Not Doll Related Orlando Stuff

I was obsessively careful in arranging our trip: limo to airport, flight, pay for luggage, pre-check-in online, tickets to parks, car rental, hotel reservation. It seemed endless but finally came together. The limo arrived exactly on time. We got to the airport with plenty of time for coffee and for the long walk to the gate. Why is it that every flight I take is ALWAYS the last gate in the terminal? So we're  We get through the full body scans without a problem and get to the gate. We were told that the gate on the ticket was still the same gate. Well it wasn't and we didn't realize that until 15 minutes before boarding. Then when we got there, the overhead bins were already filled so they had to take our carry-on luggage in which things I didn't want to be checked had to be checked. Ugh. You can be sure I will not be at the wrong gate on the way home because two Gene dolls will be in my carry-on and no one is going to come between me and those dolls.
The flight was fine. The luggage arrived quickly in un-tampered-with condition. We go to the car rental desk and they can't find my name or Bob's name. I never remember whose name I use for these things. But it didn't matter because we were at the wrong rental company anyway. Embarrassing but pretty funny. Got a car at the right desk. Drove to the hotel picking up our Universal tickets on the way.
Check-in at the hotel was a little delayed as our room wasn't quite ready. The lady at the desk gave me a big spiel about how our room was upgraded and that we were getting free bottles of water because I'm a Hilton Honors member. The room has a very nice view overlooking Universal but other than that, the hotel needs a major upgrade. They are about 10 years overdue for a face lift. It's kind of dark in the bathroom. The bed, however, is very comfortable and clean.

View From Our Room

I can sum up Universal Studios in a few words: go to Disney World instead.  Universal doesn't hold a candle to the professionalism and operation of Disney. We enjoyed a few rides yesterday but otherwise, it's a mess of disjointed buildings and lame employee scripts. Our favorite ride was had to do with the Minion characters from the movie, Despicable Me. I love those little creatures and this ride is a 4D event that is lots of fun. We went twice. The second time I had my eyes open. Ha ha.
The Mummy ride was dumb and not scary at all. Terminator was OK. The disaster thing had an awful narrator who made the wait to get to the real thing interminable. Skip it. The one at Disney is 100% better. The Men In Black 'ride' was cute. No great shakes.
Don't eat at Mel's diner. Ugh.
The patisserie was lovely but all we had there was cappuccino and gigantic oatmeal (delicious) raisin cookies.
Every ride exits through a related gift shop and there's very little that worth buying. They do, however, have several Hot Toy's character figures for sale. But they are just worth looking at for their perfection.
I did buy this little Minion and a Mr. Potato Head type toy that has a Minion body instead of a potato.

Today we're going over to the Universal park that is Harry Potter themed. It should be interesting just for the character of the buildings.

The best thing about Universal is their City Walk. The Disney equivalent (I forget the name) is very tame by comparison.

Disney World is beautiful and big and the rides are memorable, from the spinning tea cups to the haunted house. Universal is a mess - an expensive mess, at that.
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Monday, April 15, 2013  at Islands of Adventure, Universal

This part of Universal is much newer. It's divided into several areas each of which has it's own theme structures and rides. It's much more attractive and a little more interesting. The Spider Man ride was pretty good. My expectations were lower so I wasn't disappointed.

I focused on trying to take pretty postcard pictures.

I will post more pictures on Face book.

When I return home, the doll related posts will go up.  Last night Sandra Stillwell and I played with the new Gene,  dressed and photographed her and an IT doll in Sandra's fashions. I also shot nude pictures of three versions of the Gene body. The major difference I see is that the new Gene seems slightly shorter. Everything fits the new body including shoes.

The New Gene: Phoenix

Here is her picture courtesy of Angelic Dreamz. She comes with two rooted wig caps and a plain cap for using with your own wigs. I haven't had a minute alone with my own doll to take pictures.
It is really Gene! A dream come true for Gene collectors although the price point may be a nightmare for some. It's better to have one gorgeous, high quality doll than 4 or five who will yellow. (At least that's what I tell myself.)
Phoenix Gene will be able to wear all earlier Gene clothes.

The price pre-ordered was $525. The on-line price for May delivery was $550. I was told that the entire edition of 150 sold out shortly after the additional 50, not reserved for event attendees, were posted for sale.

IDEX Friday, April 12, 2013

Written on Saturday morning.

Friday was a fun, busy day. In the morning we toured the IDEX showroom and spent time chatting with Robert Tonner, Jack Kralik, The Angelic Dreamz Guyz and Michelle of Wilde Imagination and others.
IDEX has changed dramatically from the last one I attended. It's about 1/3 the size. Major companies such as Madame Alexander are not here. Attendance was sparse and many of the booths seemed underpopulated. However, some of the booths were fantastic and beautifully designed.

Because the hotel internet connection is crawling, I had to upload yesterday's pictures to my Facebook page. Clicking on the image below will take you there.  When I return home, I will post the images on this blog for those who cannot see Facebook. 

I have edited the pictures down to my favorites. You will see a fire engine outside the hotel. At one point an announcement came over the PA system ordering everyone to exit the building. Apparently it was a false alarm.

 

In the late afternoon, Bob and I went to see Olympus Has Fallen. It is not a movie for the faint of heart and definitely not for children. Holy Crap! It was exhausting just watching it. I do recommend it for the action and excitement and it is very timely. However I hope that it's an impossible scenario because it is very frightening.

From the hotel we walked (yes, walked) to Universal Studio's City Walk. This is their nightclub, bar, movie, restaurant, entertainment area. Talk about assaulting the senses! The lights, noise, activity and smells were Manhattan on steroids minus the buses and taxis. There is stuff going on everywhere. It was amazing. We played it safe and ate dinner at Bubba Gumps - not bad at all.

Walking back to the hotel after dark was very peaceful. The landscaping around the parks is gorgeous. The weather last night was delightful and calm compared to Thursday night when it was very windy and rainy. 

Back at the hotel we passed the bar on the way to our elevator and we spied Mel among a few others. I was happy to say hello to him and glad that he arrived safely. In a few hours we will get to see and hear him introduce the new doll. I'm excited!

IDEX Tonner Event Lizette Doll

I was not there but here is the event Lizette.

Very cute!

Blogging from Orlando

We arrived safely and that's the most important thing. But traveling is so difficult and tiring these days.
I ran into a few doll people today but nothing else is happening. The artists and dealers were busy setting up their booths and that was a closed affair.
The weather was beautiful today - sunny, warm and breezy. It felt so good after the extraordinarily long winter we had in Pennsylvania.
Since there were no dolls to photograph, I photographed a chair. Made sense to me.

Parting Shot

We're leaving for IDEX in the wee hours tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to the Mel Odom event and seeing other doll buddies without a computer between us.
The spousal unit and I will also play at Universal for a few days. It's going to be so much fun.

Here is a quick picture I took of Inro the other day. I've been trying out different wigs. I like her in the darker shades.  I did get a wonderful new wig from Ilaria yesterday and it will make it's appearance in FDQ soon.

TTYS