Day 3...our Final Full Day

Jake and I

No....I would not really do this....see he is smiling

DJ and the Grinch

The Grinch and I

DJ took this picture...he did a great job taking pictures....

David

Spidey, DJ, and I

Spiderman talking to DJ about his Valentine....

Well day three and our final full day in Orlando..we are set to go to Universal all day and to see the Blue Man Group at 9 PM...well I woke up at 3 AM and I think that all the excitement did not allow me to fall back asleep...so what did I do? Checked my balances on all the gift cards that we got ( about 12 of them), played DS, read my book...The Gate House, played solitaire, watched the weather, etc....I never went back to sleep and by the end of the day I was quite tired and up for over 21 hours...but I still had a great time...after getting to Universal, we stopped in at the City Walk reservation table and got a 7 PM reservation at the Latin Quarter then headed into the Islands of Adventure....we again got the Express Pass, but for both parks this time and I started out doing the Hulk ride...by myself of course...it was great, I kept my eyes closed until the first loop, then I was okay, but that first jolt got me...I had fun..we then next went to the Spiderman ride, it was great..3 D and then as DJ and I went to visit Spiderman himself, Dave went on the Doctor Doom's Fearfall...which he said pretty much sucked....then we went off and met up with Popeye and Olive, and Betty Boop, Dave then went on the Jurassic Park ride alone as DJ and I tried to go on the Pteranodon Flyers, but it was a 75 minute wait for an 80 second ride, with no Express Pass, so we then went in Camp Jurassic and played...DJ found a friend, Mark, and they ran around for a while before we met back up with Dave and ate lunch. After lunch, we walked around to Suess Landing , met the Cat in the Hat and the Grinch...we went on the High Train in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride and finally went on the Cat in the Hat ride..then we left Islands of Adventure and went back to Universal Studios....DJ loved the Simpson's ride so much that we went there first then off to MIB...then DJ and I went to E. T. as Dave went to Jaws...finally we did go back to Jimmy Neutron and tried to see Twister, but it was closed..they are building the new Rip Ride RockIt roller coaster right behind Twister, so I guess that is why it was closed....Dave then went to the car as DJ and I went to see the Blues Brothers show and we went back to Jimmy Neutron..as the day winded down, Dave decided to go onto the indoor roller coaster, The Revenge of the Mummy..which surprised me quite a bit, but I want to go too...I knew that DJ would not do it, so DJ stayed in the kid swap as Dave and I went on the ride...one of the operators said to hold onto my glasses, which made me nervous, so I took them off and of course was unable to see a thing...which might of been good...but it was fun anyway...our day ended with a nice dinner at the Latin Quarter and then we saw the Blue Man Group...they were great and funny...we all enjoyed them...they performed for about 1 hour and 45 minutes...then it was off to the hotel and sleep....

Day Two....Magic Kingdom

Buzz and DJ

DJ

On Main Street

The Castle

Day two...we went to Magic Kingdom for a day...Sunday February 16th..very disappointing....we decided to go a bit later and sleep in since it was open till 1200...when we got there...we had to park, take the tram, get the tickets ( even though I ordered them online, I still had to wait 45 minutes in line), get in line for the monorail...which DJ of course wanted to sit in the front, we had to wait for 6 trains to go by and when we got in it smelled bad...then wait in line to check my camera bag and then in line to get into the park...so needless to say things did not start so well...although we did get to see the Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade which was fun...and DJ did get a birthday pin since he just turned 9 on the 5th...but we were so spoiled at Universal with the Express pass, that we did not want to wait in the lines....we were able to get a fast pass for the Buzz Lightyear ride....but all we could think about is how much better MIB ride at Universal was...better effects...and cleaner...yes we felt that Disney..at least Magic Kingdom was dirty....we did see the new Monster Inc's Laugh Floor..it was funny...we did go on the newer improved Its a Small World, Stiches Great Escape, Mad Tea Party, Mickey's PhilharMagic, and we toured the Swiss Family Treehouse. DJ ended up meet a friend from Camp Adahi...Brad...wierd..huh...anyway..we also did not like the tons...and I mean tons of strollers...there was not as many at Universal...but Disney is geared to the young ones...cause we were so disappointed, we left early, we thought about going back to Universal for another Mardi Gras parade and to see the Village People, but we felt that a nice dinner and swim in the hotel pool was better for us..so that is what we did..and it was very relaxing....I was tired and got to bed by 1000...but for some reason woke up at 3 Am and did not go back to sleep...more to come...

Orlando 2009 Part One

DJ Playing at Nascar

Mardi Gras Parade

Universal Sign

Shaggy, DJ, Dave, & Scooby

Well we made it to Orlando on Friday night, Feb. 13th...yes I flew on Friday the 13th...but it was great...we were able to upgrade to business class which made DJ happy cause he got all the free soda and chips...I also got a few complementary drinks....but so we landed in Florida by 1000 PM and off to the car and hotel...we were hungry, so the best place (Ha Ha) was Denny's...so we had a bite to eat then off to bed as for our next few days would be very busy...we got up and out of the hotel by 1030 on Sat and headed to Universal...after parking and getting our tickets, we realized how valuable our time was and waiting in line for 40-75 minutes for each ride would not help, so we decided to pay the extra 25.99 per person to get Express Pass...this allowed us to ride each ride once by skipping lines....well worth the money...we went on just about all the rides that had the Express Pass....we did Jimmy Neutron, Sherk 4-D, the new Simpson ride ( took over what used to be the Back to the Future ride), MIB, E.T., Jaws, Diaster ( which scared the bajeebees out of DJ, but don't tell him I said so...LOL), we saw Beetlejuice and Monster's Live Concert, the Animal show and I think that is it...we tried to then eat at Nascar, but time was limited and the Mardi Gras Parade was set to start at 8 PM and we wanted the best seats...which was where the parade passes you twice...it was great...we got over 100 beads between the three of us...after the parade, DJ and I danced to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons..then headed off for the hotel...Day one down...will update Day two next time....