Feeling Hot Hot Hot! The Rain Curse is Broken! Two Weeks of Fun in the Sun! COMPLETE

[KatMark]

I had major problems with the DIS last night while trying to do an update; I see you did another one. I love the pics of Universal (this is the most I've seen posted of this section of the Studios), and the hiking pictures (what is it with the evil Stepmom though?).

 

[PopArtGal]

Everything looks so neat! Wow!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I had major problems with the DIS last night while trying to do an update; I see you did another one. I love the pics of Universal (this is the most I've seen posted of this section of the Studios), and the hiking pictures (what is it with the evil Stepmom though?).

We took so many pictures at Universal, probably because it was all new to us.

Everything looks so neat! Wow!

Islands of Adventure is an awesome park, we loved it!

 

[Marshay]

Just loving the pics of Hogswart & Hogsmeade.

So sorry the 30 minute ride was not 30 minutes. I think that coaster was originally the Dueling Dragons which we enjoyed ... although it wasn't terribly popular. I remember going on ride after ride after ride using the "secret" entrance so you didn't have to leave the building. Now that was fun. but I wouldn't want to wait one hour for just one ride!

When my kids are older, we'll start reading the HP books to them before going to Universal. It'll mean so much more to them that way. Right now they are too young. (So our next trip will be WDW + Legoland in January!)

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Just loving the pics of Hogswart & Hogsmeade.

So sorry the 30 minute ride was not 30 minutes. I think that coaster was originally the Dueling Dragons which we enjoyed ... although it wasn't terribly popular. I remember going on ride after ride after ride using the "secret" entrance so you didn't have to leave the building. Now that was fun. but I wouldn't want to wait one hour for just one ride!

Flight of the Hippogriff actually used to be the Enchanted Unicorn or the Flying Unicorn or something like that. The baby coaster.

Dueling Dragons is now Dragon Challenge. That is the inverted twin coasters where it looks like you are going to hit the other coaster throughout the ride.

Basically they just rethemed the rides for Harry Potter.

When my kids are older, we'll start reading the HP books to them before going to Universal. It'll mean so much more to them that way. Right now they are too young. (So our next trip will be WDW + Legoland in January!)

Oh yeah, I heard that Legoland was coming to Florida, didn't think it would be open already!

 

[kittylady1972]

Well we never would have gotten in line for Flight of the Hippogriff if the wait time on the sign had been accurate and actually reported the one hour wait, we aren't that crazy.

It is not just the Harry Potter section specifically that is drawing me back to Universal but the whole park. We loved Islands of Adventure! Disney is still number one in my heart though.

Ok, I will admit we did enjoy some of the rides at the Universal Parks...just not the crowds and the heat. I swear because of the pavement and lack of trees it just seemed so much HOTTER in those parks. Plus thw wait times we found to be VERY unreliable...you could get in a line that showed a 50+ minute wait time (and we did) and wait only 20 mins or less...and we did. Others would be much longer than posted...so clearly advantage to Disney for keeping much better accurate wait times posted.

Well there was that one time at RnR that our party got in line and the wait time changed RIGHT after they entered...I guess I should continue my trip report so I can write about that experience!

 

[SmallWorld71]

Great updates, Lessa!

Also, I know this is not my trip report. But, I highly recommend that if anyone decides to go to Universal, you stay at one of their hotels. You get their front of the line pass which is like having a Fast Pass for everything (with a couple exceptions) as many times as you'd like. It makes touring SO EASY and RELAXING. Disney is still my number one, but Universal was a lot of fun.

 

[jordanyosh]

question...is that water cold? it looks soooo awesome.....

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Ok, I will admit we did enjoy some of the rides at the Universal Parks...just not the crowds and the heat. I swear because of the pavement and lack of trees it just seemed so much HOTTER in those parks. Plus thw wait times we found to be VERY unreliable...you could get in a line that showed a 50+ minute wait time (and we did) and wait only 20 mins or less...and we did. Others would be much longer than posted...so clearly advantage to Disney for keeping much better accurate wait times posted.

Well there was that one time at RnR that our party got in line and the wait time changed RIGHT after they entered...I guess I should continue my trip report so I can write about that experience!

We were pretty lucky in respect to crowds and heat, they were pretty much nonexistent! I guess it is all about when you go.

Great updates, Lessa!

Also, I know this is not my trip report. But, I highly recommend that if anyone decides to go to Universal, you stay at one of their hotels. You get their front of the line pass which is like having a Fast Pass for everything (with a couple exceptions) as many times as you'd like. It makes touring SO EASY and RELAXING. Disney is still my number one, but Universal was a lot of fun.

Definitely a good idea to stay on site if you are going during the busy season as those passes could be so handy! I had contemplated buying the ones for sale in the park before we visited but it turned out they would have been a waste of money as the parks were pretty dead while we were there with the exception of the morning in the Wizarding World but you can't use the front of the line passes there anyways.

question...is that water cold? it looks soooo awesome.....

Well, you sure wouldn't want to go swimming in it! It is melted glacier water so it is pretty cold and then the temps drop to near freezing so it doesn't stay warm enough to keep the water warm. I dipped my fingers in the lakes and the temp wasn't too bad but that was in the really shallow areas where the sun could heat the water up easily.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

The Crazy Stepmother Chronicles: August 2011

Day Nine: Valley of the Ten Peaks Hike

Marcus and I said goodbye to the others as they set off on their one hour hike up Sentinel Pass. It looked way too scary for me!

They are the tiny specks in the distance. Marcus was a big baby and got really concerned when Dad and Maria left without him. He is the most spoiled dog, he started to whimper just like a baby when they started to walk away.

I attempted to follow their progress as they climbed. It was very hard to make them out as there were a few other people climbing the pass at the same time. I managed to catch some shots of them with my digital zoom.

Alek and Erich

I walked Marcus around the area to try and distract him. I had the leash tied around my waist so that if he took off running that he wouldn't escape me. Well he certainly jerked me around but he didn't get very far. He would catch the scent of some animal and want to go running after it or he would spot a marmot/squirrel hole in the ground and want to dive in. The critters were only temporary distractions, he kept stopping to look back and whimper at the others as they climbed.

Alek and Erich crossing the snow/ice patch on the path

There's Marcus trying to look for them again

Can you spot Alek and Erich?

Almost to the top!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

The pointy rock formation is where the pass received it's name. On the other side of the pass there are many more of these "sentinels".

As Marcus and I waited the wind started to pick up and it was CHILLY! Good thing I had my fleece from that morning that I could put back on.

A big group led by a guide arrived and they all sat down nearby to have lunch. All that food in the area lured the ground squirrels out which got Marcus all excited. I was sitting on a big rock with Marcus still tied around my waist when he took off like a crazed animal trying to get a squirrel. I went flying, he took off with so much force that it felt like my ribs had been bruised as the leash slipped up as it got yanked. Ouchie!

I did feel better having that group there as I was no longer all alone in the wilderness. No fear of a bear attack with a big group of 20 sitting nearby.

Shortly after that group arrived the others arrived back. They said it wasn't a hard hike up but I wouldn't have liked it due to the height and the steep slope. The view was great though so worth the hike for them. They sat down for a few minutes to eat a snack but it was so chilly that we decided to head back down to the more wooded area to eat our lunch where there would be more protection from the wind. This is also the point where my camera battery died. It had lasted a pretty long time considering I had no way to charge it. It had lasted through the day at Glacier, the first two days at Banff and then the first half of this day as well. Luckily I had planned ahead knowing that the battery would die and I had brought along my old camera on the hike. The old camera takes AA batteries so no worries if they die, easily replaceable whereas my new camera which I had been using had a rechargeable lithium battery, not so good when camping with no power outlets.

While crossing through Larch Valley Maria had to go off into the woods for some private time. Turns out she was having a bit of a problem with her GI tract. She had to make use of the woods quite a few times that day. Am I evil for reveling in her discomfort?

Looking down at Moraine Lake from our lunch spot.

Here is a funny Marcus story: While we were walking to our lunch spot Alek and Erich were ahead of Dad and I and they had Marcus tied to themselves. Well Marcus saw something, marmot, squirrel, who knows. He went charging after it and tried to dive into its hole in the ground on the side of the path. His head was right in that hole. Well, before they could pull him away, Marucs yelped and jumped backwards, up into the air doing a spiral back flip and then landed on the path looking completely bewildered. Dad and I got to see this all happen from behind and had no idea what had happened, all we saw was Marcus doing a flying back flip through the air. It was scary and hilarious at the same time. It was scary as we didn't know what had happened but hilarious because we had never seen a dog accomplish a jump like that before. What we think happened is that when he tried to follow that squirrel/marmot into the hole it fought back and bit him on the head. We noticed a little while later that it looked like he had a bit of swelling above one of his eyes. Did he learn his lesson? Nope! He continued to try and chase after all the animals the rest of the day.

Here are Dad's pictures from Sentinel Pass, the view looking into Paradise Valley and back into the Valley of the Ten Peaks.

The trip up

Looking back down to where he had left Marcus and I.

Looking down into Paradise Valley

Valley of the Ten Peaks

Marcus and I down by the lake. We are the little specks right next to the lake. You can see Marcus better than me.

Alek at the top

 

[jordanyosh]

Canada is absolutely gorgeous....

How far do you live from Niagra Falls?

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Back down with me

Love this picture of Marcus, it is adorable! It also shows how windy it was!

 

[GeminiAngel]

Dosen't all that waiting kill you? I'd go outta my mind!
Poor Marcus.
He looks like Dumbo in the wind.

Such a beautiful area. My hubby is from Sydney, Nova Scotia. We went to Ingonish, and check out the Cabot Trail a few years back. Just stunning views of the Atlantic.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Dosen't all that waiting kill you? I'd go outta my mind!
Poor Marcus.
He looks like Dumbo in the wind.

Such a beautiful area. My hubby is from Sydney, Nova Scotia. We went to Ingonish, and check out the Cabot Trail a few years back. Just stunning views of the Atlantic.

The waiting wasn't so bad, it was just Marcus yanking me around trying to kill all the animals that nearly killed me.

Mom and I were talking about a trip to the east coast this summer.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

if you had to sit and wait it looks like a good spot for that.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

if you had to sit and wait it looks like a good spot for that.

Yep, it was very scenic, too bad it was so cold!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

May 17th continued

It had gotten rather packed in the Wizarding World by the time that we were done with Flight of the Hippogriff. I wanted to check out all the shops but there was no way I was even going to attempt that with the crowd level being what it was.

My plan was for us to return at the end of the day and hopefully by then the crowds would have died down. We couldn't leave the Wizarding World without doing one more thing though, we had to get a butterbeer!

I knew that we should avoid the line at the outdoor Butterbeer cart and instead we headed into The Hog's Head/Three Broomsticks. They are both in the same building but have separate lines.

The line at the Three Broomsticks was a decent size but we weren't after food, just butterbeer, so we veered over to the Hog's Head where there were only 5 other people in line.

You can get butterbeer in two forms: frozen and regular. Everything I had read said that the frozen was better but I wanted to try both and make my own decision. I got one of the butterbeers in the souvenir cup and the other in a regular plastic cup. The price was not bad, right around $10 I believe for both drinks, that included the souvenir cup.

Drinks in hand we went out back to the patio as the indoor seating was rather full. The back patio however was deserted.

The butterbeer was delicious! I don't really know how to describe it, the closest in taste would be cream soda.

Even though everybody on the dis seems to prefer the frozen version of butterbeer we much preferred the regular! I am glad that we opted to try both versions.

After we finished off our butterbeers it was time to move on and explore the rest of the park, we weren't just there to see Harry Potter!

Here is a very short video I took as we were exciting Hogsmeade.

Video:Hogsmeade

Almost as soon as we exited the Wizarding World the crowds disappeared. We had the rest of the park to explore, where would we head to next?

[post=43012704]Click here to continue[/post]

 

[PopArtGal]

I wonder when the crowds will die down? In a few years since there won't be new movies?

 

[IheartDDuck]

Oooohhhh, butterbeer!!!! I only got to get one, because it was so cold I couldn't drink more than that. But I had the regular too and I loved it! I haven't had the frozen yet.