Yeah, I just plain gave up on fighting the Universal photo guys, and I will remember to preorder the PhotoPass CD BEFORE I go the next time, so here goes, folks. Sorry about no photos this time.
I will give you the first 2 days as a bonus in exchange for no photos.
Before I start: P-Sha, what was the “Got Ears?” smiley code? I need to get that one for one of my Disney days for a very particular reason.
BJ’s First Trip in 3.5 Years, And Trying More Things Than Ever Before!--TR
Intro to me:
BJ, 24
Multiple-Trip vet of WDW and overall Disney freak! Donald is my favorite character, and my favorite rides are Test Track, Pirates, and Muppets! This was basically a school group trip, and had several firsts for me, including my very first time EVER inside IOA, a feat that actually impressed a few cast members!
Day 1: It is WAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYY too early!
My 4:30 alarm came far too quickly. It actually was 4:40 by the time I awoke, and I was immediately glad that I'd had almost everything packed the night before!! I immediately went and got myself ready for the journey, and then I left my dorm room and struggled down the hill (because my dorm is literally on the very top of this big, big hill) with my suitcase and my book bag. I was glad I'd had the idea to bring my book bag too because I had a much easier time of making it down the hill!
It was drizzling a little bit, so we loaded our suitcases into the bus and headed inside to the University Center, where it was warmer as well as being dryer. We also had to wait for a couple of folks, because one of the dorms had the audacity to hold a fire drill THE day we were leaving!
So, after we waited awhile, we got a short briefing/introduction and we headed out to the bus. Thankfully, it'd stopped drizzling by then.
So, while they showed that awful new Karate Kid movie (still an abomination to me that they remade that film), I read my new Universal Orlando 2011 book by Seth Kubersky and Kelly Monaghan from The Intrepid Traveler (using my iPhone as a booklight, LOL).
After I'd finished reading this book, it was a matter of watching The Princess and the Frog (decent film) and then we stopped for lunch. It was a Love's truck stop in Jackson, GA that also had a McDonald's in it!
So, after satisfying my immense McDonald's craving, I browsed the store a bit... and found something remarkable.
First, a bit of background: On this trip, my mission was to find really simple ways of saving a bit of money, basically seeing if someone could feasibly go to Disney, Universal, and the outlet malls for $50 per day (not including hotels or most of my meals).
So, when I saw authentic Indiana Jones fedoras for $20 including tax (about half of what you pay for the same hat at Disney), I found my first money-saving tip, and I stumbled upon it for all practical intents and purposes!
So, we all got back on the bus and got back out to I-75 (I'll be totally honest, I was never expecting for them to come this way, I'm far too used to going I-26 to I-95 to I-4 and not pick up I-75 in Georgia!), and started to watch Up (yes, it's great if you can get through the sad parts).
Then we got to the I-75 Florida Welcome Center. I'm perfectly willing to be wrong, but I don't believe I've been in this particular welcome center before.
I took the opportunity to snag a bit of free orange juice (remember, I'm going for $50 per day on this trip for the most part) as well as some free informational brochures with a bonus free awesome Donald Duck image on the back of the one free mag I picked up, "I (heart) Orlando" (which had my very favourite Sesame Street character, Grover, on the front, LOL), and got my trip report as up-to-date as it was at that point, and then turned off my phone, as my battery was on its last legs.
Then we got to our hotel, the Springhill Suites Orlando Lake Buena Vista, and I took the opportunity to try and charge my iPhone just enough to get me through dinner as well as turn it back on (which sadly didn’t happen as I had planned it).
So, while leaving my iPhone plugged in, I left for an optional TGI Fridays visit (we were at the Crossroads shopping center, and I hit my second McDonalds that day), and didn't get back till nearly 11! So, after watching the WDW resort TV loop a couple of times and showering, I went to bed ready to officially start my vacation!
Day 2: Universal Orlando-bound!
Today's alarm came with much less of a fight, and my vacation is officially underway!
So, after some breakfast, we were off! My goal for today was to hit both IOA as well as CityWalk during our one Universal day this trip.
That goal was met but good today. So, my first order of business upon entering IOA (after getting the first of what would turn out to be many photo claim tickets throughout the day) was to hit the one ride that I would need a poncho for: Popeye & Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges. So, after acquiring said poncho for a mere $8, I steeled myself to get my poncho 100% soaked, which is exactly what happened!!! Didn't get the unsoakables soaked, so I'd consider that a success!
After that, the poncho hit the trash bins (so as to continue to avoid getting anything drenched), and then, it was off to the main attraction: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The place was absolutely JAMMED, but I snagged a Frozen Butterbeer (which was 100% delish, by the way) at the Hogs Head Pub, where I had to endure one heck of a nasty line, and then escaped the area with my dignity slightly intact and made my way back to the Toon Lagoon and the Comic Strip Cafe, one of the IOA restaurants that was covered on the meal vouchers we were using today, to have lunch. That was... interesting, at best. Food was nothing to write home about, but I did have both my lunch and my dinner there, so maybe it wasn't that bad either.
After that, I started to hang out more toward the Marvel Super Hero Island area. I must preface this next section of today's TR by saying that, knowing Disney had bought Marvel, it was really weird to see Marvel characters in a Universal theme park. But then again, it really brought a smile to my face and joy to my heart.
So, my first of many encounters with Earth's mightiest heroes on Marvel Super Hero Island was with Captain America not once, but twice!!
My first encounter with Cap was as he was greeting folks outside of the Marvel Comic Book Shop, and I remember having had to go around them! So, I decided to get a few character autographs & pics while I was at it.
I next decided to get my picture taken with everyone's friendly neighborhood Spiderman!
While I was in line to meet Spidey, I got to see a portion of the parade. Several families actually hopped OUT of the line to try and get a pic with Spidey right then!
One of the things I'd done was buy a couple of pens as well while I was at it, one for the "face characters" at Disney as well as Earth's Mightiest Heroes at Universal, and a bigger pen for the more cartoony characters to sign at Disney.
The autograph "book" was actually a spare reporter's notebook I had smartly brought with me that day, and made for one heck of a Spiderman character interaction!
Spidey told me as I walked up, "I thought you were a reporter for a minute there!" I told him that it was my autograph book, and he cracked, "Well, as long as you're not Eddie Brock, we're fine!"
(BTW, for those of you not in the know, Eddie Brock is the alter ego of Venom, one of, if not the best Spidey villains ever!)
After that (and after learning that all my years of using the ASL "I love you" sign paid off handsomely with regard to shooting Spidey webs), I hung around for awhile longer, and got a really incredible souvenir cup (PROTIP: the souvenir cup in question was made even more incredible by the $0.79 + tax refills).
After awhile, I watched the little parade on Marvel Super Hero Island and then got my final interaction with two of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Rogue and Storm.
Storm was incredibly nice, and Rogue was a bit soft-spoken. And BTW, my pose in the pic was actually borne out of a little tang soo do training as well as a lot of tae kwon do training. I never knew that would come in handy in that fashion, LOL.
So, after that I had a nice dinner at Comic Strip Cafe and then started for the exit. After looking for a restaurant in Seuss Landing and for a specific Universal pin (which I never found; I was looking specifically for a Nickelodeon Studios pin), I hit the exit and took in an 80s cover band called Switch at CityWalk and browsed a couple of shops.
Right before I left for our bus, a very nice blonde woman passed me and raised her beer cup, and I said, "Hey, how are you guys?". I figured out just as soon as her group left that the blonde woman was what I thought to be a PassPorter board member!
If that WAS you, my sincere apologies! I was pretty far gone at that point, and while I thought that I recognized you, I wasn't at my most optimal, and I may have been a little bit loopy at that point!
So, shortly after that, I made my way back to our group's bus and wrote my trip report for that day.
After returning to the hotel, I got the sofa bed I'm sleeping on for the duration of the trip ready, hit the shower, and conked out, preparing for my first Disney half day tomorrow.
Up next: Whoa, that VideoWave system is TOTALLY WICKED!! And a really amazing happening on Pirates too, which made my trip...
BJ
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