They Don't Eat Hash Browns in Princessland - May 14 COMPLETE! 2/8 pg. 73

[Neeny17]

Yay more updates! I'm loving the look of the Diagon Alley façade! Yeah, Universal food is not the best, but we found a couple of places that were good; Finnegan's Bar and Grill and one that was in the Citywalk bit. Ah Cold stone! A fond memory of working at summer camp. Loving the Pinocchio shirt. Looking forward to more!

 

[ddstratton]

Love the updates! Like the tour through Universal. Lunch may have been disappointing, but that ice cream looks pretty yummy right about now...

 

[JPFamilyMom]

Looks like there are more rides than I thought that my boys could do if Transformers is the same as Spiderman which is the same as Dinosaur don't know why that is funny to me, it just is. Maybe we'll take a trip to the dark side next year.

Your Mom got ripped off on that salad, it looks like a dollar salad from Mcdonalds

Cool hat, though I don't know what flip cup is.

Cold Stone.....

I think the expense of run gear is what has kept me from running as much as I use to. I'm so excited for you and the half, I've been talking about doing the princess half for about 3 or 4 years now meanwhile I don't think I could even run a 5k anymore

Can't wait to see where dinner is...

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Minion Mayhem is definitely an improvement over the old Jimmy Neutron ride I think. Such a cute ride.

Wow 15 minutes for Transformers?? I hope I'm that lucky. Honestly, I am looking forward to it even if it is a clone (because it's a clone of one heck of a ride, lol) and even though I'm really not a Transformers fan. It's funny that I never really heard much about it being ground breaking, but I also have no doubt some would call it that.

You are so very right Danielle and I am the exact same way. These are two very different things (Uni and Disney) that just happen to operate in the same space. And besides, why can't we like both? In my world, you can like one without destroying the other. But of course Disney is the one that will always have my heart.

Why am I not surprised you do flip cup?

Ooh, looking forward to seeing Springfield in person too. Lots of new stuff since I was there last.

 

[eandesmom]

First off. LOVE the shirt!

I think the updated version of Spidey is vastly improved. Not that it was bad before but it's much crisper.

Our destination was the Transformers ride. When we visited in January, the ride was closed the few times we passed by there to go on it. It was the only thing that I wanted to make sure we got on.



And guess what y'all!? You can meet Optimus Prime!



My nephew Joaquin would poop a brick if he saw that in the park. He is absolutely obsessed with Transformers. I'd imagine he'd react a bit like Ross.....



Score of all scores, the wait time for Transformers was only 15 minutes.



Meanwhile, as we were waiting in line.....




All right, here is my verdict on the attraction and my minor rant on the Universal / Disney fight.

If you read other message boards, and even some here in the DIS, there is a huge argument about Universal being the Disney killer yada yada. Okay, so in my world, I view them as two different things. Disney is Disney and Universal is Universal. I choose not to compare them. A while back on another Disney board, there were tons of comments talking about what Universal has done that Disney has not. On this particular board, someone talked about how Transformers is an E-Ticket attraction.

Um.......no. It is not an E-Ticket. Solid D-Ticket to me. And, on top of that.

SPOILER ALERT.

All they did was clone Spiderman and change the movie. This is not an exaggeration. This attraction is exactly like Spiderman. Same set up, same ride vehicle, same track. Am I bashing the attraction? Not by any means. It's a good ride, we very much enjoyed it.

Hmmn.

I agree, and disagree all at the same time.

I would probably put Transformers, and Spidey both in the E ticket category. I'd rank them equal to say, Soarin'. To me comparing them to the coasters is an apples to oranges thing (as is Disney to Universal, plenty of room for both). If I had to stack rank "like" rides at both, Forbidden Journey would win hands down, followed by the rest.

Then again there are a number of Disney rides considered E that I'd probably put as solid D's. So kinda depends on what you are comparing to. As a general rule I don't bother comparing. My kids do, but then again they are obsessed with coasters. Universal does have more thrill rides so there is that, and at a certain age, that's a pretty big draw. Disney killer? Give me a break. LOL!

I completely agree. It is just like Spidey. Except a bit better we thought. Could have been simply that it was new to us versus not.

SO, we did enjoy Transformers, even though we know that it's nothing groundbreaking. I am very much looking forward to the Gringotts ride in November, because from what I hear, that is very much ground breaking, and that's totally awesome.

After our ride, it was time for us to have some lunch and decide what our next moves would be. At that point, we had hit the planned attractions at the parks (pretty much the stuff we missed in January). We decided to stop at Richter's burgers.



It was a basic burger. Nothing exciting. I've lamented on this in the past, but Universal totally always loses on the food front to me. We should have gone to the Springfield section again for lunch, but we wanted to try something different. Oh well. Lesson learned.

We were just talking about this yesterday. Why isn't there a Krusty Krab and a Chum Bucket?

Richters is BORING. Although the fries weren't bad. Universal totally fails in the food department and is rather nightmarish for the gluten free.

UGH on the valet fiasco.

 

[dekkerdisneydreamer]

All right, here is my verdict on the attraction and my minor rant on the Universal / Disney fight.

I feel that the online communities are full of people who like to expect the world of Disney, and then when they don't get it, suddenly they're full of anger and trying to tear them apart. Are they perfect? Not by a long shot. But no one is perfect. Plus, they're a business. They're in it to make money, as much as some may not want to admit that.

Maybe I live in a dream world. But I'll take my dream world view of Disney over the real world any day. This is the place that I can go to forget all of my worries. Everything that goes on in the outside world disappears and I'm left with magic. Are all of my trips perfect? No they are not. But are there always magical points during the trip that make me remember why I love Disney so much? Absolutely.



I could not agree more.

I have not been to Universal Orlando, but do want to visit primarily for HP. Everything else would just be gravy.

 

[courtneybelle]

Dying to try the Minion Ride at some point!! I definitely wouldn't wait an hour for it, though.

LOL love that Team Member (TM?) photobombing.

I am totally with ya on the Disney/Universal hoopla. I almost went on that exact rant to a girl at my work hahaha. Universal does a lot of things well, but Disney is pure magic and always will be for me.

Diagon Alley is gorgeous, though.

COLDSTONE!!! I totally want some now. BRB gonna go con my mom into taking me tomorrow.

 

[ZehnJahren]

I cannot WAIT for Universal! I haven't been since I was a teenager!

I am going to buy your shirt. I'm sorry. I have to own it, and wear it to 1900 PF.

What a great pair of updates. I am so looking forward to our trip, while reading about yours. Love seeing you with your parents. Thanks for making me excited!

I'll be rooting you on for the Princess. I'm going to do it as soon as I can; I am so excited to live that experience through you and the other TR-ers on this board. I can't wait to do it myself!

 

[englishrose47]

Great updates Danielle !! I am going to Universal again next year prolly in September !! I had heard to avoid Richter Burger's so have never tried it and you about sewed up OFF the list No Richter Burgers for me !!!

 

[amberg93]

I fell behind too, but now I'm all caught up!

Hey, I don't subscribe to the no sleep in Disney rule either. Resting is the best. Marie and I have a resort day scheduled for September (not a full day either) but I think I'll enjoy it.

Marie also shares your Pop's e-mail checking. She just doesn't like to fall behind. I'm with you. If I'm off, I'm off.

Mmm the Bakery looks delicious.

Flashback picture ftw!

Ooh, I like all the PP pictures.

I wish I liked margaritas, so that I could try them because I keep hearing good things about them.

Geez, if you can't even put in your pin should you be drinking the wine

I'm not surprised you won. Good for you You are obviously a pro.

I am cracking up over your puffs of glitter though.

Ooh the Dark Side. Skipping over HP stuff though as I'm going in September and I don't want to spoil it even though it's been out for ages.

I'm not even in on the Universal vs Disney stuff as I've never been to Universal so I can't even have an opinion.

The Simpsons area looks great.

Mmmm Coldstone. i can't even. I want it so much.

And I have no clue where you're going to be eating but I hope it's yummy.

 

[Leshaface]

Woah! I'm super behind and i'm so sorry! I wrote a lot of stuff down...so yeah sorry about that too.

Thanks to you I now have the 'Sunglasses at Night' song stuck in my head...

Ooh the gratin does look tasty.

your dad reaching out towards the camera

OMG! Your kindergarten cop gif!!! Now i'll be on the lookout for Clint...but slyly though as DH will be with my...where my sunglasses at?

Love straw fight shenanigans. I used to annoy DH in the car with this. He hated it/me so much!

Hi to Popadonson!

I think if I went to WDW once or twice a year, I may take a relaxation day. It's so hard to even fathom the idea though with so much fun around! I think our relaxation day is DTD. So sad.

Lovely picture of the Imagination Pavillion! It slightly blinded me for a sec.

Cool butterfly magic shots!

I love the cucumber margarita too! Very refreshing.

the inebriated cat face. Love!

PUFFS OF GLITTER!!! LMAO! Oh no you di'int!

I'll get to US one day...just like i'm gonna take that relaxation day at WDW

 

[ElenaJane]

Yay for updates!! Can't wait to see what the green shorts are for. We skipped the Transformer ride as it just didn't call to me. That's pretty lame it is just a copy of Spiderman. Not to say Transformers and Spiderman are gender specific, but if they were going to copy Spiderman, why not make it a My Little Pony version?! I could get on board (literally) with that!

I loved your Pinocchio shirt! I forget about him sometimes.

You would think running would be the cheapest sport, no gym membership required! But I own two pairs of running shoes, three running jackets (one with a light built in for night running), gloves, several headbands......And don't get me started on my Skort collection

I am going to guess...Ragland Road?

 

[dawnbu40]

Fun updates! I agree that people shouldn't compare Universal to Disney. I feel the same way when people complain about Disneyland not being as good as WDW. They are all different so why not just see them as the unique places they are ?

For your DTD dinner I will have to guess Raglan Road?

 

[missangelalexis]

I agree, Transformers is pretty much identical to Spiderman, though I still love both rides! And I also agree that the food is seriously lacking at Universal

Great pics in Springfield, love the hat!

 

[JessseJ]

Day 5 - Monday May 19, 2014 continued:

I feel that the online communities are full of people who like to expect the world of Disney, and then when they don't get it, suddenly they're full of anger and trying to tear them apart. Are they perfect? Not by a long shot. But no one is perfect. Plus, they're a business. They're in it to make money, as much as some may not want to admit that.

Maybe I live in a dream world. But I'll take my dream world view of Disney over the real world any day. This is the place that I can go to forget all of my worries. Everything that goes on in the outside world disappears and I'm left with magic. Are all of my trips perfect? No they are not. But are there always magical points during the trip that make me remember why I love Disney so much? Absolutely.

I agree with this 100%!! Every minute of every day doesn't need to be magical to make it a great vacation! It's a person's attitude that makes a difference, if they expect perfection every second, it ain't gonna happen and there will be disappointment.

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

Finally coming out of lurkdom. We went to Universal for the first time last year. We rode Minion Mayhem first, then Transformers (not even the 15 minute waits you all had, but we were there at opening). We really liked the Minion ride. The kids liked Transformers, I was more, "It is ok, but not a must do."

We ate at Finnegan's. It was deserted at lunchtime, so we were kind of scared. I know I don't have the popular view, but it was our best meal of the trip (8 days Disney, 2 days Universal). We even went to Raglan Road later on that week, and didn't love it as much as Finnegan's (but that had more to do that we were seated next to the huge table in the bar section and they had 10 really drunk men at Raglan).

We went on Spiderman just as we were leaving for the day, and of the two rides (Spidey and Transformers), I thought Spidey was better.

I am excited to hear your reviews of the new Harry Potter stuff when you go in November. We have to wait a couple of years until we head back there.

Love your TR.

 

[KatMark]

Let me start off with this. You can have a partner in Flippy Cup:



What a fun update. Although I am not a fan of Universal, I don't understand all the back and forth picking on of the parks. As you are said, Disney is Disney and Universal is Universal. You could say that Great America does things better too (don't know if that is true as we've not been in over 18 years, but you get my point).

I love the pics of Mom and Dad waiting to get on Transformer.

And your Dad trying to eat the donut....

Cute outfit as you made your way to DTD.

I'm going to guess you were going to Raglan Road.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

whoa, whoa, whoa ... wait a minute ... you saw people complaining about something on THE INTERNET!!!!!

I do agree that Disney and US are different animals and you can't really compare and no reason you can't like both. I do think with HP that US has gone more after the Disney level of detail and immersion and also, while still behind, the level of pride the team members that work there have is closer to Disney CMs so that is probably why people are making the comparison more now.

Plus, I don't care how cool Optimus Prime is - it's not the same as getting to meet Mickey Mouse!

Love the hat - definitely a good flip cup hat! That brings back memories of college and playing it one year at our formal - with guys in suits and girls in fancy dresses. You know, classy flip cup .... like, flip goblet or something

 

[HarkiQuinn]

Springfield looks like fun! Last time we were there we only went to IoA and I wasn't that impressed, I think I need to revisit Universal again.

AND YAY TO COLDSTONE. I am lacktose intolerant but I HAPPILY suffer for that amazingness.

That sucks that the valet's couldn't get their life together, but at least you weren't trapped at universal for hours and hours and hours and hours.

And good luck in next year's run! Wahoo!

 

[englishrose47]

Let me start off with this. You can have a partner in Flippy Cup:


.

I'm going to guess you were going to Raglan Road.

I knew I had seen that hat before !! I am with you Kathy Raglan Road all the way!!!