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

[schumigirl]

Seriously, observed the same while holed up at AKV. Not only is it rude to the staff, they are taking up valuable time jawing away incessantly, causing those behind them in line to cool their heels.

WDW seemed much more strict with guests. if you weren’t checked in by 3 pm day prior to hurricane, you were out of luck until the following Saturday at 3 pm.

they were very clear stating that you could leave the building, however, you wouldn’t get back in…not sure if they made good on that or not.

all the furniture on the villa’s balcony was brought in by staff the first night. They must’ve practiced it as a drill in the past, as had it stacked Tetris like taking up little space. Observed two rooms’ guest near us promptly lug it back out. Security popped up shortly afterwards and handled the situation.

All the public balconies were locked and barricaded with sand bags. Our housekeeper came by with an armful of towels and suggested we use at base of the slider. I was puzzled & asked if due to water damage She responded no, wind.

Islands & the lounge’s food spread looked much better than was offered in the convention area during Matthew. thankfully, we had boma for breakfast and lunch Half off, plenty of options this time.

surprised to see that RP didn’t ‘sink’ the pool furniture again in the pool this go-round. The flooding there was far worse than what we observed in AK & MGM areas.

I love dogs, just very allergic to most that have fur vs hair. was forced to stay out of the lobby during Matthew for that reason...will file it under needs of the many outweigh those of the few. Was very happy only a couple of ‘service animals’ in residence at our resort and they were well-trained

I’m also of the theory it’s the little pooches, with big dog syndrome, that do the most nipping of strangers.

I agree with the small dog thing......lol....there was one yappy thing that tried to look as ferocious as it could be, that was hilarious, whereas we saw some beautiful bigger dogs that were so calm and contented.

When you hear some of the stories from staff of how they can be spoken to, it`s horrendous enough, but to blame them for the issues of park closing and weather just seems incredulous. People aren`t very nice and downright rude at times. And yes, taking up the time of the staff who could actually be helping someone.

It must be so difficult for staff during hurricanes, bringing a load of towels to protect against wind must have been a little disconcerting. Yes, the flooding was quite bad around some hotels there, but I thought Loews and Universal did an amazing job during this one of clearing it up.

 

[schumigirl]

That beautiful bird is a red shouldered hawk, according to my daughter, the avid birder

Thank you!!

We had no idea what it was, we are not the best observers of some things nature.......we just knew it was a beautiful bird, and the picture did not do it justice. It was very content sitting there, even with our faces peering at it

Thank your daughter for us as we`d never have know what it was otherwise

 

[schumigirl]

No need to apologize Carole After meeting so many people over so many years I didn’t expect you to remember me especially after such a brief encounter. If I had been posting replies to your reports I’m sure you would have known who I was. Guess I was just happy to just read all this time but I plan to change that now!

I think I know how the confusion about you being a friend of mine came about. We were staying at the RP three weeks ago which is when we usually come for our Christmas trip. We walked over to Strong Water for dinner and drinks one night and met Fernando. I told him I felt like I knew him from your trip reports and that I met you once while in Hogwarts several years ago. He came back later and said we should come for the New Years Eve party there. So, since Sapphire had a room available, bought tickets to the party when we got back home. During the party Fernando stopped by our table to let us know he just talked to friends of yours and said we should go over to meet them. Luke thought you and I were friends too. That’s what Fernando told him . With all Fernando had on his mind that night he just forgot what I told him before. I did straighten it out with Luke the next night when we stopped at Still Water for a drink and saw him sitting at the bar.

Sorry for the long winded explanation and sorry for driving you crazy trying to remember us!!!!!!

The pictures you took during the hurricane brought back the memories of how we felt while riding it out here. First hurricane we experienced in person since we didn’t exactly get them when living in Michigan. The wind blew so hard for so many hours, didn’t it? Our whole area didnt really have any flooding or damage but St. Augustine flooded again. Being the oldest city in the U.S., it doesn’t have the infrastructure to handle all the water since it’s so low there. The news was showing people getting around in kayaks down the street that runs along the river. They seem to take it all in stride, repair and wait for the next hurricane or severe storm.

Looking forward to the big finish to your report?

Ah, Tom was asking how on earth our name came up in the first place.

Yes, St Augustine is very low and easy to flood, such a beautiful City. I doubt we`ll visit for a while as we`ve been so often and I doubt Kyle will want to go in May, plenty of other places to visit.

I agree, when people are used to something, they just get on with it, and yes the wind was something else.

 

[schumigirl]

I know you were sad to say goodbye to the fellas
I understand the day felt weird, just getting back to normal.
I’m glad you were able to get out and go to the mall after being cooped up for the storm. And how nice to pick up some Thank Yous for the sweet orchestration of your anniversary dinner!

I’m looking forward to your bonus park days!!

Oh we really did miss them Maria, we had spent so much time with them, we felt a little lost without them, both of them are just the best!!

On a previous trip I had surreptitiously found out what they liked, Fernando was easy as we had chatted so often about what we all liked, but Chef Carlos was harder, so Fernando helped with that one for us. It was the least we could do for the thoughtfulness and kindness shown to us.

Bonus park days were fun and the weather was just perfect!!!!

 

[schumigirl]

SATURDAY OCTOBER 1ST​

Waking up in the hotel this morning was lovely......it was extra fun knowing we should be back in the UK, but these extra days would be mostly us chilling and enjoying a few bonus days.

Once we were showered and dressed we Facetimed Kyle who had been for a 10K run that morning and had done it in an amazing time, so he was thrilled with that and he was heading out for the rest of the day and evening with a group of friends, so we didn`t chat for too long, but it`s always lovely to catch up with him. We wandered over to T3 for breakfast. It wasn`t as busy as we thought it would be but we may have missed the early bird crowd, EE is something we never do, never needed to do it and never wanted to do it either.

Yes, there are some rides that don`t offer EP, yet, but we had managed to ride everything we wanted to do when we wanted to do it. The exception was Hagrid`s, but much as though we do like that ride, I`m not going to wait even 40 minutes for it. Far too long for any ride, so we were happy enough with never using the perk of EE.

Breakfast was different. We missed our partners in crime, but we did get an email from them, so we knew they were home safe and sound.

Before they left, they had very kindly offered us their Photopass to use for the remainder of our trip, that was so nice of them and they said they would send our pictures over to us once we had them taken....we were very grateful for this as we never use that, well not for many years, so we were looking forward to a couple of proper shots.

It was a quick breakfast for us as we really wanted to get out and enjoy this stunning weather and get back to the parks, so we headed back to our room to get sunscreen on, but had to wait as the housekeeper was in, but she was almost finished, so we only had a few moments and we got in. I never like to disturb them and we`re always lucky enough to have housekeeping very early in the morning, most days we come back from breakfast and our room is done.

I`m often asked if we leave a tip for our housekeepers and how much, well, yes we do leave an envelope every day with our tip inside and mark the envelope for our housekeeper so there`s no misunderstanding it`s for her. As for how much, that`s up to you.

Stepping outside we felt that beautiful heat minus that sometimes horrendous humidity, this was absolutely gorgeous to walk to the park in.

It also gave us a little chance to see more of the after effects of the storm, the paths had been long cleared of the flooding, but you could see which areas had been affected along the path.

They had worked really well to get the paths and walkways clear so fast, there was some obvious damage to trees and so on, but they had been moved out of the way in record time. We recalled when we arrived after Dorian there was much more damage to the trees back then, even so it was sad to see some beautiful trees that had been damaged.

You`d never know from here there had been anything to cause any damage. One of the most beautiful views anywhere in the parks.

You could see signs around the park of the type of preparations they had made for the storm before it hit. Most of the colourful signs and awnings had been rolled up or removed altogether.

The screeding had been removed completely from in front of the Christmas store, the TM inside would enjoy that as it really darkened the store a lot.

We headed down to look and see if the VC was running, someone had mentioned at the entrance it wasn`t running till later, but we saw this little guy on a boat....not often you see that.

I love the view from this area.

Green Eggs and Ham is one of those food places that for some people never seem to be open, and for years I don`t think we saw it open once, but it is open more regularly than it ever was. It`s not somewhere we generally eat from, but we do keep meaning to try it to see their newer options and give it a go, but we never get round to it.

However, sometimes we see things, but never notice everything....and today I asked Tom if that giant fork on top had always been there!!

Tom stopped taking pictures, turned, looked at me and said in all seriousness.....No, they just put it there after the hurricane.....then rolled his eyes......

Guess I`m not as observant as I think sometimes!

I had "seen" it, just obviously never noticed it

So, with me being congratulated on my observational skills.....or maybe not, we headed on round the park and I honestly know this is boring to keep repeating, but the weather was amazing for this time of year.....we were loving this, next few days were all mid 80`s but with no humidity, it was fabulous to walk around in.

More to come...

 

[SCDizFan]

"I think today could be renamed.....permanently pickled day .......there really wasn`t a whole lot else to do for us "

Yes! That's exactly what going through a hurricane is and why you are so tired afterwards.

The weather after a hurricane is always glorious! Hot and sunny with little to no humidity because the storm pulls all of the humidity out. Until it comes back.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Everything looks so fresh after the storm! Even with the damage, you can tell it’s just a beautiful day It is funny how we think we’ve seen it all, then something catches our eye.

How nice to have the photo pass! It is fun to do some of their special shots.

We’ve had the pizza tots from Green Eggs and Ham. I don’t think I’d repeat it.

Your bonus days are looking good so far

 

[schumigirl]

"I think today could be renamed.....permanently pickled day .......there really wasn`t a whole lot else to do for us "

Yes! That's exactly what going through a hurricane is and why you are so tired afterwards.

The weather after a hurricane is always glorious! Hot and sunny with little to no humidity because the storm pulls all of the humidity out. Until it comes back.

lol.....that`s exactly what we said.

Hanging around doing not very much made us weary, better to be on the go. And yes, we left before the humidity came back.

 

[schumigirl]

Everything looks so fresh after the storm! Even with the damage, you can tell it’s just a beautiful day It is funny how we think we’ve seen it all, then something catches our eye.

How nice to have the photo pass! It is fun to do some of their special shots.

We’ve had the pizza tots from Green Eggs and Ham. I don’t think I’d repeat it.

Your bonus days are looking good so far

It was the most gorgeous day!

I`m always the one who says....has that always been there......lol.......and yes, I haven`t heard the best feedback about GE&H, so we won`t be rushing there.

We kept forgetting about the Photopass....lol.....but we did get a few that were nice.

We had a lovely few days, so unexpected!!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

I think being “permanently pickled “ is the best way to ride our a storm and I’m so glad you had friends to keep you company. It sounds like everyone at UO did their best to keep everyone happy, fed and entertained and they really should be applauded for their efforts.
Your “day after the storm” photos are so pretty.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

It’s amazing what you don’t see until something is moved for it!

Also you and Tom are slowly convincing me to give sushi another chance (I love a good cucumber roll, but raw fish I just don’t do. Even a raw bar of oysters I’m all “nope”)!

 

[schumigirl]

I think being “permanently pickled “ is the best way to ride our a storm and I’m so glad you had friends to keep you company. It sounds like everyone at UO did their best to keep everyone happy, fed and entertained and they really should be applauded for their efforts.
Your “day after the storm” photos are so pretty.

lol...we really did have the best couple of days, I think the prosecco helped the passing of time too!!

Yes, they did a great job of keeping everyone entertained, we didn`t take advantage though of the games and movies, I kind of wish we had though.

Thank you, it was just the most glorious of days.

 

[schumigirl]

It’s amazing what you don’t see until something is moved for it!

Also you and Tom are slowly convincing me to give sushi another chance (I love a good cucumber roll, but raw fish I just don’t do. Even a raw bar of oysters I’m all “nope”)!

Most sushi places have tempura offerings, so the chicken/shrimp or whatever is cooked, it might be worth your time trying some of those options.

A good place will be happy to offer you some choices once you explain you dislike raw fish, but tempura might be a way to try out some new dishes.

My idea of heaven is a live oyster and seafood bar......lol.......

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Most sushi places have tempura offerings, so the chicken/shrimp or whatever is cooked, it might be worth your time trying some of those options.

A good place will be happy to offer you some choices once you explain you dislike raw fish, but tempura might be a way to try out some new dishes.

My idea of heaven is a live oyster and seafood bar......lol.......

I can’t remember the last time I tried tempura so I will definitely have to try again!

I always try something once. I still don’t know how I even ate the raw oyster lol

 

[keishashadow]

and today I asked Tom if that giant fork on top had always been there!!

Well, in your defense , the storm could’ve deposited it there. Funny tho

it was really admirable how quickly the parks took to setting things right In such a short time. ridiculous it was deemed not good enough for a contingent of folks , based upon comments we’ve heard in our resort & these boards.

I was shocked to see on the local news there in mid Dec how many on their east coast still have unlivable homes due to flood waters not receding.

Nature of the beast/poor zoning, whatever reason. Doesn’t fix the problem. Apparantly, so many insurers have moved coverage out the state in the last few years, many people just couldn’t afford the sharply increased homeowner’s insurance they so desperately need.

 

[schumigirl]

I`m not really a fan of those superhero type movies like Fantastic Four, Superman, Spider-Man and so on.....although.....Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man does have some appeal, heck RDJ in anything is nice......

​

But, I do love all things Marvel in IOA.....the rides, the sights, the sounds and the downright fun that`s everywhere around the whole area. They have plenty of meet and greets all over this area throughout the day and they are all excellent, whether it`s meeting Spider-Man, Capt America with Wolverine or Dr Doom and the Green Goblin they are all wonderful.

Spider-Man was our first stop today, and the EP line was remarkably short considering the regular line on the opposite side of the entrance was backed up outside the door......I was once again so glad of EP!

We had once turned this corner to see Spider-Man himself perched on the metal, looking very uncomfortable, but full of his usual fun and enthusiasm.....we hadn`t expected to see him, but we delighted in taking a picture with him. The timing was perfect as I had a headache and was going to go back to the hotel for a sleep, Kyle said oh do Spider-Man with us first....so I did and I was glad I did.

It`s sometimes weird how the lines can be huge, like with Spider-Man and some areas of the parks can be almost deserted, don`t get me wrong I love when the parks are clear.....we do get some good pictures and it`s nice to feel the space. We have friends who are there right now and are talking of the parks being so cramped and busy, and they visit every year at this time for a month, so they are used to crowds, but this time they haven`t been as often in the parks due to how busy it is.

These ladies were hilarious....I had never actually had a conversation with Betty Boop before, she was so funny, so was olive Oyl, but we did think she was the best BB we had seen in the parks.

Our lovely friend D who we got to know this year gave me a lovely selection of gifts for my birthday and one of them was 6 tokens for the soakers.....she loves doing that too! I told her Kyle and I used to drop $30 a time soaking everyone here until they changed to tokens....so she had given me some to have some fun with......so I did!!!

One of the other places we have never eaten is Wimpy`s. I`ve come to realise we aren`t really CS folks and really hadn`t heard anyone say they had enjoyed food from here, although they did sell the Dole Whip, so might give that a bash sometime......but their menu has never enticed us to eat there.

This ride will drench you...completely and utterly drench you. It`s only varying degrees of soaked, and yes, your feet will get drenched too even if you put them up as deluges of water will come down from above you which is hilarious to watch from the bridge behind Me Ship the Olive.....

Again, absolutely deserted down here.

Me Ship the Olive is one of the hidden attractions in IOA. It`s tucked away down beyond Bluto and some folks don`t wander down this far. Although it has got busier since the VC opened and folks do wander down to have a look at that if they realise you can go all the way down to the lagoon and have a wonderful view of the ride in full swing.

It`s bright and colourful inside with lots of interactive things for kids to play with, you really could spend an hour or so if you have little ones to amuse, and there are some things for adults too.....water guns on the very top level which can aim perfectly at the barges as they rumble past.....love it.

Yep, there is a large slide that goes from the top to the bottom.....i`ve heard it`s tremendous fun.......

The views are also wonderful from up here, from the VC right round to the Hulk.

There were no kids up here today apart from one who revelled in using the water guns.....her name was simmy (she volunteered her name which we found weird) she was aged around 7ish....no sign of parents or anyone to be honest. But I was standing to the side of the water guns and she said usually her brothers don`t let her do this.......I told her I had brothers too and they would have been the same. I felt a little odd leaving her as there really was no one around but she seemed to be ok.

I will admit after I found Tom downstairs at the exit of the boat he was chatting to an older female TM, so I mentioned a little girl on her own up there, she said she`d go check on her and said her parents would be around, but there was no one even close to the boat at this point. I thanked her and she thanked us as she hadn`t seen a little girl go up there. I think I`m a little too much of a worrier, but she was so young, I`d hope anyone would let a TM know a child seemingly on their own.

This piano does play the Popeye theme if you press the right keys, which isn`t hard to be honest......

Again, some lovely views from the top level.

This is the bridge you get an amazing view of folks not being soaked, but being completely drenched depending on which seat they are sitting in....that overflowing water powers down on unsuspecting victims and the roars of laughter that follow are relentless....and that`s just us!!!

There are some varying reactions from victims who are unlucky enough to get drenched from above, usually two or three out of a full boat at least will get hit, some laugh, some are silenced by the cold...but the best ones are the angry ones.......we laugh like drains at the reactions, and then usually they get hit again from folks on top of the ship.....lol....it`s such juvenile fun, but hilarious at the same time....for us anyway.

We only ride this when we come in for an afternoon of water rides and we leave behind all bags and cameras so we can just get soaked then waddle back to the hotel and get showered and changed. You won`t come off this ride even remotely dry.

More to come....

 

[schumigirl]

I can’t remember the last time I tried tempura so I will definitely have to try again!

I always try something once. I still don’t know how I even ate the raw oyster lol

lol....you did better than my husband! He won`t even look at me eating oysters.....and yes I think Tempura would be a good option for you.

 

[schumigirl]

Well, in your defense , the storm could’ve deposited it there. Funny tho

it was really admirable how quickly the parks took to setting things right In such a short time. ridiculous it was deemed not good enough for a contingent of folks , based upon comments we’ve heard in our resort & these boards.

I was shocked to see on the local news there in mid Dec how many on their east coast still have unlivable homes due to flood waters not receding.

Nature of the beast/poor zoning, whatever reason. Doesn’t fix the problem. Apparantly, so many insurers have moved coverage out the state in the last few years, many people just couldn’t afford the sharply increased homeowner’s insurance they so desperately need.

I`m so unobservant at times!!! And I`m the one everyone says observes everything about everyone....lol.....

Yes, we heard it ourselves on occasion too.....complaining about anything and everything, I think folks do still think they may get some kind of discount if they complain loud enough.......but it was a little ridiculous when they were complaining about the weather and parks being closed!!

Such a shame there`s folks still unable to return home, absolutely tragic for them and the one`s without insurance, you have to feel for them. It`s easy at times to sit and say folks shouldn`t be without it, but we all know some don`t have that luxury.

Yes, we thought they did a great job getting everything back up and running and during the hurricane too, they were brilliant.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

It’s been years since we were at UO but I loved Bluto’s river barge ride and the soakers. They are so much fun though I will say my husband and son both had to buy new shorts as they were so wet there was no amount of sunshine going to dry them anytime soon. They even tried those people-dryer machines to no avail and all I could do was laugh as the youngest and I were partly responsible for their soaking lol.
We also got a dole whip from Wimpy’s and oh my goodness it was the tallest poke I’ve ever seen. Absolutely delicious on a hot day.
You really did bring a smile to my face this morning with your update. It brought back so many happy memories for me. I really must get back to UO one of these days. There is so much fun to be has there.

 

[schumigirl]

It’s been years since we were at UO but I loved Bluto’s river barge ride and the soakers. They are so much fun though I will say my husband and son both had to buy new shorts as they were so wet there was no amount of sunshine going to dry them anytime soon. They even tried those people-dryer machines to no avail and all I could do was laugh as the youngest and I were partly responsible for their soaking lol.
We also got a dole whip from Wimpy’s and oh my goodness it was the tallest poke I’ve ever seen. Absolutely delicious on a hot day.
You really did bring a smile to my face this morning with your update. It brought back so many happy memories for me. I really must get back to UO one of these days. There is so much fun to be has there.

Oh that`s lovely.....I`m always glad to hear someone is smiling.......

I think you`d see some massive changes in the parks. I forget when you last went there and yes, it is so much fun with the water jets and yes the ride too.

You used the word poke......funnily enough you brought back a memory for me too. My dad used to call ice cream cones, "pokey hats", especially from the ice cream van that used to come around when we were young......just reminded me of him saying....."who wants a pokey hat" when we heard the music from the van.....lol.....it`s funny when something triggers a memory like that.

But, yes, I`d agree you need to get back sometime......