Book Events

This morning I helped Jennifer and Susan set up for a book convention at the Hilton next to Disney Springs.

Some of Jennifer’s friends came in early to enjoy some park time. On Wednesday Jennifer went to Epic Universe with them. They checked out the Dark Universe area and rode Mario Carts and ate at Pizza Moon in Celestial Park. 

Yesterday morning Susan and I got her friends into Hollywood Studios. The Animation Courtyard is now open, although the attractions aren’t opening until next week. We had breakfast at Hollywood & Vine, a character buffet where Mickey and friends were appearing in Halloween outfits.

Echo Lake was drained while the Dockside Diner is refurbished. After breakfast the girls went to Galaxy’s Edge to build lightsabers.

Last night Jennifer drove to St Petersburg to do an event at a local bookstore with another author.

Norfolk

 

We had gone to Norfolk so Jennifer could do some book signings, and on Friday morning we checked out of the Delta Hotel and Jennifer and Susan drove to a local bookstore so she could do one with another author.

In the afternoon they checked into the Hilton in downtown Norfolk. Their room had a view of the Elizabeth River. Friday evening they set up for a book convention at the hotel.

In the meantime I was trying to get home. My flight from Norfolk to Atlanta was fine, but then a storm over northern Florida caused a four and a half hour weather delay before my plane left for Orlando. 

On Saturday Jennifer and Susan signed and sold books, then started back to Florida that night. They stayed overnight in Fayetteville, then finished the drive home yesterday. They stopped at a few Buc-ee's on the way.

Last night Bryan went to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal with a friend.As he’s done before, he bought a pass so he can go several times.

Busch Gardens Part 2

We continued on into Germany, the largest area. The Darkcastle dark ride had been replaced by a coaster, but it was closed. The kid area, Land of Dragons, was still there. Jenn and I rode Alpengeist, which we weren’t able to ride when we visited in 2005; it’s a suspended coaster that’s fast and tall and has lots of inversions. 

We ate a late lunch/early dinner in the Festhaus, then Jenn and I rode Big Bad Wolf: The Revenge, which replaced the old Big Bad Wolf coaster. Like Alpengeist it’s suspended, but more of a family coaster. Once the trees around it grow in it should be pretty nice. 

Finally we rode the new Verboten coaster, which is themed as a drive through the Black Forest; the theming is pretty good for a Busch Gardens coaster. Part of it goes through a show building. and it’s surprisingly intense.

We then walked through Italy, the second largest area. Jenn and I debated riding Apollo’s Chariot, but we were pretty coastered out by then. There were also two new coasters in Italy, but they both looked like they would make us sick. I rode the shoot the chute ride, Escape from Pompeii, but nobody wanted to do the raft ride.

By then we were pretty tired from being in the heat, so we skipped the new small Sesame Street area and made our way through Scotland and England and drove back to Norfolk.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

In Norfolk, we stayed at the Delta Hotel by the airport. It didn’t have a lounge, but did have a pantry where we could grab snacks all day. We considered doing something yesterday afternoon, but traffic was pretty bad, so we ate at the hotel restaurant and watched reruns. While Susan and I were driving to Norfolk, Jenn flew to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for a signing at a local bookstore. 

This morning she flew to Norfolk, and we picked her up and spent the afternoon at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. The park was closing at 5, so we only had about 4 hours to enjoy it, but crowds were very light and we didn’t have to wait for anything. Our Sea World passes gave us free admission. 

We walked through the entrance area of England, then turned right and went through Ireland and France, stopping to look in some shops and at some animal habitats. Because it was off-season, most shows weren’t going, and several rides weren’t running. The last time we had been to BGW was in 2005, so some of the rides and shows had changed since then. Mostly to add coasters of course. In France for example, the car ride had been removed for a dive coaster similar to SheiKra in Tampa.

In the New France area, the only area not based on a country in Europe, Jenn and I rode a new wooden coaster called Invadr, then all three of us rode the log ride. I wanted to ride the skyway or the train, but Jenn said it was too hot for those.

North Carolina

This morning, Susan and I visited the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. We spent about an hour there. We could have spent more time in the visitor center, but we had learned a lot about the Wright Brothers when we went to Dayton Ohio two years ago. 

After looking around the visitor center, we walked out to the field where they flew their plane, then up to the monument on Kill Devil Hill where they launched their gliders. We then drove to Norfolk Virginia, where we stayed the night. 

Yesterday we drove from Fayetteville, North Carolina to Cape Hatteras National Seashore. After entering the park on the north end at Nag’s Head, we drove about an hour down to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. The lighthouse is currently being restored. We looked around the visitor center and watched a movie about how they moved the lighthouse back in 1999. 

We then headed back north, checking out the small towns along the way. For the most part, they weren't cute and were a little run down in spots. The road isn't very scenic because in most spots the view is of either bushes or sand dunes. We stopped at the Bodie Island lighthouse but the visitor center there was closed. We stayed the night in Kitty Hawk. 

We left home Monday morning, and stopped at a couple of Buc-ee’s on our way north, and in Charleston, South Carolina for lunch.  I wanted to stop at the South of The Border area for dinner, or at least to look in one or two shops, but Susan wasn’t interested, so we continued on to Fayetteville.

Sea World

Susan, Jenn, and I have been discussing getting new passes to Sea World for a couple months, and this week went ahead. Wednesday morning we spent a few hours in the park so we could pick up physical cards and the passholder’s perks for August. It’s been almost three years since we’ve had Sea World passes.

We walked around a bit and looked in some shops, then stopped and rode Exhibition Odyssey, which took the place of the old Wild Arctic simulator ride last year. It’s a pretty good ride, a lot like Disney’s Soaring, but smaller and a little faster, but not quite as well done. 

Adjacent to Wild Arctic is where Sea World’s next ride is being constructed. From what I’ve seen so far, it appears to be a simulated dark ride through the ocean.

The other thing Sea World’s added recently was Penguin Trek, a family roller coaster that replaced the Penguin trackless dark ride. It’s a fun coaster and uses parts of the old ride’s queue, so it’s decently themed for Sea World. Like the old ride and similar to Expedition Odyssey, the exit is into the penguin habitat. We grabbed some lunch at the cafe across from the ride, then headed out.

On Thursday, Jennifer released her sixteenth book. On Friday she and a friend drove up to Atlanta to do a book signing at an independent bookstore. Yesterday and today she and Susan sold her books at a market at Dezerland. 

Universal Passholder Night

Friday morning I went on a backstage tour of Tron: Lightcycle / Run with some cast members from MK Watercraft and Monorails. We got to walk in the gravity room while the Tron cast members cycled the cars getting ready for the day, and rode the coaster twice, once with the lights on and once in the dark with the effects on. 

On Monday, construction crews moved Floridian Way traffic onto the new configuration, and begun demolishing the old lanes. From Seven Seas drive south to the exit of the MK parking lot, both directions of traffic are on the new southbound lanes. 

Friday afternoon Susan and Jennifer drove to Panama City. They stayed overnight then did a book signing on Saturday at an independent bookstore. They drove home Saturday night.

Last night we went to the Annual Passholder Appreciation Night at Universal Studios. We arrived around 4:30 and walked the long way around to the New York area, where we got dinner and rode Mummy. Universal is preparing the park for Halloween Horror Nights, which start in two weeks. 

The event started at 7, and we walked around some more and enjoyed a few more rides. Universal had lots of characters out for meet and greets, but we didn’t wait for those. We left around 10.