OUTPLAN-OUTPLAY-OUTLAST: a Sleepingbooty TR! New Princess trip update 4/2

[klacey1]

Hi, Rebecca! I had no idea you started this! I'll have to go back and catch up to your updates, but I'm looking forward to reading!
ETA: Okay, just caught up! Great updates! That situation in the Forbidden Journey must have been hard to watch :-(. We're going to IOA/US for a day in August and can't wait! The themeing of WWoHP looks incredible!

 

[Sleepingbooty]

Hi Kylie! Thanks for joining in! Yes, it was hard to watch. I want to go back and do the Forbidden Journey all over again to get that experience out of my memory. You guys will have a great time there!

 

[Sleepingbooty]

Episode 7:Harry Potter Continues

After getting off The Forbidden Journey, we were a little shaky. It was a good time to take a break and have some refreshments. We headed here:

Well, that's actually a picture of the entrance to the 3 Broomsticks, we went in next door, through the Hogshead Tavern, which is attached.

We ordered a couple regular butterbeers and a couple frozen to share. The inside of the tavern is open to the inside of 3 Broomsticks, so we wandered over that way to find a seat. Well, actually Scott, my mom, and the girls were doing that while my dad and I waited in line at the bar. He insisted on paying as usual.

There were not many people at all in the restaurant, but when our group first sat down at a table, an employee came over and asked them to move. Apparently, they had sat at a table for 8 or 10, and we only had 6. Really? You think you are going to get mobbed in the 10 minutes it takes us to drink our butter beers?

We probably should have only gotten 2 butterbeers. They were... a little rich. Not bad, but very sweet. And thick. I don't think we finished them.

Wow, I was not feeling right after that butterbeer. I don't know if it was the drink or the ride, or a combination thereof, but I started feeling VERY nauseous. I had some pepto bismol caplets with me, so I took some, thinking it couldn't hurt. Then we headed over to Honeydukes, the sweet shop.

There were lots of interesting things to look at in here. The girls knew they wanted chocolate frogs, so they looked for those. They were $10 each!

We asked and were told that they also sell the chocolate frogs at the large gift shop at the front of the park, so we decided to wait and purchase them on the way out so we didn't have to carry them around. We left Honeydukes and did a little site seeing around Hogsmeade.

Continued in the next post.....

 

[Sleepingbooty]

Continued from previous post:

We made our way back up the street towards the only other ride we'd be doing in this part of the park: Flight of the Hippogriff. There was no WAY my girls would get on the Dueling Dragons.

We hopped in line, although there was really no line to speak of. This coaster has about the same thrill factor as Goofy's Barnstormer, so of course Jenna was already getting nervous. Not so Lucy.

The Hippogriff:

Hagrid's hut:

Our timing was perfect. Just after we got off Hippogriff, the Tri-Wizard Tournament show was going on. First the boys from Durmstrang did their bit and then the girls from Beauxbatons. They were wonderful! VERY good performers, and the choreography was just like in the movie.

And then, having done all there was to do in Harry Potter-ville, we decided to check out the rest of the park!

Up Next - Episode 8: Oh the Places You'll Go!

 

[Flossbolna]

I am really enjoying your HP side trip! It does look really pretty there! I just hope that you will feel better soon. Running around a theme park feeling sick isn't fun!

 

[Sleepingbooty]

It was very very cool!

No, feely queasy is no way to be. I was really glad I had those pepto pills!

 

[klacey1]

Aww, you can see how nervous Jenna looks in the picture with your mom on Flight of the Hippogriff! Hope she enjoyed it, though! Ooo, the TriWizard show looks great. What a fun detail to include.

 

[IheartDDuck]

You guys always get hit hard in Chicago. I heard that the schools there closed for the first time in something like 20 years? How do they stay open through all these storms year after year? Do your plows clear the streets really quickly?

Our plows are really good, and are out right away normally as soon as it starts snowing. I think that's the main reason schools aren't typically closed. This time around however, there was no way they were able to be well prepared.

I am glad that you guys had a good time at the WWoHP. I just visited myself, and it was a lot of fun. You're totally right about the Forbidden Journey. It's unlike anything I've ever experienced before.

Lucy totally did what I would have done at that age though. If my parents would have said we were going somewhere other then Disney, I totally would have burst into tears!

 

[glennbo123]

Are you telling me that you can't hold your butterbeer Booty?

 

[All7OfUs]

It looks so neat there! and the rides do sound fun!! Maybe someday, if I can tear myself away from WDW, I'll get there

Oh dear!! I would NOT want to be nauseous at ANY theme park!!

 

[Sleepingbooty]

Aww, you can see how nervous Jenna looks in the picture with your mom on Flight of the Hippogriff!

I know, poor baby!

Lucy totally did what I would have done at that age though. If my parents would have said we were going somewhere other then Disney, I totally would have burst into tears!

And I totally get it looking back on it, but at the time I was definitely a little disappointed. Not the reaction I was hoping for!!

Are you telling me that you can't hold your butterbeer Booty?

No, Booty can NOT hold her Butterbeer! Or regular beer for that matter!

It looks so neat there! and the rides do sound fun!! Maybe someday, if I can tear myself away from WDW, I'll get there

It was VERY hard to give up a Disney day to do it. But I'm glad we did, it was just so darn cool.

 

[jenbear123]

Loving your coverage on HP! The theming looks incredible. I would especially love to see Honeydukes. $10 chocolate frogs is a little steep but how often are you going to find those at your corner store? Good call on the pepto bismol. I don't leave home without it when I'm traveling. I hate feeling nauseous when all I'm trying to do is have fun! Was Jenna okay on Flight of the Hippogriff? She looks a little nervous....

 

[KatMark]

Great update! Love the pic of the girls by the Puking Pastilles sign.

 

[Sleepingbooty]

Loving your coverage on HP! The theming looks incredible. I would especially love to see Honeydukes. $10 chocolate frogs is a little steep but how often are you going to find those at your corner store? Good call on the pepto bismol. I don't leave home without it when I'm traveling. I hate feeling nauseous when all I'm trying to do is have fun! Was Jenna okay on Flight of the Hippogriff? She looks a little nervous....

Yep, don't leave home without the little pink pills. Just put it on my packing list for my Princess trip.

Jenna was definitely very nervous. The bad mom in me gets really annoyed at this. She did fine, she even went again later (not that she really wanted to).

The frogs sat in our fridge half (or less) eaten for about 2 months before I finally threw them out.

Great update! Love the pic of the girls by the Puking Pastilles sign.

The window displays were one of the best aspects of the whole village. Very well done!

 

[Sleepingbooty]

Episode 8: Oh The Places You'll Go!

By 11 am, we were done with Harry Potter Town. We headed back out the way we came, anxious to check out the Seuss-y area. We came first to trolley ride, which was short and sweet, then the Caro-Seussel:

Then we ate lunch at Circus McGurkus Cafe Stupendous. The prices were not bad - $7 and $8 for meals, but the food was just okay. I think we all had either chicken caesar salads or chicken sandwiches with fries. Back out on the streets, we hit up One Fish Two Fish, a Dumbo-like ride, and The Cat in the Hat, which was a very well done dark ride.

Not sure why I didn't take more pictures in this part of the park. We then meandered through Marvel Super Hero Island and Toon Lagoon on our way back to Jurassic Park. I was very impressed with the theming, much better than I thought it would be.

In Jurassic Park, we wanted to try the Pteranodon Flyers. This ride is like a hang glider, but you are in a chair seat. The problem is that is a slow loading ride that also happens to be very popular. To try to cut down on riders, they've instituted a height requirement. You have to be between 36 and 56 inches tall. Each kid of the required height can have one adult as a companion (although you each get your own seat). Of course this leads to a lot of confusion. The wait posted was 20 minutes. We got in line while my parents found a bench to wait on. The employee at the entrance to the queue tried to explain the height thing to the people who got in line ahead of us. They spoke spanish and did not appear to understand and they all, 3 adults and 1 child, got in line anyway. Of course when they got to the front, two of the adults were not allowed to ride. The line took exactly 20 minutes, and it was a hot one. But the ride, although short, was fun and the breeze cooled us off.

There is a play area at the exit and it is VERY confusing. I got lost. Then I got squirted by some kids. I finally found my way out and found our group. My mom and dad said they'd found a fun ride that we'd all love. They said there was no wait to go on, and the girls would like it - no hills.

So we followed them over to the Jurassic Park River Adventure. It started out innocently enough. Then it got a little more intense. Holy Carp, a dinosaur just jumped out at us - What the?! OMG!!!!! That had to be the highest hill of any plunge ride ever! I looked over at Scott and he was fricken and fracken - he'd lost his hat! Boy, he was P.O.d! It was his favorite Disney hat, and he'd had no warning to hold on to it. Very funny joke Nana and Papa! They sure got a kick out of it, anyway. The funny part was, if we'd told the girls that there'd be a huge hill, they would have been so worried and nervous. But since they didn't know, they were fine.

Next we spent a little time in the Jurassic Park Discover Center, which was VERY cool. It was designed to look just like the Center in the movie, which it did. Really neat interactive displays. We even got to watch a dinosaur egg hatching.

After this, the plan was to go back through Harry Potter one more time. I was hoping I'd convince Jenna to go on the Forbidden Journey again, even though it had taken three doses of Pepto pills for me to feel normal (don't worry, it says to keep taking them until you feel better - I wasn't O.D-ing). She didn't want to do it, although she prefaced it by saying the she did like the ride (wouldn't want anyone to think she was a scaredy cat!). We took a few more picture around the joint and rode The Flight of the Hippogriff again.

Then it was time to head out to catch our ride back to more familiar territory. On our way out, Lucy, Papa and I decided to ride Spiderman. Wow, that was very intense! Lucy liked it though. We then stopped in the shop at the front to pick up our wands and buy the $10 chocolate frogs.

Its a long walk back to the pick up and drop off area. The girls were getting a little tired by this point. Our towncar showed up less than five minutes after we arrived. My parents had already grabbed a taxi, so we were all on our way to the Wilderness Lodge. It was time for dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe!

Our driver got a little lost on the way there and Lucy fell asleep in the car. We arrived about 45 minutes early for our ADR. My mom and dad were already there. We found a comfy spot in the lobby to rest. After about 10 minutes we went to check in, thinking it would still be another 20 or so before our table was ready. Not so! They were ready for us right then. So we woke up Lucy.

We ordered skillets and milkshakes all around. Our waiter was very friendly, and funny - but they didn't pull the ketchup trick on us. The food was fantastic and we were all stuffed, but of course we ordered dessert. All but Scott, that is. The waiter tried to talk him into getting something to go but since we weren't heading back to our resort we said no.

We took the boat over to Magic Kingdom for EMH. They were not giving out wristbands, you just had to show your room key to ride anything.

We got there just as the sun was setting. We got a locker at the front of the park and then headed down Main Street. The castle looked so beautiful in the evening light.

We headed over Tomorrowland way and hopped on the Peoplemover, and from there to Toontown. The Barnstormer was fun at night. We decided to go through Minnie and Mickey's house. Usually, people just sort of wander around, trying things out - but as we entered, there was a family that were sort of using the living room to do their own personal photo shoot. There were not letting us through - I guess they didn't want strangers in the back ground as they posed little prince on Minnie's sofa.

That one was the last picture I took as it had gotten dark. After we left Toontown, we moved on to Fantasyland. The place was starting to fill up and then I realized that Wishes would be starting soon. Okay, they probably announced it. We'd actually wanted to head over to the Haunted Mansion, but the walkway to Liberty Square was roped off because of the wind blowing the smoke in that direction. So we decided just to stop and watch there. It was weird, have some of the fireworks going off in front of you and some behind. But kinda cool. This would be our only chance to catch Wishes this week, so I'm glad we saw it, even if not from an ideal location.

They didn't open up the rope until about 10 minutes after the fireworks ended. When they did, we herded over to Liberty Square. We rode Haunted Mansion - and again, it broke down. We were not having good luck on HM this trip! We decided to head home after that. I'm not sure what time it was, maybe around 11? Pretty late for us anyway, after not having our usual break. We stopped for a few photopass pictures and headed home!

 

[jenbear123]

Reading your updates makes me wish I was there right now.... What a great day! That Pterodactyl ride looks awesome! I would love to see the Jurassic Park rides. It was one of my favourite movies growing up. One of these days I'll make the special trip to US and IoA. Maybe if (and when) my sister Bubba goes back to Disney again. It's a lot of extra $$$ for one day but it looks like a lot of fun!

 

[All7OfUs]

I was actually pretty impressed with the Caro-Seussal!! That's pretty cool!

Long day for you guys, for sure! Great timing with your ride home. Well, back to eat nummies anyway. Never have tried WCC yet, but everyone says it's great food.

Aw Shucks, no luck with HM! Dang!

We've done WISHES from behind as well, and you're right---- not ideal.. but hey, if it's your only shot, better take it.

I love the photo of the girls holding G'Pa's hand. So CUTE!!

 

[KatMark]

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Great update, Rebecca. Sounds like a great day at Universal; glad you were seated early at WCC and enjoyed your meal there (unfortunately ours was awful and we never got to dessert) and I love the boatride over to the MK from the WL.

I love the family photo in front of the castle.

 

[englishrose47]

Great Update !!I too like the pix in front ofthe castle and at US of the CarroSeusal !!

 

[Clare Voince]

Not sure if you're aware, but on continuously moving rides like the Haunted Mansion, when someone with mobility issues wants to ride, they have to stop the ride to allow them to board. If the HM stops when you're riding it, that's why it's stopping. If they evacuate you, it's broken down. If you're stopped for a minute or two, it's a disabled person boarding.