Can We Do Magic Now? A 2016 TR Adventure. *Complete and DL Paris TR Link Added

[natebenma]

What a great end to your MK day!

I love Landon's Small World tradition. And it is fantastic that Evie loved the ride. That's hilarious about the left being a whole different ride. Sounds like you will get a chance to test that.

Dole Whip and Festival of Fantasy- sounds awesome!!!

It is fantastic that you were able to wow MIL with the parade and that she showed empathy about how much Disney means to your family.

I am SOOOOOO excited to hear about the rest of your theme park visits. Especially US/IoA.

 

[Imagineer5]

Oooooh sneaky!! I am excited to hear about your thoughts on Universal esp with 2 little ones. We've been going back and forth on doing it again in October, but I think we're skipping it once again. Esp since Fievel's playland area is closed, too! Ugh. And you get more time at WDW!! YAY!

Great day, surprised you left so early loL! But nice view of the parade and that is awesome your MIL was so impressed by the parade - love that!! Love when the IL's really enjoy particular parts of Disney.

 

[afwdwfan]

And if you guessed a coaster, you’d be absolutely correct.

But it wasn’t Mine Train.

For you, I totally would have guessed BTMRR. Although, this one does make a lot of sense.

I told Alex he could sit with Landon on this first ride, because I called dibbs on Thunder Mtn. We’ve actually already divvied up which coasters we get to take each kid on first. I mean, that’s just smart Disney parenting, right?

Great idea!

I wouldn’t say Landon LOVED the coaster, but he definitely didn’t dislike it; we think the speed of the ride made him a little uneasy.

Well, not screaming and hating it and being willing to ride again is a win.

I really think that 6 to 8 month window is the best time to take a baby.

DD was fantastic at 8 months. So much easier than taking a toddler, despite having to haul along a lot of extra crap.

There were a couple families in front of us when we finished with Goofy, and we had to wait a minute or two before reaching Donald. However, Landon could see the duck up ahead, and he became really excited. He kept pointing and shouting, “That’s Donald! Donald! Silly Donald!”

Apparently you weren't the only ones unimpressed by Goofy.

I'm glad that Donald was such a great meet for him!

Normally, I would NEVER have tolerated such a long wait for a boat ride, but we only had the one day.

Which only makes that wait even harder.

She was so interested in the animatronics that her eyes remained glued to her right. About halfway through, my BIL commented, “You could take her on this again and sit on the left, and it’d be a whole new ride for her!”

This was my first time getting a Dole Whip here, and I was heartbroken to discover they didn’t sell the vanilla/pineapple swirl there. I had that when I was pregnant with Evie in February of 2015 and fell in love with it. It was the perfect combination of sweet and tangy. While I enjoy Dole Whips and their floats, I can only handle one every few trips or so. They are just so big and overpowering pineapple-y. But that swirl….man I could have gotten one a day and been good.

I actually agree with you on this one. I enjoy the Dole Whips, but the straight Dole Whip is really pineapple-y. The swirl was a nice way to kind of cut it and get the best of both worlds.

When Maleficent came out in her dragon form and breathed fire right in front of us, I heard my MIL whisper, “Now THAT’S cool.”

Certainly a successful day.

Alex regretted leaving so early, but anything short of park closing would have made him feel that way. He is the type of Disney fan who wants to spend every moment in the parks

I can relate 100%

We had no idea if we were coming home while in Germany (still don’t, by the way) so I had to go with the assumption that it would be summer of 2019 before we returned.

But on the bright side, there might be some really cool new things to see by the time you get back!

(Obviously, I didn’t think Wishes was going anywhere before the 50th Anniversary.)

Totally bummed about this. DW's 2 favorite things to do at Disney World were MSEP and Wishes... and both are gone this summer. She isn't happy at all about it.

“Oh, if you come visit me, we can do another day trip like this. It would be easy.”


You all and I both know if Alex is flying two little kids back to the states, he’s going to want more than a day trip to Disney, but the conversation as a whole was extremely thoughtful and nice. I think my MIL knows that just because she doesn’t get our love, she accepts that it’s what works for our family.

That's nice that this day with you in the parks let her see your excitement and enjoyment of it all.

Two nights at Universal followed by two nights at WL.


Fun times were ahead!

Awesome!

 

[khertz]

What a great day in MK!! Crazy how a single day can do so much to make up for the disaster of a February trip you had. I'm so glad for you that you were able to experience that. And that the fun isn't over yet!

It's so exciting to take your kids on their first "big" ride! I remember taking DS for the first time on the speedway, and even though it's generally a terrible attraction all around, it's just so fun to make that first height requirement milestone! I'm hoping DD grows an inch or two before Disneyland in May so she can ride a few of the Cars land attractions like Mater's and the new Luigi's one.

Evie is oh so cute checking out Dumbo from the line! She looks so focused and interested.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Fantastic day and what a wonderful way to end it with your MIL getting a wee bit of the Disney love and sharing it right back with you
Glad you're getting some extra magic time and can't wait to hear all about your next adventures

 

[vamassey1]

What a lovely day in the Magic Kingdom. Small World is still a favorite of Danielle's and she 17. I can only imagine an infant seeing it for the first time.

You are sneaky, but you're my kind of sneaky. I hope you enjoyed it.

 

[DisneyKates]

Just caught up! That February trip was a doozy! Glad to hear it redeemed in April.

 

[Vernie822]

I've been lurking too much in the dining reviews forum and hardly get over here to catch TR's anymore. All caught up now, and uh, I was emotional LOL. My dad is similar and doesn't like Disney, so seeing how much fun he had was so sweet!

Thank you, and Alex and the littles, so much for your sacrifice to our country. Leaving everything has to be so hard, and knowing you are doing it all so that your husband can defend our country is amazing. My sister just got selected to be a pilot in the Air Force after she graduates from college (she's in an AF ROTC program). So it hits home a little knowing she could be overseas someday, too!


I fault you not one bit for planning your Wilderness Lodge family fun day!! That sounds like a blast. So glad you could enjoy some extra special family time before moving!

Loving your Europe pics btw.. And at least there's a little dose of Disney while you're there!!

 

[Dugette]

Just got caught up. Love hearing about the much-happier trip now. Definitely relate to the first Barnstormer/roller coaster stuff, as that's what's coming up next in my (really old ) TR. Certainly a high-priority magic moment. But just wait - they knock out a bunch of other height requirements soon after and there are SO MANY more firsts to be had. Keeps getting more and more fun and now I barely remember what it's like to ride a thrill ride without a kid. Glad you were able to get that MK day in before your move (and, also, I'm stressed out just reading about the move ). So glad your MIL ended up enjoying her Disney time and seeing how special it is to you. And can't wait to hear about the WL part too.

 

[amazingact21]

I love that Disney impressed your non-Disney family! Miracles really do happen at Disney World!

I'm looking forward to reading about your Universal time (I still haven't seen Diagon Alley and don't know when I will, so I have to experience it through pictures and other people's stories) and your bonus Disney time!

I had never seen the Wizarding World of Harry Potter before, which was crazy. Alex and I had been going to Disney for 16 years by that time, why we never ventured over is beyond me.

It looks like somebody just got a little pixie dust! I'm glad the Disney trip wasn't coming to an end for you.

Alex and I were in shock that we managed to score a last minute 1 bedroom villa. I'm sure it had to do with the fact that WL was undergoing a large refurb, but still. Finding last minute military discounts is pretty rare at deluxe resorts! And while I was sad I was going to miss that last day with my brother, at least I was getting more Disney time.

What a great end to your MK day!

I love Landon's Small World tradition. And it is fantastic that Evie loved the ride. That's hilarious about the left being a whole different ride. Sounds like you will get a chance to test that.

Dole Whip and Festival of Fantasy- sounds awesome!!!

It is fantastic that you were able to wow MIL with the parade and that she showed empathy about how much Disney means to your family.

I am SOOOOOO excited to hear about the rest of your theme park visits. Especially US/IoA.

No trip to the MK is complete without Landon and I riding Small World at least once. It's our little mother/son tradition. I'm sure as he gets older he will fight me tooth and nail to go on it, but I think that's a small price he can pay for getting to go to Disney. And I am looking forward to creating a similar tradition with Evie when we go back.

Dole Whips and parades...my kind of Disney afternoon.

As glad as Alex was to get back to Disney for the day, he was really looking forward to our Universal time!

 

[amazingact21]

Oooooh sneaky!! I am excited to hear about your thoughts on Universal esp with 2 little ones. We've been going back and forth on doing it again in October, but I think we're skipping it once again. Esp since Fievel's playland area is closed, too! Ugh. And you get more time at WDW!! YAY!

Great day, surprised you left so early loL! But nice view of the parade and that is awesome your MIL was so impressed by the parade - love that!! Love when the IL's really enjoy particular parts of Disney.

I can already say that skipping Universal with the kiddos is probably for the best. I was amazed at how non-kid friendly the parks were. Alex and I might or might not have ditched one of the kids for our second Universal day simply because they were bored with the parks.

I am pretty sure we left early because my FIL wanted to cook a big family dinner. So it was one of those situations where if our inlaws were nice enough to let us cancel planned family activities to go have some fun, the least we could do is be present for dinner. (My father inlaw is a former chef/restaurant owner so family dinners are kind of important to him.)

For you, I totally would have guessed BTMRR. Although, this one does make a lot of sense.

My blessed son is STILL only 39 inches! Even at almost 4 years old, so he can't go on Thunder yet. It's driving me crazy! I am keeping my fingers crossed that he grows that final inch over the summer and he'll be tall enough to ride when we go to DL Paris in the fall.

Well, not screaming and hating it and being willing to ride again is a win.

DD was fantastic at 8 months. So much easier than taking a toddler, despite having to haul along a lot of extra crap.

I loved our Disney experience when Landon was 8 months. Even when we went at 11 months with Evie, it wasn't too bad. It's once they hit that 1 year old mark that life gets interesting.

Apparently you weren't the only ones unimpressed by Goofy.

I'm glad that Donald was such a great meet for him!

Which only makes that wait even harder.



I actually agree with you on this one. I enjoy the Dole Whips, but the straight Dole Whip is really pineapple-y. The swirl was a nice way to kind of cut it and get the best of both worlds.

Certainly a successful day.

I can relate 100%

But on the bright side, there might be some really cool new things to see by the time you get back!

Totally bummed about this. DW's 2 favorite things to do at Disney World were MSEP and Wishes... and both are gone this summer. She isn't happy at all about it.

That's nice that this day with you in the parks let her see your excitement and enjoyment of it all.

Awesome!

There's going to be a lot of new things to experience when we finally get back! It's kind of surprising how much we already have yet to try. The new Soarin', the new Frozen attraction, Rivers of Light, etc etc. It's going to be a whole new sets of parks by 2019.

Fantastic day and what a wonderful way to end it with your MIL getting a wee bit of the Disney love and sharing it right back with you
Glad you're getting some extra magic time and can't wait to hear all about your next adventures

Alex and I were pretty happy to get some more Disney time in, just the four of us. The only park I hadn't been to that year was Epcot, and my favorite event (the Flower and Garden Festival) was happening, so I was very glad to get the chance to go!

 

[amazingact21]

What a great day in MK!! Crazy how a single day can do so much to make up for the disaster of a February trip you had. I'm so glad for you that you were able to experience that. And that the fun isn't over yet!

It's so exciting to take your kids on their first "big" ride! I remember taking DS for the first time on the speedway, and even though it's generally a terrible attraction all around, it's just so fun to make that first height requirement milestone! I'm hoping DD grows an inch or two before Disneyland in May so she can ride a few of the Cars land attractions like Mater's and the new Luigi's one.

Evie is oh so cute checking out Dumbo from the line! She looks so focused and interested.

I think Alex was more excited than Landon was when he was able to ride the Speedway. As it stands, Landon is still too short to ride anything other than Barnstormer and Mine Train, so by the time he gets to 40 inches, we'll just be relieved he got a growth spurt!

What a lovely day in the Magic Kingdom. Small World is still a favorite of Danielle's and she 17. I can only imagine an infant seeing it for the first time.

You are sneaky, but you're my kind of sneaky. I hope you enjoyed it.

I love riding on Small World with Landon. It's our special Disney tradition. Now I just can't wait to create a new one with Evie.

Just caught up! That February trip was a doozy! Glad to hear it redeemed in April.

February was so bad, it was almost comical. We couldn't have hit more bumps if we tried. I was so happy that our April experiences went well, because we got to leave on a high note.

I've been lurking too much in the dining reviews forum and hardly get over here to catch TR's anymore. All caught up now, and uh, I was emotional LOL. My dad is similar and doesn't like Disney, so seeing how much fun he had was so sweet!

Thank you, and Alex and the littles, so much for your sacrifice to our country. Leaving everything has to be so hard, and knowing you are doing it all so that your husband can defend our country is amazing. My sister just got selected to be a pilot in the Air Force after she graduates from college (she's in an AF ROTC program). So it hits home a little knowing she could be overseas someday, too!


I fault you not one bit for planning your Wilderness Lodge family fun day!! That sounds like a blast. So glad you could enjoy some extra special family time before moving!

Loving your Europe pics btw.. And at least there's a little dose of Disney while you're there!!

Thanks for coming over and reading! I was really thankful that my dad embraced the Disney spirit and had fun with the trip. It really surprised me, and I'm still grateful for his cooperation.
Moving overseas was difficult, but well worth it. I love this time here in Germany, and the time is flying by. If your sister gets the chance to do a stint overseas, she really should. It's the best.

Just got caught up. Love hearing about the much-happier trip now. Definitely relate to the first Barnstormer/roller coaster stuff, as that's what's coming up next in my (really old ) TR. Certainly a high-priority magic moment. But just wait - they knock out a bunch of other height requirements soon after and there are SO MANY more firsts to be had. Keeps getting more and more fun and now I barely remember what it's like to ride a thrill ride without a kid. Glad you were able to get that MK day in before your move (and, also, I'm stressed out just reading about the move ). So glad your MIL ended up enjoying her Disney time and seeing how special it is to you. And can't wait to hear about the WL part too.

Aw, that's exciting to hear. I still can't believe your DD's old enough to ride coasters. How?!
Right now, Landon is STILL only 39 inches, so we have a way to go. My little short kiddo will get there eventually. Maybe, maybeee by the time we go back to DL Paris he will be able to ride Thunder. That's my hope.

 

[amazingact21]

Has it really been a month since I last posted on this report?! Good gosh, I am sorry, guys. I know it’s no excuse, but March has been crazy busy. My in-laws came over and visited for 3 weeks, we all went to Rome for a week, Alex has been off work in an attempt to use up extra vacation days, Landon’s birthday is coming up, and I’ve been busy with volunteer fundraisers. Every day feels like there’s a million things happening, but life should be settling down soon. And, honestly, I am ready for a little more normalcy. I have missed reading everyone’s reports and visiting the Disney bubble for a short period each day. I miss Disney more than ever over here and need to live vicariously through you all’s stories!

Moving on…


Universal Orlando


April 24th, 2016:

Alex, Landon, Evie, and I woke up extra early the morning of the 24th. The kids claimed they weren’t tired anymore, but we knew better. They were just as excited as we were to finally be going to Universal Studios!

My sister in-law, Leslie, had brought over outfits for the kids to wear earlier in the week. Evie was really rocking hers.

Despite my exhausted appearance, I really was excited.

I probably hadn’t had my coffee yet.

I look downright terrifying before my morning cup o’ joe.


Alex and I loaded up the rental van with all our stuff, made some breakfast for everyone, and then hit the road around 9:30am.

We were approaching our Universal experience in an entirely new way. Because it had been 11 years since I’d been to the Universal half of the park and the same amount of time since Alex had been to Islands of Adventure, we decided to let our local experts lead the way.

My brother and sister in-law live less than ten minutes away from the parks and have annual passes; they visit the area all the time on their days off just to pick up a Butterbeer or enjoy the Mardi Gras performers.

While Alex and I are the Disney experts in his family; Leslie and Eddie are the knowledgable ones when it comes to Universal.

So, we planned nothing.

Not a single thing.

I didn’t look at a map, didn’t research good times to ride certain rides, didn’t even look up the best menu items for each restaurant.

A few days beforehand, we talked with the siblings and let them know what we wanted to do and see, which was basically all the Harry Potter things, and put our trust in their touring skills.

Since we weren’t in control, Alex and I agreed to meet the two of them later in the morning, because they typically are late risers. But first, we needed to check in to our resort and hope that our room was ready early.


Alex had a cousin or a nephew or some other extended family member who took a Universal trip and stayed at Cabana Bay and loved it. Eddie and Leslie visited them while they were staying there and assured us that the kids would love the resort.

Because I knew virtually nothing about Universal resorts, I figured staying at the cheapest for the first time and following someone’s recommendation was the wisest choice, that’s where Alex and I booked.

*Side note: the actual reservation system for Universal stinks. They could learn a thing or two from Disney. Alex had originally booked us for 3 nights at Cabana, but because of work appointments, we needed to cut a night off the trip. When he went to call and change the reservation, the Team Member tried to tell him that they needed to completely cancel the original reservation and make a new one. And because the prices had increased since the original time of booking, it was going to cost us almost 50 dollars more for less nights. Yeah, that did not fly with Alex and he ended up speaking with a manager who “did us a favor” and kept our first price.
It was not a good experience, and I hope Universal works on improving their reservation setup.*


We arrived at Cabana Bay shortly after 10 o’clock, and Alex ran inside to check us in. Fortunately, our room was ready! We were in the Americana building, 3rd floor, overlooking the outdoor recreation area.

Cabana offered a “free” valet service for our vehicle AND allowed us to use a baggage cart ourselves. That was a huge perk for us in the Disney versus Universal comparison game. Alex is a bit of a cheapo and hates tipping bellhops to load/unload carts when he’s perfectly capable of doing it himself.
So instead he ends up making ten trips back and forth to get everything into our room. With Cabana, all he had to do was pile everything onto a cart and then hand over his keys and some money to a valet guy. (Don’t ask me why he’s cool using the valet but not the bellhop…)

To get to our room, all we had to do was walk inside the lobby, head to the back where the elevators were located, and once on our floor we were about the tenth room down on the right.

On our way to our room, we passed a room that had a ton of dirty towels and sheets piled outside their door and I could hear someone having a badddd morning.

Flashbacks to our February trip jumped into my head and I had a couple terrifying minutes.

Oh jeez, oh jeez, the stomach bug is here! The stomach bug is here!

Not again, not again, not again!!!


The initial sight of our room was completely ruined by my paranoia, and I spent the first ten minutes using some bleach wipes I had picked up on every square inch of our room. I wiped everything down. That room was sparkling like a diamond when I was through with it.

The germ situation under control, I grabbed a couple photos of the room before the kids could completely tear it apart.

f1 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


f2 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


Our Pack and Play made walking a little tight, but it was manageable and we learned to shuffle around that spot.

f3 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


I loved that the sink had an open space in front of it, because it was the perfect place to store our massive double stroller when it wasn’t in use.

From first impressions, Alex thought the room was nice. We’ve never stayed at a moderate Disney resort, but I imagine that’s what Cabana Bay would be comparable to. It was definitely better than a Value, but there was no doubt it was Universal’s “budget” resort.

In all honesty, Alex and I spent so little time in the actual room that it is hard for us to give it a fair review. We used the place to sleep and change, that was about it. That being said, I think if we ever needed to stay on Universal property again, we wouldn’t hesitate to book another Cabana room.


By the time Alex and I had unpacked our things and the kids had unloaded every single toy they had with them, it was 10:30am and the inlaws were texting us, letting us know they were at bag check.

It was time to go!


Cabana Bay uses a shuttle bus for resort guests to get to and from the parks, and we had zero issues with it the entire time we were there. Fortunately, the stop was right outside our building, so it took less than five minutes to get there. And I want to say the longest we waited at either end for a shuttle to pick us up was five minutes.

Another perk was the fact that it was never busy. We always had a ton of empty seats to choose from.


Then again, as we were soon to discover, this might have been a flux. We managed to pick a really slow time to visit Universal, because most everything was light.


Alex and I found our way to the entrance of Citywalk, where we met up with our family and went through the metal detectors. At first, that area seemed congested and slow but it was deceptively efficient. We had the stroller and bags through in less than five minutes.

I almost wish Disney could implement something similar to this; a one time security checkpoint to gain access to all the parks and shopping. I experienced something identical to this system in Disneyland Paris and it felt like everything moved smoother than compared to the bag checks at each WDW park.

However, I also know this would be virtually impossible at Disney due to the fact that the property is so sprawled out. Not to mention, the amount of traffic is different at each location.


Alex was in charge of his father’s camera that morning, and so I now give you a play by play of our journey from the checkpoint to the ticket office:



When I was thirteen, the moving platform was super entertaining.





We made it! We were actually about to go into the dark side!




f4 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr

Back when Toothsome was still being built. Even under construction, the place looked really cool.






All of us waited about fifteen minutes in the ticket line before being called up. Alex and I had bought ours (and Landon’s) tickets at Shades of Green back before we headed to his parent’s house, and we needed to activate them. It was quick and painless; the only negative thing was there was zero shade over the ticket windows so we were all beginning to “glisten” while we waited.


Working tickets in our possession, we could finally go in!

As I said, this was Eddie and Leslie’s rodeo, and they suggested we see the WWoHP in the order it was built.

Which meant Islands of Adventures was first.




Alex’s favorite roller coaster of all time is the Hulk, and we all were forced to endure many, many “It stinks that the ride is down for refurb” sulks over the following two days. The poor boy was in mourning, practically.

(Although, I can’t say too much, I complain quite a bit that Thunder Mtn is always out of my reach. Even in Paris, it was down!)


The shuttle ride, the walk to Citywalk, the ticket process, all of it had taken close to an hour and half and by that point I was starving. I had reached my “hangry” level, if you will, and I could have cared less where we were. I wanted food. And I wanted it immediately.


Alex was feeling the same, with the exception that he wanted to dine inside the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Because he wanted a Butterbeer.


He NEEDED to experience one for himself.


I was ready to hop inside the Moe’s that was back in CityWalk, but I relented and requested our tour guides get us to The Three Broomsticks faster than a wizard could say Expelliarmus.

Leslie saw me wasting away underneath my Ergo carrier and took pity on me, directing us through an empty Seuss Landing.









And around some part of the park I knew nothing about:








Alex kept yelling at me to slow down. Leslie and I were zooming ahead of the pack, leaving the boys in the dust.

But c’mon…food and Harry Potter and butterbeer were on the line. Why would I NOT rush???


And as hungry as I was (and I was really flipping hungry) when I saw this come into view:


I forgot about my stomach for a minute and stopped to soak in the moment.

I was about to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

It was happening.

This wasn’t a drill.

The place I first pictured in my head when I was ten years old was coming into view in the real world.

Holy cow!




Let’s go!!!



Up Next…You Guys are in Luck.

 

[Imagineer5]

Cabana Bay uses a shuttle bus for resort guests to get to and from the parks, and we had zero issues with it the entire time we were there. Fortunately, for us the stop was right outside our building, so it took less than five minutes to get there. And I want to say the longest we waited at either end for a shuttle to pick us up was five minutes.

Another perk was the fact that it was never busy. We always had a ton of empty seats to choose from.


Then again, as we were soon to discover, this might have been a flux. We managed to pick a really slow time to visit Universal, because most everything was light.

Did you ever do the walk over? I never did the shuttle, but it looks like it drops you off near the parking area which left you with a decent walk to the park entrances. Agreed on the bag check though - it is so nice just to do it once, like at DL and DLP as you mentioned.

I found the Cabana Bay rooms to be fine. I didn't love the pools (chilly and crowded) or dining options, or distance from the parks, and I also like having the Express Pass lol.

The shuttle ride, the walk to Citywalk, the ticket process, all of it had taken close to an hour and half and by that point I was starving. I had reached my “hangry” level, if you will, and I could have cared less where we were. I wanted food. And I wanted it immediately.

I get that way a lot! Glad your family realized you needed to eat and headed straight there. Looking forward to reading about lunch & butterbeer!

This wasn’t a drill.

The place I first pictured in my head when I was ten years old was coming into view in the real world.

Holy cow!

Hahaha yes!! They really did an amazing job!!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

I can feel your excitement as I was there earlier this month. It's unbelievable how spectacular the Harry Potter area is. They really did an amazing job. The attention to detail is wonderful. I kept saying it should be in Disney. The frozen Butter Beer was delicious although I did not get a chance to try the non frozen one.

Sadly that's where my love of Universal ends. They hit it out of the park with Harry Potter but I'm just not a fan of the rest of the two parks. Maybe because of my love for Disney, I'm not sure. I really try not to compare but I fail at that. I hope you and your family had a wonderful time.

 

[SarahDisney]

A trip to Universal with no planning ... that's either totally stressful or totally relaxing. Hopefully your expert guides made sure you had a good time!

That first view of the Wizarding World really is something special. You're standing there and you see the archway and you realize ... this is Harry Potter. This is the real life version of those books and movies you've loved for so many years. It's definitely a "wow" moment!!

 

[MeghanEmily]

We did very little planning for our Universal days, too, though we did have a vague idea of what we wanted to see and where we might want to eat since we didn't have any local guides. I love Disney, but it's much easier to fly by the seat of your pants at Universal, which sometimes made for a nice change. Glad you seem to have been enjoying yourself, despite the hunger! (I get super hangry, too.)

 

[afwdwfan]

Has it really been a month since I last posted on this report?! Good gosh, I am sorry, guys. I know it’s no excuse, but March has been crazy busy. My in-laws came over and visited for 3 weeks, we all went to Rome for a week

Well, at least that sounds like a fun type of busy!

And if you wanted to share a few pictures and a little bit about your Rome experience... I wouldn't complain. Just sayin'

Despite my exhausted appearance, I really was excited.

I probably hadn’t had my coffee yet.

I look downright terrifying before my morning cup o’ joe.

*Side note: the actual reservation system for Universal stinks. They could learn a thing or two from Disney. Alex had originally booked us for 3 nights at Cabana, but because of work appointments, we needed to cut a night off the trip. When he went to call and change the reservation, the Team Member tried to tell him that they needed to completely cancel the original reservation and make a new one. And because the prices had increased since the original time of booking, it was going to cost us almost 50 dollars more for less nights. Yeah, that did not fly with Alex and he ended up speaking with a manager who “did us a favor” and kept our first price.
It was not a good experience, and I hope Universal works on improving their reservation setup.*

That's definitely not good customer service. As well as Universal does some things, the customer service area seems to be where they definitely lack.

Cabana offered a “free” valet service for our vehicle AND allowed us to use a baggage cart ourselves. That was a huge perk for us in the Disney versus Universal comparison game. Alex is a bit of a cheapo and hates tipping bellhops to load/unload carts when he’s perfectly capable of doing it himself.
So instead he ends up making ten trips back and forth to get everything into our room.

I can relate to this.

(Don’t ask me why he’s cool using the valet but not the bellhop…)

Ok, I'm not on board with that one. This isn't even about the tip... I'm not crazy about handing my keys over to a stranger.

On our way to our room, we passed a room that had a ton of dirty towels and sheets piled outside their door and I could hear someone having a badddd morning.

Flashbacks to our February trip jumped into my head and I had a couple terrifying minutes.

Oh jeez, oh jeez, the stomach bug is here! The stomach bug is here!

I wasn't even on your February trip and honestly, something like this will probably remind me of that TR any time I see something like that.

I almost wish Disney could implement something similar to this; a one time security checkpoint to gain access to all the parks and shopping.

But as you mentioned it would be a logistical nightmare.

When I was thirteen, the moving platform was super entertaining.

And it isn't now?

Alex’s favorite roller coaster of all time is the Hulk, and we all were forced to endure many, many “It stinks that the ride is down for refurb” sulks over the following two days.

Been there, done that. I feel his pain.

The place I first pictured in my head when I was ten years old was coming into view in the real world.

Holy crap, that makes me feel old. HP was hitting its peak when I was in HS and the first movie came out when I was in college. Which kind of explains why I didn't ever really get into it.

Anyway, I'm glad that your fangirl dreams finally came true and put your hangry in its place.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

So excited by your latest update and ready for more. Your European adventures sound great too. You've probably seen more than I have and I live closer. But then again I spend all my money going to Florida lol

 

[amazingact21]

Did you ever do the walk over? I never did the shuttle, but it looks like it drops you off near the parking area which left you with a decent walk to the park entrances. Agreed on the bag check though - it is so nice just to do it once, like at DL and DLP as you mentioned.
I found the Cabana Bay rooms to be fine. I didn't love the pools (chilly and crowded) or dining options, or distance from the parks, and I also like having the Express Pass lol.

I get that way a lot! Glad your family realized you needed to eat and headed straight there. Looking forward to reading about lunch & butterbeer!
Hahaha yes!! They really did an amazing job!!

We never did the walk over, and Alex and I never got the opportunity to try out the pools, so a lot of the resort features were wasted on us. We ate breakfast in the food court and were surprised at the cost/value ratio. It reminded us a lot of the value food courts except way more expensive.
Oh, butterbeer...Alex and I were very excited to try some for the first time.

I can feel your excitement as I was there earlier this month. It's unbelievable how spectacular the Harry Potter area is. They really did an amazing job. The attention to detail is wonderful. I kept saying it should be in Disney. The frozen Butter Beer was delicious although I did not get a chance to try the non frozen one.

Sadly that's where my love of Universal ends. They hit it out of the park with Harry Potter but I'm just not a fan of the rest of the two parks. Maybe because of my love for Disney, I'm not sure. I really try not to compare but I fail at that. I hope you and your family had a wonderful time.

It was hard not to compare Universal to Disney. There were several instances where I had to remind myself, "This is a completely different park." In my opinion, even the guests varied greatly between the two theme parks.

I enjoyed the Frozen butterbeer more than the regular one, so I think you picked wisely!

A trip to Universal with no planning ... that's either totally stressful or totally relaxing. Hopefully your expert guides made sure you had a good time!

That first view of the Wizarding World really is something special. You're standing there and you see the archway and you realize ... this is Harry Potter. This is the real life version of those books and movies you've loved for so many years. It's definitely a "wow" moment!!

I was really taking a risk not planning anything, but fortunately my inlaws came through and provided us with a great time. And I won't lie, it was a nice relief not to be the one in charge for a change.

We did very little planning for our Universal days, too, though we did have a vague idea of what we wanted to see and where we might want to eat since we didn't have any local guides. I love Disney, but it's much easier to fly by the seat of your pants at Universal, which sometimes made for a nice change. Glad you seem to have been enjoying yourself, despite the hunger! (I get super hangry, too.)

It really does. Every once in awhile it's nice to go someplace and choose what to do based on your mood versus keeping with a FP time or an ADR reservation. Over here in Europe, everything is pretty laid back and relaxed, so it's going to take me awhile to get back into the swing of Disney planning when I return.