Latest / Mom Street USA / 89. Is Universal Right For Me? Pt. 3 - Special Events & Volcano Bay (Hub Episode)

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89. Is Universal Right For Me? Pt. 3 - Special Events & Volcano Bay (Hub Episode) · Mom Street USA

• 0:05
  Welcome everybody to Mom St. USA.
• 0:07
  My name is Jackie AKA Wishes. Mama and I am joined for this
• 0:11
  hub episode by our good friends Duck and Jess AKA Beanie Duck.
• 0:15
  And you have found part three of our Universal series that we
• 0:20
  have been slowly making our way through kind of sporadically a
• 0:24
  little bit, but that's OK. So parts one and two, we talked
• 0:27
  about an overview of Universal and then we talked a lot about
• 0:30
  resorts and tickets. So for Part 3 today, we are
• 0:33
  going to be discussing a special events and we are also going to
• 0:37
  be talking a little bit about Volcano Bay just because we
• 0:39
  wanted to make sure that we did cover that for you guys because
• 0:42
  we did have some questions and some comments about that kind of
• 0:44
  in our earlier episodes. So that is the plan for today.
• 0:47
  Duck and Jess, how are you guys doing today?
• 0:50
  Doing good, doing great. Very excited to talk about the
• 0:53
  various Universal events. There's a lot of really exciting
• 0:55
  stuff that they do that can be similar at times to our other
• 0:59
  favorite park, Disney, but they also do a lot of different
• 1:02
  things just because of what, you know, what space they have to
• 1:05
  offer and the IPS that they own. So I'm excited.
• 1:08
  Yeah, this will be fun. Yes, Duck is also very excited
• 1:11
  because we get to let them talk about Halloween Horror Nights
• 1:14
  here very shortly in a little bit.
• 1:17
  So, but before we do that, we do have some other events that
• 1:20
  we're going to talk about first. That's going to be kind of our
• 1:22
  grand finale of events when we get to Halloween Horror Nights.
• 1:26
  So I intentionally put it there in the notes that way we could
• 1:29
  get through everything else before we give.
• 1:33
  Give Duck a little bit of leash to talk about.
• 1:36
  And Jess too, because I know Jess, you also enjoy Halloween
• 1:39
  Horror Nights as well. So, OK, where are we starting
• 1:42
  tonight? OK.
• 1:44
  So I think we're going to start at the latest addition to
• 1:48
  Universal, which would be the wicked the experience.
• 1:52
  Now before we start talking about anything, I do just want
• 1:54
  to give a disclaimer. We are recording this in the
• 1:56
  year 2025. Right, so should you be?
• 1:59
  In the distant future, listening to this or even like honestly,
• 2:03
  six months from now, there might have been something new
• 2:06
  introduced. Universal can sometimes just be
• 2:09
  like, hey, this is a thing that we've been thinking about and it
• 2:12
  goes on sale next week and it happens next month, right?
• 2:14
  Like it's not super uncommon for them to do like last minute
• 2:18
  additions into the lineup where they feel maybe there's like a
• 2:21
  gap in there. I'll call them quote UN quote
• 2:24
  festivals or events. So it's not shocking that they
• 2:27
  might just add something in this lineup or something may in the
• 2:30
  future be removed depending on updates the park.
• 2:32
  So this is what we have as it currently stands.
• 2:35
  Most of these are staples, but some of them are subject to
• 2:38
  change. So just want to throw the
• 2:39
  disclaimer out there. Yeah, and I do anticipate, I
• 2:42
  don't anticipate a bunch of like events at Epic Universe, but I
• 2:45
  think they're going to do something for holiday time,
• 2:48
  right. So like, we may get something
• 2:50
  spooky Halloween from them, you know, even if it's just some
• 2:53
  decorations and some special treats or whatever.
• 2:56
  And I anticipate we'll get something holiday Christmas
• 2:59
  related over at that park. We just don't know how.
• 3:01
  I don't anticipated it being a very large event for the first
• 3:05
  couple years at least. Can if you say Christmas wolf
• 3:07
  man? How did you know that's what I
• 3:09
  was going to say? I was going to say, but may I
• 3:12
  propose a wolf man in a Santa hat?
• 3:17
  I'm so mad that you know that that's what I say.
• 3:20
  I love this and that would be that would be amazing.
• 3:24
  And I'm I'm just envisioning like the whole monsters area
• 3:29
  like Christmas FIDE and like decked out and like random
• 3:33
  wreaths very like a la Nightmare before Christmas vibe.
• 3:37
  For Christmas, I'm here for it. Hey, you never know Universal,
• 3:41
  if you're listening. Hello.
• 3:42
  Hi. Welcome.
• 3:43
  We would love that. That would be super fun.
• 3:45
  OK, thanks. Bye.
• 3:47
  It's good. OK, anyway, let's talk about
• 3:49
  actual events that we actually know are actually happening.
• 3:52
  Yes. Like Wicked, the experience.
• 3:55
  Perfect. Let's let's hear about it.
• 3:57
  All right, so. Universal describes this as a
• 4:00
  magically, magically immersive experience.
• 4:03
  I can't speak today with enchanting film, costume
• 4:06
  replicas, alphabet and Glenda theme, photo OPS, glitching
• 4:08
  merch and more. So this is inside of Universal
• 4:12
  Studios Florida and it is included with the cost of
• 4:15
  emission. So if you are familiar with the
• 4:18
  park, this is in what used to be the Hello Kitty merchandise
• 4:21
  store. They kind of revamped it.
• 4:23
  I know. I was so sad to see it go.
• 4:26
  It needed an update. I will.
• 4:27
  It did, it did, but so they have replaced it for the time being
• 4:31
  with the Wicked experience. So there are film and costume,
• 4:37
  sorry, film, costume and prop replicas and themed photo OPS
• 4:41
  that you can see throughout the experience.
• 4:43
  So the story is kind of loosely split into like a glendicide and
• 4:47
  an alphabet side and is organized into different scenes
• 4:51
  from the movie that so the props in the costumes are in their
• 4:55
  respective scenes from the movie.
• 4:57
  So for example, there's a Shiz University area with Madame
• 4:59
  Morrigal's costume as well as the first dress that we see
• 5:02
  Glenda in. And then in another section,
• 5:06
  it's theme to the as Dust ballroom scene.
• 5:08
  And then the dancing through life costumes are in there.
• 5:12
  So there are photo OPS that let you kind of create those moments
• 5:14
  from the film, which is super cool.
• 5:17
  And then thought it throughout the experience.
• 5:19
  Of course, there's a lot of merch.
• 5:21
  Always have to have the merch, so there is some cool pieces.
• 5:24
  Some things are exclusive to the park in this experience and
• 5:28
  there really is something for everybody and all budgets, you
• 5:31
  know, mugs, pins, spirit jerseys, T-shirts, if you can
• 5:34
  think of it, there probably is something there themed to Glenda
• 5:39
  or Alphaba. There are exclusive treats as
• 5:42
  well at this experience. So Emerald City Eats is located
• 5:46
  right outside of the store and they have some exclusive, some
• 5:49
  drinks and snacks that are Wicked themed.
• 5:51
  So there's the food, there are mocktails and soft drinks.
• 5:55
  And then so this is like a limited time event, but we
• 5:59
  really don't have a set end date.
• 6:00
  And especially with Wicked for good releasing later this year,
• 6:04
  this will probably be sticking around for quite a while and
• 6:07
  maybe it'll get an update, you know, once the second movie
• 6:10
  comes out. So we'll just have to kind of
• 6:12
  wait and see what happens. I would love to see them like
• 6:16
  just sort of redo and shift things and add the, you know,
• 6:19
  Part 2 stuff and there I think that would be fun to see.
• 6:22
  It would be cool. I.
• 6:23
  Think it's also very doable, excuse me, because if you look
• 6:26
  up photos online, certain areas are clearly the theming is put
• 6:33
  together in such a way that it will be easy for them to swap
• 6:37
  out a couple signs, a couple costumes and suddenly it's this
• 6:42
  new, you know, I don't want to spoil anything for anybody who
• 6:44
  hasn't seen Wicked or doesn't know the story, you know,
• 6:47
  suddenly it's this new, you know, section that maybe we
• 6:50
  haven't seen before. Or they could update a section
• 6:52
  to reflect some of the events that may happen in for good.
• 6:56
  So yeah, I think that would be a really cool opportunity for them
• 6:58
  to keep this updated as the next movie comes out.
• 7:02
  Yeah, I think that would be cool.
• 7:04
  Before we jump to our next thing, I do just want to mention
• 7:06
  you guys heard Jess talk about that this is included with your
• 7:09
  cost of admission. So you're going to hear that
• 7:11
  both ways tonight as we talk about some of these different
• 7:13
  events, some of them are going to be special ticketed events
• 7:15
  that you have to buy a separate ticket for.
• 7:17
  A lot of this honestly with Universal is included in your
• 7:21
  your price of admission. It just happens to be seasonal
• 7:24
  or a limited time offering or whatever that may be.
• 7:28
  But you will hear us talk about that pretty much with everything
• 7:31
  with all these events. Just to kind of clarify, because
• 7:34
  I know it gets confusing, especially with stuff at Disney
• 7:36
  too. What festivals are included,
• 7:38
  what events are not, You know, So trying to keep that clear for
• 7:41
  you guys with all this Universal stuff.
• 7:44
  Yeah, I think the easiest comparison is festivals for
• 7:47
  Disney versus an after hours event, right.
• 7:49
  So when we say it's included, think of it like a festival.
• 7:52
  It's there are things just happening in the park.
• 7:54
  Should you want to experience them, you can participate.
• 7:57
  And when we say that it's a separately ticketed event, think
• 7:59
  of that like an after hours where you're going, it's a
• 8:02
  different ticket. It is something that is
• 8:04
  purchased separately outside of your park admission.
• 8:07
  Yes, very well said. Thank you.
• 8:09
  Perfect. Let's move on to our next event
• 8:12
  that we are going to be talking about which is Butterbeer
• 8:14
  season. And this is something that, as
• 8:16
  we're recording, this is currently coming to a very sad
• 8:22
  end. I think a lot of people really
• 8:23
  enjoy this time of year at the park.
• 8:26
  So this is just a celebration of all things Butterbeer.
• 8:29
  So if you're unfamiliar with Butterbeer, it is a treat that
• 8:33
  is frequently mentioned and highlighted in the Harry Potter
• 8:36
  universe. You know, books, movies, all
• 8:39
  that type of thing. So.
• 8:40
  PEU, the Harry Potter Extended universe, if you will.
• 8:43
  Oh, look at you all with these these official terminologies and
• 8:47
  everything. I mean, I know an acronym I've
• 8:50
  got. I should have used you on my
• 8:52
  last episode when I was talking about Disney abbreviations and
• 8:55
  acronyms. I I should have known.
• 8:57
  I should have found a friend. So with this Butterbeer season,
• 9:02
  Universal has slowly been introducing new Butterbeer
• 9:04
  treats. So Butterbeer has been around in
• 9:06
  the parks for a while over at Universal, but when they
• 9:10
  originally introduced it, it was only in the cold form or colder,
• 9:16
  AKA the frozen form, right? They have now added a very
• 9:20
  popular pot option a few years after that.
• 9:23
  And then since then they've introduced a lot more themed
• 9:26
  food that is butter beer flavored soft serve, fudge, ice
• 9:31
  lollies, those types of things that you'll find in the parks.
• 9:34
  So this takes place in the Harry Potter areas of IOA and USF.
• 9:39
  So we'll talk more about it in the next episode of our
• 9:42
  Universal series. But there are two different
• 9:44
  Harry Potter areas in those parks.
• 9:47
  One is located on the Islands of Adventure side and 1 is located
• 9:51
  on the Universal Studio side. So it does take place in both
• 9:55
  sides. Running from March 1st through
• 9:58
  May 31st is when you will find that typically and that's pretty
• 10:03
  standard for this time of year. This is a fairly newer event
• 10:07
  because I think they the popularity of Butterbeer has
• 10:12
  just kind of exponentially grown since it's been introduced in
• 10:15
  the park. So they kind of capitalized on
• 10:17
  that. This is one of those festival
• 10:20
  things that is included in the cost of your admission.
• 10:24
  So some other different limited time treats and merch that are
• 10:27
  inspired by Butterbeer, the iconic drink of the Harry
• 10:30
  Potter. What did you call it?
• 10:32
  The Harry Potter universe, Extended universe, Yes.
• 10:36
  Butter beer, cream puffs, butter beer flavored chocolate bars,
• 10:38
  which is interesting because you get butter beer and chocolate in
• 10:41
  that, which is, yeah, OK. Butter beer, ice lolly, butter
• 10:45
  beer, caramel or caramel, depending on your preference.
• 10:49
  Butter beer flavored gummies, all sorts of stuff.
• 10:52
  So it's possible that some of these menu items, you know, were
• 10:58
  introduced initially at these special events, but then have
• 11:00
  gone on to become kind of permanent offerings in the park.
• 11:04
  So you never know if something super popular, they may offer
• 11:07
  more of these year round instead of just during butterbeer
• 11:10
  season. But you know, we'll have to wait
• 11:12
  and see what they decide to do with that.
• 11:15
  And then they're really. Like something by 40 of it
• 11:17
  that's true. Show them you.
• 11:18
  Really. Like yes that's true.
• 11:22
  There is also exclusive Butterbeer merchandise that you
• 11:25
  can find during this time of year.
• 11:27
  Hats, shirts, mugs, pins, some really cute socks apparently
• 11:31
  that they've got going all that. Hey, you know, it's like just
• 11:35
  said, when you get these events, you got to have the merch to go
• 11:37
  with it. So, and just a note for anyone
• 11:40
  who's listening, that is a new pass holder or a a seasoned pass
• 11:45
  holder. Reminder that your premier level
• 11:47
  gets 15% off, which is nice. And the preferred level gets 10%
• 11:52
  off when it comes to all of your butter beer choosings.
• 11:57
  And then he needs and wants. And we do have a really good
• 11:59
  question in our live chat here from Vinny.
• 12:01
  Vinny is asking what does butter beer taste like?
• 12:05
  Butterscotch is the closest equivalent that I can give.
• 12:10
  Like a sweeter butterscotch. Yeah, a few, yeah.
• 12:12
  So butterscotch, like I don't know if anybody remembers
• 12:16
  Starbucks used to have a, a smoked butterscotch syrup a
• 12:20
  couple years ago. It is very similar to that.
• 12:23
  If you like dial down the smokiness and push up the
• 12:26
  sweetness like it's, but it's really close in flavor profile
• 12:29
  to that. So I'm not a butterscotch
• 12:32
  person, but I I just enjoys the the butter beer.
• 12:36
  So I will steal a sip or two. Like even I can enjoy it split
• 12:39
  one because it's. It is very sweet.
• 12:41
  So after a while it's kind of like, OK, I'm done with it.
• 12:43
  But I mean, if you really like sweet things, you'll love it,
• 12:45
  yeah. I must add an addendum though.
• 12:48
  We have not tried the ice cream, which people say is really good.
• 12:52
  We've had the hot butter beer and the cold and the frozen.
• 12:56
  So yeah. So we haven't had like the other
• 12:58
  flavored treats of it. So the the form of it may change
• 13:02
  it a little bit, but essentially it's.
• 13:03
  Butterscotch. Yeah, I've tried the just the
• 13:06
  standard cold option years and years ago when I went to
• 13:10
  Universal. And then I know that our good
• 13:12
  friend Kirk at Walrus Karp is like obsessed with those ice,
• 13:16
  butter, butter beer lollies. Like ice lollies.
• 13:19
  He's obsessed with those. So that's his preferred treat.
• 13:23
  Yes, yes. And he's like been very vocal
• 13:27
  about being sad that it's it's almost the end of butterbeer
• 13:30
  season. So there, there you go.
• 13:33
  That's that's what it that's what it tastes like to the best
• 13:36
  of our descriptive abilities. So yes.
• 13:39
  And that in a nutshell is butterbeer season.
• 13:42
  So again, it is winding to a close here this year, but is an
• 13:45
  annual thing. So mark your calendar.
• 13:47
  I was. I was going to say so if you
• 13:49
  really like Butterbeer, maybe plan a trip for next year.
• 13:52
  Maybe. Maybe this is the thing to take
• 13:54
  off the calendar. You never know.
• 13:57
  I love it. All right, What event do we have
• 13:59
  next? Duck.
• 14:00
  So we have the holidays at Universal, which is big
• 14:05
  overarching Capital H holiday STM.
• 14:09
  So this is of course celebrating the holiday season with your
• 14:13
  favorite Universal characters. So this is running from November
• 14:17
  21st through December 31st this year.
• 14:21
  So think about it from Thanksgiving until the end of
• 14:24
  the year, that's roughly when it runs.
• 14:27
  So this is something that much like Disney does, is resort
• 14:30
  wide. So you will find decorations in
• 14:33
  your hotels, you'll see the parks all decorated, there's
• 14:37
  wreaths and trees and it is very Christmas centered.
• 14:41
  So just just for everyone's awareness, this is like a very
• 14:44
  Christmas centred decoration run that they are on.
• 14:49
  But the decorations for the hotels are themed to whatever
• 14:54
  that location is, like I said, much like Disney does where
• 14:56
  their trees will be themed. So I saw this really fun picture
• 15:01
  of the Hard Rock tree that has like rock'n'roll ornaments on it
• 15:04
  and it was like a bunch of mini guitars, like it was really
• 15:06
  cute. So they really lean into the
• 15:08
  theming of their individual resorts.
• 15:11
  Total plug here. If you want to know more about
• 15:14
  the resorts, check out Part 2 of our Universal Series because we
• 15:18
  went over all of them. In more information than anyone
• 15:21
  probably could ever need, but I feel strongly that the more
• 15:24
  information that you can have, the better, because everyone
• 15:27
  needs to make an informed decision.
• 15:28
  Expensive vacations are expensive, so if you're spending
• 15:32
  the money, you better know what you're getting, Yes.
• 15:34
  So if you want to know more about those themings and what
• 15:36
  you may come across with those themes when it comes to the
• 15:39
  holiday times, check out Part 2 of the series.
• 15:41
  OK, continue. Yes, no good plug, appreciate
• 15:44
  it. I'm terrible at promoting our
• 15:45
  own stuff, so good job. I appreciate it.
• 15:49
  So one thing that I actually just to talking more a little
• 15:53
  bit about the resorts and their offerings for the holidays.
• 15:56
  I don't really see people talk much about the resort offerings.
• 15:59
  They're a little, they're a little maybe lesser than some
• 16:02
  other than, you know, other theme parks in the area, we
• 16:06
  shall say. But there are special Christmas
• 16:08
  Day brunches slash buffets at the signature collection, which
• 16:13
  is like the higher end 1, so like Portofino Bay, Hard Rocks,
• 16:16
  Hard Rock, Sapphire Falls, etcetera.
• 16:19
  So and that's available that does sell out very quickly.
• 16:22
  So if you are going during Christmas time and that's
• 16:25
  something that interests you, make sure that you're able to
• 16:27
  book while in advance. And excuse me, the mid tier
• 16:32
  resort. So Cabana Bay at Ventura and
• 16:34
  Endless Summer also often have special holiday meal deals.
• 16:40
  So this could be around Thanksgiving weekend.
• 16:43
  This could be, you know, throughout the Christmas week,
• 16:46
  like whatever it is, it kind of changes from year to year.
• 16:49
  I think that we're just piloting it the last couple years.
• 16:52
  So if that's something that you're interested in, like
• 16:54
  you're staying at one of those resorts and you think that might
• 16:56
  be a good fit for you, just keep an eye out because those deals
• 17:00
  will probably start coming out towards the end of the summer.
• 17:03
  And hopefully more information, it was very hard to find like
• 17:05
  details on like what kind of food is offered and stuff like
• 17:08
  that. So I don't know how much it
• 17:10
  changes from year to year, but. Yeah, like I said, this is not
• 17:13
  super discussed. So even like from like vloggers
• 17:17
  and bloggers, it was really hard to find any information.
• 17:20
  Understandable. It's just not the focus of the
• 17:22
  holiday celebration. But you're probably not going to
• 17:24
  stay there specifically because you can get a meal deal.
• 17:27
  But you know, it is available. And I would be remiss if we
• 17:33
  didn't bring it up. We were talking about the
• 17:34
  holidays. Well, and I think too, people
• 17:37
  also forget that like Disney does that somewhat too.
• 17:40
  Like if you're at Disney on Thanksgiving, you can order like
• 17:43
  a traditional Thanksgiving meal. So like there are some things
• 17:47
  similar to that that Disney does.
• 17:49
  This is a little bit more like organized reservation type over
• 17:54
  at the universal side than what you'll find at Disney.
• 17:56
  Because even at Disney like quick service, you can order
• 17:59
  that kind of stuff at the resorts and everything.
• 18:02
  But it it is a kind of a commonality that is I think I
• 18:06
  both places not discussed enough that they have those options for
• 18:09
  families that are looking for it.
• 18:11
  Yeah, I completely agree. I do wish that there was a
• 18:13
  little bit more focus on some of those offerings because it is
• 18:16
  difficult as a family when you're trying to make those
• 18:19
  plans, especially if you're planning on going on a holiday.
• 18:23
  You know, you may not want to be in the park that day, but then
• 18:25
  what else do right? Like what are we going to do for
• 18:28
  food? So I wish that there was more
• 18:30
  available information readily available, not just from, you
• 18:33
  know, second hand information like bloggers and such, but
• 18:36
  directly from Universal and or Disney.
• 18:38
  So yes, should anybody be listening, a little more info on
• 18:41
  the website. Much appreciated truly.
• 18:44
  For sure, all right. What else can we find during the
• 18:47
  holiday time over at Universal? So to talk about some of the the
• 18:52
  section that we titled it is exclusive offerings, which is
• 18:55
  very fitting and the most important offering that you can
• 18:58
  ever get in the theme park is your treats, right?
• 19:01
  Everyone loves a snack. So now these can change from
• 19:06
  year to year of course. So if you look up a previous
• 19:08
  year's menu, don't get too attacked, you may get
• 19:11
  disappointed. There are some staples, don't
• 19:14
  get me wrong. So like the gingerbread man from
• 19:17
  Shrek and his gumdrop buttons have appeared as as a.
• 19:21
  Treat Gumdrop button Gumdrop. Button.
• 19:23
  I like that. It's so good, right?
• 19:26
  So that he that has been a staple.
• 19:28
  There's this the pistachio cream wreath is one that comes back
• 19:32
  every year that people totally rave about.
• 19:34
  I've heard a lot of people say that that's like one of the best
• 19:37
  holiday treats that you can get in Universal if you like
• 19:40
  pistachio. And there's like this adorable
• 19:43
  snowman cookie, which is like an Oreo with like some white
• 19:46
  chocolate on top. And he's got like little coal
• 19:49
  eyes, which are little like pieces of chocolate.
• 19:52
  It's really cute. So like a couple of the things
• 19:56
  you can probably get a feel for what was probably popular enough
• 19:59
  for them to bring back, but there is always a chance that
• 20:02
  you know, it just may not work out that particular year.
• 20:05
  So you know, like I said, probably mid to late summer,
• 20:10
  some of the holiday information will start coming out, maybe not
• 20:12
  menus, but we we can get it. We can get a sense as the year
• 20:16
  goes on what will and won't be available.
• 20:18
  Yeah, it drives me bonkers that these theme parks don't put
• 20:21
  their menus out until like, right before things are
• 20:24
  happening. And it's like, I would like to
• 20:26
  plan, please. I would like to know what I'm
• 20:29
  looking at and what my options are before I plan my trip
• 20:31
  please. Yeah, I have to plan my sweet
• 20:33
  treats. And right.
• 20:34
  Literally. And it's getting closer.
• 20:36
  I feel like it's getting closer and closer every year, right?
• 20:39
  Like they for a while, like maybe it was pre COVID, they
• 20:41
  were like 2 months out. They were telling me every piece
• 20:44
  of information that they could get, and now it feels like the
• 20:47
  next day the festival or whatever's gonna happen and like
• 20:50
  we don't really have a menu actually just right and see
• 20:52
  what's there. Yeah, right.
• 20:54
  Literally. And I'm like, can we not as the
• 20:56
  Type A planner that I am, like, can we not do that please?
• 21:00
  This is driving me nuts. Yeah, like you said, I need to
• 21:02
  plan my sweet treats. Yes, well cuz you can't have too
• 21:05
  many in one day so you got to be able to spread them out.
• 21:07
  You have to know what you can get on what day, right you?
• 21:09
  Need to know which ones do I prioritize right?
• 21:12
  If I only have X amount of treats, which ones do I get?
• 21:15
  And I need to know their location relative to things,
• 21:18
  right? Because if it's right in front
• 21:20
  of this roller coaster that I'm going to ride, well, then I'll
• 21:22
  just go ride the coaster and come back.
• 21:23
  But if it's across the park, maybe I don't get that sweet
• 21:26
  treat. Maybe I swap it in for something
• 21:27
  else. But I need the information.
• 21:29
  And it's like they're allergic to giving us information.
• 21:33
  So rude it is. How dare.
• 21:35
  OK, OK, to bring it back to topic, back to Morse, because
• 21:40
  I'll talk about sweet treats all day for let me.
• 21:43
  But back-to-back to seasonal offering.
• 21:45
  So of course the other thing is merch, right?
• 21:48
  Like we've said before, all of the pretty much everything we're
• 21:50
  going to talk about tonight does have some form or fashion of
• 21:54
  merch options. Of course they're going to have
• 21:57
  like the really popular things like Harry Potter has a ton of
• 22:00
  merch every year. Shrek, the Minions rightly think
• 22:03
  about their biggest franchises that you typically would see in
• 22:06
  the park. And they're definitely Jurassic
• 22:07
  Park always has like holiday merch, like usually a holiday
• 22:11
  spirit jersey of some sort. So it's hard to say if because
• 22:17
  they don't typically bring pieces back unless they were
• 22:20
  extraordinarily popular. Like not to jump the gun and
• 22:24
  talk about HHN, but Little Boo, which is the little pumpkin
• 22:27
  character. I'll bring the popcorn bucket
• 22:29
  out when it's time. So there was like a few pieces
• 22:34
  of merch with him that were exceptionally popular and they
• 22:37
  brought them back. But that is the exception, not
• 22:39
  the rule. Almost never do they redo merch
• 22:41
  the next year, but you can absolutely bet that there's
• 22:45
  going to be a variety. Pins, hats, backpacks, spirit
• 22:50
  jerseys, sweatshirts, anything and everything.
• 22:53
  They will absolutely have it. So you will find something.
• 22:56
  It's just a matter of looking through the gift shops, that's
• 22:59
  all. And one more thing that's the
• 23:02
  the special seasonal offering is the photo OPS.
• 23:06
  So they will have much like Disney, they will have Christmas
• 23:10
  themed photo OPS or holiday themed photo OPS in some cases.
• 23:14
  The big one that everyone, I mean, we'll talk about the big
• 23:18
  one, but the the big one that we're the second biggest one
• 23:22
  maybe is Earl the squirrel, which is a squirrel with a
• 23:26
  lumberjack uniform on and like the.
• 23:28
  The little. Just red and black Buffalo
• 23:31
  checked hat and everyone goes crazy to meet Earl the Squirrel
• 23:34
  so he always has a meet and greet of some kind.
• 23:38
  Not every character will be in holiday garb.
• 23:42
  So like typically like the scooby-doo gang isn't, but you
• 23:45
  like someone like grew from the minions he had on like a holiday
• 23:49
  scarf last year for his meet and greet.
• 23:51
  So sometimes it's little touches, sometimes it's a whole
• 23:54
  exclusive character and sometimes there's nothing.
• 23:56
  So if you're unsure, because again, this could change from
• 24:00
  year to year, maybe they're going to throw up Santa hat on
• 24:02
  Shaggy or something for next year.
• 24:05
  If you're unsure, your best bet is to check the app and if
• 24:08
  that's not clear, ask a team member because they are
• 24:11
  absolutely super helpful and they will know the most
• 24:14
  information up to date. Now I will mention because
• 24:18
  several of our our viewers may not know or be familiar with
• 24:21
  Earl the Squirrel, but I I don't know his his complete origin,
• 24:26
  but he was an original character created for Universal Parks,
• 24:29
  correct? That is correct, yes.
• 24:31
  So it's OK if you don't know who he is.
• 24:34
  Do a quick Google search. He is an adorable little
• 24:36
  squirrel that has become kind of this obscure mascot to
• 24:41
  Universal, kind of akin to like a orange bird or a Buzz the bee
• 24:46
  over. Yeah, over at Epcot, where it's
• 24:49
  like they do have an origin and they were created for the park
• 24:52
  for, you know, or they're featured in the parks a lot.
• 24:55
  Orange bird was created for the parks.
• 24:56
  That's a whole nother story. But do a quick Google search on
• 25:00
  Earl the Squirrel because he is adorable and I feel like he
• 25:02
  doesn't get enough coverage. As an Earl the Squirrel fam,
• 25:06
  completely agree. I just love weird obscure little
• 25:09
  guys I know. I'm so glad.
• 25:11
  I'm so glad Orange Bird is getting the love that he
• 25:14
  deserves, and I want Earl the Squirrel to have that same
• 25:16
  treatment. I want Earl the Squirrel to
• 25:18
  suddenly show up on every piece of merch.
• 25:21
  That's all that I want, just to have a surprise resurgence of
• 25:24
  Earl. That would be pretty fabulous,
• 25:26
  not going to lie. Not going to lie.
• 25:28
  The other big thing that's the OR one of the other big things
• 25:31
  that's the feature and and is really loved by Universal fans
• 25:36
  is the this has an official name, the Universal's Holiday
• 25:41
  Parade featuring Macy's. Everyone just calls it the
• 25:45
  Macy's Parade. It's fine.
• 25:47
  It's not the end of the world, but I did.
• 25:49
  Again, we all know I'm a stickler for technicalities of
• 25:51
  names. If you missed that, go back and
• 25:54
  listen to episode 1. There it is.
• 25:56
  I did the plug. Thank you, thank you.
• 26:01
  But yes, so this is basically a smaller ish version of the
• 26:08
  Macy's Day Parade, right? It's not exactly the same
• 26:10
  balloons, but it's the same idea where there are entertainers and
• 26:14
  gigantic balloons and floats going through a Universal
• 26:19
  Studios Florida park. And it is really everybody that
• 26:24
  has seen it always talks about it forever.
• 26:26
  It is one of the best parades, not just at Universal, but like
• 26:29
  in Florida theme parks, maybe even in theme parks in general.
• 26:33
  It is really beloved it they do a great job with it and it's
• 26:37
  featuring their IP, right. So you I see like there's a
• 26:41
  Shrek float famously there's, I think this year or maybe last
• 26:45
  year they added one of the Penguins, maybe it was Kowalski
• 26:49
  from Madagascar that was like a big hit.
• 26:52
  There's Despicable Me balloons, like anything and everything.
• 26:55
  And of course, at the end, it's trailed by Santa because no, no
• 26:59
  Macy's parade is complete without Santa at the end to
• 27:01
  ringing in the holiday season. So, yeah, I mean, everybody who
• 27:05
  has seen it always, we have not had the chance to, but we know
• 27:08
  plenty of friends. And even if you just check
• 27:11
  online, like the comments are always so so positive about this
• 27:14
  and that. Like if you have kiddos who
• 27:16
  enjoy a parade, this is a must do while you're in universal.
• 27:20
  I love a good parade. Yeah, parades are fun.
• 27:22
  They're great. Yes, all right.
• 27:24
  What else can we find at the holidays?
• 27:26
  Like we said, this is kind of an overarching yes event with
• 27:30
  several little events in in featured in there.
• 27:34
  So what else do we have? So if you want to think about it
• 27:36
  like that was the big umbrella, like there's the resorts,
• 27:38
  everything's all decorated. We were at Universal Studios
• 27:41
  Florida, and now we are just across the Bay at Islands of
• 27:44
  Adventure. For what?
• 27:46
  Social media has just gone absolutely bonkers.
• 27:50
  It's so true. Grinch, Miss.
• 27:53
  This is if you've seen anything related to the holidays and
• 27:57
  universal. You have seen Grinch miss.
• 28:00
  You've seen his decorations, you've seen the meet and greet,
• 28:02
  you've seen the hours long wait like it's it's people.
• 28:05
  On his footage of the Grinch. Yeah, he looks like he's having
• 28:09
  so much fun. It's intense, it's great.
• 28:12
  Yeah, so like we were just alluding to the biggest thing
• 28:15
  within this biggest event is the Grinch meet and greet.
• 28:20
  They really give the friend of the Grinch.
• 28:23
  I don't know what we call it at Universal, so sure.
• 28:26
  We'll go with. That, that we really give the
• 28:27
  Grinch a lot of leeway to really play around with being the
• 28:33
  Grinch, to really lean into it, to get sassy, to take funny
• 28:37
  pictures. As long as the Grinch is
• 28:40
  comfortable, right? Like really, really play it up.
• 28:42
  It is in unhinged is the word you use, which I think is a good
• 28:47
  way to put it. In unhinged meet and greet that
• 28:50
  is fantastically popular. It is unbelievable the the
• 28:55
  weight can get up to and over 4 hours right.
• 29:00
  So, so to just give everyone an idea, that's crazy, that's.
• 29:05
  Literally insane. That's literally insane.
• 29:07
  I think the longest meet and greet lines that we have seen,
• 29:09
  not for like a brand new character at Disney, but the
• 29:11
  longest meet and greet that we typically see is Jack and Sally
• 29:16
  at the Mickey Not So Scary Halloween party.
• 29:18
  That can be like 2 hours usually.
• 29:21
  I think that's the highest that we've seen it go.
• 29:22
  And when we've done Mickey's Not So Scary.
• 29:25
  So for the fact that it can be up to double it and people will
• 29:29
  wait is surely bonkers. So if this is something that you
• 29:33
  were super interested in, try to get there early, try to do it
• 29:37
  or. There is only a standby queue,
• 29:39
  so you definitely have to make sure that if that is your
• 29:42
  priority, you are dedicating time.
• 29:44
  Yes, yes, you you have to maybe consider the possibility that
• 29:48
  half your park day will be spent right in the Grinch.
• 29:51
  I mean, it's like a very real. Possibility, right and plan.
• 29:54
  Make sure you plan to go there early because they will cut that
• 29:56
  line. So we when we went briefly to
• 30:02
  Universal in November last year, year before, year before year
• 30:06
  before, we had almost just gotten in the park like it was
• 30:10
  maybe, Oh no, say it was 10 AM and they had already kept the
• 30:14
  line for the day. Right.
• 30:16
  Because he does not meet park open to park close.
• 30:19
  So it's usually like a 3:50 type of deal or something like that.
• 30:26
  Again, all that information when we get closer to the holidays
• 30:29
  will all be released, but that we can just kind of speculate
• 30:32
  right as of now. So yeah, they will they will cut
• 30:35
  that line off very early once that those weights get up that
• 30:38
  high. So definitely go there, plan to
• 30:41
  rope drop it, plan to to be there all day.
• 30:43
  Long Now if you don't want to wait 4 hours but you still want
• 30:50
  to meet the Grinch, there is an alternative.
• 30:54
  Is the Grinch character breakfast?
• 30:57
  Yes, which is what it sounds like.
• 30:59
  You're having breakfast with the Grinch and friends at Circus
• 31:03
  Mcgurkis, which is maybe my favorite name of anything ever.
• 31:07
  I love it. I love everything's how
• 31:09
  everything's named in Seuss Landing.
• 31:10
  It's incredible. But it is exactly what it sounds
• 31:14
  like you were having a character breakfast at Circus Mcgurkis.
• 31:18
  Reservations are required and they go fast, so keep an eye on
• 31:25
  if this is like a possible alternative for you.
• 31:27
  Just make sure you're keeping an eye on socials, maybe put those
• 31:31
  notifications on for posts on like Instagram and all those
• 31:36
  other miscellaneous socials, right?
• 31:39
  You got to keep on top of things because they will announce it,
• 31:43
  but it goes fast. So just to give you some other
• 31:47
  information on what else other than a stressful reservation.
• 31:53
  So this is just, it's like a it's breakfast foods, right?
• 31:56
  They're generally themed, right? You get like there's a green
• 31:59
  eggs and ham and there's Grinch pancakes and things like that.
• 32:02
  They do have a kids menu. They do also have vegan and
• 32:05
  gluten sensitive options. We'll talk more in a future
• 32:09
  episode about food at Universal. So I won't go too much into the
• 32:13
  usual menu availability. We're going to talk about
• 32:16
  Universal forever. I hope that's fine with
• 32:18
  everyone. But I did say it was Grinch and
• 32:22
  friends. So some of these friends include
• 32:26
  Sam, I am Cindy Lou Who, Lulu who, and Martha May Who.
• 32:30
  So lots of. 200 Lulu. The sister, I think.
• 32:35
  I think Lulu is the father. Is that true?
• 32:38
  Well, his name is Lou. I'm not sure, but it's Lulu.
• 32:41
  I don't know unclear. There is many different who's
• 32:44
  that you may or may not meet and Sam I who yes, so there's I
• 32:53
  will, I will just assortment of who's that's that's it.
• 32:57
  Your your assortment here, here you go.
• 33:00
  Here are your who's so the assortment of who's we are
• 33:09
  losing it. We got a long way to go.
• 33:11
  Oh boy. We are, we are doing the thing.
• 33:16
  So now the assortment of who's as well as Sam I am generally
• 33:21
  work like a traditional, like character breakfast, right?
• 33:23
  You're sitting, you're eating, they'll walk around.
• 33:26
  You can kind of go grab them for pictures.
• 33:27
  If they're in between tables, they'll come over to you, right?
• 33:29
  Like very traditional. What do you think of a character
• 33:31
  breakfast? The Grinch is slightly
• 33:34
  different. So everyone gets a little
• 33:37
  postcard welcoming them or telling them to go away really
• 33:40
  from the Grinch. And that serves as your ticket
• 33:43
  to go meet the Grinch. So you can meet him while you
• 33:46
  are like during the breakfast time period and you just walk
• 33:51
  up, you get give them your ticket, you get in line.
• 33:53
  And those weights are generally I saw like between 10 and 20
• 33:57
  minutes, which is slightly shorter than four hours.
• 34:01
  Just just just a little. But just a touch, you're still
• 34:04
  gonna have to bring like lots of snacks and games and true and
• 34:07
  everyone like it's gonna, it's it's tough, but it will be worth
• 34:11
  it. So, yeah.
• 34:12
  So that's he, he's meeting in the exact same place that his
• 34:15
  typical meet and greet would happen.
• 34:17
  But this happens before what would be his his little shift at
• 34:22
  at the standby queue, you know, So it is the same experience.
• 34:26
  It's the same photo op, It's the same area.
• 34:28
  It is just a significantly shorter wait.
• 34:30
  You get breakfast and there are other characters that you can
• 34:33
  meet. So that is a very viable option.
• 34:36
  However, like I said, it's a really difficult reservation to
• 34:39
  get yet. So just, you know, hedge your
• 34:41
  bets and make your plans as best as you can.
• 34:44
  OK, so still in the vein of miscellaneous who's and the
• 34:49
  Grinch, there is also within Grinch miss the Hooladay
• 34:55
  spectacular show, and this is essentially the Grinch's stage
• 34:58
  show. It goes through the Grinch's
• 35:00
  story and his antics and it's it's a again, another very
• 35:04
  popular show. This is first come first serve
• 35:07
  seating, but it's a fairly large theater.
• 35:10
  If anybody has been to universal before, it is a repurpose of the
• 35:14
  Blue Man groups theater. So it's a fairly large theater
• 35:18
  and they do a couple shows a day.
• 35:19
  Again, I hate to do this, but check the app when, when you
• 35:23
  know, as we get closer, they will have showtimes and then
• 35:26
  they did three shows a day last year that may be bumped up or
• 35:30
  down depending on time frame, right?
• 35:33
  Weekends, weekdays, right? So as you're planning your trip
• 35:37
  and you get a little bit closer, just keep an eye on the app or
• 35:40
  on the website and they will tell you if they're running more
• 35:43
  or less or what the show schedule will be.
• 35:45
  So generally safe get there like between 20 and 45 minutes early
• 35:49
  depending on how busy the park itself is.
• 35:51
  And of course as you get closer to Christmas, it will be even
• 35:54
  more busy. So maybe a little more than 45
• 35:57
  minutes. And a pro tip, if you have
• 35:59
  anyone in your family that really loves dogs, try to sit on
• 36:04
  the front right hand side. Not to spoil anything.
• 36:07
  No spoilers, but it's no spoilers.
• 36:09
  No spoilers. But there's a puppy is a very,
• 36:13
  very good puppy, so. You're good at this puppy.
• 36:16
  The goodest puppy in all of Universal.
• 36:19
  So good. So cute, my friend, But yeah, so
• 36:23
  if you have any, any particular pup lovers like we all are, as
• 36:28
  you just heard by the gushing, good idea to try to get there a
• 36:31
  touch early and sit in that front right hand side.
• 36:34
  Is that right hand as you're looking at the stage or right
• 36:37
  hand as you're OK, so it's. Your right not stage right.
• 36:41
  Perfect. Just making sure that everybody
• 36:43
  is clear. It's a very important detail.
• 36:46
  It absolutely is when you are looking and there is a large
• 36:49
  chair, it's that side. Perfect.
• 36:51
  That's the easiest. That's the easiest direction to
• 36:55
  give. Love it, love.
• 36:57
  It So we're almost wrapped up with our Hula day discussion
• 37:00
  here, but we would be so remiss if we didn't talk about food and
• 37:04
  drink, right? So like we said earlier, these
• 37:07
  can change depending on availability, what have you, but
• 37:11
  there have been a couple, a couple of popular ones that seem
• 37:13
  to come back year after year. Things like a 2 sizes, two small
• 37:17
  cupcake, which is adorable. You know, there's cookies, a
• 37:21
  Grinch doughnut and the Grinch heart lemonade.
• 37:24
  Not sure what's in it, but people love it.
• 37:27
  I expect something Sprite adjacent, but it's very popular.
• 37:31
  So that is Grinch Miss and I think that covers it.
• 37:36
  It's a lot, it's adorable, it's super fun, it's a really great
• 37:40
  event. And like, like Duck mentioned
• 37:43
  that holes, I mean, if you know the Seuss area, it's already
• 37:46
  lovely and themed and wonderful. But then to Add all of the
• 37:51
  Grinchmiss stuff and all of the decorations is just like top
• 37:54
  notch. It's a very whimsical.
• 37:56
  Yes. Yeah, that's, I think that's the
• 37:59
  word that I would use for it. And it gets more whimsical at
• 38:01
  Christmas. They do a really good job with
• 38:03
  this. Not none of the rest of the park
• 38:05
  isn't well themed, but I think that this lends itself to a
• 38:09
  holiday theme very well. Yes, way better than any of the
• 38:12
  areas in Disney. Disney does a terrible job in
• 38:14
  their theme parks of decorating. Like they, they get the, they
• 38:17
  get the big tree and like you get some wreaths on Main Street
• 38:20
  and then that's about it. And it's like.
• 38:23
  Yeah, you could do more. I know you could.
• 38:27
  And I want more for you because I love you so much.
• 38:29
  I want you. I want more from you because you
• 38:32
  can do it. I know you can.
• 38:34
  Right. So this is definitely a, if
• 38:37
  you've got littles that you're in, you're looking for a really
• 38:40
  fun Christmas area and you're visiting during that time of
• 38:44
  year, Sue's Landing is is pretty, pretty, pretty top notch
• 38:48
  for that. Agreed.
• 38:50
  Perfect. Well, let's talk about something
• 38:52
  adjacent but different. Let's talk about Christmas time
• 38:55
  in the wizarding world of Harry Potter.
• 38:58
  So this is again during the holiday time, similar time frame
• 39:02
  to everything that Duck was just talking about with the holidays.
• 39:06
  This does happen on both sides. Again, talked about that earlier
• 39:09
  with butter beer season. So Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley
• 39:13
  are both dressed up with lots of Christmas decor resembling more
• 39:17
  of the European Christmas market.
• 39:19
  So you're going to see things a little bit different from what
• 39:23
  the traditional American way is to celebrate the holidays.
• 39:28
  Some exclusive things that they have to offer.
• 39:30
  They have some of their shows include a holiday twist now.
• 39:34
  So there's lots of live performances that happen in the
• 39:38
  Harry Potter areas. But for example, in Diagon
• 39:42
  Alley, they have, I'm going to say this wrong, Celestina,
• 39:45
  right? You didn't.
• 39:46
  Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees, which is one of their
• 39:50
  live performances that they have.
• 39:52
  They perform their Holiday Speltacular setlist so they have
• 39:57
  a little bit of fun Christmas and holiday flavor to that.
• 40:01
  And then the Frog Choir at Hogsmeade which is so fun to
• 40:06
  see. They also have a holiday
• 40:08
  inspired show as well. The one big draw of the Harry
• 40:13
  Potter Christmas time and holiday spectacular festivities
• 40:18
  that they have is the nighttime. Show on a Hogwarts castle This
• 40:22
  is one of the most covered and videoed and posted about on
• 40:28
  social media events that happened in this space.
• 40:32
  So the Magic of Christmas at Hogwarts features projections on
• 40:36
  the Hogwarts castle with a Christmas theme.
• 40:39
  So they've got caroling ghosts, the Hogs need Snowman, they've
• 40:43
  got a magical Christmas tree, and some different scenes from
• 40:46
  the Yule Ball, which is a whole seen in the, what, 4th movie of
• 40:51
  Harry Potter? That sounds true.
• 40:55
  You're like, sure, I can't count.
• 40:57
  So yes. Yeah, that's for yes.
• 41:00
  Put your name in the couple of the fire.
• 41:02
  Exactly. Yeah, that one.
• 41:04
  And it's all choreographed to music from the movies, which, if
• 41:07
  you're familiar with the soundtrack to those movies, has
• 41:10
  some lovely Christmas time and winter time, very iconic songs
• 41:15
  and scenes. So that is definitely a huge
• 41:18
  draw to that area during the Christmas season.
• 41:22
  And I think that kind of covers the holidays at Universal.
• 41:27
  So moving on to, I guess chronologically, the next event
• 41:31
  that would happen is Mardi Gras. So this is another super
• 41:35
  popular, very well loved event at Universal.
• 41:38
  Their Mardi Gras celebration features a lot of different food
• 41:41
  and music. The most importantly, a Mardi
• 41:43
  Gras parade where you can catch beads just like you're in New
• 41:47
  Orleans. So this takes place at USF and
• 41:51
  it takes place typically in the springtime.
• 41:54
  So early February Mardi Gras like the timing depends on when
• 41:58
  like the actual Mardi Gras like time falls.
• 42:03
  So it is included in the cost of admission.
• 42:06
  So there are concerts and the concerts are usually like single
• 42:09
  night events, unlike when Disney has the eat to the beat during
• 42:13
  food and wine festival. And it's, you know, the bands
• 42:16
  will or acts will kind of have a small residency that they do.
• 42:21
  This is a great way to put it. This is a little different.
• 42:24
  It's just a, you know, a one night show and then that's the
• 42:27
  end with some highlights from last year's concert series
• 42:30
  included T Pain, Joe Jonas, Cool and the Gang and Foster The
• 42:34
  People, which is a very random mix of musicians.
• 42:36
  So like something for everybody I guess.
• 42:38
  Yeah, much like To the Beat, where they have like quite an
• 42:41
  eclectic group. There's definitely something for
• 42:44
  everyone there. That's 100% true.
• 42:45
  And the concerts are super popular, like the Joe Jonas one.
• 42:50
  This past year, I think people started lining up at like 8:00
• 42:53
  AM, yeah, for like an 8 PM, 9:00 PM concert.
• 42:57
  So like, again, it's one of those all day things.
• 43:01
  Yeah, be prepared unless you're fine with being in the back
• 43:03
  like. Us right because right.
• 43:05
  We're old and we can't do like we spent probably 15 years doing
• 43:09
  barricade for concerts. I can't do it anymore.
• 43:13
  I'm in the back, I'm rocking by the bar, sipping my little, my
• 43:16
  little cocktail, just having a good time, right?
• 43:19
  That's where I'm at now. But the big thing about those
• 43:22
  concerts is the concerts are also included with the cost of
• 43:26
  admission. So people are buying park
• 43:28
  tickets and then getting front row to see acts like Joe Jonas
• 43:32
  and, you know, some of those other big names that come.
• 43:35
  So the concerts are extremely popular, especially to all of
• 43:40
  the pass holders and locals because it's included with their
• 43:44
  past. They don't have to buy a
• 43:46
  separate ticket or anything for it.
• 43:49
  And there's no way to, you know, Disney has some of those dining
• 43:52
  deals with their concerts where you can kind of get like reserve
• 43:55
  seating. Universal doesn't have any of
• 43:57
  that. So it's literally just first
• 43:59
  come, first serve in the standby area.
• 44:01
  And they will have gates and you know, it all blocked off for
• 44:05
  people to wait because it's, it's a whole thing.
• 44:08
  And it seems like they have, I mean, knock on wood, they could
• 44:11
  denounce it tomorrow. But from what I have seen
• 44:14
  discussed online and in like various interviews about this,
• 44:18
  they do not seem like they want to ever.
• 44:20
  They want to do dining deals. We're like, if you buy the
• 44:23
  dining package, you will get in first or you will have a
• 44:26
  reserved area. They seem to like the way that
• 44:29
  it works now where it's just sort of like free for all.
• 44:31
  If you want to spend all 12 hours out in the Florida sun
• 44:35
  waiting for Joe Jonas, that's your business and that's your
• 44:37
  price of admission. You know what I mean?
• 44:39
  And I think. The biggest difference is that
• 44:42
  pavilion in the in Epcot where they do these concerts has
• 44:47
  seats. Yes, yeah.
• 44:48
  Whereas at Universal it is standing room only on like a
• 44:52
  concrete pretend lawn that. It's like giant pavers, you know
• 44:57
  what I mean? And there's just like faux grass
• 44:59
  in between. Right.
• 45:00
  So like that is a huge difference between the two.
• 45:03
  So I can imagine that they wouldn't want to ever have to
• 45:06
  redo that concert space. So they're never going to be
• 45:11
  able to necessarily separate out a reserved section for something
• 45:16
  like that. So that totally makes sense.
• 45:18
  Yeah, definitely. Absolutely.
• 45:19
  So in addition to the concerts and the food, there is a parade
• 45:24
  with St. performers. So a cool thing about this
• 45:27
  parade is that you can actually ride on one of the parade
• 45:29
  floats. So this used to just be an AP
• 45:32
  exclusive event, but post COVID they have kind of opened it up
• 45:35
  to the public. So if you would like to ride on
• 45:38
  the float, you can either purchase a ticket and a dining
• 45:41
  package, which is what it sounds like.
• 45:44
  It's kind of like what Disney does with their, you know,
• 45:46
  dining packages. So it guarantees you a spot on
• 45:49
  the float and then also includes A3 course dinner at a
• 45:52
  participating universal restaurant.
• 45:54
  Or you can use a virtual queue in order to get a spot.
• 45:58
  And so much like any other virtual queue at any theme park,
• 46:01
  the guests in the park can sign up to ride the floats via
• 46:05
  virtual queue. So in previous years, the queue
• 46:08
  opened up at 2:00 PM. So if you really want to do this
• 46:12
  and you want to go the virtual queue route, you got to be quick
• 46:14
  and be on there right when it opens up because it will fill up
• 46:16
  super. Fast, I will say this past year
• 46:18
  I think was a lot more inconsistent with their virtual
• 46:22
  queue times. I think like because you have to
• 46:25
  meet, I think it was like a six PM parade and you meet at 5:30
• 46:30
  for the, you know, to get on the float or whatever the virtual
• 46:32
  queue would drop it like 520 some days.
• 46:36
  So like when you think of virtual cues, Disney is very
• 46:40
  much one way and Universal is very much not that way.
• 46:44
  That's the most diplomatic way I've.
• 46:46
  Ever heard that? You know, Disney is very timely
• 46:48
  with their drops when they do virtual cues.
• 46:51
  Universal is not that way. And we'll talk about this more
• 46:54
  next episode when we talk more about Epic Universe and the
• 46:56
  virtual cue options that they have over there.
• 46:59
  But it's, it's a little hit and miss.
• 47:02
  So just be patient with it and keep refreshing and keep trying
• 47:06
  because anywhere from 2:00-ish to 5:00-ish you it may open up
• 47:13
  and it depends. Someone's scream, it's open and
• 47:15
  if you just. Yeah, Refresh.
• 47:17
  And from what I have heard and what I've seen team members
• 47:21
  talking about, the virtual queue availability depends on how many
• 47:26
  dining packages they sold. So if they sold a ton of dining
• 47:30
  packages one night, there may only be 5 virtual queue spaces
• 47:33
  available, but on another night, maybe they only sold 5 dining
• 47:37
  packages and there may be 25 spaces available.
• 47:40
  So it's very dependent on the day.
• 47:43
  So if that is something that's super important to you, I would
• 47:47
  not necessarily utilize the virtual queue.
• 47:49
  I would do more of the standard reserved times for that because
• 47:53
  that is going to be your best way to guarantee to get on a
• 47:56
  float. Agreed.
• 47:57
  Absolutely. So some of the food at the Mardi
• 48:01
  Gras celebration features, you know, your classic Mardi Gras
• 48:05
  foods like beignets and also some unique snack and drink
• 48:08
  offerings like. What is that duck lorange on a
• 48:12
  stick? There you go.
• 48:14
  I don't speak French. I don't know how to pronounce
• 48:16
  things. I barely speak English.
• 48:17
  Girl, you too French. At least that's true.
• 48:21
  And so 2026 will be the 30th anniversary of the Mardi Gras
• 48:24
  celebration. So they've already announced
• 48:26
  some of the floats. There's going to be some new
• 48:28
  floats for the parade and some, you know, a promise of other fun
• 48:32
  new offerings to celebrate the 30th anniversary.
• 48:35
  Yeah, I will say Mardi Gras is a super fun event that Universal
• 48:38
  does and Disney does very little for.
• 48:41
  So like if you're a Mardi Gras person, I know a lot of people
• 48:44
  that really like go to places like Universal Busch Gardens and
• 48:49
  SeaWorld also do really nice university Universal Mardi Gras
• 48:53
  events at their parks too. So super fun event to do and the
• 48:57
  food is always really good. From what I've heard, heard that
• 49:01
  they've got some really nice offerings at their food booths
• 49:03
  because they do for that event. They do have the different kind
• 49:06
  of similar to Epcot festivals. They've got like little food
• 49:09
  booths kind of around that offer different things for that as
• 49:11
  well. So the other big thing that or
• 49:14
  one of the big things for this festival time period is the Rock
• 49:19
  the Universe festival, which is one that I almost constantly
• 49:23
  forget about. Not like any tea or shade.
• 49:25
  It's just like one of the, it's just like it's so specific and
• 49:28
  it only happens over a weekend. So when you're thinking about
• 49:31
  like planning out your, your universal trip, it, it may not
• 49:35
  be necessarily something that's, you know, coming across your
• 49:38
  mind, unless you were specifically going for this.
• 49:40
  So Rock the Universe is Florida's biggest Christian
• 49:44
  music festival, but next year will it will be on January 23rd
• 49:48
  and 24th of 2026. Just in case anyone's listening
• 49:52
  to the future. I don't want anyone to think
• 49:53
  that the dates are next year, meaning 2027 or what have you.
• 49:58
  This is a separately ticketed event.
• 50:00
  So this is not, this is I think our first one that we've talked
• 50:03
  about today. It is not included with your
• 50:06
  cost of admission. It is a separate music festival
• 50:09
  that is occurring at Universal. So it does occur at Universal
• 50:13
  Studios Florida and that ticket for the Universal Studios
• 50:17
  Florida for the one park is included with your music
• 50:20
  festival ticket. There's a couple different
• 50:23
  ticket options that you know will occur with this.
• 50:26
  If you want more about ticket options, check our last episode,
• 50:29
  but there but there's A and after 4:00 PM one for one day
• 50:33
  and after 4:00 PM one for two days.
• 50:35
  So if you just want to go for like the bigger evening axe, you
• 50:38
  can do that. But if you want to take
• 50:40
  advantage of like the full universal experience, they also
• 50:43
  offer, you know, various combos, right?
• 50:46
  Two night 2 park, two night one park, right?
• 50:50
  Like they, they have a bunch of different ticket options that
• 50:54
  will the combos will go out into Infinity if we let it.
• 50:58
  But yeah, so just know that there's a bunch of different
• 51:00
  options that if this is something you're interested in
• 51:02
  attending, you can, you know, make those those determinations
• 51:06
  of do I want to just go for the concert or do I want to
• 51:09
  experience Universal as a whole and maybe get a a ticket combo
• 51:12
  or a ticket bundle there. Oh, and one of the thing, this
• 51:16
  is held in the Amphitheatre by RIP Ride Rocket, which is the
• 51:19
  same place that we were just talking about the other concerts
• 51:22
  being held for Mardi Gras. So it's the same Amphitheatre,
• 51:25
  same space. So if you look up just pictures
• 51:27
  online of that Amphitheatre, it's all one in the same.
• 51:31
  Perfect. OK, and now for something
• 51:34
  completely different. Let's start this out.
• 51:36
  Right hand turn. Let's talk about the Volcano Bay
• 51:40
  Nights offerings that Universal has.
• 51:44
  So this is a newer offering for this year where Volcano Bay is
• 51:47
  open for guests at night. So it typically closes between
• 51:51
  5:00 and 7:00 depending on the season.
• 51:53
  That's pretty standard for a lot of the water parks in the
• 51:55
  Florida area. They just don't have the the
• 51:58
  needs to stay open much later than that quite honestly.
• 52:02
  But the dates for this year were April 12th and 26th and May 3rd,
• 52:07
  10th and 17th. So it was just a few dates kind
• 52:11
  of in the springtime and the event ran from 7:00 to 10:00 PM.
• 52:18
  But it appears that it operates much like the Disney after hours
• 52:21
  events where you can get in early so you can arrive at four
• 52:24
  and gain access to the water park with your event ticket.
• 52:28
  That being said, it is a separate ticketed event, which
• 52:31
  makes sense considering it's more it's typical.
• 52:33
  It's like an after hours, right because you're going when the
• 52:36
  park is closed. So they begin to guide the non
• 52:40
  event guests out by the park close, which is again typically
• 52:43
  about 5:00. So the full event offerings may
• 52:46
  not be available until closer to 7, which we do see that with
• 52:49
  some of the other events that we see at Disney like Jolly Wood
• 52:52
  and not so scary and very merry, those types of things.
• 52:56
  But then the park itself will remain open and operating in
• 52:59
  that kind of in between time. So the ticketed event cost for
• 53:04
  this is $99, again, subject to change.
• 53:07
  That's just what it was for this year.
• 53:09
  And it is that is 99 for all ages.
• 53:11
  So they don't do a split cost for this special event.
• 53:14
  So we talked about tickets last episode with our or our last
• 53:18
  Universal episode where they had kind of that 3 to 9 separate
• 53:22
  price. This does not have that.
• 53:24
  So it's 99 per person regardless of age and the capacity is kept
• 53:29
  fairly low with this. So this is a really big draw of
• 53:33
  having the shorter wait times on the slides and the rides and
• 53:36
  things that they have there. So if you're not including that
• 53:39
  in your general ticket purchase, but you're going during this
• 53:42
  event, it's a really great way to kind of get the most out of
• 53:45
  your time at Volcano Bay. Now I will say that $99 price
• 53:49
  point is probably a little bit more than what you would pay for
• 53:52
  a general just like one day admission to Volcano Bay from
• 53:55
  what we found, but you'll have to kind of price that out and
• 53:59
  see how that works into your budget.
• 54:02
  Just a quick note that not all of the rides are necessarily
• 54:05
  open during this. Again, this is what we saw in
• 54:08
  the in the the infancy of this event.
• 54:10
  It could change in the future. The majority of the fan
• 54:14
  favorites like Krakatoa Aqua Coaster are, but things like
• 54:17
  some of the Body Racer slides and family slides are not
• 54:21
  necessarily going to be open. However, they would be open if
• 54:25
  you want to catch them like right at the beginning of your
• 54:28
  entry to that. So like if you get in at that
• 54:31
  4:00 early time, you would be able to maybe hop on one one
• 54:34
  thing, maybe 2 if you're lucky that maybe you might be closed
• 54:38
  during the event. So that would be a good way to
• 54:39
  utilize that time. A couple other fun offerings
• 54:43
  that they have at this event is they have a ton of DreamWorks
• 54:45
  characters for meet and greets, which is super fun.
• 54:49
  Definitely very like family friendly when it comes to those
• 54:52
  kind of offerings. So Shrek, Puss in Boots and
• 54:56
  Queen Poppy from trolls have all been spotted as some of the
• 55:02
  character meet and greets again, subject to change.
• 55:05
  They could swap those out and rotate those as the event kind
• 55:08
  of grows and and evolves. They have live entertainment
• 55:12
  including a DJ, games and activities for the whole family,
• 55:15
  specialty themed island treats and eats.
• 55:19
  Duck's favorite category of all of these events.
• 55:23
  There are a few light bites that are complimentary as well, but
• 55:27
  then they also have a wider array of food available for
• 55:30
  purchase. And it does include a
• 55:32
  complimentary Coca-Cola Freestyle souvenir cup included
• 55:36
  with your admission, which is a fun little perk of having that
• 55:39
  ticket for that event. Everyone loves the free souvenir
• 55:43
  cup. Let's be great.
• 55:44
  They're the best free souvenir. Popcorn buckets, cups,
• 55:48
  refillable mugs, they're all great.
• 55:50
  Love it 13,000 of them in our. Right.
• 55:53
  Yeah, so many they. Get well loved, yes?
• 55:56
  Yes, it's true. So that kind of in a nutshell is
• 55:59
  the Volcano Bay Nights again, a brand new event that hopefully
• 56:03
  we'll we'll see happen in the future again.
• 56:07
  Fingers crossed. Yeah, perfect.
• 56:09
  All right, what else? We we're getting close to the
• 56:11
  end of our event list here. We're getting closer to to what
• 56:16
  Duck and Jess have been waiting for.
• 56:18
  But we've got one more I think to talk about before we jump
• 56:21
  into HN. So what else do we have?
• 56:23
  One thing stands in my way and that is grad Bash.
• 56:28
  So grad bash is just like the general term for there's really
• 56:33
  two separate events that occur in this and they're kind of
• 56:36
  exactly what they sound like, right?
• 56:38
  So this is an event for kids graduating.
• 56:41
  We have grad Bash, which is the the seniors who are graduating
• 56:46
  or I'm sorry, grad party is the general name for it.
• 56:49
  Grad Bash is the specific age group for seniors who are
• 56:53
  graduating from high school. So this occurred this year April
• 56:57
  4th and 5th April 11th and April 25th.
• 57:01
  This see what happens every year.
• 57:03
  This has been a thing that they have done for many, many years
• 57:06
  now and it's almost always in like the April May time frame
• 57:09
  for these. But tickets are available for
• 57:12
  these kids through their schools.
• 57:13
  Their schools do have to apply and agree, make some agreements
• 57:17
  on behavior in in order to be eligible for these tickets.
• 57:22
  They are discounted tickets, of course, the school, she has to
• 57:26
  have chaperones that are coming. How the school runs, it is up to
• 57:29
  them. It could be parents, could be
• 57:30
  teachers. Usually it's both from what I've
• 57:32
  seen and the chaperones and the kids are quote UN quote locked
• 57:36
  into the parks until it closes around midnight, right?
• 57:39
  They don't want, they don't want a high school, right?
• 57:42
  They don't want high school kids just like leaving the premises
• 57:45
  and going in and out and doing who who knows what in the theme
• 57:49
  park, you know, So they are, they're pretty strict and you
• 57:53
  know, they, the chaperones just have to be in the general area
• 57:56
  of the kids. There has to be, you know, every
• 57:58
  school does a little differently.
• 57:59
  Maybe they'll do check insurance.
• 58:00
  So you know, things like that. But this is, you know, like a
• 58:03
  like a lock in type situation. So that's the grad bash.
• 58:08
  And then there is the grad venture, which is the exact same
• 58:11
  type of event, but rather than for high school seniors who are
• 58:15
  graduating, this is for 8th graders who are moving up into
• 58:18
  freshman year of high school. So otherwise it's the same as
• 58:22
  grad bash. Tickets are gotten through the
• 58:24
  school, the chaperones have to participate, yada, yada.
• 58:27
  You have to sign contracts saying I will behave at
• 58:29
  universal, the usual. And this year it's taking place
• 58:33
  on May, not May 2nd, May 9th, May 16th and May 17th.
• 58:38
  So yeah, that's that's a great party.
• 58:41
  Yeah. I mean this.
• 58:42
  We've had something similar at other places.
• 58:46
  Great Adventure, which is near us, The theme park near us, it's
• 58:49
  Six Flags Park, used to do this like 100 years ago.
• 58:52
  They don't do it anymore. Yeah.
• 58:55
  It's just, it's just not a thing anymore, unfortunately.
• 58:59
  Disneyland does it. Disneyland does it.
• 59:01
  You know who did it I think a couple years ago was Dorney
• 59:04
  Park. I think Dorney Park regularly
• 59:06
  does it. I think they they had it more
• 59:09
  limited like during COVID because of, you know, obviously
• 59:12
  COVID but also staffing issues. I think they're starting to
• 59:14
  bring it back. I saw some speculation about it.
• 59:16
  So I think that would be really great because that's a Dorney
• 59:18
  Park is another really fun park in the Northeast, so.
• 59:22
  Yeah, and I will say that, you know, I think some these events
• 59:26
  can kind of get a bad rap, but do keep in mind that like the
• 59:30
  general admission park is like, they're like those people are
• 59:34
  not in the parks at this time. This is literally just an event
• 59:37
  for these kids in chaperones. So that's at least helpful.
• 59:41
  I feel like in the grand scheme of things, if you're thinking
• 59:44
  about sending your 8th grader or whoever to these theme parks,
• 59:48
  they're not going to have the day guests all there.
• 59:51
  Typically the park will close at like a 6:00 PM or 7:00 PM and
• 59:54
  then it's like, yeah, like 7 to midnight that these these events
• 59:58
  happen. So and I, I do think that it's
• 1:00:01
  very smart that way that Universal does it.
• 1:00:03
  And I don't think a lot of other theme parks do it where you have
• 1:00:05
  to kind of like go through the school Ave. to be able to get
• 1:00:09
  your tickets right. Places like Disneyland and some
• 1:00:11
  of those other ones, they just have these tickets just open to
• 1:00:14
  anyone who wants to participate. So I think that's a very smart
• 1:00:19
  thing. Thing that Universal did by
• 1:00:21
  making them come with their school.
• 1:00:23
  And it helps remind them it's like a school sponsored event.
• 1:00:26
  So you are still technically at school right to having.
• 1:00:29
  And I've seen a lot of a lot of schools just like scrolling
• 1:00:33
  through universals Reddit and people you know, talking about
• 1:00:36
  when they did it or, or what have you.
• 1:00:38
  A lot of the schools also, I think this is smart, have them
• 1:00:42
  sign contracts. I made a joke about it earlier,
• 1:00:44
  but it is just sort of like, like you said, a reminder.
• 1:00:47
  This is a school event. There are still things that can
• 1:00:49
  be taken away. School's not over just yet,
• 1:00:52
  maybe you know what I mean. There's still events and
• 1:00:54
  graduation and things that, you know, could be on the line.
• 1:00:57
  So there. And I have to say, from a lot of
• 1:00:59
  the stories, it sounds like it's just typical teenagers.
• 1:01:02
  It does sound it's not anything catastrophic.
• 1:01:05
  So, you know, maybe some some general general, you know,
• 1:01:08
  teenage misbehaving, but nothing terrible.
• 1:01:12
  So they're not like trash in the park and lighting things on
• 1:01:15
  fire. So we're good, We're good.
• 1:01:19
  Perfect. Well, I think with that we have
• 1:01:21
  made it finally in this multi part series to the one thing
• 1:01:28
  that Duck and Jess have been waiting to talk about.
• 1:01:31
  And I keep telling them we'll get there, I promise we'll get
• 1:01:34
  there, we'll get there. But we have made it through all
• 1:01:37
  of the other events and we have now made it to the time that
• 1:01:43
  they can shine and discuss Halloween Horror Nights.
• 1:01:46
  So I'm going to zip my lips and I'm going to let the two of you
• 1:01:51
  within reason, within reason, I love you both discuss Halloween
• 1:01:57
  Horror Nights because we will be doing more information on
• 1:02:00
  Halloween Horror Nights. We already talked about we want
• 1:02:03
  to do kind of like an all things spooky season episode later this
• 1:02:07
  year as we get closer to spooky time and we get more information
• 1:02:10
  about details about, you know, houses and menus and and all
• 1:02:15
  that kind of stuff. So this is just your overview
• 1:02:20
  and then some. I already crawled.
• 1:02:23
  I would be as normal as possible during this whole thing just.
• 1:02:26
  Very normal. We just have, we just have my
• 1:02:28
  one, my 1 little blue popcorn bucket and yes, and I will be
• 1:02:31
  normal, I promise. Yes.
• 1:02:33
  And if you're listening to the podcast and you cannot see us,
• 1:02:37
  Duck has a small pumpkin shaped popcorn bucket that is shaped
• 1:02:41
  like one of the mascots, I guess so to speak, of Halloween Horror
• 1:02:45
  Nights called Little Boo or sorry, Lil.
• 1:02:48
  It's like Lil, right, Lil Boo. So that is what they were
• 1:02:53
  referring to with that. But Duck and Jess, I will, I
• 1:02:56
  will defer to you. Take it away.
• 1:02:57
  Let's hear about Halloween Horror Nights.
• 1:03:00
  So Halloween Horror Nights is our favorite event at all of
• 1:03:04
  Universal. It takes place on select nights
• 1:03:07
  starting this year starting August 29th and going through
• 1:03:10
  November 2nd. So it usually starts that Labor
• 1:03:12
  Day weekend and it takes place through all of the Universal
• 1:03:16
  Studios Park. So it was Once Upon a time and
• 1:03:21
  way, way back when dinosaurs walked to the Earth in 2002.
• 1:03:24
  Because that's how long is all that feels by now.
• 1:03:26
  Four times. Literally.
• 1:03:28
  So true. HHN was moved over to Islands of
• 1:03:31
  Adventure, so it was there for a couple years in O2 and O3 and
• 1:03:35
  then in 2004 it actually was split between Studios and
• 1:03:40
  Islands of Adventure. And then that was the last year
• 1:03:43
  that that ever happened because Marvel was very unhappy with
• 1:03:46
  some of the events that took place in their section of the
• 1:03:49
  park. All of the the heroes were
• 1:03:52
  defeated. Carnage reign supreme over that
• 1:03:55
  area and. It was bad.
• 1:03:57
  It was. Bad.
• 1:03:57
  It wasn't good. I mean, it was awesome, but a
• 1:04:00
  bright Yeah, it. Wasn't good from a marketing
• 1:04:03
  standpoint. But like as a fan, it was so
• 1:04:05
  sick. Right.
• 1:04:07
  So good. Yeah, so we have have not gotten
• 1:04:11
  anything except for like a small little gift shop with Horror
• 1:04:15
  Nights merch in Islands of Adventure since.
• 1:04:18
  And it is very sad, but what we do have over at studios, so like
• 1:04:24
  I said, it's spread all throughout the entire park.
• 1:04:26
  So there are haunted houses, scare zones and different
• 1:04:29
  entertainment offerings. And some of the rides, some
• 1:04:33
  select attractions are open during this event.
• 1:04:35
  So not everything, some of the rides are shut down to act as
• 1:04:38
  queues for the houses and stuff like that.
• 1:04:40
  But a lot of your main, you know, attractions are open,
• 1:04:44
  things like The Mummy, Gringotts and things like that.
• 1:04:48
  And, perhaps more importantly, men in black.
• 1:04:50
  Men in Black is always open. A it's fun and B, great air
• 1:04:54
  conditioning. Yeah, it gets hot in those
• 1:04:56
  houses, so. So the houses are really like
• 1:05:01
  the biggest draw of the whole event.
• 1:05:03
  So these are different walkthrough attractions that
• 1:05:06
  carry through a storyline related to whatever the theme
• 1:05:09
  is. So they are chock full of scare
• 1:05:11
  actors, which are universal employees and costumes.
• 1:05:14
  And there are special effects and immersive sounds to really
• 1:05:17
  make you feel like you're stepping into whatever the story
• 1:05:20
  is into this world. So these can be based on IPS, so
• 1:05:25
  existing properties. One of ducks favorites from a
• 1:05:27
  couple of years ago was the Halloween house.
• 1:05:29
  It literally took you through the entire first Halloween movie
• 1:05:32
  like scene by scene. It was amazing.
• 1:05:34
  It was some so cool. My favorite houses have always
• 1:05:38
  been the stranger things houses that they've done because I just
• 1:05:41
  that's one of my favorite series and I think they're a lot of
• 1:05:43
  fun. They're not particularly scary,
• 1:05:45
  I would say. So if you're not someone who
• 1:05:47
  likes like super frightening things, like they're a good
• 1:05:49
  beginner kind of house for you, but they're just always a lot of
• 1:05:52
  fun. And then they can also be based
• 1:05:55
  on video games, as we saw with The Last of Us House that they
• 1:05:59
  had in 2023, which was based on the video game.
• 1:06:02
  I don't even think the show had released yet at that point, or
• 1:06:05
  it was about to. It was about to.
• 1:06:06
  It was based specifically for anybody who's played.
• 1:06:09
  It was based specifically on the Pittsburgh level of the video
• 1:06:12
  game. So it was like a specific chunk
• 1:06:14
  within the video game even. It wasn't even just like the
• 1:06:17
  whole storyline of the game. Yeah.
• 1:06:19
  And then there are also houses that are original houses, so
• 1:06:22
  that were created by the HHN creative team.
• 1:06:25
  And some of our all time favorite houses have been these
• 1:06:28
  houses. There have been ones that we did
• 1:06:30
  not really expect to be as great as they were.
• 1:06:33
  But then we left like, yeah, I was really excited for
• 1:06:35
  Ghostbusters, but that like, blew it out of the water.
• 1:06:37
  So one of our favourites was Dead Man's Pier Winter's Wake,
• 1:06:42
  which was themed to a frozen fishing village in New England.
• 1:06:46
  And it was just so cool. You know, you're being attacked
• 1:06:49
  by undead sailors. And it was just like the, the
• 1:06:53
  whole set was beautiful. The way that they made it like
• 1:06:56
  freezing cold in the house, like everything about it was amazing.
• 1:06:59
  Plus the story that it told was super cool too.
• 1:07:03
  And then another thing worth noting is that every year they
• 1:07:06
  have a Universal Monsters house. So like kind of IP kind of
• 1:07:09
  original to them. But those houses are always a
• 1:07:12
  lot of fun. They're really beautifully done.
• 1:07:14
  They feature a lot of really cool characters, and a lot of
• 1:07:17
  times they're like, it's almost like an adventure kind of game
• 1:07:22
  kind of situation. Like they're fighting it out and
• 1:07:24
  you're seeing who wins kind of thing.
• 1:07:25
  So it's really cool. Yeah, the last couple years that
• 1:07:28
  we've gone, the storylines have facilitated different winners of
• 1:07:36
  the battle, right? So like a couple years ago there
• 1:07:38
  was like a Dracula versus the Wolfman.
• 1:07:41
  And so like depending on what time you went through the house
• 1:07:44
  or what night different, like either the Dracula would win or
• 1:07:48
  the Wolfman would win or whatever it is.
• 1:07:50
  So like there's different things that can happen within the house
• 1:07:54
  with slight variation. But it makes it worthwhile then
• 1:07:57
  to go through a couple of times to see what else you can
• 1:08:01
  recognize why maybe there's a scare actor there now or maybe
• 1:08:04
  the ending will be different, right.
• 1:08:05
  So there is a lot of revisit ability to both the original and
• 1:08:10
  the the IP houses. That's so.
• 1:08:13
  Smart of them to do that. I feel like because it gives
• 1:08:16
  people the the want to. I mean, not that most people,
• 1:08:20
  granted, if they're visiting HHN, they are going to the
• 1:08:22
  houses multiple times anyway, but that gives you something to
• 1:08:26
  kind of look, look for and and wonder about, You know, what
• 1:08:29
  ending will we get? Kind of, yeah.
• 1:08:32
  We just not to totally detract from this and make it all AJ
• 1:08:35
  Chan. But there was that one year.
• 1:08:38
  I really love the wolf man. I love the wolf man.
• 1:08:40
  He is my favorite universal monster.
• 1:08:42
  And the first night that we went, he did not win.
• 1:08:47
  And then this and then the second night I was like, he has
• 1:08:49
  to win, he has to win. I want so badly for him to win.
• 1:08:52
  And he did. And our whole group just started
• 1:08:55
  cheering and started doing the cabbage Patch like it was.
• 1:08:59
  So it was so good. Like moments like that really
• 1:09:03
  make HHN so fun because like the scare actors really have like,
• 1:09:07
  within reason, a lot of freedom, right?
• 1:09:10
  So like they may have like the one position that they're
• 1:09:13
  supposed to be in through the houses, but like they trigger
• 1:09:17
  the effect so they can choose when and where to pop out.
• 1:09:21
  So like it's really, there's a lot of freedom and it really
• 1:09:23
  makes it a, a very fun experience every time you go
• 1:09:27
  through the house. So in addition to what we were
• 1:09:30
  talking about before with the houses, there are also scare
• 1:09:33
  zones. So scare zones are kind of what
• 1:09:37
  they sound like, right? They are zones of the park,
• 1:09:39
  specifically of the walkways through the park that are themed
• 1:09:43
  in some way. So they will have costumed cast
• 1:09:46
  members or scare actors. They will have set pieces and
• 1:09:49
  props and just be dressed up in general to whatever the theming
• 1:09:54
  may be. There are just like houses, they
• 1:09:57
  can be themed to an intellectual property.
• 1:10:00
  There was, Oh my goodness, what's the Blum house?
• 1:10:04
  There's been Blum house. What's the zombie movie with
• 1:10:06
  Double tap? Zombieland.
• 1:10:07
  Oh yeah, Zombieland. And my personal favorite was the
• 1:10:10
  Rob Zombie Scare Zone. That rocked.
• 1:10:13
  That thing was so cool. It was so fun.
• 1:10:16
  But yeah, so they can be tied to an intellectual property.
• 1:10:20
  They can even be tied to some of like the original house IPS.
• 1:10:23
  So like last year there was a major suites house.
• 1:10:26
  A couple years before that there was a major suites scare zone.
• 1:10:29
  So there's like some lore that we'll talk more about in our HHN
• 1:10:33
  centric episode. But there is sometimes
• 1:10:35
  connections between the original scare zones and the houses.
• 1:10:39
  And so yeah, like they can either be, oh, the Swamp of the
• 1:10:42
  Undead was the other one that I wanted to talk about from last
• 1:10:44
  year because that was a really good one.
• 1:10:46
  It was themed to be like a Louisiana Bayou where you know,
• 1:10:50
  what's what's under the water doesn't always stay there.
• 1:10:52
  So that was a really fun, well themed one because of where the
• 1:10:56
  sound effects were. And again, I can just, as you
• 1:10:58
  can tell, I'm very excited about this topic.
• 1:11:00
  I can go on and on. But suffice to say they are just
• 1:11:03
  chunks of the park that you walk through and are themed with some
• 1:11:07
  scare actors. Now the other big thing here is
• 1:11:11
  entertainment. So HHN has gone through a bunch
• 1:11:14
  of different iterations. It's this is the 34th year I
• 1:11:18
  think of it existing. I think, I think this year is
• 1:11:22
  3433 or 34. But so of course through that
• 1:11:26
  time everything is changed many times over.
• 1:11:30
  But one thing that has been pretty consistent the last
• 1:11:32
  couple of years is the nighttime show that they offer called
• 1:11:35
  Nightmare Fuel. So nightmare Fuel is a
• 1:11:40
  acrobatic, pyrotechnic heavy metal show.
• 1:11:45
  Like that's like that's the that's the gist of it, right?
• 1:11:48
  They do. There's there is a storyline
• 1:11:51
  that has connected the different iterations, right?
• 1:11:53
  There's original nightmare Fuel and now we have nightmare fuel
• 1:11:55
  Nocturnal Circus, I think it's called.
• 1:11:57
  You don't have to have seen the others.
• 1:11:58
  Don't worry. But there is a storyline that
• 1:12:02
  will go on through these shows being told by these fantastic
• 1:12:07
  acrobats and fire spinners and like it's it's it's.
• 1:12:13
  Unbelievable are absolutely insane.
• 1:12:16
  Unbelievable. So it.
• 1:12:18
  Is nearly break my neck just walking down the street and
• 1:12:20
  these people are flipping with fire and like all kinds of.
• 1:12:24
  Spinning and rings out of the. I don't know what's going on.
• 1:12:27
  Every second is just like something new and shocking that
• 1:12:29
  I would have no business doing, you know what I mean?
• 1:12:32
  That's one of those shows that you sit in and you just like
• 1:12:34
  your anxiety builds. Just sit and watch them because
• 1:12:38
  of everything they're doing. You're like, Oh my gosh, Oh my
• 1:12:40
  gosh, Oh my gosh. Yep. 100% Yep.
• 1:12:46
  But but in a good way, right? Like, right.
• 1:12:48
  Yeah, it's very entertaining also at the same time, don't get
• 1:12:51
  us wrong. Everything about HHN is built on
• 1:12:54
  having having fun scares, right? And Nightmare Fuel is an
• 1:13:00
  extension of that, right? It is shocking and fun and crazy
• 1:13:07
  and you see these stunts being pulled off in a way that you
• 1:13:10
  would never expect and the fire and everything, right?
• 1:13:13
  So it is a continuation of the rest of the park and the rest of
• 1:13:17
  the event in the best way possible.
• 1:13:19
  Yeah, and I second what Ali Beth says.
• 1:13:21
  Whoever mixes their music every year deserves an award because
• 1:13:24
  they have incredible soundtracks to the show.
• 1:13:27
  It is so good. Every year it's incredible.
• 1:13:30
  So there are four shows every night of Nightmare Fuel.
• 1:13:33
  They are all extremely popular. Your best bet is if you can
• 1:13:38
  stand it, go to the 12/12/30 show, which is the latest show
• 1:13:43
  because most people are like headed out by then.
• 1:13:47
  So that is usually your best bet.
• 1:13:49
  They are very popular. If you are interested in it, get
• 1:13:52
  there early. It also can get really warm in
• 1:13:55
  there. So maybe bring a fan, bring a
• 1:13:57
  cooling towel. There's a lot of people and a
• 1:13:59
  lot of fire. It just gets Florida heat.
• 1:14:01
  Yeah. Not bad, just gets warm.
• 1:14:02
  Just get there. Yeah.
• 1:14:05
  So, yeah. So there were previously other
• 1:14:08
  nighttime shows in various places, but they have all pretty
• 1:14:12
  much been discontinued in order to support the the spectacle
• 1:14:15
  that is nightmare Fuel. So some other other pieces of
• 1:14:20
  key pieces of information I will say about HHN, no costumes.
• 1:14:27
  They are so, so strict about this.
• 1:14:30
  If it could look like maybe you are a scare actor, you cannot
• 1:14:36
  wear it. It does not matter.
• 1:14:38
  You are out of there and they will not let you in the park.
• 1:14:41
  They are so strict about it. So if you're questioning, don't.
• 1:14:44
  Worry. Yeah, it's for your safety as
• 1:14:46
  well as a scare actor say exactly like just best not to do
• 1:14:49
  it. They do sell little like
• 1:14:50
  headbands that light up, you know, the little like devil
• 1:14:54
  horns and stuff like that. So if you're looking for
• 1:14:56
  something themed that you can wear, there are things you can
• 1:14:59
  buy in the parks, but just it's best to avoid anything that is
• 1:15:03
  remotely costume like. Now do they have issues with
• 1:15:07
  like Harry Potter robes during HHN?
• 1:15:11
  So that is a good question. I have seen kids wearing them.
• 1:15:17
  I don't know that I've seen an adult wearing them.
• 1:15:20
  And the reason? OK, that's actually not true.
• 1:15:22
  I used to see them wearing them. However, since they've included
• 1:15:26
  the Dementors or the thank you Death Eaters, I have stroke.
• 1:15:32
  Since they've included the Death Eaters, they have not really
• 1:15:35
  allowed adults to wear the Harry Potter robes because some of
• 1:15:38
  them have hoods. And if you put it up from a
• 1:15:41
  distance, you're going to get chased by a a social media
• 1:15:44
  Blogger like it's just going to happen.
• 1:15:45
  Like you could be mistaken for social media blog, and you were.
• 1:15:49
  Injured with the Death Eaters it is.
• 1:15:50
  Oh, I know. Oh yeah, we're not going there.
• 1:15:53
  Let me tell you, it's very unsteafyers.
• 1:15:56
  They do cardio, yeah, cardio all throughout Diagon Alley.
• 1:15:59
  They are fleeing is what's happening.
• 1:16:02
  So people are weird anyway. Yeah, but I've seen kids.
• 1:16:05
  Yeah, but not adults. But I feel like whenever I'm
• 1:16:07
  there, I mostly see kids wearing the robes.
• 1:16:09
  I feel like a dance. Could not stand to wear those
• 1:16:11
  robes in the heat. The kids just like.
• 1:16:13
  No polyester robes in 95° Florida heat, 100% humidity.
• 1:16:17
  I'm good though. Right.
• 1:16:18
  So when in doubt, just don't do it.
• 1:16:20
  Yeah, wear Wear a fun themed T-shirt and a cute little
• 1:16:24
  headband and call it good. And I'm gonna say it's also A to
• 1:16:28
  the security guards discretion. So don't chance it, right?
• 1:16:31
  You might be OK, but don't risk it because you already paid so
• 1:16:34
  much money for this. They just they won't even let
• 1:16:37
  you in the door to buy a new shirt.
• 1:16:39
  They will not physically let you in on property at all.
• 1:16:41
  So don't risk it. So true.
• 1:16:45
  So I know we said that there were kids running around in
• 1:16:47
  robes, but it is not technically a recommended event for people
• 1:16:53
  under 13. Now please gauge your kids
• 1:16:58
  because their HHNHHN can be intense, right?
• 1:17:01
  There can be a lot of things going on.
• 1:17:04
  So even if your kiddo is above 13, it still may not be an
• 1:17:08
  appropriate event for them. But I've also seen kids who were
• 1:17:11
  like 8 and did totally fine and rocked it right there.
• 1:17:15
  Like it is very much like up to your discretion as a parent, but
• 1:17:18
  like, please, please, please use your most like critical thinking
• 1:17:23
  cap when it comes to what you think your kid can handle.
• 1:17:26
  Because, because it's so unfortunate when the kids, like
• 1:17:28
  I've seen kids get very uncomfortable and very upset at
• 1:17:30
  HHN. It can be really intense.
• 1:17:33
  So just like truly, I know it, it's so much fun and you as an
• 1:17:37
  adult might really want to go, but like, please don't put your
• 1:17:40
  kiddo through that. You got to know your kid.
• 1:17:42
  Yeah, it's, it's very much up to your individual kid.
• 1:17:44
  Some kids are totally cool. Like I said, I'm not
• 1:17:46
  exaggerating. I've seen an 8 year old like
• 1:17:48
  totally rock through HHN having a great time.
• 1:17:51
  But like, I also have seen like grown adults not have a good
• 1:17:54
  time. So it's it's very much like you
• 1:17:57
  have to know yourself because it is fun, scary, but it can also
• 1:18:02
  be scary scary. So I'm just important to know
• 1:18:05
  your limits and your kiddos limits.
• 1:18:08
  Also really quick just on the as you are entering and exiting
• 1:18:12
  houses, please say thank you to the cast members.
• 1:18:15
  Please say thank you. They really appreciate it.
• 1:18:16
  And if you happen to make eye contact with one of those
• 1:18:18
  emergency exit people, wave to them.
• 1:18:20
  They love it. They always wave back.
• 1:18:22
  It's very fun. So just throwing that out there.
• 1:18:25
  Perfect. And pause and read a comment
• 1:18:27
  super quick. Ali Beth said that the the
• 1:18:30
  actors are like super respectful.
• 1:18:31
  If you're like, I'm done. I can't know, please.
• 1:18:34
  Like they will back off. Especially in the scare zones.
• 1:18:36
  I've had it happen. I was being followed by somebody
• 1:18:38
  and that really freaks me out. So I really just kind of like
• 1:18:40
  gave a look. It was like, please know.
• 1:18:41
  And he backed off like immediately because he realized
• 1:18:43
  like, oh, this isn't fun anymore for a person.
• 1:18:46
  So they are pretty good with that.
• 1:18:48
  Yes, because they want to make it an enjoyable experience,
• 1:18:51
  right? They're not trying to send you
• 1:18:52
  running out of the park. Like they want you to stay and
• 1:18:55
  enjoy the spooky and have fun with it.
• 1:18:57
  So they want you to enjoy yourself and they have a fun
• 1:19:02
  time doing it too. So they want that interaction
• 1:19:04
  from you. The more that you buy in and the
• 1:19:07
  more you interact, the better your experience is going to be
• 1:19:10
  with that. Absolutely.
• 1:19:12
  As somebody who constantly jumps 10 feet in the air and has a
• 1:19:14
  great time, I can confirm fun all around.
• 1:19:18
  Perfect. Okay, So I think we've got a
• 1:19:19
  couple more things with HHN to talk about.
• 1:19:21
  What else do we need to know? So again, most near and dear to
• 1:19:26
  my heart. Themed food and drinks.
• 1:19:29
  So every year there's like a dozen ish.
• 1:19:32
  Depends. Booths that are themed to,
• 1:19:37
  they're usually they're either unique themes or they're themed
• 1:19:40
  to the area that they are in, right?
• 1:19:42
  It could be a scare zone, it could be a house.
• 1:19:44
  Like last year there was a Ghostbusters house.
• 1:19:45
  So we had a Ghostbusters food booth and they will come up with
• 1:19:49
  some, I'll call them cookie concoctions, right?
• 1:19:52
  There is some really interesting and really good food and drinks
• 1:19:56
  that come out of these booths. So last year my personal
• 1:20:02
  favorite was the the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man s'mores So
• 1:20:05
  delicious. It was so good.
• 1:20:06
  It was just like a large marshmallow in the shape of the
• 1:20:08
  Stay Puff Marshmallow Man with chocolate and the Graham
• 1:20:11
  cracker. And like we really lucked out
• 1:20:13
  'cause each time they were like hot and melty and it was like
• 1:20:16
  the perfect s'more. So, but yeah, so they have like
• 1:20:20
  drinks. Shows in the bag where
• 1:20:21
  delicious. Yes, yes, The Walking.
• 1:20:23
  Tacos. As if they called them
• 1:20:24
  something. Leave it to me, I will remember
• 1:20:27
  all the food. Didn't they have like a green
• 1:20:30
  hot dog or something at one point time?
• 1:20:32
  The corn dog, it was the green corn dog, yes.
• 1:20:35
  It was like a mint vibe to it. It was like supposed to be
• 1:20:40
  garaca. I think the thing fame was it
• 1:20:41
  was supposed to be like an like an icy garaca corn dog.
• 1:20:46
  So if anybody's seen the Ghostbusters afterlife, that was
• 1:20:48
  it was the that was the house. So yeah.
• 1:20:51
  So they really lean into the food theming and the drink
• 1:20:54
  theming. And even when it's bad, it's
• 1:20:57
  still good because it's just fun, you know?
• 1:20:59
  Yeah, it's a little bit of stunt food, but that's OK.
• 1:21:03
  Sometimes stunt food works out great.
• 1:21:05
  Like those s'mores that I'll think about forever, you know?
• 1:21:08
  Yeah, So, so they are. I can't, this is definitely one
• 1:21:11
  where we can't be like, and here's some typical food that
• 1:21:14
  you might see because every single year it's different.
• 1:21:17
  But I will say every food booth has such variety, you know what
• 1:21:23
  I mean? So like you will find something
• 1:21:26
  somewhere in the park that will have a fun theme and you will be
• 1:21:30
  able to eat. They also have like gluten
• 1:21:33
  sensitive options and they most booths have at least one vegan
• 1:21:36
  option. So like there's always always
• 1:21:39
  variety and the portions and the type and the availability and
• 1:21:44
  the drinks. They also have non alcoholic
• 1:21:46
  versions of most drinks. So just check on the sign.
• 1:21:49
  It will specify whether they have like a an alcohol free
• 1:21:52
  version but some some booths like have specific mocktails too
• 1:21:56
  so there's a ton of variety. They have every possible base
• 1:22:00
  covered when it comes to food and drinks.
• 1:22:02
  Now with the food, also I will mention that some of the like
• 1:22:05
  standard food options are still open during HHS.
• 1:22:10
  So if you're worried about the more exploratory options, you
• 1:22:17
  can still find French fries and yeah, that type of stuff.
• 1:22:23
  So don't be concerned about that.
• 1:22:26
  If that is something like if you're like me who has some
• 1:22:29
  dietary needs, if you've got, you know, younger members, if
• 1:22:32
  you're traveling with kiddos that you know we're going to be
• 1:22:34
  fine during HHN and they need something, you're going to be
• 1:22:37
  able to find a lot of options that are very much theme park
• 1:22:40
  staples and kid or picky eater friendly.
• 1:22:43
  Yes, and and not only are like the regular, like I think Moe's
• 1:22:47
  Tavern is open, but like they're like some of the booths just
• 1:22:52
  have regular food like they might call it something to be
• 1:22:55
  themed like the birth. I forget what it was the the
• 1:22:58
  deadly triplets, triplets of terror from last year.
• 1:23:01
  They had like it was like birthday party food, right, But
• 1:23:04
  it was really just like chicken fingers and fries, right.
• 1:23:06
  So like some of them are just totally fine normal food.
• 1:23:10
  You know what I mean? It it doesn't have to be like
• 1:23:12
  Caracas icy breath or whatever. Like it's not.
• 1:23:15
  And I, I, I, we highlight that because that is the big draw,
• 1:23:20
  right? What you see all over social
• 1:23:21
  media. But if you have sensitivities or
• 1:23:24
  dietary needs, there's plenty of options available.
• 1:23:27
  And if you're ever unsure, check the app or ask a team member.
• 1:23:30
  I know I keep saying that but truly like they are always the
• 1:23:33
  best source of information and they are very well trained at
• 1:23:35
  Universal. They're on it.
• 1:23:36
  Yes, so true. OK, let's talk about merch.
• 1:23:39
  My other favorite way to spend money?
• 1:23:41
  Yeah, food and merch. That's evidenced by the fact
• 1:23:43
  that we've been having HHN for the past.
• 1:23:46
  And I like episodes that. Smiley brought in my little blue
• 1:23:48
  popcorn bucket that I love dearly.
• 1:23:51
  So in our spooky opinion, HHN has some of the best merch that
• 1:23:57
  Universal has to offer. They have.
• 1:24:00
  Usually for the IP houses, they will have a T-shirt, a
• 1:24:04
  sweatshirt, a backpack, a pin set, right?
• 1:24:07
  Like they will have the whole line up for that.
• 1:24:09
  But sometimes they'll also have it for the original houses.
• 1:24:11
  So if you really enjoyed, they'll have that.
• 1:24:13
  And then of course, they'll just have like whatever the theme is.
• 1:24:15
  Like this was like the punk rock one from last year.
• 1:24:19
  This was anything like 2 years ago.
• 1:24:20
  There was a lot of Lil Boo featured.
• 1:24:22
  Yeah, it's that's like classic Halloween, like 50 Halloween
• 1:24:25
  this year. We have gotten some previews,
• 1:24:29
  it's just some merch got put out today and I've been very normal
• 1:24:32
  about it. Thank you for asking.
• 1:24:34
  I don't believe you for a second and.
• 1:24:36
  Yet after I have not been normal, I literally the first
• 1:24:41
  thing that I said to Jess when Jess walked in the door was hey,
• 1:24:45
  there's a new spec map out for HHN.
• 1:24:47
  Yep. Put.
• 1:24:48
  My bag down. Nope.
• 1:24:49
  Very normal. But yeah.
• 1:24:51
  So, so for the merch, I mean it, if there is an item that you
• 1:24:56
  could want, they will have it. Shirts, pins, sweatshirts, hats,
• 1:25:02
  mugs, socks, signs, blankets, pillows, blankets.
• 1:25:07
  But we I mean like literally anything and everything.
• 1:25:10
  What was the other thing that was going to say?
• 1:25:12
  Oh, they've started introducing like crossbody bags, like like
• 1:25:15
  bum bags or Fanny packs. They have like purses and I
• 1:25:20
  really mean it. Phone cases, like if iPod cases
• 1:25:24
  or iPod cases. Good Lord, Airpod cases.
• 1:25:27
  I'm so old. Like truly, if it is an item
• 1:25:31
  that can be sold plushies like blind box figurines, Oh my God
• 1:25:35
  we have so many blind box figurines.
• 1:25:37
  I'm not surprised by that. Nope.
• 1:25:40
  Well, there was one year where they had the Wolfman as a figure
• 1:25:43
  and I had to buy 14 of them. I'm being a little, I'd be a
• 1:25:47
  little facetious. It was like 6.
• 1:25:49
  That's right. I was like, I have to be normal
• 1:25:52
  about this, but I need the Wolfman.
• 1:25:53
  We wind up getting every single figure, so it worked out fine.
• 1:25:56
  Hey, there you go. That's nice.
• 1:25:58
  And bleed sets always a good thing.
• 1:26:00
  Yes, and it allows me to be much more chill about things because
• 1:26:04
  once I got my Wolf man, we were good.
• 1:26:07
  But yeah, so like, I really mean it.
• 1:26:09
  If you can think of it, they sell it.
• 1:26:11
  Now the only thing I'm I'm not out here to push capitalism and
• 1:26:16
  say spend all your dollars in one place.
• 1:26:19
  But if you are attending HHN and you see something that you like,
• 1:26:26
  purchase it sooner than later because things we have more than
• 1:26:29
  once been very disappointed, even just like through the night
• 1:26:33
  that we have been there, things will sell out, right?
• 1:26:37
  These items are very popular, especially when it comes to like
• 1:26:40
  the icons. So like little Boo or there are
• 1:26:43
  other like they call them Jack. Yeah, like they're the mascots
• 1:26:46
  for HHN. So Jack Chance, right?
• 1:26:49
  Like you've probably, if you've been in the HHN world, you've
• 1:26:52
  seen these different figures, they will sell out quickly.
• 1:26:56
  So if there's something that you are interested in, perhaps pick
• 1:27:00
  it up sooner than later. And the other thing that's good
• 1:27:02
  is if you see something that you like, but you're not going to be
• 1:27:05
  able to make it there until later in the season, they will
• 1:27:08
  often put it up on their website.
• 1:27:10
  So as soon as you see something, if you like it, like as merch is
• 1:27:13
  rolling out through the season, 'cause sometimes things release
• 1:27:16
  a little later, you know, depending on when they can get
• 1:27:18
  it. Keep an eye on the website.
• 1:27:20
  Not everything makes its way on there, especially like the house
• 1:27:22
  specific merch, but like the little boob pillow from last
• 1:27:26
  year, we were able to get him on the website, things like that.
• 1:27:29
  So you know, just just keep an eye out and if you like it, grab
• 1:27:33
  it sooner than later. That's all.
• 1:27:35
  I'll never. Stop thinking about that little
• 1:27:36
  blue shoe of a push. Oh, got it.
• 1:27:37
  Now maybe they'll. Bring you.
• 1:27:39
  They didn't. I didn't get him.
• 1:27:40
  I know. Maybe they'll bring it back.
• 1:27:41
  You never. Yeah.
• 1:27:42
  Well, that's the thing too is, is you're unfortunately you are
• 1:27:46
  better off earlier in the season when it comes to that because as
• 1:27:50
  you get later and this happens for not so scary and very merry
• 1:27:54
  at Disney too like the later parties and the later dates,
• 1:27:58
  they may or may not have the ability to replenish that merch
• 1:28:02
  for every day. So earlier is better than later.
• 1:28:06
  First night is not always great for merch because like you said,
• 1:28:09
  sometimes stuff might get delayed.
• 1:28:11
  Especially now with the supply chain post COVID the way it's
• 1:28:15
  been for the past five years. You never really know with
• 1:28:19
  shipping and you know. All of that so.
• 1:28:22
  Just keep that in mind and maybe phone a friend that you know
• 1:28:26
  that's going to HHN or one of these events to to help you out
• 1:28:29
  if you need to. No, no shame in asking for some
• 1:28:32
  backup. Nope.
• 1:28:34
  Absolutely. OK.
• 1:28:36
  Did we, did we make it through? Do you feel satisfied in the
• 1:28:39
  amount of information that we we gave tonight for HHN?
• 1:28:44
  Yes. In keep in keeping it as fairly
• 1:28:48
  normal as possible in only going off on like 3 tangents.
• 1:28:52
  Great thank you. I'm so proud of myself and I
• 1:28:54
  feel I feel happy. But should anyone ever have any
• 1:28:57
  questions, I I beg of you, talk to me about it.
• 1:29:01
  I need someone else to talk to because Jess will leave me if I
• 1:29:04
  keep involving. Her it's a good thing that she
• 1:29:09
  also enjoys AJ because then it would not work.
• 1:29:13
  It would not. It would not be a good
• 1:29:14
  situation. Perfect.
• 1:29:17
  Oh my gosh. OK, so that is the event section
• 1:29:21
  of this episode now that we've been here for what feels like 18
• 1:29:24
  hours talking about events. But that's just the way we roll
• 1:29:27
  here at Mom St. We like to be thorough.
• 1:29:30
  So those are kind of your overview before we wrap this
• 1:29:34
  episode. We do just want to talk about
• 1:29:35
  Volcano Bay because you have heard us mention Volcano Bay
• 1:29:39
  when we talked about tickets and the different theme parks and
• 1:29:42
  things. And we kept saying we'll cover
• 1:29:44
  that later. We'll cover that later.
• 1:29:45
  Well, later is now. So so let's talk about Volcano
• 1:29:48
  Bay before we wrap for today. Just a quick note that next
• 1:29:52
  episode we are going to be talking more specifically about
• 1:29:55
  Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios Florida and Epic
• 1:29:59
  Universe. So all three of those and kind
• 1:30:01
  of their, we're going to do kind of a Fast and Furious next
• 1:30:04
  episode with those 3 theme parks talking about hopefully talking
• 1:30:08
  about their attractions and what they have to offer and things
• 1:30:11
  like that. So that is coming.
• 1:30:13
  So I'm going to preview that now by doing that with Volcano Bay
• 1:30:16
  here just briefly. So again, this is a Universal
• 1:30:22
  Orlando's water park. So when you think about water
• 1:30:25
  parks, you think about Disney's got to, well, this is
• 1:30:27
  Universal's equivalent to that. It is generally themed to
• 1:30:31
  various Polynesian cultures and features a variety of water
• 1:30:34
  attractions that are very kid friendly.
• 1:30:38
  So kind of get that in your head as far as Polynesian themed and
• 1:30:42
  very much family and kid friendly for that.
• 1:30:45
  We went over tickets with this in the previous episode.
• 1:30:50
  Very extensively, yes, but you can do various different options
• 1:30:53
  with your tickets. You can do single day tickets,
• 1:30:55
  which range between 80 to 100 depending on the season and the
• 1:30:59
  and the day of the week and things like that.
• 1:31:01
  But you can also do packages with them.
• 1:31:04
  So if you need more ticket information, the last episode in
• 1:31:07
  our Universal series is where you want to go for that
• 1:31:10
  information. As far as hours of the park go,
• 1:31:13
  they can shift slightly seasonally, which I think is
• 1:31:16
  very normal for the theme parks or for the water parks that are
• 1:31:20
  associated with the theme parks in Florida.
• 1:31:23
  So as we are currently recording this May of 2025, the hours are
• 1:31:29
  5:50 later in the hour in the summer hours, you will see more
• 1:31:34
  of like a nine to seven, which again is very standard, very
• 1:31:37
  typical for those water parks in Florida.
• 1:31:42
  You can utilize early entry if you are a resort guest that is,
• 1:31:45
  that gets early entry because of where you're staying.
• 1:31:48
  You get 1/2 hour to maybe an hour depending on, again, time
• 1:31:53
  of year and hours and all that jazz.
• 1:31:56
  So keep in mind if you're an annual pass holder, there are
• 1:31:58
  select dates that you also qualify for early entry.
• 1:32:02
  So check your app, check your information for your annual pass
• 1:32:05
  for that. Same thing goes for the theme
• 1:32:07
  parks, which I don't remember if we actually mentioned that when
• 1:32:10
  we talked about the theme parks. And we don't really talk much
• 1:32:13
  about passes. But if you are an annual pass
• 1:32:15
  holder, you do have that perk on select days.
• 1:32:18
  On the list that goes for a whole other episode passes.
• 1:32:23
  I don't. Know that we need to do that.
• 1:32:26
  I'll find somewhere to just throw it in just.
• 1:32:29
  Trying to keep talking about universal.
• 1:32:30
  I know and listen, I love you for that.
• 1:32:33
  But we do eventually have to cycle back to Disney things
• 1:32:36
  every once in a while, you know? So.
• 1:32:39
  Be talking about Disney things when we talk about the Halloween
• 1:32:41
  stuff, that is, that is. True, it's going to be a split,
• 1:32:45
  a split joint happy spooky episode, but Hooray, yes,
• 1:32:49
  Hooray. OK, let's talk about the
• 1:32:51
  attractions at Volcano Bay. So it is split up into four
• 1:32:55
  areas or villages. So there's rainforest village,
• 1:32:58
  river village, wave village, and then the volcano.
• 1:33:03
  And within each of these villages is they have a lot of
• 1:33:06
  variety, including those family friendly areas and attractions
• 1:33:09
  that we talked about. South River Village is designed
• 1:33:12
  for families with the younger kids.
• 1:33:13
  This features a play area that is explicitly designed for
• 1:33:16
  toddlers, a water fortress AKA playground water jungle gym
• 1:33:22
  called Runamaka Reef, which I love that name.
• 1:33:26
  That's amazing. There's there's quite a few good
• 1:33:29
  puns in there. I must.
• 1:33:30
  Say I love it as well as a lazy river and two family friendly
• 1:33:34
  slides in that area. Wave a village is the kind of
• 1:33:39
  chill area of the park where you can rent the cabanas here and
• 1:33:43
  it's geared more towards people who want to just like lay by the
• 1:33:46
  water and relax and soak in the vibes.
• 1:33:49
  There are two wave pools. 1 is like your standard wave pool and
• 1:33:53
  1 is a way more calm wave pool. So again, family friendly,
• 1:33:58
  really good for your littles. If you've got some beginner
• 1:34:01
  swimmers or kiddos who are not maybe quite as strong, you have
• 1:34:04
  a more calm wave pool experience for them, as well as a large
• 1:34:09
  pool that's just meant for general pool floating and
• 1:34:12
  relaxing. The Rainforest Village has four
• 1:34:17
  of what we will call the Thrill rides at the at the Water park.
• 1:34:22
  It includes a tunnel ride and a ride that's intended to simulate
• 1:34:25
  whitewater rafting. So that's the thrill aspect of
• 1:34:29
  those ones. You know, you don't necessarily
• 1:34:31
  always think of thrill rides at a water park, but there you go.
• 1:34:36
  It worked. I don't know, if you look at
• 1:34:38
  some of these, they're pretty thrilling.
• 1:34:40
  Yeah, they're they're intense. Yes.
• 1:34:42
  You want to make sure that you've got some good swimmers
• 1:34:44
  before you go sound those. And last but not least, the AS
• 1:34:49
  Duck put it in our notes, the crown jewel of the park, the
• 1:34:53
  white. The logo, yeah.
• 1:34:55
  Literally, literally the volcano area.
• 1:34:58
  So this is where the biggest and most popular slides are.
• 1:35:01
  There are four attractions here, but the most important one is
• 1:35:04
  the much beloved Krakatoa, right?
• 1:35:07
  I always want to say Krakatoa, and that's.
• 1:35:09
  Right, I do the same thing. It is Krakatoa.
• 1:35:12
  I also call it Krakatoa, the big volcano.
• 1:35:15
  Most people also, they definitely do because I was
• 1:35:18
  looking it up to make sure that I was like, that's how it's
• 1:35:20
  spelled, right? And multiple forum posts were
• 1:35:23
  like why didn't they just call it Krakatoa?
• 1:35:26
  I wonder if it's like a copyright thing.
• 1:35:28
  I have AI actually have a suspicion somebody else right
• 1:35:31
  Yeah, cuz there's some sort of. Trademark or copyright?
• 1:35:34
  Or yeah, it was like a real event that happened.
• 1:35:36
  And I'm sure somebody somewhere has trademarked that history.
• 1:35:39
  So crack, it's how it is. Yes, and that is the Aqua
• 1:35:42
  coaster. So it is again the Volcano Bay
• 1:35:46
  logo, so it is the icon of that park.
• 1:35:50
  This slide uses a linear induction motor to pull your
• 1:35:54
  raft uphill, which is the same technology that's used on like
• 1:35:59
  actual roller coaster. So that's pretty cool when it
• 1:36:02
  comes to that attraction. Let's talk briefly just about
• 1:36:06
  food as we wrap up our kind of fast and furious Volcano Bay
• 1:36:09
  information here. Everything within Volcano Bay is
• 1:36:13
  classified as quick service, but most places have plenty of
• 1:36:17
  seating as well. So very much a go and order at
• 1:36:20
  the counter and pick it up with your tray and take it to where
• 1:36:22
  you want to sit. And there are 4 main food places
• 1:36:24
  to order from, basically one in each section of the park.
• 1:36:29
  Oh gosh, Kohol, how do you say that?
• 1:36:33
  Kohola. Cohola.
• 1:36:34
  I think. So bad with pronunciations.
• 1:36:37
  If you have been around Mom St. for long enough, you know that I
• 1:36:40
  am so terrible with pronunciations.
• 1:36:43
  But the Cohola Reef restaurant and social Club, Oh gosh, is
• 1:36:48
  that waka WYWY eats? We're going to go with that.
• 1:36:52
  The feasting frog and bamboo are there.
• 1:36:57
  Got it, crushed it. Yes, but each of those locations
• 1:37:01
  will specialize in something specific to that location.
• 1:37:05
  Burgers, nachos, tacos, those types of things.
• 1:37:08
  So you want to check all of them to kind of get your best options
• 1:37:13
  for who's going to want what. And you may have to do some
• 1:37:16
  walking around the locations to to kind of get everybody what
• 1:37:20
  they want when it comes to that. I will say that I've heard that
• 1:37:23
  the food at Volcano Bay is very good, so for whatever reason the
• 1:37:27
  water parks in Florida seem to have really great food options.
• 1:37:31
  Because I've heard the same about the Disney water parks
• 1:37:33
  too. I was just saying, now that you
• 1:37:35
  say that, that is a running theme.
• 1:37:37
  Yeah. I feel like if I can just like
• 1:37:41
  put my little conspiracy tinfoil hat on, I'm ready.
• 1:37:43
  I feel like it's not that it's not constantly on, but I feel
• 1:37:47
  like it that's done intentionally as like an
• 1:37:49
  additional draw, you know what I mean?
• 1:37:51
  Like not everybody likes water parks, but there will be
• 1:37:55
  something, you know what I mean? Like maybe somebody will stick
• 1:37:57
  their feet in and then just go have some really good nachos,
• 1:38:00
  you know what I mean? Well.
• 1:38:01
  And I will say my along with that, my bigger guest,
• 1:38:06
  especially for the Disney ones, is that everything has to be
• 1:38:09
  made on site because they are further away from a lot of the
• 1:38:14
  central kitchens. So like part of the reason why,
• 1:38:17
  like Disney World churros are so terrible because they're made at
• 1:38:20
  a central kitchen and then they're dispersed throughout
• 1:38:22
  property and sit under heat lamps forever.
• 1:38:25
  Sad. Sure, on noises, right?
• 1:38:27
  So whereas like Disneyland, they make them fresh, so they're a
• 1:38:30
  lot better in the carts. So I wouldn't anticipate that.
• 1:38:33
  It's probably something to do with that as well, that they
• 1:38:35
  have to do a lot more of the preparing and preparation and
• 1:38:39
  cooking on hand at the water parks.
• 1:38:43
  I could be wrong, but that would be my guess.
• 1:38:45
  Maybe in conjunction with what you said about making sure that
• 1:38:48
  the food is good enough to keep people there.
• 1:38:50
  Yeah. No, I mean, I I think that makes
• 1:38:52
  total sense. I think, yeah, your explanation
• 1:38:55
  probably more likely. But yeah, it's probably a little
• 1:38:58
  bit of both, to be honest. 50, So thank you.
• 1:39:00
  I love Sharon Granite. Perfect.
• 1:39:04
  Yes. So they also do have lots of
• 1:39:06
  little like snack and drink carts throughout the park as
• 1:39:08
  well. So you're not limited to just
• 1:39:10
  having bigger meals at those places.
• 1:39:13
  So you can grab a pretzel or a soda or whatever it is that
• 1:39:16
  you're looking for at that park as well.
• 1:39:18
  So that again, kind of fast and furious is Volcano Bay.
• 1:39:22
  But I feel like that gives you a rundown enough.
• 1:39:25
  You know, if you're someone considering going to Volcano
• 1:39:27
  Bay, I would pull up some maybe point of view Youtubes of those
• 1:39:30
  slides to see if you think they fit your travel party that's
• 1:39:34
  going. And I think the biggest thing is
• 1:39:38
  like water parks can feel a little overwhelming for parents
• 1:39:43
  that are taking littles that maybe are newly swimmers or
• 1:39:47
  still using flotation help or whatever it may be.
• 1:39:51
  But you know, the, the, all of the Florida theme parks have
• 1:39:55
  some really great water park options.
• 1:39:57
  So if you've got kiddos that love water, definitely give them
• 1:40:00
  a look when it comes to planning your trip.
• 1:40:03
  Agreed, especially I think that Volcano Bay was really quite
• 1:40:08
  smart having that toddler specific area too.
• 1:40:11
  That really is a a good draw for them, especially if you have a
• 1:40:15
  family with various aged kiddos. Right?
• 1:40:17
  Maybe you do have some older kids who are more ready for
• 1:40:21
  those, for Krakatoa or for some of the bigger, like they have
• 1:40:24
  like those trapdoor body slides, right?
• 1:40:27
  Maybe they're really stoked for that.
• 1:40:29
  But maybe you also have a little guy who's like super not ready
• 1:40:32
  for any of that. So like the variety of things
• 1:40:35
  that they offer from the the family slides to the individual,
• 1:40:39
  like thrilling body slides is it's actually quite impressive
• 1:40:42
  how much they were able to fit in this one park or so.
• 1:40:44
  And I'm not even a water park person.
• 1:40:46
  So you know, the genuine compliment.
• 1:40:48
  I don't do water parks, so no. I'm not a water park person
• 1:40:51
  either, but it's it's to the point now where my kids are old
• 1:40:53
  enough and they're both fairly good swimmers and I'm like, OK,
• 1:40:58
  I'm going to have to put my mom hat on and say, OK, we can go to
• 1:41:02
  the water park. I love you so dearly.
• 1:41:05
  I'm so. Excited for you.
• 1:41:10
  Like your husband? Take him.
• 1:41:11
  It's. Yeah, and he would gladly but
• 1:41:13
  also like there's two of them and my anxiety can't deal with
• 1:41:16
  the fact that like 2 of them and one of them, while he could
• 1:41:18
  totally while he could totally handle it because he is
• 1:41:22
  completely capable and often will take them to like our local
• 1:41:25
  pool and like swim with them in the water without me because I'm
• 1:41:28
  just not a huge swimmer. Water parks are a totally
• 1:41:31
  different situation and to. Be clear, this is absolutely not
• 1:41:35
  a knock against your husband. I know he's wonderful and
• 1:41:38
  capable. This is more of an indictment of
• 1:41:40
  how clever children can be and how quickly they can just Sprint
• 1:41:44
  in another direction that. They're supposed to even.
• 1:41:48
  When they're as good as your kids, sometimes something deep
• 1:41:51
  in their brain just takes over when there's something exciting
• 1:41:53
  like a water park. So yeah, so very.
• 1:41:55
  Fair, yes. So again, all of this to be
• 1:41:58
  said, we do suggest that you look it's at the water park,
• 1:42:03
  especially Volcano Bay, if you're going to be over at
• 1:42:05
  Universal coming up this summer and you know, it's going to be
• 1:42:08
  warm, it's already super hot in Florida.
• 1:42:11
  So you know, we're we've hit the 90s and we're not looking back
• 1:42:15
  when it comes to Florida weather.
• 1:42:16
  So considering that it's a cheaper alternative and
• 1:42:20
  something fun that your whole family will be able to find
• 1:42:22
  something to do, it's a really great option for your trip.
• 1:42:26
  I think we did it. We did it.
• 1:42:29
  We made it to the end of our list.
• 1:42:31
  OK. So that's actually.
• 1:42:34
  Pretty good with. With as many sidetracks as I
• 1:42:36
  really could have dragged us down for HHN, I think we did
• 1:42:39
  great. Yes, exactly.
• 1:42:41
  Well, and it's so hard because there's so much information and
• 1:42:44
  like when we, you know, when we were texting about our notes for
• 1:42:47
  this week, it's like, OK, we want to give them enough but not
• 1:42:49
  overwhelm them. But we want to make sure that
• 1:42:51
  they can make informed decisions about whether or not, you know,
• 1:42:53
  the whole purpose of this whole series that we're.
• 1:42:56
  And the reason that Duck and Jess wanted to do it initially
• 1:42:59
  was like, people don't often know whether or not Universal is
• 1:43:03
  a good choice for their family. They know what Disney has to
• 1:43:06
  offer. It's very evident.
• 1:43:07
  It's very well publicized. It's very well covered in the
• 1:43:10
  media. Universal is, but also isn't
• 1:43:13
  Universal is more covered for like HHN and the big coasters
• 1:43:17
  and that kind of stuff. So it can feel very unsure as a
• 1:43:21
  parent with a younger kiddo. So that's the whole.
• 1:43:23
  Point of this series right is for our families who are Disney
• 1:43:27
  families, to truly decide is universal right for me.
• 1:43:31
  So that's what we hope we did. Hopefully you found this
• 1:43:35
  helpful. And again, like Duck mentioned
• 1:43:37
  earlier, if you've got additional questions or want
• 1:43:39
  more advice or more information, please reach out to us.
• 1:43:43
  You can find usmomstusa@gmail.com or you can
• 1:43:46
  find us at Mom St. USA on TikTok, YouTube,
• 1:43:50
  Instagram, Facebook, those types of like that.
• 1:43:53
  Yes, you can find us there. If that is easier for you,
• 1:43:57
  please send us Adm, send us a message.
• 1:43:59
  We will gladly help you out. That's what we're here for.
• 1:44:02
  The whole purpose of Mom St. USA is to make your family
• 1:44:06
  vacation to the theme parks much easier.
• 1:44:08
  And I love that we're branching out to add Universal to that as
• 1:44:12
  well because I know we have a lot of families that do both.
• 1:44:14
  So I'm grateful for your knowledge that you guys bring to
• 1:44:18
  this because I don't have that knowledge.
• 1:44:21
  I have lots of research and I am really good at that, but I don't
• 1:44:25
  have the the experience to be able to help people with
• 1:44:28
  universal. Yeah.
• 1:44:29
  Well, thanks for letting us talk about it because we we truly
• 1:44:33
  love Universal. And I think Universal, I think
• 1:44:36
  it gets overlooked a lot in comparison to Disney.
• 1:44:38
  Not that Universal isn't thriving and doesn't get
• 1:44:40
  millions of visitors a year, but I think that the way that you
• 1:44:44
  put it is perfect where it's just under publicized what all
• 1:44:48
  it's offering. Yeah, it's got Velocicoaster and
• 1:44:50
  it's got the Hulk, but no one really talks about Seuss landing
• 1:44:54
  or any of the shows, right? Like and now with Epic opening
• 1:44:58
  up, like as excited as I am for Epic, like there's still other
• 1:45:01
  offerings in the other parks that people should be aware of.
• 1:45:05
  And I'm glad that we can share all of the knowledge that we've
• 1:45:07
  gained over the years and years of going there.
• 1:45:09
  So. It's it's great.
• 1:45:11
  It's so it's much needed in our mom St. space because again, we
• 1:45:15
  just you know, Kate and I don't never had that knowledge.
• 1:45:18
  So I'm we are broadening our horizons as well as our
• 1:45:22
  listeners horizons, which is great.
• 1:45:24
  That being said, the next episode that Duck and Jess are
• 1:45:27
  with us, we're going to continue this series.
• 1:45:29
  We've got at least probably two more in this series for now, and
• 1:45:33
  then we may put a pin in universal and circle.
• 1:45:35
  We definitely will circle back to it in future episodes.
• 1:45:39
  So next episode that we have with Duck and Jess will be again
• 1:45:43
  talking more about the attractions, maybe shows if we
• 1:45:47
  feel like we can squeeze it all in.
• 1:45:48
  But we may have to figure that out as we kind of start these
• 1:45:52
  notes. But we do plan to talk about all
• 1:45:54
  three of the theme parks. So the two ones that we've
• 1:45:57
  you've heard us talk about a lot that are already open.
• 1:46:00
  And then Epic Universe, which opens literally within like the
• 1:46:03
  next week of us recording this right now, which is super
• 1:46:07
  exciting. So we're going to be talking
• 1:46:09
  about all of those and what they have to offer.
• 1:46:11
  And then the thought is the the maybe final part of the series
• 1:46:15
  will be about food. And maybe we do shows with that
• 1:46:20
  depending on how the breakdown looks.
• 1:46:21
  But we will cover all of that in the next two episodes that we
• 1:46:24
  have with Duck and Jess. That being said, we will kind of
• 1:46:27
  continue to bounce around with our mom St. schedule.
• 1:46:30
  So the next episode that you'll get You've Got Me Solo and we're
• 1:46:35
  going to be revisiting one of my most frequently asked about
• 1:46:39
  topics in the Disney universe, and that is Lightning Lanes.
• 1:46:45
  So the next episode of Mom St. that you get is a lightning lane
• 1:46:49
  refresher and tips and tricks and also AQ and A.
• 1:46:53
  So that is what's coming next. And then after that, who knows
• 1:46:56
  because we're going into summer and things are going to get
• 1:46:58
  crazy with schedules again. I've got a family trip to Disney
• 1:47:02
  coming up in the next couple weeks too.
• 1:47:04
  So it's just going to be a lot of fun random episodes here and
• 1:47:11
  there and we'll see who shows up from week to week.
• 1:47:13
  That's kind of where we're going for the next couple weeks until
• 1:47:17
  things maybe other than they won't come down because it'll be
• 1:47:20
  fall and you guys will do your HHN trip and it'll, it'll be
• 1:47:23
  great. And then it'll be trip report
• 1:47:25
  and then I'll, I will figure out how to talk about HHN endlessly.
• 1:47:30
  I I will shoehorn the. Sand watch me.
• 1:47:33
  And that will be the last you hear of Duck.
• 1:47:35
  No, I'm kidding. Honestly fair, I wouldn't blame
• 1:47:41
  you. Yes, yes.
• 1:47:42
  So that is what is coming up for Mom St.
• 1:47:45
  Thank you all for being here. Thank you for your support.
• 1:47:48
  Thank you for listening. If you are new here, welcome.
• 1:47:51
  We're glad you found us. We do cover mostly Disney but
• 1:47:54
  also now Universal when it comes to our topics.
• 1:47:57
  So feel free to reach out with any questions that you have.
• 1:48:01
  Again, we are here to help you guys and if you haven't already
• 1:48:04
  given us a follow, be sure to do that wherever you're listening
• 1:48:07
  to us, whether that be on the chip and Co feed, whether that
• 1:48:11
  be on YouTube, Spotify, apple, wherever it may be.
• 1:48:14
  Make sure you give us a follow. Leave us a comment.
• 1:48:17
  We would love to hear from you guys and hear what you guys are
• 1:48:19
  loving about or maybe not liking about maybe our our welcome.
• 1:48:24
  Yes, our current run of episodes, but I think for today
• 1:48:29
  we are going to wrap it at that and leave you with all of the
• 1:48:32
  good HHN, Volcano Bay, who, Who, Holiday Hoosie, Whatsies, Grinch
• 1:48:39
  Smith, all of the good things and Lil Boo because he's
• 1:48:46
  adorable. Lil Boo says he loves you all.
• 1:48:48
  Thanks for listening. Thank you guys all for watching
• 1:48:51
  this episode of Mom St. USA.
• 1:48:52
  We appreciate you and we hope you have a wonderful week and we
• 1:48:55
  will see you all again very soon.
• 1:48:57
  Bye.