Happy Anni-birth-aversary...A 33 night Celebration & HHN too.....SF & RPR September 2022 TR

[BroadwayHermione5]

So I meant to comment earlier but I don’t mind the JF ride either-it’s a good ride to go and cool down in.


I need to remember about the Neuralyser in Finnegans!


And if there would bookstores in theme parks it would be all over! I don’t have room as it is!

 

[schumigirl]

So I meant to comment earlier but I don’t mind the JF ride either-it’s a good ride to go and cool down in.


I need to remember about the Neuralyser in Finnegans!


And if there would bookstores in theme parks it would be all over! I don’t have room as it is!

Books are my thing, so yes, i`d have loved that too. I apparently have far too many books at home, but Tom isn`t really a reader, so he doesn`t get it......

You`d like the Rum Neuralyser, very fruity!

It`s funny with JF, no one ever seems to say they love it, it`s always folks saying it`s ok, or it passes some time out of the heat. Such a shame really they didn`t put in something everyone raved about.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Books are my thing, so yes, i`d have loved that too. I apparently have far too many books at home, but Tom isn`t really a reader, so he doesn`t get it......

You`d like the Rum Neuralyser, very fruity!

It`s funny with JF, no one ever seems to say they love it, it`s always folks saying it`s ok, or it passes some time out of the heat. Such a shame really they didn`t put in something everyone raved about.

Agreed on JF! Though I’d still rather ride that than fast and furious!

 

[disneyseniors]

Books are my thing, so yes, i`d have loved that too. I apparently have far too many books at home, but Tom isn`t really a reader, so he doesn`t get it......

You`d like the Rum Neuralyser, very fruity!

It`s funny with JF, no one ever seems to say they love it, it`s always folks saying it`s ok, or it passes some time out of the heat. Such a shame really they didn`t put in something everyone raved about.

I've got to agree on the books! I am a voracious reader and have book shelves in the bedroom and closet and in the dining room!!! They are all full. Oh, I almost forgot the book case in the spare bedroom, LOL.
It's funny, but Roger never read much at all until I talked him into reading the Harry Potter books. He loved the movies and I told him there was much more in the books. Well, he started reading them and has become an avid reader too. He loves Westerns, HP books, that type of thing. I now have to share my bookcases and shelves!

I wonder how many non reader people have started reading after reading HP books???

Loving your TR. I cant wait to explore the many stores, and check out the store fronts this time. I never really slowed down enough to do that before. Always a destination in sight. Your reports have made me see that there is so much we have missed! This time, with 4 full days, we will be able to see and do more. 2 1/2 weeks left, YEA!!!

 

[schumigirl]

Agreed on JF! Though I’d still rather ride that than fast and furious!

Yes, neither for me……lol……but F&F is the worst of the two.

 

[schumigirl]

I've got to agree on the books! I am a voracious reader and have book shelves in the bedroom and closet and in the dining room!!! They are all full. Oh, I almost forgot the book case in the spare bedroom, LOL.
It's funny, but Roger never read much at all until I talked him into reading the Harry Potter books. He loved the movies and I told him there was much more in the books. Well, he started reading them and has become an avid reader too. He loves Westerns, HP books, that type of thing. I now have to share my bookcases and shelves!

I wonder how many non reader people have started reading after reading HP books???

Loving your TR. I cant wait to explore the many stores, and check out the store fronts this time. I never really slowed down enough to do that before. Always a destination in sight. Your reports have made me see that there is so much we have missed! This time, with 4 full days, we will be able to see and do more. 2 1/2 weeks left, YEA!!!

We have a room filled with bookcases……last year we decided I had to have a cull…..I did get rid of around 50 books to the charity store, I haven’t quite refilled that, but it’s getting there……lol…….

Tom read the HP books and a Jurassic Park book once…..that’s about it! He did enjoy them, but isn’t in a rush to read many more.

It’s one of the reasons I love doing the reading sessions in the school and nursery, books should be encouraged from a very young age. Kyle’s first Bath toy was a waterproof book, he still reads I’m glad to say.

Your trip is getting ever closer!!

I‘m always glad to hear anyone enjoys these rambles, but I can’t wait to hear how much you enjoy the parks and everything they have to offer. You’ll both have a blast!!!

 

[SCDizFan]

Did I know that you and Tom were F1 fans? We were lucky enough to attend the race in Miami in May last year. It was the absolute most fun!

 

[schumigirl]

Did I know that you and Tom were F1 fans? We were lucky enough to attend the race in Miami in May last year. It was the absolute most fun!

lol....my username usually lets folks know.......we`re not into it as much as we used to be years ago. Lewis Hamilton is one of those reasons.

We used to go to races all over Europe back in the day, but between rule changes and regulations brought in to favour certain teams, it has lost it`s shine for us. One of our relatives was part of one of the teams for many years, not a driver....lol....but we used to get VIP paddock access at all the circuits and we got up to close most of the drivers, but the one driver we really wanted to meet, we never did.....Michael Schumacher, our hero, hence the username.

We were in Orlando when they came to Miami, but maybe if it had been 15 years ago we`d have gone.....but glad you enjoyed it, they do put on a good spectacle.

Are you planning to go this year to Miami? We`ll be in Orlando again, but no plans to dip down for the race.

 

[JaxDad]

Did I know that you and Tom were F1 fans? We were lucky enough to attend the race in Miami in May last year. It was the absolute most fun!

Greetings and apologies Carole for a quick “off-topic” question…@SCDizFan, I’m considering taking my family to the Miami Grand Prix this year. Can you recommend a grandstand/section that would be (mostly) out of the sun? I’ve tried figuring it out with the map and have asked on TripAdvisor and elsewhere, but haven’t had a response. TIA!

 

[SCDizFan]

lol....my username usually lets folks know.......we`re not into it as much as we used to be years ago. Lewis Hamilton is one of those reasons.

We used to go to races all over Europe back in the day, but between rule changes and regulations brought in to favour certain teams, it has lost it`s shine for us. One of our relatives was part of one of the teams for many years, not a driver....lol....but we used to get VIP paddock access at all the circuits and we got up to close most of the drivers, but the one driver we really wanted to meet, we never did.....Michael Schumacher, our hero, hence the username.

We were in Orlando when they came to Miami, but maybe if it had been 15 years ago we`d have gone.....but glad you enjoyed it, they do put on a good spectacle.

Are you planning to go this year to Miami? We`ll be in Orlando again, but no plans to dip down for the race.

Aha! I get your user name now!

As is everything Miami, the tickets are ridiculously stupid expensive. A three day pass for one person starts at $3500 and parking is $10,000-$80,000 onsite. We paid $100 to park almost ten miles from Hard Rock Stadium (it is in the ghetto). It is actually cheaper for us to purchase a four night, three day VIP package for Monaco (including one dinner, hotel four nights, three open bars, transportation back and forth from Nice, and grand strand seating all three days) than Miami.

Fortunately we work very closely with the stadium and they comped our tickets. The hubs is good friends with the President of F1 Miami (he is a sweetheart) so hopefully the F1 fairy will look kindly on us again this May.

We only got into F1 during the pandemic and Drive to Survive on Netflix.

Miami ruins everything.

 

[schumigirl]

Aha! I get your user name now!

As is everything Miami, the tickets are ridiculously stupid expensive. A three day pass for one person starts at $3500 and parking is $10,000-$80,000 onsite. We paid $100 to park almost ten miles from Hard Rock Stadium (it is in the ghetto). It is actually cheaper for us to purchase a four night, three day VIP package for Monaco (including one dinner, hotel four nights, three open bars, transportation back and forth from Nice, and grand strand seating all three days) than Miami.

Fortunately we work very closely with the stadium and they comped our tickets. The hubs is good friends with the President of F1 Miami (he is a sweetheart) so hopefully the F1 fairy will look kindly on us again this May.

We only got into F1 during the pandemic and Drive to Survive on Netflix.

Miami ruins everything.

There is or was no one better than Michael for us, we watched him before he went into F1.

It’s nice when you have a contact for something like F1, it is an expensive hobby!!! I hope you do get some mummy dust for this year.

Monaco is my least favourite race, along with the British GP, only because of all the sycophants for Hamilton, my favourite track is Spa, although, tough call. Zandvoort 1973 was my earliest race, not the best race to see, but I don’t remember much of it.

Fingers crossed you get to Miami again…..

 

[schumigirl]

MONDAY OCTOBER 3RD

Time to get this one finished up.......goodness me, it`s almost the end of January!!!




We were up ultra early again, but again somehow by the time we ate breakfast and got to the park it was later than we planned, but we do love our chats in the mornings with the lovely staff in the lounge. And breakfast is always lovely too, there is something for everyone with the options they have and always fresh and replenished regularly.

When we go to IOA we always walk as it is so gorgeous, the ground of RP are stunning and if you have time have a wander round some of the areas you don`t normally walk through, it really is lovely.

And of course our favourite pool of all the resorts. We don`t need a slide so this one works for us nicely. We love this pool, we`ve never struggled to get a lounger and it`s never too rowdy and it has the best pool bar of all the hotels, for us anyway. They have several hot tubs, but we`re not hot tub people at all.....I don`t get the appeal, but the pool is lovely.

It was gloriously hot this morning but there is a gorgeous little breeze that is very much appreciated, we marvelled at how perfect this weather had been our last week, excluding the hurricane of course, and we relished every second of this lovely sunshine especially as we knew we were going to back to a dull and much cooler UK tomorrow evening.

I always bore everyone rigid about how wonderful Port of Entry is.....the theming is wonderful and they have so many hidden gems that many pass by, but when you do stop there are so many to see it can pass an hour or so just catching them all.

One of our favourites is the prison, or Hoosegaw, where one of the prisoners has escaped and leaves a very simple message to his guards.....

Although it does seem very lax that the guards have left the keys hanging outside......oops!!

I find it quite ironic and not altogether an accident that the POE Fire Department are placed next to a real FD access point.

You couldn`t miss that today the scrim had been put back up now the winds had died down, looks better than the scaffolding hiding underneath.

Our favourite restaurant in IOA is Confisco Grille and upstairs they have the Navigators Club which has lovely views of the immediate area from up there. Sometimes we`ve needed to show an AP to get a table up there, other times we haven`t. But, it is nice up there, and food is so good!

Knowing this was our last full day we really did take our time, more than usual.....and tried to just take everything in and it wasn`t too busy right now so it was nice to feel no crowds.

We went on Dr Doom a few times, the regular line was non existant but we still used our EP, I think we went on 3 times and although it is a heavily criticised ride for being short, which it is, it`s still a lot of fun and for a few seconds up top you can see for miles which is breathtaking, albeit short!!

Next up is everyone`s buddy Spider-Man, this is such a good ride, and although it does spin a little, if I`m careful and focus my eyes on one sopt as it turns around, I`m absolutely fine on this one. It`s a lot of fun and not to be missed. Folks say it`s similar to Transformers and it is the same format, but there`s something about the pixellation of the TF screen that is very different to me and I can`t do TF at all.

Spider-Man we went on 3 times also, but by then we wanted to be back out and into the sunshine again.

We love the rides, but for us, we can get just as much enjoyment out of walking around these beautiful parks as we do riding the rides. I know some folks think that`s crazy, but we really do. There`s so much to see and sit back and take in, no, maybe not for everyone of course. I think we`ve done every ride so often, it doesn`t matter if we miss once or twice.

More to come......

 

[DisGhost]

I enjoy POE so much more since reading your trip reports. I really try to pay attention even though my family always hustles through. We do like to listen to the meowing cats.

 

[macraven]

I so enjoy your trip reports schumi!

What am I going to do when you are finished with this one?
Hope your next trip comes soon …..

 

[schumigirl]

I enjoy POE so much more since reading your trip reports. I really try to pay attention even though my family always hustles through. We do like to listen to the meowing cats.

Thank you! I`m glad to read that, it really is a fabulous area that`s filled with little gems of detail all the way through. Yes, the cats are cute!

 

[schumigirl]

I so enjoy your trip reports schumi!

What am I going to do when you are finished with this one?
Hope your next trip comes soon …..

Thank you mac......

We are less than 100 days now till we leave for the next trip .......but, I do need to finish this one, it`s been too long! You know how busy we are this week, but once the decorators are here, we can just let them get on with it. So hopefully I`ll get through it.......

 

[schumigirl]

Today wasn`t really about rides, it was just a wander round the parks for us, almost like saying goodbye till next time (sorry for the schmalzy stuff.... ) But that`s what it felt like today and again, stunning weather that did not miss the humidity that is usually all engulfing this time of year, so it was gorgeous just walking around.

Ripsaw Falls was still down, and it was still odd seeing it empty. We did see several folks here complaining they didn`t know this ride was down for their stay....and yes, TM`s did hear how it had ruined some people`s trips.....

Kong we passed by today, and wandered down to Jurassic Park to have a look at the 50 foot hole on the side of the building where the metal had been ripped off with the hurricane a few days before.

​

JPRA is a lot of fun, I think it`s actually our favourite of all the water rides in IOA, it varies how wet you get depending on how it`s loaded, so different every time. Except for Kyle.....doesn`t matter where he sits on the boat.....he gets completely drenched to the skin. Every time.

There are only a few places left that show how green this are used to be before they ripped out most of it for the new Velocicoaster, not that I`m complaining, but it was quite nice to have some lovely quiet places you could get away from the crowds. There are still a few, but not as many.

What a view!

You just have to don`t you....we did just stand and look at the camera for the picture, but we were duly admonished by a passing TM for not "getting into the spirit" of the dinosaurs attacking...well, ok then...lol, he was one of the guys who handle Blue the baby dinosaur, so we did as we were told, me for once as Tom would say....

I asked Tom if he felt like going on FJ, he said no, we`d make up for it in May for sure.

This is one of our favourite views in the park......definitely the nicest Castle in Orlando!!

If you`ve read these TR`s before, you`ll know neither Tom or I like Butterbeer, it just doesn`t appeal to us at all and we didn`t enjoy it when we tried it, but we do like Pumpkin Fizz from The 3B`s.

It`s just as sweet in many ways as Butterbeer, so we share a drink between us when we do have it.

Not too busy today!

Hogsmeade is one of the most beautiful places and today it isn`t as crowded as it usually is, so it`s a pleasure to walk around.

We do enjoy watching kids and adults too perform the spells with their wands, some are naturally better than others at doing them, and you do see some strops as folks can`t manage them....usually adults....lol.

Rather than go to Seuss as we had planned, we decided to get the Hogwarts Express over to the Studios today instead.

There was no real line to show our EP to get on the train, so we got straight through and there was no one around all the pathway up to the entrance.

It certainly seemed quiet today compared to other days we had visited, we might even get a carriage to ourselves today, we hadn`t had that in a few visits and we do like that, not that we`re antisocial, but it is nice now and again.

Studios coming up......

 

[saskdw]

The hurricane seemed to clear out all the clouds and humidity that are normally present that time of year. The week or so after the hurricane the weather looked incredible!

 

[schumigirl]

The hurricane seemed to clear out all the clouds and humidity that are normally present that time of year. The week or so after the hurricane the weather looked incredible!

After the hurricane it really did clear out the humidity and skies were beautiful and almost cloudless the whole time. Yes, it was stunning weather for the last 5 or 6 days we were there.

 

[schumigirl]

There was a little hold up getting off the HE this morning, someone said it had to do with wheelchairs causing the delay, there were certainly a lot of them but I`m not quite sure what the actual hold up was, but people were grumbling a lot......we just sat back down till we moved.

We headed out when the crowds moved and we always enjoy wandering into the Studios.

We get asked often which park is our favourite, and being honest, I still can`t decide completely. They both have their plus points and things we really love in both, and not many negatives in either, I can`t think of any actually. I`m usually guilty of saying whichever park we`re in at the time is our favourite......lol......

Coming out of the station, we feel that gorgeous blast of heat hit us, but not overpoweringly so. Did I mention we were loving this!!!

San Francisco Pastry Co is a lovely little place that we don`t visit often enough. Usually when we pass it we`re not hungry and it`s too early for something else. They serve a mix of hot and cold sandwiches, various salads, clam chowder and some sweet treats like cheesecake and a beautiful Napoleon dessert along with muffins and other regular goodies.

I would like to try it again for lunch, but most seats are outdoor and it`s just too darn hot usually, we much prefer to eat inside, but the food is lovely.

San Francsico area is lovely, it used to be home to Disaster which was a fun and corny ride, but it was popular and it did pass a bit of time and had a very good interactive pre show, sadly now replaced with Fast & Furious which is universally loathed.

We slowly headed round the park, Mummy was a ridiculous wait again, we`ll do that on our next trip when we have EP, so we kept wandering and found ourselves heading back towards ET.

It was fairly quiet round here as it usually is when we are here and the line for ET is very short when we get there.

I could miss the preshow easily on this one. Yes, I know it`s almost sacrilege and heresy to say anything against this beloved ride, and I love the ride, but the preshow just doesn`t work for me.

You give your name and get your pass for the ride, hopefully so ET says your name at the end of the ride.....this is a hit or miss over the years and sometimes you can clearly hear your name, other times it`s like ET is speaking another language, which is cute too.

The line used to have a very clear aroma as you entered, but last few visits we`ve noticed it`s not as crytal as it used to be, it had a pine and something else smell and very evocative of a deep forrest which everyone loved. Maybe it was just the days we were there, but it was lacking.

And I always ramble on about things we notice each trip we have missed and there is always something.

Today we noticed something so obvious we really couldn`t believe we had missed it all these years since 2007. And it is very obvious.

After you get your pass, you turn left for the line, as you enter that area, we always look directly ahead waiting to show the EP. But, today we looked to the right and we saw this little display that genuinely, we had never noticed!!

We never take pictures on rides, and this one isn`t ideal anyway as it moves so quickly, but we had the vehicle to ourselves so we wouldn`t annoy anyone. There`s nothing worse than someone taking pictures when they shouldn`t, especially if they use the flash!! So we just grabbed a couple today.

I have never taken a drug in my life, but I do think someone had to be on something to come up with certain scenes on this ride.....along with Cat in the Hat, there are some serious mind bending thoughts going on there!!

ET did say our names today and it was clear as a bell......it does make one smile when you hear him say your name as an adult, so I imagine for kids, it`s ultra special.

More to come.......