The Friday Movie Review: Wall-E

Happy Friday!

Remember I gave thanks in my journal a few weeks ago for how much I enjoyed sitting on the back deck watching the kids giggling and jumping on the trampoline while sipping mojito with the fresh mint sprigs grown on my back deck.  That was a lovely night.  Something else I did that evening was plan out a schedule for Her Family Blog and came up with special features for it.  One day soon I hope to be thankful for IMPLEMENTING those plans!  :-)  One feature I had decided on was movie review Friday.  I am so glad today is Thursday so that I can write about the incredible movie we saw last night.  Wall-E.

Disney Pixar has hit another home run with this fresh and original story.  Before seeing the movie the title character reminded me of the heart warming character of my generation, E.T.  Although the characters are similar in that way, that is where the movie similarity ends. 

Wall-E is not an extra-terrestrial.  He is a robot, part of fleet of robots called ”Wall-E”s that were designed to compact trash and clean up planet earth while earth’s inhabitants enjoy a five year, all inclusive, tour of space.  

Seven hundred years passes and generations of people are born and pass on the space ship, each generation becoming more fat and complacent.  Something went wrong on earth preventing their return.  Eventually, this is the only life the people know.  There is no interest in returning to earth.

The man in charge of the earth’s clean up did a super job of inventing robots to squash the trash, but he neglected to put anything in charge of “looking after” the planet.  Eventually there is not a single piece of vegetation and no living creatures except one little bug whose best (only)friend is Wall-E, the last functioning trash compactor robot.  After 700 years Wall-E has developed quite a personality. 

Wall-E dreams of a place more than this desolate land covered in cubes of trash.  And through his collection of treasures he has saved over the years, he has evidence it exists.

Follow Wall-E along on his journey as he meets a girl, and goes on adventure through space with her to get the humans back on track to their lives of action and emotion, and their home that needs them.

How you learn so much about what the characters are thinking and feeling is testament to the wonderful minds at Disney Pixar once you realize the first two thirds of the movie has almost no words. 

Sari had been talking about seeing Wall-E for several months prior to its release and I am kind of sorry we waited so long to see it. Whether you have or have not yet seen Wall-E click on the widget up top for some Wall-E fun where you can do things like meet the characters, explore the space ship and even build your own bot! The kids will love it!

Have you seen Wall-E?  What do you think about a future spent on hover chairs, interacting only with monitors and sipping big gulp dinners?

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How’s that for a topic today?

I entered a contest at the Food Network today.  They want you to submit your favorite 30 minute recipe for the chance to win a whole kitchen full of beautiful Whirlpool appliances. 

I also learned today that granite counter tops have radon in them!  Some folks are tearing them out while others say it is not enough to harm us.  Yikes!  I need to find more info. 

I am going to direct you to my real estate blog where I talked about both of these things along with links to the original sources. 

Click here to find the link to enter the contest and to hear what professionals are saying about the granite scare.

So everyone’s gone to bed kind of early tonight and  have the opportunity to get caught up on some work I fell behind on over vacation.  Yay!  But I don’t feel like it.  Boo.  I kind of just want to play Bookworm or something but it goes too slow on my puter.  So I’m looking around and decided that now is the time to click on that StubHub banner I have flashing in my margin.  I know it’s a ticket place but I never heard of it. Have you?  Am I sheltered?  
I looked around and it caught my attention immediately that Madonna is touring!  Now you may think that a blog about Madonna on a family and parenting is way off topic BUT I know there are lots of you Moms out there who are my age that dressed up in black skirts, leggings, beads and leather bracelets and went to see the Virgin Tour before we could even drive.  Nanette I know you’re reading. The bows in our ratted hair, sunglasses… and we weren’t the only ones!  Well we’re all Moms now.  Madonna is a Mom.  Her tickets are being sold at a place that links to this very site.  Ha!  Totally on topic!

So I was there and I clicked to get info and I am freaked out from what I learned!  In fact, I may no longer be her biggest fan. 

• There were tickets on the main floor for $9,000!  Some for even more than that but I can’t remember I was so flabbergasted.  I had to log outta there to breathe.  What is wrong with her?  Has she totally lost touch with the reality of her fans?
• I did not see any Michigan tour dates.  Is she snubbing us AGAIN?!  I think the last time she was here was about 6 or 7 years ago.  A bunch of us girls got tickets and a blinged up limo which the owner of the company RECALLED on us when we were half way to Detroit because Wayne Brady needed a limo and they gave him OURS! We missed the opening act not that anyone cared, but I haven’t felt the same about Wayne since.  “Who’s Limo Is It Anyway”, that’s all I’m saying.  Where was I?  Anyway I think she toured just before or just after that and skipped Michigan.  What a b*tch.  I hate her.
• You know what else I learned?  I can get 2 main floor tickets to her show in LAS VEGAS in November for only $700! Maybe if you guys start clicking and browsing my ads I can make enough money in time!  I love her! Holiday…

On the serious, there are some really good shows coming up.  Check out my link over there to StubHub for a list of the variety of shows coming to your neighborhood.  I promise they won’t all cost that much.  Unless of course you’re looking for Miley Cyrus.
Hey Grown Up Mommies! Who was the first concert you went to see?  And who was the LAST one you saw since becoming a Mom?   

I am a little distracted.  I wrote a post which I realized too late that it cannot be posted until Thursday because the other post it references doesn’t come out until Wednesday.  Now I need something new but I am tired and my mind is elsewhere.  I was going to try and find a cute video or something.  OOOH!  In fact I will. “Charlie Bit My Finger.” It will cheer me up to watch it again.  But I also decided just to share Mama’s worries today.

My Fam is still at my Parent’s cabin up north.  They left Thursday night.  I have completed some good projects around the house and gotten some writing done so the time has been productive.  They were supposed to come home tonight but they decided to do some fishing expedition in the morning.  I am really excited for my Son to have this cool experience with Dad and Grandpa.  And did I mention they’re not coming home tonight?  Woohoo Yippeeeee! 

Listen, I work from home.  Hubby is off work.  Kids are off school.  We are all home all day every day in this little house that I think shrunk since June.  So don’t judge me until you’re squeezed in a cracker box with three other people while walking in my shoes.
Here’s why I’m worried.  There is something wrong with Cheese, my hamster!  I am extra protective of him because when I went away last November, I found his twin brother Ham floating in the sump pump crock upon my return.  Go ahead and say it, “it’s just a hamster” but he trusted me and suffering is suffering.  SO anyway, I guess I overcompensate with Cheese.  Or Ham, whoever is left.  Did I mention they were twins?

I guess I didn’t set him up properly before we went to to Orlando. 

• I ran out of the fluffy bedding so just before I left I used cedar chips to line his cage.  We had them on hand which saved me a trip to the pet shop and I thought that since we were going to be away and unable to clean out his messes, the cedar would provide a more pleasant aroma til we got back. 
• We turned off the central air.  And by “we” I do not mean “I”.  “I” was unaware.  That’s all I’m saying.
• I left the hammies home alone.  (we have a russian dwarf hamster named Mac, as well.  He is just a baby and they live separately)  Cheese is squirrely and get’s very nervous around people so I figured it would be less stressful on him if he could stay at his own house.  Plus, honestly, after the Ham tragedy, I didn’t trust anyone to lock the gate securely.  My Dad checked on them one day to make sure food and water were fresh and abundant.

A few days ago I noticed Cheese had some sores on his belly.  The next day I realized his belly was bare of fur.  I also figured out that he wasn’t super skinny because he’d lost weight, he had actually lost a lot of fur so he wasn’t puffy and fluffy!

I have some hamster antiseptic on hand from when Ham and Cheese used to fight and tear each other up.  But it’s not getting better.  I fact, there is one scab so big, soft, and thick looking that it looks like it is just going to pop off his tummy like a small child’s puzzle piece. 

TMI?

He keeps licking his wounds is part of the problem so it never dries up.  He has also developed 2 black knobs on his back.  Although, they could have been there all along but hidden by the fur. 

Guess what I found out.

• Hamsters cannot tolerate sudden changes in temperature.  (he was hot and laying in his ceramic  dish to cool off when we got home.)
• When hammies are hot they lose their fur.
• Cedar chips have been known to kill small animals. 

Apparently the sharp cedar chips irritated his skin at a magnified degree due to the fact that his fur was thinning and he was hot.  He developed a rash and just itched his whole belly raw. I put some neosporin on today.  I want him to get better for sure but I do not want to be around when that scab falls off. 

If anybody reading has a hamster, learn from my mistake… no wood chips and leave the air conditioning on!

 With that, I leave you Charlie!

Scratch that.  Charlie’s video can’t be embedded so I’ll give you Kassie the monster fighter instead!  Enjoy!

Regardless of varying musical genre preferences, we Michiganders love our Kid Rock.  We are proud of our Eminem too but we don’t need a parental advisory label to tell us that once you have kids in the house your days of listening to the Marshall Mathers Show are over.  Kid too has a wild side, for sure.  But these days his music and good old boy demeanor conjure up good times and happy feelings of remember when.  It was watching one of his videos though, that I had another one of those, “oh my gosh I’m a parent now!” moments, and went from nostalgic to “square” in the matter of a second.

Have you heard Kid’s “All Summer Long”?  I drift off into happy land whenever I hear it.  I was proud of my 12 year old who recognized and pointed out the “Sweet Home Alabama” sampling.  (My kids are familiar with that song because Reese Witherspoon’s movie of the same name is one of our favorite chick flicks.)  Add to everything else the mention of “Northern Michigan” in the song and it becomes a family classic.  (My kids are up north at the lake with Grandma and Grandpa right now, in fact!)

So you get it, right?  The song talks to us.  We sing it together, we bond as a family.  The one bit of discomfort is the line about “smoking” funny things.  But my daughter immediately changed it to “singing” funny things before I had to decide how to censor.  Problem solved. 

Singing, dancing, bonding, good family times.

One day last week we caught the video.  You know how hard it is to actually see a video on the MTV right?  But I think we caught a countdown show or something.  Anyway, everyone flocked to the tv to see it.  Seriously we are all singing and got a little bounce going because this song has created this moment of joy that surrounds it every time we hear it.   We can really relate to Kid driving the boat on the lake in Michigan, wind whipping through his hair, happy, and singing.

I see Hubby, he’s smiling.  Gone from his mind for three minutes are the worries of bills and his job security in the auto industry.  What a great video.

I am always talking about enjoying the tiny moments… here are a few of my favorite lyrics.

• 1989 in Northern Michigan.  Me and Hubby were fresh into our 20s hanging out at the cabin every weekend.
• no internet.  You forget there was a time we didn’t have it!
• “whiskey out the bottle“ Don’t tell my Dad.
• catching walleye off the dock… omg you have to be from Michigan to get that, right?
• when the leaves begin to change… another instance of Michigan beauty.  They actually have “color tours” it is such an amazing sight.

I actually feel like a teenager seeing the young couple boating and playing and smooching it up at the lake, surrounded by all their friends. We actually commented about what good clean fun it was.   Drinking beer.  Dancing on the stripper pole.  We’re all humming and smiling.

It wasn’t immediate is the funny thing, my realization that this song and video were INAPPROPIATE! (not a typo, there.  That’s how my daughter says it)  I remember looking at the song title that they display at the end of the video and the whole video suddenly rewound in my head!   I looked at Hubby whose contorted face told me he was having the same realization.  The kids were still smiling and singing. 

I scooted the kids away and told hubby, “good clean fun my ass!  I will lock my daughter in a tower if I see her dancing in a bikini with her friends around the campfire at night with a “red plastic cup” in her hand!”  In one instant the images went from “good clean fun” to “unacceptable behavior”.  Isn’t that funny how our attitudes change?

In all other areas besides entertainment my parental censors come on beforehand.  But I guess because I am so open minded when it comes to arts and entertainment that my parental advisory is a little delayed. 

Check out the video below and get lost in the good vibe, then remind yourself that your kids are soon going to be teenagers.  It’s brutal!  Tell me what you think. 

Hey Ladies! A fellow blogger recommended I look into the MUFA diet for one of my other blogs.  I have barely begun to research it but since I am loving what I have learned AND I need to practice quoting and embedding from other sources (which I have just figured out is embarrassingly easy) I am going to give you a glimpse of it.  I am a recovering fad dieter and am not at all interested in the actual “diet” involved here, but I am intrigued by the idea.  Here’s a snippet from Prevention Magazine…

” There are five major categories of MUFAs: (1) oils, (2) nuts and seeds, (3) avocado, (4) olives, and (5) chocolate. Eating one serving of any of these foods at every meal will help reduce your accumulation of dangerous belly fat; control your calorie intake and you’ll lose inches and pounds, too–especially around your waistline. These mouth-watering recipes make it easy. Each portion contains high levels of MUFA, plus serving suggestions that allow you to create a meal that contains around 400 calories–enough to control your hunger and boost your energy without exceeding your daily needs. You can easily fit these meals into the Flat Belly Diet menu plans, but even if you’re not following the diet, you can still enjoy the rich flavor of MUFAs and their numerous health benefits. For centuries, these foods and fats have been hard to resist.”  complete story.

 Avocados and chocolate are good for me?  Count me in!  But on my terms, not theirs. 

I looked at some of the recipes for the diet and they are too involved for me.  For a minute I considered developing my own menu incorporating their rule of 4 meals of 400 calories and a MUFA at every meal with my new meat free design but it’s too much work.  Instead I am going to just try adding a MUFA to each of the small meatless meals I eat every few hours currently. Check out the rest of the article and see what you think of it. 

Am I the only one crazy about the 5 MUFA foods?  Has anybody tried the FLAT BELLY DIET?  I’d love to here about it. 

I thought for sure this summer was going to be different.  This was going to be the summer that my real estate career thrived rather than dipped because the kids are old enough to stay home alone while I run out to show a house or some other appointment.  I also had big plans for keeping the kids on track with education by participating in scheduled and short assignments each day.  Boy did I over estimate…

Instead of having two people home with me all day to take care of I have three.  With Hubby off work all summer it doesn’t feel like summer at all.  It is just harder work.  No fault of his, really.  It’s just a biproduct of my working two jobs from home and not having a minute of quiet time.  Such is life.  I suppose if I didn’t have a Hubby or two darling demons I’d have all the time in the world to sell houses, write articles, and clean house.  Now what fun would that be?  (Don’t think on that too long… you might change your answer a few times!)
The thing that is driving me most nuts is that I am the only one who has a schedule or anything to accomplish.  And while I am in high gear those around me are whining, “I’m bored to death over here!” 

After stumbling upon the following article I realized though, that it isn’t their boredom that is driving me nuts.  Their boredom is common, the norm, to be expected.  I remember it plainly myself being an only child on a rural road with no neighbors and nothing to do.  What is actually frustrating me is my lack of appropriate response to the situation so we can all move on happily with our day.  It would be fabulous if I could play with my kids and keep them stimulated all day long but I am a working mom and have to do my best to stick to my office hours.  These ideas from Dr. Susan Linn really struck me so I’ll share them with you. 

I am told that it is rude to copy content or cut and paste a complete article so I’ll just give you the intro here and you can click the link to see the actual tips. 

“I’m soooo bored,” sighs eight-year-old Jason as he sits down to lunch. “There’s nothing to do.”

For many children, summer means long lazy days that are a sharp contrast to the scheduled school year. In theory, parents and children alike look forward to a break from the pressure of homework and after-school activities. But in practice, a sudden wealth of downtime can add friction to families.

Here are ten replies to “I’m bored!” that will help your kids develop the internal resources that are important for a creative, satisfying life.” continue here.

Got any boredom busters of your own?  Share!

Here’s the thing… there is money to be made out there, while sitting in here, you just have to know where to find it, what you want to do, how much you want to make, and how to NOT get scammed.  I am going to try and set something up here that is easy to understand and help you save time and avoid pitfalls.

First some guidelines.

1. Do not pay anyone to work for them.  There is PLENTY of work out there that costs you ZERO dollars.  There are some exceptions and legitimate opportunities that require some investment on your part but for now, Beginner Online Money Maker Mommy, steer clear of any biz op that asks for even one cent.  You have been warned.
2. Working from home will make your butt bigger unless you take action ahead of time.  Once you get involved in work from home opportunities and build yourself a nice business that keeps you busy, you will find yourself sitting on your rump hunched over the puter for hours at a time.  Working from home requires planning and organization.  It is crucial that you schedule several stretch and exercise breaks when planning each day.  You have been warned. Again.
3. Don’t be afraid of REFERRAL PROGRAMS!  Some of the opportunities pay very little for the simple task you do but if others sign up for the program under you you make more money.  The money is EASY and REAL.  Too bad your friends and fam will roll their eyes and you’ll have to rely on your social networking to build referrals. 
4. Residuals rock!  Whether blogging or writing content for companies, the more relevant and timeless your work, the longer it will stay alive and continue earning money for you.  Many companies pay you every time your work gets read, so write good stuff that lasts!
5. Change the way you think about earning money.  We have been trained to think that the higher the job pays, the more successful we are.  The problem with that is that those jobs usually require many hours and loads of dedication and commitment.  Online revenue opportunites may pay small but keep in mind how little time and effort you actually invest and how many “small tasks” you can accomplish per day.  It can add up to some very decent “mad money” or turn into an excellent full time wage.  AND the hours and dress code are excellent! 

What kind of work do you want?  Some options are….

• Freelance writing… Companies pay you to write articles for them.  You might get 1 to 3 cents per word or you might get $15 for a 250 word article.  I have heard of writers working for free in the beginning to build a resume but I never had to do that.  You might get a few articles at a time or you might stumbled upon a sweet ongoing assignment.  I’ll share with you some places to look around to find assignments.
• Reading emails is a simple way to build a slow but steady stream of cash. Think of the money earned as dropping change into your piggy bank.  The time you will invest is so small you should just forget about it and let it surprise you one day when it turns into an amount that thrills you.  Here’s how it works. The company sends you the email or you log onto their website to see what is available.  You read the advertisement and they drop  1 - 3 cents in your account.  I know it doesn’t sound like much but considering you spent all of 20 seconds doing it, it is worth something.  Here is what I do… I drop all my paid emails into a file in my mailbox to be reviewed later when I am doing laundry.  I put my laundry basket up on a chair by the computer and I click the email and read it while I fold an item.  Click, read, and fold.  BAM! Another 2 cents!  Don’t laugh… how much money do YOU make while folding laundry! :-) Once in a while you might find something you’re interested in and decide to buy or sign up for.  That’s fine.  Just don’t forget the number 1 rule: do not fall for anything that requires you pay to work for them!
• BLOGGING!  Blogging is really for fun, for sharing information, and self expression.  It’s a super cool bonus that there are companies out there willing to pay you for advertising for them in one way or another. 
• Social Networking sites do not pay much and the pay schemes are often difficult to understand BUT the advantage of them is that you meet like minded people, find more and better work, and generate traffic for your blogs. 
• Product Reviews are fun, informative, and pay well if you get into a groove.  Casual use will make you at least a few bucks a month.  There are sites you visit and write about whatever you want to review and there are companies that will pay you to review their product on your blog. 
• Surveys, shopping, playing games, responding to offers, mystery shopping, etc. are all things I have not spent much time on.  I have heard great stories from people but most of these places pay in “points” which later can be redeemed for cash, gift cards, and so on.  It is on my “to do soon” list to pick one of these companies and stick with it for a few weeks and see what happens so we can all be better informed. 

So that’s the story on working from home.  If you’re interested in checking out some companies that pay you to work from home, please visit the MOMMIES MAKING MONEY page frequently (use the link in the right margin or the link at the very top left!) as I add more content and build an informative work from home guide for you.

Although I wouldn’t say that there was any part of our trip that was BAD there were definite high points and low points.  I’ll share them with you to keep in mind should you find yourself planning an Orlando trip sometime. 

HIGHLIGHTS!

In case you are not familiar with the Universal Studio parks, they are based around movies, cartoons, comics, characters, and all kinds of entertainment.  I would love to tell you about it all but don’t want to ruin the surprises so I will just say that the 3D and 4D attractions will blow your mind and the roller coasters will shake you up and thrill you to the bone!  Our first attraction was JAWS.  My kids, 8 and 12, were scared to death.  (in a good way!)  It was fun, but it paled in comparison to the rest so I am glad we started there.  I recommend you do the same.

The JURASSIC PARK ride was super fun, too.  Again, the kids were awe and fear stricken by the “dinosaurs” we encountered.  Hubby and I were pretty spooked at the end of that one, too!

We almost skipped the SHREK 4D movie because we weren’t in the mood for a “movie”.  OMG!  It was amazing and so much more than a movie!!!  We followed that up with the TERMINATOR 3D (which we had preveiously decided against due to our 3D cynicism) movie which sent shivers down our spine as the animation, sounds, and smells hovered all around us.  AMAZING!

I think the collective favorite was THE SIMPSONS ride.  It is very circus/carnival looking and attracted my daughter immediately, even though she does not really know who the Simpsons are.  The wait was 65 minutes and she was the only one who wanted to do it.  We were tired and wet but it was her consolation for not being tall enough to ride The HULK coaster. I’m holding my tongue here so I don’t blab about it because this is the first summer for the Simpsons ride and I don’t want to ruin it for anyone.  I will just say it is unlike ANY ride/attraction you have experienced.  It is worth any wait. Take a potty break, get a LIGHT snack, and take your place in line.

The milder attractions such as those found in SEUSS LANDING will amaze and entertain Dr. Seuss fans of any age.  The music and festivity stretching from MARVEL SUPER HERO ISLAND and all along the CITY WALK keeps energy high and faces smiling.  Soaking wet and disheveled, we pranced proudly into EMERIL’S restaurant on Universal Studio’s City Walk.  Treated to white linens, gorgeous table settings, and three waiters, we felt so welcome and comfortable and enjoyed the meal of a lifetime. 

DISAPPOINTMENTS!

We are big fans of Wil Smith at our house and were looking forward to shooting up aliens at the MEN IN BLACK ride.  It was completely boring and nowhere near the high standards of the other attractions.  Blunt and to the point.  Sorry Wil.  We still love ya.

I desperately wanted to check out the MUMMY attraction but no one else did.  My kids have never seen any of the Mummy movies, but considering that the star of the movie, Bredan Fraser, was there that day and that there is a new Mummy movie coming out this summer, I tried to convince them they’d love it.  Honestly, I think they were scared, though.  So I didn’t push it.  Big bummer for Mama.

The new waterpark, AQUATICA was a big dud for all of us.  The weather was crappy but we played anyway.  The water wasn’t as refreshing as it would be on a sunny day, but we figured the sliding, floating, and waving action would still be good.  The only “original” thing about it was the DOLPHIN PLUNGE where you slide down in the water inside a clear tube while dolphins swim around you.  I thought I was going to faint in the tube from lack of air and excess humidity and I didn’t see one dolphin.  Don’t get me wrong, it is not a bad park.  But compared to other water parks we have been to, the WOW factor of other Sea World attractions, and the customer service everywhere else in Sea World, Aquatica cannot compare.

Having said all that, you cannot go wrong with an Orlando vacation.  The level of customer service among the Sea World/Universal/Disney folks is amazing.  Their goal is to create magic for you and that’s exactly what they do.

You know what other place is full of wonder and magic for me?  Vegas!  We haven’t been there since we had kids.  Neither of us gambles, we just love the weather, the shows, and the buildings.  I think that’s going to be our next trip.  I know Vegas has family oriented hotels and vacations but I haven’t started my research yet.  Has anyone been to Las Vegas lately on a family vacation?  Please share your tips so we can all start planning! 

No matter where you are traveling or how much fun you are having, there really is no place like home.  Nothing drives that sentiment home more than 7 thunderstorm filled days and nights in humid, overcast Orlando.  We still had a great time, albeit a different time than we had originally planned.  We experienced some OUT OF THIS WORLD attractions and learned a few tips about family vacationing in Orlando that bounced us up a few notches on the “savvy” scale.  As usual, I will share it all with you!

Let’s start with a review.  Remember my Sissy In Law that makes the amazing taco salad?  She jinxed us.  Fourth of July Weekend she kept going on about how she wanted to plan a trip to SeaWorld but was afraid of weather and getting rained out.  My other Sissy In Law, the 2007 Wakeboard Champion of Smallwood Lake, helped me convince her to just book the darn vacation because even if it rains it will be just for a bit and it won’t affect their trip at all.  She booked her trip for August.  We had thunder and lightning storms all day every day.  I blame Taco Salad for her weather obsession.

Even so, I can’t say that one of the things I “learned” is to check the weather report.  So often our trips are planned too far ahead for that and besides, we have to plan around our trips around work.  Once there, I guess, we plan around the weather.  

Two years ago we did a 7 day pass to SeaWorld and a day at Discovery Cove.  It was the most amazing time I have ever had and the whole Fam agreed.  This year we modified it a bit and planned around a 7 day pass at Universal Studios/Island of Adventure & City Walk, with a day spent at Aquatica, the new water park. 

Here is what we learned…

• 7 days for Universal Studios and Island of Adventure is WAY too long.  Admittedly, we left Orlando with a list of attractions we really wanted to check out but we ran out of time due to being rained out every day. 
• The lines at Universal Studios/Island of Adventure are WAY too long.  With an average wait time of 60 minutes each, the number of attractions we could enjoy each day were limited, even without stormy weather.  The experience starts to feel like a job rather than a thrill seeking adventure. 
• The attractions at Universal Studios/Island of Adventure are absolutely worth the ridiculous wait time. 

Universal Studios Travel Tip!

Plan a two day trip and splurge on the express pass.  With a pass you could zoom through everything in one day, but two days gives you more opportunities to sample delicious food and drink along CITY WALK, as well as run multiple times through your favorite rides/shows.  The pass will cost you about $35 more per person, but you will be able to experience so much more fun with the time you save waiting in line.  Having just been slapped with an “extra” $700 charge from the car rental place we could not justify buying the express passes but we will next time and I encourage you to do so too if you are able. 

Although we actually lost our tans and exhausted ourselves running from the back of the parks to the parking ramps each day when the storms hit, we enjoyed all the wows and wonders that our trip to Universal offered us.  We are already talking about our next vacation, but betwen you and me, nothing compared to the “aaaaahhhhh” of falling into my own bed when we got home.  Now to unpack…..

Have you been to Orlando?  Do you have any fun vacation stories?  We’d all love to hear!