Universal Adventures of Dreams AND Magic, and an expanding World!

[Caretames1]

I'm incredibly behind too. Oh well...nothing I can do about it. Just keep reading.

Ok, I finally got to go back and actually read ( got a phone call, sister in hospital with kidney stones)

and WOW your going to Universal Studios! In 2 weeks!

I think that's awesome! I can't wait to see a TR on that. BTW, John is interested in seeing US. Hmmmm, I wonder what I can temp him with!

 

[Wicket's Mom]

Here I am, made the second page. Can't wait to see what you are planning!

 

[Wicket's Mom]

Yeah for a Universal trip! I do so want to go to the Harry Potter part, I loved those books & movies. I still have the last two to watch.

I understand Skip, those farmers are set in their ways. It takes a strong willed woman to handle them.

 

[jenseib]

I think you should disown them.

Then you can adopt me! I would be happy to go to Disney with you 10-12 times a year. I'm about the same mental level as Claire, although she may be more mature.

Some days I do feel like disowning them....Wait till your girls grow up....and start to think they are allowed to think for themselves....

Ok, I finally got to go back and actually read ( got a phone call, sister in hospital with kidney stones)

and WOW your going to Universal Studios! In 2 weeks!

I think that's awesome! I can't wait to see a TR on that. BTW, John is interested in seeing US. Hmmmm, I wonder what I can temp him with!

I hope your sister gets relief soon!!
Lets just say, Skip is using his "fame" right now to try and get his way.

Here I am, made the second page. Can't wait to see what you are planning!

I haven't done much updating yet. My plan is to get more written tomorrow. Today was a long day and I seemed to be going in circles.....and I am so ready for bed now.

Yeah for a Universal trip! I do so want to go to the Harry Potter part, I loved those books & movies. I still have the last two to watch.

I understand Skip, those farmers are set in their ways. It takes a strong willed woman to handle them.

I am very excited. I turned youtube on for Claire while I cooked supper and she watched several ride videos. She can hardly wait now. She was jumping around, not going to bed, because she said she is just to excited to wait 2 weeks.

 

[mom2rtk]

I am very excited. I turned youtube on for Claire while I cooked supper and she watched several ride videos. She can hardly wait now. She was jumping around, not going to bed, because she said she is just to excited to wait 2 weeks.

Awwww..... that's adorable.

What is she looking forward to most?

 

[Kathy Jetson]

Hey Jen congrats on the trip!

When we went last summer we did 2 days at IOA and 1 at Universal. First we went to IOA 1 day and Universal the next. I asked river which one he wanted to do for his 3rd day and he picked IOA. I think that one had more for kids. His fave ride at Universal was the Mummy. Harry Potter ride was very cool but it scared River. How you are seated on there you can't see the person sitting next to you so I didn't know he was crying until we got off the ride. It made me sick to my stomach but I'm very glad I got to ride it once. River loved the butter beer there. You have to leave all your bags in a locker so I just got a fanny pack and no one asked me to take it off.

I have a lot of pictures on the Universal picture thread if you want to see them. Your welcome to look in my photobucket at them too.

 

[jenseib]

Awwww..... that's adorable.

What is she looking forward to most?

WEll everything so far. LOL! She really wants to ride the Forbidden Journey, but I hear it's kind of scary and intense. She watched the ride on youtube a couple of times last night and she says it looks fine, but I told her it would be completely dark and she wouldn't be able to see me or Dad, so we'll see how that goes.

Hey Jen congrats on the trip!

When we went last summer we did 2 days at IOA and 1 at Universal. First we went to IOA 1 day and Universal the next. I asked river which one he wanted to do for his 3rd day and he picked IOA. I think that one had more for kids. His fave ride at Universal was the Mummy. Harry Potter ride was very cool but it scared River. How you are seated on there you can't see the person sitting next to you so I didn't know he was crying until we got off the ride. It made me sick to my stomach but I'm very glad I got to ride it once. River loved the butter beer there. You have to leave all your bags in a locker so I just got a fanny pack and no one asked me to take it off.

I have a lot of pictures on the Universal picture thread if you want to see them. Your welcome to look in my photobucket at them too.

Thanks. I'll have to go look for those pictures. If you have a link to them, please share. I have a couple of things to do before I can have my guilty pleasure of looking through the Universal section today.
I wish we could've maybe stayed a little longer, so we could go to Sea World too, but I am just happy to be getting out of Ohio!

 

[jenseib]

I am going to forewarn you now. Since I have very little time to plan this trip, I'm probably going to post random thoughts and not follow a specific order of any kind.


When booking Allegiant I had to decide if we needed 3 bags or 2.....I always bring 3 when we all go, but this was a shorter trip and no costumes to bring for Claire. WE also usually bring on 3 carryons plus a personal bag each. I thought about throwing everything in our suitcases quickly and just get an idea of how full they would be, but I never got around to doing that before I booked it.
I am not sure if I can add another bag once we booked, though I am sure we probably could, but I just went with old faithful and booked 3 bags. After doing some prepacking yesterday, I think we could've easily went with just 2. Oh well. I now have room to bring home more stuff. I am only going to need one carry on as well. I only need that because I have a worry that "what if our bags don't make it?" This way I have a change of clothing for everyone AND I usually put all my charging cords and batteries,etc., in there as well. I also usually put make up and shampoos, etc in there, but I'm living on the wild side this time and going to put it all in the checked bags....wish me luck.

So I now have 3 bags to fill...right? I pulled out Claires summer clothes on Friday evening (as we pretty much knew we were going, just weren't booked yet) and had her try on clothes. I am amazed at how much this girl grows in 1 years time, but we still had plenty to wear that still fit. Some shorts and skirts were a bit on the iffy side, so I did buy a new pair of shorts to go with a shirt I really wanted to bring along.

This also is a little strange for me, as we usually have "themed" clothing and/or costumes. Not this time...how could I possibly get anything for her in this short amount of time.....well....You know me.....

I was happy with the few outfits we had, and pulled out about 6 outfits to bring along, basic sundresses and tops and shorts.
I got a message from one of my fellow co workers on Sunday night. Her name is Jeanne and I just love her to death. We do a lot of chatting and I have learned a lot from her...and she is a bad influence.

She has a slew of kids (I can't remember off hand, but I think she has 6 or 7), most of them girls. She is queen of the outfits. She gets custom made clothes for her younger girls ALL the time. I drool over her pictures, she has some fabulous things. She told me she had a Harry Potter top and skirt, and I was welcomed to borrow it for our trip. YES! Claire looked at the picture and loved it too. So she is going to send it to me this week sometime.

She also told me her kids usually take a pillowcase..or some item for signatures. We did the pillowcase on the cruise last year, and Claire loved it, so now I am on a mission to find one. I have looked and looked, and so far no luck. I would like to have a DR. Seuss themed one and I have asked a friend who does embroidering if she could do one, but she siad she would have to look around, and I haven't hear back yet. If anyone knows of anyone who could whip me up a pillowcase fast with perhaps the Cat in the Hat, one of the Things, or even the Lorax....please let me know.

So after deciding we would have a themed outfit for one day, I did the bad thing...I went to Etsy.... I found several really cute Cat in the Hat themed dresses. The bad thing is, many didn't go to size 10, which is what Claire would have to have. I messaged a few people, and most replied with saying they coudln't do one that big or that fast. I did find one gal who has a really cute pillowcase dress and she is able to get it out to me this week. So now we have 2 themed outfits....

Jeanne also gave me a link to a facebook friend who makes adorable stuff, mostly Disney, but she had some Cute Universal items as well. I found a T that has Thing 1 on it with a themed skirt to go along with it. I emailed her, and she got back with me last night. She is able to make it in size 10, but the skirt might have to have different trim, which was fine with me. So outfit number 3 is now order as well. I am a glutton!

But wait..it gets worse! As I was searching for dresses I came across many cute bows. I ordered a red and gold Harry Potter bow to match the that outfit. I'm hoping it makes it in time.
I also ordered a Cat in the Hat bow and a Thing bow, those have already shipped!
I think we are all set now, after all, we only have 3 days in the parks. I now have to cut down the other items I packed for Claire, but I will keep a few extra outfits just in case she wants or needs to change.

I'll post some pictures now, but I am not going to post the Harry Potter one, as I'm not sure if Jeanne would want her DD posted here.

Here is the Harry Potter bow.

The Thing outfit, I beleive she may be switching the stripes out for polka dots.

The bow to go with it.

The pillowcase dress.

And bow for that dress

Now I need a game plan!

 

[mom2rtk]

So as I started reading your post, my first thought was "bring the 3rd suitcase.... you'll need it to bring stuff home!". Then I see you've already figured that out.......

VERY cute outfits! I would love to go do Seussland and get or make something for Katie. But alas, I fear that ship has sailed. I'm glad you're getting to put something! And yeah for having your friend loan you a HP set! Can't wait to see the photos of Claire in them!

Have you done your research on cameras at US? Their rides aren't as camera friendly as Disney. But I think they have lockers near the rides for that.

 

[mousetravel]

I'm here! Can't believe you're going back to Fl so soon!!

And to universal, not Disney! How could you?????

But really, I have actually been looking into Universal, too. Just looking to do a little something different on our next trip. I can't wait till you get back to hear all about it.

Those outfits are so cute. I know she'll look adorable in them.

Also, I can't wait to hear about the Allegiant flight to Sanford.
I've already booked our flight through them for June.

(just don't tell anybody over at my TR. I'm waiting till I get my plans together and decide if I'll do a PTR or TR.)




ETA: I went & voted. It looks like you're in the lead!

 

[pinkxray]

I'm joining in.

We have been to US/IOA twice in the last two years. I enjoy it very much, but DH and DD7 LOVE it. It seems like they have added new things this year too, so I am sure you will all have a blast.

Am I blind? Did you mention where you are staying? We haven't stayed onsite (not yet, but we will next time we go as a family) but we purchased the express pass last year and it is awesome. There is no wait like Disney's fastpass, just walk right on.

I can't believe you found such great outfits in such a short amount of time. I love those Harry Potter bows.

 

[jenseib]

So as I started reading your post, my first thought was "bring the 3rd suitcase.... you'll need it to bring stuff home!". Then I see you've already figured that out.......

VERY cute outfits! I would love to go do Seussland and get or make something for Katie. But alas, I fear that ship has sailed. I'm glad you're getting to put something! And yeah for having your friend loan you a HP set! Can't wait to see the photos of Claire in them!

Have you done your research on cameras at US? Their rides aren't as camera friendly as Disney. But I think they have lockers near the rides for that.

I have done a little research, but not enough yet...the time just keeps flying by already. I do know on certain rides you have ti put your stuff in a locker, but I think if you can stuff a point and shoot in your picket, you can take that on.

I'm here! Can't believe you're going back to Fl so soon!!

And to universal, not Disney! How could you?????

But really, I have actually been looking into Universal, too. Just looking to do a little something different on our next trip. I can't wait till you get back to hear all about it.

Those outfits are so cute. I know she'll look adorable in them.

Also, I can't wait to hear about the Allegiant flight to Sanford.
I've already booked our flight through them for June.

(just don't tell anybody over at my TR. I'm waiting till I get my plans together and decide if I'll do a PTR or TR.)




ETA: I went & voted. It looks like you're in the lead!

I'll keep your secret!
I know, it was a total twist. I was surprised he suggested that.
I do like Allegiant. We have flown them several times now. They have decent roomy seats. I know some planes are older than others though, and those just aren't as nice, but still good. The bad thing is paying for evey little thing, seat choices, bags, etc. But it stil lis cheaper than flying out of detroit right now. Sometimes they are about the same, sometimes Detroit is a little more, but we have to drive an hour to get there. The down fall is always having to rent a car, but Skip always wants a car anyways...except this year, when he kept asking why we couldn't get a shuttle to the resort. Go figure.

I'm joining in.

We have been to US/IOA twice in the last two years. I enjoy it very much, but DH and DD7 LOVE it. It seems like they have added new things this year too, so I am sure you will all have a blast.

Am I blind? Did you mention where you are staying? We haven't stayed onsite (not yet, but we will next time we go as a family) but we purchased the express pass last year and it is awesome. There is no wait like Disney's fastpass, just walk right on.

I can't believe you found such great outfits in such a short amount of time. I love those Harry Potter bows.

I can't remember if I did mention where we will be staying. I wrote that first post really fast, with people in the background "needing" me for some stupid reason. We are staying at the Quality Inn, which used to be the Fairfield Inn. I think it JUST switched over. It's not fancy, but it will do and they have a free breakfast. I think they have free wifi too, but I'm gonna call and check on that. It did when it was Fairfield Inn, but I can't confirm it does now.

 

[Woth2982]

Those outfits are amazing! I cannot believe all you found in such a short period of time! When you get the HP outfit you can have Claire model it and put it up lol.

At least with the 3 bags you can check your shampoos. I am paranoid about them spilling (happened to my friend a couple years ago), so I am uber anal, and put each shampoo and conditioner, sunblock etc, it its own gallon size zip lock bag, then I put each bag into one gallon size ziplock back, zip it up and put it in the suitcase. I DID have a shampoo leak a little but all it did was get the inside of that bag sticky! I know it is a waste of bags, but better than having everything in my suitcase shampooey!

 

[mom2rtk]

Hey Jen.... you have a chance for 2 tickers going at the same time...... but I don't see the new one?????????

I just saw that photopass is going up to $169. I don't know if that means the pre-order will go up too, but I just ordered one to be on the safe side. Just thought I'd throw that out there in case you want to do a little planning for November.... in your spare time!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Good gosh Jen, you were one busy woman over the last few days. Booking a trip, trying on clothes and ordering clothes! I'm tired just thinking about it. Speaking of clothes, those outfits are adorable! I'm sure Claire is going to be the best dressed girl in Universal.

 

[jenseib]

Those outfits are amazing! I cannot believe all you found in such a short period of time! When you get the HP outfit you can have Claire model it and put it up lol.

At least with the 3 bags you can check your shampoos. I am paranoid about them spilling (happened to my friend a couple years ago), so I am uber anal, and put each shampoo and conditioner, sunblock etc, it its own gallon size zip lock bag, then I put each bag into one gallon size ziplock back, zip it up and put it in the suitcase. I DID have a shampoo leak a little but all it did was get the inside of that bag sticky! I know it is a waste of bags, but better than having everything in my suitcase shampooey!

I usually bag it too if I check it (which I usualy do on the way home), but I am double bagging it this time since I did have a leak problem during my transfer from AS Movies to YC. I think I didn't get the lid tightly closed and it leaked a bit out too. So two bags to be safe!
I can't wait to get all the goodies now and have her try them on.

I just need to find a darn pillowcase.

Hey Jen.... you have a chance for 2 tickers going at the same time...... but I don't see the new one?????????

I just saw that photopass is going up to $169. I don't know if that means the pre-order will go up too, but I just ordered one to be on the safe side. Just thought I'd throw that out there in case you want to do a little planning for November.... in your spare time!

I know. I'll have to put another up. I gotta find where I can do a Universal themed one.
I did see that too. What a bummer. I heard the preorder is staying the same, but I can't guarentee that. I better talk to my photoshare buddy on facebook and tell him about that.

Good gosh Jen, you were one busy woman over the last few days. Booking a trip, trying on clothes and ordering clothes! I'm tired just thinking about it. Speaking of clothes, those outfits are adorable! I'm sure Claire is going to be the best dressed girl in Universal.

It's been busy...and I need to get in shape now too. I have to lose 20 lbs in 13 days. I am trying to get more walking in though to get myself prepared. I have 4 1/2 miles under my belt today. I might take another walk when Claire gets home too. She needs to get herself prepared as well.

 

[Kathy Jetson]

Jen I love all the clothes! I think I'm lucky I had a boy or I would go broke just planning all the little outfits.

I sent you a pm

 

[stephielela]

Yay Jen!! I'm so excited, short trips really are great. I mean, not as great as long ones, but still! You are going to have a blast!

 

[dizneeat]

Those outfits are so cute, Jen!

I cannot wait to see photos of cute little Claire wearing them all.

Jen, be warned, the food inside the parks is expensive and we did not like it very much, there are several restaurants outside on city walk and they are usually pretty good ...... there is a Bubba Gump's and I envy you being able to have a meal there!
Try Cinnabon's if you like that sort of thing - yummy center of the roll!

As for the rides - we have always stayed onsite and had the Universal Express, so can't tell you about the lines, but Seuss has fun rides, do the little train thing, it's fun. We loved the dragons, but I am not sure Claire is tall enough and Spiderman is so fun! If it is warm enough do the ripsaw falls and popeye's ride (don't remember the actual names), but be prepared to get SOAKED!!!!!!!!!!
I need to get over my photos to give you sufficiant information on the Studios part - at the moment I am drawing a blank. But then it is 11pm and I am pretty tired!

 

[jenseib]

Jen I love all the clothes! I think I'm lucky I had a boy or I would go broke just planning all the little outfits.

I sent you a pm

Yes...that is the bad thing about a girl, especially one that loves clothes since she was very little...and shoes too. She had a temper tantrum at 2 years old about a pair of shoes I wasn't going to buy.

Yay Jen!! I'm so excited, short trips really are great. I mean, not as great as long ones, but still! You are going to have a blast!

Yes long would be better, but this still will be fun..and a whirlwind.

Those outfits are so cute, Jen!

I cannot wait to see photos of cute little Claire wearing them all.

Jen, be warned, the food inside the parks is expensive and we did not like it very much, there are several restaurants outside on city walk and they are usually pretty good ...... there is a Bubba Gump's and I envy you being able to have a meal there!
Try Cinnabon's if you like that sort of thing - yummy center of the roll!

As for the rides - we have always stayed onsite and had the Universal Express, so can't tell you about the lines, but Seuss has fun rides, do the little train thing, it's fun. We loved the dragons, but I am not sure Claire is tall enough and Spiderman is so fun! If it is warm enough do the ripsaw falls and popeye's ride (don't remember the actual names), but be prepared to get SOAKED!!!!!!!!!!
I need to get over my photos to give you sufficiant information on the Studios part - at the moment I am drawing a blank. But then it is 11pm and I am pretty tired!

Do you get very wet on Jurassic park? I love Jurassic park movies and would like to ride that one, but it looks like you get pretty wet. I'm not sure Claire would like dragons. Thats a pretty big roller coaster, isn't it?
I have to load more youtube videos for her now while I cook supper. She's been bugging me all afternoon, but I made her take a 1 1/2 mile walk outside (it's very nice out today) to get her in shape...good thing too, because she says her legs are hurting.