Welcome Home, You've Arrived!!!!! A June 2014 Trip Report and Video

[Teknik_DC2]

Even in the rain the show was great as always. This is my favorite night time show in Disney World and only come in 2nd to World of Color out in California. I love that the story uses Disney Characters mixed with fire and water and laser effects. Its a must see in my opinion and i'm so glad we got to see it dispite the crappy weather.














Of course seeing Fantasmic tonight ment missing our final plans for Star Wars Weekends and that was missing the special Star Wars fireworks show. If you recall when we were in the studios earlier in the week we left early due to the storms that closed everything down. We were suppose to see Fantasmic that night. But never did. Although it was sad missing the Special Star Wars fireworks I wanted the family to see Fantasmic even more. We were able to see the fireworks going off though as we exited the amphitheater near the Tower of Terror.



The park closing time was drawing near but we noticed that the Tower of Terror was practically a walk on. So we decided to give it a ride one last time. It was even better after nightfall. But even after that ride we still had a couple minutes to spare so we quickly ran around to the enterance and were able to get in to ride it again. The park closed while inside and we were on the final elevator of the day. It was such a great experiance. Especially as the CM's were pulling out all the stops for the final rides being very creepy and fun. We love this ride so much.






As we finished up for the night and made our way down Sunset Blvd and eventually Hollywood Blvd that park was very empty as the 2nd showing of Fantasmic had begun. It made for some great photos though after dark. Especially as the lights reflected off of the wet ground.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

I had a great time at Star Wars Weekend and am glad that I finally got to go. It should be a must do if possible for any Star Wars fan. Its just too bad that once again the rain came in and ruined our plans for the day. Still I think we were able to get a lot done.






We returned to the Townhouse where it wasn't long until we were in bed. Tomrrow would be the final full day Kiera, Daniel, and I would have in Orlando so we hoped to make the most of it. The original plan was to go back to Universal Orlando. But we would end up altering those plans instead.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

Day 14: Cocoa Beach

Today was the final full day that Kiera, Daniel, and I would have in Florida on this trip. The original plan was that we would be at Universal again. However Kiera’s family decided instead that they really wanted to try and go see the beach. So after going to Church again and having lunch in at the Townhouse they took off. Our family as well as Stirling would be joining everyone else later as first we were running back over to the Orlando Premium Outlets to grab some things from the Disney Character Warehouse and some Luggage for Kieras Mom. Soon enough we were on the express way out to Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach. As with the Tolls you come across going to and from the Airport make sure you have plenty of quarters as there are another 3 tolls to pass thru to get to the Beach.




We hit some pretty bad rain and storming on the drive out to the Beach. A call to Kiera’s parents revealed that it wasn’t much better in town. In fact the beach had actually been closed because the weather was so bad. Since we were nearly to Cape Canaveral though we decided to stop and watch the Cruise ships sail out of Port Canaveral since they would be leaving very soon. If you’ve read other trip reports of mine you’ll know that we have a love for cruising and 3 of our 5 cruises have been out of Port Canaveral on Carnival Ships.



We decided to go to the new Port Canaveral Exploration Tower to watch the Ships sail out. If I recall right it was $6 a person to go up and tour the tower. Daniel was free being under 3 and I was also free since today was Father’s Day. The tower is I think 7 stories tall and offers a great view of the port and was a perfect spot to watch the ships sail out. There were also some Marine life statues that showed some of the wildlife in the area that Daniel enjoyed playing on.










When you tour the tower you tour it from the top down so we started on the observation deck where we watched the ships. There were 4 ships in dock this day. The Carnival Liberty and Sensation, The Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas, and the Disney Dream. The Sensation was the 1st ship to set sail. It was fun watching the ships sail out from this viewpoint. Then it was followed by the Freedom of the Seas and eventually the Disney Dream.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

For some reason the Liberty had a delayed embarkation so instead of waiting for it and the rest of Kiera’s family arriving at the Tower we decided to look at the other exhibits. If I recall right the 6th floor was dedicated to the Space Program and the nearby Kennedy Space Center.







The 5th floor was about the Port itself which really intrigued me. It talked about the port history and the cruise lines. There was even a simulator where you could pilot a Cruise ship out of the Port.






I believe the 4th floor was closed to public as it just consisted of conference rooms but the 3rd floor again talked more about the different animal and marine life in the area as well as the ocean.





The 2nd floor had the last amount of stuff as it was models and a few experiment type things that you could do and finally the bottom floor which had the gift shop and café.








While the girls shopped in the Gift Shop for a bit the boys walked around the outside of the tower. It is really neatly designed and very photoisc. The Exploration Tower was a nice diversion that bought us enough time for the Storms to pass thru and the Beach to reopen. I believe its main purpose is to give tourist more options of something to do when stopped in Port Canaveral as part of there cruise though. Although there would be no better spot to watch the ships sail out from. I enjoyed it.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

Done at the tower we continued on to Cocoa Beach and decided to park at one of the surf shops parking garages. It was about a 4 block walk to the beach but it wasn’t bad. We were relived the beach had been reopened as the storms had passed and Daniel was like a kid in a Candy store waiting to get in the water. Off in the distance the Carnival Liberty had finally set sail and it was neat seeing it off in the distance.











Stirling and Kena went in the water to play with Daniel as they had been wearing there Swimsuits under there clothes. This was working out fine until Daniel was constantly wanting to go out in to the Deeper water.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

So I walked back to our car where I got my Swimsuit and changed so that I could go out in the water with him to make sure he was safe. Plus It would give me a chance to get some fun footage with the GoPro out in the water.


















We had a lot of fun playing on the beach and in the Water. Those who didn’t bring Swimsuits had fun looking for different Sea Shells and anything else they could find in the sand. We had so much fun that we really didn’t want it to end. Unfortunately though we had to when some dark clouds stated to descend upon us and we wanted to get back to the Surf Shops before the rain started again.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

Back at the Surf Shop we changed back in to Dry clothes and then took a look around the shop. We also ran across the street to the Ron Jon’s Surf Shop since it was the worlds largest location.











The Day turned to night as we looked around and then it was time to head back to Orlando. I think we grabbed some Dinner thru the Wendy’s Drive thru and then it the Expressway Back to Orlando and eventually our Townhouse. We had a lot of fun at the Beach and we were glad that we were able to make it out there on this trip. I loved watch the ships sail out too. But when we returned to the Townhouse we started to pack up our bags. It was sad to think our vacation was nearly over. And by this time tomorrow we would be home. But we got the bags packed quickly and in to bed as tomorrow would be an early day as it would be the final day at Universal Orlando.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

Day 15: Travel Home

Our final day of vacation was upon us. And we had to make the most of it. We woke up early and finished getting our bags packed and loaded in to the car as we would be heading to Universal Orlando one last time before catching our flight. Although this was our final day of Vacation the rest of Kiera's family wouldn't be leaving until the next morning so they still had a full day left. They saved there final Universal day for today in hopes to catch a Diagon Alley soft opening. Espeically since the Media Preview was now only 2 days away.



We arrived at the park about an hour after opening and headed towards the Studios first thing. In addition to the Diagon Alley Media Preview being 2 days away today was also the first day that the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon would be filmed at the Universal Orlando Resort. Had we had one extra day in Orlando I would have tried to get tickets to the filming for Kiera and I. But that wouldn't pan out for us today.





We entered the Studios They had a large area of the street blocked off with Gru and some of the Minions around. Cameras were being taken down and People standing around had Tonight Show shirts on so we think we had just barely missed Jimmy Fallon filming something for the show. Interestingly enough though that footage that was shot never made it in to the actual show.






The first thing we did was stop in to the Despicable Me shop to see if on our final day we would finally catch a Minion. And finally luck was on our side as one of the Minions was out that we could meet with. Daniel was in heaven and loved seeing the Minion and also dancing when the Dance Party exit to the ride started. Kiera's family also enjoyed the Minion as they too are fans of the films.







We checked out the wait for Rip, Ride, Rockit but decided the wait was too long so we continued further in to the park to the New York section and eventually to the Mummy. This day was really about Kiera's family since it would be there last at Universal for who knows how long so we wanted them to do there favorite rides again. The Mummy was one at the top of there list and the short was low so we took a quick ride on it.











After passing thru San Fransisco we approched London to find it still blocked off as it was a few days earlier when Kiera an I came to check the area out when the walls came down. It didn't hurt as bad today though since we didn't see people inside Kings Cross enjoying the new land. There were still crowds of people standing around doing PotterWatch but with so many stages and lights and props being set up for the Media Preview thruout the London Waterfront it was pretty clear that a Soft Opening would not be happening. At least Kieras family saw London with the walls down.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

We felt really bad about them missing the opening though. For months I had been following the construction and all insider info was pretty much assured that the area would have soft opened while we where there. Especially since the Media Preview was originally suppose to be the Grand Opening of the area. Unfortunatly what it came down to was the Gringotts Ride. As many of you know now the ride had many issues when the area first opened and getting this ride running correctly is what delayed Diagon Alley from opening at its target time. It sucks to think that the Hogwarts Express and all the Diagon Shops and Food Outlets were ready to go. But unfortunatly JK Rowling wouldn't let the area partial open. It was all or nothing. So without Gringotts nothing else could soft open. Dispite them being ready to. The area ended up Soft Opening 2 weeks after we left.














Rounding around the Lagoon we next came to Men In Black which was another favorite of Kiera's family and also had a short wait. So we stopped for a ride here as well. This was the first the rest of the Family got to see the whole standby que and preshow which makes MIB one of the best lines to see. This ride was also the highest score i've ever to just about breaking 300,000 points.









As we walked thru Springfield there was once again a bunch of people wearing Tonight Show shirts and ID tags. They were discussing setting something up in the middle of Fast Food Blvd but it was obvious it wouldn't be filmed this day. Those who watched the Tonight Show that week may remember on the final day that Jimmy played a game of Giant Beer Pong with a guest here during the show.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

With no soft opening happening in the Studios today for Diagon we were finished with what the family wanted to do in the Studios. So we figured we would hope over to Island of Adventure to grab a final Butterbeer before we had to catch our flight. We were finally able to see the completed Dragon from across the Lagoon though which was pretty awesome to see. We just wish we could have seen it up close.









We took the side exit near the Blue Man Group theater to enter Citywalk. This was also where those going to the Tonight Show would pass thru security got get to the set.





After a short walk we entered Islands of adventure and headed strait back to the Wizarding World since this was really the last place we wanted to do anything.












First and foremost we went to ride the Forbidden Journey one last time. The line was a little long though so we decided to use the single rider line. The Locker wait was holding up the whole line at the time so I took us to the secret enterance to the Single Rider line. For those that don't know about this secret enterance it is located between the cliffs outside. The doors open right in to the Single Rider line and are never locked. However this was the first we encountered a rude Team Member. We have used this method of entry many times. And it was fine today too except she started yelling at us about putting our bag (Daniel's Diaper Bag) in the locker. We told her we had a child and were doing Child Swap. She kept yelling that it had to go in a locker and wouldn't listen that we had a Child that was going to the Child Swap room so we didn't need a locker. This went on for a decent lenght til she finally realized we had a toddler with us that couldn't ride. We used the Single Rider line with Child swap many times on our trips and this was the first we had seen any issue. We also don't break the rules as everyone is fine going single rider and even the person waiting with Daniel would go Single Rider instead of taking anyone back with them. The TM's at the line split area in the Griffindor Common Room were much nicer then the TM at the bottom of the line though as they insisted that we could keep our group together with Child Swap even though we told them we were completly fine being split up for Single Rider since thats the line we chose.



The Ride was another great one but it was the ending that I was really excited about. As we entered the final Flu network scene the Bench swung a different way and we were in an area I had never been before. We were heading to the Alternate Load. Somewhere I have always wanted to go. The Alternate Load is an area where a bench can go and actually stop to allow guests with disabilities to load and unload on to a bench without it moving. Its cool as it felt like we were exploring a secret part of the castle as the hallways are still themed. Its a decent walk to get back to Feltches and you have to take mulitple elevators to get there. I'm really glad I finally got to see it although everyone else was confused as to where our bench went.



With the Forbidden Journey done it was time to do some quick shopping. Kiera's family also needed to find whatever Wizarding World goodies they wanted so that we could use our Annual Pass Discount to buy it for them before we left home. We quickly gathered all we wanted between Felches and Honeydukes.



As we grabbed some final Butterbeers for the walk to the car it was time to say farewell not only to the Wizarding World and Islands of Adventure but to Kiera's family as well. As we would be leaving home they would spend the rest of the day in Islands of Adventure reriding many of its great attractions one last time.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

Leaving the resort we drove past Cabana Bay which would also be having its Grand Opening during the Diagon Alley preview. We look forward to hopefully having the chance to stay here someday as it looked great.





Before we knew it we were back at the Airport and turned our Rental Car back in. Then it was over to the terminal where we checked in our bags and then made our way out to wait and board the plane.






The flight itself was Long and uneventful. Our layover was gonna be in Las Vegas so the flight was a bit longer then we are use to. Although it sucks to have to buy a plane ticket for Daniel now it is nice that he can have his own seat. He spent most the flight watching movies or napping.












We arrived in Vegas a little before 8:30 and were starving. This was the first we had layed over here in quite some time and it is probably the worst place we have ever had a layover. I mean it wasn't bad. Just everything was really expensive. The food was much pricier then already pricey Airports. Kiera got lucky though when everything was closing down at 9pm she got 2 for 1 pretzels that were already nearly 5 bucks a piece. We couldn't be happier to leave Vegas.







Although we didn't care to layover here it was probably the best take off we have every had. Since it was dark out and the Airport is litterally next to the Las Vegas Strip it was awesome to see the strip lite up at night. The flight was uneventful and I actually fell asleep for most of it. Which really wasn't too long since the a Flight from Vegas to Salt Lake is only about an hour.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

We soon arrived in Salt Lake and our vacation was officially over. Kiera's aunt picked us up and within the hour we were back at our home. We had a great trip and loved going to Walt Disney World again. Of course Universal Orlando is always a great time as well. The next vacation planning started almost immediatly when we found Way cheap airline tickets to Orlando in December.

The End​

 

[3Goofy's]

I've read a couple of your trip reports and watched your video. I must say that you have a very sweet family! Daniel is a cutie and it made me smile to see his reactions to the characters and the magic of the parks. He's is quite a water baby! Thank you for sharing and enjoy this precious time in your lives!