A Magical New Year: Day 4 - Harry Potter and the Storybook Dining

[Stewboy]

Index

Tuesday 1st January

After an interrupted nights sleep (noisy neighbours celebrating the New Year and New Year fireworks - that’s what happens when you go to bed at 10:30pm!) we woke up in 2019 ready to kick start our year with an early morning visit to Universal Studios.

Starting today, early morning entry was now at 8am rather than 7am which gave us a little bit more time to get out; good job really as Isabella was tired this morning and not in the mood for being rushed!

After our usual coffee and water, and a shared banana for breakfast - Isabella claimed she wasn’t that hungry - we were on our way.

At the bus stop the buses were waiting, keen to take us to the parks as soon as possible, and by 8am we were strolling through CityWalk and following the early morning crowd into Universal Studios.


Good morning buses


Good morning Universal


Early morning crowds

Our first destination was obviously The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and The Escape from Gringotts. En route to Diagon Alley, as we reached New York, we were asked to show our resort room key in order to gain access further into the park. There were actually other rides open at this time of the morning, besides Harry Potter, including Despicable Me and Revenge of the Mummy.




Empty streets of New York


Not the real Ghirardelli's, unfortunately


Fisherman's Wharf

Not be distracted, we made a beeline for the Gringotts ride, dropped our bags in a couple of lockers, and headed into the ride which as expected this early in the morning, was a walk on. I like this ride a lot better than Forbidden Journey; Isabella and Jo enjoyed it too.










Gringotts

[Stewboy]

With our ‘big’ ride out of the way, it was time for our aspiring witch to do some more magic in Diagon Alley. After about 20 minutes of spells, interspersed with a bit of shop browsing, we headed to Kings Cross to get the Hogwarts Express over to Hogsmeade.










That's magic!


Here be dragon(s)


Me and my little witch






Diagon Alley

As someone who gets the train in and out of London every day on the train line that ultimately leads to Kings Cross it’s always amusing to see the departure and arrivals boards showing stations I go past every day, including my own - Watton at Stone.


Going to get the train


Hey, that's my home town








All aboard!

The Hogwarts Express is much quicker in real life than it is in the films and books and we had soon reached our destination. First stop was a visit to Hagrid’s cabin (bigger version coming soon?) to ride the Flight of the Hippogriff - also a walk on.

After that fun but very quick ride we enjoyed a butterbeer while Isabella did a few more spells. Whilst she was doing one spell in particular we encountered some odd children - one decided to ‘help’; another had no concept of personal space!


Hogwarts










Hogsmeade


Enjoying a butterbeer

Our visit to Hogsmeade was short and sweet; after 45 minutes we got the Hogwarts Express back to Kings Cross and then went to find somewhere to sit and let Isabella have a snack. While Jo and Isabella sat kerbside I went into Starbucks and got us a venti iced latte to share. It’s always a nice surprise when a Starbucks server gets my name right, in England or America, and so I was happy today.

I joined Jo and Isabella, and we took a few photos around the park, including some photos with the shark from Jaws in San Francisco, and some arty selfies-in-Christmas-tree-baubles.


San Francisco




Shark!










Christmas decorations

[Stewboy]

It was approaching lunch time but we had one more ride in us before we left. As we walked past the Jimmy Fallon ride, we saw it had no wait so we thought we might as well ride it. We had no expectations for this ride, and it certainly does what it says on the tin - Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon. It was quite fun, not a must-do ride but worth a go if there’s little to no wait.

Our year had started with a bang, and it was still only 11am! We were all hungry now so decided to go for an early lunch in CityWalk. Panda Express sounded like a good option so that’s where we headed. We ordered two plates to share: orange chicken, broccoli beef, and egg fried rice; Shanghai beef, teriyaki chicken, and noodles. The food was really nice, and just what we needed.








Hogwarts Panda Express

Time to say goodbye to the park for today. We headed to the bus stop and, with our luck with the buses continuing, were soon back at Cabana Bay getting coffee from the Bayliner Diner to enjoy back at the room along with the last slices of Isabella’s birthday cake.

We chilled out in the room - I wrote my notes, Isabella read her book, and Jo did whatever Jo does…. I imagine social media-ing!


Bayliner Diner


Chilling out

The plan for this afternoon was to spend some time around the pool. We got ready and, grabbing a cold drink on the way, headed down to the pool. The day had turned really hot, hotter than I’d realised when applying suncream to Isabella’s face. Consequently after about half an hour of playing in the pool she’d started to get a little red in the face! This may have been because she was getting hot, or more likely due to getting too much sun. After an attempt to cool off under some towels, we decided it wasn’t worth the risk, and aborted our pool time earlier than intended.




Off to the pool


In the shade

Back to the room we went. To be honest, it had been really busy around the pool anyway, and not particularly relaxing, so I for one wasn’t too disappointed about leaving - although I’d obviously rather not have potentially burnt my child’s face in the process!

After some time in the room, Isabella’s face returned to it’s normal colour, and we all got bathed/showered and changed and then headed back out again. This afternoon we were going to our favourite mall - Mall at Millenia - to do a little bit of shopping.


More reading

It was about 2:45pm when we left and got to the mall by 3pm, parked in our usual area outside Bloomingdales, and headed straight to Abercrombie & Fitch. It’s nice to see that A&F has had a makeover since we were last here - they’ve turned the music down and the lights up.

We managed to get some clothes in the sale - I got a polo shirt, some jeans, a hoodie, and some jogging bottoms; Jo got some jogging bottoms. After A&F we went to A&F Kids where Isabella got some Mickey Mouse leggings and a top.







Mall at Millenia Christmas Decorations & Santa's Grotto

Next stop was Bath and Body Works. Jo and Isabella wanted to get some hand sanitiser - which they did. In bulk! Jo also got a few candles. The servers weren’t particularly helpful (Jo was trying to find a sanitiser holder and they offered no assistance at all) and there was a confusing two line queuing system. After eventually being served, Jo was so annoyed that she vowed not to return, not to this particular location anyway.

We browsed in a couple of other shops but didn’t buy anything else before leaving and heading to tonight’s dinner destination - yes that’s right, it’s already dinner time - the afternoon has flown by!

Wilderness Lodge was our destination, where we had a reservation for the new Storybook Dining at Artist Point. Arriving a little early, we were able to have a look at the wonderful Christmas decorations they have in the lobby, which Isabella and I both took some photos of. It was soon time to check in, and a couple of minutes later we were being shown to our table.




Wilderness Lodge


















Christmas decorations at Wilderness Lodge

[Stewboy]

For drinks tonight we ordered iced tea, and then the shared appetisers arrived - no need to order these:

Winter Squash Bisque - Caramel Loli, Granola
Hunter’s Pie - Chicken, Black Truffle, Stone Fruit Preserve
Wicked Shrimp Cocktail - Soy, Miso, Avocado, Thai Chilli, Greens

Appetisers were delicious. As we waited for our entrees Snow White stopped by for an autograph, photograph and of course an Isabella selfie.






Storybook Dining Menu


Whistle while you work it


Winter Squash Bisque


Hunter’s Pie


Wicked Shrimp Cocktail




Who's the fairest of them all?

After Snow White our mains arrived - The Core of the Story Entrées. They were amazing. We had ordered the following:

Me: Royal Prime Rib Roast - Horseradish Mashed Potato, Hay-smoked Carrots, Popover, Jus
Jo: Magic Mirror Slow-braised Veal Shank - Celery Root Mashed, Wilted Winter Greens, Jus
Isabella: Children’s Grilled Chicken - Roasted Potatoes, Broccolini


Royal Prime Rib Roast


Magic Mirror Slow-braised Veal Shank


Children’s Grilled Chicken

Along with dinner arrived other characters - Grumpy first, then Dopey. We got them both to sign the menu like Snow White had. Isabella didn’t have an autograph book this time as these were the only characters we planned on meeting but we also got the usual photos, along with plenty of hugs from Dopey before getting on with eating our delicious mains.




Meeting Grumpy








Meeting Dopey

As we finished up our mains the Evil Queen was available to meet, so we joined the short queue. When it was her turn, Isabella attempted to get a selfie, which the Queen found ‘amusing’. I think Isabella was a little scared, which is unsurprising as the Queen was rather intimidating!








Meeting the Queen


Not amused!

Once we returned to our table, it was time for the dessert, which is also a course that does not need to be ordered. We were brought the following to share:

Miner’s Treasures - Sponge Cake, Chocolate Gems, and Buttercream Icing
“Poison” Apple - White Chocolate-Apple Mousse, Sour Center
Fairy Tale Gooseberry Pie - Meringue, Gooseberry


Desserts

Dessert was as delicious as the previous courses and we were all full. So full in fact that when the final dish of the meal was bought out - the wonderfully named, and slightly creepy, ‘The Hunter’s Gift to the Queen’ (Crackled Maple Popcorn and a Ganache Heart) - we had to have it packed up to take away with us.




The Hunter’s Gift to the Queen’

We settled the bill and left the restaurant. It was a really enjoyable experience with a wonderful, and refreshingly different menu. The characters were mostly unique and fun - the Evil Queen was especially good value. I’d definitely say it’s worth a visit.


All the signatures








All the selfies

Outside the restaurant was a a pin trading board, so Isabella did a quick trade and then we headed for the exit. There was a quick stop at the shop in Wilderness Lodge lobby on the way out to buy some spatulas that Jo had seen earlier (and some milk for the room) and then we made the drive back to Cabana Bay.


Pins


M.I.C.K.E.Y.M.O.U.S.E.

By the time we arrived back it was about 8pm, so we got some coffee to take back to the room and Isabella went straight to bed.

Jo and I were tired as well, the first day of 2019 had been a lot of fun and now, at about 9:30pm, it was time to go to bed for us too.

Stay tuned for Day 5 featuring more shopping, more Universal Studios, and Universal’s Holiday Parade featuring Macy’s.

TFR

[mick]

A really good day your meal with Snow White and the dwarves looks lovely

Joan

[SuziQz]

Another great day with some fabulous photos. Love Isabella and her selfies. Looking forward to the next day

[The Durrigan's]

What a great day, all your pics are amazing.

[Cinderella]

Isabella’s little face looking up at the Queen is so cute😍

[JanetteP]

What a day - you did so much! Cabana Bay looks great, and wow - Wilderness Lodge - amazing. Had a great big smile when I saw Isabella's selfies - they're just lovely. Have got to do Storybook Dining for our October trip - may now have to rethink upgrading to DDP - decisions. Looking forward to your next installment.

[mouselover22]

Great start to 2019! The Storybook Dining experience looks fun and the food looks yummy