How Universal saved our vacation...DAYS 1 & 2 & 3!

DAY 3 11/8/17...THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER!

This was the day we had dedicated to making the most of all things Potter. So we enjoyed breakfast in our room again, donned our HP shirts, grabbed my wand and headed out to the early entry at IOA. I would like to point put that very VERY few people seem to have embraced their love of being a HUfflepuff. I saw lots of Gryffindor, Slytherin and Ravenclaw attire though. I tell you, even the TM's were like "Hey cool a Hufflepuff!" I got a lot of attention for being a proud member of the badger-nation. And DH got a a lot of side-eye for his Azkaban shirt LOL. But the parks were super uncrowded again early in the am as we headed into Hogsmeade. We got on FJ first and much to my delight I did not get motion sick! I was worried about it after Volcano Bay made me so queasy. After that, we TRIED to get on Flight of The Hippogriff but it was broken. So instead we went to Ollivander's for the show. I made DH hold my wand, hoping I might get picked LOL. There was a lady behind us in line who was very excited and wanted to know what this "ride" was, so I explained it and I thought her head was going to explode. She was clearly a BIG fan and thought it was the bees knees.



omg-excited.gif



So they loaded our group into the room and I was positioned right in front...but how do you compete with that?? Ollivander made a bee-line for the lady next to me, who had twisted her park map into a wand and she was practically vibrating, LOL. I thought she was going to faint when he pulled her over. It really was a lot of fun to watch.

Afterwards we walked all of Hogsmeade and I tried some spells...to which I must say I seem to be more muggle than wizard. I could not seem to get the things to work. That is until DH pointed out where the sensors were in each window! I found getting as close as possible worked best.

When i was done proving my magical prowess, we made our way over to Jurassic Park, where I found we were too early to meet a velociraptor (more later...) so we did the River Adventure and then on to KONG! Both rides were walk ons even after park opening. The line for Kong was very well themed and there was a scareactor lurking inside who totally scared the bejeezus out of DH.


giphy.gif


This alone was worth the wait.


The ride was really good! So much to look at while it was happening on both sides of the tram. And the animatronic at the end...superb! We got off and headed back to Jurassic Park, cause dangit, I'm going to meet a velociraptor!



tenor.gif



I think Universal bought a frickin' dinosaur! This was the most fun thing, not just to take part in, but to watch all the families ahead of us interact with "Teelo" the velociraptor was so awesome! One group of Japanese teens in front of us were so scared of it that the one girl ran screaming and wouldn't even stand in the picture. I don't know who or how they are controlling the dino but whatever the magic is, they are some kind of sorcerer. When it was our turn, Teelo crept up behind us, snuffling and grumbling. You could hear her sniffing your hair and grabbing at you. The "trainer" had us hug each other for dear life and Teelo came up behind us and put her arms around us...we were both laughing and cringing. She told us how she was hugging us with the same claws she uses to shred her prey, and how the way she was rubbing on us was to mark us so she could FIND US LATER.

Clever girl.


giphy.gif


The trainer then had us turn and wave buh-bye to lovely Teelo, who reared up and screamed at us and sent us scurrying away.

I totally want one.

From there, we went over to Marvel Island to hit up Doctor Doom and the Hulk before heading back to the resort for lunch and relax time. The new version of the Hulk was pretty violent and gave DH a headache, and it made me feel like I was going to black out mid-ride. I had this same problem on Rip Ride Rockit (where I suggest you listen to Beastie Boys "Sabotage" on ride...awesome). I don't know why the thrill rides were giving me such a rough time this trip other than the fact that Disney has way more tame rides to do between the thrills. Disney typically is a breeze for me on all their thrill rides, but here I was in a constant state of near black out or near puke, even with my patch. Odd.

For lunch, we hit Breadbox. This was a delightfully quiet spot and the sandwiches were good. We both got the roast beef with tater tots. That upper level is a ghost town so it was really pleasant up there. Then we went over to Studios to finish up Wizarding World stuff. We did Fallon and RRR then hit Gringotts, got to see Celestina Warbeck, had lots of little kids show how much better they were than me with their wands, then did Simpsons and MiB again and even scored a photo op with both Sideshow Bob and Megatron! I told Megatron he looked bigger in the movies and he was not amused.

Back home at CBBR we decided to try something unique to the resort...BOWLING! OMG you guys have to do this! It was before 4pm so the price was totally affordable. $9 per person including shoe rental for unlimited games for 45 minutes. We bowled 3 games and as far as YOU know I won....by a lot.


giphy.gif



We spent some more time in the lazy river after this, cause...LAZY RIVER...in our resort! And then got ready for another interesting night at CW. First we went down to Red Over Pizza...where the pizza was enjoyable. I think Blaze over at Disney Springs is a bit better but this was still quite nice. But here is where, as with every trip, we finally got hit with craziness from home. Turns out there were some shenanigans by one of the horses and it was causing a lot of issues. So I was fielding texts from both the owner and our staff as I sorted it all out. It wasn't a huge deal, but needed to be handled. And just as I got it wrapped up, my phone RANG. It was the husband of one of the people who takes care of the farm. Turns out one of our barn lights shorted out in the rain back home due to a roof leak and had caught fire.


giphy.gif



Nobody says the "F" word in regards to our farm without me having a full on freak out. But luckily, the husband is also a home improvement company owner and he shut off the power and disconnected the faulty light. There was no damage. Thank God he was there when it happened though. My heart attack abated.

After dinner we had decided this was the night we were going to see THOR at the AMC theater. It was fantastic! 12 thumbs up for both the theater and the movie. Such a good time! Can I get a pet Hulk too?

From there we went back to Toothsome for dessert. the Brookie Sundae. 24 thumbs up.


brookies-cookies-and.jpg



Filled with visions of Chris Hemsworth and cookies, I drifteded off to sleep back at CBBR. One full day of fun left...hopefully no more fires at home.
 
Jennasis,
Boy has this report been fun to read so far! I also live in NC (S Charlotte, near Carowinds). I have been to Universal, but the last time was in 2010 so a VERY long time ago. I just booked a trip for the first week in May, at CBBR so I am so excited to follow along with your report! It will just be me and my adult (20) son. We are stopping on the way home from moving him back to NC from college for the summer and this will be the perfect post exam break. Its also a surprise for him!

Can't wait to hear about the rest! So glad you are having such a great time!

PS - I am Slytherin and my DS is Ravenclaw.
 
What a great trip report!
So detailed it makes me feel I'm there following you

Not good news about the barn fire but thrilling news it was all handled for you so you could stay on your vacation
 
First, this has got to be the most entertaining trip report I have ever read. Thanks for all the laughs.

Secondly, I have to say I'm a little jealous. I know how you feel about trips not working out. We were supposed to go to Universal for a week in September. That fell through. We rescheduled for the end of January, but had to cancel that as well. I'm not sure when we will get to go again which is really frustrating since we are annual pass holders. We try to go at least once every 3 months, but the way 2018 is looking, I don't know if it will be possible to go in the spring or summer.

I'm glad to see you are enjoying Universal. It has become our happy place.

I totally agree with you about the risotto at Toothsome not being anything amazing, but honestly, as someone who has tasted other options on the menu. That was one of the better choices. We've learned to stick to the desserts here. They are amazing. The rest of the food, not so much, but the atmosphere and character interaction are great. Try CowFish or Mythos for better quality food. They are both very good, and you can't beat the decor at Mythos.

The trick to the Harry Potter spells is to keep the wand movements small and stay inside the window pane. The sensor has a hard time following the motions if the wooden frame of the window gets in the way. Also, those spell spots are just finicky. Sometimes, we have no issues. Other times, no matter how hard we try, we can't seem to get them to work. So don't feel bad if you are having trouble. We've had years of practice and still have issues with them.


It was 67 or so when we walked out of our room at 8am and when we left the park it was pushing 80.

And this is why there were no lines at the waterpark. For us southerners, this is practically hot chocolate weather. When the temp drops below 80, we start pulling out the winter boots, sweaters, scarves, and jackets.

On another note, if you enjoyed the talking volcano spirit, make sure to check out the fountain in the Lost Continent section of IOA. This is one of my favorite things to do.



Hope the rest of your trip goes well.
 


Enjoying reading along! Such a fun trip.......

Glad you enjoyed Breadbox.......few mention it, but when they do it’s always a good review!

And glad you had no damage at home.........
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!






Top