Madison's school was out on Friday so we decided to spend a special 'mommy-daughter' day together before I start my new job on Monday. Madison had not visited Universal Studios before so we got up nice and early, got Dunkin' Donuts for breakfast and headed off. Madsion was amazed when we arrived in the 'Downtown' area which is now in between Universal Studios and the Islands of Adventure. It is full of restaurants and stores and has really developed since we last visited for the July 4th fireworks a couple of years ago. Ticket prices were the scariest part of the day despite the fact that we are in Halloween Horror nights season ($60 for kids and $70 for adults with no Florida residents discount) although the two day passes and park hopper deals looked much better.
First stop (and most important to Maddy) was E.T. Although she was a little scared and covered her eyes in places, this was her favorite ride of the day. Afterwards, we visited the Curious George playground, the Ball factory, Woody Woodpecker rollercoaster and went to the Animal Planet stage show.
For lunch we went to a fantastic seafood restaurant and got to sit by a massive fishtank which Maddy loved. After lunch we sent to 'Earthquake' which was way too much for Maddy. She didn't like the fire and said it was way too bumpy. We did E.T. and Woody Woodpecker again before trying something else new. Once Maddy's courage was restored we went to Shrek 4D which was really cool. 'Fear Factor Live!' was really gross just like the real show. A woman from the audience had scorpions on her head and they had people eating bugs!
The weather was perfect (high 70s) and we hardly had to wait in line all day. Universal has changed quite a bit (Kongfrontation and Hitchcock are no longer there) but the new rides were excellent. There were several that were PG13 or had height restrictions so it we will be a whole new experience next time I'm sure!
For lunch we went to a fantastic seafood restaurant and got to sit by a massive fishtank which Maddy loved. After lunch we sent to 'Earthquake' which was way too much for Maddy. She didn't like the fire and said it was way too bumpy. We did E.T. and Woody Woodpecker again before trying something else new. Once Maddy's courage was restored we went to Shrek 4D which was really cool. 'Fear Factor Live!' was really gross just like the real show. A woman from the audience had scorpions on her head and they had people eating bugs! 
The weather was perfect (high 70s) and we hardly had to wait in line all day. Universal has changed quite a bit (Kongfrontation and Hitchcock are no longer there) but the new rides were excellent. There were several that were PG13 or had height restrictions so it we will be a whole new experience next time I'm sure!
Hey Clare! I loved the Halloween and Universal pictures! They are great as are your narratives! I must tell you that I loved that you and Maddy had a mom-daughter day and it really made me look forward to the future. I've been kind of worried about the prospect of working full-time hours while taking care of 2 kids by myself. But the idea of having the money to take the kids to do those kind of fun things does improve my outlook on it... so thanks!
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