Orlando Trip Day 3: King Kong Row 311

Tuesday was a big day as we were scheduled to head out to see The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. This was one that we the parents and Abby were really excited about. The day proceeded as follows.

7:30 a.m. - I have a song on my iPod by SheDaisy (I will pause for 2 minutes while all the jokes about my iPod selections are made...are we done? Ok we proceed) that has the line "the day goes off like a rifle." That applies this morning, especially if the rifle was pointed at my head. After the "Our car is stolen" episode the night before, everyone is exhausted. I get up, shower and then force Shannon to do the same. In order to avoid the ugliness described in the last post, I go down to breakfast and then head off to see Igor at the gas station. (By the way, this name is not meant as a description. His name really is Igor.)

8:30 a.m. - The kids are up and they head down to breakfast. Since I took the bullet for the team and got up first, Shannon allows me to stay in the room and lay down while she takes the kids to breakfast. Had Kate been on the trip, I don't believe I would have been afforded that luxury.

8:52 a.m. - Family is back and Logan has puked again. This time in front of a crowded room of people eating their complimentary breakfast. I guess most people didn't realize that their complimentary breakfast came with entertainment as well. Fortunately, he made it behind a pillar before he got going. Unfortunately, the pillar did not come with any sound proofing so the audio was on full display. We drug him up again, wait a few minutes then we load up and head out to Universal Studios.

9:05 a.m. - We are on the freeway when I flip out realizing I forgot the Universal tickets back at the hotel. I want to curse loudly because I had reminded myself no less than 3 times not to forget them. I hate that more than anything when you tell yourself repeatedly not to do something and then you do it anyway. So now we have the unfortunate task of trying to turn around and go back to our hotel. I am convinced Florida locals sit in hidden blinds watching the tourists try to navigate the roads around theme park alley (Disney World, Sea World and Universal Studios are all within 5-8 miles of each other). I am sure it provides much more entertainment to them than any theme park could. We finally see an exit for Sea World. We can't see how that exit will get us back to the freeway, but at this point, it is the only exit we can see so we take our chances. The idea being that if we refuse to pay them, they will find a way to get us back out of there.

9:14 a.m. - We are at a stoplight with the entry gates to Sea World right in front of us. No where to turn around. However, I can see the on-ramp back to the freeway that we need to take right around the corner. I close my eyes, hit the gas and make what I am sure is an illegal u-turn and we are headed back to the hotel. I crack my eyes and look in all directions for hidden cop cars that are now speeding toward me, but I don't see any.

9:31 a.m. - I have the tickets and we are on our way again. The kids are in the backseat mocking my anger roar from earlier when I realized that I had left the tickets. That's nice.

9:47 a.m. - We are at the parking booths and they have an option for preferred parking. I ask what that is. It means we get to park on the same level as the entrance to the park. Had it been any other day, I would have spit in the man's eye, called him a charlatan and grudgingly paid the lower of the two costs to park in the regular parking area...oh wait, no offense to the memory of my mother but that is what she would have done. She was never a big fan of the having to pay for parking concept at theme parks and was never afraid to unload on the poor unforunate souls who worked the booths collecting money. Anyway, I would never have considered the preferred parking either except for the whole car incident the night before. I look at Shannon and we both nod. We pay the extra and we are preferred parkers.

9:53 a.m. - As it turned out, I don't know that the preferred parking was needed, because when we park, we are in King Kong area row 311. Everyone makes a point of remembering this. In fact, Abby, always the funny little comedienne (#@%$@) points out the roaring King Kong looks like me when I realized I had forgotten the tickets. She is so hilarious. Braden especially makes it his mission to make sure that he remembers where we are parked.

10:05 a.m. - We get to the entrance to the Universal Studios Islands of Adventure park. For those who are not familiar with Harry Potter theme park world, it is only a small part of a larger theme park which is Islands of Adventure. We get in, get strollered and are off to Harry Potter.

10:07: a.m. - Braden, "King Kong, row 311"

10:12 a.m. - Of course they place Harry Potter in the very back corner so after much walking, we arrive at Hogsmeade and are able to see the Hogwarts Express.



10:16 a.m. - The first ride available is Dueling Dragons. It is basically a roller coaster where your feet dangle. The boys are too short and after a spirited discussion, Abby chooses not to go as well. But it is no big deal, it is only a 10 minute wait while Shannon goes.



10:34 a.m. - Braden, "King Kong, row 311."

10:52 a.m. - We finally get Shannon back. Apparently when she was ready to be next in line, they had a small issue which resulted in a "10 minute" delay. Apparently to Universal, 10 minutes is just a number we throw out there as neither the wait nor the delay were 10 minutes.

10:56 a.m. - Walk down the streets of Hogsmeade. It is really cool. They have done a fantastic job. The only downside is that Hogsmeade is supposed to be in the highlands of Great Britain where is it always overcast and generally cold. They have fake snow on the rooftops to back this up. It is a shame decoration can only go so far as it is hitting in the 80s without a cloud in sight here in central Florida. But that is a small complaint. The shops are incredible and it really does look like the Harry Potter world in the movies. We stop to get a Pumpkin juice. I am feeling really nostalgic for the books until I hear the cashier say, "That will be $6.95." What??? Even by theme park standards this seems excessive. Thankfully it is cold and it tastes pretty good. At least I think so. Everyone else is kind of...eh, so I get almost the whole thing. Yeah!







10:59 a.m. - Braden, "King Kong, row 311." (Let's make this the last entry about this, but know that this continued every 15 minutes to 1/2 hour throughout the day.)

11:04 a.m. - We get in line for THE ride. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. It is housed inside of Hogwarts castle. The line to get into the ride is awesome. The portraits actually look like portraits and they come to life. It is amazing. The ride is also unlike anything I have ever ridden on before. That is undoubtedly as close as I will ever get to flying on a broomstick. I took Braden and Abby and Shannon went with Logan to go on Flight of the Hippogriff because Logan wasn't quite tall enough to ride the Forbidden Journey. We are done in 20 minutes. Shannon isn't done for another 20 for a coaster that is basically a tiny kiddie coaster. So when we get off, the kids want to go with Shannon and Logan wants to ride the Hippogriff ride again so we do. I must love my son Logan because I was ready to feed Hagrid to a dragon by the time we got to ride that ride. His voice plays throughout the queue in the Hippogriff ride and it is on a continuous loop that only lasts about 90 seconds. And Hagrid was never my favorite character in the first place.

12:36 p.m. - Time for lunch. But before we head to lunch, we are all hot and thirsty and so we decide to try a Butter beer. Although it basically amounts to a cream soda with a creamy layer head put on it, it still tastes really good. Especially since it is starting to feel like 100 degrees instead of 80.

12:47 p.m. - As we leave the Harry Potter area, we realize that it is the only part of the park that is jammed packed full of people. And when I say jam-packed, I mean jam-packed. But we decide to eat in the Jurassic Park portion of the park and suddenly walk ways are clearer, people's moods are little better...the air is a little less body odorier. It truly is amazing to think about. We saw a line to shop in Dervish and Banges (a store from Harry Potter). They sell Harry Potter stuff. That's it. But there was a line to go shopping. And it wasn't the day after Thanksgiving. Even worse was trying to shop for a wand in Ollivanders. There was a line with a wait of over an hour...JUST TO BUY A PLASTIC WAND!!! Now there was a little something special in the presentation if you got into Ollivanders, but at the end of the day, people were waiting an hour to buy a fake wand. You have succeeded in business if you can create something that will make people do that. We did not.

12:58 p.m. - Sit down to lunch. When I say nothing special...I really mean nothing special. Logan had started to feel a bit iffy again and needed medicine. Of course, the only thing they had for kids at this place was fried mac and cheese. That is what I said, fried mac and cheese. I would have faked sick if I had been fed that too I suppose. We medicine him up and relax for a while.

1:49 p.m. - Head over to the Jurassic Park ride. We feel like we entered another world (Ha Ha) as we were able to walk right onto this ride. We all got a little wet and it felt good.

2:06 p.m. - We decide to try out the Dr. Suess section of the park but it is on the other side of Harry Potter so we go back through Harry Potter. We decide to stop and get some butter beers for everyone at the Hog's Head. Again, the theming in this section of the park is just amazing. The Hog's Head is connected to the Three Broomsticks which we explore a little bit. After a good rest and a cold drink, we are ready to go.









2:40 p.m. - We go on the Dr. Suess rides (The Cat in the Hat was our favorite. We rode it twice...maybe three times. I can't remember.) After the Cat in the Hat ride, we had a good time shopping in the Cat in the Hat store. We came really close to buying Thing 1, Thing 2, Thing 3 and Thing 4 shirts for our kids.







3:49 p.m. - We next go to the Marvel comics section of the park. The Hulk roller coaster is massive and is one of the biggies in this park. I go to check how long the wait is and...I am able to walk right on. Did I mention we are still in the same theme park where I waited just under an hour to ride a kiddie coaster that resembled something I saw at the County Fair. I guess the difference is that The Incredible Hulk has not made money in the billions over the last ten years. Anyway, it was an awesome coaster.

4:08 p.m. - Bathroom stops and then Shannon decides she wants to go on the Hulk. The kids and I head over to the X-men ride. It has intense music and a very dangerous sounding name and strobe lights and and everything to make you understand how intense this ride is. At the end of the day however, it is still just the teacups ride.

4:13 p.m. - Discover that the X-men (teacups) following the Hulk can equal nausea. Kids are screaming to go again. My head is screaming...well just screaming. We don't go again.

4:18 p.m. - Continue on down the Marvel comics street when Logan sees a massive Wolverine. He doesn't know anything about the X-men at all. But he knows Wolverine's name is Logan. We have to stop and get a picture.



4:37 p.m. - We go on the Spiderman ride. It is a dark ride in a car with 3-D glasses. But it is WAY COOL! The glasses mean that characters like Spiderman and the villians can jump right on the front of your car. Pretty intense for a dark ride. Logan keeps his eyes shut for most of the ride.

5:00 p.m. - We know that the park shuts at 7 and we want to go back to Harry Potter and ride the rides again and do some shopping so we just walk right through the Sunday comics section. Nothing major to see here, but we do get a pretty good picture of Shannon with a caption over her head.



5:25 p.m. - We ask about Child Swap on the Harry Potter ride and find out Logan can go all the way through the line up to the end and then there is a room where the parent and child who can't ride can wait. Really? Why didn't we investigate this before? Dang!

5:50 p.m. - Logan desparately wants to go on the Hippogriff ride again. I take some pictures and wait. Braden and I don't want to go so we go shopping. I have seen a ton of little kids running around in Harry Potter robes all day. We finally can get into Dervish and Banges without waiting in line. This is where the robes are. They cost $100. I hope that even if I should ever strike a fortune, I will not feel like I need to buy what amounts to a Halloween costume for my kids or grandkids for $100. WOW!!

6:18 p.m. - Shannon and Abby want to shop a little bit. I am content to sit outside and take in Hogsmeade at night. It is just really cool, at least to me.







6:45 p.m. - We leave the park and poor Logan is just about done. Outside of the parks, they have several restaurants and so we decide to go to an Italian place as Abby has decided she LOVES Fettucini Alfredo and begs for it every chance she gets.

7:26 p.m. - By the time dinner arrives, all the kids are sitting there with their heads down exhausted. In fact, Logan has fallen completely asleep. Which of course means only one thing. I get to carry Logan back to the car.

8:06 p.m. - We are in the car and we are headed back to the hotel. The kids are now very excited and tired which means they have entered the silly zone. I get after them a few times, but it doesn't really help. Finally, I (also exhausted) snap at them pretty good and tell them not to make any more noise until I can navigate where exactly we are. When we make it back to the hotel, Logan says to me as we are getting out of the car, "I wasn't making any noise dad." "I know son." "It's cause I was kind of asleep." "I know son." I hug him because he is one sweet kid.

9:09 p.m. - We get the kids bathed, ready for bed and say prayers. Put them in bed.

9:10 p.m. - All three kids are asleep. I mean dead asleep. The amount of time between this and the previous item is not an exageration. In fact, Logan can be heard snoring within 30 seconds of the lights going out.

9:15 p.m. - In order to make it to Florida without having to pay a small fortune in checked bag charges, Shannon only packed 4 days worth of clothes. We could get away with this because each room comes with a washer and dryer. We load up the washer, put in the soap, hit the on button and...nothing. We try not to panic as we are now faced with four days in Florida wearing dirty (Stinky!) clothes. We call maintenance and fortunately, they get it fixed. That is good news for us and them as the room possibly would have had to be fumigated following our departure had they not got it working. Just from Braden's socks alone.

11:00 p.m. - We have to wait for the laundry to finish so it is a while before Shannon and I can get to bed. I may have fallen asleep two or three times before we finally turned the lights off. I can't remember. With the Magic Kingdom looming on the morrow, I just pray some magic healing occurs in the night to my aching feet.