My experience about "Pictionary" at Universal Studios Florida
In 1998, I was the grand prize winner of the Pictionary TV game show sweepstakes and went on a five-night stay at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida with my aunts Angela, Ranette and Sheenah. Here's the whole story.
In a week of November 1997, I bough a TV Guide and in it was an entry form of the "Pictionary" sweepstakes. The grand prize was a 5-night trip for four to Universal Studios Florida. The first runner-up prize was the Pictionary PC game. The object of the contest was to fill out all the names of the celebrities that appeared on the "Pictionary" game show on the following Monday. On Monday, I taped an important episode of "Pictionary" for the celebrities that appeared on the show. The names were Melba Moore, Brooke Lee, Reginald VelJohnson and Jm J. Bullock. I filled in the form and mailed it. Later, when the package of papers from Federal Express came in about the prize I was about to win, I had to ask my aunt Angela (who lives in St. Louis with my cousin Sheenah) to sign all the papers for me and mail them.
On a night of January 1998, my other aunt Ranette was visiting my house and we were playing against each other in "Wheel of Fortune" on my Nintendo 64. During the game, the phone rang and the caller ID said "Unknown Caller". I picked up the phone and said "Hello?" A lady named Terry Lynn Battson on the phone asked "Is this San Davidson?" I said "Yes." She told me I won the grand prize trip to Universal Studios Florida. I turned on the intercom for Ranette to hear the good news. She was so excited about going that we hugged each other. Right after the phone call when we unpaused the "Wheel of Fortune" game, Ranette hit "Bankrupt" and lost all her money!
On Thursday, January 21, 1998, Ranette and I went to Angela and Sheenah's house in St. Louis to spend the night. My mother packed all my clothes in a big suitcase. The next early morning of Friday, January 22 it was still dark and Ranette, Angela, Sheenah and I prayed for a good vacation before we got to a van to take us to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. I was afraid of flying in a plane because I was aware of being a victim of a hijack or a plane crash. First, we flew from St. Louis on U.S. Airways to Charlotte, North Carolina, then from Charlotte on a turbulent fight to Orlando. It was raining a little outside. Once we came there we were looking for a sign that said "Sean Davidson" that would take us from the airport to the Radisson Twin Towers Hotels but for some reason we didn't see the sign so Angela called Mears Townscar about the incident. Finally, they had a car to take us to the Twin Towers Hotel, which was located straight across from the Universal Studios Main Entrance. We got a nice room so you could look out the window and see the entire view of Universal Studios. When we got to Universal, the first attraction we went to is T-2: 3D. It was terrifying!! I used a pair of special 3D glasses and all the intense action on the big screen irritated my eyes so badly that I took off the glasses. I never wanted to se T-2 3D again! The next day, Saturday, January 23, we went for a Vip tour of USF. The best part of that is we didn't have to wait in line for all the rides. My favorite rides were Back to the Future, E.T. And the Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera. During lunch, we spent some Universal bucks on pizza, soda, etc. Also, we went to Nickelodeon Studios (which I always wanted to go) to take the tour. We saw the set of "Game Lab" and the unfinished set of the game show "Figure It Out". After that we went in the studio audience for "Game Lab". I was in the audience with a bunch of kids and I participated in a game. Here are some of the photos:
Look for me in the black jacket and hat!
Slimed!
That's me in front of the "Family Double Dare" logo!
Also, while Angela, Ranette and Sheenah went to T-2: 3-D, I got be dress like the Terminator. Hasta la vista, baby!
When it was nighttime, we were invite to a private Pictionary party. There were crowds of people and I met Terry Lynn Battson (pictured below next to me).
I finally met Alan Thicke, the host of "Pictionary" and we took pictures with him.
(Above
picture, from l. to r., Sheenah, me , Alan Thicke, Ranette and
Angela)
I also met Terry Langston and Rob Allen, who created the original "Pictionary" board game which we used to play every Sunday at my grandma's house.
On Sunday, January 24, we were invited to be in the studio audience for 1 � taping of "Pictionary". The celebrities that appeared were Tanya Tucker, Nell Carter, Austin Peck and Julia Schultz. It was a lot of fun watching a live game show. At the end of the day, I sat next to Marilyn Monroe (not the real one!) and took two pictures with her.
The next day, Monday, January 25, Sheenah was so sick that she threw up. Ranette had to take care of her while Angela and I went to Universal. We went to Nick Studios again, Back to the Future the second time, E.T., and the Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera, where I once sat next to a little boy from Poland. At the hotel, there was a game room with Space Jam pinball (where I played a lot of!) Crusin' USA and Virtual Fighter. The final day in Florida, Tuesday, January 26, we went out to Ponderosa for lunch where we gave the last of the Universal Studio tickets to a lady who worked at Ponderosa.. Then we went to Belz Factory Outlet World to do a little shopping. We bought some clothes, mostly Universal Studios and Disneyworld. Then, back at the hotel, we ate some pizza. Wednesday, January 27, we packed our bags and said good-bye to Florida in a limousine to the Orlando Airport, flew back to Charlotte, then from Charlotte to St. Louis. Going to Universal Studios Florida was the most memorable experience of my life.
To view the newsletter about me as the grand prize winner go to page one or page two.
I would like to thank my dad for letting me use his scanner to scan my photos and images!
I would also like to thank God for blessing me with a great vacation and the ability to share my story with all of you game show fans.
Thanks to Terry Lynn Battson, Steve, the VIP tourist, and the crew of Universal Studios Florida.
And finally, big thanks to my aunts Angela, Ranette and my cousin Sheenah because if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be able to make my "Pictionary at Universal Studios Florida" page. I love you all!
(Above,
from l to r, Sheenah, Angela, Ranette and me!)
