The Year of Disney Trips: ***Update!!!! 8/20/08****

I have only done Fantasmic once too, just not worth the wait. I am going with Kelly in August on with dining package at H&V.

OMG I just realized Kat & I don't have a Fantasmic package. Wonder if they'll have 2 showings. :scratchin

Mo said:
Kat - what night in August are thinking of for Fantasmic?


Mo it's tentatively scheduled for the Sunday the 24th, but all things are subject to change. ;)

Mo said:
Scott - I want to ride GMR with you so I can hear say Praise the Lord when the doors open:lmao:

:lmao:

Ummmmm it means something off, a not so nice way of saying go away if YKWIM oh and begins with f :rotfl2:

Ohhhhh!! :idea: :rolleyes: :rotfl2:

Jo said:
You know I've never seen those :blush:

Yet one more thing to look out for in August. ;)

Jo said:
Oh no and also you must do the drawing class thing, it's fun

Will I ever make it to the drawing class in my upcoming trips? ;) popcorn::

What makes you think you'll be able to find V????:confused3

LL are you planning on kidnapping her from the rest of us? :tiptoe: :eek:

LL said:

I guess it'll just be LL and I with all the fabulous pictures. :snooty:

Are you aying V wil be hiding from me or are you saying my stalking skilz are that bad:headache: :lmao:

Janet when in doubt you can probably find V at:
a) the nearest bar
b) the pool

LY/MI V! :hug:

Totally agree with not waiting for TGMR. It's always amusing to look at the footprints! I never knew that those banners meant you could meet those characters!! :headache: Now I know!

Some of those footprints are old too. :laughing: I didn't even know MGM had been open that long.

Oh I don't know if the banners mean the characters are there (I think they were just promoting the film), but it was a kawinkidink that the characters were actually there.
 
Our TR title could have been the same as yours, because we have worn the APs out. I will be crying in my cereal (oatmeal, actually - raisins, dates, and walnuts, to be exact) a whole lot when ours expire in July. I will be one sad MeMom, so I will be reading a bunch of trip reports and relying on others for my Disney fix. I am terribly addicted.

I'm glad to see you back in writing mode.

I can't wait to see Fantasmic in less than two weeks!!!
 
WARNING: The following portion of this TR has left the Disney building and has decided to visit that other park. Proceed with caution.

The next morning we woke up somewhat early. Our bodies were really feeling tired after having trekked the Disney parks the past 3 days, and we still had 2more parks to conquer.:faint:

Sidenote: Backstory on why we’re visiting the other park.

When we were planning the trip back in April Isis asked if we were gonna do Universal. You see Isis has an AP for Universal and unlike Disney they get a discount for other people on their tickets. At the time I said :sad2: because we had already spent a lot of money on the Disney portion of the vacation. She was fine with that though.

Well prior to our trip that idea changed. Why you ask? Because somewhere along the lines in all my signing up for newsletters and news and stuff on theme parks and all things Orlando and Disney related, Universal sent my family a mailer. The mailer contained 1 free ticket to both parks valid until September and an extra ticket for half price of regular admission for up to 6 people. Score!!:woohoo:

So I let Yani know and asked her if she was willing to pay $39 for Universal on top of her Disney tix and she said yes (at the time James was not on board, but luckily the ticket had a limit of up to 6). So I let Isis know and we decided to add those parks for our last day. End Sidenote.


We finish packing up and head to the front desk to checkout. Remember how I thought Olivia’s was OKW’s equivalent of a food court? Well I had told Yani and James to wait for us there to eat breakfast while we finalize our check out. When we got there I see Olivia’s doesn’t look very food court-y, but restaurant-y. Like a Floridian style version of Denny’s. I ask them if they ordered and James said, with a look of disgust on his face, that they hadn’t ordered. So I asked them if they wanted to eat somewhere else. James got out of the chair so fast that I hadn’t even finished my sentence.:rolleyes:

So we hopped in the car and headed off to SSR, because I was jonesing for my flatbread breakfast from Artist Pallette. Unfortunately I was the only one that enjoyed their breakfast at SSR, oh well I did warn them on some of the stuff. :confused3

We were off to conquer the other park! We got on the highway and with my trusty navigator Isis or IceIce (said like Tom Tom the GPS thingy) as she’s become to be known for all things Universal. We arrive to the park and head for valet parking, because Isis gets a discount on it :thumbsup2 (yet another perk for Universal AP holders).

And we’ve arrived! Here’s the entrance of Citywalk as we walk towards the parks:

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Looks pretty crowded huh? Although not quite as crowded as Disney.

Sidenote: I realized that I didn’t take that many pics of the parks for those of you who’ve never been and would like to see more of it I’m including some pictures from a trip I took with my cousins and also when we visted earlier that year in April for Mardi Gras. End Sidenote.

We trek, well I’m still hobbling but my ankle’s not as bad, through Citywalk and check out the map to see which park to hit first:

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We decide to go to Islands of Adventure (IoA) first since it has more rides and will most likely be more crowded later in the day. We get to the ticket center and show the ticket guy our coupons and he gives us our tickets and we buy the Universal Express -- UE (which is Universal’s equivalent of FPs). Once all tickets are obtained we start our adventure.

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First stop The Hulk

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We dump Yani with all our crap, since she’s not riding, much to James’ disdain. They actually have a little argument about it and he was kinda bummed. I kinda felt sorry for him. Anyway so we show our UEs to the lady at the line entrance and our let in and pass all the suckers….er standy by people and are soon ready to board.

For those of you who don’t know about this ride, it’s a huge roller coaster that shoots you off at an incredible speed with quite a few loops. Here’s a little video I took to give you an idea of the ride (now it looks slow, but when you’re on it it’s super fast).



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Yup! We went on that and it was GUD! :teeth: James actually had a smile on his face for the first time after riding a ride (unfortunately James was lost to the dark side and never saw the Disney light:sad2: ).

We walk to our next destination, Dr. Doom (if you look at the last pic up there of the Hulk, you can see Dr. Doom, which is the 2 tower things sticking up behind the roller coaster):

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We show our UE’s and pass all the suckers…er stand by and are ready to face Dr. Doom. Basically this is a reverse ToT. You’re strapped into a chair RnR style and shot straight up into the air on a cylindrical tower and you feel like you’re just gonna keep going and fly right off the tower. It was sooo fun though. Definitely gives you a major rush and one of the few that actually freaks me out for the 30 seconds the ride lasts.

We continue walking next door to the Spiderman ride.

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Like my lame imitation of Spidy?

See that lady who looks like the straw’s gonna go up her nose? :lmao:

We show our UE’s and pass all the suckers er…stand by people and grab our glasses since Spidy is a 3-D ride

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Don't you just love James' face in the background? :
and are soon boarding our vehicle to go fight some baddies. Ok those of you who have sons or brothers or any sort of male family member who has played the Spiderman video game, this ride is very much like it. It’s so much fun and very interactive and a must do at IoA. After the ride we’re dumped in the gift shop and do some shopping and we meet this guy:

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Isis trying to reenact the kiss scene, but Spidy wasn’t falling for it

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You can actually meet Spidy too (my cousins when we went)

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His line was too long and we were on a schedule.

This guy tried to attack me
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So we took the hint and got out of dodge.

Continued in Next Post....Here
 
Continued from Previous post....

Next stop is Toon Lagoon

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And looky here who we met (for those of you who may not know, it's Beetle Bailey & Woody Woodpecker):

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When I came with my cousin’s we got these guys:

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I absolutely love the theming of Toon Lagoon and there’s so much to see, it’s like literally being dropped into the Sunday funnies.

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Here’s some from my cousin’s trip (I'm the one directing their behavior, so not in many of 'em):

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We’re making really good time so far thanks to the UE’s and the sun is now starting to heat up. Well we’re in the right place because all there is here is basically water rides. This time it was my turn to opt out of riding. I didn’t feel like getting wet and getting my ankle bandage wet too. So I was loaded down with all our crap as the other three rode IoA’s version of Splash Mtn.

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Now the difference between Rip Saw Falls and Splash Mtn is, you get totally soaked on this ride. Want some proof.

Here are my cousins and I back in ’05 when we rode it

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Here’s the gang after the fall

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They were totally soaked, but refreshed. Next stop, IoA’s version of Kali River Rapids

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Now the difference between Bilge Rat Barges and Kali is, you get totally soaked on this ride. Our brave riders:

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Ha ha!! Already getting wet!
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The end result

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You literally come off the ride wringing the water out of your clothes.
We came prepared for the soaking the girls did a somewhat quick change and dried off a little in the bathrooms.



Up Next: What’ve they got in there, King Kong?
Next Installment: Click Here
 

Boy, when you get in trip writing mode, you really go all out.

Good review...of those other guys!
 
Great updates Z. I like IOA/US but we only ever so one day...that's enough...but no Jurassic Park:confused3
 
great update and pics.

what dates did u go again?

were they worth the extra money the fp equivalent?
 
Oh SNAP!!! :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

You owe me a new monitor! :rotfl2:

:thumbsup2

Are you aying V wil be hiding from me or are you saying my stalking skilz are that bad:headache: :lmao:

:flower3: Now Janet...I wouldn't hide V from you...

:magnify: ...skilz...ummmm....Honey, don't take this the wrong way, but if you can't find the Photopass guys...:confused3

:lmao: J/K!! I can't help myself!!

LL are you planning on kidnapping her from the rest of us? :tiptoe: :eek:

No! Of course not! You're just trying to make me come right out and say that Janet has NO stalking skilz, aren't you? I'm trying to be nice here!!:lmao:

LY Janet...:flower3:

I guess it'll just be LL and I with all the fabulous pictures.

That's right!:snooty:



Janet when in doubt you can probably find V at:
a) the nearest bar
b) the pool

LY/MI V! :hug:

:rotfl2: :lmao:

You mean there is another park besides Disney????:lmao:

I was gonna ask the same thing!!:rotfl2:

Hmmmm....I wonder if Michael would like that Hulk ride :rolleyes:

I do plan on taking the boys to (cough, cough, choke, choke) that other place...someday...my company has a condo in Orlando so I figure whenever it is that we end up using it would be a good time to explore the Orlando outside of the World. I can't bring myself to go anywhere else once I'm within the Disney gates. Someday...:rolleyes:

But I'll admit it...the thought of going somewhere else just weirds me out...:scared:
 
What makes you think you'll be able to find V????:confused3
Oh SNAP!!! :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

You owe me a new monitor! :rotfl2:
HUH???? :confused:
Are you aying V wil be hiding from me or are you saying my stalking skilz are that bad:headache: :lmao:
OOOOOOoooh! :rotfl2:
Janet when in doubt you can probably find V at:
a) the nearest bar
b) the pool

LY/MI V! :hug:
HEY! B. is right-on, but I'll have you know I'm very selective about my lounge requirements. Now if you'd said "At the Tambu/Martha's Vineyard/Bellevue Room/Saki Bar", you'd have it. ;)
 
So we hopped in the car and headed off to SSR, because I was jonesing for my flatbread breakfast from Artist Pallette. Unfortunately I was the only one that enjoyed their breakfast at SSR, oh well I did warn them on some of the stuff. :confused3
THIS doesn't sounds good - what did they have, so I'll know to avoid it?!
We were off to conquer the other park!
Traitor, traitor, traitor! :rotfl:
Anyway so we show our UEs to the lady at the line entrance and our let in and pass all the suckers….er standy by people and are soon ready to board.
We show our UE’s and pass all the suckers…er stand by
We show our UE’s and pass all the suckers er…stand by people and grab our glasses since Spidy is a 3-D ride
So you really like the UE, huh? ;)
Wow. That's, um, some mighty tight-fitting spandex. Ahem. :eek:

This is great! :rotfl2:
Up Next: What’ve they got in there, King Kong?
:scared1:

Oh wait - have we moved on from Spidey's spandex? :angel:
 
Our TR title could have been the same as yours, because we have worn the APs out. I will be crying in my cereal (oatmeal, actually - raisins, dates, and walnuts, to be exact) a whole lot when ours expire in July. I will be one sad MeMom, so I will be reading a bunch of trip reports and relying on others for my Disney fix. I am terribly addicted.

I know MeMom! We almost had similar Disney trips, except on different dates. Yes I'll be crying too when mine expire in April. :sad:

Boy, when you get in trip writing mode, you really go all out.

Good review...of those other guys!

Well I had a month to make up for. :rolleyes1
Glad you're enjoying the other park.

Great updates Z. I like IOA/US but we only ever so one day...that's enough...but no Jurassic Park

Well the parks aren't as big as the Disney ones. US is pretty big, but IoA can get done waaay before park close. There's still more of the park. Patience grasshopper. :angel:


IOA looks like so much fun. I love that you actually get soaked on the water rides.

::yes:: I can just imagine your brothers in these parks Lessa. :rolleyes:

You mean there is another park besides Disney????

:rolleyes:

great update and pics.

what dates did u go again?

were they worth the extra money the fp equivalent?

Thank you!
August 13th-16th
The UEs are good during busy time (summer). There are some rides that it is soooo worth it like The Hulk and Spiderman and a few attractions at Universal because they will always have a ridiculously long wait line.
If you go in September though almost everything is walk on, even on this trip there were quite a few walk ons, but we still used our UEs.

No! Of course not! You're just trying to make me come right out and say that Janet has NO stalking skilz, aren't you? I'm trying to be nice here!!

Ohhh! :rotfl2: Don't worry Janet I couldn't find anyone is August, just ask Jo. :rolleyes:

LL said:
Hmmmm....I wonder if Michael would like that Hulk ride

::yes:: But he might have to wait a little to ride it, the height requirement is more than EE. I think it's 48" for Hulk.:confused:

LL said:
I do plan on taking the boys to (cough, cough, choke, choke) that other place...someday...my company has a condo in Orlando so I figure whenever it is that we end up using it would be a good time to explore the Orlando outside of the World. I can't bring myself to go anywhere else once I'm within the Disney gates. Someday...:rolleyes:

But I'll admit it...the thought of going somewhere else just weirds me out

The only bad thing I can see of taken Michael to IoA/ Universal when he's older is he may actually like it more than Disney.

IMO (please don't flame me) Disney is losing out on some customer base by not having enough thrill rides. I know a lot of people don't agree because then Disney loses it's family appeal, but I just see it on more families with teenagers or males also enjoying themselves while the rest of the family enjoys the other parts of the parks. That's what happened with the Minions from my June trip, all they wanted were fast rides and they were the 10-16 range. And I must admit I like those thrill rides too. :teeth:



Oh good, I thought I was the only one that missed the joke....:confused:

V said:
HEY! B. is right-on, but I'll have you know I'm very selective about my lounge requirements. Now if you'd said "At the Tambu/Martha's Vineyard/Bellevue Room/Saki Bar", you'd have it. ;)

:rolleyes: :rotfl:

THIS doesn't sounds good - what did they have, so I'll know to avoid it?!

I don't really remember, but I think it was the breakfast platter they had. Eggs, bacon, sausage waffles. I tried this once in June and it was :scared: and then I discovered the flatbread. :goodvibes
My mom didn't like the flatbread though.

V said:
Traitor, traitor, traitor!

:laughing: Well I did get a free ticket and I was already in Orlando, how could I miss the opportunity to not enjoy myself for free. ;)


V said:
So you really like the UE, huh?

::yes:: But I say that when I use the FP too. :rolleyes1
Right Jo?

V said:
Wow. That's, um, some mighty tight-fitting spandex. Ahem.

I thought that too when I posted and was reviewing my post!! :lmao:

You should see the costume of the Meet and Greet Spidy! ;) :eek:
 
Thank you!
August 13th-16th
The UEs are good during busy time (summer). There are some rides that it is soooo worth it like The Hulk and Spiderman and a few attractions at Universal because they will always have a ridiculously long wait line.
If you go in September though almost everything is walk on, even on this trip there were quite a few walk ons, but we still used our UEs.

thank you for the information.
 
OMG Z I love your poses, absolutely hilarious :rotfl2:

Were the front of the queue passes expensive? And did you pass all those suckers? ;) :rotfl:

Wow they did get soaked didn't they :lmao:
 
At risk of losing my Focker membership. I like the "other place". I am not saying I need to go there every trip, but every few years I like to go, stay one night on site for FOTL access. Yes it's not WDW, but it does have some good stuff (like Hulk and Spidey). ALso, with the new Harry Potter area coming to IoA, that will give more reasons to go to UoA.

I do agree with LL, I have to go before checking in with Mickey, once I am on WDW property I can't tear myself away.
 
At risk of losing my Focker membership. I like the "other place". I am not saying I need to go there every trip, but every few years I like to go, stay one night on site for FOTL access. Yes it's not WDW, but it does have some good stuff (like Hulk and Spidey). ALso, with the new Harry Potter area coming to IoA, that will give more reasons to go to UoA.

I do agree with LL, I have to go before checking in with Mickey, once I am on WDW property I can't tear myself away.

what is that I hear. A new membership opening in Focker land. I think u have been kicked out with that honest opinion.
 
what is that I hear. A new membership opening in Focker land. I think u have been kicked out with that honest opinion.

OK, before TE sees my post somebody put it up real high so she can't see it:lmao:
 
I'm supposed to be writing a paper for my Sociology class, but instead I'm here reading TRs. See where my priorities lie? ;)

I laughed out loud thinking about James jumping up at Olivia's, ready to get the heck out of there and find some real food. :rotfl: Too bad he ended up eating something he didn't like anyway. But at least you got to enjoy your flatbread again! :thumbsup2

I've never been to the "other" park, but I loved your pictures! Especially the ones underneath the comic bubbles. SO CUTE. :goodvibes

And WOW. You weren't kidding about getting soaked! Yeesh! At least it was hot out so that they probably dried quickly. :cutie:

Looking forward to the next installment! popcorn::
 












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