Trip Report How Could It Be So Hot with No Sun?!" Another September Adventure 2016

So a little background

I did not write a post trip report from last year’s visit-2015, but it was an awesome trip. We have had some family issues and I never got fully in the mood to let me keyboard come alive after we returned home. It had been a tough year, but the three of us (DM, DF, & I) are all incredibly excited to go as things have calmed down. Nothing is more terrifying than not knowing what to expect in life, but we have learned that we can face any battle and prevail.

We are DVC members and travel to Florida every year from PA. We dove into DVC when BLT was announced-perfect location and great financial sense for us being 8-10 day trippers and deluxe resort lovers. BLT has been great, it has its issues: sometimes rooms are not ready at 4 or 5 PM once or twice, but we have been able to obtain something for our inconvenience each time. In 2012 we had bed bugs in our 2 bdr unit at BLT—that was a fun one. Click on my profile and there should be a trip report link from that year about it—no lie. One of the worst things that has ever happened to us on vacation, but things happen. Some things are beyond your control and no amount of planning can prepare you for that. We still love Disney and have for over 30 years!

We have received some great news that we will have 4 extra guests next year for our trip! My brother, nephews and sister in law will be joining, so that makes our hearts very happy. Can’t wait to start that one too J

Here’s the plan…for the 3 of us (Big Daddy-60, Grammy Debbie-60 & Me-34)
Chillin' at the Rose Bowl



September 21st Drive to CLE to stay overnight and catch flight the next morning.
September 22nd-25th Universal: Royal Pacific Resort
Park to park visits
Take a drive down the old Space Coast Highway some afternoon

September 25th-28th Bay Lake Tower
September 28th-Oct 2nd Beach Club Resort

Next up the day to day!
 

LowesChevy

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Wednesday the 21st

I plan to work a half day in the morning, maybe till 1. DF will probably want to roll about 3:30-4 PM. It will be rush hour, but there isn’t much to do if we leave too early and we certainly don’t want to be driving much in the dark. I’m going to be that kid who has to drive their parents around at night because they are getting too old to see lol!

The tradition has been to drive to Cleveland the evening before because the flight is usually very early in the morning! Like 7:30 AM, but it has since been pushed back to around 8:30 or 9 AM. It is a relief to be able to sleep a little longer in the morning. It is only about an hour later-better than waking up at 4:30 AM. We find our excitement is difficult to contain and with such an early wake up, DM and I never really fall into a deep sleep knowing it is an early wake up. I don’t know if anyone else has this problem, I mean what a problem to have right?! Not complaining! The drive is almost 2 hours by the time you get to the airport hotel, but it beats having a close connection. Traveling is stressful enough, a direct flight is superb. This is the only thing I dread about moving to Arizona—much more challenging getting to WDW!

We visit a mall to shop, often we don’t buy anything because it is purely for entertainment, but if there is a Nordstrom or Dillard’s around look out credit cards! Being Pooh sized and living in a small city like Erie, the department stores do not offer the selection that CLE or PIT has. Every once and a while a stop at the Florida Mall is a fun diversion for an afternoon, but anymore going off property isn’t needed. The expansion of Disney Springs will definitely damper on the need to leave—good for Disney! Dinner is usually at Bravo or Cheesecake Factory-chain places we do not have in town.

Get a good night’s sleep for action for tomorrow!

Up Next-Arrival Day plan
 

LowesChevy

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I lived in Erie for 2 years for my first years of Medical School! The mall was awful...haha. Trip looks like its going to be so fun! Can't wait to hear more!

Wow-small world. LECOM has put us back on the map. Thanks for agreeing about the mall-I rarely go there. Thanks for following along-please enjoy :D
 

LowesChevy

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I never feel completely relaxed until those wheels hit the runway in Orlando!

Arrival Day: September 22nd

-Fly into MCO-flight from CLE is usually around 2 hours

-Get bags & rental car

-Head to Miller’s Ale House for lunch. No doubt these beasts will be ravenous. Breakfast is coffee and a donut from Dunkin’ or a bagel sandwich from Bruegger’s at the airport. I carry a lot of snacks too because you never know when you will get stuck or delayed, plus I am diabetic. Items that travel well like beef jerky, Kind Bars and dried apricots hold well and don’t get squished or crushed from travel. Miller’s Ale House is a joint on International Drive that we discovered many years ago. They have a huge beer selection, which DF loves of course, and a menu with many choices including fresh fish, fried shrimp, burgers, sandwiches and lots of other goodies.

-Check in at Royal Pacific-room probably won’t be ready, but get plastic tickets and photos taken for Express Pass. Maybe take a dip at the pool if the room is ready or take the boat to City Walk for a relaxing beverage at Margaritaville.

-Dinner will probably be at Antojitos. Despite some service issues the last time, the food is awesome as far as I’m concerned. We are are big on Tex Mex and Mexican food so a big hit with us.

Originally I had planned on getting 3 day park passes, but the more I thought about it-2 days is plenty. That is 2 days of early entry and the express pass for most attractions, we should be able to do everything we wish in 2 days. I’m past the “rollercoasters are fun!” age lol, the Mummy and Potter rides will jolt my body around enough! Only going every other year has helped build up the excitement even more.


September 23rd

-Get up and grab quick breakfast at the lounge and head to Universal
-Minion Mayhem then head to Diagon Alley
-Head towards MIB, Springfield etc
-check out T2 or Make Up Show
-lunch at Mel’s Drive In
-Transformers
-Ride Hogwart’s Express to IOA
-See where the afternoon takes us. DF wants to take a drive down Irlo Bronson/Hwy 192 to see how things have changed. Disney does a great job keeping folks on property we hardly ever cruise around anymore. Plus with length of stay tickets and our APs we might as well be at the parks.
-We may pop over to Disney Springs to activate our Annual Passes & purchase TIW, one less thing to do Sunday before heading to the MK. It takes some time and Guest Services there is air conditioned!

Dinner: still deciding between

*Hard Rock-always a classic. I love drinks at the Hard Rock when we are near one. The food is good too—maybe more for lunch with appetizers
*NBC Sports Grill –something for everyone-chain restaurant food
*Bubba Gump-if it’s not crazy busy. We will probably eat at the one at Mall of America when we go to visit my brother and nephews in December’ish
*CowFish-looks interesting-DM is picky about her burgers and she doesn’t eat fish…so not likely
*Toothsome-looks weird
*Emeril’s- there will be plenty of $30-$40 entrees at Disney-I will pass
*Margaritaville-the one location that the food is decent (Key West they only worried about drinking haha) We went last time and had great service despite it being homecoming dance night for a local high school
*Vivo-eating at Mama Della’s tomorrow night. Love Italian, but not that much!

That is one aspect about Universal I like-no need to plan 180 days ahead of time. Although when everyone is tired, cranky, hungry and can’t decide where to eat on a rainy night it stinks then! From past experiences I can tell you J

September 24th

-Grab breakfast at the lounge again and head right to IOA
-Head for Hogsmeade
-Spidermand, Kong, Suessland
-Ride Hogwarts Express back to Universal
-Back to CityWalk for pizza lunch at Red Oven, which was great the last time we dined there/Or Hard Rock for lunch
-Rest a bit at the room quick
-DF and I go back to the parks. DM will probably want to nap. Plus because of HHN the parks aren’t open late for us.
-Dinner at Mama Della’s at Portofino-hopefully it is not raining!

September 25th

-Have some breakfast, pack up and head to Disney!!
 

LowesChevy

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Tickets



Still have not bought park tickets yet, not that there is a rush. Another perk of Universal Parks is the more laid back planning. However, when you buy a Disney package you arrive on your vacation paid in full, so that has perks too. I purchased our APs in July, so I have had time to recover from that expense. I’d rather be paid in full before I arrive so you know how much you can spend on souvenirs, meals and extras etc.

I am debating on whether or not to buy them via my AMEX card, which gives you access to a lounge at Universal Park or just to buy them with another card. Seems neat—looking forward to the DVC lounge at Epcot too. Although with AMEX you have to pay the balance at the end of the month, which I have the cash, but do I want to have to pay it out before the trip. It is open from 12-5 PM so not sure if we would actually need to get to use it really. The 10% on park merchandise is a great perk for me, so that be all I need.

Plane tickets are set. As I mentioned above we should arrive around 10:30-11:00 AM more than likely. The prices were only slightly higher than what we paid last year. Not a bad deal in my opinion. The flight times are convenient for us and we do not need to depart too early on Sunday. Like departure day, having to wake up early is a drag because you miss out on some later night fun. Later morning is the perfect time for us-2 hours in the plane, then about a 2 hour ride back to Erie.

Rental car—DF decided on a full size sedan. We like to rent mini vans, since they tend to have captain’s chairs for the 3rd adult, but being Orlando, the capital of family vacations, they cost waaay to much. A full sized sedan will be plenty of room and hit the right price.

Packing-it is a bit too early for laying out a lot of clothes. My aunt is coming to spend the night tomorrow and my little cousins will undoubtedly want to spend the night before school starts. My house is a happening place! I did on the other hand start planning out what camera equipment I’m going to bring along with me. Not a professional by any means, but I have taken some classes and workshops and learned many techniques. I also visit a number of blogs and sites to get tips and practice.



Other than that just watching that calendar!
 

LowesChevy

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Working for the weekend…

The work day is nearly over for me and boy have I been looking forward to the weekend! My soccer match is earlier tonight so I can go to bed early. You know you are old when one of the earliest nights to bed during the week is Friday!

Requested the ponchos on the daily run to Walmart today, so those will be set. Gathering toiletries and other accessories for the pack pile in the spare room for now. The forecast is for hot, hot, hot around here, not unusual, but surprising. A few more dips in the pool in the coming weeks before it is time to close it up for the season.

We have our annual garage sale coming up the week after Labor Day weekend. That is always a good spare change fund raiser for the trip, plus a general decluttering of the house is helpful before fall.

I made little FP+ & ADR cheat sheets for the trip. I thought maybe I would make a little armband like quarterbacks wear for their play calling. I don’t know about you guys, but sometimes the MDE app doesn’t work as fast as it should for me. I think the concept is great, but the execution suffers at times. I should know the times in and out, but I am on vacation to relax too!

Everyone have a great weekend!
 

LowesChevy

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Made it through another week and this one has a long weekend at the end of it. Twenty days to go and starting to feel it!

There is a lot of busy work to complete this weekend. Our garage sale is next weekend, so we need to sort through a lot of items that need to be sold. I have some older cookbooks to price and other items that can’t be sold on ebay reasonably. Hoping to make some dough for a new wide angle lens before we leave, but we’ll see! Maybe I want a new camera for Christmas J

We have a local kitchen ware supply store that offers knife sharpening once a month, so that’s where I will be headed tomorrow morning. It is a great service-otherwise this chef would have to send her babies out of town to be sharpened. On the way back, Debs (DM) and I will stop at Sam’s for a few items and grab a few packs of Disney gift cards with the discount. It is a nice little perk-a couple of bucks is a couple of bucks!

Last year was the first time I ever played fantasy football and it was a lot of fun. I know I can do much better this year at least. I think our draft is Sunday morning, then we have a birthday party later that night.

Not anything big planned for Monday. Probably swim in the pool as the days are winding down around here for that! Looks like a honey of a weekend-beautiful weather for us. I plan to spend some time outside this weekend—I tend to like to spend most of my time indoors, but before winter starts to take hold, I need to get my butt outside. DM and I have been walking at night to get us ready for the trip so that helps too.

Taco salad for dinner and soccer tonight on the agenda. Tomorrow we are into the teens!!!
 

LowesChevy

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
6 days to go!

Friday afternoon’s are hard to begin with, but there is much light at the end of the tunnel. LFC plays this afternoon as a rematch to the Pasadena pre season match we caught in July. Its’ gonna be nervy!

I have my pedicure tomorrow at noon and I am going to have my stylist paint my nails red and paint little black Mickey heads from the bottom corners. I saw it on Pinterest of course-everything on there is fun! I’ve also been pinning some photography tips and must have shots.

Dad and I will do online check in and I will finally purchase them Universal tickets later today. My soccer match isn’t till later tonight. In the meantime I can print the CM appreciation cards and prepare a folder that I place paper copies of all of our reservations in just in case there is an issue of some sort. Royal Pacific Concierge sent me a lovely email with their services and food offerings during our stay. We have also received our Welcome emails from Disney about our upcoming stay at BLT. I’m sure the Beach Club will forward one soon as well.

The forecast looks hot and rainy. Sounds like a normal forecast for September. It has poured rain on numerous trips, sometimes it lasts, but normally it rains and gets more muggy. Last year one of our last days was pretty much a washout, but we went for it and hit the shows at Epcot. We finally were soaked pretty well through our ponchos and headed back to the resort, but you’ve got to make the best of it when you can’t go as often as you would like. Wet socks and shoes are usually what will drive me crazy and if those underwear get soaked time to find something else to do lol! hopefully it’s the usual rain and thunderstorms in the afternoon followed by a clear up in the sky.

Also time to get everything else that needs to be packed, charged, or filled done. Everyone have a great weekend and I will check in with you Monday!
 

LowesChevy

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Happy Monday!!

At least it is for me! I am wired-the excitement has gone to my brain and made it forget about everything else. Well it tried at least!

The weekend was good-Saturday I had my toes done and got bright red with little Mickey Heads to be more festive. The weather was lousy, but we didn’t really have anything planned besides errands, so no big loss. Yesterday we celebrated my twin cousin’s birthday and their kids and all of my little second cousins came over to swim, eat cake, and enjoy food out of crock pots. ‘Tis the season for crock pots. They got probably the last swim in the pool before we close it up. It is a little iffy this time of year since it does stay warm for another couple of weeks. It has been a hot summer so no complaints.

Yesterday I also printed out CM appreciation cards and HOPEFULLY I will use them all! Last year was great overall, but 2014 I did not have many good reasons to award CM appreciation cards. They are fun and I think the majority of the CMs get really excited that someone takes the time to say thank you. I certainly would.

Finally, I bought the Universal tickets last night as well. Printed them out and handed off to DF for safe keeping in his folder. I need to organize my folder, but everything is coming together. Need to charge my current camera battery and pack up the camera carry on. The back ups are charged, but I was playing around Friday with the fish eye and manual focus.

Mom and I have our meditation this evening, so we will be tied up. However I imagine I won’t be able to sleep the next few nights, so I can still get some things done tonight. Bras and shorts are what remain on the clothes list! Those are two items I do not have an excess of, so I have to wait till right before the trip. We will have laundry at Bay Lake Tower and we tend to plan the trip with a laundry break in the middle. Mom and I always over pack, but I would rather have more than not enough! Especially with the heat, our outfits don’t last too long and in the evening we usually at least change our shirts before dinner.

Looking forward to our evening in Cleveland too! I need to stop at Penzey’s for some spices-stock up for the holiday. I also requested a stop at Crate and Barrel, which is right by where we will grab dinner, so no biggie. I need some dimpled beer mugs and they have a great selection of glassware to choose from in store.

Time is ticking…check in with you soon!
 

LowesChevy

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So sitting here are work trying to remain calm. It has slowed down here and did get a few big projects rolling this week, now I won't feel so bad! only working a half day--if I stay or come back after lunch, you always feel like there is something to do and never leave.

Soon--Off to the chiropractor and then hair stylist. I didn't intend to wait so long for my hair cut, but I was lucky not to burn in AZ in July! I should be ok, just need to grab my hat if the sun is out for long periods of time.

Then home for some lunch and finish up packing the carry on and suitcases. I need to erase some shows off my DVR so it doesn't go into overload. We have Time Warner, or whatever their name is this week, and the box holds so many shows, but it starts to act goofy if it gets near 60% capacity. Like what's the point then? Well I am rambling...see you all very soon. I will be working on my trip report of course and don't forget to follow along on Instagram @theerikagrimm Thanks for noticing!
 

LowesChevy

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
September 22

I was awake about 15 minutes before the alarm was set to go off officially. It must be a special skill, but it seems like I am always alert and ready to go on travel day. I think it is deeply psychological-you never actually sleep deeply and it nags at the bottom of your brain that you need to be up early the next day.

Ready to go in record time the three of us were hanging out waiting for the courtesy shuttle to pick us up. Took a little longer than usual, but the weather was lovely and not pouring rain was key. Cleveland recently changed where the shuttle busses drop people off and the location stinks. You used to be dropped off right by the terminal doors, now you must drag your luggage underneath or below the street level. After the recent refurbishment at the airport, the CEO decided he liked this process better. He obviously doesn’t have to get dropped off via hotel shuttle. A major inconvenience that we hope is changed back soon.

Check in was smooth. We forked over the extra dough for early boarding and expedited security lines. They weren’t bad this time of morning, but I like the reassurance of a shorter line and knowing I can get on the plane sooner with my carry-on bags. The flight was great and only a few minutes late taking off, but touched down early.

Faithful Alamo users can cross the street, see their car type and pack go. A Dodge Journey was ready to go, although I wanted the goofy delivery van looking vehicle. Off to Miller’s Ale House for some fish and chips, cheese steaks and cold beers. Food is solid and the service is attentive every visit.

After lunch it was time stroll the street to Universal property and check in at the Royal Pacific.

We parked in the self lot and strolled into the lobby- lo and behold our room was ready. Bell services helped mom and I up to the room, while DF took the car back to the lot. Universal has a similar system to Disney

The three of us managed to find space for our clothing in the room. That is a challenge with three adults-2 of which pack like we are on vacation for weeks. I like to unpack my clothes even staying only the few nights because then we can pack our own bags up for the next leg. DF packs the bags full emersion-each bag has everyone’s clothes. That way if a suitcase gets lost or delayed, everyone still has some fresh outfits to wear. The only minus to this is that the bathroom bags all in one bag. This is used based on past terrible experiences. This also the reason I carry an extra outfit or two and undergarments in my carry on. I take no chances.

I love the newly renovated rooms. The design is clean, simple and provides a bright atmosphere to immerse yourself in paradise. The view was our usual view over the thruway and towards International Drive. I do enjoy all of the lights at night. There is something about the lights that help me sleep at night when I am away from home. The several miles a day walking doesn’t hurt either.

Happy hour at the lounge wasn’t for a couple of hours, so we went for a stroll…

Outside of Jake’s

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It was hot so we stopped at Bula Grill for an adult beverage. Good drinks, just overpriced at $42 for three drinks in plastic cups. I did note that in the survey then sent me. I know it is location, convenience, and the 18% auto gratuity, but really? The food menu is interesting, but pass for now.

Club Level Lounge

The club level lounge is open all day and has four major events daily. The days operate on a six day schedule with a different cuisine each day. All day includes sodas, juice, coffee, tea, light snacks and they do have bottled water just ask. They have a schedule that is emailed to you before arrival and there a lots of other trip reports with many of the details if you want more information.

The schedule for Fall 2016 was as follows
Continental Breakfast: 7-10 AM
Afternoon Snacks: 12:00 PM-3:00 PM
Royal Relaxation: 4:30-6:30 PM
Something Sweet: 8:00-9:00 PM

This afternoon happened to be American day so there was spinach salad with hot bacon dressing, mushrooms, tomato, and egg. Each day there are a few different cheeses with a collection of crackers. There are also crudités and dip so you can get those oh so important vegetables!

Here are some pictures from the Lounge

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Towards Sapphire Falls
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Back to the room and later on to City Walk for dinner.
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LowesChevy

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Dinner at NBC Grill & Brew

We were still on the full side from snacking at the lounge, but we wanted to get to City Walk before it got too packed from all of the guests fleeing the parks before the party started. Two years ago we made the mistake of waiting till later on to eat on a Saturday night and along with Homecoming night at a local high school-it was crazy jammed. DM and I shopped at Fresh Produce and bought matching shirts, since we look adorable doing so. I was excited they had the larger sizes this time at the store. Fresh Produce has stores in coastal cities as well as some landlocked spots. I do like their tunic style shirts with the pocket in the front-lightweight and comfortable for hot weather.

Ultimately we decided on the NBC Grill and Brew because the menu was large and had a variety of appetizers to choose from if you don’t feel like a full entrée. We did some menu scoping at a few places, but snagged a pager and watched the crowds roll into the park for HHN. The wait wasn’t too long and soon our table was ready.

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I really loved the NASCAR Sports Grill because of obvious reasons such as my screen name. The food was ordinary chain food and the service was consistently good. I was sad to see it change over, but timing was good since last year we missed the construction.

The menu is vast with a selection of sandwiches, appetizers, a pile of burgers, and entrée like steaks, ribs and smoked meats. Nothing stood out as unique mostly trendy foods like pulled pork, mac and cheese, bang bang chicken, and the ever present fish taco dish. The only item missing was the burger with a fried egg. You can probably get that at Cowfish though. I didn’t want anything heavy, so DM chose chicken salad in a sandwich and the slider version and DF chose the fire grilled chicken flatbread…big mistake.

The chicken salad was okay, not as good as mine of course. The dried apple was a nice touch, but it was dry and chewy and barely edible in the sandwich form.

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Cheese curds-the fryer wasn’t hot enough and these came out greasy and not as crisp as they should be. The tomato jam was thick and chunky like paste and did not adhere to the curds coating. You need a thinner sauce that will stick to the food. Just serve marinara, it works. Don’t try to be fancy-it backfires.
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I will warn you up front about DF-this man is spoiled by our favorite restaurant in town, which doesn’t have heat lamps, so the food served piping hot! I also serve him boiling hot food every night for dinner. I agree it is incredibly frustrating when food isn’t prepared correctly the first time or isn’t hot enough, but he can be so whiney and mean. It has been difficult since my grandmother passed and we have been trying to settle her estate, he is under a lot of pressure constantly and he has become a cranky old man like 15 years sooner than I figured he would.

Anyway he orders some stupid flatbread that you know isn’t going to arrive hot anyhow and it began lol. It wasn’t hot in the middle, in fact it wasn’t even warm, so gross. Did they even cook it?- you think to yourself? Finally we flagged down the server and he took it back. The manager comes over and gives the form letter sorry speech etc. Well the second flatbread finally arrived and it the kitchen staff are obviously ignorant or angry because they stuck it under the broiler and burnt it. I guess it is funny to waste food and serve it to guests because you didn’t prepare it correctly the first time.

So I get to deal with my DF being crabby and the serving trying to get the manager to take the item off the bill. Really?! You make me wait for that? I have no tolerance for this behavior and will never go back. So salty…lol. There are plenty of other places that would rather me spend our money there, so long!

Well bummer of a night in terms of food. There’s so much to do and see tomorrow though! Good night all.[/URL][/URL]
 

LowesChevy

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
September 23rd- Universal Studios

Slept good and stopped by the club level lounge for breakfast. They have a really lovely spread of fresh fruit, oatmeal, cinnamon rolls, dry cereals, bagels, English muffins, bread for toasting, yogurt and a few cold cuts like salami and capicola as well as hardboiled eggs. There is coffee, tea, apple & orange juice, milk, and ice water available to drink. The dry cereal selection included Honey Nut Cherrios, Frosted Flakes, Rice Crispies, GoLean Crunch, & Special K.

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DF didn’t read the labels and got himself a bowl of what he presumed what regular Cheerios, in actuality they were the Honey Nut, and he proceeded to complain about how sweet they were. I hadn’t browsed that part of the buffet, but I hedged my bet and figured that’s what they were. DF is not big on sweets in general-he enjoys little candy bars and maybe a few bites of ice cream, but not a big dessert eater. He went on and on about “People feed these to their kids?!” “I can’t believe how sweet these are!” “I’m shocked!” It was really funny since he was dead serious. I finally went and looked at the label and broke the news to him. “Oh!” I said get the Special K tomorrow lol!

Breakfast was light and quick-perfect for early entry days! Remember that you have early access to one of the parks-usually Universal side when you stay on property. The plan was to head right for Escape From Gringott’s. The weather was stunning and it was going to be wicked hot later on in the afternoon. We tromped all the way to Diagon Alley and there were a lot of folks fleeing from the ride towards the exit when a random woman looked at me and said the ride was down. She said you looked like I needed to tell you! It is not surprising, these types of things happen to my mom and I frequently. We have a touch of “The Shine” if you will…points for movie references also owned by Universal?!

So Plan B was activated—time for Men In Black! Afterwards we toddled towards ET, passing through Springfield along the way. I really loved the Back to the Future Ride and the Simpsons conversion is good, but my back disagrees! Also the reason we avoided The Mummy. I don’t want hurt my back and the whiplash is pretty wild.

ET was back to doing the card readers with your name-last time there must have been some technical difficulties. Still are darn good attraction for it’s age even though the aliens creep me out, but that’s another story lol. The only thing that is annoying is the really aged pre show! The walk through queue is really neat.

We eventually made it to the front of the park and rode Minion Mayhem. The Express definitely pays off for this, probably the most popular ride at the park. The pre show is the most entertaining of all rides and that includes Disney pre shows. Universal is more edgy with their humor and it is geared toward an older crowd as do their attractions. It is nice at times since many things at Disney verge on babyish and hammy.
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We ran into a few “characters” along the way like Marilyn Monroe, Better Boop and Woody Woodpecker who were out and about on the streets
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After minion Mayhem we walked back and grabbed lunch at Mel’s Drive In. Now Mel’s used to be “the place to eat.” Lines lopped around the outside of the building. The burgers were big and juicy and milkshakes were awesome. The last time we went it was still good for a quick bite lunch. I admit I didn’t really read too many reviews for Universal restaurants, but OMG should I have! They basically turned the place into a Burger King. As soon as we paid, the tray was brought over with the food on it, so I knew that it had been ready for while. Dreadful experience-thin tasteless patties with the whitest part of the lettuce, you know the part your put in the garbage, and lukewarm limp French fries. What a shame and what a waste of money!

On the way to King’s Cross to take the train to Islands of Adventure!!
 

LowesChevy

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Harry


You bet your last Chocolate Frog I bought this shirt!


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First stop was the Hog’s Head for a beer-especially after that lunch! I do wish the HH was larger and had more areas for relaxing and sipping your brew. The view of Hogwart’s is lovely, but the outdoor seating is unbearable a few months a year!

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I am proud of myself for riding Forbidden Journey without any problems even after drinking a Guinness. The only motion that really bothers me is turbulence on a plane and it’s probably because it your life being threatened. I personally prefer Forbidden Journey to Escape from Gringott’s, but the atmosphere is Diagon Alley is livelier and there are more things to discover. DA is so immersive due to the size of the buildings, it seems to have more going on even though there is only 1 major attraction. The wait time was only 20 minutes and Debs wasn’t interested in going through the queue, but it saved us from having to use the lockers.

It’s like winter in Erie-snow on the roof and people wearing shorts!
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From the bridge to Jurassic Park
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I totally whiffed on centering this one! Missed the other flame[URL=http://s130.photobucket.com/user/erg48/media/Universal%202016/IMG_7563.jpg.html]


Wheeeeeeeeeeee!!!



Fun ride, but I do not want to get soaked and walk around in wet shoes and socks. I know I drain the fun out of everything. People were totally soaked to the bone. Wet underpants are no laughing matter =). The new Kong Ride wait time was about an hour and from what I read from the reviews, I wasn’t heartbroken to take a pass on it this year. Kongfrontation, now that was a darned good ride. Completely original for the time it was opened. It looks like the next time we visit the Fast & Furious attraction will be open as well, sweetening the pot.

By the time we walked down to Spiderman it was wicked hot. DM was ready for a rest and we certainly needed some respite from the sun. We headed back to the room for a little rest and then a snack at the lounge at Happy Hour.

Dinner is later at Antojitos.[/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]
 

blreinsel

Well-Known Member
When I rode the Jurassic Park river boat ride in August, we barely even got misted! I'm wondering if you were seeing people who had ridden Popeye or Ripsaw Falls prior to this one? We got soaked on Popeye, but like I said, the JP ride doesn't do anything other than mist you enough to get cooled off!
 

LowesChevy

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
When I rode the Jurassic Park river boat ride in August, we barely even got misted! I'm wondering if you were seeing people who had ridden Popeye or Ripsaw Falls prior to this one? We got soaked on Popeye, but like I said, the JP ride doesn't do anything other than mist you enough to get cooled off!

Ha possibly, but folks were walking out of the store soaking wet! Maybe the hottest day in summer, but steering clear of this one. I'm usually the person on Kali RR that gets the soaker seat.
 

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