Disney & Universal or Bust! 2013

[Doctor 10]

Feel like I accomished most of what I planned for this trip. It was pretty intense. It included rope drop at each park except Animal Kingdom & of course to whet my wizard appetite Universal Studios.

Weather couldve been better however but nonetheless it cooperated enough on our day of arrival at French Quarter where we got acquainted with the buses for the first time. Headed to DHS & managed a 45 min wait dor TSM. Unfortunately the rest of my party werent into thrill rides like RRC or TOT I could've gone alone but I felt it wasn't any fun...

We ate at Hollywood & Vine at 6p to make it in time for Fantasmic! seating though the crowds werent too bad to worry about that. Almost canceled the show but technical difficulties were fixed & the show went on The rest of party managed some shopping from get go as well

May 1 we hit Universal. I thought it would be nice for all of us since we were all adults and it seemed US/IOA demographic was meant for us. Took advantage of early admission & got on FJ in no time as well as rode Hippogriff but rode Dragon Challenge alone due again to my non-thrill riding companions I had to do at least one fast ride (I missed Mummy which I almost tricked my friend's friend to ride with me but didnt want her hating me rest of trip-lol). DC opened late so I was one of the first in line & in no time flat got on the twisty coaster vs the real fast one. Got off wibbly wobbly & had to regroup b4 rejoining my party who by then were in Seussland...shopping again!

We headed next Spiderman ride which was about a 20 minute wait or so but towards the end there was a glitch & we lost audio & picture The Doctor Who fan in me wished for a Big Friendly Button to restart the ride over again xD

We then headed to MIB when it started to pour! It was ok but one party member said it wasn't as interactive oe responsive as TSM which I agreed with her. In order to make up foe loss of Mummy attraction I thought all of us would enjoy Despicable Me. I was sad that one person got impatient & decided to leave right when we were 15 minutes away from boardinf ride. Shrugs. Cant please everyone. ..

We headed to DTD for Raglan Road pub! So excellent! !! Live entertainment. Of course my party was in their element after dinner as they were able to shop again....

This is just part 1 of 3 so stay tune for more of Disney /Universal or Bust! 2013

Live in the present judging no one by his or her past nor expecting less for his or her future.-alm

 

[wiigirl]

 

[Doctor 10]

Part 2:

Early start to MK. Got to actually be at rope drop & countdown. 5 4 3 2 1....The cattle start moving & a sea of ponchos create a white wave to flood the gates! Speaking of flood...It was so downcast & pouring. Shouldve took advantage & head through castle towards Fantasyland but instead headed to Tomorrowland for Buzzlightyear ride thinkibg it would be as great as TSM. After experiencing TSM all the small indoor carnival like rides seem to pale in comparison. Then knowing it was still raining we worked our way towards the shelter of Carousel of Progress where no surprise we were the only 3 inside! As a child I appreciated ghe animatronics but now to me it just seems like an elaborate puppet show. (more on animatronics later). We progressed our way towards Space mountain which was great because I aimed to at least hit one of the mountain rides. Luckily got to convince one party member to ride with us while unfortunately the other waited in the rain :*( It was pitch black & improved from last experiencing when I could see the track & hear the car against the rail. This time it was flawless & a great way to warm up for next adventure.

But before riding again we ate with Pooh & friends at Crystal Palace. Our friend was celebrating an extended birthday so she got to get a card signed by all the characters The breakfast buffet was ok but would've liked to have tried Be Our Guest for brunch based on reviews ive heard. If anything though I got a great big warm hug from Pooh which I really needed for lots of reasons & got to retake a picture with Piglet

We then headed to Adventureland where we were about to do Aladdin carpet ride only to find out it was like Dumbo which we were too old for. We instead ventured to Pirates which was closed at the time. So we headed to Big Thunder Mountain for Fast Pass & convinced our friend to ride with us. Soon a downpour began & once again the denizens of Poncho City cropped up everywhere!

To kill time we went to Haunted Mansion which I really enjoyed. We then tracked back to line up for Big Thunder with help of our FP in just a few minutes b4 boarding. It might as well have been called Big Thunder Splash Mountain because with all the short stops in between the rain just kept pouring down upon our heads...Afterwards we dried ourselves not too far off Tom Sawyer Island.

From there we went back to Pirates. I could tell I was already wearing them down lol. They looked reluctant to wait but I hadn't rode this in a while & this was their first time. However I felt the need to ruin a few surprises as they seemed the type to know ahead what was in store to take away their anxiety. Once again the animatronics seemed different/dated from when I last remembered & the ride seemed shorter than I remember. Funny how childhood memories are transfixed in your brain only to be preprogrammed when re experienced as adults.

Finally Fantasyland. We waited the longest for Peter Pan 45 minutes where we met a nice family whose daughter was tired & out for the count xD I enjoyed it despite my companons deriding comments. Then we hit It's a Small World.After bathroom break (among many) ponchos still on all throughout we got Fast Pass for Pooh & got surprise FP to Philharmagic or something called that. It was a cute ten minute show which we enjoyed after Pooh. We even did Under the Sea believe it or not. Afterwards we decided to head back to hotel to take advantage of our quick service credits & still manage to return for the light show (we managed to watch it 2x) & see the fireworks. The after party included more shopping but soon one of us had a short fuse & we knew it was time to go back to hotel...In spite of the "liquid sunshine" it didn't rain on my parade Overall a very full day.

Yes...Part 3 (maybe 4) to follow Stay tuned. °○°

Live in the present judging no one by his or her past nor expecting less for his or her future.-alm

 

[Doctor 10]

PS Forgot to mention we eveb had time to see the Hall of Presidents which I wanted to skip but was a good napping period for my friends

Live in the present judging no one by his or her past nor expecting less for his or her future.-alm

 

[shalom]

However I felt the need to ruin a few surprises as they seemed the type to know ahead what was in store to take away their anxiety.

My middle daughter did PotC the day after she'd done Journey to Atlantis at SeaWorld -- which she'd found terrifying so since I didn't want her to panic when she saw the first drop I told her about it ahead of time, and she just about backed out of there. But I assured her it was nothing like as high as the other one and that I was only telling her about it so she wouldn't worry, and she settled down.

Calming the anxious can be more tricky than you realize.

Sounds like you guys coped with the rain pretty well.

 

[Doctor 10]

My middle daughter did PotC the day after she'd done Journey to Atlantis at SeaWorld -- which she'd found terrifying so since I didn't want her to panic when she saw the first drop I told her about it ahead of time, and she just about backed out of there. But I assured her it was nothing like as high as the other one and that I was only telling her about it so she wouldn't worry, and she settled down.

Calming the anxious can be more tricky than you realize.

Sounds like you guys coped with the rain pretty well.

In the end my party appreciated my motivation despite the rain Heck if all the rest of Ponchoville was there we might as well have done the same & not give in to bad weather!

Live in the present judging no one by his or her past nor expecting less for his or her future.-alm