The Canadians Go Potter

[BabySimba]

CAST
Me - Nicole, 17, loves writing and reading. Looking forward to marrying Robert Pattinson.
Father - Rick, 53, loves fruit bowls and schedules. Looking forward to retirement.
Mother - Julia, 46, loves reading and relaxing. Looking forward to vacations with her husband after his retirement.
Brother - Matt, 19, loves hot girls and expensive cars. Looking forward to getting a condo in Toronto.

DAY ONE
August 28th

First day started off very rocky. It was decided that we would drive to Buffalo where you can get a cheaper flight to Orlando. The drive usually takes about two hours, however this drive took almost five. Traffic was a nightmare and we made it to the airport with about an hour to spare. Very lucky!
The flight was fine (Air Tran was good price but seats were uncomfortable) and we were able to pick up our rental car (Alamo rental was a mid-size Toyota Corolla which Dad wasn't very impressed with) quickly before heading to our villa. We have stayed at this same rental a time before and enjoyed it so we decided to come back again.

The house also had a very nice lake at the back where many birds came to visit us, looking for some bread.

After stopping off at the nearby Walmart for some necessities and some dinner we laid around and watched television until bedtime. Tomorrow would be our first day at Universal and Harry Potter!

 

[BabySimba]

DAY TWO
August 29th

Waking up early we had a quick breakfast at the house before heading out for Universal. It wasn't that far from the villa when taking the back way to the park and soon we'd arrived to pay $15 for parking. Like everyone else, we headed for Islands of Adventure where Harry Potter's World was.

We went for the Forbidden Journey ride at the castle first which had a wait time of 20 minutes. Thankfully the wait was mostly inside the castle where we got to admire the details that went into the construction.

During the 20 minute wait the ride broke down twice. I suppose they're still working out the kinks. The ride was amazing! A lot of work was put into it and it paid off. A lot of fun.

After the ride Matt and I went on the little Hippogriff coaster before going to get a Butterbeer. We decided to get one of each (the regular and frozen). Overall the family decided the frozen tasted better. It was like vanilla ice cream on top and cream soda. After that tasty treat, Matt (being the roller coaster man he is) wanted to ride the Duelling Dragons. The rest of the family looked around the shops including Honeydukes and the Joke Shop.

We decided that we would move on from the Potter place since we had another few days to come back. We moved into the Jurassic Park area where Matt got soaked on the water ride.

Then we continued on, passing the other water rides, and went on Spiderman (which still scared me). Matt went on Dr. Doom and the Hulk before the family decided to call it a day. We left the park and went home for a swim.

Dinner was at Bahama Breeze (one of our favourite restaurants) where Mum, Dad and Matt had their famous fresh lemonade. Afterwards we came back to villa to watch Big Brother and go to bed.

Tomorrow would be our shopping day!

 

[damo]

Great start! Keep 'em coming!

 

[Brit_Jude]

Great report so far! Thanks

 

[mdb78]

Great report and pics!

 

[cagenot]

Thank you for a very nice report, great pics. Want to read more!

 

[BabySimba]

DAY THREE
August 30th

Late morning start since we weren't going to the parks. We headed for one of our favourite shopping places, Lake Buena Vista Outlets. I got a shirt and Mum got a new pair of jeans at the V&F Outlet.

After the shopping we went to Downtown Disney, giving us a little of the Disney we missed so much. I was surprised to see how everything was changing. McDonald's was gone as was the memorabilia store, Virgin and the AMC was closed down.

Luckily the Candy Cauldron was still open so we went in there to get a giant Mickey chocolate chip cookie to share between the four of us.

Here's a picture of all the yummy treats in the store!

While waiting in line a very rude woman cut right in front of us, ignoring us as if there was never a line. The cashier apologized to us profusely even though it wasn't her fault. Some people can be just so insultingly rude.

Finding a quiet spot against the lake we ate our cookie before heading back to Market Place.

After that long shopping day we came home for a swim and a Chilli's Take Out. Always yummy!

Tomorrow would be checking out Universal!

 

[strawberryblonde]

Thanks for your report and photos! Lovely to see the FL sunshine

 

[Brit_Jude]

The cup cakes at the candy cauldron look yummy!

Have you been to Premium Outlets? If so how does Lake Buena Vista outlets compare?

Enjoying your posts can't wait to find out about your Universal day

 

[schumigirl]

Good report so far......nice pics.

We always have a drive to LBV outlets as well.

Looking forward to more

 

[BabySimba]

The cup cakes at the candy cauldron look yummy!

Have you been to Premium Outlets? If so how does Lake Buena Vista outlets compare?

Enjoying your posts can't wait to find out about your Universal day

I have been to the Premium Outlets and I liked Lake Buena Vista more. It doesn't have as many brand names as Premium but it does have stores like Old Navy, Reebok and the Disney Outlet. Plus it isn't as busy as Premium. Usually we just go to Lake Buena Vista because its closer to wherever we're staying.

Hope that answers your question.
Thank you for your reply!

 

[AJA]

Loving your report! Looks like your whole family had an awesome trip!

 

[Brit_Jude]

I have been to the Premium Outlets and I liked Lake Buena Vista more. It doesn't have as many brand names as Premium but it does have stores like Old Navy, Reebok and the Disney Outlet. Plus it isn't as busy as Premium. Usually we just go to Lake Buena Vista because its closer to wherever we're staying.

Hope that answers your question.
Thank you for your reply!

Thanks!

 

[BabySimba]

DAY FOUR
August 31st

Early morning and breakfast at the house again since we were going to the parks. Another $15 parking fee but this time we headed for Universal instead of Islands of Adventure (where most were going).

AND I forgot to mention my troubles with the finger print machine at the front gates of both Universal and Islands of Adventure. Apparently I have very faint prints, which is kind of odd because I never had any problems with Disney and their machines. Does Universal need an upgrade?

Anyway, the first place we went was the new roller coaster Rip, Ride, Rock-It. Matt went on it since the rest of family weren't very big thrill seekers. (I'll ride coasters like Rocking Roller Coaster in Disney Studios because it's in the dark. The outside I'm not interested in.) Matt enjoyed it a lot since he went on it about four times.

After that we took a stroll towards the Mummy where we easily walked on. The line up area (in both the Mummy and the Harry Potter ride) is very dark and since my glasses (transitions) take a bit to change from sunglasses to regular I found myself holding on to my Mum's hand so as not to run into anything or fall down the stairs. The ride itself was really good. Both us girls were screaming our heads off, especially when the car went backwards. The guys thought it was too jerky.

We took a walk towards Jaws and were disappointed to find that it hadn't opened yet. A little silly to not open all the rides at the park opening. We had to miss a few because we were too early. Luckily Men and Black was open so we went in there only to find out that Dad beat both Matt and I in shooting aliens! What?!

We waited in a long line for the Simpsons ride (Mum opted out since she didn't enjoy simulation rides) but it was actually a lot of fun! Lots of stupid jokes from our favourite comedic cartoon family!

After Matt got a picture with Homer we went straight for E.T. (my FAVOURITE ride at Universal). Not much wait and of course very cute but (like always) E.T. got our names wrong at the end! No biggie. I still love the ride.

Finally we decided we were finished with Universal for the day but I really wanted to go and see Harry Potter's wait line again. So we went to Islands of Adventure to luckily go on the ride again and go into more shops. Again, quite silly for the shops to be so small since we had to wait in line to get into Dervish and Banges where I bought a Ravenclaw t-shirt for around $24. Over priced but I had to have!

Back home for a swim and some Outback's Take-Out. Yum! And then bed. I'll leave you all to admire the photo my brother took of the sunset and the pool:

Tomorrow would be more shopping including a huge bookstore!

 

[MermaidMom]

I'm enjoying your pictures and report. Hope you find time to share more.