I'm Not Really Harry Potter, But I AM the Rebel Spy! Oct 2016 TR *COMPLETE + New TR Link 8/6

[Princess Leia]

We tried and tried to convince DS to agree to ride this with one of us, but he refused to even try it.

What a shame -it is hard to predict what they will ride. Maybe he was worried he would encounter Bellatrix Lestrange or some other Death Eater.

I know DS was hoping once again to get picked to have a wand choose him, but no luck this time.

Maybe next time. Hannah loved being picked. She was dressed in the full Hogwart's uniform at the time.The good luck was you didn't need to purchase the wand.

DS even ended up being a small part of the show

It was pretty funny, and DS got a kick out of it.

That is so good that he gets the humour of it. Great that he got picked.

Another thing DS enjoyed more now that we have delved into the books and movies was the characters on the train! He actually really recognized everyone for, I think, the first time since we have been experiencing WWoHP. It’s really fun as his mom and a huge HP nerd to see him get so excited as he recognized all of the details.

It is so fun when you can start to share interests.

We tried to get DS to do the Marmaduke trick photo but he wasn’t understanding what we were asking him to do. Lol

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This is really cute - you will need to recreate this in a few years.

What could be better than a hotel where you can get gelato?!

Nothing can top that and good sized portions too!

Thanks everyone who has followed along with this TR with me from the beginning! I love writing TRs and it's so cool to have other people who actually enjoy reading them.

Thanks so much. I really enjoyed this trip report. I didn't do Orlando with an under 2. I waited until Pete was 3 which was a lot easier. You did a really good job of keeping Delilah entertained.

I am impressed with how well you have done completing the trip reports particularly given how busy you are with work and looking after 2 young children.

 

[Stasieki]

Loved reading about your adventures!

 

[jane2073]

We love the Horror Make-up Show and have seen it many times. I know exactly what you son was picked for. Too funny!

 

[Dugette]

Now all I can think about is how amazing that peanut butter brownie gelato sounds! Yum!

Loved the report and can't wait to hear about Disneyland!

 

[afwdwfan]

I didn’t notice too much different after the refurb except for the queue, but that could also be because I hadn’t ridden it in so long so I barely remember what it was like on the old version, except for that crazy launch! Still as awesome as ever.

From what I've heard the layout is the same, just smoother. I really need to get back there and ride it myself.

We got up to the 4th floor and allllllllll the way down the hall pushing the stroller only to find out my key didn’t work. So I had to go allllllllll the way back to the elevators, down to the lobby to get a new key, and back down that loooooooong hallway. I was exhausted after all that but I still had to get DD something to eat when we got back to the room. And the crib we had requested at 7 am check in still wasn’t in the room!

Fantastic...

I usually employ the “you get more flies with honey than with vinegar” technique when dealing with people, but I guess I should have been a bit more aggressive the first time I called.

Yeah... I'm the same way. Better to just be nice and not make a big deal of it, but when it gets to this extreme, it is time to let somebody know it is unacceptable. Sorry for the trouble, but I'm glad they at least got it to you quickly after this call.

I was hoping it was an over estimation based on the amount of people flooding in but a common trend of the night none of the posted wait times were correct for the houses and most were severely underestimated.

I hate that... I'd rather them overestimate than underestimate.

I introduced myself and praised his work like a fan boy. He was super nice and wanted to know where I followed him online and what my user names were. It really was a nice surprise to run into him and a geek moment for the photographer in me.

I have no idea who he was, but I'm glad you were able to meet him and have a fan boy moment.

Scare zones:

Ok... what are these exactly? I get the concept of the houses, but do they just roll out a few props and actors into the street and call that a scare zone?

While I was having an incredible time, DW not so much. What can I say there’s a reason I married her and continue to hold onto her. You can’t buy that type of love when they are still smiling at you the next morning after the stress they went through while you were out living it up. I’ve got me a keeper.

And it is probably a good thing that you publicly recognized that after the evening she had.

We, like pretty much everyone else, made a beeline for Diagon Alley. Including this lady who had on what looked like a cheerleading bottom that was way too small, so her butt cheeks were literally hanging out and the little skirt over it only came about halfway down her backside, so it wasn’t covering much of anything. She was there with her husband and teenage children, and I can’t believe any of them didn’t tell her she shouldn’t be wearing that! And unfortunately she was right in front of us the whole way over to Diagon Alley and it wasn’t the last time we’d be seeing her.

First of all, if she's wearing that, it probably says something about the amount of class she has and you can't expect the rest of the family to have more class than mama.

And those are the types you can never, ever get away from.

After I had ridden, the TMs were still having fun with DD and even gave her a pass to come back and ride once she is tall enough! And they let her keep the passport she was playing with because she sure didn’t want to give it up once it was time to go.

That's great! I'm glad they took the time to make it a little special for her since she can't do anything in that park.

DS was asking to ride Woody Woodpecker, but a quick check over there and we saw it wasn’t open yet. So we decided to head over to Transformers instead to swap off on that. Writing all of these rides we swapped makes me kind of glad we have decided to take DS by himself in September so we can all 3 ride together without having to swap and DD being bored while waiting most of the day!

It will certainly be nice to avoid swapping out and have her being bored.

The worst part of the show (for me) was when they pulled a woman to come on stage during the show, and Y’ALL IT WAS THE WOMAN WITH HER DANG BUTT CHEEKS HANGING OUT!!!! And everyone was witness to this when she stood up and turned towards her family to walk sideways out of her row and put those things on display for the whole theater. I think the guys on stage were even a bit shocked by what they saw!!

The best part of this queue is seeing everyone else go through to Platform 9 ¾!

That really is a neat effect.

We wanted to rider swap Kong, but when we got over there, the standby wait was 105 minutes, and the express pass was 45 minutes to an hour! No thanks!!

Wow. 45 minute Express Pass???? Not much Express about that.

When they came back, DH and I wanted to ride Hulk, so I went first and hurried over there to ride in the express line, but it was backed up for some reason and took a little longer than usual. When I was put in a corral to get onto the next train, the one came in for us to get on and everyone and everything was all wet. It had started raining outside while I had been in line! I thought about bailing, but then decided to say screw it, I waited all this time, I’m just going to ride. It was actually kind of fun riding in the rain, even though I couldn’t keep my eyes open. Definitely an interesting experience! I found them in the Port of Entry store when I was done, and DH decided to pass on riding.

I love Hulk. No way would I let a few raindrops keep me from riding. Especially if I'm that close!

I guess having our trip almost cancelled and having to find another way to get to Florida due to a hurricane at the beginning of the trip was enough travel drama for one vacation!!

Pretty much anything should pale in comparison to that stress.

So if you're not too sick of us yet, follow the link for our Disneyland adventures.

Thanks! I always enjoy your TRs. I'll have to check that one out once I get caught up.

 

[khertz]

Oh COOL!! We've never done it when there were enough people in line to notice this, so I had no idea!

It's definitely the coolest part of the queue! Although a shame you can't see the effect with your own family/group, it's still neat to watch people go through.

This must be awesome!! If we ever have kids, I really hope I can bring them into some of my favourite literary worlds

It was like taking him to Disney for the first time. So amazing to see something you love so much through your child's eyes.

Yay! I'm hoping to get to Disneyland sometime in the next few years, so I'm really looking forward to this TR. I'm heading over now! Can't promise how up-to-date I'll stay before and during our upcoming trip, but I'll definitely keep up eventually!

I sure hope you get a chance to go. It's something every Disney fan needs to experience!!

Always enjoy your TR's! Always beautiful pictures and good storytelling It can't be easy taking a baby but your DD seems pretty go with the flow. How fun that your DS "got" the HP stuff. Thanks for the new TR link!

Thanks for following along! DD is definitely more go-with-the-flow while traveling than DS was at that age.

It was really cool seeing him just light up as he spotted all of the things he recognized from the books and movies!

Glad it was a fun trip, thanks for sharing your report and the great pictures!

Thanks for following!

What a shame -it is hard to predict what they will ride. Maybe he was worried he would encounter Bellatrix Lestrange or some other Death Eater.

Yeah, we were hoping he would have been a bit more adventurous, but what can ya do? We have been having lots of conversations about our upcoming trip, and I think he is going to be willing to try a few things he wouldn't do before now that he can ride with both me and DH.

Maybe next time. Hannah loved being picked. She was dressed in the full Hogwart's uniform at the time.The good luck was you didn't need to purchase the wand.

Last time we never put him in his HP stuff, but maybe this time with it being a special trip, we'll have to bring his robes into the parks with us to give him a better chance of getting chosen!

That is so good that he gets the humour of it. Great that he got picked.

He really enjoyed being singled out during the show! lol

It is so fun when you can start to share interests.

Definitely. It keeps the excitement alive for me getting to experience it all with him!

This is really cute - you will need to recreate this in a few years.

That's a great idea! lol We will have to get him to do it every trip in the years to come to compare.

Nothing can top that and good sized portions too!

Yes, I was impressed! It was very good, and so convenient.

Thanks so much. I really enjoyed this trip report. I didn't do Orlando with an under 2. I waited until Pete was 3 which was a lot easier. You did a really good job of keeping Delilah entertained.

I am impressed with how well you have done completing the trip reports particularly given how busy you are with work and looking after 2 young children.

Thanks for following along!

We definitely got a LOT of practice with her at varying ages. lol This was the roughest trip to Universal with her as she was not as content to sit in the stroller while waiting as much as she was when she was smaller and less mobile. But she was more interested in Disney World than she had ever been, so it was a trade off.

Loved reading about your adventures!

Thanks for following!

We love the Horror Make-up Show and have seen it many times. I know exactly what you son was picked for. Too funny!

It's a very funny show, and even funnier since it had been awhile since we had been there! I'm sure we will see it again in September and this time I should be able to stay until the end at least.

Now all I can think about is how amazing that peanut butter brownie gelato sounds! Yum!

Loved the report and can't wait to hear about Disneyland!

It tasted as amazing as it sounds.

Thanks for following!

From what I've heard the layout is the same, just smoother. I really need to get back there and ride it myself.

I didn't notice anything much "smoother" about it, as it jostled me just as much as always! lol But it was still so much fun!

Fantastic...

Right?!

Yeah... I'm the same way. Better to just be nice and not make a big deal of it, but when it gets to this extreme, it is time to let somebody know it is unacceptable. Sorry for the trouble, but I'm glad they at least got it to you quickly after this call.

I hated having to get ugly, but I was tired and ready to get those kids to bed! Not much upsets me on vacation except messing with my kids' sleep!

First of all, if she's wearing that, it probably says something about the amount of class she has and you can't expect the rest of the family to have more class than mama.

And those are the types you can never, ever get away from.

That's a VERY good point!!

That's great! I'm glad they took the time to make it a little special for her since she can't do anything in that park.

It was very sweet of the TMs there, and of course DD loved the attention.

It will certainly be nice to avoid swapping out and have her being bored.

I feel bad leaving her behind, but I know everyone will be happier with the arrangement! She will definitely enjoy some grandparents time instead of waiting around on us all day.

That really is a neat effect.

It's so cool how they managed to make it so authentic to the real King's Cross and to the books/movies!

Wow. 45 minute Express Pass???? Not much Express about that.

I know!!! We were like thanks but no thanks! I don't know if the ride had been down earlier or something to cause such a backup in both lines or what, but it was the longest Express line we encountered either day.

I love Hulk. No way would I let a few raindrops keep me from riding. Especially if I'm that close!

Yeah, after that long of a wait and being ready to board, I wasn't going to let the rain stop me either! Getting pelted in the face wasn't ideal, but it was still a fun ride! And good practice for September as I am preparing for a pretty rain-filled trip.

Thanks! I always enjoy your TRs. I'll have to check that one out once I get caught up.

Thanks for following!

 

[DDuck4Life]

Ok... what are these exactly? I get the concept of the houses, but do they just roll out a few props and actors into the street and call that a scare zone?

The scare zones are another way to bring the scares to you instead of only walking through houses. At HHN every moment is spent in terror. Basically all the walk ways in between the houses have the areas themed with more scare actors walking around mingling with the crowd to elicit scares while walking from house to house. It's more of an open free flowing area so the scare actors can follow you all the way around the area they are stationed. Tends to be a more up close a personal experience here since they come right up to you and can walk right next to you while you continue to freak out where as in a house the scare actors are pretty stuck in one area and can't follow along with you.

The will have some elaborate props, scare actors, and usually a lot of fog. That way the scare actors duck in and out of the props to jump out and scare people then disappear back into the fog to scare the next person.

 

[missangelalexis]

The Mummy is one of my favorites too!

DD appreciates all the good Orlando theme park snacks

Sounds like a nice end to your time in the parks, as well as a relaxing and enjoyable dinner/dessert!

As always, thank you for sharing! I love hearing about all the fun you and your family get up to!