Orlando is a dump. A big fat tacky dump. There is no where nice to look around or any town in which to wander; everything is spread out and the only options of things to do are amusement parks, mini golf, and eating at cheap chain restaurants. Having said that, what does anyone really go to Orlando for other than to do exactly the above? In short, it does what it says on the tin, so I can't knock it for that! I ensured to lap up every last ray of sun shine and bask in the heat at every opportunity, knowing that Thomas and I would shortly be leaving the warmth behind as we head north.
The long:
Saturday:
After completing the remaining 5 and a half hour drive to Orlando we were both elated to have finished all of the long drives, and sad to have completed our final ever drive! The road trip was officially over. Bye bye car. At this point in our travels, and seeing as I have not yet discussed it, I think it is both time and feel entitled to comment on American driving; Thomas and I are literally lost for words at how terribly they drive over here, I mean, it really is even worse than me. There is absolutely no road discipline on the motorways with cars undertaking left, right and centre; trucks driving in the fast lane, and people driving far below the speed limit on single lane roads. It is actually mind boggling. There have been many, and I mean, many, times when we have been sat on the highway behind 2 or 3 cars all driving at exactly the same speed blocking all 3 lanes for a good duration of time. It has provided us with both plenty frustration and laughs throughout our journeys. All I can say is that if you want to build up some road rage then America is definitely the place to do it. Anyway mum, we survived with no injuries, you can sleep again now.
By the time we actually reached our hotel it was late afternoon and since there isn't exactly a nice cute town to walk around in in Orlando, we decided to call it a day and save our energy for Universal, Islands of Adventure (we were SO very excited). We stopped by Whole Foods (the holy grail) to pick up dinner, which was conveniently located all of a 5-minute drive away (it clearly wasn't going to be my only visit during our stay in Orlando). I lost myself in the haven that it is and found Thomas 20 minutes later armed with our respective dinner choices; a bucket of chicken wings for him and a wonderful salad for me, with the addition of some irresistible looking BBQ smoked brisket.
So the pictures obviously do it no justice but by this point I'm sure that I don't have to tell you that I was in heaven. We ate whilst watching the last episode of season 1 in Orange is the New Black. Thomas has gotten me hooked; there is no way I will be waiting until I get home to start watching season 2. New York has competition! Bed time.
Sunday:
We were up bright and early for the much anticipated big day. Universal here we coooooomeeeeeee!
We arrived at the park at 10:30am and decided to take the plunge and splurge a little more so that we could go all out and enjoy the day to its full extent by purchasing express (queue jump) passes. The park is split up into different themed sections, which I though was actually really rather cool. There was Marvel Super Hero Island; Toon Lagoon; Jurassic Park; the Wizarding World of Harry Potter; the Lost Continent, and Seuss Landing. We entered "Marvel Super Hero Island" and had only been in the park for a few minutes before making a bee-line to our first ride; "the Incredible Hulk Coaster".
which was not a lot, as it so happens, because he came off sweating and cursing. To be fair it probably wasn't the best ride we could have chosen to ease us in gently, but then how we were to know that it was going to unexpectedly rocket upwards at a million miles an hour shooting us back in our seats within seconds of starting?! Although it definitely shocked me I thought it was great and was already ready for round 2 by the time it finished, but sadly Thomas was having none of it.
We went with something slightly gentler next; "the Amazing Adventures of Spiderman 3D"
I cannot believe what technology can do nowadays! Seriously, the effects were mind-blowing and it genuinely felt as if we were part of the scenes unfolding before our eyes. By the time the ride finished we were ready for our next thrill and hopped aboard "Doctor Doom's Fearfall", which is essentially like the Golden Tower in Tivoli, except that instead of the main event being the drop downwards, it was once more the surprising force with which it shot you upwards that left your heart hammering wildly inside your chest.
We then wandered into "Toon Lagoon", a cartoon village, where we naturally had to have some fun snapping away.
^ I loved this.
Exiting Toon Lagoon led us into "Jurassic Park". Very scary stuff indeed.
^ Thomas couldn't resist joining the tiny children in going down this 3-foot slide.
We watched a live magic show in "the Lost Continent", which was actually rather impressive, but was ruined slightly for me by the whole show being aimed at selling the gimmicks and tricks to the audience, rather than purely wowing them. The "Seuss' Landing" section turned out to be mostly for young kids, so we skipped that one and made our way to what we were hoping was the best saved till last; "the Wizarding World of Harry Potter". I entered "Hogsmeade" with bated breath as I waited to see whether they had done the best story on earth justice. And they had! It was absolutely awesome.
Universal has built an entire village filled with all of the Harry Potter necessities, including students wandering around in their robes;
Ollivanders shop, where you could watch wands choose their wizards; drinks and proper English grub were available at the Hog's Head Pub, the Leaky Cauldron, and the Three Broomsticks;
butterbeer was served at stand-alone carts;
and there was a sweet shop selling staples such as chocolate frogs and wands, and Bertie Botts every flavour jelly beans.
I could have spent all day in just there alone. Can we all please just take a moment to admire the most beautiful staircase that I have ever laid eyes on:
The Harry Potter section also contained all of the best rides, in my opinion. I particularly enjoyed "the Dragon Challenge", which was a ride made up of 2 roller coasters/(dragons), which took you on 2 very different journeys and were meant to make you feel as if you were part of the Triwizard tournament. There was also an absolutely amazing 3D experience called "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey", which basically took you on a tour through the entire story and, again, really made you feel as if you were part of the cinematics.
Unfortunately Thomas had become really nauseous and dizzy from the various rides so called it a day. We had done all of the main rides and seeing as I didn't particularly want to go thrill seeking on my own, we decided to head back towards the hotel. In fairness the park was much smaller than I imagined and we had been walking for a solid 6 hours in the blazing sunshine, so rest didn't seem like the worst idea in the world! We also managed to sell our express tickets at massive discount just before we left, which made me extremely happy; every little helps!
Since we didn't fancy leaving the hotel to find crummy food once we got back I promoted Whole Foods as the best option to pick up some dinner. Thomas gratefully happily obliged and off to my baby for supplies we went. I bought the exact same dinner as I had had the night before (it really was that damn good), whilst Thomas got a sushi and pork & rice combo. After a little snooze we munched our food and watched 3 episodes of season 2 of Orange is the New Black; it is just so good! Both fairly exhausted and I suspect suffering slightly from a touch of sun stroke, we went to sleep with an early alarm set for our flight to Washington, D.C.
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