Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

On the Thursday of our honeymoon, The Gryphon and packed up some lunches and had breakfast in the restaurant at Port Orleans, in the Boatwright's Dining Hall.

Our waitress cracked jokes and helped us brainstorm for Halloween costume ideas. She said her son, who was really into this one scary Halloween character, but when he saw him at an in-store experience, he cried!

We each had the sweet potato pancakes, which were absolutely delicious. Then we had a hotel staffer call us a cab.

The cab driver expected us to have luggage, since we were going to the airport. But we were going there to pick up a rental car which we'd prearranged through AAA travel services. We had waited to long to arrange it, so that by the time we did, nothing was available at the rental car business on the Disney property.

The cab driver was very friendly and helpful. He asked us about our plans for the rest of the week, and we told him we'd go to Universal Studios Orlando that day and then to the Kennedy Space Center the following day. He gave us directions to both places, which I wrote down in a small notebook. In addition, he recommended we set out as early as possible for the Kennedy Space Center, because it's a long drive and there's lots to see once you arrive.

I wish I'd made a note of his name, because I'd like to let the cab company know how helpful he'd been. We did, however, give him a good tip.

We walked inside Hertz Rental Car, expecting to just flash our IDs and pick up the prearranged car. But we ran into a snag. It wouldn't have been a problem if I'd had my debit card or a credit with me, but I'd left it in my room, since we'd been using The Gryphon's card the entire trip. I only had my driver's license, my AAA card, my hotel key, our Universal tickets and some cash.

Apparently, Hertz has a rule that the principal driver of the vehicle has to be the one who pays, using a credit card with his or her name on it. So we agreed to have The Gryphon rent it (fortunately, he'd brought his license, even though he knew I would be driving). Then, of course, there was some confusion because he didn't have his own AAA card, as I hadn't thought to add him to my plan prior to the trip.

After some discussion, she agreed to put him down as the primary driver and me as the secondary driver, using my AAA card. She also seemed to be confused about the fact that we were married and yet had different last names. Of course, that's not going to change, but even I intended to change it, I wouldn't have the paperwork done so soon after the wedding.

As we were settling up, we learned we could have received a discount if we'd asked the cab driver for a receipt and presented it to her. Well, we'll know next time we're in a similar situation.

She warned that we had to return the car with a full gas tank and that the gas stations near the airport were very expensive, so she suggested if we were going to do a lot of driving, that we agree in advance to a $40 charge so that Hertz could fill the tank once we returned. However, this seemed excessive, so we decline. We discovered, a couple days later, that the gas stations near Hertz are charging more than $4 a gallon! Still, it came to less than $40 to fill the tank, so we made the right choice.

Our car, a red Mazda 3, was waiting for us, the key already in the ignition, and we drove off, stopping at the checkpoint at the exit so a Hertz staffer could check our rental papers.

I discovered, throughout my time in it, that the Mazda was designed for a taller person than my Focus, and I had to wear a baseball cap when driving towards the sun, because the visor didn't help.

Universal Studios was a short distance from the airport on Interstate 4. We paid a little extra for premium parking and found ourselves in the parking garage, which was closer to the park and, we figured, would allow us to make the best use of our time. As I slowed down to ask a park staffer where to turn, I had trouble figuring out where the headlights were (the garage being dark). He actually had to show me, and I felt awfully silly.

We parked in the Cat in the Hat section and headed into the park. We noticed right away there's a different feel at Universal than at the Disney parks. For one thing, they also pipe music in, but instead of dramatic soundtrack type music, it's rock and pop tunes. The crowd entering the park included more teenagers, groups of young people, and adults by themselves and fewer families with small children.

The long breezeway to the park contained moving tracks, like in an airport, which we rode to save our energy. As we neared the park, we saw a sign stating that no outside food or drink was allowed in the park. Now, we had already submitted to a bag check, and they hadn't said anything about it, but I thought we might hit another bag check at the ticket gate, so I suggested that, since it was nearing lunchtime anyway, we stand aside and eat our sandwiches and apples. We could stick our Kashi bars in our pockets for later.

Yet another difference between Universal and Disney. Even though we probably could have gotten in with our sandwiches, most people would end up spending a good deal of money on concessions while in the park.

When we passed through the ticket gate, we saw an employee who was offering to take people's photos. He kept getting turned down, and I felt bad for him, so we had him take ours with my camera.

There are two parks at the Universal Orlando Resort, as it's called, and we began with the Universal Studios park, where you can experience attractions based on movies.

When we looked at the rides near us, we realized there were long wait times and nothing like Disney's Fast Pass machines, which allow you to manage your time more efficiently. But we did see signs for their Express Plus Pass, for which pay extra and then can use to skip lines, so we returned to a booth where we could buy them.

The people ahead of us had a large family and were getting passes for everyone. They chatted in Spanish with the employee as they purchased all of the passes, plus some lanyards for the kids to carry them in. This took quite a while.

Finally, it was our turn, and we purchased the Express Plus Pass, which was almost as much as we'd paid through AAA for our one-day park passes. Still, we figured it would help us to make better use of our time, since we were only there for one day.

The first attraction we went to, Shrek 4-D, didn't offer an express line, because it was a theater show that only ran every half an hour or so. Once we got to the pre-show area, a park employee gave us a spiel, along with prerecorded voices and effects. It wasn't as kid-friendly as I might have expected, with the pre-show area designed to represent a dungeon. The park employee, in her speech, tried to prepare us for getting "tortured", and you saw some characters from the Shrek movies imprisoned and chained to the wall. Sort of demented, if you ask me.

The attraction itself, though, was entertaining just like the movies. It was a lot like Honey, I Shrunk the Audience at Epcot, where you wore 3-D glasses and, in addition, things happened to you in the theater seat. Since the seat imitates the feel of horse-drawn carriages and other sudden jolts, it probably isn't a good idea for anyone with back problems. We didn't have any problems with it, though, and we got to watch a Shrek short that we'd never seen.

We headed deeper into the park, past the central feature, called the lagoon. It had these white vinyl globes all over it, and I gather that at certain times of the year, they show special movies on them.

As we walked through the park, I thought of another difference between Universal and Disney. While Disney tries to be family-friendly and affordable for all, Universal doles out privileges to those willing to pay.

While the merchandise in the Disney parks is primarily from Disney-owned properties but comes in a wide range of styles and price-ranges, Universal Orlando included many top tier stores, such as Gucci. Of course, we couldn't afford to shop in any of those stores, and the only thing we bought at Universal, besides our tickets and a couple bottles of water, was a Spongebob Squarepants T-shirt for my brother.

I don't think the Universal employees get as much training. The staffers at concession stands and in other areas often looked bored and weren't terribly helpful or friendly. The ride staffers tended to be more approachable, although there were a couple times when I witnessed or experienced things that made me wonder if they were paying attention.

We crossed the park and headed for Men in Black: Alien Attack, which is a shoot-em-up game where you aim for aliens. They take you first through a training session, where all the aliens have targets on them. Then you enter the "real streets", where the aliens don't have targets. Of course, it took me a little while to figure that out and start shooting or we might have done even better than we did.

I didn't realize it, but we were competing against another car full of people, and we won. At the end of the ride, The Gryphon pointed out that we had score tallies in front of our seats, and I did better than he, which surprised me.

This was a ride where they take pictures, but my face was out of frame as I was gunning for some aliens on the side, facing towards them. Still, The Gryphon and I took some funny pictures with the sign.

The park, I should mention, was decorated for some sort of after-hours Halloween event, which featured special haunted houses and other related festivities. You might think that sounds right up my ally, and it might have if the event focused on the classic Universal monster movies, but all the posters and the dark-looking carnival decorations indicated it would lean towards the slasher movies that leave me cold. Plus, it would have been ticketed separately, and we didn't want to spend even more.

We headed next to the Jaws ride, where the streets look like the small New England town of Amity. It looked like a movie set. I know that some film shooting goes on in the Orlando studios, but I'm guessing most of it is done inside studios. The weather is so mercurial, I don't know how you'd plan your day.

We did, however, luck out on this particular day, and aside for a couple brief rain showers, it stayed bright and sunny. Oh, and hot. Did I mention hot? Sure wish they'd let us bring our water bottles in. But I digress...

Using our Express Plus Pass, we buzzed right to the front of the line to load onto a boat. The idea is that you're a tourist on a charter boat, riding through the harbor of this sleepy little town where some shark activity has been reported. I won't ruin any surprises, but I'm sure you won't be surprised to learn that you do encounter a shark during your trip.

We also encountered one in the town square of Amity, where people were very politely taking turns to take pictures with the great beast of the sea.

We then went on Earthquake, a classic Universal ride I'd heard about. This is where you are taken into an area that looks like a New York subway platform and experience what it would be like to go through an earthquake.

I had trouble enjoying the ride because of a young couple in front of us who had a very small girl with them, probably just about 2 years old. She kept trying to stand up, and she was crying. Meanwhile, her father was trying to videotape everything, which meant he wasn't supervising as well as he should. As the car was shaking and pyrotechnics and other effects taken place outside our car, and the little girl was crawling all over her parents, struggling to stand in her seat, I worried that the little girl would go flying and be in real danger.

Frankly, I can't believe anyone let her on the ride. A couple of different ride operators saw them getting on, and all they did was warn the parents that she had to be seated between them. As it was, she was safe, but I felt like it could easily have turned tragic. Not to mention, it's questionable judgment to take a child that young on such a potentially scary ride to begin with.

Universal, we discovered, loves their pyrotechnics, and they used them in Revenge of the Mummy, an inside thrill coaster with special effects. For this ride, you had to secure all loose items in free lockers outside of the ride. You use your thumb print to first acquire a locker and then to remove your items from it later. I thought this was ingenious, although they should have had a staffer stationed nearby to answer questions. As it was, people had to figure it out on their own. Fortunately, they seemed more than willing to help each other out if they saw someone who appeared to be struggling.

We wore our glasses until we got to the head of the line, and then I put mine in a glasses case and The Gryphon buttoned both his and my glasses into his cargo shorts pockets. Because we couldn't wear our glasses, I think we missed a lot of the ride, because there is video that gets projected onto screens, along with special effects and pyrotechnics. We missed out on some of the flash and dazzle, but it's an inventive thrill coaster experienced.

The last attraction we visited was called Twister Ride it Out, which was more like a show than a ride. After some introductory rooms about tornadoes, you get taken into an amphitheater where you watch a very realistic tornado come a small town. They warn you that you will get wet, and they were telling the truth!

We headed then for the other Universal Park, Islands of Adventure, which features more roller coasters and thrill rides. First, we did the Incredible Hulk Coaster, a big, green looping coaster just inside the entrance.

This is probably the biggest coaster in the park, which involves loops and some high drops. I'd been on roller coasters like that before, but definitely not on this trip. I was a bit nervous before we took off, and then I looked to the left and one of the ride operators on the platform, a young blonde woman, gave me such a benevolent, reassuring smile that I felt better.

Sure enough, the ride was pure adrenaline rush. I screamed/laughed through it, which The Gryphon found highly entertaining.

Just like in the other park, the streets look different in different area. We moved then into the Marvel Super Hero Island section, where everything is painted in bright, primary colors. Our next ride was The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, in part because the facade looked so cool.

This ride combines moving carts with a 3-D simulation ride. You're given 3-D spectacles at the beginning, and you wear them throughout the ride, so that Spider-Man and his enemies appear to interact with your car, which moves to match the motion required from the various events.

Spidey, of course, saves the day in a way I won't reveal. I think this was my favorite Universal ride, because it was so different. You really get immersed in the experience. I never thought of Spider-Man baddies as scary, but when they're coming right at you, they're pretty terrifying. We were glad Spidey was there to help us out.

Since we didn't have dinner reservations that evening, our only limiting factor was the close of regular park hours, at 5:30. So we knew we had time for at least one, maybe two more rides. We headed next for the Jurassic Park ride.

The passage into it is breathtaking, with real tropical plants growing so densely they resemble a prehistoric rain forest Of course, they've also got gates just like the movies.

The ride itself, though, failed to impress. It's kind of like a boat ride plus a flume. Even though dinosaurs pop up periodically, it wasn't terribly thrilling until the end, where there's a drop.

One of the problems I had with the ride was that it has bench seats which go all the way across for four people. The bar only comes back as far as the biggest person. This wouldn't have been a problem, but we were sitting next to some very big adults, including a woman with such a big belly I almost thought she was pregnant. This left a good six inches between myself and the bar.

So when we hit the bottom of the drop, I slipped forward and my knees hit the front of the compartment. I didn't get any bruises from it, so it couldn't have been terribly hard, but it wasn't pleasant.

The last ride we hit, on the way out of the park, was Dueling Dragons, where two roller-coasters go simultaneously, crossing paths throughout the ride.

We chose the blue coaster, but they were having some sort of a problem that led to a delay. The red coaster went multiple times while we were waiting. Finally, they brought up someone from security. They'd announced they were having technical difficulties and it would be a few minutes.

The Gryphon says he overheard something about a gun. So I don't know if somebody on the ride was carrying a gun and security had to remove them or if there was some other problem. But eventually, they started the blue coaster again.

It was worth the wait, because when you pass by the other roller coaster, it's freaky! You think you're going to run into them, but then you don't.

As we left, we walked through the Lost Continent area, which featured scenery evocative of Greek ruins.

One of the most interesting aspects of that section was a restaurant called Mythos, which I suppose is only open for lunch. It looked fantastic, inside a mountain which includes a god-shaped waterfall.

We also walked through Seuss Landing, where everything has a Dr. Seuss feel to it. That's the area that contains a few children-oriented rides. I paused in a grove of funky-looking trees, leaning on an askew lamp post as The Gryphon snapped a picture.

Even though it was close to closing time, they didn't seem to be actively sweeping people out of the park. They did, however, close down the concession stands and shops.

On the way out of the park, we got stopped by a Univeral employee taking a survey. She could only talk to one of us, so I let The Gryphon answer. He gave the park higher marks than I think I might have. I did get a chance at the end, though, to make some additional comments.

We got in our car, and we were driving away when The Gryphon heard my cell phone ringing and answered it. My sister was trying to find my brother to give him some bad news: his dog, Pulsar, who is my doggie's mommy, had died suddenly. I thought that my brother and his family were still staying with my dad, but my sister said that they'd gone to visit a friend in Altoona, for whom no one had a number. Apparently, the cell phone my brother's wife uses kept going to voice mail.

I didn't have much useful information, but I pulled into a parking space and looked in my address book for an old phone number that my brother had when he lived in Altoona. He and his wife had spent some time living with this friend, so I thought it was worth a shot.

My sister relayed what she knew of Pulsar's passing. She'd been outside and then came up on the deck, where she sort of lay down and shuddered and began to fade. The parents of my brother's wife, who had been watching her, called a vet who said it sounded like a stroke and that there was nothing they could do but make her comfortable.

Later, after we returned from our honeymoon, when I spoke to my brother, he said he'd had a clairvoyant dream weeks ago that Pulsar would die suddenly within the year.

Of course, I felt horrible about this. I mourned for this sweet, good dog, the mother of my own sweet-natured doggie. I worried about the parents who had been caring for him, since they would surely feel responsible. And I thought about how devastated my brother and his family would be, since they were all so close to Pulsar.

That evening, at dinner, The Gryphon proposed a toast to Pulsar, and we drank to her memory.

I'm glad now that we visited my brother's family in Vermont this past summer. Not only did I get to see my niece in person for the first time, but I also unknowingly saw Pulsar for the last.

We didn't have any reservations that evening, so we took a nap, got cleaned up and headed to Downtown Disney, a marketplace featuring restaurants and clubs. We caught a boat which took us down the artificial river to the shores of Downtown Disney. The trip was beautiful at night, watching the lights across the water.

We saw the House of Blues on the shore and agreed we'd like to try it. Right inside the door, they offered to take our picture, and we consented. After we'd been served our drinks and were waiting for our meals, they presented us with a package including a framed 4 x 6 print and two keychains. I liked the picture, so I agreed.

One of the appeals of the House of Blues is listening to blues music while you're eating. The featured performer was The Sauce Boss, or Bill Wharton. He has an unusual act, to be sure. While he sings and plays the blues, he cooks a big pot of gumbo. The ingredients, of course, are pre-measured, and he talks it up, adding the different items as he goes, including a full bottle of hot sauce.

He was highly entertaining, and if we'd arrived a little later we might have stayed and tasted some of his concoction. But as our bellies were full and we were getting tired, we called it a night.

When we talked about it later, the House of Blues was our favorite among the less expensive restaurants. Much like a brew pub, the down home style food was tasty and the atmosphere was laid back and fun. We both got into the music, pounding along with the beat on the table.

My only regret is that I followed my wine with two Irish coffees, which were mixed a little strong. Didn't bother me so much that night, but it would in the morning.

More Musings on Alyce's honeymoon:

Honeymoon Index

Copyright 2006 by Alyce Wilson

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