Home for the Holidays-Wizards-Grinches and Sparkles. 14 nights @Royal Pacific Resort, Nov/Dec 2021

[schumigirl]

FRIDAY DECEMBER 3RD


​

We did rather unusually sleep slightly later this morning, but not by much as we are naturally early risers......well, I am....Tom would happily sleep late some days of the week, but never does although he generally sleeps longer than I do as a rule.

Today we planned not too much during the day as we had the OI event tonight and we knew that would be a reasonably late one so we decided to not visit the parks this morning instead going to do some shopping at Publix and Mall at Millenia as we had to pick up a few things I hadn`t got round to getting yet.

We took our time over breakfast and lingered a little longer as I was really enjoying the orange juice free mimosa.....yes, it was just sparkly.........one man at the desk said it was always ok to have alcohol at breakfast if you gave it a nice name like a mimosa......I said I loved a glass of morning sparkly.......he said that sounded cool and was going to refer to it from now on as morning sparkly......sounds nicer than boozing!!!

We set off later and met up with some folks we knew from behind the front desk and chatted to them for a while and marvelled at how few front desk were left over from our previous visits. So many folks had moved on to other things.

We walked outside to another glorious day and it was another very warm one, we were loving not needing any kind of top or jacket day and night, this was far more than we ever hoped for weather wise.

Publix didn`t take long but we ran into someone who used to work in the lounge a long time ago, maybe 10 years ago and I didn`t see her at first but she recognised us which was nice as I`d have walked past her. We had a catch up and she`s now married with 3 kids and a happy stay at home mum.....I told her that was the best job I ever had.....full time mum, I loved it. It was nice to see someone from such a long time ago who remembered us.

We put our stuff in the boot of the car and headed to the Mall at Millenia. We had so many things still to purchase and stores to visit, and we didn`t think we were going to have time to do it all weirdly.......

Parking today was oddly easy, usually it`s incredibly busy but we were parked the closest we have ever made.

And it is the most lovely Mall.......

Father Christmas already had a line of folks waiting to see him, the central area is very well done and I wished we had managed to visit at night as the lights and tree would have looked even prettier.

And a wave from the main man himself.........

We visited Mont Blanc first as we were picking up some refills for Kyle`s pen he had treated himself to last time we were here. This store insisted you wear a mask inside, and they had them at the entrance as most folks didn`t have them anymore. It was ok and we wouldn`t be in there for long. I do find some of the staff in there a little snippy for no apparent reason, and we got one of them today, I can be as clipped back on these occasions though. We paid for the refills and quickly left before heading to Bloomingdales, Tiffany (just looking) and then Macy`s.

I picked up a load of make up from Clinique and bought some of my favourite perfume from Chanel, but the woman put the wrong one in the bag and we didn`t notice till we got home.......trying to contact Macy`s has been a nightmare.......but that`s another story.

Williams and Sonoma was the last store we were going to, when we noticed they now have a rather cheap and nasty looking Amazon store in there!!! I was surprised as a few years ago they got rid of the Lindt and Yankee Candle stores as they weren`t "high end" enough for the Mall. Yet, here was this bargain basement looking store in a prime location slap bang in the middle of the mall.......and it was a shambles inside, we spent about 30 seconds, decided it was junk and left.

We picked up our usual couple of items from Williams and Sonoma and headed back to the car as we were getting hungry now and were ready for lunch.

Traffic is always a nightmare around here....if you get stuck at the lights, you can lose an age waiting for it to be your turn again.....and generally it felt a lot busier than previous visits, but that could just be perception.

Nagoya Sushi is in the same complex as Toojays and you`d miss it if you didn`t know it was there, it`s way in the back and not too many tourists visit it according to the guys who work there, but it is lovely and well worth visiting.

We ordered a chardonnay for me and lemonade for Tom and then had a look at the menu, but we knew what were having.......

It`s quite a small place but every time we`ve come in for lunch or dinner, there has always been a steady stream of customers and fairly busy which is a good sign.

We both opt for a Bento Box each which consisted of miso soup to start then vegetable tempura, a California Roll, 2 pieces of deep fried gyoza and egg fried rice with your choice of meat.

The Miso soup is beautiful, but we have never had a bad Miso soup anywhere.....we even ate the tofu that I usually avoid like the plague......

I opted for the spicy chicken, which isn`t overly spicy at all, but it is delicious and the mix of other ingredients works well together.

Tom went for the Beef Teriyaki which he really enjoyed too.

This had been a really lovely lunch and we were so glad we had managed a visit as we missed so many places out this trip, but very much a local feel to this place and not at all touristy which we always enjoy.

Yes, I`m a tourist who avoids tourist places at times.........ironic huh.......

It`s a nice little shopping area with some very nice eating places and only a 10 minute drive from home off of Sand Lake Road, handy for us as there`s also a very nice Publix over the other side of the street.

We were meeting someone for coffee and they were already sitting outside in one of the places. This was going to be a quick one as they were heading off to work, they`re now at Disney working, behind the scenes in their finance side. But, again it was a nice little catch up as I don`t know when we`ll manage it again.

We headed back home and deposited our purchases in the two closets.......and now I was seriously worried about our suitcase issue.......Tom had a solution......we`d go buy a 4th suitcase as we had 2 suitcases each in our allowance of 50lbs each and at the minute we only had 3 suitcases.....problem solved.

But, right now we were going to try and have an hours snooze before heading out tonight for the OI event we were so looking forward to.

 

[KathyM2]

I always think we`ve been so lucky with friends we`ve made from the Dis, people come into your life for a reason, I`ve always believed that......we have met the odd person who did not have good motives, but you can spot those folks instantly and we always have.

Totally agree. I love meeting people from the DIS! some non Dis-ers think this is weird but I've only had good experiences with it!

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Our malls have become ghost towns, I’m glad the stores you wanted to visit were still open. We now not only have to be masked, we also have to show proof of vaccination to get into interior spaces. It doesn’t bother us, just glad to get into them and not have everything closed.

I love how your purchase closet keeps growing— the mark of a successful trip!

I think morning sparkly should become a thing! I am ready to promote it with my words and deeds

I’m so glad you were able to meet up with more friends! I think it just makes your trips feel like a long, lovely reunion.

Do you have favorites among the offsite restaurants you visit? I can see you having a favorite in each type of cuisine

 

[schumigirl]

Totally agree. I love meeting people from the DIS! some non Dis-ers think this is weird but I've only had good experiences with it!

lol....yes, I remember real life friends and my mum being worried when I said we were meeting strangers off the internet.......

Yes, ones who have become lifelong friends, I`ll be forever grateful for......and yes, the odd one or two, well......best forgotten!!! But, the friends we`ve made sure outweigh the nasties!

I`m glad you`ve had the same experiences too with Dis meets....it is nice.

 

[schumigirl]

Our malls have become ghost towns, I’m glad the stores you wanted to visit were still open. We now not only have to be masked, we also have to show proof of vaccination to get into interior spaces. It doesn’t bother us, just glad to get into them and not have everything closed.

I love how your purchase closet keeps growing— the mark of a successful trip!

I think morning sparkly should become a thing! I am ready to promote it with my words and deeds

I’m so glad you were able to meet up with more friends! I think it just makes your trips feel like a long, lovely reunion.

Do you have favorites among the offsite restaurants you visit? I can see you having a favorite in each type of cuisine

That`s such a shame your Malls are like that, yes wouldn`t bother us either having to show proof of being vaxxed.

Oh the purchases......lol......I just wish we hadn`t put off buying some stuff till the last few days as we did miss out on products we wanted to buy.....but might have been a good thing in the end!!

Oh favourite restaurants...........there`s a question!!

Steaks......well, Eddie V`s/Ocean Prime and don`t laugh.......Ale House do a tasty steak lol.......and Longhorn for cheap and cheerful too.

Seafood....so many places that we love......Oceannaire/Eddie V`s/Hot n Juicy Crawfish/Big Fin and probably a hundred more........

BBQ........4Rivers.

Sushi......Nagoya Sushi without a doubt.

We really are spoilt for choice with so many options out there......no wonder we can`t diet out there..........

 

[keishashadow]

Traffic is always a nightmare around here....if you get stuck at the lights, you can lose an age waiting for it to be your turn again.....and generally it felt a lot busier than previous visits, but that could just be perception.

Yes, the timing of the lights, even when traffic is relatively light re time of day has always puzzled me.

those bento boxes are the nicest i’ve seen in ages! typically avoid ordering as, often, it seems they toss in food that tastes as tho it’s been on warming table…kiss of death for that sort of grub.

Red lobster here has been bit of ghost town too, doesn’t help their quality has gone way downhill last two Years. Shrimp size is now minuscule. Used to be a solid place for those of us living inland to get our fix. Hope that turns around once supply chain issues resolve.

 

[schumigirl]

Yes, the timing of the lights, even when traffic is relatively light re time of day has always puzzled me.

those bento boxes are the nicest i’ve seen in ages! typically avoid ordering as, often, it seems they toss in food that tastes as tho it’s been on warming table…kiss of death for that sort of grub.

Red lobster here has been bit of ghost town too, doesn’t help their quality has gone way downhill last two Years. Shrimp size is now minuscule. Used to be a solid place for those of us living inland to get our fix. Hope that turns around once supply chain issues resolve.

Yes, I see what they pass off as Bento Boxes elsewhere and cringe......fries???? Really??

They were lovely, we`ve had them there before and the standard is very high and very fresh too.

That`s a shame about the RL near you.......yes, hope it gets sorted soon for your area.

I have to say our food was still good, but just something not the same about the whole place put us off. I`m not sure we`ll rush back, plenty more seafood options.....and ones that serve oysters......lol.......

 

[keishashadow]

I have to say our food was still good, but just something not the same about the whole place put us off. I`m not sure we`ll rush back, plenty more seafood options.....and ones that serve oysters......lol.......

The chain is large/strong enough to weather the storm. I fully expect them to bounce back, even stronger.

 

[schumigirl]

The chain is large/strong enough to weather the storm. I fully expect them to bounce back, even stronger.

I completely agree. They`ll be around for a long time......

So many turn their nose up to RL, but never had anything to complain about with their food over the years.

 

[schumigirl]

We did manage to snooze, for maybe an hour or so before I jumped in the shower first while sleeping beauty slept some more, I managed to get the hair dried and straightened before he woke up........we did go up to the lounge for an hour before heading to the parks.

We were really looking forward to this night.

In 2020 before this whole madness kicked off, we had purchased tickets for the Dec 2020 OI event. Obviously the travel ban kicked in and there was no way we would make it and they make it clear (rightly so) they don`t give refunds.

I contacted them by email and spoke to a lovely lady called Rebecca, I explained I completely understood the no refund policy, but was there anything they could do for the future.....she said they would be delighted to reissue the ticket for 2021 if we could make any of the events to just contact her using the same order number and she would reissue the tickets for whatever night we wanted. When we knew borders were opening and we would be travelling to Orlando, I contacted Rebecca again and she issued the new tickets online within a few hours......excellent service from OI.

We passed an hour in the lounge with the usual chatter and a couple of glasses of wine, then went down to get the boat tonight, and it was another warm one.......

It was busy as the parks were emptying out for the most part, and it was nice to be going in as everyone was leaving.

We had been assigned to check in on The Studio side which was fine, some were checking in at IOA and it was well organised from the start.

The tents were clearly visible and the line moved quickly, soon we were called to go forward and we were issued with the wrist band and given a $15 gift card that can be used anytime, not just tonight and then we headed in to the park.

It was still too early as it didn`t officially start till 8pm, so we wandered around the Studios front part for a while as we planned to focus on IOA tonight......Velocicoaster here we come.........

The light show round the lagoon was going on, but we had seen it several times and weren`t fussed on seeing it tonight, but we still grabbed a snap or two of the fireworks.

We did like the tree this year.......they had enhanced it by adding lights that changed colours frequently and it was a better look that previous years.

And I did think the purple lights were the nicest.........

I`m going to be honest.........

I detest that darn squirrel!!! I understand he`s been around in varying degrees since 2015 and there is a whole back story as to why they popped him in the tree or in different places around the park........but I hate squirrels......they`re definitely seen as vermin over here!!!! Mind you, so are mice I guess.......

I`m told I have no soul at times and incredibly Grinch like on occasions......me???????..........

But, his face is everywhere and merchandise is everywhere too........not a fan. And he was easy to find, not difficult as we had been told........

It was nice wandering as the crowds eased a little......the TM`s were going around with the large industrial vacuums trying to pick up as many tiny pieces of ticker tape as they could......thankless task.

All around the parks tonight there were several huge OI signs......we captured as many as we could. I think this was the only one we would get in the Studios.

When Tom was taking this picture, a man came up and asked why we were wearing the wristbands, they were pink so quite noticeable........I explained to him about the event and he said he`d never heard about it......he did ask what it cost and when I told him he said, not something he`d be interested in.

The Hollywood area of the Studios was more or less deserted when we walked round to see it tonight........

We were loving this.....almost the whole place to ourselves........except one couple........he suddenly yelled "get off my lawn" at us as they were taking pictures of the deserted street as we wandered into it......lol........she was mortified her husband shouted out, but we laughed as did he.........we moved to the side so he could get his pictures while she came over to apologise......we told her we saw the funny side of it, honestly, it was something we`d all maybe like to do. It must have been so annoying as one minute he had a completely empty street, then we sauntered into the middle of his master piece........oops.

We chatted to them briefly and they were nice, but she was still annoyed at his audacity.......lol.......

I adore Christmas and Christmas lights, so this is a complete joy for me to wander around and see everything so lit up.

It was getting much quieter now than even 10 minutes ago, I think most who were leaving had left and I`m not quite sure where folks coming in were going, but maybe it was still early.

We headed down towards RRR and we were headed to the short cut between the Minion ride and the side entrance to the Universal store, they were opening that at 8pm so as we wanted to be in IOA, that`s where we would go.

There weren`t many folks waiting here, a TM was holding folks back from going up to the gate where there were about 6 TM gathering round the gates.......and we soon saw why.......

They couldn`t get the gate open.

​

 

[KathyM2]

I'm glad you were able to make use of the tickets purchased pre-pandemic...but is the event just a special night where only people with tickets could go? Just to have a more empty environment?

 

[schumigirl]

I'm glad you were able to make use of the tickets purchased pre-pandemic...but is the event just a special night where only people with tickets could go? Just to have a more empty environment?

Yes, they do several each year and it`s a hard ticket event that does sell out quickly.

Rides are all open, unless they have issues of course, but limited waits, very limited waits......and all food and non alcoholic drinks are free, well, they`re included in your ticket.

Almost every place in both parks was open.

And it did feel empty in a lot of areas. Fabulous event.

 

[jnjusoioa]

Can't even believe my luck, I literally had a ticket for the meet up on Friday night and was going to take the trip up as Mom and I were leaving to head back to PA on the 19th of December and then at the last minute I just figured I wouldn't go up as I was depressed and didn't really have anyone to go with, etc. So sad now, wish I would have headed up as if I would have seen you both I would have recognized you and said hello.

 

[angryduck71]

Caught up again! Your Queen really took some time away from me last week as you know.

I am a bit jealous as I almost dragged you over to the Mouse in 2020. Lol.

I am really excited to read about the OI meetup. I keep thinking I want to go….

 

[schumigirl]

Can't even believe my luck, I literally had a ticket for the meet up on Friday night and was going to take the trip up as Mom and I were leaving to head back to PA on the 19th of December and then at the last minute I just figured I wouldn't go up as I was depressed and didn't really have anyone to go with, etc. So sad now, wish I would have headed up as if I would have seen you both I would have recognized you and said hello.

Oh no!

I`m so sorry you didn`t make that trip, and sorrier to hear you were feeling so bad. It would have been nice to have been finally able to say hello......

That is such a recent move back to PA........I hope you feel more settled there soon, must be quite different for you, even just the weather!

 

[schumigirl]

Caught up again! Your Queen really took some time away from me last week as you know.

I am a bit jealous as I almost dragged you over to the Mouse in 2020. Lol.

I am really excited to read about the OI meetup. I keep thinking I want to go….

Yes, we nearly made it to AK, I think that`s where we planned to meet at......almost!!

You have been busy with your trip for sure......and yes, the OI event is a fun one. We are hoping to meet up with our friend from the hotel this year if the dates align, no idea of our dates yet, never mind the OI dates, but fingers crossed.

I think you`d both enjoy it.

 

[schumigirl]

It took them about 10-15 minutes to get the gates open, we did ponder walking as at one point as they all looked dumbfounded as to how to open the gate......when as if by magic, they suddenly parted and the TM beckoned us to come forward.....and we were heading to IOA.

It`s only a few minutes walk and a good shortcut to the other park.....I wish they had this open all the time, it would be so handy. Although to be fair, it`s not a long from one park to the other, even if you`re at the back at the furthest point, but this would work.

It didn`t seem overly busy here either, and we thought everyone would be at Velocicoaster or Hagrids by now.

Walking through the park at night, it does feel different and being so quiet too was lovely. I wouldn`t say it was deserted, it wasn`t, but it did feel very empty in places......and the walkway to the VC was deserted and so pretty lit up.

It was eerily quiet here after us thinking it would be crowded.........I think there were around 5 people walk in front of us, we were delighted though.

We had been told queues were minimal for the OI events, but this was going to be a complete walk on..........

This was better than we had hoped, no one around us so we got to walk through with barely anyone else behind or in front.

I popped my hoodie on to save squeezing it into the locker and I couldn`t carry it on the ride, so even though it was warm, I just wore it.

The line is an ok one.....it`s not spectacular and if you miss it, you`re not missing that much. The animatronics for sure are very good and very lifelike I will admit and there are some cool things to see but it`s not one of those "have to see" lines.The video they show upstairs is quite fun and if you`ve seen the movie it is very funny and makes more sense.

This non line was fabulous and we just walked straight to the loading area and I asked for the front row which for some reason seemed more alarming at night, but Tom was desperate to do it, so ask for the front we did, and we only waited one set of carriages to get that honour!!!

I think I may have cursed once or twice as I climbed in and put the harness on this time asking myself why I was on the front, not sure why but the darkness added another element to this coaster that perturbed me a little.....but before I knew it we were off........and I thought this was a cool coaster during the day....at night we loved it even more.

Seeing the park all lit up as you whooshed by rocks and dinosaurs was exciting and yes, the thrust of the carriages before you climbed the top hat seemed even angrier tonight and I at first freaked out as it climbed up, seemingly slower than I remembered it being during daylight hours.......but as you reach the top of the hat.....my goodness the views are phenomenal....and then you look down as you descend at an extreme pace and feel as though you are entering an abyss before again being summersaulted around and twisted and turned in every direction, and even better is you can`t quite see what`s coming so your brain doesn`t get a chance to to adjust and it is a complete incursion of every sense you have......and it is completely and utterly beyond exciting......and yes, I screamed the whole way round!!! Apologies if you were on the rows behind........

I lost count of how many times we rode this tonight at this point........I did have a break of one ride while Tom went on his own. He has no problems with balance or vertigo, and I don`t usually, but we had been turned upside down so many times I just needed a little break.....but as soon as he came off, I was straight back on again with him.

We didn`t ask for the front again tonight, but I couldn`t wait to do it again. And during the day too.

The brilliant thing about this event was no waits for the newest and best coaster Universal has ever created......it was worth the price of the ticket for this alone.

I nipped to the bathroom in The Lost Continent and brushed my hair that looked like I had been holding on to a Van de Graaff generator....yes, it was a mess.

Food wasn`t a priority for us tonight. It was good how everything open was free, or paid for with your ticket, but ideal for folks to maybe try something they hadn`t before....we heard the butterbeer was popular. All available food and non alcoholic drinks were free. There was a themed cocktail for sale which sounded nice and we planned to try that later.

For us, we wanted to try the chicken stingers.

Don`t laugh, we had last tasted them in 2007, and really liked them. Kyle got the plain chicken tenders, and we ordered the hot ones and the tenders were coated in a hot sauce that was part of the coating......very spicy.....so we had always said we`d get them again. It only took us 14 years.

Well, they were a bit of a disappointment to say the least........they were just chicken tenders which we don`t really eat and a side of hot sauce........er, it`ll be another 14 years before I try them again.

They weren`t awful, as I said chicken tenders are not something we`d usually order at the best of times we just wanted to try them again. The batter was hard on most of them, fries were not overly hot, and what we ate of it filled a hole is all I can say. We had nibbled a little in the Club Lounge so we were quite hungry now, but we didn`t plan to eat a lot here tonight, we just picked the wrong thing. Although I did grumble a lot at how cheated I felt......lol

But, as we were eating a lady came over and introduced herself as the lovely Melissa......NashvilleTrio on here.......I knew she was living here and she had posted maybe one day we`d say hello.......and it was tonight!

She was with her son and off to meet her husband, so we had a brief chat which was lovely, it`s always nice to be able to put a face to a name, and she was a very nice lady, we were so glad she had introduced herself to us.......

To be honest we put most of the food in the trash, we`d find something else later but for now we were heading to Hagrids. I think Melissa`s son told us he hadn`t waited long, so sounded good to us.

It really was quiet.

We caught the lights of the night show before we headed into the lockers for Hagrids....it`s quite stunning to catch and we planned to see the next one as we came off Hagrids.

The lockers weren`t too bad at all as we went to the ones to the left of the entrance and there was hardly anyone there, so we set off not really knowing how the line would be.

We got talking to a German man who was heading home the next day and hadn`t managed to ride this yet. He was here travelling with his mother, he was maybe 30 and lived in London and was half Brazilian, so very interesting to chat to as we waded through the line which took slightly longer as they had a mini delay......but when you`re chatting you tend not to notice and it wasn`t too long before we were at the front, I think we waited maybe 20 minutes, and tonight I was taking the bike as I had been in the sidecar on previous rides.

I do prefer the bike for sure.

This is another amazing ride with one or two surprises in there, and with one of them, I`d really like to do the front which we haven`t done yet, but wherever you are it is a fabulous ride which is fast....faster than I remembered from before, and at night it does seem faster. And there is a decent storyline for this coaster.

My addled brain wasn`t as keen on the backward part of this ride, so we stopped at one ride tonight as that was enough for me. But such a fun ride. And the line is a good one worth walking through, although if you are a little disturbed by enclosed spaced, the low corridors at some points may not be comfortable for you. It`s just ok for me, but it does feel quite enclosed for a little part.



More coming up........

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Catching up and sounds like the OI meetup was a wonderful time!

 

[keishashadow]

But, his face is everywhere and merchandise is everywhere too........not a fan. And he was easy to find, not difficult as we had been told........

as we were eating a lady came over and introduced herself as the lovely Melissa......NashvilleTrio on here.......I knew she was living here and she had posted maybe one day we`d say hello.......and it was tonight!

Oh, she is such a nice person, met her ages ago at an informal meet. Was so shocked to hear my screenname called one night at HHN last year, turned & there she & the mr were. I swear she didn’t age a day

 

[schumigirl]

Catching up and sounds like the OI meetup was a wonderful time!

Glad you`re caught up, and yes, it was a fabulous night we definitely hope to repeat in the future sometime.