The Darlings Caved Already! A Sept. '12 PTR -- Sept. 26 - TR link posted!

[Nermel9]

Wow, three weeks and he came home!? That's amazing, and it does give me some hope! My boy has some outdoor survival skills (as well as practiced use of his claws!) so hopefully he'll find his way back.

Yeah, 3 agonizing weeks, it was awful! And my cat has no survival skills at all, he's a baby, and we treat him like one so I suppose it's kind of our fault, we over babied him...can't help it though, he's SO cute! I'm sure your kitty will come back, he's probably just out exploring!

 

[teekathepony]

Hello again folks!

It's Saturday and the start of a long weekend! I have no fun plans, but that's ok; I hope to get in some good ole' R&R and recharge for the week ahead. Only 9 days of work left until my trip!

And that means...

5 days until online check in! 14 until the official opening of the Little Mermaid section and then 15 until I'm checking in!



Some photos of the Little Mermaid section are coming available now too, here are a few from August 16th courtesy of Laughing Place.com

(Looks from the pictures as though the pool is inaccessible while the fence is up)

I can't wait! The 4 year old in me is awfully anxious to splash in the pool and sing Part Of Your World. If ever I find the Mermaid pool empty, I'm so doing that.

I'm getting so close, I'd best get on with the plans!


Day 5
Thursday, September 20

It's off to see the wizard!

This is our Universal day! Universal is open 9am - 7pm and as we most likely won't be staying until 7, I would like to get there right around 9. We will be buying our tickets at the gate and will be getting a one day park-to-park (i.e. park hopper). Some of the main things we are looking forward to are...

Men In Black! One of our favourite rides of all time, we really missed it last year when we only went to Islands of Adventure. I'm not going to lie when I say this ride is 95% of the reason we're getting the park to park ticket.

Such a lovely classic!

The Hulk! A coaster that I was too chicken to ride last year but Johnny assured me that it's milder than Dragon Challenge which I didn't mind!
*The above were all not my photos but brought to you by the magic of Google.

When Johnny and I were first dating, we discovered a shared love of Dinosaurs and especially of the Jurassic Park movies. We used to get comfy and lots of snacks and have a marathon watching them.

But of course, the main reason we're going to Universal is for my boy Harry.

Get your flame throwers ready...

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is my all time favourite ride ever in the history of anywhere. I like it even better than anything at Disney.

As much as I love Disney, I also love Harry Potter. If only Disney had made the Wizarding World, then I would have been all set. I don't like a lot of Universal as a whole -- the theming isn't as nice, the workers unfriendly, the transitions from one theme to another are harsh and jarring. Let's face it, the place is no Disney, but I have to give them this -- they did a phenomenal job on the Harry Potter part.

We have no fancy meals planned for today, we're just hoping to get a meal that doesn't make us sick due to questionable chicken fingers or outrageous prices or teeny, tiny servings this time. We're thinking about trying something in City Walk.

We have to leave the park by at least 6pm, absolutely no later and preferably earlier.

Why?

Well since you asked, we're doing something that evening that I'm very excited for!

The Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue!



Johnny and I have a category 2 seat booked for the 9:30 show; Eeyore04 and her family are going to the same show, same night but in cat. 1. I'm so excited! I've heard so many good things and I've never been there before!

So that takes us to the end of another day! Just two more left to go!

 

[pinkxray]

The LM section at AOA looks like so much fun. I can't wait to hear how you like it.


I am determined to try HDDR one day. I always book it and end up cancelling b/c it seems like a pain to get to Fort Wilderness. One of these days we'll get there.


I love Universal. I really love the Jurassic Park section and WWOHP. Okay, and the Suess section. It does lack theming a bit in some areas though, but we have't encountered rude workers. Not exactly Disney cast members but not as bad as the horrible workers we saw at Seaworld a few years ago.

 

[teekathepony]

The LM section at AOA looks like so much fun. I can't wait to hear how you like it.


I am determined to try HDDR one day. I always book it and end up cancelling b/c it seems like a pain to get to Fort Wilderness. One of these days we'll get there.


I love Universal. I really love the Jurassic Park section and WWOHP. Okay, and the Suess section. It does lack theming a bit in some areas though, but we have't encountered rude workers. Not exactly Disney cast members but not as bad as the horrible workers we saw at Seaworld a few years ago.

The only Disney dinner theatre I did was Mickey's Backyard BBQ and I wasn't too impressed. Although the food was amazing. I'm excited to add another to my list I've done!
I get rude workers every time I'm there! I remember being super disoriented the first time because I tried talking to them expecting very friendly Disney cms. I also find them very unhelpful. I have to agree with you about Seaworld though, I didn't like those workers much either. Disney has spoiled us I guess!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Yay for your trip coming up so soon!!! The Little Mermaid section looks awesome, and I absolutely think you need to burst into song at least once while staying there!! How could you not?

 

[OrangeJuice]

Hey Teeka,
I haven't been on here much lately but I got the chance to catch up today. I can't believe how quickly your trip is approaching. I agree with you about HP at Universal, it is nice enough to convince me to return despite the fact that the rest of Islands of Adventure is horrible when compared to Disney (IMHO ). I haven't been to the other Universal park yet so I can't comment on that. I hope you enjoy Hoop de Doo, I'm going to have to convince Jess to do that next time we are in Disney. Enjoy the rest of your countdown and have fun in Disney

 

[SoNotAPrincess]

You're getting SO close now!!

I would love to stay in a Little Mermaid room and am determined to make it happen sooner rather than later!

I haven't been to Universal in approximately forever, but the WWoHP gets rave reviews, so I definitely feel like I'm missing out on something amazing!

 

[teekathepony]

Yay for your trip coming up so soon!!! The Little Mermaid section looks awesome, and I absolutely think you need to burst into song at least once while staying there!! How could you not?

I have been known to burst into spontaneous song at Disney, so it is a very likely possibility!

Hey Teeka,
I haven't been on here much lately but I got the chance to catch up today. I can't believe how quickly your trip is approaching. I agree with you about HP at Universal, it is nice enough to convince me to return despite the fact that the rest of Islands of Adventure is horrible when compared to Disney (IMHO ). I haven't been to the other Universal park yet so I can't comment on that. I hope you enjoy Hoop de Doo, I'm going to have to convince Jess to do that next time we are in Disney. Enjoy the rest of your countdown and have fun in Disney

I have to say that the other Universal park, for the most part, flows better. A little less jarring. And a few really nice rides too. It's nice, but as the main draw to U.S. is Harry Potter, it's hard to justify the money to go to the other park!
I can't wait to see how Hoop Dee Doo is!
And thanks!

You're getting SO close now!!

I would love to stay in a Little Mermaid room and am determined to make it happen sooner rather than later!

I haven't been to Universal in approximately forever, but the WWoHP gets rave reviews, so I definitely feel like I'm missing out on something amazing!

So close!! 3 days from online check in!
I'm very very excited for my Mermaid room, even Johnny is excited for it.
WWoHP really is phenomenal, and this coming from a Harry Potter loving critic!

 

[MEK]

Some day I am going to get over to see Harry Potter. I hope I get to do it next October. It looks so cool.

Hulk is a great coaster. Its different from the dueling coaster. The blast off is something else and then it goes into that crazy maneuver. It's so cool.

Great plans. How many days now????

 

[silverhaze269]

The Forbidden Journey is also my favourite ride of all time anywhere...they really knocked it out of the park with that one...and the whole Wizarding World in general...if only it were larger (and at Disney)!

If you're considering eating at City Walk, may I suggest the Hard Rock Cafe? It's never disappointed us when we've gone. Since you're doing the HDDR later on that evening, maybe split a few appetizers so you're not totally stuffed when you leave...just a thought

Also, the Little Mermaid section of AoA looks really cool! Well, all of it does, but it's even more awesome you'll be among the first people to stay in the rooms.

Here's to just 9 more days at work before you leave!

 

[eeyore04]

I can't believe how close our vacations are coming! It was 4 years ago that you first put the bug in my ear to go to Disney with you guys and NOW we are finally going to be able to experience some of it together and be in each other's pictures.

So excited!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[teekathepony]

Some day I am going to get over to see Harry Potter. I hope I get to do it next October. It looks so cool.

Hulk is a great coaster. Its different from the dueling coaster. The blast off is something else and then it goes into that crazy maneuver. It's so cool.

Great plans. How many days now????

If you are a Harry Potter fan, it's definitely worth seeing! They just got the place so like the movies, it's pretty amazing.
Just 11 days now!!! Online check in tomorrow!!

The Forbidden Journey is also my favourite ride of all time anywhere...they really knocked it out of the park with that one...and the whole Wizarding World in general...if only it were larger (and at Disney)!

If you're considering eating at City Walk, may I suggest the Hard Rock Cafe? It's never disappointed us when we've gone. Since you're doing the HDDR later on that evening, maybe split a few appetizers so you're not totally stuffed when you leave...just a thought

Also, the Little Mermaid section of AoA looks really cool! Well, all of it does, but it's even more awesome you'll be among the first people to stay in the rooms.

Here's to just 9 more days at work before you leave!

I was nervous about the prospect of a Harry Potter theme park, but you're right they nailed it.
Mmmm Hard Rock sounds good, I'll keep it in mind!
Now I'm down to 8 more days at work! And I'm about to go knock off another!

I can't believe how close our vacations are coming! It was 4 years ago that you first put the bug in my ear to go to Disney with you guys and NOW we are finally going to be able to experience some of it together and be in each other's pictures.

So excited!!!!!!!!!!!

I know, I seriously can't believe it. We're almost there!!! My manager was making up the schedule yesterday for the week I'm gone! It just hits me as being really here around every turn!

 

[onescgirl]

Your plans are looking great!
I can't wait to see what your Minnie nail art will look like!
I would love to visit WWoHP one day. But, for now, I guess I will have to live through others on the Dis!

 

[teekathepony]

Your plans are looking great!
I can't wait to see what your Minnie nail art will look like!
I would love to visit WWoHP one day. But, for now, I guess I will have to live through others on the Dis!

I have to give the nail polish a trial run, maybe next Friday to give myself enough time to get it off before I go if it doesn't turn out!
WWoHP is pretty awesome, I wish there was a little more to it to make it worth it more to go!

 

[teekathepony]

The story of my morning, so far (and it's only 9:05am)

4:30am -- wake up, hear the cat crying to get out. (I keep him inside since losing my other kitty, but he does NOT like it.) Johnny wakes up. Gets up to let the kitty out. Comes back skipping down the hall saying "10 days! 10 days!"

6:15am -- Johnny's alarm goes off and he gets up for work.
W: Ok honey have a good day at work, I'll see you at 5:30.
J: Bye, you too. Happy 10 days! Only 9 more sleeps!
W: *Tries to get back to sleep but the number 10 is stuck in my head*
W:
Jump out of bed, scare Johnny, jump on the computer, log onto the Disney site and see this:

Johnny comes in to see what I'm doing.

J: --> J: --> J: --> J: --> J:

So for the first time ever, we completed online check in!

I requested a King bed long ago with the TA and that was still on our account so it was all good! Now we're all checked in online! Just 10 days to go! 7 work days! If I have any time this morning before work I'm going to go over my to-do list to see if I can do anything else. We are all packed already and most of the big things are done! I can't believe how close it's getting!

 

[MEK]

Congratulations for doing your first online check-in and, more importantly, for having your request still there. Awesome!

 

[cfw213]

Hello! I just stumbled across your PTR from the AoA thread! We are going the 15th-23rd, also at AoA (for the first 6 nights). I'm going to go back and read about your plans

ETA: Whew, read through all your plans! It looks like we will overlap a few times (I have my PTR in my signature), definitely for evening EMH at MK and DHS. My online check in didn't go so well as yours - I don't remember ever seeing anywhere (when I booked or when I did check-in) that I could request two double beds - so annoying!! Still, it was one more "check" off the list. Only 9 more days to go for me

 

[teekathepony]

Congratulations for doing your first online check-in and, more importantly, for having your request still that. Awesome!

Thanks! It was exciting, being able to say I'm checked in! Hahaha

Hello! I just stumbled across your PTR from the AoA thread! We are going the 15th-23rd, also at AoA (for the first 6 nights). I'm going to go back and read about your plans

ETA: Whew, read through all your plans! It looks like we will overlap a few times (I have my PTR in my signature), definitely for evening EMH at MK and DHS. My online check in didn't go so well as yours - I don't remember ever seeing anywhere (when I booked or when I did check-in) that I could request two double beds - so annoying!! Still, it was one more "check" off the list. Only 9 more days to go for me

Oh cool! Perhaps we'll see you there! We're so close!

 

[eeyore04]

I know, I seriously can't believe it. We're almost there!!! My manager was making up the schedule yesterday for the week I'm gone! It just hits me as being really here around every turn!

It's insane that we are going in just a few short days. I work the next 5 and then I'm gone. Like seriously WHERE has the time gone??

I should be finished packing by the end of tomorrow. I have a tiny bit of laundry to do and then put it all together and WHAM! I'm there.

the only discouraging thing is the shape I'm in with my back. It's getting worse!

 

[amazingact21]

Whoo-hoo!!!

I missed your on-line check-in day, but now you're even closer! You're a week away!!! That's so exciting! Before you know it, you'll be checking into AoA and getting your first glimpse at the LM rooms.