Orlando day 3

Last night we decided that today was going to be a relaxing day.  We would do no walking and we would stay out of the sun.  The heat just about did me in yesterday and Monday.  We slept late (very late) today and it felt wonderful.  We went and ate lunch and then came back to the hotel to rest again.  We decided to go to the movie and we saw Red.  I think there were only about six people in the theater.  We stopped and had dinner before we came back to the room.  We do plan on returning to Tallassee tomorrow if we leave early enough.

Universal Studios

This morning we got up on time and were able to have breakfast in the hotel and it was good - no frozen dinners.  We got to Universal Studios around 9:30 and it was not too hot.  Of course that did not last long.

The first show we saw was Shrek 4D.  It was fun to feel all four dimensions.  We then walked to the New York area and all the store fronts looked as if we were in New York.  Linwood tried to take my picture on the steps of a book store but the camera would not work.  It was the same place I took a picture of Rebecca when she and I went to Disney World and Universal in 1994.  This place has changed so much since then.  Linwood enjoyed several of the storefronts.



I remember TVs like this.

You can tell he likes these vacuum cleaners.

Next was the San Francisco area.  

Here we saw Disaster movie being made.  The 'director' picked 7 people out of the audience to participate in shooting different scenes.  We were then put on a subway car to film another part.  Of course this is where the earthquake happened and the flood.  It was cheesy but fun.

Fourth of July on Amity Island was next --------JAWS

I am happy to say that on the boat ride we killed the shark.  There was a lot of noise and a lot of water and a lot of Jaws coming out of the water.

In the Kidszone area we were able to help ET get home.  We rode on bikes (5 in a row) connected together.  We rode up in the air and pass the stars to help ET.  We did enjoy this ride.

Hollywood was next



 I think we enjoyed this section the best.  We was the Universal Orlando's Horror Make-up Show.  They showed how make-up artist use special effects in horror movies. 

We also spent some time in the Lucy Tribute.  They had lots of pictures and articles.  We ate at Mel's Drive In.  In the parking lot were old cars (most were from 50-60s)

The large park area was decorated with pumkins and more pumkins.

We had a wonderful time but we were so tired when we returned to the hotel.  I took a long nap and then we showered and went to the Crab House for dinner.  It was very good and of course we ate too much.

Universal Islands of Adventure

This morning started the same way yesterday did.  We had requested a 6:30 wake up call and when Linwood woke up at 7:10 we knew we were in trouble.  We needed to get dressed, call a cab, and get to the lobby by 7:50.  We made it!!!!!  The hotel has a shuttle to Universal but it comes at 8:30.  We needed to be there by 8:15, so that is why we called for a cab ($12).  Once we got to the Island we had to go to the 'will call kiosk'.  It took forever to print all our tickets and we were worried the machine was going to get them out in time.  We did get to Three Broomsticks in time for our 8:30 reservation.  The cost of our breakfast was included in our package.  We had our first taste of Butterbeer with our meal.  I am not sure I can describe the taste.  It is kinda sweet, a taste of vanilla, form on the top, and no alcohol.  Linwood liked it, but I think I would have enjoyed it better at a different meal.

From breakfast we went to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

We took a tour of the castle.  While waiting in line, we were in the 'garden'.  Some of the plants were strange looking..



We then rode the Flight of the Hippogriff.  It is a rollercoaster.  The entire time I was squeezing Linwood's arm and had my eyes closed.  We watched the Frog Choir, but they were terrible.  It was two girls and two boys singing.  Two of them were holding a large frog sitting on a pillow.  We went into the store that sold wands and robes.  Here are two pictures of Linwood in his finest garb.



We then went to the Jurassic Park section. 

We took the Jursassic River Park Adventure which is a large raft  We saw large and small dinosaurs and one of them spit water all over us.  As we were going up the first 'hill', Linwood was saying "oh,baby...oh baby" and I was holding on so tightly.  At the end of the ride we went down a 50 foot fall and of course we got very wet.  You must see our picture when you come to the house.  Linwood is screaming and I once again have my eyes closed.

The next section we went to was Seuss Landing.  Everything was about Dr. Seuss and I loved it.  We once again rode a rollercoaster but it was much 'tamer'.  There was a book store with just Dr. Seuss books in it.  Everything is this section was happy. 

We then walked through Toon Lagoon.  The Spiderman ride was NOT something we should have done.  We asked the man at the front if it was a rollercoaster and he said "no".  Once we got in, we were given 3D glasses and then shown to a ride car.  When we got out, I was so glad that ride was over.  It stopped, it turned, it back up, it whrilled, and it was too long.  The 3D part was very good.

By 4:00, we were exhausted and ready to return to the hotel.  I was so hot and sick to my stomach.  After resting for about an hour and a half we took showers and decided to go down to the hotel restaurant and eat.  When we walked into the room, the cashier asked if we wanted to take the food back to our room and we said we would just eat there.  She said it would take about 20-25 mintues to prepare.  Linwood ordered Turkey meatballs, potatoes, with mixed vegetables.  I ordered spagetti and meatballs.  Since it was going to take awhile we into the lobbly and watched the news on TV.  After we sat down at the table to eat, we saw the cashier putting a plate into a microwave.  I looked like spagetti.  After she took that one out, she put another plate into the microwave.  I told Linwood I thought we were paying $12.95 each for frozen dinners.  We started laughing and he told me not to laugh when she brought our food to the table.  Of course, that made we want to laugh harder.  When I saw the plate, I knew I could not eat it.  The veg. looked still frozen.  My meatballs looked freezer burned and the spagetti noodles were hard.  Linwood had to eat his meal since he had taken his Byetta before we went down.  When she came with our ticket, she looked at my plate and asked if everything was okay.  I sweetly told her the food was terrible and that we did not realize it was going to be a frozen meal that was heated in a microwave.  I really felt sorry for her.  She asked us to wait and she went to the mnanager and he gave us our meal free.  Thank goodness Gayla had made us brownies to bring on our trip.  I can hardly wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Orlando trip

We had planned on leaving home around 6:30 a.m. this morning.  Well, we did not hear the alarm therefore we did not leave Tallassee until 9:20 a.m.  We did not plan on getting to Orlando after dark but that is what happened. We got to the Holiday Inn around 8:30 pm.  On the way down we stopped for lunch, gas, and supper.  We have to get up early in the morning because we have to be at Universal Park at 8:30.  We have reservations for breakfast at the Broomstick Resturant.  I will let you know about our first day at the park tomorrow night.