It Was an Earl the Squirrel Kind of Christmas in November (2024)

[wdwrule]

Hello! Christmas is by far my favorite time of year. The holiday music, lights, cookies, cocoa, decorations etc etc etc. It always seems most people have an extra joyful heart this time of year. Yes, I’m one of those that begins to decorate for Christmas immediately after Halloween and I keep everything up around the house several weeks after Christmas.

So needless to say, I especially love the atmosphere at UO during the holidays. We were there this past week for a long weekend… November 22-25. During this trip, it was DH and DD who went along with me. We stayed at Aventura which has become one of our favorite resorts. As I’ve mentioned in previous reports, we’ve never been huge fans of the style/decor of Aventura but the other positives outweigh that one flaw. It’s very reasonably priced, clean and conveniently located. The staff has always been friendly and accommodating. We also love their food options and full service Starbucks. We rarely do ‘resort time’ so this is wonderful for us. My all-time favorite resort if I had to choose would be Portofino Bay. That resort is just stunning and the rooms are spacious… and oh that resort scent .

Before I begin our holiday adventure which was filled with Earl , I thought I’d make a brief detour to share some pics from our September HHN trip. Haha a little bit of Halloween before Christmas.




















I’m such a wimp when it comes to jump scares but I do like the overall vibe at HHN. I went into two houses which were enough for me. I did really enjoy the Ghostbusters house since I love the original movie. DD and I watched the newest one before that trip so the scenes in the house were incredible and I understood the storyline.

But this is a Christmas trip report after all, so I need to summon my inner Earl and let the festivities begin!

To be continued…

 

[wdwrule]

We began our trip with a Friday 4:00pm flight… just a 2 hour flight. Sometimes we have a much later flight so this was at a good time which allowed us plenty of time to enjoy dinner upon arrival. After checking into Aventura we dropped off our things in the room and then headed over to Jake’s for dinner. This is always a must-do place to eat each trip for us. It’s located downstairs at Royal Pacific.

DD and I almost always split the bomber burger here because it’s so fresh, juicy and consistently cooked perfectly. It comes with fries and I had mine with a beer. We noticed they changed up their fries a bit which were a little lighter cooked and not as crispy but still good. They also used to place onion rings on top of the burger which was a nice touch but the last few times the onion rings have been MIA. All good though. They did bring back those adorable little individual glass jars of ketchup. Haha it’s those little things that are pleasing, you know?

After dinner we meandered around looking at their Christmas trees which were beautiful. This one was just outside of Jake’s.



Here’s one upstairs in the main lobby.



On the walk back to Aventura, we walked through Sapphire Falls to check out their lobby tree.



Upon entering Aventura, we decided to have a gin and tonic from the lobby bar. This is not a favorite bar of ours but they had a singer who also played the guitar and he was amazing! We sat at a table near the bar while sipping on our drinks and listened for quite awhile. This was a very nice way to end the evening. Many others trickled in and stopped to listen. I love how most of the UO resorts have live entertainment sometimes.

We headed back up to our room which was on the 6th floor. We tend to get a much higher floor but the view was still nice and overlooked the park. I opened the curtain and was greeted with the drone show from CineSational!



We’ve seen the show from the rooftop bar on a previous trip which was awesome.

We were all tired by this point so off to bed we went. We almost always enter the parks during early admission so we like to be rested and ready to go go go the next day.

To be continued…

 

[wdwrule]

The next morning, we got ready for the parks and swung by Starbucks in the lobby. Aventura had modern trees to match their theme.




I ordered my usual hot brewed chai tea with a little bit of almond milk in it. So glad I chose hot because it was very chilly outside. The next two days warmed up but this day was goosebumps chilly. We love walking over to the parks and typically cut through Royal Pacific. We had to chuckle because we usually appreciate this indoor walk due to keeping cool with the air conditioning however on this day, we were grateful for the heat during the indoor portion of our walk.

They’ve been doing some renovations and changing up their decor in the ballroom/convention center area for awhile now. This wall that has tapestry on it used to have very decorative umbrellas there instead. I really miss those umbrellas.



A short walk later, we arrived at Citywalk and headed straight to IoA to ride Velocicoaster. Wow was it packed at the gate! I think we got to the gate around 8:20 during early admission but made it into Velocicoaster queue around 8:45. This is the golden time… before express begins and general admission which makes it virtually a walk-on.

We then headed over to Studios for breakfast. I love both parks for the Christmas festivities but it always seems like Studios does it just a bit bigger. More holiday music playing throughout, more decorations it seems and of course the huge decorated tree where Earl the Squirrel originated.

Here are some pics of holiday decor.






It’s hard to tell from the pictures but Diagon Alley was especially beautiful. Even on the Spindlewarps sign there were red and green balls of yarn added.

We ate breakfast at Leaky Cauldron which we often do. They did things a little differently this time. Instead of ordering at the register and then waiting at the table for food delivery, you now still go through the line, but they tell you to choose any table that you want and to place a mobile order at the table. We’ve done this at Thunder Falls and liked this set up. In all of our experiences, Leaky Cauldron’s breakfast was never on the mobile order menu before… only lunch and dinner.

I love the atmosphere here.





Haha I really felt like Hermoine in here during that movie scene as it was cold outside. It was wonderful to sip on a hot butterbeer with my breakfast.

Afterwards, we walked around a bit and visited the Tribute Store.





You can see Earl in the window in the above picture.

Up next, the Tribute Store

 

[wdwrule]

As mentioned in my previous post, we were headed to the newly themed Tribute Store with bellies full from a warm breakfast and hot Butterbeer. Yum!

We really enjoy visiting the Tribute Store year round to check out the new displays and fantastic artistry. They put so much thought and creativity in their theming.

As a reading teacher in the primary grades, my jaw dropped when I saw the facade:



Oh my, this was absolutely adorable!! I just loved their holiday book idea! Not only from a teacher point of view but as a parent who have always (and still do) had a tradition on Christmas Eve to read my kids holiday stories. This was sweet bliss!

The store was based specifically on some of these stories:


It started with Christmas in Hogsmeade, then the Grinch and then the Tale of Earl the Squirrel. Each room was like an interactive pop-up book.


The interactive part was, here and there, they placed shapes among the stories (on the walls) to either feel something from the story or smell, etc. I mainly noticed the ‘feel’ boxes where you could touch an item from the story…




This was a nice touch… haha pun intended. The smell boxes didn’t really have a smell to them. Here are more pics from inside the store:





In some parts of the rooms, there was falling snow projected on the walls. There were other special effects throughout.







The Earl the Squirrel story was so sweet! I ended up buying the story and noticed the sign right outside of the store stated that on this day only there would be a book signing at certain times of the day.

In my mind I was thinking Earl himself would be signing it. We came back later to get the book signed which I’ll write about in a bit. But let’s just say, it was so exciting and surprising!! I’ll continue with more Tribute Store pics in the next post…

 

[wdwrule]

Here are the continued pics of the Tribute Store from my previous post:


Above is the projected falling snow from what I was talking about earlier.


This mug of Butterbeer would move and refill.

I believe these are newer… Butterbeer carts filled with gummy candy.



Haha I love Earl’s sweater!!


Lots of beautifully themed treats.

We had some time before the book signing so after a ride or two we headed to the Wicked Experience right there in Studios. Wow oh wow this was amazing! At the time I didn’t even see Wicked yet but was mesmerized by the theming and props. DD saw it awhile back on Broadway so I’m sure she appreciated it more but either way, it was a lovely experience. We did just see the movie yesterday and we really enjoyed it. Such a wonderful story and interesting character development. I’m excited for Part 2 to come out!

I’ll add detail and photos in my next post about the Wicked Experience… and all about that awesome book signing with photos.

 

[Skywalker3]

LOVE the Tribute store theme!! the Christmas trees at the hotels are beautiful, and the in park decorations too.
Pictures are gorgeous! Thanks for sharing the TR and all the fun and festiveness of the holiday season there....I am So tempted to jump in the car, even if just for a few days. Holidays at Universal are so wonderful!

 

[DL1WDW2]

You are not going to believe how many times I saw that sign and thought it was a prop.
And then saw the book was Sold Out !
I hope you post a picture of his authentic signature …. And the meet greet.
Great trip report . I have plans for NYE return trip this year but will probably miss Earl
and his signed book but I will look just in case!

Universal gets better every year! Don’t you agree?

 

[wdwrule]

LOVE the Tribute store theme!! the Christmas trees at the hotels are beautiful, and the in park decorations too.
Pictures are gorgeous! Thanks for sharing the TR and all the fun and festiveness of the holiday season there....I am So tempted to jump in the car, even if just for a few days. Holidays at Universal are so wonderful!

Agree 100%! I love Universal year round but my favorite times there are during the holidays and during Mardi Gras. The theming, decor and atmosphere are amazing! Thanks for your kind words.

 

[wdwrule]

You are not going to believe how many times I saw that sign and thought it was a prop.
And then saw the book was Sold Out !
I hope you post a picture of his authentic signature …. And the meet greet.
Great trip report . I have plans for NYE return trip this year but will probably miss Earl
and his signed book but I will look just in case!

Universal gets better every year! Don’t you agree?

Right?!?! We were starting to wonder too if the sign was just a prop but we lucked out as there was a book signing on that particular day. I do love when they add little things each year. Haha it keeps us on our toes and keeps things intriguing. Universal really knows how to do it up.

We’ve never been there during NYE but I bet it’ll be a blast! Enjoy!

 

[wdwrule]

Before I get to the book signing, I want to share some pics from Wicked: The Experience from Studios. As mentioned previously, we were killing some time before the book signing took place and something on my must-do list was to visit the Wicked Experience. This area is in the former location of the UNIVRS store and is nearby Today’s Cafe. At the time of this trip, we had not seen the movie. DD had seen it on Broadway awhile back. We did just see the movie very recently and absolutely loved it!

The costumes and theming of this whole experience was excellent! I won’t say much about it as to not give away spoilers. We did go through it at least twice during the trip because it was just a cool experience to check out the costuming etc.


















The above pic was my favorite costume. In person, this was stunning! It looked like a dress made of fragile flower petals. I’d totally wear this!!


There was also a ton of Wicked merchandise… clothes, Legos, candy, jewelry, etc.

On a different day, we noticed a pop-up, impromptu character meet and greet with Glinda and Elphaba. We didn’t bother getting in the long line to meet them but got to see them from a distance. Everything was very well done.

Next up: the book signing

 

[wdwrule]

Oh boy it’s been way too long!! Finally able to continue the report.

So upon heading back to the Tribute Store for the book signing, we saw the Squirrel of the hour himself!


Always so happy… love that! We then entered the Tribute Store from the exit to get in line with purchased book already in hand. This was an adorable story that explained how Earl ended up in Universal Orlando and why he hangs out in the big beautiful Christmas tree.



We were wondering if Earl himself was about to sign the book.

Lo and behold it was the author, editor and illustrators who were signing. What was super cool though was these men are a part of the Universal design team! They help to create and design props, merchandise, the Tribute Store itself, etc!! It was amazing to meet them and chat a little.



As shown in the picture above, here is Rob Cametti (author) and Blaine Edwards (editor).



Above are the illustrators Greg Duffy sporting his Gerg jacket and Kevin Kophamer. It was cool talking to them about how Earl’s sketch/image has evolved over the years.

They were all so pleasant and genuinely enjoyed answering questions and chatting. You can tell they love what they do for the parks and park go-ers.

I loved this prop in the store. The ‘reviews’ were funny… you may have to zoom in.


My signed copy:


We had a blast and it was worth the wait in line (which was only about 15 minutes).

To be continued with more Earl…

 

[Robo56]

Enjoying your report and photos.

What a special treat to meet the creators of the Earl the Squirrel book. I new that little rodent in the Christmas Tree was going to grow on people when he first showed up. I love it.

The Tribute Store looked cool and your photos of Wicked Experience are nice. Beautiful costumes.

 

[macraven]

Very much enjoyed your trip report!

 

[wdwrule]

Enjoying your report and photos.

What a special treat to meet the creators of the Earl the Squirrel book. I new that little rodent in the Christmas Tree was going to grow on people when he first showed up. I love it.

The Tribute Store looked cool and your photos of Wicked Experience are nice. Beautiful costumes.

Thank you! Haha your predictions about Earl are so true! It is so cool how popular he has become.

Yes those costumes were stunning. Thanks for your kind words.

 

[wdwrule]

Very much enjoyed your trip report!

Glad you’re enjoying it. Thank you!