Universal Studios (Day 7)

So I woke up really tired and (technically) forced myself to go in for a shower. Yeah it’s weird. As you probably guessed I am not a 35 year old, I’m only 8 and my name is Patrick - I’m the son of the 35 year old (who sometimes acts just like an 8 year old). My dad asked me to write a summary for today, so here it is.

We went to the buffet breakfast at the hotel this morning, here are the scores for breakfast:

> Old GG - 7/10, SG - 10/10. WG - 7/10, RG - 6/10, Young GG - 10/10, AG - 6/10 & ME: 8/10

So Ive got my iPad mini in the car (which Ive had for 2 years), on the way to Universal Studios. We paid the deathly toll but the people were smiling so the deathly toll was not deathly at all (well the queue was quite deathly) :, And little GG was watching MLP.

Minion Fun!!! - First is the Minions, which are the yellow fluffy things from Despicable Me. So it was a simulator with Gru, Edith, Margo, Agnes and Kevin & Dave the Minions were helping us. The adorable minions were everywhere, millions of them so cute but DESPLICABLE and then… A minion dance party! Definitely one of the top five rides.

Optimus V Megatron - Next Transformers, so good and got on the ride in ten minutes, pretty good for queues. The ride was incredible, the graphics were top notch and it had amazing 3D.

You’re a wizard, Harry! - So off to Diagon Alley, loved it all and the ride was incredible. Amazing 3D motions, loved every bit of it then we went into the Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes.

Doh'nuts - So let’s go to Springfield and go on the awesome Simpsons simulator. Amazing ride, then afterwards got a macho size doughnut and apple fritter.

Just a few more rides before we left - amazing day!

Friendly’s - So we went to Friendly’s for dinner and saw a balloon maker, best I’ve ever seen and we went home.

Back… To The Father!

Ok, hi, it’s me now, Gerry, Patrick’s gone for now, thought he had a strong start which then faded a little - most likely as Scooby Doo was on TV. First week down, so I’ll provide some more detail around some of the things that happened today.

My dad got the Starbucks in early this morning - its right in the hotel which is good plus the coffee is so much better than the coffee pod machine in our room (coffee snob alert). When we were here as children, my dad used to go get coffee from Dunkin’ Doughnuts, so kinda reminded me of that, which was nice.

Breakfast at the hotel, nothing of consequence save for our waiter who’s name was Extra. Yup, that’s right Extra. Not that its fun to make fun of peoples names, and not that we were, but Extra became our Falafel word of the day. Seen someone out running and promised myself I’ll need to go out soon, though I’ve been promising myself that every day! :P Headed to Universal and it looked like it was going to be hectic day.

As you’ve had a rundown of some of the rides from Patrick Im just going to give a quick one liner for each of the rides we visited, with one or two exceptions. The fact that Grace is now old enough for the rides were going on this time around, makes a big difference.

Shrek 4D - Great family 4D cinema experience, all the kids loved it.

Transformers - Forgot how good this was, special effects were breathtaking and just makes me want to go watch all the movies!

Minions - Great build up to the ride, and then onto something which resembled the Mionion Mayhem game. One of Gracie’s favs..

Twister - Although it looks a little dated, it still provides some thrills and its one of Anns favourite movies so you have to like it, dontcha?

Revenge Of The Mummy - Never been on the ride before - mum, dad and Gracie sat this one out. Robert was feeling a little fragile so didn’t really enjoy it, though it was a half decent roller coaster in the dark with some scary effects.

Disaster - The addition of the excellent Christopher Walken and Dwayne Johnston make this ride super funny and entertaining which included interaction and a natural disaster simulation. (re-purposed from an old ride called Earthquake).

Beetlejuice - Never fails to disappoint and you get goosebumps just hearing the Beetlejuice theme tune appear. Great dancing and singing by Beetlejuice and a few classic monsters.

The Simpsons Ride - Amazing family simulator set in The Simpsons world. Wee Graces best ride of the day!

MIB - We recorded our scores of the blog last time so it was a target we had to beat. This was Ann & Graces first time on this one too and everyone else with the exception of myself beat their previous scores. GG1 - 83625, AG - 30750, WG - 28000, PG - 21000, SG - 16000, RG - 14850, GG2 - 7000

ET - Cant do Universal without doing ET - its a classic!

Ok so I missed out the newest section of the park, Diagon Alley - thought Id save it for last to put in just a little more detail. We chatted to the conductor of the Knight Bus and the shrinking head, though Grace was a little unsure of what was going on, but a great little scene and photo op. Nearly walked pass the whole place as its kinda hidden in a building next to Kings Cross Station, which houses Hogwarts Express (taking you to Islands, which wasn’t something we had planned to do today). One you travel through to the other side however youre in a different world, its so fantastic and such a surreal experience. Gringotts bank is at the top of the alley which is filled with an array of shops and little curiosities from the books and films. We popped in the Weasley Brother shop and the Quidditch shop, each housing its own unique experience and decor. Absolutely brilliant. We stopped by to watch a play unfold told by puppets which resembled the Deathly Hallows animation from the last movie. And we witnessed the dragon sitting astride Gringotts breath fire above the air of the crowds below. It was pretty damn hot! Didn’t opt for new wands or Butterbeer yet though, well save that from Hogsmeade in Islands. Then we entered the Escape from Gringotts ride. The stages prior to the ride are filled with wondrous special effects which immerse you into the Harry Potter world. On the ride itself, a sort of mini rollercoaster/thrill ride, you meet up with Harry, Hermione and Ron as well as encounter Bellatrix and he who must not be named. It was simply excellent and wee Robert absolutely loved it! Definitely one to go back to on the next visit.

I have no memory of this place… oh wait I do!

Had a few boys ask me for directions to a ride which just happened to be in the other park (Islands of Adventure, which well be hitting for P’s birthday next week). Dont know why they asked me, I was sitting with two bags, three cameras and a map sticking out my pocket. As cool as you like though, told them where to go and how to get there. Level Up! My navigation around all of the parks so far has been pretty good which is strange as Im like the worst when it comes to directions and driving (that’s what GPS is for, am I right?).
So what else?

Here are some other random thoughts for the day, that Id didn’t manage to squeeze in. Refillable drinks cups were a godsend and were excellent value for money as we must’ve filled up the two cups we got about 10 times each. The amount of varieties also meant we got different things each time. Lardlad Donuts - of the must do’s, these things were freakin’ huge! Good job we split it, don’t think I would have made dinner. Checked out the menu for Bubba Gumps for PG’s birthday, mostly shrimp but a few burgers steaks and other dishes to keep those non seafood lovers happy. They still have the Back To The Future train and car and play the theme tune which brings back awesome memories.

We headed straight for dinner but weren’t settled on anywhere in particular, so Friendlys appeared to be at the right place right time and I can remember the wooden puzzles they used to have on their table when I was there all those years ago. It was a pretty standard fair and no puzzles (or beers) :(. Went for a Reuben sandwich, which was pretty good. Highlight of the night was the girl making balloon animals, which we vowed never again to do, but she was amazing that it was too hard to turn down. Grace got a Unicorn, Robert Baymax and Patrick got Batman. Kids were so happy with them and I think the girl was excited that it was ‘the best balloon Robert had even seen’!

So there you go, the format for today was a little shorter and a little different but wanted to give the boys a chance to have their own input (and also for me to have a little rest). Robert is in the middle of writing something too so will post that soon. First week down, and it was such an amazing week, today in particular. Still two weeks to go, which I’m really excited about - kicking off with a later start for Seaworld tomorrow. And now sleep :)