My plan for the day is to get up early and be at Universal early so we can ride all of the rides that Eilis wants to do and hit Islands of Adventure, then head back for a swim and some dinner. The way the plan actually worked was Jim and Eilis got up only after I made enough noise to be annoying, and they decided they wanted to go to the pool nowrightnowrightthisveryminutenowdidIsaynowImeantitnow. We headed down to the pool, where the water was like ice. Jim and Eilis found a beach ball and swam and played while I headed over to the hot tub – much more comfortable! The hot tub was very nice – there were two of them, both about 3 feet deep, which was nice. You could actually do a little floating or drifting around the tub. I liked it.
After an hour or so in the pool, we headed back up to get ready to go to the parks, which meant showers again for everyone, even though I had already taken one when I got up. We finally got to the park about 11, and by then, there were lines for most of the rides – like 45 minute lines. We did a few rides, including Earthquake, which has since closed to make way for a new attraction. Eilis hated it, cried, and I got ticked off that she was being such a baby over a very short ride – especially when she has been on things like Expedition Everest without so much as a whimper. We road ET, and Jim and Eilis rode the Woody Woodpecker roller coaster, but really, most of the lines were too long to even bother.
About 2 o’clock, we started thinking lunch, and after cruising around Universal, decided to eat at Islands of Adventure. Jim enjoyed the food at Confisco Grille at the Point of Entry, so we decided to eat there. Jim had the mixed grill, which was my choice for him. He likes to order foods he thinks I can eat some of, but the problem with some restaurants is that there really is very little I can eat. The mixed grill seemed the safest, but it was a big disappointment for him. It was really just grilled chicken and a sausage. If I had really been able to choose, I would have wanted the Italian Panini, but I know I can’t eat that. I had a cobb type salad and Eilis had quesadillas, which came with chicken and steak. The steak was beyond anything she could eat – it was so tough. The chicken she enjoyed. I ate as much salad as I could, and had a bunch left over, which they boxed up, but then the realization that I would have to carry it around the park the rest of the day set in, and I left it.
We began our trek through Islands of Adventure, and the first thing we wanted to do was closed. The show we wanted to see didn’t start for another hour. Most of the rides had lines too long to wait in. I didn’t want Eilis to get wet on anything due to the cool temps and her oncoming cold. She and Jim ended up on the smaller roller coaster for a quick ride, and then we began heading out with rain threatening. We decided to see about the Spiderman ride, but the line there was 45 minutes when we got there, so we opted to head out. That’s when the rain poured down. We made it to the parking garage getting only the first four layers of skin soaked, and Jim made the comment that if we had known the trip into Islands of Adventure would be so short, I could have brought my salad with me!
Back at the hotel, we changed out of our wet clothes and since lunch was so late, we ordered snacks from room service and enjoyed some Halloween TV. Eilis has not mentioned her sisters today, so I think she’s liking being the only child for a few days.