Islands of Adventure!

About a year ago, Steve and I decided to celebrate our 10-year anniversary in a BIG way. We planned a Caribbean cruise! We had gone on a cruise for our honeymoon and couldn't wait to go again. We invited all our friends to join us, but ended up with 3 couples. Our good friends, Alan and Amanda Andersen joined us along with our neighbors, Kirk and Teresa Olsen. We decided to make the most of our very expensive airfare and spend a little time in Orlando before we got on the ship. Olsens chose to see Kennedy Space Center, while Andersens came with us to Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. We had an absolute blast! We did get a little homesick for the kids when we met Popeye and Olive Oil (the girls' new favorite show) but it is more of an adult themed park, so all in all it was so great to not have kids with us!!

A big part of the park was themed after Marvel Comic Heroes. Not being a big comic fan, I didn't know most of them, but they had a small parade a few times a day when all the heroes came out on 4 wheelers and then went off in separate areas for pictures and autographs. Spidey was the only one I knew!

This park has some of the best rides of all time! Dudley-Do Right's Rip Saw Falls was just as fun as we remembered. It is a log ride on speed!! There isn't just one drop where you get soaked...there are about 10! And there are waterfalls everywhere, so by the time you get off, you are completely drenched!

The Incredible Hulk is just that...INCREDIBLE!! This one was one of our favorites on our trip here 10 years ago. They shoot you out of a dark tunnel at 60 miles an hour right into a barrel roll! It is no surprise that you reach the end completely out of breath, but so worth it! (If you still have your wallet and sunglasses in your pocket!)

Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges was a new one to us this trip. When we went before it was shut down for repairs. Once we were soaked from Dudley-Do Right's, we decided we might as well get all the wet rides out of the way. I thought you got wet at Rattlesnake Rapids at Lagoon??? That was NOTHING compared to how soaked we got on this ride. It was hilarious though. We wrung our clothes out most of the day.

And I think my all time favorite ride at the park is still The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man. It is an interactive 3-D ride where you get caught up in a battle between Spidey and all his comic-book villains. The graphics are amazing and the ride is totally worth the wait.

The hours were cut short at the park that day due to some high school graduation bash, but I think we were pretty much ready to be done anyway. By the time we left, my socks were still wet inside my shoes and I was definitely ready to sit for a while! We headed back to our hotel for a while and then went off in search of some dinner. When we are out of town, Steve and I like to eat in places we can't get here. Sometimes we miss and wish we were at an Applebee's instead of the dives we find, but this time we totally scored. There were billboards for Hooter's everywhere, so the guys kept joking that they wanted wings. Manda and I called their bluff and agreed! No we didn't end up at Hooter's, instead we found a true hole in the wall called Flyers. I will admit now, I was nervous walking in to the place. And after talking to the waitress I was afraid to walk out. She told us it was NOT a good neighborhood and to be very careful walking to our car. She lived 2 blocks away and refused to walk to work it was that bad. However, the wings were AWESOME!! I think the best wings we have ever eaten. It's sad that there is only one and it has been weeks since we've eaten there yet we are still talking about it! She was able to give us some great tips and advice for our cruise and what to do and what not to do on the islands, which was very helpful. After dinner, we headed back to our hotel to try and get some sleep before we got on the ship the next day!!! So excited!