To Timbuktu and Back...Updated...rest of IOA-DH and Kate going out the back gate.

[Dismom+two]

To Timbuktu and Back


First of all…I want to remind you of our cast of characters.

Dad 40something
Mom (me) 39+tax
Katie (the princess) 16
Dan (strong and silent) 16
Zack (Mr. Perfect hair) 14
Emily (the normal one) 12
Felicity (dad’s girlfriend….aka the GPS)

We flew out of Manchester, Nh on Sunday…a Southwest flight at 12:05pm with our must have “A” boarding passes in hand! Our flight was pretty much uneventful. We did get to sing Happy Birthday to a young lady turning 10….I think her name was Katie.

We landed in Orlando about 30 minutes early which was a wonderful way to start our out vacation.
After retrieving our baggage….including “Barney” Katie’s very, VERY large purple suitcase, we headed down a level to the car rental desks. As we were traveled down the escalator, there was a older woman who I guess didn’t realize the gaggle of people behind her and stopped as soon as she stepped off which just about caused a 10 people pile up!! Stupid people really amaze me and this is the only the first time we have had to deal with them this week!!

We found our van at the Dollar Rental after not having to stand in any lines thanks to Dads membership status, by-passing the 20+ people standing in line and to much of our excitement; we were given a brand new van. It was a Town and Country…very nice and comfortable! The kids enjoyed the AC coming down from their very own vents!

Felicity was told were we wanted to go and she was suction cupped to the windshield. She did a fine job getting us to our hotel. She didn’t always behave this week but we will get to that later!!

Our hotel was very nice!! We stayed at the Residence Inn at SeaWorld. We had a double queen suite on the 5th floor with a pool side view. The room also had a pull-out sofa (where Zack slept) and we then requested a roll-a-way for Dan. The hotel offered a wonderful hot complimentary breakfast each morning. It consisted of oatmeal, three different cold cereals, scrambled eggs, hash, grits, potatoes, ham, waffles, pancakes, pastries, muffins, donuts, toast, bagels and various fruits as well at juices, coffee, tea and soda.

Seeing at it was about 4ish by the time we arrived at our hotel and the parks close at 7 we decided to just hang out, go for a swim and just relax the rest of the day.

The kids found the arcade in the hotel while we checked the place out. We visited the pool and hot tub…MY favorite place!!

We went for dinner at the Golden Coral, there were no complaints about dinner, and they had a wide variety of choices. After dinner, we then went for another swim before bed and I enjoyed what I had hoped would be a great MaiTai; however, I would have gotten a better buzz off of a ½ a lite beer!!! Oh well!

In the next installment, a freaking guy on stilts, two amazing ladies and “My Beads are bigger than yours Beads!”

 

[disneylizzy]

Looking forward to more! I'm taking my four kids in August and really excited about it.

I was thinking about Golden Corral - how far from Universal is it?

BTW, kudos to you for a great relationship with your ex. (Mine isn't going)

 

[Dismom+two]

Looking forward to more! I'm taking my four kids in August and really excited about it.

I was thinking about Golden Corral - how far from Universal is it?

BTW, kudos to you for a great relationship with your ex. (Mine isn't going)

OK...I guess I should clarify......dad in this is my DH....you may be confused by the "girlfriend". The "GIRLFRIEND" is a GPS...Gobal Positioning Satalite...

DH does a LOT of traveling and brings his GPS with him all the time and calls it his "girlfriend". He does NOT have a real girlfriend...he has his dear wonderful wife.....ME!

So sorry for the confusion!!!!

 

[disneylizzy]

Oooooo ... thanks for the clarification... I am such an idiot!

 

[Dismom+two]

Oooooo ... thanks for the clarification... I am such an idiot!

OHHHH your not an idiot!!

 

[macraven]

i was wondering why the gal felicity would be stuck up against the windshield.
i was thinking , wow, you are not a jealous woman........having felicity between you and the Mr.....



and then i wondered, where is felicity going to sleep.....



i hear ya dizzylizzy...........married but the Mr Mac always stays home.
i don't take him to orlando with me.
he is a party pooper

 

[Dismom+two]

The first time DH refered to the GPS as his "girlfriend"....I was talking to him on the cell while he was away on one of his trips. He mentioned he was in the car with his girlfriend, of course my response was "WHO???" then he explained.....OHHHHHH he actually freaked me out for a few moments. Now that is the joke...and she has a different name in every city or state. His girlfriend never lets him down....she always gets him to where he needs to be!

 

[dreamscometrue47]

Can't wait to read more....

It must be a "guy" thing, calling their GPS their "girlfriend". My DH does the exact same thing...He travels frequently for work and will call me when he is in between appointments, in the car, and I have to be quiet because his "girlfriend" is talking. gotta admit...she has a nice voice!!

 

[Dismom+two]

Day 2…..Universal Studios

We woke about 7am….showers taken by Bruce, Zack and me ….in that order. Others took showers the night before. For a little inside info….Zack needs time to do his hair….JUST RIGHT. Wash, dry, flat iron….spray….brush….flat iron….check…brush…flat iron…etc etc..etc.


We all went down for a wonderful breakfast….piled into the van…programmed Felicity…suctioned her to the windshield and off we went. Felicity was a very good girl and got us to our destination. I’m starting to understand why DH loves her.

We paid our $11 for parking….parked in Jaws 210 and started our hike to the park. I really LOVE those moving sidewalks…it sure saves a ton of time. What really annoys me is the people that just stand on them…. “ahhhh people…defeating the purpose here!!! DUHHHH” Some old lady walking with a walker was making more headway then these people just standing on the moving sidewalk!! As I say… “Lead, Follow or Get out of my Way!!”

As we exited the last of the moving sidewalks and down into CityWalk…there was a SEA of people and LOTS of kids….all in the same color tshirts… “oh what fun…school trip kids!!” OH my…let’s hope they are all going to IOA!! We walked down…took a right and walked towards the Studios. We stopped and took our must-do pictures of the Globe and then continued to the gate. I passed out the tickets…went through the gate first and collected the tickets and back into my wallet they went.

First thing first! We went into the main shop just inside the gate to trade in our computer printed papers for our meal deal cards which we had to trade in for our wristbands. There was an elderly lady in there working and she was so happy to help us. After getting our cards, she pulled out a map and asked us…. “Do you know where you are?” I perked right up and said… “YES…UNIVERSAL STUDIOS!!” She looked at me and I laughed and said….oh we have been here before…so she said “oh so you know where everything is” folded up the map, handed it to us and told us to have fun!



We stopped to get our wristbands for the Meal Deal across the way and decided to also get the sipper cups. We were told that as long as we bought our bands each day…we could get our free refills….sounded like a deal to us!!!

From there we made a potty break….made a LOT of those…..and then off to THE MUMMY!! This was a new ride for all of us. We locked up all of our things…into the locker goes….my fanny pack (I know…I know…they’re lame), Emily’s sling bag….Bruce’s hat….Dan’s hat….sunglasses…cameras….cell phones….6 sipper cups….oh wait….Zack’s sunglasses…now everyone…shoulders into it…..CLOSED the door….and stood back. Whew!!! It all fit!!
Off to the ride….its amazing…when the wait says 10 minutes….its 9 ½ minutes just to get through the long cue line to get to the actual line and then ….30 seconds actually waiting in line before getting on the ride.

DH really liked the ride…he thought the special effects were great. We all liked the ride however found it real short…..I’m glad I didn’t stand in line for 90 minutes or I would have been really bummed!!

My notes from the trip stopped after the first day so as far as what kind of order we did things from here is just a guess.

At some point early in the day…we stopped for some shock treatment!!

We rode Twister…Emily’s favorite. It was very hard on some of these things for all of us to stay together so I pretty much kept hold of Dan and Em and DH kept hold of Katie and Zack. We were in the front row just in front of the gas pumps for this. We enjoyed it…kind of corny but that last Ka thunk always gets me!!


Zack was sort of miffed that he got a little wet….messes up the hair you know!!

We stood in line for maybe 30 minutes to get into Shrek…always a fun show! There is nothing like Donkey snot!!!

I believe the next thing we did was grab some lunch. We ate at Mel’s…Dan and Emily thought it was the best hamburger they have had, I really need to get them out more!!
Kate and Zack found a mirror to check things right after eating….as you can see………

We all decided that ET needed help with his home planet…so we jumped onto our bikes and were successful in our mission. Long live ET!!


Jaws was the next thing to tackle….we almost threw Dan is to distract the shark but the boat captain stopped us. I guess we would have regretted it in the long run….

Once again….Zack got a little wet….just wait until the next two days….if you think your getting wet now!!!

Bruce, Dan, Zack and Katie wanted to see Fear Factor… Em and I, on the other hand would rather not see people eating bugs. While they all went to the show, Em and I went for a walk and took some pictures. This gave me a chance to check out the different little alleys, Emily and I had a blast.

They all loved the show…Bruce however got grossed out watching them eat disgusting stuff. Dan…being the “man-of-few-words….went on and on about the stunts…telling me all about them. I love to see him excited about things!!

Emily, Dan and I found some shade under the MIB sign while the others went to shoot aliens. I do like this ride but decided to hang out with the kids instead. Dan doesn’t like when it spins….I really don’t blame him!

Let’s see….what did we do next….OH yes…the Horror Make-Up Show. I LOVE this show…it is SO funny!! I don’t think I laughed so hard this week then in that show….Oh no….I’m wrong…Zack got soaked….several times….I laughed pretty hard there too!!

Anyway….back to the show, the guys in this show are just great. The one guy….his facial expressions are just priceless!!! I could sit in this show all day…what I like about it is that it’s different every time depending on the “volunteer” they get up there.

While coming out of the Make-up show, Bruce, Kate and Zack wanted to go into the Terminator show. I have seen this one at least a couple of times and is not one of my favorites. Dan, Em and I stayed out and made a bathroom break as well as checked out the jewelry store across the street. I picked out several items to put on my Christmas list…I like my bling!!

While waiting for the others to emerge from the latest show, we were graced by the appearance of two fine ladies! I just had to get my picture taken with them…they were great!

We were all back together and some needed another potty break….right this way….we were just there. On our way there, we were passed up by this freaky looking guy on stilts heading over to the Mummy ride. We were able to stop him for some pictures! He had the coolest looking eyes!! Zack now wants contacts like his!!

Like I said earlier, I don’t remember everything in order here but I do believe we headed for something to eat before leaving the park. We ate at the World Expo…I think that’s what its called. As you can see…we all enjoyed our meal.

While eating, Doc came riding in on his bike….I think someone forgot to tell him they packed up and left. Did they leave him behind??? He did look a bit more confused then usual!

It was time to call it a day….we headed toward the exit with a couple of stops in various shops. My favorite stop was right by the gate…I found a t shirt on clearance from the Mardi Gras days…..MY BEADS ARE BIGGER THEN YOUR BEADS….I had to have it…..after all….

My beads ARE bigger then most!!!​

 

[ATAfamily]

OK...I guess I should clarify......dad in this is my DH....you may be confused by the "girlfriend". The "GIRLFRIEND" is a GPS...Gobal Positioning Satalite...

DH does a LOT of traveling and brings his GPS with him all the time and calls it his "girlfriend". He does NOT have a real girlfriend...he has his dear wonderful wife.....ME!

So sorry for the confusion!!!!

*LOL* It just so happens that we borrowed our neighbor's GPS this weekend and her name is "Lola". DH just loved her and now he wants his own "Lola" to call his own

I really am enjoying your trip report and can't wait to read more.

 

[NashvilleTrio]

Really enjoying your report! More, please!!!
-melissa

 

[Dismom+two]

I will work on some more tonight and hope to get it posted....my next installment will probably be short...it will be our very short visit to Downtown Disney.

 

[Dismom+two]

When I last left you….we were just leaving Universal Studios. We decided we needed a Disney fix….yes that’s right, I said it…..on the Universal Studio thread…..a DISNEY FIX!! We like to share the love!

We headed to the van, programmed Felicity….stuck her to the window and away we went. We were there in no time and before we were even out of the van….I could feel the happiness welling up inside me. We parked the van by McDonalds and made our way into the Market Place. We are now surrounded in magic….little girls just out of Bippity Boppity Boutique in their little princess dresses….hair all done up…glittering in the sun…little ones walking around with their Mickey ears and Goofy hats… it was MAGICAL!! DH on the other hand said it was capitalism at its best!!! He can be such a Stitch!!

We headed into the large Disney store and poked around in there. I got a couple of Mickey charms for my sister and my niece that they had asked for and Emily got herself some Mickey earrings.
Katie on the other hand got herself a TIARA! If you have forgotten….she is a PRINCESS!!!

We walked for a bit….went into the Mr. Potato Head store looking for some “angry eyes” for a friend….by the way…they didn’t have any

....
and got a snack.
Emily enjoyed a Mickey Bar….

After a short visit to the Happiest Place on Earth…..well…as close as we were going to get to the Happiest Place on Earth with paying $85 a day…

....we headed back to the hotel.

I had promised Dan we could go swimming so we suited up and headed down to the pool. I enjoyed the hot tub….soothing my angry muscles and hoping they would be happier tomorrow.


Next installment brings us to Busch Gardens….stay tuned!!

 

[Disney owl]

gReat reports & photos looking forward to reading more

 

[Dismom+two]

We are up to Tuesday now…day three….second day in a park.

We got up a tad bit earlier today knowing we had a drive ahead of us. We did the same shower routine…..hair was washed, dry and flattened and we went down for breakfast.

After filling our bellies, we piled into the van….programmed Felicity…suctioned her to the window…got good and comfortable and off we went. Felicity’s job today was to get us to Tampa Bay, Busch Gardens.

One thing that we noticed on our journey to BG was that there were not many signs pointing the way to the park. At one point, we were actually wondering if we would really be where we wanted to be when Felicity announced “You have REACHED you Destination!”

Lucky for Felicity...we did arrive in the correct destination!

As Felicity promised, we arrived in about 1hour 15 minutes getting us to the parking lot just after 9:30 which was just about when the park opened. We were parked fairly close to walk to the gate without the assistance of the parking lot tram. We were about a ¼ of the way to the gate…we realized Dan didn’t have his hat. Dan and dad headed back to the van as the rest of us continued to the gate.

Within a few moments we were all back together just inside the entrance. We got a map and planned our attack. Our first stop?? You guessed it…a potty break!

We headed in and went to the left….the first coaster we came to was Gwazi. We tossed everything into a locker…lucky there were no cups to have to deal with today; it was an easy locker packing day. We went up the ramp; apparently there are two tracks on this coaster however only one of them was running. Dad and Katie rode the back of the train while the rest of us just jumped into other lines. This coaster was pretty amazing!! Normally, wooded coasters really jerk me around and they bother me but this was actually kind of smooth. It was certainly a fabulous ride! Different from other woodys I have been on!

Next, we traveled through the Bird Gardens….Katie’s LEAST favorite…she’s afraid of birds. The rest of us enjoyed visiting our feathered friends of various colors and sizes…as well as a variety of lizards. I have a funny story about Katie and a lizard. We stopped at a couple of cages with what I remember as being Monitor Lizards and other kinds. One of them was right up at the fence so Katie squatted down to get a better look. She decided he needed to be greeted so as she was talking to him…he was not really looking at her. He might have been but from out of the corner of his eye…well all of a sudden…he lurched forward a bit…just to psyche out the princess and of course she lost her balanced and fell on her royal butt!!
We all had a real good laugh….at the princess’ expense!

We found out here that Katie was actually hatched out of a very large, cartoon like egg….

Our next stop was the main reason for the visit to this park. If I haven’t mentioned it before…we are BIG roller coaster fans. Emily has been anticipating this ride for months!
SHEIKRA!!
Apparently this ride is going floorless this summer and they had one of the….trains….not sure if they call it that…on display and there were reporters all around taking pictures of it. They must have had a news conference or something earlier.
The tourist that we are…just plowed on through it all!!

We gazed up at the large steel coaster….giggling like school girls…ok…so I was giggling like a little school girl…I couldn’t wait to get on this thing!!

In case you don’t know of this coaster…let me clue you in.

SheiKra carries riders up 200 feet at 45 degrees, then hurtles them 70 mph back toward the ground at a 90-degree angle. It is the first coaster of its kind in the Americas and only the third in the world.

SheiKra is the first dive coaster to incorporate an Immelmann loop, a water feature, and a second 90-degree 138-foot drop through an underground tunnel. SheiKra also includes a 360-degree climbing carousel. 3,188 feet of steel track offers a total ride time of just over three minutes.

In other words…..OH MY ADDRENILINE! Before they drop you down that 90 degrees…they hang you just over the hill and let you sit there about 5 seconds before you go hurtling towards the ground….and I mean…you can’t even see the track…all you see are people on the ground looking up at you like deer in headlights. “HELLO PEOPLE!!”

We found the lockers and shoved everything in…OH another potty break…don’t want anyone soiling themselves on this one!!

Through the entrance, past the “guard” they have on duty…making sure that nobody has any loose items that may fall on spectators heads ….we made our way through the cue…up the stairs and practically walked right onto the ride. I think we only had to wait maybe 5 minutes. SWEET!!

We got onto the ride…I had some trouble clicking the seatbelt harness….bigger BEADS then most if you remember …however a ride operator was more then happy to help me out. We are ready to go. The ride started to move out of the station and I was so excited I couldn’t stand it!! Before we knew it…we were coming back into the station…the ride over. Great ride!!! If you go to this park for only this ride you wouldn’t be disappointed! UNBELIEVABLE!! I wanted to right on again…. “Later dear” DH promises.

After Sheikra, we rescued our belongings from the locker and headed over to Stanley Falls. I don’t know WHO Stanley is or why he fell but we got wet!!!



Emily and I shared a log while Katie and Zack shared a log. It was a nice ride with a 40 foot drop…I mean it was no RipSaw Falls but still a decent ride.

Stay tuned for more of Busch Gardens ….our ride down the Congo…protecting our lunch in Kenya and surviving a tidal wave.

By the way….Zack gets WET ….you don’t want to miss it!!

 

[Motherfletcher]

Great report! My kids love Mel's and they are pretty much alone on that on these boards.
My first "ride" when the rope drops is the bathroom.
My kids have sprinted to Sheikra in time to be the only 2 on the whole train. I have only rode it once (at night) and was impressed by the view before the "drop". I was not ready to do it again!

 

[Dismom+two]

MotherfletcherI'm so happy your enjoying my report...there is so much more to come! I think my DD12...Emily...is the queen of potty breaks!!

while we were at BG, we didn't have to sprint to anything...the crowd was so light...it was wonderful!!

I hope you continue to read along as I post new installments!!

 

[Motherfletcher]

I'll stay tuned next week when we get back from Universal!

 

[Andrea from PA]

What were the dates of your trip?

How bad were the crowds at Universal without the front of line perk?

I bought the $85 Universal passes & can't decide to go sooner & stay off site or later & stay at HRH.

Could you have done multi days at Tampa BG? (Trying to decide if we should book a night near there)

Loving the trip report! Especially the Perfect Hair Boy -- ah, guy -- My DS 11 is just starting to hit this phase

 

[Dismom+two]

What were the dates of your trip?

How bad were the crowds at Universal without the front of line perk?

I bought the $85 Universal passes & can't decide to go sooner & stay off site or later & stay at HRH.

Could you have done multi days at Tampa BG? (Trying to decide if we should book a night near there)

Loving the trip report! Especially the Perfect Hair Boy -- ah, guy -- My DS 11 is just starting to hit this phase

We were there April 22-26th and the crowds were not bad at all. I think the longest we ever stood in a line was about 30 minutes.

I guess you could do a multi day at BG....we were walking right on rides but if you want to do EVERYTHING...we didn't do any safari or anything...we just did some rides and left before closing.

I'm glad your enjoying the report...I will be working on another installment soon.