HO-HO-HO..We`ll put the RUM in Pa-Rum-Pum-Pum-Pum! 16 holiday nights at SF & RPR. A Nov/Dec 2023 Trip Report

[schumigirl]

All caught up!


Amazing what you miss when you’re away

Can’t wait to hear what’s next!

Good to see you back BH.....glad you`re caught up again.

Hope things are going well for you!

 

[schumigirl]

I'm probably at least as accurate as the weather forecast.

lol.....we won`t blame you if it`s not blazing hot every day!!!

 

[keishashadow]

Thanks for the link carole

 

[schumigirl]

Thanks for the link carole

Glad to help!!

 

[schumigirl]

IOA​

The Christmas trees in the park vary dramatically by theme and location and they are all very pretty in different ways.

The main store at the entrance is our usual walk through if it`s hot in the morning, well, extra hot, and as soon as you walk in and feel that blast of cool air, it feels so lovely.

The tree in here is not overly themed and initially looks a little generic, but when you look it is appropriately themed for IOA.

Even Spider-Man and the Superhero store get their own trees, no theme in those ones, except perhaps the blue and red colouring.

I think the Jurassic Park themed tree is my least favourite of them all, it just doesn`t look festive enough for me. However, I have been told I`m being harsh! I call it constructive criticism

This was a very confusing Christmas Tree.....it is in the All Hallowes Boutique near the Talking Fountain which is Halloween themed but Halloween is not a season for trees for me, so I`m not sure what I thought of this one. It is very colourful however.

The Christmas Store is one store you do expect to have some lovely decorations and of course they do, and they fit in really well with one of them being a Potter tree through in the side that sells the fudge and other treats.

STUDIOS​

Again, the main store as you enter the park always has a themed tree with a display, this one below is from 2018, I`m not sure what happened to the pictures from the last visit we had, but this is a very pretty tree and surround, movie themed of course.

This one is self explanatory.....

For several years they had the Tribute Store beside the Mummy and it was always very good, they changed the themes for seasons like Mardi Gras and HHN, and this years Christmas one wasn`t my favourite but it was very classic.

The whole area was a walkthrough and you could buy goodies and merchandise with tills at the end of the walkway. It was a very nice thing to pass 10-15 minutes.

Between Richter Burger and the Candy Store there is a very cutesie tree that is screaming sweetness at us, so much so we saw a boy of around 3 or 4 try to lick a doughnut on it one day...to say he was disappointed is an understatement! Poor little guy, however it was very funny!!

Thankfully the wonderful JK Rowling allowed decorations to be added to both Potter areas, and they do have some beautiful ones, but during the Celestina Warbeck Christmas show it does actually snow a little in the middle of it which is very, very cute, anything with fake snow will do for me!!

The first year they did the Tree Hunt, the one that was commonly missed was the one in MiB and it was kind of tucked away from the main part of the store, you would however not be able to miss it if you were coming off the ride.

And Five and Dime in Beverly Hills area of the park always displays phenomenal HHN decor but they do get the monsters involved at Christmas too!

There is something rather odd about seeing Frankenstein`s monster in among sparkly Christmas decorations.

And of course Potter had to have a Christmas Tree in the area of the station where all the luggage and Christmas gifts are stored before the train leaves with all the kids on it.

The Christmas Tree Scavenger Hunt is a lot of fun. You get a card and you get it stamped from every store you find a tree and at the end you do get a little gift if you complete it. The year we did it, the hunt was free, I think they now charge for it, but it`s not a lot and kids will enjoy the hunt if you have time.

The prize we got was a little Minion Christmas Tree decoration and we still put it on the tree now.

There are so many more Christmas decorations and little things adorning the parks and Citywalk too, it is something we love, just walking around and seeing everything Christmassy and the music around the parks is festive too which we love.

I`d love to see the Holiday offerings for the first time again as they are wonderful, and if you haven`t seen them before or not for a long time, I honestly think you`ll love them!!

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[keishashadow]

I had forgotten how many xmas trees they manage to incorporate in their holiday decorations!

 

[schumigirl]

I had forgotten how many xmas trees they manage to incorporate in their holiday decorations!

Yes, they are everywhere! And I should have added that there are more, I didn`t post them all.

I`d have a million posts if I had posted all the trees and even some of the decor around the parks that is very Christmassy and so very pretty.

 

[schumigirl]

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[schumigirl]

So, with just about 3 weeks to go till we will be flying, not that I`m counting of course we are looking at what things we need or if there`s anything I haven`t done or got organised yet.

So far, I can`t find anything still to do.

We got an email from Virgin Atlantic a few days ago letting us know it`s almost time to fly....half expected another flight time change as is usual, but it was just to let us know they have brought back twilight check in up in Manchester Airport.

It has been missing since before the pandemic and people have been asking for a long time when it`s coming back, but it`ll be popular I think as it was missed.

Simply put, we can go from 4pm onward the day before we fly, check in for our flight and hand in our suitcases to save doing it in the morning. It also means I really need to plan ahead and think about what clothes I need the next morning for the flight and make sure anything that can`t go in hand luggage is in the suitcase.

Downside to that is, it means I`d be without my make up bag and my perfume. Not really an issue I guess as I can spray as much as I like in Duty Free and we can have liquids up to 100ml in a specific sized plastic bag....but it`s just easier to have it all with me.

It is handy though getting rid of all the cases the night before, VA desks in Manchester Airport are a 5 minute walk from the hotel down the Skywalk so it`s a very easy thing to do.

We usually arrive at the hotel in time for lunch in the Little M Bar where traditionally we always get a bottle of bubbly as it`s the start of our vacation, sometimes they have a room ready so if it`s not we store the luggage with them while we go eat lunch then take it up when it`s ready. A short detour after 4ish is an easy thing to do, so I think we`ll do it.

Technically it also means we don`t need to be down as early in the morning as we are all checked in which means we have a little more time in the morning.

The Executive Lounge at the Radisson offers a cold breakfast with many offerings we would enjoy including smoked salmon, continental meats and cheeses with various fruits as well as the usual breakfast options, so it would be nice to be able to enjoy a little food before we head down to the terminal, I think we`ve only managed breakfast in the lounge once before and it was very nice so we`ll hopefully get to do it again.

This was how empty it was the morning we did utilise the lounge, there were a few people pop in while we were there but they grabbed something off the food laid out and left seemingly in a hurry.

I think I mentioned we usually book one of the Airport Lounges after security, but they were all fully booked this year which has worked out nicely now since we no longer need to be down there around 5.45am.

I`m still looking for that something that I may have forgotten but so far so good.....

In the meantime, we`re still going through some options for offsite dining and I think I may just have come up with something a little different if we can get it booked of course!!!!

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[MadHatterBrooke]

Simply put, we can go from 4pm onward the day before we fly, check in for our flight and hand in our suitcases to save doing it in the morning. It also means I really need to plan ahead and think about what clothes I need the next morning for the flight and make sure anything that can`t go in hand luggage is in the suitcase.

That sounds like a great service! I don't think we have that at any airports near us (northeast us). Exciting that it's almost time! 27 days for us.

 

[schumigirl]

That sounds like a great service! I don't think we have that at any airports near us (northeast us). Exciting that it's almost time! 27 days for us.

It is a good idea, certainly saves time in the morning. Although I`m still not sure about being without some of my make up for the morning!!! I must go and look at some very tiny pots I could put moisturiser and so on in...that might work!

27 days......now that is a very good countdown ....are you organised yet or still some things to sort out? It`s such an exciting time

 

[Worfiedoodles]

The trees really are spectacular!

It’s so nice how they are well spread out among the parks and Citywalk.

How convenient to drop your luggage the night before! It is stressful to ensure you have everything you need.

I’m sure you can find just about anything you need in Florida. As Mr. Worfiedoodles likes to remind me, it’s not Timbuktu

It’s getting closer every day

 

[schumigirl]

The trees really are spectacular!

It’s so nice how they are well spread out among the parks and Citywalk.

How convenient to drop your luggage the night before! It is stressful to ensure you have everything you need.

I’m sure you can find just about anything you need in Florida. As Mr. Worfiedoodles likes to remind me, it’s not Timbuktu

It’s getting closer every day

I almost missed this post Maria......

The park and hotel trees are beautiful, there are decorations everywhere around the parks that are so easy to miss.

Yes, it is ideal to drop the luggage off...I had talked myself out of using it again, now decided we might as well.

Oh gosh yes, there`s nothing you can`t get in Orlando, our first day is usually for sunscreen and bits and bobs that we don`t bring from home, I do enjoy a little first day shopping!

It certainly is......

 

[saskdw]

We’re exactly 2 weeks behind you and I’m not counting either!

 

[schumigirl]

We’re exactly 2 weeks behind you and I’m not counting either!

lol...of course not

It`s amazing how fast the time goes, in general I can`t believe how quickly this year has gone!!

 

[schumigirl]

​

So, somewhere a little different.......hmmmm, well I do have one place in mind and have thought about going for a couple of years, but like so many other places, we just never got around to it.

This might not be for everyone but we love the look of a place in Downtown Orlando called Hamburger Mary`s.

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It`s a drag bar that serves some lovely food and they have different types of shows on different times and when I mentioned it to someone at the hotel he said definitely go and do the Brunch it is very good.

The particular one we`re thinking of is the Broadway Brunch apparently hosted by Angel Sheridan, Mimi Lierre, with the Broadway Brunch Bunch dancers. It sounds an absolute hoot and a nice way to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday lunchtime.

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Every week is a different show that they perform songs from and it could be songs from Grease, Mary Poppins and so many others and all the reviews I`ve heard of from folks are all good so we think it would be something we`d enjoy. Fun and a little raunchy but it`s also frequented by families so nothing too risque which is a shame, that might have been more fun to see!!

The menu for the Brunch is very nice indeed and has all the options you could wish for in a Brunch.

Different types of skillets, chicken fried chicken, biscuits with gravy, omelettes of every variety, chicken and waffles, sweet waffles, burritos and tacos, a GLBT sandwich and one of their many burger options available all with plenty of sides on offer too. I think we`ll be spoiled for choice with food and cocktails too!!

You do have to book and there is an entertainment fee of $6.99 each and you must purchase an entree or two alcoholic drinks......well, could we manage that......lol.......

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The only reason we haven`t booked it yet as we are waiting to make sure we won`t be making another plan that day with someone so until we`re sure I won`t book it, of course we could cancel, but I don`t like doing that, so I`ll give it another week or so then find out for definite.

To be honest this time we are so looking forward to meeting up with many friends, so much so the food is a second thought, I`d much rather meet up with friends that can meet us and spend time with them and really it doesn`t matter where we eat, it`s all about the company more than the food.

Although nice food is always a pleasure!!

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More food thoughts to come.......

Pictures all from Google/Hamburger Mary`s website

 

[saskdw]

We are going to eat at The Palm this trip. First time for us.

I don't usually pack dress clothes to go to Orlando. What is it like there for dress/formal wear?
We don't plan on over dressing, but don't want to fell out of place either.

 

[MadHatterBrooke]

27 days......now that is a very good countdown ....are you organised yet or still some things to sort out? It`s such an exciting time

I think we are pretty ready for the trip! I'm setting expectations low and trying not to over plan this trip since it's during a busy time. We made one reservation for Toothsome, mostly because I think our boys (17 and 10) will enjoy it. We haven't been there before. Otherwise, I'm just happy to be going and experiencing our first time during the holiday!

 

[schumigirl]

We are going to eat at The Palm this trip. First time for us.

I don't usually pack dress clothes to go to Orlando. What is it like there for dress/formal wear?
We don't plan on over dressing, but don't want to fell out of place either.

Casual will be fine, you`ll see everything from dinner suits to shorts. We see lots of men and women wearing very regular clothes, so you`ll be absolutely fine wearing comfy casual.

I hope you enjoy it there, we have only been once since Landry`s took it over, and haven`t gone back for one reason and another but our friend`s Matt and Rob went more recently and loved it, they were very impressed.

 

[schumigirl]

I think we are pretty ready for the trip! I'm setting expectations low and trying not to over plan this trip since it's during a busy time. We made one reservation for Toothsome, mostly because I think our boys (17 and 10) will enjoy it. We haven't been there before. Otherwise, I'm just happy to be going and experiencing our first time during the holiday!

I think you`ll have a blast to be honest, Toothsome gets some very good reviews, Tom enjoyed the burger he got there.

Yes, just enjoy being there for all the Holiday festivities, crowds may not be as bad as you think, we were surprised it wasn`t worse last time we were there during that time period.

And enjoy that countdown