Sunburn, not windburn : WDW and Universal in September

[kaoden39]

Oh I will be sure and share them. I can hardly wait to see the racers. This is a silly group. Even when it isn't a dress up race there is racers wearing tutus or some such. It should be fun.

 

[bumbershoot]

September 22, continued.


I love doing the Universal reports, because I mark down what we do, at the time that we do it, on the map. Makes it much easier. I don't know why I don't do it on Disneyland/world maps!


Once the storm subsided, we headed off to get my AP. I got it online so that we would get the AP discount for the hotel. First we got in the will call line, but I re-re-re-read my email and saw that I could use the machines. Got out of line, did the machine thing, SUPER-easy, and it printed out my AP with my name on it and everything. Took that and the undercovertourist tickets R&E got, went to the line, did the "fingerprint" thing, and we were in!

First thing we went on was Cat in the Hat. Not sure why, but it's a favorite! Then they went on One Fish, Two fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish (long name), which is basically Dumbo, but with water squirting at you. fun to watch.

You can see that the sky was still rather dramatic. But it was also still hot.

We were heading to Wizarding World, but as we passed through The Lost Continent, we saw that the Sindbad (not Sinbad as I always thought it was...there's a second D in there) show was starting. Since we were in a "if you want to do/see it, do/see it NOW, not later" mode, we convinced a hesitant kidlet to come with us.

What's funny is that I did NOT want to see the show, because I've heard it's so bad. But sometimes I go into opposite-land, and I want to make up my own mind. And so we went. And...it was decent!

People say that Universal doesn't have ample theming...I don't understand.

I had no idea he was holding a kitchen sink until I saw my pictures on the computer. We were sitting in the very back row, and the lighting was funny for my eyes...

The show had REALLY cheesy lines (the ones I could hear/understand). The storyline was not the best. But the stunts were good, and really, that counts a lot.


At last, to Eamon's way of thinking, it was done (but to be honest he was thrilled to have seen the stunt show), and we continued forward.

We immediately stopped to get more Butterbeer mugs and Butterbeer. We have three mugs. But you can't get them as normal souvenirs; you have to buy the drink in them, and we wanted to give two away (and hubby wanted one for work). So poor us, we had to buy the mugs again. This time I tried the frozen version, and I liked it a LOT better. Robert could go either way, but Eamon prefers the liquid version (though he won't say no to a frozen sip).


After that, it was time to get Eamon's wizarding supplies. After the Halloween party, when he got the chance to see his dark-haired cousin absolutely rock the Harry Potter costume, he finally embraced his inner Ron Weasley. Whew.

So, the long-awaited, and promised-back-in-December, cloak made its appearance. My goodness Dervish and Banges is tiny and crowded. And my Preferred AP got us a 10% discount (though officially it's not on the list)! And some of the TMs need a little bit more training, as ours got confused, thinking that APs were ONLY for FL residents, had no clue that they were for anyone. Regardless, E is ready for Hogwarts in his XXXS robe.

Went to Filch's Emporium and Eamon got his rat Scabbers. Or, as he calls him, Rex, because it's hard for him to think of the rat being Peter Pettigrew, know what I mean? I got a couple keychains, 'cuz I love keychains.

And THEN we had to go to Zonkos, to buy some chocolate. December's chocolate frog was finally gone, and he needed to be replaced. And my acupuncturist has two kids that are mad for Harry, so we were already planning to get them chocolate frogs, and then she gave me some money and asked for treat-souvenirs! Along with the frogs, we got each of them a chocolate wand and a box of Bertie Bott's Beans.

It was fun to have that many bags! Serious shopping is fun...sometimes. (especially when budgeted for)


It wasn't that far from closing time, and after the shopping we wanted to be mellow and just drink in the feel of IOA, so we didn't go on a ride at all after that. We just enjoyed it. Also, it was still drizzling, and we were still unprepared, and E was now wearing a dry clean only, expensive, piece of clothing... So as we made our way into Jurassic Park, we stopped to get E a poncho. Yes, he had one, but it was back in the room, useless. Plus, it was bright yellow, and while he liked the idea of that when we got it, the reality was that he didn't like it that much. So we got a Universal poncho and all was well.

We continued to wander as the light started to fade (dinosaurs looming out of the foliage is creepy at that time of day), and it was also foggy, which added to everything.

Eek.

The park closed, and we got back to the hotel. We stopped at Sal's along the way, and ordered pizza and salad to go. E was wiped out so he and I went back to the room, leaving Robert to wait for the food. The pizza is thin crust and SO good, and the salad was very good as well! Definitely worth it.

Our first night of Universal was mellow, full of shopping, and with tasty food and drink. Nice!

 

[bumbershoot]

Just poppin' in to let you know I am enjoying your report! I hadn't been on the Dis in a few months and I was longing for a good trip report to read and rememered being entertained by your's in the past. I did a search and viola'! Bumbershoot has a new trip report!

We hope to make out way out to Disney World in a couple of years so it's fun (and educational!) to read about people's experiences.

Thanks for sharing!

Thank you so much!

Oh I will be sure and share them. I can hardly wait to see the racers. This is a silly group. Even when it isn't a dress up race there is racers wearing tutus or some such. It should be fun.

Those crazy SF races.

 

[kaoden39]

E looks so cute in his robe. I love the pictures I have seen of Universal. I wish Universal in So Cal was as good as the Orlando one. I would love to see the Harry Potter stuff I am a big fan.


The scary thing is this isn't just California racers. I wonder how many of the out of state wear them.

 

[bumbershoot]

September 23.


We had Early Entrance to Wizarding World,and you know we were going to take advantage of it!

Eamon's obligatory height stick picture.

He got a LOT of attention, in case you're wondering. All day every day, whenever he put on his Ron outfit. (not that he wore it long, not in the September heat) Glad he's not shy! I could never have dealt with the attention he got.


I got distracted by this *garbage can*. (no theming my rear end...)

The menfolk had gotten well ahead of me, and I had to rush to catch up. Not fun in the heat!

We got to WWoHP, and Robert decided to try to go on Forbidden Journey. Since December he was diagnosed with sleep apnea, and ever since he's had a VPAP (like a CPAP, but "variable" pressure) he's lost some weight. Which I hear is common when you actually start getting proper sleep! He is very slow to lose, partially because thats' just his metabolism, but also because he still is dealing with a pituitary tumor (benign) that makes it VERY hard to lose. But breathing while sleeping, and therefore actually sleeping when he's sleeping, has definitely helped. In December, he tried the outside seats and it wasn't going to happen. This time he wanted to try the inside.

And Eamon found his bravery and decided to try the ride. He'd been through the line, but he and Robert left before the sorting hat the last time. This time we went all the way through.

Sadly, Robert wasn't able to ride. I don't know how hard they pushed on the harness, but it wasn't enough. It's a whole host of factors working against him. One, he's got a belly. Two, he has a broad back with some thickness to it. And he's got big arms. If the shoulder space on the ride were wider (they have random metal "walls" that go up between each rider) and he didn't have to squish his shoulders *forward*, then he wouldn't take up as much front-to-back room, and maybe there would be a chance. But those shoulder walls are there, so... I keep trying to get him to do Pilates, just at home, but he feels really so self-conscious about it. But Pilates did wonders for me as we approached our wedding; my weight was much higher than I looked, because the Pilates sucked in parts that I couldn't suck in before. So I think it could help him get on that ride.

He was very sporting about it, didn't let it ruin his day, and didn't begrudge our enjoyment of the ride.

And we did enjoy the ride! I did NOT get ill after the ride. I did, however, have to keep my eyes (partially) open during the arachnid "scenes", so that I could let E know when to close and open his eyes. he really enjoyed it, though he was startled by the dragon breathing fire at us, and the size of the dementors! He was excited to have gone on it.

E then went on Flight of the Hippogriff, a small but fun coaster. At Universal, you can ride alone when you are 48", and he's taller than that, so we have started taking advantage of this. I think that Robert went on FotH once this trip, and that's it. I didn't ride it at all. E really enjoyed his independence!

Since the line for Forbidden Journey was still short, E and I went back around and rode again.



After that we were hungry! We decided to see if there was anything at the Three Broomsticks. Asked the host outside if they had any veggie items, he listed some, but sent us inside to talk to the host inside. He listed some, including a soup, and actually went to talk to the chefs/cooks to see if it was made with meat and/or meat stock. We could see him talking to them, even. he came back and let us know that the potato leek soup there is vegetarian, no meat stock.

We went on inside, and it was nice and quiet in there. It was only 10:32 in the morning, but they were serving lunch already! Excellent! Because that's what we wanted.

Got a butterbeer refill for the guys to share (with the liquid version you can get a dollar discount if you re-use your mug at the 3 Broomsticks), got a frozen butterbeer for me, as well as a bowl of soup, a baked potato, and a side of roasted potatoes.

Hello, deliciousness!

I think that E had had a little something before that I'm forgetting, so he didn't need much at that time. The roasted potatoes were for him while Robert and I shared the soup and baked potato.

We were SO pleased with the meal! We're always nervous with soup, because it's so easy for people to be wrong about the ingredients. But neither of us suffered any ill effects, so it does seem that the soup is not meat-based. There's no reason at all for the chefs or the host Team Member to lie, either.



All the snow looked very natural in December, when it felt like it could be real. It's a little more strange when it's hot outside, but that's OK.

For those who don't know, the bathrooms in WWofHP have Moaning Myrtle talking in the background. In December, I didn't hear her, because, and I think I'm right about this, they had the Dyson hand dryers in there, which destroyed the possibility of hearing her. I didn't notice those dryers in the bathroom on this trip, so I think that they were there but they took them out. It's a neat touch, having her voice. Universal really has fun bathrooms.


On our way out of Wizarding World, to get back to Jurassic Park.

In December, Eamon and I happened upon a random opening of the Triceratops Discovery Trail, where you meet dinosaurs. It was an amazing attraction that had been closed for several years after a hurricane blew through (or so the TMs told me). But it was closed the whole time we were there. I was sad, because I wanted Robert to see it.


I wanted to check out Thunder Falls Terrace. See the inside, and see if there was anything for us. Sadly, NOTHING for us (OK, maybe corn?), but it sure is gorgeous!

We never got our minds together to ride the River Adventure, and instead just went straight to Camp Jurassic. The line for Pteranodon Flyers (hardest TM job at Universal, because the height restrictions are so bizarre) was way too long, so we let Eamon play for a good long time. I sat and chatted with a woman who was also reading the main Universal guidebook. We were both just hiding from the sun...


We then went on Spiderman and Storm Force Accelatron, and both were fun. SFA was the only spinny ride I'd been on since the Tea Cups at the beginning of the trip. When I ride such things, I REFUSE to get sick anymore, or if I do feel sick I don't let R&E see it, and we all have fun. Then trying to make me sick (not quite sure why) and me refusing to turn green...ah, good times, good times....

We decided that swimming was an absolute MUST-DO (whoops, wrong franchise...sorry Stacey-of-WDW!), and went off to do it.

 

[bumbershoot]

On our way out, a picture of a window.

The big pool at Portofino is behind the West Wing. We were in the East Wing. We had to walk past the West Wing, and the path up to the pool, to get to our wing. This...was frustrating. Next time there will be a wing request!

But we got there, and it was lovely.

There's a big shallow portion, but then it drops off into a deeper part. There's a slide which I hear was fun (I was ruined for slides by the one at boardwalk!).

We swam, we relaxed, I dozed on a chair soaking in some vitamin D...it was lovely. And then it got hot. And then too hot. And then way too hot, so we went back to the room.


Of course, with all that lazing around, we were hungry again. And could not think of a single thing we wanted more than that soup from the Three Broomsticks again. So...back we went!


Eek. Looming cloud.

Part of the entrance area, cleverly called Port of Entry.

This time, instead of going between all the Seuss rides, we went on a little shortcut. What is cool about this shortcut is that it has my mom's hometown's name on a sign along the way. Not to mention my brother's adopted town!

We got over there in record time, and got food, tasty food. More soup, some mac and cheese, side salads... And a butterbeer as well as a Hog's Head beer for moi.

However, we were also joined by a certain Rex/Scabbers...

You might notice that the rat is missing a toe? Clever.

He might like Butterbeer.

While there the second time, we ate slower and noticed that there are things happening all around. Shadows moving near the ceiling, props moving on their own, noises...it's really quite cool, how much is going on that you don't notice at first glance.


I recommend a hot September trip, if only for this sort of line towards the end of the day in IOA:

For those parents who are worried about their kids riding alone on Hippogriff, check out the netting that covers the space between feet and lap bar.

It is nearly impossible to not take tons of pictures of the castle, even if you'd just done the same thing several hours before.

And this is the evening when we discovered what happens when there are lightning strikes within 5 miles of the parks!

 

[bumbershoot]

Instead of going through Jurassic Park again, we backtracked. Eamon and Robert looked in this store/stand thing in The Lost Continent that had heraldry stuff. I only think of names and crests and whatnot, but when I lost the guys for a little too long and went looking, I found that there were swords and daggers in the back, LOL. Must remember...heraldry shop = sharp shiny things!

Pretty lights...

And then the breeze started. The glorious marvelous wonderful...oh wait I've felt that change in the wind before, ruh roh...breeze.

Little duck don't care...

(hopefully you guys have heard/seen the honey badger thing..."honey badger don't care", etc etc) (if you haven't, the caption is "cute duck!")


Aw mannnnnnnn.

Oh man oh man oh man...

This is the "back side of" the Seuss shortcut.

Which has a name!

Wait, we need to get a little shopping bag to put the camera in, because again we brought nothing to protect us from the rain.

Hurry hurry!

Hurry hurry hurry!

That was the last of the pictures that night. We were seeing lightning off in the distance, and WOW it just felt scary. We weren't the only ones rushing, either.

So we left IOA and went over to the boat dock. Just missed a Portofino Bay boat, and didn't even think about taking a Hard Rock boat, and just waiting around at HRH. We were waiting for a bit, and the rain started. Whammo. We were glad to be under shelter.

Then the boat pilot for the HRH boat just leaving told everyone that boat transportation was *closing* until there was no more lightning in the 5 miles around us. Aw dang. All of us being silly, we waited. I mean, who wanted to go out into the biggest downpour we'd been around for yet? And the only one we were outside for (in the China movie and then in Margaritaville for the others).

After waiting for a while, another TM came over and flipped out on us. Telling us something we couldn't have known as typical tourists (not just US, but any of us), that the structure is metal, and it just wasn't smart of us to be under there.

Well, the three of us decided that it was best to get out. In the very short distance between the dock (and to the right or left then up the stairs) and across the way to a store (any store) we got downright drenched. Stores are cold!

We took shelter there, along with a family *from Florida* who hadn't brought their ponchos even though they KNEW this was going to happen. Glad we weren't the only ones unprepared! We waited and chatted and talked about all sorts of things, and if I hadn't been so cold, it would have been great. [Sidenote: I've GOT to get into non plus sizes, so I can buy clothes wherever I want to, because I would have bought a sweater or a dry shirt or something, but I wouldn't have fit in anything there.]

Finally it eased, and we went back to the boat area. 3 minutes later a TM came by and told us we still couldn't be there. Gah. But that if we wanted to, we could ride the shuttle.

Uh, what? The shuttle? Shuttle to where? The resorts?


So later I realized that this info is in the brochure or whatever. I could have known. But frankly the idea of a shuttle to the parks, when the parks are SO close, just never made it into my consciousness. So...we waited for over an hour for no good reason.

We tried to help some other people get to the shuttle, but because our information was semi-vague (go towards and past the Studios, continue along the path, and the bus stop is right there) they had no faith, and didn't follow. They decided to walk, instead.

The shuttle came, we packed ourselves in, we got back to the resort.

The bummer here is that we were trying to get back for their pool movie. Yeah, right, movie at the pool during a storm...but it had been moved of course. Alas, it was over halfway over by the time we got back to the hotel (I think they started it early).

We had some leftover dessert and called it a night.

 

[kaoden39]

Oh that storm is scary business.


You know when I was reading about the food and eating I was hit with the thought that not all restaurants have a vegetarian choice. That is just crazy. There are so many people that are choosing to eat healthier I would think they would cater to all diets.

 

[bumbershoot]

Even Disney's getting weird with it. They keep replacing interesting things with veggie burgers. Yawn-o-rama.

Thunder Falls was heavy on the BBQ! But not BBQ like a person would make at home with a variety of friends (vegetables, perhaps some tofu, etc...heck, maybe just a veggie burger, LOL)...just meat, meat, and more meat. Oh well! At least it's pretty in there.

 

[kaoden39]

I don't get the meat, meat, meat thing for a barbecue. I love grilling vegetables. They are a huge part of any meal I grill. I have two barbecues. One is used for meat and the other is used for vegetables. I know that some people would find that silly but I am willing to bet you understand it.


I meant to mention that "Rex" is rather cute.

 

[bumbershoot]

Note to self: go to Michele's for BBQ.

Rex isn't soft, that's for sure, but he's perfect for Scabbers. Scruffy, a bit yellowish, and of course that missing toe.

 

[kaoden39]

He needs to be a bit yellow. Remember in the first book Ron did the "spell" that Fred and George had taught him to turn Scabbers yellow? It fits. He also shouldn't be soft and I love the missing toe.


You're welcome anytime you want to come.

 

[bumbershoot]

September 24!


Since we had already been to IOA twice, this day was for the other park. (it's so awkward, with the whole place being Universal Studios, and the park being....Universal Studios? and "the Studios" is what people call Hollywood Studios, especially if they were WDW people when DHS was called MGM Studios)


On the way to the boat.

Started the morning with a tasty Emeril's blend coffee from the Keurig machine in the room. Felt that wasn't quite enough, so we also stopped at Starbucks in CityWalk. Such a mistake. First, the coffee was BAD (one of the s'bux that proves the theory that the further from headquarters you get, the worse they get). And second, you have to go way into CityWalk, go up a very tall escalator, and then to the storefront. And, alas, the down escalator was broken, which we did not notice on the way up. Ugh, what a pain.

Anyway, just a waste of time, though I suppose there was some caffeine in the lousy iced latte.


But...seeing this made me happy again.

Eamon's obligatory height checking picture! (omg look at that)

The little kid area, the Kidzone, doesn't open right at park opening, so we ended up going on Shrek 4D our very first thing! Not the thing we would have *thought* to go on first off, but that's how it worked out.

And we were so glad! We hadn't been on it yet, but it's a favorite now! Combine "tough to be a bug", "Mickey's Philharmagic", Muppets, and Honey I Shrunk the Kids. But put MORE action in the seats, funnier lines, more effects...and you've got Shrek 4D.

OH, and they make fun of Tinkerbell. Of course.


Ack! While typing this I have the news on, and they just played an ad for Aulani Disney Resort in Hawaii. Fun!


The gift shop has some good stuff. They have dress-up stuff from a store called Creative Education of Canada. I am so glad I wrote that down on the map of this day. I'd forgotten about them! I was really close to buying E some knight/prince dressup stuff, but since they had tags with the website on it, I then figured I'd do some research before paying theme park prices (and taking up luggage room).

After that we went on ET. I both really like, and am really bored by, the ride. And that's that.

It was getting so hot already... Robert suddenly did not feel well, I can't remember how exactly, and I think he went off to see if their first aid office had ibuprofen (so I figure it was a headache?). So I sat in the shade while Eamon played in Fievel's Playland for awhile. Robert finally came back.

One of the TMs and I had been passing the time, and she mentioned that back behind the Curious George Goes To Town water playground there was an indoor play area that would be fun. So we went on back!

If you don't want to get wet, you follow the footprints carefully, and it lets you avoid all the surprise sprays and dumps of water.

The place that's back there is called the Ball Factory. It's filled with soft-soft-soft foam balls, and tons of ways to shoot them at each other! Scads of fun for all ages. I think we must have spent an hour in there. I decided to just sit down and rest while the guys ran around playing with the balls.

While sitting there I talked with a different TM, and I watched people. There weren't a lot of people back there...it's not really on the map, and it's all the way back behind a very wet playground. But the one thing that I noticed that was EVERY single woman who came in there started using the vacuum thing to suck up balls (they went into a hopper and into a bit container, where they could be dumped out later). And every woman suddenly realized what she was doing (vacuuming on vacation!), got a sheepish look, and stopped. And yes, that included me, when I first came in.

It's a neat area back there, and the balls don't hurt even when they hit you on the head.

They were VERY warm when I finally got them out of there. Luckily we were in a water area, so E filled his hat and stuck it on his head.

No one went in this area. We had things to do!

Eamon then went on Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster. Ten times in a row. Alone.

It was a good morning for him!


From there we walked, slowly (hot hot hot) to the Simpsons Ride. And then onto MIB. We walked out of there dancing, as usual (they play the MIB theme), and after much debate got a "neuralizer". A little late, especially since Eamon had decided that he was going to be Ron Weasley for Halloween, but he was still glad to get it.

We decided to skip the Amity area altogether, since E wasn't ready for Jaws yet and it just isn't compelling enough to do one at a time.

Decided to go for lunch at Lombard's again. A very interesting time we had...

First, they stuck us in the tiniest little section of the restaurant. Not a corner, and right next to an aquarium (which normally would be good), but absolutely surrounded by tables. Tables packed with people. And apart from Eamon, we are not tiny people! There was one lady who had just HAD IT with people squeezing past, and from our hostess's reaction to the lady telling her she didn't appreciate it, I got the impression that the hostess had sat us there on purpose. Wow. That's fun.

Robert and I shared a salad and pasta, and Eamon...jeez...he ate an adult portion of ravioli, and was still hungry. We made him wait a bit, and 20 minutes later he was still hungry. So we ordered him a half portion of the same ravioli, and he ate it ALL. (I'm frightened of what it's going to be like as he gets older)

We went on out into the heat. Decided that we just didn't have much interest in the other rides.

On the way out we saw the "Blues Brothers". I like the zoom feature on my camera.

Then we went Back to the Future.

Hey, who is that?

Of course, all of this was lost on E, as he hasn't seen the movie yet.


Next summer, the old Jimmy Neutron ride will become Despicable Me. Think it'll be on this street?

It was so hot, we were exhausted. And Robert had started the day not feeling so well, so it was definitely time to go rest.

 

[eculmone]

really nice

 

[kaoden39]

I spy a hidden Mickey!! How Disney obsessed am I?

 

[bumbershoot]

I even saw one in the clouds in Hogsmeade; you can sort of see it (it was drifting apart by the time I took the picture) in the pictures I posted yesterday.

 

[kaoden39]

I even saw one in the clouds in Hogsmeade; you can sort of see it (it was drifting apart by the time I took the picture) in the pictures I posted yesterday.

I think I saw it. It looks like part of his head?

 

[bumbershoot]

Yep.

Walt really was inspired to put WDW in Florida, where they have those big puffy clouds that look so interesting. You can create anything in those clouds!

 

[kaoden39]

Boy isn't that the truth. When the kids were little we would lay in the grass and watch the clouds and talk about what we saw in the sky.


We got word that Kody is definitely starting that program and all that is left is to get her signed out of her old school.

 

[bumbershoot]

woohoo!!!!!!!