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

[schumigirl]

We live in Florida now but we're originally from Indiana & the first time we came down here & I saw Florida squirrels I looked at my husband & said, "Look at all the baby squirrels!" He was like, "Honey, those are adults down here."

It's been over 10 years & they still look like a bunch of undergrown runts to me

You know it`s funny, it never occurred to me but there was always something odd about the squirrels and yes, it was indeed that they are a little on the scrawny side

Ones we have here can be quite chunky, so yes they probably are rather like runts

 

[schumigirl]

We had a quick wander into Diagon Alley, only to get some final pictures of the area and I fancied an ice cream from Florean Fortescues which is very nice, not an essential visit every trip, but once now and again is enough. I much prefer Haagen Dazs.

It was completely deserted today so we had time to choose what we wanted, although I knew what I was having.
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I opted for Huckleberry which is a weird flavour, not quite blueberry and no quite much of anything else, it`s a hard flavour to describe, but it is very nice, Tom went for the Clotted Cream which tastes nothing like real clotted cream as we know it, it`s more a key lime flavour, but he likes it.

I think Clotted Cream would be classed almost as a butter in the US due to the fat content, but it is the most decadent of products to be enjoyed with desserts, or just tuck in with a spoon if the mood takes you!!!







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We enjoyed the ice cream, had a final wander through Knockturn Alley and headed back out to the gorgeous sunshine and boy had that heat ramped up!!

This took us right back to 2007 when we first visited and had our first Nathan`s Hotdog, it was so nice and not something I ever ate, but it gave us the taste for them and good fries too!

They had added some other props since last night including the weirdly placed coca cola truck for some reason!!

I did notice they have now added Chief Brody`s truck in this area despite all the Amity props being taken down, looks good though, I wish they`d had that in May too it would have fitted in nicely.

We had missed out on trying the food options on offer while they were celebrating 50 Years of Jaws, but I think I said before, we had been told we really weren`t missing much as it wasn`t the best of options they had on the menu.

And we are fussy with seafood, it has to be very fresh and well prepared, so I`m not sorry we missed this.

And talking of messy hair

I really do look every bit a ragamuffin in this picture!!!! Hat and heat are never a good mix for hair, but it`s one of the pictures of us together with the temporary background, so I`ll live with it!!!

But, it was fun and we did pose a scary look but the picture is awful and Tom hates it too, so it will stay hidden away with the other pics that won`t see the light of day!! A TM we`ve known a long time took those pictures and he was encouraging us to be scared or at least look a little wary.....nope not working today!!!

The store had some lovely and quite apt merchandise and it was displayed nicely, many of the items were instantly recognisable if you had seen the movie and I was surprised how much merchandise they had managed to create for this anniversary and some of it looked very retro and will be popular as part of Christmas and Birthday gifts....we hope!!!

Spoiler to a couple of my friends and godchildren.....

You may get one of these or similar in your Christmas box....or maybe not......

We didn`t need to buy anything today as our lovely manager friend had arranged for all we had ordered to be sent to the hotel, so we had everything we needed from here including those much wanted sipper cups!!

The store is attached to Richter Burger which again, is not somewhere we ever eat, but the building is well decorated inside and has some very cool art work around including some real pics from that last big quake in SF.

We headed out of the park, but first we stopped to have a picture of our favourite stilt walker.

We have been pictured with this guy once a trip since 2007, he never changes and one of the ladies who walks with them as they come and go once told us they do remember folks that they see regularly and do what he did to us today, which was a gesture to come over for a picture!

It`s a tradition!

We managed to have a conversation of sorts, as much as you can with a man who doesn`t normally talk, but this is the coolest guy!! Several years ago we were lined up to get a picture with him when a man jumped in front of us with kids in tow and he very obviously gestured to the man we were next and to get back in the line with a slow finger waggle. The man did as he was told and looked rather sheepish in doing so. We made sure to thank him very clearly after that incident.

We were rather sad to leave the park today, we always enjoy our times here, but I do think we have maybe overdone our visits here.

Time for lunch and my lovely husband adores Margaritaville and for some reason we hadn`t visited it yet this trip, so it was today or miss it altogether, but we did stop first to get a picture of one of the prettiest views in UOR.

We sat at the bar and one of our favourite barmen was working, Michael, he has worked there forever along with Irish Jack, who is not Irish but used to be a wrestler and that was his fighting name, two of the best guys around and Irish Jack introduced me to Blackberry Margaritas, for that I`ll always be grateful!! He was also the first one to yell "Hey Scotland" when we came into the bar area many years ago


Today was a simple order, I went for an extra spicy mango margarita, Tom had a fruity concotion that I forget what it was but he enjoyed it and we stopped at one each today as we had a night at Bar Helios ahead of us.

The Beach Club sandwich is huge, so we decided to share it today with a salad instead of fries, the fries here aren`t anything special but the sandwiches more than make up for that, I knew this would easily keep us going till we ate dinner tonight.

Margaritaville is sometimes overlooked but it is steadily decent, nothing gastronomically wonderful, but you`ll get a really good meal and the atmosphere is always fun, especially sitting at the bar which we do prefer. And listening to Jimmy Buffet is always good.

More to follow

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[keishashadow]

Prices here are still more expensive than in Orlando, we are ripped off with massive taxes but generally speaking although prices have risen, Orlando is still massively cheaper.

i guess it is all relative

lol....thank goodness someone else doesn`t like it!!

epic's was also a tad under cooked for my taste

i'm the weirdo who doesn't like sipping even the frozen butter beer (i taste cream of soda, uck)

surprisingly, it was actually best part of that crepe for me

We managed to have a conversation of sorts, as much as you can with a man who doesn`t normally talk, but this is the coolest guy!!

that's a very good description

glad he laid down the law with the over-eager family

PS i think the Jaws boat picture was lovely

 

[schumigirl]

We got the boat after we had lunch and we were glad to get out of the heat being honest, once we got in the lobby we ran into the lovely Mr Beiderman who was amazed again our trip was coming to an end once more, we made arrangements to meet up in September, always nice to catch up with him.

We ordered a pot of tea from room service and did kind of organise our purchases which right now looked like it would be a struggle to get everything in the suitcases, even I began to wonder if we should have bought another suitcase, but we were being confident it would all go in

We passed some time then got showered and changed before wandering to the lobby to order our Uber that would take us to Helios where Fernando had made sure we had a reservation for our last night in Orlando. It was always a tradition for us to go to Strong Water for that last evening, but now it`s Bar Helios.

Our Uber took a few minutes and within 10 minutes we arrived at the hotel and had a little wander round before heading upstairs to Bar Helios, we had plenty of time as we were early and we do like to take our time and enjoy this beautiful hotel.

We went into Flora Taverna for a drink and I asked for a spicy margarita, he looked a little confused and maybe even a little annoyed and explained he didn`t have jalapeno`s handy and would have to go to the kitchen, I said it was ok, a regular margarita would be fine, Tom ordered the Antonio Collins which had Weber Ranch Vodka, lemon juice, cane syrup, raspberries and a zingy ginger beer.

Neither of us were very impressed with these cocktails. Tom is not as fussy as I am with these things, but even he said it was distinctly lacking in alcohol and probably flavour too. We wouldn`t rush back for this bar.

At that point Casey saw us from the other side of the restaurant and came down to say hi, he said Demi was working upstairs, we said yes, she`s looking after us tonight as always, they are such a lovely couple and so hard working. I was glad we saw him to say goodbye for this trip.

We headed up in the elevator and arrived at Bar Helios in nice time, our table was just being cleaned and a few moments later we were seated, but we did wander outside first to have a look at the beautiful view you have from up here.

Our favourite area is definitely monsters, and you can see a little of the spare land they have over that side for future development, once they fill that and the land on the other side this park will feel massive in comparison to what it is now.

I do admit, this is the ugliest of coasters universal have produced!! But, looks aside, it is a tremendous ride, I can`t wait to get back on it at some point in the future.

Fernando came out to say hello and we came back in with him, he is the most welcoming of hosts and we absolutely adore him!!! He tells us Jason hadn`t forgotten to come up with a cocktail using the second rum we brought over from the UK and he really hoped we liked it!!!!

For now we sat down and ordered a couple of drinks, and these are gorgeous!!!!

I went for the Trojan Horse which is a lovely mix of Patrón Silver, Domaine De Canton, Reàl Red Pepper, Cantaloupe with a dash of lime. Demi guessed correctly I liked it extra spicy, of course and Tom opted to try the Atlas which Fernando suggested might not be to his taste and if he didn`t like it, he`d get him something else. It was Mount Gay Rum, Grand Marnier, lemon juice, fig syrup, but he said it had a strong fig taste that`s not for everyone.

For me, I was sure now this was my favourite drink from Bar Helios and it was beautifully spicy!!!

Hmmm.

It was rather brown due to the fig syrup, but he said it was ok, just said he wouldn`t order it again.

We never seem to get around to ordering food very quickly here, we spend so much time chatting and tonight was no different, Jason and Fernando appeared and had indeed created a rather lovely cocktail with one of the rum`s we had gifted Fernando.

It had dry ice swirling as he lifted the lid to reveal our drinks, and it looked very impressive and I was struck he had incorporated rosemary, he had remembered I said I loved it and it was my favourite herb ever, well Rosemary is for Remembrance, so very appropriate.

Ironically, neither of us can remember what most of the ingredients were, but there was a small amount of ale, which normally I don`t like but it was a fruity one and mixed together the way he had crafted it, well, what can I say....we loved it!!

When you turned the Rosemary around and mixed it in the drink you could really taste it and it completely enhanced the drink!

We thanked him profusely for creating such a lovely cocktail just for us tonight, he was glad we had enjoyed it and said it was a little thank you for the chocolate which his wife had enjoyed enormously, glad to hear it. He is also such a lovely guy and he is a great addition to the Bar Helios family.

We chatted some more with Fernando about anything and everything and eventually Demi managed to get an order out of us!!

We went for the Charcuterie Board which included Prosciutto di Parma, bresaola, tartufo salami, mostarda, pickled vegetables, grilled focaccia with a light olio verde......being a little greedy we also ordered the Beef Skewer, both of which were stunning!!!

When the Charcuterie arrived, Fernando also sent out the Farmer`s Cheese dish as it went so well with the Charcuterie, I wasn`t sure about this but it was gorgeous. It had Whipped farmer's cheese, fresh honeycomb which was the nicest I had ever tasted, a little citrus, local seasonal fruit, crumbled pistachio and grilled focaccia and we seemed to recieve some extra bread too, I was glad we were hungry!!!

These dishes were beautiful, you don`t think whipped cheese could taste so good, but it was a revelation, we thoroughly enjoyed it and I swear we cleared our plates...almost, there may have been a little bread left and one pickled veg, but what a meal!!

And the beef skewers were the most tender pieces of filet, they completely melted as you ate them, one of the best dishes they do, but they are all amazing!!

We had another couple of cocktails, I stuck to my spicy Trojan Horse, Tom went for This is Sparta for a change which was quite a drink as it included Cruzan Single Barrel Rum, Bulliet Rye, Aperol, Ancho Reyes Verde and a sharp Lime Sour.

Oh yes!!!!

Without a doubt this is our favourite place for food and drinks in Orlando now!

Just when you think you can`t eat another thing, this gorgeous dessert appears on your table, well it is impossible to resist, this has to be one of the nicest desserts around! Decadent but light and refreshing at the same time, we shared but I think I had the lion`s share!!!

Tropical Summer which involves Vanilla bean crème, mango sorbet, passion fruit with a light oat crumble is the perfect way to finish a meal, we loved it.

I stepped outside to take some pictures and I did but I got chatting to two men who were such a lovely couple about the food here. They had been to Strong Water but weren`t sure what to order tonight, I don`t think I was much help as I told them everything is amazing, but we had such a lovely chat that eventually Fernando came out to look for me. He went back and told Tom I was deep in conversation with two guests....he wasn`t surprised lol.....

I did manage to get some pictures too.

It is lovely at night all lit up, the glass makes it hard to get the perfect picture but you get the idea of the type of view you get from here.

The evening had been lovely, the bar hadn`t been too busy so we were fortunate to be able to spend a good part chatting to Fernando and also Jason and the lovely Demi, so it had been an amazing evening.

We are so fortunate to know and be able to spend time with such lovely folks, they are all so special to us and we value them so much. We miss them a lot, but we do keep in touch which is lovely and makes us feel closer to everything that we do miss when we`re not there.

I do love the pictures we have at the end of the evening but most of them are a little grainy due to the light situation in the bar, but here we are with two of the nicest people on the planet

Saying goodbye is never fun, but we did say goodnight and thanked them once again for the lovely hospitality, spending time with them is one of the nicest things we do on our trips.

Our Uber was going to be around 10 minutes so we did wander back outside and get a few pictures, but holy heatwave, it was so incredibly hot for this time of night, but beautiful.

We got home around 12.30 and we were so tired now, I don`t think we even put the tv on tonight, but after Tom was in bed, I looked out the window for a few moments and just took in that view, well not really a view in the pitch black, but seeing everything lit up just looks lovely. Back home at night in the winter when we look out of our bedroom windows we see nothing but darkness around us beyond the driveway lighting and the occasional sway of all the trees that surround us, so this is nice for a change.

But, time to go home tomorrow.









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[schumigirl]

i guess it is all relative

epic's was also a tad under cooked for my taste

i'm the weirdo who doesn't like sipping even the frozen butter beer (i taste cream of soda, uck)

surprisingly, it was actually best part of that crepe for me

that's a very good description

glad he laid down the law with the over-eager family

PS i think the Jaws boat picture was lovely

True, there`s no real way to compare prices with all the differences we have between our countries. It`s always so much fun buying over there!!!

Yes, we`re not butterbeer fans, except for the ice cream and fudge of course, but we didn`t mind the topping on the crepe, definitely better than the crepe!

Oh yeah, he is a cool dude!

Thank you, I do too apart from the hair lol.....​