Weather today high 80s and sunny
Today we wanted to be ready and set off early, as we were going for our mini break to RPR at Universal. This is the first time that we've done this, so we were all excited to see it. As we had packed last night, we had a quick breakfast of coffee on the go and set off. Now Russell always moans if we forget things or are disorganised as he 'always remembers stuff' so when we got to the 192 turn off, and I commented that US tickets are quite boring and plain, and he said he hadn't looked at them, then realised that he hadn't picked up his ticket, it gave us all great pleasure to sigh conspicuously and moan about having to go back. He was very quiet all the way to RPR, and apparently it was my fault, as I should have brought his too!
We were soon walking to the entrance, along the long wooden bridge - very south seas - and into the gorgeous lobby with the open fountains and seating area in the middle. We checked in at 9.15, later than we wanted due to ticketgate, and were given our room keys straight away - with 6 different pictures on them, mine was Harry Potter. Our rooms ( ours was 2350) looked out onto a tropical pool and lots of trees, which was nice as they were standard view rooms. After dumping the bags we met up and went back to the lobby to print our Express passes with our photos on and set off through the grounds to find the boat. The gardens and pool area are lovely, and the restaurants looked fab, in fact I was very impressed with the theming and ambience of the whole resort.
We were off to US today, and boat ride was a lovely way to get to the park, dropping us at CityWalk. First stop had to be the Transformers shop to see if they had anything left that Jack hadn't bought a few days before ... they had ... so he bought a watch. When we came out he got into a queue for a meet with his hero Optimus Prime, and loved it. His face as the transformer walked out was a picture. Now were ready to hit the rides. We started with Despicable Me which we all really enjoyed and Jo had a dance with a minion at the end; we then went on the Mummy, which Jack went on but wasn't too impressed as it's a dark ride. I like those kind of rides, very themed and unique. After this it was The Simpsons, which everyone loved. The queues, with passes were all around 10- 15 mins.
One thing was disappointing though, due to all the changes going on at US, there were lots of hoardings up, all around the lake and in areas of the park that we didn't expect it, it just didn't look or feel good.
By now some of us were ready to eat, so we went to San Francisco Pastry Co and Russ and I shared a turkey croissant, followed by Key Lime Pie and Raspberry Napoleon with iced coffees $27.43 and very nice too. Unfortunately Jo wasn't feeling too good, so decided to go back to the hotel for a sleep, and as the others wanted to do Rip Ride Rockit, we split up, arranging to meet later. We went on the Simpsons again, ET, Men in Black, where I beat Russ for once! We saw Terminator then decided to go and watch the Horror Makeup Show as we've never seen it, and were on the front row where Russ got picked on by the 'stars' for the whole show. It was good fun and well worth seeing. We missed the animal show and Disaster which the others did, Helen and Jack were chosen to take part :-)
We were walking by RRR, when we met David waiting for Jack and Helen who were on the ride again, so we decided to make our way over to City Walk, and bag a table in Bubba Gumps. This is David and Jacks favourite, and we had never been, so it was great to be trying something new. We got a table straight away and ordered a mixture of starters, Cajun Shrimp, Hush Puppies, Frizzled Onions, Jumbo Shrimp ... and I had a Starboard Sunrise cocktail while Helen had a Coronarita, Big mistake! We were quite full before the mains arrived! Our entrees were Stuffed Shrimp, Kentucky Bourbon Shrimp, Jambalaya, Bourbon Mahi and Seafood Feast. Enough food to feed the table next to us too, but all gorgeous. Next time I'll share or pass on the starter. We were just getting more drinks when Jo walked in, she was feeling a bit better and decided to join us for dessert :-0 so we ordered 2 to share between all of us - Key Lime Pie, and Strawberry Shortcake which was huge. The service and food were fab, and the bill was $233.27 including 11 beers and soft drinks and tip.
As Jo still wasn't 100%, we walked through the gardens, to the resort where everyone decided to have a chill out. Us oldies however weren't tired and Russ and I went back on the boat to Margeritaville for a beer and Bahama Mama - $14.25, before wandering round the shops and a boat ride back to bed, ready for an early start next day.
