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

[the2ndstar2theright]

I can't wait to discover the reason for this title

Haha an explanation is coming later!

 

[Neverland_Girl]

Following along! Congratulations on graduation and being valedictorian! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip.

 

[pucknasty]

Following along! Congrats on the graduation! You obviously gave the best speech if it was about Walt himself...

 

[annie170]

Congratulations on your graduation and being valedictorian!

You all sound like a fun group! Count me in!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Graduation trips are THE BOMBDOTCOM so I'm definitely joining in! I'm also LIVING for all the Earl of Sandwich love in your intros because EoS is BAAEEE to the MAX.

Omg congrats on being valedictorian, that's pretty incredible. Really would love to hear that Walt Disney speech.

I cannot wait to read about your first day in the parks!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Following along! Congratulations on graduation and being valedictorian! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip.

Thank you so much, and welcome!!

Following along! Congrats on the graduation! You obviously gave the best speech if it was about Walt himself...

Aw well thank you! Welcome aboard!

Congratulations on your graduation and being valedictorian!

You all sound like a fun group! Count me in!

Thanks! Happy to have you!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Graduation trips are THE BOMBDOTCOM so I'm definitely joining in! I'm also LIVING for all the Earl of Sandwich love in your intros because EoS is BAAEEE to the MAX.

Omg congrats on being valedictorian, that's pretty incredible. Really would love to hear that Walt Disney speech.

I cannot wait to read about your first day in the parks!

This graduation trip is definitely the top of the list as far as trips go...ah-mazing!! We literally ate EoS two days in a row because we loved it so much. Thank you so much!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Day 2
"We're in Dumbledore's Office!"

Our Plans:
House of Blues Gospel Brunch 10:30am
Universal Islands of Adventure


Ahh!! It was finally our first park day!! Andrea's alarm went off at 7:30am, and we all slowly started moving. Fun fact: this was the only day that Kelsey and I wore a full face of makeup...it was just too dang hot!



As we were getting ready to go and packing our stuff up, Mom started complaining about someone's phone going off in the middle of the night. Andrea sheepishly admitted that it was hers. Her weather alert for back home had gone off SIX times in the middle of the night! But of course, Mom was the only one who heard anything. The rest of us slept soundly through the night.
At 9:45am, we were re-loading all of our crap back into the car. Then we loaded ourselves into the car and started the 5 minute drive to Disney Springs.

We found a parking spot on the second or third level of the Orange Garage and took the walkway over to DS! WE'RE IN DISNEY WORLD!

We made our way down to the House of Blues. We had tickets for the 10:30am show of the Gospel Brunch!


IMG_2086 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr

We were right outside the HoB around 10:10am, so we decided to walk around in the Disney Emporium gift shop right outside of Disney Quest. It was during this little excursion that I realized I had left not only my mouse ears at home, but also the wooden letters I had bought for the characters to sign. I was pretty upset with myself, but was trying really hard not to let that ruin my mood.

We got in line for HoB around 10:25 or so. Some of the singers came outside and began singing while people waited. Their pitch was absolute perfection...it was amazing!

The doors opened at 10:30, and we were shown to our table. One table can seat 8 people, so we took up half. Then, it was time to get our food! They had a mixture of breakfast and lunch foods, as well as some desserts. These were some of our plates, though I'm not really sure whose is whose.


IMG_2087 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr


IMG_2088 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr


IMG_2089 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr


IMG_2090 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr

The food was REALLY good! I was very impressed with the buffet spread and really enjoyed just about everything I put on my plate.

After we'd been sitting and eating for a while (and no one else had come to sit at our table), the curtain on the stage rose. It was time for the show to start! This was our view of the stage.


IMG_2091 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr

The hostess introduced the singers, and then the fun really began! They were so incredibly talented and so fun to watch! It was also really fun to watch people around us really get into the music.

IMG_3718 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr

All in all, we had a great time at the HoB Gospel Brunch! Definitely something I'd like to do again someday. Oh, and the lighting in the bathroom was really great for taking mirror selfies, just in case anyone was wondering.


IMG_2098 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr

After we left HoB, we walked over to Guest Services to see if we could add a ticket day to our WDW tickets. Guest Services was covered up with people though, so we decided to wait until we were back in DS later that week. So, we made our way back to the Orange Garage and to the car and started on our way.

We're going to Universal!







​

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Mmmmmm, that brunch sounds and looks delish! I wish I could watch all the vids you got, but they say they aren't available. Did you put them on private instead of unlisted?

 

[Newsies]

Okay... Gospel Brunch looks AMAZING. I think that's something my family is going to have to try at some point!

You all look stunning here!

So excited to hear about your Universal Plans!

 

[tinkerbell1991]

Aaaah I'm so glad you're doing another trip report

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like a great first night in Orlando!

Glad you all had fun at the Gospel Brunch! That bathroom selfie is too cute!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Mmmmmm, that brunch sounds and looks delish! I wish I could watch all the vids you got, but they say they aren't available. Did you put them on private instead of unlisted?

It really was! OMG yes I did! I went and changed that so hopefully they'll work now!

Okay... Gospel Brunch looks AMAZING. I think that's something my family is going to have to try at some point!

We loved it! Definitely would recommend to a friend!

You all look stunning here!

So excited to hear about your Universal Plans!

Aaaah I'm so glad you're doing another trip report

thanks for reading!

Sounds like a great first night in Orlando!

Glad you all had fun at the Gospel Brunch! That bathroom selfie is too cute!

Aw thanks!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

It really was! OMG yes I did! I went and changed that so hopefully they'll work now!

Yay! They work! Y'all must have the most fun car rides.

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Yay! They work! Y'all must have the most fun car rides.

Oh, yes. They are quite entertaining to say the least.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

That night, I was a nervous wreck. Because I was valedictorian of my class, I had to give a speech.

Congrats on being valedictorian! And graduation!

We finally got everything crammed into the car and were ready to head out! It's kind of hard to see, but we're pointing at the big 0 on our countdown.

I love this photo! Great start to the trip!

OMG, look at all that stuff in the back!

 

[KathyM2]

Hey I'm joining in! Loving your TR so far.

and we found a Sweet Tomatoes right down the street.

This is my fave place to eat in Florida. I think I could eat there every day and not get bored of it.

We had tickets for the 10:30am show of the Gospel Brunch!

I love this show. I did this in Vegas and loved the food and the entertainment.

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

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

When I left off, we were in the car on our way to Universal! If I remember correctly, it took us exactly 20 minutes to get from Disney Springs to the Royal Pacific Hotel at Universal. We quickly checked in and gave our luggage to bell services since our room wasn't ready. Kelsey & I had packed park-friendly clothes in our backpacks, so we hurried over to the bathroom to change. Once we were park-ready, we went over to the Express Pass kiosk and got all of that squared away. Then, we were finally ready to enter the park!

We walked down to the water taxi and were told that the next boat would be arriving in about 5 minutes. Perfect!


IMG_2102 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr

Their estimation of about 5 minutes was pretty accurate, and, before we knew it, we were getting off the water taxi at City Walk and started towards our destination for the day...
Islands of Adventure!


We were just a little excited.

Since Universal is not home, we did have to pull out a map (though by the end of our 3 days here, I could navigate around IoA).


IMG_2105 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr

We decided to start in Seuss Landing.


IMG_3626 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr

Our first stop was the Caro-Seuss-el! We were in the Express Pass line by 2:10pm.


IMG_2106 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr


IMG_3716 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr

After our spin on the Caro-Seuss-el, Kelsey and I decided to ride Red Fish, Blue Fish, One Fish, Two Fish (the Dr. Seuss version of Dumbo).The biggest difference between this ride and Dumbo? You can get completely soaked! There are fish on the sides, kind of like the camels on the Magic Carpets, except these fish are more like hoses and spit a ton of water! Honestly though, it was so hot that it felt nice.


IMG_3362 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr

From there we moved on to use our EP on the High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride, where we caught our first glimpse of Hogwarts!

We decided to finish out the last of the Seuss rides and used our EPs at the Cat in the Hat. It didn't spin nearly as much as Mom and I remembered, but we were totally okay with that.

Around 3:00, we decided to stop and get something to drink. Kelsey got a cherry Icee, but Mom, Andrea and I stuck with water. I'd wanted a blue raspberry Icee, but they were out.

After we finished our drinks, we walked into the Lost Continent section of IoA. We stood and watched the Mystic Fountain drown...I mean splash...people, and I kicked some of the water on my feet to cool off. Then we went and got in line for the 3:45pm showing of the 8th Voyage of Sinbad. I think we used our EPs, but you didn't really need them.

This show was really cool! We didn't do this one the last time I was at IoA (in 2012), and I really enjoyed it!


IMG_2108 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr


IMG_2109 by the2ndstar2theright, on Flickr

Once Sinbad had defeated the evil witch, we made our way to Poseidon's Fury. I'll admit, this was not my favorite. In fact, I kind of hated it. I hated being able to hear things in the dark behind me, but not being able to see what it was that was making the noise. And the whole thing was pretty weird and creepy, and could be really terrifying for small (or big) kids.

But my discomfort didn't last for long, because we were headed into Hogsmeade!




​

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Congrats on being valedictorian! And graduation!

Thank you so much!

I love this photo! Great start to the trip!

OMG, look at all that stuff in the back!

We quite literally crammed the car full of stuff. Who knew four people travelled with so much crap?

Hey I'm joining in! Loving your TR so far.

Welcome! Thanks for reading along!

This is my fave place to eat in Florida. I think I could eat there every day and not get bored of it.

We love it! There's so much to choose from, I don't know how you could get bored. I only wish we had one at home!

I love this show. I did this in Vegas and loved the food and the entertainment.

It was such a fun experience!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

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.

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.

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.