The Bare Necessities - Day 15 Wednesday 14th August 2019 IOA and Cowfish

[Goldia]

Day 15 More IOA fun Wednesday 14th August 2019

Welcome to The Bare Necessities Trip Report. I’m Abby and I went to Orlando at the end of July 2019 with my husband David, our children Max (14) and Kate (12). We’ve been to Orlando before But this trip was different as we had my parents Jac and Tom with us, they will be referred to as Mum and Dad or Grandma and Grandad throughout the report. I was so excited to take them with us as this was their first time to WDW.

Day 15

In the planning stages of the trip I wanted to start today in IOA so that we could then take the train over to US, so the opposite of the previous day. I also had this wild hope that we would be up and out early enough to beat the crowds queuing for Hagrid’s! No such luck on that score though as we’d agreed last night to meet up at 8.30am so I had resigned myself to missing out on Hagrid’s this year. No one was up for a super early start, even me truth be told!

The alarm had been set for 7.30 and I’d chosen Kong to wake us up, but unfortunately I didn’t make a note at the time of what he said to wake us up and I hadn’t even remembered it was Kong who was on the end of the phone until I started writing today up and was going through my notes. I’m sure he was great and got us moving!
For breakfast we continued with the eating up of all the snacks from our WDW haul.

We had some of the fruit cups.

Plus Dave had a muffin and the kids had cookies.

Mum sent a what’s app message asking what time we were supposed to be meeting. We’d arranged 8.30am, but Dad thought it was 9am so we were waiting by the lifts for them to finish getting ready. Dad was suffering today with a bit of a cold. Yep, full on man flu

We got to the park by 8.54am and before we did anything else I made everyone line up for a photo!

I gave the kids the choice as to whether to turn left or right. They chose left, which of course meant Hulk.

Now given my terror at riding RRR you would be forgiven for thinking I don’t like Hulk, but this is such a smooth ride. I love it. Mum and Dad sat this one out.

Next up was Doctor Doom’s Fear Fall. Mum and Dad waited this one out as well and we could see them when we were at the top so we were screaming and shouting to get their attention and Dad managed to get a video of us on here!

Mum and Dad came on Spiderman with us. We were off by 9.30am, I was pretty pleased as we’d only been in the park for 30 minutes and we’d done 3 rides already.

Onwards and we skipped all the wet rides, with a promise we would come back later!

We walked around to Kong and really enjoyed this, eating some the tubs of nuts we had brought with us we waited in the queue (it wasn’t a long queue, but we were peckish).

We tried to get the Jurassic Park photo, it just about worked.

But we also got a bonus photo of us all walking away!

We wandered through to Hogsmead and went straight to the castle for Forbidden Journey.

Mum and Dad both thought this was a really impressive ride, although Dad does look like he’s holding on pretty tight in the photo.

We were peckish again so we had some of the little mini Disney cookies while on the go.

Kate cast a few more spells, she was really getting the hang of it all and they were working brilliantly for her here.

Mum was loving the theming of it all and took loads of photos of the village.

Next up we wanted to do the Poseidon’s Fury show/walk through.

I like this and thinks it’s a fun attraction. It was the longest line for us today, as you just have to wait until the next show is ready to start. So, in the queue for we ate some of the crisps, more fruit and other bits and bobs…it was very dark though so no photos.

Believe it or not we were still hungry so we decided on an early lunch today from Fire Eaters Grill in The Lost Continent at IOA.

Dad was suffering from his cold and didn’t fancy anything and so just had water. The rest of us all had water too.

Max had chicken tenders with fries. Dave and me both had gyros with hummus. The gyros were really filling and I liked mine, I think if it had been later and I was more hungry I’d have got fries as the hummus as the side wasn’t great but as it was still early I didn’t mind. Kate had gyros with fries. Kate couldn’t eat all her fries and actually the rest of us didn’t eat them either, so we must have all been full. Mum had falafel gyros with hummus. She really liked her falafel and felt like the gyros was pretty stuffed with it.

The meal for the 5 of us came to $55. Not bad really. While we were eating it started raining, but we just shuffled further under the umbrella at the table and hoped to stay a little dry.

We carried on further around the park to Seuss Landing.

It had stopped raining, but as we came out of the rest rooms here it started raining. Again. So, we took shelter waiting for it to stop.

We went through the express line, which meant we missed out on the photo with the Sneeches in the queue to the High in the Sky Trolley train ride. The ride is ok, when it’s not wet it’s better as you can see more over the park.

Next up was the Carouseusal.

And we had to do One fish, Two fish.

I love this photo of me and Kate

And yes we got wet! Kate tried her best to avoid me getting a jet spray to the face, but it didn’t work.

We also did the Cat in the Hat.

We decided that we would go back and do the two wet rides we had missed out on and then head back to the hotel as the kids really wanted to try out the pool. We figured that we would do the Hogwarts Express back to US tomorrow sometime before we left.

First up was Bilge Rat Barges and we got absolutely soaked, properly drenched and it was hilarious

Here we all are pretty wet after Bilge Rat Barge’s.

And a selfie of me!

Then we went over to Rip Saw Falls.

The line took quite a while, but we got on in the end. We went as two groups of three.

Me, Mum and Dad. I wasn’t looking forward to being in the front of the boat! It’s a shame the photos haven’t come out so well.

Kate, Dave and Max.

And would you believe it as we walked back to the hotel the rain started . Again . The pool was closed due to thunder and lightning . So, we went up to the room. Housekeeping had already been which was a bonus and had left a little note to say that Kate’s cuddly toy had been having fun while we were out!

The kids shared some of the sour balls candy we had got from Goofy’s.

We ended up being stuck in the room all afternoon so didn’t get any pool time. We ventured out to the hotel bar and got a couple of drinks in Jake’s Bar. I think everyone in the hotel had the same idea as it was jam packed in here. We had to sit outside.

The kids both had cokes.

I had a Ginger Smash, wild turkey bourbon, ginger liqueur and lemon juice. I absolutely loved this drink it was very tasty and I could easily have drunk another. Dave had Gold Rush, essentially a whiskey sour as it was bourbon and lemon juice. He liked his.

Mum and Dad joined us as the rain was stopping so we made them down their drinks (sprite for Dad and Mojito for Mum) and made a dash for Citywalk.

On the walk a log fell off the wall and Kate had to dodge out of the way of it as it narrowly missed her head. Here is Max holding the offending log!

The kids had been keen to go to Cowfish as Kate loves sushi and Max loves burgers.

So, decision made then!

Max went for the Grasshopper milkshake which is a minty, chocolate masterpiece with vanilla ice cream, mint and shaved chocolate and is a mere $12 (although the menu said $11).

Kate went for Gimme More S’mores milkshake for $12 also, vanilla ice cream, double dark chocolate, marshmallows, crunchy graham crackers, topped with toasted marshmallow. Sorry the photo is so blurry.

I went for the Gin Sing, gin, crème de framboise, orange juice, lemon juice. This was a lovely cocktail and was gone way too quickly. Mum also had this and she really enjoyed hers, but hers seemed to last longer than mine did. Dave went for Bourbon Smash, bourbon, elderflower, lime juice, raspberries. Again he liked his, although it was more pink than he thought it would be (his is on the left, mine on the right).

Dad had a Ginger Ale.

We didn’t have any starters and just went straight for the main courses.

Kate and Mum both had the dozen sushi.

Max had the CBCLT burger but without the lettuce or tomato and the sauce on the side, so just cheese and bacon really.

Dad had the Dynamic Duo burger which had a rib in the burger.

Dave and me both had the Double Deuce sushi. There were loads of sushi and it was all really good. Some of them were quite spicy, all tasty. I couldn't quite eat it all but Kate helped me out

Dave and me also went back to an old favourite and had the Moscow Mule. This is a lovely drink, vodka, ginger beer, lime juice. It didn’t disappoint.

Max somehow managed to pour some of his drink down his T shirt, but at least he finished his.

Kate couldn't drink all her shake (just as I suspected) but Max was happy to help out.

The bill came to $207 before tax and tip.

Not bad really for main courses for 6 people, 5 cocktails and 2 awesome milkshakes. Most of the meals were around $16, the sushi Dave and me had was $25 each, so these were pricier and we both had 2 cocktails.

We were happy with our meal and as it had finally stopped raining we let the kids get changed and get into the pool for an hour before going to bed so at least they got a swim in the pool, even if the rest of us didn't.

I had thought we could go back into the parks to watch one of the night time shows, but we didn’t as the kids were keen to try the pool. So, we still haven’t seen the castle projection show or the movie night time show in US.

The day didn’t go quite to plan with the weather, but we really did have fun at IOA. We did all the rides we wanted and we got on the two wet rides which we hadn’t been able to do the day before due to the weather. While we didn’t get to go to the pool during the daytime at least the kids did have some fun for an hour in the evening after the meal. On the afternoon sitting in the hotel room I was pretty cross, looking back now at the photos it was a good day and we all enjoyed ourselves. Bilge rat barges and Rip saw falls were so much fun and we laughed a lot. I think I prefer IOA to Universal Studios, it's just a fun vibe with all the different areas and wandering around it today was fun. Even if I didn't appreciate it so much at the time.

Did I mention that it rained a bit today?

Statistics
Steps 21,303
Attractions 12

Coming Soon
Next up tomorrow it’s our last day, we catch some of our favourites at IOA and US before heading to Hard Rock Café for a final meal and the flight home. I did manage to upgrade the Universal tickets to Annual Passes for the princely sum of $0 though so that helped cheer us up.

[caitlinsmummy]

I'm so sorry it rained so much. I know it's Florida and it's warm but it does put a dampener on things doesn't it? (see what I did there 😉&#128514

I'm glad the kids eventually got in the pool. But as you didn't it's just means you'll have to go back 😉😂 xx

[Goldia]

Originally Posted by caitlinsmummy

I'm so sorry it rained so much. I know it's Florida and it's warm but it does put a dampener on things doesn't it? (see what I did there 😉&#128514

I'm glad the kids eventually got in the pool. But as you didn't it's just means you'll have to go back 😉😂 xx

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Yep I see what you did, fab pun!

Last summer was the worst weather we've ever had in Florida. It did get me down at the time, actually I was in a proper strop like a toddler. I just wanted everything to be perfect and when things didn't go to plan I was not happy.

I'm saving all my tesco vouchers to get a one night stay at a universal hotel. Not sure which resort to go for yet. But I hope to be able to drink a cocktail and swim in the pool next summer, it's not too much to ask for is it?

I hope you have a fantastic Christmas and that Santa brings you everything you wished for xx

[MrsSilverStar]

Aw, it is a shame when the weather gets in the way. For us, it was ten degrees hotter than normal at that time of year which definitely drained our energy. Glad you still got so much done and the kids still managed a bit of pool time despite the rain.

The Jurassic photo does make me laugh - we've got a lovely shot of the top of my head as we walked away, but when it works, it's very cool!

Have a wonderful Christmas Abby!

[Goldia]

Originally Posted by MrsSilverStar

Aw, it is a shame when the weather gets in the way. For us, it was ten degrees hotter than normal at that time of year which definitely drained our energy. Glad you still got so much done and the kids still managed a bit of pool time despite the rain.

The Jurassic photo does make me laugh - we've got a lovely shot of the top of my head as we walked away, but when it works, it's very cool!

Have a wonderful Christmas Abby!

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I'm so glad it's not just me that's ended up with a crappy Jurassic park photo. But, you're not allowed to moan about the weather, too hot! Bah! I'd have loved it to have been too hot.

I hope you also have a lovely Christmas xx

[Sparksy72]

What a great day, you managed loads of rides considering the wet weather. I wish our Cowfish experience was like yours, I think we just ordered badly, it might have to go back on the list for next summer! Fancy cocktails and night time swims are always a good indication of a great holiday 😁

[Goldia]

Originally Posted by Sparksy72

What a great day, you managed loads of rides considering the wet weather. I wish our Cowfish experience was like yours, I think we just ordered badly, it might have to go back on the list for next summer! Fancy cocktails and night time swims are always a good indication of a great holiday 😁

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We did get on a fair few rides today. It was such a lot of fun. Dinner was yummy, no onion mountains pretending to be garnish for us!

[Fuellady]

It's a shame the rain spoiled your day a bit, but you ended up on the wet rides anyway so hopefully it wasn't too bad for you. And it's nice to all have a laugh together on holiday .

Glad the kids finally made it to the pool, even if only for a little while.

[Goldia]

Originally Posted by Fuellady

It's a shame the rain spoiled your day a bit, but you ended up on the wet rides anyway so hopefully it wasn't too bad for you. And it's nice to all have a laugh together on holiday .

Glad the kids finally made it to the pool, even if only for a little while.

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The wet rides were great fun, we really enjoy doing them. The kids love a night swim so they were pleased to be able to enjoy the pool.

[Goldia]

Day 16 is up.