Something Wicked this MAY Comes! 18 nights @ RPR & SFR. An April/May 2025 TR

[schumigirl]

One of the next impressive areas you pass through is a large anteroom for want of a better word and if you look up there are three floors with a lot of windows that are closed as they have a special trial on today, but we were told usually those windows would be bustling with activity. The central area of this anteroom has a very ornate desk where visitors to the Ministry of Magic can fill out the detailed forms for anything they may need.

The detail through the window has to be seen to be fully appreciated and it is like a very detailed indeed. It resembles a very small mail room, you can see postage stamps, rubber stamps, forms to be filled in and mail waiting to be sent.

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The "Wanted" posters are hanging for some of the walk through, they are very well done and one is particularly creepy to me, Walden McNair was one of the most loyal of Voldemort supporters, a Death Eater during the first and second wizarding wars.

His official job was Executioner of alleged dangerous creatures and he was the one who was supposed to execute Buckbeak in The Prisoner of Azkaban.

Corban Yaxley is another Death Eater, we like him though as he is played by one of our favourite Scottish actors, Peter Mullan.

This is the most amazing queue from beginning to end, we were very impressed by the magical moving and glowing map along the way, it shows us guests all the tube shaped areas that are underground in London. if you can, absolutely stand for a few minutes and watch all the individual parts move around as well as notes all around the central map which are interesting to read, very impressive.











The Hall of Ministers is particularly impressive too, all past and present ministers are represented here including Rufus Scrimgeour played so well by the wonderful Bill Nighy famous for so many things including Love Actually and PoTC. ​

The moving portraits are simply amazing!!

The bust below is Ulick Gamp, I don`t think we hear much about him in the books, if anything, but he was the very first Minister for Magic and his bust moves and speaks too like the portraits.


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There is a gap on the wall, I was sure we had a picture of it but it was where Pius Thicknesse should be, he had also been a Minister under Voldemort in the bad old days.

You then find yourself walking between the Aurors offices in a long winding corridor, I was loving the colour the lighting made these tiles show up, much nicer than green!! ​

You then pass by a small, I guess it`s a seating area but they are in the process of cleaning up, it looks like it`s supposed to be sweeping up Confidential Memos and Muggle Born registration details, so no sitting having a quiet lunch here today for Ministry workers. The bags sitting on the benches clearly have a logo for Ministry Munchies on the side.
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We were absolutely enthralled with every bit of detail in the line, it really does have to be seen to be believed and we felt so lucky we got to see it with again, hardly anyone around.

Passing through the Aurors Locker Room was interesting, the three lockers all have items in to suggest they belong to Harry, Ron and Neville Longbottom.

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Immediately followed by a tribute to fallen aurors, the first couple being Frank and Alice Longbottom, tortured by Voldemort and now passed. They each have a banner above the portrait too in honour of them.​

The final portrait shows Alastor "Mad Eye" Moody who everyone remembers as he was replaced from being the Defence against the Dark Arts teacher by Barty Crouch due to a potion. He eventually died during the Battle of the Seven Potters.

His death was another I wished she hadn`t written in to the story!!




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Whoever worked in this office seemed to organise the Auror Training too as there is a board with skills listed and as you wander round you see typewriters and many, many folders all showing the Ministry of Magic logo and there is a secret Wanted list laid out for all to see at the edge of a table. ​

One of the TM`s wandered in at this point and we got chatting and he said he is still constantly noticing new and different things each time he comes through, just when he thinks he knows it all and he was always amazed at how knowledgeable some guests are with all things Potter and take it incredibly serious!!!

He pointed out the many filing cabinets and trolleys covered with more Ministry folders and he pointed out the empty portrait frame belongs to the one missing from the Hall of Ministers, Pius Thickness himself. ​

Due to the ride not being operational we didn`t get to see the full line so we sadly missed seeing Dolores Umbridge`s office which is pretty much the star of this line by all accounts, we were ushered out instead of climbing the stairs to the final parts, but what we did see was amazing.

You can see plenty of pics of her office online, they are everywhere and I am sorry we missed seeing it and the lovely House Elf who resides in there.

You finish your journey by travelling back to 1920`s Paris using the magical Floo System.

And then, we were back outside, and what did we think of the whole experience...???????

Without a shadow of a doubt, this line by far is the best line we have ever seen in any park


There is still so much to see here, widow displays, roaming characters and so much more including some excellent food choices for us to enjoy. But, I don`t like too many spoilers, so I haven`t posted everything, there are some amazing Easter Eggs in this line and all around the world and for me, I`ll avoid more spoilers till we get back.

Back in the sunshine we snapped a few more pictures of the amazing architecture representing 1920`s Paris.

Next up, we were heading to see the one world we were most excited about.......

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[schumigirl]

Always a fun moment

I cannot describe how much I detest literally being forced to have my head buried in my phone in hand @ WDW. Glad to hear the VQ for MoM is currently on hiatus

Wow, first I’ve heard of that; lucky you! Good things do come to good people.

Seriously, no pun intended, it is epic. The scale of it is mind-boggling in print, cannot wait to see it (i hope) next week.

Absolutely!!!! Too many that think they know it all around.

I hope it never comes back to be honest, I much prefer the good old fashioned EP route, I couldn`t imagine doing that every day for more than one ride, nope not for me, I can imagine how much you hate it though.

That girl was so kind, honestly, I couldn`t imagine speaking to someone the way some guests speak to TM`s on occasions, but we will look forward to using that the next time we make it over.

You will LOVE it!!!! It is off the scale and I`m sure you`ll enjoy the little Mario guy area too, everyone who loves that sort of thing rave about it.

And your trip is just around the corner too

 

[angryduck71]

MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS! Davy comes back Monday and we need to finish a few of the old movies off -- mainly Dracula, the Wolf Man, and the Mummy (I'm going to argue for Brendan Fraser's version for that though....)

Hopefully it won't be TOO long until you can ride the Ministry of Magic ride!

 

[schumigirl]

MONSTERS MONSTERS MONSTERS! Davy comes back Monday and we need to finish a few of the old movies off -- mainly Dracula, the Wolf Man, and the Mummy (I'm going to argue for Brendan Fraser's version for that though....)

Hopefully it won't be TOO long until you can ride the Ministry of Magic ride!

You`ll be so excited to have him home, that was a quick two weeks!!

You have some fabulous movies still to watch, the original Mummy is freaky, well they all kinda are when you`re a kid. Yes, Brendan Fraser version is a lot of fun to watch, we do enjoy them too.

That ride will be worth the wait, especially as we don`t need to wait in the regular line!!!

If we weren`t in the middle of an extreme heatwave (90F for us is a heatwave!) we`d watch a couple of those classics, love them!! But, it`s not weather for being inside, so we`re living in the garden right now, we do have plenty of shade which is very welcome!!! And really, I prefer to watch those movies when it`s winter for some reason! Spookier viewing

 

[schumigirl]

Slightly off topic picture today.

Summer Solstice seems to have crept up on us this year, it`s just past the longest day of the year....you know what they say now, yep, nights will be drawing in soon lol.....

We didn’t sleep much Friday night so around 3.45am we gave up and got in the car for the short 5 minute drive to the shorefront to watch the sunrise. Although we usually walk along the shorefront most days, coming down this early is not something we do often I admit, but it was so hot, so beautiful and when you can`t sleep....why not.

The sunrise was stunning, this picture was around 15 mintes later, we don`t really get astronomical darkness right now so it always seems kind of light when you look out the window during the night.

Official summer solstice time for us was Sat morning at 3.42am, so we weren`t there for the actual moment, but a little later is close enough!

We weren`t even remotely alone, seems there was some kind of sports charity walk out for a long walk somewhere, and others too including some yoga folks, a couple of druid type people who you expect to see down in Stonehenge this morning and others just doing the same as us it seemed.

I`m surprised one of the beach cafe`s hadn`t opened early knowing it was going to be so busy!!! We are never sure how long our heatwaves will last, so we have to make the most of them while we can! We loved just sitting on the sand watching the world come to life. We got home around 7am in time for a huge pot of tea and bacon sandwiches all round!

And the sunset on Saturday night….....just as pretty, we did enjoy seeing the summer solstice sunrise and sunset too.

Back to normal post now

















My introduction to classic horror movies was by one of my older brothers who thought it would be funny to scare me witless one evening my mum and dad were out. From memory it was a double bill and although I was indeed very young, maybe 5 or 6, I do still remember that feeling as those black and white scenes appreared ominously on our tv screen and I flitted between being terrified and at the same time utterly fascinated.

My love of all things horror had begun. My mother however was livid with brother number two for allowing me to watch horror movies at such a young age. Set me up nicely though as a future horror movie fan!!

Without going through all the history, those classic movies helped make Universal what it is today and like many folks, we`ve always thought Universal should make more of those insidiously wonderful movies so full of character, history and fun that so many love and always felt the parks could make more of them and not just a hint of them during HHN and Horror Make up Show.

They did have characters wandering around several years ago, this picture is from 2008 and a few years later we have a picture of us with Dracula as he was still wandering around, but I can`t find the picture.

I think Tom knocked the top of Frankenstein`s Monster`s head off in this picture....oops.

He had one job!

In May 2022 they brought in a smaller Tribute store, not like the ones they have now with it`s own space, however, it was well done, but not massive as it was set in the exit from The Mummy ride and these are just a few of the pictures from that visit.

It was almost as if they were teasing us as to what was coming our way in a few years. ​

Well, ok, The Mummy might always have always have been a regular face around here, but it fits with the schedule!!​

We`re not the biggest merchandise people but who could resist these cool teeshirts I did buy one or two for myself and a couple for friends I knew would appreciate them. ​

There had been rumours for many years Classic Monsters were going to be brought back to life so to speak in some way within the parks, then of course Epic was announced and it was an open secret there was going to be a Monsters Section and many couldn`t wait to see what was going to transpire.

Avoiding spoilers wasn`t easy during the time it was being built and some were hard to avoid, we did hear bits and pieces, usually when someone involved did give us a little snippet of info, nothing that wasn`t already out there of course......but this had been a long wait to see what they had achieved with this long awaited dream.

This is our favourite of all the Portals!! And we already couldn`t wait to see it in the dark later!


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Dark Universe is set within the mythical village of Darkmoor, the very name evokes all sorts of sinister images in one`s imagination, we loved it!!!​

It was immediately reminiscent of something out of a HHN event, and again, seeing it in the dark would only enhance this vision we had, but it was so incredible to see those first views as we entered Darkmoor.

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Perfect photo op!​

Darkmoor is the village that Dr Victoria Frankenstein, the great-great granddaughter of the infamous Henry Frankenstein and she continues this rather suspect work and is determined to prove that she can bring life to and control the monsters she has imprisoned here deep within the Castle. With her scientific knowledge she believes she has finally accomplished the dream of her ancestors and can harness the power of these living monsters.

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We were absolutely loving this and for a time just took it all in and never snapped a picture, they managed to make it atmospheric even on a hot sunny Florida day, it was already incredible.

The Merchandise is simply fun, the stores they have are pretty decent although we didn`t explore as much as we should have we did enjoy what we did experience.

Wandering through the village you will encounter an odd looking monster hunter and a beautiful but mysterious musician who entwines tales within music about the monster folklore, she was very enchanting indeed and very, very intense.

I loved this picture, we would exit Das Stakehaus from here but it was just the coolest building. They have added extra outdoor seating since we visited just behind the bars, ideal as that was just a huge cavernous space, we did wonder if there were tables going in as it seemed to lend itself to that kind of area.

The village Well has a Latin inscription which basically translates to "Never forget that you exist by our will alone"

(Thanks to Rob, the font of all knowledge)

This was another of those "we just wandered" moments, there are so many things to take in and absorb, and it was also incredibly hot so we were dreaming of being in the cool too as we wandered around.

There are several fun options to enjoy here, the meet and greets with some of the main characters one of the most famous is the interaction with the Bride and Monster themselves.

We didn`t do this today, we did see the characters and there wasn`t a long wait, we just didn`t get around to it.

The Monster Make up Experience is something rather cute, children and adults alike can become their favourite monster carefully created by specialist make up artists in a building that was fabled to be the old laboratory of Dr Septimus Pretorius.

Dr Pretorius appears in the Bride of Frankenstein and is a genius, but also an egomaniacal mad scientist who has no regard for any living creature and is only interested in furthering his own reputation and eminence in the scientific world by creating a new race of super human beings. Mad as a hatter but weirdly, he brings some humour to the movie, so, he`s not all bad

It was blazing hot and we needed a snack, we planned to share something again before deciding where to eat dinner tonight, at that point we happened upon Das Stakehaus which we thought was as good a place as any to have a little food and hopefully a nice drink too.

More to follow ​

 

[keishashadow]

Finally…”it’s alive” . Loved reading the story of your horror fandom origins. Your Mom can rest easy there lol. The more classic monsters the better in my book.

I’m still scratching my head after reading negative posts as to “…there’s not enough to do…not a full day park…”. I’m concerned we will barely scratch the surface as there is so much to see, do and eat lol

Going to try to stop @ Helios at one point for a short break. How long would you say it takes to leisurely do the walk over from closest portal? Not entirely sure which one that is, need to remember to search for a park map/

Milton mentioned he had checked a family in last week and the woman said she recognised his name, he asked from where and the lady said she had read about him on my TR!!!

That is very interesting. Talk about a small world.

so we had a nice chat about our favourite years and hopes that this year would bring HHN back to it`s glory days once more. Even though we don`t go anymore, I still hope it`s an amazing event for those that do go.

Some encouraging comments from mr Aiello last week as to having a far more cohesive theme for the event, gothic for lack of a better term. Certainly time to do a bit of course correction & give the event some focused attention to get it back on the right track

I was loving the colour the lighting made these tiles show up, much nicer than green!!

After seeing so many different pictures of the tiles posted, was at the point I couldn’t decide if they were a forest green, black or even had led lighting embedded in the edges/grout.

Back to normal post now

Normal is over-rated, enjoying the ride here even if we do get off the highway.

They did have characters wandering around several years ago, this picture is from 2008 and a few years later we have a picture of us with Dracula as he was still wandering around, but I can`t find the picture.

I have one from that era, not with all of that group tho, that’s another great pic. Look at Kyle, he looks so young there!

 

[angryduck71]

Yessss! Darkmoor is what I am MOST excited about. We are going two days and I may just spend one whole one just in here.

The village Well has a Latin inscription which basically translates to "Never forget that you exist by our will alone"

Davy, of course, is wanting NO spoilers, so he has no idea what we're heading to in August. He has taken five years of Latin, and by golly, he better be able to translate this when we get here.

 

[schumigirl]

We were getting a little peckish now, so we stepped into what we knew would be a stunning building to see and hopefully enjoy a nice snack, we again planned to share a dish, we really wanted to be hungry at dinner tonight although we still hadn`t decided where we would eat yet.

Das Stakehaus is designed as an old inn that has been constructed over ancient catacombs that had long fallen into a delapidated condition, you are taken care of by the Vampires "Familiars" or basically servants to you and I.

When you walk in, it is incredibly dark, so much so that it did take some time for our eyes to adjust and I don`t think our camera really liked just how dark it was, we have taken better pictures.

I admit we were loving the coldness of this restaurant after the blazing heat we also loved outside....yes, I`m contrary at times!!

Before the counters, there were some spooky alcoves sinisterly lit with ornate candles, we knew this place was going to be incredible.

Although everything here is mobile order on the app, they do have counters with staff if you do need some help and again the detail is impressive, some easy to miss like the plants growing through the grates above the counters.

The dining hall is impressive, no doubt about it, it is large with various sizes of tables to suit any size of party you also can`t miss the chandeliers above as they all have embellished skulls as their main feature.

There are two very imposing Vampires occupying a very obvious position above the diners set within a sinister alcove with perfect lighting to match the atmosphere, nothing is subtle here, even the pernicious looking black matter oozing from the bottom of the statues had an ominous look, it was suggested to us it was the victim`s dried blood.

The artistry is another level and could be artwork one would find in a classical gallery of all things gothic, certainly a dark history area of any gallery, this one gave an aura of death all around.

The painting below shows a battle between men and the monsters they will endeavour to defeat.

They do portray the dark history surrounding Darkmoor and seem to point to the Vampires being the victors and protagonists of the time as opposed to being the defeated, certainly an expected sight as we are in their world.

This painting below was my absolute favourite, it conjours up images of the old classic movies this whole world was created to showcase, it is just sinsiter enough to convey everything about this whole genre.

We found a table that gave us a lovely view through the restaurant, it wasn`t overly busy today but I can imagine this place being very noisy when full.

This was where it turned into not as much fun, we were at our table and opened the menu on the app, so far so good, we knew what we wanted to order so began to place our order and then.......

The App told us we weren`t in the park!!!

It was laughable really that we could be sitting in one of the Epic universe restaurants and the app wouldn`t let us order, well we could go so far then it came up with error!! By now we were quite peckish and getting rather irritated with this whole app thing.

We do use it the original two parks with ease and never have issues, so this was just annoying. My very patient husband eventually gave up and went to the desk to get some help, although he came back a few minutes later for his wallet which was safely in my bag!!! Oops.

The staff were brilliant and helped sort it out and we managed to get our food ordered, he came back with a smile saying it wouldn`t be long.

I decided to nip to the bathroom before it arrived, they had said it would be under 10 minutes as they had a delay in the kitchen, fine with us we could just enjoy some cool relaxing moments in here as the whole restaurant was a canvas you could always find something to see.

I got up and asked one TM where the bathrooms were, he looked a little awkward and said they didn`t have any in the building itself, you had to leave the building, cross over the road and find them next to the character meet and greet building.

I said thank you and sat back down as our food had arrived, I could wait, but I`m going to guess many folks don`t know there`s no bathroom and not everyone can wait a little longer!

But, onto the food.

I was disappointed with the drinks menu here, no cocktails, so we ordered two Monocanes, their one and only mocktail. I did like the reference here as it was the creation from the Invisible Man from the 1933 movie and if you drank it, it drove you mad!!!

It was pleasant enough and tasted of lemon and lime.

Meals are delivered to your table and the food is served on proper dishes with silverware which is very appropriately black in colour with blood red napkins, a nice touch.

We decided to share the Blood Orange Chicken Sandwich, which was a marinated chicken breast accompanied by a rather congealed looking blood orange sauce, pickles, slaw and came with fries and ketchup and the chicken came sandwiched between the now infamous black bun!!

I wasn`t convinced we would eat the bun when we actually saw it.

What can I say.....

This was among the blandest of dishes we have ever tasted. I`m not sure there was any seasoning on this chicken and that was before they cooked it into oblivion and completely turned it into rubber.

No flavour and chicken that was almost impossible to cut into was only the beginning, the sauce was a congealed goop on top and had no descernible flavour other than it looked orange and the slaw had no flavour either.

We gave up and attempted to eat the fries which were cool, but we discovered they were also undercooked for the most part. This meal had not been good.

Thank goodness for the Monocane!

What could one say!!! We just looked at each other and laughed at how bad one meal can be.

A family sitting a table along leaned over and asked if our chicken was as bad as theirs had been, I glanced at their plates and they had barely been touched, same as ours, I said yes, not the nicest of dishes, she may have been a bit more vocal than that, but suffice to say it`s not a dish I`d ever order again if we ever went back there.

They do come and clean your table here, I much prefer to take my own tray and clear it in a quick service restaurant, but it was swooped away before we could blink. Looking around, to be fair people did seem to be enjoying the food, so it couldn`t have all been as bad as ours and our table neighbours.

Heading out you pass a strange area which we felt definitely needed seating, it looked so empty however we have been told now it has been filled with outdoor seating which will make it look so much better.

There are dead, well, they are vampires so maybe not dead as we know it, but they are ensconced into neat alcoves cut into the deep walls, their outfits show they are all from different time portals over the many years of Darkmoor`s history and all have stakes through their heart as is traditional of course for vampires.

We didn`t notice that day but their names do appear to be carved into the rock.

To the rear of this rather vacant courtyard we have more Vampires again with varying designs of apparel to suggest they are all again, from differing era`s and they all have that classic Vampire look of sharp teeth and hands with long talons and downright unpleasant creatures through and through.

As we exited, we were reminded that children were not exempt from a Vampire attack and here we have Hannah who was nursing a teddy bear, I found this disquieting and disconcerting initially to see, but appropriate for the theme of the restaurant. I liked it!!!!

I hope she never gets removed as visually she was quite scary, but, fitted right in with the whole genre of Darkmoor.











We made a very quick visit to the bathrooms over the other side and I do find it odd they never put bathrooms in the restaurant, it`s not overly far but not overly convenient either to use the restrooms, just odd.

I will say the bathrooms we used were all sparklingly clean throughout the park.

We were planning to go straight to Monsters Ride but we had to go a little detour to get some quick food, so we hot footed it, well as much as Tom and I can hot foot anywhere up to the Burning Blade Tavern.

Not quite sure why we only have a black and white picture of this sign.

This place was busier than Das Stakehaus but we did manage to order two Garlic Stake`s, it was the quickest thing we could imagine eating and a little odd as neither of us like pretzels but it filled a hole and yep, we never got a picture as we demolished it standing up before we even considered a picture.



Picture from AllEars.Net






It was a garlic butter coated pretzel that was quite crispy, it came with a garlic dipping sauce that was probably more garlicky than we`d have liked but tasted decent enough, however to be fair we probably ate it without appreciating it as much as we should have!

Our opinion of Das Stakehaus is a divided one, the food was a huge disappointment, maybe it was what we ordered, but there was nothing redeeming about it whatsover, well the cutlery and plates were perfect.

However, the actual restaurant, with TM service, the theme and general aura was magnificent, They missed nothing with the detail and it was absolutely perfectly designed. We would go back for a wander, but I highly doubt we`ll eat here again.



Monsters Unchained up next and dinner!









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[schumigirl]

Finally…”it’s alive” . Loved reading the story of your horror fandom origins. Your Mom can rest easy there lol. The more classic monsters the better in my book.

I’m still scratching my head after reading negative posts as to “…there’s not enough to do…not a full day park…”. I’m concerned we will barely scratch the surface as there is so much to see, do and eat lol

Going to try to stop @ Helios at one point for a short break. How long would you say it takes to leisurely do the walk over from closest portal? Not entirely sure which one that is, need to remember to search for a park map/


That is very interesting. Talk about a small world.

Some encouraging comments from mr Aiello last week as to having a far more cohesive theme for the event, gothic for lack of a better term. Certainly time to do a bit of course correction & give the event some focused attention to get it back on the right track

After seeing so many different pictures of the tiles posted, was at the point I couldn’t decide if they were a forest green, black or even had led lighting embedded in the edges/grout.

Normal is over-rated, enjoying the ride here even if we do get off the highway.

I have one from that era, not with all of that group tho, that’s another great pic. Look at Kyle, he looks so young there!

The fact that Mike Aiello is back is a good sign it might be back to it`s former glory, fingers crossed!!!

I agree, we introduced Kyle to classic movies at a younger age, he was never bothered by scary movies thankfully!! But, agree, it doesn`t harm anyone and they have some amazing movies to enjoy.

From Potter or monsters which are the closest two worlds, it`s about a five minute walk to get into the hotel, it really is so convenient, I`d recommend anyone pop in for a visit.

Honestly, we could spend a whole day doing just Potter and Monsters alone, so for those that will enjoy Mario and the dragon area, yes, you could do two days easily not forgetting Celestial Park, not that it`s a huge area, but worth visiting. I think for us we could do it in one day as you know we don`t like Nintendo anything lol.....so apart from a quick walk through, we`d be done in a very short time.

lol....I do like to ramble at times!!!! Or so I`m told......

They should never have stopped those characters roaming around, they were brilliant!!! I am on a mission to find that one darn picture with Kyle and I with Dracula on his own, he was phenomenal and chatted for ages in character.

Yes, Kyle would have been 14 there!!!!

 

[schumigirl]

Yessss! Darkmoor is what I am MOST excited about. We are going two days and I may just spend one whole one just in here.

Davy, of course, is wanting NO spoilers, so he has no idea what we're heading to in August. He has taken five years of Latin, and by golly, he better be able to translate this when we get here.

lol....you absolutely could spend a whole day in there, so much to see and I`m only posting a small percentage of what there is to see, so many details, it just blows you away.

Oh heck, if that`s not right I`ll send Davy to Rob to correct him I would absolutely trust Davy`s translation!!!!

He is going to love it, well, you both will

 

[keishashadow]

Das steakhouse chicken sand does sound disappointing, maybe good for a quick drink to check it out. Thanks for that review!

 

[schumigirl]

Das steakhouse chicken sand does sound disappointing, maybe good for a quick drink to check it out. Thanks for that review!

Definitely go in for a wander around, it is impressive and they do have a nice selection of drinks, minus cocktails of course!!

The staff were incredible, we made sure to give credit to the two TM`s that patiently helped Tom with the app, it is a fabulous place to visit though.

 

[disneyseniors]

The ministry of magic looks unbelievable! You were so lucky to tour the area without many other people. I am also glad that you don't recount the history behind each and every thing. I like to read some history when I have time, but only want to hear about the attractions.
I'm so glad you got the passes for treating that lady with respect and kindness. It's awful how entitled and rude people can be to someone who is just doing his/her job.

 

[schumigirl]

To say we were excited for this ride was an understatement, like most fans it was the ride we were all waiting for, we had heard the hype and hoped it was even remotely close to how good we had heard it would be.

Today in Helios, Rob had told us we would love it, we would honestly rate it among the best ever for everything you want in a ride, so yes, we were excited!!

The Castle alone was better than they hype, that was a definite WOW moment when we saw it and for us, it pushed Hogwarts to be the second best castle in Orlando, which left Cinderella Castle in Magic Kingdom as the third best of course
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We do learn the Frankenstein family has "Mortui vivos docent" as their doctrine which translates to "The dead teach the living" it`s assumed they utilise that belief to legitimise their desecration of dead bodies in the name of science and hopes to create an army of superhuman beings.
Their crest is interesting too with the symbol of medicine, a Caduceus although that meaning is disputed in reality, it`s alongside the Grim Reaper which everyone knows as the sign of death. But mixing both these symbols makes sense when you know their reasoning for the evil they perform.

Worth a second picture for sure!!


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The seats on this ride are very generous indeed, but for chunkier folks it`s a bit of a worry on some rides, this park had promised it would be friendlier for larger folks and so far it had been, Stardust Racers had been quite comfy for me and this one was extra comfy!!!

The regular seat had plenty of room for my again, very ample backside and the over the shoulder harness was not at all tight. To give both seats a try I did try both of them on the ride and they were incredibly spacious.

The one on the left as you look at it is the one for larger folks to try if they’re worried. I’m not sure if there’s a delicate way to say this, but we did see some folks in line that were very large and may not have fitted on FJ for example, but it’s a positive sign that Universal have tried very hard to accommodate larger folks. ​

Being honest, the camera didn`t particularly like the lighting in here, there are some amazing pictures online from many, many sites we all know of and again, we really just wanted to enjoy it without snapping pictures all the way through, Not very Trip Report friendly I know but it was one of these rides we just wanted to experience everything.

We did take a few though and those that know me well, know I love nothing better on a winter`s night to be sitting in front of a huge fireplace at home, preferably enjoying a glass of wine with my husband, but I love them, so I was happy to see this rather cosy looking one in the queue.

As well as all the detail, the line is fun, Ygor is a hoot and this part of the line we really enjoyed.

Another favourite thing of mine is staircases, the more elaborate the better!! Tom tells everyone we bought this home we`re in right now it wasn`t because of the space and gardens that I love, it was the staircase!!!! He`s half right though as I immediately saw there was loads of space at the bottom for a massive Christmas Tree.....the man knows me well

But this staircase was very, very impressive!!!

I know it has to be brightly lit for guests as they don`t want anyone tripping or falling, but I`d love to see it dimly lit with real candles for extra atmosphere. That would be special.

You are almost at the ride once you climb the stairs, first you reach the lockers which are opened using facial recognition and it works really well. There were a couple of people had an issue but I`m not sure what it was, we didn`t pay attention really. It is a good system and I hope they implement this at all lockers across the parks.

The pre-show is astronomically good!!!!

It is one of the best we have ever seen and although our pictures weren`t the best, we captured what we could.

The animatronics are excellent and when we heard how much work had gone into making it so perfect we really appreciated just how amazing the outcome of the finished product really was. Victoria was the first animatronic completed and thanks to the lengthy and complicated process the movements look as natural as they could be.

It is a lot of fun which is what it should be, we were really looking forward to this one.

There was a little lad of about 6 who had to be removed, he was tall enough for the ride, but the Monster scared him witless, poor little guy, we had seen him in front of us earlier and he looked to be having a nice time in the line. I guess to a little one it could be intimidating.

You are then walked through to the actual ride itself, we had been in the building about 15 minutes at this point so not long at all. You walk for a bit and then you see the loading platform which is circular and you see the ride vehicles appear then the TM directs you over.






(Picture from Attractions 360)




Our first ride we both sat in the two centre seats as we had two singles on the ride and they took the outside seats, we were quite happy with this. You do have plenty of time to sit and pull the harness down and TM`s will check you`re ok and comfy and then you set off!!!!

Monster`s Unchained is off the scale good!!!

Yes, it is similar in design to Forbidden Journey, but any further resemblance ends there.

There are so many back stories to every part of this ride and the characters, to me it`s fascinating, but it`s all there on Google if one so desires to explore the history, I do love they included The Phantom of the Opera and of course Quasimodo, a personal favourite book of mine.

I can do FJ maybe once, twice on a good day due to motion issues, I blame the screens to be honest, but this ride differs so much, you do get thrown forward and back and seemingly every which way, but due to the design and real animatronics I never once felt queasy or dizzy at all. You are never upside down with this one and the movements are almost smooth and swishy despite being quite exciting.

The scenery around is phenomenal, completely amazing and even after we did the ride six times today we still think we missed seeing some of the monsters scenes, it is overwhelmingly fun and we laughed all the way round with a couple of jumps along the way.
I did give Tom the Thumb`s Up sign at one point as I knew he was worried how I`d be, both with possible motion issues and he was concerned how I`d be with the harness after the small panic attack a few days ago, but all good.

It`s a fairly decent length of a ride and Universal Creative have definitely brought forth a definitive winner for a new ride.

Also look out for a nod to Jack the Clown icon from HHN and maybe one other

We did this ride five more times which took about an hour all in for all rides and sat in every seat, not one single dodgy feeling in the head or tummy, so this one I would be happy to ride over and over if there was no line. We both prefer high speed coasters with huge drops

We had low crowds and each time we came back in wait time was showing 20 minutes but we were on each time in just under 10 or 15 minutes tops.

After six rides we did stop in the store and had a quick look, they do have some decent merchandise and appropriately themed for the ride and genre, we were tempted by a few things and one of our friends had said we could send them to the hotel and we could pick them up before we left, very kind of him and we did utilise that kind gesture and picked up some very early Christmas gifts for one or two folks. I won`t say what as I know they read this and I want them to be surprised!!!

For myself I did pick up some shirts, cushion, notebook and one of those bags with the bride on it. I couldn`t resist and they happily sent it all up to the hotel for us, something we were very grateful for as I couldn`t imagine wandering around with all those bags.

Back outside we enjoyed having a closer look at the Manor House and it was exquisitely done from top to bottom.

I always thought Hogwarts should have a suite you can rent to stay overnight, but this.......

Lordy, I would pay a fortune to stay a night in my imaginary Castle Suite here......if only!!!! They could portray a classic movie with horror around every dimly lit corridor and eerie high pitched screams off in the distance and of course mirrors where you don`t see your own reflection, it would or could be amazing!!!

Yes, if only.

We enjoyed a seat on a wall and just admired the buildings around us completely enthralled by it all and so many folks were doing the same as us, just taking it all in. Then finally we checked for any availability for the Ministry of Magic ride, to be honest we had forgotton all about it while we were in Monster`s Unchained, so we did bring up the app and check it now, and still showing as delayed.

It was time for us to head for something to eat soon, and at this point we still hadn`t decided where, but we did plan to come back to Darkmoor when it was darker and see it in a completely different light altogether.



Dinner and Darkmoor again coming right up! ​

 

[schumigirl]

The ministry of magic looks unbelievable! You were so lucky to tour the area without many other people. I am also glad that you don't recount the history behind each and every thing. I like to read some history when I have time, but only want to hear about the attractions.
I'm so glad you got the passes for treating that lady with respect and kindness. It's awful how entitled and rude people can be to someone who is just doing his/her job.

It is incredible Ruth, and seeing it while it was basically empty was completely unexpected, we thought it would be busier.

I agree, I hope I don`t put too much detail in, not everyone is interested in every little detail, I do have that personality trait, so I try to rein it in!! There are dozens of websites out there with full explanations of every single thing, even that is unnecessary to enjoy the theme park offerings.

That poor girl, I`ll never understand how people can be so rude so easily to TM`s, we did hear the powers that be felt awful that the app was causing guests and in turn TM`s so much grief. But to be yelled at for doing your job is never acceptable.

Glad you`re still along and enjoying it, always lovely to see your comments

 

[musika]

Avidly following along. We were pretty adamant about skipping Epic this go round but my my that does make it look tempting!

 

[schumigirl]

We headed up to Helios again, we wondered if we should sample something from the Grab and Go or head back into the park and sample another restaurant, so many choices!

We entered the hotel through the same door we had earlier and we headed to the lobby where I spotted Milton, he was busy but I gestured to him to tell Rob, he was right, we loved Monsters Unchained and it was amazing.

We realised as we wandered in we were hungrier than we realised, a snack was not going to suffice tonight, so we walked over to the hostess stand at Flora Taverna and enquired as to whether we could get a table for dinner, she looked through their plan for the evening and said no, nothing was available till 9.45! Heck, I`d be heading home by then, we thanked her and turned to leave when Casey gestured us, we wandered in and had a hug and he asked if we were dining here tonight.

Well, we tried as we told him, at that the F&B manager walked towards us, we had met him on our first evening here with Mr Rivers, Casey asked him if they could find us a table as we had been told the restaurant was busy, he said absolutely and took us to the booth overlooking the open kitchen, this was perfect and we couldn`t thank him and Casey enough.

The table was perfect and our waiter Glen was lovely, we asked for water while we decided what to enjoy in here tonight. We would usually have Casey looking after us, but he was working the outdoor tables tonight and we do prefer to eat inside when it`s so hot.

At that Justin appeared with the Executive Chef for Helios Grand, his name was Miguel and he was primarily responsible for any dish you see on the menu`s in the hotel. What a lovely guy and interesting too, he asked if we had eaten here before, we told him we had enjoyed Bar Helios, Justin explained we were good friends with Fernando and already had two more reservations for upstairs, he smiled saying he was glad we loved the place so much.

He headed off to the kitchen and Justin asked us if he may bring us a bottle of wine, we had discussed wine the other evening, he was a trained sommelier within his career although he was more knowledgeable than most, more akin to being an oenologist and like us had a deep love for good wine.

We said we would be delighted to sample one his wines, he headed off and again, our poor waiter was very kind, but I was sure he wanted us to just order something!!

We looked through the menu as we awaited Justin`s return, it was a gorgeous menu and very European as was the style of the restaurant, we would be torn as to what to order, Glen came up and asked if we wanted some bread or similar while we decided, we said thank you but we`ll wait a while yet.

Justin appeared and had a rather lovely bottle in his hand, he opened it, sat down and poured all three of us a glass and it was beautiful!!! This was a bottle we`d buy if it was on the menu. We discussed where it came from and why we liked it so much. I also told him not to laugh but, we had once visited lakeridge Winery and found the wine awful.......you guessed it....he laughed!!!

Floridian wine was not for any of us at the table!!!!

Justin sat for a little time, we had a good chat about everything then said he would head off so we could enjoy dinner, we thanked him again for arranging for us to have dinner here and for this beautiful bottle of wine, it was so very kind of him, such a lovely man.

The manager Oscar came over to say hello just before Glen appeared, but it was a brief hello, he had heard we knew Fernando and wanted to say hi and hoped we enjoyed our meal here, nice man who was also very proud of the restaurant.

We did enjoy being so close and seeing the workings of the open kitchen, some folks like an open kitchen, some don`t. ​

​

I do have that little rosy cheek wine glow in this picture!!!

I also wish I had been dressed and not in park clothes, I know it`s fine to go eat wearing park stuff, but for me I feel more comfortable being a little dressed up and this is a nice restaurant, I was also aware my hair was, well park style too, being flat at the front due to the pure heat outside.....​

Our appetisers were an easy choice tonight, we both adore Scallops and this dish had been recommended to us by several people who had tried it and several of the Bar Helios staff too, so we did indeed order this for both of us.

The Scallops come with a creamy sauce made from Assyrtiko which is a Greek wine similar but nicer than Chablis, it is infused with dill oil, a citrus hint and garnished with nasturtium.

This dish was gorgeous, we wished we had a spoon to enjoy all the sauce, it was stunning and the scallops were cooked perfectly, some may find them a little too rare, but my goodness we could have eaten 10 of them each!!!! ​

Our waiter did a better job than we do of making a bottle of wine last more than two glasses Most of our glasses at home are known by our friends as aquariums with stems! Yes, we do like a large but nice glass, these glasses were lovely too. ​

The entrees were all tempting and we were torn with the choices available, however Miguel had told us of the dish with prawns, he said they were huge and said he thought we`d like it, so I do listen to experts at times.....I was glad I did.

The Grilled Prawns were on a skewer with a citrus herbed harissa and came with a side pot of Ladolemono which was a lemon and extra virgin olive oil dressing and some griddled tomatoes.

If I thought we had enjoyed the Scallops, I was doubly enjoying this giant prawn dish, oh my goodness the flavours were immense, thick, well thought out and they were also the meatiest prawns I have ever eaten!!

Tom and I share everything....everything!!!!

But.......









I felt very greedy thinking that, as my husband would give me his favourite dish all to myself if I asked him, he laughed as he knew what I was thinking..........I would share ​

I knew what Tom would order before he told me, he is a huge pizza fan and again, this pizza had been suggested for us to try, so he was always going to order it.

The Italian Sausage Pizza which came with Ricotta which neither of us particularly like, sausage, charred onions and Calabrian Chilli.


​

Oh my goodness!!!

For a simple looking pizza, this one was amazing, full of flavour and the dough was unlike any we had tasted down here. We even didn`t mind the Ricotta on top, ok I left the ricotta but it was fine.

We also shared a side of Za`atar Fries with a lemon mayonnaise, we loved the Za`atar flavour which is a middle eastern spice and it has one of my favourite ingredients in, Sumac, it adds a certain pzazz to any dish.

​

This meal had been amazing from start to finish, everything tasted and looked perfect, we weren`t sure which part was our favourite as it was all so good and honestly, we had loved it.

Glen came over and said the Chef was sending us out a dessert each, we asked if we could just share one as we were quite full at this point, he said of course and appeared within a few moments with Miguel`s signature dessert which was a Raspberry and Pistachio Cheesecake. ​

I was glad we tasted it and we were glad we had one to share instead of one each as it was very filling, but beautiful.

Miguel has certainly created beautiful menu`s for Helios Grand!

We thanked Glen for looking after us so well tonight and caught Casey to thank him too and say goodnight, we`d try and catch him on our next visits to Bar Helios, we have known him for such a long time and it`s good to see him and Demi so happy here. They are the sweetest couple.

Walking to the security area and it is the easiest system to go in and out of and honestly, this hotel is worth visiting if even just for a drink or a wander around and so convenient if you are in the park.

It was still hotter than hades outside but there was a very small but welcome breeze blowing now, very much appreciated.

The hotel including the outdoor area is extra beautiful at night, the lighting is spectacular and on point to make everything seem sparkly somehow.

When we were talking to Rob earlier Tom mentioned the central carousel reminded him of Jules Verne somehow, Rob smiled and said he knew the designer (he knows everyone) and the designer`s hero was indeed Jules Verne.

Tom thought it reminded him of Space Mountain in Disneyland Paris, their version of that ride was the only remaining project from the one time planned Jules Verne area in the park. Financial constraints made it impossible to complete. But if you ever go on this Space Mountain, you`ll be blown away, it is considered to be the best one around and it`s worth going on for the take off alone. ​

Right next door to Helios but inside Epic Universe is the Blue Dragon Pan-Asian restaurant, this looked to be gorgeous and sadly it hadn`t opened yet, but would be opening soon. The menu appealed to us a lot and we look forward to trying it when we next visit. ​

Darkmoor coming right up ​

 

[schumigirl]

Avidly following along. We were pretty adamant about skipping Epic this go round but my my that does make it look tempting!

Glad you`re still along musika......

Oh you should visit if you can, we only really did three quarters of the park and barely touched the surface, but it is a phenomenal park with so much for everyone.

Potter and Dark Universe are just incredible, you`d love it!!!

 

[angryduck71]

I think we may just do a dessert at Das Stakehouse. Must go in for sure!

I think I'm going to buy ALL THE MERCH in Darkmoor. ALL OF IT.

Loving the report!

 

[schumigirl]

I think we may just do a dessert at Das Stakehouse. Must go in for sure!

I think I'm going to buy ALL THE MERCH in Darkmoor. ALL OF IT.

Loving the report!

I would absolutely recommend you both visiting Das Stakehaus if only for dessert or just a look, it is fabulous.

lol.....I did buy more than I planned there, I`m not usually one for buying the bigger items of merchandise, but there were some definite pieces I couldn`t resist, you`ll be spoiled for choice.

Thanks, glad you`re enjoying it and always happy to see your posts

I`m sure you`re happy to have your boy home now too