[geeman]

DAY TWO: THE UNIVERSAL OF ENERGY
We digress from Disney-going for a moment...
Since RAC is a big Comic book fan, he couldn't wait to check out SPIDERMAN, so we decided to spend our first day in Universal Studios. It had been my first time out there in at least 3 years, and since RAC hadn't been there since it had expanded to include Islands of Adventure, we thought it would be a good place to start there. Through research on the web ( lucky me!), I found 5 days passes could be had for less than the price of a 1 day 2 park pass! I ordered our tickets online and was directed to "Will Call" them and pick them up at a special "Ce-Osk" machine at Universal. Well, OK-- but when we got to Islands of Adventure, after parking in the special access parking lot that was about -- no kidding - a mile away from the entrance to the park, we found that the machines were not working!!! On the PLUS side, we were 'comped' the day's ticket by Guest services (cool!) and were able to pick up our tickets that would be good for another 5 days at Universal, either now, or in the future (even better!).

Islands of Adventure was EMPTY that Monday. We walked on just about every ride, and even did SPIDERMAN twice in a row (that was one awesome thrill ride). After making our way around from Marvel Super Hero Island, to Jurassic Park, to Poseidon's Fury, to Suess Landing, we decided to check out Universal. We were happy that the weather was cool enough for walking. And we'd encountered no wait time at all. We giddily, but wearily, trotted over to Universal. It felt like we were walking for days. RAC's back was beginning to bug him. And my legs were not what they used to be.

As we entered Universal Studios, we found that This is where the crowds were. Hordes of 'em. Tons of 'em. Way too many of them. Every line we wanted to get on had a 60-80 minute wait. We couldn't figure out where to start first, since it was already 3 o'clock and we had wanted to check in early and come back, yet it seemed impossible. At that point I started to get nervous about checking in. I suggested we head back to the hotel after our second long line wait (about 45 minutes for the Men in Black ride).

(This is where Disney comes back into the picture)
We drove over to the contemporary at around 5PM (That is - we LEFT to go to the car at around 5- considering how long it takes to trek back to the parking lot, who knows what time we got there! Has anyone noticed that it's such a long way from the park exit to the parking lot - express parking or not! I don't mind walking - but even I couldn't take much more of it. Bad enough it's a long hike, but then there is loud music blaring at you --- ok, ok, I'm showing my age here. Let's keep going...

We arrived at the Contemporary Resort at around 5PM - I was excited to finally see it up-close and personal. I'm the sort who doesn't think something is complete until we get there and we're all checked in. While the check-in process went smoothly, I did have to wait in line for a good 20 or so minutes before I was attended to. The place was busy, and as I watched people get turned away from upgrades in front of me, I was discouraged from thinking we'd be offered a nice Tower room instead of a measely Garden Wing room. We weren't. But our room was situated on the South Garden Wing with a perfectly centered view of our side of Bay lake. It was a wonderfully spacious room, with enough "Personal Space" for three individual travelers like us.

We checked in and got some immediate rest in. Our sore old muscles were already aching from just half a day of parking lot hopping, never mind park hopping - this was going to be an intereesting week if this was going to be the way it was going to go. I was so happy that the room at CR was so roomy - just perfect for us. From our window, we could see the whole lake as welll as hangliders, launches and make out the light parade as it made its way just around the riverbend (more on that later) I made a beeline for the 'bed' I was most worried about throughout the planning - the Daybed. I quickly checked itout -and found it met myapproval immediately. While some might think it's a bit stiff, it was actually quite cozy - and since it was tucked away in the corner, it was almost like having my own private space away from my "roomies". In fact, we joked about how much room there was between us all. I was relieved that the plans and photos were right after all. After some quick resting, we made our way back to Universal to finish up the night. However, we discovered upon arrival that we had 'lost' our express Parking spot. Since it was after 4 - parking was open to anyone. We got lost trying to find our reserved area, but then made our way to the closest spot possible. After making that trek throught the parking lot, again, We rode as many of the usuals that we could fit in- Jaws, Earthquake, etc. As we were wandering through the park, RAC decided to check and see if the new Mummy ride was open. It had been open for testing, but only intermittently throughout the day. When we arrived at the area that used to house the old King Kong ride, we found there was a 0 minute wait for testing this attraction. Now, there was a bit of an intimidating factor to going on a ride that you have no idea about - particularly when the ads feature a rollercoaster in them, and you are not the roller coaster type. But then again, there are times when that sort of worry just escapes you. You become fearless. Wreckless. And so anxious to see what all the fuss is about - and what the fuss will be about - that you go ahead and do it anyway. Though warning signs indicated this was a high speed, twisting, turning "psychological thrill ride" (there's a term for you), I decided that since this was our first day together, I might as well go along for the ride. After all, at least we'd have a story to tell.

Prior to boarding, you can test out what the 'seats' will be like for many of Universal's big thrill rides. When we saw that this one did not include an overhead harness, we realized it couln't go upside down. It looked more like a regular car ride (like Dinosaur or Indy Jones in CA). Well... without spoiling anything...

The ride zipped and turned and dropped and rose and went through flames and movies and --well, I won't spoil the surprise. It's a fast moving indoor coaster type attraction- of the sort I don't usually do - but found it pretty enjoyable. Thrill seekers among you will definitely enjoy it.

We finished the night with a 90 minute wait in line for Shrek4D. Now - it looked pretty and all - but don't ask me what it was about. I was wiped from the long day we'd had- and even dozed off during the movie. I wasn't a big Shrek fan, anyway. Just as we were finishing the night, a major rainstorm hit. I had to buy a Woody Woodpecker poncho that broke on me before the night was over!
Tired, wet, and hungry, we searched for a place to eat. Can you believe that we couldn't find a place to eat at all that night? Everything from the Motown Cafe down had no openings after 10PM. Now, why wouldn't Universal, of all places, since it's high on deflating the fairytales and pixie dust, not have a place for its guests to eat at once the park closed? We ended up driving around and found an iHop nearby- which hit the spot. (We hadn't realized the Contemporary had a 24 hour food center).

We settled back into our room -- and I was surprised at how comfy the sofabed was. It was cozy and in a corner - and though we were going to toss for it, I decided I wanted the corner with the "view" (I was right by the glasss view of the beach). It was comfy enough for sore muscles. I remembered my glory days of park-hopping, when I never even felt that I'd been walking all day. Ah, what a drag it is getting old.