No need to use the Rennervate Spell this Christmas..update 5/11

[natebenma]

I LOVE HOW YOU WROTE THIS CHAPTER OF YOUR TRIP REPORT! I am so sorry that your boys did not enjoy Seuss Landing. I so can relate with no one wanting to do the extreme rides with me! (loved the picture on the trolley, BTW...)Looks like they are trying to hide or not be recognized)

Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it.

I wrote the first couple of lines before our trip, so I knew I was going to write the Seuss chapter in verse. The picture of the boys pretty much summed up what they thought of the ride.

I think we would have been much better off if we had started with the Cat in the Hat.

 

[momabaarjo]

I Need a Hero​

Remember the map I forgot to pick up with show times when we made our dash to WWofHP some 5 hours ago, well now that we were back at the Port of Entry I go to get a map and as the family watches this ride....

Map in hand we make our way towards Super Hero Island…

a place I am sure Goo is going to love. I begin my begging for someone to ride The Incredible Hulk....

with me as we cross over the bridge and under the ride! I soon give up because no amount of begging and pleading is going to get someone to ride with me, but I do have a couple more days...so maybe I will wear them out and they will give up resisting!

I need a hero
I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night
He’s gotta be strong
And he’s gotta be fast
And he’s gotta be ready to ride...​

Sorry to get sidetracked, I know some of my younguns will not get the Footloose song...but man was Kevin Bacon a hero when I was a teen. Sadly, we continue down the street through Super Hero Island, and my boys are in heaven with all the theming.

It does remind you of a comic book come to life. I point out the Storm Force Accelerator (tea cups in the dark) but no one really wants to ride it, so we pass by. We found this neat Super Hero Car...

and stopped for a moment to take a picture, before arriving at Dr. Doom's…I know Jeff will ride this with me, he loves these rides.

But guess what his stomach is still riding the magical broom with Harry and he declines. Really, I am now shot down on 3 rides by my family that I really want to ride! Grrr, what is with all these chickens I am traveling with? Once again defeated we continue to the next attraction…Spiderman!

Everyone is in agreement that this is a ride what we all want to get on. Goo is so excited, because he loves Spiderman. The wait time is already at 50 minutes and Jeff is grumbling about waiting that long…until I pull out the room keys and he learns once again why we are paying so much to stay at the RPR! We hand our room keys over to be scanned and walk quickly into the Express Line entrance…yes, we do miss a lot of the theming but there is still enough to get you into the story line.

As we approach the loading area, we put on our 3D glasses and the boys get really excited…even more excited when we walk straight onto the ride without any wait. Jeff and the boys are seated in the front of the car, while Ab and I are behind them. Big mistake, I did not think much of the seating arrangement until after the ride…

 

[natebenma]

I Need a Hero

I need a hero
I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night
He’s gotta be strong
And he’s gotta be fast
And he’s gotta be ready to ride...​

Sorry to get sidetracked, I know some of my younguns will not get the Footloose song...but man was Kevin Bacon a hero when I was a teen. Sadly, we continue down the street through Super Hero Island, and my boys are in heaven with all the theming.

Well, the kiddies who don't get the Hero reference may think of the scene in Shrek when the Fairy Godmother croons this song.

Again, sorry to hear that nobody in the family will ride the thrill rides with you. But Hulk is definitely not the one to start them out with!

Will the family ride all of the mountains in MK? What about RockNRollercoaster and Everest?

My 10 year old still refuses to ride a lot of the coasters or he will try them once. My 13 year old now LOVES extreme coasters, but wouldn't ride any with inversions until a couple of years ago.

At least you have Spidey!

I'm intrigued about what happens with the seating issue.

 

[DisneyDreamerMom]

I LOVE this trip report. We are headed to the dark side for the first time in November and I'm getting so excited from reading about your trip. I'm the ride daredevil in the family so I can so related to you needing a ride hero.

 

[momabaarjo]

Everybody Loves a Hero, Right?​

Sitting Goo in the front was probably not the best place for him in a 4D Motion simulator ride. A lot of the visual effects of the scary bad guys were right in front of him as well a lot of the movements through him around in the cart. HE HATED THE RIDE. I think that had he been with Ab and me or in the back row we would have had a different outcome. Ab and Boo on the other hand, came off and wanted to ride it again. So as Jeff and Goo head across the way to get a drink, the 3 of us ride Spiderman again.

We meet Jeff and Goo at the refreshment stand after the ride, where I notice Spidey. We all head over to get in line, but Goo is not happy about standing in line so Jeff takes him inside where they look at Superhero merchandise while we wait. Where besides all the cool stuff he could buy he finds

which he is totally out of his budget. Finally, we arrived at the front of the line and Jeff returns with Goo who does not want to see Spiderman. REALLY (I am thinking someone needs a nap)? He loves Spiderman and we had waited all this time. GRRRR…we make him go in any way with Ab and Boo. Ab handed him over the autograph book, which Spidey loved and flipped through! Noting, that he was the only Superhero so that makes him the best, right! (Yes, well no, only because I had not counted on standing in line for anyone but him). I must say that if I was a male, I do not think I would want to be wearing that skin tight costume all day…YIKES! Spidey did his best to get Goo to participate…

We thank Spidey and head back outside where Wolverine appears, but the kids are not interested because just as he appears Captain America comes on the scene and the whole crowd of autograph seekers flocks over to him…us included, we loved the movie! I must say that he was also a lot of fun in the picture/autograph session and asked the kids lots of questions about his adventures!

After saying goodbye to Captain America we continued down the street,

just window shopping and not really stopping anywhere until we cross over into the next island where something lured the boys in, which leads to dad saying yes and mom saying no…and mom getting overruled!

 

[natebenma]

Sorry Goo did not enjoy the Spidey experience

How did you find the character interaction at IoA? Was it well controlled (like at that other theme park) or chaos? We don't do character meets. I love the picture of the kids with Captain America (I agree, good movie)

So next island... are you finally getting wet???

 

[momabaarjo]

Sorry Goo did not enjoy the Spidey experience

I think he was just tired...

How did you find the character interaction at IoA? Was it well controlled (like at that other theme park) or chaos? We don't do character meets. I love the picture of the kids with Captain America (I agree, good movie)

The Spidey line was well organized and controlled, it has an estiblished procedure, place, and time. As we were coming out of the building Wolverine and Captain America just appeared...no handlers to takes care of the crowd and pretty disorganized...lucky for us they had just appeared because when we were finished it was pretty bad.

So next island... are you finally getting wet???

Remember what time of year this is...Florida or not it is still December on my calendar.

 

[momabaarjo]

Step Right Up​

What could get me overruled by dad…silly carnival games? I HATE THESE GAMES WITH A PASSION, JUST ABOUT AS MUCH AS I HATE THE PRIZES THAT COME WITH THEM, ON TOP OF WASTING MONEY! The boys spot the carnival games even before we crossed over into

and right away they begin begging. Remember this is supposed to be a YES vacation, but I said NO...and got reminded of of my YES vacation. Jeff overruled me for which he got the silent treatment and a dirty look. The whole time I am thinking to myself where am I going to back these things in a suitcase when we get home? So the boys play the water gun game (at least they were the only one playing so one of them is going to win, do you see the potential problem in that)? It's Boo

and against Goo

and who wins…Boo and picks out this UGLY wolverine superhero stuffed thing (okay I might be able to get that in a suitcase). Being a parent you know what happens next, Goo is upset he did not win and instead of letting him learn the lesson, dad forks out another $5 and competes against Goo

and lets him win…so what does he pick out? How on earth am I going to pack this? (I guess it would have been worse as we were leaving IOA that afternoon a teenager had won a HUGE...about the same size as 2 of my boys) banana...that would cost another plane ticket to take home. Wolverine gets stuffed inside the backpack, attach the penguin onto the side and off we go to explore Toon Lagoon.

This area of the park is themed nicely (but I am thinking pretty dated and really needs to go to more current cartoon characters). If you know who the cartoon characters are then you can enjoy this area more…and of course my kids don’t know who 99% of them are and I go about trying to explain as we pass by each, but there are some that I really don't know much about.

The kids did not have any interest in any of the shops so we just wandered through the area until Boo spots…

 

[-Hope-]

I just wanted to emerge from semi-lurkdom and let you know that I'm still reading! I don't always comment but I'm always reading!

I purchased the book you recommended and loved the tips it included! (I can't remember the title now- it's on my Kindle and without the visual image of the cover I tend to forget.)

I absolutely love your TR- lots of pictures, lots of mini-updates instead of rushing through with long ones and the DETAIL! I love it!

That penguin is HUGE- and something my dd would choose if given the opportunity.

 

[natebenma]

Sorry to keep bugging you about the water rides. I know it's December. But you made a comment about the phones and I'm waiting for it.

I detest these carnival games too. That's NOT why we are here!

I'll be away for a couple of days. I'll mis your updates while I'm gone, but I look forward to catching up when I get back!

Have a great week!

Dee

 

[wakica]

LOVING your tr!!! We've been to Universal before and are heading back again in 53 days. It's so nice to see a report about WWOHP though b/c that will be new for us. We are also staying at RPR so our day at ioa will be similar to yours except for no little ones - just 3 thrill ride seekers After hearing about your dh and his nauseaus feeling though i'm a bit worried about the new harry potter ride. can do all sorts of coasters without a problem but when i did Soarin it got to me. I think it's that my mind thinks I'm moving in certain ways but my body knows it's not b/c it's a simulator that it just sends mixed messages and gets me feeling a bit icky. How does your DH do on Soarin??? I sure wish i knew what to do

Anyway, I will definitely be following along and i've really enjoyed it so far. We did a Cat in the Hat theme night recently (since it was Dr. Seuss bday) and i posted it on my pretrip report but it's on the regular WDW tr thread so i didn't get many comments on it Guess b/c it's US themed and not Disney??? Oh well. Take a peek if you have some time and leave a comment too so i don't feel like the only disney traitor. ROFL My link is below in my signature.

Can't wait for your next installment

 

[momabaarjo]

How Wet Can You Get?​

So what caught Boo's attention?

Yep, 1 of the 3 rides that I had planned to skip this Christmas…the Bildge Water Rat Rapids ride (think Kali Rapids) but wetter! The temp by now is in the lower 70s so it is not too terribly cold (if your not wet) and the sun is out. So we stand on the bridge for a while and watch, mistake…someone wants to ride. But Boo is the only one that wants to go, and me being a mom trying to make memories feels bad and decides to go with him (okay secretly I am plotting, if I ride this maybe I can guilt him into riding one of the coasters with me )…after all how wet can you get?

On our little raft trip there is a family all decked out in rain ponchos…guess where mine are? If you said back in the hotel packed away in a suit case you would be right! So how wet do you get?

Let’s just say that by the end of the ride I was a drowned rat, and the people in the ponchos, well guess what they were dry, not because of the ponchos but because the raft never turned to get them wet. I kid you not the raft never turned to get them wet...and they laughed at me the whole time! Talk about bad luck, I seem to find it. At the exit we are met with Jeff and Ab’s laughter! I swish my way over to the line that is formed in front of the people dryer (on my first trip, we took a picture inside of it just because we thought it was such a funny thing)...I am gladly waiting and paying for a little bit of drier clothes! Boo wants to ride again, heck how much wetter can he get than what he is already is…enjoy it! Jeff takes Goo over to

Me Olive Playground area while I wait and Boo rides some more. Three more rides later and we tell Goo that he is wet enough and Jeff goes to ringing out his shirt and socks!

I am within 1 more 10 minute cycle and the dryer is all ours, until a rumble happens…

 

[momabaarjo]

I just wanted to emerge from semi-lurkdom and let you know that I'm still reading! I don't always comment but I'm always reading!

I so understand...always glad when you comment, but not necessary!


I purchased the book you recommended and loved the tips it included! (I can't remember the title now- it's on my Kindle and without the visual image of the cover I tend to forget.)

Glad you are enjoying the book..I used it lots for the tips...

I absolutely love your TR- lots of pictures, lots of mini-updates instead of rushing through with long ones and the DETAIL! I love it!

Thanks...I don't have a lot of time for long posts, so I try to get a short one done every couple of days.

That penguin is HUGE- and something my dd would choose if given the opportunity.

I think kids think bigger is better, but it only means a bigger headache. I was really tempted to accidently leave it at the RPR and then throught about it again at the BWV when we were leaving.

Sorry to keep bugging you about the water rides. I know it's December. But you made a comment about the phones and I'm waiting for it.

Finally got your answer....

I detest these carnival games too. That's NOT why we are here!

I hate them when they are art carnivals....

I'll be away for a couple of days. I'll mis your updates while I'm gone, but I look forward to catching up when I get back!

Hope you are having fun...can't wait to hear about your adventures

Have a great week!

Dee

You have a great one too Dee, thanks. Hopefully mine will be better than my last week.

LOVING your tr!!! We've been to Universal before and are heading back again in 53 days. It's so nice to see a report about WWOHP though b/c that will be new for us. We are also staying at RPR so our day at ioa will be similar to yours except for no little ones - just 3 thrill ride seekers

Now I am jealouse...not only USO, but RPR and thrill seekers...sigh

After hearing about your dh and his nauseaus feeling though i'm a bit worried about the new harry potter ride. can do all sorts of coasters without a problem but when i did Soarin it got to me. I think it's that my mind thinks I'm moving in certain ways but my body knows it's not b/c it's a simulator that it just sends mixed messages and gets me feeling a bit icky. How does your DH do on Soarin??? I sure wish i knew what to do

He did great on Soarin..in fact that was probably his favorite ride. My dh has a not of sinus problems in the morning and really feels yucky for most of the morning anyway...and in a few reports you will find out some more shocking information that might explain the problems. I have read that people that are motion sensitive take sea sick pills before getting on...

Anyway, I will definitely be following along and i've really enjoyed it so far. We did a Cat in the Hat theme night recently (since it was Dr. Seuss bday) and i posted it on my pretrip report but it's on the regular WDW tr thread so i didn't get many comments on it Guess b/c it's US themed and not Disney??? Oh well. Take a peek if you have some time and leave a comment too so i don't feel like the only disney traitor. ROFL My link is below in my signature.

I can't wait to head over tonight and check out your Seuss night...we love movie nights at our house.

So glad that there are more people that have not had 100% WDW koolaide in Orlando...don't get me wrong I WDW and dream everyday to go back, but USO is fun too!
Can't wait for your next installment

 

[momabaarjo]

Goo's Alter Ego Emerges​

Okay so maybe not a rumble that anyone else can see, but a rumble in my mind (it was a good one and of course I won)! A group of people who had been standing off to the side of the line all the sudden decide that it is their turn and cut right in front of me…when clearly the line was behind me and I had been standing there for the last 30 minutes. Why did I not say anything, well I was out numbered for one and they spoke no English. Sigh…I just wait another cycle!

20 minutes later and $10 less in my pocket I feel a little bit drier…but still uncomfortable (the things we do to make memories) so I went over to the merchandise cart and bought a pair of workout type Capri pants…I emerge out the bathroom with wet denim in hand and feeling really self consensus in the pants! We make our way through the rest of Toon Lagoon and Boo does not even mention wanting to go on…

From Toon Lagoon we cross into Jurassic Park with our very own little grumpy T-Rex in tow...

Goo has had it and wants nothing more to do with IOA and he is making this known loud and clear! We stop to take a picture with T-Rex, but he refuses to get near it.

He thinks that they are like the ones at our local science museum that are motion/sound activated and he is afraid that the thing will come charging out of the foliage at him. Ab tries to convince him otherwise and goes first to show him…but Mr. Grumpy Goo Pants is not having it! But then something above him catches his attention (mid update cliff hanger)...
I explain to him that those are the Ptyderdon flyers that only kids with parents can ride. Really, “I gotta do that!” and with a smile we make our way into the Jurassic Playground (which I must say was CROWDED, so much that you could barely move).

Ptyderdon flyers is a ride that only children under a certain height can ride, adults can only ride if they have a child. Ab and Boo are under the height restriction, so they decide they will ride together, leaving Jeff and Goo…I gladly decide to sit out and enjoy some time of sitting. The wait time is posted at 45 minutes, and after 30 minutes I begin to watch the sky for my dinosaurs to fly above me….right at 35 minutes I was able to snap these photos…

I figured that it still would be awhile before they came to meet me at the entrance, considering there was a whole playground to play in…but Goo was not interested…too crowded so with Goo in a little better mood we head off in search of JP River Expedition (Ab is excited because this in one of her best friend from elementary schools favorite ride) and I try to walk us quickly past the splash zone/viewing area so that the kids could not see the raft drop and once again refuse to ride with me....

will we make it past or once again will I be reduced to begging and be disappointed in skipping another ride?

 

[natebenma]

I'm back! Just spent a few days in Puerto Rico with my husband (AND NO KIDS) to celebrate our 25th anniversary. Such a nice time, but I have a similar story to your dryer tale. I had booked a window seat for our flight this afternoon and when Mark and I boarded, there was a woman sitting there. I said that's my seat. She looked at me, smiled and said "I no speak English". I pointed to the seat and she just smiled and shook her head. When she got up for the bathroom a few minutes later, I took the seat. Later in the flight she told the flight attendant "I'll have a Sprite" in perfect English!

I liked the Bilge Rat ride but even in July, we only rode it twice! I hope your willingness to ride it pays off! I also hope you ride Jurassic Park (Will everyone ride Splash Mtn or is that a no-go, too?)

@wakica- we used Bonine for our US/IoA trip. The first day I was the only one who took it and I was the only one not bothered after we rode on our 4th simulator/3D ride (Terminator, Shrek and Simpons twice). The rest of the trip we all took Bonine and had no further problems.

 

[wakica]

oh no!!!!! The pain of a cliffhanger how long will you leave me hanging?!?! lol

those dryers are really cool! But $10???? wow

 

[momabaarjo]

IOA Touring Plan (Almost) Completed​

No luck, right as we were nearing the line area, down comes a raft and of course my family decides this does not look like a ride they want to try! Okay, so I lied a bit to them here…the drop is hidden about so it does not look like that big of a drop and I tell them that the drop is really small. They buy the lie and we walk on to the raft without waiting thanks to the Express pass. The first part of the ride is peaceful

and then the movie plot begins with the dinosaurs taking over…

and the climb begins in the raft to the top of the building and my lie is exposed but there is nothing they can do about it. As we approach T-Rex Goo grabs on for dear life and buries his head while I keep a hold of him because of the impeding drop. Down we go, and only a little wet too!

We unload and I can tell some members of my family are not too happy, mainly Goo whose T-Rex alter ego has resurfaced. Hey but he rode it right, score one for mom! From here I had planned for us to take in the JP Discovery Center, but I can tell that I can no longer push Goo any further. We have come full circle around IOA and are back at WWofHP, where I decide in my mind the best thing to do is to head back to the hotel for a while to rest. Ab and Goo want to walk through WWofHP and notice that the stand by line has been shut down and you can walk freely into WWofHP without waiting giving you the illusion that the crowds are not so bad…within a few steps into Hogsmeade we learn that this was a crowd we really don’t want to get in (FJ wait time is 100 minutes) and decide to head back over the bridge we just came on and circle around WWofHP (base of JP Discovery Center) towards the front entrance of IOA and Jeff is carrying Goo. As soon as we walk through the exit, the kids begin begging wanting to ride the water taxi back to the RPR. I point out that the water taxi is located in the opposite direction that we are headed and it makes no sense, plus the fact that our room is on the opposite end of the hotel from the water taxi dock. It would be shorter for us to walk. That announcement resulted in lots of whines, until I told them they could go swimming. So by 3:00 pm we had toured the entire IOA (minus 3 rides that my chicken family would not attempt, plus a ride that I had not planned to go on...), had ridden almost everything (but not the ones I wanted to ride) and were headed back to rest until dinner reservations at 6:00 pm. As we get into our room, the question is now who is going to go swimming with the kids?

 

[momabaarjo]

I'm back! Just spent a few days in Puerto Rico with my husband (AND NO KIDS) to celebrate our 25th anniversary. Such a nice time, but I have a similar story to your dryer tale. I had booked a window seat for our flight this afternoon and when Mark and I boarded, there was a woman sitting there. I said that's my seat. She looked at me, smiled and said "I no speak English". I pointed to the seat and she just smiled and shook her head. When she got up for the bathroom a few minutes later, I took the seat. Later in the flight she told the flight attendant "I'll have a Sprite" in perfect English!

PEOPLE... I just don't understand why people act the way they do. There was no denying what was on your ticket and there was no denying where the line was.

I hope you had a great anniversary trip...especially since there was no kids! I think an anniversay trip with no husband sounds pretty good.

I liked the Bilge Rat ride but even in July, we only rode it twice! I hope your willingness to ride it pays off! I also hope you ride Jurassic Park (Will everyone ride Splash Mtn or is that a no-go, too?)

At this point they did not know about splash mountain...only time will tell and I have a secret weapon for that one!

@wakica- we used Bonine for our US/IoA trip. The first day I was the only one who took it and I was the only one not bothered after we rode on our 4th simulator/3D ride (Terminator, Shrek and Simpons twice). The rest of the trip we all took Bonine and had no further problems.

oh no!!!!! The pain of a cliffhanger how long will you leave me hanging?!?! lol

Not a long wait at all...

those dryers are really cool! But $10???? wow

That is the $$$ that is sticking in my head...trust me it was worth not leaking/dripping my way through Jurassic Park.

 

[pixeegrl]

Love your report! I come searching every morning before work with cup of coffee in hand, just to get a bit of Universal for my day Thank you soooooo much!

 

[momabaarjo]

Which Way Do I Steer?​

Did you really think I was going to get stuck taking the kids to the pool?

Hah, I easily pawned that duty off onto Jeff. He hates to be couped up inside anyway. With the 4 of them gone, I catch up on my journaling so I can remember what happened when I began writing my TR. About an hour later Jeff returns with the kids who have decided they just want to relax for a while…I don’t blame them we were up early, walked forever, and they just swam on top of it all. The next hour is spent taking a nap. After all the posts I read about crazy people taking an afternoon nap with the parks just outside the door, here I was taking a nap and enjoying every minute of it. I had just wished we would have done this more when we got to WDW. An hour later we awake from our slumber from which I had been having…

These wonderful dreams
Some kind of sensuous treat
Not zucchini, fettuccini or Bulgar wheat
But a big warm bun and a huge hunk of meat​

We quickly get ready to make our way to dinner, but

Well good god almighty which way do I steer?​

This time we decide we will let the water taxi captain steer us to our destination on City Walk.

While we waited for the boat to appear the kids spot fish in the water and decide to see if they would eat pieces of reed they break of and throw in the water, which of course the silly fish did.

All the time I am having visions of

Cheeseburger in paradise
Medium rare with mustard 'be nice
Heaven on earth with an onion slice
I'm just a cheeseburger in paradise​

Well any parrot head in good standing now knows where we are eating at…for those of you that don’t know the song, well mini cliff hanger…

This was probably the ADR that I really was most excited about. You see I love hamburgers, a big juicy (okay greasy) burger and fries does sound like a bit of paradise to me. Plus the fact that I LOVE Jimmy Buffet and thanks to his cross over into country music my kids know who he is (not that they wouldn’t anyway, because when I am feeling down his CDs are usually something I turn on). So what could go wrong with this meal, Buffet music, cheeseburgers and yes margaritas? We unload from the water taxi dock and make our way up the stairs into City Walk which is starting to light up in neon as the sun begins to set.

​

Finding our way to Jimmy’s Buffets Margaritaville is not hard, it is at the entrance to the path back to the RPR and we have been by it several times today.

I had made reservations for 6:00 through Open Table online…most of City Walk Restaurants are on Open Table if you want to make reservations. Check in was a little tricky, they had a rope system set up for a line, but there was no entrance to the rope and then there was a column in the way…finally I just skipped the rope and walked up to the podium bypassing the line system (which no one else could figure out either)…I know this makes no sense, but neither did the line they had set up. We were handed our buzzer and told it would be about 15 minute (which would be fine, since we were 15 minutes early). So we decided to wait by looking around the gift shop inside…

Took a picture of this margarita blender and texted it to a friend...perfect size for her!

20 minutes later and nothing purchased we decide we need to find someplace to sit down and our only option was outside on the ledge of a fountain which we decide to squeeze ourselves on. Jeff decides he is going to take advantage of the walk up Margarita window and order 2 drinks for us

…because now we are nearing 30 minutes while the kids and I sit and people watch. Ten minutes later he returns with a drink in each hand and begins grumbling about still sitting here…

thank goodness about the time he hands me my drink the pager goes off (okay we waited 45 minutes…or really 30 minutes longer than our reservation). Famished we make our way back inside where we are met by the hostess who takes us upstairs to our seats

Heading up the stairs overlooking the bar area...Jeff had to point out the fish that he caught during his Cabo trip in the fall...yes, my boys are obsessed with fishing!​

…not the greatest place to sit…hardly any view of the action on the floor/bar area, but by this time I really did not care because I was HUNGRY and so was everyone else. Trying to figure out how to get in line to check in, waiting longer than expected, being seated upstairs, all of this should have pointed exactly to what was about to happen next…