Sigh... Our vacation is over. I'm typing this from the Orlando airport. This has been a wonderful trip! What a great way to spend our anniversary week. We're so smart for getting married November 10th. No matter what, the day after our anniversary will always be a holiday. Also, vacationing in November is much cheaper and way less busy than other months!
This post is just a mish-mash of the remaining photos from our trip we haven't posted yet on previous blog posts. There will be some stories mixed in there as well.
Some of the highlights from our trip as previously mentioned, were the attention to detail in the rides and line-ups. Also, it was a bonus that we never waited in line longer than 20 minutes. Even that only happened a couple times! Most of the time the longest part was just walking through all the set decorations to get to the ride.
Inside the Despicable Me lineup
We didn't spend much time in Dr. Suess land, but we did have to walk through there a few times. I loved how they even took the time to make the side-walks spiral and the supports for buildings seem as though they're toppling over. Very whimsical!
Everything seems larger than life. I wonder how much of it is illusion, and how they do it!
Throughout the park they have random items on display, such as the Delorean from Back to the Future. David was excited about this.
There was a 4D Shrek show. Overall, the show was relatively childish, but there is always some humour in there for the adults! David enjoyed the Star Wars references.
Cliche Jaws photo
This is the Rip Ride Rocket. I went on it alone as David wasn't feeling up to it. The first time, everyone got sent away right as I was about to get on the ride. Apparently there were some "technical difficulties". Pssht. I went back a few hours later and got to ride the coaster! It was good, but I feel like a lot of the newer coasters just don't have the same level of thrill as the wooden coaster at Playland. It must be something about feeling as though you're going to fly out of the cart, or the cart is going to go off the edge, or the cart being fuelled only by gravity after the first up-hill. The wooden coaster is always going to be the scariest for me, and I enjoy the adrenaline rush!
Beautiful grounds at Universal
See Hogwarts in the background?!
Simpsons land was fun. Lots of clever ideas in this area. This is Sleazy, Queasy and Surly, the Duff mascots.
David and I rode the Jurassic Park ride twice over the trip. A lovely way to cool off! There were a few water rides, and the line-ups were never too long. David went to Universal in California when he was young, and he was too intimidated by the drop on Jurassic Park to go. I'm glad he was able to brave it this time! He loves (or loved) dinosaurs, so I knew he'd enjoy it. Picture above is before the ride...
And after the ride...
Dinosaur discovery centre
Random details in the Jurassic Park lineup
Scary raptor in the back!
David taking on the T-Rex
We enjoyed a couple cold brews as we walked around the park. It's hard to justify spending $7.50 US on a beer, but in the moment it feels worth it!
We couldn't resist another couple trips through the Harry Potter area! Every time we walked through we felt so excited! It literally feels as though you're being transferred to another world.
Inside the Escape from Gringotts lineup!
Walking to Platform 9 3/4 in King's Cross Station!
It was so hard to get good photos since the sky was so bright. I'm sure I could have spent the time to edit them on my phone, but... Ain't nobody got time for that!
These little lizards were everywhere. I love any animal, so I always got super excited about them.
On Thursday we were walking to the Revenge of the Mummy ride (which we may or may not have done three times) and a street show started. It was an acapella group, which was fun to watch! Fun, that is, until the host came up to me and called me out. Thank GOODNESS I didn't have to move from my spot, and just had to answer the question of my favourite TV show or movie. I froze, so David whispered, "Friends" into my ear. Grateful for his quick thinking! Everyone loved my answer and the group sang a quick number about the TV show.
Foggy morning outside the hotel. Not how you would typically picture Orlando, Florida eh!?
Overall, we had a wonderful time on this trip.
One highlight for us is...(shocker)... the Harry Potter land. Everything about it exceeded our expectations. We would definitely recommend it for anyone remotely into Harry Potter!
A lowlight for both of us is the use of 3D rides. We appreciate the technology and it is quite effective, however we both come out of those rides feeling a little queasy. I also felt sometimes the 3D is a little over-used. Maybe a bit of a cop out?
We intended on coming home with some souvenirs, but ended up coming home with nothing but pictures and memories. I think it's due to the fact that a deck of cards cost $15 American.... That's like $20 Canadian after tax! Wayyyyy too much for a deck of cards! Unfortunate, but hopefully everyone will understand that we couldn't fill stockings with Harry Potter paraphernalia :)
Overall, it was a very fun trip!
I'm finishing this blog post in the Dallas airport. We just realized it was exactly three years ago that we were in this same airport on our way to Mexico for our honeymoon. November 13, 2012.
They had Aladdin playing on the plane. Highlight of the first flight for me!!
Can't wait to see Sherlock this evening! And go home to our house. I keep forgetting we have a house!!
No comments:
Post a Comment