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Published: December 21st 2010
Guess where?
Arriving Universal Studios mid afternoon...A day with something for everyone...
Formalities out of the way..today the weather was clear blue skies, slight breeze - obviously blowing from some direction - and while warm in the sun, out of it fairly fresh. And back to you in the studio!
Thanks Jim! The kids slept in a little so another casual start to the day. Late morning we headed down to another 'Outlet Mall' - the Lake Beuna Vista Outlet Mall to be precise. Now this is truly an outlet mall and was more spread out and not very busy, but has around 140 popular brands there. The resort had included in our 'introduction pack' (that in itself is another story) a 15% discount coupon for the Reebok store and which upon presentation of and receipt of said discount they gave you an additional coupon book for all the other stores in the complex. This place was far better to move around and yes there were some purchases...shoes amongst them. American Express is welcome, very welcome and shops were ringing their neighbours in advance to advise of Sandy's progress and direction of travel...she was made as welcome as her credit cards!
Back here for
lunch and then mid afternoon headed off to Universal Studios, open until 9 pm today. Important to note that from here it is only literally 10 minutes to Universal on the I4 motorway...in fact it takes twice as long to walk from the car park to the park proper. And Universal is the furtherest away of the theme parks from Blue Heron so it is well situated.
Found walking in we were going against the tide. We entered the park itself at 4 pm and people were streaming out. We queued for around 20 minutes for the first of the kid friendly attractions for Caitlin - The Jimmy Neutron Nicktoon Blast. This is in a studio with a huge screen where the seats get thrown around as they follow a rocket dog fight through a range of scenes that incorporate a range of Nickelodeon cartoon characters...Spongebob, Thornberrys, Rugrats etc... It was okay and had some humour in it but average.Having said that the kids loved it.
Sat down then for the Macy's Christmas Parade. This was really quite good with the balloons, high school brass bands which were very entertaining and surprisingly skillful, stiltwalkers and some floats as
Waiting for the Macy's parade
Kinda like the Farmers parade..but not really.. well as regular downpours of glossy ticker tape fired from cannons on the roof tops. Very well done.
After the parade the exodus continued and we moved onto one of the premier attractions of the park the ET Adventure. Queue here said 30 minutes but we were inside in less than 20. This was well done in that they incorporate much of the waiting line into the actual event. You stand in a night forest with ET's mentor for several minutes before getting onto the ride itself. This was quite spectacular..not an adrenaline thing, just a cruisey flight through a long series of sets from the perspective of the ET bike ride in front of the moon. Really well done.
Straight out of there and into the MIB (men in black) Alien Attack, one of the premier events at this park. Just a short 10 minute wait. Again, incredibly well done as in getting to the actual event you progress through a series of humourous and very well done scenes or sets. The ride itself is a hoot where you are given laser guns and blast away at hundreds of aliens of every possible shape and description as
they attack. The kids absolutely loved it...and of course, the shooting is scored so there is a bit of competition involved. Absolutely brilliant event.
From there onto the Woody Woodpecker Nuthouse Coaster...a very tame little roller coaster for young kids and dads who just don;t get roller coasters! Reubs thought it was very lame after the Harry Potter one yesterday but still had a good laugh on it.
Off there and around the corner to where the ET Adventure was to see how long the queue was. There was not one so went straight through again...there is so much in there that you see different things each time.
Dinner tonight, we succumbed to junk food but one that was recommended - Mels Diner in Universal Studios. Classic 60's diner setting but good burgers and with plenty of good stuff in them. Still junk but not too bad and very tasty.
Kids choice for last ride as it was now close to 8pm so they went for going back to Jimmy Neutron. Did that and then wandered around the streets with all the Christmas lights for the last 30 minutes before walking out just before closing at
9 pm. Back at the car around 9:15 pm and back at the apartment before 9:30 pm.
This worked exceptionally well today. It is doubtful we would have done as much if we had turned up at opening time and stayed considerably longer. In just under 5 hours did 6 rides, a parade and dinner...this worked far better for everyone. Far less tiring and much more enjoyable with far fewer people around. Especially good with the seasonal light and decorations around to add to the atmosphere after dark.
Have to say that Universal rated higher than Adventure Island with us but that may have just been because of our experience today.
Saw the closing fireworks from Magic Kingdom at 10 pm from the balcony and they were simply amazing. Even several miles away it was impressive. Have never seen fireworks that explode in shapes and pictures - quite spectacular and went on for 10 minutes. Will see those up close in the next week or so when we head there ourselves.
Another good day.
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Richard King
non-member comment
Smiling
We would like to see some from Sandra - 100 points+ to the kids though. They are beaming in every photo, looks like they are having a ball!!