Aug '14 Trip Report: The Ride-Chickens go to Universal/Portofino Bay

[ArwenMarie]

The bike ride sounds like soooo much fun!! Something I would love to try on our couples trip in May, but wondering if we might ... ugh ... exceed the weight limit for the poor driver. DH is a BIG guy, and well, I'm no Tinkerbelle either .

Loving your pics . I am growing very excited for our Universal trip!

Oh if they could carry us four, you will have no problem!

 

[ArwenMarie]

Done with the character breakfast, where to go now? Off to bring E.T. home!

E.T.

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Such nostalgia on this ride, from growing up in the 80s. I also think the ride is well-done and has stood up really well over time. To me, E.T. is a classic right up there with Peter Pan. I would be just as upset if E.T got torn out for something new as if they tore out Pan. The queue through the redwood forest alone!

I love the way E.T. is in the cart with the towel, and then poof, you bring him home and the basket is empty.

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And then we rode it again because how can you ride E.T. once? You can't. I always enjoy rides more the second time around.

KidZone

Off to the Woody Woodpecker coaster. My DD calls this her warm-up ride. I think the area back here is so cute (Fievel's Playground, Curious George, Barney). My kids are a little bit too old for it now but they would have loved it when they were little. One day I will go see the Barney show. Probably alone, but I will be there one day Barney. No one teaches kids about manners quite like you buddy.

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Animal Actors

We saw this show last time. So cute, really well done. Animals doing cute tricks, who doesn't like that. We didn't get to see it again on this trip which I was kind of bummed about.

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Walking through Springfield

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Picture of the lagoon from the bridge. Love this picture, makes me want to be back there now!

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Men In Black

Next up, one of my favorites at Universal, Men in Black! We rode it three times in a row, with a short drink break in the middle. If I am going to have to put my bag in a locker, might as well get a few rides out of it. This is a really fun ride. I like that you compete not only with the people in your own vehicle but the people in the other vehicle. We try to focus on that part of it, instead of having intra-family competition.

MIB has ruined Buzz and Toy Story Mania for me. They both just seem so lame compared to riding around real streets shooting aliens!

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Diagon Alley

We then ventured into Diagon Alley and took a quick walk-through. Holy crowds! As I said, we're not big Harry Potter fans, but just walking through Diagon Alley was an attraction in itself. It really was something to see. It was too crowded for us to really stay a long time and look at everything and some of us riding Escape from Gringotts wasn't on the list this trip due to the wait times. I wish we had spent more time looking at everything but between the crowds and the crowds...

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Hogwarts Express

We decided to ride the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade, have a butterbeer and then ride it back to get to see what the return trip looked like. What an awesome ride! Perfect for the Ride-Chickens. King's Cross station is so well-done as well as the train itself.

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Hogsmeade

Off to get a butterbeer! I'm sort of on the fence about butterbeer but when it's really hot I think it tastes quite delicious.

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Last time we were here was back in February. We were literally buried in snow back home and we were so happy to get the heck out of there and get to Florida! I remember hating seeing this snow in Hogsmeade!

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Flight of the Hippograff

One of the kids wanted to ride Hippograff and the other wanted to ride Dragon Challenge. You can probably guess which kid I chose. I like Hippograff even though it's a basic kiddie coaster. It's just enough thrill for this ride-chicken. I like the way they themed it with Hagrid's Hut and the Hippograff animatronic. Every time, I'm the lady saying, "Look at the Hippograff!" I think we rode this three times in a row before I had to say enough.

Hagrid's Hut

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Return to London

Back at Hogsmeade station to return to London.

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I think the way they connected the Harry Potter lands is genius. Truly. The park-to-park transportation is brilliant, but making it a fun, immersive ride, along with being Ride-Chicken friendly!...pure genius.

Next up: We need to talk Orlando.

 

[Dutchie Guy]

Thanks for sharing!

I'm joining in on the fun

 

[wishing4PA]

Subbing! This is perfect timing because I know a ride chicken who might be going to Universal for the first time in March. Yes, I mean my dd (now 10). She just auditioned for a choir which is going to be going down there. We are both huge Disney fans, and for me half the reason is I can go to WDW and ride anything but ToT (which oddly enough, would be more appealing if it were, say, the Tower of Happiness).
I used to consider myself a roller coaster fanatic, I love the Disney "mountains" and old wooden coasters. But I walk past most of these steel monstrosities today without the slightest desire to get on them and die.
And I can't even get DD to ride the little coasters I love so much.
So anyhow, I want to know all the ins and outs... in case we end up on that choir trip. And, the bags... ugh ... dealing with lockers! Yeah, keep letting us know where/when you use those, please.

 

[macraven]

i always enjoy reading the trip reports on the darkside.
your's is so good!

i'm here to stay as long as you keep posting.
the pictures are awesome.

so far, sounds like you all had a great vacation.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Thanks for sharing!

I'm joining in on the fun

 

[ArwenMarie]

Subbing! This is perfect timing because I know a ride chicken who might be going to Universal for the first time in March. Yes, I mean my dd (now 10). She just auditioned for a choir which is going to be going down there. We are both huge Disney fans, and for me half the reason is I can go to WDW and ride anything but ToT (which oddly enough, would be more appealing if it were, say, the Tower of Happiness).
I used to consider myself a roller coaster fanatic, I love the Disney "mountains" and old wooden coasters. But I walk past most of these steel monstrosities today without the slightest desire to get on them and die.
And I can't even get DD to ride the little coasters I love so much.
So anyhow, I want to know all the ins and outs... in case we end up on that choir trip. And, the bags... ugh ... dealing with lockers! Yeah, keep letting us know where/when you use those, please.

There's a lot to do there for even us ride-chickens! I'm sure you guys would have fun there! Ten is such a fun age

 

[ArwenMarie]

i always enjoy reading the trip reports on the darkside.
your's is so good!

i'm here to stay as long as you keep posting.
the pictures are awesome.

so far, sounds like you all had a great vacation.

Thanks for reading along!

 

[ArwenMarie]

So we arrived back in London. And then this happened...

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We've gone to Orlando for the past few years now in August. We weren't rookies to the heat. I'm the person on the Disboards who reassures the people going in August for the first time that it is do-able, as long as you have a good plan and some Frogg Toggs. I'm clearly a liar.

This was the hottest weather we have ever felt. Hotter than the hottest hot. I start asking random team members just for clarification, "It's really hot today, right?" and even they were like, "Oh yeah, heat wave." Words you don't want to hear from a local when you are in Central Florida during the summer.

We're way in the back corner of the park. It's so hot I don't even know how we are going to get back to the hotel without melting.

At this point, I'm regretting the trip. The entire trip. Who comes to Orlando in August? Crazy people, that's who. We should have gone to Vermont. Right now we'd swimming in a cool lake surrounded by pine trees.

We're also hungry. For lunch, we were planning on something quick somewhere but it's so hot we can't even think straight. We start walking.

Finnegan's in old-timey New York

We get to the New York section and my husband sees Finnegan's, an Irish-y themed restaurant.

Ireland. That's where we should have gone. It's freezing in Ireland, even in the summer.

Anyway, he's hoping if he can get us a table in there we can cool off and eat something and then make it back to the hotel. He walks ahead like a brave hunter and scores a table. Hooray!

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Best meal ever. I'm not sure if it was really good or if I was just so happy to be indoors for an hour. I had the Celtic Chicken Salad which was amazing. Crisis averted!

After we finished eating, the non-ride-chickens (my DH and DS) are itching to go on the Mummy which is right across the street. They go across and do that and I sit and enjoy dessert and coffee with my DD in the nice cool air-conditioning for another half hour. It's good to be a Ride-Chicken! You get to sit and eat dessert while other people are off looking for thrills and such.

Then we meet up again and begin the trek back to the hotel.

This section of old-timey New York is really neat. I want to walk around and really look at it all but not today, not today.

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We're walking out and then we see this.

Transformers

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Gotta ride it.

A word about simulators and being a Ride-Chicken. Lots of people say, "Oh Universal has all those simulators and I don't think I would do too good on those." Yeah, some of them are nuts, like Forbidden Journey. But Transformers and Spider-Man are not-so-bad. Despicable Me is even easier, and Shrek is a good one to start with. Being a Ride-Chicken, I actually enjoy the simulators at Universal. They let me do things that I would never do in real life and I know I am safe in my little pod and that it's all fake.

That being said, I love Spidey but I'm not a huge fan of Transformers. I will ride it once and I am proud of myself when Optimus Prime calls me a Freedom Fighter. The family took a second spin on it and I chilled in the Child Swap room. Love the Child Swap rooms at Universal. So convenient for us Ride-Chickens.

Despicable Me

Time to become a Minion!

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Gru's House (the waiting area)

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Love this ride. It's fun, it's happy, there's a dance party at the end. You leave smiling.

The trek back to the hotel

Time to start the trek back to the hotel. If you think I am being over-dramatic about this, you are right.

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Bye Universal globe! I'll probably never see you again because if it stays this hot I'm going to stay in the hotel room watching TV for the rest of this trip.

We're off to walk the 500 feet to the boat dock which might as well be five miles away. Then we see....one of those guys with the bikes. We are running over to him, please take us back to our hotel quickly, we'll pay you ANYTHING. We're emptying our pockets looking for cash to give this man, the man who will save us from this heat, anything to make this misery stop.

Off we go!

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Home sweet hotel. We thank the driver profusely, perhaps going a little overboard with our praise for his bike skills.

We get off and head inside and my daughter says, "That was the best ride!" And we're like, "Which ride?" thinking a ride back at the park. She says, "The bike ride!"

 

[macraven]

so the kids vote that the best ride was the bike...............lol

 

[ArwenMarie]

so the kids vote that the best ride was the bike...............lol

Typical kid comment! lol

 

[ArwenMarie]

We survived! Now to find some dinner and hope that the pool was open tonight!

Mamma Della's

For dinner, we went to Mamma Della's at the hotel. Three big meals in one day is unusual for us on vacation, but I'm not complaining.

Pretty flowers on the way over...

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Mamma Della's is one of our favorites. It's an Italian restaurant decorated like your Italian grandmother's house.

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And to make it even better, you are serenaded by a super talented opera singer right at your table. Mamma Della's is somewhere I would go to even if I wasn't staying at Portofino.

Pool

Later, we are off to the pool...and it's open. The kids were so happy. For such a hot day, what a gorgeous night!

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And that's it for today.

Side note: I got a Fitbit to see how many miles we walk on these Orlando trips. I was pleasantly surprised!

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About 2,000 steps per mile, so over eight miles! That cancels all of the food I ate today, right?

Before bed, it's time to plan for tomorrow...We decide to start at Islands of Adventure and we make a lunch reservation at Mythos on Open Table. Other than that, we will just wake up and see where we want to go! No planning involved. Sounds good to me!

 

[PlutoLuvr]

Subbing. Ride chicken over here, too, and love the Uni parks. Staying at PB in a couple months. Love your trip report! The Finnegans salads are the bomb

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Loving all the updates, loving all the photos!!

So glad to hear good reports on Finnegans. DH and I have put it on our to-do list in May . We're trying to break out of the box a little and sample some of the unique places Universal and IOA have to offer.

If we were dying of heat, walking around the parks in that stifling humidity, don't you wonder how the bike drivers handle it? Simply baffling....I would collapse within the first 15 minutes .

 

[ArwenMarie]

Subbing. Ride chicken over here, too, and love the Uni parks. Staying at PB in a couple months. Love your trip report! The Finnegans salads are the bomb

Welcome fellow ride chicken!

 

[ArwenMarie]

Loving all the updates, loving all the photos!!

So glad to hear good reports on Finnegans. DH and I have put it on our to-do list in May . We're trying to break out of the box a little and sample some of the unique places Universal and IOA have to offer.

If we were dying of heat, walking around the parks in that stifling humidity, don't you wonder how the bike drivers handle it? Simply baffling....I would collapse within the first 15 minutes .

The food is really good at Universal, lots of fun options and you don't need ADRs six months in advance yay! Mythos is our favorite in the parks, but Finnegans was our favorite that day!

I don't know how the bike drivers were doing it, I really don't. I guess they are in such good shape in general.

 

[ArwenMarie]

So we woke up, had breakfast in the room and headed off to Islands of Adventure. We took the boat, no bike ride this time kids!

There was a boat waiting as soon as we got down to the dock. The boat ride is so pretty, no one was complaining. I love how the boats are so clean and shiny. Another thing I like...how they check your bag before you get on the boat so you are all set to go upon arrival.

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We're here!

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Port of Entry

Whenever people say that Universal has lacks theming, I always think to myself "Have they walked through Port of Entry?" And that feeling people get when they walk down Main Street in the Magic Kingdom (and yeah, I get it too)...I get that same feeling here. I want a copy of that music for my drive every morning...Maybe it would make every day feel like an adventure! I feel like I never get enough time to really look at Port of Entry...note to self, make time for that next trip.

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First stop, Spiderman. But first, a meet and greet with Spidey.

Spiderman Meet and Greet

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Fun meet and greet. When I was talking to the team member about the pictures, Spiderman literally jumped up on this tiny corner of the counter and scared the life out of me! I wish I had a picture of that.

Spiderman

Off to the Spiderman ride! This might be my favorite ride in all of Orlando, or anywhere.

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Gotta ride it again!

Next stop: Seuss Landing!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Next stop: Seuss Landing!

Woo hoo! I love Seuss Landing!

Can't wait for more pics .

 

[ArwenMarie]

Off to Seuss Landing!

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Cat in the Hat!

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I had read somewhere that they had turned down the spin on Cat in the Hat. The spin was CRAZY last time we rode this in February. Out of everything I rode at Universal last time, the only ride that made me motion-sick was Cat in the Hat.

It did seem that they did turn down the spin, like turned it off, which I was very happy about. I'm all for spin that adds something to a ride, but that spin didn't. Good riddance!

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Without that spin, we rode this three times. With the spin was once and barf, I mean, done

Then the gift shop! How great is this statue.

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One Fish Two Fish

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Cute bookstore. Gotta love a bookstore in the middle of a theme park.

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High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride

Next up...the Seuss Trolley Train Ride of TERROR! Yes, terror. I hate this ride! Well, one part of it. My kids laugh at me.

Welcome to your vehicle of doom...

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Oh this is pretty...

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Going through Circus McGurkus, fun!

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Look at that ice cream, looks like it's going to tip! Oh there's the Hulk!

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GAHHHH
Why are we on the edge of this track way up in the air practically over the water????? Did they forget a WALL here?

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Whew, thank goodness that is over...back to the cute stuff...la la la

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Oh the thinks you can think if you only you try!

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Next up, lunch, more fun, and the 18 minutes of my life I can't get back...

 

[clsteve]

I just caught your TR link in your updated sig in another thread and had to hop right over!

Good stuff and great pics

DW will not be disappointed at all that the spin is gone from Cat In The Hat. You and she both have the same issues with it

Subbing and keep it coming!