Universal Orlando, Dec 2010 (Complete!)

[unsinkable]

What a great report!

I read the part about the wild pigeons joining the tame pigeons to my family and we all thought it was hilarious.

Do you have a link for the scarf patterns? And where did you get the crests for them? They look neat!

Thanks for writing this.

 

[Magpie]

The word balloon over Shoe actually changes at regular intervals. It's on a rotating block, so you could just stand there and wait. IIRC, there are four different sayings.

Oh, interesting! Thanks - we'll have to watch for that when we go back.

What a great report!

I read the part about the wild pigeons joining the tame pigeons to my family and we all thought it was hilarious.

Do you have a link for the scarf patterns? And where did you get the crests for them? They look neat!

Thanks for writing this.

I'm so glad you enjoyed my trip report!

My scarves are simple tubes, knitted on double pointed needles, though you could use a small circular needle if you had one the right size.

I used worsted weight yarn, in the house colours. That's red and yellow for Gryffindor, black and yellow for Hufflepuff, silver and green for Slytherin and blue and bronze for book-canon Ravenclaw - in the movie Ravenclaw's colours are blue and silver.

Each stripe is 24 rounds wide, except where I was forced to use a slightly lighter weight yarn because I couldn't find the right colour in the right weight. When that happened, I just added an extra round to keep the stripes even.

There are ten stripes in the darker colour and nine stripes in the lighter colour - you can make it longer, just remember that the ends of the scarf are in the darker colour. I tied tassels on the end, evenly spaced: six dark and five light, alternating and ending with the dark on the outside.

To begin, I cast on 70 sts in the darker colour... and then just kept knitting forever. It's not a fun pattern if you're easily bored, but it's great for mindless knitting in front of the TV.

I bought the patches here, at Alivans:

http://www.alivans.com/custom/web/list.asp?k=patches&searchaction.x=0&searchaction.y=0

 

[samepoohdifferentday]

Thanks for the report. We are planning on going in May and it is great to hear about your trip. I will remember to bring my CAA card!

 

[drinkme]

Great trip report! We were there for our first trip at the end of August. We stayed at the same hotel as you, and stayed the same amount of time. However, it was so HOT on our trip! My dd11 was determined to get picked at Ollivander's, and it took her about 5-6 times before she was selected. We rode FJ too many times to count also.

Thanks for posting your pics!

 

[Jara50]

Magpie. This is just an utterly fantastic trip report. I enjoyed it so much I read it twice!! We are going in March and I have kids who are the same age as yours, with an older girl who also want to be an M.D. or Bio-medical Researcher so I felt like your whole thing was just tailor made for us. Your family is adorable. You son is so cute but he looks like he's 15 or 16, so I bet people forget how young he really is. We are staying at HRH and I hope I can write a trip report even half as good as yours!

Thanks so much!
Jara

 

[Magpie]

Thanks for the report. We are planning on going in May and it is great to hear about your trip. I will remember to bring my CAA card!

The CAA card makes a huge difference - we didn't figure it out until the second day, and we were kicking ourselves when we realized it applies to practically everything. Even wands!

Enjoy your trip!

Great trip report! We were there for our first trip at the end of August. We stayed at the same hotel as you, and stayed the same amount of time. However, it was so HOT on our trip! My dd11 was determined to get picked at Ollivander's, and it took her about 5-6 times before she was selected. We rode FJ too many times to count also.

Thanks for posting your pics!

Congrats to your dd! I keep telling the kids that persistence is a virtue, and it's nice to see it pay off for them.

Magpie. This is just an utterly fantastic trip report. I enjoyed it so much I read it twice!! We are going in March and I have kids who are the same age as yours, with an older girl who also want to be an M.D. or Bio-medical Researcher so I felt like your whole thing was just tailor made for us. Your family is adorable. You son is so cute but he looks like he's 15 or 16, so I bet people forget how young he really is. We are staying at HRH and I hope I can write a trip report even half as good as yours!

Thanks so much!
Jara

Thank you! I enjoyed writing this report very much.

My daughter's been talking about being a doctor since she was a wee tiny girl. And lately she's been talking about joining the army reserve near the end of high school for some paramedic training, with an eye toward five years regular service in exchange for tuition to medical school. Either that, or she says she'll sign up to practice medicine in a small Northern town. I sure wasn't this focussed on my goals when I was her age! (Actually, I didn't really have any goals... )

And you're right, everyone thinks my son is older than he is! He turned 13 only last month. I get sentimental about them at this age, because they look like great big people, but they're still such little kids at heart. I was a mess when my daughter was just-turned-13, too.

 

[elbodans]

what a fantastic report--i love all of the dialogue. and you are REALLY funny! it sounds like your family had an amazing trip. thank goodness you knitted those scarves--clearly, you needed them with the weather.

now i'm even more excited about our trip in may! thanks so much for sharing!!!!

 

[ldmilton]

Loved your report and the pictures! DH and I just bought AP's and will see WWoHP in 5 weeks! We are also staying at RPR...and I agree about the beds! So comfy.

 

[Hollywoodhaha]

Your scarves are so beautiful! I want one!

 

[Magpie]

Your scarves are so beautiful! I want one!

Do you know how to knit? They're pretty easy to make - all you need to know is stockinette st. They just take a long time to finish!

(Also, feel free to PM me, as I've occasionally done small projects for people on commission.)

 

[IdesOmarch]

AWESOME TR!!!! Your photos are amazing, my favorite is the one you got with the broken Poisieden statue trident pointing to the moon, that was incredible! Post card stuff. I really enjoyed reading your TR.

I can't believe that CM told you you would get soaking wet on Jaws, that is not true, I don't even remember getting so much as a splash on Jaws, maybe a splash at most, but certainly not soaked? I am curious as to why he did that, and made ya'll miss a really great ride.

Kuddos to you about the "alone" time and I hear ya.

 

[Magpie]

AWESOME TR!!!! Your photos are amazing, my favorite is the one you got with the broken Poisieden statue trident pointing to the moon, that was incredible! Post card stuff. I really enjoyed reading your TR.

I can't believe that CM told you you would get soaking wet on Jaws, that is not true, I don't even remember getting so much as a splash on Jaws, maybe a splash at most, but certainly not soaked? I am curious as to why he did that, and made ya'll miss a really great ride.

Kuddos to you about the "alone" time and I hear ya.

Oh, but it IS true! Check out the picture in my last day (keep reading, there's many more entries on pages 1 & 2!). We rode Jaws once and I stayed bone dry. Then we road Jaws again and I got completely drenched. I think it's all in where you sit, and how low the boat is in the water.

I'm glad you enjoyed my trip report!

 

[Zeebs]

Great trip report.

We are trying (well me really as I am running this show ) to decide whether to make a trip to Universal when we come over in May.

We are staying off site in a house but I have looked into staying 1 night at Hard Rock.

I really want to go for the Harry Potter stuff, but I am wondering if the rest will be suitable for our with such a young family.

Although, I have been looking a bit on the website and the while a lot of the rides have height restrictions they seem to have some "baby thrill" rides, that my second youngest will hit the height level for. Especially with Goofy's barnstormer being closed down.

Decisions Decisions Decisions.

Kirsten

 

[Magpie]

Great trip report.

We are trying (well me really as I am running this show ) to decide whether to make a trip to Universal when we come over in May.

We are staying off site in a house but I have looked into staying 1 night at Hard Rock.

I really want to go for the Harry Potter stuff, but I am wondering if the rest will be suitable for our with such a young family.

Although, I have been looking a bit on the website and the while a lot of the rides have height restrictions they seem to have some "baby thrill" rides, that my second youngest will hit the height level for. Especially with Goofy's barnstormer being closed down.

Decisions Decisions Decisions.

Kirsten

Well, I wouldn't have hesitated to visit when my two were 3 and 5. There's a lot of space devoted to playgrounds, so if you're open to more than just rides and you don't mind sitting down and letting the kids just play, there's plenty to do.

In IOA, your 3 and 5yo can explore the Jurassic Park playground (as long as you have an adult who can trail after then, through all the bridges and tunnels!). It's like Tom Sawyer Island. Also, because you have young children, you'll be able to ride the Pteranodon Flyers. Afterward, if the line isn't long, you can take them to meet a "real" Triceratops. When they're done everything else, they can check out the exhibits inside the Jurassic Park pavillion, and see a baby Dinosaur hatch.

They can have fun playing in the Dr. Seuss playground - it's aimed at a slightly younger set than the Jurassic Park one. There's also a number of very gentle Seuss-themed rides you can check out.

And over in Universal Studios, there's a whole area of the park devoted to young kids, with Woody Woodpecker, etc... There's another playground and several more rides.

The "baby thrill rides" are actually a lot of fun for everyone! Although a number of them load extremely slowly, so you'll probably want to spring for a night on-site in order to get Express Passes for your family. (I don't think the Pteranodon Flyers have an express lane, so you'll want to hit that one early.)

Oh... and there's a nice child swap area for the Forbidden Journey ride. They play the first Harry Potter movie for the kids, while they're waiting for you. And if your second youngest meets the height for Flight of the Hippogriff, you'll want to do that as well. It's just like Goofy's Barnstormer, only maybe a tiny bit longer.

 

[cheshireqt]

Thanks for your trip report! Your comments are pictures are so fun. We are going again this summer and it was great to see how many things are the same and how many things have changed with the addition of HP. If you go again you might want to think about taking the kids to see Blue Man group. My kids loved it and have it at the top of their list for this summer. I say that because I would love to read your description of the show!

 

[chimo2u]

Did you guys experience any of the big roller coasters like Hulk or DD?
I enjoyed your TR, I hope it's warmer for our trip in 3 weeks....I am so ready to get out of Alberta's -35 degree weather and the week of non-stop snow!
Thanks for sharing!

 

[Magpie]

Did you guys experience any of the big roller coasters like Hulk or DD?
I enjoyed your TR, I hope it's warmer for our trip in 3 weeks....I am so ready to get out of Alberta's -35 degree weather and the week of non-stop snow!
Thanks for sharing!

My husband did the Dueling Dragons/Dragon Challenge the first day we were there and it made him incredibly queasy. He decided not to do any other big coasters, after that. He said it wasn't worth it, if it meant losing several hours worth of theme park enjoyment.

Me, I'm not an extreme coaster person, neither is my daughter, and my son wasn't inclined to try anything without my husband. So we ended up skipping the Hulk, DD, and RRR.

We loved the Mummy, though!

Enjoy your trip, and I hope the weather is warm for you. The water rides are really great.

 

[rpbear]

Wonderful trip report. You have me looking at dates in October. A few days at Epcot for Food and Wine and a few days at IOA. Can't wait to get back t IOA to see the new Harry Potter area. It was being built when we were there in 3/10.

Lucy

 

[Planogirl]

I finally read your report and it's wonderful! It definitely helped me with the homesick feeling I've been having lately.

 

[phamton]

I can't believe I missed your trip report when you first posted it. The pictures are fantastic and the details you posted were great! But what I loved the best about it was your sense of humor. I kept laughing tonight while I was reading it and my husband was trying to sleep. I was getting the evil eye from him but it was so worth it! Thanks for taking the time to post this.