Spring Break 2009 @ Universal, IoA & T-Rex Cafe **LOTS OF PICTURES**

[EPRV We love Disney]

Loving your update!!! Your pictures are great. Kids are so photogenic!

Can't wait for more!

Best, E

[pixeegrl]

Originally Posted by Poohbug

Love your trip report and your pics are beautiful. What kind of camera do you have?

I was going to say the same thing!

[tampabrat22]

Originally Posted by Poohbug

Love your trip report and your pics are beautiful. What kind of camera do you have?

Too bad you had to wait so long for T-Rex. I think they were just overwhelmed with the Holiday crowds, but that is just crazy.

Waiting to read about the rest of your trip.

Thanks! The camera I used on this trip was my Canon 20D with the Canon 28-135mm lens!

I too think that since T-Rex was new and it was a holiday it was over crowded. I just wish it had been a better experience, maybe next time.

Originally Posted by mrsnj91

Nice pics. We are going to U/S for the 1st time in Aug and your report has been helpful! LOVE the face paint. She looks so pretty!

My kds would LOVE the dino cafe!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by klacey1

Sorry you guys didn't have a great T-Rex experience-- we were a forrest room, which you guys probably would have enjoyed more. Lots of dinosaurs!
Our food was really delicious and we had a terrific waiter. Try it again and maybe you guys will have better luck!!
Excited for the next installment!

I was really hoping to be in the Forest Room, maybe if we try it again we will get lucky!

Originally Posted by EPRV We love Disney

Loving your update!!! Your pictures are great. Kids are so photogenic!

Can't wait for more!

Best, E

Awww, thanks so much, I think their kind of cute too (the kids)!

Originally Posted by pixeegrl

I was going to say the same thing!

Thanks!

Hopefully I will get back here tonight or tomorrow and get this report finished, I've already started a TR for our Disney cruise this weekend and need to start packing...so I need to finish this one before I get too far behind!!

[WyldLynx]

I have been pouring over report after report on disney and this was a wonderful change of pace. We are going in Sept 2010 and are doing both disney and universal. Original plans were for 100% universal because of budget and Harry Potter, but budget expanded so now we are going to try to do 7 parks in 7 days and that is after driving from TN... I think I'm a little nuts but that is ok we are a theme park commando crew anyways.

Thank you so much for this wonderful report.

[kmc33]

Thanks for the report and sharing your fabulous pictures. I was so glad to find your report since we are planning a trip for 2010 Spring Break and I wanted to get an idea of what to expect in terms of crowds.

[tampabrat22]

Originally Posted by WyldLynx

I have been pouring over report after report on disney and this was a wonderful change of pace. We are going in Sept 2010 and are doing both disney and universal. Original plans were for 100% universal because of budget and Harry Potter, but budget expanded so now we are going to try to do 7 parks in 7 days and that is after driving from TN... I think I'm a little nuts but that is ok we are a theme park commando crew anyways.

Thank you so much for this wonderful report.

Sounds great, you are a brave family to tackle that many parks in 7 days!! I dont think my out of shape body could handle all that, lol!! Glad you are enjoying the report!

Originally Posted by kmc33

Thanks for the report and sharing your fabulous pictures. I was so glad to find your report since we are planning a trip for 2010 Spring Break and I wanted to get an idea of what to expect in terms of crowds.

Thanks, hope this helps you for your trip! We always try to avoid theme parks during holidays but sometimes you just have to go when you can go, so we just tried to make the best of it. The crowds were really heavy, but the kids were able to ride most of the rides they wanted. We could have definitely done everything if we had 2 days in each park, but when you have younger kids in tow you just can't see/do everything.

Ok, moving on to our last day....we're going to Islands of Adventure!! YAY!

[tampabrat22]

We got up early this morning and ate a quick breakfast in our room, stuff that we had brought with us (muffins, pop tarts etc.) and headed to IoA first thing. We arrived right when they started allowing cars into the garage. This morning looked as if it were going to be even more packed than Monday. Oh and I think it was even more cold this day, sunnier but still cold!

So we make our way to IoA...




and head straight to the HULK! My niece and son get in line and even though the park had just opened, there was already a 30 minute wait! They knew it would get longer later so they rush to get in the line. I found a nice comfy spot to wait with all the bags!


My niece & son are in the 2nd row on the left!




I've rode both the Hulk & Spiderman and they are probably my 2 fave rides from any themes I have been too. But my mom hadnt been on any so I told her she should take my daughter to Spiderman before the line gets huge. So they ran to that and were back in about 20-30 minutes, they loved it!

After that we headed over to Suess Landing!


Our first stop was at the Cat In The Hat Ride (the wait was minimal). This is a cute ride for people of all ages so we all rode and enjoyed it. The kids then rode One Fish, Two Fish (no line) and then we waited for the Suess show "Oh, the Stories You'll Hear" to start. The show is held right in between the two rides I mentioned, in a small courtyard type area.

The characters come out and dance & sing, a funny costumed lady comes out and reads a short Suess story then the characters pose for photos. It was cute for small kids, my daughter loves the Cat in the Hat so it was great for her!










Some of the characters werent very happy that they werent on the Cat in the Hat dress, lol!

[FLVacationGirl]

I love your pictures! Love your daughter's Cat in the Hat dress. I'm hoping to do my first Universal Studios trip soon with my 3 and almost 6 year old so it's helpful to see your 6 year old enjoying her trip so much.

[phlffhd]

test

[tampabrat22]

I never got around to finishing this trip report, we had two vacations in the Fall during holiday season and then life just got in the way the last few months, but I have wanted to finish this so I am back to do that now! I know it's late, but I hope it may help some vacationers out there!

I left off right after we just seen the Suess show "Oh, the Stories You'll Hear" and my daughter took pictures with a few Suess characters. From there we hopped on the Caro-Suess-el where there were no lines.





me & my silly mom


the gang under the Truffala trees, lol




After a few spins on the Caro-Suess-el and exploring Suess landing we made our way to The High In The Sky Trolley Train Ride! We all wanted to ride this, it looked so neat! But I think everyone else in the park thought so too, because the line was huge! When we entered there was a 45 min wait but we ended up waiting about an hour, but it was starting to get pretty crowded by this point (around 12:30) so it was to be expected. But you can see some neat views from here, so it was worth the wait for us!

[tampabrat22]

After Suess Land we made our way over to The Lost Continent...



I really wanted everyone to see Poseidon's Fury but it was closed that day. It's one of my favorite attractions and I wished we could have seen it.



Mythos Restaurant




The Wizarding World of Harry Poter Construction...


The older kids rode Dueling Dragons twice, then we moved on to the Jurassic Park area...



Basically we didnt do much here, everyone wanted to ride the River Adventure ride so I stayed back with the bags and drinks. I found a shady spot to rest right next to a stand that was selling those delicious turkey legs! I really wanted to get one, but I didnt want to eat without everyone so I passed. They were in line for about an hour, and they all loved the ride! When they came back they wanted to move along to the Toon area. So they got in line for Ripsaw Falls, this ride had about a 90 minute wait but they realy wanted to do it, so once again I found a shady spot with tables outside of the Comic Strip Cafe (which is right next to the ride).



I tried to get the kids to eat while we were here at the Comic Strip Cafe but they werent in the mood to slow down yet! Plus we had a bag full of snacks they were munching on all day anyways.

We browsed around Toon Lagoon for a bit...






And then we went over to Popeye & Blutos barges...by this time the sun was setting and it was starting to get cool again so the lines were pretty quick. The kids & my mom rode this about 6 times!! They loved it!

[tampabrat22]

After the Barge ride my son & niece wanted to go do some of the bigger rides so we gave them some money for food/drinks and made arrangements to meet up later and they went on their way. We made our way back to Suess Land after a few stops at shops and games around Marvel Super Hero Island. My daughter won a little stuffed Dalmation toy so she was thrilled, lol!

We decided to go eat since we were all hungry, I really wanted to get something good but my daughter won the debate and she choose Circus McGurkus Cafe (I was not happy with my food on my first visit years ago) and the 2nd would be the same. Me and my daughter had the pizza and my mom had the chicken, I am not a picky but that food was worse than the cheapest buffet food around. But I doubt they are trying to win any awards with what they're serving so no biggie. It would have been really fun to eat here, everyone was very disappointed when I told them it had closed...




After we ate Jaden played in the interactive Suess area "If I Ran the Zoo" for a while.





After her playtime, we met back up with the older kids and did some shopping at the shops near then entrance. We were some of the last ones out of the park and although we wanted to try the new Burger King Whopper Bar (we never made it the first night of our trip) everyone was too tired so we headed back to our hotel.

All in all it was a good trip, I wish the kids could have done a few more rides but with the crowds it was just not easy! I stayed within my budget, even though I splurged a bit the day we went to Downtown Disney, but learned a few things I will do or not do next time.

Buying the refillable mugs was great, worth every penny.

I wish I had purchased the all you can eat meal deal for at least the older kids...they wanted to eat everything in site and it wasnt cheap even just letting them get a few things. So next time we will get them the meal deal!

All though the hotel was very simple (nothing like the on site hotels/resorts we are used to) it was all we needed since we were gone from morning til night anyways. But I love the amenities of the bigger hotels so when we go for extended stays I will still stay there.

Wish I had spent more time planning our meals, I tried the go with the flow approach and it reminded me why I like having every detail planned. There was too much back and forth over where we were eating and we wasted time debating when we could have been doing other things.

Thats all I can really think of at the moment, it was great trip and we all had lots of fun! So until next time, peace!

[Worfiedoodles]

Thanks for finishing! I enjoyed all of your TR, and seeing those photos was just the lift I needed this afternoon!

I'm sure you will have a wonderful trip when you go again -- I always learn something which makes my next trip even more full of Mummy dust!

Maria

[Nahanni]

Thanks for finishing your TR. I had stopped looking at the Universal site when our trip got derailed in favor of WDW. Universal definitely looks like lots of fun and with kids now reading Suess I'm sure they will enjoy it.

Too bad you didn't get to have Green Eggs and Ham.

[alamashdar]

Great TR!!! I just came upon the whole thing today. Very glad I did! I read it front to back. I love the Cat in the Hat dress!!!!
We are going to US/IOA for the first time in June and I CAN'T WAIT!!!
You have inspired me to possibly do a trip report of my own!
I'm glad your daughter had a great birthday trip!