Welcome, Foolish Muggles! IoA/US/MK/SW *July 2013 Trip Report Link*

[mickeystoontown]

Holy crap! That truly was a lot of people you encountered at City Walk. The picture is downright scary!

Poor you having to climb up and down so many stairs trying to find something to eat. I know nothing about City Walk either so I am sure I would have been doing the same thing.

Bubba Gump's looks pretty darn right now. All I had for breakfast two a couple of peanut butter crackers.

 

[Katesdad]

And just about every person I tell says "I can't believe a real person actually wins those trips!"

Pam congratulations on your win, nothing like a free trip to Florida from the North. My wife won two trips, one in 1982 and again in 1992. She's been trying to win ever since but I think she's used up her magic. Best we can do is $3 on the MegaMillions lottery every once in a while.

 

[natebenma]

Glad you were able to get something to eat in a quick!

notes: Bubba's usually seats faster than Mville. But you really need to like seafood/shrimp to eat at Bubba's. There's only a few offerings of non-seafood...the burger and southern fried chicken being a couple of them. Mville is always a must for us....at least once.

Bubba's will take AP discount.

Answers to trivia questions at Bubba's are on the kid's menu. Get one and color/play games to pass the time AND review answers to questions

oh...and comparing DTD to CW: CW is more food and eating, music/dancing...DTD is more of a 'shopping' place. While there is some shopping at CW, it's not like the shopping at DTD. hth

Thanks for your input about CityWalk. It did seem like more eating than shopping.

It is a shame that we didn't make it to Margaritaville- I've been to the one in Key West. It sounds like a blast with Buffett music playing and a volcano that spurts Margaritas! What more could one want???

Thanks Dee I will try to get the coupons
Shrimp is one of our favs as well must be why we wanted to eat here- duh?
We actually ate at Bubba Gumps for the first time in S.C. so when we saw that Universal had one it was the first restaurant we picked.

Deb

I would eat at Bubba's again. Mark definitely would!

That is so awesome!!! Congratulations!!!!!!!
I would love to rub that in my DH's face after thinking it would NEVER happen! so fun

Isn't that cool!

Holy crap! That truly was a lot of people you encountered at City Walk. The picture is downright scary!

Poor you having to climb up and down so many stairs trying to find something to eat. I know nothing about City Walk either so I am sure I would have been doing the same thing.

Bubba Gump's looks pretty darn right now. All I had for breakfast two a couple of peanut butter crackers.

At least all of those people were EXITING! It would have been worse if they were going the same way we were!

I didn't really mind all the stairs, but I was a bit on edge and concerned that we wouldn't find a place to eat when we needed to. I could have texted the family, but it seemed like the messages I needed to communicate were too confusing, so it was easier to deliver the information in person.

Pam congratulations on your win, nothing like a free trip to Florida from the North. My wife won two trips, one in 1982 and again in 1992. She's been trying to win ever since but I think she's used up her magic. Best we can do is $3 on the MegaMillions lottery every once in a while.

Sounds like you are due! How did your wife win those trips?

 

[DrMomof3]

I'm very proud that I knew a theme park factoid that you didn't know. I wasn't sure that ever happened!!! My step-dad has worked in municipal services and as a commissioner of public works for a small city so he knows these kinds of things about recycling.

As a side note - Pam - what a great story!!! You totally deserved to win a trip with your great attitude!

Amanda

 

[WsPrincess]

I am loving reading this Trip Report.

Pam--Great Job winning the trip, it makes it even more special that you made it happen.

 

[natebenma]

I'm very proud that I knew a theme park factoid that you didn't know. I wasn't sure that ever happened!!! My step-dad has worked in municipal services and as a commissioner of public works for a small city so he knows these kinds of things about recycling.

As a side note - Pam - what a great story!!! You totally deserved to win a trip with your great attitude!

Amanda

I seriously appreciated learning that about the recycling at the theme parks!!!

I am loving reading this Trip Report.

Pam--Great Job winning the trip, it makes it even more special that you made it happen.

Thank you so much- I will start with my MK update tomorrow morning.

 

[DrMomof3]

So I just found out that I can actually go to DISapalooza in December at Universal. I'm landing at MCO around 9:30 Saturday morning and departing MCO around 5:30pm on Sunday. I'm thinking about staying at Hard Rock. I'll do HP during the DIS party. I'm traveling solo!!!
I need ALL of your advice!!! I don't even know where to start. I was thinking 2 day 1 park tickets but I'm not sure. Transportation? Etc. Help!!

Amanda

 

[natebenma]

So I just found out that I can actually go to DISapalooza in December at Universal. I'm landing at MCO around 9:30 Saturday morning and departing MCO around 5:30pm on Sunday. I'm thinking about staying at Hard Rock. I'll do HP during the DIS party. I'm traveling solo!!!
I need ALL of your advice!!! I don't even know where to start. I was thinking 2 day 1 park tickets but I'm not sure. Transportation? Etc. Help!!

Amanda

Woo-hoo!!!

I'll do my best! You will be fine. I really didn't spend nearly as much time researching the Universal vacation as I do Disney trips!

Are you a AAA member- check to see what they have for tickets. If you can, get the hoppers if they are not that much more. Undercover Tourist and Costco are other sources for Universal tickets.

I'm guessing the party is on Saturday night- so that will be the night you would be visiting the Wizarding World? Staying at the Hard Rock, you will have early access to HP on Sunday morning, in case you want to go back.

There are a lot of transportation options- taxi is around $45-$50 each way. There are a lot of towncar services for around $100. Mears also offers a shuttle from/to MCO. Can't remember the price, but that may be the cheapest option for a solo traveler. None of this really needs to be booked more than a week or so in advance, so you have time to research. There is a transportation sticky on the Universal boards. I can give you info on the car service we used, too, but wait until my trip report is finished.

 

[DrMomof3]

Thank you!!! I am AAA so I will check that. I wasn't sure the hoppers were necessary but it might add flexibility. It looks like that will cost $20. Might be worth it!

Amanda

 

[natebenma]

For Amanda- (or anyone else doing Universal only or Universal/Disney):

link to transportation sticky: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2494908

Here is the Mears info (post #35)

~ To book reservations for transportation between the Airport and your Orlando hotel just go to http://www.mearstransportation.com/ and enter your information under the "Shared Ride" tab. Once you land at the Orlando Airport and have collected your luggage, you will go to the Mears counter on level 1, give them your online confirmation and they will give you your shuttle pass and direct you to your shuttle.

~ You can also book your attractions transportation at the same time as you book your airport to hotel transportation.

~ If you are not using Mears to get from the Airport to your hotel and want to book reservations for transportation from your hotel to a specific attraction (Universal, Seaworld, etc) you need to call Mears 24 hours in advance to arrange transportation.

I am going to e-mail you the info about the company we used for transportation to/from MCO and between Portofino and Contemporary.

 

[natebenma]

Why Wednesday?

Our original plan was to go to the Magic Kingdom on Thursday. One of my Beach Club DIS friends, Robyn, (disneymomx7) was going to meet us at the park as she would be staying at the Grand Floridian that night prior to her stay at the Beach Club.

Our plan had the week looking like this:
Mon- arrival/US
Tues- IoA/Sea World
Wed- Sea World/ Then either IoA or US in the afternoon
Thurs- MK
Friday- Back to IoA/US

The main reason we decided to change to Wed for the Magic Kingdom was that Thursday was Extra Magic Hours early opening there. We always attend the early EMH at MK, but since we were not staying on-site at Disney we wouldn’t be able to take advantage of this. We would be starting out an hour behind all of the resort guests.

Our new-improved itinerary looked like this:

Mon- arrival/US
Tues- IoA/Sea World
Wed- MK
Thurs- Sea World/ Then either IoA or US in the afternoon
Friday- Back to IoA/US

There were a lot of advantages to this lineup:

It breaks up our Sea World days

We hoped to stay late at MK, and our original plan had us going the next morning to the 7 am opening at IoA for Harry Potter. With our revision, Sea World would be our next day, which did not require an early start. And that afternoon was freestyle, so we could get in as early as we wanted to be ready for Friday’s early morning.

It made perfect sense!

And we learned one more thing that really made the decision a no-brainer. Have I mentioned yet that there was a Harry Potter fan convention (Leaky Con) at Universal while we there? On Wednesday night, there was a convention-only event scheduled at the Wizarding World after hours:

Open at the Close (isn’t that a fantastic name!)

Convention guests could enter IoA starting at 4 PM, so we feared a mob scene at the park. It was a good to be out of Dodge on this day!

The only downside to changing the day was that I wouldn’t get a chance to meet with Robyn

Plan in place, we made a dinner reservation at Kona for 5 PM on Wednesday. We figured that it would be nice to take a break from the MK, ride the monorail for a while in air conditioning, then return to the MK in the evening, hopefully refreshed.


The Surprise! Who put this huge honkin’ castle in the hub of Sea World?

It is Wednesday morning, and so far, we have managed to keep our visit to the Magic Kingdom a secret.

We had a very close call on the ride from the airport to the Portofino. I had e-mailed the towncar company and said we may want to arrange for a roundtrip from Portofino to the Contemporary resort mid-week, but we hadn’t decided if we were using them yet, or a cab. It would depend on how flexible they could be when we wanted to go back. We were able to arrange to call our driver 45 minutes before we wanted to be picked up, so that worked. But the driver started to ask us about it on the ride over from the airport, and I had to talk over him so the kids would not hear. He said “Magic Kingdom”. Did the kids hear that? They didn’t say anything.

We told the boys we were going back to Sea World today and that we had hired the same company to drive us. Had breakfast in the club lounge, and we were picked up at 8 AM. I reminded the driver that this was a surprise and that we told the kids we were going to Sea World.

Next scary moment - from the highway, I could see the Sea World observation tower. Did the kids notice that we went right past the exit? They didn’t say anything.

The driver was great- he got off the highway and took back roads.

When we were around 5 minutes away from the Contemporary, it became clear that we were on Disney property. Mark and I started to see the back sides of mouse-eared Disney signs and then we started to see Disney buses. We looked back at Nate, and he was smiling.

Ben still has a non-committal face on.

Driving under monorail tracks, we see the Contemporary and Space Mountain, right in front of us.

I ask the driver “Did we take a wrong turn?”

Not missing a beat, he replies “No, I have to pick up another family here.”

We stop in the parking lot of the Contemporary and I order the kids to get out of the van.

“Why?” they ask.

DUH!

“We are going to the Magic Kingdom today!”

“We are? Really? REALLY?”

They were in shock and it took almost the whole 10 minute walk over to the Magic Kingdom gates for them to believe it.

I still don’t know what Nate was smiling about in the van.

Mark’s observant conclusion- “We must not lie to the boys enough. They trusted us”

We did it!!!

Next up: Open to the Close (almost): What can our family do with 12 ½ hours at Magic Kingdom?

 

[aprilisis]

That is SO awesome that you were able to make your MK day a surprise! I can't wait to hear all about it!

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Nice job pulling off the surprise! Can't wait to see how the day goes now that you are in your element.

 

[DrMomof3]

I can't believe the boys didn't figure it out on the way! That's awesome!!!

Amanda

PS Thanks for the Universal tips! I'm going to re-read your TR more carefully!!!

 

[LovintheLodge]

Great surprise Dee! Can't wait to hear about your day at MK!!

Kerry

 

[mickeystoontown]

Nice job on keeping the trip to the Magic Kingdom a surprise!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

I LOVE surprises!!!
We surprised our DSs for their bday one year. We told them the morning we were leaving. The best part was they thought they were going to school that day. It was awesome. Whenever I see those commercials for surprising kids my DS says "Mom you should send in our video!" It was priceless.
Even for this trip I was trying to figure out something new and fun to do that they don't know about. If you have any ideas let me know.

Deb
Last year DS (14) got to drive the searacer around seven seas lagoon. He was in heaven.

 

[jenneth79]

Mark’s observant conclusion- “We must not lie to the boys enough. They trusted us”

We did it!!! [/SIZE]

Next up: Open to the Close (almost): What can our family do with 12 ½ hours at Magic Kingdom?

You have to know that made me laugh out loud, literally, and my co-workers wanted to know what was so funny. Seeing as I can't tell them I was checking the DISBoards during normal hours.....

That's awesome they were surprised, can't wait to hear about the full day!

 

[natebenma]

That is SO awesome that you were able to make your MK day a surprise! I can't wait to hear all about it!

It could not have gone any better!

Nice job pulling off the surprise! Can't wait to see how the day goes now that you are in your element.

It was definitely nice to be back on familiar ground. I'll post the first part of our day tomorrow.

I can't believe the boys didn't figure it out on the way! That's awesome!!!

Amanda

PS Thanks for the Universal tips! I'm going to re-read your TR more carefully!!!

We have never done a trip surprise with the boys, we always tell them pretty early on and involve them in the planning, so this was really cool.

Glad I can help you with your exciting trip to WWoHP. It really is too soon to take your little ones, so a solo trip is just perfect!

Great surprise Dee! Can't wait to hear about your day at MK!!

Kerry

Thanks! We really had a great time at MK!

Nice job on keeping the trip to the Magic Kingdom a surprise!

I am so glad we made this a surprise! Ben was a bit grumpy before the trip. A couple of weeks before our trip, Mark was singing Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah and Ben yelled at him and said he couldn't sing any Disney songs until we go back to Disney!

And he banished me from the DISboards!

"You can't be on there if we are not going to Disney!"

I LOVE surprises!!!
We surprised our DSs for their bday one year. We told them the morning we were leaving. The best part was they thought they were going to school that day. It was awesome. Whenever I see those commercials for surprising kids my DS says "Mom you should send in our video!" It was priceless.
Even for this trip I was trying to figure out something new and fun to do that they don't know about. If you have any ideas let me know.

Deb
Last year DS (14) got to drive the searacer around seven seas lagoon. He was in heaven.

That sounds like an amazing surprise!

OK, now you have me thinking about a fun surprise for your trip. I'm impressed that you found something that your teenager found was cool.

I read someone's (eandesmom) report about the Illuminations cruise- fireworks and pizza on a boat. Sounded like a blast! But she had a Grand Gathering group, so that makes it worth it.

You have to know that made me laugh out loud, literally, and my co-workers wanted to know what was so funny. Seeing as I can't tell them I was checking the DISBoards during normal hours.....

That's awesome they were surprised, can't wait to hear about the full day!

Sorry about that! I didn't want to get you into any trouble!

 

[dtr_angel]

Whew, all caught up. Thanks for the chapter links it helped. I cannot wait to hear about your one day at MK, it must've been awesome! Is City Walk kind of like Downtown Disney - food and shops? I have been to Orlando so many times but mostly just to Disney property. The food at the concierge level looked really good, I would like if Disney CL had to go options like granola bars and chips. It looks like there was actually food too - did I see pasta at dinner time? The dessert looked really good too!