PTR: A Spring Fling on the Dark Side ...2 Muggles Celebrate in Diagon Alley!

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Hello, everyone . Welcome to my pre-trip report. We have officially hit the coveted double-digits (99 days until our toes hit Orlando soil! ) so I thought it would be fun to start another report to help pass the time until May. Thanks for joining in!

Some of you may have already become acquainted through one of my previous trip reports. I have a few that you can check out, if you are a new reader and would like to get to know us a little better. The links to each are in my signature, or you can check them out here:

December 2012: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3041415

August 2013: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3167818

August 2014: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=51863899

For those that don’t wish to delve into the details of our previous getaways, I will give you a brief introduction to my little family. First, there’s me: I’m the planner, the organizer, and the researcher. I overthink most things in life and our trips are no exception. I am always reading: eager for more information, more details, more knowledge. Some may say I suffer from a degree of OCD ….. and they would be totally correct!!



Then, there’s my Steve . My best friend, my confidante, and my total opposite. He’s calm and laid back. He’s easy going. He’s tall. Together we create what I like to think is a wonderful balance . And this trip is the celebration of our 22nd anniversary on the day we arrive (May 1st).



22 years! I can hardly believe it as I type it. We were so young then.



We have one child, our Jake. He’s currently in his first year of college, balancing a full time class schedule in Justice Studies while working 5 days a week in the youth department of our YMCA. He also has a girlfriend, a delightful young lady whom many of you already know as Sweetie. She travelled with us for the first time in August 2014, and has since fallen in love with Florida too. I guess that means we can keep her now .



Despite the fact that we extended the offer for both kids to come with us in August, both opted to decline. Jake (who is very financially savvy for a newly 19 year old) doesn’t want to miss any shifts at work, and decided to seize the wide-open chance add to his savings while the opportunity arises. He’s beginning to see his future stretching before him, and wants to add to his apartment fund as much as possible while he’s on summer break. Sweetie, on the other hand, will still be in school in May (she’s not quite college age just yet, so her high school classes run to the end of June) which means her participation is out as a result. I am sure that her inability to travel during that time is also factoring in to Mr. Jake’s decision…..but I was 19 once, and totally understand. Heck, I was married at 19! (he’d better not get any ideas, though….just sayin’ ).



So…..this will be our first trip alone, without the kid. Ever. Even as I type this, it’s hard for me to fathom that Steve-o and I will be having a real, honest-to-goodness, grown-up getaway. No meals at Cici’s Pizza or trips to the Nike Store, no mandatory sleeping in at least a few times every trip. I won’t lie, I’m gonna miss not having our fun-loving boy along for the fun…..yet, I am excited and thrilled to spend some wonderful, quality, adult time with my other favourite guy. And to celebrate our anniversary, no less!



Our Florida dates are May 1st to May 8th (with an extra night, April 30th, in Syracuse NY) and this vacation will be focusing solely on the Universal parks (Jaker is soooo jealous….I think he almost changed his mind). Our last visit to the Universal Parks was January 2012, so there’s a ton of new things that we are super eager to check out……Diagon Alley. Despicable Me (I love minions!). Transformers. Springfield (there’s a big pink donut with my name on it). We have purchased Premier AP’s for the first time, and we intend to make the very most of them. After travelling to Florida in August x 3, January x 2, and December (Christmas week), we are extremely excited to visit at a new time of year. Since we’re no longer tied to the northern high school schedule, it seemed the perfect time to try out the spring.

Our accommodations are secured offsite at our beloved Sheraton Vistana Resort. Those that know me are well aware that the resort has captured a piece of my heart, and I just can’t imagine staying anywhere else. I look forward to sunning myself on the deck of the Fountains pool more than a few times that week :



So, that’s the basic trip details in a nutshell. There’s definitely more to come in future posts. I hope some of you will join me in the chatter as we count down the days to April 30th!

 

[Welcome Home]

Our trip overlaps by several days.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Our trip overlaps by several days.

That's awesome! I am hoping for great weather.....warm and sunny, but not too hot. Three of our last 4 trips have been in August and we've almost melted in the humidity.

I am wondering if love bugs will be a problem? There is so much to learn before our first spring trip!

 

[Welcome Home]

Duplicate post somehow.

 

[Welcome Home]

This is my first Universal trip but I have done several WDW trips during that time and I use to live in Florida. It is generally a wonderful time of year. It is warm enough to enjoy the pools and water rides but not blazing hot. Also it is before the rainy season. One year we went one week later than usual to accommodate others traveling with us and it rained nonstop. Several weeks before it was bone dry. The love bugs have never really bothered us other than the windshield.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

This is my first Universal trip but I have done several WDW trips during that time and I use to live in Florida. It is generally a wonderful time of year. It is warm enough to enjoy the pools and water rides but not blazing hot. Also it is before the rainy season. One year we went one week later than usual to accommodate others traveling with us and it rained nonstop. Several weeks before it was bone dry. The love bugs have never really bothered us other than the windshield.

That's exactly the weather we're hoping for!!

Of course, being from Canada, its always warm enough in Florida for us to enjoy the pools . The only thing that stops us northerners from swimming is if there's ice on the water .

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

So, we have devised a loose itinerary.....a basic idea of where we plan to be, on each day. All subject to change, of course, which is one of the (many) reasons we gravitate towards the Universal and SeaWorld parks versus their Disney counterparts. While we admittedly enjoy the planning process before our departure, I abhor having to micro-manage our time. There's got to be room to be spontaneous and change things up as necessary (or simply because we want to). So while nothing is set in stone, we have this general plan of attack:

Thursday, April 30th: after cleaning house and one final round of laundry in the morning, we'll depart for Syracuse sometime in the afternoon. Cracker Barrel is my must-do for dinner, since we should be rolling into Syracuse at just the perfect time to enjoy a relaxing evening meal. It’s been a couple of years since we worked Cracker Barrel into one of our trips (it’s not one of Jake's favourites) so with the kiddo left behind, we thought it would be the perfect place for our first night dinner. It’s one of the many American chains that we don’t have here at home, so its novel for us Canucks.

Our park and fly hotel is the Holiday Inn Express Syracuse Airport. It has an indoor pool (and hot tub, I think?), so we will be able to enjoy a swim before retiring for the night. Our flight is at 8 am the next morning, so it will be early to bed ... assuming, of course, we can sleep .

Friday, May 1st: our anniversary! It will be up before the crack of dawn, touching down around 10:30 am in Orlando. Assuming I escape a bout of airsickness, I thought we’d try Sweet Tomatoes for lunch before checking in to the Vistana. Once we’re settled into our villa, we’ll head over to Universal and catch a ride or two before the parks close early for Grad Bash. This will allow us to activate our tickets and our PhotoConnect card (already pre-purchased) so we’re ready for rope drop on our full park days. We thought perhaps we’d catch dinner at Margaritaville or somewhere else at CityWalk. Something fun...since we’ll be celebrating .

Saturday, May 2nd: this is another early closing day due to Grad Bash. At this point, I’m unsure if we’ll hit the parks at all, or enjoy a trip to the beach (we adore the ocean). Perhaps we’ll do both. We hope to kick off the day with breakfast at the Waffle House (never dined there before). Dinner will be at the Knife, another new dining adventure for us. We purchased a Groupon at a significant discount, and being a major meatatarian, Steve cannot WAIT for this meal.

Sunday, May 3rd: this is slated for Universal Studios. We are HUGE Simpsons fans, so lunch at the Simpsons food court is a must. We’re thinking maybe Finnegan’s for dinner, unless we can come up with a better idea. We are hoping to do rope drop to close, if we old folks can handle it!

Monday, May 4th: Islands of Adventure. Dining today will likely be at 3 Broomsticks and Thunder Falls Terrace. IOA closes at 7, so we can pop over to the Studios for another couple of hours since they're open until 9. We will try to maximize our free one-time Express after 4 pm which comes with our Premier AP’s .

Tuesday, May 5th: we have this allocated as a “free day” right now. Not sure what we will do...I am sure we will have no problem finding something fun (perhaps a day at Wet ‘n Wild? Or just enjoying a relaxing day at the resort). We can always add in another park day if we so choose. If we’re NOT in the parks, we’ll probably do Wood Grill Buffet for breakfast (have only done dinner there so far), Steak & Shake for lunch (a family favourite), and maybe 4 Rivers for dinner. Their barbecue is getting rave reviews everywhere we turn, so we really want to give it a try. If not 4 Rivers, then perhaps Millers Ale House.....it’s another establishment on our dining wish-list that we’ve never had the chance to try yet.

Wednesday, May 6th: back to Universal Studios. We plan to try Leaky Cauldron for lunch. US closes at 7, so we’ll probably grab a later dinner at TGI Fridays after we leave the park. We have gift certificates to use so this seems like a great opportunity. We absolutely adore their Reese's peanut butter pie (me) and their cheesecake (Steve), so it tends to be a must-do when we are in the States. Those desserts are worth the trip to Florida alone!

Thursday, May 7th: another full day allocated to Islands of Adventure. We hope to dine at Mythos for lunch....it looks beautiful inside, and the food seems rather impressive. Unsure about dinner plans just yet....much will depend on whether we pop back over to the Studios until 9 pm or call it a day when IOA closes at 7. We will play it by ear. Perhaps we might eat somewhere on CityWalk? Or Chili’s? Or ??? .

Friday, May 8th: departure day.....but we don’t need to be at the airport until around 5 (our flight leaves just after 7 pm). This is another unplanned day. After checking out of our villa, we can squeeze in more time at the parks, we might mini golf, I am not really sure. One thing I certainly DO know....we will be doing something. Because I hate, hate, hate that foreboding feeling on departure day when the mind and body fall idle. We want to be busy and active and squeeze out every last minute of fun before we have to make the sad trek home.

Here’s a little flashback from our last Universal trip.......seems so long ago!

 

[pigletto]

YAY!!!! Another Gina trip report. You know I'm in for the long haul.
I'm excited for you and Steve and your grown up anniversary trip! I know you will miss Jake but it's kind of nice to know that you can leave them home and they are safe and responsible and grown up isn't it?
This March will probably be dd's last trip with us for awhile too. Is Jake coming on the other trips you have planned this year?
Between work and school it gets really hard to plan something once they hit college/university age doesn't it?

As you know we're doing an all Universal trip this time too! We're booked at Cabana bay right now, but hope to add a night at a deluxe for the two days of express. It will depend how much I can squeeze out of this budget. Our dollar isn't co-operating though.

Your plans look great! We loved Sweet Tomatoes!

I think you will really like that time of year. We've been once in May and it was my favourite weather in all 10 Orlando trips. Perfect for swimming and not too hot to spend a whole day in the parks.
I'm so happy there's another Gina trip report in the works.

 

[dsmom]

I am so excited to see a new Gina trip report!! I am a LONG time lurker coming out of hiding. I have read and re-read and re-read all three of your past trip reports and have been patiently waiting for the next one!! Your trip reports are my all time favorites! Can't wait to follow along on this one.

 

[Welcome Home]

Sunday, May 3rd: this is slated for Universal Studios. We are HUGE Simpsons fans, so lunch at the Simpsons food court is a must. We’re thinking maybe Finnegan’s for dinner, unless we can come up with a better idea. We are hoping to do rope drop to close, if we old folks can handle it!

Monday, May 4th: Islands of Adventure. Dining today will likely be at 3 Broomsticks and Thunder Falls Terrace. IOA closes at 7, so we can pop over to the Studios for another couple of hours since they're open until 9. We will try to maximize our free one-time Express after 4 pm which comes with our Premier AP’s .

Maybe we will see you one of these days. Sunday we will be at both parks and Monday we may stop by for a few rides in the evening after Aquatica.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

YAY!!!! Another Gina trip report. You know I'm in for the long haul.
I'm excited for you and Steve and your grown up anniversary trip! I know you will miss Jake but it's kind of nice to know that you can leave them home and they are safe and responsible and grown up isn't it?
This March will probably be dd's last trip with us for awhile too. Is Jake coming on the other trips you have planned this year?
Between work and school it gets really hard to plan something once they hit college/university age doesn't it?

As you know we're doing an all Universal trip this time too! We're booked at Cabana bay right now, but hope to add a night at a deluxe for the two days of express. It will depend how much I can squeeze out of this budget. Our dollar isn't co-operating though.

Your plans look great! We loved Sweet Tomatoes!

I think you will really like that time of year. We've been once in May and it was my favourite weather in all 10 Orlando trips. Perfect for swimming and not too hot to spend a whole day in the parks.
I'm so happy there's another Gina trip report in the works.

Welcome, my friend! I am glad to have you here.....its never the same without you .

Jake and Sweetie plan to come along on (and are getting very excited for) our Christmas trip.....assuming, of course, that the dang sliding dollar value doesn't price us out of going entirely in December . The exchange rate is killing us!!!

It will be just Steve and I in October (probably a very similar trip, format-wise, to this one in May, but with HHN ), but the whole fam will be travelling for Christmas.

Before we added our extra Vistana week via Skyauction, we gave Cabana Bay some serious consideration. It boiled down to cost (SVR was substantially less....and with three trips in the works in one year, we have to watch that budget) and amenities (I knew we'd miss the washer and dryer in particular). It was a tough decision though, especially when CB would have given us early entry.

I am so excited to see a new Gina trip report!! I am a LONG time lurker coming out of hiding. I have read and re-read and re-read all three of your past trip reports and have been patiently waiting for the next one!! Your trip reports are my all time favorites! Can't wait to follow along on this one.

Well hello! I am super glad you have joined in!! (and come out of hiding, lol ) That's some super high praise....I hope this report can live up to the others .

Maybe we will see you one of these days. Sunday we will be at both parks and Monday we may stop by for a few rides in the evening after Aquatica.

If we happen to cross paths, don't hesitate to come up and say hello! I think it would be exceptionally cool to run into another Diser when we're there! (I keep hoping it will happen, one of those nifty chance meetings, but so far, no luck.......though apparently I was spotted by a Diser at DTD in August 2013 who was too shy to tap me on the shoulder and introduce herself).

 

[livingthedream]

Fellow Canadian along for the ride!

We are planning a trip in late August/early September with our two young adult sons, and hearing about other people's Universal trip plans adds to the excitement!

We, too, are watching our dollar slide but I don't know if there will be another opportunity for all of us to travel as a family anymore because one son will be heading into his last year of university in the fall, and then will likely move out of province when he graduates to follow his career dream. So we are going to take advantage of this one last opportunity for all of us to travel together and make lasting memories before the boys head out into the world on their own paths.

I, too, have read your other trip reports, and have really enjoyed them! You have a great sense of humour, I think your planning style is similar to mine , your tips to find a good "deal" have been much appreciated , and it sounds like you like to use these trips to "escape" the real world just like I do!

Looking forward to reading more!

 

[livingthedream]

Hmmmmm.....I see my signature block got cut off again! Any tips on how to prevent that from happening from a fellow DISer?

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Fellow Canadian along for the ride!

We are planning a trip in late August/early September with our two young adult sons, and hearing about other people's Universal trip plans adds to the excitement!

We, too, are watching our dollar slide but I don't know if there will be another opportunity for all of us to travel as a family anymore because one son will be heading into his last year of university in the fall, and then will likely move out of province when he graduates to follow his career dream. So we are going to take advantage of this one last opportunity for all of us to travel together and make lasting memories before the boys head out into the world on their own paths.

I, too, have read your other trip reports, and have really enjoyed them! You have a great sense of humour, I think your planning style is similar to mine , your tips to find a good "deal" have been much appreciated , and it sounds like you like to use these trips to "escape" the real world just like I do!

Looking forward to reading more!

Welcome aboard, and thanks for joining in! Sounds like we have a lot in common!

I totally hear you on seizing the opportunity.....as our young people grow older and develop their own lives outside of Mom & Dad's, the chances to travel together become slimmer and slimmer. That's why we're trying not to have too many heart palpitations over the cost of a Christmas trip.....Jake will graduate the following spring scared1 and then who knows where life will take him? It may very well be our last chance to take a big vacation together until heaven knows when. So we swallow the exchange rate the best we can and trundle on.

Yes, I am totally guilty of being a lover of a good hunt for bargains . It's rather a sport for me (lol, I was much more a "mathlete" than an "athlete" in school, so its about time I found a "sport" that I am good at!! ). With three trips in the plans for 2015, I am going to have to get REALLY good at honing my deal-finding skills. I must admit I'm spending a lot of time on Groupon these days .

Hmmmmm.....I see my signature block got cut off again! Any tips on how to prevent that from happening from a fellow DISer?

I think its the length that's an issue. Try making your text smaller, and removing a space or two. That might do the trick .

 

[pigletto]

Dh and dd really really want to do HHN. I could take it or leave it and ds 10 of course wants absolutely no part of it. I am really hoping we can squeeze one more trip out of these AP's in October but like you said, the dollar is killing that dream fast. Time off is a consideration too. Both for us and dd from school.

We could go over Thanksgiving weekend but that's the big family get together at the cottage and I'd hate to miss that time with my siblings and my new niece/nephew I will have by then.

Who am I kidding? If I want an October trip ,somehow, some way it will happen. It always does.

Maybe if we end up there at the same time we could have an ice cream!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Dh and dd really really want to do HHN. I could take it or leave it and ds 10 of course wants absolutely no part of it. I am really hoping we can squeeze one more trip out of these AP's in October but like you said, the dollar is killing that dream fast. Time off is a consideration too. Both for us and dd from school.

We could go over Thanksgiving weekend but that's the big family get together at the cottage and I'd hate to miss that time with my siblings and my new niece/nephew I will have by then.

Who am I kidding? If I want an October trip ,somehow, some way it will happen. It always does.

Maybe if we end up there at the same time we could have an ice cream!

Abso-freakin'-lootley! In fact, if you ARE there at the same time and we DON'T hook up, I will be completely gutted. We're there tentatively from the 10th to the 17th (or within a day either way...will know more once flights are secured) and I would be delighted to finally meet up!

HHN is Steve's big thing. He's been dying to go for years. Me? I could take it or leave it....but always willing to try something new. We get one free HHN ticket per person with our Premier AP's, so to attend in October will be no additional cost. Its one of the reasons we went with the Premier passes versus the Preferred, knowing we would be going back in October.

And thank the Lord I had the foresight to buy those AP's well before Christmas. Many thought I was nuts, but now I feel like a genius .

I am really hoping for a special offer for AP holders for our May trip that would allow us to add a day at Wet & Wild for a low, low price. Its the only Orlando waterpark we haven't been to yet, and I desperately would love to give it a try on one of our "off" days from the Universal parks.

 

[schumigirl]

Yay.............looking forward to reading along with this one Gina...........sounds like a fun trip.

We are the same as you with planning..........talk about the trip forever but will not micro manage a trip........trips are supposed to be fun not military operations

And being meatatarians..........that gets you brownie points too

 

[Lynne G]

Wahoo! I'm in. Been an AP holder for 2 years now. Love that they reduce the price for renewal. So, subbing! We'll be celebrating 23 years next month, but doubt we will leave the kids during the school year. But, we may still have a Florida DIS meet someday.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Yay.............looking forward to reading along with this one Gina...........sounds like a fun trip.

We are the same as you with planning..........talk about the trip forever but will not micro manage a trip........trips are supposed to be fun not military operations

And being meatatarians..........that gets you brownie points too

Hi schumi, I am so happy to have you joining in!

I must admit, whenever I see you posting on the boards, my mind tends to drift to your trip reports and all of Kyle's chocolate sensations....then you mention "brownie" points.....and now I'm craving dessert in the worst way .

As the year goes on, I'm going to have to go back and re-read your past reports in greater detail to learn all I need to know about HHN. May is going to be our Universal re-acquaintance after a 3+ year hiatus, then Halloween at the parks is going to be all new for us too!

Wahoo! I'm in. Been an AP holder for 2 years now. Love that they reduce the price for renewal. So, subbing! We'll be celebrating 23 years next month, but doubt we will leave the kids during the school year. But, we may still have a Florida DIS meet someday.

Welcome, Lynne!! I was hoping you would pop over and join in . You are always such a great contributor to my reports!

23 years for you, that's awesome! There's nothing in this world that's sweeter to celebrate than love . I hope you have something fun planned to mark the special occasion.

As for that future Dismeet....I'm gonna hold you to it . You wouldn't want to meet up at Christmas, would ya?

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Transportation Plans

As I mentioned in my first post, we’ll be flying again this trip. We’ve done the requisite family road trip in the past.....a two day journey from our home in Ontario to Wisconsin Dells during the summer of 2010. While it’s something I think every family should do at least once (it was fun....a totally unique family vacation experience ), we learned that we’re just not cut out for long car journeys . To drive to Orlando, we’re looking at 1420 miles each way (thank you, Google Maps ) or 20.5 hours of straight driving with no stops or traffic factored in. In contrast, the journey by plane is under two and a half hours....much more manageable. Of course, we still have to factor in the time it takes us to travel to Syracuse (roughly 3 hours), but we’re more than 2 hours from our closest Canadian airport anyway. May I say I’m envious for those who have the convenience of an airport close to home?



One thing we really like about flying from an American airport....we clear customs in the car at the border, which means we don’t have to do so before our flight. Much appreciated when we have an early morning departure.....I am much more charming at 6 am than I am at 5 !

Flights for our trip were purchased way back in November, within a week of Jetblue’s fare release. Since it was just the two of us, we upgraded to the Even More Space seats without hesitation. We’re on the smaller Embraer planes with the 2 x 2 configuration. I get the window, Steve gets the aisle.



Jetblue from Syracuse currently offers one non-stop to Orlando per day, so that’s what we booked. Ditto for the way home. I guess, if nothing else, it makes deciding flights quite easy! I booked our rental car shortly after securing our flights, even though I know car prices should drop dramatically around 6 weeks out. I’m really not sure why, but I prefer having a “worst case scenario” and know it can only get better from there. Shortly after booking the rental, Dollar’s rates dropped like a stone and I was able to rebook at a very comfortable $165 taxes included for the 8 day rental . I haven’t seen anything under $230 for a full size since. On Wednesday this week, while booking my boss’s spring trip (more on that in a future post) I noticed that our May 1st departure had been moved from 7 am to 8 am. While a little part of me was delighted (woohoo! An extra hour’s sleep! ) it threw off my scheduled car rental pick up time (d’oh! ). Modifying my reservation was going to jack up the price of the rental to $250+ .... not cool. At the suggestion of a fellow Diser (thanks Keisha!) a quick email inquiry to Dollar yielded the response that Dollar allows for a 6-hour window for pick up of reserved rentals, so unless we don’t arrive by 4 pm, there’s no problem . So yay! The rental price stands . Still hoping for Alamo as our travel dates grow closer, though. We love being able to pick our own car.

98 days to go!

I’ve been having so much fun looking back through photos from our last (and first) Universal trip. I hope you don’t mind me sharing a few more of our 2012 pics with you as I count down:



I totally hope to meet Scooby and Shaggy again this trip!!