D`Asto Family Vacation, July 2005

This concludes our 2005 family vacation...

No more entries are expected in this blog.

I hope you had a wonderful summer.

Some have asked...and it is a little confusing...Please remember that I am a rookie blogger!

The date I enter a blog is in the big gray letters and the smaller black lettered date is the actual date the following events took place. I couldn't blog the same day events - needed to get my beauty rest...

July 21, Thursday...

We headed off to WDW's MGM Studios. Ahhhh, at last a professional, well managed, clean, and very well designed theme park!

I was back in FastPass supreme leader form. We hit the FastPass lanes at the Rockin' Roller Coaster and then jumped in the Standby Line. We waited about 45 minutes and then we rode the coaster. It was Jennifer's and Gina's first time. What a thrill. We then got back on with the FastPasses. This time Gina and Nick rode in the front row!!! See photo above...since WDW wanted $24 more to let me have this photo, I decided to take a photo of the screen showing my front row, brave, little ones!


We then did the Tower of Terror. Tony and I went first. Nick was a bit uneasy about doing this ride... Tony and I must have hit one of the most lame drop sequences of the 33 pre-programmed random sequences. We weren't that thrilled. In fact, the ride photo showed me leaning casually on my armrest as we were dropping! With that experience, I convinced Nick to take the ride by telling him that they must have changed it from when we rode it last - two years ago. He was happy he rode it but I don't know if he had the same drop as I did...

The car stunt show was new for us and was enjoyable. We then did Star Tours - don't know how many times I've done that same ride in my lifetime!!! Unfortunately, this is when Jennifer lost her Maui Jim sunglasses - the best damn set of sunglasses on the planet, and the most freakin' expensive. No luck in finding them... We took in Raiders of the Lost Ark and then did some shopping before kicking out of there around 7PM.

A quick dinner at Giordanno's and then back to the condo for a swim. We packed our bags and took in a DVD before hitting the sack...


July 22, Friday...

We got on the road around 8:45AM and headed north. I decided not to stay until Tuesday - the anticipated next launch date for the shuttle. It seemed a bit too risky considering the impending weather in the Atlantic Tropics Region (www.weather.com)...

We stopped in Georgia for lunch and made Jen's week by stopping at Chic-filet! We then stopped in South Carolina for an icecream break, lotto ticket purchase, and some explosive entertainment. You gotta love SC!

We pulled in the driveway, 924.9 miles, at 11:35PM...

Well, that's it folks. What a trip!!! I'll be adding more photos as they become available...

July 20, Wednesday...

Oh, my...12PM start time at Islands of Adventure... Everyone listed two things that they wanted to accomplish at the park today - I just went along for the ride. This was actually the best idea yet. We had no complaints from the kids. Glad I married a school teacher!!!

No need to give details. Jen and the kids re-rode all their favorites.

We picked up a 20% coupon for a restaruant in the park at snack time. So, we booked a dinner at Mytho's in The Lost Continent. Great ambiance and decent service, but real pricey entrees! Don't order a salad with your favorite meat/seafood thinking that you'll get filled up on a healthly dinner. I got 4 pieces of shrimp and a quarter of a head of romaine lettuce... all for $15!!! Whoo, hoo!!! I know, never eat at the park...

Well, we were out of the park by 8:30PM...and don't plan on using our fifth day on the pass. I don't think I'll ever return to Universal Studios. It reminded me of a slightly upscale carnival...

Our final decision is whether to use the WDW theme park passes or sell them and stay at the resort for a day of rest...3 kids, 2 adults...I'd bet on WDW...

One more friggin' day and we are out of here...

July 19, Tuesday....

Same usual start to the day, but moving more slowly. Didn't get to Islands of Adventure until 11AM. We tried to hit the rides, but delays already exceeded 60 minutes for most rides. Even the Express pass system was already restricting riding until the evening.

The worst part of the day was getting near the end of a 45 minute line to have the rides go off-line due to impending weather. We waited for about 40 additional minutes inside a stifling, hot building.

We did get Nick on the Hulk roller coaster! I used rolled up socks in his shoes to lift him to the minimum height requirement. He ended up riding twice using Express passes both times. I rode it once and Jen took him the second time. Those rides made his day!

Other than that, shopping was the highlight today. I was even suggesting it to get away from the crowds.

We ate dinner at the NASCAR Cafe. Great service and great food. None of us finished our meals, though we shouldn't have ordered the nacho appetizer to start us off!

About mid-afternoon, we ran into Rob Delriego and family. I coached Paul, his son, in soccer while we were still living in Fulton and Rob coached Tony in basketball a couple of years ago. I was waiting to see who we would bump into down here!

I seriously think that Universal Studios should raise it ticket prices to reduce crowd size. It would make the day more enjoyable for everyone. I've also noticed that smoking restrictions in the park are not enforced like they are in WDW. I am really starting to loath Universal Studios...!!!

July 18, Monday...

Same start as yesterday.

Off to Universal Studios Islands of Adeventure, today. The best technique is to head to the opposite end of the park before enjoying anyrides. On the way, we learned that the Express pass system in this park is free. The problem is that the park fills up with people rather quickly and the Express pass systems limits how quickly you can get more passes. This is the same at WDW, but the refresh time is longer at Universal.

Our first ride was the Dualing Dragon roller coaster. Tony was the only one tall enough to ride. It was a doozy!!! We took first row and got the crap scared out of us several times!!! We returned to use Express passes on Poseidon's Adventure...Nick enjoyed the battle. Tony and I then returned to use passes on Dualing Dragons. Big mistake. The second time on the ride caused me motion sickness - I never chunked, but I was threw for the day.

Jennifer rode the rest of the rides with the kids. The lines were way too long - 75 minute, 90 minute, 60 minute waits were typical. I just found some shade, rested, and waited.

We checked ride heights prior to buying tickets a few weeks ago. Nick measured at the minimum, but once here we learned that Universal uses a measuring tape made in China. Nick was 1/2" too short. He couldn't ride the Hulk roller coaster and was super upset. Tomorrow we will make him grow with lifts in his shoes.

Dinner time finally rolled around not a minute too soon. We met Uncle Art, Aunt Pat, and my first cousin, once removed, Anthony (Scott) at Margarittaville. We had a great dinner and got caught up on all the family stuff!

Before calling it quits, we went back to the park for the last hour. The Spiderman 3-D ride was just awesome. Everyone was thrilled. Tony and I did a vertical drop ride (name escapes me right now, Dr. Doom...) that was similar to Tower of Terror at WDW, but Tower beat this ride.

So far, I am not impressed with Universal Studios.

July 17, Sunday...

Breakfast in the condo is working great. We finished and were headed to Universal Studios by 10:15AM. Traffic was troubling for a little bit near Walt Disney World (WDW)...we made it to our destination without getting lost...just didn't know how to enter the park.

Paying $4 more for preferred parking is worth every dollar - minimal walk...We made it about half way around the park before we started entering shows/rides. We stumbled upon the Beetlejuice show right at showtime. Kids didn't know what to make of it, but it was a good show to start with. From there we went clockwise entering a new show/ride just after leaving the previous one.

Warning!!! Stay out of Men in Black (MIB)!!! The line looks short but they sucker you in to the back of the building where the line goes for about 45 minutes outside. AND THEN, they let you come into the building and snake through for another 45 minutes!! It really took away from the fun of the ride!!! We almost walked out before we rode!!

We stayed out of the "kidiville" and were told to skip "Back to the Future".

We stopped and had icecream for lunch around 2PM. The best show in the park is Terminator 2 with Shrek 4D running a close 2nd. Fear Factor Live is not bad either. The Mummy rollercoaster is also very exciting - we did it twice before we decided to head out for dinner. We stopped at Tornado only because it re-opened and we were first in line.

Jennifer's best time of the day was having dinner at Hard Rock Cafe. I would agree. The name of our waiter was Bull - enough said.


All in all, I would never go back to Universal Studios Theme Park again, but I am glad that I did go through it once. Between MGM and Universal, I would choose MGM. We are hoping the Universal Studios Island of Adventure is more fun. One more thing in favor of WDW, the Express tickets that get you to the front of the line have to be purchased at Universal, but are free at WDW. The capitalistic approach is wonderful, but WDW beats the competition with free express line service!!!

July 15th, Friday...

Well, we did what we said we would do... Breakfast at Friendly's, again...played at the beach...checked out of the hotel by 12:00PM...visited the Astronauts Hall of Fame...drove to Orlando and checked in to the condo...

At the Astronauts Hall of Fame, the kids discovered the hands-on stuff and played while I strolled through all the information on each astronaut. I grabbed the kids and made sure that they read the list of astronauts that died in the line of duty. I showed Nick (and Tony) that most of the astronauts made it to some level in Boy Scouts...

The drive to Orlando was great. We drove through some beautiful marsh lands and saw some spectacular Florida clouds. Trying to find the condo, though, was troubling - we got lost. None of the road numbers seem to match those on maps.google.com...
Updates to the blog, as well as sending/receiving email are difficult - no high speed access at the condo. I am waiting to contact Swales, on Monday, to get a dial-up account set up - yes I still have to keep in touch and do some work...


July 16th, Saturday...

We slept in this morning and lazily got ready for Typhoon Lagoon. During our trip into the condo on Friday, I located this park and had no trouble today getting us there. However, we discovered that the theme park tickets we purchased online are not valid at the Lagoon!!! So, we are either going to sell the theme park tickets or use them... depends on the shuttle launch scenario and our excitement with Universal Studios Theme Park...

We closed the lagoon and had a great time. We hit every ride except for swimming with the sharks! They were too real for us and the water was not heated - we are spoiled...actually the lines were just way too long for us...

Tony's favorite ride was the water roller coaster - we must have done that one about 20 times! Nick preferred the Tidal Wave pool and the river float. We used the river to float to the different rides. Gina sides with Tony and loved that roller coaster - probably because they were two and/or three person rafts and she got to ride with Mom or Dad all the time.

So, far it's been great. The most noticable thing, to me, is that all the kids are tall enough to ride! No one has an excuse to be left behind.

Tonight, we ordered chinese delivery. We were just too tired to go out. The boys got there chance to clean up in the Jacquizzi tonight and were quite pleased. I had to catch up on my emails by stealing access from the Radisson - sitting in the van near the lobby entrance to gain a strong signal!

Tomorrow....Universal Studios...