Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. Jurassic Park.

Do remember watching Jurassic Park when it was a new movie?  I don’t remember watching it in the theater.  I probably didn’t.  It came out before I had friends that worked at the one local movie theater.  But, I do remember watching it curled up with a blanket and a snack on the couch at home.  I read the book not long after I saw the movie, and I read the sequel, too.  It wasn’t long before I had read every book Michael Crichton wrote.

Anyway, the Jurassic Park section of the park was fun.  The kids and Doug rode the River Adventure ride while I wandered around with the baby.  :)  The line was about 45 minutes long, but they were excited to ride it, so they were good in line.  Doug was seated in the middle of the row with the kids to one side of him, so he was sitting next to a stranger.  Apparently, this twenty-something female was really scared at the final drop of the ride, because she grabbed on to Doug’s arm…  I wish Doug had purchased the on-ride photo, because, as he tells it, he’s got a stranger clutching his arm on one side and the boys are more terrified than he has ever seen them on the other side of him…  good times.  Both the boys have overcome their fears, and they can’t wait to ride this ride again next time. 

At the Dinosaur Discovery Center, there are some large models of dinosaurs, and lots of educational stuff about dinosaurs.  The kids got to touch a casting of a t-rex claw.  That was pretty cool… Tanner was pretending to be terrified. :) Sorry for the awful picture… This was indoors, without a flash, and I tried to lighten it up a little so you could tell what it is.  Whatever…  At the Discovery Center, this girl introduced the guests to the newest dinosaur, who had just hatched that morning.  Cool, huh?  Tanner thought it was awesome.  Timmy had a difficult time convincing Tanner that dinosaurs are extinct.  He had seen one that just hatched, so how could they be extinct??

I took a few more pictures in the Jurassic Park area, but they really didn’t turn out well.  There was just too much sun.