Day 8

When Beth had finally given up on Fred's car we left via the Hanna Barbera shop, just as the Ghostbusters car was driving down the Plaza of the Stars, how bizarre! One point to note about this day, is that Peter had now recovered from his sun-burnt back, and was now able to carry his own back pack, so yours truly had the job of chauffeuring Beth around in her pram. As Peter had not been with us the day before, when we had visited Universal Studios for the first time, he had missed our first ride on ET, so we went there next. After waiting only 20 minutes, we were just about to board our bikes when two idiots, who must have been about 25 years old, jumped off the car in front and insisted on sitting on the front row of our set of bikes. Consequently, when we reached our favourite bit at the end of the ride, where ET says "Thank You Beth", etc, ET actually thanked Tom, Dick, or was it Harry, as our two pathetic passengers were now in the wrong car, so cocking up the entire sequence of names. How thoughtless some people are! OK, moan over…

We managed to get Beth through the shop this time, without having to make any major purchases, and headed on over to Back to the Future. This is definitely one of the best rides at Universal, even though it is quite old now, and after banging my head getting into the DeLorean, (that's why I've never bought one, honest!), we were off. Things were going swimmingly, with lots of 'Woah's' and the odd 'Chase him' from Beth, until we went back in time to the Prehistoric part of the film and were swallowed by a big T-rex dinosaur. "That was disgusting!" was Beth's humble opinion. When you are on this ride, if you look over the edge of your car, you can see all of the other DeLorean's being shaken about as they react to what is happening in the story. It looks like a discarded scheme from the Star Wars movie. After escaping the jaws of the T-rex and returning our time-travelling car to its rightful owner, it was time to visit our good friend Barney again! Well, it was for Beth and Rachel.

We entrusted Beth in the hands of Rachel and Barney, whilst San Peter and Me went to check out Jaws. This definitely has THE longest, well- disguised queuing area at Universal, (even longer than the Post Office counter), and we had to wait about three quarters of an hour before being chased by a small plastic shark that didn't look very realistic, whilst being splashed once or twice as we were grilled upon our pontoon. Not very impressive, although the young lady driving the boat tried to make it as realistic as possible. I wouldn't wait that long again to ride Jaws.

We had instructed Rachel to take Beth to Fievel's playland after the Barney show so we just had enough time to try Earthquake -The Big One. We only had to wait about 10-minutes, which was a huge relief after Jaws for what was a much better ride. We knew what was coming as we took our seats on the train, but we weren't prepared for all the water that came gushing down the stairs at the train station. We then rescued Beth and decided it was time to eat.

We had being dying to eat at the Hard Rock Café, since we had read their menu on their web-site, so we decided to head out of Universal to try our luck. As we walked along Rodeo Drive, we spotted Scooby Doo without the usual adoring crowd around him, so Beth just ran straight up to him, with her autograph book ready. The person inside the costume however didn't seem to like my joke about Scooby needing speech therapy and tried to pinch my England cap. San by this time was taking our photograph, just as Scooby had me in a headlock, whilst Beth was laughing her head off.

We got our hands stamped for re-entry and headed for the Hard Rock Café. Although it was now about 12.30, we were taken straight up the stairs and shown to our table in the Non-smoking section, of course, (Note well, Chris Franklin!). We ordered our drinks whilst pondering the menu and I think Peter and Rachel already had one free refill before we decided what to have. Me, San and Peter all chose the Ribs n' Chicken combo, whilst Rachel had a Chicken Club Sandwich and Beth chose pizza from the Children's Menu. Beth was given some pens and a picture to colour in whilst she was waiting, however the food soon arrived and we all tucked in. I was so full with the ribs that I could only manage half of the chicken, but Peter being such a greedy get, ate San's chicken as well as his own. The chili beans were a nice addition to the meal, and I got to eat all three helpings, as no one else likes them. Peter and Rachel had huge cookies for desert and Beth wanted chocolate ice cream. Her ice cream was so big, she started to shiver whilst she was eating it, and had to leave half of it, which Peter finished off.

We all enjoyed our visit to the Hard Rock and thought it was excellent value for money. They even played Aerosmith video's whilst we ate and there was an attendant in the toilets, offering free aftershave and curious conversation. However I didn't find it comfortable talking to a stranger in the toilet, so I rushed. It was also quite off putting that he was whistling George Michael tunes! After admiring the décor, the discs on the wall, etc, we made our way to the gift shop to collect our free shot glasses and pin badges, courtesy of our hotel. We then returned to Universal Studios at 2.19 PM, as it says so on my credit card bill, feeling refreshed and satisfied, ready to tackle some more attractions.

On the way back to the park we passed a Magical Mystery Tour bus, from the Beatles movie. We see these buses every day, usually on our way to work, as we live right by Strawberry Fields in Liverpool, so it was strange to see one of the buses so far away from home. The first thing we came across as we made our way back into the park was the Nickelodeon Studios Tour. When we managed to get Peter and Beth away from the Rugrats game on the Playstation stand in the queuing area, we went up the escalator. Beth then decided that she needed the toilet, after already going in the Hard Rock, but I'm not surprised after the size of the dinner she ate. She returned looking refreshed and announced at the top her voice, "I've just had a poo, and I could hear the Catdog tune in the background".

We then continued our tour and saw the props room, the costume room, and the recording studios, kids at the front at all times. We then entered the Game Lab where we were split into two teams to cheer on adults and kids playing daft games. One pre-selected kid was then slimed. The tour was quite interesting, but as most of the shows were only broadcast in America, we either hadn't heard of them, or didn't know the characters. It was a bit too long to spend detached from the rest of the park, and I couldn't help but keep on thinking, 'I wonder what's going on outside?' Now that we have seen it once, it is unlikely that we will take the tour again on our next visit. When we came out from the tour, we found some Nickelodeon picture photo points. One with the Angry Beavers, which inspired San to buy an Angry Beavers T-shirt, and a Nick-Junior one that inspired Beth to ask for a Blues Clues T-shirt.

We then spotted Chuckie from the Rugrats, so San and Beth joined the line to get his autograph. Just as they were nearing the front of the queue his minder said, "Chuckie has to go now, but Angelica will be here in one minute," which was even better, as Angelica is Beth's favourite Rugrat. As the two characters passed each other at the entrance, Angelica kicked Chuckie in the butt. Of course, Beth thought this was hilarious and every time she watches Rugrats re-tells the tale. Once we had Angelica's autograph stored safely in Beth's book, and a photo of Beth giving Angelica a big hug, we headed back across the park.

For Peter and Me it was definitely time to see Terminator 2-3D, so we joined the 45 minute queue, whilst San, Beth and Rachel went to the Animal Actors Stage again. Terminator 2 is widely reported as being the best attraction in Orlando. I don't know about that but San thought it was shoot your pants scary. I got quite a surprise when we entered the auditorium to be seated in rows, as an audience. I expected to be in some sort of interactive car, like in Back to the Future or Hanna Barbera. The show is very exciting, and the 3D effects are so realistic that you find yourself ducking, as things seemed to fly out from the stage. The robots were very realistic and the motorbike squealing onto the stage was a nice touch, but again I wish the show was longer.

San reports that they all enjoyed the Animal Actors Stage, mostly based around an orangutan like Clyde from the Clint Eastwood films. Apparently there were lots of birds, as they did their business on our pram. Beth's favourite this time was the big St Bernard dog from the Beethoven movies, and she also liked the talking horse. Looking for the photos of this day, it appears we may have lost one of our films. Apologies to the lady from Idaho who we promised to E-mail with our photos, as her son was in the show.

I then decided I would take Beth on the Hanna Barbera ride again so that San and Peter could see what they thought of the Twister Experience. On our way, we came across a very skinny looking Yogi Bear who must have been on a diet. We almost didn't realise who the character was supposed to be, but we stopped for the usual autograph and photo. After playing in the Hanna Barbera Playground, we met up with San and Peter in Aftermath, the Twister shop. Whilst perusing for a purchase, the weather outside became decidedly wetter as an amazing electrical storm began, and the rain came down in sheets. Luckily we had brought the pram into the shop because Beth was now tired, or it would have been soaked. As the lightning flashed across the sky and the thunder roared, it was quite ironic that the show outside Aftermath was more frightening than the show inside Twister. When San and Peter came out, they thought it was part of the show, until they saw the crowds of people gathering in the shop.

The rain eventually eased a little, so we decided to make a run for it. We put Beth's foam sandals on her, along with an adult sized plastic cape, purchased only the day before in IOA, that we tied between her legs. As we walked out of the park we decided that she couldn't get any wetter, so we let her splash in as many puddles as she wanted, after all they were warm. Everybody was hiding in the shops and under umbrellas and a lot of people remarked upon her unadulterated fun. She was delighted with her un-hindered Florida bath, as she usually gets told not to splash in the puddles.

We ducked, (play on words there), into the Hanna Barbera shop to buy a talking Scooby Doo I had spotted earlier, and a Shaggy beanie for my brother as he is a Shaggy clone. San also bought a Hong Kong Phooey beanie for her Dad as he looks like him when he wears his housecoat. We then headed back to the van and returned to the hotel to dry off.

Later on, San and me went back out to Beltz to have another look around, as Beth had fallen asleep after all her splashing fun. We left Peter to watch her so we had some time to ourselves to do some shopping. We were in Character Premiere at 9 O'clock when it closed and nearly got locked in. We could hear the shop staff muttering "Bloody tourists" as we finally left at about 9.10, for the short drive back to the hotel, via the usual pit-stop at Goodings for some Bud. When we got back, Peter must have had itchy feet because he had arranged to go out with his friend James, to the upside down house opposite our hotel. (I think it was called Wonderworks). As he left, we were going to bed and told him to knock on the door when he got back. I don't remember letting him in so I assume San did.


Tomorrow:- Disney/MGM Studios