Nimbus Tour 2014 - Part 2

Hello friends!  So I have part 2 of our trip ready for you!  I last left off in Jacksonville, Florida where we visited the Sawgrass golf course and resort!  (beautiful place by the way).

We had a good rest in Jacksonville, but everyone was excited to get to Orlando.  We only had a short drive so luckily we didn't need to leave super early in the morning.  Unlucky for us, the hotel reservations did NOT work out the way we'd planned, upon arrival in Orlando.  We'd originally hoped to stay at Calypso Cay Resorts in a 2 bedroom villa.  We found it for a great price during one of our planning sessions and the pictures looked amazing!  In reality, our room was quite dirty, one of the beds was broken (as in completely not level) and the whole villa was just generally filthy.  No, like really disgusting.  This was supposed to be where we would spend 5 nights after very long days, but none of us felt excited about staying here - at all.  We spoke to the hotel manager and after looking at 2 other rooms with equally disgusting bedsheets, we decided that it was time to jump ship.  

The hotel manager was not rude, per se, but he was definitely a bit of a sleazy character anxious to point blame.  In the end, we decided to fight the battle of getting our money back and we ended up staying at Caribe Royale just a few miles down the road.  If you are ever in Orlando, please please don't stay at Calypso Cay.  I can't even bring myself to give you a link to their website.  Just trust me folks.  The Caribe Royale, however, was beautiful!  Our rooms were clean, we had an abundance of fresh towels, a fantastic hot tub, and a beautiful pool!  If/when we go back to Orlando, I really hope we stay there again.  I think my favorite part was just relaxing by the pool.  They had a water slide for Mallory and I the kids and an amazing waterfall in the pool.  What a life!  ;)

With the hotel drama behind us, we split some pizzas and got ready to go to Harry Potter World!  I guess you could say "Lightning has struck!  I repeat!  Lightning has struck!"

Top Left: This is the 4 of us in Olivander's Wand Shop.  This is a COOL place to be and the shop people really stay in character.  While we were there, a poor kid dropped a wand and the shop keeper sighed and said to be careful "because the wands could do a lot of damage if not handled properly."  I'm such a nerd and loved it.  Behind us you can see piles and piles of wand boxes.  Jordan ended up buying Sirius' wand and I got professor McGonagall's wand.  If you are expecting some cheap replica, that is not at all what you will get.  The wands are weighty and feel very real.

Top Right: Since the name of our trip was "Nimbus Tour 2014" I thought it was appropriate to get this picture advertising the Nimbus 2001!

Bottom Left: This is actually a picture inside the Three Broomsticks.  If you're into the details, you could spend hours in each shop exploring everything.

Bottom Right: At Olivander's, you could purchase various packages of wands.  For example, you could buy a single wand like Jordan and I did, or you could buy the Weasley twins' wands (only sold as a package deal) or you could get all the wands from the characters in Dumbledore's Army. This is a picture of the DA's wand collection.

While we were preparing for our trip, we heard all kinds of rumors about Diagon Alley opening up.  Every time we checked our internet sources, there would be exciting news about "soft openings".  When we got there, we were sad to see that they hadn't fully opened Diagon Alley.  The first day we could look at it from far away but that was just about it.  We were told that the walls had just come down so we were lucky to have seen the exterior of the new buildings that are supposed to represent London.  The next day we returned just out of curiosity and had a bit of luck!  They had removed the barricades so that the public could at least walk in front of the buildings and take pictures!  We also saw them filming a commercial for opening day so that was kind of cool!

Top Left: We were finally able to see at least portions of the new exhibit!  One of those parts was the Knight Bus!  One of our inspirations on our trip was the Knight Bus!  In fact, the front of our shirts said "Nimbus Tour 2014: All Destinations (nothing underwater)."  Of course, that last 

part was a shout out to the Knight bus, so we had to get a picture in front of this sign!

Top Right: This is King's Cross station!  Eventually, when the station opens, people will be able to take the Hogwarts Express from Diagon Alley to Hogwarts!

Bottom Right: This is Grimmauld's Place.  If you're a fan of the books, you'll know this is where Sirius used to live. (the dark patch of bricks).

Bottom Left: If you look closely at Grimmauld's Place, you can see Kreacher peek his head out from behind the curtains.  

Here are a few more pictures from different angles that I wanted to share!  The top right picture is from "across the pond" since those buildings are supposed to be in London.  The middle right picture is Gringotts.

Here again, some of these pictures are just from different angles.  The top right picture was just funny to me.  As I mentioned, they really work hard to keep up the image and stay in character.  That goes right down to all the signs and information around you.

Bottom Left: This is inside Olivander's wand shop.  It is a very serious matter for the wand to chose it's owner and the experience was really cool!  If you have time and the line is not too long, I would suggest you check it out!

Bottom Right: This is Jordan and I in front of the entrance to the castle!  This was the entrance to the ride which I found to be scarier than expected!

Top Left: This is a Quidditch uniform on display in Hogsmeade.  

Top Middle: They don't miss the details at all in Harry Potter World.  Here is a chest of the various Quidditch balls.

Top Right: This is a snap shot of the menu at the Three Broomsticks!  That was a fun place to eat.  The vibe of the food was similar to Medieval Times and the decor was spot on.

Bottom Left and Middle: These are just random banners that you see on your way into one of the rides.  Quidditch is a big deal you know.

Bottom Right: I've never even heard of Scrivenshaft but Hogsmeade is just full of stores that fit the theme and they are all so interesting!  

Top Left: Butter beers!  Of course, butter beer is a non-alcoholic beverage (much to Jordan's chagrin).  It's more of a butterscotch, sweet, snow-cone like, delicious beverage!  I suggest the "frozen" butter beer because it doesn't have carbonation in it (Jordan seconded this).

Top Right: Ladies from the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic.  Again, the park keeps up with every detail.

Right Middle: Hogwarts Express Train!  This was not yet open when we were there but I'm glad they had it parked where we could see it!

Bottom Left and Bottom Right: This is just the general architecture of the buildings.  The snow is of course, fake, but I thought they got the crooked-ness of the buildings just right.

These are just general photos of the area.  A storm was brewing the day we were there, so Hogsmeade really started to look cool.  Of course, we did a little light shopping in Dervish and Banges.  

I really enjoyed going into Honeydukes.  Even adults feel like children in that store.  I can only imagine what the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes will be like when it opens!  At Honeydukes we bought a chocolate frog and had fun checking out all the other kinds of sweets (fudge flies, every flavour beans, liquorice wands, and pumpkin juice)!

They only sell the chocolate frogs in milk chocolate (I prefer dark chocolate) but it tasted pretty good!  They even have collectible cards in each box of a chocolate frog!  We randomly selected a frog and ended up with Salazar Slytherin!

As we were walking around the parts (all of them in general) you notice all kinds of domestic wild life.  I realize that is an oxymoron; but it was amazing how many creatures were living on the premises of all these parks!  With Disney on the brain, I was reminded of Snow White because all the animals seemed very comfortable around humans.

After Universal Studios, we did 2 more days in the Disney parks.  We went to the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and MGM.

Top Left: Our group in front of the Epcot Center.

Top Middle:  Our group in front of Cinderella's Castle!  I kind of dig the castle.  I could totally live there!

Top Right: While we were walking around the Magic Kingdom, we saw a little Disney show with a slew of characters.  This is a picture we snapped of Cinderella and her Prince Charming!

Bottom Left: Mallory and I tried on tiaras!  I must admit, I was very tempted to buy one.

Bottom Middle: Jordan and I next to King Triton!

Bottom Right: Mallory and I got a picture in front of the Universal statue!  This was late in the day and I think her and I were a little nutty with exhaustion.  Everyone in our group had a pedometer, except me, and we figured that on average we walked 20,000 steps a day while we were at all these theme parks.  Roughly 10 miles a day.  My ankle (and everything else) was killing me each night.  Luckily we had a good hot tub and Bengay to help us.  So be it - if that makes us "old!"

Our last stop was Gulf Shores, Alabama where we enjoyed hanging out at the beach!  I LOVED this beach!  The sand was white, the ocean looked pretty clean and the people were nice.  We stayed about a mile from "The Hangout" which was a pretty cool place to eat and relax.  The environment at The Hangout was really fun.  We had an awesome waiter, great food, and the entertainment was pretty cool.  They randomly did little competitive games, and then would break into song like it was a dance hall.  We'll definitely visit again the next time we are in the Gulf Shores area.  You can see a video I took at The Hangout HERE.

We flew kites, swam in the ocean, and just generally relaxed under an umbrella at the beach!  Mallory and I LOVED it especially since we needed rest from the days prior.  

Just a few pictures from our beach visit at Gulf Shores!

And that sums up part 2 of our Nimbus 2014 Tour!  Jordan and I feel so fortunate to have been able to take such a nice vacation with great friends.  I can't believe how much activity we were able to pack into that trip and I'm already contemplating our next destination!  I hope you all enjoy the pictures and have a great week!