My DSD came for a visit & didn't stay for our trip to WDW??? Update 1/13Kadani Villag

[JPFamilyMom]

Oh I'm so glad you stayed at that hotel because that is the one I've been looking at for the sole purpose that you get that front of the line thing. So will you be doing a review of the hotel at the end or the Universal vacay? or the end of your TR?

Can't wait to see which park you do first

 

[jmskinner]

All caught up! Hotel looks lovely. lol at the cart comment!

Shame you didn't spot many dolphins. The mansion was a good spot though. We saw lots like that when we went to Clearwater. They were gorgeous! Could easily imagine myself living there!!!!! Sadly could probably not afford the lighthouse never mind the house!!!

I think I made the same comment about the lighthouse. Hotel was nice, but more on that later.

I can't believe that they wouldn't let you use a cart. I'll plan on packing one suitcase for our trip to Hard Rock Universal(we're only staying 2 nights) so hopefully, we won't need a cart.

Can't wait to hear about the rides.

We were only there for two nights also, looked like we were staying for weeks.

Okay, I will pick up a little for Tuesday, from the Brown household!

There are 4 of us, finishing packing for our flight out of San Antonio at 6 am on Weds: Me, hubby, daughter (12), and our granddaughter (7). We are going to stay at AKV, concierge the first night, then regular one-bedroom for 5 more nights. Yay! On Friday, we will meet up with jmskinner & her family, minus Kara.

Hopefully these pics will work!

Here is Emily, my DGD, telling her mom goodbye on Tuesday.

And here we are (well, minus myself, which will be a prevalent theme) at the San Antonio airport! Anticipation…

The pics worked Vickie. Emily's Mom looks great! Maybe I should have called this TR, A TR without pics of the Moms. But I guess that is how it always is. Ok, I don't know if you were excited but everyone else looks like they want to go to bed. We've done that early morning flight thing and it isn't fun.

Oh I'm so glad you stayed at that hotel because that is the one I've been looking at for the sole purpose that you get that front of the line thing. So will you be doing a review of the hotel at the end or the Universal vacay? or the end of your TR?

Can't wait to see which park you do first

Yes, I will review the hotel at the end of our Universal stay. More pics to come also.

 

[jmskinner]

We decided on:

The employee taking our picture said not to tell anyone, but she would use my camera. I lost the slip of paper she gave me for the pic she took with the Universal camera.

First thing to do was to exchange our vouchers for tickets. We head to guest services and everyone heads to one line. I look at another that looks really short. I mentioned this, but everyone ignored me. Then I just decided to go ahead and get in the line. So, it does turn out to be shorter, until the rest of the family joins me. That always happens when I try to jump to shorter lines, I don't know why I keep trying.

We had our tickets and now it was time to figure out how to get through the turnstiles. We finally did and we were off.

We decided to just ride whatever we came to, so first up was:

Jacob is already complaining about seeing a long line. I explain that we just show our tickets and we will be able to skip the line. So, I am feeling very proud of myself as we start walking past this long line of people, when it happens. We stop, behind a long line of people. Jacob starts complaining again. It's going to be a long day if this is what we deal with. It was still a much shorter line than the rest of the line and it was only about a 10 minute wait. I don't remember how long the standby line was.

So we finally made our way into the pre-show area.

Jonas pointed out how it was loud in the pre-show area. I don't mean the show was loud, everyone in there was talking. He said, "At WDW everyone watches the pre-show." Maybe they had all seen it before.

Now, this is where I hear, "No photography." They didn't say no flash photography, they said no photography or video is allowed.

Review of Jimmy Neutron's Blast: I don't think this was 3D, but the cars you get in were cool. One of those motion simulator rides. I thought it was ok, but everyone else seemed to enjoy it.

Next up:

We showed our room keys and were told to go through. The only problem was they merge the standby line and the express line and the employee doesn't stop the standby line, so we end up in the middle of a Brazilian group. I didn't mind, but they sure seemed to. They sort of crowded us the whole time. The ones in front of us would walk through us to talk to the ones behind us, never an excuse me or anything. They kept bumping into me. I know many people complain about the groups at WDW and we had never had a problem, but we were now.

Finally we made it into the preshow:

Again, the statement about no photography, so I put the camera away.

Review of Shrek 4D: I enjoyed this one. Very cute movie. One note, ladies make sure you wear a bra. I don't want to give too much away, but the two ladies beside me spent almost the whole time with their arms wrapped around their chests because they were bouncing so much.

We were getting thirsty so we stopped for a drink. We noticed that alcoholic drinks were offered, but Jonas decided to buy two of the souvinier mugs with the 79 cent refills. This turned out to be a great idea. Then Jacob decided he wanted popcorn. We had to go to another booth for that.

Just a few pics I snapped while finishing up the popcorn:

The rollercoaster is their new Rip, Ride, Rockit or something like that. Looks like it will be fun once it finally opens. It was suppose to back in the Spring, but they have had a lot of problems with it. Once it gets going you will be able to choose the music you want to listen to and it will make a video for you.

Next up, will we survive a twister?

 

[JPFamilyMom]

Was the first ride more like a star tours or like a dinosaur? How did Jacob like it?

The first picture in the entrance is a GREAT picture of the four of you.

 

[irky416]

Double Post.

 

[irky416]

Some of the cruise ships on Carnival now have a Water Works area which is kind of like a big kids water play area in addition to the slide. They look really fun. If we lived in Tampa we would be going on cruises all the time because you can get such good last minute deals! I think it's probably a good thing we don't!



The hotel looks really nice. I want to stay onsite for the FOTL perk when we go down for Harry Potter. You'll have to let us know if you recommend the hotel.

The picture of you guys in front of Universal is really nice!

 

[Dr_Finkelstein]

Hi Melissa!

Enjoyed the updates - the hotel looks really nice, staying there will be an option for us at some point, purely for FOTL pass, but we don't need it for next year as it will be a bit quieter when we're there. For the time after when I'm already considering a 3 week stay!

Shrek is really good fun and I know exactly what you mean about the bras! Jimmy Neutron is kind of like a 3D ride, but not like Dinosaur. You sit in a car that moves so you think you're 'flying' etc, but you face a big screen like in Philharmagic.

Meant to mention about the Skyway accident at Busch Gardens - the book I read 'Realityland' said the same thing happened twice with the Skyway at Magic Kingdom, and the last incident the worker died so it was closed permanently after that.

Di x

 

[Finkelstein's Hubby]

Hi Melissa!


Shrek is really good fun and I know exactly what you mean about the bras!

Di x

What the heck have I been missing out on??

Anyway, the pics are really good Melissa....seems the Brazilians are a wild bunch as they never get a good rep on any of the boards. Maybe the Rio Carnival is just normal behaviour for them all year round!

Gordon

 

[SimmerBaggins]

Well, I found hubby’s photos, so here’s a picture of us being joyous at getting our luggage in Orlando!

A word about Disney’s Magical Express, if you’ve never taken it. Normally they’ll get your luggage, but we didn’t arrange it. They have a HUGE section at the very end of the car rental area – just keep walking, and you’ll find it. But here we are, EXCITED, and the guy who takes care of us is little more lively than the walking dead. Due to his lack of enthusiasm for our visit, I took his picture.

Okay, Emily – read the sign – is this our line? Yes, it is!! Pics of us in the line…we are second in the Animal Kingdom Lodge line!!!

And as we are waiting, I see a Disney Cruise Line bus pull up. Waves of memories sweep over me – we’re geared for WDW, but a desire for a Disney cruise runs deep…and suddenly, we are ushered onto the cruise bus!! But guess what. I guess they use them however they need to, because we’re not changing our destination! Pics that we kept ourselves busy with…

Do you think these people are getting annoyed with us? (woman behind me)

Oh, yeah, and they totally get you stoked by showing you a video about all the FUN STUFF you are about to do and the best things to remember...sigh. Emily wasn't much impressed with the video, i was surprised to find.

That's it for now...maybe! Remember, it's Wednesday, now...still a couple of days before we see Melissa.

 

[jmskinner]

Was the first ride more like a star tours or like a dinosaur? How did Jacob like it?

The first picture in the entrance is a GREAT picture of the four of you.

Di explained Jimmy Neutron well. It is like Star Tours, but several cars in one big room, so anyone who might get claustrophobic on Star Tours wouldn't on Jimmy Neutron.

Some of the cruise ships on Carnival now have a Water Works area which is kind of like a big kids water play area in addition to the slide. They look really fun. If we lived in Tampa we would be going on cruises all the time because you can get such good last minute deals! I think it's probably a good thing we don't!



The hotel looks really nice. I want to stay onsite for the FOTL perk when we go down for Harry Potter. You'll have to let us know if you recommend the hotel.

The picture of you guys in front of Universal is really nice!

I was going to give a hotel review at the end of the Universal portion of the thread.

We need to go on a cruise sometime, but Jonas and I haven't been too anxious to do so.

Hi Melissa!

Enjoyed the updates - the hotel looks really nice, staying there will be an option for us at some point, purely for FOTL pass, but we don't need it for next year as it will be a bit quieter when we're there. For the time after when I'm already considering a 3 week stay!

Shrek is really good fun and I know exactly what you mean about the bras! Jimmy Neutron is kind of like a 3D ride, but not like Dinosaur. You sit in a car that moves so you think you're 'flying' etc, but you face a big screen like in Philharmagic.

Meant to mention about the Skyway accident at Busch Gardens - the book I read 'Realityland' said the same thing happened twice with the Skyway at Magic Kingdom, and the last incident the worker died so it was closed permanently after that.

Di x

That is sad that someone died. I know there have been many accidents on Skyrides at multiple parks, its why they are such a rare sight now.

What the heck have I been missing out on??

Di, you better keep an eye on him next time he rides Shrek. I wonder if videographing isn't allowed because of what some would be recording.

 

[jmskinner]

Well, I found hubby’s photos, so here’s a picture of us being joyous at getting our luggage in Orlando!

A word about Disney’s Magical Express, if you’ve never taken it. Normally they’ll get your luggage, but we didn’t arrange it. They have a HUGE section at the very end of the car rental area – just keep walking, and you’ll find it. But here we are, EXCITED, and the guy who takes care of us is little more lively than the walking dead. Due to his lack of enthusiasm for our visit, I took his picture.

Okay, Emily – read the sign – is this our line? Yes, it is!! Pics of us in the line…we are second in the Animal Kingdom Lodge line!!!

And as we are waiting, I see a Disney Cruise Line bus pull up. Waves of memories sweep over me – we’re geared for WDW, but a desire for a Disney cruise runs deep…and suddenly, we are ushered onto the cruise bus!! But guess what. I guess they use them however they need to, because we’re not changing our destination! Pics that we kept ourselves busy with…

Do you think these people are getting annoyed with us? (woman behind me)

Oh, yeah, and they totally get you stoked by showing you a video about all the FUN STUFF you are about to do and the best things to remember...sigh. Emily wasn't much impressed with the video, i was surprised to find.

That's it for now...maybe! Remember, it's Wednesday, now...still a couple of days before we see Melissa.

Vickie posted as I was posting and also working on another installment. This could get real confusing if I'm not careful. Normally I wouldn't post at night, but had some free time.

I remember Vickie texted me and said they were waiting on their luggage and I sent back "Cool!" or something like that, but then remembered, "What about Magical Express?" So I then send another message and she told me about not using it.

Vickie didn't tell you that she has been on several cruises and one or two Disney cruises. It was actually Vickie that got me to go to WDW when she gave them my address for the promotional video and they mailed it to me. I knew exactly who had done it. So, can I blame Vickie for my obsession???

 

[jmskinner]

Well, I'm bored. Can't watch Burn Notice because we have two episodes recorded. Haven't been feeling well, so cleaning house just doesn't sound good, even though my Dad, Stepmom, and brother will be here tomorrow. So, let's work on this TR some more.

So next up was

Cow, I saw a Cow imprint. What were we getting ourselves in to...

This wasn't looking good for us.

Again, no pictures allowed. This reminds me of the Back Lot tour in the water scene. You stand and watch a tornado take out the drive-in theatre. It is a good show and Jacob got scared. I was worried I would because I remember seeing the movie and during the first scene thinking I wasn't going to be able to watch the whole movie. But I survived the movie and we survived the attraction.

Now, sorry folks, no pics for awhile. We were heading for the Mummy when we were stopped because of our bag and had to place it in a locker. What had me so upset was the fact it was starting to pour. So, we were using the Mummy as shelter also, but now we were having to run through the rain to get to the lockers.

The lockers are free (they are free for a set time limit based on line length), but they are electronic, so you have to choose your language, whether you are renting a new one or opening one. Once you select that you want to rent, it scans your finger (make sure you remember which finger you used) and tells you which locker to use. If you aren't quick enough, you have to do the procedure all over again (I speak from experience on this one.) Now, the problem with this electronic gizmo, is not everyone takes the time to read each screen. So, you can end up waiting a long time to get to it. Maybe one gizmo to 50 lockers or so.

Ok, so we run through the rain and I finally just decide to tell Jonas and Kara to go ahead. I figured Jacob wouldn't like it since it was a rollercoaster. Then I realize Jonas didn't bring his cellphone with him into the park, and I had no idea where the exit for the ride was. Plus, it has become a downpour. We stayed there about 15 minutes when I decided the rain was now slow enough for us to head out, we were under the canopy over the lockers.

So, we head out and I realize the Mummy store is right next to us and that must be where we need to be. So we try to head in, but so many people are hanging out in the door due to the rain, and then also people exiting the ride that we can't get in. That is when I hear Jonas yelling at me. What luck that we would catch them just as they got off. Kara grabs me and says I have to go. So, I left Jacob with Jonas and off we went.

This really is a great ride. Not for the little ones, but very cool. Fire over your head, things jumping out at you. I guess sort of a Dinosaur and Rock n Rollercoaster merged.

We find Jonas because he had my phone and Kara now had hers (it was previously in my backpack). So I get off and I tell Jacob he has to ride. I thought he would think it would be really cool. So, back to the lockers that I didn't use before except for shelter. Put the bag up and off we go. Sadly Jacob didn't enjoy as much as I thought he would. I even warned him about every part that I thought would scare him. Of course, Jonas keeps yelling out things like "The loop is coming up!" There wasn't a loop.

So, finally we were on our way to the next big thing.

We were off to Amity. Jonas thought they meant the Amatyville Horror, which I informed him he was thinking of the wrong movie.

Next up was Jaws, here is the que line.

Those express passes worked so well. I was looking forward to this ride. I was ready to get some great shots of the shark, but sadly yet again we are told no pics. (I know have seen pics of this on these here boards.) It is so bad that the driver of our boat tells us he will stop the boat. Fusses at the guy next to me, who puts up his camera. I had placed mine in my bag. Then this guy with a camcorder right in front of the driver is videotaping all of this. Well, the driver tells him no videographing. The guy continues, I guess thinking he is joking. The driver then stops the boat until the guy puts the camera away. We thought this was extreme and never could figure out why no photography. Attractions where you don't want people using the flash I understand, but this is an outdoor attraction.

As far as the ride goes, I was let down by Jaws. There was a lot more than I expected, but maybe it was just the whole driver and photography thing.

Oh, I did take one pic before we were told no photography:

Next up was:

Actually, that's a lie. We decided to walk by this and go do this one:

Men In Black. I had heard great things about this one. We walk up to the entrance and again have to go find the lockers. I guess what irritated me the most about the lockers was you didn't know until you had walked past them and they were not right next to the entrance. Closeby, but not right there. The Mummy ones are much closer.

Looking at the above picture, the locker entrance is there by the poles holding the spaceships up, and the entrance to the ride is under the big arch.

What can I say about Men In Black except we loved it, absolutely loved it. Of course I did, I got the high score. I guess it would tie with TSMM for me.

Now it was time for the Simpsons. Now everyone loves this ride, so I was really looking forward to it.

Wait, I had time to take photos. We were supposed to be in the express line, Front of the Line as it is called here on the Dis. We only waited about 10 minutes until we were moved into the pre pre-show.

After taking that shot, I read the signs next to the ticket booth and sure enough, "NO Photography!" I had no idea what this ride was, especially since I had never seen pics inside.

We are then moved into another room for the pre-show. Now, I am really beginning to wonder what type of ride this is because it is really loud and sounds like a rollercoater.

We are then moved into another room with what looks like a great big rollercoaster car, but cartooned. So we take our seat and off we go.

The Simpsons, great ride, be sure to do it. If you want more details I would be happy to give them out, but don't want to spoil it for anyone.

Anyone that knows Universal must be realizing that we skipped an attraction called Disaster! Well, we did skip it, but not by choice. It was closed on this day. But hopefully we would be back to enjoy it.

Next update coming in the morning, then I can clean house. Priorities!!!

 

[JPFamilyMom]

I'm not liking the theme Universal is having with no pictures on the rides, whats up with that?

But that is cool that the lockers are free

 

[irky416]

So glad you liked Mummy and MIB!!! I love them! For me, I don't think MIB beats TSMM, though! Mummy was DBF and Step-bro's favorite ride. We rode it soooo much.

That stinks you weren't allowed to take pictures on Jaws. I know I took some when we were there last. Maybe you got a weird CM?

I really don't understand why Universal has such an issue with bags and cameras on rides. On the Mummy, I could possibly understand, but on things like MIB and Spiderman, it just doesn't really make sense.

Have a fun visit with your family!

 

[OhMari]

I enjoyed your Busch Garden Day.
I took my family last November on a Saturday.
The place was so deserted, we are started laughing,
because someone asked if "maybe it was actually"
Jurassic Park.

I was standing next to a sign and it said,
today, "Jack Hannah"!
We were all happy and surprised.
And I heard no more free beer, bummer.
I was at Busch Garden's when I was 8 years old.
I remember my great-uncle and dad having a very good time.
So did we.
They didn't care how many times you went back.
We also ate at the barbecue place.
It was the best food I ever had in an amusement. park.

Enjoying your TR.
Looking forward to Universal.

 

[jmskinner]

I'm not liking the theme Universal is having with no pictures on the rides, whats up with that?

But that is cool that the lockers are free

You know how much I enjoy trying to take pics on rides, so this drove me nuts.

So glad you liked Mummy and MIB!!! I love them! For me, I don't think MIB beats TSMM, though! Mummy was DBF and Step-bro's favorite ride. We rode it soooo much.

That stinks you weren't allowed to take pictures on Jaws. I know I took some when we were there last. Maybe you got a weird CM?

I really don't understand why Universal has such an issue with bags and cameras on rides. On the Mummy, I could possibly understand, but on things like MIB and Spiderman, it just doesn't really make sense.

Have a fun visit with your family!

We all loved MIB and wish Jacob would have liked the Mummy. I guess the reason I say it may be better than TSMM because of the element of surprise.

That camera issue really bugged me and stopping the ride like that was just crazy, in our opinion.

I'm going to try to have fun with the family. We are going to MK on Sunday with them and it just happens to be my birthday. I just worry my Disney magic will be tested since they are wanting thrill ride. My stepmom asked about the thrill rides and then asked "There's a water park, right?" I just don't know if they will enjoy themselves as much as we do. Keeping my fingers crossed though.

I enjoyed your Busch Garden Day.
I took my family last November on a Saturday.
The place was so deserted, we are started laughing,
because someone asked if "maybe it was actually"
Jurassic Park.

I was standing next to a sign and it said,
today, "Jack Hannah"!
We were all happy and surprised.
And I heard no more free beer, bummer.
I was at Busch Garden's when I was 8 years old.
I remember my great-uncle and dad having a very good time.
So did we.
They didn't care how many times you went back.
We also ate at the barbecue place.
It was the best food I ever had in an amusement. park.

Enjoying your TR.
Looking forward to Universal.

Yup, no more free beer, but I don't drink beer so it wouldn't have meant anything to me. So, did you see Jack Hannah. I remember hearing about him being there and thinking we should go. It is a nice park.

And I just wanted to say, saw you are a moderator on the boards. Thanks for keeping them clean. I know you guys get a lot of flack, but in the end its a nice place to hang out thanks to you and the other moderators.

 

[jmskinner]

So, we made it off the Simpsons and kept on moving around the park.

I had heard this was a great show, but can't remember if the last show had already passed or if we were just tired, but I hoped we would make it back.

We did ride this:

We laughed when we showed our passes for the express line for this because there wasn't any line, so we walked in, and then people walked in the standby line and walked up behind us. Maybe a 5 minute wait.

We walk in and are told to give our names and get a pass. We do so and then move on. Now this is where our express passes came in to play because there was a line once inside. We made it right on and were on our way. The ride vehicle for this is very cool. Really feels like a bycicle, even Jonas thought it was cool.

I really enjoyed this ride and wish we had ridden again. And, I could hang my bag on the handlebars. I'm pretty sure you couldn't take pics, but don't remember.

You may be wondering why we had to give our name, well, I'm keeping that a secret so you will learn when you ride.

We headed back towards the park entrance, looking for anything else to do.

This was something I really wanted to do, but sadly we had missed the last show.

Mel's Diner from American Graffiti. One of my favorite movies.

The big blue building houses Terminator 3D.

The pre-show for Terminator was fun. The actress did a fantastic job. I can't remember if they said no pics or not, but I think I had just given up by now.

As for the actual attraction, parts of it I liked, but I think I was like Jonas, time for a refurbishment. This one is based after the second movie, how many have there been now and a series?

Kara was under orders from her Mother to get her pic with Lucy. So we went in here:

One of my favorite movies, of course it ended up being called "Yours, Mine, and Ours":

We didn't find Lucy, so we made our way out of the park.

What to do after a day at Universal?

 

[jmskinner]

We went to CityWalk of course. We were starving.

We decided to eat at:

Now, I thought I had read that if you show your room key you got moved to the front of the line, but we were told it would be a 1 1/2 hour wait. We weren't doing that. But, we were told we could try the patio.

We were seated right away and entertained while we ate:

This guy went around making balloons for everyone.

He had the best smile!

I can't remember what brought our attention to his feet, but:

Kara got a flower:

I didn't get a picture, but Jacob got a sword, and managed to pop it before we left.

I had a couple of Italian Margarita's and Jonas had several Whiskey Sours. Let's see, he had one, then two doubles. He was feeling good when we left. Poor Kara had never seen her daddy like that. Actually, I was feeling good also.

FOOD PORN:

I had the hamburger, actually I think all of us did except for Jacob who had his normal chicken strips.

When we entered the restaurant Jacob saw someone with Nachos. Now, Jacob always loved the Tex-Mex restaurants in TX just for the chips, so we ordered chips and salsa (which the salsa was very good, even though it had beans.)

We had some other live entertainment:

He was really good. And a Pirate joined the

I apologize for not getting a better pic.

Sadly our meal was over and we were on our way.

Back at the hotel:

And before we destroyed the room anymore, I got some pics:

 

[jmskinner]

We finally got to sleep and then the next morning, we decided to walk over to Islands of Adventure instead of taking the boat. It was a very pretty walk and not bad at all.

Now, along this walk was a spot for bags to be checked. We realized the day before my bag was never checked.

Next up:

 

[JPFamilyMom]

Great updates

I have ridden E.T. in Universal Hollywood, so that sounds the same. Was Terminator like a show? I think that was the last new thing I did at the Hollywood Universal -at Hollywood studios its like a bugs life show but also has live actors in it too.

Did I see Panda Express on City Walk? I would go to city walk just for that I've so missed Panda since leaving Nevada- we didn't have any in NC and none here either