Boarding selfie!
The promise was it would be a typical day in central Florida in June. Hot, humid and a chance of showers. The first official day of Summer had arrived and we were ready. The severe restrictions to my carry-on luggage imposed by the airline made me leave our rain panchos home. I hoped I would not regret this move. This was our first flight on Frontier Airlines. I had set airfarewatchdog.com to alert me of cheap fares from Dulles, VA to Orlando back in the Spring. When I saw 3 round trips for $400 I bit the hook and Frontier reeled me in. For a short haul flight (2 hours-ish) it was a tolerable experience. This is a totally a la carte airline. If you want to bring a carry-on it’ll cost you $30, if you want to choose your seat they range from $5 -$75, a checked bag will run you $75, a soda is $2.50. Leg room is minimal and overhead bins are narrow. They do allow you to bring one personal item. Think purse, laptop bag or small backpack. No you cannot bring your purse and a small backpack. It’s either or. My ninja packing skills enabled me to fit enough outfits for 4 days with shoes, jewelry, makeup, toiletries and electronics.
Don’s and my ‘personal items’.
Our return trip was overbooked and Frontier was looking for takers to divert to Denver overnight then return at 5:00 a.m. No thanks! So they switched gates and brought in a bigger plane. Airport conversations with folks who’ve flown Frontier repeatedly said that they’ve experienced a fair amount of last minute gate changes and planes. As the gate was across the aisle from the previous gate it was no big deal. Would I fly them again, you ask? Yes. They will be my first look for a cheap ticket to Orlando. Don’s parents live there so that is a frequent destination for us. Wardrobe needs are limited in central Florida so the ‘personal item’ and my ninja packing skills allow me to keep within budget. We did pay $10 extra bucks for seats since Damian was with us and we wanted to keep together and he likes the window. I could probably even stretch my tolerance to a 3 hour flight, maybe, if the price and destination were right. Give them a try and let me know what you think.
Security dog
We were prepared for longer airport security lines and we were not disappointed. A new step we had not encountered before in the US was having the security dogs sweep by us while we waited for the scanners. We did luck out a little because the line was being treated like a TSA pre check so we didn’t have to remove electronics, liquids or our shoes.
The primary focus of our trip was to see how my in-laws were coping with Don’s Mom’s recovery from a broken hip. We wanted maximal family time with some time set aside to visit a theme park. This trip we decided to focus on Universal Studios. Don and I were there last when Matt was 16, Eric 8 and Darren 6 years old respectively. A lot has changed. Damian is not a big thrill ride fan but does very well with the virtual reality type rides that abound in Universal Studios. My entire family loves the Simpsons so the Springfield USA area of the park was thumbs up for all of us.
The boys run into Chief Wiggum in Springfield.
There is a semi-recreation of the town including a Krustyburger establishment, Moe’s Tavern, Duff Brewery and my favorite, the Lard Lad Donut shop.
Don having a Duff beer with Barney at Moe’s Tavern.
Damian trying the Love Tester at Moe’s.
Krusty Burger
Duff beer for me, Duff beer for you . . .
If you are a donut lover like I am you must have one of these.
Delicious!
The ride that anchors the Springfield section is a virtual reality gem. Although some reviews mentioned issues with motion sickness we did not encounter any problems. (In the interest of fairness Don, Damian and I never experience any motion sickness issues and we travel on planes, small boats, cars, whatever.) The day we were there the lines were miserably long and the videos they show while you are waiting in line are great. It’s typical Simpsons humor, ragging on the theme park experience in general.
In retrospect, we should have purchased the ‘fast pass’ option upgrade. We spent an inordinate amount of time waiting in lines. The heat and sun weren’t too bad but the standing in place for hours and hours definitely takes a toll on the old bones. More importantly, it limited the amount of time we were able to spend in Diagon Alley!
Looking down Diagon Alley to Gringott’s Bank with the dragon on top.
When our sons, Eric & Darren were young I started reading the Harry Potter series of books to them. We became huge fans and of course we own all the movies. Don never got into it and Damian is only about 1/4 way through book #4. While I was extremely excited to spend the all too brief amount of time I had in Harry Potter world it would have been so much more enjoyable to be with another Harry Potter geek. Universal gets a big thumbs up for this attraction. The attention to detail is phenomenal and the cast members go the extra mile to really make the experience come alive.
The Weasley Brothers Joke Shop with fireworks exploding overhead!
The Puking Pastille display in the sweet shop really pukes!
Even Don was impressed when he was standing next to a small girl who was being assisted by a cast member to cast a spell with her enchanted wand. (Yes, they do have them. $50. Yes, you can cast spells that make things happen throughout Diagon & Nocturn Alleys!)
In Ollivander’s wand shop.
Damian trying out a wand.
Our next trip to Orlando will involve us spending a lot more time exploring the Wizarding Worlds! The Escape From Gringott’s ride was also very well done. Damian loved it! We hit this ride first thing when the park opened and the wait wasn’t too bad at that time. However, by the time we made it over to The Minions ride that line was an 80 minute wait! (The ride was great and Don was laughing all through it. The only one that elicited that response from him.)
Fun ride and the sequences you pass though leading up to it are great.
We hit all the big rides and also caught 2 enjoyable shows. Damian wanted to check out the animal actors performance which gave some behind the scenes information about how they train animals to perform for films. They bring some kids down from the audience to assist and all I can say is you should never work with kids and animals. They’ll upstage you every time. At one point they were going to have a vulture fly down and land on this little boy’s arm. The kid was standing with his arm out and when they released the bird the kid took off running back to his seat!
OK little boy, just stick out your arm . . .
The second show that we saw was about horror special effects that showed how certain special effects are done. This was for the blood and guts lovers and the Hollywood make up artist that hosted it was very funny and again utilized audience (dis)members.
Hollywood Horror Make Up Show
The Transformers Ride had the best pre-ride experience because in each waiting area there were lots of props, videos and diversions. Men In Black and the Terminator Live Action show also had engaging pre-ride stuff.
Optimus Prime photobombing Damian.
Pre-ride at Revenge of the Mummy
There was one ride that did not excite nor delight my guys. The Rip Ride Rockit Roller Coaster allows you the ability to personalize your ride by choosing the song you get to listen to while defying gravity. Damian insisted that he wanted no part of this ride but of course that is an unacceptable Russo response. Don was the most eager to ride this thing.
The vertical ascent portion has you literally lying on your back.
This was our last ride of the night and the sun was setting so the views as you’re climbing were pretty cool. You have to go through a metal detector before they let you in because if anything escapes from your pockets during this ride it could kill someone down below. The first drop is the money maker for this ride as you are lifted straight up 167 feet before flying down at 65 mph. Don & Damian were not fans of the G-force you feel and they both emerged from the ride complaining of headaches. Fortunately, we had planned to take a break and eat dinner (at 9:30 p.m. after being on the go since 8:30 a.m.) once we exited the coaster. The final time remaining we spent back at Diagon Alley slurping down a delicious butter beer ice cream. Not a bad way to end the day.
P.S. Momma Rose is slowly progressing in her recovery and rehabilitation. We were able to assist her with her return to swimming for the first time post surgery. We are currently preparing for our beach trek with the family where we’ll be celebrating Independence Day. There’s plenty of local fireworks displays at the Outer Banks and individuals with fireworks are strictly forbidden. Let’s hope the Russo males take this to heart so that July 4th doesn’t end this way:
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