Day 15

Day 15 blog:

Today started as usual at the Palms Resort. We met for breakfast at 7:45 and we were ready for the bus at 9:00. Logan and Katie both celebrated their 16th birthdays with muffin birthday cakes and a card signed by everyone.

Today’s destination on our (very comfortable) Jet Set bus was Universal Studios: Islands of Adventure.  We arrived at around 9:30, and walked past many novelty shops and photographers who would hassle you to buy their pictures. We then entered the queue for our tickets, and went through the regular bag checks. As soon as we finished we divided into groups and went our different ways. My group and I rushed to the towering Incredible Hulk Rollercoaster that was just past the gates. We survived the 4G forces and 200 foot (~55 metres) drop of the coaster, it was excellent fun and most of us did the coaster 2-3 times. We then walked through the marvellous Marvel Super Hero Island where we met our childhood idols, including Spiderman, Wolverine and the Fantastic Four. We conquered the Dr Doom’s Fear Fall, a ride similar to Adventure World’s Free Fall, and also went through the Amazing Spiderman Simulator, which throws you into a 3D battle between Spidey and his foes. The movement, illusions and special effects were amazing and made you feel as though you were there.                        

We then continued clockwise around to Toon Lagoon, where the theme was comic strip characters and the rides were wet. The first ride we went on at Toon Lagoon was Bilge-Rat Barges, an unnecessarily wet rapids type ride that drenched our uniforms and filled our shoes with water. Being already drenched, we decided to do all the water rides before we dried, which included Rip Saw Falls, a log flume ride that featured a steep waterfall drop that drenched us further. We then travelled through time to Jurassic Park, where we were met with the fierce predators of the past in an epic flume ride that weaved its way through animatronic dinosaurs and scenes from the films, there was also a tour like ride called Pteranodon Flyers ride that soared around the park, however we did not go on this ride because we were too old/tall.

 

The main attraction (for us) was the magical and enchanting Wizarding World of Harry Potter, a themed area of the park. Most of us diehard fans spent most of our time and money there. It included rides such as the thrilling and exciting dragon rollercoaster, which clocks at speeds of 175 km/hr. it was terrifying because we were hanging from overhead rails and the coaster inverted several times which made some of us (Michael and Sam) wish we’d stayed on the ground. We wandered through Hogsmade which sold magnificent hand craft wands, delicious Butter Beer (non-alcoholic) and Bertie’s Every Flavoured Beans. The Hogwarts simulator launched us into an escape with Harry and his pals.

 

We then took a poetic journey through the great Dr Seuss’ land of childhood memories. This area featured the Cat in the Hat ride that gave us a tour of Dr Seuss’ world with a twist, literally (the ride involved spinning)

To conclude our splendid last full day in the US we all met back at the entrance at 7:00 pm to get on our fancy bus, the Jet Set. We then took at very short detour to Burger King for dinner because the shops at Universal Studios were closed.

-          By Reece K and Tom B