Day two - first full day
the plan: Get to the park at 7:45 for early entry. Hit the HP areas first then take the train over to islands and see the sights there. Back to the room around 2 for a pool break.
The reality: the humidity and extensive walking heard our plans and busted a seam they laughed so hard.
6:30, A gets up and gets me up. We must have headed downstairs around 7 as the diner was open. We got an omelet to share and refilled the drink cups. At 10 bucks for the omelet a trip to Walmart was moved up on my priority list for the evening. It was good, but this was not going to become a habit.
I left A to get the drinks while I paid for the food. Took the tray into the main dining room, no kid. I went down the center isle, still no kid. Did she go back to the room? so, I went back to the room, both T and C were still asleep. No A. back downstairs. 5 minutes of wandering she appears out of thin air and says where were you? This little incident began the agreement of where to meet if separated. It also cost us at least 15 minutes. We sat down to eat, with A bouncing up and down eager to get to the parks. We wolfed down the food - not bad, omelet was fresh made to order. Had I been by myself I would have had more than just the ham and cheese she wanted. Not worth 10 bucks even with the side of bacon however. And proceeded back upstairs to roust the boys.
20 minutes later we headed for the busses. At this point 7:45 is waving at us from 10 minutes ago. I honestly don't remember the time, but I would guess around 8 when we actually got on the bus.
People were moving steadily through citywalk, C kept saying I can't believe we're actually here. I'll admit I teared up a bit as we hit the arch. So much work, time and effort to get us here I hoped everyone would enjoy it.
Once we got in the park we sped past minions (no mom, not today) and headed direct for potter. the time stamp on my Knight Bus photo says 8:39. Juuuuuust under when I wanted to get there. Not. A interacted with the driver and the head, she laughed at the jokes the head made and we headed into Diagon Alley.
WOW, I mean I think I had to pick my jaw up off the floor once we walked in. The photos don't do it justice. I just stood there for a moment, I'm sure causing the person behind me annoyance. A started crying, I cried we had a moment. Then the shear mass of people hit us and it became a game of doge the muggle. A got in line for Olivanders and C announced he wanted to ride Hulk. Ahhh, children, thanks for bringing me back to earth.
T took A to stand in the Olivanders line. The line for Gringotts was at least 45 minutes and extended out the door and down the lane in front of the entrance. None of us was willing to brave it. People everywhere. Once it was explained to him that he couldn't ride Hulk, C asked for a drink. We went and procured a butterbeer. Nether of us really liked it but hey, we've tried butterbeer. While we were meandering the dragon breathed fire. I didn't get a chance to see it. This would become a running gag amongst us, I have yet to see the dragon breathe fire. We're ending day 3, we've also yet to ride a HP ride.
I kept swinging my backpack around to yank my phone out as I wanted to take photos of everything. I finally just gave up and stowed my phone in my pocket. This was the first time I acutely missed my mom as once C sat down to drink his butterbeer I would have called her to gush about how beautiful the area was. I have had several of these moments throughout the trip. Quiet moments where I want to talk to her about what's going on. Not much to do but push through it. I just kept taking pictures of everything. There's so much in this area to see.
Somewhere in our wandering C found Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. A ginormous pygmy puff was acquired. The naming ceremony was fantastic and my normally shy kid ate it up. This was also the point where they were introduced to the concept of having things sent back to the hotel. No way were we hauling that thing around all day. By this time A had gotten her wand and was doing spells. C wanted to ride more rides so we split up. A did a few more spells then agreed to leave and come back when it was less crowded. We started walking toward the front of the park and I noticed Transformers had almost no wait. She wanted to ride so she headed in, but I stayed behind. I meandered through the gift shop while I waited, then seeking a place to sit wound up on a bench outside. Commotion made me look down the street and low and behold there was a transformer doing a meet and greet! He was one of the bad guys, but the costume was incredible. He wound up scaring a couple people who were posing for a photo muttering about "puny humans". it was fantastic. Soon enough he went back inside and there was an even bigger commotion. Optimus Prime himself came out. I texted T to get back here, and they showed up about the same time A got out of the ride. I made A and C get in line with me for a photo, I mean come on it's Optimus. Neither of them were happy but they did pose with me.
After my epic photo op we headed through Simpsons land toward Men in Black. This one I would ride, and the low wait time meant we jumped on. C got ahead of us he wound up in a whole different car. T, A and myself went in one row. It took me forever to figure out to aim my gun higher so I had the lowest score of all three of us until I heard Rip Torn say hit the button hit the button. So, I hit the button and suddenly I got the jackpot, therefore smoking both my husband and my kid. bwa ha. ha. sadly they did not feel the same.
We were exhausted and HOT after MIB, and T made the suggestion we stop for lunch in citywalk. We trudged toward the front of the park running into a couple of character interactions along the way. Scooby, hello kitty and one more I can't remember maybe a Simpsons character? We wound up at citywalk where I immediately started campaigning for cowfish. We gratefully walked into the AC and had an excellent lunch off our feet. T and C both had hamburgers, A got a bento box and I had the burgerooshi, specifically the pulled pork. Only I don't think it had pulled pork in the center I think it was ground beef. It was excellent and I was hungry so I didn't say anything to the waitress. The time? 11:30. We had made it about 3 1/2 hours in the parks before calling it quits. sigh.
After lunch we headed back to the room. C had been begging to go to Volcano bay, so after a brief rest he and I geared up to hit our second park of the day. T and A headed to walmart where they had strict instructions to bring back some kind of breakfast item. The walk to VB from CBBR really is minutes, and it's a lovely walk with the landscaping. More ominous were the storm clouds rolling in overhead and I repeatedly warned C we may not be able to stay. Sure enough within minutes of entering the park they kicked everyone out of the water due to the storm rolling through.
About 30 minutes after we got there the clouds rolled past without really doing much but a slight sprinkle and the sun came back out. They cleared us for the water and C flung himself into the wave pool with abandon. I hung out on the beach chair while he happily ran back and forth. We attempted to find the tapu tapu station for the drop slides in the volcano but between my knees and his impatience we didn't locate it. At one point I did get up and walk through the volcano just to meander which was delightful while wearing prescription sunglasses. It was like being in a horror movie as the darkness, made worse by my glasses, meant all I could see were bodies coming out of the darkness. If I took them off then all I saw were blurry shapes coming out of the darkness. I quickly made my way out of the volcano, and found the lazy river, but skedaddled back to my seat quickly in case C needed something. Honestly I could spend the whole trip here, the light breeze made it incredibly comfortable the volcano is stunning and at least one kid was happy, what more do you need?
Eventually I did pry him loose and we headed back to the hotel. Dinner tonight was a very much hoped for experience at the world's largest entertainment McDonalds.
the plan: Get to the park at 7:45 for early entry. Hit the HP areas first then take the train over to islands and see the sights there. Back to the room around 2 for a pool break.
The reality: the humidity and extensive walking heard our plans and busted a seam they laughed so hard.
6:30, A gets up and gets me up. We must have headed downstairs around 7 as the diner was open. We got an omelet to share and refilled the drink cups. At 10 bucks for the omelet a trip to Walmart was moved up on my priority list for the evening. It was good, but this was not going to become a habit.
I left A to get the drinks while I paid for the food. Took the tray into the main dining room, no kid. I went down the center isle, still no kid. Did she go back to the room? so, I went back to the room, both T and C were still asleep. No A. back downstairs. 5 minutes of wandering she appears out of thin air and says where were you? This little incident began the agreement of where to meet if separated. It also cost us at least 15 minutes. We sat down to eat, with A bouncing up and down eager to get to the parks. We wolfed down the food - not bad, omelet was fresh made to order. Had I been by myself I would have had more than just the ham and cheese she wanted. Not worth 10 bucks even with the side of bacon however. And proceeded back upstairs to roust the boys.
20 minutes later we headed for the busses. At this point 7:45 is waving at us from 10 minutes ago. I honestly don't remember the time, but I would guess around 8 when we actually got on the bus.
People were moving steadily through citywalk, C kept saying I can't believe we're actually here. I'll admit I teared up a bit as we hit the arch. So much work, time and effort to get us here I hoped everyone would enjoy it.
Once we got in the park we sped past minions (no mom, not today) and headed direct for potter. the time stamp on my Knight Bus photo says 8:39. Juuuuuust under when I wanted to get there. Not. A interacted with the driver and the head, she laughed at the jokes the head made and we headed into Diagon Alley.
WOW, I mean I think I had to pick my jaw up off the floor once we walked in. The photos don't do it justice. I just stood there for a moment, I'm sure causing the person behind me annoyance. A started crying, I cried we had a moment. Then the shear mass of people hit us and it became a game of doge the muggle. A got in line for Olivanders and C announced he wanted to ride Hulk. Ahhh, children, thanks for bringing me back to earth.
T took A to stand in the Olivanders line. The line for Gringotts was at least 45 minutes and extended out the door and down the lane in front of the entrance. None of us was willing to brave it. People everywhere. Once it was explained to him that he couldn't ride Hulk, C asked for a drink. We went and procured a butterbeer. Nether of us really liked it but hey, we've tried butterbeer. While we were meandering the dragon breathed fire. I didn't get a chance to see it. This would become a running gag amongst us, I have yet to see the dragon breathe fire. We're ending day 3, we've also yet to ride a HP ride.
I kept swinging my backpack around to yank my phone out as I wanted to take photos of everything. I finally just gave up and stowed my phone in my pocket. This was the first time I acutely missed my mom as once C sat down to drink his butterbeer I would have called her to gush about how beautiful the area was. I have had several of these moments throughout the trip. Quiet moments where I want to talk to her about what's going on. Not much to do but push through it. I just kept taking pictures of everything. There's so much in this area to see.
Somewhere in our wandering C found Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. A ginormous pygmy puff was acquired. The naming ceremony was fantastic and my normally shy kid ate it up. This was also the point where they were introduced to the concept of having things sent back to the hotel. No way were we hauling that thing around all day. By this time A had gotten her wand and was doing spells. C wanted to ride more rides so we split up. A did a few more spells then agreed to leave and come back when it was less crowded. We started walking toward the front of the park and I noticed Transformers had almost no wait. She wanted to ride so she headed in, but I stayed behind. I meandered through the gift shop while I waited, then seeking a place to sit wound up on a bench outside. Commotion made me look down the street and low and behold there was a transformer doing a meet and greet! He was one of the bad guys, but the costume was incredible. He wound up scaring a couple people who were posing for a photo muttering about "puny humans". it was fantastic. Soon enough he went back inside and there was an even bigger commotion. Optimus Prime himself came out. I texted T to get back here, and they showed up about the same time A got out of the ride. I made A and C get in line with me for a photo, I mean come on it's Optimus. Neither of them were happy but they did pose with me.
After my epic photo op we headed through Simpsons land toward Men in Black. This one I would ride, and the low wait time meant we jumped on. C got ahead of us he wound up in a whole different car. T, A and myself went in one row. It took me forever to figure out to aim my gun higher so I had the lowest score of all three of us until I heard Rip Torn say hit the button hit the button. So, I hit the button and suddenly I got the jackpot, therefore smoking both my husband and my kid. bwa ha. ha. sadly they did not feel the same.
We were exhausted and HOT after MIB, and T made the suggestion we stop for lunch in citywalk. We trudged toward the front of the park running into a couple of character interactions along the way. Scooby, hello kitty and one more I can't remember maybe a Simpsons character? We wound up at citywalk where I immediately started campaigning for cowfish. We gratefully walked into the AC and had an excellent lunch off our feet. T and C both had hamburgers, A got a bento box and I had the burgerooshi, specifically the pulled pork. Only I don't think it had pulled pork in the center I think it was ground beef. It was excellent and I was hungry so I didn't say anything to the waitress. The time? 11:30. We had made it about 3 1/2 hours in the parks before calling it quits. sigh.
After lunch we headed back to the room. C had been begging to go to Volcano bay, so after a brief rest he and I geared up to hit our second park of the day. T and A headed to walmart where they had strict instructions to bring back some kind of breakfast item. The walk to VB from CBBR really is minutes, and it's a lovely walk with the landscaping. More ominous were the storm clouds rolling in overhead and I repeatedly warned C we may not be able to stay. Sure enough within minutes of entering the park they kicked everyone out of the water due to the storm rolling through.
About 30 minutes after we got there the clouds rolled past without really doing much but a slight sprinkle and the sun came back out. They cleared us for the water and C flung himself into the wave pool with abandon. I hung out on the beach chair while he happily ran back and forth. We attempted to find the tapu tapu station for the drop slides in the volcano but between my knees and his impatience we didn't locate it. At one point I did get up and walk through the volcano just to meander which was delightful while wearing prescription sunglasses. It was like being in a horror movie as the darkness, made worse by my glasses, meant all I could see were bodies coming out of the darkness. If I took them off then all I saw were blurry shapes coming out of the darkness. I quickly made my way out of the volcano, and found the lazy river, but skedaddled back to my seat quickly in case C needed something. Honestly I could spend the whole trip here, the light breeze made it incredibly comfortable the volcano is stunning and at least one kid was happy, what more do you need?
Eventually I did pry him loose and we headed back to the hotel. Dinner tonight was a very much hoped for experience at the world's largest entertainment McDonalds.
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