Canadian Buffoon's Semi-EPIC Vacation - 10/29 - Link to new TR!

[pkondz]

Well done....love a good Dismeet!

Me too!

Maybe he just wanted his springform pan back.......

Absolutely. You should have seen him!
"I want my pan back!!"

Awesome! Glad everyone had a nice chat!

This is one of my favourites....almost as good as the one of you in the tux with the wine glass!

Thanks!
I like this one, but the tux
one is my favourite.

Love the props!

Thanks.
We had fun.

Nothing better than spreading some magic.

I dunno...
Spreading peanut butter
is pretty good too, ya know.

You don't like my beloved Tiki Room???? What?? It's a perfect example of early animantronic work and a Disney classic.

Whoops!
Sorry!
I really don't mind it, tbh.
But... I really don't mind
skipping it, too.

Nothing better!

It doesn't look great and there is a LOT of green on Elle's plate.

It certainly didn't appeal to me,
but Elle was happy, so...

Great story.....love your photo set ups!

Thanks.

Nothing like the Disney ducks!

Egglaying ducks.

Perfect view!

Not too shabby!

What about the Hercules section?? Not even that?
I have often dreamed of a far off place,
Where a hero’s welcome would be waiting for me.

MALE SOLOIST
Where the crowds would cheer
When they see my face.

BOTH
And a voice keeps saying,
“This is where I’m meant to be.”

CHORUS
I will beat the odds,
I can go the distance!
I will face the world,
Fearless, proud, and strong.

I will please the gods,
I can go the distance!
‘Til I find my hero’s welcome,
Right where I belong.

This part has me sobbing every single time......

Awwww...

An amazing day for sure!

It definitely was!

Oh definitely.....quiet....on May 4th...at DHS.

Right?
What could possibly go wrong?

Nice to have another Dismeet!

Unexpected... and fun.

Those lemonades looks good!

OMG... sooooo good.
I need this in my life.

That's because you are a good father.....

Nah. I love that ride.
I was just kidding.

That looks fantastic!

That was by far the best
meal of the trip!

Exactly what it is ....I just never thought of it like that. Thanks Elle!

I never thought of it that way, either.

How can you even eat after Mama Melrose?? Although good to know they will do 1/2 orders.

Well, it was about 3-4 hours later.

Yum!! Did you make a dent in all that ice cream???

Dent?
I destroyed it!

The home of Harry Potter!

I've heard that.

Can't wait to find out...I have never been able to tear myself away from the bubble.

Coming up soon!

 

[docsoliday1]

Absolutely. You should have seen him!
"I want my pan back!!"

You promised me you weren't going to post that!!!!!!!!

You sit on a throne of lies.

 

[pkondz]

You promised me you weren't going to post that!!!!!!!!

You sit on a throne of lies.

Well, if you knew I sat on
a throne of lies,
(It's quite comfy, actually)
then you should have known
I'd never keep that promise!

 

[vamassey1]

I have no problem admitting
that I had tears streaming
down my face towards the end.

Yes. I liked it very much.

Thanks again for the tip.

This makes my Heart happy.

If you have time swing by our pre-trippy I made an exciting announcement!

 

[Tracy161]

Yay! Glad that wasn't an issue and you had a great trip!
It was WONDERFUL meeting you!!!!!

It was WONDERFUL meeting you!!!

I actually like BatB. While not on the caliber of FotLK, I think it's still well done.

Okay, okay, consider it back on my list!

 

[pkondz]

If you have time swing by our pre-trippy I made an exciting announcement!

I already did! I read about Danielle's news
before I came here!

 

[mustinjourney]

I'm quite content now to
never see it again.
It wasn't bad, but...
It's a one-and-done for me.

I actually like BatB. While not on the caliber of FotLK, I think it's still well done.

I like it as well -- but with it being an outdoor theater -- the weather needs to be nice for me to sit through it. If it were indoors, we'd probably see it every trip.

 

[docsoliday1]

I like it as well -- but with it being an outdoor theater -- the weather needs to be nice for me to sit through it. If it were indoors, we'd probably see it every trip.

That's almost exactly what I was thinking....indoors and AC and I'd like it a lot more.

 

[pkondz]

I like it as well -- but with it being an outdoor theater -- the weather needs to be nice for me to sit through it. If it were indoors, we'd probably see it every trip.

I'm sticking with my first thought.
One and done.
It wasn't bad or anything.
Just... I'd prefer to use my time elsewhere.

 

[mustinjourney]

I'm sticking with my first thought.
One and done.
It wasn't bad or anything.
Just... I'd prefer to use my time elsewhere.

like the grotto?

 

[pkondz]

like the grotto?

But of course!

 

[pkondz]

Bedknobs And Broomsticks

Well, mostly broomsticks of course.
Well... zero bedknobs.
But broomsticks? Yes.


I had bedknobs on my bed
as a kid. Does anybody have
those anymore?


And speaking of beds,
I awoke at 6:30am that morning
with a very sudden panic attack.

Holy crap...
I'd just changed my very
expensive Universal tickets
for an Annual Pass.
A Seasonal Annual Pass...
With blackout dates.

And... I seem to recall seeing
that the blackout dates were...
around now.


eep!


I quickly checked Uni's website
and found that the last blackout
date had ended... one week ago.
Well, that just saved me $285!

Heart beating more slowly
and regularly, we got ready to go
and headed out to...

Since we were so close, we
just decided to walk from the
hotel to the park.
It's about a ten-minute stroll.

We got in line for rope drop
and there weren't too many
people in front of us.
Maybe... 4-6 people at each tapstyle?

Once through the gates, Elle made
sure she could ride all the rides.
She just made it.

We didn't have long to dally, though.
While I hadn't been here in over 25 years...

25 years!!


Whoa...


I did know that key to enjoying our day
would depend on us making haste
and getting to Escape from Gringotts
before the wait time became prohibitive.
We made one quick pit stop to buy
some lanyards and sped off.

And... a word about the wait times.
A Universal Express Unlimited pass
will run you about $90... per day!
Each!

The cheapest on-site resorts start
at $85/day while Royal Pacific
rooms start at $230/day.
So staying at a "deluxe" Universal
resort costs $145/day more than
their least expensive resort.

But!
Two Universal Express Unlimited
passes cost $180/day.
So if you want the passes...
it's actually cheaper to stay
at the deluxe resort.

Now I can't compare and say
that having the Express pass
benefitted us or not.
I can't compare our experience
to someone riding the same
rides without the Express passes, but...

Like Disney, Universal posts wait times
for their attractions.
Depending on the attraction, the wait
times were varying from 30 minutes
to over an hour.

We never waited more than five minutes
to ride any ride, except one or two where
we maybe waited ten minutes.

So comparing our experience to
the posted wait times...
Those passes easily paid for themselves.

Your room key is your Express Pass.
You still need a park ticket, but
once you're in, you can put it away.
But the Express Pass needs to be
easily accessible. (hence the lanyards)

Plus... we stayed in a very nice resort
that was walking distance to the parks.



Speaking of walking, while we were
wasting no time speeding towards
our first ride of the day, I did snap
a couple of quick shots along the way:

And within minutes, we were
approaching King's Cross Station
and the entrance to Diagon Alley.

Let me tell you...
When you first walk into
Diagon Alley... you stop
dead in your tracks.
You're not just in a
Theme Park anymore.
You are actually in the
same land that Harry trod upon.

But... we didn't have much time
to stop and gape.
Gringott's would form a line
quicker than you could say Quidditch.

Once we were safely inside,
I slowed down a bit to take
a few more photos.

And sorry about the quality of
the photos in this and the next
update.
I wanted to experience Universal
as much as possible without
having to lug a camera along.
So my phone will just have to do.

Gringotts is...
Pretty danged impressive.
I was gawking like a tourist
(which is a good thing, because...
I am a tourist) at the theming
of the entrance.
I mean... if the entrance is
that impressive...
what will the ride be like???

Once you pass the main hall,
you go through some preshows.
One I liked was this "elevator"
(really just another elaborate preshow)
that seemed to descend 9 miles deep.

Finally, you arrive at the ride and...
I asked for and we were given
the front row.

Wow! What a ride!
We immediately turned
right back around
and rode it again!


Okay... that was good.
But we have a whole park
to explore.


We had seen Rip Ride Rockit
when we'd come in.
It's kinda hard to miss.

You climb and then descend
almost vertically before
immediately doing a spinning loop.
We're not crazy enough to do that!

Okay. We are. We did.

It was pretty fun, but also
pretty rough.
We were glad we did it,
but just as glad to have survived.

Maybe something a little bit more...
Kid related next?

We wandered over to Minions.
The ride queue was fun.

Circle of life.
A mouse eaten by a cat
eaten by a dog eaten by
a lion.
I presume there was a fly
and a spider (that wriggled
and jiggled and tickled)
at the start of that chain.

I love the Iron Maiden
that's been child proofed!

Like a fair amount of Uni's
rides, Minions is a motion
simulator.
But it's a fun one.
We both liked it.

Next up was Transformers...
Funny how one motion
simulator does not equal
another.

Transformers was quite possibly
our least favourite ride in
the park.
In both parks.

Well, let's hope Revenge
of the Mummy is better.

As we approached, two guards
and... I presume Nefertiti?
casually (intimidatingly) strolled
over from a side street.

They were great.
Very intimidating.
The queen? princess? never
broke character and stared
anyone down who dared
to approach her.

As for the ride... I think if
Diagon Alley wasn't there,
then this may well have been
our favourite ride in the park.

We turned around and re-rode
that one too!

Okay, one more ride before
stopping for lunch.
How about a quick spin on
Fast & Furious?

The ride was... not bad.
Not in the same league
as Mummy, but better
than Transformers.
You get in a bus and
you drive to the various
scenes that take place.

Okay... time for a bite.
We headed back to
Diagon Alley and popped
into the Leaky Cauldron.

We ordered the Ploughman's
lunch to split and two Butterbeers.

If you've never had Butterbeer...
It's worth going to Universal
for that alone.
Soooooo good.

If I were going again
with someone, I'd order
this again too.
It was nice to get away
from the usual burgers
or chicken strips.

Continued In Next Post​

 

[pkondz]

Continued From Previous Post​

Fortified with our scrumptious meal,
we headed over to Springfield.
On the way, we stopped to shoot
some Aliens at MIB (Men In Black).
Sorry, no photos. Too busy shooting.
And... she beat me.
I don't know how.
But she did.
I'm sure it was either a glitch
or I had a faulty gun.
There can be no other explanation.


Having saved the planet
(we do that, you know),
we zipped over to ride
The Simpsons.

We went in and were told
to stand in a certain line.
The room was empty.
Eventually, others arrived
and filled the other lines.
While we waited, I noticed
the TV screens were showing
various Simpson-y ads.

No different from any
bank in the world, really.

Yep. About sums it up.
This next one, with it's
not-quite subtle nod
to Hall of Presidents
cracked me up.

Note, due to the popularity
of this attraction, the wait time.

The Simpson's ride was fun,
if a bit nausea inducing.


It was time to slow down a bit
after the frenzied Simpsons.
A little ET was in order.

Elle, really liked this one.
And it was the only ride
in the park that was still
around from when I first
came here more years ago
than I care to remember.

We rode it again!
We both liked it.


The Animal Actors show was
starting fairly soon.
We decided to head in that
direction with a stop in
Springfield to explore the
area a little bit more.

A quick stop to visit SpongeBob...

And to travel back to
the Wild West for a bit...

And we were back in Springfield.

I had an overwhelming urge
to make a crank call while in Moe's.
Ever do that when you were a kid?
(Before call display... ahem...)
"Is your refrigerator running?
Better go catch it!"
Ah yes... that and other equally
intelligent lame duck gags.
We were such rebels.

And in case you forgot...
Yes, it was still stupid hot out.
I found myself in need of
a refreshing beverage before
I should expire from dehydration...

Hydrated and vertical once more,
we entered the Animal Actors area.

It was a pretty good show.
I haven't seen the new "Up"
show at AK, yet, but...
This one wasn't as polished
as Up's predecessor, but still
entertaining.

INCOMING!!!!

I escaped without getting
pooped on.
Always a good thing.

And then... a tragic scene.
This little girl (a volunteer)
pointed at this poor pup
and shot it with her finger.

Here, the trainer is (quite loudly)
bemoaning the poor pup's fate.

I believe CPR
(Canine Pulmonary Resuscitation)
saved that dog's life.


<C-R-A-A-A-C-K-K-K!!!!>

The show was abruptly cut
short with a very close
(and very loud!) lightning strike!
Moments later, the skies opened
up and it began to pour.
Gotta love Florida weather.

Even though the show was over,
we stayed put since we had
a roof over our heads.
At least... we did for a while.
Eventually, we were told we
had to leave.
As we left, the rain stopped
and we were able to stay dry.

But that was short lived as...

We waited for the rain
to abate under shelter, but...
it didn't look like it was going
to anytime soon.
We opened an umbrella and
dashed over to the Horror Make-Up show.

We wandered around the waiting area
admiring the various props.

With our Express Pass, we were
let into the theatre first
and we chose two seats
front row center.

And the show was great!
Campy as heck... but fun.
There were two women performing.
One was the hostess and the other
was the "make-up artist".

She explained how some of the
effects we saw in movies were done.
How Playtex was used to make masks.

Then she stopped...
"Playtex? I mean Latex...
Playtex is a whole other monster."

She said it. Not me.
Don't shoot the messenger.


At one point, some kid in the
audience said or did something.
(She'd asked for volunteers.)
Her response was:
"Watch it. I don't have to
be nice to kids...
this isn't Disney."

Continued In Next Post​

 

[pkondz]

Continued From Previous Post​

By the time the show ended,
it had stopped raining and
we headed over to Shrek.
Not the best ride, but okay enough.

We rode Jimmy Fallon Race
Through NY next.

This ride was okay.
Again, not the best,
but not the worst.

It was getting later in the
afternoon and we were pretty
"rided" out by then.
We hopped back over to
Diagon Alley just to wander
around and explore.

There are a ton of shops
to go in and out of.
They range from
Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes...

to Sugarplum's Sweet Shop...

to Olivander's.

You can visit the Owl Post...

grab some Butterbeer
(and really... why wouldn't you?)...

or just wander around,
desperately trying to soak
it all in.
(hint: you can't.)

And every 10 minutes or so,
the dragon belches out
a rather large gout of fire!

and... sorry for not getting that shot. I had decided to come back later with the good camera and... I was too tired to do it!

And if you dare, or if your
soul is dark enough...
You can take a turn down
Knockturn Alley.

Okay... brrrr...
Time to find our way back
to the light and... eat!

We had passed Lombard's Landing
a couple of times and decided
that might not be a bad spot for dinner.

Elle ordered fish & chips...

while I had a seafood platter.

Her fish & chips was probably
the better choice, but...
Well, it's an awful lot of fried food.


After dinner, we had one last
thing we wanted to do before
calling it a day.

Once again, we headed over to
Diagonal Alley.
Elle stopped at
#12 Grimmauld Place..
But no one answered.
I presume none of the
Secret Keepers were home.

The reason we made another
trip to Diagon Alley
was to take a ride on the
Hogwarts Express.

We rode it over to IOA and back.
Tomorrow we were going to visit
Hogsmeade and the rest of that
park, so this was just to experience
the train.
It was a lot more interesting than
I thought it would be!

Suffice to say that it is quite well
done considering it really is simply
a shuttle from one park to the next.

Arriving back at Universal Studios,
it was time to call it a day.
We headed back out to our resort.
But not without a quick stop for
a little treat.

And another little stop at
this ode to the former Jaws ride.

We got back to our resort
and I decided a nice soak
in one of the hotel's hot tubs
was in order.

I approached the first one and
there was a woman sitting alone.
Wanting to leave her be, I checked
out the other hot tub.
But that one had a young couple
occupying it.
Sorry, single girl. But I'll choose
to leave the couple alone.
Which would you have chosen??

It didn't really matter anyways,
because about two minutes after
I lowered myself into the hot water,
a family of four or five joined us.
The weird thing was the dad.
He stood in the tub the whole time
they were there (about 10 minutes?)
and was on the phone talking
loudly the whole time.
I kept thinking "He's going to
figure out that he's annoying
everyone around him, right?"

Apparently not.
He kept standing
in the tub and yakking.
I left.
I had been in long enough
anyways.

I headed back up to our room
where Elle was already fast asleep.
It had been a long day
and another one was coming up
tomorrow.



In case you didn't see it
in the last chapter:

And...
Did you see it in this chapter?
Did you see all three???



Coming up... Return Of The Dark Side.

Chapter 13. More Brooms, Less Knobs​

 

[Terra Nova guy]

The cheapest on-site resorts start
at $85/day while Royal Pacific
rooms start at $230/day.
So staying at a "deluxe" Universal
resort costs $145/day more than
their least expensive resort.

I had never done the math on that. It really is something I should keep in mind if I ever go back to Universal. Last time I was there, none of the Harry Potter stuff was included in Express pass so it didn’t seem worth it. Seems like it is now.

Gringotts is...
Pretty danged impressive.
I was gawking like a tourist

Sadly I never got to ride. I was there just a couple months after it opened. Early in the morning, the wait time was already 90 minutes . After being in line for 30 minutes, they announced the ride had broken down. We bailed. And never did get the chance to go back.

You climb and then descend
almost vertically before
immediately doing a spinning loop.
We're not crazy enough to do that!

I wasn’t crazy enough to do it! It’s that first big drop that put me off. The rest if the ride looks great.

Transformers was quite possibly
our least favourite ride in
the park.
In both parks.

I hated it. Way too jerky. I’m not that big of a Transformer fan anyway.

As we approached, two guards
and... I presume Nefertiti?
casually (intimidatingly) strolled
over from a side street.

Interesting. I have never heard of this.

If you've never had Butterbeer...
It's worth going to Universal
for that alone.
Soooooo good.

Agreed. Especially if it’s frozen!

If I were going again
with someone, I'd order
this again too.
It was nice to get away
from the usual burgers
or chicken strips.

There’s an awful lot of green on that plate. I would like to try the scotch eggs though.

Ever do that when you were a kid?
(Before call display... ahem...)

Yeah, I have to admit to doing that.

And the show was great!
Campy as heck... but fun.
There were two women performing.
One was the hostess and the other
was the "make-up artist".

I’ve heard pretty good things about that show. But I never saw it. I didn’t do a whole lot in Studios actually. Diagon Alley and the kids area (ET, Woody Woodpecker coaster, Animal Actors) was about it for us. We enjoyed Islands of Adventure more.

 

[Tracy161]

I had bedknobs on my bed
as a kid. Does anybody have
those anymore?

I don't know, but I had them as a kid, too!

I had an overwhelming urge
to make a crank call while in Moe's.
Ever do that when you were a kid?
(Before call display... ahem...)
"Is your refrigerator running?
Better go catch it!"
Ah yes... that and other equally
intelligent lame duck gags.
We were such rebels.

Ugh, I remember these days fondly. Technology ruins everything sometimes...

"Watch it. I don't have to
be nice to kids...
this isn't Disney."

Did you see it in this chapter?

Yup!

Did you see all three???

Believe it or not, yup!

Thanks for taking pictures of not only ride entrances and the "typical stuff" but also things like the ride vehicles. I haven't been to Universal since 1997 and everything is so unfamiliar to me, the ride vehicle shots help me imagine what the ride might be like!

You're getting SO CLOSE to your trip!!!

 

[cindianne320]

Man- and I thought my 5 year absence from Universal was a long time! LOL. We also stayed at Royal Pacific, and really enjoyed it. BUT the new Diagon Alley wasn't open yet- it opened right after we went home, so I've never gotten a chance to ride Escape from Gringott's! Glad you enjoyed it so much! We did go to the Harry Potter Studios in London last month, and it's so fun to spot the similarities! Can't wait to hear what you thought of Hogwarts.

 

[DonnaBeeGood]

.

 

[vamassey1]

Bedknobs And Broomsticks

Love that movie!

And... I seem to recall seeing
that the blackout dates were...
around now.

Oh no!! You're making me nervous.

She just made it.

I'm so happy for her.

But!
Two Universal Express Unlimited
passes cost $180/day.
So if you want the passes...
it's actually cheaper to stay
at the deluxe resort.

Makes sense.

Let me tell you...
When you first walk into
Diagon Alley... you stop
dead in your tracks.
You're not just in a
Theme Park anymore.
You are actually in the
same land that Harry trod upon.

This sounds so awesome. Someday I want to make it over here.

I love the Iron Maiden
that's been child proofed!

That was the first thing I saw.

They were great.
Very intimidating.
The queen? princess? never
broke character and stared
anyone down who dared
to approach her.

Nice to know they have great character interaction too.

This look very healthy. After being on vacation for a few days it's a good idea to get some greens.

And the show was great!
Campy as heck... but fun.

I want to see this.

while I had a seafood platter.

That's not a seafood platter.

This is a seafood platter

We rode it over to IOA and back.
Tomorrow we were going to visit
Hogsmeade and the rest of that
park, so this was just to experience
the train.
It was a lot more interesting than
I thought it would be!

Something else I really want to do.

But not without a quick stop for
a little treat.

That's a lot of treats.

Cute photo op!

And...
Did you see it in this chapter?
Did you see all three???

Yes I did!

 

[pkondz]

I had never done the math on that. It really is something I should keep in mind if I ever go back to Universal. Last time I was there, none of the Harry Potter stuff was included in Express pass so it didn’t seem worth it. Seems like it is now.

Yes it is. But for us it was
worth it for the entire park.
There were just too many
rides with waits up to
(or over) an hour.
Not having to wait for
anything was a real treat.

Sadly I never got to ride. I was there just a couple months after it opened. Early in the morning, the wait time was already 90 minutes . After being in line for 30 minutes, they announced the ride had broken down. We bailed. And never did get the chance to go back.

That's too bad.
It's an incredible ride.
Guess you'll just have
to go back!

I wasn’t crazy enough to do it! It’s that first big drop that put me off. The rest if the ride looks great.

It was pretty intense.
Fun coaster, but so
fast that I hardly knew
where we were!

I hated it. Way too jerky. I’m not that big of a Transformer fan anyway.

Agreed...
And agreed.

Agreed. Especially if it’s frozen!

Sooo much better frozen!

There’s an awful lot of green on that plate. I would like to try the scotch eggs though.

The cheese and pickles
were good too.
As was the bread.

Yeah, I have to admit to doing that.

Join the club.

I’ve heard pretty good things about that show. But I never saw it. I didn’t do a whole lot in Studios actually. Diagon Alley and the kids area (ET, Woody Woodpecker coaster, Animal Actors) was about it for us. We enjoyed Islands of Adventure more.

We pretty much covered
the entire park.
I don't think there wer
any attractions that we missed.