<b>Day 8 – Islands of Adventure</b>
Saturday 21st May
Up with the lark around 7am – do they have larks in Florida? - and showered, dressed and ready to go by 7.30. Head down to the water taxi area and one is just arriving so decide to take the less energetic route to the parks today. The boat fills and fills but finally leaves, and we’re at the gate of Islands of Adventure by 7.55am. Not too many people around, but we get straight through the minimal line and head off to Harry Potter (along with everyone else, it seems!).
A quick dash through Seuss Landings and we are there, and straight onto the Forbidden Journey. We quickly move through the initial line, and then come to a halt in the greenhouses…the ride has broken down! Ok…this is becoming a theme of the trip now
Luckily we’re out of the sunshine, and there is lots of detail to observe, but this wasn’t how we expected to be spending the early morning.
This was my view for half an hour!
We edge forward a few feet every 5 minutes – presumably as other gives up and leave the line - and finally we are given the all-clear after about 30 mins. Ride is great as last time, and Emma decides ‘it was good’! High praise indeed.
Nice touches like this make the whole land so special
We use our resort passes to go on Flight of the Hippogriff next, and everyone enjoys this so we ride again. All getting a bit puckish so we all share some American Breakfasts in the Three Broomsticks. The food is tasty but very expensive what it is. When we’re done Helen repeats Hippogriff with the kids while I nip off to ride Dragons Challenge and then indulge my love of frozen butterbeer.
Breakfast menu at Three Broomsticks
Nip down to Seuss Landings and satisfy Emma’s love of Cat in the Hat. Good to get wet on One Fish, Two Fish and cool off a bit, too.
Emma in her element on Cat in the Hat
Then we head off to the Sinbad show which we may have done some time ago – very good and fun for the kids with the interaction of the cast, as we sit in the front row of the splash zone.
Poseidon’s Fury next, and this is good fun too, lots of over-acting and the tunnel of water always amazes me. Emma edges through very gingerly, unsure as to whether the water will fill down suddenly on her head.
Impressive looking building!
Head out and round anti-clockwise towards Jurassic Park area, and are disappointed to find this closed. Hadn’t read anything about it, but looks like it’s been this way for a while. Kids do the climbing attraction, neither one getting anywhere close to the top, but both have lots of fun.
Food next…and we get ribs and chicken in the slowest fast food joint I’ve ever been to. I didn’t take any pictures here – if I had I’m sure it would have looked like a waxworks. Not impressed.
Ripsaw falls for Ryan and I, and he loves it- Front of the line cuts 75mins wait to around 15, get fairly wet, but it’s refreshing. Enjoy it so much we all decide to head to Popeye … again a 75mins wait but we are on the ride in 2 mins! 5 mins later we are all soaked to the skin!
Just what you need in this heat
Helen and Emma head back to Cat in the Hat, while I take Ryan on Spiderman, and then Storm Force Accelatron (think teacups at Disney). Helen and Emma come back and she takes the kids on the ride again, while I do Hulk with my resort ID, cutting the hour-long line to 10 mins.
With that, we’re done…for now, and head back to the hotel via the water taxi. Rest for an hour or so in the room – everyone is very worn out by now. And then head out to Citywalk for food. We have chosen Margaritaville tonight, and there is a 45 mins wait, so we get some drinks and relax in the beach chairs till our buzzer goes off. There are worse places to sit and people watch, believe me.
Fish Sandwich and Fish Tacos for Helen and me, and both are delicious. Standard fare for the kids – chicken strips and burger. We eat, relax and listen to the tropical music while the kids colour their menus to their heart’s content.
After the meal we head back to IoA for a last visit to Seuss Landings, then a last ride on HP for me….and it breaks down again! Luckily they get it going again, to the cheers of everyone left in the queue.
Atmospheric at night, isn’t it?
Out of here in the end by 9.15pm, and we leave the park to head back to the hotel. It isn’t yet 10pm so we decide a late night swim is in order. We’re starting to flag by now however, and as we’re checking out in the morning we’re tucked up in bed by 11pm.
Late night fun with sand
Day 9 – Universal Studios and return to WDW
Setting the Scene and Index
Saturday 21st May
Up with the lark around 7am – do they have larks in Florida? - and showered, dressed and ready to go by 7.30. Head down to the water taxi area and one is just arriving so decide to take the less energetic route to the parks today. The boat fills and fills but finally leaves, and we’re at the gate of Islands of Adventure by 7.55am. Not too many people around, but we get straight through the minimal line and head off to Harry Potter (along with everyone else, it seems!).
A quick dash through Seuss Landings and we are there, and straight onto the Forbidden Journey. We quickly move through the initial line, and then come to a halt in the greenhouses…the ride has broken down! Ok…this is becoming a theme of the trip now
Luckily we’re out of the sunshine, and there is lots of detail to observe, but this wasn’t how we expected to be spending the early morning. This was my view for half an hour!
We edge forward a few feet every 5 minutes – presumably as other gives up and leave the line - and finally we are given the all-clear after about 30 mins. Ride is great as last time, and Emma decides ‘it was good’! High praise indeed.
Nice touches like this make the whole land so special
We use our resort passes to go on Flight of the Hippogriff next, and everyone enjoys this so we ride again. All getting a bit puckish so we all share some American Breakfasts in the Three Broomsticks. The food is tasty but very expensive what it is. When we’re done Helen repeats Hippogriff with the kids while I nip off to ride Dragons Challenge and then indulge my love of frozen butterbeer.
Breakfast menu at Three Broomsticks
Nip down to Seuss Landings and satisfy Emma’s love of Cat in the Hat. Good to get wet on One Fish, Two Fish and cool off a bit, too.
Emma in her element on Cat in the Hat
Then we head off to the Sinbad show which we may have done some time ago – very good and fun for the kids with the interaction of the cast, as we sit in the front row of the splash zone.
Poseidon’s Fury next, and this is good fun too, lots of over-acting and the tunnel of water always amazes me. Emma edges through very gingerly, unsure as to whether the water will fill down suddenly on her head.
Impressive looking building!
Head out and round anti-clockwise towards Jurassic Park area, and are disappointed to find this closed. Hadn’t read anything about it, but looks like it’s been this way for a while. Kids do the climbing attraction, neither one getting anywhere close to the top, but both have lots of fun.
Food next…and we get ribs and chicken in the slowest fast food joint I’ve ever been to. I didn’t take any pictures here – if I had I’m sure it would have looked like a waxworks. Not impressed.
Ripsaw falls for Ryan and I, and he loves it- Front of the line cuts 75mins wait to around 15, get fairly wet, but it’s refreshing. Enjoy it so much we all decide to head to Popeye … again a 75mins wait but we are on the ride in 2 mins! 5 mins later we are all soaked to the skin!
Just what you need in this heat
Helen and Emma head back to Cat in the Hat, while I take Ryan on Spiderman, and then Storm Force Accelatron (think teacups at Disney). Helen and Emma come back and she takes the kids on the ride again, while I do Hulk with my resort ID, cutting the hour-long line to 10 mins.
With that, we’re done…for now, and head back to the hotel via the water taxi. Rest for an hour or so in the room – everyone is very worn out by now. And then head out to Citywalk for food. We have chosen Margaritaville tonight, and there is a 45 mins wait, so we get some drinks and relax in the beach chairs till our buzzer goes off. There are worse places to sit and people watch, believe me.
Fish Sandwich and Fish Tacos for Helen and me, and both are delicious. Standard fare for the kids – chicken strips and burger. We eat, relax and listen to the tropical music while the kids colour their menus to their heart’s content.
After the meal we head back to IoA for a last visit to Seuss Landings, then a last ride on HP for me….and it breaks down again! Luckily they get it going again, to the cheers of everyone left in the queue.
Atmospheric at night, isn’t it?
Out of here in the end by 9.15pm, and we leave the park to head back to the hotel. It isn’t yet 10pm so we decide a late night swim is in order. We’re starting to flag by now however, and as we’re checking out in the morning we’re tucked up in bed by 11pm.
Late night fun with sand
Day 9 – Universal Studios and return to WDW
Setting the Scene and Index
