3 sisters + 2 worlds=5 days of Orlando fun! An Aug. '10 TR...final thoughts p. 45

[RachelNinja]

I hope by now your cold is gone! I don't get how we're supposed to teach when we have colds or coughs. I mean, others can just sit in their offices and blow their nose or cough. Teaching just makes it worse with the constant talking! Plus, I canNOT blow my nose in front of people, so I have to wait until a prep period or my lunch period!

Haha, when you said you got a "Thing" in your background, I was looking at the train trying to figure out what was there. Guess I'm a little slow! I really wish I didn't wake up at 6:03am on Saturdays ...

As annoying as it must be to have to wait in line to get into a store, it's a good thing too because if it were packed, no one would be able to enjoy it at all. Then what's the point of having it? How do they filter people out? I mean, can you stay in there for half an hour?

What is a Pygmy Puff in the movie?

Haha, I normally comment as I read, but I got so engrossed in everything you were writing and all the pictures you had that I completely forgot! Plus, I was sending the links in the Florida email I have with my cousinS (another cousin/my other bridesmaid is going with us too along with one of her friends). Your updates are great for them!

Anyway, when I finally finish watching all the movies on the way to Florida or in Florida, I'll come back and reread your updates! Haha.

 

[Cat0727]

That's amazing they have Moaning Myrtle in the bathroom! I love it! I'm glad you had a good time. I can't wait to go next month! I got the 2 parks/1 day pass so hopefully I will have time to do one or two attractions after WWoHP before we head off to Universal.

 

[jwwi]

Wow, I think you gave away a big secret about using the other lockers and going thru single rider line. Sounds like a great tip.
I think you spent some time at DTD, although walking around the Boardwalk area is also fun to do at night.

 

[wdwgirl03]

So cool about Moaning Myrtle!

I'm dying to go but I just can't bring myself to tackle the crowds. I'm not a fan of them or long lines.

LOL, yeah, I hear ya on the crowds. But it was OK...we survived.

Great update! WWOHP looks really cute! So does the Dr. Seuss area! I kind of wish we were going to Universal this year, but it will be there next year, so I'll just wait!/QUOTE]

You'll have fun when you do end up going.

Good call storing your stuff in the other lockers & doing the single rider line! Guess no one else was smart enough to figure that out

It looks and sounds like they did a really great job theming the WWOHP, you actually have me wanting to check it out. Of course there is no way I'll go until the crowds reduce significantly - maybe in a couple of years

Nope, I guess everyone else preferred to wait in the monstrous line. I seriously want to know how long it took to get through that.

LOL, I don't blame you for wanting to wait until the crowds die down. It does sound like things aren't as bad now, atleast since school's going on. Who knows what winter break/Thanksgiving will be like.

I'm getting caught up!!! Looks like a great start to Universal!!! I enjoyed all of the HP pics and review

Glad you enjoyed the WWOHP stuff!

Are you serious? Moaning Myrtle? How awesome! I'd imagine it be a little creepy if you're not familiar with the character though.....

Did you say the Griffindor scarves were $30? I think I want one..... That snowman is too cool.

Way to find the locker alternative! I can't believe others weren't doing that too. I've never been to Universal before, but from other reports I've seen I'd likely spend most of my time in WWoHP.

I think Moaning Myrtle is kind of creepy. LOL.

Yeah, they were something like that...$30-$35. All I remember is that after we saw that we decided we didn't really want one anymore. haha But they are really cool looking.

Well Sarah, I think you've convinced me - I have to go see WWoHP! Even though it will cost a fortune. I will definitely try the single rider line, even if I'm with someone. And I love your sister's idea of using the other ride's lockers! Genius! I wonder how many people have done that? I hope they don't catch on.

Ooh, yay! I'm not usually that persuasive I don't think so I'm glad I convinced you. Really though, if you enjoy HP at all then you have to go check it out atleast once. I really wonder how many other people tried our little strategy too. But it was pretty great my sisters thought of that.

All the pictures from WWOHP were so great that now I definitely want to go next year As for using the other lockers and the single rider line

Nice update

Thanks Dawn.

I hope by now your cold is gone! I don't get how we're supposed to teach when we have colds or coughs. I mean, others can just sit in their offices and blow their nose or cough. Teaching just makes it worse with the constant talking! Plus, I canNOT blow my nose in front of people, so I have to wait until a prep period or my lunch period!

Haha, when you said you got a "Thing" in your background, I was looking at the train trying to figure out what was there. Guess I'm a little slow! I really wish I didn't wake up at 6:03am on Saturdays ...

As annoying as it must be to have to wait in line to get into a store, it's a good thing too because if it were packed, no one would be able to enjoy it at all. Then what's the point of having it? How do they filter people out? I mean, can you stay in there for half an hour?

What is a Pygmy Puff in the movie?

Haha, I normally comment as I read, but I got so engrossed in everything you were writing and all the pictures you had that I completely forgot! Plus, I was sending the links in the Florida email I have with my cousinS (another cousin/my other bridesmaid is going with us too along with one of her friends). Your updates are great for them!

Anyway, when I finally finish watching all the movies on the way to Florida or in Florida, I'll come back and reread your updates! Haha.

Yes, luckily now my cold is gone. And hopefully it stays that way! I agree it is a pain being a teacher and having a cold because you don't get any chance to rest your voice. Ugh, I sounded horrible for a couple days.

6:03 on a Saturday?! Yikes! I am definitely still sleeping at that time.

That's partly why there's a line...they don't really filter people out. As far as I know you could stay in there for as long as you wanted, though I don't know why anybody would want to when they're that packed.

haha, I actually asked my sisters the same question because I don't really remember what the pygmy puffs are. I think it is just some magical creature and I'm pretty sure Claire said Ginny Weasley (Ron's sister) has one as a pet. I could be wrong though.

I hope your cousins enjoyed the updates!

That's amazing they have Moaning Myrtle in the bathroom! I love it! I'm glad you had a good time. I can't wait to go next month! I got the 2 parks/1 day pass so hopefully I will have time to do one or two attractions after WWoHP before we head off to Universal.

Apparently they have her in the men's bathroom too...I was on youtube yesterday to see if I could find a video of it and some guy had one. It was pretty funny because there was a caption at the beginning saying how he pointed his camera up at the ceiling the whole time to avoid anything inappropriate.

That's cool you got the 2 park ticket. We didn't really care for Universal when we went so we didn't even bother. That would've been a waste for us.

Wow, I think you gave away a big secret about using the other lockers and going thru single rider line. Sounds like a great tip.
I think you spent some time at DTD, although walking around the Boardwalk area is also fun to do at night.

I know, I couldn't believe my sisters thought of that but it definitely worked to our advantage. Part of me was afraid we were going to get yelled at.

Well, you are half right. We did do one of those things you mentioned along with something else.

 

[MickeyisBeast]

Hey Sarah
I'm so far behind... I need to go back and catch up!

 

[meeko_33785]

Part of me really wants to go to WWoHP since it looks so cool, but the more I hear about the crowds and all the less excited I become. I don't know if I'll just wait and go there once the craziness has gone down some or not. The Single Riders tip is a great one though. If I go, I'll definatley be using it.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Hey Sarah
I'm so far behind... I need to go back and catch up!

Hi Sara!!

Part of me really wants to go to WWoHP since it looks so cool, but the more I hear about the crowds and all the less excited I become. I don't know if I'll just wait and go there once the craziness has gone down some or not. The Single Riders tip is a great one though. If I go, I'll definatley be using it.

If you are not all that excited about Harry Potter in the first place, then I definitely wouldn't bother going yet. I would wait a while, or atleast go when it's not a busy time of year.

 

[wdwgirl03]

August 11, 2010 cont'd (part 8)

Good-bye, Universal!

As we were walking back to the shuttle pick up area, there was a brief shower. People started scurrying under shelter, including us. Though that didn't last long. We really only ducked under cover to put away our souvenir bags...we didn't want those ruined! Plus, like I said, it was so hot we didn't mind walking in the rain (not that it did anything to cool us off it was so fricken humid).

Once we found our way back to the shuttle area, we had a while to wait so we started to enjoy our chocolate frogs. Emma and I also discovered our trading cards. I got Rowena Ravenclaw and I think Emma got Godric Gryffindor.

About ten minutes after we sat down (maybe even shorter, I don't exactly remember), a Mears shuttle pulled up. We didn't think it was ours since it was so early but then a couple of these other girls who were waiting went to ask the driver where it was going. The one girl said it was going to Saratoga Springs. So it was our shuttle...that was kind of nice that it was early. Our driver did tell us that we had to stop at Sea World first to pick up another family.

I won't go into too much detail but our driver was quite interesting. LOL. He started telling us random stories about his ex-wife and his kids and stuff and how he also worked at Wilderness Lodge, I think for bell services? Some of the things he said were quite interesting. If I am remembering correctly I think he said that some of the people who work in the parks/resorts are not actually employed by Disney...rather, these outside vendors provide employees to do things (like selling balloons on Main Street) to keep costs down for Disney. Something like that. I think he also bonded with Emma because something brought up baseball and he was quite impressed that she knew who was leading the NL West and who owned the Texas Rangers. Leave it to Emma. LOL!

When we got to Sea World, we ended up sitting there for quite a while waiting for this family. Now granted we were early, it did start to get annoying after a while. It was a pretty big group with some small kids who must've been wiped out after a busy day. But finally they showed up and we were able to head back to SSR.

Just as we were arriving back at the resort, it started pouring. Normally, the shuttles are supposed to just drop you off at the Carriage House but our driver told us he'd drop us off right at our buildings. We made sure to give him a good tip. haha

Once we were back in our room, we put on the TV to wait for the rain to pass. Our show of choice? Stacey, of course!

Emma also took a picture of the rain. It was coming down pretty good!

We also enjoyed some more of our treats. Mmmm, love that chocolate frog!

Since it was late afternoon and we weren't going to go to a park, we decided to go mini golfing instead. We ended up going over to Winter Summerland.

Dad and I played the summer course when we went in April so this time we ended up going for the winter course. Well, turns out we should've done the summer course because there was this group of teenagers in front of us who were SO UNBELIEVABLY SLOW. They started right before us and one of the people in their group was in a wheelchair. So it took them double the time to play each hole. Understandable, fine. But then they'd go out ahead and if they screwed up or something they would redo the hole or whatever. And by that time there was ANOTHER group behind us, so we're trying to play at a reasonable pace. Even when we didn't hurry we'd still end up waiting for them to finish. The group ahead of us didn't seem to care that there were people behind them who wanted to play too. After a while we got so fed up that we just ended up skipping a hole to get ahead of them. LOL. That probably ticked them off, but oh well if it did. They were getting on my last nerves. Now that that rant is over, some pictures from the course:

Teeing it up on hole 2!

This is pretty typical of what usually ends up happening when we play mini golf. Our balls always end up wedged against the rocks or some other osbtacle and we have to try and maneuver just to get another shot off.

The holes are so well-themed and there are even a few that are interactive. Like the fire on this one would spout out a little bit of smoke.

And this cute little cooler on a later hole. Love the Mickey gingerbread man!

Not to mention the clever little plays on words/poems they always have at the beginning of the holes...Iced Tee, anyone?

Here's another great shot after Emma hit her ball into the bush. She saw my flash go off so she was like, "Did you take a picture?!" as Claire and I were cracking up. Good times.

Both courses end in the same place (they're still separate holes but they both end up in the house with the Christmas trees and computers where you'll get a nice Christmasy message).

As we finished up, we turned in our clubs and got another free golf ball. Just another fun little perk of playing mini golf. So far we haven't gotten any duplicate designs...I wonder how often they change them.

A couple parting shots from Winter Summerland:

up next: wrapping up day 3...where did we go from Blizzard Beach/Winter Summerland???

 

[dismagiclover]

Thanks for the mini golf course pictures. We're planning on mini golfing in January so it is fun to see pictures of the different courses. Which one do you like best?

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Yay for the mini golfing! Alex and Demetri were once again reading over my shoulder for the WWoHP wrap up -- love the cards in the chocolate frogs btw, I'd forgotten about that! The boys thought it looked 'very cool.'

 

[wdwgirl03]

Thanks for the mini golf course pictures. We're planning on mini golfing in January so it is fun to see pictures of the different courses. Which one do you like best?

That's a good question. The only course we haven't played is Fantasia Fairways. All of the other ones are fun but I do think the courses at Winter Summerland are a little more kid-friendly. In order of difficulty, I'd rank them (from easiest to hardest): Winter course, summer course, Fantasia Gardens, Fantasia Fairways. I don't have to play FF to know that it is hard. It just looks hard because it's almost like real golf! LOL.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of them, really. It is fun though at WS to hear the Christmas music. We found ourselves singing along quite a bit even though it was the middle of summer.

Yay for the mini golfing! Alex and Demetri were once again reading over my shoulder for the WWoHP wrap up -- love the cards in the chocolate frogs btw, I'd forgotten about that! The boys thought it looked 'very cool.'

The cards in the chocolate frogs were a nice touch...if only they moved like the real ones do though. Glad your boys enjoyed the updates as well.

 

[Angies1274]

Hi Sarah!

Great updates!! I'm glad you had such a great time at the WWOHP!!

for mini golf!!! If we manage to get back next year...(hopefully) I really want to head over and give it a try. The boys love to play mini golf and playing at Disney would be very cool!!

 

[Cat0727]

August 11, 2010 cont'd (part 8)

Teeing it up on hole 2!

Lol I see the annoying group in this picture I like your pictures of Winter Summerland. The detailing is cute. Mini-golfing in Disney has been on my to-do list for quite some time, I still have yet to do it!

Mmm those chocolate frogs look good

 

[Queenofallthings]

I can't believe how far behind I got...all caught up now though

We were at my sister's yesterday discussing our Aug 2011 and we said we're definitely doing IOA...we need to see WWOHP!! Thanks for the description of the butterbeer...I've been dying to know what it tastes like!

Love the pics of the mini golfing, it's something we've never done there!

 

[Nermel9]

I love your pics of Winter Summerland! It looks really adorable! I always assumed that if I play mini golf at WDW it would be Fantasia Gardens since I LOVE Fantasia, but now I think I'd rather try Winter Summerland!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Hi Sarah!

Great updates!! I'm glad you had such a great time at the WWOHP!!

for mini golf!!! If we manage to get back next year...(hopefully) I really want to head over and give it a try. The boys love to play mini golf and playing at Disney would be very cool!!

Hey Angie! We really enjoyed seeing the WWOHP. It's always fun to see and try something new.

Yeah, if you enjoy mini golf you should really try the Disney courses! I'm sure your boys would love it!

Lol I see the annoying group in this picture I like your pictures of Winter Summerland. The detailing is cute. Mini-golfing in Disney has been on my to-do list for quite some time, I still have yet to do it!

Mmm those chocolate frogs look good

haha, I didn't even notice that! Good eye.

The chocolate frogs were very tasty. I am already planning on stopping at the Universal store at MCO to get one when we go in March! LOL.

I can't believe how far behind I got...all caught up now though

We were at my sister's yesterday discussing our Aug 2011 and we said we're definitely doing IOA...we need to see WWOHP!! Thanks for the description of the butterbeer...I've been dying to know what it tastes like!

Love the pics of the mini golfing, it's something we've never done there!

Cool you are going to do Universal next year! The butterbeer is so good...words really can't describe how good it is though.

I love your pics of Winter Summerland! It looks really adorable! I always assumed that if I play mini golf at WDW it would be Fantasia Gardens since I LOVE Fantasia, but now I think I'd rather try Winter Summerland!

I say just do both of the courses.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Wednesday, August 11, 2010 cont'd (part 9)

After enjoying our round of mini golf, we decided to do one more thing to end our night. And that was to head over to the Boardwalk! I seriously love the Boardwalk, especially at night. I think the atmosphere is so much fun with all that's going on around there: I mean, you've got all those great resorts, shops, not to mention Epcot right there so there's always a lot of activity.

The thing about the bus to the Boardwalk is that it also goes to the Swan/Dolphin and Yacht and Beach Club. We easily could've gotten off at one of those stops but I was feeling too lazy at that point. I just wanted to sit on the bus. But since we got off at the BW stop, I was finally able to get a picture of the sign pointing to the Boardwalk!

I don't know what it is about this sign but it's one of those Disney warm fuzzy sights. I seriously can't wait to stay here. Maybe the next trip after OKW. I know my parents and Claire loved it when they stayed there in January.

We walked down the stairs and out onto the Boardwalk!

And since it was starting to get dark out, all the lights were starting to come on.

Seriously, if you've never been to the Boardwalk, go at night! The lights make it even more exciting!

We just sort of strolled around for a bit, soaking up the atmosphere. So pretty!

Here's one of Claire's pictures. She said she could see their room from January. I guess they were right below the Boardwalk sign. Seeing that Dad told me the same thing in April, I have a feeling now that whenever we go to the Boardwalk they are always going to remember/say that. hehe

More random BW shots...

We typically like to eat at the ESPN Club, but didn't on this trip.

Instead, we decided to get some pizza from the little pizza window. This was a new discovery when my family went in January and I have to say, the pizza is pretty good! We ordered our food and went to sit down while we waited. We also called home to tell Mom and Dad about our day at Universal. I was finally able to brag about doing Forbidden Journey.

After eating our pizza I wanted to go check out some of the shops (of course). One of the places we checked out was the candy store. Mmm, yummy Disney treats. Though we refrained from buying anything.

When we got out of the store, we noticed a small group of people gathered around. Turns out one of the nighttime entertainment acts was performing! It was the Carlo Show! Since we've never really seen any of those shows, I suggested we stop to watch for a while.

It was a pretty fun show to watch. The guy Carlo did all sorts of crazy balancing acts. It was amazing what he could do!

I think everyone was so in awe of what he was doing, especially the little kiddos. They were all so cute.

For his grand finale, he announced that he was going to be swallowing a sword. Not that people weren't already intrigued by his performance but this really got people's attention. But before he could do his trick, he asked the audience why people shouldn't try that stunt at home. One of the little boys sitting there raised his hand so Carlo called on him. His response was "because you might die!" LOL! Awww. And right as he was about to swallow the sword, this one mother and father told their kids they had to go (must've had a dinner reservation). It was so cute because they didn't want to leave. The one girl was like "aww, dad I want to see this!" and the other girl said, "Yeah, he's going to swallow a sword!" I felt kind of bad for them because they were going to miss the sword swallowing. Too funny.

So finally it was time for the big act. I got nervous just watching him. What makes people want to try and swallow a sword?! Just crazy. And as he did it you could kind of hear a collective gasp from everyone watching. But everyone loved it.

By that time we were ready to leave. So we said good-bye to the Boardwalk.

We ended up taking a bus to Downtown Disney and just walked back to SSR. I'm telling you, that Congress Park/Paddock area is really convenient!

So, that wraps up yet another fun-filled day. It's hard to believe we've still got two more full days left!

up next: More Magic Kingdom!

 

[meeko_33785]

What a nice evening at the Boardwalk. Gotta love the whole place all decked out in lights. I'll have to remember the tip about the pizza window too.

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

looks like another fun day!!!!

The Boardwalk is a fun area That cotton candy looked sooooo yummy!

 

[Nermel9]

I love the Boardwalk! It looks even prettier at night, when I was there, it was during the day and it was dead, there were maybe 10 people walking around, so maybe if I go there again, I will go at night! You got great pictures of the whole area!