Orlando 11 July 2024 - The sunshine state and the surprise.

All holiday, the children have been teased about a coming surprise. This works better on Robbie than it does on Madelyn.  Robbie cannot stop his need to guess even though he knows he will not be told, there is always that small chance that he will cause a slip and get some more information, and slips there were, but I'm not sure he cottoned-on.

The surprise for me, this morning, is rain.  The forecast says it will clear up about 11:35, and it has stopped falling by 11:30.  That's great, because the surprise is intended for the afternoon.  Florida claims to be the 'sunshine state'.  We have had mainly cloudy days, which takes away a little of the excessive heat that I am so poorly adapted for.

We head for the surprise after lunch at the Lazy Dog.  This is a very nice restaurant, and I find something on the menu without salad - Chicken Teriyaki and wild rice.  Jo and I arrived at the same meal from different pages on the menu.

Then it's onwards to Universal.  The first impression is that the place is enormous.  The impression is spot on.  Not everything is enormous though, the parking spaces are average (for America), and the car door touches the car next to us. Cue angry American woman, who looks at her car and can't find a mark.  You're here to enjoy yourself, so do that, or if not at least get a life.   We have young children with us, so the activities we can take part in are limited - but not that limited.

Here are the activities we queued for:

Minions- Villiancon - shooting on a moving walkway.

I scored 277240, which I suspect was a very poor score.  There were at least another 2 digits available on the display.

Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon. 

This is a 'simulator ride', unfortunately for me the 3D glasses do not fit over my glasses, so most of the effect is lost. I did appreciate the New York shots and graphics though.

Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts

The Wizarding World is amazing, it is open to the outside and yet remains cooler than the surrounding area. It is London, but it is not modern London, the feel of the place if just right. Gringotts is amazing, with each of the tellers doing their own thing. There is a dragon breathing fire, when it does, you can feel the heat. There are various shops, all beautifully themed, and Olivanders, where a wand can find you and extract your cash.

Butterbeer is made with Creme Soda and caramel, with whipped cream on top, and is a must-try drink when visiting the Harry Potter world. Below, Robbie has posed with the appropriate 'beer moustache'. 

KrustyLand - Kang & Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl - alien octopus ride

I sat this one out, but listened to the commentary from a number of rides during the 20-minute wait. I was impressed with how different each of the commentaries were, there were very few repeats. 

Trollercoaster

A traditional roller coaster for younger children, with a trolls theme. We sat and waited and watched as evening arrived. 

Towards the end of the evening, we ate in the 1960s diner.  They had run out of Cobb salads, but it was close to closing time, so was not really unexpected.

As we were eating, the finale display began.  Using the water fountains, fireworks and programmed drones, we have a spectacular light show that lasts around 20 minutes and summed up our visit brilliantly.

 A fantastic day enjoyed by all.