therealgoofy
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 26, 2003
- Messages
- 168
Two Texans and a Mouse - Day 5 - 9/26/03 - IOA/Universal
Day 5, 9/26
Dates: 9/22-9/29 Austin, TX to WDW
Coronado Springs Resort
Cast Members:
Chris ambitious planner, twenty-something (ok, 29, but that still counts)
Jill (girlfriend) recent college grad that has no idea whats in store for her. Newbie to everything WDW/Universal
IIIII'MMMMM BAAAAAA-AAAACK! I had a little medical emergency with my father the last couple of weeks, so I wasn't able to spend all my free time writing for the good people at the DIS. Long story short, everything is fine and my dad is the proud owner of a new game boy (aka pacemaker) implanted in his chest. Like I said everything is fine though
Now, where the heck did I leave off. Oh yeah, Day 6
When I woke up this morning I still didnt feel 100% but the drugs had suppressed everything but a mild sore throat. It didnt matter because today we would be going to Universal IOA/Universal and this was uncharted territory for the both of us.
We went down to the Pepper Market for a breakfast. We consistently saw the same managers working in the restaurant and I asked if he ever took a day off. He just laughed at me like hed been working there since 1999 without a break. It was a great place to start each day though.
After jotting down some quick directions we were out the door to IOA. We drove the rental car and were there in like 15-20 minutes. The parking garage was enormous and you had to walk about 35 miles to get to CityWalk, but they had moving sidewalks so it wasnt too bad. The sky looked pretty dark for this early in the morning, but it never rained.
We walked through the CityWalk admiring how well it was designed. I saw Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville and said, Its 5 oclock somewhere, but Jill called me a drunk and told me no chance. Keep in mind that its like 10 a.m. Instead I caught a wave in my ongoing attempt to embarrass myself. Picture
We finally got to the front gates of IOA and used the machines out front to get our tickets that we (I) had purchased on the net 30 seconds later, we were in the front gate. We had purchased the Kodak waterproof cameras this summer to get the Front of the Line Passes for IOA and Universal. These would save us a tremendous amount of time later on in the day. The Guest Relations was tucked way over to the left as you walked in.
First stop of the day was the Incredible Hulk which had little to no wait. Jill had to put her purse in a locker that was at the exit of the ride, because they wouldnt let her take it with her. These lockers seemed user friendly at first and they were free. Your fingerprint is your key, however, you have to remember the locker number. We walked right on the ride and loved every second of it. Id even say that the first 10 seconds are better than the first 10 seconds of RnRC. They shoot you up the climb hill and you are turned upside-down at the highest point of the roller coaster. It was a huge rush. The ride is incredibly smooth too!! It may be the best rollercoaster Ive ever ridden! Heres a pic as you come off the ride.
As we go back to the lockers to get Jills purse theres a Lemming in front of us that cant get the locker open. FINALLY, after about 5 minutes, they let us see if we can get ours open and Jill was able to do it on the first try. They were shocked and probably never made it to another ride the rest of the day because they were stuck there. This wouldnt be our last encounter with the lockers however.
We headed over to Dr. Dooms Fear Fall which can be found at a ton of amusement parks, but its fun, so we stood in line. This turned out to be one of the longest lines of the day (about 30 minutes) and the ride wasnt half as fun as the one at Fiesta, TX. They dont take you up and down enough. The theming wasnt' that cool either.
We saw SPIDERMAN in the street on the way over to his ride. We had a FP (Im going to say fast pass even though I know its not the technical term, so dont you guys start sending me hate mail) but we didnt even need it because the line was only 5 minutes long. I have seen this ride countless time on the Travel Channel, etc, but it gets NO RESPECT. This is the number one theme park ride Ive ever been on HANDS DOWN. Im not going to give away the details, but if youre within 300 miles of this ride, you have to go on it. Its impossible to explain to someone the logistics of it, but all you need to know is that it is a perfect ride. I was floored that someone could come up with the idea for that ride.
The themeing in the Marvel Comics land was great. Ive heard a lot of negative things about how the theming just wasnt as good at Universal, but I disagree. We both loved all of the lands at IOA. We were on our way back to the Jurrasic Park ride but were stopped by Popeye. We decided to skip the Ripsaw Falls (cant remember, but it may have been closed), but it looked like a lot of fun. The drop was huge.
We got on Jurrasic Park with a very little wait and I have to say this is the one that I was most looking forward too. It kind of disappointed. I thought it could have been a bit longer but all in all it was a good ride. I wish there was a better storyline. We took this afterwards.
The queue for Dueling Dragons, and Im not kidding, is about 28.4 miles long. I was shocked that there isnt some shortcut to the front of the line during the slow season. When we got there, we were almost too tired to ride. It was a decent coaster, but it definitely lost something without the dueling <b>TEXAN TIP #14: Wait until the second coaster opens up before riding the Dueling Dragons. </b> The Hulk was much better in my opinion. As we exited, we found getting our baggage out of the locker to be much easier than the lockers at the Hulk. Not to mention, you got a little tag with your number on it which made it easier for individuals who only have 3 braincells like myself.
We walked past Mythos which looked really cool, but we were close to finishing the park and didnt really have time to stop and eat. The next showtime for Sinbad was 20 minutes away, so we walked over to Suess Landing, which was my favorite land in the park. Very creative theming. We rode the carousel and took pic1 and pic 2. Afterwards, we walked back over to Sinbad only to find that the next show was now 30 minutes away. We passed.
The last ride that we rode was the Cat in the Hat. I liked this one, but Im a sucker for Dr. Suess.
We headed back over to the Hulk to ride it again. This time we whipped out our FP and got to the front of the line at the same time as everyone else. Oh well, no wait is no wait. After exiting we tried to get Jills purse out of the locker, but the fingerprint technology didnt work. We let someone else go in front of us and they somehow opened OUR locker with THEIR fingerprint! Thinking back, we should have acted like we didnt know whose purse it was and then ran off with it. THAT would have been funny.
We strolled back over to Spiderman and did it again to with the FP. The lines were non-existant but we still felt cool taking the other route to the front. This ride was actually better the second time. I hearby claim this ride the BEST theme park ride of all-time. Its truly perfect and almost anyone can ride it.
Well, its only a little past noon so we decide that were going to try and do both parks in one day. Were insane! We walked through the CityWalk and there it stood .THE NBA CAFÉ . LAAAAAAAA!!! We took a picture outside and decided that we should have lunch there. While Jill talked to me about the future and our plans for the weekend, my eyes were glued to NBA highlights on flat screen tvs all around the entire restaurant. I had a pecan crusted halibut sandwich which was fantastic. Jill had the salmon. I found Mecca in the back corner of the restaurant Rudy T kissing the Rockets championship trophy . Go Rockets! We scoured the gift shop for the new Rockets jerseys but they hadnt come in yet. Their loss. I would have spent the money and been Yao Ming for the rest of the day if they had 'em.
We left the restaurant and went over to Universal Studios which was pretty damn busy. I suspect because it was Friday afternoon. Oh yeah, we somehow forgot to take pictures here so our photographic journey will have to seize for the time being. We headed straight for Shrek, but the line was enormous. We actually had to wait through two shows before being let into the pre-show. I was kind of burned out on 4-D movies by this point in the trip but this one was pretty cool. I still think that a Bugs Life was better though.
We headed over to Twister which had no line. I thought it was setup really cool. They had you going from room to room until the Twister came. <b>TEXAN TIP #15: STAND IN THE MIDDLE OR BACK ROW FOR TWISTER. </b> We were standing up front and I could actually see the top of the room and how the Twister was created, so that took a bit of the fun out, but it was still pretty creative. The roof overhead felt like it was going to come off at any minute.
We walked over towards Jaws and I told Jill that out of the 6 parks that we had visited, this was my least favorite as far as theming goes. We walked by a new ride that said was going to open next year I believe THE MUMMY. Jaws had an enormous line but we used the FP and got right on the boat. When I was a kid, I remember how cool Jaws was out in Universal California but I thought this one was pretty lame. I would have been mad as hell if I had to wait in that long line. Jill was unimpressed too, not so much with the ride, but of the fact that I mooned the shark as he swam by.
We next went over to MIB and used our FP. There was little to no wait. The queue was really cool and the ride was a lot of fun too. However, there was this little girl that was riding with us that persisted on telling me exactly what to do the entire time and who to shoot. I stink at these types of rides. Jill ALWAYS beats me and it really urks me to no end. I make up for it by walking fast to the next ride so that she has to slow jog through the park.
Next stop, Back to the Future. It was getting later in the afternoon and I still wasnt feeling too hot, but I kept going. We used our FP, but the line was still pretty lengthy. <b>TEXAN TIP #16: IF YOURE TALL, DONT SIT IN THE BACK SEAT OF THIS RIDE! </b> My head kept pounding the top of the ride to the point where I physically had to duck down and didnt enjoy it at all. Jill hit her head on the back quite a bit too. All in all, it would have been pretty cool if I was sitting up front.
E.T. was our next and last adventure for the day. We got there right before the animal planet live show got out so we didnt have to wait long at all. This ride has a unique smell to it. It reminds me of all the natatoriums that I visited while on the swim team. This is a great older ride that can be even more fun if you give them a fake name at the beginning. Trust me, Chris and Jill arent near as fun to hear E.T. say as some of the other things that I could have thought of.
We skipped Earthquake and Terminator 3d. Ive heard that Terminator is awesome, but at that point during the day, I just wanted to go home. We headed back to the hotel and decided to take a short nap before getting dinner. We went through the entire Unofficial Guide but decided that nothing sounded appetizing at that point in time. I think we were both just sick of eating. We ended up going over to the Disney boardwalk which is a hidden gem that a lot of people probably dont know about. We only spent an hour there, but there was a lot going on. We stopped for several street performers including a magician that almost made this kid cry. You could spot it a mile away that this kid was a little Booger Kid who was always getting into trouble. I think the guy even said Against all better judgement, why dont you go ahead and come on up here and help me out. He persisted to make fun of the kid which made me laugh. There was also a guy who balanced objects on his chin that was quite impressive. Although I thought tha tthere was no chance that I was going to get the NBA Café and ESPN in the same day, Jill agreed. Unfortunately, the place was PACKED. We ended up heading back to the hotel for cheesecake at the Pepper Market and relaxing evening in the hammock..by hammock I mean in bed in front of the TV.
Next stop...the final 2 days.
Day 5, 9/26
Dates: 9/22-9/29 Austin, TX to WDW
Coronado Springs Resort
Cast Members:
Chris ambitious planner, twenty-something (ok, 29, but that still counts)
Jill (girlfriend) recent college grad that has no idea whats in store for her. Newbie to everything WDW/Universal
IIIII'MMMMM BAAAAAA-AAAACK! I had a little medical emergency with my father the last couple of weeks, so I wasn't able to spend all my free time writing for the good people at the DIS. Long story short, everything is fine and my dad is the proud owner of a new game boy (aka pacemaker) implanted in his chest. Like I said everything is fine though
Now, where the heck did I leave off. Oh yeah, Day 6When I woke up this morning I still didnt feel 100% but the drugs had suppressed everything but a mild sore throat. It didnt matter because today we would be going to Universal IOA/Universal and this was uncharted territory for the both of us.
We went down to the Pepper Market for a breakfast. We consistently saw the same managers working in the restaurant and I asked if he ever took a day off. He just laughed at me like hed been working there since 1999 without a break. It was a great place to start each day though.
After jotting down some quick directions we were out the door to IOA. We drove the rental car and were there in like 15-20 minutes. The parking garage was enormous and you had to walk about 35 miles to get to CityWalk, but they had moving sidewalks so it wasnt too bad. The sky looked pretty dark for this early in the morning, but it never rained.
We walked through the CityWalk admiring how well it was designed. I saw Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville and said, Its 5 oclock somewhere, but Jill called me a drunk and told me no chance. Keep in mind that its like 10 a.m. Instead I caught a wave in my ongoing attempt to embarrass myself. Picture
We finally got to the front gates of IOA and used the machines out front to get our tickets that we (I) had purchased on the net 30 seconds later, we were in the front gate. We had purchased the Kodak waterproof cameras this summer to get the Front of the Line Passes for IOA and Universal. These would save us a tremendous amount of time later on in the day. The Guest Relations was tucked way over to the left as you walked in.
First stop of the day was the Incredible Hulk which had little to no wait. Jill had to put her purse in a locker that was at the exit of the ride, because they wouldnt let her take it with her. These lockers seemed user friendly at first and they were free. Your fingerprint is your key, however, you have to remember the locker number. We walked right on the ride and loved every second of it. Id even say that the first 10 seconds are better than the first 10 seconds of RnRC. They shoot you up the climb hill and you are turned upside-down at the highest point of the roller coaster. It was a huge rush. The ride is incredibly smooth too!! It may be the best rollercoaster Ive ever ridden! Heres a pic as you come off the ride.
As we go back to the lockers to get Jills purse theres a Lemming in front of us that cant get the locker open. FINALLY, after about 5 minutes, they let us see if we can get ours open and Jill was able to do it on the first try. They were shocked and probably never made it to another ride the rest of the day because they were stuck there. This wouldnt be our last encounter with the lockers however.
We headed over to Dr. Dooms Fear Fall which can be found at a ton of amusement parks, but its fun, so we stood in line. This turned out to be one of the longest lines of the day (about 30 minutes) and the ride wasnt half as fun as the one at Fiesta, TX. They dont take you up and down enough. The theming wasnt' that cool either.
We saw SPIDERMAN in the street on the way over to his ride. We had a FP (Im going to say fast pass even though I know its not the technical term, so dont you guys start sending me hate mail) but we didnt even need it because the line was only 5 minutes long. I have seen this ride countless time on the Travel Channel, etc, but it gets NO RESPECT. This is the number one theme park ride Ive ever been on HANDS DOWN. Im not going to give away the details, but if youre within 300 miles of this ride, you have to go on it. Its impossible to explain to someone the logistics of it, but all you need to know is that it is a perfect ride. I was floored that someone could come up with the idea for that ride.
The themeing in the Marvel Comics land was great. Ive heard a lot of negative things about how the theming just wasnt as good at Universal, but I disagree. We both loved all of the lands at IOA. We were on our way back to the Jurrasic Park ride but were stopped by Popeye. We decided to skip the Ripsaw Falls (cant remember, but it may have been closed), but it looked like a lot of fun. The drop was huge.
We got on Jurrasic Park with a very little wait and I have to say this is the one that I was most looking forward too. It kind of disappointed. I thought it could have been a bit longer but all in all it was a good ride. I wish there was a better storyline. We took this afterwards.
The queue for Dueling Dragons, and Im not kidding, is about 28.4 miles long. I was shocked that there isnt some shortcut to the front of the line during the slow season. When we got there, we were almost too tired to ride. It was a decent coaster, but it definitely lost something without the dueling <b>TEXAN TIP #14: Wait until the second coaster opens up before riding the Dueling Dragons. </b> The Hulk was much better in my opinion. As we exited, we found getting our baggage out of the locker to be much easier than the lockers at the Hulk. Not to mention, you got a little tag with your number on it which made it easier for individuals who only have 3 braincells like myself.
We walked past Mythos which looked really cool, but we were close to finishing the park and didnt really have time to stop and eat. The next showtime for Sinbad was 20 minutes away, so we walked over to Suess Landing, which was my favorite land in the park. Very creative theming. We rode the carousel and took pic1 and pic 2. Afterwards, we walked back over to Sinbad only to find that the next show was now 30 minutes away. We passed.
The last ride that we rode was the Cat in the Hat. I liked this one, but Im a sucker for Dr. Suess.
We headed back over to the Hulk to ride it again. This time we whipped out our FP and got to the front of the line at the same time as everyone else. Oh well, no wait is no wait. After exiting we tried to get Jills purse out of the locker, but the fingerprint technology didnt work. We let someone else go in front of us and they somehow opened OUR locker with THEIR fingerprint! Thinking back, we should have acted like we didnt know whose purse it was and then ran off with it. THAT would have been funny.
We strolled back over to Spiderman and did it again to with the FP. The lines were non-existant but we still felt cool taking the other route to the front. This ride was actually better the second time. I hearby claim this ride the BEST theme park ride of all-time. Its truly perfect and almost anyone can ride it.
Well, its only a little past noon so we decide that were going to try and do both parks in one day. Were insane! We walked through the CityWalk and there it stood .THE NBA CAFÉ . LAAAAAAAA!!! We took a picture outside and decided that we should have lunch there. While Jill talked to me about the future and our plans for the weekend, my eyes were glued to NBA highlights on flat screen tvs all around the entire restaurant. I had a pecan crusted halibut sandwich which was fantastic. Jill had the salmon. I found Mecca in the back corner of the restaurant Rudy T kissing the Rockets championship trophy . Go Rockets! We scoured the gift shop for the new Rockets jerseys but they hadnt come in yet. Their loss. I would have spent the money and been Yao Ming for the rest of the day if they had 'em.
We left the restaurant and went over to Universal Studios which was pretty damn busy. I suspect because it was Friday afternoon. Oh yeah, we somehow forgot to take pictures here so our photographic journey will have to seize for the time being. We headed straight for Shrek, but the line was enormous. We actually had to wait through two shows before being let into the pre-show. I was kind of burned out on 4-D movies by this point in the trip but this one was pretty cool. I still think that a Bugs Life was better though.
We headed over to Twister which had no line. I thought it was setup really cool. They had you going from room to room until the Twister came. <b>TEXAN TIP #15: STAND IN THE MIDDLE OR BACK ROW FOR TWISTER. </b> We were standing up front and I could actually see the top of the room and how the Twister was created, so that took a bit of the fun out, but it was still pretty creative. The roof overhead felt like it was going to come off at any minute.
We walked over towards Jaws and I told Jill that out of the 6 parks that we had visited, this was my least favorite as far as theming goes. We walked by a new ride that said was going to open next year I believe THE MUMMY. Jaws had an enormous line but we used the FP and got right on the boat. When I was a kid, I remember how cool Jaws was out in Universal California but I thought this one was pretty lame. I would have been mad as hell if I had to wait in that long line. Jill was unimpressed too, not so much with the ride, but of the fact that I mooned the shark as he swam by.
We next went over to MIB and used our FP. There was little to no wait. The queue was really cool and the ride was a lot of fun too. However, there was this little girl that was riding with us that persisted on telling me exactly what to do the entire time and who to shoot. I stink at these types of rides. Jill ALWAYS beats me and it really urks me to no end. I make up for it by walking fast to the next ride so that she has to slow jog through the park.
Next stop, Back to the Future. It was getting later in the afternoon and I still wasnt feeling too hot, but I kept going. We used our FP, but the line was still pretty lengthy. <b>TEXAN TIP #16: IF YOURE TALL, DONT SIT IN THE BACK SEAT OF THIS RIDE! </b> My head kept pounding the top of the ride to the point where I physically had to duck down and didnt enjoy it at all. Jill hit her head on the back quite a bit too. All in all, it would have been pretty cool if I was sitting up front.
E.T. was our next and last adventure for the day. We got there right before the animal planet live show got out so we didnt have to wait long at all. This ride has a unique smell to it. It reminds me of all the natatoriums that I visited while on the swim team. This is a great older ride that can be even more fun if you give them a fake name at the beginning. Trust me, Chris and Jill arent near as fun to hear E.T. say as some of the other things that I could have thought of.
We skipped Earthquake and Terminator 3d. Ive heard that Terminator is awesome, but at that point during the day, I just wanted to go home. We headed back to the hotel and decided to take a short nap before getting dinner. We went through the entire Unofficial Guide but decided that nothing sounded appetizing at that point in time. I think we were both just sick of eating. We ended up going over to the Disney boardwalk which is a hidden gem that a lot of people probably dont know about. We only spent an hour there, but there was a lot going on. We stopped for several street performers including a magician that almost made this kid cry. You could spot it a mile away that this kid was a little Booger Kid who was always getting into trouble. I think the guy even said Against all better judgement, why dont you go ahead and come on up here and help me out. He persisted to make fun of the kid which made me laugh. There was also a guy who balanced objects on his chin that was quite impressive. Although I thought tha tthere was no chance that I was going to get the NBA Café and ESPN in the same day, Jill agreed. Unfortunately, the place was PACKED. We ended up heading back to the hotel for cheesecake at the Pepper Market and relaxing evening in the hammock..by hammock I mean in bed in front of the TV.
Next stop...the final 2 days.
