Can we get stuffed in September? A Free QSDP PTR! Update 9/2!

[blabbermouth]

We got our tickets for Universal in the mail today!

[/IMG]

Thanks to my mama's airmiles

It's actually a good thing I had my wits about me. It was just a plain airmiles envelope and I thought it'd be junk mail and I almost threw it out, but then I realized it was probably my tickets!

I'm going to skip ahead a few days since I think we're going to go to US on Monday the 9th. It'll be the fifth day of our trip, so we'll have been to every Disney park at least once and it's a week day so might be less busy than the weekends. We decided to take a cab as it works out cheaper than a shuttle bus, and a bit cheaper than renting a car.

We're just doing the Studios and not Islands of Adventure, weird, right? The guys are big Simpsons fans, so they really want to check out the new Simpsons section. <Is this supposed to be Krusty? Ha. ha.

We've never been to either Universal before, so it'll be good to see something new. I definitely want to ride Rip Ride Rockit, Despicable Me Minion Mayhem and Shrek 4D. Also E.T. because it used to be one of my favourite movies as a kid. Otherwise I'm not planning much, we'll just ride what we feel like and watch the shows we're interested in.

We'll have a Krusty burger and a Duff beer and a Lard Lad Donut for lunch.

I had kind of assumed we'd be there all day and have dinner at CityWalk, but someone mentioned that they had done everything by 3pm, so maybe we'll head back to Disney and have dinner there.

Any Universal advice? Any ride/show I have to do that I might otherwise skip?

 

[Dream426]

Joining in!! Walmart has some great Disney stuff for cheap. It is awesome. Love that bag. Now I want to go check out my Walmart to see what they have for my trip next year. Yes I will start buying stuff now..haha

 

[ILGoofy]

Mondays are supposed to be good for US. Last year we only went to IOA because we were only interested in the Harry Potter section. I honestly couldn't tell you anything helpful. Leaving the Disney bubble was traumatizing and I blocked it all out.

 

[klacey1]

I love Universal! I've actually been there more times than I've been to any of the Disney parks, so I feel like I know those two parks the best.

As far as rides to skip-- do not waste any of your time seeing Twister! The preshow really hypes it up, but all you do is going into a second room and watch some stuff blow around. It's boring and a huge waste of time. If you aren't crazy about audience participation shows, you can probably skip Disaster. I thought it was funny, but it does eat up a pretty big chunk of time (25 minutes or more), so if you're on the fence, I'd skip it.

The Mummy is one of my favorite rides in Orlando. It's not a super intense coaster, but it's well themed. (And the line is completely inside and delightfully AC'd!) Definitely don't skip Men in Black either. It's similar to Buzz at MK, but more intense! And if you'd like to beat everyone in your car, make sure you press the red button when Will Smith tells you to.

 

[blabbermouth]

Joining in!! Walmart has some great Disney stuff for cheap. It is awesome. Love that bag. Now I want to go check out my Walmart to see what they have for my trip next year. Yes I will start buying stuff now..haha

Welcome! It's never too soon to start shopping for your next Disney trip.

Mondays are supposed to be good for US. Last year we only went to IOA because we were only interested in the Harry Potter section. I honestly couldn't tell you anything helpful. Leaving the Disney bubble was traumatizing and I blocked it all out.

Good, I'm glad Monday should be relatively quiet. I kind of wanted to see HP Land, but I feel like I've seen a ton of pics and I'm not a huge fan of the books, just a small fan. We thought doing both parks in one day would be too much and also too expensive.

I love Universal! I've actually been there more times than I've been to any of the Disney parks, so I feel like I know those two parks the best.

As far as rides to skip-- do not waste any of your time seeing Twister! The preshow really hypes it up, but all you do is going into a second room and watch some stuff blow around. It's boring and a huge waste of time. If you aren't crazy about audience participation shows, you can probably skip Disaster. I thought it was funny, but it does eat up a pretty big chunk of time (25 minutes or more), so if you're on the fence, I'd skip it.

The Mummy is one of my favorite rides in Orlando. It's not a super intense coaster, but it's well themed. (And the line is completely inside and delightfully AC'd!) Definitely don't skip Men in Black either. It's similar to Buzz at MK, but more intense! And if you'd like to beat everyone in your car, make sure you press the red button when Will Smith tells you to.

Thanks! I will put Twister and Disaster to the bottom of the list and only get to them if we need to. It's funny, it sounds like they could be the same thing.

I really want to do the Mummy, it looks awesome! I didn't realize MIB was like Buzz, so that's cool. And I will definitely use this secret to kick my "friends" butts Plus, I always do what Will Smith tells me to, so...

 

[lvcourtneyy]

I'm glad you didn't accidentally throw the tickets out! It's great that you were able to get them with airmiles.

Good call on taking a cab. With more than 2 people, it does work out to be cheaper than the shuttle. We took a cab in January and it was so easy. We went outside Classic Hall at Pop and the guys there called one for us.

You're right about crowds being smaller on the weekdays. I think you'll be fine on a Monday.

I've never really seen the Simpsons but the plans for the area look awesome for people who are fans.

I'd definitely recommend making sure you ride The Mummy. It's done really well and I was watching a show on one of those Travel channels where they ranked the 10 best coasters and the Mummy made the list! Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit is also a great ride so I'm glad it's on your must do list.

I think the time you spend there will depend on what you want to do. If you just want to hit certain rides, you can definitely be done early. But if you want to see everything and make a full day of it, you definitely can. At night, they do the Universal Cinematic Spectacular show which we caught last time and it was pretty cool. They play clips of a lot of movies and the effects were great.

 

[blabbermouth]

I'm glad you didn't accidentally throw the tickets out! It's great that you were able to get them with airmiles.

Good call on taking a cab. With more than 2 people, it does work out to be cheaper than the shuttle. We took a cab in January and it was so easy. We went outside Classic Hall at Pop and the guys there called one for us.

You're right about crowds being smaller on the weekdays. I think you'll be fine on a Monday.

I've never really seen the Simpsons but the plans for the area look awesome for people who are fans.

I'd definitely recommend making sure you ride The Mummy. It's done really well and I was watching a show on one of those Travel channels where they ranked the 10 best coasters and the Mummy made the list! Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit is also a great ride so I'm glad it's on your must do list.

I think the time you spend there will depend on what you want to do. If you just want to hit certain rides, you can definitely be done early. But if you want to see everything and make a full day of it, you definitely can. At night, they do the Universal Cinematic Spectacular show which we caught last time and it was pretty cool. They play clips of a lot of movies and the effects were great.

Thanks for the advice! We will definitely ride the Mummy Oh, and I didn't even know they had a night time show, haha, I will look it up now.

 

[blabbermouth]

So... I decided to make two ADRs

My group really wants to go to a breakfast buffet, but we couldn't decide which one, and we didn't want to pay so much, so I've convinced them to just go to Kona Cafe for breakfast on our last day! I've heard so many great things about it. DH and I will probably share the Big Kahuna and the press pot coffee.

And to satisfy their buffet desires, but choose a time of day that allows us to pack away enough food to make the expense worth it, we're going to do Biergarten lunch on our main Epcot day! Just tell the guys about the litre-beer and they're in!

I momentarily, when we first booked, thought about upgrading to regular dining plan, but it'd be $250 and you don't really get any more meals, so I figure these two will run us about $100 OOP and it actually gets us more meals, not just more TS.

Also, I was surprised to find that there are still tons of ADRs to be had for both of these restaurants, and many others, even at 45 days out. And also, 45 days out, OMG

So, have any of you eaten at either of these? Any recommendations?

 

[lvcourtneyy]

I never knew about the nighttime show either but when we went in January, my DBF's sister couldn't stop talking about it! I'm glad she told us because it was pretty cool. She and her husband are bigger movie people than I am so they enjoyed it more but it was still awesome.

I've never eaten at either of those restaurants but I've heard great things about both! I can't wait to hear what you think about Biergarten! I wanted to book it for September but didn't fit it in.

AHH I can not believe it's so close!

 

[klacey1]

I haven't eaten at either but am sooo tempted by Kona! We had a breakfast ADR there for our last day, but I thought we'd appreciate sleeping in more than eating breakfast, so I cancelled it. I might try it this year! Something to consider!

 

[blabbermouth]

I never knew about the nighttime show either but when we went in January, my DBF's sister couldn't stop talking about it! I'm glad she told us because it was pretty cool. She and her husband are bigger movie people than I am so they enjoyed it more but it was still awesome.

I've never eaten at either of those restaurants but I've heard great things about both! I can't wait to hear what you think about Biergarten! I wanted to book it for September but didn't fit it in.

AHH I can not believe it's so close!

I know, we'll be there before we know it. Waiting through the summer really isn't too bad because summer is so awesome anyway!

The picky girl actually says she doesn't want to go to Biergarten now, but I think at least DH and I will go. A relaxing lunch with help us stay in the parks longer I think

I haven't eaten at either but am sooo tempted by Kona! We had a breakfast ADR there for our last day, but I thought we'd appreciate sleeping in more than eating breakfast, so I cancelled it. I might try it this year! Something to consider!

It's easy to squeeze in a breakfast. It's also just a monorail away from MK and Epcot, so that makes it a bit easier to get to/from. Sleep is for the weak! I'm always the one who wants to go to bed early at Disney though I will try to work on my stamina this time, haha.

 

[blabbermouth]

I know I was just saying it's great going to Disney in the fall because summer goes by so fast and so the time until Disney goes by super quick. BUT, because summer is so busy, it's hard to fit in my pre-Disney movie watching! We've been doing so many outdoorsy things, and the weather here has been magnificent, so it's hard to stay inside and watch movies, all of my inside time is used on the Dis!

Anyway, we're trying to catch up on all the new Disney movies.

So far we've seen Tangled

and Brave

and Wreck it Ralph

I really want to try and get to Monsters U this week! Maybe Thursday or Friday night. I have to get there before it's not in theatres anymore!

The other new-ish one we want to see is Princess and the Frog. Since their meet and greets seem awesome.

We also want to re-watch a few old favourites: Beauty and the Beast (obviously with NFL!), Aladdin (DH's favourite), and The Emperor's New Groove (I've heard it's hilarious and underrated).

My fave movies currently stand at: Toy Story (all three!) and The Little Mermaid (the first of the 'big four' from my childhood: LM, B&tB, Aladdin and Lion King!)

So I think I have 6 Thursdays until I leave and only five movies on my list, so if anyone has a recommendation, let me know!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

DBF and I are also watching Disney movies to prepare for our trip!

Most recently we watched Pinocchio which I haven't seen in FOREVER.

I still need to see Monsters University as well! Princess and the Frog is on my list also. We've never stopped to meet Tiana and Naveen because we haven't seen the movie so I need to change that.

My sister insists we used to watch The Emperor's New Groove in school all the time but I have no memory of it.

Your list looks great. Beauty and the Beast is definitely an essential for us because of NFL too. Peter Pan is another one I want to add because I really barely remember it and now that we can meet Peter and Wendy, I want to see it again!

 

[blabbermouth]

DBF and I are also watching Disney movies to prepare for our trip!

Most recently we watched Pinocchio which I haven't seen in FOREVER.

I still need to see Monsters University as well! Princess and the Frog is on my list also. We've never stopped to meet Tiana and Naveen because we haven't seen the movie so I need to change that.

My sister insists we used to watch The Emperor's New Groove in school all the time but I have no memory of it.

Your list looks great. Beauty and the Beast is definitely an essential for us because of NFL too. Peter Pan is another one I want to add because I really barely remember it and now that we can meet Peter and Wendy, I want to see it again!

Well I've seen Hook about a bazillion times, so that's close enough to Peter Pan, right?

 

[blabbermouth]

I got my Magical Express paperwork today Do I get some other mail too? I can't remember from last time.

I also picked up this lil notepad in the dollar section at Target. I'm going to write (or print out) park hours, adrs, counter services I want to go to etc. in it and it'll be nice and small for my park bag. I'll also be able to use it for trip report notes!

Isn't it cute? I still haven't seen the movie though, ugh.

I think I'll get Day 3 up after dinner, Epcot day!

 

[blabbermouth]

Future World morning!

Secret: I'm kind of addicted to the Living Seas aquarium! It's SOOOO relaxing. Plus, who doesn't like manatees?

BUT, I won't go there first. First, we'll go to Test Track!

It'll be fun to try the new one even though it's not very different, and the reviews aren't great.

I think I've said it before, but I'm really indifferent towards Soarin'. I think since it's exactly the same at California Adventure, and the line is always long, even with a FP and it's a really boring line, I just don't have the patience to wait for it. I feel like I've seen it enough.

So we'll grab a FP for Test Track while we're there.

Then we'll back track to Spaceship Earth because... we never rode it last time?! What?! We were newbies with people we trusted, haha. I guess I didn't tell them I liked the retro-rides. Also never rode Carousel of Progress, so obviously they're biased!

So after that we'll do Turtle Talk with Crush and The Seas with Nemo ride and chill out watching some sea-life.

See? Look how relaxed I look here.

After that we'll maybe stop for a snack, but who wants Future World snacks? NM, we will starve until World Showcase opens.

We'll go to The Land now to ride Living with the Land, and maybe Soarin' if the others care.

I've never seen the Circle of Life movie, is it worth the time?

I like Figment, so we'll go to Journey Into Imagination next.

I'm afraid of Mission Space, so I think we'll skip that one

This is the day for Biergarten lunch, but I'm planning on making it a bit later in the afternoon. I think we'll also do some form of Drinking Around the World today Probably K and I will share drinks because we're lady-like, haha.

So, when WS opens we'll head over there, this time going counter-clockwise.

We'll start with an 11am margarita and probably a snack, chips and salsa? Churro? Other suggestion?

DH and I kind of love tequila, so we will likely have a plain lime margarita on the rocks with a higher grade tequila instead of the pink or orange slushy kind I will talk DH out of the tequila sampler because we still have a whole day (of drinking) ahead of us.

I'm just reading now that La Cava might not open til 12! Maybe we'll skip ahead to Norway and have a school bread first then.

Ooh, and Norway appears to have special coffees, so maybe we'll make that our first drink and snack, it does seem more appropriate for before noon, and then head back to La Cava at noon. Whilst in Norway, we will pick the troll's nose and ride creepy Maelstrom.

And we'll obviously ride Gran Fiest Tour and explore the market while in Mexico. Maybe we will pick up a thing or two here. I will do a souvenirs-I-want post eventually

In the next update I'll continue around the World Showcase!

Also, PLEASE comment if you're reading, tell me what you think, what you like/don't like, what you had for lunch today... I need readers and commenters to make me feel better about myself

 

[Disneyluvr81]

The Monster's University notebook is too cute!!

Yay for Test Track!! I hope you guys enjoy it...quick tip, they no longer take your picture before you "hit" the wall. It's outside now - so if you have long enough hair it will be all crazy for the picture (or plastered securely over your face)!

Your Epcot day sounds awesome! I agree with you on the Seas it is a great place to hang out and manatees are just too cute!!

You get a big for Biergarten...I'll send pixie dust your way for awesome tablemates!!

 

[Dream426]

YAY for receiving Disney paperwork. I love when it comes in the mail.

 

[klacey1]

I love your notebook! It's nice and compact.

Great Epcot plans! We also love the Living Seas. The aquariums are gorgeous and it's always a nice break out of the sun and heat.

Yum, I am right there with you with the margarita on the rocks!

 

[blabbermouth]

The Monster's University notebook is too cute!!

Yay for Test Track!! I hope you guys enjoy it...quick tip, they no longer take your picture before you "hit" the wall. It's outside now - so if you have long enough hair it will be all crazy for the picture (or plastered securely over your face)!

Your Epcot day sounds awesome! I agree with you on the Seas it is a great place to hang out and manatees are just too cute!!

You get a big for Biergarten...I'll send pixie dust your way for awesome tablemates!!

Thanks I usually wear my hair back since it's so hot, but I'll keep that in mind for my posing, haha. Yay, biergarten! I don't particularly care about my tablemates. I don't mind being ignored, but if they're friendly, so are we.

YAY for receiving Disney paperwork. I love when it comes in the mail.

Yeah, and it was especially exciting because I guess it was delivered after DH got home, but before I did, and the delivery person didn't knock? So I got to discover it myself, haha.

I love your notebook! It's nice and compact.

Great Epcot plans! We also love the Living Seas. The aquariums are gorgeous and it's always a nice break out of the sun and heat.

Yum, I am right there with you with the margarita on the rocks!

Yes, the perfect tiny Disney notebook! Yay, sea animals and margaritas I'm not a big fan of Sea World etc., but I like this aquarium much better.