And When Did You Last See Your Father? - Universal Part 1 (Portofino Bay, Mama Della's and SHOPPING)

[Guest]

Originally Posted by disney owl

another great report

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Thanks so much, disney owl.

I just noticed your countdown - are you on the Disney WBTA with us? It would be lovely to meet you in person!

[Guest]

Originally Posted by HelenJNT

Portofino Bay looks lovely. I like the pic of Poot on the Vespa. I have, however, spent an inordinate amount of time wondering how a lamp gets stained like that, and reconciled myself to the fact that I probably don't actually want to know.

Your comment on the sweary t-shirt was quite right. Mind you, I have treated myself to this little gem for our next trip, which I plan to wear in Disney and am fully anticipating the same aghast looks from passers by as though I'd been wearing a "motherlover" one.

Sorry to hear that the waiter didn't make it into the MW league table. I'm happy to hear that sparkling water is available in places though. I dont believe in "missing" things whilst on holiday but I drink a good couple of litres of the fizzy stuff at home each day and I've always struggled to find it in Disney #perrierproblems

I love those Haunted Mansion plates, and your bracelet - I really like steampunk designs. Am not telling the husband about the fact that light-sabre cutlery exists though.

I had to laugh at your comment on the lockers at Forbidden Journey. I think 99% of the content of the Universal days in my last trip report was me griping about the seventh circle of hell that is those locker rooms...

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One of my girlfriends put herself through school working as a hotel maid - and the stories she told us... *shudder* So now I just check for bedbugs and try not to think about anything else.


Love a bit of steampunk 'round ours. I am 40+, so must restrain myself and only wear subtle accessories - but Poot sure got good use out of R.C.'s old Ascot hat when we went to Toothsome:

He was in HEAVEN there. And I won't lie - had we been in a big group I would have gone for it whole-hog, but as it was I restrained myself and just wore a tiny "top hat" barrette.


Until R.C. and I got married, he never even knew there were such things as SEASONAL dishes (let alone Star Wars ones). I have Halloween and Christmas plates/cups - and I quite like the little ritual of changing them out - but I think I'm going to save the SW ones for someone who will appreciate them properly. When would your DH like to come 'round for dinner?

I DO hope that the FJ refurb includes a "locker room" extension. Whenever I have to use lockers at UNI/BG/SW I think two things:

1. Am I the ONLY ONE HERE who has ever used a locker before?

and

2. WHY must EVERY MEMBER OF YOUR PARTY cluster around the locker? And (Brazil, I'm looking at you here) LOCKER ROOM selfies? Really?


PS: Helen, don't be expecting Perrier. I was on a United flight last year, and when I asked our (French) stewardess for Badoit - she gave me a look rich in pity and said, "Ah, désolée - c'est...La Croix".

And, just to make it worse - in America it's pronounced LA CROY.


Many thanks for yet another excellent (and very amusing) comment!

[jojo82]

Yay! Poot stays home well done for sticking to your guns April!

I have to admit I also rely far too much on my parking sensor. It makes you lazy. Good timing from Hans.

Portofino looks so lovely! Apart from the stained lamp... How does that happen? And the dodgy black stuff

I envy the length of your holiday. It must make such a difference having the time to just take in your surroundings instead of rushing to fit it all in.

The waiter! What a ****. Unreal! High five for getting him told.

Great job as usual

Jojo

[Scotty]

We will be heading to Universal the week after Thanksgiving, we have stayed in one of the on site hotels for the last few visits. I'm hoping it won't be too busy as we aren't planning on staying onsite this time.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by jojo82

Yay! Poot stays home well done for sticking to your guns April!

I have to admit I also rely far too much on my parking sensor. It makes you lazy. Good timing from Hans.

Portofino looks so lovely! Apart from the stained lamp... How does that happen? And the dodgy black stuff

I envy the length of your holiday. It must make such a difference having the time to just take in your surroundings instead of rushing to fit it all in.

The waiter! What a ****. Unreal! High five for getting him told.

Great job as usual

Jojo

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Bless you, Jojo. We'll see how I do when I actually have to meet TF and his mother next week. But I had a long talk about it today on the 'phone with my mother - and that was helpful.

"April, I'm just aghast. Under NO circumstances should you be considering ANY of this."

Now I just have to get R.C. to agree to talk to her...


Long holidays are one of the many benefits of homeschooling - because we can go at cheaper times, we can stay for longer. If we were having to pay school holidays prices - it would be a different story!

I do really like Portofino - but whenever I stay there it makes me want to blow my Disney budget and stay at the Contemporary. Being able to walk to the parks is just THE BEST. But agreed on the lamp - that was just eew. And I'm hoping the black muck under the sink was shoe polish...but I doubt it.

Waiting tables is NOT easy - and I know that - but if you talk to me about your tip, or CIRCLE it on the bill - or give me a tipping chart - then you and I are going to have words. I think sometimes waiters/cabbies/guides try to intimidate women on their own - if the manager hadn't have been there, we would have left. But I wonder how many other diners have heard that **** from him? He needed to take lessons from MW2, who was on a fixed gratuity (at CRT) - and yet still offered to bring me every dessert in the kitchen until I found one I liked.


Thanks so much for hanging in there with us -


Wow, a lot of emojis in this post. Sorry.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Scotty

We will be heading to Universal the week after Thanksgiving, we have stayed in one of the on site hotels for the last few visits. I'm hoping it won't be too busy as we aren't planning on staying onsite this time.

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Ah, Scotty - we were posting at the same time!


It was DEAD that week after Thanksgiving. There were days when the queue for GRINGOTTS never got over 10 minutes. We rode over and over one afternoon. It was FAB - I've never seen the Universal parks so quiet. Our longest wait that whole week was fifteen minutes (for Forbidden Journey). The last two full days of our visit were the first weekend in December - and they were BUSY - because all the local AP holders were out to see Grinchmas, the Macy's Parade and Mannheim Steamroller - but until then - dead. You will LOVE it.


Thanks for checking in, and feel free to ask me any questions you might have -

[Scotty]

Originally Posted by GopherLass

Ah, Scotty - we were posting at the same time!


It was DEAD that week after Thanksgiving. There were days when the queue for GRINGOTTS never got over 10 minutes. We rode over and over one afternoon. It was FAB - I've never seen the Universal parks so quiet. Our longest wait that whole week was fifteen minutes (for Forbidden Journey). The last two full days of our visit were the first weekend in December - and they were BUSY - because all the local AP holders were out to see Grinchmas, the Macy's Parade and Mannheim Steamroller - but until then - dead. You will LOVE it.


Thanks for checking in, and feel free to ask me any questions you might have -

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Cheers, sounds great from a ride point of view, however you do need some people about or the parks lack some atmosphere. We don't need to worry about the first weekend in December as we will be heading for Miami then.

Have you stayed club level at Royal Pacific? We love it there, would be interested to hear how they compare.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Scotty

Cheers, sounds great from a ride point of view, however you do need some people about or the parks lack some atmosphere. We don't need to worry about the first weekend in December as we will be heading for Miami then.

Have you stayed club level at Royal Pacific? We love it there, would be interested to hear how they compare.

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I do hear you about the atmosphere - and there were still plenty of people in the HP areas (and around Despicable Me) - but otherwise it was QUIET. Try and think of the excellent photos you'll get without dozens of fat, sweaty people in the background!


I stayed CL at RPR (with my brother) back in 2007 - we were there at the same time as a big convention - and that affected the way I saw the Lounge AND the hotel. It felt very "business-y" - and WE felt a little bit like red-headed stepchildren - because the CL was full of people who all knew each other. We didn't see ONE child on that visit.


I actually think I prefer the Lounge at RPR for just adults - but I liked the one at PB better with a child. They were mostly comparable in terms of food/beverage offerings- obviously the Lounge at RPR is up on the same floor with the CL rooms, whereas the Lounge at PB is on the same level as the lobby. I think both locations have pluses and minuses - but I know A LOT of people have a strong preference for the RPR location (do you? ).

One thing I really did like in the evening - the club staff at Portofino opened the doors to the piazza - and we could hear the beautiful "Musica della Notte" drifting in on the breeze. Lovely.

[Zomax25]

It was a good book actually. It was called "We have always lived in the castle". I must confess that I chose it as it was recommended as a good audiobook as I find it really good to listen to books while I run. I had no idea what it was about and loved it. If I could only find more time to read. Working full time with two children and an eating habit that has lead to a running habit means I don't read much past Harry Potter or the Gruffalo (depending on whether it's my nine year old or two year old I'm reading to\with)

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Zomax25

It was a good book actually. It was called "We have always lived in the castle". I must confess that I chose it as it was recommended as a good audiobook as I find it really good to listen to books while I run. I had no idea what it was about and loved it. If I could only find more time to read. Working full time with two children and an eating habit that has lead to a running habit means I don't read much past Harry Potter or the Gruffalo (depending on whether it's my nine year old or two year old I'm reading to\with)

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I hear you - it was a HAPPY DAY chez Gopher when Poot told me that he wanted to read all the rest of the Redwall books himself. I don't mind reading out loud, but after four or five books about warrior otters - I wanted to bang my head against the wall. So now I read a DIFFERENT book from the one he's reading himself - and some he ends up loving and finishes on his own.

"The Gruffalo" was never a big hit with us - but I can still recite EVERY WORD of "The Snail and the Whale".


I had to go and Google "We Have Always Lived in the Castle". I assumed ( ) you meant "I Capture the Castle" (LOVE THAT BOOK).

I must confess to being a big baby - and YOUR castle book looks like it would give me nightmares! The two reviews I noted on Amazon were "Stunning Read" and "Overrated and Insufferable"...those are even more disparate reactions than you find in a Dibb Mockingjay thread!


DH works evenings (he's working now) - so when I'm not Dibbing, I'm reading. I just started "The Glory and the Lightning" by Taylor Caldwell, which is really interesting (if you like historical fiction - it's about the mistress of Pericles).

I'm going to stop typing now - I will talk books all night if you let me. Thanks for answering my nosy question -