Wow! I'm back from vacation, and I'm NOT happy about it! My wife and I decided to go away on an actual vacation for once, the first one since my brother's wedding in 2005! We opted to go to Disney, because we love it there, and this year marks 10 years since we got married. Our honeymoon was spent in Disney as well, tying it all together! I tell you what, Disney really has this whole thing down to an exact science! We used their magical express transportation from the airport, so we didn't have to get our luggage. We just headed straight for the bus, checked in at the hotel, and took off for Epcot for lunch at the World Showcase. By the time we got back later in the afternoon, our luggage was waiting for us in the room. Unfortunately, they gave us a room with two full size beds, but I called and asked for a King and we were accommodated immediately. Having that hopper pass means we can go to as many of the parks as we want, as many times as we want. We enjoyed a little Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion at the Magic Kingdom that night as well, since those are our 2 favorites. The addition to Captain Jack Sparrow was pretty cool to see!.
That next day, Wednesday, we spent the day at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. I've never been, and it's pretty cool. The highlight, of course, was the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I tell you what, when you round the corner and look down that area, it's just like being in Diagon Alley for sure! The excellent replications of the town are immaculate, as is Hogwarts itself! We got in line for the Harry Potter ride inside Hogwarts, and the wait time was about an hour. It went by quick enough, but then the chaos began. Once you get INTO Hogwarts, you have to stow any bags or such in a locker there and then get BACK into line somehow. It's really quite a mess, very little organization at that point. When we finally got onto the ride, we were so excited, until about 3 seconds into the ride, it stops. Mechanical problem. Then they turn on the freaking lights! After about 10 minutes of that, they start moving the ride again, but no sound or visuals, so I figure they need to fix it longer and are exiting all of us from the ride. Nope, 15 seconds later, it all kicks in again, so we missed a good 15-20 seconds of the ride. When the ride is about a minute long, that's a pretty decent chunk! What ride we did see was very awesome, and I'd have really liked it if perhaps the staff let us go again, or took us back to the front of the line, so we could do the ride correctly. Instead, we were ushered out the exit, and the wait was now 90 minutes. The only line longer than that was the one to get into Olivander's Wand Shop! Apparently, they let in only a few at a time, and then pick 4 from that group to be "fitted" for your own wand. These are more unique wands than the replicas you can buy in many of the kiosks across Universal, but also flimsier and cheaper. I did buy myself a Harry Potter wand while there, cast in resin and finely detailed. You could choose from Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Sirius, Malfoy, Dumbledore, McGonnagal, Voldemort, and I think a couple of others.
The fog and haze of the morning really lent itself to the feel of Diagon Alley/Hogsmeade/Hogwarts! The rest of Universal was pretty cool, the Marvel area was incredibly colorful! They had lots of Marvel Universe figs, but none that I didn't already have, and at $16 each, it was easy to pass up. We spent the entire day there, and one day was plenty.
The rest of the trip was such a good time! I got to ride Tower of Terror a couple of times at Disney's Hollywood Studios, and enjoyed the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular there as well. Star Tours isn't open yet, and that stinks, because it opens for Star Wars weekends coming up soon. We went one day to Disney's Animal Kingdom and did the Safari and Jungle Walks. Those were way too cool! Rhinos are my favorite animal, and when we got to the white rhino area, two of them walked right in front of our vehicle so we had to stop and wait for them, and there was a baby one there as well! The only thing we didn't see is the Lions who were sleeping! Definitely worth going to see!
I tell you what, we couldn't have asked for better weather, and that's a fact. Mid- to Upper-80s every day, no clouds, no rain, humidity in the lower 60s. I got a tad burnt on the last day, just walking around the World Showcase! Coming home to 30s and snow flurries was such a disappointment! However, we got to come home and see our puppy dog who got her own souvenir and was VERY excited to see us!
