My first stop on this Monday morning was at a Citgo/7-11 on International Drive to fill up the tank of my rental Mirage. Then I was off to Universal Studios! My free pass from the Vistana timeshare pitch yesterday was a type called a Silver Star pass; it was a 3-day park-hopper, good at Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure, but it expired 7 days after the initial use. No problem for me, as I wasn't going to be in Orlando for 7 more days.
But which park to see first? I decided as I parked in Universal's huge parking structure that I would let the crowds choose for me. When I got to the point in Universal's CityWalk where you can go right to USF or left to IOA, I stopped, stood by the rail next to the lagoon, and watched the people coming from the garage. My plan was to see where the heaviest crowds were going, and go the other way. Well, it was just about even; the crowd seemed to be just slightly heavier going toward IOA, but not by much.
So I went to USF. I've heard that Monday and Tuesday have the lightest crowds at USF, and I can say that this particular Monday was absolutely deserted! The crowds coming from the garage hadn't looked particularly heavy to me, and when I got into the park, I found the place nearly deserted. Every ride was a walk-on, there were no heavy crowds in any of the restaurants or eateries, and some of the streets were actually empty of people as I walked through the park. It actually reminded me of an E-ride Night at Magic Kingdom! I guessed that the park was probably operating at about 20%-30% of it's capacity.
My first stop in USF is almost always Terminator 2 3D: Battle Accross Time. With no line, I was into the pre-show area in only a few seconds, and got a great seat, right in the middle of the arena. The show was fantastic, as always, although it seems to be getting harder and harder for USF to find stunt actors who look like Linda Hamilton, Eddie Furlong, and Arnold Schwartzeneggar. In this show, the Arnold guy looked more like George Clooney.
Then I headed for the back of the park to see the newest addition to USF, Men in Black: Alien Attack. I took some pictures of the big new building on my way in, and I was quickly seated in an MIB training vehicle, blasting the scum of the universe back to thier constituent compounds. I really enjoyed this ride, even more than the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin in Magic Kingdom. I love movies, and I love shooting stuff, so this ride was a perfect fit for my personality.
Then I headed off to Back to the Future: The Ride, where I enjoyed the both ride and the preshow, but it gave me a slight headache. To relax I went on Jaws and got the typical sunburn from the propane explosions. I love that ride; it has great fire effects.
Jaws made me hungry. I wanted to continue on attraction after attraction, but I needed lunch first, so even though it was only about 11:30, I went to Richters, home of the Big One, for a burger and fries.
I let my lunch digest while seeing Earthquake: The Big One, Kongfrontation, and Twister: Ride It Out. Then I got thirsty, so I stopped in Scwabbs Pharmacy for a milkshake. I chose butter pecan ice cream for my shake; the flavor was fantastic, and I wound up with a bunch of pecans at the bottom to munch on.
The only ride I hadn't hit thus far that I wanted to was the E.T. Adventure, so that's where I went next. It had been several years since I last rode E.T., and I had forgotten how much I loved the queue area, with it's artificial northern California forest, it's low, almost spooky theme music, and the little details like E.T.'s home-made communicator, built from a record player, umbrella, circular-saw blade, and of course, the Speak-N-Spell. I think the atmosphere in the queue is every bit as fun and adventurous as the ride itself.
What time is it? Only about 3pm; I still have time to try some rides at IOA! I made my way back to the park gates, stopping briefly at a payphone just outside to call home, during which it rained for about 5 minutes then cleared up. When the rain stopped, I walked over to IOA and entered the park for the second time in my life.
Islands of Adventure is a thrill park. You can tell this from the moment you enter the gates and see the Port of Entry section of the park, and hear the big, bold, orchestral theme music playing in that area. The music is fast and adventurous, and sets your mood immediately. My first stop in IOA was Marvel Superhero Island, where I wanted to ride the Spiderman adventure. On my first trip to IOA, in April of 1999, I had skipped most of the best attractions, as I am a lifetime member of the Coaster Chickens' Association, but this year I was determined to ride them all, starting with Spidey.
IOA had just opened in April of 1999 for a sneak-preview, or what is more commonly known in theme-park circles as a 'soft opening.' I had gotten a good deal on a pass, essentially paying for the priviledge of being a beta-tester of the new park, but several rides were not working at that time, and I skipped several others and saw no shows, prefering to simply wander around and explore the park. In the year-and-a-half since, I had learned quite a bit about IOA from TV shows, ads, and internet articles, and I had been kicking myself for not riding the Spidey adventure in 1999.
Spidey was considered by many to be the best ride in IOA, and after riding it myself (finaly), I had to agree. Spidey is a motion-simulator ride wherein you are taken at high speed though the streets of New York in a remotely-controled news vehicle called a Scoop. Your assignment, given you by J. Jonah Jameson, editor of the Daily Bugle, is to cover the big story of the day, a battle between Spider-Man and a group of super-villains who are trying to steal the Statue of Liberty with an anti-gravity beam. But in the process you stray too close to the battle, and your Scoop winds up getting bashed, burned, electrocuted, and dropped from a 50-story building, while Spidey is trying to save you and battle the bad guys.
For an old Spider-Man fan like me, it was a fantastic ride. For non-Web-heads, it was still a fantastic ride.
Still reeling from Spidey, I went back to Jurassic Park and rode the JP River Adventure, yet another terrific ride, and then screwed up my courage and went for the Dueling Dragons coasters. I'm a reformed Coaster Chicken, which is to say that I used to be so scared of roller-coasters that I wouldn't get on them, but now I do. I still get scared while waiting in line, but once the ride starts, I usually enjoy it. There are two things about coasters that have always particularly bothered me: free-fall (zero gravity), and foot-danglers. Dueling Dragons is a foot-dangler, but I stood in the very short line (trying to hide my aprehension) and got on it anyway. The restraints are very secure, and reasonably comfortable for a person of my size, but even so, I got a rush of fear when the floor dropped out from under me and the train started up the lift hill. Overall, I did wind up enjoying the experience, although my knees were a little weak afterward.
I'm not big on shows, but I wanted to try things on this trip that I'd never tried before, so when I passed by the entrance to a show called Posiedon's Fury, I went in. This show has to do with an archeological dig site that magically transports you to the lair of Posiedon, Greek god of the sea, to witness a battle between him and Zues, king of the Greek gods. The effects in this show are so mind-boggling, and so difficult to describe, that I won't even try; even if I could, it would spoil the surprise. If you have never seen Posiedon's Fury at IOA, see it! It is an extremely impressive experience. If you have seen it, see it again.
After the Fury, I went forward in the park and stood in the only long line I had encountered that day, for the Incredible Hulk coaster. This giant green monstrosity certainly lives up to it's name, first with a high-speed launch instead of a lift hill, then with a series of turns, spirals, and loops that leave you with the blood pooled in your feet and a splitting headache. It's also not as smooth as Dueling Dragons. Still, it's a great coaster for coaster fans, and even I enjoyed it a little. I bought the overpriced photo afterward, so I could proove to all my friends back home that I really had worked up the courage to get on this big coaster.
Me feet were hurting. I had shoes on that were only a month or two old; old enough to be completely broken in, but not so old as to fall apart during the long miles of a typical Disney World/Universal Studios vacation. Somehow, though, they were starting to come apart, and my vacation was only about half over. I decided that I needed to buy new shoes, even if I did have to break them in at Disney! So when I left Universal, I made a stop at the Orlando Premium Outlets, which was a newly-opened, and very impressive, shopping mall just off International Drive South, not far from my hotel. Being new, the mall was not very crowded, and was shiny and bright. The mall was open, with high metal covers over all the aisles between stores to keep rain and sun off the heads of shoppers, and the individual stores were all air-conditioned. I wandered around the whole place, taking note of some of the high-end outlets here (Gucci has outlet stores?!), before stopping into a shoe outlet and picking up a comfy new pair of Reeboks ($40 for $75 shoes).
I was hungry, so I stopped at the food court and got a quick bite, and then noticed something familiar just outside the other side of the court: a sign saying Character Premier. It was a Disney outlet! Yet a third Disney outlet store of the same type as the two stores in the Belz malls, this one was very similar in appearance and selection, but newer and cleaner, since it was new. I bought a few small things here before moving off to scan the rest of the mall. Before leaving, I bought a set of trick 'magic' markers for each of the three boys I was shopping for (two nephews and a cousin).
I finished my day by watching Croccodile Dundee on TV, before retiring at about 11.
JAWS 212
Walk miles: 15.1
Drive miles: 164