TikiFamily Pre-Trip Report: December 2014

TikiFamily Pre-trip Report

Due to a minor pay upgrade at work and a very giving husband, the Tiki Family is headed back to Orlando!

I say Orlando because for the first time ever, we’re headed to Universal. My daughters and I are huge Harry Potter fans. And we like to ride big roller coasters. And they’re now old enough, brave enough, and tall enough to go on big roller coasters. We were planning on spending 2 nights and 3 days at Universal next summer (think hot, crowded July) but the opportunity to go mid-December came up, and it only made sense to squeeze our Universal visit in then.

So it’s just me and my daughters (ages 10 and 11) – hubby is opting to stay home for various reasons including the fact that he can’t get two days off work at that time of year. We just told the girls about the trip – 19 days out. It was not a fancy surprise, just a casual “So, I’m going to Orlando in December. Wanna come with me?” It was very rewarding though, because they had NO idea even though I’ve been talking about Universal and Disney during the holidays for the last two months. :)

Here’s the plan!

Thursday: early flight, arrive at MCO 9:40am. Get rental car, drive to Universal, check in at Royal Pacific Resort for one night. Head to Islands of Adventure until 7pm.

Friday: get up for early admission to Universal Studios – Diagon Alley and Gringotts! Stay at Universal until we’re done, then drive over to Pop Century and check in.

Saturday: We’ll be attempting 3 parks on this day. Thankfully we have a rental car and that should help cut down on travel time.

Morning in Animal Kingdom
Afternoon at Epcot (FP+ for Test Track, SSE, and M:S)
Evening at Studios (we want to see Osborne Lights and possibly meet Baymax and Hiro)

Sunday: Magic Kingdom visit until 4pm. Flight out of MCO at 7:00pm, home by 9:45.
Park opens at 8am and we’ll be there! Scored a FP+ reservation for Mine Train at 9:20 and a FP+ for lunch at Be Our Guest.

It’ll be a fast and crazy trip! I’m really looking forward to seeing Universal, especially the Harry Potter areas. And being able to see the Disney Christmas decorations will put us all in the holiday mood. I love being able to share all this with my daughters.

I will not be posting about this trip (or posting photos) on my Facebook page. I’d rather keep this trip low-key, so if you have comments etc. leave them here. I’ll be posting a trip report when we come back!

Thanks for reading!
Kathy

Wow, sounds like a fun whirlwind! I did almost the same trip last month and had a blast. Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade were amazing and I am already itching to go back. Can't wait to hear all about your trip! Have fun!!!

You'll certainly keep on moving for that trip!! We were just at Universal earlier this month. The Harry Potter areas are very well done. Enjoy!!

You are going to LOVE Royal Pacific! One of my top hotels. Have a great time!

How wonderful that you and the girls can take such a special trip, Kathy! Yes it sounds crazy - but I know you will have a BLAST!

So looking forward to reading about all of your adventures upon return, HP included. Enjoy! :mickey:

Reporting in, mid-trip!

The first part of our trip went well. I was surprised at how much we enjoyed Universal. They are beautiful parks and have some spectacular rides in them! At IOA We enjoyed Hulk (rode 3 times), Seuss Landing, Hogsmeade, and the Jurassic River Adventure. At US Diagon Alley was the star of the show. What detail!! I thought Gringotts was so much better than Forbidden Journey. FJ was too much -- too much movement, too many scenes, too little subtlety.

We moved over to Pop Century last night around 5:30. So happy to be here in the 'homeland'. Today is our three park day - AK, Epcot, and Studios. Hoping to get in a little break somewhere, possibly lunch or dinner at Pop.

Full trip report coming next week!
Kathy

Looks like fun...enjoy!