HHN at last! A TR that was briefly live, then not live, and is now finished.

[CAPSLOCK]

So, I love reading trip reports, but have never written one. I know I'll forget stuff then just not do it when I get home... and, since I'm awake here in Cabana Bay I thought this would be a lovely time to post!

I'm Becky, vacationing with my best friend & roommate Alysia!


This is our 3rd UO trip - first was Feb 2018 & we were hooked. In mid-2018 we started planning HHN for 2019. Then I faced catastrophic vet bills so we pushed it until 2020. Well, everyone knows how HHN in 2020 went... we moved our 2020 trip back by a week and went in Covid-November.




We had lucked out this trip - got a great AP Sapphire Falls rate of $104/nt then were upgraded to Royal Pacific when SF remained closed!
We had such a blast.
We rode Hagrids.

We rode Hagrids a LOT.

It was glorious.

Back to the present! Got in the car at 3am to drive to the airport. Traffic is great at that time. But ugh, 3am. Lovely weather:

Got seats together, and were super lucky to be one of very few rows without a 3rd person. Napped a little on the plane.

Landed 9am. Uber to Cabana Bay, mobile checkin on the way. Skipped about 3-4 parties in line and were helped right away (mobile check-in is the bomb!).

They asked about preferences, told them any room was fine. Our room was ready - sweet! Looking at room number and map, I thought - excellent, building 5 - that's closest. And high floor - perfect, better views. Misread numbers at first, then realized in the elevator it was even better - low room number, must be close to the lobby. OMG, so close to lobby. Close to bus stop, close to diner! No trek down the halls! You can see our door from the elevator! If you've been to CBBR, you know how exciting that is. We were here last year. Those hallways that look long on the maps, are longer in person. Man, this vacation is starting off super and we haven't hit the parks yet!

View from our room, 5609:








Unloaded, switched to shorts, and off to the parks. Headed towards the bus - we're almost to the bus. Crap, forgot sunscreen. Back to the room. That room that is so very close to the elevators is paying off in spades already. (Note: sunscreen was a good plan, it was gorgeous & sunny all day). And... short walk back to the bus again. Bus is there. 11am, no line at security.



Edited to add better photos!

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Headed to Islands.


Alysia (1) gets motion sickness and (2) doesn't like rides with big drops, including roller coasters with big drops. Had to convince her to try Hagrids the first time, because it has a "17 foot vertical drop." After some discussion about how far that actually is, she tried it. It is now her favorite ride (Mummy / Gringotts are next).


Anyways, she wears a trans-derm scop anti-nausea patch at the parks. Works great. But she just put it on in the room, so we were giving it a little to kick in. I took a quick swing on Hulk - FYI, that is the proper way to start a vacation.


Then off towards Mythos for lunch ressie - figured we'd see if they'd take us early; we were hungry after that early start to the day.




They seated us at 11:35 for a noon reservation. Others at the door were being told 10-20min wait. This ended up being a very slow day at the parks, so I'd definitely say you still want reservations for lunch here. Had a lovely, filling lunch - I got the pork chop. Have never had a pork chop at a restaurant, and Mythos did not disappoint. This was better than it looks.


Now full, so it's time for Hagrids!
On the way, met the Madagascar lemur.


Alysia found a friend - she has an affinity for ducks, pigeons, turtles, and frogs, and those little FL lizards.

Definitely more pigeons here than last time.

Posted 35min, Hagrids was actually a 10min wait or so. Sadly no preshow today, the queue bypassed that room. We were looking forward seeing it - didn't even realize there was a preshow, since we'd only ridden during Covid. Hopped onboard and made it through the Forbidden Forest - success!

Alysia determined the anti-nausea patch was not quite all the way yet, so definitely no Forbidden Journey right now.

HHN closes US at 5pm, so we made our way in that direction. Hogwarts Express was only 10min! We were on the first train that showed up. Nice...

New ride for us: Fast and Furious. It wasn't open yet in 2018, and was Covid-closed in 2020. Appreciated the queue. The TM in the first room was funny. Ride wasn't as bad as I'd heard. I do like Kong better, but we'll do F&F regularly I'm sure.

Next up, Transformers. No line. At this point, we concluded that the parks were just super slow. Fabulous. We did pick this week for that reason... nice when your planning actually works!

On the way towards Mummy, we met Megatron - one person currently meeting, but no others in line. Perfect.



(Alysia looked terrible in the selfie, so I cropped her out.)

 

[schumigirl]

Glad you`re happy with your room at CBay.......

And nice pictures already, looking forward to reading along

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Headed back to check out the HHN Tribute store after Mummy. It was really neat. Then, into Diagon Alley. Our dinner reservation for Antojitos wasn't until 8:15pm (IoA to close at 8pm), so we hit Floreans for a snack.


My toffee apple was good - fair warning, the brown & green swirled coloring does not look appealing (sorry, no photo). Alysia's strawberries & cream was fantastic.

Happily ice creamed, we're ready for Gringotts. Posted 25min, but really closer to 10min.

So glad the preshow is running again on this. I think we'd only seen it once before - we primarily used single rider in 2018. I also love all the queue theming on this ride. It really feels subterranean.




Hey, no line for Ollivanders! Skipped this last year, so let's hop in.




Ok, 4:32 and time to head towards IoA. Alysia suggested I ride RRR on the way out, so we aimed that way. Hmmm, walking past Transformers with no line - seems like a no brainer. We got our own Evac unit, there was absolutely no one there - another party got their own unit behind us too.

Hopped in line for RRR at 4:55. Started through single rider, but there were about 5 people in single rider and 7 in standby, so I switched over. Belting out some I Will Survive is a great way to end an afternoon at US.

We finally came to our senses that an 8:15pm dinner was a terrible plan that night. Switched the pressie to 5:45pm instead. All times were available.

Dawdled in the two Universal stores on the way over, and got the Scarecrow Stalk. I'm a grown adult and I will be trick-or-treating, darnit! Got a Tootsie Pop from the Tribute store stop while I was buying.


Dinner was lovely. Strawberry margarita =

We were smart enough to head back to the hotel at this point, rather than return to IoA. Passed lots of people coming in for HHN.

Our CBBR bus was waiting at the stop.

Wandered upstairs to the Jacked up experience. It was fine if you're already at CBBR, but not something I'd go out of my way to do.




Blissfully short walk back to the room. Can I also note how efficient the elevators are in this joint?
Also, here's the bus stop from our room.


Wonderful first day.

Today, "sleeping in" ( I obviously failed at that), pool/ relax and our first taste of HHN.
This morning is looking beautiful.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

It is a great event this year but please stay safe! Lots of rude attendees, apparently there are now fights over who goes through the houses last-it’s crazy.
Icons was amazing, Puppet theatre is more creepy than scary but still a fun house and Beetlejuice is so much fun and managed a jump scare out of me! Also the HHN tribute store is

 

[nouvellefleur]

Thanks for sharing your trip! I'll be following along!

And - no wait at Ollivander's?

 

[musika]

Oh, a live report! So much fun Which building are you in? And how close are you to the pool?

 

[CAPSLOCK]

And - no wait at Ollivander's?

We've done Ollivanders twice now - once in each park. Both at end of day. Both no waits. I got chosen the first time . So I encourage trying near the end of the day.

Which building are you in? And how close are you to the pool?

Americana building 5 (the half of Americana that is closer to the lobby is 5, the other half is 6). Going to pool next, but I think that all rooms are reasonably near the pool as there are multiple exits to the pools along the hallways. (See edit below...)

Lots of rude attendees, apparently there are now fights over who goes through the houses last-it’s crazy.

Also the HHN tribute store is

People need to figure out how to act like adults in society. It's a shame.

And yes!


Edit: after some pool time, it looks like Bayside tower & most of Americana building 6 is a hike to the pools, because there are no entries through the lazy river area on that side, so you'd have to walk around it in one direction or the other.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Pool is next. Lazy river was closed last time - happy I can test it today.

Not impressed with the shower at CBBR, but it's better than mine. All are better than mine. We have a little shower stall. Picture a phone booth. So anywhere I go, I'm always excited to have any other shower. Oh, it is lovely to shave in not-a-phone-booth. The water pressure is not great (not terrible either) and the faucet is jiggly. But it is functional, and again better than home.

Plus now I'm Zestfully clean!

I forgot, we also walked into Minions around 4:20pm yesterday, if that gives anyone an idea of crowds...

 

[nouvellefleur]

We've done Ollivanders twice now - once in each park. Both at end of day. Both no waits. I got chosen the first time . So I encourage trying near the end of the day.

Fabulous! We'll be there in a week and a half. We're planning to check in on Ollivander's our first afternoon

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Pool time on Wed 10/27 - lazy river apparently opens at noon during the week right now. I'd heard that Hard Rock plays underwater music; didn't know Cabana Bay does the same!

Had a little swim in the real pool, then decided to grab lunch whilst awaiting the lazy river. The Brazilian steak at Bayliner diner in CBBR is really quite good for $16. Love the garlicky chimichurri.


Lazy river was longer & better than I expected. Several waterfalls along the sides and a few little squirt things. Nice warm water.

After a shower, time to head to US for our first HHN! To security at 3:17pm - no lines.


We headed towards Simpsons, but on the way past Bourne Stuntacular they gave the last call for the 3:30m show. It's a great show, so at 3:28pm we walked into the preshow. No more social distancing here, they were having everyone move down & fill in all seats. Headed towards the front, and ended up 3 rows back near the center. Great spot to watch the show. Noticed effects we had missed before - not sure if that's because we were in the back previously, or due to Covid then?

Anyways, we both highly recommend this show!

Now, back on track for Simpsons. What's this, Kang & Kodos slowing to a stop with no line?




Why sure, we'll take a spin!

These are Alysia's favorite characters on Simpsons. The ride is straightforward, but it has funny comments and is worth a quick ride.



Alright, back on track for Simpsons again. No lines, though it was posted 20min I think.



After surviving Sideshow Bob's mischief, we headed to the Stay & Scream area to await HHN. The entrance to the Stay & Scream area is way down into central park. Long line, but moved remarkably fast as they scanned people into the holding area. We had held onto our BOGO tickets from 2020, and they are loaded onto the UO App. No problem at all - scanned & entered.

We'd seen people already staked out in the Hill House line as we entered the area after Bourne - not our plan. Our plan was dinner then wait for stuff to get moving. More on that later...

We headed to the little crossing area - because the park is still open, they wait for a break in daytime crowds wandering past then let you cross from Central park to Fast Food Boulevard & vice versa.





Had some food, looked at the HHN map. A little after 5:45 or so we saw the Hill House line start moving. Time to join the herd. HHN at last!

 

[CAPSLOCK]

In hindsight, joining the line when we did, we should have gone to Beetlejuice. But being the clever person I am, we waited for Hill House. We were among the last to get in that line. As we were waiting, the line did not grow behind us. We could have waited another 15 min before joining the line and been only another 20 people back.

Hey, anyone know if this shrouded wheeled monstrosity is the alligator float from Mardi Gras parade? Looks like his snout, doesn't it?


Finally to Hill House 6:08pm. Super cool house! Loved the costumes/makeup, the set, the effects.


Long walk back to the park, then joined the Beetlejuice line. That's right, like everyone in front of us. Putting us at the back of that line too as it ballooned up, then again hardly grew behind us. Excellent planning, Becky!



Also a really cool house when we got to it. Eventually. At 7:04pm. The spinning bridge is not good for motion sickness - sorry Alysia. Personally, I love that spinning effect!

Well, let's see what our next house should be... looks like lines are starting to build.

Wicked Growth has about the same wait as Puppet Theater, and I hear Puppet Theater gets shorter waits later. On to Wicked Growth! Goodness, what a long queue. Loved all the jack-o-lanterns.


Hmm, as we're exiting I noticed the line is shorter than when we had gotten in it... and Puppet Theater is now posted at 60min. Most houses now posted 45min +.

So, we'll come back to this area later at night. Let's stop following the crowd, that has not been working out well (shocker).

Time for a twisted tater! Regular seasoned salt. I love salty food. Wow, that sucker was over the top salty, even for me. Was not really impressed, even salt issue aside - wish it was crispier. But was glad to try it.

Wandered through the scare zones on the way to Bride of Frankenstein.




Finally, a reasonable wait. Near the end, we found Jack! Took me a minute to get a selfie. I suck at selfies - I do them very rarely, mostly in Orlando. Jack said "There you go, finally got it right." I love sarcasm & snark, so Jack is my kind of clown.


Looks like we're almost to the Bride entrance. And... We stopped.
Stopped dead.
Stopped dead for 19min.
Ugh.
The flow of humanity exiting did not seem to slow, so no clue what the deal was. When we finally got going, we confirmed we had turn one turn from the entrance the whole time.
We both absolutely loved the castle-y feel of this one.

Came out of there rather thirsty. Time to swing through Diagon Alley & grab a butterbeer. Mmmm butterbeer! More people in Diagon than I expected. Dragon was breathing fire. I have pictures on my camera so terrible that they deserve to be seen (now added).




On to SCarey, then Puppet Theater. Nightmare Fuel was loading up when we got in the SCarey line. I sincerely hoped we'd be through the house before the show finished and flooded the nearby lines.

Made that one by the skin of our teeth. Show was starting to let out as we excited SCarey. Booked it to Puppet Theater.



Puppet Theater is one cool house! I enjoy the concept and the whole set feels authentic theater.

And now, heading out for the day... More updates later.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

HHN Wed 10/27 continued, briefly...



Rest of HHN in a nutshell, because I don't have photos anyways and who wants to read a TR without fun photo breaks? (Edited w/ photos!)

You get familiar with the underside of RRR going to those houses crossing under there to the sound stages.


Chuckie Photo Op:






Lines were walk on for the last few houses - we actually got to do Tooth Fairy as only the 2 of us, there was no one immediately in front or behind, which was great!

There is a booth somewhere with fried fair goodness - fried Oreos & twinkies. Universal puts little stars on the map for "HHN food tents" but for some bizarre reason, doesn't tell you which is which. Could not find the desired fried goodness. Did not eat the desired fried goodness . So Universal - if I can't find it, I can't buy it, and money stays in pocket.... everyone loses.

Made it through all the houses. Case Files was the last - a little hard to find the entrance. Straight walk-on. Left 1:50-something-am, 2 very tired humans.

Various HHN Photos:










No fried goodness, so we planned to stop quick at Cabana Bay's food court. Making the trek through City Walk, we were heading past Cinnabon and it smelled like love. Cinnabon, you're doing it right. They were locking the doors as we were leaving with our snack, 2am.

Got right on the CBBR bus, standing room only. As we disembarked, I was sure we must have the shortest walk of anyone on that bus.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Thursday morning - time to switch hotels.

I booked 1 night at Portofino Bay for the Express Passes, figuring they would be most helpful on Fri when FL kids are out of school and we have full park days planned Thurs & Fri.


After some significant stalking of AP rates, I finally got a Club room on an AP rate for Thurs night! We are not rich people, so Portofino is a splurge already - when are we going to get another chance for Club level? 2 breakfasts, 1 dinner w/ free beer, 1 dessert night, and a pile of soda will cover the upgrade.

Planned to get an Uber to transfer w/ our luggage. Uber quoted $36. Um, no. Taxi service: $32. Better, but still no. Lyft - $8.21 (plus tip). Ding ding ding - we have a winner.

Drove up to the hotel, used Express check in. Bypassed 4 parties in line that way. Though we were at 9:50am or so, our room was ready - score! Our room was one of the furthest from the club lounge and lobby, although decent to the boat dock & pool.

Let's open those blinds and see what kind of view we have! Not sure if they're all like this, but apparently the thinner draperies in this room don't open. Strangely, they do have the little poles you'd use to open them. But the top of them is clipped together and definitely doesn't move either direction. The view was trees, but we don't care. We want natural daylight & the view of the world, so we improvised.




Hotel: gorgeous. Room: gorgeous.


Bathroom design: odd. Shower: gorgeous. (Remember how I like other showers? This one feels super luxurious.) Bathroom is just a toilet in small room, then big double sinks and shower in a bigger room, which you have to pass through to get to the toilet.




Free breakfast (well, included breakfast) ends at 10:30am. During renovations, the Club lounge is in a ballroom on the other side of the lobby, so it was a walk. But a scenic, gorgeous walk. There is a trellis thingy in the hallway!


Every time we walked through the hotel, I liked the immersive theming even better. That outdoor piazza is great, with tables right outside the Club lounge.


Breakfast was decent. Hash browns are not my favorite, and these were the last in the pan and looked a little roughed up / no longer crispy, so I bypassed those in order to fill my plate with the breakfast of champions:


Yes, one of every pastry plus an Oreo donut. Also the breakfast sandwich. Alysia's breakfast was more sensible, a bagel & a banana. I don't think she understands - there are no calories on vacation!

Breakfast sandwich was mostly fine. The bottom of the English muffin was stale/hard, so I had it upside down open face & it was rather tasty that way.


They had some strawberry watermelon drink which was not sweet enough for me, so I mixed in Sprite and it was a lovely breakfast spritzer that way.

We have 1 day of free Club level soda / water. To maximize this, we will be bringing extras back to our room for the rest of the vacation. So we headed back to our room with an apple, a banana, & 7-8 beverages. Felt really classy walking through the hotel with our arms full. Is bringing a bag more or less ghetto than an armfull of soda?

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Our stomachs full and our fridge stocked with sodas, we were ready to head to the parks.

It had rained a bit during breakfast but stopped before we left. Sadly, even though it was done raining the boats had not re-started yet. Took the garden walk instead. It's quite a pretty walk, and we spied lots of lizards & ducks.






As it turned out, this Thurs was expected to be stormy with a tornado watch midday. Thus our EPs meant we got to walk through empty EP queues while standby guests walked through empty standby queues.

Nice quiet mid-day at Islands. Hulk, Spiderman, and Kong, all no lines. We both really enjoy Kong - I know it doesn't get a lot of love, but it is a fun ride with a consistent theme and plotline.

I did take advantage of the empty parks to also get on Velocicoaster with minimal wait (10min?). Alysia does not do big coasters like this. She played a game, won a Jurassic World ball, & gave it to some happy child.


I had gotten lucky enough to ride during the AP previews in May. Although I live in Mass, I had a SeaWorld / Discovery Cove vacation already planned for this time when they announced the AP previews, so I took full advantage of that timing! Wow, what a fun coaster. Great theming, good queue, lots of neat coaster-acrobatics. Thought the velociraptors would be animatronics but they are just stationary + noises. Which I suppose makes sense, since you whip by them pretty fast.


After the short queue, I thought I would hit it again single rider. Mistake. Single rider was probably twice as long as just getting in line again. Oops.

After that, we continued along to Forbidden Journey. Love this ride!


It was snack time after - decided on splitting a BBQ plate. Started raining as we headed back through JP. Walked quickly to Thunder falls, grabbed our food, and sat by the window. Thunder Falls has great theming.


The skies opened up as we ate, and the 1 person line when we entered quickly ballooned. Watched the palm trees whip around in the storm. It was a pretty impressive storm. Radar said another 30min for it to pass, so we dawdled over our food.

When we headed out, it was down to a few sprinkles. We'd brought ponchos but hadn't had to use them.

Of course, half the park was still closed. We had planned to hit water rides and then head back to change, but they were still closed.

Headed back onto Kong, Forbidden Journey, then Scarecrow Stalked our way back out of IoA.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Boats were running back to Portofino (yay!). As we walked back to the boats, we noticed the sprinklers running full force on some nearby foliage. Clearly an hour of downpour wasn't enough, these guys needed more watering.


After a nice leisurely ride, we grabbed dinner at the Club lounge. This is definitely a real dinner - tonight's was pork, risotto, asparagus, parsnips, rolls (warm!), & veggies/dip. Wine/beer included.

Enjoyed dinner, brought back beverages for later. Used a Coke as a "bottle cap" so Alysia could save a free beer for our return. About this time, Alysia concluded that they put us as far as possible from the Club lounge because we are rather out of place amongst all the more affluent guests who actually belong here...


Can I also note the sign on these waters? In case $7.50 for a water isn't enough, there is also a 22% restocking charge. Just to put a bottle of water in a room.


This evening, we want to see the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, so we headed back to Islands.

The opera singer at Portofino harbor was finishing up as we settled into the boat shortly before 7pm.


On our way back to Islands, we noted those plants were still being watered...

Headed straight back to hop on Hagrids. On the way through the line, we caught some of the Dark Arts projections on the castle.


The preshow was running for Hagrids - first time we'd seen it, so we stopped to watch. Had a glorious nighttime ride on Hagrids. The head & tail lights are much more pronounced at night, and it is just so fun zipping through the trees in the dark.

The Dark Arts show was just starting again as we got back into Hogsmeade. Enjoyed the projections, then puttered around a bit to let some of the crowds wane. The Death Eaters came back out, and interacted with young wizards.





Walked slowly back out of the park, snapping a few photos, to let the boat line die down.


There was still a line when we arrived, but we were on the first boat that arrived anyways.

Those same plants were still being watered - it was now 8:30pm.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Grabbed evening dessert at the Club lounge to bring back and eat in bed. That's the proper way to vacation. Vanilla custard was the best.


Next morning, we packed up our bags for the transfer to Sapphire Falls. Final tally of beverages loaded up:


Dropped the bags off at luggage services & headed to breakfast.

Hot offerings for Club breakfast were breakfast potatoes & egg burritos, plus all the previous "everyday" items.


No ketchup packets or cups here, it's little personal size glass ketchup bottles. Plus, how cute are these tiny hot sauces?! Nabbed a few of those hot sauces & put them in my little camera pouch, since bags were already stored.

It was gorgeous out, so we ate out on the piazza.


Over to Universal Studios to make the rounds. Thought I did decent for my first go at Men in Black in almost a year.


Wandered past the Secret Life of Pets parade floats. Cute.


Saturday is our RIP private tour of HHN, and it includes 3 days of the photo package. They let me start the 3 days on Friday, since we were hitting lots of rides.

Beautiful weather, and big crowds - this is what we got those EPs from Portofino for!


Did a bunch at both parks, then our last ride to Portofino to pick up our bags. Uber ride to Sapphire Falls = $8.61. Our driver was there to pick us up in literally 1 minute.



Dumped our bags off in our room, and made our way to Royal Pacific to try the Wok Experience at Islands Dining Room. Lots of long connecting carpeted hallways later, we got to RP.

Wok Experience was very tasty. The included salad bar was crazy basic - greens, tomatoes, carrots - so we both skipped. Alysia liked the included soup. Curry sauce was my favorite.




Left very full & ready to fall into bed.

 

[wdwrule]

No ketchup packets or cups here, it's little personal size glass ketchup bottles. Plus, how cute are these tiny hot sauces?!

I loved the tiny little glass jars of honey. Used one for bagel/tea.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Sapphire Falls is also a gorgeous hotel. I love the lobby & that huge spiral staircase - although it got a bit busy right as boats were letting crowds off. Our room was tower 1, fairly near the elevator - 1711. We could see our previous Cabana Bay room from the window.




Doesn't it look like CB is on fire at night? The Volcano lined up with the dark part of CB to create that fun illusion.


Alright, Sat AM - we'd be at HHN until 2am, so the plan was to sleep in. Which of course meant I woke up by 6am again. Rested for the morning anyways, then headed over to the parks around 10am.

Met some X-Men on the way through Marvel Superhero Island.


Made the lap around Islands hitting Spiderman, Kong, Jurassic Park River Adventure, and FJ.


Did I note that I love Kong? It has so much detail and dark ominous vibe in the queue, and there is lots of little details in all the ride. Noticed on this trip that the toothy slug worms start eating the bat thingy that gets its leg cut off. And of course the massive Kong is so spectacular!









Hogsmeade was an absolute horde of people, shoulder to shoulder. Pro tip - on busy days, head all the way to the left next to the stage, and go behind Ollivanders towards the Hagrids lockers. This avoids the mass of humanity clogging Hogsmeade.

Hagrids was on virtual queue today (the only day during our trip). It said "no spots" when we got on Forbidden Journey, but on the way back off we saw someone holding up the VQ sign and sure enough grabbed a spot for 1hr 47min out. Our lunch reservation for Confisco was about 30min out, so we wandered over there.


Lunch was good - nachos, chicken lettuce wraps, & pork spring rolls. Pork spring rolls were fine but not what I expected. The slaw under them was very good. The lettuce wraps looked messy and were even messier than expected, but tasted really good. They had a nice pile of noodles with them - not sure if it was intended to include the noodles in actual the lettuce wraps? That definitely increased the mess factor. However it also worked as a chickeny noodle dish eaten with a fork, and much neater that way.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

During lunch they kept moving our time up for Hagrids, such that it was our VQ time as we moseyed back to Hogsmeade. There was a mass of people hovering in front of the entrance & another mass of people at the lockers. We found the team member at the entrance and asked where we go to enter with the VQ time, and he said it was there, so we shouldered through the crowd to enter the line. They really need some signage there clearly showing where to enter the line when you're VQ time is up. Line was about a 30min wait - not too bad. No preshow today.

Headed back to the hotel after, so we could nap and be ready to be up til 2am! On the way back, the Big Pink spoke to me... mmm future breakfasts...


Quick boat ride back, and a nice hour or 2 nap / rest. Grabbed a sweatshirt for HHN, it was supposed to be low 60s. Ended up not needing it.

Met the rest of our RIP tour group outside the VIP entrance. It was very nice not to have to be in the crowd waiting to enter. Our tour guide was Matt - he is conveniently rather tall, which made it easier to keep track of him through the night.




The private RIP tour groups can watch Jack's entrance opening Scare-amony at 6pm from the balcony at VIP services. It was fun to see once - good energy in the crowd - but not something I'd bother waiting to see again.

After that we made the short walk through Lights, Camera, Haction scare zone on our way to Cafe La Bamba for our pretour snacks (dinner).




Southwestern Mac & Cheese - ie mac & cheese w/ pulled pork and roasted corn - was the hit for dinner. Sliders & flatbreads were fine also. Grabbed a Coke to drink and a Coke to take with me - free non-alcoholic beverages at Cafe La Bamba. Took us a while to find the desserts. They had 2 buffet lines which looked the same, but only one had desserts. They also had a bar at each end, but only one had the big stash of soda/waters.


The pumpkin tart was by far the best dessert. Very tasty, very moist, just a lovely little bite of heaven. And "healthy" because it's pumpkin. The little cakes had good flavor but were very rich/dense, almost to the point of being fudge with icing. The macaroons were tasty as well, also rich & chocolatey inside.




Anyways, we started off heading up to Welcome to SCarey. Matt gave us the back story on each house before we entered, then shared a few more details after we exited. It definitely helped to flesh out the houses a bit more, and let us notice things we'd missed on Wednesday. With the RIP tour, you literally walk up to the entrance (usually through a non-public access route (ie, less walking)). They pause the line, and you join the "conga line" right there.

Through the night we also meandered through all the scare zones.