Islands of Adventure and a Merry Grinchmas

Now we are at Thursday, what will be our last FULL day at GKTW. After the very busy day we had the day before, I knew that we needed to take it easy. Maybe not a "day off" but an easy going day. Tim and Tessa went off to have breakfast while Phoebe slept in and I figured out a game plan for the day.

I decided that since we needed a late start today, and wanted to be back early for a Christmas party at the village, we needed to do a park that we weren't expecting to need a long day for....Universal Studios here we come! But first we had some business to take care of in the village. Phoebe and I ate breakfast at the Ice Cream Palace, again. Then we saw that the Disney characters were roaming around the courtyard so stopped for a visit.

Belle recognized us from our lunch at the castle. We are a hard group to forget. Notice Tessa's festive hair-do. She insisted she wear ALL of these bows so we figured why not?

Phoebe attacked Pluto's ear again.

The line for Mickey and Minnie was long and after a couple of minutes waiting outside the theater we thought, what are we doing?!? We've met them! We got front of the line access! Special treatment! Everyone here is in line for the special treatment and we already had it! So we got out of line and moved on. Having only one day left at the village meant we needed to go to the castle and send Phoebe's star with the special fairy who hangs it with the thousands of others on the ceiling. First, we made pillows. Tessa likes so many different things we finally suggested something with animals for her.

Phoebe liked the noises and lights.

Tessa helped her press the "right" buttons (none of the buttons do anything, it's all the person behind the machine) and Phoebe's horse pillow came out. It even has cactus amongst the horses, which I thought was appropriate.

They said they are changing the pillow machine to something else (don't know when) because the machine isn't really in the castle motif.

Then we moved on to the star fairy. I wrote her name on the star and then she put it in the box.

The angel volunteering showed the girls where to watch as the fairy left a trail of lights along the wall and ceiling. There's a little poem that says to come back tomorrow and see your star on the ceiling.

It's definitely overwhelming to see all the stars that are already there, and to think about all those kids. The people at GKTW are amazing and we are so grateful for the time and sacrifices they give for this amazing experience!

We explored the castle a little bit more. There is a very neat little tree house that you can climb around in. It has little footprints and windows and doors. It looks like a little village of pixies live there.

Phoebe was more than ready for a nap at this point, so Tim and Tessa went to the park while I did laundry and put makeup on.

Another stock photo of Matthew's Boundless Playground just to show you how cool it is, again.

Phoebe napped from 1-3 but as soon as she woke up we were ready to roll. We grabbed a to-go lunch from Katie's Kitchen and ate in the truck. We arrived at U.S. around 3:30. We weren't sure if we'd be able to go to the other U.S. park before we left Orlando, so we had to choose...which one would be the most fun for our kids. We decided on Islands of Adventure because of the glowing reviews of Suess Landing. It IS a long walk from the parking lot to the park but they gave us front row parking and they have moving sidewalks to get you there a little faster. Of course, if you have a stroller or wheelchair, you're NOT allowed to use the moving sidewalk. Anyway, Phoebe and I had races with Tim and Tessa who got to cheat.

Tessa was enthralled with the big coasters you can see from the Universal Citywalk area.

After we were in and had our free stroller we decided to wander left first (not towards Suess Landing) because the park guide listed some character stuff going on that direction. We quickly found Spiderman and got in the short line to see him. Suddenly he cut his visit short with the family he was with, came up and held Phoebe's hands and asked if we'd wait for "just a couple of minutes" and ran off. I should have had my camera ready and just caught that, because we decided the girls didn't really know who he was and we didn't want to wait around doing nothing so we left. We headed towards Me Ship, the Olive. It does have an elevator inside so Phoebe and I explored the ship along with Tessa and Daddy. It really wasn't that exciting though. It had things you could play with and a piano and some squirt guns to shoot at the people on the raft ride who float below you. Other than letting kids run around and get energy out, it wasn't very exciting.

View of Suess Landing from the Olive.

Leaving the Olive.

We decided to cut to the chase and go to Seuss Landing.

There were 4 rides that we counted and we went on three. We skipped the carosuessel as it looked like it went kind of fast and we had been riding the GKTW carousel all week. The first ride we saw was One Fish, Two Fish, which is much like Aladdin's carpets in MK. You can go up and down while flying in a circle and you might get sprayed. Each car is numbered and colored and if you listen to the song you are supposed to be able to miss the spray. I swear I was listening, carefully, and we still got wet. Tim and Phoebe did too. Not drenched though, so I guess it's no biggie. But why bother with the cute song if it's meaningless? Tessa liked it, Phoebe was a little surprised by the water.

Behind the Fish ride is a little theater area and we saw some characters finishing a show. We decided to go get in line to meet some of them when they announced that they were done and would be back at... But then a team member saw our magic button and motioned towards us. He asked us to wait just a minute, then led us back behind the stage to meet all the characters. Tessa was feeling shy and wanted nothing to do with these guys and Phoebe, well, she was a little overwhelmed by all the furriness around her. She was making the funniest faces and kept turning away from the characters.

They were super nice and tried to give the girls some special attention, but they really didn't want it to be honest! They gave them some mardi gras beads and a team member took pics with my camera. We thanked them and moved on to the other rides. Cat in the Hat is like Winnie the Pooh or Snow White, where you ride through the story. We got to ride it twice (it was totally empty inside and we did have to get out and go around to the entrance again).

Then we found the High in the Sky trolley, which is basically a slow moving train with good views of the park below. We rode it twice also, and only had to get out of our car and walk across the platform to the train on the other side.

There was a splash pad area that we skipped, because it just wasn't that hot and it didn't look any better than what GKTW had to offer. The rest of it was stores and food. We moved on to the back of the park where Tim was hoping to find just one grown-up ride to try before we left. We came upon Dueling Dragons and he saw the wait was short so he left me and the girls to go have an adrenaline rush. We wandered a little further and found this pond over by the Jurassic Park area. Tessa found a duck that was hungry and a bored grandpa who gave her french fries to feed it. I think this was the most fun of the day for her! I was worried she might jump in the pond with the duck.

Phoebe also decided she was hungry and I fed her a quick snack I had packed. We were planning to eat at GKTW tonight so no meals at IOA for us. Tim found us a little while later and was breathless with excitement as he described the ride. He said he "thought he was going to die. It was great!". The teenage girls who had sat next to him were walking by right then and giggled at him. The park was closing soon and we wanted to get home early anyway, so we headed back to the exit. Tessa saw a penny machine (the squisher) and wanted to do it. Tim said that he really wanted a funnel cake so I told him to go ahead. This is the trip where we are supposed to indulge those little desires, right? So he walks up to one booth and they yell at him that they are closed. Okay, okay. No funnel cake. Then right before we get to the exit I see another hut where there are people waiting and the employee wasn't at the window. I whisper to Tim to hurry and get in the line before the person sees him to tell him no! Mission accomplished, funnel cake in hand, we return our stroller and head back through Citywalk, back to our truck around 7.

By the time we get to the truck, and drive home, it is almost 8. Not the early return I had planned. No time for dinner, I immediately headed for the Santa line. I had some online friends who said that they loved meeting Santa on their trip, but to get in line early because it moves slowly. I ran into my friend Ann whose family was done with Christmas and I was jealous! I told Tim to go get some dinner for Phoebe and then meet me back in the line. Tessa danced around a little and decorated a cookie while we stood there. The snow machine was blowing little flakes into the sky. The line was in the middle of the courtyard, out the doors of the theater, so we by default we were "in the action".

That is, until the action moved. The characters formed a parade and went prancing off toward the castle. The carriage rides were happening out front and I felt like we needed two more adults to save spots in line so that we could get to everything. I was nervous Tim was taking so long, but then I realized I wasn't exactly moving so what's the rush? Tessa was bored standing with me so I was trying to let her roam around a little while I watched her from a distance. She started wandering into the garden, towards Mayor Clayton's "house". (stock photo)

It was getting dark and it was hard to see in the garden. A woman was talking to her and I didn't know if she was getting into trouble or if the woman thought she was lost, so I asked the family behind me to save my place while I went and got her. Everything seemed fine as I approached but I decided she couldn't wander anymore. I was barely at the outside doors to the theater and it was getting difficult to convince her to stay with me. She decided to explore the lobby of the theater, and I wondered why we hadn't been in there before. It looked like a fun place to watch a movie, but I couldn't remember one being advertised during our stay.

I was texting Tim to tell him I was inside now and didn't know if I'd have reception. He walked up a minute later and got in line with me. At this point the carriage rides were over and the characters in the courtyard had packed it in. They were tearing down the decorations and tables but the Santa line was still out the door. I'm realizing that we should have enjoyed the party, taken a carriage ride and skipped Santa. The kids didn't know he was there. Tessa still doesn't like him during the holiday season. What was I thinking? Why didn't we have the attitude from this morning when it was Mickey and Minnie? Everyone had said how wonderful the Christmas party was and how great Santa was with their kids. I was trying to force the magic again. Hadn't I learned? When you try to force it, it all goes wrong.

At this point, I'm not giving up our spot in the line, as we had finally entered the theater and making our way down the left aisle. (stock photo)

We did enjoy chatting with the families next to us, but it was getting pretty hard to keep Tessa from going crazy. She was bored, Phoebe was tired and I was annoyed I hadn't paid attention to what OUR family needed, but what everyone else said was great for them. Once we get on the stage with Santa the photographer started bossing us around. We tried to explain how Phoebe would be most comfortable but Santa just took her and did his own thing. They took a shot of the kids but they weren't really enjoying it.

Then they told me to sit on Santa's lap but I really didn't want to. I just was not feeling the fun of the moment that they were trying to force. They took a family shot (that was horrible) and sent us off the stage.

The angel waiting by the gift racks was sweet and let the girls take their time choosing a gift from Santa. It had been pretty picked over at that point but I held up a glow worm for Phoebe and she seemed to like the music. I was hoping they would have some My Little Ponies or FurReal pets for Tessa to choose from but they were gone. She saw a nerf football and wanted that. Go figure.

As we left the theater I knew that I had wasted our evening. None of us enjoyed a single moment of visiting Santa and we missed out on other things that we would have enjoyed. (Carriage ride! Phoebe would have loved it! I consoled myself that we would be able to do one in Charleston next week.) (The pool! Tessa had been begging to go back since that first trip.) Oh well. Live and learn.

Not counting Tim's funnel cake and Tessa's sugar cookie, Phoebe was the only one who had eaten dinner. We were starving! We got in line for Katie's Kitchen (twice today!) and ordered some food to take home. While they were prepping our dinner I went to the Ice Cream Palace and got a couple of desserts to take home as well. Tim and the girls were throwing Tessa's football around outside with another family. When our food was ready we headed for "home". Tim decided he really wanted pizza instead, so he ordered some to be delivered by the GKTW pizza cart and nibbled on KK while waiting for it. Phoebe ate a little more but fell asleep at the table.

Tessa was doing surprisingly well considering it was after 10 and the empty stomach.

Tim's pizza was delivered but he didn't really like it. He thought maybe he ruined his appetite by eating some of our dinner first. I started a load of laundry and mentioned packing. Tim replied in complete shock "we're leaving here tomorrow?!?". The week, well 5 park days, had passed by in a flash!