Wendy's trip log: Orlando 2022

Orlando trip 2022

October 3d-October 10th

This was another Tulip Travels trip that I was able to enjoy. This was their annual Orlando trip. This trip included both the Universal Studios Amusement Park and the Islands of Adventure theme park, a beach day, and Old Towne, Sea World and we also went to a local food truck event.

Day 1: As usual travel days are long and full. One of the things I hate the most about traveling is dealing with TSA and the flights. I am a long time flight a phobe. Aerophobia is the term, although I have had to get better with this as I travel so often. Regardless, every flight I still have some anxiety. Additionally traveling with a large group dealing with TSA is always a nightmare. We may start early in the morning, but we almost always end late late late at night. This trip to Florida was not so different. We had a long day of flights, TSA, and car rental nightmares. We arrive in Orlando late and everyone was just happy to fall into their hotel bed, myself included.

DAY 2: Islands of Adventure

We all met in the open area for breakfast before heading off to the Islands of Adventure theme park.

Annette did my hair in braids. Soon we were at Islands of Adventure.

We started to the right, and entered Seuss Landing.

Cat in the Hat and 1 Fish Two Fish are always what rides we start with. Everyone enjoys the Cat in the Hat ride,

Seated in our our cars we wisk around the the Cat in the Hat characters as each scene plays out the story. Thing 1 and Thing 2 get into the house and they seem to stir up some trouble. The whole time Carlos K Krinklebine (The FISH) tells the kids..."Your mother would NOT approve." The house destroyed and mother on her way, the great Cat in the Hat pulls out his cleaning machine and straightens up the house moments before mother comes home.

1 Fish 2 Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish also named as the book of the same name. Fish of many colors lifts you up and down (you control this yourself) as water spits out around you. You dip and dive to prevent yourself and your co-piolet from getting wet.

We also went of the The High in the Sky Suess Trolly which takes you around Suess Landing giving you a birds eye view. We rode the Caro-Seuss-el merry go round before having lunch in the Circus McGurkus Cafe.

Up next we took a walk through the Lost Continent. I was super excited to see that Poseidon was open. The last time I was here, it was closed. We all decided to take a go at this fun theatric ride/story. Unfortunately we were just about to go into the room divided by a wall of water when an alarm sounded. We had to evacuate. I'm not sure what had happened. (The following year it was Closed again.) This land doesn't have much to offer other then this ride, (it used to have the Sinbad show, but that has been long gone).

(A pretty flower )

We continued to walk on and entered into The Wizarding World of Harry Potter-Hogsmeade.

There is a lot to see here, and it is usually the most crowded area. We have never ridden the

Hogswarts express. I believe you have to have a two day or park hopper as it links to the other park (Universal).

However, it's always cool to get a pic in front of the train.

Below is the train station.

There are several shops and very well designed buildings that transport you back to the Harry Potter books and movies.

Some of the brave (myself included) took a ride on the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. I enjoy it, but it does whip you around quite a bit, and the seats are very tight. (I have been concerned I would not fit on a few attempts.) While riding this those that do not enjoy such rides take in the Frog Choir show. I have never ridden on the Motorbikes or taken the Flight of the Hippogriff. (two of the other rides in this area.)

Up next we entered into Jurassic Park.

We get a few pictures in some scary situations. We have ridden the Jurassic Park river adventure, but no one ever wants to get wet. It is a splash down ride and you can get wet. Our group has never done any other rides in this area.

Although I do not have any pictures, we next entered into Skull Island. There really is only 1 attraction in this area and it is perhaps one of my favorite rides in Islands of Adventure, Skull Island; Reign of Kong. I love this ride, your group enters on these jeep like vehicles and you enter on to Skull Island which is cursed I guess, but whatever it is, your expedition meets with disaster when creatures like giant bugs, and dinosaurs attack. Kong enters and a fight pursues. Your jeep falls and bumps, is Kong the winner? And if he is, will he now attack you? I love it.

We pass through TOON Lagoon. I do not think I have ever done anything in this area, even when I have come without the group. We pass through it quickly admiring the colors and fun sights of the comics.

We then enter into Marvel Super Hero Island. Here lies my 2nd favorite ride. The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman. I'm not sure if it was this trip or another, but on one trip we loved it so much we went several times in a row. Swinging on Spidey web, speeding away from villian's that both freeze and burn. We fall, we jump. Spiderman saves us and we help to save the city. Absolutely awesome.

I got a few pictures of these hero's before we headed back to the main gate ready for some dinner. I had been a long but exciting day.

For dinner we went to Hard Rock Cafe located just in the City Walk area of the two Parks. I'm personally not a big fan. It's very expensive burgers and other types of American food that honestly do not taste great. (That is just my thoughts) Points however for all of the amazing musical artifacts.

After dinner we headed back to the hotel where we got everyone to bed and fell asleep.

DAY 3: Universal Studios

We had breakfast at the hotel before heading off to our second park. Universal Studios. I'm not sure which of the two parks I like better. I feel that Universal always seems to be more crowded. The park layout is different making the flow unusual, so this might be why it seems more crowded.

First we get pics by the rotating World.

Then once we enter, we were told that there was no wait time for this (new to me) ride/show The Bourne Stuntacular.

OMG!!!! This stunt show is unlike any I have seen before. The stage doesn't move, but it appears to do so. As the audience follows along Jason Bourne on a mission, we see him fight, jump, free falls, fly and narrowly escape all danger. Although the premise sounds familiar (Think Indiana Jones etc.) its torked up by 100. With the use of a 3,640 square foot LED screen. The show takes theater and movies and makes it become one. Basically there are human actors and movies that blend together. Its pretty incredible.

We headed out after the show, and ran into some characters.

Its the Scoby Doo crew. I loved this cartoon as a kid.

We also got to see Homer and Bart Simpson.

We made our way to Transformers, but the line was so long even with our fast passes. We vowed to go back later on the way out, We also skipped the Minions ride. The Shrek 3D show had been removed in January of 2022.. At the time of this writing they had not replaced anything in that location.

We made our way to the San Francisco area and got in line for Fast and the Furious.

This ride is very much like Kong in Islands of adventure, although the theme is different. You are invited to a "family" party and board the Party bus. Of course something happens and suddenly you are in a race with the team. The bus speeds away as Dom, Letty and Hobbs speed around you in sooped up cars and motorcycles. The bus takes turns falls and things blow up around you. It's one of my favorite here in Universal.

The crowds were getting more intense throughout the day, and many of us were tired. We totally skipped The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, (But don't you miss it hidden in the walls, just like in the book.)

Up next we walked all the way to the far side of the park to go on Men In Black. I had never gone on this one before so I was excited. Unfortunately when we arrived there was an issue and it was closed. Instead, we went on The Simpson's Ride. This is not one of my favorites, and possibly my least liked ride in theme park history. I went on only because I am a chaperone and the guys needed a team leader to go.

So, why do I not like this ride so much, well, it makes me feel a little woozy. Basically its a simulated ride. You and your group enter into a room with a car in it and the car moves along with the movie. There are rollercoasters and drops and all kinds of movements that really shake you up. But I think its the visual that makes me woozy. Easy fix, just close your eyes.

Springfield USA has some fun themed items to look at.

Next we hit the Animal show. This show is so cute. Animal actors as they are called preform all kinds of skits and we learn about how they are trained and the actions they provide for the movies.

After the show, we headed to ET. Again the lines were really long. The ET ride is taken from the movie scene when Elliot and ET ride off into the sky on Elliot's bike. You get on a bike that takes you up and around the forest and to the home of ET. You must spot all the aliens and help ET return home. As you exit, you are suppose to here ET thank you by name. I have never heard my name, but it's cool just the same. This was my favorite ride on this trip. I'm not sure what made it more appealing then in past trips, perhaps it was the disabled staff member who had shared about his own love of this ride that aided in my own appreciation.

We had intended on returning to the Minions and the Transformers, but everyone was pretty tired and the crowd meter was up at this park today. We walked along a spooky path and made our way

towards the exit, doing a little shopping before we left. We headed back to the hotel and had a pizza party while enjoying the hotel offered movie before heading to bed. We all needed to get some rest.

DAY 4: Coco Beach

Today was a beach day. In the past this trip has included an additional theme park (Aquatica) but using a democratic poll, the group all voted for a trip to the beach instead. I think it was a much better choice myself. As much as I enjoy water parks, most of these guys are not big on the water slides and plunges that plaque these kinds of parks and most simply spend their day sitting on a park chair looking at their friends enjoy the water or pool. SOOOOOO it's on to the ocean. Coco Beach is about an hour from Orlando so We decided somewhere along Coco beach was a great idea, and we were offered free parking when we arrived at the park. Nice.

We had a picnic lunch under the shade of a pavilion, before getting beach ready and heading down to the shores. The beach was covered with shells. I am under the understanding that this was a direct result of Hurricane Ian that hit in September.

It was a beautiful day, and we had so much fun. Some of us got in the water and enjoyed the waves while many sat contently to just enjoy the salty air.

After an amazing day at the beach, we headed back to the hotel and cleaned up before finding this mega food truck area that heather had suggested. Heater used to work with Chris and she has since moved to Florida. She will often join us on the trips to help out.

Most of the food was Mexican or Hispanic and our guys found it difficult to figure out what they wanted to eat, so we ended us heading to IHOP for dinner instead. It was SOOOOO cold in this building, FYI, when in Florida bring a sweater to the eateries that are indoor.

After dinner we headed to bed.

DAY 5 Well, today was suppose to be Sea World, but when we arrived, there was a line to get in that spanned well into the main road. This is not a good sign. We investigated and found out that it was a weekend Halloween event taking place, and all the families were coming to do some trick or treating. We decided that perhaps a better idea was to go to Old Town for the day. and try Sea World during a week day instead.

Old Town is an area that has all kinds of things going on. Mostly there are many stores, but there is also entertainment, musical concerts, amusement rides, and while we were there a classic car show.

We viewed some of the many cars. There were so many more pictures that I took, but I didn't upload them correctly.

Some more of the many sights we took in,. Edie and I have a nice sit with Normans Mother.

The fun shops.

I ended up getting a few presents for my family members and a new Grateful Dead shirt for myself. There were some great stores to pick from.

And we ended up timing things perfect with a show. These ladies and their pups were amazing. We all enjoyed a Anne's pretzel while watching the show.

these pups are so cute.

We even took a ride on the train. (Well I selected to stay back, it was a little tight)

We ended this fun filled day with "dunch" Lunch and Dinner at The Golden Corral. where we all stuffed ourselves silly before heading back to the hotel for bed.

DAY 6: Pool, Relax and Nachos

Today was spent relaxing. We slept in and had a late brunch, enjoyed quiet time in our rooms, I caught up on my journaling, and we all spent a little time in or around the hotel pool. There was opportunity to go shopping at the local Walmart , which has awesome Disney/Universal-gifts. T Shirts etc. for a much more reasonable price then the parks. These days are often needed when you are always running around. So I enjoyed myself.

For dinner we had nacho's that we made ourselves and these were awesome. Later we enjoyed cupcakes while watching Hocus Pocus.

DAY 7: Sea World

Today was our last full day in Orlando so we had to commit to going to Sea World, Trick or Treating or not. (None on the weekdays). After breakfast, we made our way to this area Marine Life them Park.

I have mixed feelings about Sea World. On one hand, you have some great animal shows and you get to see a variety of aquatic animals including Killer Whales and dolphins, but on the other hand 90% of the rides are much to scary for the groups that I go with on these trips or way to juvenile (kids zones etc.) for these adults to enjoy. Everything seems so spaced out and there are a million hills (Pushing wheelchairs is awful) but the space prevents ever really feeling crowded in an area. I have been to the park 3 times now, and I still have not seen most of it, simply because our goal has been to see the shows and there doesn't seem to be much else for us to do in between unless we are planning on walking back and forth all day to get to the next show. We have missed the Sea Lions show twice because of this. Today We started with the Killer Whales.

The Whales are located on the far end of the park, meaning we have to walk a long way just as we are starting the day.

Of course the trek is 10000 times worth it, but it's still a difficult haul.

Just look at these beasts.

They are so BIG. Just how do they jump so high?

When they would land they would splash so high it would go over the sides, we were luckily out of the splash zone.

Great show.

Up next we headed to the Penguin Encounter. This used to be a ride, but it now is just a walk through, There is always a long long long line to get in. But they are super cute.