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Post by Hi from RI on Dec 29, 2023 15:08:53 GMT -5
Following along...we are going back on the 5th so getting excited! It is only DH and me so we will take slow and easy....
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Post by disneyteach on Dec 29, 2023 18:09:44 GMT -5
12/19 - Hollywood Studios. I can't tell if the crowds really officially arrived this day or if it's just because we were at Hollywood Studios. TBH, the last few times we've gone to this park it's just really, really crowded. I just don't think there are enough rides or space to spread everyone out. Is that just me? As we were walking in there were several CMs announcing that ROTR was currently down. It ended up being down all morning and most of the afternoon and maybe that was part of the problem. We did arrive for early hours (parked in the first row behind preferred & handicap) and went straight to Rockin' Rollercoaster (the kids' request). The line was long until they officially opened then we pretty much just walked on. After Rockin' we went straight to TOT. I think it was posted at a 45 minute wait already but we didn't wait that long at all. I think we maybe waited about 20. The plan was to go straight from there to MMRR, but it didn't end up happening. We were hungry and once again I was reminded at the lack of food choices at HS, especially for breakfast. I wanted an iced animal cookie latte and a pink sprinkle donut from the Joffrey's stand by Pixar Place. DH went to stand in line and the kids noticed that Sully was doing a meet & greet. I left him to stand in line to go do the meet & greet. Frozone was also there and the kids were excited to meet him because they've never gotten their picture with him before. DD said she wished we had gotten an autograph book and I felt terrible. I used to get one every single trip but stopped during/after Covid when meet & greets were weird and just didn't even think about it. I think I'll get her a book when we go back this summer. I might even make her a photobook on Shutterfly or something and add the character's signatures to it. It won't quite be the same, but she loves photobooks. After the meet & greet, DH was frustrated because the line was barely moving and said he was giving up. We went over to get our pictures with Edna Mode then headed over to Ronto Roasters for a breakfast wrap. We mobile ordered and it was ready right away. The breakfast wrap never appealed to me in the past (hence wanting the pink sprinkle donut) but I thought it was delicious. DS and I split it, but he probably could've ate his own and would've been fine. I had already put in an order at Woody's Lunchbox and the arrival time was in about an hour & a half. DD ordered the overnight oats. I wasn't sure she would like it, but she loves anything with popping bubbles and that was a nice surprise for her. She ate about half and I ate the other half and actually liked that too. It was just something different. After we weren't hangry anymore the kids asked if they could play the game in Galaxy's Edge with their magic bands. That kept them occupied for quite a while and honestly I think they would've been happy just doing that the rest of the day. DH and I took a break, got some blue milk and just relaxed in the sun while they were doing their bounty hunting. Eventually it was time for lunch and I was worried about not finding a table at Woody's Lunchbox. The last time were were there it was a nightmare. We lucked out and got a table right away. We passed along the favor as soon as we were done eating to another family looking for a spot. DS & I both got the grilled cheese & tomato soup, DD got the kids turkey sandwich, and DH got the totchos. I wish either DS or I would've got the totchos then we could've shared both but I wasn't even thinking when I placed the order.
After lunch, we headed back over to Galaxy's Edge and the Mandalorian was out with Grogu. DH had scoped it out and figured out how it worked (Mando has to pick you to come up for a picture) so the next time he was out, we headed over and made sure DD (with her Grogu shirt and Grogu shoulder thingy) was front and center. She was the 2nd person picked and we shoved DS up there with her. I took video and I'm pretty sure that was the highlight of her trip up to that point. The kids played the bounty hunters game a bit more and then I talked the kids in to going to the muppet show. We headed that way and then something made us change our minds and we ended up going shopping instead. I don't think we bought anything, though. We did go into the Vacation Fun short show, which I adore. While waiting to enter the theatre people started literally running towards Galaxy's Edge. We hypothesized that they had opened up ROTR. Sure enough, we checked the app and the wait time was already up to over 100 minutes. We stopped for pictures with the Christmas tree & Gertie then DS asked for a Mickey bar.
While we sat outside the Trolley Car Cafe eating the Mickey bars, DH and I had a silent in-code conversation and decided we were ready to go and maybe head over to that other park. The wait times were just too long. Even the Aliens ride when we walked by earlier was over an hour. Now, that being said, we didn't test any of those wait times. We don't love any of them enough to even think about waiting more than an hour and every wait time was over that. We had dinner reservations at the Roundup Rodeo BBQ and the kids were insistent that they wanted to keep it. I theorized that once they figured out where we were going they would change their minds so I went ahead and moved the ressie to tomorrow so I could cancel it. We'll try it next time.
We told the kids we were going to go to Disney Springs, then hit I4 for Universal Studios. We had originally planned to go after 6 to get the free parking as another poster suggested, but we were just ready to go so I ate the $30 parking fee. I believe we got there around 3:00. DD had fallen asleep in the car and my (very, very intelligent DS) did not figure out where we were going until we were literally pulling in. He said later he was wondering why we were leaving Disney property to go to Disney Springs. I queued up my Spotify to play Harry Potter music as we were pulling in and we woke up DD and told the kids that this was their surprise for the trip. They were both excited but DD wasn't as much as I thought she would be. Come to find out later that she felt really bad because we told them this was my Christmas present, to go to Disney and she felt like she was ruining it. Sweet girl. I had to have a conversation with her later to explain that it was always their trip and we fibbed to them a little bit. She felt much better after that. We activated our APs and went to Universal Studios so we could go to Diagon Alley first. I think it worked out going later in the day because Ollivander’s had no line and we were able to get DD’s wand. Unfortunately she wasn’t picked for the show (I knew she wouldn’t be the moment I saw a little girl in her robes) but I prepared her so she wouldn’t be disappointed. We brought DS’s wand from 7 years ago and we asked if they thought it would still work. They laughed and said no way (the tip was very scratched, apparently), but we could trade it in. Unfortunately they didn’t make his wand anymore and they only had a few wands for him to choose from to exchange it with. He claimed his wand is now vintage and said he’d rather just get a new one. He said none of those exchange wands “chose him.” I was annoyed but let it go and just got him a new wand. Looking back I wish I would’ve put my foot down, but what even is money on vacation?? The kids did some spells in Diagon Alley for a bit and we got some butterbeer (hot this time for me and oh my, was it delicious!). We finally decided to get in line for the Hogwarts Express and it was ridiculously long. The posted wait was an hour and I would say we waited about 45 minutes. It was dark out by the time we got to Hogsmeade and it was just in time for the Magic of Christmas show, which was just beautiful. The kids did some more spells and then we decided to explore IOA for a little bit. Somewhere along the way someone had passed us 6 express passes for pretty much any ride except Hagrids or Velocicoaster. I sure do miss those days of paper fast passes at Disney! Using the express passes, we walked on the Spider-Man ride then went to the Hulkcoaster. DD was too short to ride (she didn’t want to anyways), so DS & DH used the other 2 express passes and then we used the rider swap for DS & I to ride. It was really, really cold..we put our hoods up, but the ride was so fun!
I forgot to mention earlier that we checked out of BLT and were moving to OKW today. We got the room-ready text as we were driving to Universal. After another long day of theme park-ing, we headed to OKW and placed a mobile order for their to-go stand. I got the Cuban that I thought was really good. We went straight to our room (building 28). DH immediately hated it because he hates any resorts with outdoor corridors. He’s a “hotel guy”. I immediately liked the laid back vibe of OKW. I would totally stay here again, but not sure I could talk DH into it. My only complaint is that when DH moved the nightstand looking for the outlet, we noticed two pills on the floor. Could’ve been very dangerous for a small child to find. After dinner, we turned in early because we had the Grinch breakfast booked for 8:15 am!
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Post by disneyteach on Dec 30, 2023 16:08:03 GMT -5
12/20 - We were up early again and ready to go by 7:20ish to get to UO in time for the Grinch breakfast. We got a pretty decent parking spot and breezed through security. IOA had early hours and we were stopped on the bridge as the gates hadn’t opened yet. I asked a team member where we should go if we had the breakfast and she directed me to a side gate. I had printed off the confirmation but nobody even looked at it. The TM working the gate was so excited about DH’s Browns jacket that they struck up a conversation and he didn’t look at our confirmation either. The Grinch breakfast was at Confisco. I was debating whether to even keep it or not because it was very pricey, but I’m glad I did. The breakfast was delicious and our meet & greet with the Grinch was fantastic. He was very funny and it was just a great time. The only disappointing thing is that the Whos didn’t actually come to take pictures at the tables, they were just wandering around. We met the Grinch after breakfast when they gave us a little card to get in line and we waited maybe about 10 minutes. This was nothing compared to the 3+ hours some people were waiting to meet him during the day. We finished up around 9:30 or so and we decided to go straight to the Velocicoaster. I really wasn’t sure if DD would want to ride it, but she didn’t express any hesitation and we just went with it. The posted wait time was about 75 (maybe 90 minutes) when we first got there but we waited less than an hour! I considered that very lucky. The coaster was everything we expected and I still can’t believe DD rode it without freaking out! It probably helps that she has an older brother and puts on a brave face for him. I still can’t believe the restraints on the coaster. I think after that we wandered around the park a bit and went to the Forbidden Journey ride. I can’t remember how long we waited for that one, but it wasn’t too bad either. Definitely less than an hour. It was really cool being in the castle. I need someone to tell me what rides you can & can’t take your phone on because I thought if there were lockers we were supposed to lock everything up, but so many people had their phones and I was regretting not having mine to take pictures inside the castle. After that we jumped in line for Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure and…what a fun ride!!! It was awesome because I had not watched any ride videos or anything so I had no idea what to expect and it was just fantastic. I believe we waited about 80 minutes and it was completely worth it! DH and I both sat in the sidecars because the kids wanted to “drive” the motorbikes. Next, we wandered around Hogsmeade for a bit and DD was begging for robes. I asked DH if we should buy her robes on Amazon ahead of time and he told me no. The next thing I know DH has told her he would buy her robes from Madame Malkins. Remember, what is money on vacation? We stopped to get lunch at Fire Eater’s Grill and that was a terrible experience. We did mobile order and it is not the same as DIsney. I got the food ready text about 5 minutes after I said we were there. I then went to stand in line and the woman wrote down my name. After 30 more minutes and people coming up after me and getting their food I asked what was going on. We ordered gyros and chicken strips. Nothing fancy and nothing special. The woman who took my name was clearly frustrated as well. The guy behind the counter said the other people had smaller orders. I’m like that is not how this works! Just because they ordered 1 chicken strip meal and we ordered 2 does not mean they get the food first! So we eventually got our food about 40 minutes after I was notified that it was ready. The food was good, and I’m not sure if that is how typical mobile orders work, but I probably won’t be doing that again. We headed to the other park (I think we walked rather than riding the Hogwarts Express) The only thing I really wanted to do tonight was watch the parade, so we made that a priority. We went to Diagon Alley and got some more butterbeers while the kids did some spells. Next, onto Madame Malkins for DD’s robes. I couldn’t believe the price and I was so mad at DH because I really wanted to buy them on Amazon ahead of time. DD saw the price and immediately said in her sweet voice “it’s ok I don’t need them” and I couldn’t tell her no. She got Gryffindor and she wore them the rest of the trip. They were probably really comfortable because it was a bit chilly. I told her she better believe she’s wearing them in the 100 degree heat when we come back in July too! Around 4:30 or so we headed over to stake out our place for the parade. DS stopped to get his picture with Megatron then we found a spot right in front of Jimmy Fallon’s ride. It took a while for the parade to get to us, but it was great! It’s been so long since I’ve seen any type of nighttime parade, so I was just happy. Can’t wait for Mickey’s parade tomorrow  After the parade, we hopped on Transformers really quickly and then DD & DS got their picture with Bumblebee. At that point we were ready to head out and we decided we were going to eat dinner at Olivia’s. We also decided we needed to do laundry so we threw some laundry in and it was just about done drying by the time we finished. We don’t have an Owner’s Locker anymore…well we do, but it’s at my parents condo in the Tampa area so we didn’t have any laundry soap. Why they don’t have cashless machines for the supplies there is beyond me. Everything else is cashless, it seems. Dinner was absolutely fantastic and I’m glad we decided to eat there. I got the clam chowder and crab cakes as my meal. The kids went into the community hall for a bit while we folded our laundry and then early to bed again. Tomorrow is Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party! |
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Post by sherrih on Jan 1, 2024 8:09:22 GMT -5
This sounds like a great trip. Love how you surprised the kids with Universal.
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After the parade, we hopped on Transformers really quickly and then DD & DS got their picture with Bumblebee. At that point we were ready to head out and we decided we were going to eat dinner at Olivia’s. We also decided we needed to do laundry so we threw some laundry in and it was just about done drying by the time we finished. We don’t have an Owner’s Locker anymore…well we do, but it’s at my parents condo in the Tampa area so we didn’t have any laundry soap. Why they don’t have cashless machines for the supplies there is beyond me. Everything else is cashless, it seems. Dinner was absolutely fantastic and I’m glad we decided to eat there. I got the clam chowder and crab cakes as my meal. The kids went into the community hall for a bit while we folded our laundry and then early to bed again. Tomorrow is Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party!