The TMs are Starting to Recognize Us! September 2018 TR *NEW TR LINK 4/8

Love the pictures of Curious George area! I remember my boys splashing around in there when they were small! Great memories!:thumbsup2

So nice that DS got recognition while wearing his Birthday button! :) This is definitely a birthday he won't forget!!
 
I think it was me who suggested we go over to E.T. Adventure first because it’s one of my favorites! I absolutely LOVE the smell inside the queue there, so that may have swayed my decision.
I'm right there with you. I think I enjoy the queue as much as the ride!

DS immediately went nuts in here! There were guns around the top ramp to shoot balls down on the people below. And on the ground floor there were all kinds of ways to suck up the balls and get them into a huge basket up in the air that every few minutes would tip over and dump all the balls back down. DS had a blast with the guns and with the vacuum tubes to suck up the balls.
Oh my...that looks like fun! I wonder of grown men are allowed to play too?
I think the last time I was there it was Feivel's Playland and a Curious George splash pad. Has the ball pit replaced one of those?

As we walked past Ollivanders they were trying to get people to come in for the next show, so we hopped right in. I immediately noticed that DS was the only kid in our group as we were led into the wand shop…
Wow, that's a change, trying to get people to come in! I remember when it first opened in Hogsmeade there was a huge line outside and about an hour wait to get in.

After a quick whispered discussion between DH and I at the end of this second wand ceremony that DS had been chosen for, we ultimately decided to go ahead and buy him ANOTHER wand! Maybe because it was the first day and we were still on a high, I don’t know, but we left with a 3rd interactive wand.
I don't blame you. I would have done the same thing (and of course Universal knows that so it's why they have that show...)
 
Following along :wave: What a great start for your ds for the trip...a name shout out and the wand ceremony!!! Wow!!!
I do know all about long car trips. We live in northern Canada ( Alberta ) and honestly when we " travel " it is always a long distance. We visit my family which is an 11- 12 hr drive, and the dd has moved out into the big city and it takes about 7 hours to see her. My kids have learned from a very young how to travel long distances in the car. We do look forward to them as it is part of our " trip" and it is just down time from the busyness of our lives. We read, listen to podcasts and watch movies too!!! I have finally learned to sleep a bit too while traveling, which is nice - or maybe it is just me getting older :rolleyes1

Living vicariously through your trip report...we have had crappy fall weather ( cold and snowy already ) and it seems winter is coming fast and furiously. We were hoping to be able to do a first trip for the dh and our boys this year...but the dd is having a destination wedding in May in Mexico, and the older ds will be graduating and the youngest ds is turning 16 so another young male on our auto insurance. Since all 3 happen within a 2 month span, any thought of a trip in the near future has been crossed off until all that is done. ( And yes, I need to update my signature )

I can't wait to hear more about the trip!
 
What lovely experiences for having his birthday button on.......and congrats again for getting chosen for the wand ceremony.........yep you had to get that wand......love that they announced his birthday in such a way in MiB!!

Your pictures are beautiful........they really are.......never really seen the curious George area daytime, only during HHN where it’s not as lively.........

I find so many people are wearing celebration buttons at Disney now that they don't really garner the same special attention they used to. So it's nice at Universal that it's still special to see someone with a button and a lot of attention is given to their celebration. DS has gotten lots of attention the last two visit with his birthday button on!

Thank you! I'm happy to have DH's talent for taking and editing photos to make my TRs pop!

I don't think we had ever ventured past the Woody Woodpecker coaster before this trip so it was interesting to see another corner of the park we usually ignore.

That ball studio sounds like a kid's wonderland. I had no idea about it, but I'm glad to now know there's another kid-friendly place inside the Universal parks. But no air conditioning or air circulation? Yikes. That probably gets rough in the dead of summer.

Hooray for Paxton getting chosen again for the wand ceremony. It would have been really hard to pass up on buying that wand! And between that and getting called out on MIB, I'm sure he was having a fantastic first day! No doubt he's going to remember how awesome these one-on-one trips with his parents were.

I really didn't either until I started reading about it in Facebook groups. I figured we'd better check it out while DS is still young enough to enjoy it, but there were plenty of adults having fun in there too. I guess you're never really too old for the joy of shooting someone unexpectedly with foam balls. lol The no a/c was a bit frustrating. If it were air conditioned it would be a GREAT place to spend an in-park break relaxing on a bench while the kids burn off some energy. At least we were out of the direct sunlight, but still.

It was a lot of great birthday attention to kick off the first day! He acted embarrassed at MIB but I know he was loving it. And although it doesn't always show on his face at Ollivanders in photos, I know he loves getting chosen there too.

I hope these will be special memories for him, and I hope we will be able to do something similar one-on-one for DD when she is a bit older, though I know that will probably be tougher with an older child who understands he is being left behind and what he is missing out on.

ET!! Good choice!

That ball area looks pretty fun, not gonna lie hahaha

Cool that DS was picked for the wand show..but maybe not so cool since he walked away with a new wand! :rotfl2: But hey it's part of the experience!

I LOVE ET!! I recently listened to a podcast with a guy who rode it 50+ times in one day. I think I could ride that many times and love it every time. It's so classic!

It was a nice place to get off my feet while DS ran around. But I could see running around with him more had it not been so HOT in there!!

I have to wonder if the wand choosing had happened later in the trip if we would have been willing to buy yet another one. lol But with it being the first day and the excitement of being there for another trip, I'm sure that swayed our decision! But it made him so incredibly happy, so it was worth the purchase of another one. And now at least when we go next fall and take DD we will already have 2 interactive ones so they don't have to share!

Love the pictures of Curious George area! I remember my boys splashing around in there when they were small! Great memories!:thumbsup2

So nice that DS got recognition while wearing his Birthday button! :) This is definitely a birthday he won't forget!!

I wish we would have brought DS's suit so he could splash around because I know he would have loved that. We may have to plan on that next trip. He was looking at the water play area longingly as we walked through to get to the ball factory. lol

I certainly hope so! It's been a lot of fun for all of us getting to spend his last couple of birthdays there.

I'm right there with you. I think I enjoy the queue as much as the ride!

I love everything thing about that ride, from the start of the dated video with ET and Steven Spielberg to the very end when ET says my name!!

Oh my...that looks like fun! I wonder of grown men are allowed to play too?
I think the last time I was there it was Feivel's Playland and a Curious George splash pad. Has the ball pit replaced one of those?

Yes, there were plenty of adults playing around with the kids!! lol Fievel's Playland is still there, then the Woody Woodpecker coaster, then the Curious George area in the very back of Kids Zone. The splash pad is still there, with the ball area at the very back of that. We had to hurry through it so we didn't get soaked trying to get to the ball factory!

Wow, that's a change, trying to get people to come in! I remember when it first opened in Hogsmeade there was a huge line outside and about an hour wait to get in.

I know!! While the one in Diagon Alley has always been less of a wait than Hogsmeade, I don't think I ever see it where they are trying to encourage people to come in so they can fill up a show! I guess that's mid-September for you.

I don't blame you. I would have done the same thing (and of course Universal knows that so it's why they have that show...)

ABSOLUTELY. They know all us Potter nerds are not only there hoping to get picked ourselves, now we are bringing our kids too and if they get picked, you better believe we are buying that wand. lol

Following along :wave: What a great start for your ds for the trip...a name shout out and the wand ceremony!!! Wow!!!
I do know all about long car trips. We live in northern Canada ( Alberta ) and honestly when we " travel " it is always a long distance. We visit my family which is an 11- 12 hr drive, and the dd has moved out into the big city and it takes about 7 hours to see her. My kids have learned from a very young how to travel long distances in the car. We do look forward to them as it is part of our " trip" and it is just down time from the busyness of our lives. We read, listen to podcasts and watch movies too!!! I have finally learned to sleep a bit too while traveling, which is nice - or maybe it is just me getting older :rolleyes1

Living vicariously through your trip report...we have had crappy fall weather ( cold and snowy already ) and it seems winter is coming fast and furiously. We were hoping to be able to do a first trip for the dh and our boys this year...but the dd is having a destination wedding in May in Mexico, and the older ds will be graduating and the youngest ds is turning 16 so another young male on our auto insurance. Since all 3 happen within a 2 month span, any thought of a trip in the near future has been crossed off until all that is done. ( And yes, I need to update my signature )

I can't wait to hear more about the trip!

It was such an amazing start to the trip, it seemed like it would be hard to top! But we still had SO MUCH FUN ahead of us on this trip, we just didn't know it yet!!

We have sort of avoided long road trips with our kids as much as possible, but now that we are having to buy airfare for 4 of us as an alternative, I guess I should start getting used to them!! lol We have several long road trips coming up in the next year, so by the end of that I'm thinking we will all be pro travelers. At least I hope so!

We have had to scale back our vacations a bit lately because of our upcoming Disney Cruise, so I can understand that. It's a huge financial undertaking, so it's really blowing the travel budget!!
 


I think it was me who suggested we go over to E.T. Adventure first because it’s one of my favorites! I absolutely LOVE the smell inside the queue there, so that may have swayed my decision. :rotfl:

I love this ride!! It might even be my favourite at Universal, as silly as that sounds. Your DH got some great pictures :)

Since we were heading in that direction, we decided to stop over in Diagon Alley. First we spotted Kreacher peeking out of the windows of 12 Grimmauld Place at us.

Oh cool! I'm not sure I've ever noticed this before. I'll be looking for Kreacher next time!

As we walked past Ollivanders they were trying to get people to come in for the next show, so we hopped right in. I immediately noticed that DS was the only kid in our group as we were led into the wand shop…

Sure enough, DS was picked!

Awesome! They really do make it hard not to cave and buy the wand. :)
 
Hi following along I will have to catch your one from last time. It looks like a great start to the trip. This was our first year driving to Universal from CT. I had two teens DH and myself. It was about 18 hours split up. We said we would never do it again till we move there. Well...we decided to do it again this summer to save money and spare DD's ears with flying.

The pics in E.T. are so nice. Mine never come out like that. We usually ride it at lest once it's just such a nice relaxing ride.

We only did the wand ceremony once years ago and DD didn't get picked but we still enjoyed the show. You bet I would have bought the want too!!!

How nice your son is enjoying his B-Day and love when the CM's make it special.

Look forward to more!
 
I love this ride!! It might even be my favourite at Universal, as silly as that sounds. Your DH got some great pictures :)

I love it too!! I hope if/when they dismantle Kid Zone for something else, they leave E.T. alone. There's really not many classic rides left at Universal, so it would be a big loss for that to go.

Oh cool! I'm not sure I've ever noticed this before. I'll be looking for Kreacher next time!

He peeks out from behind the curtain of Number 12 every now and then!

Awesome! They really do make it hard not to cave and buy the wand. :)

Absolutely. It's such an awesome experience for a Potter fan that it makes buying the wand that chose you a huge temptation.

Hi following along I will have to catch your one from last time. It looks like a great start to the trip. This was our first year driving to Universal from CT. I had two teens DH and myself. It was about 18 hours split up. We said we would never do it again till we move there. Well...we decided to do it again this summer to save money and spare DD's ears with flying.

The pics in E.T. are so nice. Mine never come out like that. We usually ride it at lest once it's just such a nice relaxing ride.

We only did the wand ceremony once years ago and DD didn't get picked but we still enjoyed the show. You bet I would have bought the want too!!!

How nice your son is enjoying his B-Day and love when the CM's make it special.

Look forward to more!

We have definitely gotten spoiled to flying, but now with 4 of us needing airfare and trying to go more often while we can, driving has become kind of a necessity. I hate the drives, but can't deny it does save us money!!

I love E.T.! Definitely super relaxing and such a wonderful throwback to the early days of Universal.

Yep, it's pretty hard to resist the temptation to buy that wand when your kid is the one chosen!

Thanks for joining in!
 


Sorry about the delays in updates...It's been a bit crazy around here with DS's birthday, then his party, then Halloween...But I'm going to make this a double post update and hopefully I can get a few more in before we leave for our upcoming trip to Tennessee for Thanksgiving week!

Day 2 Continued: Sunday September 16th

Once the show was over, DS was itching to perform some magic with his newest wand! We headed over to the blacksmith shop where a couple of older women were trying out their wands and not having much luck. The wizard nearby was trying to help them and told them they should bring them into the shop for a wand repair. One of the ladies nudged her friend when they saw DS waiting behind them for his turn and said, “Let’s let this little wizard go, I bet he knows what he’s doing.” Well DS was all too proud to walk right up and cast his spell perfectly! :rotfl:


I got a picture of Belle performing some magic to text my mom for DD.


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Apparently DD had forgotten all about sending Belle with us because she told my mom “That’s not mine.” Really?! Finally I sent an up close pic of Belle to her and she figured it out. I guess she hadn’t noticed that she was on top of the Curious George book I had sent earlier in the afternoon.

We spent a little time wandering around Diagon Alley and doing some more magic spots for awhile.


Then we decided to hop on Escape From Gringotts. This is one of those rides when you have to put all your bags in a locker, so DH had to store his DSLR camera. But for our upcoming cruise, he had purchased a rugged, waterproof point & shoot that he’d brought with him into the park so he decided to bring that one in with him for queue photos.


Once we exited the ride and collected our stuff from the lockers, we stumbled upon the end of the Tale of the 3 Brothers going on outside.


After the show, we walked around doing a little more magic.


Continued in next post...
 
Day 2 Continued: Sunday September 16th

After a fun time casting spells and checking out the nooks and crannies of Diagon Alley, we were ready to move on. Up next in our circular tour of the park was something new to all of us, Fast & Furious Supercharged.


Leading up to this trip, I’d read almost nothing but negative reviews of this ride. But I love the F&F franchise, and I don’t care how ridiculous some of the stunts and plots have gotten in the most recent ones, I will ALWAYS see a new F&F movie. So I went into this with an open mind.

Like Jimmy Fallon, this ride operates with a virtual queue. So you sign up for a return time basically if you are wanting to ride standby. With EP, we could go right in anytime. Sometimes if the lines were short, the TM out front would let us know we could use EP if we wanted but it might actually be quicker to just go through the regular line and skip the point where they stop you to use the facial recognition device for the EP. Oh, yeah, maybe I should mention that since it’s new, at least to us since our visit last year. They were only just testing it when we were there last September. Almost all of the queues now have a facial recognition stop where they scan the barcode on your room key/EP and it makes sure the same person is using it. Helpful to prevent people trading around room keys but it does slow the process down somewhat. At F&F it’s at the merge point with the regular line, so if the other line is moving without a lot of people in it, stopping for this part to use EP can actually put several more groups ahead of you, so I guess that’s why the TM’s would sometimes encourage us not to use it.

Anyway…back to the queue, where you enter in the backyard scene and there is a beer bottle on its side in honor of Paul Walker, though it’s hard to see in the photo since it’s behind another bottle and a tree branch.

Then you head into a showroom/garage with cars set up.


From the queue, you head into the first pre-show room called the Family Room. Oh, and yes, you hear the word family A LOT on this attraction! There’s a character in there with a unisex name that I can’t remember that kind of explains how you’ll be going to this party but then you start to learn there are some issues going on with Owen Shaw, but don’t worry, the family will protect you.


Funny story, one of the times we were riding this, a girl saw this photo of The Rock on the fridge and said a little too loudly to her friend, “The Rock was in this movie??”

From there, you go into the second pre-show room called the War Room.


Tej’s assistant Jamie is in there to help facilitate and run things, and video calls are coming in from several of the characters to set up the storyline of the ride to come. This guy was HILARIOUS! We weren’t sure if he was going off script or not because he was putting in a lot of aside comments and stuff that made everyone laugh since it was our first time. But after doing it a few more times, we learned that they all kind of use the same shtick, but that like Jungle Cruise skippers, some of them are just a lot better at the delivery than others. We never had another Jamie as good as this first Jamie! This room is probably the best part of the queue.

Then you head into the last part of the queue where you load into the party buses.

After that, the ride is similar in execution to the Kong ride, where you go into a chamber with screens wrapped around you on both sides. The bouncing of the vehicle and the way the action is moving on the screens is supposed to make you feel like you are racing forward, and it does a decent enough job of that. Is the ride SUPER cheesy and ridiculous at times? ABSOLUTELY!! But we went into it not expecting to be blown away, and I was able to appreciate it for what it is. Some of the video is really terrible…I mean, Dom is the same size as the helicopter he is hanging off of at one point. But if the DIS Unplugged Universal Edition was doing another round of So Bad It’s Good attractions, I’d put this on my list. I just had to laugh at it and enjoy it for what it is. I know most people won’t agree with me, but that’s my take on it.

After the attraction, there is a meet & greet with Vin Diesel himself.

He was super nice to pose for us.

After that, we were about ready to call it quits on the park for awhile and take a little break. We were hot and sweaty! We hadn’t gotten a text yet that our room was ready and it was well after 4 pm, so we decided to head back and at least figure out what was going on.


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Killer Klowns From Outer Space scare zone

We passed through the Universal store on the way out, which started a tradition. One of us suggested doing it to get some A/C on the long walk out. DS leached onto that idea and would use it throughout the trip as an excuse to go into any and every store so he could shop!

After a quick walk back to Hard Rock, DS and I sat on the couches in the lobby while DH waited in line at the check in desk to inquire about the status of our room. I take Less Drowsy Dramamine and it helps me with my motion sickness in the parks without making me feel tired all day, but when in situations like this where I’m just sitting in a comfy spot for a long period of time, I start finding it hard to keep my eyes open!

Eventually I saw DH had gotten up to the desk and joined him where he was being issued our new room keys. I find it kind of annoying that they haven’t figured out a way to let you check in early, get a room key for your EP, and just activate them for your room once it’s ready. We had to make sure to set aside that first set we had been given in the morning because they wouldn’t work for our room. What had actually happened was our pre-assigned room still wasn’t ready, but since we had gone back and asked what the delay was, they had found us another room that was ready and we could go in now. We were in room 6003, which was at the very very end of a very very long hallway, as has become the routine for us lately when staying onsite at Universal! But we were happy enough to have our room, so we rolled with it.

We went upstairs to check out the room and to wait for bell services to bring up our luggage for us.


Perfectly timed before this trip, the Dreams Unlimited Travel podcast had released a show with tips about staying onsite at Universal that we’d listened to on the drive down. On the show, they talked about texting the front desk with questions or requests. I had gotten a text automatically upon check in to welcome us, so I decided to try it out when we got in the room and realized there were no bottles of shampoo and conditioner. I responded to the text I had gotten that morning with a request for some, and we had it in no time!

Another thing we found out about on the show was that the resort has its own car service that will take you to other Universal resorts for dinner reservations or whatever for free, and they will take you offsite for a flat fee. I thought that was pretty neat and never knew of it before until I heard about it on the show. Then earlier when we had been at the desk getting our tickets reprinted, I overheard the guy at the counter next to us asking the concierge how he could get to his Disney resort in the morning, and the concierge explained the car service to him. Isn’t it funny how once you know about something it seems like all of a sudden you are seeing it all the time when you never have before??

While DH went down to the car to get the rest of our stuff (some snacks and drinks we hadn’t left with our luggage), I set DS up at the desk to work on some of his school work, then started unpacking everything. I found the drawer space to be excellent, as there was plenty of room for our stuff for an entire week’s worth of clothes, and we easily could have fit a lot more if DD had been with us. As that was going on, there was yet another knock on the door. It was a gentleman from the hotel with some goodies for us! We had noted DS’s birthday and DH’s and my anniversary on our reservation, and he had a slice of birthday cake for DS and some truffles and certificates for DH & me!


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There was a coupon for DS to get a free birthday sundae at a few different locations around the hotel, and coupons for free drinks for me & DH to use. It was very nice and unexpected! We all shared the cake because it was very sweet, but it was really delicious.

We spent some time enjoying the room and the time away from the heat, but eventually we were ready to head back out!

UP NEXT: Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle
 
Sooooo...who does everyone use for their photo hosting for their trip reports? I have to find a new home for 17k photos before January because Flickr is going to start limiting free users to only 1000 photos! And not to mention changing over all those links in all my TRs since I’ve been using Flickr...I could honestly just cry thinking about it :sad:
 
Sooooo...who does everyone use for their photo hosting for their trip reports? I have to find a new home for 17k photos before January because Flickr is going to start limiting free users to only 1000 photos! And not to mention changing over all those links in all my TRs since I’ve been using Flickr...I could honestly just cry thinking about it :sad:

Oh man, just joining in and enjoying your TR but this is annoying and prompts a response.. I already lost several TR worth of photos when photobucket went to full pay site. When did Flickr announce this? I will be curious to see what responses you get, because I think Flickr might've been the last free bastion.

Anyways, back to the TR, as I said I always enjoy reading along with you guys. Universal is not my favorite, but the HP area is pretty great. Overall, I find the rides there start to bore me with the constant use of screens as the main mode of conveyance. The problem is our daughter is too old for the kiddie aspects of the park. (We brought her wand last trip but had no interest in casting spells.) But she is not a thrill rider and for some reason we cent tell dislikes 3D immensely, so when we made our return trip on our AP she sat on the sidelines for most of the rides. My wife will do many rides, but also is not liking the big ones. I am interested in the new Hagrid coaster coming, but even that won't lead to a trip if the ride is too thrilling since I'd be the only one that rides it. So right now I picture maybe 5 years or so before we go back. This means you have to keep me updated on what's cool and what isn't.

I love the F&F movies also but had several friends tell us how weak the new ride is. Good to see a positive review. Also that's the first time I've ever seen the Play land!
 
Sooooo...who does everyone use for their photo hosting for their trip reports? I have to find a new home for 17k photos before January because Flickr is going to start limiting free users to only 1000 photos! And not to mention changing over all those links in all my TRs since I’ve been using Flickr...I could honestly just cry thinking about it :sad:

I use smugmug……

It`s only around $50 a year but it is a fabulous site to use....very easy to import and post. I think free hosting sites for third part posting will be a thing of the past soon.

I was with Photobucket when they suddenly tried to get everyone to pay $400 for the privilege. And their site was awful to use in the first place. I too had over 20,000 pictures to transport over to smugmug which thankfully I also had stored on my laptop and a hard drive.

I know you can post directly from your computer too.....but they show small when you`re not logged in.....if that makes sense. I much prefer the hosting site.

Yes, it`s not great when companies do this.
 
I use smugmug……

It`s only around $50 a year but it is a fabulous site to use....very easy to import and post. I think free hosting sites for third part posting will be a thing of the past soon.

I was with Photobucket when they suddenly tried to get everyone to pay $400 for the privilege. And their site was awful to use in the first place. I too had over 20,000 pictures to transport over to smugmug which thankfully I also had stored on my laptop and a hard drive.

I know you can post directly from your computer too.....but they show small when you`re not logged in.....if that makes sense. I much prefer the hosting site.

Yes, it`s not great when companies do this.

Ahh, but Flickr Pro is only $50 a year, and getting 30% off the first year - probably makes more sense to stay with Flickr. Ugh, I hate the idea for paying for this - but I also don't want to lose all my photo storage again.

Edit: Also looking a little closer - Smugmug and Flickr must be related, because Smugmug is listed on the Flickr site.
 
Ahh, but Flickr Pro is only $50 a year, and getting 30% off the first year - probably makes more sense to stay with Flickr. Ugh, I hate the idea for paying for this - but I also don't want to lose all my photo storage again.

Edit: Also looking a little closer - Smugmug and Flickr must be related, because Smugmug is listed on the Flickr site.

It`s worth paying for to be honest.

I looked at Flickr at the time but went with smugmug, as like you, I just didn't want to lose all those pictures.....I was just happy I didn't have to pay $400 Photobucket wanted....

I think they eventually rescinded that, not sure as I never looked at them again and wouldn't.
 
Oh man, just joining in and enjoying your TR but this is annoying and prompts a response.. I already lost several TR worth of photos when photobucket went to full pay site. When did Flickr announce this? I will be curious to see what responses you get, because I think Flickr might've been the last free bastion.

SO ANNOYING!! I made the switch to Flickr after the disaster of Photobucket and went through all my TRs to at least save them to Word so I had them to look back on in case they were lost. I'm totally frustrated at facing this prospect again. The blog post from them looks like it was just posted 11/1. I went on last night to upload the next day's worth of photos and nearly lost it when I saw the announcement.

Anyways, back to the TR, as I said I always enjoy reading along with you guys. Universal is not my favorite, but the HP area is pretty great. Overall, I find the rides there start to bore me with the constant use of screens as the main mode of conveyance. The problem is our daughter is too old for the kiddie aspects of the park. (We brought her wand last trip but had no interest in casting spells.) But she is not a thrill rider and for some reason we cent tell dislikes 3D immensely, so when we made our return trip on our AP she sat on the sidelines for most of the rides. My wife will do many rides, but also is not liking the big ones. I am interested in the new Hagrid coaster coming, but even that won't lead to a trip if the ride is too thrilling since I'd be the only one that rides it. So right now I picture maybe 5 years or so before we go back. This means you have to keep me updated on what's cool and what isn't.

So many people are not a fan of the screen rides. They don't bother me though, so I guess that's why we enjoy our Universal time so much. lol I can definitely see it not being worth it if your DD doesn't like the thrill rides and the 3D stuff. That's most of the two parks. We ended up renewing our passes because of the 20% off and 3 months free, so we will be returning at least twice next year, so I'm eager to try the new coaster before we end up taking a break from Universal for awhile and getting back to WDW.

I love the F&F movies also but had several friends tell us how weak the new ride is. Good to see a positive review. Also that's the first time I've ever seen the Play land!

The F&F ride is definitely not anything mind blowing or amazing, but I could laugh at it (same as the movies) because overall the entire franchise is a bit ridiculous. But I still enjoy the movies!!

We had never ventured into the Curious George area before, so it was cool to check out. I'm sure once we go back with DD next year we'll spend some more time there...if it's not closed down before then.

I use smugmug……

It`s only around $50 a year but it is a fabulous site to use....very easy to import and post. I think free hosting sites for third part posting will be a thing of the past soon.

I was with Photobucket when they suddenly tried to get everyone to pay $400 for the privilege. And their site was awful to use in the first place. I too had over 20,000 pictures to transport over to smugmug which thankfully I also had stored on my laptop and a hard drive.

I read this last night but I see Pete mentioned in another reply that it seems SmugMug & Flickr are either the same or at least associated with each other at this point. I guess for the same price I might as well stick with Flickr since my stuff is already there. I definitely agree that I think the free sites are about to become a thing of the past which is why I may just suck it up and pay for Flickr. DH hates the idea, but like I told him, Trip Reports are basically my only hobby! I don't want the hassle of finding another free site, moving everything, and facing this problem again down the road when they decide to do the same thing. I feel bad for the people that used Flickr for actual storage vs. just hosting, like I did. I read a lot of comments on their Facebook page and so many people are having issues going in to their system and downloading all of their content before it disappears. I still have all of the photos on my computer, so it's only my trip reports here that would be affected.

I know you can post directly from your computer too.....but they show small when you`re not logged in.....if that makes sense. I much prefer the hosting site.

Yes, it`s not great when companies do this.

I've never tried the upload directly to the DIS feature. I'll have to look into that, I suppose. I liked being able to type all my updates up in Word so all I had to do when I wanted to post was copy & paste, which I guess I couldn't do if I was uploading directly to the DIS?

It really sucks!!!

Heading down in a few weeks.. my DS is going to have a blast in that ball area!

Yes!! It was a lot of fun. We always spent some time in the Fievel play area, but had never ventured back into Curious George, but it's great for little ones!

Ahh, but Flickr Pro is only $50 a year, and getting 30% off the first year - probably makes more sense to stay with Flickr. Ugh, I hate the idea for paying for this - but I also don't want to lose all my photo storage again.

Edit: Also looking a little closer - Smugmug and Flickr must be related, because Smugmug is listed on the Flickr site.

I am in the exact same boat. I don't WANT to pay it, but I also don't want to have to find a new home for all 17k photos, change the links in my old TRs, and risk this happening again with a new host. Although as DH pointed out, Flickr could very well disappear entirely if enough people dump them after this and they can't support the platform anymore. :(

It`s worth paying for to be honest.

I looked at Flickr at the time but went with smugmug, as like you, I just didn't want to lose all those pictures.....I was just happy I didn't have to pay $400 Photobucket wanted....

I think they eventually rescinded that, not sure as I never looked at them again and wouldn't.

Photobucket lost their minds when they announced that price!!! They definitely did go back on it, because I was looking into their options last night and even their most expensive level of membership was around $140 for the year, even a little less if you paid once annually versus paying monthly.
 
One of the ladies nudged her friend when they saw DS waiting behind them for his turn and said, “Let’s let this little wizard go, I bet he knows what he’s doing.” Well DS was all too proud to walk right up and cast his spell perfectly! :rotfl:
Very cool...I bet he felt so good after that!
I don't remember ever seeing the blacksmith's shop. I think I can picture where is is though.

Then we decided to hop on Escape From Gringotts.
Sadly I never got to experience this ride. My trip in 2014 was just after it opened. I guess they were having some technical issues back then. The only morning I was in Diagon Alley, the ride was down. And I never got back there again.

Sooooo...who does everyone use for their photo hosting for their trip reports? I have to find a new home for 17k photos before January because Flickr is going to start limiting free users to only 1000 photos! And not to mention changing over all those links in all my TRs since I’ve been using Flickr...I could honestly just cry thinking about it :sad:
Since I'm only part way through my first trip report, I am hardly experienced, so I don't know "the best" way to do things. But I've just been doing copy/paste of my photos from my computer into the TR. I'm sure the hosting sites are easier for reason though. But it seems there's been a lot of trouble recently.
 
This update had me cracking up between DS showing up those older ladies with his wand skills and DD not caring about Belle :rotfl:

Thank you for that review of the Fast & Furious ride! I am going into it with no high expectations so hopefully I can enjoy it for what it is!

Wow that was awesome of the hotel to deliver you some treats and vouchers!

Omg I had no idea about Flickr :( That's where I have all my TR photos stored too. I may end up just eating the cost for the first year with the 30% off and see what happens. Ugh how annoying!
 
Very cool...I bet he felt so good after that!
I don't remember ever seeing the blacksmith's shop. I think I can picture where is is though.

He absolutely did! He thought it was really cool to be considered one of the "pros" at doing magic.

It's kind of to the very far right of Diagon Alley when you come in through the main brick wall entrance. Like if you go up past Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and down the little alleyway to the right and keep walking, you'll end up coming upon the blacksmith shop. There's two magic spots in there and they are his favorites to do!

Sadly I never got to experience this ride. My trip in 2014 was just after it opened. I guess they were having some technical issues back then. The only morning I was in Diagon Alley, the ride was down. And I never got back there again.

That's terrible! Hopefully you get a chance to experience it soon. It's one of my favorites!

Since I'm only part way through my first trip report, I am hardly experienced, so I don't know "the best" way to do things. But I've just been doing copy/paste of my photos from my computer into the TR. I'm sure the hosting sites are easier for reason though. But it seems there's been a lot of trouble recently.

I have had issues with 3rd party hosting sites before, so this is not a new frustration. But it is good now that the boards have the ability to directly upload photos into a post if need be. Usually I type up my updates in Word and paste the links to the photos in so literally all I need to do when I have a few minutes to post is just copy & paste from my Word document.

This update had me cracking up between DS showing up those older ladies with his wand skills and DD not caring about Belle :rotfl:

When my mom texted me that DD didn't know what the picture was, I was like REALLY?! You helped me pick this out to bring with us!!!! lol

Thank you for that review of the Fast & Furious ride! I am going into it with no high expectations so hopefully I can enjoy it for what it is!

I was watching Furious 7 on TV the other night and the stunts were SO over the top, I'm really surprised anyone who has seen the movies would expect anything less from the ride!!

Wow that was awesome of the hotel to deliver you some treats and vouchers!

It was a great surprise! DS loved the birthday attention, of course.

Omg I had no idea about Flickr :( That's where I have all my TR photos stored too. I may end up just eating the cost for the first year with the 30% off and see what happens. Ugh how annoying!

I just saw it when I went in to upload some more photos the other night. I think it is a pretty recent announcement. I think I'm going to end up doing the same thing and just pay. I'm so annoyed about it, but I can't risk losing all my TRs! I'm going to back them up to my computer anyway just in case, but like I told DH, TRs is pretty much my only hobby. It's not like I'm spending money every month or year on something else! I don't want to start all over somewhere else with over 17k photos in my account!!
 
I like when the ladies said to watch your DS- he'll know how to cast the spell:laughing: I say that all the time about my iphone! I ask my DS how to do things- he always knows! :thumbsup2


Love your HRH pictures!:love: ! I like the treats they give for special occasions!!:thumbsup2
 

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