Update 07/20!!! 1 Mom, 2 Kids, 3 Resorts and 6 Parks! An October 2014 TR

[Tink-erin-belle]

Glad you and your kids got to enjoy a nice vacation together, sounds very well deserved! Subbing and can't wait to read!

Hi, DisDance! We had an awesome vacation, thanks! I can’t wait to share more than just our travel day

I can't wait to read more, there is something a little bit more special about a trip that was so long in the making.

Hi, marmalade! This trip was very special! I’ll try not to wait so long between posts next time

 

[Victoriasmom98]

I CANNOT BELIEVE all that you went through on your travel day. OMG!! First of all, I can totally understand Auntie Flo and her evil ways. Sometimes I have cramps so bad and am so sick that I actually take an oxycodone for the pain. It's awful! At least you had super cheap seats so that the loss of money wasn't a hit you couldn't recover from. I would be scared to death to drive 14 hours!!! I can't even imagine that. Heck, I'm nervous about driving 3 hours to Boston for Jingle Ball in 30 days. I can't wait to hear all about Cabana Bay!!!

 

[leahlefler]

Oh my goodness, what a crazy travel day! I am so excited to read about Cabana Bay and Universal. We are only doing Disney on our next trip, but the boys want to go to Universal to see Harry Potter World, so I'm sure our next Orlando trip will include Potter World!

 

[DisDance]

Wasn't expecting that plot twist! You are so dedicated driving through the night like that! From my understanding Cabana Bay does not offer the express passes, is that true? If so why? Can't wait to see pictures!

 

[Peach2214]

What a Trooper ! Mom of the year right there. I don't know if I could have hopped in the car and drove !!

 

[Biggie Smalls]

Oh I hate that happened and you had to drive! Traffic can be a huge pain up here but you made good time considering- can wait to hear about what's next

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

WOW!!!!!! I cannot believe all you went through to just get there! WTG, rolling with it and finding a solution! I cannot believe you drove all night and you are going to hit Universal before sleeping. Cannot wait to hear more.

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Sorry for being MIA, guys! I won’t give you all of my excuses for not posting. I am just a bad DISer!!! But, I will tell you that I have uploaded most of my pictures to Flickr and I am trying to write up a few posts ahead of time so that I can update more regularly! Please hang in there with me! I definitely want to share my trip with you guys! I’m going to give you three posts in one today! Back to the TR…

After an unexpected 17 hour road trip, you might think that I was ready to just crash and not wake up until the next day, right? Not this commando tourist! Actually, I probably shouldn’t describe my touring style as “commando” but it is “go hard or go home”! So the kids and I hopped out of the car and excitedly went into the lobby of the Cabana Bay Beach Resort to check in. This dark picture doesn’t do the lobby justice:



Ugh! There was a pole right in the middle of the picture! I have a few other pictures of the lobby that I will share on another post about another day, but on this day, I also took a picture of the palm trees in the middle of the lobby:



That more accurately shows how bright and airy it was in the resort lobby. I only had time to take those two pictures because the line to check in moved very swiftly!

We got our room keys and our information packet…but we didn’t get any tickets! I purchased a package with one day park to park passes as well as a meal plan, but that wasn’t included in the packet, so I was a little concerned. The front desk clerk was perfectly friendly, but it annoyed me a little that she mentioned – almost as an afterthought – that I had to get my tickets at a different counter in the lobby. She pointed us in the general direction, but wasn’t specific about what to do. That was the first time that I saw the difference between Universal customer service and Disney customer service. I didn’t care though! The kids and I were checked in and we would be going to the parks soon! So I went to the counter where I was directed and asked that clerk if I could please pick up our tickets. She pointed us farther down the counter to a little kiosk and was sort of dismissive when she said that I just needed to swipe a credit card to get them. OK, I am really not the type to complain about little things, but I wasn’t aware that this was a self-service type of set up, so I didn’t like that it seemed like she had to stop herself from rolling her eyes when she told me what to do. Yes, she probably had to answer that question a million times a day. And yes, she probably could tell I was one of those dummies who didn’t do research on UO before her trip but I just felt like it was poor customer service for her to have a tone in her voice. I wasn’t going to let anyone ruin my vacation high, though, so I went over to the little kiosk to get our tickets:



OK, I felt a little silly when it said right on the machine to swipe credit card to pick up tickets but still! I didn’t see that machine when I walked in, so I didn’t know! So, you see how there is a little opening next to the place to swipe the card? Well, the tickets were spat out of there one by one and half of them fell on the floor! There were admission tickets, meal tickets, and a City Walk pass for each of us. I promise I’m going to stop complaining about this, but it just seemed weird to me that we weren’t given the tickets when we checked in. I am just spoiled by Disney’s full service, I guess. Oh, and I was tempted to take a picture of all of the tickets on the floor so I could share it with you guys, but I didn’t want to get a dirty look from the ticket lady at the counter!

The kids and I got back in the car and made our way to the parking area for our section of the hotel. We were staying in the Continental section of the resort, and I was able to find a parking spot very close to the entryway. We gathered our things and made our way up to room 4546!



The room was gorgeous and had a fantastic pool view! I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves:

























The kids and I LOVED it there! Did we love it more than we loved Disney resorts? Well, I’m going to have to make you guys wait on the answer for that one! But I can tell you that we absolutely will be staying at Cabana Bay again in the future! If that was what they called a “Value” resort, then I can’t wait to try out their other resorts! By the way, I will reveal that Cabana Bay got cool points from me for having those USB ports next to the power outlets! They were a lifesaver because one of our phone charger plugs stopped working, so we were able to just connect the cable directly into the USB port! Art of Animation and All Star Movies didn’t have that and it became a bit of a nuisance to rely on one charger for three phones. But, I can’t give any more away than that! I have to keep you guys in suspense!

What I won’t keep you in suspense about is our trip to UO! In the next post, I’ll let you know all about the WWoHP…oh yeah, and all the other stuff Universal had to offer!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

I didn’t remember to take notes on this day, so I am going to have to rely on my pictures and my sleep deprived memory for this post!

The kids and I took showers and got ready to tour the parks in about an hour. We were raring to go! One of my sisters texted me to see if we had gotten settled into the hotel yet. I replied to her at 11:59pm that we were on our way to the parks right then! Yeah, we didn’t make it to UO until a little after noon, but it ended up being OK because the crowds weren’t bad at all. I’m getting ahead of myself, though. First, I should let you know that the bus stop for the bus going to UO was extremely convenient as it was just down the sidewalk from our section of the resort. The kids and I waited for less than five minutes for a bus to show up, but I don’t know if that was how they were regularly scheduled or if we just had good timing. In case you’re wondering why I didn’t drive to the parks, you pay $10 per night to park at Cabana Bay, but UO parking isn’t included! I think that was another $10, but don’t quote me on that. I know I picked a heck of a time to get cheap, but I just couldn’t see the logic behind resort guests paying to park at UO. I guess it is because of City Walk, but still, I would assume that day-guests to City Walk would be locals or tourists staying at other resorts, so why make UO resort guests pay to park? Anyway! LOL! The point is that the UO bus service was very convenient and I enjoyed not having to hop in the car again to drive to the parks! Now that we’re on the bus, let me take a #selfie:



Actually, I heard that they are trying to get people to call selfies with more than one person in it “us-ies”. Come on! LOL! Sorry! Tangent! Moving on… within a few minutes, we were at City Walk. The kids and I took the moving sidewalk to the entrance to City Walk:




Actually, the kids wanted to walk, but I wanted to take the moving sidewalk so that I could take those pictures! Trust me, it is going to become a recurring theme that I wanted to take pictures when the kids were ready to do something else! Haha! I stopped to take a picture of the Universal globe and that was when it truly struck me that the kids and I were really at Universal! I saw a Universal photographer and we stopped to take a picture to commemorate the moment! Ironically, it is the only picture in my Universal photo package that I can’t find! LOL! I’m going to have to see if I can find that picture. Maybe it just wasn’t associated to the account yet. In any case, it just gives us an excuse to go back!

Universal Studios was up first! I wanted to go there before Islands of Adventure because US was closing at 7pm for the Halloween Horror Nights. Coy and I saw signage for that event everywhere we turned at US, so it really piqued our interest! Hopefully we can go next year. True was just too young for it this year and all of the signs for HHN that excited me and Coy terrified True!

So, there was a very small line to get into US. As we stood in line, I took the time to take a picture of the nine (yes, I said NINE!) tickets that were spat out of that machine at the resort!



I separated the admission tickets and handed one to each kid. When we got to the front of the line, I thought it was a little weird that we had to do a finger scan AND sign the back of the tickets:



That was Coy signing. I thought that maybe he had to sign because he looks a little older than 15 because he is so tall, but they had True sign too. I don’t know why they had to sign, but maybe I would have known if I had done any research at all for the UO portion of this trip! Haha!

The kids and I were absolutely starving, but we didn’t want to waste park time by stopping immediately to eat. The first ride we went on was Shrek. The standby line was only about 10 minutes, I think, so we hopped in line and looked at the hilarious signs that were posted along the queue:





I loved how they poked fun at Disney in true Shrek fashion! Welcome to Duloc!



Shrek 4-D was a lot of fun and it made me want to watch the movies all over again! I see a Shrek dinner and a movie night coming on soon! Ugh, I have to start doing those movie nights again! They were so much fun to do with the kids! Anyway, after Shrek, we wanted to do Minion Mayhem, but the standby line was 60 minutes. I had hoped to catch it on our way out of the park that evening, but the line never went under 60 minutes, so we never did get to experience it. Next time! The kids and I were so hungry, and I knew we needed to stop to eat. I was on a mission to go to the back of the park! If we were going to spend precious park time eating, then we were going to eat in a place that the kids and I would all enjoy! The Leaky Cauldron!

I can’t remember if we stopped to do another ride on the way there. I kind of feel like we did, but I don’t have any pictures to back that up. Hmm… I do remember that US looked absolutely NOTHING like how it did when I was a kid, so the park felt brand new to me! As we walked, we made note of the things that we wanted to do after we ate. Now I remember! We didn’t ride anything else at that point because the kids kept asking to eat at every place that we passed on the way to WWoHP. I felt like the worst mom ever, but I knew they would survive a few more minutes of hunger! LOL! When we finally got to The Leaky Cauldron, there was a line that wrapped around the inside of the building. I knew that we were in trouble then! As soon as True saw it, she said that the line was too long and that we should have eaten somewhere else. Oh no! I hated to admit that she might have been right. But then, I saw that the line was moving pretty fast. But there was no convincing True of that! We passed by the case of food that was on display and I asked the kids what they would like to eat. True said that she didn’t want to eat anything there. Ugh! She had a bit of an attitude about it, so I just ignored her. I hope no one thinks I’m awful for doing that, but I knew that #1 there were things on the menu that she would eat because she and Coy aren’t picky eaters at all, and #2 when she gets that pre-teen attitude, it is better to just let it roll off of my back instead of getting pulled into a disagreement with her. She’s such a sweetheart, but when that pre-teen attitude kicks in, watch out! LOL! Plus, I was hangry (so hungry that I was angry LMAO) and I knew she was hangry too. I asked Coy what he wanted to eat and he was fascinated by all of the choices!

Within ten minutes, we were at the counter where we could order. The kids hadn’t even gotten a chance to decide what they were going to eat yet. Harry Potter or someone worked a little bit of magic on us because we weren’t cranky anymore. I think it was the beautiful theming of the restaurant! We all ended up ordering the Fish and Chips, but Coy asked the woman (I mean witch!) taking our order what a Toad in the Hole was, and she apparently stayed in character and gave the perfect answer! I couldn’t hear, but Coy laughed. I asked him a few days ago what she said, but he couldn’t remember. He just knew it was really funny. Anyway, I got a raspberry iced tea or something, True got a lemonade, but we all wanted what Coy got, which was a pear cider! He loved it, and I am definitely getting one next time! Anyway, I am getting ahead of myself again because we hadn’t even gotten to our table yet. So, after we ordered, I gave my meal voucher to the witch but, had I done my research, I would have known that she needed all three meal vouchers. Not a big deal since I had all of them with me. It’s a little less convenient than just having everything associated to a Magicband like it is in WDW but, again, it wasn’t a big deal. Just wanted to let you guys know what to expect if you go there. She gave us our drinks and we were directed to go to the wizard who would show us to our seats. I think that was how they kept the line moving. Everything was synchronized very well because even though it was a quick service restaurant, they were in control of the seating and it kept everything very organized. Side note: I just looked at the park map and saw that it is technically a full service restaurant. Well, they used the quick service meals on our plans, so I don’t know if that was a mistake or not.

On to the eats! Just kidding! I don’t have any pictures of the fish and chips! Ugh! I distinctly remember taking them, though, because the fish was cooked perfectly and I flaked some of it apart so that I could take a picture of it. How many ways can you make and plate fish and chips, though? You’re not missing out on some fantastic food photography with that one LOL! But the fish was absolutely delicious and the fries (cut into wedges) were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. That meal was SO good and totally worth the wait! All of us were in a much better mood after that!



Here’s Coy telling True that she’s crazy for eating a lemon, and True trying not to show how sour it was:



Haha!

These pictures aren’t great because of the low light in there, but I wanted to get a few pictures so that you guys could see what it looked like in the restaurant:













Don’t worry. My picture taking gets better the next day! I blame the lack of sleep for this day’s pictures! After we finished eating, we made our way to Gringott’s to help Harry escape! On the way there, we peeked inside a few of the shops. As an avid reader of the Harry Potter series and watcher of the movies, I think Universal did an outstanding job at recreating the Diagon Alley!











When we finally got to Gringott’s, the line was back around the side of the building and was supposed to be a 30 minute wait. The kids and I are spoiled because we have always travelled to Disney World in the off-season, so we never had to wait in a line that was 30 minutes long! Haha! True didn’t want to wait, but I convinced her that it would be worth it since it was the only ride in Diagon Alley! Then she said she was thirsty, and she asked for a bottled water that was on display at a cart next to the line. I asked her if she could wait a few minutes because there was probably going to be a water fountain next to the building once we got that far in line, but she said she was SUPER thirsty and couldn’t wait. OK, fine. I hopped out of line and found out that a snack credit could be traded for a water or it was $4 out of pocket. Well, I wasn’t going to waste a snack credit on water when I knew there was Butterbeer to be had, so I shelled out the four bucks. I hopped back in line and gave True her water. In case you were wondering, this is what a $4 bottle of water looks like in the Wizarding World:



At least they themed it! That was pretty cool! Just as I was taking that picture, Coy looked ahead in the line and said, “Mom, you’re going to be mad in about 30 seconds.” I asked him what he meant, but he just gave me a sly grin. Lo and behold, there was a water fountain just ahead of us! LMAO! All I could do was laugh! I playfully said to True, “I told you so!” By the way, I kept the Gilly Water sticker off of the bottle. At least I could have a souvenir of the $4 water, right??? I’m pretty sure I lost it because I haven’t seen it since we got back from our trip, but it did give me a good idea to make Gilly Water labels for when we do a Harry Potter dinner and a movie night!

We finally made our way into the bank after about 30 minutes. I didn’t mind the wait at all because I know people have waited much longer to get inside. I did have to convince the kids that this was just because it was a new attraction and that the majority of the other rides in the park wouldn’t have such a long wait. Anyhow, I have to apologize again for these pictures because I took them as we were walking through the lobby of Gringott’s. A small part of me wanted to stop to take better pictures, but a much bigger part of me couldn’t wait to get on the ride!






The battery on my phone died right then, so I didn’t get to take any more blurry pictures. My replacement battery was with the rest of our stuff in the locker outside of the ride. Let me tell you guys that this ride was AMAZING!!! The kids and I loved it! It wasn’t at all what I expected! I also liked that there was a photo opportunity before the ride:

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

After we made our Escape from Gringott’s, we left the WWoHP. The kids and I walked past the Simpson’s Ride, but I can’t remember why we didn’t ride it. I’m assuming it was because the line was too long, because I know that all three of us [iI]wanted[/I] to ride it. Oh well. We have A LOT of stuff to do the next time we are in UO! We ended up going to ET Adventure and I was very excited because that was one of the few things I recognized from when I was a kid! I think something must have happened to the memory on my phone that day because I know that I took pictures of the ET queue and in the gift shop. Oh well. Universal’s photo package comes to the rescue again!



This was one of the few things that I did research before the trip! I knew I wanted to get the kids pictures taken with ET! Coy was reluctant, but when I told him that I really wanted him to take the pictures, he agreed. His face on this first picture pretty much shows how he felt about the whole ordeal:



LMAO!!! But he got into the spirit and smiled for the next picture:



True is almost always willing to take a picture, so she was much more willing to pose!





I love those pictures! LOVE them! Then the photographer wanted us all to take a picture together in the closet with ET! I didn’t really want to because I kind of hate having pictures taken of me (ironic, I know! LOL!), but the kids dragged me into the picture!



After that, Coy saw a pressed penny machine outside of the gift shop. The kids and I all love collecting pressed pennies, but Coy has the biggest collection out of all of us. Grr… I know I had a picture of him making the pressed pennies! Something definitely happened to the memory on my phone that day. I’m missing a lot of stuff from UO! Or maybe I was just so tired that I hallucinated taking pictures! Haha!

We decided to make our way out of that park to go to IoA, but not before going on Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit! When the kids and I got in line, the ride attendant asked us if we had anything in our pockets. We all said no, since we dropped all of our stuff in a locker. Then he asked again, “Are you sure you don’t have anything in your pockets? It WILL come out on this ride!” We laughed and assured him that we didn’t have anything, but he was definitely right about that ride making things come out of your pockets! That ride was insane! The kids and I loved it! It was also a VERY long ride! I remember thinking, “When will it be over???” LOL! But it was a lot of fun, and I can’t wait to ride it again!

As we were leaving the park, we decided that the next time, we would have to spend two days in UO. There was just so much to see in US and we hadn’t even gotten to IoA yet! We walked out of that park and made our way to IoA. I did really like that the two parks were walking distance from each other! That is one thing that they have on Disney World! No monorails, no buses, no finding spaces in the parking lot… Just walk on over!

I wanted to go straight over to Hogsmeade, but the kids wanted to go to Jurassic Park, so we headed that way. We didn’t do any of the cool coasters on the way because we planned on doing them on the way out that night. We got in line for Jurassic Park River Adventure and put on our ponchos! I was so glad that we did because it was already getting cooler and I didn’t want us to get too wet. That ride was pretty fun, but I’m not much in to the log flume type of rides. I just hate that drop at the end!



My face looks crazy! Coy is laughing! True just doesn’t want to get wet! Coy also noticed that this picture is pretty cool since it looks like the woman in front of me is trying to dodge a dinosaur bite! LOL! The kids loved that ride, so they decided to go again! I am so glad that the kids are old enough now that they can go on rides together and I can sit them out if I want! I really hate log flume rides, but the kids love them!



True is trying to stay dry again and Coy is the one making the crazy face this time! I think he did it on purpose, though, because we talked about making silly faces during the ride photos. Just wait until you see some of the stuff we did later in the trip! Haha! Anyway, since I didn’t ride with the kids, I was able to take a couple of pictures of them on the ride:





We wanted to go to the Discovery Center next but it was closed before we got there! I took a couple of pictures of the dino bones, though:







Finally, we were on our way to Hogsmeade!









The first thing we did was get frozen Butterbeers!



We thought they were so delicious! I heard that a lot of people thought they were too sweet, but we thought they were perfect! We sat down in the owlery to drink them as we decided what to do next. As we talked, we saw a lot of people walking around in full wizard regalia, and Coy surprised me by saying that he wanted to do that the next time we went to UO! He wants the robes, the scarf, and the wand! I was shocked by that because Coy is usually not the type to make himself stand out in a crowd! Then again, maybe we were the ones standing out because it was clear from our clothes that we were Muggles! It was really cool that the wands were interactive with some of the shops and the fixtures in Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley! I really didn’t think that Coy and True would want wands – I thought I was the only geeky one in the family to want that – but they are already planning on getting them on the next trip! They want to see if one of them gets picked at Ollivander’s, but they’ll just buy the wands if they don’t get picked. I love that they are already planning out a future trip!

After we finished our Butterbeers, we went on Dragon Challenge, which was a really fun coaster! Then we went on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey which was our favorite ride in both parks! It was so incredibly cool!



Even after that rush of adrenaline, we were all feeling pretty tired. I think it was about 8 pm at that point. We headed out of the park and into a throng of people entering City Walk! Most of them were probably headed to HHN, and Coy and I made plans again to go to HHN next year. All three of us want to go back to UO soon. Even though we didn’t get to do much (especially compared to everything we did at WDW in the coming days!) we had a lot of fun!

We got on the bus to take us back to Cabana Bay and were back at the resort fairly quickly. We picked up something at the resort to eat, but I can’t remember what. I barely remember that night! At that point, I had been up for about 38 hours straight (not including the two 30 minute cat naps I took on the drive down to Orlando), so it doesn’t surprise me that I don’t remember. All I know is that I slept very well and the kids and I were nice and refreshed when we woke up the next morning! I’ll leave you all with that, but I’ll share the rest of the photo package pictures that we got at UO. I especially love the one with the cabbie photobombing us!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

***New Post on previous page!***

I CANNOT BELIEVE all that you went through on your travel day. OMG!! First of all, I can totally understand Auntie Flo and her evil ways. Sometimes I have cramps so bad and am so sick that I actually take an oxycodone for the pain. It's awful! At least you had super cheap seats so that the loss of money wasn't a hit you couldn't recover from. I would be scared to death to drive 14 hours!!! I can't even imagine that. Heck, I'm nervous about driving 3 hours to Boston for Jingle Ball in 30 days. I can't wait to hear all about Cabana Bay!!!

That was exactly what I took for the cramps, Ann! They very very rarely get that bad! I was just glad the pill worked and that it was out of my system by the time I decided to take a 14 hour car ride! You are taking Victoria to Jingle Ball?!? I better not tell my kids! They wanted to go to Jingle Ball in DC and didn’t tell me until the last minute! So the tickets were all sold out. I looked on Stub Hub and the least expensive seats were like $100 each and they were in the nosebleed section! That’ll teach the kids to wait until the last minute! I hope Victoria has a lot of fun at the concert! You’ll do fine on the 3 hour drive

Oh my goodness, what a crazy travel day! I am so excited to read about Cabana Bay and Universal. We are only doing Disney on our next trip, but the boys want to go to Universal to see Harry Potter World, so I'm sure our next Orlando trip will include Potter World!

I highly recommend seeing Harry Potter! We had a ball and we can’t wait to go back! I would definitely do two days at UO, if you can, because there is so much to see.

Wasn't expecting that plot twist! You are so dedicated driving through the night like that! From my understanding Cabana Bay does not offer the express passes, is that true? If so why? Can't wait to see pictures!

You’re right, Cabana Bay doesn’t offer the express passes in the resort package. I guess because it isn’t as expensive to stay there than at their other resorts? The booking agent did offer me the express passes as an add on – I can’t remember now how much they were per person – but I didn’t feel like they were worth the extra expense. Luckily, the kids and I were able to do a lot at UO without them but I might consider getting them next time.

What a Trooper ! Mom of the year right there. I don't know if I could have hopped in the car and drove !!

… and thanks! Looking back on it, it was totally crazy to drive down there, but I am so glad that I did

Oh I hate that happened and you had to drive! Traffic can be a huge pain up here but you made good time considering- can wait to hear about what's next

Traffic is the only thing I don’t like about the DC Metro area! I have to deal with it every day and it is the worst! I guess that was why I didn’t give too much thought to leaving for Orlando in the middle of rush hour!

WOW!!!!!! I cannot believe all you went through to just get there! WTG, rolling with it and finding a solution! I cannot believe you drove all night and you are going to hit Universal before sleeping. Cannot wait to hear more.

Thanks! I was definitely running on adrenaline! It was crazy! I was so happy that I was able to save the first day of our vacation, though

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Just read through the updates. I'm at work, so I can't comment right now, but I'll be back. Yes, we are going to Jingle Ball next Saturday, but we are taking Concord Coachlines down. (I got out of that drive, didn't I??? )

 

[PrncessA]

I can't believe the plane story! But I am so glad you eventually got to Orlando, even if it wasn't by the way you had planned!

I love your US day! Makes me want to go now!

 

[Vernie822]

Joining in!!

We just went to WDW in September and did MNSSHP. I was at UO years ago when they had Nickelodeon Studios, but I haven't been there since. My fiance and I aren't HP fans but it still looks like it's worth seeing. You guys seemed to have so much fun even with the lack of sleep!!

You are totally mom of the year for driving all that way on no sleep!! Coy & True are adorable, and I cannot wait to hear more about your trip.

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

After a wonderfully exhausting day at Universal Orlando, it was now time to start the Disney World portion of our trip! We woke up that morning very excited about going to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party! I think it was about 8am when we woke up, and check out wasn’t for a few hours, so we had some time to relax a bit. True wanted to go to the pool, so she and I headed down - even though it was only about 70° outside. I worried that she wouldn't be able to swim since it wasn't very warm, but True was determined to do a few laps in that gorgeous pool! There was a zero entry point to the pool, so she walked right in, and then tried to encourage me to come along by letting me know the pool was heated. There was a bit of a breeze, so it felt bit colder than 70. I stood in the water and it was very warm, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to warm up once I got out of the pool, so I just laid down on a beach chair... covered in towels! LOL! True was a little disappointed that I didn't get in the pool with her, but she was just happy to be swimming!





In this picture, you can see that even the life guard was wearing warm clothes!



True swam...





Floated...



And did a few handstands...





It really was a beautiful pool, and I hope we can go back one day when it is warmer! I took a few pictures of the buildings around the pool. The kids and I were staying at the Continental:



On the other side was the Americana:



There was another pool somewhere else in the resort that had a water slide, but we didn't go over there. I thought True would be too cold getting in and out of the water if she was using the water slide. She had plenty of fun in the regular pool, so it was fine. She didn't want to get out! After about 45 minutes, I told her that it was time to get ready to check out of the hotel. Luckily, she wasn't freezing cold when she got out of the pool, but I did wrap a couple of towels around her to keep her warm for the walk back to the room.

The kids and I got ready and checked out of Cabana Bay. When I asked the front desk agent where I could park my car while the kids and I got something to eat at the resort, she said that I could just stay in the check in/check out lot. That was convenient! We had a lot on the agenda for the day – making a supply run at Target, returning the rental car to Orlando International, taking the ME to Art of Animation, and finally MNSSHP that night – so I wanted to get lunch out of the way. Plus, we had a table service credit to use! We walked up the stairs to Galaxy Bowl and we thought the restaurant looked pretty cool! I asked the hostess if we could use the dining credits there, but she wasn’t sure. She went to go ask a manager, so I took a few pictures of the bowling alley while we waited:







We waited for a good five minutes. Long story short, they didn’t take dining credits. The manager advised that the only places that took the dining credits were some restaurants in US and IoA, and some restaurants in City Walk. Again, I would have known this if I had done ANY research about the UO portion of my trip ahead of time! LOL! I wasn’t upset about it – because it was totally my fault for not looking into it – but I did think it was pretty useless to have a dining plan that couldn’t even be used at the resort! Another point in favor of Disney over Universal. I’m sure it’s not as inconvenient for people who are staying at Hard Rock or Portofino, but Cabana Bay isn’t close to City Walk at all, so people staying in that resort must use the dining credits when they are at City Walk or in the parks.

If we had time, maybe the kids and I would have gone to City Walk to get something to eat, but I decided just to chalk up the missed meal to a lesson learned on this trip. I don’t think the meal plan at UO is worth the money and I seriously doubt that I will get it again. On the way out of the resort, I snapped a couple of pictures of the onsite Starbucks:





I just loved this planter outside of Cabana Bay:



I’m pretty sure it is a permanent fixture, but I thought it was also very Halloween-y. I made a mental note to try to find planters like that so that I could do a classy Halloween display at home next year! There were also classic cars parked outside of the resort:











Coy and I thought the cars were pretty cool! True was unimpressed! LOL! The kids and I finally got into our rental car and made our way to Target. We decided to just stop for some fast food on the way. As we pulled up to the Target shopping center, we saw a couple of familiar restaurants and one unfamiliar one: Zaxby’s. Oh. My. Goodness. The food there was SO GOOD! I can’t remember exactly what we got, but I think Coy and I got a fried chicken sandwich and True got a grilled chicken sandwich. They came with fries, pickles (I LOVE PICKLES!!!) and cole slaw. It was a lot of food for the price and I want to go back! Is Zaxby’s a southern thing? I wish they had them in VA! Anyway… moving on…

We went into Target to get some bottled water, saline solution and other supplies. It’s funny how Target is always the same no matter where you go. I like that the stores always seem to follow one of a few layouts. It makes things so much easier to find! Simple things make me happy! Haha! After meandering for a while, True found the Halloween section. She found a pumpkin that she wanted to use that night at MNSSHP to collect candy:



No way! That thing was huge! Actually, if we weren’t flying back home, I would have let her get it. I knew she wouldn’t get that much candy at the party, but I was sure she could have put it to good use trick or treating at home next year! At the very least, it could be a costume!



LOL! She is crazy!

After we left Target, we made our way to MCO to drop off the car. That process went smoothly, but I didn’t account for having to carry our backpacks plus our three bags from Target with us. I had hoped there would be luggage carts available, but I didn’t see any! So we walked through the airport like pack mules – each of us carrying a backpack and a Target bag with a pack of bottled water in it. When we finally got to the Magical Express area, I couldn’t find our Magicbands!!! I must have left them in the room at Cabana Bay when I was repacking our bags! Ugh! Thankfully, the Magicbands were the only things I left behind in the room. I’m usually so careful about checking everywhere before I leave a hotel room. Oh well. The CM at ME was able to assist me without the Magicbands, and she also advised that we could get replacement ones at the front desk at AoA. Now that is what I call customer service!

The Magical Express bus was there within a few minutes. As the kids and I struggled with our bags, the Target bag I was holding broke and the water bottles fell out! It was really embarrassing, but it was too funny! All I could do was laugh! Anyway, it was nice having a comfy ride to our resort! I also liked the promo reel they played along the way. It got the kids and I even more excited to be headed to Disney World!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

We finally arrived at Walt Disney World! The kids and I were so excited to be here and to actually be able to enjoy the parks! In March we went to WDW and stayed at Pop for a YouTube convention, but we never went to the parks, and it was strange not to visit the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and the Animal Kingdom! On that trip, we only went to Downtown Disney and – even though we had a lot of fun – we missed the parks! But on this trip, as we pulled up to Art of Animation, we knew that we were headed to the Magic Kingdom that night! We were so excited!!!

The kids sat down with the bags as I checked in. The line was long but it was quick. Disney CMs always seem to be very efficient! Before I knew it, I had new (grey ) Magicbands and a room number! The kids and I got a luggage cart and we made our way through the beautiful lobby and out the door. I took pictures of the lobby on our check out day, so I will share them in that post, but I can share pictures of our room in AoA! We were in the Ariel building, so that meant we were ALL OF THE WAY AT THE OTHER END of the resort!!! It wasn’t a big deal then, but it was really hard on us when we got back to the resort after being out all night! The walk to The Little Mermaid buildings was nice, though. I took more pictures of the walk the next day, so I’ll share those pictures later (I have a compulsion to show things in chronological order!)but as we went to our room for the first time, True was attacked by Scar!



LOL! She is such a ham! After narrowly escaping Scar’s stampede, we made it to our room. The kids and I loved it! We were staying in a regular room with two queen beds – not a suite – and it was even cuter than I thought it would be! I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves:
































After I took pictures, we unpacked and got ready to go to the party!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

We relaxed in the room before heading out to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. We hopped on the bus to the Magic Kingdom and we got there very quickly. It was about 7:30 or 8 by then. The kids and I were so excited about going to the party! Actually, let me rephrase that. I was excited about the party but the kids were just excited to be at the Magic Kingdom. I’ll explain more later…

The entryway was so beautiful all lit up in purple!



I was ready to go see some characters dressed up in their Halloween costumes, but we were all pretty hungry, so we decided to get a quick meal at Casey’s first. The kids got chili cheese nachos and I got corn dog nuggets and fries:



They loved their nachos! They barely let me have any! LOL! I really enjoyed my corn dog nuggets! They were so yummy and filling! Quite a few came in that little container and I think I ate all but two of them. The kids polished them off for me!

I wanted to go find some characters and get some candy next, but the kids were on a mission to get to Space Mountain! Who was I to argue with that? The line wasn’t long at all, so we were on our way in our spaceship within just a few minutes! By the time we got back to Earth, it was almost 9pm and I was determined to watch Hallowishes. The kids didn’t really want to stop to watch because they wanted to get on more rides. As it turns out, going to MNSSHP on our first park day probably wasn’t the best idea. At least, it wasn’t a good idea since we hadn’t been to Disney World in five years. The kids wanted to ride the rides, but they didn’t want to stop for candy and they didn’t want to see any characters in their Halloween costumes. When we go next year, I highly doubt that I will book MNSSHP for our first park day because the kids will be more likely to want to do the Halloween party stuff.

Don’t get me wrong – the kids did want to get candy and see characters, but rides were their priority. But when I explained that I really wanted to see Hallowishes because it was supposed to be a very good fireworks show, the kids agreed. Well, I should say that Coy agreed and he had to convince True that we should stop to watch LOL! True wasn’t very please and she pouted about half of the time, but she grinned through the other half of it, which was all I could ask! Haha! I took a few pictures of the fireworks because I loved the way the castle was changing color in the background! It was a beautiful show:

















After Hallowishes, the kids and I crossed the bridge back into Tomorrowland and got in line for Stitch’s Great Escape… or at least, we thought we did! I thought the line seemed a little long, as it wrapped around the back of the building. Turns out, we got in line for candy by mistake! The kids and I decided to just go with it and we stood in line for about 5 minutes in order to get some sweet treats! FYI – adults can trick or treat, too! I asked for a candy bag, and the CM happily handed me one! Then he proceeded to give two large handfuls of candy to each of us! Our bags were halfway full from that one stop! Luckily we got that much candy because the kids didn’t want to do any more trick or treating after that! LOL!

For some reason, we didn’t go on Stitch after that, but we went to the People Mover instead. Oh yeah! It was because the kids wanted to eat some of their candy, but they didn’t want to miss out on ride time! Shh! Don’t tell on us! I made sure that the kids were very careful and didn’t leave any trash. Bad mom! Haha! Well, I figured it was the equivalent of chewing gum on a ride. At least, that’s how I justified it!



Coy never likes me to take candid pictures of him! Here he is, dodging the camera again!



On our ride, we also saw the dance party going on:



After that, we went to one of my least favorite rides, but one of the kids’ favorites: Stitch’s Great Escape:









Having survived the odors of that attraction, it was time to launch ourselves into outer space again! This time on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin!



Coy and I got in one car and True was in another by herself. Of course, the gamer Coy beat me!



See the intense look of concentration on the ride photo:



I wished I had gotten the MNSSHP PhotoPass when I couldn’t connect that photo to my MagicBand, but I’m glad I didn’t get the PhotoPass for the party now because we didn’t meet any characters!

True was not happy to be riding by herself, so she asked if we could go again, but this time, I could ride with her. Of course we could! The rides were walk on at the party – we never waited more than 10 minutes for anything – so we hopped back in line. True beat me at the game, too!





After that, we left Tomorrowland…



… and made a beeline to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We rode that once, but I think the lack of sleep from the day before was catching up to us because we decided to leave the party after that. We had a LOT of fun even though we didn’t do very much, and we all decided that we wanted to come back to MNSSHP next year. I will have to get on the ball and make costumes because there were some really great ones at the party. So, next year, we’ll see Mickey and the gang at MNSSHP and we will hopefully participate in all of the activities! We left the Magic Kingdom tired, but excited that we knew we were going to be back soon!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Just read through the updates. I'm at work, so I can't comment right now, but I'll be back. Yes, we are going to Jingle Ball next Saturday, but we are taking Concord Coachlines down. (I got out of that drive, didn't I??? )

How was Jingle Ball? I hope Victoria had a good time! I’m glad you got out of the drive!

I can't believe the plane story! But I am so glad you eventually got to Orlando, even if it wasn't by the way you had planned!

I love your US day! Makes me want to go now!

Our travel day was insane! But it was definitely worth it! US was so much fun, and I highly recommend going!

Joining in!!

We just went to WDW in September and did MNSSHP. I was at UO years ago when they had Nickelodeon Studios, but I haven't been there since. My fiance and I aren't HP fans but it still looks like it's worth seeing. You guys seemed to have so much fun even with the lack of sleep!!

You are totally mom of the year for driving all that way on no sleep!! Coy & True are adorable, and I cannot wait to hear more about your trip.

Aw, thanks! Coy and True are my little cutie pies! I would so anything for them – including taking an unplanned 17 hour road trip! We had so much fun at MNSSHP and we will go back next year. How did you and your fiancé like it? I’ll have to read your TR!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Shew!! I was behind and then you went and posted a million updates! I'm finally caught up!

Your Universal Day looks great! We're going to get to go for 1 day in February and I'm looking forward to Harry Potter! I'm not researching though and after seeing what you went through, thinking I should...but I can't really bring myself to!

Ahhh, Disney! Yes, I can see how the party on the first night might be an issue! It looks like you had a blast though!

 

[LuvEeyore]

Joining the fun. Waiting to hear more. There are Zaxby's in Virginia. There is one in Roanoke.