If Grandma's riding it can't be too bad... 12/20 Wrap up: Travelling home, souvenirs

[tink1957]

me too!

 

[Pixiedust530]

Still here (after a couple week hiatus). Congrats on your precious new niece. What a blessing! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Yey for slowing down a bit and taking a few days off.

 

[-Hope-]

i'm waiting to hear if you got your wish!

me too!

Coming right up!

Still here (after a couple week hiatus). Congrats on your precious new niece. What a blessing! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Yey for slowing down a bit and taking a few days off.

.

Thanks! She's growing stronger every day.

We did have a good holiday, I hope you did too. And yes, a few days off was EXACTLY what I needed.

 

[-Hope-]

At about 10:30/10:45 we were heading into Hogsmeade. We were coming from the opposite side we'd come before and we loved the views entering this way!




We loved it here so much on our first visit to IOA but it got a little crowded and we were really hoping to have the chance to explore a bit more. But first, our breakfast was wearing off and our lunch ressie wasn't until 2:00 so we headed to the 3 Broomsticks for a snack.


We didn't want to fill up so the 4 of us shared an order of fish-n-chips. Jace got a frozen butterbeer, Kya got regular and Mom and I shared a regular...


We took our time since the restaurant was less crowded than it had been before. My mom was the first to notice the house elf shadows we'd been hoping to spot. We sat and enjoyed those for a while as we sipped our butterbeer. Then, as we were finishing up a woman came by with a dessert tray and I just couldn't say no to the wide eyed looks on my kids faces so I sent her off with my debit card to bring back some tasty treats...


Jace got ice cream (the boy really loves his ice cream) and Kya got a chocolate, strawberry, raspberry trifle. OMG, that trifle was GOOD! I generally love anything with dark chocolate and raspberry and I was NOT disappointed!

On a side note here, my mom seemed almost annoyed that I got these for the kids. We'd agreed up front that I would pay for the car, tip money, LL shuttle, and a few other things and she could pay for all of our OOP food on the trip. Then at the end we would add up what she'd spent and see if either of us needed to compensate the other. But this was NOT a good idea. I'd paid for enough things to heavily pad the food budget and figured if I paid more, no big deal. But there were a few times my mom seemed annoyed to be paying for food. She wasn't hungry so I guess she thought the kids shouldn't be either. It bugged me a lot. My mom is the QUEEN of junk food and keeps her house stocked with all sorts of things I wouldn't normally buy for my kids but suddenly she wants to limit things? While we're on vacation? Ah well, I just paid for it and pretended not to notice her attitude.

After we'd had our fill at the 3 Broomsticks we headed over to the Owl Post to mail postcards we'd picked up. Kya sent one to each of her closest friends, we sent one to my brother's girlfriend (Hazel's momma), and the kids also sent one each to themselves. We have a postcard display in our living room so they wanted these to add to it.

Crowds were very low so the queues were practically empty for most things. We still didn't want to ride any of the coasters but we wanted to see the queues so we made our way toward Dragon Challenge. Along the way we spotted some banners supporting the Tri Wizard champions!






A little further along the way we had a great view of Hogwarts. When a stranger saw us struggling to fit ourselves and the castle into the shot he stopped to help us out...


And then we saw what I'd really been looking for...


The Weasely's car!!

As we headed out, passing under the tracks, I think my mom was a bit wistful and would have really loved to ride DC. We really want to take Hazel to Orlando in a few years so hopefully by then mom will be able to enjoy a few things she missed on this trip.

Next up was the queue for Flight of the Hippogriff. Here we saw Hagrid's hut...


And BUCKBEAK!!


We almost missed Buckbeak. He's near the front of the queue and Kya was debating about riding. The line was short but not walk on (maybe a 10 minute wait) and she ultimately had time to talk herself out of it.

One thing we really did want to do was the Hogwart's castle tour. The queue wasn't crowded the first time but it is all a bit rushed since your destination is the ride. I was looking forward to taking our time.

It's dark and difficult to get pics but I managed a few...






Kya and I did the tour on our own. Jace didn't want to so he and mom went to find a place to rest. We met back up with them after one last visit to Moaning Myrtle. We had a gift card we'd received while shopping earlier in the week and we'd decided to spend on treats from Honeydukes. The kids each got some candy floss (cotton candy to our midwestern sensibilities but the kids enjoyed learning the British phrase). And I spotted something I just HAD to have...


I have my Honeydukes candy jar on my kitchen counter, filled with sugar free treats. It's a little bit of the Wizarding World in my every day life.

As we were leaving the kids grabbed a pumpkin juice from one of the carts and it was time for us to say goodbye to Hogsmeade.


It was bittersweet to walk away (especially from the butterbeer!) but there was still fun to be had before we had to head to the airport so we moved on.

Up next... Revisiting a few favorites in Suess Landing!

 

[Tinker326]

Oh Butterbeer, I so miss you too!!!!!

My WWOHP reminder every day- my chocolate frog keychain that smells like chocolate. I'm sure people often wonder why I walk around with a keychain stuck to my nose. But it smells SOOOOOOOOOOO good.

Funny about your mom- sounds EXACTLY like something my mother would do!

I can not wait till the new section of HP opens up. The area is so fun & magical.

 

[natebenma]

I'm glad dragging my feet isn't keeping everyone away!

Not at all!

October/November/December so far have been a blur, with work, volunteer stuff at my son's middle school (dance, movie nights, week long bookfair, teacher appreciation brunch), my son's theater performance in Myth Adventures. He was Theseus who slays the minotaur, strands his girlfriends and causes the death of his father. I am the treasurer, prop master and in charge of concessions for the theatre group. That, plus some other life stuff has kept me away from here and my Disney trip report for way too long. I think my Universal one died from neglect a couple of months ago.

I'm still here...following along. Kind of glad you're a little behind, as I have been super busy too and now I'm playing catch up. I haven't even been over to my own TR in at least a week. There's probably tumbleweeds rolling through there!

I totally get that!


That being said, I caught up on some of your report.

Those are really cute pictures of Kya with Lucy and Marilyn. I'm glad she had really great character interactions.

I have never seen or read about the Men in Black characters. HOW COOL WAS THAT?!? Especially with all of the Dr. Who stuff.

We can take or leave T-2 too. This was the first attraction we did on our first visit to US a couple of years ago, but we haven't been back.

Never done Beetlejuice. My boys are not very cooperative about show. Is that one going to be going away sometime soon?

The theming in Springfield is just amazing. I really like the picture of the kids peeking through the door. I can see eating there "just because"

Haven't seen Cinematic Spectacular either. The only thing worse for the boys than a show is a show at night, when we are all exhausted.

I'll catch up on the rest of your report in just a minute. Have to go rescue a Christmas ornament from the cat.

 

[natebenma]

Congratulations to your family on the arrival of precious Hazel. I'm sending positive energy for continued strength and improvement in her health.

Great pictures in Toon Lagoon. I love that your kids are "into" it. Mine went through a non-participation phase and are just now starting to come around to cooperation.

I haven't seen the "Mushroom Pizza" thought bubble before.

Your son comment that Pteranadon Flyers is not "commit a felony fun" was hilarious!!!

Bilge Rat Barges is SO fun. And WET! We usually ride twice in a row- they have let us stay on the same raft if it is not too crowded.

What a great idea to share a snack at 3 Broomsticks. I looked, but didn't see the house elf or owl shadows. OR the dessert tray. YUM!

That is a really great shot of you all in front of Hogwarts in the DC queue. That queue has some really neat stuff. Did you get inside to see the dragon eggs and Goblet of Fire?

Your holograph pictures in the FJ queue came out great. I don't have a great shot of the Fat Lady.

 

[schumigirl]

Nice update Hope............I like candy floss

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

"little bit" geeky??? Right.

 

[Pixiedust530]

Love the update! Hogsmeade just looks amazing. I must go there to visit one day! I am such a huge Harry Potter fan. I really want to see all those things you snapped photos of...Hagrid's Hut, the Weasley's car, ALL of it. Butterbeer sounds pretty amazing too. I hope to try it one day!

 

[-Hope-]

Oh Butterbeer, I so miss you too!!!!!

My WWOHP reminder every day- my chocolate frog keychain that smells like chocolate. I'm sure people often wonder why I walk around with a keychain stuck to my nose. But it smells SOOOOOOOOOOO good.

Funny about your mom- sounds EXACTLY like something my mother would do!

I can not wait till the new section of HP opens up. The area is so fun & magical.

I keep seeing butterbeer recipes and Starbucks "hacks" but really there's no substitute for the real thing!

I completely missed the chocolate frog keychain- I'd probably walk around smelling it all the time too! I did get a timeturner keychain but it already broke- the middle fell out!

I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to get back for when Diagon Alley opens. It's pretty high on my priority list but pretty low on Robbie's so we'll see I suppose.

Nice update Hope............I like candy floss

Thanks! It's not actually a favorite of mine but the kids like it.

"little bit" geeky??? Right.

I swear by my pretty floral bonnet...

Love the update! Hogsmeade just looks amazing. I must go there to visit one day! I am such a huge Harry Potter fan. I really want to see all those things you snapped photos of...Hagrid's Hut, the Weasley's car, ALL of it. Butterbeer sounds pretty amazing too. I hope to try it one day!

Oh, you MUST find a way if you're a HP fan. My pics don't really do it justice... we were too busy having fun to slow down much. It was AMAZING and I NEED to go back some day!

 

[-Hope-]

October/November/December so far have been a blur, with work, volunteer stuff at my son's middle school (dance, movie nights, week long bookfair, teacher appreciation brunch), my son's theater performance in Myth Adventures. He was Theseus who slays the minotaur, strands his girlfriends and causes the death of his father. I am the treasurer, prop master and in charge of concessions for the theatre group. That, plus some other life stuff has kept me away from here and my Disney trip report for way too long. I think my Universal one died from neglect a couple of months ago.




Your schedule sounds as hectic (or even more so than mine!

I totally get that!


That being said, I caught up on some of your report.

Those are really cute pictures of Kya with Lucy and Marilyn. I'm glad she had really great character interactions.

I have never seen or read about the Men in Black characters. HOW COOL WAS THAT?!? Especially with all of the Dr. Who stuff.

I hadn't heard much about them either. Perhaps because they are wandering and not in a specific place. At any rate, they were GREAT!

We can take or leave T-2 too. This was the first attraction we did on our first visit to US a couple of years ago, but we haven't been back.

Never done Beetlejuice. My boys are not very cooperative about show. Is that one going to be going away sometime soon?

I haven't heard that but who knows. It's a pretty old movie though a cult classic so the show is still pretty popular.

The theming in Springfield is just amazing. I really like the picture of the kids peeking through the door. I can see eating there "just because"

Haven't seen Cinematic Spectacular either. The only thing worse for the boys than a show is a show at night, when we are all exhausted.

Yep, I kind of wish we had just stuck around to redo our faves, eat dinner and then leave instead of taking a break so we could come back for this show. Just not our thing.

I'll catch up on the rest of your report in just a minute. Have to go rescue a Christmas ornament from the cat.

Congratulations to your family on the arrival of precious Hazel. I'm sending positive energy for continued strength and improvement in her health.

Thank you! She's doing really well and growing stronger every day!

Great pictures in Toon Lagoon. I love that your kids are "into" it. Mine went through a non-participation phase and are just now starting to come around to cooperation.

My kids are mostly "into it" because I slacked off SO MUCH with the pics and most (not all, but most) of these are their idea. If I actually asked them to pose they balked.

I haven't seen the "Mushroom Pizza" thought bubble before.

Your son comment that Pteranadon Flyers is not "commit a felony fun" was hilarious!!!

Yep, it was almost my TR title.

Bilge Rat Barges is SO fun. And WET! We usually ride twice in a row- they have let us stay on the same raft if it is not too crowded.

I think the kids would have gone again if I'd been up for it.

What a great idea to share a snack at 3 Broomsticks. I looked, but didn't see the house elf or owl shadows. OR the dessert tray. YUM!

That is a really great shot of you all in front of Hogwarts in the DC queue. That queue has some really neat stuff. Did you get inside to see the dragon eggs and Goblet of Fire?

No, we missed that! We weren't actually riding and cut out early but now I have something to look for next time!

Your holograph pictures in the FJ queue came out great. I don't have a great shot of the Fat Lady.

I love the Fat Lady in the books so I was pleased with this shot.

 

[-Hope-]

After a sorrowful goodby to Hogsmeade we made our way back to Seuss Landing through the Lost Continent. As I said before, there was really nothing for us to see or do in the LC so we just passed through. It was about 12:30 at this point and our lunch ressie wasn't until 2:00 so we had some time to kill. Jace wanted to do the trolley ride again, not because he loved it (though he did like it a lot) but because it was something Grandma could do with us. I love that he was so considerate of her without any prompting.

Of course we had to stop for another PC shot...


We also looked around the shop across from the trolley. I don't have all of my souvenir pics uploaded and I'm not at home so I'll just save those finds for a final souvenir update. We loved shopping here though because we found so many things that we wanted for the soon to arrive Miss Hazel. It was loads of fun to just browse and plan for her.

The only ride the kids were really interested in riding again was Cat in the Hat so my mom found a comfy spot and we rode one last time. We briefly considered One Fish, Two Fish but we were FINALLY starting to feel dry after Bilge Rat Barges and we didn't want to get wet again.

It was only about 1:30 at this point but we decided to go ahead and check in for our lunch ressie. It was a slow day during a slow time of year so they were ready for us and seated us right away.

We really enjoyed the theming here but it was dark so I didn't really get any good shots. The food was the real star of the show anyway. We LOVED this place, sooooo yummy! We started off with pita bread served with seasoned butter but I didn't get a pic before everyone dove in, sorry!

My mom had the fish...


I had a pasta dish. I can't remember what it's called but it had a tomato/cream sauce that was heavenly!


Jace had pizza which he said was very good...


And Kya had a burger that she's STILL talking about. She's says it is the best burger she's EVER had. She loved it so much that I know if/when we go back that Confisco's will be a must for her...


We all had dessert shots after which I didn't take pics of since you've already seen them. We were doing great on time when we handed our DP cards over to our waitress. And it's a good thing because here is where we ran into issues...

This meal should have emptied our cards of DP credits. We'd used all of our snack, drink and CS meal credits and we'd each used ONE TS meal credit. But our waitress came back to tell us that she'd used our card for 2 drink credits, a snack for one of our desserts, one TS meal and that we had one CS meal left on our card.

Honestly, the ONLY way this could have happened is by someone charging us TS credits for other things. We had four credits left, the AMOUNT we should have had but those credits weren't for the correct things. Thankfully our server was extremely helpful and she and her manager traced back through each meal we'd had and were able to see that a drink cart should not have charged us a TS credit. While I'm thankful to the server and her manager (and we tipped generously to show our appreciation) I was very annoyed the process in general (again, not with the TMs, but with UO in general). TMs were obviously not trained well and the system was obviously not set up well when it allows mistakes of this magnitude without producing errors.

After our meal we spent some time at the big UO store at the POE where we got several souvenirs that I'll share in my next post. We also went to the Christmas store. I think we were expecting something like the Christmas shop at DTD and we were quite underwhelmed. We did all manage to find an ornament for our tree (which I'll share next time) but none of us were gushing at our finds.

And then it was out the front gates, heading to our car to go to the airport.

Up next... travelling home and souvenirs!

 

[Seeker615]

I was very careful with our dining plan. I can see how easy it would be to have issues. We had a horrible mess up at Cinnabon when we tried to use our last snack and drink credit. We backed up the whole line for quite a long time!

Hopefully once the kinks get worked out there will no more issues.

 

[schumigirl]

We LOVE Confisco Grille.........always go at least twice...usually more.

The burgers are really good as is the Pad Thai..........but we have never had anything less than perfect from there...........food and service

 

[Tinker326]

Boo..Hiss... It can't be go home time already, can it? You just got there!!!!

I also love that shop in the Suess area- it's so fun!

 

[-Hope-]

I was very careful with our dining plan. I can see how easy it would be to have issues. We had a horrible mess up at Cinnabon when we tried to use our last snack and drink credit. We backed up the whole line for quite a long time!

Hopefully once the kinks get worked out there will no more issues.

Hopefully so. The plan itself is a good one, I like that you can choose how many days instead of being required to length of the trip, the desserts were excellent, the variety, quality and amounts of food were great. But this delay on our last day really soured me to the plan. Hopefully I'll be able to read good things about them figuring things out if/when we return.

We LOVE Confisco Grille.........always go at least twice...usually more.

The burgers are really good as is the Pad Thai..........but we have never had anything less than perfect from there...........food and service

Boo..Hiss... It can't be go home time already, can it? You just got there!!!!

I also love that shop in the Suess area- it's so fun!

Yes, this trip (unlike this TR) was QUICK! I could have used at least one more day but my wallet and the fact that I really missed my hubby were enough motivation to keep it short.

 

[-Hope-]

Okay folks, here it is my final update. Honestly, I love writing TRs because after a trip I need something to ease me out of a Florida state of mind and by the time I've finished the report I am truly ready to let go. This time is no different. I don't know when we'll make it back to Orlando. With my job change our financial situation has changed and we're planning more low key trips for the near future. In 2014 we'll be spending a few days in Kansas City which is only about 4 hours north of us. It's not Orlando and I've already got it all planned out so nothing to keep me busy between now and then. But for the first time in a while I feel okay with that and I'm ready to focus on other things. Like spoiling little Miss Hazel...


For those wondering she's still in the NICU but is doing really well. We anticipate her coming home any time- possibly in time for Christmas or shortly after.

But enough of that... on to the actual wrap up! I won't bore you with every detail of our travel but I do want to share a few tidbits for the sake of passing along some advice as well as documenting for ourselves. I totally understand if you just skip to the next update with souvenir pics.

Our flight left at 6:00 pm and we left the parks at about 3:45. This gave us two hours and fifteen minutes to gas up the car, drive to the airport and drop off the car. It worked out pretty well but there was road construction we didn't anticipate and I forgot how hectic security is at MCO. It's seriously the worst airport security I've experienced. I HATE the way they pack us in like sardines. But, we made it. Our flight had actually just started boarding as we approached the gate. We were in zone 2 which they called about 10 minutes after we arrived. It was a little close for me, I like more wiggle room. Another 15 minutes would have been good, mostly due to road construction.

Our flight was uneventful. We had a connection in Atlanta and Kya panicked a bit when she realized we were actually flying over the Atlantic for a bit. She's a nervous flyer but held it together for the most part and before we knew it we were in Atlanta. Where we had our third travel coincidence of the week. Waaaay back at the beginning of this report I mentioned that we bumped into relatives at a restaurant on our way to the airport and that a friend was returning from WDW and got off of the plane we were about to board on our way down. Well, in Atlanta I was standing waiting to board when suddenly someone came up behind me and grabbed me!

Turns out my cousin, who was traveling from San Antonio, had the same connection to St. Louis that we did! Seriously, what are the odds?

After a mini-reunion, and then another when his wife was waiting for him in baggage claim, we finally made it to our hotel in STL at around midnight. We knew we were home when redneck reality tv was playing in the hotel lobby and strangers where chatting mom up about the Cardinals game (she was wearing a t-shirt). The sleep-n-park hotel was comfy enough but our AC made loud clunky noises all night so not much rest. We had our complimentary breakfast in the morning and we were headed home. I was SO happy to be back to my own bed and especially my hubby. I really missed that guy!

 

[-Hope-]

We got more souvenirs on this trip than any vacation we've ever been on! Harry Potter stuff is apparently my weakness.

In addition to my Honeydukes candy jar I also got a Maurader's map mug, a Ministry of Magic messenger bag and a time turner keychain.


I also got a magnetic UO notepad for the fridge but it was lost under the seat of my car for weeks and I don't have a pic of it. But it's there. All of these souvies are things I see nearly every day and serve as a reminder of our trip. I love them all!

We also got Christmas ornaments that are hanging on our tree right now! Jace got the movie take board, Kya got Betty Boop and I got a silver and gold UO globe.


Like I said before, the Christmas store was a bit disappointing but we all managed to find something that will help remind us of our trip. Our tree is full of ornaments from vacations as well as things we are interested in and I just love and decorating our tree each year. It's like a living time line of my kids lives. These ornaments are a great addition for that tradition.

My brother and his girlfriend got a puppy, CeCi, right before they discovered they were having a baby so this matching dog shirt and bib were the perfect gift for CeCi and Hazel.


The kids saved their pumpkin juice bottles, we had two stamps left from the postcards we'd mailed, and Jace got a golf ball. He has one from most places we've visited so wanted to add to his collection.


Jace spent a large portion of his money at Legoland on a space shuttle and Leaning Tower of Pisa...


I think he also got a mystery bag but I can't remember what was in it. Kya bought a small set from the Hobbit that included Bilbo, Gollum and the ring. She also got a Lego Dobby key chain. No pics of this stuff, sorry!

He had some money left at UO and there he got a Doctor Who shirt and a Walking Dead graphic novel...


For some reason I don't have pics of most of Kya's stuff. Probably because she quickly put it away when we got home instead of leaving it lay on the table for a week.

She got the postcard set for her friends, her own time turner keychain (which she wants to turn into a necklace), a stuffed Crookshanks, a stuffed Despicable Me unicorn (for a friend's b-day gift) and a Doctor Who t-shirt. She also got this Betty Boop t-shirt...


We brought Robbie a Duff beer coozie, a Nascar keychain and a Nascar t-shirt and hat (purchased from the shop at City Walk). No pics of that stuff either. I tried to get pics of everything but I just didn't manage a few things, sorry!

My mom also bought a ton of stuff, mostly for other people because that's just how she is! I don't remember what she got though. So, that's it. A TON of souvenirs that we had to drag back home but all things we are still enjoying and glad we bought. Well, except my time turner which broke. I'm trying to figure out how to fix it but even if I don't I have plenty of other things to help me remember this awesome trip!

Thanks for reading along folks, that's it for me!

 

[schumigirl]

Aww Hope.......Hazel is a beautiful little baby....she is adorable I hope she gets home in time for Christmas, that would be a real blessing. She is doing so well, you must be so proud of her........

I'm so sorry your report has ended.........I really enjoyed travelling along for the ride......you all had such a good trip and it was so nice to read about it.

I'm sure you'll get back to Orlando soon.........thank you for writing your report and the lovely pictures too