Universal Studios - Orlando, FL.

I had a great weekend this year for Memorial Day. On Friday, May 28, 2010 I left work, got picked up by my wonderful Cousins with whom I live & we drove up to Orlando for the weekend. We got there after 8 pm or so & walked over to the pool area. We stayed at Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando^® Resort. It was luxurious!
We were in the first of 2 parks on Saturday which was Mom's 56th Birthday. It was sunny for a fair portion of the day, we did devolop clouds & rain for a while, then it cleared up again. My 1st ride experience was Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast™. We then saw Shrek 4-D™ as well. For those who don't know, 4-D means that not only do the seats move as the picture on screen moves, it's also a 3-D picture so you have to wear the glasses. Gopher was right when he cautioned me that my eyes will be fatigued. It was still fun. Next, we saw TWISTER...Ride It Out^®, this was great plus it got us out of the rain as it had just started. The ride was thrilling. It takes place when they were ordering 8 coffees at the Drive-In & then they found out the Twister was just about their. They all had to hide in the big barn where the sign outside fell in. It was great.
They not only had the Drive-In screen far off in the background but also have something like a Giant Imax screen in the far background to show the lightning & then the Twister. It all felt like we were really outside. I was fascinated because they used some smoke to make a life like Twister in the "parking lot" to add to the effects. Great Ride. I recommend it.
I was able to accomplish another goal of mine which was to get some Cotton Candy because John got me some. The mysterious one they call the great Gopher was indeed generous.
We also saw a ride called Disaster!^SM- A Major Motion Picture Ride...Starring YOU!
I got nominated to play the part of the guy who was in the rushing river in the movie :-)
I can't forget that we saw MEN IN BLACK™ Alien Attack™ & Revenge of the Mummy® 2 times.
The evening eventually wrapped up, I don't recall much after that ride, currently. We did have a beautiful dinner at Margaritaville & take the boat ride back to the Hotel to relax for the night. I recall being SO tired but I soon went to sleep. I decided to have a Chocolate Waffle Cone with chocolate chip sprinkles for a night cap. I had already been at the pool area checking in on Ariella & Krystal to be sure they were ok & of course they were playing Volleyball in the pool. Good Times.
The next day, we dressed in shorts to go on the water rides at the next park called Islands of Adventure. We really had alot of fun on those rides. I also had roller coaster rides. We started with Dr. Suess Landing, the portion of the park that makes you feel very clearly like you just stepped into a Dr. Suess book. I loved The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride!™. I also thought The Cat In The Hat™ was a cute ride too, I took Abigail on that one plus the first one. I rode MEN IN BLACK™ Alien Attack™ & The Simpsons Ride™ was fun too. I also got to go to the Dueling Dragons^® The Chinese Dragon & The Hungarian Horntail. I rode both of those Roller Coasters & decided I was done. I had not really done that for over 12 years.
I recommend Jurassic Park River Adventure^{® &} Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls® for fun splashes :-)
By the time I got to the Comic Strip area, I was getting tired. I waited for Aunt Lorna, Ariella, Krystal & Brandon so I could walk them from The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man^{®
No matter how you break it down, Universal Studios Orlando is really worth the visit.
Until next time :-)}