The Universal Renaissance

The "Disney Renaissance" is a term thrown around by many in the entertainment industry to describe the period between 1989-1998. Before 1989, the Disney movie studios had been throwing out awful movie after awful movie, leading many to believe their time as a premier movie studio was finished. Then, in 1989, the Little Mermaid came out, and led a Renaissance of the Disney Animation Studios. Over the next ten years, Disney released along with the Little Mermaid; Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Aladdin, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pocahontas, Mulan, and Tarzan, all seen as classics today. This span is called the Disney Renaissance because it rejuvenated a dying Disney company returning them to premier status. Anyway, to the main topic, I use this term because I believe we are currently in the midst of a Universal Renaissance within their theme Park Resort. The Year is 2008, and Universal Studios hasn't opened a new attraction in four years, when Revenge of the Mummy opened up. Paint is fading, attendance is slipping, and Universal appears as if they've given in to Disney as being the only theme park giant in Orlando, and are about to fall into a status of being obsolete. Looking through different forums and going back to 2007-08, many people at the time were ripping into Universal for the parks being dirty, rides effects being broken, and the whole resort basically being in a state of disrepair. Many people look back on this time, now dubbed the "Dark Days" Of Universal and it is now generally accepted that the ONLY thing that kept Universal Orlando at float during this time without Halloween Horror Nights. Without the money this popular event brought in, its very probable there would be no more Universal Studios today. Anyway, the obvious parallel here is that the Universal Parks were basically the Disney Animation studios before the Little mermaid. So what was Universals Little Mermaid? Harry Potter right? Im going to say wrong and make the case the Renaissance of Universal happened one year before Potter, with the opening of Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. When Rip Ride Rockit opened in August of 2009, it was a groundbreaking ride that allowed you to choose your own music and listen to it on the coaster. It was, and still is the only coaster in the southeast with a 90 degree lift hill, and it gave a thrill ride to Universal Studios, a park sorely lacking in them compared to Islands of Adventure. Looking back, August of 2009 was the beginning of a Universal Renaissance.

Then, in 2010, Harry Potter opened in Islands of Adventure. The island as a whole was a game changer, revolutionary, groundbreaking, and the first major addition to Islands of Adventure since the park opened in 1999. The main attraction, the Forbidden Journey, was hailed by many as the most impressive and immersive ride in the world. The dining aspect of the land was also a game changer. Butterbeer was introduced and proved that a beverage/food item can cause just as much buzz and popularity and be just as much of the theme park experience as a new ride can. Ever since Butterbeer rolled out, competing theme parks, and even Universal have opened new attractions with a centerpiece drink. When Cars land opened in Disneyland, Reds Apple Freeze was a highly publicized drink. Here in New Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom, Lefous Brew was the drink. When Sea World debuted its new ride last week, Antarctic orange chill was introduced to theme park fans. With Harry Potter, Universal now had a new major attraction in each of their two parks, restoring relevancy to their resort. Phase 1 of the Renaissance was complete, as Universal rode the success of Potter through 2011, without any major additions. Then when the massive amounts of money from Potter was brought to outstanding levels, Universal went back to work with that money with one goal and one goal only in mind, take a second shot at doing what they set out to do so many years ago: Take over Disney for Orlando Theme Park supremacy.

When we look back 10 years from now, I believe the period from 2012-2016 will truly be seen as a time of theme park expansion from Universal like nothing weve never seen before from any theme park. In 2012, Universal rolled out a popular new daytime parade, along with a new daily night time fireworks show. Now there was something in the parks to keep families there the whole day, rather than leave before the parks closed. Also opening, a new Despicable Me Ride, based off the most successful animated movie from any company since Toy Story. A new miniature golf course opened in City walk, and a new spongebob store was also open, the most immersive theme park store in all of Orlando. Again, all of these additions happened in one year.

Now here we are in June 2013. Two days ago Transformers opened, to absolutely raving reviews, most calling it the best ride in the park. Within the next week, the new Simpsons themed land will be opening along the old world expo strip outside the Simpsons land. This new land will be highlighted by what is being dubbed "Fast Food Boulevard." Universal took that concept of food/beverage being a big part of the experience here, with so many new food options straight out of the simpsons show coming. The frying dutchman, Moes Tavern, Krusty Burger, Panda Chicken, Lards Lads Donuts, and more will be opening at Universal very soon.

Looking to the future, Phase 2 of Harry Potter is slated to open in Summer of 2014, which will no doubt reset the bar even higher. In 2015, a new ride is rumored to be opening in Jurassic park, the current rumors suggest a highly immersive family coaster. In 2016, we can most likely expect a retheming of the Kids zone outside of ET, rumor suggests it will most likely become Bikini Bottom, hinting at a new Spongebob ride. Universal is clearly not finished, not even close. Other rumors without a set timetable include a new ride based on the Lorax coming to Dr Seuss Land, and a Fast and Furious ride, using the same ride system as test track, to  inhabit the vacant lot behind the Simpsons ride.

Probably the most remarkable thing about the Universal Renaissance is how the exact opposite is happening at Disney World. The last major ride to open at Disney World was Toy Story Mania, 5 years ago! The lack of action at Disney World has become a running punchline on many fan forums, especially when compared to Universal current actions. Many joke about the sad fact that it is taking Disney longer to build a basic meet and greet than it took Universal to build Transformers. The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is set to open in December, which MIGHT be the first major ride to open at Disney since '08, but many are saying the Mine Train will be a big flop, and if thats the case Disney has no current back up plan in place and will continue to go without any major additions for at least the next 2-3 years. Many fans are upset about the fact that Universal seems to be inviting Disney to a theme park war, and Disney doesnt seem to want to play along. Nevertheless, we are in the middle of the Universal Renaissance, which continues in a big way this week with the opening of Transformers, its an exciting time to be a fan of the Universal Parks, and its only going to get better.

Vacation Journal

Wednesday May 15^th: The first day of our mega vacation and I woke up in an ecstatic mood. As I first woke up I watched the Little Mermaid and Aladdin as the final movies I needed to watch to prepare for the vacation. Dad got home about lunch we finished packing and off we went to the airport. Our flight took off on time at 5:15; we got to fly over the mountains which I thought was so cool considering I have never in my life been out this far west before. It was very difficult getting through a four and a half hour flight, but some snacks that included jelly belly’s helped, and I also watched, without listening, to dad watching Life of Pi on his ipad while I listened to my music. Once we finally ended it was very interesting seeing all the slot machines like there was a casino in the airport. After getting our rental car we drove down the Vegas strip just as it was getting dark and seeing all the lights and different casinos was very exciting. We checked into our hotels the next two nights, the Orleans, and after getting settled in walked down to get dinner at Fuddruckers. After dinner I just relaxed around the hotel room while dad gambled a little bit. Eleven months ago this dream started and now we are finally here in Vegas, it’s almost surreal.

Thursday May 16^th: First and only full day in Vegas until next week, we started out around 9:00, and headed straight for the stratosphere. Unfortunately, the observation deck doesn’t open until 10:00, so we walked to Circus Circus, in the already very warm weather, before heading back to the stratosphere. The view from the top is pretty incredible, and goes all the way around. Im glad I bought a ticket for the Big Shot before we got to the top, so I didn’t have a choice once I got up there. It ended being an exhilarating experience, although not nearly as thrilling as Doctor doom in terms of dropping sensation. After the stratosphere we headed back to the hotel for sunscreen. Then we headed to Excalibur, walked around for a bit before we realized they don’t have simulators anymore. We then headed to Luxor, which I find to be the coolest looking one from outside. Then we went to New York, where I rode the Coaster, which was extremely rough and I would even say painful for the neck and shoulder. We then walked to the MGM, where I found a Fat Tuesdays and got pretty buzzed off of the drink, a feeling not all that welcome in the hot weather. After a quick peak in the Tropicana, it was back to the hotel and dinner at Fridays. At night we went to Downtown Vegas, which included some good music, a wacky dancer, and a cool canopy show to end off the night. Tomorrow it is off to Disneyland.

Friday May 17^th: The big day, off to Disneyland! It was a long three and a half hour drive, but we finally reached Disneyland around 1:30. I was ready to dive head first into the rides, but dad was determined to eat first so we did that at Flos café. Then it was time for the first ride, Radiators Springs Racers, which we waited 80 minutes for. After that we did the Little Mermaid on only a five minute wait. After that dad left and I headed over to Disneyland. I quickly realized the walkways were narrow in Disneyland and it created a nightmare trying to walk around. It was kind of an early damper seeing the massive crowds, and the effect of it being a grad night only made it worse. I finally settled on Matterhorn as my first Disneyland ride, a ride I absolutely fell in love with. I moved over to New Orleans square where I did Haunted Mansion, which I was pretty disappointed in, much shorter than the Magic Kingdom version. I decided to head back to the matterhorn for a second ride since the single ride line was short and simple. After that it was back to DCA where I did Its tough to be a bug while waiting for dad. After meeting with dad we rode Soarin before lining up for World of Color, which was absolutely amazing, the videos of it I watched don’t do justice to how awesome this show is. After that it was back to Disneyland where we did Star Tours and Space Mountain with fastpass. Space was definitely different than the Magic Kingdom version, and in some ways better such as music and multiple lift hills. I found it slower however, and prefer the single file seating in Orlando. After that it was a second ride on the Haunted Mansion, and we closed on Pirates, exhausted. Pirates is definitely far superior in Disneyland than in Orlando. A long day that saw us leave the park around 11:35. We picked up Carl Jrs since I had only eaten a tigger tail and mickey pop the whole day, and headed to the hotel. A long, but fun day, and tomorrow will be just as awesome.

Saturday May 18^th: Day two of four at Disneyland, and a little bit of a later start than I would have hoped for. After some debating as to what time and how I would get to Disneyland, we finally settled on dad dropping me off, then him coming back later. I believe I was in the park by around 9:30 and immediately got fastpasses for Tower of Terror. I ended up walking around before using the fastpasses at 10:10, I enjoyed this version of tower of Terror although it is not quite as amazing at the Hollywood Studios version. I then went on California screamin’, which I found to be an incredible coaster, albeit not the most thrilling in the world. I had pulled another fastpass for Tower of Terror before I went on it the first time, so I was able to do that again right after Screamin, at this point I met up with dad and we rode Monsters Inc after about a twenty minute wait which was a pretty decent dark ride, but the cars move so slowly which detracts from it a little bit. I then went back to ride California Screamin’ a second time before we moved over to Disneyland after seeing that Toy Story Mania was closed at the time. We got fastpasses for Roger Rabbit, then I went single rider on the Matterhorn and we went back to use the fastpasses for Roger Rabbit, I had been told this ride would be a disappointment and it somewhat was, but I still found it a decent dark ride, definitely on I wouldn’t mind having at Magic Kingdom. Then dad left, and I walked through Tarzans treehouse, which was pretty bad, Swiss Family treehouse is better, than rode the single rider line for Splash Mountain. I ended up waiting about 45 minutes in the single rider line, and the Splash Mountain here ended up being significantly shorter than the Magic Kingom version and therefore disappointing. There is one cool scene in this version not found at the Magic Kingdom however, that comes in between Brer Fox catching brer rabbit and the drop. After this I went back and did the Matterhorn Bobsleds yet again, yes, I am absolutely in love with that ride. At this point dad picked me up and we went to eat dinner at Red Robin. After dinner we rested at the hotel for about twenty minutes before heading in to the park at about 5:45. We had fastpasses for Indy at 7:05, and had time for one ride before them so we rode Buzz which had broken down when we were in line earlier in the day. This version I found superior to the Magic Kingdom version, because for one it is longer and also because you can pick up the guns instead of being planted into the vehicle, so its easier to shoot. Then we used our fastpasses for Indy but still waited about a half hour, even in the fastpass line. Indy is simply an incredible ride, similar to Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom only fifty times better, and right up there with Matterhorn for my favorite ride in the park. At this point it was about 7:45 and we had decided to use Saturday night to tour Fantasyland and the large amount of rides it had to offer. We started with Snow White and waited about ten minutes for it. I found this version to be better than the no longer running version in Orlando. Then it was onto Pinocchio, a ride not found in Orlando. It was only a 5 minute wait, and it wasn’t a great dark ride, especially compared to the other fantasyland classics. After this we did Peter Pans Flight which was about a half hour wait. This version I found to be pretty inferior to the Orlando Version, and the nostalgia factor isn’t there unlike the one at Magic Kingdom which I have fond memories of riding as a little kid. After this we went on to It’s a Small World, where I found this version to be slightly better than the Orlando version, at its longer and included actual Disney characters throughout the ride. It was also cool because it features outdoor portions unlike the Orlando version. After this we took a break from Fantasyland to go back and ride Pirates, which has become my third favorite ride in the park. I will never be able to enjoy the Magic Kingdom version as much after riding the Disneyland version, which is twice as long and includes a second drop to the Magic Kingdoms one drop. Then it was back to Disneyland for a ride on Alice In Wonderland, another dark ride not found in Orlando. It was a very cool ride, and would definitely be something welcome in the Magic Kingdom, although the line moves painfully slow. Then it was onto a ride that I knew would be emotional for me to ride, Mr Toads Wild Ride. My favorite ride in Orlando as a little kid, had been shut down for good there when I was 8. Now after 13 years I finally had the chance to ride it again. It was just as fun as I remember it being, although Im told the Disneyland version isn’t as good as the Orlando version was it was still a lot of fun to get a chance to ride Mr Toad again. We just had one more Fantasyland ride to try, the Matterhorn Bobsleds, which dad had yet to do. We waited about 20 minutes for it, and off we went, my fifth ride on it in two days. The roughness of the ride is starting to take a toll on my back as its starting to get sore and I know this ride is the cause of it, but I just don’t care, the ride is way too much fun to let it bother me. After this we left and were out of the gate at 11:25, and back in the hotel a little after midnight. Another great day in Disneyland with two left to go.

Sunday May 19^th: Day three at Disneyland, and this day I decided to sleep in a little bit and wait for dad and go in with him. We left the hotel about 9:30 and at the parking gate were told we were going to be guests of the day. The way we were told it seemed like we were in for a day full of treats, which I was hoping included some fastpasses, but all it really was was free parking and a closer parking space. Nice, but not as nice as fastpasses. We immediately headed into Tomorrowland to get fastpasses for Space Mountain then rode the Finding Nemo subs, which we waited about ten minutes for, not bad since the line moves slow causing lines to be more than an hour in the middle of the day. The ride was nice but I think dad enjoyed it more since it gave him memories of riding the 20,000 leagues subs in the Magic Kingdom. We had time for one more ride before our Space fastpasses and settled on Matterhorn of course, for the sixth time on this trip for me. We then used our fastpasses for Space Mountain, which is by far the most difficult ride to decide which version I like better between this one and Orlandos. Theres so much I like better about this one, but the large fact that I love the single file rows in Magic Kingdom, and the Orlando version seems faster makes it very nearly a tie. We then rode Jungle Cruise after a 20 minute wait, this one was easy as the Magic Kingdom version is way better, as this version is missing the cave scene found in Orlando and therefore is significantly shorter. We then grabbed fastpasses for Indiana Jones, did the treehouse, dads choice not mine, he wanted to see it, rode Winnie the Pooh, I ride which I found the Orlando version to be much better, although dad strongly disagreed and found this version much better. We then went back and rode Indy, and I was amazed by it yet again. AT this point dad left, so I went and did the single rider line for Splash, this time only waiting about five minutes. I then went to Fantasyland to do the walkthrough castle attraction which I found to be rather lame, so I didn’t have to worry about doing it again with dad later on. I went back and rode splash after this because of how short the single rider line had been, and again only waited about five minutes. I then decided on the Matterhorn Bobsleds again, ride number seven of the weekend on it. I was now beginning to become very tired and worn out from over 30 hours in the park in a short span of time, so I did two 3-D movies, Captain EO and Mupper Vision before meeting up with dad for dinner. Both movies are exactly the same as their Orlando Versions so not much to report there. For dinner we walked to ESPN zone in downtown Disney, I had the Salmon which was very good. We went back to California Adventure to see the 6:20 showing of Aladdin. The show receives incredible reviews, but the 45 minute show time, as long as the suggestion to line up 45 minutes early makes it a long time commitment so I was strongly considering skipping it. In the end I decided we’d check it out, so we lined up at 5:40 for the 6:20 show. We got very nice seats and I was blown away by how great the show was. It honestly was so good Im surprised they don’t pay extra to see it, it was a full scale broadway like show, and the actor who plays the genie was known for his improve throughout the show and was absolutely hilarious. It absolutely blows any show in any Orlando theme park completely out of the water. So I was very happy I decided to not skip out on the show. By the time we got out it was 7:30 and we decided to spend the rest of our night at California Adventure which closed at 10:00. I used the single rider line for California Screamin’ then we got in line for Toy Story Mania. We quickly got out of line as we realized we wouldn’t get off the ride in time to use our Tower of Terror fastpasses. We went over and I was so happy to see dad decided to try it with me, after strong persistence from me, I had finally got him to go on this. As expected he said it wasn’t nearly as bad as he thought itd be, and even asked if I wanted to do it again later in the night. We then walked around to Cars Land to explore it at night a little more, and then used the single rider line for Radiator Springs, which we waited about a half hour for. To close the night we finally did get on Toy Story Mania, where I kicked dads butt 152,000 to 89,000. We were off the ride by 10:10 and back in the hotel around 11:00. One more day at Disneyland, Im not as upset over that as I thought Id might be. Three long days in a row has kind of left me exhausted and sick of the large crowds and loud noises that come from those large crowds.

Monday May 20^th: Fourth and final day at Disneyland, and while Im partially upset, I am also exhausted and happy after tonight Ill be able to relax more on this vacation. Another short night of sleep as I woke up at 7:30 to get to the park early. I was inside Disneyland by 8:45, though the park didn’t open until 9:00, so the crowd was stopped at a rope in front of the castle. In all my years and trips to Disney, this was the first time ever I was at the park for the opening moment. After a spiel the rope dropped and the crowd scurried out to their various first rides. I immediately headed for Mr Toad and was the first person of the day on it. After that I headed to Alice In Wonderland, which was still without a wait, and then on to Pinocchio also without any wait. Three rides done by 9:20, I decided to head to a different part of the park, I did Haunted Mansion and Pirates, again both with no wait, I then went to do Roger Rabbit to make it six rides completed by 10:00, getting there at opening sure is nice. I then decided to move to California Adventure to get one more ride in on Tower of Terror and California Screamin.’ Besides those two I also did Goofys sky school and Its tough to be a bug again. Having ten things completed by 11:30, and a half hour until dad would be here, I decided to just walk around the park a bit and enjoy the atmosphere. After meeting with dad we went on haunted Mansion and Pirates for the last time. Then we went back and did Pinocchio and Mr toad for the last time. We had fastpasses for Indy, a ride we both fell in love with on the trip, but in the middle of the fastpass line the ride broke down, so now there was a question on whether or not we would get one more ride on it in. We decided to do Buzz and after that I got in one last ride on my beloved matterhorn. We then decided to head back to Indiana Jones to see if it was back up, and lucky for us it was. So for the last ride of our Disneyland trip, it was Indiana Jones, and we were out of the park by 5 and headed to Burbank. The trip was only 36 miles but took us a little over an hour and a half with traffic. We then got dinner at KFC and relaxed at our hotel before taking a night time drive through Hollywood and past the Chinese theatre. Today was by far the hottest day of our vacation, I don’t think the temperature got above 77 before today, but was up to 84 today. It was still another cool night though; all four nights in California have required sweatshirts to be worn by both myself and dad.

Disneyland recap: My  favorite attractions on the resort were 1. Matterhorn Bobsleds 2. Indiana Jones Adventure 3. California Screamin’ 4. Pirates of the Caribbean 5. World Of Color

Head to head Disney World vs Land

Rides far better in Orlando: Haunted Mansion, Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pans Flight, Tower of Terror, Splash Mountain

Rides far better in Anahaim: Buzz Lightyears space Ranger Spin, Pirates of the Caribbean, It’s a Small World

Too close to call: Space Mountain

Even though Orlando wins in the “clone” rides, Anaheim wins by a long mile in the “similar” rides, meaning the Matterhorn Bobsleds are better than Expedition Everest, Radiators Springs Racers is better than Test Track, Indiana Jones is better than Dinosaur, and California Screamin’ is better than Rock N Roller Coaster. The Aladdin show is also far better than any show offered in Orlando and World Of Color is better than any night show in Orlando, although Illuminations is close.

Tuesday May 21^st: The first of two full days in Hollywood and probably the day I was least excited about on this vacation. Not that I was dreading the day at all, it just didn’t excite me as much as the other days. We were out the door a little before ten and parked near the Chinese theatre. After checking out the Chinese theatre we hopped on a two hour bus tour through Hollywood. There were definitely some cool sights along the tour, including Johnny Depps apartment, and Iron Mans house. We also drove through Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive and saw other famous spots like Pinks Tacos and Mels Drive in. The tour lasted from 11:00-1:00 and we sat on the open air top level of the bus, directly in the sun baking for two hours, its was hot and drained me of a lot of energy. I was ready to head back to the hotel already but dad wanted to do the bus tour through downtown LA, which was 2.5 hours. I gave in and we did it from 2:00-4:30. The only sight I was really interested in seeing was the Staples Center but there were a few other interesting things as well. After 4.5 hours sitting right in the sun I was exhausted, and dad and I were both burnt pretty badly. We picked up Taco Bell for dinner and headed back to the hotel. I took a long nap then pretty much relaxed in the room the rest of the night. After four straight long days at Disney it felt great to just relax for the night, and now I am reenergized to fully pick this vacation back up tomorrow.

Wednesday May 22^nd: Today was our day at Universal Studios Hollywood. I was very excited about seeing how the opposite coast Universal was, even though I knew it was much smaller than in Orlando. We started out at house of Horrors which is a year round haunted house, I really wish we had one of these in Orlando. Walking through it really got me pumped for Halloween horror nights to come back, which is only four months away now. After that we did the world famous studio tour, which was pretty neat. We saw a lot of famous Hollywood sets, my favorite of which was Bate Motel from Psycho. After the tour we did Shrek which was exactly the same as in Orlando with a couple extra effects thrown in. We then headed down to the lower level of the park (the park is separated into a lower and upper level, separated by four long escalators you must take to get between the levels, very interesting.) Down here we started at Transformers, with a posted twenty minute wait but we ended up walking right on. It was a great ride and Im very excited it will be in Orlando now with its opening next month. Then we did the Mummy with a posted 20 minute wait that actually was 20 minutes. The Hollywood version of the mummy is much different than in Orlando, and I prefer Orlandos much better, dad said it was basically a tie for him. Then we did Jurassic Park which was very similar to the one in Orlando. We headed back up to the upper level to see their stunt show which I was expecting a lot out of after reading rave reviews, but in the end I was disappointed. Maybe I was just expecting to much because dad enjoyed it. After the show we did the Haunted House one more time and decided to leave, being in our car by 4:30. We ate dinner at Outback and headed back to the hotel. After watching a great Heat/Pacers game I decided to try the workout room. I speed walked/jogged for two and a half hours on the treadmill. After eating pretty much nothing but junk food the past week it felt great to get that exercise in. Tomorrow we head back for Vegas for three nights as the last leg of our trip.

Thursday May 23^rd: Up early for another long drive back to Las Vegas. So far this trip has featured a five hour plane trip and two separate 4.5 hour car rides, and still has another five hour plane ride to go. It was about 2:00 when we were approaching Vegas which dad thought would be too early to check in, so we decided to check out the Hoover Dam in the meantime. It was pretty cool but unbelievably windy, I literally felt like I could blow away at anytime and I had to take my glasses off so they wouldn’t fly off. After five days in temperate weather it was also not so nice to step back out into the desert heat Vegas had to offer. We finally checked into our hotel about 3:30 and relaxed a bit before heading for dinner. We decided on the buffet at our hotel for dinner, since dad insisted I needed to try a vegas buffet before we left. In the end Im glad we did, I felt like I was eating a kings feast with the unbelievable amount of options. I had plenty of salmon, shrimp, pizza, roasted potatoes, rotisserie chicken, and lobster tails and probably more I cant think of. Before I even got to desert I probably consumed a full days worth of calories, and I probably doubled it at the desert station. Key Lime Pie, Red Velvet cake, gourmet cookies, cheesecake shooters, banana cream pie, and mini cupcakes headlined the deserts I stuffed myself with. After dinner dad and I walked the strip to try and work off some of the 5,000 calories we had just put upon ourselves, the funny thing is I think I ate light compared to most of the other people at the buffet. We walked through Ceasers palace which I think is my new favorite casino, it is absolutely stunning the detail put into it. We then checked out the Bellagio fountains which were also very cool. We headed back to the room and then dad went down to gamble about 9:00 and a little after that I went down to explore the strip some more. As I learned in New York there is something fun and adventurous about exploring a foreign city by yourself. Walking the strip was absolutely jam packed with people, and its only Thursday, its sure to get worse as the weekend arrives. I finished off the night watching the 10:00 showing of the Volcano eruption in front of our hotel which was an amazing sight.

Friday May 24^th: Today we tried to get a somewhat early start to head out to red rock canyon this morning, but ended up getting out around 10:30 or so. We got to red rock canyon around eleven, a little later than we would have liked because by this time the temp was already hovering around 85 degrees, a little to hot to enjoy hiking or rock climbing. We started at the visitors center where the highlight for me was seeing a 130 year old tortoise. We then stopped at the first hiking point, we climbed some rocks and did a little hiking but never did a full path, but it was still pretty strenuous. On the second stop however, we got more than our moneys worth. We started climbing a very steep and very high hill/rock, and just ended up not stopping until we got near the top probably about a 200 feet climb. The climb down was much harder than going up, and more scary, and by the time we got to the bottom we were so hot and tired we didn’t make any more stops the rest of the canyon, just driving along it. We got back to the hotel around 2:00, and decided to head down to the pool. We spent about five minutes in the pool, which was more like an ice box, im surprised the water wasn’t frozen, then lounged beside the pool for about an hour, predictably ending in both of us getting burnt. After so much running around the last week, it was great to just relax in the sun for an hour by the pool. We got back to the hotel room and dad took a nap, and woke up around 6:00, and we headed out for dinner. We had dinner at Applebees tonight, I always love their tilapia and potato fingers. After dinner dad headed out to gamble and I headed out for another walk along the strip. I watched a couple showings of the Bellagio fountains, the mirage volcano, then back to the hotel for the night, just one more day left on the vacation.

Saturday May 25^th: Last day of the vacation, and with nothing really planned until tonight, it was just going to be a relaxing day. Dad went down to gamble around lunchtime, and I decided to take one last walk along the strip while our room was being cleaned. After that it was just relaxing until about 6:00 when we left to see the cirque du soleil show across the street. The show started at 7:00 and ended at around 8:30. It was a good show, although not exactly my type of show, I did enjoy the stunts done. After the show I watched the mirage volcano show one last time, then got Mcdonals for dinner. I hadn’t eaten Mcdonalds in at least 10 months, and was surprised to see they didn’t have chicken strips anymore. So I got the nuggets then headed up to the hotel room for the night. It was a fun vacation, but after eleven nights away, I am ready to go back home.