Universal Studios - Florida

The next day, we went to the other park at Universal Studios. The kids saw a lot more characters at this park. Here are some highlights:

Characters were saw / met: Dora the Explorer, Scooby Doo & Shaggy, Woody Woodpecker, the Penguins of Madagascar, Curious George, Spongebob Squarepants

Shrek D: The Shrek experience was good. We all enjoyed it. To this day, Buddy asks to watch Shrek, or Check as he says it, every day.

Twister: This experience wasn't very good. Maybe it was because we stayed in the back so the kids wouldn't get upset. They didn't - because it wasn't very good!

Jimmy Neutron: This ride was pretty fun. Buddy was probably tall enough to ride it, but they made him sit in a special boring row without even measuring him. So, he missed out on most of the fun.

Animal Actors: This was a really good show with animals. The kids LOVED it! There were cats, dogs, raccoon, birds, and a monkey. The monkey was probably our favorite!

E.T.: We rode on bicycles through the forest and ET's planet. We all really liked this ride, especially when we were riding through the sky over the city. My kids both love this movie, so it was a fun experience.

Jaws: Buddy had been talking about sharks the whole trip, so we had to ride the Jaws ride. I remember riding it as a kid and being really scared. We told them that it was all fake and that nothing was going to get us. Well, with all of the other rides they had experienced on the trip, the Jaws ride wasn't scary at all. They need to update the special effects, because this ride is dated!

The Simpsons: This ride was a large-scale version of those simulator rides you can find at the mall. By the time we rode this, Buddy had missed 4 days of naps and was so exhausted. He did NOT want to ride this and cried the whole time. The ride was loud enough to hopefully block out his noise to the other riders. I thought it was really fun, but this ride terrified Buddy for the rest of the trip!

Woody Woodpecker: Sugie loved loved loved this roller coaster! We rode it several times and she couldn't get enough! It was fun!

Fievel's Playhouse: A huge hands on structure for the kids to run and play through. They were bummed that the huge treehouse slides were closed for maintenance.

After Universal, we took everyone out to eat at a restaurant with crocodiles. I was so excited for the kids to see them. Buddy fell asleep on the way to dinner and slept through the whole thing. Sugie ate a little bit and then fell asleep on the bench. Then, the Baby shacked out after his dinner. We each carried a sleeping kid to the car after dinner. It was funny!! I must say that it was one of our most peaceful meals on the trip! However, no one got to see the crocodiles!!!

Sugie is in this picture under a jacket!!