Welcome, Foolish Muggles! IoA/US/MK/SW *July 2013 Trip Report Link*

[Marlton Mom]

Woo Hoo!!! 1000 posts

~~ MM

 

[natebenma]

Woo Hoo!!! 1000 posts

~~ MM

Congrats!!!

Thanks for saving it for here!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Do you ever wonder if the Universal people compare the Disney rides to the ones they know and love at Universal??

The must be totally bewildered at the Dole Whip and the Grey Goose slushie must be a revelation....

Marlton Mom

You're absolutely right. I'm sure they compare as well. Dole Whip and Grey Goose slushie
To each their own

 

[wahoostampingirl]

I just found your TR and I love it! We're Disney people, but we're making a one day trek over to Universal to visit WWoHP on our upcoming trip. I tried to convince my dh that we should fork over the extra $$ for a hotel room on site, but he wouldn't budge. So my guess is we'll be the hot people standing in line for an hour for everything. I think if the kids (both 10) like Universal, then we'll definitely stay in one of their hotels next time we go.

I loved your pics of Jurassic Park and Suessland. Those are the two areas that I'm most looking forward to when we're there.

 

[natebenma]

I just found your TR and I love it! We're Disney people, but we're making a one day trek over to Universal to visit WWoHP on our upcoming trip. I tried to convince my dh that we should fork over the extra $$ for a hotel room on site, but he wouldn't budge. So my guess is we'll be the hot people standing in line for an hour for everything. I think if the kids (both 10) like Universal, then we'll definitely stay in one of their hotels next time we go.

I loved your pics of Jurassic Park and Suessland. Those are the two areas that I'm most looking forward to when we're there.

Hope you stick around! We still have a few more visits to IoA/US/WWoHP, so you'll see more wizards, more dinos, but no more squirting fishes!

I'll also try to help you survive (or maybe minimize) the lines.

And if you need a Disney fix during my report, that's coming up, too!

 

[bubba's mom]

I just found your TR and I love it! We're Disney people, but we're making a one day trek over to Universal to visit WWoHP on our upcoming trip. I tried to convince my dh that we should fork over the extra $$ for a hotel room on site, but he wouldn't budge. So my guess is we'll be the hot people standing in line for an hour for everything. I think if the kids (both 10) like Universal, then we'll definitely stay in one of their hotels next time we go.

I loved your pics of Jurassic Park and Suessland. Those are the two areas that I'm most looking forward to when we're there.

When you get there, and if your DH is 'done' with standing in lines, you can always purchase an Express Pass Plus at some of the storest that sell them. They sell a limited # per day, so they can run out. But, depending when you are going, they can be expensive per person. That's why most just get a room because with a room it's unlimited Express Pass...when you purchase it, it's 1 Express per attraction. And if it's peak time, it can be *about the same price for a family of four vs a room.

Either way, still beats standing in line. Then you can tell your DH "toldja so"

 

[shannn]

To us, Butterbeer was definitely butterscotch flavored. And, the frozen was yummilicious!!

My kids loved Suess Landing~~ I think we were right at the edge of them being young enough to appreciate it. (They're 9 and 7) I'm so glad they did, because I loved the theming there! It was perfect.

 

[natebenma]

When you get there, and if your DH is 'done' with standing in lines, you can always purchase an Express Pass Plus at some of the storest that sell them. They sell a limited # per day, so they can run out. But, depending when you are going, they can be expensive per person. That's why most just get a room because with a room it's unlimited Express Pass...when you purchase it, it's 1 Express per attraction. And if it's peak time, it can be *about the same price for a family of four vs a room.

Either way, still beats standing in line. Then you can tell your DH "toldja so"

Good advice!!!

I think our next trip, whenever that will be, will be mostly Disney, but I think we would do a one-night stay at Universal, with about a day and a half at the parks. It's great that you get the line express privilige on both your checkin and checkout day, and the early entry. So US on checkin day, early entry to IoA on checkout day.

To us, Butterbeer was definitely butterscotch flavored. And, the frozen was yummilicious!!

My kids loved Suess Landing~~ I think we were right at the edge of them being young enough to appreciate it. (They're 9 and 7) I'm so glad they did, because I loved the theming there! It was perfect.

Frozen butterbeer is the way to go! Especially hit the spot in the heat.

I think we missed our window of opportunity in Seussland.

 

[wahoostampingirl]

When you get there, and if your DH is 'done' with standing in lines, you can always purchase an Express Pass Plus at some of the storest that sell them. They sell a limited # per day, so they can run out. But, depending when you are going, they can be expensive per person. That's why most just get a room because with a room it's unlimited Express Pass...when you purchase it, it's 1 Express per attraction. And if it's peak time, it can be *about the same price for a family of four vs a room.

Either way, still beats standing in line. Then you can tell your DH "toldja so"

Our vacation is the first 2 weeks of Aug. (we're leaving on Monday!) and those Express Pass Plus passes are expensive then, which is why I wanted to get the room. We're so used to not standing in line for anything at Disney, that I think the whole family will be complaining about it at Universal. Oh well, it will still be fun to see a new park and I bought the 3 day tickets that they were selling at Costco, so I'm sure we'll be back again next year and I WILL prevail on getting a Universal hotel room then.

 

[natebenma]

Our vacation is the first 2 weeks of Aug. (we're leaving on Monday!) and those Express Pass Plus passes are expensive then, which is why I wanted to get the room. We're so used to not standing in line for anything at Disney, that I think the whole family will be complaining about it at Universal. Oh well, it will still be fun to see a new park and I bought the 3 day tickets that they were selling at Costco, so I'm sure we'll be back again next year and I WILL prevail on getting a Universal hotel room then.

Woo-hoo!!! You must be getting excited about the trip.

I sent you a PM. I am working on my Top 10 Universal Tips- Definitely in first draft stage, but you will be gone (and probably back) before I am ready to post this.

 

[BC/YC Pool Noodles]

 

[natebenma]

Impatient little noodles, aren't you!

I had an update yesterday!

One coming tomorrow morning, after I pack up and move the Y&BC thread.

 

[BC/YC Pool Noodles]

Sorry.... That was Ramen. I left my computer on and he got busy with it. He keeps wanting to go to Universal but it's Disney Pools for us!

Thanks for the reports and good luck with your sewing project. I have no idea how much thread you have to move but you must be sewing something beautiful!

Pastina

 

[natebenma]

Sorry.... That was Ramen. I left my computer on and he got busy with it. He keeps wanting to go to Universal but it's Disney Pools for us!

Thanks for the reports and good luck with your sewing project. I have no idea how much thread you have to move but you must be sewing something beautiful!

Pastina

 

[bubba's mom]

Our vacation is the first 2 weeks of Aug. (we're leaving on Monday!) and those Express Pass Plus passes are expensive then, which is why I wanted to get the room. We're so used to not standing in line for anything at Disney, that I think the whole family will be complaining about it at Universal. Oh well, it will still be fun to see a new park and I bought the 3 day tickets that they were selling at Costco, so I'm sure we'll be back again next year and I WILL prevail on getting a Universal hotel room then.

oh I know Express Plus is expensive. What you could do is point it out to your DH (and be sure to point out ALL the people walking by you in the Express line) and see what he says about purchasing them. IF he does decide it's worth the $$, THEN you can pull the "toldya so" on the room bit.

Have a good trip!

 

[natebenma]

After a mostly uneventful visit to Seussland, we continued our journey to the park exit. We had one more attraction to tackle before leaving.

We headed to Marvel Superhero Island.

Dr. Doom’s Fearfall (Takes fear to new heights- 150 ft. straight up) vs. The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman (Swing above the streets in 3-D) vs. The Incredible Hulk Coaster (Feel the rage on a high-speed roller coaster rampage).

Which character won out???


Spiderman!


Before we ride, I am going to share with you a joke that Nate made up when he was around 6 or 7 years old:

Q: How does Spiderman know that it is time to go to the bathroom?

A: His Spidey senses start “tinkling”




It is kind of hard to compare to an existing Disney ride- it is most like Forbidden Journey in this park. It is a moving (as in you are in motion), but not rollercoaster ride, where you are immersed in the 3-D action as Spiderman battles Dr. Octopus and his Sinister Syndicate who are using an antigravity gun to make off with the Statue of Liberty and other NYC landmarks.

This was a fun ride- very visually stimulating.

After Spiderman, we continued made a couple of stops before exiting the park:


We explored the gift shop.

School supplies:

Monster book of monsters:

Wands:

We purchased the Bertie Botts we had promised Ben, a chocolate frog for Nate (Helga Hufflepuff was the Famous Wizard Card inside) and a shirt for me and had these items sent back to the room:

We also decided now would be a good time to exchange our paper tickets for a more durable material since we would be using them for a couple more days, so we stopped at Guest Services near the exit.

A lot of backtracking and some disappointment this morning, along with some downright rhyming rebellion, but overall, we had a really nice first visit to IoA. The Wizarding World was wonderful, and the water rides we tried were fun and very refreshing on a hot July morning.

We still had a few new things to conquer here- The Hulk, and hopefully, Dinosaurs!


On the way back to the Portofino, we stopped at City Walk for a little shopping at NBA City.

Look, it’s a Hidden Mickey!

Unfortunately, nobody told me that NBA stands for Nate Blows Allowance!

Dwayne Wade El Heat Shirt- $65, no AAA discount

NBA City Orlando T-Shirt, around $12, ($1.20 discount)- sorry, no picture.


We took the boat from City Walk to the Portofino, then stopped at the club lounge for some cold drinks and snacks and took a break for a couple of hours.


I went for a quick swim

The boys relaxed in the room as we rested up because


Next up: We have a “BIG” date this afternoon

 

[Bethannk511]

Subbing!!

Loving your report so far!! Can you tell me more about the medicine you took for the motion sickness? When i cruise, I use the TransDerm patch which I have more of so was thinking of using for the next time I got to US and IOA but, a pill would be nice!!

 

[bubba's mom]

= Best. Ride. EVER!

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Great update! It kills me when the kids blow their money on something they will soon outgrow.
I hope you make it to Dinosaur.

 

[doccoc2002]

Look, it’s a Hidden Mickey!

I wonder if they know that