We're Doing WHAT For My Birthday??? - Final Thoughts

[mnmrmustard]

All caught up!

I always say I don't want to go to Disney without my kids and then I read a "adults only" TR and I start thinking about it again!

I am enjoying your WWoHP pics immensely! We were going to include Uni in our upcoming trip just for Harry (we're BIG fans!) but we decided not to. We'll wait and do a long weekend later when hopefully the crowds die down a little bit. I can see by your pics that has not happened yet! LOTSA people!!

Looking forward to some skeery dino pics!

Going without the kids certainly has its upside, nothing to worry about but each other and we were able to linger where we wanted and skip what we didn't think was important. We won't do it again while the kids are still kids, but it was a great "one-off"

As far as the crowds, this was a Thursday and we went back to Universal on a Sunday - the Sunday was much less crowded, go figure

Dino pics coming up directly!

 

[mnmrmustard]

We left the Wizarding World via the back exit by Hogwarts. Leaving there made me wonder if you can get in that way when they have the front entrance blocked off. Hmmmm. We crossed an area of the lagoon that looked very peaceful

And on into…

You can almost hear the theme music playing, can’t you? We stopped off to rest in a little outdoor beverage stand. I scouted ahead and found the Discovery Center, which acts as a restaurant/shop on the top floor, and an exhibit/interactive center on the bottom floor.

I went back to Roxy and together we moved in to the Discovery Center and the joy of air conditioning. We went in through the gift shop and passed the food court to the elevator. I took a shot of this little fellow on the way.

We went downstairs to take in the exhibits. We had been in here in 2002 and had been bummed that there hadn’t been any births while we were there. We must have had some good mojo going this time, because something started happening right after we walked up.

Here is the video of the little cutie coming into the world

After the birth we cruised past some other exhibits

Then we headed back out into the heat. At least with this area’s theming it was more appropriate to have all that heat and humidity.

We made a beeline for the Jurassic Park ride; again they have free lockers for you to put your stuff in while you ride. And who here thinks I packed away my camera? Hehe, you got it – it came with me ;-D On to the ride!

Through the gates.

Big old long neck right out of the gate

He was followed by a little guy

I think this guy needed a breath mint

Then we had these guys pop out of the water

Then we took our “wrong turn” into the Raptor Containment Area

Coming up – danger close!

Click here to view the next chapter: Day 2 Part 7 – Here There Be Raptors!

 

[mnmrmustard]

The boat, she is wrecked!

The little guys were fighting over the remains of some unfortunate soul

We start to turn the corner

There be something in there!

Into the tunnel!

Nobody in the control room

Did you hear something?

Aaahhhhh!!!!

Up top and something is behind those boxes!

We turned the corner for the big finale and I got in a bit of trouble for still having a camera out from a lady in a control tower. She called me out “you, the guy in the second row – put down the camera!” LOL

I put down the camera, we ducked the big dino, and down we went! Here’s what it looks like from the other side:

And yes, I did get a bit of the splash from the second boat coming down. But it was worth it.

It just so happened that the splashdown area was next to a restaurant so we went in and had some dinner. The liquid lunch had worn off and I was HUNGRY and so was Roxy. I had a bacon cheeseburger and Roxy had ribs. We split each meal and had half of each.

After our food settled we walked on, stopping for a quick photo op

Then it was on to Toon Lagoon

Next up, we stroll through Toon Lagoon and get into some Marvel Mayhem!

Click here to view the next chapter: Day 2 Part 8 – Toon in to a Marvel-ous Time

 

[lovebuzzandwoody]

We're watching Jurassic Park on TNT right now!


What a fun ride! Do you get really wet on it? Like Splash or Kali? Just curious.

 

[kaoden39]

Mike, I don't want to alarm you but I think there is a dinosaur following you.

 

[mnmrmustard]

We're watching Jurassic Park on TNT right now!


What a fun ride! Do you get really wet on it? Like Splash or Kali? Just curious.

Cool! Yes, it is a fun ride - and since everyone was over at Harry Potter it was only a 5 minute wait to ride it It is a lot like Splash as far as the wet factor and very much depends on what row you sit in. Row two is a good one for a light sprinkle. Row 1 and the back get the brunt of it.

Mike, I don't want to alarm you but I think there is a dinosaur following you.

Amazing how stealthy they can be given their size - lol

 

[kaoden39]

Now I am scared! Stealth dinosaurs!!

 

[mnmrmustard]

Now I am scared! Stealth dinosaurs!!

For sure!

 

[mnmrmustard]

As I said before, it was on to Toon Lagoon, home to Ripsaw Falls log ride and Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges, the two big Wet rides in the park. We rode them last time and it was too late and we were too tired for us to get soaked.

Dudley’s certainly shot up lots of water

We passed Wossamotta U

And headed into the mayhem

Very busy and colorful place

Toon Lagoon Panorama Large

Nice spot for the kids too run through and cool down

We both stopped off at this balloon and sent phone pics to our girls

We followed the crowds past the shops and the game booths out of the Toon area

We crossed the bridge into the Marvel area

Our first stop was the Spiderman ride. This ride was totally state of the art and hadn’t been open that long when we came through in 2002. At that time the line wait was around the 90 minute timeframe we had to get on the Harry Potter ride. Now it had a 10 minute wait

We went inside and were greeted by J. Jonah Jameson

Ye ole Daily Bugle

Down towards the press room

Copy desks

The Bugle’s version of motivational posters

Reporter’s cubicle

Late breaking news about the bad guys

Coffee and donuts anyone?

Trophy cases

The bad guys were doing bad things on the big screen

J. Jonah still doesn’t like spidey

Nice warning sign

No pics on the ride itself, it is all quick movement and projection screens in 3-D, so I just sat back and enjoyed the ride with Roxy.

Click her to view the next chapter: Day 2 Part 9 – Are we Doomed???

 

[mnmrmustard]

Our next stop was Dr. Doom’s Fear Fall

His car I guess

Shots inside Dr. Doom’s lair

Fun free-fall ride, quite a blast and higher than I thought it was. It gave a pretty good view of the park from up there. Again not the right ride to have a camera on though so no pics from up there.

The Dr. Doom ride empties out on a game arcade along the lines of what you’d see at a Chuck E Cheeses. We took a pic of the giant claw machine since Bean loves them.

Didn’t play it though, our batteries were running low. So we headed on to the Hulk coaster.

It was just before 7pm and we had a 7:15pm Mears shuttle bus to catch but the line wait was only 10 minutes. It was quite a blast to ride but once was plenty for both of us.

We worked our way off of the Islands, weaving through the shops

I think monkeys live up there

Loved the architecture, felt like I was in an Indiana Jones movie

Here’s the tower as seen from the base

Large shot of Tower

Headed out and made the bus without having to hustle. Very nice to be able to plop down in that air conditioned bus. On the way home there was a great sunset.

After we got back to the room I motored down to the food court and refilled the mugs we purchased the night before. Gotta keep hydrated! We called back home and checked in with the fam. Mom was still in the hospital but was breathing better as long as she was on O2. We found out that Bean had stayed home with a bad stomach too.

We said our good-nights and took showers and were in bed by 9pm – w00t!

Tomorrow takes us to EPCOT and the Flower and Garden Festival!

Click here to view the next chapter: Day 3 Part 1 - Roundabout to EPCOT

 

[disneygeeks]

The spider-man ride is such a great ride and lots of fun. Did Roxy like it or was it to much for her?

 

[mnmrmustard]

The spider-man ride is such a great ride and lots of fun. Did Roxy like it or was it to much for her?

Yes, it is very fun still. Roxy had forgotten a lot of it and had a very good time on it. I love the part where you free fall and then Spidey catches you with his webs :-]

 

[Trentmom]

I see I was behind a few updates

All caught up now

Dinosaur hatching looks so cool

Love toon world. Those two water rides get you so soaked as you know. Even though they are cool, hated being that wet

Hulk ride is awesome!!! The only roller coaster I have ever gotten on and when I gotten off, could not walk straight

good times

 

[mnmrmustard]

I see I was behind a few updates

All caught up now

Dinosaur hatching looks so cool

Love toon world. Those two water rides get you so soaked as you know. Even though they are cool, hated being that wet

Hulk ride is awesome!!! The only roller coaster I have ever gotten on and when I gotten off, could not walk straight

good times

Yeah, I wanted to get through that first full day and share the fun! Now I'm buried in EPCOT pictures and notes, hope to get something up on that this weekend.

Yeah, I was so happy to finally see one being born - had to wait 9 years for it!

When we were there in 2002 i rode Ripsaw Falls log ride but copped out on the other one, knowing it would completely soak you. I was glad I didn't, Bean and I shot at them from the Popeye boat with the little water cannons as they went by. They all came back completely soaked. Nothing worse than walking a park with soaked undies.

Hulk was a blast but I still like RnRC better

 

[Marshay]

All caught up!

I haven't seen the living statues at DTD either. We'll look for them. I remember them in Epcot -- Italy, I think and loved them as a kid.

WoD is such a great store -- I love all the photo you took. Most people just shop and never look up -- it's incredible up there!

It's been a long time since we went to Universal. I'm loving all your pictures as it brings back good memories.

The detail of HP is great -- and thanks for taking all those photos!! I feel like I was there.

It does look super-duper crowded though. I watched the video of the mandrakes and village and it looked like it was all just filled with bodies!

Too funny about spiderman being a 10 minute wait -- we went about 2002/2003, too and were blown away by the ride and had a long wait.

Can't wait to see F&G festival photos so I know what to look for -- I'll be there in about 2 weeks!!!

 

[mnmrmustard]

All caught up!

I haven't seen the living statues at DTD either. We'll look for them. I remember them in Epcot -- Italy, I think and loved them as a kid.

WoD is such a great store -- I love all the photo you took. Most people just shop and never look up -- it's incredible up there!

It's been a long time since we went to Universal. I'm loving all your pictures as it brings back good memories.

The detail of HP is great -- and thanks for taking all those photos!! I feel like I was there.

It does look super-duper crowded though. I watched the video of the mandrakes and village and it looked like it was all just filled with bodies!

Too funny about spiderman being a 10 minute wait -- we went about 2002/2003, too and were blown away by the ride and had a long wait.

Can't wait to see F&G festival photos so I know what to look for -- I'll be there in about 2 weeks!!!

Hey Marsha!

Well glad we got to see one of those statues, she was very good.

In WoD and everywhere else I'm all about looking up, down and all around and take pics of everything! I leave the shopping to Roxy

Thank you on the Universal pics, it was so much fun! I can't see going back to WDW without spending at least one day at US too. Yes, quite the crush of people. It was a lot better when we went back on Sunday. Go figure that a weekend would be less crowded than a Thursday

Yup, Spidey is still cool but can't compete with Harry Potter.

Well it took me all weekend but I got through all of the pics from EPCOT. Whittled it down to only ...brace yourselves ...379 pictures

I'll start posting now but it'll be coming out in *does quick math* 16 parts due to all the pics

 

[mnmrmustard]

We both slept hard but slept well and got a full 10hrs! Mickey woke us up at 7am and we went through the morning get up and get ready stuff. Lots of sunscreen as it was actually supposed to be a bit hotter today! We headed down to the food court at about 8am and had a nice breakfast of croissant sandwiches and spuds.

We made it out to the shuttle area and found the one to EPCOT packed with no bus in sight. Right next door was an MK bus just finishing loading and only half full. Roxy suggested we just jump on it and use the monorail to get to EPCOT. Love that woman!

We had a leisurely trip to MK. As we approached the front gate we passed the monorail

And then through the front gate

We strolled past the boat landing; you can see the masses flowing towards the gate.

We weaved through them and on up the monorail ramp. I saw as we walked that there were several others who had the same idea We got on and had a great view of the Grand Floridian as we headed out

We did a quick stop at the Contemporary and then were on to the TTA. I love the setup; just walk down a ramp and around, right up to the EPCOT monorail, which was waiting for us. There was a serene little bit of beach there that looked like it would be a good picnic spot

Once on board we passed back by the MK gates

The trip between parks is so leisurely and serene - I just love the monorail! Soon enough we came around a bend and got a good look at Spaceship Earth and the monorail stop

We glided over the park and looked down at the people flowing into the park. The gates had opened about 10 minutes prior.

Love that Big Happy Ball

We wound our way around and had a great view of the Mickey Heads in front of the lagoon

We could see that there were already a lot of people making a bee-line for World Showcase, which was my focus for this day.

Ahhh, EPCOT in spring!

First look at the Butterfly tent

The monorail swung back around past Spaceship Earth

The sun was just peeking around the sphere

Looking down we could see the Toy Story 3 topiaries

We came in to the station and headed down the long ramps towards the entrance gates. Security and entrance went quick and soon enough we were there in front of Buzz and SE!

The whole TS3 crew with SE

Lots-O smiled down on us

And there was Woody

Oop, at the photo limit already. Coming up, I take my first journey through Spaceship Earth!

Click here for the next chapter: Day 3 Part 2 – Into Spaceship Earth!

 

[rachel09985]

Love all of the Universal and HP pics!! We are heading there in June and I am stoked about going there!!! I haven't been there in like 18 years!!

 

[mnmrmustard]

Ran out of room before, so Buzz gets to top this segment

Roxy walked ahead as I kept madly snapping pics

I caught up to her and we took in some more TS3 Topiary

And got our picture taken again :-]

Now I know what you’re thinking. “Mike, you haven’t taken enough pics of SE!?!” Okay, okay, if you insist ;-]

If you’ve been on it you know the line winds around both sides of SE. Roxy waited through the first part of the line while I found a restroom. When I came in she found a shady spot off to the side and I went through the ‘sunny side’ of the line. It went quick and I didn’t notice the heat because I was on my smart phone catching up on my TR notes – lolol

Roxy got up when I was about to head up the center lane into SE and we headed in to the welcome air conditioning. It wasn’t long before we were in our car and heading up. You can kind of see us in the screen to the right.

We started our travels through time

Egypt was upon us before we knew it

The Greeks and Romans quickly followed

But all things must end and Rome falls

The Middle East goes by

And we head into the middle ages

Scribes hard at work

The written word grows

Crafty fellow isn’t he?

Next up, more SE!

Click here for the next chapter: Day 3 Part 3 – Time Keeps Spinning in SE

 

[mnmrmustard]

Back on board SE!

As we march on we see artisans flourishing

Play that funky music!

A little off the top please

Do you think he gets paid by the hour?

We jump forward a couple of hundred years to the industrial revolution

“Can I quote you on that?”

Pennsylvania six-five thousand

Movies!

Radio!

The nuclear family

70s science

The PC is born!

The world!

Ooooo, pretty lights!

Wish I had better focus for these. Hi everybody!

Yummy Breakfast

Off to work!

The End

Where are we?

There we are!

Next up, let’s find us some Topiary!!! *he says in his most manly voice*

Click here to view the next chapter: Day 3 Part 4 – Topiary and Fairies Galore!