Our last full day in North Carolina was Saturday and the weather was a treat - a bright, sunny day that was perfect for exploring the North Carolina Zoo. We started the day by meeting up with a lovely couple from Graham, North Carolina who has been an e-penpal of Karlee's for a number of years. They kindly invited us into their home, before treating us to lunch at a typical "southern" restaurant called the Cracker Barrel, before heading off to the Zoo.
Let me start by saying this zoo is HUGE! There are two parts to the zoo - North America & Africa - both with some incredible animals on display. Due to the sheer size of the zoo, we had to choose one "side" to complete and so we chose North America. We got to see a wide variety of different animals such as Alligators, a Polar Bear, some Seals and of course Bears, both Black & Grizzly! Although we only got to see half the zoo, it was definitely worth it!
On Sunday, we departed the green, mountainous region of North Carolina for the hot, humid concrete jungle, otherwise known as Orlando. We have been watching the weather very closely for Orlando over the past 4 weeks and everyday has been the same - starts out partly cloudy with mostly clear skies, heats up to at least 30 degrees by 2-3pm, and then right on cue (like Sheldon's morning bathroom routine) an afternoon rain/thunderstorm about 4-5pm, followed by a drop in temperature and a cool(er), drier evening/night.
Armed with this knowledge, we set out bright and early on Monday morning to Universal Studios to start our 2 weeks of "big kid fun"! We appeared to pick the right day to go to Universal Studios, as well as the best direction to walk around the park (FYI - anticlockwise is the best!) as we encountered virtually no queues until after lunch. The pick of the rides here were the new Terminator 3D Experience (which isn't even shown on the official maps yet....), Revenge of the Mummy - a psychological thrill-coaster ride, and the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit - a good old fashioned roller coaster!
Because we were able to get through the whole park by 4:30pm, we made a dash over to Universal Boulevard (think Cavil Avenue) and visited The Titanic Experience - an exhibit/walk through/guided tour housing artefacts from Titanic as well as life-size sets - and CSI: The Experience - where we got to solve a murder case by visiting the scene of the crime, collecting evidence and then processing it.
On Tuesday we headed to Universal Studios: Islands of Adventure, the second Universal theme park at Orlando. Again we headed out early, knowing that this park was much larger and as we quickly realised, much more popular than its older sibling - mostly due to its Harry Potter section. We made the decision to purchase an Express Pass here, which turned out to be the best $150 we had spent so far. We were able to skip the lines on the majority of rides, meaning we again made our way briskly through the park's many attractions. The pick of the rides here were The Incredible Hulk Coaster and The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman - a 3D ride. Of course, we left the best till last - The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - where we went on the Dragon Challenge - a high speed roller coaster, and the infamous Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey - a walk through Hogwarts castle on to a 3D roller coaster ride around the Hogwarts grounds, playing Quidditch and avoiding Dementors. This was by far the best ride out of both parks!
Today, we enjoyed a belated start to the day before heading to Wet 'n Wild, which turned out to be an excellent move, given it was 35 degrees and no rain today. The water park is not as big as the one on the Gold Coast, and the rides nowhere near as good, but it was a great way to cool down and relax :) We also utilised the FastPass here too - again, another good move (especially considering this one was only $20 per person) as it meant that we went straight to the front of the queues without having to wait on the scorching hot concrete stairs and pathways for too long at all.
Tomorrow, we are heading off for a tour of the Kennedy Space Centre and a boat tour through the Everglades - both of which should be a lot of fun.
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