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

[Raeven]

A little late, but I'm following along!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Lol I'm feeling that alarm comment right now. I'll always get up when it goes off, but nothing will actually happen for quite a few more minutes.

I'm a HP fan for life so I totally get you on the Moaning Myrtle comment. Pretty sure I did the same thing when I was last in Hogsmeade because she sometimes floats around in the men's room. And that's annoying you had to wait around for Andrea while she waited to get front row on Dragon Challenge. They must need to have a better system for that like at Disney.

Oooo, I'm so excited to see all y'all's reactions to Diagon Alley! Still not over how amazing that place is.

 

[MeghanEmily]

Yay Harry Potter! What a great start to the day!

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!

Such an amazing ride! It was so well done. I have a slight preference for Gringotts because I can ride it without getting sick, but FJ is amazing.

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

Our first Hogwarts Express ride was back in December, and I was completely geeking out. I loved it! But I almost throttled the couple beside us who took flash pictures of each other the whole time.

 

[missangelalexis]

I'm sorry you had a bad experience on the Jurassic Park ride

Your next day sounds like it was off to a great start!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

A little late, but I'm following along!

Lol I'm feeling that alarm comment right now. I'll always get up when it goes off, but nothing will actually happen for quite a few more minutes.

I'm a HP fan for life so I totally get you on the Moaning Myrtle comment. Pretty sure I did the same thing when I was last in Hogsmeade because she sometimes floats around in the men's room. And that's annoying you had to wait around for Andrea while she waited to get front row on Dragon Challenge. They must need to have a better system for that like at Disney.

Oooo, I'm so excited to see all y'all's reactions to Diagon Alley! Still not over how amazing that place is.

We weren't really all that surprised that she had waited to ride in the front--that's definitely something she would do! Kelsey and I were beyond excited to experience Diagon Alley for the first time!!

Yay Harry Potter! What a great start to the day!

I think it should be a rule that every day should start with either Harry Potter or Disney.

Such an amazing ride! It was so well done. I have a slight preference for Gringotts because I can ride it without getting sick, but FJ is amazing.

It's so impressive, and the attention to detail makes me so happy.

Our first Hogwarts Express ride was back in December, and I was completely geeking out. I loved it! But I almost throttled the couple beside us who took flash pictures of each other the whole time.

Oh no! I hate it when people do stuff like that and it ruins the experience for someone else.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience on the Jurassic Park ride

Your next day sounds like it was off to a great start!

It was just one of those rides that was not for me. But the next morning was absolutely making up for it!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

"We Have Tan Lines!"
Day 3, Part 2

Hi there! When I last left off, we had just disembarked the Hogwarts Express and were witnessing Diagon Alley for the first time! And holy moly wow, it did not disappoint.


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My reaction to seeing this in person for the first time?

Complete awe to say the least.

Our first stop?


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I got chocolate; Kelsey got chocolate raspberry; Andrea got salted caramel and chocolate (one scoop of each); Mom got strawberry peanut butter.

I didn't get pictures of all of them, but this was my chocolate.


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There is a set of stairs to the left of Gringotts, and this is where we sat to eat our ice cream.

Our view:


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And yes, that is Hagrid's/Sirius's motorcycle at the bottom of the stairs.

And suddenly...


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The dragon breathed fire!

Our plan was to wait until tomorrow morning to ride Escape from Gringotts, so we said good-bye to Diagon Alley for now, and made our way into the rest of Universal Studios.


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We stopped to get our picture taken at the Knight Bus!


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The talking head began insulting me because I am a Hufflepuff. It was really quite funny.

Along the way, Kelsey had to get a picture with Dominic Toretto's car.


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Normally, I would have been the same way, but since that is Dom's car from The Fate of the Furious (which I STILL have not seen), I didn't feel quite right about taking my picture. Whatever, I know I'm weird.

We made our way to Jimmy Fallon's Race Through NY, only to be told that one of the theaters was down, and it would be an hour wait even with our EPs. Erm, no thanks, we'll come back later.

So we made our way to the front of the park and back over to IoA.

Our first stop was to use our EPs for Spiderman around 10:45am. After our ride, we stopped at Auntie Anne's for pretzels.


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I checked my Fitbit app, and at 11:15am I already had more than 8,000 steps.

After our snack, it was time for some water rides! Kelsey and Andrea wanted to ride Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls. After my encounter with Jurassic Park yesterday, I decided against it, and Mom didn't really want to either.

To give you an idea of the drop on this thing...

From there, we all got in the EP line for the Bilge Rat Barges.

You know how most rides that involve water have signs that say "You may get wet" ? Well this one has a sign that says "You will get soaked". I seriously wish we had taken a picture after we got off of this ride. It's like the most wet you've ever gotten on Splash Mountain multiplied by like 12. It was insane!

At this point we were already soaked to the skin, so what did we do? Get back in line of course! We rode a total of 3 times before Mom and Andrea decided they were done. Kelsey and I, though, went to get back in line a fourth time. Except when we got to the point where the guy needed to scan our EPs, Kelsey's was gone! We quickly made our way back to the spot where we were supposed to meet Mom and Andrea but they were gone, too!

At this point, Kelsey and I were like "Well, crap. What now?" Our moms had our bags and therefore our cellphones. We checked a couple nearby bathrooms with no luck, and eventually decided just to sit in our meeting spot and wait for them to come back. Eventually they did. They had gone up to the bridge to shoot us with water guns as we floated by. But when they didn't see us come through, they decided to come back and see if they had just missed us.

Kelsey dug through her bag, but her EP was nowhere to be found. Since the pictures on the EPs are literally impossible to make out, she borrowed Mom's for this one last ride of our morning.

After our last raft ride, we made our way to the front of the park with plans to spend some time at the pool.


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[Newsies]

So sweet to hear you reading about your first time at Diagon Alley. I just called Universal a few minutes ago to let them know I couldn't renew my Annual Pass, so this update is giving me all the feelings

Wasn't the ice cream so good? I had granny smith when I went and it was delicious!

I would have probably done the same thing with Bilge Rat Barges, lol. Gone on it again and again until it was time to retire to the pool!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[KathyM2]

Loving your TR. Sorry about the EP but at least you got to borrow...I would like to go to Universal just for that ice cream lol. Looks sooo good.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

YAS DIAGON ALLEY!!!! All your photos and your reaction make me miss it so much! Little tip, if you go back, you MUST get the Butterbeer ice cream from Florean Fortescue, it is THEBOMB.COM.GOV.CO.UK

Lol, I'm so the talking head making fun of Hufflepuffs #SlytherinAF *hissss* The Knight Bus driver M&G is the greatest thing ever though, I'm glad you had a good interaction.

Omg, you rode Popeye MORE THAN ONCE?! I'm sorry that ride just gets you uncomfortably wet. If I walk off a ride and my socks feel like sponges more than socks, it's a never again for me. That stinks about Kelsey's EP tho, hope you were able to get her a new one!

 

[Whit64130]

Looks like y'all got to do a lot in your first few days! I always enjoy looking at everyone's pictures from Universal. I hope to go back one day but I just can't stray to far from Disney yet.

 

[missangelalexis]

Ripsaw Falls and Bilge Rat Barges leave you SO soaked! Hey if you were already wet, might as well go on a few more times!

 

[MeghanEmily]

When I last left off, we had just disembarked the Hogwarts Express and were witnessing Diagon Alley for the first time! And holy moly wow, it did not disappoint.

OMG SO amazing!!! The theming here is absolutely wild.

We made our way to Jimmy Fallon's Race Through NY, only to be told that one of the theaters was down, and it would be an hour wait even with our EPs. Erm, no thanks, we'll come back later.

Ew. Absolutely not.

I checked my Fitbit app, and at 11:15am I already had more than 8,000 steps.

Wow! Awesome!! Nothing like a FL vacation to rack up those steps!

To give you an idea of the drop on this thing...

This is the only water ride I've ever done that I'm legitimately afraid of, so probably a good call to sit it out. The drop is terrifying, and I could see how it absolutely might trigger anxiety.

 

[unwritten01]

Just joining in but loving it - Hail State!

 

[Simba22]

Subbing! Congrats on being valedictorian! That's so awesome!

I've never been to Universal but WWoHP looks sooooo cool. Definitely need to find time to get there one of these trips!

Can't wait for more!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

So sweet to hear you reading about your first time at Diagon Alley. I just called Universal a few minutes ago to let them know I couldn't renew my Annual Pass, so this update is giving me all the feelings

Wasn't the ice cream so good? I had granny smith when I went and it was delicious!

I would have probably done the same thing with Bilge Rat Barges, lol. Gone on it again and again until it was time to retire to the pool!

Can't wait to read more!

I'm pretty sure I walked around Diagon Alley with my mouth hanging open. It was absolutely incredible!

I mean, we were already soaked, so why not ride it again??

Loving your TR. Sorry about the EP but at least you got to borrow...I would like to go to Universal just for that ice cream lol. Looks sooo good.

Thanks so much!! And that ice cream was realllyyyy good!

YAS DIAGON ALLEY!!!! All your photos and your reaction make me miss it so much! Little tip, if you go back, you MUST get the Butterbeer ice cream from Florean Fortescue, it is THEBOMB.COM.GOV.CO.UK

Lol, I'm so the talking head making fun of Hufflepuffs #SlytherinAF *hissss* The Knight Bus driver M&G is the greatest thing ever though, I'm glad you had a good interaction.

Omg, you rode Popeye MORE THAN ONCE?! I'm sorry that ride just gets you uncomfortably wet. If I walk off a ride and my socks feel like sponges more than socks, it's a never again for me. That stinks about Kelsey's EP tho, hope you were able to get her a new one!

I'll have to remember to try that next time!

*Sigh* Hufflepuffs get so much hate. Hey, Kelsey is a Slytherin too!

It was our last ride of the morning, and thankfully I was wearing Chacos, so no wet socks here!

Looks like y'all got to do a lot in your first few days! I always enjoy looking at everyone's pictures from Universal. I hope to go back one day but I just can't stray to far from Disney yet.

Honestly, I probably never wold have wandered over there if it weren't for WWoHP!

Ripsaw Falls and Bilge Rat Barges leave you SO soaked! Hey if you were already wet, might as well go on a few more times!

Absolutely!

OMG SO amazing!!! The theming here is absolutely wild.

I was in complete awe!

Just joining in but loving it - Hail State!

and HAIL STATE!

Subbing! Congrats on being valedictorian! That's so awesome!

I've never been to Universal but WWoHP looks sooooo cool. Definitely need to find time to get there one of these trips!

Can't wait for more!

and thanks! WWoHP is on its own level of amazing. Highly recommend!!!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

"We Have Tan Lines!"
Day 3, Part 3

We made our way out of the park and took the walking path back to Royal Pacific. When we got back to the room, it was about 1:45pm. We ate a snack before changing into our bathing suits. It was at this point that Kelsey and I got very excited because we actually had tan lines from the shirts we'd worn over the last couple days!! Is it sad that we were excited about that? Eh.

We got some towels and claimed chairs near the pool. I'll admit, I didn't last very long in the chair because it was so dang hot! There was hardly a cloud in the sky, so the sun was constantly beating down on us. After a couple of hours in the pool, we went back up to the room and got ready to head back to the parks.

On the off-chance anyone was wondering: our clothes from earlier? Still completely soaked.

It was about 4:30pm when we left the room and began the trek towards City Walk. I finally remembered to take some pictures of the outside of our hotel.


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I feel the need to put #nofilter with these photos. Anyways...We'd decided on Margaritaville for dinner.

Kelsey and Andrea split the volcano nachos.


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Mom and I each got our own Cheeseburger in Paradise.


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Everything was super yummy! After we ate, we wandered through the gift shop for a bit before making our way towards Universal Studios. Fun fact: there is a secret entrance to the park that is basically underneath Rip Ride Rocket. Mom had read about and wanted to see if it was true: it was!

Our first stop was the restroom right outside of Jimmy Fallon. Then we used our EPs (I forgot to mention that we'd gotten Kelsey's replaced on the way out) to actually ride Jimmy Fallon's Race Through NY.


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Fun fact: my aunt actually worked for Jay Leno while he was still the host of The Tonight Show.


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Holy moly wow! This was by far one of my favorite rides at Universal! It was seriously so much fun!

After beating Jimmy, we checked the wait times on the app and saw that Gringotts had an unusually low wait time, so we booked it back to Diagon Alley. When we got in line, the posted wait time was 20 minutes: SCORE!

This was another truly amazing ride. I was obsessed with the detail inside Gringotts (though it does bother me that "Hermione's" voice is most definitely NOT Emma Watson). Escape from Gringotts most definitely gets a thumbs up from this Potterhead!

From there we moved on to Men in Black: Alien Attack. This is a fun one, but to me, it's so much harder than TSMM or Buzz. I'm never sure of what I'm supposed to be aiming for on the alien! (Maybe the eyes?) Kelsey and I rode twice, and I'm pretty sure she beat me both times.

After that, we walked over to The Mummy. Kelsey was super excited about this one, because she loves the Mummy movies. We got in line, and made it all the way to the end (seriously, about to load), when I saw a sign that side the ride went backwards. And because I was unsure of how long it actually went backwards, I decided not to ride and took the chicken exit. Mom, Andrea, and Kelsey really liked it, though!

After their ride, we found a place along the water to watch the nighttime show.


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I didn't remember very much of this show from 2012, but we really enjoyed it!

When the show was over, we began making our way to the front of the park. My notes say it was 9:17 when we started walking.

https://youtu.be/Xvtt9H_0Yb8

We decided to take the water taxi back to the hotel and got in line around 9:30pm. We waited about 10 minutes for a boat, but were soon on our way back to the hotel.


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When we got back to the room, everybody took showers and got ready for bed. It was around 11:00pm when we all started falling asleep.

Up Next: Our Last Universal Day!






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[Simba22]

You have me wanting to do Universal SO BAD now! Sounds like a great day!

 

[Newsies]

UGH this day was PERFECT!

LMK how RPR is so beautiful... gorgeous all around.

Your dinner at Margaritaville looked amazing!

I visited NBC studios in NYC while I was still living in Manhattan this semester and I'm OBSESSED. I need to go on JFRTNY like right now.

I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO NOTICED HERMOINE'S VOICE IN GRINGOTTS GAHHHH IT'S SO FRUSTRATING

Can't wait to hear about your last day!!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Omg, what a fun eventful day you had! Also, I totally relate to excitement over the farmer's tan (although my summer as a lifeguard so far has made me kinda despise it since it looks awful when you want to go for a swim urrggghh)

Mmmmm, those nachos and those burgers tho! I guess I got to waste away in Margaritaville when I'm back in CityWalk lol (I actually hate myself right now for making that atrocious reference)

Fun fact about that area/entrance near Rip Ride Rockit (don't @ me if I'm wrong about this), but that's where the Nickelodeon Studios used to be. I think the building is still there, but it's abandoned. It used to be a super popular attraction at Universal until it closed down. Never been, but I'm a theme park history nut so I've watched many vids about it.

Wait, it isn't Emma Watson? How did I not notice that? hms

Awwww, why you skip out on the Mummy? I think it only goes backwards for like just a shy longer than Everest (haven't done it, but have watched POVs on YouTube ).

That nighttime show gives me all the feels. When I hear that ET score... #MovieBuffProblems

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

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Beautiful! Looks like a really nice hotel!