Thanks y’all. I’ve been saving the hot butterbeer for these next two days when it’s gonna be cooler. But I will definitely order only 1 this time and see how it goes. BTW I bought a souvenir Butterbeer cup that I have been using for discounted soda fills. Does anyone know if I can use it / is it worth it to use it for any speciality drinks? I also noticed there’s a fizzy orange drink that I think she might like (she likes Fanta) and it’s a bit more reasonably priced. So we may try that tomorrow. I took the Butterbeer cup to VB today and got some funny looks for refills but it worked 
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VB was great today. It was warm and sunny! It was never too crowded either. Most rides stay “ride now” all day except Krakatoa which I saw at about 100 minutes. Our only snafu was DH dropped us off and as we came down to Citywalk I missed the VB signs (because there were no VB signs) and we had to backtrack to the bus section. Oops. No big deal just more walking.
We set up by Hammerhead Beach and it was perfect. DD10 loved TeAwa and it was a fun place to people watch. We rode Krakatoa 1st and it likely took about 30 minutes to load. It was really fun but you get so much water splashed in your face you can’t really see where you are going. DD10 wanted goggles for it. We didn’t try for it again but it’s worth doing at least once.
We rode all the raft rides and did a few of them a couple of times. We did Punga racers expecting the mats but they didn’t have them and we did it as a body slide. DD10 didn’t like the body slide. She didn’t like getting a face full of water at the end. So we didn’t do any other body slides after. And I was fine with that as I find they’re a little mean on the back / back side. We did lots of exploration and enjoyed Runnamuka and Waturi beach. We did see someone get rescued (they drifted too close to the front of the volcano). I wonder how much action those life guards get especially when the waves start it’s really chaotic in there.
Food report - So the longboard pizza might be the best amusement park pizza I’ve ever had. It was good and provided 4 slices that we split and totally crushed. The soft serve at Koka Poroka was super solid and we crushed that as well. No alcohol was drank as my ID was in the locker clear across the park and I didn’t want to deal. I made up for it at home.
VB is closed the next two days due to weather (cold) so we lucked out.
Tomorrow we are planning on starting at USF again and riding Transformers, Minions, hopefully Mummy (it’s been closed), and maybe some Fast and Furious. After that we’re gonna hit Hagrids at lunch time and commit to the wait. Some shows in the afternoon. Maybe some HP stuff. Then DH is picking up DD10 around 5:30 and I’m going solo the rest of the night! I’m aiming for velocicoaster and just generally being child free! What’s your favorite solo thing to do?
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Otter’s Fizzing OJ is my favorite of the other WWOHP drinks. It OJ with hints of vanilla and a brown sugar rim. You may also like the lemonade drink - Tongue Tying Lemon Squash
That’s great to hear! I hope you enjoyed Tapu Tapu. I think that’s how Fast Pass should work, for the most part.
All the food at VB is surprisingly good. The best fish sandwich I’ve ever had was at Kohloa Reef in VB. I’m thinking about trying the limited time Mardi Gras pizza if they have it when I’m there.
It’s hit-or-miss. I’ve had most be OK about it and a couple by the book people. (I’m 5’ 2", so I can look younger at times)
Great Question… I’m not sure I can nail it down to one thing… Here’s a short list…
Ride Dr. Doom over & over. They’ll often let you stay on if you ask & are nice about it.
Wand Spells. They’re fun and w/out kids you can actually try it yourself
Water Taxi to the other Premiere hotels and explore. They’re beautiful and you are welcome to enter.
Mini Golf in CityWalk (one person is much cheaper and no kids makes it easier)
Eat junk food! Get that triple scoop ice cream without any judgement
Visit Catch a Rising Star Karaoke bar in CityWalk - even if you don’t sing. It’s a great “grown-up” time.
Explore the CityWalk nightlife. Grab a drink and listen to music. I always feel safe there. It’s well lit with lots of security.
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The Tongue Tying Lemon Squash looks good. Cool we now have 3 fun HP drinks to try over the next few days. I struggle to get DD10 to take food and especially drink breaks so while I’d prefer to have her drink water this is good too.
Tapu Tapu was great. We are huge magic band fans so this was a fond memory.
Ah, I won’t go out of the parks. So I should say what’s your favorite solo thing in the parks? Though the best answer is eat junk food for sure!! Being a responsible adult sucks sometimes. Any suggestion at Hog’s Head?
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Glad you had a great day at VB! And I agree too the pizza is the best QS at the whole resort.
So how did the water temp feel to you, mid 80’s?
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It was cooler on slides but in TeAwa and the big beach it was lovely! It only felt cold at times when we were up at the top waiting for slides and that was with air temp in the 80s. I’m not sure I could have tolerated being wet and having cooler winds waiting on the rides. That would be tougher.
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Yes! I love getting a Strongbow Hard Apple Cider with a shot of Cinnamon Whiskey in it. Tastes like apple pie and will make you feel all warm & fuzzy. I forget what they call it.
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Quick update. DD10 has taken to rider journey single rider line back to back while I sit and relax. She’s insane.
Hagrids was so Much fun. Amazing. Posted 90, actual 60.
@darkmite2 I loved Bourne. So well done. dD10 enjoyed it but didn’t like the fun noises.
She’s being picked up iba a couple of hours and then I hit the panda solo style!
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AM report. RD minions which we enjoyed but I would have loved in 3D. DD10 thought it was funny. Transformers was a walk on and really fun. Then Mummy!!! Which I didn’t realize was an actual coaster. It was super fun. We then did FF which Lila did not understand lol. Then DA and caught Celeste show which was good. Then train to Hogsmead. A ton of Journey. Some shopping (which feels minimal at Hogsmeade). Then train back to DA for lunch at Leaky Cauldrin. DD10 liked the fizzy orange juice better but still too sweet for her. I drank it! Then Bourne show and walked back to IOA for another Journey then Hagrids. It does go fast and is overestimated. However I would have liked to know that the show rooms empty’s on the left - we went all the way right and it cost us a few minutes. That ride was very fun and intense.
Tomorrow we need to decide what to do still. Hippogriff is our toughest since we don’t have express or EA. Not sure what we will do yet.
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Met a family who’s two boys are doing the same single rider at Journey. They are on ride 11.
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I’m so glad you enjoyed Bourne! I try to get everyone to see it!
Hagrid’s, IMHO, is the best ride in Orlando!!! (I haven’t done Guardians or RotR yet though)
It was so much better in 3-D. Alas, the 3-D glasses washing station was inside the Shrek Theater. When they started preparing to close it they had to remove the 3-D from DM.
It was my favorite before Hagrid’s… Still amazing & I single rider that queue the way your DD10 does FJ!! 
I know it sounds crazy, but when I am in the mood to do Hippogriff I RD it! It’s the only way to get on with minimal wait. I walk past everyone racing to Hagrid’s and get on it!! (sometimes, I just want to say Hi!! to Buckbeak!)
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I’m currently in the Mummy single rider line!
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Solo for 2 hours! Did HRRR (?) because the grandparents of the kids who were doing Journey told me it wasn’t bad. They lied. It was at least a fast single rider line. Don’t go on it if your neck or head get rattled. Did single rider mummy which moved fast. Both times doing Mummy our vehicle had kids coming off it screaming. The ride surprised me too. One bummer about Universal is that it’s harder to get POV’s to review ahead of time appropriateness for the kids. We did that with Disney which was super helpful. Then walked to IOA on fumes and willpower alone to ride VC which had the longest posted wait I’ve seen all week 
It was posted 45 and took about 50. I’m not sure what drove the time up. It was really good and smooth and full of screams. It still rocked my head a bit though. I’m not sure I could do it again and I KNOW DD10 would not enjoy it. No alcohol until I got home. Cross fingers for tomorrow.
We have to still make a plan for tomorrow. I’ve got blisters so we’re gonna have to mellow out walking. USF also closes early. But we also haven’t seen the nighttime lights at Hogwarts. Still want to do Flight of the Hippogriff but would also like to do Gringotts. DD10 has also requested Simpsom’s and one more Hagrids. Plus Journey. More Journey.
Last day!
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I only agree to do RRR once each trip and only at the end of the day. DS loves it - it hurts my head.
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So true! I would’ve warned you. I have a “patented” method to ride RRR. I, typically, hold my hands up on a coaster. When I do RRR I still keep them up. However, I don’t wave them above my head. I squeeze my head in-between my hands to stabilize it! It looks insane, but I have found that it works! It’s still rattles you, but no to migraine levels.
Yeah… you gotta take care of your feet so they’ll take care of you!
I can’t remember if you’ve been on yet. It is another indoor coaster like Mummy, but not quite as fast!
I’ve been loving following along! I leave to come back to UOR on Tuesday! Can’t Wait!!
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We started late today. We were just too tired to RD even at a reasonable 9am. So we went in at 11. It’s been much busier today. Wait times have been more elevated but we have made due.
We rode Mummy single rider and that took about 20 min with a regular posted around 55min. Then rode MIB single rider as a walk on with posted 45 or 50 and we still got to sit together. DD10 got the 100k bonus at the end though neither of us know how she got it.
We then got ice cream at DA, did spells and shopping. No fire breathing today.
We then did the Horror show on the way towards IOA which DD10 was worried about but ended up laughing a lot. She still ranked it 3 rd in her show ranking. Animal Actors #1, Bourne #2 and Horror # 3.
We slowly walked to IOA and made the Hagrid line. Today it was posted 90 and took 90. They were letting in riders at Hagrids Kitchen (workshop - I don’t know) which I’m guessing we’re riders that got special return express passes? I’m not sure if it was down this morning. At any rate it made a huge difference in terms of the queue feeling much longer and painful. So worth watching to see if it’s been down any point that day I suppose.
I grabbed a hot butter beer which is solid but totally dessert while DD10 crushes the single rider line at Journey.
I have no idea what else we’re gonna do tonight. DD10 hasn’t managed to see the lights on Hogwarts yet. She was also hoping for Simpson ride #2 but that won’t happen.
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Thanks! I’m sorry to read that you’re given up the AP’s for a while but makes sense. 2025 is gonna be a fun year!
We did Gringotts x2 our first day when we RD’d it. I’m not sure if the single rider line is fast or not. DD10 is so happy with Journey that it hasn’t been a big deal for her.
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What is DD’s count for Journey?
Still in my top 3 at UOR, I love it.
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This is super delicious 
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Firewhiskey is nice 
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