Disney: Delicious innards on a sandwich of Panic! A Sept. '11 TR [Completed; Feb. 28]

[IheartDDuck]

Hahaha, there's no blasphemy in saying that you think that's the best ride out there right now. It has a lot of technology that many rides don't have and it utilizes it pretty well.

 

[poisonapple_PRINCESS]

Well thank you, re: Picture! It was an oldie from a "365 project" I did where I did a self portrait every single day for a year. That got old real quick! lmao, but it's 100% photoshopped. I take terrible pictures so I got real good at sprucing them up!
Ok... when I first read your last two lines I panicked big time! I thought it meant "I won't be able to go on my trip" as in for some reason your whole trip was canceled, but then I rushed to your PTR and saw nothing, re-read it as "I won't be able to go to WWoHP on my trip" and relaxed, lmao!

Oops! I guess I should've been more specific! I literally laughed out loud when I read that...I'm still going!! And in 8 days to be exact!

 

[teekathepony]

Hahaha, there's no blasphemy in saying that you think that's the best ride out there right now. It has a lot of technology that many rides don't have and it utilizes it pretty well.

It's true, the technology in it is pretty spectacular!

Oops! I guess I should've been more specific! I literally laughed out loud when I read that...I'm still going!! And in 8 days to be exact!

I'm just glad all is well!!

 

[teekathepony]

After slaying the dragon, we set off to properly explore Hogsmeade village.

We took our time looking at things, but didn't buy anything since we planned to come back last thing to get our souvenirs. We stopped to watch the choir sing (Click to watch video):


Then Johnny, Melissa, Ron and I decided to try The Dragon Challenge! We were on the red dragon. It was definitely the most intense roller coaster I've ever been on, but I loved it! I knew though, that was my threshold of intensity. I wouldn't want to go on anything worse than that.

Then we stopped in the Hog's Head for a drink.

After enjoying our butterbeers we headed on to Jurassic Park:

We had a blast on the Jurassic Park River Adventure and spent a while in the Discovery Center.

We stopped for a bite at Burger Digs and all had a grand Universal bashing session as we compared tales of horrifying prices and terrible food.

The Dragon Challenge plus butterbeer plus onion rings were starting to play tricks on my tummy a little when we started walking again, so when we came to Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls, I took a pass and held everyone's souvenirs and cameras and sun glasses. Again, my caring hubby stayed with me, despite my insistence that I would be fine alone! Johnny and I stood with our cameras waiting for the other four to come splashing down the drop. I thought I had a picture of them, but I can't find it!

From there we wandered over to Marvel Super Hero Island. We all did Spiderman and loved it! Then S-FIL, Melissa and I sat out Doctor Doom's Fearfall while the other three walked right on.

(thats them! It's dark and blurry, and they're around the back, but it is them!)

At this point we were near the entrance so we split up a bit. Melissa told me that The Hulk was worse than Dragon Challenge so I sat it out and went to our locker. MIL and S-FIL did some shopping. We all met back at The Hulk and Johnny told me the opposite -- that it was much smoother and easier than Dragon Challenge! Darn. I would have liked to do it. Next time!

I'll leave you there for today and finish Universal off in the next post. Would we get back to the WWoHP for one last look around? Where did we eat our dinner? Next time!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Love the video of the choir...is bringing back happy memories of the movies

Aaw that's sweet of Johnny to wait with you whilst everyone went on Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls. I would love to try that Doctor Doom's Feerfall...looks like fun!

 

[MEK]

The Hulk is definitely more intense than the other coaster there (which used to be called Dueling Dragons) because the hulk literally blasts you out of the long tube and straight into a manuever. But the hulk is terribly fun and very, very smooth so I bet you could handle it.

Fun update! Nice pics! Not so sure about that butter beer, although everyone seems to like/love it. Glad you are enjoying universal.

 

[poisonapple_PRINCESS]

Literally drooling! I wish we were going there SO BAD! Is butterbeer good??? I've heard it is. I WANT TO GO SO BAD! Someday....hopefully sooner than later.

I cant wait for the next update!!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Oh, I agree! When I went on Dragon Challenge in November, it was a lot rougher than I remembered it being. It's something that's common when roller coasters age.

Hahaha, Universal food bashing. It's pretty bad, isn't it? At least the butterbeer is good.

 

[teekathepony]

Love the video of the choir...is bringing back happy memories of the movies

Aaw that's sweet of Johnny to wait with you whilst everyone went on Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls. I would love to try that Doctor Doom's Feerfall...looks like fun!

I loved the choir, when they did the theme I wanted to rush home and have a Harry Potter movie marathon! And yeah, Johnny's pretty darling. Next time, I'm doing Dudley Do-Right, but I hated ToT so much I doubt I'll ever get on Dr. Doom's!

The Hulk is definitely more intense than the other coaster there (which used to be called Dueling Dragons) because the hulk literally blasts you out of the long tube and straight into a manuever. But the hulk is terribly fun and very, very smooth so I bet you could handle it.

Fun update! Nice pics! Not so sure about that butter beer, although everyone seems to like/love it. Glad you are enjoying universal.

The Hulk is more intense, yes, but easier to ride because the loops and twists are larger and not as sharp (or so says DH!) I wouldn't mind being blasted. I'm definitely going to try it next time! I LOVE butterbeer, so so good! Like buttery and fizzy and the topping is heavenly toffee... mmm I want one right now...

Literally drooling! I wish we were going there SO BAD! Is butterbeer good??? I've heard it is. I WANT TO GO SO BAD! Someday....hopefully sooner than later.

I cant wait for the next update!!

Hahaha see above. I ADORE the butterbeer!! In three days (within two years) at Universal I think I had like 5 butterbeer. You need to get yourself there sometime

Oh, I agree! When I went on Dragon Challenge in November, it was a lot rougher than I remembered it being. It's something that's common when roller coasters age.

Hahaha, Universal food bashing. It's pretty bad, isn't it? At least the butterbeer is good.

Yeah the food was terrible. Small portions too (which, with terrible food is kind of a blessing in disguise!)

 

[mousescrapper]

thanks for the tid bit on the year 1 title...now i recall hearing that before...now i know why we be going to US anytime soon w/ all the coasters...i am the only thrill junkie in our group...maybe some day when all the kids are much older. I know they would love to see WWoHP

so what exactly is butterbeer? beer or soda?

 

[teekathepony]

thanks for the tid bit on the year 1 title...now i recall hearing that before...now i know why we be going to US anytime soon w/ all the coasters...i am the only thrill junkie in our group...maybe some day when all the kids are much older. I know they would love to see WWoHP

so what exactly is butterbeer? beer or soda?

It's more soda than anything. Not beer at all, no alcohol. The drink part of it is like a slightly fizzy, buttery tasting (but very mild, not too sweet. Like a perfect shortbread cookie with no icing. ) The topping is... almost indescribable. It's the smoothest, silkiest foam I've ever encountered. It tastes like the best toffee or maybe butterscotch you've ever had. Again, not too sweet and definitely not sugary. Oh my now I'm drooling. It is very hard to describe and it's a little daunting to take your first sip. I did because I knew I HAD to have butterbeer, no matter what it tasted like, but I've had a lot of people come up to me and ask what it's like before trying it themselves.

 

[teekathepony]

Wow guys! It's 5 days until Christmas!! I'm a Christmas fanatic, I love this time of year. It's currently snowing just a little, perfect little flurries and there's a chance it will keep up until Christmas day! My tree is up and trimmed, my shopping, baking and wrapping are all done. I am cleaning like crazy today, getting my house in shape for my Christmas party Friday night!

Check out some of my festive photos:

My living room, all decked out:

My girl, Sheeka gets so excited for Christmas!

The outside:

Picture is 20 days old, obviously, but I had to show off my countdown!

Our tree! We have a Disney tree skirt, star, and tons of ornaments on there;

Another favourite decoration of mine!

I won't be around much over the holidays, but in the new year Johnny will be working 3 hours away and staying in a hotel there all week, so I'll be all alone and you won't get me off the Dis!

So I wish you all a very merry Christmas and happy holidays!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Love the Christmas decorations!

Have a merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

 

[teekathepony]

Well hello everyone! I hope you all had an amazing holiday season, whatever you celebrate. I sure did. We had a fantastic Christmas, a nice quiet New Years and as a special bonus present, my fish who are very rare around here had 15 babies on New Year's Day!

I am however, a little glad to be coming down off the holiday high. I put away all my decorations and cleaned my house and it's nice to relax again. Just to keep things interesting I've started a "365 project" -- one photo every day for a whole year. I've done them before and only finished successfully once. If anyone is interested in seeing the project, it can be found here.

Enough about me, on with the show!

"How do you eat soup without a spoon!?"

Last post ended with us finishing the Universal's Islands Of Adventure loop and meeting near the entrance. We had a few hours left at the park and the only remaining requirement was that we go back to WWoHP. We decided to head that way slowly and to do whatever we had missed. Into Seuss Landing we went. We rode The Cat In The Hat which is always fun, then we spent a while in the gift shops where Johnny and I got Thing 1 and Thing 2 t-shirts, and his mother got a "Mother of All Things" shirt.

We wandered through the Lost Continent but no one was very interested in much there so we just went back to the Wizarding World.

We got our picture with the Hogwarts Express and conductor:

We wandered around just absorbing the Harry Potter atmosphere.

We went in all the shops. I got a Harry Potter Gryffindor quidditch jersey t-shirt and a chocolate frog, as well as a Gryffindor messenger bag. It was a successful shopping trip.

Johnny and I wanted to run to Forbidden Journey for one last ride before we had to go. No one else wanted to so they made their way back to the exit while we ran. We were running low on time -- we had to be at Medieval Times for 6 -- but the line was short. We got on and had a blast! When we got off it was just starting to rain. Johnny and I made our way toward the exit and it turned torrential! We got absolutely soaked! We met up with everyone and we ran for a taxi to MT.

When we got there we all rushed to the washrooms to change into our various new DRY Universal t-shirts. We dried our hair with the hand dryers and went out to explore!

The decor was great, there were suits of armor everywhere!

The show was a lot of fun.

We cheered for the blue knight!

The food was really good, all except the spare ribs. I don't eat ribs, but I was told they weren't that good. And yes, we had to eat it all with our hands!

Best soup ever!

All in all we had an amazing time here. We got right into it cheering for our knight! The sports were awesome and the horses performing were spectacular. I highly recommend this dinner theatre!

We called for a cab and made our way back to Pop Century, a day's worth of shopping in our hands and still wearing our blue crowns. It was an awesome day, but I was ready to get back to Disney tomorrow!

 

[TanzUnited99]

I'm happy to read you enjoyed the holiday season and wow on your fish having 15 babies! That's great news - congratulations!

Love the shirts you all got - i so want a Thing 1 t-shirt!

Okay the more you write about WWoHP the more jealous I get and wish I had persisted on going even if it was for a few hours!

Yay, I'm glad you enjoyed your meal at Medieval Times - a great way to end your Universal day! Looking forward to reading more about Disney!

 

[poisonapple_PRINCESS]

Ugh, your photo's are gorgeous. Slightly jealous. Actually....VERY jealous.

 

[MEK]

Your Christmas photos are absolutely beautiful. Nicely done. Wish I knew how to photograph / photoshop like that.

Congrats on your fish babies.

The one photo a day sounds like such a cool project. I have always wanted to do that - but I wanted to do it from the first day of summer to the last.

So glad you enjoyed your day at Universal and the Medieval nights dinner looks like a lot of fun. I enjoyed seeing your pics since I never read too much about that show.

 

[mousescrapper]

Wendy thank you for describing the butterbeer so wonderfully...I would definetly love trying one of those...Yum!

I love your holiday photos too..I love decorating too and put up 3 trees this yr our main one w/ the Disney ornaments too

Love that you are doing the 365 project I attempted one in 2010 but failed miserably maybe I'll try again...I tried to do it via the Becky Higgins site but just had trouble keeping it up...I like your Flicker idea

The rest of your Universal and Medevial Times update sounded great...we have one of the MT places about 30 min from our house and have been a few times...it is quite fun. The last time we went was over 5 yrs ago and we cheered on the Blue knight, Bekah was given one of his sashes it was so cute

 

[teekathepony]

I'm happy to read you enjoyed the holiday season and wow on your fish having 15 babies! That's great news - congratulations!

Love the shirts you all got - i so want a Thing 1 t-shirt!

Okay the more you write about WWoHP the more jealous I get and wish I had persisted on going even if it was for a few hours!

Yay, I'm glad you enjoyed your meal at Medieval Times - a great way to end your Universal day! Looking forward to reading more about Disney!

Next time you really must go to WWoHP. It's a pretty amazing experience!

Ugh, your photo's are gorgeous. Slightly jealous. Actually....VERY jealous.

lmao, I had to pay far too much to go to school to learn to be a photographer, and I don't even use much of what I learned anymore. I think I'd rather cut my student loans in half and take less than stellar pictures.

Your Christmas photos are absolutely beautiful. Nicely done. Wish I knew how to photograph / photoshop like that.

Congrats on your fish babies.

The one photo a day sounds like such a cool project. I have always wanted to do that - but I wanted to do it from the first day of summer to the last.

So glad you enjoyed your day at Universal and the Medieval nights dinner looks like a lot of fun. I enjoyed seeing your pics since I never read too much about that show.

Well thank you! The 365 project is really cool. If I can do it and do it right, then it makes for a very interesting thing to look back on in years to come.

Wendy thank you for describing the butterbeer so wonderfully...I would definetly love trying one of those...Yum!

I love your holiday photos too..I love decorating too and put up 3 trees this yr our main one w/ the Disney ornaments too

Love that you are doing the 365 project I attempted one in 2010 but failed miserably maybe I'll try again...I tried to do it via the Becky Higgins site but just had trouble keeping it up...I like your Flicker idea

The rest of your Universal and Medevial Times update sounded great...we have one of the MT places about 30 min from our house and have been a few times...it is quite fun. The last time we went was over 5 yrs ago and we cheered on the Blue knight, Bekah was given one of his sashes it was so cute

3 trees? I'm jealous! I wish I had the room for more than one. When our rec room downstairs is finished I'm definitely adding another tree!
I love doing the 365 on Flickr because there are a ton of others doing it and the support system and inspiration is really great.

 

[orcasandowls]

I'm jumping in late, but I wanted to let you know you have another reader eagerly anticipating your next update. Love the photos from Christmas, too!