Nataliya and Seth's Orlando Vacation

After a mediocre breakfast buffet at Perkins, we headed to Universal Studios for our next theme park visit.

We tried getting a Fastpass for the first attraction, but discovered that they don't have that at Universal Studios - instead, they offer Universal Express for an additional $15 a person! Well, considering that it wasn't the busy season, we couldn't justify spending the extra cash when there were practically no lines.

We went on line to see Shrek 4-D and we were first to see the show. This was very well done with a decent plot and fun interaction with the audience. Thumbs up on this attraction.

Then we went to Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast We had no idea what a "Jimmy Neutron" was, to begin with. After the ride, we're not quite sure we still know. This was one of those "chase the bad guy" rides where you're in one of those motion machines looking at a movie screen. It was okay, but not any more special than anything we'd already seen.

Then it was time to challenge the elements of Twister... Ride It Out. It was a bit windy and mildly entertaining.

We had better hopes with Earthquake - The Big One, but it wasn't too big and I was the one who got wet by the gushing water entering the subway station.

Hopefully we'd get a bit of a scare from JAWS. Unfortunately, the clear water didn't do much to hide the fake shark and there wasn't much that made it scary. (We had more fun with the JAWS display than the ride, I'm afraid...)

We hoped that Men In Black Alien Attack would be a fun attraction. It was alright. We were being tested to be on the MIB by shooting at aliens. We didn't do very well, and Will Smith pretty much told us we sucked via a video screen at the end of the "test". Still, it was better than the last several rides we'd been on.

Then it was off to chase Biff on Back to the Future The Ride. This wasn't too bad. Yes, it was another one of the "chasing the bad guy" motion rides, but it was well done and the motion screen was actually pretty large.

Afterwards, we were bicyling along the E.T. Adventure, escaping federal agents and people who wanted to get their hands on E.T. With E.T.'s help, you narrowly escape all the dangers and he returns home safely. The ride is slow moving and not very exciting.

One of the best attractions was Terminator 2 3-D. It continues where the T2 movie left off and is very well done. It combines actors with 3-D effects, and the characters jump in and out of the screen. The story isn't too bad, even if the technology isn't consistent with the original movies.

After all these rides, Nataliya sat with me as I ate a personal pepperoni pizza. Afterwards, we walked around the park one last time, looking to see if we missed any good attractions. Other than a few people break-dancing, there wasn't much to see. We made our way out of the park, stopping here and there to play some carnival-type games and winning a couple of stuffed animals.

We went back to our rental car and drove back to the hotel. After resting by the pool for a little while, we went to dinner at Bahama Breeze. Then we went back to the hotel for the night.