TimNDansMom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2000
- Messages
- 3,093
July 31
Tuesday morning, we got up reasonably early, had some cereals in the room (I had bought some milk the night beforethe CVS Drugstore beside KK also carried milk) and were off for our day at Universal. DH had definitely decided to go golfing back at Orange National and dropped us off at the very convenient Drop-off at Universal. (I wish that WDW had something like this, especially when we have stayed off-site and the kids and I had to rely on the scheduled bus transportation.)
I was so glad that we had actual tickets this time. In March, we had vouchers which we had to exchange for our tickets and the wait in the line-up was horrendous. It wasnt so much that the line was terribly long, but the cashier at the window was so terribly slow! Anyway, we just breezed in, this time!
By now, it had started to rain and the roller coasters were closed, temporarily, so we headed off to Spiderman. We didnt have to wait and we on the ride in no time. I think I had more fun than last time, it is such a well done adventure! From there we headed off to Jurassic Park River Adventure, wearing our ponchos in the rain. We were able to walk straight on twice and had a ball! I bought a photothe expressions on our faces, priceless, as we headed down the flume at the end of the ride. We had considered going on Ripsaw Falls and Bilge-Rat Barges, but it looked like it was going to be a wet day and we didnt want to get THAT wet and never dry off. As it was, we walked off JP somewhat damp! We hadnt explored the Triceratops Discovery Trail before, so spent some time looking through the dinosaurs eyes, where you saw everything in infra-red. Unfortunately, not all of them were working and I wondered how long they had been that way. Over at the dinosaur nursery, Dan and Tim had fun guessing what type of dinosaur they could see in the eggs, with the x-ray. It took me a while to figure out how to use the equipment in order to do this, but Dan and Tim being the computer experts they are, figured it out in no time!
When it looked like Dueling Dragons was back up running, we headed over, put our stuff in a locker and walked right on, if you consider that endless tunnel, actually walking on. We had only been on Ice in March, so decided to go on Fire, first this time. I really liked this one and I managed to keep my eyes open for most of the ride. As we walked back to go over to the Ice side, Dan noticed an open door leading there and in no time we were back on the ride. I dont know if that door was left open intentionally because it wasnt busy, but no one was in site so I dont think we were butting in line. We thought that by comparison, Ice seemed a rougher ride and decided that we liked the smoother Fire. Again, I was able to keep my eyes open most of the timeI was amazed that I didnt get dizzy! Not wanting to over-do it, we headed off to see if Hulk was running again.
Along the way, we went on the Cat In The Hat Ride and again it was a walk-on. We were surprised how much you got whipped around, being a childrens ride, but quite enjoyed all the characters and how colourful it was. I did think that the walls could have been higher as I found it a bit distracting being able to see some of the behind the scenes equipment (lighting etc.)
After that, we went to get some Express Passes for the Hulk, which was back up and running. Dan was complaining that he was hungry, but our return time was only about 15 minutes away, so we ate some granola bars that I had brought and waited. We again stored our stuff in a locker and before we knew it, we were on the ride! It was terrificI only closed my eyes for the initial shoot out the cannonnow, how can golf compare to this adrenaline rush? When we came to the end, Dan told me that he had started to black out as we shot out the cannoncould this be why they turn you upside down in the corkscrew immediately after, so that the blood goes back to your brain? I was surprised when he said this because the last time we went on, he was fine. Maybe it was from hunger? Thank goodness he was okay and we headed straight for Margaritaville, next.
The restaurant was quite fun, especially when the volcano spouts out Margaritas down its side and into the huge glass. I enjoyed watching the music videos on the huge sail screens and the food wasnt bad either.
We had thought that after we were rejuvenated, wed head back and do Dr. Dooms Fearfall, but it had started to rain again and it didnt look like it was operating. Dan doesnt like drop rides, so was just as happy with the change of plan to head over to Universal Studios and do the rides that we had missed in March. By now, it was heading towards 3 oclock and DH would be picking us up at 6, so we didnt have a lot of time, depending on lines. We were lucky, because lines werent bad at all and we were able to do Earthquake, Men In Black and E.T. Adventure, go for a milkshake at Mels Drive-In and look around a bit, before we headed back to meet DH. The afternoon finally cleared up and the sun came out. I especially enjoyed wandering around the town of Amity, where Jaws is. It was just like being in a real seaside town. The kids even thought that we should have had lunch therewe will next time, as we still have a day left on our passes! The day came to an end far too quickly. Now that it had cleared up, it would have been nice to hang around until the fireworks. Next time
It had cleared up in the Universal area, but as we headed back to WDW, the sky gradually turned black. I wanted to check out the Caribbean Resort and decided that we could have dinner in the food court at Old Port Royale. It was a little confusing to discover that Old Port Royale was not located at the entrance and we drove around a bit in the pouring rain, before we located it. Inside, the food court area was set up so that you had to pay at each pod. Cant say that we liked that arrangement, but we werent going to go back out in the rain. After dinner, we looked around the gift shop until it stopped raining. DH decided that he didnt like this resort and wasnt interested in looking around any further. Even though I would have liked to see more of the resort, I had another plan up my sleeve, so we headed back to AKL.
This was to be our last night before heading back home and I wanted to go and have a drink in the Victoria Falls Lounge at AKL. DH liked the idea so after we dropped the kids off at the room, we went down to the lounge. Wanting something special, I decided to have a Margarita while DH chose a Martini. As we relaxed there, a CM came around shaking a very hot, cast iron skillet, filled with a mixture of coriander and cinnamon. As a wonderful spicy aroma filled the room, I made a mental note to try that out at home. DH was having a hard time keeping his eyes open, so we headed back up to the room. However, I wasnt ready to end my evening of memories yet!
I changed into my bathing suit and headed down to one of the spas in the pool area. Luckily, a couple was just leaving and I had the spa to myself for a while. By now, it was almost midnight and an absolutely gorgeous night. I could have sat there for a lot longer, but didnt want to become light-headed from the swirling hot water and reluctantly climbed out. I wondered if I would see any of the animals and went over to the fence behind the spa. To my surprise, all four of the giraffe were gracefully making their way over to a feeding stationa feed box set high in a tree, only a few yards away from where I stood. The largest giraffe noticed me standing there and stood off a bit from the others while they munched away, as if acting as guard. He watched me as if waiting for me to make some kind of move, but not wanting to break the spell, I tried not to move a muscle. The others would glance at me, but gave no appearance of being concerned, only curious, perhaps. I wondered what they were thinking and maybe they were thinking the same thing. I knew one thing though, this was most certainly Disney magic at work, giving me a special moment to remember about my trip. I dont know how long I stood there, it was quite a while, but finally the larger giraffe started slowly walking down a pathway toward the back of the savannah and one-by-one the others followed, disappearing into the darkness of the trees.
Tuesday morning, we got up reasonably early, had some cereals in the room (I had bought some milk the night beforethe CVS Drugstore beside KK also carried milk) and were off for our day at Universal. DH had definitely decided to go golfing back at Orange National and dropped us off at the very convenient Drop-off at Universal. (I wish that WDW had something like this, especially when we have stayed off-site and the kids and I had to rely on the scheduled bus transportation.)
I was so glad that we had actual tickets this time. In March, we had vouchers which we had to exchange for our tickets and the wait in the line-up was horrendous. It wasnt so much that the line was terribly long, but the cashier at the window was so terribly slow! Anyway, we just breezed in, this time!
By now, it had started to rain and the roller coasters were closed, temporarily, so we headed off to Spiderman. We didnt have to wait and we on the ride in no time. I think I had more fun than last time, it is such a well done adventure! From there we headed off to Jurassic Park River Adventure, wearing our ponchos in the rain. We were able to walk straight on twice and had a ball! I bought a photothe expressions on our faces, priceless, as we headed down the flume at the end of the ride. We had considered going on Ripsaw Falls and Bilge-Rat Barges, but it looked like it was going to be a wet day and we didnt want to get THAT wet and never dry off. As it was, we walked off JP somewhat damp! We hadnt explored the Triceratops Discovery Trail before, so spent some time looking through the dinosaurs eyes, where you saw everything in infra-red. Unfortunately, not all of them were working and I wondered how long they had been that way. Over at the dinosaur nursery, Dan and Tim had fun guessing what type of dinosaur they could see in the eggs, with the x-ray. It took me a while to figure out how to use the equipment in order to do this, but Dan and Tim being the computer experts they are, figured it out in no time!
When it looked like Dueling Dragons was back up running, we headed over, put our stuff in a locker and walked right on, if you consider that endless tunnel, actually walking on. We had only been on Ice in March, so decided to go on Fire, first this time. I really liked this one and I managed to keep my eyes open for most of the ride. As we walked back to go over to the Ice side, Dan noticed an open door leading there and in no time we were back on the ride. I dont know if that door was left open intentionally because it wasnt busy, but no one was in site so I dont think we were butting in line. We thought that by comparison, Ice seemed a rougher ride and decided that we liked the smoother Fire. Again, I was able to keep my eyes open most of the timeI was amazed that I didnt get dizzy! Not wanting to over-do it, we headed off to see if Hulk was running again.
Along the way, we went on the Cat In The Hat Ride and again it was a walk-on. We were surprised how much you got whipped around, being a childrens ride, but quite enjoyed all the characters and how colourful it was. I did think that the walls could have been higher as I found it a bit distracting being able to see some of the behind the scenes equipment (lighting etc.)
After that, we went to get some Express Passes for the Hulk, which was back up and running. Dan was complaining that he was hungry, but our return time was only about 15 minutes away, so we ate some granola bars that I had brought and waited. We again stored our stuff in a locker and before we knew it, we were on the ride! It was terrificI only closed my eyes for the initial shoot out the cannonnow, how can golf compare to this adrenaline rush? When we came to the end, Dan told me that he had started to black out as we shot out the cannoncould this be why they turn you upside down in the corkscrew immediately after, so that the blood goes back to your brain? I was surprised when he said this because the last time we went on, he was fine. Maybe it was from hunger? Thank goodness he was okay and we headed straight for Margaritaville, next.
The restaurant was quite fun, especially when the volcano spouts out Margaritas down its side and into the huge glass. I enjoyed watching the music videos on the huge sail screens and the food wasnt bad either.
We had thought that after we were rejuvenated, wed head back and do Dr. Dooms Fearfall, but it had started to rain again and it didnt look like it was operating. Dan doesnt like drop rides, so was just as happy with the change of plan to head over to Universal Studios and do the rides that we had missed in March. By now, it was heading towards 3 oclock and DH would be picking us up at 6, so we didnt have a lot of time, depending on lines. We were lucky, because lines werent bad at all and we were able to do Earthquake, Men In Black and E.T. Adventure, go for a milkshake at Mels Drive-In and look around a bit, before we headed back to meet DH. The afternoon finally cleared up and the sun came out. I especially enjoyed wandering around the town of Amity, where Jaws is. It was just like being in a real seaside town. The kids even thought that we should have had lunch therewe will next time, as we still have a day left on our passes! The day came to an end far too quickly. Now that it had cleared up, it would have been nice to hang around until the fireworks. Next time
It had cleared up in the Universal area, but as we headed back to WDW, the sky gradually turned black. I wanted to check out the Caribbean Resort and decided that we could have dinner in the food court at Old Port Royale. It was a little confusing to discover that Old Port Royale was not located at the entrance and we drove around a bit in the pouring rain, before we located it. Inside, the food court area was set up so that you had to pay at each pod. Cant say that we liked that arrangement, but we werent going to go back out in the rain. After dinner, we looked around the gift shop until it stopped raining. DH decided that he didnt like this resort and wasnt interested in looking around any further. Even though I would have liked to see more of the resort, I had another plan up my sleeve, so we headed back to AKL.
This was to be our last night before heading back home and I wanted to go and have a drink in the Victoria Falls Lounge at AKL. DH liked the idea so after we dropped the kids off at the room, we went down to the lounge. Wanting something special, I decided to have a Margarita while DH chose a Martini. As we relaxed there, a CM came around shaking a very hot, cast iron skillet, filled with a mixture of coriander and cinnamon. As a wonderful spicy aroma filled the room, I made a mental note to try that out at home. DH was having a hard time keeping his eyes open, so we headed back up to the room. However, I wasnt ready to end my evening of memories yet!
I changed into my bathing suit and headed down to one of the spas in the pool area. Luckily, a couple was just leaving and I had the spa to myself for a while. By now, it was almost midnight and an absolutely gorgeous night. I could have sat there for a lot longer, but didnt want to become light-headed from the swirling hot water and reluctantly climbed out. I wondered if I would see any of the animals and went over to the fence behind the spa. To my surprise, all four of the giraffe were gracefully making their way over to a feeding stationa feed box set high in a tree, only a few yards away from where I stood. The largest giraffe noticed me standing there and stood off a bit from the others while they munched away, as if acting as guard. He watched me as if waiting for me to make some kind of move, but not wanting to break the spell, I tried not to move a muscle. The others would glance at me, but gave no appearance of being concerned, only curious, perhaps. I wondered what they were thinking and maybe they were thinking the same thing. I knew one thing though, this was most certainly Disney magic at work, giving me a special moment to remember about my trip. I dont know how long I stood there, it was quite a while, but finally the larger giraffe started slowly walking down a pathway toward the back of the savannah and one-by-one the others followed, disappearing into the darkness of the trees.
