“Life is Grand, it Yacht to be, we are at Disney! 1/29 New TR link, a question, and this TR is complete!

[disneyAndi14]

You're just too cute, Girly!

Hi Liesa!! Welcome, you are so sweet! Most of the time I felt like a sweaty mess!

And too hot!

It sure was, the humidity is such a killer

Perfection. Nothing better than this!

I was glad we got the picture of us hugging, we didn’t do as many photo pass pictures this trip, to hot!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Joining in

Happy to have you here!

 

[thumper*]

Hi Caroline along for the Grand Yacht trip.

The Captain’s are so nice and who doesn’t like listening to Sweet Caroline, my song!

 

[Tracy161]

Riding the People Mover

I couldn't agree more! A stress reliever, indeed!

Having mom pay for everything haha!

We have found each time we go now in August, it is getting more crowded, grrrr!

Yes! It used to be SO light the same time of the year many years ago - even a few years ago, actually! I found the crowds this August to be pretty terrible at times.

I love the Delta app, it tells you when your luggage is on the plane and when it is on the carousel.

What?! I didn't know this, oops! I fly Delta (usually on miles!) and I have the Delta app, too - guess I just need to pay more attention Thanks for tip!

Happy to be along for another Caroline and Andi adventure! Has Andi started college by now?

 

[AliceNDinah]

Ooooooh, I've been waiting for your TR - so happy to see it! I'm definitely here, I was thinking of you two every day, picturing all the fun. So excited to hear the rest!!!!

 

[missangelalexis]

I'm here and excited to read about your trip!

Sounds like a smooth travel day. And nice to get some time in the park!!

 

[Cloe Colton]

Joining in! Can't wait to hear all about it!!

 

[pkondz]

My name is Caroline,

I am a RN by day, and as any RN will tell you, our jobs are stressful and Disney Magic is often a cure for the stress! It sure is for me!

You picked that Gif to represent you?????????????????

Here are a few of Andi’s stress relievers at Disney

1. Having mom pay for everything haha!

I totally understand that one!

We didn’t have to get up at the god forsaken 3am for this trip, yay!

ooohhh… nice. I'll be doing that in a couple weeks.

Here is my obligatory mirror selfie right before we left.

Cute!

Well, I started thinking about it and realized it only gave us 1hour and 15minutes at the airport before our flight departure time. I was nervous now, saying to myself “what were you thinking woman!!”

Yeah, that's way too close for this guy's comfort!

I was so happy to leave a little early until our shuttle driver, who was so busy talking nonstop to the passengers, realizes about 10 miles out, he forgot someone! What! Are you kidding me! We had to go back, so now we are about 15 minutes behind schedule. I don’t panic easy but I was a little shook during the ride!

We do have TSA pre check and this line was even long! We made it through in about 15 minutes so it looked worse than it was.

I'm thinking that without the pre-check... things might have been a bit more tight.

All went well with the flight except for some turbulence, this lasted the whole flight so we didn’t get any flight snacks.

Sorry to hear that.

We were in Orlando a little early, this is always a plus!

I love the Delta app, it tells you when your luggage is on the plane and when it is on the carousel.

Oh really! Yeah, that's a nice perk!

The Captain’s are so nice and who doesn’t like listening to Sweet Caroline, my song!

Love that song! Guess we're music buddies.

We did Spider-Man first, I love this ride, one of my favorites.

It's a really good ride.

Andi went to ride the Hulk and I got us some pretzel bites from Auntie Annies.

Noticed you didn't. Too rough for you?

We headed to Hogsmeade via Jurassic Park, we rode HP FJ, this ride is amazing! I did feel a little queasy afterwards, I think because it was travel day, normally I don’t.

It's such a great ride. Not too surprised you felt a bit queasy, though.
I don't normally feel queasy on it, but I have once.

Let me just say Express Pass is awesome, no wait for anything!

I like this ride, the big Kong at the end is amazing!

And again...

Oh and by the way, the wait for the new Hagrid’s ride had a 180 minute wait all evening

Nope!!!!

 

[afwdwfan]

We didn’t have to get up at the god forsaken 3am for this trip, yay!

That's about the bets possible way to start a trip!

This isn’t our small town airport this is the really busy airport! Needless to say I was sweating it out!

Yikes! I'm with you on that. The worst part of flying is getting to the airport and to the point that you're actually on the plane.

Thank goodness, the ride went smooth after that and we arrived at the airport at 11:45. We had checked in online and were able to check our big luggage quickly. We then went in to the TSA area and it was very busy! We do have TSA pre check and this line was even long! We made it through in about 15 minutes so it looked worse than it was.

Sorry for the U turn and added stress. I always feel a sense of relief after getting through TSA so I'm glad that it wasn't too backed up and you had plenty of time to get to the gate.

Andi went to ride the Hulk

This might just be my favorite ride in all of Central Florida.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Hi Caroline along for the Grand Yacht trip.

Hi Glenda! Thanks for joining in!

 

[disneyAndi14]

couldn't agree more! A stress reliever, indeed

The PM is such a wonderful ride! It is even more fun to ride with my Dis Friends!

Yes! It used to be SO light the same time of the year many years ago - even a few years ago, actually! I found the crowds this August to be pretty terrible at times.

I think the SWGE previews caused higher crowds for us, not sure the reason for the MNSSHP crowds!

What?! I didn't know this, oops! I fly Delta (usually on miles!) and I have the Delta app, too - guess I just need to pay more attention Thanks for tip!

Happy to be along for another Caroline and Andi adventure! Has Andi started college by now?

Yes it is a nice app, just sign up for text notifications and you will get text when luggage is on the plane and off the plane! It also lets you know when boarding is starting.
Andi started classes today!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Ooooooh, I've been waiting for your TR - so happy to see it! I'm definitely here, I was thinking of you two every day, picturing all the fun. So excited to hear the rest!!!!

, so happy to have you following along! It was a fun bonding time for the 2 of us especially since Andi has been gone all summer at college!

 

[disneyAndi14]

I'm here and excited to read about your trip!

Sounds like a smooth travel day. And nice to get some time in the park!!

Hello and Thanks for joining in! Despite my narrow time margin our travel day went pretty good, minus the bumpy airplane ride!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Joining in! Can't wait to hear all about it!!

Very glad to have you joining in!

 

[disneyAndi14]

You picked that Gif to represent you?????????????????

Some days I wish I could act like Nurse Ratchet
I’m happy to have you joining in!

totally understand that one!

I wish someone would pay for my trip once in awhile. I haven’t found any takers

ooohhh… nice. I'll be doing that in a couple weeks.

We usually have to get up at 3am for most of our trips!

Yeah, that's way too close for this guy's comfort!

I figured since we have done this scenario to Minneapolis many times we would be okay, it made me nervous the day of because of the 1 hour window, what was I thinking! Thank goodness it worked out okay!

I'm thinking that without the pre-check... things might have been a bit more tight.

Yes and getting dropped off in an area where Delta has a luggage check off area that had no one there! When we got in the main part of the airport the line to check luggage was huge!

Sorry to hear that.

The turbulence was a little nerve wrenching because I have experienced some really bad “rough air” new Delta term. One time it was so bad and we dropped so fast one of the flight attendants broke her arm!

Love that song! Guess we're music buddies.

Do you believe it is my ring tone, why not, I am Caroline and most of the time sweet

It's a really good ride.

I do love Spider-Man

Noticed you didn't. Too rough for you?

I am scared of the Hulk, not a fan of being shot like a cannon and going upside down, no thanks!

It's such a great ride. Not too surprised you felt a bit queasy, though.
I don't normally feel queasy on it, but I have once.

HP FJ is probably the most unique ride I have ever experienced, it is amazing!

 

[disneyAndi14]

That's about the bets possible way to start a trip!

Thanks for joining in!
Normal wake up time is so nice compared to 3am!

Yikes! I'm with you on that. The worst part of flying is getting to the airport and to the point that you're actually on the plane.

I agree, once we are in the air I can usually relax some, except for “rough air”

Sorry for the U turn and added stress. I always feel a sense of relief after getting through TSA so I'm glad that it wasn't too backed up and you had plenty of time to get to the gate.

I was very nervous when he had to turn around, thank goodness it didn’t cost us much time since we were early to begin with

This might just be my favorite ride in all of Central Florida.

Haha! You and my children, not me, No Thank you!!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Time for more fun in the heat!

First, I will review our 1 night at Portofino Bay. I know one night does not make me an expert but I do have some observations. Our room was close to the lobby, the room was large and very clean. I loved the big bathroom and the shower was very nice! The bed was very comfortable and our night was very quiet. We did not hear anybody at bedtime. The staff was very friendly and helpful. I loved the lobby and the courtyard area. The lake with the boats was very beautiful and serene!





We did not have a chance to try the pool area, it did look nice. Sals pizza was a great choice. I did get a good rate for the one night with the EP included. This is included at the 3 deluxe resorts at Universal. It was the best rate out of the 3 for the Friday night. You get to use the EP the day you check in and the full day of check out.

We were up early and the night before, we decided to not rush and line up for 2 hours to ride Hagrid’s new ride. We would have loved to experience the ride except the waiting was not something we wanted to do this am.

We got ready, packed up, checked out and dropped our luggage off with bell service. We decided to walk to US on the pathway. This was a nice walk and not a soul around. We made it in US right at 8am for early morning at Diagon Alley.

The Despicable Me ride was open and we decided to do this first. This is a fun ride. I do love Minions and Drew!

It was time to walk into DA, this entrance never gets old! The details are amazing. I am a very big HP nerd. I started to read the books years ago, to see if it was suitable for Jack, and I was hooked!! I won’t bore you all with my HP accolades, just know these are some of the best books I have ever read and I read a ton!!












We took our time soaking up the details, we went to Knockturn alley, love this dark area! We decided to share a Butter Beer, it was good, I do prefer the frozen one. The drink is $8.00 and I let Andi pick the non frozen one, #nicemom, #mompaysforeverything!


Stay tuned for more fun at Universal! We thought the crowds were about average here. Higher than the last time we had been. The extra hour before regular crowds was very nice!

 

[disneyAndi14]

on with the show.........

It was time to go see a goblin. We had not been able to go in the money exchange area without a bunch of people before. This morning we had the place to ourselves. The goblin keeps his eyes on you. “I promise sir, I’m not going to steal from you” it was fun to check this out.

It was time to say Hi to Stan and the shrunken head at The Knight Bus. Andi spent time visiting with them. I tried to get a decent picture but the sun was right in Andi’s eyes!

I yelled “Kreacher” as we passed that sneaky elf, peeking out at us!

We decided to go to Starbucks out by the Mummy. We got some ice water and a very dry blueberry scone, boo!!

Andi hit up the Mummy and I hung on the bench and drank my ice water. This is a fun area and it was nice and quiet. Andi got on and off the ride quickly. I encouraged her to go again and she did. I must confess I am a ride chicken! I have rode the Mummy a few times and I find it fun and terrifying at the same time. I need to be in the right state of mind to ride it and I was not today!

We decided to Race through New York with Jimmy Fallon. This ride is meh, it’s not horrible but not great. I wanted to see the Panda and he wasn’t out this am, bummer. I do like the nod to Jaws during the ride. I miss the Jaws ride.

Andi was ready to ride Rip Ride Rocket, do you see a theme here, yes her mom is a chicken and her mom would not be caught dead on this ride, well maybe for 1 million dollars.
Andi rode twice with very minimal wait. I stayed on the bench with a couple other moms!

We decided to ride Transformers, I remember riding this once before and thinking it was just okay. I have to say my assessment was correct, not sure how a ride so similar to Spider-Man can be so much worse. I think partly it is because I do not have a clue what a Transformer is! The big yellow one was out meeting people.

We moved on towards ET, enjoying the park as went along. Walking this way, it felt very empty, this was nice. We saw Spongebob in his store all by himself. We had to go meet him! I am one of those moms, I let my kids watch Spongebob and laughed right alongside them. It was a show both kids watched together despite their 5.5 year age difference. I always thought in a crude sort of way, he taught many life lessons. He is a good friend, he is loyal, and he has a good work ethic so that’s my two cents! We had such a nice meet with him!

As we walked out, we saw the Trolls and the papa Troll farts glitter. A little girl was so excited and yelling look he farts sparkles! I wasn’t quick enough to get a picture, whoops!



I love the ET ride, we did this and enjoyed our journey with ET. I love at the end when he takes his little finger light and says “Goodbye Caroline”
It was time to walk through Springfield. We just admired the area, no rides here for us!


Stay tuned for MIB and more DA!! Coming soon..........

 

[buzzrelly]

Portofino looks beautiful. Mike and I walked around here a couple years ago and I remember thinking how pretty it was and that we'd like to stay here. I"m surprised it was the cheapest of the three for your stay. I think you got a good deal!

Dragon Alley is so cool…I could spend hours in there! I totally agree with you about the Butter Beer…frozen is best! You're a nice mom

 

[suse66]

The hotel looks so lovely and you are almost convincing me to step out of the bubble for a day or two at Universal. Like you, I started reading HP to see if they were appropriate for my Jack and fell head over heels in love with them too.