Hogwarts

I mean this is cool! This is the view from Jurassic Park - looks like it towers over you.

This is how you do it

And this is the best way to see it - in a pouring rain! Where's the crowd? The wait time was 10 minutes because it takes that long to walk through all the turnstiles and because some people are just so "eat up" (it's a hick term) with Harry Potter that they have to stop and take photos or listen to the talking holograms (which were pretty darn cool, but seriously?). The ride is awesome and we did it twice - Lucas had a minor panic attack thinking there might be sudden drops, but he made it...despite being flung around and almost turned upside down. We highly recommend!

For the Non-Riders

And this is what you do with the short ones (I didnt say scared, but there might've been a little panic attack during Rip Saw Falls) while the others are riding. We did actually win 3 stuffed animals, so it's not as much of a rip-off as you'd expect.

And by the way, I have a thing about Facebooking your activities as they happen, so rest assured I only do this while the kids are swimming....and they do have lifeguards!

Rip Ride Rockit

So this is the coolest roller coaster ever - the tall thing behind the boys is new at Universal. You choose what song you want to listen to before you climb straight up and go 65 mph through loops and corkscrews. Drew said his vision went a little black the first time he rode it because of the G-forces, but he remembered what Mr. Jim did when he was a pilot in training to combat that.

Would you believe there's a camera in every car and they make a music video of your ride? When you get off you can watch snippets of it (or buy it for $34). Drew seriously looked like he was going to lose it on his video. I rode it today with him (I selected Paralyzer by Finger Eleven) and we both succeeded in maintaining consciousness. Woo-hoo!

Universal Studios

Yeah, they have funny ideas about Mardi GRAS here. I've never seen this before - kind of creepy.

Now to More Wholesome Fare

So there will be more FQ pics later, but let's move to the current vacation in Orlando. We're staying at Universal Studios - we like it better than Disney for older kids. So we checked in Monday and enjoyed the pool.

Not the most sanitary pool in the world, what with the wildlife, but it's the equivalent of Disney's Animal Kingdom, I guess!

Fieri in the French Quarter?

Yeah, no....this was another of my posse (yeah, you like the way I say "my" posse - I was lucky they let me join "their" posse!) who is actually bald, but doesn't he rock the Guy Fieri hair!

And that's actually the homemade shirt I was referring to - not the white collared one, Robbie. I'm saving that for Betzina in May.

Also note I'm drinking water - gotta keep your wits about you with all the unsavory characters around. I had a picture with a guy dressed as an Indian, but the expression on his face was too disgusting to publish. I actually think it was divine intervention that my Internet went down as I was uploading photos - made me rethink that one.