The "Double Double-Dip" 17 Day Florida Vacation - 1,233 Pictures Report

[bubba's mom]

I have a question. The Magna Doodle that Bubba got. Is the pen attached? I was thinking something like that would make a lightweight, easy to carry timekiller. I just don't want to be picking up the pen every 5 minutes or, worse yet, deal with the meltdown if the pen gets lost.

Yep..it is. See the orange string at the end of the pen...that's it.

When Bubba was your boys' age, I took a travel magna doodle, travel etch-a-sketch, anything small and travel-able. If he had his Nintendo DS Lite at the time, I would have taken that too! Look around...you'd be surprised what's small and on-the-go-able now....

 

[jenseib]

Great report. I still need to gp back and read the first part yet. But reading this installment of Universal makes me want to even more. I haven't been to Universal since 1999, and sooo much has changed since then.
This year I want to do the cruise, but maybe the next trip we can go there!
Ok, I'm planning way ahead now! LOL!
When I do my next report though, I am going to try and be as detailed as you,with a lot of pics as well. It really helps me see how your days went and I feel like I'm there with you!

 

[Melanie230]

Thanks for that Barb...great report so far. Last year we ate at that Friday's. It was really nice, and the food was wonderful!

 

[tlinus]

Awesome installment.

I need to get me one of them thar tripod thingys......most beautiful night shots ever!!!

Looking forward to more

 

[keishashadow]

great stuff barb!

couple Qs & observations:

1) Wow, Randy really has a resemblence to his Pa & Pa has great retirement gig going what a great pool!

2) Am i trippin or is the escargot 'nekkie/no shell' & sitting in a poached egg dish

3) assume the cherries jubiliee are not 'flambed' @ the table

4) we did the buffet for breakfast every morning, especially the last one to eek out a few more minutes aboard...what time do they boot u?

5) was the sit-down breakfast 'better' than the buffet

 

[bubba's mom]

Great report.

jen...you can NEVER plan vacation far enuf in advance When's your cruise? (can't see ticker..it's cut off ) I try to remember to take pix of things I wonder about, but can't find any pix of. Like, Curious George playarea at the Studios. Last year I took a ton of pix for my report....never could find any except of the front. (I took lots of pix of the ball area in the back of CG area.) The more details I write, the easier it is for US to remember our trip...another reason I write them with lots of details and pictures.

I need to get me one of them thar tripod thingys......most beautiful night shots ever!!!

yes, you do

couple Qs & observations:

1) Wow, Randy really has a resemblence to his Pa & Pa has great retirement gig going what a great pool!

They retired in '95 when they had that house built. Dad actually just had the pool redone...had a broken/leaky pipe. I will admit, with the heater cranked up, and that float, I've taken more naps than I can count in that pool

2) Am i trippin or is the escargot 'nekkie/no shell' & sitting in a poached egg dish

not trippin (for once )...ecargots are nekkie.... that's an escargot dish...they are deshelled and soakin in garlic/butter under the 'filling' top. Very good!

3) assume the cherries jubiliee are not 'flambed' @ the table

nope...comes out like that

4) we did the buffet for breakfast every morning, especially the last one to eek out a few more minutes aboard...what time do they boot u?

we did the buffet everyday except the last. missed the buffet in BBB one morning, directed us to Parrot Cay instead. Breakfast last morning was at 7am for us. We ate, used restrooms and just left (around 8?) Not sure what time they are kicking you off...we had places to go and family to see, so we wuz in 'somewhat' of a hurry...

5) was the sit-down breakfast 'better' than the buffet

not at all. imo, not nearly the selection...and you had to wait for it...no self-serve like the buffet. i prefer buffet

next question please

 

[jenseib]

We haven't booked yet, but I want to go March 1st. My DH is so last minute, so I am waiting for DH to agree and give the OK.

 

[keishashadow]

thanks barb

im going to order the escargot or is that escargots?

let's just call them slimey

 

[bubba's mom]

slimey a/k/a escargot They are very good. Heck, if my Bubba liked 'em, they GOT to be good..right?

 

[keishashadow]

indubidoubly nyuk nyuk

 

[bubba's mom]

Day 15 - Thursday, July 10, 2008


Of course we slept in today. Around 9-ish, my DS vacated his bed (& view) in lieu of breakfast in OUR bed. A couple views from our room. 1, 2 and the boat dock from our room. You can see the rickshaw people at the boat dock...for those who don't want to walk OR wait on the boat.

Just before 11am, we headed for the parks. Mom waited on the boat, we walked. Now, I hadn't thought of it until now, but I took step-by-step pictures of the shortcut through the HRH parking lot to the parks.

Walk past the boat dock and bear right at the split. Unless you'd like to take the long walk, do NOT follow this sign. (After passing the 'garden walk entrance', I turned around to take a picture...facing the hotel.) Once you get to the corner, you can turn around and look behind you toward the hotel. This is the view crossing the street to HRH. Walking up toward the HRH....turning at your first right (before the hotel) into the self-parking lot. You can clearly see you are heading toward the old HRC (in the background). Just before you would exit the parking lot (to the access road), follow the parking lot and bear left. This is more self-parking. (See the Studios in the distance?) Walk through the parking lot, until you spot a 'break' in the trees/bushes on your right. There is a pathway hidden at parking spot #627. A short path to the parks. The path actually comes out near the bus stop.

As we walked toward the boat dock (to meet Mom), we saw Bart & Lisa doing a meet & greet out in front of the Studios. Mom's boat wasn't there yet, so we waited....

After she arrived, we headed toward IOA. Our first plan was to head to Spiderman, but the EP line was out the door by now (just after 11am). If you have ever been an onsite guest, you don't wait in lines that long...we decided to check out Hulk and come back in a little while.

Hulk line was long too! Decided to ride Storm Force instead. What a dizzy ride! (DH & Bubba love to get us spinnin!)

After a quick spin on Storm Force, we checked the line for Hulk as we walked by....not long! Score. We did a spin on the Hulk and after that, Spiderman. The line had gone down, but there was still a (small) wait.

It was now approaching 12:30, and of course, some of the troops were getting hungry. We've always wanted to try Comic Strip cafe in Toon Lagoon...and we were heading that way anyhows...soooooo.....

In front of Comic Strip Cafe. Inside it's set up cafeteria style with 4 sections. Burgers & Dogs, Pizza & Pasta, and Fish & Chicken and Chinese.

Close up pix of the menus: pizza, burgers & dogs, chinese and fish & chicken.

DH had a decent sized hamburger, while Mom & Bubba split a pizza. (There are not slices, but small, whole pies.)

One thing to note...you CAN be in ANY line and get any food. We discovered if you went into the 'chinese' line and wanted a pizza, you could do that. So, we would recommend just getting into the shortest line to order your food. We enjoyed the food here (as good as fast food can be) and definitely prefer these burgers over Richter's anyday. We'll stop here again....

With tanks full, we headed toward Popeye. It was just after 1pm and it was nice and hot. We rode Popeye two times in a row...little to no wait. After 2 spins on Popeye, we had to head toward the Hulk.

I had a DIS meet with rpbert1 (Robert) and ky07 (Lawrence) there at 2pm.

I hit the ladies room when we got to the Hulk, because I didn't see anyone. By the time I came out, Robert and his family were there...chattin' w/ my family. (He said he spotted Bubba...can't miss that hair! ) We chatted for a little bit before Lawrence and his family showed up.

After they arrived (they spotted Bubba first too!)...time to ride HULK! We all left our bags with my Mom and headed to Hulk. It was a great ride! Mom took our picture for us. After snappin' that picture for us, Mom headed back to the hotel to relax. We all rode once more after she left. After the second ride, it was on to Dragons!

Along the way, Robert's DD and I had our picture taken with Grinch.

This is where I got MY first look at the wall in front of Enchanted Oak. In this picture, you can see the tree out front that Lawrence heard being cut down. I was really hoping they'd keep it, as I thought it could easily be themed into Harry Potter....guess not.

Once we arrived at Dragons, it took a little convincing to Mary Eva (Lawrence's wife) to ride Dragons. She said she would try it ....and pray! We left all our bags with my DH. Once I led the group toward the shortcut to the entrance, Mary Eva got a little more nervous...I told her to pray faster.

We headed toward Fire first, of course this was the dragon with the line...but, I thought this would be a good one to do first. We all managed to ride the same car and Mary Eva, Lawrence and his sons liked it! I kept telling her she would like it...I'm so glad she did!

After riding Fire, I voted to ride Ice next. This time, we left the bags with Lawrence and my DH rode. (Lawrence didn't want to 'push it' with the coasters and his back...and, imo, Ice IS a bit rougher than Fire.)

Back up to the shortcut we went...and dontcha know, Ice had the line this time

Nonetheless...we all enjoyed our ride!

After our rides, we took a picture.

Since the walkway to Flying Unicorn is blocked also, the group headed back toward the Mystic Fountain.

He was talking, and squirting water a plenty....that is, until my DH wanted to get wet. (I stood next to him, and managed to get the Fountain to squirt him )

It was approaching 4pm and I didn't want to hold everyone up. We usually have an early dinner, so we were going to need to head back to PBH soon and get ready for dinner ourselves. We said our 'goodbyes' and we stopped at Fire Eaters for drinks. Bubba had a juice, I had water, and DH had a beer...which, I got and was carded for getting!

We walked toward the front of the park toward Seuss Landing. I wanted to ride the Trolley Train ride, but DH wasn't finished his beer yet. So, Bubba and I rode the Trolley Train (in the front seat) while DH took our picture from the ground...where he was enjoying his beer. After the Trolley ride, DH had plenty of time to finish his beer and we rode Cat in the Hat. Bubba let us take his picture exiting Cat in the Hat.

It was now 4:45ish and on our way to Spiderman, we stopped by the dining kiosk at Port of Entry to see what Bubba Gump's had available. I was looking for a 6:30 time and they had one. That also happened to be the latest they took reservations....after 6:30 no more reservations were made...first come, first serve. We got a receipt of what time and place our restaurant was and headed to do Spiderman one last time before going back to get ready for dinner.

After Spidey, on our way back to PBH, we stopped by Guest Services to call Mom back at the hotel and give her a heads up regarding dinner. (I hadn't brought my phone because she was with us earlier...I didn't know she would go back to the hotel later on.) She said she'd be ready.

We had 2 showers between the 2 rooms to get ready, and within the hour, we headed to Bubba Gumps. I think we got there just around 6:30 (might have been a few minutes late), but when I gave them our name, they didn't have a record of it. Luckily, I brought the receipt I got at the kiosk in IOA and we were seated right away. I don't know if we would have gotten seated that quick if we hadn't had our receipt, but I am glad I brought it...and, I recommend anyone who gets a receipt from a dining kiosk to bring it with them.

At Bubba Gumps, I had the chicken, DS had the kids cheeseburger, DH had the "I'm Stuffed!" Shrimp and Mom had the Shrimp Po' Boy.

For dessert, DS had the Chocolate Cookie Sundae ....a HUGE cookie with ice cream on top (that we helped eat ) and Mom had bread pudding. Bubba really enjoyed his dessert.... matter of fact, he ate the whole thing practically himself!

After dinner, we headed to the Studios. Along the way, I spotted this dining kiosk. If you are a day guest (or entering from the parking garage), here is where you can make your dining reservations for the day. You cannot miss it...you'll walk right past it.

We decided to ride JN and Shrek and by the time we rode both of them, it was starting to get dark. We wanted to ride the coasters at IOA in the dark, so we headed that way. Mom doesn't 'do' coasters, and she didn't want to watch the 360 show solo, so she headed back to the hotel.

We were trying to wait for as dark as possible, so we went to DD first. We wanted to ride the front seat of Ice in the dark and the line wasn't too long (peeps at dinner maybe?), so we waited for it. It was forever...because, we found out, they were taking a train off the track. Other than the long wait, it was SO worth it! Ice in the dark, in the front seat, is wicked kewl! Especially when you get to the wall!

We thought we had time, so we ran through the re-ride to ride Fire real quick. Short wait...not as long as Ice....and, not as kewl...but, still neat.

We were cutting our time close, and ran for Hulk. Didn't make it. Oh well, put it on the list for next year. Still, being in the park at 10pm, in the dark, with it lit up, is really beautiful. We decided to take some pictures while the park was relatively empty.

Spidey, Marvel, Dr. Doom, Suess Landing, SL 2, Sneetch Beach, SL 3 and Cat in the Hat. Did you ever notice the backdrop of the Cat in the Hat ride? Port of Entry, POE, POE 2 and exit.

I didn't realize how late we were in the park (till almost 10:30), but we took some pictures on our way out to CityWalk. Passing the lighthouse.

We passed Margaritaville. CityWalk. The Hard Rock Cafe and NBA City.

Studios at night. The boat dock and CityWalk at night.

After about a half an hour of snapping pictures, we headed back to the Portofino via boat. Bubba was tired and didn't feel like walking...and it wasn't crowded.

It didn't take long to grab a snack and we hit the hay about 11:30pm.

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

Yay .... another great installment

 

[ky07]

Yep after you guys got Mary Eva over her fear of the hulk and DD thats all I hear now is if we go next year we are going ride them as much as we can aren't we and I tell what do you mean we

 

[RVGal]

Isn't it cool to get carded these days? What we once thought was a pain because we didn't look old enough, is now a compliment because we look young enough.

Great installment. I love the night pictures!

 

[loribell]

Great installment Barb. Loved the pics.

 

[rpbert1]

WOW Barb what a busy day you had, dont know how you manage it. We went back and spent the rest of the day and night at the pool

 

[keishashadow]

barb u have a 6 pack u head turner u..no wonder u got carded!

a) i want that suite what a view!

b) im impressed w/the detailed description of the shortcut...i was waiting for u to say u had to know the secret password @ parking spot #627 . Know we did the HR self park & scooted over to boat dock (somehow) without going back into the hotel front/lobby...wonder if it takes u the same way (past the boat dock for HR )

c) great group pic

Q (of course lol) i thought bubba gumps didn't take dining ressies? is it only available thru the kiosks day of

 

[bubba's mom]

b) im impressed w/the detailed description of the shortcut...i was waiting for u to say u had to know the secret password @ parking spot #627 . Know we did the HR self park & scooted over to boat dock (somehow) without going back into the hotel front/lobby...wonder if it takes u the same way (past the boat dock for HR )

We were as far from the boat dock as I think you could have been. We were on the opposite side of the hotel from the boat dock (toward OLD HRC) If you are standing in front of the Studios, the shortcut comes out all the way down to your right.... I didn't even know it was there till we walked it.

Q (of course lol) i thought bubba gumps didn't take dining ressies? is it only available thru the kiosks day of

We didn't think so either...we were surprised when we could get a res! Maybe they only take them until a certain time? Or, maybe because they were new there last year they didn't take them? Whatever the reason, glad they did!

 

[keishashadow]

thanks barb, i've got it now re the path's path

haven't done it for a few years, yet i've called HR's concierge in the past (when we weren't concierge ) and they took my requests, calling me back with ressie times...were happy to make dining ressies for me...wonder if the hotels still offer that service?

btw - i luv ur new ticker!

 

[bubba's mom]

Yep after you guys got Mary Eva over her fear of the hulk and DD thats all I hear now is if we go next year we are going ride them as much as we can aren't we and I tell what do you mean we

she means you AND her...together

Isn't it cool to get carded these days? What we once thought was a pain because we didn't look old enough, is now a compliment because we look young enough.

Great installment. I love the night pictures!

i couldn't believe he carded me! ...and, I don't carry ID w/ me, just hotel key and AP. i don't think he believed i was old enough until i pointed out it was for my DH...'over there w/ my 9 yr old son' ...and, apparently, DH looks old enough!

WOW Barb what a busy day you had, dont know how you manage it. We went back and spent the rest of the day and night at the pool

We didn't think it was busy? That's normal for us. When we are there, we are playing! We like to do and see as much as we can...(we aren't there as long as you are!) ...and, we just spent the past week relaxing at my FILs, remember?

haven't done it for a few years, yet i've called HR's concierge in the past (when we weren't concierge ) and they took my requests, calling me back with ressie times...were happy to make dining ressies for me...wonder if the hotels still offer that service?

I wouldn't see why not? You can always ask...if not, make it that morning at the kiosk; the worst THEY can say is they don't take reservations. It may not be all that busy anyhows...