It's Sunday, January 6th, and the house is quiet. Bill took Patrick to the airport this morning and the son is now back at University. I'm surprised they made it on time, because when I went to bed at 11:00 last night, Patrick still hadn't finished packing. I'm waiting for that phone call to say "Hey Mom, did you find my......" Bill is napping because I "let" him give Patrick a ride to the airport. And I believe Ashley is finally over at Ethan's folks place. I can't remember the last time they stayed at our place for more than two nights in a row. Now I might actually be able to get something done. So here is the continuing story of our trip.
Florida Vacation
Day 3
Sunday, Decemember 30th
Did I say sleep in from the night before. I swear four people are in this room and three different alarms went off in the morning. We're on holidays people! Patrick was up first to go to the gym; followed by Bill who was going for a run; and finally Ashley who ran upstairs quickly to climb into bed with me and get warm. I guess the December nights in Florida can be a bit nippy. I figured I would get up, get ready, and then nap while everyone else got ready for our day. Turns out the work out room is in need of some TLC, so Bill and Patrick ended up going for a run together. Patrick was impressed with his 52 year old Dad and his running capabilities.
Universay studios here we come. The drive today was much shorts thanks to Mickey. (not the mouse, but a sales rep at our resort). Our first encounter with a line up was the entrance for the parking, but comapred to some of the rides, this line was pretty fast. Many things have changed since the last time we were here with the kids. The most notable change, and to me the most fascinating was the ticket entrance. They scan your ticket, then you have to put your pointer finger on this other scanner and your finger print is on file. This is great for the park to stop people from sharing their multi day passes. (maybe it also helps the FBI) The process was also expanded to lockers at the park. Some rides did not allow bags/back packs, so you had to store them in one of these lockers. You opened and closed these lockers with your fingerprints. They were free lockers for a certain amount of time, then you were charged for them. This discourages people from leaving their belongings in the lockers all day. The only downside, you really have to remember your locker number, because when you put your thumbprint in the machine, it allows you to then push a button on your locker to unlock it.
Our first stop was the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. And when I use the word "our" I mean Bill, Patrick and Ashley. There was no way I was going upside down, straight up, straight down, and still have an entire day to get through. Actually that's a bit of a fib, because I still wouldn't have done it even if it was the last ride of the day. While the rest of the family enjoyed this thrill, I took the opportunity to go buy myself a Universal hoodie. I like to think I did it for the sentimental reason, but the wind was a little chily and I was darn cold. Next stop "The Twister." This was my type of ride. It was about the making of the movie of the same name, and a short demonstration. Patrick warned us there would be water spray, but unfortunately for him, it came from the back, not the front, and he ended up sheltering us from getting wet.
Third ride of the day "Revenge of the Mummy." I would give more details, but my eyes were closed for the entire ride. A quick snack, and we headed over the the MIB ride. I remember this ride, and was looking foward to it. The sign said it was a 45 minutes wait (one of the shorter wait times), but it turned out to be a little longer due to a malfunction with the equipment. One would think we would have lost patience and left, but we were so close to the front of the line, and people watching was very entertaining. (not everyone was pleased about the equipment failure) I felt so bad for the young workers who were being bombarded with questions and abuse from irate "guests' and I use the word guest, loosely.
We just happen to be walking by the "Animal Actors", exhibit, and the show was about to start. The wonderful show, and the chance to rest our weary feet was greatly received by us all. By now everyone was ready for a sit down meal. When at Universal Studios, where better to experience the atmosphere than the "Hard Rock Cafe". Another short wait and we were on our way to filling our empty bellies.
We had one more "must do" ride on our list; "Despicable Me." This ride had the longest wait time of all the rides for the day - 120 minutes. Some how that didn't seem as long as saying 2 hours. The votes were split on whether the ride was worth the wait. Ashley and I though it was worth it. You can do the math on what the other two thought. I did think the ride was too short, but the contents were amazing. I'm pretty sure I had a smile on my face the entire time (and I didn't feel like throwing up). The day was coming to an end. We came to the conclusion that we were glad we hadn't forked over an additional $80.00 for a fast pass card. Although some of the rides were long, we rode all the rides we had intended. The drive home was pretty uneventful. A couple of wrong turns, but we still managed to find our way back to our hotel.
No comments:
Post a Comment