New York or Orlando?? Heck, let`s do both.....12 nights NYC & Sapphire Falls...July 18 Trip Report

Oh Matt you`re good...….I adore dogs!!!!! Love seeing pics of dogs......especially cute dogs...…..and Jackson is cute!!!! :thumbsup2

I`m typing this with my friends Labrador at my feet......and I mean actually sitting on my feet ::yes::......lol...…..she adores doing that with everyone......but she is getting a little heavier the longer she lays there...…..

Yes, dog sitting this morning...…..:D

Nothing like the feeling of arriving in Orlando...…..even though we come more often now than before, it is still as exciting as the first time!!!! Oh you have to go back to NY!!!! Another fabulous place...…...

Haha I won't bore you promise but he is very cute, he is currently featuring in the staff newsletter :) He loves to sleep on us too, they love us humans as much as we love them

Yes arriving in Orlando does bring back great memories, though I hope our plane is on time this year, last time we were delayed 3 hours as the BA plane that caught fire at Las Vegas was to be our plane!

Not long now think we are 5 weeks tomorrow and counting! YAY
 
Haha I won't bore you promise but he is very cute, he is currently featuring in the staff newsletter :) He loves to sleep on us too, they love us humans as much as we love them

Yes arriving in Orlando does bring back great memories, though I hope our plane is on time this year, last time we were delayed 3 hours as the BA plane that caught fire at Las Vegas was to be our plane!

Not long now think we are 5 weeks tomorrow and counting! YAY

Oh you wouldn't honestly :)...…..I do want to see some pics of him when we meet, which hopefully we will!!!! I did enjoy dog sitting......but scared it will give Tom the notion to get real dog of our own!!! Although we travel too much for that and honestly, too lazy especially on cold winter mornings......they are such a lot of work...….and her dog is adorable...….she tries to sit up on your knee even when we are sitting at the dining room chairs!!!! And she`s fairly large now she`s fully grown....but so cute......crikey here`s me boring about someone else`s dog!!!! :D the irony isn't missed on me...….

That was supposed to be your plane!!!! Glad you didn't get it!!! So scary...…...a couple of hours delay coming from the UK is a massive difference with the time difference too...…..yes, we always want to be on time...…..

We are 4 weeks tomorrow...…..it`s coming around...….:thumbsup2
 


Hurray! You're at Universal now! Looking forward to this installment!

Yep, this is our favourite part too!!!!

We were so happy to be there instead of going home after 5 days in the City...….what were we thinking originally!!!! :D
 
You are so close to the time of returning home
4 weeks!

Yep!!!!!

4 weeks today we will be just arriving up at Manchester airport Radisson...…...this'll be a little different as we are trying the train this time...….more for coming home to save Tom driving after the night flight...…...will try it once and see what it`s like......If it takes too long we`ll go back to the car, well we will going by car in December anyway as Kyle will be with us...….

But, will be a little change for us...…...
 


Nice to see you home!! Lovely suite!:)

And nice night at Strong Water!! A favorite of our now, too!:thumbsup2
 
THURSDAY JULY 19TH...…………


We slept brilliantly...…..where the bedroom is you never hear a sound coming from the corridors...….so if there were any noisy people out there, we never heard them make a peep.

Waking up here was fabulous. We had no plans for the day except to pick up a couple of gifts for a friend, do a little shopping and then be over at RPR later......so we definitely took our time this morning.

The room was pitch black which was ideal as the sun rose straight ahead of us. In saying that I thought we had really slept late and got a surprise when I saw the clock said 6.30am. Hmm. Maybe a little early.....but as I was awake I might as well get up. So, I wandered through to the living area and opened the drapes as Tom was still "asleep" in the bedroom......I think he thought if he seemed to be asleep I wouldn't be harassing him to get up...….as if!!!!


I loved this view out of our windows...….seeing the sunrise and looking over to RP was beautiful...…..nice way to start the day...…..and we kept reminding ourselves that really, we should have arrived back in the UK this morning from NYC...….bonus!!!!



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Tom realized I was up for the day and wasn't coming back to snooze some more, so he had turned the tv on in the bedroom......so I grabbed my ipad and went back through to the bedroom and then into shower and get ready for the day...…..and we really were ready to make the most of this very short but very much appreciated extra 7 nights.

The shower was a good one, it had decent pressure to it and I did like the products the hotel supply. We used to always buy our own shower gels and stuff but this was very nice. I would however buy my own Aussie shampoo and separate conditioner while we were out today...…..I do like that stuff.

But, didn't take long and we were ready to go downstairs. We had decided to grab a couple of pastries from the Dutch Trading Co, just off the main lobby and some coffee...….we didn't feel like a full breakfast or going out for breakfast somewhere where we always seemed to talk about but didn't do very often, so this was ideal.

The pool on the way down looked so lovely...…..we were determined this trip we would wiggle at least our toes in it......rain had stopped play so many times in May...…..but we were sure we would manage it this time.



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This really is a beautiful hotel!!!

The Dutch Trading place is busy. Even though it is still fairly early, everyone seemed to want breakfast right now......but, we waited in line and they do get through folks fairly quickly.....and with a smile......the ladies in there are very friendly. Martha served us today and laughed when I couldn't remember the word pastry...….so I asked for one of those square kind of apply custardy vanilla things......she knew what I meant though...…..and we got a large Latte to share as I didn't feel like a lot of coffee...…..so, coffee at $6 and pastries $4 a pop it was an extremely economical breakfast of around $15 with tax for both of us!!!! Don`t think we had ever eaten as cheap!!!!

There are a few seats in the place, but we preferred to go sit in the middle of the lobby......there are an array of seats to choose from and plenty of folks are doing this every day...…….we grabbed two seats on the bench style tables...….



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We really did enjoy our light breakfast, the pastries were fresh and tasty......….I did mumble I may be hungry rather early today for lunch......I`m sure I heard Tom mumble back "what`s new" lol...….he knows me so well.

Coming out of the building into the Orlando heat is one of our favourite things when we are here...…..it`s a totally different heat to anywhere else.....and we love it!!!!

Seeing Aventura coming on in leaps and bounds has been amazing to see...….I do remember when we were shown the ground it was to sit on and we thought no way will a hotel fit in there!!!! But, it certainly did...….and it is so pretty and fairly impressive...…...



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I got the fob today...………..:D

I loved this car at the first turn of the wheel...…….and I was desperate to get out and drive it......but since we had plenty of time we had a look at the gadgets it had to play with.....and there were a few. I quite liked the ride height adjustor...….I could drive along the road almost bouncing like I was a rap video!!! Well, maybe not quite but it was fun to fiddle and play around with...…..and a rather boring point, but, the seats were incredibly comfortable...….almost like parking your bottom in a soft fluffy cloud, but with excellent support too.....I like seats that hug you!!!!

And then we were off...…….darn those speed limits though :rolleyes1


I only drove a short distance at first, down to Publix where I needed to buy a gift card and a few bits and pieces for the room. Publix is a nice store and we like wandering around it. The food looks so good here and so fresh. After we paid we wandered along to a crawfish restaurant to have a look.....we meant to go back and eat there, but never got around to it, planned to keep it for another trip as this was such a short one...…... after deciding we would want to eat there at some point, I was in a hurry to get back to driving my car again.....yes, it become my car.




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We got back in and drove back along the road to head to Mall at Millenia area where Total Wine was...…..as we approached over Conroy Rd, we noticed a lot of traffic, but at that junction that's nothing new......however we saw flashing police lights and then noticed the lights were out...…..that place is a nightmare with lights at times, so we were very glad to see officers directing the traffic...……

We didn't seem to sit too long and we turned left into Total Wine. We do like this store and it has a plethora of wines and liquors.....it`s a little bit what I hope heaven will be like...…….:-)

It really does carry everything...…..except what we want today. We had picked up 4 bottles of wine and then went to get the gift we wanted to buy, and they stopped selling it...…...we had been buying this in Total Wine for a few years now and had no clue where else to get it...….we did ask the staff who said they had another brand of this rum, but that wasn't the one we wanted.

Google to the rescue.

I can`t remember why, but I had brought my ipad today as I had the larger handbag...….so out with the ipad and did a search.....and rather strangely came up with a place we had seen before many times but hadn't gone in...…..and they seemed to have what we were looking for. So, put the wine were planning to purchase back on their respective shelves, off to the car and headed off to the one over in LBV.

First we stopped off at the Post Office on Turkey Lake Road. My mum had given me some old documents and pictures for my aunt to keep of their parents from many years ago, and as I hadn't seen her I still had them. So bought a large envelope and sent it certified mail from there. Only took a few minutes and then we were back on the road for LBV.

We took the back road as we hadn't gone that way before, just out of curiosity...….some lovely homes that way too. And I was glad I was concentrating as we passed two police cars checking for speeders...…...I was doing exactly the speed limit.




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Although we knew where we were going I still put the location in the satnav......it was us after all, we could get lost in a car park here it seemed!!! But, after a maybe 15 to 20 minute drive we pulled in.

What a find!!!!

ABC Fine Wine and Spirits...…...I had seen these around, and wrongly assumed they were a kind of bargain basement booze place...….boy, was I wrong......this place was lovely!!!

Very nicely laid out and well presented......and staff were extremely helpful. We could be in here a while as I had found my new favourite place to wander around....……..:D

They had everything...…….although I`m not quite sure why I took so many pictures of the vodka......I`m not the biggest vodka drinker even in cocktails as we are more rum drinkers...….but they looked pretty!!!! And a massive choice compared to what we have in the UK...…….




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This cognac below was $3000. I guessed before I even looked when Tom told me he had found his birthday gift for this year...…..lol...….he does have expensive taste with cognacs!!!



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This place was fanatastic!!!!!








I loved these machines!!!!!! Always wanted one fitted to my kitchen when we had it renovated...…...minus having to pay the money part of course...…..and I wouldn't have a small or medium glass option either...……..why would you do that?????

Tom says I have him to pour it...……..but, I had seen one recently for sale and thought if I moved something from the original traditional part of our kitchen it could just fit in, maybe.....almost!!!!





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The wines alone kept me amused for ages!!!! Like a real saddo I took a load of pictures for one of our wine groups as I saw some unusual brands and flavours…….the guys there must have thought I was very odd. I did ask of they shipped to the UK...….and was sadly told no. ok. But, I did get a few new names to have a look at and see if we could get them in the UK.



It was around now we both realized we hadn't see the rums yet...….surely they had rum...….then we spotted them at the same time over behind the cigar section of the store......yep a whole wall we had missed...…..



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So, we wandered over and found the rum we were looking for. Not for us today. We did however choose 4 bottles of white wine for us to put in the fridge...…..it looked a decent haul...…...we also picked up two large gift bags as we had forgotten to bring the ones we had at home......we asked the man if he had a bag of any kind and they didn't, but he did give us a box to put stuff in...…..that would be fine...…..not the prettiest box but it would hold the rums and wines in place.

So, paid up and put the stuff in the trunk and carefully set off...…...I was still driving and thought yep, if anything happens to these bottles it`ll be all my fault...…..so I did drive round corners a little more carefully...……this car was a dream!!!! Again, it`s not a brand we would drive full time due to their reliability issues......but this was fun!!!!

Before we went for lunch we went back to the hotel and dropped the box off......we would sort them out later. We did put the wine in the fridge though...….

I loved the spacious feeling of the elevator area here...….it was so light bright and airy......and the vast windows made the lovely view of the pool very pretty.




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I got to drive again...….well, if you reach the fob first...…..I can move quickly when required...….lol...…..

Although I wasn't driving far...…..we were going to O` Charleys on Turkey Lake Road...….

We really liked it here...….food is so good and it is fairly quiet at lunch times...……it is a good sized restaurant with loads of seating and a very nice menu...and nice staff too.

The girl working again today was Ale...…..she is a lovely girl who looks at us a little funny when we walked in, I did wonder if she recognized us a little...…..we had decided to sit at the bar today anyway for a change...….and as we were glancing at the menu she asked us if we had been in before...…...we burst out laughing and said this was becoming a habit being recognized by bartenders :rolleyes1...…..We said yes, we had been here in May and had met her then and a couple of times before that...….she said she thought she remembered us...…..many do!!!! Not always for the right reasons...…..:rotfl:




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This was where I very kindly and out of the goodness of my heart, told Tom he could drive us back to the hotel...……….he looked at me oddly then realized I was of course, looking at a cocktail menu!!!! :goodvibes He just faked sighed and asked for a strawberry lemonade from Ale...…..and I went for the Pain Chiller Punch......it sounded lovely!!!!!




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And it was!!!!! Ale had a good pouring hand!!!!

She brought out some warm, almost boiling hot sweet rolls...….they really are delicious...….and we always try and not eat two each before our meal arrives.....they are as addictive as the cheddar cheese biscuits from Red Lobster...……and those are certainly addictive!!




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I am so dull at times. I always get the Nashville Hot Chicken sandwich.....it is gorgeous and so spicy!!!! So despite my mutterings of ordering something different...…..I order the same sandwich!!!

Tom however decided not to go for the fish dish he liked so much, but went for the chopped steak topped burger...….and we had both with regular fries...…..



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Oh my goodness!!!!

This is one of our favourite places to eat lunch...…..food is so good!!!! And Tom, although he also loves spicy food, finds this chicken sandwich too hot for him.....he marvels I can eat it at all...…..it`s really not that hot...…..but delicious...….

Tom`s burger is perfect. And we thought the steak pieces on top would be rather tough, they were really tasty and tender...…..and he enjoyed the onion rings too!!!!! Well, I had the cocktail I suppose...…….

We had also ordered a ooey gooey caramel pie to go, so she brought that after we asked for the check......this is the most sweet and unctuous pie ever...….sweet caramel set off with a gorgeous base...….and so very rich!!!! I couldn't finish one slice, but would happily share...….


As we sat we could see the sky darkening in the distance...…...we planned to go to the park tonight after we had been to Club Lounge so we hoped if it was going to rain it would do it now and get it over with......we could see the wind pick up a little too....always a sign.

We paid and thanked the lovely Ale and set off for the car with the caramel pie safely held by me.....and I sadly sat in the passenger seat, but as I had enjoyed a drink there was no way I was driving. So Tom enjoyed the relatively short drive back to the hotel...…..he couldn't wait till we got out on the open roads with this car!!! That would keep for another day though!

We didn't have any plans at all for the next few hours, so I decided I would have a very dull and dreary appointment with the laundry room at Sapphire Falls.
 
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I love food pics- and I cannot wait for the ooey gooey caramel pie pic thats to come! Bet that's tasty! I keep a list of all the tasty foods I want to try when Im there- I swear Im going to have to eat every hour to try everything!

I love your gorgeous pics!
 
I love food pics- and I cannot wait for the ooey gooey caramel pie pic thats to come! Bet that's tasty! I keep a list of all the tasty foods I want to try when Im there- I swear Im going to have to eat every hour to try everything!

I love your gorgeous pics!

Thanks!! Glad you like them........

The caramel pie is quite possibly my favourite dessert to have a taste of.........I just can’t eat that amount of something so sweet.........I’d love to though!!!

Eating every hour sounds good to me!!!
 
I bet the dessert picture will be one that is half eaten

How Schumi could wait until back in her room to eat it is sure willpower!

Lol........have to admit I only eat a bit or two of it despite wanting to devour all of it........tummy couldn’t cope with that.......sadly..........it’s so gorgeous!!!

Tom loves that I can’t eat a whole dessert.........well, unless it’s ice cream......I seem to be ok with that!
 
So, we drove the short journey back to the hotel and encountered only a little rain...….it looked like it was going to go on for hours, but didn't.

We went up to the room and I had the laundry all in bags from our time in NY. Just the two bags, one with whites and one with colours…….so although Tom planned to snooze...….er, not yet...…..we held the bags and sauntered down to the very well hidden laundry room in Sapphire...…..it really is in the back of beyond of the lowest level of the hotel but it is signposted...…..and I have to say it is a good sized room with plenty of machines.



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Sorry for the incredibly dull images of a laundry room!!!

It was $3 for a load and $1 for powder. You can use credit cards to pay for these, but we had a load of quarters handy for two loads and powder...….it would take 35 minutes for a wash, so we went back up to the room and chilled out.....and we ate the caramel pie, but didn't take a picture of it today......we remembered when it was done...….but it was lovely!!!! Incredibly sweet...…….

Tom was kind of half snoozing but again, by now it was time to go pick up the wash...…..I make sure we are always back in time as I think it`s rude to leave it any longer as people can be waiting to use your machine. So we had a few minutes to kill and chatted to a lady who seemed to have collected the whole hotels laundry......honestly, she was filling cases of the stuff!!!! They were from Puerto Rico and had come back from the World Cup in Russia and had also been to England too......it was lovely listening to their travels and this was why she had so much laundry as I think she had about 4 kids!!! My 2 little bags of laundry seemed quite paltry now :laughing:...…….but it was lovely chatting to her.

We put some stuff in the dryer and took some upstairs...….my dresses and some tops usually dried nicely with just hanging them up.....so that's what we did...….came back down again and got the stuff out the dryer and that was me done with laundry for this trip I believed...……..


Back in the room we got changed and walked over to RP to meet our friend in the lobby.

Love the walk over here...…..I love the sheer size of the convention and ballroom areas in both Sapphire and RP...…..they are huge.

And quite eerie late at night...…….there is always someone around, whether it be security or maintenance men, but you are never truly alone back there...….



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We just sat down in the lobby opposite the check in desk as our friend came out...….we had just been commenting we still knew a few familiar faces on check in.....but quite a few new faces...……

We always love meeting up with our friend...…..and he was taking us up to the club lounge today...……

The Club Lounge is lovely...…..staff are so friendly...…..and of course today we turned up again with a hug bag of various British chocolate items......always goes down well!!!!

We go in and it`s fairly busy but we get to say hi to a few members of staff we know and find out who will be in tomorrow...…..we chat some more to our friend over at a table and I just happen to mention about the car we have as I know he is a car person too...…..his face is like wow...….where have you parked it...….we tell him just the regular car park...…..he was eh no...….park it in the valet...…..er, ok...….there was a longer conversation about this as you can imagine...….and we said yep, we`ll move it to valet...….so we would do that later.

Then he very kindly told us we could access the lounge whenever we wanted to...….we were again, incredibly grateful for this and so appreciated it. We didn't take advantage of this and did only come across a few times, but it was so kind of him.

We chatted a little longer then he headed off and again thanked him for everything.

Tonight was Mexican night...…..so I had some tortilla chips, salsa, sour cream and jalapenos...…..Tom had the same but with chilli….I don't like chilli, but the snack was delicious......and of course we enjoyed a few glasses of wine and chatted to the staff...…..I think we may have had 2 plates of our snack tonight!!!



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We were introduced to a new member and did have the grace to blush when they told her how special we were and went on to be very complimentary :hug::blush:......yes, I did indeed blush!!!! One of the supervisors came in and as soon as she saw us she was over for hugs and a good catch up...….it was lovely to see her again too...…...told her we would be across in the morning for breakfast too so would see her then.

But, we loved being here......so welcoming and it really felt like we were home. And it is lovely when folks refer to you as family......nice.

Of course, the club lounge was being revamped soon and hearing about the plans for it was quite exciting...….it sounds as if it is going to beautiful......lovely designs and colours. So, of course we took a few last images of the older style...…..

The Club Lounge will be relocated for the revamp to a private dining area within Islands restaurant...…..everything that is available from the Club Lounge will still be offered, just in a different location for the period of time the refurb will take. It`ll still be lovely I`m sure. And then we have the new updated lounge to look forward to seeing.





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Looking over you can see the new hotels going up where Wet and Wild used to be...….it is going to be huge!!! And massively popular…….



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And of course then, Aventura was only a few weeks away from opening...…..looking forward to the rooftop bar up there...…….



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Next up.....we head to the park...…...:wave2:
 
We were just in Orlando a few weeks ago and it's amazing how much more construction has been done to the new hotels!
And the rooftop bar at Aventura will be a VERY popular place, indeed!
 
We were just in Orlando a few weeks ago and it's amazing how much more construction has been done to the new hotels!
And the rooftop bar at Aventura will be a VERY popular place, indeed!

Yep, some TM friends from the hotels were shown around...… pictures I have seen look amazing.

Tom and I will definitely be going as soon as we can.
 
We did our usual tour of goodbyes and then headed back over to Sapphire to move the car. It seemed silly to wait although would have been quicker getting to the parks taking the boat from RP...….but walk back over we did...….we were in no rush to get to the parks, they were open till 10pm. And this was something we did like...….we usually visit in September and apart from HHN parks close relatively early......so this was going to be lovely for us.

I waited in the lobby and chatted to a TM while Tom went and got the car...…..as he pulled up we saw the lovely Frederick who has worked here since it opened.....really, really cool guy with the nicest smile...….anyway, I went out and then he saw me and exclaimed "you`re back" yep......we were back...…..he looked at the car as Tom got out and and smiled and said oh it`s your Maserati......…..well, technically Alamo`s but it was ours for now!!! But, he already knew it was coming down at some point.....so he did enjoy driving it the few feet to the VIP area outside the hotel doors...…..we did like seeing it parked there!!! I`d always wanted to park a car right in that area out front...……..:D

We wandered back down to the boat to head for IOA. We thought we might go have some sangria in Backwater Bar then mooch around for a while...….we planned to watch the light show on the Castle tonight or we may not......we would see how we feel.

We did wait maybe 5 minutes for the boat tonight, but they were incredibly busy and 5 minutes was nothing to wait...….we got seated and enjoyed the few moments of cooler air as we sailed along the waterway...….again, no complaints but it was stiflingly hot tonight...….

We walked back to the entrance of IOA and we weren't used to seeing crowds like this...…..it was so much busier than we had seen for years. It had been a long time since we had visited in July, but although it was busier than we were used to, it wasn't as bad as we had imagined. It seemed more people were leaving than were entering.




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We did indeed go into Backwater and looked for our favourite bar lady in here...…..turned out she left just two weeks ago...…..she had been there for years and always seemed to be working whenever we went in. She would be missed as she was such good fun...….

But the two young lads who were working were nice too...…..we ordered two sangrias and told him jokingly of course we always had a special mix from Regina and hoped he could do the same...…..bless him......he looked lost!!! He said oh I`m not sure...….lol...….told him I was kidding and he looked mightily relieved...….

The sangria is cheap and cheerful in here at $7 a pop...….not the best quality ingredients especially the wine they put in it, but it`s tasty enough!!!




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We did have a giggle sitting here tonight, the nice thing about sitting at the bar was folks chatted to each other and we had a few nice couples around us tonight, so it was nice..… we had two sangrias each...…..and then paid the check and wandered out to enjoy the parks...…..I think one of the couples we were chatting to were planning on being there all night...….

I looked at the Hulk and thought maybe not after salsa and wine...…..so we walked down towards Dr Doom and rode that a couple of times.....I didn't take note of how long the regular line was but we were on and off 3 times in about 10 minutes...….love that short ride!!! We then went to do Spiderman and only did that once as I felt I didn't want to tempt fate by riding too much...……

So, we slowly meandered back around to Seuss. Our plan was very slowly to get to Potter for the night show, and we had plenty of time...….




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Not quite dark enough yet to see the lights...……



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Seuss was fairly quiet so we took our time and had a look at things we hadn't paid a lot of attention to before...…..the artwork in particular...…..I have since googled and it is very odd indeed some of his thought process with art. Not quite sure what to make of it. The young lad in the store was extremely knowledgeable about Seuss and imparted some wonderous tales of his art work and how they came about...….he was interesting to listen to and I was impressed by his genuine love and knowledge of the area he worked in.



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Seuss is not really my thing at all, have no fondness for Thing 1 or Thing 2 or any of the other characters as we didn't really grow up with them in the UK......….although there is The Grinch. Love the Grinch.


Tom and I have adopted The Grinch`s famous scene at times and emulated his emotion...…..when dealing or talking about certain people...….we have it down pat!!!!! Can`t get that loathe word just as low as the Grinch can...…….



:rotfl:


Thankfully not too many make it into that category...……..if any really...…….:rolleyes1


It was becoming twilight now and so pretty...….seeing the park change from day to night was something we loved to see...…...and again, we could take our time and just wander at our preferred slow pace...…



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Although we don't eat in Mythos anymore after a few disappointing meals, we still love the stature of the building and behind it there is a lovely little pathway which overlooks the lagoon. You very rarely see many people down there if any...…..and you can get some lovely pictures...….



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We are always amazed to see the amount of fish there are in the lagoon...….and they aren't little tiddlers!!!!



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I`m not over keen on fish unless I`m eating them ::yes::.........and always think of mutant piranhas when I see groups of fish all clustered together...…..or Austin Powers...….






Yes, I do believe I watch too many movies!!!! :duck:



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We are just loving this...…...being in the parks we love so much again and it is the perfect evening......well, at least it`s not raining...…..


I don't think we saw the fountain work the whole time we were here this trip...…..not sure if we were just unlucky or there was an issue with it, but there was never any water in it when we passed...….and we love the fountain......the interaction with him is fabulous......I often mention the humour he has...….skips right over little ones heads at times...….there is one TM in particular who is fantastic to listen to...….he has a wit worthy of the best comedians.....and is probably funnier than most on tv!!!! But, he is very clever with his comebacks when someone tries to outwit or denigrate him in any way...….I could spend ages just sitting and listening. So funny and very astute.


But tonight Tom asks a family if they want a picture together, and they do, Tom takes around 3 for people usually in case one is bad.......….of course the husband reciprocates with us and he actually took around 5 of these...…all identical.....no eyes closed in any of them.




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We then wander around to Potter...….Hogsmeade is so pretty at night...….the castle itself is beautiful and quite striking during the day, but at night it is stunningly beautiful...…...it is for us, one of the most impressive things to see in the parks.

It is busy, but a lot less busy than earlier according to a TM who hears us chatting about crowds...….I could imagine...…..evenings do become slightly less busy in both Potter areas, but during peak times they were always going to be busy...…..especially with the light show on the castle starting at roughly 9pm at this time of year...……..as long as it`s dark enough it`ll start.

But, it is so lovely...…….


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We both realize we haven't actually eaten yet...…..the snack we had in the Club Lounge was lovely, but now we were kind of hungry but not hungry enough to eat a large meal each...……..so a shared meal just before the show started would be lovely......

We have never eaten in any of the Potter restaurants...…..it just hasn't appealed to us...….so called British food isn`t what we come to eat in America.....although I have to say I`m not sure how authentically British it is...…..hmmmm. Salad with a Cornish pasty just doesn't happen...….but we thought we would give the fish and chips a try as we had heard a lot of good things about that dish...……

And I have to say the aroma that was radiating out from inside was very tempting indeed...……..




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It was busier inside than we imagined...…..of course they are both very popular restaurants and many love the food...….the feast in particular is a fabulous meal for families...….that's a lot of food!!!!

We did take a few pictures while we waited to order...…….it is beautiful and has so much detail put in them...….and if it is quiet enough you can hear things above you :hyper2: ...….but tonight it was too noisy to hear anything...…..again the theming is so detailed and intricate everywhere you cannot help be impressed.




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We eventually decided we would try the fish and chips to share and also a pumpkin fizz......we do like that. But even it is quite sweet and we prefer to share it...….but we did get a bottle of water too...….it was hot...……

You order and pay for your food and tonight we wait to pick it up...…..and it was only a few minutes...…



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I have to say this isn't fish and chips as we know it in the UK. It was fish goujons and the "chips" were potato wedges!!!! That`s not chips.

But, disappointed as I was, I have to say the fish tasted nice...…..but I wouldn't order them again...……but, it filled a hole and would do us for the evening.


We went back out to Hogsmeade and immediately noticed the change of light...…..this was one of our favourite times of day in here......the lighting is so gorgeous and very reminiscent of a village from a Dickens novel...……



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Next up was the Hogwarts light show on the castle...…….
 
Twilight is my favorite time at the parks as well!
Beautiful photos!

I had to google "goujons". Never heard that before, lol!
 

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