Universal Addict's Very Merry Grinchmas & Jolly Birthday

Universal Orlando Resort Trip Reports
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Hey everyone!!

IF YOU ARE HERE JUST FOR MVMCP DETAILS START AT COMMENT 103

IF YOU ARE HERE JUST FOR JOLLYWOOD NIGHTS DETAILS START AT COMMENT 244

It’s almost time for another Universal Trip Report! I wanted to create the TR a little early as I’m swamped right now with work & home. A coworker came in very sick and spread the plague to most of the office in one day! I’m pretty much back to 100% now, but it took away my entire Thanksgiving holiday. Now, I am behind on Christmas lights / décor at home. I may not even do it this year now as it’s too much to do after I return from this trip / before Christmas.

My work finally decided if they wanted to do an in-house holiday event. Of course it’s going to happen while I’m away, so I have A LOT to do before I go!!

I mainly wanted to reach out and ask…

With so many Liners going to WDW / UOR at the same time is there enough interest in a full trip report this time?? I will most likely still do one, but if no one really needs a lot of questions researched or honest reviews of events / parties I may not be as “live” / detailed. However, I LOVE doing live trip reports… So, if I’m not just typing to myself I’m glad to do it all live.

Let me know if you want my usual “live / full” trip report or just a summary!

Here’s my itinerary -

Leave work Thursday, 11/30/23, and go to airport arriving at UOR by midnight

Friday 12/1 = Relaxed morning at USF - Going to MVMCP all night

Sat 12/2 = Volcano Bay (weather permitting) AND that evening meeting @mathhound in CityWalk for the Back to the Future Great Movie Escape Adventure and fun around CityWalk afterwards. (It’s an open invitation to any Liners in Orlando & I’m paying for anyone who shows up!!)

12/3 - Grinchmas & the holidays at Universal (Character breakfast, holiday shows / parade & etc,)

12/4 - Early Park Admission at IOA before going to Jollywood Nights at DHS for rides & meet @ParkRanger for rides… (My first look at SW:GE and RotR!)

12/5 - My birthday!! I’m doing both parks all day and then a nice steak dinner at The Palm inside HRH

12/6 - WWOHP day!! A full day of cosplay and Christmas theme WWOHP

12/7 - Departure day…Doing Early Park Admission and leaving after lunch

  • YES! Please tell us how the trip is going & answer our questions!!
  • NO! We are all in Orlando at the same time. Just do a summary
  • I don’t care… I just like voting in polls!
0 voters
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Yay!

It’s almost here :partying_face::partying_face:

I’m looking forward to reading whatever you want to share with us.

Have a great time :heart::green_heart::heart::green_heart::heart::green_heart::heart::green_heart::heart:

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Finally! Have the best time. I love following along with however much you care to share.

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I was looking for your plans this morning! Thanks for posting them! It looks like it will be hard to track you down but I will be looking for you!

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DM me at any point & I’ll GLADLY meet you!!! Meeting Liners is one of my main reasons for taking this trip. I really debated doing the TP gingerbread & EPCOT adventures, but couldn’t make it work without me rushing around everywhere

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Looking forward to following along!

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Great plans! Two trips to WDW, nice.

Let me get this straight. Your helping to plan a holiday party at work that you will miss!?

Looking forward to following along!

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We have an annual awards ceremony and a separate off-site “party” later. We’ve been doing the awards via Zoom since 2020. It was a last minute decision to bring it back to in person at the office. I have to, literally, clear our so much office furniture and equipment that we’ve abandoned in our large meeting space since then. (Including all the stuff from another company we bought last year & dumped into that room)

I’m earning my pay today! :rofl:

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I’m looking forward to your trip!!

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Are we getting the daily scupper?

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WOW! Thanks to everyone for the responses. I can’t believe there’s 20 people that want to read my TR!! I’m so grateful to everyone that took the time to encourage me to do a full Live report.

I spent all evening packing & am almost 100% ready to go!

I’ve still got soooo much to do at home / work before I can depart “stress free”. However, I made a lot of progress today!

If anyone has any questions they want answered / researched about anything Universal, MVMCP, Jollywood or Grinchmas - PLEASE ask! I really like being able to go and scout out things for fellow Liners. Plus, even though I have a couple “trustworthy” vloggers I like, I still don’t always agree with how “epic” or “magic” the events / foods & etc… are promoted online. All the vloggers still have to promote things that are “just OK” to have constant / daily content and maintain a good relationship with the parks.

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Looking forward to reading this when I return! I’ll be there at the same time as you. I can’t wait!! Now if I can just get packed (for all four seasons-why is the weather forecast all over the place?!) and get the Christmas decorations up around the house today, I’ll be all set. :rofl:

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It’s in the upper 20°F’s - mid 30°F’s in TN… I’ll take 50°F degrees right now for sure!!

I really hadn’t though about the temps though, so thanks for reminding me to pack a hoodie!!

If you see me, PLEASE, say hello!! Or if you want to meet for a moment just DM me! It’s always great to put faces to screen names! No pressure or worries if you can’t / don’t want to meet. I know I’m a “stranger” on the internet and people, with good reason, can sometimes be nervous about Meet-Ups!

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Can’t wait to hear all about your (and @mathhound 's) experience at the Back to the Future escape room! We did both last December. For us, Jurassic Park was a much more enjoyable experience. They were both fun, but the BTTF one was definitely more complicated.

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Yes! I saw you once and was too shy to say hello. Next time I will!

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I’m gonna hold you to that!! Hope our paths cross soon!!

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I’ve done JW, twice, and loved it! It was pretty challenging to me… so I bet BttF is gonna be insanely hard! Feel free to DM me with any “tips” than you think will help without spoiling too much. I’m less concerned with figuring it out myself than making sure I get a full experience. There were effects I didn’t get in my first run of JW because we didn’t “unlock” them before moving to the next room. When I did it a second time I definitely saw things happen that didn’t before because we knew what to do.

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I don’t want to jinx it, but I think I gotten everything done at home & work!

I called in A LOT of “favors” from coworkers from over the last 15 years. A few people were happy to pitch in and move heavy items / equipment. I did have a couple people where I had to remind them…“Hey! Remember that time four years ago when I covered up your big mistake and/or I went soooo far out of my way to help you with that major project?” :crazy_face: :rofl:

I worked all day & night for the last 2.5 days. I’m so sore from lifting boxes!! However, unless I get cursed I’m ready to leave for Orlando tomorrow evening…

I did have to reconcile that there was only so much Christmas décor I could do at home in the time I had. However, I did manage to get my Christmas Village all wired up and ready! It’s my favorite part of my holiday decorations…

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That’s a beautiful village!

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Thanks!! It’s been years of buying one or two houses at a time. I had to custom build those risers so I could go vertical and get it all to fit. Last year was the final time I had any more room for buildings… I told DW that I guess we’re “done” expanding it any further… It takes a full day or more to set it all up!!

The train moves, the two ponds have figures that move, I have all those street lights and there are “extra” battery operated lights on some of the houses… It looks great, in person, in low light!

The Toy Store at the top was my first piece… It’s fully animatronic, lights up and plays music… It’s my favorite of all

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