TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 17TH
Rather unusually I slept badly last night, I have no idea why, but I fell asleep quickly then woke up around 2am wide awake. Jet lag doesn`t affect us when we come over to the USA, it`s purely the amount of time we`ve been awake and the flight that takes us a day or so to get over, it`s going home when it hits us, so I don`t blame that, I was just restless I think.
So again, I went through to the sitting room with my book and read for about 2 hours, Tom didn`t even notice I was gone till I got back into bed, cold again!!
I think I dropped off but I was awake by 6am and just got up and showered before Tom even thought about opening his eyes. While he was getting ready I checked emails and had one reply from Samuel who told me he was at work this morning so we could pop down to the desk and ask for him, couldn`t wait to see him.
We took our time with breakfast this morning, we were quite early but wanted to time it so Samuel was out of his morning meeting.
Nicky the new Concierge Manager came over to introduce herself to us, I still get nervous when folks say they`ve heard so much about us.....er, hope it was good!!! But, she is lovely and although we thought we had met her before at some point, we couldn`t place exactly where, but lovely lady and cares very much for her staff and guests.
We headed down and asked one of the Concierge team if Samuel was available but he had seen us walk past and came straight out, if was so lovely to see him and we caught up with all that had been going on including their trip to Europe which they had very much enjoyed. We gave him his own special goodie bag with some treats we know he loves.
The lobby was starting to get busy so we headed off to the parks, IOA today and we always walk when we go there, the walking path is gorgeous and it does have a good amount of shade. It is blazing hot this morning so I think this will be a slow walk today.
You pass the security check to the side of Margaritaville and then you`re crossing the bridge to enter IOA and it is a gorgeous entrance especially on a sunny bright day like today is. When we join the main path it is incredibly busy with guests walking from the main parking garage, looks to be a lot busier than yesterday.
Up until Sept 30th it was still Passholder Appreciation Days and one of those perks to be enjoyed was the special AP entrance to the side of IOA entrance, I wish they had this at The Studios too as lines there can be crazy too and wish it was a permanent situation. There was no one there this morning so it was just a quick glance at the camera and we were in avoiding the regular line to get in at the main gates.
Details everywhere and all fitting into the theme of Port of Entry.
Walking into Port of Entry is stunning, it is one of the more uniquely decorated areas of the park and the colours are so vivid and warm then of course you have that music that is instantly recognisable anywhere. It changes for The Holidays to Christmas music, but much as I love that kind of music, I`d still prefer it stay traditional.
I had never really noticed the curling tree to the left of the building here despite taking that picture a million times, my friend`s grandaughter suggested it wasn`t a tree but it was actually a headless octopus 
but I`m not sure what kind of octopuses she has seen with a head!!
Confisco Grille is one of the most beautiful restaurants in Universal, it is a stunningly beautiful building and very interesting inside too, the waiting area has something from every land in the park and it`s one of the better food options around. Many folks pass this by as they hurry to get where they`re going but it really is fabulous and much better than Mythos which for us is completely overrated. We have enjoyed so many lovely meals in there since 2007, only a couple of misses in that time.
It was already really hot this morning and I must admit I almost complained it was "too hot" and it was still not 10am!!! But, I kept my word and just mentioned the heat was gorgeous, which it was, this is one of the reasons we come to Florida!!!
The view from here is also gorgeous, seeing Mythos which is a stunning building, the castle and of course UOR best rollercoaster, the Velocicoaster which is a beast of a ride!!
I mentioned to Tom I was desperate to get back on this ride today when we noticed it wasn`t actually running right now!! Darn it!
The Hulk is normally our first ride of the day followed by Dr Doom but neither of us felt like Hulk today and I have developed an irrational fear of doing Dr Doom, not quite sure why as I always loved it, despite it being short, very short.
They changed the harness and took away the safety belt attached to it and it makes me very nervous, too nervous to ride it anymore. Now, I know it is irrational, I know it`s safe, but it`s now a no from me, I won`t go back on it again, so Tom says he won`t go on it as it`s not as much fun on his own! Maybe I should try. The ironic thing is for years Tom hated it and said it was the only ride in the park that made him nervous and I loved it, now it`s the other way round about.
This park and the Studios too have some absolutely beautiful areas and some areas that can be a little peaceful right on the main pathway around the parks. Down here and towards the lagoon can be very people free at times and we do like that at times.
We went on Spider-Man today and that is a ride we have always loved, it`s fun and I can deal with the spinning by focussing on part of the ride vehicle in front of me as we spin, that works for me and I know most people say closing your eyes is best for motion issues, but it`s not for everyone and certainly not for me.
We were shocked by the EP line today, we were stopped before the filing cabinet area and it was slow moving which is quite unusual, I think we waited about 20 minutes from this point.
This ride today seemed a little rougher than usual, I have never found it rough the way I find Transformers rough and that`s one of the reasons I never go on TF, but this made us wonder if the track is needing replaced. But if this whole land is being replaced in several years as rumours suggest, I can`t see them replacing the track. Of course it might not be the track and might just be both of us feeling our age 
We met some Super heroes heading for their meet and greets and we don`t normally stop for pictures with the characters but I did fancy a picture with one of these amazing ladies today.
I do think UOR do their meet and greets very well.
Another vibrant and colourful land is Toon Lagoon, it is almost an assault on the senses with sights and sounds in certain parts, but very well done indeed and another area rumoured to be in for huge changes in years to come.
I`m not sure how many kids or even adults know some of the characters like Hagar the Horrible, we grew up with him but not sure about the rest of the world. At the same time we had no clue who the characters were in Ripsaw Falls when we first visited.
Although this is a lovely area, the one thing I`d change is the yapping dog in the centre of this display!!! It is dreadful, but I hate the sound of yapping dogs so it was never going to be my favourite sound.
They have the AP lounge here now, although calling it a lounge is a little disingenuous, it is basically a store with some seating and machines to buy drinks. We don`t bother with collecting fridge magnets and so on, so we very rarely wander in apart from when it first opened, just to see it.
Blondie`s is a very good place for sandwiches, their fries are among the nicest we have ever tasted, Kyle said he`d go in for the fries alone, but the sandwiches we do like.
Popeye is of course a classic and growing up he was a staple in our tv viewing, again, I`m not sure too many know who he is, some of the TM chat about kids asking who he is and why he is there lol...oh dear.
Popeye and Bluto`s Bilge-Rat Barges will drench you, no way to avoid it usually, your feet too even if you pop them up onto the central storage unit as it can gush from above at different points and just drench you.
That is why we usually spend an afternoon doing the water rides, we come into the park with no bags or camera`s and just get soaked over and over on the three water rides then wander home drenched to the bone but it is a lot of fun.
Rip Saw Falls is a difficult one to get in and out of the ride vehicle, you do need to use your wrists to get yourself in and out, I find it awkward and seems a lot of folks do too but it`s worth it as it is such a good drop!! And another that will drench you.
Me Ship the Olive is a fun little place for littles, they have some interactive fun things for them to do, they also have a slide that will send them from the top level back down to the bottom and of course on the top deck they have the water guns that you can shoot down onto folks in the barges as they pass you. We have seen folks get really annoyed with that despite already drenched, but most folks laugh along with you.
This is one of my favourite places to watch a ride and we have laughed ourselves silly here more times than I care to remember.
Folks come around from behind us and when they spot that huge deluge of water, their reactions are priceless and we find it hilarious with how some folks do get absolutely furious when they get completely and utterly drenched and the force of that water can knock hats and glasses off, but it is so funny and honestly, we laugh so hard there.
More to come 
I do enjoy seeing all the out of the way places that you find which are just marvelous. I am going to take the time to wander around more this trip. It seems there is always something that I miss seeing or doing.
going!
