Month: January 2025

The Ump Me, Do You Need A Wee Tour 2024 – Day Twelve Saturday 26th October

by mkingdon, posted in The Ump Me, Do You Need A Wee Tour 2024

It’s a rest day folks. By jove we needed one at this point. Our usual day two at Typhoon Lagoon (if you can remember that far back) was scuppered by some cooler weather so here it is now on day twelve.

Despite the tiredness, I was awake at 7am. There were showers and clothes put on and everyone was ready to go before we needed to. We got to the park at 10.25 and were through the gates at about 10.26. Volcano Bay could learn from that.

We had to pause at one of the shops as Freddie needed some new swimming shorts and whilst that was being done I impulsively went to see if any cabanas were left. In a rare stroke of good fortune that meant I could throw another few hundred dollars away, I got the last one and the folks behind me in the queue were very upset about that.

We were shown to our base camp by Ashlee who would be looking after us and we all settled in.

We filled up our refillables, dodging the customary swarm of wasps at the filling station. Louise and I relaxed while everyone else went off into the water. The weather was stunning today and it was lovely to do not much. It got so warm that Louise and I ventured into the lazy river for a lap to cool off.

That was pretty much the morning done until hunger brought everyone back to camp around 1pm.

We looked over the menu for lunch options and spectacularly over-ordered.

We went for the pizza and the chicken strips platter.

Both very, very tasty and we tried our best to clear as much as possible.

Once food was done, essential things were done to the little folks….

to allow a return to the water.

Louise took up a spot outside the cabana in the sun whilst I remained in the shade. Everyone else was off doing slides and stuff.

I took a brief dip in the wave pool to cool off and when I returned I found Rebecca and Dougie back with us. With it being nap time and Dougie’s need being slightly greater than mine I took him for a walk around the park in his stroller to get him to sleep.

Once he was away we went back to base and didn’t do a lot for the rest of the day. It was lovely.

Louise had a cocktail from Ashlee and around 5pm with the park closing everyone returned and dried off so that we could leave.

The journey home was weird. The Waze sat nav took us home through roads I had never seen in over forty years of going to Florida. The traffic was bobbins on almost all of them and it took an hour to get back to the villa. The route eventually brought us out onto the 192 up near Lindfields so I can only assume it was trying to spare us from some gruesome traffic on the 192.

There were more showers for all and more clothes before leaving again at 7.45 for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. As we drove along Funie Steed Road on our way to the 192 and then I4 I had to undertake an emergency stop for a rabbit that was skipping about in the middle of all the traffic. Doing that in a vehicle the size and weight of the thing we were in was no small feat and by some miracle, I managed to avoid the poor thing.

We double-checked on the way home when it was much quieter on the roads and there was no squished anything in that spot so it definitely got away.

It took 40 minutes to get to Lake Buena Vista and of course the restaurant was very busy.

We had a reservation though and we waited about ten minutes to be seated on an inside table. We started to read the menu and the bread service arrived and then the seater returned to explain we’d been put at the wrong table and would we mind moving?

We didn’t really but we’d just got Dougie into his high chair so it was a minor pain in the arse. The whole place was a bit chaotic this evening and the service overall suffered slightly because of that and this was an indication of that.

We were taken to a table outside which we didn’t mind at all having said at check-in we would take either.

Louise and I started with a Cheese and Spinach Dip

Tom and Rebecca a blurry Egg Roll Sampler

For Entrees, the boys had sliders

Louise and I shared the Nachos appetiser as our mains.

Rebecca had Orange Chicken

Tom, the Spicy Chicken Sandwich

There were a couple of milkshakes and wines and a slice of cheesecake to go (not each!) and it was a fairly pricey $240 for an off-site eatery. It was all fantastic food but as I said not the best service we’ve experienced here.

We called at Walgreens on the way home to restock on plasters and dressings for the injured feet amongst us and we were home and in bed by 11.30.

Till the next time……

The Ump Me, Do You Need A Wee Tour 2024 – Day Eleven Friday 25th October

by mkingdon, posted in The Ump Me, Do You Need A Wee Tour 2024

We were all definitely feeling the effects of two full-on park days, but there was no plan or time to rest. We had a date with some 90’s pop stars in Epcot.

I did allow a very late start though and it wasn’t until 10.30am that we rolled off the drive. We also had some (barely) walking wounded with both Tom and Louise suffering with their feet.

To add to the fun I had been up for most of the night with middle-aged man acid reflux. I cannot think how I could possibly have brought that on. I had been eating so lightly and healthily recently.

Anyway, in our varying states of decay, we set off for Epcot. We stopped for gas on the way, and it was about halfway there that I noticed that Louise did not have her magic band on. Two days at Universal, and she forgets all her training. There was no way I was turning back, so we’d have to figure it out when we arrived.

We parked up in Rocket 612 and trammed in. The hat was back, alongside those sunglasses from last night.

One of those K9 units that stand close to the entrance took a real interest in Tom, Rebecca and Freddie as we walked to the entrance. I think it could just sense that Tom’s feet were about to fall off.

Just as we were about to finally get into the park Rebecca went to the restroom.

After entering, with Louise being given a normal ticket in lieu of her magic band, Louise and I took the boys into the queue for Spaceship Earth but Rebecca and Tom got delayed/seperated as they tried to park the stroller so they ended up not coming on, for which I think Tom’s feet were grateful.

I got to ride with Dougie again.

The ride stopped five times in total, meaning it took an age to get through it.

By this time it was coming up on our Eat To The Beat dining package reservation at Garden Grill. Rebecca and Tom had walked there to wait for us and we walked quickly over there as we were a bit late. We checked in at 12.55 for our 12.45 ADR.

We were seated and then served by the excellent Bob.

Our package included an alcoholic drink each so we all had a cold brew martini. It was the strongest drink we had all holiday and potentially of all time. It was taking the enamel off my teeth but I drank it all the same.

Soon some food and characters came.

It was a family-style affair, with food just brought out until you say enough or vomit.

The character interaction was almost constant and very good. The boys really enjoyed it. The adults no longer cared as those martinis had rendered us unconscious.

The food was excellent by the way, with some of the best mash any of us had ever had.

I can’t describe how full I was but some of this still went down.

This is Bob. He was funny, attentive and just full of joy all through the meal.

It wasn’t too far off Freddie’s birthday so we got a cake.

We left vowing never to eat again and wandered up to Figment.

Dougie was fortunate enough to be able to nap now. The rest of us had to battle through the food coma in a waking state.

We tried to get into the Seas pavilion but as we arrived they were closing the building down for some reason. Maybe there was some poisson in the water?

Instead, we walked over to Mission Space, one of Freddie’s favourites. Rebecca won the lottery to sit out with Dougie.

As we waited to enter our pods thing there was a longish delay with CMs rushing about with items that suggested somebody had lost their lunch. I was pretty sure I may follow.

Thankfully my ageing body managed to keep hold of the huge amount of food and alcohol I had taken onboard and we now headed to the other side of the park to ride Soarin’.

We waited in line for about half an hour with Louise sitting out with a still-sleeping Dougie.

We had a clash now. We needed to go to the American pavilion for our reserved seats at the Eat To The Beat concert at which Hanson were appearing. The Virtual Queue we had secured at 1pm for Guardians was also about to be called. I stopped at one of the blue umbrella guest services to ask if anything could be done. They assured us that the virtual queue thing would be good all day so we could ride that at any point.

That walk up to World Showcase certainly did not help anyone’s struggling feet.

I love watching live music and Hanson were very good.

We completed the loop around World Showcase by walking through France and back towards Guardians via Canada. Freddie was now suffering with aching legs and so Tom and I took turns carrying him for parts of that journey.

We set up rider swap and Louise sat out with Dougie whilst everyone else rode.

Freddie passed the time in the queue watching some videos and I tried to push my lungs back inside my body after having to carry him for a few yards.

It took over 40 minutes to ride and then Louise rode with Freddie whilst the rest of us walked over to Nemo and Friends with Dougie.

After the ride, we watched some fish….

Naturally after that lunch, there was turtle head.

As you know I can go into a lot of detail in these reports, but that’s because I don’t wish to shrimp on the information.

We met Louise and Freddie at the exit around 8pm and the tram and car took us over to the Beach Club where we had a Beaches and Cream reservation. I dropped everyone off at the door and then self-parked and walked back in a vain attempt to generate some appetite.

When I went to check in there was no sign of our reservation. Eventually, they did find us on the hard copy print out but it turned out we were no longer showing on the computer as some other family had taken our table and reservation. They had a similar last name so somehow they had managed to check in and get seated. A manager was summoned, she went to the table and the offending family and had a stern word with them as they had clearly had no reservation and just winged it.

We were found a table anyway and we all gave that family very evil passive-aggressive stares as we passed them.

This may or may not have been them.

I forced down some Chilli Cheese Tots.

Rebecca – Chicken Sandwich

Freddie – Cheeseburger

Dougie – Hot Dog

Everyone else had the French Dip

Of course, we had to get a Kitchen Sink too. You don’t come all this way and not.

We all chipped in but Tom pretty much cleared it by himself.

We were all knackered and it was a quiet journey home and bed by 11.30.

Till the next time…..

The Ump Me, Do You Need A Wee Tour 2024 – Day Ten Thursday 24th October

by mkingdon, posted in The Ump Me, Do You Need A Wee Tour 2024

We “slept in” until 8.30am today and as we were a boat ride from the action and had Express passes, I cared not one jot. We even took some time to have breakfast at the Tuc Tuc shop again.

Most of us had stuff that looked like this.

For reasons I cannot now remember I felt it important you saw the reception area at this point.

We headed to the water taxi….

Dougie was still very delighted with his Grinch…

After our boat ride, we entered Universal Studios at 9.30, after forcing Freddie to do the traditional “blinded by the sun” Universal ball photo.

Our first ride was to be the new Minions shooter thing, where Shrek used to be.

I barely knew of this ride’s existence, never mind what it entailed so we went in blind.

For anyone wondering what the ride is, think of Buzz Lightyear at MK, but you stand up on a moving conveyor belt. The technology is slightly more advanced than Buzz’s, and it is really good fun and something everyone can enjoy. They even have smaller guns for folks who are Dougie’s size.

With that done we crossed the street to the other Minions attraction. There was a huge standby queue and the Express looked pretty grim too. We were on in about 15 minutes. Tom had to sit with Dougie on a static seat due to his size…Dougie’s, not Tom’s.

With every passing day, my resemblance to this painting increases.

It was now time for Rip Ride Rocket, which, much like my resemblance to the painting above, my disliking of it increases with every passing year. In my younger days, there was genuine unfettered enjoyment of this thing, but more recently it is becoming an endurance test and an exercise in clenching. I was not too upset to hear it won’t be around much longer.

The riders were Freddie, Tom and me, with everyone else using Dougie as an excuse not to have to go through it. With Freddie along for this ride, I was not only concerned for my own safety but his as well. Anyway, he spent the ride with his hands up laughing whilst I was bearing down like someone in childbirth and screaming into the void as my body collected bruises.

Tom and Freddie went round to ride again and I absolutely did not, finding the others instead.

We had a look in Bake My Day (a bakery) and got Dougie some popcorn. With everyone back from riding, Louise and I took Freddie on the Mummy as Tom needed medical attention. This was not Rip Ride Rocket related. As often tends to happen with Tom’s feet on these trips he had blisters that were resembling World War 1 trench foot and he was really struggling. There were scenes when he was trying to take his socks off that I cannot describe here.

After riding and running repairs, we all met up and walked over to Diagon Alley. I cannot tell you how much this trip cost, but when Freddie walks up alongside you and grabs your hand, it really doesn’t matter too much.

I have a similar photo deep in the trip report vaults of one of the girls doing this down Main Street. It’s lovely.

We stopped for some more traditional photos along the way.

Louise and I sat out with Dougie whilst everyone else rode Gringotts.

He really enjoyed getting his photo taken on this bike, so much so that it proved very tricky to get him off it to let others have a go.

Before the second riding of Gringotts, we wandered to get some food which turned out to be a “pasty” (Diagon Alley is clearly nowhere near Bolton, the pasty capital of the world as they were not really pasties) and a drink.

Then me, Louise, Tom and Freddie rode Gringotts. It really is an impressive ride, and queue for that matter but for goodness sake I wish they could improve the audio. I’ve ridden it a lot now and never once heard more than a few words from the Potter characters.

Rebecca and Dougie were over near Men In Black so we walked that way.

There was a need for food so we walked over to a pizza place near ET. I ordered a random selection of pizza slices and bao buns and had another wrestle with one of those fancy drinks machines, eventually managing to get some liquids in cups.

Once done with the food we all went onto ET. It is a genuine mystery that this ride has remained open and untouched since day one (I think). There are rumours that Spielberg only agreed to the ride with a clause that said as long as he was alive the ride had to stay. It is clearly very dated now and has no relevance to the younger folks so it’s all a bit weird. They still take your name as you enter which does nothing for the queue, but the boys enjoyed it for what it was.

Louise and I sat on a wall in the sun whilst everyone else explored the new kids area, riding Trollercoaster.

Next, we did Men In Black, (not a euphemism) with Louise staying out with Dougie.

With four of us riding we were seated in two rows that normally accommodate three people. When this happens I try to shoot two guns at once to improve my scoring but it just seems to make me twice as bad. This is a great ride and clever idea, but I just wish there was more “feedback” when you actually hit something. It all feels a bit random. Maybe the competitive Dad in me is over thinking this!

Across to the Simpsons now, with Louise again volunteering to sit out. The wait with Express was longer than it should have been but the queue areas here are always fun.

It was coming to the end of the day now, so Louise and I walked with Dougie back to the exit giving Rebecca, Tom and Freddie a chance to quickly do their favourites again. They rode The Mummy and Rip Ride before meeting us at the exit.

Whilst we waited I was doing some plan juggling for the last few days, changing some dining reservations and activities to balance out the changes we’d made so far and hopefully get the most out of our remaining time.

We got the water taxi back to RPR, picked up our luggage and drove directly to CVS, having abandoned them for a full 48 hours. Tom needed ongoing blister care stuff and my notes as ever say we got bits, but whatever they were it cost $90!

We drove directly to Teak Neighbourhood Grill for dinner.

We ordered some appetisers “for the table” which were Mozzarella Sticks/Circles and Spring Rolls.

For entrees….

Louise – French Dip

Freddie – Grilled Cheese

Me – I had a Brazillian, which would really chafe over the next few days

Rebecca- Quesadilla Burger

Tom – Donut Burger

Dougie had Nuggies

There was a very odd vending machine in the corner which did mystery packets of random stuff. Freddie’s sunglasses you see there were included but there were also old newspaper clippings and games etc. Very odd but it kept the boys amused for a bit.

The food was excellent and with a decent tip, it was $170 all in.

We were home within 40 minutes and in bed shortly after 10. A couple of very good Universal days.

Till the next time……

The Ump Me, Do You Need A Wee Tour 2024 – Day Nine Wednesday 23rd October

by mkingdon, posted in The Ump Me, Do You Need A Wee Tour 2024

I think today was our earliest get up, so please be suitably impressed as we reverse off the drive at 8am, Universal bound.

Of course, it took almost an hour to get up the I4 and arrive at Royal Pacific. We self-parked, grabbed the stuff we needed for the park and headed into reception to check in.

I’ve walked past these frogs a lot over the years but have only now noticed they seem to have “their lipstick out”.

The ladies and kids took a seat whilst Tom and I went to check-in. It always seems to take longer than it probably should to do that here. The queue was small but the level of faff and keyboard tapping does seem excessive. Having given all the info when booking, it does seem odd that I am now writing names and email addresses on scraps of paper.

Anyway, after some real confusion about who was in which room, we were done, had our Express passes and popped into the shop for breakfast.

With food on board, we walked down to the water taxi.

Just outside the gates we did a quick check of Freddie’s height and he was so close to being able to ride the Hulk, but not quite there yet.

I had hoped to have us stepping foot into the park by 10am. It was 11am as we did so.

Having chosen Islands of Adventure for today we headed straight for Suess Landing whilst Dougie was still awake and onto Cat In The Hat.

There was no queue but we still used our Express to get our money’s worth!

Dougie loved it in much the same way the girls had at his age. It is a banger for the two year olds. Hit followed hit as we went straight onto the Carousel now, and Louise and I recognised a bit of a special moment as we clearly remembered taking the girls on this at very similar ages.

There was much concern, sorry I mean hilarity as Louise took about five minutes to dismount. I know that sounds like an exaggeration but she was in this position for many minutes and we were unable to help as we concentrated on not wetting ourselves laughing and in my case also making sure I got it on camera.

Naturally, One Fish, Two Fish was next. Louise and I rode together and I was the perfect gentleman by making sure I sat on the inside of the fish and had full control of our height. Louise was very grateful for the cooling effect of the water I subjected her to.

As we wandered now towards the Circus McGurgus thing, The Grinch appeared, preceded by his helper/host…

This was very fortunate as Dougie is obsessed with The Grinch. It played out perfectly as after a brief little show with Thing 1 and 2, he took up a position for a meet and greet right in front of us and we were first in line.

and this happened….

and he stayed like that for many minutes….

He was in heaven and it took some persuading for Dougie to let go and let somebody else have a photo.

Once that was done, we rode.

Staying at one of the Universal hotels that give you Express is expensive, so it feels hypocritical to praise it after moaning about Disney’s Multipass stuff, but the experience is excellent. It takes away all the stress about crowds and also doesn’t require military planning and constant app use and juggling of reservations. Universal for us is typically a couple of days maximum so it’s a different kettle of fish to our Disney park touring, and it works brilliantly. Right now, the Disney experience is complicated, expensive (as we want to go to their parks roughly ten days in a 2 week stay) and stressful.

Onwards we marched to the Potter stuff.

It was busy in Hogsmeade but not the crazy crowd levels we have encountered in the past so we did get some chance to take in the theming rather than just concentrating on avoiding other bodies.

After a quick Butterbeer everyone went on the Hippogriff so that Dougie could ride another coaster before succumbing to his impending nap.

Next everyone apart from me and Dougie went on the Hogwart’s ride. I took a long walk around the park until Dougie fell asleep.

Upon my return, I rode with Louise, but Freddie turned down a second ride, not being too keen on what he’d experienced. Upon riding it, I could appreciate why a six year old may not be its biggest fan.

Now, it was time for….

Louise sat out with Dougie and the rest of used the Express line, which still took 30 minutes to ride. Freddie was understandably excited and nervous as we waited, as this would certainly be his most intense coaster to date. It was not helped by the ride going down for about ten minutes.

I have ridden this before a few times but for some reason this trip it seemed more terrifying than I can recall. Sure it’s fast and has all the loops and twists but never have I ever experienced the feeling of coming out of my seat as I did on this coaster. I was genuinely scared for my life. I am sure it has been tested and it is no doubt physically impossible to fall out but good grief I did not believe that as I gripped for dear life and screamed.

With that in mind, it made perfect sense that I rode again immediately, this time with Louise, Freddie, and Tom. It was no less scary.

In need of some blood pressure soothing, we chose to ride the Jurassic Park River thing next. It was a walk on with or without Express.

After riding it was time for some snacks, so I bought a random selection of whatever the closest booth had to offer.

I didn’t know what that one above was but it turned out to be a very lovely sweet pastry type thing. I was more shocked to discover the one below was savoury after taking a large bite. It was potato and meat and Freddie also had a taste, loved it and devoured the rest.

Whilst I was busy eating, fiddling little fingers seized the camera.

On to Kong now and it was mildly surprising to find that Dougie could ride it. We bypassed a pleasing standby queue with our Expressness and rode. Despite the very gory and gruesome content of this ride Dougie was fine. It probably isn’t ideal for little ones to be honest.

We chose to bypass the water rides, as we were soon to be sat in a restaurant and did not want to be freezing to death in wet clothes in brutal AC. So we carried on walking through the park, to get back to the Spider Man and Hulk rides.

We were devastated to see that Spiderman was down for maintenance and would not be open during our visit. Meeting Temu Wolverine was not really compensation for that fact.

It was my turn to sit with Dougie now as everyone went off to ride Dr Doom. Despite us being minutes away from our dining reservation, like all good grandparents, I got him a huge lollipop from the shops.

He approved of my decision….

When everyone got back, I was delighted to hear that Louise had not ridden, and had sat out on a bench near the ride entrance and I could have ridden after all.

Next, we all rode the Storm Force waltzer thingy.

Louise and I had Dougie in with us so could avoid the excessive spinning that was going on in the other cup by Tom and Freddie.

We had time to repeat Cat In The Hat and One Fish Two Fish on our way to eat at Mythos….

Upon arriving at Mythos it was not busy and we were seated immediately. It is heavily themed around Mythos type things, if anyone has a clue what that is.

Rebecca and Tom had a milkshake and Louise a wine, with everyone else on soft drinks.

I started with a Mezze Platter….

Louise had a “dipping thing” according to my ever reliable notes.

Tom had meatballs….

and Rebecca had Hummus

They were all lovely. This Mediterranean style of dippy stuff and breads is right up my street.

For mains, I had Chicken Kebab with Cous and Cous.

Rebecca Lamb Burger

Both of the boys had pizza and Louise had a Grilled Cheese in Soup

Tom had Pad Thai, but a plaster and some talc would probably sort that right out.

The boys finished with a shared banana split and there was a creme brulee that a few of us dipped into. It was all very delicious with very good service but of course came at an elevated price which was to be expected when dining in the parks. It was around $400 including tip.

It was dark now. Freddie wanted to do Velocicoaster again, so Tom took him off to do that. We strolled over to the water rides, picking up a Grinch for Dougie…

as that was the plan after the boys returned but Popeye’s Bilge Rats had closed at 7. We waited for quite some time on a bench near Dudley’s as it turned out that Velocicoaster had gone down and it was taking them a long while to ride. As Rebecca had Tom’s phone to save him the bother of the locker nonsense, we had no way to get in touch like it was the 90’s or something.

Eventually, we decided to walk to the park exit in case they had gone there a different way and the park was closing now anyway. Louise took Dougie off to the boat whilst Rebecca and I waited for Tom and Freddie. Once we’d found them we set off to the boat to find Louise and Dougie sat on the one just leaving as we arrived.

The next boat was about ten minutes later and we thankfully got on board and headed for bed. We had done well over 20,000 steps today and were absolutely exhausted.

Till the next time…..