Stuck on Splash, Swimming in Sewage, & Still Laughing! A "Classy" 6/11 TR- 5/6 DONE!

[cocofifi]

Your new house is lovely! Congratulations!

 

[therussells08]

Definitely a lot of laughs!!!

And what??? No Diet Coke???? I would have DIED!!!! I get Diet Coke with everything!!!

Yes for Neener Neener moments!!!! I love those!!! You so reminded me of our last trip to Disney!!!

And at psycho paparazzi mode!!!! I wouldn't have known or took pics, since I don't know who they are. Probably because I don't watch Harry Potter or read the books.

I couldn't believe no Diet Coke either!

Girl, you need to watch Harry Potter! You would LOVE it!

Ok, this update just made me really nervous about going to WWOHP, since I really want to go and now I hear the words "stampede" and "hour long waits", I'm not so sure, but I think I need to go to Universal at least once. Disney, no doubt about it, will still be better in my eyes I can't believe they don't serve Diet Coke in Universal! That would not be good if my mom comes At least, there will be Butterbeer, really want to try Butterbeer And that's so cool, you got to see the Weasley twins filming a commercial. Love all the random Harry Potter references and I love the pictures you took of Hogwarts! Can't wait to read about more of your adventures in Universal!

I'm sorry I made you nervous! Trust me, it's definitely still worth going. Plus, the crowds were way better just between December and June. I think that it's going to continue to slow down a lot, so you should be fine!

LOL butterbeer sounds really good! I sort of want to try it!

I have never gotten into the whole Harry Potter thing but I still read your update anyway... which is a big accomplishment considering my main purpose on life on the boards is Disney I enjoyed your update though!

The candy store looks like the confectionary... LOL

And I can't believe they didn't have diet coke! That's SO weird!

I am wondering why you were sad, so I can't wait for the next update! And also, I hope your eyes feel completely better soon!

Yay! I'm so glad you read my update even though it was about Harry Potter!

Thank you! The next update is finally coming!

That is so cool that you so the Phelps brothers! I am so jealous! I would love to go back to WWOHP someday, but in a few years when it's not so crazy. I really am more of a Disney girl then Universal, but I do like the parks and some of the rides there.

I was so excited that I saw them! I am definitely more of a Disney girl too!

Looks like a gorgeous day for WWOHP!

Okay, I'm just at the thought of you crouched like a mama bear ready to attack. LOL.

Is Flight of the Hippogriff shorter than the Barnstormer?!?!

Love the nerdy HP reference! HAHA don't you wish that stuff really existed!?

No Diet Coke!?!?!?! Oh my dad is NOT going to be happy about that. I better forewarn him so he doesn't get in a fight with the poor witch or wizard silly enough to take his order.

Your breakfast looks delish!

Honeydukes looks like heaven. I cannot WAIT to get my hands on some of that!

Hogwarts looks so legit! And beauteous!

Butterbeer sounds divine! I cannot WAIT to try it!!!

OMG that was really them?!!?!?!!?!?!?!?! Wow I'm freaking out. I totally would have like shoved all the camera people aside and jumped on them or something. I LOVE them.

Oh The Burrow. I would totally love to live there.

I would have stayed all day too.

Can't wait to hear what happens next! This TR just keeps getting better and better!

I never rode Barnstormer, so I'm not sure if it's shorter, but it is REALLY short!

I'm so glad to hear that you are obsessed with Harry Potter too!

Wow I'm surprised they don't sell Diet Coke. Maybe it's a ploy to get you to buy the Butterbeer? But that doesn't make much sense either. Lol I laughed when there was a special magical name for the soda though!

Haha I know, Flight of the Hippogriff is crazy short. And to make it worse it is such a slow loading ride!

How cool you got to see the Weasley twins! I'm so excited to see the new HP movie!

I still can't believe it about the Diet Coke!

I am SO excited for the movie too!

Wow I didn't know you started your new one! Yay!

!

 

[therussells08]

Honeydukes looks so amazing! When I went to WWoHP last summer it was about 2 weeks after the opening, the crowds were so crazy that we had to skip all of the stores, and butterbeer too! That is so cool that you got to see the Weasley twins, I'm so jealous!!

I hate to hear that you missed out on some stuff! I hope you can go back soon!

Loved this update! We're doing Universal for the first time, on our next trip. WWoHP is VERY high on DD's (and my!) list of things to do. We'll be staying at a Universal hotel, so we'll be doing the early entry as well. I'm glad to see that the Three Broomsticks serves breakfast! I was wondering about that...

You and your DD are going to love the WWoHP! I can't wait to hear what you think of it!

It really is so cool that you saw the Phelps brothers at WWoHP. The Weasley twins are my favorite HP characters.

They're my favorites too! Well, them and Sirius Black!

Really enjoying your TR. Thanks for the WWOHP critique. We are staying at VWL next May and will not enter WDW but plan on going to WWOHP, Discovery Cove, etc. I am really looking forward to a butterbeer. And if it is any consolation, I am MUCH older than you and understood every one of your Harry Potter references!

Thank you! I'm so glad you understood my references! It sounds like you're going to have a great trip!

Am glad to hear your feeling better and able to do another great update!

I loved reading about WWoHP and what a contrast from your Dec review - you got to walk on to The Forbiddon Journey - cool!

Lol am loving the Harry Potter references and wow on meeting the Weasley twins!!

What - no diet coke?! Hope you managed to get your caffiene fix elsewhere.

Love all the shop pics - yay on getting Butterbeer and being so good in the shops!

Yes, this trip was so much different from our December experience!

It was way better this time!

Ok you have sucked me in-Universal will def. be part of our next trip.

Great shots and what luck to see the Phelps boys.

Happy to read you're feeling better, I was worried I might miss out on the sewage!

Thank you so much! I'm glad my TR inspired you to do the WWoHP!

This is one TR I can't wait to hear! Sounds like an awesome trip. I'm in.

Thanks so much for reading along!

[Sigh]...I cannot WAIT until we're able to go to WWOHP in October! (We're less than 100 days now!!! ) All the pictures I've seen look amazing. I will probably be like John the morning we're to go. We are staying at Portofino Bay so I will want to be one of the first in line for that extra hour we'll get.

I am excited to try Butterbeer too! Do you like the frozen or not-frozen better? Also, have you had Pumpkin Juice? I love almost anything pumpkin so I was hoping to try that too.

I'm glad you're feeling better!

Yay for being less than 100 days! You're going to have a blast!

I definitely prefer the frozen Butterbeer! Pumpkin Juice is really good, it is very spicy and tastes just like liquid pumpkin pie!

How awesome that you saw the ones who played the Weasley brothers!

I know what you mean about taking pictures on your way into the WWoHP. I did the same thing that you did when I visited. I didn't take any pictures on my way in, just walked in (ran actually), because I was intent on getting in line for the Forbidden Journey.

Great morning that you had. But totally weird that they don't serve coke. Just.....bizarre.

I was so excited to see them!

Yeah, there's no time for pictures when you're in a stampede!

Maybe they don't serve Coke products in WWOHP because of some crazy licensing thing? I dunno.

I wish I could go there! We have a day that we're thinking about doing it, but we wouldn't be there until mid-afternoon at the earliest, so I don't know if it's worth it due to long lines

Anyway, it looks like you guys had a really good time!

You might be right about the licensing thing.

I hope you get to go sometime!

pardon me as I get my geek on...That witch really did put liquid luck in your oj at breakfast-to actually see Fred and George there OMG!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE IT! I'm so glad you got your geek on, because that was a great reference! I definitely think I had a dose of Felix Felicis that morning!

WWoHP looks so cute, but again, never read the books or saw the movies, so it's kind of lost on me! Butterbeer sounds amazing, though, I love that your version of heaven includes Elton John singing to you, something to look forward to!

I have no idea who those famous people were that you saw there, but yay anyway!

(Oh, btw...the first time I saw that bathroom scene in Dumb and Dumber, I tried to act all grossed out like any proper lady should, then I said forget it, and laughed hysterically. Proper lady I'm not, I find bathroom humor hilarious! You should hear some of the conversations my friends and I have at work, you would think we were guys! )

Doesn't everyone's version of heaven include Elton John singing to them?

Hahaha, I'm so glad I'm not the only one who had that reaction to that scene in Dumb and Dumber!

Enjoying reading your trip report. Your title is hilarious!

Thank you so much!

That settles it. When I eventually make it to WWoHP, we will be staying at a hotel that gets us early access!! I am so jealous! I really want to go, but Jack is too yhoung. I wish they bottled Butterbeer too, I know they bottle pumpkin juice, and the Butterbeer must be way better!! It is wierd they don't sell any coke products, I bet it's a J.K. Rowling thing. She was very specific about the designs of the place etc, I bet she felt it would take away from the atmosphere.

It is SO worth it for the early access! Butterbeer is way better than pumpkin juice, you're right.

Glad your allergies are better...sounds truly terrible.

Thank you so much!

 

[DisneyFirefly]

I just googled the Coke product thing and apparently, it has to do with something J. K. Rowling insisted on.

 

[therussells08]

Hey Joni! I finally made it over and I'm all caught up with your updates. I LOVE the TR so far - it is so much fun to read and I feel like I'm right there with you!

I love stopping at Cracker Barrel on the way to Florida. When I would go on vacation with my grandparents (and even now when we drive down with them) we always stop there.

Ok, what kind of restaurant doesn't serve sodas? Being a non-orange juice drinker, I would have had a really hard time! I can't do without my diet coke!

I'm interested to hear what was making you sad - I hope it's nothing too bad!

Hi and ! I'm so glad you're here! I was just catching up about your wedding, it looked GORGEOUS! I can't wait to hear about your Disneymoon!

I'm the same way with Diet Coke, girl. I gotta have it!

Great morning at Harry Potter..minus the Diet Coke! I was right on your celebrities!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My brother was working that day and said they came through Forbidden Journey a few times and were in the break room talking with the other team members..talk about a day being on cloud nine!!!

Your breakfast looked yummy!

That is SO cool that your brother got to meet them! I would have flipped out!

Yeah! Another Joni trip report! I can't belive I missed the fact that you had a trip planned for this summer while reading your last report. As always you report is making me LOL

The pack mule story cracked me up. When we stayed at the BWV in March my parents picked my daugher up the Wednesday before we arrived on Friday when she was released from her college lacrosse spring break travel trip in West Palm. They took her to their house in Naples for two days, and then brought her to us in Orlando where they all stayed with us for the first two days of our trip. My dad is cheap about tipping and did not want to pay a bellhop to take all their crap in the car to our room. Once they opened the trunk, and I saw all the junk, I said I would tip the bellhop as I was not a pack mule! I ended up tipping their bellhop as well as our ME person.

I am also loving all the HP references. Yes, I am a HP nerd too. Can't wait to hear what you thought of RP. We are staying there in December to get FOL and early entry before we move over to VWL.

Can't wait to hear more and gald your eye is better.

I'm so glad you're here!

I'm glad I'm not the only person who has to deal with a cheap tipper on vacation!

Loving the TR. Cant wait for the next update!

Thanks! The next update is coming in just a bit!

Coming over from your PTR! I love your updates so far! I think it's very cool that you were able to catch the twins filming a commercial.
I know it's still far off, but I can't wait to see how John reacted to AKL!

I'm glad you're here! The AKL update isn't too far away, I promise!

Hi!

I just found your trip report today and am loving it! I can't wait to hear more!

I also can't believe that you got to see Fred and George! That is so cool!

Thanks so much for reading along!

Girl, you are hilarious! I don't read many TRs and usually just lurk, but this I'm subbing to.

I'm from GA, and live in the coouuntryy! When I was younger I had an accent so thick I practically needed a translator. Not sure what happened to it. I just sort of lost it over time. It pops out real quick when I'm around someone else with an accent though.

While I live in GA now, I grew up in SC..Columbia to be exact. I saw the Cracker Barrel photo and knew which one ya'll visited. LOL! And the Palmetto trees..loved the photos. Don't see them around here.

For us the halfway point is in GA. Seems wrong to be halfway to WDW and still be in your home state. I totally get what you are saying about hitting the FL border though. You just want to be there, and like you it is still 3 hrs. ahead of us. Of course at that point I feel like I'm making progress because I'm no longer in GA. For all the folks that responded about traveling from MS and AL. I really feel for ya'll. My sister lived in Ocala for a short while. One time we travelled with our kids from her house to visit our mom who lives in SW Miss. Holy cow! I thought we'd never get out of FL.

I was practically rolling in the floor at your description of Butterbeer. That was hilarious. Elton John singing you a song he wrote about the first time you had Butterbeer. LOL!!! I'm one of the few people in the universe who isn't in to Harry Potter at all. I do like reading people's reports of the WWoHP though. It seems like a neat place to visit just from a themeing perspective. Maybe I'll get around to visiting it one day.

Well I'm in for the long haul. Can't wait to read more!

I'm so glad you're enjoying it! Your comment had me cracking up. You sound like my kind of gal!

Your new house is so pretty!

Thank you!

I'm still here. Love your new house! Very pretty.

Thanks so much!

I'm still here!

Love the new house - what a great buy!

That's sad about John having to leave again - enjoy spending some quality time with him before he goes.

Thank you!

Oh I am def sticking around for this one

Yay! Thank you!

Joni, the new house is beautiful! I know it's not trip related, but I hope you will post some more pictures of it! I love home pictures! Congrats to you and John! I'm so sorry he'll he deploying soon, but at least you've got a new project to occupy your mind and your time while he's away.

I will absolutely post more pictures, trust me! Thank you for your kind words about John. It will be really hard, but you're right, at least I have some stuff to keep me busy!

You are so entertaining! I'm in and can't wait for more!

Thank you so much and !

Your new house is beautiful!!! Can't wait for the next update!!!

Thank you so much!

 

[therussells08]

Just found your TR from your Christmas one. Love reading them. All caught up and can't wait to hear why you are feeling sad. Love the pic of your house, it looks so nice.

Thank you so much and I'm glad you're here!

I love the house! What a great reason to be away from the Disboards.

Thank you!

Beautiful house! And, again, a GREAT reason to be away from the boards, for sure.

Thank you so much!

Pretty house!

Thanks!

Congrats on the house! It's beautiful!

Thank you!

Your new house is lovely! Congratulations!

Thanks so much!

I just googled the Coke product thing and apparently, it has to do with something J. K. Rowling insisted on.

Haha, thanks for Googling that! Darn you, J.K Rowling! Doesn't she know there isn't anything on earth LESS magical than a caffeine-related headache?!

 

[therussells08]

Hi everyone! Ugh, I broke my promise! I'm so sorry I didn't update the other day. Things have still been insanely busy around here, but I'm here now!

When we left off John and I were saying goodbye to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Fred and George Weasley. John waited patiently while I called my mom and sister (who are equally obsessed with Harry Potter) so I could tell them that I was now officially BFF with the Weasley twins.

We passed into Jurassic Park and debated for awhile whether not we should ride the water ride. In case you didn't read my other TR, John convinced me to ride this ride in December by promising me that I wouldn't get wet. Well, guess what. I got wet. I got REALLY wet. Oh, and did I mention it was 40 degrees that day? So needless to say we were both having flashbacks to the horrible experience (me remembering being almost hypothermic in Florida and John remembering my head spinning around like Linda Blair because I was freezing and my Dooney & Bourke bag got wet) and we decided to skip it.

After we left Jurassic Park we started heading pretty quickly for the exit. I'm not a big fan of IoA and neither is John, so we were ready to get out of there. I did stop for a picture, though.

I was trying to look sassy but I ended up looking like I threw my hip out of the socket.

John convinced me to go on the Spider Man ride so we used our complimentary Express passes to ride that. I hate comic books, but I figured John had been patient during my morning nerdfest so I could tolerate a little bit of him getting his nerd on.

After Spider Man we decided to leave IoA and head to Universal Studios. The walk between the parks was excruciating because it was so hot. I saw a soda stand and felt like a dying man seeing a mirage in the desert, so we stopped and bought one of the refillable mugs. I wasn't able to get my fix of Dieticus Cokius in the WWoHP so I ordered one there. Ahhh, caffeinted goodness! I instantly felt good enough to pose for another picture.

Let me just add that this picture took about three takes and a whole lot of bickering to get. John didn't understand why I wanted him to wait until you could see all of "Universal" on the globe in the background before snapping the picture, so we had a few blooper pictures before getting a good one. If you look closely you can see my mug filled with delicious Diet Coke goodness.

I'm sorry to report I have absolutely no pictures from our time in Universal. I do, however, remember everything we did!

The first thing we rode was this insane new roller coaster called Rip Rock It or something like that. That was the steepest stinking roller coaster I have ever been on. We waited in line forever for it, but it was totally worth it. It's really cool because you get to pick the music you listen to while you ride, and no one nearby can hear your music except you. John went with the Charlie Daniels Band and I decided to kick it old school with some MC Hammer. Now here's the bittersweet part about this ride: they VIDEOTAPE YOU RIDING IT! I say it's bittersweet because we didn't realize that it only tapes one person, so John sat in the seat that was being taped. John has a tendency to have this placid look on his face when riding thrill rides that makes it look like he is going on a stroll through the park. If the camera had been on my side we TOTALLY would have bought the video because I know I was having the appropriate roller coaster reaction, which was screaming in terror and having a fit. We considered riding it again so we could get a video of me, but decided the line was just way too long.

After our mini adventure on that ride we went on the Mummy ride, Jaws, Men in Black, the Simpsons, and ET. We had never been on ET before and I got thoroughly creeped out at the end when ET said my name. John thought it was hilarious so he spent the rest of the trip getting my attention by saying "Joooniii" in the scary ET voice. Thanks, honey.

After riding all of the above we were both sweaty and tired so we decided to head back to the room. When we got back we sat around for awhile and cooled off, then agreed to go check out some of Orlando! If you read my PTR you will remember that I desperately wanted to go to the Titanic museum, so we decided to hunt it down.

It didn't take us very long to find it, and I was really excited to go in. This is one of those moments when I'm reminded how lucky I am to have a patient husband who puts up with my girlish whims. I am completely obsessed with Titanic the movie and have been since it was released when I was 10 years old. I'm talking obsessed as in I can quote every single line, and I considered naming our first born child Josephine (You know, Jack singing all romantically to Rose, "Come Josephine in my flying machine! Going up she goes! Up she goes!"). Yeah, I'm a loser.

Well, right from the start this was not a very pleasant experience. When I asked the man behind the counter if they did military discounts he scoffed at me as if I had asked to have one of his kidneys. We opted to do the self guided tour, but that ended up blowing up in our faces too. About halfway through the tour we came across a guided group, and the tour guide literally forced us to join his group. We tried telling him about five times that we were doing self guided, but he and his little fake Scottish accent weren't having it. So, we grudgingly joined his group. Then we started to notice that pretty much all of the Titanic artifacts were either reproductions of taken from some other ship. Seriously? Isn't the point of a museum to have actual artifacts? We also noticed that pretty much every room had plates on display. Plates plates plates. Fancy plates. Plain plates. Broken plates. Dirty plates. Everywhere we looked, reproductions of RMS Titantic plates.

The best part about the entire museum was the end when we got to see some memorabilia from the movie. This was pretty cool because they had the note Rose leaves that turd Cal when she runs away with Jack, and they had her dragonfly hair comb. They also had an outfit worn by Leonardo DiCaprio.

Here are some pictures from the plate, I mean Titanic, museum.

This chair was one of the only artifacts actually from Titanic.

John and I voted and we both gave this museum two thumbs down! It was so not worth the money (I think it was $20 per person) and we felt like it was really a waste of time. As we were leaving the final exhibit was a slab of ice that you could rub. Just a big ol' chunk of ice. All of the other people were rubbing it and saying, "Oh my gracious, it's COLD!" Well, uh, yeah. It's ice. I'm pretty sure ice is generally known for being cold. Good thing you paid $20 just to be sure, though.

Forgive my negativity, but that really was a lame museum. After we left, the sadness that had been nagging at me for awhile was almost overwhelming. We decided to go do something else that had been on my "must do" list, which was check out the Premium Outlets. Thanks to our handy dandy GPS it only took us about five minutes to get there. Once we arrived we headed straight for this beauty!

Well, here it is, folks. You can call me Sherlock because as soon as I walked through those doors I solved the mystery. I knew why I was sad. I was missing Disney! Being surrounded by all of this Disney merchandise made me instantly realize that I wanted more than anything in the world to get away from Universal Studios and go to my wonderful beloved Disney World. I almost cried when I went inside because I couldn't bear the thought of being in Orlando and away from it for one more minute, let alone a whole night. I managed to suck up my feelings long enough to do some shopping, of course. We ended up buying a Minnie Mouse dress and squeaky toy for each of our dogs, a Magic Kingdom shirt for me, and an Animal Kingdom shirt for John. John had to practically drag me out of the store, and I refused to leave until he promised me a million times that we would be at Disney very VERY soon.

After we left I was feeling grumpy and hungry, so we decided to go somewhere for me to eat my feelings. We stopped by the food court in the outlets and I was thrilled when I saw this...

Well hello there, Five Guys. Okay so remember when I told you Butterbeer is heaven in a glass? Well, a Five Guys burger is heaven on a bun.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of my burger because I'm pretty sure I had eaten it all before I even thought about taking the camera out.

After we filled our bellies John and I sat around and tried to figure out what we wanted to do for the evening. Neither of us cared to go to the Universal parks again. But what else could we do?

Up Next: You won't believe where we went! Stay tuned to find out!

 

[DisneyFirefly]

I love your reaction to the Slab O' Ice That's just funny

I know how you feel, though, about being so close to Disney, but not quite there yet.

 

[dilligaf212]

joining in can't wait til you get to disney

 

[tinacaplan]

Very funny observations about the Titanic museum...but you were only 10? Sheesh! And ice? They pass out ice? Huh? I know the Titanic was taken down by an iceberg and all that, but...um... twenty dollars? What am I missing?

And I'm totally with you on Five Guys. Great food.

 

[shelbys mommy]

The museum looked awesome, at least from the pics. So sorry that is was such a bust. And ummm yeah, ice is usually cold!

 

[Vwdiva93]

This is a little late, but your new house is absolutely gorgeous! That's a bummer the Titanic museum was such a bust. I love that movie too, it's just one of those movies you can never watch too many times! I love the part about the slab of ice though

 

[declansdad]

Tell them to come here in the winter and we can give them all the ice to rub they want. We could probably make a travel package for them.

You have just given me an idea. I think I will start a business selling small pieces of ice from the iceberg that sunk the Titanic. I should have the website up in a day or so.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Looks like you seemed to enjoy Universal Studios more than Islands of Adventures! Love the picture of you under the "Betty Boop Eat Your Heart" photo op. Very cute I've heard a lot about that Rip Ride Rock it! Coaster at Universal. It looks really cool, but I don't think I could ever go on it, especially with the line you said was there O.O Sorry the Titanic museum wasn't that great, I'm guessing most things would be reproductions since the ship sunk and I think by the time, they do over to check it out, there wasn't a lot left that could be put in a museum Just saying but I think that does ruin the whole purpose of the museum, like you said. LOL at your comment on the slab of ice! And I totally agree with you on Five Guys! That place is A-MAZING!!! Heaven on a bun is right! Can't wait to read about what you did, now that you left Universal!

 

[sstewart]

Joining....Can't wait to hear more about your trip!!!

 

[cadesfirsttrip]

Here's downtown Charlotte.

Up Next: Mr. and Mrs. Frugal give themselves a hernia so they don't have to tip the bellhop.

Hey, that's the building I work in! Second from the left.

 

[TanzUnited99]

Love the Universal shots and yay on getting your fix of Dieticus Cokius!

Yay on riding Rip Rock It - that sounds like a fun ride! Boo on the video being on John's side instead of yours.

Being a big Titanic fan I was looking forward to reading about your review of the museum. It's a shame it was not what you expected

Love all your museum pics. Hope you get to Disney World soon

 

[JayhawkFans]

Just found your TR .. LOVE IT!!! Can't wait to read more!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

I had a feeling that was why you were sad! I think I might be the same way if we ever do a few days in Universal. To me, going to Orlando means going to Disney, because the rest of Orlando doesn't appeal to me - at.all. (I used to live there and hated it) When I'm at Disney, I don't want to leave for even a second. I like being in the Disney bubble, and I just don't know how I'd feel to have it "burst".

 

[JLCJMC]

Totally enjoying your tale Thanks so much for sharing. Your new home looks lovely. Thank-you to both you and your husband for your contributions to our safety -- it is appreciated more than you can ever know.