Cabana Bay, Diagon Alley, and life without express pass

[TaylorsDad]

Okay, I have never been one to really give trip reports but I know a lot of people are curious about Cabana Bay, Hogwarts Express, and Diagon Alley so I thought I would share a little with my Disboard pals.

The cast
Myself, The wife, Taylor(the daughter as you may have guessed by my user name), my sister, BiL, and nephew.

Our journey began leaving from rural West Virginia on June 27th at roughly 9:00 PM. We arrived at Cabana Bay around 10:00 AM on Sat June 28th so about 13 hour drive. We were tired from driving all night and went to the front desk in the hopes that maybe our room was available. It wasn't. There were rooms ready, but due to needing a Handicap Accessible room for DD additional wait was required. This was fine because I really did not expect one this early anyways. Naturally, we decided to forego rest and head to the park.
First thing we do is head to IOA which has always been our favorite of the two and WWOHP has only served to strengthen that sentiment. At 3:00 PM we get notified the room is ready and head back to Cabana Bay. Once we get to the room we discover it is not HA. This upsets us for obvious reasons. We call the front desk and they tell us the room is listed in their system as a handicap accessible room. We assure them it is not (room 4275 not HA). We are then told they do not have a HA suite left. They tell us if they cannot find one they can give us 2 standard rooms instead. The main thing we needed was a roll in shower or a bath seat which they eventually supply, so we are satisfied.
The room was very nice. The colors were very vibrant and the room had 2 queen beds and a sleeper sofa. The kitchenette area contained a mini fridge that did a good job keeping things cold and a microwave as well as a ledge with stools at which to eat or snack.The beds were VERY comfortable, unfortunately the sleeper sofa was not. the sleeper sofa was extremely firm and perhaps hard as the floor. There is a partition keeping the room with the two queen beds and the sleeper sofa apart. Each sleep area had its own large flat screen tv. The bathroom area was nice.We enjoyed having a room with a toilet separated by a sink area from the room with another sink and bathtub/shower. The room contains a closet with a small safe to store valuables and you program your own code to lock and unlock. The view we had was a standard view tower suite overlooking the parking lot.
I will add more later.

 

[TaylorsDad]

Ok, after settling in at our hotel, we decide to look around a bit. My sister and BIL decide to check out the pool area. There is a pool, lazy river, and hottub. The lazy river is nice if a little small. I should note you have to either bring your own tube or purchase one of theirs. The prices are very reasonable though. The ironic thing for us is that the primary reason for choosing to stay at CB instead of our favorite HRH or RPH is because Taylor was so excited about hearing CB had a lazy river, yet not once during the trip did she try either the pool or the lazy river. You access the pool area by opening a gate with your keycard. I did see several people though just reach over the gate and unlatch it from the other side. I am sure they just left their keycard in the room with other members of their party. Later when we stayed a night at Portofino Bay Hotel I tried the deluxe hotel keycard and it would not open the gate, I forgot to try the CB key at the deluxe hotel pool. Other than my sister,bil, and nephew, pools just aren't a huge factor for us so it slipped my mind.
The food court layout reminded me a lot of the ones at the WDW value resorts. We thought the food was only decent with the exception that Taylor loved the pizzia which I personally did not care for. Oh, I should also mention that I did like the cheeseburgers. I really thought they were much better than the ones at the park just not as good as the ones on Citywalk.
The 29th we headed back to the park. Once again we were impressed with the fact that there was no wait with the busses. We arrived at the bus stop in time to see one pull away but immediately another pulled right up. We started off at IOA due to taking advantage of the Early Entry. My sister and her husband decide to sleep in and meet us later and Taylor stays with them. WWOHP was great as usual and we enjoy showing it all to my nephew Austin who went with my wife and I. He was really impressed with Forbidden Journey and couldn't wait to try Dragon Challenge. After riding DC, I treat him to his first taste of Butterbeer. He is only a casual fan of Harry Potter but said when he gets home he is going to re watch all the movies. I leave my wife to explore(spend money in) WWOHP and Austin and I visit the rest of IOA. We just hit the highlights since we have all week to enjoy. This is the day with our longest waits. Hulk at 55 minutes was the longest and I am really starting to miss my express passes. Although I love all the rides at IOA Austin has some definite favorites such as FJ, Hulk, and Dooms Fearfall. It still amazes me Spiderman did not top his list. It is now 2:00 PM and I tell Tina (my wife )I am taking my nephew with me to visit Universal Studios(notice I did not say Hollywood Studios this time Bluer,lol) she starts feeling a little ill due to not used to the Florida heat so goes back to the room. I offer to join her but she insists I go on to Universal Studios. Thus begins my daily routine of constantly checking there to see if a soft opening at DA is going to happen.

 

[thiabelle]

Thanks for writing. I am living vicariously through you and other posters till I can get there myself!

 

[TaylorsDad]

After heading to Universal Studios Sun afternoon June 29th, I ride several rides with my nephew who is most impressed with Revenge of the Mummy and rightfully so since its one of the most awesome rides ever and Transformers. I check out London and what is someday to become Diagon Alley and am told by numerous TMs that no soft opening is going to happen this day for the general public so meet up with the rest of my group for an early dinner at Citywalk. We dine at Nascar café which is one of my favorite places then I take Taylor back to the park and explore Suess Land and Cat in the Hat ride which is her favorite. Of course then she remembers the next ride is her favorite and the one after that as well. After several more hours of rides we head back to the hotel. One of my favorite parts of the trip is the fact that Taylor wants to stay and ride more rides. This is due to the fact that Taylor likes the rides and attractions but this year is the first that she is the one who wants to stay and ride all the rides again. You see Taylor is our 16 year old only daughter who happens to have Downs Syndrome and has had 3 surgeries the last one nearly 2 years ago. She has always tired before the rest of us and each trip prior to this one is the first ready to go back to the room. We don't let her ride the big rides although her doctor said she can now ride anything she wants to ride. Anyways, I cannot help but take this as a good sign.
Even though this is a busy time, I notice even without express we have been able to get a lot done. Without express though planning is very important. We learn the rides to head to first in the mourning. Rides like Despicable me get huge lines quickly. Most other rides we notice have significantly less wait times from 4PM to closing. Other exceptions to this include HRRR which always had quite the wait. Next I will get to my discovery that HE is in its soft opening stage.

 

[TaylorsDad]

Each day we did early entry at IOA, since it was the only park with early entry. Each day in IOA we would ask if there was a chance Hogwarts Express would soft open. Each day I was told HE would be open July 8th. I don't blame the TMs they could only relay the information they were give. I really felt for them having to answer the same question over and over and over without having any information to give. 7/01/2014 We were finishing eating at NBA City when I use my phone while waiting impatiently for our server to bring our check when I check the Disboards and notice Damo posted that HE is open for softs(thanks Damo who found out before I did and me on site). I left my wife to pay the check -her idea not mine- and headed to Universal to verify. When I get there I discover it is indeed open and call the others. I went ahead and got in line and told them to meet me at WWOHP because I knew I could be there by the time they arrived. The line I waited in was really great and moved quickly. I felt like I was on a genuine train (which I guess I was)I don't want to give spoilers but the train ride was amazing in itself and the technology cutting edge but as hot as it was the part the impressed me most was that the train was air conditioned. I don't see how anyone could walk away disappointed with the train ride and the best part is the ride is different each way. There were rental strollers to exchange for those that needed them and wheelchairs and personal strollers were accommodated quite nicely by being placed in either the front or back of each train.
I will try to tackle Diagon Alley next.

 

[Krista in MA]

I'm enjoying reading along! Sounds like a very special trip!

The Mummy is my absolute most favorite ride ever!

Quick question - in the morning for EE, how early did the buses / shuttles start running? Thanks!

 

[TaylorsDad]

I'm enjoying reading along! Sounds like a very special trip!

The Mummy is my absolute most favorite ride ever!

Quick question - in the morning for EE, how early did the buses / shuttles start running? Thanks!

We were told 30 minutes before EE, however one mourning when EE was at
8:00 AM I remember being on the bus headed for the park by 7:14 and there was another bus pulling in as mine left so that makes me think they may have been doing pick up by 7:00 but that is just a guess.

 

[LuvEeyore]

Can't wait to hear more. We are going in January (2nd and 3rd) Got any tips for newbie's to Universal. I did decide to stay at Royal Pacific just for the express pass and early entry. We are planning to stay in Florida on the 1st just so we will have most of the day at the parks and then spend the early entry - early after noon on Jan 3 at Universal then go to Disney to check in the for the remainder of our trip.

 

[TaylorsDad]

Ok, on to Diagon Alley.
Thursday mourning we drive over to PBH to check in and get our express passes. Its after 7:20AM when we get there. We reserved a standard room for 5 so everyone that wanted to ride could use the express passes for 2 days. Even though we paid almost $300 for the room it was still cheaper than unlimited express for 5 for 2 days. Our room was already ready so naturally we had to check it out before going to the park. We begin at IOA and decide to spend one day there and the next at Universal Studios using our express passes.
As you may guess the wait times were much less with express. Sorry, my title said life without express, guess I cheated a little. The longest wait was perhaps 20 minutes on Hulk. Other than that even the standby times did not seem as long as I thought it would be. We rode everything. I talked my sister and BiL into riding RipSaw Falls with us while my wife and Taylor waited. My sister is a ride chicken and screamed at every little drop thinking each one was the big drop. Naturally we couldn't help but laugh at her. After that we rode Blutos Bilge Barge. Taylor cheated by wearing a Poncho. She would crack up each time a wave hit one of the rest of us. Hearing my wife scream each time she got wet and Taylor laugh made this the best ride of the day.
We made our way back to WWOHP and decide to ride HE back to Universal Studios. At least that was the plan. HE was not open. We make our way back to Marvel Superhero Island and reride Hulk- well 3 of us anyways. We ride this 3 times straight seeing who can get the craziest ride photo due to wait is almost nonexistent with express at this time, much better than earlier. After that I ride Spiderman once more with Taylor and everyone but me decides to call it a day.
After they leave I look in some of the shops, then sit and decide to check on twitter. I get very exited when I discover there is currently a soft opening of Diagon Alley. I try to call my wife but cannot reach her.
I keep trying to call her while heading over to DA. As I walk into the area I see the crowd of people and hope I will be able to get inside. With only one more day left we had all but given up hope of a soft opening. I am allowed in and keep trying to get hold of my wife without any luck. I have to walk all the way to fear factor to enter but am just happy to get to enter. As I walk into the area I pause looking at the Night Bus. The driver and the talking head are making conversation with guests and I stand there a moment just looking around. I hesitate to go inside though. I mean all these months of anticipation and suddenly I am afraid there is no way DA can live up to the hype. Didn't Disney just receive a lot of negativity to a multitude of people saying Seven Dwarves ride not living up to expectations. I prepare myself and try to lower my expectations to a more realistic level and walk inside. I step inside and step off to the side to take everything in. It did not meet my expectations it far exceeded them. The rest may contain spoilers so If you do not want to know anymore stop reading.
To say Diagon Alley raises the bar is like saying the theming of WWOHP is nice, it doesn't begin to describe things. Some things truly must be experienced to fully understand. You may have read of the Dragon on the top of the Gringots ride but its another thing to be there and listen as the Dragon starts with a roar that continues to grow until it reaches a mighty roar just as it belches out a mighty flame. The crowd around me cheers and applauds and I notice a woman beside me tear up as the sheer joy and excitement she is experiencing is too much to contain. I then look around and truly don't know where to go or what I want to take in first. Finally I decide the thing I want to do the most is visit the Ice Cream shop. I wait in a long line before entering then am struck with the task of deciding what flavors to try. Do I want to try Earl Gray and Lavender, Chocolate Chili, Apple Crumble, toffee, or Salted Caramel Blondie. I decide to go with Chocolate Chili and Salted Caramel Blondie. The Blondie is a definite all time favorite flavor while the Choc Chili, well its something everyone should try at least once. It is really impressive how they can create something the is traditional Chocolate followed by a hot chili aftertaste. I would just recommend having something to drink with it. After the ice cream I go get a drink which I believe is called Otters Orange. it is a non alcoholic drink that is an orange type drink with a cinnamon type sugar around the rim.
After I satisfy my sweet tooth I look around a little more. I see young wizards(guests) waving their interactive wands and creating spells which cause such effects as rain falling around the edges of an umbrella. It is just so great the way that you are given the opportunity to experience magic yourself this way.
I make my way around the area where I hear I live musical performance and am told later a live portrayal of the tale of the three brothers will take place.
As much as I love the Harry Potter universe I know I need to pull myself away and go back to the room and let my wife know about the soft opening because her love of the Potterverse far surpasses my own.

 

[macraven]

taylor's dad, i am so happy you are doing this trip report!

so far, it all sounds wonderful.
i am enjoying how you are expressing yourself and giving us the blow by blow details.

keep going.
i'm ready for more!

 

[Krista in MA]

Thank you for the reply regarding the buses! I read the first part of your latest update. It's so exciting that you got to experience DA! I'm holding out on reading too much about it as I'm going in October and want to be somewhat surprised

 

[pixeegrl]

Oh, I'm so excited for your TR! It sounds like you guys had a wonderful time!

 

[schumigirl]

Great report so far..........I'm so looking forward to the ice cream place.........sounds like we have plenty of choice

 

[sydneysmom]

what a fantastic report so far!! We're skipping Disney and going to Universal for our next trip....and know NOTHING about it, so I'm so excited reading your reviews.

To read your description of Daigon Alley is giving me chills... I love it!! Can't wait for the ice cream... I think my husband is going to be all over the chocolate chili for sure... How do you like PBH? I'd be very curious to hear your thoughts on that....

Sounds like your trip is a smashing success!!!

 

[pomcoach]

I too am enjoying your report! And I stopped reading when you told me to, so I wouldn't spoil it for us. Thanks so much for sharing your trip with all of us!