First Universal trip from Disney vets

[musicmom3331]

After going to both WDW and DLR for the past four years, my DD27 and I decided to try Universal Orlando this year. Here are some of the highlights:

1. We took the Mears shared shuttle from the airport. Yes, it made some stops, but so does Magical Express. Loved the price. Our driver was very charming and pointed out some of the sights and gave some vacation tips during the drive.

2. We stayed at Cabana Bay for 6 nights and were happy with our choice. The resort is beautiful and fun. Housekeeping was great. The lazy river was awesome after a long, hot day in the parks. The last time we went to WDW we stayed at Pop Century. Cabana Bay is comparable to Pop, but a step up.

3. We were originally going to get 4-day tickets, and have one non-park day. We saw that Undercover Tourist had 3-park, 14-day unlimited tickets but we discovered this too late to have them sent to us. I asked about them at the ticket counter at Cabana Bay and they had them for sale there. The price wasn't much more than UT with their shipping added. These tickets allowed us to spread out the fun a bit as to not stress us out. This really helped because it was HOT!

4. We did not take advantage of EE to the HP areas. We decided to use that extra hour to sleep. We got to the parks by 9 and went to some of the headliners that weren't HP. We did not have long waits at all. Minions was the longest at 35 min. We went to the HP areas in the evening when wait times and temperatures were lower. One evening it was raining 20 min. before closing and DD rode FJ twice with a bench to herself.

5. Our favorite areas were Diagon Alley and Seussland. Our favorite shows were the Horror Make up show, and the animal actors show.

6. In the parks we ate at Mythos, Krusty burger, Leaky Cauldron, Boulangerie, San Francisco Pastry Co., Three Broomsticks, Starbucks, Starbucks, and Starbucks.

7. In Citywalk, we had happy hour at Emeril's, dinner at Red Oven Pizza, Hard Rock, Margaritaville, and Bubba Gump. Oh...and coffee at Starbucks.

8. In the resorts we ate at Bayliner Diner (Cabana Bay), and Mama Della's (Portofino). Mama Della's was one of our stand-out meals. Loved being serenaded while eating delicious Italian food.

We have been asked if we prefer Disney Parks or Universal. We both answered that they are both great for different reasons. More thrills at Universal, but more fun dark rides at Disney.

 

[canadiankim]

Lovely trip report! Thanks for taking the time to do it.

 

[macraven]

you covered all the bases in your report here.
being thorough as you were, really helps others when they have questions such as, how is the star shuttle from MCO to UO

thank you for sharing with us.

 

[Grumpy92]

Great overview. We felt the same about Cabana Bay. We were able to get a AP/Fl Res discount and it made it a better value then Pop. The pool area, especially the lazy river is why we are going back. We want a couple days just to enjoy the resort.
So glad to hear you had a good time.

 

[hydrotony]

Did not know you could buy the 3-park 14-day ticket at the Cabana Bay ticket desk. Good info.

 

[CLPClarinet]

I'm her DD27 and wanted to add a bit of detail/pics.

1. I've stayed at Shades of Green, Port Orleans French Quarter, and POP at WDW and offsite for DLR. Cabana Bay was my favorite of all of those hotels. The lazy river, pools, and even Starbucks help it set itself apart from other hotels in the area. French Quarter was very compact, chill, and charming...Cabana Bay was nostalgic and full of energy!

2. The 3-park 14-day tickets were awesome! We didn't have to worry about bad weather and could sleep in. If we just did the 4 day tickets, I think we would've been stressed out to try and fit everything in, especially if we we would've had a few bad weather days.

3. I got the Mahi Mahi at Mythos and loved my meal! The service was fantastic and the setting was beautiful!

4. Mama Della's was my favorite meal. I did the reservation for it on my phone the day before which was a smart move, as they were completely booked the night we dined. Here's my lasagna:

5. Food I wasn't into: Fishy Green Ale...I really wanted to like this. I adore the Mint Julep at DLR, but this didn't taste close. When the blueberry orbs burst, it all tastes a bit like bubble gum. I'm one of the few that prefers regular Butterbeer over frozen...I could barely drink any of the frozen. We split a chocolate muffin from the Boulangerie and it was kinda dry...maybe a tad overcooked? It wasn't awful, but I've had better.

6. Happy Hour at Emeril's had a very limited selection of small plates. 4 to be exact. We got the ceviche and mushrooms and they were both stellar!

7. All parts of the parks were themed really well! Many fun photo opportunities! Springfield was a blast to walk around, as was Seussland and Diagon Alley. Do not miss the High in the Sky Trolley in Seuss as you get amazing views of the whole park from up there. One Fish Two Fish was one of my favorite rides in both of the parks...loved getting blasted by the water!

8. If you are able to, use the single rider lines (especially if you've already been through the normal queue). For instance, they ran out of single riders for Gringotts and was a complete walk-on if you were a single rider.

9. This was the biggest mistake I made all vacation: BEWARE OF STATIONARY SEATING IN MINION MAYHEM!!!! We rode it in the morning and even the 35 minute wait was a bit annoying and tiring. So we thought, "Oh, we can just do stationary seating sometime to see the movie again and it's a walk on". BAD IDEA! The stationary seating is so close to the huge screen and the seats obviously don't move with the movie. I -NEVER- get sick on rides. I rode Hulk, Dueling Dragons, and Rip Ride Rocket...all fine. All the simulator rides...fine. This stationary seating made me feel so sick. I had to put my head between my knees for most of it! IT WAS NOT WORTH IT.

10. The Simpson's Boulevard is great to go into and grab a snack if you're watching the radar and see that the weather is about to get horrible. We ate our food from Krusty Burger while waiting for the downpour to quit. It was smooth sailing from there.


Any questions and I'll try to answer.

 

[RMulieri]

I love Mama Dellas and the lasagna is TO DIE FOR..It is my favorite thing on the menu, and I have tried a lot of the stuff between sharing with DH and over the past few visits

 

[CTDisneyfan816]

After going to both WDW and DLR for the past four years, my DD27 and I decided to try Universal Orlando this year. Here are some of the highlights:

1. We took the Mears shared shuttle from the airport. Yes, it made some stops, but so does Magical Express. Loved the price. Our driver was very charming and pointed out some of the sights and gave some vacation tips during the drive.

2. We stayed at Cabana Bay for 6 nights and were happy with our choice. The resort is beautiful and fun. Housekeeping was great. The lazy river was awesome after a long, hot day in the parks. The last time we went to WDW we stayed at Pop Century. Cabana Bay is comparable to Pop, but a step up.

3. We were originally going to get 4-day tickets, and have one non-park day. We saw that Undercover Tourist had 3-park, 14-day unlimited tickets but we discovered this too late to have them sent to us. I asked about them at the ticket counter at Cabana Bay and they had them for sale there. The price wasn't much more than UT with their shipping added. These tickets allowed us to spread out the fun a bit as to not stress us out. This really helped because it was HOT!

4. We did not take advantage of EE to the HP areas. We decided to use that extra hour to sleep. We got to the parks by 9 and went to some of the headliners that weren't HP. We did not have long waits at all. Minions was the longest at 35 min. We went to the HP areas in the evening when wait times and temperatures were lower. One evening it was raining 20 min. before closing and DD rode FJ twice with a bench to herself.

5. Our favorite areas were Diagon Alley and Seussland. Our favorite shows were the Horror Make up show, and the animal actors show.

6. In the parks we ate at Mythos, Krusty burger, Leaky Cauldron, Boulangerie, San Francisco Pastry Co., Three Broomsticks, Starbucks, Starbucks, and Starbucks.

7. In Citywalk, we had happy hour at Emeril's, dinner at Red Oven Pizza, Hard Rock, Margaritaville, and Bubba Gump. Oh...and coffee at Starbucks.

8. In the resorts we ate at Bayliner Diner (Cabana Bay), and Mama Della's (Portofino). Mama Della's was one of our stand-out meals. Loved being serenaded while eating delicious Italian food.

We have been asked if we prefer Disney Parks or Universal. We both answered that they are both great for different reasons. More thrills at Universal, but more fun dark rides at Disney.

My view exactly, there are things about Disney and Universal I like equally. (I take it you like Starbucks! Me too).

 

[disneyseniors]

I'm her DD27 and wanted to add a bit of detail/pics.

1. I've stayed at Shades of Green, Port Orleans French Quarter, and POP at WDW and offsite for DLR. Cabana Bay was my favorite of all of those hotels. The lazy river, pools, and even Starbucks help it set itself apart from other hotels in the area. French Quarter was very compact, chill, and charming...Cabana Bay was nostalgic and full of energy!

2. The 3-park 14-day tickets were awesome! We didn't have to worry about bad weather and could sleep in. If we just did the 4 day tickets, I think we would've been stressed out to try and fit everything in, especially if we we would've had a few bad weather days.

3. I got the Mahi Mahi at Mythos and loved my meal! The service was fantastic and the setting was beautiful!

4. Mama Della's was my favorite meal. I did the reservation for it on my phone the day before which was a smart move, as they were completely booked the night we dined. Here's my lasagna:

5. Food I wasn't into: Fishy Green Ale...I really wanted to like this. I adore the Mint Julep at DLR, but this didn't taste close. When the blueberry orbs burst, it all tastes a bit like bubble gum. I'm one of the few that prefers regular Butterbeer over frozen...I could barely drink any of the frozen. We split a chocolate muffin from the Boulangerie and it was kinda dry...maybe a tad overcooked? It wasn't awful, but I've had better.

6. Happy Hour at Emeril's had a very limited selection of small plates. 4 to be exact. We got the ceviche and mushrooms and they were both stellar!

7. All parts of the parks were themed really well! Many fun photo opportunities! Springfield was a blast to walk around, as was Seussland and Diagon Alley. Do not miss the High in the Sky Trolley in Seuss as you get amazing views of the whole park from up there. One Fish Two Fish was one of my favorite rides in both of the parks...loved getting blasted by the water!

8. If you are able to, use the single rider lines (especially if you've already been through the normal queue). For instance, they ran out of single riders for Gringotts and was a complete walk-on if you were a single rider.

9. This was the biggest mistake I made all vacation: BEWARE OF STATIONARY SEATING IN MINION MAYHEM!!!! We rode it in the morning and even the 35 minute wait was a bit annoying and tiring. So we thought, "Oh, we can just do stationary seating sometime to see the movie again and it's a walk on". BAD IDEA! The stationary seating is so close to the huge screen and the seats obviously don't move with the movie. I -NEVER- get sick on rides. I rode Hulk, Dueling Dragons, and Rip Ride Rocket...all fine. All the simulator rides...fine. This stationary seating made me feel so sick. I had to put my head between my knees for most of it! IT WAS NOT WORTH IT.

10. The Simpson's Boulevard is great to go into and grab a snack if you're watching the radar and see that the weather is about to get horrible. We ate our food from Krusty Burger while waiting for the downpour to quit. It was smooth sailing from there.


Any questions and I'll try to answer.

Thank you so much for those great tips. I will beware of the stationary seating at the minions! I am waiting anxiously for the Minion ride, love the Minions All of the tips are great. We are going to the Studios side for the first time and can't wait

 

[hydrotony]

Thank you so much for those great tips. I will beware of the stationary seating at the minions! I am waiting anxiously for the Minion ride, love the Minions All of the tips are great. We are going to the Studios side for the first time and can't wait

The stationary seats for Shrek are also first row, bad. The Terminator stationary seats are central aisle, best.