Cruising with a Toddler. Our Photo Intense Trip Recap of the 9-7-13 Carnival Dream

[TeknikDC2]

Since Daniel had been pretty cooped up in his Stroller most the day we decided to take Daniel over to the Camp Jurassic area so that he could get out and run around for a bit. Camp Jurassic is huge and in my opinion is one of the hidden gems of Islands of Adventure. Its alot of fun for Kids and Adults and is incredibly well themed. Probably the best themed play area of any park i've ever been to.

 

 

Daniel really enjoyed being able to get out and run around. He enjoyed the slides the most out of everything. At the bottom of one of the slides there are some Dinosaur footprints that if you step on them it will make sounds as if Dinosaurs are in the bushes. He wasn't a fan of this lol.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

In addition to Camp Jurassic being the loading area for Ptaradon Flyers which is the ride only kids can go on you will find many different buidlings that you can walk thru and view the area from. Down below are the Amber Mines which you can explore and find the Misquitos used to bring the Dinosaurs to life.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

Theres an assortment of rope courses that the kids can climb up and play on. As well as a water area for kids to get wet in if they'd like. Theres even a water gun war area where people can spray water guns at people below. But those down below also have water guns that look like the spitter dinosaurs to spray back at people up top.

 

[TeknikDC2]

The last part of Camp Jurassic is a large network of caves that are really cool to explore. Although it is dark and it really seemed to scare Daniel so we didn't spend much time in them. After the caves Daniel was pretty much done with the area so we left to continue on with the park.

 

 

I mentioned that theres really only 1 ride in the Large Jurassic Park Island. But its a good one. The ride is the River Adventure and its easily my favorite flume type ride ever. We stopped by the splash pool first to see how wet people were getting as just like the Toon Lagoon rides I really didn't want to get too wet. And it seemed to be hit and miss with people getting soaked. Some boats were, some boats weren't. There were a ton of kids to side getting the most drenched in the splash of the boat. Kiera knew for sure that she didn't want to chance getting any wet but I decided I would do it. I figured that if I could get a seat towards the back of the boat I should be fine.

 

Edited September 22, 2013 by TeknikDC2

[TeknikDC2]

 

Kiera took Daniel to see the displays in the Jurassic Park Discovery Center. The River Adventure only had a 10 minute wait posted at the time but I figured I would just do Single Riders. Well this was one of those rides where the Single Rider line wasn't open as it was too slow for it. So I had to wait in line with everyone else. The wait turned out to only be about 5 minutes instead. I hoped I would sit towards the back of the boat but I got placed in the corner of the very front row. One of the worst spots you can sit if you hope to stay dry.

 

 

The ride was great as always. However I really hope as part of the islands expansion that the ride goes down for a long referb to get some love. This ride is still a do not miss in my opinion but after riding the version at the Hollywood park in December its obvious to me that the Hollywood ride is not only the better of the two but its also in better condition. The T-Rex at the end of the ride in Hollywood is much better as I like how its hidden behind a waterfall before crashing thru it and lunging at the boat. In Florida the Rex is already there waiting in some smoke. The drop is amazing though on both rides and this time It was just my luck by where I was seated that I got pretty wet as the boat crashed into the pond below.

 

My entire front side was now soaking wet as I walked towards the Discovery center to meet up with Kiera and Daniel. Off the side of the path you can see the first signs of the expansion as some new Carnival type games are being constructed in Jurassic Park. These games will open very soon and will eventually replace those in the Lost Contenant which will be replaced by a new plaza area for the Wizarding World once the Hogwarts Express is completed. In the Discovery Center Kiera and Daneil were looking at the different exhibits and he thought the large dinosaurs were pretty cool. well until they roared anyways.

 

 

I got there right in time as the alarm went off at the hatchry indicating that a Baby Dinosaur was about to be born. Daniel and I were able to get a spot pretty close to watch this cute little show. They have a bunch of eggs in the Hatchry that at some point will hatch. These eggs look solid but they will actually crach and start to move as the baby Dinosaur will break out of the egg. This is a cute little show that Daniel was pretty amazed by. I'm sure many of the little kids watching thought this was real. The scientest then asks a child in the crowd to actually name the baby Raptor which the child came up with the very original name of Raptor for it this day. If you have young kids this is something they must see. Its pretty neat.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

One of the advantages of coming to the park later in the day was that by the time we were ready for lunch we had already missed the Lunch rush. We decided to keep tradition going and grabbed lunch upstairs in the Discovery Center at a place called Burger Digs. Each year we've come we have had lunch here. Theres really nothing special about it. Just your regular burgers and chicken. To help save on costs Kiera and I get just one double burger that we split. She will dress the patty up with veggies and eat it with a fork while I keep the buns as I don't put much on mine. Being new Annual Passholders I completely forgot to use my AP discount on it though. Something I didn't mistake again.

 

 

With our stomachs full and having finished with everything in Jurassic Park it was time to continue on into the rest of the park. There was a castle towering in the distance. and frankly we were surprised it had taken us this long to get to it.

 

 

 

 

And that is all for today. I hope to have more posted soon. Thanks again for taking a look and reading about our Vacation adventures. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to ask. I appreciate all of the support. Thanks everyone.

[Marinewife05]

Great recap! Love the pics. It really makes me want to go to universal. Can't wait for cruise pics!

 

 

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[dnj1]

Loving the Review, very detailed, thanks

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Did some WDW (2 base days before CCL Dream in Feb/Mar and 1 four-park hopping blitz after cruise, and then again in April we did one day 4 park hopping blitz prior to 3 day DCL) this year. Total of 2 base days and 2 park hopping blitzes. DCL blew our minds. I honestly can't say I would do another CCL after that. Maybe it was because we sailed within weeks of the Triumph disaster, but CCL was cutting everything back and the staff was rude and service was horrible. I was glad to disembark the ship, and that is a definitely first for this cruise lover! Next, we have a 4 day in May on the 'new' DCL Magic booked. Castaway is wonderful. Anyway, for next year's updated Magic (with new Marvel sections btw) we are thinking of one or two WDW days plus Sea World (always a fave) but I'm on the fence about US/IOA. We have loved doing those hopping vacays in the past, and no offense to anyone else out there, but we will personally not go near Harry Potter or have anything to do with it. We have enjoyed the Marvel spaces for the, what, 15 or so years its been open? Has it been open longer? Hmm. Well anyway we love Marvel, Spidey, MIB especially and are interested in Transformers. Then I hear you talking about a JP upgrade? Hmm...maybe we go back to the WDW expansion in May and wait another year for JP. Again, we prefer not to participate in Harry Potter activities (strictly personal preference and nothing against anyone else that likes it) so I'm wondering if we should skip IOA and maybe even US this time?

 

We have friends and family who have NEVER made it to Hollywood Studios (what?! That's just about the best one unless you are 10...) and we really are pooped and tuckered out on crazy park hop blitz days, so at this point i'm thinking a Sea World Day, an EP day and an HS day... unless I can talk someone into a US day bonus. With MIB, Trans, and Mummy, that I think will have more of our interest than IOA at the moment... just trying to get your idea from one Orlando park lover to another. At the moment, no kids are scheduled to be with us, but we are hoping friend with 8 yr old will be making the trip too (we will have to see.) They did WDW & DCL a year ago but haven't seen new MK expansion since it wasn't open then... but he is big enough to ride AK's Everest so I think he should be tall enough for most of the fun every where else?

 

Ahh Orlando, my love... how I do love thee. Something for everyone including the kid in all of us who doesn't really want to grow up and pay bills so when WDW/US comes along, we dive in!:D

Edited September 23, 2013 by TwinPrincessMermaids

[TeknikDC2]

Did some WDW (2 base days before CCL Dream in Feb/Mar and 1 four-park hopping blitz after cruise, and then again in April we did one day 4 park hopping blitz prior to 3 day DCL) this year. Total of 2 base days and 2 park hopping blitzes. DCL blew our minds. I honestly can't say I would do another CCL after that. Maybe it was because we sailed within weeks of the Triumph disaster, but CCL was cutting everything back and the staff was rude and service was horrible. I was glad to disembark the ship, and that is a definitely first for this cruise lover! Next, we have a 4 day in May on the 'new' DCL Magic booked. Castaway is wonderful. Anyway, for next year's updated Magic (with new Marvel sections btw) we are thinking of one or two WDW days plus Sea World (always a fave) but I'm on the fence about US/IOA. We have loved doing those hopping vacays in the past, and no offense to anyone else out there, but we will personally not go near Harry Potter or have anything to do with it. We have enjoyed the Marvel spaces for the, what, 15 or so years its been open? Has it been open longer? Hmm. Well anyway we love Marvel, Spidey, MIB especially and are interested in Transformers. Then I hear you talking about a JP upgrade? Hmm...maybe we go back to the WDW expansion in May and wait another year for JP. Again, we prefer not to participate in Harry Potter activities (strictly personal preference and nothing against anyone else that likes it) so I'm wondering if we should skip IOA and maybe even US this time?

 

We have friends and family who have NEVER made it to Hollywood Studios (what?! That's just about the best one unless you are 10...) and we really are pooped and tuckered out on crazy park hop blitz days, so at this point i'm thinking a Sea World Day, an EP day and an HS day... unless I can talk someone into a US day bonus. With MIB, Trans, and Mummy, that I think will have more of our interest than IOA at the moment... just trying to get your idea from one Orlando park lover to another. At the moment, no kids are scheduled to be with us, but we are hoping friend with 8 yr old will be making the trip too (we will have to see.) They did WDW & DCL a year ago but haven't seen new MK expansion since it wasn't open then... but he is big enough to ride AK's Everest so I think he should be tall enough for most of the fun every where else?

 

Ahh Orlando, my love... how I do love thee. Something for everyone including the kid in all of us who doesn't really want to grow up and pay bills so when WDW/US comes along, we dive in!:D

 

Sorry to hear about your recent issues on Carnival. I can honestly say that although i've seen the cutbacks I have never had any issues with the staff being rude or anything like that. Someday we do hope to try the Disney ships but until Carnival really upsets us its really hard to not keep going back to Carnival.

 

And wow I can't believe you've Park Hopped all 4 Disney parks. And multipule times. Yeah we park hope daily at Universal and at the Disneyland Resort in California but I couldn't imagine hopping between 2 parks in Florida much less all 4.

 

If your not wanting to see any of the Harry Potter stuff (and not knowing when you last visited) then really the only new things to see are Transformers, Despicable Me, The Simpsons expansion, Parade, and Cinematic Spectacular which features only Actual Universal films. All of the above in my opinion is worth the visit if you havn't seen them yet and for best of all in your case all of them are in the Studios park. If you go in May then it may be before the Harry Potter expansion even soft opens so you will likely miss the crowds that the expansion will bring in a month later.

 

If those aren't enough to give you the drive to visit then maybe hold off another year then as I thought I read summer 2015 is when the Jurassic Park expansion AND the Lorax ride are expected to be completed so maybe you should hold off.

 

I've never actually been to Sea World in Orlando so I'm not of much help there. They did open a big Antartica section this year with a new Penguin ride but I hear the ride isn't the greatest. Still I hear the Manta Coaster and many of the other attractions are awesome there.

 

Although Disney seems to be snoozing right now they also have projects on the horizon with an Avatar land coming to the Animal Kingdom and strong rumors saying that a Star Wars land will be coming to the Hollywood Studios. So this next summer could be the last chance to see the current parks before a bunch of construction walls go up. On the plus side the Fantasyland Expansion will finally be fully completed and the Seven Dwarves mine train coaster will be open.

 

Tough choices for sure. One thing I will say is that no matter how much we love Universal. And mind you that I prefer the Universal Orlando resort to Walt Disney World. We still found ourselves missing Disney at some points.

[TeknikDC2]

Day 2, Part 2: Islands of Adventure

 

We had finally arrived to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. A land that is possibly the most well themed area of any theme park. Its what we look forward to every visit as Kiera and I are both very big Harry Potter fans. We came the year the area opened and now this is our 3rd time visiting. The area was a huge hit for Universal showing that they truely could compete with Disney and turned the entire resort around which has lead to the investments that Comcast is now making thruout both parks.

 

 

As we walked into Hogsmead we caught part of the Tri-Wizard Prep Ralley taking place. This is one of 2 little shows that takes place every hour and it features the boys from Durmstrang Institute, and the girls from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. The show mimics the scene from when the schools enter Hogwarts from the 4th film in the Harry Potter movies. We had already messed the men do there portion of the show but we were able to see the girls do there part. The show is a cute little diversion and worth taking a look. It was also nice to finally see these shows take place on an actual stage. The peformance area use to be on the ground. But earlier this year an actual stage was constructed which elevates the performers and make it much easier to watch.

 

 

After the performance we made our way the next attraction which is one of our favorite. It is located in the majestic Hogwarts Castle and is called Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Although practically every attraction had a single rider line that we used this is one ride that you must take a trip thru the regular que at least once. The line for the ride is truely an attraction in and of itself.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

To make the line even better the wait time posted for the attraction was only 20 minutes long. We have never seen the wait times that low for this ride. You can usually get a feel for how long the wait will be based on how full the greenhouse area (that you can see from Jurassic Park) is. The greenhouse holds the majority of the wait so if its full and all the switchbacks are in use your looking at about an hour wait. Today though not all the switchbacks were open and we hit the line just 2 ramps below reentering the castle.

 

[TeknikDC2]

Once you're in the Castle the line moves very quickly. Which is odd considering the castle is the part of the line that you'd actually like to spend a lot of time waiting in. Its pretty much a mini tour thru the castle which sets up the story for the ride and you pass many recognizable things from the movies. Pay close attention to all of your surroundings as there are some really cool effects and surprises. Especially how well done the moving portraits are.

 

 

For the first time Muggles (non magical people) have been allowed into Hogwarts school of Magic. You go the Professor Dumbledor's office where Dumbledor actually speaks to you about your visit and that you would attend a lecture about the history of Hogwarts. You then got to the Defence against the Dark Arts room where Harry, Ron, and Hermione sneak and convince you to ditch the lecture to come watch a game of Qudditch instead. There are a few cool effects in here and the one we got while passing thru was when Ron made it actually snow in the room. Daniel thought this was really cool.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

You eventually get to the Griffindor common room where more moving protraits give the safety info for the ride before passing the Sorting Hat (which actually moves and talks) and entering the Room of Requirement where you board your enchanted bench for the ride. This was where Kiera and Daniel were sent to the Child Swap room and I continued on and boarded the ride.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

I have read that over the last few months that Universal has been tweeking the ride slightly to try and make it easier on those who get motion sick easily. You may notice that the ride will occasionally stop for a short period of time. This isn't because theres a problem with the ride but usually because somebody got sick on the ride and may have lost there lunch. So they have to shut down shortly for a cleanup. To combat this the motions of the ride vehicle have been slightly toned down and the frame rate of the videos slowed down and made slightly brighter. The ride vehicle you sit in is attached to a large Kuka arm which is a large robotic arm that can swing you in all directions and tilt you around. In addition to passing thru large physical sets you also go thru three film domes where the Kuka arm then acts as a motion simulator. This ride is truely incredible and a techilogical breakthru. Its still hard to pathum that Gringots is supposed to be more technilogically advanced then this is.

 

I think I officially have more ride logged on this then I do any other ride in the Universal Orlando resort so i've become very familiar with it. So I was interested to see if I could spot the changes. The first change is really the only blatent obivous change and thens when you first enter the fire place and travel by floo network that instead of seeing projected brickwork you now see a green vortex. The vortex works so much better then the fake brick. The next noticible difference was the video in the domes. It was much brighter and clearer then it was before. Again something that works much better. The newer movements of the bench weren't as noticible as I thought they would be but I swear it puts you on your back nearly upside down much more often now then it did before (I thought it use to do this only at the whomping willow scene). I was very suprised to see that the dementors kiss projection was working as well (its almost always broken) and the image was now in color instead of black and white which was also cool. But there was some bad with the good but its something that seemed to change on each ride over the course of this trip as it seemed they are still messing with the lighting thruout the building. On this ride the lighting was WAY too bright. You could see everything coming up in the darker scenes. Especially in the Forbidden Forest, Whomping Willow, and Chamber of Secrets scenes. You could see the Dementors much sooner then you were suppose to. The lighting was just way off. And there didn't seem to be as many spiders in the Forbidden Forest. Luckly the lighting issues were better for future rides.

 

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is up there as one of the absolute must rides in the resort and so long as you don't get sick on it, its sure to be one that you will want to do again and again. The best part is that you don't even have to be a Harry Potter fan to enjoy it. It is so well done that its fun for everyone. I mean who doesn't like to feel like there flying. But yes it makes a lot of people sick. So keep that in mind if you get motion sick easily. Still the que is a must see as well. And if nobody in your party is up to riding then they actually have a seperate "Castle Tour" line that you can enter to walk and view the castle with out actually waiting in line for the ride portion.

 

After Child Swapping Kiera went and took a ride as well and also noticed the lighting issues in the showbuilding. We then exited the ride and retrieved the stroller before making our way into the town of Hogsmead. As we passed by the stage area again the other show was now taking place which is a small performance by the Hogwarts Frog Choir.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

I'm still shocked that it took us this long but it was finally time for Butterbeer. This drink is like liquid gold for Universal. It is incredibly good and very addicting. We spent a lot of money on the drink over the course of this vacation lol. There are 2 versions of the drink. The regular version which is like a soda with foam topping, and a frozen version which is a slush drink. We actually prefer the Frozen but I know many who like the regular too. The drink taists like a mix of Butterscotch and Cream Soda which doesn't sound like the most appealing drink. Especially if you not a fan of ether. But the combination works here and makes a very taisty drink.

 

 

There are two carts in Hogsmead that you can buy the drinks from. However you can also get it from the Three Broomsticks Restaurant and the Hogs Head Pub. I actually recommend buying it from one of the Indoor locations listed above as the waits inside are much shorter then the outside carts. Not only that but if your a Preferred Annual Passholder like I am you can get your 10% AP discount on the drink at the indoor locations. You can't get the discount at any outdoor locations. You can get the drink in a regular cup or pay extra for a suvinour mug. We had bought 2 mugs in past trips and had them with us so we just got those refilled each time. Back when the Wizarding World open there was a discount given if you refilled your own mugs. Unfortuantly that discount no longer exists and the cost to refill the mug is the same cost as a regular cup.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

With our stomachs full of the delecious drink we continued on to another ride located in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The Dragons Challenge Roller Coasters. These coaster are themed around one of the tasks of the Tri-Wizard tournament. The wait was only posted as 5 minutes but its probably a little longer then that. And not because there was a long ride inside. But because this ride has the most rediculously long que ever created for an attraction. The walk surely takes longer then 5 minutes lol. Instead of walking the que with me, Kiera took Daniel (who was asleep) and went to the rides Child Swap room thru its exit. There are actually 2 roller coasters that make up the attraction so right before where you load onto the ride you have to decided which side you want to ride on. Both coasters are very good but I perfer the Hungarion Horntail (blue) side more then the Chinese Fireball (red) side.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

Both of the coasters are very good and shouldn't be missed if your a roller coaster enthusiast. To this day I think the Blue side is still my favorite suspended coaster. However I can't help but think these coasters are only a shadow of there former self now. This coaster actually opened with Islands of Adventure and was once known as Dueling Dragons. Luckly I got to experiance the ride as Dueling Dragons still back in 2009 before Potter opened. The que was still long back then as well but it was possibly one of the most well themed ques ever. The que really got dumbed down when it became Dragons challenge. Only a few things were added for the Harry Potter overlay such as the Champions Tent and Goblet of Fire, as well as the Dragons eggs and Champions cup. But then it seems like there are endless walks thru empty caves to get to the ride. These caves use to be filled with cool themeing that were removed.

 

 

But dispite the lackluster que at least the best part of the coaster remained. The dueling aspect. The 2 coasters would leave the stations at the same time and then "duel" thruout the tracks as they were set up to have I think 5 near misses with one another. The dueling took too good coasters and made them unlike anything else. Well it did until a couple years ago anyways. Theres always has to be somebody who ruins it for everyone else. Somebody decided to take items on the ride and throw it at the other train during the near miss sections. One man was blinded from being hit with an item. Another was seriously injured a few days later from the same issue. Because of these incedents the dueling feature was removed from the Dragons and they will never duel again. A feature that is very missed.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

The best way to ride is on the front row which will typically have a longer wait. But if your willing to wait it will be worth it on these suspended coasters. I waited it out and rode on the front row which gives a great view of the ride. As well as the construction of the Hogsmead station for the Hogwarts Express. After my awesome ride Kiera took a turn as well. But I wasn't done yet. While she took Daniel back to the town I jumped over and also rode the Fire side of the ride. I always liked the Ice side more do to some near misses it has with the building that Fire lacked. However that is all changing with the Hogwarts Express station as the station had now added multipule near misses to that track. Both are very good and again worth the ride. Even without the dueling feature.

 

We were now finished with the Wizarding World for the moment. We would be back again later for Dinner so after trying to get some shots of the Hogwarts Express construction we continued into the next section of the park. The Lost Continent.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

There really isn't much left to the Lost Continent as the Wizarding World took over about half of the original land. There are no longer any actual rides located here but the themeing in place are among the best of the entire park. There are 2 sub sections now. One is an arabian themed area that has the Sinbad Stunt show. We wouldn't watch the show on this trip but we have in the past and its not something that you really need to see unless you want to get out of the sun for a bit. The set peices are pretty immaculate but the stunts and acting fall very short.

 

 

The other area is Greek Mythology themed and has some of the most amazing facades in the resort. The attraction here is Posidon's Fiery but its also not a ride. Its a walk thru attraction that uses some cool effects but really isn't worth seeing unless the wait is 10 minutes or less. We did this for the first time on our last trip but we wouldn't do it on this one as the wait was always 30 minutes or higher. I don't think people realize that its not a ride and then leave dissapointed. Still though it can be a good place to run if you get caught in a rain storm and want to get out of the rain for a bit. The restaurant Mythos is also located here. We still have never ate at it but it has been named the Best Theme Park Restaurant for many years in a row. Still its too expensive for us.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

We finally made it to the final Island of the park and the one we were heading to. Suess Landing. This area is themed to the wimsical world of the Dr. Suess books. And it was an area that we thought Daniel would really enjoy as Dr. Suess books are amung some of his favorites and there were many rides here that he could actually go on.

 

[TeknikDC2]

The first of which would be One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. This ride wouldn't just be a ride Daniel could go on but it would also be the first time that I went on it too. Red Fish, Blue Fish was Universals take on your standard Dumbo style Spinner ride. But they added an interactive feature to the ride in the form of water spraying at you. There is a little song that plays while the ride is in motion where if you listen to the song closely you will supposedly be able to avoid getting wet. But do to the chance of getting wet Kiera decided to sit this one out.

 

 

This was another ride that we thought Daniel would like and he couldn't wait to get into the ride vehicle. He was all smiles and could even reach the lever to make the ride go up and down. And then the ride started. And just like with Stormforce he was no longer happy with the ride. He was ok if we stayed low but when we were in the air he didn't like it. I was fighting trying to keep him seated. Of course this ment that I also couldn't focus on the words of the song so we got blasted with water a few times. I said that if you follow the words of the song your supposedly gonna stay dry. However the 3rd verse of the song is pretty much a free for all with water spraying randomly so really you likely won't stay dry. Its still a cute litte ride that I perfer to Dumbo as the interaction makes a tame ride more exciting.

 

[TeknikDC2]

We were gonna go to the Cat in the Hat ride next but we noticed that a little show featuring Dr. Suess characters was taking place called "Oh, the Stories you will hear". We thought this would be something Daniel might also like so we stopped to watch. He loved pointing at and seeing the characters dance around on stage. I'm not sure if the show changes at all but the Cat in the Hat, Thing 1 and 2, The Grinch, Sam I Am, and the Lorax were the characters that were a part of the show. After there little dance the person leading the show read the story of the Lorax to everyone and then another little dance number the show was over. It was a cute little show that pretty much every kid there enjoyed. Especially when the characters came down and were dancing with everyone.

 

 

After the show the characters stay out a little while longer for some meet and greets. Again Daniel loved Characters last year when we came so we hoped he would again this year but he loved them from a far. Not really so much up close. Which was sad as last year the Lorax was his favorite and we have a lot of cute pictures of him with the Lorax. Time to meet the characters were limited so we only had time to meet with Sam I Am, The Lorax, and the Grinch.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

Finally it was time for us to ride Cat in the Hat. This is one of only 3 rides that is the closest thing to a traditional Dark Ride on Univesal Property. Its a ride that we really looked forward to taking Daniel on as the Cat in the Hat is a book thats a favorite of his. The line said it was a 5 minute wait but we walked right on with no wait at all. This ride is traditional in the fact that its a smaller scale ride that is fun for the whole family. Much like the dark rides that dot Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland. Of course old Universal had to try to make it more extreme then what Disney does though so the ride features a lot of spinning. And some of the spinning can be pretty rough. And thats considering that a few years ago the spinning on the ride was toned down. As with the other rides so far too Daniel wasn't in to it at all. He just wanted to sit on our laps which was hard to fight as he had to stay seated by himself. The spinning really took him by surprise and he really didn't like it. He was happy when the ride was over but he really enjoyed the gift shop lol. Cat in the Hat is a cute ride though and is something that I consider to be a do not miss as the ride is really well done.

 

 

While Kiera ran to the restroom I took Daniel over to a little play area in Suess Landing called "If I Ran the Zoo". This little play area had exhibits and thing to climb on and push that featured some of the strange creatures found in the Dr. Suess books. There is a small portion of the area as well that has water so pay close attention to your kids here if you don't want them getting wet. Daniel really enjoyed the area and was really having a blast until I heard the call come over the Team Members radio. Something we had managed to avoid so far today. There was lightning in the area. All Outdoor attractions were to be shut down immidiatly. The TM quickly cleared everyone out of the area and the play area was shut down. Daniel was not happy about it.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

Since half the attractions were now shut down and a fear of rain starting any minute we decided to head back to the Wizarding World to take cover as thats where we planned to get dinner tonight. We passed by the Sneech Beach which features the characters from my favorite Suess book. You also get a pretty good look of the other islands from here. I figured we could just grab dinner now as we passed back thru the Lost Continant to the Wizarding World. It was earlier then we planned but if it would keep us out of the rain then so be it.