A Birthday Trip without a Birthday - 2/16: Conclusion and Bonus Birthday Tea

[Flossbolna]

OH wow! That IS an exciting Special Feature update! That is fantastic you get to enjoy one of your other shared loves! maybe someday I'll get over there and check it all out too. Meantime, I can't offer any advice, but will have to just be a watcher of how things unfold. I know your stories and pictures are going to be the BOMB!!!

Thanks for sharing my excitement!

Magdelena, your plan for Island or Adventure and Universal Studios sounds great! It got me thinking and I'm planning my trip around a bit to focus more on IoA and Universal towards the end of my trip.

I'm also a BIG fan of Harry Potter and WWoHP looks AMAZING!!! I'm sure you will enjoy it! The Simpsons Ride looks really fun too!! I've been excited about that ride ever since it opened. I highly recommend the Spiderman Ride at Marvel Island in IoA. It's really really fun!!

So you are spending a few days there? I had been thinking about doing that as well, but we are really happy to just be at WDW and not move around for that trip. But I think my next Florida vacation will be different... I have heard about the Spiderman ride, it sounds great and a friend mentioned the Men In Black ride the other day. I am sure we will find plenty to entertain us!

WOW a day trip to Universal!! What fun!!! I really really want to go to WHOP so I will have to live through your pics and TR until I can get over there!!!

Oh, I hope you will be make it over there sooner than later!

 

[Flossbolna]

Cool! I haven't seen the new WWoHP, but it does sound like a cool place. I'll be interested to see what you think of it.

I am sure that I will report back about it!

I have been slowly creeping back from the end of Oct to the beginning of October. The first week for sure was full of Disrs and other people in the "know". Towards the middle and end of Oct. it was a bit slower. For EPCOT as I probably have mentioned before Monday - Thursday is much slower than Fri- Sun.

EXACTLY!!!! Seriously, I was finding weird stuff like that.

I imagine early December to be similar! But it sounds like our trip might not be affected too much since we are there later in the months. But I will keep your advise in mind.

 

[3prettyprincesses]

I was thinking of making it a contest, but I am too excited about this feature, so I really want to write about it and not make you wait any longer! We will spend one day of our trip at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. The big motivation is of course the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, I started to read those books when only the first two had come out, so I am an old fan of the books. Used to be less of a fan of the films, but kind of got used to them. I still think that they focus too much on the big events and lose lots of the charm along the way. But from everything I have read and seen about WWOHP it looks like there is plenty of charm! So I am looking forward to that. The other big thing we want to make sure to see there is the Simpsons Ride - Katharina's DH is a huge fan and perhaps lots of great tales about the Simpsons Ride can convince him to take a trip to Florida. But Katharina and I really want to see the ride ourselves as well! Besides that we are still in the early planning stages of what to see...

We already have the logistics figured out a bit. We will make use of a deal which is offered by Dreams Unlimited (the travel agent which sponsors the DIS). It's a one day two park ticket which includes round trip transportation via shuttle from a WDW resort to Universal and back. It is only a few dollars more expensive than the same ticket without transportation. And since the Simpsons Ride is in Universal Studios while WWOHP is at Islands of Adventure, we would need that type of ticket anyway. The shuttle does get ok reviews here on the DIS. Our plan is to arrive very early for rope drop at Islands of Adventure, head over to WWOHP and then afterwards use the rest of the day for further exploration of those two parks. We are aware that this will be quite a lot of running around and we will certainly miss a few things, but it should give us a good overview of what it is like and maybe a future trip will have us return for a longer period of time... I have heard rumors that WWHOP Part 2 will break ground this year, so there might be even more of an incentive to return. We will end the evening with a meal at City Walk, Universal's version of Downtown Disney, either at Jimmy Buffett or at Bubba Gump. Both places sound pretty exotic to us!

The day we scheduled for this is Tuesday, October 18, one week after our arrival day. Supposedly mid week is less crowded there and this will give us one full week at WDW before venturing over to "the Dark Side". So, that's the reason why we can't go to the MNSSHP that day, but it looks like the DISers prefer the Sunday party anyway.

Any tips and recommendations would be extremely welcomed from those who have been to Universal! We are still trying to find out which rides have to go on our must see list etc.

Magdalene, what a perfect plan! We're actually planning to do something quite similar when we return to Disney. My daughters and I are huge Harry Potter fans!

I agree with your assessment of the movies. I think it was too difficult to fit all the detail of the books into each one. Though I think the first movie was the closest to the actual book. Have you seen Deathly Hallows yet?? Excellent! I'm eagerly awaiting part two this summer and have read that they really tried to keep it closely tied to book seven. We'll see!

I've been lurking over on the Universal boards lately and they seem to advise hitting The Forbidden Journey first and then Ollivander's Wand Shop. Apparently these two attractions build up lines very quickly! Will you be getting a butterbeer??

We've eaten at Bubba Gump up here by where we live and we were very pleased with our meal. It helped that my DH and I love the movie Forrest Gump too!

You and Katharina must be getting very excited as your plans take more shape! I honestly think planning just contributes to the overall fun and satisfaction of a Disney trip.

 

[Flossbolna]

Magdalene, what a perfect plan! We're actually planning to do something quite similar when we return to Disney. My daughters and I are huge Harry Potter fans!

I agree with your assessment of the movies. I think it was too difficult to fit all the detail of the books into each one. Though I think the first movie was the closest to the actual book. Have you seen Deathly Hallows yet?? Excellent! I'm eagerly awaiting part two this summer and have read that they really tried to keep it closely tied to book seven. We'll see!

I've been lurking over on the Universal boards lately and they seem to advise hitting The Forbidden Journey first and then Ollivander's Wand Shop. Apparently these two attractions build up lines very quickly! Will you be getting a butterbeer??

We've eaten at Bubba Gump up here by where we live and we were very pleased with our meal. It helped that my DH and I love the movie Forrest Gump too!

You and Katharina must be getting very excited as your plans take more shape! I honestly think planning just contributes to the overall fun and satisfaction of a Disney trip.

Yes, I think everyone who read the Harry Potter books and enjoyed them would love to be able to enter Harry's world!

I have seen all the movies and I agree with you Deathly Hallows Part 1 was much more true to the book. I think it is because they were able to spread out more, but it was also necessary because the story is so dense in that book that you can't really cut anything from it. I understand why they had to shorten things for the previous films, otherwise they would go on for ever. But as you said they lost a lot of the little things along the way, the stuff which made the books so loveable. All the little jokes and word-plays. I would not be surprised if we will one day see a Harry Potter TV-series. I think a longer format would do the books way more justice. It's like the famous BBC mini-series of Pride and Prejudice which is way better than the film with Keira Knightly.

I have been lurking on the Universal board as well. There is some really good advise out there. Katharina and I have already decided to skip Olivanders. While it sounds like a cute show, we rather want to explore the other areas of the two parks as well, so we need to be economical with our time. Since neither of us has any chance to be picked, there is no need to try to be matched with our wand... So far my plan is to get on Forbidden Journey first through the normal line to experience it together and then decide if we want to go again wether we take the single rider line.

Planning really is a lot of fun. We just talked today about how we need to think about packing lists and what kind of summer stuff we need in October in Florida since we would need to buy a lot of that now before it disappears and we can only find warm sweaters and wooly hats in the shops before our trip!! We did identify the need of sandals to bring with us (can't walk in flip flops, need something that keeps the shoe attached to the heel!) and also discussed the issue of fanny packs - mainly with a view to avoid the lockers at Universal...

 

[Flossbolna]

Yesterday evening was a big festival in Nuremberg's old city center. It is called Blaue Nacht in German - which translates into Blue Night. This is the official description:

Blue Night – every year in May, museums, churches and other cultural institutions open their doors – until the early morning hours. Art and light installations, music and performances in Nuremberg's inner city streets invite people to stroll about, look, listen and be amazed. About 120,000 visitors are expected every year.

Blue as a colour is viewed differently in German from English - first of all, "I am blue" does not mean "I am sad" in German, but rather: "I am drunk". But besides that, it is also the colour of freedom and romantic, so not connected with sadness at all.

I took a few pictures to give you an impression, unfortunately my camera battery did not load and therefore they are only taken with my phone. It all starts with the street lights in the city being changed over to blue lights:

But also a lot of buildings are illuminated with blue lights:

On this church facade there were also some lasers doing things:

And then on the main market square there was a big event: a water installation. There were projections on a water screen and then water fountains playing along to music. It all reminded me very much of a Disney night time show - be it Illuminations, Fantasmic or World of Color:

I found the following video on youtube which shows a part of the show:

http://youtu.be/cPP_UgOCGLY

One warning: this is an artistic show and it shows some not so good sides of life as well. It it isn't really horrible, but I thought I rather warn you since I have the feeling that American sensibilities are different from Europeans in this regard. It isn't an all happy entertainment show.

 

[Poolrat]

Very, Very interesting stuff. It is always great to hear about German cultural events. Thank you for sharing with us. I enjoyed the video too!

 

[jenbear123]

Love the music in the video! That show reminds me of... well in fact seems quite similar to an art festival we have here called "Nuit Blanche" or "White Night". It begins at sundown and runs all through the night. There are tons of art exhibits placed throughout the city and it's transformed into something almost unfamiliar. Something might be projected onto our city hall or you could give consent to participate in a zombie movie where they actually make you look like a zombie or take part in a sound experiment where sounds are projected all around you. It's really quite a neat show to see. You can see more info on their website: Nuit Blanche

ETA: And the 2001: A Space Odyssey reference is awesome!

 

[englishrose47]

Thanks again for the German Life update !I love it !!

 

[Flossbolna]

Very, Very interesting stuff. It is always great to hear about German cultural events. Thank you for sharing with us. I enjoyed the video too!

Good to hear that you enjoyed it.

Love the music in the video! That show reminds me of... well in fact seems quite similar to an art festival we have here called "Nuit Blanche" or "White Night". It begins at sundown and runs all through the night. There are tons of art exhibits placed throughout the city and it's transformed into something almost unfamiliar. Something might be projected onto our city hall or you could give consent to participate in a zombie movie where they actually make you look like a zombie or take part in a sound experiment where sounds are projected all around you. It's really quite a neat show to see. You can see more info on their website: Nuit Blanche

ETA: And the 2001: A Space Odyssey reference is awesome!

I just had a look at the website and it does look very similar! But I think Toronto's event is a bit bigger than ours... There are lots of art projects like the ones you described going on here. I went to an organ concert in one of the churches which music written especially for the night - inspired by a painting called "the blue horseman" (Der Blaue Reiter) by a painter called Franz Marc. The night also always has a theme besides blue, this year it was "foreign worlds", in years before it had been water or air - always stuff that somehow relates to the colour blue.

Nuit Blance looks great, I need to keep that in mind if I ever plan a trip to Toronto to see wether I can make it there around that time.

Thanks again for the German Life update !I love it !!

Thanks Rosie, I am glad that you enjoy it.

 

[marvali]

Like others have said, I always enjoy the cultural updates you share with us! It is always interesting to see and hear about traditions and customs in other countries.

 

[glennbo123]

Thanks for sharing this Magdalene!

 

[englishrose47]

Like others have said, I always enjoy the cultural updates you share with us! It is always interesting to see and hear about traditions and customs in other countries.

You mean like "Wooden Spoon Award "!!!!

 

[eandesmom]

I was thinking of making it a contest, but I am too excited about this feature, so I really want to write about it and not make you wait any longer! We will spend one day of our trip at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. The big motivation is of course the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, I started to read those books when only the first two had come out, so I am an old fan of the books. Used to be less of a fan of the films, but kind of got used to them. I still think that they focus too much on the big events and lose lots of the charm along the way. But from everything I have read and seen about WWOHP it looks like there is plenty of charm! So I am looking forward to that. The other big thing we want to make sure to see there is the Simpsons Ride - Katharina's DH is a huge fan and perhaps lots of great tales about the Simpsons Ride can convince him to take a trip to Florida. But Katharina and I really want to see the ride ourselves as well! Besides that we are still in the early planning stages of what to see...

We already have the logistics figured out a bit. We will make use of a deal which is offered by Dreams Unlimited (the travel agent which sponsors the DIS). It's a one day two park ticket which includes round trip transportation via shuttle from a WDW resort to Universal and back. It is only a few dollars more expensive than the same ticket without transportation. And since the Simpsons Ride is in Universal Studios while WWOHP is at Islands of Adventure, we would need that type of ticket anyway. The shuttle does get ok reviews here on the DIS. Our plan is to arrive very early for rope drop at Islands of Adventure, head over to WWOHP and then afterwards use the rest of the day for further exploration of those two parks. We are aware that this will be quite a lot of running around and we will certainly miss a few things, but it should give us a good overview of what it is like and maybe a future trip will have us return for a longer period of time... I have heard rumors that WWHOP Part 2 will break ground this year, so there might be even more of an incentive to return. We will end the evening with a meal at City Walk, Universal's version of Downtown Disney, either at Jimmy Buffett or at Bubba Gump. Both places sound pretty exotic to us!

The day we scheduled for this is Tuesday, October 18, one week after our arrival day. Supposedly mid week is less crowded there and this will give us one full week at WDW before venturing over to "the Dark Side". So, that's the reason why we can't go to the MNSSHP that day, but it looks like the DISers prefer the Sunday party anyway. .

Well, as you know very shortly we will be getting to the actual TR part that covers both IOA and US (as well as Jimmy Buffets) which may have far more than anyone wants to hear but what I will say is mid day should definitely be better, I've heard good things about the DU shuttle plan and you should be able to see a fair amount at both if you plan things right.

Oh and I vote for Margaritaville. Hands down.



Loved the blue night update!

 

[lovealldisney]

Thank you Magdalene for the pictures! Love learning about all these neat festivals Germany has!

 

[tiggrbaby]

Enjoyed the Blue Night link! I think they did a very nice job of matching the music to the video clips.

 

[RachelTori]

Hi Magdalene and Katharina!

I'm so excited for you (yes, you will love Universal! )!!

The one thing that makes me sad is that I will miss you by a couple days this time. My trip is from 9/29-10/9.

Happy planning and I'll be reading along!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Thanks for sharing the pictures of Blue Night. I know I repeat this, but I love the glimpses of German culture that you give us!

 

[marvali]

You mean like "Wooden Spoon Award "!!!!

No, like the "British" tradition of lap dancing piglets!!!

Well Magdalene, I made it over and got all caught up! Hmmm, you HAVE been busy and away a lot lately haven't you young lady!!!! You and Katharina have GOT to find some DIS time so you can keep us culturally updated, and get those trip plans out there for us to enjoy!

I'm still hoping for a chance to take a quick solo trip while you are at Disney so we can do a DISmeet. It would be a great honor to actually meet you two!

 

[podsnel]

Hello girls!! Sorry I have been missing- I am here and catching up, enjoying all your beautiful photos from DLP. I have a picture I took for you last month-

Lies! All Lies!! You may like this one more-

TTYS!!

Ellen

 

[podsnel]

Gorgeous photos and an education as always- love the beautiful shops in DLP- and learning about the Statue of liberty (which I have PROMISED myself we will be visiting this summer- it is only about 1/2 an hour away from my home and I STILL haven't been!!! Shame on me!!!). The Blue Night looks amazing- I would really love to visit your city someday, it does look so lovely!