Up early again for Islands Of Adventure this time. We initially said we'd not go too early but then it seemed a shame to not make the most of it. We can lie in next week! Another theme park but not pretending to look like film studios this time, loosely themed around islands maybe? We decided the best way to do it was to go back to Universal Studios first as with our special tickets we could get in there an hour early, and go straight on the Hogwarts Express. This is a full sized steam train ride that travels between these two parks that you can only go in if you have tickets for both. You go through platform 9 3/4 onto a real looking platform and then a real looking steam train. It's actually pulled along by rollercoaster type tracks underneath, but very cool. You stay in your carriage and the blinds are pulled down and you can see the scenery go by and the action inside and outside the carriage, including film characters running down the corridor. Good stuff.
You pull into a (bizarrely) snow covered Hogsmeade village. The same wands and shops and things as on the other park really. There was one ride which we went on, Flight of the Hippogriff. After you have looked at the seemingly full sized Hogwarts castle and the snow covered buildings you are done here.
Was very hot for walking round another concrete park today. We tramped round it, quite a big park with things well spread out. Clare and thing one went on the Hulk rollercoaster, this was the focus of the trip for her I think as she had enjoyed it on her last visit about twenty five years ago. While they were there we went on a dreadful Dr Seuss ride, huge queue and really boring even for thing two.
We all went on the Kong: Skull Island ride, it was very good but thing two was terrified by it. It's an immersive 3D ride with King Kong and dinosaurs and all sorts. The poor little one really cried going round this. We all went on the Jurassic Park river ride, that was better and more enjoyayble but quite short really. Sat at the front and got soaked.
Probably the best thing for the boys was running around this crystal maze type bit with waterguns. Best thing, no queues for this!
Can't remember exactly what we did for lunch, I think I stuck to my snack bar plan today. At least one of the boys got a corndog, basically a sausage on a stick, looked a bit grim.
Later we went on the Spiderman ride - that one was very dated. It was more of a simulator experience than a ride, but a bit like an older version of the Harry Potter one we went on. It was Spiderman 1970s style really. The boys enjoyed it though, seeing the characters they know. It's odd that Disney has all the good Marvel stuff now, it makes the existing ones seem a bit rubbish.
We had fast passes again for this park, but I don't think we got our money's worth out of them or the entry tickets really. We left early to head back to the pool area of the hotel again. The boys did play games round the pool this day, including pass the parcel with water balloons, and there was bingo too. That's more like it!
We had our new evening routine of me heading to the bar early while the others got ready. Reading my book and sitting on the terrace with a glass of wine and some complementary nuts, looking out over the hotel and the parks. Lovely! Then the others came to meet me and we headed down to the main restaurant downstairs in our hotel. This was the spot where we had planned to have breakfast every day but hadn't managed it yet. We all ate well, I had a vegetable curry and we ordered wine that we recognise from home. Nice and relaxing, a bit lazy really, then ready for Kennedy Space Centre tomorrow. Should not be such an early start.
Paul Clarke's weblog - I live in Hythe near Folkestone. Wed + father to 2, I am a full stack web developr, + I do js / Node, some ruby, other languages etc. I like pubbing, parkrun, eating, home automation and other diy jiggery-pokery, history, genealogy, TV, squirrels, pirates, lego, and TIME TRAVEL.