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

[schumigirl]

What a day!!!!

Yes, we reached almost 100F in our little part of the country today, although I do think all the trees surrounding us helped make the garden so hot.

We had a very early morning walk along the shorefront before it got too hot, but by 8am it was already too hot but we still walked 3.5 miles. So, we then did a bit of shopping in the village, then we spent most of the day outside going between shade in different parts of the garden, but we loved it!! Cooked dinner on the grill last few nights too due to good weather.

Kyle was over yesterday for the Grand Prix then Tom cooked us all steaks that were perfect, rare as can be, but full of flavour!



But, a little personal update too.

Some of the ladies know at the end of May I had to call an ambulance and my lovely husband ended up in hospital for 10 days, nothing life changing or drastic just an everyday thing that many folks get, but I was thrilled to finally get him home when I did.

Right now he is absolutely fine and has been completely back to normal for a few weeks now. I knew when he began complaining about things on tv he was fine lol.....

However he is due to have surgery mid August so we have cancelled our September trip, Tom wanted to keep it and still go, but although it`s a day to day surgery he`s having, I wasn`t thrilled at the thought of a 10 hour flight after that surgery and it does take time to get over things when we get up there a little in years!! So, I bit the bullet and cancelled and felt happier doing it as I still think it`s the best thing to do. And his lovely surgeon agrees with me, so he was outvoted.

He will be fine, we know that and Kyle and I will be there to take care of him as he recovers. Kyle was an absolute tower of strength while he was in hospital, he was brilliant.

We have already changed the flights to next year, thanks to Virgin Atlantic who made it really easy for us when they didn`t have to do anything, but we`re sorted and now look forward to that trip.

It was suggested by "a friend" she knows who she is I could go on my own......not in a million years would I tittle off and leave him like that, yes, he will be absolutely fine but nope, not a chance.

Typing up some of the TR helped as I sat in the hospital at times he slept, which was a lot as you can imagine, but it passed some time when Kyle or friends weren`t there with me. So, that`s the reason I`m a little behind on this one, I don`t like dragging them out but the last two I`ve done now have been held up by life happening.

Also I need to thank some special ladies who listened to me and had some very supportive words after he took ill.

Janet (keishashadow) Ruth (disneyseniors) Alice (angryduck71) Maria (worfiedoodles)



So friends whether online or in real life have been a godsend, they are amazing, several popped round every day at some point, visited the hospital and were constantly in touch by phone but I`m very grateful to them all.

And again, he is fine and the surgery he`s getting is a run of the mill surgery, I will say we`re hoping for a cancellation and he gets done earlier of course!!

​

 

[schumigirl]

We have some lovely posters from Canada on here, hope you all have a lovely day!!!





Everything was unpacked and we freshened up before heading over to the Club Lounge, it was very quiet tonight and although we were heading out for dinner later, we were tempted by the Char Sui Pork dish that was tonight`s hot offering.

The usual offerings for wine and beer were out and we both had some Pinot Noir tonight, we planned to get an Uber to go for dinner so Tom could have a drink too.

The wines and beers go out for 5pm and food is served till 7pm, alcohol is served till 7.15 as there are usually a few folks running late, so it`s a gesture really and a nice one too as we often see folks come in just after 7 and grab a drink and you can take it to your room if you so desire.

Everything is the same every night except the salad and hot meal change, the food is replenished often and always fresh.

Cheese and crackers, crudite, a salad with varying dressings and that hot offering are your choices for evening relaxation, there`s usually something for most people and if you have allergies they are very accommodating, just let them know preferably before you arrive so they can make plans.

The staff in the lounges are all exceptional, no doubt about it, I will say we are biased and have always found RP lounge staff to be the best!!!

The pork dish is beautiful, it`s very tasty and always very tender, so it is very easy to eat a little too much of this, but we do refrain tonight and only have a little of the pork, we never touch the rice as it`s not our favourite, this dish would be much nicer with some Lo mein instead of the rice, the sauce is so tasty.

The view from the lounge is not the most inspiring, you can see over the ballroom and convention area and some of Sapphire, you can see down towards I Drive and the lights from that area, also Stardust Racers and Helios Grand from the windows to the far right.

The walkway into RP is lovely, the bridge is home to a good few frogs along the way and a nice little water view, very pretty indeed and as we headed out to get the Uber we stopped for a couple of pictures and even got a very rare picture of an almost empty drop off area, usually this area is mobbed constantly.

Our Uber driver was dropping someone off so we got in and this guy looked like the most morose man on the planet, definitely not the happiest looking man, but he was civil, managed basic English and got us to our destination safely, all we can ask.

Bonefish Grill, the one near Seaworld has always been a place we have enjoyed some lovely meals, so we decided to come here again tonight because despite it being know for fish, we`ve had some lovely steaks here and planned to do the same tonight.

We had booked a booth, but to be honest we really didn`t need to as it was fairly quiet, the bar was mobbed but there were plenty of booths available.

I ordered a large glass of wine and Tom got a Blue Moon for a change and the lady taking care of us brought the lovely bread with the herbed olive oil to go with it, it is lovely and again, hard to not eat too much of it as it is very moreish.

Because we`d each had some Char Sui Pork earlier, we didn`t bother sharing an appetiser and went straight for the entrees, Tom ordered the Bistro filet with a chimichurri sauce and asked for it medium rare, which it was indeed and beautifully cooked.

I opted for the filet topped with scallops and shrimp in a lemon butter sauce, I asked for it rare and it was maybe a tiny bit over when it arrived but it was lovely and I would have been very picky to send it back as it was beautiful.

It`s not the most appetising picture but we shared the Au Gratin potatoes and they were very nice indeed, but too much for one person, it was a larger portion than it looked.

This meal had been lovely, we have never had a bad meal here and the steaks are excellent and a very decent price too for the quality, it`s a place we would highly recommend anyone trying, even if you don`t like seafood very much.

We had a better Uber driver coming home, well, apart from him briefly getting lost, you haven`t lived until you hear a Turkish man curse in broken English!!

The hotel was very quiet tonight, we headed into Dutch Trading for a couple of macarons for later and it was deserted too tonight.

They do have some very nice items for sale, their sandwiches are always fresh as are the salads, we have tried the hot food once or twice and I have to say the chicken was some of the nicest we have tasted from a quick service place.

Although neither Tom or I like Gelato, they do have a lovely selection of flavours and they also have a couple of sorbets that we do like.

But, I do wish they sold good old fashioned rich, indulgent full fat tasty ice cream!! We would be among their best customers if that were the case, so maybe it`s a good thing they sell Gelato

It was too early to go back to the suite as much as though we do love spending time in it, so we walked down to get the boat to Citywalk and we`d spend an hour or so there. We were the only ones waiting for the boats tonight, and a few moments later we were on our way to Citywalk as lone passengers which is unusual at night.

It was just lovely, and again very quiet, even the barman at Fat Tuesday`s said this was the slowest night he`d had for a long time. It was nice for us as we had our choice of little tables overlooking the lagoon.

We sat for an hour or so enjoying our cocktails and it was just lovely with the heat and we chatted the evening away as we always do then hopped on a boat back home and called room service for a pot of tea asking if it was going to be a long wait, she said no it would be with us within 15 minutes.

It arrived in about 10 minutes, and we enjoyed a cuppa with the macarons which were just ok. We wouldn`t buy them again from here.

We sat for about half an hour then that very comfy bed began calling us, we were ready to sleep tonight!!

We still hadn`t decided what to do tomorrow!!! ​

 

[musika]

So sorry to hear that your other half was not feeling well. No matter the cause, hospital time is never pleasant. Fingers crossed for a smooth recovery from upcoming surgery. Selfishly I'm a bit sad that our paths won't cross in September but you will enjoy yourself much more once he's back to the picture of health. (I do enjoy gelato, and that picture is calling my name!)

 

[jump00]

Thanks for the update with Tom. Sorry about his health issues but glad he is on the mend. Enjoying your lovely trip report

Take care,
Brenda

 

[schumigirl]

MONDAY MAY 5TH





We slept like rocks last night, I don`t think we moved a muscle all night long although I did wake up with that weird "where am I" feeling and for a second couldn`t quite work out where I was and Tom sensing my confusion mumbled we were at Sapphire. Thanks....

I was ready for breakfast this morning, actually I was starving so we dressed quickly and headed over for breakfast and we always enjoy that walk between the two hotels in the morning, although today I had a wiggle on, I was ready for a cuppa and some food.

There were some lovely couples in the lounge this visit and getting chatting to folks is always a pleasure. When I think of how many lovely folks (and even a couple not so lovely) we have met over the years in here and so many we still keep in touch with, some not often but we have been so lucky to have met such nice people. Some of them were from the Dis, but don`t seem to post anymore which is a shame.

After we finished eating, which as we were chatting was later than planned, we headed back over and went to our room to get some sunscreen on then headed to the car and make the drive to St Augustine.

It`s a place we have visited often and we have experienced a lot of what it has to offer in previous trip reports including the Rum Distillery, the Fort and the Oldest Schoolhouse in the USA.

But, today we were really just out for a drive, have lunch and come home, yep, some folks think we`re crazy driving two hours for lunch, but why not.

The roads do quieten once we are out of Orlando and it is a very nice drive up. We pass over part of St John`s River which is huge, it`s the largest river in Florida but doesn`t go near Orlando however when I first saw this I thought we had went the wrong direction and were on the coast!! It is a vast expanse of water.
​

The roads at times are empty and do feel a little desolate, probably more so at night and it does make one a little uneasy to see the warning signs for bears!! There really are a lot of things that can harm you hanging around Florida!
​

It`s a straight forward drive and we listen to 80`s music all the way up there and chattering too, so the two hour drive feels much shorter than it is, we know we are close when we see the car wash shaped as a river boat.​

We had a drive over the Bridge of Lions which connects to Anastasia Island over Matanzas Bay which is just the prettiest waterway, we didn`t stop anywhere over there but there are several nice food options and bars too. ​

We came back over the bridge and park in the same place every time, right next to St George Street where a lot of local and unique shops are located and many different food options along the way. I think it`s $20 to park and that`s all day if you need it, we have been told there are cheaper places but it is convenient so we always end up there. ​

They do have a very obvious homeless issue here and they do seem to linger in this area, being fair they never seem to bother anyone in any way, but it`s never nice to see people having to live in such conditions, but it is something you won`t be able to miss here.

Lunch was going to be in the Florida Cracker Cafe, we have been here before a couple of times but it is an amazing little place where the owners are the nicest folks and food is exceedingly good!!

Pink lemonade for the driver today and I opted for one of their freshly made sangrias which was lovely, not run of the mill pre-prepared the way some places are, I stopped at one but could easily have enjoyed a couple of these!

​

The menu is very nice and today we decided to share the corn bread basket which came with honey butter and they were absolutely delicious, I do prefer a spicy corn bread, but this one was clearly home made and very tasty and that honey butter....... ​

I opted for my old favourite of peel and eat shrimp and these were amazing, very meaty shrimp and their coleslaw was just ok but I did eat it.

Tom opted for the Crab Cake sandwich with fries and I admit it wasn`t the nicest crab cake I had ever tasted, but Tom enjoyed it, so all good but for me it wasn`t all crab meat as it should be, too much filler which surprised us as last time he got it, it was all crab.

​

There are some lovely areas around this little central street and they are filled with very bohemian stores and galleries, some are tiny and worth popping into, I don`t think we have ever bought anything from them, but they are nice to wander into.

I think I`d be wary of trying this place somehow but it looks so good, it`s an Indian restaurant and is seemingly out of place somehow, but Indian food is one of our favourite cuisine`s. It does look very beautiful but until we get a personal recommendation from someone who has visited it, I don`t think we`ll try it. ​

We were happy to see this place busy again, it closed down through covid and never seemed to open again, but today it was bustling with folks and everything looked really good!! ​

This street has so many little nooks and crannies off the main drag where you can enjoy some drinks, snacks, ice cream or just enjoy some shade for a time at the many seating areas.

I think this little town really comes to life in the evenings and again, we keep saying we do want to enjoy an evening or two here at some point. ​

This is the building that hosts the Oldest School house in the USA, we did visit it fully a few years ago and it is really interesting to see how it used to be. The gardens inside are lovely and there are so many little areas to sit and enjoy some restful moments. ​

To be honest, we didn`t really feel like doing anything today, there are plenty of things to pass several days here but the things we were interested in, we had already done.

So we wandered back down and had a look in the window of the best pizza place around, we had eaten here a few years ago too and the line is still out the door most days, this was really good pizza!!!
​

The Governers House sits in the centre of the town beside a rather lovely park, I admit we didn`t go into the park today as there seemed t be a lot of homeless folks congregating, I did say before they never seemed to bother anyone, but there was a lot of them and right or wrong, we didn`t feel like roaming past them today. ​

Casa Monica is a rather beautiful hotel right in the centre of everything, it is a stunning looking place and we have only popped our head in and looked around but it is lovely and although if we did stay overnight we would prefer to stay in one of the many cosy little guest houses, this place is tempting.
​

The Lightner Museum is a quite astonishing little place to visit, and probably home to some of the nicest City offices anywhere!!!

Half the museum that was once a grand hotel is used by the city and it does seem a waste really of such beautiful surroundings, again the garden areas are very pretty to have a wander around. ​

Flagler College was under construction today and someone told us most areas were off limits, so we had planned to finally do the tour, but it seemed the universe had other ideas and about now I developed a headache so instead of thinking of other things to do we headed back to the car and drove home. ​

For the first time here, I fell asleep almost as soon as we set off home and I slept for about an hour until some rather dangerous driver decided to cut us off very abruptly and Tom managed to jam the breaks on and avoided hitting this idiot or anyone else.

But, my headache was gone at least!



Quiet, lazy night coming up!!

This was just one of those days we didn`t do much at all.​

 

[schumigirl]

So sorry to hear that your other half was not feeling well. No matter the cause, hospital time is never pleasant. Fingers crossed for a smooth recovery from upcoming surgery. Selfishly I'm a bit sad that our paths won't cross in September but you will enjoy yourself much more once he's back to the picture of health. (I do enjoy gelato, and that picture is calling my name!)

Yes, I`m sorry our paths won`t align this time, but hopefully next time!!!

Thanks for the good wishes, he is doing brilliantly and just wanting the surgery over and done with now, he`s normally the most patient person on the planet, but he just wants this over with and behind him, can`t say I blame him, hopefully it`ll just be an overnight this time, hospitals are never fun.

Oh I think you`ll enjoy the gelato, it did seem very popular, so many folks were always ordering it. I think maybe we should give it a try at some point......

 

[schumigirl]

Thanks for the update with Tom. Sorry about his health issues but glad he is on the mend. Enjoying your lovely trip report

Take care,
Brenda

Aww, thanks so much Brenda, yes he is a picture of health right now thankfully, it was so unusual to see him poorly in any way as he is never ill. I think he`ll sail through this surgery as does his surgeon, we saw him today for the pre-op assessment and he got 10/10 so he was a happy bunny!!!

And thank you, I`m glad you`re enjoying it again, I`m quite aware we didn`t do very much at times which can be dull I guess to read about

Hope you and yours are all doing well too Brenda

 

[angryduck71]

Yay for Tom getting back to normal. Can't wait for him to be done with surgery and recover (I'm pretty sure you feel the same!).

I LOVE the dress you are wearing in St. Augustine. So pretty!

t`s a straight forward drive and we listen to 80`s music all the way up there and chattering too

Well, now I want to see St. Augustine (ok, think I have said that before when seeing it in your trip reports). And, I want to listen to 80s music all the way there as well.. as, well, I almost always listen to 80s music.

 

[schumigirl]

Yay for Tom getting back to normal. Can't wait for him to be done with surgery and recover (I'm pretty sure you feel the same!).

I LOVE the dress you are wearing in St. Augustine. So pretty!


Well, now I want to see St. Augustine (ok, think I have said that before when seeing it in your trip reports). And, I want to listen to 80s music all the way there as well.. as, well, I almost always listen to 80s music.

Thanks Alice, he appreciated all your good wishes! And yes, looking forward to this all being behind us.

Thanks

lol.....oh lordy yes, 80`s music is always on in our car/house anywhere really, but 70`s too, I switch when they play some of the 80`s stuff I don`t like, 70`s music rocks too!!! Yes, St Augustine is beautiful, even just for a wander like we did that day, but so much to do there and I`d bet Davy would love it for the history too

 

[schumigirl]

The rest of the journey home was uneventful and the sun came out beautifully after some heavy rain and then we noticed one of the new....huge.....signs as you head into Universal, wow they are mahoosive in comparison to what was there before. ​

Back in the suite we had a Facetime chat with Kyle, Monday is one of the few nights he is free so we had arranged if we were back we`d call, it was just after 9.30pm his time and we were lucky as he had been out after all and had just walked in his door as we called.

We chatted for a time and caught up although we had barely been gone a week so not much to keep up with apart from running and where they had been out to tonight, so we said we`d chat next weekend, working around his social life of course (as it should be) and running.

It looked like rain outside now and again the lines for the boat were non-existent, not sure why it was so quiet as the hotel was fairly full.
​

The Lounge again was fairly quiet but there were a few couples who were sitting around us and we spent most of the time chatting to them, and also the wonderful and very lovely Aspen was finally back!!! Since we had arrived she had been on some days off, so we knew tonight we`d see her and it is always lovely catching up with her, she is one of the jewels in the crown of the lounge for sure, so we were happy to see her.

The food tonight was probably the most unappealing of all the dishes they offered, salad and cheese were fine of course.​

Beef Fajitas and refried beans were the hot dish tonight.

The accompaniments were rather nice, I liked they had brought back the sour cream, can`t have salsa and dips without it and there were plenty for folks to choose from as a side to either tortillas or taco shells. ​

In no way did this dish look appetising, certainly not to us, but it was enjoyed by many looking at the plates around us!!! I loathe beans of any kind with a passion and I could be starving and wouldn`t have touched these! Tom does like beans now and again but even he said this dish looked unappealing.
​

Wine, a little cheese and some crackers would do us nicely tonight!!









We chatted a lot again tonight, so much so we were still around for dessert hour which starts at 8pm, sometimes the time just passes so quickly and it wasn`t till one of the couples said they had a dinner reservation to get to did we realise it was later than we thought.

We got to meet another of the new supervisors earlier in the week, Tao, but we hadn`t really had a chance to chat and we finally managed it tonight, lovely guy who will like all the others, move on to another position, he`s another who will do well.

It was indeed time for dessert hour, something we are rarely here for, I think we may have been here maybe five or six times since 2012!

Tonight it wasn`t the advertised desserts, they had mini creme caramels and chocolate cake along with the usual cookies which are out every night, we did have a couple of these and they were surprisingly nice.

It`s just not worth it for us making it back for dessert hour as we usually go out for dinner around that time, and desserts are not our favourite thing anyway.

​

We said our goodnight`s to everyone still here that we had been chatting to and headed down to Orchids, one of our favourite sushi places around.

We would have to find a decent sushi restaurant to replace Nagoya which will be hard to do, but we were equally happy visiting Orchids and Chef Dan as the sushi is always top notch.

Again, some changes had occurred in here too with Cynthia the manager having left to go to Helios too, there were a few new faces, but still some familiar ones too which is always good to see.

Tonight we sat at the bar and Giancarlo was looking after us, I felt bad as he knew us immediately and I struggled to place him, we tended to stick to the same servers in here, but lovely guy who was friendly and chatty and filled us in on who had left, who was still here but the ones we knew were off tonight, typical.

We ordered a beer for Tom and I had a Sonoma Cutrer chardonnay and hoped I wouldn`t regret mixing red and white!! I never normally mix them, but I only planned on having one glass of white, so it should be fine. ​

The miso soup is a must have before you have any sushi and although I did prefer Nagoya`s soup, this one is still gorgeous!! ​

We asked what the special was tonight and he said it was a spicy tuna, so we ordered that, the Volcano and some smoked salmon, it was visually so pretty and we knew it would be gorgeous!


​

That plate was easily cleared!

We loved every part of it and the spicy tuna was one of the nicest specials they had offered, but any dish you get from here is out of this world, in the sushi world that is.

It is also a bar where folks chat away to everyone around them and there were some very nice folks two of which were convention people which reminded us of the lovely Canadian folks we had met last year and we got on so well with them but one of these guys asked about sushi and what did we think of Cowfish and would we recommend it as a place worth visiting.....

Well, I clarified that we do like the appetisers and burgers from Cowfish, they are very nice and have a fabulous selection of different burgers but for the sushi or Bento Boxes, that is a big fat no from us, there is no comparison from here, this is heads and shoulders above what you`ll get at Cowfish, it`s just not like real sushi somehow.

We sat for a time chatting and eventually asked for the check, the lovely Giancarlo had bought our drinks for us tonight as a welcome back, what a lovely thing to do, we made sure he was as always, tipped very well.

We walked back over to Sapphire and watched some tv for a time and had a glass of wine as wound down from a rather lazy day to be fair. The drive to St Augustine had been the most energetic thing we had done, but we were yawning our heads off by midnight and headed to bed before we fell asleep on the sofa!!





Some park time tomorrow and in the evening, a meet up with some very good friends ​

 

[christophfam]

Oh, Carol, so sorry to hear about Tom! That must have been a real scare for you all. I’m so happy to read he is doing well now and my thoughts will be with you for his upcoming surgery.

 

[jocelyn6]

Hi Carole - finally catching up. I am so happy to hear that Tom is doing well! It sounds like his care plan is well in order and I am sending all of you positive vibes for August.

 

[schumigirl]

TUESDAY MAY 6TH





Another excellent night`s sleep for us, we never hear a sound from the bedroom in the suite, same with the King Suite at RP and no corridor noise certainly helps with getting a good sleep.

Once we were showered we had our daily walk over for breakfast, we had already put sunscreen on as we would be leaving for the park straight from RP. And again the lounge was fairly quiet, we had missed the folks out early for EE which suited us fine and we had a light breakfast before heading for the short walk to the park, we were going to IOA today.

We timed it nicely for the pool opening so we could cut through it instead of having to walk either back through the front lobby or go round by the boat dock and the pool is incredibly quiet at this time. I do miss when the pool opened at 8am instead of 9, we used to be able to have a little time before the sun came up, now we had to wait till evening to avoid the sun.

Although we do like Sapphire`s pool, this is our favourite of all the hotel pools, it`s the perfect size for us and it has the best of all the pool bars too, the food from Bula Bar is second to none.

Everyone talks about the Bula Bar Nachos, but they have some lovely dishes aside those, which are wonderful, much nicer than Margaritaville`s Nachos that everyone seems to still talk about.

Although the pool doesn`t have a slide for kids, it does have a rather large play area with water jets which are always popular.

The view from the walking path over to Sapphire is always pretty, the only regret is you can see the boat repair dock, not the prettiest of looks but essential I guess.

At certain times of the year they do special things for AP holders and usually one of the specials is that you can enter through a seperate entrance to IOA, but for the whole of 2025 the seperate line is open for the whole year.

From 8am till midday the line is open and it is a wonderful perk especially early when the lines are huge getting through the main entry gates. I think most AP holders wish this was a permanent fixture at both legacy parks.

Walking in we see immediately there are lots of boards up around the park, it`s never pretty but all they are doing is enhancing the look of all the facades and they do a very good job on it.

I`m still amazed that they have taken all the character models from around the main store in the park, they were part of the whole storyline for Port of Entry, their replacements weren`t exactly awe inspiring.

They had already brought in some Dark Universe and Epic merchandise throughout the parks and some of it was quite decent looking and plenty of Mario and Dragon stuff around too.

I do like this little store off of the main shop at the gates, it does have that Island feel and would have fitted in nicely at RP with the theme and vibrant designs, they sell clothes and hats, but the type of clothes you would probably only wear on vacation, they are very holiday like.

It has beautiful designs on the walls around the products and again, fits in so nicely with the POE them, I do wonder if that`s going to change in the future with them getting rid of certain things around the area.

Port of Entry is filled with little secrets and treats, not only are there some visually beautiful buildings and facades, but when you listen to most of the buildings they offer their own cast of characters and have their own show going on.

My favourite is the prison escapees building, but the scenes from up in this building are humorous too.

We dismissed going on the Hulk, sometimes it`s just a little too rough on me even getting the front seat which is the best along with the back row, it`s the second half of the ride that just get`s too much, but the first half of the ride including the take off is excellent!

Dr Doom is such a divisive ride, well, it`s not really a ride I guess, but many folks think it`s not worth the effort as it is so short. And yes, it is short but we like it and it`s quite fun waiting for that first shot upwards especially when the TM does the fake countdown over the tannoy. Simple things amuse us at times

It was so quiet this morning everywhere and we loved it being so quiet, which should mean everything was more or less a walk on, we are predictable and even though there is no line, we still use the EP line, I think it`s habit more than anything.

We did laugh though as the wait time was showing as 85 minutes lol....

This little area around Doom is often undervalued as to the detail of design around it, it`s quite unique and incredibly themed, we knew nothing of Dr Doom when we first visited so it was interesting to find out the back story and what movies he was connected to.

And again, we always find something and a few visits ago we found this little gem of a Do Not Enter sign tucked away as if not meant to be seen, you do have to wander a little off the main drag to see it.

I admit I`m not fond of Dr Doom now they have got rid of the extra belt that was attached to the harness, it did give an extra feeling of security, now, I`m not as keen on this ride at all. Tom has always gone on this one thinking it is one of the scariest rides in the park, it always made me laugh but now, I`m not sure I want to ride it again, yes, I think I`m turning chicken!!!

It was a walk on whether you had EP or not this morning and we had the row to ourselves for the first ride which we did enjoy, but please bring back that harness!!!

Our second ride we shared the row with some first timers which is always a joy to see and this couple did not disappoint!!! Their scream levels particularly hers, were off...the....scale!!!!









We stifled a giggle as she walked all the way to the exit bemoaning she would never ride it again, I whispered to Tom I`d love to see her on Velocicoaster later

Twice was enough for this one today, so we headed round to Spiderman and surprisingly the line was showing 40 minutes, seems a long line for so early in the morning, at times like that we thank goodness for the EP. This was a complete walk on.

Spiderman is a fantastic ride, it`s an oldie but a classic and really not to be missed. It does spin a little but not too bad and you either close your eyes at that point which doesn`t work for me, I prefer the old ballet dancer trick of focussing on one spot as we spin and works every time for me.

Tom never gets motion issues so doesn`t get it, but it can make you feel pretty miserable on rides if you`re not careful and I have at times experienced that awful feeling at times!!!




More park time coming right up




​

 

[schumigirl]

Oh, Carol, so sorry to hear about Tom! That must have been a real scare for you all. I’m so happy to read he is doing well now and my thoughts will be with you for his upcoming surgery.

along christophfam

Thank you so much for the good wishes, yes it was scary to find him like that, but he is doing doing fabulously now and I`m glad to say he`s not at all concerned about the surgery, he just wants it over with of course.

Appreciate the post and good wishes though, and glad to have you reading along too, always good to see you

 

[schumigirl]

Hi Carole - finally catching up. I am so happy to hear that Tom is doing well! It sounds like his care plan is well in order and I am sending all of you positive vibes for August.

Hi jocelyn,

Thank you, appreciate the good vibes, we take them all

Yes, we have a good plan in place and fingers crossed he`ll be in one night or even home the same day if his surgery is early enough, then I get to be nursemaid again lol.....should only be a couple of weeks till he`s completely back to normal, I think he may enjoy being pampered though.....

Not long till your trip too, I hope all the plans fall into place and you have a fabulous time, will keep everything crossed for good weather, good food and good times

 

[schumigirl]

And to all my lovely American friends...

Have a lovely Independence Day, whatever you may be doing to celebrate I hope it`s a lot of fun with family and friends!!

We`re kind of joining in....a little.....we`re watching Independence Day with Bill Pullman this afternoon as our weather is very British today, it`s supposed to be brilliant sunshine and hot, but our little village has some cloud right now and a little breezier than it`s supposed to be.

We also have some friends coming for an earlyish dinner, popped out this morning to pick up some steaks for us all, hoping to have them cooked on the grill by Tom if the breeze dies down, but looking forward to seeing our friends.

I`ll pop a little American flag on the steaks before I serve them!!!

Have a great day ​

 

[angryduck71]

and desserts are not our favourite thing anyway.

I see your words, and yet I do not understand.

 

[Robo56]

Yes, we reached almost 100F in our little part of the country today, although I do think all the trees surrounding us helped make the garden so hot.

Carole all caught up on your report. Always enjoy reading of your and Tom’s adventures. Tell the cameraman his photos are beautiful.

Sounds like you are having some of the hot weather we are getting here.

I had to call an ambulance and my lovely husband ended up in hospital for 10 days, nothing life changing or drastic just an everyday thing that many folks get, but I was thrilled to finally get him home when I did.

I was so sorry to read that Tom had to be taken to the hospital. I’am sure it was scary for you both.

However he is due to have surgery mid August so we have cancelled our September trip, Tom wanted to keep it and still go, but although it`s a day to day surgery he`s having, I wasn`t thrilled at the thought of a 10 hour flight after that surgery and it does take time to get over things when we get up there a little in years!! So, I bit the bullet and cancelled and felt happier doing it as I still think it`s the best thing to do. And his lovely surgeon agrees with me, so he was outvoted.

It is good to hear he is feeling back to normal.

Sending prayers that his surgery goes well and he has a speedy recovery.

I’am sorry to hear you all have to cancel your September trip, but hopefully when he gets the all clear to travel you all can come a little later then your usual time in September.

 

[disneyseniors]

The rest of the journey home was uneventful and the sun came out beautifully after some heavy rain and then we noticed one of the new....huge.....signs as you head into Universal, wow they are mahoosive in comparison to what was there before. ​

Back in the suite we had a Facetime chat with Kyle, Monday is one of the few nights he is free so we had arranged if we were back we`d call, it was just after 9.30pm his time and we were lucky as he had been out after all and had just walked in his door as we called.

We chatted for a time and caught up although we had barely been gone a week so not much to keep up with apart from running and where they had been out to tonight, so we said we`d chat next weekend, working around his social life of course (as it should be) and running.

It looked like rain outside now and again the lines for the boat were non-existent, not sure why it was so quiet as the hotel was fairly full.
​

The Lounge again was fairly quiet but there were a few couples who were sitting around us and we spent most of the time chatting to them, and also the wonderful and very lovely Aspen was finally back!!! Since we had arrived she had been on some days off, so we knew tonight we`d see her and it is always lovely catching up with her, she is one of the jewels in the crown of the lounge for sure, so we were happy to see her.

The food tonight was probably the most unappealing of all the dishes they offered, salad and cheese were fine of course.​

Beef Fajitas and refried beans were the hot dish tonight.

The accompaniments were rather nice, I liked they had brought back the sour cream, can`t have salsa and dips without it and there were plenty for folks to choose from as a side to either tortillas or taco shells. ​

In no way did this dish look appetising, certainly not to us, but it was enjoyed by many looking at the plates around us!!! I loathe beans of any kind with a passion and I could be starving and wouldn`t have touched these! Tom does like beans now and again but even he said this dish looked unappealing.
​

Wine, a little cheese and some crackers would do us nicely tonight!!




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We chatted a lot again tonight, so much so we were still around for dessert hour which starts at 8pm, sometimes the time just passes so quickly and it wasn`t till one of the couples said they had a dinner reservation to get to did we realise it was later than we thought.

We got to meet another of the new supervisors earlier in the week, Tao, but we hadn`t really had a chance to chat and we finally managed it tonight, lovely guy who will like all the others, move on to another position, he`s another who will do well.

It was indeed time for dessert hour, something we are rarely here for, I think we may have been here maybe five or six times since 2012!

Tonight it wasn`t the advertised desserts, they had mini creme caramels and chocolate cake along with the usual cookies which are out every night, we did have a couple of these and they were surprisingly nice.

It`s just not worth it for us making it back for dessert hour as we usually go out for dinner around that time, and desserts are not our favourite thing anyway.

​

We said our goodnight`s to everyone still here that we had been chatting to and headed down to Orchids, one of our favourite sushi places around.

We would have to find a decent sushi restaurant to replace Nagoya which will be hard to do, but we were equally happy visiting Orchids and Chef Dan as the sushi is always top notch.

Again, some changes had occurred in here too with Cynthia the manager having left to go to Helios too, there were a few new faces, but still some familiar ones too which is always good to see.

Tonight we sat at the bar and Giancarlo was looking after us, I felt bad as he knew us immediately and I struggled to place him, we tended to stick to the same servers in here, but lovely guy who was friendly and chatty and filled us in on who had left, who was still here but the ones we knew were off tonight, typical.

We ordered a beer for Tom and I had a Sonoma Cutrer chardonnay and hoped I wouldn`t regret mixing red and white!! I never normally mix them, but I only planned on having one glass of white, so it should be fine. ​

The miso soup is a must have before you have any sushi and although I did prefer Nagoya`s soup, this one is still gorgeous!! ​

We asked what the special was tonight and he said it was a spicy tuna, so we ordered that, the Volcano and some smoked salmon, it was visually so pretty and we knew it would be gorgeous!


​

That plate was easily cleared!

We loved every part of it and the spicy tuna was one of the nicest specials they had offered, but any dish you get from here is out of this world, in the sushi world that is.

It is also a bar where folks chat away to everyone around them and there were some very nice folks two of which were convention people which reminded us of the lovely Canadian folks we had met last year and we got on so well with them but one of these guys asked about sushi and what did we think of Cowfish and would we recommend it as a place worth visiting.....

Well, I clarified that we do like the appetisers and burgers from Cowfish, they are very nice and have a fabulous selection of different burgers but for the sushi or Bento Boxes, that is a big fat no from us, there is no comparison from here, this is heads and shoulders above what you`ll get at Cowfish, it`s just not like real sushi somehow.

We sat for a time chatting and eventually asked for the check, the lovely Giancarlo had bought our drinks for us tonight as a welcome back, what a lovely thing to do, we made sure he was as always, tipped very well.

We walked back over to Sapphire and watched some tv for a time and had a glass of wine as wound down from a rather lazy day to be fair. The drive to St Augustine had been the most energetic thing we had done, but we were yawning our heads off by midnight and headed to bed before we fell asleep on the sofa!!





Some park time tomorrow and in the evening, a meet up with some very good friends ​

[]In no way did this dish look appetising,[/]

Wow, I agree. It looks suspiciously like dog food. Ick

 

[schumigirl]

We spend a lot of time wandering around the parks and we try to still take as much in as we possibly can, it is so very familiar to us after so many trips, maybe too familiar some would say and I might agree now, but we still enjoy it and especially wandering around in weather like this, it was perfect.

It was incredibly hot but we had a lovely little breeze which helps immensely getting through the day.

Walking down behind the store that Spiderman appears in, there is a very peaceful area, you first have to walk through a smoking area which can be unpleasant if there are a load of folks, but it`s not normally too bad and you get some lovely views over the lagoon to Mythos which is an impressive building from every angle.

​

If you look closely you can see the entrance to the troll`s layer under Mythos, if you do go behind Mythos and stand on the bridge you can hear the troll growl quite clearly.

Tom loves to remind of the time I quite animatedly described to a manager in the Studios we knew very well, how they should have a roaming troll around there popping up and down to folks when they appeared on the bridge, I thought it would be hilarious!

He was very obviously horrified imagining all the complaints from parents worried about their kids being terrified.....his face was a picture especially as he realised I was serious...

I think it would be a brilliant idea!! Put warning signs up for the sensitive and nervous!! Yep, shame it`ll never happen, I grumble a lot about them having troll sounds with a troll cave and not having a darn troll, that would be an excellent picture op!!

No, I guess not....

Here you can see the door to the troll`s cave and also Atlas holding up the building to the rear of Mythos while he watches over the lagoon in IOA.

​

Toon Lagoon is a massive area that if they ever decided to refresh it would be able to host an incredible new land, it incorporates a huge expanse of acreage and involves many characters, some of whom could be considered as being outdated in the eyes of many folks.

And I know these names remind me of someone.......





​

Hagar the Horrible is a cartoon us in Scotland grew up with knowing all the stories about the very unglamorous viking, so we were surprised when we actually saw the character within this area at all.
​

This is a little area we only noticed a few trips ago too, not quite sure how we missed it before, I guess we never ventured down that way and although we knew all about Aesop the Greek storyteller, we had no knowledge of their involvement in The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show, which in itself we had no knowledge of as it was never on our tv`s in the UK.

But, they had left their mark in this area and the famous Jackhammer with working sounds can still be seen stuck in the wall. ​

Popeye & Bluto`s Bilge Barges weren`t open yet, they do open at 10am usually but because we were so early we couldn`t wander down to one of our favourite areas behind Me Ship the Olive which can be almost deserted at times. You get a wonderful view of Velocicoaster especially as it does that last upside down turn which is almost as fun to watch as it is to experience it. Almost. ​

Blondies is one of several counter service options within Toon Lagoon, it`s not my favourite as we both prefer Wimpy`s for burgers and they have the best fries, but Blondie`s is famous for the Dagwood sandwich and they also do a decent hot dog too. And visually it is very pretty and colourful too.
​

I would say who doesn`t love Popeye, but I think he is a modern victim of time passing and many kids don`t have a clue who he is anymore. Popeye was a staple of ours as kids along with Scooby Doo, Bugs Bunny, Tom & Jerry and any Hanna Barbera cartoon you can think of from that generation.

In a strange coincidence, over our trip we shared our Club Lounge table many evenings with folks and we were amazed one evning that one of the couples who were in their forties had never heard of Laurel & Hardy nor Abbot & Costello!








There was a family sitting beside us that night and the mother laughed, she was in her late 60`s and she openly said she couldn`t believe folks didn`t know about these amazingly funny people!!!

We agreed, but, ever feel ancient

We were so glad of the breeze this morning, it was helping massively with how warm it was getting and it was still fairly early, but we planned to be out of the park by lunchtime today.

Next up in Toon Lagoon although we had no plans to ride it today is Dudley do Rights, one of the best water rides with the best drop around, it is a simple ride but the drop more than makes up for the lack of exciting storyline.

Dudley is another character we knew nothing about, we gather he is a rather incompetent Mountie who pursues his nemesis throughout the Great White North, in saying that we have never actually seen a single cartoon of that show. ​

We tend to do all the water rides in one afternoon, Dudley and Bluto will completely drench you, no doubt about that. Jurassic Park River Adventure won`t always drench you, depending on how the boat is loaded and where you are on it depends on how wet or dry you`ll be coming off. We`ve been completely dry, sprinked, wet or completely drenched, you can never predict that one.

But, for that afternoon we are prepared to be soaked, so we dress appropriately and leave the camera at home!!!

Dudley ride vehicle is also incredibly awkward to get in and out of, certainly for me and I know many folks find it difficult too, but it`s worth it for the drop alone. ​

Kong was down this morning so we didn`t get to ride that, it is a ride we don`t mind if we miss it or not, it`s not a must do ride. It`s decent but definitely a filler ride. But we did buy a couple of bottles of water as it was hot and we sometimes forget to drink when we should, but we sat for a few minutes and watched the world go by which is always nice.

There were more folks around now but this certainly felt like a quieter time to visit, we`ve visited in May many times before and it is one of our favoured times for sure, but it did seem quieter this visit.

Jurassic Park is not a set of movies I`m overly fond of, but Tom loves them and would happily sit through a marathon of them all, I tend to pass on them preferring a Harry Potter or Pirates of the Caribbean fest, but I do enjoy the rides here based on the movies, especially Velocicoaster. I did make a point of watching the movie around that before we did the ride for the first time. ​

The JPRA is one of those rides we love, but I hate how wet it can get you at times and when you plan to go out for lunch, it`s not something you want to do.

I`d tell anyone to ride this, the drop at the end is fabulous!!

​

The area is beautifully developed and feels very green and lush off the walkway, behind this scene is Camp Jurassic which is a lovely area to explore, not just for kids, it is a nice little area out of the sun and does feel a little cooler and there is a chance you will get a little wet as there is an area where there are water jets and kids just love that!! ​

It had been a few years since we did the Raptor experience, this is a must do if you have never done it before. Meeting the baby dinosaur with it`s very experienced handler is a lot of fun and you react to the dino as if it were real, it is weird, you know it`s a fake, obviously, but you do wince as it comes close to you for some reason.

It is a lovely show and kids and adults will love doing it, it is a lot of fun. ​

But, this was another thing today that was on a delay.



Potter and offsite lunch coming up ​