Taking the HLP on Holiday

[Eclectic Goddess]

On Sunday, I’m headed back to Universal Orlando with my HLP (Hetero Life Partner)! Disneyland is old hat to me, and I’d not a fan of the ‘World, but I’ve only been to Universal once, a couple years ago, and I’ve been wanting to go back ever since. The HLP hasn’t been at all. In fact, she hasn’t been to a theme park since she was a little girl. She wasn’t sure that she wanted to go when I started planning the trip, but I’m glad she’s going and I plan to make sure she has fun.

We’ll be landing in Orlando around 5pm. I booked a car through Tiffany Towncar to get to the hotel because the Mears shuttle sounds like a nightmare and I don’t want to rent a car. I used Tiffany last time I was there and it was excellent. It will be a nice surprise for the HLP, too. (The first of several I have planned.) We’re making a stop to pick up some snacks (we’re both vegetarians, and by the end of the last trip I was so full of carbs and cheese that all I really wanted was some nice fresh broccoli) and hope to be at the hotel by 6-6:30.

We’re staying at the Wingate on Windhover Lane, northeast of the parks. I would have liked to stay onsite, but we’re doing this trip on a budget. It’s supposed to be a nice hotel, and I got our room at a very good price. We’ll pretty much just be there to sleep and eat breakfast in the mornings, but the indoor hot tub might come in handy on some of those evenings when we’re feeling a bit footsore.

We are planning to mostly walk into and out of the parks. I know most people consider it a long walk, but the HLP and I are both walkers. A mile and a half really isn’t much to us, and I’ve been exploring shortcuts like the one through the parking lot behind HRH. If we get tired of walking, we can always use the hotel shuttle to get back to the hotel if we decide to call it an early night, or pretty cheaply catch a cab.

Our first night there it will be too late to enjoy the parks, but we’ll walk over anyway to pick up our tickets and have dinner. I have a “priority seating” request in at the Hard Rock Café. That’s where the trip really begins for the HLP, because she’s a huge music lover, and I think she’ll go crazy for all the memorabilia. They don’t have many vegetarian offerings, but I think that getting her to sit down long enough to eat might be the real challenge!

After that, I imagine we’ll just crash at the hotel, as neither of us will have gotten much sleep the night before and we plan to be at IoA the next morning bright and early for the rope drop.

Our Touring Plan

Day # 1 – IoA at rope drop. Brief visit to WWoHP, then work our way counterclockwise around to the rides we’re most excited about. After lunch at Mythos, shift over to US and hit the highlights there. Near US closing (6pm) switch back to IoA and WWoHP to finish out the evening. Dinner. Crash.

Day # 2 – IoA at rope drop again. Brief visit to WWoHP again, then head over to US for the morning. Go back to IoA for lunch at Thunder Falls Terrace, and probably spend the rest of the day there to hit everything we missed on day # 1.

Day # 3 – Honestly, by day 3, we’ll be playing it by ear. We’ll probably still start at IoA early, but we’ll be taking it pretty easy by then. We’ll likely have lunch at The Kitchen that day.

Day # 4 – Our flight doesn’t leave until the evening, and we got a free 4th day, so I plan to go back into the parks for a couple hours in the morning. (Shopping in Hogsmeade!) The HLP might go with me, or she might sleep in. After that, we’re back on the long trek across the country and hopefully will have no exciting stories to tell.

We’re also planning to see a movie while there (“Woman in Black”) and have dinner at a few different places, but we’re not making a lot of firm plans in advance.

I’m totally not ready to go. Laundry needs to be done. Mail needs to be held. Nothing is packed except a few surprises to help unhappy flyer HLP get through the plane trip. Still researching places to eat. (And still hoping to find Neapolitan pizza! HELP!) I have most of the day Saturday to scramble through anything that’s not done, though, so I’ll save my panicking for then.

I plan to bring my netbook with me to Orlando, so I might be updating while there. If not, I promise to post as soon as I get home again. (With pictures!)

 

[Metro West]

Good start to the trip report and I hope you are able to update while you're here.

About the only place around Orlando that serves "authentic Neapolitan Pizza" is Via Napoli in Epcot. It's the only place that has any reviews both favorable and relatively close to the tourist areas.

 

[SharonK0527]

Have a great trip! Looking forward to hearing all about it when you get back!

 

[Gantu]

I cant wait to hear more!

 

[Eclectic Goddess]

About the only place around Orlando that serves "authentic Neapolitan Pizza" is Via Napoli in Epcot. It's the only place that has any reviews both favorable and relatively close to the tourist areas.

Bummer. I was so sure that the Portofino must have it someplace. I got all excited because I found it on the Kitchen dinner menu, only to discover I was looking at an old menu, and they don't have it anymore.

Oh well. I suppose I'll just have to fill the HLP with sugar instead! She's going to love Cauldron Cakes.

 

[Momw/aplan]

I hope you have a great trip! I look forward to reading all about it.

 

[cindy373]

i can't wait to hear your trip report. Was it crowded? We are going in a few weeks...
and was Spiderman open or was there any indication as to when it is opening? i just hear March... hoping this is the beginning of March.

thanks so much!

 

[Eclectic Goddess]

Our trip to Orlando was long but uneventful. The only bad bit came toward the end of the second leg, our Minneapolis to Orlando flight. There were a lot of small children and babies on the plane, and for the last hour or so of the flight, the smell of diapers was pretty intense!

We got to the Wingate without any problem. The driver from Tiffany Towncar was waiting for us at the baggage claim and quick to take our bags and lead the way. Also, I was surprised and pleased by how careful a driver she was. If it seems like a strange thing to notice, that will just tell you how not careful some of the drivers I’ve had in the past can be!

It was too late to go into the parks, but we walked over to CityWalk anyway. The walk is fine, about 25-30 minutes. I think it should be no problem for us, but tonight it was COLD. Of course, neither of us brought warm enough clothing to be walking around when the temperature is below 50. We walked fast, but were still shivering.

We were running late for our “priority seating” time at Hard Rock Café, so I skipped picking up our tickets. (Might regret that in the morning.) Still, we were seated right away, next to the bar. Our server was great and didn’t even blink when we asked about ordering something off menu. We shared the Santa Fe Spring Rolls as an appetizer, then I had the Twisted Mac N Cheese and my HLP had the veggie burger. Both were delicious. After we’d eaten, I sipped a cup of hot tea (Did I mention it was COLD?) while the HLP went around looking at the memorabilia. I think she might have peed a little when she found Buddy Holly’s glasses.

Thankfully, Hard Rock Café was half-empty, so it made it easy to walk around and look at stuff. I think the cold had scared people away. It certainly made us rush back to the hotel quickly enough.

Tomorrow, we’re planning to be up and in line for the rope drop. It’s supposed to be a bit warmer tomorrow, thank goodness. Even though we’re running three hours behind, we’re both easily tired enough to fall asleep at what, for us, it actually only 7pm!

Hopefully, more tomorrow!

 

[tink1957]

Great report so far.

We were there last month for New Year's and I can relate about the cold. We stayed at the Holiday Inn across the street from Universal and walked to the parks each morning, it was just cold enough to need a sweater and by the afternoon I had to tie it around my waist until I needed it again after dark.

Can't wait to hear more.

 

[Eclectic Goddess]

Wrote up a mini-report, but my computer decided to drop the internet and lost it before I could post it! Oh well.

We had a great fun yesterday despite the chilly weather. Hit most of the major rides and a couple shows.

Loved being back in WWoHP! At the end of the day I did some shopping and spent over $100 on candy at Honeydukes! It was all for gifts, but still! (Saving the shopping for myself for the end of the trip.)

Off to another day of fun! I promise to write a full report when I have more time.

 

[Eclectic Goddess]

Back to yesterday…

We got up in time to walk to the park, arriving about 30 minutes early. Unfortunately, because we hadn’t picked up our tickets the night before, we had to go to the will call window and were still standing there when they opened the gates. Oh well. The cold seemed to keep most people away, because not even WWoHP was very full.

We walked onto most of the rides, hitting Forbidden Journey, Flight of the Hippogriff and Dragon Challenge right away. The HLP was unnerved by Dragon Challenge, but loved it. She wasn’t bothered by Forbidden Journey, either, though she did admit later that she “felt her breakfast” afterward. We looked through the shops a bit, but didn’t buy anything just yet.

After that, we worked our way around the park and went on pretty much everything except the water rides. (Have I mentioned it was cold? It was pretty darn cold.) Love Jurassic Park River Adventure and Hulk, but I wouldn’t wait more than five minutes for Doctor Doom’s Fear Fall. We didn’t have to wait more than a few minutes for anything, though, and by noon, we headed over to Universal Studios. There we only hit the big rides and a few shows that just happened to be starting as we passed.

I’m sensitive to simulated motion rides (Love Star Wars, can’t go on Star Tours – it’s my tragedy.), but Simpsons didn’t bother me one bit. I loved it.
Years after missing my chance to go on it, I finally rode Rip Ride Rockit…and hated it. I love coasters, but that one was just too jerky and rough for me. I don’t think we’ll be back to it. I’ll stick to Hulk and Dragon Challenge. Mummy was as awesome as I remember. Love the themeing, and HLP agreed.

We’d had a couple snacks, but we weren’t hungry enough for an actual meal, so around 5pm, we went back into IoA and grabbed some side dishes from the Three Broomsticks. (It’s pretty much all they have for us.) The HLP tried her first Butterbeer…and wasn’t a fan. She likes pumpkin juice, though. Afterward, we went on Forbidden Journey one last time, and then we went shopping.

My sister’s birthday was last week, and I also wanted to send something back to the co-workers I’ve abandoned, so I brought two postage-paid boxes with me. I filled them with candy and gave them to the hotel front desk to send off this morning. I also shopped for t-shirts for a friend’s daughter, but settled for taking photos of several for her to choose from. I’ll do my own shopping on our last day here, so I don’t have to leave it all sitting around the hotel room.

After we got back from the park, we spent some time in the whirlpool soaking off the first day’s aches and pains. When we were all loose and warm again, we walked over to the IHOP in front of our hotel for a late dinner.

I know, we were at Universal Studios Resort, and we went to IHOP. I’ll say this, though…it was delicious and exactly what we wanted.


So that’s yesterday. Maybe tomorrow I’ll be able to do today, and then the day after that…

 

[macraven]

waiting for more of your trippie!

 

[tlinus]

so is this an almost live trippie????

I am in

 

[Eclectic Goddess]

I was hoping to type up yesterday's report tonight, but decided to eat dinner and get started packing instead.

Never fear, though. The HLP and I keep a travel journal, and with it I can recreate this trip pretty easily once I'm back home. I probably start working on it on our way home tomorrow.

We fly out in the evening, so we're planning to make the most out of the first few hours the park is open.

On that note, goodnight!

 

[Eclectic Goddess]

Home again, safe and sound! Here's the next trip report. I plan to break the rest up in two parts: Our final full day in the park, and our last morning plus some highlights.


We stuck with our plan for day 2, back at IoA for a quick visit to WWoHP. After a first day filled with roller coasters, we decided to take it a bit easier the second day. We rode FJ, did a little bit of pre-shopping (not actually buying anything), then headed out of WWoHP just as the crowds were headed in.

The day before we’d tried to ride the Dr. Seuss Trolley, but the line was too long, so we stopped there on the way out of the park. It’s a fun little ride, anhd a great way to see the park, but not worth waiting for more than a few minutes.

From there, we went to Universal Studios. We’d missed a few things the day before and wanted to do them in the morning before lines got long. Our first ride was ET, which I genuinely love despite being a bit dated and weird. We did MiB Alien Attack again, then went to the Beetlejuice Graveyard review. I thought it was a fun show. Bit silly, but well-performed. The only downside was an usher who was trying so hard to get the crowd into the show that he was mostly just a distraction.

After that, we went to Disaster. I remember waiting for what seemed like a long time last time I was in Orlando, and I was relieved that it said there was only a 10 minute wait. Yeah, it was a lot longer than that. It a fun and funny show/ride, but really not worth the wait, and once you’ve seen it, you don’t need to see it again.

We revisited The Mummy, which might be my favorite ride in US, then headed back toward the front of the park with plans to kill some time before the next Animal Actors show. We happened on Shrek 4D just as they were letting people in and so decided to check it out. Like Disaster, it’s a fun show, but nothing I need to see again.

The Animal Actor show turned out to be really good. The HLP is an animal lover and works with training dogs, so she particularly loved it. A bird hit me in the head at one point, but it was just a glancing blow, and both the bird and I were fine.

After that, we decided we were getting hungry, so we walked back over to IoA for lunch at Mythos. We were able to walk right in and they even let us sit where I requested, by the windows. Our server was much better than the one I had last time, who had answered my question about vegetarian dishes by saying they could make me a vegetarian dish, but it would just be, “You know, a pasta and sauce.” (Thanks. Could you vague that up for me a bit?) The HLP had the pad thai, and I ordered a cheddar risotto with black bean puree, hold the beef.

Too full to consider any of the rides, we hung out by the Mystic Fountain for a little while. There was a decent crowd there, and the fountain was being particularly funny. It was teasing one woman who had her jacket wrapped around her waist with a little song, “Sweater belt, sweater belt. Is it a sweater, is it a belt? It’s a…SWEATER BELT!” that became part of our own personal soundtrack for the trip.

We went to see the Sinbad Stunt Show next. I have to admit that I liked it. Not a fan of the Indiana Jones show at the ‘World, but at least here they were actually doing real stunts. The story might have been lame, but it was fun to watch.

It seemed only fitting to follow that with Poseidon’s Fury, but that turned out to be a mistake. Again, the 10 minute wait turned out to be much longer. The queue was too crowded, with nothing to see or do while we waited. If we hadn’t been so deep in, we might have just turned back. As it was, when the show began we keep finding ourselves in bad positions to see what was going on. As we left, I remember saying, “Well, that wasn’t as good as I remember.”

We had plans to see a movie that night and had time for one more ride. The HLP loved the Jurassic Park River Adventure, so we went back to that. I should mention here that the three times I’d been on JPRA previously, I’ve never gotten significantly wet. Splashed a bit, and damp from the wet seat, but never soaked.

Yeah, this time we got soaked. If it had been a nice warm night, it might not have been so bad, but it was cool, and we were planning to head to a movie. So I stuffed $5 into the people drier and we did our best to blow away the worst of it. I was wearing a dress and that dried quickly, but my jacket was a different story. The HLP had the opposite problem. She got her jacket dry, but her shorts were still wet.

We made a stop at the Starbucks in CityWalk to help counteract our chills. Mind you, I live in Portland, where there is a coffee shop on every corner and half of them are Starbucks. I don’t drink coffee, but I’m a tea lover. I ordered a chai, and the HLP a tea latte, and the only thing either of them had going for them was that they were hot. My chai was watered down (I actually saw them adding water to it, but didn’t realize at the time that it was my chai.) and the HLP’s tea was under-steeped so that it was basically just hot milk. Not what we needed before the movie.

We saw “Woman in Black”. The theater there at CityWalk is kinda impressive. I liked the lobby and the seats were very comfortable. Not many people there that night, but that worked for us. As for the movie, it was very creepy if rarely actually scary. I did manage to forget that Daniel Radcliff was Harry Potter for a little while, though, and that was saying something.

By the time the movie was over, we were too tired to go out for dinner. The weather had shifted from cool to cold again, and the walk back to our hotel was a bit brisker than I would have liked. We made another short visit to the whirlpool, ate the vegetarian frozen dinners we’d picked up during our grocery stop, and fell into bed.

A day and a half to go!

 

[Eclectic Goddess]

For day 3, I purposely didn’t have a plan. I figured we’d just revisit our favorites and otherwise make it up as we went along. Over breakfast we looked at the map and pinpointed some highlights, but left it at that.

It was finally due to be hot, and it was lovely to leave our jackets behind. I carried a small hip pack, and the HLP had an even smaller bag that could be slung across her body or clipped around her waist. (She never had any trouble getting on the rides with it.)

Waiting in line for the gates to open at IoA, we got to chatting with the couple ahead of us, who turned out to be from the other Portland: Portland, Maine. They were asking for tips and we talked about touring strategies and which rides were the easiest on the back/neck. They were bemoaning buying One Day One Park passes, so I suggested they go to guest services and upgrade them if they decided they really wanted to park hop.

Our first stop in the park was once again WWoHP. I’m a big fan, in case that hasn’t been obvious. We rode Forbidden Journey and Flight of the Hippogriff, but decided to save Dragon Challenge for a bit later in the day. Instead, we circled back to Seuss Landing and rode everything there again. Yes, including the Caro-Seuss-el. If you try too hard to act like a grownup on trips like this, you just end up missing out.

From there we circled around to Marvel Super Hero Island, did some browsing, then rode Hulk. The HLP likes roller coasters, but she always gets nervous when we’re getting on, because it’s so rushed and she worries that the safety restraints aren’t locked down tight enough or aren’t being checked properly. This time she was a bit slow to get her seat belt buckled into the shoulder bars, and the ride attendant did it for her. I said something about her being new to all this, to which he (jokingly) relied, “Me too! It’s my first day!” Not what she needed to hear, but the look on her face was priceless.

With the day approaching truly hot, we decided it was finally time for the water rides. A note about water rides: My usual strategy is to bring some extra clothes and shoes, stash them in a locker at the front of the park, go on all the water rides, then change. The HLP didn’t want to do that, and had forgotten to bring an extra pair of shoes along on the trip anyway. Instead, we just threw everything we could into plastic bags right before we went on the rides and decided to let the air dry the rest. On the Bilge-Rat Barges, we even broke the rules and put our shoes in the covered bins. For Ripsaw Falls, we were at the front, so we just tucked our feet up and kept them mostly out of the water. Still dripping from that, we circled around and went on Jurassic Park River Adventure one last time.

We skipped the people dryer that time and instead visited a nearby bathroom to ring out some of the worst articles of clothing and dry what we could. Again, I was wearing a dress, so I dried pretty quickly. We headed over to WWoHP, got some pumpkin juice and frozen butter beer and found a place to sit in the sun for a while. We were hoping to catch either the frog choir or the Triwizard Spirit Rally, but unfortunately neither happened while we were there. I really wish they were performed on a posted schedule.

For the afternoon, we went back to Universal and revisited Mummy, ET, Men in Black and the Simpson’s Ride. While walking around, we stumbled upon a Despicable Me Minion and my HLP got her photo taken with him, giggling the entire time. When we were ready to take a break, it happened to be a few minutes before the next Animal Actor show, so we went in to watch it again. This time I managed not to get hit in the head by a bird!

About an hour before US closed, we headed back toward IoA. On the way, we stopped again at the Hard Rock Café to look through their store and for the HLP to visit Buddy Holly’s glasses one last time. In IoA, we walked around some but ended up back in WWoHP. We took one more trip through Hogwarts and FJ, then Dragon Challenge (Blue). Deciding that we were done with rides, we picked up a couple chocolate cauldrons and some more pumpkin juice and spent a while relaxing on the patio behind the Three Broomsticks.

With the park about to close, it was time for shopping. We’d spent the last few days browsing, and we’d built up a long list. Mostly, I bought candy and bottled Pumpkin Juice. I also got a Slytherin scarf, Sirius Black’s wand for myself, and Neville Longbottom and Cedric Diggory’s wands for friends. Finally, I picked up a Ravenclaw shirt for a co-worker’s daughter. The HLP also bought a bunch of candy, some Hogwart’s magnets, and Hermoine and Luna’s wands for friends.

Laden down by our purchases, we decided to go back to the hotel rather than have dinner at CityWalk. We wanted to get packed so we’d have more time in the park the next morning. In the end, we went to the Carrabba’s a block from our hotel. We’re familiar with their menu, and they have a lot of vegetarian options. It made for a quiet, relaxing dinner. I’d wanted to explore the restaurants in the park more on this trip, but it just didn’t work out that way.

One more morning, and then it was time to head back home.

 

[Eclectic Goddess]

Our last morning in Orlando, we woke up a bit early and enjoyed a quick breakfast at the hotel so we could get to the parks at least half an hour before they opened. We quickly saw that we’d scheduled our trip there perfectly, because the crowds were significantly larger than we’d seen the past three days. I suppose lots of people were down early for the long weekend.

We’d agreed not to try and do too much, because we planned to be out of the parks no later than 11am. We started with the two things I wanted to do, one more trip on FJ, and one last drink at the Hog’s Head. We used the single rider line for the first time, because the morning crowds had pushed the line outside the castle, and ended up walking onto the ride and riding together. Afterward, we spent some time in the Hog’s Head. I got a souvenir Hog’s Head mug and we sat at the bar to chat with the very friendly bartender. It was lovely and dark and quiet, despite the crowds outside. Leaving made me a little sad, as I expected it to, but I really did feel like I’d made the most of our trip, so I had no regrets.

It was the HLP’s turn, and she wanted to revisit Seuss Landing. We started with the Trolley, since the line there tends to build up quickly. Then we went over to Cat in the Hat. It was the HLP favorite kid’s book, and she loved the ride as well. After three days of just walking onto it, we finally had to wait in line for a few minutes, but it was worth it.

We skipped the shortcut behind HRH on our way back to the hotel and instead walked along the path next to the canal. It really is a very pleasant walk, with some beautiful foliage surrounding the path. We spent most of the walk hopping over little lizards that had come out to bask in the sun.

Back at the hotel, our car arrived a bit early, but we were ready, so headed back to the airport around 11:45. MCO really is quiet chaotic. After a few days spent surrounded by helpful and cheerful staff members, it was bit jarring. I did have a fun moment at security, when the TSA agent asked if she could search my bag. She pulled out one of the jars from Honeyduke’s, hidden beneath layers of packing paper, and grinned. “Oh, what kind of candy did you get?”


SOME HIGHLIGHTS

Outside the ET Adventure, a family with two teenagers were sitting in the shade. The teenagers were whining a bit about being tired, and dad said, “I don’t know what you guys are complaining about! I just road 300 million miles on a bike to save an alien planet!”

Enjoying a butterbeer outside the Three Broomsticks, we were sitting next to a family eating their lunch. For every part of their meal, the little boy, about 11 or 12, kept asking, “Mom, is this what Harry Potter eats? What about this? Does Harry Potter eat this?”

We were waiting in line for Revenge of the Mummy, making our way up the final staircase when the girl in front of us suddenly turned and asked, “Have you guys been on this ride before? Is it scary?” Mind you, this was after she’d spent the last 15 minutes winding her way through a dark tomb. I couldn’t help but laugh and gesture around us. Um, yeah.


Best theming ~ Easily WWoHP. Even the HLP, who isn’t a Harry Potter fan, loved all the little details.

Best roller coaster ~ (IoA) The Incredible Hulk / (US) Revenge of the Mummy

Best non-coaster ride ~ (IoA) Forbidden Journey / (US) ET Adventure

Best water ride ~ Jurassic Park River Adventure (Love the T-Rex at the end!)

Best show ~ Animal Actors on Location

Best restaurant ~ I wanted to do something in this category, really I did, but in the end I don’t feel like we went to enough on-site restaurants to judge. Our dinner at Hard Rock Café was excellent, and our lunch at Mythos was delicious. Aside from that, who knows?

Tiffany Towncar ~ Once again, we got great service. On the first leg, she was waiting for us at the airport, quick to take our bags, and was a very safe driver. On the return, our driver was a bit early but didn't complain about having to wait for us and had some fun stories to tell about the area. I really wouldn't try to get to or from the airport any other way.

The Wingate by Wyndham ~ Our room was very clean, quiet and comfortable. Great beds for a hotel. They really listened to our personal requests, being on an upper floor and away from the elevator. The free breakfast was one of the best I had, offering everything from eggs and sausage to waffles to fresh fruit. The desk staff was very helpful and friendly. It was about a 30 minute walk from the park, and the also offered a shuttle. For the right price, I’d definitely recommend it.


All in all, we had a great trip. I know it will be years before I can go back, but now I can turn my focus to my annual fall trip to Disneyland. Heck, by the time I feeling antsy to see Hogwarts again, the WWoHP at Universal Hollywood might be open! That's a much shorter flight!