madeline07
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2019
- Messages
- 66
Hi! I just got back from a 6-day trip with my parents and two friends, and I'll be recapping here, mostly for me to look back on. If you're reading this, enjoy!!
January 20, 2022 - Travel Day/Disney Springs
This Thursday was our travel day, and our morning wasn't too rushed because our flight wasn't until 4:15 PM. I was a little worried about the flight getting cancelled, or the roads being bad, because the weather was calling for snow, but it hadn't started snowing up to the point that we left. Because my parents left the day before, they were able to take our suitcases because they were driving. All I had to do on Thursday morning was pack my carryon and drop our dog off at the kennel. We left for the airport around noon, because it takes around an hour and I like to have plenty of time to get through security and get food. Once we got to the airport, we easily parked, took the shuttle to the main airport building, and got through security. Once on the other side, we had a couple of hours until boarding so we got some food and waited at our gate. Our flight was delayed about 15 minutes, and once we got on the flight we took off and landed in MCO with no issues. Upon landing, we only had our carryons, so we went straight to the pickup zone and my parents were there to get us.
We originally had an 8:45 dinner reservation at The Boathouse, and by the time we got picked up it was around 7 PM. We were all pretty hungry, so we decided to head straight to Disney Springs and see if they had availability any earlier. Once parking at Disney Springs, we headed straight to The Boathouse and they were able to seat us in around 5 minutes. To start, The Boathouse has incredible rolls and butter, they were really, really good. I'd only been to The Boathouse once before this, and sat right at the bar, but this time I decided to get the same thing as last time, the Filet Mignon Sliders. They were very good, but this time the steak was even more tender than I remembered, and this meal was the perfect size, as I wasn't starving. After dinner, we decided to head back to the resort, as we were all pretty tired and knew we'd have more time at Disney Springs later in the trip. Plus, I was very excited to get back, as we were staying at the Beach Club Villas this trip, somewhere I've never stayed. I've been looking forward to staying here for a while, and it did not disappoint at all. I loved our room, it had plenty of room for the three of us for the week, and with the pull-down, pull-out couch, and regular bed, each of us got our own bed. More on the resort on later days, but it was really, really great.
January 21, 2022 - Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure
We were all very excited for Universal, 4/5 people in our party are huge Harry Potter fans, and my friends have never been to the Wizarding World. We wanted to get a semi-early start, because we had to fit two parks into one day, and the Universal parks were only open until 7 PM. However, I slept through my alarm, and woke up around 7:50, when we wanted to leave around 8. We were able to get ready fairly quick, and left our hotel around 8:30, stopping for Chick-fil-a breakfast on the way. Upon arriving, parking and security was quick, and we decided to hit Islands of Adventure first. Because we wanted to get as much done in one day as possible, my friends and I purchased Express Pass, which I believe was worth it for the day. We went right once inside the park, and headed towards Seuss Landing, riding The Cat in the Hat and The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride. We used our Express Pass for these, although I'm sure it wasn't necessary. After this, we passed through The Lost Continent and made it into Hogsmeade, where we immediately headed to The Forbidden Journey, using our Express Passes. This queue took us around 15-20 minutes to get through, as I'm pretty sure the ride broke down for a very short period of time once we got in line. However, the pass made our wait much shorter than it would've been for standby. Next, my parents texted me that they were in line for Hagrid's Motorbike Adventure, so we decided to get in line, hopping in the Single Rider line under the assumption that it would be shorter than the 120-minute posted wait. I'm pretty sure that it was, but it can be hard to tell, as the regular standby line moves much faster than the single rider. The ride was still wonderful, and I was able to sit on the motorbike, which I wasn't expecting. After this, we walked around a couple of stores, and I got a pack of Fizzing Whizzbees and a Chocolate Frog in a collectible tin. At this point it was sometime around 11, and we agreed to meet my parents for lunch at the Leaky Cauldron around 2 PM.
We continued our walk around Islands of Adventure and one of my friends convinced me to go on Velocicoaster with her. The wait was only around 40 minutes, which flew by. The queue was very cool, and so was the ride although I closed my eyes for a significant chunk of it. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it very much, and the wait time was very reasonable for such a new and impressive ride. We continued our walk around the park, I stopped and got a Universal Studios T-shirt in Super Hero Island that has Green Goblin, Doc Ock, Carnage, Venom, and Loki. We used the Express Pass for The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman, significantly decreasing our wait time, standby being around 45 minutes at that point in the day.
Unfortunately, the Hogwarts Express was closed for refurb, so we decided to walk over to Universal Studios at that time, headed straight to Diagon Alley. Once we arrived at the Leaky Cauldron at 2, I called my parents who had just started walking over from Islands of Adventure. To kill time, we decided to walk in some shops, and I got a bottle of Gilly Water with the Elixir to Induce Euphoria. This was the green one, which was supposed to taste like pineapple and faintly of mint. However, it tasted more like bubblegum, which I'm not a fan of. Around 2:30, my parents met us and we went for lunch at the Leaky Cauldron. Here, I tried the Fishy Green Ale, which definitely wasn't bad, but it wasn't my favorite drink ever. I got the Specialty Chicken Sandwich (without the apple butter mayo), which is what I've gotten every time we've gone. It was delicious as always, and after lunch we went to ride Escape from Gringotts, another ride where I was happy to have the Express Pass. After that, we rode Men in Black, and then walked through Springfield, straight to E.T., one of my favorites. After E.T., we stopped for drinks, I got a Coke slushy, and watched the Superstar Parade. We then looped back around, meeting up with my parents around 5:45. With only an hour and 15 minutes left, we decided to go back into Diagon Alley, walking through Knockturn Alley, where I got a Harry Potter keychain, and meeting the sweetest lady in front of Gringotts who took some great pictures for us. At this point, it was around 6:30, and we headed towards the front of the park, stopping in the Universal Studios store, where I got myself a mystery pin box and a Shrek t-shirt, as well as a Harry Potter mug for my friend's birthday gift. We met up with my parents to head to the car, and my mom showed us that she'd gotten my friends and I brownies from The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium. They were the cutest things ever, decorated with little metallic chocolate gears. I ate the peanut butter one later in the trip and after being microwaved, it was very good.
After driving back to the resort, my friends and I decided to take the Skyliner to the Riviera/Caribbean and grab dinner, as the Skyliner was going to be down for refurb later in the trip and I wanted to ride it at least once. After looking at the quick service menus, we decided that the Centertown Market had more interesting food options than Primo Piatto, though I'm sure we would've enjoyed either. Before hopping on the Skyliner, I stopped at the Beach Club Marketplace to grab a Beach Club pin, upholding my tradition of getting a pin from every Disney resort I stay at. We placed an order on our gondola, and got off at the Riviera station, taking a nice walk on the Caribbean Beach side to the Centertown Market. I got a Cuban Sandwich for dinner, which was very good, and we sat in the dining area and ate, which wasn't too busy. After dinner, we walked back to the Riviera station, passing the Riviera this time, and quickly arrived back at the Beach Club. We headed straight back to our room and pretty much went straight to bed.
I've decided to make this a multiple-part post, as I'm writing a lot more than I expected to. I'll be back very soon with details on the following days!
January 20, 2022 - Travel Day/Disney Springs
This Thursday was our travel day, and our morning wasn't too rushed because our flight wasn't until 4:15 PM. I was a little worried about the flight getting cancelled, or the roads being bad, because the weather was calling for snow, but it hadn't started snowing up to the point that we left. Because my parents left the day before, they were able to take our suitcases because they were driving. All I had to do on Thursday morning was pack my carryon and drop our dog off at the kennel. We left for the airport around noon, because it takes around an hour and I like to have plenty of time to get through security and get food. Once we got to the airport, we easily parked, took the shuttle to the main airport building, and got through security. Once on the other side, we had a couple of hours until boarding so we got some food and waited at our gate. Our flight was delayed about 15 minutes, and once we got on the flight we took off and landed in MCO with no issues. Upon landing, we only had our carryons, so we went straight to the pickup zone and my parents were there to get us.
We originally had an 8:45 dinner reservation at The Boathouse, and by the time we got picked up it was around 7 PM. We were all pretty hungry, so we decided to head straight to Disney Springs and see if they had availability any earlier. Once parking at Disney Springs, we headed straight to The Boathouse and they were able to seat us in around 5 minutes. To start, The Boathouse has incredible rolls and butter, they were really, really good. I'd only been to The Boathouse once before this, and sat right at the bar, but this time I decided to get the same thing as last time, the Filet Mignon Sliders. They were very good, but this time the steak was even more tender than I remembered, and this meal was the perfect size, as I wasn't starving. After dinner, we decided to head back to the resort, as we were all pretty tired and knew we'd have more time at Disney Springs later in the trip. Plus, I was very excited to get back, as we were staying at the Beach Club Villas this trip, somewhere I've never stayed. I've been looking forward to staying here for a while, and it did not disappoint at all. I loved our room, it had plenty of room for the three of us for the week, and with the pull-down, pull-out couch, and regular bed, each of us got our own bed. More on the resort on later days, but it was really, really great.
January 21, 2022 - Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure
We were all very excited for Universal, 4/5 people in our party are huge Harry Potter fans, and my friends have never been to the Wizarding World. We wanted to get a semi-early start, because we had to fit two parks into one day, and the Universal parks were only open until 7 PM. However, I slept through my alarm, and woke up around 7:50, when we wanted to leave around 8. We were able to get ready fairly quick, and left our hotel around 8:30, stopping for Chick-fil-a breakfast on the way. Upon arriving, parking and security was quick, and we decided to hit Islands of Adventure first. Because we wanted to get as much done in one day as possible, my friends and I purchased Express Pass, which I believe was worth it for the day. We went right once inside the park, and headed towards Seuss Landing, riding The Cat in the Hat and The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride. We used our Express Pass for these, although I'm sure it wasn't necessary. After this, we passed through The Lost Continent and made it into Hogsmeade, where we immediately headed to The Forbidden Journey, using our Express Passes. This queue took us around 15-20 minutes to get through, as I'm pretty sure the ride broke down for a very short period of time once we got in line. However, the pass made our wait much shorter than it would've been for standby. Next, my parents texted me that they were in line for Hagrid's Motorbike Adventure, so we decided to get in line, hopping in the Single Rider line under the assumption that it would be shorter than the 120-minute posted wait. I'm pretty sure that it was, but it can be hard to tell, as the regular standby line moves much faster than the single rider. The ride was still wonderful, and I was able to sit on the motorbike, which I wasn't expecting. After this, we walked around a couple of stores, and I got a pack of Fizzing Whizzbees and a Chocolate Frog in a collectible tin. At this point it was sometime around 11, and we agreed to meet my parents for lunch at the Leaky Cauldron around 2 PM.
We continued our walk around Islands of Adventure and one of my friends convinced me to go on Velocicoaster with her. The wait was only around 40 minutes, which flew by. The queue was very cool, and so was the ride although I closed my eyes for a significant chunk of it. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it very much, and the wait time was very reasonable for such a new and impressive ride. We continued our walk around the park, I stopped and got a Universal Studios T-shirt in Super Hero Island that has Green Goblin, Doc Ock, Carnage, Venom, and Loki. We used the Express Pass for The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman, significantly decreasing our wait time, standby being around 45 minutes at that point in the day.
Unfortunately, the Hogwarts Express was closed for refurb, so we decided to walk over to Universal Studios at that time, headed straight to Diagon Alley. Once we arrived at the Leaky Cauldron at 2, I called my parents who had just started walking over from Islands of Adventure. To kill time, we decided to walk in some shops, and I got a bottle of Gilly Water with the Elixir to Induce Euphoria. This was the green one, which was supposed to taste like pineapple and faintly of mint. However, it tasted more like bubblegum, which I'm not a fan of. Around 2:30, my parents met us and we went for lunch at the Leaky Cauldron. Here, I tried the Fishy Green Ale, which definitely wasn't bad, but it wasn't my favorite drink ever. I got the Specialty Chicken Sandwich (without the apple butter mayo), which is what I've gotten every time we've gone. It was delicious as always, and after lunch we went to ride Escape from Gringotts, another ride where I was happy to have the Express Pass. After that, we rode Men in Black, and then walked through Springfield, straight to E.T., one of my favorites. After E.T., we stopped for drinks, I got a Coke slushy, and watched the Superstar Parade. We then looped back around, meeting up with my parents around 5:45. With only an hour and 15 minutes left, we decided to go back into Diagon Alley, walking through Knockturn Alley, where I got a Harry Potter keychain, and meeting the sweetest lady in front of Gringotts who took some great pictures for us. At this point, it was around 6:30, and we headed towards the front of the park, stopping in the Universal Studios store, where I got myself a mystery pin box and a Shrek t-shirt, as well as a Harry Potter mug for my friend's birthday gift. We met up with my parents to head to the car, and my mom showed us that she'd gotten my friends and I brownies from The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium. They were the cutest things ever, decorated with little metallic chocolate gears. I ate the peanut butter one later in the trip and after being microwaved, it was very good.
After driving back to the resort, my friends and I decided to take the Skyliner to the Riviera/Caribbean and grab dinner, as the Skyliner was going to be down for refurb later in the trip and I wanted to ride it at least once. After looking at the quick service menus, we decided that the Centertown Market had more interesting food options than Primo Piatto, though I'm sure we would've enjoyed either. Before hopping on the Skyliner, I stopped at the Beach Club Marketplace to grab a Beach Club pin, upholding my tradition of getting a pin from every Disney resort I stay at. We placed an order on our gondola, and got off at the Riviera station, taking a nice walk on the Caribbean Beach side to the Centertown Market. I got a Cuban Sandwich for dinner, which was very good, and we sat in the dining area and ate, which wasn't too busy. After dinner, we walked back to the Riviera station, passing the Riviera this time, and quickly arrived back at the Beach Club. We headed straight back to our room and pretty much went straight to bed.
I've decided to make this a multiple-part post, as I'm writing a lot more than I expected to. I'll be back very soon with details on the following days!
