What the heck's with that???? I'm sooooo disappointed with you.
I know.
Although, since we had 16 vacation days ahead of us, hopefully you'll forgive this small misstep.
Awww... you visited your mummy. That's very nice of you.
She's not very warm and friendly (other than the fire, of course
), but she is exciting!
So.... just how many times did you ride it???
Since I'm horrible at taking TR notes, I'm not entirely sure... probably 5-6 times? Maybe eight?
It was a lot!
It's very subtle. Surprised you even noticed it.
I know, right?
(Unlike the entrance to Diagon Alley, which IS pretty subtle!)
Excellent shot! You even got... uh... her? him?... that person half way through!
Thanks! The illusion was pretty cool, even if it was hard to get a picture of your own party.
Good! Happy you were!
SO excited.
Was Hedwig moving? Or still?
YES! Not a ton of movement, but his head would turn around to "look" at the people in line.
Doesn't look happy at all.
Nope. Not one bit. She would've much rather have been at home.
But didn't you tell her it was for us?
That's the only reason I get pictures at all!
After a while she tends to relent.
It was REALLY well done. We were both impressed!
Tell me about it...
Just don't pull one out!!!!
Not without earmuffs!
The details in Hogwarts are AMAZING! Especially for a Potter geek like me.
50 minutes....
I seriously don't know what we were thinking...
It had to have been that early trip high!
<sigh> I keep saying this... but... Also coo!
Did not know that!
The sorting hat is super cool - I was practically beside myself the first time we saw it in 2012!
The hat mostly acts as a CM and gives ride instructions - it's pretty amusing!
That's an excellent description.
Thank you! I know many folks read these TRs in order to figure out how to plan their own vacations - I try to be helpful!
I love that shot! Wonderful!
Thanks! That's high praise coming from you!
And he does that too????? Wow!
It was an unexpected effect! We'd stuck our heads into Hog's Head in 2012, but never gotten a beverage. I'd love to go in there again!
SO GOOOOOOD!
Uh, oh. A chink in the awesomeness armour.
It's really a minor complaint (and I understand it, as it keeps people out of the pool area once it's closed), but that was NOT a happy surprise after walking around for a few hours! My feet were not used to miles of walking yet!
Aww cute picture of you and Dugette and family! I missed Dugette last December because we were leaving for home the day they arrived. Literally missed each other by like half an hour. One day!
Thank you! It was SO fun to meet them - I highly recommend it if you have a chance on a future trip!
I loved the Royal Pacific when we stayed in 2010. And it was pre-renovation. Their resorts were much nicer than Disney's deluxes at that time. We also got a lot of freebies which we didn't get at the Disney deluxes...ice pops and frozen lemonade by the pool, and of course the fruity waters.
They gave you ice pops?! Either they stopped doing that or we totally missed it!
We did enjoy the water, though!
We were REALLY impressed with the Royal Pacific! It felt very elegant and the rooms were VERY nice! Anika and I both loved the resort (and the proximity to the parks and other perks are hard to beat!).
Your room looks really pretty! Love the large murals on the wall, just so different and fun! We are probably going to stay here in September too. When in Sept are you going again? I think we're missing each other...we'll be at Universal Sept 1-3 and Disney from the 3-5th.
The room was SO nice! I'm not sure if the renovation was completely finished when we were there (I think it wasn't?), so I was excited to see a renovated room!
We're going the end of September - the 27th through October 1st. I'm sorry that we'll miss you - I'd love for our paths to cross someday!
Yum! Will make note of that!
We were pretty impressed! We liked this sushi much more than our sushi at Tokyo Dining later on the trip. I hope it hasn't gone tragically downhill in the two years since!
She LOVED her lanyard. I'm glad I chose well!
I love frozen butterbeer!
Looks like a fun day at Universal! Can't wait to see it again in September. It's been too long and we haven't seen the new Diagon Alley side yet either!
I enjoy both the frozen and the carbonated butterbeer - both are tasty in their own right. We enjoyed both of them during our visit!
We really enjoyed our time at Universal (more fun to come!). You will LOVE Diagon Alley - they did a PHENOMENAL job!
They really did! I've been to the real King's Cross Station and it's amazing the likeness. It was so funny because we were wandering around the station, looking for Platform 9 3/4 and a train conductor called out from a train "are you looking for Harry Potter?" and pointed us in the right direction. It was hilarious, but my sister (a London resident) was mortified at being identified as a lowly tourist with the rest of us
Looks like a great day at the park! I'm not a huge Harry Potter fan but I've seen all the movies and it's incredible what they've done there. Excited to hear more!
That's hysterical! I would've done exactly the same thing (much to the mortification of my travel companions or any London residents). Sorry folks, but the Potter love is strong!
We had a great time, even with the long lines! They really hit it out of the park (or the Quidditch field
) with both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. It's the main reason I want to return to Universal!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
You look so beautiful
Glad you managed to make the best of a bad situation with the rain, looks like a wonderful day!!!
Thanks so much, Katie! I'm so thrilled to see you on the DISboards!
Our wedding was AWESOME, even with cramming the planning into seven months!
I'll have a wedding post sometime soon once I've sorted through the pictures.
I just LOVE those memorabilia boxes at Pop Century! It's so fun to look for things you remember or used to own. (I had FOUR Cabbage Patch Kids!
)
Omgggg I still havent tried it it looks so good. Is it very peanut-buttery..?! I love peanut butter but Jamie doesn't so I might just have to have one to myself... Such a shame
Honestly, I think you could avoid a lot of the peanut butter if the only problem was aversion (rather than allergy). You could avoid (or pick off) the peanut butter chips, and you could scrape off the peanut butter sauce on the ice cream and Jamie could follow behind for more of the ice cream. You could also always order the smaller ice cream (it's not advertised, but you just ask for the smaller version) and enjoy your own No Way Jose!
Ahh that's how they get you to buy a lanyard
True!
Yesss we did this on a last trip. We spent one night at Portofino and got express passes included for the two days either side - we would usually visit universal at least twice and buy the express passes - so buying 4x express passes was more expensive than paying for the room - it made so much sense!
It really does! It becomes even more economical for more than two people (a family of four would really make out well!), but it made it so easy to tour the parks!
I LOVE that the dragon has eyes
Isn't it awesome?! Both Anika and I were highly amused!
Awww my favourite, hooray indeed
It's such a great ride! I think it's my favorite non-Harry Potter attraction!!
It's so cool but I do wish it was easier to get a photo/video of!
Yay looking forward to more
I agree! It would be fun getting a picture of Grant walking through the barrier in September (or have Grant take a picture of me walking through the barrier!)
Speaking of, are you and Jamie making your way back to Orlando in September 2017? I know you usually travel in the fall... if you are planning a trip and your plans may include some Universal time that coincides with our trip, please PM me and let me know! It would be fabulous to meet you both!