
Went to the Pepper Market for Breakfast. Today no Bakery stuf. I wanted to have something stronger. Choosed the Breakfast borito. Just something different and it was not too little.
About 8.05am I was in the lobby. My pick up time was 8.15am. Got some money out of the ATM machine. Since charging to your room is easy on Disney property I hadn't run out of cash till now, so I needed to fill up my wallet. Taking money out of the ATM was wasy, also for me as an European.
After this I waited outside the lobby for the Mears Shuttle. Looked for a bus or something with Mears on it, but didn't see anything comming up. Waited for about 10 minutes and in the meantime it was 8.20am. One of the Hotel staff at the lobby asked me what I was looking for. Told them that Mears should pick me up at 8.15. Waited another 10 minutes. They told me that there must be something wrong, since it was allready 8.30.
Walked inside the lobby and asked at the bell desk if they were able to call to Mears and ask what happened. They called and told me that within a few minutes Mears should show up. Not a traditional Mears shuttle, but a Towncar. Wow a town car! Thats nice. I reserved a shuttle service for $13 and they will transport me in a towncar. The towncar showed up in no time and nobody was inside. I thought should I be the only one who wants to visit Universal Studios? The answer is Yes and No. The driver drove to Port Orleans Riverside where a family was waiting. He asked me to take the front seat, so the family could sit together. It was a family of four. After this he drove to Discovery cove, the destination for that family. After that I got a solo drive to Universal Studios Florida. It was not a direct drive of course, but it was in a Towncar and half of the drive he drove only for me. Can you believe it? Finally I arrived at Universal about 9.30am not too bad.
First I walked straigt ahead to Islands of Adventure and looked for their 'famous' will call machines. Was a little bit nervous about it. Paid online per credit card and got a personal code. Of course I had made several copies of the code, so it could not be disappeared. Of course I brought the correct code with me. Inserted my creditcard through the reader and pressed my personal code in on the keyboard. A few seconds later my Universal Bonus pass dropped out. Yes it had worked without any problem. With this pass you can go five consecutive days to both parks at Universal Studios Florida. I will use to days to go there. Why I bought a five days pass? Online it was cheaper then a two days pass you can get at the parks.
Through the turnstiles and this is different from how they do this at Disney. Here you go first through the turnstiles and after that there was bagcheck.
First thing I did was 'of course' Spiderman. Its a Unique ride system in the world. It can be compared with a simulator ride like star tours, but here your vehicle is also moving in real. This combined with large movie screens with 3d movie on it (3d glasses are provided) makes it a very unique ride. Think that you can compare it a little bit with rides like Dinasaur at Animal Kingdom, but this is much different. The theme of the ride is fun, but not very special, but the effects you experience during the ride are amazing.
I had luch, it wasn't busy at all. Did the ride three times after each other. After this I walked to the Hulk entrance. Here you have to put your backpack in a locker. At Seaworld yesterday the lockers were a few quarters, but here its for free for a limited time. Something like an hour. Its a very modern system. You touch a screen and can choose your language. I couldn't believe it. My language Dutch was in the list. Of course it should not be a problem for me if I had to choose English, but it was nice that my own language was in the list. After this you get a coupon out of the machine and it tells you what your locker number is. You place your stuff in the locker and after that you press a button and the locker is closed automaticaly. Don't loose your coupon. There is a code on it that you need to open your locker.
Now I was able to ride the hulk. Not a long line at all, but longer as Spiderman. This Hulk coaster is my most favorite conventional steel looping coaster with a blast off in the world. Also disigned by the famous duo Brothers B&M Also the other two inverted coasters Duelling Dragons are disigned by them.
For your information, the best rollercoaster I did ever is in France in Park Asterix. They have a woodie called Tonnerre de Zeus. Thats the best rollercoaster in the world. This one is the best isteel ride in the world. Of course this is also one of the highlights of my florida trip. And as expected it was good as I could remember. I went two times now, knowing I will do the Hulk more times later.
the wheater was hot 90+ degrees Farenheit, It should be more then 30 degrees Celcius. I wanted a wet ride now and here at Islands of Adventure they have three of them. Went on the Doodly Ripsaw Falls ride. There was nobody on the ride, so there was no wait and I got my own log. Very nice exiting and after all very very wet. I was soaked. It was not a problem, because in this hot weather it will dry fast. It was also nice I didn't had any irritations on my shoulders.
Decided that it was needed to dry up and what is a better choice fot that as the Duelling Dragons coaster. There are actually two coasters, Fire and Ice. There is one line and before the station you can choose whick you want to ride. Of course I did both of them several times. Can't count how much rides. I think I could do three rides after each other till the time comes that I needed to unlock my locker (same system as the lockers at the Hulk).
I really love this type of cousters, especially the B&M brand. A famous coaster building company in my country "Vekoma" has this type of ride, but you can't compare it. The B&M brand is much smoother.
After finishing three rides I was almost dry, so I went on the second water ride. This time Jurasic Park. On my way to Jurasic Park I noticed a very short line at a sort of kidy coaster. Why not I thought and did one ride. Not very special, but nice for a ride. Jurasic Park remains a good attraction. A little bit outdated in my opinion. The version in Hollywood is maybe a little bit better, but I think there isn't much different. On this ride you don't get as wet as on the other two water rides they have.
After this I went to Sues Landings. The theme area where most attractions are more kid based. Here I did one ride. The only dark ride in this park. The Cat in the Hat ride. Its a fun ride with a few fast turns during your ride what makes it funny. Of course not as good as a Disney ride, but hey I'm at a Universal park. Now I was getting hungry. It was about 1pm. For lunch I had a Pizza and also a dessert.
I was happy that I had done so much rides in such a little time. It was not busy at all. In about 3 hours or so I had done most rides.
After lunch I went to the Voyages of Sindbad stuntshow. Needed some more time to sit down after all the rides and the show was just about to start after I had finished lunch. Its a nice show, but nothing very special. After the show I went for another couple of rides on the two Duelling dragoons coasters. After that some more rides on the Hulk. Finally I did one more time Spiderman before I exited Islands of Adventure for the day. This with the knowledge that I will return another day to do all the great rides again. Also in the afternoon it was not busy in the park, so I think it was about 3.30/4.00pm when I exited.
But the day is not over. Still one park to do. Of course the orginal Universal Studios itself. Its just a short walk to the other park, so shortly I was able to go on with riding etc. They asked me to write my name at the turnstyles, every guest was asked to write his or her name. What the reason is for this I don't know. It wasn't needed while entering Islands of Adventure.
Straight ahead I went to the ET ride. Noticed a line. Of course it was not bad at all, I think it was at least 15 minutes. No surprice, since the capacity of this ride is not so big. What can I tell about the ET ride. Just the same as I remembered. Its fun to tell your name and hearing it at the end of the ride. Next was back to the future. One of the best rides in Universal Studios. Also here the wait time was longer then 15 minutes. Also not very bad, but now it was clear to me that this park was busyer then the Islands of Adventure park. Maybe a little bit outdated, but still an excellent ride. Also nice is that the famous moviestars are also participating in the ride. Its like star tours a simulator ride, but you look into a very big screen. The vihicle is actually a replica of the car they used in the movie. That also make this ride a very special experience.
Next was Man in Black. Also here you need a locker for your stuf. Also here the same system as in Islands of Adventure. Here they have a single riders line, so the wait time was not much.
Its a ride where you need to shoot the aliens. The concept is like the Buzz lightyears ride in Tomorrowland. In my opinion this one is better. Think its the best ride in the world of this type. Rode it two times.
Next was earthquake. One of the classic Universal attractions. Unlike Universal Studios Hollywood where it is part of the big tramtour here its a separate attraction. The main part of the attraction is of course very good, but the pre shows are a little bit boring.
Looked at my watch. It was allready 5.30. Needed to find a phone to call to Mears to confirm my return trip. Return trip was possible at 7.30pm. Walked a little bit through the park and entered the que at the Nickelodeon simulator ride. At the park map it was marked as new. That was strange, since I did it allready three years ago. During the ride I noticed that they had a whole new ride movie inside. Also they added some special effects like water etc. Couldn't remember them from my previous visit two years ago. Next was Terminator 2 3D. One of the best 3D movies ever created. Its not a normal 3d movie. Its a whole show with live actors in it. Allways a must do at Universal Studios. After that I did Twister. One of the best special effects shows in the world. This was the last attraction of the day.
This was a full day with much rides. Had a good feeling about today. Of course the Disney parks are better themed and organized, but Universal as I mentioned before are a good second. Here is also good theming. Universal is superior in special effects, but less good in darkrides and animatronics. You don't get that special magic feeling here, but all the great rides do compensate it a lot.
After some shopping I exited the park and walked at a small pace to the exit. While I was a little bit early Mears was allready waiting. This time they had a normal shuttle van.
Also this time I got the front seat. This time it was straight to Disneyworld, but not straight to my resort. After dropping people of at the Animal Kingdom lodge and the three All stars resorts I was the only one left on the shuttle. Of course the next destination was Coronado Springs. The ride was not direct, but it didn't matter. Now I had the chance to look at some of the All stars building in real. A resort where I should not go just for visiting with a Disney bus.
Think it was about 8.30 when I was dropped of. First thing I did was to get a free Coke in my mug. In the meantime thinking about where I wanted to have dinner tonight. Decided that I wanted to go first to Boardwalk to eat there something.
Went to the bus stop in the hope a MGM studios bus should come up. From there I should be able to take the boat ride to the boardwalk. Indeed a bus come up and I with a few others entered. The bus driver asked us why we wanted to go to the MGM studios since it was about 9pm and the park closes at that time. Also the other few people wanted to go to the Boardwalk and one of them told that to the bus driver. I also told him I want to go there. It turned out that the driver took us straight to the Boardwalk. That was really nice of him.
At the Boardwalk I asked to look at the menu of the Big River Grill & Pub. One thing I wanted to do is try a beer at the Board Walk pub, but for some reason I hadn't done till now. The menu looked good, so I decided to dine here along with a good beer. I was able to sit at the bar and eat my dinner there. Ordered a steak from the menu and choose the Red Rocked Pale Ale. I know its the strongest beer they have, but I'm a real beer drinker and and after only Budweizer and Heineken I wanted a really good beer now. And it was good. Expensive also, but it was excellent.
The food was just OK. Ended up drinking two beers. Didn't order a dessert.
After the meal and the beers it was past 11.15pm. After some walking around at the Boardwalk I went to the bus stop.
I was the only one waiting for a bus. In a few minutes there came an empty bus. Not empty, but all people get off. The driver asked me where I wanted to go. Of course I told Downtown Disney. I asked if I needed to transfer at Downtown Disney to go to a resort. Yes of course I needed a transfer to the Coronado Springs. He told me I will take you there straight.
That was really great. A solo drive in a Disney bus and he wanted to drive me where I wanted to go. Isn't that super? Had a nice conversation with the driver. He asked where I'm from and he know the Netherlands. He visited not just Amsterdam, but he remembered also other cities of my country. He told me that this was his last drive. After driving me to the Coronado Springs resort he should go home. Don't know the name of the driver, but it was a very good one. Much thanks to this nice driver.
At my room I watched some TV and went to bed. Tomorrow I will go to Animal Kingdom. I only visited Animal Kingdom this trip for a short time during early entry. Tomorrow I will take the time for the Animals. In the evening I will hop to MGM stuidos.
Comming soon DAY 10
