Day 3 – August 23rd/00
Phone rang at 5:30 am, with Mickey announcing that there’s big doings today, so we gotta get up and get at ‘em! Same morning routine – shower, breakfast, coffee, go!
We got to USF about 8:30ish, paid our 7.00 parking, and as we went through the turnstiles we were once again handed those magical things called Express Pass (watch out Disney!)
We walked on to Twister, Kongfrontation, and Earthquake. We then walked on to Jaws. Jaws is the only ride at USF that Jessica had announced months before the trip that she would absolutely not even consider doing. Once there, I somehow talked her into it, and she came off the ride simply thrilled with herself. She said that it wasn’t nearly as bad as the ads she’d seen for it (where Jaws literally attacks the boat), and I told her that most rides were advertised to be scareier than they actually were.
Oh no! It was just past 10:00, and we hadn’t done Men In Black Alien Attack yet, which was next on the list. Well, we took a deep breath, and went to wait in line. It was a good 45-minute to an hour wait, but what a cool ride! I absolutely loved the queue area, and the end of the ride is mind-boggling! We all agreed it was definitely worth the wait!
We then got FT’s for Back to the Future, and went to do E.T. while waiting for our FT time. E.T. actually ended up being a good 25-30 minute wait, but again, the queue area was beautifully done, and the ride ended up being worth the wait.
It was time for Back to the Future. We walked on with our FT’s, and it was ok, but I was a bit disappointed. I guess I expected more from this ride.
We were all hungry at this point, so stopped for lunch at the International Food Bazaar (17.85 including tax). Much more reasonably priced! And the food seemed to taste better. (Wonder if it’s psychological?)
After lunch, we wandered over to Hollywood, with the intention of seeing Terminator 2, but just then, it started to pour. We got on our ponchos (just before it started to pour), and found a building to duck into. It just happened to be The Gory, Gruesome & Grotesque Horror Make-Up Show. This was on my list as a “time allowing” thing, and since we were ahead of time anyway, and it was, after all, pouring outside, we waited for the next show. I sure am glad we didn’t miss this show. We all agreed it was a very humorous show, and the girls said to me, quite indignantly, “Mom, you were gonna let us miss this?” It’s a show definitely worth checking out.
By the time it was over, the sun had taken over the sky again, and off we headed to Terminator 2. We waited maybe 20 minutes, and again, I was somewhat disappointed. I expected more.
We bought 2 lemon slushes (5.00), which we shared to cool off with. They were deliciously refreshing.
We then did The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbara, which was fun. It was about a 15-20 minute wait. Then we backtracked to catch the last (5:30) showing of Animal Actors. I sure am glad I didn’t miss this! It was a lot of fun.
We finished up with Nickelodeon Studios, or tried to anyway. The building seemed to be closed. But the big green glob machine was working. Krystal tried to get slimed, but it missed her (thank God, since we were leaving and I don’t know how Gary would have reacted to green slime all over his truck!)
We left the park around 6:30ish, and went to Wendy’s for dinner (14.95). We finished the day with swimming, and arcade.
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