Fun, Sun & Strong Water Rum...*Yo-Ho*...23 Nights @ Sapphire Falls...A May 2022 TR

[keishashadow]

Wait, they sell flavored Bailey’s? Where’s the mind blown emoji when you need it?

asking for a friend, what is your favorite?

 

[schumigirl]

FL has cheap booze vs the states that live to slap on the taxes. A case of beer can be had nearly half price what we pay in our state. Same goes for gas

Can’t say I’ve ever seen it. Now I’m going to have to Google it lol

Well, that explains it......I wondered if everywhere was the same. I didn`t remember what we paid for alcohol in New York for example.

Ah, er, well........you`re allowed........lol........

Honestly, it`s one of those things you only hear in America and as a Brit....it just sounds so weird....lol.......

Wait, they sell flavored Bailey’s? Where’s the mind blown emoji when you need it?

asking for a friend, what is your favorite?

It`s everywhere Janet

I`m sure there was more flavours, we just didn`t picture them all. Some aren`t as nice as they sound.......and I wonder if the Pina Colada might be one I won`t like as its fruity.....I don`t like fruit and caramel flavours together. But I`d try it........

I think the origianl one is still my favourite. There was another brand around for the longest time, it was called Carolans and it was creamier tasting than Bailey`s.....seems to gone the way of the dodo now.

Which one do you fancy???

 

[schumigirl]

Enjoying your trip report. Always very well written and the camera man has a good eye for his subject matter.

Great photos of the parks, food and your days exploring other areas.

That is so nice of you to shop Bath and Body for your friends. They do have some nice body wash and lotion fragrances. Nice you had a designated suitcase to get all your shopping back home across the pond.

Every time I read your trip reports I‘am reminded that I need to be a bit more adventurous and travel a little more away from the parks and explore. You and Tom have found some lovely little towns and restaurants.

Thanks so much Robbie, appreciate the lovely comments. I`m very lucky Tom is so patient and enjoys capturing things we see too.

Oh Bath & Body is a favourite. We have one over here called The Body Shop.....similar idea but nowhere near as nice. They are very grateful I have to say, and jsut glad we take the time to buy it all for them....they do like it. And weirdly Tide pens are a big hit as we don`t have them over here either.....I have Janet to thank for telling me about them........

Funnily enough we said the same thing this trip. Yes, there are some beautiful little towns and places to eat, but we need to expand our visits to other places. We`ll search the map!

Glad to see you, hope you`re doing ok.......

 

[keishashadow]

It`s everywhere Janet

only game in town here is our ‘state stores’. Sadly, a really limited inventory in general and many of the individual stores are no more than a few aisles of standard stuff. I’ve been trying to get my hands on blue maui schnapps here for years. Makes a fine colada

Many who live within an hour or so of the state lines do drive across them to shop. officially, there is a bottle limit they are supposed to sell to out of state residents.

 

[schumigirl]

only game in town here is our ‘state stores’. Sadly, a really limited inventory in general and many of the individual stores are no more than a few aisles of standard stuff. I’ve been trying to get my hands on blue maui schnapps here for years. Makes a fine colada

Many who live within an hour or so of the state lines do drive across them to shop. officially, there is a bottle limit they are supposed to sell to out of state residents.

Did someone mention a colada........

Gosh we are so lucky.

Liquor, beers and wines are all available in every grocery store, small stores, corner stores and even fuel stations all sell everything. Maybe not the best offerings in some, but it`s available. Then we have specialist shops that focus on higher end products.......so we`ll never be stuck!!

Never heard of that Schnapps though......will have to go Google. I think we only have regular Peach in most stores, you can get more online of course.

Just Googled the Blue stuff......no delivery to the UK and no one seems to offer it here, honestly never heard of it before.

 

[schumigirl]

WEDNESDAY MAY 11TH​

Today we were again up with the larks.......I as usual was up before Tom and enjoyed wandering through to watch that gorgeous sunrise as it rose over RP. And it was surprising again just how busy it is with folks jogging around the paths. Very healthy!! Eventually I went through and woke up sleeping beauty who was enjoying his sleep as always.

We were planning to go to The Studios but only till around lunchtime maybe, so were dressed and showered quickly this morning and for some reason I was starving.....always makes me walk faster when I need some food!!

As soon as we walked into the lounge, we saw Lindsey and I gave her the biggest hug to say thanks for telling us about Spider-Man.......she said he called her as soon as he was done and said he had loved meeting us (always nice to hear) and said yes, it had been a fun meet......and of course Tom mentioned more than once......Spider-Man knew HIS name........lol.......

We would have to meet this young man in real life at some point!

This morning we chatted more to Lindsey before heading off to the parks. We just loved this girl!! And it was another roaster of a morning.......it was so gorgeous, we had a message before we left from Kyle that back home it was cold, grey and miserable.......well.....this was even better knowing it was as bad back home.....we were loving this sunshine and heat!!!

The boat had a fairly long line, so we didn`t get on the one waiting but it was only a few minutes till the next one came along. The boats are fantastic. We usually only get them when we go to the Studios, and unless it`s peak time like park closing or events like HHN you normally don`t wait long at any of the hotels. And it is a nice little way to get to Citywalk too. Some of the boat Captains are better than others, I don`t mean driving......some of them are very entertaining and chat and make you laugh along the way, some just drive of course and it only takes a few minutes to get there.

It was so hot this morning and I almost complained about it.......but, I wasn`t allowed to do that, I had promised!! But jeez it was blazing!!!

Tom remembered to use his thumb on the scanner this morning and it worked, no delays now. It`s weird as it`s not really a full fingerprint scanner in the correct sense, but does recognise patterns, some folks do have issues with it of course.

The park looks glorious this morning, that vivid blue sky against the sparkling sunshine with the bright colours of the buildings all just make us smile every time we walk into these areas. There`s nothing quite like them. We often say we feel that here life is in colour and us in the UK almost live in black and white........we never have heat like this and although we can have some lovely days, our sky never quite looks like it does here.

We wander through the store and then head out to Minions which is such a cute ride. I`m not as keen on it now since it turned into a 2D ride........but we do it once a trip and that`s usually enough. The EP line is only a 5 minute wait and soon we are inside where it is cool and we do enjoy the ride, it`s just not as good as before with the glasses.

Although we only ever ventured onto Shrek once a trip, we suddenly found ourselves missing the big green ogre........

We had ridden it in December knowing it would be the last time, but wished we could now. Some thought it was dated, and it was maybe in need of a new screen but as a fan of Shrek (only the first movie) this was going to be missed by us.

The boarding was up now and it will be revamped as a Minion dance/walkthrough experience........not Pets as some claimed. I do wonder if this isn`t overkill in this area for minions.......but, it`s popular so I`m sure it`ll work, Universal do things well so I have no doubt it`ll be a success.

And of course Monster`s Cafe was closing too. This place is not one we ate in often, but the pictures opportunities in there were spectacular. We adored the interior over the food which was average at best but during HHN it was a fabulous place to stop and have a cool drink for a 10 minute break.

I`m sure this will return as a Minion themed cafe with everything banana flavoured.......bleurgh.....I hate bananas!!!!

Tom did go over and do RRR at this point, I gave it a pass, when he came back he said he went on the front and it was a little better than the last time, but he wouldn`t bother going back on it this trip, we do prefer going on rides together. I mooched about and snapped some pictures having finally got a grip of the camera for a change!

The park was closing early for a private event tonight, so prep was under way for whoever was taking over the stage.

Tom took this when he came back, of course we knew the Cafe was closing, but we didn`t know it would closed before we left this trip, so we were glad to get this picture with no one else in it......it`ll be a throwback Thursday picture in the future as they have already got the boarding up and working on the replacement.

It`s a quiet little area again this morning, so we do grab a few pictures with barely anyone around which is always nice to do. We`ve been lucky with the parks having very few folks around at times, but I think that`s slowly changing as more folks defect from Disney, if only for one visit, but it was getting busier and I often lament the good old days when it was empty......but of course there weren`t as many attractions then as there are now, it did need an injection of money and new projects, and Potter certainly filled that gap well.

It was exceptionally quiet looking forward.

We knew the lovely Ms Marilyn was due soon, so we passed some time and waited to see her and the lovely dancers who were very good. It`s a short little show, but very cute and nice to catch if you`re passing and it`s on. They used to take a male audience member and have some connection with him previously, but I think Covid has stopped that too which is a shame, hope that comes back as it was added fun for this little show.

We did like the new flooring outside The Mummy and we looked forward to riding this again in September, this had been a long refurb and this area is somewhat lacking without the Mummy and explains why it was always so quiet whenever we wandered this way.

And we didn`t have long to wait till the dancers appeared and they are so good......same routine they`ve been doing for the longest time, but it works so why change it I suppose.

After the show we wanted to go into the Monster`s Tribute Store........it had been placed in the exit from the Mummy ride while it was closed, we hadn`t gone in last time but wanted a look today.

And it was worth a rumble through........

One of our favourite shows!!

I couldn`t resist this tee........and it`s so handy being able to have items sent directly to your room, it certainly saves you carrying items around all day. I did add in a few candles.....last thing I need, but well......

If you`re leaving the next day, they won`t let you do it in case it`s delayed for whatever reason, but we still had plenty of time and our packages were usually delivered in a timely fashion. If we were still in the room they were usually delivered around 9am, but obviously they can never guarantee it. It was a perk we took advantage of regularly.

The displays are all child friendly, nothing spooky or scary, maybe a little dark but nothing to worry about for most children.

We love the Classic Monster movies, all of them....well maybe not Creature from the Black Lagoon, never was a fan of that one, but Frankenstein, Mummy, Dracula, Werewolf, Invisible Man......all of them. I grew up watching them and being interminably terrified of them and eventually appreciating them in every format, even alternative classics like Abbott and Costello meets whichever monster......they were and are still a lot of fun. I have fond memories of my older brothers having such fun terrorising me after I was allowed to watch them at I suppose quite a young age, they both did very good Frankenstein`s Monster impressions!!!

So seeing Universal bring these classics to the forefront again these classics is just wonderful.

A whole new generation should be able to enjoy them. Although, I do wish they wouldn`t try and emulate them with up to date modern remakes......nope, they`re usually dreadful.

We had a wander back through to make sure we hadn`t missed anything......I think we covered it all.

It`s not a huge store and you can pass 10 minutes or so looking around and there are some fun little purchases and they do still have Mummy merchandise to purchase.

More Studios to come..........

 

[macraven]

always impressed with the pictures you share with us!

on the edge of my chair to wait and read what you will be sharing with us next.

 

[Robo56]

Love the the pictures of the Monster Tribute Store. I hope it is still there when I get there. I like some of the T-shirts.

 

[schumigirl]

always impressed with the pictures you share with us!

on the edge of my chair to wait and read what you will be sharing with us next.

Thanks mac.......I love the pictures Tom takes.......and the odd one from me too now and again......lol........

I`m always glad to read you`re enjoying it

 

[schumigirl]

Love the the pictures of the Monster Tribute Store. I hope it is still there when I get there. I like some of the T-shirts.

It should be Robbie......it`ll be there till the Mummy reopens which although it`s still showing as late summer, strong rumours are they may open ealry as they`re ahead of schedule......allegedly.

They do have some cool shirts.

 

[schumigirl]

We left the Tribute store and wandered round for a bathroom break......all the prosecco was catching up with us now!

I have to say, we always find the bathrooms in the parks to be well kept and I`ve never seen one in a mess or extremely untidy. And with the amount of folks going through them every day it can`t be easy. The ladies, gents too of course do a really good job keeping them that way.

I adored the entrance to these bathrooms......and we never fail to be impressed by the little touches that catches our eyes every visit and I loved the picture on the inside of the old subway line.

Louie`s was being refurbed, although it was still open using a partial area inside, but on the boarding outside they had ads for some classic Universal movies.....and I loved this one as we are both huge fans of the Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce black and white Sherlock Holmes movies.......we have them on dvd and in the winter we watch them frequently. They`re so atmospheric with the fog around they lend themselves to be watched on a dark and gloomy day, of which we have those in abundance over here!!! But, we love the old classics and these to us are classics and think Basil Rathbone is the ultimate Sherlock Holmes.

And they have to be watched in black and white......the colourised versions are horrific and don`t give that same nostalgia watching them, we tried one through gritted teeth......never again.

I do love that drop on that RRR!!!

Louie`s is a staple in the Studios, it does have very good pizza.....a couple of years ago we were so disappointed in it, it felt they had cheaped out a little with the sauce, base and the pepperoni as it was incredibly thin and so greasy, but last time we tried it was back to the old quality, but they had doubled the size of the slice which was huge, but easily shareable between two if you weren`t too hungry.

It was getting hotter by the minute, but standing by the lagoon was lovely as you did seem to get a tiny little breeze on our faces.....so we did stand for a few moments and savoured the slight cool on us.

I love this park. It is beautiful and although it is much maligned by some who only see Potter as worth doing in it, this park has an awful lot to offer. As well as the other areas and nostalgia this place offers, they have the water and light show in the evenings too which is very good and the fireworks although small scale as it is close to residents, it is very nice.

Louie`s does have some outdoor seating at the back and around the other side too, which did help right now with less seating inside.

We weren`t having pizza today, but we did say we would one day and use the mobile ordering we didn`t think we were keen on, well you have to try these things as they aren`t going away anytime soon.

We had eaten a chicken skewer from the food truck near Richter Burger in December and it was lovely. They had changed their offerings slighty this time around and the Hot Honey Biscuit appealed to me a lot......again, this would be another day.....

This boarding space intruiged us a little.

We had no idea what it was there for.....was it something interesting or was it a dull reason to cover some essential maintenance or similar.

They have a scare zone here during HHN so I concluded (right or wrong) it was something to enhance that experience......who knows........

Next door to Lombards is the SF Pastry co......we hadn`t eaten anything from here for years....again, we`re usually never hungry when we pass. But we did remember they had lovely pastries, so we would try to pop in at some point on one of our trips.

It was still fairly quiet outside the Potter area, we assumed everyone was inside of course......and we looked forward to going in as it`s always slightly cooler in there, especially in Knockturn Alley.........that is the best place to cool down.

Last time we were here for HHN, we did spend some time in there to escape the crowds and have a darn good cooling session!

A permanent memory that Amity Island did once reside here where Potter now lives.......

This is a very picture centric day.....Tom snapped so many pictures and they were all lovely......it was just one of those lovely mornings we took our time and didn`t rush anywhere....well, we never really rush and if we do it tends to be a slow rush......lol......but we were loving this today in the sunshine and heat of the day and taking in so many sights and sounds.



More to come.......

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Finally all caught up!


So I have to say I am not a fan of sushi at all, and its a shame because I always wanted to try cowfish, but I also have been cutting back on red meat! Le sigh.


Every theme park I go to i am OBSESSED with how they theme construction walls. I am a fan of the minions (i know i know) and I can do an impression of one! I actually think a walk through attraction based on villain con could work and would be something different.

While I am sad to see monsters cafe go, I hope it a) returns near the rumored dark ride for Epic Universe and b) that its not all banana themed for the minions. I love the rumor about it becoming a smoothie/breakfast spot as that is something sorely needed in that area, but i cant have bananas uncooked. Plantains I'm totally fine with uncooked, Bananas we have no clue. I am not allergic at all and when they are cooked into chips or bread (though thanks to my cousin loving banana bread and cake i am all banana breaded out for a while), bananas foster I am totally fine, same with banana flavoring- we just think my body hates them in my system unless they are cooked!

It's official: I love the tribute store. It is always brilliantly themed, and our lord and savior the HHN bear has a home.

I am always happy you point out little things in universal. While we saw more on our most recent trip, I now have more to look for and look forward to seeing in the future!

 

[Deb1993]

Well, that explains it......I wondered if everywhere was the same. I didn`t remember what we paid for alcohol in New York for example.

Ah, er, well........you`re allowed........lol........

Honestly, it`s one of those things you only hear in America and as a Brit....it just sounds so weird....lol.......




It`s everywhere Janet

I`m sure there was more flavours, we just didn`t picture them all. Some aren`t as nice as they sound.......and I wonder if the Pina Colada might be one I won`t like as its fruity.....I don`t like fruit and caramel flavours together. But I`d try it........

I think the origianl one is still my favourite. There was another brand around for the longest time, it was called Carolans and it was creamier tasting than Bailey`s.....seems to gone the way of the dodo now.

Which one do you fancy???

If you freeze cubes of coffee you can put it in your baileys. It is a lovely drink.

 

[schumigirl]

This really was a day of nothing really happening so far, it was us wandering around taking in everything as usual and enjoying that blistering sunshine beating down on us and being thankful sunscreen was so effective.

I did smile though at how good a lot of women look in the parks......their hair and make up are always so lovely, never seem to sweat (I should say glisten really) sounds a bit better......lol.......and just look so well turned out. Then I catch myself in the mirror some days and I have hair like Monica`s when they went to the Caribbean and look as though I`ve been dragged through a hedge backwards while being hosed down with cold water!

But, I have taken a mindset of I don`t care what I look like in the parks after so many years of visiting in the heat. I think September, although one of our favourite times to visit is the worst for humidity, but we still love it.

Entering Diagon Alley never loses that same excitement and awe of the very first time we did it. It did seem so long ago, but it wasn`t really. The colours and how realistic it is compared to the description in the books and of course the movies is something that genuinely blows us away every time. It could be doing with being bigger of course, but you`d lose that authentic feeling of how it should be.

There`s a City in England called York that has a lovely old style shopping area called The Shambles and I would always think of it when walking through the entrance.

​

I do think she did get her initial inspiration for DA from that area.

But, today it wasn`t as busy as we thought it was going to be, so we managed to stop and get some pictures without disrupting anyone or too many folks getting in the way of pictures we wanted to take. I think at this time of day getting pictures with no-one else in them was a pipe dream.

I`m not a huge fan of Kenneth Branagh, but have to admit he did a wonderful job of playing Gilderoy Lockhart in the movie, so funny and as described to a tee!!

There are several nods to Jaws in Diagon Alley which of course used to sit on this exact site.......one of them being the teeth in the window of the Apothecary store next to Florean Fortescue`s Ice Cream place which is a nice touch.

The Shrunken Heads inside Knockturn Alley also sing Show me the way to go home, similar to the rendition given by Brody, Hooper and Quint in the movie. And the Blacksmith`s shop also has ropes and ladders that were props from the movie around it.

Also, and for us one of the most interesting nods is inside Wiseacre`s Wizarding Store as you exit Gringott`s ride, the telescopes and other items on show are all made from parts of the Jaws ride including the track.

This particular telescope below is made from parts of the huge brass compass that was in the line.

We do love a picture every time of the dragon!!

The products of great imaginations are all around the Potter areas, subtle little touches that always impress us and I know I can bore for Britain about them, but every single time we find something knew or something we`ve completely missed every trip.

I still get teased that I had been visiting Universal since 2007, and one time I was walking through the main Universal store as you walk into IOA to the left, and asked Tom and Kyle if the giant balloon near the back of the store...that takes up almost the whole width of the store, had always been there

My response when my two couldn`t stop laughing.....this thing was huge after all....

This steaming kettle is one of my favourite things.........

We head into Knockturn Alley, one of favourite places in DA........always did like the dark side of things!! Or so I`m told.........

We didn`t hang around long in here today, it was exceptionally busy and the stores which have the cabinet that moves around and so on, you just couldn`t move in, so we headed back out the sunshine and just caught this before it disappeared and went dull again.....it did look like it was on fire.

It was much busier now than when we had first come in, so it was time to go.

We saw Kreacher as usual and managed to get a gap in the folks walking past for a picture opportunity and Tom explained yet again to someone you didn`t have to knock on the door to make him appear at the window as he was on a timer.....they seemed a little disappointed to be honest......but now they knew.

We had a quick blast on MIB........not my favourite ride, not because it spins a little but it bores me rigid! I know......everyone loves it.......I don`t get these aim and shoot rides at all and would happily never ride it again, but Tom and Kyle both love it, so I do it. Although did I ever mention the time I beat them both without even trying.......lol......Kyle spent the rest of the day sideglancing me and asking how the heck I managed that.........who knows!!!

The EP line was short and we were on and off in no time....nope, not a clue what the score was!

I do enjoy the films to be fair, well, the first 3, we just watched the remake before we left and as expected it was truly dreadful.

Tommy Lee Jones is a hard act to follow!

Such a gorgeous view over the park.

We began to head out of the park now and wandered down by the lagoon to see another relic from Jaws, well it was in Amity at one time but it had disappeared for many years. But the solo sailor reappeared several years ago behind Lombards and it`s good he is around, but if you don`t know you could easily miss him. We had gone down to behind Lombards and got pictures up close, but we always remembered him being near Bruce in Amity all those years ago.

And of course BTTF.

We are looking forward to the new Escape rooms coming to Citywalk in the Autumn, one will be BTTF themed and the other will be Jurassic Park themed.......they both sound like fun! We do like Escape rooms and have done a couple with a group of friends in the UK (not as good as US ones) although, to be fair we were pretty rubbish at it......but that could have been because all of us had enjoyed some wine or cocktails first

I don`t think we had ever been inside Cafe La Bamba. We hadn`t done any RIP tours or had any reason to be in it, but I always thought they should theme it as a restaurant based on the glamorous classic movies when style and panache were in vogue. I`d love a high end restaurant like that.....although maybe in a theme park it might not be the best place. It just seemed like it would lend itself to such a theme.

Lombards is probably the nicest restaurant in the parks design wise and works well, but it is well priced too. Beautiful building though that does scream 1930`s glamour and style to me.

I forget what we wanted to buy, but we popped into the store at the exit and while Tom paid for whatever it was, I snapped some of the old images from long ago made movies.......

Not a fan of Mr Cruise, I like his movies but not him if that makes sense......but I liked this picture.

And of course, the ultimate director of terror and suspense.We are huge fans of most of his films, except Rope and The Birds, they just don`t work for us but the rest of them we adore and watch them regularly.

It was boiling hot and we were glad to be heading out today, as we walked down to the boats we just missed the RP one which works for us too, but only a few minutes later the boat for Sapphire arrived and we were glad to be sitting down for a little time till we got home.

It was deserted.

It was lovely to get back into the cool of the hotel.......one of the nicest parts of being hot and not complaining about it........lol.......

As we walked down towards Guest House 2 we heard a voice say it was his favourite folks........we glanced up and it was Rob who many may know from Bell Services at RP. We`ve known him a long time and he is just lovely. He was with his family who we have met before in the parks and so on, so we caught up with him and he told us we had to stop by and say hello, which of course we would do, he is so nice and knows everything!!! If he doesn`t know it, it`s not worth knowing, but a very nice man.

I love the view over the lagoon and after I showered and changed I snapped a few images while waiting for Tom....yes, he was keeping me waiting today!!!

He said he was doing his hair.........

More to come..........

 

[schumigirl]

Finally all caught up!


So I have to say I am not a fan of sushi at all, and its a shame because I always wanted to try cowfish, but I also have been cutting back on red meat! Le sigh.


Every theme park I go to i am OBSESSED with how they theme construction walls. I am a fan of the minions (i know i know) and I can do an impression of one! I actually think a walk through attraction based on villain con could work and would be something different.

While I am sad to see monsters cafe go, I hope it a) returns near the rumored dark ride for Epic Universe and b) that its not all banana themed for the minions. I love the rumor about it becoming a smoothie/breakfast spot as that is something sorely needed in that area, but i cant have bananas uncooked. Plantains I'm totally fine with uncooked, Bananas we have no clue. I am not allergic at all and when they are cooked into chips or bread (though thanks to my cousin loving banana bread and cake i am all banana breaded out for a while), bananas foster I am totally fine, same with banana flavoring- we just think my body hates them in my system unless they are cooked!

It's official: I love the tribute store. It is always brilliantly themed, and our lord and savior the HHN bear has a home.

I am always happy you point out little things in universal. While we saw more on our most recent trip, I now have more to look for and look forward to seeing in the future!

We love sushi, but that was just such a disappointment, style over substance for sure.....well, if you don`t eat sushi or eat a lot of red meat.......maybe Cowfish is not for you. They do have a very nice appetiser of spicy shrimp we really like and I think a chicken sandwich??

lol....you`re allowed to love Minions...they are cute!! I`m sure Monster`s Cafe is going to reopen in Epic Universe, but an enhanced experience with better interactions with staff and so on.

I do think the one in the Studios will reopen and be highly minion themed which will include the dreaded bananas......lol....hate them....actually I love plantain too thanks to Chef Carlos in SW.

What you describe with bananas is somewhat similar to me with onions.....if they`re pounded down in a sauce or in a seasoning I`m fine with....but hit me with raw or chunks of cooked onion and I`m ill! It`s weird how the sugars react with our bodies and doesn`t like certain foods in a certain way.

Glad you`re still enjoying and reading along.......

 

[schumigirl]

If you freeze cubes of coffee you can put it in your baileys. It is a lovely drink.

lol....I don`t really drink coffee, maybe once or twice a year, but that is a nice idea for coffee drinkers.

Tom does make an Irish coffee at times, but hot as we don`t really have iced coffee over here, well we do in Starbucks and places like that, but not something we`d have.

Don`t think we have any Bailey`s in the house right now

 

[disneyseniors]

Carole, I know people say that they love your photos, but I actually find them extremely interesting. You capture all the little unique things and places that I always seem to miss. My husband likes to have a destination and off we speed to it, LOL. He is slowing down more now. We will definitely take our time on our next trip to UO to actually stop and see these unique things.

I also love, love Knockturn Alley. The creepy, dark alleyways are perfect. I also love the vanishing cabinet where you can hear the canary chirping and feel the cabinet shake. There is so much atmosphere there.

I know some people think the entire area is too small, but I love that JKRowing kept the shops small, just like in the books and movies. I feel like I am walking through the movies when I tour there.

Once again, thanks for the great TR and lovely, Lovely photos
(You would love it here now; we are having a warm spell in Northern Minnesota and it is 95 degrees now)

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

We love sushi, but that was just such a disappointment, style over substance for sure.....well, if you don`t eat sushi or eat a lot of red meat.......maybe Cowfish is not for you. They do have a very nice appetiser of spicy shrimp we really like and I think a chicken sandwich??

lol....you`re allowed to love Minions...they are cute!! I`m sure Monster`s Cafe is going to reopen in Epic Universe, but an enhanced experience with better interactions with staff and so on.

I do think the one in the Studios will reopen and be highly minion themed which will include the dreaded bananas......lol....hate them....actually I love plantain too thanks to Chef Carlos in SW.

What you describe with bananas is somewhat similar to me with onions.....if they`re pounded down in a sauce or in a seasoning I`m fine with....but hit me with raw or chunks of cooked onion and I`m ill! It`s weird how the sugars react with our bodies and doesn`t like certain foods in a certain way.

Glad you`re still enjoying and reading along.......

My mom is the same way with you and onions (and peppers. Shame because she loves cooking with them for flavor!) she also sadly developed a red wine allergy about a decade ago and it can be very sad when she wants something but it has red wine.

Also my father was actually in cafe la bamba once-our first ever excursion into Universal in 2012 he was approached to participate in a survey. (This whole trip he did surveys all over Disney and universal we keep joking about it). It was no typical survey. It was a taste test survey. For biscuits and various sauces and gravy’s. For what we now believe to be something at Simpsons Fast Food Boulevard because he remembers tasting one that was waffle batter (and now my fave thing to eat in Simpsons is Cletus chicken shack chicken and waffle sandwich go figure!)

 

[schumigirl]

Carole, I know people say that they love your photos, but I actually find them extremely interesting. You capture all the little unique things and places that I always seem to miss. My husband likes to have a destination and off we speed to it, LOL. He is slowing down more now. We will definitely take our time on our next trip to UO to actually stop and see these unique things.

I also love, love Knockturn Alley. The creepy, dark alleyways are perfect. I also love the vanishing cabinet where you can hear the canary chirping and feel the cabinet shake. There is so much atmosphere there.

I know some people think the entire area is too small, but I love that JKRowing kept the shops small, just like in the books and movies. I feel like I am walking through the movies when I tour there.

Once again, thanks for the great TR and lovely, Lovely photos
(You would love it here now; we are having a warm spell in Northern Minnesota and it is 95 degrees now)

Oh I`m glad your husband is slowing down some. Taking your time to smell the preverbial roses is the best way to do the parks. Some folks like commando style, but it`s not for us and yes, there are so many little things to see that are so easy to miss.

Yes, it`s incredibly atmospheric in there, and I agree, DA and Hogsmeade are exactly as they should be, the way they were originally written. She is an incredibly talented writer.

Weather sounds lovely! We actually had 91F last week, only for a couple of days, so we made sure we made the most of it.......I`m sure your high temps will last much longer than our heatwave did.

And thank you........I`m so glad you are enjoying it, I`m very lucky to have Tom take such wonderful pictures for me

 

[schumigirl]

My mom is the same way with you and onions (and peppers. Shame because she loves cooking with them for flavor!) she also sadly developed a red wine allergy about a decade ago and it can be very sad when she wants something but it has red wine.

Also my father was actually in cafe la bamba once-our first ever excursion into Universal in 2012 he was approached to participate in a survey. (This whole trip he did surveys all over Disney and universal we keep joking about it). It was no typical survey. It was a taste test survey. For biscuits and various sauces and gravy’s. For what we now believe to be something at Simpsons Fast Food Boulevard because he remembers tasting one that was waffle batter (and now my fave thing to eat in Simpsons is Cletus chicken shack chicken and waffle sandwich go figure!)

I adore onions, which makes it worse. I can eat the green of salad onions....I thank the FODMAP plan for helping me realise why some foods don`t work for me and what I can be ok with.

Oh goodness......a red wine allergy would be so much worse for me!!! Couldn`t imagine that one......

How interesting with the survey. I haven`t heard many folks get those type`s of survey`s, hope he enjoyed it. I wouldn`t mind doing one like that.