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

[disneyseniors]

We headed inside and one of the women who has worked here in probably forever has an elephant like memory and she did look at us for a second or two and said....Scotland!!! Yes ma`am, that`s us, amazing memory for a lady who sees hundreds of people a week but as she said, they don`t get too many Scottish people here.

We got a table inside and I popped to the bathroom and Tom ordered us water and two cokes, it was too hot for a cocktail today. I knew we wouldn`t take long ordering as we more or less knew what we wanted, but it`s just nice sitting in the cool while we perused the menu.

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One of their best known dishes was one one of the first things we ordered, Hush Puppies, these little bundles of delight were amazing and the ones from here are among the best we have ever tasted!!

However today, we had to admit they weren`t the usual high standard, a little overdone, maybe a little too crispy but the inside was still lovely and they had given us a double order, so we made a good effort to finish them but we did need the dipping sauces to help them along. ​

They used to give you a kind of herbed butter that was a little spicy alongside the cocktail and tartare sauces, but it wasn`t on the tray today.

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I was so hungry today but, once I`d had a couple of those little angel dumplings, I felt fine ​

Lunch was an easy choice today, Tom opted for the crab cake sandwich with fries, which are very nice as far as fries go.
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I am the most boring person on the planet at times, if I like a dish, I order it till the cows come home and the crab stuffed flounder here is beautiful. Although technically I wouldn`t describe it as stuffed exactly as the flounder is more placed on top of the crab stuffing, but I`m being pedantic here as it is beautiful. I went with no fries today as the Hush Puppies were incredibly filling. ​

Tom`s crab cake was very nice, not as nice as it usually is because it had a little more filler than usual, last time it was all crab, however he still enjoyed it, my flounder was perfect and it was a lovely meal, we were glad we had come back here today.

We paid the check and the waitress asked if we had seen any wildlife today, we told her what we had seen and she was amazed we had seen a gator, I said yes, it was clear as day and two fisheman spotted it too. She reiterated you very rarely see one of those nasty suckers around, but I`m surprised they don`t see more of them to be honest!!

We got back in the car, it was just too hot to wander anywhere today, we drove to ABC Wines and picked up a little something for one of our SA friends, it was his 40th birthday today and we dropped it off on the way home, had a quick soda and we were happy to hear the Death Eaters were coming back this year to HHN. Even though we weren`t doing them any more, I still hoped it would be a fabulous event after it being so bad last few years.

We got back home and had a half an hour snooze, well more of a resting of the eyes for a little time, well, that`s our excuse and we`ll stick to it

Sometimes a little 20 minute power nap does us well

We headed over to the Club Lounge and tonight we did make room for a little taster of one of the nicest dishes they served up here, Lo Mein and Teriyaki Chicken, it is lovely!!

Especially with some added Tabasco Sauce!!
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I wished we were a little more hungry tonight to enjoy a little more chicken and noodles, but the bowl we had was more than enough, we did however enjoy a few glasses of some fizzy and we really enjoyed those!!

The ladies working made sure our glass wasn`t empty for long, they look after everyone so well in the lounge. It is such a relaxing time up here and we always enjoy sitting chilling with a glass of something nice enjoying chatting with other folks or just enjoying each others company. ​

Tonight was fun, there was a nice crowd in and we got chatting to some lovely people tonight, but we weren`t hanging around as we wanted to go back into the Studios and get us some Jaws memorabilia!!!




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More coming right up
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One of their best known dishes was one one of the first things we ordered, Hush Puppies

OMGosh, you managed to hit all my favorite boxes this time I absolutely love hush puppies. They made the best hush puppies in Tennessee, along with catfish. I know, I know, you are probably making sick sounds to the catfish. I agree, but these are fresh water farm raised and taste delicious along with the hush puppies. That's one thing I really miss by living up North. Somehow Lefsa doesn't cut it for us

Lunch was an easy choice today, Tom opted for the crab cake sandwich with fries, which are very nice as far as fries go

Crab cakes are the only seafood I can eat, and I love a fresh well made crab cake sandwich.
Everything on your platters look wonderful.

 

[schumigirl]

OMGosh, you managed to hit all my favorite boxes this time I absolutely love hush puppies. They made the best hush puppies in Tennessee, along with catfish. I know, I know, you are probably making sick sounds to the catfish. I agree, but these are fresh water farm raised and taste delicious along with the hush puppies. That's one thing I really miss by living up North. Somehow Lefsa doesn't cut it for us

Crab cakes are the only seafood I can eat, and I love a fresh well made crab cake sandwich.
Everything on your platters look wonderful.

lol.....I avoided Hush Puppies for years, having not the first clue what they were, and never got around to asking for some reason!!

I did try Catfish once, it didn`t appeal to me and I didn`t eat it but maybe it was where I had it, but crab cakes.....a good crab cake is hard to miss out on.

Funny you mention Lefsa, I was ok with it, we tried it in Norway years ago and it was at breakfast, again it was ok. In Scotland we have a thing called a potato scone or more commonly called a "Tattie scone" up there....very unhealthy as you have to fry them with breakfast, but oh my goodness they are delicious!! They aren`t the same elsewhere in the UK where they call them potato cakes, but when we go back to Scotland tattie scones are one of the items we crave!! Some folks also have them with just some butter on them and they are quite nice that way too weirdly.

Not the best breakfast picture but the first one I came across from one of our hotel breakfast pics up there.....there are so many more items to choose from but this was what Tom ordered one morning. The tattie scones here are lovely!

Now I want a tattie scone!!! ​

 

[disneyseniors]

lol.....I avoided Hush Puppies for years, having not the first clue what they were, and never got around to asking for some reason!!

I did try Catfish once, it didn`t appeal to me and I didn`t eat it but maybe it was where I had it, but crab cakes.....a good crab cake is hard to miss out on.

Funny you mention Lefsa, I was ok with it, we tried it in Norway years ago and it was at breakfast, again it was ok. In Scotland we have a thing called a potato scone or more commonly called a "Tattie scone" up there....very unhealthy as you have to fry them with breakfast, but oh my goodness they are delicious!! They aren`t the same elsewhere in the UK where they call them potato cakes, but when we go back to Scotland tattie scones are one of the items we crave!! Some folks also have them with just some butter on them and they are quite nice that way too weirdly.

Not the best breakfast picture but the first one I came across from one of our hotel breakfast pics up there.....there are so many more items to choose from but this was what Tom ordered one morning. The tattie scones here are lovely!

Now I want a tattie scone!!! ​

We have a large Norwegian population up here, and lefsa making around Christmas is a big thing. I do like it with butter and sugar I could never get into lutefisk either, ick! Your tattie scones sound wonderful.

 

[schumigirl]

We have a large Norwegian population up here, and lefsa making around Christmas is a big thing. I do like it with butter and sugar I could never get into lutefisk either, ick! Your tattie scones sound wonderful.

I never thought to try it with butter and sugar, that does sound nicer.

Some Norwegian food was beautiful, the seafood was exceptional but we love raw/cooked fish in most forms, however they do have some unique dishes that weren`t for us lol Shark and ratfisk were the worst things on the planet, couldn`t eat them at all and neither could Tom! We do love Trout so they did suggest we should try Ratfisk.....bleurgh!!!

I`d rather eat green beans with a side of trifle

New laptop comes today ​

 

[disneyseniors]

I never thought to try it with butter and sugar, that does sound nicer.

Some Norwegian food was beautiful, the seafood was exceptional but we love raw/cooked fish in most forms, however they do have some unique dishes that weren`t for us lol Shark and ratfisk were the worst things on the planet, couldn`t eat them at all and neither could Tom! We do love Trout so they did suggest we should try Ratfisk.....bleurgh!!!

I`d rather eat green beans with a side of trifle

New laptop comes today ​

I`d rather eat green beans with a side of trifle

Ratfisk must really be bad if you'd rather eat it than those delicious green beans, . Even the name turns me off.

 

[schumigirl]

Happy New Laptop day!!!!

Yep, my keyboard had been giving up the ghost this last week, letters were sticking or typing numerous times instead of once, it was very irritating. I had gone out shopping the other day and came home to a little package of one of my favourite perfumes that my wonderful husband had ordered for me that had arrived and then he said he had ordered me a new laptop!!!

He is the best!!!!

I was so happy he arranged it as I wouldn`t have a clue which one or spec to order except it has to be a Dell!! So, it arrived this afternoon and we spent an hour setting it up and it is fabulous....I can now type without bashing the keys!!







Back to normal service now






It was a beautiful evening, with that little breeze blowing we were enjoying walking around the park in this early evening.

Jaws was of course celebrating it`s 50 year anniversary and what a classic that movie really is.

I was 7 when it came out and one of my brothers took me to the cinema to see it despite it being rated 12 and over only in the UK. Back then no one seemed to pay much attention to things like that, I have fond memories of getting into 18 and over scary movies when I was about 15 with friends, Halloween 2 being the scariest of them all!!!

When my mum found out he had taken me to see it, she was incandescent with ire and even I winced as she never yelled at us.....he was not in the good books!!

But, it gave me the love of this movie from a fairly young age and even today it`s one we watch once a year or so and like most people use the famous phrases from the movie, the most popular being "we`re gonna need a bigger boat" and we can always fit it into most dialogues, mainly shopping for me I find!!

So we were looking forward to this little display and we also wanted some merchandise, so we first headed into the store and they only had the sipper cups and the plastic 1975 cups. The TM said the shirts we wanted would be in tomorrow, so we`d pick them up either then or the next day but we got a few things sent back to the room for now.

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We did wonder if this was the original Amity sign that used to welcome you when the now Potter area was home to the much missed Jaws ride and the town of Amity, it`s probably new, but it`s nice to think it might have been the original hauled out of obscurity for this little event.

Chez Alcatraz is a really nice little place, it has been revamped recently and home of the much appreciated barman Murph who you apparently see more on folks social media than any other Universal barman. He is nice, but I do prefer the other barman when it comes to a good pour

Many years ago they used to serve food, snack type options and it was nice enough to have something with your drinks, we often lamented about the snacks and wished they`d bring them back, but we were told no, however they have brought some special items for this event.

Being honest they didn`t appeal to us so we weren`t too bothered that it started after we had gone home this visit. I have to say we haven`t heard great reviews of what they had to offer either.

My cocktail of choice here is the San Francisco Bay Breeze, it is very refreshing and feels quite light when you drink it, Tom varies between The Bruce and a simple beer, depending on the time of day.

We do miss the seating around the bar, it was always nice to sit with a drink and chat to many different folks from all over, I do hope they bring back the seating.

And the classic Bruce photo op that every Jaws lover has to get!

Dull as dishwater I know without a gimic for a pose!! Some folks do quite elaborate pictures here, but I`m afraid I am quite dull with this one!

And this was the newest picture opportunity to take.....I think I should have maybe looked a little scared for the picture like others did, but no, I was just having fun!!

This whole area is lovely, if you ignore Fast & Furious, one of the worst decisions Universal ever made....IMO of course


Disaster A major motion picture ride starring.....you.....was very cool and yes, maybe a little lame but it was one of those rides you had to do every visit. It was certainly a load more fun and deserved a better replacement than F&F!!

Lombards is a lovely restaurant, especially for being in the centre of a theme park, it`s very traditional and if you ask for upstairs there are some lovely views over the park from the balcony.

The food for us is a hit or a miss, more misses than hits over the years, so for us I don`t think we`ll be returning any time soon which is a shame as it could be amazing. The seafood is generally frozen and there`s no excuse for that in my mind, it`s so easy to get fresh. If you want a simple sandwich or a burger it`s fine though.

More coming right up ​

 

[schumigirl]

Ratfisk must really be bad if you'd rather eat it than those delicious green beans, . Even the name turns me off.

The thing is we love trout whether it be sea or river trout, so we assumed it would be lovely, it really wasn`t.

But, when you`re in a different country you have to try the local food and we usually love mostly everything we try, but this fish was a definite never again, even if you paid us to try it!! Yes, I`d rather eat those green beans lol

In general we love food from that part of the world, Swedish, Finnish and Norwegian food is usually lovely and so fresh, have you got lots of those types of restaurants around you?​

 

[schumigirl]

We had friends visit last night and we got talking about trips to Orlando, as we do, and they lamented thay had never been on Jaws!! So, I can`t resist going back in time a little to when Jaws and Amity were one of the highlights of visiting Universal Studios in Orlando. It looks very different now, but at one point when you passed Lombards you were transported to a summer in Amity back in 1975.

I used to hear folks saying that area was dull and not much fun, it did have a lot of games to play around Amity, but the Jaws ride was up there with the greats, simple as it was. However, it was incredibly expensive to run and wasn`t without it`s faults regarding breakdowns, but it was loved.

This was the first time we had ever heard of Nathan`s Hotdogs when we came into Amity and we did indulge with one each and I was surprised to say we did really enjoy them. Kyle and I were not folks that really ate hot dogs, Tom enjoyed one now and again, but these were lovely.

And yes, it really was really quiet back in 07/08, but there were some days when the line to the Jaws ride was completely full to bursting, it seemed everyone was either on The Mummy or here for Jaws.

I remember Kyle was enjoying a funnel cake today sitting in the sun, he had never heard of it never mind try it but he did like it.

Bruce was rather fittingly had centre place in Amity and we never saw it hugely popular as a photo op back then, but it was certainly in a more prominent position than it is now.

The ride was the centre of this area though, and it was beautifully done from the moment you entered the line, so much detail.

There is a blogger, well she has a Twitter account that is very popular, Alicia Stella, back then she was one of the boat Captains on this ride, I might be wrong but I think she did one of the last rides on the day it finally closed. We did have her as a boat Capt several times and she was a lot of fun.

We took this in 2008, I wish I had taken more pictures back then, it was before I even thought about doing TR`s, but we did capture the essence of it all. This was one of the days the whole place was deserted.

We will never forget one time when the line was super long as it was the weekend and the line was all the way outside of the shade and we had EP so we went on, came off, straight back on and did the same again. The next time we came to do it again we were jovially booed by a group who had seen us do the ride again and again and they had barely moved

It was done in a light hearted way but you could feel their frustration, I think at that point we vowed never to go without EP in the future.

Some of it was very beautiful indeed but the best part was still to come and this was a ride that TM`s really got to shine as they did act the part wonderfully and passengers on the boat got a full performance from them all the way around as you veer ever further nearer the dangerous shark we knew to be roaming under the surface somewhere.

And then he was upon you and again the TM`s built it up amazingly well and did a good job of saving us from being chomped on by the vengeful Bruce!!

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I vividly remember the heat from this explosion, it was quite immense, incredibly dramatic and part of the expense around the ride we were told. It was very funny when some folks didn`t realise it was going to happen or didn`t know it was supposed to be quite as elaborate for such a small area.

Yes, it is for us and many others a much missed ride.

2012 showed some amazing changes to the park and many a person mentioned the park was changing into something no one would recognise in the coming years and looking at the amount of work they were doing, we believed them.

2013 for us saw massive changes, we were still only going once a year back then but the shock to see these amazing buildings seemingly pop up so quickly was quite incredible. Universal don`t hang around when it comes to rebuilding something they want to change.

You only have to look at the space between the HRC and the back area of RRR right now and you can see they are already prepping for rebuilding whatever will replace RRR.

And today, we have this.....

Bringing Harry Potter and everything the amazing JK Rowling has created to Universal certainly has changed the parks forever, for both parks and future investment. Some folks today only know Universal through Potter and it has brought crowds beyond what most expected, and rightly so as both parks have so much to offer beyond potter.

But, sometimes we do lament about the days before it was so busy, simple rides like Jaws seem to be a thing of the past and maybe that is a good thing, but I may sound like I`m 185 but I do yearn for those less crowded days at times when everything was so much quieter.

For my lovely friend Sue, hope you like the pictures ​

 

[schumigirl]

We have a birthday

Our lovely Janet ( @keishashadow ) is celebrating today and nobody celebrates like the keshia`s!!!!
So, I hope you have a wonderful weekend and extend it as much as you can, nothing beats celebrating for as long as you can!!!















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[disneyseniors]

The thing is we love trout whether it be sea or river trout, so we assumed it would be lovely, it really wasn`t.

But, when you`re in a different country you have to try the local food and we usually love mostly everything we try, but this fish was a definite never again, even if you paid us to try it!! Yes, I`d rather eat those green beans lol

In general we love food from that part of the world, Swedish, Finnish and Norwegian food is usually lovely and so fresh, have you got lots of those types of restaurants around you?​

There is a large Norwegian population up here. When we first moved here, I told everyone that we "moved to the land of tall blondes", lol. It's very noticeable that there are many of that ancestry here.
Around Christmas there is a lot of lefsa and other Norwegian food available.
Our town is a tourist town with local restaurants. We don't have any Norwegian food restaurants. Our area is in the 11,800-lake district (even though the media calls it the Land of 10,000 lakes, lol). So fishing, water skiing, all the water sports are big here on our lakes. We have a yearly event where there are dragon boat races and people come from all over to participate. It's a fun event with lots of funny costumes. Anyone can participate - it's not for athletes. We are also in the North Woods area and are surrounded with National forests and state forests. There is no industry here except for the lumber industry. Therefore, there is no pollution, and I'm thankful for that.
So, after that long answerwe don't have any speciality restaurants around here There is a wonderful little Italian restaurant about 60 miles from here. It is in the middle of Nothing! There is only one short road in this "town" with a church, 2 restaurants, and tourist stores. We drive there at least twice a year to eat. That's over an hour each way

 

[schumigirl]

This evening was just so gorgeous and again the slightly cooler temps were so appreciated, we love the heat but at times it`s nice to walk in that little breeze.


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We love this area and can spend a long time just wandering around here, it`s so pretty and spending time with the conductor is always fun if you`ve never done it and the talking head of course!

The Knight Bus is a fabulous addition to this area and don`t forget to head to the rear of the bus and have a look at the interior where it is identical to the bus in the movie.

I don`t think I have ever seen a building so pink as the sweet shop!!! As far as pink goes, this is very pink, but we were glad to see they had brought the House Elf Placement Agency sign out of retirement. It used to sit above what is now the Globus Mundi travel store when it was a fake store front.

It was so quiet at this point, there were a few folks around but not many, we decided at this point we would do this again, we don`t often come in on the evening except for horror nights, but this was fabulous given how deserted it was.

Gringott`s Money Exchange is well worth a visit, you can buy Wizarding World money and use it around the WW, or give it as gifts, I know that`s always appreciated, kids love using WW money.

And you can speak to the Head Goblin of the bank, this is fun, he does respond to any questions you care to ask, he may not respond in the friendliest of manners though, but he will answer.

One of the highlights of Diagon Alley for sure is the dragon atop Gringott`s Bank, every 15 minutes it breathes a whole load of fire down on everyone standing watching and it is something to see, everyone loves it and folks love a picture to cherish of that moment.....us included.

Yes, we still take this same picture every trip. We had never captured the sun shine on the tail before and it did look very nice indeed.

It is still lovely to see that fire after all these years and it`s still fun to see the reactions of those around us, kids and adults alike.

The Fountain of Fair Fortune is a place some folks pass by, but you can get drinks including Butterbeer in here and barring main holidays it`s never usually too crowded.

We were loving how deserted this place was tonight!!!

More to come
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[schumigirl]

There is a large Norwegian population up here. When we first moved here, I told everyone that we "moved to the land of tall blondes", lol. It's very noticeable that there are many of that ancestry here.
Around Christmas there is a lot of lefsa and other Norwegian food available.
Our town is a tourist town with local restaurants. We don't have any Norwegian food restaurants. Our area is in the 11,800-lake district (even though the media calls it the Land of 10,000 lakes, lol). So fishing, water skiing, all the water sports are big here on our lakes. We have a yearly event where there are dragon boat races and people come from all over to participate. It's a fun event with lots of funny costumes. Anyone can participate - it's not for athletes. We are also in the North Woods area and are surrounded with National forests and state forests. There is no industry here except for the lumber industry. Therefore, there is no pollution, and I'm thankful for that.
So, after that long answerwe don't have any speciality restaurants around here There is a wonderful little Italian restaurant about 60 miles from here. It is in the middle of Nothing! There is only one short road in this "town" with a church, 2 restaurants, and tourist stores. We drive there at least twice a year to eat. That's over an hour each way

It always sounds so lovely where you live, anywhere with lakes and forests sounds alright to me!!

I hear you on driving a distance to restaurants, we often drive to country pubs in the middle of nowhere that serve beautiful home cooked food, it`s always worth the drive so yes, I get why you drive to the Italian place.

Land of the tall blondes, yes, a good description of those with that ancestry. I have Germanic/Nordic ancestry, but I think I missed those genes! When Kyle was a baby and up until he was about 8 he was completely white haired then turnd fair but not dark or blonde, but Tom was like that too as a child, not quite sure of his complete ancestry but there is Swedish connection there, somewhere!!!!​

 

[schumigirl]

I was loving the shine from the sunset onto the dragon at this time of the evening, we genuinely had never seen it before, I guess we had been unlucky or not been around at this time of the evening which was more probable, but it was very pretty.

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We did pop into the Fountain of Fair Fortune and it was deserted, we only took a couple of pictures and chatted to the man behind the counter who was excellent as he stayed in Wizarding World character which was fun to listen to as he was extolling the virtues of living within the WW but how they all feared He who shall not be named coming back for so long. TM`s here are just incredible.

They do have several beer options, Fire Whisky, Fire Whisky and Strongbow Cider mixed and the usual WW offerings in a variety of Butterbeers and soft drinks too, it`s a lovely little place to pop into for a beverage.
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And we caught the dragon breathing fire again tonight, impressive from any angle.
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Flourish and Blotts is synonymous with Gilderoy Lockhart but the store front is one I really like, I adore bookshops and can spend hours exploring to find something quite unique and stores that look like this one are by far my favourites, anything traditional will work for me. I`m not a fan of modern bookstores, they don`t have that long established aroma of older classic books.

Sorry, I`m a book bore!!!

Kenneth Branagh played GL to a tee!!! He is a better actor than I ever gave him credit for, anyone who has a self-deprecating humour is someone I can enjoy watching.

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We had never noticed the Potages store had windows above that were offset, something you do see in old buildings like that in this country, but I think as we stood directly opposite it we could see clearly how they had embraced making the work look like it wasn`t quite right, certainly of it`s time and immense attention to detail.

The exit is normally crowded beyond belief and it is hard to get decent pictures with no one in them most of the time. Again, horror nights are a good time to see this area, it`s never too busy and a nice little respite from the crowds which have become seriously crazy over the last years.

There was a little line for the conductor tonight, maybe three families and they spend a decent amount of time with everybody, we`ve always been so impressed with the character meets at Universal in all parks.

And as well Stan Shunpike the conductor, you have Dre Head who literally just hangs around and is the funniest character around. We laughed till we almost cried on one visit many years ago when he spoke of alcohol and Scotland, no kids were around and even Stan the Conductor was a little mesmerised with his chatter that afternoon.

And don`t forget the rear of the bus, have a good look in and see the ornate chandelier above the beds, last thing you`d expect to see in a bus for sure!!

We had a quick wander down to Grimmauld Place where Kreacher made a timely appearance, quick photo op and we headed back the way, it was getting near park closing now and both of us were getting a little peckish, but we were also a little tired, I found myself yawning as we headed back.

King`s Cross was deserted as it usually is at this time of night and this building on it`s own is quite impressive, it is realistic minus the noise and rather unique smell in certain areas of course.

And it was good to hear the little snack place has opened back up half way along the line inside the station, I haven`t seen it open in a long time, maybe before Covid?? I don`t think we ever bought anything from it, just passed through.

And aside from the odd easter egg placed around Diagon Alley from Jaws, the Amity Lobster Co building is one of the few remnants from Amity that they have retained along with the bathrooms on the other side of Grimmauld Place. And it is fabulous they have kept some visual effects from the original landscape.

As we headed to the Beverley Hills area we passed a concession stand opposite Lombards and I swear we had never noticed they sold food before!!

I always thought it was just chips and drinks, but we never paid a lot of attention as we passed. I did like the sound of what they offered. Several years ago on a couple of our trips they had food trucks dotted around the park and they were really nice, I wish they`d do that again on a regular basis as it`s a little different.

A little more of tonight coming right up ​

 

[musika]

I can't get over how deserted it looks! We'll be going at HHN time but NOT to the special event so hoping we get a bit of light crowds as well! Agree, express pass is the way to go.

 

[Seeker615]

Love seeing the Jaws pictures. I wonder how much stuff they found when they drained out all the water? My daughter lost her sunglasses as she was getting off the ride! We hoped the shark enjoyed them!

Oh and I really enjoyed the disaster attraction as well. I was picked to be one of the villains' and had Styrofoam bricks land on my head!

 

[keishashadow]

They have already began digging up the area beside Hard Rock Cafe in preparation for whatever is replacing it, can`t wait for that to be made public!!!

Must be the heat, my reading comprehension has failed me…@ 1st I thot they were replacing HRC duh

Hooray for Tom having such a wonderful outcome with his surgery. You cannot keep a good man down!

Smiling re your encounter with Brazilians in the resort. I’m pretty sure they “dress” to take their trash to the curb, probably get a shot of Botox while they are at it

Are you sure those were dolphins @ New Smyrna…shark capital of the world & all

I admit this sign always makes me smile, Escort Services in the parks just seems funny somehow.

There it is! The Carole picture of something amazing that I have walked past hundreds of times and didn’t notice. Double duh. You do have an eye for details!

So, it arrived this afternoon and we spent an hour setting it up and it is fabulous....I can now type without bashing the keys!!

Aaaah, that new laptop smell . What a lovely surprise.

Disaster A major motion picture ride starring.....you.....was very cool and yes, maybe a little lame but it was one of those rides you had to do every visit. It was certainly a load more fun and deserved a better replacement than F&F!!

Oh, I loved that attraction. It was so fun to get picked to participate, I worked my way thru being on the ship to the grandma painting over the years lol

There is a blogger, well she has a Twitter account that is very popular, Alicia Stella, back then she was one of the boat Captains on this ride, I might be wrong but I think she did one of the last rides on the day it finally closed.

Now, that is very cool. Do have to laugh, was there with youngest DS for the last Terminator show. You wouldn’t believe the people I know who told me that trip that they had also been in line & saw the show…um, sure.

So, I hope you have a wonderful weekend and extend it as much as you can, nothing beats celebrating for as long as you can!!!

Oh, you know it! Nothing like trying to pass off a new refrigerator as your BD present. the mr was wise to come thru bearing other gifts.

 

[schumigirl]

The light in the evenings is beyond beautiful and the shimmering almost twinke like sunset just adds to how pretty the lagoon and being honest, the whole park looks at this time of the evening. That change of light is something we always enjoy seeing.

The back of Louie`s is a nice little place to sit for a time, we usually sit inside to eat but on a cooler evening it`s a nice way to enjoy a slice. Down to the right as you look is one of the many first aid areas in the park and they are very handy and can help with a host of issues from a simple blister to a full blown medical emergency.

I think like others we`ll celebrate if they ever get rid of F&F

Beetlejuice Graveyard Review was incredible and so much fun and this ride has never been popular since it arrived, Disaster may not have been the most up to date attraction, but it was head and shoulders above this, Disaster was purely about fun.

The back of the NY area is very cool indeed, again, lit up is is beautiful and during horror nights they really bring it to life with the effects, but that aside we love this area and all it represents.

There may not have been many folks around but as we took some pictures we heard some rather, er interesting language from a woman and it was getting closer!!! They were seriously having words and having worked in an explosives factory for many years, we thought we had heard it all, seems we hadn`t!!!

We carried on taking pictures as if we had never heard them bellowing at one another, we didn`t listen of course I admit I met her eye as they passed us and she did screech a rather scurrilous, uncouth, imbecilic and rather cretinous remark to which I could only laugh at thinking, is that the best you got!!

But, she had a lot going on as she ran after her rather aggrieved husband/partner and at that point we saw what we assumed were security heading their way, this was not their night!!!

Mel`s Drive in is not the best place to eat, apparently they do a decent milk shake but we had a one and done experience of them many years back, never to be repeated. It does seem to be pretty popular though, we did hear someone complain they waited a long time for food there, so I guess there was a line. But, if someone asks for recommendations we never offer this up as an option.

They do change the sign for horror nights to Mel`s Die in and they have a nice display of old style cars outside. Several years ago they had live music outside, they had some pretty good bands play during park opening hours. Now you can sometimes see Marilyn and her ladies dance on occasions, they do seem to move around quite a lot though.

Pantages Theatre hosts one of the best shows around the parks, the Horror Make up Show, it is fun and quite educational in a weird way!! Perfectly suitable for kids of all ages and they do seem to enjoy it too and it leads down to one of the prettiest streets in Universal Studios, Hollywood Boulevard.

This street is even prettier when it`s decorated with Christmas stuff, it is gorgeous.

Five and Dime is a nice little store, we`re not huge merchandise folks (honest) but it is decent place and they usually have some cool displays for horror nights and one of our TM folks had told us we might want to look in there either tomorrow or before we left, they said even though we weren`t interested in horror nights anymore we might like to see what would be out!

Well, couldn`t turn that down.

Schwab`s Pharmacy is a must do, they do some lovely ice creams and it`s done out like a 1950`s ice cream parlour, very nice and they also do a Dole Whip, but it`s not as sweet as the one at Disney, very refreshing though.

I will admit I do like the sound of the Disney Dole Whip one where you can add rum!!!!

We weren`t the last folks to leave the park by a long shot, there were still a load of people behind us as we exited but we headed to Fat Tuesday`s and planned to have a cocktail and sit looking over the water just chilling for an hour.

It wasn`t busy and we got a table by the edge which gives the best views and we could sit here at night and just let the time drift by.

We each got a cocktail and we each had a tooter in them which does add a little zazz to their drinks which are decent, we always enjoy a drink from here some evenings.

We thought about doing something fun, maybe mini golf but to be honest we were both a little fatigued, it sometimes happens towards the end of our trips, we do tend to burn the candle at both ends at times, late nights and early mornings do catch up, so we headed to the boat and back to Strong Water for some food, it was only around 9pm so far too early for bed and we were a little peckish too.

Angel and Maggie were looking after us tonight, we asked for two Carole`s Punches and Christian made them up for us again, they were lovely and I think one each would be enough tonight as we were both yawning our heads off, Maggie said we needed to go to bed which was true, but we did want some food.

I opted for the new Tuna Tartare which was beautiful and Tom chose the Shrimp dish he likes so much, neither were overly filling but so full of flavour, just enough for tonight.

We loved the dishes, and we thought we were done when Maggie sent out a dessert for us to enjoy......oh lordy, we were so tired but who can resist when someone takes the time to order something special for us.

The dessert came with three ice creams, rum n raisin on top and she had kindly given us some cinammon ice cream to try and my old favourite, dulce de leche!!

Maggie is such a sweetheart and being honest, that sugar fix knocked the tiredness out of us, just a little.

Angel checked with us to see if we wanted another drink, but for tonight we`d had enough and even though it was just after 10.30ish, we said our goodnights and goodbye`s as we wouldn`t see them again this trip. We do miss them a lot, Maggie especially as we`ve known her such a long time, but it wouldn`t be long till we see them again. We headed down to our suite, quick shower and we were both sound asleep before both our heads hit the pillows tonight.

I think this was the most exhausted we had felt in years!










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[schumigirl]

I can't get over how deserted it looks! We'll be going at HHN time but NOT to the special event so hoping we get a bit of light crowds as well! Agree, express pass is the way to go.

I could not imagine not having EP anytime, even on so called quiet times, it`s solid gold!

You can get lucky at that time of year, we`ve had many days when it was almost deserted around both parks, wonderful for pictures and we love that feeling of space too!!

Fingers crossed you get it as quiet as we do sometimes.​

 

[schumigirl]

Love seeing the Jaws pictures. I wonder how much stuff they found when they drained out all the water? My daughter lost her sunglasses as she was getting off the ride! We hoped the shark enjoyed them!

Oh and I really enjoyed the disaster attraction as well. I was picked to be one of the villains' and had Styrofoam bricks land on my head!

along seeker, it is really good to see you here!!

I`m glad you enjoyed the Jaws pictures, it was such a huge part of the parks history and it is very much missed. I never thought about them finding stuff when they drained the water lol....I can only imagine!!!

The villain was a good part!! We never got picked on the times we saw it, but it was such fun!!​

 

[schumigirl]

Must be the heat, my reading comprehension has failed me…@ 1st I thot they were replacing HRC duh

Hooray for Tom having such a wonderful outcome with his surgery. You cannot keep a good man down!

Smiling re your encounter with Brazilians in the resort. I’m pretty sure they “dress” to take their trash to the curb, probably get a shot of Botox while they are at it

Are you sure those were dolphins @ New Smyrna…shark capital of the world & all

There it is! The Carole picture of something amazing that I have walked past hundreds of times and didn’t notice. Double duh. You do have an eye for details!

Aaaah, that new laptop smell . What a lovely surprise.

Oh, I loved that attraction. It was so fun to get picked to participate, I worked my way thru being on the ship to the grandma painting over the years lol

Now, that is very cool. Do have to laugh, was there with youngest DS for the last Terminator show. You wouldn’t believe the people I know who told me that trip that they had also been in line & saw the show…um, sure.

Oh, you know it! Nothing like trying to pass off a new refrigerator as your BD present. the mr was wise to come thru bearing other gifts.

lol....no I should have been clearer I guess, I`m just amazed at how much they have done while the ride is still in motion.

Thank you, he is doing so well, and yes can`t keep him down, not even on his chair it seems now, always wants to be doing more than he should be! But, it`s incredible how almost back to normal he is.

Funny you mention Botox......yes, there was a "look" synonymous with all of them that fits that description, they were very beautiful, but yes, not a wrinkle among them!!!

You know I saw that sign on our very first visit and even though my eyes were perfect then, it did take a few visits before I noticed it was an escort sign lol....it`s so easy to miss!

I don`t think I`ve ever made the last of any show! But, people do like to jump on a bandwagon We did like Terminator although, that was my nap time for several years lol....Kyle used to be amazed how I could sitdown, fall asleep and wake up not having seen a single thing!!

Your mister is a star!!! You are the family that knows the true meaning of celebration and how to keep celebration going on for longer than one day, quite right too​