We Wants The Rum or Do We? April Trip Report! Complete! New TR in my signature 8/26**

I've been hearing the same thing from everyone. I think they took the exact same version from Universal Hollywood, and I wasn't too impressed with that one anyways. So at USH, they combined several rides into one with the Backlot tour. First, you get a studio tour, which is cool, because it's actually the working studio so you drive by sets and soundstages (nothing actively shooting; when they are shooting they reroute the trams around those areas); it's super cool to peak into the stages though! Then, they do the King Kong portion, which is the same video as the dinosaur attack in the Kong Skull Island ride. Then drive around a bit more, which includes a behind the scenes video of how they made that film/ride combo. Finally, you drive into the Fast and Furious film/simulator. I wouldn't wait for the Kong or F&F portions themselves, but I'll take them when they are part of the whole backlot tour.
It was really bad, just a lot of loud noises and that was about it. I remember eons ago doing the backlot tour at US in Hollywood. I loved seeing the Psycho house with the mom in the window, :laughing: I did like Kong better than the F&F
 
Joining in!! And my first comment is YES! ANDI IS A SLYTHERINE!! I wave to a fellow dungeon mate :)
Most of the Voodoo donut reviews I have read sound fantastic! I can't wait to try one, but they seem huge!
Sounds like a very productive USO day so far!!
:welcome: Andi is definitely a Slytherin! I am a Gryffyndor. She did get some nice comments about her outfit.
My donut was so delicious, I enjoyed everything about it. They are huge but I ate all mine! I wish I had one now :laughing:
 
Loving the report so far. That voodoo donut looks soooooo good!!! I'm also do FQ for the first time in November. Only for two nights before we head over to BWV. Good to hear the bathroom is spacious!
:welcome: And :thanks: We really enjoyed the FQ, I would think all the rooms will be updated my November. The resort is nice and small so any building is pretty decent. I like building 3 very close to everything. I loved the bathroom redesign, way better than the curtain with the sinks outside a cramped bathroom. The donut was so yummy!
 
Hello Everyone,

Thank you to all reading and those commenting, it makes reliving the trip so fun! It was 88 degrees here today, that is a record for us in Duluth! It definitely was a summer day here today!

Cont...............USO, heading into IOA via the Hogwarts Express!

After Andi rode RRR and I stayed safely on the ground, we headed back to Kings Crossing in the HP area. We went through the station with a minimal wait, maybe 10 minutes to board the Hogwarts Express. USO did a nice job with this train, you really do feel like you are on the train with Harry, Ron, and Hermoine. However, Hermoine must have took Poly juice potion because she does not sound like herself at all! Her voice is bad. There was a family with us and it was their first time on the HE and they really loved it.
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We got off the train and headed into Hogsmeade, it wasn’t to busy and FJ had only a 10 minute wait! Score for us. We got to ride together rather than doing single rider line. The queue is so awesome, I would do the stand by line if it is your first time. The castle is amazing! The HP details are so great, I feel like a student at Hogwarts in the line. We enjoyed the ride so much! This is hands down my FAVORITE ride of all times. FoP is up there but FJ takes first place because of the fondness I have for all things HP. I love the books and the movies. Avatar not so much. I am lucky, queasiness and motion sickness do not bother me on this ride. We took a few pictures of the castle and headed towards JP area.
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I wanted to do the velociraptor experience but the line was to long so again I haven’t done this “sigh”
We skipped any type of water rides today so we headed to the comic area and took a look around here. We watched some people coming off the water rides just drenched. We saw some Marvel characters out. We saw Wolverine, what category is he? Not sure if he is Marvel. I don’t know the comic book series very good, sorry! I do know I love Spider-Man, this ride also had a short wait so we did this, one of my favorites at IOA.
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Andi decided to do The Hulk, I again waited safely on the ground. She enjoyed this and we decided to go out and try Toothsome Chocolate Factory. We have never been and thought it would be a good choice. This restaurant does not take reservations so we walked up and we were seated very quickly. We had a table upstairs not to far from the bar area. It was nice with windows to the outside close to us.
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Our waiter was nice, he was busy but stayed organized and reviewed the entire long menu with us. The menu is a big book with the story about the owner in the front. Her name is Penelope, it is a 19th century steam punk laboratory and her home with her robot friend Jacques.

We decided to share food because we wanted dessert here. This place is known for over the top milkshakes. We started with the totchos as our appetizer. These are described as fried tater tots with spicy green chili, crispy pork belly, andouille sausage, and cheddar cheese sauce. These arrived crispy and flavorful. There was not very much of the meats on them but plenty of cheese sauce.
We enjoyed the flavors. Way to much for us, it looked like we had barely made a dent in them.
We shared the Cheddar Bacon Burger. This was very good, pink center and juicy. The bacon was plentiful and delicious on the burger. It came with French fries which were good. I forgot to get a picture of the burger, we ate all of it.
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We decided to get a sundae for our dessert. We chose the Brookies, Cookies, and Cream. This was very good. The brookies and chocolate chip cookies were so good in the sundae and we got one of each, the ice cream was Oreo cookies and cream, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce. This was very good and we demolished it. Left a little whipped cream and that was it. We were visited by Penelope and Jacques during our meal. They were so fun and Jacques talked, which is newer I guess. They were very interested in Andi’s outfit and what she was learning at her school. We settled our bill, took a look at the candy and malt display downstairs and headed into US again.
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Stay tuned in the next post on the last few hours at US..................
 


Cont from last post........

We were full and happy with our dining experience At Toothsome’s, I am glad we tried this place. It is so unique and a place we can’t experience around here!
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We wanted to do E.T. Ride, this is one of my favorites. I love at the end when E.T. Says “bye Caroline” in his cute little voice. We again did not have much of wait, less than 10 minutes. We sure did luck out with wait times this day, especially since we didn’t splurge on Express Pass.
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We walked through the Simpson area, always a fun place to look around. We did MIB, again with a short wait. This is so much fun, way better than Buzz for shooting. Andi of course won. She always does. We went back over to get a look at Kreacher peeking out the window at 12 Grimauld Place. I love watching him peek out. I always yell “Kreacher” like Harry does in the movie and people look at me like I am nuts!:rotfl:After my Kreacher fix, we decided to head back to FQ. We got an Uber very quickly and we were back to FQ by 3:30pm.
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We decided to take a nap and then head out to MK. The mousekeeping had not been to our room yet so it was hard to rest until they knocked. I told them to skip that day and just got towels. They were quick and really didn’t look in the room much so no big deal for us. I do want to complain a little about the phone situation at Disney, ugh! In the refurbished rooms, the phone doesn’t even have housekeeping as a choice anymore so you have to call the main #, be out on hold, and transferred. I asked politely if they could please make a note that we prefer mousekeeping in the morning before noon. She did this and it worked, everyday after that our room was done early!

Stay tuned for Day 2 evening in MK, reason for the TR title..................:hyper:
 
Toothsome looks so cool. We haven't done Universal yet. Waiting for my daughter to get a little older but I FINALLY got my ds8 into the HP movies. I love HP and have shown him a couple of the movies but he was never into them until last month. YES! I feel like that's a winning parenting moment for me. So now I can't wait to do Universal and have someone else into it. We probably won't go for a year or 2 because we have our next 2 vacays booked. We might go to Citiwalk in November and meet some family for dinner pre-cruise. Toothsome would be a pretty cool place.

I love Andi's outfit. The tie is so cute! You seemed to get a lot done without the express passes. That's great!
 


I wanted to do the velociraptor experience but the line was to long so again I haven’t done this “sigh”
This is the one experience that actually reduced me to a tearful-giddy child (and I'm 40). I just loved how "realistic" the raptor felt! I loved Jurassic Park so I thought this was an incredible experience!
off the water rides just drenched
OH yes! You will always get soaked on US water rides, not like Slash where it depends on which row you're in. The first time we rode Popeye my husband was wearing cargo shorts and they were so water logged they were actually falling off, so we had to walk back to Hard Rock and get him a complete change of clothes. LOL!
Wolverine, what category is he? Not sure if he is Marvel.
He is definitely Marvel. All the super-hero characters at Universal are Marvel. Six Flags (loosely) has ownership of DC properties (that would be Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman).
This is so much fun, way better than Buzz for shooting.
I so don't agree. I LOVE Buzz, I can not figure out how to work my gun in MIB at all. I leave with a score barely in the 100s. So pathetic!
 
All the food at Toothsome Chocolate Emporium looks so good. I think I'd have a hard time choosing which milk shake I wanted.

Andi looked so cute in her Harry Potter outfit.
 
Darnit, I had things quoted but then they disappeared.

Anyways, about FJ - I felt so sick the first time I rode it at USH, but thats because when it opened they had it in 3D! I think so many people got sick, they eventually turned it back into 2D.

For Wolverine - He's Marvel comics, but they sold the film rights to him and all the X-men to Fox, which is qhy he's not part of the marvel cinematic universe. Same with Deadpool (part of X-men not MCU). They actually had to be careful with Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver (from Age of Ultron), because officially they are mutants, so the MCU changed their backstory. But now with Disney buying Fox people keep wondering if they will get merged (though I think that is silly because they each have their own worlds now).
 
He is 24 but still my toy story, lion king, and Star Wars loving little boy! Here is a picture of my two babies when they were little.:sad:
Adorable! I want time to slow down, it's making me sad enough that my stepsons are getting older and I want MY babies to stay babies! Even though they aren't even babies anymore :(

I was not a fan of the super soft, marshmallow like pillows. These were not good for my neck.
Same here. I find all the beds in all the Disney resorts comfortable, but not so much the pillows. Way too soft and they bother my neck.

We took the stairs up and did the easiest security check ever!!
Right?? I don't give too many pluses to Uni over Disney but this is a big one. So flawless!

I don’t want to be a Debbie downer, but this ride was bad.
I keep hearing this over and over, really no good reviews. It's unfortunate because it's been highly anticipated. Really I could care less since like you I'm not a FF fan.

Andi did the Rip ride rocket, single rider line. You could not get me on this unless I was guaranteed one million dollars after the ride.
:laughing: I love this ride, especially that you can program your own music in.

She enjoyed this and we decided to go out and try Toothsome Chocolate Factory. We have never been and thought it would be a good choice.
Ah, Toothsome! That's where I get the most bestest, absolute fantastic macoroons of all time!
 
We saw Wolverine, what category is he? Not sure if he is Marvel.

Yeah, the X-Men are Marvel, but Fox owns the rights to some of the other Marvel characters, which is why Disney can't use them in movies.

I do know I love Spider-Man, this ride also had a short wait so we did this, one of my favorites at IOA.

I love that ride too!

They were so fun and Jacques talked, which is newer I guess.

I was surprised Jaques talked to, but meeting them was really fun.
 
Toothsome looks so cool. We haven't done Universal yet. Waiting for my daughter to get a little older but I FINALLY got my ds8 into the HP movies. I love HP and have shown him a couple of the movies but he was never into them until last month. YES! I feel like that's a winning parenting moment for me. So now I can't wait to do Universal and have someone else into it. We probably won't go for a year or 2 because we have our next 2 vacays booked. We might go to Citiwalk in November and meet some family for dinner pre-cruise. Toothsome would be a pretty cool place.

I love Andi's outfit. The tie is so cute! You seemed to get a lot done without the express passes. That's great!
My son and I went to every movie together in the theaters, he loved HP! The HP areas at USO are so awesome. I think your son would love it!

We really enjoyed Toothsome, I have read mixed reviews on here but I thought it was a great experience.

Andi got her Slytherin tie and socks on Amazon and just added a white button down and her own skirt.
 
This is the one experience that actually reduced me to a tearful-giddy child (and I'm 40). I just loved how "realistic" the raptor felt! I loved Jurassic Park so I thought this was an incredible experience!

I so don't agree. I LOVE Buzz, I can not figure out how to work my gun in MIB at all. I leave with a score barely in the 100s. So pathetic!
I’m jealous you were able to do the raptor experience! I would be giddy as well. I love JP, it was one of my favorite books and movie!

I do love Buzz for the experience but I don’t know what the bleep I am shooting at ever, I never feel like my gun works right. On MIB the gun feels easier to aim for me.

Those water rides at IOA look like you do get drenched, we have never done them except the JP river ride. One of these visits we will.
 
All the food at Toothsome Chocolate Emporium looks so good. I think I'd have a hard time choosing which milk shake I wanted.

Andi looked so cute in her Harry Potter outfit.

Toothsome was really a fun dining experience. The milkshakes looked delicious, it would be hard to choose with all the choices. Our sundae was scrumptious!
Thank you, she has an interactive wand and likes to dress in her Slytherin outfit with her wand. 2 years ago the TM at the Hogwarts Express gave us a box car all to ourselves because of her outfit. He stayed in character and said she better get back to school and he was also a Slytherin!

Anyways, about FJ - I felt so sick the first time I rode it at USH, but thats because when it opened they had it in 3D! I think so many people got sick, they eventually turned it back into 2D.

For Wolverine - He's Marvel comics, but they sold the film rights to him and all the X-men to Fox, which is qhy he's not part of the marvel cinematic universe. Same with Deadpool (part of X-men not MCU). They actually had to be careful with Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver (from Age of Ultron), because officially they are mutants, so the MCU changed their backstory. But now with Disney buying Fox people keep wondering if they will get merged (though I think that is silly because they each have their own worlds now).

I had heard how sick people were getting when the ride first came out as 3D. I just love the mix of screens and the props so cool.
Wow, you are up on your Marvel knowledge. I just know I like Thor, Ironman, Mark Ruffalo (not so much the Hulk but Mark I love, lol) and the X-men. Thanks for the info.

Look at all those adorable little desserts!
I could have stared at all those yummy treats for a long time. I wish I would have bought some to try.

Love your trip report!
Ahh :thanks:and :welcome: so glad your are enjoying the report, stay tuned for more fun coming soon....
 
Adorable! I want time to slow down, it's making me sad enough that my stepsons are getting older and I want MY babies to stay babies! Even though they aren't even babies anymore :(


Same here. I find all the beds in all the Disney resorts comfortable, but not so much the pillows. Way too soft and they bother my neck.


Right?? I don't give too many pluses to Uni over Disney but this is a big one. So flawless!


I keep hearing this over and over, really no good reviews. It's unfortunate because it's been highly anticipated. Really I could care less since like you I'm not a FF fan.


:laughing: I love this ride, especially that you can program your own music in.


Ah, Toothsome! That's where I get the most bestest, absolute fantastic macoroons of all time!

I can’t agree more, time flies to fast. My kids are young adults now, how could that be:confused3 I still think I am one to:rotfl2:
The pillows are way to soft in the refurbished rooms, ugh!
Security is so much easier at USO
F&F really sucked! I just don’t get the ride, and why US would think this was good:goodvibes
Rip ride and the Hulk, no way, not for me:scared1: I didn’t realize you rode that scary ride, props to you!
Oh My I forgot how much you bragged up the macaroons. I wanted to get some when I saw them in your report, duh! I forgot, maybe another time!
 
Yeah, the X-Men are Marvel, but Fox owns the rights to some of the other Marvel characters, which is why Disney can't use them in movies.



I love that ride too!



I was surprised Jaques talked to, but meeting them was really fun.
Thanks for the Marvel lesson, quite a few of you all on here know your stuff. That is one of the reasons I love the Dis, I learn so much.
I think I mentioned on your TR that Spider-Man was my favorite ride in IOA until HP FJ opened, now it is my second!
It was fun to meet Jacques and Thank you for reviewing the place and recommending it on my PTR.
 

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