We're Doing WHAT For My Birthday??? - Final Thoughts

[mnmrmustard]

yay more updates!!!

Love E. T. Such a classic

How cool u got see Beetlejuice again

Looks like Roxy was thrilled

Thank you, trying to keep up wiht regular ones. Yes, E.T. is great, very much a classic.

Beetlejuice was so much fun, especially with Roxy

awesome pics with BJ!!!

Thank you Cheri!

 

[mnmrmustard]

Roxy and I were still going through character interactions on Hollywood Boulevard.

We moved on from Beetlejuice to good ole Scooby and Shaggy

And the big attraction, the whole Simpsons clan!

They all apparently came in a tricked out Winnebago

We walked back down towards the main drag and passed Lucy’s star on the sidewalk

We walked on down to the Twister experience – Welcome to Wakita!

They had a bunch of props from the movie. The piano might be a bit out of tune

What’s on the radio?

Roxy rolled on through the cracking archway

I think it may need a fresh bit of plaster here and there

Amazing that the glass survived

No fine china here

Where can I get those drapes?

They’re pretty spectacular

Anyone have some scrubbing bubbles?

Gotta love that John Deere green!

After a short movie we are lead into the attraction

The lights on the diner come up

The wind picks up and some power lines start to spark

The wind really starts to roar and the sparks fly!

The twister touched down

It built up momentum

You’ve heard about Double Rainbow …how about Double Twister!

It keeps moving across the parking lot

It starts to break up

Next up the twister ends, Bunnies Attack, The Mummy has us lost, and we get The Blues


Click here for the next chapter: Day 5 Part 16 – A Bang, A Bunny Thief, A Mummy, and The Blues

 

[mnmrmustard]

When we left off we were in the middle of the Twister experience

As the twister dies down flames erupt!

Kaboom!

Big winds swept through at the end

It was a cool show, very neat that it is all happening right in front of you. I had wanted to see it when we were there in 2002, good to finally have seen it.

We headed past the big statue

…and looked to the right to see a flash of pink??? It was the commando bunnies from Hop!

They were walking around looking for mischief

We were trying to get a pic with them when one of them did an end run and jumped on Roxy’s scooter!

Roxy was busy getting a pic of me with one of the other bunnies

Meanwhile the bunny actually started to take off in the scooter! His handler kept turning the power off but the bunny would turn it right back on and try to take off again – lol

The handler finally made the bunny get up

The bunny was a good sport and posed for a pic with Roxy :-]

The main characters had a line that we didn’t want to bother with so I just snapped a quick pic of them in between greeting other guests

They were in the middle of a Mardi Gras celebration at the park so there were displays here and there giving the place a New Orleans touch

Our next stop was The Revenge of the Mummy. We parked Roxy’s scooter and took the “accessible” entrance to the ride. It consisted of a lobby with several props from the movie

Once you left the lobby you were literally in a service hallway and we wandered until we found a service elevator. Once on the second floor we looked around and found an attendant who helped us get in a car. Very different from the ultra-controlled and coordinated accessible loading at Disney parks. We literally could have wandered around back stage without being challenged …until we were caught and kicked out unless we put on a good dumb act - lol

The downside of this little adventure is that we missed all of the theming of going through the regular line. I’ll want to go back just to see the Mummy props and such that the regular line had to offer. The ride itself was pretty cool with starts and stops and a couple of good stomach-dropping moments. I thought it was a bit too short though.

We went outside and I heard music! We walked/rolled down the street and found the Blues Brothers show about to start. The opener was a blonde who had a great Aretha-esque voice. She was accompanied by a pretty good sax player

After their number the Bluesmobile rolled up

The doors popped open…

And out jumped Jake and Elwood

Next up The Blues Brothers lay it down and I do the twist!


Click here for the next chapter: Day 5 Part 17 – Ladies and Gentlemen, The Blues Brothers!

 

[cherbear]

ooh ooh, can't wait for the twist!!! I wanna seeeee!!!

 

[kaoden39]

Oh what a fun update!! So did Shaggy look high?

 

[Trentmom]

anotehr great update

Like character pics

I remember Twister. I have not done that ride since the 90s. I would love to show Trent that.

That Bunny was a riot.

I am really enjoying your report as usual and can't wait for more

 

[mnmrmustard]

ooh ooh, can't wait for the twist!!! I wanna seeeee!!!

Okay, okay, I just finished putting together the last couple of chapters for the day. Twist coming up!

Oh what a fun update!! So did Shaggy look high?

Looked and acted, he was a dedicated Shaggy for sure!

another great update

Like character pics

I remember Twister. I have not done that ride since the 90s. I would love to show Trent that.

That Bunny was a riot.

I am really enjoying your report as usual and can't wait for more

Thank you! They were fun character interactions.

No, not a ride called Twister ...I do the twist (and the mashed potato among others) with the Blues Brothers

Yeah, that bunny was a kick for sure

 

[mnmrmustard]

The Blues Brothers strutted out, pure business

…and ran up the stairs to the stage

They got the crowd wound up with some music and clapping

They did some cool dance moves

And then Jake moved up to the microphone

After some singing Elwood broke out the harmonica and jammed – he was pretty good

More singing and harmonica

Big dance moves!

The waitress/singer came on for a number with the boys

They continued that number and came down onto the street to dance. Now there’s no way I’m going to miss out on what may be my one and only opportunity to dance with the Blues Brothers!

Mashed Potato!

Shakin’ it!

Doin’ the Twist!

Coming up, I “bust a move”, we grab some lunch, and take in a scary show!


Click here for the next chapter: Day 5 Part 18 – A Dance, A Meal, and a Fright!

 

[kaoden39]

Okay, okay, I just finished putting together the last couple of chapters for the day. Twist coming up!



Looked and acted, he was a dedicated Shaggy for sure!



Thank you! They were fun character interactions.

No, not a ride called Twister ...I do the twist (and the mashed potato among others) with the Blues Brothers

Yeah, that bunny was a kick for sure

One question......is there video?

 

[kaoden39]

Oh my gosh the Blue's Brother experience looks like so much fun!! I think that those type of things are the ones that I want to do more than the rides even.

 

[Trentmom]

oh wow. That looked like so much fun

Can't wait to read more

 

[natebenma]

Great updates!!!

I love your character interactions. Is there someone there (a "friend of the character") to take photos with your camera? Are there photographers from Universal as well?

We had one Universal photographer take our photo at the entrance of Uni, but we never checked on the picture, and haven't read anything about how it works, like if you just purchase individual pictures, or CDs or digital downloads.

The pictures from the Twister attraction were really neat. I have heard mixed opinions about how good this one is. Do you give it a thumbs up as worth your time? We didn't do it.

The commando bunnies were too cute, especially the naughty one!!!

You looked like you were having a blast during the Blues Brothers show.

 

[mnmrmustard]

One question......is there video?

LOL, no video I'm afraid. Roxy was taking the pics so nobody to shoot a vid

Oh my gosh the Blue's Brother experience looks like so much fun!! I think that those type of things are the ones that I want to do more than the rides even.

It was fun, hot out in the sun, but certainly worth it. I'm on the same page on rides vs interactions. I'll take the interactions every time.

oh wow. That looked like so much fun

Can't wait to read more

It was a blast! I have the rest of the day's posts all together, going to post them in just a minute

Great updates!!!

I love your character interactions. Is there someone there (a "friend of the character") to take photos with your camera? Are there photographers from Universal as well?

We had one Universal photographer take our photo at the entrance of Uni, but we never checked on the picture, and haven't read anything about how it works, like if you just purchase individual pictures, or CDs or digital downloads.

The pictures from the Twister attraction were really neat. I have heard mixed opinions about how good this one is. Do you give it a thumbs up as worth your time? We didn't do it.

The commando bunnies were too cute, especially the naughty one!!!

You looked like you were having a blast during the Blues Brothers show.

There is a "handler" for the characters that are in suits with heads on. The human characters are pretty much on their own. Nobody is there dedicated to take pics and no photopass-type people walking around. We did the the Scooby Doo handler and the Simpsons handler to take the pics with both of us in them though.

I think they are working on a more potopass-based system but right now it is still very early stages. Other than the entrance the only other place I saw a dedicated photographer was at Dr. Seuss.

I think Twister is worth the time if the line is on the shorter side. It doesn't last long but the effects take place right in front of you and the set is climate controlled so double plus. I would probably go see it again as long as the line wasn't too long.

The commando bunnies were a real kick, so full of mischief. And yes, I had a real blast with the Blues Brothers. I would do that again in a heartbeat

 

[mnmrmustard]

I was still dancing it up with the Blues Brothers & Co.

Watch out honey, I may have to “bust a move!”

I think they were scared off by my stylish moves because they quickly finished the number and piled back into the Bluesmobile

Stay cool guys and gal!

We were getting hungry and had decided ahead of time that we wanted dinner at Mel’s Diner. So we walked up the little New York street towards our destination.

On the way I stopped and snapped a quick shot of the Back to the Future train.

Unfortunately Doc Brown wasn’t out and about this time. We walked on to Mel’s and I took a sec to take a shot of a couple of the classic cars parked out there.

We had a good meal, Roxy had a burger and fries and I had a chicken sandwich and fries. Pretty standard faire but good enough for the price. And the most important bit, indoors and air-conditioned! We relaxed for a bit and just enjoyed climate control and let our feet rest. We realized that it was show time so we walked back out into the blast furnace. I stopped to get a pic of the star of one of my idols, William Shatner!

We were heading to the Monster Make Up Show!

We ended up coming in right before it started so we got front row on the far left of the stage

One of the effects guys came out and went through a campy death routine

The host came out and the two of them started talking about how some of the animatronics work.

During the course of the show they did some good audience interaction stuff, very entertaining and similar to how they do it on the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor.

They showed some cool effects and props and then brought up a girl to test out the animatronic werewolf

She was a good sport

…until the werewolf came after her!

She beat feet off the stage while they tried to get control over the monster

Next up we finish up the show, check out some props, and take in a sunset.


Click here for the next chapter: Day 5 Part 19 – Monsters, Sci-Fi Props, and A Beautiful Sunset

 

[mnmrmustard]

After the show was over I was able to get a few shots of the props including actual animatronics used on An American Werewolf in London

It’s time for your close-up!

The theater exits into the same gift shot that the Terminator show dumps into so there is a nice mix of monsters and Sci-Fi stuff in there.

Hello Mr. Alien!

I’m Batman!

Terminator drone ship

Boba Fett

Smile for the camera!

Wardrobe warn by characters in one of the Terminator films

He’d make quite the paperweight

Outside the doors I came across Vincent Price

By now it was 6:30pm and we had seen everything we had wanted to see and were beat. We wanted to get back early and rest up for my birthday at MK the next day.

We started working our way out, passing the Donkey stable. Unfortunately he wasn’t out to chat with us.

We passed out of the Universal arches and passed the globe. The sun was going down in the distance, casting a shadow over the lagoon

I did an “HDR” tweak in photoshop to liven things up and give the shot a kind of magical feel

Large Shot of HDR Lagoon

We passed a couple of NASCAR cars. It is funny, ever since the movie Cars I can’t help but think about the whole “stickers” concept for headlights on those things

We made our way out through Citywalk and across the bridge, down the elevator, and I plopped down on a bench. It took a while for the Mears shuttle to get there, but at that point I was happy to be sitting in the shade. Once it got there we got Roxy’s scooter loaded up and into blissful air conditioning.

On our way home I caught this cool sunset

Large Shot of Sunset

Peter Pan’s balloon

Next up we make it back to Pop and I take some pictures for a change of pace - lol


Click here for the next chapter: Day 5 Part 20 – Pop Pics and the Day 5 Wrap-up

 

[mnmrmustard]

We were back at Pop by 8pm and I got the urge to take pics of the memorabilia on the walls of the lobby

50s

50s/60s

60s

70s

80s

90s

I continued on to the food court and picked up some snacks and joined Roxy in the room. From there it was the standard showers and collapsing in bed. We called back home and checked in on the fam. My mother in law had come home from the hospital the day before and was still having some trouble getting around. There ended up being a bit of static because we found out that she was calling on Kyra to help her in the middle of the night instead of my sister in law & nephew who were there specifically to take care of her. We got past all of that and managed to get to sleep somewhere around 10pm.

Thus enduth day 5 of our adventure. Do you think I need to try and put in more pictures? Heheheh.

Tomorrow is the Big Day, my birthday! I wanted to spend it at the Magic Kingdom and wanted to get an early start (MK EMHs – w00t!). Will it be magical? Will it be Disneytastic? Will I wear that big colorful hat like I said I would???

Tune in for the next chapter to find out :-D


Click here for the next chapter: Day 6 Part 1 - A Flashback and My Birthday at MK Begins!

 

[cherbear]

what a great universal day!! beautiful sunset pic, WOW!!!!!!!

I also love the enhanced pic, very cool looking!

And you can sure shake ya groove!!

Cannot WAIT to see all the pictures and read about your big bday at MK!

 

[Trentmom]

another terrific update

Monster show looks like a lot of fun

Love the memorabilia boxes at Pop

80s is my favorite

glad you everything straightened out with who is to be helping your mil

Can't wait to hear how your bday went

 

[Marshay]

Finally all caught up!

Love the BJ photos. I remember that show from many, many years ago.

Can't wait to ride The Mummy. They were building that the last time we visited. Is it like Spiderman?

Love all your pictures!

 

[mnmrmustard]

what a great universal day!! beautiful sunset pic, WOW!!!!!!!

I also love the enhanced pic, very cool looking!

And you can sure shake ya groove!!

Cannot WAIT to see all the pictures and read about your big bday at MK!

It was a really cool day despite the heat Thank you on the pics, hard to beat a good sunset. And it was fun playing with the HDR features in photoshop to see how I could tweak it.

Yeah, I was groovin' for sure

Working on that MK day

another terrific update

Monster show looks like a lot of fun

Love the memorabilia boxes at Pop

80s is my favorite

glad you everything straightened out with who is to be helping your mil

Can't wait to hear how your bday went

Thankyee!

Monster show was a blast.

I was glad to have been able to take the time to check out all of the memorabelia, and yes the 80s has the biggest impact for me too.

The phone call back home was rough and didn't have me in a good frame of mind trying to go to bed that night. But the next day made up for it

Finally all caught up!

Love the BJ photos. I remember that show from many, many years ago.

Can't wait to ride The Mummy. They were building that the last time we visited. Is it like Spiderman?

Love all your pictures!

I'm glad you got caught up, I know it is hard to find time for these things. I'm behind on at least 5 TRs myself right now.

Beetlejuice was certainly a hight point for both of us, such a great character.

The mummy is different as it is on an actual coaster track and is not 3-D. But similar in that you go through different areas with suprising turns and falls.




To anyone reading and waiting, I have spent the past week going through the pictures and have them down to a mere 290 shots I'll finish the renaming tonight and get something posted either tonight or tomorrow.