1. Last week, the Universal Orlando crowd was dominated by three types of tourists:
Seriously, is sun block illegal in the U.K.? Does no one there know how to use it? Do we need to set up a tutorial webpage on this?
2. Seuss Landing really needs a coat of paint. I failed you in not getting pictures of how badly faded the carousel and other buildings around Seuss Landing have become. (We did Seuss on the last morning we spent at IOA and I'd already packed the camera away.) Fortunately, though, I noticed that the stanchions of the Seuss Landing sign appear to have been painted at the bottom. Color testing? They looked good, and I hope that Universal soon gives the rest of the land a fresh coat.
3. Too much of Dudley Do-Right just looks awful. I love the theme, gags and pacing of this ride, but too many sections of it look circa-2004-Six Flags bad. Again, fresh paint, or a new scheme that doesn't chip and fade so badly, is needed.
4. Is there no way to hide those "CineSpheres" during the day at Universal Studios Florida? Man, do they kill the sight lines around the lagoon.
5. Why would an airport grant a concession contract to Chick-Fil-A? The chain famously does not operate on Sundays, due to its owners' religious beliefs. Now, I respect that, and defend their right to close on the day of their faith's Sabbath, as I would for any other business owner.
But airports operate seven days a week, and I think that airport authorities have a duty to their customers, the traveling public, to award contracts to businesses that will be open for all of those seven days. (It also ticks me off when concessionaires close hours before the last flights of the evening.)
The food court in Orlando's airport is already light on its diversity of options, and taking Chick-Fil-A away on Sundays makes it even worse.
6. Florida needs to adopt California's law prohibiting rental car companies from charging an "extra driver" fee for spouses. What a rip-off.
7. I kept my checked bags under United's 50-lb. limit. But if I had gone over by a few pounds, I would have been steamed to have had to pay a $100 penalty for the bag, while paying full adult fare for my 60-lb. child. Especially when some 220-lb. passenger with a 49-lb. bag did not. If oil keeps going up, I sense the day coming when airlines start weighing passengers.
8. I did the math, and figured that it would have cost us $505 for gas to drive for Los Angeles to Orlando and back in our Prius, at $4.50 a gallon. That's about what we paid per ticket in airfare.
9. There is nothing, repeat, nothing healthy to eat at a Cracker Barrel.
10. And finally... why do so many places serve bad, from-concentrate orange juice... in Florida?
(insert Homer Simpson gurgling noise here)
Brits can't be blamed for not understanding the Florida sun. Firstly, they would have to know what the sun looks like, and in the UK, the sun is something of a rare commodity. Secondly, they have to have a crash course in the true power of not only the sun, but the "sunshine state"'s special brand of sun that only has two speeds...hell and night.
As far as the brazilians go, the girls are generally goodlooking, so not seeing the downside.
Overweight americans...hmmm...you were in Disney. It is pretty fair to say that the majority of people you saw are fat. Our country is over 60% obese...this means that 3 out of 4 people you had seen were overweight and 2 out of 4 were downright fatties. "Its not our fault" you always here...its gladular...not so much. The instance of obesicity by genetics is small in comparison to the two doublecheeseburger meals they had as a light snack as the culprit.
Ladies and gentlemen, please, if you have trouble reaching across the counter to pick up your extra value meals, try reaching for your toes 1000 times instead. As a former overweight guy, i can say it isn't easy, but you have to fight for it. If you become lazy, your ass will continue to grow and your self image declines. When you don't care is when you pick up those extra pounds...so, please, care about yourselves.
That Florida heat and humidity is not a joke, either.
So, generally, NOTHING is open at 6 AM. Then you're usually too rushed to eat at any stops along the way, and it's just one big mess.
Also, Cracker Barrel may not be healthy, but God the food is good.
Lots of fat tourists and Brazilians, but no sunburnt Brits. Must have been too early.
Seuss Landing, Dudley, and IOA in general all need a coat of paint. The park looked terrible - probably wear and tear from all the water they spray around. Dudley also needs a new loading system - it really is terrible. Half-empty logs leave the station frequently.
My last trip was my first time eating at Cracker Barrel, and the choices were so deep south that the waitress caused the vegan in our group to cry.
The airport food service in Orlando really blows. When they lost our luggage, they gave us food vouchers, but the only thing open at that hour was McDonald's. We just stocked up on apple pies for the trip.
Almost every restaurant in Orlando seems to soak their ribs in Coke before cooking - it makes the meat fall off the bone (and the calcium fall off your teeth).
I kind of like fat tourists (I am not referring to larger or slightly overweight people - like most of us - but I am talking about truly obese travelers). Generally speaking, they arrive at the park late (after breakfast I presume), never miss a meal (including breakfast, 2nd breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, 2nd dinner, and midnight snack), move slowly (herd mentality), and don't (can't) ride most of the top attractions. In short, they help keep the parks in business (especially the restaurants) and lag behind me while I tour.
What's not to like?
Fat tourists should not suprise you that much. I bet they are in CA though Disneyland tends to cater to the home CA crowd vs out of towners.
Should you have chosen to drive from LA to Orlando, your round-trip food and lodging expenses would have pushed the driving cost well above what you paid for your airline tickets. That's at least a three-day journey each way with 12-14 hour driving days.
That doesn't even begin to count the mental cost in "are we there yet?" every hour or so, "I gotta go to the bathroom" every 2 hours (or a half hour after eating/drinking/waking up from a nap), or "I'm hungry" every 3 hours. So, before you start waxing nostalgically about the good ole roadtrip days, consider the TOTAL cost...you'll agree you made the right decision.
I am sorry, but the best coasters in the world are at Cedar Point, and once Kings Island opens it's floorless coaster next year, I think both parks together will be tough to beat.
Also the prices of all the parks are both expensive and crazy
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