Flying 2 days for 3 days at WDW is a SNAP! Final Thoughts 01/02

[ehsmum]

CSR looks gorgeous!

Can't wait to hear about your time with Harry .

[franandaj]

This is so cool I had no idea that you were going to HP world, I can't wait to see/hear about it since that's the theme of my PTR!

[PrincessInOz]

Originally Posted by shushh

Awww...PrincessInOz you know I love your photos! And they are beautiful but not doctored if you know what I mean...or do you doctor them...

Anywhoo! On with your TR, I need to know if they did indeed let you in early so I can change my pick up time for when we go to IOP

I'm only . What do you mean....doctored? Strictly point, aim and shoot. Some day soon I'll get into photoshop.

Originally Posted by ehsmum

CSR looks gorgeous!

Can't wait to hear about your time with Harry .

Coming right up!

Originally Posted by franandaj

This is so cool I had no idea that you were going to HP world, I can't wait to see/hear about it since that's the theme of my PTR!

I had no idea I was definitely going to Mickey cheat either.

[PrincessInOz]

The gates opened at 8.45 am and we headed off in the direction that everyone seemed to run in. We were allowed to head towards HogWorld through Seuss Landing. Pretty soon we got to our destination.




And made a bee-line for the Forbidden Journey in Hogwart’s castle.




I couldn’t resist taking a few snaps; even though I knew we should keep moving.





I did think of stopping in the castle to take pictures but DH was keen to keep going. In any event, it was pretty dark in the castle and I just soaked up the atmosphere, happy to be there.


The early morning start paid off for us. We pretty much walked in and were through the castle in 15 minutes. We completed this ride by 9.10 am!


The FJ ride is absolutely fantastic and for this ride and the walk through the castle, I thought the $$$ was money well worth spending. No regrets from either DH or myself and we both agree – we need to come back!


We then headed towards the basket weave across the castle way. There was no wait and it was strictly walk-on only.







We came across Scarecrow...
Funny, I don’t remember a scarecrow character in the books and whilst there were wizards a plenty, we were a long way from Oz. Anyway, I could have sworn Scarecrow had a straw head; but then I had not had a caffeine hit yet, so I figured I wasn’t seeing straight yet.






Nope….still looks like a Pumpkin head to me.


I had to content myself with a picture of Hagrid’s house from the outside. He was not in; and we did not feel like Breaking and Entering.






And the verdict? We both agreed - a very very good, but not great, ride.

Up next: Ollivanders

[queenie82]

Honest and Frank TR as always.
I found Pepper Market to be a big disappointment and indeed was very quiet. CBR by contrast is wonderful. Great range and good value and quality of food.

If you choose not to go with Economy Plus then you can't expect great legroom. About $450 would have covered Economy Plus for both of you for all 4 (well 6 if you include Mel-Syd and Syd-Mel) of your flights.
Now I haven't experienced standard legroom on a United aircraft for many years so maybe they took an inch or 2 to give it to Economy Plus. But I've found other airlines pretty bad...so...I doubt they are the worst.
As for movies etc. I didn't watch a SINGLE movie this past trip. Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones + ipod with careful song selection + Economy Plus = relaxation and even some sleep!! (and I don't sleep on flights usually)

Glad you had a nice time at Harry. I don't think I'd waste the money cheating on Stitch because the one day ticket price is a serious ripoff. But it is pretty.

Look forward to hearing more :-)

[PrincessInOz]

Originally Posted by queenie82

Honest and Frank TR as always.
I found Pepper Market to be a big disappointment and indeed was very quiet. CBR by contrast is wonderful. Great range and good value and quality of food.

If you choose not to go with Economy Plus then you can't expect great legroom. about $400 would have covered Economy Plus for both of you for all 4 of your flights.
Now I haven't experienced standard legroom on a United aircraft for many years so maybe they took an inch or 2 to give it to Economy Plus. But I've found other airlines pretty bad...so...I doubt they are the worst.
As for movies etc. I didn't watch a SINGLE movie this past trip. Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones + ipod with careful song selection + Economy Plus = relaxation and even some sleep!! (and I don't sleep on flights usually)

Glad you had a nice time at Harry. I don't think I'd waste the money cheating on Stitch because the one day ticket price is a serious ripoff. But it is pretty.

Look forward to hearing more :-)

Hi Queenie! Lovely to see you back on the Boards. I seriously did contemplate the Economy Plus...and I don't know what I was thinking now. Obviously I was NOT thinking at all!

We sat in the very rear of the plane on the way there; so legroom was not good. We sat in the middle section on the way back and there was a little bit more space. But the lack of in-seat entertainment just gets to me. Happy to fly 747 with in-seat entertainment....what can I say? I need colour and motion in front of me .

If I get the opportunity to get back to the World, I might try CBR...and another deluxe. I'd better start printing money now.

[Mum from oz]

Ohh I can't wait to go to WWHP! It looks amazing. Hagrids house looks really realistic.

[Jade+3]

Oh no, WWHP was not on the to do list - will have to look into that.

I nearly booked CSR, but the kids wanted CBR for the pirate waterpark.

[queenie82]

Originally Posted by PrincessInOz

Hi Queenie! Lovely to see you back on the Boards. I seriously did contemplate the Economy Plus...and I don't know what I was thinking now. Obviously I was NOT thinking at all!

We sat in the very rear of the plane on the way there; so legroom was not good. We sat in the middle section on the way back and there was a little bit more space. But the lack of in-seat entertainment just gets to me. Happy to fly 747 with in-seat entertainment....what can I say? I need colour and motion in front of me .

If I get the opportunity to get back to the World, I might try CBR...and another deluxe. I'd better start printing money now.

I think the US is printing enough money at the moment to mean the exchange rate is very helpful

As for seating....I think I was around row 21 A few rows behind those in business class

I totally understand the in seat stuff. If it is important to you then go for it.
Just mainly commenting on the whole legroom thing. Economy Plus gives you better legroom than pretty much any standard Economy seat no matter what airline.

[shushh]

Looks great so far! I'm taking notes. I must admit I have not done ANY research on IOA or US. I had assumed that most of the rides would be too scary or not suitable for our young children. So I shall be following in your footsteps...

Originally Posted by queenie82

I totally understand the in seat stuff. If it is important to you then go for it.

Queenie...is that really you? What happened!?!??! You've mellowed.
Glad to see you back in earnest. The boards are just not the same without your input! Nice to start hearing more about your trip as well on the other thread. Going now to sticky beak at your photos.

[skier_pete]

Hey there! Joining in!

I agree with your CSR feelings - I wouldn't mind staying there one day, but am not in a hurry to do so. My parents live in Arizona...and the Southwest theme is both not a favorite style of mine but also something I see frequently. We've only stayed at POFQ and totally love it, so might be a while before we try CSR.

As far as the pumpkin scarecrow goes, I believe while it was never in the books, it WAS in one of the movies I think.

[manntra]

Oooh I am so excited you went over to the dark side at Universal!! One of these days I want to get over there. My nephews are big HP fans.
I don't know how long it takes to get to Universal from where you were but that seems like quite a good deal.....I used cabs a few times last week for dining reservations (again....4 women getting ready ) All of the cabs were metered cabs except the one we took from the Dolphin back to AKV...I think because technically the Swalphin are not part of Disney their cabs didn't have to be metered
Your room was pretty....I do like duvets and the style of the rooms
I can't wait to see your pictures and your description of HP

Tracy

[HeatherBelle614]

Hiiii! I found you!

It was great to meet you; I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to cross paths again, though!

I love your TR so far; I haven't had time to start mine yet, but am hoping to do so in the next week or so!

Looking forward to more!

[PrincessInOz]

Originally Posted by Mum from oz

Ohh I can't wait to go to WWHP! It looks amazing. Hagrids house looks really realistic.

The whole place was realistic. DH and I suspended reality for the entire time that we were in WWHP and felt like we were really in magic land. We're such tragics.

Originally Posted by Jade+3

Oh no, WWHP was not on the to do list - will have to look into that.

I nearly booked CSR, but the kids wanted CBR for the pirate waterpark.

I'm sure you'll be happy with whichever resort you choose. CSR was nice; but I didn't get any special mousekeeping (so no towel animals) and the mousekeeper didn't take any of the envelops/tips that I left out. They had opened the first one and closed in with money still left in. All the other 2 envelops were also left in the pile. In the end, I took them all back.

Originally Posted by queenie82

I think the US is printing enough money at the moment to mean the exchange rate is very helpful

As for seating....I think I was around row 21 A few rows behind those in business class

I totally understand the in seat stuff. If it is important to you then go for it.
Just mainly commenting on the whole legroom thing. Economy Plus gives you better legroom than pretty much any standard Economy seat no matter what airline.

Yeah. I noted on the way in that the UA International Economy Plus leg room was as roomy as Domestic leg room. Maybe I'll give them a go again....when they get in-seat entertainment .

Originally Posted by shushh

Looks great so far! I'm taking notes. I must admit I have not done ANY research on IOA or US. I had assumed that most of the rides would be too scary or not suitable for our young children. So I shall be following in your footsteps...



Queenie...is that really you? What happened!?!??! You've mellowed.
Glad to see you back in earnest. The boards are just not the same without your input! Nice to start hearing more about your trip as well on the other thread. Going now to sticky beak at your photos.

FJ will probably be too scary for your younger kids and I think there is a height restriction on the ride. But the ride in itself is like no other I've been on and there is nothing equivalent in the World to it. The closest analogy I can come up with is that it seems to be like that scene in Monsters Inc where they are riding on the doors. FJ seems to be on a "conveyer belt" and you get moved through what seems to be at least 5 or 6 different 'rooms' or scenes. The scenes seem to be shown in wide screen and/or 360 degrees around you, so you get the full benefit of almost 3D. Spiders, Dementors, Quidditch, Castle. Absolutely fantastic and for me and DH - so worth it!

Originally Posted by skier_pete

Hey there! Joining in!

I agree with your CSR feelings - I wouldn't mind staying there one day, but am not in a hurry to do so. My parents live in Arizona...and the Southwest theme is both not a favorite style of mine but also something I see frequently. We've only stayed at POFQ and totally love it, so might be a while before we try CSR.

As far as the pumpkin scarecrow goes, I believe while it was never in the books, it WAS in one of the movies I think.

Hey Pete! Thanks for coming over to my TR! Now that I think about it, I think you're right...the pumpkin head is in one of the movies; Azkaban. I'll need to take another look at that movie again to see if it's there.

Originally Posted by manntra

Oooh I am so excited you went over to the dark side at Universal!! One of these days I want to get over there. My nephews are big HP fans.
I don't know how long it takes to get to Universal from where you were but that seems like quite a good deal.....I used cabs a few times last week for dining reservations (again....4 women getting ready ) All of the cabs were metered cabs except the one we took from the Dolphin back to AKV...I think because technically the Swalphin are not part of Disney their cabs didn't have to be metered
Your room was pretty....I do like duvets and the style of the rooms
I can't wait to see your pictures and your description of HP

Tracy

In 2005, I remember driving from WDW to the Outlet malls past Universal. It took over 40 minutes to do....but that was because we drove up I-DRIVE and got caught in all the hotel/resort traffic. This time round, the driver took the I-4. It only took like 10 minutes max. We went on a Sunday; so there was hardly any traffic on the roads.

I hear you about the cab thing. If I had ADRs and were all dressed up, I would take a cab as well!

Originally Posted by HeatherBelle614

Hiiii! I found you!

It was great to meet you; I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to cross paths again, though!

I love your TR so far; I haven't had time to start mine yet, but am hoping to do so in the next week or so!

Looking forward to more!

Hi Heather! Thanks for stopping by my TR. It was great to meet you and your DH and I wished we could have caught up again on the Tuesday party. Maybe next time. Looking forward to spotting yours on the boards next week or so!

[kyl]

Loving your TR PrincessInOz,
Yes I have to agree I wouldn't pick CSR over the other disney resorts again. We did two weeks there, it was good and had all we needed. But it did kinda lack the disney atmosphere. But then again we had never been to WDW until then so had nothing to compare it to. Until one night we stayed at AKL....o.k big difference. Not saying CSR is bad because it isn't, I liked pepper market and compared to the value resorts food court it was way better food. Friends stayed at POP and one morning we went to all stars music resort to get on a tour. I think if you were an older couple with no kids or even with kids and wanted a rest from the whole disney theme at the end of the day then this is the resort for you. But I should of listened to queenie and gone CBR......yes queenie you were right what can I say?