Pre-Trip: Muggles and Magic 2014

[LowesChevy]

This Grimm Grinning Ghost is off to materialize in central Florida in under a month!
My name is Erika and I reside in the Snowiest City USA or Erie, PA as it is officially referred to. No kidding we had the worst winter in years with record snow fall, so we cherish our trips south, west, wherever it is not northwest PA.

Fall is typically our Disney trip time and after many years in October to celebrate my birthday, we have slowly moved the trip to the end of September to avoid the crowds of Columbus Day weekend. I tried to avoid the crowds of the F&W Fest this year, but of course it was extended a week this year! Like really?! I will not complain. I will not complain

Our travel dates are September 18-20th at Universal
September 21th-26th Bay Lake Tower –Our home-2 BDR villa
September 26th-29th Beach Club, Club level

Travel party is me, 30ish. Now that I am over 30, it’s 30ish my parents. They are pretty fun and have been taking my brother and me to WDW since we were babies. I would consider us veterans on the World with over 30 visits easy.

I love to take photos and right now I am taking a photography class to hone my skills. Hoping to get some beauties this trip! I am a classically trained chef, so I may be a bit harsh on food reviews too.

Stay tuned, there is plenty more to come!
If you wish to find me outside of the boards-follow me on Twitter @cheferikag and on Instagram @grimmylfc -I will be posting extensively

 

[MommaPeel]

Sounds like fun! I will have left WDW and at Universal while you are there. I hope we the park to ourselves! We are staying at RPR, what about you?

 

[LowesChevy]

Sounds like fun! I will have left WDW and at Universal while you are there. I hope we the park to ourselves! We are staying at RPR, what about you?

Nice...yes we are staying at RPR as well. It is our favorite choice of the 3! Last time WWoHP was crazy, but yes the rest of the park was pretty slow. We rode everything we wanted a few times . Have a wonderful time and enjoy reading along, thank you

Erika

 

[LowesChevy]

The plan

Arrival: early! September 18-20th at Universal

Luckily United still offers one direct flight from Cleveland a day. The return flight timing is not great, but we are not big fans of connections. Too much stress, not enough bags sometimes. Been there, done that, trying to avoid it. Cities we could connect into are Chicago, Detroit and Philadelphia. Two of these are among the busiest in the country and well known for their delays. Unfortunately most airlines are doing the spider web hub connections. I know they are most efficient for the airlines, but we happen to live in a travel cul–de- sac. I’d rather not fly west or east for an hour or more, then wait for (or miss) another two hour or more flight. I just want to go south! South is where the palm trees are and the sunshine.

Now I am huge Disney fan, but we have also visited Universal as a kid too. I remember when you used to park in a large surface lot in front the park and across the street was a high school! I don’t know what school it was-I wish some did. Maybe someone here knows? I am a late blooming Potter fan and wow is the WWoHP amazing! Looking forward to Diagon Alley 

Our flight will have us arriving mid morning and by the time we get the bags and car we will probably be very hungry! Thinking of grabbing early lunch somewhere on International Drive- no shortage of choices. I think if we wait till we check in and get over to CityWalk it will be way too long and perhaps we would be hangry.

We are staying at Universal’s Royal Pacific Resort. We have stayed here, as well as the Hard Rock and the Portofino Bay Resort. This is the preferred resort of the three. Most recently we tried the HRR and it was nice, but not our choice theme. It was a bit on the loud side and I guess a little to rock and roll for us! Portofino was beautiful, but it is a typical mega hotel with winding corridors and long walks to the elevators and other places around the resort. The same could be said for the other two, but we just seem to like that South Seas vibe. The Polynesian is our all time favorite coincidentally. I have been to Hawaii and I recently visited the Field Museum in Chicago a few weeks ago and saw the Pacific Spirits exhibit. Awesome if you have a chance to get there- The Maori house is really cool. While the Polynesian definitely has the edge as far as the total atmosphere and theming goes, they are both great representations of the south seas styling imho. I know many people think they are tacky or whatever, but that is why there are many other resorts to choose from.

So, we should have a whole afternoon to play and the parks are open till 8:30 PM. HHN are Friday and Saturday so the park will be closing early. What I am trying to determine is will Universal be busier or Islands of Adventure Friday or Saturday. I would imagine the crowds will be heavier on the weekend with local crowds. Just trying to figure out if we want to do Diagon Alley first thing Friday morning because it is so new and there will be hefty crowds later in the day no doubt.

I am really looking forward to having the extra night, since we usually only stay two nights. The lobby is spacious and beautiful. Hitting Jake’s for an evening drink or snack was fun and there is always the sushi bar.
On the food and drink hit list for Universal Property include * includes a venue we never visited

Drinks at Finnegan’s-perhaps a Scotch egg
Lunch at Mel’s Drive In-can’t beat their burgers, onion rings and shakes
Margaritas at Jimmy Buffets
Hard Rock-always a great place to drink and snack
Antojitos looks pretty awesome*
Hog’s Head Pub
Moe’s Tavern*
Schwab’s Pharmacy*
Red Oven Pizza Bakery*
Hot Dog Hall of Fame*
NASCAR Sports Café

Okay stayed tuned for more folks!

 

[LowesChevy]

I took a photography class this summer and loved it! Our recreation authority keeps me busy all year round with soccer, volleyball, Zumba and now photography. I have had my Canon Rebel for 4 years, but was still yearning to learn how to go full manual. Many of my friends are graphic artists and I have learned a lot from them, but I wanted a hands on approach from a professional. I also upgraded to a Rebel Ti3 and have been having a great time playing around on it so far.

 

[LowesChevy]

After a few days at Universal, it’s time to head to WDW!! We will be staying at our home resort Bay Lake Tower Sunday the 21th – Friday 26th. I actually just made some Fast Pass + reservations for Sunday for the Magic Kingdom.

I didn’t really know what time we would be able to get in our room, but I made some selections for the afternoon. A few times we have scored an early check in, but usually it is after 4 PM. The reservations looked pretty available that day, but the 30 day will be opening up in a few days. Also, I’m not totally sure if we are heading right to the resort after checking out of Universal. Perhaps we will hit the Florida Mall or Mall at Millenia do some shopping and have lunch or head to DTD. I guess that’s why these Pre Trip reports are so helpful for transition days! We have and ADR later in the evening at California Grill, so we don’t stray too far especially if we cannot get in the room too soon.

Coming up…WDW!

 

[LowesChevy]

As I mentioned before, the details are kind of in the air with Sunday. Some spontaneity is needed and with FP+ all over the parks it may be nice to go with the flow for a day. This is the wonderful thing about staying at Universal property-you automatically get fast passes for the rides with the exception of the HP Headliners. The rest of the park you can mosey around and wander.

I did schedule some FP+ for the afternoon in the MK in case we need to kill sometime before room check in. We are owners at BLT and love our DVC membership. I think it was the perfect time and perfect resort for us to come available at the time. We have been visiting WDW for over 30 years and always say we should have done it sooner, but resort location is a big decision. Ideally BWV or BCV would have been boss too, but we were not interested in making the financial plunge at the time.
Old Key West was a favorite of ours for many years, but getting places is tough-you either drive or bus. We loved the décor and room set ups for AKV, but again rather far out from the other parks and dining options.

We rent a 2 bdr unit and yes it is a lot of points and space, but we like our room and bathrooms! Also if we tend to get a stray traveler or two there is plenty of room. I personally cannot stand sleeping on a pull out anything or sleep somewhere that someone has sat all day haha. Our vacations are over a week long so we tend to spend some time in the room relaxing mid day and my mother has to nap too! She needs her extra sleep and my dad and I usually go out and explore, mainly for beer.

Bay Lake Tower is beautiful. The elevators can be slow, as with any multi story resort. For the most part we love our stays here despite a major maintenance issue two years ago and no hot water one morning a different year. The Contemporary a short walk away and the trip to the MK is a breeze, except mid day when the sun is blazing!

Here is the schedule for WDW

Sunday-MK-dinner at Cali Grimm

Monday-MK-Wave for B, Plaza for lunch and DTD for dinner at Wolfgang Puck Café + shopping. Back to MK for evening photo shots

Tuesday-Epcot (Not sure we will get there for Early EMH) Wave for B, lunch at Via Napoli and dinner at Citricos

Wednesday-DHS-Breakfast at the Wave, lunch at Mama Melrose and dinner at House of Blues + shopping

Thursday-MK –EMH morning, breakfast at Kona, lunch at Tony’s Town Square and dinner at Artist Point

Friday-we move to the Beach Club! Plan is to leave BLT and go to AK, breakfast at Wave, lunch likely at DTD, dinner at Tutto Italia

Saturday-DHS, breakfast at Captains Grill, lunch at the Brown Derby and dinner at Teppan Edo

Sunday is our last full day-we will renew our Annual Passes, so we have to wait to get our FP+. We plan to have breakfast at the Captain’s Grill, lunch at Via Napoli again and dinner at Les Chef’s De France, but I may change it around a titch., knowing that is a primetime day for F & W. I like to end the trip with Epcot time, but it may be pretty crazy. However, we will be back in January! DHS is open later this evening as well.

More excitement to follow. See you real soon!

 

[LowesChevy]

The long weekend went quick! Back to work today boohoo, but hey I only have about 10 days of work till vacation so I need to quit whining!

It was nice to have my brother, sister in law and my little nephews home this weekend, but wow they wore me out for sure. The weather cooperated for the most part and we had a great time with family and friends.

I can't believe we only have 15 days till we go ...this is the best part-the anticipation. We are getting those bed sheets changed and re made because it is time to lay out clothes and goodies for the trip. I'd be totally bouncing off the walls, but I feel so bad, my dad has an awful case of posion ivy. He ended up going to the emergency room yesterday and they prescribed a steroid to help with the inflammation, but in the meantime he is miserable! I was surprised he went to the doctor in the first place, so he must really be feeling ill. Fingers crossed this dries up for the most part before we go!

After this weekend, my kitchen is closed. We are going out to a local Italian restaurant we love for a treat. I will keep you all updated

see you real soon Erika

 

[LowesChevy]

It's finally Friday! I don't know why short weeks end up being so much more stressful and endless than 5 days weeks. I may still be recouping from the weekend, but I have been going to bed early so I should be more energetic.

It is about 90 F here in Erie-it is crazy for September! I went to Walmart and bought popsicles for our employees to help keep them cool. My last outdoor soccer game is tonight too--yikes! We are going to be mighty hot out there running around. I feel bad for the football players too with ll of their padding and gear to wear tonight.

The beds are made and cleared and I had already set aside a few shirts to take on the trip. We will definitely be laying out a lot of items this weekend and making sure we do not need any last minute items. I can't believe we are down to 12 days, I just hope my dad's poison ivy continues to go away.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! -see you real soon

 

[LowesChevy]

We are officially single digit dancing!!

Hard to believe there is only 9 to go. I think this will be one long week I began laying out my clothes and brought up my sandals and flip flops. Working on charging my camera batteries and I did set up a Flickr account too! you can find me at https://www.flickr.com/photos/cheferikag/

I have a Photobucket account, but it is getting quite full and after my photography class I'd like to separate my photos bit more.

Other than that my DF poison ivy is finally clearing up, which is great news, but it did take a while for it to do so. Having talked to some other folks it can run a 2-4 week course! He is never letting that back yard get so overgrown again.

DM is getting here car inspected today to make sure we are good to go and since we won't be back till the 29th! Inspections are due by the end of the month-don't want to take a chance on that.

See you real soon!

Untitled by liverpoollover8, on Flickr

 

[LowesChevy]

It's time to roll baby! Just a few more hours at work then we are off to Cleveland. We are hoping to beat the major traffic, but at least it is a beautiful day for a drive. I think the plan is to go to Legacy Village have dinner at The Cheesecake Factory and perhaps Beachwood Place for a stop at Nordstrom

Everyone is well. Dad's poison ivy has healed nicely and I managed to avoid a major muscle pull in my back with early and aggressive intervention.

The bags are just about packed-just need to finish my bathroom bag and grab hair products and double check that we have MB, gift cards, drivers licenses, sunscreen and sunglasses. Those oh so important last minute things. Dad managed to forget his prescription sunglasses one time we went to Hawaii!

Weather looks great for getting out of CLE tomorrow and it looks like a scorcher in Orlando for tomorrow! This is the earliest we have ever been in September, but we have our ponchos and understand there is a greater chance of rain each day. Looking forward to an amazing trip.

See you all real soon!

 

[moe10378]

Hope u all have a blast!!!! I can feel u, in from Ohio!!! We fly out Sept 28!!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Friday-we move to the Beach Club! Plan is to leave BLT and go to AK, breakfast at Wave, lunch likely at DTD, dinner at Tutto Italia

Saturday-DHS, breakfast at Captains Grill, lunch at the Brown Derby and dinner at Teppan Edo

Sunday is our last full day-we will renew our Annual Passes, so we have to wait to get our FP+. We plan to have breakfast at the Captain’s Grill, lunch at Via Napoli again and dinner at Les Chef’s De France, but I may change it around a titch., knowing that is a primetime day for F & W. I like to end the trip with Epcot time, but it may be pretty crazy. However, we will be back in January! DHS is open later this evening as well.

More excitement to follow. See you real soon!

We ate breakfast at the Captain's Grille those same two mornings. I wonder if you were there at the same time we were, around 8:30 - 8:45 each morning.

Sorry to jump ahead like that. I guess I need to see if you kept to this plan.