**Are You Sure That Snow Is Fake?!**A December Disney Trip**8/5 The End & Souvenirs**

[CAStevens218]

When I left off, we had just spent a great day at Universal Studios and had headed back to our hotel to take a break before heading out to see some fireworks that night.

We were going to the Magic Kingdom to see the Main Street Electrical Parade and Wishes!

This is what we saw when we entered the park:

Now, it was a Saturday night, and one of the only nights without a Christmas Party that week, so it was CROWDED!! We went right away to find a spot to watch the parade. However, it was already extremely crowded and I’m short, so we couldn’t see very well from four rows back! There was family in front of us who kept passing their little girl among the various adults in the group and talking very loudly to her (the mom kept trying to tell her to watch the parade, even though she was clearly not interested!!!) and letting a balloon float all around, so this was not the most ideal viewing spot. However, it was completely our fault for not getting there earlier!

I still enjoyed the parade immensely! I love Spectro, but this parade just had such a fun feel to it! I got some great shots with the castle in the background!

Then, we moved a little more to the center of the hub to see Wishes! While we waited, this guy came barreling through the crowd pushing a wheelchair and ran over another man’s heel. The guy turned around and said something to him. He then tried to blame Ben (who was not involved at all and had not moved the entire time) for being in the way. Have you ever heard of saying excuse me when you want to get through??? Crazy people! I think people just lose their minds when they go out in public, especially in crowds. I see it all the time in the theater where I work.

Oh well, this did not damper our night at all because we LOVE Wishes!!! I could watch it every night and NEVER get tired of it!!

Here are some of my pictures:

Since we didn’t have a great view for the first parade, we decided to stick around for the second one at 11PM. We had some time, so we took a ride on Pirates of the Caribbean!

We then headed back toward Main Street for the second parade! I was excited to have a great view of the Dopey float!

At some point we got some pictures in front of the castle??

The park was open until 1AM and I really wanted to stay, but it was cold and we had already had a long day. So, with one final picture:

Or maybe two…

Or three…

We went back to AllStar Music to get some sleep! The next day I would finally get to ride my FAVORITE ride!!!!!

 

[jc040404]

I suppose I should also put some energy into wedding planning, but it just doesn't seem as exciting!!

I love that! I was the same way. I never really wanted a wedding, but as soon as dh mentioned Disney for our honeymoon, nothing else mattered anyway! We're getting married? Who cares! We're going to Disney World!!

Great updates! Universal looks like so much fun! We've only been once when Andrew was a baby. Trying to cram both parks into one day with him didn't go well. That coaster looks crazy scary though! The balloons were so neat! I didn't even know they had them there.

Yay for an ending at MK! Too crazy about the ankle guy and that darn balloon child. Those big Mickey balloons are cute but kinda drive me nuts! If they're not blocking view of something, they're hitting me in the face as we walk by a stroller.

Looks like you had a great day!!

 

[CAStevens218]

We had a meeting at a possible wedding facility today and weddings are just SO expensive! I tried to convince Ben to elope when we left the meeting!!

Universal was a lot of fun and we will definitely be back! I can only imagine how exhausting it would be to try to do both parks with a baby though! We go back later in the trip to check out Harry Potter World!!

 

[CAStevens218]

Today was the day I would finally get to ride my favorite ride!! Where were we going?? Hollywood Studios!!

On the way in, we met one of our favorite couples all decked out in their Hollywood finest!

Then, it was time!!!!! I was so excited!!! That’s right, here it is!!!!!

I LOVE the Tower of Terror! I love everything about it! I love the story, I love the theming, I love the CMs who really get into character, and I LOVE the ride itself and the drops! Now, I don’t do those drop rides at any other park, but this one I LOVE!!

We grabbed some fastpasses for later and I think we rode standby three times in a row before Ben finally dragged me away to do his favorite ride:

We grabbed fastpasses and got into the standby line. When we looked behind us, we realized that they weren’t letting anyone else in line? We didn’t move for a few minutes, and then they started letting everyone through. It turned out that the ride was down. We walked through the whole line and into the store, where a CM handed us a fastpass good for any time that day (and I think into the future up to a certain point, but I can’t remember). We were happy because we now had two sets of Rockin’ Roller Coaster fastpasses!

We decided to go see if we could get Toy Story Mania fastpasses, but they were already gone! No big deal, we would be back!

We walked through some shops,

And then headed over to the Animation building.

We had to meet the man in charge of course!!

We had Starring Rolls for lunch. The sandwiches were really good and the cupcakes were just okay. It had started raining at this point and I think they would be better on a warmer, more comfortable day.

At some point we did ride Rockin’ Roller Coaster a few times!

And I know we did The Great Movie Ride as well. We definitely rode Tower of Terror a few more times! I know we did it 7 times total that day!!!! That is basically what we based our day around…when we could use and get more ToT fastpasses!!!! I'm crazy, I know and accept it!

On one of our rides, the CM loading the elevator was telling a girl not to buckle her bag under the seat belt. She just was not understanding and continued to buckle herself in with the bag tucked underneath. He was getting frustrated and eventually said “Fine, you’ll choke yourself, but fine…” Ben and I found this so hilarious and we couldn’t stop laughing! The CM broke character and laughed right along with us. I still don’t think the girl had any idea what we were laughing about! She was clueless!

We had a great day at Hollywood Studios! We hadn’t been prepared for the rain, so we decided to head back to the hotel for a rest before going to a dinner reservation that we were VERY excited about!!!

 

[jc040404]

We had a meeting at a possible wedding facility today and weddings are just SO expensive! I tried to convince Ben to elope when we left the meeting!!

Aren't they?? We didn't do a wedding at all, just a few friends and a cake. Even that was pricey! Looking back, I'd be all for running off to Vegas and Elvis impersonators. I've actually made dh promise we'll get remarried that way when the kids are older! Good luck with whatever you decide!

Today “Fine, you’ll choke yourself, but fine…”

That's hilarious. You are completely INSANE though! Seven times on Tot! Yikes! I can't wait to try Rockin' Roller Coaster though. I forget the height on that one, but I remember thinking we wouldn't make it there this year. I'm doing all the big kid rides as Andrew gets tall enough for them. Yay for double fastpasses!

Can't wait to hear about this dinner!

 

[CAStevens218]

Wow, I haven’t updated in a LONG time. I’m pretty sure not many are reading, but I’m not a quitter, and school is done, so here I go!!!!

Last time I left off when we finished up a great morning and afternoon at Hollywood Studios and were heading back to the hotel to take a break before going to dinner.

We were going to eat at ‘Ohana and we were soooo excited!!!

When we got to the Poly, the check-in area at ‘Ohana was VERY crowded. We waited at least a half hour past our ADR time. It was all worth it though, this was a GREAT meal!!

We will DEFINITELY go back to ‘Ohana!! I LOVED those dumplings!!! I’m planning on convincing my Dad that this is where we should eat after we run the half marathon in January!! We will certainly have burned enough calories!!

 

[CAStevens218]

After dinner at ‘Ohana, headed out to the bus stop to go to Hollywood Studios.

The tree at HS looked great all lit up!

We took some pictures in front of the hat,

And then went back to my favorite!!! Its even better at night!! I loved when the window opened and you could see the Osborne Lights!

After a few rides, we decided to head over to the Osborne Lights. On the way, we stopped to watch Mulch, Sweat and Shears. They were GREAT!!!

And now, for your viewing pleasure, the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights!

We probably rode ToT some more, and then we headed back to go to bed! On the way out we walked through some shops, and Ben had a message for me:

He was trying to look grumpy!!!

It was time to hit the sack because the next day was a BIG day!! We were headed off property again to a very special place…

 

[mermaid764]

I'm still here!

Your evening at DHS looked like a lot of fun, The lights looked amazing

 

[CAStevens218]

I'm still here!

Your evening at DHS looked like a lot of fun, The lights looked amazing

Yay I'm glad you're out there! The lights really were great! I could have stood there and looked at them all night...if it had been warmer!!

 

[jc040404]

How awesome. We're at the same event in our TRs right now! Yay for the pretty lights! ToT at night sounds even scarier. You're nuts! I have to admit that the lights might look kinda neat from up there. I don't see them being worth all the rest though!

 

[CAStevens218]

How awesome. We're at the same event in our TRs right now! Yay for the pretty lights! ToT at night sounds even scarier. You're nuts! I have to admit that the lights might look kinda neat from up there. I don't see them being worth all the rest though!

I was reading yours and I realized that if I got my act together I would be at the same place, so you inspired me to continue! Plus, I really need a Disney fix and there is no way I'm going again until we go for the half marathon in January, so reliving my last trip is my best option!

The lights did look really cool from Tower of Terror....but I doubt it would be as cool if you were having a panic attack!!!

Merry Trip Report Christmas!! LOL

 

[CAStevens218]

Today was a day that I was sure should have happened when I turned 11…I was going to enter the world of Harry Potter!!!! I’m a big reader, and Harry Potter holds a special place in my heart! I grew up with it; I read the first book when I was 12 and the last book came out when I was an undergraduate in college! I don’t think I will ever get tired of those books!! Ben is not a big reader, but one summer I went to Greece for a month to visit family and he was bored. He knew I loved Harry Potter, so he started reading them to surprise me but ended up loving them!!

Needless to say, we were both VERY excited to get to Hogsmeade!

We used the Mears bus again, and got an actual bus this time! This is much more comfortable than the vans!

After a quick bus ride, and a bit of a walk, we saw this:

I can’t even begin to describe how excited I was! It was about 8:45 at this point, but they were already letting everyone in! We got through the turnstiles quickly and headed toward the back of the park to the Wizarding World! We headed to the right, so this is what we saw when we got there:

And as we passed under that magical arch, I spotted the Hogwarts Express!

I’m still not sure why I never received my ticket on my 11th birthday!?!

Now, I may be a bit biased as a HUGE Potter fan, but this place is AMAZING!! Universal really hit the nail on the head here! Everything looked PERFECT!!

We started with the show at Ollivander’s, the wand shop. We waited in line for about fifteen minutes. The show was very well done, but not something I would wait more than fifteen minutes for in the future, unless I go with someone who had never seen it. Here’s a picture of Ollivander and all the wands!

Our next stop was Hogwarts to ride Forbidden Journey! Thanks to the disboards, I knew all about where to go to get a locker for our stuff, so that was painless! The line was empty, but we took our time walking through to look at everything. They did a fabulous job inside the castle! However, since they tell you you can’t carry anything on the ride, we did not have our camera with us to take pictures at this point.

The ride was AMAZING! I get motion sickness when I watch big IMAX type screens, but since this moved from big screens to actual real life sets, I was pretty much okay. I didn’t find it as intense as what I had read about it, so next time we WILL carry our camera and just make sure we have a secure pocket to put it in!

As soon as we finished riding, we went to get our stuff from the locker. I had read that you could ask to walk through to take pictures without riding, so we did that next. We went through a different line that was parallel to the regular line.

And now, I take you on a journey through Hogwarts castle!

These portraits were talking to each other and moving. It was amazing!

Dumbledore was in his office:

And we ran into Harry, Hermione and Ron too!

The next two pictures are of the Fat Lady. They show how she moved and talked. This is the same portrait!!

This is the Great Hall, where you board the ride. These are the floating candles!

Continued in next post...

 

[CAStevens218]

After our tour of the castle, we went to ride Flight of the Hippogriff. This is a children’s coaster, but we wanted to see all the theming!

Hagrid’s Hut:

Buckbeak:

Next, there was a beverage we wanted to try, so we headed down towards the Hogshead pub.

We saw this on the way…so cute!

We were on a mission for some butter beer, and had heard that you could get it in the Hog’s Head Pub, which is in the back of the Three Broomsticks.

Here is the bartender getting us our drinks:

And me with my butter beer in my souvenir mug!

The butter beer tasted amazing! It is kind of like cream soda, but the foam on top is so thick and delicious! Its very sweet though, so I know I could never handle more than one!

Our next stop was to check out some of the shops. Now, here is my one complaint about the design of this area of the park. I completely understand that JK Rowling wanted the park to be to scale. I understand that she wanted people to get the full effect of being in Hogsmeade. BUT, the shops are just way too small. It was to the point of being uncomfortable. To me, it would have made more sense to have the nice, small, cozy shop fronts, and then have them open up into bigger stores in the back. It made shopping very unenjoyable, which was too bad. I probably would have bought more if I could have breathed while I was in the shops!!! However, the merchandise is dead on, they did a great job with that!!

Here are a few pictures of the candy in Honeyduke’s.

Next, we knew we wanted to get lunch at the Three Broomsticks. It was probably about 1130 by now, and we wanted to try to beat the crowds. There was already a line, but we only waited for about fifteen minutes to order. The line is really nice because they have a display with all of the food options, so you can actually see what you can order.

Ben had fish and chips with another butter beer, and I had shepherd’s pie and a bottle of water. I can’t remember how much we spent exactly, but I do remember thinking that the price’s weren’t too bad!

Here’s Ben with his lunch:

The Wizarding World area had been getting more and more crowded as the morning went by. It was VERY crowded by the time we finished our lunch, so we decided to go check out the other areas of the park. We were hoping they would be empty…and we were right!!!

We walked right onto the Hulk, which was a great ride!!!

We also checked out Seuss Landing. They had some nice Christmas decorations, and they had the Whos out putting up garland and other decorations, which was cute. We rode the Cat in the Hat ride and the trolley ride. This area could REALLY use some updating! Everything was just falling apart, paint peeling, etc…which is too bad because an area based on Dr. Seuss has sooo much to work with! Hopefully some day they will take some time to rehab this area of the park!

We DID find a delicious cookie in the shop at the end of the trolley ride though!

Our next stop was the Poseidon show, which I really enjoyed. My only complaint is that you have to keep walking from room to room and people push and shove. It would be a bit more enjoyable if they put you in some type of ride car!

Can you guess what we did next? Yup, back to Hogsmeade!

I just COULD NOT get enough! We went to ride the Dragon Challenge coaster next. On the way up, we happened to see the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang show going on down below. We had the PERFECT view!

Here is some of the theming in the Dragon Challenge line:

This is a great ride, by the way! There are two sides to choose from, and we rode both. I liked the blue side better, but they were both great! It was very cool when the other side went right under or over you!!!

When we got back down into the shops area, we saw the Frog Choir!

We strolled around a bit, just taking everything in.

We had about an hour and a half before our bus back at this point. We could have made it later, but it was pretty chilly and we were exhausted! We walked through the Jurassic Park area, but didn’t really check anything out. They had a bunch of super heros out in the Marvel area, so we stopped to watch them for a while. Then we headed back to the bus parking area to go back to the hotel!

This was a GREAT day. We will DEFINITELY be back at Islands of Adventure on our next trip! We need more time in Harry Potter, and we didn’t really get to check out the Marvel or Jurassic Park areas. Plus, we MUST ride The Hulk again! We are currently planning on spending 2 or 3 nights at Universal on our honeymoon to take advantage of early entry to Harry Potter and the Express Pass!

We went back to the hotel and took a nap. We had reservations at Wolfgang Puck Café that night at 830. It was FREEZING by now and were sure were tired, but we dragged ourselves there anyway. The food was great, but we were too tired to really enjoy it. I think we will try this place again on our January half marathon trip...I think my dad and brother will like it!

We went to bed right after dinner. The next day was another busy one…we had a bunch of countries to tour!!

 

[silverhaze269]

I'm still with you!

Those were some great pictures! I really enjoyed reading all about your Wizarding World of Harry Potter experience . I just found out that on my upcoming trip to WDW I'll more than likely be able to sneak away for one day to enjoy the Wizarding World, and I can't wait!!! I can't believe how not busy it was when you went...I have a feeling I'm going to be in store for some crazy lines and crowds, but it will be so worth it.

 

[CAStevens218]

I'm still with you!

Those were some great pictures! I really enjoyed reading all about your Wizarding World of Harry Potter experience . I just found out that on my upcoming trip to WDW I'll more than likely be able to sneak away for one day to enjoy the Wizarding World, and I can't wait!!! I can't believe how not busy it was when you went...I have a feeling I'm going to be in store for some crazy lines and crowds, but it will be so worth it.

I hope you have an AMAZING time at Harry Potter World! It truly is AMAZING! I would just say get there as early as possible. It was really cold on the day we went, so that and the time of year probably kept the crowds away for us. Even with crowds, it will be totally worth it!

 

[Tink2Day]

LOVE your trip report and CONGRATULATIONS!!! You are an adorable couple!

I felt the same way about the snow, especially at the MVMCP when it snowed on Main Street (Tomorrowland wasn't quite as cold when the snow hit there)! I thought it was supposed to be warm in Florida????
We live in a warm climate but we do get at least 1 snow per year. I looked like I was an eskimo in my coat, sweatshirt, layers and layers and we were there in early November (40 degrees brrr).

I made a last minute decision on my last minute trip to go to IOA specifically for the WWOHP. I was so happy that I went and that my travelling partner made the sacrifice to go with me, knowing NOTHING about HP.

Your reaction was much the same as mine! I'm no spring chicken and I actually was shaking and thought oh no don't embarrass your sister (travelmate) and bawl!!

Anyway it sure is something else isn't it? I get the small shops, Filch's is big enough, the store at the front is too and they have the kiosks which sell things. I think it made me feel like I was actually in Hogsmeade. Remember the movies where all the kids are in Honeyduke's and it's packed?
I'm so happy for you that you got to go, enjoy and not have huge mobs.

We had a pretty empty park the whole day. Next time be sure to do JP. The water rides in IOA are great, even if we did freeze.
Frozen Potter fan on a stick! New treats in WWOHP

 

[jc040404]

LOVED this update! I could really tell how excited you were over all of it!! The pics are great. This is the most I've really read about all the new stuff. (Maybe I should skip admitting that I haven't read any of the books and I've only seen the first movie..? ) It looks like you both had a great time! Despite not being a big fan, I'd love to go see all of this!

 

[rachel09985]

Thanks for the great Harry Potter update. We are heading there in 3 weeks and I am super excited!

 

[CAStevens218]

LOVE your trip report and CONGRATULATIONS!!! You are an adorable couple!

I felt the same way about the snow, especially at the MVMCP when it snowed on Main Street (Tomorrowland wasn't quite as cold when the snow hit there)! I thought it was supposed to be warm in Florida????
We live in a warm climate but we do get at least 1 snow per year. I looked like I was an eskimo in my coat, sweatshirt, layers and layers and we were there in early November (40 degrees brrr).

I made a last minute decision on my last minute trip to go to IOA specifically for the WWOHP. I was so happy that I went and that my travelling partner made the sacrifice to go with me, knowing NOTHING about HP.

Your reaction was much the same as mine! I'm no spring chicken and I actually was shaking and thought oh no don't embarrass your sister (travelmate) and bawl!!

Anyway it sure is something else isn't it? I get the small shops, Filch's is big enough, the store at the front is too and they have the kiosks which sell things. I think it made me feel like I was actually in Hogsmeade. Remember the movies where all the kids are in Honeyduke's and it's packed?
I'm so happy for you that you got to go, enjoy and not have huge mobs.

We had a pretty empty park the whole day. Next time be sure to do JP. The water rides in IOA are great, even if we did freeze.
Frozen Potter fan on a stick! New treats in WWOHP

LOL It was seriously sooo cold this day! I wasn't really wearing that many clothes but I definitely should have been!!!! The next day in my trip report is EPCOT, and I finally gave in a wore my winter coat the entire day!! I refused to believe it was THAT cold during my trip to Florida up until then! Denial!!??!!!

You're right about the small shops making it feel just like Hogsmeade! I think its just my love of a personal space bubble that made me wish it was bigger!!

I kind of felt the way you did about not getting over excited!! I didn't want Ben to disown me!!

We are definitely going back to Universal and IOA for our honeymoon, and we will be sure to do the water rides then! I saw the Jurassic Park one on Ellen and it looks great! We can't wait, Ben LOVES water rides!!

LOVED this update! I could really tell how excited you were over all of it!! The pics are great. This is the most I've really read about all the new stuff. (Maybe I should skip admitting that I haven't read any of the books and I've only seen the first movie..? ) It looks like you both had a great time! Despite not being a big fan, I'd love to go see all of this!

I was SO excited about HP World, I can't even describe how I felt!!! I think that even as someone who isn't a huge fan, you could still enjoy it! They really did an excellent job with everything.

I have to admit, I was so disappointed in Ben sometimes! He has read all the books and seen all the movies, but he isn't as much of a fanatic as I am, so when I would point things out, sometimes he wouldn't know what I was talking about! I told him I didn't even know him anymore and he was a disappointment!!

Thanks for the great Harry Potter update. We are heading there in 3 weeks and I am super excited!

I hope you have an amazing time!!! It truly is fantastic!!

 

[ireland_nicole]

Just found your trip report and I am loving it- we are taking a three gen girls trip in nov and am planning a lot of what you did. (although we're doing 1 night at RPH for the express pass at IoA). And hopefully dd 11 won't be getting engaged this trio LOL Congrats on your engagement and I'm looking forward to reading more