Dr. Jones and the Spitting Camel - Link to Alaska Cruise TR 9/18

[Flossbolna]

Cynthia, I am not sure whether I have already commented or not... But in case I have already, this will be just an additional comment... (Too lazy to check...)

I really loved your write up about WWOHP. I really hope that midweek in October crowds will be very different from what you experienced. From everything I have read, that should be the case. And btw in my research I also found that during busy times Sunday is considered the very best day to visit WWOHP.

I did not read the parts about Forbidden Journey, I try to avoid possible spoilers as much as I can. I think I ruined the first time experience on a number of attractions before. However, I read your comment about the lockers. I am really not looking forward to that part of Universal. I understand why they do it, makes it much easier when less things fall out from their guests. I have read that small fanny packs are allowed and are seriously considering investing in one. Do you think that would be worth it? Or were the lockers no big deal? It seems like the Forbidden Journey ones are really the worst ones.

How scary of a coaster is Duelling Dragons? I went on an inverted coaster here in Germany once and loved it. But I am not sure whether my sister would be up for it. And how smooth is it, does it throw your head around a lot?

I am really happy that it worked out for your family to get everyone to the park so early. Finally something that really went like you planned it!

 

[Moira222]

Whew caught up again!
I about your Beverly Hillbillie references when leaving WDW and going to the dark side.

The pool looks big but the shallow part would be a bummer. Easy to see how E could not rehydrate while in the pool all day. If he had to get sick from dehydration, this was probably the best day to do so. Margaritaville was probably fun but somehow I bet the evening relaxing with a sleeping boy was the refreshment you needed to tackle WWOHP.

and wow! GREAT pics of WWOHP....the snow on the rooftop kept throwing me off. what fun. I hope that you did manage to get back to the shops later. The theming looks so awesome I am hoping you have some shots from inside some of the store.

Wow---IoA seem so much more crowded than the WDW parks earlier in the week - is that right? or was it just for the Harry Potter portion?

waitin for more!

 

[eandesmom]

Cynthia, I am not sure whether I have already commented or not... But in case I have already, this will be just an additional comment... (Too lazy to check...)

I don't think so

I really loved your write up about WWOHP. I really hope that midweek in October crowds will be very different from what you experienced. From everything I have read, that should be the case. And btw in my research I also found that during busy times Sunday is considered the very best day to visit WWOHP.

Sunday was a ton better and I would think that your timing will have relatively low crowds unless they come up with some kind of Halloween function that drives attendance.

I did not read the parts about Forbidden Journey, I try to avoid possible spoilers as much as I can. I think I ruined the first time experience on a number of attractions before. However, I read your comment about the lockers. I am really not looking forward to that part of Universal. I understand why they do it, makes it much easier when less things fall out from their guests. I have read that small fanny packs are allowed and are seriously considering investing in one. Do you think that would be worth it? Or were the lockers no big deal? It seems like the Forbidden Journey ones are really the worst ones.

Those are the worst in terms of the locker area itself. Super crowded and busy where some of the others (Hulk, Dueling Dragons etc) were more open and easier to get in and out of. We had issues with one of the lockers once and had to get someone to open, though I can't remember where it was (FJ) or elsewhere.

I'm not sure about the fanny pack. I probably wouldn't risk it and would try, if possible, to go bag free instead. I did that on the return trip (Sunday) and wore capri's with cargo pockets to hold cards, lip gloss and my small point and shoot. It made life MUCH easier. You can send any purchases to the front of the park for pick up so even if you shop, you don't have to carry a thing. I didn't bother on the first day as there was no way Sandie was going bag free and Jeff had the daypack so it was kind of like why bother.

That said, without the crowds, while it's a little bit of a PITA they really aren't that big of a deal.

How scary of a coaster is Duelling Dragons? I went on an inverted coaster here in Germany once and loved it. But I am not sure whether my sister would be up for it. And how smooth is it, does it throw your head around a lot?

I am really happy that it worked out for your family to get everyone to the park so early. Finally something that really went like you planned it!

Honestly, to me, Space Mountain is far jerkier than either the Dragon Challenge or Hulk. But we did wait for the front and I'm not sure if that would impact the jerkiness, for us it was more about what you could see by being in the front.

Whew caught up again!
I about your Beverly Hillbillie references when leaving WDW and going to the dark side.

The amount of bags was ridiculous! We had leftover chips, soda, booze, it was nuts!

The pool looks big but the shallow part would be a bummer. Easy to see how E could not rehydrate while in the pool all day. If he had to get sick from dehydration, this was probably the best day to do so. Margaritaville was probably fun but somehow I bet the evening relaxing with a sleeping boy was the refreshment you needed to tackle WWOHP.

We were lucky he didn't get ill till being inside, in the room and we could easily just send him to bed. Very very lucky all around. It is a cool pool, even if it is shallow!

and wow! GREAT pics of WWOHP....the snow on the rooftop kept throwing me off. what fun. I hope that you did manage to get back to the shops later. The theming looks so awesome I am hoping you have some shots from inside some of the store.

Wow---IoA seem so much more crowded than the WDW parks earlier in the week - is that right? or was it just for the Harry Potter portion?

waitin for more!

I have lots more IOA and WWOHP to come never fear. I wouldn't say that IOA was necessarily more crowded but WWOHP definitely was, with the exception of MK on our last day there, that place was PACKED by noon...which matched the crowd calendar so I wasn't surprised.

 

[eandesmom]

It was time to leave Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, and Harry. For now. The reported crowds were in fact no exaggeration and feeling that at least a big part of our mission had been accomplished (seeing Hogsmeade, getting everyone on FJ, not once but twice!) we were ok leaving.

But where to? We had 1pm reservations but that was still a couple of hours away. I know some of you have never been to the dark side and since you might be a bit disoriented by now, I thought I’d give you this for reference. The dark side is really 2 parks, Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. We were at IOA.

WWOHP is sort of in between the Lost Continent and Jurassic Park. In fact, the area it’s in used to be part of the Lost Continent. We’d come in through the Lost Continent and decided to walk out that way. We first came upon this guy, the Mystic Fountain. Back in 2004 this fountain had entertained 7 little kids and a lot of adults for a very very long time. The E’s didn’t remember it but Jeff and I did.

He tried to tell Evan something, or get Evan to do something but Evan wasn’t buying it

The fountain is a LOT funnier if you hang around a bit but the gang wasn’t engaged at the moment and so we moved on. We'd be back.

Some pictures of the walk. I am fairly sure, with most of this, I have more pictures later on as well that may very well be better but I haven't compared.

Where we’d be heading for lunch. It was nice to see exactly where it was, we hadn’t been there before.

This looked interesting

Poseidon’s Fury.

The boys were a bit obsessed with Poseidon at that moment in time, thanks to Percy Jackson so were rather insistent upon checking it out.

Apparently we were in the remains of Poseidon’s ancient temple. What temple doesn’t have a treasure chest? You know, the kind that you shouldn't touch or open or be in the temple or bad things might happen?

Medusa had been there. She doesn't look so good.

And…that’s it on the pictures! LOL! It is an indoor special effect show. Overall, kind of meh if you ask me but we didn’t really have to wait, didn’t take that much time and involved flames and water which is always a hit with the kids. In fact it was a preview on the flame side. There are a LOT of things on the dark side that involve flames. I can’t say I hated it but I wouldn’t rush back to it either. There was one very cool water thing that happened. I'll leave it at that.

I did like the theming quite a bit!

There are a ton of cute shops in this area, we didn’t do much browsing though. Snake charmers and the like!

We kept heading toward the front, to the Port of Entry. The port I didn't take pictures of on the way in, thanks to the wizardly dash.

And stopped to get everyone a drink of some sort just to the right of the trading company which, if memory serves is where you pick up any packages that you’ve had sent to the front of the park. They also have a very good selection of HP merchandise. There are a few things exclusively available in the WWOHP only (wands, Evan’s dobby shirt, some other things) but a lot of the more mainstream items are in the trading company as well. If memory serves they had a quaffle (I know they had the golden snitch) which surprised me as we’d been told you could only get them at Dervish and Banges and so had bought one there for my nephew’s birthday. Note to anyone wanting a quaffle. They are not small.

I enjoy the overall theming and details.

We thought about going here

But were on a mission…Marvel Super Hero Island!

Continued in next post

 

[eandesmom]

I admit, I love this place. Then again, I grew up with the Justice League.

First stop, Spiderman!

I love love love this ride. So did everyone. If you go to IOA, this is a must must do. By far the best 3D ride out there I think, just a thrill from the get-go. This is where we first experienced the beauty of the Front of the Line pass. We walked right on!

Next stop

NOT here

But here! The Hulk! One of the best coasters out there, bar none.

I’m fairly sure this one was just Jeff, Eric and I.

Wimps. Oh I love this ride! And I love love love the front of the line pass!

Coming out we heard sirens. It appeared the justice league was being called. Apparently they all travel by motorcycle these days

Captain America

Ok, my kids, with the exception of Spiderman, really don’t know who these guys are. And it was totally cheesy. But Jeff and I loved it. Dating ourselves to be sure but we were grinning like idiots.

Exiting super hero island to make our way to lunch we stumbled across one of the sure fire carnival games doomed to suck my family in.

Whack a mole. Located appropriately enough in the Toon Lagoon area.

Jeff looks focused doesn’t he?

Taylor and Evan look confused

The face of victory, and defeat

Try again!

Getting serious now

But did anyone win?

Moving along we passed by here

The question was, did we have enough time to ride, and make it to lunch on time?

Thanks to the front of the line pass, we did!

However we did neglect to tell everyone that they might get a little wet. No one remembered except for Jeff and I and neither of us recalled the fact that you might actually get SOAKED on it.

Which we did.

It is a fun fun ride but you can get wet. Poor Sandie was drenched. But we all laughed and you know what, in that heat it felt pretty darn good. Except soggy was not exactly how we'd wanted to go to an indoor table seating "fine dining" restaurant.

Mythos bills itself as being voted “Best Theme Park Restaurant by ThemeParkInsider.com 6 years in a row”. Would it live up to the hype? Would we dry off in time or would I maintain my drowned rat status from the tea? If possible I was MORE wet this time.

But at least I wasn't alone.

Up next

Holy Moley!

 

[Happydog]

Great set of updates! Loved all the details and the info from WWOHP as well as the rest of the Adventure Island stuff... and of course Wack O Mole! We have that game on our phones!!! Helped us through TSM line last summer I think the photos really capture the fun easygoing day you seem to have had despite the crowds. When you get up early you get that extra time to spare!!! Is this the first whole group "rope drop" you've been to??!! LOL!!! I love all the Marvel comics, and Spiderman is a cool ride I agree, I vaguely remember it myself... I think it will be interesting to see what happens with Disney owning the rights.

Great trip updates for sure!

 

[englishrose47]

Loving this report Cynthia it is gonna help sooooo much for next year and my FREE Trip!!! I have been eying Mythos for a meal while there !!So can;t wait to read all about it !!! Also if the prices and the menu on AllEars are any where near close !!!

 

[glennbo123]

This is great info. Cynthia! I don't know about any of this 'dark side' stuff. Well, I've heard of the Spiderman ride and of course The Wizarding World, but that's about it.

It seems like you're getting a lot of rides in with the help of that Front of the Line Pass. I think you've mentioned it, but I forget -- do you get that by virtue of staying at one of their hotels, or is it extra in addition to that?

 

[DisMomAmy]

I love the "dark side" pictures!! Being so comfortable with Disney, I'm excited and nervous about trying Universal. Your tour is helping me get acquainted.

 

[mom3sonstt]

Looooove Whack - a - mole!!! It's the one game I can beat my kids at.

 

[tinacaplan]

Good update. I find the dark side stuff really interesting as I've never been there.

 

[natebenma]

Thank you for the wonderfully detailed info on IoA!!! Great pictures, too.

We are planning on eating at Mythos, too. When did you make your reservations? Everywhere I read says you don't have to make advanced reservations to most of the US restaurants, but coming from a Disney mentality- THAT IS SO WRONG!

I will probably plan our lunch there for our first full day at the park.

Your comments about Front of the Line passes have me really jazzed!

BTW- I know you're a Parrotthead. We have tickets to see JB on Saturday night. Always a fun show! I imagine we will hear "Boat Drinks"- his only hockey song, which was written as he was watching a Bruins game in a Boston bar.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Wow! I think I might be smitten with The Dark Side.

I am a huge Harry Potter fan as well. I read each book as it came out and even attended a midnight book release party or two towards the end. Connor has read all the books, but Chelsea and Charles just watch the movies.

The theming is just incredible!!! Too bad you can't get rid of all those crowds and just wander about in quiet, soaking up all the little details! I hope you try the Butterbeer later on, and I love that you can choose your own wand -- Connor would be all about that.

Had to laugh about the Quaffle being heavy.

I am also very intrigued by the theming of the Lost Continent and the Superhero City. So cool! Connor would be all about that as well! Not to mention, Charles and Chelsea love roller coasters.

You are giving me lots of food for thought.

 

[eandesmom]

Great set of updates! Loved all the details and the info from WWOHP as well as the rest of the Adventure Island stuff... and of course Wack O Mole! We have that game on our phones!!! Helped us through TSM line last summer

Oh how funny! I am not a gamer at all and never think to put games on my phone (or let my kids play with it...sucks the battery life lol much to their disappointment) I can totally see how that would make the line go faster!

I think the photos really capture the fun easygoing day you seem to have had despite the crowds. When you get up early you get that extra time to spare!!! Is this the first whole group "rope drop" you've been to??!! LOL!!!

It is! Isn't that funny? We did make it into the park for am EMH three times at Disney but it wasn't the whole group and not before it actually opened, in most cases 15-30 minutes into the EMH. I've still yet to see a single opening show though did at least see an actual rope "drop" on the girls trip.

I love all the Marvel comics, and Spiderman is a cool ride I agree, I vaguely remember it myself... I think it will be interesting to see what happens with Disney owning the rights.

Great trip updates for sure!

Spiderman rocks. When we went in 04, I kid you not, my mom went on it 11 times!

Loving this report Cynthia it is gonna help sooooo much for next year and my FREE Trip!!! I have been eying Mythos for a meal while there !!So can;t wait to read all about it !!! Also if the prices and the menu on AllEars are any where near close !!!

My mythos review will be up next Rosie!

This is great info. Cynthia! I don't know about any of this 'dark side' stuff. Well, I've heard of the Spiderman ride and of course The Wizarding World, but that's about it.

It really is another world. Not bad, just different! It's a lot of fun I have to say. We loved it in 04 and again this trip and experienced a lot more of it this trip. This is just the start!

It seems like you're getting a lot of rides in with the help of that Front of the Line Pass. I think you've mentioned it, but I forget -- do you get that by virtue of staying at one of their hotels, or is it extra in addition to that?

We did really well with the combo of the FOL pass and the resort guest WWOHP early entry, which got us into the park around 7:45. Before lunch we'd done FJ twice, Dragon Challenge, Poseidon's Fury, Spiderman, Hulk, Whack a Mole and Jurassic Park and had some time to shop and get a drink.

The pass is available to resort guests. You can also buy one at the park but it's for that day only and is different. Somehow that one (supposedly, I've not actually tested it) is only good once on each ride. Without the pass there is no way we could have done as much. Spiderman in particular runs a decent wait most times, it was probably 30-60 minutes when we went on though I don't honestly recall.

I love the "dark side" pictures!! Being so comfortable with Disney, I'm excited and nervous about trying Universal. Your tour is helping me get acquainted.

Lots more pictures coming over the next few days, IOA in particular. It really is a fun park. Very different but very fun.

 

[KatMark]

Great pictures of the "dark side" Cynthia. As I mentioned previously, the last time we were there was 2004 and we did Univeral and the kids did IOA. Therefore, we've never seen any of that stuff in IOA (I think I went to IOA in 2000 with Andy and his friend and the baseball coach as I remember the dueling dragon coaster). Unfortunately, we can't handle those types of "thrill rides" anymore, but I'm glald you guys had a great time.

I LOVE Whack a Mole! I always beat Mark and it really fries his you know what.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

i love a good game of whack a mole, did you know that at chuckee cheese they now have electronic whack a mole, where you hit a video screen easier for the kids but really not as fun.

maybe if he had a whip to go with his dr jones hat, he would have got those moles better than a whacker.

 

[eandesmom]

Looooove Whack - a - mole!!! It's the one game I can beat my kids at.

that's a riot Tanya!

Let me tell you, Jeff was the driving force in wanting to play. Often we kind of refuse to spring for the carnival games but this one gets him every time. He was determined to beat Kendall.

Good update. I find the dark side stuff really interesting as I've never been there.

There are some great little kid places for Max's age. You won't see a ton of pictures of it but I do have some later in the trip. We took the boys when they were 4 and 5 and they had a blast.

Thank you for the wonderfully detailed info on IoA!!! Great pictures, too.

Lots more to come

We are planning on eating at Mythos, too. When did you make your reservations? Everywhere I read says you don't have to make advanced reservations to most of the US restaurants, but coming from a Disney mentality- THAT IS SO WRONG!

It is SO weird, isn't it? I think if memory serves, the earliest you can make them is either 60 or 90 days out. I did make them everywhere (Mythos, Margaritaville, Hard Rock, Jakes) simply because we were 6-8 people and even if you might normally not need reservations, we almost always do just based on size.

A couple of tips though. I haven't gotten to it yet but most everyplace at US (parks, hotels, citywalk) all offer a AAA discount on food AND shopping. So if you are a member, bring that card! Hard rock gives on on the all access card. I saved quite a bit using that AAA card everywhere.

Bear in mind though the reservation thing at Mythos is a bit loose...you might have to wait even with one so be prepared.

I will probably plan our lunch there for our first full day at the park.

Your comments about Front of the Line passes have me really jazzed!

During peak season it makes a HUGE difference. I loved having lunch there on our first day, it was nice to have a planned break like that.

BTW- I know you're a Parrotthead. We have tickets to see JB on Saturday night. Always a fun show! I imagine we will hear "Boat Drinks"- his only hockey song, which was written as he was watching a Bruins game in a Boston bar.

for Boat Drinks! Make sure you have at least one while watching Jimmy!

It is such a fun show, it's been too long for me.

Wow! I think I might be smitten with The Dark Side.

It's a pretty cool place!

I am a huge Harry Potter fan as well. I read each book as it came out and even attended a midnight book release party or two towards the end. Connor has read all the books, but Chelsea and Charles just watch the movies.

That's Jeff, and then he wonders why he's lost in the movies and didn't get some of the stuff in the park.

It was cute, Evan re-read them all before going and Eric made sure to finish them.

The theming is just incredible!!! Too bad you can't get rid of all those crowds and just wander about in quiet, soaking up all the little details! I hope you try the Butterbeer later on, and I love that you can choose your own wand -- Connor would be all about that.

I can TOTALLY see Connor choosing a wand! Butterbeer will come up later in the trip. The really did an incredible job. I am glad we had more than one visit to it as it really has so much to look at and take in, you can't get it all on the first pass.

Had to laugh about the Quaffle being heavy.

Medium heavy but more than that, big and so hard to pack to take back home! It's just an awkward thing.

I am also very intrigued by the theming of the Lost Continent and the Superhero City. So cool! Connor would be all about that as well! Not to mention, Charles and Chelsea love roller coasters.

You are giving me lots of food for thought.

IOA has GREAT coasters between the Dragon challenge and the Hulk. US has some too. All around the theming is great, I'll have more pictures of Toon Lagoon and Seuss later.

 

[MEK]

Another fun update Cynthia. I personally LOVE spiderman!!!!! It's one of my all time favorite rides. And the Hulk - love that big green machine. So much fun! Can't wait to hear what you thought of the Simpsons!

 

[natebenma]

for Boat Drinks! Make sure you have at least one while watching Jimmy!

It is such a fun show, it's been too long for me.

It has been 4 years for us since our last show. We took our oldest son, Nate, when he was 9. His first concert!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Cynthia, you had me playing around on the Universal website yesterday looking at hotel prices and tickets. I had never even been over there before to look at the options.