On day 3 in our Orlando 2022 adventure, we spent the day at Islands of Adventure, Chocolate Emporium, and Character Warehouse. However, the unpredictable weather was the big story of the day. While the United Kingdom spent the day in the glorious heat, Orlando, although hot, was a great deal wetter with intermittent storms.
The storms were forecast to start from 11 a.m. and continue until late evening. The first rides closed in the parks just after 11 but opened less than an hour later when no significant storm appeared. This was how the day progressed, with regular outside ride closures and no sign of the inclement weather appearing. The lousy weather eventually appeared from around 4 p.m. and settled in until the early hours. However, it was more light rain than the earlier forecast storms, and we noted most rides stayed open during the evening.
We spent the early part of the day exploring Islands of Adventure, yet again, our Express Passes proved their value. We had hoped to ride Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, but the threatened inclement weather stopped us from joining the line. Express Pass is currently unavailable for Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure; lines can get very long. A 3-hour wait, with likely additional service pauses due to poor weather, did not feel like a good use of our time.
We had a late lunch at The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen. The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium is a 19th-century Steampunk-inspired restaurant. While the restaurant is a must-do destination for chocolate lovers, it has a menu that caters to a range of tastes, including steak, seafood, flatbreads & burgers. We have previously reviewed The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium, and the restaurant is just as good as we remember it.
When the weather turned, we took the opportunity to visit Orlando International Premium Outlets and specifically Disney’s Character Warehouse.
To benefit unfamiliar readers, Disney Character Warehouse is a Disney Outlet where excess Disney Theme Park & Cruise Line merchandise is sold. Many items are heavily discounted in the stores, and guests can grab themselves a “bargain.”
However, your definition of “bargain” probably depends on which camp you sit in:
- The Mrs. Modernlifeisgood camp who see the same items they can get in the parks at much lower prices. Plus, items that are now so heavily discounted are must-buy just because they are a “bargain.”
- My camp believes the items are only in the Character Warehouse because nobody wanted to buy them. Also, my camp feels the prices were previously so high you are now paying the item’s true worth.
No matter which camp you are in, the prices you pay are significantly lower than the theme parks. This is the first time I have visited the Character Warehouse at the Orlando International Premium Outlets. It is much smaller than the store located at Vineland Premium Outlets.
As we returned from the outlets, the weather showed signs of improvement, and we saw fireworks going off from Universal Studios. However, we retired for an early night as we have a lot of park touring to complete tomorrow.
Click the link to read the rest of our Orlando Live 2022 posts.
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