Back from 1st Trip To Universal

[bouldertcr]

What a great post disney trip to Universal! We stayed at the Royal Pacific Hotel which was lovely. The customer service at this hotel was of the highest standard. Also, the two places we dined on-site (Jake's American Bar and the Bula Poolside) were so good! Bula burger is the best burger ever! So tasty and flavorful. Loved being able to walk a short distance to the parks and citywalk. The landscaping along the path is tastefully done and just beautiful.

Since we stayed onsite we had front of the line passes. Let me tell you that it is such a great perk and well worth what you pay to stay onsite. Touring was easy and painless. Rides were fun and both parks contained great shows as well. We did visit HP land and were lucky one night 10 minutes before park closing, Forbidden Journey was walk on. We really lucked out because it was constantly crowded in that section of the park. We did ride the dragon challenge and flight of the hippograff there too and they did not disappoint. We had frozen butterbeer (delicious) and ate at the three broomsticks restaurant (fish and chips and salad with chicken on it: both were tasty and delicious). Shops were always crowded and we didn't have an opportunity to visit Olivander's wand shop due to the long line.

Blue Man show was so entertaining. My DS12 suggested that we do this during our initial trip planning and it did not disappoint. Our seats were front and center and DS was picked to be up on stage during one of the performance segments. The show was absolutely hilarious and the music was fantastic. Highly recommend this show for everyone! It is that good.

We enjoyed spending time in the Citywalk area where you can eat at various restaurants, shop or go see a movie. We ate at Bubba Gumps (best customer service and good food) and also saw Toy Story 3 IMAX. It was a wonderful treat.

Overall, we will return to Universal again and stay onsite. We intend for our next trip to add Seaworld and possibly Discovery Cove.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

 

[Metro West]

Thanks for sharing your experiences and glad you had a great time!

 

[matthew&haleysmom]

Thanks for sharing! It is making me excited for our 1st Universal trip in a couple of weeks!

 

[damo]

It so nice to hear such great reviews.

 

[Tink431]

Thanks so much for the trip report. We will be heading to the Royal Pacific in a few weeks for our first time. I'm glad you had a great time. We are really looking forward to it.

 

[Rip]

It so nice to hear such great reviews.

+1

To the OP - glad you had a great time! The RP is our favorite hotel.

 

[Bradsdadg]

Sounds like a great time! Thanks for sharing!

 

[donaldduck352]

Great review.Now you see what we see and love about Universal.So welcome to the darkside!!

 

[Albytaps]

Well said! I had a similar vacation to yours and truely loved it (except for my feet being so tired and sore.)

Loved Royal Pacific! The only restaurant we ate at was Islands for the breakfast buffet... I lost track of the amount of sausages I ate... I felt like Ron Weasly

 

[Planogirl]

We loved Royal Pacific too. We never ate there though since we were in the parks so much but the Bula Poolside place sounds interesting.

 

[Pikester]

Thanks for the review! We are planning our first Universal trip for next year so any info is awesome.

I have a DS9 and a DS who will be 13 when we go and I've been having a hard time deciding between Royal Pacific and the Hard Rock. The RP sounds like a great choice. I do have a question for you. Is there room on the floor to put an inflatable mattress and sleeping bag? My older son kicks and rolls over the top of you so sharing is not a good idea.

 

[damo]

Thanks for the review! We are planning our first Universal trip for next year so any info is awesome.

I have a DS9 and a DS who will be 13 when we go and I've been having a hard time deciding between Royal Pacific and the Hard Rock. The RP sounds like a great choice. I do have a question for you. Is there room on the floor to put an inflatable mattress and sleeping bag? My older son kicks and rolls over the top of you so sharing is not a good idea.

Yes. There is room over by the window that would fit a twin sized inflatable mattress.

 

[Pikester]

Thank you damo!

 

[4HOLIDAYS]

We haven't been to the parks in a few years and are planning to go this fall but the plan is to stay at WDW but I just had a friend who stayed at RP who loved it to and may change over for that part of the trip. Thanks for the pos info.

 

[TinkerbelleMom]

Thanks for sharing...you just did my vacation, right down to BMG and same hotel! Thanks also to the posters who asked and answered about the air mattress...we'll need one too because I've got one DD who's impossible to sleep with, she won't roll over you, but she sleeps like a starfish and hogs all 4 corners of the bed! We've got a split vacation, part BC @ WDW, and then HRP, specifically for WWoHP, my older two are huge Potter fans. We've been Disney fans for years, it almost feels like I'm being unfaithful...

 

[Planogirl]

Thanks for sharing...you just did my vacation, right down to BMG and same hotel! Thanks also to the posters who asked and answered about the air mattress...we'll need one too because I've got one DD who's impossible to sleep with, she won't roll over you, but she sleeps like a starfish and hogs all 4 corners of the bed! We've got a split vacation, part BC @ WDW, and then HRP, specifically for WWoHP, my older two are huge Potter fans. We've been Disney fans for years, it almost feels like I'm being unfaithful...

Naw, if you were being unfaithful to WDW you wouldn't go at all.

I LOVE split trips. It's like two vacations in one.