Clearskies photographic Journey to the World and Beyond - 8 theme parks & much more

[Patti B]

Awesome! One question: are the monster book of monsters, Buckbeak or the owls animatronic or do they just sit there?

 

[clearskies]

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!!

Thank you Tanz. There was so much to see in WWoHP I am sure on my next visit that I will find things that I did not see on my prior visit. They did such an outstanding job with little details throughout the area. Things they did such as the Owl poop and creating shops so that they look like they are old and weathered instead of recently built show that they put a whole lot of thought into building this area so that it would look realistic. The Monster Book of Monsters was one of the highlights of the shops.

The magical money wand was too funny. Well, perhaps not for the owner of the money but I would like to think that he got all his money back.

Also I love that picture of Mickey at the start of your post - do you think it counts as a hidden Mickey?!

I guess that is an attempt on my part of creating a pseudo-hidden mickey.

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.

I am glad to share the pictures for others to enjoy. I loved the entire area and I am not an Ultra-fan. There is so much for fans to enjoy here beyond the rides. I think though that even non-fans should appreciate the incredible job they did designing the land. Sure, not to the same degree as those that have read the books and/or watched the movies but boy the area is just a feast for the eyes. Based on the amount of people in the stores, there were a fair amount of people stopping to enjoy the extras beyond the rides. Certainly there are those that just come for the rides and move on but they are missing out.

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.

I hope you and your boys have a great time!!! Hagrids Hut was a lot of fun to see but it would be even better if the would modify it in the future so that you could walk through it and see inside. Oh, I did not think of adding the Burrow to the area somewhere. That would be awesome!

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?

Thank you very much
Well, I did use a tripod but only for shots at night. I did not take a tripod around with me when we went to the non-Disney parks. So, none of the park pictures you have seen so far are with a tripod. Most of the non-Disney parks closed at around 7PM when we were visiting so we were never there late enough for me to justify carrying a tripod around with me all day or even bringing one in so that it could be stowed in a locker. The night pictures of the resorts and the fireworks however are mostly with a tripod (except for the Illuminations cruise).

I do have a great camera as well as a collection of fairly nice lenses. I am a bit crazy to carry around so much gear in the oppressive late-August heat but the results somewhat drive this crazy behavior. There is a bit more to it such as dialing in the camera settings to get the desired effects but my gear does a lot of the heavy lifting.

Awesome! One question: are the monster book of monsters, Buckbeak or the owls animatronic or do they just sit there?

Thank you Patti
They all are animatronic! The Monster Book of Monsters moves back and forth in its cage as well as snarls its mouth. Buckbeak moves it's head and of course bows Not all the owls move but some hoot and move their head periodically.

 

[aprilisis]

Ok- I have NO idea how I got SO far behind!! Let me just say- your photos are so awesome! I love all of the Illuminations photos (and I'm totally jealous of the free cruise!) and the Wishes photos with the windmill from Stormalong Bay in the foreground are really cool. The detail of your WWoHP photos blew me away, too. What lens did you use for the close-up photos of merchandise??

 

[clearskies]

Ok- I have NO idea how I got SO far behind!! Let me just say- your photos are so awesome! I love all of the Illuminations photos (and I'm totally jealous of the free cruise!) and the Wishes photos with the windmill from Stormalong Bay in the foreground are really cool. The detail of your WWoHP photos blew me away, too. What lens did you use for the close-up photos of merchandise??

Hi April. Please, no worries. I have been so darned busy lately that I barely have enough time to keep up in my own TR. There are other TRs that I would like to catch up on but can't free up the time. Including the PTR that I noticed in your signature.

Thank you for the feedback on the photos. On the merchandise photos I used two lenses mostly. I used either a Canon 24-70 f/2.8 lens or a Canon 85mm f/1.2 lens depending on what I was trying to capture. I love both lenses!!!

 

[clearskies]

We ended up leaving Wizarding World at about 1:15PM. This left us only about 5 hours to see the rest of the "Islands". since we had experienced most of the park on our first visit I was not overly concerned about rushing though each island to cram everything in. I had already met my objective of the day to have some quality time with the Wizarding World so the rest of the day was gravy.

Our first destination outside of WWoHP was Jurassic Park.

My daughter wanted to take my niece on the Pteranodon Flyers. so we headed into the Camp Jurassic Area.

Whoa that ride is a blasted time killer! Since they limit this ride to only children under a certain height or those that accompany a child under a certain height you would think that it wouldn't take too long since they are significantly limiting the people that can go on. Sadly, even with a limited population that can go on we waited close to an hour for the kids to get through the line! We did kill some of the time while waiting by going over to the River Adventure for a big splash. This time I left my camera behind though at the request of my wife so I don't have any pictures to show. We actually did not get that wet on the ride which is strange since it has such a big splash.

We were done with the River Adventure well before the girls so I explored the climbing areas in Camp Jurassic section a bit while waiting. I snapped a few photos of the water as I explored.

About a week later my daughter and niece finally came flying by and I captured them

That is my daugther sporting the barefoot look going footloose and fancy free.

After the kids had joined back up with us we headed over to Toon Lagoon

We split up here while some of us went on Dudley Do-Rights Ripsaw Falls while others went over to Popeye and Blutos Bilge Rat Barges. My Sister and her husband wanted no part in gettting wet so they opted to sit in the AC inside Blondies and they kept our bags company as we went off to get wetter.

So, let me give you my impression of Dudley's falls. The obvious comparison is Splash Mountain which is one of my favorite rides in MK. First of all let me say that both these rides are in a class above any other log flume ride I have been on. The themeing again differentiates the Universal Rides as well as Disney rides from other parks. I have to say though that I think the themeing in Splash mountain is better than the Dudley theming so Disney gets the nod in that category. As far as ride thrills are concerned though I think Universal has the edge. If I was to take the themeing away from both rides, Universal would be the winner. As far as overall ride experience though I factor in all aspects and give Splash my top honors overall. They are both awesome rides though and you can't go wrong on either. Oh, one other factor is that Disney lets me bring my camera along for the experience while Universal does not. Come on Universal, I'll say it again ...why so restrictive on the camera policy? Oh, one more thing. I will say that I got a heck of a lot wetter on Dudley. we were especially soaked from spectators using coin operated water cannons at the end of the ride.

After Dudley Do-Righ the rest of our flume crew went to join the Popeye Barges contingent and I decided I was wet enough and went to join my sister and BIL. I sat for a little while but I just can't sit still for too long so I took my camera for a walk around the area while waiting.

you can hold the shellfish on mine

better but the bread looks a bit stale.

Can't say I ever read this comic.

Was never much of a fan of her as a kid....

Was never a fan of this comic strip either as a kid.

Look Katy Perry was visiting. she was very nice and stopped to sign autographs to the crowd. (I did not get in line though.) Boy I am seeing a few celebrities on this trip!

ok, that's strange. they actually made dolls of her? No wonder she came by

I am not sure who these guys are but I liked the lighting.

I don't remember these two either but eeewwww on the sharing a drink with two straws business.

ok, I am going to stop here for today. I will wind up our IOA day in our next installment. See you next time....

 

[MNTwinsMom]

So, let me give you my impression of Dudley's falls. The obvious comparison is Splash Mountain which is one of my favorite rides in MK. First of all let me say that both these rides are in a class above any other log flume ride I have been on. The themeing again differentiates the Universal Rides as well as Disney rides from other parks. I have to say though that I think the themeing in Splash mountain is better than the Dudley theming so Disney gets the nod in that category. As far as ride thrills are concerned though I think Universal has the edge. If I was to take the themeing away from both rides, Universal would be the winner. As far as overall ride experience though I factor in all aspects and give Splash my top honors overall. They are both awesome rides though and you can't go wrong on either. Oh, one other factor is that Disney lets me bring my camera along for the experience while Universal does not. Come on Universal, I'll say it again ...why so restrictive on the camera policy? Oh, one more thing. I will say that I got a heck of a lot wetter on Dudley. we were especially soaked from spectators using coin operated water cannons at the end of the ride.

Whew! For a minute there I thought you were going to say there was a better flume ride than Splash Mountain! As much as I am enjoying your trip report and photos, that might have been a deal-breaker for me. In college I was a CM in Frontierland so Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain will always be my favorite attractions.

But seriously, I do enjoy the Disney/Universal comparisons. I think the competition makes them both better. If they keep trying to "best" each other, it's a win-win for the guests.

 

[aprilisis]

Great update!! You should be happy you didn't go on the Bilge Rat Barge ride- EVERY time I have been on that ride I got completely soaked!! I love that ride because it is fun, but I really do not like walking around the park completely soaked for the rest of the day. I think my favorite photo from that update is the first Jurassic Park one. I love the colors & lighting. But I think it is mostly because I am a bit of a dinosaur nerd.

 

[TanzUnited99]

That queue for the flyers sounds like it could give you a headache

Love the comparison of Dudley's falls and Splash Mountain - am looking forward to getting wet on both of the rides!

Wow you sure seem to be good at finding celebrities in the parks - first Lady Gaga and now Katy Perry!

 

[norybell]

Catching up after being away at WDW (where I survived both my first trip with a 3-year-old and my first trip with a DSLR!)...

I could swear I posted something already about your private Illuminations cruise, but my post appears to have been lost! So I'll say it again: Wow! How cool! And for some reason I really like your photos of the Boardwalk benches. I had no idea they said "Boardwalk" along the sides. Makes me want to sit in one and relax for a while, right now!

And I love your plethora of WWoHP pics...seeing all that detail makes me want to go there even more than I did already.

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.

It's always so nice to hear a story like this -- reminds me that most humans are fundamentally decent! (The punch line at the end is great, too.)

Looking forward to more!

 

[ChrystalUnicorn]

I just loved your trip report! Your pictures are out of this world fabulous!!
I loved the pictures of Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Thanks for sharing!!

 

[IheartDDuck]

I'm all caught up!

Love all of the pictures again of IOA. I can't believe I've already been home for two months. My brother brought me back to reality the other day when he mentioned it. Felt like we were just there.

That's so cute that there's a whole naming ceremony when you buy a pygmy puff! I have no idea what I would name one.....Knowing my niece, if I got her one, she would name it pinky. She's very original like that....

 

[clearskies]

My apologies for the delayed responses. I am not keeping up very well lately. I am sorry about that.

Whew! For a minute there I thought you were going to say there was a better flume ride than Splash Mountain! As much as I am enjoying your trip report and photos, that might have been a deal-breaker for me. In college I was a CM in Frontierland so Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain will always be my favorite attractions.

But seriously, I do enjoy the Disney/Universal comparisons. I think the competition makes them both better. If they keep trying to "best" each other, it's a win-win for the guests.

Well, I may be lacking in some of my mental facilities but I am not crazy enough to say that Dudley bests Splash. There is clear distance between the two in my book. (Perhaps I did not convey that properly.) We still thoroughly enjoyed Dudley though. However, Splash will always be the most near and dear to my heart.

I agree on the win-win aspect. It should be a healthy competition that we as consumers can benefit from. I don't quite understand the Universal haters nor the Disney haters that feel the need to trash the competition and can't find enjoyment from both parks. Both have great things to offer. I personally think Disney has a lot more to offer but that does not mean that I can't also enjoy what Universal brings to the table. I hope that Universal continues to step up their game like they did with WWoHP.

Great update!! You should be happy you didn't go on the Bilge Rat Barge ride- EVERY time I have been on that ride I got completely soaked!! I love that ride because it is fun, but I really do not like walking around the park completely soaked for the rest of the day. I think my favorite photo from that update is the first Jurassic Park one. I love the colors & lighting. But I think it is mostly because I am a bit of a dinosaur nerd.

thank you April. Oh, I went on the barges our first day at IOA so I experienced the soaking and it sure was a lot of fun. This may be my kids favorite ride in the park. I am with you though in that there are times I don't need to be that wet walking around. I was fairly well drenched from Dudley so I was ok with sitting this one out this go around.

The one think I regret in the Jurassic Park section is that I did not go into the Jurassic Park Discovery Center to look around. I had plenty of time while waiting on the kids for the Pteranodon Flyers. I should have headed over there.

That queue for the flyers sounds like it could give you a headache

Love the comparison of Dudley's falls and Splash Mountain - am looking forward to getting wet on both of the rides!

Wow you sure seem to be good at finding celebrities in the parks - first Lady Gaga and now Katy Perry!

Fortunately for you the Pteranodon line won't be an issue for you on your trip. I would be nice if they let adults on without children but not unless they added more capacity to the ride.

Oh, if you are looking forward to getting wet then the Toon Lagoon area of IOA is the place for you.

We sure were lucky seeing these celebrities. Good to see that they were taking some time off from their busy careers to spend in Fla as well

Catching up after being away at WDW (where I survived both my first trip with a 3-year-old and my first trip with a DSLR!)...

I could swear I posted something already about your private Illuminations cruise, but my post appears to have been lost! So I'll say it again: Wow! How cool! And for some reason I really like your photos of the Boardwalk benches. I had no idea they said "Boardwalk" along the sides. Makes me want to sit in one and relax for a while, right now!

And I love your plethora of WWoHP pics...seeing all that detail makes me want to go there even more than I did already.


It's always so nice to hear a story like this -- reminds me that most humans are fundamentally decent! (The punch line at the end is great, too.)

Looking forward to more!

I will be looking forward to seeing more from your trip Nory.

It really was something else to experience that Illuminations cruise. The cruise plus exploring the boardwalk for the first time was one of my most memorable Disney nights.

You just need to plan another trip with some time built in to sneak away from disney and head over to IOA for a day. We loved it.
I agree on the wand story. Though we had a good laugh the best thing to see was that people were doing the right thing. I have plenty of times where I lose some faith in humanity. It is good to see examples of the reverse.

I just loved your trip report! Your pictures are out of this world fabulous!!
I loved the pictures of Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Thanks for sharing!!

Thank you very much ChrystalUnicorn!! Thank you for joining in!!

I'm all caught up!

Love all of the pictures again of IOA. I can't believe I've already been home for two months. My brother brought me back to reality the other day when he mentioned it. Felt like we were just there.

That's so cute that there's a whole naming ceremony when you buy a pygmy puff! I have no idea what I would name one.....Knowing my niece, if I got her one, she would name it pinky. She's very original like that....

Hi Danielle. Tell me about it with time flying by too quickly. I need to find a way to slow down this ride.

The girls really had a fun time with the Pygmy Puff experience. I don't think the names our girls gave them were the most original either but I can't recall what the names were. In my daughter's case I can't say I have seen the little critter for a long time since we have been back. Since I don't know the name I can't even call out for the magical creature to see it come running out of hiding.

 

[clearskies]

I am now going to quickly finish up our second IOA visit from this trip. Since we had already visited the other islands previously in this trip and we did not really see any new attractions from the prior visit, this segment is going to be more geared towards pictures than my descriptions of these areas.

After Toon Lagoon we headed into Marvel Super Hero Island. Again, this is a "Marvel"ously themed area I am not one for comic books and I can only name the more notable characters but I still thoroughly enjoyed looking around at the various larger than life superheros and villians. My BIL on the other had could name every single character and I would point to one and he would rattle off who they were. Not that I remember any of them and for all I know he could have been making up names and I would have been none the wiser. Here are some of what we saw:

the ice man cometh

This is actually what I look like on a Friday after a week at my job

I believe that this is one of the original famous chippendale dancers

whoa....psychedelic

ok, finally some characters I know...

I got a charge out of seeing her...

This guy was well armed..

nope...got nothing...you'll have to make up your own bad pun

Of course while in the vicinity we had to get on one of my new favorite rides....

Did I mention that I absolutely LOVE this ride! I can only hope that one day Disney creates a ride similar to this. It is so much fun!




Here are a few more pics of the area

At this time some of the braver souls went to Dr Doom and the Hulk Coaster. I led the Chicken contingent over to Seuss Landing...

continued in the next post....

 

[clearskies]

Seuss Landing is yet another fantastically Themed area....

we took a ride on the High in the Sky Trolley

There are from inside the Circus McGurkus Cafe

Loved the Bathroom sign

We can't visit Seuss Landing without a Spin on the Cat in the Hat Ride

At this time it was close to 5:30 PM and we planned to head out by 6PM. We had not seen the Lost Continent section but it did not seem worthwhile to head into there. we had been there...done that...on our prior visit this trip. Since this was our last planned day for IOA we decided instead to end it on a high note and we headed over to Spiderman for one final adventure.

I took a few more pictures after the ride and then we headed out.....

This ends another fabulous day at IOA. This is a great park and I am so happy we finally decided to visit it.

We are next headed to the Grand Floridian for our favorite character Dinner. I'll also show you some Wishes pictures from my new favorite off site location. see you next time...

 

[norybell]

I believe that this is one of the original famous chippendale dancers

He's ready to terrify some bachelorettes!

We are next headed to the Grand Floridian for our favorite character Dinner. I'll also show you some Wishes pictures from my new favorite off site location. see you next time...

I'm totally in suspense!

Great update, as always!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Lol at how you look on a Friday after a week at work!! Is that on a good week - if so would hate to see how you look after a bad one!

Am looking forward to the GF meal and your new favourite off site location for viewing wishes.

 

[clearskies]

He's ready to terrify some bachelorettes!

It's a sad story really. After years of catcalls and groping he snapped and started using his assets for evil instead of.....well...not really good....but well not evil. Thus he transformed into a evil mastermind. There may have been some radioactive material that came into play as well. That happens a lot.

I'm totally in suspense!
Great update, as always!

Thank you Nory

Lol at how you look on a Friday after a week at work!! Is that on a good week - if so would hate to see how you look after a bad one!

Thinking......good week......hmmm.....thinking.......nope, this "good week" concept that you are referring to is something that I am not familiar with.

Am looking forward to the GF meal and your new favourite off site location for viewing wishes.

Thank you. I should clarify it is my favorite off site location to photograph wishes. The best off site location to view wishes is in the Seven Seas Lagoon on a wishes cruise.

 

[norybell]

It's a sad story really. After years of catcalls and grouping he snapped and started using his assets for evil instead of.....well...not really good....but well not evil. Thus he transformed into a evil mastermind. There may have been some radioactive material that came into play as well. That happens a lot.

It's...Stripperman!

 

[MNTwinsMom]

Great shots around "Marvelland". Isn't it crazy that Disney actually owns Marvel? I've heard they even sell some Marvel merchandise in WDW.

Just wanted to agree with you on what a phenomenal attraction Spiderman is! I read recently that it had it's 10 year anniversary. I think it's quite an accomplishment for Universal that after 10 years it is still many people's favorite and no other park (as far as I know) has duplicated it. I get a little motion sick on it , but I am willing to fight through it in order to experience the amazing attraction. My husband also loves the Hulk coaster, Dr. Doom (not sure of the name - the big drop ride) and Dueling Dragons (which I think is now in WWOPH). I've spent some quality time people watching while he experiences those rides.

 

[TanzUnited99]

Thinking......good week......hmmm.....thinking.......nope, this "good week" concept that you are referring to is something that I am not familiar with.


Thank you. I should clarify it is my favorite off site location to photograph wishes. The best off site location to view wishes is in the Seven Seas Lagoon on a wishes cruise.

Hopefully one day it will become a familiar concept!

Thanks for clarifying