Last Days of Summer

tcool123

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Hello and welcome all to @tcool123 and company's grand Universal Trip to wish goodbye the summer! But wait Imagineers! This isn't just any trip report! No it will have feedback and ideas from the group that had visited the Universal Orlando Resort!

So to kick off the basic information!
When: 8/26 to 8/28
Where: Universal Orlando Resort
Who:
- Mother: Caring mother of tcool and Brother. Slightly stubborn but loves to feel young and have fun!
- Brother: Annoying brother of tcool, annoying boyfriend to the Girlfriend, annoying cousin to the cousins, and annoying all around.
- The Girlfriend: Girlfriend of the Brother, and loves minions, and saying the words "I Hate You"
- Cousin P and F: The cousins are here to have fun too, and go with about pretty much anything.
- tcool: The main character, resident armchair imagineer, and alive.
Camera: LG Stylo - Snapchat

Great! Now that's out of the way let's get to the trip!​
 

Suchomimus

Well-Known Member
Hello and welcome all to @tcool123 and company's grand Universal Trip to wish goodbye the summer! But wait Imagineers! This isn't just any trip report! No it will have feedback and ideas from the group that had visited the Universal Orlando Resort!

So to kick off the basic information!
When: 8/26 to 8/28
Where: Universal Orlando Resort
Who:
- Mother: Caring mother of tcool and Brother. Slightly stubborn but loves to feel young and have fun!
- Brother: Annoying brother of tcool, annoying boyfriend to the Girlfriend, annoying cousin to the cousins, and annoying all around.
- The Girlfriend: Girlfriend of the Brother, and loves minions, and saying the words "I Hate You"
- Cousin P and F: The cousins are here to have fun too, and go with about pretty much anything.
- tcool: The main character, resident armchair imagineer, and alive.
Camera: LG Stylo - Snapchat

Great! Now that's out of the way let's get to the trip!​
Sounds like the next family sitcom here.
 

tcool123

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 1 Part 1: A Bite of Disney

Mother went to my school, and picked my up early. Awaiting in the car were the cousins, brother, and mother. We were soon on our way to FIU to pick up the girlfriend. After waiting a hour inside the FIU parking garage in the middle of an exit, the girlfriend showed up! We were soon our way to a magical vacation! On the way up I was doing my homework, and doing a five paragraph essay on a splinter :cyclops::hilarious:

Of course to make it five paragraphs I had to add a flair of drama so I added that I was on the grim reaper's doorstep, losing homes, etc. No one that read it could get pass the first paragraph without dying of laughter. Although I can't figure out why :rolleyes: Also on the way up we played the "Where are we going game?" a truly fun game for those who like to be irritated and annoyed. We were going back and forth of will we or won't we. But did we go to Disney Springs or The Four Points first!

Along the way we stopped at the Pompano Beach rest top, and I ordered a doughnut, or two...or more... regardless of the amount of donuts I bought I didn't have them all. Everyone got at least one doughnut or a half. I had a half of the Peanut Butter Doughnut and hated it giving it to my mother, and I got rid of the awful taste with the always pleasing Boston Cream Doughnut :hungry:

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We did go to Disney Springs! However it took forever to park because my mom was too stubborn to everyone. She refused to go to the top of the parking structure to get a parking spot, and insisted on following people around, and then leaving them right when they got their car...Well after an argument with her and brother, mother drove to the top floor, and found plenty of parking :eek: We left the parking structure annoyed with the reservations people at Disney because everything was fully booked.

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We got to the main floor of the parking garage, and walked out into Disney Springs! Everyone had a mission! The girlfriend was set on getting something, anything new from Kate Spade, The brother was set on pleasing the girlfriend, the cousins wanted food, the mother well what she wanted changed on her mood, but at the moment a bathroom, and tcool wanted to go to Uniqlo! The lovebirds and tcool went to Kate Spade, as the girlfriend settled on a Minnie Mouse Cardholder for around $60. The group proceeded to head towards the World of Coke!

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We went up the entire ramp to the Coca Cola bar, and ordered nothing....The line was far too long, and I was the only one who wanted anything. So we left in search for food because besides tcool, everyone was hungry. We decided to have dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express! We then we arrived accidentally, and went into the Cafe to find out my brother had got us a table. We were immediately seated. I warned my mother to not leave her purse on the floor as she would forget, but she ignored my statement completely. We all placed our orders. The girlfriend ordered the spaghetti with chicken meatballs, the brother and cousin F ordered some burger and fries option, tcool ordered a half chicken, mother ordered a soup, and cousin P ordered three meatballs...he has been dying of hunger having only a doughnut earlier today and orders three meatballs. Our food soon arrives plate by plate. We are all mesmerized by the portions. The burgers are bigger than cousin F's face, the half chicken is literally half a chicken :jawdrop:, and the three meatballs are three golf sized meatballs :hilarious:

Mother takes the mashed potatoes and scallops from tcool's half chicken, Cousin F tries to figure out how to bite the thing, the girlfriend takes a picture of her food, and Cousin P is almost done with his "meal". Once everyone is halfway with their meal, Cousin P has long been done eating :rolleyes: He is now attempting to steal a fry from Cousin F. The girlfriend being so kind gives her leftover spaghetti (half the plate), to Cousin P. The brother and Cousin F gives their fries to Cousin P. Tcool gives the last quarter of untouched chicken to Cousin P, The mother finishes her food, and now Cousin P has too much food :rolleyes:. After waiting for five minutes we pay the check, and notice the Cosuin P got away with only having to pay for his meatballs. Perhaps he planned this all from the beginning :cautious:
We all now left Wolfgang Puck Cafe, but we felt lighter for some reason? Could it be the fact we paid so little for eating at Disney? Or was it because we were listening to some sweet jazz? The answer soon became clear.

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tcool123

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 1 Part 2 : Sprinkles of Disney

Last time on the Last Days of Summer, we saw the family dining at Wolfgang Puck Express, and Cousin P getting the best deal. This time we join them as they find out why they felt lighter!
~*~
As we were walking to the Landing, the mother had realized she left her purse at Wolfgang Puck Cafe! Mother and I went after the forgotten purse as we trekked through the crowds dancing to the saxophone. We passed my the menu of Bongo's as we commented on how we'll never eat there as that is the menu of our daily lives more or less. We arrived to the cafe, and found out the purse had not been returned to the front desk. Given permission, I search our table to discover the purse...is missing! :eek: We were in trouble because my mom had left her credit card, ID, and keys in there! A waiter soon came, and asked me if I had left a purse behind. I waited at the entrance of the kitchen as they brought out my mom's purse, and everything was till there.

We joined out group, but Cousin P had wandered off! We were texting him and calling him. Eventually Cousin F noticed he was on the other side of the bridge .... the whole time...:facepalm: We soon ventured on wards to get dessert at Sprinkles! Well first a stop at the bathrooms for mother, and then a bite at Sprinkles.

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Soon my mom joined us inside, and we placed our order. The girlfriend and boyfriend got an ice cream sundae topped with a carrot cake to share. While I ordered the seasonal cupcake, S'Mores.

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It was every last cent of those five dollars :hungry: The toasted marshmallow was so nice, and they were freshly made. So big bonus points, the cake itself was nice and moist. While it had graham crumbs, I think? on the sides of the chocolate cake. All around I loved this cupcake :inlove:

We then spotted the coveted Uniqlo, or as my brother puts it 'that Chinese shlt', and I correct him with saying its Japanese. So either way we went in, and we looked at all the clothes, and Girlfriend and I both said we wanted to buy everything in the store. However I could only get one item, and same for her. Something about wasting all of our money on food or something like that :rolleyes:

I was looking for an Alien, I Have Been Chosen shirt that was grey, but hey only had it in white. Not what I wanted, so I passed. I ended up getting a Nemo/Dory shirt and the girlfriend got a Minnie Mouse Shirt.

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I swear I took a photo of the shirt, but I can't find it anywhere. We bought our shirts with coupons so we got 10 dollars off our purchase only paying 8 dollars in total for both shirts. We then went down the escalator, and towards ..... the bathroom! Yes, mother dearest needed to return to the bathroom once more.



The lovebirds and I went into Amorette's Pasterie, and looked at all the deserts. The girlfriend wanted one, but sadly she had a Sprinkles cupcake not more than a hour ago. So instead we watched a lady decorate a cake for a while.



The lovebirds and I walked out to find, that mother was still in the restroom. The lovebirds stayed with Cousin P, as Cousin F and I went into World of Disney. We looked at various things before the brother called me to tell me to come outside. And there was no one there...we called the lovebirds and saw them walk out. A few minutes late Cousin P walked out asking where Mother was. Apparently she was right behind him when he went in, but she disappeared. We all went into World of Disney, and spent a good ten minutes looking for her, we went outside and saw her walking back into the World of Disney Store. We all headed towards Lime Parking Garage, and stopped at the ganacherry to try green tea ganache :depressed: It acquires an acquired palate, mother pretty much got a whole block of ganache free since she was the only one out of the six of us to like it. We soon left Disney Springs, and checked in at The Four Points by Sheraton. I then did programming till 2 AM in the bathroom because I was kicked out of the main room :cyclops:

And that was Day One! What will happen in the first day of visiting the parks? Will the forecasts be right, and we'll be drowned rats? Or we will be lucky and have no worries. I'm sure @MonorailRed would know if it rained at Orlando on Saturday seeing as she is/was there ;)

Tune in next time for Last Days of Summer!

 

tcool123

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 2 Part 1: The One Where Universal Tries to Scam Us

Everyone woke up at around 8 in the morning, and got ready to head downstairs. When it downed on me, Mother never bought tickets for us, and the Girlfriend didn't have a ticket either! So I went on my laptop, and was denied from buying a Florida Residents ticket, went on the Girlfriend's Mac and got the same message. In the lobby they sold tickets, but none for Florida residents. So we then decided to just buy the tickets at the park. We went outside to catch the shuttle, but we had just missed it by 10 minutes. So we waited for the next one outside at 9 AM. We got on, and arrived to Universal by 9:30 AM.

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The Mother and I went onwards to buy our tickets for Islands of Adventure. While the cousins and the lovebirds went to Starbucks for breakfast. Me and mother got in line at the ticket booths at Island of Adventure.

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After waiting a half hour to buy tickets, we got skipped by brother and the girlfriend. Girlfriend got the cheapest annual pass to match that of brother's. It was now time for Mother and I to purchase tickets. We then found out that Florida Resident Tickets, which is kinda stupid. So then the ticket lady was telling us how it'll be over $230 to buy a two day ticket, or for a dollar less the cheapest annual pass to Universal. So mother bought the annual passes, but just as we were abut to leave the people next to us bought tickets for two days for just $189. Ummm where were those tickets, when we needed them. So as the ticket dealer gave us our annual passes, I told mother, who informed the ticket dealer. We got a return on the annual passes, and bought the two, two day one park tickets. And we entered the park at 10:30 AM. We were soon on our way to ride Skull Island : Reign of Kong!

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The wait time was 90 minutes, so in we go!

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After maybe 30 minutes, we made it into the indoor queue.

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KONG! KONG! KONG! KONG! KONG! KONG! is what we heard the moment we entered the preshow. KONG! KONG! KONG! KONG! KONG! KONG! was heard in another five minutes. KONG! KONG! KONG! KONG! KONG! KONG! was heard again in five more minutes. KONG! KONG! KONG! KONG! KONG! KONG! I'm sure you can figure out the pattern, we heard the chanting at least 6 or 7 times. We then entered the scariest part of the queue where I avoided the left side of the queue at all times. We made it to Base Camp, and boarded our vehicle. In the group of six people no one really liked the ride. We all found it just okay. We also found that the scene carried over King Kong 360 was what had killed the ride for us. We weren't huge fans of having to look back and forth from left to right. Cousin F half jokingly said that he got whiplash from looking back and forth from left to right.

We left Skull Island, and headed for Toon Lagoon. We decided to ride Ripshaw Falls. The girlfriend was dragged into the ride I Hate You, she directed to my brother multiple times throughout the queue. After waiting a half hour we boarded our log. Cousin P put on a jacket around his shorts to not get them wet, and the girlfriend put on her poncho. I made the mistake of riding in the first row. Not only did I get soaking wet, but on any of the drops I got water in my mouth, and past my glasses. Not a pleasing experience, but it was fun.

~*~
We interrupt you normal trip report to bring an Imagineering idea from the brother. Tcool had just brought up the plans for Secret Life of Pets to get a ride replacing the nearby theater. Brother said "That's stupid, they should build a Simon Says Ride!" He then explained that you would have to do what Simon Says, or you'll be ejected out of the ride! We played a few example games:
Simon says touch your belly button! Cousin F, ejected!
Simon says bend your arm down and up! Tcool, Cousin P, and Girlfriend ejected!
I Hate You! How are we supposed to even do that!
New game, Simon says to stick out your togue! Cousin F, ejected!
Simon says press the ejection button! Everyone ejected!
Back to your regular trip report.
~*~

Everyone managed to get wet except Cousin P's shorts, and The Mother which didn't ride. The girlfriend's poncho's hoodie also came off on the drop, and water got in through that opening. We now made our way to the girlfriend's favorite ride, Popeye's Rafts. We rode Popeye's Rafts, and everyone got more soaked. Not even Cousin P's shorts survived the wetting. We left Toon Lagoon, and proceeded to ride Jurassic Park River Adventure in which everyone actually rode.

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tcool123

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 2 Part 2 : The One Were We Almost Sit on the Floor

That's right, this is back! And last time on the Last Days of Summer we saw the Sensational Six being unamused by Kong, getting wet, and *almost* got scammed by Universal! Now what happened this weekend on the Last Days of Summer?

The cousins and the lovebirds all went off in search of a restroom while mother dearest and I went to the Visitor Center to order some food. I was sent off to get a table that was inside. Although it was a lovely day outside. I told my mom there would be no seating inside. She told me to find it. So naturally I went outside because I was right, and found a table for six people outside. I sat down, and relaxed for a while.

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Isn't that a lovely view, and there was such a nice breeze. Of course I called my mom, and was told no and to go inside to get my food. So I met up with my mom, and got my food and hers. We went off to look for a table, she was so determined that she was willing to eat on the floor. My mom found a table that fit four people. She dragged over to chairs and said we had room for everyone. When she was gone, my cousins came and laughed. They informed me my brother got a table outside. So we went outside and sat down. I had ordered a grilled chicken sandwich with fries and a vanilla milkshake. Everyone got the same thing except mother got a Sprite, the Cousins's were chocolate, the girlfriend got a water, and brother got chicken strips. We weren't too pleased with our sandwiches as the meat was smaller than a chicken strip. Oh well, it was still good, and we ate.

We were on our way after we went back to get the girlfriend's Kate Spade card holder.

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I was back at school! Yes I have been given permission from the Ministry of Magic to reveal to you all I'm a wizard. While at Hogsmeade with my group of nomajs, we stopped by the butterbeer cart.

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Butterbeer is what I'm pretty sure is the secret behind all magic. Don't quote me on that though. After drinking my butterbeer, we were headed off to Hogwarts. I was not ready to enter the school just yet. Nor was the girlfriend or mother, we instead ventured onward to see if we could find something of interest at Filch's.

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Short answer is yes, but we decided to opt out of buying anything just yet. Me and the girlfriend proceeded to go ahead and visit Hagrid.

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We waited a while, and we found something horrifying!

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Imagine I almost touched it! After placing my hand in the box, I decided to actually see what I was touching. I jumped back when I saw that monster! Soon everyone was peering into the box at the beast. However I'm sure Hagrid had everything under control.



I was ready to study the hippogriffs, but to my dismay the brother and the cousins joined in the line. The five of us were assigned the back row, but problem. How were we all going to fit? Solution the girlfriend by herself, Cousin F with the brother and Cousin P me with me. We were soon flying through the sky on board our hippogriff. We soon exited, and my brother along with the cousins went off to face the dragons. While the girlfriend, mother, and I continued wandering through Hogsmeade.

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Sadly I was not allowed to buy anything, but nonetheless I could dream. We headed to the Three Broomsticks, and sat outside watching the river, and looking at a dock for the old Skipper Tour attraction. I made a passing comment how it looked like it would rain. After a while of relaxing in the shade, we left and found brother and Cousin F. However Cousin P had offered to go look for us. So now we were off to find Cousin P, and after five minutes of searching we found him! With a butterbeer in a hand since he didn't feel like getting one earlier.

We continued on our way to the best attraction at Universal Orlando Resort. Poseidon's Fury :cool:

A drop of rain feel from the sky so we all started running through the extensive queue, why is the queue even that big? I've never seen it in action. Well anyways we made it inside, and sat down. After 20 minutes I was sent to check if it were raining, and dogs and cats were falling. I went back to the family, and informed them of the news. We actually had to do this. We were soon let in, and found out the professor is missing! The lights began to flash, as some other group started to chant KONG! KONG! KONG! KONG! KONG!, we may have joined in... Eventually the entire audience joined in, and we had a very perplexed guide on our hands. He silenced us as he read the spell to free whats his face from his prison or something. We continued on with the walk through, and we finished it, and it was truly terrible. But it was still pouring, so we....

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