MNSSHP pg. 3 w/ pics...Oct. 2010, 2nd trip to Universal! 1st trip was 7 years ago!

[strawberryblonde]

Soooo excited!!!!

 

[strawberryblonde]

 

[strawberryblonde]

 

[strawberryblonde]

Our second week will be in a downtown disney hotel....Beuna Vista Palace, I believe. I understand this is across the street from downtown disney and within walking distance (I enjoy walking everywhere), although it may be a hot hike. That is ok, that is what pools are for, for cooling off!

We check into BVP on a Sat. So what would the family like to do for the weekend? DS votes for Disney Quest. DD would like to see MK....we discuss. Doing Disney's halloween party will cost less than a full day ticket, plus it will be more fun. It will give us just the taste of Disney we crave....parade, fireworks, characters out and about, music. DH doesn't want to stay out until 1am on Sunday night right before his first day of meetings on Monday. So we decide to leave the party until our last night, Friday night. DH will get our of meetings by noon. That leaves us plenty of time to eat and get into costume and be to MK by 4pm ish. We will stay until the party is over at midnight . Only thing we have to do the next morning is pack and make it to the airport about noon.

Back to what DS wants....DQ. I've only done DQ in the past as an included thing in my pass. I don't feel like spending $44 for myself to be in that windowless, dark, loud place all Sat. Neither does DD. She and I will shop instead , while the boys spend Sat. in DQ. I've looked online, and it appears that an annual pass to DQ is about the same cost as 2 visits. DS has already saved aside the money to upgrade the one day pass we are buying him, to a pass. That way, he can visit for the few hours during the week, while Dad is in meetings.

 

[schumigirl]

Sounds good so far......you are organised

We stayed at the BVP......gorgeous hotel. Probably the comfiest beds I have ever slept in and the sheets were like silk. The standard of cleanliness was excellent in all areas of the hotel.

We really loved it there and would happily go back. It is so handy for DTD, literally just 3-4 minutes across a road that doesn`t get that busy.

Your making a good choice not going to DQ.....it was so loud when we went.....even DS who was 13 at the time didn`t last long. Shopping is a good alternative for you and DD.

 

[strawberryblonde]

Sounds good so far......you are organised

We stayed at the BVP......gorgeous hotel. Probably the comfiest beds I have ever slept in and the sheets were like silk. The standard of cleanliness was excellent in all areas of the hotel.

We really loved it there and would happily go back. It is so handy for DTD, literally just 3-4 minutes across a road that doesn`t get that busy.

Your making a good choice not going to DQ.....it was so loud when we went.....even DS who was 13 at the time didn`t last long. Shopping is a good alternative for you and DD.

Thanks so much for your feedback !!

How exciting to hear that BVP is nice! I'm looking forward to that part now, where before I was just thinking "free"

DQ was my son's favorite Disney park 4 years ago, when he was 9. I've warned him that they haven't updated and he may not find it as thrilling as he did back then. We shall see! DD and I are glad to sit this one out and enjoy the daylight. Gotta get my vit. D

 

[strawberryblonde]

Getting our costumes for MNSSHP ready. DD is going to be Strawberry Shortcake and I'm to be Blueberry Muffin . I'm handsewing pink El-wire onto hers and ice-blue El-wire onto mine....let us hope it does not rain!! I have white El-wire for DH and green El-wire for DS...they just have to decide what they want me to sew it onto. They have matching, black Halloween t-shirts that would work really well. DS has a black, hooded, spooky cloak/robe type costume that he thinks he would like to wear. I'm concerned that it may be too hot for it though. If it turns out to be chilly, though, the cloak would be perfect, he wouldn't be covering up his costume with a hoodie. This El-wire is quite cool and has 3 settings (slow blink, fast blink or steady)...we are looking forward to glowing together

 

[strawberryblonde]

We have a few plans in addition to US/IOA our first week. My DH and I want to do one night of HHN (Wed. or Thurs.). I will buy our S+S on the day of.

We have one day passes to SeaWorld and have not decided what day to use them. SeaWorld is complicated. These are complimentary tickets, we did not pay for them. I grew up in SanDiego going to Seaworld all through my childhood. I have mixed feelings about going now, though. My DH and DS do not have a problem with going, but my DD would prefer that we didn't. I took her to the website and showed her the map of the park and asked her what things she would be comfortable doing. She does not want to go to the Orca or dolphin show (she doesn't feel they should be performing) nor does she want to do the dolphin feeding. She is interested in the show put on by people (not sure of the name, they are in colorful costume), the kids' area, the rides and the shark exhibit. She is also interested in the Halloween stuff they have going on during the weekend. For this reason, we may wait until Sunday to go. It would be less busy during the week, though, and it would be a nice break from our steady diet of Universal the first week.

We may also want to do a bit of shopping, but it can wait until the next week. It will depend on if we feel the need to get away for a bit or not. I've read that it isn't a high cost to take a taxi to the outlets. So that is an option.

 

[tink1957]

it sounds like you've got some great plans.

We're off to Orlando tomorrow for a 6 day trip. We wanted to do SW but have no time to fit it in this time. I think the show you're thinking of is Alure.

Hope you have a wonderful trip.

 

[SharkyGoddess]

We have one day passes to SeaWorld and have not decided what day to use them. SeaWorld is complicated. These are complimentary tickets, we did not pay for them. I grew up in SanDiego going to Seaworld all through my childhood. I have mixed feelings about going now, though. My DH and DS do not have a problem with going, but my DD would prefer that we didn't. I took her to the website and showed her the map of the park and asked her what things she would be comfortable doing. She does not want to go to the Orca or dolphin show (she doesn't feel they should be performing) nor does she want to do the dolphin feeding. She is interested in the show put on by people (not sure of the name, they are in colorful costume), the kids' area, the rides and the shark exhibit. She is also interested in the Halloween stuff they have going on during the weekend. For this reason, we may wait until Sunday to go. It would be less busy during the week, though, and it would be a nice break from our steady diet of Universal the first week.

Oh I am so proud of your DD! To be so young she understands so much! Comes from good upbringing no doubt

 

[SharkyGoddess]

Getting our costumes for MNSSHP ready. DD is going to be Strawberry Shortcake and I'm to be Blueberry Muffin . I'm handsewing pink El-wire onto hers and ice-blue El-wire onto mine....let us hope it does not rain!! I have white El-wire for DH and green El-wire for DS...they just have to decide what they want me to sew it onto. They have matching, black Halloween t-shirts that would work really well. DS has a black, hooded, spooky cloak/robe type costume that he thinks he would like to wear. I'm concerned that it may be too hot for it though. If it turns out to be chilly, though, the cloak would be perfect, he wouldn't be covering up his costume with a hoodie. This El-wire is quite cool and has 3 settings (slow blink, fast blink or steady)...we are looking forward to glowing together

Your costumes sound so cute! Can't wait to see pics afterwards!

 

[strawberryblonde]

it sounds like you've got some great plans.

We're off to Orlando tomorrow for a 6 day trip. We wanted to do SW but have no time to fit it in this time. I think the show you're thinking of is Alure.

Hope you have a wonderful trip.

Thanks !! Hope you have a fantastic trip too! That sounds right, Alure, DD wants to see that show.

 

[strawberryblonde]

Oh I am so proud of your DD! To be so young she understands so much! Comes from good upbringing no doubt

Awww, you are so kind . I am proud of her for sticking to her values as well. I've never taken my kids to a circus, and I've explained that it is because the animals don't have a choice to be there. I support "people circus" instead. They have watched many Cirque du Soleil DVDs through the years. We did go to Cirque du Soleil La Nouba when DD was 3 and DS was 6, she doesn't remember it though. Funny how I didn't connect the dots about SeaWorld being circus-like earlier, I think because I had fond memories of SW from my childhood. When DD declared her stance, it inspired me to look into finding a deal on Cirque. The military offer expires two weeks before we arrive in Orlando. I was thrilled when I found an offer for Cirque club members (free membership) to purchase tickets for $50 during our dates. This is an even better deal than the military discount was .

The Sat. we check into BVP, the boys intend to do DQ all day. I asked if they wanted to stay at DQ until closing, or come to Cirque with us girls....they chose to come to Cirque too, so it be a lot of fun for our family

 

[strawberryblonde]

Your costumes sound so cute! Can't wait to see pics afterwards!

Thanks! I hope they turn out as well as I have envisioned!

 

[strawberryblonde]

We had a fab week !!

We flew out of Germany on Friday morning (10/15) and arrived at MCO (Orlando) around 8pm. We could smell and feel the moist/warm air of Orlando, very exciting! We stayed in the Hyatt right there at the airport. After all of that travel (over 19 hours including layovers), it was perfect to be able to crash right there. We picked up something to eat in the food court and peeked into the Disneystore.

Loved the Hyatt! What great beds and pillows, so soft and comfortable. I loved the toiletries too, white ginger scent - gorgeous! We slept like logs and woke up around 5 am on Sat. (10/16)

 

[strawberryblonde]

We window shopped at the airport and had breakfast. We were so excited to be in Florida. I just love warm/humid weather, it is my fav .

in front of the fountain at MCO

We took a taxi to the Hard Rock Hotel and checked in around 8am. Our room was not ready yet, but they gave us cards to use for Express Pass. We walked over to IOA and we went to Harry Potter's ride first thing.

We waited in the reg. line and enjoyed the theming, it was all so well done! Our wait was around 30 min. This was because we were late (end of the early entry hour, not the beginning) and it was a Sat. We didn't mind waiting this long for our first time through, it felt worth it.

The 4 of us rode on one bench, the only time the 4 of us would ride together for the rest of the week. We always did single rider line after this, which never took longer than 10 min....even mid day. The ride was very well done. It didn't give any of us motion sickness. We found the seats roomy and I never saw anyone turned away from the ride all week. If you didn't know to look for it, you wouldn't even notice the line for modified seats.

Next, we looked through the shops. They were full of people, but lines had not formed outside yet. We enjoyed looking at everything and taking in the smells and sights. We ate an early lunch at the 3 broomsticks. DH and I had the frozen butterbeer and DS tried the reg. DH and I wished we had ordered the reg, it tasted fantastic to us. The frozen was good too, we just really loved the reg. I had a salad and a side of potatoes....yummy! Not much vegetarian here, but those two choices were tasty and along with a butterbeer, filled me up for a few hours.

We used the restroom, and heard moaning myrtle. I liked the music playing throughout this land. We were very impressed

I think we rode the Hippogriff coaster a couple of times before leaving. Express helped here loads on a Sat., as the reg. line was nearly an hour long. DD loved this coaster, she rode it for the next few days each time we were in "Potter land".

We didn't do the Dragon coasters until we came back to this land after dark, and we saved Olivander's for early entry the next day.

We all 4 rode Spiderman, then DD sat out Hulk while 3 of us rode. About this time is when my DS proclaimed that he "LOved Universal!!". We did Suessland next, riding everything there. Express helped greatly in this. Mainly because it was Sat.

I had wanted to wait until nearly 4pm, before walking back to our hotel. I wanted our room to be ready before we went, because I didn't think I would have the energy to walk back to the parks if it wasn't ready. Around 1:30pm, though, jetlag and just plain tiredness had set in, and we were all ready to go check on the room and perhaps swim.

Well, "our room" was not ready. When we had checked in at 8am, that guy had said we had a good chance of getting our room early because we had checked in so early. This lady that was on duty now, though, said that a batch of rooms were coming up ready, but that she wasn't sure if one of them was "our room" or not. It isn't as though we had a special room or anything, just reg. garden view. The boys played around on the laptop in the lobby, using the free internet. DD swam in the pool, and I laid in the shade, reading and watching her. The pool area here is fantastic. Loved the atmosphere. It wasn't until nearly 4pm, that they had a room ready for us.

We went straight there and we nearly knocked over by the chemical smell when we entered. I thought it was because they had just cleaned the room, and that the "chemical cleaner" smell would leave shortly. Our bags came right after us, and when he put them on the ground, I noticed that the carpet was wet. I smelled my fingers and it was that "cleaner" smell, must have been carpet cleaner. As I was unpacking our things, my nose and eyes started to run/tear and my DD started to feel unwell. I thought it most likely was the chemical cleaner in the air and so I called the front desk to see if we could be moved. I hated to move, as I had already unpacked a great deal, but didn't see how we could deal with this smell for an entire week.

The front desk informed me that there were no other garden view rooms left, but they could put us into an obstructed view room, and no, we would not get the price difference....we would be paying for garden view and getting obstructed . Another solution she offered, was for them to bring up a heavy duty air filter. They run it for about an hour, and you have to be out of the room while it runs. I was doubtful if this could work, but willing to give it a try. We freshened up and rested for about an hour and then we called them to let them know we were leaving to the parks so they could bring up the filter while we were gone.

We went back to IOA, and I can't remember what we did exactly. I do know that we ended our night in "Potterland". It is very magical at night! The boys waited to ride the Dragon coasters in the front row. We girls shopped in the little shops, DD bought some sour watermelon candy. DD did not want to ride any coaster that loops/goes upside down.

We stayed in the park until 8pm close. We walked back to our hotel and our room no longer had the smell. It was gone . The filter had done the job, and the carpet was no longer wet. The room never smelled again all week. It was a great room, and I'm very glad that we didn't bother to change. Our room was made up every day by noon, we usually left our room daily by 8amish. The beds and pillows were comfortable, but not quite as nice as at the Hyatt. The kids enjoyed the large variety of channels on TV, animal planet was their fav. Their soaps ect. smelled of "sweetgrass" which was very pleasant, I liked them a lot.

 

[tink1957]

It sounds like your trip is off to a great start in spite of a few setbacks. Our first onsite visit was HRH club level which was wonderful as we asked for a deluxe room at check-in and got it for around $200 per night(it's normally over $400 per night). I don't think we'll ever get that lucky again with the new WWOHP in the mix. This time we decided to save money and stay at RPR in a standard room with the money we saved we ate at Tchoup Chop and Islands for dinner.

I can't wait to read more.

 

[strawberryblonde]

Thanks Tink

Sunday 10/17/10.

We had cereal and soymilk in our room for breakfast. I had brought paper bowls, plastic flatware, dry cereals and small boxes of soymilk (no chilling needed until opened, and we use up one a day), Cliff and Odwalla bars, veggie "jerky" snacks and raw nuts in one of our suitcases. We planned on going to a grocery store today to pick up some fresh fruit, bread and other goodies....but first, off to IOA for early entry!! We had our sights on Ollivander's

We didn't reach the gates right at 8am, we were a little late, but not bad. I think we were in line for Ollivander's by 8:30am. We waited about 15-20 min. We were let into the shop at the front of our group, only a mom and her daughter were in front of us. We were standing near the stairs and in front. If the shop keeper had wanted to pick either of my kids, he could have easily, they were perfectly positioned and all by luck. It was not to be,though, he had his sights on a younger girl. She was about 8 years old, I would guess, and she arrived at the tail end of our group. There were many cute, younger boys in our group as well, and none of them were picked this time around. The chosen girl did a great job, and I think her family bought her wand in the end.

We enjoyed the little show. We let a couple of little boys stand in front of us so that they could see. Neither of my kids took it badly to not be chosen, although they would have enjoyed it had they been. Neither chose to buy a wand, although they had both saved enough money to be able to if they had wanted.

This morning was the least crowded we would see WWOHP all week.

We stayed in the park for a couple of hours.

We were looking in the shops for new croc flipflops for the kids and DH. We were only finding the reg. crocs. An employee told us that we would be able to find them at Walmart. We were needing some groceries, sunscreen and cheap cellphones anyway. So we caught a cab to Walmart (around $10) and found everything we needed except for croc flops. I even picked up a huge plastic cauldron to use for Halloween night back home (my DH laughed at me, but I knew I could fill it with dirty laundry and fit it in a suitcase for the flight home....it DID fit!!). Cells were $10 each and he loaded them with about $20 worth of minutes. Sunscreen was less than half of what it would cost in the parks. I had brought sunscreen, what we had left over from this summer, but it wasn't enough to get us through the next two weeks. We were wearing it daily, putting it on before going out the door, 70+ would last all day. We never burned

The boys took it upon themselves to get their hair cut while I shopped.

I picked up apples, tangerines, bananas, fresh bakery cookies, bread, jelly, peanut butter, chips, rice kripie treats and pudding cups. I picked up two swimsuit coverup dresses for me that were really cute and only $12, a pink one and a turquoise one. A few times, I wore them to the parks with bikini underneath so I could ride the water rides in comfort....you dry off quickly this way, don't stay soggy, as long as you are wearing flipflops and not sneakers.

turquoise one pictured here....always better with a butterbeer

We ate lunch here, the kids liked the mac + cheese from the deli and there is a McDonalds as well. There was a cab waiting in the parking lot, and he gladly took us to the Hard Rock Hotel.

We stowed our things in our room. I changed into one of my cute dresses and we set off for Universal Studios park this time.

We all loved the Simpson's ride and ending up riding it 3 more times this week. DH, DS and I loved the Mummy, but once was more than enough for DD. The 3 of us would ride the Mummy again too many times to count over the next week. MIB was hectic at the lockers. The sun was beating down on this area, so everyone was hot and cranky and there was a long line at each screen. Worst experience we had at any locker all week! We got on the ride very quickly thanks to express, but the ride shut down for awhile while we were on it. It actually started to heat up in there because the AC turned off too! We had to leave park by 5pm, because they had HHN that night, but IOA was open until 7pm so we hopped back over there.

DD and I really enjoyed riding the Suess Trolley in the dark, that area is all lit up at night and very pretty.

 

[strawberryblonde]

I'm not sure exactly on which days we did what from here on out. It all starts to blend

Monday may have been the day that we took the afternoon off to spend time at the pool at HRH. DD loved the slide and rode it many times, taking DS with her for a few of her trips. I love the pool area at HRH . Cold icewater with a hint of lemon or strawberry or orange always available. Plenty of chairs and lounges during the week. It is more crowded on the weekends, but you can still find a seat if you hunt. Water temp was pleasant.

My DH and DS loved the lobby area at HRH. They would relax there and use the free internet on their laptop a few times. My DH really liked the vibe in the lobby, it was one of his fav ways to unwind and relax. He would enjoy a beer and he would game, he felt completely on vacation.

We shopped in Citywalk for flipflops and found a brand that the kids liked. Can't remember the brand, but on the girl styles it says "made with yoga mat material" and on the boy styles it says "made with beer cosy material" . Found some croc flops for DH, but the new design is not as comfortable. They did the trick though, and they were all thrilled to have new, cushy flops for vacation.

We ate dinner at Margaritaville, and it was not our fav. I've read such glowing reports on the place, the food just wasn't as good as HardRock Cafe IMO. My drink was very weak. We did have a great view of IOA and the sunset. I did enjoy sitting out on the patio.

taken on Tues....I think

It may have been Tuesday that we ate at Mythos for lunch. We all loved it!!! We didn't have to wait long for a table and we ended up in the middle of the restaurant, every direction we looked was something cool to see.

Food was delicious.....mmmmm! We all left so stuffed. I had the peanut noodle dish, could not finish it, it was amazing and large. The mushroom flatbread we shared and loved. Kids had pizza and grilled cheese, both were well done. DH had soup and some kind of meaty pasta, can't remember. The boys shared the chocolate banana cake with PB icecream. They liked the banana and icecream part, but the cake was dark chocolate which they did not care for and didn't eat. The server didn't seem to notice nor did he mention it. Such a little thing, though, on an otherwise perfect meal,we just made a mental note not to order it again. I had ordered a dessert shot of keylime pie that was delicious

My DH and I went for lunch one more time that week. I had a large salad and filled up on it and the bread they bring to the table....I had learned my lesson not to overorder here!

The kids enjoyed the Dinosaur area. Here, DD is watching one "hatch". She was chosen to name her and she chose "Toothie".

 

[strawberryblonde]

The week was so relaxing. Not feeling as though we ever had to rush. No need to cram it all in on one day, there was always the next day. Express made things so nice .

I loved being able to walk everywhere, no need to wait on buses or boats. They do have the boats, and we did take it once, from CityWalk back to HRH, just to try it out, very nice. But I never wanted to walk out of my way or wait for it, I so enjoyed being able to walk in that amazing weather. Barelegs and flipflops all week . It is a lovely walk.

We had great luck with housekeeping, our room was always made up for the day by noon. This made our mid day breaks very nice!

We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch one day, and our meal was very good. Our shakes were on the runny side, but our server took them back to make them thicker which greatly improved them.

I liked the soft serve swirl (chocolate/vanilla)cones sold in the parks. We shared a big peanutbutter/chocolate cookie once.

We went to the movie theater in citywalk Tues. night and watched Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole in IMAX. It looked fantastic! Wish they provided fleece blankets in the theater though, brrrrrr! When the movie let out we ate at Moe's and sat outside so I could warm up...no more a/c please!