First time's a charm

[TunaSled]

Last week was our first visit ever. We stayed at Cabana Bay and for the money I must say it was well worth it. I do like Disney's value resort family rooms better, but until All Star Music gets a lazy river, waterslide and bowling alley, CBR wins! 14 y/o son wanted to buy a wand at the resort gift shop already. I told him to wait to be sure that's the souvenir he wanted, as we had only been there an hour and hadn't set foot in a park yet. The walk from our room (Thunderbird, 3rd floor) to CityWalk security check was exactly 15 minutes. We explored the area and CW that evening.

Our tickets were 4 day single park.

Park day 1: Islands of Adventure. No early entry, so we were 1st at the gate to get our Potter on. Goose stepped through Seuss, blasted through Lost Continent and into Hogsmeade. Wow. Breath officially taken away. I'm so glad we were just about the first family back there, there is so much charm when it is empty and the crew members in Hogsmeade garb are at every entrance to every shop and attraction waving at you. Enchanting! We did Forbidden Journey first. Then second. Then third. I forget how many times but we cycled it until the line hit 10 minutes. What a cool attraction! I think of Sum of All Thrills meets Soarin'. Butterbeer time. At that point I noticed Ollivander's line was ready to enter... we hurried in. Guess who got their wand! Sure enough, he was chosen. Hippogriff, both sides of Dragon Challenge. Back into Lost Continent for lunch. Kebabs, then look! A magic show! Sigh, a sales pitch. Still entertaining though. We then crushed the rest of the park quickly as everyone was crammed into Hogsmeade. We had our run of the place. Spiderman, Doom, Hulk. Then we got wet. In order from driest to wettest, River Adventure>Buzzsaw>Popeye. We were drenched. Thank goodness for that 15 minute walk. We came back in time to see Hogsmeade at dusk, as per recommended. Breathtaking! We repeated everything back there again, FJ many more times. I wanted a night ride on Hulk but somehow forgot. We wandered into CityWalk for dinner. I had pre-purchased the minigolf/meal thing, so we decided on Pat O'Briens. Very satisfied. We had prawn dip, jambalaya and shrimp mac n' cheese. Our round of mini golf was the "haunted" side. We had a blast! My son hates putt-putt golf and my wife is more "meh" about it, but they both were laughing and taunting one another the whole time! It was very well done. The adult faction of our party of three then went to Fat Tuesday and got some marvelous drinks. Pina Colada for her, Mudslide for me. Each with an extra shot of rum, unbeknownst to her

Back to the resort. Pockets unloaded, uh-oh... look what I still have! the meal vouchers. we paid for our overages and tipped handsomely but I forgot to place these babies in the bill holder. We must rectify this, can't leave our server responsible. More on that later.

To be continued...

But first a huge shout out to Tony Hinds. We used his transportation service and he was amazing. Above and beyond. We got Tony himself both there and back. We will use him again.

 

[HM]

Super fun reading about your day.
Wondering how you were able to fix your error of not leaving the vouchers and looking forward to more of you trip.

 

[angryduck71]

I plan on using Tony on my trip there. I even recommended him to a friend based on what I've read on the DISboards and he loved him. Excited to read the rest of your report!

 

[a1tinkfans]

So interested in ur experience/s. We wil be making our first visit soon. Please include any thoughts on ur accommodations. We ve never stayed value at disney... Why reference that, was it room style, location, lack of amenities/more groups/families? Any help appreciated. Looking forward to ur reort.

 

[TunaSled]

So interested in ur experience/s. We wil be making our first visit soon. Please include any thoughts on ur accommodations. We ve never stayed value at disney... Why reference that, was it room style, location, lack of amenities/more groups/families? Any help appreciated. Looking forward to ur reort.

I referenced Disney's value resorts because Cabana Bay is supposed to be USO's budget resort and its cost is similarly aligned. I'm not disappointed by either.

 

[TunaSled]

Park day 2: Up bright and early, ready to hit the Studios side. It's early entry for resort guests so we were nice and punctual, maybe 4th in line at our turnstile. Of course Diagon Alley is the only thing open for EE so there we are headed. Our first walk through the studios didn't let us absorb much ambience as we were herding toward London with the rest. Felt like parts of Disney's Hollywood Studios for sure. Once we got to the lagoon it was really cool to see the Simpsons and MIB showbuildings in person for the first time (across the water in the distance). There was London, and the triple decker bus from HP. This is probably a good time to say that while I'm familiar with the first three movies, I am not the best versed or hugest Harry Potter fan (at this point in my report. that changes). My son knows them well. We go through the bricks which you can hear moving to create a passage like in the movie. Cool effect already, and I haven't seen anything but bricks! As soon as we rounded the passage I was dumbstruck. The rest of the park no longer exists. We were fully transported! The detail was amazing, half a day could be spent looking at the facade windows alone. The dragon perched atop Gringott's is amazing and menacing. First things first: Gringott's. All I can say is WOW. The queue alone is worth the walk. They could have put the interactive goblin banker from the note exchange in here and called it a day, that would have been a great attraction in itself. I like how the experience is split into parts: the bank area early in the queue, the elevator, and the ride itself. Never a dull moment. We were, however, hauling through most of this for our first several rides (low attendance, early entry). The ride itself is a new breed of creature. 3D glasses on a coaster? Yes it qualifies as an actual roller coaster. I think it's more dark ride, but one of the best I've ever experienced. We cycled it probably 5 times, until the line wait said "do something else". No other actual rides in this area, which was a bummer since Hogsmeade has three coasters and a sick dark ride. Time to explore then, but we need butterbeers to carry along. I tried my first hot one (we'd gotten cold and frozen the previous day). There is no turning back. I will drink a hot butterbeer each remaining day. The wife and kid still opt for frozen. Oh well, their loss. We watched a lot of the wand gags, explored Knockturn Alley (sweet!), talked to the snake, and asked the note exchange goblin some questions he didn't care for (lol). Then it happened: a deep roar then a startling fireball shot from the dragon's mouth right over the center of Diagon. Wow!!! It was amazing to see people at first jump, then ready their cameras, willing to wait however long. I am guilty, but timed it well, managing to get a day and a night shot.

We then left Diagon Alley and headed to the left towards Fear Factor, which doesn't look like it's being used. Rode MIB. Yeah, it's as fun as they say. We repeated a couple times trying to better our scores and figure out where the points are. On to Krustyland! I loved the whole Springfield area. Too cool. The Simpsons ride was a blast, we only rode once but vowed to return. Moe's was not open yet, checked out Kwik-E-Mart. The person working was an Indian woman, not sure if that was awesome or racially awkward but we let it be awesome that day. Hey they sell comic books here! All the Simpsons titles! In fact you can get right up to current issues at several places throughout the parks we would notice. Both DC and Marvel which I find strange on many levels*. But who wants to carry a comic through a theme park since most who care about comics want them to stay mint? Makes me wonder how many they actually sell.

Hard left toward ET Adventure. We got a quick Spongebob and Patrick photo op on the way. ET was neat, very Peter Pan-ish. The celebration at the end makes me wonder if the middle of Ariel's Undersea Adventure wasn't influenced at least a touch. We got a bit lost in the kids area so we ended up riding Woody's Nuthouse coaster (heck it's a credit) then found our way back to the main path. I should mention the DeLorean here, it was cool to see that they hung on to a couple pieces to tribute older well loved attractions (Jaws too).

Past the Monster Makeup thing, taking notes of showtimes for later. Pics with Lucy and Marylin Monroe, checked out the Lucy tribute. Ate paninis at the Boulangerie then headed toward Rip Ride Rockit. After being shaken down for loose items no less than three times, we were next to hit the stairs. It started to rain. I asked the attendant at the cutoff point what their rain policy was, he said it took a bit to close the ride. When I said "good because this is our first time and we'd hate to miss it" he was wide-eyed. "You've never ridden?" "We've never set foot here!" He immediately ushered us into the express line, saying "oh, you'll get your ride". Amazing! Unfortunately we are coaster junkies and found RRR to be a bit bland. That didn't stop us from repeating though. By the time we were off, the rain had stopped. Minion Mayhem tine. We enjoyed this, especially having just watched Despicable Me in our resort room the night before. We headed up toward Mummy. Now this is a coaster. Not sure how popular this opinion may be but I'd ride Mummy over RRR anyday. This is a riot. One thing still rings in my head and if you've ridden you'll knowCUPOFCOFFEE

It started to rain again, this time a little harder. we were stuck in the arcade at the end of Mummy for maybe 15 minutes. I played a couple games of Shrek pinball. When the rain lifted, we hit Gringott's again a couple times, then MIB, then Simpsons. Back around the horn. We had a meal at Moe's. The fish was greasy.

Transformers. Holy shish. All three of us agreed that this topped Spider Man (and we LOVED Spidey). Very frenetic and hectic. I loved the part when you're actually driving on the street trying to avoid all the mayhem. We would repeat this several times since the entire attendance was packed into Diagon and we had the park literally to ourselves. We took several nighttime rides on RRR before leaving the gate.

We immediately hoofed it back to Pat O'Briens. We talked to the hostess, who wanted to seat us, but we informed her that we had other business. The waitress that worked last night, about 8:30, in the outdoor section, was she working? The greeter had no idea. So my wife says: "she had really good eyebrows." I guess it's a girl thing because the greeter was instantly like "Moe! I'll get her!" We were able to give the vouchers to our server from the previous night and she was incredibly grateful. She offered us drinks but we declined, nothing should come out of her pocket on our mistake. She almost had to pay for our meal as it was. If you grab a meal at Pat O'Briens, ask for Moe. She rocks. Tip her well.

Blue Man Group was amazing. we picked up our tickets at will call two nights before when we explored the CityWalk area for the first time. What an incredible show. we were seated just behind the poncho section and our son got a picture with a Blue Man afterwards. Back to the resort for drinkies!

To be continued further


*Universal always had a lock on Marvel hence the entire Marvel Comics section of IoA. Disney now completely owns Marvel but I believe has to let Universal ride out the rest of their initial agreement after which they would have to re-theme these areas (can anyone verify?) but DC Comics is a whole other matter, Six Flags has a deal to feature those properties at their parks. I thought these things were all exclusive, I don't think you'll see Snoopy at any other than a Cedar Fair property. Just sayin'.

 

[TunaSled]

Park day 3: Early entry on the studios side again. We decided to upgrade our tickets to park-to-park at this point, realizing that we were really digging the Potter stuff and why not roll back and forth! So we hit guest services then the gate. Today the bag policy for Gringott's has changed, or maybe it's per crew member. We received a stunning alternation of whether or not fanny packs through belt loops were ok. Yes this time, locker that time. Irritating, but we were having a great time so whatever. Stow it if we had to, it's good for a couple rides time anyway. Gringott's is best in the 1st row of the 1st car, 2nd best in the 1st row of the 2nd car (by our experience). We did maybe 4 cycles then it was butterbeer time. Hot for me for sure. We wandered a bit, checking out the intense detail in all the storefront windows. Through Knockturn Alley, then over to Kings Cross station. Hogwart's Express is very cool.

Of course we beelined to Forbidden Journey, ran it thrice until lines got thicker then repeated the Red Dragon (better of the two imho). Scuttled down into Lost Continent for lunch and had gyros. Better than the kebabs across the way for sure. Crowds got intense in Hogsmeade so we hopped HE back to the DA side. Caught the stage show near the Gringott's exchange. Left DA toward Disaster, decided to check that out. Fun, interactive, but very dated. Back around the horn for another go at MiB, then Simpsons. Got seated behind some seriously tall people, and we're not exactly short. Vowed to return. Got a photo op with Krusty and Sideshow Bob! Pink donut time. Oh my stomach. the three of us managed to finish it, however fattening. Shrek 4-D, not impressed. the seats were louder than the film. You'd think for an attraction from 2003 it would be a tad more advanced, I liked the pre-show more than the attraction. It's got this going for it though: there's no dozing off in there (unlike T2). Finally hit a Monster Makeup show window. While not being at all what we expected, it was sort of entertaining anyway. Grabbed a go on Transformers. Travelled towards Mummy for another couple rides and caught the parade. It was ok. Short I guess, but then we're used to the Disney parades. Back over to simpsons to get our perfect front row ride. Where did we even eat that night... ah yes, Moe's. Greasy fish and shrimp hitting the spot. My left knee was killing me at this point. Not sure why, but I remember this same thing from disc golf several years ago. Tough it out, TunaSled. Four rides on RRR, sans entire pocket contents. Mudslides at CW then Seagram's at the resort. Knee don't hurt no more... family is exhausted but happy.

 

[TunaSled]

Park day 4: Early rise and a brisk walk gets us to the Studios gate before all but a couple people. We were able to assume our own turnstile. Another beautiful Orlando day! High of 83. The ticket-taker engaged us in some cool conversation including details on the accident that caused Dueling Dragons to stop dueling and a few other tidbits. Another un-Disney event! You'd NEVER catch a cast member discussing any tragedy on grounds. We appreciated the openness. And the openness of the park as the gates swung to the side and we were the absolute first in and led the pack to London. As people clamored for Gringott's and lockers (another sketchy policy day) I heard the growl and roar. I readied my camera and finally got it! A great fireball pic. WE then of course hit Gringott's a few times, then on to breakfast. We decided to try the Leaky Cauldron and we were not disappointed! DW got an American breakfast while my son and I opted for the traditional. It was quite good. DW was repulsed by the black pudding but us boys quickly decided that it combined well with just about everything on an English breakfast plate. Butterbeer for a walking quaff, hot for me again. I wish I could find this stuff locally, it would quickly become a bad habit. We perused the area for a bit and found the tribute to the Jaws ride that once stood in this area in the apothecary window. On to platform 9 3/4. Got some great pics of DS walking through the brick wall. Back at Hogsmeade we did FJ right away with no line at all, and I noticed the house points counter on the right once you re-enter the castle. Poor Ravenclaw is greatly trailing. We decided we wanted to hit Hulk again on our last day, but as we approached we were notified that the lockers were down and could not be used. Our generous son said "if you and Mom want to go, I'll wait and hold our stuff". Awww! Of course we do boy... here's our junk! Run run run what? Hulk is down now? It seems someone got hurt, and it wouldn't open until a full inspection was performed. There goes our last day ride. Oh well, plenty more to do. Up through Seuss again (we didn't mess around at all here, why? I guess it seemed to kiddy) then on to Lost Continent. We did the Poseidon show, it was very cool. I especially loved the water tunnel. Someone said they dumbed it down or that it used to be better, can someone elaborate? Back up to Hogsmeade, we did both sides of Dragon Challenge again. Red is still better, for that pop of airtime after the first turnaround. B&M suspendeds don't often give good air pops, mostly dramatic positive Gs. Hogwart's back over to the Studios side. We hit the Starbuck's (this was our 5th time here) then wandered over to Mummy. After a couple cycles there, upon leaving the gift shop, a Blues Brothers performance! Loved it. "Rubber Biscuit" is a gem. Circled back and had lunch at Richter's Burger Co. Great stuff, not a bad price by park standards. I think like 12 bucks each got us a fatty burger and a pile of fries with a shake to wash it down. At this point we wanted to do MiB again and better our scores. I thought for grins I'd ask for the immigration room tour, and we got it! We were taken down to mingle among the aliens and their desks, and shuffle through some hilarious paperwork. The crew member took our picture in front of the alien operators before we were given priority boarding. What a cool experience, more pixie dust (if you can call it that here). Another Simpsons, then back to our favorite stuff: Potter. King's Cross straight back to the other side for yet more FJ (DW's favorite thing overall) then got lucky enough to catch the Frog Choir right at the beginning. This and Blues Brothers were by far my two favorite live shows we encountered! I wish I could have filmed it, the few instances on YouTube do not capture the magic of the performance we were given. Kudos to the witches and Wizards of the Frog Choir on December 5! Back again to the Studios (we bounced a lot on our last day). We let dusk fall while in DA, so we now have experienced both Wizarding Worlds after dark as was recommended to us. Worth every second. Our Universal vacation was near complete, we had a touch of shopping to do then back to CBR for a bite and to pack up for an early flight the next morning. Again Tony Hinds was right on time and fantastic.

In conclusion:

The Wizarding World areas were of interest to us by far. Not because we came in as HP fans, but because the theming was so immersive and the attractions were stellar. This matched the feeling Disney gives us regularly.

Coffee. Coffee... where is our next coffee coming from. Wait that applies to anywhere for me.

We intentionally walked out before the Cinematic Spectacular on our last day, the theory is to leave a stone unturned so that the urge to return is stronger. I think we did every single other attraction/event save the Seuss stuff, and most of the Kids' area on the Studios side. Oh, we couldn't do Pteradon Flyers. Too big.

Characters that we did not encounter but had hoped to: Doc Brown, Spiderman.

Staff/crew were great everywhere. Not afraid to go out of their way.

We will do this again. Probably WDW next, but we shall return here.


That is my TR. I will be happy to answer any questions or give any advice based upon our limited but thorough first experience. I will also try to post a few pics if anyone is interested. Thanks for taking the time to read this mess.

 

[pcstang]

Excellent report! I've been numerous times and did not know about the tour at MIB. Thanks for the tip!

 

[coastgirl]

Great TR, thank you! I am so looking forward to getting into Diagon Alley, even more so after reading your reaction to it. You are ride junkies!

 

[Gabriel&Nana]

Loved the trip report : You really enjoyed everything

Just a question : how long between every fireball shot from the dragon's mouth ?

 

[TunaSled]

Loved the trip report : You really enjoyed everything

Just a question : how long between every fireball shot from the dragon's mouth ?

That depended: A crew member told us it was on every half hour, which seemed accurate but the effect was down at the time. After dusk, when I got my best pics, I timed it. It was firing every 10 minutes. So I figure they increased it after dark maybe.

 

[TunaSled]

 

[TunaSled]

 

[TunaSled]

 

[TunaSled]

You are ride junkies!

If you only knew the half of it. In the last four years:

(in days)
Cedar Point x9
Michigan's Adventure x5
Six Flags Great America x8
Six Flags Great Adventure x2
Kings Island x4
Kings Dominion x2
Busch Gardens Williamsburg x3
Dorney Park x1
Hershey Park x2
WDWx 12
Universal Orlando x4

...off the top of my head. I'm missing stuff I'm sure. My wonderful wife and I have ridden more than 120 unique coasters each. That's actually very pale in comparison to a lot of enthusiasts but we consider ourselves casual

 

[coastgirl]

Whoa--impressive! Duelling Dragons was a big step for us last trip.

 

[Gabriel&Nana]

That depended: A crew member told us it was on every half hour, which seemed accurate but the effect was down at the time. After dusk, when I got my best pics, I timed it. It was firing every 10 minutes. So I figure they increased it after dark maybe.

Thank you, great pictures

 

[schumigirl]

Nice trip report.......glad you had such a lovely time.......

 

[TunaSled]

Almost forgot this beauty: