Canadian Buffoon's Semi-EPIC Vacation - 10/29 - Link to new TR!

[MeghanEmily]

Re: the snow: ...Ew!! Jeez, Canada! It's way too early for that crap. (I remember hearing about this on the weather channel and thinking of you and of @fallonkendra, and how you folks always end up with an autumn snow or two far before snow is acceptable.)

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Really... shouldn't vacations be more...
restful?

Mine never are. Too much to see and do.

You get checked when you
get to the dock
(complete with metal detector
and x-ray scanner)
and once through, you're
good to go in either park
or CityWalk.

Oo I like that!

Elle asked what time it opened.
"Nine o'clock." I replied.
"Why are we so early?" She asked,
clearly shocked and puzzled.
"That's rope drop, baby!" I exclaimed.

What a great photo. Rare to see it that empty.

Ron: "I once lost a set of car keys.
That's how Mad-Eye Moody
lost his eye."
Hermione: "Ron! That was you?"
Ron: <Hangs head in shame.>

I was the intelligent one
who went with the frozen.

Best choice.

Are you hungry?

I'm always hungry.

Our last attraction in the park
was Poseidon's Fury.
We debated on whether to
see it or not, but when we
were told the next show was
in four minutes...
Why not?

I only did this once on my first trip to Universal as an adult and I wasn't impressed. I guess it's time to give it another chance.

(And the kid wised up
and ordered the frozen.)

Smart girl.

And...
Did you see it in this chapter?
See them both?

Yup. Those aircrafts are out of control.

I got home and had to freaking
shovel my driveway to get up it!
Shovel!
In early October!

Omg! I could not deal with that!

 

[Tracy161]

Well, actually...
The WEDway PeopleMover doesn't
have a gift shop at the end
of it either.

You do have a point there, my friend.

When I got out, I was confronted
with this:

I have no words. Mostly just tears.

 

[pkondz]

I'm sorry I missed your send off.

You know, I was sitting at the airport,
checking my TR every few seconds,
thinking "Surely Vanessa will say "Bye"?"
All to know avail.


And don't call me Shirley.

Sounds like you had a really rough start. I hope things got much better after that.

It wasn't the best...
But it got much better
after that!

Sounds heavenly. I can't imagine a nice bag check anymore.

You need to try Universal, then.

Nice view.

It was!

She looks bright eyed and bushy tailed and also very lovely.

Yes... don't you want to
choke her?

Rope-Drop is the only way to go!

I'm still so shocked at how empty this park is.

It's so empty!

Well... we were moving
very quickly and most
of the patrons were
behind us.

Which one is shorter?

Barnstormer.
I don't know many permanent
coasters that are shorter...
if any.
Barnstormer: 1 minute.
Flight of Hippogriff: 1 minute 6 seconds.

Someday I'm going to try this.

You need to!

Very cool! We love looking for him in the different movies. I'm going to miss this. Danielle got to meet him very briefly at Wizard World Comic-Con in New Orleans.

That's cool.
What was he like?
(I presume she just got
a quick autograph or something?)

And exploding helicopters?

I believe there actually
was one in Spiderman!

Very nice!

Thanks!

I can't even imagine that.

It was soooo nice.

She looks very nice, but the guy next too her looks suspicious.

Turns out he was a spy.
He tried to kill us, later.

Yes I did.

 

[pkondz]

Re: the snow: ...Ew!! Jeez, Canada! It's way too early for that crap. (I remember hearing about this on the weather channel and thinking of you and of @fallonkendra, and how you folks always end up with an autumn snow or two far before snow is acceptable.)

Yes, they got hit the week before,
I think?
Either way...
It's far too early for this!!!!

 

[pkondz]

Mine never are. Too much to see and do.

I know there are people who
love just lying on a beach all day.

I am not one of those people.

Oo I like that!

It's soooo much better.

What a great photo. Rare to see it that empty.

Just don't look behind me.

Best choice.

I'm always hungry.

Eat something!
Someone pass Courney
the mashed potatoes.

I only did this once on my first trip to Universal as an adult and I wasn't impressed. I guess it's time to give it another chance.

I would give this attraction
a definite... "Okay".
I will have no problem
skipping it in the future.

Smart girl.

You just have to beat
her over the head
a few times.

Yup. Those aircrafts are out of control.

Omg! I could not deal with that!

Neither could I.
I was sore for two days.

 

[pkondz]

You do have a point there, my friend.

This is a rare event.
Please note it for future
reference.

I have no words. Mostly just tears.

And that was near the beginning of it.
It got much worse.

 

[DonnaBeeGood]

.

 

[pkondz]

I hope you were able to enjoy Thanksgiving pkondz!

If you call working "enjoying"
then yes, I suppose so?

Or... No.

But we're doing ours
next weekend.
We're weird that way.

(And that perhaps some of the snow is melting...)

It is... just not very fast!

I have seen a few of the bonus sights you have graciously supplied in your fine photographs.

And, IMHO, My Pillows are not worth the hype. I did give it a good try for a few years, but I have given up - I need a regular firm memory pillow myself.

Oh! You're the only person
I know that's tried it.
Thanks for that!

 

[vamassey1]

You know, I was sitting at the airport,
checking my TR every few seconds,
thinking "Surely Vanessa will say "Bye"?"
All to know avail.

I'm so sorry to disappoint.

It wasn't the best...
But it got much better
after that!

I certainly hope so.

You need to try Universal, then.

Someday.

Yes... don't you want to
choke her?

That's not very nice.

Well... we were moving
very quickly and most
of the patrons were
behind us.

That's some sashay y'all were doing.

That's cool.
What was he like?
(I presume she just got
a quick autograph or something?)

Just a quick autograph. She was able to pick a small poster for him to sign. She picked the Spiderman poster and he told her it was a good choice.

Turns out he was a spy.
He tried to kill us, later.

I'm so glad y'all survived.

 

[pkondz]

I'm so sorry to disappoint.

That's okay. I had a cry then
gathered myself up and
faced the day.

Someday.

That's not very nice.

Did I not mention it
was morning????

That's some sashay y'all were doing.

Nope! No time for sashaying.
(And a sashay is a work of art,
it should never be rushed.)

Just a quick autograph. She was able to pick a small poster for him to sign. She picked the Spiderman poster and he told her it was a good choice.

It was.

I'm so glad y'all survived.

I have skills, you know.
They usually involve running
around like this:

 

[afwdwfan]

Well, I don't like bag check,
per se... but I do like how
Universal does it.
You get checked when you
get to the dock
(complete with metal detector
and x-ray scanner)
and once through, you're
good to go in either park
or CityWalk.

I like that part. I don't, however, like the mandatory lockers and metal detectors at rides.

Elle asked what time it opened.
"Nine o'clock." I replied.
"Why are we so early?" She asked,
clearly shocked and puzzled.
"That's rope drop, baby!" I exclaimed.

Come on!

Never pass up a chance to mock
your children.
It builds character and a looming
sense of resentment.

Doesn't the Sorting Hat look
particularly peeved?
Perhaps you would too if your
entire existence was to sit on
the smelly, sweaty, pimple-laden
heads of pre-pubescent children?

Or maybe it is that it's been relegated to sitting around overseeing smelly, sweaty tourists.

I was the intelligent one
who went with the frozen.
I'm not saying Elle is dumb...

But yeah, she was dumb
to not get the frozen one too.

Always put your kids down.
It helps build a strong backbone.

This whole update is full of great parenting advice.

First up...
"You're a sick park"
(The J is pronounced "Y", you know.
It's German.)

Toon Lagoon was next up
and… while there aren't any
(dry) rides in the area,
it appealed to me.
Probably because so many
of the 'toons were familiar
remembrances from my
childhood.

Love the Toon Lagoon area, but that's for sure... don't even think about going on any rides unless you intend to be even wetter than you'd be if you jumped in a pool with your clothes on.

We headed back to Marvel Land
and rode the Hulk Coaster.

Ahh... my happy place.

And wonders of wonders...
When you get off the ride...
No gift shop!!!

But there was this sweets shop.

I approve. I don't always want to buy overpriced crappy shirts, but I'm almost always in the mood for sweets.

I wouldn't stand in line
for very long to see it...
But I would see it again.

Sounds about right. Been a long time since I've seen that one!

But first...

Butterbeer!!!

(And the kid wised up
and ordered the frozen.)

You guys really like that Butterbeer stuff.

I had it once... it was... ok. Sorry.

As we made our way to the train,
a father with wife and two girls
in tow asked.
"Do you need a ticket?"

Dude... this may be the most
expensive ride ticket you ever buy.
(If you aren't aware, you need a
park to park ticket to ride the train.)
A one park ticket is $115 (child - $110).
A park to park ticket is $170/$165.
So if he (and family) want to ride
Hogwarts Express, it's going to cost
him $220.

They have mastered one skill that Disney has had down for years.

How to separate you from your money!

Just to give you an idea
of how efficient and close
we were...
We arrived at the dock at
4:10pm. The boat arrived
at 4:15 and we were in our
room by 4:32.

Well, because your VIP transportation card works there too, clearly.

If it was me I'd be back in the room at about 5:15 or something like that.

I got home and had to freaking
shovel my driveway to get up it!
Shovel!
In early October!
Not cool Mother Nature!!!!

Keep that stuff up in Canada!!!! We still have corn and beans in the fields!

 

[pkondz]

I like that part. I don't, however, like the mandatory lockers and metal detectors at rides.

Not all the rides.
Very few, actually.
I think just the two coasters?
(Talking metal detectors.)

Come on!

Or maybe it is that it's been relegated to sitting around overseeing smelly, sweaty tourists.

Perhaps, another possible reason for peaveness.

This whole update is full of great parenting advice.

This is years of experience talking.

Love the Toon Lagoon area, but that's for sure... don't even think about going on any rides unless you intend to be even wetter than you'd be if you jumped in a pool with your clothes on.

We watched people coming
down those rides.
Holy saturation, batman!

Ahh... my happy place.

Hulk fan, are we?
So am I right?
Is it much rougher at
the back than the front?
Or was that just... the cars
or the fact we did it twice?

I approve. I don't always want to buy overpriced crappy shirts, but I'm almost always in the mood for sweets.

I never want to buy
overpriced crappy shirts...
Unless they say Harley Davidson
on them.

You guys really like that Butterbeer stuff.

I had it once... it was... ok. Sorry.

Muggle.

They have mastered one skill that Disney has had down for years.

How to separate you from your money!

Disney doesn't have the monopoly
on that.
They're very skilled, but...

Well, because your VIP transportation card works there too, clearly.

If it was me I'd be back in the room at about 5:15 or something like that.

Keep that stuff up in Canada!!!! We still have corn and beans in the fields!

Don't worry. Trump's putting
up a wall.
Pretty sure I heard that on the news.

 

[Deb1993]

Loving your trip report. As far as Hulk, for us it's going on it too many times in a row. We've done all the rows and for us the ride is the same, we just space it out so we don't get nauseous.

 

[mustinjourney]

I thought that was considered a light dusting for Canadians. It looks kinda like wet snow -- was it just barely under zero?

 

[suse66]

Well, I don't like bag check,
per se... but I do like how
Universal does it.
You get checked when you
get to the dock
(complete with metal detector
and x-ray scanner)
and once through, you're
good to go in either park
or CityWalk.
And since there are far fewer
people boarding from any
resort at one time,
you don't see the nightmarish
Epcot-like bag check lines.

Disney should take lessons......

Elle asked what time it opened.
"Nine o'clock." I replied.
"Why are we so early?" She asked,
clearly shocked and puzzled.
"That's rope drop, baby!" I exclaimed.

Rope dop is the only way!

Soon after, Hogsmeade hove into view.

You pass the green house
where Mandrake plants
are safely kept out of
reach of curious children.
(The Mandrake's cry is fatal
to anyone unfortunate enough
to hear it.)

This is great!

The ride does afford you with
a wonderful view of Hogwarts.
That alone makes the ride
worth trying at least once.

Definitely!

Our next ride was...
The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride!
This ride is similar to Disney's People Mover...
But much slower.

You'd think, though, after seeing
all the warnings posted for this ride,
that it was the most violent and
frightening ride in the entire park!

Haha! Love the creativity!

See that box wayyyy at the top
of that pile?
That's mine.
I told them we'd come back later.

And, here:
(For all of you lamenting
my lack of a shot of the
dragon breathing fire in
the previous update.
So there.)

Perfect!

Our last dinner on property
was at Vivo, an Italian restaurant.
I'd classify it as mid-scale.
You don't want to be wearing
flip-flops and shorts...
but you don't need to be
formally dressed either.

I asked for and we were sat
overlooking the kitchen.
I love that.
I love watching how the
staff works together as a unit
and how the dishes are created.

Dinner looks fab!

 

[pkondz]

Loving your trip report.

Thanks! And to the TR!

As far as Hulk, for us it's going on it too many times in a row. We've done all the rows and for us the ride is the same, we just space it out so we don't get nauseous.

Hmmm... So maybe that's
what it was then.

Two times back to back
was definitely enough for us!

 

[pkondz]

I thought that was considered a light dusting for Canadians.

It is.
That was the beginning.
Here's a shot I took of Elle's car
near the tale end of the storm:

I had to cut through it
with a plastic bladed shovel
and pull it off in chunks.

It looks kinda like wet snow -- was it just barely under zero?

Right around zero.

 

[pkondz]

Disney should take lessons......

Oh, man...
Please Epcot.... learn from this!

Rope dop is the only way!

This is great!

That's such a fun queue!

Haha! Love the creativity!

Such a dangerous ride!
oooooohhhh!!!!

Perfect!

Thanks.

Dinner looks fab!

I make a better Bolognese,
but Elle really liked hers.

 

[pkondz]

Look! Nothing to see here!