Universal Saturday

Today we spent all day at Universal Studios. It was a great day!! We got to the park around 9:30am - after stopping by a grocery store with Chad & Angie to get breakfast. They have a season pass to the park, and helped us get cheap tickets - additionally, because they've been a couple of times already, they're marvelous tour guides!! Abby was ready to go in her sunbonnet and shades.

We started with the closest ride, the Hulk... *fantastic*!! Lots of screaming, twists & turns, upsidedown - a real heart-pounding thriller. From there, Greg & Chad did a ride similar to the teacups. The whole point is to get your little "cup" spinning as fast as you can while the cups are on a section that spins three, and the whole group is going 'round in circles. I'm sure the reason more people don't puke is that they don't get the little cup going very good. Greg & Chad were really spinning... (but no puking!)

We did the 3-D SpiderMan next, then a couple water rides. The first one totally drenched my bottom half and did a fair job at soaking the rest too. One gal in our conveyance was drenched head to toe - not a dry spot anywhere, and most areas were waterlogged enough to need wringing out. She hit every spot there was to get extra water dumped on her. The next water ride succeeded in soaking my top front side. So the only dry space I had was my shoulder blades. Good thing it was warm & sunny... Angie missed most of the dousing on the second one by ducking behind me for the big splash. Next time, I'll make sure she's on the first ride with us... =)

By the end of that run, it was time for lunch. Mmmm. Pizza! =) We ate expensive park food, but it was fun and filling. From there, we hooked up with some of Angie's family and spent a most enjoyable afternoon touring the rest of the park. While we were waiting in line for the Simpsons ride (new this year, and the only ride we opted to go on thats wait time was more than an hour and a half), a stranger offered us a couple express pass tickets. This allows the holder to bypass the regular line and go directly to the front. We originally opted not to get them, as it's more expensive. Now I may have changed my mind. I think it would depend on the time of year - if it's off-season and the lines are short, no need. But May through August or September might warrant the extra cost. It's amazing how much more time we had when we weren't stuck in line waiting. There was at least one ride we chose not to experience because the wait was going to be at least 45 minutes. Instead of almost two hours, the Simpsons took us maybe just a bit longer than a half hour.

We had a wonderful day with Chad & Angie, made even better when Angie's family shared their time with us. To close the evening, we had good food at the Hard Rock Cafe. The waiter was fun (although a bit slow), but they forgot to make my bacon crispy. Oh well. The burger was still good. By the time we headed out, lots of little ones were asleep or ready to go there (except Samuel, who was wide awake and ready to play), and I was ready to hit the road too. We made a couple stops on the way out of the park, and by the time we got to the car my dawgs were barkin'!!

We finished packing just a bit ago. We're going to check out of the hotel tomorrow morning, then head to the Kennedy Space Center. We'll spend the day there, exploring, learning, taking pictures, and having fun. Then we'll head down to visit Chad & Angie in their natural habitat. =) Should be another fun day tomorrow!!