Escape From Home to Dinosaurs, Wizards, and Alarm Clocks - A March 2021 Trip Report (**Completed 3/27/23**)

[cstorm65]

Alright folks...it's go time! We are packed, things are loaded in the car, and we are ready for the 3:30 AM alarm to go off to catch our airplane. Funny story, DS5 could not figure out the express "catch our airplane" when I said it earlier tonight. He was trying to figure out how we were going to actually "catch" an airplane! haha

Well, I hope everyone has a great week! We are so ready to be HOME!​

 

[queenofthehill]

What a fun trip. Thanks for sharing.

 

[mitsukoshi samurai]

Alright folks...it's go time! We are packed, things are loaded in the car, and we are ready for the 3:30 AM alarm to go off to catch our airplane. Funny story, DS5 could not figure out the express "catch our airplane" when I said it earlier tonight. He was trying to figure out how we were going to actually "catch" an airplane! haha

Well, I hope everyone has a great week! We are so ready to be HOME!​

Time to get Harry Potter books

 

[cstorm65]

DISCLAIMER: I am back! After the crazy three years of COVID I feel like life has finally settled down and our family is back into a normal routine again, so I can get back on the Disboards again. I enjoy writing about our trips a lot and it is a great thing to do to help stay positive, so I’m going to try and plow through this trip. I also started a Trip Report on our Summer 2021 Disney Trip (CLICK HERE FOR THAT). I also have all of the stuff for a report down the road on our Summer 2022 Disney Trip! So, back at it!!

Day 4 Part 4 - We Are Going to Need Another One of Those

I think we left off around Transformers, but it was closed so the only logical thing to do was to find a dessert to snack on, right? Well, that’s what we did by checking out the Belgium Mardi Gras booth over by ET. Let me tell you, this was awesome!! I didn’t even get a picture before we had all had some as you can see.

As we were eating, DW Said, “We are going to need another one of those”. So, we got another one and it was so good I didn’t get a picture for a second time!

After our snack we went back to Woody Woodpecker’s coaster, but it broke down right before we bot on at 7:00. We stood here for about 20 minutes.

They finally got it back running and we were off soon and headed over to ride ET.

After ET we stopped at the Canada both for some Poutine. It was pretty good. DS8 especially liked it, but the beef from the short ribs was excellent!

After poutine we walked through the Simpson’s. Does anyone else just kind of walk through this area, but never stop like we do? I don’t know, we are Simpson’s people and nothing here really appeals to us. I still miss Back to the Future!

We walked through the Simpson’s and made it over to Men in Black for a quick ride.

We were out at 8:15 and DS8 wanted to ride Gringotts. Again, just a reminder that we have Express pass since we are at Royal Pacific, which makes things so awesome!

DW and DS5 went candy shopping while we rode Gringotts!

We looked around a little in Diagon Alley before heading over to do the Mummy, again DS8 was loving these thrill rides!

By 9:15 we were done with the Mummy and jumped in the Transformers line since it had been closed earlier.

After Transformers we tried to get into the viewing area for the Cinematic Celebration, but right as we got there they were closing it due to capacity. Of course COVID protocols are still in place so that is why capacity was a concern. We just took a few pictures on the way out of the park and said we’d try for the show again tomorrow.

We walked back to Royal Pacific and were all fast asleep before our last full day tomorrow!

Up Next: Day 5 Part 1 - Of Course We Need a Second Breakfast​

 

[macraven]

Glad you are back posting!

 

[DLo]

Welcome back !!

 

[cstorm65]

Glad you are back posting!

Welcome back !!

Thanks you all! Going to try and wrap this one up pretty quickly!

 

[macraven]

take your time, no rush!

really like all the pictures you are sharing with us.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

OMG HI! It’s so great to see you’re back!

 

[cstorm65]

take your time, no rush!

really like all the pictures you are sharing with us.

Thanks for reading!

OMG HI! It’s so great to see you’re back!

Thanks! Looking forward to finally finishing this!

 

[HumblePie]

Glad you are back!

 

[cstorm65]

Day 5 Part 1 - Of Course We Need a Second Breakfast

After a couple of full park days we slept in a little this morning. Having the unlimited express pass really gives you a lot of flexibility on your park touring because you don’t really have to worry about lines at most attractions except Hagrid’s. We also had a pack up as we were switching away from Royal Pacific for our last night before we head home. At about 9:15 I headed down to the Tuk Tuk Market to grab some breakfast items for us.

The boys enjoyed their donuts and the bacon, egg, and cheese croissant was good that DW and I split. After finishing packing we headed down at about 10:00 and loaded the bags in our car and said goodbye to the beautiful Royal Pacific lobby. We were going to leave our car here for a bit while we went to Islands of Adventure.

On our way in to the parks the boys asked if they could go to the donut shop:

We were on vacation and it is our last day, so I told DW, “Of course we need a second breakfast!” They got a picture with their donuts. As I'm writing this I am so thankful this is the only trip we had where we have all of these mask pictures. I'm all for people staying healthy and following rules, but I am glad in our future trips we have pictures where we can smile again! I mean...look at the different in these two pictures!

I didn’t really take many notes on who had what for this, but DS5 is our biggest donut lover and he loved this one!

We headed off through CityWalk and over towards theIslands of Adventure entrance.

I love the entry area of Islands of Adventure. The theming of Port of Entry is so well done and it has a lot of little touches on the buildings that reminds me of Main Street USA. We took a few pictures in the area and then spent a little time looking in the shops here.

I also snapped one of my favorite pictures of me and the boys!

While we were looking around DW decided this would be the ornament we would get on this trip. We always try to get a Christmas ornament to remember our trips and this would be our first Universal ornament!

It was time to head on into Islands of Adventure and from the title of the next update you can see what was #1 on DW’s priority list for this last day!

Up Next: Was Butterbeer the Reason for Our Trip?​

 

[cstorm65]

Day 5 Part 2 - Was Butterbeer the Reason for Our Trip?

We left off as we were walking into Islands of Adventure for our final day in the parks of this trip. We had been talking as we walked about what everyone wanted to do today and it was at about this time April finally said that she didn’t care what we did as long as she got Butterbeer again. So, I told the boys priority #1 for the day was Butterbeer, because the real priority #1 is keeping Mom happy!

To get to the Butterbeer we did have to walk through here:

It was about 11:10 at this point and we made a pit stop to let the boys ride a One Fish, Two Fish and Cat in the Hat.

April had also been wanting them to consent to wearing Thing 1 and Thing 2 shirts and so here, on our last day they both consented!

Now that we have some proper shirts for Seuss Landing we have to get a picture with one of the most famous residents:

Pictures complete and shirts acquired we headed off to take care the most important thing of the day here:

April had her Butterbeer, which I think is definitely her favorite part about Universal!

Braxton also became quite a fan of Butterbeer on this trip!

With the top priority of the day checked offer headed over because Brooks had been driving us crazy wanting to ride Jurassic Park River Adventure. I had been a little hesitant with him just being five years old. Not because of the drop, he loves Splash Mountain, but it can be a little scary. Well, Braxton wanted him to ride and said he would help him be brave, so off we went. April was plenty happy with her Butterbeer and we weren’t about to convince her to get wet! The boys sporting their new shirts in line:

Brooks was a little nervous, but Braxton was helping him out.

We made it on the ride quickly and Brooks ended up loving it. He loved the drop, which we thought he would, but he was also ok on the scary parts with the raptors. It was definitely good that he was in between Braxton and me, but he made it and he loved it!

We continued our way around the park deciding if we wanted to do anything else again in Islands, but not much was jumping out at us. We had gone really hard the last two days with the Express Pass, so today was just about re-riding the stuff we really wanted to.

By 1:20 we were back around to the exit and did some shopping before we headed out.

We left the park at 1:40, but Braxton is always a sucker for a photo op with an animal!

Goodbye IOA. We are heading back to grab the car and go spend some time in that lazy river at Cabana Bay!

Up Next: Enjoying the Pool at Cabana Bay​

 

[schumigirl]

Jon, your sons are simply adorable, the picture of them hugging just about melted me!! And it`s so strange seeing the masks again, that feels a lifetime ago now.

I`m so glad Brooks enjoyed JP and he wasn`t scared and yes I think POE is wonderful too....

Really enjoying your updates from your trip.

 

[cstorm65]

Jon, your sons are simply adorable, the picture of them hugging just about melted me!! And it`s so strange seeing the masks again, that feels a lifetime ago now.

I`m so glad Brooks enjoyed JP and he wasn`t scared and yes I think POE is wonderful too....

Really enjoying your updates from your trip.

Don't let them fool you with that hug...hahaha. Plenty of fighting to go around in this house! But, that was a sweet moment!

Every time I look at these pictures I'm disappointed I can't see faces, but it will definitely be a memory for us!

Thanks for reading along!

 

[cstorm65]

Day 5 Part 3 - Enjoying the Pool at Cabana Bay

We made the quick walk back to Royal Pacific, grabbed our car, and headed over to Cabana Bay. It was about 2:05 when we made it to our final resort of the trip.

We love Cabana Bay. It always comes in at a very reasonable price, the pool area is awesome, and you get that short walk over to Volcano Bay. I had done online check in, so within about five minutes I had our room keys.

We drove the car a little closer to our room and had the stuff we needed unloaded by 2:20. Here are a few pictures of our standard room:

We didn’t stay long because we had come back to the resort to have some fun at the awesome pool and lazy river here. So, by 2:45 we were heading down to the pool. These two were ready to go!

While the boys were swimming April and I ordered us some food from the pool restaurant, Hideaway Bar & Grill. We hadn’t eaten in the park because don’t you remember, we had two breakfasts today of course! So, by almost 3:00 we were a little hungry.

I got the Fish Tacos - Fried grouper, chipotle remoulade, topped with a tomato and cucumber slaw on two flour tortillas. These were not too bad, but I’m not sure they are something I’d go out of my way for.

April to the Turkey Wrap - Roasted turkey breast, crispy bacon, avocado ranch, lettuce and tomato. It was pretty standard, but she said it was a nice pool side option. She did choose the fruit side option, which came in a little package so that would be something you could save for later if you wanted to.

We also got Braxton a hot dog and Brooks just wanted french fries so he ate the fries that came with my tacos. That was good for them, they did have two breakfasts, and we set off to have some fun swimming.

We swam until about 4:15 and April took Brooks upstairs so he could take a quick nap. We were planning on heading back to the parks and staying up late enough to see the Cinematic Celebration tonight. Braxton and I swam for about 30 more minutes and then went and took some pictures around the resort.

Two things I love about Universal resorts that I wish Disney would take note of. First, the lobby and main building areas at all of the Universal resorts always seem to have great big spaces with a lot of seating for people to hang out. I feel Disney’s lobby’s are sometimes lacking in that area. Second is this:

Starbucks in all of the hotel lobby’s at Universal is the most awesome thing ever! You see I’m a black coffee drinker in the mornings. But I love a good cold sugar free latte on a hot Florida afternoon and having these in the lobby are so convenient. April on the other hand loves them in the mornings, so it’s a win-win for us! Here are a few more pictures Braxton and I got as we were walking around.

Braxton and I got back to the room about 4:40 and we rested for about 30 minutes with April and Brooks before preparing to head back to the parks one final time on this trip.

Up Next: Ending the Trip with Fireworks!​

 

[cstorm65]

Day 5 Part 4 - Ending the Trip with Fireworks!

We got ready and were at the bus stop at 5:25. We had plans to head back into Universal Studios for the night and eat some Mardi Gras food, watch the Cinematic Celebration, and re-ride stuff we love one more time. A bus was waiting when we got there and by 5:40 we were walking under here.

April and I snagged a few quick pictures in front of the park before we headed in.

Now, we all know we have those moments of a trip when something goes wrong. They happen at least once on every trip, well, it was at this moment I realized I had made a major error. As we scanned into the park I looked for my lanyard and…oh crap, where is my lanyard. You see I’d been keeping the park tickets in my phone case, but our express passes in my lanyard. Well, I had taken the lanyard off to go to the pool and I always lay it right by my wallet and phone, but I guess I somehow forgot to grab it. You see it’s spring break, the lines are long, we need those express passes.

We had planned on hitting Men in Black first because the boys really wanted to do it. April, said she would go back and get the express passes, the buses run pretty quickly to Cabana Bay. I offered to go since it was my fault, but she said she didn’t really care to do Men in Black. So, the boys and I headed that way as the app only said it was a 20 minute wait. We figured mom would be back once we finished and we could meet back up.

Important Observation: What we didn’t know at the time, but found out from a team member later is that guest services can print an express pass for us since we were using the one from our stay at Royal Pacific. It only took April about 45 minutes to run and grab them, so not a huge deal, but if anyone ever goofs like me, check with guest services first.

The boys and I got over to Men in Black at about 6:05, a 20 minute wait was posted, but after about 10 minutes the ride broke down. They said we could stay in line, which we did and thankfully it did start running again, but it ended up taking us about 30 minutes.

By the time we got off April was walking back in the park and we were going to meetup and ride Transformers, but when we got there it was down, so no go there. Braxton also wanted to do The Mummy one more time so he and I went to do that while we were close and April took our Mardi Gras food lanyard because we wanted to try some Beignets.

We only waited about 10 minutes for The Mummy now that we had recovered the Express Passes and by 7:20 we were walking up to April and Brooks who were waiting with these little bits of heaven:

Overall the Beignets were a hit with us for sure! We even had to go get one more order for the boys because they wanted some more. April and I thought they were good, although we both agreed we didn’t think they were quite as good as Port Orleans French Quarter, those are next level!

Next, we headed over ride Minions one more time as Brooks had requested this. I really think he just likes the dance party at the exit! Then we were getting a little hungry for some real food. We got a burger and pizza to split in the Simpson’s food court. The food actually wasn’t too bad. I don’t know that I would just go out of my way to eat here, but it satisfied us for the time being.

It was about 8:50 by the time we finished dinner and we wanted to make sure to get into the viewing area tonight for the show, so we went ahead and got a spot at 9:05 for the 9:45 showtime. I did want to do ET one more time, I love that ride, and so April told me to go take the boys and she’d sit in our spot. We enjoyed our ride and as we were walking back it hit me. I had seen a pullover in the Men In Black gift shop that I had wanted. I hadn’t picked it up when I was there earlier because of the whole express pass fiasco, but that store was only place I had seen it. So, I dropped the boys off with April and walked really quickly to Men In Black to pick this up:

I did get it and was back to our viewing spot with five minutes to spare. We loved the cinematic celebration. Brooks spent the entire time dancing to the music, which I will say, it had a really good soundtrack. All of the movies put together in the show were really cool and I’d highly recommend it. I guess at the time I’m writing this Universal is going to open a new show in the near future, I’m sure it will be similar though.

The show was over at about 10:05 and the park was closed at that point, but we took our time shopping on the way out and just enjoying our last night in the park.

We found a shirt April had been looking at throughout the trip and headed to the bus area. It was about 10:45 and the line was long. I counted and they filled seven buses of people for Cabana Bay before we got on one and it took 13 minutes. Kudos to Universal! We were back at the resort at 11:05 and were all asleep shortly thereafter.

Up Next: That is a Big Sundae​

 

[jump00]

Thanks for coming back and finishing your lovely trip report! I went back to the beginning and what a great read!!!! Your pictures tell a wonderful story back when Covid was at its height! When do you think you will be returning?
Brenda

 

[cstorm65]

Day 6 Part 1 - That is a Big Sundae

The day had finally come when we were to head back home. This had been a wonderful trip and it was so much fun to introduce the boys to Universal. They have been asking to go back ever since!

We got up and dressed at about 8:15 and the boys wanted me to take them down to Bayliner Diner to grab some breakfast. Of course they had to play around first:

I also have a picture in here of the sweatshirt April had seen on this trip and that we purchased the night before. She loved the retro look!

We got down to Bayliner at about 9:00, so most of the crowds were gone for the day. Brooks picked his go to breakfast item, a cinnamon roll, which he enjoyed.

Braxton and I got the same thing, a Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Croissant. We both agreed that it was very good.

After breakfast I took the boys down to swim some more at Cabana Bay while April packed up the stuff we had and got the boys' carry-ons ready to go on the plane. We swam for about an hour or so. This is such a great pool area here at Cabana Bay, and it’s one of the reasons we love staying at this place!

At about 11:00 we headed to the bus stop and wanted to go to CityWalk to try one more bit of fun with the boys before we headed to catch our plane.

We were heading to get some tasty treats here:

April and I had never been here before and we were all excited to get a couple of shakes. April and I decided to share the cookie jar shake, while the boys wanted a sundae. They settled on the birthday cake sundae. This place is very fun and we hit it at about the right time of day so it wasn’t very crowded in the walk up dessert area.

We knew the shakes were big, but we really had no idea what to expect from the sundaes. So, you can imagine our faces when these came out:

I still love that picture of the boys. The cookie jar shake was awesome, April and I polished that one off. But we couldn’t get close to finishing off the birthday cake sundae. The boys ate all they wanted, we might have helped just a little bit, but we still had a lot left. Overall, this was a super fun experience, but it was definitely made better because they weren’t crowded and we were able to easily find a seat to enjoy our ice cream.

Up Next: Flying Home from Tampa Bay​

 

[schumigirl]

You`ve managed to make the desserts at Toothsome look appealing!!! And yes, that picture of the boys is wonderful, their faces say it all.....lol......gorgeous!!