the Dark Marauder
<font color=red>Proud Redhead<br><font color=green
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2002
- Messages
- 6,121
Cast: Myself, 27
Arkady, friend/online forum buddy, 27
Prologue:
I'm moving to Denver in two weeks to live with my Adrienne
. I wanted to do a FL get-together in Orlando with people in another online forum. It was going to start out with 5 of us. One by one each one was unable to go. I booked a room at the Royal Pacific Resort (onsite at Universal Orlando) for the employee rate ($50/night +tax). Water view, two queen beds.
When all was said and done, it ended up being only myself and one other friend showing up. Now commences the experiences and much of the silly stuff that happened.
Friday, Jul 25
Arkady had to work until about 5p. I left from my house about 430p. That way we'd both end up getting to the RPR around the same time--6ish.
As I get very close to Universal Orlando, Arkady calls me. She followed my directions, but got confused. As *luck* would have it, I somehow managed to be in the car behind hers. So I had her follow me. We parked, and as we walked in, we were both like "wow, this is AWESOME!"
Checkin was a simple process. We got to the room, and needless to say, it was awesome. There was a water view. Water being pool, but still. And there was also a GIGANTOID PALM TREE FROM THE GREAT BEYOND partially blocking the view. D'oh! But still, awesome room was awesome. I claimed my bed, Arkady claimed hers. We then explored the hotel a bit as we wandered towards CityWalk for dinner.
Pics:
The hotel has a gameroom. It's not much of one, but it's there. Since there was a Pump It Up machine, Arkady was like "dude, we have to play!"
"Okay, but I suck at these games." I reply
I played on Easy mode and we went a few rounds. I was *okay* at it. She smoked me, of course. Then she did the full size game on the intense difficulty. If I had tried that....
We then went to the water taxi that takes people from the hotel to CityWalk. Then came the Problem: Where To Eat? After a few mins of discussion, I Recommended Nascar Grille. I had been there before it was remodeled, not recently. We went looked at the menu and were Inclined. We both had steaks. I ended up having a mudslide (frozen) with my meal. Needless to say, there was much tastiness.
Food pr0n:
After dinner was done, we walked around CityWalk to acquaint Arkady with CityWalk more. Then we ended up heading back to the hotel. The TV had a lot of interesting options and sadly, Harold & Kumar was not available anymore. D'oh! Arkady had to work the next day, though she wanted to see about getting the day off/shift traded. Sleep was had.
Saturday, July 26
Arkady went off to work in hopes of getting her shift taken. I went downstairs to the breakfast buffet. Yumness. Then I putzed over to the game room for a round of pinball.
Then the Call. Two people called out, so Arkady would be stuck at work until about 5p. Drat! However, as long as she was able to get back to the RPR by 6p, we could go to Universal/Islands of Adventure and hit the highlights. Since we'd have Express, we'd get through the lines quickly. That would work.
Now it's just me trying to figure out how to entertain myself. I would have done a jig, but I lack Irish descent, plus it was getting too hot/humid. I opted to putz in Universal Studios. I rode Revenge of the Mummy, Disaster!, and Men In Black. I only got a 750,000 on MIB, which is BAD for me.
999,999 is my norm. By the time I'm done with MIB it's just TOO HOT AND HUMID.
Off to the pool! Though I could pool hop to ANY of the pools at any of the hotels (Royal Pacific, Hard Rock, Portofino Bay), I stayed at the RPR pool. I went to the room, changed, then headed back down. I swam for a while. The water was nice. Then I ended up joining the water volleyball game going on. That was much fun.
Pool pics:
Eventually, I tired of the pool and opted to dry off. I also looked at the poolside service menu. I ended up getting chicken quesadillas and the Pacific Sunset drink. Yes, it's a fruity, sweet, frozen drink. So what. I can't stand most other drinks. Adrienne gives me flak about this, but I just LOL it off. It was TASTY.
Pool Food pr0n:
After lounging for a while longer, I opted to avoid getting sunburned and headed back to the room to play some NDS and see what's on TV. I ended up watching 2hrs of Spongebob. Yes, Spongebob. This worked in my favor, as Arkady was on her way back during the final episode. She got back, changed, and we headed for Universal Studios. It was after 6p, but I had The Master Plan.
First stop: Food. The Boulangerie. Great sandwich and pastry shop. I was Not Hungry, but Arkady was. She bought a tasty sandwich. When done, we were on our way. First stop: Simpsons Ride. Since we had express and it was just the two of us, we got to get on the ride very fast. 5 min wait for us. Very fun.
Next stop: MIB. Again, 5 min wait. She got 250,000. Not bad for her first try. I scored over 840,000. Still only mediocre for me. Still, fun. After MIB, we split a churro and she bought a blue slushie.
Jaws: 5 min wait for us (yay express!). Sadly, the boat driver's mic wasn't very good and it was hard to hear him. D'oh. Still, a fun ride.
Revenge of the Mummy. 10 min wait. Whee, rollercoaster! Ohnoz, the Mummy wants to steal our soul!!!!!! Lots of fun.
Thus ends Universal Studios. Off to Islands of Adventure. And Funnel cake. That would be last. In we go and off to the left we start our adventuring. It's 815p, and the parks close at 10p. Must.Hustle.
Hulk: 15 min wait for us. Also, the Hulk Coaster at night is so very fun. Lots of screaming.
Spider-Man: 5 min wait. Another fun one. I always tell people about the "phallus" that is in the ride. Many people know about it. It's quite funny and once you see it, you always see it.
Now to the water rides! Or try to. First: Popeye & Bluto's. The wettest ride in the park. And it's closed for technical difficulties! Boo hiss! So we head to Ripsaw Falls (where I work). Though I could have walked up the exit (VIP), express was the shorter walk.
We.got.soaked. But it was fun, of course.
Next to Jurassic Park, the last water ride! Also closed for technical difficulties. Aww. To the Dueling Dragons coaster then. We got in line and it would be the last ride. The Fire dragon is more intense (IMO) than the Ice dragon. The Ice dragon did not duel with our Fire dragon. Oh well. It was still fun.
After that, it was after 10pm. Park.Closed. Arkady then took the opportunity to take pics. We made our way to the front of the park for FUNNEL CAKE. I had always wanted to try the funnel cake they sell near the front of the park. And we did. Pics are coming, don't worry. OMZ, the funnel cake was extreme tastiness. And sugary goodness. And yumness.
Funnel cake:
Back to the hotel. She had to work Sunday as well, but would also try to get the day off. Sleeps were had.
Sunday, July 27
Disney Day!
Today was also checkout day. So checkout was nice and easy. Arkady also had to work again, but Sundays are usually better for shift pick-up. We went to Downtown Disney, headed to Earl of Sandwich, and had breakfast. Those breakfast sandwiches are delish!
Arkady heads to work, so she can find out what's going on. There was someone there who was willing to pick up her shift, so she was able to get the day off. She just had to wait for her scheduled time before everything would be okayed. I then putzed around Downtown Disney (all of it) for about 2hrs until I got the call. And I did. And then we were on our way to the bus to the Contemporary Resort to catch the monorail to Epcot. I've been to all the Disney Parks, she had only done Magic Kingdom.
Epcot:
We get there and start our walk around. The new Spaceship Earth had a 45 min wait. Not a chance. Arkady did want a frozen banana from the ice cream vendor.
We walked over to the Coke station which has beverages from around the world. Like the week prior when I went with a different friend of mine, we had the Beverly first. I explained that the Beverly HAD to be done like a shot. After tasting it, she understood why. We sampled the rest, then headed off to Norway. The Maelstrom ride has the anorexic polar bear. If you've seen it, you know what I'm referring to.
Then we just walked around the different countries, taking silly pics (we weren't in such a rush as the day prior) and just being goofballs. After going through all the countries, we headed for Test Track. Single Riders said a 30 min wait. Regular Line: 90. Single Riders it was! And as we were waiting, a storm approached.
We waited. And the approaching inclement weather did not affect us. We got to ride. Yay. Then off to Spaceship Earth to see how long the wait was. 10 mins. Ride. All I can say is that it takes your pic in the beginning and makes for a VERY FUNNY VIDEO as the ride closes out.
Next Stop: Disney's Animal Kingdom for late lunch/early dinner and possibly riding Expedition Everest (rollercoaster!)
We went to Yak & Yeti's restaurant. Arkady gets a 50% discount, so it's *obvious* why we went there. She ordered a drink similar to Green Python. I had their signature drink, I forget the name. It was Yak related, though. Both drinks were tastiness. I must say, I've had more alcohol on this "mini meet" than I have in a very long time.
Food came: appetizer, main course. Such impeccable yumminess. And the rain! Ohnoz, the storm struck! And there was lightning. Rat finkery. But we stayed inside and had dessert. This cream cheese wonton and pineapple skewers, with ice cream. OMZ so tasty. Notice a trend? Lots of deliciousness in food choice.
Food pr0n:
When we were done, people were running from the rain in ponchos. "Ohno evil rain!!!!!!" I made a joke about the rain melting me because I'm so sweet.
For some reason, our silliness was magnified. And neither of us were even drunk or buzzed or anything. Just Good. We get to Expedition Everest and it's closed due to lightning. Oh well. It's 7-something and the park closes at 8p. TO THE DINOSAUR RIDE!
We rode twice--with the same family (amazing timing) on the ride. And it was fun and silly and not scary.
After that--to the Rainforest Cafe to buy a ChaCha frog. They're having a contest of "Where in the World is ChaCha?" The grand prize winner gets airfare for 2 and $1000 spending money. I can use the winnings to get down to Orlando in May for the 2nd annual meetup the forum is having.
Finally, we headed to Disney's Hollywood Studios. Since we had only a small amount of time, we headed first for the Tower of Terror. That was fun. After that, the Aerosmith coaster. 30 minute wait it says. 15 the first time. And so much fun. There was still enough time to ride one more time. But this time the line was long. We ended up buying the picture this time.
After the ride, a final silly picture was taken. Then back to the bus to the Contemporary and then to Downtown Disney. Then we went our separate ways.
It was awesome fun.
Arkady, friend/online forum buddy, 27
Prologue:
I'm moving to Denver in two weeks to live with my Adrienne
. I wanted to do a FL get-together in Orlando with people in another online forum. It was going to start out with 5 of us. One by one each one was unable to go. I booked a room at the Royal Pacific Resort (onsite at Universal Orlando) for the employee rate ($50/night +tax). Water view, two queen beds.When all was said and done, it ended up being only myself and one other friend showing up. Now commences the experiences and much of the silly stuff that happened.
Friday, Jul 25
Arkady had to work until about 5p. I left from my house about 430p. That way we'd both end up getting to the RPR around the same time--6ish.
As I get very close to Universal Orlando, Arkady calls me. She followed my directions, but got confused. As *luck* would have it, I somehow managed to be in the car behind hers. So I had her follow me. We parked, and as we walked in, we were both like "wow, this is AWESOME!"
Checkin was a simple process. We got to the room, and needless to say, it was awesome. There was a water view. Water being pool, but still. And there was also a GIGANTOID PALM TREE FROM THE GREAT BEYOND partially blocking the view. D'oh! But still, awesome room was awesome. I claimed my bed, Arkady claimed hers. We then explored the hotel a bit as we wandered towards CityWalk for dinner.
Pics:
The hotel has a gameroom. It's not much of one, but it's there. Since there was a Pump It Up machine, Arkady was like "dude, we have to play!"
"Okay, but I suck at these games." I reply
I played on Easy mode and we went a few rounds. I was *okay* at it. She smoked me, of course. Then she did the full size game on the intense difficulty. If I had tried that....
We then went to the water taxi that takes people from the hotel to CityWalk. Then came the Problem: Where To Eat? After a few mins of discussion, I Recommended Nascar Grille. I had been there before it was remodeled, not recently. We went looked at the menu and were Inclined. We both had steaks. I ended up having a mudslide (frozen) with my meal. Needless to say, there was much tastiness.
Food pr0n:
After dinner was done, we walked around CityWalk to acquaint Arkady with CityWalk more. Then we ended up heading back to the hotel. The TV had a lot of interesting options and sadly, Harold & Kumar was not available anymore. D'oh! Arkady had to work the next day, though she wanted to see about getting the day off/shift traded. Sleep was had.
Saturday, July 26
Arkady went off to work in hopes of getting her shift taken. I went downstairs to the breakfast buffet. Yumness. Then I putzed over to the game room for a round of pinball.
Then the Call. Two people called out, so Arkady would be stuck at work until about 5p. Drat! However, as long as she was able to get back to the RPR by 6p, we could go to Universal/Islands of Adventure and hit the highlights. Since we'd have Express, we'd get through the lines quickly. That would work.
Now it's just me trying to figure out how to entertain myself. I would have done a jig, but I lack Irish descent, plus it was getting too hot/humid. I opted to putz in Universal Studios. I rode Revenge of the Mummy, Disaster!, and Men In Black. I only got a 750,000 on MIB, which is BAD for me.
999,999 is my norm. By the time I'm done with MIB it's just TOO HOT AND HUMID. Off to the pool! Though I could pool hop to ANY of the pools at any of the hotels (Royal Pacific, Hard Rock, Portofino Bay), I stayed at the RPR pool. I went to the room, changed, then headed back down. I swam for a while. The water was nice. Then I ended up joining the water volleyball game going on. That was much fun.
Pool pics:
Eventually, I tired of the pool and opted to dry off. I also looked at the poolside service menu. I ended up getting chicken quesadillas and the Pacific Sunset drink. Yes, it's a fruity, sweet, frozen drink. So what. I can't stand most other drinks. Adrienne gives me flak about this, but I just LOL it off. It was TASTY.
Pool Food pr0n:
After lounging for a while longer, I opted to avoid getting sunburned and headed back to the room to play some NDS and see what's on TV. I ended up watching 2hrs of Spongebob. Yes, Spongebob. This worked in my favor, as Arkady was on her way back during the final episode. She got back, changed, and we headed for Universal Studios. It was after 6p, but I had The Master Plan.
First stop: Food. The Boulangerie. Great sandwich and pastry shop. I was Not Hungry, but Arkady was. She bought a tasty sandwich. When done, we were on our way. First stop: Simpsons Ride. Since we had express and it was just the two of us, we got to get on the ride very fast. 5 min wait for us. Very fun.
Next stop: MIB. Again, 5 min wait. She got 250,000. Not bad for her first try. I scored over 840,000. Still only mediocre for me. Still, fun. After MIB, we split a churro and she bought a blue slushie.
Jaws: 5 min wait for us (yay express!). Sadly, the boat driver's mic wasn't very good and it was hard to hear him. D'oh. Still, a fun ride.
Revenge of the Mummy. 10 min wait. Whee, rollercoaster! Ohnoz, the Mummy wants to steal our soul!!!!!! Lots of fun.
Thus ends Universal Studios. Off to Islands of Adventure. And Funnel cake. That would be last. In we go and off to the left we start our adventuring. It's 815p, and the parks close at 10p. Must.Hustle.
Hulk: 15 min wait for us. Also, the Hulk Coaster at night is so very fun. Lots of screaming.
Spider-Man: 5 min wait. Another fun one. I always tell people about the "phallus" that is in the ride. Many people know about it. It's quite funny and once you see it, you always see it.
Now to the water rides! Or try to. First: Popeye & Bluto's. The wettest ride in the park. And it's closed for technical difficulties! Boo hiss! So we head to Ripsaw Falls (where I work). Though I could have walked up the exit (VIP), express was the shorter walk.
We.got.soaked. But it was fun, of course.
Next to Jurassic Park, the last water ride! Also closed for technical difficulties. Aww. To the Dueling Dragons coaster then. We got in line and it would be the last ride. The Fire dragon is more intense (IMO) than the Ice dragon. The Ice dragon did not duel with our Fire dragon. Oh well. It was still fun.
After that, it was after 10pm. Park.Closed. Arkady then took the opportunity to take pics. We made our way to the front of the park for FUNNEL CAKE. I had always wanted to try the funnel cake they sell near the front of the park. And we did. Pics are coming, don't worry. OMZ, the funnel cake was extreme tastiness. And sugary goodness. And yumness.
Funnel cake:
Back to the hotel. She had to work Sunday as well, but would also try to get the day off. Sleeps were had.
Sunday, July 27
Disney Day!
Today was also checkout day. So checkout was nice and easy. Arkady also had to work again, but Sundays are usually better for shift pick-up. We went to Downtown Disney, headed to Earl of Sandwich, and had breakfast. Those breakfast sandwiches are delish!
Arkady heads to work, so she can find out what's going on. There was someone there who was willing to pick up her shift, so she was able to get the day off. She just had to wait for her scheduled time before everything would be okayed. I then putzed around Downtown Disney (all of it) for about 2hrs until I got the call. And I did. And then we were on our way to the bus to the Contemporary Resort to catch the monorail to Epcot. I've been to all the Disney Parks, she had only done Magic Kingdom.
Epcot:
We get there and start our walk around. The new Spaceship Earth had a 45 min wait. Not a chance. Arkady did want a frozen banana from the ice cream vendor.
We walked over to the Coke station which has beverages from around the world. Like the week prior when I went with a different friend of mine, we had the Beverly first. I explained that the Beverly HAD to be done like a shot. After tasting it, she understood why. We sampled the rest, then headed off to Norway. The Maelstrom ride has the anorexic polar bear. If you've seen it, you know what I'm referring to.
Then we just walked around the different countries, taking silly pics (we weren't in such a rush as the day prior) and just being goofballs. After going through all the countries, we headed for Test Track. Single Riders said a 30 min wait. Regular Line: 90. Single Riders it was! And as we were waiting, a storm approached.
We waited. And the approaching inclement weather did not affect us. We got to ride. Yay. Then off to Spaceship Earth to see how long the wait was. 10 mins. Ride. All I can say is that it takes your pic in the beginning and makes for a VERY FUNNY VIDEO as the ride closes out.
Next Stop: Disney's Animal Kingdom for late lunch/early dinner and possibly riding Expedition Everest (rollercoaster!)
We went to Yak & Yeti's restaurant. Arkady gets a 50% discount, so it's *obvious* why we went there. She ordered a drink similar to Green Python. I had their signature drink, I forget the name. It was Yak related, though. Both drinks were tastiness. I must say, I've had more alcohol on this "mini meet" than I have in a very long time.
Food came: appetizer, main course. Such impeccable yumminess. And the rain! Ohnoz, the storm struck! And there was lightning. Rat finkery. But we stayed inside and had dessert. This cream cheese wonton and pineapple skewers, with ice cream. OMZ so tasty. Notice a trend? Lots of deliciousness in food choice.
Food pr0n:
When we were done, people were running from the rain in ponchos. "Ohno evil rain!!!!!!" I made a joke about the rain melting me because I'm so sweet.
For some reason, our silliness was magnified. And neither of us were even drunk or buzzed or anything. Just Good. We get to Expedition Everest and it's closed due to lightning. Oh well. It's 7-something and the park closes at 8p. TO THE DINOSAUR RIDE!
We rode twice--with the same family (amazing timing) on the ride. And it was fun and silly and not scary.
After that--to the Rainforest Cafe to buy a ChaCha frog. They're having a contest of "Where in the World is ChaCha?" The grand prize winner gets airfare for 2 and $1000 spending money. I can use the winnings to get down to Orlando in May for the 2nd annual meetup the forum is having.
Finally, we headed to Disney's Hollywood Studios. Since we had only a small amount of time, we headed first for the Tower of Terror. That was fun. After that, the Aerosmith coaster. 30 minute wait it says. 15 the first time. And so much fun. There was still enough time to ride one more time. But this time the line was long. We ended up buying the picture this time.
After the ride, a final silly picture was taken. Then back to the bus to the Contemporary and then to Downtown Disney. Then we went our separate ways.
It was awesome fun.
I missed this in the US/IOA secret tips. Where is it in Spider-Man?
good luck
