Live Trip Report - Who's with me??

I'm back! Busy couple of days. Some observations:

- Forbidden journey is not pooh friendly at all. Only ride so far DH couldnt do (size 2x)
- my kids apparently are the only humans in the world that loved Jimmy Fallon and transformers.
- spells are hard!! Any tricks?
- the food in 3 broomsticks is way more appealing than leaky cauldron which we have nicknamed the squeaky cauldron after the very squeaky maintenance cart
- express passes are the way to go even on slow days. Amazing.
- concerts are terrifying amounts of People. There is a wooden wall up for construction across from music plaza which narrows the road. I really wanted to watch googoo dolls but it was too insane and scary like getting stuck in the crowd!

Today's image brought to you by my birthday witch whose birthday pressie was new robes (and you know, a trip to Hogwarts):
PXL_20230212_215509699.MP.jpg
 
I'm back! Busy couple of days. Some observations:

- Forbidden journey is not pooh friendly at all. Only ride so far DH couldnt do (size 2x)
- my kids apparently are the only humans in the world that loved Jimmy Fallon and transformers.
- spells are hard!! Any tricks?
- the food in 3 broomsticks is way more appealing than leaky cauldron which we have nicknamed the squeaky cauldron after the very squeaky maintenance cart
- express passes are the way to go even on slow days. Amazing.
- concerts are terrifying amounts of People. There is a wooden wall up for construction across from music plaza which narrows the road. I really wanted to watch googoo dolls but it was too insane and scary like getting stuck in the crowd!

Today's image brought to you by my birthday witch whose birthday pressie was new robes (and you know, a trip to Hogwarts):
View attachment 739320

Lovely picture musika......

I`m sorry your husband couldn`t ride FJ. It certainly can be neat for some....me included!!

lol......I always love to hear folks enjoy F&F and JF......

Yes, our two trips to Mardi Gras at Universal we avoided the concerts, far too busy and not fun, especially when we didn`t know the artists!!!

And yes, EP`s are priceless......even on quiet days!

Glad your birthday witch enjoyed the new robes and yes, sometimes the spells are awkward to do.......

Loving your live TR....... :-)
 
We enjoy those rides too… “basketful of pup-pays”. Squeaky Cauldron 🤣
I agree, concerts can be crazy crowded and near impossible to move through. Sometimes we just listen from afar. It’s nice they use those giant screens to catch some glimpses.

So glad you and your family are having a fun time!
 
Here we are at the end of day 3 and I think we have officially hit all rides except hulk and hagrids. Going to attempt early entry tomorrow for hagrids. Today's observations:

- mobile order is awesome but doesn't work perfectly when relying on wifi only- it often doesn't say when your stuff is ready and doesn't retain the "I'm here information" so it looks like you need to check in again when you really don't.

- I am susceptible to motion sickness but took some bonine and it makes a difference. Only ride that really got me so far was forbidden journey when I had to ride twice in a row when my DH didn't fit.

- it has been really cold the last couple of days!! I knew it would be but the wind was really terrible.

- the opera singers were out tonight in Portofino! Also the walk was really not that bad. I would say if you've just missed the water taxi then it's worth it to walk, you will arrive sooner.

- finally, best meal of the trip so far was tonight at antonijtos. Get the tableside guac!! Amazing and such a huge portion. PXL_20230213_222700070.PORTRAIT.jpg
 


Here we are at the end of day 3 and I think we have officially hit all rides except hulk and hagrids. Going to attempt early entry tomorrow for hagrids. Today's observations:

- mobile order is awesome but doesn't work perfectly when relying on wifi only- it often doesn't say when your stuff is ready and doesn't retain the "I'm here information" so it looks like you need to check in again when you really don't.

- I am susceptible to motion sickness but took some bonine and it makes a difference. Only ride that really got me so far was forbidden journey when I had to ride twice in a row when my DH didn't fit.

- it has been really cold the last couple of days!! I knew it would be but the wind was really terrible.

- the opera singers were out tonight in Portofino! Also the walk was really not that bad. I would say if you've just missed the water taxi then it's worth it to walk, you will arrive sooner.

- finally, best meal of the trip so far was tonight at antonijtos. Get the tableside guac!! Amazing and such a huge portion. View attachment 739480
This live TR is brilliant! Yes, FJ is easily the motion-sickness-est ride. Some tips from our Hagrid's day:
  • Having some food/coffee in line is nice; you're probably in for over an hour wait, but it's worth it.
  • If they offer it and your party is interested, single rider can save a fair chunk of time.
Tips for spell-casting: It kind of breaks the illusion, but if you can see the "receiver," like a small black lens, pointing at it helps. If the red lights near it turn off it means it worked. Knockturn Alley had shorter lines for the spell spots when we were there.
 
Tips for spell-casting: It kind of breaks the illusion, but if you can see the "receiver," like a small black lens, pointing at it helps. If the red lights near it turn off it means it worked. Knockturn Alley had shorter lines for the spell spots when we were there.
I was going to post the same. Also, try smaller movements - making sure the tip of the wand is pointed at the receiver.
 
Day 4 update:
After a couple of quick wand repairs we are back in business!

We started our day stupid early and were in line at Islands at 720. We caught the ferry at Portofino at 705am. This put us around 15-20 people back from the turnstiles! Gates opened at 750ish and then a brisk ish walk to Hagrids with people running all around us. The sigh said a 45 minute wait but we were off by 820am. Amazing and well worth it!

ODC wasn't feeling well so we headed back against the tide of people after riding FJ with no wait. They ended up sleeping for 2 hrs while DH and I took DS to the pool. Then it was back to the parks for the afternoon to hit water rides finally after some very cold days. Omg do you get soaked!!

Last big highlight of the day was the Mardi Gras parade. The kids loved it so much we switched corners and watched the whole thing a second time lol. Now time for a relaxing evening before our hotel switch to Cabana Bay tomorrow. This is our first ever split stay so I'm curious to see how it goes. PXL_20230214_233413761.PORTRAIT.jpg
 
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Yay for Hagrid’s!! So fun!

Hope your birthday kiddo is feeling better.

The Mardi Gras parade is my favorite one to attend: Interactivity, extra enthusiastic performances of TMs, the music and costumes… makes me smile just thinking about it. Hope they caught lots of beads!

Good luck with the move over to CB. I’m sure it’ll be smooth. Change of scenery is nice… Kind of like two mini vacations in one.
 
Day 5 (and our last park day) now in the books. We had an early start thanks to DS, who rarely sleeps past 6am at home.

After getting our bags all packed up (the worst part really) it was a pleasant surprise to confirm that luggage services would indeed transfer our bags from PB to CBBR. As they wouldn't guarantee them arriving before 5 pm we decided to just keep our essentials and head into the parks.

Our goal today was to re ride our favorites and take advantage of that glorious express pass. We ended up staying much longer than I thought we would. DC seems to have caught some sort of bug and didn't want to ride many intense things but agreed to come through the queue with us where needed so we could take DS. The park was not at all crowded (well except for the wizarding world). Here's what we did to give you a sense of a non rushed, average day with express. We were there from about 9:30-630.
- ate some crepes (we liked strawberry Nutella the best)
-met characters with super short lines: king Julien, Spongebob/squidward, doc (my back to the future loving DH was tickled), and Shrek/Fiona
-rode ET
-rode Men in Black (keeping your trigger held the whole time is a great hack! Scored 280k my first run)
- caught 2 harry potter shows - tales of beedle the bard (3 brothers) and Celestina warbeck. Highly recommend 3 brothers.
- did some spells (this is a seriously amazing feature for kids. Buy the wands!)
- rode gringotts
-got some ice cream at Florence fortescues then picked up odc's souvenirs

We then got evacuated from diagon alley (I think maybe a medical emergency?) So decided to try for Finnegan's for lunch. DS wanted to try the mummy again..he's a little daredevil..ODC wanted to sit it out so they tried with DH to get us a seat. Even with the restaurant half empty they couldn't get us in for 45 min so we bailed and went to Louie's. Mobile express had us eating in under 10min. Not the best spaghetti but quick and not a burger.
- now fed and watered we hopped the train over to hogsmeade. Kiddos caught a bit of the toad choir show then DS and I said hello to Willie the hippogriff again. Tried to get a photo on the bridge with castle background but the sun was just in the wrong position (get that photo in the am if you want it!)
-ODC realllly wanted to ride pternandon flyers and since they hadn't wanted to do much all day I was ok with it. It is a stupid slow wait. Like, the worst in all the park for a one minute ride. They suckered their brother into going tho (he was the key since he was short enough to ride!)

- after that hour of my life I will never get back, off we went towards the exit. But first, Kong! ODC hung out in the family room so the three of us could go together. Great option for ride chickens (they are 11 so old enough to be somewhat independent but I felt more comfortable having them in the room rather than outside waiting).
- then we were done. Oh wait. Kids want to do suessland? Ehhh ok.
- cat in the hat
- two rides on the trolley- I actually didn't know the two tracks do different things! We requested the second track and as it wasn't busy they were able to get us on. We much preferred the circus mcgurkus run.
- and finally one last ride on the caro-suess-el.

Whew I am tired just reading all that. We scored a last minute reservation to cowfish and D's tried the pb and j sushi. I loved the fusion Bento box. Not the best sushi I've had in my life but right place, right time and fun concept.

Off to the bus to Cabana Bay, check-in, drag our bags and BED. Good news though, we were upgraded to a family suite from a standard room for free! Loving our location and can't wait for our resort day today. You all can thank DS for this detailed report since he woke me up. Lol.PXL_20230215_161412711.MP.jpg
 
What a fun day! You accomplished a lot. Gotta love EP and way to go with the last minute ressie to Cowfish! Such a fun place but yeah, we’ve had much better sushi and food in general elsewhere but still a great place.

Bummer about birthday kiddo! Hope they’re better soon.

Nice surprise upgrade! Love when that happens! That family suite is nice and spacious. Hope you enjoyed your much needed resort day. CB has such fun vibes.
 
Squeaking in the last seconds of this summer weather before our sutpid early pickup tomorrow with a poolside bevvie while the kiddos watch the dive in movie! PXL_20230217_011145496.MP.jpg
 
It`s always lovely to get an upgrade!!

You had so much fun on your trip, thank you for sharing, I really enjoyed reading about your trip for a very special birthday!!

Safe travels home.....
 
I was just at Sapphire Falls Resort for 2 nights Super Bowl Party Yay KC Chiefs ! I normally do Super Bowl Party at Cabana Bay cause they live screen it in the cafeteria area. I missed Cabana Bay so much I had to make another trip back for one night Family Suite at end of the month ! Haha
Enjoying your Great trip report
 
I enjoyed your trip report.

You guys.... Look at the view from our room.... we got upgraded to a balcony without even asking!!! Best surprise after a long day.
What a wonderful view from your room. Portofino staff are really kind and have a nice way of making their guests feel special.

Slow start to this am. DS has an earache that's coming and going so he didn't sleep well. Today was DCs bday and my friend made a t-shirt that said "I solemnly swear it's my 11th birthday". I give it 100 percent of the credit for this experience. If anyone has any live questions will do my best to answer.
I hope your sons earache has resolved and he is doing better.

Today's image brought to you by my birthday witch whose birthday pressie was new robes (and you know, a trip to Hogwarts):
Happy belated birthday to your daughter.
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Have a safe trip home.
 
Catching up on reading this AM. Happy birthday to your kiddo, and hope the other is feeling better. Mardi Gras is such a fun time at Univeral for sure! I agree on that slow Pteradon Flyers wait....We lucked out one morning, were in the area RIGHT after opening, (we'd been to EE in WW,) and kids got to ride it like 3-4 times in a row, no wait. that was great.
Thanks so much for sharing all of the fun and pictures!!!
 

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