It's The Magic That Can Happen When It's Autumn! - Animal Kingdom Lodge - Club Level

[PlutosRHM55]

Wow, what a jam-packed and fun-filled day you had! Glad to hear that sickness didn't last you too much longer.

RIP Animation Academy, so sad, but I do love Launch Bay. I will forever miss the drawing class there tho.

I relate so hard to NEVER GETTING THE REBEL SPY. I was there for SIX MONTHS, rode Star Tours numerous times, NEVER got the Rebel Spy. It's just a ploy to keep me riding and to eventually buy a shirt BUT I WILL BUY THAT SHIRT. ONE DAY.

It's so weird seeing the Muppets area from way back then, especially with PizzeRizzo not opened. I remember walking by that wondering when I'd get to try yet another QS at Studios. Ah, memories. I miss the Miss Piggy fountain SO MUCH. IT NEEDS TO COME BACK.

Lol @ the scared kid on ToT. Poor thing seems so terrified (but it's just so funny to see how tightly he's holding onto his father who is not nearly as secure as the seat lol). If my parents did that to me, they would've been doomed for the rest of the day. Wow.

Ah, I love the Grand band (hey that rhymes!)! They were so much fun to hear when coming in there. Miss that resort SOOOO much. And Narcoossee's looks and sounds DELISH. Never feel any shame for ordering a smoothie, those smoothies look GOOOOD. That Filet Mignon and Lobster are making my stomach growl. Oh, if only I wasn't a poor college student, I'd so go there.

The EWP is my favorite thing ever. It's so outdated, but so nostalgic. Yeah, random, but I always get excited when I hear it coming around Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon.

 

[MeghanEmily]

We stopped and got a cute photopass on the way down.

I love this!!

It was a pretty fun show, although we skipped the end because it was SO INCREDIBLY HOT.
We were watching the Star Wars show like:

This is exactly what I expect our trip next month to be like, and it's terrifying. But I guess we'll just resign ourselves to the fact that we'll always be hot and sweaty and spend lots of time in the A/C!

I hope the new Toy Story Land is good!
I wonder how adult/kiddie the Slinky ride will be
I think it will be more kiddie, but those two raised turns on the concept art below look like the vehicle almost goes completely sideways!

This is my thought, too! But 7DMT is also supposed to be kiddie, and I find it quite a thrill for my lame self, so I'll probably still get a kick out of the slinky coaster...

I guess I know what I have to do..

I think you'd look very distinguished with a beard! Maybe you could try easing into it gradually. Perhaps start with something small like a goatee?

I was so glad when it was time to go inside.
Sometimes travelling in early September feels like you’re just running from air conditioned building to air conditioned building

This is exactly my plan of attach for next month.

Basin is amazin’.

Oh my goodness, the seasonal/Fall soaps!!

This might sound oddly specific, but it amused me enough to note it down.
There’s a bathroom near Citricos that has super tall doors on each stall.
The little hook to hang your bag on used to be right at the top of the door and it was ridiculously difficult to reach.
Well, I went to use that bathroom, and I'm happy to report they’ve rectified this issue…
...By reinstalling the hook...
...At about crotch height
So now if you have a bag with a long strap like mine, when you hang it up, it’s just going to sit on the floor.

Oh my gosh! This is hilarious! Thank goodness they solve the problem. Hah

Soon our food arrived!
I had the filet mignon and Jamie had two buttered lobster tails!

Unfortunately the surf and turf had been removed from the menu
But I gave Jamie some steak and he gave me some lobster and it was all sooooo good.
I don’t know why Disney thinks it can just change menus.
I will demand Jiko makes me filet with mac and cheese.
And I will create my own surf and turf at Narcoossee’s.
JUDGE ME.

Baahaha

No judgement here. This is innovative!

OMG. It looks delicious. Even your potatoes/side look beautiful! <3

We went up the stairs to catch the monorail, and I wanted a picture in front of the chandelier because my photo from last year looked like my legs were way more tanned than the rest of me and I thought I looked a bit orange and silly.

Well…

IT HAPPENED AGAIN.
Why are my legs so orange compared to my face and neck in these pictures??!!
WHY.
I would really like this picture otherwise, but oh well.

No way!! This is too funny!!! Perhaps a little Photoshop is in order.

 

[Smilelea]

Just joined. I've made it to page 3 so I've got to go back and catch-up. I'm very interested in your experience at AKL. We are seriously considering a May 2018 trip and staying at AKL.

Enjoying your report so far. I think I'll go back and read your others as well . I love a good trip report!

 

[Raeven]

Here’s my outfit of the day!

Your outfits are always so cute!

We were not prepared for how competitive we would get.
I should have done some serious strength training before this trip.
Neither of us even did well.
But the effort made me even hotter than I was outside!

we get so competitive too.

I hope the new Toy Story Land is good!

I'm so excited for it!

I wore this cute romper that has teacups and saucers on it.
I thought that was very fitting for the Grand.

It is! Another cute outfit!

It was good!
Although it was very sickly, and these kinds of things feel very much like dessert to me, so I saved most of it until after my meal and stuck to water for now.

I feel the same way about smoothies and milkshakes.

But NO, we MUST stick to the dining plan.
Literally came to a signature restaurant and ordered smoothies.
Who does that.
We are adults I swear.

I think it's a good idea sometimes you just want a smoothie with dinner instead of a nice wine

LOL.
This is still amusing to me.
It’s just so random.

it is! When we went to MK EMH one night we pulled up and it was going on. I have a five second video of it, and I find it hilarious because the music seems so random.

 

[Born 2B a Princess]

Fun update! Your romper is adorable. That chocolate sculpture at Narcoossee's is absolutely amazing! That's on my list of places to try. I'm glad you were feeling somewhat better this day.

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

What a lovely dinner. I love that you could see the castle from your table.

 

[LISAMWDW]

You two are just the cutest!!! Love this report! Can't wait to see your your going next!

 

[HomeSweetDisney]

Hey girly! I've been on vacation the last couple of weeks (not to WDW sadly but still fun) so playing catch up now on people's TR's. And will eventually update my own. Just going to comment on the most recent update but I read them all!

I woke up at about 9am feeling a little better after a good night’s sleep.
I still wasn’t 100%, but that wasn’t going to stop me getting back into the Disney groove.

No being sick in Disney! You just gotta soldier on

Jamie got me some breakfast from the lounge because he is an angel.

I think ANGEL is taking it a bit far...I mean he IS a Slytherin...

Here’s my outfit of the day!

You always look so pretty!

How we felt entering the park to Star Wars soundtrack:

Isn't it the best though? I loved all the SW stuff happening at HS

That looks so fun! I can't wait till this and the SW land open...they are going to be amazing!

Anyway, STILL not allowed to buy this t shirt!

Jacob got to be the Rebel Spy when we were there in Dec! He was so excited...and I may have been a bit jealous I did buy him that shirt though...I mean, I HAD to. It's like a rule!

I also think upgrading this show to 4D would be so good, because no one is really impressed by this kind of 3D anymore.
They should definitely re-master is with wind and rain and smells and moving seats etc.

I agree, I think that's a great idea. I would hate to see them get rid of it but updating it would be awesome

I forgot how well he does that face

When we entered the lobby the little boy in front of us became absolutely terrified.
It reminded me of how petrified I was of this ride when I was little, but I always rode it anyway because I didn’t want my older cousins (who we travelled with) to think I was a chicken

Ah, Jacob was brave enough to try ALL the thrill rides in WDW, including ToT. Sadly he didn't care for ToT - he didn't like the free fall feeling. I was sad b/c I love ToT so much! But he's young so there's hope he will like it as he gets older

Sometimes travelling in early September feels like you’re just running from air conditioned building to air conditioned building

This is every day for us in South Texas from May till the end of October pretty much No one wants to be outside, it's too hot! We are always trying to think of things we can do that are inside in the air conditioning

And this wall plaque!
It’s $125 though.

Only $125 though...hahaha

Such a lovely couple

Literally came to a signature restaurant and ordered smoothies.
Who does that.
We are adults I swear.

 

[pkondz]

OMG. I'm so out of the loop. Sorry!

Looks like you're all caught up now, though.

YES to what feels like this:

Jamie slaps you awake?


(Attaboy, Jamie.) Oh, you poor thing!

Have you seen We're The Millers?!

I did... but I don't remember that part! Weird.

Kinda related - in England we also call a backpack a rucksack - and when we said "rucksack" to a CM one time he had NO idea what we were talking about. Do you use that word in Canada?!

Hmmmm... I've seen the word, but not for years. Doubt very much anyone much younger than myself (So, you know... super old) would even know what it was.

Errrrm I'll have you know that Living With The Land is a very high demand attraction. I've seen the line get up to an entire 10 minutes before.

10 minutes?!?! Who in their right mind would stand in line for any ride for 10 minutes????

The WHOLE thing??!! I knew some of it was. I thought I saw a video clip of the helicopter flying over whilst filming

Watch the movie from one of the side seats.

Horrible.

Apparently so! Unless all the animals they put out there are animatronics

I knew it!!!!

Really?! It was a placeholder show when Rivers of Light was delayed, it looked like it was kind of rushed and nothing very entertaining

Sounds like I didn't miss much, then.

 

[pkondz]

It’s Animal Kingdom Lodge appreciation day!

Oh shoot! I forgot to mail out my annual AKL appreciation day cards this year!

I hate when that happens.

Due to it being the Saturday of Labor day weekend, we thought we’d spend the day at this wonderful resort.

Crowds estimated to be stupid high?

I woke up at 7am, and began AKL appreciation day where I love to begin all of my Disney days.
Sat out on the balcony.

One thing I never do. Must remedy.

Beautiful shot!

I did have enough time to take a picture of a DISNEY DOORMAT though.

You know you're a DISer when...

Here’s where we were seated:

Nope. Don't see you.

I had sausage, bacon, eggs, and special eggs (as we called them) which also contained chive and goats cheese.
(They were indeed, very special eggs.)

Sounds good!

I posted this on Snapchat:

The banana bread in particular was delicious! Although I'm biased because this is one of my favourite foods anyway.

I love banana bread!
Oddly enough, just before I read this, I bought (and ate) some from our cafeteria.
Not that great unfortunately. Oddly enough, very little taste to it.

Again, my eyes were bigger than my belly and I only ate half of this plate too.

I found a great AKL hoodie but it was $50 which was kinda pricey with our terrible currency rate at the moment..!

It's kinda pricey no matter what your currency is.

We also played some tic tac toe, or as we Brits call it, noughts and crosses!

I ought to be cross at you for that.

We created a little story for him about how he’d been working on his strength and was finally ready to take on his childhood bully - THE GIRAFFE.
“Come at me bro!”

At midday we were just about ready to head down to the pool… when it started to rain.

Of course....

This guy sums up exactly how we felt…

Awww... poor Katie.

I made Jamie come with me for a walk down to the Mara to fill up our mugs with water,

Water??

Water??????

You know that's where you get zebra domes from, don't you??????????

Out the back of the Animal Kingdom Lodge might be my favourite view of it

Yes! I only saw that for the first time on my last solo trip.

Eventually we found some towels and settled at the side of the pool bar (and, as it turns out, right next to the kids recreation and the speakers and stereo system LOL, of course.)

Naturally.

Also there was a giant leaf above my chair that dripped on me a couple of times and kept making me jump because I thought it was a bug

Until you finally got used to it... and a giant but lands on your head and you just ignore it.

Soon after sitting down we made a lizard friend.

We called him Harry because Jamie dramatically told him,

“…You’re a lizard Harry…”

I said that clearly this one was called Voldemort, and Jamie recoiled in horror and said
“DON’T SAY THAT NAME.”

There it is!
I was going to post: "What? No 'legs or weiners' photo?"

We filled up our water at The Mara and went back to the room.

Repeat after me.

Zebra. Domes.

Then I went to get some cough sweets from Zawadi Marketplace because my throat was starting to feel a bit scratchy.

uh oh

That’s GIDEON from Pinocchio!!

Cool! Rare!

This is not what it looks like

It's not two zebras grazing?

OMG!!!! WHAT IS IT??????????

(Then he started calling me Sally whenever he needed to tell/ask me something that would potentially annoy me. About 10 minutes later he said, “When are you going to iron my shirt Sally??” )

Fragile? Nah. Just pretty.

Jiko is Swahili for the cooking place,

This I knew, but...

throughout the restaurant they have these canoe birds flying above, that in Africa are a sign of a long and prosperous life,

...this I did not. Cool!

I didn’t catch his name but I know he was from Egypt.
So that will be his name.

First Egypt brought us some African bread with salted butter.

It sounds like you have an entire country catering to you.

Yumm!

Clearly this made me feel a bit better!

Good! And you do look happy!

For dessert, Jamie chose the Malva Pudding:

That looks so decadent.

Plus I’m a big raspberry/chocolate combo fan

Me too! Yumm!


Then again.... Anything with chocolate... I can always throw out the other stuff.

When we were finishing up, our waiter and the restaurant’s manager came over to us and apologised that there’d been some confusion with the restaurant’s computer system, because there were 3 different people with Jamie’s surname in the restaurant right now!
This is really crazy because Jamie definitely doesn’t have a common surname; it’s Indian but originates from South Korea.
Neither of us have ever heard of anyone else with this surname outside of his family!
So that was interesting!!

Huh. But what was the confusion?

Full... But happy.

before our Starlight Safari at 10pm!

Cool!!!

I had booked the safari as a surprise for Jamie because he is a big animal lover.

Well, he's bigger than you. So that makes sense.
You're just a tiny, little animal lover.

Unfortunately thethe woman checking us in on Day 1 had gone through our itinerary and pointed it out, spoiling the surprise!

Pretty.

Some cast members outside gave me some night vision goggles!

Cool! And thanks for the photos.

It was hard to get (non-flash) photos, both through the night vision goggles and out in the dark, but you get the idea…

I’m not sure you can really tell, but we got SO close to these giraffes!
They were right on the roadside!

I can tell. Yes! Close!

“These were discovered in 1901, the year Walt Disney was born… COINCIDENCE???”

Totally not a coincidence.

And Jamie answered the number of vertebraes a giraffe has in it’s neck correctly!
(Seven, the same as humans.)

Huh! I wouldn't have known either answer.

 

[pkondz]

I woke up at about 9am feeling a little better after a good night’s sleep.

Good!

Jamie got me some breakfast from the lounge because he is an angel.

I knew it! I thought I noticed something weird under his shirt and then I saw a feather fall out.

Here’s my outfit of the day!

Cute!

We couldn’t help ourselves, and we grabbed some to take some back to our fridge, plus a couple of bites for now

Whereupon Mousekeeping discovered it and gorged themselves upon it.

How we felt entering the park to Star Wars soundtrack:

During the show the Storm Troopers shot fireworks from their guns!

Cool!

(RIP ANIMATION ACADEMY )

Only got to do it once.
I really wanted to do it with Kay. She's the artist in the family.

But the effort made me even hotter than I was outside!

That game is work!

There's just not a lot to do at Hollywood Studios right now

Nope. It's an hour or two park now.

This robot in the Star Tours line has a very familiar sounding voice…
Being a robot in space, he must love to… SOAR….

I don't get this?

Everyone was cheering the whole time, just generally loving life, and all clapped at the end
It makes attractions so much more fun if you ask me.

You will not be surprised to hear that I was once again NOT chosen as the rebel spy.
It was actually the guy right next to me!
He had a great big bushy beard

so maybe that’s why he was picked.
* sigh *
I don’t think I’m that interesting to look at.
I guess I know what I have to do..

Beard up!

Anyway, STILL not allowed to buy this t shirt!

Poor Katie. Somehow I think you'll keep trying.

Pizzerizzo was coming along nicely!

Never heard of this! Is it replacing Pizza Planet?

I’m a big Muppets fan (especially Kermit).

You heard the news, then, I suppose?

At the entrance I stopped to see this fan-favourite secret for myself!

And you saw A Net Full of Jello, yes?

The show is pretty fun.

I like it, except...

I don’t like that Waldo 3D thingy though.

... that.

This Dinosaur is done with life.

That's known as "extinct".

This is one of both of our favourite rides at Disney for sure!

The theming is so well done.
If it goes Gaurdian... I'll not be a happy camper.

They were only allowing entry to the fastpass line which was strange.

Really? I've never seen that before. Weird.

When we entered the lobby the little boy in front of us became absolutely terrified.
It reminded me of how petrified I was of this ride when I was little, but I always rode it anyway because I didn’t want my older cousins (who we travelled with) to think I was a chicken

Second time I took the kids, Kay (age 8) couldn't wait to go on this.
When Elle said she wanted to go again, Kay took the chicken elevator.

Channeling your inner younger self?

We went to ride Rock n Roller Coaster next.
But the wait was 110 MINUTES.
No thank you.

I love that ride. But 110 minutes? Nope.

Sometimes travelling in early September feels like you’re just running from air conditioned building to air conditioned building

Yeah. Ugh.

And in case you were wondering, I was not the rebel spy again.

We had some time before our ADR so we looked in Summer Lace, M. Mouse Mercantile, and of course - BASIN.

With GF prices to match, I would assume.

I want this flask!

Then why didn't you get it!
(No one on this side of the pond would call that a flask, too.)

And this wall plaque!
It’s $125 though.

Ouch. Okay... get the flask.

Basin is amazin’.

I see what you did there.

This might sound oddly specific, but it amused me enough to note it down.
There’s a bathroom near Citricos that has super tall doors on each stall.
The little hook to hang your bag on used to be right at the top of the door and it was ridiculously difficult to reach.
Well, I went to use that bathroom, and I'm happy to report they’ve rectified this issue…
...By reinstalling the hook...
...At about crotch height
So now if you have a bag with a long strap like mine, when you hang it up, it’s just going to sit on the floor.

"Oh? You can't reach? Too high? FINE! I'll put it where everyone can reach it. There! Happy????"

We went back down to the ground floor, and Jamie was about to take a photo of me, when a kind stranger walking past offered to get one of both of us!
How nice of him.

You know you're in Disney, when...

At 8pm we headed over to Narcoossee’s!
It was still pouring rain so we jogged and I put my cardigan over my head, but my feet still got soaked.

Oh! I thought it was in the GF.

Whilst waiting I noticed this amazing EDIBLE FINDING NEMO SCENE.
This is made of chocolate!

Wow!

Um.... Think they'd mind if I ate some?

See the little pink splodge out the window on the left?

He handed us paper menus and told us they’re paper because they’re changed so often!

Huh! That often!

We then said that although we missed Bev, and the dining plan feels like SO MUCH FOOD, without it we might not have ventured out to try new restaurants and meet new servers.
“Like…. Egypt… and… Germany…”

We are terrible with names.

Quick! What's mine?

Never mind. You already forgot!

Then we did a ridiculous thing and ordered smoothies for our DDP soft drink
Jamie had chocolate and I had raspberry!

Sure! Why not?

Literally came to a signature restaurant and ordered smoothies.
Who does that.
We are adults I swear.

Hmmm... you know when you're an adult when you realize that there are rules that aren't really rules.
You want a smoothie and not wine? Go ahead!
Want to eat your main, then dessert, then an appetizer.. in that order? Go ahead?

Unfortunately the surf and turf had been removed from the menu
But I gave Jamie some steak and he gave me some lobster and it was all sooooo good.

Self made surf and turf!

This was AMAZING, but it was SO rich!
I barely got through half of it.

It looks rich!
Reason why I wouldn't even order it. No way I'd come close to finishing it.

We got a nice surprise while we ate our dessert…
The Electrical Water Pageant went by!

Yay!

It was STILL raining UGH!
Fortunately a cast member rocked up to drop a family off at one of the outer buildings and asked if we wanted a ride back WOOO.

Nice!

That is really.... weird. It should be the same... hmmm... over head lights with a fair bit of light fall-off is the only thing I can think of.
If you really want that shot, I'd be happy to colour correct it and fix your skin tones for you.

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

I got a quick look at the new Star Wars Launch Bay

(RIP ANIMATION ACADEMY )

Right???

You will not be surprised to hear that I was once again NOT chosen as the rebel spy.

I've never been chosen either, but my brother has (I'm not bitter or anything). *sighs* Maybe someday!

Well, I went to use that bathroom, and I'm happy to report they’ve rectified this issue…
...By reinstalling the hook...
...At about crotch height
So now if you have a bag with a long strap like mine, when you hang it up, it’s just going to sit on the floor.

Oh my!

Whilst waiting I noticed this amazing EDIBLE FINDING NEMO SCENE.
This is made of chocolate!

WHAT????? That's awesome!!

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Amazing shots of the Grand!! I am so contmeplating my CG reservation to Narcossee's just so I have an excuse to step foot in that gorgeous hotel.
I love your romper it's so cute, but also dressy, and I'm sure it's totally comfortable.

Ooh CG or Narcoossee's is a tough one! If they bring the surf and turf back to Narcoossee's it looks like it would be a great meal, but I do love Cali Grill as an all round experience And thank you! Living in the (cold) UK I don't get many chances to wear things like that so I love buying clothes for Florida!!

RIP Animation Academy, so sad, but I do love Launch Bay. I will forever miss the drawing class there tho.

I loooved the drawing class, and you got a fun souvenir for FREE. I think I read once that you can do it at Art of Animation now but I'm not sure?!

I relate so hard to NEVER GETTING THE REBEL SPY. I was there for SIX MONTHS, rode Star Tours numerous times, NEVER got the Rebel Spy. It's just a ploy to keep me riding and to eventually buy a shirt BUT I WILL BUY THAT SHIRT. ONE DAY.

Ugh six months without being the rebel spy??! Next time I go to Disney maybe I'll dedicate as much time as needed to just ride Star Tours round and round until I get it I want that shirt!!

It's so weird seeing the Muppets area from way back then, especially with PizzeRizzo not opened. I remember walking by that wondering when I'd get to try yet another QS at Studios. Ah, memories. I miss the Miss Piggy fountain SO MUCH. IT NEEDS TO COME BACK.

OH MY GOD I DIDN'T KNOW THE MISS PIGGY FOUNTAIN HAD GONE!!!! Timmy you're killing me

Ah, I love the Grand band (hey that rhymes!)! They were so much fun to hear when coming in there. Miss that resort SOOOO much. And Narcoossee's looks and sounds DELISH. Never feel any shame for ordering a smoothie, those smoothies look GOOOOD. That Filet Mignon and Lobster are making my stomach growl. Oh, if only I wasn't a poor college student, I'd so go there.

It was all soooo good although I hope they bring back the surf and turf!

The EWP is my favorite thing ever. It's so outdated, but so nostalgic. Yeah, random, but I always get excited when I hear it coming around Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon.

YES outdated is a good word for why I find it funny! Maybe they're keeping a bit of old school entertainment alive for nostalgia, I just find it funny that it's so old and retro looking I do love it though

This is exactly what I expect our trip next month to be like, and it's terrifying. But I guess we'll just resign ourselves to the fact that we'll always be hot and sweaty and spend lots of time in the A/C!

Good luck with this!! Wow it's going to be so hot when you're there, I think September is bad enough hope you have lots of air con breaks planned!

This is my thought, too! But 7DMT is also supposed to be kiddie, and I find it quite a thrill for my lame self, so I'll probably still get a kick out of the slinky coaster...

Hahaha aww I'm kinda the opposite, I'm more of a thrill junkie! But Disney needs some fun for little kids too I GUESS.

I think you'd look very distinguished with a beard! Maybe you could try easing into it gradually. Perhaps start with something small like a goatee?

I think this is a good idea, although I have to have something outrageous to get me noticed.. Maybe, due to biology and stuff, I could try something actually possible.... a giant mohawk perhaps?!

Oh my gosh! This is hilarious! Thank goodness they solve the problem. Hah

Look out for it if you find yourself at the GF! It's in the bathrooms by Citricos

OMG. It looks delicious. Even your potatoes/side look beautiful! <3

I didn't want to eat those potatoes until I'd taken at least 3 photos of them so fancy.

No way!! This is too funny!!! Perhaps a little Photoshop is in order.

It's just annoying that it looks like I've fake tanned my legs, but I definitely haven't! I'll have to wear jeans next time

Just joined. I've made it to page 3 so I've got to go back and catch-up. I'm very interested in your experience at AKL. We are seriously considering a May 2018 trip and staying at AKL.

Enjoying your report so far. I think I'll go back and read your others as well . I love a good trip report!

and thanks for reading!!

If you're renting a car I definitely recommend AKL! And even if you're not renting a car, I still really recommend it, although I do want to warn people about the buses being very temperamental. Did you make a decision yet?!

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Your outfits are always so cute!

Thank you!

we get so competitive too.

It's either really funny or really dangerous

I feel the same way about smoothies and milkshakes.

I have no idea how Jamie drank that chocolate one with his meal, that's so weird to me.

it is! When we went to MK EMH one night we pulled up and it was going on. I have a five second video of it, and I find it hilarious because the music seems so random.

Part of me wonders why it has never been updated/modernised, and the other part of me doesn't ever want it to be changed

Fun update! Your romper is adorable. That chocolate sculpture at Narcoossee's is absolutely amazing! That's on my list of places to try. I'm glad you were feeling somewhat better this day.

Thank you! I hope if/when you get to try Narcoossee's that they bring the surf and turn back, it sounds soooo good. Thanks for reading!

What a lovely dinner. I love that you could see the castle from your table.

I'll admit that I originally went to sit in Jamie's seat, and when he pointed out the castle I made him trade places with me

You two are just the cutest!!! Love this report! Can't wait to see your your going next!

Aww thank you!! We have so much fun together on these trips so I love reliving it here glad you're enjoying it and thanks for reading

Hey girly! I've been on vacation the last couple of weeks (not to WDW sadly but still fun) so playing catch up now on people's TR's. And will eventually update my own. Just going to comment on the most recent update but I read them all!

Woowwoooo where did you go on vacation??

No being sick in Disney! You just gotta soldier on

I could've stayed in bed that day but I'd just feel sorry for myself and end up being totally pathetic so getting back to the parks was a better idea

You always look so pretty!

Aww thank you!

Jacob got to be the Rebel Spy when we were there in Dec! He was so excited...and I may have been a bit jealous I did buy him that shirt though...I mean, I HAD to. It's like a rule!

ok WHAT. On his first time??!! How did he do this hahahahah. Maybe I need to avoid riding with kids

I forgot how well he does that face

He actually can do it much better than this, until I actually ask him to do it for the camera, and it comes out like this. Kinda like when Chandler can't smile

This is every day for us in South Texas from May till the end of October pretty much No one wants to be outside, it's too hot! We are always trying to think of things we can do that are inside in the air conditioning

Oh wow, I can't imagine actually living in these conditions. I complain about the rain and overcast skies here in Britain but I'd rathe this than outrageous heat!! Although I guess you get used to it maybe?

I've never been chosen either, but my brother has (I'm not bitter or anything). *sighs* Maybe someday!

Hahah I can't cope, I just really want that t shirt

WHAT????? That's awesome!!

I wouldn't have even realised if I hadn't stopped to read the sign, it's so good!

Watch the movie from one of the side seats.

Horrible.

Does that mean it's CGI or could it be a bad camera? It wouldn't surprise me if the whole thing was CGI, I just remember this video, and I'm hoping it's not..?

Oh shoot! I forgot to mail out my annual AKL appreciation day cards this year!

I hate when that happens.

It should definitely be an international holiday.

It's kinda pricey no matter what your currency is.

I mean the first time I went to New York our exchange rate was $2 to £1. So this sweater would have technically been £25 for me.. Now its like £40.

Water??

Water??????

You know that's where you get zebra domes from, don't you??????????

It's coming dear

Until you finally got used to it... and a giant but lands on your head and you just ignore it.

A GIANT BUT??!

Fragile? Nah. Just pretty.

Aww thanks

I knew it! I thought I noticed something weird under his shirt and then I saw a feather fall out.

Whereupon Mousekeeping discovered it and gorged themselves upon it.

If I was a mousekeeper

Only got to do it once.
I really wanted to do it with Kay. She's the artist in the family.

I think you can still do it at Art of Animation resort!

I don't get this?

Poor Katie. Somehow I think you'll keep trying.

I'm going to dedicate an entire day to riding Star Tours round and round until I'm picked

Never heard of this! Is it replacing Pizza Planet?

I'm not actually sure if it's in the same place - it's the new Muppets themed quick service.

You heard the news, then, I suppose?

Kermit will always be my fave!

If it goes Gaurdian... I'll not be a happy camper.

I would be horrified!! I don't think it will though.

I love that ride. But 110 minutes? Nope.

If it was a long ride/experience and I really loved it, then maybe. But Rock n Roller is literally about 60 seconds long.. not worth it.

(No one on this side of the pond would call that a flask, too.)

Whoa! Did not know!!! What's it called?

"Oh? You can't reach? Too high? FINE! I'll put it where everyone can reach it. There! Happy????"

This is EXACTLY how I imagined it went down

Quick! What's mine?

Never mind. You already forgot!

Pedro!!!

(Just kidding I do know it, but I feel like there's a reason you keep it quiet and I will respect that)

That is really.... weird. It should be the same... hmmm... over head lights with a fair bit of light fall-off is the only thing I can think of.
If you really want that shot, I'd be happy to colour correct it and fix your skin tones for you.

Would you?? If it doesn't take too long/you're not busy?!

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Day 6
Monday 5th September 2016
Part 1 – Portofino BAE.


Hello!
We’re off on an adventure today!
We’re spending one night at Universal, for the first time ever!
Specifically at Loews Portofino Bay Hotel.



There is logic behind this I swear.
Rather than the usual “no self-control” thing.
And I think it’s a good tip to share, especially for those travelling during the busy season.

Usually we visit Universal at least twice during a trip.
On both of those visits we will buy Express Passes (front of the line passes) for both of us.
This would cost us around $85, per person, per visit
So two people, two visits = $340.

One night at Portofino Bay was going to cost us around $300 – and that price includes Express Passes for both of us, for the two days either side of our night’s stay.
So effectively we were saving money by staying there!

The only downside is having to do Universal on consecutive days, rather than going for one day at the start of the trip, and another day later on.
However, by spending two consecutive days there we were saving even more money by only taking one Uber there and one back.

…

Plus I just love exploring new hotels.

So it’s justified right?!
Yes I think so.
On with the day!

I felt much better today after my brief illness.
I was basically back to normal
I slept for a loooong time, woke up at 9am, got ready and headed to breakfast at the Kilimanjaro Club at around 10:30am.

I got some oatmeal and honey, a bagel with cream cheese and a boiled egg.

Then I also got a cinnamon bun and a chocolate milk!

We sat in the lounge to eat our breakfasts .
I enjoyed listening to this music loop in the morning, even when we're heading off to Universal

When we were done we grabbed some coffee, water, diet coke and bananas and took them back to our room.

At 11:30am we caught an Uber outside, and we pulled up to Universal’s Portofino Bay at midday! YAY!

We found the check-in desk and our room was ready early for us WOO.
The check-in guy was talking us through the Express Passes and was like,
“Just so you know, rides that don’t accept the express pass are Forbidden Journey and Escape From Gringotts, i.e. the only ones you want to ride”


We got everything situated and headed off to find our room.
Unfortunately we are completely incompetent and got lost. Womp.
We found ourselves wandering down here thinking, “this definitely isn’t right.”

I suggested asking someone for directions, but Jamie was ADAMANT that we could do this ourselves
So we carried on wandering around.

We stumbled upon the ticket place and exchanged our paper voucher for proper park tickets.
We also found the express pass machine and got our photos taken and passes printed.
Then we put them all into our Hufflepuff (me) and Slytherin (Jamie) lanyards that we bought last year!
(You can find the story of how we were sorted into these houses by clicking here!)

Eventually we found our room!
We were in room 1324, on the third floor of the East Wing.
It was beautiful and huge!

There is a lovely table in these rooms that looks like a great place to do some planning or eat room service together!

And the carpet was so soft and fluffy.
It reminded me of the carpets in the rooms at the Grand Floridian.
It's a treat for the feet!

(PS. I really don't like the new hard floors in the Disney room refurbs at the Yacht Club and Pop...
They look nice, but I find the footsteps of children running around in the room above loud enough.. is it not SUPER loud now??? )

We also had a beautiful bay view!

I’m not smart enough to take panoramic pictures in the excitement of the moment, so please enjoy these two photos next to each other, and humour me by pretending it looks like a panoramic

You get the boat to the parks down at those green gazebos below

Here's our ginormous bathroom!

WEW!

I was telling Jamie about how we NEVER have blue skies on Universal days so I’m never very happy with my photos.
So we played a game of “point out the blue skies so that Katie can take excessive, unnecessary photos”.

It didn’t take us long to unpack our overnight bags, and soon we were heading out to the boats!
Jamie was very happy and excited to be back at Universal.

He hides it well though.

“Blue sky!”

I had to get a photo on this cute pink Vespa.

Then Jamie insisted he get one too, although with that look on his face I’m think he was mocking me…

We walked to the boat dock and it wasn’t long before one came zooming around the corner

Click for Day 6 - Part 2!
​

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Day 6
Monday 5th September 2016
Part 2 – Universal Studios!


We’re on a boat!
Woowooo let’s go!

The boat only takes 10 minutes to get to the parks.
We sailed past Toothsome Chocolate Emporium, which had just opened near City Walk a few days ago.
I was eager to try it at some point

We exited the boat at 1pm and headed straight to the Universal Studios park, which is where most of our favourite rides are!

As we were walking under the arch, the guy working at the turnstiles up ahead made us race to get through first
We are a pretty goofy pair, so of course we both played along, and started running towards him and fumbling around to get our tickets out of our lanyards
I got through the turnstiles first, and the guy made a huge deal of it and called me the Triwizard Champion
It kind of made sense because this is pretty much what we looked like

As soon as we entered the park we felt super calm about our Universal stay.
Usually we get just about everything that we like done in one day, so having all of today AND tomorrow felt very relaxing.

In the autumn months, Universal is decorated for Halloween Horror Nights!
It’s a much more scary and intense Halloween party than Disney’s, so there are some creepy decorations.

As we walked past Transformers we spotted Bumblebee!
He is really really tall.
And he communicates with guests via his car radio!
For example, he plays "Walk This Way" by Aerosmith to ask the next guest to come forward for a photo
He’s a very cool character to meet and greet, and even to just watch.

Although he’s slightly terrifying when he stares into your soul…

Our first destination was Men In Black (duh!)
We took our time strolling around.

“Blue sky!”

Who am I kidding, this was over London.
If anything the blue sky was out of place here.

Yay Men In Black – Alien Attack!

We love this attraction, it’s a shoot-out game like Buzz and Toy Story Mania.
We’re very competitive with each other, so it’s always fun / disastrous.

We walked straight on through the express line.
This time we both got the bonus points, but Jamie just beat me

When we came out it was POURING rain!

So we hung around in the Men In Black store for a while.

For those who missed it in my last trip report, Jamie kept getting his name mispronounced as "Jaime", which is apparently pronounced like “Hymie”.
We found this very amusing, and I still call him Hymie

The rain wasn’t letting up, so we decided to run back across to the Men In Black express line!
This time I won
And Hymie didn’t even get the bonus points.

(112,150 / 248,500)

By the time we were done with round 2 of MIB the rain had stopped
So we went to ride The Simpsons!

When I showed that photo to Jamie I told him he looked really mean, so he asked me to retake it with his friendly face…

The Simpsons ride is so much fun!
It really throws you around, but it’s very creative, and also funny if you’re a Simpsons fan!
We only waited about 20 minutes, and were out by 2:15pm.

When we exited the ride we spotted the gang themselves!
I’m not sure how people feel about taking photos of other people’s kids, so I just cropped them out.
(I’m talking about the human kids, not Maggie. She wasn't there.)

We had a look around the Kwik-E-Mart and found this great shirt.

Wow the early seasons of The Simpson’s were great.

We also found this strange shirt that smells of bacon!

This could go one of two ways…

or…

I like this keychain but $9 feels a bit to much for a very obscure joke!

The joke, for anyone interested!

Outside the Kwik-E-Mart I answered the phone to Professor Frink warning about something nuclear (maybe I should’ve listened better).
Then Jamie answered a prank call from Bart.

Next we walked over to ET!

It’s such a classic, I love it!
Well I love the first part that resembles the movie.

I do not care for the creepy, psychedelic ending

Jamie never remembers that ET says “goodbye” to you by name at the end.
I love how happy he is when he realised

After ET we headed back around, and we spotted Krusty and Sideshow Bob!

Click for Day 2 - Part 3!
​

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Day 6
Monday 5th September 2016
Part 3 – Universal Studios and Toothsome Chocolate Emporium


Next we went to Diagon Alley!

I like to just wander around here and listen to the dramatic music loop.
All of the shop windows are so interesting and have a lot of magical elements in them, from personified inanimate objects, to moving photographs.

Hermione’s Yule Ball dress

Gringotts was only a 20 minute wait, so we got in line!
We were amazed at how much potential line space there is for this ride, oh my goodness.

Are there times of year where all of this queue space is used?!
This is why travelling during the quiet season is our number one priority!
I would never want to stand in that.

We had a very dangerous trip down to the vaults of Gringotts.
There are some very undesirable characters lurking down there.
But we returned in one piece, and it was all very exciting.

Next we headed to The Mummy!
On the walk over, a guy noticed Jamie’s lanyard and went,
“Yeahhh Slytherin!”
Then the woman behind him (with a pint of beer in her hand) shouted,
“HUFFLEPUFFFFFF!!!!”

SUPER loud.
It was funny.
Wearing these lanyards leads to lots of funny interactions

We rode The Mummy which is one of my favourites at Universal.
Maybe my actual favourite.
It’s so under-appreciated and never has much of a line.
It’s a super fast, super fun, classic coaster ride, I love it!

I was unintentionally flailing around all over the place again, which reaffirmed Jamie’s belief that I really need to work on my core strength.
This is an entirely accurate representation of me on jerky rides.

Anyway, it was raining again after the ride so we goofed around in the gift shop for a while.

There’s an arcade attached to this store so we wandered into there.
We walked by a woman at the token machine who had accidentally bought $50 worth of tokens
The tokens were flying out of the machine and she was trying to catch them all in a baseball cap!
She was freaking out but her partner was cracking up

After a while the rain was still spitting, but a little drizzle doesn’t get between me and chocolate, no sir.
So we went to Toothsome Chocolate Emporium!

This place was brand new!
It was literally a few days old.

When you walk through the doors it smells amaaaazing.
The gift shop is to the right as you walk in.
They have some fun things in there.

We decided to share a milkshake but nothing too crazy, because it was 4pm and we didn’t want to spoil our dinner tonight.
So nothing extravagant like this, unfortunately.

We went with the salted dulce de leche!

Jamie spotted a free table in the covered outdoor area so he went to grab that while I waited for our shake.

I will totally let this go because this place was brand new, but I waited 25-30 minutes up there for our drink!
There were loads of shakes lined up behind the counter and all the staff were just staring at them trying to figure out which orders were which
I did feel bad for them.
Hopefully they’ve got things straightened out.

Here’s our salted dulce de leche!

This is one of the smaller items on the menu, but it was still really delicious.
And I expected it to be, for $12.50!
Hopefully we’ll be able to try one of those completely absurd shakes next time we're in Orlando!

Click for Day 6 - Part 4!
​

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Day 6
Monday 5th September 2016
Part 4 – Islands of Adventure, and back to Studios

After finishing up our shakes we headed into Islands of Adventure!
Although I prefer the attractions at the studios, I much prefer the theming at Islands of Adventure, it's so fun.
Our main mission right now was to ride the new Kong Skull Island ride!
This had just opened in July 2016!

We walked around to the left and through Marvel Superhero Island.

Although I like Marvel, this is definitely my least favourite land in the park.
I like the Spider-Man ride but I think the area looks kind of terrible
Put some posters of Christ Hemsworth up and it will look much better

We walked through Toon Lagoon, and I snapped a picture of our favourite table outside Blondie’s where we always eat lunch!
The slurp table.

We stopped briefly to watch the logs come down Ripsaw Falls.
Everyone on this ride always gets completely soaked!

Ew I hate that ride.

Time for Kong!

The express line was 30 minutes long!
Compared to a 60-minute standby line.
I was glad that being in the express line didn’t necessarily mean we missed out on the theming of the queue.
We still got to see the creepy woman who does weird ritualistic chanting.
She starts off slow and quiet, then gets progressively louder and faster until everyone in line is super uncomfortable

Seriously, she basically starts screeching!

We did miss out on the "scare actors", who jump out from inside the walls.
But I can live without that thanks.

Overall Kong was… OK. I dunno.
Sorry to be a negative Nancy.
I thought it could be much better though.
I remember the old Kong ride at Universal being GREAT and absolutely terrifying as a child.
This was all just about the 3D screens and simulations really.
The animatronic at the end is impressive, although he doesn’t do much.
And we got Frank as a tour guide who was good.
Meh I dunno, I guess I’m just not that impressed by this kind of attraction anymore.
The man sat next to me was absolutely HOWLING with laughter though, which made the experience funnier!.

Oh well!

That was all we wanted to do at Islands of Adventure for now (we want to save Forbidden Journey for tomorrow), so we took the Hogwarts Express back to the Studios park.

This was a nice ride on the Hogwarts Express, because it was just us and one other couple in our compartment.
So it was nice and spacious

We arrived back at the Universal Studios at 6:05pm, so we had just missed the last Animal Actors show by 5 minutes!
We love that show.
At least we can look forward to it tomorrow.

So of course, we just rode Men In Black again.
I got a great score!!
I’m pretty sure this is a personal best.

Aaaand Hymie’s sad little score

Jamie can’t stand losing, so we had to ride again.
He won that time, so then we had permission to move on.

It was now 6:30pm so we headed out of the park.
We just stopped to ride Despicable Me along the way!

In line we reminisced about when we rode Descpicable Me last year, when a woman ducked her head down into her handbag on the floor between her legs, RIGHT after the team member announced that the safety bar was coming down
Fortunately for her, another team member spotted her straight away and emergency-stopped the bar
Some people really do live on another planet

After riding the ride we participated in a minion dance party, then we headed out of the park towards our dinner destination!

Click for Day 6 - Part 5!

​

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Day 6
Monday 5th September 2016
Part 5 – The Cowfish!


We went to The Cowfish at City Walk for dinner!

I’d wanted to try this place for so long.
We went upstairs to be seated and chose to sit outside on the covered deck.
The sun was setting and it was very picturesque!

I like this menu

We ordered a burger each AND some sushi to share.
Apparently I have lived a very sheltered and uncultured life, so I had to google how to hold chopsticks in preparation for my sushi.

Do people seriously use these for sushi?
In fact, do people seriously use these EVER?!
They're so tricky!

Anyway, I ordered the Shroomin’ Swiss burger with sweet potato fries, and Jamie got the Hoisin burger!

The sushi we shared was a rainbow roll – which is apparently just the same as a California roll, with extra fish stuff on top.
I posted this on Snapchat!

This meal was fantastic, I loved the variety of getting a burger AND sushi (AND sweet potato fries – my fave!)

It was an insane amount of food and we had to struggle our way through it!
You’d think with us paying out of pocket tonight (rather than using the dining plan) we might go for a cheaper option, but clearly that did not happen.
No regrets!

I really enjoyed sitting outside and watching the sunset too, although it would've been nice to sit closer to the edge.
Our table was right up against the building.
But still, it was very pretty!

We finished up and left the restaurant at 8:15pm, stopping on our way out to build a fish

We picked the ugliest fish of the bunch, and gave him a little hat and a bow and a candy cane.
Isn’t he precious.

Then we just walked around City Walk for a while.
We didn’t really do anything but I enjoyed just going with the flow.
Previously after a day in the parks I’ve only ever dashed through City Walk towards the exit, so it was nice to take it all in.
I wish we weren’t so full from dinner so that we could’ve stopped for dessert somewhere!
Here's some photos from our walk.

At about 9pm we got the boat back to Portofino Bay.

I really liked our bay view

Once we were back in the room I showered, and we got into bed and watched Step Brothers on TV

It gets me every time!

Goodnight!


Click for Day 7 - Part 1!
​

 

[Sailormoon2]

and that price includes Express Passes

Yeah Hubby and I figured this one out about 3 years ago, we put Universal right in the middle of our Disney trip, and stay there for 2 days. It's a nice break, we love the hotel properties and City Walk. And like you said, 2 taxi rides!

This time we both got the bonus points

Ok, serious? Not only have we never gotten bonus points BUT neither DH nor I can even break 100,000 on this ride. LIke seriously, we suck at! we don't even understand what we're shooting at. We just crack up the whole time we're on it at how badly we suck.

we spotted Krusty and Sideshow Bob!

Very cool!! I've never seen Sideshow before.

Wearing these lanyards leads to many amusing interactions

Yep! I get a lot of weird looks when I'm wearing my Slytherin one, like people think Slytherins are legit evil LOL! DH is a Ravenclaw so people are more open to striking up a conversation.

the Spider-Man ride

My favourite ride in all of Orlando. Spider-Man hands down is the best ride ever!!

crazy Ripsaw Falls ride

I love water rides that get you super soaked. We actually rode the other one (Popeye's) one time and DH was soooo soaked we had to go back to the hotel (HR) and get changed...thank god it's like a 7 minute walk away. LOL