It's Good to be a Passholder :-) - a January 2020 Trip Report

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I sure hope so! The last time I've gone was in 2016, so I miss it a lot (I especially want to go again to do Hagrid's)

Have you considered doing one of the "meet-ups" hosted by the other website that's devoted to Universal? (I am pretty sure we can't mention the name here or it will be starred out)

It's an after-hours event that includes all your food, including unlimited butterbeer. They had one scheduled for May but ended up moving it to December due to the coronavirus. They are actually hosting 2 weekends in December this year, and you can attend single nights OR double nights at a discount. Might be a great time for you to experience Hagrids with MUCH less waits! We are booked to attend one night on each weekend!

 

[Joanna71985]

Have you considered doing one of the "meet-ups" hosted by the other website that's devoted to Universal? (I am pretty sure we can't mention the name here or it will be starred out)

It's an after-hours event that includes all your food, including unlimited butterbeer. They had one scheduled for May but ended up moving it to December due to the coronavirus. They are actually hosting 2 weekends in December this year, and you can attend single nights OR double nights at a discount. Might be a great time for you to experience Hagrids with MUCH less waits! We are booked to attend one night on each weekend!

I've never thought about it before, but I will definitely have to look into it! The event sounds amazing

 

[I-4Bound]

I can't wait to hear a report on the meet ups! The event definitely peaked my interest, especially the food and beverage options!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I've never thought about it before, but I will definitely have to look into it! The event sounds amazing

If you have any trouble finding the details about it, let me know and I'll message you on FB!

I can't wait to hear a report on the meet ups! The event definitely peaked my interest, especially the food and beverage options!

We are SUPER stoked about finally getting a chance to attend one of these much-loved meetups! We have always wanted to go, but the dates never seemed to work out for us. This is definitely what we are considering the consolation of having to move our May trip to early December (that, and being able to go to SeaWorld's Christmas Celebration). I will for sure let you know our thoughts after the event. I'm just a bit worried it will spoil us in the same way Disney After Hours has spoiled us, and we will never want to do a regular park day ever again! lol

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

In some pre-trip news......

Our October vacation is starting to take shape quite nicely, as I've been booking a few things now that we are past the six month point (meaning all things Disney have opened for reservations). We have purchased our MNSSHP tickets as well as the Cruella's Halloween Hideaway upgrade, so after a less-than-stellar experience at the party we attended last fall, we are hoping that this year will redeem our opinions on that hard ticket event. We also have bought our "costumes" for the party, though they are more Halloween themed clothing versus traditional costumes. Last year we MELTED in our pirate wear and I definitely think that was a huge factor in our overall disappointment in the event. This year we will be dressed cooler, have Cruella's Hideaway to escape to for a/c AND endless snacking, and access to all-you-care-to-drink wine. It sounds like a winner already! Ha ha!

Spirit of Aloha is reserved, which we are also excited about. We secured tier 1 seating so hopefully we have a great view of the show. I have ordered is matching Hawaiian shirts and a pair of custom Hawaiian Mickey ears, which I expect should arrive sometime this week. I hope the ears are as cute in person as they were on the Etsy site!

We decided to do a day at Epcot this fall, so we bought one day tickets now in case the prices go up as the have customarily done in June. We are hoping that the Food & Wine festival is running, but even if it's not we will enjoy eating and drinking around the World. This would be our first time at Food & Wine, so fingers crossed that event isnt another Covid-19 casualty.

I secured a breakfast reservation for Boma, which was on Steve's wish list. It's his favorite breakfast on property and visiting AKL is always fun. I will be interested to see what changes are made at the buffets following the pandemic. I, for one, would be thrilled if they have servers dishing out the various foods versus a thousand hands on each serving spoon.

We have Whispering Canyon Cafe booked for our arrival night. This will be a first for us so we are pumped to check out the Wilderness Lodge after all these years!

And finally, I reserved the Tiger Tour at Busch Gardens. As cat lovers, this tour holds HUGE appeal......and we very much enjoyed both the tours we took in January at BG, so we have high hopes for this one as well.

Oh yeah! I almost forgot! We have also booked Gatorland's Night Shine for our final evening of vacation. This has been on our radar for several trips, and we got an excellent deal through Tickets at Work. While we have been to Gatorland several times during the day, heading into the swamp at night with flashlights to feed the gators should be a wonderfully memorable experience to cap off our fall trip. It's also worth mentioning that Gatorland has HUGE discounts right now on single day tickets, as well as a special offer on annual passes. If you were considering a ticket, buying now during the pandemic closure could save you some significant $s......and their use-by window is extremely generous.

 

[Joanna71985]

sounds like a great trip so far!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Sunday, January 26th: Universal, continued



Once we hopped off the train in Hogsmeade, we poked around a little bit, first checking out the standby time for Hagrids. As we expected, it was LONG (2+ hours)....even though the Studios had seemed almost empty. Now we knew where all the people were at!

Steve didn't feel like devoting that much of the day to standing in line (despite my encouragement to do so), so we stopped to say hello to the Hogwarts Express conductor instead.



We poked around some of the shops a bit, ducking into Honeydukes to browse, but it seemed really crowded in that area of the park (perhaps that only felt that way because the Studios had been SO quiet) so we opted to move on.

We walked through Jurassic Park. It was on my list of to-do's to meet Blue, but lines were pretty lengthy for that experience as well (likely due to the overflow from the very busy Hagrids/Hogsmeade), so we opted to leave that for another day. I think Steve thought I was disappointed (even though I wasn't....."there's always tomorrow") so he stopped to try and win me a dinosaur at one of the carnival games. He's quite adept at the balloon toss and easily snagged me my choice of small prizes. I love that the TM working the game decided to strike a pose for the picture!



With my new little friend along for the journey, we carried on through Jurassic Park and stopped for a ride on Kong (which only had a 15 minute posted wait, but was actually pretty much a walk on).

Once we arrived in Toon Lagoon, we detoured a bit to the area behind Popeye & Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges. We had watched a Tim Tracker video before we left on vacation where he recommended popping back there for some pretty lovely views (and some nice photo backdrops). We had never had reason or opportunity to stroll back there before this trip, but Tim Tracker has never let us down yet.....so, we made a pledge before we left Michigan to check it out this visit. Boy, was he right on the money.......seeing the park from that vantage point was spectacular!!





We took some time to walk all around that hidden area, and also discovered "Me Ship, The Olive" for the first time. Super cute! [We are filing these spots away in the back of our brains for when we hopefully travel some day with grandbabies]



There is also a great spot for watching riders get SOAKED on Bilge Rat Barges. Most of the rafts were running empty on the cooler winter day, but a few brave souls were giving it a whirl. Either they didn't know just how wet they were going to get, or they didn't care! LOL. Judging from the look on this guy's face, I'd say the water wasn't very warm.



By the time we popped back out onto the main walkway, I could tell Steve was a bit off.....and I quickly deduced that he was likely a tad hangry. I thought it might be time for a sit down and refresh with something to eat and (even more important) something to drink. I asked if he was interested in grabbing a light lunch, and he jumped at the offer.....while breakfast had been substantial, my big guy still needed a mid-day top up.



We chatted a bit about our options for lunch, and I could instantly tell that none of the quick service places that we talked about were tempting his taste buds. Since I suspected we were more in need of the break than we were for the food, I thought that a table service location might hold more appeal than Cafe 4, Thunder Falls Terrace or Circus McGurkus. I asked what he thought of sharing some appetizers at Confisco's.....and bingo! I hit the bullseye.



More to come!

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Sunday, January 26th: Universal, continued

View attachment 490260

Once we hopped off the train in Hogsmeade, we poked around a little bit, first checking out the standby time for Hagrids. As we expected, it was LONG (2+ hours)....even though the Studios had seemed almost empty. Now we knew where all the people were at!

Steve didn't feel like devoting that much of the day to standing in line (despite my encouragement to do so), so we stopped to say hello to the Hogwarts Express conductor instead.

View attachment 490261

We poked around some of the shops a bit, ducking into Honeydukes to browse, but it seemed really crowded in that area of the park (perhaps that only felt that way because the Studios had been SO quiet) so we opted to move on.

We walked through Jurassic Park. It was on my list of to-do's to meet Blue, but lines were pretty lengthy for that experience as well (likely due to the overflow from the very busy Hagrids/Hogsmeade), so we opted to leave that for another day. I think Steve thought I was disappointed (even though I wasn't....."there's always tomorrow") so he stopped to try and win me a dinosaur at one of the carnival games. He's quite adept at the balloon toss and easily snagged me my choice of small prizes. I love that the TM working the game decided to strike a pose for the picture!

View attachment 490264

With my new little friend along for the journey, we carried on through Jurassic Park and stopped for a ride on Kong (which only had a 15 minute posted wait, but was actually pretty much a walk on).

Once we arrived in Toon Lagoon, we detoured a bit to the area behind Popeye & Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges. We had watched a Tim Tracker video before we left on vacation where he recommended popping back there for some pretty lovely views (and some nice photo backdrops). We had never had reason or opportunity to stroll back there before this trip, but Tim Tracker has never let us down yet.....so, we made a pledge before we left Michigan to check it out this visit. Boy, was he right on the money.......seeing the park from that vantage point was spectacular!!

View attachment 490265

View attachment 490266

We took some time to walk all around that hidden area, and also discovered "Me Ship, The Olive" for the first time. Super cute! [We are filing these spots away in the back of our brains for when we hopefully travel some day with grandbabies]

View attachment 490267

There is also a great spot for watching riders get SOAKED on Bilge Rat Barges. Most of the rafts were running empty on the cooler winter day, but a few brave souls were giving it a whirl. Either they didn't know just how wet they were going to get, or they didn't care! LOL. Judging from the look on this guy's face, I'd say the water wasn't very warm.

View attachment 490269

By the time we popped back out onto the main walkway, I could tell Steve was a bit off.....and I quickly deduced that he was likely a tad hangry. I thought it might be time for a sit down and refresh with something to eat and (even more important) something to drink. I asked if he was interested in grabbing a light lunch, and he jumped at the offer.....while breakfast had been substantial, my big guy still needed a mid-day top up.

View attachment 490273

We chatted a bit about our options for lunch, and I could instantly tell that none of the quick service places that we talked about were tempting his taste buds. Since I suspected we were more in need of the break than we were for the food, I thought that a table service location might hold more appeal than Cafe 4, Thunder Falls Terrace or Circus McGurkus. I asked what he thought of sharing some appetizers at Confisco's.....and bingo! I hit the bullseye.

View attachment 490274

More to come!

Wow, those were some great views! You've convinced me, next trip we are absolutely going to check that out. It's interesting how hungry you can get just walking around a theme park. I think hunger plus sensory overload, and a break is an excellent solution! We ate at Confisco for the first time in January, I can't wait to hear what you had and what you thought!

 

[Penguinempress]

I'm so excited to see you back Gina! I just came across your trip report today and it provided some much-needed entertainment for my afternoon. Sounds like a great trip so far and with all the uncertainty from the virus, I'm glad you were able get a trip in before all that started, especially since your spring trip has now been rescheduled. I'm eager to hear how your Busch Gardens day goes - it's a park that I've been visiting my whole life and while it's definitely gone downhill in recent years, I still have a lot of love for it.

Oh, and I agree that the hammer game at Universal is rigged! My husband is a big strong guy and he can always hit 100 on those things (I have the giant stuffed animals to prove it!) but the last few times he's tried at Universal, no luck...though I didn't really want to carry around a giant stuffed Duff can all day so I was kinda relieved!

 

[mjhtvchick]

If you have any trouble finding the details about it, let me know and I'll message you on FB!



We are SUPER stoked about finally getting a chance to attend one of these much-loved meetups! We have always wanted to go, but the dates never seemed to work out for us. This is definitely what we are considering the consolation of having to move our May trip to early December (that, and being able to go to SeaWorld's Christmas Celebration). I will for sure let you know our thoughts after the event. I'm just a bit worried it will spoil us in the same way Disney After Hours has spoiled us, and we will never want to do a regular park day ever again! lol

I am thinking the same thing Gina! We have an August trip booked that we will almost surely cancel but I am thinking that if things start to improve, I will try to scratch something off my bucket list and head to Orlando for the first week of December to catch a meetup and some Christmas fun!



ETA: That is a great place for views - even better if you climb to the top of Me Ship, The Olive:



There are also great views from behind Mythos:



And right across from Port of Entry:



My favorite place, which is closed now due to the construction, was behind the Jurassic Park Discovery Center:



I always try to get shots from these locations on my trips!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Wow, those were some great views! You've convinced me, next trip we are absolutely going to check that out. It's interesting how hungry you can get just walking around a theme park. I think hunger plus sensory overload, and a break is an excellent solution! We ate at Confisco for the first time in January, I can't wait to hear what you had and what you thought!

Sorry to leave you hanging for so long! Confisco is one of our favourite places to eat in IOA.....how did you guys like it?

I'm so excited to see you back Gina! I just came across your trip report today and it provided some much-needed entertainment for my afternoon. Sounds like a great trip so far and with all the uncertainty from the virus, I'm glad you were able get a trip in before all that started, especially since your spring trip has now been rescheduled. I'm eager to hear how your Busch Gardens day goes - it's a park that I've been visiting my whole life and while it's definitely gone downhill in recent years, I still have a lot of love for it.

Oh, and I agree that the hammer game at Universal is rigged! My husband is a big strong guy and he can always hit 100 on those things (I have the giant stuffed animals to prove it!) but the last few times he's tried at Universal, no luck...though I didn't really want to carry around a giant stuffed Duff can all day so I was kinda relieved!

Busch Gardens was a HUGE hit for us.....we just wish we hadn't waited all these years to visit. We enjoyed it so much, I'm pretty sure we will schedule in a day there on every trip from here on out. We are excited to visit for their Howl-O-Scream in October and Christmastown in December this year!

I can't tell you how happy it makes me for your DH to have the same experience at the Sledgehomer game! Like you, I had dozens (literally) of HUGE prizes, some we even had to buy new luggage to get home!, from trips during the 2015-2018 timeframe. Steve would EASILY ring that bell first try. Now? He's whacking for all he's worth and comes super close (like, 98) but can never reach 100. Before we moved to Michigan, we donated 14 of the massive Minions to our firefighters Christmas toy drive. I have never seemed to find the right spot in our Michigan home for the rest of them, so I suppose it's a good thing he cant win any more of them now!! LOL

I am thinking the same thing Gina! We have an August trip booked that we will almost surely cancel but I am thinking that if things start to improve, I will try to scratch something off my bucket list and head to Orlando for the first week of December to catch a meetup and some Christmas fun!

ETA: That is a great place for views - even better if you climb to the top of Me Ship, The Olive:

View attachment 490485

There are also great views from behind Mythos:

View attachment 490486

And right across from Port of Entry:

View attachment 490487

My favorite place, which is closed now due to the construction, was behind the Jurassic Park Discovery Center:

View attachment 490488

I always try to get shots from these locations on my trips!

WOW!!! Those photos are BEAUTIFUL!

They are also a good reminder to all of us that slowing things down a bit, and taking in those off-the-pathway spots, can offer a peaceful respite to an otherwise chaotic park day. Well worth taking a theme park "time out" for some soothing views and stunning shots!

If you happen to decide to book the meet-up, be sure to let me know which weekend you pick! I would love to at least have the chance to say hello if we are both in the park at the same time!

If you end up sc

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Just popping in with a quick apology for the lack of updates all weekend long. We actually got some nice weather over the weekend (shocking, considering we've had snow flurries on and off for the last two weeks!) so we literally spent Friday night through Sunday afternoon outside and working on what we have affectionately dubbed "Pandemic Project #1". Everything but the Tiki Men sourced online (found those in the garden center at Meijer yesterday morning, my impulse purchase of the week!) and put together bit by bit as Mother Nature allowed. Here is where we started:



And this is the (almost) finished product:









And by night, with the torches lit:



By the time we finished working on it in the evening, and grabbed a walk along the trails after a quick dinner, I was asleep by 10 every night! Between the fresh air and physical labor, this old girl was pooped. I am hoping to get back on track either later today or FOR SURE tomorrow though, so you can expect an entry within the next 24 hours or so. I appreciate your patience.....we here in the north have to make hay while the sun shines, because heaven knows what the next weekend will bring (and for that matter, I have Pandemic Project #2 brewing.......poor Steve LOL!).

In other pre-trip planning news, I somehow managed to snag an Ohana reservation for dinner on the night we arrive in October. We have always always wanted to try that restaurant for dinner (we have enjoyed their breakfast on multiple visits) but could never snag one of their elusive ADR's. It meant I had to cancel Whispering Canyon Cafe, but I think it was a good trade-off (and it's a new experience for another new experience, so an "equal" trade that way). I had to back-door the ADR booking a bit (there was no availability for a party of 2, but there was for a party of 3.....so I booked the 3, then logged back in and changed the number of persons which worked just fine) but I was pretty excited we could make it work. It's a later ADR (9 pm) which isn't super ideal, but I'm going to keep looking for an earlier time slot in the event that the predictions of low attendance are correct and something opens up between 8 and 9. Otherwise, 9 is absolutely workable.....a small sacrifice for finally being able to cross another item off of our Disney Bucket List!

 

[Joanna71985]

that looks awesome! makes me wish I had a backyard

 

[I-4Bound]

We really liked Ohana for dinner! I hope y'all will, too.

 

[sdoll]

I had been following your trip reports in the years past but haven't been to active lately. We have a trip planned to Orlando, more specifically a week at Bonnet Creek July 10th-18th. The last couple of years we have changed the way we travel to Orlando and mostly do Disney water parks. The price is right and since we live in Ohio near Cedar Point my boys don't feel like they are missing out on rides too much. Early this year we decided to invite our neighbor boys as they are like family to us. We thought it would be fun for all of them and for us to share some of the magic. Here we are unsure if Bonnet Creek will be open in July but even more unsure if the water parks will be open. We have decided that even if Disney isn't open if we can make it to Orlando and we aren't breaking any crazy rules we will still try and go. It got me thinking about your trip reviews and all the fun non -park adventures you have tried. So I dug deep.. tried to remember your screen name and was on the hunt..I was so happy to find you quickly. I am reading your trip reports and making a list of all the fun things you and your family have done over the years.
So far for my son's 15th birthday I think we will try Capone's (if it's open) based off of you mentioning it in your current review.
On a side note we live just south of you outside of Toledo. I am in your neck of the woods every weekend as my boys both play hockey. I am dying to know what antique/craft place you work at. I love antiques!!!
If you haven't found your way to the Toledo Zoo you need to make that a must of places to visit. We don't have Jack Hanna but we have been voted the best zoo in the US multiple times, come in nice weather but coming for the Lights before Christmas is a must, you won't be disappointed. I am open to any trip suggestions you have if we can't do the parks. We will have 2-15 year old's and 3-13 year old's. I so hope we can still take our trip!!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I had been following your trip reports in the years past but haven't been to active lately. We have a trip planned to Orlando, more specifically a week at Bonnet Creek July 10th-18th. The last couple of years we have changed the way we travel to Orlando and mostly do Disney water parks. The price is right and since we live in Ohio near Cedar Point my boys don't feel like they are missing out on rides too much. Early this year we decided to invite our neighbor boys as they are like family to us. We thought it would be fun for all of them and for us to share some of the magic. Here we are unsure if Bonnet Creek will be open in July but even more unsure if the water parks will be open. We have decided that even if Disney isn't open if we can make it to Orlando and we aren't breaking any crazy rules we will still try and go. It got me thinking about your trip reviews and all the fun non -park adventures you have tried. So I dug deep.. tried to remember your screen name and was on the hunt..I was so happy to find you quickly. I am reading your trip reports and making a list of all the fun things you and your family have done over the years.
So far for my son's 15th birthday I think we will try Capone's (if it's open) based off of you mentioning it in your current review.
On a side note we live just south of you outside of Toledo. I am in your neck of the woods every weekend as my boys both play hockey. I am dying to know what antique/craft place you work at. I love antiques!!!
If you haven't found your way to the Toledo Zoo you need to make that a must of places to visit. We don't have Jack Hanna but we have been voted the best zoo in the US multiple times, come in nice weather but coming for the Lights before Christmas is a must, you won't be disappointed. I am open to any trip suggestions you have if we can't do the parks. We will have 2-15 year old's and 3-13 year old's. I so hope we can still take our trip!!

Hi Sara! Welcome aboard!

Our son LOVED our water park trips years ago (all those August vacations that were oppressively hot, but was the only time of year we could escape for a week without having to worry about school or sports commitments). I will keep my fingers crossed that the state of the world is resuming some sort of normalcy by the time your July adventures roll around. It's so hard to know right now, isn't it? A part of me thinks that the water parks will be the best places to visit when things start to reopen (surely chlorine has some sort of disinfecting benefits against the transmission of Covid-19?) but perhaps I'm way off base....or just wishful thinking.

Capones will be a fabulous place to celebrate your son's birthday! Be sure to let them know in advance that he's celebrating his special day, as they have a special section of the show where they call out birthdays and anniversaries in a very Capones-like fashion. All those teen boys should LOVE the buffet as well! There is SO MUCH FOOD!

As far as Toledo is concerned.....it is SUCH an easy drive from where we live! (right around an hour, sometimes less if traffic is light on the interstate). We are so close, in fact, that we were annual passholders at the Toledo Zoo the first year we lived in Michigan: we fell in love with the zoo so much that we upgraded to an annual pass before we left that first day. We have visited twice for the Lights Before Christmas and were blown away both times (loved that it was free the year we had the annual pass, too......there is no such benefit for us as Detroit Zoo annual passmembers for their Wild Lights). We also went one year for Luminous Nights, with all the Chinese lanterns......so fun!! We have attended the Trans Siberian Orchestra concert at the Huntington Center the last 3 Christmases, visited the Great Lakes Museum, eaten at Tony Packos.....we've tried to hit most of the highlights! It's a great little city (though I wish the downtown had a couple of more coffee shops.....we can never seem to find many places down there to sit and enjoy a beverage before the TSO).

Hmmmm.......suggestions for teenage boys in the summer.......here's what Steve and I came up with (things our Jake enjoyed at that age):

A beach day (Daytona is a cool place for teens)

Gatorland (Maybe add zip lining? For sure do the Adventure Hour, its such an incredible experience that the boys would surely be humbled by [hand feeding HUGE gators chunks of raw meat, no fences/barries between you and them]. And....Gatorland has DEEP discounts on one day tickets right now, which are being offered until the quarantine is lifted but can be used until the end of December).

Mini golf. Congo River and Pirates Cove are both excellent, as are the courses at Universal. Check Groupon for a good deal on both Lost Caverns and Gator Golf & Adventure Park.....not as superbly themed as the aforementioned courses, but good value and fun nonetheless.

Fun Spot America (rides, go karting, etc.)

Icon Orlando (Madame Tussauds Wax Museum for selfies with the stars, plus a ride on the giant wheel......and perhaps even that crazy swing thing that they built outside if they are real thrill seekers)

If they are history buffs, perhaps the Titanic Museum? (Jake loved it as a teenager, but he inherited his dad's affinity for history)

A helicopter ride (we did this last October, and it was such a cool experience!)

Discovery Cove

One of the favorite things we did on our trips with Jake was to rent jet skis and go skiing for 2 hours on one of the beautiful lakes in Clermont. Such gorgeous scenery and almost no chance of you running into any other human being. This was several years ago and to this day, the guys STILL love talking about that day.

I've always wanted to visit Rock Springs at Kelly Park and go tubing in the natural springs. While I can't attest to its merits personally, it looks mighty awesome from the youtube videos I've watched.

The Outta Control Dinner show is excellent and the menu is very teen friendly (unlimited popcorn, salad, pizza, and pop, plus cake for dessert). Tony Brent is INCREDIBLE!

If I think of anything else, I'll be sure to post it here.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

On a side note we live just south of you outside of Toledo. I am in your neck of the woods every weekend as my boys both play hockey. I am dying to know what antique/craft place you work at. I love antiques!!!

Whoops, forgot to tell you where I work! If you know you're going to be in the area on a specific weekend, give me a heads up and I'd be happy to meet you there and say hello.

Town Peddler

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Sunday, January 26th: Universal, continued



There was no wait at Confisco's, so upon checking in at the restaurant entrance we were seated within minutes. We had a nice quiet little booth along the back wall which was the ideal spot for resting and decompressing. Our server brought us a pair of ice cold waters which we drained before we even finished perusing the menu. We hadn't really felt very thirsty upon arrival, but apparently we were in need of a hydration break a little more than we thought.

It's become kind of a tradition for our lunchtime visits to Confisco to order appetizers versus large entrees. We don't need as much food on a mid-day break (as compared to a dinner meal) and we had eaten a hearty breakfast that morning, so neither of us were super starving. We opted to order a pair of appies to share: this time, it was the loaded nachos (with some of the goop that I don't like served on the side to keep my portion "clean" lol) and a chicken quesadilla.



We had a wonderful server who was great about ensuring that the order came out just as ordered and the portions were more than enough for the two of us. The quesadilla was the easy favorite (so, so good!) but the nachos were pretty tasty too. The cheese did soften the chips a bit but otherwise we had no complaints. It was so much nicer to sit and enjoy a table service meal versus grabbing a quick bite in a one of the busier, more chaotic quick service locations. And with our pass member discount, the price for this meal isn't much more than we would have paid for two burger meals with a couple of sides of fries: the nachos were $10, the quesadilla $12, and I believe our Premier AP saved us an additional 20%. For theme park dining, it doesn't get any more affordable.

After dinner, we headed to Seuss Landing for some whimsical fun.



We rode Cat in the Hat, took a spin on the High in the Sky Trolley Train, browsed some of the shops, and walked right up to meet these two (who were standing in an obscure spot where apparently no one knew they were hanging out):



We also had the most animated encounter with the rascally Mr. Grinch. He was in quite a "mood" LOL and took exception to our shirts, which read (in case you can't see the small type): "Greetings from Orlando, The City Beautiful".



The Grinch did not think Orlando was a beautiful city. He put his head in his hands and emphatically indicated "no, no, NO!".

We had watched the Grinch interact with a few other families ahead of us, and he had delighted in pulling on pigtails and knocking off backpacks in true Grinchy style as his handler tried desperate to capture that "perfect photo" on each guest's phone. We should not have been surprised, then, when he promptly flipped Steve's hat around when it came time to say cheese!



Steve turned it back properly, and the Grinch spun it around again. I kind of liked the new look! LOL

Once we'd had our fill of Dr. Seuss, we carried onward to the Lost Continent where we had a chance to say hello to one of my FAVORITE characters......Puss In Boots!



Being a self-admitted "cat person", it will not shock a single one of you to know that it made my day to get a hug from the dashing Puss. What's not to love about a cat in a swashbuckler's hat?

We also ran into the beautiful She-Ra, one of the newer characters at Universal. Talk about feeling self conscious....I felt my age (and my plain-ness) standing next to that beautiful young heroine. She was unbelievably sweet and carried off her character PERFECTLY.



We spent a little bit more time poking around the Lost Continent, taking a few minutes to chat with the Talking Fountain.....



....as well as checking out some of the super cool shops in this section of the park (I love the place with the name Coat of Arms! Someday I'm going to splurge for one of those and have it framed for our home). We also dropped in to our favorite store (or perhaps that's MY favorite store?) in IOA, Pearl Factory. Steve picked out several things he knew I'd like and wanted desperately to buy me something (it's become a bit of a tradition on the last few trips) but I was hesitant to make that big purchase this early in the vacation. Especially since we were planning to visit Busch Gardens in a few days.....that might be a souvenir budget buster right there!!

Coming up: Superheros and.......Dole Whips?!?!?

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Sunday, January 26th: Universal, continued

I knew Steve was itching to get over to HIS favorite spot in the park, so that's where we headed next.....Marvel Superhero Island!



This is where Steve ceases to be a big, strong, mature guy and releases his inner child without apology. He could happily spend his entire day in this section of the park alone and consider it a day well spent. Our first stop, of course, was to see our buddy Spiderman, who always greets us with a warm handshake and never fails to make us feel like we were his most important guests of the day. Even I, who generally has NO interest in the Marvel characters, can't help but be charmed by the sweet and genuine Spidey.

Steve was inside one of the shops while I was out taking photos when I happened to see Dr. Doom and The Green Goblin come sauntering up from the alley where Dr. Doom's Fearfall is located. Doom is one of Steve's favorite characters at IOA, so I swiftly ran in to retrieve him.......Dr. Doom isn't one of the "scheduled" characters (even though he's generally there daily) so you kinda gotta catch him when you get the chance. He also tends to draw a crowd pretty quick .... and Goblin is a hard guy to get to stand still at the best of times!!



What was kind of cool about this particular meet-and-greet is that both Doom and Goblin noticed Steve's hat: a Marvel ball cap that we had purchased a couple of trips ago when we had the Marvel Superheros Character Dinner booked at Cafe 4. We specifically bought that hat with the intention of getting each of the superheros at that meal to sign it, and it has been Steve's prized possession ever since (and quite a conversation piece among many of the other face characters at Universal). Doom plucked it off his head, and quickly noticed that his signature was no where to be found....he isn't one of the character dinner characters (nor is Goblin) so they were pretty much the only signatures that were missing. Their handler quickly indicated that he could help remedy such a travesty, and swiftly produced a fresh black sharpie. Within a few minutes, Steve's signature hat was happily bearing a new pair of autographs.



Steve was THRILLED. His day was made, right there.

By the time we wrapped up with Doom and Goblin, they had begun announcing the arrival of the rest of the Superheros. After watching them roar in on their custom ATV's, we made our way around to each of them for handshakes and pictures.

Storm & Rogue were very interested in Steve's hat, and made a big ol' fuss over him as he proudly showed off his fresh autographs from Doom & Goblin.



He was quite happy to soak up all the attention these two ladies were generously lavishing on him!



We had a great chat with the scruffy Wolverine, a fellow Michigander (who REMEMBERED US from last visit!! How cool is that?)......



.....and we enjoyed a nice long interaction with Cyclops (who Steve always feels a bit bad for because his line is never as long as the others):



....but one of MY favorite meet-and-greets, aside from Spiderman, is always with this guy:



It's hard not to be charmed by Captain America. And this time, he asked if I wanted to hold his shield for the picture. Heck ya, you don't have to ask this girl twice!! I think this was one of Steve's favorite pictures from the whole trip.

I absolutely LOVED, even on that low crowd day, that they had My Universal Photos photographers with almost every character. While few people seemed to have a photo card, those of us who did were VERY appreciative of their presence.

We decided to celebrate our major score on catching all the Marvel characters with a sweet treat .... and thanks to yet another Tim Track video, we knew exactly what we wanted to splurge on (no, Steve shouldn't really have any of the scrumptious desserts from the parks with his diabetes, but if we are careful he can usually cheat every now and again with not too terrible results). We headed up through Toon Lagoon and caught sight of this sign which seemed appropriate for a pic given the day of the week:



Following that quick pic, we wiggled our way through the crowd and hopped in line here:



But, I've hit my 10-photos-per-post limit (again!)......so stay tuned....

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Those apps at Confisco look absolutely delicious! I'm pretty sure I had a salad there and I was impressed by the freshness and variety. We also stopped in for lunch and found it to be such a nice refuge from all the excitement and busy day.

You guys do a fantastic job of finding all the characters. Love that you finished up the hat with those rarer finds!

And can I just say your outdoor project is gorgeous?! Very nice job, I know you will enjoy many hours out there relaxing after long days.

Can't wait to see your celebration snack!