Universal Part 1

We just returned from a week-long trip to Universal Studios in Orlando. We had a wonderful time, and I will recap the trip in two or three posts. First, I must mention we brought Bode's friend, Brendan, with us. We figured Bode would have more fun with someone closer to his age (and we were right!). Thus, the other boy in most of the pictures is Brendan. We arrived Monday afternoon and immediately headed over to the park. We did manage to convince the boys to stop for a quick photo.

We started in Universal Studios and did a lot of the 3-D / simulated motion rides. We did the Minions, Jimmy Fallon's Race Through New York, as well as a decent roller coaster, The Revenge of the Mummy. We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel right on the property, so we had Express Passes for all rides, which was definitely worth it. After the Mummy, the boys went off on their own, so Ashley and I explored Diagon Alley. It is a pretty realistic rendition of part of the Harry Potter universe.

Here is one of me in front of Gringot's bank.

The park closed at 7 pm on Monday, so we couldn't do any more rides, so we headed back to the hotel. We all got a good night's sleep and headed out first thing Tuesday morning. Staying at the property gave us (and thousands of others) early access to the park. We did stop for a picture in front of the sign again.

The most popular ride is Hagrid's Motorcycle ride, so we headed there. Below is a picture of some of the scenery.

I enjoyed the ride, but I think there are better coasters in the park, but what do I know. Afterwards, we did get Bode to take a picture with Ashley in front of Hogwarts.

We then headed over to the Jurassic Park-themed rides. The VelociCoaster was probably my favorite ride. Here is a shot of Bode and Brendan waiting in line.

This had loops, corkscrews, banks, turns, everything--quite the thrill. Below is a picture of part of the track.

Brendan snapped a picture of the picture of Bode and him on the ride. They look awesome :-)

We then went and did a lot of different rides. We did some water rides, which were fun, but you got SOAKED. Even our underwear was wet. Bode snapped this photo of a drenched Ashley and me.

Ashley and I got to meet Homer and Bart.

At some point, we headed back to the room to recover and get dry. Being the dedicated athlete, Bode wanted to get some swim workouts in. Fortunately, there was a great aquatic center a couple miles from the hotel. I don't think Bode was going to set any pool records; from the board, it looks like Michael Phelps still holds a few marks.

After his swim, I think we went back over to the park and walked around. I think we were all exhausted come bedtime :-)