Happy Anni-birth-aversary...A 33 night Celebration & HHN too.....SF & RPR September 2022 TR

[schumigirl]

Yes the wine situation is very sad but she can still do white and she will mix rose with sprite for a spritzer.

It’s so bad! It’s why we were shocked California parks weren’t nearly as bad (also a lot of kids on those harness leashes which was slightly shocking.)

It was my first time driving an ECV. I was surrounded by strollers and a gentleman helped guide me out while backing out of the area, and then off I went-literally! Lol.

My dad doesn’t like wearing them either especially since he gets a horrible reaction to the heat. He has started wearing the under armor summer shirts in Florida-it helps a lot.

I`m glad you had someone there to help you......I`ve never driven one in my life....my dad had one and he always moaned about other drivers and how demonic they were on them.....lol......at least you didn`t fall off or hurt yourself or anyone else.

So, California isn`t as bad? Wonder what the difference is. I`ve never been there before, not sure we ever will to be honest.

 

[schumigirl]

Thank you to the super special ladies who have sent me emails in the last couple of hours......you are all lovely and very kind

 

[KathyM2]

We said our goodbye`s and we headed back to the car and went for our lunch, which today was somewhere plain and simple we had never eaten in before....Panera Bread.

I love Panera ...there are so many good options...we used to have a lot more of them in Canada but not so many now for some reason...I don't understand why it didn't do well here...but anyway...glad you found it!! I usually go when in the US as well.

We joined the 21st century and created an Uber account!

Awesome!! It's about time lol...

Great TR so far!!

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

I`m glad you had someone there to help you......I`ve never driven one in my life....my dad had one and he always moaned about other drivers and how demonic they were on them.....lol......at least you didn`t fall off or hurt yourself or anyone else.

So, California isn`t as bad? Wonder what the difference is. I`ve never been there before, not sure we ever will to be honest.

My mom is very much like your dad. She’s used the horn. She doesn’t like when she has to but sometimes it’s the horn or she harms someone. She has even had some due on her while in parks. I keep convincing her to buy one to have just to play it safe.

California is also very local based. Still a lot of ECV and strollers and some wagons, but I think not having as many as florida helps the DAS systems. Also with everything being so close together, they are a lot more trustworthy. You can take the ECVS throughout the DL resort, but you have to give them back at each park for WDW. It is definitely bizarre.

 

[angryduck71]

It just hit me that Kyle and Davy are both runners.... do they still do some kind of run event at Universal? Thought they had started to do so. We should get these guys to run together!

 

[margareton27]

Love catching up at the end of a work week! Happy anniversary! What a beautiful gift - absolutely gorgeous!

 

[schumigirl]

I love Panera ...there are so many good options...we used to have a lot more of them in Canada but not so many now for some reason...I don't understand why it didn't do well here...but anyway...glad you found it!! I usually go when in the US as well.

Awesome!! It's about time lol...

Great TR so far!!

lol……yes, it is about time we were dragged into the 21st Century!

I didn’t realise there weren’t many Panera’s in Canada. I would have thought it would have done well there……fresh produce and tasty. We’ll definitely go back for lunch. The one I went to in Long Island years ago had a lobster roll sandwich I loved……but it wasn’t on the menu here, either it’s been removed or they change the menu often.

Glad you get to enjoy though.

Thanks, glad you’re enjoying reading along and hope things are good for you

 

[schumigirl]

My mom is very much like your dad. She’s used the horn. She doesn’t like when she has to but sometimes it’s the horn or she harms someone. She has even had some due on her while in parks. I keep convincing her to buy one to have just to play it safe.

California is also very local based. Still a lot of ECV and strollers and some wagons, but I think not having as many as florida helps the DAS systems. Also with everything being so close together, they are a lot more trustworthy. You can take the ECVS throughout the DL resort, but you have to give them back at each park for WDW. It is definitely bizarre.

Ah I see. I genuinely have no knowledge whatsoever on the layout of the California parks.

No, I wouldn’t like to use it either, but if someone steps out suddenly you would have to. We did see one man was going so darn fast we thought he was going to tip it on its side passing Confisco Grille! He was flying!

 

[schumigirl]

It just hit me that Kyle and Davy are both runners.... do they still do some kind of run event at Universal? Thought they had started to do so. We should get these guys to run together!

I think they are planning to start their runs again next year, someone mentioned February to me……we won’t be there in Feb for sure!

Yes, nice idea though!

 

[schumigirl]

Love catching up at the end of a work week! Happy anniversary! What a beautiful gift - absolutely gorgeous!

Hope your week was a good one for you……and hope you’re all recovered from Covid after your trip now.

Thank you, I love it. Wore it on Thursday night for the first time since we came home…..it sparkles!

 

[schumigirl]

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 7TH​

Boy we took a lot of pictures today!!!

Again, we slept so well and I got up around 5.30, went through and had some orange juice which our little fridge nicely turns into a slushie if you leave it in the right place......very nice too at that time of the morning.

I hear Tom rumbling early through in the bedroom, so I head back in and grab the shower before he does. I have a thing about showering first.....not quite sure why, one of life`s little oddities.

We headed over for breakfast a little earlier than usual since sleeping beauty got up before he had to. We always enjoy the walk over to RP in the morning, to see the change from the modern decor of Sapphire.........

And an unusual view of Dr Doom......

Back to the traditional Polynesian decor of the lovely RP.

The Lounge is always a lovely place to chat to folks, or have a quiet breakfast, I always forget if it was busy or not and I also forget when N was leaving, I know we did get to say goodbye properly to them, it might have been today. We`ve been so lucky to meet some really lovely people in the lounge.

We enjoy a nice breakfast, couple of glasses of fizz for me alongside my usual and apparently dull breakfast of toast, cream cheese and grape jelly and Tom`s equally dull breakfast of croissants and honey. But, we enjoy it.

When we`re done, we go for the boat and there were some days we did wait a little longer than usual for boats. They have a shortage of Captains so that turns into less boats, or running less frequently. But, most days we didn`t wait too long.

We love the entrance into The Studios. It`s a very definite entrance unlike IOA which is really just turnstiles, then you have the focus of the entry.

There were large lines as we were earlier than usual into the parks, so we headed round to the AP entrance.....there was no one there and we were through in seconds.

Our first stop is usually the store at the entrance, and we`re always keen to see the merchandise on sale for HHN. It is always fabulous and we buy far too much of it, but it`s fun and lovely memories of all our trips.

They also always have a lovely display in the centre of the store, it varies from year to year and is always stellar.

I love the original movie Halloween......it scares the bejeesus out of me as does white masks. The first film was a classic and the others since have been disappointing, so I was thrilled to see they were redoing the original movie for the house this year.

Folks think it`s funny I get so scared from a mask, but we all have our own little weird affectations....I still watch the movie every Halloween and enjoy being scared a little by it.

I did buy some of the merchandise including the Smith`s Grove Sanitarium sign......why I have no idea, but it seemed a good idea at the time and also the myers mug which Kyle stole as his own when we got home.....

I think this will eventually go up in the laundry room for some reason.....maybe it`s the sheets connection from the movie where Michael is standing behind the sheets in the garden

I wasn`t overly keen on some of the products, wouldn`t have the bag or the hat this year. But the tombstone was interesting as I saw a girl with a backpack that was identical to the Tombstone for sale....I was convinced I had seen it as a backpack in the parks and trawled the parks for days trying to find it......er, no.

It was on sale on the internet after all our searching. Doh!!!

Despicable Me had some long EP lines some days though today wasn`t one of them, I think we just passed riding it this morning, but we did see the EP line swirl around into the regular line some days. Wouldn`t wait that long for the Minion ride.

This is the giant open pumpkin where the Pumpkin Lord courts his adoring fans every HHN. He is a lot of fun and adores folks watching him as most Pumpkin Lords do of course.......

We didn`t want to do RRR today, we never do Jimmy Fallon and Mummy was closed, so we headed back round by Bourne which we would do another day, but we wanted to see the Graveyard scare zone during the day. This was definitely the highlight zone for us this year for several reasons. And we knew one of the SA in this zone too.

Visually this zone is perfect for HHN, during the day it`s still pretty but you don`t want pretty for HHN......at night it has the perfect mix of spooky and slightly scary mixed in with the right amount of fear from the wonderful SA`s.

I mentioned previously how clever the Scenic Decor Department had been with the photographs that looked as though they were from years gone by. In reality, they took their own pictures and aged them adding in a much older wardrobe to them all and the results are amazing.

Peek - a - Boo........

Some of the designs in the pictures are quite original and ornate.

Five and Dime is always a good store for Halloween dispays and products too. The lady who was working in here was a complete hoot.....we were just wandering around and there were two boys of around 8 on their own.....I think as we were th eonly other folks in at the time they were our kids.

I was looking at the Michael Myers mask when she screeched at the top of her voice.....Lordy ma`am....your kids have escaped......I was quite alarmed and began to look around me in panic as she was quite shrill......lol......then I realised I don`t have two 8 year old children!!!

I assured her they weren`t our kids......don`t think she was quite convinced to be honest!

We didn`t bother to do the Scarecrow Stalk this year, but they were everywhere and they were all so well done with some wonderful verse on the decor.

This store has always got a decent display all year round, and there are always good picture opportunities with the creatures all year round.

And my favourite Boogie Man.....

Kyle had wanted to buy this mask in 2014 and I put my foot down and said no way......it`s bad enough with the teeshirts he bought with the Shape`s face on them......I don`t like them.

Yet more cleverly aged photographs from the SD team...

More to follow.......

 

[schumigirl]

This year Universal had added some lovely little themed bar areas for the event and they were exceedingly colourful to say the least.

Both of these are close to Cafe La Bamba and the top picture covers a well known water feature in that area of the park. They had conveniently added some more tables, more than they usually have.

We had sat there once when we tried to enjoy the Central Park Crepes which were not nice......

​

Eating sea sponge would have been nicer!! I thought they were among the worst things we had eaten in the parks.....not for us at all, but again, many folks enjoy them.

I kinda love this fake apartment building, it reminds me of an old Hollywood apartment building from many years ago when the classics really were classics.

Scarecrow: Cursed Soil was probably our second favourite scare zone. This area historically is usually one of the best zones as it often had the glowing pumpkins up in the trees which when it was dark, they looked amazing.

I enjoy seeing anything they do leave out during the day, usually you won`t see anything gory or bloody around the park, the theming can easily be missed at night with darkness and the fake smoke around the zone which this year they seemed to go a little overboard on at times!!

Again, in the dark you can`t really see into the SA lair.....

I have to say I found this piece a little more alarming than disturbing for several reasons.......it just looks a little odd!! She just looks a little too happy to be impaled!!

Another pop up bar, I think we did purchase a drink from here one night, not that the drinks were very good, they never really are, especially the themed drinks every year.

I like most rums and adore cherry brandy, so Ghoul Juice sounded right up my street.......er, maybe not. But, you have to try these drinks don`t you.

Tom and I adore wandering round the parks.....especially in the quieter areas like this one today. We do tend to stop and smell the roses so to speak.......rushing around a theme park is not our idea of fun and many do rush from atraction to atraction with nary a glance around them, and if it works for you, then enjoy!

But even after all these years we still enjoy strolling around either park and just taking it all in, and today was one of those mornings we could do that.

We wandered down to do an old classic, ET, but it wasn`t working for some reason, we didn`t have an idea of when it would be back on so we turned and left as we had plenty of days to ride this little gem again.

Tinsel Town Terror wasn`t much better to be honest, but at least you could taste some alcohol in this one!

Not a fan of Chucky at all, it never appealed as a horror movie and got bored after 10 minutes and never watched another....any year Chucky has been at HHN, it hasn`t thrilled us.

Duff Beer is a decent place to stop off for a drink. I`m not a fan of beer, but Tom quite enjoys one here.....again, I think their double shot cocktails are far too weak and don`t really taste of much. But, it`s a nice place to sit and pass an hour or so.

It still wasn`t that late in the morning and we had covered most of one side of the park before heading into Harry Potter.....

I did love this giant pumpkin bar.......one woman asked why did they have a giant orange as a bar apparently.......lol....think she may have had one or two libations already!

More to follow....again........

 

[DoryGirl1963]

Loving your trip report as always !

Hubby & I love wandering about, too - we both need lots of what I call " gawk & awe" time .

 

[disneyAndi14]

I love Suess Landing! The sushi and tuna look delicious
Thanks for always pointing out the unique things in Port of Entry!
I love the back story about the stores and restaurants!
Sorry Velocicoaster got you this time! If I start feeling off it usually is not enough water. I drink a bottle and feel so much better!

 

[disneyAndi14]

I forgot to add, did you know that the mask from Halloween is a William Shatner mask, they did some alterations to it and painted it white! I had no idea. I learned that tidbit in our Unmasking the Horror tour!
Here is the sign from the house! In the movie the sanitarium is such a creepy part!

 

[schumigirl]

Loving your trip report as always !

Hubby & I love wandering about, too - we both need lots of what I call " gawk & awe" time .

Walking around the parks is one of the most relaxing things to do for us…….I do like the gawk and awe time lol……we call it sip and stroll as we usually stop off for a cocktail now and again…….lol…….

Glad you’re enjoying it…….

 

[schumigirl]

I love Suess Landing! The sushi and tuna look delicious
Thanks for always pointing out the unique things in Port of Entry!
I love the back story about the stores and restaurants!
Sorry Velocicoaster got you this time! If I start feeling off it usually is not enough water. I drink a bottle and feel so much better!

Oh that food was gorgeous!

There are so many details around the parks that’s so easily missed, but it’s so interesting.

Yes, water is something we made sure we had plenty of in the coming days.

I forgot to add, did you know that the mask from Halloween is a William Shatner mask, they did some alterations to it and painted it white! I had no idea. I learned that tidbit in our Unmasking the Horror tour!
Here is the sign from the house! In the movie the sanitarium is such a creepy part!
View attachment 712579

Yes, I did know that…….it’s quite sad how much trivia I know about the movies……lol……thanks for the picture, love it!

Yes, that was a very creepy scene in the movie!

 

[iona]

“giant orange as a bar”

Loved all the photos. We meant to take photos of the scare zones during the day but it just didn’t happen.

 

[schumigirl]

“giant orange as a bar”

Loved all the photos. We meant to take photos of the scare zones during the day but it just didn’t happen.

Well, it was a barman who told us, so I`m assuming she was a little bit affected by alcohol.......

We missed a lot this year, we just weren`t feeling it as much as usual with the theme.....although we still managed to take rather a lot of pictures!!!!

 

[schumigirl]

Heading back into Diagon Alley we catch a glimpse of Kreacher who periodically pops his head through the drape to sneer at the folks on the street below. He does have a rather nasty look about him but don`t folks just love him!!

There are so many little hideaway places in Diagon Alley and after getting spooked by a TM surprising me by appearing right in front of me (I scare easy) I got a snap of the fake staircase behind the fenced gate. It doesn`t lead to anywhere, but in my mind it does.

We stood in a non existant line for a fizzy orange and although I do like this image, neither of us are fans of butterbeer at all. We just don`t like it, in any form except for the ice cream and fudge, we do like those, but the drinks are just not for us at all.

It`s quite an impressive bar, and strange to see it so quiet, I think in all our future visits we can`t get near the place.

We didn`t take a picture of the fizzy orange, it has a cinammon sugar rim which I`m not overly fond of, but of course as in all Potter drinks, you can`t omit anything, but it`s not so bad and it is a nice drink.

Edited to add this picture of the fizzy orange....I missed it before when I was going through them earlier.

The colours in Diagon Alley are as impressive as anywhere around the parks and the travel agent is a nice place to pop into, but we were drawn to the show just starting.

Celestina Warbeck & the Banshees are worth watching, they are entertaining for kids and adults and it`s not too long a show, it passes some time and is fun.

We head into the Money Exchange and this is somewhere if you`ve never gone in, you really should. Aside from the nice little gifts you can buy, you can exchange money for Gringotts Bank money....kids love it!

And the main reason to go in is to see and speak to the Head Goblin who is the snarkiest of them all apparently......he is funny though.

You can chat to him and he will answer you, they encourage you to ask him questions and sometimes the answer is quite surprising. And he always has a sneering look on his face, the type of look you know reeks of disappointment. I`m thinking of my math teachers when I had no clue what they were talking about almost every day of every year at school........

Yes, we are one of those folks that do like to capture the dragon breathe fire now and again......I know some folks think it`s silly and you can see these pics online, but there is nothing quite like looking back on your own pictures, every picture is a memory and we will always feel that way.

My favourite steaming kettle.......

Florean Fortescue`s ice cream is very nice. They do have a nice selection of flavours, some soft serve and some hard pack ice cream. The line is usually very long and we don`t often get any as we aren`t really snack folks, but we do like it.

And of course Hagrid`s motorbike which seems a little sad to see this week as we just lost the most amazing actor that is Robbie Coltrane. He was so much more than Hagrid to many of us, but for whole generations across the globe, he is simply Hagrid.

In another nod to Jaws that this whole site sits on, one of the songs the Shrunken Heads sing is, Show me the way to go home, which anyone who has seen Jaws will know is used in the movie. I love that the whole area has many nods to Jaws throughout.

The Vanishing Cabinet lurks obviously in Borgin & Burkes and has a long history in the Potter books. Mainly referenced in The Half Blood Prince it helped Malfoy as he was planning to kill Dumbledore as it conceals whatever you put in there, including people. It`s a gateway too if attached to another. And an easy way to smuggle Death Eaters into the Castle.

The cabinet was loosely mentioned in the Chamber of secrets where I think Filch confiscated it and again in the Order of the Phoenix and it was in that book Fred and George accidentally made Malfoy aware of the cabinet, which of course led to the events of Half Blood Prince.

If you listen closely you can hear some interesting sounds coming from it

And more secret little passages that tell their own story.

I`m sure we are in the minority but we don`t like either of the Potter restaurants. The food doesn`t appeal to us and is very odd in many ways......beef and lamb in one dish is not something common over here and neither do we serve cornish pasties with salad.....and potato wedges are not chips!!

We did try the fish and chips once, and it was a big mistake. Deep fried options never really impress us in Florida. The fish was ok, but the batter was so heavy and didn`t taste good. So, they are two food places we will never choose to eat in.

And as for the breakfast options.......bleurgh.......the bacon and sausages are nice, but they are not British bacon or sausages. And I loathe baked beans, especially when they appear on a breakfast plate. But, many folks do eat them for breakfast......just no.

In the record store out front of Diagon Alley there is another nod to Jaws......

There is a record from the Quint Trio which alludes to Quint, Hooper and Chief Brody and the famous line from Quint in the movie.

More to come.......