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Day 3
No one wants to get up too early today after the great time at the party last night. I don't mind, as my feet are a bit tired, and even though I am
first up, I read a bit and relax that's what vacation is about!
We all end up awake and on the road to Universal Studios by about 10:25. We stop at McDonald's again. I am not a big breakfast person, and Eilis
usually only eats pancakes, so we find this to be a quick, inexpensive breakfast option for us.
We arrive at Universal Studios with our vouchers for the 2 year/2 park passes that we got with the buy one year, get the second free coupons in the
spring. We actually tried to get rid of these passes before we left for FL, since we donˇ¦t know how much use weˇ¦ll get out of them with the new baby
on the way, but since we got no takers for the vouchers, we decide to go ahead and use them. We have been told that they will not accept the voucher
for free parking, so we decide to go to the drop off area and Brighid and I are going to hop out and get the actual pass. Chuck from NY is the
attendant at the lot, and he tells us that what we have will get us in with free parking, and if anyone gives us a hard time we are to tell them to call
Chuck from NY and heˇ¦ll straighten them out.
We get in line and it is now our turn at the lot attendant. I give him the vouchers and he asks what kind of parking I want. I have not been to
Universal since Brighid was about 4, so I assume I want the kind where I can fit my car. He offers me the option of regular parking for free or
preferred parking for $4. We opt for free. The parking here is in a large parking garage, as opposed to the big open fields of parking at Disney. We
are in King Kong parking, and we take an escalator and some moving sidewalks to an area where we have to decide if we want Universal Studios or Islands
of Adventure. We choose Universal, figuring we are most familiar with that, having had annual passes for 3 years when Brighid was small. We find that
you have to walk through rows of shops and restaurants to actually get into the theme park, and I find this a bit annoying. I am also annoyed at the
people trying to get me to sign up for the Universal credit card in exchange for a backpack. You have to assume people have already spent $50 plus
dollars to get into the darn park, and they do not need to be pushed into other immediate purchases and heavy sales pitches.
We get inside the park, and we are greeted by the Flintstones! That was so cool, as I had a teacher when I attended Valencia Community College who
played the part of Betty Rubble right after the first Flintstones movie came out (she was a dead ringer for Rosie O'Donnell, and had the Betty laugh
down perfectly!). I always liked the Flintstones. We head over to where we have to convert our vouchers to passes, and there is no line. The lady
is very nice, and we are out of there in just a few minutes.
I am surprised at how different it is here. Many of the rides, I learn quickly, are not things I can ride, and if I can, I have to sit in
stationary seats. The kids, however, are LOVING this place. Eilis rides Jimmy Neutron, Shrek, Jimmy Neutron again, and then we find ET, the Woody
Woodpecker coaster, and some other things. Eilis even does the Jaws ride, although getting off, she says she will never ride it again. I do notice
some things like the bathrooms are not as clean as Disney's, and there are quite a lot of extras that you have to pay for like the Carnival
games that seem to be all over. There are also a lot of photographers, who want you to buy photos with the characters (we took our own), and then we
were completely pressured by someone who wanted us to tour a time share. She offered us $80 cash, four tickets to Arabian Nights dinner show, even
Universal tickets if we signed up, but we ended up walking away with her yelling after us that we could come back and book later if we wanted.
We have an amazingly fun experience at Nickelodeon, when Eilis gets chosen to help with a game. She gets the biggest laughs as the guy asks her name
and age, and she says "Eilis" (which is pronounced Eye-Lish). The host of the game says, "Your name is Eye-Lash?" and Eilis says, in her
exasperated voice, "No, it's Eilis, E-I-L-I-S." He then asks her age and she says "Free" for three. He says, "Free, like your daddy told the
people at the gate you were two so you go in for free?" And Eilis says, "Yes!"¨ Not only does this get a huge laugh, but the man from England
behind my husband starts patting him on the back and telling him what a smart man he is. Then, the game they have her do is an over your shoulders,
under you legs game with a large ball. Eilis gets the under your legs part, but the ball is bigger than she is, so the girls have to lift her over the
ball in order for her to fit it through. It is hysterical.
We were pleasantly surprised by our experience at Universal. While the constant sales pitches are annoying, the park has some very entertaining
rides and shows, and the kids had a great time. Brighid was never one for thrill rides, but Eilis is the opposite, and everything she does here is her
new favorite thing.
We left the park about 5, and since we had a very large lunch late in the day, no one is really hungry for dinner. We ended up grabbing tacos and
wandering around the resort once we do get back.
Tomorrow: EPCOT with the in-laws.
Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
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