Hedy hits Universal

[Hedy]

There are many, many excuses for this trip, but I?m just going to go with two: a)my mother was in Scotland, and kept telling me I should go away for the fourth of July, too. B)I had to use a vacation day for foot surgery in April. I also feel the need to note there was some grief associated with this trip-shortly before my dad was diagnosed with his brain tumor, he had met Youngest Brother, DSIL, and her Dsis and DBIL at Universal. I kind of consider Universal to be the last place my dad was alive, as I choose to remember the father who turned to Youngest Brother in the Mummy queue and pointed to the warning sign and said "I have all of that," (Youngest Brother "Dad, you're pregnant?") as opposed to the guy in the hospital bed during the last week or so of his life.

Thursday, July 3:
Anyway, I got out of work, went to my car, turned on Dory the GPS, and switched out from work shoes to my croc Mary Janes (plus socks, to avoid the yucky airport floor). I made good time getting to Pre-Flight parking lot. It was easy to find, and right across from TF Green. I took the shuttle to the airport. Security was easy-I told the TSA agent I had my contact solution in a separate bag, she knew it was legal. I grabbed a bite at TGI Friday?s and waited for my gate.

Now, I was somewhat nervous about boarding, as I haven?t flown on Southwest in six years. But it was easy as pie-I lined up*, got on, picked out an aisle seat, and sat down. This was easily the oddest flight to MCO I?ve ever taken-almost everyone was an adult, except a couple of toddlers. I landed in Orlando, called for the shuttle to my hotel (Sheraton Suites for $35 on Priceline). I checked in and went to my room. It was the nicest $35 room I?ve ever had-there was a living room area with a couch and chair, plus a little fridge and coffee maker. I had a nice king bed, with a bathroom area. I went to bed, but first readied my park bag-I was getting up early in the morning to get the shuttle to HRH.

*Around this time, I learned two things-one, I had an unwelcome monthly guest along for the ride, two, there is something worse than needing to pick a wedgie in public-the elastic on your panties breaking and them heading south. :eek:

[pbhall13]

Thanks for starting your TR Heather..........glad you made the trip to Universal.........it is a nice way to remember your dad.......did you by chance get your humor from him :).

Bummer about the elastic on the undies!!! that can make for a not so fun walk to the shuttle!!! (well fun for those who are watching you struggle :rotfl:P

Keep the report coming....oh and pictures...I love pictures.

Pamela

[JillyFish]

*Around this time, I learned two things-one, I had an unwelcome monthly guest along for the ride, two, there is something worse than needing to pick a wedgie in public-the elastic on your panties breaking and them heading south. :eek:

Okay....the combination of those two things has REALLY got to be the pits!!!! :rotfl:

I hope you still enjoyed yourself. Looking forward to hearing more!

[askomsky]

LOL, Oh the humor! I can't wait for more!

What a nice way to remember your dad. Can't wait to hear the rest. I'm dying to try Universal.

[Hedy]

Thanks for starting your TR Heather..........glad you made the trip to Universal.........it is a nice way to remember your dad.......did you by chance get your humor from him :).

Bummer about the elastic on the undies!!! that can make for a not so fun walk to the shuttle!!! (well fun for those who are watching you struggle :rotfl:P

Keep the report coming....oh and pictures...I love pictures.

Pamela

And it was Southwest, so I couldn't get out of line.

[chipndale]

*Around this time, I learned two things-one, I had an unwelcome monthly guest along for the ride, two, there is something worse than needing to pick a wedgie in public-the elastic on your panties breaking and them heading south. :eek:

:eek: What a way to start your trip! Sounds like your hotel room was great. Can't wait to read more.

[Sunni]

Heather What a nice way to remember your father! I can't wait to read more.

[linanglab]

Never been to Universal, so this report will keep my interest!!!! I keep thinking we ought to take a day of our WDW vacation and go....then we can't pull ourselves away from the World!

Oh....and my monthly friend also decided to join me for my beach vacation.....Not so friendly if you ask me!

[disneyforever]

DH and I stayed in the Sheraton suites 2 years ago. I think we paid $70 a night. You got an awesome deal!!

I love flying Southwest, but the line up thing can be a bit of a pain sometimes.

It used to never fail that every single time I went on vacation my monthly friend was there. :mad: Then, when I was 27, I had to have everything removed. :banana: As much as I travel it has been great not having to deal with it. (ok, probably TMI)

Can't wait to hear about the rest of your vacation and to see if you liked Universal Studios.

[Hedy]

I had missed the first shuttle, so I waited for the second. There was a mother and two kids waiting with me-when the shuttle came and we got on, I called my mother. Her travelling companion was having a cellphone issue. I was able to solve the issue over the phone (if you flick the lock switch, the phone unlocks, shockingly), I'm certain the people in the shuttle thought I was screwy. I got out, and started looking for the Mears counter. I couldn't find it, so I stupidly asked a person waiting near the Mears sign at ground transportation. He informed me Mears didn't go to HRH, so I should take his cab. I called Mears, found their desk (closed, and the electronic kiosk was broken). They sent a shuttle, I waited for one person, they never showed up but there was someone else going to Lake Buena Vista, and we were off! The ride to HRH was easy enough, I liked it when we were driving up and saw Wet and Wild, and then when you can see the Hulk and Dr. Doom's Fear Fall from the road.

I got out, and entered HRH. Wow, it's a pretty hotel-I felt a little self-concious in my moisture-wicking t-shirt and running skirt. I checked in, they found my reservation, and gave me my room key. The person checking me in verified that my Lowes Forst gift was red wine and nuts, in retrospect I wish I'd asked for milk and cookies, as I was too busy to drink my wine. I stored my bags, and I was off. It was around 7:50 am, and the pool (which you walk through to get to the parks) was closed, so I headed into Emack and Bolio's for a quick snack. I grabbed a Sprite (FYI for you bottled soda fans-bottles are $3 at HRH, but $2.75 in the machines at the park). I planned to pop some emergen-C in the Sprite, and drink it while I waited. I took a chug top compensate for the fizz of emergen-c, put it and, and kablooey! My Sprite was channeling Mount Vesuvious. I cleaned up what I could with napkins, alerted the TM at the register, and headed out to the pool. It really was a nice pool, with a great slide. I wandered around a bit, and headed to the gate with the "to the parks" sign. There was a nice family waiting for the gate to open, and a lady who wanted to get in, but it wasn't working (it was about 8:10, and the pool opened at 8:00). A TM came along and let us out. It was an easy walk to Universal Studios. I got my ticket from the machine easy as pie, then I got in line. In line, I learned that Brazillian tour groups go to US/IOA as well as WDW (and they were cheering).

The doors opened, I got in. First stop was a restroom in New York. I stuffed my Tinkerball fastpass holder down my shirt, as everything else was going in a locker. I got my locker, and got in queue for the Mummy. I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to use the Express Pass queue,as there was no wait. As I got on, I realized my fastpass pouch had dropped off my lanyard, but it was safely tucked away. I was on the Mummy with maybe 3 other people in the whole car. I liked the Mummy, but my migraines were acting up and it threw my for a loop. I got off, and, realizing I needed a case for my Express Pass, I bought a Universal one-good thing I could charge it to my room, as everything else was in my locker. I then headed over to the Simpson ride, I was really impressed with the queue. If you're not an Express Pass person, start your day at Simpsons, at 9:20 the wait was around 45 minutes. The Simpsons was great-the snark involved in Krustyland was hysterical. I headed over to MIB, and the lockers. I put my bag in (does anyone else find it amusing that Men in Black have no fingerprints, given the lockers). I did not horribly on my first ride, but I forgot to press the red button. I walked over to Jaws...my first ride I'd been on before. Having been on Martha's Vineyard the week before my trip, I was impressed with the theming in Amity. Jaws was good-I was sitting right where the shark comes up, which is a little startling. It was kind of sad though-the thing to let us off the boat wasn't working, so we were stuck on the boat for about five minutes-there were some younger kids who were freaking out-I think they might have thought it was part of the ride. :( I went over to the horror make up show-brilliant-is the Fred Flinstone head a hidden something or other (as they used to have the Hanna Barbera ride)? It was hysterical, at the point where the host blames the kid for the alarm, the expert turned to the kid and said "I'm watching you, this isn't Disney World, I don't need to be nice to you." :rotfl: I grabbed some fries at Mel's. I headed over to Disaster, but it looked like too long until the show, so I decided to walk around until the Beetle Juice review. I stopped in the Kids Zone and rode ET-that's kind of an odd ride. I headed over to the Beetle Juice review, which was hysterical. I stopped in Shrek on my way out-I really liked it, but I thought it was a little scary for wee ones-the little girl next to me left the auditorium in tears.

[lrsellars]

Thanks for posting your trip report. We always go to Disney but we just couldn't pass up the 7 day ticket special so we are planning on going at the end of the year for the first time. I'm sure I'm going to want to do a day or two at Disney but I think the kids will really love Universal.

[bbangel]

Rollercoasters and sun with a migraine? You are a stronger woman than me!

[Hedy]

Rollercoasters and sun with a migraine? You are a stronger woman than me!

Only indoor roller coasters, and I had my celeb out of rehab sunglasses and ballcap.

[Hedy]

I called HRH, and my room was ready (thanks, DISers, for letting me know I shouldn't wait for the hotel to call me. I went back, checked in, got two new room keys (if Universal/Lowes is so into being green, shouldn't they stop giving one person 3 room keys?). They said they'd send the luggage to my room, which they did. I stopped by the concierge to book a seating at Mythos (which, incidentally, is pronounced Mee-thos, not Myth-os). It was a really nice room-it had two queen beds, a tv, a nice bathroom. It had an ajoining room, which surprised me as I was a solo-the door was closed, but I still would think they'd save it for a family. My luggage arrived, I unpacked (or rather, spread all my junk on the other bed). There was a knock at the door-it was my wine and nuts, as well as a note.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/htf130/universal023.jpg SR representin', also please note Sunshine the stuffed cat (who may or may not have been the reason SR's name appealed to me).

[Hedy]

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I headed off to IOA. I walked through Citywalk as I headed to IOA. They aren't kidding when they call it a big HRC.
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There's something exciting about entering a theme park you've never been in before. I really liked the Port of Entry. I decided to go counter-clockwise and start with Marvel Island. I got in the queue for Spiderman-I liked how even the Express Pass queue was themed. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/htf130/universal028.jpgI wasn't quite sure what to expect, but wow-that was amazing, it was like an exciting dark ride meets 3-D meets simuator. Due to my migraines, I decided Hulk and Dr. Doom would be a bad idea, so I headed off to Toon Lagoon. First, I got a refillable mug at Fruit. I loved the idea of the refillable mug ($.69 coke after paying $7-sounds good to me) but the cup didn't fit in the pocket of my touring bag so it was kind of a pain-I didn't bother with it on Sunday. I really wanted to go on Dudley Do Right (my favorite ride at another amusement park in Orlando is their flume), but my migraines did not like even getting in or out the test seat, so I decided to nix it. ;(. I headed over to Popeye. On the way, I passed a number of sopping wet people-hint-IOA day is a bad day for your entire family to wear matching outfits involving white pants. I got on Popeye. I loved it! I was the best raft ride I've been on. I got out, decided not to chance things with Jurassic Park, so I chamois'd myself dry, and knew that my quick drying skirt and shirt would do their thing. I walked around Jurrassic park, and decided to grab a snack at Thunder Falls of corn, rice, key lime cheesecake and a coke (refill). I really just wanted the Key Lime Cheesecake, but figured I should have some nutrition as well (I usually have good eating habits, I swear). I love key lime...you could try to sell me Key Lime arsenic. I stopped to grab a spoon and knocked over my coke. :mad: I wiped it up, ate what wasn't ruined, and headed off to the Lost Continent.
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[Hedy]

I wanted to ride the Flying Unicorn, purely because it was closing. It was actually pretty cute. I dont like standing attractions, so I skipped Poseidon, and my migraines did not want to try DD. I wanted to see the test seat to at least see if I fit, but some little kid was sitting in it and not moving. I headed onto Seuss Landing. I started with the trolley ride (great view). I then moved onto the Cat in the Hat...what a cool ride-it's a dark ride for the new millenium. I rode the Carosuessel, which was fun except for the kid and his father who were horsing around next to me. Why people do that in a theme park I'll never know
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Up next...Mythos..

[fourfoxesinpa]

Oh good - you went to Mythos. I can't wait to read your review to see how you liked it. We really like the theming in the Lost Continent. Cool music, scenery, a nice place to hang out.

And, isn't Spidey just the most amazing ride there is? I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

[Hedy]

It was about 7:15 now, and decided to head toward Mythos. I was really looking forward to eating at Mythos. I got there, and there was a wait. I informed the hostess I was alone. I waited. And waited. I knew I was the last seating, but I wasn't sweating it. The family next to me, however, was flipping that they had to wait, and they had a priority seating. They were seated. I was seated around 7:45. Now, I know that I was the last seating of the day, it was the Fourth of July, and I was a solo. However, I felt the service was really poor. I sat for a while, and my waitress came over and asked "Can I get you anything?" Good evening and a happy Fourth to you, too. I asked for a potion of the gods. She carded me. She broght it to me. "What do you want?" "What are your specials?" "We have a beef tip risotto, and a pulled pork flatbread." Maybe I'm becoming a crotchety old woman, but I would think a server should offer up the specials without prodding. I ordered the tomato flatbread. The waitress brought my bread-it and my drink were good. Complaining family was next to me, and getting as bad service as I was. She brought my flatbread. Now I love mozzarella and tomato, but the cheese was low quality, and the basil was scarce. Meh. She disappeared for a while. When she returned, she asked "Anything else?" Once again, the pattern of me almost needing to interpret continued. "I'd like the gooey banana cake, please." It came. It looked pretty (I was so not into this meal at this point I wasn't doing food porn pics). The cake was part warm, part cold. The peanut butter ice cream was full of ice crystals. Yuck. I was too tired to dispute my bill, so I paid (I did really like getting a discount with my AAA card at so many places). Then the final moment happened-I was entitled to a glass because of my drink. "Do i just take this glass?" "Oh, no, I'll get you a boxed one..." The service was poor, more inadequate than bad. But between that and the food, I don't think I'll return to Mythos, and I'm kind of scratching my head as to its reputation.

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I strolled around IoA-it's a beautiful park. Strolling through Jurassic Park at night was cool with the growling. I gazed at Dudley Do right again, decided not to chance it. I did ride Spiderman again. I'd thought about heading over to Universal for Universal 360, but was not in a crowd mood. So I headed back to the hotel. Citywalk was packed, the NBA place was doing something with the basket outside. As I walked along, I found they were playing the 360 music and we could see part of the fireworks by the Universal globe. I headed back to my hotel. I passed the rickshaws, but didn't have tip money. I found the walk back to HRH in the dark not too well marked, in the future I'd take a rickshaw or water taxi.

[Hedy]

Oh good - you went to Mythos. I can't wait to read your review to see how you liked it. We really like the theming in the Lost Continent. Cool music, scenery, a nice place to hang out.

And, isn't Spidey just the most amazing ride there is? I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

Loved Spidey! Was not a fan of Mythos, though.

[fourfoxesinpa]

Loved Spidey! Was not a fan of Mythos, though.

So sorry you didn't have a nice experience at Mythos. When we were there, it was early December with no crowds. We just walked in for lunch and I had the BEST pork tenderloin with some raspberry and hazlenut topping and a really delicious risotto. Forget what DH had but I know it had a lot of mushrooms which he tends to order out (since I don't eat or cook them). The meal and service were excellent. Could have been the holiday crowds, could have been dinner vs. lunch...at any rate, they should have given you a good dining experience and I'm sorry you were disappointed.

[llgray16]

Thanks for the trip report! Sorry you weren't feeling well!

I'm disappointed to hear about Mythos. We were looking forward to eating there next year.

[Hedy]

Thanks for the trip report! Sorry you weren't feeling well!

I'm disappointed to hear about Mythos. We were looking forward to eating there next year.

It's just one person's experence, you know? If you listened to every review on the net, I don't think you could leave your house.

[llgray16]

It's just one person's experence, you know? If you listened to every review on the net, I don't think you could leave your house.

Very true! Different strokes for differnt folks!

Some opinions you put more weight to than others ;)

[Hedy]

The next morning I got up, packed/organized things into check out mode (I opted not to bring my wine with me-pity, would have been nice at the Hyatt that night). I checked out, stored my bags, and headed to IoA. I rode Spiderman (I was in the front rather than the back-I, personally, like the front better) and Popeye. I was on Popeye with a nice British family, and one point the mom ducked under her tween to keep dry-LOL. It was around 9:45, and I had to check in for my flight at 10:10, so I strolled over to Cinnabon and had a snack while waiting for check in time. I checked in on my phone (A54 :( ) and decided I was good with IoA, so I crossed over to Universal. I really like how easy it is to park hop there. I headed straight for the Animal show. When the animals come out at the beginning, the woman behind me exclaimed "Oh my god, how do you train a cat!" Having two cats, I lolled. The show was cool, but I don't like birds, and there were too many flying close to me. I then decided to head to Disaster. We got in, and there was a huge family next to me who wanted to get in the show. Kiddo was cast as screaming kid. Mom went with. They then proceeded to scream and jump for every flipping role. Grandpa got cast in the closed shoes role. The thing with Christopher Walken and the TM was cool. We did the rest of the pre-show and headed onto our subway car. I think it was the exact same Earthquake ride, it was fun, though. I headed over to Twister-it was a nice attraction, but given all the tornadoes in the news these days, it seemed like kind of a messed up attraction/thrill. I went to ride the Mummy, but I couldn't get the dang lockers to work, so I gave up. I grabbed a funnel cake in Amity, and headed over to MIB. I finally got a locker to work, but when it opened, it was full of HRH toiletries-no bag, just toiletries. Who does that? I went to MIB. I remembered to hit the red button this time. My score was around 100,000. I had thought I might head over to the Mummy, but that walk sans sunglasses was not going to happen. I could not get my locker open-I think the sweat+sunscreen was too much. A great TM helped me. He checked a photo id in my wallet to ensure I was me-so if you think you might have that problem, don't put your license on your lanyard. I actually e-mailed Universal about my experience and got an e-mail from them thanking me for letting them know.

I took a break and had a frozen Coke by the Simpsons. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/htf130/universal043.jpgI headed down to Hollywood and saw Terminator-it was really cool, but I kept on lifting off my glasses to see what was real. I saw Shrek again. I stopped at the sounviner store and got myself a Fiona pen on my way out. I browsed in the citywalk shops. I had been thinking I'd grab dinner at Citywalk, but after experiencing a lot of boredom while looking at the menu, I decided to try the Kitchen. I stood in line for the watertaxi. We arrived, and I headed over to the kitchen. Menu looked good-they were advertising a character meal, but they weren't crowded. My waiter, Anthony, was exceptional. I had a great pasta primavera, electric lemonade, and a key lime tart. I also met Bart Simpson, who kissed my hand. I told him he was acting gentlemanly. I spent sometime looking at the pool and checking out the arcade (didn't seem as big as I've seen other Orlando arcades be). On my way to the lobby, I passed a couple-the guy yelled out "I just got married!" I thought it was cute.
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[Hedy]

I got my stuff, and waited for Mears. The shuttle pulled up...I was the only one in it. I asked if the driver could take me to Terminal B, even though my fake flight was in terminal A. He could. I think Mears has a bad rep-I was very pleased with both transfers I had. I enjoyed the ride to MCO-good grief, Orlando has a lot of hotels. We passed some amusing billboards-there was one for Cracker Barrel that said "Fresh greens. Coming up daily." Um, ok. There was also a huge one for vasectomies-I thought it was funny it was going towards MCO. I got dropped off, but I had a mission at the Earport before I checked into the Hyatt. I got my nephews each an autograph book. I headed off to the Hyatt. I had a king room, they advised I leave at least 90 minutes between my check out and my flight in the morning. I had one of those rooms with the balcony overlooking the terminal. I liked the Hyatt.

Next morning, I checked out, went to check my baggage on SWA, and headed home.

Final thoughts:
I'm glad I took this trip, both for the personal reasons and because I had fun. I had been slightly worried I wouldn't have fun, or get hurt, but I had a great time. I'd also been worried that not having a car would be a problem, but it wasn't; however, I think next trip I'll rent a car so I can do Citywalk my last night and stay offsite rather than the airport.

In short, if you're a Disney person who wants to try the darkside, do it.