Kevin left Colorado Springs on Friday, March 9, but I had some work already lined up so I did not plan to leave until Thursday, March 15. It turned out the job I had lined up cancelled, and I found myself wanting to meet up with Kevin a day earlier than planned. I did some research and made some calls to the airline and was able to switch my ticket for free! Too good to be true? Apparently so! I got to the airport on Wednesday and my flight from Colorado Springs to Denver took off as scheduled. My layover in Denver was only about 45 minutes before boarding the plane to Orlando. We boarded on time and taxied out to the runway but then sat there for an unusual amount of time. The captain came on the intercom and informed us we were just waiting on some final paper work and we would be on our way shortly. We taxied out a little further and then the captain informed us of a maintenance issue that would cause us to go back to the gate. The hope was that the problem would be fixed within an hour, but that was not the case. We sat on the plane for an hour at the gate and then we were allowed to get off the plane to get some food (this is never a good sign). After waiting for 2 hours at the gate we were informed that we would be switching aircrafts. By the time all this transpired, our cockpit crew had surpassed their legal working limit and we then had to wait for a new crew!! When all was said and done, we had waited for 5 hours and a 6:30pm arrival in Orlando, became 11:30!! It was quite an adventure, especially on my own! Kevin picked me up from the airport and we drove to the hotel in Orlando and fell asleep shortly after getting settled.
On Thursday morning we woke up around 8am and had breakfast before we headed towards Universal Studios! We have been talking about going to the new Harry Potter Island at Islands of Adventure since it opened, and this seemed like a perfect time to go. We got to the park around 10am and by the time we bought our tickets it was almost 11am. When we got to the ticket counter, Kevin showed his Florida Driver's License and we each got a discounted restricted 2-park season pass. This allows us into either park for the next year on Mondays-Fridays with a few blockout days. The tickets actually paid for themselves that day alone because we visited both parks - something we would not have done if we paid for the full price non-resident ticket. It was a great start to the day!!
The famous sign!
Entering Islands of Adventure.
Our first stop was Harry Potter Island! That was the primary reason for visiting the park so we decided to brave the lines early on. When we got to Hogsmead there were people everywhere! It was so crowded we almost left, but we made it to Hogwarts and started our 2 hour wait for the Forbidden Journey ride. This is a ride that takes place inside the castle and simulates flying on a broom. Fortunately, the wait didn't feel like 2 hours, but I wouldn't wait in that line that long again. The experience was great once, but next time I will ride as a single rider! After the ride, we ate lunch. We spotted a restaurant right at the entrance of the park the Kevin had his heart set on so we ate there. We had wings and pizza and boy was it good!! After lunch, we rode the Hulk Roller Coaster and the Spiderman ride, both as single riders so our wait was much shorter. Both rides were awesome! We had been on both of them before, but they changed Spiderman ride to be 3-D and in HD! It was great!! We could see a new roller coaster at the other Universal park, so we decided to make the best of our tickets and go check it out! It was called the Rockin' Roller Coaster and it started at a complete 90 degree angle-straight up! It was awesome!! And the best thing is that each person got to choose which song they listened to during the ride. It was so fun! We rode the Mummy Returns (an indoor roller coaster) and bought a Starbucks pick me up before going back to Harry Potter Island. I wanted to do some shopping before we left, but it was still so crowded! I ended up buying some Butterbeer before we started our journey out of the park, which consisted of a security escort!
On our way to Harry Potter Island we walked through Seuss Landing.
Entering Hogsmead! Can you tell how crowded it was!?!
Hogwarts Castle!!
About and hour and a half into our wait, we finally reached the castle.
My very own Spider-Man!
The Incredible Rockin' Roller Coaster. This is the very beginning when you are pulled up at a straight 90 degree angle from the ground!
The Delorean from Back to the Future, and Kevin with his Starbucks pick me up!
Back at Harry Potter Island, still crowded, but not as bad.
Another shot of the incredible castle!
MMMM, Butterbeer!
On our way out, we encountered a father strangling and screaming at his teenage son in front of anyone passing by. The father was yelling and telling the son that he needed to learn some respect. The boy was pinned between a wall and a column while the father had physically picked him up by the throat. It was a horrible thing to see at all, let alone in a family environment. We were pretty shaken up, but continued walking. I wanted to stop in a shop nearby the incident, and at that point Kevin asked the woman at the cash register to call security. 2 officers arrived and we explained what we saw. We continued saying, if something like that happens in public, who knows what happens at home?!? The officers eventually took the boy and father to question them and we were about to actually leave the park, when other family members cornered Kevin and questioned his actions. They told him it was none of his business to interfere with the family and he better hope the boy doesn't get hurt more when they get home. This shook Kevin up even more, and we asked for an escort out of the park to our car. Kevin was nervous that the family may wait for us outside the park, and we decided to just be safe, rather than sorry! After filling out a witness report, we were escorted to our car. It was about 8:30 before we left the park. It was a horrible experience, but we are so glad we said something. It was amazing how many other people saw what we saw and said nothing. Someone needed to speak up for that boy!!
We drove from Orlando back to Melbourne that evening and stayed with Derek and Nicole for the next few days. Friday and Saturday were spent preparing for the St. Patrick's Day party Derek and Nicole hosted on Saturday night. The party was a blast, but I have to say the highlights were the roasted pig and the bounce house obstacle course! We had so much fun!! Sunday was spent cleaning and recovering from the party and we left on Monday. It was a great mini-vacation for sure!!
Preparing the pig for the roast! Sorry if you are squeamish!
The bounce house! So much fun!
Derek and Nicole's new garden that Kevin helped build. He is very proud. Now if we can only get our own garden started.
Happy St. Patrick's day! It's a little out of focus, but I had to document part of the evening.
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