Ooh, the monorail DOES smell funny... (almost finished!) [11/30-12/17, 2010]

[bumbershoot]

December 10, Day 11 continued​

We finally got all of our stuff in the car, and hit the road. Now, Universal is not very far away at all. It just FEELS like it, when you either are new to the area or are very excited. But really, it's just a matter of a few exits up I-4.

We took the exit, followed the signs, and turned....

We got ourselves a little mind-boggled here with the options, but it was all just b/c I was annoyed at tipping twice for luggage. The guys in the pull-through area get your bags onto a cart, then deliver them to bell services. Then you get the Bell people to deliver them. If you're trying to be kind, courteous, and generous, you tip both times. I'd budgeted for tips, but especially after just having done the process at OKW, my wallet was getting sore!

Lesson learned? If doing this at two hotels one right after the other, let Robert deal with one and I'll deal with the other, that way neither of us gets annoyed.

Anyway, we got it squared away, and went into the lobby!

Huge enormous lobby!

Our room was actually available, which was cool. We decided that the guys would head on to the room and meet the luggage, while I would park the car (and get a few moments alone, which I needed at that point) and bring in various and sundry items from the car.

Robert had requested a fridge, for his medication that needs to be refrigerated, but didn't realize that it would be free because of the medication. Luckily I was in the room when it was delivered, and I mentioned it. The guy that delivered it was as good as his word, and got the charge taken off. Yay.

We got unpacked and settled a bit, and we did some exploring of the Club level lounge (we had booked Club, in case I hadn't mentioned that). 3 TVs; one seemed to be on grownup shows, one was on news, one was on kid stuff. They had Starbucks coffee all day, and a big container of lemony water. They would give you bottles of water, but they were not refrigerated. The employees were really great, very nice, and they function as a concierge in more of the traditional meaning of the word; they will do stuff for you and get you tickets, etc, if you simply ask. We didn't have need for those things, but it was nice to have them around.

Finally we headed on out to Islands of Adventure; we couldn't contain ourselves any longer!


A view of the pool from the elevator area.

It IS kind of weird that Universal's sights are so obvious from the outside, but then...you can sometimes see parts of DCA from Disneyland, so I guess they aren't alone in that.

This was more along the lines of our view.

We decided to check out the boat to Citywalk. So we went out the back, walked around past Emeril's Tchoup Choup (said "chop chop" from what I remember), and hardly had to wait at all for the boat. yay!

They do a small bag-check as you board the boat. If you choose to walk to Citywalk, they have a security person along the path as you approach Margaritaville (just talking about coming from Royal Pacific Resort, here). And I guess if you park at the main parking area, you get your bag checked before Citywalk coming from the lot! They've got you covered, bag-check-wise...


I wanted to interject here...from the parking lot at RPR, and from various areas around, you can hear a low droning noise. It seems to be at least one of the coasters; I think we decided it was Hulk? It's a weird sound, something that really reminds you that you are near a theme park! Didn't pull me out of any magic or anything, but it's something we talked about more than a couple times!



It was a pleasant little boat ride. You get off the boat and walk up the stairs/walkways either to the right (facing Citywalk) to go to IOA, or to the left for Universal Studios park.


On our way in!

 

[bumbershoot]

December 10, Day 11, continued again!​

You enter Islands of Adventure at the Port of Entry. When we saw it, we were amazed. I had read a quick report about Universal, calling IOA un-themed and drab (they didn't use that word, but it was about the same meaning)...I don't know how they could say that. I found it to be amazing. Gorgeous, decorated, just really neat.

Once you get through that area, you can go right or left. Right takes you towards Seuss Landing, and left takes you towards Marvel Super Hero Island. Our main goal was Wizarding World of Harry Potter at that moment, and it's a tiny big closer going to the right, so that's what we did.


Seuss Landing!

Even though we had a goal, Seuss was not to be denied.

That ride is themed to (and called) One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and is HILARIOUS because you're just going around and around, minding your own business, when suddenly the ride just starts spewing water on you.

This is especially hilarious when you're NOT on the ride.

A side note that's very very important for those who have not been to Universal. Be prepared for being drenched. This is a "kiddie" type of ride, and people were getting partially soaked. Universal doesn't kid around about being potentially drenched....


I hope that SherryE is reading along, because I think she'll like these!

We decided to take in The Cat in the Hat, which is an indoor ride. All 3 of us went this time (only the guys went on One Fish). It's along the lines of Disneyland's Pooh ride, with fun and excitement, and cute elements of all kinds. We had a bit of a ride stop at the end, but at least it was warm.



These are face characters. It is AMAZING, the makeup job they did. You seriously cannot tell that these are regular humans, and I actually started to wonder if they were actually human, or if they were from Whoville...

Eamon was a bit creeped out by the whole thing...but they were very sweet! They asked about his grade, and he said he was homeschooled, and they talked about how that is the BEST, and how great it is. Which I thought was super-sweet of them.

From there, E wanted to ride the Caro-Seuss-el; I stayed off. I just wasn't feeling 100%, and didn't want to get dizzy on rides like that. But they had a great time!


As you leave Seuss, you enter The Lost Continent.

This "land" is beautiful, absolutely gorgeous. And...we did nothing while there. There's a stunt show that I've read repeatedly is really bad, and there's a show called Poseidon's Fury; I thought it was a ride, but the TM (Team Member) corrected me. It's SO beautiful in there and we wanted to hang out, but there was absolutely nothing to keep us loitering.


Because, of course, how can "Sindbad" (seriously, it's how they spell it, and I guess that's the REAL way of spelling it, but I can't get used to it after years of seeing it spelled "Sinbad") compare with the anticipation....

...of this?

It had been sunnier during the earlier part of the day, but that warmth was definitely starting to fade. And the snowiness of Hogsmeade really confuses your head about what the weather is!

The very first thing we did, after oohing and aahing, was to get in line to see if we could have Butterbeer. Thank goodness, the TM had a list of ingredients! OK, wait, they didn't have the ingredients for the topping, so that's still an unknown...but E didn't have any obvious (other than long trip, go-go-go, type of stuff) behaviour problems, so it's either safe, or he's not as sensitive anymore, or I'm in a land of denial.

Anyway, we bought a souvenir mug with butterbeer in it, and shared...

The mugs are The Coolest Thing. We each ended up getting one, and we drink everything (cold) out of them. Robert has been very good about not running them through the dishwasher, and they aren't aging at all. They are GREAT souvenirs. Just ignore the fact that they are like $10 each. Budget it, be done with that. They are good to have. I promise.


Oh, and we liked Butterbeer, though ONLY if you drink it quickly. If you sip it, savor it, it starts to separate and looks like the dregs of a rootbeer float, which isn't pretty.

It's not a healthy choice, either; it's pretty much sugar and chemicals. But it didn't have corn syrup products AND we don't live next door to Universal, so this is a very RARE treat for us, especially for Robert and Eamon, given their sensitivities. We were glad to find that the chemicals in it weren't too objectionable, LOL, because it would have been heartbreaking to not be able to taste it.


We also bought one Pumpkin Juice, which we saved for days.

Once we finally tasted it...well, yeah...it didn't do much for our taste buds. Was hard to finish the bottle even with 3 people.

The light of the day (it was somewhere between 4 and 5ish at this point) really made it dramatic for the long shots...

Although the closer-up pictures were just fine!

 

[bumbershoot]

December 10, Day 11, yet again!​

Shortly after Butterbeer, Eamon got his Harry Potter wand.


I was the only one of our party to ride Forbidden Journey, and the guys walked through the line with me. Robert tried the seats outside, and got the "red light" (not really a light). I've since read that if there's a TM, they can tell if it REALLY means "no", or if there's some leeway, but there was no TM, and Robert chose to not try beyond that moment. Eamon had no interest in riding, what with the dementors and arachnids and all of that. That left me!

Now this is the BIG ride of WWoHP. It's all done with movie screens, projectors, props, effects, and with the rider in a seat on a robot arm. It's such a neat idea, and I remain a bit sad that they had to make it so darned scary. I have a pretty big phobia, and as soon as the "acromantula" showed up I had to cover my eyes. Didn't matter that they looked fake or that they only exist in the wizarding world, I couldn't even look. I kept peeking to see when it was done, but I SWEAR the 8-legged-freak part went on for at least 2 hours.

It's possible my mind was playing tricks on me though.

You get breathed on by a dragon, and I'm talkin' fire, not just normal breath. Dementors swoop, at the end you are cheered.

The beginning was the BEST part of the ride by far. You are as close to the feeling of flying as I've ever experienced (even with arms out and legs up on Soarin' LOL), and that was simply amazing. It was worth the experience for that, and I will do it again in the future.


However, the full and honest truth was, apart from that flying...I disliked the ride. I was jolted all over the place. The sides of my head kept smacking into the sides of the harness, and since I wear glasses, that hurt just a bit more than without glasses. It all went by pretty fast for me in retrospect, but at the time, once the spiders showed up, it felt like the ride would never end. I was so jolted around by the end, I spent the next hour sitting on a bench outside the attraction, trying to not throw up.

This is very disconcerting for fellow bench-sitters, FYI.


While I tried to recover, R&E went on Flight of the Hippogriff several times in a row. At Disneyland's ToonTown, E has never once liked the Gadget Coaster. He has tolerated Matterhorn, but only because I was willing to yell at the Yeti with him. He won't go near Space Mountain at Disneyland. But he was PSYCHED for Hippogriff!

It's a simple, small, coaster, all outdoors. It's perfect for kids of his age who are brave enough, because HE never felt like it was that short, and the adventure level was *just* right. While they went again and again, they discovered that a 48" kid can ride without being next to a parent, so Robert put E on his own bench at one point. This looked terrifying to me, but Robert felt it was safer for E than sharing a lap bar with Robert. Makes sense.


After they had their fill, we were getting hungry and wanted to move on. This was only supposed to be a taste of the park, not an extravaganza!


I like how the two go together here as you transition from one land to the next...

This looks way creepier in the dark just walking along, LOL...

We stopped for very tasty veggie burgers at Burger Digs. Two cheese gardenburgers with a side of onion rings...18.61. Oh my goodness.

They do have a daily meal plan ("that allows you to eat as much as you like at select dining locations") at Universal, and it's worth looking into. I'm not sure it would help us, but it might, and I know I'm going to run the numbers! On this trip we had the "Club" food, but that turned out to be less than ideal *for us*, and future trips will involve more food eaten at the Universal parks.


After dinner it was very dark, and was gettin' creepy in Jurassic Park, so we hightailed it out. You go from there to Toon Lagoon, where they have a Cathy-themed ice cream shop.

That looks cold.

Then it was on through Marvel Super Hero Island (I love how they transition from Toon Lagoon into the Marvel Island, even though MSHIsland is LOUD LOUD LOUD), back to Port of Entry, and on home (I think we walked).


Yay for our first Universal day! The only sour note was the tipping tantrum I'd had (quietly, in the car) that day, and then at approximately 9:30 we got our "turn down" service knock...9:30! And you don't even get chocolates; just small bottles of water. No chocolates...what are they thinking...

Goodnight day 11!


I canNOT believe I forgot this! Tried to put it out of my mind, I suppose.

During the evening as we made our way out of the park, we were sucked in by Spiderman. I figured that it had been a couple hours since my Forbidden Journey illness, and I'd be OK.

I wasn't! Gah. I felt like I was being beaten up on that ride. Robert and Eamon loved it, though R had done such a thorough job of getting the bar down to keep E secure that he could barely breathe, LOL.

Spiderman is a WILD ride. I hadn't a clue as to how it worked that night, but later I realized it's like Star Tours had an open vehicle, there's 3-D, there's a robot type of thing moving you around, sounds, etc etc. It's intense.

So THAT was how our evening ended...with me being even more ill, and the guys having fun but worrying about me (welcome to the first month and a half of this year, as well!).

 

[MMgranny]

Can't wait to read your entire report. We want to go this year during the first week of December. Hopefully, I'll get some great pointers!

 

[bumbershoot]

Fabulous! It's always fun to have someone new.

I've been linking the actual report pages in the first post, so if you don't want the chitchat just skip on ahead!

 

[kaoden39]

Love it Molly!! The veggie burgers and onion rings were a bit pricey. I think that is even worse than Disney.

 

[Swalphin]

Hi Molly,
Hope you are feeling better and the bug you have finally is going away.
That Butter Beer, it looks like Cream Soda to me, so that is what I think it must tast like. I am probably completely off the mark.
I have never been to Universal, I've been to WDW ooodles of time. I just never had the desire to go to Universal. I did see on another TR that Scooby Doo apparently lives there so that may get me to go.

E is so cute, he seems like a really good kid.

Thanks for the update I really enjoyed your description of all the Harry Potter stuff, the pictures too.

 

[bumbershoot]

Love it Molly!! The veggie burgers and onion rings were a bit pricey. I think that is even worse than Disney.

I just looked up the veggie burgers we had at Cosmic Rays, and it was the same cost. So that's good, LOL. Sure not as cheap as making them at home, though!

Hi Molly,
Hope you are feeling better and the bug you have finally is going away.
That Butter Beer, it looks like Cream Soda to me, so that is what I think it must tast like. I am probably completely off the mark.
I have never been to Universal, I've been to WDW ooodles of time. I just never had the desire to go to Universal. I did see on another TR that Scooby Doo apparently lives there so that may get me to go.

E is so cute, he seems like a really good kid.

Thanks for the update I really enjoyed your description of all the Harry Potter stuff, the pictures too.

The bug is slowly going away. The azithromycin is only taken for 5 days, but it works for 10, so I've been trying to really make SURE to take it easy, not think "the drugs are done so the bug is too", and I'm glad I did. Only today have I barely coughed at all.

Though here's the thing...I still have almost no voice!

Universal is fun, I highly recommend it! And yes, Scooby Doo is there, along with the Mystery Machine.

Butterbeer is very much like cream soda, but there's also something else to it that I can't put my finger on. The topping adds quite a bit to the taste, to the creaminess of it. We never tried a frozen one, though I found out later that many people feel the frozen is actually better than the non-frozen!

 

[bumbershoot]

I added a bit to the end of the park day in the previous installment, by the way!

 

[Swalphin]

Molly,
I remember you metioning earlier in your TR about bugs being passed more easily between same sexes. And how possibly that happened with your group, why Robert and E did not get sick. I was reading about that online this weekend. I had never thought about it before it does make sense. I think it was a British study I'll have to go find it. You are right about not being tricked that the bug is gone because the medicine is done. I've had things that mutate and stick around for months, really months.
I try not to take meds myself not even tylenol. Hope you feel better tomorrow.

 

[bumbershoot]

December 11, Day 12​

Today we decided to go to Universal Studios (they are just like Disneyland...made things super-confusing by having the overall name AND the original park have the same name). Started with a quick breakfast at the Club lounge...which for us involved a bunch of cut up fruit, I think Robert had some plain oatmeal, I might have had a small chocolate croissant, maybe we had a banana...that sort of thing.

Then we headed on over! Again, we took the boat.

Ducks on the dock...

Tell me this isn't a cool sight...

To give you some perspective of size...

And HIS size...

We had very little plan of attack for the day, just wanted to take it as it came. This is much much easier at Universal when staying onsite, because of the Front of the Line pass you get as a resort guest. For *almost* all of the rides, you just show your room key (they scan it) and you get to go in the Express Pass line. And with the room key, unlike with the *purchased* Express Pass, you can go on any ride over and over (with the purchased one you get once per ride). So you can see that it was easy to head over with pretty much NO plan, especially during a cold and quiet time of year.


So we went in and turned to the right! This took along Hollywood.

An old car outside of Mel's Diner.

I guess this is a restaurant...

I don't know what the purpose of this building is, but I want to live there...

Looking across the water towards San Francisco, I unknowingly took a picture of where we would be eating lunch!

Hilarious! I think it's just a gift shop, but still...

So our first US ride was The Simpsons Ride! This ride is SO worth it, but the line-up for it is mystifyingly long. You think you're in the ride, but then you are standing there, just waiting and waiting.... But seriously, it's worth it. Just know that once you're inside the building and in a specific line, there's still more line to go.

Also know that you need to leave your bags off the ride vehicle, but they will be totally OK.

I didn't understand the ride on this round, but later I figured it out more. It's like Soarin', but with LOTS more movement and excitement, and somehow they make it feel like you are in the very center of the action (which is vital to the storyline and effects). Basically, SideShow Bob has infiltrated the Simpson's fun, and is trying to kill them (surprise surprise), and you are taken along for it all! They even have Smell-o-Vision at a certain point with Baby Maggie...


That was VERY fun!

The ride next was Men In Black. Eamon had wanted to ride this, but then decided he didn't! So I went on first, with plans to switch out afterwards.

We did it wrong that time, because here's another way Universal differs from Disney...the "rider switch" spots are actually inside the rides! You don't have to say goodbye to family outside the ride; you just go on through the line and swap towards the end.

But we forgot about that, and I left the guys (in the dust) outside.

MIB = awesomeness! The ride *seats* are even cool. The ride is loud and dark, but very fun.

And as you leave the ride and walk down the ramp into the giftshop, you get to hear Will Smith's theme song from the movie. I might not BE in my mid-20s anymore, and therefore people might giggle at me, but I simply could not resist doing a couple little dance moves as I walked (to the beat, is it possible to NOT walk to that beat?)....

I went outside, and found out that Eamon had happily changed his mind! So we had to go put our stuff in their lockers, and while we were doing that we figured we'd have a bathroom break. Which is when I realized that even the MIB bathroom tiles are cool....

We met back up, did the locker thing, and went on into the ride! E was still nervous, but I was able to give him info about what I'd already experienced, and soon enough we were all strapped in and ready to go.

In the beginning, you are told firmly to not push the red button, that it's for emergencies only. Turns out that E has a much better idea of what an emergency is, because he pushed the button at just the right time, and he ended up winning over me and Robert! He still doesn't understand why WE didn't press it, but we just didn't recognize it as being "time" for the red button...

From there, we went into Amity. We thought E would ride Jaws, since he'd just battled space aliens, but NO. We did rider switch for that. While waiting...

I mean, that picture shows what's back at their rider switch area...the detail is pretty cool!

Jaws is a fun little ride; lots of tension, explosions, splashes...they sure do pack you in, though!

I was taking notes on my map that day, and I have the following:

#5 french fries in Amity
#6 Robert and Eamon got to play one "boardwalk" game each
#7 The Great MELTDOWN Ride!

Turns out that no matter how many times you tell a child "this is not California Adventure where we could make the games work for us, you are NOT going to win anything, you are NOT going to beat the game, this is just GIVING them these dollars, you are NOT going to get a prize"...some kids just won't believe you! Eamon was one of them that day.

So that was after E tried to play his boardwalk game, and then Robert went to go hit the thing with the hammer to show how strong he was...well, they put it on "strong man" setting, so he barely got it even halfway up the thing. So he was disappointed, too! Not as much as E of course, but he sure was hoping that he could win something for E to soften the blow!


So....No More Boardwalk Games! Harumph! It seriously took a LONG time to get over the feelings from that game.

 

[bumbershoot]

December 11, Day 12 continued​

We managed to get it together at last, and decided to try out Disaster.


We had NO idea what this attraction was all about, and still have a hard time describing it. First you're in line, then in a lobby where they pick volunteers. The lobby nearly psyched E out, not knowing what was coming next. Then you're in a room with a BRILLIANT display of special effects, as Christopher Walken (on a screen) goes in and out and around a live action actor. It's really funny, especially if you're an adult with a good sense of sarcastic sardonic ironic humor, LOL. Then you're in another room, where they use the volunteers! Then you move again, to a subway sort of car, where everyone is directed to scream and react to things happening around you (those things are pretty impressive!).

And then, after all of that....they show you the trailer for the movie they have been filming, and it's TOO dangit funny!

Disaster takes up a lot of time, and it's mystifying, but it's great fun and I definitely recommend it.


After that, we had to eat some real food. We chose Lombard's, and it was good. E had the ravioli, and Robert&I shared the Cobb Salad (with no meat) and the pasta primavera. Eamon absolutely INHALED the ravioli, and the adults enjoyed their food, too. It was a great break and really good food, and I'm glad we chose that restaurant!


After lunch, we thought we were on the hunt for Ghiradelli ice cream...but it was only a storefront. AUGH, the one false step at Universal.

Then we passed by The Mummy, but E didn't want to go, the lap bar restraint thing didn't work with Robert's legs (he's got strong tree trunk legs and the combo of those legs with his tum makes some restraints impossible), and I decided that I didn't particularly care to ride alone then...

Finally we found Twister, and decided to go on it.

Again, it defies easy explanation! You learn a lot about tornadoes, and you learn about 90s fashion as worn by Helen Hunt (hello high waisted pants!), and you learn about lines...and then at the end you stand while a tornado goes around you, and then it's over.


From there we chose Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast, which was another very fun ride. Little hint for the ladies...wear a supportive bra, don't wear very lowcut tops, and if you feel one of the "girls" coming loose, cross your arms! Helpful hint brought to you by Robert, who was looking in the wrong direction at the very WRONG time for some unfortunate woman... At the same time that he saw that, he noticed that I had crossed my arms hard over my chest, as the ride had gotten very very *bouncy*....he's glad I had the sense to do that, because he was very embarrassed for the other lady.

Apart from wayward body parts, it's a fun ride with lots of different components to it. Excellent fun for all.


After this, we faced what Robert had been dreading. His biggest fear at Universal was going to come true, just moments from then. He tried to get out of it. Tried to make excuses. Tried to run away....but that wasn't going to happen. He had no choice...

Are ya gettin' excited?

You'd better!

It's BARNEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Poor poor Robert.... Heck, poor me, too, but it's become so much more fun to torment Robert with Barney than it ever was to be a Barney-hater...

You know Barney is all about love...

And that's why parents take their kids there. By the next time we go, Eamon might not be into Barney anymore (we can hope), so I'm glad we went.


After the torture, I mean, live Barney show, we all went on ET.

ET is amazing. Even the line, once you're inside the line, is a masterpiece. Themed within an inch of its life. The seats are bike seats (but comfy LOL). The ride is intense. The whole thing, just incredible.


It was a really good ride to cap out day at Universal with!


We took the boat home.

Got to the room, ran to the Club lounge for snacks, changed, went to the pool. Caught the Torch Lighting Ceremony.

I had more pictures than that; there was a young man, too.

And then we went for a swim! Well, E and I did. Robert bundled up in several towels and read his Kindle, LOL. Finally the pool was too cold, or rather the air hitting the parts of us that weren't in the water was too cold, and we shivered our way back inside. Grabbed whatever dessert didn't look evil from the lounge, and went back to the room for a good night's sleep.

Goodnight day 12!

 

[bumbershoot]

Molly,
I remember you metioning earlier in your TR about bugs being passed more easily between same sexes. And how possibly that happened with your group, why Robert and E did not get sick. I was reading about that online this weekend. I had never thought about it before it does make sense. I think it was a British study I'll have to go find it. You are right about not being tricked that the bug is gone because the medicine is done. I've had things that mutate and stick around for months, really months.
I try not to take meds myself not even tylenol. Hope you feel better tomorrow.

I'm suddenly forgetting if it was Michele that brought that up, or my aunt! That's a funny thing to forget.

I suppose it would have something to do with DNA, and how the virii/bacteria reproduce and travel around? Pretty weird!

I hear ya on the no medicine thing! I've been wracking my brain, and I believe that this is the first illness-related time I've taken antibiotics since the mid-90s, and THAT time turned out to be unnecessary (never take antibiotics until the labwork comes back!). The only other dose of them I've had was post-surgery. So the only REAL illness that I had antibiotics for, prior to this, was probably back in undergrad, for strep!

Well, the good thing about that is...they definitely WORK when I need 'em.

 

[kaoden39]

I think it was your aunt and I am hoping that the creepy crud my mom has isn't one of those because if I get sick for my trip I am going to be very upset. I have a friend that had wanted to go to Universal so I linked your trip report for her to check out.

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm also hoping that it's an East Coast creeping crud. Leave it out there! We'll just ignore the fact that I might have spread it around out here....

In a future life I think I'm going to be a combo endocrinologist and epidemiologist, but while keeping my alternative beliefs. Because I think it would be FASCINATING to be able to watch creeping cruds go crawling around the globe, seeing how they traveled and how they manifested... And the endocrine system is fascinating to the nth degree.


Hope my Universal stuff helps! I cannot praise the Uni forum enough, BUT it feels slightly like a club over there, and sometimes I was afraid to ask a question lest it sound idiotic. So hopefully my "newbie" knowledge will help someone!

 

[kaoden39]

Well, Nicole and her family recently moved to Florida and they are going to WDW but they had really wanted to do Uni but I guess from something she said the prices went up quite a bit. I know she will at least love looking at your pictures.

 

[bumbershoot]

The prices, they say, went up after the Wizarding World opened. Many are very annoyed about it!

 

[bumbershoot]

December 12, Day 13!​

The day dawned nice and chilly. Er, well, chilly, at least! I seem to have misplaced my notes, so unless I have a brain flash, we're flying by the seat of our pants here!

This morning started with a bang, the bang being...Eamon misplaced his wand. We left the room, went to the Lounge, left the Lounge, and by the time we were in the elevator going down (with breakfast in hand, ready to be at the IOA gates EARLY for Early Entry) the wand had disappeared.

Much hilarity ensued, if you can call "being really REALLY annoyed that he had yet again hoodwinked us into buying him something that he wasn't going to keep track of" and "running around the hotel trying to stay calm, after all it's not the money but the principle of the thing" hilarity.

Got the Club employees involved, I went to the front desk, we searched the ground...R&E searched our room. Finally I went back to the room to search, and while doing so hurt my back, and just as that happened, our phone rang. Front desk...the wand had just been turned in by a fellow guest. Whew.

Went on down, thank you thank you, the guest had checked out already, thank you thank you, yay, OK we're late but it's all good, and if you lose that again know NOW that we're not replacing it, OK OK let's go.

We were around half an hour "late" for Early Entry, but it was such a cold day this didn't do all that much to our touring... But you'll notice the wand nearly surgically connected to his hand in the pictures of the day!


E wanted a picture taken in front of the IOA measuring stick area.

Restaurant called Green Eggs and Ham...

I'd really wanted to ride The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride, but no one else did. I contented myself with a pathetic picture, LOL.

Since I'd ridden FJ, the other BIG thing to do was Ollivander's Wand Shop. We had to wait in line, because we were behind the other Early Entry guests, but oh well.

I haven't mentioned, but the effect they do with moving photographs is incredible. I haven't a clue as to how they did it, but they have a bunch of portraits in the castle (you can do a walk-through of the castle even if you're not riding, by the way) and there was a picture in a storefront that moved as well. So cool. And I just did NOT get good video of it.


Castle from the Ollivander's line.

Inside the shop.

While in line, we met the nicest family from Canada. They were SURE that E was going to be chosen. I wasn't; I'd coached E for months that he would likely NOT be chosen, and if he was, he was NOT getting the wand, since he wanted the Harry Potter wand. Months of this.

All ruined....

These flowers up in the corner shelf look nice, but his spell actually killed them, LOL.

So yeah, he got chosen, he was handed a nice dusty wand box based on his birthday....and he wanted to get it for Robert. So we did.


We went into the main shop (where you pay) and wowie is it small, close, and crowded! When WWoHP was being created, and when people found out how small the shops were, some wanted to say "well if you're that big that it's difficult, you should lose weight", and "the shops are small in the stories"... But ya know what? The shops are NOT that small. If you watch the scenes, there are a LOT of people in there, and the shops aren't that tiny. Plus, they could have created magic in there...where the shops *look* small, but are surprising large inside...

Anyway, tiny shops.


Seems I went and did some browsing in the FJ giftshop while the guys rode Hippogriff again.


Back outside and testing the zoom on my camera!

Hermione's ballgown...

Robert took some pictures of the 3 Broomsticks restaurant.

The candy shop! Almost everything was impossible for our family, though it was all just gorgeous. I almost bought a glass jar of corn syrup balls just for the LOOK of them...

Thankfully, the chocolate frogs were OK. Not good chocolate (most of it is STILL in our freezer, let's put it that way), but not problematic, either.

The guys bought the frog, and went on into the joke shop while I discussed Rock Cakes with an employee...turns out her sister has the SAME pass-out reaction to corn syrup based ingredients that Robert has! Amazing! Not that Rock Cakes have the ingredients (they seemed basically like scones), but the other things around us did.


OK that's frustrating...too many images for the post! Gotta stop just 5 images away from the more natural story-halt....

 

[kaoden39]

You know that is funny about Ollivander's Wand Shop. I would have ended up buying it myself. All it would have taken was a look from his eyes to do it too.

 

[bumbershoot]

December 12, Day 13​

You know it was time for a tasty beverage now...

Beauty shot of the mug (and my acid green fingernails!).

At this point I dug deep in my soul and realized that YES, I was going to NEED my own souvenir mug, and we bought two more of them.

All I wanna do is zooma zoom zoom zoom...

Soon enough it was time to leave the area, and head back to an earlier time in history...

Now this is a cool light fixture!

Why didn't I get one of these adorable plush dinos? Why?

As supremely cool as I found Universal to be, I continued to be shocked by how you could see into lands from the other! This is from outside the restrooms in Jurassic; you're looking directly into the "greenhouse" part of the line for Forbidden Journey (by the way, while in the greenhouse, they have a beverage cart, and they sell BEER).

We wandered into this area, Camp Jurassic, to ride the Pteranodon Flyers.

This ride has its own dedicated TM who stands outside the queue, explaining the bizarre rules. You can ONLY go on it if you're with a child who is short enough. You cannot go on it without such a child. I heard the whole thing explained approximately 18 million times while standing there, waiting for Robert and Eamon. I didn't ride, because it's ONE adult per child, not two. And there's no Express Pass for it. And the line gets long.

Anyway, look up and you can see your family; can take a picture if you're quick about it.

(that's Robert behind Eamon if you can make it out)



Now you might be noticing something changing in the sky in these pictures... The line was held up a bit longer than normal because it was getting windy, and the sky was darkening. Ruh roh...

When they came off the ride, E went RUNNING off to play. There's just the one way out, which is nice, but it was still VERY frustrating to have him just take off like that. After the start of that morning, we didn't need that. But we kept reminding ourselves that he was just having fun, that he needed to run around, etc etc, and that there was just the one way out. Chill, parents, chill....


By the time we were out of Camp Jurassic, you could NOT deny that it was raining. So what did we do? We put on our ponchos and went on the Jurassic Park River Adventure, that's what we did! wheeee!

Well, after that exciting ride (and exciting it was), we were done for. Next up in the rain was Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls!

The theming is hilarious.

The ride is GREAT fun.

The logs are the tiniest things to squeeze your butt into that you can possibly imagine!


E and I went 2 or 3 times in a row. I hadn't encouraged Robert to ride because I'd read about the tiny seats. And after seeing and experiencing the seats, I knew I'd been right!

But once we were done, we showed Robert the practice log outside the entrance to the line, and he agreed that it would be well nigh impossible. We'd attracted the kind attention of the TM (reminder=Team Member) who was trying to help us figure out how to get R on the ride. We determined that it wasn't going to happen, but then as we walked away, Ben-the-TM ran out to let us know that R could ask for the "ADA log"! That's the log they have to make it easier for disabled folks to ride; the seating area is much bigger. Ben told us that it would be absolutely OK for us to ask for it, let us know that it comes around every 5 minutes (so if we just missed it that it would only be that long before it came around again), and he really encouraged Robert to try.

We had some stuff with us (Robert's wand, Eamon's wand, etc) so I stayed out while they went on in.

Fabulous ride! Woo! And fabulous Ben. We gave him kudos on our way out of the park the next day (just worked out that way), and ended up getting a letter from Universal thanking us for our thanks.


After Ripsaw, what else? Let's not even pretend we want to be dry; let's check out the Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges!

Ok...just like we weren't pretending we wanted to be dry at that point...they don't even PRETEND that you might STAY dry on this ride! They are one millisecond away from just dumping a huge bucket of water on you without even trying to make you think there's a ride.

It was a great ride, but we got drenched, that's for sure!


After that fun, we were done. Cold, wet, dripping...cold again.... So we got back to the hotel (only to discover that the weather had caused them to lock the pool gates; the pool gates were our shortcut!), got dry, got warm, changed shoes...

And headed on out to...Downtown Disney! We had a little shopping to do and we wanted to go to T-Rex.


You might have noticed a distinct lack of FOOD here, and while I do think we had a snack from the Lounge, you're correct that we were runnin' on empty. That made our shopping/DTD experience less than ideal, but we did hold it together.

Went to Once Upon a Toy to get a Mr Potato Head box (mainly for E, but I did get a tinkerbell set of wings and a Malificient staff/wand thing for my own Mr PH). Then to the Lego Store for the not-forgotten pick-a-brick cup! We'd brought the cup from the Anaheim DTD store, and it still had its label on it, which meant a small discount on the cup cost.

While they were filling the cup, I headed to the *former* McDonald's building. This building now houses Pollo Campero and Fresh A Peel, along with Babycakes, a vegan/gluten-free cupcake place originally from NYC. I wanted to find Babycakes, to make sure I didn't take them on a wild goose chase.

After they were done at Lego, we picked up some cupcakes from babycakes, and took the box and our shopping bags on over to T-Rex!

Had a really nice meal there, which wasn't totally expected...the place is HUGE, and we spent a good 20 minutes trying to figure out the overhead of the place and how much they must bring in on any given night... Kind of a funny thing to be thinking about, but there ya go.

After that, we kind of forgot about the cupcakes (even though we were carrying them), and felt the NEED to go to Haagen Dasz. Since I'd managed to park our car in THE farthest parking lot from T-Rex, and HD was on the way back, this was a better choice than Ghirardelli, which would have meant backtracking. By this time it was getting SERIOUSLY cold, so ice cream was an odd choice, but it sounded super-good. But since DTD is right on (yet another) lake, the wind was coming off the water, we were so much colder than we felt we should have been.

Finally got back to the car, turned the heater on, got back to the hotel....goodnight day 13! We enjoyed you!