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<font color=blue>Miracles are amazing!<br><font co
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2000
Cast: Me, Kelli, just turned 40, Disney nut and major planner.
DH, Stephen, also 40, puts up with my Disney obsession, loves it almost as much (just wont admit it.)
Thursday, September 20
Today we check out of the Boardwalk. A very sad day. I watched them refurbish the pool these last five days, and today they are filling it with water. I called the delivery service, and they had our Islands of Adventure tickets to us by 8:30. They were very apologetic for the mixup. I let them listen to the message the delivery person left on my phone, and they were shocked. I doubt I will use this service again.
We checked out, and headed for IOA. I had detailed instructions on how to get there, but I think we would have made it without any. The road signs are very well marked.
We arrived at about 9:15 and parked very close. Citywalk is interesting. I like how it is adjacent to both Universal Studios and IOA. I wish DTD was that way. This is the first time we have ever been here, so we really don't know what to expect. I have read a few things about the rides, but reading can't explain it all.
First up was the Hulk. Not only did we walk right on, but we got the front too. It was great. I knew it was fast like Rock n Rollercoaster, but I thought it took right off. I was surprised at this ride. Stephen loved it.
Next was Spiderman. This too I had read about, but words can't really explain the experience. We didn't wait for a front seat, and decided to go back later to try again. It was great.
On to Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges. I had heard you get very wet here, so we dressed in clothing that dried quickly, no denim. But I really didn't understand the extent of the wetness. It was as if an entire 5 gallon bucket of water was dumped on my head more than once. When we got off this ride, my makeup was dripping down my face. We left the camera in a locker for the first half of the day, or I would have had Stephen take my picture to show other unsuspecting souls the extent of the damage. It was a blast!!
After a quick stop in the nearest bathroom to dry off a little and fix my face (actually, I had some ponds face cloths in my fanny pack, and just removed the rest of my makeup), we headed to dueling dragons. It took so long to walk through that queue. I'm sure it's needed when the parks are full, but it wasn't this time. Once we made it to the coaster, we took Fire first. Again, in the front row. We loved it. We got off and took the cut back to Ice. It was great too (and also in the front). Back out and on Fire again. After that Stephen's head hurt a little, so we decided to slow it down a little.
We wandered around the park a bit, checking out the theming. We ended up eating in Suess Landing at Green Eggs and Ham.
Then we did Hulk and Spiderman again, and then Dudley Do-Right. Not quite as wet as Bluto, but still wetter than Kali River Rapids. We continued on to Jurassic Park and then to Poseiden's Fury. Next we watched the Eighth Voyage of Sinbad (I did not sit in the splash zone). From here we decided to get our cameral and take some pictures. Here are a few of my favorites.
We enjoyed Suess Landing, but only rode The Cat in the Hat.
We left IOA at about 5:00 riding and seeing everything we wanted. I liked this park. The theming was not to Disney's standards. It was all very two dimensional. But the rides were fun. I would go again, but never instead of WDW.
When we left, we checked into the Clarion Universal. One night for $30. It was very nice.
We drove down I-drive and found a Harley dealership. Stephen likes to find them, and purchase (or recieve for free, whichever happens) what he calls dip-dot. They are little round, flat things that go on the top of the dipstick. They usually have the dealership's logo and what city it is in. It's much cheaper to collect dip-dots, than buy t-shirts at every dealership. They are usuallyl free, or a couple dollars.
We ate dinner at the Olive Garden on I-drive. Did you know that it is the first Olive Garden? We were told that by our server. We enjoyed a good meal, and then headed back to our room to watch tv, and rest. It was a very long day.
Friday, September 21
We had decided we were going to take a couple of days and see some of Florida. We really want to move here, but Stephen had his doubts. After our whirlwind tour, he still doesn't want to, but I'm working on him.
We checked out, and ate at IHOP, then headed to St. Augustine. Stephen had been here in March while he was in Daytona for Bike week, and thought I'd enjoy it. It was nice. We walked aroung old town, but the fort was closed for refurbishment. We ate at Wendy's while we got the oil changed in my car. It's a beautiful city.
From there we drove to Jacksonville. We didn't really explore much here, just drove around a lot. I really liked it, Stephen thought it was too big. We stopped at a Starbuck for a snack and a phone book. Remember the never ending quest for dip-dots. The Starbucks staff was very helpful in giving us directions. We found the Harley dealer, got our dot free, and headed south.
We ended up at a Days Inn in Starke, FL. I didn't make reservations for this night because we were unsure exactly where we would be. When we first asked for a room rate, we were told $125. Stephen said that was a little high, but it was the third motel we had stopped at, and the first that had a non-smoking room available. He asked if there were any discounts available, and she started asking us questions like employer and clubs we belonged to. Of course, I forgot about Disney Club being Entertainment. Anyway, Stephen starts giving her this sob story about driving here from Colorado, and how we are helping the economy after 9/11. And she asked him if he was an Avalanche fan (that's NHL (hockey) for those of you who don't know). He said yes (I am not a hockey fan, so I kept my mouth shut!). She said she loves the Avs, and has a jersey. Because we (or he) were Av fans, we got the room for $50. More than I would have wanted to spend for a Days Inn, but comparing that to the previous quote, we were thrilled. We thanked her profusely, and went to our room. We made sure we left a note saying how great she was. She even told us a good restaurant to eat at.
It was a fun day. We saw a lot, and were ready for bed.
DH, Stephen, also 40, puts up with my Disney obsession, loves it almost as much (just wont admit it.)
Thursday, September 20
Today we check out of the Boardwalk. A very sad day. I watched them refurbish the pool these last five days, and today they are filling it with water. I called the delivery service, and they had our Islands of Adventure tickets to us by 8:30. They were very apologetic for the mixup. I let them listen to the message the delivery person left on my phone, and they were shocked. I doubt I will use this service again.
We checked out, and headed for IOA. I had detailed instructions on how to get there, but I think we would have made it without any. The road signs are very well marked.
We arrived at about 9:15 and parked very close. Citywalk is interesting. I like how it is adjacent to both Universal Studios and IOA. I wish DTD was that way. This is the first time we have ever been here, so we really don't know what to expect. I have read a few things about the rides, but reading can't explain it all.
First up was the Hulk. Not only did we walk right on, but we got the front too. It was great. I knew it was fast like Rock n Rollercoaster, but I thought it took right off. I was surprised at this ride. Stephen loved it.
Next was Spiderman. This too I had read about, but words can't really explain the experience. We didn't wait for a front seat, and decided to go back later to try again. It was great.
On to Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges. I had heard you get very wet here, so we dressed in clothing that dried quickly, no denim. But I really didn't understand the extent of the wetness. It was as if an entire 5 gallon bucket of water was dumped on my head more than once. When we got off this ride, my makeup was dripping down my face. We left the camera in a locker for the first half of the day, or I would have had Stephen take my picture to show other unsuspecting souls the extent of the damage. It was a blast!!
After a quick stop in the nearest bathroom to dry off a little and fix my face (actually, I had some ponds face cloths in my fanny pack, and just removed the rest of my makeup), we headed to dueling dragons. It took so long to walk through that queue. I'm sure it's needed when the parks are full, but it wasn't this time. Once we made it to the coaster, we took Fire first. Again, in the front row. We loved it. We got off and took the cut back to Ice. It was great too (and also in the front). Back out and on Fire again. After that Stephen's head hurt a little, so we decided to slow it down a little.
We wandered around the park a bit, checking out the theming. We ended up eating in Suess Landing at Green Eggs and Ham.
Then we did Hulk and Spiderman again, and then Dudley Do-Right. Not quite as wet as Bluto, but still wetter than Kali River Rapids. We continued on to Jurassic Park and then to Poseiden's Fury. Next we watched the Eighth Voyage of Sinbad (I did not sit in the splash zone). From here we decided to get our cameral and take some pictures. Here are a few of my favorites.
We enjoyed Suess Landing, but only rode The Cat in the Hat.
We left IOA at about 5:00 riding and seeing everything we wanted. I liked this park. The theming was not to Disney's standards. It was all very two dimensional. But the rides were fun. I would go again, but never instead of WDW.
When we left, we checked into the Clarion Universal. One night for $30. It was very nice.
We drove down I-drive and found a Harley dealership. Stephen likes to find them, and purchase (or recieve for free, whichever happens) what he calls dip-dot. They are little round, flat things that go on the top of the dipstick. They usually have the dealership's logo and what city it is in. It's much cheaper to collect dip-dots, than buy t-shirts at every dealership. They are usuallyl free, or a couple dollars.
We ate dinner at the Olive Garden on I-drive. Did you know that it is the first Olive Garden? We were told that by our server. We enjoyed a good meal, and then headed back to our room to watch tv, and rest. It was a very long day.
Friday, September 21
We had decided we were going to take a couple of days and see some of Florida. We really want to move here, but Stephen had his doubts. After our whirlwind tour, he still doesn't want to, but I'm working on him.
We checked out, and ate at IHOP, then headed to St. Augustine. Stephen had been here in March while he was in Daytona for Bike week, and thought I'd enjoy it. It was nice. We walked aroung old town, but the fort was closed for refurbishment. We ate at Wendy's while we got the oil changed in my car. It's a beautiful city.
From there we drove to Jacksonville. We didn't really explore much here, just drove around a lot. I really liked it, Stephen thought it was too big. We stopped at a Starbuck for a snack and a phone book. Remember the never ending quest for dip-dots. The Starbucks staff was very helpful in giving us directions. We found the Harley dealer, got our dot free, and headed south.
We ended up at a Days Inn in Starke, FL. I didn't make reservations for this night because we were unsure exactly where we would be. When we first asked for a room rate, we were told $125. Stephen said that was a little high, but it was the third motel we had stopped at, and the first that had a non-smoking room available. He asked if there were any discounts available, and she started asking us questions like employer and clubs we belonged to. Of course, I forgot about Disney Club being Entertainment. Anyway, Stephen starts giving her this sob story about driving here from Colorado, and how we are helping the economy after 9/11. And she asked him if he was an Avalanche fan (that's NHL (hockey) for those of you who don't know). He said yes (I am not a hockey fan, so I kept my mouth shut!). She said she loves the Avs, and has a jersey. Because we (or he) were Av fans, we got the room for $50. More than I would have wanted to spend for a Days Inn, but comparing that to the previous quote, we were thrilled. We thanked her profusely, and went to our room. We made sure we left a note saying how great she was. She even told us a good restaurant to eat at.
It was a fun day. We saw a lot, and were ready for bed.
