DisneyZell
Likes Adventures on the High Seas
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2004
Apparently I now have drinks on the line to finish MY TR before Wally does...and that is the kind of motivation I need. Maybe.
But I was also thinking about it. He finished his trip 3 months ago. So...go with me on this...all I should have to do is finish this TR less than 3 months from when he finishes his. Right? Uh...I said, Right? Bueller? Bueller? Hmmm. *Crickets*
I see I don't have the kind of audience that wants to wait. Well...based on my past history...you are in trouble. Yes, I know...I get mad at DW for saying things like that. Only I am allowed to say this about myself. That is just how it is. For you...well try not to
as it is not your computer's fault. 
Anyway...on with the tale. When we last left you we were getting into the hotel in the middle of the night...after chasing dinner off of the tollway...and driving bleary eyed through the night. As is always the case when we got to bed late and have to get up early...DW didn't sleep. I didn't sleep much...but did get a little bit. Luckily for DW I bought her a Kindle Paperwhite for her birthday. Well I think it was for her birthday. Geez...that's bad that I don't remember. I'm sure I won't hear about that.
anyway...the paperwhite is cool because it still can be read in direct sun (like a kindle), but it has a nice back glow that isn't too bright but makes it so you can read in the dark. Very nice. Yes...I'm aware that tablets are the way to go. And being the technology savy person I am, I *did* buy her a tablet...which we promptly took back to Costco because she didn't use it. I don't know what to tell you....ooh....watch out!
now she is throwing things at me!
But I digress. and you don't care about the paperwhite. or maybe you do. Either way...there you go.
As I said before we had set the alarm for 6:30 which came in very early. It was our intention to get into the park and get to Harry Potter first...or close to first. Dw went down and got our tickets from the lobby (it was broken in the middle of the night. Not sure how she got them in the morning...I assume someone came in? These are the types of mysteries I'm left with when I'm not involved!!!). OH wait...but she only got tickets for the three of us. DW, being a Travel Agent...gets one free ticket a year. Yup...that's what I'm talkin' about.
uh huh.
Luckily the hotel was a very short walk to Islands of Adventure...or we could have taken the boat. But the guy at the desk said walking was better...and quicker and he was right. Just around the lake...under the bridge, up and over and we were standing in front of the gates. Wait a second...food. food would be good. No big deal, right? Citywalk is right there. apparently not for breakfast. We couldn't find anything...not even a starbucks...very strange. Oh well. I certainly will not pass out from lack of eating for a few hours. I think I have a pound or two my body can gnaw on.
So instead we just went to the gate. We ended up first in line at one of the turnstiles. A little while before the gates opened the ticket takers came out. We ended up with a nice gentleman from Massachusetts who had retired in the area. He was fun to chat with and we hear about how he loves to bring people to the park and loves to give away free tickets. *ahem*. *over here*. Nope...no tickets floated our way. But he was really nice and helped pass the time. And of course this gave DW the time to study our path to Harry Potter.
me and the boys at the gate
DW and the boys at the gate. At least I think it is at the gate. I'll find out once I see the big picture.
OH, have not not shared with you DW's super-natural abilities? She has a way to find her way through crowds and the shortest paths to things like nobodies business. If you are going to a theme park...hit her up. She will tell you exactly where to go, when to go there, and how fast to walk. OK, maybe not how fast to walk...but she is really good at figuring these things out. I'm thinking a good trait in a Travel Agent...and an even better trait for a Mom and wife!!! finally the gates opened and it was time to walk. Not run...but walk. Actually a lot of people ran. But not us. We are rule followers. Oh wait...no we aren't. But in this case...
So we walked to the Harry Potter Forbidden Journey and walked right onto the ride. WOW! what a terrific ride. Very creative....very, very well done. One thing we found out while we were talking with our friend who did not give us tickets (yeah, kinda like Voldermort), was that the Harry Potter land was originally pitched to Disney but they turned it down because they wanted full control and the author didn't want that. Their loss...as it was incredibly well done. Almost to the detail of...well...Disney.
I won't share with you any of the ride details because you need to experience it. Of course I'm sure you can go on youtube and get it all...but I'm not that kind of person. I do think it's one of the better rides out there...and quite unexpected. I had not read anything about it...so everything was a surprise for me and I loved that!
After we got done we dashed back and got in line again. This time we had to wait a little bit as the line had gotten long. At this point you see the detail that went into the ride. Incredible.
Who knows that this is by seeing the picture??? DW? huh? anyone???
After riding it a second time we decided to get something to eat. The guy at the game (yeah...he who shall not be named) told us to go ride HP and get out until late in the day because of the crowds. boy was he right. So we walked around...were tempted by a restaurant but didn't want to pay the prices...ended up at Cinnabon out by the entrance. Yum! Except it wasn't hot enough. One of those things. But it was still yummy. Then we found out about the drink cups. They have two types of drink cups at Universal. One you pay something like $12 and you can refill it for $1 for your entire stay. Another you pay $13 and you can get unlimited refills for the day. As we were only there for one day that was a no brainer...and we drink more soda than we should...so that was a good fit. How you refilled it was cool though.
They had the Coke freestyle machines (you know...the ones with hundreds of choices of drinks) throughout the park. Something in the cup was read by the machine and it knew how long you had for free refills. It also had some sort of delay...so you couldn't fill it up...pour it into another glass and fill it up again. Cool technology.
My family at Cinnabon. You can see the cups not the table.
Me and DS11. Not sure why. Just cause I'm so cute?
After we ate up we headed over to the Incredible Hulk Coaster. Kind of funny to be doing all these rides based on characters that are now owned by Disney at Universal. HA! But I digress.
DW quickly learned that going on the Incredible Hulk Coaster right after eating a huge sweet sticky bun was not a good choice...and she had an upset stomach for a while after that. DS11 had a similar experience. I eat too much...so no big whoop for me.
So we walked up the street to the spiderman ride...still very cool after all these years.
Then it was back to Harry Potter land. As we had front of the line passes it helped us as we got in line for the Dragon Challenge. DW was sitting this one out so we left our cups with her and got in line. That is a cool roller coaster...but I noticed something about myself and how old I'm getting which I had never noticed before (and it was NOT my gray hair!). When we went in loops (which it did a lot)...all the blood rushed to my feet. so my feet got all tingly and weird feeling. That was new for me. I'm getting old.
Now...there have been years when we dig in and stay all day/night in a park. we open and close it because we paid for it. This was not one of those trips. We were all exhausted. So we decided to head back to the hotel to take a power nap and come back a bit later. Everyone agreed...though on DW and I rested. Connor tried the whole time to get us to go to the pool. Huh....no way he will get to the pool later in the trip!!!
though we didn't sleep much...it was good to get some rest...and just before 2:00 we decided to go get some lunch. As we had a car we figured we would go off property and save some money...and we all LOVE Steak and Shake. If you have not experienced Steak and Shake you absolutely must. Their burgers are great....their fries are fabulous...but their shakes are to die for. and I'm not exaggerating one bit. Well...except they took away my butter pecan shake. That was a disappointing moment.
But as things had gone so far that trip...we headed to one that we knew about (well, ok I plugged it into my phone)...drove over there...it's right by the entrance into WDW...drive up...hmmmm...the parking lot seems kind of empty...and..it's closed for renovations. Seriously?? *sigh*. We almost went to Chevy's because it was right there....but DS15 talked us out of that because he wanted to go there for dinner and watch some basketball. So...the right thing to do would have been to just grab something quick and head back to the hotel. Yeah...or we could drive 20 minutes to another Steak and Shake. OOOOOh it was so worth it.
We made it back to the hotel and headed back to Islands for the rest of the day. We hit the Hulk Coaster again (when I say "we" I mean the boys and I...DW passed), and then the boys and DW went on Dr. Doom (if you have been to California Adventure before they took it out...kind of like Maliboomer). I'm not a fan of straight drop rides so I just hung out. While they were on it one of the characters came walking by (as I was sitting by where they go in and out) and scared me half to death by standing over me. Pretty funny. Apparently he scared me so much that I don't remember who it was.
I hate to be like Wally and leave you hanging mid-episode...but it's time to take DS15 to work out....so more later. Well...later in the week. Well....maybe next week. ha!
let me know if you have any questions...
DZ
Next up: Chapter 2: Who you callin' a muggle? part 2
But I was also thinking about it. He finished his trip 3 months ago. So...go with me on this...all I should have to do is finish this TR less than 3 months from when he finishes his. Right? Uh...I said, Right? Bueller? Bueller? Hmmm. *Crickets*
I see I don't have the kind of audience that wants to wait. Well...based on my past history...you are in trouble. Yes, I know...I get mad at DW for saying things like that. Only I am allowed to say this about myself. That is just how it is. For you...well try not to
as it is not your computer's fault. Anyway...on with the tale. When we last left you we were getting into the hotel in the middle of the night...after chasing dinner off of the tollway...and driving bleary eyed through the night. As is always the case when we got to bed late and have to get up early...DW didn't sleep. I didn't sleep much...but did get a little bit. Luckily for DW I bought her a Kindle Paperwhite for her birthday. Well I think it was for her birthday. Geez...that's bad that I don't remember. I'm sure I won't hear about that.
anyway...the paperwhite is cool because it still can be read in direct sun (like a kindle), but it has a nice back glow that isn't too bright but makes it so you can read in the dark. Very nice. Yes...I'm aware that tablets are the way to go. And being the technology savy person I am, I *did* buy her a tablet...which we promptly took back to Costco because she didn't use it. I don't know what to tell you....ooh....watch out!
now she is throwing things at me! But I digress. and you don't care about the paperwhite. or maybe you do. Either way...there you go.
As I said before we had set the alarm for 6:30 which came in very early. It was our intention to get into the park and get to Harry Potter first...or close to first. Dw went down and got our tickets from the lobby (it was broken in the middle of the night. Not sure how she got them in the morning...I assume someone came in? These are the types of mysteries I'm left with when I'm not involved!!!). OH wait...but she only got tickets for the three of us. DW, being a Travel Agent...gets one free ticket a year. Yup...that's what I'm talkin' about.
uh huh.Luckily the hotel was a very short walk to Islands of Adventure...or we could have taken the boat. But the guy at the desk said walking was better...and quicker and he was right. Just around the lake...under the bridge, up and over and we were standing in front of the gates. Wait a second...food. food would be good. No big deal, right? Citywalk is right there. apparently not for breakfast. We couldn't find anything...not even a starbucks...very strange. Oh well. I certainly will not pass out from lack of eating for a few hours. I think I have a pound or two my body can gnaw on.
So instead we just went to the gate. We ended up first in line at one of the turnstiles. A little while before the gates opened the ticket takers came out. We ended up with a nice gentleman from Massachusetts who had retired in the area. He was fun to chat with and we hear about how he loves to bring people to the park and loves to give away free tickets. *ahem*. *over here*. Nope...no tickets floated our way.
But he was really nice and helped pass the time. And of course this gave DW the time to study our path to Harry Potter. 
me and the boys at the gate
DW and the boys at the gate. At least I think it is at the gate. I'll find out once I see the big picture. OH, have not not shared with you DW's super-natural abilities? She has a way to find her way through crowds and the shortest paths to things like nobodies business. If you are going to a theme park...hit her up. She will tell you exactly where to go, when to go there, and how fast to walk. OK, maybe not how fast to walk...but she is really good at figuring these things out. I'm thinking a good trait in a Travel Agent...and an even better trait for a Mom and wife!!! finally the gates opened and it was time to walk. Not run...but walk. Actually a lot of people ran. But not us. We are rule followers. Oh wait...no we aren't. But in this case...
So we walked to the Harry Potter Forbidden Journey and walked right onto the ride. WOW! what a terrific ride. Very creative....very, very well done. One thing we found out while we were talking with our friend who did not give us tickets (yeah, kinda like Voldermort), was that the Harry Potter land was originally pitched to Disney but they turned it down because they wanted full control and the author didn't want that. Their loss...as it was incredibly well done. Almost to the detail of...well...Disney.
I won't share with you any of the ride details because you need to experience it. Of course I'm sure you can go on youtube and get it all...but I'm not that kind of person. I do think it's one of the better rides out there...and quite unexpected. I had not read anything about it...so everything was a surprise for me and I loved that!
After we got done we dashed back and got in line again. This time we had to wait a little bit as the line had gotten long. At this point you see the detail that went into the ride. Incredible.
Who knows that this is by seeing the picture??? DW? huh? anyone???After riding it a second time we decided to get something to eat. The guy at the game (yeah...he who shall not be named) told us to go ride HP and get out until late in the day because of the crowds. boy was he right. So we walked around...were tempted by a restaurant but didn't want to pay the prices...ended up at Cinnabon out by the entrance. Yum! Except it wasn't hot enough. One of those things. But it was still yummy. Then we found out about the drink cups. They have two types of drink cups at Universal. One you pay something like $12 and you can refill it for $1 for your entire stay. Another you pay $13 and you can get unlimited refills for the day. As we were only there for one day that was a no brainer...and we drink more soda than we should...so that was a good fit. How you refilled it was cool though.
They had the Coke freestyle machines (you know...the ones with hundreds of choices of drinks) throughout the park. Something in the cup was read by the machine and it knew how long you had for free refills. It also had some sort of delay...so you couldn't fill it up...pour it into another glass and fill it up again. Cool technology.
My family at Cinnabon. You can see the cups not the table. 
Me and DS11. Not sure why. Just cause I'm so cute?After we ate up we headed over to the Incredible Hulk Coaster. Kind of funny to be doing all these rides based on characters that are now owned by Disney at Universal. HA! But I digress.
DW quickly learned that going on the Incredible Hulk Coaster right after eating a huge sweet sticky bun was not a good choice...and she had an upset stomach for a while after that. DS11 had a similar experience. I eat too much...so no big whoop for me.
So we walked up the street to the spiderman ride...still very cool after all these years.
Then it was back to Harry Potter land. As we had front of the line passes it helped us as we got in line for the Dragon Challenge. DW was sitting this one out so we left our cups with her and got in line. That is a cool roller coaster...but I noticed something about myself and how old I'm getting which I had never noticed before (and it was NOT my gray hair!). When we went in loops (which it did a lot)...all the blood rushed to my feet. so my feet got all tingly and weird feeling. That was new for me. I'm getting old.
Now...there have been years when we dig in and stay all day/night in a park. we open and close it because we paid for it. This was not one of those trips. We were all exhausted. So we decided to head back to the hotel to take a power nap and come back a bit later. Everyone agreed...though on DW and I rested. Connor tried the whole time to get us to go to the pool. Huh....no way he will get to the pool later in the trip!!!
though we didn't sleep much...it was good to get some rest...and just before 2:00 we decided to go get some lunch. As we had a car we figured we would go off property and save some money...and we all LOVE Steak and Shake. If you have not experienced Steak and Shake you absolutely must. Their burgers are great....their fries are fabulous...but their shakes are to die for. and I'm not exaggerating one bit. Well...except they took away my butter pecan shake. That was a disappointing moment.
But as things had gone so far that trip...we headed to one that we knew about (well, ok I plugged it into my phone)...drove over there...it's right by the entrance into WDW...drive up...hmmmm...the parking lot seems kind of empty...and..it's closed for renovations. Seriously?? *sigh*. We almost went to Chevy's because it was right there....but DS15 talked us out of that because he wanted to go there for dinner and watch some basketball. So...the right thing to do would have been to just grab something quick and head back to the hotel. Yeah...or we could drive 20 minutes to another Steak and Shake. OOOOOh it was so worth it.
We made it back to the hotel and headed back to Islands for the rest of the day. We hit the Hulk Coaster again (when I say "we" I mean the boys and I...DW passed), and then the boys and DW went on Dr. Doom (if you have been to California Adventure before they took it out...kind of like Maliboomer). I'm not a fan of straight drop rides so I just hung out. While they were on it one of the characters came walking by (as I was sitting by where they go in and out) and scared me half to death by standing over me. Pretty funny. Apparently he scared me so much that I don't remember who it was.
I hate to be like Wally and leave you hanging mid-episode...but it's time to take DS15 to work out....so more later. Well...later in the week. Well....maybe next week. ha!
let me know if you have any questions...
DZ
Next up: Chapter 2: Who you callin' a muggle? part 2
Can't wait to hear all about the cruise. We are scheduled to go next May and my DS will be 15 when we cruise. I'm curious how Nick liked the teen club. We are also deciding if we want to do one day before the cruise at a park. I asked my kids which Disney park they would choose for just one day. They couldn't and said how about Universal. So we'll see. Looking forward to your next installment.
