The trip that almost isn't. Or, how I'm hoping to not go to WDW

[Angeejoe]

OK, a little bit of catching up.

Tuesday was the first "fun" day. Went to Universal for park open. Got there a bit before 9 am, and got in the park just fine. Actually wound up in Isle of Adventure by mistake. Kind of meandered my way through a bit, taking a moment here and there to enjoy a few attractions - Spiderman, Jurassic Park River Adventure, wandered around Hogsmeade, took the Hogwarts Express from Hogsmeade to London, and then rode Revenge of the Mummy.

At that point, was starting to hurt a bit - had to try to walk too much to get on Spiderman and it finally caught up to me. So, back to the resort, took some anti-inflammatory meds and a brief nap then headed out for the last couple of hours at SeaWorld

Got there about 4 with a close at 7 pm. Collected a couple of their digital badges, saw Blue Horizons Dolphin show and then meandered around until time for One Ocean, the Shamu show. It got about half way through the show (based on the start time and published show length) when it stopped and they said it was paused due to weather conditions. So, I left the show and moved as fast as possible toward the parking lot to try avoid getting rained on. Back to the resort and that was the first day.

Today, Wednesday, day 2 of fun saw me back at Universal for opening. Went to ride Despicable Me Minion Mayhem, and the team member let me in, but also suggested I go back to guest services to inquire about a disability accommodation since I was having visible issues in getting around. Did that, but only used it once the rest of the day. Works similar to the WDW DAS, if you are familiar with that program.

After that, I headed over and rode the Rip Ride Rockit - really fun ride, but I doubt I'll ride it again. The seats were, um, quite uncomfortable. As this is a family web-site, let me just say that it could just as accurately be named after a Christmas Ballet written by Tchaikovsky. It was kind of amusing, though. I was sent to avoid the stairs, but missed the elevator and almost exited the ride. Had to find a Team Member to help me find the elevator to get up to the alternate entry. I'm not blind, but occasionally I miss the obvious.

From there, went down to ride Transformers, then Disaster, followed by Escape from Gringotts. Definitely worth the wait for it. Did some roaming around Diagon Alley, then caught the Hogwarts Express from London to Hogsmeade where I tried to get a late lunch (it was about 1 pm) before heading down to watch Poseidon's Fury. Good show, I was a bit impressed, but maybe not quite "all that".

Afterwards, I wandered into Seuss Landing, and had just started exploring when some really black clouds started moving in, so I high-tailed it to parking, and almost made it before a gully-washer opened up. So, came back to the resort, had my late lunch, a short nap, then headed to Target to pick up a few more things I need for the next several days, and to finally update my TR.

I hope I'm not too boring with my list of what I did. But, tomorrow is a planned SeaWorld day. Hoping to be there at park open and catch most (if not all) of the shows and rides.

Sounds like tons of fun!!! You've done a lot in 2 days!

What's your time share room/hotel like?

 

[thiabelle]

Again- my jealousy is getting in my way!! I LOVE Universal and really enjoy hearing about your days. Isn't Diagon Alley amazing? I hope you are feeling OK. I was coerced onto RRR and will NEVER again ride something against my better judgement. I can't wait to hear about SeaWorld. We've never been there.

 

[dayvewc]

How are the crowd levels? Sounds like you're getting to do a lot!

According to UCT, crowd levels are around a 7/10 at US this week. They don't measure SW. Comparing to past trips to WDW, it isn't bad. Certain areas *cough* WWoHP *cough* are really crowded, but most of the rest of the parks has not been bad. Now, it's not empty by any stretch, but I haven't felt claustrophobic either.

Sounds like tons of fun!!! You've done a lot in 2 days!

What's your time share room/hotel like?

It has been a lot of fun. I guess I have done a lot in 2 days, but at times it doesn't seem like I've done much at all. Of course, I've always been the commando guy that was there from 45 min before park open til after park close. I can't do that this trip, so I feel like I'm losing time with all the travel back and forth. I will say yesterday I managed to get a lot more done than I expected.
The room is really nice. It feels a touch smaller than most of the resorts I've stayed at, but it is laid out well so it has an open feeling to it. I'll try to get some pictures and post them. I would definitely recommend this resort. It's small, and the staff are extremely courteous and helpful. And even if the room is a little smaller, it works.

Again- my jealousy is getting in my way!! I LOVE Universal and really enjoy hearing about your days. Isn't Diagon Alley amazing? I hope you are feeling OK. I was coerced onto RRR and will NEVER again ride something against my better judgement. I can't wait to hear about SeaWorld. We've never been there.

lol. It's all good. I feel weird writing a TR, cause it feels like I'm bragging. Kind of the virtual equivalent of "Hey, look at me and my new something that you don't have!! Nyah nyah" I'm liking Universal, and I am honest enough to admit that my trip limitations are probably affecting my judgement some, but I'm not sure if I "LOVE" it yet.

All of the WWoHP is amazing, but yes DA definitely is.

I did SW once before in 2006, it is a lot of fun and I love love love penguins and beluga whales. And no, I have no idea why that is. But, it doesn't change as quickly as WDW, and pretty much once I've seen it, I'm good to not go again for several years.

 

[dayvewc]

Waiting for the Shamu show to start. 3 hours in SeaWorld and I've seen the pets ahoy show and Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin ride. Both were great, though I was more impressed with the ride tech than the ride itself.

 

[Angeejoe]

How's the weather? Rain today?

 

[dayvewc]

How's the weather? Rain today?

It has sprinkled some off and on. But over all today has been the best weather so far. Not quite as humid or as warm.

 

[dayvewc]

OK, back from SeaWorld. Got there about 8:20, they didn't even open the parking lot until 8:30 which was unexpected for me. Got in just about 9 am (and there are a lot of rude and disrespectful people - before they opened the park they played the national anthem. Most people stopped out of respect, a few even put their hand over their heart, but there were several people who took that as an opportunity to run to be the first in line to scan in to the park. Just me, but if I were security, I would flag those people and make them wait until at least 9:15 before they were allowed in. Just my own personal opinion).

Meandered through the park over to Journey to Atlantis. Waited about 30 minutes to get on, the ride was down and they kept expecting to be able to start loading people. Finally, the workers apologized for the delay and gave us two anytime quick-passes. One to use when we returned to JtA, and the other to use anywhere else since we had been delayed so long.

So, we left from there and made our way over to the Pets Ahoy show, watched that (which is a lot of fun. Wish I could train my dogs that well!) Then headed to the Shamu Stadium to watch One Ocean. Luckily, this time it was not delayed and got to see the entire thing straight through.

From there, went over to Terrace BBQ for lunch. I don't normally eat in the parks, but SW is a bit stricter on what food it allows in (from what I've read from other peoples experience here) and so I splurged for this meal. Then headed back to JtA and the person working the line entrance remembered us from this morning and just let us straight through without taking one of our quick passes. SCORE!!!

When we got on the ride, it was fun though SW could really think some of the theming through better. There were several places where you could see the catwalks near the ceiling, and through the displays to other back-stage items (exit signs, doors, walkways, etc.). When the ride ended, though, the worker asked if we wanted to ride again - so we said "yes". SCORE #2!! Back-to-Back rides without even having to get out of the boat!

At that point, it was a touch after 1, and I was starting to hurt a little. Which is actually really good. I took my super mild painkiller this morning that doesn't work as well as the hydro, and I was only just beginning to ache again. So, we left and came back to the resort. Though, on the way out of the park, I stopped at Guest Services to ask if I could use the quick passes when we return on Saturday. They said absolutely, since they had not been dated they would be good anytime. SCORE #3!!

So, now I'm back at the resort, going to head to the lobby to exchange some towels (spilled a coke and used the towel to clean up the mess, so it needs washed soon). Then back to the room for a nap, and then grilling dinner tonight. Probably a soak in the hot tub somewhere in there also. Early night, for tomorrow is a LONG day watching movies.

 

[Angeejoe]

Which movies are you seeing? Are you going to the AMC Knife & fork at DTD?

 

[dayvewc]

Which movies are you seeing? Are you going to the AMC Knife & fork at DTD?

Yes, we are going to the AMC at DTD, but not doing the Knife & Fork cafe. We are going to see Tomorrowland, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Jurassic World. Movies start about 10:30 am, and will end about 6:15 pm with roughly 30 minutes between each movie.

 

[Angeejoe]

Yes, we are going to the AMC at DTD, but not doing the Knife & Fork cafe. We are going to see Tomorrowland, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Jurassic World. Movies start about 10:30 am, and will end about 6:15 pm with roughly 30 minutes between each movie.

That sounds like fun, especially a day that includes movie popcorn ! I've seen Avengers & I have tickets for Jurassic World tomorrow night- DH & I going with my siblings, their spouses & my nephews.

 

[thiabelle]

That sounds like a perfect day!

 

[thiabelle]

How were the movies? We almost went to see Jurassic World last night but work got in the way. Boo!
I hope you are feeling OK

 

[Angeejoe]

How were the movies? We almost went to see Jurassic World last night but work got in the way. Boo!
I hope you are feeling OK

I saw it last night, it was great. My 5 yr old nephew said it was the best movie ever, lol.

What did you think Dayv?

 

[dayvewc]

How were the movies? We almost went to see Jurassic World last night but work got in the way. Boo!
I hope you are feeling OK

They were great. JW didn't quite live up to the original, but it was still awesome. I guess there's only so many ways you can script a movie based on "genetically engineered dinosaurs in a theme park get loose and eat people. "

Avengers was outstanding, greatly liked it. Tomorrowland was a little bit of a let down. Still good, but not quite what I was expecting.

Thanks for asking, I'm doing better than I was expecting. Still dealing with lots of pain, but I'm also trying to avoid my pain pills.

I hope you get a chance to see JW soon. Work can sure get in the way of fun.

I saw it last night, it was great. My 5 yr old nephew said it was the best movie ever, lol.

What did you think Dayv?

I loved it, see above. ;-)

 

[Angeejoe]

What fun stuff are you planning today?

 

[dayvewc]

What fun stuff are you planning today?

Originally, today was planned to be the "Finish up everything left at SeaWorld", and it started out that way - but then I woke up.

Don't know why, but today I have been in more pain than any other day this week. I woke up hurting, and even taking a full pain pill just barely took the edge off. But, I had planned the vacation, so it was time to vacation the plan. ;-) Went to SeaWorld before the park opened, was one of the first cars into the lot. When we unloaded my scooter, the dial that tightens the steering column broke, so I spent the entire day having to support the steering column instead of being able to use it for support and balance (that may be why I wound up hurting so much so soon - compared to the other days).

Then, we got inside and went off to watch the sea lion show (the only one we hadn't seen yet) when we discovered that the park hours and show times were different than what we had done our planning from. We (and in this instance, it we is the roommate) had been looking at the park map we picked up earlier in the week, and mapped out the day based on what it said. However, whether it is weekend hours, or they started full summer hours, or what, it was different today. So, the sea lion show started an hour later, so we went back and watch the dolphin show again. Then came over to watch the sea lion show, which I really need to go and see again - they were having sound and technical difficulties, but it was still fun to watch the animals. And the otter is really cute.

After that, we headed over towards Shamu Stadium, cause I had 4 more of the 50th anniversary digital badges to collect, and they were all in that area. On the way, we stopped to ride the Sky Tower. It was a nice a/c ride with a great view of the park and surrounding areas. But the piped in information made it sound more like a commercial (And if you look over here is Discovery Bay, where you can pay us more money to see more animals, while over there is Aquatica where you can pay us more money to play in the water). (Gee, I guess the pain is getting to me a bit, I feel like I'm sounding bitter and disillusioned, or something).

Anyway, I picked up my remaining badges and rode the Wild Arctic helicopter simulator - think "arctic version of Star Tours with no 3D glasses." And I have to admit, that is the first ride of any kind I have gotten on that made me feel motion sick. Giving them credit, but still blaming the pain and pain pills.

After that, headed back to the car and came back to the resort, where I promptly laid down and slept for a bit over 2 hours. Second thing I did after waking up was to check here. About to take another pain pill, then probably change into my swim trunks and head down to the hot tub and see if a soak will help any.

We also have tentative plans to grill hamburgers tonight. The resort has gas grills available for use from morning til 10 pm. I've seen grills at other resorts I've stayed at, but that I've noticed they were all charcoal grills. And while I prefer grilling on charcoal, I'll admit gas grills are easier to use. Especially on vacation, so I don't have to worry about picking up a bag of charcoal, and then having 1/2 to 2/3 of a bag to take home.

 

[Dentam]

So sorry to hear that you're in more pain today. I hope the hot tub helps and that you wake up feeling much better in the morning!

 

[Angeejoe]

Originally, today was planned to be the "Finish up everything left at SeaWorld", and it started out that way - but then I woke up.

Don't know why, but today I have been in more pain than any other day this week. I woke up hurting, and even taking a full pain pill just barely took the edge off. But, I had planned the vacation, so it was time to vacation the plan. ;-) Went to SeaWorld before the park opened, was one of the first cars into the lot. When we unloaded my scooter, the dial that tightens the steering column broke, so I spent the entire day having to support the steering column instead of being able to use it for support and balance (that may be why I wound up hurting so much so soon - compared to the other days).

Then, we got inside and went off to watch the sea lion show (the only one we hadn't seen yet) when we discovered that the park hours and show times were different than what we had done our planning from. We (and in this instance, it we is the roommate) had been looking at the park map we picked up earlier in the week, and mapped out the day based on what it said. However, whether it is weekend hours, or they started full summer hours, or what, it was different today. So, the sea lion show started an hour later, so we went back and watch the dolphin show again. Then came over to watch the sea lion show, which I really need to go and see again - they were having sound and technical difficulties, but it was still fun to watch the animals. And the otter is really cute.

After that, we headed over towards Shamu Stadium, cause I had 4 more of the 50th anniversary digital badges to collect, and they were all in that area. On the way, we stopped to ride the Sky Tower. It was a nice a/c ride with a great view of the park and surrounding areas. But the piped in information made it sound more like a commercial (And if you look over here is Discovery Bay, where you can pay us more money to see more animals, while over there is Aquatica where you can pay us more money to play in the water). (Gee, I guess the pain is getting to me a bit, I feel like I'm sounding bitter and disillusioned, or something).

Anyway, I picked up my remaining badges and rode the Wild Arctic helicopter simulator - think "arctic version of Star Tours with no 3D glasses." And I have to admit, that is the first ride of any kind I have gotten on that made me feel motion sick. Giving them credit, but still blaming the pain and pain pills.

After that, headed back to the car and came back to the resort, where I promptly laid down and slept for a bit over 2 hours. Second thing I did after waking up was to check here. About to take another pain pill, then probably change into my swim trunks and head down to the hot tub and see if a soak will help any.

We also have tentative plans to grill hamburgers tonight. The resort has gas grills available for use from morning til 10 pm. I've seen grills at other resorts I've stayed at, but that I've noticed they were all charcoal grills. And while I prefer grilling on charcoal, I'll admit gas grills are easier to use. Especially on vacation, so I don't have to worry about picking up a bag of charcoal, and then having 1/2 to 2/3 of a bag to take home.

Sounds like a nice day! A nap on vacation is so relaxing. What's the plans tomorrow? Are you missing Disney?

 

[Gena001]

My best friend never travels without her heading pad! She happened to be on the same cruise as my FIL a couple years ago and he needed it. Now he doesn't travel without one either!

Hope you're doing ok Dayvewc!

 

[dayvewc]

So sorry to hear that you're in more pain today. I hope the hot tub helps and that you wake up feeling much better in the morning!

Thanks. Not sure if it helped or not. It felt good while I was in the tub, but I could feel my kneecap being pushed around by the jets, so when I got out it was hurting worse than before. Guess the lesson to take away there is: don't use the water jets, just soak. Getting ready now to take my Ambien, another hydro, and my other prescribed meds and call it an early night. Here's to hoping that I can sleep well and wake up rested.

Sounds like a nice day! A nap on vacation is so relaxing. What's the plans tomorrow? Are you missing Disney?

It was relaxing. Of course, I think a nap every day is a good thing. I should have never left kindergarten, lol.

Tomorrows plans are head back to US and get as much done of the stuff that I haven't gotten to yet. I'm using the suggested touring plans from UCT (the 2-day 2-park version) and have pretty much finished all of day 1. So really, tomorrow and Monday are devoted to day 2 of the touring plan.

I am kind of missing Disney. I'm really liking the other parks, but (IMHO) SeaWorld is pretty much "seen/done it once, I'm good", and while sections of US are extremely well themed, they just kind of jar my senses a bit much. Moving from Poseidon's Fury to Seuss Landing is a much bigger jolt that moving from FantasyLand to TomorrowLand - for example. I'm also (and granted, I've only spent part of 2 days at US so far) not seeing quite as much detail in the land themes as I have grown accustomed to at Disney, so yeah, it's definitely a bit of a change. At the same time, as much as I would love to go check out HS and Star Wars Weekend, in my current condition I really DON'T want to deal with the crowds. Other than that, I've done Disney at least once a year for the past 5 or so, so while I still keep finding things I hadn't seen before on previous trips, I've seen enough of it that I don't mind skipping it this time around. (Of course, it helps knowing that I have tentatively planned a 4-day getaway in Nov that is devoted strictly to Disney. DME, AK lodge, whole 9 yards). [I guess I need to update my ticker]

My best friend never travels without her heading pad! She happened to be on the same cruise as my FIL a couple years ago and he needed it. Now he doesn't travel without one either!

Hope you're doing ok Dayvewc!

I really thought hard about bringing my heating pad, and ultimately decided not to. I think it is just the type of pain I'm dealing with, but hot/cold packs aren't really affecting it any - other than the psychological benefit of "doing something".

And thanks for asking, but I'm making it. Some days are more painful than others, but every day is fun. I'm on vacation, I'm able to go on vacation, and I'm doing things I enjoy. So, I just try to focus on the positives and not the negatives. Cause really, what purpose would that serve? If I had focused on how bad I felt, I would have canceled the trip and stayed at home - where I would still be in pain (though maybe not quite as much, granted), but would have missed out on all the fun I am managing to have.