The three-peat...WWoHP early entry 9/25

[Hedy]

My bags were packed. I was ready to go. My mom drove me to Logan without incident. I checked my bag. I grabbed a snack at Starbucks, and settled down at my gate to surf the net before I boarded my plane. In retrospect, this feels a little like the opening of Meet the Fockers. I saw that the earlier plane to Orlando was delayed, which didn’t stun me, as there had been thunderstorms in the area. My flight was fine.
Then I checked again-my flight was delayed three hours. My main concern was my reservation at the Hyatt Orlando, as when I had called them to let them know that I would not be checking in until after eleven pm, they said that they held rooms until midnight. I was able to get them t hang onto my room. Then we changed gates. Then we were delayed half an hour, then an hour. Public service announcement-whining does not change when the plane leaves. I originally debated pulling an all-nighter and still going to wwohp in the morning, but I decided it was a bad idea, so I canceled those plans. Eventually we departed from another gate. I boarded. I found I was sitting next to a kid and parent who were yelling about what the kid could watch on the TV. Fortuitously, my tv was broken, so the stewardess let me move to another seat.
The plane ride was motherly uneventful. I disembarked, boarded the holy monorail, and was at the terminal. I checked into the Hyatt, and gave the bellhop my luggage tags. This may have been the best $10 I spent all trip: my bags were brought up to me. I crashed into bed, debating what to do on my next day in Orlando.

 

[Hedy]

I woke up around 8:00am. I decided to head off to grab breakfast at Krispy Kreme. I showered (the airport Hyatt has a separate shower from the bathtub, which is awesome.) I had deliberately packed my clothes for today in my carry-on, so I switched out my “Muggle” shirt for a tank top. I dressed, and headed down to the shopping area of MCO. I’d found a coupon book for the shops in my room, and there was one for a free tote bag at Del Sol. Now, you all know that I have never found a free thing or bag I didn’t like, so you better believe I brought it with me.
We are wholly unsurprised to hear I started at the Earport, right? I gotta admit, the Summer Nightastic ads made me wish that I had tacked a day at WDW onto my trip. I didn’t get anything. I then headed over to the Universal store. Universal’s store has a decent sampling of the Harry Potter stuff-if you’re thinking of getting something, you can actually *think* here. I got my free bag, and headed onto Krispy Kreme. Tragically, they did not have my favorite Krispy Kreme, Sour Cream. I did get a plain glazed donut, and a Sprite to have with my Emergency C. I headed back to my room, and had breakfast enjoying their view from my balcony. I packed up, and rang for a bellhop. I checked out-the $10 fee to get my bags was listed as a “gratuity,” so I might have overtipped. Oh well.
My driver to the RPR was awesome-he had a binder of money from all over the world in it. I arrived, was greeted by name. The employee was all excited telling me about Harry Potter and how you can use your Fastpass for the new ride once a day (FJ has no Express Pass. Fail.) And went to check in. I was informed my room was not ready (I think the check-in people have been saying their spiel too much lately. I was told that check-in time wasn’t until 4pm. Girlfriend, it’s 10am, if you have people expecting their room to be ready, you have issues. I stored my luggage, and headed off to IOA.
I was half-way to IOA when I realized that my print at home park ticket was in my carryon. Oops. Went back, got it, and entered IOA.
There were people with signs directing you to go through WWoHP through Marvel Superhero Island. My first stop, was Spiderman. Yepp. Sorry. Spiderman is still the best ride in Orlando. End of Story. I then headed over to get soaked on Popeye. Heading towards Jurassic Park I saw that there was, in fact, a masking tape line for the people waiting just to get into the WWoHP. I kid not.] I headed onto Seuss Landing, and then rode on High in the Sky trolley. You can get some awesome pictures from here (well, you could if camera’s weren’t banned on the ride.) I decided to head to Universal Studios.

 

[klacey1]

Great start-- I agree, Spiderman is AMAZING! Great theming.

 

[Hedy]

You know, I get why Walt made wdw so big, but there is really something nice about being able to wall to another park. I entered Universal Studios. My next mission was MIB-I successfully navigated the lockers. I got a good score-there is a time when you need to press the red button. Bizarrely enough, one song that they were playing in their background loop was “Scream” from High School Musical 2. Weird. I then headed onto the Simpsons. There was some sort of technical error, so we waited. Someone ahead of me apparently confused Express Pass with magical front of the line access, and was throwing a hissy fit. Eyeroll. We rode. If you have any sense of humnor at all, or any love of theme park culture, do not miss the Simpsons. I then headed onto the kiddie area of Universal studios. The irony of an abandoned building with “Save the Planet” on it is not lost on me.

I rode ET. ET kind of got me thinking about WDW vs. Universal. The audioanamatronics are pretty darn low-tech, but so are some of Pirates‘. And the weird creatures in the ET ride aren’t even in the movie, and Pirates was a ride way before movie. Disney does tug at your heartstrings in a different way, but I still like Universal.
I had gotten the call that my room was ready, so I headed back to the RPR. In addition to lemonade, they had Red Bull promo people giving out cups of Red Bull. I’ll take this isn’t Disney World for $100, Alex. I downed it gladly. I stopped by the main desk, got my room keys (has it ever occurred to Lowes that they could save a boatload of money if they just activated the keys they give you when you check in for your room when you check in early in the morning)? I gave the bag tag to the checker, and headed up to my room.
I was in Tower 2, which gets some bad press as it’s the pet-friendly tower. I never heard nor saw any pets. I was on the fifth floor-it was a garden view. I really did not find the standard room any smaller than the conceirge room (and I really don’t find the RPR’s rooms much smaller than POFQ’s). One thing that did stand out to me-while the (one) sink is “next to” the living area, there’s no privacy curtain. So I busied myself unpacking. I went to put my laptop in the safe (one BIG plus of RPR is that they have a safe that holds a laptop.) The safe was closed-I called the Star Service line, figuring they’d tell me to push 0 four times or something. That would have been easy. Security had to come up. They came up, opened the safe. Yay.
I had internal conflict in what I wanted to do tonight. Part of me wanted to go to the torch lighting ceremony at the pool, which I had been to last year and enjoyed. However, I also wanted to check out the discounted Hurricaines at Pat O’Brien’s. I was not terribly impressed with Citywalk last year. However, if you are looking for reasons to entice me to re-try something, cheap alcohol is a very good way to do it. I decided to go to Pat O’Brian’s for dinner, then return for the torch lighting ceremony if I felt like it. I got all gussied up, then I tried to figure out my entrance to Citywalk. I was using the pass I had bought before Universal changed their ticket structure in January (and yes, they also just raised their prices again). I was unsure if it had a party pass/ However, I could tell from my documents that my Harry Potter package included a Citywalk Party Pass, and one of my Orlando Coupons coupons included one. I headed down to conceirge to try to figuer it out-she directed me to the self service kiosk, where I was able to print out
My City Walk ticket, my breakfast ticket, and my coupon for my commemorative ticket. I headed to CityWalk via water taxi.
I entered Pat O’Brian’s. It’s a piano bar. There was a group of people who were there and having a very good time . I ordered cheese fries and a hurricane. The cheese fries were meh, but the hurricaine? If you listem to the DISUnplugged, you may have heard the hurricane described as “Hawaiian punch.” This is very true; however, I swear, I have done shots with a lower alcohol percentage than that thing. I had beneigts for dessert, and decided I wanted to head to the torch lighting ceremony.
I took the water taxi back to RPR. I grabbed a beer at the bar, and waited for the torch ceremony. Honestly, I felt kind of meh on the torch lighting ceremony. The show entertained me, but it was the same as last year. I headed up to bed, I had

 

[MagicStitch]

Enjoying your TR!! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[debsters41]

Hi! I am also looking forward to more of this report!

 

[Hedy]

I woke up early, and headed to ride the Mummy. Even with my earplugs in, it’s a little loud for me. I then had my fortune told by someone in the New York area. I then headed onto the Horror Makeup Show, which was great as always. I was hungry-I quickly learned that 10am-ish there is really not anything open for food at Universal. I headed onto Shrek. It was cool. However, I think that Universa needs to a)be playing some of the Shrek the Musical soundtrack, and b)be cashing in on the fact that they produce both Wicked and Billy Elliot on Broadway. But I’m no businesswoman.
I headed over to drool at the new Veras at Fresh Produce. I had lunch at Pastamore’s counter service, it was meh. I had lost an earring at the Hyatt, so I wanted to stop being a unicorn. I hopped over to the RPR to grab a cab. I was not terribly impressed with the Disney Outlet at the Prime Outlets-I was hoping for more Christmas merchandise than there was. However, I was able to pick up a pirate princess knife and eye patch for $.50 each (for whatever it’s worth, I later saw the knife at Mickey’s Mart in Downtown Disney on the 4/$10 wall). I also got a pirate princess keychain. Some stuff was stuff they had last year-plastic ID bracelets, Pooh ID bracelets, and Tinkerbell personalized earrings. I bought all three items last year-the Pooh bracelet is freakishly big-it was falling off my wrist. I also saw the Tinkerbell earrings at the World of Disney on sale. I stopped in the Victoria’s Secret outlet-I didn’t get anything, but I was much more impressed with the setup this year than last. The entire store is laid out by size. They had panties for 5 for $10, and padded bras 2 for $20. For what it’s worth, my bra size is a little hard to find, and they had a decent selection. I also stopped in Forever 21, which was utterly trashed.
I headed headed back to the RPR. What was my plan for dinner?

 

[Hedy]

My dinner decision was based in a very logical, responsible choice: Bob Marley’s was celebrating Jamacian independence day. In my handy Citywalk party pass brochure, it indicated that this included $4 Bacardi drinks. I boarded the Water taxi. There was kind of a wait-your on-site hotel key pushes you up in line. I headed over to the bar, where I got a coke and Peach Bacardi. It was good. My table was ready. I ordered the veggie patties. They were good, there was a live Reggae band and people on stilts. I left right before things got really hectic.
universal 10 004 by Heathertf, on Flickr
universal 10 005 by Heathertf, on Flickr


So for whatever it’s worth, I was so over Citywalk last year, yet I loved it this year. Anyway, I treked over to IOA. I headed through Seuss Landing to WWoHP. I gotta admit, despite reading multiple TR’s and seeing photos, Hogsmeade took my breath away. It really was like walking into a scene from the movies. I had a mission-I wanted to see if I fit into the Forbidden Journey test seat. I went up. A very nice little Britsh team member pushed and pushed, but I did not fit.
universal 10 008 by Heathertf, on Flickr
universal 10 009 by Heathertf, on Flickr


I headed onto Dueling Dragon Challenge. I stored my bag in the locker, and headed through the queue. Holy revisionist history. Potter, Krum and Delacour were all mentioned, but there was no sign of Cedric Diggory. Um, what? I have heard that there is now a Cedric Diggory banner there. I wussed out of actually riding it, and got many confused looks as I used the chicken exit. Whatever.
I got in line for Butterbeer. The cold was very good-like cream soda on steriods, I also picked up a pear cider in a bottle, which was good. I went into the Owl Post area. Possibly the biggest WWoHP tip I can give is to do your souvenir shopping at the airport-the Hogsmeade stores are zoos. I loved the house merchandise-Ravenclaw represent. (It’s not that we’re smarter than you, except it totally is. LOL.)
universal 10 016 by Heathertf, on Flickr

I popped into to visit Moaning Myrtle, which is the coolest part of WWoHP in my book, and headed home. Quick funny story-the class dean my first year of college was named Tom Rydell. He began with “My name is not Tom Riddle, and this is not Hogwarts.“ I would be seeing Harry again at early o’clock the next morning.

 

[debsters41]

Thanks for the shopping update too! I never would have considered going to Bob Marley's, but those pasties looked yummy! 4$ bacardis??? hmmm, Might have to consider that one! Keep up the great report!

 

[TyRy]

I think the $4 Bacardi's would have drawn me in as well.

Thanks for the photos of WWoHP - I can't get enough. It'll probably be a couple of years before we get over there, so I love seeing everyone's photos.

 

[snowwhitesmom]

Loving your TR! Thanks for sharing!
I have two questions -
1. How small are the seats at FJ?
2. Would you please tell me more about these discounted Hurricanes???????

 

[jessrose18]

Loving the report. I noticed you are going on podcast cruise, I will see you there! We are excited to go to WWOHP, going in December before the cruise. I am crocheting my hubby a gryfindor scarf like the ravenclaw one in your pic right now, hopefully I will have time to do one for me too in ravenclaw colors.

 

[PrincessV]

I gotta admit, despite reading multiple TR’s and seeing photos, Hogsmeade took my breath away. It really was like walking into a scene from the movies.

I keep hearing this - I can't wait to see it myself!

I headed onto Dueling Dragon Challenge. I stored my bag in the locker, and headed through the queue. Holy revisionist history. Potter, Krum and Delacour were all mentioned, but there was no sign of Cedric Diggory.

Well, that's bizarre! Did they just forget?!

Possibly the biggest WWoHP tip I can give is to do your souvenir shopping at the airport-the Hogsmeade stores are zoos.

Ugh. I'm just hoping that crowds will be down by the time we get there; I don't want to buy much, just want to see the insides of the shops.

 

[Hedy]

Loving your TR! Thanks for sharing!
I have two questions -
1. How small are the seats at FJ?
2. Would you please tell me more about these discounted Hurricanes???????

I'll get more into it in my next segment (and the point is kind of moot now that they have big ones). The hurricanes, tragically, were a summer thing.

Loving the report. I noticed you are going on podcast cruise, I will see you there! We are excited to go to WWOHP, going in December before the cruise. I am crocheting my hubby a gryfindor scarf like the ravenclaw one in your pic right now, hopefully I will have time to do one for me too in ravenclaw colors.

I cannot wait fo rthe cruise.

I keep hearing this - I can't wait to see it myself!


Well, that's bizarre! Did they just forget?!


Ugh. I'm just hoping that crowds will be down by the time we get there; I don't want to buy much, just want to see the insides of the shops.

 

[Hedy]

My alarm went off. I dressed myself in my “Muggle” shirt.

I went down to the Orchid Court lounge and grabbed a cinnamon bun-it was good. I headed onto the walk to Citywalk, which was empty as all get out.
universal 10 004 by Heathertf, on Flickr
universal 10 011 by Heathertf, on Flickr

I was meeting M at 7:15, so I waited in a chair at Margaritaville. She was right on time, so we entered by 7:30 and headed off to the WWoHP. We decided to give Ollivander’s a shot. As it was so early, we were the second group in. The young girl next to me (I’d say she looked middle school aged) was picked.
universal 10 021 by Heathertf, on Flickr
It was really cool-Ollivander was great, but I wouldn’t wait too long for it. We went into the wand store, which was packed. If you are looking for a wand, I’d recommend checking out Ollivander’s express by Hogwarts.
From here, we headed into the FJ queue. The queue is awesome-the moving paintings, the 3-D core three, etc. Then we got to the test seats. Ok, warning-I’m going to be describing my body type-consider yourself warned. I’m a 40C, and a size 20 pant at Torrid, Old Navy plus, and Faith 21. Shirtwise, I prefer 2x but can make XL’s at the Gap/NY & Co work. I got three clicks!
I was thrilled.
universal 10 032 by Heathertf, on Flickr

universal 10 033 by Heathertf, on Flickr
I popped my camera in the tiny holder, and we were off. The FJ was cool, but honestly felt like a different form of Spiderman. We headed into the gift shop. I picked up a Luna love good shirt. I was shopping for a birthday present for Ferdie, but the gift shops were so packed (at 8am, nonetheless) that I could barely think. We stopped by Ollivander’s Express, but I wasn’t wowed by Ferdie’s birthday wand.
We headed onto Flight of the Hippogrifff. Pros-awesome views, cool details (Buckbeak is currently the lock screen on my phone). However, it’s really the same as it was when it was flight of the Unicorn. We went into the Owl Post store-the luggage tags I’d wanted to get my sister and her SO were out of stock, so I ended up getting them quill pens and parchment. I also got Mordie, Ferdie, and Sharpay postcards with the Hogsmeade postmark (actually-I got Ferdie two-one I sent to him, the other I used as his birthday card.) M picked up a Hufflepuff robe and backsack. We decided to do Spiderman next, but it was down.
universal 10 017 by Heathertf, on Flickr

We headed over to Universal Studios. The plan had been to go ride RRR, but it was down. I suggested we head over to the Simpsons and MIB. We were just past T-2 3-D when the skies opened up. We waited. It continues to rain. I finally decided to call it and head back to the resort. I took a pedicab back, and went up to my room. I debated what to do, and laid down on my bed.

 

[Hedy]

I woke up at 1:00pm. Unless I wanted to head back out in the epic rain, I had to eat at Islands Dining Room. My cheese was meh, service was slow, but it’s amazing how much can be fixed by offering me a to go cup of cokewithnoice please. I wandered up to the lobby. I was off to DTD the next day, and I had this half-baked idea that if I took the shuttle to Seaworld, I could save on cab fare. However, the shuttle left after the outlets opened. Since clearly, getting to the outlets later than opening wouldn’t work, I opted to just take a cab. As I had dinner at Tchoup Tchoup that night, I opted for an afternoon in my hotel room. I got gussied up, and headed down to Tchoup Chop.
I was early for my reservation, which kind of made me there before it opened. I took the time to acquaint myself with the discount cocktail menu. I was seated. The restaurant was empty. I’m SO glad they require you to call to confirm you are coming. I decided on the Edamame and the tofu. I ordered, and I also ordered one of the island drinks. I noticed everyone else around me had a silver thing of what I thought was bread. I asked my waiter-they were shrimp chips (and I didn’t get one since I had told Opentable I was a vegetarian), last year I got won tons chips. Both my dishes were really good. For dessert I had Guava & Sweet Cream Cheese Dumplings with Mango and Lilikoi Dipping Sauce. Oh Em Gee. I would love to have a serving of these now. I headed back up to my room. The next day I was heading off to the lovely DTD.

 

[mattkev2001]

Thanks for the report. I too am a diehard WDW fan and just now 1/2 considering a trip to Universal so I am starting my research. Your inof is very helpful.

 

[Hedy]

Sigh. Mickey and Minnie, Minnie's sister, her DH, and their two kids are off to WWoHP and WDW as we speak. At least I've got under two months left until my cruise!

 

[vettegirl]

Great TR!

 

[Hedy]

I woke up early the next morning. I headed back down to the Orchid Court Lounge to grab a cinnamon bun. My package from WWoHP was in, so I picked it up-you pick it up at the front desk at Loews resorts, which
I find weird. I hopped into a cab to get to the premium outlets. I thought is was a little weird that the cab was going the same way as to the Prime Outlets, as they are in opposite directions. Sure enough, dude took me to the Prime Outlets. He did then take me to the Premium Outlets, but my fare had been increased by about $15. I WAS NOT A HAPPY Hedy. Do NOT MESS WITH THE Hedy, especially when shopping or Disney is concerned. By the time we reached my destination, I had assembled my army of important information: His cab number, his cab’s telephone number, the Orlando City Taxi division and the relevant number. I handed him my credit card to pay-he informed me that if I paid in cash, he would knock $10 off the fare. He then told me that if I paid by credit card, he couldn’t do that. I knew what I wanted-to let his taxi company know about this event in addition to the correct fare, so I said I’d just pay by credit card (I wanted back up documentation of the amount I paid). The cabbie informed me that if I reported him, he would get in trouble. Golly, and he seemed so upstanding (eyeroll)). I said “That’s ok” and left the cab. I called the cab company, and left a message for his supervisor detailing the events. I said I wanted a full cash refund, while I did not think I would get it, it was a good starting point. Cash refund requests get attention because cash can be spent at a competitor’s service. I made a beeline for the Disney Parks outlet. I was really looking for Christmas stuff (for that upcoming cruise I should start a PTR on). I bought some tote bags that would have been my fish extender had I not kind of bought a stocking last week, and a bracelet. I stopped in Crocs and LeSportsac, both of which were meh, and CCO. I think the Florida sun had gotten to my brain, because finding the taxi stand was hard. I ended up with a tax driver who was awesome.
The second I step on Disney Property, I go all gooey inside. I kept on staring up at the WoD, thinking that this is what I day dream about when I’m at home. I had an 11:30am reservation for Paradiso 37. My meal was almost free thanks to an Opentable Cheque. The food was awesome-I got the crazy corn, and I was pretty much licking my plate. I had an aqua fresca and a frozen sangria as well. However, my menu was dirty. Ew. So it gets a meh.
I headed onto browse around the WoD. I headed over to Pleasure Island-I had seen a phot of one of the last vestiges of old Pleasure Island on Imaginerding, and I wanted to find it. I found it.
Characters in Flight was down, as is customary when I want to ride it. I had a great DIS meet with Marvaid-I’ve been reading her TR’s for three years, so it was nice to meet her. I then went to Goody’s Candy Co for dessert. It was actually too hot for a dipped (although now it’s a topped) fudge cookie, so I just got a fudge cookie (I felt vindicated when the CM told me he thought it was an Oreo). However, I have to admit that I was a little disappointed at some changes I saw. Of the make your own snacks, the only one which is able to be a Dining Plan credit are the marshmallows; also, they no longer have the Make Your Own frozen drink cups. That said, if you can bottle eau de Goofy’s Candy Company scent, please send it to me. I may or may not have hopped on Disney Food Blog to see if I was missing anything important.

By that afternoon, I had not heard back from the cab. I probably would have let it go if I wasn’t going home the next day. I called the manager, spoke to him, and got my discounted fare. I grabbed dinner to go at Earl of Sandwich, and headed back to RPR.
At RPR, I ate my salad, and went over to Universal Studios. It was PACKED. I saw T-3, and then I headed to buy Ferdie his birthday shirt-it has all four Hogwarts houses on it.