Welcome home - Live trip report!
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arieliwish
I've got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty,
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Friday 30th Aug
Early start today as me and DD were doing Behind the magic tour. Got the bus from OKW around 8am and joined the group at the entrance to Epcot at 8.45am. DH and DS did rope drop and got all the main rides before heading to the Richard Petty Speedway for DS to do the NASCAR ride experience. We went on a cruise line coach around the backstage areas of Epcot, HS, AK and had lunch at whispering canyon, included in tour. This was a fascinating tour and showed more than we thought, expected it to be a controlled version of backstage but it was actually the working areas and mechanics of some rides, and also the parade floats and topiary production at AK. After lunch we headed to MK and got lots of Disney history about how the parks came about and then we were taken down into the utilidors. Amazing. What was surprising was how close the backstage areas are to the main park areas, literally behind a screen or topiary. Also the way things are laid out the cm's can walk from say the rear of test track to the rear of the lands in around a minute whereas the 'on stage' side meanders a lot making it feel much further apart. It was a long tour from 9am - 4.15pm but well worth it, there were plenty of restroom stops and bottles of water freely available on the coach, and we got a souvenir backstage tour pin each.
A highlight for us was the costume dept where we saw them sewing costumes, cutting patterns and embroidering materials. As DD is going to sheffield uni next year to do fashion design this was of great interest to her. The best part for me was being in the central (work) shops where they were doing maintenance on ride cars and jungle cruise animals. As soon as we walked in I spotted a row of wooden looking ride cars that I didn't recognise. These were in various stages of being painted and were barrel shaped with a hanging lantern on one end. I thought they had to be the seven dwarf mine train cars, confirmed later by our guide, due to open early next year. We felt privileged to see these being hand painted.
We met our boys at MK just before 5 and went back to OKW where we all had a nap and then had an 8pm reservation at Cape May Cafe. Wow. Never done this before but would certainly go back. The clam chowder was great, and the lobster legs incredible. The mini desserts were gorgeous and as they're small you can have many lol! Loved the feel of the beach club too, lovely resort. Back to OKW where the kids went to the pool area to watch Tangled, DD favourite Disney movie so shed made a note of when it was showing.
A great but tiring day, especially after the Tampa game and drive last night. Tomorrow we have breakfast at Askershus but plan to have a pool/laundry/shops day.
Early start today as me and DD were doing Behind the magic tour. Got the bus from OKW around 8am and joined the group at the entrance to Epcot at 8.45am. DH and DS did rope drop and got all the main rides before heading to the Richard Petty Speedway for DS to do the NASCAR ride experience. We went on a cruise line coach around the backstage areas of Epcot, HS, AK and had lunch at whispering canyon, included in tour. This was a fascinating tour and showed more than we thought, expected it to be a controlled version of backstage but it was actually the working areas and mechanics of some rides, and also the parade floats and topiary production at AK. After lunch we headed to MK and got lots of Disney history about how the parks came about and then we were taken down into the utilidors. Amazing. What was surprising was how close the backstage areas are to the main park areas, literally behind a screen or topiary. Also the way things are laid out the cm's can walk from say the rear of test track to the rear of the lands in around a minute whereas the 'on stage' side meanders a lot making it feel much further apart. It was a long tour from 9am - 4.15pm but well worth it, there were plenty of restroom stops and bottles of water freely available on the coach, and we got a souvenir backstage tour pin each.
A highlight for us was the costume dept where we saw them sewing costumes, cutting patterns and embroidering materials. As DD is going to sheffield uni next year to do fashion design this was of great interest to her. The best part for me was being in the central (work) shops where they were doing maintenance on ride cars and jungle cruise animals. As soon as we walked in I spotted a row of wooden looking ride cars that I didn't recognise. These were in various stages of being painted and were barrel shaped with a hanging lantern on one end. I thought they had to be the seven dwarf mine train cars, confirmed later by our guide, due to open early next year. We felt privileged to see these being hand painted.
We met our boys at MK just before 5 and went back to OKW where we all had a nap and then had an 8pm reservation at Cape May Cafe. Wow. Never done this before but would certainly go back. The clam chowder was great, and the lobster legs incredible. The mini desserts were gorgeous and as they're small you can have many lol! Loved the feel of the beach club too, lovely resort. Back to OKW where the kids went to the pool area to watch Tangled, DD favourite Disney movie so shed made a note of when it was showing.
A great but tiring day, especially after the Tampa game and drive last night. Tomorrow we have breakfast at Askershus but plan to have a pool/laundry/shops day.
queendisney
DIS Veteran
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the tour sounds fantastic. We did the behind the scenes steam train tour last year and considering I wasn't really looking forward to it that much (its was a treat for DH although it was actually MY birthday!!!) it was really really good. I think the tours are well worth the money. I might see if DH fancies doing this one in November.
Enjoying your TR and have a nice day!
Enjoying your TR and have a nice day!
Mrs Doubtfire
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The tour sounds really good, I know my DH would be really interested in all the things you saw. Do you need a park pass for this one?
Enjoy your lazy day
Enjoy your lazy day
arieliwish
I've got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty,
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We had our bags checked at each park but didn't show our kttw card at all, I'm sure you can find out from the Disney site.
We're really loving OKW, a lot like CBR where we stayed before but just feels a bit more relaxed and classy. Would certainly return here.
Okay, on with today:
Early start for Askershus breakfast, was lovely to be in Epcot just after 8 and before rope drop. Breakfast was only half full which felt nice and relaxed. The kids got a photo with belle as we walked in and then various princesses came to our table throughout breakfast, prompting DS to try to head to the buffet every time lol (he's 15!). The pastries, fruit, meat, and fish was first class as was the platter of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and potatoes. Really enjoyed the food here but the princesses chat was very scripted, years ago when we came it was more ad lib and natural. From here we jumped on spaceship earth as test track was down again, and the new ride is very good. We always liked the old version but this is great. We left the park and headed to our quiet pool on Millars road. Spent a few hours in the pool and doing laundry, all of us got caught by the sun again even though we were careful this time, and later headed back to Epcot. Walked thru the lands and did he Mexico and Norway boat rides then to UK for 7.30pm reservation at Rose & Crown. It was very busy and crowded around the UK and we sat on the pavement to wait for our table. Despite getting there ten minutes early we had to wait until 7.45 to be seated, on the side terrace just opposite the pub door. We met 2 cast members from Durham and 1 from Darlington which are up our way so chatted to them before ordering. When I booked I hadn't given the illuminations any thought so us being seated late and the slower delivery of food worked to our advantage and we were still waiting for dessert when the fireworks started. DH had curry, DS had steak and fish, he didn't really want the fish but wanted mash and Yorkshire pudding lol, me and DD got cottage pie. Then desserts were lovely, DD had sticky toffee pudding, DS had Jaffa tarts, I had Mandy's mess which was slices of sponge cake with berries and cream and ribena syrup, and DH ordered cheesecake but got the same as me. We didn't notice in the dark until he started eating it and said he liked it, prob more than cheesecake, so we didn't mention it to our server lol. Food was excellent, first time we've been here, and the slower pace of the food was actually a nice change. Illuminations were spectacular as ever and we had a great view from our seats. As we left the park the heavens opened and we got soaked in the last 20 yards dash to the car! Lightening had been flashing for a while before fireworks.
So a quieter day but a very enjoyable one. Plan to do the shopping mall tomorrow after crystal palace breakfast. If the American family the other side of our adjoining door would not be quite so loud we could all get to sleep ready for an early start!
We're really loving OKW, a lot like CBR where we stayed before but just feels a bit more relaxed and classy. Would certainly return here.
Okay, on with today:
Early start for Askershus breakfast, was lovely to be in Epcot just after 8 and before rope drop. Breakfast was only half full which felt nice and relaxed. The kids got a photo with belle as we walked in and then various princesses came to our table throughout breakfast, prompting DS to try to head to the buffet every time lol (he's 15!). The pastries, fruit, meat, and fish was first class as was the platter of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and potatoes. Really enjoyed the food here but the princesses chat was very scripted, years ago when we came it was more ad lib and natural. From here we jumped on spaceship earth as test track was down again, and the new ride is very good. We always liked the old version but this is great. We left the park and headed to our quiet pool on Millars road. Spent a few hours in the pool and doing laundry, all of us got caught by the sun again even though we were careful this time, and later headed back to Epcot. Walked thru the lands and did he Mexico and Norway boat rides then to UK for 7.30pm reservation at Rose & Crown. It was very busy and crowded around the UK and we sat on the pavement to wait for our table. Despite getting there ten minutes early we had to wait until 7.45 to be seated, on the side terrace just opposite the pub door. We met 2 cast members from Durham and 1 from Darlington which are up our way so chatted to them before ordering. When I booked I hadn't given the illuminations any thought so us being seated late and the slower delivery of food worked to our advantage and we were still waiting for dessert when the fireworks started. DH had curry, DS had steak and fish, he didn't really want the fish but wanted mash and Yorkshire pudding lol, me and DD got cottage pie. Then desserts were lovely, DD had sticky toffee pudding, DS had Jaffa tarts, I had Mandy's mess which was slices of sponge cake with berries and cream and ribena syrup, and DH ordered cheesecake but got the same as me. We didn't notice in the dark until he started eating it and said he liked it, prob more than cheesecake, so we didn't mention it to our server lol. Food was excellent, first time we've been here, and the slower pace of the food was actually a nice change. Illuminations were spectacular as ever and we had a great view from our seats. As we left the park the heavens opened and we got soaked in the last 20 yards dash to the car! Lightening had been flashing for a while before fireworks.
So a quieter day but a very enjoyable one. Plan to do the shopping mall tomorrow after crystal palace breakfast. If the American family the other side of our adjoining door would not be quite so loud we could all get to sleep ready for an early start!
arieliwish
I've got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty,
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Sunday 1st sept
Decide on an easier day today but started with an 8.05am reservation at crystal palace. Had a nightmare getting to breakfast as took the wrong road and ended up parking at Epcot but thought it would be ok on the monorail. Wrong. Monorail was held for ages, the announcement said due to standing trains up ahead. So by the time we swapped monorails and walked through the park it was 8.30am, no problem said the man who checked us in and gave us a buzzer to wait, only waited around 5 mins and saw tigger and piglet and eeyore within 10 mins of sitting down. Winnie came a little while after so not too long to wait for them. Buffet breakfast was lovely and it didn't ever feel busy. After breakfast we headed to big thunder, hoping the queues weren't too bad with it being labour day weekend. It was 5 mins onto the ride and even the cm's were commenting on the lack of crowds. Our train stopped on the last lift hill, only for about 30 seconds and then continued to the end. As we got off there was an announcement about technical difficulties and we heard a cm mention a power outage. Next we did splash and got soaked lol! About 10 mins wait on this. Next was pirates Nd the park was starting to feel busier but again it was between 5 - 10 mins. We left the park to head to the malls around 12pm.
Mall at millennia first. We've never been here before and were very impressed with how classy it was. Wasn't too busy either. I wanted to buy everything in Crate and Barrel lol, DD bought a black titanium Tiffany bangle and DS bought an iPad mini. DD wanted to replenish her Kenzo Amore perfume but the girl in sephora said they only sold it at Florida Mall, so headed their next. This was crowded and didn't feel as safe to me. I did get some long shorts in jc penny though, two pairs for $36. DH wanted the Levi outlet so next stop was Premium Outlets on Vineland, big mistake as it was packed out. We eventually got parked and found Levi shop but the queue for the changing rooms was around the shop, so we left and said we'd go back later in the week. The traffic from there to the I4 was at a standstill for ages but we made it back to OKW for 6 ish.
Had an hour in our room and then drove to Epcot for dinner in Biergarten, the park wasn't too busy so we for through fairly quickly. We got seated with two friendly NY guys with two toddlers, their wives had gone off and left them with the kids so they took them to the pub lol! We chatted quite a bit and the kids were fine. DH and I liked the food and desserts here but our kids said they felt underwhelmed by the food, they liked the desserts though, DD loved the strudel and DS had 3 pieces of cheesecake!
We rushed out of the park as illuminations was starting so avoided the crowds, can literally make it back to OKW in around 10 mins. Love the proximity of our resort to Epcot as it's our favourite park and would happily visit every day, always feels like it's an effort to get into MK park.
So another good day. Want to have a relaxing day Monday, might do Premium Outlets if we get out early enough. Kids are currently debatin whether to get the bus back to MK now as it's open until 3am tonight!
Decide on an easier day today but started with an 8.05am reservation at crystal palace. Had a nightmare getting to breakfast as took the wrong road and ended up parking at Epcot but thought it would be ok on the monorail. Wrong. Monorail was held for ages, the announcement said due to standing trains up ahead. So by the time we swapped monorails and walked through the park it was 8.30am, no problem said the man who checked us in and gave us a buzzer to wait, only waited around 5 mins and saw tigger and piglet and eeyore within 10 mins of sitting down. Winnie came a little while after so not too long to wait for them. Buffet breakfast was lovely and it didn't ever feel busy. After breakfast we headed to big thunder, hoping the queues weren't too bad with it being labour day weekend. It was 5 mins onto the ride and even the cm's were commenting on the lack of crowds. Our train stopped on the last lift hill, only for about 30 seconds and then continued to the end. As we got off there was an announcement about technical difficulties and we heard a cm mention a power outage. Next we did splash and got soaked lol! About 10 mins wait on this. Next was pirates Nd the park was starting to feel busier but again it was between 5 - 10 mins. We left the park to head to the malls around 12pm.
Mall at millennia first. We've never been here before and were very impressed with how classy it was. Wasn't too busy either. I wanted to buy everything in Crate and Barrel lol, DD bought a black titanium Tiffany bangle and DS bought an iPad mini. DD wanted to replenish her Kenzo Amore perfume but the girl in sephora said they only sold it at Florida Mall, so headed their next. This was crowded and didn't feel as safe to me. I did get some long shorts in jc penny though, two pairs for $36. DH wanted the Levi outlet so next stop was Premium Outlets on Vineland, big mistake as it was packed out. We eventually got parked and found Levi shop but the queue for the changing rooms was around the shop, so we left and said we'd go back later in the week. The traffic from there to the I4 was at a standstill for ages but we made it back to OKW for 6 ish.
Had an hour in our room and then drove to Epcot for dinner in Biergarten, the park wasn't too busy so we for through fairly quickly. We got seated with two friendly NY guys with two toddlers, their wives had gone off and left them with the kids so they took them to the pub lol! We chatted quite a bit and the kids were fine. DH and I liked the food and desserts here but our kids said they felt underwhelmed by the food, they liked the desserts though, DD loved the strudel and DS had 3 pieces of cheesecake!
We rushed out of the park as illuminations was starting so avoided the crowds, can literally make it back to OKW in around 10 mins. Love the proximity of our resort to Epcot as it's our favourite park and would happily visit every day, always feels like it's an effort to get into MK park.
So another good day. Want to have a relaxing day Monday, might do Premium Outlets if we get out early enough. Kids are currently debatin whether to get the bus back to MK now as it's open until 3am tonight!
arieliwish
I've got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty,
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Monday 2nd Sept
Kids set their alarms last night and got up just after midnight and got the bus to MK for the EMH until 3am! It was 4 when they got the bus back but almost all rides were walk ons, they said Haunted Mansion is a lot scarier at that time of night lol! They of course chatted to us when they got back so we all had a sleep in this morning. We had a pool and laundry day again and walked to Goods to go counter service here at OKW for wraps and fries for lunch, very nice and huge portions. Our reservation for dinner was 7.30pm at Nine Dragons. Epcot didn't feel busy as we walked in which surprised us as it's labour day. Meal was gorgeous but we struggled to finish it all, as ever with all the restaurants here. I had canton beef, DH had sweet and sour pork, DS had steak and shrimp, DD had a trio with chicken, beef and shrimp. There were only 3 desserts so we shared and had caramel and ginger cake, soft sponge amazing, ginger and caramel ice cream which was lovely, and two portions of strawberry and red bean ice cream, really strong strawberry flavour again lovely.
We left Epcot just after half 8 and went back to premium outlets for DH jeans/trousers and for another look around, and then to walmart to return the Xbox points DS had bought last week which he later read can only be used in country of purchase. The customer service closed at 10 so we just missed it. Bought some more toiletries and some kids tops for gifts, and Hershey's kisses for DD, then headed back to OKW.
Want to let everyone know that if you hire a mobility scooter that goes into a car boot they're quite heavy. Ours has a heavy battery to lift off and the seat, but the body itself takes two of us to lift and the back part is a struggle to lift high enough as our boot is high up (ford explorer). We've seen the bigger scooters and vans that have a lift on and I'd consider that next time especially if the kids weren't with us. Also in Disney car parks, the blue line on the road seems to lead to the disabled parking which is nearer to the entrances. We have DH blue badge hanging from the rear view mirror and have had no problem using it so far.
Think we'll do AK in morning and want to do the Epcot countries slowly and look in all the shops, might wander through to the boardwalk too. Have pics of meals etc but haven't had a chance to load them, will try promise! Night all!
Kids set their alarms last night and got up just after midnight and got the bus to MK for the EMH until 3am! It was 4 when they got the bus back but almost all rides were walk ons, they said Haunted Mansion is a lot scarier at that time of night lol! They of course chatted to us when they got back so we all had a sleep in this morning. We had a pool and laundry day again and walked to Goods to go counter service here at OKW for wraps and fries for lunch, very nice and huge portions. Our reservation for dinner was 7.30pm at Nine Dragons. Epcot didn't feel busy as we walked in which surprised us as it's labour day. Meal was gorgeous but we struggled to finish it all, as ever with all the restaurants here. I had canton beef, DH had sweet and sour pork, DS had steak and shrimp, DD had a trio with chicken, beef and shrimp. There were only 3 desserts so we shared and had caramel and ginger cake, soft sponge amazing, ginger and caramel ice cream which was lovely, and two portions of strawberry and red bean ice cream, really strong strawberry flavour again lovely.
We left Epcot just after half 8 and went back to premium outlets for DH jeans/trousers and for another look around, and then to walmart to return the Xbox points DS had bought last week which he later read can only be used in country of purchase. The customer service closed at 10 so we just missed it. Bought some more toiletries and some kids tops for gifts, and Hershey's kisses for DD, then headed back to OKW.
Want to let everyone know that if you hire a mobility scooter that goes into a car boot they're quite heavy. Ours has a heavy battery to lift off and the seat, but the body itself takes two of us to lift and the back part is a struggle to lift high enough as our boot is high up (ford explorer). We've seen the bigger scooters and vans that have a lift on and I'd consider that next time especially if the kids weren't with us. Also in Disney car parks, the blue line on the road seems to lead to the disabled parking which is nearer to the entrances. We have DH blue badge hanging from the rear view mirror and have had no problem using it so far.
Think we'll do AK in morning and want to do the Epcot countries slowly and look in all the shops, might wander through to the boardwalk too. Have pics of meals etc but haven't had a chance to load them, will try promise! Night all!
Clare D
Minnie Mania
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Great trip so far and thanks for posting.
I was hoping for a Ford Explorer from Alamo at MCO but they didn't have any and we ended up with a Chevrolet Captiva as the Jeep boot couldn't fit in the 3 cases. We were thinking about just using ME express next year and not bothering with a car but DH also used to enjoy NFL so maybe we'll look into a trip to Tampa.
We also loved BOG and were in the West Wing but thankfully were sat in the corner so the people coming in to see the rose and the picture weren't too much of a problem.
I also know what you mean about the Florida Mall. I much prefer the Mall at Millenia even if to window shop in most of the stores.
Thanks for taking the time out of your day
I was hoping for a Ford Explorer from Alamo at MCO but they didn't have any and we ended up with a Chevrolet Captiva as the Jeep boot couldn't fit in the 3 cases. We were thinking about just using ME express next year and not bothering with a car but DH also used to enjoy NFL so maybe we'll look into a trip to Tampa.
We also loved BOG and were in the West Wing but thankfully were sat in the corner so the people coming in to see the rose and the picture weren't too much of a problem.
I also know what you mean about the Florida Mall. I much prefer the Mall at Millenia even if to window shop in most of the stores.
Thanks for taking the time out of your day
arieliwish
I've got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty,
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Thanks guys, hope my info can help someone.
Tuesday 3rd Sept
Animal kingdom for 9.30am this morning and I thought we'd have missed the early slots for dinosaur and Everest, which were the only things we wanted to do here. AK isn't our favourite park and our memories are of a hot park with lots of walking. Went straight to dinosaur and it was a walk on. Such a fun ride but every bit as rough as we remembered! Great ride pic of DD 18 looking terrified even though she knew what to expect! Ha ha!
Next we headed to Everest and were surprised that this was a walk on too. We didn't know too much about the ride, they were building it last time we were here. Wow. Another great Disney ride, the backwards bit is intense and the forward drop is, well, breathtaking. Literally. Kids went straight back on lol! We grabbed fries at Amandapour but the ducks were pecking at our legs to be fed so we quickly left and headed for Epcot.
Did all the lands including the shops and it was great fun, kids wanted pics with the different countries hats on! Did American Adventure as we've never done this and it was quite good. We saw the mechanism that moves and lifts the animatronics when we did the behind the scenes tour so that was interesting. Saw people eating a weird thing and realised it was funnel cake, saw a lot mention it on here. Didn't try one though! DD got a henna hand tattoo in morocco and we enjoyed the UK where two cm's were chalking translations on the road - pushchair =stroller, cheers = thanks, etc.
Left and went back to OKW via the Hess station for gas. Went in to prepay and said I wanted to fill it so she said $80 and if less to go back in. The huge Ford Explorer that had only 30 miles of fuel left cost $56.21 to fill lol! Dinner at 7.30 was at whispering canyon which was a meat fest of course. Great food and funny watching kids run around with ketchup and on hobby horses. Had a good look in the shop there and a sit in the very comfy sofas then back to OKW for me and DS to have a late swim. Water was cooler than we thought and there were a few little lizards around so we stayed in about half an hour and saw about 6 bigger ones on the way back :/
Just bought universal tickets and express passes online for tomorrow and hope to do the rides we want in both parks in one day. Does anyone know if universal will accept the email confirmation on my iPhone, or do I have to get it printed out somewhere??
Anyway, thanks for following, night all.
Tuesday 3rd Sept
Animal kingdom for 9.30am this morning and I thought we'd have missed the early slots for dinosaur and Everest, which were the only things we wanted to do here. AK isn't our favourite park and our memories are of a hot park with lots of walking. Went straight to dinosaur and it was a walk on. Such a fun ride but every bit as rough as we remembered! Great ride pic of DD 18 looking terrified even though she knew what to expect! Ha ha!
Next we headed to Everest and were surprised that this was a walk on too. We didn't know too much about the ride, they were building it last time we were here. Wow. Another great Disney ride, the backwards bit is intense and the forward drop is, well, breathtaking. Literally. Kids went straight back on lol! We grabbed fries at Amandapour but the ducks were pecking at our legs to be fed so we quickly left and headed for Epcot.
Did all the lands including the shops and it was great fun, kids wanted pics with the different countries hats on! Did American Adventure as we've never done this and it was quite good. We saw the mechanism that moves and lifts the animatronics when we did the behind the scenes tour so that was interesting. Saw people eating a weird thing and realised it was funnel cake, saw a lot mention it on here. Didn't try one though! DD got a henna hand tattoo in morocco and we enjoyed the UK where two cm's were chalking translations on the road - pushchair =stroller, cheers = thanks, etc.
Left and went back to OKW via the Hess station for gas. Went in to prepay and said I wanted to fill it so she said $80 and if less to go back in. The huge Ford Explorer that had only 30 miles of fuel left cost $56.21 to fill lol! Dinner at 7.30 was at whispering canyon which was a meat fest of course. Great food and funny watching kids run around with ketchup and on hobby horses. Had a good look in the shop there and a sit in the very comfy sofas then back to OKW for me and DS to have a late swim. Water was cooler than we thought and there were a few little lizards around so we stayed in about half an hour and saw about 6 bigger ones on the way back :/
Just bought universal tickets and express passes online for tomorrow and hope to do the rides we want in both parks in one day. Does anyone know if universal will accept the email confirmation on my iPhone, or do I have to get it printed out somewhere??
Anyway, thanks for following, night all.
arieliwish
I've got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty,
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Wednesday 4th sept
Had a grab and go breakfast at OKW and headed to universal, got there just after 9. Followed the blue line to the car park for disabled parking ($16) and the car park only had about 6 other cars in. This car park is on the same level as the moving walkways, Jurassic Park, so easy enough. The journey to the park entrances were as long as I remember! We did IOA first and me and DD did hulk. We had express passes so walked almost to the ride but then the two queues seemed to merge, disappointing start to express. Also had to use steps, something that doesn't happen in disney, and thought DH would have struggled with the express line. This is a mental ride, no idea why I did it again after saying I wouldn't 8 years ago!
Next Spider-Man but it was closed. Very disappointing as this was one we were looking forward to. As we only had one day to do both parks we knew which rides we wanted to do so headed to Jurassic Park ride but that was closed too. Also noticed the Dudley do right falls were closed and looked as though no water had run through it for a while. So on to Harry Potter. The theming is incredible here, very well done. As the wait for the ride was only 20 mins (no express on this one) we decided to all go on. DH was told no scooter in the queue so had to park it up with the strollers and transfer to a wheelchair. He hated this, and pushing him through dark corridors and up the ramps in the greenhouse in the heat was challenging to me. The walk into the ride is a long way, even without a queue but the theming is good. We weren't sure what to expect from the ride as all we knew was there were spiders in it. Basically it's like soarin on speed! The effects were good although my two older teenagers found the dementors and spiders a bit scary, and the ride movement was a bit rough for DH, we saw a lot of small children going on. Very good and very different from any other ride. On editing we had to push DH back to the stroller area for his scooter. We found this on every ride we took him on, leave scooter with strollers and walk or use wheelchair, then exit always away from scooter. Not very disabled friendly here, made us appreciate how easy it is in every Disney park - scooter can go almost to ride vehicle, where either a cm takes it to the end for us or we enter through the exit. Lifts always available where normal queue has stairs. No hassle. We love disney. Anyway, kids did the Hippogriff, which is the old flying unicorn and then me and DD did the dragon challenge, again the old duelling dragons. Good ride and smoother than hulk! We'd been told to keep checking with cm's to see if Spider-Man back on and before we headed to the studios we checked and it was, so we did this one and it was good as ever. We grabbed some lunch in the diner opposite, burgers and chicken strips, and walked to the studios at 12.30, couldn't believe we'd got IOA done in that short a time.
First stop was the minions of course, the old jimmy newtron ride. Very good and funny, we like the minions! Only thing that spoiled it was being seated. They asked how many in each party before allocating a row and we walked in to our row and got a seat for 4. There was some shuffling going on in he car ahead and people moved about, then a woman from a wheelchair at the front decided to sit in the next car with two people in, leaving 1 seat empty. A Middle aged couple were the only ones to be seated and refused to have two single seats. The cm looked at every car and then asked a family of three if one of them would move to a single seat so the couple could sit together, and the daughter who looked about 19 moved. I didn't get why the couple expected someone else to sit on their own but they wouldn't! I also thought it was wrong of the cm to put someone in that position, and we all felt it would have been resolved very differently in Disney. Maybe the woman from the wheelchair would have been asked before getting in their about seat choice, or maybe they should have left a few seats spare just in case. I don't know but it spoiled it for everyone in there I think. Anyway, DS had to buy a large minion in the shop, Dave with two eyes, he's 15. Mm.
Next transformers, which is just like Spider-Man and DS loved this ride. We walked around the back of the lake where jaws was and saw them building a new large structure. DS said he'd read they were going to do a train and station based on HP but he thought it was just a rumour. The more we looked at the framework we could see a large arch and the steep pitches in the roof lines did resemble a station and the HP village back in IOA.
Men in black next and another transfer for DH, there was at least a lift on this one. I always hated this ride for the spinning bit, and it spins you even more now! Kids loved it though. The Simpsons area was very busy, the rest of the park felt fairly quiet. Another chair transfer but we got on the lower row so didn't have to push up the ramps. Even with express passes and a small queue this was a long hot wait, both outside and in. The dark cartoon colours felt oppressive once inside, I much preferred it as back to the future. However the ride was good and we all enjoyed it. By now it was very hot so we slowly walked through the rest of the park and back to the car for about 3pm. Sat with aircon on and cold drinks for a while before setting off.
Express passes were definitely worth it for us doing it all in one day and not having DH wait around too long in the lines, and if we'd wanted to do shows and stuff then we could have used them there too.
Florida mall on the way back (again) as DD wanted a sephora nail kit, then to Walmart (again) to return DS Xbox points which he bought last week and then read couldn't be used in other countries, got a cooler back and a few small disney gifts.
Back to OKW to get changed and we got the boat to DTD and the water taxi to the marketplace and ate in Wolfgang puck express. Wow! This is every bit as good as everyone said, had meatloaf and mash which was fantastic. Left our server a tip as he was great. Had a walk in shops and then the boats home. Had a few showers tonight but not heavy.
So a full day and though I sound like I'm down on Universal we did enjoy the rides we did, it just wasn't magical. Definitely made us appreciate how much effort disney put into things, even little things like smiling and greeting you. I know there's nowhere else like disney, but there really is nowhere else like Disney!
So today's plan is typhoon lagoon this morning and a trip to the Boardwalk ( and hopefully Beaches and Cream!) later.
Had a grab and go breakfast at OKW and headed to universal, got there just after 9. Followed the blue line to the car park for disabled parking ($16) and the car park only had about 6 other cars in. This car park is on the same level as the moving walkways, Jurassic Park, so easy enough. The journey to the park entrances were as long as I remember! We did IOA first and me and DD did hulk. We had express passes so walked almost to the ride but then the two queues seemed to merge, disappointing start to express. Also had to use steps, something that doesn't happen in disney, and thought DH would have struggled with the express line. This is a mental ride, no idea why I did it again after saying I wouldn't 8 years ago!
Next Spider-Man but it was closed. Very disappointing as this was one we were looking forward to. As we only had one day to do both parks we knew which rides we wanted to do so headed to Jurassic Park ride but that was closed too. Also noticed the Dudley do right falls were closed and looked as though no water had run through it for a while. So on to Harry Potter. The theming is incredible here, very well done. As the wait for the ride was only 20 mins (no express on this one) we decided to all go on. DH was told no scooter in the queue so had to park it up with the strollers and transfer to a wheelchair. He hated this, and pushing him through dark corridors and up the ramps in the greenhouse in the heat was challenging to me. The walk into the ride is a long way, even without a queue but the theming is good. We weren't sure what to expect from the ride as all we knew was there were spiders in it. Basically it's like soarin on speed! The effects were good although my two older teenagers found the dementors and spiders a bit scary, and the ride movement was a bit rough for DH, we saw a lot of small children going on. Very good and very different from any other ride. On editing we had to push DH back to the stroller area for his scooter. We found this on every ride we took him on, leave scooter with strollers and walk or use wheelchair, then exit always away from scooter. Not very disabled friendly here, made us appreciate how easy it is in every Disney park - scooter can go almost to ride vehicle, where either a cm takes it to the end for us or we enter through the exit. Lifts always available where normal queue has stairs. No hassle. We love disney. Anyway, kids did the Hippogriff, which is the old flying unicorn and then me and DD did the dragon challenge, again the old duelling dragons. Good ride and smoother than hulk! We'd been told to keep checking with cm's to see if Spider-Man back on and before we headed to the studios we checked and it was, so we did this one and it was good as ever. We grabbed some lunch in the diner opposite, burgers and chicken strips, and walked to the studios at 12.30, couldn't believe we'd got IOA done in that short a time.
First stop was the minions of course, the old jimmy newtron ride. Very good and funny, we like the minions! Only thing that spoiled it was being seated. They asked how many in each party before allocating a row and we walked in to our row and got a seat for 4. There was some shuffling going on in he car ahead and people moved about, then a woman from a wheelchair at the front decided to sit in the next car with two people in, leaving 1 seat empty. A Middle aged couple were the only ones to be seated and refused to have two single seats. The cm looked at every car and then asked a family of three if one of them would move to a single seat so the couple could sit together, and the daughter who looked about 19 moved. I didn't get why the couple expected someone else to sit on their own but they wouldn't! I also thought it was wrong of the cm to put someone in that position, and we all felt it would have been resolved very differently in Disney. Maybe the woman from the wheelchair would have been asked before getting in their about seat choice, or maybe they should have left a few seats spare just in case. I don't know but it spoiled it for everyone in there I think. Anyway, DS had to buy a large minion in the shop, Dave with two eyes, he's 15. Mm.
Next transformers, which is just like Spider-Man and DS loved this ride. We walked around the back of the lake where jaws was and saw them building a new large structure. DS said he'd read they were going to do a train and station based on HP but he thought it was just a rumour. The more we looked at the framework we could see a large arch and the steep pitches in the roof lines did resemble a station and the HP village back in IOA.
Men in black next and another transfer for DH, there was at least a lift on this one. I always hated this ride for the spinning bit, and it spins you even more now! Kids loved it though. The Simpsons area was very busy, the rest of the park felt fairly quiet. Another chair transfer but we got on the lower row so didn't have to push up the ramps. Even with express passes and a small queue this was a long hot wait, both outside and in. The dark cartoon colours felt oppressive once inside, I much preferred it as back to the future. However the ride was good and we all enjoyed it. By now it was very hot so we slowly walked through the rest of the park and back to the car for about 3pm. Sat with aircon on and cold drinks for a while before setting off.
Express passes were definitely worth it for us doing it all in one day and not having DH wait around too long in the lines, and if we'd wanted to do shows and stuff then we could have used them there too.
Florida mall on the way back (again) as DD wanted a sephora nail kit, then to Walmart (again) to return DS Xbox points which he bought last week and then read couldn't be used in other countries, got a cooler back and a few small disney gifts.
Back to OKW to get changed and we got the boat to DTD and the water taxi to the marketplace and ate in Wolfgang puck express. Wow! This is every bit as good as everyone said, had meatloaf and mash which was fantastic. Left our server a tip as he was great. Had a walk in shops and then the boats home. Had a few showers tonight but not heavy.
So a full day and though I sound like I'm down on Universal we did enjoy the rides we did, it just wasn't magical. Definitely made us appreciate how much effort disney put into things, even little things like smiling and greeting you. I know there's nowhere else like disney, but there really is nowhere else like Disney!
So today's plan is typhoon lagoon this morning and a trip to the Boardwalk ( and hopefully Beaches and Cream!) later.
arieliwish
I've got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty,
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2005
- Messages
- 1,108
Thursday 5th sept
Morning at typhoon lagoon. All the shaded spots had gone when we got there around half ten so positioned ourselves near the kids shallow area of the lagoon. Kids did the lazy river and wandered themselves, then I went in lagoon with them - much more severe than I remember! It was far too hot for DH so we got food and cold drinks from leaning palms, pork sandwiches were very good but we couldn't eat it all again. DH was flagging in the heat and DD dislikes sand so around 1.30 we headed back to OKW and our own quiet pool, and did another laundry load. Had a few hours around the pool until the clouds and thunder rolled in. Showers and changed and out to Boardwalk for a walk around and dinner. We headed to Beaches and Cream as the rain was starting Nd were told it would be a 30 minute wait, which was fine. It was less than 10! Got a table in the middle and DS & DH had Angus burgers, DD had chicken caeser sandwich, and I had the Rachel sandwich which was pastrami on rye bread, and it was very nice! Huge portions again so we left room for a kitchen sink. No one else in there had one while we were eating mains so did not expect the lights - no one mentioned that on here! We had been joking about the emergency lights in the ceiling, saying they must be in case of a power cut, as the rain was pouring down and the loudest thunder we've ever heard was thudding outside. DS laughed and said its prob for the kitchen sink ha ha! Mm. You should have seen our faces! We swapped the coffee ice cream for mint chic chip and asked for no cream as DD has never liked it. It was still big enough. Hope the pic works, it's been a long time since I've posted one. Let me know if it doesn't work, also how can I upload multiple pics on the ipad from the photobucket app??
Once we were making our way through the massive dessert about 4 others came out one after the other, thank god we didn't have the cream lol! Me and DH stopped when we'd had enough but the kids kept going, they finished it but didn't feel so good afterwards ha ha! By now the rain had stopped so we walked back to the boardwalk to the car and headed home, all full and tired, and some of us slightly queasy! Only two full days left and we all want to stay!
Hopefully more pics to follow.
Morning at typhoon lagoon. All the shaded spots had gone when we got there around half ten so positioned ourselves near the kids shallow area of the lagoon. Kids did the lazy river and wandered themselves, then I went in lagoon with them - much more severe than I remember! It was far too hot for DH so we got food and cold drinks from leaning palms, pork sandwiches were very good but we couldn't eat it all again. DH was flagging in the heat and DD dislikes sand so around 1.30 we headed back to OKW and our own quiet pool, and did another laundry load. Had a few hours around the pool until the clouds and thunder rolled in. Showers and changed and out to Boardwalk for a walk around and dinner. We headed to Beaches and Cream as the rain was starting Nd were told it would be a 30 minute wait, which was fine. It was less than 10! Got a table in the middle and DS & DH had Angus burgers, DD had chicken caeser sandwich, and I had the Rachel sandwich which was pastrami on rye bread, and it was very nice! Huge portions again so we left room for a kitchen sink. No one else in there had one while we were eating mains so did not expect the lights - no one mentioned that on here! We had been joking about the emergency lights in the ceiling, saying they must be in case of a power cut, as the rain was pouring down and the loudest thunder we've ever heard was thudding outside. DS laughed and said its prob for the kitchen sink ha ha! Mm. You should have seen our faces! We swapped the coffee ice cream for mint chic chip and asked for no cream as DD has never liked it. It was still big enough. Hope the pic works, it's been a long time since I've posted one. Let me know if it doesn't work, also how can I upload multiple pics on the ipad from the photobucket app??
Once we were making our way through the massive dessert about 4 others came out one after the other, thank god we didn't have the cream lol! Me and DH stopped when we'd had enough but the kids kept going, they finished it but didn't feel so good afterwards ha ha! By now the rain had stopped so we walked back to the boardwalk to the car and headed home, all full and tired, and some of us slightly queasy! Only two full days left and we all want to stay!
Hopefully more pics to follow.
arieliwish
I've got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty,
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2005
- Messages
- 1,108
How we all felt after the sink:
arieliwish
I've got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty,
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2005
- Messages
- 1,108
Our quiet pool on millers road:
arieliwish
I've got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty,
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2005
- Messages
- 1,108
Be our Guest:
arieliwish
I've got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty,
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2005
- Messages
- 1,108
Buccs game
DS doing the NASCAR ride experience
Cape May Cafe
arieliwish
I've got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty,
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2005
- Messages
- 1,108
Magic Kingdom early!
Nine Dragons
Henna tattoo from morocco
UK - US translation in Epcot!
Whispering Canyon
arieliwish
I've got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty,
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2005
- Messages
- 1,108
Hogwarts
Hogsmeade
Never too grown up!
Construction at universal, where jaws used to be
Home
Beaches & Cream Rachel's sandwich (mine mine mine!)
UK mum of 4
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2013
- Messages
- 192
Can I ask how come you fly with delta to Atlanta and then change rather than virgin direct? Just looking at out next flights at the minute x
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