Day 15: Hey Orlando... are you ready to ROCK?!

  Orlando, Florida, United States
Friday, August 4, 2006

015 - Hanging Out in the House

I woke up at 9:30 this morning and watched the end of "Regis and Kelly" in the living room with mom and dad before they went to sit out by the pool.  I wasn't hungry for breakfast so I watched "The Today Show" for an hour or so while I went online.  At 10:30 mom and dad came back in and dad needed to pay some bills online using the laptop so I gave it to him and I went to get dressed.  I took a shower, and as I did my makeup in my room I watched the VH1 special on "Celebrity Breakups and Scandals."  I took my time and was done getting ready by 1:00, when I hung out in my room reading "Their Eyes Were Watching God."  Mom and dad went out to shop at Target and Walmart at 2:30 and Mike and I hung out in the house.  I went online for a while and he watched TV.

017 - Hanging Out in the House

Mom and dad were back by 3:30 and we got ready to leave.  We wanted to head over to Islands of Adventure and I wanted to walk around the Hard Rock Hotel first.  I went to my room and changed and got ready to go, and then I looked outside and saw that the sky was pitch black.  The forecast all week had been saying that it was supposed to rain all day today but so far it had been nice out.  It now seemed like our luck was changing, though, as we heard thunder rolling in the distance.  I took a few pictures in my room and of the view out my window before everyone was ready to go.  We sat in the living room for a few minutes as we waited for mom, and then mom, Mike and I went out to the car while dad locked up the house.  Before he was done mom realized that she had forgotten her sweatshirt that she had wanted to take for incase it was cold in the resort or the restaurant we were planning on eating at in Island's of Adventure.  It was getting chilly out so when I ran in to get mom's sweatshirt I also got my jacket.  I knew that I probably wouldn't need it, but better safe than sorry.

036 - Driving to Universal Studios

On our drive to Universal property we took a shortcut that dad had found earlier that day.  It didn't seem like a shortcut, though, since we were on a road full of traffic and traffic lights instead of flying down I4 like we usually do.  It was nice getting to see a change of scenery, though, and it gave us some extra time for the now approaching storm to pass.  It rained on and off on the ride, and we spent the time listening to the radio and taking pictures of ourselves and the scenery.  We got to Universal by 4:30 and again the gates where you pay to get into the parking lot were completely backed up.  Only four lanes were open, and every two lanes were being run by one person so it took forever.  It didn't help that the people in front of us had no idea what they were doing and it took them a good five minutes to pay.  We were going to pull into another lane when they finally drove out of the gates and towards the lot and we were able to show dad's season pass and pull into the parking lot ourselves.

039 - Hard Rock Hotel

We parked in the Spiderman section and walked through the parking garage. It was raining outside, but we were under the cover of the parking garage so we didn't mind.  It was also only drizzling, and the rain really cooled everything down, so it was nice.  When we got to CityWalk we walked all the way through the area towards Universal Studios and then took the walking path to the Hard Rock Hotel which we were able to see from CityWalk.  We had originally wanted to take the water taxi but they were all closed due to the rain.  We didn't think the walk would be bad, though, since we were able to see the resort from the front of the path.  It looked like it was right there but the path was very deceiving.  We walked and walked and walked.  It was getting more and more humid the more we walked and the entire time mom was signing "Temperature" by Sean Paul because she wanted to prove to us that the lyrics she was singing were actually in the song.  We believed her but she just kept going!  She eventually called my Aunt Stacy and told her to look up the lyrics and mom had been right.  Not that anyone was even questioning her...

044 - Hard Rock Hotel

As we walked we passed a lot of nice plants, trees and other foliage.  It was a very nice path but was very deceivingly long.  We had no idea it was such a long walk!  There were guys around my age going back and forth on bikes that would carry passengers from CityWalk to the Hard Rock Hotel and back if they didn't want to walk.  Every time one of them went by they said hello, even if they passed us four times.  It was really funny and they were really cute!  We finally reached the resort after a good ten minute walk only to find that we now had to walk up three flights of stairs to get to the lobby.  It was a quick walk and we were entering the lobby in no time... and I was completely blown away!  The lobby was gorgeous!  It was absolutely huge and was very bright and spacious, and there was rock memorabilia everywhere.  They were also playing Aerosmith which was awesome.

051 - Hard Rock Hotel

Before we walked around I wanted to run into the bathroom.  On the way we saw a little out-cove with phones and pads of paper and we had to take one of the pads because they were really cute.  They had lyrics on them saying, "Dream a little dream of me" from a Mama's and the Papas song.  I loved these pads!  We then headed into the bathroom and wow!  It was officially my absolute favorite bathroom of all time.  It was ridiculously huge and they were playing rock music and there was a whole lounge and sitting area full of pictures of Elvis, Jimmy Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and other rock God's all over the walls.  It was awesome!  I loved that bathroom so much that I had to take a picture.  When mom and I were done in there we were excited that they had nice napkins to dry our hands with.  We had been collecting themed napkins from the resorts and theme parks for the past week and a half and these were the nicest ones yet.  They were very thick and said, "So Fresh So Clean - Outkast" on them, from the lyrics to an Outkast's song.  Very cool.

060 - Hard Rock Hotel

We met dad and Mike outside and dad was excited to hand us a napkin that he had taken from the men's bathroom for me.  Little did he know, I had about forty of them in my bag haha!  We then walked around the resort's lobby and it was awesome!  It was huge and very bright, they were playing rock music, and there was ton's of memorabilia all over.  They had the white jumpsuit Elvis wore during his famous Hawaiian concert, Elton John's silver sparkling boots, the costumes from the members of KISS, Jimmy Hendrix's guitar and more.  One of my favorite exhibits was the memorabilia from "Spinal Tap."  They had costumes, dolls, pictures and more.  I was psyched!  I've seen "Spinal Tap" forty billion times; it's one of my favorite movies.  Pure awesomeness!  We walked out to the front of the resort and mom and I took a picture by a big fountain made of guitars.  Again, it was awesome.  My two passions are rock music and traveling, so what could be better than a resort completely themed around rock music?  Absolutely nothing.  I loved it.  Mom threw a lucky penny into the fountain and then we walked back through the path to CityWalk.

049 - Hard Rock Hotel

The Hard Rock Hotel was one of my favorite resorts.  It combined two of my favorite things - rock and resorts.  I felt like everyone there were people I would actually hang out with.  Instead of little kids running around in Mickey t-shirts there were older teens and young adults walking around in band t-shirts.  Even the employees were covered in tattoos and looked like the guys in the bands.  It's not for everyone, but I thought it was pretty awesome and definitely a place I would love to stay.  After having such a crappy experience at the Portofino Bay Resort I had written off the Universal hotels, but the Hard Rock brought me right back.  It was amazing!

078 - Confisco Grille

We made it back to CityWalk and walked over to Island's of Adventure.  It was a quick walk and there was no line at the turnstiles to get into the park so we were in by 5:40.  We wanted to get something to eat since we hadn't eaten since breakfast so we went over to the Confisco Grill which was located right in the Port of Entry.  It was so humid out that we hardly felt the air when we walked in; ahhh.  The restaurant was awesome, though.  It was as if the explorers from Islands of Adventure had come here after their journey and all of their souvenirs and treasures from all of the different lands were being displayed here.  It was very fun.  We were seated in the back of the empty restaurant right on top of another group of people, who were all in bathing suits.  Are you kidding me?!  The place was completely empty!  We moved over a few seats and this time we were comfortable.  I had printed out the menu beforehand so we all knew what we wanted.  We ordered five-minutes after being seated and our appetizer of nachos was brought out five minutes after that.  The nachos were good, but not great.  They were small compared to the Margaritaville ones and they didn't have as many toppings, but they were fine for fappeasing Mike's appetite for nachos.

081 - Confisco Grille

We waited around for a while and took in the view while we waited for our food.   We had a good view of Seuss Landing - we could watch the High in the Sky Seuss Trolley go by every few minutes, as well as see the top of the CaroSeussel.  Our food came by 6:00 and it was pretty good.  Mom and I shared the Grilled Chicken Sandwich which was topped with mayo and burnt bacon, and the Crab and Cheese Dip with French bread which was great!  It was hot and cheesy and tasted just like the middle of a tuna melt.  It was delicious.  Dad got a barbecue chicken sandwich and Mike got a barbecue chicken wrap.  Everyone enjoyed their food, and with our 20% discount the bill came to only $50.

092 - The Cat in the Hat

When we were done eating we walked around Seuss Landing.  I love Seuss Landing; everything is so wacky and colorful.  I would have loved it when I was younger!  I took a few pictures before we made our way over to the Cat in the Hat ride.  There was only a ten minute wait so mom and I got on line.  Mike had gotten sick on it last year since it spins a few times so he and dad waited on a bench.  The kid can go on any crazy coaster you throw at him, but he can't go on the Cat in the Hat.  I know I'm not the only one who thinks that's funny!  Mom and I got on line and we were seated on our "couch" in no time.  We sat in the front row and no one was seated behind us so we got our own vehicle.  Last year I had tried to take pictures and they made an announcement that there was no flash photography on the ride.  I made sure not to make that mistake again and I took video this time!  The video came out so funny, you hear mom and I screaming during all of the spins!  The ride was great; it's so colorful and crazy that it just makes me laugh.  It's a great ride for both kids and adults who still have a special place in their heart for Dr. Seuss stories.

095 - The Cat in the Hat

We found dad and Mike sitting by Snookers and Snookers Sweet Candy Cookers in Seuss Landing so we headed inside.  Mom had to get more French Vanilla jelly beans!  While she and dad were paying Mike and I went to walk around the store and when we met them dad was having a whole conversation with the girl behind the counter about NBC.  She had seen his ID when we were getting our discount and asked about it, and then told mom and dad that she was in school for Broadcasting and would love to work at NBC.  It was cool connecting with people over such familiar things.  Afterwards we walked around Seuss Landing a little more before going into the Lost Continent.  Dueling Dragons only had a twenty-minute wait but neither dad nor Mike wanted to go on it so we kept walking.  We then went into Jurassic Park and we wanted to go on the Jurassic Park River Adventure.  It's an awesome water flume that we had loved last year so we wanted to make sure to get on it this time.  We were expecting the ride to have a forty-minute wait but there was only a ten minute wait listed so we got on line.

110 - Jurassic Park River Adventure

We walked all the way through the line and were in the third boat to arrive.  The line had been unbelievably short which was awesome!  We all got in a row and the ride began.  I love this ride, especially the beginning of it when the huge gates open and the soundtrack says, "Welcome... to Jurassic Park!"  I used to absolutely love that movie so I always get excited when I hear the welcome message and the music plays!  The ride was absolutely awesome, and a lot better than any of us remembered it being.  The part right before we entered the restricted building with the main drop reminded me of when Ellen went to Universal Studios for her talk show and she sat on the platform right next to the building and shot people with a Super Soaker as they went by, it was hysterical!  The drop itself is HUGE and really, really steep and we got a lot wetter than we had remembered!  Our clothes weren't wet but our faces and hair were drenched and it was worth it!

120 - Marvel Superhero Island Arcade

When the ride was over we wrung the water out of our hair and made our way into Toon Lagoon.  We were already pretty wet so we considered going on the water rides, but then I remembered that none of us had brought our water-proof flip flops and I didn't want to ruin my sneakers.  You get absolutely drenched on the Toon Lagoon water rides and we didn't feel like dealing with that so we kept going.  We ended up in Marvel Superhero Island where there was only a twenty-minute wait listed for Spiderman.  That sounded good to us so we got on line.  This time we didn't have to wait outside like we had the last time we were on it, and the zig-zagging part of the first pre-show room was all closed off so we didn't have to deal with that either.  The wait went by quickly and again when we got to the room where we boarded our ride vehicles no one realized that there were two sides of the ride so we walked all the way up to the front of the empty left side.  We were going to be seated in the Brooklyn row but we were moved to Long Island.  Not the same but the ride was absolutely awesome!  We got banged and bounced around a lot more than we had on our last ride the week before.  It also seemed like we spun more which made Michael sick but he was fine a few minutes later.  Spiderman is one of the best rides ever made, it just can't be beat!

121 - Marvel Superhero Island

At 7:45 we went into the Toon Lagoon arcade and looked around.  It brought back so many memories because on my first trip to Islands of Adventure with school in 2001 we had spent a ridiculous amount of time in there, with everyone playing tons of games.  This time they had a South Park pinball machine with Mr. Hanky!  We always loved Mr. Hanky and still joke around about him; that was one awesome cartoon character!  Dad and Mike looked into playing a virtual reality game for a little while but decided against it and then we headed back out.  Dad and I considered going on Dr. Doom's Fearfall but there was a half-hour wait listed and I knew it wasn't worth it from going on it in 2001.  We were right by the Incredible Hulk Coaster which only had a twenty-minute wait so dad and Mike got on line.  I had loved it in 2001 but I just wasn't in the mood for it.  Mom and I sat on a ledge under the Hulk and people watched.  We tried to guess where everyone was from based on what they we wearing.  Good times.  I took a few pictures and videos of the Hulk before dad and Mike met us a half-hour later.  Dad had liked the ride but Michael said he was sickened by it.  Not literally, but he said it was very slow and boring compared to Sheikra and that it should be knocked down to make room for a new ride.  I guess he didn't like it.

141 - Cinnabon

Michael had been complaining that we were already in Florida for two weeks and he still hadn't had a Cinnabon.  and there was a Cinnabon located right under the Hulk so we headed over there at 8:20.  Mike and I got a seat at a table while mom and dad went to get two waters, two coffees and a Cinnabon for the four of us to share.  Mike and I noticed that there were a lot of bugs near our table so we moved to a new one and mom and dad met us five minutes later.  Our first Cinnabon was very hard and seemed stale so we brought it back and got a fresh one and this one was so good!  Mom and dad just tasted it, I had two pieces, and Mike ate the rest.  It was really, really good.

144 - Port of Entry

When we were done eating we walked through the Port of Entry and stopped in the Islands of Adventure store.  Mom bought an Islands of Adventure pen and a pack of cards.  The cards had the Universal Studios characters on the front so we thought they would be like the pack of Disney Princess cards I had bought the year before but we later found out that it was just a regular pack of cards in a Universal-themed box.  Oh well.  At 9:00 we headed out of Islands of Adventure and it was a quick ride back to the house.  It would have been uneventful if the signs along I4 would have been more clear but there was a sign for an exit that didn't exist!  Dad went to turn off and we ended up in a ditch.  Nice.  We turned out of there fast and made our way home.

151 - Hanging Out in the House

When we got back to the house we were greeted by an owl on the roof!  It was so cute!  I had never seen an owl outside of a zoo before so it was really cool.  That night mom, Mike and I played a game of cards that Mike won and then we watched "The Soup" and "Best Week Ever."  I had been checking a message board later that night when I found out about Zabba Search.  I hadn't known what it was until I realized that it was like the Yellow Pages, just that you couldn't be unlisted.  All of our information was on there!  We looked up our family and friends, and a few celebrities, and really got a kick out of it. Before I was done looking people up the laptop turned off since it had run out of batteries and I didn't feel like plugging it back in, so I put on my pajamas and was in bed by 1:00.