Universal Movie Marathon PTR ...IS NOW A TRIP REPORT

[Nancy for Disney]

What a great idea to listen to an HP book for the ride there! The idea for a mix CD for the trip is cute, too! I love most of the music from the Shrek movies, so that was all I could really think of, but JoAnne’s suggestion of the HP music is a good one, too. I wonder if they have the soundtrack to Goblet of Fire available? I’m glad you guys liked Terminator and T2 – and that you got some songs for it! I also laughed at that when you said you were going to force your daughter to watch Jurassic Park I’ve done that so many times! Hey, we know their tastes, so we know what they’re going to like!

I have done a mix CD for every trip we have taken since 2009 when we went to DC. I don't think I can remember all the songs but since we drove there West Virginia I had John Denver's "Country Roads", music from the John Adam's Mini Series, Baltimore from Hair Spray...well you get the idea. Last year we did Vegas so I had ever Vegas related song I could find.

We are going to Universal in June also. We love it there and I think your family will too. I am trying to think of spinning rides to be aware of for your daughter's heart condition. At IOA:
Cat in the Hat: spins around some with a few back to back in the middle of the ride.

Storm Force Acceleron: it's like the teacups on steroids.

Universal Studios side:
Men In Black: has a few spins back to back.

If I think of more, I will let you know.

We do countdown dinners too. I haven't thought about Terminator. Do you think it will be inappropriate for a soon to be 10 and 11 year old?

Thanks for the ride suggestions. I think my daughter will be ok on all of those rides. She just can't do intense spinning like Mission to Mars. That is is the only Orlando ride I can think of she would have a problem with. She is fine on Astro Orbiter. I'm not, but she is. That is the only ride in WDW I will never ride again...NEVER!


After a super crazy busy weekend with DD12 skating competition we finally watched Jurassic Park last night. DD12 did like it and got into once it started just like I said she would. I just hope we can get her on the ride. It has a dip you know. Unfortunately no song ideas for my CD.

Thanks for reading and posting.

 

[Nancy for Disney]

Where to eat? I love picking places to eat. I have been reading a lot of restaurant reviews lately. TripAdvisor is my best friend for this. I have also found some decent Orlando food review websites.

http://www.scottjosephorlando.com/


http://watch-me-eat.blogspot.com/


I have picky eaters and a husband that is on a very strict low carb diet. He is also trying to eat a lot less meat but is not committed to being a vegetarian. On top of that he is not that adventurous. He would rather that we eat every meal at the condo and is perfectly happy eating his usual fare. I would describe it but lately it has not been too pleasant. I am on vacation and don’t want to cook. I actually love to cook but I also love to eat out. Since we rarely eat out I see this as my opportunity.

Anyway…my understanding is that if you want to eat at a full service restaurant you should make a reservation at around the 60 day mark but I have also heard that you can also make them that morning. I don’t want to commit to more than one meal so I have to pick between Mythos, Confisco and Finnegan’s.
I am also tempted to adventure over to the Disney side for a meal. I think my kids would enjoy the entertainment at Raglan Road. The menu not so much.
They would eat the steak of course but that gets pricey for a family of 5. There is also a Raglan Road in Kansas City which is two hours from me. I don’t think they have the same entertainment though. DH has eaten there when he was in KC for work and he did not recall music or dancing. Here is a flashback photo from our 2009 trip:

I would also like to eat at Kouzzina. It was my favorite meal of our trip in 2009. Of course our kids would hate it so this would have to be a meal for just the two of us. Here is a picture of the fisherman’s stew. It was so good!

These are the restaurant’s I have saved on TripAdvisor:

Mannys Chop House
Wildside BBQ & Grill
Cafe Tu Tu Tango
Bubbalou's Bodacious Bar B Que
Atlantic Cove Seafood & Steak
Pearl's
Orlando Ale House
Seasons 52
Deep Blu Seafood Grille
Sweet Tomatoes
NYPD Pizza Lake Cay (It appears to be just around the corner from our condo)
Delmonico's Italian Steakhouse

In reality I bet we end up eating Steak N Shake, Cracker Barrel and Applebee's.

 

[HarleyGirl514]

The only one of those restaurants I have eaten at is Pearl's & it is yummy!! And I'm sure the seafood in Orlando is a lot better than Oklahoma!

 

[Nancy for Disney]

The only one of those restaurants I have eaten at is Pearl's & it is yummy!! And I'm sure the seafood in Orlando is a lot better than Oklahoma!

I am glad you liked it. Chinese is the only thing my family agrees on but every place is a little bit different. The pictures look like it close to what the kiddos are used to. It lookls like it is close to our resourt too. I also like that they do carry out and delivery. We can save a bit on beverages that way.

 

[Nancy for Disney]

I just wrote the check for the final payment for our condo. It will be in the mail tomorrow.

I also went to library today and got several soundtracks for my mix CD. I got the music from the following movies:

Spiderman
The Grinch Who Stole Christmas
HP -The Prisoner of Azkaban
Blues Brothers.



Next move from Netflix is ET.

 

[coastgirl]

Yay for writing cheques! I bought our passes this weekend, and while it's a lot of money, putting it out makes the trip seem closer. I was at the library today too, and saw Transformers--we should watch that too, when it came out I thought ds was too young for it.

Didn't see your restaurant list before. We did Bubba's last trip, and it was good. A few years ago we visited friends in NC and they took us to their locals, though, which was fabulous, so it takes a lot to impress us. Here's a goofy picture of dh there. (He probably had brisket.)

We also tried Sweet Tomatoes, and I liked it a lot. I was expecting "virtuous" and while it was fresh food, with plenty of healthy options, it was also tasty.

Oh--is it bad form to post pictures in someone else's thread?? No, the fellow above doesn't belong in Nancy's family, he's all mine. :

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Yay for paying off the condo! It looks like you have some good choices for places where you might eat! I hope you don’t end up at Applebees or anything like that. I always worry about that, too, but I tell my kids that the purpose of travelling is to try something new. I refuse to step foot in a chain – with the exception of Bubba Gump and Rain Forest Café, because we don’t have those here. Have fun watching ET!

 

[Nancy for Disney]

Yay for writing cheques! I bought our passes this weekend, and while it's a lot of money, putting it out makes the trip seem closer. I was at the library today too, and saw Transformers--we should watch that too, when it came out I thought ds was too young for it.

Didn't see your restaurant list before. We did Bubba's last trip, and it was good. A few years ago we visited friends in NC and they took us to their locals, though, which was fabulous, so it takes a lot to impress us. Here's a goofy picture of dh there. (He probably had brisket.)

We also tried Sweet Tomatoes, and I liked it a lot. I was expecting "virtuous" and while it was fresh food, with plenty of healthy options, it was also tasty.

Oh--is it bad form to post pictures in someone else's thread?? No, the fellow above doesn't belong in Nancy's family, he's all mine. :

I don't have a problem with it. Thanks for sharing!

Yay for paying off the condo! It looks like you have some good choices for places where you might eat! I hope you don’t end up at Applebees or anything like that. I always worry about that, too, but I tell my kids that the purpose of travelling is to try something new. I refuse to step foot in a chain – with the exception of Bubba Gump and Rain Forest Café, because we don’t have those here. Have fun watching ET!

I agree about trying stuff that is new. I am however in a minority..as the only one in the family of 5 willing to try something new. The thing is I usually do try to consider what everyone else will eat. For example...I love Indian food and sushi...do you see any Indian or sushi restaurants on my list???? That is because everyone else would never eat it. I try to make sure there is something on the menu for everyone. I have yet to pick a place too that they did not like too. They still fight me.

We will probably skip Bubba Gump. DS is allergic to shrimp. DH worries about it all the time. We had a minor incident when DS tried shrimp at the seafood restaurant in Epcot that I totally can't think of the name right now...anyway..you all know the one. He ate one bite of shrimp and his lips looked like Sebastian's in Little Mermaid. Anyway shrimp makes DH very nervous now. There are too many other great choices so it is not worth the risk or the anxiety.

Oh by the DH has officially gone whole grain only vegan. He has agreed to just do vegetarian while on vacation. We shall see how that works out. I see there are plenty of choices at IoA but it looks a little limited on the US side besides the Veggie burger at Richter's (I think I have the name right). I think I have also decided on Mythos.

I have added some more restaurants on my TripAdvisor list too:

Infusion Tea (Vegetarian)
Wildside BBQ (near Infusion Tea for the kiddos)
Word's Largest Mcdonald's (Not too excited but you never know)
Wood Grill Buffet
Atlas House Restaurant (This is a new middle eastern restaurant..Uzbek cuisine . Any way they have vegetarian stuff and kabobs full of meat that my kids would like. Now this will different!)

Happy Easter Weekend everyone! I am going to my niece's wedding. Very excited and should be tons of fun.

 

[Nancy for Disney]

Sorry it has been so long since I updated. There really hasn't been much to post. I am just waiting for our trip and trying to be patient. We have only watched one movie. I had Transformers and ET. Both were sent back without watching. It turns out we own Transformers. All three kiddos said they had already seen ET and they had no interest in seeing it again. We did watch Blues Brothers Friday night. They did like it but didn't love it. It wasn't as funny as a remembered. It turns out that I learned that DH HATES Blues Brothers. He doesn't even like the music. Considering we love blues music I am rather shocked. Anyway...that is where I am at on my trip planning.

 

[Nancy for Disney]

I just purchased our tickets from Undercover Tourist.
I also made a reservation for Mythos. I didn't quite get the time I wanted but it all worked out. My advice is to a reservation 60 days in advance and not 30.

4 weeks from today I will be arriving in Orlando!

 

[Nancy for Disney]

Oh my ...I just spent about 30 minutes giving an update. I just got deleted.

Sorry...I am off to bed. No new update tonight. Heading to Vegas tomorrow. Long story. It won't be fun.

 

[coastgirl]

Oooh, I have done that too often. Sorry! I hope all is well and your trip is a good thing.

 

[Tink2Day]

I am SOOOOO subscribing to this thread. I do have to go back and read through all of it though

I don't get much time to read but this one looks right up my alley. I LOVED WWoHP and can't wait to go back. I really hope I'm still healthy and able to go when they finish the Gringott's part. (I'm a 'grandmotherly' age, going on 15)

 

[bkny]

For the theme music how about the themes to Jurassic Park? It would be perfect as you are pulling into Universal.

 

[Nancy for Disney]

For the theme music how about the themes to Jurassic Park? It would be perfect as you are pulling into Universal.

That is a good idea but I am guessing it is going to have to be Harry Potter for us. Wait..is Jurassic Park on the IoA side or the Universal side? If is on the Universal side then we can do Jurassic Park on our Universal Days.
I should know this by now shouldn't I?

I am SOOOOO subscribing to this thread. I do have to go back and read through all of it though


I don't get much time to read but this one looks right up my alley. I LOVED WWoHP and can't wait to go back. I really hope I'm still healthy and able to go when they finish the Gringott's part. (I'm a 'grandmotherly' age, going on 15)

Glad you are joining the fun! I know what you mean about going on 15. I am 46 but feel like a kid most of the time. I know I start to act like one too the minute I step into an amusment park.

 

[Nancy for Disney]

Boy, I can't believe I have less than 2 weeks. It seems so close and yet so far away. My trip to Vegas took up some of my planning time. My mom lives there and had back surgery. She seems to be improving. My brother flew in after me to take over in taking care of her. She is in a rehab facility now. Hopefully she will make a full recovery and the surgery will help reduce her pain. Long story short she has been in a great deal of pain for the past three years. I say this because I know she will never read this although she would agree with me…... I love my mother dearly but she is very high maintenance. I compared taking care of her after the surgery to caring for Elizabeth Taylor, J Lo, Mariah Carey and Lindsey Lohan all at once and that was with nursing staff to assist!

Anyway back to the trip. I made reservations for our travel night. We will stay just outside of Atlanta. Next I need to reserve the HP books on CD from our local library. DD12 wanted to do book 5 but she was overruled. We are sticking with book 3 & 4. I also need to work on a packing list and shopping list. One thing that I am having a heck of a time finding are the cheapo rain ponchos. I always liked the ones at Wal-Mart. I have been to two different Wal-Marts and the slot that contains them is empty. I also went to Target where they did not have any (slightly more expensive ones) either. Has anyone else in the country been having trouble finding them? I don’t want to spend more than $1.25 for them. I don’t like the 2 for $1 kind you get at the dollar store either. As a matter of fact I was briefly looking for them at the dollar store the other day and did not see any but ran out of time to continue my search.

 

[Dunlopiii]

[QUOTE=": Has anyone else in the country been having trouble finding them? I don’t want to spend more than $1.25 for them. I don’t like the 2 for $1 kind you get at the dollar store either. As a matter of fact I was briefly looking for them at the dollar store the other day and did not see any but ran out of time to continue my search.[/QUOTE]

Our Wal-Mart stopped carrying them last month. Hubby found them at Dollar Tree yesterday though!

 

[Nancy for Disney]

Rain ponchos have been located! Thank you Dollar General Store!
Also purchased some beach towels and swim noodles to take to the pool at our resort. Now I am going to check out restaurant.com to see if I can find some deals.

Oh, I had a dream last night that I forgot our park tickets.

 

[Nancy for Disney]

Look at that ticker...Only three days! I only have a moment to update because I need to start to pack.

I am almost done putting together all the songs on my cd. Here is what I have so far.

Lumos! (Hedwig's Theme)John Williams Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban Soundtrack
Gimme Some Lovin'- The Blues Brothers
Hero Music From And Inspired By Spider-Man Soundtrack
He Carves The Roast Beast (Includes Welcome Christmas)- How The Grinch Stole Christmas Soundtrack
Oh, Atlanta -Alison Krauss (We will be spending the night in Atlanta)
Water- Brad Paisley (Wet and Wild here we come!)The Devil Went Down to Georgia Charlie Daniels
The Coast Court Yard Hounds (We may make it to the beach)
Theme From Spider Man- Aerosmith
Margaritaville Jimmy Buffett
Singing In the Rain / Umbrella- Glee Cast (It rains a lot in Fl)
Tennessee - Sugarland (We will drive through Tennessee)
Skin Deep Town -X (A song about Ft. Lauderdale which will likely never drive to so when else can I add this song to my travel mix cd?)
E.T. - Katy Perry
Men In Black -Will Smith
Nod Ya Head- Will Smith
A Thousand Miles - Vanessa Carlton (Yep, we will drive 1000 miles)
Judgement Day - Van Halen (T2 Judgement Day-Get it?)
Scream - Tokio Hotel (Lot's of screaming will be happening)
Blister In the Sun -Violent Femmes (It will be hot)
What About Georgia? -Miranda Lambert (Another Georgia song besides I love Miranda)
Golden State (Live) -Eddie Vedder & Natalie Maines (I would say Fl is my Golden State although I think they are really referring to CA in the song. I love this song though)
Survivor -Destiny's Child (DD12 picked it because she hopes to survive the rides)
Jailhouse Rock The Blues Brothers
Hagrid The Professor - Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban Soundtrack
Quidditch, Third Year -Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban Soundtrack

I did get the soundtracks for Despicable Me and Curious George today at the library.

I have both HP 3 & 4 on cd to listen to on the way.

I watched Transformers the other night in the hopes we will be able to make the soft opening. I didn't care too much for the movie and fell asleep with about a half hour left. I could tell it was going to just be fighting until the end.
There were a lot of good songs that Bumble Bee used ( I think that is his name) but I don't want to buy any. I am still trying to decide if I want to buy Bad to the Bone and a Ne-Yo song. Ne-Yo will be performing our first night. DD12 is the only that seems to have an interest in battling the crowds.

I think that is all for now. I probably won't do any "live" updates" but you never know. I am one to post a lot of pictures which takes time.

One more thing...the strangest thing happened today. I am not sure if this was really good luck or not so good luck. I took DD12 to the doctor for a minor rash today. I thought she may need a prescription cream. It turns out it is viral and there is nothing that can be done until it runs it's course. Of course the doc is doing a good exam and feels that her glands are swollen. Just to be safe she does a strep test....turns out it was positive. She feels fine. Doc said it was barely positive and she was probably in the beginning stages. On the up side....we wont be visiting Orlando's urgent care center and spending a day in the condo. On the downside she will be on and antibiotic up until the last day of our vacation.

 

[Shandy1121]

They use to have shot they could give you one time in the upper thigh for that without having to take a weeks worth of meds. I know they gave it to me once a million years ago when I had strep lol. Shots are icky but might be worth asking the doc so ya don't have to worry about meds while on vacation. Just an idea Have fun!