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

[queenie82]

We also weren’t planning on leaving without a look at the Dueling Dragons. Neither DH nor I were prepared to go upside down; but figured it was worth taking a look at this ride. For the record, wait time at noon was 5 minutes.

*Cough* the name you are looking for is "Dragon Challenge" *cough*

 

[norybell]

I just found your TR, and I'm so glad I did -- I love your descriptions & pics of Harry Potter land! I'm hoping to get there soon...maybe in January...though I know I'll feel guilty for taking time away from WDW!

 

[shushh]

I'm really loving your report and photos. I'm trying desperately to finish reading all the novels. I've seen the 1st 3 movies...DS is on book 4. He is so excited. I just hope that FJ won't be too scary for him.

 

[PrincessInOz]

I love that snowman

When we were in line at Ollivanders, all I did was look at him. I just couldnt find the right angle from the queue. I waited until the end of our time before catching him. I'm glad I took this picture of him. He's very cute!

It's impressive even to non-Potterheads! My DH is not a fan, hasn't read the books and only seen bits of the movies and he loved it! He raves about it to everyone and insists if you're going to Orlando, you're not to miss Harry Potter World!

I was amazed at the detail everywhere too. Did you notice the tape measure working on Hermione's dress? I loved that!

I was too busy oohing over the dress and marvelling about how tiny that waistline was! Yes, it was a nice touch. I didn't get a picture of the dress window this trip....gonna have to wait till NEXT .

I can't wait to go there now! Too bad the Shepherd's Pie was just OK, I love Shepherd's pie and that is probably what I would choose to order there....It looked good!

The Shepherd's Pie was decent. It was better than okay. Coming from Oz, I'm just more picky where pies are concerned.

*Cough* the name you are looking for is "Dragon Challenge" *cough*

Every so often, you astound me with a winning streak of being RIGHT.

Thanks for picking this up. I can be a bit dyslexic sometimes and I interchanged the name of the old atraction (Dueling Dragons) with the name of the new attraction (Dragon Challenge).

I just found your TR, and I'm so glad I did -- I love your descriptions & pics of Harry Potter land! I'm hoping to get there soon...maybe in January...though I know I'll feel guilty for taking time away from WDW!

Thanks for reading and it's nice to have you here. I know a lot of Dis-ers feel like they are heading over to the dark side when they go to Universal; but really, WWoHP is somewhere that everyone should go to at least once. Just don't tell Mickey when you go .

I'm really loving your report and photos. I'm trying desperately to finish reading all the novels. I've seen the 1st 3 movies...DS is on book 4. He is so excited. I just hope that FJ won't be too scary for him.

If DS can get through book 4, then he should be fine. I thought this was the darkest and scariest book in the series. FJ can be a dark and confronting ride but sometimes the imagination is a much more frightening place to be. Has your DS seen the movies?

 

[PrincessInOz]

In my not planning for this trip, I did not envisage that I would be spending any additional time at IoA other than to fly through HP World. So, it turned out to be a bit of bonus that we could walk around and just orientate ourselves. DH and I had never made it out to this side of Orlando before.

We walked out of Hogsmeade via the Jurassic Park entrance.

We looked on with interest at the River Adventure but stayed out of the splash zone.

Someday, we’re going to have to come back here with DS, stay on-site and hit the water rides that seem like so much fun!

We came home and shared the photos with DS and he’s already planning a trip out next year!


We then headed towards the Marvel Superhero section of the park. DH was particularly keen to get on this ride.

And it was a great ride!


Neither of us were particularly keen to hit either of these two rides. Whilst I didn't have a problem cheating on Mickey...well, it just didn't feel right that we went on new rides without DS. We’ll have to wait for DS to be with us and before getting on them so that he doesn’t think that we’re having fun without him.

And then it was lycra time. As these pictures clearly show, there is definitely something about men dressing in tight lycra….

We took a walk around Seuss Landing. Whoever designed this part of the park must have been colour blind. Those pantones are not even from the same colour palette! But for those of you with small kids out there, this is about the only part of the park where they would feel right at home.

Thank goodness I packed my sunnies


I would have liked to have been able to walk through the Lost Continent but time was getting on and DH still needed to get back to CSR and register for the conference.


So, we called our friendly Moroccan and arranged to be picked up.

I couldn’t resist taking more shots on the way out…

I had forgotten that DH had yet to have lunch; but he let me know that he needed sustenance when we got to the shops at City Walk. He ended up with a pizza slice and inhaled it in before I had time to take a shot.

We made it back to the pick up point and got back to CSR before 3.30 pm. DH registered for his conference, leaving us free to follow the plan for the rest of the day.

Up next: Day 1, Part 1 Conclusions

 

[PrincessInOz]

Universal’s IoA exceeded all my expectations and I certainly loved the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It was one of the highlights of this trip.


We will need to make a trip back to Orlando and stay on-site at the Universal resort area with DS and spend more time at WwoHP, particularly on the Forbidden Journey ride.


Wear a swimsuit to IoA!


Up next: MK, DisMeet, MNSSHP and the fine art of ADRs

 

[franandaj]

I'm really loving your report and photos. I'm trying desperately to finish reading all the novels. I've seen the 1st 3 movies...DS is on book 4. He is so excited. I just hope that FJ won't be too scary for him.

I'm glad that I didn't post to her TR what I was going to say about a previous update...it was probably a tasteless remark anyways.... Needless to say it would have been a HUGE spoiler for you!

Thanks for picking this up. I can be a bit dyslexic sometimes and I interchanged the name of the old atraction (Dueling Dragons) with the name of the new attraction (Dragon Challenge).

So am I to understand that Forbidden Journey is the only new ride over there and the other two were repurposed? I went on the little Hippogriff coaster while it was something else. But there was no way I was going on Dueling Dragons, so probably not on Dragon Challenge either!

I did go on Spiderman, it was fun but a tad bit of a stretch for me in my aging condition!

 

[skier_pete]

Nice review of IoA. We went when it first opened (in 2000) and while it has some of the most amazing rides and I thought the theming was pretty awesome it has a few pretty big flaws in my book, and they're kind of linked. (1) There aren't really ENOUGH rides/attractions. Each land kind of only has 2 or 3 rides, and then it's all just shopping and (2) outside of Seuss Landing, there is not much for kids except for some play areas. At this stage, DD would probably refuse to ride EVERYTHING there...We are big Harry Potter fans, but I am not sure if even DW will like the Forbidden Journey ride, so I think it's still a few years before we get over to Uni/IoA. Which is just fine since we feel we hardly have enough time with WDW in 9 days.

I noticed your Dueling Dragons faux pas as well, but heck, it's the same ride, and almost the same name, so what! Also, I do think the Hulk coaster is my favorite coaster ever.

SkierPete

 

[ehsmum]

Wear a swimsuit to IoA!

I'll second this! We spent most of the time at IOA absolutely drenched! Both DD and myself ended up with pretty new dresses out of it though .

I'm so glad you enjoyed it! We really loved both IOA and US and staying on site was awesome as we had Universal Express so could walk onto any ride. I definitely recommend it .

 

[DisneyFirefly]

I seriously love your pictures! You're getting so good at photography!

 

[shushh]

I'm glad that I didn't post to her TR what I was going to say about a previous update...it was probably a tasteless remark anyways.... Needless to say it would have been a HUGE spoiler for you!

Thank you!!! I'll read faster. I promise!!!

 

[ClareH37]

Just catching up what a fabulous 'excuse' for another visit!

I'm toying with the idea of visiting US/IOA next year but I'm still not convinced it'll be worth it as it means giving up one of my Disney days, but your photos are very tempting.

 

[PrincessInOz]

So am I to understand that Forbidden Journey is the only new ride over there and the other two were repurposed? I went on the little Hippogriff coaster while it was something else. But there was no way I was going on Dueling Dragons, so probably not on Dragon Challenge either!

I did go on Spiderman, it was fun but a tad bit of a stretch for me in my aging condition!

I didn't see the area beforehand. So, if the Hippogriff coaster was there before and the Dragon twister was also there, then I guess FJ is the only new ride over in WWoHP. And the new village/shops...

Nice review of IoA. We went when it first opened (in 2000) and while it has some of the most amazing rides and I thought the theming was pretty awesome it has a few pretty big flaws in my book, and they're kind of linked. (1) There aren't really ENOUGH rides/attractions. Each land kind of only has 2 or 3 rides, and then it's all just shopping and (2) outside of Seuss Landing, there is not much for kids except for some play areas. At this stage, DD would probably refuse to ride EVERYTHING there...We are big Harry Potter fans, but I am not sure if even DW will like the Forbidden Journey ride, so I think it's still a few years before we get over to Uni/IoA. Which is just fine since we feel we hardly have enough time with WDW in 9 days.

I noticed your Dueling Dragons faux pas as well, but heck, it's the same ride, and almost the same name, so what! Also, I do think the Hulk coaster is my favorite coaster ever.

SkierPete

I totally agree with your view that there are only two or three attractions in each area of IoA.

I did notice a fair number of shops. Unfortunately, I think Universal has priced their merchandise on the high side in the few shops we did visit. We didn't buy anything other than wands, wizard hat, a HP scarf and a couple of items for DS.

I'll second this! We spent most of the time at IOA absolutely drenched! Both DD and myself ended up with pretty new dresses out of it though .

I'm so glad you enjoyed it! We really loved both IOA and US and staying on site was awesome as we had Universal Express so could walk onto any ride. I definitely recommend it .

I think I'd like to do the same as you next time....stay on site and enjoy both IoA and US. If I went in a swim suit on a hot day, I'd probably do the wet rides multiple times!

I seriously love your pictures! You're getting so good at photography!

Thanks.

Thank you!!! I'll read faster. I promise!!!

Talking Books!!!

Just catching up what a fabulous 'excuse' for another visit!

I'm toying with the idea of visiting US/IOA next year but I'm still not convinced it'll be worth it as it means giving up one of my Disney days, but your photos are very tempting.

Hi Clare! Nice to see you here! Hope you've been well and are starting to plan your 2011 fantabulous WDW vacay. I wasn't sure if it was such a good idea for us to get to WWoHP on this very short trip; but in the end, it was just great. But then, we're really mad Potty fans!

Hope you'll stop by again and let me know how you're doing!

 

[PrincessInOz]

The Plan:

I understand from DisneyFirefly's PTR that we have dinner plans back at Crystal Palace, MK for the night with her and LuvChefMic (and possibly her husband); and also plans to enjoy MNSSHP.

Disney have worked out that most of us Disers like to think about eating our meals at least 180 days in advance. In true Disney service and style, they have most graciously allowed us the pleasure of being able to wake up at an ungodly hour so that we can go on line or ring up to book the Table Service restaurant of our choice at the 180 day advance mark. Such is the demand for this pleasure that it would seem that many of us have now taken to camping in front of our PCs or phones so that we can be the first transaction or call taken by the CMs in the rush to ensure that we get the restaurant and time of our choice.

Assuming that most Disers make the 180 day mark, this would mean that by the time we get to the restaurant, we would have spent at least the equivalent of
· 4,320 hours; or
· 259,200 minutes; or
· 15,522,000 seconds
salivating over a meal that we might not feel like eating by the time we get to the parks.

I don't know about you but I'm pretty sure that my tastebuds would be sick of tasting the meal for this amount of time.

These bud-tingling timeframes of course do not include any of the time that we may have spent in advance determining which menu and restaurant we would like to eat at and so the actual time it takes us to chew the fat of our meal may actually be longer!

Me - I have found a new way to deal with the stress of ADRs. I have found FRIENDS on the DisBoard. Even though this is a 'might not be going' PTR, DisneyFirefly and LuvChefMic and I have dining DATES at the World. It only took us about 30 posts to determine the dates and restaurant for our mini DisMeet.

So it turns out that I now have a share in 2 ADRs - both out of the fine art of 30 posts on another thread.

So the ADRs that I have with Disney Firefly and LuvChefMic are on:
· Sunday 24th October at Crystal Palace for 6 pm (I think)
· Tuesday 26th October at Liberty Tree Tavern for 5.20 pm (give or take 10 minutes??)

The reality

After a quick shower, DH and I were ready to go out to MK and meet up with Firefly and LuvChefMic.

Whilst Ranchos 7A was a long way away from the main complex, it was literally right on Bus Stop 3.

You really must give it to Disney for their attention to detail…but I wonder how much they paid the vending machine company for the privilege of the special skins for the soda machines.

The wait for the bus wasn’t long and we got to MK within 20 minutes of us first getting to the bus stop. We got there shortly after 4.30 pm.


MK was resplendent in pumpkin orange.

I called Firefly to let her know we were in the park.

In our DisType to each other, one of the things that we were concerned about was how we were going to get along face to face. Afterall, it is one thing to have a solid friendship in the Ethernet….it is totally another thing when we add voice nuances, facial expression and body language in the communication channel. And we had worked out that Firefly was a self-confessed “talker” and I tended to be a “silent type” (What can I say? My fingers are much more chatty than my mouth). At worst, we had agreed that if we didn’t like each other, we could walk side by side and text each other on the cell phone or catch up for ADRs and exit stage left when we wanted to.

I can remember getting through to Firefly’s voice mail and this was the first time I’d heard her voice. I don’t remember what I said on the message but I do remember thinking “oh thank god….she’s got a very pleasant mellow voice to listen to”. I wonder if she thought the same when she heard my voice!


I quickly got a call back from Firefly but it was impossible to hear or speak to her….as this picture clearly shows, we resorted to texting so that we could work out a meeting spot!

The one thing about DisMeets is that because you’ve spent time on the Boards making friends, when you do finally meet face to face, you kinda feel like you know the other person like forever! And I think Firefly and I just picked up the conversation from where we left off on the Boards.

I thank my DH for having the presence of mind to insist that we take this picture together. I think I would have just carried on chatting with Firefly obliviously. And it was a wonderful pleasure to come home, look at this picture and reminisce about that first meeting.

It was still too early for our ADR and neither Firefly nor I had heard from LuvChefMic. We just assumed that she would be at Crystal Palace at the allocated time.

So, with time to kill, neither Firefly nor I knew what we wanted to do…turns out that this became the pattern of the 2 – 3 days that we spent together.

“What do you want to do?”
“I don’t know…what do you?”
“I don’t know…how about we head in this direction?”

“Oooh. Can we stop for a photo over there?”
“Oooh. Can we stop for an autograph with that character?”

We did find our way here…

Firefly used to work for Disney; so she was full of trivia and could walk through the park blindfolded and still know the shortest way to any attraction.

So, we rode the Haunted Mansion twice. Once, so that she could point things out to DH; and the second time so that I would get the benefit of her knowledge.

Me? I had picked up the 50 mm f/1.8 prime lens specifically to take shots inside dark-ish rides. So, I was happy to have the opportunity to ride the same ride multiple times. If you ever want to learn how to shoot something, then a theme park is the perfect place to practise. Repeatable, predictable and completely consistent!

My problem was that this was the first time I had really pulled this lens out in low light conditions. As these first pictures show, I unclearly did NOT have a clue about what I was doing!

First time round…

Nor second time round…

My other sad attempts!

So, it was a relief to come out of the ride the second time round and pull my trusty kit lens on in daylight conditions!

Up Next: Dinner with Pooh and the Never Ending Lemonade

 

[DisneyFirefly]

Aww, I like that picture of the two of us and the one of me and your DH! I'm really glad we got on so well in person I know some people want to smack me when I keep giving them trivia on rides, so thanks for not smacking me

 

[ehsmum]

I met up with friends from other boards when we were in the US and it was just like you said - as if we'd known each other for years! Cyber friendships are amazing things .

I love your Mary Poppins bag - where did you get it?

 

[shushh]

PrincessInOz, some of the photos are just stunning! And some of the others stunningly...shocking

What a lovely day you had. WDW looks fabulous in orange! And it is so nice to meet up with people whom you've been chatting with online. Although I can understand the "what if..." dilemma. I'm another one of those "quiet" people in real life. I think I like being on forums because I can "hide" behind my words in print! So glad you guys got to meet up and get along!

Oh I want to know where you got that bag as well...

 

[PrincessInOz]

Aww, I like that picture of the two of us and the one of me and your DH! I'm really glad we got on so well in person I know some people want to smack me when I keep giving them trivia on rides, so thanks for not smacking me

I horde trivia!

I met up with friends from other boards when we were in the US and it was just like you said - as if we'd known each other for years! Cyber friendships are amazing things .

I love your Mary Poppins bag - where did you get it?

I got my MP bag when I went to see the Mary Poppins musical in Melbourne. From the tags inside the bag, I'd say that this was the bag used in the NY production as well. I just couldn't pass it up! Are you planning on seeing it?

PrincessInOz, some of the photos are just stunning! And some of the others stunningly...shocking

What a lovely day you had. WDW looks fabulous in orange! And it is so nice to meet up with people whom you've been chatting with online. Although I can understand the "what if..." dilemma. I'm another one of those "quiet" people in real life. I think I like being on forums because I can "hide" behind my words in print! So glad you guys got to meet up and get along!

Oh I want to know where you got that bag as well...

I hope to post more shockingly stunning photos and stunningly shocking photos.....coming right up .

I'll guess that when the Mary Poppins season finishes in Melbourne that it will head to Sydney and you can get the bag there....unless you get it from NYC first.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Two rounds of walk-on to Haunted Mansion later, it was time to head off to Crystal Palace. And I was keen to catch up with LuvChefMic again. I’ve missed chatting with her on the Boards.

Sadly, she was a no-show. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to wait outside for an extended period of time because DH needed to eat and head back to the convention kick-off. So, we checked ourselves in and got a table PDQ.

And we helped ourselves to the buffet. I managed to grab shots of my food; DH and Firefly also ate but I was too busy enjoying my meal to fuss about photos of their plates.

I started with salad.

…. and moved on to the very tender and well done Roasts (Turkey and Beef), salmon and veggies. Delicious!

Firefly had acquired mini Pooh somewhere that day…

…and he looked like he enjoyed my banana bread and butter dessert. He probably enjoyed it better than me.

I got the very good Key Lime Pie, a chocolate cake and that vanilla looking cake that was masquerading as Tira Misu. The not Tira Misu was the most disappointing thing of the night.

In between our eating, we certainly got our share of the characters. I’m not sure what was going on with CP that night; but it was not busy. Therefore, the characters must have come round to our table at least 4 times, and every time they stopped and checked that we were the same people before moving on. Towards the end, Pooh even made a few hand/tummy gestures to us wondering if we were full.

I’m almost pretty sure he weren’t being sarcastic.

Piglet was all cute and fluffy.

Tiggruff was all bouncey.

Eeyore was positively un-typically cheerful!

And Pooh was super sweet…particularly when he spotted mini Pooh.

Somewhere in between the meal and the characters, DH headed off. But he kindly took this picture of us before he left. Firefly, mini Pooh and I were bonding along nicely!

Whilst we saw a lot of the characters, I can’t say the same about our server. But there was evidence that she was around. Plates were automagically cleared from our table and somehow, without requesting or wanting it, I ended up with 5 glasses of lemonade.

5!!! Never ending rounds of lemonade…. I don't know how I was ever going to drink it all in a month of Sundays!


More pictures of Crystal Palace


The view from our table

THAT dome

Spot the pumpkins!

I know CP gets mixed reviews on the Boards. For me, I enjoyed the salad and mains on offer that night. And the character interaction was really good - possibly as good as those for breakfasts I've had at Tusker House and Cape May.

Perhaps not being crowded makes a difference to the experience.

Up next: Prime pictures at MK

 

[shushh]

I'm hoping our experience at CP will be as great as yours. Our youngest likes "bears"!