To The Well Organized Mind Universal Is But the Next Great Adventure

[jamesnnick]

Prologue:
June, 2013--“Mom, I want to run a 5K,” Lain pleaded…what she failed to understand was that if I were running, everyone else better start running because the Zombie Apocalypse had likely begun. But she used the Puss in Boots eyes, and I was a goner, so my attempt at becoming a runner commenced. I used the Zombie Run Couch to 5K app (side note: Don’t attempt to use the Zombie Run app in the dark while Michael Jackson’s Thriller is part of your playlist….unless you’re also training for Halloween Horror Nights). Anyway, this attempt at running sparked me to sign up for a Healthy Wage Challenge, which led to a $1000 win which helped to fund this trip to Orlando. See--and you were wondering what this could possibly have to do with a trip report. In case anyone is curious, the puppy-dog eyed Lain that put this whole thing in motion ran for about ¼ mile of the first 5K that she did with me then swore she could run no longer. I ended up carrying her for a good portion of the rest.
Fast Forward to October, 2014
A three generation trip to Orlando…..
Welcome to my trip report! I just looked at the weather forecast for next week…the words high and 30 degrees were in the same sentence. In an attempt to fool myself into thinking I’m warm without turning up the heat, I’m writing a trip report. Remembering 85 and sunny is just as good as being there, right?? I got so much great information from reading tips before our trip; hopefully, I’ll be able to answer some questions that others may have before they embark on their own grand adventures—or this report will become a time vortex that sucks the productivity out of your day (hello Candy Crush).
A quick introduction to the cast:

Grandma and Papa…my fantastic parents. They waffled a bit about whether or not to come on the trip—mmmmm, waffles, but who can resist spending an entire week with their favorite child (I’m not naming any names, but it’s probably me). My mom had a knee replacement done in December, so she has very limited mobility—or did have until she rented a scooter from Walker for the trip!

The D-Girl and Kids. My younger sister D-girl and her two beautiful little girls Ky (4) and Kels (1). This was the first time the little girls have been on a major trip—everything was new, exciting, and amazing!

The Pointer Family. Me (38), J2—my husband (pushing 40), Nickers (12) and Lain (9). I’m a speech therapist for 2 great school districts, and J2 is an electrician. I’m the planner, the others follow blindly (insert evil laugh here!!)

The Dodger Family. My older brother Dopey, his wife Shell, and their two great kids M (13) and Z-man (11). Late additions and late arrivals, they joined us halfway through the trip. A sports loving family—we were all excited when they elected to come along!

If you've made it this far--thanks for reading along--can't wait to share our adventure with you!

 

[jamesnnick]

Chapter One: The Longest Day
I glanced up at the clock near the end of my lesson on synonyms and antonyms: 1:28 PM Woo and Hoo!!. I sent my students back to their classroom because I was leavin’ on a jet plane (no need to thank me for the ear worm). I gathered up my things and headed down the hall to meet D-girl, who teaches Early Childhood in the same school that I work in. The plan of attack looked like this:
Pick up Ky from 4K (in the same school)
Pick up Kels from daycare
Pick up Nickers from Middle School
Pick up Lain from Elementary School
Meet J2 at a park and ride
Meet Grandma and Papa at a McDonald’s along the way
Arrive at the airport

Our flight wasn’t until 8:20, but the airport is about a 3 hour drive and we didn’t want to chance getting stuck in rush hour traffic. Amazingly enough, all of the above listed steps went smoothly, and in the right order. We were at the airport and wrangling our stuff up to the Southwest counter by 5:15. Our group was checking a total of 6 bags, 2 car seats, and a double stroller. I was really, really glad to lighten our load. I swear, we must have looked like a clown car getting off the bus from the Super Saver parking to the terminal. Grandma got a transport wheelchair at the airport, and the service was good. We were at our gate and ready to depart by 6:15. I had packed fruit and wraps, so dinner was served. Luckily, the airport had a little play area so Ky and Kels were entertained until it was time to board. We had paid for the Early Bird Check In, and I was glad that we did because our flight was full, and depending on how the little girls were behaving, we wanted the option of sitting close to them or as far as we could possibly get….kidding, just kidding! We wanted to be sure that we could all sit together.

Lain and J2 played War on the plane, which has somehow become a Pointer family tradition. I was in a row with D-girl, Ky, and Kels, and Grandma and Papa were in front of us. The little girls were sooooo good the plane. All those horror stories you hear about babies on planes…well, that wasn’t us!

We touched down around 11:30. D-girl and Gram stayed with Kels while the rest of us went to gather our luggage. It took a loooooonnnngggg time. Gramps went back to get Grandma and D-girl so we could get our rental car and got lost. Now Gramps usually has a great sense of direction, but his internal GPS appeared to be broken on this trip because this wasn’t the last time he got lost. We finally all managed to gather up again and hauled everything to the rental vehicle.

Ky had been a trooper, but it was now after 1 AM, and she was nearing the end of her rope. As we saw the signs the Universal Orlando Resorts, she did what 4 year olds do when they’re over-tired and over-stimulated….she lost it. D-girl reports that the red left turn light to enter Universal is the longest light of her life.

We pulled up next to the fountain in front of the Hard Rock Hotel.
I was still awake enough to appreciate how cool the fountain is.

We hadn’t stayed here before, and it made a great first impression.

I approached the check-in desk and gave my name…a brief hint of panic crossed the face of the front desk clerk, but he quickly composed himself and said, “I’ll need to go in the back to complete your paperwork.” I’m no world traveler, but I knew this wasn’t standard procedure for check-in. He came back about 10 minutes later to let us know that due to an electrical problem, they didn’t have any rooms for us that night. They did have rooms available at Portofino Bay across the street, and there would be no charge for the night. We could move back to the Hard Rock for the rest of our stay. They gave us a letter for the front desk at the Portifino and included vouchers for breakfast at The Kitchen. It was so late, and I was so tired that I just said thanks and trudged back out to the van.

I gave Papa a call to let them know about the hotel change, and they were lost….remember what I said about that internal GPS…I handed the phone to J2, and as he was giving them directions, Nickers reported that he wasn’t feeling the best. It had been a turbulent flight, and it was really late. I let him out, and he walked around outside the van trying to get some fresh air. Papa finally found us, and we led him across the street to the Portifino. As we pulled in to our parking spot, it all caught up to Nickers, and he tossed his cookies in the back seat of the rental van. Yup, as J2 unloaded the luggage, I was cleaning up vomit at 2 AM in the parking lot of a hotel that I hadn’t booked….but there were palm trees.

We met up with Grandma and Papa in the lobby, and I gave the front desk clerk the letter. He had to describe where the room was twice because we were all glassy eyed. I tried to ask how far it was because Grandma was relying on her cane at this point. He assured us that the rooms weren’t far….it still took us a long time to get there and after getting cleaned up, we fell into bed to sleep until we woke up (or until 10 AM checkout, whichever came first). As I rewrite this, it sounds worse than it was at the time…of course, I am a perpetual optimist…the rest of my traveling party may have a different viewpoint! Stay tuned...because the longest day did come to an end, and the fun was about to begin!!

 

[jamesnnick]

Day 2—We need to go where and do what by when??
7:30 AM, and the alarm roused me from sleep; both J2 and I loved the alarm clocks at the resorts—they eased you into waking up with this gentle little chirping. Luckily, I’m the lightest sleeper in the family, and I was able to turn it off and leave everyone else snoozing. I needed to be up this early because Walker was delivering Grandma’s scooter (to the Hard Rock….) at 8:30, so Papa and I were on a mission. I took a few minutes to look around the room at the Portofino—it was beautiful, and so was our lake view!

I showered, dressed, and met Papa in the hallway—everyone in his room was still sound asleep too. We headed across the street in the rental van to the Hard Rock where we explained to the very nice young men at valet what we were doing. They showed us where to park, and within 15 minutes, Walker pulled up with the scooter. After some brief scooter lessons for Papa, we loaded it in the back of the van and returned to the Portofino where Papa drove the scooter up to the room (side note: Papa is not a good driver…good thing it’s Grandma’s scooter). Everyone else was still snoozing, and I needed to upgrade one of our tickets, so Papa and I took the path to Universal—the weather was perfect, and we loved the scenery. The upgrade was very smooth; if Papa had brought his ticket, we might have headed into the park and jumped on a couple of rides but, alas, it was back in the room, so we headed back.

By the time we returned, almost everyone was awake and eating some of the breakfast foods we had packed. I almost had to resort to a crowbar to pry Nickers out of bed, but soon everyone was awake and ready for some fun. Of course, first there were some logistics that had to be taken care of…were we ever going to make it into the parks?!? We needed to load our luggage back into the rental vehicles so we could check out of Portofino with the exception of one suitcase that I didn’t want to stay in the heat. I started rolling that bag back down the walking path with plans to check into the Hard Rock while Grandpa and J2 loaded the rest of the bags back into the vans. I probably looked really silly rolling a full size suitcase down the path, but it was the quickest, easiest way. I went into the lobby of the Hard Rock and up to the Rewards Members check-in desk. The desk clerk pulled up my reservation and quickly got on the phone. At this point, I was a bit concerned, but I had no need to be. The manager came out, introduced himself, and apologized for last night’s mistake. He was very gracious and let us know that getting our rooms would be a top priority. We would receive a text when they were ready. I was gracious right back—mistakes happen! I finished check in and paid for the remainder of our stay with Universal gift cards (just a note, this works fine but is a bit of work for the desk clerk and makes check in take a bit longer). With no charge for the first night of our stay, I now had some unexpected extra funds left on the gift cards which would come in handy in the parks. I left that one bag with luggage services with the promise that it would be delivered to our room as soon as it was ready.

By the time everyone in our party finished all of the little details that come with changing locations, it was almost 11:00. We were all sooooo ready for the fun to begin! We split up at that point because Grandma, Papa, D-girl, and the little girls needed to get their express passes. Everyone was headed down the path to Universal!! T

 

[jamesnnick]

Priority One: The Mummy…Lain had been too short for this ride the last time, and we had watched a video on YouTube. She was determined to conquer it. We found out on this trip that she is the ultimate thrill seeker! We entered the express queue (walk on), and as we walked through the themed line, she started to get cold feet. We all reassured her that she would love it, and luckily the short line didn’t give her too much time to think before we were strapped in and ready to face our doom. As the ride took off, I looked over at her, and there was a huge grin on her face—that girl has a need for speed!
We gathered our things from the lockers, and it was Nickers turn to choose. He had been 9 on our last trip, so he remembered some of Universal, and he opted for:

J2 is a huge Simpsons fan, and there had been so much added since our last visit. We were all excited to experience it. We hopped on the ride (express wait time 8 minutes). We all love this ride, and luckily none of us suffer from motion sickness.
Next up was J2’s choice. His favorite is Men in Black, and we were right next to it (express wait time—walk on). J2 and I are a bit competitive, and he always beats me…well, not this time. I’m happy to report that my score of 274, 223 crushed his pitiful little 158,780…and yes, I did hit the red button!

 

[jamesnnick]

I checked my phone and saw that the rest of the crew had made it to the parks—they had been on Shrek and Ky and Kels were having a blast in the Curious George area.
The Pointer family was ready for something to eat, so we agreed to hook up after lunch. I’m pretty certain that every single person that was in the park decided to eat at that moment (at least that’s what the length of the line in Fast Food Boulevard suggested), but we couldn’t believe how quickly they moved people through. We were quickly at the front, and we were all headed different places. J2 opted for the Clogger and a Duff beer

, I went for the turkey wrap, Nickers wasn’t very hungry yet, so he went for the fruit cup, and Lain got the kid’s chicken thumbs. We were had to try out a Flaming Moe (two thumbs up both for the experience and the taste)

and the Groovy Grove Juice (just okay). We were impressed with the food and speed of service all the way around.

After we’d eaten our fill, we headed to the Kid Zone Pizza Company where the rest of the group was polishing off their own lunch. A few pictures with Woody Woodpecker (I don’t think the kids knew who it was), and we were energized and ready for some more fun. J2 decided he was going to split off and try out Rip Ride and Rockit. I took Kels who was ready for a nap, and the rest went headed to a classic,

. Ky didn’t love the chase scene, but she liked the visit to ET’s planet—Grandma was a bit disappointed that the feature where ET says a personal good-bye was being renovated, and it got a thumbs up from the rest. It was around this time that I received the text from the Hard Rock that our rooms were ready.

We all wanted to go to the afternoon Animal Actors show, and we had just enough time for Papa, Nickers, Lain, and I to be turned into Minions—luckily with the express pass, the wait was only 10 minutes.

Minion Mayhem was tons of fun; Lain wanted to stay for the dance party, but we had to hurry back across the park. We entered just before the show started and sat behind the scooter parking area. It was a cute show, but I think it was better during some of our previous visits.

 

[coastgirl]

Great start--looking forward to more. The late-night van cleaning made me cringe... but glad you all managed to have a comfy sleep.

 

[pixeegrl]

I'm on board! Love it so far. Sorry about your "puketastic" first night

 

[Lisa0620]

I'm really enjoying your report! I'm impressed by the lack of extended family drama and enjoying all the little details. Thanks so much for sharing!

 

[ALDSMD]

Loving it!! Going in April and hoping to get some good tips.

 

[jamesnnick]

Great start--looking forward to more. The late-night van cleaning made me cringe... but glad you all managed to have a comfy sleep.

Well, it wasn't the high point of the trip, but we'll never forget it!

I'm on board! Love it so far. Sorry about your "puketastic" first night

Thanks for following along--can't wait to share more

I'm really enjoying your report! I'm impressed by the lack of extended family drama and enjoying all the little details. Thanks so much for sharing!

Our family is really pretty drama free--now DH's family...we don't vacation with them!

Loving it!! Going in April and hoping to get some good tips.

I'm going to try not to be jealous that we're looking back and you're looking forward!

 

[jamesnnick]

Lain was jumping out of her skin excited because we had promised that after the show we would head for Diagon Alley. As we neared the area, there was some confusion. There were crowds gathering, and staff members were applying wristbands. We got in line, then out of line, then in line again. We weren’t really sure what the wrist bands were for and whether we needed them to get into the area, and navigating crowds with a scooter and double stroller isn’t exactly easy. It turns out that the wrist bands were to allow access to the area until 6:00 (the park closed at 5:00), and you then needed to exit via the Hogwarts Express to Islands of Adventure.

We finally entered Diagon Alley. I love all of the visual trickery that’s used in this area—the use of forced perspective and angles really make it look hidden.

First stop: Olivander’s, which had no line. We were guided in, and our group was near the front on the right side. Lain had been talking about buying a wand for months now, and she was so excited to see the show. The wizard scanned the room, and his eyes came to rest on Lain….yup, mummy dust, and she was about to have the wand choose her. It was amazing! She’s just teetering on that edge where the magic is still real, and in those few minutes, it was! She came away with a huge smile and a wand with a core from the tail hair of a Unicorn!

We exited the shop, and the dragon choose that moment to grace us with a blast of fire.

Ky was not expecting a fire breathing dragon….oops! She was ready to exit Diagon Alley pronto! We made a brief swing down Knockturn Alley, and we decided to split. The Pointer family wanted to experience a bit more Harry Potter while the rest of the group was going to seek out something a bit more friendly for the little girls. They headed to the Hogwarts Express (30 minute wait).

The Pointer Family explored a few more nooks and crannies before getting in line for our longest wait of the day….nope, not Gringotts (the line had been closed with waits at 120 minutes), Florean Fortiscue’s Ice Cream Parlor. We couldn’t wait to experience butterbeer ice cream! We waited about 35 minutes, and ordered butterbeer ice cream in a dish along with a dish of salted caramel blondie and apple crumble. Worth every minute of the wait. The butterbeer was extremely rich and creamy and the flavors of the others was amazing…might be worth the price of the plane ticket right there!
After the ice cream, it was 4:57. We saw that the line for the Hogwarts Express was 60 minutes. We really didn’t want to use up the last of our first park day in line, so instead we hoofed it out the exit and headed over for just a taste of Islands of Adventure.

 

[jamesnnick]

Spiderman was calling,

and it was a 5 minute wait with our express passes. After we helped Spidey save the day, we decided to head to Jurassic Park (walk on). Neither of the kids had ever been on this one before, and both loved it. We only got a bit damp too—not the full soaking that some of those in front of us received! We were all getting tired, and we knew we didn’t need to try to cram in everything tonight, so we started working our way toward the exit. We took a brief spin on Cat in the Hat (see what I did there) which was another walk on and left the park vowing to return tomorrow.

As we approached the boat dock, we saw the rest of our group in line for the hotel—they had spent some time in Seussville as well. Papa, J2, and I hopped the boat to the Portofino to grab our vehicles while the rest of the group headed to the Hard Rock.

We got a call from them just before we headed over to park and unload our suitcases—turns out Papa had handed over the keys….to their room at the Portofino—they were stuck in the hallway waiting for us! We unloaded our stuff and tried to find our way into the hotel (note—unload your luggage outside the lobby….don’t try to bring it up from the self-parking—you either need to go the long way around or up 2 flights of stairs). We ended up using the courtesy phone at the bottom of the stairs to call for bell services; the bell hop was amazing—I swear he looked like the Cat in the Hat balancing all of our stuff!

We got into our rooms, and management had left some lovely fruit platters along with a note apologizing for the inconvenience of the previous night.

The kids were starving and it was like a bunch of locusts…good thing I got pictures right away! The connecting rooms were extremely nice, and we loved our pool view.

This day happened to be my birthday, so Papa, Grandma, and D-girl offered to keep all the kids and order in pizza so J2 and I could catch a nice dinner out—vacationing with family has its perks! We headed back to Citywalk and after a bit of wandering ended up choosing NBA City…mostly because the wait for a table was short. I had the NBA 3 on 3 with quesadillas, parmesan crusted chicken tenders, and ginger teriyaki wings, and J2 had the grilled chicken club.

I was apprehensive, but the food and service were fantastic. We arrived back at the hotel and made arrangements for the next day. D-girl was going to let Ky and Kels sleep in a bit to recover from all of the excitement, and the rest of us were headed for early entry!
Miles walked: 11.3

 

[jamesnnick]

Day 3—Joy in the little moments
My new favorite alarm clock told us it was time for the fun to begin. We were up, dressed, and on our way to Universal by 7:40. We decided to take the walking path—although Grandma’s scooter had been charging all night, it was struggling a bit with even the slightest incline…we thought it was a bit odd but shrugged it off. The lines for early entry weren’t long, and soon we were entering a much less crowded Diagon Alley. We headed straight for Gringott’s, and there was a posted 30 minute wait. Grandma transferred from her scooter to a courtesy wheelchair, and we entered the queue.

Let me take a brief moment to describe how extremely professional and accommodating the Universal staff was with the scooter. Every ride attendant was able to clearly inform us on where to park the scooter and were great about getting us the transfer wheelchairs. The entire experience was wonderful. Because we had the wheelchair, we didn’t need to place our bags in the lockers, and we were able to take some great pictures of the interior of the building.

It is extremely well done—for big fans like us, it really exceeded expectations….it changes it from a ride to an experience. At one point in line, we were split—Grandma and I took the elevator up to the ride platform while the rest of our party took the stairs. It meant that we didn’t all ride together, but we were within minutes of each other. The ride was tamer than Forbidden Journey but still had enough excitement to impress our young thrill seekers!

We exited and stopped to try some Fishy Green Ale. Of all of the unique food and drinks we were able to try on this trip, this was the only one that we didn’t love. The drink itself has a bit of a cinnamon flavor which is good, and the “fish eggs” at the bottom have a berry flavor which is also good. The problem lies in the delivery method. It comes with a wide straw to enable the drinker to suck the “fish eggs” up. Of course, if you suck hard enough to get them, they fly up the straw and hit you in the back of the throat. After you determine that you’re not really choking, you can squish them and swallow them. A few different members of our group tested it out, but even though the flavors themselves were good, we got tired of the choke, gag, swallow experience really fast (Note: a more talented group than us may have mastered this quickly enough to enjoy the drink).

We explored a couple of the shops and went up for Nickers and Lain to have a nice chat with the shrunken head. There was no line at all, so they really had some time to talk and get pictures.

By this time, the rest of the park had just opened, so we headed out to introduce Grandma and Papa to the Simpsons (5 minute wait). This was another ride with a transfer chair. We enjoy the tongue-in-cheek humor of this ride! Since we were right there, J2, Nickers, Lain, and Papa went for a spin on Men in Black (walk on) while Grandma and I headed back towards Diagon Alley. The Hogwarts Express was just opening up, and it was only a short time before the rest of the crew joined us at the line. J2 was quick to report that his 328,400 had creamed my score from the previous day. After checking in with Papa for confirmation of his score, I had to accept the agony of defeat…at least I had the rest of the day in the parks to cushion the blow.


We entered the queue for the Hogwarts Express (10 minute wait). We were able to go through the first portion of the line with the scooter, and then near the ride platform, Grandma transferred to a wheelchair while the attendants loaded her scooter for the trip. Again, the visual effects of Platform 9 ¾ really impressed me….although the effect is difficult to photograph, video and live action are much more impressive!

It wasn’t long before we were taking the trip to Hogsmeade—a very clever way to link the areas together and well done. Make sure to watch both the window and door as the action happens on both.

 

[HM]

Enjoying your report quite a bit. Hope to see more soon!

 

[jamesnnick]

We unloaded and headed straight for Forbidden Journey (15 minute wait). Grandma wasn’t planning to ride, but I told her that the queue was worth seeing, so we parked and got a transfer wheelchair. The line was moving quickly, but wheelchairs go through the castle tour line, so we were able to pause long enough to see everything without hindering anyone behind us. At the front of the line, we did a Grandma swap where she stayed in the child swap room while the rest of us rode. This is my absolute favorite ride in any of the parks, and everyone else loved it as well.

As we exited the gift shop, we got a call from D-girl. She had the little girls in Seussville. James hopped on Flight of the Hippogriff (walk on) with Nickers and Lain while I organized the meet-up (Side Note: Organizing between 9 and 13 people in the park is like herding cats…even with cell phones). We sent Lain with Grandma and Papa toward the bright colors of Dr. Seuss while J2, Nickers and I conquered Dragon Challenge (walk on). Before the trip, Nickers had been a bit apprehensive about the idea of the big coasters. I had to nudge him a bit to try this one out, but as soon as we were off blue, he took the shortcut straight to the line for red. Add another coaster lover to the Pointer family!

We all met up in Seussville and went straight to the Caroseussal (walk on)…who doesn’t love this one!

It was time for yet another split—part of having such a wide variety of ages meant that we kept coming together and splitting up again to meet the needs of everyone. Right now, that meant Grandma and I were able to take Kels to for a bit of water play in the Seuss area while Papa, Lain, J2, and Nickers went to get wet in a more dramatic fashion (Hulk, Spiderman, Ripsaw Falls, and Jurrasic Park). D-girl took Ky so she could go on some of the rides that Kels wasn’t quite big enough for (Cat in the Hat and High in the Sky Trolley). We made plans to meet back in Seussville around lunch time. Boy, oh boy, did Kels have fun in that water—she could have stayed there all day!

Soon D-girl and Ky were back to join us splashing around the stepping stones. This is where this day’s title came from….it’s not all about the thrill rides…I was reliving bringing Nickers and Lain as little ones as I watched their cousins jump, splash, and giggle!

A bit damp around the edges, we decided that we were ready for lunch. Circus McGurkus was right next door, and Ky was intrigued by the idea of eating at the restaurant that she had seen from the ride. The food was pretty typical quick service fare—I had enjoyed Fast Food Boulevard the day before a bit more. After lunch, we were headed to explore some dinosaurs. Papa and Grandma took the stroller with the little girls while J2, Nickers, Lain, and I took D-girl on Forbidden Journey (20 minute wait). She declared that she like it, but once was enough…maybe we shouldn’t have gone right after lunch!

We met up with the rest in the Discovery Center. The Pointer family had never explored this area before, and we entered to find Ky very excited about watching a baby dinosaur hatch. Kels was sound asleep in the stroller and much less impressed. We decided to finish exploring the Discovery Center (where I played a trivia game with Nickers and found out that I know nothing about dinosaurs) and head back to the Hard Rock for a swim. Lain was dying for another ride on Jurassic Adventure, and J2 agreed to take her since he was already wet. We planned to meet back in the room. We took our time leaving the park and made a couple of stops for butterbeer and candy to fill the bottomless pit that our almost teenage Nickers has become.

 

[jamesnnick]

This would be the last visit to Universal for Grandma, Papa, D-girl, and the little girls on this trip. They were checking out of the Hard Rock and headed for our condo at Wyndham Bonnet Creek while the Pointer Family had one more night on-site. D-girl had moved all of the luggage over to our room before she hit the parks so they wouldn’t need to worry about check out time. We all suited up to hit the pool except Grandma who wanted us out so she could hit the bed for a nap!

The pool at the Hard Rock was great for the little kids—zero depth entry and lots of space where they could touch. It wouldn’t have been great if you wanted to do some serious swimming, but it suited what we wanted perfectly. We splashed, swam, and soaked up the sun. Nickers and J2 even fit in a quick game of ping pong. Then J2 decided that he and Papa should kick back in a couple of loungers with a cold beer….they ended up with two beers in souvenir cups….which, with included tip, came to $42—I hope they enjoyed every sip because that’s probably the most expensive beer they’ll ever drink!

The little girls would have stayed in the pool forever, but we headed back to dry off and make a grocery stop before checking into the condo. We grabbed some breakfast foods, some things for quick and easy meals, drinks, and some snacks and were off to the Wyndham Bonnet Creek. Check in was quick and easy, and we were headed to our rooms. We had two 2-bedroom condos reserved and had requested that they be close. We ended up on the same floor of the same building, and we were very happy with the quality of the rooms for the price (one booked through Sky Auction and the other through an eBay seller). Grandma, Papa, D-girl, and the little girls would be sharing one while the Pointer Family and Dodger Family shared the other.

We had a pool and mini-golf right outside of our building, and we could see a number of other pools around the lake. We didn’t take a lot of time to explore because time was making fools of us again, and we were hungry. Grandma, Papa, D-girl, and the little girls just had sandwiches while the Pointer Family made a quick stop at Noodles and took it back to the hotel. It was going to be another early entry morning for the Pointer Family while the rest headed to the Magic Kingdom for the first glimpse of another castle.
Miles walked: 8.2

 

[coastgirl]

Glad to see you enjoyed Diagon Alley so much--I love seeing HP fans say it was more than they expected! Can't wait to give it a go myself. Happy for your dd that she got to be picked by a wand. I hope I can see my 17 yo niece get hers--she is so excited to be joining us.

My kids are 11 and 14, and I do that "aww..." thing whenever I see the pics of our old trips, or see little ones enjoying themselves in that little-one way.

 

[jamesnnick]

Glad to see you enjoyed Diagon Alley so much--I love seeing HP fans say it was more than they expected! Can't wait to give it a go myself. Happy for your dd that she got to be picked by a wand. I hope I can see my 17 yo niece get hers--she is so excited to be joining us.

My kids are 11 and 14, and I do that "aww..." thing whenever I see the pics of our old trips, or see little ones enjoying themselves in that little-one way.

The wand ceremony was wonderful--Olivander's assistant was really great with dd...here's hoping your niece is chosen as well!

 

[jamesnnick]

Day 3—There’s something fishy about today…and it isn’t the green ale!

The sky was just starting to light up as we woke up for our last day of early entry—I think everyone would be ready to sleep in a bit the next day! We didn’t want to waste a moment, though, so everyone was up, dressed, and ready to roll. First stop—Diagon Alley for another chance to Escape From Gringotts (wait 25 minutes). This time we needed to store our things in the lockers, but the process was pretty painless with the low crowds. It was quite funny when we got to the part of the queue where they split you into groups before entering the elevators, the team member was commenting in amazement on the people that got out of bed on vacation to make early entry. No doubt, my desire to avoid standing in lines trumps my desire to sleep in any day! Gringotts was just as good the second time; I love the combination of real set and video! After we exited, we spent some time really exploring all of the shops and doing a bit of shopping.

Lain picked out a Pygmy Puff and the matching shirt, but she wasn’t ready to part with her souvenir money until she had explored the shop at the exit of Despicable Me. We headed that direction, and since we were passing the Mummy (5 minutes), we took another quick trip to meet our doom.

We also hadn’t been on Transformers (walk on) so that was next on the list. This ride was really high on action; a bit low on story line…J2 assured me that was just like the movies! I thought it was just okay. I had hoped to ride Rip, Ride, and Rockit while J2 took the kids on Minion Mayhem, but it was down this morning. Lain was desperate to remain a Minion, but unfortunately, she became human again. Her only consolation was the dance party where she and Nickers had their pictures taken with Dave. She thoroughly (and I mean thoroughly) explored the shop before deciding to return to Diagon Alley for the Pygmy Puff after all.

We took a quick spin through Shrek (walk on) which is a fun little romp…although a bit rough around the edges. We had promised Nickers a stop at the Kwikie Mart because he hadn’t spent any of his souvenir money yet. We swung through Diagon Alley to pick up Alana’s choices, and made a quick stop at Florean Fortiscue’s to try out the Peanut Butter and Strawberry ice cream (Nickers liked it—I preferred the previous day’s flavors). I couldn’t resist the Salted Caramel Blondie with it…it was so good, it trumped our need to try new things! One more ride on Men in Black (5 minute wait) and Simpsons (5 minute wait), and we were all getting hungry. It was around 10:00, and we still had our vouchers for the breakfast buffet at The Kitchen. We headed back to the Hard Rock to check out and grab a bite to eat…exiting was a little bitter sweet. We had one day left on our tickets, but we weren’t sure whether we would have the chance to use it or not. We had done everything on our must-do list at least once and had a great time.

We completed the express check out and loaded our things into the van. Breakfast was calling, and it was fantastic!! I can’t say enough about the freshness, quality and variety offered at The Kitchen. From fruit to a wide variety of pastries to hot dishes—there wasn’t really anything we could have thought to add.

We were properly fueled and leaving Universal Resorts by mid-day. We considered heading to the condo to explore the property, but as we were driving down the highway, we saw the billboards for Sea World. The Pointer Family would be going to Discovery Cove later that week, and 14 day passes to Sea World were included. We decided to drop our things off and head back to spend some quality time with the sea life (hence today’s title).

 

[jamesnnick]

In my mind, Sea World is like Universal in that it doesn’t require intensive planning to have an enjoyable day. We were able to arrive at the gates after lunch, grab a map, and have a great time. We turned left and made our way towards Journey to Atlantis (5 minute wait). This ride may not have the appeal of Jurrasic River Adventure or Magic Kingdom’s Splash Mountain, but the young Pointers seem to have some sort of strange affinity for dropping straight down into water…maybe they were pelicans in a former life. We were keeping an eye on the clock because I really wanted to see Blue Horizons. We made a stop at Empire of the Penguins in honor of Dopey who had yet to join us on this trip but has a serious love of all things penguin. The kids (and adults for that matter) proclaimed the ride portion just okay. We would have loved to spend more time viewing the penguins, but the show was going to begin soon, so we hurried out with the plan to come back for more later. We were seated just before the beginning of the show. Nickers and Lain had their choice of seats in the soak zone while J2 and I chose higher seats for the sake of my camera. I highly recommend the show; just know they are not kidding about the soak zone!

As long as the kids were soaked already, J2 took them for another go-round on Journey to Atlantis (10 minute wait) while I stayed at the bottom to take pictures. I may have put some quarters into the water cannon to ensure that they got a bit of extra drenching….

There were some very interesting displays just off of the gift shop exiting the ride.

We didn’t stay long because the kids were shivering in the air conditioning. We headed into the sun to drip dry on our way to Pacific Point. Only at Sea World will I happily shell out lots of money for the pleasure of handling slimy dead fish and squid. The Pointer quickly mastered the art of throwing the fish at their target sea lion hard and fast to avoid theft by the birds. It wasn’t long before our trays were empty. The kids were dry enough to head back inside, so we opted for Shark Encounter. This is a great exhibit; everyone loves the glass tunnel with the sharks swimming right overhead. After we exited, I took Nickers on Kraken while J2 and Lain attempted to spend a bit more time with the penguins. We planned to meet up by the sea turtle exhibit. Nickers enjoyed Kraken, but it ranked below both Hulk and Dragon Challenge on his greatest hits list. We met up with the others—their penguin attempt had been a failure because the ride was down which led to a huge backup to enter the exhibit. They were able to spend some time with the manatees instead.

It was definitely time to get our hands on some slimy fish again, so we headed to feed the rays. About 2 fish in, Nickers swore that one of the rays bit him—we attempted to explain the clear lack of any sort of ability to bite, but he was convinced, so Lain became the proud owner of lots of dead fish. Luckily, she loved the experience. Hands washed, we crossed the park to brave the Wild Arctic. If you are looking for value in a theme park ride, this is it….it gives you a complete chiropractic adjustment whether you’re looking for one or not. We all found it to be a bit on the rough side; however, the animal exhibits at the exit were some of our favorites. The size of those walruses was amazing! Everyone was starting to drag a bit, so we loaded up and headed back to Bonnet Creek where we met up with the rest of the crew.