Day 22 - For Your Amusement

On Thursday, I decided to spend the day at Universal Studios Orlando.

 
Clearly I was not the only person who had that idea.

As a kid, my parents took me to Universal Studios in LA and, again, I was too young to appreciate it. I remember sitting on props from the Incredible Shrinking Woman, not understanding the jokes about the Psycho house, and being scared by the flood and the supposedly rickety bridge, but that's about it.

What I know I would have appreciated as a kid was a trip to Universal Studios Orlando as it was home to Nickelodeon Studios. I so longed to see the set of Double Dare, be part of a the audience for the filming of Clarissa Explains It All, and experience every kid's dream of getting slimed. I lobbied pretty hard, which went something like this:

. . . but to no avail. (I guess my nagging wasn't naggy enough.)

And now, twenty years later, I am seven years too late. In 2005, Nickelodeon Studios closed and the Blue Man Group took over the space. Tobias Fünke is probably pretty happy, but I'm ticked.

Fortunately, there were many other sights that helped to make up for it.

One of the strangest sights I encountered first. A gaggle of Easter themed characters (possibly from a movie called HOP) were dancing in the middle of the street. My favorite was this little guy:

It was a stiflingly hot day, and I can't even imagine what kind of commitment to character this chickadee possessed to keep dancing in that heat.

My last trip to an amusement park was in 1999 and I'm pretty sure I was the designated purse holder. I'm not much for rides (scary or not) but I wanted to make sure I made the most of this experience.

I started with the Simpsons ride which I thought would be tame enough.

It turns out that rides have progressed quite a bit from the time of the teacups and a popular set-up involves projecting a video in front of the rider while the car the rider is strapped into bucks and lurches and plummets and crashes without actually going anywhere. It's a nice compromise for those of us who don't even want to take the chance of their cause of death being listed as "roller coaster."

After successfully surviving, I went to the Kwik-E-Mart to reward myself with a souvenir.

I picked out the surliest of their Surly bottle openers and approached the counter, making note of the new Squishy flavor.

As I was getting out my credit card, the saleslady asked if she saw a AAA card in my card case. What she saw was the business card of the most wonderful AAA representative, Val, who has helped immensely to make this adventure a success. But I told her I did have a print out of my card in my purse. In a hushed voice she informed me that AAA members get a discount on almost everything at the park, but they'd prefer employees don't tell customers about the discount. I promised that I wouldn't reveal my source and went off to save a little bit as I spent. (Seriously, AAA provides fantastic service and is an amazing deal!)

I went on the Men in Black ride and followed that up with the animal actor stage show, featuring Frank the pug from Men in Black.

My next stop was the one feature I remember from Universal Studios in LA, and I was stunned to see it still around and still attracting plenty of people.

The I Love Lucy exhibit:

 

On my way to the next attraction, I passed a few interesting vehicles along the way.

And:

Aw, they're bringing Blinky!

My next stop was Disaster: A Motion Picture Ride . . . Starring You. The wait was over an hour, but they do a nice job of keeping people cool, even while waiting in long lines outside.

These fans also spray a light mist of water,
it feels a little like being cauliflower in the produce aisle

 While waiting, I reminisced a little via the t-shirts around me:

I wasn't sure what to expect with this ride, but once I saw this picture, I knew I was going to be okay:

You can't go wrong with Christopher Walken

The gist of the ride is that Christopher Walken is a director (who appears via hologram) filming a movie that has just started casting. Some of us were chosen to be actors and given specific roles and the rest of us were extras.

Once specific shots were filmed, we got in subway cars and went through a disaster scenario that included fire, falling rocks, and a flood (I think I remember this from Universal Studios LA, but it was in a different context). We were told to act super scared.

At the end, they play back the movie we made, including the parts the actors played and our scared reactions. Finally, I was in a movie! (That will be erased after five minutes so the next group can go.)

I was saving my appetite for later in the day, but I noticed something at one of the food stands by the Simpsons ride that I thought was a joke. After seeing it in several other locations, I realized it wasn't.

Mmm, nothing like walking around an amusement park in the Florida heat gnawing on a turkey leg. But people did. I saw it more than once.

Next, I went over to the other park, Islands of Adventure.

There was only one attraction I really wanted to see there, but on the way I passed by Dr. Seuss Land.

Look! A moose (juice)!

What I came to see was beyond this sign:

Harry Potter Land!

The tops of the shops in Hogsmead

The enchanted Ford Anglia that crashed in the forest

Inside Honeydukes (which is attached to Zonko's)

 I was saving my appetite to try the Harry Potter treats, including butterbeer:

And pumpkin juice:

The butterbeer comes in two varieties, carbonated or frozen. I took the recommendation of the bartender at the Hog's Head Tavern and chose the frozen kind. He filled the mug with the slush and then added a creamy top from another dispenser. It is served with a Slurpee straw.

The pumpkin juice is sold from ice filled buckets and has a removable pumpkin on top. 

I took my beverages and sat down at a table to give them a taste.

I thought the butterbeer was pretty darn delicious -- a light butterscotch flavor with a marshmallowy cream on the top. It sounds like it would be unbearably sweet, but it was surprisingly understated. It is described as a combination of butterscotch and shortbread in flavor and now that I read it, that sounds about right.

The pumpkin juice tastes like October. It's like someone juiced some apples and a pumpkin pie. Very cidery and pumpkiny without being thick. (The main ingredients are apple juice, pumpkin juice, and apricot juice.)

Fully hydrated, I stood in line for the Harry Potter: Forbidden Journey ride. It was the longest line I stood in, twisting and winding all over outside before zig-zagging inside the castle. Thankfully, the line moved fairly quickly and they offer a special line for single riders (or people who don't care who they sit by). The woman who sorted me into a group said standing in that line cut my wait time in half. While we waited, the portraits prepared us for what we should expect and the sorting hat gave us a safety talk.

This was another ride like the Simpsons. Although, this one did go somewhere between video scenes. We were rocked and jostled and tilted all the way back and forward as we followed Harry Potter and friends through the skies of England and back to Hogwarts.

All in all, I'm glad I went on these rides. But in the future, I'd be totally happy to resume my role as purse holder.

The ride funnels us into one of the gift shops where I searched for Ravenclaw paraphernalia. Ultimately, I could not justify paying $26 for a blue tank top, but I figure that's okay because Ravenclaws are supposed to be the smart ones.

My last stop in Hogsmead was a trip to Olivander's wand shop.

It's a brilliant scheme they having going, selling tons of wands (read: sticks) for $35 a piece!

These are European men bothering a duck

At that point, the park was minutes from closing. I headed back to Universal Studios because they have one last show after the sun sets.

This is the 100th Anniversary of the studio and they created a commemorative show for their century of cinema.

While we waited for darkness to fall, we gathered around the lagoon at the center of the park. A translucent screen gave us a flowing light show as we waited for the main attraction to begin.

When it was dark enough, the fountains lit, the pictures filled the screen, and the voice of Morgan Freeman filled our ears (so you know it was going to be good). 

In several sections, we celebrated the best movies have offered us.  

Horror

Comedy

Explosions!

The night ended in an extravagant show of fireworks. 

And I waved goodbye to Universal Studios Orlando. It was a very good day.

On Friday, I'll have Georgia on my mind.


Odometer Start: 39330
Odometer End: 39340
Miles Driven Today: 10
Miles Driven Total: 5502
Today In/Around: Orlando, FL
Tomorrow: Savannah, GA
States Visited: 12 (Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida)
Geckos Encountered Along the Way: 8 (That reminds me, I need to renew my car insurance.)
Times I've Listened to Clem Snide's "Made for TV Movie" Today: 4