8.18.13 Riding all the rides

We got up early to take advantage of the early entry for hotel guests. We headed straight back to Harry Potter. I had illusions that I would go on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Ha! Ha! I was so nervous I barely made it through the line. I chickened out at the last minute. Waiting in the line is worth it though. It is rrally incredible what they have done! Glenn said the ride was fantastic!!

We headed over to ride Spiderman two more times. Then Glenn rode The Hulk. His quote when he got off: "You don't realize how many times it goes upside down." After that we had ridden all the rides and seen all the shows at Islands of Adventure so we went back to Universal Studios. Glenn finally got to ride Rip Ride Rockit roller coaster. He said it was good.  It starts by climbing straight up and then drops you.

We grabbed a snack - a turkey leg for Glenn and a korean beef taco from Bumblebee Man's tacos. It was really good. We decided to go hunt some aliens on Men In Black. You shoot aliens and rack up points but there is A LOT of spinning. We got a Squishee and a Buzz Cola to rehydrate after all that shooting. Then we went over to Disaster! It is a fun tour similar to the Backlot Tour at Disney Hollywood Studios. With that ride, we had done almost everything and decided to call it a weekend.

Glenn: I liked the parks a lot. I thought it was well run and the people are friendly. The express passes are a huge benefit. The food overall was just okay. The pizza and rotiessiere chicken were good. The meal plan is not necessarily a real deal. Favorite rides: Spiderman, Simpsons Krustyland and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. I thought the Shrek movie was clumsy and the moving chairs weren't used to their full potential. Men in Black was fun, but the guns weren't accurate.

Angie: I was impressed with how friendly and helpful the employees were. I was also really impressed with the Harry Potter world and the Simpsons area. Disney really doesn't have anything like that where a particular place is completely recreated down to the smallest detail. Even the napkins in the Simpsons land said Welcome to Springfield USA. My favorite ride was SpiderMan. I thought it was just awesome. I was also impressed with the Fury of the Poseidan as a walk through special effects attraction. The hotel was fantastic. The unlimited Express pass makes for a fantastic experience. Because Universal is smaller, I really like that you can walk to everything an an here there so many options for dining out side of the park. We will be back.

8.17.13 Islands of Adventure

We started the day at Islands of Adventure. Like all visitors, we lg World. Even though I have not read the books, the World is impressive. The attention to detail is exceptional. Glenn rode the Flight of the Hippogriff and Dragon Challenge. And we had to sample the butterbeer.

We continued to make our way through the park. Glenn rode the Jurassic Park River Adventure. It is a flume ride through Jurassic Park after the dinosaurs have taken over. He got a little wet which was a nice cool down. Then we had a lot of fun taking pictures in Toon Lagoon plus a fun ride down the rapids on Popeye and Bluto's Blige Rat Barges. We got soaked! We headed to Seuss Landing to ride some Angie friendly rides and dry off. 

The caro-Seuss-el, Cat in the Hat, and trolley train ride were fun. We grabbed some lunch and went to see the Sindbad stunt show. The show was heavy on hand to hand combat. We like the Indiana Jones show at Disney Hollywood Studios much better. We took a walk through the special event show Poseidan of Fury. That show was very good. We both had a "Wow!" Moment so that is a win. 

We headed back to Marvel Super Hero Island to try the Amazing Adventures of Spider Man. That is an awesome ride!!! You are on a track and move through a series of 3D IMAX screens. It was fantastic! 

We said goodbye to Islands of Adventure and went back to Universal Studios. We found a secret entrance behind the Hard Rock Cafe so we had a shorter walk and no line. First stop was Despicable Me Minion Mayhem. This is another simulation with a 3D movie except this time we were in a large theater. It was very cute and fun. Keeping on the 3D Trend, we went to Shrek 4D. It was a fun 3D movie and the seats move. We took a snack break and then hopped on Transformers 3D. It is very similar to Spiderman. Very cool, but we both liked Spiderman better. We walked over to ET. Still a fun classic. 

I took a Guinness break at the Irish Pub while Glenn rode the Mummy. He said it was really fun. The ceiling catches on fire right above your head! Then we headed back to the Simpsons to drink some Duff beer.  It was very good. We also has to try the Flaming Moe. It was so fun and a tasty orange soda. We walked back over to Islands of Adventure for dinner and then returned to our bar stools to view the night time show. The show features film clips from 100 years of movies plus lights, fountains, lasers, and firworks. It is pretty good. We think the Disney shows are better. Overall - a fantastic day!  

8.16.13 Universal Studios and The Killers

Seeing The Killers live was on my bucket list. Glenn had been checking the website for years looking for a North American tour. Finally, the dates lined up, we bought tickets and planned a trip to Orlando.  Since the concert was at Hard Rock Live in Universal Studios Citywalk complex, we decided it would be a great chance to explore Universal.

Friday we both took half days and hit the road. It took us about an hour and 15 minutes to get here. We checked into the Loews Royal Pacific Hotel. We were really impressed with the hotel and staff. Everyone was very friendly. The hotel is beautiful.  The greenery in the lobby and around the front of the hotel remind us of Hawaii. After checking in, we headed down the walkway for a 10 minute walk to Universal Studios Orlando.

We purchased seasonal passes through AAA. So we stood in line to redeem those and pick up a meal plan for Saturday. The meal plan is 29.99 for dinner and lunch. Since one quick service entree is around 10 dollars, we thought this be a good deal.

Our first attraction was the Terminator 2: 3D show. It is a mix of live action and 3D movie. I thought it was really well done and a lot of fun. We walked out of the show just as the Simpsons were walking out for photos so we got our picture taken. Inspired we went to explore the Simpsons area. It is so cool. They recreated the businesses from Springfield. We then headed into Krustyland for the ride. It is very well done. The wait is part of the attraction with lots of tv screens and funny announcements. For the ride, you get into a 2 row capsule with four people per row. It then moves in coordination with the graphics on a huge surrounding screen. It is an awesome ride. It was a little too intense for me. I was a bit shaky afterwards so we walked around the park and grabbed a burger.

After refueling, we went to the Twister attraction. It shows how are you teens use special effects to create the twister in the movie Twister. It was funny when we walked out because this could turn dark and it was very windy. We joked that Universal was really bringing its a game for this attraction. To avoid the rain, we grabbed a bar stool at the Irish pub and listened to the guitar player. It was a lot of fun. The rain let up so we headed to the Beetlejuice Graveyard Revue. It was a lot of fun and featured all my favorite songs.

Then it was time to head to the Hard Rock Live for the concert. The crew did a good job managing the line and we were inside in about 30 minutes. We had floor access so we grabbed a couple beers and went to protect our spot. The opening band start promptly at 8. They were boring. The Killers came on at 915 with an incredible performance of my favorite song Mr Brightside. It was the bucket list moment. The concert was fantastic with incredible special facts and even a confetti drop. After the show we headed next door to the Hard Rock Cafe for a nightcap and a snack. It was one of those nights where you can't believe you're so lucky that this is your life.

7.19.13 Weekend in Dallas

We headed off to Dallas to meet up with two college friends and meet their  twins. We left on an early flight Friday morning. We met at their house and then headed to downtown McKinley. It is adorable! We found a tapas bar.

7.13.13 A baseball trip: Philadelphia and Baltimore

To celebrate our friend Jon's birthday, we hopped an early morning flight to Philadelphia. Jon is also trying to visit all the baseball team ball parks in the US so we were excited to check Philadelphia off both our lists.

We met up for a breakfast beer at Reading Terminal Market. 

A blurry Reading Terminal Market 

4.13.13 Celebrity Summit Southern Caribbean Cruise from San Juan

Friday April 12th  - Exploring San Juan

We left Tampa on the 7 am flight nonstop to San Juan. By 11 am, we were in our suits and poolside at the El San Juan Resort and Casino. Cab fare was $14 for the two of us. My first impression of the lobby was Wow! 

Glenn's Review of our Bahamas Cruise on the NCL Sky

Norwegian Sky Review

February 15^th, 2013 Sailing

Cabin 8024 – Oceanview

This was second cruise on NCL for me having been on a cruise to nowhere from Tampa on the Star in 2012.  I was travelling with my wife and four of her sorority sisters from college.  My wife’s original roommate had to cancel so I was more than willing to be a late fill-in.  Who doesn’t like to cruise?