We're Back! Our Trip Report for Oct 9-14 RPR, HHN and our Engagement! *Updated 2/11*

[ksromack]

Thanks! Yeah, the lockers were acting a bit funny this time. This past May we had zero issues so who knows. I'd rather have the lockers than nothing. At Disney it made me nervous when I had to bring my backpack on the ride. I saw people getting on rides with fanny packs still on. It may be tight on Forbidden Journey though. Glad you found the link helpful!

I was just going to ask about people with fanny packs. I have a Kipling mini-crossover bag that converts to a fanny pack. I got it specifically for IOA! I'm hoping to be able to throw in my small camera and keep it with me during rides.

 

[LMichelleee]

I was just going to ask about people with fanny packs. I have a Kipling mini-crossover bag that converts to a fanny pack. I got it specifically for IOA! I'm hoping to be able to throw in my small camera and keep it with me during rides.

Oh wow, that sounds like an awesome bag! I'm going to have to look for one!


WOW!! It has been 20 days since the last update! We have been so super busy with all the wedding planning and with work. Seriously, working retail is no fun, especially this time of year! Also, another reason is that WE ARE PLANNING OUR NEXT TRIP!!!! YEP! I'm super excited, can you tell?? Anyway, I am editing my notes and look for an update *hopefully* today/tomorrow! Goodnight!

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Thanks for your TR. I've really enjoyed reading what you've written so far.

I needed a little bit of extra persuasion to pay the extra to stay onsite, and your TR helped.

 

[LMichelleee]

Thanks for your TR. I've really enjoyed reading what you've written so far.

I needed a little bit of extra persuasion to pay the extra to stay onsite, and your TR helped.

Yay!!! I'm so glad it helped! Like I said so many times before, we will never stay offsite again! That extra hour, the boats, and express pass made our trip so much more relaxed. It was so great doing early entry and then going to take a nap in the middle of the day. I wish I had done a report for our offsite stay in may. It would show how much of a difference the two really are! Our shuttle to take us back to our offsite hotel came only once and that was about an hour and a half before the park closed, so we missed that opportunity to do wwohp at night when there's harldy anyone! Do it. You will not be disappointed!

 

[macraven]

congratulations on the engagement!

plan on the honeymoon including another trip to the darkside...




i could have sworn i saw you two in the lobby at rph.
(looking at your pics, it had to be you.)


are you planning a repeat for hhn in 2013?

 

[LMichelleee]

congratulations on the engagement!

plan on the honeymoon including another trip to the darkside...




i could have sworn i saw you two in the lobby at rph.
(looking at your pics, it had to be you.)


are you planning a repeat for hhn in 2013?

Thanks, Mac! That is so funny you saw us! When I first read that I was thinking THE Macraven?! Haha! I wish I had known it was you, you always have the best advice. By the way, our S&S plan was perfect thanks to your awesome tips. We had so much fun that we are already making plans for HHN in 2013 and another trip this coming May! We have our APs, so we are going to get as much use as we can out of them!

I really do think we are going to do Disney and Universal for our honeymoon! Some of our friends have chosen to do a honeymoon registry, along with a traditional one, so they could have a really special trip. We're debating on whether to go around early December so we can see the Christmas decor in both parks or do another HHN. I guess it all depends on when the wedding will be.

 

[macraven]

you should do the honeymoon at the motherland and the darkside !!
what fun you two will have.

i know you'll have a beautiful wedding.



i love staying at rph and will be there again october 2013.
i'm completely and totally addicted to hhn.


hope to see you at rph/hhn next october.

 

[vleeth]

Awesome TR. Congrats on the engagement!

We're planning on going in Oct 2013...hopefully we can hit the water rides without getting too cold.

 

[LMichelleee]

you should do the honeymoon at the motherland and the darkside !!
what fun you two will have.

i know you'll have a beautiful wedding.



i love staying at rph and will be there again october 2013.
i'm completely and totally addicted to hhn.


hope to see you at rph/hhn next october.

Thanks, Mac! We visited the motherland in May but only did 2 parks, MK & HWS. And since the trip was so last minute and we were with other people all my plans were pretty much thrown out the window. We learned from our mistakes and I'm looking forward to devoting enough time to actually have a great plan and stick to it!

This was our first HHN and we are now addicted! We plan on going late Sept/early Oct this upcoming HHN since we activated our APs on Oct 9th. Plus, I believe it's the off season, so our stay will be cheaper!

Awesome TR. Congrats on the engagement!

We're planning on going in Oct 2013...hopefully we can hit the water rides without getting too cold.

Thank you! One of these days I'll finish it... Most likely after the holidays... it's just way too crazy right now!

October was a perfect time to go. The weather was beautiful our entire trip, I don't think it rained once on us! It was a bit chilly in the morning, maybe low 70's, but it heated up fast. Believe me, I'm such a baby when it comes to being cold and I was fine. If you're worried about the water rides making you cold, just wear a poncho. That water is cold but thanks to my poncho I was completely dry and comfortable all day long. I saw a lot of other people wearing them on rides.

 

[macraven]

Thank you! One of these days I'll finish it... Most likely after the holidays... it's just way too crazy right now!

October was a perfect time to go. The weather was beautiful our entire trip, I don't think it rained once on us! It was a bit chilly in the morning, maybe low 70's, but it heated up fast. Believe me, I'm such a baby when it comes to being cold and I was fine. If you're worried about the water rides making you cold, just wear a poncho. That water is cold but thanks to my poncho I was completely dry and comfortable all day long. I saw a lot of other people wearing them on rides.

you were lucky then.
on thursday oct 11th, it poured at 7:00 pm.
rain again on saturday/sunday.........

tuesday/16th on, weather was great.

 

[LMichelleee]

I FINALLY HAVE AN UPDATE!!!! It only took me about 2 months! Sorry everyone, if you're even still out there. Anyway, it seems I have misplaced my more detailed notes so I only have my bullet points and pictures to go by...


When we last left off, I was showering and getting cleaned up while Bryan took a nap. I have to admit I was pretty jealous of his cat nap but I knew if we wanted to get the last couple things done in USO that I should skip it. After about an hour of slowly getting ready, I started waking Bryan up. We packed our bag and made sure we had the tickets, snacks, (and my glasses so we wouldn’t have another issue!) and were out the door! Since we watched for the water taxi out the window we caught it just in time and had a nice ride over to USO.


We quickly walked over and went through the turnstiles. I think this is true with any line, but go to the far left last line. It seems to always be faster since people don't want to walk over there! We made our first stop Despicable Me since it’s such a cute ride. I loved looking at all the stuff inside. I can't wait for the new movie to come out. We saw a preview of it during Wreck it Ralph (which is such a great and hilarious movie!) and those little minions just crack me up!

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Since we were close and the wait time was under 20 minutes, we decided to ride RRR. Bryan has really gotten into this ride with the secret song list. I managed to finally pick a secret song but since my neck was hurting so bad, I couldn’t even concentrate. I wish I could enjoy this ride. Does this happen to anyone else?! We did finally watch the video since it wasn’t so busy in that area and it was actually pretty cool! It is still way too pricey to even consider purchasing though.


After RRR, we made our way over to The Mummy, which is always a fun ride. After the mummy, we decided to take the long way to Disaster so I could get some pictures that I wasn’t able to get the day before.

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We were running out of time and if we wanted to do Disaster, we had to skip Simpsons and MIB. We figured they’re open during HHN and if we finish what we want to do, we can always do it then. We did agree already that we want to spend the whole last day at Islands, so coming back the next day was out of the question!

We're pretty big BTTF fans! We like to have movie marathons
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We made it to Disaster with about maybe 20 minutes or so before the park was to close for the day.

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The actors who were chosen were absolutely hilarious. I loved the Grandma and our girl who screams. I have been to the Universal Studios in Hollywood and was expecting to see the same thing but it definitely was different! It was nice to see a different version and be surprised. I do think the one in Hollywood was a bit more over the top and had more effects but they don't have Harry!

Side note, I found this to also be true with the HHN decorations. Did USO ever have the zombies out and all the gross stuff or is it just a Hollywood thing? Not a big deal, just wondering! This is me and my little sister back in ’09 and the décor I was talking about.

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Those zombies were really gross and totally set the mood!

Moving on, (ha, which I think is what they say in Disaster?!) we made our way to a stand so we could get a refill for our cup so we’d have something while we wait in the holding area. We get to the stand with our cup out and ready when suddenly this girl jumps in front of us. Me being so kind and patient didn't say anything and let her order her dang turkey leg combo. Then, Miss Turkey Leg’s friends all decide they want something and it ends up being a 10 minute order since they all want to pay separately and order a lot of different stuff. Well it was finally our turn and the lady says, “Oh, I don't have anymore soda.” This is literally what was going on in my head:

YWNBLK;WEIUFZNC LJF;ISJ !!! %&(*!#%^&1!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

That was so annoying. Yelling or blowing up wasn't going to do anything so we just left and headed towards the S&S holding area. We didn't have time to be upset, we had to get pumped for day 2 of HHN!!!

 

[macraven]

i was holding my breathe until you came back .......


good thing you did.


2 months is my limit....

 

[LMichelleee]

i was holding my breathe until you came back .......


good thing you did.


2 months is my limit....

glad to hear it!

 

[Jonesloonybin]

I am glad to see that you are back!! I cannot wait to hear about the rest of your trip!!

 

[LMichelleee]

I am glad to see that you are back!! I cannot wait to hear about the rest of your trip!!

Thanks! I can't wait to hear about yours! You're so close, you must be so excited!

 

[Jonesloonybin]

Thanks! I can't wait to hear about yours! You're so close, you must be so excited!

11 days!

I am very excited and a little anxious. I still have things to do and all this flu talk has stressed me a bit. Trying to do all I can to boost everyone's immunity. Luckily since I homeschool, we can avoid a lot of germs, but DH and oldest DD both work (DD works in retail at a Five Below store) so I am watching them and hounding them about washing and sanitizing.

 

[LMichelleee]

11 days!

I am very excited and a little anxious. I still have things to do and all this flu talk has stressed me a bit. Trying to do all I can to boost everyone's immunity. Luckily since I homeschool, we can avoid a lot of germs, but DH and oldest DD both work (DD works in retail at a Five Below store) so I am watching them and hounding them about washing and sanitizing.

5 days! I'm so jealous! And I hear ya! I work retail also so I got my flu shot. I think when were this close we were already packed! Haha, just a little excited, ya know?

 

[DisneyMissy318]

Love reading your report and seeing your pics! Congrats on the engagement - what a great guy to combine your love of HP with his love for you!

We did the Halloween thing Oct 2 - 9 of 2012. This was our second year for HHN - and according to our daughter it will be the vacation of choice for years to come! We also manage a night at MNSSHP and head over to BG in Tampa for Howl O Scream - which we have found we enjoy just as much as HHN! I didn't think I liked the scary stuff - but we have had a blast!

As we have waited in the uncomfortable holding area I have often commented that we needed to get reservations for Finnegans... how early in the year do they start taking them? Do you know?

Not sure if you managed to make it to a show - but the Bill & Ted show is not to be missed! It is a RIOT!

Not sure what week we'll be there in 2013 - but we will definitely be there!

Looking forward to the rest of your report!

 

[LMichelleee]

Love reading your report and seeing your pics! Congrats on the engagement - what a great guy to combine your love of HP with his love for you!

We did the Halloween thing Oct 2 - 9 of 2012. This was our second year for HHN - and according to our daughter it will be the vacation of choice for years to come! We also manage a night at MNSSHP and head over to BG in Tampa for Howl O Scream - which we have found we enjoy just as much as HHN! I didn't think I liked the scary stuff - but we have had a blast!

As we have waited in the uncomfortable holding area I have often commented that we needed to get reservations for Finnegans... how early in the year do they start taking them? Do you know?

Not sure if you managed to make it to a show - but the Bill & Ted show is not to be missed! It is a RIOT!

Not sure what week we'll be there in 2013 - but we will definitely be there!

Looking forward to the rest of your report!

Thanks for reading! He really is a great guy and I'm so lucky I found someone who shares my love for Universal and Disney, it's just so important to me!

So how is it beginning of October? We activated our APs on Oct 9th so our trip this year will be a bit earlier. I really want to go to MNSSHP also, it would be our first time and I'm already thinking of my costume! I have been buying Disney gift cards at Target with my redcard to help pay for everything. Howl O Scream sounds like fun! I don't enjoy scary movies but the houses were actually a lot fun!

I can't remember how early they start taking reservations but I know I didn't do mine until maybe August/September through opentable.com. We set ours for 4:00 and the restaurant was half empty. This year we will do it later, more like 4:45-5 which is when there was a real wait.

WE MISSED THE SHOWS! I know... we went 2 days and missed the shows. You will read in the next chapter how we wanted to make sure that he did the Silent Hill house as many times as he wanted since he is such a big fan of the games and movies. To me this means we will get to experience something completely new this year!

I am not 100% on our dates either. I still need to find out info on MNSSHP. Is it only on certain days like HHN? We definitely will do HHN on Thursday and Friday again and we would like to start our trip with Disney and end with Universal. I am thinking end of September/early October sometime. In the meantime we are crunching numbers to see if we can pull off a trip this May to Universal! Yay for tax refund checks!

 

[LMichelleee]

Another update! Woot woot! So I have realized that I am dragging this TR on so long is because once this is over, it's all really over and I'm just not ready for that. BUT I HAVE SOME AWESOME NEWS!!

WE BOOKED OUR TRIP IN MAY!!
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So we'll be going 5/11-5/15 (Sat-Wed) since that is when the flights and hotel prices work the best. I AM SO EXCITED! We are staying at RPR again and got an amazing deal on our room thanks to our annual pass! It's worth it people!!

So now that I have another trip to look forward to that is only 3 months away from today, I can finally end this trip report. We did end up having to cancel our Disney portion of our October trip but that brings me to my next piece of big news! I will be going to Disney with my mom, sisters, and best friend to run in the Disney Princess Half Marathon that following February! Again, so excited! So now I'm working on my training and looking at costume ideas! All while planning our May trip. And planning our October trip. And looking for a new place to live since we move in 2 months. And looking for a new job. Oh, and planning a wedding. And Disney/Universal Honeymoon. No big. Good thing I love doing this! Okay, now let's move onto HHN, Round 2!!







We waited in the Finnegan’s holding area for a bit and snacked on some granola bars. We didn’t eat there beforehand since we were planning on trying Louie’s! After a good 30 minutes of enjoying a nice break of sitting down we saw the employees selling lanyards… ahh I wanted one. I should have bought it. Our paper EPs were looking pretty bad but we only had one more day left. Next time I’m definitely getting lanyard. Maybe a Gryffindor one, or a princess one. Looking back, we didn’t get one HHN souvenir. Bryan saw some Silent Hill playing cards for $10 but he didn’t think he needed them. Anyway, we then saw everyone getting ready to go up to the gates. Again, everyone was crowding around the long side of the gate and again, they opened the small side. Last night we were the first to go through Silent Hill and it was really scary so we hung back a bit and let some people ahead. We went through and saw some new stuff we hadn’t noticed before. After we made it through I could tell he wanted to do it again and the wait time was maybe 20-30 min. I told him do it now because it’s only going to get busier. He looked so excited and we jumped back in line. Since it was our 3rd time through we started paying attention to the details and looking for cool stuff we heard was in here from the games and movies. The house ended and the wait time still wasn’t bad sooooo we went again. For the third time in a row. I was okay with this because now I pretty much knew the layout and where the scares were.


After our third time through it was starting to get busier since the park was open to everyone, so we headed to Walking Dead to experience one last time. It was so good. I loved it! I think I have mentioned it in here that I don’t watch the show so I can’t comment on how well it was themed but it was so scary! And gross!

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STOP LOOKING AT YOUR MAP, LADY! SOMEONE IS GOING TO GET YOU!
The actors loved people who weren't paying attention, easy targets.


After Walking Dead we went into our other favorite, Dead End. Then, big surprise, we hopped in line for Silent Hill again! Ha, 4 times in one night! So since it was the 4th time through, I was extremely confident of where I was going and I could predict who was popping out, where they were coming from and I knew which nurse was real. I didn’t get scared once and loved it that time through. I did, however, keep walking when I knew someone was going to pop out and it was one of those guys who had a huge axe and I guess we both thought the other would stop and he ended up hitting me on the shoulder pretty hard! I can vouch they are not real! The guy reached out and touched Bryan and made sure we were okay. Looks like I scared him more than he scared me!

Glad we got to do it so many times since the wait time was getting higher and the lines were longer!
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We were still making great time and Walking Dead was so close, so we got in line! Again, I was familiar with the layout but with this one I still got some good scares! We decided not to do Gothic and instead head towards the other houses.

On the way there we stopped and watched the scare actors. We watched as these two women we talking and a dead bride came right up to one scared her so bad she spilled her beer! So hilarious! Then this really creepy looking one followed me into the candy shop (I have a serious sweet tooth) and would not leave me alone. Inside I was kind of freaking out thinking how long is she going to follow me?! I just pretended I didn’t even notice her and she moved on to some other poor woman. Whew!

After I got my sour belts (yum!), we then headed to House of Horrors. This one really freaks me out! We decided we were getting pretty hungry and finished off all the houses with Alice Cooper.

I love pizza so when I saw that Louie’s pizza was a highly recommended place to eat at I knew we had to try it! It was pretty busy but we got our order in and found a great table. While finishing up in line, we saw a big group of zombies came into the restaurant and were messing with people while eating. I have to say I really enjoyed the fact that nowhere was safe! It truly made the entire night absolutely terrifying!

Anyway, we sat down and I was so hungry I started eating before I took pictures! I ordered the cheese pizza with salad combo and Bryan got the pepperoni. It was delicious!

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We went in a few shops, watched some more scare actors and decided to call it night. We only had one more day and we didn’t want to be too tired for our early entry to Hogsmeade!

We did take a couple of pictures and decided we needed a new camera. Haha!

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