IT`S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE...COCKTAILS, STEAKS AND CAKES..11 JOLLY HOLIDAY NIGHTS @ RPR-DEC 2019

[schumigirl]

Hello, Happy New Year to you and Tom and Kyle! Hope you all had a great christmas

Enjoying another great trip report, only 9 months to go till we get to go again

back Matt!!! And yes, a very happy new year to you too.....

We did thanks....hope you all did too!

September will be here before you know it....and glad you`re enjoying this one......don't be a stranger

 

[schumigirl]

We got on the Hogwarts Express and we shared the carriage with two other people who were fairly chatty and although they had been on the train before, it was the first year, so a little while back. They were very nice and it`s so nice when people do sit and chat. I hate being in a carriage with unfriendly people.....of course not everyone is a chatty person......we are.

A short journey later and we pull into Hogsmeade.....and head outside with Kyle checking the rocket launch was still going ahead. It was.

We headed left today as we were working our way towards Mythos, not for lunch but for the lagoon side of it so we could see the launch hopefully. I think if we had more time we`d have gone to the top of Sapphire Falls parking lot and watched from there, but we didn`t want to leave the park just for that.

Our first stop was the Mystic Fountain......and he was a naughty one today!!! So funny....I had heard this man many times and he can be very clever with his words.....just that little bit adult in jokes but not so much that kids would understand. I could imagine him in real life being very scathing.....lol.......he`s the best though.

We wandered around the back and it was very peaceful round here.....hardly anyone comes here so you can wander without folks getting in your way...

It is a beautiful area and feels a little wasted being so tucked away, not many folks will wander round here.

I think some folks might think it`s weird taking pictures of the blue sky and a couple of palm trees, but when it looks as gorgeous as this......we just have to......

The Fountain came to life again as we tried to pass by it......so we waited a few minutes till he stopped singing and we could pass without getting soaked......of course you can go round to the left, but what fun would that be......

Poseidon`s Fury is a stunning building and fits in beautifully to this area as it stands now. Of course in years to come who knows......I think for now Universal seem focussed on the new park coming up, but it will be interesting to see what will happen here.......they have plenty of options that`s for sure.

For us it`s a one and done..…actually we did it twice to see if it was as bad as we remembered.......yes, we don`t like this one at all. Although the water vortex is pretty cool.

It is boiling today!!!! I swear Kyle must be melting but, he say he`s fine.....so I don't keep asking him......there`s nothing worse than someone constantly asking if you`re too hot.....

The back of Mythos by the lagoon is lovely.....

There have always been fish in the lagoon, and they are very visible as you look in......but....I had never seen them lined up like this before......it was a little disconcerting how uniformed and poised they looked.........

And all we could think about was mutant sea bass from Austin Powers!!!

​

The area where the bridge is has a peculiar sound and it`s the sound of the troll who lives under the bridge......it is quite loud and very distinctive.......

Very impressive!!!

So, it was almost time for the launch and we had the ipad open and we were watching it live at the same time.......we stood right up on the steps as if you were going into Mythos, and we had a perfect view of the air space where it was going to ascend into. We had never seen a launch in Orlando, we knew you could see it from just about anywhere in Orlando...as long as you were looking the right way of course.....we had missed a few over the years by hours on occasion and way back for Tom`s birthday we had missed it by a day. So although this wasn't a huge event, it was a supply rocket going to the ISS, we were still so excited to see it.

We saw it take off on the ipad, then a few seconds later, we saw the trail and managed to pick out the detail as it went up.......

Maybe not the most impressive images, especially if you aren`t interested in this type of thing.....but for us we loved seeing it.

We watched until we couldn't see anything else and we hoped we had managed to capture some of it on camera......although seeing it for real was enough. We love things like this.....and Kyle has a massive knowledge of all things space and stars, so it`s extra special to see a launch. I guess some folks take it for granted, as you might do...but for us, we were delighted.

We were all getting hungry now, so we set off back to the main walkways and came across a relatively new addition to the park meet and greets......She-Ra...…..

She was phenomenal!!! The meet was funny and she was very chatty with all of us......we were all very impressed with her and the guy with her who was taking pictures too asked us if we wouldn`t mind and make a comment to Guest Services so she may become a permanent meet and greet.....we certainly would do that!!!

We thanked her for the time and we set off as more people were beginning to line up to meet her.....I hope they do keep her there as she was fabulous!!

We must have taken a million pictures in here today....it was quiet in certain areas which was strange as the park was busy.....I think we had just found a lull.....

My two guys...…..

Heading into Seuss we passed by the trolley train today and headed down to do CiTH. This was so funny as Kyle had forgotten just how god darn weird this ride is.......I marvel how anyone could possibly come up with something like that!! Of course a lot of his work is rather odd to say the least......

But of course his work led to us having one of the funniest and best Christmas movies to watch every year........I`m not really a fan of Jim Carrey except when he did The Truman Show, but this movie is amazing!!

Love that movie!!!!

We survived the ride and Kyle just laughed when he came out......what else can you do with this ride...….very odd.

The Who`s were out in force again all over Seuss which was lovely, they really are fabulous and interact with everyone......although there`s always one group of folks who completely ignore their attempts at conversation......we did snigger as one not very happy looking family walked through the store and didn't even raise a smile as the Who`s did their level best to get a smile from one of them....nope, wasn't happening.....lol......

I think we more than made up for their lack of enthusiasm......we love the Who`s!!!!

And they do love to pose for pictures!

Now we were all hungry...….so we had already decided to eat in Confisco Grille again today. We honestly can`t see past this place in IOA. We don't really like counter service, well except maybe Thunder Falls one day again. But this place beats Mythos by miles!!!

And there were one or two little decorations that had been added......

We get a table straight away as the place is almost deserted when we went in, it can be very quiet some days, but we quite like that. If we had to wait for ages, we`d go somewhere else. There are always plenty of places to choose from.

Tiffany looked after us today, she has worked here for around 17 years and is always exactly the same way......smiling and happy......we have a nice little chat with her, and before we order she offers to take a picture for us......well, of course we accept.

I ordered a glass of Malbec, Kyle his usual smoothy and Tom had his usual lemonade as we were heading out tonight again in the car. And our bread arrived soon after, and today we were all indulging as we were hungry!!! The bread and honey butter were demolished and it wasn`t long before our food appeared today.......

A big smile knowing food was on the way.......

Kyle ordered his usual cheese pizza, and was glad to see it had no large tomatoes popped on top today...…plain cheese pizza!!

Tom and I both had the ribs today. He had ordered them when they first appeared and said I stole his dish when I ordered it next visit.......he`s probably right!! I do that a lot.....he tries a new dish and then I always order it before him......and we very rarely order the same dish.......poor guy!!!! But, today he was having them.......

And all three dishes were gorgeous. Kyle`s pizza, though simple was perfect. Our Italian friends balk at putting most toppings on pizza....they are genuine Italians and basically have the tomato sauce and mozzarella.....that`s the pizza to them.....nothing else except maybe some olive oil...their faces when they first heard we put bbq sauce on a base and some of the toppings we have....it was a picture and they didn`t quite believe us......lol......they would approve of this one!!

The ribs were amazing......full of flavour and completely fell off the bone.....the sauce and the polenta were as always the perfect mix.

Tiffany mentioned some desserts, but we never have them here and Kyle was going home to eat the second chocolate fudge cake in the fridge. I hoped it would still be fresh enough for him. She said next time we were in desserts were on her!! She is lovely.

We had a bathroom visit and Tom snapped a few pics while we were gone.

We head back to Hogsmeade and it is busy here.....there is a short line waiting to go on Hagrid`s, maybe up to the entrance of Ollivanders. The ride was down, but....one of the TM`s caught our eye and told us if we wanted to ride today we should join it now.......he didn't need to tell them twice!!!

They did. And within two minutes were moving forward.


Kyle was beyond excited getting to ride it today......we had been so lucky just turning up as the ride was opening after a short delay!!!

They joined the line at 1.55pm and they were out just before 2.30!!! We couldn`t believe the luck.......

I had given it a miss today, so I wandered round and took some pictures and went for a drink in the 3B`s as I didn`t know how long they would be.......I then went into the bathroom in Hogsmeade and it was the busiest I had ever see the bathrooms......as I was drying my hands a lady asked if I was the lady who wrote the trip reports.....I said yes I was.....we began chatting as we headed back out to the sunshine.....the lady`s name was Marlene and her and her husband were from Michigan. She reads the Dis, but I don't think she said she was a member.....I forget her husbands name, but they came to Orlando for Universal and went to California for Disneyland......It was so lovely chatting to them both, I was glad she spoke to me. At that Kyle and Tom appeared we said our goodbyes and they set off.

I was so desperate to hear Kyle`s thoughts on the ride.....and he loved it.....said it was the best ride he`d been on in years!!! He didn`t know any of the spoilers as I had made sure not to write on here how we had enjoyed the ride.....but it is truly amazing!!! Again, I won`t mention spoilers in case anyone reading hasn`t been on it yet and I`d hate to spoil it for anyone......but they were both so enthusiastic about it...…now I wish I`d gone back on again. This more than makes up for the poor effort with Fallon and F&F..….this ride is phenomenal!!!!

We were just so amazed that they didn't have to wait hours the way some folks do.......it really was pure luck! We would never stand for hours waiting to go on any ride, but I can understand why folks do...…but if we never did it again this trip, at least we can say we`ve all done it.

We more or less left the area at this point....the line for Hagrid`s had jumped up to over 100 minutes so no re-riding today!!!

We headed out of the park, slowly, and walked back home where we all had a bit of a snooze, then got changed before heading out for the evening...…...

 

[smiths02]

I would be so sad if they ever got rid of that fountain! We had to stop every time we passed it. So many people seem to just walk on by and not notice. My kids talk about it like they talk about the rides (and the food LOL).

 

[keishashadow]

Great to hear somebody was able to enjoy Hagrids without a long wait. Just haven’t been able to bring myself to join that line thus far.

Wonder how long before they add it to FOTL onsite? Not that it would necessarily be an indicator but, can’t recall how long it took for Kong to make the roll call. thinking it might have been a little under a year. Do you remember?

 

[schumigirl]

I would be so sad if they ever got rid of that fountain! We had to stop every time we passed it. So many people seem to just walk on by and not notice. My kids talk about it like they talk about the rides (and the food LOL).

It is so funny! I agree, some folks just pass it by with no clue it’s there.....oh yes, it’s up there with the best!

Food included.......

 

[schumigirl]

Great to hear somebody was able to enjoy Hagrids without a long wait. Just haven’t been able to bring myself to join that line thus far.

Wonder how long before they add it to FOTL onsite? Not that it would necessarily be an indicator but, can’t recall how long it took for Kong to make the roll call. thinking it might have been a little under a year. Do you remember?

Oh completely agree......we’d never stand in line in anything longer than 20 minutes......lol.....seriously......we just don’t want to....

Kong was fairly quick?? I do know they did want EP fairly early with Hagrid’s but it hasn’t transpired. Can’t wait for when it does get it......

 

[DisneyLifePapioNe]

We got on the Hogwarts Express and we shared the carriage with two other people who were fairly chatty and although they had been on the train before, it was the first year, so a little while back. They were very nice and it`s so nice when people do sit and chat. I hate being in a carriage with unfriendly people.....of course not everyone is a chatty person......we are.

A short journey later and we pull into Hogsmeade.....and head outside with Kyle checking the rocket launch was still going ahead. It was.

We headed left today as we were working our way towards Mythos, not for lunch but for the lagoon side of it so we could see the launch hopefully. I think if we had more time we`d have gone to the top of Sapphire Falls parking lot and watched from there, but we didn`t want to leave the park just for that.

Our first stop was the Mystic Fountain......and he was a naughty one today!!! So funny....I had heard this man many times and he can be very clever with his words.....just that little bit adult in jokes but not so much that kids would understand. I could imagine him in real life being very scathing.....lol.......he`s the best though.

We wandered around the back and it was very peaceful round here.....hardly anyone comes here so you can wander without folks getting in your way...

It is a beautiful area and feels a little wasted being so tucked away, not many folks will wander round here.

I think some folks might think it`s weird taking pictures of the blue sky and a couple of palm trees, but when it looks as gorgeous as this......we just have to......

The Fountain came to life again as we tried to pass by it......so we waited a few minutes till he stopped singing and we could pass without getting soaked......of course you can go round to the left, but what fun would that be......

Poseidon`s Fury is a stunning building and fits in beautifully to this area as it stands now. Of course in years to come who knows......I think for now Universal seem focussed on the new park coming up, but it will be interesting to see what will happen here.......they have plenty of options that`s for sure.

For us it`s a one and done..…actually we did it twice to see if it was as bad as we remembered.......yes, we don`t like this one at all. Although the water vortex is pretty cool.

It is boiling today!!!! I swear Kyle must be melting but, he say he`s fine.....so I don't keep asking him......there`s nothing worse than someone constantly asking if you`re too hot.....

The back of Mythos by the lagoon is lovely.....

There have always been fish in the lagoon, and they are very visible as you look in......but....I had never seen them lined up like this before......it was a little disconcerting how uniformed and poised they looked.........

And all we could think about was mutant sea bass from Austin Powers!!!

View attachment 464091​

The area where the bridge is has a peculiar sound and it`s the sound of the troll who lives under the bridge......it is quite loud and very distinctive.......

Very impressive!!!

So, it was almost time for the launch and we had the ipad open and we were watching it live at the same time.......we stood right up on the steps as if you were going into Mythos, and we had a perfect view of the air space where it was going to ascend into. We had never seen a launch in Orlando, we knew you could see it from just about anywhere in Orlando...as long as you were looking the right way of course.....we had missed a few over the years by hours on occasion and way back for Tom`s birthday we had missed it by a day. So although this wasn't a huge event, it was a supply rocket going to the ISS, we were still so excited to see it.

We saw it take off on the ipad, then a few seconds later, we saw the trail and managed to pick out the detail as it went up.......

Maybe not the most impressive images, especially if you aren`t interested in this type of thing.....but for us we loved seeing it.

We watched until we couldn't see anything else and we hoped we had managed to capture some of it on camera......although seeing it for real was enough. We love things like this.....and Kyle has a massive knowledge of all things space and stars, so it`s extra special to see a launch. I guess some folks take it for granted, as you might do...but for us, we were delighted.

We were all getting hungry now, so we set off back to the main walkways and came across a relatively new addition to the park meet and greets......She-Ra...…..

She was phenomenal!!! The meet was funny and she was very chatty with all of us......we were all very impressed with her and the guy with her who was taking pictures too asked us if we wouldn`t mind and make a comment to Guest Services so she may become a permanent meet and greet.....we certainly would do that!!!

We thanked her for the time and we set off as more people were beginning to line up to meet her.....I hope they do keep her there as she was fabulous!!

We must have taken a million pictures in here today....it was quiet in certain areas which was strange as the park was busy.....I think we had just found a lull.....

My two guys...…..

Heading into Seuss we passed by the trolley train today and headed down to do CiTH. This was so funny as Kyle had forgotten just how god darn weird this ride is.......I marvel how anyone could possibly come up with something like that!! Of course a lot of his work is rather odd to say the least......

But of course his work led to us having one of the funniest and best Christmas movies to watch every year........I`m not really a fan of Jim Carrey except when he did The Truman Show, but this movie is amazing!!

Love that movie!!!!

We survived the ride and Kyle just laughed when he came out......what else can you do with this ride...….very odd.

The Who`s were out in force again all over Seuss which was lovely, they really are fabulous and interact with everyone......although there`s always one group of folks who completely ignore their attempts at conversation......we did snigger as one not very happy looking family walked through the store and didn't even raise a smile as the Who`s did their level best to get a smile from one of them....nope, wasn't happening.....lol......

I think we more than made up for their lack of enthusiasm......we love the Who`s!!!!

And they do love to pose for pictures!

Now we were all hungry...….so we had already decided to eat in Confisco Grille again today. We honestly can`t see past this place in IOA. We don't really like counter service, well except maybe Thunder Falls one day again. But this place beats Mythos by miles!!!

And there were one or two little decorations that had been added......

We get a table straight away as the place is almost deserted when we went in, it can be very quiet some days, but we quite like that. If we had to wait for ages, we`d go somewhere else. There are always plenty of places to choose from.

Tiffany looked after us today, she has worked here for around 17 years and is always exactly the same way......smiling and happy......we have a nice little chat with her, and before we order she offers to take a picture for us......well, of course we accept.

I ordered a glass of Malbec, Kyle his usual smoothy and Tom had his usual lemonade as we were heading out tonight again in the car. And our bread arrived soon after, and today we were all indulging as we were hungry!!! The bread and honey butter were demolished and it wasn`t long before our food appeared today.......

A big smile knowing food was on the way.......

Kyle ordered his usual cheese pizza, and was glad to see it had no large tomatoes popped on top today...…plain cheese pizza!!

Tom and I both had the ribs today. He had ordered them when they first appeared and said I stole his dish when I ordered it next visit.......he`s probably right!! I do that a lot.....he tries a new dish and then I always order it before him......and we very rarely order the same dish.......poor guy!!!! But, today he was having them.......

And all three dishes were gorgeous. Kyle`s pizza, though simple was perfect. Our Italian friends balk at putting most toppings on pizza....they are genuine Italians and basically have the tomato sauce and mozzarella.....that`s the pizza to them.....nothing else except maybe some olive oil...their faces when they first heard we put bbq sauce on a base and some of the toppings we have....it was a picture and they didn`t quite believe us......lol......they would approve of this one!!

The ribs were amazing......full of flavour and completely fell off the bone.....the sauce and the polenta were as always the perfect mix.

Tiffany mentioned some desserts, but we never have them here and Kyle was going home to eat the second chocolate fudge cake in the fridge. I hoped it would still be fresh enough for him. She said next time we were in desserts were on her!! She is lovely.

We had a bathroom visit and Tom snapped a few pics while we were gone.

We head back to Hogsmeade and it is busy here.....there is a short line waiting to go on Hagrid`s, maybe up to the entrance of Ollivanders. The ride was down, but....one of the TM`s caught our eye and told us if we wanted to ride today we should join it now.......he didn't need to tell them twice!!!

They did. And within two minutes were moving forward.

Kyle was beyond excited getting to ride it today......we had been so lucky just turning up as the ride was opening after a short delay!!!

They joined the line at 1.55pm and they were out just before 2.30!!! We couldn`t believe the luck.......

I had given it a miss today, so I wandered round and took some pictures and went for a drink in the 3B`s as I didn`t know how long they would be.......I then went into the bathroom in Hogsmeade and it was the busiest I had ever see the bathrooms......as I was drying my hands a lady asked if I was the lady who wrote the trip reports.....I said yes I was.....we began chatting as we headed back out to the sunshine.....the lady`s name was Marlene and her and her husband were from Michigan. She reads the Dis, but I don't think she said she was a member.....I forget her husbands name, but they came to Orlando for Universal and went to California for Disneyland......It was so lovely chatting to them both, I was glad she spoke to me. At that Kyle and Tom appeared we said our goodbyes and they set off.

I was so desperate to hear Kyle`s thoughts on the ride.....and he loved it.....said it was the best ride he`d been on in years!!! He didn`t know any of the spoilers as I had made sure not to write on here how we had enjoyed the ride.....but it is truly amazing!!! Again, I won`t mention spoilers in case anyone reading hasn`t been on it yet and I`d hate to spoil it for anyone......but they were both so enthusiastic about it...…now I wish I`d gone back on again. This more than makes up for the poor effort with Fallon and F&F..….this ride is phenomenal!!!!

We were just so amazed that they didn't have to wait hours the way some folks do.......it really was pure luck! We would never stand for hours waiting to go on any ride, but I can understand why folks do...…but if we never did it again this trip, at least we can say we`ve all done it.

We more or less left the area at this point....the line for Hagrid`s had jumped up to over 100 minutes so no re-riding today!!!

We headed out of the park, slowly, and walked back home where we all had a bit of a snooze, then got changed before heading out for the evening...…...

Hagrids really is great, we were lucky every time we rode also our total time was always under 40 minutes......

 

[schumigirl]

.

 

[smiths02]

Now I was able to read the rest of the update:

Those fish by Mythos are serious! Our server gave us some bread to feed them, and my kids really wanted to get some to a few turtles we saw, but those fish! I am pretty sure my DH quoted Austin Powers or the Simpsons about those fish.


My kids love the Jim Carrey Grinch, but I make them watch the 1960s cartoon every Christmas Eve. I need to rewatch Jim Carrey and maybe give the new one a chance (I do love Benedict Cumberbatch).

I do have a question for you and others, if you had several park days, would you go through Poseidon just to have done it? What about Fallon and F&F? We skipped all those last time because it was our first trip, but we have potentially 6 days to go into the parks and it seems like maybe worth trying?

 

[schumigirl]

Now I was able to read the rest of the update:

Those fish by Mythos are serious! Our server gave us some bread to feed them, and my kids really wanted to get some to a few turtles we saw, but those fish! I am pretty sure my DH quoted Austin Powers or the Simpsons about those fish.


My kids love the Jim Carrey Grinch, but I make them watch the 1960s cartoon every Christmas Eve. I need to rewatch Jim Carrey and maybe give the new one a chance (I do love Benedict Cumberbatch).

I do have a question for you and others, if you had several park days, would you go through Poseidon just to have done it? What about Fallon and F&F? We skipped all those last time because it was our first trip, but we have potentially 6 days to go into the parks and it seems like maybe worth trying?

They were quite freaky as one minute there were none......and I turned back and they were all lined up like that!! it was weird........

I like cartoon version too, only saw it for the first time about 15 years ago, and as for Benedict Cumberbatch.......we like Sherlock and that’s about it with him......Kyle cannot watch anything with him in it.....lol......

You have 6 days......absolutely do everything.......Poseidon is worth a view, if only for the vortex......and many like it.......

And by the same token, there are folks that like the other two rides you mentioned. Fallon has a lovely walkthrough to get to the ride. The building is beautiful and it’s worth it for that alone.

F&F is very schmalzy......but, yes, with that amount of time try absolutely everything

 

[schumigirl]

Quick note to @Worfiedoodles

Hope I've caught you before you leave..hope you have a fabulous and amazing trip...look forward to hearing about it when you come back...

 

[Pumpkin1172]

Wow!!!!! What a great trip report so far!!!! The amazing pictures that Tom takes are getting me through this craptastic cold weather we are experiencing right now. And of course...your story telling is amazing! Your food porn pictures are also so good. Your food choices are always amazing...except for the pineapple on pizza!!!!!! nope...nadda...not happening! The dh likes pineapple on pizza...but rarely will he get it that way. Only if the youngest ds wants to have it too.

Can't wait to read some more!!!

 

[disneyAndi14]

And don`t miss going to look at the rear of the bus as you can look in and see the beds and luggage too....it is identical to the bus in the movie.

This is such a great tip, it is just one of many I have used from your great reports!
I hope to get on Hagrid’s one of these trips, I have tried to not watch any spoilers. I have heard it is amazing!
of course all your pictures are so wonderful to look at, the weather looks beautiful that day.

 

[schumigirl]

Wow!!!!! What a great trip report so far!!!! The amazing pictures that Tom takes are getting me through this craptastic cold weather we are experiencing right now. And of course...your story telling is amazing! Your food porn pictures are also so good. Your food choices are always amazing...except for the pineapple on pizza!!!!!! nope...nadda...not happening! The dh likes pineapple on pizza...but rarely will he get it that way. Only if the youngest ds wants to have it too.

Can't wait to read some more!!!

Thank you pumpkin!!! I`m so happy you are enjoying it.....I can imagine your cold right now......we see pictures on the news of countries who have extreme weather and it scare the bejeesus out of me!!

lol...….yes pineapple is something that divides people massively!!! We love it....well, more me...Tom would be as happy without it. But I love the fruit and meat mix in many dishes. But, yes, I can understand why folks don't like it...….

 

[schumigirl]

This is such a great tip, it is just one of many I have used from your great reports!
I hope to get on Hagrid’s one of these trips, I have tried to not watch any spoilers. I have heard it is amazing!
of course all your pictures are so wonderful to look at, the weather looks beautiful that day.

Thanks Caroline.....

I`ll keep fingers crossed you get on Hagrid`s.....it really is phenomenal....and I say that as someone who still hasn't forgiven them for dismantling and destroying Duelling Dragons which we loved!! Yes, I hold a grudge...for a long time

It was a gorgeous day, and we kept having to remind ourselves that it was December...….

In case I don't catch you before you leave, have a wonderful trip next week....look forward to reading about it!!

 

[schumigirl]

We set off in the car, and it did feel a little cooler tonight which surprised us as it had been so warm today.....but I guess this was nicer because of where we were going tonight.

Celebration at Christmas we had been told was lovely......and we hadn't gone the previous two years we had been in Orlando, so we, or really being honest, it was just me who wanted to see it and decided we`d go tonight. We had been told it was almost mobbed and parking was a nightmare, so we were fully prepared and had checked out where they had parking arranged around a ten minute walk away from the centre of Celebration. A lot of the town where you can park is blocked off for this, usually you can park so easily here.

I don't think we had ever gone to Celebration at night, we had often talked of going to look at the homes decorated for Halloween, but again....would rather go to HHN!! Much more fun......but this was something really to say ok, we`ve done that now.

Doesn't take long to drive there, and we see another beautiful sunset tonight as we head along Turkey Lake Road.......I didn`t have the camera ready earlier further back, and we could see the sun actually setting on the horizon, but this was still so pretty.

The snow falls every hour on the hour from 5pm and goes on till 9pm, so we thought we`d time it to see the 7pm snow and left in plenty of time to park on the outskirts and walk into town, and of course traffic on the way there can be a hit or a miss...usually a miss!!!

We drive through LBV on the 535 which that whole area really does need an update......there are some places there that look so shabby along with cheap tourist tat stores.........and the same can be said when you turn onto the 192 into Kissimmee, badly in need of a revamp....but we are only driving past and it does look better at night than during the day with all the lights.

We drive into Celebration with the idea of going straight through and finding the allocated parking. But we looked down a street we usually turn down to get to the parking overlooking the lake which was closed off, but there are plenty of parking spaces in the town itself......so much for folks saying it`s always mobbed.

We park up and as we park a British family ask us if it`s ok to park here as they've never been here before. We tell them yes it`s fine and there`s no parking meter to pay either!

In the UK for the most part, we pay to park in most places and there are many restrictions for parking in town centre`s, so it`s refreshing to come here and many other places where you can almost park anywhere for free. I know there are places that charge, but nothing like the UK.

I would love one of these to get around in!!!

We do like Celebration, and Kyle has never been before, and with it being dark, he doesn`t really get to see how pretty it is. But, he does like what he sees so far and understands why we like it......

We thought this was so pretty, but I looked at my two and I had that questioning look of would they maybe like to do it........

I guessed correctly they would rather have their toenails removed without anaesthesia than go for a ride on this little carriage!!!

You could see the remnants on the part of the street it snows from the previous shows and it did look Christmassy...and not at all as busy as we had feared. I`m guessing that since it was a Thursday and not the weekend, and also quite early in the season still might be why it was quieter. Although one local told us the first snow of the evening was much busier.

This is one of the main areas of Celebration that has some lovely little restaurants and stores, and is the only street it snows in. It`s not huge, but it does look lovely. And the restaurants are mostly full by what we can see. We had considered eating here somewhere tonight but decided against it and would eat later somewhere still to be decided.

People often ask why we don`t eat our meals in the Club Lounge in the evening, and although we do like a snack in there with a glass of wine before we go out, we much prefer to eat in the thousands of restaurants available to us between the hotels, Citywalk and Orlando and beyond. I know plenty of people do use it for their meals, but it`s far too early for us to eat usually and we do love so many places offsite. And sometimes choices for dinner are made right before we eat....like tonight...we still had no idea where we were eating later.

Of course they have the usual things for families including what is affectionately named the Wally train back home and they also have a little skating rink just to the side of the snow area.

As a kid I was rubbish at ice skating.....just couldn't quite get the balance right, I loved roller boots where apparently I used to terrify my mother with the speed I would charge up and down where we lived and do turns that she couldn`t even watch. So there was no chance of us having a go on here. I don`t think Kyle has ever been on an ice rink now I think on it.

Back to the tree and the snow.......we still had time before the snow started so we wandered around a little, and it was feeling a little chillier now, but not cold but just nice to be wandering around in.

I have no idea if you need to find a spot earlier when it`s really busy, but tonight you could stand anywhere, and we even found a bench to sit on as we waited.

The snow appears from little boxes on posts, and I was looking at this one in complete mystification and wondering why it said Danger...…..I was beginning to wonder what the heck the snow was made of!!!!

Till Kyle pointed out the obvious of course......

Mum......look again, were his words...…...maybe think of reindeers and snow......there might a theme here...…..

And I am supposed to have good distance eye sight!!!!

And just at that point......it began to snow. We realised then there was no big build up to the snow beginning...…before a parade or similar they do that, but not here.....as the snow started so did the music......

And yes, it was lovely........and strangely did feel a little like snow.

I was loving this.....

It really was rather nice, and for the 15 minutes or so it fell, everyone had the same happy look......little kids were as excited as if it was real snow and the family stood beside us who had come from Puerto Rico had never seen real snow once.......although that is strange to me, we`ve met a few people in Orlando that have never experienced real snow before.

Yes, it had been lovely.......but, it`s one of these things I now don`t need to do again.....it ticked a box. But, I`d recommend it to see once. It`s cute and there is a lovely Christmassy feel about the place with the families around and of course the snow is lovely.

Once that is over, we head back to the car slowly and taking in the lovely lake area at night.......I do like the look of the hotel here.....

We got back into the car and Tom asked where was he driving to tonight. We had considered so many places.....should we try Cracker Barrell down this end, or maybe Smokey Bones that we really like.....but Kyle, genius that he is, suggested Kobe........so that`s what we would do.

We did pass one on Palm Parkway that we used to go to, but we drove to the one on Kirkman and we said we wouldn`t do the Tepenyaki table, we would have an individual table in the bar area.

It was busy. The tepenyaki tables were bustling and we were glad to see the bar area was much quieter.

We were seated in a few minutes and our waitress, although pleasant struggled quite badly with English.....it was hard for her to understand what we were saying and we did struggle a little with her, but we got there in the end. The other waitresses seemed to be much better with English than this lady.

Tom ordered a sprite, Kyle his usual strawberry smoothy....that was a hard task asking her for that....and I pointed to the menu to show her I wanted the Mai Tai........that was easy.......although I decided to have a coke too, so she was confused as she thought I didn`t want the Mai Tai.....no, I explained I wanted both......I did wonder at that point what I`d actually get......but it was fine.

This was much nicer than the shared Tepenyaki table.....although we do usually enjoy those type of meals, we hadn`t had the best experience last time, but this was what we would do from now on.....I think when you`ve experienced the shared table a few times, that`s usually enough....it is fun and if you get a good group of people who all gel, it makes it extra fun....but if you get stuck with folks that don`t interact with both other guests and the chef....it`s a little lame. I wonder why folks who don`t enjoy the chef show or interactions, sit there when they could go for a quieter table.

Our dishes came with miso soup which we all love, even Kyle....it`s so cleansing and very fresh......although Kyle and I both give Tom our mushrooms......

I was the only one to get a salad and it came with a ginger dressing which was beautiful......but neither of them like that so they omitted to have one at all. Kyle isn`t a fan of a salad plate anyway.

There was no rush to have the entrée sent out, and there was a pleasant gap before she brought them out...…Tom had opted for the Japanese Chicken Curry which came with the usual vegetables and potatoes stir fried...he had rice on the side and omitted the big pile of noodles.

Kyle had the filet with teriyaki sauce and again the same sides and rice was in a side bowl......there are two sizes of steak and tonight him and I opted for the regular size, but we said next time we would have the larger steak.

I had gone with the steak and shrimp option minus any mushrooms, and with teriyaki sauce too. It`s a large portion of noodles you get, so I think next time we`d all omit the noodles and stick to the rice as it was lovely, and more than enough to be honest.

I was just starting to eat mine when I realised there was no teriyaki sauce on mine.......so I called her over and mentioned it......about 15 minutes later she brought me out a pot of sauce that was cold......er, no...it was supposed to be cooked in it!!! I didn`t quibble over what was going to add a dollar on to the check.

The food was all beautiful..…we really did enjoy this place tonight and we were so glad Kyle had suggested it. It had been a while since he had visited Kobe too, so he doubly enjoyed the experience.

The check arrived and we paid it before setting off.

Kyle wanted some cookies, so we headed down to the Walgreen at the complete other end of the strip, and we were very surprised to see it had more than a few homeless people I think living there. We hadn't seen that before in this little strip so it quite surprising.

They weren`t threatening in any way and didn't ask for any money but it wasn`t nice to see folks struggling so much.

Five minutes later we were back home and had a quick stop to admire the additions to the gingerbread village that was added to every day and of course the tree. The lobby is so pretty and the tree just looks amazing at night all lit up.

We had a quick stop by the desk to ask about another member of staff we know well......and he was on vacation, but would be back before we left for the UK. We did miss seeing him in the lounge as he was a supervisor. He`s now through the back at the front desk.

Then we popped into Orchids to say goodbye to our number 2 son Colby who also used to be in the Club lounge....he was doing great in Orchids we were happy to see. We`d see him in May of course.......

No drink in the bar tonight, we went straight up and planned to have an early night as we had an early rise tomorrow. All three of us were yawning our heads off, so after a quick chat about how lovely a day we`d all had we went through to hopefully drop off quickly to sleep.



Tomorrow.....KSC.

 

[Cara]

I'm just popping in to say that those fish are completely bizarre, all facing the same way like that!

 

[schumigirl]

I'm just popping in to say that those fish are completely bizarre, all facing the same way like that!

It really was!!

I swear, I looked in the water and there were the usual one or two bobbing about........then I turned back and there they were.......like that ............it did freak me out a little........and they stayed like that for ages!

We had seen then pop up looking for food before, but.......never like that!

Good to see you........

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Quick note to @Worfiedoodles

Hope I've caught you before you leave..hope you have a fabulous and amazing trip...look forward to hearing about it when you come back...

We arrived yesterday, but I had WiFi issues and couldn’t use my iPad. The guys were fine, it was just me... It is beautiful here! So much sunshine, we are ecstatic! I will catch up after we get back, I really look forward to reading the rest of your report!

 

[keishashadow]

It really was!!

I swear, I looked in the water and there were the usual one or two bobbing about........then I turned back and there they were.......like that ............it did freak me out a little........and they stayed like that for ages!

We had seen then pop up looking for food before, but.......never like that!

Good to see you........

That fish formation was quite creepy! Almost as though they were animatronic lol. We look for the turtles, large ones usually sunning themselves on cement bank down in water near Seuss restrooms. Haven’t seen them last few trips. Don’t think turtle soup is ‘a thing’ in Orlando lol, probably just moved to different section of the lagoon.

It’s always nice to find something ‘free’ in town. You’d pay $120 a person to see it snow on MK Main Street, not factoring in the other special offerings of the party lol. Seems as more than a few have never seen it based upon how excited they are, good for them

Haven’t tried hibachi other than at epcot in MCO. That place you feature above looks promising. Last few outings as a couple away from home, seem to be placed with large groups who all know each other. Had the distinct vibe we were ‘crashing’ their party, awkward. Wish they’d take more care to set multiple groups together to encourage interaction.