31 May 2010

Universal Studios 2009

We went to Universal Studios three or four times throughout our holiday. It was a great park with so much to do.  Here's the three of us at the entrance with the infamous Universal globe in the foreground.


The first thing we saw when we got into Universal was Scooby Doo getting into the Mystery Machine.  Oliver ran as fast as he could so he could see it but unfortunately I didn't get a good photo of it before they drove off.


We walked down the "Hollywood walk of fame" and saw Macy's and all the other shops and scenery from a New York.





The first ride we went on was Terminator in 3D, but Oliver didn't like it and was close to tears!

We looked around the park and found a quiet spot away from the hustle and bustle where we took some photos of the scenery.  Then we realised we were surrounded by little lizards!  They were everywhere!  I tried to pick one up but they were too fast.  Spot the lizard in this photo (I didn't even notice it until I had it developed). You can double click on the photo to enlarge it.





Me and Oliver

Me, Paul and Oliver


Me Paul and Oliver

The rides at Universal were brilliant but we were limited to what we could go on as Oliver didn't like rollercoasters.  Paul had to go on Revenge of the Mummy by himself.  It is his all time favourite ride.


While we waited for Paul to go on the Revenge  of the Mummy, Oliver and I took a walk around and took some photos.  We saw the train from Back to the future, some great cars from The Fast and the Furious films and a typically American yellow cab.  We also found a stoop which reminded me of the "Hey Arnold!" cartoon, so I had to get a picture of Oliver sitting on it.



Back to the Future train

The Fast and the Furious cars




When Paul came out of the Revenge of the Mummy we went to watch the Shrek 4D film which was BRILLIANT!! We all loved it, especially the little surpise bits towards the end!



Then we headed towards the Simpsons ride and Oliver met his first real life characters, Homer and Marge.  They stayed with him for ages and let me take lots of photos.  The kwik -E-Mart was great and Oliver got a Squishie!  The Simpsons ride itself wasn't that great if i'm honest and made me feel a bit dizzy and nauseous.




Kwik-E-Mart

Oliver with his Squishie

We went on Twister which Oliver hated and cried.  I must admit though, it was very scary and life-like to a tornado.  We also went on Jaws which he wasn't too keen on, but he had a HUGE hotdog when he got off, so he was happy again!


 On the 4th July we went for the Independence Day fireworks in the evening which were pretty amazing.

Me and Paul waiting for the fireworks on City Walk

Oliver waiting for the fireworks on City Walk
City Walk by night

Universal Studios by night

4th July Fireworks


Busch Gardens 2009

Busch Gardens is about an hour's drive away from Orlando and all the other major parks.  It is located in Tampa. It was nice to drive there and see more of Florida out of all the limelight from the parks. It was a scorcher of a day when we went.  When we got there we hoped on the tram  in the car park which took us into the park.  There were so many animals to see, I think we missed some of them.  We saw a show, which was typically American and a little over the top, but was quite good. The close up expriences with the animals were fantastic.  We went up a ladder and put our heads into a glass  360 degree window into the tiger enclosure.  The tiger was right next to the glass.  Amazing!

Busch Gardens Entrance
Paul and I at Busch Gardens

Oliver at Busch Gardens


Alligators




Oliver being the navagator on Rhino Ralley

Oliver looking over the top of the wall shortly before....
Sheikra came along...

.... and soaked him with water!
 
Oliver drenched by Sheikra!!




These were all made from seed beeds and were VERY expensive