A Savanna, A Wizard, and Oodles of Food - AKL/DxDP/WWoHP (COMPLETE!)

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Yay for a wonderful evening!! I'm glad you had such a great time at La Nouba - we've never been there but it sounds like an incredible show!

Your dinner at WPE looks really good!!

 

[Marsheliz]

Sounds like you guys had a fantastic evening!

I'm the same way about spaghetti- I don't typically order spaghetti out but yours looked good.. That pizza looks heavenly too!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Wonderful update Jenny.

So glad to hear that you enjoyed La Nouba. Seeing as though Cirque is Canadian, I'd like to take a little credit for how good it is. I can't obviously, but I'd like to.

Can you believe that World of Disney is going to be getting BIGGER???
I get lost in there now. I may need to use a GPS there in the future.
Love the store though...

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Lots of GREAT updates! I would prefer WPE to Raglan Road to be honest so I don't think you missed much. (Except for dessert - NO, and I mean NO dessert compares to their bread pudding!) I had the cheesecake at WPE too and it was pretty tasty! But the pizza was soooo good! I agree with Anika.

Sorry your Brown Derby lunch didn't deliver great service.... I won't even go into our experience last time...but it really is a classy joint - with the vintage decor.

The Lego dragon in DTD makes me laugh because they have one in the CA DTD but it is shooting the flame downward at the Lego Prince Philip and it looks like he is barfing.

I'm one of those Disney geeks who loves Walt One Man's Dream. There's so much history there.

Anika ADORED that pizza. I'm pretty sure she'll be ordering another one at our next visit to WPE!

It was too bad the Brown Derby was such a bummer - I had higher expectations considering it was a Signature restaurant (not to mention a Disney restaurant, in general). I remember reading about your terrible experience there - maybe they're going through a rough patch? I hope that's all it is!

I love your comment about the "barfing" dragon! That would be hilarious!

I'm trying to remember if I've popped into your TR yet to thank you for such an interesting read. Yours is one of about 4 TR's that I'm following along with, and I look forward to your updates.
It's particularly great hearing about all your dining experiences as my ADRs open up in about 2 weeks and I'm still not 100% decided. I will be at DTD for both a lunch and a dinner and I just can't decide what to eliminate out of Raglan Rd, T-Rex, and WPE. Decisions decisions....

Thanks for the review of La Nouba. I've been sitting on the fence with that one (like you I think the cost is hard to justify), but I think your review might have convinced me.

Thank you so much! Yes, I remember you commented after an earlier post (although I don't remember which one!), but feel free to comment any time! I'm sorry I've taken such a long time between updates lately, so if you have any restaurant questions please feel free to ask!

La Nouba was AWESOME! I've since learned that you can join the "Cirque Club" and get Category 2 tickets for about $50 each - quite a savings from the regular price. The theatre is built (and the performance is staged) in such a way that I don't think any seat would be bad.

If you end up giving it a try, enjoy! You will have an incredible time!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Yay for a wonderful evening!! I'm glad you had such a great time at La Nouba - we've never been there but it sounds like an incredible show!

Your dinner at WPE looks really good!!

If you have a chance, you should try and give La Nouba a try! Anika and I both thought it was a highlight of our week!

It was REALLY good! It was a wonderful surprise to have such an excellent dinner from a quick service location!

Sounds like you guys had a fantastic evening!

I'm the same way about spaghetti- I don't typically order spaghetti out but yours looked good.. That pizza looks heavenly too!

It was wonderful! I would highly, highly recommend WPE to anyone!

Wonderful update Jenny.

So glad to hear that you enjoyed La Nouba. Seeing as though Cirque is Canadian, I'd like to take a little credit for how good it is. I can't obviously, but I'd like to.

Can you believe that World of Disney is going to be getting BIGGER???
I get lost in there now. I may need to use a GPS there in the future.
Love the store though...

Thanks! I won't give you any grief about taking credit for Cirque - if I could think of a way to take credit for how fabulous it was, I would, too!

World of Disney is already RIDICULOUS - I can't understand what else they think they need in there?! I agree that the store is great! I hope to have more time to wander through additional stores next time!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

A Very Early Morning
Day 5— - Wednesday, February 8th

It was Harry Potter Day!!!

Don’t get me wrong—I ADORE Disney World, but I was EXTREMELY excited about visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I’'ve seen every movie and read every book (multiple times!) and was beside myself at the thought of seeing the books come to life in front of me! Although Anika is not nearly as enamored as I am (she'’s seen the movies but never read the books), she was excited about trying another theme park, too.

Despite all of our early morning breakfasts, this was our earliest morning by far. My original plan was to have an early reservation at Kona Café, but the more I thought about it I decided breakfast in a restaurant might take too much time. Despite the fact that it was a slower season I didn't want to get stuck in a huge line!

We were up very early and made it to the Mara before 7:30. It didn't take us long to order and receive our food.

I ordered the African Breakfast Platter, which included scrambled eggs, pap (porridge), chakalaka (a spicy African vegetable relish), grilled tomatoes, and sausage:

Anika ordered a large-scale Mickey Waffle with bacon:

We also grabbed an orange juice for Anika, grapes to share, and I filled my mug with delicious NesCafe coffee.

Anika thought her waffle was quite tasty and I thought certain parts of my breakfast were okay. I’'m not a spicy food fan, so the chakalaka was a bit much for me. The eggs and the pap and the sausage, however, were all pretty good. The grapes were pretty tasteless so not many of them were eaten. My coffee was made passable with loads of creamer (and the fact that it had caffeine in it didn’t hurt either!).

We ate our breakfast quickly and were on our way to Universal! I was surprised that we didn’t run into any traffic and easily made our way up I-4. Anika held my nifty Orlando map in order to navigate, but we found we didn't need it for most of the drive due to the excellent road signage. I was very glad, however, that I knew the road to take to get to the enormous Universal parking garage. A word to the wise - —most navigation systems seem to have the incorrect address for the actual parking lot and instead send you to some random spot in the Universal complex. I found that Google Maps did the same thing when I tested the drive before we left. (In case you’d like proof of this, take a peek at [Aussiesalad]’s excellent and hilarious trip report, which includes their misadventure with the Universal parking lot.)

I chose to pay the extra five dollars to park in the preferred parking lot. This put us a heck of a lot closer to the Universal entrance - —I figured saving the couple hundred steps was worth five bucks.

Here is a view of our LOOOOOONG walk through the Universal parking lot:

After trips across many moving walkways and ventures on several escalators, we finally made it to City Walk!

Welcome to Universal Orlando!

I took a few pictures of City Walk along the way, including a few eating spots (mmmm, Cinnabon!):

Hello, Starbucks! (For some reason I didn’t stop there for REAL coffee… what was I thinking?!)

Here’s the Hard Rock Café:

The Universal Studios Store:

And Margaritaville:

After trooping through City Walk we reached the bridge to the Islands of Adventure!

Of course, I had to take a picture of the sign:

Once we arrived we had to pick up our tickets. I’'d purchased the tickets before our trip, but had chosen to pick them up at the gate in order to save the shipping fee. It was actually incredibly easy - —I just had to put my credit card into the machine and it found my reservation and printed out my tickets.

Here they are!

Despite the fact I got us there ridiculously early (before 8:30), there were still a decent amount of people ahead of us in line:

This is during the slow season!

I can’'t stress enough how important it is to get to Universal early. Between the drive, the hike through the parking lot, the stroll through City Walk, and the walk across the bridge - —it takes a long time to get to the entrance!

Much to our delight they opened the gates early! This is when we realized that the fingerprint scanners did not like Anika and I. At all. We held up our line for at least a full minute when first I, and then Anika, could not get the scanner to read our fingerprint. They had us wiping our hands, re-scanning, wiping our hands again… we were slightly mortified.

After what seemed like WAY too much time, we were finally on our way! Harry Potter, HERE WE COME!!!

Up Next: The Wizarding World and WAY too many pictures of the Forbidden Journey

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Yay for an easy trip to Universal!! That does seem like a far walk to get to the entrance!!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

So glad to hear you had no issues on the drive.
The parking can definitely be a challenge if you've never been before.

And OH BOY, don't get me started on the Universal scanners. I will have a HUGE rant on these things in a future TR update since their horrible lockers use the finger scan as well. You'd think with how technologically advanced the rides are, they'd figure out how to do a proper finger scan.

That said, totally looking forward to your WWOHP experience.

 

[shan23877]

I'm glad that you made it to US without incident. I has Aussiesalad's story in my head the whole time

Can't wait to hear what you thought of it!

 

[YCFAN]

This is one of the best trip reports I've read lately. Read the whole thing tonight and can't wait for the rest! I love The Wizarding World of Harry Potter too.

 

[MEK]

Circus Time!
Well, let me tell you…

THE SHOW WAS GREAT, IT IS NOT TO BE MISSED, AND YOU WILL ABSOLUTELY NOT REGRET SPENDING THE MONEY!!!


I don’t think my brief review full of capital letters and bold words can illustrate how incredible Cirque du Soleil La Nouba was. Anika and I would both love to see it again! Do yourself a favor and squeeze it in on an upcoming trip!

[/SIZE]

I totally agree with this. I saw it a couple years ago and it was awesome. It is the fattest 90 minutes I have ever experienced. I can honestly say I totally lost track of time.

I love WPE. My brother and SIL fell in love with that place last summer and ate there -uhmmmm - three times!

Yeah for Universal Studios. I haven't been there in such a long time, but I really want to get there. Why does it seem like I can never fit it in? Can't wait to see what you thought of HP. Looking forward to your pictures.

Great updates.

 

[WDWaddictt]

I am also a big HP geek, love the movies and books! I think they did a great job at US bringing it to life. I can't wait to read how you liked it...

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Yay for an easy trip to Universal!! That does seem like a far walk to get to the entrance!!

I was so glad that the traffic (and the road signs!) were on our side that morning! As for the walk, it was insane! I can't imagine how much longer the walk is if you don't park in the preferred section of the parking lot!

So glad to hear you had no issues on the drive.
The parking can definitely be a challenge if you've never been before.

And OH BOY, don't get me started on the Universal scanners. I will have a HUGE rant on these things in a future TR update since their horrible lockers use the finger scan as well. You'd think with how technologically advanced the rides are, they'd figure out how to do a proper finger scan.

That said, totally looking forward to your WWOHP experience.

I was SO GLAD I'd checked the route in advance. The road signs were actually very good, but any mapped out directions seemed to direct you to the wrong spot!

We actually had a much better time with the locker scanners - I never had an issue with any of the lockers but had issues getting into both parks! The lockers were annoying for other reasons, but at least they worked!

Harry Potter, coming right up!

I'm glad that you made it to US without incident. I has Aussiesalad's story in my head the whole time

Can't wait to hear what you thought of it!

Aussiesalad's story was hysterical, but I'm glad I didn't have the same experience!

Checking the route in advance was a good move!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

This is one of the best trip reports I've read lately. Read the whole thing tonight and can't wait for the rest! I love The Wizarding World of Harry Potter too.

What a wonderful thing to say! I'm so glad you've officially joined in - there are many more adventures in store!

The Wizarding World was definitely a highlight of our trip... stay tuned!

I totally agree with this. I saw it a couple years ago and it was awesome. It is the fattest 90 minutes I have ever experienced. I can honestly say I totally lost track of time.

I love WPE. My brother and SIL fell in love with that place last summer and ate there -uhmmmm - three times!

Yeah for Universal Studios. I haven't been there in such a long time, but I really want to get there. Why does it seem like I can never fit it in? Can't wait to see what you thought of HP. Looking forward to your pictures.

Great updates.

Between La Nouba and WPE it was a fantastic evening! I agree that the entire show just flew by - I could've watched much more!

Something had to be pretty incredible to pull me away from Disney World - a certain wizard is one of the only things that could have such an influence. I was interested in visiting the theme park since I heard it was being built!

I am also a big HP geek, love the movies and books! I think they did a great job at US bringing it to life. I can't wait to read how you liked it...

I had pretty high expectations... my thoughts on their sucess are coming up!

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Can't wait to hear all about it! We will be there in 2 1/2 weeks!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Can't wait to hear all about it! We will be there in 2 1/2 weeks!

I'm jealous!!! You'll have a wonderful time!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Mount Your Broomsticks!
Day 5 - —Part II

Anika and I zoomed through the entrance and a few lands of Islands of Adventure in order to reach the main entrance of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Due to our misfortune with the fingerprint scanner, I bypassed any photo taking opportunities in order to book it to the premiere attraction of the Wizarding World…

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey!

Although I took the picture of Hogwarts castle after the ride (hence the 10 minute wait time - —we walked right on), I will say here that they did an INCREDIBLE job recreating that castle. It looked like a direct replica of the castle from the movie, and I would stare and drool slightly every time I looked at it!

The initial path from the entrance leads you to the infamous Universal Studios lockers.

Universal is a bit ridiculous about not allowing any articles on their rides (although I can understand this to a point, as they have some attractions that are a bit crazier than Disney). How these lockers work is you go over to a rental kiosk, choose to rent a locker, and then place your finger on the scanner. The trick on getting these to work is gently placing your finger on the scanner— - if you press too hard it won’'t be able to read your fingerprint and give you an error. Thankfully I’'d read this tip before-hand and my fingerprint was recognized (yet this tip didn’t work at the front gate?!).

Once your fingerprint is identified the kiosk will give you a locker number. You find the locker and hit the flashing button. This will unlock the locker and allow you to stow your stuff. Once you'’re all set you close the locker and push the button, which will lock your belongings until you return.

When Universal says “no loose articles” they mean it—and that includes cameras! As this girl was not going to miss any photo opportunities of this attraction, I did the unthinkable—I purchased and wore a fanny pack at Universal. This is one of their "exceptions" for stowing articles during the ride as it's kept on your body.

Sure, fanny packs were pretty popular when I was younger (and I owned several of them!), but I’'m pretty glad that trend died. To each their own, of course, but it’'s not my favorite fashion statement. However, there were pictures on the line here! If I had to momentarily embarrass myself in front of hundreds of strangers in order to get pictures, so be it!

Fanny pack on and camera in hand, we started through the ridiculously detailed queue. Seriously, if you think Disney does an incredible job with queues (they do), they don’'t even come close for how well this queue was done.

The entire Forbidden Journey queue takes you on a walk through Hogwarts castle. The journey started with a walk through part of the castle where you saw recreations such as the One-Eyed Witch (which guarded the secret passage from Hogwarts to Honeydukes in Hogsmeade):

I may have geeked out a little when I saw the Mirror of Erised:

The next section of the queue is outdoors and leads you into the Herbology Greenhouse:

We didn’'t get to walk past them (as the crowds were light and that part of the queue wasn’t open), but they had a selection of plants which I believe included Mandrakes:

After the jaunt outdoors, you went back inside and saw statues of several of the founders of Hogwarts:

There is also a very familiar collection of House Jewels (with Gryffindor in the lead!):

Next, you are greeted by the gargoyle that guards Dumbledore’s office:

You also walk into a room full of portraits that really do talk and move around! It was hard to photograph due to the darkness, but this room was incredible!

(continued in next post)

 

[SimplyGoofy]

(continued from previous post)

Next you see Dumbledore’'s office come to life before you (including a greeting from the headmaster himself!):

They even included the Pensive (I geeked out on this one, too!):

The journey continues with a trip into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, where you are greeted by Harry, Ron, and Hermione:

Following the request from the famous three to join them in sneaking out of the castle, you stroll by another walking, moving portrait:

The Fat Lady!

You see a few Gryffindor items on your walk into Gryffindor tower:

Here'’s an example why this queue is so tough to photograph - —you can only see the details if you use a flash, but you can see the moving picture on the newspaper if the flash is off. (These small details were so neat!)

This was so fantastic I HAD to get a picture of it:

Whoops, I think we're breaking the rules!

Then you stepped into the Gryffindor common room - —it was right out of the movie!

The final walkway to the attraction involved seeing this guy:

THE SORTING HAT! (This was official geek out number three….)

Finally, you arrive at the ride vehicles. It'’s really dark where you load onto the ride, but you can slightly see the bench vehicles and the “floating” candles that light up the room. It’'s a pretty awesome sight in person.

After you sit on your seat on the bench and strap yourself in, you'’re off! You go on a fantastic journey through the world of Harry Potter— - you fly through a Quidditch match, encounter a dragon (complete with breathing fire!), have a run-in with Aragog the spider, almost get hit by the Whomping Willow, and even come across the dementors and the much-feared Lord Voldemort! Your journey ends by flying back into the Great Hall and being greeted by many of the Harry Potter movie characters.

It was seriously one of the best attractions I'’ve ever been on.

The technology of the ride was PHENOMENAL. The bench moves on a KUKA arm, which will glide and swoop you around so you really feel like you’'re flying through the ride. If you could really fly on a broomstick I bet it would feel just like this! They also did a fantastic job of incorporating meaningful elements of the entire series, from those found in the ride and sprinkled throughout the queue. The attention to detail and the authentic recreation will surpass the expectations of any Harry Potter fanatic, plus the ride itself was just so much fun. IT WAS AWESOME.

Did I mention it was one of the best attractions I'’ve ever been on?!



Anika and I turned right around and rode it again!


*I will add a small caveat here - —I'’ve heard from others that this ride can be rough on those with motion sickness issues. Anika and I aren’'t great barometers of motion sickness (as we LOVE the Tower of Terror and have no issues with Mission Space: Orange), but we had no problem riding twice in a row. If regular rides make you queasy and you don'’t want to give it a try (although you should!), I still HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend walking through the queue and checking out the castle. You can see almost the entire castle (until just before the sorting hat, I believe?) before escaping through the chicken exit. The details from this attraction are not to be missed!

Up Next: More Big Attractions in the Wizarding World

 

[shan23877]

Now, don't hate me, but the entire Harry Potter series passed me by. I've never read any of the books or seen more than 30 minutes of the movies.

However--HPland at US seems incredible. I really hope that Disney will move ahead with an expantion geared a little more toward adults (Star Wars would be soooo much better than Avatar) and do it as well as it seems that US did HP.

I appreciate and understand the sacrifice that you made purchasing and wearing the fanny pack. You are a dedicated HP fan and Trip Reporter. Great photos!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

I'll admit, while I'm not the biggest Harry Potter fan (I've only read the first book, and I think I saw 2 or 3 of the movies) and I don't know all of the details your photos are showing, I do think it's awesome how much a HP fan like you loved the ride!! That really shows how well-done it is!

Hahaha yes, any and all fashion trends can be cast aside in the name of photography!! The fanny pack sounds like it was definitely worth it!!