ProudMommyof2
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Signing on! Your pics are amazing! I have only gotten thru page 3 but I wanted to let you know I am here and loving it!
Clearskies photographic Journey to the World and Beyond - 8 theme parks & much more
- Thread starter clearskies
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TanzUnited99
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Sounds like another great day - that simulated earthquake sounds good! 
Love ET and The Simpsons so both these rides sound appealing.
Love ET and The Simpsons so both these rides sound appealing.
clearskies
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Thank you April. I am with you, the Simpsons is a great ride but next time I think I will grab some dramamine before venturing on.
I definitely need another go at that ET ride again just to have some redemption at getting better pictures. I did not realize the ride took you to ET's home planet. The difference in atmosphere on that planet must have made it the conditions to be non-conducive for photography
Thank you for coming by and your kind comments 
Hi Tanz. It was a good day. After seeing both parks I prefer IOA but I think both parks were better than I anticipated and I am glad we make the time to visit them finally.Sounds like another great day - that simulated earthquake sounds good!
Love ET and The Simpsons so both these rides sound appealing.
Disaster was a very good attraction. I was most impressed with the use of the Hologram vs the earthquake though. We also loved the clip they show at the end. It was very entertaining.
If you Love ET then this ride is for you. It all about those little guys. The Simspons ride will definitely appeal to fans as well.
clearskies
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In 4 prior trips with my family we had somehow never made our way over to the Epcot resort area. I am not really sure why this was never on our agenda before but I was determined to cross this off my list of areas to experience this time around. So when I planned our 2010 trip I made sure that I allocated one night where we could eat at one of the EPCOT resorts and then have some time alloted to explore the sights around Crescent Lake. I also wanted to plan Dinner with enough time to spare so that as I was walking around I could see some of Illuminations from a distance. I ended up choosing the Cape May Cafe at the Beach Club for our destination since my SIL had dined there in 2009 and they truly loved it. So, I reserved an ADR for the 8 of us for the "Clam Bake". Note that there are not really any baked clams to be found (to my knowledge) so perhaps the "Clam Steam" would maybe be more appropriate but it doesn't quite sound as good does it? Personally, I am not the biggest seafood eater but my wife and kids love clams and other seafood so I figured we probably could not go wrong.
I drove my family straight to the Beach Club from Universal. My SIL's family had left Universal earlier than us and had went back to ASMo first. They decided to take the bus to MGM and then the boat across to the Beach club to meet us. Seemed like an awfully long journey to me when you have a car but to each his own. Though I admittedly can see some appeal in the boat portion of the venture if the weather is nice and you do have the time to spare.
When we arrived at the Beach Club Resort we admired the beauty of the resort as we made our way to the main building and into the lobby. Even though the interior was very nice I did not find it as inspiring to photograph so I headed outside for a picture while waiting to be paged. Here is a view from the beach looking across the lake to the Boardwalk. It was a gorgeous view.
Soon my cell rang and my wife was beckoning me to come back in since we were being paged for Dinner. We got seated and then the seafood fest soon began. Oh my, I never thought that 4 small kids could put away so many clams. They kept grabbing bucket after bucket of the clams and they mowed though them at an amazing pace. I did eat a few myself and they were not bad. There were other seafood selections as well that the adults ate. Let's see, I belive there were mussels and crab legs and some type of fried fish filet (which I didn't try). There was probably more but it's been too long and my memory is gettting foggy. Also note that there was plenty to eat for the non-seafood eaters as well. They had BBQ ribs, some sliced meat that I think was flank steak (again too long ago to recall), pork loin and roasted chicken as some of the selections. Overall, I thought the food was very good. The rest of the family absolutely LOVED it. This definitely is going to be a repeat request from my family for future trips.
After dinner our families headed out to the beach to look around. It was a little after 8PM at the time and the sky was starting to take on a wonderful hue that it will treat you with just before it gets dark.
I intended to make my way around the entire lake. The rest of my party decided though that they were tired and that they were going to head back to the resort. I was hoping to convince some of them to stay but they all wanted to head back. This turned out to be a huge mistake on their part for a couple of reasons that I will get into in a minute. Instead my wife and kids went off with my SIL's family to take the boat and then the bus back to the resort. I was left alone again with my rental car to transport me back later.
I headed off in a counter clockwise direction from the Beach Club and I took a few more pictures along the way.
I decided that I would attempt to capture Illuminations from across the other side of lake outside the Yacht Club. I figured I would try to position the lighthouse in the forefront with the fireworks behind it. So, I stopped along the marina outside the Yacht Club. Since I had never been here before I had no idea where the fireworks would pop up so I made my way over to 2 CMs who were standing nearby talking to each other and I asked them where in the distance that the the fireworks would be showing up. The first CM pointed me over in the right direction on the other side of the lake. I thanked them and walked away. I then set up my tripod by the railing and since I still had about 20 min before the show was to start, I walked over to a bench and I sat to relax for a spell.
A few minutes passed by and then the second CM that was standing when I asked about the locations of the fireworks walked over to me and asked me if I wanted a really good location to photograph the show. Is that a trick question? Shoot, Darn tootin I do. So he said to follow him and I walked over to pack up my gear and headed behind him not really having any idea where he was taking me. Soon he was leading me on the docks and as we were walking he was telling me that this will be the best view of Illuminations that you can find. It then finally dawned on me that he was taking me over to a boat. For a second a thought popped up in my head to tell him "no thank you" since I usually prefer to take fireworks pictures with a longer exposure and you really can not take a long exposure picture from a boat since it moves around a lot. Then, thank goodness, my common sense finally made a rare appearance and it popped into my head and said, "are you insanse. who cares about a bloody tripod picture of the fireworks, you are about to get a free Illuminations cruise. Shut your trap, get in and enjoy the ride." Thus, we soon set off on my own personal solo boat to enjoy my favorite nighttime entertainment in Disney. No, let me correct that. It is actually my favorite nighttime entertainment anywhere.
As we cruised along to our position we talked and I found that he was from New Jersey as well. We had a good talk and we discussed the circumstances that brought him to Disney and how much he enjoyed living in Florida. He was an extremely nice person. I am going to refrain from giving out his name since I am am not sure if Disney endorses giving away free personal Illuminations cruises. Once we got the the bridge we pulled into a spot besides 2 other boats. The other boats had larger groups than the passenger list of one on our boat and the other captains joked with mine a bit about it. Let me tell you it was so peaceful having a great view yet being isolated from the crowds waiting to see the show. My only misgivings was that I did not have my family to share the experience. Speaking of my family, as we were waiting for the show to start my wife called my cell. She asked where was I. I told her she would not believe me. Apparently they thought they could take a boat to EPCOT and the bus back from there. Ugh, I assumed they knew what they were doing since they came from DHS and I though they were headed back there. Had I know I would have enlightened them before they left. So, they had just returned to the Beach Club from their trip to Nowhere and she figured she was going to join up with me. I told here that was not going to happen unless they could swim awfully fast. So after I explained where I was and after she picked herself off the floor she decided to head back by boat to the correct Park to catch a bus and I would meet them later.
Ok, before I get to the show, let me explain that although my captain indicated that this is the best view of Illuminations that you can find I actually hate to say it but I don't think that is the case. You'll see in front of us to the left as well as to the right a couple of minor obstructions to the view. There is a tree on the right and a group of people ahead on the left. I will show you pictures later on in the trip from within the park where there is an fully unobstructed view. If you want a good view though that comes without the hassle of crowds and is amazingly peaceful then this is the way to fly. Also, as I mentioned earlier, I don't think you can get a good picture of fireworks with a good long stream without a longer exposure and a tripod and that was not going to happen on the boat. However, when shooting the globe, you may want a faster exposure so I only missed my tripod for the fireworks portions and even at that I got some decent pictures without it anyway. Ok, now "we go on..."
What a fabulous show!!! After it finished I was taken for a brief tour inside the world showcase lagoon before we headed back. I thanked my captain profusely and he just asked that I send him some pictures when I got back and he gave me a card. When we reached the dock I checked my wallet and I all I had was $60 so I took out all the money and gave it to him as a tip and I thanked him again and I went on my way on cloud 9. Note that after I got home I sent him pictures from both the cruise as well as from the park and he loved both perspectives.
Before "we go on" I have a couple of final words on the cruise. I had treated our families to a Wishes cruise in 2009. After this Illuminations pixie dust I now had been lucky enough to experience both cruises. So, now the big question. Which did I prefer? Note that we experienced the wishes cruise in the rain so I am trying to factor that out and I am comparing based on if there were comparable weather. I am also trying to factor out the case that I was able to share the experience with my family on the wishes cruise vs a solo experience on Illuminations. So the verdict is................the Wishes Cruise. I am surprised to say this since Illuminations is my favorite show but I actually think from a cruise perspective that the wishes cruise was a better overall experience. The reason I am going with the wishes cruise is that I think it provided a more unique viewpoint of the show compared to the Illuminations cruise viewpoint. I also enjoyed a close up view of the Electrical Water Parade from the boat after the end of Wishes. Don't get me wrong though I loved the Illuminations cruise and I am sooo grateful to have had the experience.
continued in the next post.....
I drove my family straight to the Beach Club from Universal. My SIL's family had left Universal earlier than us and had went back to ASMo first. They decided to take the bus to MGM and then the boat across to the Beach club to meet us. Seemed like an awfully long journey to me when you have a car but to each his own. Though I admittedly can see some appeal in the boat portion of the venture if the weather is nice and you do have the time to spare.
When we arrived at the Beach Club Resort we admired the beauty of the resort as we made our way to the main building and into the lobby. Even though the interior was very nice I did not find it as inspiring to photograph so I headed outside for a picture while waiting to be paged. Here is a view from the beach looking across the lake to the Boardwalk. It was a gorgeous view.
Soon my cell rang and my wife was beckoning me to come back in since we were being paged for Dinner. We got seated and then the seafood fest soon began. Oh my, I never thought that 4 small kids could put away so many clams. They kept grabbing bucket after bucket of the clams and they mowed though them at an amazing pace. I did eat a few myself and they were not bad. There were other seafood selections as well that the adults ate. Let's see, I belive there were mussels and crab legs and some type of fried fish filet (which I didn't try). There was probably more but it's been too long and my memory is gettting foggy. Also note that there was plenty to eat for the non-seafood eaters as well. They had BBQ ribs, some sliced meat that I think was flank steak (again too long ago to recall), pork loin and roasted chicken as some of the selections. Overall, I thought the food was very good. The rest of the family absolutely LOVED it. This definitely is going to be a repeat request from my family for future trips.
After dinner our families headed out to the beach to look around. It was a little after 8PM at the time and the sky was starting to take on a wonderful hue that it will treat you with just before it gets dark.
I intended to make my way around the entire lake. The rest of my party decided though that they were tired and that they were going to head back to the resort. I was hoping to convince some of them to stay but they all wanted to head back. This turned out to be a huge mistake on their part for a couple of reasons that I will get into in a minute. Instead my wife and kids went off with my SIL's family to take the boat and then the bus back to the resort. I was left alone again with my rental car to transport me back later.
I headed off in a counter clockwise direction from the Beach Club and I took a few more pictures along the way.
I decided that I would attempt to capture Illuminations from across the other side of lake outside the Yacht Club. I figured I would try to position the lighthouse in the forefront with the fireworks behind it. So, I stopped along the marina outside the Yacht Club. Since I had never been here before I had no idea where the fireworks would pop up so I made my way over to 2 CMs who were standing nearby talking to each other and I asked them where in the distance that the the fireworks would be showing up. The first CM pointed me over in the right direction on the other side of the lake. I thanked them and walked away. I then set up my tripod by the railing and since I still had about 20 min before the show was to start, I walked over to a bench and I sat to relax for a spell.
A few minutes passed by and then the second CM that was standing when I asked about the locations of the fireworks walked over to me and asked me if I wanted a really good location to photograph the show. Is that a trick question? Shoot, Darn tootin I do. So he said to follow him and I walked over to pack up my gear and headed behind him not really having any idea where he was taking me. Soon he was leading me on the docks and as we were walking he was telling me that this will be the best view of Illuminations that you can find. It then finally dawned on me that he was taking me over to a boat. For a second a thought popped up in my head to tell him "no thank you" since I usually prefer to take fireworks pictures with a longer exposure and you really can not take a long exposure picture from a boat since it moves around a lot. Then, thank goodness, my common sense finally made a rare appearance and it popped into my head and said, "are you insanse. who cares about a bloody tripod picture of the fireworks, you are about to get a free Illuminations cruise. Shut your trap, get in and enjoy the ride." Thus, we soon set off on my own personal solo boat to enjoy my favorite nighttime entertainment in Disney. No, let me correct that. It is actually my favorite nighttime entertainment anywhere.
As we cruised along to our position we talked and I found that he was from New Jersey as well. We had a good talk and we discussed the circumstances that brought him to Disney and how much he enjoyed living in Florida. He was an extremely nice person. I am going to refrain from giving out his name since I am am not sure if Disney endorses giving away free personal Illuminations cruises. Once we got the the bridge we pulled into a spot besides 2 other boats. The other boats had larger groups than the passenger list of one on our boat and the other captains joked with mine a bit about it. Let me tell you it was so peaceful having a great view yet being isolated from the crowds waiting to see the show. My only misgivings was that I did not have my family to share the experience. Speaking of my family, as we were waiting for the show to start my wife called my cell. She asked where was I. I told her she would not believe me. Apparently they thought they could take a boat to EPCOT and the bus back from there. Ugh, I assumed they knew what they were doing since they came from DHS and I though they were headed back there. Had I know I would have enlightened them before they left. So, they had just returned to the Beach Club from their trip to Nowhere and she figured she was going to join up with me. I told here that was not going to happen unless they could swim awfully fast. So after I explained where I was and after she picked herself off the floor she decided to head back by boat to the correct Park to catch a bus and I would meet them later.
Ok, before I get to the show, let me explain that although my captain indicated that this is the best view of Illuminations that you can find I actually hate to say it but I don't think that is the case. You'll see in front of us to the left as well as to the right a couple of minor obstructions to the view. There is a tree on the right and a group of people ahead on the left. I will show you pictures later on in the trip from within the park where there is an fully unobstructed view. If you want a good view though that comes without the hassle of crowds and is amazingly peaceful then this is the way to fly. Also, as I mentioned earlier, I don't think you can get a good picture of fireworks with a good long stream without a longer exposure and a tripod and that was not going to happen on the boat. However, when shooting the globe, you may want a faster exposure so I only missed my tripod for the fireworks portions and even at that I got some decent pictures without it anyway. Ok, now "we go on..."
What a fabulous show!!! After it finished I was taken for a brief tour inside the world showcase lagoon before we headed back. I thanked my captain profusely and he just asked that I send him some pictures when I got back and he gave me a card. When we reached the dock I checked my wallet and I all I had was $60 so I took out all the money and gave it to him as a tip and I thanked him again and I went on my way on cloud 9. Note that after I got home I sent him pictures from both the cruise as well as from the park and he loved both perspectives.
Before "we go on" I have a couple of final words on the cruise. I had treated our families to a Wishes cruise in 2009. After this Illuminations pixie dust I now had been lucky enough to experience both cruises. So, now the big question. Which did I prefer? Note that we experienced the wishes cruise in the rain so I am trying to factor that out and I am comparing based on if there were comparable weather. I am also trying to factor out the case that I was able to share the experience with my family on the wishes cruise vs a solo experience on Illuminations. So the verdict is................the Wishes Cruise. I am surprised to say this since Illuminations is my favorite show but I actually think from a cruise perspective that the wishes cruise was a better overall experience. The reason I am going with the wishes cruise is that I think it provided a more unique viewpoint of the show compared to the Illuminations cruise viewpoint. I also enjoyed a close up view of the Electrical Water Parade from the boat after the end of Wishes. Don't get me wrong though I loved the Illuminations cruise and I am sooo grateful to have had the experience.
continued in the next post.....
clearskies
DIS Veteran
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After moving on I decided I was still going to complete my circuit around Crescent Lake so I headed to the Boardwalk area next. I just loved the atmosphere of the Boardwalk.
As I was walking along for a while I started to hear some noises and at first I thought it was Thunder. Seemed odd though and I then looked over and I saw fireworks. I was confused for a bit and then it dawned on me that it was Wishes I was seeing. I had no idea that you could see Wishes from the boardwalk area. What an additional treat. Fortunately Wishes was at 10PM this night and now I could experience it from afar. I switched over to my 300 mm lens and I took some pictures across the lake.
After the show I was continued my trek and took a few more pictures before heading out.
one last picture of the boardwalk area....
Stormalong Bay
One last picture of the Beach Club...
I then headed back to my PT cruiser to get back to the resort. Thus ended my incredible unforgettable night. It really does not get any better than this. It is experiences like this that reinforce the magic and keep me coming back to Disney.
As I was walking along for a while I started to hear some noises and at first I thought it was Thunder. Seemed odd though and I then looked over and I saw fireworks. I was confused for a bit and then it dawned on me that it was Wishes I was seeing. I had no idea that you could see Wishes from the boardwalk area. What an additional treat. Fortunately Wishes was at 10PM this night and now I could experience it from afar. I switched over to my 300 mm lens and I took some pictures across the lake.
After the show I was continued my trek and took a few more pictures before heading out.
one last picture of the boardwalk area....
Stormalong Bay
One last picture of the Beach Club...
I then headed back to my PT cruiser to get back to the resort. Thus ended my incredible unforgettable night. It really does not get any better than this. It is experiences like this that reinforce the magic and keep me coming back to Disney.
TanzUnited99
DIS Veteran
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Wow what a magical evening - first seeing Illuminations on a private cruise and then being able to picture Wishes from Boardwalk - how cool! 
I'm looking forward to visiting the Beach Club resort and walking along Boardwalk in the evening - it looks like a great place
I'm looking forward to visiting the Beach Club resort and walking along Boardwalk in the evening - it looks like a great place
clearskies
DIS Veteran
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It truly was magical Tanz. If you plan a night to walk around the Boardwalk, look for one where Wishes is at 10PM. Then you can enjoy the Illuminations at 9PM and see Wishes an hour later.Wow what a magical evening - first seeing Illuminations on a private cruise and then being able to picture Wishes from Boardwalk - how cool!
I'm looking forward to visiting the Beach Club resort and walking along Boardwalk in the evening - it looks like a great place
MNTwinsMom
Mouseketeer
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Popping in to say I'm enjoying every update! Amazing photos from your evening in the Epcot resort area. We haven't spent any time in that area on our last 2 trips, so I need to make it a priority for the next trip.
So after spending a couple days at Universal and IOA, do you think you could do the "highlights" in one day in the slow season? DH and I did both parks in one day on a pre-kids trip, but that was before WWOHP.
I know my kids will love WWOHP and the Marvel attractions at IOA, but I'm not sure what they'll "get" at Universal. What would you consider the top attractions at both parks?
Thanks again for sharing your incredible photographs and detail trip report.
So after spending a couple days at Universal and IOA, do you think you could do the "highlights" in one day in the slow season? DH and I did both parks in one day on a pre-kids trip, but that was before WWOHP.
I know my kids will love WWOHP and the Marvel attractions at IOA, but I'm not sure what they'll "get" at Universal. What would you consider the top attractions at both parks?
Thanks again for sharing your incredible photographs and detail trip report.
KYCruiseCrazy
<font color=blue>I'll be drooling and dreaming<br>
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I'm posting now to join. Time to read!!! Great photo's from your 2009 trip. I can't wait to see this TR!!!!!!!
Thanks,
John
Thanks,
John
mickeystoontown
DIS Legend
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- 29,327
Sorry I haven't posted in a while but I've been reading along. While I have never been given such a treat as a free Illuminations cruise, I have to agree that these sorts of gestures are what keep me going back to Disney. Having said that......the pictures of the Boardwalk and the ones you took from the boat are absolutely beautiful! What a magical night!
clearskies
DIS Veteran
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Thank you PattiMore more more! I love your photos and the info in your trip report is great! We are going in July and have not been there since 2007! So. All the info about wwohp is much appreciated!
I have more of WWOHP coming up next whenever I can get to posting my next installment this week. I am buried in other commitments at the moment and my shovel is not working quick enough to dig me out. Unfortunately my TR is at a stall until I can get more traction
Thank you. The positive feedback helps. It is good to know that people are enjoying the updates. I don't know why I never made the EPCOT resort area a destination before but I have seen the error in my ways and will definitely need to explore this area again. I loved it.
Since this was our first visit to Universal I am far from being an expert but I think it is possible to hit highlights on both parks in one day but...
1. I think it definitely needs to be a slow season
2. You would need to do some good planning (seems like you are on board with that) and you will need to limit the highlights
3. You won't be able to sidetrack yourselves too long to enjoy the incredible themeing at WWoHP as well as other areas.
4. You definitely would want to avoid some of the slower loading kids rids such as the Pteranodon Flyers in Lost continent and One Fish, Two Fish...in Seuss Landing.
5. It will be a LOT of walking.
6. Get to the parks early at or before opening
7. Make lunch a quicker counter Service type lunch instead of a Sit Down and you can make the meal stops even quicker if you eat a little bit off from the main lunch rush times.
I am not sure how old your kids are and how adventurous they are with some of the bigger thrill rides. My kids were 10 and 12 at the time but they are moderate thrill seekers and not up for the Rip Ride Rockit type rides.
I'll give you the Top 5 attractions from each park from my family's perspective.
IOA
1. Spiderman
2. Forbidden Journey
3. Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rate Barges (depends on whether you are there when warm)
4. Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls (also depends on if warm)
5. Cat in the Hat
Universal Studios
1. Revenge of the Mummy
2. MIB
3. Simpsons (not good if they get motion sick though)
4. Shrek
5. The Horror Make Up Show was also a lot of fun for my kids
Thank you John. Welcome aboard!!!I'm posting now to join. Time to read!!! Great photo's from your 2009 trip. I can't wait to see this TR!!!!!!!
Thanks,
John
Please, no apologies needed Lisa. I am struggling mightily with keeping up on my own TR as well as other TRs with so much going on myself.
We have been very fortunate to have had our share of Pixie Dust thrown our way at Disney. The Illuminations Cruise was not even the biggest perk we received. They do a great job at adding magic to your experience. Even if it is little things. You certainly can not expect these things to happen but they can really enhance an already memorable trip.
Thank you for you comments on the pictures. They are some of my favorites from the trip.
clearskies
DIS Veteran
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We have reached Day 7 of our Trip. Thank you for sticking with me! Today we are headed back to Islands of Adventure for an encore performance. If you recall, my Wizarding World tour got cut a bit short on our first visit so I planned to see a lot more of the area this day. On this day, our travelling partners included my Sister's family as well as my SIL's family. Since both sides were fans, I was comfortable that we would not be rushed through the area. As usual, I woke up before the rest of the family (because sleep is overrated to me when I am on vacation). I left the family sleeping in the room and headed to the food court to grab some breakfast for all of us. I only took only one picture along the way and that was of my friend Mickey.
When I got back from the food court I got my family to get up and eat and then get mobilized. We were still leery of the crowds at IOA so we arranged with my sister to meet at about 8:30AM at the park. Note that the park was supposed to open at 9AM. Since they were letting people in early on our last visit we were hoping for a similar treatment this day.
We ended up arriving at about the same time as my sister's family and we got to the turnstiles at about 8:35AM. This time though they were not letting people in (except for the early entry hotel guests). The line was not too long when we got there though so we were about 20 people back in our line. At about 8:45 AM they started letting us in and we followed all the people in front of us as we ALL made a beeline for Wizarding World through Seuss Landing. Well, a few people splintered off to other areas of the park and they must have had the whole area to themselves for a good while. As was the case in our prior visit, our first stop when we got into Wizarding World was the castle to ride the Forbidden Journey. We decided we were not going to tackle the Ollivanders line this trip. My kids were not particularly interested in getting wands and I could not see waiting on line to see Mr Ollivander's show to select one of the crowd to have the wand choose them. Besides, it would only be trouble if by chance he chose one of our kids since the others would then feel left out.
Being seasoned experts now, when we got to the Forbidden Journey line we avoided the lockers and planned to do the bag swap tango again. The line wait posted outside the castle indicated 20 min but it did not take that long. We rode once and this go around just re-inforced that this is just an awesome ride! I was also a bit wiser though this time and I took some dramamine in the AM before we left the resort to help with the motion effects. I could still feel some of it but it was not as bad. When we were done, our companions wanted another go and since the wait time posted was only a little longer we all agreed for another ride.
For those of you scared of the crowds at forbidden journey, I took this picture at about 10AM after we had finished up our second ride. As you can see there are indeed a lot of people milling around but the wait for FJ was only 30 min. We were not there at the peak season though. This was on 8/31.
What now follows is a cavalcade of pictures as we explored the rest of Wizarding World. We spent around 3 hours in the area including lunch. Buckle in because I am going to show you a ton of pictures of one of the best themed park areas you will find.
First we saw that the Flight of the Hippogriff wait was only 5 min so we got on line to see our friend buckbeak again.
Next we headed back to the Hogsmead section
I recommend that you head into Dervish and Banges even if you don't want to wait on line for the Ollivander experience. There is a much shorter line in the back to get into the store. This may be the first time that I waited on line just to get into a store but the wait was only a few min and there is a lot to look at in the store so it is worth it.
Look at the little touches they did with the Owls. They even put owl poop on the perches. Great attention to detail!
The latest issue of the Quibbler with Spectrespecs!
I loved the Monster book of Monsters. It moved around in a cage. It was a lot of fun to watch
continued in the next post.......
When I got back from the food court I got my family to get up and eat and then get mobilized. We were still leery of the crowds at IOA so we arranged with my sister to meet at about 8:30AM at the park. Note that the park was supposed to open at 9AM. Since they were letting people in early on our last visit we were hoping for a similar treatment this day.
We ended up arriving at about the same time as my sister's family and we got to the turnstiles at about 8:35AM. This time though they were not letting people in (except for the early entry hotel guests). The line was not too long when we got there though so we were about 20 people back in our line. At about 8:45 AM they started letting us in and we followed all the people in front of us as we ALL made a beeline for Wizarding World through Seuss Landing. Well, a few people splintered off to other areas of the park and they must have had the whole area to themselves for a good while. As was the case in our prior visit, our first stop when we got into Wizarding World was the castle to ride the Forbidden Journey. We decided we were not going to tackle the Ollivanders line this trip. My kids were not particularly interested in getting wands and I could not see waiting on line to see Mr Ollivander's show to select one of the crowd to have the wand choose them. Besides, it would only be trouble if by chance he chose one of our kids since the others would then feel left out.
Being seasoned experts now, when we got to the Forbidden Journey line we avoided the lockers and planned to do the bag swap tango again. The line wait posted outside the castle indicated 20 min but it did not take that long. We rode once and this go around just re-inforced that this is just an awesome ride! I was also a bit wiser though this time and I took some dramamine in the AM before we left the resort to help with the motion effects. I could still feel some of it but it was not as bad. When we were done, our companions wanted another go and since the wait time posted was only a little longer we all agreed for another ride.
For those of you scared of the crowds at forbidden journey, I took this picture at about 10AM after we had finished up our second ride. As you can see there are indeed a lot of people milling around but the wait for FJ was only 30 min. We were not there at the peak season though. This was on 8/31.
What now follows is a cavalcade of pictures as we explored the rest of Wizarding World. We spent around 3 hours in the area including lunch. Buckle in because I am going to show you a ton of pictures of one of the best themed park areas you will find.
First we saw that the Flight of the Hippogriff wait was only 5 min so we got on line to see our friend buckbeak again.
Next we headed back to the Hogsmead section
I recommend that you head into Dervish and Banges even if you don't want to wait on line for the Ollivander experience. There is a much shorter line in the back to get into the store. This may be the first time that I waited on line just to get into a store but the wait was only a few min and there is a lot to look at in the store so it is worth it.
Look at the little touches they did with the Owls. They even put owl poop on the perches. Great attention to detail!
The latest issue of the Quibbler with Spectrespecs!
I loved the Monster book of Monsters. It moved around in a cage. It was a lot of fun to watch
continued in the next post.......
clearskies
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2007
- Messages
- 666
We are still in Dervish and Banges. They had some wrapped packages that you could see in an upper balcony area in the store.
Nice touch with the wrapped up broom.
This was in the balcony section as well
You probably can not read the jugs but they had:
Stewed Mandrake - 15 Sickles per ounce
Flobberworm Mucous - 5 Sickles per pint
Bundimun Ooze - 19 Sickles per pint
Boy they really fleece you with those theme park prices
Outside the D&B store...
This was just a store window display. There was no store to enter. Perhaps the owners were on vacation.
We'll be eating here later...
inside Honeydukes....
continued in the next post......
Nice touch with the wrapped up broom.
This was in the balcony section as well
You probably can not read the jugs but they had:
Stewed Mandrake - 15 Sickles per ounce
Flobberworm Mucous - 5 Sickles per pint
Bundimun Ooze - 19 Sickles per pint
Boy they really fleece you with those theme park prices
Outside the D&B store...
This was just a store window display. There was no store to enter. Perhaps the owners were on vacation.
We'll be eating here later...
inside Honeydukes....
continued in the next post......
clearskies
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2007
- Messages
- 666
Zonkos ...
Hogwarts Express
The kids wanted to visit Buckbeak one more time...sure...why not...
ok, I have a funny story. At this point we were outside of the Flight of the Hippogriff ride and there was a cart outside the ride which had wands for sale for those that did not want to deal with the lines at Ollivanders or the D&B store. So we are walking by this wand cart when all of the sudden money is flying through the air. We are talking large bills and lots of it. So after the initial shock people realized that it must have flown out of the pocket of someone on the Flight of the Hippogriff ride and I really must give the people there a lot of credit since from what I saw everyone that was picking up the money was handing it over to a TM at the wand cart so that they could give it to the rightful owner. Anyway, this is not the funny part. What was funny is that as this is going on a man is standing at the wand cart waving one of the wands saying "these things really work, they really work!!"
Everyone who heard this had a good laugh.
ok, next we headed into Filch's emporium to look around
some of the confiscated goods that Filch had collected...
continued in the next post......
Hogwarts Express
The kids wanted to visit Buckbeak one more time...sure...why not...
ok, I have a funny story. At this point we were outside of the Flight of the Hippogriff ride and there was a cart outside the ride which had wands for sale for those that did not want to deal with the lines at Ollivanders or the D&B store. So we are walking by this wand cart when all of the sudden money is flying through the air. We are talking large bills and lots of it. So after the initial shock people realized that it must have flown out of the pocket of someone on the Flight of the Hippogriff ride and I really must give the people there a lot of credit since from what I saw everyone that was picking up the money was handing it over to a TM at the wand cart so that they could give it to the rightful owner. Anyway, this is not the funny part. What was funny is that as this is going on a man is standing at the wand cart waving one of the wands saying "these things really work, they really work!!"
Everyone who heard this had a good laugh.
ok, next we headed into Filch's emporium to look around
some of the confiscated goods that Filch had collected...
continued in the next post......
clearskies
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2007
- Messages
- 666
We are still in Filch's Emporium...
Deatheater masks...
This was fun to look at. They had a Marauder's map on display. It is tough to see but if you look in the middle of the map you will see little footsteps that appear and disappear as it walks around the map.
Note that they also sold the marauder maps but they were just a piece of paper without the magical footsteps and they were $50!!!
There better be some other kind of magic going on for me to want to spend $50 on a piece of paper.
We are outside of Filch's now...
Another great example of the attention to detail....
We caught the tail end of the frog choir...
this was entertaining. I wish we saw it from the beginning.
more pictures of me rambling around....
continued in the next post......
Deatheater masks...
This was fun to look at. They had a Marauder's map on display. It is tough to see but if you look in the middle of the map you will see little footsteps that appear and disappear as it walks around the map.
Note that they also sold the marauder maps but they were just a piece of paper without the magical footsteps and they were $50!!!
There better be some other kind of magic going on for me to want to spend $50 on a piece of paper.
We are outside of Filch's now...
Another great example of the attention to detail....
We caught the tail end of the frog choir...
this was entertaining. I wish we saw it from the beginning.
more pictures of me rambling around....
continued in the next post......
clearskies
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2007
- Messages
- 666
We headed back into Zonko's since my daughter and my niece wanted pygmy puffs. So, I went in with them to purchase them each a new pet. When you bring your new critter to the register they have you name the pygmy puff there and they will ring a bell and announce throughout the store the name of your new little creature. I have a zillion pictures of our adventures in the WW but sadly, I don't have a picture of this.
We headed into the three broomsticks for lunch. We got a table in the Hogs head section.
Whew...that's it for our in depth tour of Wizarding World. I sure threw a heck of a lot of pictures at you..hope that was not overload.
coming up in my next installment we will re-visit the other areas of the park....
We headed into the three broomsticks for lunch. We got a table in the Hogs head section.
Whew...that's it for our in depth tour of Wizarding World. I sure threw a heck of a lot of pictures at you..hope that was not overload.
coming up in my next installment we will re-visit the other areas of the park....
TanzUnited99
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2010
- Messages
- 3,942
Thanks for sharing all the pics of WWoHP - loved seeing them all! Haven't seen some of them before like the scary monster book and the timetable of Hogwart's express!
I also like the map with the walking steps - they sure put a lot of detail into everything such as the owls etc. Lol at that story about the money and the guy saying the wands actually work!!
Also I love that picture of Mickey at the start of your post - do you think it counts as a hidden Mickey?!
Haven't seen some of them before like the scary monster book and the timetable of Hogwart's express!I also like the map with the walking steps - they sure put a lot of detail into everything such as the owls etc. Lol at that story about the money and the guy saying the wands actually work!!
Also I love that picture of Mickey at the start of your post - do you think it counts as a hidden Mickey?!
MNTwinsMom
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2009
- Messages
- 361
No worries about overload - I LOVED all the HP pictures! 
Thanks for the amazing tour of the details of the area. Pygmy puffs, sneakoscope, remembrall, the Monster Book of Monsters, the Quibbler . . . so much to discover. And I'm guessing it's similar to WDW in that most people just hustle right by the amazing theming on their way to the next "ride".
My boys will love Hagrid's Hut and Buckbeak. I hope if/when they add on to WWOHP they build the Burrow - it's my favorite place in the books. I just love the Weasley family.
Thanks for the amazing tour of the details of the area. Pygmy puffs, sneakoscope, remembrall, the Monster Book of Monsters, the Quibbler . . . so much to discover. And I'm guessing it's similar to WDW in that most people just hustle right by the amazing theming on their way to the next "ride".
My boys will love Hagrid's Hut and Buckbeak. I hope if/when they add on to WWOHP they build the Burrow - it's my favorite place in the books. I just love the Weasley family.
tdainsberg
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2006
- Messages
- 31
Your photos are phenomenal! Do you use a tripod for all your photos to get such crisp pictures, or is your camera just that good?
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