Day 19: The Amber Nectar | Back To The Magic 2013
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[Today’s photographs can be found on my Flickr and the whole collection of days can be found here.]
Universal Studios + Islands of Adventure + Margaritaville
September 1st, 2013
Today we decided to revisit Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure after the washouts we had on our previous visits to it this holiday. It was a chance to re-do some of our favourite rides, and see/do things we hadn’t done before. So, up bright and early, we headed down Highway 192 and onto the I-4 to take us to the Universal Orlando Resort.
Today was Memorial Day in the USA, we wasn’t sure if it was going to mean everything would be super busy, but having spent the day before not doing very much, we didn’t want to waste another day!
We decided to go to Universal Studios first, so around to the right, past the iconic globe – and this time we got some photos of us ^_^ before heading under the arch and into the park.
The first thing I clocked that was different was vehicles from The Walking Dead – getting ready for Halloween Horror Nights I presume. As a TWD fan, I thought this was super awesome!
I would love to go to Halloween Horror Nights, but I really am a big wuss, I’m just above brave enough to watch The Walking Dead!
We decided to walk to the back of the park and work our way forwards, passing Betty Boop on the way to Springfield, USA…
…walking past the Transformers ride, we saw that the line was non-existent, so quickly went on that! Awesome! This ride is amazeballs!
We went via Jaws…had to get a photo of us with this iconic creature!
As we are fans of The Simpsons, we think this new area is fantastic! We went straight to The Simpsons Ride, and this tactic of going to the back of the park was worth it – we literally walked right on the ride and had the ride to ourselves too! LOVE this ride, it’s so much fun!
We then explored Springfield, taking photos of all the things that we see in the TV Show, and then saw Krusty the Clown coming out for a meet and greet, so grabbed the chance to take a photo with him.
We then saw Doc Brown near the Delorean, so had to go and meet him! Just AWESOME! One of my favourite films ever!
We then walked to an area of the park that we hadn’t ever ventured to – Woody Woodpecker’s Kidzone. Of course, since our littlun isn’t so little any more, there’s not really much of a reason to go over here, but we wanted to do ET Adventure!
From lining up to coming out of the ride, according to my photo times, was about 40 minutes. The ride seems to take a while loading, but it’s worth it, if you enjoy this classic film! From a plus size point of view, the bike seats are on the small side, but I managed to wedge my bum in them and coped with going around the ride.
We then took a quick look around the area before moving on…
…having missed The Blues Brothers so far on this, and our first trip, we headed to New York and Delancey Street to wait for the show to start. With a warm up first from ‘Aretha Franklin’ singing ‘Respect’, Jake and Elwood then made for the stage. It was a toe-tapping, sing-along, dance in the street show, and I personally loved it! But then, I love that film!
It’s not a very long show. Either that, or, because I was so busy shaking my tail feather that I didn’t realise the time going by, but I was sad when it was all over! The Blues Brothers then make their way off in their police car, and we went around to wait for the start of Beetlejuice’s Graveyard Revue.
Another thing we were looking forward to, as we love the film, and we all love music! Wasn’t sure what to expect mind you! We sat at the back near the top and got a good view of the stage.
Beetlejuice was very good – a real likeness to Michael Keaton in the film! He introduced us to Frankenstein, his Bride, Dracula and Wolfman, before they are transformed into rockstars ^_^
I had a quick look online to see what the track listing was and it is as follows…
- Let’s get it Started – All
- Hey Mickey/Superfreak – Hip and Hop
- Jump – Wolfman
- I Will Survive – Bride of Frankenstein
- Dancing in the Dark – Frankenstein’s Monster
- Frankie’s Girl – Dracula
- You Give Love a Bad Name – All
- Hey Ya – All
- It’s Raining Men/Holding Out For A Hero – Hip and Hop, Bride of Frankenstein.
- You Shook Me All Night Long – All
- Finale (You Shook Me All Night Long) – All
I read that they are adding different songs in 2014, so it will be a different show next time we see it!
I thought it was a great show, full of energy and the performers were very good. So glad we got to see this as we just ran out of time on our first trip to Universal Studios in 2011.
Piling out of the auditorium, Liam proclaimed he was hungry, so we bought a slice of pizza at a nearby eatery – Louie’s Italian Restaurant, which is a counter service place. We spent $24.15 in here.
We then decided to call it a day at Universal Studios and make our way over to Islands of Adventure.
We walked past the Hard Rock Café which hubs really wants to go and eat in one day – will have to be trip after next now!
So far, the weather had been kind and no rain yet! So we walked into Islands of Adventure and our first port of call was to walk through Seuss Landing. Not to ride anything, but to just look at all the colourful scenery!
We had bought a refillable mug – CocoCola Freestyle – when we’d bought pizza at Universal Studios that you could refill at certain places at both US and IOA, and one of those was at Circus McGurkus Café Stoo-pendous, so in we went to top up! There were 100+ drinks to choose from, so it was always a battle between us all as to which drink to fill up with!
We then walked through The Lost Continent with the view to watching The Eighth Voyage of Sindbad Stunt Show, but once again (like our first trip in 2011) it was shut due to some technical problem….
…so we carried on walking into The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Just to have a look around, drink some Butterbear, buy some bottles of Pumpkin Juice and take everything in! It’s so wonderfully themed in Hogsmeade, and if you’re a fan of the films/books, it’s so brilliant to see everything brought to life!
It’s so strange to see snow covered buildings! And snowmen!
We didn’t bother with Forbidden Journey as I didn’t fit in 2011, and certainly wasn’t going to fit this time, and it was so busy in Hogsmeade that we eventually bade farewell and walked past Hogwarts towards Jurassic Park.
Again, we didn’t really do much here, the line for Jurassic Park River Adventure was super long, by now it was late afternoon, and everyone must have descending on the theme parks! We just chilled out in this area for a bit before carrying on around the park.
If you just stop and look around, you’ll see what a beautiful part of Islands of Adventure, Jurassic Park is – I could quite happily sit here for an hour!
Once again, we completely bypassed Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls…next time!
However, we did line up for The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, because, quite frankly, it’s one of the most amazing rides EVER! There’s no way we could leave IOA without going on it! And similarly, there’s no way I can visit IOA without taking photos of The Incredible Hulk Coaster! One day I WILL go on this!
We waved goodbye to Islands of Adventure for 2013, and made our way to City Walk…I so wish I’d bought one of these vests for my niece!
Dinner this evening was to be at Margaritaville, so we went to see if we could get a table. There was to be a bit of a wait, so we were given some pager bleepy things and sat on the benches outside, as there wasn’t really anywhere for us to wait inside.
Eventually, the bleeper went off and we were shown to a table near the bar.
It was very busy in here, and the waitress was flapping about all over the place! Steve ordered, of course, a margarita, whilst I stuck to something non-alcoholic.
We looked through the menu and decided to have a spinach and artichoke dip starter – which was our new favourite food this holiday – ate it several times! The one here was much nicer than that at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
Liam had, surprise, surprise, a burger! A Cheddar BBQ Burger (Topped with cheddar cheese, Applewood-smoked bacon, fried onions, lettuce, and BBQ aioli. Served with a roasted jalapeño on the side)
Steve chose Chicken Teriyaki (Marinated and seasoned with our special blend of spices and topped with mango salsa. Served with island rice and fire-roasted corn.)
I had Jimmy’s Jammin’ Jambalaya (Cajun rice loaded with shrimp, chicken and Andouille sausage simmered in a spicy broth.) which I wish I hadn’t as it had celery in it -_- but I could just about manage it because it was very well cooked.
The food was okay, nothing special, and the service was a bit pants, we ate up (sorta, I left a lot of mine) before paying the bill of $95.69.
We didn’t bother with dessert because we wanted to get a Cinnabon! Which we bought extras of to take back to the UK with us (don’t judge!)
We sat and shared a Cinnabon, before deciding to make a move…the sky was turning that dark shade it does when the rain is going to fall, so we walked back to the car and drove home.
Another early start tomorrow with a day at Discovery Cove – to give it another chance after our first not as amazing as I thought it was going to be visit in 2011.
Read about the previous day: Day 18: Island Hopping – Rest Day + Lunch at Bahama Breeze + Take Out from Bamboo Wok
Read about the next day: Day 20: Finding Dory – Discovery Cove (Non-Swim) + Dinner at Olive Garden
Read ALL the days! Back to the Magic Trip Report Index 2013
Emily
February 9, 2014 @ 4:20 pm
Wow, what an incredible experience. Thanks for sharing such an in depth look. x
Kara
February 6, 2014 @ 2:05 pm
We were supposed to go last year but Sebastian came along – not sure whether to wait until he is a bit older or go this year – I am 40 this year and would make an amazing birthday pressie
Michelle Ordever
February 7, 2014 @ 9:13 am
I saw tiny babies being carried around the theme parks!! I don’t know if I could do that though :P Whatever you decide, and whenever you go, I am sure you’ll have a wonderful time! I want to go for my 40th (in 2 years time) so saving hard for that!!
Clare Goldthorp Rudd
February 6, 2014 @ 12:39 pm
I love Universal – my Dad lives close by and I have been many times. I have happy memories of standing in the Jaws mouth as a child 0 fantastic pictures :-)
Michelle Ordever
February 6, 2014 @ 12:42 pm
How awesome to have a theme park on your doorstep! The ride was so tacky, but I’m sad that it’s gone now!
Belle du Brighton
February 5, 2014 @ 10:18 pm
Jealous! So much to do! I like the idea of the refillable cup and all the drinks choices!
Michelle Ordever
February 6, 2014 @ 10:54 am
There is so much to do, you couldn’t fit it all in on one trip!
Emma Smith
February 5, 2014 @ 9:33 pm
Wow what an amazing place to go. My kiddies would love it!
Michelle Ordever
February 6, 2014 @ 10:55 am
I’m sure they would! It’s a fun place to go!
Jenny
February 5, 2014 @ 7:38 pm
Brilliant photos of an amazing trip.
Michelle Ordever
February 6, 2014 @ 10:55 am
Thanks! x
Cass@TheDiaryofaFrugalFamily
February 5, 2014 @ 7:27 pm
That may be the longest post ever ;-)
Lovely photos- looked like an amazing trip x
Michelle Ordever
February 6, 2014 @ 10:56 am
My trip reports are always super long – I think I have written longer!! I actually split it up into several posts (Epcot World Showcase). x
Vicky Wombwell Kuhn
February 5, 2014 @ 6:20 pm
So many well known characters I think I am actually having some sort of nostalgia rush! Great photos – what an amazing holiday!
Michelle Ordever
February 5, 2014 @ 6:45 pm
We had so much fun on this holiday – can’t help it! x
Charly Dove
February 5, 2014 @ 7:09 pm
Oh my goodness what a post! Sounds like you had the best time and I just love the photos :)
Michelle Ordever
February 6, 2014 @ 10:56 am
These trip reports are always behemoth!!
Charlotte
February 5, 2014 @ 6:34 pm
Wow some amazing pictures! I love the walking dead section! x
Michelle Ordever
February 5, 2014 @ 6:45 pm
It looked awesome! x
Helen Peakle Pie
February 5, 2014 @ 5:13 pm
Love your photo’s – the colours really ‘pop’ on them plus you look like you had a fabulous time too! :)
Michelle Ordever
February 5, 2014 @ 6:46 pm
Thanks! We do have such a fab time! x
Jen Walshaw
February 5, 2014 @ 5:20 pm
So many fab memories
Michelle Ordever
February 5, 2014 @ 6:46 pm
So many! x
Suzanne Whitton
February 5, 2014 @ 2:09 pm
Fabulous photos which made me smile on such a drizzly day! I long to go back to Disney World – hopefully one day :)
Michelle Ordever
February 5, 2014 @ 6:46 pm
Tell me about it! Today has been so miserable! Hope you get back there one day x
Joanne Mallon
February 5, 2014 @ 11:30 am
LOVE this post. We have booked to go to Florida in October this year, so it’s brilliant to see your pictures and get an idea of what to expect. Thank you so much for taking the time to create such a detailed post.
Michelle Ordever
February 5, 2014 @ 6:48 pm
Please do look through all of my previous trip reports and the planning section – I really enjoy helping others who are planning their visit to Orlando – especially first timers! Have fun!! x
Keri-Anne
February 5, 2014 @ 11:46 am
This looks super amazing! I have always wanted to go to universal studios and disney land in America. xxx
Michelle Ordever
February 5, 2014 @ 6:46 pm
Hope you get there one day – we love it! xxx
Kirsty Hornblow
February 5, 2014 @ 11:45 am
I love the photographs – so much sunshine! There are hints of Spring here but the days are so cloudy and grey I can’t wait for blue skies and warm sun x
Michelle Ordever
February 5, 2014 @ 6:47 pm
It’s not called the Sunshine State for nothing!! I love the sky and the clouds in Florida – makes me so happy! I’m desperately waiting for the blue skies and warm sun – here’s hoping we don’t have to wait too long x
Anna
February 5, 2014 @ 10:47 am
This all looks amazing and so much fun! We have been to Universal in LA and really enjoyed that, it was 6 years ago now! I think this one looks maybe bigger?? I would really love to go to Florida and visit all these parks, hopefully within the next few years we will manage it
Michelle Ordever
February 5, 2014 @ 6:49 pm
I’m not sure how they compare size wise, but with Islands of Adventure as well, there is a lot to see and do at Universal Orlando! I’m going to miss not going there this year as we’re just doing Disney. Hope you get to go to Florida one day soon! x