National Lampoon's Pandemic Vacation: CBBR December 2021!

[Travelgrrl]

I first took my daughter and her friend on a senior trip to Universal in 2009, and we stayed at the Holiday Inn across the street, taking a cab to and fro the parks. We got to see some of the classic rides like Twister and Jaws, and had a great time. Usually we were a Disney family, staying at Shades of Green, but figured we'd try something different, and it was a wonderful, inexpensive experience. In 2017, my sister and her daughter joined me in several day visits to Universal from SOG on a Disney trip. Wizarding World was open, and we got to fully explore it! The shuttle from Shades of Green was only once a day, and took you back around 5 PM so we never got to see anything at night. (I think there's still a Disboards Trip Report floating around somewhere on that trip!) By this time, I was already getting less enthused about Disney, and in fact went only to two Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween parties while we were there, buying only Universal park passes.

In 2019, my daughter and I returned, this time staying at Cabana Bay, and we got to do all the night things. We had another fantastic trip! So much so, that when a planned 2020 Mediterranean cruise fell by the wayside (guess why?), I decided my next trip would be land based. Since my 60th birthday was to land in December 2021, I figured it would be safe by then to travel in the US and go to a theme park. Read on to find out who joined me on my birthday trip, what it was like during a pandemic, how CBBR is holding up, what it's like to share a resort with many, many cheerleaders, and what kind of adventures two 60 year olds and two 30 year olds got up to! I took plenty of notes and zillions of photos, so put your arms inside the moving vehicle and strap in for my pandemic trip report!

Photo: Me, getting up close and personal with Jaws. (I must note how happy I am that Jaws is still there! We loved the ride, back in the day! I love him and also the Quint album in the record shop window in 'London' - nice homages to a classic ride that went away to make room for the magical Wizarding World!)

 

[Travelgrrl]

Originally this was to have been a trip for 6: myself, my childhood friend J (we met when we were four years old!), my sister and her teen daughter, my daughter and her beau - and we were staying in a suite at Dockside. I wasn't too keen on staying so far away (the old Wet and Wild property, across the freeway) but the resort was brand spanking new and our room would have a separate room for the sweethearts, with the rest of us ladies stacked like cordwood in the other part. And the price was truly great!

Due to some family circumstances, my sister and her daughter dropped out of the trip, and I was able to rebook at the same price for four in a Exterior Entry Pool View suite at Cabana Bay. I was thrilled! Back at the retro resort we loved! I knew in early December that we could cope without Express Pass, and in general I am a budget traveler, who would prefer to travel more often in budget accommodations that less often in fancy ones.

Having returned, thank goodness we didn't have 5 adults and one teen in that room. It was perfect for 4 people. And this is coming from someone who has frequently smooshed 4 people into an inside stateroom on cruises. If the 3rd and 4th person sail for free or for a negligible amount, why not fill up the room? But many times during the trip I was glad to have the space for four of us to zoom around.

 

[Travelgrrl]

I should note that the final price was the same PER PERSON when we switched to CBBR. Dropping the other two and a new sale landed us at Cabana Bay with no increased cost for each person on the trip, even though there were now 4 instead of 6 in the room.

Both R (my daughter H's boyfriend) and J (my childhood friend) had never been to an amusement park before, barring local carnivals and smaller places. In anticipation of the trip, I found a free "Hogwarts Acceptance Letter" template and sent them each one. I don't know how to block out names, so I'll just add this photo of the envelope - but the letter can be personalized with the person's name and address, and is signed by Professor McGonagal herself! R liked it so much he brought it on the trip with him!

 

[themeparklover26]

I should note that the final price was the same PER PERSON when we switched to CBBR. Dropping the other two and a new sale landed us at Cabana Bay with no increased cost for each person on the trip, even though there were now 4 instead of 6 in the room.

Both R (my daughter H's boyfriend) and J (my childhood friend) had never been to an amusement park before, barring local carnivals and smaller places. In anticipation of the trip, I found a free "Hogwarts Acceptance Letter" template and sent them each one. I don't know how to block out names, so I'll just add this photo of the envelope - but the letter can be personalized with the person's name and address, and is signed by Professor McGonagal herself! R liked it so much he brought it on the trip with him!

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That’s such a cool thing you did to get them excited!

 

[Travelgrrl]

We booked the trip last March, so I had plenty of time to get ready. I ordered a zillion cheap Harry Potter things from China, which always arrive if you have 3 or 4 months to wait. Back when my kids were little and we went on trips, I brought souvenirs WITH me as a way of bribing them ("Let's get up even though it's still dark, darling, to make Early Entry! I have a gift for you as soon as you brush your teeth!" "Let's go back to the room for a rest, and when you wake up, you have a gift!", etc.) and also it was infinitely cheaper than buying souvenirs. They knew not to ask for things in shops because they had guaranteed things back in the room. (Though I did buy them a souvenir of their choosing here and there. I just wasn't besieged every time we exited through the gift shop!)

As they grew up and I no longer needed to bribe them (I employed psychological manipulation by then! ), I kept up the tradition. When we took cruises, I woke my daughter up with a vanilla latte and a themed gift, etc. So for this trip I bought enough Harry Potter tat for 5 people, because at that time we had 6 in our party. By the time it was a party of 4, I had SO MUCH stuff for each person: 2 things for each person every morning and night of our trip. They were all tiny and fit in a gallon bag in my carry on. Three VERY HEAVY gallon bags, that is!

I don't think I took any photos of the items, but here's a few photos of similar things I've bought in the past:

 

[Travelgrrl]

The method for scoring incredibly cheap HP things is to go on Ebay and search "Harry Potter" and then sort "Prices low to high". At that time, shipping was usually free (has since increased to about $2 an item) and I got most things for $3 or less, with shipping. As I said, you have to be patient and expect about 3 months for things to arrive. The quality is insanely good. I suspect that as each HP movie was released, there was a mountain of merchandise made, some of which is still lingering in Chinese warehouses.

I also made SPEW buttons from a snap together kit that I found at Goodwill for $1. You can probably find a similar kit for $6 at Michaels or other craft store. Note that you have to scavenge the artwork from the internet, as I did.


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[Travelgrrl]

I also bought a lot of Harry Potter stickers which were unusual and charming, so I had plenty for scrapbooking for us ladies and also to share. I found a big boxed set of Harry Potter jewelry from after the third movie (!) and though it was $10 with shipping, it included a Time Turner necklace and 20 other pieces of jewelry, so I figured I would take a gamble on it. It was great! I took the 20 Harry Potter jewelry pieces and put each in a little clear envelope. I included chains (which I had a bunch of from another project) if it was a pendant, and even put chains with the rings in case they were too big for kids.

So I had SPEW buttons, stickers packs, jewelry and some random HP buttons to give away during our trip. I got a purple bag from Amazon and a Ministry of Magic patch from Ebay and made this to hold them:



My method is to quietly ask a parent if their child "would like something from the Ministry of Magic". (They always say yes, BTW.) Only then do I offer the bag of stuff.

My daughter used to cringe about this sort of gregariousness but on our last Universal trip I had a few things in my fannypack and gave them out to two little girls (and their Mom was expecting and was wearing a "Future Wizard" shirt with an arrow pointing to her belly ). When they got off the shuttle, the Dad turned to us and said "Thank you for being kind to my family" and we just melted! So now she's on board with the program, particularly because we don't make a big production out of it.

Here's a (heavily cropped to preserve his anonymity) pic of me gifting a very polite young man something by the Knight Bus.

 

[Travelgrrl]

The last thing I bought before the trip were interactive wands. I think they cost $59 plus tax at the parks and on their website, and I figured I could do better on Ebay. I just searched "Harry Potter wand", limited my search to the US only, and looked "low to high" price plus shipping. I skipped the obviously prop wands and looked for listings where they didn't say "interactive" in the title (which would have boosted the bids up) but where it was obvious in the photos that the wand had a tiny bulb on the tip.

For the uninitiated, the bulb works with the spell locations and doesn't require batteries or other maintenance, so a used wand will work perfectly fine. If the bulb is ever scratched and it fails to work, you can bring it to Ollivanders and have it 'fixed' (they go in the back and get you a new one).

So I was pleased to score two interactive wands in listings that didn't advertise that they WERE interactive, and had dark muddy photos that was sure to result in a lower price. Each was less than $25 with shipping and worked as well as new!



Later I ordered beautiful leather 'wand holsters' from an Ebay seller who handcrafts them himself, for $10 each. Handy! They slid on a belt or fanny pack.

 

[Travelgrrl]

Sunday 12/5
The trip began! I left at 5:15 for a 5:50 regional bus to O'Hare airport, and it was dark as tombs so I took a different road to get to there. I got lost, and found myself heading out of town on an even darker highway. I knew I was early so I didn't panic and got myself turned back around and oriented, but what a start to the trip!

The next inauspicious thing was that my plane ended up on the tarmac for 5 hours. The radar system was broken, and although the pilot noted "We don't really need it", there were hours of waiting on the plane while mechanics fiddle faddled, then trying to take off, then returning to the gate, more waiting, deplaning everyone and their bags (!), then announcing that mechanics were bringing a part from a distant warehouse, then finally: "Well, that's going to take too long so we'll just go!" without the radar system.

Of course I was like: "Why couldn't we have gone 5 hours ago, then?!" To United's credit, they had a cart of snacks at the gate and gave us $10 meal vouchers which I used as I left MCO, getting milk, yogurt and a small cheese tray for the room. Better yet, the pilot could see that I was deeply disappointed and came over twice during the ordeal to be kind.

I was mostly bummed as I was supposed to have arrived first, and I wanted to decorate the room, prepare the daily gifts, and be there to welcome everyone! Instead my friend arrived first, but had no trouble checking in without me. (I was required to prepay.) I had no option to mobile check in because although I booked online directly through Universal, I never got the email. Checked my junk mail and everything! We each took the Supershuttle and it was handy and quick.

I had a jubilant reunion with my childhood friend, and got in a little decorating, unpacking and sorting out the gifts for that evening, and picked up our park tickets at attractions desk, which was quick and painless. Cabana Bay room was spotless and looked newly done!







My daughter H and her bf R arrived about 6:30 PM. They took an Uber that let them stop at Walgreens for water and wine. Usually I take Tony Hinds but with us all arriving at different times, it wouldn't have worked out this trip.

Next up: CHEERLEADERS! Hideous gifts!

 

[Travelgrrl]

The lobby had the (1950's) latest in aluminum trees! Resorts and parks were beautifully decorated for the holidays.




The lobby is gorgeous Mid Century Modern, and there are perfect details in the murals, carpet, artwork, furniture and signage all around Cabana Bay. Right down to the Zest and VO5 in the rooms!

 

[Travelgrrl]

When the 'kids' arrived (I say that though they are 30 ) they grabbed some sandwiches from the food court, while I polished off half of a hamburger J had picked up while I was still sitting on the tarmac in Chicago. (As always, the food court at CBBR is great. Huge portions, delicious, wide variety, and the lines were just fine!)

It was time to bestow my first set of gifts! When you order things online, they sometimes don't indicate the exact size of things, and I had purchased several extremely detailed enamel and rhinestone Harry Potter pendants from a Chinese seller. They were from Betsey Johnson, a quirky (but often spendy) designer. I got 5 of them, with Harry's jacket resplendent in different colored rhinestones, and I barely paid $3 for each of them. My excitement lasted only until they arrived. They were huge. HUGE! Almost 4 inches long, and Mr. T would have been embarrassed to sport such gaudy neckwear. So I decided to give them to the girls and pretend that they were actually nice. Really lay it on thick that this was a special gift from me, and that they were meant to cherish it, and relish my picky daughter and my straight shooting friend have to squirm and pretend they liked them. After all, they had Betsey Johnson tags and were obviously well made (though hideous).

They did in fact act as if they liked them ("And the Academy Award goes to....") before I burst out laughing and assured them they didn't have to wear them. Later my daughter used hers as tree ornament, but more on that later. For illustrative purposes, here's an online photo of one of the pendants. Too bad there's not a pop can to show scale!



We all had a good laugh, then I gave them their real gifts for the night: Harry Potter lanyards for their room keys and park cards, some prism glasses for enhancing fireworks, and a Platform 9 3/4's candy bar (now available from Walgreens). Those went over a lot better!

That accomplished, we sat by the fire pit near Atomic Café and had a cozy time. I was so happy to have a close, comfy smoking section! When I made the reservation, I asked that our room be near one, and then again when J checked in, she mentioned it, and indeed room 3118 at Starlight was quite close to this deluxe area, which even had upholstered lawn chairs! (More on this in the next installation!)

I guess it's time to discuss the CHEERLEADERS. A few weeks before our arrival, I was alerted by these boards that our trip would overlap with Pop Warner and its corresponding cheerleader competition, which dismayed me a little because typically this week in December is quite slow. The intel was wrong on Disboards because word had it that the cheerleaders would be at Dockside and the football boys at CBBR. Nope! We had the cheerleaders - hundreds of squealing girls. And they were out in force this Sunday night, hooting and hollering and having fun at the pool right outside our room. The rooms must be very soundproofed though, because when were returned to ours the pool was still open and we heard not a peep once the door was closed!

And honestly, they were no trouble at all. Just clogging up the Starbucks queue, but otherwise we hardly saw them except in lines streaming towards their buses, all in matching outfits, high ponytails, and giant hair bows. Accompanied by their eager Moms, stoic Dads, and frankly bored out of their minds little brothers. So don't fear the cheerleaders, they were gone most of the day and went to the parks after they were closed for everyone else.

The night ended as I got my clothes (Ravenclaw 'uniform') and fanny pack ready for the next morning. Even though it was EE at IOA, I wanted R and J to see Diagon Alley before they saw Hogsmeade, so we planned to make rope drop at USF. To enhance the comfort of the sofa bed for the kids, we called for extra pillows and blankets and made it up with two blankets below the bottom sheet, and they slept with their heads towards the bottom rather than the top and said if was fine. Incidentally, we kept the Do Not Disturb sign up all week because we had so much stuff no one could navigate to clean, but we used the text stream J got upon checking in which was super handy and fast to get more towels, blankets, sundries, etc throughout the week. We tipped the maids when getting them which always resulted in pure astonishment. As penance for whoever had to clean after we checked out, we left $10.

Before we went to sleep, J gave out beautiful HP colored scarves she had crocheted. I've (badly) crocheted for over 45 years, and recently J was in town and asked me to teach her. In about 20 minutes I showed her the only two stitches I know, and she was off to the races. In days she had made several scarves, much tidier and straighter stitches than I could ever do! Here are the scarves which we did not need in FL because the weather was PERFECT, low 80's every day, mid 60's at night, and zero rain. (The bottom four are Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff, our 'houses'.)



Next up: First park day!

 

[Travelgrrl]

Monday 12/6

We all got up early enough to make rope drop at USF. J kindly (and insanely) left to get Starbucks coffee and the line was insane. She waited 45 minutes! I was a little crabby due to no AM coffee but I wandered out to the nice, comfy smoking section that was right by our room, only to find it closed for the week because it was in the now locked pool area! I stared dumbfounded at the gate, not having realized the night before that this paradise was contained within that section. OK, I knew the pool was going to be closed for the bulk of our trip, although the last time we were at CBBR both pools were open all week. Certainly no mention was made by the booking agent when she sold me on a poolside room! But to have one of that property's named smoking sections also locked all week? Grrrrrr.

There was a security guard there whose sole function was to tell people the pool was closed for the week. As I stood there bereft, looking at the cushy chairs and handy ashtray just yards out of my reach, he told me, and I quote: “Just smoke anywhere outside!” Ummmm, no. Bad enough to be a gross smoker wiithout resorting to THAT. Luckily I found a ledge just outside the property's locked gates in a parking area and used that instead. The whole idea didn't sit well with me, as advertised areas and services were not available. Also, I had not had coffee to this point.

But back to the fun stuff! Today we all wore some version of Harry Potter uniforms: Mne was a black knit skirt, a navy blue blouse that I had glued a Ravenclaw patch on, HP jewelry, and of course my hideous fanny pack and Ministry of Magic bag of gifts for kids. Our morning gifts were HP face masks with matching mask lanyards, and fancy individual packs of antibacterial wipes to stick in a pocket or purse. The mask lanyards were super handy as they kept masks handy, hanging on your upper chest when not in use, but close enough to quickly put back on when indoors. I wear a mask all day and so having to put it on only when indoors at the parks or resort was absolutely no problem.

Weft for buses at a very late 8:30 AM (Starbucks line), and made our way through Citiwalk. Along the way, we had to take a few obligatory photos:



Here's the kids leaving CBBR, where a line of vintage cars are set for posing:



We had no problem activating our tickets at the regular entry point, and were in USF at 9. We went straight to Diagon Alley! Well, almost straight. We zipped past the phone booth, Leicester Square, the Knight Bus and whatnot to race towards the somewhat hidden entrance - but did take time out to meet one special friend:



Jaws is still tucked along the waterfront! A nice tribute to a great ride that was sacrificed to make the magical Diagon Alley. Also look for the shout out to Quint in the record store in Leicester Square!

Next up: We enter Diagon Alley!

 

[Travelgrrl]

We stepped through the hidden entrance to Diagon Alley. If you don't know where you're heading, it's a lovely surprise to suddenly find yourself at the jagged brick wall, with Diagon Alley stretched before you! Both J and R were surprised, but I only managed to catch the moment with one of them:



It wasn't busy yet, and the pavement shone with early morning pastels:



We zipped right on Gringotts. I was a little worried for this to be our first ride as it's one of the wildest there. But J & R tolerated the ride just fine (although J was "one and done" with it!). We wandered around, hit Knockturn Alley, and checked out the holiday decorations.



Knowing that the lines can get long later in the day, we visited Ollivanders. The first time I saw this show my niece got picked as the wand chooser and I cried hot tears through the entire thing as it was so REAL. I think this was the same wizard, who speaks quietly and has such presence. So, I cried again. Leaving I had pretty much my only negative interaction with a team member, when the woman who held the door for those exiting noticed my slightly watery eyes and visibly scoffed. Scoffed, I say! I kind of laughed to myself and thought that happy tears are what greases the theme park gears.

By now it was 11, so we hit Leaky Cauldron for an early lunch. Was worried about this because of the horror stories about eating at the parks, but we waited just a short time to order and were immediately seated at a cool table along the wall and away from other guests. R had the Guinness and lamb stew in bread bowl, I split an order of fish and chips with J, and H had a child’s fish and chips. I think the young people had some kind of hearty ale, and I threw in a chocolate pot so we could all have a tiny (rich!) taste of dessert. A friend sent me birthday money before the trip and earmarked a $50 bill 'for us to have lunch', so that's what we used, and it was just a little more than that.

Up next: Leicester Square!

 

[Travelgrrl]

OK, I lied. Next up, J and I posing on Hagrid's motorcycle. Sadly, that's the closest we ever got to Hagrid and his magic bike on this trip!



I met J the first day we moved to our home in 1966, when she had turned 5 but I was still 4. We both turned 60 this year and are still fast friends.

 

[Travelgrrl]

After a pretty thorough invesigation of Diagon Ally and a hearty lunch, we emerged back into Leicester Square, and headed to the Knight Bus and talked to 'Simon' and Dre Head, the shrunken head.



We visited the Ministry of Magic phone booth and punched in the magic code.




And of course we got frozen at the door of 12 Grimmauld Place .



R & J, on their first visit, were surprised by the appearance of Kreacher!



Next up: the rest of our early afternoon after a very fun first morning!

 

[Travelgrrl]

By now we were all ready for a break, so we started out of the parks. We hit Men in Black which was fun as ever. No one but me was up for going on the Simpsons ride, so we just took a few photos. Mmmmmm, donuts!



I never noticed until right now that the cop car has banged into the hydrant!

We made it back to the resort about 1:00 and got some nice but soon-to-be-shady chairs by the pool. R & H got sun while J and I checked out the lazy river. The last time I was at Cabana Bay with H, it was really too cold for the pool so I only had a quick dip one day, and we never checked out the lazy river. It was really nice! It felt a tiny chilly when I first stepped in, but immediately it turned lovely. The landscaping is very pretty, and it was squeaky clean other than a leaf here or there. The waterfalls are easy to avoid if you don't want to get doused.

I had brought two flat packed, thick vinyl noodles which were easy to blow up (and later, repack) and they worked great. This was really the only time there were tons of cheerleaders and their families in the lazy river, so it was a bit crowded and rowdy, but I still had a ball. It was far more of a lazy river than I expected, and another reason to absolutely love CBBR!

J and I split a little earlier than the kids, and headed to the food court on the way to the room. I had fond memories of the food court from my previous stay, but recent Disboards reviews of the parks and CBBR had me worried about eating during our trip. Dining at odd times by heading to the parks early, having an 11:00 lunch, heading back to the resort around 1:00, having an early dinner around 3:00 or 4:00 (and a late evening snack, oink oink!) has always worked well for us and it did this trip too, with absolutely no problems. And such as it was at the food court. Great food, good prices, and short register lines.

For dinner I bought a Cuban sandwich with homemade chips which were delightful, and an extra side of pasta salad, just because it looked good too. I eventually had half for dinner, half for lunch the next day, and even a late evening pasta salad gorge. Delicious and more than ample portions. Didn't think to take photos of the food, because I'm old. Instead, here's a winsome photo of my daughter hugging a Pygmy Puff.



Next up: Our evening at USF! Parade! Cinematic Spectacular! An bad interaction with another park guest that turned unexpectedly very good!

 

[Travelgrrl]

We headed out, back to the park. I wanted the newbies to see Hogsmeade for the first time during the day, so we headed back to USF to see the Macy’s Christmas parade. It was due to start soon and just like every other parade I had seen at Universal, there were still places to stand or sit by the curb. Another reason why I'm starting to strongly prefer Universal over Disney!

We walked up the street bordering the little park by Macy's and there was a long stretch of grassy edge with a large space, a stroller, another large space, a small child, another large space, then a mother, another large space, and the rest of the crowd. Rather than just plunking down on the far end, I asked the mother if that was her stroller. (The two in front, two behind spaces we intended to use were just past it.) She swung her arm in a wide arc, indicating the entire curbside, and said: "These are for my family", so I asked: "Where are they?" because she and one child (and a stroller) were basically saving like 12 other spots and we were asking for two on the end. She just kind of flipped her hand and me and said: "Go ahead, then!" in a none too pleased voice. R and J sat on a little bit of grass on the end and J sat behind while I wandered to the park for a smoke in its lovely smoking area.

I feel that any person can save one, perhaps two seats at an event for absent family members. So she and the child could save 2-4 spots, not 12. (The stroller doesn't get to choose spots, no matter how unwieldy.) Though I thought we were in the right, I did feel bad that we had a negative interaction with another park guest. And truly, it was the only uncomfortable moment with anyone all week!

After the smoke break in what I came to learn was GRAMMERCY, not CENTRAL Park (had been misnaming it for years - Central Park is at the bottom of the lagoon), I headed back to our parade spot. The lady's family had arrived, and there were still ample spots for those who seemed inclined to sit. I had my Ministry of Magic bag with me so thought I would offer an olive branch, and said: "Ma'am?" to get her attention to ask her if she'd like the children to get something. She didn't acknowledge me other than to flip her hand dismissively in my direction. OK, fine.

The parade could be heard heading our way. Excitement was in the air! Here's R & H:



Suddenly the lady plopped down right next to me, in the back row! I literally started worrying she was going to start a ruckus right there. Instead, she immediately said: "I want to apologize to you. You guys deserved those spots as much as us. It's just been a long day and I was tired. I am so sorry." I'm almost crying typing this, so you can imagine how deeply this touched me IRL. How many of us after being a little rude, go back and apologize to those we have offended? What a wonderful person to have done that! I told her she made my night, and never was I so glad to have the bag of Harry Potter gifts, because I offered them and she was truly surprised and pleased. Possibly because they were killing time waiting for the parade, but the four kids in their party went off their heads at the swag! They all got jewelry or SPEW buttons and were seriously thrilled.

I guess this story has been awfully long, so I'll save the amazing parade for the next post. Nota bene: the lady to the right in the photo above is not the mother in my story. They were to the left.

 

[Travelgrrl]

So, the parade itself! It was amazing and far more than I had expected. My daughter H and I saw a Mardi Gras parade the last time we visited, and were really surprised to catch tons and tons of beads from the floats! I've been to Mardi Gras in New Orleans and the floats and dancers were comparable.

I love watching the Macy's parade on Thanksgiving, but you don't get a true feel for how BIG the balloons are, or what a balancing act the ground crew has to do to keep them aloft and straight. Seeing that up close was something I never thought I would see! Each balloon had about 30 people tethering it, while a conductor walked backwards in front of them, guiding their every movement to avoid roller coasters, lamp posts, and the like.






Somehow Gingy looks a little ominous, so big.

Universal can't really compete with Disney on the sheer amount of notable children's characters, but there were Despicable Me and Shrek floats, among others:



And at the end, Santa came. We were right on the corner near Macy's but not close enough to be under the explosion of shiny green, red and white Mylar confetti at the finale. Did grab a few for my scrapbook, though!

What a great end to our first day! But wait, there was more! ...in the next installment.

 

[Travelgrrl]

As soon as the parade ended, we all headed over to The Mummy, but because we were around the corner a bit, we were behind a zillion other people who had the same idea. The line was at 60 minutes so R & J went off on their own, and J & I decided to take in the Cinematic Spectacular. I couldn't figure out where to go, and a nice employee gently corrected me that the cute little park in front of The Mummy is not Central Park, as I've thought for years, but Grammercy Park, and he directed us towards Central Park, by the bottom of the lagoon. We stopped to grab a drink at a little outside bar (which I believe is patterned after a NYC landmark), and the barman told us that the bridge below was a prime viewing area, and it was wide open.

We grabbed a couple of spots on the stairs by the railing and enjoyed the peace of this quiet spot, looking at the lights over the water.



When it was almost time for the show, we texted R & J, and since they were still in the park, they rejoined us. It still wasn't busy at this perfect viewing spot and there was plenty of room!



The show started and it was pretty and all, but suddenly I just wasn't feeling it. I was tired, I wanted to be in my PJs and eating the rest of my delicious sandwich! J was happy to leave too, so the kids stayed for the rest of the show while we played "Hit The Bus Stop Before The Closing Crowd". The buses were not busy at all on this trip. There was always a bus loading people and another one pulling up, every time we went to or from the parks!

Soon we were back in our cozy room, where my Cuban sandwich and I were reunited, as well as plenty of 'room candy' for dessert. J had brought some liquor filled chocolates and I had some Swedish Fish. We watched Ralphie's struggle to get a BB gun in A Christmas Story, and it was heavenly. The kids returned and everyone got their night time Harry Potter gifts, including a wallet for R, a Time Turner necklace for J, and a funny sign for H that said something about "Wizards Only" on one side, and "Muggles Welcome" on the other.

Before bed, I got my fannypack and clothes ready for Tuesday, and restocked the Ministry of Magic bag of kid gifts. What a great first day! Three more fun filled days to go!

 

[Travelgrrl]

Today our plan was to hit Hogsmeade for EE at IOA. I wore my Marauder's Map dress and even had a MM face mask! We skipped the gigantic Starbucks line at the resort (which was always insane in the morning because the cheerleader Mamas were getting some fuel before heading out on their busses!) and just had room coffee. Harry Potter gifts this morning were 10 HP Lego minifigures for R, a 'Mischief Managed' makeup bag, and Time Turner necklace for H, and a Felix Felicitas necklace and Hogwarts headband for J. We were off!



It was a misty morning. On the way through Citiwalk, there was a sign saying that Hagrids was closed! I was sad because that was our main reason for being there so early. However, knowing that we weren't in any particular hurry caused some of us to stop for Starbucks coffee at Starbucks near the park entrance. Meanwhile, I kipped off for a smoke by the lagoon and shot a couple of misty photos!



We made our way to Hogsmeade, and rode Forbidden Journey, which for my money is the best theme park ride, anywhere! J has a dicey back, so she skipped it, but the rest of us rode Flight of the Hippogriff.

Hogsmeade was dressed up for the holidays!



We shopped and checked out Moaning Myrtle in the bathrooms.

Before we left Hogsmeade, I saw that Hagrid had opened as the Closed sign was now gone and a staff member was moving stanchions around. I asked her the status and she actually sneered at me that the line was already at 75 minutes. (The second and final time a staff member was kind of rude to me.) Hagrid basically stayed at 75 minutes all week, and there was never a Virtual Queue offered. So, long story short, we never got to ride it. Next time!

We posed on the bridge by the castle and the man who offered to take my phone and shoot us all together knew how to use it better than I do, because he got this great panoramic shot!



I know that fanny pack was doing me no favors, in the way it was hanging. A little higher and it would have given the impression of a waist! However, I could not easily get into it for my phone or money unless it was loose and hanging low. That's life!

Next up, Jurassic Park, more rides, and Betty Boop!