Harry Potter, a bit of MNSSHP, Shades of Green - Fall 2017 Pre-Trip AND TRIP Report!

Wow! Big Roy AND Walt himself! Did you know Roy Williams designed the classic mouse ears?

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It was a special night, Lillian was with him and he was quite chatty with us. We were raised to be polite, quiet unless spoken to and knew how to carry on a conversation. I was trying to recall if he was a good dancer or not??? We were listening to Count Basie and his orchestra and there was dancing at the old Carnation Gardens.
Yes I did know that about Roy. I used to watch the original Mouseketeers....yes I'm older than dirt...well I was still little. I still have the drawing from Roy So special. Your outfits sure brought back memories. I remember having a crush on Johnny Crawford (from the Rifleman who was in the 'club' one year) and of course Cubby.:love1:
 
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I wasn't old enough to watch the Mickey Mouse Club on original airings, but re-runs ran on TV in the 1960's, and I only had eyes for Annette, Annette, Annette.


What wonderful memories you have! Count Basie's Orchestra as a kid! WOW!
 
OK! Back to the 9/24/17 MNSSHP! After we all watched the early parade, my elder sister, Mom and some of the little kids left the party, and sis, niece and I went off exploring on our own. We grabbed a bite at Starlight Cafe, then walked to Fantasyland to catch the fireworks. We rode Dumbo, then trick or treated at Pete's Silly Side Show, which had three stations. As the night goes on, the TOT lines get shorter and the handfuls of candy get bigger! We gave our glow bracelets to fun CMs and folks we met along the way.

We worked our way to Philharmagic, which was also a bonus stop, and then decided to ride Seven Dwarves Mine train, which had a 25 minute posted time. We had time to play briefly with things in the line, but it still went quickly. By the time we got off, it was about 11:30, so we devoted the rest of the time to scurrying around the park, hitting TOT spots in Liberty Square and Adventureland and finally the Tiki Room.

It was midnight and we were tired! We made our way out of the park by 12:30, and onto the monorail with no problems. Poor niece had a cold and was super tired (remember - she was at the Poly for breakfast, then swam with the little kids at the pool all afternoon) so when we arrived at the Polynesian, I checked to see if there was a cab at the taxi stand (12:45 AM: NO) so she wouldn't have to walk back to Shades of Green.

Instead, we made our way off the Poly's property, and started across the busy street that separates the two resorts. What did we see but a Shades of Green bus, returning from the T & T Ctr! I raised my hand as if I was hailing a taxi (really, as a joke), AND THE BUS PULLED OVER FOR US. I could have cried with happiness, as it saved a fairly long, dark walk at the end of a long day.

Safely deposited at SOG, and off to sleep. Perchance to dream of candy.

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(One night's haul for one person.)

We had 18 little adventures this evening: Pirates of the Caribbean, snack at Pecos Bill's, BTMRR, Haunted Mansion, free ice cream, Peter Pan's Flight, IASW, Ariel ride, Space Mountain, TOT in Tomorrowland, Boo to You parade, snack at Starlight Cafe, Fireworks, Dumbo ride, TOT in Fantasyland and the circus area, 7 Dwarves Mine Train, TOT in Liberty Square and Adventureland, and hailing a bus like a cab on the way home.
 
Monday was an off day, as many of our party were leaving to go home. Elder sister had asked me to retrieve the World's Largest Cake so folks could gather to have a little cake send off. That jived perfectly with my plans, as I had hoped to get the remaining 8 of us together for dinner that night, to celebrate elder sis's birthday - but it already seemed impossible due to park plans for nephew and his GF.

I had brought a gift and cards for my sister, along with cake decorations and candles. I had hoped to procure a baked good to put them on, and have them after a nice dinner at SOG's Italian restaurant. SO! We change plans!

I got the cake to our room and put the new decs and candles on it, so when everyone arrived: Instant Birthday Party! The cake really was delicious! As described earlier in this trip report, I had custom made a Mouseketeer dress for a 1950's era doll for her. It came complete with original shoes, socks and undies, which matched the costume I made (which matched what we'd all been wearing the previous night). As an afterthought, I tucked her original dress and hair ribbons (both ugly) under the tissue in the box, and as a doll lady, she was super happy to have those, too!

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Here's another close up of the doll:

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(That's a little Mickey head 'balloon' from a Barbie set, that I got off Ebay.)

After our impromptu birthday party, sis, niece and I took Mom to breakfast at SOG's buffet. Today was the first day we could participate in a promotion for free breakfast - a sure sign that now we were deep into Off Season territory. This would prove true for our final two days at Universal and our Tuesday MNSSHP: all had very light attendance!
 


Today was supposed to be a totally 'off' day, and I felt like I needed one after arriving Friday, a rollicking Saturday at Universal, and a late night MNSSHP. However, when we arrived back at the room a 1 AM, I realized I had a text from an old friend, wanting to meet. When Hurricane Irma was barreling towards FL a week so so before, I had contacted him in Miami to make sure he was evacuating. I must have mentioned we'd be in Orlando soon - so he traveled from Miami to Orlando to visit! :flower3:

I asked if Monday at Disney Springs worked, so we made plans for that. My sister was sweet enough to come with me, and niece went to the pool with her elder cousins (thirtysomethings) while mom and elder sister napped. We took the bus from SOG to Disney Springs, and started to make our way to World Of Disney, the meeting point. We had no sooner started walking, when a woman walking towards us staggered, and then softly collapsed!

For one moment, no one did anything. Others just walked by her! After the initial shock, I darted up to her, and placed my soft purse under her head. She was still clutching a cold bottle of water so I cupped some in my hands and splashed it on her temples, wrists and neck as she came around. (My sister did, too.) She said she was walking to where her husband was bringing the car around and felt faint from the heat. By then a CM had appeared and she was sitting up and drinking her water, so I retrieved my purse and wished her well.

Wow! The last time I was in this area, it was Downtown Disney and Pleasure Island, so it had changed. We made our way to the Disney store and couldn't find my friend. Eventually realized that we were at the side entrance, walked a few paces around, and there he was at the front! Very sweet to see my old friend!

He took us to Paddlefish, which I had been at years ago (about 20) when I had taken my daughter there (then called Fulton's Crab House) for a character breakfast. It's in an old paddleboat, very pretty. I ordered crab cakes, and since I knew my sister wanted a drink and I was grateful she had accompanied me, I ordered one, too. It's not that I have anything against drinking at all, and used to be able to appreciate fine wine and single malt scotches - but since I've been taking care of my Mom, I haven't drank in ages. At least four years, to be exact! I ordered a 'sangria' although it was made with bourbon and peach liqueur. Here's my big girl drink:

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The umbrella is inverted because of the recent hurricanes! After a nice long visit, we bid my friend goodbye. The only shopping we planned to do was go to the Coke store, as my sister collects Coca Cola stuff. She bought a few thingamajings and also a very cool plaid 'work shirt' which looked kind of vintage, with Coke logos on it. I bought the magnet below. In the past, when I've traveled around the world, I've concentrated on three areas of souvenirs: fridge magnets, patches, and artwork. The first two are inexpensive and small, the latter is something that provides years of enjoyment later. So! A magnet from the trip:

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I would have loved to hit World of Disney, but I was BEAT. So back to the resort for a nice rest, then to my elder sister's suite for take out and then an early night.

Next up: Tuesday MNSSHP!
 
Our party of 17 was down to 7 for the next couple of days: My eldest sister, her son and his GF, my mom, little sister, niece and I. We had a relaxing breakfast at the SOG buffet, then walked around the little pond area outside. In the afternoon while my elder sister slept (she suffered a TBI last year and needs plenty of rest), I had my Mom come to our room and hang out. I ironed costumes for that night's MNSSHP, and also our shirts for tomorrow's big day at Universal.

I also had an Alice in Wonderland necklace for my niece (who was going to the party dressed as Alice) and a Cheshire Cat one that said "We Are All Mad Here" for my elder sister who was going as the cat.

As in the first party, only the four of us were ready to go at the appointed time, with nephew at the parks and sister coming later with them. So off we went, as the Red Queen, slightly goth Alice, White Rabbit and Tweedle Dee. As usual, we walked to the Poly and took the monorail. Well, first we decided to check out the ferry but it was SO HOT there, with no awning to break up the heat that we backtracked, wheelchair and all, to the main builidng and the monorail. Much cooler!

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All hail the Queen!

Here I am in my Tweedle outfit. The Mouseketeer braids were so comfortable, I did them again for this costume, re-using the same red bows I had made.

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We entered, and went down the bypass again. I had made FP for wilder rides for my sister, niece, nephew and GF, and milder ones for Mom, elder sis and me. Since only the four of us were present, little sis and niece went off to BTMRR and Space Mountain, while Mom and I caught part of the Move It Shake It parade, then Peter Pan's Flight.

Since again, it was hot and I was always so, so thirsty, so Mom and I stopped at Pinocchio Haus for a quick drink, then we made it over to the path by the railroad where she got to see the train go by, and I got to have a smoking break. Ah, the restorative powers of a cold Coke and a hot smoke!

By then it was time for our 2nd FP which was Ariel's ride, and little sis and niece had rejoined us, having finished their two FPs. We went to the ride, and the CM let all of us through the FP line! We then met Ariel herself. I would share the photo, but it is hilariously bad of me! I'm on the left, crouched over on a little riser, trying to be a short as those in the clamshell - and Oh No. No. I REALLY look Tweedle shaped, much more than usual. My sister, on the other side, standing tall with no riser, looks just fine.

Instead, I'll share this photo of the other three as we arrived:

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Lol.......I think we all have those bad pictures we wouldn’t even share with our best friends!!

Nice epictures and what a lovely birthday! How scary with the lady who fainted.........glad you were there as yes, some folks do just walk on by.......

Nice to read about your trip........
 


Thanks, Schumigirl!

Next, we stopped by Gaston's Tavern and had a chocolate croissant. It was kind of neat to be there after having seen the live action B & B movie!

It was getting dark and non party guests were being shooed out of the park. We went to Tomorrowland and my sis sat with Mom while niece and I scampered on to Space Mountain. My sister, her son and GF were now in the parks and were wending their way towards us. The four of us hit the Monster's Dance Party and then Monster's Laugh Floor, which I hadn't seen. Even my elderly Mom, who generally hates animation, really liked it! I had never experienced this attraction so I was happy.

We all met up! Like the first party, it was dark by the time we were all amassed, so I never got a good photo of the entire group. Here's one that's a bit dark; I had heart shaped rhinestone bedecked glasses for all the girls.

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We all rode Buzz Lightyear, then trick or treated in Tomorrowland. Younger sis wanted a Memento Mori changing-picture shot of my niece, so we headed to that area. Somehow I AGAIN missed Madame Leota on the HM grounds! I've never seen her or the other ghost! Next time, I guess.

Instead, I took Mom trick or treating in Liberty Square and made my way through a queue for water while we were waiting for the photo session to end. It turned out great!

Another goal I had was to FINALLY watch the fireworks and projection show from the front of the castle. I've been to the Magic Kingdom at night many times, and have never seen this! It was so quiet in the park that we got spots in front just moments before Hallowishes started. (In fact, we walked by the 7 Dwarfs spot about 10 PM and there were only about 20 PEOPLE IN LINE!)

The show was great!

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We meant to stay and meet the Queen of Hearts and Tweedles, etc etc etc but we were all pretty beat. Some of us were going to bring Mom and elder sis back to SOG, and some stay, but since we had an early shuttle to Universal tomorrow, we all decided to go.
 
There was one bummer on the way out. I decided to stop at Main Street Bakery and get something sweet to take back to the resort. Four of us left the MK, and little sis, niece and I entered and got in line. To a... Starbucks? Everything inside was unrecognizable as the Main Street Bakery, and in fact I couldn't spy any baked goods at all from the back of the line. It seemed, like a Starbucks, to have an emphasis on coffee and a small display of pastry up front. Discouraged, we got out of line. I even asked a CM if I was in the wrong place, and missing the 'real' Main Street Bakery!

When the three of us exited, we decided to take the ferry to the Poly, for a change of pace. We waited in the pleasant night for it to arrive, and there was only one other family waiting with us. I was surprised when the ferry arrived, for it was a small craft, very pretty with a lot of wood; and not the gigantic ferry that takes one to the T & T. We embarked for a pretty ride across the lake to the Poly. No luck this time hailing a bus home, but it was only about 11:00 PM, not 12:30 AM, so we were not as tired as Sunday night.

All in all, it was a fun party, very lightly attended. We arrived earlier than the previous party, but still did less, for some reason. I think we were all a bit tired. We did do 16 things: Took photos at park entrance and bypass, watched afternoon parade, Peter Pan's Flight (BTMRR for two of us), Pinocchio Haus and watching RR train, rode Ariel ride and met Ariel, Gaston's Tavern for chocolate croissants, trick or treating at Circus area, Space Mountain, Monster's Dance Party, Monster's Laugh Floor, Trick or Treated in Tomorrowland, Buzz Lightyear, Memento Mori/Trick or Treated in Liberty Square, Hallowishes and Ferry to Poly.

I never mentioned, but we got TONS of attention for our costumes. Had all 17 of us been prancing around together at the first party, I could have understood that. Yet just four of us in our Mouseketeer costumes, or our Alice ones, were just heaped with praise. (Alice in Wonderland in particular has been done to death, and I even saw other Mouseketeers!) My Mom just eats that up with a spoon, and she actually commented when we returned home "I got so much attention and had so much fun at Disneyworld, and now it's just YOU."

I try to amuse her, I swear. But Disney sets the bar pretty high, and it's hard to replicate tons of strangers petting and praising her costumes!

Here's a shot of my pretty little niece in her goth Alice costume, and clock purse.

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Next up: Two Full Days At Universal - This Is What We've Been Waiting For!
 
Wednesday, 9/27 arrived and it was the first of two entire, unencumbered days for my little sis, niece and I at Universal! We were up at O Dark Thirty to be dressed and ready for the 8:00 shuttle to the park. ($10 fee for a round trip ride; quite reasonable. And what other resort on Disney property is likely to bring you anywhere offsite, amiright?)

This day we were in matching Hogwarts school uniforms: ties, socks, shirts with patches from our respective 'houses'. My niece and I had SPEW badges I had made, and the gifts today were a SPEW necklace for my sister and an elaborate snake bracelet for my niece, a proud member of Slytherin. Getting to Universal was no problem on the shuttle, and before we knew it we were at the entrance to Islands of Adventure!

We hit Spiderman right away (5 minutes wait, like virtually every ride we went on that day - it was VERY slow at Universal, just like the previous night's MNSSHP. When they say 'off season' in the fall - they mean it!) and then my niece and sis went on Hulk while I relaxed and had a cig in one of Universal's many handy, pretty smoking spots. We rode Spiderman again (what a great ride, even for someone who pretty much hates the whole superhero genre) and then we noticed some characters coming down an alley.

Character greetings at Universal tend to be much looser than Disney's, albeit with random, not-very-photogenic backgrounds. 20 years ago, Disney characters used to just pop up here and there, and I don't remember too much in the way of handlers or lines (of course, this was before autograph books becoming de rigueur). Once my daughter and I were at Hollywood Studios and we looked to the left and the fox and the lion from Robin Hood were like, right there, just ambling along next to us, and happily stopped and posed. Nowadays, Robin Hood would be hunted like the fox he is, if he were to turn a tail at Disney!

Anyway, no one else was around, so we posed with Captain America and another handsome chap who I did not recognize. Then a larger group of superheros came and we all posed. After quite a bit of googling, I can caption this as "Storm, Me, Wolverine, niece, sis, and Rogue". You can see our (as yet) dry outfits here. Why dry, you ask? Because we were off to the wettest rides I've ever been on, outside of a water park!

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Off we went, like lambs to the slaughter - or lambs to the dunking pond, otherwise known as Dudley Do Right and Ripsaw Falls. I knew, generally, that these were wet rides - but I was not prepared to be completely, utterly soaked. I think we were soaked from the first one, so what the hey, might as well ride on the second.

Here we were, dressed in our spandy best for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and now our crisp blouses, not to mention our shoes, socks, and blooming bloomers, were soaked. I noticed they had dryers ($5 - they really get you coming and going) and so my sister and I hopped in one to dry off. I skinned out of my blouse (tank top underneath) and skirt (shorts underneath) and wrung out my socks etc.

Meanwhile, niece was absolutely, completely mortified. You would have thought we had gotten buck nekkid. (My daughter was the same way, quite prim at that age. How she survived me as a mother is something we still muse over!) Soon enough, we were all wrung out and re-dressed, and an order of Annie's cinnamon pretzels took some of the sting out of it for her.

Here's a wet little lamb. Even her SPEW badge got damp - inside!

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We were still damp as all get out when we rode Kong: Skull Island, and I thought it was just OK. Of all the Universal rides, this was maybe my least favorite. Maybe because I was still wet?

We made our way to Hogsmeade! Finally we could explore the Wizarding World at our own pace, taking all the time we wanted to see this and that. We saw the Frog Choir and checked out the shops. I bought my second and final souvenir of the trip: a Ravenclaw Prefect's badge.

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While we toured today, we handed out Hogwarts house cards to those dressed in our house colors. (ie, they had Gryffindor or Ravenclaw outfits on.) As I mentioned before, the cards said stuff like "You're Gryffindorable! Have a Magical Day!" and we had a informal competition to see who could get rid of their 27 cards first, over the three days we were at the Wizarding World.

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These were a huge, huge hit (as were the Platform 9 3/4's train tickets). They were super easy to make and carry, and people got a big kick out of them. (A few people seemed confused, but very few.) My only regret is that we had zero Hufflepuff cards as none of us was dressed in Hufflepuff gear - and we saw SO MANY HUFFLEPUFFS!!! Really? Hufflepuff? I'm kind of surprised so many people self identify as the loyal, stodgy Hufflepuffs, but there you have it.

This game was kind of good for my niece, as like any young teen, she's a bit backwards about coming forward, as the English say. (Shy.) So this was a challenge to her, to approach other teens and cast members, giving out her Slytherin cards, and she was determined to WIN - to give all hers away while her mom and aunt still had some left.

For instance, there were some Slytherins in these shopkeepers, and they posed for a photo:

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The CMs were great, really into their roles. There was a spooky witch in Diagon Alley that never broke character! This added a lot to our enjoyment of the Wizarding World.

We had lunch! At the Three Broomsticks! Ah, fish and chips. But no Coke, just some ice cold water and also Butterbeer! We had the cold but not frozen variety, and it was good. I don't care for cream soda, and I was worried it would taste just like that, but it didn't. Just faintly like that, but really more of a butterscotch flavor. One glass was plenty for all three of us to try; it would be quite sweet to drink a whole one, I think. (And this is coming from someone who, at this point, was harboring about 12 lbs of MNSSHP candy in her hotel room.)

Next up: A truly magical, memorable experience!
 
We were fed! We were dry! We met this super fun CM and my niece gave him a Slytherin card. He was truly delighted - and then went and grabbed some kind of notebook and gave us front of the line passes to the ride of our choice! (Hint: Forbidden Journey, AKA The Best Ride, Ever)

After he posed with us, we saw the witch behind, photobombing! By far, this is my favorite photo of the trip.

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We decided it was time to get niece's interactive wand, and we entered the Hogsmeade Ollivanders Wand Shop for the show. (Remember, I had missed the ceremony at the larger Ollivanders in Diagon Alley where my great nephew got his wand, so this was my first go.) It's hard to explain, but this little site and ceremony really, really got to me. I entered some kind of Harry Potter wormhole and was THERE. It was so REAL.

The wizard was an older guy, and he had amazing stage presence. There were only a few of us present in the small space, and he filled every inch of it, though he barely raised his voice above a whisper. In fact, his low register just added to the magic, as you had to really listen to him.

To say I was enthralled is an understatement. I started softly crying, not noticeable to anyone but maybe little sister next to me. When it came time for him to choose a young wizard, the Ollivanders wizard slowly, slowly raised his hand and pointed to my niece. Well, the softly weeping went right out the window, because from then on I was all out sobbing.

There was a family with two little boys there, and I could tell the Mom was hella peeved that the two weren't picked. Well, they had Thing 1 and Thing 2 t-shirts on, and the three of us were kitted out in full Harry Potter drag. Of course, he was going to pick my niece. Somehow the sound of me crying didn't add to her joy.

The ceremony itself wasn't sad, and it was funny when the wrong wands did their thing. It was just that for a moment, I was truly IN Harry Potter's world, just by the force of this man's performance. There's a great book called "The Wilder Life" by Wendy McClure, about visiting the Laura Ingalls Wilder homesites, and in one part, she's in Pepin Wisconsin, the home of the Big Woods of the first book. It's off season, the original cabin is long gone, and it's all a bit lame. But then she stands at the shore of Lake Pepin, and realizes it's the exact same time of year that the real Ingalls family crossed the lake in their covered wagon, and it hits her. She says "I didn't expect it to be this real". At that moment, in that theme park wand shop, I felt the exact same way.

My niece got her wand, my sister scooped the puddle shape I had assumed off the floor, and we exited. We sat outside for a moment as I gathered myself, and the wizard came out and spoke to my niece a bit more. He (still completely in character) stressed all the singular aspects of her wand: that it was a healing wand, that it was best for creative spells, etc.

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Kudos to you, Universal employee. Your complete commitment to the character turned an efficient way of separating parents from $50 into a total joy. And yeah, the wand was fun, too.
 
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(After I got home, I contacted Universal with the photos of several witches and wizards we had met that made our days special, including the tall wizard and photobombing witch in the top picture. But I singled the Ollivanders wizard out as truly wonderful, and sent the bottom photo, date and time so they knew which person to commend. I would take a vacation to Universal any day of the year just to stand in this guy's presence when he's doing his magical thing!)
 
Love the photobomber..........

Lovely experience in the wand store.......it really is a nice thing to be chosen and glad it was your niece.

Nice updates..........
 
One more funny thing happened in the Leicester Square area. I steered the kids towards the quintessential red British phone booth, to have them dial the numbers that correlate to the word "MAGIC" and hear a message from the Ministry of Magic. It was set up differently than I expected: no letters on the rotary dial, but the digits "62442" ARE discreetly displayed in the phone booth. (ie, it would take a pretty astute kid to realize those numbers correlated to the word "MAGIC", since there are no letters on the dial.)

That's not the funny part. Neither kid had ANY idea how to operate a rotary phone! They needed several rounds of prompting to dial the numbers and hear the message, because of the (to them) extremely odd method of dialing.

Here's the kids in the booth, mystified, and not for the reasons J. K. Rowling expected:

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There's a video going around on facebook of children not knowing how a tape works, they are trying to plug headphones into the actual tape. :scared1:

Then I did have a guy I used to work with ask me what the millennium was celebration was like...he was born in 1998...threw me completely.

We arrived at Diagon Alley! It truly was amazing, and by our third day there I was even more impressed at all the little byways and things to discover. The first day was a bit more fraught, as it was Saturday and therefore busier, the Harry Potter sections are the two busiest / most congested part of both Universal parks, and I wanted to make sure that my BIL and his grandson had a super duper day, doing all we could at the Wizarding World.

First up: Gringotts! I bought a hideous (and fairly impractical, in that it was difficult to get things in and out of) fanny pack for the trip, rather than the cross body Baggellini I would usually wear, because of Universal's locker policy. If you have a 'three point' clasp on your bag, and it's small enough, you can wear it on the rides; otherwise you've got a hassle with lockers before and after most of the rides. We ladies were so equipped, but BIL had a big backpack, and later A had his Ollivander's wand box and bag, so we still had to fiddle faddle with the locker system.

We got in line (30 min standby which wasn't too bad because the park hadn't been opened long) and got through the bank lobby just fine. The goblins were in fine fettle, and everything was tickety boo.

Those lockers were tiny I had to split my bag up into two lockers and I think that's how I lost my Universal ticket (luckily I got a reprint for the next day but took nearly an hour to sort out).

We needed sustenance. I would have preferred stopping at the Leaky Cauldron for a proper meal, but instead we visited Florian Fortescue's ice cream shop. It was adorable, no line to speak of, and we grabbed seats on the steps to the left of Gringotts. There are very few places to sit down in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. Wizards don't need benches, I guess - they just conjure armchairs out of thin air like Dumbledore did for Mrs. Figg. After 3 days exploring, I DID find a few hidey holes to sit in - including a line of 3 benches along a shady end of Knockturn Alley. LOOK FOR THEM. They're the most comfortable, most cool places to sit in DA.

I got caramel brownie, but you actually got two large scoops in a cup, so I picked chocolate for the second. It was nice for the CM to offer me the choice! I found the Universal staff to be just as whimsical and accommodating at Disney's. The ice cream was simply delicious, and a cup is enough for two.

I sat on those hidden benches! Just about quiet enough to video call home as well.

Loving your trip report

From what I remember I thought Popeye & Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges was worse than Dudley do-rights, one of the guys in our group turned their trainer upside down and water poured out.

As hot as it was I actually skipped those too, I got soaked enough on Jurassic Park.
 
Thanks so much, Schumigirl and Bex!

To finish off our Wed 27th Universal day, we did a few spells with the wand in Hogsmeade. My sister and I, who were teenagers in the 70's, thought the name of this shop was funny.

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Is that Neville's Mimbelus Mimbletonia in the window?

We went to the Owl Post to mail some postcards. I had brought stamps but figured we could buy postcards there - and you could, but only books of large postcards, which were about $10 or $15. My sister ponied up and my niece sent cards to her friends. They come with a Hogsmeade cancellation stamp, as well as the Orlando postmark! My sister sent me one, which I found out a few days after our return. Adorable for a scrapbook!

Next we used our express passes (given by the tall Slytherin wizard above) to ride Forbidden Journey. Again, this is the best ride, ever. Since we had gone through the queue and storyline before, we were happy to bypass that and got right on! One of the things I love about this ride is that it ends with a bang - a great little special effect right at the end. Most rides just kind of peter out, your vehicle just comes to a stop or the lights get brighter as you are carried into the departing point. Forbidden Journey has a great ending!

The three of us then took the train from Hogsmeade to Diagon Alley - the first time we had experienced this part of the journey. We had others in the cab with us which was not as fun as last time, when our party filled the space. Of course, we gave out more Platform 9 3/4 tickets in line.

We got to DA and I was starting to flag. Niece and sis went off to do spells and shop while I exited towards New York and quickly found a little French bakery, bought a lovely fruit tart and also scored a bottle of Coke at a sidewalk vendor. I made my way into DA and right where the brick archway is, I found a teensy niche to sit in. So I sat there and ate my tart (first deciding "I'll save 2/3's for the others", then "Perhaps 1/2", then "Oh well, might as well finish it!"). It was a nice break, and this is a terrific place to watch people entering Diagon Alley for the first time, and see the looks of amazement on their faces.

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The little niche and stone 'seat' are right behind the right brick wall.

My niece did more spells in Diagon Alley, and bought a Slytherin hat. We shopped and soaked up the atmosphere, then started to exit the park. We still had tons of time, so we rode Men In Black and The Simpsons. By the time we were out of the park and into Citywalk, we still had time so we pulled over at Menchie's frozen yogurt. My niece went wild with the toppings, as one does!

The bus picked us up, back to the resort to relax. Mom, elder sister, nephew and GF were still at Animal Kingdom, watching Rivers of Light. (Yes, my 91 year old mother was out later than me.) We lolled around the room, ate leftovers and snacks from the PX, and after I had been sitting on my bed for a couple of hours, I looked over and saw THIS, just a few feet from my head:

9 27 35.jpg

HOW did I not see this for a couple of hours? I jumped a mile! It is the bottom of a sting ray pool toy that my elder sister had stashed in our room (as the four of them had moved from a suite to a regular sized room for the last couple of days). After I screamed, little sister, niece and I laughed until we cried. Insert "Jaws" music here.
 
I loved Forbidden Journey last trip, this time I could not focus on the screens and it made me feel ill. Same for Spiderman, Transformers and Soarin' and maybe Gringotts too.

Dispicable me and Jimmy Fallon and the Simpsons seemed to be ok and Flight of Passage only if I kept my view dead straight, was a bit bad if I looked down.

I had a friend I wanted to send a HP postcard too, I thought I was going mad only seeing the sets but love the postage mark.

Disney had a small amount and were so expensive, I got mine from Walgreens. I thought MK used to have its own stamp mark but I guess its not used as much anymore and it goes to a different location maybe as ours were stamped with just Orlando.
 
I loved Forbidden Journey last trip, this time I could not focus on the screens and it made me feel ill. Same for Spiderman, Transformers and Soarin' and maybe Gringotts too.

Dispicable me and Jimmy Fallon and the Simpsons seemed to be ok and Flight of Passage only if I kept my view dead straight, was a bit bad if I looked down.

Bex, sorry the rides made you ill. I have terrible vision, including the inability to see with both eyes at the same time, and often can't see things that are supposed to be 3-D. But I could see all of the Universal screens like it was all really happening, and one Bonine each morning kept me from getting sick. I like Bonine better than Dramamine because it doesn't make one drowsy!
 
Bex, sorry the rides made you ill. I have terrible vision, including the inability to see with both eyes at the same time, and often can't see things that are supposed to be 3-D. But I could see all of the Universal screens like it was all really happening, and one Bonine each morning kept me from getting sick. I like Bonine better than Dramamine because it doesn't make one drowsy!

I have glasses but they are for reading/computer/tv for long periods of time although I have a feeling on my next visit that may change. I do have issues focusing sometimes so that didn't help because by the time I could pick it up it moved me to the next screen. I may try wearing my glasses next time and if that doesn't work I could try Bonnie or whatever I can get in the UK that's the same thing.
 

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