You can take the girl out of Disney, BUT

[mickeystoontown]

Oh my word! That was one big stack of nachos! I can see why Skip's jaw dropped.

It looks like the crowds at Universal were minimal from those first few pictures. I hope that's how they stayed.

 

[francis6306]

Universal does have some nice kid areas...but many more taller kids/adult rides. Claire was tall enough for everything, so that was a plus....but not neccessarily a dare devil to try them though.

THAT would be Cortlyn. Catie however, I think will be wanting to ride Space Mountain as soon as she figures out what it is! Cortlyn is just way more cautious.

 

[Caretames1]

Holy Nachos! You wouldn't have needed anything else to eat with those!

Good thinking with putting the red shorts in a bag! I've had the dye run off a red shirt and ruin a yellow shirt because of that.



Oh yeah, I emailed you.......again!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Those nachos look soooooo GOOD! I've only heard great things about Margartiaville, eventually when we get over there to the "dark side" we'll have to try it!

I hope the food, water and rest made you feel better and the rest of the day went well!

 

[jenseib]

Great update! Thankfully I had just had dinner before I read your review!

Walking those parks can wear you out, and I can hear you on being hot and headaches ..... been there, done that.

Hope the rest of your day was super fun too and Skip and Claire dried off soon.

It made me realize how bad Skip is still with his hip. Though when I mentioned that he got nasty and said I was dragiing him around 17 hours a day. LOL

Oh my word! That was one big stack of nachos! I can see why Skip's jaw dropped.

It looks like the crowds at Universal were minimal from those first few pictures. I hope that's how they stayed.

It was huge...and good.
I found that though there were crowded spots, it wasn't as crowded as Disney.

THAT would be Cortlyn. Catie however, I think will be wanting to ride Space Mountain as soon as she figures out what it is! Cortlyn is just way more cautious.

Too funny. Claire is a dare devil at times and other times ...not so much

Holy Nachos! You wouldn't have needed anything else to eat with those!

Good thinking with putting the red shorts in a bag! I've had the dye run off a red shirt and ruin a yellow shirt because of that.



Oh yeah, I emailed you.......again!

The red shorts could've been bad, been there done that. I put them on the A/C vent thing in the hotel to dry them up some more too.

Those nachos look soooooo GOOD! I've only heard great things about Margartiaville, eventually when we get over there to the "dark side" we'll have to try it!

I hope the food, water and rest made you feel better and the rest of the day went well!

It was a nice place. I am glad we stopped there to eat. I'm sure there are a lot of great places to eat, but this one worked for us at the tiem. Someday I will try a few more.

 

[mom2rtk]

OK, I'm finally on my way to catching up..... and will comment as I go or run the high risk of totally forgetting my thoughts when I'm done...

I'm thinking when we were there they were having issues with the trolley and it wasn't in use. Anyone recall if it has historically had issues? LOVE the perspective from it though.

I'm so glad you took (and posted) all those photos with the Things. What gorgeous colors. I look at that and can only think how that window has closed for us. Maybe as a teenager it will be "cute" to go do some things like that, but I know better than to even ask my tween. So I'm so glad you pushed Claire to do it!

I don't remember a lot of the details of the Cat in the Hat ride, but I do remember 1) that it spins a lot and 2) that it was the best dark ride I'd ever been on. Total awesomeness. I might have to get back over there just to recall what I liked so much about it!

And that stage show looks pretty cool. I think that's where they did the Grinch show when we were there. But there's just something about those colorful Seuss characters that I love to pieces.......

 

[mom2rtk]

I totally understand about the grumpies when you're hungry. Everyone here knows to avoid me when I'm hungry.

How long has the Jurassic Park area been there? We must have totally missed it on our trip. But we really only spent half a day in IOA and really wanted to concentrate on the Seuss stuff.

I'm not surpried at all that your rats got drowned on that ride. Robbie and Drew did that ride when we were there and we had to buy Robbie new shorts on that nice..... expensive..... little cart as they exited the ride! It was fun to see them do the Grizzly River Run at DCA a couple summers ago. But that ride exited by the entrance to the Grand Californian..... where we were staying. 5 minutes later they were in dry clothes. It was totally awesome!

While I'm laughing at all the photos of the castle, you know I would totally be doing the same thing. And I'm still enjoying them, so keep posting them!

 

[mom2rtk]

YEAH! All caught up!

And I'm so glad I took time to eat lunch before seeing those nachos! OK, so I don't care if I ate already...... I want some NOW!!!!

And yes, I'd like your mom to adopt me too! Sounds like an awesome outing.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Loving your report...it's just what i was looking for...thinking about venturing to Universal on our next Disney trip...been once before about 11 years ago with a two year old who was too small for most things...we waited until the kids (now two of them...one 13 and the other 8) were both big enough to enjoy most everything...Skye (8) is right at almost 48 inches now and Tyler is a big chicken but when he little sister does something it pushed himt o do it too so I think we're ready...now to get Skye a bit taller by Christmas so we make sure she's good to go...she'd be all kinds of mad if she gets there and cannot go on the Harry Potter ride becasue of half an inch!!!

 

[stephielela]

I love Margaritaville! Yum! Of course I'm starving right now so just about anything sounds good

 

[annmarieda]

Great updates! I am so glad that I can get back on the computer to catch up... I missed so much.

That raft ride... I remember getting soaked to the bone. Poor Claire. In the heat it isn't bad to get soaked at first, but then...sitting being wet ends up pretty uncomfortable.

I can't believe how much you got down while you were hungry. When i am hungry it is a food now sort of things...so I am impressed that you pressed on..even with a bit of cranky hungriness.

The lunch you did end up having... HOLY COW! big nachos is right. Is it bad that it makes me want nachos tonight?

 

[Kathy Jetson]

That is the biggest plate of nachos I've ever seen It sounds like you had a nice lunch. I'm glad its just what you needed and made you feel better!

 

[*LittleMermaid*]

It is great reading your trip report. I think what happened at one fish, two fish, is that the attendant was probably talking about the fishes that hold three people. They have two person fish and three person fish.. lol

 

[jenseib]

OK, I'm finally on my way to catching up..... and will comment as I go or run the high risk of totally forgetting my thoughts when I'm done...

I'm thinking when we were there they were having issues with the trolley and it wasn't in use. Anyone recall if it has historically had issues? LOVE the perspective from it though.

I'm so glad you took (and posted) all those photos with the Things. What gorgeous colors. I look at that and can only think how that window has closed for us. Maybe as a teenager it will be "cute" to go do some things like that, but I know better than to even ask my tween. So I'm so glad you pushed Claire to do it!

I don't remember a lot of the details of the Cat in the Hat ride, but I do remember 1) that it spins a lot and 2) that it was the best dark ride I'd ever been on. Total awesomeness. I might have to get back over there just to recall what I liked so much about it!

And that stage show looks pretty cool. I think that's where they did the Grinch show when we were there. But there's just something about those colorful Seuss characters that I love to pieces.......

I'm glad you had time to "play" yesterday. I am wondering if issues with the trolley is a common thing as we had some with it the next day too.
Cat in the Hat was really neat. I don't know why, but it just struck me as better than most Disney dark rides.

I totally understand about the grumpies when you're hungry. Everyone here knows to avoid me when I'm hungry.

How long has the Jurassic Park area been there? We must have totally missed it on our trip. But we really only spent half a day in IOA and really wanted to concentrate on the Seuss stuff.

I'm not surpried at all that your rats got drowned on that ride. Robbie and Drew did that ride when we were there and we had to buy Robbie new shorts on that nice..... expensive..... little cart as they exited the ride! It was fun to see them do the Grizzly River Run at DCA a couple summers ago. But that ride exited by the entrance to the Grand Californian..... where we were staying. 5 minutes later they were in dry clothes. It was totally awesome!

While I'm laughing at all the photos of the castle, you know I would totally be doing the same thing. And I'm still enjoying them, so keep posting them!

I'm surprised I lasted as long as I did, but mostly because I wanted to eat on City Walk somewhere. When I'm on vacation, I don't want junk food all the time....I want some nicer meals too. Even though I don't know if nachos are classified as nicer.

I am so glad I didn't go on that ride. I am just not one to walk around wet all day.
I have a goal of making it to DL someday, but at the rate we are going, it might not be for several years.
Skip brings up going every so often, but then the air is so much more and the long flight, he dismisses it quickly.

I get certain things in my mind and I just have to take a lot of pictures of them. The castle was really neat. And I think it makes it better that you actually have a ride inside. I can remember being about 4 on my 1st trip to WDW and I wanted to tour the castle...we walkedthrough and I was like "thats it?" "Where's Cinderellas bedroom?"

YEAH! All caught up!

And I'm so glad I took time to eat lunch before seeing those nachos! OK, so I don't care if I ate already...... I want some NOW!!!!

And yes, I'd like your mom to adopt me too! Sounds like an awesome outing.

Than nachos were BIG. Our server told us that he and several guy friends came on a weekend one time and ordered 3 orders...and they only finished two and wasted the 3rd plate. He said they all had big eyes, but just couldn't do it.
Mom is a nice gal. I am very fortunate to have her.

Loving your report...it's just what i was looking for...thinking about venturing to Universal on our next Disney trip...been once before about 11 years ago with a two year old who was too small for most things...we waited until the kids (now two of them...one 13 and the other 8) were both big enough to enjoy most everything...Skye (8) is right at almost 48 inches now and Tyler is a big chicken but when he little sister does something it pushed himt o do it too so I think we're ready...now to get Skye a bit taller by Christmas so we make sure she's good to go...she'd be all kinds of mad if she gets there and cannot go on the Harry Potter ride becasue of half an inch!!!

Thanks for reading along. If Skye is anything like Claire, she'll be right there at Christmas. I swear I need to bind Claire up to stop her from growing.

My older son was a big chicken too. He did do a few things when Paige (who is about 3 1/2 years younger) would do them, but he would scream like a girl, while Paige would go "again...again".

I love Margaritaville! Yum! Of course I'm starving right now so just about anything sounds good

I know that feeling. I am happy to have eaten there. It was a nice atmosphere and very relaxing and a nice sit down break that we all needed.

Great updates! I am so glad that I can get back on the computer to catch up... I missed so much.

That raft ride... I remember getting soaked to the bone. Poor Claire. In the heat it isn't bad to get soaked at first, but then...sitting being wet ends up pretty uncomfortable.

I can't believe how much you got down while you were hungry. When i am hungry it is a food now sort of things...so I am impressed that you pressed on..even with a bit of cranky hungriness.

The lunch you did end up having... HOLY COW! big nachos is right. Is it bad that it makes me want nachos tonight?

Yay. I did read on another thread that you were having computer issues. I hate when that happens. In fact my laptop was acting up yesterday so I ran a malwarebytes scan. It found 107 objects detected!!!! I haven't gone back on since the scan, so hopefully it will run bettter now.

I think I just kept going because I was determined not to get fast food.

I could go for nachos about now too. Except I need to laose about 40 lbs. I really need to get back to exercising and dieting. I want to be a bit healthier and in better shape for our fall trip.

That is the biggest plate of nachos I've ever seen It sounds like you had a nice lunch. I'm glad its just what you needed and made you feel better!

It is! I was just shocked. But dug right in.

It is great reading your trip report. I think what happened at one fish, two fish, is that the attendant was probably talking about the fishes that hold three people. They have two person fish and three person fish.. lol

Thaks. Someone else mentioned that too. I didn't see any that looked bigger, but I guess there must be some.

 

[jenseib]

Getting through the gates at Universal was painless and easy. It looked fairly empty too. We walked up the street and tried to decide what to do.

We decided that Shrek would be first.

The line wasn’t too long; we got in the next show.

I took a couple of shots as we waited.

I loved these posters.

The show was cute. Be aware that some of the shows…this one included has a little adult humor in them. It isn’t awful and flies by most kids head, but I picked up stuff that was kind of funny, if you knew what it meant.
I also think that Universal does 3-D better than Disney does.

If you have been to Universal years ago, this show is located where the old Alfred Hitchcock show used to be.

After the show, we walked out through the gift shop and Claire spotted a very cute Puss n Boots. She said she may want to get him later on.
We saw Shrek, Fiona and Donkey out for a meet and greet, but Claire refused to go see them.

Skip and Claire decided they were thirsty and got in line for a drink while I headed off to the bathrooms.

Skip bought one of those refillable mugs. I think it cost 89 cents to refill it and it said it was good for only that day. We never tried it the next day, so I’m not sure how strict they are with this. I personally didn’t think this was a good deal, but Skip did so he got one. And then he got a drink that I don’t care for, so I only sipped on it a few times to quench my thirst.

We headed off, just roaming randomly.

Someone called Skip so we stopped while he talked…and look what I found! Something I had hoped to see! YAY!!

I was actually surprised to find it here, as I thought it would be close to where the ride used to be.

Skip kept chatting away and Claire and I checked out the car. Claire really has no clue about this movie. I have it on DVD, but I don’t think she has actually ever seen it. And she didn’t think this looked like a very fancy car. Back in the 80’s though, this was the “BOMB!” Who didn’t want a Delorean after seeing that first movie?

I have actually seen the Delorean before. Supposedly one used in the movies. Years ago we would have a custom rod auto show in our area once a year. We knew the guy who put it on, so I would work it each year. My Dad and I would go to the airports and pick up the stars and transport them back and forth from the hotels and I would take/sell pictures as well. One year my job was to take pictures of people sitting in the Delorean…of course I got one too. It’s a Polaroid though and I’m sure I don’t have it scanned.

Did you see Skip in that last picture? He’s carrying the famous bag around his neck. LOL

Agent P thought this would be the perfect spy car.

We continued on. I don’t think we had a definite plan of where to go though.

I didn’t like how the tracks came out here. It ruins the theming.

 

[Kathy Jetson]

I like those posters at Shrek too. We saw quite a few things where they were making fun of Disney.

I think the themeing at Universal is better then Disney a lot of times. But you just don't get the same feeling there that you do at Disney

 

[mousetravel]

I loved these posters.

Did you see Skip in that last picture? He’s carrying the famous bag around his neck. LOL

Those posters are cute.

Skip's picture is too funny!

 

[jenseib]

I like those posters at Shrek too. We saw quite a few things where they were making fun of Disney.

I think the themeing at Universal is better then Disney a lot of times. But you just don't get the same feeling there that you do at Disney

I agree. It does have some great theming.
And it still doesn't have the same feel.

Those posters are cute.

Skip's picture is too funny!

 

[Caretames1]

Back to the Future! One of my favorite movies John said he still wants a Dolorean!

Is there a ride or show about it?


US is definity poking fun at Disney with those posters! Tick room! Makes my skin crawl

 

[annmarieda]

Great update. I agree though, I think the tracks coming out like that tends to ruin the theming.