Sorry kids! We're going to the DARK SIDE!

[gunit12210]

we go on 4/29 a little worried 'bout food now, but @ least we have the free dining so cost won't hurt just the food quality I guess ...

That "pearl lady" looks significantly more subdued than our "pearl lady" @ EPCOT Japan last year My girls still impersonate her ...

 

[mrsabbott]

we go on 4/29 a little worried 'bout food now, but @ least we have the free dining so cost won't hurt just the food quality I guess ... That "pearl lady" looks significantly more subdued than our "pearl lady" @ EPCOT Japan last year My girls still impersonate her ...

As expensive as the food seemed to be, I think the free dining is the way to go. Now, there are several places to eat but I definitely wouldn't recommend spice mill. Maybe the other restaurants will be good.

 

[mrsabbott]

We are up and getting ready to go to church! I found my missing pics, I guess they didn't get uploaded after all but are still on my memory card. I will try and finish up Sea World sometime this afternoon.

I just noticed that my ticker restarted!! It says 11 months, 1 week, and 1 day until Hogwarts!!! I'm just going to leave that up there because HOPEFULLY we will be going back next year!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

My advice? Pack your own lunch. I didn't take pics of the food, but trust me.. it was pitiful.

Aw, I am sorry you had poor luck at Spice Mill. We have always really, really enjoyed the food at SW (far more than Disney and Universals counter service) but admittedly, we havent tried Spice Mill yet. Maybe we wont now .

Just an FYI to anyone else reading....SW has pretty strict policies about food coming into the park. If you do choose to pack your own lunch, you have to eat it outside the park (it cant be brought in with you).

we go on 4/29 a little worried 'bout food now, but @ least we have the free dining so cost won't hurt just the food quality I guess ...

I would not worry about the food at SW....while mrsabbott and her family were definitely disappointed, I like to hope that their experience was an exception. We have had excellent meals at Voyageurs (our familys favourite), the SeaFire Inn, and Mango Joes. And you will LOVE the free dining!! Its so nice being truly unlimited from breakfast right through to park close!

 

[mrsabbott]

Life has been a bit crazy lately... I will finish this one day very soon!

 

[plannermom]

Mrs. Abbott, I was so excited to see a post from you! I will keep checking and know that you have readers out here! Hope all is well.

 

[mrsabbott]

My apologies for taking so long! I'm afraid life has gotten a little crazy here at the Abbott house! We've had some long overdue projects that we've been working on with the nice weather and all. Work has been hectic as well as the kids' after school stuff..

Anyhoo!! Here is the rest of my Sea World report:

I found my missing Turtle Trek pics, so I will share those first.. We really liked that exhibit so much! I think that the kids, Buds especially, being so INTO it made it the most enjoyable! Buds still carries around his little turtle he got at the gift shop there! He especially likes making it kiss people.. I never knew sea turtles were so affectionate!

This is apparently the only male sea turtle they have at the park. It is a different type of turtle then the ones at the tank. The girls were convinced that he was a statue because he was so still. Turtles apparently nap.. a lot.

This is such a perfect example of my kids.. notice the girls posing so nicely (they just HAD to touch the statue which I'm fairly certain wasn't allowed) and Buds wouldn't turn around because he just HAD to try and touch it too!

And here is the turtle picture made out of jelly belly's that was in the gift shop. I'm always impressed by people who creatively use food to make art.. I could never do that. I'd just eat the jelly beans. Jelly Belly's are my favorite!

Okay, so I have to say that Sea World was beautifully landscaped! I mean, it is just gorgeous! If I lived in Florida, I would want my house landscaped like Sea World.. complete with giant, shoe wearing flamingo statues and a waterfall just like this one:

So, Hubs was taking the two older girls on the water ride again, so Boo, Buds, and I wandered towards the kids play area. That was our rendezvous point and where we were going to end our day at Sea World!

We wandered past the flamingos again and I couldn't resist taking a zillion more pictures and wondering if it was illegal to have one as a pet and if our dog would try to eat it. This one was SO CLOSE that I could have reached out and touched it. I wanted to, but didn't. Part of me was afraid that they would be mean and attack.. like emus do.. (don't ask).

As we were walking, Buds kept wanting me to take pictures of stuff.. I think he caught me picture taking bug and would say, "Cheese it Momma! Take pitcher!" and point at stuff! This was one that he was particularly excited about:

I don't know if it was the water or the random bird he was excited about.. but whatever it was, he was impressed.

Once again, I am blown away by Sea World's creative, whimsicle, yet elegant landscaping! I don't understand why we don't have shrubs shaped like killer whales in our front yard. I think I might have to fire our lawn care guy (ahem.. Hubs).

So, we made it to the kid's play area and rode the carousel. Afterwards, Hubs and the other girls met up with us. There were a ton of small kid friendly rides and Buds was in 7th heaven!

I took him on the train ride, as he is also a huge fan of trains, and I somehow took over the role as guardian for some random little boy. I'd say he was an older three, not quite four year old. He wanted to ride in the front with Buds, which was fine by me.. I was too big to fit in there and had to ride in the little car right behind him. When the train stopped, he started to get off on the wrong side and no one stepped forward to stop him.. so I did. The woman manning the ride thought he was with me and was shocked when I told her no! I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have let him ride alone had she known. Finally, an older guy walked up and the boy ran off to him, but I honestly think that guy had walked off and left that boy by himself on that ride!

I took the girls on a little roller coaster (which was puny compared to Hippogriff, and yet Buds was not allowed to ride it) and had the most wonderful conversation with the sweetest family. Actually, come to think of it, I've had numerous pleasant conversations with random people on our vacation. I tend to be more social then Hubs is and it blows his mind how I can possible strike up conversations with just anyone.. but it seems like it happened MORE while we were in Florida! Pretty sure it is because it is such a happy place, you know? People are happy to be there and it makes them more open and friendly!

The roller coaster was "so awesome" according to Boo Bear, who I have come to believe that will be the one to sit the scarier rides out when our family goes to amusement parks in the future.

Oh, random jellyfish hanging baskets in the kid area that I simply MUST have in my backyard. I must.

After the roller coaster, we met up with Hubs and Buds.. they were watching these performers who were so cool! They played drums and danced and stuff! Buds was way into it!! We only caught the last few minutes of the performance, but I was pretty into it myself!

At this point, we started heading back to the front of the park to leave when we remembered that we hadn't fed the dolphins! So we rushed over there only to miss the last feeding.. it was closed. I was pretty bummed, but I was worried about Pod being disappointed because she had really wanted to do it! She took it well though, and said she was happy she got to pet sting rays and feed sharks.

We didn't get to do everything there.. it seemed like we missed some of the other shows by just a few minutes and a few of the things had a long wait that we didn't want to deal with. Honestly, I didn't plan out our day hardly at all.. we just sort of played it by ear. Perhaps if I had planned it better and did more research, we would have been able to do more and maybe had a more enjoyable lunch! We had a GREAT time, but I think we need to go back! The kids and I loved Sea World and would go back in a heartbeat. Hubs.. well, it isn't his favorite. He enjoyed the roller coasters, but Sea World has that zoo vibe that he just isn't into. Kids and I love zoos, but Hubs.. not so much.

One sad thing about the day. I lost my favorite sunglasses. No clue what happened to them. Sigh. Gosh, I guess that just gave me an excuse to go back to SUPER TARGET!!

We left Sea World and decided to have dinner at Bahama Breeze! I've got to say, I was floored by how LATE things stayed open in Orlando! Restaurants close by around 10pm here.. in Orlando they don't close until 1pm!! I'm guessing it is because of the amusement parks and vacationers??

Anyhoo, it was late but we were all hungry. I gotta say, the food there was phenomenal!! Hubs got the Jamaican Jerk Chicken that he said was outta this world! I got a veggie sandwich that was to die for! Their spinach dip was delicious and the kids said their mac n' cheese and lemonade was the best they ever had! I ordered a drink called a Zombie and it was super good, although I was a little woozy afterwards because it was STRONG! Highly recommend this place! It is a chain and there was one in Louisville, but sadly it closed down.. Yet another reason we should go back to Florida.. we'll just add that to the list!

Poor Boo Bear fell asleep at the table, so we left as quickly as we could. The kids literally fell into bed half asleep! Hubs and I were pretty exhausted ourselves!

We were looking forward to going back to Universal the next day though!!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Loved this latest SW instalment, the photos in particular. Great job .

 

[plannermom]

Thanks for the update!

Now I can't wait for the post trip report update with all your new landscaping features

 

[wendy3]

Hurray for an update!! We enjoyed SeaWorld, too, but we are a Disney family. Plus, I have a little problem with making animals do "tricks" to entertain us. Altho I seem to have no problem asking our dogs to perform (speak, shake, roll over, close the door, etc).

We are taking a day away from Disney this upcoming trip to go to Universal. I'm hoping Diagon Alley doesn't open before we get there so that we can manage the crowds. I'm enjoying learning about it from your trip! Looking forward to your next update!

 

[mrsabbott]

We were all happy to be heading back to Universal, HOWEVER it was because we couldn't wait to get back to I of A and Harry Potter World! The plan was to head to Studios and hit a couple of highlights, then leave and walk over to the other side. I just didn't think we would enjoy Studios all that much.

I was wrong.

We go there a little after rope drop. It was imperative that I stop at Starbucks and get a cup of deliciousness to get me going that morning! It had been a busy few days and I was a little sluggish! That is Hubs, Pod, and Punky in the pic. Note the camelback on Hubs. We both have them and usually take them anytime we go on a daytrip somewhere. Filled with ice water, first aid kit, sunscreen, etc.. A must have! Admittedly, I usually stuck mine in the basket of the stroller.

So, Despicable Me was the first thing we saw upon entering. That is probably one of our new favorite movies now! We still need to see the 2nd one! I had read on here somewhere that you should do Minion Mayhem first thing to avoid long lines as it is a popular ride. And so we did. It was already a 30 minute wait when we got in line, although I think it might have been closer to 40 by the time it was actually our turn.

Boo Bear just cracks me up! She is such a little diva sometimes and I have no idea where she gets it from!

Anyhoo, we were about 20 minutes into the line when I had to go to the bathroom.. all that coffee, you know. But I didn't know where one was or to lose my place in line so I decided to just suffer. The inside of Gru's house was so doggone cute but the pics didn't come out very well. Finally, it was our turn to go in and Boo Bear looked around and realized it was a 4D motion ride and started crying!

Now, she's seen Despicable Me several times now and loved it. But her last experience with 4D type rides (Forbidden Journey) and 3D glasses (Turtle Trek and the scary crab) had left a bad taste in her mouth! She got panicked and said she didn't really want to become a minion! For a second, I thought we would have to leave but after assuring her that it wasn't scary and that we wouldn't REALLY turn into minions she decided to give it a try.

It was a super cute and funny ride. Boo Bear actually enjoyed it. But I ended up getting nauseous towards the end. Ick. I'm telling you, I am wimpy, wimpy, wimpy!! BTW.. they have seats that don't move and Hubs and Buds sat in those. Hubs wanted to sit in the moving seats but Buds was on an "I want Daddy" kick that morning.

Nature was calling us, and there was a crowd in the minion dance party room, so we left quickly and headed towards the nearest restrooms. We crossed this field type thing with fake grass that the kids were fascinated by. It was decided that we needed that kind of grass for our yard. It would never die, turn brown, get weedy, need mowing.. So, add that to our future landscaping plans!

Good golly, it was HOT that day too! Hottest day since we'd been there. I wasn't complaining, mind you. Just an observation. Looking back, it wasn't even all that hot.. in the 80's and not all that humid. But we weren't used to that kind of warmth with the winter we'd been having.

Punky and Pod were thrilled to find out that they were tall enough to ride the Rip Ride Rockit Coaster, so they went off with Hubs to get in line. The rest of us wandered over to a little cart selling goodies. Buds hadn't had much breakfast (he was the last to wake up that morning) so being the Mom Of The Year that I am, I fed him giant soft pretzels and churros! They were 2 for $6, which was pretty reasonable. They were also fresh and huge! The 3 of us shared them and I noticed the I Love Lucy Tribute that I was super excited about.

Please note the new sunglasses! I made Hubs stop at Super Target on the way so I could buy a pair. He told me I had 10 minutes or he'd leave without me. I didn't believe him because if I wasn't there then HE would have to change Bud's pull ups and we all know he avoids that like the plague. Needless to say, I managed to try on about 50 pairs before deciding on these. They weren't my favorite purple ones, but they've since grown on me.

Anyhoo, I was captivated by the Lucy Tribute! SO MUCH cool memorabilia!! Thankfully, the kids were occupied with stuffing their faces with pretzel and churro and I was able to take in most of it!

The kids started getting antsy, so I walked to the gift shop area and purchased myself a magnet and travel mug! Hubs texted me and we met outside. He was way stoked that we saw this:

We went to get closer but they drove off.. I think they were doing a show somewhere that we hoped to catch later. We then saw Scooby Doo, which thrilled our kids to pieces! Huge Scooby fans here, so we got a family picture!

There was some sort of parade starting up the road, but Hubs said that there was a magic show starting and the kids opted to see that instead. There was a sign up that said no pictures allowed, so I didn't take any. It was actually more of a sales pitch to buy their magic sets. I got to say though, it was pretty cool and there were a couple of things I wouldn't have mind getting if they weren't so expensive.

We headed back out and the parade was over. But there were roller skating fish and spongebob. Now, we aren't spongebob fans at all so he didn't register with Buds at all.. but those roller skating fish! He thought they were the bees knees!!

You know, Hollywood Studios has a completely different feel to it.. but I REALLY liked it! A lot! It also wasn't very crowded. I thought the long lines at Minion Mayhem was an indicator of the park's busyness, however that was the only thing that was slightly crowded!

We headed over to the Woody Woodpecker Kidzone so Buds could ride a few things. We did the little roller coaster, which was cute. Punky refused to do the ET Adventure ride (I completely traumatized her with that movie.. Mom of the Year, remember?) but by then, they saw the Fievel's Playland and that was all she wrote!

We spent a LONG time in this area. The kids didn't want to leave! There was some sort of water ride thing that they rode over and over and over again. Most of the time we were there it wasn't even a wait to ride! We never did make it to the Curious George area and we missed the Animal Actor's show. It was all about Fievel!

By the way, I totally want one of these airstream's in my backyard. Right next to the flamingos.

We decided to make our way around the rest of the park. Hubs got super excited when he was "Doc" and the Delorean from Back to the Future!

Hubs and I grew up on the Simpsons. I enjoyed the show (and I totally can't believe my parents let me watch it.. what on earth were they thinking??) but didn't have a HUGE desire to spend much time there. However, it was amazingly done!

We didn't stop to get a donut and now I wish we had! However, Hubs DID have to try Duff Beer!

He said it was good! The girls were getting kinda tired and it felt even hotter then before.

I'm going to stop here because I think the kids are waging war against one another in the kitchen! So.. to be continued!

 

[Heluvsme]

Great update! It's really hitting me how much I DON'T know about UO and I of A. I take the 4 Disney World parks for granted--- my internal map no longer needs to ask "Where are we and where are we going?" I just know after all these years, where to go, what to do, etc. And as much as I've been researching online....I know it's just something we have to go and DO to get it.

Loved the update!

 

[mrsabbott]

I didn't spend as much time researching US as much as I did IofA. I knew we wanted to ride Despicable me and looked at a few of the kid friendly things there.. but I was so focused on IofA that I pretty much overlooked US.. We can't wait to go back and see it again! I really liked it and would have loved to spent even more time there!!

Hubs and the girls LOVED Rockit! I kind of wish I had been brave enough to try it (I may need to try and find a non-drowsy motion sickness medication or something to combat my wimpyness!) and there were several things that we would have explored more in depth if we had more time!

Both parks have VERY different feels to them! But while they were both very different, they were both wonderfully detailed!

 

[mrsabbott]

Staying home from work today. Going to try and go to the Dr. I have been feeling bad off and on for a few weeks but figured it was just allergies or a virus. Lots of that sort of thing going around. But I spiked a fever last night and since I work with babies right now, I don't want to take any chances. I will try to upload the rest of my Universal pics today and finish that report.

I caught Hubs looking up stuff about Diagon Alley and he was talking about next year!! he's also motivated about moving to Orlando not this summer but next. His idea is to buy a condo that would be our "vacation home"! Lol! Not sure how that would work, but it is a nice idea!

 

[Heluvsme]

I hope you feel better!

Yay! For the possible next trip!!

And Double yay for maybe moving to Orlando!!

 

[mrsabbott]

Okay, so after Hubs got his Duff beer, we decided to make our way around to the front of the park. The kids were just going to DIE of heat exhaustion and we were all getting a little hungry as it was nearing lunch time. Might I add that I do love the vibe that Studios gives off! I like how you will be walking in New York one minute and through a New Orleans garden the next. I can't wait to go back and spend an entire day just taking it all in!!

As you can see, the crowds were MINIMAL! Hubs was way more relaxed on this day.. apparently Tuesdays are the least crowded days to go!

As we made our way around, I saw THIS:

Let me tell you, I let out a SQUEAL and did a little dance! I was so excited and so impressed with how HUGE it looks!

The attention to detail was just amazing, but I'm coming to expect nothing less from Universal!

At this point, Hubs and I were already talking about coming back. We couldn't help but wonder if they would just allow us to LIVE there.. I mean, the buildings look so realistic you can just imagine there being apartments!! Yeah, yeah, I know it isn't real, but you can see how easy it would be to just get caught up in it!

Best of all, I got to see the Hogwarts Express!!!

I had looked online to see when the parks closed at it said 6pm on the website. That seems SO EARLY, but I guess since it wasn't officially the height of Spring Break season yet and the crowds were so low, I didn't question it. Hubs had really wanted to catch the Blues Brothers show, but the next one wasn't until around 3pm and we were anxious to get back over to IofA after lunch. We found out much later that the park didn't close until 8pm. Had we known, we would have lingered a little longer. Oh well..

Now, Hubs is a big fan of Monsters, especially old monster movies so we thought we would give the Monster Café a try. We walked in and saw that it was cafeteria style and, to be honest, we still had a bad taste in our mouths from the Spice Mill experience the day before. We did have a little fun with the "electric chair" sitting out front though!

I told them to act like they were being electrocuted and that is what I got! LOL! Didn't get one of Buds though.. poor little man was passed out in the stroller! Considering he NEVER sleeps in the stroller, not even when he was a baby, you know he was worn out from all the fun we'd been having!

Anyhoo, Hubs looks at me and says, "If we're going to spend that much on lunch, we should go ahead and have a good meal someplace nicer." So, I reply, "Do you want to try one of the restaurants at Citywalk?" And HE said, "I wouldn't mind eating at Mythos again.."

Have I mentioned that my Hubs is a SMART man who comes up with absolutely BRILLIANT ideas?

So, we booked it to Islands of Adventure to see if we could manage to get in again at Mythos!

The kids were a little bit whiney and complainy until they realized we were going back to Mythos! As we walked through the park, I was amazed at how EMPTY it was compared to Sunday! Seriously, it was not busy at all! We were able to get seated right away. We were pretty famished by this time. Most of the kiddos ordered the pasta. Buds got the pizza. Hubs got some kind of fish with wasabi mashed potatoes. I got the pad thai again. We ordered the flatbread again as an appetizer. And, I decided to order myself a drink in order to get the souvenir mug.

Let me tell you about this drink.. this MONSTER sized drink. I don't remember what it was called, only that it was delicious. And huge. From the picture, I thought the cup would be sort of wine glass sized. I could use this thing as a fish bowl. I actually considered it briefly after we got home. Anyhoo, halfway through this drink, I made Hubs share with me. I believe my words were, "If you want me to be able to walk out of here, you better drink some of this!" I'm not a big drinker, so I am a lightweight when it comes to alcohol, but they don't water this drink down and the glass was the size of my head!!

Did I get a picture? Of course not. And I can't seem to find a picture online to illustrate. But, needless to say, the food was consistently delicious and the drinks are yummy!

So, we headed off towards Harry Potter World.. I thought maybe everyone was in that area of the park but, no.. it wasn't crowded at all! Sweet!

Pod was obsessed with the Puking Pastilles display in the Zonko's window! I was disappointed that Zonko's was closed and didn't know why until much later when I read an article saying that they are going to expand Honeydukes (smart!) and all the Zonko's stuff can be found at Weasley Wizarding Wheezes at Diagon Alley!

I can't even begin to tell you how much I love Hogsmeade! I loved it even more this time! I was able to see even more details that I missed the first time! Take time to really examine all the window displays! We rode Hippogriff again, of course. The only coaster so far that didn't make me want to hurl and that didn't terrify Boo!

We didn't linger too long because we wanted to explore the rest of the park that we had missed the first day. So, we headed over to Jurrassic Park!

I'm afraid I'm going to have to stop again. Got to get the kiddos in bed since they have school tomorrow! To be continued!

 

[mrsabbott]

Let me back up just a little bit to our first Islands of Adventure day. I had this idea that we would sit down with a couple of butterbeers in the owlery and I would make out postcards to friends and family and send them via owl post. Weeellll... that didn't quite happen. First of all, it was crowded that day. There wasn't any place to sit down. Second, SOMEONE (okay, it was me) forgot to bring the typed list of addresses to send postcards to. So, I made sure to bring the list with me this time. I was determined to send postcards this time.

Keep that little tidbit in mind for later.

So, we went to the Jurrasic park area and I thought it was great! I always loved the first Jurrasic Park movie! One of my favorites. We haven't let the kids see it yet and, after experiencing the River Adventure ride, I KNOW that it is too scary for Boo Bear.

It was so hot and the kids couldn't wait to get wet, so Hubs took them on the water ride. Buds wasn't tall enough, so he and I browsed the gift shop, waiting for them to get done. I decided that I would go ahead and buy some postcards and start addressing them to save time. This was assuming that there was a huge line for the ride and that I would have plenty of time. I did not. I made my purchase and maybe had 2 addressed when out they come. Punky and Pod thought it was the greatest ride EVER. Boo did not. She had her face hidden in the ride picture.

However, Boo was brave and decided that since she already knew what was going to happen that it wouldn't be so scary the 2nd time so she decided to ride on it again with me this time. So, off we went and I thought it was a fun ride! Buds would have totally loved it, although I don't know if he would have gotten scared at the end or not.. Anyhoo, OUR ride picture looked identical to the one with Hubs.. only Boo was hiding her face on me that time!

I love palm trees!

Lots of cool little details to see in each of the different parts of the park! The landscaping is lovely.. I am continually amazed at the attention to detail there is and how you truly feel immersed in whatever theme there is!

Anyhoo, there was actually a very long line for Pteradon Flyers so we didn't ride it. We decided to head on over to the Toon Lagoon area of the park! The first thing the kids wanted to do was ride Dudley Do Right's Ripsaw Falls! Buds wasn't tall enough again, so he and Hubs wandered around while the girls and I went first!

Let me tell you, that was the longest, most confusing line queue ever! We just kept going and going and going... But when we finally arrived at the ride it was walk on. Boo was slightly nervous, but we all enjoyed it a lot and they couldn't wait to ride it again with Daddy!

I took Buds and we started walking over to Me Ship, The Olive. I figured he could play and climb for a bit since he didn't get to ride the last 2 rides we went on. He really enjoyed that area quite a bit and I discovered a lovely view of Mythos from the top level of the ship!

The rest of the crew met up with us and we took turns riding Bilge Rat Barges, which the girls thought was the most fun ever! On our first ride, this one gentleman was saying how he hoped he wouldn't get too soaked. Poor guy, he shouldn't have said a word because he got the most wet out of any of us!! He was a pretty good sport about it though and began laughing with the rest of us because, literally, EVERY TIME there was a big splash or water was dumped on us.. it hit him!

The Toon Lagoon area had a TON of really cute photo ops! I loved the comic strip bubbles but, unfortunately, the time of day made the lighting be kind of off on most of the pics. This was my favorite one though:

This one was funny as well!

And I thought the girls were too cute in this one!

We decided to make our way back around to Harry Potter World one last time!

 

[plannermom]

Those comic strip bubble photo ops are so cute! Are there some that are cute for moms with kids?

Thanks for keeping the story going!

 

[Heluvsme]

Great update!

A few years ago, at Kings Island in Cincinnati, we went on a water ride that left us so drenched---literally like we all took a 15 minute shower with all our clothes and shoes on---that we haven't been on one since. Well, except Splash Mtn, but that is barely a misting compared to the soaking we encountered. I'm thinking if we do the water rides this summer it will be at the end or I will bring change of clothes/shoes for all of us.

Your photos are great!

 

[Hamilla]

Lovely your fantastic review and such a super cute family we'll be there 8 weeks and so excited