Thursday, May 7th: part 1
How did we get to our second last day already?
One week trips fly by way too quickly.
We were up bright and early after a wonderful, undisturbed and fitful sleep. It’s amazing how a good rest can make one feel like a million bucks and put a noticeable spring in a person's steps
.
We had early entry this morning with our annual passes, so we grabbed a quick breakfast at the villa and headed out the door. As it had been for the entire week, the jaunt up the I4 was quick and efficient, and we were parked in a super spot in preferred parking and into CityWalk in a flash.
The Photoconnect photographers were already out and ready for guests, so we stopped for a picture on our Star Card while in Port of Entry. This section of the park is just so appealing to me, so it was awesome to have that as one of our photo backgrounds
.
We wanted to take advantage of Hogsmeade while it was quiet…..so we wasted no time in heading that way. If anyone wants to know if early entry makes a difference in the overall experience, these pictures might help you get a visual.
Here is Hosgmeade on our previous visit earlier in the week:
(and quite honestly, that’s pretty low crowds for the daytime……the bonus of travelling in the off-season)
And here was Hogsmeade during early entry:
As they say on the Mastercard commercials……PRICELESS
.
Steve decided he would take a ride on Forbidden Journey since the posted wait was only 15 minutes (it’s definitely outside of my ride tolerance level) while I explored the village and took some photos before the masses descended. So off he went into the castle:
…..and off I went exploring. It’s an amateur photographer’s dream here
. It sure doesn’t feel like you’re smack dab in the middle of the state of Florida.
Steve emerged a short time later from Forbidden Journey, admittedly a little queasy from the ride. He missed his Photoconnect picture as a result (dang it!) and told me to forget it, he wasn’t riding again
. This pic would have to do:
We strolled around for a bit, and noted that Dragon Challenge only had a five minute wait…..so Steve-o rode that one, too.
More of coaster purist versus a lover of motion simulators, Dragon Challenge didn’t bother him one bit. Go figure!
Next, we went into Honeydukes to peruse their awesome selection of treats and treasures. I always hold my breath a little when we’re shopping in this store…..the space is so narrow and my Steve is so BIG, I always wonder how he gets those football player shoulders through without knocking something flying
. I can only imagine how oppressed he feels!!
One of the must-try’s on our list was a Cauldron Cake from Honeydukes, so we picked one up to share ($3.37 including tax and AP discount).
We also bought a Butterbeer to share from one of the carts ($5.50 including tax, no AP discount at the carts). We were going to need something to wash all that rich, chocolatey awesomeness down
.
Having done everything we wanted to do in Hogsmeade, we took our snacks and headed to the Lost Continent to enjoy our treats without the growing crowds.
More to come in the next post!