Island of Adventure- early entry day-mid 80's, sunny
Long day, long report.
Characters:
Me- 39, trip planner, roller coaster fanatic and stay at home mom
DH- 41, wonderful husband of 12 years
Kids: boy 11, girl 6 but they stayed home this trip. DonâÂÂt worry, we toured Universal as a family in Nov/99 and WDW in Feb/00.
IâÂÂm up first so I go to the Gelatteria Cafe Espresso for coffee and a muffin ($8.22 w/tx). They also had a selection of little boxes of cold cereal, milk, bagels, fruit and muffins. Pretty pricey option for breakfast though.
We go through the gates at about 8:30. With front of the line access we don't need to get here early but I love the low crowds when the park first opens. We hit Spiderman-the ride first. ItâÂÂs a walk on. This is a high action 3-D simulator ride unlike anything else, absolutely amazing. Every time I go on this attraction I hold on for dear life! DH is equally impressed. The statue of liberty effect wasnâÂÂt working. Everyone in our car clapped at the end.
Next, on to Hulk. Posted wait time was 10 min. This is a very smooth coaster, great inversions! I like going through the mist; it feels refreshing.
We meandered through Seuss Landing. There was almost no one else there, so I took a picture of Pat on a deserted street. This is true eye candy for Seuss lovers. ItâÂÂs like walking into one of his books. DonâÂÂt miss âÂÂsneech beachâÂÂ. ItâÂÂs along the path that goes next to the water. YouâÂÂll find the Zax there too. This is also a great way to avoid the crowds in Seuss landing since it bypasses most of it.
Our destination is Dueling Dragons in Lost Continent. When you are at the entrance to the castle there are some âÂÂstained glassâ windows like they have in church. The pictures on the glass will begin to change and a great booming voice tells you the story of the dragons. Many people go right by this. Try to look up, down and around on your long journey through this que. ItâÂÂs almost like a haunted house. When we got to the dragons, we chose ice first. There was no wait except for the front row, only about 10 minutes (thatâÂÂs not included in front of the line). This is the best view on the ride, imho. Using the âÂÂride againâ short cut, we rode fire front row.
WeâÂÂve worked up a good appetite. I knew we could get danish and pastries at the Croissant Moon Bakery in Port of Entry but we needed something more substantial. We went to Green Eggs and Ham and had good breakfast sandwiches. They were served with french fries. It was about $13 with drinks. Service here was very slow. Afterwards we stopped at the Cats, Hats and Things gift shop to pick up a stuffed cat in the hat for my daughter. I charged it with my Portofino key and requested delivery to the hotel. ItâÂÂs a great convenience.
My son requested dragons for his present. We thought the shops in the Lost Continent were a good bet. Neither hubby or I are big on shopping but we enjoyed looking through the shops here. The metal smith shop has beautiful things. ThereâÂÂs a store with handcrafted metal type puzzle and another with hand crafted glass items. We found some big heavy plastic dragons in the shop near the Dueling Dragons exit, very fierce looking!
DH and I are hungry again so we stopped at the Enchanted Oak Tavern in Lost Continent. ItâÂÂs counter service but the interior is like being inside a tree! Check out the display behind the condiment counter. DH ordered the Turkey Leg Platter ($7.95). It comes with excellent side dishes; a corn muffin, corn on the cob and fries. The smoked turkey leg was pretty dry. I wanted something fresh fruit so I went outside to a vendor cart and purchased a fruit cup, excellent, ($3) and large water ($3) and brought it back to share.
While wandering through Jurassic Park we stopped at the Watering Hole for a âÂÂtriple threat of extinctionâ IâÂÂd heard so much about. Boy was I glad I had just eaten! ItâÂÂs a beautiful layered drink made w/rum (5.50) or virgin (3.95). We sat and enjoyed the warm sunshine and each otherâÂÂs company, *sigh*.
We decided to head back to the hotel for awhile. Not so fast, I tell the love of my life. Then I direct him towards the caricature artists in the Port of Entry. We chose a color picture, ($36 /2 people). The artist had one person sit still at a time so I had fun harassing DH and admiring the pictures on the booth wall. My favorite was the Pamela Sue Anderson one with a Dr. in the picture who was holding two blown up balloons, lol. ItâÂÂs neat because during this whole process you canâÂÂt see the drawingâÂÂs progress but you can see the reactions of people passing by. There was a lot of chuckling! The whole process took about ý hour, longer than I thought. The final picture was very funny, if not exactly a likeness. We purchased the frame available for $12. I didnâÂÂt want to worry about traveling with it. ItâÂÂs now sitting on my bureau and I smile every time I look at it.
Back to the hotel to relax for awhile. Pat goes off to the local WalgreenâÂÂs in search of water shoes. I stayed behind to write trip notes. Well, maybe IâÂÂll just lie down for a minute. Oh, this bed is so comfortabl...zzzzzz. DH returns with shoes and a jug of water to keep in the room.
Rested and refreshed we decide to go to Universal. We went to Earthquake first. We just made it to the next show. First there was a pre-show. They picked people out of the audience and demonstrated how they made a scene from the original movie. It was funny to see the participants smiling and laughing when they were supposed to acting terrified! The âÂÂrideâ part of EQ is short but I love the special effects. Next is Kong. ItâÂÂs a walk on. DH says the graffiti must be fake, thereâÂÂs no obscenities, lol. We both find this a little cheesy but I enjoy it anyway. Off to FinneganâÂÂs since happy hour is ending at 6pm. We enjoy a couple of Guinness pints and listen to a guy singing oldies. He was pretty good. Outside someone was filming a commercial using the storefronts as a backdrop. I heard someone say it was for a Brazilian Bank.
Pat had not seen Twister before. I wasnâÂÂt really impressed when I experienced it on my solo trip but I thought he should decide for himself. It was a 15-minute wait. We didnâÂÂt think to use front of the line access. I maneuvered us to the front row. You might get a little wet but the view is great. DH was very impressed by this attraction and to be honest I enjoyed it much more this time. Many of the very young kids didnâÂÂt seem to enjoy this show, at least at this time of the day.
We decide to go to Citywalk. First we went in search of kid souvenirs in Captain Crackers. This store is crammed full of tacky to funny toys. The workers here are very high energy. We found a necklace with my daughterâÂÂs name on it and an ornothopter for my son. We were getting hungry so we went in search of food. We went into Bob MarleyâÂÂs but since it was past 8pm there was a $4/pp cover charge and we only wanted to eat. But the raggae music sounded great. Next we tried the Latin Quitter but it was closed for a private function. So it was back to Margaritaville. There was a 45-60 min wait but I showed them my Portofino Key so the wait was only 15 min. Cool! I think this perk is called âÂÂpreferred seatingâ for on-site hotel guests. There are a few conditions when itâÂÂs not available. We waited at the volcano bar hoping to see an eruption. Once seated at a table Pat orders the Burger in Paradise and I have the veggie burger again ($16.86, no drinks). Both are good. The volcano finally blows, more mix for those excellent margaritas!
Exhausted we drag ourselves back to the Portofino. Tomorrow the water rides at IOA
[This message was edited by nhrenee on 12-08-00 at 01:13 AM.]
[This message was edited by nhrenee on 12-08-00 at 01:16 AM.]
Long day, long report.
Characters:
Me- 39, trip planner, roller coaster fanatic and stay at home mom
DH- 41, wonderful husband of 12 years
Kids: boy 11, girl 6 but they stayed home this trip. DonâÂÂt worry, we toured Universal as a family in Nov/99 and WDW in Feb/00.
IâÂÂm up first so I go to the Gelatteria Cafe Espresso for coffee and a muffin ($8.22 w/tx). They also had a selection of little boxes of cold cereal, milk, bagels, fruit and muffins. Pretty pricey option for breakfast though.
We go through the gates at about 8:30. With front of the line access we don't need to get here early but I love the low crowds when the park first opens. We hit Spiderman-the ride first. ItâÂÂs a walk on. This is a high action 3-D simulator ride unlike anything else, absolutely amazing. Every time I go on this attraction I hold on for dear life! DH is equally impressed. The statue of liberty effect wasnâÂÂt working. Everyone in our car clapped at the end.
Next, on to Hulk. Posted wait time was 10 min. This is a very smooth coaster, great inversions! I like going through the mist; it feels refreshing.
We meandered through Seuss Landing. There was almost no one else there, so I took a picture of Pat on a deserted street. This is true eye candy for Seuss lovers. ItâÂÂs like walking into one of his books. DonâÂÂt miss âÂÂsneech beachâÂÂ. ItâÂÂs along the path that goes next to the water. YouâÂÂll find the Zax there too. This is also a great way to avoid the crowds in Seuss landing since it bypasses most of it.
Our destination is Dueling Dragons in Lost Continent. When you are at the entrance to the castle there are some âÂÂstained glassâ windows like they have in church. The pictures on the glass will begin to change and a great booming voice tells you the story of the dragons. Many people go right by this. Try to look up, down and around on your long journey through this que. ItâÂÂs almost like a haunted house. When we got to the dragons, we chose ice first. There was no wait except for the front row, only about 10 minutes (thatâÂÂs not included in front of the line). This is the best view on the ride, imho. Using the âÂÂride againâ short cut, we rode fire front row.
WeâÂÂve worked up a good appetite. I knew we could get danish and pastries at the Croissant Moon Bakery in Port of Entry but we needed something more substantial. We went to Green Eggs and Ham and had good breakfast sandwiches. They were served with french fries. It was about $13 with drinks. Service here was very slow. Afterwards we stopped at the Cats, Hats and Things gift shop to pick up a stuffed cat in the hat for my daughter. I charged it with my Portofino key and requested delivery to the hotel. ItâÂÂs a great convenience.
My son requested dragons for his present. We thought the shops in the Lost Continent were a good bet. Neither hubby or I are big on shopping but we enjoyed looking through the shops here. The metal smith shop has beautiful things. ThereâÂÂs a store with handcrafted metal type puzzle and another with hand crafted glass items. We found some big heavy plastic dragons in the shop near the Dueling Dragons exit, very fierce looking!
DH and I are hungry again so we stopped at the Enchanted Oak Tavern in Lost Continent. ItâÂÂs counter service but the interior is like being inside a tree! Check out the display behind the condiment counter. DH ordered the Turkey Leg Platter ($7.95). It comes with excellent side dishes; a corn muffin, corn on the cob and fries. The smoked turkey leg was pretty dry. I wanted something fresh fruit so I went outside to a vendor cart and purchased a fruit cup, excellent, ($3) and large water ($3) and brought it back to share.
While wandering through Jurassic Park we stopped at the Watering Hole for a âÂÂtriple threat of extinctionâ IâÂÂd heard so much about. Boy was I glad I had just eaten! ItâÂÂs a beautiful layered drink made w/rum (5.50) or virgin (3.95). We sat and enjoyed the warm sunshine and each otherâÂÂs company, *sigh*.
We decided to head back to the hotel for awhile. Not so fast, I tell the love of my life. Then I direct him towards the caricature artists in the Port of Entry. We chose a color picture, ($36 /2 people). The artist had one person sit still at a time so I had fun harassing DH and admiring the pictures on the booth wall. My favorite was the Pamela Sue Anderson one with a Dr. in the picture who was holding two blown up balloons, lol. ItâÂÂs neat because during this whole process you canâÂÂt see the drawingâÂÂs progress but you can see the reactions of people passing by. There was a lot of chuckling! The whole process took about ý hour, longer than I thought. The final picture was very funny, if not exactly a likeness. We purchased the frame available for $12. I didnâÂÂt want to worry about traveling with it. ItâÂÂs now sitting on my bureau and I smile every time I look at it.
Back to the hotel to relax for awhile. Pat goes off to the local WalgreenâÂÂs in search of water shoes. I stayed behind to write trip notes. Well, maybe IâÂÂll just lie down for a minute. Oh, this bed is so comfortabl...zzzzzz. DH returns with shoes and a jug of water to keep in the room.
Rested and refreshed we decide to go to Universal. We went to Earthquake first. We just made it to the next show. First there was a pre-show. They picked people out of the audience and demonstrated how they made a scene from the original movie. It was funny to see the participants smiling and laughing when they were supposed to acting terrified! The âÂÂrideâ part of EQ is short but I love the special effects. Next is Kong. ItâÂÂs a walk on. DH says the graffiti must be fake, thereâÂÂs no obscenities, lol. We both find this a little cheesy but I enjoy it anyway. Off to FinneganâÂÂs since happy hour is ending at 6pm. We enjoy a couple of Guinness pints and listen to a guy singing oldies. He was pretty good. Outside someone was filming a commercial using the storefronts as a backdrop. I heard someone say it was for a Brazilian Bank.
Pat had not seen Twister before. I wasnâÂÂt really impressed when I experienced it on my solo trip but I thought he should decide for himself. It was a 15-minute wait. We didnâÂÂt think to use front of the line access. I maneuvered us to the front row. You might get a little wet but the view is great. DH was very impressed by this attraction and to be honest I enjoyed it much more this time. Many of the very young kids didnâÂÂt seem to enjoy this show, at least at this time of the day.
We decide to go to Citywalk. First we went in search of kid souvenirs in Captain Crackers. This store is crammed full of tacky to funny toys. The workers here are very high energy. We found a necklace with my daughterâÂÂs name on it and an ornothopter for my son. We were getting hungry so we went in search of food. We went into Bob MarleyâÂÂs but since it was past 8pm there was a $4/pp cover charge and we only wanted to eat. But the raggae music sounded great. Next we tried the Latin Quitter but it was closed for a private function. So it was back to Margaritaville. There was a 45-60 min wait but I showed them my Portofino Key so the wait was only 15 min. Cool! I think this perk is called âÂÂpreferred seatingâ for on-site hotel guests. There are a few conditions when itâÂÂs not available. We waited at the volcano bar hoping to see an eruption. Once seated at a table Pat orders the Burger in Paradise and I have the veggie burger again ($16.86, no drinks). Both are good. The volcano finally blows, more mix for those excellent margaritas!
Exhausted we drag ourselves back to the Portofino. Tomorrow the water rides at IOA
[This message was edited by nhrenee on 12-08-00 at 01:13 AM.]
[This message was edited by nhrenee on 12-08-00 at 01:16 AM.]
