To Hogwarts We Go...Again! This time with the Muggle. Nov. 2015 PTR

[samheatherwhite]

I am having bit of trouble believing that this is trip is really happening. Maybe a little pre-trip report will help it sink in.

Hopefully pictured above is my sweet family. (I haven't posted pics in a long time)
My name is Heather and I am mainly a stalker on the DIS. I did post a trip report in September of 2014 when my family and I visited Universal for the first time. (To Hogwarts We Go) This trip will be totally different.

Last trip included my two kids, my sister, and my Mom, and myself. We are all HP fans and we needed to check out the new DA. I proposed a trip and it didn't take long at all to get all the girls, and my poor little guy, on board. (He gets stuck with the girls all the time.)

This time it will just be my husband and myself. We haven't had a kid free vacation since before they were born and G turned 8 last month. The kids are staying with Gran and they are pretty excited with the arrangement as well. We are staying at Cabana Bay and arrive at lunchtime on Nov. 10th. and stay until the evening of the 13th.

How this trip came to be is a bit of a funny tale. G, my 8 year old daughter, is a huge HP fan and over the summer discovered a huge affinity for all things Jurassic Park/World. She felt very remiss that we didn't spend more time in the JP area of the park while we were at the parks in Sept. 2014. She started asking/begging to go back to farther explore both the HP lands and JP. Sam and I had been thinking about a grown-up solo trip and I somehow managed to convince him that a double Universal trip was the right choice.

Our current plan is for the grown ups to go in the fall which is perfect since the kids are busy and G is in school so they won't feel too left out. I also plan to buy a bunch of cool themed stuff for them for Christmas while we are gone. B, my soon to be four year old son, is a big fan of JP as well and he really likes the Minions. (The fart gun we bought last trip is still in use almost daily!) The second part of the plan involves the four of us going back together right when school gets out. Hello season passes!

I think I'll end this super long post by throwing in some quick questions for all the experts out there.

What do you wear to the parks in November? I've looked at the weather and was thinking jeans and a t-shirt with a hoodie for mornings/evenings.

I would also love to know more about the raptor encounter. Times? Strategies?
I'll leave you with a current pic of B and G from her 8th Birthday Party which was Jurassic World themed.

 

[samheatherwhite]

I thought that I would add a few more questions and some of my favorite pictures from our last trip.

A huge item on my must do list is Hot Butterbeer. Will it be available and where? I'm thinking only inside the LC and the 3Bs. I am also curious where to look to find out which park has Early Entry. I also need to know the operating hours of the Bayliner Diner.

I cannot wait to take my sister and niece back sometime in the future. As you can see in the pic my sister couldn't ride the rides. She is expecting again though so it will be awhile!

This is my favorite theme park pic of all time. This is what pure joy looks like. My G is a thrill ride lover and will hopefully be tall enough for the big coasters when we go back this summer.

B loved the splash areas and since he has grown an amazing amount since last time he should have a lot more ride opportunities next time.

 

[samheatherwhite]

I thought that I would check back in since we are leaving in a little over a week. Here is a bit of our plan, feel free to add any input.

Monday is get ready to go day. B has gymnastics in Amarillo early that morning so he and I will go do that and I can pick up anything up in town that is needed. We have to be back in time to get G off of the bus and get them ready to go to Gran's. I want to have homework and Spelling list for G done before we drop them off. DH and I will then go back to Amarillo and stay in a hotel since we fly out at 6am the next day.

Tuesday we should arrive around 11am. What do you think will be the best plan for the rest of the day? I know that we will go to one of the parks but haven't decided which one yet. I know HP areas will be crowded in the afternoon but I doubt that I can resist visiting.

Wed. and Thurs. are full park days. It would help if I could get non conflicting information about which park has early entry. I have called for other reasons twice and been told completely different answers both times. It makes life harder for a planner to have no plan! I am also considering a short visit to the outlet mall. The Disney, Nike, UA, and Levi outlet peaked my interest. Does anyone have any input about that? Is a taxi the best option?

Friday we don't fly out until 6pm so we will have some park time this day as well to hit favorites and make sure we have gotten the kids some cool treats to bring back.

I am going to start packing today since this week is crazy busy. We are still recovering from B's birthday and Halloween this week. This week G's school has it's basketball tournament and I am the PTO president so I am in charge of the concession stand. (This is not the usual week that they have it. Boy was I surprised to see it this close to vacation.) B and I will get all of the supplies tomorrow after gymnastics and we will start set up Friday morning to run Friday night and all day Saturday. We have family pictures schedules Sunday so I need to be done packing by Thursday night.

I have been watching the weather but I am still torn on what to pack for me. DH is easy he wears jeans and a shirt no matter where we are. I don't want to over pack but I don't want to be unprepared and melt or freeze! What do y'all wear to the parks this time of year?

 

[samheatherwhite]

Just got home last night. I will update as soon as I get pics organized. We had a great time and cannot wait to go back with the kids.

 

[schumigirl]

Glad you had such a good trip.......looking forward to seeing your pictures.......

 

[samheatherwhite]

Thanks, Schumigirl. I love your trip reports!

 

[samheatherwhite]

Thanks, Schumigirl. I love your trip reports!

 

[schumigirl]

Thanks, Schumigirl. I love your trip reports!

Awww thanks......that`s nice of you to say......glad you enjoy them

 

[SimbaLover]

Looking forward to hearing about it!

 

[samheatherwhite]

It's snowing here today and the wind has been blowing for several days making internet service questionable at best. I'll get started soon!

 

[tink1957]

I enjoyed your last report...can't wait to read about your latest adventures.

 

[samheatherwhite]

After much delay I think that I m ready to get this report started.
We flew out of Amarillo super early Tuesday morning so Sam and I got a hotel room Monday night. It is super hard to go to bed early when you are excited! We were out the door at a little after 4:30 am. Our flight was at 6am and went smoothly to Dallas.We didn't have a very long layover and I grabbed some pumpkin donuts for the flight to Orlando.

This flight was fine as well. We headed down to the luggage area and met up with Tony Hinds, our driver. I cannot recommend his services enough. This is the second time that we have used him and he is prompt, friendly, and always has nice stories to tell about the area.

We are planning another Universal trip to include the kids this summer and we plan on calling Mr. Hinds again.

We made a quick grocery stop at a Publix to grab some bottled water and then we arrived at Cabana Bay. It was awesome. On our previous trip we stayed at RPH and I was afraid that I was going to feel let down in but I was not at all. All I could think about the whole trip was how much the kids would love CBBR.

I went to check in and the man at the front desk was super nice. He asked what we wanted in a room and I asked for one that was ready if possible and Sam mentioned a high floor. I knew that having a room ready a bit after noon was probably a long shot but he found us one on the top floor about halfway down the continental corridor. (I would say hallway but that thing was long!) I cannot imagine having to go all the way to the end. That hall went on forever! The hotel is massive.

I loved all of the bright colors. We quickly checked out the room and gathered our park gear. I was ready to show Sam all that he had missed.

Here is the view from our window, we were on the side with the lazy river and fairly close to the bus stop location.

Here is a pic of the bathroom set up in the regular sized rooms.

Our first order of business had to be lunch. We were starving.

A quick walk to the bus stop and we were soon park bound. We were very pleased with the bus situation. We never waited at all from the hotel to the parks and only waited from the parks to the hotel when we had bad timing and left when everyone else was too. even then I doubt we waited more than 10 minutes.
Sam had no preference about where we went so I decided to take him to Universal Studios first.

Before I go any farther let me address the HAT. That thing drove me crazy. I didn't want him to bring it and tried to explain the lockers etc. but he decided that he would wear it anyways and it was a pain/ a source of amusement the whole trip!

It was a bit after 1pm and I thought that Finnagins would be a nice start to our trip. The kids and I had eaten there on our first trip and the food was great and our waiter was wonderful. I hoped it would be again.

It was not very busy so we were seated right away. We both had water (trying to stay hydrated in the heat) and I ordered a salad and Sam got the corned beef sandwich.

This salad was huge! It had some of their potato/onion web from the appetizer on the top along with some of the best grilled chicken ever. I really liked this.

Sam loved his and still talks about eating here again. This was one of our favorite restaurants from the whole trip and one of the least expensive.

As we were leaving I saw that Scooby Doo and Shaggy were taking pictures so I talked Sam in to getting in line because I thought the kids would love this.

Character meets without the kids were kind of awkward because I love characters but am a bit shy and Sam only did it to humor me. I missed having excited kids to help have a good topic of conversation! These guys were nice and I noticed how tall Shaggy is! He towered over Sam and Sam is a little over 6 feet tall.

 

[samheatherwhite]

We then headed to Diagon Alley of course. Sam isn't a HP nerd like me but he appreciates anything that pays attention to detail so I knew he would like this section of the park. He has seen all of the movies because they mainly came out at the end of November which made it a really easy Birthday date for me. Plus, G, our 8 year old DD is obsessed with HP so he has more knowledge about the series than he probably wanted!

When I had been to the parks before, we missed a few things that were must sees now. One of these was the back of the knight Bus. Previously we had talked to the conductor and taken pictures but we didn't realize that you could see inside.

G is very excited to check this out herself when we go this summer. Book 3 is her current favorite. (She has only read 1-4 as I feel they get a bit dark and she's only in 2nd grade.)

I showed Sam many of the cool details in London before we went through the bricks. I love Grimmauld Place, especially since I am a descendant of the Noble House of Black LOL. (My maiden name was Black)

 

[samheatherwhite]

After some London exploration I knew that it was time to visit Diagon Alley. Sam was surprised how hidden that the wall/entry was.
The image of a cowboy walking through Hagrid's opening made me laugh. He looked a bit out of place.

It was pretty crowded but I didn't care at all. The first view of the dragon never disappoints.

Today we started our tour of DA by exploring a little bit, showing Sam the neat details.

I love this area with the owls looking out.
Last trip we bought our Butterbeer from this area every time and I love that stuff so much. I immediately bought a frozen BB so we could sip authentically as we explored the magical world. Once our drink was finished we checked the wait at Gringott's and it said 20 minutes so we decided that that would be a prefect first ride of the trip.
This was my first experience with the lockers and let me tell you that it is a zoo in there. Last trip we had a 2 year old and a pregnant lady with us so we just used rider swap and left our bag with them. I highly recommend that because the locker area was small and crowded. It would work so much better if people would designate a one person to place bags and have the others wait outside!

 

[schumigirl]

Yay......you've started........have to say I'm loving the hat!!! It could have its own trip report.....lol...

Glad you like CBay......everyone who stays there has such good things to say about it......nice to hear.

Some lovely pictures there and it looks fairly quiet in bits.......nice to have someone who is a first timer with you as well......I love seeing how some react first time they see it.......

Looking for more........

 

[samheatherwhite]

I thought that EFG would be a good first Universal ride for Sam. He is not as adventurous as the rest of my family.
He really liked the walk through and was amazed with the details that he recognized from the movies.

The wait said 20 minutes and I think it might have been little longer than that but not too much.

After our ride we wondered around DA some more.

As you can see it was crowded but not unbearable. Up next was a nice cool down in Knockturn Alley.

I made sure to set Sam up near the hand of glory in Bourgin and Burkes so it would move. He jumped and I laughed, LOL.

I had to take Sirius Black for G. He is one of her very favorite characters and it was his wand that she chose to buy.

Our timing was perfect, just as we exited KA the dragon started rumbling. Sam was impressed. We had told him all about it but he said that it was much more impressive in person.
I wanted to show him the show in Olivander's wand shop so we headed there next. We only had to wait for the current show to finish. We chatted with the witch in the front area while we waited.....about Sam's hat of course. I bet 50 people asked where we were from because of that thing.

Above is the only picture I took in here which is a bit of a shame because what happened was awesome.
The wandkeeper? in our show was fantastic. He was just perfect, mysterious and very serious. He walked in and gave a hard stare down to a lady with her phone out. Then he walked around and checked every one out VERY closely. I was kind of hoping that he would pick Sam and low and behold he stopped right in front of us....... and picked ME! I about died right there on the spot.
Sam is much more outgoing than me and would probably been a better choice. He told me afterward that when Olivander stopped where he did he ducked his head and didn't make eye contact! I guess I looked up and smiled so me it was. Sam also said that I just stood there when O motioned me forward until Sam gave me a nudge.
I was relieved that I had seen the show before and had an idea about what to expect. I didn't want to look like the village idiot!
He got out his measuring tape and took my measurements, I am sure that my beet red face was glowing. I loved that he even measured the bridge of my nose just like what happened to Harry. I tried a few spells and did really badly and then a wand chose me. It was so cool, I am such a dork! The music started and a gust of cold air shot in my face.
Needless to say I had to buy the Ivy wand, we were obviously meant to be! I am 99% sure that Sam's hat got me chosen for the wand show.

 

[pepperandchips]

Needless to say I had to buy the Ivy wand, we were obviously meant to be! I am 99% sure that Sam's hat got me chosen for the wand show.

So cool! Enjoying your report

 

[samheatherwhite]

I could very happily spend several days in DA but I didn't want to burn Sam out so after Olivander's show we headed out to explore the rest of the park. Next we rode Men in Black and I beat him which didn't happen again the whole trip. We like the movies and enjoyed the ride.
The wait for the Simpson's ride was longer than we wanted to wait the first day so we moved on.

I talked him into going in the Spongebob store for a quick pic. to send the kids. They loved all of the photo ops in this fun store and once again the detail impressed Sam.
We had a nice time just wondering around the park this afternoon. When I saw that Shrek and Donkey were out I insisted that we go visit them. On my previous trip we never saw them out, our timing was never right and I really like Shrek.
Sam agreed but only if he didn't have to be in the picture.

He wasn't in the photo but the whole interaction was about him! LOL. Donkey was a riot and very interested in Sam. It's the hat again!
The conversation went something like this.
Donkey: "Hi, Hi, how are you?"
Me: "Good, how are you?"
Donkey: "I'm good, and who is that with you, guy in the hat....what's your name. Come over closer."
Sam: stepping closer "Sam"
Donkey: "Oh no it is not....your name is Sam? Like Sam Elliot?" That's just right, are you joking me."
It was hilarious and went on for a long time. I felt a little bad for spending so much time on our turn but Donkey would not let us go. Several times later that day and once on another day when we walked past the meet and greet Donkey yelled out something to "Sam Elliot."
For someone who did not want to meet Shrek and Donkey Sam sure enjoyed it.

Next, I saw that a new transformer was coming out and I wanted Sam to see how cool those guys are. He likes those movies as well.
Sam was amazed at how big they were and how well they moved around.
He decided to get in line and get a good picture to send to his friend back home. I opted out when I realized that it was Megatron. He's mean, lol.
I like Bumblebee and Optimus.

Sam was pleased with his photo but was a bit offended when as he was walking away Megatron told him, "You Disgust Me." I almost cried laughing seeing at the look on Sam's face. He was like, "oh well, at least Donkey and I are cool."
We then rode Transformers, twice since Sam really liked this one and then checked out the gift shop for a while. As we were leaving the end of the parade was going past so I snapped a quick pic of Baby Jaguar for B. He still like Go Diego Go and Baby Jaguar is his fave.

 

[schumigirl]

Nice update.....Shrek and Donkey are always a highlight for us.......Donkey is so funny.....and very clever in his humour........

 

[samheatherwhite]

We followed the end of the parade back towards DA and the Hogwarts Express. I wanted to show Sam a bit of the other park before closing and I wanted to see Hogwarts in the evening. On my last trip the park closed well before dark so we missed all of the beautiful evening views that I have seen in other reports.
The wait was not long at all. Sam was super awed by the walking through the wall part. It is super cool though I do wish that it was easier to see people that you actually knew going through.

I just took a few quick pics as we went through.

A nice couple was taking selfies as we waited to board so we helped them take a few better pictures and they returned the favor. It is nice to be in a few pictures.

There was a super cute British family on the train with us that had a little girl that was around 4 who had us laughing all the way to Hogsmead. She was a riot and really started playing it up when she saw her audience laughing. Her accent was so charming.
It reminded us of the time we went to Disney when G was about the size of our new friend. We were sitting by a fountain in Epcot taking a break when the man next to her started chatting with her about characters. Her mouth dropped open and she squealed in delight. The man had a British accent and G said, "Whoa, Mom, he talks just like Peppa Pig." It made her day but I was embarrassed. Thank goodness the sweet gentleman thought she was hilarious and they chatted for a long time.

There is a good spot for photos with the train when you arrive in Hogsmead station.
Up next, Hogsmead!