Every-ONE is coming up DAISY!!! WDW & WWoHP w/ LOTS of pics - FINISHED 10/13, p 24

[scottny]

I saw a line like that this past trip at Hollywood Studios. It was not pretty.
Their fp for us was $49.99 and after 4pm it dropped to $19.99.
Great update and pics. I definitely missed some things when we went.

 

[Poolrat]

Some day I will get to Universal to see the WW but I have no idea when.

What a great grown up day you had.

That bag check line was insane..... I almost thought you were going to say you went back to the car to leave your bag.

 

[ArielSRL]

So I said I'd be back for Christmas Break and guess what? I am. I can catch up on so much when not working...lol. Love the updates. Will eagerly wait for more before I go back on 1/6....hint, hint.

Every time I see a WDW special, I send it to my mom...lol. I'd love to try to go while on maternity leave since I'm taking almost a full 12 weeks. I figure May might work. I'll be recovered, baby Will won't be too little (2 months?? Lol) and AJ will be 2.5. It'd doubtful, but a girl can dream, right?

 

[MAGICFOR2]

MERRY CHRISTMAS DAWN! HOPE YOU MAKE SOME REALLY SPECIAL MEMORIES WITH YOUR LITTLE GUY THIS YEAR!!!!

 

[punkin413]

Hope you all had a great Christmas and wishing you a Very Happy New Year!!!

Great pics!

Thanks!

Great update, they really did a fantastic job with Harry Potter didn't they?!

Oh, it was fantastic. I was super impressed!

I saw a line like that this past trip at Hollywood Studios. It was not pretty.
Their fp for us was $49.99 and after 4pm it dropped to $19.99.
Great update and pics. I definitely missed some things when we went.

Yeah, I just couldn't justify dropping $50 to skip a couple lines. If we had stayed all day, maybe. But still doubtful.

Some day I will get to Universal to see the WW but I have no idea when.

What a great grown up day you had.

That bag check line was insane..... I almost thought you were going to say you went back to the car to leave your bag.

If you have read the books or seen the movies and remotely liked either, you will love it. The bag check line was craziness. I was shocked!

So I said I'd be back for Christmas Break and guess what? I am. I can catch up on so much when not working...lol. Love the updates. Will eagerly wait for more before I go back on 1/6....hint, hint.

Every time I see a WDW special, I send it to my mom...lol. I'd love to try to go while on maternity leave since I'm taking almost a full 12 weeks. I figure May might work. I'll be recovered, baby Will won't be too little (2 months?? Lol) and AJ will be 2.5. It'd doubtful, but a girl can dream, right?

I hope to get at least one (maybe two) updates done before then. We'll see!

Dreaming about a trip is what gets one started, so I say dream away!! Hope you can make it happen.

MERRY CHRISTMAS DAWN! HOPE YOU MAKE SOME REALLY SPECIAL MEMORIES WITH YOUR LITTLE GUY THIS YEAR!!!!

Thanks, you too!!!!

 

[lauren_elizabeth]

Every time I see pictures of WWoHP, it makes me want to go more and more. Jake is really into Harry Potter as well, so I think he'd enjoy it just as much as I would.

Mmm, that butter beer looks delicious! I've heard frozen is definitely the way to go. How did the kind you made for Christmas turn out? I might need that recipe!

 

[punkin413]

Every time I see pictures of WWoHP, it makes me want to go more and more. Jake is really into Harry Potter as well, so I think he'd enjoy it just as much as I would.

Mmm, that butter beer looks delicious! I've heard frozen is definitely the way to go. How did the kind you made for Christmas turn out? I might need that recipe!

Oh, you guys would love it! And it really only took half a day (if that) to see everything in that area. It was awesome!

I will post the recipe we sort of followed. It was yummy!

 

[punkin413]

Hi, guys! Hope everyone has a great Christmas. We did! Seth is getting to the age where he really gets into it and it's so much fun! He had a great Christmas. Santa came to see him and his friends at school.....



Here are some pictures of him playing with some of his favorite toys on Christmas day....







He had a blast!

Also, myself and some girlfriends (including Anna, who has made appearances in my trip reports in the past) went to see the State Ballet Theater of Russia perform The Nutcracker last weekend. I loved it!





Lauren asked me about the butterbeer recipe we used - we decided to try butterbeer this Christmas instead of punch. It turned out great but we really didn't stick to the recipe. We used most of the ingredients in this recipe, but not exactly those measurements. We just played with it a bit until we got it how we liked it.

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2010/07/02/harry-potters-butterbeer-recipe-uncovered/

We went with the unfrozen version just b/c it was easier. We didn't want to have to mess with grinding up ice in the blender. Here is a picture of our first batch. They were all good!




Okay, back to the trip!! After we had gotten a butterbeer and walked around Hogsmeade awhile, we decided to ride something! We headed for the most tame thing there first, Flight of the Hippogriff. I had to chug my butterbeer while waiting in line but I didn't complain! The wait was about 15 minutes so no brain freeze!

There's Hagrid's hut!





I actually took a video of this one. Terrie was in front of us, I was sitting with Joshua and Lynda and her Josh were behind us. At the beginning you briefly see Buckbeak, the Hippogriff who starred in HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban. There's also a great view of Hogwarts on this ride. Oh, and you can hear Josh (Lynda's hubby) yelp behind me when the ride comes to an abrupt stop. It was pretty funny!

(Click to play.)



After that we decided to just bite the bullet and jump in the hour-long line for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. This is the ride that's inside Hogwarts.

Walking through the Hogwarts gates....





The castle is so pretty! One of the things I hated most about HP & the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is watching Hogwarts be destroyed.

Going into the locker area....



Here's where it gets ugly.

So Universal doesn't allow you to stow your bags on the rides. Joshua and Josh weren't going to ride (Joshua is a big/tall kid, and he was too big/tall for the ride - they have test seats outside - and Josh just doesn't really enjoy thrill rides) but they wanted to go through the line with us b/c the inside of the castle is super cool, but you can't even take bags into the line. They have a locker system where you have to scan your fingerprint to reopen your locker after the ride. The rooms where the lockers are for HP and the FJ were complete madness. There were like 3 rooms that connected and there was no order AT ALL. I had everyone's belongings and was just going to put everything in the same locker. Well, I kid you not, I waited in 3 DIFFERENT LINES, and every time I'd finally get up to the computer screen, it would tell me that all the lockers were full. After the third time I said really loudly, "THIS IS SO STUPID!!!!" A IoA employee was nearby and heard me, and she asked me what was wrong. I told her and she was able to override the system and get me a locker. Geez.....what a mess! I saw about 3 employees standing there with little handheld computers. Why in the world can't they just have a line where you give these 3 employees your stuff and they check it for you in the locker?? Seems like it would be much less chaotic and less confusing!!!! Ugh!

Okay, so we FINALLY get in line! I've never been so glad to be in line for anything! We saw some mandrakes while we waited....



We were standing in the greenhouse here, getting ready to enter the castle....



Here is the point tallying system they use to see who's winning the House Cup. As we all know, green is for Slytherin, blue is for Ravenclaw, red is for Gryffindor, gold is for Hufflepuff.



Who can tell me where this leads??



Continued in next post: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=50342562&postcount=289

 

[punkin413]

Of course all the portraits moved and talked.....love!





This is going into Dumbledore's office....



The pensieve!



Dumbledore saying hello......



This was a classroom where Harry, Ron and Hermione were telling us how they wanted to take us on a broom ride, and Hermione was telling the boys she thinks she could pull off a charm to get away with it. It also started snowing in here at some point (Ron has a habit of making it snow when he doesn't mean to).



I think this window was in Half Blood Prince??



The fat lady! We must be near the Gryffindor common room.



In all the prohibited areas they had these signs....No Muggles. So cool!



A billboard in Gryffindor's common room....



The Sorting Hat!



This is where Joshua and Josh had to split up from us. I didn't video this ride - it's pretty much impossible. Basically you sit in a four-person vehicle where your legs hang down. It's mostly simulated (like Star Tours or Mission Space) but the seats do move ALOT and at one point you feel like you're completely upside down.

Oh, funny story. As we sat down I heard the HP music in my ear. I thought my phone, which was in my pocket, was ringing b/c that's my ringtone (still is!), and since Mom was watching Seth I wanted to see if it was her calling. Then I realized I'm a dork and we are in the main HP ride, and the speakers are next to my ears and I'm hearing the music from the movies! Duh!

Here's a video I found on youtube to give you some idea of the ride - this video contains the entire ride queue, so if you're not interested in that, even though it's really cool, skip to 8:30 on the video):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0h6nInv4RY4

As you can see, the video is really dark. But the ride is AWESOME!!!!! Full of dragons and spiders and dementors! I LOVED it. I was really surprised by how good it was. Simulation rides are usually just okay, but this one was amazing. Oh, and during the dementor part where Harry is saying, "Get away from them," I screamed, "Expecto Patronum!!!!" Totally called that one.

I went back to retrieve our things from the locker and...wouldn't you know it...the computer wouldn't read my fingerprint!!! I found an employee who helped me. It was ridiculous. You'd think since they've been open for at least a year before we were there, they'd have these kinks worked out and a better system going.

We found Joshua and Josh and then went back into Hogsmeade....



Here is Olivander's, the wand shop. I've heard this is pretty cool but not worth the wait.



The Owl Post....



We took a potty break and this was SO COOL - Moaning Myrtle can be heard in the women's restroom!!!!!



This was supposed to be a picture of Sirius Black, but instead it's a picture of me and Terrie taking a picture.



We decided it was time for lunch at the Three Broomsticks! It was about 12:15 and the line wasn't bad yet.



I decided on the chicken platter, which came with corn on the cob and potatoes. I also got another Butterbeer, unfrozen this time.



Me with my Butterbeer mustache.....



Lunch was super yummy! And the unfrozen Butterbeer was just as good as the frozen version. I can't decide which I like better. Depends on my mood (and the temperature), I guess!

Up next.....more Harry Potter rides and shopping and will we ride the big green thing??

 

[AussieAngel]

Wow Dawn! I'm not a huge fan of Harry Potter but that all looks so cool! Amazingly themed, and the rides sound fun too! Even if the locker area and lines were crazy, eek!

Conan and I went to Universal and IoA a few years ago, before the HP area was there and we loved it. It definitely doesn't have the lovely Disney vibe but still lots of fun! Especially the Jurassic Park ride and Hulk... Is that the big green one you mean? That was so cool!!

Looking forward to reading more, as always! And merry Christmas to you, Ray and Seth! So glad you had a fun day!

 

[lauren_elizabeth]

Yikes! An hour wait?! At least you have awesome stuff to look at while you're waiting. I love all of the interactive things they have inside like the 3 kids talking to you, the moving pictures, etc. So neat!

And just reading about your locker troubles gives me a headache. That's awful that it's so disorganized. 5 points taken from Universal!

Lunch at The 3 Broomsticks looks delicious!

Thanks for posting the butter beer recipe! I'm definitely going to have to give it a try.

 

[jedijill]

They did an awesome job with WWoHP! The lockers are the worst! I can't wait to see the expansion some of these days.

Jill in CO

 

[DisneyJo]

That all looks so cool, my DD is HP mad and would love everything (well maybe not the simulator ride!!) if you're ever in the UK you must do the HP studio tour it's superb

 

[scottny]

Harry Potter land is really cool and you got some great pics. I couldn't ride as I was too fat. Next time for sure and I cannot wait for Diagon Alley to open.

The lockers are a mess. I do not understand why they have them. I thought it was for no photography but you can have a camera anywhere on your body now so I do not see the big deal. They cannot watch the stuff though because someone would say there $500 camera was stolen when it was really a $35 Walmart special.

Look forward to hearing more.

 

[ArielSRL]

WWoHP looks so cool. Definitely hitting that up one day but who knows when. Maybe when AJ and Baby Will are bigger boys. Or maybe Dad and I will swing by one day and let Mom watch the kids...lol. Though I don't do simulator rides, so who knows. Great update. Looking forward to more.

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Happy New Year Dawn! It looks like Seth really enjoyed Christmas. I'm really enjoying your trip photos!

 

[rndmr2]

Awesome update! I haven't been to US since they were building IOA, but I would like to get there some day. I am not a Harry Potter fan but that area does look neat and I would love to try that Butterbeer someday.

 

[punkin413]

Wow Dawn! I'm not a huge fan of Harry Potter but that all looks so cool! Amazingly themed, and the rides sound fun too! Even if the locker area and lines were crazy, eek!

Conan and I went to Universal and IoA a few years ago, before the HP area was there and we loved it. It definitely doesn't have the lovely Disney vibe but still lots of fun! Especially the Jurassic Park ride and Hulk... Is that the big green one you mean? That was so cool!!

Looking forward to reading more, as always! And merry Christmas to you, Ray and Seth! So glad you had a fun day!

It was amazing. Even for a non-fan, you'd still have fun! Definitely not Disney, but still had a good time there. Big green one is coming up!

Yikes! An hour wait?! At least you have awesome stuff to look at while you're waiting. I love all of the interactive things they have inside like the 3 kids talking to you, the moving pictures, etc. So neat!

And just reading about your locker troubles gives me a headache. That's awful that it's so disorganized. 5 points taken from Universal!

Lunch at The 3 Broomsticks looks delicious!

Thanks for posting the butter beer recipe! I'm definitely going to have to give it a try.

Yes, the queue itself is really just as much part of the attractions, so the wait wasn't horrible. Now if Seth had been with me, no way would I have done that! 1,000 points taken from Universal for the locker situation!! Let me know how your butterbeer turns out!

They did an awesome job with WWoHP! The lockers are the worst! I can't wait to see the expansion some of these days.

Jill in CO

I know! I hope by the time we go back to IoA (probably will skip it next trip but maybe the next time?) Seth will start to become interested in the HP stuff and he will enjoy it too!

That all looks so cool, my DD is HP mad and would love everything (well maybe not the simulator ride!!) if you're ever in the UK you must do the HP studio tour it's superb

Oh, I bet it's so neat! That would definitely be a must-do if I ever visit!

Harry Potter land is really cool and you got some great pics. I couldn't ride as I was too fat. Next time for sure and I cannot wait for Diagon Alley to open.

The lockers are a mess. I do not understand why they have them. I thought it was for no photography but you can have a camera anywhere on your body now so I do not see the big deal. They cannot watch the stuff though because someone would say there $500 camera was stolen when it was really a $35 Walmart special.

Look forward to hearing more.

You know, one thing I did not like about Universal is they don't have rides that are friendly to bigger people. And I don't mean fat people, but even like tall, big guys. It's ridiculous. One good thing about Disney is they are usually good to accommodate all shapes and sizes!! I'm very excited about Diagon Alley too! The locker system needs to be revamped for sure. It was horrid.

WWoHP looks so cool. Definitely hitting that up one day but who knows when. Maybe when AJ and Baby Will are bigger boys. Or maybe Dad and I will swing by one day and let Mom watch the kids...lol. Though I don't do simulator rides, so who knows. Great update. Looking forward to more.

Yeah, I figured the way to go was to let Mom and Seth have a "down" day while we did this. And Mom (and Seth) both really enjoyed one day of just relaxing. So it was a win-win! Lynda and I kept commenting on how weird it felt not to have a big bag with snacks and drinks and a change of clothes, etc., and also not to be grabbing someone's hand all the time or picking someone up every 10 minutes!

Happy New Year Dawn! It looks like Seth really enjoyed Christmas. I'm really enjoying your trip photos!

Thanks! He had a blast. And was VERY upset when we took the Christmas tree down. Broke his heart.

Awesome update! I haven't been to US since they were building IOA, but I would like to get there some day. I am not a Harry Potter fan but that area does look neat and I would love to try that Butterbeer someday.

It's so very cool, I'm sure you'd love it! And the butterbeer is worth visiting the park!

 

[punkin413]

A little something from Seth....

(Click to play.)



HAPPY TWO YEAR!!!



I hope you all are having a great year so far. And for those of you in....well, almost anywhere in the U.S.....hope you're staying warm!!! The low here in Monday is 6. 6!!!!! That isn't supposed to happen in the south!

Okay, back to the trip.

After lunch we decided to look around the shops more.

First we went into the Owl Post. For the non-HP fans here, this is what they call the post office.





Look at all the junk piled on top of the cashier's booth....reminds me of that show Hoarders!



Wands for purchase. You could also get a wand in Olivander's, but if you didn't want to wait in line they were available in the stores, too.



Book may bite! This is "The Monster Book of Monsters" from Harry's Care of Magical Creatures class. And it really moves around and tries to bite you!





Check out the price on those robes!



Loved these shirts. Terrie and Joshua both got a Ravenclaw shirt.



See those brooms up near the ceiling? They were chained to the wall and they were moving up and down, as if they were flying.



The one complaint I had about the Harry Potter area (other than the lockers) was the stores were super crowded, and I don't even feel like the park itself was that crowded that day. It's just that they are so cramped. But I think that was intentional and part of the theming.

Outside in the owlery (where they keep the owls that carry their messages and letters to each other)....see the owls up near the top?



This was also a covered seating area.

And the theming comes complete with owl poop....





They also have an area outside the owlery where you could get your post cards stamped to say they came from Hogsmeade.

Lynda and I decided we wanted to ride the Dragon Challenge. This is what used to be called the Dueling Dragons but they changed the name to go along with the theme of HP - themed after HP & the Goblet of Fire where they have to get the dragon's egg and fight dragons during the first part of the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

On the way in we asked if there was a single rider line and there wasn't, so we had to wait. It wasn't too bad, though - maybe 20 minutes.

The banners in the queue were really cool - all supporting the 4 champions in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. I didn't take many pictures here b/c there was no line until we got inside and we were walking fast.



Go Edward Cullen....I mean Cedric Diggory!



Another view of the castle to give you perspective where this ride queue was....



Continued in next post: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=50397869&postcount=300

 

[punkin413]

Look, it's Mr. Weasley's crazy car!



Candles in one room we waited in.



We didn't realize it when we did it, but we got in line for the front of the coaster. Fine by me, but it probably added 5 minutes or so to our wait. Oh, well! Here's our dragon....



Here's a video of the coaster. And since we were in the front row, this is exactly our view.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCwsyHusd3o

And here's the queue video in case anyone is interested:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuJTXu6MaU8

It was fun but rough. Definitely the most thrilling ride in the HP area! I was dizzy when I got off!

When we met back up with everyone, they were all ready to head out, and we were too. So one quick stop by Zonko's to get some candy (you'll see exactly what I got if you keep reading) and then we started to head out.

Lynda and I really wanted to try The Hulk. So we did go by there before we left. They did have a single rider line on this one, so we hopped in that line so we wouldn't have to wait so long. I think we waited maybe 15-20 minutes in that line. Here's our view before we got on.....



When we got up to the loading area, they were filling in holes from the single rider line, and when they got to me they put me in the very back row. Yikes!!!! I'd rather be in the front row than the back on a roller coaster! The back always gets whipped around more and goes faster. Oh, well....what could I do?? I was pretty nervous though!

It was a BLAST!!! Great coaster - loved it! I actually thought Dragon Challenge was way more scary than this.

Here's a video in case you're interested....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsjdYQJc748

I totally wasn't expecting it to take off halfway through the incline!!

I met up with Lynda (she was on the coaster behind me) and we headed to the lockers to get our stuff. Guess what....the locker didn't work again!! I had to get an employee to help me.

We met up with everyone else and headed out towards the front of the park. It started raining just as we got off the coaster....perfect timing!!

There's a huge store near the gates and we stopped there to pick up the other souvenirs we wanted. I took a picture of everything I got (further down below) but I thought these robes were interesting. Expensive Halloween costumes, huh??

















It POURED on us through City Walk. Good thing we had nowhere to be b/c we were soaking wet when we got to the parking deck! We said goodbye to Lynda and Josh (SOOOOOO glad I got to spend more time with them this trip!) and headed back to the condo.

Here's all my loot.



My shirt says, "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" and has all four houses' emblems. I got a shirt for Seth that says, "I served time in Azkaban, Approach with Extreme Caution, Do Not Attempt to Use Magic Against this Person." On top of my shirt is my butterbeer mug and then a coffee mug I got that has Ministry of Magic on it. The bottle in the middle is Pumpkin Juice, which I took back to Georgia to share with Ray. It was yummy! Then I got a box of Every Flavor Jelly Beans (which includes flavors such as earwax, dirt, black pepper), a chocolate frog and some of these cobweb things that were made out of white chocolate.

Continued in next post: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=50397876&postcount=301