Trip Report Turning 30 - A two week birthday celebration!

Hi, everybody! Well, here we are. Two weeks after returning from the World and I’ve had a serious case of the Disney blues. Probably more so than after any other Disney trip we've been on. So, it took me a bit to gather the strength to start a trip report. But, I'm ready to tell you all about our amazing two week trip!

If you didn't read my pre-trip report, let me introduce you to the cast:
From left to right: My mom, My sister Katie, and myself (Crystal)

When: January 10-24
Where: 2 nights at DoubleTree Hilton by Universal; 12 nights at Disney's Boardwalk Villas
Celebrating: My 30th birthday!

So, here we go; let’s just dive right in! (This is my first trip report by the way. Hope you enjoy it )


Day One - Saturday, Jan. 10 - Arrival Day and Universal Studios!

Saturday morning started off pretty smoothly for Katie and me, considering we only got about two hours of sleep. We were packed. Luggage was by the door. We woke up on time and were ready to go by 4:30 am, which was ahead of schedule! Go us! My dad would be so proud.....

And then, I decided I wanted to double check the weight of my bag. I had been very proud of myself for fitting two weeks worth of clothing and necessities in my suitcase. With room to spare. The mistake I made, however, was thinking the required weight was 50 lbs. But that's for international flights, not domestic. and I remembered that little tidbit at the last minute. I weighed my bag and it was 55 lbs! So, I scrambled upstairs for another suitcase and threw half of my previously, neatly packed stuff into the 2nd suitcase. And at this point, it was closer to 5am, which was still on schedule, but I was now a little frazzled and frustrated that I would have to pay for another bag. But, on the plus side, I'd have room to bring souvenirs back and not have to ship them!

So, we said bye to our fur babies (my dad and uncle would be taking turns taking care of them while we were gone),headed to my parents' house to meet my mom, transferred our luggage to my dad's truck, and were on our way! I made sure to add my extra checked bag online on the way to the airport, and listened to my dad make fun of me for being such a girl with so much stuff

I don't really have any airport pics. Things went very smoothly. We got through security check, had some breakfast, and then next thing we knew, we were boarding our flight!

Bye Houston!

 

[FlaggNL]

Great start Following along and looking forward for the rest

 

[LilWalt]

Looking forward to it. Trip reports are helping me get through the week. I leave Saturday!

 

[mrdrift]

Those darn weight restrictions always messes up the packing plans. What a fun start to the trip report. Following along.

 

[Disneygrl]

Day One - continued..

I will apologize in advance. My pictures aren't necessarily consistent. One minute, I'd be snapping away, and the next I'd forget I had a camera with me. But even still, I managed to take over 3,000 pictures! Still sorting through them all. Anyway, moving on....

Our flight was great. I think we all fell asleep and had a nice little nap, which was exactly what we needed. I hate being too tired on travel day to really enjoy anything. I always try to look out the window as we're landing and see if I can spot the castle. I never can, but I knew it was down there somewhere! And I'd be seeing it in a few days!

We got our luggage pretty quickly and went to pick up our rental car. No Magical Express this time , but we would need some wheels to get us around on our non-Disney days. We got a fantastic deal, too. For 2 weeks, our rental car cost us $200! Score! Seriously, I can't believe I have no pictures of this process. I'm in charge of travel days when we don't travel with dad, so I was in focus mode. Anyway, we got to our car, and made our way to the hotel. The hotel was decent. Nothing special, but it was roomy and we were only staying for 2 nights. Our room was ready when we got there, so we headed up to drop our bags off. Mom didn't want to go to Universal with us, because she's not a huge fan, so she planned to rest that day and use the next day to go shopping for the essentials we would need throughout the trip. So, with our bags dropped off, Katie and I headed out!

Universal Studios!

We really only had one objective for the day. Diagon alley! It's the only reason we purchased Universal tickets and planned it into our trip. Katie hates big thrill roller coasters, but we both LOVE Harry Potter. Almost as much as we love Disney. If Harry Potter World was at Disney World instead, I think we'd be the happiest people on the planet.

We're here! (All of the pics from this day were taken with my iphone. Sorry for the poor quality)

I asked her like 5 times if she was getting the full Universal world ball thing behind me. Oy vey.

By the time we got into Universal Studios, it was about 1 pm and we were starving! So our first mission was to find food. On the way, we passed this beauty.

I gave Katie my best sad puppy face, but she gave a very adamant "no". She HATES big roller coasters. So, I pouted for a second, but I still had one more day to convince her.

We decided to grab some food at the Monsters Cafe. I don't really do food pics, but I think we split some lasagna and a slice of very greasy pizza. This guy just stared at us the entire time we ate... Rude.

Now that we had refueled, it was off to Diagon Alley! We didn't realize it just yet, but EVERYONE else had the same idea. So far, it had seemed like a low crowd day. But, we were in for a big surprise.

Hey, it's the Knight Bus!

Didn't realize until we were already in, that we didn't use the brick wall entrance! I wanted to walk back out and do it properly, but Katie just snapped a picture from the other side. Eh, we'd do it right tomorrow.

These pictures do not do this place justice. It was AMAZING. Universal definitely nailed it. It felt like we had stepped into the movie. With about million other people...

I spy a dragon

 

[Disneygrl]

Day one continued....

Everyone was standing around waiting for the dragon breathe its fire. So, we followed suit. At first...

After waiting for a bit, we noticed that no one knew exactly when this fire breathing would take place. No one knew how long it had been since the last occurrence. They were just standing there because the people in front of them were standing there. SO, we decided that we'd move on and catch it next time. That big crowd did make it next to impossible to get through though. My goodness.

making our way through the crowd

By the time we made it up to Gringotts, the wait for the ride was crazy ridiculous. We could have gone through the single rider line, but we would have missed everything that is cool about the ride. So we continued to look around. The crowds were really starting to get to me. I knew that it would be busy. It was a Saturday, and people were trying to avoid Disney World because of the marathon, but I wasn't expecting THAT many people. I think it was a combination of the lack of sleep from the night before and the lack of space in the Diagon Alley area. The theming is great, but with that many people, it feels kind of suffocating.

This area was a little less crowded

Borgin and Burkes!

 

[njDizFan]

Great trip report so far..I'm in

Oh and happy birthday

 

[Disneygrl]

Katie took the picture below. I am not a fan of dolls. My mom used to collect porcelain dolls for me when I was younger and they thoroughly creeped me out. I was convinced that they came to life at night. I'm still not entirely convinced that they don't. So, since we've been back, Katie likes to text me this pic randomly in the middle of the night. She's a nice sister.

At this point, it had taken us a good bit of time to walk around Diagon alley and we decided to call it a day there and come back tomorrow hoping the crowds wouldn't be insane and we might be able to get some better pictures.

So, we thought we'd catch a train to Hogsmeade for some butterbeer before leaving to meet mom for dinner.

Ok, I have to compliment Universal and complain at the same time. First, I have to say, Universal has really stepped up their game when it comes to customer service. Their cast members are phenomenal. Only one time did we come across an employee who was off their game. The rest were top notch. We had employees going out of their way, approaching us, asking how our time was. I was really, truly impressed.

My complaint however is, if you look at the photo above, notice how chaotic it looks. There are actually "ticket booths" waiting to let you into the train station. But no one seemed to know where the lines were or what booths were open. There is no structure in this area. It drove me insane. It was one of those times we were like, "Disney would never let this happen." Once through this area, it was back to normal, but my goodness, it was stressing me out.

Finally through the madness and in an orderly line!

I like that they have a small snack area in the line. You can grab a water, soft drink, beer and they let you take it on the train with you. The line moved pretty quickly.

I don't have a picture of us passing through the Platform 9 3/4. Some dad stood in front of it for like 5 minutes. A lot of people were getting really frustrated. He was filming everyone going by, but it was hindering everyone else from getting their photos or recordings. Katie just rolled her eyes and said "Muggles.." Several people tried saying something, but there was a language barrier. That happened a lot on this trip. LOTS of tour groups. Anyway, moving on..

Hedwig!

Love all the details

 

[Disneygrl]

Great start Following along and looking forward for the rest

Thanks! I know you're looking forward to your upcoming trip!

 

[Disneygrl]

Looking forward to it. Trip reports are helping me get through the week. I leave Saturday!

Hope you have an amazing time!!!

 

[Disneygrl]

Those darn weight restrictions always messes up the packing plans. What a fun start to the trip report. Following along.

I'm usually really good about having that stuff in order BEFORE the day we leave haha. Oh well. It worked out!

 

[Disneygrl]

Great trip report so far..I'm in

Oh and happy birthday

Thank you so much! It was the best birthday yet

 

[FlaggNL]

Thanks! I know you're looking forward to your upcoming trip!

Ohw you can't imagine how we are looking forward and there is such a long time to go But prefeelings are great! Thanks for the Universal pics! Love the black and whitye dragon! It's like art!

 

[Disneygrl]

Day one continued...

So when I left off, we were boarding the Hogwarts Express for Hogsmeade. This is one of my favorite addition to the parks. It makes the hop to Islands of Adventure so much easier! The only annoying part was one couple that was placed with us in our cabin. They were obnoxious. The lady recorded the entire ride sequence with her recording light on, which is already against the rules, so it made it difficult to see the effects. Then, I guess she wanted to document her fellow passengers, so she slowly panned over each one of us, blinding us with that blasted light! So, I saw spots for awhile after that. I hope when she reviewed that video that she saw how annoyed each of us were. I know the expression on my face was less than pleasant.

We're here!

Yeah.. That's the best picture I have of the castle from that day. Pathetic, I know. We were standing in line for some butterbeer, which was the main reason we made the trip over. So, we didn't spend too much time. It was crazy crowded.

I love the snow owl

Mission complete.

Katie had been dreaming about this moment for awhile. We opted out of going to Universal on our January 2014 trip. So it had been awhile since she'd had her butterbeer fix. She loves that stuff. I like it ok, but only the frozen version.

We left the Harry Potter area and started making our way toward the park exit. We were discussing how much we missed our nephews and how much our oldest nephew (who's almost 4 and is obsessed with superheroes and Star Wars) would absolutely LOVE the comic book area of this park. I mean, seriously this kid knows his superheroes. I'm a big comic book fan, and he could probably rival me in superhero tivia.

Anyway, just as we were talking about it, we saw Spiderman walk by! Talk about timing. He ducked into a store, so we followed him in. He headed over to an area in the back with a green screen, so I knew he was getting ready for a meet and greet or something.

I followed him over and just wanted to snap a quick pic so I could send it to my nephew. Then he asked if I wanted in the picture. I told him no thank you but asked him if I could possibly record him saying something to my nephew. He was such a good sport about it. I got a video of him saying, "Hey Coda, Spidey here. You should swing by sometime. We'll hang out." I sent it to my sister to show him, and he absolutely LOVED it. He could not believe that Spiderman was talking to him.

Here's a snapshot from the video:

So, that's when we got the idea to try and find different ways throughout our trip to send a special note home to our nephews. They were with us on the last trip and we were definitely feeling their absence this time.

Stopped to take a picture with Captain America on the way out so we could send it to them.

And that was pretty much it for the first day. I think we were only really there for about 4 or 5 hours, but we were fading pretty fast, and mom was at the hotel by herself. So, we left, met up with mom, and had a nice dinner at Olive Garden. When we got back to the hotel, we watched a movie; I checked work emails, and we just relaxed. It was a nice end to a long first day.

Next up, one more day at Universal!

 

[LilWalt]

I haven't been to Universal since 2006 I think and only spent one day there. Loving the report.

 

[DisneyFreakEst1994]

Loving the TR! I Just visited Diagon Alley for the first time this past Saturday. We went there first thing at park opening. THe ride was only about 45 minutes for the wait. Not bad at all. We tried to go back later in the day to ride it again but it was crazy back there. And it was a forecasted moderate day for crowds so I feel your pain.

Can't wait to read more!

 

[Disneygrl]

I haven't been to Universal since 2006 I think and only spent one day there. Loving the report.

I wasn't always a fan of Universal, but all the Harry Potter stuff always makes it worth the trip over there for me. Thanks for following along!

 

[Disneygrl]

Loving the TR! I Just visited Diagon Alley for the first time this past Saturday. We went there first thing at park opening. THe ride was only about 45 minutes for the wait. Not bad at all. We tried to go back later in the day to ride it again but it was crazy back there. And it was a forecasted moderate day for crowds so I feel your pain.

Can't wait to read more!

Thanks!! It definitely had the longest waits out of every attraction at Universal. All.Day.Long. lol. Just going through the bank part made it worth it for me, though. So awesome.

Thanks for following!

 

[Disneygrl]

Day 2 - More Universal Fun!

Katie and I were up and out of the room by 8:30. Our plan was to get to the Escape from Gringotts ride as soon as possible before the line got insane.

Our walk from the hotel to the Universal Citywalk was only about 10 minutes and was pretty pleasant.

I've always wanted to play put put here, but we never make it happen.

Getting closer! I really preferred the walk from the hotel over using the parking garage. The parking fee is outrageous and the walk from the car to the citywalk seems like it takes forever! So, bypassing it altogether worked out a lot better for us. Plus, the line for bag check is basically non existent at that entrance.

Hopefully all of these people are going to Islands of Adventure.. This place is pretty hoppin at night. Lots of fun.

 

[Disneygrl]

Making our way through Universal Studios

The older couple walking were just the cutest. We saw them periodically throughout the day and they were always walking with their hands behind their backs.

As you can see, the park was pretty dead so far. This worked out well for us.

As we were turning the corner, I heard some jazzy tunes floating through the air. This guy was pretty good! No time to stop and listen We had to escape from Gringotts!

This time, we used the correct entrance

Quidditch is my favorite sport.