The Ferrets Southern Adventure.

Mr Ferret 88

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jun 8, 2015
Howdy Y'all
I haven't long joined here so i thought i would post up my trip report by means of hello to me and my DW.
I will post pictures as and when i can and hopefully some of you will find this mildy entertaining.
First of as i am new let my start with introductions ...
My name is Mr Ferret (or Matt or Uncle Dude/Ferret).I am a self confessed Disneyholic and have visited many times since 2000.I live on the small island of Guernsey in the English channel (famous for tax evasion and a port of call for the Disney magic in 2016 ).
I am Married to My wonderfull wife Donna (or Mrs Ferret).
We have managed to visit Disney many times since our first trip in 2000 including once tothe Paris park.
This is a run down of our time spent this May in the sunshine state.So with that over lets get on to the fun times.


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obligatory hotel selfie :-)
 
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May 3rd
Today is our first day of travel to get from our small island over to the UK.
We woke up to a foggy morning and after much worrying it cleared in time for our afternoon flight to Gatwick.
Once there we went straight to the line for twilight check in at the Virgin desks and were second in the queue.When our time rolled around and we were called forward we got the seats that we had requested online and made our way over to the Hilton via M & S for a bite for tea.
Whilst we were in the airport Donna spotted Claudia Winkleman (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudia_Winkleman For those who don't know).
Once over at the hotel we settled in for a night of watching the planes come in and some tv as the internet was strictly pay only :scared1:


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Our transport from the Island to the UK.

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Our Hotel at Gatwick.
 
May 4th
Our Transatlantic day started early as the previous occupants of the room had set the alarm for 5:30 am
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Once up and ready we headed straight to security and breezed through in about 5 minutes.Whilst walking through the duty free shop Donna spotted her second celeb of the trip ... Bertie Bassett.From there we headed up to the V-room and got a window seat to watch the flights taking off and enjoy the free breakfast.
We noticed that there was a high proportion of Easyjet flights compared to anything else.
we got the call for our flight and boarded "Pretty Woman".We settled in for an 8hr 29 min flight.We both watched John Wick and then i watched American Sniper with Donna watching Mockingjay part 1 and The Theory of Everything.After that we both watched Russel Brands Messiah Complex.
When lunch was served they had run out of our meal choice by the time they got to us and as we were nice and polite and were not too fussed we ended up with a beef stew and cake combo off the first class menu
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We also were served an afternoon treat of Fab lollies.
Once we had landed and cleared customs and immigration we chose our noble steed for the fortnight and headed off to our resort.We arrived not too much later and with only a little getting lost.We were given a room in Magnolia Terrace with a view of the pool and a short walk to the bus station.
Once we had got in the room and unpacked we headed of to the boat dock and proceeded down to Downtown Disney Springs for tea.EOS beckoned and we obliged with a holiday turkey sandwich and cupcake each.
After a stroll through the shops we cruised back to the hotel to get some much needed sleep as we had been up for around 24 Hrs.


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Pretty Woman our transatlantic plane

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Our upgraded hire car :cool1:

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Our room at the Riverside
 
I am on board and interested to see how your trip went. As a side note, we are actually booked for the cruise next year that will stop in Guernsey.
 


WOW! That is quite a car upgrade. I would have been a nervous wreck driving that but I would have loved to be a passenger :rolleyes1
 
I am on board and interested to see how your trip went. As a side note, we are actually booked for the cruise next year that will stop in Guernsey.

We are on the Magic for the Norway cruise that sails just before yours next year :sail:
 
Before i go any further i just want to put this song in your head as it was always on the radio and became the tune of our trip
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SWEET RIDE!!! Much better than the normal Magical Express ride I usually take. Looking forward to more of your adventure. thanks for sharing
 
May 5th
Magic Kingdom today.
We got there for the park opening celebration and once we had watched that we headed under the train station and into the park for our first full day
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.
First up we both got new hats and then grabbed a Starbucks before venturing further into the park. We went straight into the new Fantasyland area and seeing as Storytime with Belle was only a 10 minute wait we went into Maurice's house. This is a fantastic attraction and good fun to watch.
Upon exiting we got on the Little Mermaid ride again with minimal wait time and then went straight through into meeting with Ariel herself. She loved Donna's new tattoo.
Our next stop was Space Mountain.Very Proud of Mrs Ferret for getting on this because after our first trip in 2000 she was put off the ride by her mother in law sounding like she was going to be sick behind her and hadn't ridden it since. We both thoroughly enjoyed this much more peaceful ride (except for whooping and giggling).
Next up was Pirates of the Caribbean followed by dragging our Mortal bones over to The Haunted Mansion.
At this point lunch beckoned so it seemed rude to come all this way without visiting Casey's corner so we obliged.
Once fully fuelled up we headed back to Adventureland for our first FP of the day. Pirates of the Caribbean.
Next up was a FP meeting with Rapunzel and Cinderella.
We wandered over to Liberty square and took up residence in our favourite parade spot and watched Festival of Fantasy. This parade is an awesome replacement for "share a dream" and the Maleficent float is even more amazing up close.
Afterwards we headed over to Tomorrowland for a classic attraction and I do believe that there is "A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow".
Once rotated back to the Magic Kingdom our third FP has rolled up and we headed of for our first ride on Seven Dwarves Mine train. This is a great little attraction and has become one of Donna's favourites.
We used the FP+ kiosks over by Phillarmagic to grab a 4th FP for Big thunder mountain which we used After a showing of Phillharmagic. This is still one of my favourite coasters in Florida and a good time was had by both of us.
To slow things down a bit we headed over to Tomorrowlad transit Authority and took a gentle ride around watching the Tomorrowland dance party from above.
With time spare we hit up the Country bears Jambouree. Whilst not on a lot of peoples lists we really enjoy this attraction and its cheesy atmosphere.
We shopped for a little bit on Main street before grabbing a Coffee and watching the move it shake it parade ? Donna had a moment with Minnie mouse when they both made the heart symbolwith their hands and Minnie blew her a kiss.
Soon enough the time rolled around for our Dessert party reservation.
I am soooo glad we managed to sneak a reservation for this as the viewing is great. The sweets are plentiful and kept coming all evening. You have an allocated seat so there is no panic to get there first thing. When the fireworks were on everyone came forward to the railing to watch it. And Donna spotted her first Baby Disney ducks of the trip. This was a wonderful way to cap off our day at the Magic Kingdom and we headed back to the resort to rest up for more tomorrow.


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Todays Mousekeeping envelope

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Storytime with Belle

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Kiss De Girl

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Maleficent

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View from our table

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Small selection of desserts

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Ariel,Her Angelfih and me

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Phillharmagic
 
May 6th
Animal Kingdom
Todays adventures saw us stop first thing for breakfast at Pizzafari. We both got the bounty platter with coffee which was very nice Including Donna's first try of french toast ( except the coffee
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)
We wandered around to Everest and went through the standby line for our first ride of the day.
Next in our sights was Dinosaur which was our first FP we had a vehicle with two "younger Explorers" who didn't take too well to the dark. Once we had come out of the exit we headed straight back in as there was only a 10 minute wait on the standby side of the ride.
After another successful time travel mission we headed on over to Africa and a three week safari around the plains. What at first appeared to be an abandoned Savannah turned into a good ride with a lot of animals hiding in the shade a little further on.
We checked the times and took a stroll over to Nemo the Musical which we thoroughly enjoyed.
We then browsed for a while just enjoying the park before heading back to the Riverside.
We jumped into the trusty steed and went off down to Wallmart (don't judge y'all) to get some supplies etc. When we returned we took a nice gentle stroll down to French quarter and back for the evening before stopping at the foodcourt for an evening meal.


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Safari Donald

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Safari Elephant

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Stripey Pajama Horse

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Relaxing on Dinosaur

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Sleepytime on Everest
 
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May 7th

EPCOT

We decided on a bit of a later start today as the heat was unseasonally high and our FP selections were not until later in the day. Donna found the coffee machine in the room worked well and the Joffereys supplied had a good taste.
Upon arriving at the bus stop the Avengers themed bus turned up promptly and whisked us away to the park.
After a quick photo stop at the entrance we went straight on over to the left hoping to hit up Test Track. As we got closer we saw this wasn't going to be an option as the wait time was 95 minutes.
We window shopped in Mousegear on the way over to world showcase. Stopping for another photo opportunity in front of the fountains and golfball. Hanging a right at the start of this half of the park we stopped at the refreshment outpost to share a Cronut. We both agreed it was very nice indeed. Meandering through the worlds we found ourselves in Morroco and decided to stop in and meet with it's most famous resident,would be rude not to.
However Abu had gotten into trouble with Aladdin and they had had to stay at the palace so we "made do" with Jasmine
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.
She loved Donna's tattoo of her and asked for a picture with just the two of them.
Next up was Japan and a stroll through the always interesting and often weird department store before crossing the border back into 'Merica. Here we stopped and listened to the American Sound Machine ( an acapella fivesome).They were very good and make a nice addition to this land.
Next to be visited was the temporary stand "the smokehouse" for a Pigglicous Maple bacon cupcake and iced lemonade. Both were very nice indeed.
We strolled around the next few lands for a while and bought some treats for back home in Caramel Kuche before stopping off in Norway.
Here we got the fabled School bread and iced french vanilla latte and had them in the bakery's nice and shaded seating area whilst mourning the loss of Malestrom :sad:
Next was a short stroll through the butterfly garden and over to the imagination pavillion. After a ride on Journey to imagination we watched the sneak peek of Tomorrowland (it looks very good).
Whilst over this side of the park and in no rush we went Soarin on standby.
Our timeslot was here for the character spot so off we went to meet Mickey Minnie and Goofy.
Dinner was at Sunshine seasons and we both had the sweet and sour chicken with Jasmine rice and shared a NY cheesecake and strawberry shortcake.To burn off this we went for a trip to the eac and visited with Nemo and friends.
Next we did some shopping at Mousegear and art of Disney before doing our spaceship earth FP.
We headed back to the resort and hopped on a boat to DTD and watched Home at the AMC before a late night sailing back.

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May 7 Mousekeeping

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Jasmine and a Princess

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Norway Selfie (no stick)


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The Big Cheese


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Outside the land


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Not our ship but still very cool
 
May 8th


Episode 1 The Day Begins


Today we headed on over to Hollywood Studios for an important date with a few certain people.
To start the day off we went straight to the great movie ride and got the gangster show (We haven't had the full cowboy scene for years).
Next up was a trip through space on Startours followed by a quick turn round for a FP trip on Startours. Both times we had the wookie planet the same but everything else was different.
Next was muppetvision 3D.I don't care what the haters say I hope this doesn't go away with the redevelopments going on at this park.
We spent a while browsing around and went through "one man's Dream" including the show section.
Voyage of the Little Mermaid was next up on standby and then over to watch Beauty and the Beast with FP. This gives you seating closer to the stage.
We had a small lunch over at the backlot express and window shopped the nearby area before our next FP came available. This was for Muppetvision and I would have to say unless it was uber busy I wouldn't bother with a FP for this attraction as it was never needed.The cast members manning the FP line were pleased to see us though and welcomed us by name.
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We went from here to the art of animation courtyard to meet with Sophia the First.
Up next is our big date over at Hollywood and Vine.


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May 8th Mousekeeping

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Sophia the First

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one mans dream

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Cinderellas coach
 
May 8th
Episode 2 The Diner Beckons.


It was now time for our Star wars Dine at Hollywood and Vine.This was a late 40th birthday present from my amazing better half
We got to the booth outside and were given a buzzer which sounded roughly 5 mins after we had been given it and upon returning to the entrance we were ushered inside. First up was a photo with the main mouse himself .. Jedi Mickey.After this we were given a card with all the signatures on and a placemat each that could be rolled into a lightsaber (red or blue depending on preference).A lady then escorted us to our seating and explained how everything works etc.We quickly set of to the buffet and helped ourselves to what appealed. The food was pretty good and there was quite a large selection and a lot had been renamed with starwars themed titles. We met in no particular order Chip and Dale (individually) in their Ewok attire,Princess lea Minnie Mouse,Darth Goofy and a rather short to be a stormtrooper Donald. The characters were a lot of fun and it was also fun to watch them interact their way around the room. There was also a good selection of themed desserts and some impressive display cakes.
We witnessed an amusing exchange between Mickey and Minnie near the entrance when one of the greeters asked Mickey when he was going to put a ring on Minnie's finger ,after which she "stormed off" in a huff.
After we had had our fill and met with everyone we headed back outside and back over to the art of animation area where Donna found a stuffed Flounder she had been looking for.Once more on the Great Movie ride and Star tours saw us at the trolley cart Starbucks location..
We sat behind the store in the sheltered area to partake of our drinks and wait for our evenings plans ...


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Jedi Mickey


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Aren't you a little short to be a stormtrooper ?

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Desserts eat them you must !

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This is NOT the cake you are looking for ...

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Fastest hunk 0' cake in the universe.

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She finds his lack of ring disturbing.
 
Looks like we were at Hollywood Studios at the same time.

Next was muppetvision 3D.I don't care what the haters say I hope this doesn't go away with the redevelopments going on at this park.
::yes::I'm with you on this one!

The cast members manning the FP line were pleased to see us though and welcomed us by name.
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:rotfl: Poor board CMs who get very few people past them!

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She finds his lack of ring disturbing.
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May 8th
Episode 3 It all goes Wrong
Our server had told us to arrive at the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater for about 25 to nine to get seated. We showed up at 25 past 8 and showing the card given were directed to the Mickey section. Once here we were told by the cast member at the top to sit anywhere in the section. We walked up and down the stairs and .. no space .. everyone was packed in already. When approached the fellow at the top he directed us over to the Scar section. Arriving here we got the same instructions from the cast member so we went down and up the stairs again to find the whole section packed. The cast member at the top just directed us to the next row along and didn't seem too bothered. By this time both myself and Donna were getting annoyed and frustrated and we just headed off to the far left section that was empty to get a seat.
As we were going down the stairs to this final section a female cast member (we think her name was Hannah) noticed Donna was in tears and did try to help offering to seat us in the VIP section (just above where our "reserved" seats had been) but we were both too upset at this point and politely declined. She said if we changed our minds to go back and let her know and she would re-seat us but the VIP area looked as crowded by this time and we never did.
As for the show I don't really remember a whole lot as I was hot tired and upset.But the seating on the side didn't give that great a view and we could see fireworks from somewhere else going off to our left. When it finished we just hightailed it out as we wanted to get back to our room.
When we finally made it back there I went over to the main lobby and concierge to talk to someone about what had happened.
The lady there was very sympathetic and said she was going to pass the complaint up to her manager and see where it went. She also gave us two (each) complimentary FP for either 7 dwarves or Big Thunder for the 13th
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May 9th
This morning saw us buckle up and motor up to Universal. Once parked up and through bag check we headed over to the left at Citywalk and into Islands Of Adventure.
We headed straight through the park and up to Hogsmeade and The Forbidden Journey ride. The wait time posted was for 75 minutes but as we got closer there was a cast member informing people that the ride was down at the moment but we were welcome to join the Queue but they couldn't guarantee what time it would be active again
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At this point we decided to switch things up and head on over to Uni Studios via the Hogwarts Express. I wont go into detail of this ride so as to keep the surprise for others but keep an eye on the window and your carriage doorway. We exited at kings cross and headed across into Diagon alley.
This area is awesomely themed and due to the high buildings it is completely immersive.
First up was a ride on Escape from Gringotts. This has a very deceptive queue area as you enter through the front of the bank you go down into an outside area that can take more than an hour to clear before you get back into the bank for another 30 minute or more queue. The inside section has more to see and do including a photo section. The ride itself is pretty cool and uses screens and other things to complete the experience.
Once we had done this we re-lockered our bags and went back in for a second ride.
After this the queue time had grown to well over an hour and a half so we decided to get some refreshment. We decided on ice cream and went into Florien Fortesques. We both went for a waffle cone,mine with sticky toffee pudding flavour and Donna had apple crumble. We parked outside to eat the cones and watch the dragon on top of the bank. Both flavours were very nice and the dragon fire is exceedingly hot (even in the Florida sun).We spent a good while investigating all around the alley and also in knockturn alley before heading back out into the main park.
We ventured over to Men in Black and Donna proceeded to beat me ...
Next up we ventured into Springfield and to the Krusty burger. The line to get to the food stations was out the door so we went around to the Starbucks location for coffee and a sandwich and shared a cheese danish. We sat outside to eat and watch the world walk by.
By this time all the rides had seriously long queues so we hit up the shops and left for the day. Not before we had seen Bumblebee
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and Megatron
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We headed back to the resort to rest up for later as the temps were in the upper 90's.
Later that day we headed out to the bus stop and boarded for the Magic Kingdom.
Once there we went right into the Tinkerbell meet and greet. By the time we had been returned to our regular size we headed over to Arrundelle to meet with the frozen sisters.
The poor photographer in here was doing a great but busy job as he was covering all the families meeting both sisters by himself as the other camera person had issues with her card reader. First up was Anna and then Elsa.
We followed this with a trip "under the sea" on the little mermaid ride.
Our first FP+ of the day was due so we headed into tomorrrowlad and boarded our astro blasters to go "to Infinity and Beyond".Continuing the trend of the day Donna beat me by achieving a perfect score.
After this we headed of for another trip around the dead centre of the park. Upon exiting we popped into Memento Mori for a "special" portrait from here. We took these with us and due to a mix up and (in their words) an unnecessary long wait we received a free FP+ for any ride. We took this and swiftly headed over to 7 dwarves mine train for an unexpected ride.
Winnie the Pooh was next as it was only a 10 minute wait for the standby line. Next up was a spin through space on the mountain and this time we got the other side of the ride (this one seems a little jerkier).
Casey's corner was our next stop for a quick top up before our next FP+
THE JUNGLE CRUISE
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... This is my all time favourite ride and skipper Louis didn't disappoint with a few new jokes thrown in with the old ones. The refurb looks good and the ride is looking nice and clean with a few new bits thrown in. From here we went next door to Pirates and rode this again. I do feel they shouldn't have pushed the refurb back as it is a shame to see some of the things that need fixing. We decided at this point that we were both done for the day ad headed off for some well deserved rest.


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May 10th
This was a late start for us as we had nothing planned but shopping.
We went to the Vineland outlet malls first and then on to the Florida mall.
Afterwards we went down to the super Target on the 192 before heading back to the resort.
We boated to Disney Springs to watch Avengers Age of Ultron.Due to a late finish time we had to catch the bus back to the hotel as the boats had moored up for the night.
 
May 11th
Today we took the car out for another blast and headed off to Seaworld. We normally take our seaworld days a little more relaxed and just spend time watching the animals instead of heading from ride to ride.
Upon arrival we headed up through the park to the new penguin encounter area before any queues got out of hand. We went in with only a 10 minute wait and chose the "wild" ride option. It is a neat little ride and not very wild at all to be honest. I won't give away any details so as to allow others to enjoy it themselves. At the end we spent some time watching the little fellows both above and below the waterline. Donna made a new friend in a Gentoo that spent qite a lot of time showing off to her. When we exited back into the park we saw it was still only a short wait and re rode. Again at the end we watched the Penguins some more as they had woken up far more and were more active. We decided to have an early lunch at this point so got something from the antarctic basestation and found a quiet seating area to enjoy it. Next up was the turtle and Manatee show and we spent quite some time there watching the animals (and some divers hoovering the exhibit).The dolphin encounter had been closed off for redevelopment so that was off the agenda.
We stopped off next at the shark encounter as it was nearby and took the moving walkway through the shark tunnel. Whilst in the same area I decided a ride on Kraken was in order so I headed off to that whilst Donna got herself a Henna Tattoo (oooo what a rebel).
Once suitably inverted and shaken we headed around the back of the Shamu stadium taking some time to check out the artwork located here that has been made entirely from stuff washed up on Florida's beaches. Wild Arctic was our next destination and we chose the simulator route. It was way bumpier than I remember from previous trips (maybe I am just getting old) and we spent a good amount of time in here watching the Belugas,Seals and sea Chickens ...
upon exciting we headed over to the Penguin encounter again but the wait time was up to 55 minutes so we decided dippin dots ice cream was a far better option.
We spent some time next up at the Shamu underwater viewing area watching them play with their toys.
A ride on Manta was next for me and it was a quick 5 minute stroll through the queue and pretty much straight on to the ride. At the exit to the ride I had a did that just happen moment. Bearing in mind I am thousands of miles from home I walk out of the exit and someone stops me with a "hello Mate how are you"
It was a customer from a local garage back home !!
Once I had located Donna we took a gentle stroll out through the shops and out of the park.
We headed down to the 192 to pick up another couple of cheap cases and for dinner at Golden Corall before returning to the resort for the night.


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Donna's new friend.

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May 12th
We returned to Universal today and headed straight to the studios side this time.
First on the agenda was Transformers the ride. This is very cool and uses the same tech as the Spiderman ride over in IOA so if you like one you will like the other. Our next up was the Mummy but unfortunatley this was closed until midday due to filming so we headed to Kings cross station and boarded through platform 9 3/4 .This has a very cool effect mid queue. Again on the train keep looking all around you.
Straight off the train and into Hogwarts to ride the Forbidden Journey. This is as good as I remember and the queue is as immersive as any in Florida. We hopped onto Flight of the Hippogriff next and I was impressed with the re-theme of the queue and the ride as I had not ridden it since they changed it from the Flying Unicorn. On a similar note I passed on the Dragon challenge as it no longer launches the coasters in tandem (elf and safety) so when I rode it after the re-theme it just wasn't the same as previous with the near misses
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Lunchtime saw us at the 3 broomsticks and we both had the cottage pie and hot butterbeer. Both were very nice and I would have to say that hot is our favourite of the butterbeers.
We spent the rest of the day with no particular plan in mind slowly enjoying the theming of the rest of the park and its different areas. I did consider the incredible hulk coaster but the queue time was far too long and I didn't fancy the wait.
We both met with the green goblin in superhero island (me whilst paying for a t-shirt and Donna whilst seated waiting for me to investigate the hulk) he was not as scary as I would of thought and chatted briefly to us both.
After returning to the car we took a detour to the NB and Nike outlets to have a browse and then called it an early day after a Micked D's as we have an early start tomorrow.


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