Yes, I am aware that in March I spent several days at Universal Orlando and Disneyworld. But last week was spring break and I wanted to give the 12-year-old a special treat. Her older sister (who spent break doing online driver’s ed–shudder) has a full summer scheduled, and the younger kid was feeling a little left out. Originally I thought a week in Washington, DC would be fun, but the logistics proved too formidable. We set out sights closer to home instead: Universal Hollywood and Disneyland.
It’s a 300 mile drive. We listened to my punk CDs–fast forwarding quickly through a few that weren’t quite appropriate for the kid’s ears. I love the Buzzcocks but wasn’t in the mood to explain “Orgasm Addict” to a 6th grader.
We had one full day to spend at Universal, so I sprang for the VIP tour.
The VIP tour was a good choice. We got to do stuff like visit a soundstage and prop warehouse, as well as take pics at various sets. And we got to go to the front of all the ride lines, which meant we had time to ride them all twice. Plus, we learned that they’ll be opening a Harry Potter section next year,
After Universal, we headed to Anaheim and three days at Disneyland. We rode my favorite rides multiple times: Tower of Terror, Pirates, and the Haunted Mansion. We walked a lot. And we had a really good time.
Eventually we had to brave 330 miles of I-5 and Highway 99 to get home–back to real life. With the day job rushing toward the end of the semester, and with 5 new releases coming out in June and July, I have plenty of work to catch up on. Boo. At least we had fun singing along with the Rocky Horror soundtrack on the way home.