September Writing Challenge - Prompt # 9:
Adjectives
We just got back from an epic family vacation to Florida. While we were there, we spent six days in Disney World and two days in Universal Orlando. There are two different parks there: Universal Studios and Island of Adventure, and we spent a day at each.
Here are some adjectives to describe our time in Universal Orlando.
Nostalgic:
Springfield, USA - home of the Simpsons.
I grew up watching The Simpsons every Sunday night, so walking through Springfield was like reliving my childhood. I have asked my own kids to not watch The Simpsons except for Disney shorts and a few select episodes that Scotty and I have picked out. It kills me to not let them watch it because I really love The Simpsons.
Painful:
My feet
After eight days straight in theme parks, you can imagine how much my feet hurt. I logged over 75 miles on my Apple Watch across those days. I took two pairs of walking shoes and alternated between them, and I found that one pair was better than the other. The “good” pair got soaked in a rainstorm on our last day of Disney World, so I had to wear the “bad” pair both days in Universal.
Adorable:
Seuss Landing
The Dr. Seuss themed portion of Island of Adventure is so stinkin’ cute! Zoe and Eva had a blast there.
Magical:
Harry Potter wands
Ollivander’s in Diagon Alley
Casting spells
We splurged and got the girls interactive wands in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We bought them in Diagon Alley the first day, and they carried them everywhere in back holsters I sewed.
This was day 8 when I’d long stopped making them brush their hair
Happy:
Nicky reliving one of his favorite childhood vacation memories
The evil looks on their faces as they shot us
When Nicky was much younger, we went to Universal Studios Hollywood, and they had a Curious George play area where you could shoot foam balls. Nicky loved it so much. A couple of years later, we took him again, and the Curious George area had been removed! He was devastated, and he has talked about it ever since!
To his utter delight, Universal Orlando still has a Curious George play area. It was hilarious to watch Nicky lead the pack as he marched to Curious George. He reverted from a fifteen-year-old to a three-year-old in mere seconds. I’m so glad my son still has the ability to find joy in childhood. He isn’t immature, but he also isn’t “too cool” for everything.
Ridiculous:
trying to get food in Springfield during a Saturday lunch rush
This photo was taken at 8 am -
Quite a while before the lunch crowd
I think we waited in line for about an hour, and then watching the employees prep our food was painful. I wanted to jump over the counter and take over. It was like watching my kids “help” in the kitchen. It was all I could do to stand back and let them do their job.
Amazing:
Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure and the VelociCoaster.
We waited nearly two and a half hours for Hagrid when it was “only” supposed to be 90 minutes (the ride shut down three times while we were in line). It was the ultimate test of my sanity, but you know what? It was worth it. It was such a good ride! We went back later and waited 55 minutes to ride it a second time (a pleasant surprise because it was supposed to be 90). Fun fact: according to Wikipedia, Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure is currently the most expensive rollercoaster ever built at $300 million. The previous record was Expedition Everest in Disney’s Animal Kingdom at $100 million.
Fortunately VelociCoaster wasn’t quite as long a wait. We waited about 30-45 minutes to ride it each time. This was the only ride we went on that Eva was too small for (which she was very happy about), so we used the Child Swap system to trade off.
How many John Hammond stuffies has Universal sold?
Eva hated this so much, but it ended up producing a fantastic photo
I just love this so much!
Overused:
simulator technology
One thing I’ve never liked about Universal is that they rely too heavily on simulators. Disney is starting to use a lot more simulators, too. I feel like simulators should be minimal.
Claustrophobic:
the Harry Potter shops
The shops were so small and crowded. I’m not sure why they weren’t designed to handle crowds a little better. I shouldn’t have to make full body contact with 120 strangers just to check the price tag of a Hedwig keychain.
Weird:
trying to appreciate the snow at Hogsmeade when it’s 91 degrees and muggy as heck
Thank Heaven for a bit of cloud cover.
Dumb:
the Fast & the Furious ride.
I don’t even have the energy to come up with a more sophisticated adjective to describe it. That ride? Was dumb. And it was dumb in such a way that I feel like I got dumber while riding it. I didn’t know a ride could be like that.
Terrifying:
Halloween Horror Nights
Scotty and Nicky stayed for Halloween Horror Nights. I graciously opted out and took the girls back to the hotel where we ordered poolside pizza and gelato.
Scotty loves this kind of stuff. Nicky has never been to a haunted house, so it was all new to him.
Delicious:
frozen butter beer
It’s basically an unspoken rule that you have to try butter beer in Wizarding World, and everyone always says that the frozen kind is the best. I don’t like butterscotch very much, so I didn’t expect to like the butter beer, but I wasn’t gonna miss out on the chance to find out. The rumors are true - it’s so yummy! I regret not having another before we left.
Surreal:
the Hogwarts castle
The castle is so much bigger than I imagined. It’s just… so… cool. If you’re not familiar with the layout of Universal, they have a Harry Potter section in each park. In Universal Studios, they have Diagon Alley, and in Island of Adventure, they have Hogwarts and Hogsmeade.
On our last night there, the sun set right behind Hogwarts, and it was like God was saying He loves it, too!
Broke:
us after this trip.
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