The pampering being finished and the room not being finished the trio head back toward the parks.
It was still a chilly day in Orlando and Ma was quickly tiring out having just traveled the red-eye across the country. It was decided that they rest of the day (or at least until the room was ready) would be spent at Universal Studios.
First stop after finally getting through the finger print/card scanning nightmare – eventually they were let though sans fingerprinting as the machines just would not register both ticket and fingerprint – was of course ET.
As Steven Spielberg and ET gave us the intrepid trio their instructions they were further treated to a different kind of pre show. A very young teenage couple found the ET line to be the ideal place to perfect their make out skills.
It was an intense display.
And nothing more should ever be said about it.
Ma yelped a yelp of glee when the bike she was riding was lifted off the ground by ET and she flew over the city.
After ET it was time for MIB. Swell and Sheepie did much better while Ma, this being her first time on MIB, just closed her eyes.
They also visited the Horror Make Up show which was great as usual. Swell and Sheepie had never seen an English speaking volunteer before this visit and found it interesting to be able to understand the volunteers objections and exclamations. Always a great show. Ma even liked it and humour is sometimes lost on her (probably due to language issues).
Jaws was, of course a hit, although Sheepie found it awkward sitting in the middle of the front row with a female boat captain.
“Don’t look straight ahead was his refrain”.
So he didn’t.
And she did a good job.
Many of the boat captains are very good at what they do. They should be applauded more than they are. They can make or break this ride. On this occasion she did a very good job and the ride was enjoyed by all. Ma was, admittedly a little frightened, but was excited to experience such a thing.
Then came The Mummy.
Now Swell said over and over to her Ma that this was a fast ride. Very fast. Dark too. Are you sure you want to try this? Ma insisted that she would and that it would be fine.
Throughout the ride all the car they were in could hear was Ma screaming.
After the ride Sheepie heard a gentle whimpering coming from Ma who was two seats over.
With the whimpering came tears.
With the tears came the phrase “You’re so stupid” over and over.
And over.
Ma wasn’t a fan of the ride.
Or at this point of Swell.
Swell reminder her that she warned her. Many times.
Many, many times.
But if you recall Ma sometimes has a listening problem.
And because of this listening problem she rode the Mummy.
And cried.
Ma soon regained her compsure but will be scarred for life.
The Mummy ended their time at Universal Studios – what with a life scarring and all.
The women wanted to get back to the hotel as with any Spa service you have access to the whirlpool for the day you had your spa services done.
While on the way out of the park the trio, finally, received word that the room was ready.
No, there was no upgrade available but the booked deluxe room was ready.
The walk back to the hotel was pleasant and the trio recounted their day of fun. And Swell and Sheepie laughed at Ma.
Not a mean laugh.
You know that teasing laugh you give a family member when they deserve it.
Upon arrival at the front desk they turned in their current key cards and received new ones for their deluxe room in the West Wing.
They ran down to the car and grabbed their luggage and then headed over to the room.
Immediately upon opening the door Sheepie knew that they would not be staying in this room.
Swell is very particular about hotel rooms.
If there is the faintest smell of smoke in the room they would not be staying in the room. If no other room is available in the hotel they would have to find a new hotel. No matter the time or the place.
Now this room didn’t have the faintest smell of smoke.
It had the overwhelming stench of smoke.
So they called the front desk.
Another room was located.
Sheepie left Ma and Swell in the hallway and made the very, very long walk back to the front desk where he was given another set of keys.
The front desk people were very kind.
And apologetic.
The keys gathered it was off to the new room.
Which turned out to be two doors down from the first.
And smelled worse.
So they called the front desk.
Another room was located.
Sheepie left Ma and Swell in the hallway and made the very, very long walk back to the front desk where he was given another set of keys.
The front desk people were very kind.
And apologetic.
The keys gathered it was off to the new room.
The new room was on a different floor but was also in the West Wing.
The first two rooms were on the ground floor and it was hypothesized that smokers had left the patio doors open while smoking on the patio.
Nice rooms but just not appropriate for Swell and Sheepie.
The third room smelled great. Sheepie = happy.
Swell not so much.
She was the one who had booked the rooms. She is very particular when booking hotels or booking flights. She will compare prices for days on end finding the best deal and the best room/flight available.
For this trip the best room available with an acceptable/good price was a deluxe room.
She insisted that this third room was not a deluxe room.
So back they headed back to the front desk.
The front desk people were very kind.
The young man at the front desk insisted that this was in fact a deluxe room. Sheepie said “see Swell you’re confused.”
And then he got that look.
THE look.
And he shuddered.
And he decided he shouldn’t have anymore to do with this discussion.
The Front Desk Man said that all rooms on this floor were deluxe.
Swell said but our room doesn’t have a sitting area or a separate shower, or a window cut out.
The Front Desk Man, who was very kind and considerate, replied “Yes all deluxe rooms have sitting areas, separate showers and window cut outs”.
Swell said but ours doesn’t.
The Front Desk Man said but you’re in a deluxe room.
And Swell said, “Well we’re supposed to be.”
Sheepie just stood there with a headache because he had no idea what a deluxe room was nor couldn’t follow the conversation if his life depended on it.
The gist of the conversation seemed to be that the Front Desk Man insisted that the room given to the trio was a deluxe because it was in a “deluxe area” of the hotel and Swell insisted that it wasn’t because it didn’t look like it was describe to her when she made the reservations.
Eventually the very kind and considerate Front Desk Man went back to talk to the manager.
He came back.
Still kind.
Still considerate.
And said “You’re not in a deluxe room. You’re in a handicap accessible room. I didn’t know that these rooms were different. We’ll get you a different room that I’ll walk you to in order to ensure that it is acceptable.”
So he walked them to the new room. Which was a long walk from the front desk. A very long walk.
He was apologetic as it was now two hours from when the first keys were handed to the trio and they had yet to get their room.
As they walked they talked about the hotel and the area. The young man telling them all that their keys were good for, FOTL, priority restaurant seating, getting into their room, etc.
He offered them a bottle of wine for their troubles.
“Thank you but we don’t drink wine” was the response.
“How about some Tuxedo strawberries then?”
“Sure, thanks. What about our welcome gift?”
“I’ll make sure it is sent to your room immediately.”
The room was great.
Apparently deluxe and smoke free.
As they were preparing to go to the spa to use the whirlpool a knock on the door revealed a hotel employee with their milk and cookies on top of the cookies were three halve strawberries.
Was this to be their “make up gift” a few small strawberries on top of their cookies? As the employee put the cookies on the counter they internally pondered this question and then heard another knock on the door.
It was another hotel employee, from the way he was dressed he was seemingly a management type, carrying another plate of cookies and more milk.
Apparently the first employee had transferred the welcome gift from the first room the trio was given and the second was bringing the recently requested cookies.
It is important to note that the strawberries were on the first plate of cookies.
The trio did not note this at the time of the cookie delivery.
Two sets of cookies!
Two sets of milk.
Heavenly.
Although to be honest Swell and Sheepie though that the cookies and milk were better at the RPR. There the milk was in a carafe and at the PBH it was two little containers of milk.
But a cookie is a cookies and all cookies are good.
Eventually the trio left and went to the Spa’s whirlpool.
Sheepie left before the other two as they were going to try out the Sauna. Eventually the all met back in the room before heading out to get dinner.
Dinner was simply a pizza in the Piazza.
It had turned into a pleasant evening and they enjoyed eating outside under the twinkling stars.
Ma was exhausted so the night finished with some TV in the room and an early lights out.
Next: IOA (finally) and some Mythos first timers.
It was still a chilly day in Orlando and Ma was quickly tiring out having just traveled the red-eye across the country. It was decided that they rest of the day (or at least until the room was ready) would be spent at Universal Studios.
First stop after finally getting through the finger print/card scanning nightmare – eventually they were let though sans fingerprinting as the machines just would not register both ticket and fingerprint – was of course ET.
As Steven Spielberg and ET gave us the intrepid trio their instructions they were further treated to a different kind of pre show. A very young teenage couple found the ET line to be the ideal place to perfect their make out skills.
It was an intense display.
And nothing more should ever be said about it.
Ma yelped a yelp of glee when the bike she was riding was lifted off the ground by ET and she flew over the city.
After ET it was time for MIB. Swell and Sheepie did much better while Ma, this being her first time on MIB, just closed her eyes.
They also visited the Horror Make Up show which was great as usual. Swell and Sheepie had never seen an English speaking volunteer before this visit and found it interesting to be able to understand the volunteers objections and exclamations. Always a great show. Ma even liked it and humour is sometimes lost on her (probably due to language issues).
Jaws was, of course a hit, although Sheepie found it awkward sitting in the middle of the front row with a female boat captain.
“Don’t look straight ahead was his refrain”.
So he didn’t.
And she did a good job.
Many of the boat captains are very good at what they do. They should be applauded more than they are. They can make or break this ride. On this occasion she did a very good job and the ride was enjoyed by all. Ma was, admittedly a little frightened, but was excited to experience such a thing.
Then came The Mummy.
Now Swell said over and over to her Ma that this was a fast ride. Very fast. Dark too. Are you sure you want to try this? Ma insisted that she would and that it would be fine.
Throughout the ride all the car they were in could hear was Ma screaming.
After the ride Sheepie heard a gentle whimpering coming from Ma who was two seats over.
With the whimpering came tears.
With the tears came the phrase “You’re so stupid” over and over.
And over.
Ma wasn’t a fan of the ride.
Or at this point of Swell.
Swell reminder her that she warned her. Many times.
Many, many times.
But if you recall Ma sometimes has a listening problem.
And because of this listening problem she rode the Mummy.
And cried.
Ma soon regained her compsure but will be scarred for life.
The Mummy ended their time at Universal Studios – what with a life scarring and all.
The women wanted to get back to the hotel as with any Spa service you have access to the whirlpool for the day you had your spa services done.
While on the way out of the park the trio, finally, received word that the room was ready.
No, there was no upgrade available but the booked deluxe room was ready.
The walk back to the hotel was pleasant and the trio recounted their day of fun. And Swell and Sheepie laughed at Ma.
Not a mean laugh.
You know that teasing laugh you give a family member when they deserve it.
Upon arrival at the front desk they turned in their current key cards and received new ones for their deluxe room in the West Wing.
They ran down to the car and grabbed their luggage and then headed over to the room.
Immediately upon opening the door Sheepie knew that they would not be staying in this room.
Swell is very particular about hotel rooms.
If there is the faintest smell of smoke in the room they would not be staying in the room. If no other room is available in the hotel they would have to find a new hotel. No matter the time or the place.
Now this room didn’t have the faintest smell of smoke.
It had the overwhelming stench of smoke.
So they called the front desk.
Another room was located.
Sheepie left Ma and Swell in the hallway and made the very, very long walk back to the front desk where he was given another set of keys.
The front desk people were very kind.
And apologetic.
The keys gathered it was off to the new room.
Which turned out to be two doors down from the first.
And smelled worse.
So they called the front desk.
Another room was located.
Sheepie left Ma and Swell in the hallway and made the very, very long walk back to the front desk where he was given another set of keys.
The front desk people were very kind.
And apologetic.
The keys gathered it was off to the new room.
The new room was on a different floor but was also in the West Wing.
The first two rooms were on the ground floor and it was hypothesized that smokers had left the patio doors open while smoking on the patio.
Nice rooms but just not appropriate for Swell and Sheepie.
The third room smelled great. Sheepie = happy.
Swell not so much.
She was the one who had booked the rooms. She is very particular when booking hotels or booking flights. She will compare prices for days on end finding the best deal and the best room/flight available.
For this trip the best room available with an acceptable/good price was a deluxe room.
She insisted that this third room was not a deluxe room.
So back they headed back to the front desk.
The front desk people were very kind.
The young man at the front desk insisted that this was in fact a deluxe room. Sheepie said “see Swell you’re confused.”
And then he got that look.
THE look.
And he shuddered.
And he decided he shouldn’t have anymore to do with this discussion.
The Front Desk Man said that all rooms on this floor were deluxe.
Swell said but our room doesn’t have a sitting area or a separate shower, or a window cut out.
The Front Desk Man, who was very kind and considerate, replied “Yes all deluxe rooms have sitting areas, separate showers and window cut outs”.
Swell said but ours doesn’t.
The Front Desk Man said but you’re in a deluxe room.
And Swell said, “Well we’re supposed to be.”
Sheepie just stood there with a headache because he had no idea what a deluxe room was nor couldn’t follow the conversation if his life depended on it.
The gist of the conversation seemed to be that the Front Desk Man insisted that the room given to the trio was a deluxe because it was in a “deluxe area” of the hotel and Swell insisted that it wasn’t because it didn’t look like it was describe to her when she made the reservations.
Eventually the very kind and considerate Front Desk Man went back to talk to the manager.
He came back.
Still kind.
Still considerate.
And said “You’re not in a deluxe room. You’re in a handicap accessible room. I didn’t know that these rooms were different. We’ll get you a different room that I’ll walk you to in order to ensure that it is acceptable.”
So he walked them to the new room. Which was a long walk from the front desk. A very long walk.
He was apologetic as it was now two hours from when the first keys were handed to the trio and they had yet to get their room.
As they walked they talked about the hotel and the area. The young man telling them all that their keys were good for, FOTL, priority restaurant seating, getting into their room, etc.
He offered them a bottle of wine for their troubles.
“Thank you but we don’t drink wine” was the response.
“How about some Tuxedo strawberries then?”
“Sure, thanks. What about our welcome gift?”
“I’ll make sure it is sent to your room immediately.”
The room was great.
Apparently deluxe and smoke free.
As they were preparing to go to the spa to use the whirlpool a knock on the door revealed a hotel employee with their milk and cookies on top of the cookies were three halve strawberries.
Was this to be their “make up gift” a few small strawberries on top of their cookies? As the employee put the cookies on the counter they internally pondered this question and then heard another knock on the door.
It was another hotel employee, from the way he was dressed he was seemingly a management type, carrying another plate of cookies and more milk.
Apparently the first employee had transferred the welcome gift from the first room the trio was given and the second was bringing the recently requested cookies.
It is important to note that the strawberries were on the first plate of cookies.
The trio did not note this at the time of the cookie delivery.
Two sets of cookies!
Two sets of milk.
Heavenly.
Although to be honest Swell and Sheepie though that the cookies and milk were better at the RPR. There the milk was in a carafe and at the PBH it was two little containers of milk.
But a cookie is a cookies and all cookies are good.
Eventually the trio left and went to the Spa’s whirlpool.
Sheepie left before the other two as they were going to try out the Sauna. Eventually the all met back in the room before heading out to get dinner.
Dinner was simply a pizza in the Piazza.
It had turned into a pleasant evening and they enjoyed eating outside under the twinkling stars.
Ma was exhausted so the night finished with some TV in the room and an early lights out.
Next: IOA (finally) and some Mythos first timers.
You should have paid for parking your car. If you don't WANT to pay for parking (and, really, who does?), then you should grab Mears, a taxi or car service. 
or is it that they choose to carefully research their trips to make them as much of a positive experience as possible (whether deluxe or on a dime, it's all spelled out here if you look hard enough)...
and, if
