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

[disneyAndi14]

Sounds like such a wonderful morning at Unviersal! You were getting a lot accomplished!

We did get quite a few attractions in before 11 am!

 

[disneyAndi14]

I have to admit, I was a little scared for you when that shuttle had to turn back around and pick up the forgotten passenger! But I'm so relieved that you made it on time and made it to Orlando soon!

I know!! I was really thinking I was going to pay for living on the edge

Portofino looks gorgeous! What a great evening at Universal, so glad you liked the room!

The room was really nice, it did remind me a little of The GF! It was nice to spend a little time in IOA since we only had the next day there!

I prefer frozen, too!

Yay for Frozen! So much better and on a hot day, it would have been even better!

This is one of the sweetest things I've ever read on the DISboards... couldn't agree with you, more! Spongebob is awesome!

What a fantastic day at Universal!!! You guys are getting so much done!!!

Thank you, Kaitlyn! You are a sweetie! I wish we could have said hi during our trips, maybe next August!

 

[disneyAndi14]

That sounds really nice. Glad you enjoyed it.

I would recommend Portofino Bay, it really was a nice place!

Man... I am just writing about that. Those EPs are great!

The EP’s are such a nice perk, totally worth it when you price the EP’s online, it makes the hotel cost way less!

I ain't waiting 2 hours for a ride. I'll happily rope drop it and quick-walk over to it, but... 2 hours? Nope.

No way and the ride was closing often and there was just not enough time or patience for it that morning!

But... "Drew"? Do you mean Gru?

Oh my gosh, what a goof, yes I meant Gru! I love Steve Carell such a funny guy!

You should've hopped on and taken off!

Only if that motorbike would have flown

Me too! So cool!

The darkness of Knockturn Alley is done so well and it was cool back there on a hot day!

As do I.

Wow, everyone on here so far has voted for the frozen Butter Beer!

Really??? Huh! I guess Hagrid's has sucked all the riders out of it.

It was the extra hour for hotel guests so it wasn’t to crowded yet!

I took a photo of the interior... and forgot to take one of the exterior.

I loved the interior, I didn’t think they would have done anything inside and I loved how it looked just like the one in the movie!!

Hmmm... I'm starting to see a trend, here.

Hello my name is Caroline, I am a ride chicken, I will gladly hold your belongings so you can ride!

Right???? We found Transformers to be our least favourite ride.

Yes I agree!

Sure! SpongeBob is filled with adult humour.

That little yellow sponge gave us many laughs over the years!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Enjoying your report as usual! Can't wait for more!

Lynn

Hi Lynn! I am so glad you are joining in!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Portofino looks really nice.

I'm a huge HP fan and can't wait until my kids are old enough that I can share it with them. They're just starting sight words, so we have a while to go before chapter books

It really was a nice place, I would love to stay again at sometime!
The books are so amazing, I loved sharing with my kids! Both are big HP fans. The books are timeless, generations for a long time will be enjoying these!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Joining in! I can’t wait to hear about your trip. It’s a dream of mine to travel to WDW, just me and my mom! We haven’t been together since I was a teen, and that was with our family, so a girls only trip would be so much fun!

I’m very glad to have you joining in! Ahh I sure hope a trip with your mom comes to fruition for you!! The girl trips are the best!!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Absolutely! I couldn't agree more

PM is such a wonderful ride!

I hope they're going well and that she's having a great semester already!

So far so good! She said her classes are hard! She will do great, I hope!

You and me both! Remember my TR report titled "The PeopleMover is my kind of thrill ride" I've never done the Mummy (it's been over 20 years since I've been to Universal at all! ). What's it like?

The Mummy is super intense, it is fiery and dark and rollercoaster like, I get quite nervous on it but it is also really fun, can you see my ambivalence here, lol!

I remember really loving this ride when I went many, many years ago! Bummer it's not still there.

I loved it to, I wish it was still there. I guess it is still at Hollywood US on the backlot tour. I would love that tour.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Totally worth it. And since you get a comfortable night in a nice hotel... win/win.

It really is especially with the EP cost being over $200.00 for the 2 of us for one day if bought online yikes!

don't blame you. Is this ride actually running reliably and consistently finally? I heard about the mess they had when it opened and then how it went to not opening until noon because they were having so many issues with it. I can't say that I've been following the latest news about it closely though.

I think it had several closures and delays even during the short time we were there. It was not worth risky a lot of time with the uncertainty of even riding it! A friend of mine was there this past week and rode it with less then a 40 minute wait. Crowds were no where with the threat of Dorian! She showed pictures of WDW and US virtually empty!

When the Wizarding World first opened, wasn't the Butter Beer in non souvenir glasses actually pretty reasonably priced? Gotta print that money!

Yes, the price is crazy, it has gone up and up!

Andi is doing it right! 2 rides on Mummy, 2 rides on Rip Ride Rockit! Gotta love that Express Pass!!!!

Yes she could have rode even more except she was good and riding alone isn’t always that much fun!

Maybe it is just me, but I'm not even a big fan of the Spiderman ride. I ride it and enjoy it, but it wouldn't break my heart if I had to miss it. Transformers is just a clone of it, and I'm a fan of the Transformers, but the ride is still just "meh" at best.

Spider-Man is a must do for us, Transformers not so much! You are right about it being a clone of Spider-Man!

 

[fallonkendra]

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!

Agree, the frozen one is great! Also, you're such a great mom, allowing Andi to get the regular one!

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 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!

You are so adorable!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Hello Everyone!

It is time to continue our US day. Andi and I headed towards MIB, after saying Hi to Springfield area. MIB is a really fun ride, it is comparable to Buzz Lightyear on steroids!! We used our EP and virtually walked on. We had so much fun shooting down aliens, we went again! The first ride Andi beat me and the second time I beat her score


I really enjoyed this ride, it had been quite a few years since I rode! The first MIB movie is one of my all time favorites! My son Jack and I love it! “What the heck Egar” some of you will get that line if you are MIB fans! Will Smith, awesome, in that movie! It never gets old!


We could have easily rode a third time but we wanted to move on. We decided it was time to go down in the vault, aka, ride Escape from Gringotts!


Now some of you know this ride has a similar track as the Mummy, except, it is less scary. The drop on here is not bad and you don’t zoom backwards so I will ride it! I really do enjoy this ride and the wait was very little with EP. A family behind us started asking about the ride and became freaked out and took the chicken exit! I do believe their kids would have been frightened. Remember Me, scaredy-cat. The kids were very little! After fighting off Voldemort, Bellatrix, and big trolls, we were starving!

Initially, we wanted to try Antojitos, however, it did not open until 4pm. It was only 11:15 am so that was out of the running.
We decided on Hard Rock after looking at some menus. They had an impossible burger on the menu and Andi wanted this.

We got right in, no wait. I ordered the American sliders off of the appetizer menu. Andi got the Impossible burger with cheese fries. Andi loved her burger and fries. I really liked mine as well. The burgers were cooked a perfect medium and tasted really good. Each slider had an onion ring, cheese, and coleslaw on it. The coleslaw wasn’t my favorite but overall these burgers were delicious! We drank ice water since it was so hot. We skipped dessert at this time. I had plans for a visit to Toothsome and Vodoo Doughnuts later.

The cheese fries were delicious, we shared these!


When we left, the skies were starting to get very dark. I was a little concerned because we went bag less. US makes you use a locker for so many rides we decided to go without bags. I was a little worried since we did not have our rain gear with us oops!

We headed into IOA. We couldn’t resist another ride on Spider-Man before we went to see a cat in a hat! We walked over to Seuss Landing. Little did I know at this time we would be stuck here for awhile! We took a spin on The Cat in the Hat and when we came out it did look like it was going to rain at any minute. We plunged ahead and went on the Carousel in Dr Seuss style.

The poor Lorax

It started to rain during this ride. We sprinted to the gift shop and waited out the storm. It was a down pour, the skies opened up. More and more people came into the gift shop. The rain continued so we went on Cat in the Hat again, not my favorite except in rain, haha! The rain did let up some and we decided to go on the trolley ride. This is a cute ride in Seuss land. You get a great view of IOA.

We made it over to Hogsmeade and it was crowded! We did ride Forbidden Journey using the EP. The new Hagrid’s ride was down and there was so many people waiting around for it. This made it very difficult to move around in this area. We decided to jump on the Hogwarts Express with our EP’s.

I love this train ride, make sure to do it both ways, it is different each way. Once we were at Kings Crossing, we decided it was time to head out of US. We were hot and tired.

We headed to City Walk, I needed to pick up the best, thanks Ariane, macaroons I have ever tasted! @ariane37 has raved about the macaroons from Toothsome for quite some time and I needed to try these. We checked out the delicious goodies in the display case and I found the variety of macaroons. I went with six different ones. A red velvet, Birthday cake, chocolate, vanilla, raspberry, and mango. Andi thought I was crazy buying six for myself especially with the price of $20.00. I am so glad I got six of these beauties, pictures to follow in the next post! These were by far the best tasting macaroons I have ever had!! Andi can’t have any because of her tree nut allergy so we also made a stop at Vodoo Donoughts!

We picked out 4 different donoughts. The Captain Crunch, the Vodoo doll, the little pink, and the pride one. Pictures in the next post. Ahh these were also amazing and delicious!!


With our treats in tow, we bid US/IOA farewell, and jumped on a boat back to Portofino Bay. We picked up our luggage and called a Lyft to WDW! The YC was calling our name!!

Stay tuned for our YC arrival, is there an upgrade in our future, you will soon find out!!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Agree, the frozen one is great! Also, you're such a great mom, allowing Andi to get the regular one!

Yay! Another vote for frozen. Thank you for noticing my selfless behavior!

You are so adorable!

You are so sweet, Thank you! I think I was in mid sentence when the Team member snapped my picture! Sponge Bob is so cute!

 

[ariane37]

We headed to City Walk, I needed to pick up the best, thanks Ariane, macaroons I have ever tasted! @ariane37 has raved about the macaroons from Toothsome for quite some time and I needed to try these.

I was waiting for you to mention this! There are truly I believe none better and I cannot wait to pick some up next week when we're in Universal quick for one night! Speaking of our trips I hear tell we'll be down in WDW at the same time in January???? We're going the 17-22nd........................

 

[thumper*]

These were by far the best tasting macaroons I have ever had!!

Love me a great macaroon

 

[disneyAndi14]

I was waiting for you to mention this! There are truly I believe none better and I cannot wait to pick some up next week when we're in Universal quick for one night! Speaking of our trips I hear tell we'll be down in WDW at the same time in January???? We're going the 17-22nd........................

I have to say these little beauties were so delicious and a very important part of my trip, haha! I hate the 10 picture limit because I want to show off these yummy little treats! The texture, flavor, and fillings were so perfect! Enjoy yours next week!

I’m so excited about January! I hope to meet up with you all for drinks!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Love me a great macaroon

These are the best I have ever had, I want more!!

 

[suse66]

I really enjoyed this ride, it had been quite a few years since I rode! The first MIB movie is one of my all time favorites! My son Jack and I love it! “What the heck Egar” some of you will get that line if you are MIB fans! Will Smith, awesome, in that movie! It never gets old!

Looks like fun!

We got right in, no wait. I ordered the American sliders off of the appetizer menu. Andi got the Impossible burger with cheese fries. Andi loved her burger and fries. I really liked mine as well. The burgers were cooked a perfect medium and tasted really good. Each slider had an onion ring, cheese, and coleslaw on it. The coleslaw wasn’t my favorite but overall these burgers were delicious! We drank ice water since it was so hot. We skipped dessert at this time. I had plans for a visit to Toothsome and Vodoo Doughnuts later.

Delicious looking lunch!

We made it over to Hogsmeade and it was crowded! We did ride Forbidden Journey using the EP. The new Hagrid’s ride was down and there was so many people waiting around for it. This made it very difficult to move around in this area. We decided to jump on the Hogwarts Express with our EP’s.

Too bad it was so crowded!

We headed to City Walk, I needed to pick up the best, thanks Ariane, macaroons I have ever tasted! @ariane37 has raved about the macaroons from Toothsome for quite some time and I needed to try these. We checked out the delicious goodies in the display case and I found the variety of macaroons. I went with six different ones. A red velvet, Birthday cake, chocolate, vanilla, raspberry, and mango. Andi thought I was crazy buying six for myself especially with the price of $20.00. I am so glad I got six of these beauties, pictures to follow in the next post! These were by far the best tasting macaroons I have ever had!! Andi can’t have any because of her tree nut allergy so we also made a stop at Vodoo Donoughts!

We picked out 4 different donoughts. The Captain Crunch, the Vodoo doll, the little pink, and the pride one. Pictures in the next post. Ahh these were also amazing and delicious!!

Mmmmmm, treats!

 

[buzzrelly]

What a fun morning! I love Forbidden Journey, more than Escape From Gringotts although that one is fun too!

I'm guessing, yes, you did get an upgrade

 

[Tracy161]

So far so good! She said her classes are hard! She will do great, I hope!

I'm sure she'll do great, too! She's a Spanish major, right?

The Mummy is super intense, it is fiery and dark and rollercoaster like, I get quite nervous on it but it is also really fun, can you see my ambivalence here, lol!

HAHA! I can! It's definitely something I'd love to try... once

I guess it is still at Hollywood US on the backlot tour. I would love that tour.

Oh I bet I would love that tour, too. I miss the golden age Hollywood MGM of the days of yore...

Stay tuned for our YC arrival, is there an upgrade in our future, you will soon find out!!

Ooooh, I'm hoping so!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

What a great day at US! I need to get over to VooDoo Donuts!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Sounds like a great last day at Universal, even with the rain.

Can't wait to hear about your room at the Yacht Club!