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

[schumigirl]

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

Ok, apparently I think I might be fibbing a bit here, or so Tom tells me......

I adore creme brulee, lemon desserts, good apple pies and home made ice cream, sooooooo, maybe I do like desserts!

I guess I`m more savoury than sweet though....

Are you enjoying Wimbledon?? I was thinking of you as I watched a bit today

 

[schumigirl]

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


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.

I will tell him, thank you Robbie, I so appreciate his picture taking, it does help when writing up the TR.

Well, our hot weather doesn`t last too long, so we`ll be back to normal before we know it!!

It was Robbie, to find your husband like that is not nice, but he is back to full health and back to being naughty and mischevious which is always a good sign Thank you, we appreciate the thoughts and prayers, I know he`ll be fine, but good wishes don`t go wrong.

I will say, surprisingly I`m not in the least bothered about cancelling our trip, I just want him in full health again. We have a visit to Scotland planned in September and I`ve told him Orlando can wait till May next year, and he does agree now. Orlando is our furthest thought right now, but we can look forward.

Thank you for your kind words

 

[schumigirl]

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

lol......That was exactly Tom`s description of that dish!!!!

I hadn`t seen refried beans before in the Club Lounge, but it was not appetising in any way.

 

[angryduck71]

Ok, apparently I think I might be fibbing a bit here, or so Tom tells me......

I adore creme brulee, lemon desserts, good apple pies and home made ice cream, sooooooo, maybe I do like desserts!

I guess I`m more savoury than sweet though....

Are you enjoying Wimbledon?? I was thinking of you as I watched a bit today

Yes! I took Davy to Tulsa, Oklahoma to visit his girlfriend for the 4th. They are off seeing fireworks and I am happy as can be sitting here watching it ALL. . Fee upsets that saddened me. And some I was delighted by.

 

[schumigirl]

Yes! I took Davy to Tulsa, Oklahoma to visit his girlfriend for the 4th. They are off seeing fireworks and I am happy as can be sitting here watching it ALL. . Fee upsets that saddened me. And some I was delighted by.

Aww, hope they had a nice time celebrating!

lol....I found myself recognising about 5 players, shocking really but I haven`t kept up with it for years. One of my godsons and his wife live in London and are at Wimbledon as often as they can, so I tend to switch it on if I know they`re going to be there, only spotted them once.

But, being honest the last time I faithfully watched was in the early 80`s with Borg/McEnroe/Connors....they all had such personalities back then.

 

[schumigirl]

And here we have the second best castle in Orlando, yep, Frankenstein`s palace is absolutely the best in our eyes, but this one is still pretty darn cool too.

It is one of the most coveted spots for pictures in the park, we`ve seen engagements, birthday celebrations and even a wedding once, although I`m not convinced it was supposed to happen as they got out of their wedding gear pretty quickly, but it was cute.

So when you do find it quiet, you make the most of it as it was today.
​

We decided to do FJ this morning just to check and feel the difference to Monster`s unchained where I felt no motion issues at all but FJ can sometimes affect me, it`s a one and done a day ride, sometimes twice if I`m lucky, but we`d give it a go.

The EP line was a walk on, we didn`t stop once and I regretted leaving the camera in the lockers, but we just wanted to ride today.
I don`t know if there`s a best seat on this ride, we had the row to ourselves so we both sat in the middle two seats but in this ride I don`t think it matters where you sit at all.

Yes, today this was a one and done, I was ok until you have that flying into the castle motion, it gets me every time and I`m the person that finds closing my eyes makes any motion issues worse, so there`s no real answer on this one for me. It is an incredible ride though and I won`t miss going on it, but it will be just once which is such a shame as Tom could go on this again and again but says it`s not as much fun without me on it with him. I know what he means.

I think aesthetically I prefer Hogsmeade to Diagon Alley, I think.....I`m never sure though as they are both visually stunning, but there`s something about the look of the buildings and time period that I just love and I could spend hours in here alone without doing any other area of the park. ​

Breakfast is still being served when we go into the Hogs Head, so I don`t like to take pictures if I can help it of folks eating, seems very rude, but the bar area was deserted so we did snap a few pictures before it got busier which was only a few minutes later. ​

And of course looking and listening up the stairs to the Inn is a must do. I`m sure you must be bored witless of me saying you have to listen here as you can hear the house elves moving around upstairs and you can see shadows too, the attention to every detail is quite breathtaking, they have missed nothing out here.

We have only been asked once by another guest what were we doing as we leaned forward to listen, I think they must have thought we had lost the plot! But when we told them they were immediately doing the same thing as they didn`t know that detail and their kids were fascinated that the house elves were "upstairs" working. ​

Again, being very conscious of folks eating I managed to snap a picture of the 3 broomsticks before anyone sat down.

I know I already have that picture but it saves me looking back through all the pictures on Smugmug or previous TR`s! I`d be there forever.

Through where most of the tables are is very impressive when you look up, the detail here is just incredible and although I have never been in a place like this in real life, I`d love to visit somewhere like this.

​

You can hear the house elves moving around from here too, but it`s harder to hear clearly as it is much noisier through this side and it is busy this morning, most folks are eating breakfast but there are some waiting for the regular menu as they switch at 10.30 for the lunch/dinner menu.

We just don`t eat here, nothing appeals to us and the menu is just odd and not what Brits see on pub/restaurant menu`s in the UK either, serving a Cornish pasty with salad is just odd!


​

We go back through to the Hog`s Head and order a Pumpkin Fizz to share as it is very sweet and neither of us could finish a full one, but sharing is perfect. Neither of us like Butterbeer, well we could share a frozen one probably, but it`s not our favourite drink. ​

Sitting out the back of the 3B`s is lovely, you get to see and hear everyone enjoying velocicoaster up very close indeed!!

Sometimes the faces are a picture but most of the time everyone is just loving it, it is the most amazing coaster and after we have this drink we`re going to head round and get on it. But, if it`s not too busy this is a really nice place to sit and enjoy a drink or just take 10 minutes away from the bustle. ​

One of our favourite finds in Hogsmeade is the Owl coming out of the tower atop the Owlery. I`m not sure if it always did this since this area opened but it certainly does now and has done for several years since we first spotted it. But, from memory it was a hit or miss and I think it was Kyle that first spotted it way back and from then on we watched out for it, it seems to do it every 15 minutes from on the hour.

We did get a video of it, but there`s too much of us talking in it to play it!!! We are yappy folks ​

The Hogwarts Express is a classic and no matter how many times you see it, it still evokes impressions of travels in steam trains in a bygone time sadly very few of them still run around the UK, but you do get several that are well maintained and do offer trips to various places including the Glenfinnan Viaduct that you do see in the Potter films from the Chamber of Secrets, I`m not sure why it`s not in The Philosopher`s Stone as it is a beautiful shot on the journey to Hogwarts.


​

More coming right up
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[schumigirl]

I cannot find our pictures from outside the Velocicoaster today, I`m sure they`re somewhere but we have thousands of pictures loaded onto Smugmug, I think I must have loaded them onto another trip somehow!!

But, we did go round and again, I was rather nervous before going on this ride, I love it, but it is darn scary at times. I do love the airtime you get on it but again, it scares the bejeesus out of me too!!

So, I may look terrified before I go on, because I am, but once I`m on, I absolutely love it.

It`s a comfy harness with this one, you don`t feel as though you are caged in, but you do feel secure even on the scariest of rolls for some reason.

With EP we waited only a few minutes, I donn`t remember what the regular line was today but it wasn`t too bad, however we more or less walked on and asked for the back row which is our preference and we got it.

That waiting to start always makes me sweat buckets, but once we get going it`s amazing until we reach the part where it seems to rev up to get over the top hat and of course I always worry if we`re going to make it up and over as sometimes, very rarely it doesn`t make it.

But today was fine and we got off wanting to go back on again, but we didn`t, we grabbed our stuff out of the lockers and headed to the talking fountain, something that passes five minutes or so depending on his audience, if he is playing to an adult audience it can be very funny with double entendres, nothing too bad of course but they know their audience well. ​

It is a beautiful little area and it used to be the way in towards the entrance to the Eight Voyage of Sindbad Stunt Show that is long gone now, but the building is still there and nothing much has changed inside since the show ended in September 2018.

​

Behind the facade is a gorgeous little area that sometimes hold the extended queue for Hagrids when it has an extremely long wait, but usually this place is almost deserted apart from the occasional dog person as there is a little doggy area and a smoking area that is very rarely utilised thankfully when we go round there.

It feels quite tranquil to be honest. ​

There doesn`t seem to be any rhyme or reason as to when the water in this feature works, although this is not a particularly visited area we have seen the water operate on several occasions, but not today.
​

The doors to the once thriving arena are open, there are little barriers to stop anyone going in, although technically they won`t really stop anyone who wants to go fully inside, but we stop and grab some pictures of the theatre as it is now.
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The door on the opposite side is open too, and it`s like time had stood still, most of the stage is still intact and you can see relics from the show which was very good from memory, but it just looks almost forgotten somehow. ​

FireEaters Grill is a decent counter service, but there are no indoor seats so we never indulge to try some of their spicy tenders that we last had years ago. I tell a lie, we did have some at the Orlando Informer event we went to, but they were very different form what they used to be. It does seem to be a very popular choice though.

​

We head out of the park and walk to the boats, it is getting very hot now, as we walked through Citywalk I admitted I had never noticed this Cinnabon before, but it`s quite new apparently. I thought I had just become very unobservant!
​

We had a few minutes wait for a boat, so we stood under the huge fan until it arrived, the lovely Capt Rob waved over, he was waiting for the next boat to start work, he is the funniest guy with the worst jokes, but everyone loves him. I don`t know how many years we`ve seen him on the boats now, but it`s been a while. ​

Getting back into the cool of Sapphire was lovely, straight up to our suite which had long been visited by housekeeping and we immediately hit the shower and changed before getting ready to head out for lunch and it was back to an old favourite today for us! ​

 

[schumigirl]

We did take our time getting ready as we were in no rush for lunch, we had all afternoon free so it was very nice just chilling for a time.

We got the car and headed to Teak Neighborhood Grill which is a 10 minute drive away from home and it had been quite a time since we visited, this used to be a regular haunt of ours from even before it was Teak Grill.
​

It sits in the centre of a residential area, it must be quite noisy at night as they do have live music often, glad it`s not me living next door!! ​

We`ve seen it busier even at lunchtime, but we were only in about 5 minutes when other folks came in and the place was about half full, it`s always a worry when you see a place that used to be mobbed, half empty but seems this place still has a fabulous reputation.

The menu is huge, it has plenty of choice for even the fussiest of eaters, I had been tempted to try their pierogies, but I was drawn back to the burgers as they are so good.

I ordered a pepsi and Tom a Dr Pepper, then I noticed today was Tequila Tuesday and I think they were $6 but more if you wanted Milagro or Casamigos, so I think the one I ordered was $8, I chose Milagro as it was a strawberry Margarita, good enough for a flavoured drink and very nice it was too.







Yep, we are not Taco fans in any form, but Tequila Tuesday appeals a lot!!!

​

Tom opted for, after much deliberation to go for The Balboa which had on top of the burgers, shredded beef, onions, mushrooms, provolone cheese and a white cheddar queso on top, it did look really good and had plenty of substance to it.

​

I had gone for the Daredevil which did not live up to expectations, mostly because they did not add the jalapenos nor the spicy mayo, I had asked for it minus the cheese but even so it did look rather sparse and I must have looked a little bemused when I opened it up as she came straight over and asked if everything was ok, I showed her the burger and said some things were missing.....she looked horrified and popped to the kitchen and brought me back a load of jalapenos, pot of spicy mayo and extra jerk sauce!!!

But, this is the before picture as I tucked in before it got cold and it was lovely. The sidewinders are very good too.

Not sure I`d call it The Daredevil though as it could have been spicier, a lot spicier, nice though. ​

We paid up and headed outside to the heat, we love aircon but it was freezing in there today, so we didn`t linger, we had enjoyed our lunch though and glad we had visited again.

​

It is such a lovely area here, we did like the gazebo that you would have in your garden as a central spot, it is really nice and would be a lovely spot to gather in the evenings with a drink chatting with neighbours or friends.​

We drove to ABC wines to pick up a gift and then drove home and did the mandatory couple of hours doing laundry, but glad to get that out of the way again, although the laundry in Sapphire Falls is much larger and has more machines than RP, but still....it`s laundry, not much fun on vacation, I do miss being able to hang it out and get it all dried in the fresh air.

Once everything is dry, it gets hung up or ironed if need be and then we`re ready to head out to the Club Lounge and look forward to dinner with friends who are in from Ohio, we were so looking forward to this. ​

 

[disneyseniors]

And here we have the second best castle in Orlando, yep, Frankenstein`s palace is absolutely the best in our eyes, but this one is still pretty darn cool too.

It is one of the most coveted spots for pictures in the park, we`ve seen engagements, birthday celebrations and even a wedding once, although I`m not convinced it was supposed to happen as they got out of their wedding gear pretty quickly, but it was cute.

So when you do find it quiet, you make the most of it as it was today.
​

We decided to do FJ this morning just to check and feel the difference to Monster`s unchained where I felt no motion issues at all but FJ can sometimes affect me, it`s a one and done a day ride, sometimes twice if I`m lucky, but we`d give it a go.

The EP line was a walk on, we didn`t stop once and I regretted leaving the camera in the lockers, but we just wanted to ride today.
I don`t know if there`s a best seat on this ride, we had the row to ourselves so we both sat in the middle two seats but in this ride I don`t think it matters where you sit at all.

Yes, today this was a one and done, I was ok until you have that flying into the castle motion, it gets me every time and I`m the person that finds closing my eyes makes any motion issues worse, so there`s no real answer on this one for me. It is an incredible ride though and I won`t miss going on it, but it will be just once which is such a shame as Tom could go on this again and again but says it`s not as much fun without me on it with him. I know what he means.

I think aesthetically I prefer Hogsmeade to Diagon Alley, I think.....I`m never sure though as they are both visually stunning, but there`s something about the look of the buildings and time period that I just love and I could spend hours in here alone without doing any other area of the park. ​

Breakfast is still being served when we go into the Hogs Head, so I don`t like to take pictures if I can help it of folks eating, seems very rude, but the bar area was deserted so we did snap a few pictures before it got busier which was only a few minutes later. ​

And of course looking and listening up the stairs to the Inn is a must do. I`m sure you must be bored witless of me saying you have to listen here as you can hear the house elves moving around upstairs and you can see shadows too, the attention to every detail is quite breathtaking, they have missed nothing out here.

We have only been asked once by another guest what were we doing as we leaned forward to listen, I think they must have thought we had lost the plot! But when we told them they were immediately doing the same thing as they didn`t know that detail and their kids were fascinated that the house elves were "upstairs" working. ​

Again, being very conscious of folks eating I managed to snap a picture of the 3 broomsticks before anyone sat down.

I know I already have that picture but it saves me looking back through all the pictures on Smugmug or previous TR`s! I`d be there forever.

Through where most of the tables are is very impressive when you look up, the detail here is just incredible and although I have never been in a place like this in real life, I`d love to visit somewhere like this.

​

You can hear the house elves moving around from here too, but it`s harder to hear clearly as it is much noisier through this side and it is busy this morning, most folks are eating breakfast but there are some waiting for the regular menu as they switch at 10.30 for the lunch/dinner menu.

We just don`t eat here, nothing appeals to us and the menu is just odd and not what Brits see on pub/restaurant menu`s in the UK either, serving a Cornish pasty with salad is just odd!


​

We go back through to the Hog`s Head and order a Pumpkin Fizz to share as it is very sweet and neither of us could finish a full one, but sharing is perfect. Neither of us like Butterbeer, well we could share a frozen one probably, but it`s not our favourite drink. ​

Sitting out the back of the 3B`s is lovely, you get to see and hear everyone enjoying velocicoaster up very close indeed!!

Sometimes the faces are a picture but most of the time everyone is just loving it, it is the most amazing coaster and after we have this drink we`re going to head round and get on it. But, if it`s not too busy this is a really nice place to sit and enjoy a drink or just take 10 minutes away from the bustle. ​

One of our favourite finds in Hogsmeade is the Owl coming out of the tower atop the Owlery. I`m not sure if it always did this since this area opened but it certainly does now and has done for several years since we first spotted it. But, from memory it was a hit or miss and I think it was Kyle that first spotted it way back and from then on we watched out for it, it seems to do it every 15 minutes from on the hour.

We did get a video of it, but there`s too much of us talking in it to play it!!! We are yappy folks ​

The Hogwarts Express is a classic and no matter how many times you see it, it still evokes impressions of travels in steam trains in a bygone time sadly very few of them still run around the UK, but you do get several that are well maintained and do offer trips to various places including the Glenfinnan Viaduct that you do see in the Potter films from the Chamber of Secrets, I`m not sure why it`s not in The Philosopher`s Stone as it is a beautiful shot on the journey to Hogwarts.


​

More coming right up
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[]And of course looking and listening up the stairs to the Inn is a must do.[/]

OMGosh you learn something new every day! I never knew that you could hear the house elves upstairs while listening at the bottom of the stairs! I always look at the stairs when we eat there, but never ever guessed that they were there for a purpose other than atmosphere. Thank you so much for this little gem. We will certainly check this out the next time

One of our favourite finds in Hogsmeade is the Owl coming out of the tower atop

Well, there's another one we missed! We will definitely look for the owl coming out of the tower next time. There always seems to be something else to see and learn about Universal.

 

[disneyseniors]

But, we did go round and again, I was rather nervous before going on this ride, I love it, but it is darn scary at times. I do love the airtime you get on it but again, it scares the bejeesus out of me too!!

Carole, you still can't convince me to ride that ride. Just looking at it gives me the willies, lol.

The menu is huge, it has plenty of choice for even the fussiest of eaters, I had been tempted to try their pierogies, but I was drawn back to the burgers as they are so

Ok, I have to ask: What are pierogies??? I keep thinking of elves or fairies, LOL............

We paid up and headed outside to the heat, we love aircon but it was freezing in there today, so we didn`t linger, we had enjoyed our lunch though and glad we had visited again.

That's the way it is in the South. When we lived in Tennessee, we were used to the blazing heat and the freezing air conditioning in most buildings

 

[schumigirl]

I`m always amazed at how fast Tom can fall asleep, he snoozed while the washer was running, we went back down to put the clothes in the dryer, came back up and he snoozed again instantaneously too!!! How do they do it?

He claimed he was resting his eyes







It didn`t take long to get everything sorted though.
Before we headed over to the Club Lounge we met up with the lovely Raphael in the lobby, he is doing so well and looks so good too, as he came towards us we saw he had no glasses on, laser surgery struck again and it suited him too.

The anoying little guy was in tonight and seemed to enjoy asking the staff things at the most inconvenient time, it looked deliberate but they were very professional with him at all times.

We sat away from where we were and immediately another couple recognised us from a previous trip, they were nice, but did comment they just didn`t understand how we could stay for as long as we did, well, I never comment on how others spend their money so didn`t deign to answer him either. I`m continuously amazed at how pass remarkable some people can be, especially with practical strangers.

The food tonight was rather nice, I would have loved to have had some of the Teriyaki Chicken and Lo Mein, one of our favourite dishes back home and it is done rather well in the lounge. ​

I admit with the crudite, we very rarely touch it except for the olives, but I`ve never thought raw brocolli or cauliflower were ideal for dipping in anything, but it does get eaten so maybe it`s just us after all!

Each to their own of course. ​

I gave in.

I couldn`t resist and neither could Tom, we did wait till a fresh tray of chicken had been brought out, but we did have a bowl with noodles and chicken and I added Tabasco to mine as most things are even better with spice!!!



​

This is a lovely dish, chicken is incredibly tender and although it`s not obviously Teriyaki, it is beautiful and goes really well with the noodles, we could have eaten a little more but wanted to keep our appetites for later.

At 7pm we headed down to Jake`s where we were meeting D&J, they were in from Ohio and had been at Disney today, it was a flying visit as they were leaving tomorrow morning for the airport early, around 5.30am I believe for their flight home, but we were excited to see them.

We first met D in the Club Lounge several years ago through our mutual friend Raymond, she also has the Johnny Depp tattoo on her ankle, we hit it off instantly, have stayed friends ever since and always look forward to meeting up. And tonight we were thrilled her husband J was here too as he doesn`t always make it down due to work commitments. They are just the nicest couple, we adore them both.

We got down first and ordered cocktails, I forget what they were but they were very fruity. A few moments after they arrived our waiter appeared with two very large glasses of white wine, Tom said we hadn`t ordered them, but our waiter said the lady who had been at the bar ordered them for us, paid and left, he said he didn`t know who she was so it wasn`t a TM I assume. We were confused as we never really saw anyone there, but then we weren`t really looking, so whoever it was we were very grateful as they were nice glasses of wine.

When D&J walked in to see us with two drinks each they commented we were getting into the party spirit lol.....we sipped on both through the evening.

It was so nice to see them, both of them were looking so good, all that good living! ​

It usually takes us forever to order when we get together as we chat so much and tonight was no different, but eventually and in quite decent time we all chose and Tom asked if he could have the loaded meat but a pizza instead of the flatbread, no problem of course. It would have pepperoni, ham, Italian sausage and he added jalapenos, always a good choice. ​

I had no idea what I wanted, but in the end went for the Heirloom tomato and Burrata salad, I did like that cheese and it had a light pesto topping, came with a slice of proscuitto and a balsamic dressing. I did add shrimp and asked for jalapenos and a side of honey mustard, perfect dish, not too heavy as I would probably steal a slice of Tom`s pizza, he`d never eat that all by himself. ​

D&J went for the ribs platter for two and it did look good apart from the beans of course, but I think we`d probably get that between us one night, however it is a lot of food, I doubted we`d ever finish it. ​

Before the food arrived, I got a nudge from Tom as I was looking in my bag at the time, he said to me, Carole, you`re about to be very happy......I looked up and there was our friend Raymond walking towards us!!







D had known he was coming but wanted it to be a surprise for me so hadn`t said anything, I was thrilled to see him, but admonished him jokingly as we had only spoken the day before trying to arrange a get together and he never said anything!!!!

He really is one of my favourite people in the whole world, we`ve known him since 2012 and over that time we have got to know each other well and he is very special to us. We miss him working for loews of course but he is so happy and content doing his own thing now and still always makes a point of meeting us every trip and we do keep in touch regularly too.

We had such a good evening, and it went on later than planned with the staff setting up for breakfast all around us as Islands was already closed, but we just didn`t stop talking and laughing the whole evening with Raymond and I reminiscing about funny things that have happened over the years, my tummy hurt so much from laughing at one point.

I think we got up to leave before they actually told us to leave, but we did ask for one guy to take our picture of course, couldn`t leave without doing that, I love this picture of all of us.

I don`t think any of us quite wanted the evening to end, but it was late, very late and the poor staff wanted to go home!!!
We said our goodnights and would speak soon and Raymond headed to his car and we walked back over to Sapphire, all four of us yawning but glad we had all managed to meet up tonight.

I will say the food tonight had been very good, the salad and shrimp were very fresh, Tom`s pizza was lovely and the sharing board looked lovely, we were glad we had come here tonight.

Tonight there was no tv, no pot of tea, it was straight to bed for us and we "planned" to sleep a little later in the morning, but we`d had such a lovely day
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[schumigirl]

OMGosh you learn something new every day! I never knew that you could hear the house elves upstairs while listening at the bottom of the stairs! I always look at the stairs when we eat there, but never ever guessed that they were there for a purpose other than atmosphere. Thank you so much for this little gem. We will certainly check this out the next time

Well, there's another one we missed! We will definitely look for the owl coming out of the tower next time. There always seems to be something else to see and learn about Universal.

lol....those two details are amazing, especially the owl, so many folks never notice it and I agree, there are always details to notice every trip and some I`m always left thinking, how the heck did we miss that before!!!

Carole, you still can't convince me to ride that ride. Just looking at it gives me the willies, lol.

Ok, I have to ask: What are pierogies??? I keep thinking of elves or fairies, LOL............

That's the way it is in the South. When we lived in Tennessee, we were used to the blazing heat and the freezing air conditioning in most buildings

Janet will be the expert on pierogis, I think I even got the spelling wrong first time lol...they are Polish dumplings, often home made and stuffed with things like potato and cheese, very much a traditional comfort food. They have a couple of options at Teak including a whisky bbq sauce, bacon and pulled pork and another with sour cream and siracha alfredo sauce, they both sound so good!!

They do sound a little fable like as opposed to food!

I love both, I love heat but the aircon can be a life saver, one of the reasons I doubt I`d ever wish to live in the South!!

I still think you should give VC a go......lol.....Robin will make sure you`re ok

Glad you`re still along and hope you`re having a lovely weekend

 

[schumigirl]

WEDNESDAY MAY 7TH





We did sleep a little later this morning, well, I slept till around 6.45 which is not exactly what most folks think is having a lie in.

Showered and dressed we wandered over to the lounge for breakfast and we spoke to a lovely couple who were staying for the first time and and were loving everything Universal which is so good to hear.

Breakfast offerings are enough for us, there are so many options but I usually end up with fruit and toast or a mini muffin or two, Tom is pretty standard and has a couple of croissants with honey and coffee, I stick to tea as I`m not really a coffee drinker.

I heard someone complain recently they couldn`t get their Starbucks somewhere and it ruined their day.....really???

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The fruit and the cold meats are very nice, I did come to prefer the fruit in individual portions rather than the large serve yourself bowls, it did feel fresher somehow, but as we are not oat people, the overnight oats do not appeal at all, but they did seem to be popular, so it was a good addition in the end.
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There are several options for donuts, they are usually very fresh and the only ones we might occasionally enjoy are the classic glazed donuts, chocolate and pink ones have never really been to our taste.

Kids love them though! ​

These little coconut muffins are lovely!!
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Some days they have mini Danish pastries and they are a mix of cream cheese, apple and peach but the nicest ones are strawberry, oh lordy I could eat about 10 of them, but don`t! ​

Apple and orange juice are available till breakfast service finishes, yoghurts, milk, assorted cereals and fresh fruit too. ​

The coffee machines in all the Club Lounges were created by one local man who maintains them all and is just the nicest man, the machine serves really good drinks apparently, Kyle liked the hot chocolate which is quite the compliment.

It`s just a little slow so there can be a line to use it at times. ​

You have a little selection of flavours for a shot and then of course the regular coffee and a decaf option.

I tend to only use the boiling water for tea. ​

For tea drinkers there are a fair few options, I stick to English Breakfast or Earl Grey to be fair. ​

I did wonder how many incidents occurred before they put that sign up as they don`t like doing that usually, but there had been several occasions in all our visits where someone would set the smoke alarm off by burning something in the toaster itself.

But, hard to believe folks would put anything other than bread or bagels in it, but, there you go, you can`t legislate sometimes for lack of common sense. ​

The lounge is open from 7am till 9.30 and this is a sample of what`s on offer and as it says they have different offerings at certain times of the day and you can pop in for water, tea, coffee and soft drinks anytime the lounge is open.

The menu for hot dishes changes seasonally, usually twice a year but some dishes stay the same, usually the chicken tenders, and the Club Staff are all Concierge trained so can make reservations and such for anyone and will help with whatever they can.










After breakfast we headed to Sapphire and got in the car and went to do some shopping.

You go into Macy`s for one or two things and end up spending a fortune! I`m not even sure what we bought but there were a lot of Macy`s bags in the suite. We also popped into Walmart for a few bits, and again, came out with more than we planned.

I`m losing the argument that I`m not really a shopper!



Lunch and park time coming right up ​

 

[schumigirl]

We got changed back into park clothes when we got home and then set off for the boat, and at this time of day we weren`t surprised it was almost deserted at the boat dock and once again we got the boat to ourselves when it did arrive.
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It was bliddy hot, now I know that`s an odd thing to say considering we were in Florida, hardly a surprise, but it did feel hotter today than the last couple of days.








The breeze was very pleasant on the boat but we knew this afternoon was going to be a scorcher, I was glad of my hat!

And once again the globe was stuck in one position! ​

The park didn`t look busy at all from here, but certain areas like Potter will always be busy but today we weren`t here to do rides, we were here for the parade. ​

I asked Tom if he fancied a quick ride on RRR but we decided we`d had our last ride on that one. It was going to be announced that August 18th would be the last day for it, shame as it should have been a bigger success than it actually was. It got too rough too quickly and if you weren`t on the front, it could be particularly unpleasant.

But, we did love that first climb and very smooth drop!! ​

But, it was Finnegans for us right now, although as it was so hot we weren`t particularly hungry so thought we might share a dish which we sometimes do here, portions are good and we can fill up on a cocktail or two of course!!

The seats at the bar were all being used, so we kind of waited to see if anyone was moving, one couple said they were nearly ready to move, but then a woman came hurtling towards us from the doorway, apologising for leaving a seat empty, but she had seen someone she knew and was chatting to them, we told her oh goodness no need, it was still her seat.

She spotted our HHN lanyards and made a huge fuss and explained she was a HHN fan too and loved the event, so we chatted about that for a few minutes as she cleared her little area and happliy gave us her seat, she was a woman who was full of the joys of life, very effervescent indeed and she waved as she headed off!!! By this time the couple had left so we had two seats together and Ann Mary said welcome back!!!!

The staff have been here forever and they all know their stuff, she looked at us for a second and declared we were the 2 Rum Neuralyser couple, she was sure we were......lol.....top marks for memory!!!!

And two of the aforementioned drinks were upon us in a few minutes!

If you like a fruity cocktail that has a kick, this is one you will absolutely enjoy. Finnegans certainly does give you a good pour no matter which drink you order. ​

We`ve had several dishes from here, one of our favourites is the cobb salad minus blue cheese, but we`d had that several times and same with the Reuben and burger, so Ann Mary suggested we have the Shrimp Boxty if we`ve never had it as it might not be around much longer.

The menu was being changed very soon and some folks favourite dishes would be missing from then on, so as we had never tried it before we decided to share it today.

It sounded lovely, in the heart of the dish there was a bacon and leek Boxty potato and it is dressed with gulf shrimp, sauteed corn, chopped asparagus tips, baby tomatoes and a beautiful citrus butter sauce and it looked lovely when it did arrive and a very good portion, plenty to share between us.

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I wish we`d had this dish before, it genuinely was beautiful and very delicate, not too heavy and yet, filled us up nicely.

Someone ordered another Neuralyser ok it was me .....but I did have the same amount of water as cocktails and then some due to the heat out there today. Drinking at lunch time is not usual for me apart from on trips of course.

Glen, who has also worked here forever made this one up......wow!!! I had to check there was some fruit juice in there, it was strong but still so lovely!!

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I just had my water topped up when a man came in with a woman asking for water and some help, his wife had taken ill and she did not look well. They got the first aider who was there in a flash and began to treat her for heat exhaustion, poor woman, but her husband looked terrified too. They did get her moved and we hoped she was ok. Those roaming paramedics are amazing and you do see them roaming around the parks and hope you never need them, they do a tremendous job though.

We finished up, thanked the staff and paid the check before heading out into the heat of the day. To be fair, we are never usually in the parks at this time of day, mornings or evenings are our times for rides and enjoying the atmosphere, but for the parade we made the exception.

Delancey Street is one of the most fun streets in the park, they have the Blues Bros here many times a day and it just makes the street come alive, but right now it was deserted!!
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The windows around the park have always had nods to people who are important to Universal whether in past days or up to date and the newest addition was Mark Woodbury who is now Chairman and CEO of Universal Destinations and Experiences, seemingly a very nice man and glad to see him getting a mention on such a prominent position.
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The Blues Bros are very, very good and their show brings people together singing and even dancing a little on the street when they do perform which is several times a day and it is worth seeing more than once.

I`m told I let the side down by saying I had never seen the Blues Bros movie as a teen, I did watch it several years ago, but I doubt I`d watch it again, however the singing Brothers here are excellent to see.



Parade coming right up!!!​

 

[schumigirl]

The shaded area this side of the street was very popular today, but we stood as far back as we could until the parade started which wasn`t far away now.

People often ask on the boards if they need to stake out a spot for the parade before hand and how busy does it get, well this was certainly a quiet Wednesday afternoon but any other time we`ve seen the parade in this area, it never usually gets any busier than this.
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At 2pm it begins and it really is a very cute parade, it`s not huge nor is it overly elaborate, but it is done really well. We do move from the safety of the shade towards the edge to get some hopefully good pictures, but holy heatwave, it was blazing hot now!!

The dancers are the first thing you see and the smiles are infectious, they interact with the folks on the sidewalks and they especially pay attention to little kids too and they love it.

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I admit my pictures are out of order for some days, lord knows what happened, I think because some were off my phone and we uploaded them with Tom`s camera, so they were mixed! Won`t make that mistake again, so I`m not sure if they show the floats in correct order or not, but I think BttF was up first.

Who doesn`t love these movies, absolute classics and still watchable today.

The actors playing the parts are always superb, Universal do so well with casting and they always play to the crowds exactly as Marty and Doc would behave. ​

I know the picture below is Trolls or something similar, but the picture above I have no clue, I could Google, but I`m sure most will know what film it`s from.

We are not really fans of kiddy animated movies as you can probably tell.
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Kung Fu Panda???

Yes, I think I`m right with this one.

The display was really nice and no one dropped anything today unlike last time, one of them dropped their stick and one of the girls in the Jaws display dropped her baton on the same day, it`s never nice to see any of them make an error, but they always recover well.
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More parade coming up ​

 

[angryduck71]

but the picture above I have no clue, I could Google, but I`m sure most will know what film it`s from

Sing. And, Sing 2 stars my favorite (Bono)... and, er, not yours. I won't hold it against you (much)....

 

[schumigirl]

Sing. And, Sing 2 stars my favorite (Bono)... and, er, not yours. I won't hold it against you (much)....

lol....you crack me up!!!

Now I know why I avoided that movie

jk.......I do like the odd song of theirs, well, ok, maybe just the one ......better than nothing isn`t it haha

 

[schumigirl]

The Minions always bring extra happiness and they did get an extra cheer when they appeared and yes, you do hear several folks shouting out to them and it`s always the same thing.....




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Minions is one of the few animated movies we have watched along with Shrek and with both movies, we like the first movie but not the follow ups, didn`t enjoy them at all.

But, the characters are just incredible!!

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And the classic that is Ghostbusters!!!

Now, another occasion where you begin to realise just how long ago this film was made!! ​

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They are exceptional characters and it does capture the main event in this movie with the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and of course Gozer who appears as Zuul, the Gatekeeper who asks Ray atop the building if he is a God!

Brilliant. ​

Not forgetting the poor older lady in the library scene at the beginning of the movie!!

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Next up is the infamous heart wrenching movie ET.

This was the first movie Kyle cried while watching it, well it was either this or Mighty Joe Young, but I admit I was right there with him and bawl my eyes out every time I watch it, which is not often now, it takes a lot of energy to be that upset!!




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To tell the truth we would be glad to see the end of this parade today, the heat was incredible and my phone showed us at 97F and humidity too which made for an uncomfortable stand right in the heat, but it didn`t have long to go now and as soon as it was over we`d head home into the cool.

Celebrating 50 years since it`s release this year is the ultimate movie to put you off swimming or in my case even going in the ocean, the mighty Jaws.

Chief Brody and the Mayor tangle with each other in front of the crowd and they are very funny in their exasperation with each other, one wanting the beach closed due to the massive Great White Shark that will attack anything in the water, the other naturally placing money before human life.

We have a soft spot for this movie and watch it once a year around July 4th as it is tradition and this is one of those movies that will be popular forever. Again, not fond of the sequels, sometimes it`s best to leave a classic on it`s own. ​

The guy playing Quint on this float wasn`t as accurate as the guy from last year, he was eerily accurate to how Robert Shaw looked in the movie, this guy was just ok but from the distance, he was fine. ​

Chez Alcatraz is celebrating the anniversary too and for a limited time they were offering foods themed around Jaws and offering pretty decent merchandise and photo ops too, we still had to visit that little area.

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We miss the Jaws ride!!

It was a troubled ride with many issues and cost a fortune to maintain, but it was fun and the boat captains were all excellent. if you follow X or maybe blogs Alicia Stella who offers up some amazing information used to be one of the Captains and she was very good, as they all were, yes this ride is missed by many.

But it was cleared to make room for Harry potter and Diagon Alley which is an amazing area and we all know how wonderful it is for Universal, but for those of us who were around all these years ago, we all wish they could have kept this as well as Potter.

Just one of the many scenes from the ride, but one of the best scenes!!

Jurassic Park is again an amazing set of movies, not exactly my favourite as they are a little too gory for me and too stupid too.

It`s a little like a horror movie where the heroine is told not to go into the woods/house on her own as it`s dangerous because the psychopath is waitig for her, but what does she do......yep.....

So, when someone suggests going to an island where people eating dinosaurs roam the earth and you may have no means of escape......yes, that sounds a good idea....not. ​

In saying that.........









Yep here comes the back track.....I don`t mind the first movie at all, in moderation and quite like Jurassic World Dominion mainly because I like Chris Pratt in a movie, but generally speaking they`re not a set of movies I`ll sit down to watch in a marathon the way we do with Potter/PotC/Insidious movies and similar. ​

I do think however it is one of the best of the floats in this little parade, it is very realistic and the dino`s are quite scary up close, some little ones close to us were a little alarmed but one set of parents did take their kids away, the other, well, they cajoled their kids until they saw they weren`t real in the end. ​

And that was the end of Universal`s Mega Movie Parade again, we did enjoy it and were once again glad we endured the heat of the afternoon to see it again. It`s not huge but they do cover some of their classics.

I did say I wish they could do the Classic Monsters in a parade, but maybe not suitable for some little one`s!!

We`d love it.

We were melting as it felt like a million degrees about now, so we stopped in at the Wicked store only to cool down a little and it worked, a few minutes in there and we felt better, we crossed the street and bought two bottles of water and had them sitting on the wall on the way out then headed to the boats.

Love this view, it is just so beautiful and you can see how Universal are so good at the upkeep of all things landscaping around, everything is just lovely and so well kept. ​

We were back home in a few minutes and this was a welcome sight today for us, we were ready for a shower and a snooze before heading back out tonight.
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Tonight we planned to do a mini hotel bar crawl! ​

 

[angryduck71]

I still remember my mom and a Disney clerk at the Disneyland hotel shop telling me that the Matterhorn Yeti was real and trapped inside there. I was about 5 or 6... and totally believed it. Would not keep my eyes open in the ride. Well, then when Davy was about the same age, there was a dinosaur exhibit here and you could push buttons to make them move. I had the T-Rex growl at Davy and he lept as high as that kid on the electric fence in the original Jurassic Park. Then, other dinos moved without buttons and he took off RUNNING as my mom and I stood there laughing so hard our stomachs hurt. I say all of this to say... I totally would have told my kid those dinos in the parade were real. I bet Davy tells his grankids something like that. Seems to be an inherited trait.....

I do need to see this parade. Looks fabulous!

 

[schumigirl]

We did have a snooze and it was much needed, I think the heat had zapped us a little today, but after an hour or so we got showered and headed over to the Club Lounge where the hot dish tonight was Marinara Meatballs and Three Cheese Tortellini, we did have a small taste of the meatballs and they were quite nice, Tom had a little pasta too, but wasn`t as keen on it. But, it was a little snack to keep us going till later although dinner tonight would be a little snack in both hotel bars.

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We both enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine in the lounge tonight as neither of us would be driving, tonight was purely onsite and our transport tonight was going to be the boats to and from Citywalk and the other hotels and we did hope it had cooled down a little somehow.

We did first go down to Jake`s for a drink and we both had a cocktail, but we got chatting to a couple beside us and completely forgot to take pictures and as we had just sampled the meatballs we didn`t plan to order a snack in here anyway.

Jake`s is a really good bar to sit at, if you can, it does get very busy most nights as they have tremendous staff working there right now.

We did have to drag ourselves away from Daniel and I think Clare (I`m so sorry I forget) as they were a lot of fun and a very nice couple too, but we headed to the boat dock and waited a few minutes for a boat and we were lucky at Citywalk and the Portofino boat was waiting, so we hopped straight on and we were glad to feel it was a little cooler than it had been, almost a perfect temperature.

We did used to like Bar American in Portofino Bay before they incorporated it into their newly revamped Club Lounge several years ago, but we had never ventured into The Thirsty Fish Bar which we passed often on the way to Sal`s or for a meet up here, so we thought we`d give it a try.

I will say one of the lovely managers we know suggested we might not like it too much and we wondered why.

There were a few people sitting outside eating but when we went in it was practically deserted, there were three barmen and a rather indifferent looking manager all standing behind the bar seemingly not doing much. ​

It has a very dark theme inside, plenty of tables though and although the doors were wide open it was cool enough to not feel that heat come in, we were wondering where to sit when one of the barmen said very nicely it was open seating and welcome!

We sat at the bar and he brought us some menu`s and I will say he was very nice, chatty and friendly and we said this was our first time in, he explained the menu and asked our preferences, I said I like Tequila and he immediately suggested The Lady Guava which had Patrón Silver Tequila, Los Siete Misterios Mezcal, guava purée, lime juice, soda, I did like the sound of it so said yep, I`d try that.

Tom opted to have The Galileo which strangely for him was a vodka based cocktail with passion fruit puree, Giffard Orgeat syrup and lemon juice. It was topped with one of my favourite things which is a sour cherry, they are lush!!!

For a snack we decided to share the Patatine Fritte which was basically fries with garlic and parmesan with a spicy dip to go with them which were actually quite nice, very fresh and crispy.

I do think they alter some items on their very small menu as these aren`t on the menu any longer, but they were nice.

Us of course and me with my Lady Guava cocktail which was not the best drink I`ve ever had. I don`t think they give the best pour here. Tom`s was ok which is not what you should think when you have a drink.

Apart from our waiter who was lovely, we didn`t like anything about this bar in general, yes, it sounds moany, but it didn`t have that warm welcoming feeling that most places have we venture to, the bar itself just didn`t have any charm or any personality and since the cocktails were nothing to write home about, I don`t think we`ll go back.

Portofino Bay is a little like that for us, it looks nice enough, but just doesn`t have enough personality for us to ever want to stay there, I can`t quite put my finger on it but it`s not for us. We used to always go for Sal`s pizza but over the last couple of years it has gone downhill so we don`t get our pizza from there anymore, shame as it used to be the best onsite pizza there was.

Tom laughed as we wandered the piazza, my dreaded opera singer moment!!! I avoid them like the plague, I blame it on having to suffer Operas in Paris with school and I always joke it scarred me for life, never quite got the taste for opera or jazz for that matter!!!

However, they were just finishing so we were spared. I am being unfair as many folks love it, just not for me.

I think this was the busiest we had ever seen the piazza, except for once at Christmas. During the day it can be like the Marie Celeste!!

It is beautiful, especially in this light and it does look remarkably like the real Portofino which we have visited a couple of times but once we visited when they had drain issues and it was not the most pleasant of visits, thankfully it was a short one!!

We walked the very short walk to Hard Rock Hotel, they are so close together it takes about 10 minutes from one to the other and you do have to cross the main road but they do have lights, so it is easy to cross.
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I do like the entrance to the HRH, it is impressive and very pretty but a little like Portofino, we`ve never wanted to stay here but it is nice to visit. ​

The Velvet Bar is a really nice bar, they have live music and tonight they had a guy singing who was excellent and not too noisy, we do like to be able to chat while we have a drink and food too.

We sat in a little corner as the bar was so busy, but after we got our food all the folks on the right hand side of the bar left so we moved up there as it was just easier to eat, the tables in this little area were so low. ​

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I ordered a Sangria and Tom opted for the Old Fashioned which he thought was very decent and I liked the Sangria as it had a decent kick to it as well as being very fruity. ​

We were a little peckish now, so Tom ordered a hot dog and I forget the flavour of the topping but it was gorgeous, and I`m not really a hot dog fan, but this was a nice one! ​

I couldn`t resist the Charcuterie with meats, fruits, olives and pickles, we also got the bread to go with the mustard butter which was so nice as was the bread surprisingly.​

We moved up to the bar and we noticed the lady who had the red sweatshirt on had the most huge plate of fries, they looked gorgeous but we had our dishes and they were lovely.

The hot dog and charcuterie we would order them again without a doubt the meats were very nice indeed.

The barman was chatty and we said it had been years since we had been in here, he asked where we usually went and we said the best bar around was Strong Water Bar in Sapphire Falls and began to tell him all about it, he said he had never been but planned to go. He was really nice, both barmen were actually and this was a bar we would come back to again.

All of a sudden we saw the woman in red was standing between us saying I can`t believe two of my favourite people are here......we turned to see Sattina from Strong Water Bar standing!!

How did we not notice it was her sitting a few seats along from us??

Certainly you never expect to see someone out of the usual environment you see them in and she was thinking the same with us.....she hadn`t looked at our faces but when she heard Strong Water mentioned she paid attention and came over to say hi. She is the nicest lady and we`ve known her a long time, and tonight we got to meet her lovely husband too, after hearing so many nice things about him it was nice to finally meet him.

But I was still amazed I never noticed her!!

The staircase down from the lobby is very pretty and we head down to walk to Citywalk and get a drink at Fat Tuesday`s or Cowfish.



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However when we got outside the rain had started and someone said lightning was seen a few minutes ago, so we hopped on the boat and hoped we got on the Sapphire boat before they stopped them for weather.

We were lucky, we switched boats and got home before it really started up.

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We ended up in a very empty Strong Water Bar and the lovely Angel was looking after us tonight, I opted for a Casamigos margarita and Tom went for the very strong and potent Mai Tai. Christian remembered I don`t like a rim on the glass, I had forgotten to tell Angel when I ordered it. First class service all around but it was strange to see this place so deserted.

The nice thing about the bar being almost empty is we get to chat more to the lovely staff who are almost always run off their feet, so we did get to have a good old catch up with Angel and a couple of others and they do miss Fernando and the others that left a lot. But they do still have a very good team there and of course Chef Carlos too who would be impossible to replace.

Barb is someone who loves real cameras and she thinks ours is one of best around so she always has a look at it and has given Tom a few tips on how to alter settings and so on, it`s nice to still use a real camera.

Yes, she snapped a picture.

We sat till almost 11.30, when you`re chatting you never realise the time and we had planned an earlier night than this, but we said our goodnights and headed down to our suite.

We had some water from the fridge and settled down to watch some movie before we fell asleep and watched the lightning that was quite decent to watch, but before long I was out for the count.




More park time tomorrow
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