Lets just do everything... Sept 2015 TR WDW, USO, HHN, CBBR - updated 31/10 Day 6

[BagOLaughs]

I spent the day in London on Friday with best friend....long day!!!!! Love musicals.....would go see Wicked again given the choice......have seen it twice on Broadway and adored it!!!!

What a coincidence! good old London town, its nice to visit but it would drive me potty if I had to live there.

I also loved Wicked, I've only seen it once but it was very very good

 

[BagOLaughs]

Day 6 - Cowboys and gals

After all the excitement of getting engaged and of course having breakfast with pooh and friends (hehe) it was time for another fast pass. Big Thunder Mountain!

We spent a bit of time walking around Main street just enjoying the atmosphere. We saw the fire truck which was cool.



I also purchased some gifts and souvenirs from the emporium. The CM who served me was really grumpy which was a bit of a shame. I asked if I could get it wrapped so I could pick it up later and he acted like it was a huge deal for him. Not very good customer service. I must admit during the whole trip we met a fair few grumpy CM at Disney and hardly any at Universal. When it comes to customer service, this holiday Universal won hands down.

I loved the Halloween decorations in the windows.



Once we'd finished in the Emporium I noticed a train was just pulling into the station which would be so useful because it would take us right to the entrance of BTM.



A relaxing train journey later we where here! Woh look at that queue, so glad we've got FP+!



Martin's phone was foggy, maybe some moisture got into the lens. It was blooming hot on this day!



BTM was fun as always. I think we got seats right at the back of the train. I really love this coaster because it whips you about all over the place.



Look even Martin is smiling! As I said before after the morning we both couldn't stop smiling. I know it sounds corny but it's true.



I took a photo of Martin taking a photo as the geyser went off behind him.



We had a FP+ for splash mountain next although we had a 15 minute wait. As I said it was blooming hot so it was time for an ice lolly. This was a "frozen" ice lolly, haha! I see what you did there Disney.



We sat in the shade by Splash and watched Jessie and Woody taking photos. When they went back stage to have a break they waved to us.



I didn't actually take any pictures of splash mountain but it was great fun as always. We only got a little bit of a splash but it was nice and cooling.

Also since our last visit in May they seem to have improved the timings. We didn't get backed up anywhere in the flume.

 

[BagOLaughs]

Day 6 - Presidents and Fantasy

It was almost time for the parade, I can't be in Disney and not watch the parade, and for once we felt like watching it from liberty square area, usually we'd go to the hub. I like this area although I prefer the fronter area for theming.



We were looking for a place to stand and then noticed that the hall of presidents was about to start in 5 minutes so we thought why not!



We had a bit of time to have a look around the foyer area.



You've gotta love a good bit of fancy carpet.



Martin really wanted me to take a picture of these boots which if I remember correctly were worn by George W Bush.



Its always enlightening to watch the hall of presidents. We're really not all that patriotic in Britain although I wish we could be, even just a little. Also the animatronics are amazing to watch and the voice over by Morgan Freeman is great.

Once the show was over the parade was just starting and we actually got a pretty good spot. It was in the sun but as we hadn't had to stake out a spot in advance it wasn't so bad.



Belle and Beast (my favourite Disney movie and princess) head up the parade. Ahhh! Look at all the pretty flowers.



Then we saw Tiana and Prince Naveen. I'm one of those strange people who really enjoyed the Princess and the Frog movie. I think it had a lot of great characters, songs and it was one of those movies that grew on me the more I watched it. I love a princess who is a hard worker and goes out to get what she wants!



Then of course Tiana swivels around on her turntable and we see Elsa and Anna. I know Frozen is totally over used by Disney but I still love seeing these two and I'm not going to stand in a 2 hour line to meet them so I'll take what I can get in the parade.



Another fun photo of these two.

 

[BagOLaughs]

Day 6 - Festival of Fantasy pt 2

Gotta love this guy. This is one of the best costumes of the whole parade.



The floats are amazing in this parade, in fact of all the parades that I've seen this is probably the best for floats. A close 2nd is Celebrate the Magic at Disneyland Paris. This is one of the best floats, I love the fact that Flynn is on a swinging thing.



Rapunzel's got her trusty frying pan. She is another great princess, so full of energy and passion.



More amazing costumes.



Hey Ariel! She's got flounder above her head



Loved these costumes with the twirling sea horses.



Another amazing float on its way. A pirate ship on a rainbow... wow.



I see you hook! You can't hide from me.



And tink on the back! So cute!



All finished up with the croc following the float.

 

[BagOLaughs]

Day 3 - Festival of Fantasy pt 3

I don't get this float. Its a bit plain compared to the rest and I'm not a big fan of Merida. Sorry Merida... Brave is OK but I really don't like the way Merida behaves, I think she's really mean to her mum and her actions comes across as selfish and almost spiteful in my eyes. She has a good design and her hair is awesome but character wise ... meh.



I like these floating faries... Fauna, Flora and Merryweather. I first saw this technology in Paris and it really does look amazing as they hover above the ground.



This bit of the parade was my favourite, of course! The crows and thorn people are really interesting costumes. And Prince Philip in the middle fighting them off is great.



And my favourite float! I love dragons, as you probably guessed by now, so seeing Maleficent in dragon form all steam punky is really cool. She didn't breathe fire during the parade. I guess either it was too windy (it wasn't) or it was just broken (more than likely) but the float was still cool!



The the parade wraps up with an assortment of characters. All 7 dwarfs.



Alice and the white rabbit.



Pinocchio up high.



My mum's fave. Donald yey! Daisy is in the background. I don't really like their costumes. Compared to the lavish 1st part of the parade their costumes here look very childish.. which isn't terrible but I like it when they're put in really detailed costumes. Tokyo is especially good at this.



Pluto!



And finally the big cheese. Mickey in his little top hat and Minnie.



I love this parade. I do miss Celebrate a dream come true which gives me a massive nostalgia hit when I listen to the song.

But Festival of Fantasy has some really amazing floats and ideas! A+ from me.

 

[BagOLaughs]

Day 6 - Feet up!

After the Parade Martin was feeling peckish and we were just around the corner from one of his favourite quick service restaurants... Casey Corner. Martin loves hot dogs and really wanted one. Here is a very unflattering picture of him after wolfing down his food.



I'm personally not a massive fan of frankfurters. So I just played with the birds. Who's a pretty ibis? They wanted the chips and we're very disinterested at the ice cubes I was sharing with them.



When Martin was ordering his food the CM in Casey's saw his engaged button and asked what the story was. Martin told her and she gave us a free bag of candy floss. So sweet. That totally made up for the lousy customer service I got from the Emporium. One thing I didn't mention before was for every overtly grumpy CM we saw, and there were a few! There was an equal number of CM'S who went above and beyond to be kind and friendly.

After Martin had finished eating we headed over to Tomorrowland and Martin snapped a picture of this cute decoration.



I love the sci fi thingy that straddles this bridge.



Another photo with me in it.



I was making a bee line for a specific ride which I love. It was still mega hot and this is a perfect way to cool off with no line...



People mover!!! I love this ride. Martin is so so but he always humours me, especially when there is no queue. It's so relaxing. You get to see the castle.



Smell the fumes from Autopia.



And of course Space mountain... we'll be seeing you in a minute.

 

[BagOLaughs]

Day 6 - Bears in space

Space Moutain is martin's fave ride in the Magic Kingdom. It is a pretty cool ride. Even though it doesn't go particularly fast or upside down its still a really fun ride which has me laughing the whole way through. The queue was quite long but with our FP+ we breezed all the way to the front.



Control Tower, blast me away to space!



The sitting in a line type of car is actually really fun. Not many coasters have this any more. Although they are quite difficult to get into... not as bad as Dudely do Right however.



After Space Mountain we stopped by the FP+ kiosks and managed to grab two more FP for the Jungle Cruise in 30 minutes. We headed over that way. I was trying to take a picture of people being caught out by the spitting camel but I couldn't quite time it right.



Wondering what to do I remembered there is a pathway which connects Adventureland to frontierland right next to a show which I love to watch!

Yes the County Bears Jamboree!



This is one of those shows that is such a guilty pleasure.



But its so entertaining...



If you get a good crowd it has a great atmosphere.



And its air conditioned!

 

[schumigirl]

Lovely pics Rachel.......wasn't the weather glorious!!

Not a hot dog fan either...........

Nice update.........

 

[BagOLaughs]

Day 6 - It took a long time to get on the Jungle cruise

OK, so some of you may have noticed it took me a long time to post this next trip update. About 8 months to do so. I have the usual excuses... bought my 1st house with Martin, got some kittens, very busy at work bla bla bla... anyway my target is to finish this trip report! So here we go!!!

When I left of we'd just finished the country bears Jamboree and were heading to the Jungle Cruise.



Some pictures from throughout the queue line. Even if you have a FP+ I've noticed because of the time it takes to load people onto the boat this queue moves very very slowly.



After we were seated on our boat we had a lovely skipper. I do remember that there was this one kid who kept standing up during the journey. I have no idea if the parents spoke English but really its not hard to understand when your child is standing and the ride operator keeps stopping the boat and repeating "please sit down" to get the gist of whats going on. Also when the ride operator was saying please sit down, they parents would push the kid into a sitting position so they knew... gah. so annoying.



Woh we're back on Kilimanjaro safaris! No wait...



This bit is always fun!



After the Jungle cruise we headed over to the Little Mermaid as the queue was... well there wasn't one. I didn't get any photos from on the ride but I got a couple from the entrance.



I know it took forever for Disney to finally open New Fantasyland, and when it did open it was a bit meh, but it sure is pretty!



You really can't fault all the detail here!



And finally the beasts castle! Although little known fact here people... this castle is already represented... that's right in Disneyland Paris! If you go on Casey Jr. train there is a beast castle there.



What is that? why its a giant cinnamon roll from Gastons Tavern! Its almost the size of my head, only thing was, it was big but it was actually pretty dry! Oh no, which is a shame because the cinnamon rolls I've had from Hollywood Studios have always been amazing!

 

[BagOLaughs]

Day 6 - finally takes its toll...

Last post of day 6, We headed over to tomorrowland as darkness was decending to have a go at buzzlight year. Unfortunatly talking buzz was behind his screen (must have been taking a power nap).

I was just familurising myself with the instructions for the ride...



And then we boarded our spaceship to fight the evil zurg!



Having stopped writing this trip report for so long I have no idea who won... which means only one thing. I did! I must have won. This must be Martins score because I'm sure I got 999,999 and became a galactic hero.



After buzz it was time for another spin on space mountain...



And then what do you do after you've blasted off to space? The people mover of course!



I do like the neon lighting in Tomorrowland at night. Very pretty and adds splashes of colour to your photos.

The next few photos are in no particuar order, I think we were just wandering around taking picutres. But I also destinctly remember after the people mover Martin going very quiet and getting a bit shifty. I asked him if he was OK and he said he was fine.



So pretty at night!



Big Thunder had a 0 minute wait so we decided to have a go in the dark.






Now this is where the story gets a bit gross. Skip this bit if you want. As I mentioned Martin was getting a bit shifty. We sat down and watched wishes and the whole time he was very quiet and unlike himself. Then we walked over to Fronterland to just sit and chill out for a few minutes, waiting for the electrical light parade. We sat on one of those box things around the trees. Martin was being so quiet and after much badgering, from my part, he finally told me he was feeling a bit unwell. I asked what he wanted to do and he said just sit for a bit. I was like OK.

But he was fidgeting a lot. I was getting a bit worried so I said why don't you go into the shop with the air conditioning. I'll stay here with the bags. He did but after about 2 minutes came back out white as a sheet and proceeded to throw up! Nice... I was just like, no Martin don't be ill!!! I just stood there rubbing his back and giving him water.

When he was "done". I made the decision to leave the Electrical Light Parade and leave the park. We filled up the water bottle for Martin and did the walk of shame. I did find a custodial CM and let them know what had happened, he just said 'have a lovely evening' and smiled. I felt so bad... I'm sure they're used to it but I did feel super embarrassed.

Poor Martin said he was better but I just wanted to get him back to the hotel. He wanted to get the boat just in case he needed to be sick again and being stuffed in a monorail wouldn't really be that great but as luck would have it the blooming Water Parade delayed our boat.



I was getting a bit stressed by this point to be honest and I was so glad when we finally left the dock, got in the car, drove back to CBBR and got back to the room.

Not the greatest end to a life changing day but it could have been worse!

 

[BagOLaughs]

Day 7 - the morning after the night before

Fortunately I didn't have anything planned for this day. Martin was back to his usual self. We decided too much heat, sun, junk food and not enough water caused him to have his funny turn. Have I mentioned in the past that he's very bad at drinking water?! Soda and especially coke he drinks by the bucket load, but plain old water... nope... sigh.

The weather was amazing so we decided to spend some time by the pool. Another think I love about Cabana bay is the fact that there are two pools. So when one is noisy and has kids entertainment, the other is quiet and peaceful.



Not a cloud in sight this morning!



Later on, we decided to move over to the pool side bar had have some food.



I chose to have a salad and some cheesy chips... because you know... lets be super healthy and not super healthy at the same time. The salad was really good! The cheesy chips were OK.



Martin had the same but with wings. I must admit I had wing envy after I saw them. They portion was huge! It had veg as well and was only like $4.99 or something.



After our lunch, we got changed and headed into USO. We bumped into the parade. I'm not a huge fan of this parade, i think the stops kinda disrupt the energy but it was a fun distraction for a little while.



We then tried to take some pictures next to Jack but the sun was just in the wrong place haha!



Martin did a better job than I!



Next we wanted to have a closer look at one of the scare zones but during the daylight. Even in the light this area is creepy and so detailed! It was amazing.



This was most definitely my favourite scare zone. When its full of fog it really can't be beat!

 

[BagOLaughs]

Day 7 - blood, blood blood...

Martin and I had never seen the Horror make up show before (I know, what the heck!) and a show just so happened to be starting, so we decided to watch it.

First we had fun looking at the props. We both love horror special effects and it was amazing to see some of these props. Martin adores John Carpenter's The Thing and was so happy to see this particular prop.



Me on the other hand... remember what I said about lizard like scaly things... I was tickling her nose...



The show is a blast and I can't believe I'd never seen it before. They chose a lady from the crowd who didn't speak any English. It was so funny. They two guys doing the show really had a good thing going.

Oh no! They made her faint!



Just joking, she was fine... well as fine as you can be with a knife in your arm.



Really good show. Although maybe a little outdated. It wouldn't do any harm to updated this with some modern day horrors too.

Next up we decided to hop over to IOA via Kings Cross station... to a British person this feels like a really odd thing to say, I tell you!



Its just so creepy and realistic. Although, I think I've said this before, much much cleaner. Then again, Universal... if you wanted to really get a realistic London you could pump some pee smell through the "underground" section of this station, you'd have it on the nose.



Look at all that queue... could you imagine being stuck in this cross back section??? It would get quite boring quite quickly I think!



The train is here! Take us to Hogsmede!



I love the vanishing effect of the platform 9 3/4 pillar in this queue line. I did take a video. i'll have to see if I can find it.



To end this post a picture of Martin in the train carriage. lovely.

 

[tinkerbell1991]

I am loving your trip report and it's definitely given me the push to do the hhn next year when we go.

Can i ask, do you need separate park admission for this event too or just the event ticket?

Can't wait to read more

 

[BagOLaughs]

I am loving your trip report and it's definitely given me the push to do the hhn next year when we go.

Can i ask, do you need separate park admission for this event too or just the event ticket?

Can't wait to read more

you just need an event ticket to experience HHN. The only reason you'd have to have both is if you wanted to stay in one of the 'holding areas' inside the park before the event begins. The holding areas allow you to get access to some of the houses a little bit earlier than the main crowd and you don't have to queue outside universal studios.

However if you don't have that its not a big deal. There are lots of HHN tickets available so just choose one that is best value for money for you .

We loved HHN which is why we're going back this year.

 

[tinkerbell1991]

you just need an event ticket to experience HHN. The only reason you'd have to have both is if you wanted to stay in one of the 'holding areas' inside the park before the event begins. The holding areas allow you to get access to some of the houses a little bit earlier than the main crowd and you don't have to queue outside universal studios.

However if you don't have that its not a big deal. There are lots of HHN tickets available so just choose one that is best value for money for you .

We loved HHN which is why we're going back this year.

Thank you