We Got No Troubles; Life Is The Bubbles! 04/18 - Complete!

[PracPerfPatricia]

yep... I haven't been on Figment in a while and I'd been on the fence about it... your rather descriptive narrative is kinda making me think I can skip...

I'm glad the the Biergarten was overall a positive experience...... although it's a mystery why those other diners would choose a restaurant that does gruoup seating...

The desserts look great but what did you eat for actual dinner if you don't eat sausages...?

 

[teekathepony]

I had to laugh about Figment, when DD18 was younger she announced that she liked the smell of skunks because it reminded her of the smell of coffee.
DM and I ate at Beirgarten on our first trip together. We met a nice couple from England. It was great talking to them.

Skunks reminded her of the smell of coffee? Wow... there's a new one!
I do enjoy sharing a table with friendly talkative strangers, it's fun to meet new people!

yep... I haven't been on Figment in a while and I'd been on the fence about it... your rather descriptive narrative is kinda making me think I can skip...

I'm glad the the Biergarten was overall a positive experience...... although it's a mystery why those other diners would choose a restaurant that does gruoup seating...

The desserts look great but what did you eat for actual dinner if you don't eat sausages...?

Honestly, I wouldn't mind skipping Figment from now on. It's too bad about the skunk smell because I might actually enjoy the ride other than that!
I imagine the others at our table might not have known about the group seating. My family and I didn't the first time we went but luckily that time we were at a really fun table.
Hahaha I don't even remember the actual dinner. I definitely had some schnitzel!

 

[teekathepony]

Thursday September 20, 2012
"The Other Castle"

This is the day we would venture off the beautiful Disney bubble to Universal Studios. I'm going to go through it fairly quickly since there's not quite enough there for two posts!

The day started at 7:00; Johnny went to the concierge desk to ask about transportation and I rubbed Tiger Balm all over my pitifully sore legs. We decided to take a cab since the bus schedule didn't work for us. Down we went and we arrived at the park gates at 8:30.

You might be able to tell I only brought my little point and shoot camera.

We bought our tickets at the window from a man who exclaimed "English people!!!!" when we spoke. We thought that was awfully strange... it didn't take us long to figure out why he did it though. As English speaking people we were in a serious minority that day. Every language other than English surrounded us. It was a little surreal, like being transported out of North America. I kept wondering if it was a coincidence or was there something going on. Oh well. Moving on.

We got a one day Park to Park ticket -- it had been a while since we were in Universal Studios, always going to Islands of Adventure. We did decide on IOA first though.

A Canadian family was chosen to open the park... like a rope drop thing I guess but instead of Mickey Mouse there were a family of canucks. Hehehe

We headed straight to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, knowing what the wait times can look like. I snapped pictures along the way.

The Hulk was calling to me... would I try it this trip?

Almost there!

The other castle!

I adore Harry Potter. I don't really love Universal parks, but I so love Harry Potter and they did a fantastic job on the Wizarding World. It's a good thing theme park love doesn't have to be monogamous.

I get chills when I see this sign.

Wait time for Forbidden Journey?

That's right. 10 minutes. Score!

Love the greenhouse area of the queue.

Empty queue!

More empty queue!

I didn't get too many pictures because we were practically running through the long queue line.

In no time we were climbing aboard. I LOVE THIS RIDE! It's the right amount of intense and fun and so Harry Potter correct and immersive. It might be my favourite ride ever.

So what next? Well I only had one day to get in my fill of Butterbeer, so we'd better get started.

To the Three Broomsticks!

Here we had a friendly greeter show us where to go. Wow! A friendly worker at U.S.? You don't see that every day! Johnny and I say, every time we walk into US "I don't think we're in Disney anymore!" We have never had good service there.

Anyway this day we also had a friendly person take our order and a nice worker offer to take our picture together. Taking lessons from Disney, Universal? Good play.

Cont. in next post.

 

[teekathepony]

Continued from last post.


W decided to do Flight of the Hippogriff (which we did, but I have no pictures because it was another walk on) then anything else we wanted in the rest of IOA and then US, then come back to finish the day in the Wizarding World.

Back through!

Holy cow! The Hogwarts Express with no one in front of it!

So gorgeous. So perfectly well done.

On to another we like:

When Johnny and I first started dating 10 years ago we both discovered a mutual love of dinosaurs and especially the Jurassic Park movies.

I know it's really hard to see, but the wait time is 5 minutes.

We basically walked right on and had a great ride.

We debated doing ripsaw falls, but I really didn't want to get wet. It was a really humid day and I could see myself never drying.

We passed on it.

We kept going through the park and realized there's not too much here to do. We got around to the super hero section and rode Spider-Man!

I do like this ride.

Next we rode the Hulk. I have no pictures since you lock your loose items in a locker while you ride, but I promise you I did it. And there was no wait at all!
So what did I think?
"Hot for hot's sake" is what I wrote in my trip journal. To explain that, let's go back a bit. I don't like spicy food much, but I really hate when things are just spicy to make your tongue burn with no good flavour. I call that "Hot for hot's sake" or, hot to be able to advertise as hot but with no real flavour to it. So that's how I thought The Hulk was... intense, but not fun. I can't say why. I didn't mind it, didn't get nauseated or scared, but I didn't enjoy it. Rock n Rollercoasr is still my favourite!

After that we headed over to Universal Studios. The parks were getting busier, it was 10:30.

We went to Minion Mayhem first. The wait time was quite long, 35 minutes, but since it was only 10:30 and we had already mostly finished IOA, we figured a little wait couldn't hurt.

It was a motion simulator, pretty fun.

And now I have a period of time where I took no pictures for whatever reason.

Last time we went to US (2010, our honeymoon) we rode The Mummy and apparently we both enjoyed it. I had NO memory of this ride at all! Johnny can usually spark my memory with little things but not this ride. It's like it was erased entirely from my brain. So of course we did it again. I loved it, it was fun (and I do like the movie!) but even after riding it, I can't remember ever having ridden it before. How strange!

By this time we were hungry. We debated going to City Walk for more options, but we didn't feel like walking back so we stopped at a place called Louie's, an "Italian" restaurant. I had awful spaghetti and Johnny had fairly bad pizza. Also it was so expensive. I hate eating at Universal!

To quickly sum up (since I have no pictures) we did Disaster (which was boring), ET (which we waited FOREVER for but I did love), Men In Black (LOVE this ride, literally this was the reason we got the park to park pass, this ride is so amazing! Also Johnny and I have a serious love for the movies) then we watched the Beetlejuice show. It wasn't bad!

It seems I remembered my camera at that point.

Around 4:00 we went back to IOA for another ride on Forbidden Journey (still not much wait, I guess everyone was over at Minion Mayhem!) another Butterbeer, lots of shopping and then we got a cab back to AoA. We had big plans for the evening but we were exhausted so we took a little nap.

Up next: What were our big plans? A first for us!

 

[t_daniels]

Minion Mayhem sounds cute! I'd LOVE to see HP world. Maybe next trip!

 

[teekathepony]

Minion Mayhem sounds cute! I'd LOVE to see HP world. Maybe next trip!

It was cute, I loved the outside of the building! HP is pretty awesome, I can't lie. It's the only part of US I really love.

 

[natebenma]

Loved your visit to the "Dark Side!"



How did you magically get rid of all of the people in the Wizarding World???

Yeah, the greenhouse area is neat, until you are there in July, stuck in a slow-moving line for 45 minutes, with the sun beating down through the glass. NOT enchanting!

Mmmmm.... Butterbeer!

I haven't seen the movie Despicable Me. Do you think it is necessary to appreciate the attraction?

I love The Mummy! Love, Love, Love it!!!

 

[teekathepony]

Loved your visit to the "Dark Side!"



How did you magically get rid of all of the people in the Wizarding World???

Yeah, the greenhouse area is neat, until you are there in July, stuck in a slow-moving line for 45 minutes, with the sun beating down through the glass. NOT enchanting!

Mmmmm.... Butterbeer!

I haven't seen the movie Despicable Me. Do you think it is necessary to appreciate the attraction?

I love The Mummy! Love, Love, Love it!!!

Hahaha I guess we got there so early in the morning to avoid the crowd, and then came again later after the crowd? Whatever it was, we just called it our pixie dust that had followed us around the whole trip!

I have actually been stuck in the greenhouse in the heat, September not July, but for a Canadian it was still pretty un-enchanting!
Mmmm I would recommend seeing Despicable Me before doing the ride, yes. There are lots of funny things that you probably wouldn't get without seeing it.
I loved the Mummy too! (And I actually remember it this time! )

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Sounds like you guys had a good time over at US!! Can I ask how much the cab fare was from WDW to US? We've always talked about going over there, but never rent a car on our trips!

 

[Nermel9]

Looks like you guys had fun in Universal! I haven't been there in SO long, back when I was a kid, and my DH has never been! We keep saying we'll go, but I can never tear myself away from Disney! I'm such a huge roller coaster fan, I'd love to go, but some of Universal just looks SO cheezy! I have to admit, the Harry Potter world looks amazing, and I know nothing about Harry Potter!

 

[MEK]

Sounds like it was a perfect day for Universal Studios. No wait for the Forbidden Journey x2. Nice! Very Nice! I really would like to run it one of these days. It sounds so cool.

I almost forgot about the lockers and how you need one for just about everything. But I did like the pictures you took.

 

[amazingact21]

I've never been to the WWoHP, but it looks so authentic and fun. And the idea of Butterbeer...it sounds delicious.
But I agree with you on the other restaurant choices. I've had to eat at Universal before, and the food was nasty. They really need to work on their menu choices in the park.

 

[teekathepony]

Sounds like you guys had a good time over at US!! Can I ask how much the cab fare was from WDW to US? We've always talked about going over there, but never rent a car on our trips!

We had a pretty good time!
The cab cost us around $25 or $30 each way I think. The mears cabs have an estimator on their website, you can also email and ask and they'll give you an estimate. But I'm pretty sure it was around $30.

Looks like you guys had fun in Universal! I haven't been there in SO long, back when I was a kid, and my DH has never been! We keep saying we'll go, but I can never tear myself away from Disney! I'm such a huge roller coaster fan, I'd love to go, but some of Universal just looks SO cheezy! I have to admit, the Harry Potter world looks amazing, and I know nothing about Harry Potter!

Some of Universal is definitely cheesy, it's no Disney that's for sure. But they did do a fantastic job on the Harry Potter section! And they do a good job of rides, I have to give them that too.

Sounds like it was a perfect day for Universal Studios. No wait for the Forbidden Journey x2. Nice! Very Nice! I really would like to run it one of these days. It sounds so cool.

I almost forgot about the lockers and how you need one for just about everything. But I did like the pictures you took.

Yeah our wait time pixie dust fairy followed us to Universal! You should check out FJ, it's a really neat ride.
I do like the lockers, free while you ride. It gives a little peace of mind to have your valuables stowed on big roller coasters!

I've never been to the WWoHP, but it looks so authentic and fun. And the idea of Butterbeer...it sounds delicious.
But I agree with you on the other restaurant choices. I've had to eat at Universal before, and the food was nasty. They really need to work on their menu choices in the park.

It is really authentic there, that's why I love it. I think they really had to be careful about being authentic though since if they were off they'd have hundreds of thousands of rabid Harry fans to answer to!
Terrible food choices. I wish they would do something about that!

 

[DisneyFreak06]

I loved WWoHP when I went. We normally took the cab from the hotel and then on the way back, we'd take the cab to DTD. It saved a few bucks.

 

[teekathepony]

I loved WWoHP when I went. We normally took the cab from the hotel and then on the way back, we'd take the cab to DTD. It saved a few bucks.

We did think about doing that but we were afraid to run short on time since we had something planned for the evening. Also AoA isn't too far from DTD so it wasn't too much difference in price.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

The cab cost us around $25 or $30 each way I think. The mears cabs have an estimator on their website, you can also email and ask and they'll give you an estimate. But I'm pretty sure it was around $30.

That's not bad at all! Thanks for the info!

 

[Queenofallthings]

You sound exactly like us....we went to IOA only to WWOHP and we loved it! We did do other rides as well but that was really our only must see/must do for the day!

I agree on the food and service...you know you're not at Disney anymore! I also notice it in the cleanliness in the parks, there is no comparison!

 

[SheenaXena21]

Just got caught up with your TR. (Haven't been on dis very much over the last few months)

I just have to say.... I love your husband's "Knock, KNOCK, Knock... Penny" shirt!!!

Really enjoying your TR!

 

[teekathepony]

That's not bad at all! Thanks for the info!

You're welcome!

You sound exactly like us....we went to IOA only to WWOHP and we loved it! We did do other rides as well but that was really our only must see/must do for the day!

I agree on the food and service...you know you're not at Disney anymore! I also notice it in the cleanliness in the parks, there is no comparison!

WWoHP is pretty fantastic, it's just too bad about the rest of the park! You're absolutely right, no comparison at all.

Just got caught up with your TR. (Haven't been on dis very much over the last few months)

I just have to say.... I love your husband's "Knock, KNOCK, Knock... Penny" shirt!!!

Really enjoying your TR!

Hahaha that's one of his favourite shirts too, that and his Bazinga! shirt.

 

[teekathepony]

Hi everyone! Just a quick little life update. I probably won't get to do a real update for a while because A) I have no time now and B) I'm going on a mini vacation in two days. Johnny and I are going to our nation's capital, Ottawa to visit my bff. She's getting married in August so we're going to be doing some dress shopping and planning, but fun things too like Winterlude, skating on the canal, the War Museum (Johnny wants to go... and unfortunately so does my BFF and her fiance! I thought I could get out of it! ) curling, and more. We leave Thursday afternoon (that is, if the weather cooperates) and return Monday night. I've only ever driven through Ottawa so I'm excited for something new.

Last weekend we took a day trip to the capital of our province, Halifax. Did some shopping. I came home with a few new fin-kids so since this post is pictureless thus far, here are some pics of my new babies to hold you over.

A wee baby demasoni (one of four):

Dominant male red top afra (one of four):

My new betta (half moon plakat) aka Siamese Fighting Fish, named Leonardo:

Oscar the kitten loves to watch Leonardo in his tank. I do have new pictures of Oscar, who is stretching like crazy but they're home and I'm at work. Next time!