"She's Gotta Put the Biscuits Back in the Can" A May/June 2017 TR *COMPLETE 1/5*

[Neverland_Girl]

Fun fact: this was the only day that Kelsey and I wore a full face of makeup...it was just too dang hot!

I don't think I've ever worn more than mascara at Disney

All in all, we had a great time at the HoB Gospel Brunch! Definitely something I'd like to do again someday.

I've never heard of this before! I always forget HoB is there. My mom is the music director at our church so I feel like she would love this.

 

[missangelalexis]

Great start to your day at Islands of Adventure! I love Seuss Landing, such a cute area of the park!

 

[disneylove16]

Great TR so far! Congrats on graduating and being valedictorian! I can't think of a better way to celebrate!

 

[RoliePolieColie]

Following along! Love you're TR so far and congrats on your Graduation! I wish I would have had a trip like this after my Graduation!!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

I swear IoA's master plan is just to leave all of its guests SOAKED because SOOOOOO MANY rides there are meant to get you wet and to such a strong extent. It's probably going to be another few years before I recover from the soaking on Popeye's and ride another water ride.

That Popeye's ride is something else! It was so fun though!

It's funny I have absolutely no interest in seeing Sinbad (not a fan of stunt shows), but I thought Poseidon's Fury was pretty neat. To each his own, I guess.

Oh, it's absolutely a matter of opinion.

Wow already @ how much you've gotten done. Those EPs really are a good investment, might have to get one next time I'm there.

The EPs and early entry to WWoHP definitely made staying at a Universal hotel worth it for us! The EPs make a HUGE difference!

I don't think I've ever worn more than mascara at Disney

The last several times I've been to WDW have been in the fall/early spring, so it hasn't been nearly as hot, and I've worn full makeup. Not in June, though!

I've never heard of this before! I always forget HoB is there. My mom is the music director at our church so I feel like she would love this.

My mom and I actually found out about it on the DIS! I would absolutely recommend it!

Great start to your day at Islands of Adventure! I love Seuss Landing, such a cute area of the park!

I love Seuss Landing, too! All the colors and everything are so fun!

Great TR so far! Congrats on graduating and being valedictorian! I can't think of a better way to celebrate!

Thank you so much!

Following along! Love you're TR so far and congrats on your Graduation! I wish I would have had a trip like this after my Graduation!!

Welcome! So glad to have you along for the ride!

 

[Elandon]

Following along. Congratulations, valedictorian! Looking forward to hearing about your trip.

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Day 2, Part 3
"We're in Dumbledore's Office!"

When I left off, we were on our way to Hogsmeade! It had been five years since I'd been here, and Kelsey had never been before, so we were excited to say the least.

fullsizeoutput_c52 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr


IMG_2117 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr


IMG_2118 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr

After walking aimlessly in just absolute awe, we wandered into Honeydukes.

I spy pumpkin juice!


IMG_2119 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr

We didn't buy anything from Honeydukes then, because we didn't want everything to melt in our backpacks. But we were on to bigger and better things, aka...

HOGWARTS!!!

*Sighs* Isn't it beautiful??


IMG_2121 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr

We decided to just do the walking tour of Hogwarts today and save riding Forbidden Journey for early entry in the morning. So off we went!

Kelsey and I were in absolute heaven as we walked through. The portraits talk and everything!

It's the Founders!

We're in Dumbledore's office!!


IMG_2125 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr

I think I freaked out the most about this portrait.

Why yes, we are nerds, and yes we are quite proud of that.

Moving on...

At this point, I could tell that my blood sugar was getting low, so to avoid passing out, I got in line for butterbeer! Kelsey and I both got a frozen one. We carried our drinks into Jurassic Park and found somewhere to sit while our moms went and got us some popcorn.


IMG_2131 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr

Kelsey is really good at taking artsy pictures like this.


IMG_3583 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr

We sat in the shade, enjoying our snack. I think we split a popcorn bucket between the four of us. Anyways, once we finished, we walked the short distance back into Hogsmeade and hopped in the EP line for Flight of the Hippogriff.

Kelsey and I ended up sitting in the very front row. This ride is SO short! Like Barnstormer length. But it's a lot smoother and slightly more intense (but not scary) than the Barnstormer. We had fun, but we were glad we hadn't waited very long for it.


Up next: Jurassic Park!






​

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Following along. Congratulations, valedictorian! Looking forward to hearing about your trip.

Welcome aboard! And thank you!

 

[missangelalexis]

What a great time in Hogsmeade! You can't pass up frozen butterbeer either- so good!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

I saw Hogsmeade and Hogwarts for the first time on my high school graduation trip so I really relate to Kelsey in that video. So amazing. Diagon Alley wasn't even open yet at the time, she must've lost it in there.

I never even knew you could just do a walking tour of Hogwarts, not that for me I'd really want to since Forbidden Journey is like the greatest theme park attraction ever, but that's cool to know.

to the Frozen Butterbeers! Very necessary.

 

[Sarahh1027]

Your trip is off to an awesome start!! I LOVE Harry Potter! I've never been to Universal but I will someday JUST to see HP World!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

What a great time in Hogsmeade! You can't pass up frozen butterbeer either- so good!

Now I'm craving a frozen butterbeer!

I saw Hogsmeade and Hogwarts for the first time on my high school graduation trip so I really relate to Kelsey in that video. So amazing. Diagon Alley wasn't even open yet at the time, she must've lost it in there.

I never even knew you could just do a walking tour of Hogwarts, not that for me I'd really want to since Forbidden Journey is like the greatest theme park attraction ever, but that's cool to know.

to the Frozen Butterbeers! Very necessary.

I don't remember where we read about the walking tours, but you just have to tell the Hogwarts student at the front of the line and they'll send you the right way. It's really great because you can spend time looking at everything!

Your trip is off to an awesome start!! I LOVE Harry Potter! I've never been to Universal but I will someday JUST to see HP World!

If it weren't for everything HP, I probably never would have ended up at Universal! Not that the other stuff isn't fun, but...I'm a Disney girl through and through.

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Day 2, Part 4
"We're in Dumbledore's Office!"

After our flight with the hippogriffs, we made our way into Jurassic Park and hopped in the EP line for the River Adventure (or whatever it's called). This was...not a fun experience for me. I won't go into the sordid details, but I'll just say that I was not a very happy camper by the time we got off the ride.

Anyways...in order to give myself time to recover, I waited for the others while they rode Skull Island: Reign of Kong. They all really liked the ride!

At this point in the day, we didn't feel like getting completely soaked, so we decided to leave the raft rides to tomorrow. Instead, we made our way towards Marvel Island. I think it was at this point that Kelsey and I stopped to get airbrush tattoos. I got "Dream" on my right forearm, and Kelsey got the Leo (?) symbol on her wrist.


IMG_2133 by the2ndstartotheright, on Flickr

After getting our tattoos (and sending snapchats to my friends to freak them out), we finished our trek to Marvel Island and got in the EP line for Spiderman. This ride is so much more fun when you don't ride it six times in a row like we did in 2012.

At this point we were all exhausted and hungry, so we made our way to the front of the park. We wandered through a gift ship on our way out, where I saw a Marauders' Map coffee mug that I made a mental note to come back and get later.

We left IoA and walked to City Walk. Our first stop was Fat Tuesday for Mom and Andrea, and then we moved on to Red Oven Pizza Bakery.
I got cheese.


IMG_2134 by the2ndstartotheright, on Flickr

Mom got some sort of spinach and tomato pizza with white sauce.


IMG_2135 by the2ndstartotheright, on Flickr

Andrea and Kelsey split a margarita pizza and a Caesar salad.


IMG_3643 by the2ndstartotheright, on Flickr

Everything was so yummy! Seriously some of the best pizza I've ever had. We boxed up our leftovers and began our walk back to the hotel. Mom and Andrea were a bit...tipsy...which made for an entertaining walk back. Once we got there, Mom and I waited in the lobby while Kelsey went with Andrea to pull the car around.

So, um, apparently I was wrong earlier when I said we left our luggage with bell services when we got there. According to my notes, we didn't unload the luggage until that night. Oops! Anyways, bell services unloaded the car, and we checked in to room 1307.


IMG_2136 by the2ndstartotheright, on Flickr


IMG_2137 by the2ndstartotheright, on Flickr


IMG_2138 by the2ndstartotheright, on Flickr


IMG_2139 by the2ndstartotheright, on Flickr

We were sitting in our hotel room waiting on our luggage, and Mom and Kelsey got a little...impatient. They decided they were going after the luggage cart. No joke, thirty seconds after they left the room, bell services called and said they were bringing our luggage over. About two minutes later, Mom and Kelsey come sprinting back into the room. They had seen the luggage cart coming down the hall, so they turn and ran back! Andrea and I, naturally, were laughing our heads off.

Kelsey and I put our bathing suits on and walked down to the pool to soak our feet. Mom and Andrea came down a little while later, too. After a bit, we went back to the room to shower and get ready for bed. It was around 11pm when we all crashed.

This is what our Fitbit report looked like at the end of the day.

f
ullsizeoutput_a03 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr

Up Next: An early morning in Hogsmeade!


​

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

IMG_3716 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr

I love the fact that you are poking your head in a photobombing them!

 

[Newsies]

Yay! Islands of Adventure is amazing!

Your pictures from Seuss Landing are adorable, I love SL.

Hogsmeade is one of my favorites and I'm so glad you got to experience it!

Oh man, I'm sorry you didn't like river adventure the first time I went on it I had NO idea what it really was and freaked out. It's definitely not for everyone!

That pizza looks AMAZING.

Can't wait to read about your early morning Hogsmeade adventures!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

I love the fact that you are poking your head in a photobombing them!

I thought it was pretty funny

Your pictures from Seuss Landing are adorable, I love SL.

Aw, thanks!

Oh man, I'm sorry you didn't like river adventure the first time I went on it I had NO idea what it really was and freaked out. It's definitely not for everyone!

As soon as the warning alarms sounded, it was all over for me. Sometimes an overload of noise can trigger an anxiety attack for me, and I was already worked up about the ride before I ever got on it (my friend had ridden recently and told me about it). But after I sat for a bit I was fine! Now I know, and I just won't ride it again.

 

[MeghanEmily]

What an awesome first day you had! We did the Gospel Brunch a few years ago and were pretty impressed too.

I love all your little videos - the four of you are so cute!

I'm not a huge fan of Poseidon's Fury either. To me it's more of a "what was the point of that?" kind of attraction. But I could see how some people could find it creepy.

I'm so in love with both Harry Potter areas, and I'm so glad you had a great time there. Looking forward to hearing about when you return there.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience on River Journey! It's one of my favourites!

Hilarious about the luggage!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

That pizza looks so so good. I'll definitely have to check out Red Oven one day. And your room looks so pretty. Lol @ the luggage cart instance. I can so relate to both sides of that situation.

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

I love all your little videos - the four of you are so cute!

Aw, you are too sweet! Thank you!

Hilarious about the luggage!

It was really quite entertaining!

That pizza looks so so good. I'll definitely have to check out Red Oven one day. And your room looks so pretty. Lol @ the luggage cart instance. I can so relate to both sides of that situation.

The pizza was amazing! And they've recently redone the rooms at Royal Pacific, and they're gorgeous!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Day 3
"We Have Tan Lines!"

Our Plans:
IoA Early Entry
Break in the middle of the day
Universal Studios


Hello, all! When I last left off, we had just gone to bed after a full day of food and fun. The next morning, our alarm went off at 6:15am. It was more like 6:45 before I started moving. Eventually, everyone was up and getting ready. I ate a pop tart for breakfast, and we all headed out the door around 7:45. We decided to walk this morning and went straight to IoA. We made our way back to Hogsmeade as I tried not to dance around like a child.


IMG_2141 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr

Our first stop was Forbidden Journey! The wait time was posted at 15 minutes, which was pretty accurate. Mom decided not to ride since it made her so sick when she rode in 2012. So we left our bags with her, and off we went!

Holy. Moly. Wow. That ride is so much better than I remembered. Andrea and Kelsey loved it too. I'm honestly nerding out just thinking about it!

After our flight, Kelsey went to ride the Dragon Challenge. While we waited, Andrea and I went over to the girls' bathroom to hear Moaning Myrtle (I apologize to any non-HP fans who have absolutely no clue what that means). We met back up with Mom and sat to wait for Kelsey.

After a while, we started to feel like she should have been done by now. But we waited...and waited...and waited. In reality, it probably wasn't all that long, it just seemed like it was. When we finally saw Kelsey come off the ride, she said that she waited longer to be able to ride in the front row. She's insane.

Anyways. After we were all reunited, we walked over to get in line to take the Hogwarts Express to Diagon Alley.


IMG_2142 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr


IMG_2143 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr


IMG_2144 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr

Okay, this was seriously one of the coolest things ever. I completely flipped out basically the entire train ride.


IMG_2147 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr


IMG_2150 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr


IMG_2152 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr

We got off the train and found ourselves in King's Cross Station!


IMG_2156 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr

Hagrid, there's no such thing as Platform 9 3/4, is there?


IMG_2207 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr


Up Next: Exploring Diagon Alley! ​