September/October 2013 check in

[alicia1506]

Other thing with universal was that by staying onsite we got front of the line access ... Unlimited front of the line. Sure it doesnt apply to wwohp.. Thats fine. We were there in summer so we went on the ripsaw falls and popeye and bluto bilge rat barges ... Similar to splash and kali river rapids at wdw but so much better ... 5 times in a row. Just scan your room key and you are front of the line, everytime. No return timeframe, no standby line .. It was great. Used it for all the water rides and the jurassic park one and then carlo used it for some of the coasters..

And karen if you are at universal for a few days after your cruise.. We will also be there we are at universal from sept 28 - oct 1st and fly out to lax late afternoon on 1st oct...

[WanderlustNZ]

Originally Posted by alicia1506

My understanding is yhat if you want to make any changes (and we certainly did), dreams will do all the running around, calling disney part of it. All you do is email them what you want and they will email you back to say it is done or if they need to clarify anything. They can also make adrs but i personally would prefer to make them myself. Good luck with it. I have also found dreams TAs are a fount of knowledge when it comes to all things disney

Great to hear. I just don't want to have to ring Disney to cancel and rebook every time a special is announced. If Dreams will do this for me, then they can have my business.

[WanderlustNZ]

Originally Posted by cola

Have you been to SeaWorld before? I prefer the Gold Coast one, mainly because of the polar bears I saw lots and lots stereotypical behaviors with animals swimming in exactly the same circle at SeaWorld in Orlando, which was great for photo ops, people could position their child right in front of where the walrus was going to swim up every 2 mins, but I found it quite distressing. (I lived in Singapore for a while and spent quite a bit of time at the zoo, but got to see too much of how they controlled the animals in what is regarded as a show case example of a zoo and have been quite sensitive to the issue ever since, I've noticed a little of it at AK (eg the lion on the top of the hill in Kilimanjaro Safaris), but nothing compared to what was on show at SeaWorld in Orlando). SeaWorld is opening a Empire penguin exhibit next year, so maybe that will be better?

I understand where you're coming from. I have no interest in either SeaWorld or Discovery Cove because I have a real thing against marine mammals kept in captivity and taught to do tricks for people's amusement. It reminds me of an old-fashioned circus. IMO it's so much better to go see dolphins and whales in the wild doing what dolphins and whales do naturally.
Although I'm probably a real hypocrite, because at the same time I'm really looking forward to visiting the Animal Kingdom. Go figure?

[australiankaren]

Originally Posted by alicia1506

Other thing with universal was that by staying onsite we got front of the line access ... Unlimited front of the line. Sure it doesnt apply to wwohp.. Thats fine. We were there in summer so we went on the ripsaw falls and popeye and bluto bilge rat barges ... Similar to splash and kali river rapids at wdw but so much better ... 5 times in a row. Just scan your room key and you are front of the line, everytime. No return timeframe, no standby line .. It was great. Used it for all the water rides and the jurassic park one and then carlo used it for some of the coasters..

And karen if you are at universal for a few days after your cruise.. We will also be there we are at universal from sept 28 - oct 1st and fly out to lax late afternoon on 1st oct...

OMG..thats awesome....we are there 29 sept -3 oct.......so you guys are our tour guides????

[PrincessInOz]

Originally Posted by alicia1506

Other thing with universal was that by staying onsite we got front of the line access ... Unlimited front of the line. Sure it doesnt apply to wwohp.. Thats fine. We were there in summer so we went on the ripsaw falls and popeye and bluto bilge rat barges ... Similar to splash and kali river rapids at wdw but so much better ... 5 times in a row. Just scan your room key and you are front of the line, everytime. No return timeframe, no standby line .. It was great. Used it for all the water rides and the jurassic park one and then carlo used it for some of the coasters..

And karen if you are at universal for a few days after your cruise.. We will also be there we are at universal from sept 28 - oct 1st and fly out to lax late afternoon on 1st oct...

Originally Posted by australiankaren

OMG..thats awesome....we are there 29 sept -3 oct.......so you guys are our tour guides????

I'm checking into WDW on the 2nd October. We will either do UA before the 2nd or after the 8th.

I may need a tour guide as well.

[alicia1506]

totally happy to be anyone's tour guide. we are only there for a few days, so will need to spend a lot of time in the parks. we should have a few drinks/dismeet in the hotel bar

[australiankaren]

Originally Posted by alicia1506

totally happy to be anyone's tour guide. we are only there for a few days, so will need to spend a lot of time in the parks. we should have a few drinks/dismeet in the hotel bar

or hard rock or nascar or bubba gump ...oh the curly fries and cocktails i can have

[australiankaren]

Originally Posted by PrincessInOz

I'm checking into WDW on the 2nd October. We will either do UA before the 2nd or after the 8th.

I may need a tour guide as well.

well if you do it before the 2nd we should all be there...so after the parks close we can meet city walk for dinner and compare notes.....a UST ANZAC Dizmeet....

[Travel Mum]

Oh the beauty of staying on site at Universal with unlimited front of line access is that you can just tour anyway you want! We were able to just go around Universal Studios in a clockwise, natural touring, direction and it was so lovely and relaxing. That was compared to my uber-planned ride order and me being the Fast Pass Runner at the WDW parks! Of course on your IOA day, you do have to prioritise WWoHP but just do that at the onsite hotel guests early entry time and then, once done, you can tour that park leisurely too

[PrincessInOz]

Are you getting a Universal AP?

[WanderlustNZ]

Just bought a few things of Amazon.com in the Black Friday Sales. Included was the box set of all Harry Potter movies. I figure that I can't visit the WWOHP without learning a bit about it first. Would you believe that I've never seen any of the movies or read any of the books? lol.

[alicia1506]

Omg the harry potter books are awesome but please keep in mind the first few were written for younger children/adults. Then it was several years between books so they are written for a young teen/tween, then mid teen then young adult then adult etc. I love them and the world building

[becpee]

Originally Posted by WanderlustNZ

Just bought a few things of Amazon.com in the Black Friday Sales. Included was the box set of all Harry Potter movies. I figure that I can't visit the WWOHP without learning a bit about it first. Would you believe that I've never seen any of the movies or read any of the books? lol.

I read up to page 100 of the first book, I found it very nothing

Maybe I should have read further...

[australiankaren]

audio books.....HP read by steven fry......flippen awesome brings the books to life...great in the car

[PrincessInOz]

Originally Posted by becpee

I read up to page 100 of the first book, I found it very nothing

Maybe I should have read further...

My personal favourite is book 3.