Cass, Rob & Kira - UO & Disney Fantasy - Two Old Farts and a Teenager

[Timon]

Howdy, folks

We are back from our latest adventure and I am eager to share it all with you.

The main reason for this trip was to celebrate a milestone birthday. I didn't think I would be able to go anywhere for my 50th but plans changed, the universe aligned perfectly, and I guess it was just meant to be

We spent a few days at Universal Orlando Resort then headed for Port Canaveral for the March 26th, 2022 sailing on the Disney Fantasy.

The laundry's done, the luggage is stored until the next trip, and I finally downloaded and edited enough photos to begin this tale.

PSA: The smileys aren't working right now and you all know I couldn't possibly write an entire trip report without the overuse of these little beauties, so please be patient if you come across some random, weird garble, it's just me using the wrong BB code because I have to write the code out in full



Check out my other trip reports

2011 DCL Second sailing of the Dream
2013 October WDW & DCL Fantasy
2015 Disneyland

2016 Christmas on the Wonder
2017 Universal & DCL 10-Night Southern Caribbean Fantasy

2017 Christmas on the Wonder
2018 Summer WDW & Universal

2018 Christmas on the Wonder
2019 Disneyland
2019 Universal Orlando
2019 Christmas on the Wonder
2020 Galaxy's Edge

2021 Christmas on the Wonder
2022 UO & DCL Fantasy
2022 Alaska Wonder Cruise

 

[Timon]

Chapter Links

March 22nd
Part 1 - Tuh-ronno, here we come
Part 2 - She has the technology


March 23rd
Part 1 - Q is for Holy Crap, it's crowded!
Part 2 - There is a DINOSAUR on your shirt!


March 24th
Part 1 - Hitchin' a ride


March 25th
Part 1 - Done and done!


March 26th
Part 1 - Relay, Craig, Mike, Diana and Mickey!
Part 2 - Six shades of red
Part 3 - Slàinte Mhath!
Part 4 - Bad Vibe Surprise

March 27th
Part 1 - It's my party and I'll nap if I want to
Part 2 - Dinner and a show and...a show

March 28th
Part 1 - Forced to shoot Chip & Dale
Part 2 - Blowin' me over, matey!

March 29th
Part 1 - Fancy Schmanciness
Part 2 - Great Scot, is that a new name tag?

March 30th
Part 1 - Jamaica, here we come...just kidding!

March 31st
Part 1 - Sea Day Magic

April 1st
Part 1 - Old and cold
Part 2 - A flash of sadness

April 2nd
Part 1- Ummm, what decade are we in?
Part 2 - Who called for a monsoon?

April 3rd
Part 1 - Adios amoebas!




Coming Soon!

Vacation Videos

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

 

[Timon]

March 22nd Part 1

I booked this trip about 45 days before we left so it wasn't long before we could put up our countdown calendar.

We normally drop our Boo off at her Uncle Ken's the night before but he ended up working late that night and we were up ridiculously early, so he was kind enough to come pick her up that morning just as we were heading to the airport. I was getting all of her stuff ready at the door and I threw her doggie bed in the hall so I wouldn't forget it and apparently she thought it was the perfect place to get comfy.

She's not happy with us, her face says "I love you but you people are ticking me off, you keep leaving me!"

We couldn't get the direct flight to Orlando this time so we would be connecting in Toronto on the way down and in Montréal on the way back. Toronto might be my least favourite place to connect because we have to go through security again before hitting US Customs.

Boo left with her uncle around 4:30am and then we packed up the car headed for the airport.

When I first saw this photo, I snort-laughed. It looks like Kira is not happy with her dad in this pic, half-smile and standing a foot away.

She's a product of two very affectionate people, so the above photo is rare.

Oh and no judgey on the haircut! Why would I get a haircut right before vacation? UGH! Of course, it's the worst haircut I've had since I went short last year. Good thing hair grows back.

Rob dropped off the car at Park2Go while Kira and I tagged and dropped our bags off.

Security was nuts this morning, so glad we have Nexus!

We actually all breezed through, it's a Christmas miracle!

We had more carry-ons this time than we usually do. If you recall our luggage woes from our last trip, I did not want a repeat of that. Since then, we bought Apple Air Tags for all of our bags and decided to bring two carry-on suitcases with three days of clothing each and the essentials, such as door signs, magnets and decorations.

Air Canada's domestic gates had cute Disney World photo ops, which we could not pass up!

We stopped at a surprisingly empty Tim's Horton's and got Kira some snacks and then headed to Chili's, where Rob and I would be eating. Kira and I aren't morning eaters but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have my Southwestern Egg rolls, since this is the only Chili's left in Calgary.

Egg rolls at 6 in the morning, yes please!

Some people enjoy a beer at 6am at the airport, so why not egg rolls? The airport is a wonderful, lawless place!

We got to see a gorgeous sunrise and then boarded our plane to YYZ.

All of our traditional airplane selfies were blurry.

The Rocky Mountains looked quite gorgeous this morning.

About four and a half hours later, we were in Toronto. That's Tuh-ronno, for you non-Canadians.

Security was a pain but Customs was a BREEZE!!! We scanned our faces at a Nexus terminal, which populated all of our names and then it spit out a ticket, which the Customs guy glanced at and then told us to go. We never answered a single question! That was a weird experience. I was like....umm, that's it? Run!

Our next stop...Wahllllburgers.

 

[Timon]

March 22nd, Part 2

Last time we connected in Toronto, we ate at Wahlburgers and it was delicious! So we figured, why not?

Their menu was very limited. This was it, plus chicken fingers, we were told. It worked out for us because Rob and I wanted burgers and Kira wanted chicken strips.

We grabbed a nice quiet corner and we had an awesome server who let us chill there, mask-free, long after we were done eating.

It wasn't as spectacular as our previous visit in 2019 but it was still good and it filled our tummies!

We found a spot to chill until it was time to board our next flight. We were delayed about 30-minutes, which meant we wouldn't land in Orlando until about 11pm. I got a great view of downtown

Another blurry family selfie LOL!

I took a nap, Rob read his book and Kira studied for a big Psychology test that she had to take the day after we got home. All of her studying paid off, she aced it.

Just after 11pm, we were on the faux-monorail!

It had been a long day, we were all exhausted! Thankfully all of our bags made it and then we headed down to Alamo to grab our rental car.

We went over to the Full Size row and found several minivans. Score!

Rob wanted to double check that we were allowed to take it since it was quite an upgrade from full size to mini-van but I told him that when I picked up my car here in February, I also came across a vehicle that was at least a two-size upgrade from what I had booked and I spoke to an attendant and they told me that if it was in the row, it's fair game! You can see in this row, there's tons of vans and trucks. They must have a surplus of the bigger vehicles. We were so thrilled to have so much space! We wouldn't be all crammed in with our extra luggage!

Kira was super happy! She loved this van!

Rob loved it too. Except for this....

It was the meme!

So, every time I adjusted the volume, I had to be SUPER aware of which button I was turning LOL! I think this freaked Rob out a little too much.

We drove to Aventura Hotel at Universal Orlando, grabbed our room keys and headed up to the tenth floor.

Rob and Kira are super patient with me when we get to a hotel or stateroom, they wait outside while I take photos and videos before we destroy the place. They even took a selfie.

I wanted to book a Deluxe room because they are so awesome but when I booked it, they didn't have much left, and I ended up booking a standard room but they did upgrade us to a Skyline View for free. I've never stayed in a standard room, so I was eager to see how it compared to the Deluxe ones.

It was still great but I would much prefer a Deluxe room here. We had a fantastic view of the parks though!

Kira had fun with the iPad.

We sanitized everything and then I unpacked us a little, just enough to easily get ready the next morning. It was almost 1am before we got to bed and we would be getting up 6:45am so we could grab our tickets and then head over for early entry at Islands of Adventure.

Sleep is for the weak.

 

[chamberlain]

Following along! Excited to hear about your Universal and Fantasy trip!

 

[Timon]

March 23rd, Part 1

I wasn't sure if I could roll this old body out of bed this early but I did and I'm so glad we did early entry!

We loved our view!

I went and got our tickets from the planning desk while Rob grabbed some breakfast and a coffee. Kira and I are good until lunch but Rob will literally die if he doesn't get properly fueled up.

One of the many reasons I love Aventura is that you can easily walk through Sapphire Falls in order to take the much-quieter water taxi.

We got to the bridge over to IOA and saw crowds forming.

Yes, this was the line to enter the park! We usually go during the Summer so we're used to long lines and crowds but wowza!

I don't like crowds but I can handle them. Heat and humidity, on the other hand, are my arch nemeses. We've done Universal during Summer mostly because of Kira's school breaks so I'm well aware just how hot and humid Orlando can get but this was my first trip in the heat since I started my hot flashes.

A lot of you know that with my lupus, I have a hard time with sun, heat and humidity, and that I'm dang good at avoiding all of that but these hot flashes are a new level of hell that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Okay, well, maybe my worst one but still. I've done several trips since they started back in late 2019 but I've had delightfully cool weather so this would be my first foray into hot flashes in warm weather. (I used the word "foray" for Kira, since it was on Wordle the other day and she didn't know what it meant )

I bought three of these little beauties on Amazon in 2019 and they now follow me everywhere. The same way my kid doesn't go anywhere without her phone, I go nowhere without my fan!

This also means that I must carry a little backpack to Universal, which is a bit of a pain but it also allows me to carry a thermos filled with icy cold water for me and some non-icy cold water for my kiddo. I still rock my 2001 fanny pack, as usual though.

Now, I have had the pleasure of riding the best coaster, Velocicoaster, about 8 or 9 times now but Rob and Kira have yet to ride it so we knew we had to prioritize this trip and that was number one!
The standby line posted 70 minutes but we waited less than that.

Oh and just in case you're wondering, yes, we wore our masks whenever we couldn't social distance because we still had to test negative to get on our cruise and nothing was going to stop us from getting on that ship!

Needless to say, they loved it as much as I did!

Not sure if you guys know this but there's dinosaurs ALL over this place! You really gotta be careful where you step!

Our next priority was a spin on Hagrid's, of course! Rob and Kira lucked out and got the front! Lucky buggers!

Then we went where the lines weren't, which led us to Kong.

By then, the lines were getting crazy-long and Kira and I were getting a little peckish. We needed a break and some sustenance and there's really only one place to eat at this park, in our opinion.

Rob got the chicken and rib combo while Kira and I shared the Fish & Chips.

She was in desperate need of a Butter Beer too!

By the time we were done, the park had inched a little closer to Crazytown than we like. This was the line for the ladies room!

And we ate just in time because the line for Three Broomsticks was now probably about an hour-long, or more!

'

We left the insanity behind and headed back to our resort for a rest!

Every time we pass this sign, it brings back fond memories of our past Summer trips when Kira was younger and didn't know what Quandary meant. If you listen carefully, a little Seussian voice says "Q is for Quan, Quan is for Quandary". We passed by it so many times, on our way to Hagrid's and now even more for Velocicoaster, it's kind of become a little family joke at this point and we say it often. LOL

Water taxi back to the resort and then some rest time. It started pouring about an hour before we were scheduled to head back. We're so glad we got to see and experience some rain, we all miss it!

Rob went down to grab a souvenir cup for his coffee. We also used it for Diet-Coke during the trip and he uses these cups for his coffee at home every day.

It was time to head back now but it was still raining. We decided to take the bus so we wouldn't get soaked on the Water Taxi and we had hoped it would pass by the time we got to CityWalk.

We got to see the Mardi Gras Tree and it had stopped raining! Perfect timing!

Time for one too-close selfie and then we headed for our early dinner reservation.

 

[cntkg1]

Chapter Links

March 22nd
Part 1 - Tuh-ronno, here we come
Part 2 - She has the technology

March 23rd
Part 1 - Q is for Holy Crap, it's crowded!
Part 2 -

Two OLD farts? Does this mean you bought trip insurance??? Lol

You got us seriously thinking about those Air Tags too. We always have a collective sigh of relief when we see our luggage at the airport.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE those SW egg rolls at Chili’s!! I’d eat them for breakfast myself.

OMG….so funny about the Tuh-ronno! You’re soooo right although you’re wrong about my Chi kah go!

 

[bcwife76]

Woohoo, I'm in baby!!!
The new board format definitely makes this more difficult...sigh. oh well!

Ugh. TO....the worst airport I think I've ever been to in my entire life. We had to connect at TO both directions when we went to Punta Cana last August, it was my first time in that airport since 1996! Hated every second of it. Was horrible both directions.

But I digress....you're back in FLORIDA!!!!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[cntkg1]

No obligatory bed jumping from Kira anymore?

Tell her Aunt Nancy needs a techy girl here too. I pay in Disney Gift Cards.


BEST VACAY PIC EVER!!!! Whahahahahaha!!!!

 

[lucas]

Yay! My favorite family and I'm in early! Can't wait to read more of your latest adventure.

P.S. I think your hair looks very cute!

 

[Deb Stoltman]

Woo Hoo!! Another Cass trip report! A great start to your vacation! And I also think your haircut is adorable! Beautiful family!

 

[juniorbugman]

Following along. I really enjoy your reports.

 

[JenLovesMM]

Yay!! I'm here and so excited you went on this trip and that we get to read all about it!

 

[Jillpie]

Well lets go girlie girlie!! You know I'm in. And do you believe this, I haven't read the last report, I completely forgot! I feel guilty. I totally need to catch up big time. So Kira, holy cow she's grown up and so beautiful Cass. I love that she still wants to travel with Mom and Dad, I miss those days! My kids are in their 30's now, oh treasure these moments, they are fleeting. So excited!!

 

[naynay922]

I’m so excited for this!! Your trip reports are my favorite, and we’ll be on the Fantasy in May. Was this a western itinerary?!

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

Love her hair!

Poor baby, being left behind. But at least Boo is getting to spend quality time with uncle rather than at camp.

We had more carry-ons this time than we usually do. If you recall our luggage woes from our last trip, I did not want a repeat of that. Since then, we bought Apple Air Tags for all of our bags and decided to bring two carry-on suitcases with three days of clothing each and the essentials, such as door signs, magnets and decorations.

After reading your last trip report, we bought Apple Air Tags and now travel with them also. I would love to put one on my daughter's car keys but she has forbidden it. I wonder why...

What is "government cheese"?

I took a nap, Rob read his book and Kira studied for a big Psychology test that she had to take the day after we got home. All of her studying paid off, she aced it.

Yea Kira! I teach psychology (college level) and even after 30+ years, I still think it is the most fascinating subject.

t had been a long day, we were all exhausted! Thankfully all of our bags made it and then we headed down to Alamo to grab our rental car.

We went over to the Full Size row and found several minivans. Score!

How does this work? Are you able to skip the check-in desk?

Oh and just in case you're wondering, yes, we wore our masks whenever we couldn't social distance because we still had to test negative to get on our cruise and nothing was going to stop us from getting on that ship!

We still wear ours any time we are in public and cannot social distance. We have not had even a cold in our household since Covid hit so we assume the masks are helping protect us from many various germs.

 

[Kanga2Roo]

I'm here! Read it all yesterday but on my phone so I couldn't reply!
Love Kira's shirt!

 

[debster812]

What is "government cheese"?

I'll chime in on this. The Wahlberg's are local to a section of Boston and growing up they were fairly low income, and 'government cheese' is what was part of the offerings for families collecting welfare. Basically a GIANT block of either white or orange "American Cheese Food Product" (or singles excellent for grilled cheese or cheeseburgers). I guess it's funnier if you have context, and in true Disboards fashion, it's got to be 'regional'

 

[Timon]

March 23rd, Part 2

The only reservation I made for the entire trip was for Toothsome and that is where we were headed. We ate here for the first time in 2019 and we loved it. Rob especially loved the salmon and vowed to never visit Universal again without eating here.

While we were waiting to be seated, we spotted Penelope and Jacques chatting with some kids. We didn't get to see them the last time, so this was a nice surprise. While I was taking some video of them, Jacques looked over at me and yelled out "Don't look now but you have a dinosaur on your shirt!"

Then he looked over at Kira and said "I don't want to alarm you but you have a DINOSAUR on your shirt, please move very slowly!" Love this guy!

We were seated upstairs and had a great server, it was a great meal and a great experience!

I had the cheesesteak rolls, delish!

Rob enjoyed his salmon, like really enjoyed it.

And Kira got the same thing as the last time we were here, the pasta from the kids menu, which she also loved! We were way too full for dessert. Oddly enough, most people come here for the desserts but we've been three times now and still haven't had dessert. LOL!

We headed over to IOA once we were done.

Lines had died down a bit thankfully, so we headed to Hagrid's.

While in line, the Beauxbatons and the Quiddich team came out down a dark hallway opposite us and a team member asked us to step to the side. It was so dark that Rob ended up bashing his knee on this cauldron when he moved over. He hit it so hard that he almost went down and he cried out in pain. At first he couldn't even put any weight on it. I had a flash-forward in my mind, with visions of emergency rooms and missing our cruise while I was waiting for him to tell us what happened and how bad it was. It was so dark, we couldn't see what happened, just that he was in a lot of pain and that he couldn't walk. The team member saw him and asked if he needed help. He said he would be fine but he still couldn't put his full weight on it and she ended up calling a supervisor. Rob said he was fine, he just needed a few minutes to recover from the initial jolt of pain. At this point, I grabbed my phone, put the flash on and took a photo so I could see what he had hit. It's pitch black here so none of us knew what he had hit. Turns out he smashed into the edge of this cauldron. After about 5 minutes, he was able to put his weight onto his foot and we carried on. It was nice that they made sure he was okay. This queue is rather dark in many places, so be very careful!

He was slow and Kira and I helped guide him the rest of the way but he was fine for the rest of the trip. His knee was sore for the rest of the evening and we iced it when we got back to the room. Thank Heavens for small miracles!

I noticed they had a new video on this screen. It used to have an animated cartoon of how to get into the ride but now they just show video of actual people getting on the ride.

Kira rode the motorcycle while I rode the side-car next to her and Rob went on his own this time.

We decided it was a good time to chill for a bit, have some water and just give Rob a little rest.

Once we rested, it was time for another round on Velocicoaster!

I forgot to mention that every time we rode this coaster, we rode it in the front row. Usually there's a massive line for the front row for most coasters but there was never a long wait for the front, maybe an extra train or two but that's it! I will tell you now, the front row is the ONLY way to go on this baby!

Next up was Forbidden Journey since the line wasn't bad.

By the time we got out, the sun had set and we hightailed it over to Diagon Alley via Hogwart's Express. We were in desperate need of Butter Beer ice cream! IOA closed every night at 10pm but the Studios closed at 9pm and sadly, it's the only park that has proper Butter Beer ice cream. You can get the gross hard-packed BB ice cream from Three Broomsticks but it doesn't taste anything like our beloved soft-serve! They really need to sell it in both parks. I get why they don't, as Hogsmeade is a village based in the Winter and thematically, it makes no sense to have ice cream widely available there but hey, if they can have the hard-packed crap, they can have the good stuff.

I reminded Kira that I would like to take a photo and video of the cones before she devoured it because I knew once it was in her hand, she would lose all self-control and she did give me about 0.7 seconds to get some video but I had zero chance of getting photos. This is a screenshot from the video footage of her realizing that I had not taken photos yet.

She's not a fan of sharing her food, especially when that food is Butter Beer ice cream so she always gets her own cone while Rob and I share one.

Once we devoured our ice cream, it was time to take a spin on Gringott's, front row is also the only way to go here.

The park was now closed and we were too tired to head back to IOA so we just grabbed a water taxi back to Sapphire Falls and walked back to Aventura.

The pool would be closing at 10pm and my back and feet were desperate for some pool and hot tub time! I made it with only 15 minutes to spare but I figured 15 minutes was better than nothing!

This is one of the other things I love about Aventura...prime Spring Break, hotel is at capacity and the pool is almost empty! I do miss the lazy river, the soft beds and Bayliner Diner at Cabana Bay but I do not miss the crowds, noise and screaming kids.

I love this pool. I love how it wraps around the hotel so even when there's other people in the pool playing ball, you can still find a nice quiet place to swim or float! I love the palm trees that line it, I love the beautiful blue colour. I'm not sure I could ever go back to Cabana Bay. I just love Aventura too much. I remember when it first opened and I saw it on video, I thought, why would anyone stay here when Cabana Bay, which is directly across the street, is the same price-point and has more amenities?? Well, I tell you, there are SO many reasons to stay here and if you don't have the budget for the Premier Hotels and you don't have little kids, this place is a great option!

The hot tub is great too although it wasn't filled as much as it normally is so I had to kind of slink down a little for the jets to massage my back.

Kira stayed in the room so she could shower and chill but Rob came down with me and got caught up with emails and news and he alerted me when it was almost 10 because he knows I like to cool off in the pool right before getting out, so I headed into the pool and swam in the now-empty pool. I was waiting for the whistle, but I kept swimming and no whistle blew. It was now 10:10pm so I asked one of the lifeguards when they closed and he replied 10:30pm. SCORE!! The hours are posted on the gate as 9-10pm but it closed every night at 10:30pm while we were there. This made for a very happy Cass! <3

Everyone had left so I took a couple more turns in the hot tub and back in the pool again. It was glorious! I have back and foot issues and the water, both hot and cold, is like therapy for me and so not only does my pool time lift my spirits and heal my soul, it also helps heal my body and gets me through days like this when I put on 26K steps!

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

Love your reports and I think your hair is cute