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Writer's pictureDean Fletcher

Wind, Rain, and Hurricane Helene. Florida 2024: Day 3

Updated: Oct 11


Alright you little minions in the making…out of bed!! It’s Universal day…and more importantly…HHN night!! Hell…yes! The reason for a trip in peak hurricane season…we may regret this decision 🙄.


Come on Alaska, aren’t you excited? “What even is Universal?”…damn girl, didn’t need that much sass. Horror Nights Alaska, the birthplace of Horror Nights…the place you have been telling everyone for the last 6 months you are going. Don’t play dumb little Loo, you’re better than this.


She finally accepts our detour from Disney, and we all amble from the land of the mouse, to the land of the minion. We are doing a 1 night stay at Royal Pacific Resort for HHN!!! Genius plan…1 night here gets you 2 days express pass for everyone staying in the room. Essentially saving about $1000…well that’s the math I’m going with to justify the endeavour. Plus, we are on site for HHN and don’t have to drive all the way back to Disney at 2am (ha…as if we are that hardcore!). Ok ok, so quick check in, and some complimentary welcome Leis…great just what we want, a flower necklace to carry around all day…”do you want one sir?”…of course I do, blue please 🙂. Can’t resist a freebie…I get caught in the moment mun.


Stop off at the service desk for a cheeky pass upgrade…why the hell do we want annual passes? Well it’s only an hour down the road right? Not quite, but I do get access to a special lounge and a pretty pink UOAP pass…well worth chucking $800 into Universals pocket. Bugger all discount benefits, but I guess it’s incentive to come back within the year…and then we’ll be quids in. Yep, no regrats (Easter egg).


We do have a February trip booked, so it’s a bit of a cost saving long term, so I did have some method in my madness. Unusual for me…I’m usually just mad! Conveniently, at the point of payment, Jordan had decided she had left her phone in the car and had to make a swift exit to retrieve it…no one is buying your lame excuses Jo, we all know the score. I should have taught her a lesson and bought her a shit lanyard rather than the badass new HHN 33 one I ended up getting her to save arguments…I’ll deal with the shit, and the bill…it’s tough being me 😞.


Following my daylight robbery, we made our way to the park. Travelling across the ocean in a rickety old raft in horrific stormy weather, fighting Kraken and Megalodon along the way we manage to safety arrive despite the loss of several brave crew members along the journey. Well this is apparently how Grayson saw the gentle water taxi ride to City Walk…no idea why he had such a panic on, maybe it was a bit of foreshadowing for the imminent delightful weather we would soon become accustomed to.


Apparently today is Hurricane day…some blustery bitch called Helene was about to wreck our day and wreak havoc upon the state of Florida…oh delightful, we can deal with a little wind and rain…we are Welsh, it’s in our DNA. Still half decent at the moment mind, quick pic in front of the globe…we are such tourists, and head into the park.


Minion Blast… didn't even get chance to link my gun to the app…points wasted right there!! I’ll never make the Vicious 6 at this rate and I’ll never win the respect of my hero Wild Knuckles now 😞.

I love this game/ride mind, queue is such fun, but it was a walk on today… couldn’t even get chance to take in the theming as Jordan rushed us through, too eager to join V6…that’s the express pass well worth it 😂


My failure at the game clearly angered the gods, as the heavens opened and left the whole of Universal Studios in a mish mash of people either scrambling for ponchos, or instantly regretting their decision not to pack a poncho. Great to see Universal rationing off their last few ponchos in a Turboman style lottery…smart move. Supply and demand (this may or may not have happened…).


Escaped the rain in this year’s Tribute Store…actually pretty good, and great to see the weather add to the dank, post apocalyptic atmosphere. Grabbed the new Halloween Minions popcorn bucket and a round of universals finest Banana popcorn…bloody delicious stuff this, and then took refuge in Minion Mayhem.


Half decent ride, made even better when your daughter is too small for the jiggly seats and instead has to be accompanied to the stationary seating. I just wish I had someone to jiggle me around like I had to do for Alaska…she don’t need a moving seat…she’s got me! But what is better than having to sit through an attraction like this in a stationary seat? Having to do it twice…yeah thanks for the technical difficulties…glad the others were having a laugh…I was almost spewing second time around.


Minions cafe for a spot of lunch and catch up with the kids mates Otto, Stu and Bob…long time friends, we got a discount on any food item apart from then Bananas…they are very precious here. Get in the kitchen and help your mates kids, about time you earned your keep!! Love this restaurant…theming is incredible and the food is good too with large portions. 2 meatball mountains, a plate of Minion tots (absolute joke mind; €5.49 for 5 tots) and a a purple minion drink…enough to feed us all and incite panic in parents. Why? Well because our darling little Alaska doesn’t like chewing her food, and thought the Minion’s Cafe was the ideal place to have a near death experience. Thank god Jordan was quick to save the food from Alaska’s vomit…don’t worry Jo, I’ll save Alaska, you look after the meatballs 😂


And then…the news we’d been dreading all day…the news that eclipsed Alaskas near death experience. HHN was cancelled! Yep, our plans had been ruined by that asshat of a tropical storm…bloody Helene!!! Awwww shit. In the blink of an eye I shot to guest services before the masses began to crowd the team members like a horde of the undead (see who needs HHN when you can see this) and manage to change our express and entrance tickets to tomorrow. Listen Universal, I know it’s dangerous, and people have it far worse off than me, but I have a tight timeline to do this event, sort it out…


To be serious, it’s no joke, this is looking to be a pretty big hurricane, and lots of people will likely lose their homes…you can understand why the parks are being so cautious.


Partially victorious, and a bit more comfortable that we may get to have the living hell scared out of me tomorrow night instead, I caught back up with the rabble and headed to piss of Megatron. Grayson had been filled with regret at a last minute shit fit 2 years ago and still high in his Tower of Terror Triumph, he wanted to try Transformers (try saying that 5 times fast…this level of alliteration takes skilled mastery of the English language). Yep, last time he was terrified, today it was his favourite ride…well at least until his next favourite ride anyways. Glad you enjoyed buddy.


Stop off in Diagon Alley to watch crowds of people not quite understand that the fire breathing Dragon was suffering from py-rectile dysfunction today and do a quick child swap for Gray and Jo go to deposit some cash in Gringotts whilst I head to watch the parade. Don’t piss around guys that’s my life savings I want deposited, try not to get caught up in the shenanigans of Harry and his band of merry troublemakers.


Kid swap started badly…Alaska has had a titful of it all today and decided that 1.45pm was as good a time as any to hit nuclear core overload level and through an absolute shit fit of nothing in particular. The worst kind of shit fit, one without any sense…luckily Betty was on hand to Boop Alaskas tantrum into embarrassment mode, and temporarily stun little Loo into a smile. Lasted all of 5 seconds though until the start of the mega Movie Parade. Don’t ruin this for me please LooLoo.


This parade was badass…made Disney look boring. Ghostbusters, Jaws, Jurassic Park…all the classics. Some huge and amazing looking floats…just brilliant. Even Alaska enjoyed. Quality.


Oooo another Tribute store…why not, may as well blow some more funds.

Could have spent a lot in here on absolute rubbish…instead, I only spent a small amount on rubbish…an ET hat for Grayson. To be fair, it’s a boss hat and Grayson loves it…


ET next, and time for Grayson to build on his new found ET super fandom…who would have thought an alien who’s most prominent feature is a glowing finger would relate so well to the youth of today? Half decent ride, but you’d sweat Gray had just been on the dark ride equivalent of Velocicoaster. Kids loved it, I was raging that the ungrateful little bugger ET didn’t thank me at the ride conclusion…that’s the last time I save the green planet…let it rot you ungrateful bastard!!


“I want a photo with grandma”…oo Alaska, poor old Saran won’t thank you for that…that’s ET in a wig, she looks in way better shape than grandma.


Meandered around the new Dreamworks land, oissed about in the Kung Fu Panda area, and were denied entry to the Trollercoaster due to weather so swiftly left.


MIB next for a quick round of saving the galaxy…Grayson apparent new favourite ride. Not gonna brag but I bossed it and have no been recruited as the new Agent D. I’m supposed to tell though…*flashes pen*. Then back to Gringotts to make a withdrawl…why can’t anything be simple? Sure I saw that Weasley kid pocketing some of my coins…dirty Weasley.


Bit of fizzy marshmallow piss (sorry Butter Beer) to round the trip to the magical back streets of London, and our time was up…swift departure through the flop network back to Universal, and we made our way out of the park. Winds are picking up now so head back soon.


Ended the day with a stop at the preview centre, some merch and a quick trip to Walmart to pick up some triple shot protein lattes (yeah didn’t want to sleep tonight anyways)…Cheers Chris :) It’s been a funny old day, but it’s been quite fun…not what we had planned, but we’ll never let a storm bring us down.


Tomorrow is a better day, and hopefully , HHN day!!

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