*Tent on Wheels at DISNEY* Universal Studios: VIP Experience

(A review of our VIP Experience with Universal Studios in the Spring of 2022.  This post contains spoilers of the rides just so you're aware. Enjoy!)

10 hours, 2 parks, 8 miles walking, 9 flights of stairs, and 18 rides later, we are back at the camper and we are exhausted!  The VIP Experience at Universal Studios is not for the faint of heart by way of fitness, or finances, but it was certainly the best way that RDB and I could have spent our one day at Universal on this trip.  We're exhausted, but it is that "I'm gonna sleep really good because I did everything I wanted to do" kind of exhaustion!

The morning started early - with an arrival time before the park opened at 9am to get checked in and over to Cafe La Bomba for our breakfast (included) and to meet our tour guide, Sofia.  She's been doing VIP tours for a little over a year, and after the day we spent with her and our 7 other tour-travel companions, we would ask to have her guide us again in a heartbeat!

The morning started with a few character 'mini-greets' right in front of the restaurant while we were eating (they were there during our lunch break, too!)

Our group took off at a great pace and the first ride we experienced was one of the newer indoor coasters: Transformers.  Sofia gathered us all together in the shade beside a backstage door and gave us the layout of the experience - the kind of drops, twists, length of the ride, etc  - along with the backstory of how we fit into the Transformers world (we were saving the All Spark from the Decepticons, of course!) before she led us thru the door, down a hallway and right up to the front of the line where we boarded the next set of cars that arrived. 

As a part of the tour, since we were entering and exiting from backstage areas, we had the chance to see the schematics of the rides along with the control rooms. (We weren't allowed to pictures backstage, or to enter the control rooms, but Sofia assured us - you're being watched. All. The. Time.)

From there it was over to the Rip, Ride, And Rocket outdoor roller coaster.  Our first thrill-and-steel coaster of the day. This one required us to leave our bags behind, and go thru metal detectors to ensure we had nothing in our pockets, as the ride would take us up-side-down four different times!  We repeated this process (no bags, and being out thru a metal detector or wanding) on several of the rides, as they were making sure that safety was paramount.

RDB and I stepped off that ride and immediately downed a dose of Advil - we're a lot older than we used to be and after that ROCKET of a ride, we weren't going to take any chances that the shake-rattle-and-roll of the coaster was going to run our day.

Next up, we took a walk over to Diagon Alley, one part of the Harry Porter themed portion of the parks, to ride Escape From Gringot's Bank.  This ride, along with several other indoor rides in the park, uses 3-D screens within the ride to add to the illusion that you're doing more movement and experiencing more scenes than just the physical world in front of you.  But, honestly, the 'show room' where the lines are (which we by-passed but Sofia made sure we had time in to take pictures after the ride) was an incredible accolade to the designers of the ride who wanted to immerse you fully in the experience.

Over 700 crystals in that HUGE chandelier!  And I must say, the life-sized, fire-breathing dragon guarding the hoard invested inside was quite the site!

(Thanks again to Sofia for know the timing of the dragon's growls that were the sign that she was about to spit fire!)

From there we were off to some of the older parts of the park - riding the Men In Black Alien Attack and the E.T.'s Adventure Ride.  Both were showing their age (ET turns 32 this year!), but were quick, unique rides and a fun way to really see how far roller coaster and ride technology has come over the decades.  MIB was a fun interactive shoot-the-aliens type game where you could compete with the others in your car (RDB won by getting the 100k bonus, but I had the most points from just shooting (Dad would be proud!))

One really neat part about the VIP tour was the ability to go down onto the 'set' of the Men In Black Alien Attack ride - needless to say, I got a few fun pictures while were were hanging out as new recruits with the rest of the M.I.B. team.

The morning at Universal Orlando had flown by and it was time to go back over to Cafe La Bamba for a buffet lunch.  It was so nice to have an indoor place reserved just for the VIP tours, with delicious food, and bottles of water to take with us on to the next part of our tour.

Next up - a ride on the Hogwart's Express to take us over to the other park for the rest of the afternoon.

To make the most of your VIP experience, you really should consider buying both parks - especially if you're a fan of the Harry Porter series: the rides over in AdventureLand park are so immersive, but the shopping and people watching experience of Diagon Alley in the original Universal park can't be beat!

First up on the after-lunch tour: Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.  This by-far was our favorite of the outdoor coasters - it was fast, smooth, incredibly fun - you go backwards! and the coaster drops laterally, track AND cars!! 

I'm realizing as I'm working out this post that I don't have nearly as many pictures of the afternoon as I did of the morning!  It was so fast paced and we were so immersed in the world of Hogwarts, that, well, here, check these out:

To say it was magical wouldn't be the half of it!

We rode both Hagrid's Motorbikes and Harry Potter's Forbidden Journey. Both have a unique conveyor belt loading/unloading system that takes a little getting used to; it definitely makes the wait much faster (for those who had to use the normal cue) because the ride never comes to a full stop to switch out riders.  Between that and the 3-D glasses that several of the attractions are using, you really can appreciate the new technology and how it's changing the landscape of amusement parks.

After leaving Hogwarts, we entered into a very familiar what-could-go-wrong fantasy....

Nothing to be concerned about, right?

I mean, if you need to escape when you're being chased by a dinosaur, there's no better option than to ride the newest, fastest, and tallest ride in the park: The Velociraptor. 

After the Rip Ride and Rocket from the morning, we were a bit worried this was going to be another "where's my Advil?" kind of ride, but we were both surprised at how smooth, and FAST, the ride actually was! A drop of over 140" and several twists that send you upside-down had us all in smiles (and fixing our hair!) afterwards!

Next ride was the Jurassic Park River Adventure... but RDB and I both sat that one out, not wanting to chance getting soaked on a water ride and having wet shoes for the rest of the day!

We continued on to an indoor/outdoor ride with Skull Island, The Reign of Kong, and then made our way over into the 'comic book' section of the park for The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman (which uses a ride technology that Universal patented, and laid the groundwork for the Transformer's ride we rode in the morning).  

Our final coaster of the tour was The Incredible Hulk.

We were all kinda glad this was our last one, as the phrase "Hulk SMASH!" really applies to the way your ears are going to feel after your head gets knocked around in those seven - yes, seven! - times you're inverted.  (Our final dose of Advil was taken after this one!)

It was time to say 'goodbye' to Sofia and our tour-travel crew, but there was so much more that we were looking forward to taking advantage of!  Before we road the Hogwart's Express back to the original park to finish out the night we stashed our backpacks and went back in for another ride on The Forbidden Journey and again on Hagrid's Motorbikes.  Having the Express Pass as a part of the VIP Experience after the tour was over meant that we walked right on Forbidden Journey with no wait, and Hagrid's only had a 12 minute cue - when those without the 'fast pass' had a wait time of over an hour!

We finished the night by watching the Mardi Gras Parade down main street, and then rode back-to-back twice on the Transformers ride, ending where we started with rides.

I had the BIGGEST smile on my face as we walked out to retrieve the truck from valet (included in the VIP Experience, and totally worth it as a $75 value just in that alone!) If you're thinking about purchasing this add on to your tickets, but just aren't sure - please, do it! To be able to walk on all those rides, then use the fast pass access for the remainder of your day in the park, plus the meals, AND the valet? All in all, it was 100% worth the money!

A quick recap of our tour: 

• BREAKFAST 9-9:30
• Transformers (i)
• Rip Ride Rocket (o)
• Escape from Greengots Bank (i)
• Men in Black (i)
• ET Experience (i)
• LUNCH ~12:15-1:00
• Hogswart's Express (park transfer) (i)
• Hagrid's Magical Creatures and Motorbikes (o) 
• Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (i)
• Velocicoaster (o) 
• Jurassic Park River Adventure (water) (o) 
• Skull Island, Reign of Kong (i/o)
• Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man (i)
• The Incredible Hulk Coaster (o)
• TOUR ENDED ~4:30p

• Forbidden Journey (walk on)
• Hagrid's Motorbikes (15 min)
• Hogwart's Express back to other park (walk on)
• Transformers walk on back-to-back (during end of parade)

(i) = indoor ride, (o) = outdoor ride, ExpressPass Access

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Be sure to check out our other posts from Tent On Wheels at DISNEY!  

*Tent on Wheels at DISNEY* Kennedy Space Center and Rocket Launch

When RDB and I started dating back in Raleigh, NC in 2009 we visited a street art festival where an artist had drawn with chalk a rocket launching into space.  We took a selfie with that in the background and said that someday we'd make it a point to see a rocket a launch in person.

Today, we fulfilled that dream.

We drove over to Cape Canaveral to visit the Kennedy Space Center for the afternoon.  We anticipated that it was going to be a busy day because of the rocket that was scheduled to lift off, carrying the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-T (GOES-T) atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket to provide advanced imagery and atmospheric measurements of Earth’s weather, oceans and environment. It will map lightning activity and improve monitoring of solar activity and space weather. (All that taken from the NASA site, it's way more complex than I would normally write!)

So we made the best of the crowds and ducked into some of the displays, talks, and tours that were happening.  We sat in on the afternoon mission briefing, hosted by John, and learned a few cool tid-bits.

The KSC in the map above is where we were on and the launch pads over on the coast are where the rockets launch from.  Specifically, the launch today was LC 39A (northwest of the Space Center).  John informed us that every launch is live streamed on NASA's YouTube channel and that the Next Space Flight App was a great resource for knowing what's going on with the launch and payload. 

The International Space Station is nearly the length of a football field, and since its' completion in October of 2000 there hasn't been a single day in the past 22 years that at least one person has been on board. Also, if you use the website spotthestation.nasa.gov you can find out where the ISS is overhead and spot it with the naked eye in the night sky above. 

After the mission briefing, we went over to the Rocket Garden and participated in a walking tour - lead by John, again!  We heard his voice over the loud speakers and both looked at each other like "Didn't we just hear him at the briefing?" Sure enough, same guy!   He was incredibly knowledgable, candid, and willing to answer any questions we could throw at him.

That's an F-1 Rocket Engine (built by Aerojet Rocketdyne - a client I used to visit and do financial planning with).  There is so much cool technology that comes from the space program - there is a valve in that rocket that has been miniaturized and can be used in patience that have heart failure.  

After the Rocket Garden tour, we walked over to the Heroes and Legends building that houses NASA's Astronaut Hall of Fame. 

We kept our eyes on the time as the afternoon wore on, knowing that we wanted to be outsides and in a space where we had a clear view of the eastern sky when the launch window opened.  The last launch RDB and I watched (also on a camping trip - the James Webb Telescope) we realized that they will launch as early as possible in the window, so we wanted to be ready. And the weather was absolutely beautiful for hanging out outside.

RDB and I grabbed a spot near the grass beside the Astronaut's Memorial Wall with the Atlas rocket in the foreground, and faced east, waiting, along with hundreds of others, for the moment to arrived. 

And arrive it did!

Only a few photos, because I wanted to experience this moment in real time and not behind the screen of my phone.  I was genuinely overwhelmed - brought to tears by the significance of having this life long dream fulfilled.  From our vantage point we could see the flame from the booster, hear the roar of the engines, and feel the rumble of the incredible amount of power it takes to launch a vessel off the face of the earth and beyond the skies, into the dark beauty of space. 

I'm sitting here tonight still in awe, that we've seen a rocket launch in person, with our bare eyes.  It was worth the drive across to Florida just for this, even though I know there are so many more magical moments to come in the next two weeks!

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Be sure to check out our other posts from Tent On Wheels at DISNEY!  

*Tent on Wheels at DISNEY* Second Star to the Right, and Straight on 'til Morning...

It’s hard to imagine that it’s here - finally here! - because we've had this trip on the books for nearly a year and a half; but here we are! Heading out for the Most Magical Place on Earth! 

RDB and I had everything packed, safety checked, and ready to go by Saturday afternoon.  Perhaps the hardest part of leaving was taking the critters over to the kennel for their stay.

Once they were settled in, we took off for the first leg of the trip- a ‘short’ drive of ~4 hrs from Houston over to our first KOA of the trip in Denham Springs, LA (just a little East of Baton Rouge).

We rolled in after dark (because we didn’t leave home till late afternoon, thanks rain!) and found our spot for the night.  RDB and I both noticed that this was the most crowded KOA we’ve stayed at yet; they are definitely getting as many campers in as they can. But for us? We didn’t even unhook, we weren’t going to stay long.  

Early Sunday morning we were back on the road, crossing over state lines, stopping at Love’s to get refueled, making our way to Florida.  I had a heads-up from several travelers on our Facebook pages to get the SunPass toll tag when we crossed over into Florida.  I’m pleased to say, the Florida Welcome Centers had hospitality down to a T: we were treated with a fresh, cold cup of Florida orange juice, and a booth where we could purchase and activate the toll tag. There was even a display forDisney's 50th Magical Celebration! 

Sunday was our longer driving day- getting from Baton Rouge over to Perry, FL.  It was about ~7 hrs, so that we only had a short ~3 hours on Monday to get in to Orlando.  RDB is always so awesome at making sure we get where we need to go but today, he encouraged that I give hauling the camper a try - and I did! It's a bit nerve wrecking, but it was the perfect day for it (once we were past the rain that we keep playing leapfrog with this trip).

We made it into our second KOA stop - the Perry Holiday KOA - well before nightfall and took the opportunity to run over to the Wal-Mart and pick up a few forgotten items.  I was really impressed with this KOA - the host asked if we would like an escort to our spot (didn't need it, but heck, first time we were offered, so sure!)  We were in awe at the giant, old trees draped with Spanish moss.  The entire town has a very old-south kind of feel to it. (Kid you not - the picture below was from the Wal-Mart parking lot!)

We settled in for the evening with a bottle of Champagne, a bottle of Florida OJ ;-) and whatever we could find on local TV.  I took the opportunity to do a bit of decorating around the camper (I"ll post more once we get to Disney, and I've decorated the campsite, too.).  An early night in, and then our last leg of the trip: about ~3 hours drive over to Orlando. 

We woke up to that same rainstorm we’ve been playing leap frog with this trip, know that we had plans to meet up with SAM for lunch once we got in to Orlando; S and I have been colleagues for nearly a decade and he works on the Virtual team with me, too.  We were timing it out to met up right after RDB and I got in to the KOA; but I completely forget to change the analog clock in the camper (the only alarm clock I’m using this trip) and so when we crossed over time zones the night before, the alarm was set but was an hour behind.  Opps!  Either way, SAM are cool with being flexible (“You’re on Florida time now!” He replied when I texted him to say we were running late)

We had a premium site (#120) at the Orlando/Kissimmee KOA and I am really impressed with the amount of space that it’s giving us.  There are lots of amenities here, too, from a kids playground to heated pools and a dog park (yes, we’re missing our Diesel at this point!). 

We made our way over to the American Social restaurant that SAM suggested for lunch, and had the place practically to ourselves.  I was tickled pink by the cuteness overload that was my PB&J Old Fashioned.  Dinner was great, and the conversation even better- we hung out for nearly four hours! And we definitely want to try to have dinner with them again before we leave (thank goodness for flexible plans and rest days!)

It’s hard to imagine that this trip is finally here! And with a safe trip across, perfectly placed KOAs to stop  at, and great friends to welcome us to their city and start our vacation- it can only get more magical from here!

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Be sure to check out our other posts from Tent On Wheels at DISNEY!  

*Tent on Wheels at DISNEY* We're going to Disney World!

Diesel Mouse didn't get to come with us this time. :-(

Hi! Welcome to our Camping Adventures! We're excited that you joined us - from those who've been along for all our camping trips, to those who saw our website following the camper down the highway, and those who maybe received a little pixie dust gift along the way! We're so glad you stopped by to check out our little corner of the blogosphere!

A quick introduction - that's me, big teethy smile and all, and the handsome guy with the epic beard in the background is my hubby, RDB. The Dobie-dork up top with the mouse ears is our doberman-kid, Diesel.  RDB and I have been together for over a decade now, living in south Texas, enjoying each other's company and camping as much as we can, Diesel in tow most times.  We even got married on a camping trip (puppers got to come along on that one!).

We've gone from camping in a tent to a pop-up camper (when I started this blog, we were in our Tent "On Wheels") to a few different pull behind travel trailers and toy haulers, to the one we're in now named The Castle! (There's a crazy story behind our #HasslefortheCastle - it's our third fifth-wheel camper in less than eight months' time...) 

All that aside, we're taking our Castle to the Magic Kingdom for my 4th(x10) birthday this year!  Hello Fort Wilderness Campground, here we come!

I'm so excited to be able to spend a milestone birthday at The Fort and be there for Disney World's 50th anniversary celebration!  We'll have several days in the parks, plenty of time looping the campground in the golf cart, and I can't wait to spread some joy with the Fort Wilderness Scavenger Hunts  - it might be my birthday, but I'm excited to be the one giving away the gifts!

Be sure to bookmark this blog, and check back over the next few weeks as I'll post about our road trip from Houston to Orlando, fun in the WDW Parks, what we did around Fort Wilderness on our rest days, the VIP BackStage Experience at Universal Studios, a trip to Johnson Space Center (and hopefully getting to see a rocket launch  - I'm a bit of a space geek) and so much more!

Looking forward to lots of fun, and glad to have you on the journey!

-SJB

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PS - Feel free to stay a while and look around! The word cloud on the right will take you to tagged posts and the Blog Archive will take you back thru ten years of camping. If you're not seeing either of those you might be on mobile view - if so, hit the "View web version" link at the very bottom of your screen. Enjoy!

Blogging: Behind the Scenes #2

Just because she doesn't come camping, doesn't mean she can't be on the blog.  

My little editor is sleeping on the job!

Old Favorites

 Somewhere in the past serval months the remnants of the All Campers Welcome Club mentioned a trip to Stephen F Austin State Park this weekend; so, I booked us a site for several nights, and then didn't think much of it.  I tried to keep my work calendar light on Friday so that maybe, maybe we could get out to that side of town before traffic, but it never seems to work that way (add to that the insane amount of continuing education I need to complete by March and I'm one busy boss lady. By the time I was done with work, RDB and I decided to have an early dinner at Torchy's and then drive the hour out to the park afterwards.

Yep. Continuing Ed.  Making sense of things beyond insurance licensing.

I put a roll-call post on Facebook to the friends who were in the ACWC and got a ping from JSP  - she and DP were int he park, along with Mr Airstream, both just a few sites down from us.  We set up camp and then walked over to spend some time chatting with our dear friends; neither of us were sure how we knew that the other was going to be in the park this weekend, but were so glad that we could hang out and catch up.  A few other former members of the club were coming in for lunch on Saturday, so we made a point to drop by again and hang out.

We slept in Saturday morning, all snuggly and warm.  It was a beautiful day Friday, but the weather turned cold pretty quickly overnight.  Needless to say Diesel is still one of the most spoiled dogs we know - sleeping on a heated dog bed, with his fancy fleece lined jacket, and then getting to curl up on the bed with us every morning (and to be honest? That morning snuggle buys us an extra hour or tow before having to take him out for a walk, so it's worth it for us, too.)

Saturday morning, we went into town and had a late breakfast at Tony's Restaurant. We'd been before, on a camping trip to SFA as well, but I realized that I hadn't written them a review.  Definitely worth coming back and having it again!

Right outside the park, is the San Felipe De Austin State Historical Site. It wasn't complete the last time we were here, so we made it a point to drop in this weekend and I'm so glad we did! It was a windy and cold afternoon, so we practically had the entire museum (both inside and out) to ourselves.

It's interactive and excellently done and absolutely worth the $10 admission (there's a discount if you have a State Park Pass).  Not only does it walk thru the history of the town of San Felipe, but they've also taken time to find several historical families in the local area and trace them back to the time period of Texas' Independence. 

I was drawn to the printing press and loved that you were actually encouraged to touch the plates there in the display. As I tap-tap-tap away on my laptop (while watching Super Bowl XXVI) I can't help but think how blessed I am as an author to be able to enjoy the technology of today, and not have to place every single letter of every single word into a plate and press that onto individual pages.  Oh, and that when I mistype, I can simply hit the backspace and the error goes away, versus having to start all over again.  (Not to mention how much I appreciate the red squiggly line of spell check!)

Another impress advancement in technology was the large electronic touch-sensitive mural.  We rounded the corner and at first, it just looked like a back-lit panel, but as you stood there for a moment, you'd notice small movements: the swishing of an animal's tail, flames licking the hog on a spit, the rippling of waves in the water.  But it wasn't just these small movements that made this mural so interesting.... each of those white circles throughout were 'touchable' - giving you the ability to bring up even more visual artifacts and pictures.

It. Was. SO. COOL!  This museum had some many different ways to engage with the history of the very land we were standing upon. After the Battle of the Alamo, and the massacre at Goliad, the Mexican army was relentlessly pursuing the newly independent Texan army eastward, the citizens of San Felipe knew that their town was in sites of the advancing army.

"The enemy has demanded a surrender...
I have answered the demand with a cannon shot."

Pulling into the parking lot of the historical site, RDB and I just had a conversation about how rugged and strong the settlers would have had to have been to come to 'wilds' of Texas and now here they were, running for their lives in front of an advancing army and having to make the impossibly difficult decision of burning their homes and shops to keep the raw materials out of the hands of the enemy. 

There was another section outside - a reenactment village with printshop and blacksmith, school, and other buildings - but with the cold and wind, RDB and I opted out of that part of the exhibit and went back over the park.  JSP and our friends had gathered together, and J/D came in for lunch as well. It was really great to get to chat with them all.

The evening continued to get more windy, and more cold, so we all went our separate ways. Diesel was glad for us to be back at the camper.

One pic from my lap....

...and another from RDB's....

...and one when he finally settled down to sleep.  Again.

Sunday morning JSP and DP came over to check out our new digs.  We talked for a while as they loved on Diesel (who can resist, right?) and then we packed up to head home.  It was a great, albeit short, trip and we're already anxiously excited about the next time we bring the camper out .... as we're taking the "castle" to the Magic Kingdom for my 40th birthday!

We were in site #3 at Stephen F Austin State Park: very level both side to side and front to back, with 30a and full hook-ups.  This park is exceptionally particular about their check-in rules: no one, and I mean, no one, is allowed to check in before 2pm.  I received two emails (one at time of booking, and another the week we were to arrive) along with a phone call the day of our first reservation, giving specific instructions about not arriving early unless we anted to wait at the headquarters until check-in.  sure enough, as RDB and I were leaving the park just a few minutes after 2pm, we had to pass several campers on their way in.  So, we'd highly recommend, if you're leaving out in the afternoon - be sure to leave before everyone else is making their way in at 2pm or wait till 2:30 so everyone else can get settled - the park roads are not really trimmed well enough for two campers to pass without someone brushing the tree limbs. 

We've stayed here several times before: Numerous Naps, The Greatest Gifts, Halloween Weekend and the Bridge is Out

For (not many more) camping photos, go here.

For a video drive thru of the park, go here.