11-15-2011, 05:36 PM
It was a grand adventure, worthy of Tara's 12th b-day, on all fronts. The trip in was brutal with such an early start - super shuttle insisted on picking us up at 3 AM. We flew out of OAK to SLC, because Mormons love Disneyworld and you can get cheap flights. We were trying to do this as cheaply as possible as we're on a low budget (who isn't nowadays?) and managed to figure out the bus system from the Orlando airport, shaving a $45 taxi ride down to a mere $5. We were situated right off the strip, where tourist nuttiness abounds - about a mile from Universal, but there was a free shuttle and after spending a whole day on the feet, another mile sounds horrendous, especially when it doesn't lead to a ride.
The next morning, we made a bee-line for Universal's Wizarding world of Harry Potter, which is the focal point of the two universal theme parks (which also has the rights to Dr. Seuss, Marvel comics, Jaws, Mummy, Simpsons, and some other assorting franchises, but it's really all about Harry. Especially this weekend. 11/11 was the freaking final DVD/BRD release. Some of the stars attended. Actually, a lot of them - all of Gryffindor house, Harry, Ron, Mr. Weasley, Prof Flitwick (as if anyone cares about him). Actually, if you don't know Potter, this means nothing, but it was a major media event - the Today show was there - the magnitude of Potter is simpl;y astounding. Author JK Rowling is the richest writer ever - when she rolled out Pottermore earlier this month, it had 1 million beta users. There were special tickets for this event with limited meet&greets with the stars $700+ and you only get to meet one star, not of your choosing. It sold out in minutes. That was in July. We didn't know about any of this until last week.
So the park, especially the Potter section, was a mad clusterfk. Just insane. There were 3 interview stages, but they set it up to use the crowd as a backdrop, so you couldn't really see the stars. Stacy saw Ron. We all saw Mr. Weasley and Luna. Of the maybe 2 dozen stars that were allegedly there, that was it. Nevertheless, it was really funny to see everyone donning Potter wear - Hogwarts robes, uniforms, even Luna's wacky lion hat (saw 3 of those). There were a few assorted Marvel hero logos, a lot of Thing 1 and Thing 2 outfits - from Cat in the Hat and lame - those Things are the ultimate party crashers, but they were vastly overwhelmed by Potter people. More ginger people than anywhere. The only place in FL where scarves sell like hotcakes. It's only 3 rides, 2 shows, 5 shops and a bar/restaurant, but what can I say? It's awesome. Best theme ride ever. Rode both dragon roller coasters once but my neck said 'no more' after the Chinese fireball ironically, and Stacy isn't into rollercoasters (she did ride one, to her credit), so it was mostly walking Tara to the front of the line and sending her on her merry way, as she loves rollercoasters. It was an exhausting start to an exhausting vacation.
But unbeknownest to dm beforehand, at the Universal City walk (a cluster of tourist trap stores outside the parks) is the official Bob Marley restaurant. DM, of course, demanded to go there for dinner, and the family kindly agreed....
More on that in our next installment.
The next morning, we made a bee-line for Universal's Wizarding world of Harry Potter, which is the focal point of the two universal theme parks (which also has the rights to Dr. Seuss, Marvel comics, Jaws, Mummy, Simpsons, and some other assorting franchises, but it's really all about Harry. Especially this weekend. 11/11 was the freaking final DVD/BRD release. Some of the stars attended. Actually, a lot of them - all of Gryffindor house, Harry, Ron, Mr. Weasley, Prof Flitwick (as if anyone cares about him). Actually, if you don't know Potter, this means nothing, but it was a major media event - the Today show was there - the magnitude of Potter is simpl;y astounding. Author JK Rowling is the richest writer ever - when she rolled out Pottermore earlier this month, it had 1 million beta users. There were special tickets for this event with limited meet&greets with the stars $700+ and you only get to meet one star, not of your choosing. It sold out in minutes. That was in July. We didn't know about any of this until last week.
So the park, especially the Potter section, was a mad clusterfk. Just insane. There were 3 interview stages, but they set it up to use the crowd as a backdrop, so you couldn't really see the stars. Stacy saw Ron. We all saw Mr. Weasley and Luna. Of the maybe 2 dozen stars that were allegedly there, that was it. Nevertheless, it was really funny to see everyone donning Potter wear - Hogwarts robes, uniforms, even Luna's wacky lion hat (saw 3 of those). There were a few assorted Marvel hero logos, a lot of Thing 1 and Thing 2 outfits - from Cat in the Hat and lame - those Things are the ultimate party crashers, but they were vastly overwhelmed by Potter people. More ginger people than anywhere. The only place in FL where scarves sell like hotcakes. It's only 3 rides, 2 shows, 5 shops and a bar/restaurant, but what can I say? It's awesome. Best theme ride ever. Rode both dragon roller coasters once but my neck said 'no more' after the Chinese fireball ironically, and Stacy isn't into rollercoasters (she did ride one, to her credit), so it was mostly walking Tara to the front of the line and sending her on her merry way, as she loves rollercoasters. It was an exhausting start to an exhausting vacation.
But unbeknownest to dm beforehand, at the Universal City walk (a cluster of tourist trap stores outside the parks) is the official Bob Marley restaurant. DM, of course, demanded to go there for dinner, and the family kindly agreed....
More on that in our next installment.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse