| Author |  Topic  | |
E. Cosgrove
 United Kingdom
5932 Posts
Joined: 26 Apr 2004
Status: offline |  Posted - 04 Apr 2005 : 10:00:33  
| March 25th
Our, by now, customary early morning swim revealed the weather to be overcast but bright, however thunderstorms were forecast for this afternoon. Helen joined us on the pool deck fully dressed with the news that Stu was no better and would probably stay in bed today. Not being a driver she was hoping someone would take her to the pharmacy for supplies. I volunteered but David was quicker and was out of the pool and showered in no time.
There was a brief chat about a contingency plan or staying at home, but Stu really wanted peace and quiet and the kids were keen for us all to go with them.
We had planned Universal for today and decided to stick with the plan, as although MK was nearer Sophie really didn't want her dad to miss that one. This mean't 2 trips to Universal as although we had 2 drivers we were both insured to drive the same van.
David took the first party of Nick, Nic, Jonathon, Kitty, James and Nat whilst Helen, Sophie and I stayed behind. It was good to have a bit of breathing space and a leisurely cuppa. Sophie went for a swim whilst Helen and I tidied the villa and did a bit of ironing!!
it also gave me time to ring Julie (MC) and have a chat, I hadn't had the opportunity to thank her yet for getting everything looking so lovely for our arrival. Julie was concerned about the still missing dining room chair which reminded us that the furniture people had not got back to us yet.
It was getting on towards 10am when David got back, and after he had a quick cuppa and a slice of toast waive 2 were on their way. We could have had free parking with our annual passes but decided to throw caution to the wind and splurge $4 on preferred parking as we were quite late arriving. Being Good Friday we expected the park to be very busy but it didn't seem unusually so. Once inside we rang the kids on their mobile but there was no reply so we left a message. We could only have walked a few yards when they rang us back and we arranged to meet them as they were not far away.
They had only done "Twister" and The Horror makeup Show as they were waiting for us to visit the big attractions together. Helen and I had done "twister" when we visited the Halloween Horror Nights in Oct and David and I had done it again at New Year so none of us were bothered about repeating it.
As we were standing outside Terminator and the show was about to start we decided to go in. Nic was worried that she wouldn't understand what was going on as she had never seen any of the movies but I assured her that neither had I. Everyone enjoyed this, the 3 D effects are really amazing I think I enjoy it more every time I see it.
We wandered up "Rodeo Drive" towards Sunset Boulevard and on to the Kidszone, the plan was to get express passes for ET but the wait was only 15 mins so we decided to wait instead. As soon as they admitted the next group, we were in, giving our names to the man at the desk and straight through the trees and on to the ride, it was all a bit quick really and didn't give you time to appreciate all the detail in the static exhibits. With a party of 10 we had a bike to ourselves, this is a really lovely ride and I never tire of it, Kitty and Nic were thrilled when ET said their name at the end but wondered about the strange bunch of passengers travelling with them with names such as "honey Bun" and "spook"
The characters were performing on a small stage when we left the ride so we stopped an took some photos for Kitty and Nic's 7 year old brother.
The queue for Back to the future was 30 mins but we decided we would rather do this before lunch so we got in line. This is one of my least favourite rides as I am not good with simulators and if I am in the back I find it a bit claustrophobic. I managed to get a front seat and although the ride is very clever I was certainly a bit green around the gills when I came off
Time for lunch at the International Food Bazaar where with so much choice we were able to find something for everyone. I shared a small pizza with Helen and we had some breadsticks with marinara sauce for dipping...yummy
Next, to men in black, I was definitely not doing this one, much too spinny for me and James decided to sit it out as well for the same reasons. Nic has issues with toy guns and shooting people so she joined us both on the grass for an after lunch snooze.The line was quite long so the party joined the single riders queue and were out in about 30 mins. Natalie was best with a phenomanal score whilst Helen got the booby prize.
We wandered over to Amity with some ominous looking clouds gathering above us. The queue for Jaws was 30 mins and all the time we were standing there we kept being warned about "inclement weather approaching the Amity area" and the possibility that this outdoor attraction may have to be withdrawn. We were lucky and managed to ride before there was any rain......didn't make a lot of difference to Kitty though, she got soaked
We wandered round the Amity fairground although nobody tried their luck at any of the sideshows, we have been caught out like that before and had to tote a huge Bart Simpson around with us.
Earthquake next and again only a 20 min wait...we were doing really well. We all tried to shrink into the background when Nick's hand went up to volunteer as a stunt man, something he had done on his previous trip to Universal. He was the guy who had to "fall" several storeys, when they asked us to put up our hands at the end so that the volunteers could find their parties, nobody bothered Nic took pity in the end and put up her hand.
Kitty had a look of horror on her face as the water came gushing down the stairwell towards her, she had only just dried out from Jaws!!
There was a magician performing in the street when we left the ride and we stopped to watch for a few minutes, some of the party got soft drinks whilst a few of us popped into Starbucks for iced coffee, it was there that it happened......the heavens opened
We all dashed along the street to take shelter with a few thousand other people under an awning opposite the entance to The Mummy. Nic decided not to ride so we left her with the bags and instructions to find somewhere drier and dashed across the street. I was not allowed to join the queue with my drink so ended up dumping half of it It was either that or get soaked whilst I finished it.We had no idea how long the queue was but I suppose we reached the front in about 20 mins, Sophie was very intimidated by the cast memebers who kept trying to stare her out, one particular guy followed her right on to the ride and she was really freaked. We were all safely strapped in, only David, Nat and myself had done this ride before so there was a great sense of anticipation, we moved away from the ride load area and then......it stopped
After about 5 mins or so it became clear that the ride was not going to restart and we had to be released from our carriages and led to safety. The scary guy was no longer scary when the lights went on!
We were all given express passes to ride when the attraction ws operational again.
we found Nicola in the shop at the rides exit, the rain was still coming down in torrents and the sore was doing a roaring trade in ponchos. We added to it and donned our smart new attire before venturing outside
We decided that if the weather was set to remain this way there were just acouple of things we would like to do before heading for home. The first was Shrek, people were milling around outside this attraction and it was difficult to know wether they were sheltering from the rain or standing in a queue, James was detailed to find out what was going on and came back with the news that it was not running because of the weather but we were welcome to get in the queue for when it was operational again, the line for Jimmy Neutron was 50 mins and nobody felt inclined to wait this long. There were some long faces and sulks ( yes even so called adults can behave like little kids!)nobody seemed inclined to make a decision. Jonathon rung Stu who said he was feeling better and would come for us if we were ready, but the girls wanted to shop so we asked him to hang fire. I then took it upon myself to be assertive and joined the queue for Shrek, the rest could do as they pleased. David, Natalie and James came with me and the rest appeared a little later. The queue soon started to move and we were inside the theatre without too long a wait. Even david who was very sceptical enjoyed this one, although Nick, being something of an arachnaphobe hated the spiders!
When we left Shrek it was dark, David nipped back to The Mummy but it was still not working and the line for Jimmy Neutron was still long, so we hit the shops, I let everyone do there shopping totally forgetting that I was entitled to discount with my annual pass
One final check to see if the Mummy was operational....no joy
So we left the park slightly disappoionted.
We had to pass right in front of the Nascar cafe and we dived in for something to eat. The food was good, Helen and I shared popcorn shrimp as a starter and were so full afterwards that eneded up pushing my terryaki chicken around my plate
We rang Stu who arranged to pick up the Hobdays and we wandered through City Walk towards rhe car parks, It was strange to see people arriving all dolled up for the clubs when we were staggering home in shorts and trainers accesorized with glamorous yellow ponchos
No hold ups on the I4 and we were home within 20 mins.
When the remainder of our party returned it was good tosee Stu loking better, he told us he had slept for most of the day with only one interruption. "This will make your day" he told me as he grabbed my hand and led me to the lanai where the light was working!!!! The workman had been today, yipeee, good job Stu was at home really
It looked like tomorrow we would have our full party for our visit to MK.
We all clambered into bed shattered!!!!!!!!!
|
Liz
www.orlandovillas.com/florida-vacation-rental-1599.aspx | | Report this post to a moderator |
|
rosie
 4240 Posts
Joined: 14 May 2004
Status: offline | |
eagleydo
 United Kingdom
2104 Posts
Joined: 20 Aug 2004
Status: offline | |
DisneyDreamer
 United Kingdom
410 Posts
Joined: 29 Mar 2005
Status: offline | |
janwebb
 United Kingdom
74 Posts
Joined: 19 Aug 2004
Status: offline | |
jolliffee
 United Kingdom
2855 Posts
Joined: 10 Jun 2004
Status: offline | |
dodgey memory
 United Kingdom
219 Posts
Joined: 09 Jan 2005
Status: offline | |
LiesaAnna
 United Kingdom
11926 Posts
Joined: 04 Sep 2004
Status: offline | |
Ray&Sarah
 United Kingdom
10599 Posts
Joined: 11 Nov 2003
Status: offline | |
chunkichik
 United Kingdom
611 Posts
Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Status: offline | |
emm
 United Kingdom
1362 Posts
Joined: 15 Mar 2004
Status: offline | |
Jan.B.
 United Kingdom
56 Posts
Joined: 12 Jan 2005
Status: offline | |
E. Cosgrove
United Kingdom
5932 Posts
Joined: 26 Apr 2004
Status: offline | |
julieanne
 United Kingdom
2560 Posts
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Status: offline | |
stabard
 3076 Posts
Joined: 31 Mar 2004
Status: offline | |
| | Topic | |
Go to first unread post
The Hobgrove's hit Orlando! Part 5
