A Sister & Brother Return! The Trip Report! Updated 10/31--Page 23!

[Nicole786]

Chapter List

Pre-trip info!- page 1
Day 1 part one - page 1 - click here
Day 1 part two - page 1 - click here
First night in universal! - page 2 click here
Second day in universal part 1 - page 4 click here
Second day in universal part 2 - page 4 click here
What happened?? Dun dun dun! - page 5 click here
Dinner that night - page 7 click here
Our last moments in universal! - page 8 click here
Getting to Disney part 1 - page 9 click here
Getting to Disney part 2 - page 9 click here
Getting to Disney part 3 - page 9 click here
Animal kingdom morning part 1 - page 10 click here
Animal kingdom morning part 2 - page 11 click here
Break at coronado springs and DHS! - page 11 click here
Magic kingdom morning! - page 13 click here
AKL arrival! - page 13 click here
Dinner at Kona - page 14 click here
Magic kingdom evening - page 14 click here
Our day off morning - page 16 click here
Lunch at coral reef - page 16 click here
A surprise at AKL and a nice night out! - page 18 click here
Epcot morning! - page 20 click here
Animal kingdom at night with the parade!! - page 21 click here
Beach club breakfast! - page 22 click here
DHS and night vision goggles! - page 23 click here
A Hollywood morning! - page 23 click here
The AKL pool + Dis meet! - page 23 click here
Our last day! - page 25 click here
Goodbye Disney! - page 26 click here



Jambo! (Welcome) to our trip report! For friends who followed us here from the pre-trip report, I wave hello to you thank you for being here! And for those who are new to the wacky antics that could possible ensue, I wave to you! This trip report follows a couple of wacky characters (the brother and sister aforementioned) on their trip to Orlando! It was a 10 day adventure and I can't wait to share it with you! I'd like to take this opportunity to link to the pre-trip report, so if you'd like a more in depth look at the adventure leading up to the adventure, feel free to do so HERE. There will be lots of pictures and some video (especially of the AKL so if you're interested, stay tuned!) Here is just a little bit about ourselves and the trip.

Here is a picture so you can get to know us

Its a photo taken from our last Disney adventure, where we went for christmas december 2007. It was a very fun trip and our first trip without our parents and just us, and we had a great time. David loves doing things independently so he especially enjoyed himself.

Cast of Characters

Nicole: (AKA: ME!) Obvious disney-obsessed young adult. Computer geek, graphic design student, when asked on Spaceship earth "Do you enjoy the journey or the destination" Oddly finds herself stating the journey! I love to plan for disney! Loves thrill rides and trip reports!

David: I don't know what to say. I like to have fun, and I like video games.

By the way, look for this symbol

to read very brief things such as that. He knows full well about the DIS especially after meeting 3 of its very own! More on that later. Until then let me fix his paragraph

David: Going to be a high school junior, hates thrill rides (did that change??) and just a typical text-messaging, goofy teenager! And also, loves his sister. Thinks she is the best, and that her spirit makes peoples hearts soar on eagles wings.

There, thats better.

So now we've covered the cast, lets move on to the plans!! Although if you've traveled from the Pre-TR, you should know how many times that had changed, lets talk about what actually 'went down'

August 2nd-4th Universal Studios at the Hard Rock Hotel
August 4th-6th Coronado Springs
August 6th-12th Animal Kingdom Lodge

Now you may say to yourself that is a lot of resort hopping, and if you said that, you would be right. We all make Disney mistakes, but we learn from these mistakes and we use them to make our next vacation a better one! And boy did I make a lot of mistakes on this trip! But there were a lot of great things too! Were their dreams? Stay tuned! Were their injuries? Stay tuned! Were their meltdowns? Stay tuned!

Working on the first chapter now!

 

[MeMom]

Just got finished fixing a big pot of spaghetti, came to check the Disboards before I sat down to eat, and found that honorary daughter Nicole had begun her trip report. I'm looking forward to hearing about all the fun you guys had! I know your mom and dad are glad that you are safely back home.

David, you've got a pretty decent sister there. I'm glad you guys have such a good relationship. One day, you'll both be going back with your own individual families, and you can tell your kids stories about how wild and crazy you used to be on your Disney trips.

I'm looking forward to seeing pictures or video or whatever you have of the big reveal to David. Also, I am excited to see pictures of the Dis meet. I'll check back after supper and see what you've got for us!

 

[AGPrincess]

Yay!! You've started your trippie!

Dreams - woo hoo! Injuries - yikes! Can't wait to read more!!

 

[Nicole786]

I'm going to keep the Universal Studios aspect as brief as I can. Some very interesting things happened there, and a few people have mentioned that they are interested in it because they plan on spendin some time there next vacation! For the record, I suggest it, especially going before, because it feels like 2 vacations! Plus, while its definitely no disney, Universal has its charm, especially when you stay on-site! So lets hop to it!

David is very into rock music. 70s rock music, especially bands like Boston and Journey, so staying at the Hard Rock was something he was very much looking forward to! I was too. I had already stayed there, and while the insignia goes right over my head, the complimentary express passes you get for staying there do not, and HRH is a very very very nice hotel!

So we arrived at around 8:43am! We had made really good time. I paid for a slightly obstructed view (call for this it is a reduced priced room and saves a ton!) but of course it wasn't ready so we checked our luggage and proceeded to our first park of the day: Universal Studios!

To show David just how close the Hard Rock was to Universal, we took the walking path (think Beach Club to Epcot!) we were there just as the park opened, it was empty!

We knew we wanted to try the simpsons ride, but since we had express passes (our room keys) we wouldn't have to wait in line, so instead we just soaked it all in! We walked over to T2 the terminator show-but it wasn't scheduled to start yet, and we didn't want to spend 20 minutes waiting for it, we were eager for some rides! So we walked over to ET, which is such an awesome ride and the smell of this ride is awesome! I know its weird, but I love the smell!

For a saturday, the park was really empty what a treat!

We had our fill of ET, so we continued along the path to Simpsons. I was eager to ride this, but the ride it replaced (Back to the Future) as well as Star Tours leaves me nauseous, so I wasn't really TOO eager to go on it...but David was and everyone commented how smooth it was so I was ready to embrace it.

We waited about 5 minutes in the express queue, and than another 5 minutes for the pre-show.

This ride is so cute! It makes fun of Universal, Disney (its hilarious though!) and Sea World! As for dizziness? Oh yeah baby. While it was very smooth and very well done with the new technologies. I get car sick, so i'm not a person to listen to. The queue and the costumes are all really "simpsons-like"

The first time I did get dizzy only because of the curved screen added with the motion of the car and theres a part where they make it like youre going upside down which made me dizzy but I did like it very much. Its high on my list of favorite rides and overall I give it a 9/10.

After that we walked on Men In Black, which is like buzz lightyear, but I do like it a little better. I kicked David's butt! I couldn't get a picture of the scores, but he knows it and I know it!

Jaws was next which is a classic ride but a little outdated if you've been on it a few times. It was nice to get a little wet! I do like how the area is Amity and the theming is very cool, its constantly 4th of July!

Now it was time for another new ride, which David would quote the rest of the trip. This ride was called Disaster, and it replaced earthquake. Its basically very similar, but uses a lot of new technology including a very real-looking Christopher Walken who interacts with your "guide" and the audience! They are very strict about cameras so I tried to get a few in before the show/ride started.

The actors were very much in character and the people pulled out of the audience are very diverse in age which was nice to see. The ride itself was essentially the same thing as earthquake but it was funny at the end. (read this in christopher walkens voice) "you're now part of Disaster Productions, yourwelcome"

Shopping! (We would do a lot of that this trip)

It was time for the moment I had been waiting for, which was trying to get David on the Mummy. This was what I would believe as the threshold which would get him on all of the future thrill rides that I knew he would love. (Was i right?) Well the mummy was awesome as usual, its definitely my favorite at Universal, and so much fun! As for David....

THE MUMMY ROCKS!!!

Time for a lunch break! theres a nice italian restaurant near The Mummy

So we grabbed our stuff out of the complimentary lockers (you can't bring any bags in to rides like the Mummy or Men in Black) and headed over there. I had a meatball sub, which was edible. I liked the meatballs, but didn't like the bread, it was too plain and soggy.

I had chicken alfredo with garlic bread which was very good except for the fact that it had no taste. It was like eating creamy spaghetti with chicken, but I ate it!

Continued in next post...

 

[Nicole786]

I love the theming around the area

I lived a block away from this street in NYC!

Still roomless, we wandered over towards the Monsters Show which I had never seen. While walking over there, there were representatives from NBC asking us to take time to go watch some new pilots and give our opinions. This would have been cool but at the time we denied, I forget why.

The monsters show had already started so we walked down the street to T2, and we were riht on time for that. This show is really good, David really liked it because he loves the terminator movies. I don't know anything about the terminator movies, David had to explain some fun facts after it was over, but it just goes to show you, Universal knows how to entertain with their rides even if you are clueless to the movies they represent.

My dad is a huge T2 fan so we wanted to get him a shirt, but we raced over to The Monsters show and we got there just before it started. This was really funny but a one time thing! The guy did the usual "hey this isn't Disney so i don't have to be nice to you" and pulled a woman from the audience who was from Columbia, and barely spoke English which added to the hilarity! They told her they would give her a souvenir, and maybe she could give them a souvenir from Columbia It was fun, but definitely a one time thing.

So now we were about ready to leave, but still had no room, so we walked back to the T2 gift shop and found Dad a nice shirt. We asked if we could send it back to the Hard Rock even though we had no room. The gentlemen called HRH and they gave him a temporary room number but it would be fine.

My Mom loves I love lucy so we had to go there to get her a new shirt, and play around in there

After that decided to try the simpsons again. The standby queue was 70 minutes!

We walked on with our express passes, woohoo! We also checked out the Kwik-E-Mart

We tried our luck with the mummy again, but the lockers were so jammed you couldn't even get through! Plus lines and crowds looked like this!

That was our cue to leave. We left Universal. David wanted to see what the boat ride was like, so we walked to the boat (which is pointless btw because in the time it takes to walk from Universal to the boat, you could have walked to the HRH lol!)

We went to the front desk, and yes! Our room was ready!! It was on the 5th floor, with a beutiful view of the...roof. But it was air conditioned, and perfect for this!

Nap time!

 

[Sleeping*Beauty]

Can't wait to hear all about your trip!!

 

[Nicole786]

Just got finished fixing a big pot of spaghetti, came to check the Disboards before I sat down to eat, and found that honorary daughter Nicole had begun her trip report. I'm looking forward to hearing about all the fun you guys had! I know your mom and dad are glad that you are safely back home.

David, you've got a pretty decent sister there. I'm glad you guys have such a good relationship. One day, you'll both be going back with your own individual families, and you can tell your kids stories about how wild and crazy you used to be on your Disney trips.

I'm looking forward to seeing pictures or video or whatever you have of the big reveal to David. Also, I am excited to see pictures of the Dis meet. I'll check back after supper and see what you've got for us!

Thanks MeMom Although like I explained to Pooksma, Declansdad and TCKK, David's reaction was sort of non-existant because he didn't 'get it'

Yay!! You've started your trippie!

Dreams - woo hoo! Injuries - yikes! Can't wait to read more!!

Yay! Starting out with universal even though i know you hate it!

Can't wait to hear all about your trip!!

Thanks! It should be a fun ride!

 

[reyasmommy]

Great TR so far!! Can't wait for more! I love universal, I don't care what anybody says. It's NO Disney, BUT hey....... What is??

 

[Sarilas]

What a great start! I know that once Harry Potter comes to Universal we'll be making a trip of our own so it's worth reading your experiences here for sure.

 

[AGPrincess]

Yay! Starting out with universal even though i know you hate it!

Can't say I'm a fan, but it was a fun update! Are those express passes like a fastpass or do you go up the exit and get straight on?

 

[Hedy]

Can't say I'm a fan, but it was a fun update! Are those express passes like a fastpass or do you go up the exit and get straight on?

Like Fastpasses, for every ride.

I'm enjoying the UO part of the TR. I loved how close to everything HRH was.

 

[SwansLoveDisney]

Yay for Nicole's (and David's) TR!

Nicole, you're slowly making me want to go to Universal and stay at the HRH! After your last TR and this one, I'm getting that bug!

Sounds like a great first day and I can't wait for more!

 

[jake&samsmom]

Yay you started your TR! I am definitely in! Woohoo!

 

[Nicole786]

Great TR so far!! Can't wait for more! I love universal, I don't care what anybody says. It's NO Disney, BUT hey....... What is??

I feel the same, its a great way to START the vacation -- i could never imagine leaving Disney for Universal but the other way around works perfect!

What a great start! I know that once Harry Potter comes to Universal we'll be making a trip of our own so it's worth reading your experiences here for sure.

When HP hits Universal--craps gonna hit the fan! I think like the week before though Disney's gonna go "We'd like to announce ground breaking on our fifth park..." lol!

Can't say I'm a fan, but it was a fun update! Are those express passes like a fastpass or do you go up the exit and get straight on?

Universal operates the fastpass differently than disney. They used to do it like Disney where you would get a return time, now what they do is (1) Sell the express pass for somewhere between $20-$80 per person depending on the time of year--or you get them for free by staying at any of the Universal hotels (its your room key) there are seperate queues just like in Disney but you just flash your room key like a friggin golden pass and you are granted entry! It makes you feel like a rock star!

Like Fastpasses, for every ride.

I'm enjoying the UO part of the TR. I loved how close to everything HRH was.

HRH is up there as one of the my favorite hotels! I might go back for 2 days near my bday. David and I have season passes and my parents need to use these 2 day passes they had, we were thinkin about it

Yay for Nicole's (and David's) TR!

Nicole, you're slowly making me want to go to Universal and stay at the HRH! After your last TR and this one, I'm getting that bug!

Sounds like a great first day and I can't wait for more!

Oh I have lots more HRH pics! I'll post them in a future installment! Its an awesome resort! You should give it a shot..or you might like the portofino which is themed after Venice, Italy...i'll post some pics from there too!

 

[LMO429]

awesome 1st day

 

[WDWBetsy]

Love your report! Your pics are great... can't wait to read more!

 

[KatGarcia]

Yay you started!!! Sounds like a packed morning , I bet those naps were just what you needed! I loved getting your twitters during the trip BTW, I'm gonna use it on mine!

 

[scottny]

great start to your report. loved all the pics. can't wait for more.

 

[princessjv]

Wow! You really did a lot in the AM. Why do you have to put your things in a locker to go onto rides?

There really seem to be a lot of rides there! I love reading about Universal. I really know nothing about it!

The hotel looks totally beautiful! I read in Lalas TR that there are speakers in the pool. No WAY!

 

[stagemomx3]

Great start so far. We went on The Mummy at Universal Hollywood, I was not impressed, but then I had my eyes closed the entire time.