Home for the Holidays-Wizards-Grinches and Sparkles. 14 nights @Royal Pacific Resort, Nov/Dec 2021

[schumigirl]

We also are struggling to wrap our heads around having to make reservations this far out. Will we need to make reservations for dinners at RPR as well? We were hoping to try the sushi at the lounge this trip but that all depends on how we are feeling any particular day.

It`s crazy isn`t it!! I agree, I have no clue what I want to eat tomorrow night, never mind weeks ahead of time.

We will arrive on a Wednesday, so at the moment, Orchids, Islands and Strong Water don`t open that night, so it`ll be Jake`s for us.....not that we don`t like it there, but would have preferred to walk over to Strong Water.

Won`t be making a reservation though. I don`t think the hotels are just as bad as the Citywalk restaurants, so we`ll wing it there.....

I cannot see them being full to be honest, I think you`ll be ok to get food from there no problems......

 

[disneyseniors]

Schumigirl:

I was wondering if you had time to answer a question for me? We have stayed at RPR and loved it; however, we are "newbies" to Universal. I guess we missed ALOT the last time we were there. So from now on, we are studying the Universal sites and making sure we take it all in.

We usually go to Florida at the end of Feb and first of March. That was to miss the Spring Breakers at WDW. Do you know if Universal has lots of spring breakers in March too? We love that time of year. Not too hot and usually just right in the 70's.
November and early December used to be our time to go to WDW too, and we loved that time of year. Is Universal really crowded at that time too?
I wonder if there are times to avoid, as at disney? I guess I have been trained by disney to avoid certain times of the year if possible. I've been used to disney's rigid scheduling of everything; and I don't miss all that at Universal.

If you haven't gone at those times, that's okay. I appreciate you taking the time to read this. Your posts are making me want to visit this March. We live in a snowy, cold climate so March is our getaway time

thanks so much,
ruth

 

[schumigirl]

Schumigirl:

I was wondering if you had time to answer a question for me? We have stayed at RPR and loved it; however, we are "newbies" to Universal. I guess we missed ALOT the last time we were there. So from now on, we are studying the Universal sites and making sure we take it all in.

We usually go to Florida at the end of Feb and first of March. That was to miss the Spring Breakers at WDW. Do you know if Universal has lots of spring breakers in March too? We love that time of year. Not too hot and usually just right in the 70's.
November and early December used to be our time to go to WDW too, and we loved that time of year. Is Universal really crowded at that time too?
I wonder if there are times to avoid, as at disney? I guess I have been trained by disney to avoid certain times of the year if possible. I've been used to disney's rigid scheduling of everything; and I don't miss all that at Universal.

If you haven't gone at those times, that's okay. I appreciate you taking the time to read this. Your posts are making me want to visit this March. We live in a snowy, cold climate so March is our getaway time

thanks so much,
ruth

Ruth......

We`ve been twice in March for Mardi Gras......between the 9th and 23rd and we didn`t find it too bad for crowds when we were there. I have no clue when the busy times are specifically for Spring Break crowds.....we decided to not go in March as it was a little too cool for us at times, so we extended our May trip a little longer.

As for Nov/Dec, we have gone 2017/18/19 around early December and it`s mixed. Some days were very busy, usually weekends, but it wasn`t as busy as we thought it was going to be. We do love that time of year with all the Holiday stuff going on. We love not having plan things too, I would hate if it became regimented the way Disney seems to have. We have fond memories of Disney in 07/08 in September when there was hardly anyone there.....lol.....hard to imagine now.

Christmas week itself is certainly a time I`d avoid. Before the pandemic we had friends who stayed a month over Christmas, but avoided the main days around 25th onwards in the parks.

I do imagine if you live somewhere really cold, you`ll love Orlando in March....it was always lovely through the day though.

I`m glad to see you here, and hope you enjoy reading and commenting along the way.....

 

[disneyseniors]

Ruth......

We`ve been twice in March for Mardi Gras......between the 9th and 23rd and we didn`t find it too bad for crowds when we were there. I have no clue when the busy times are specifically for Spring Break crowds.....we decided to not go in March as it was a little too cool for us at times, so we extended our May trip a little longer.

As for Nov/Dec, we have gone 2017/18/19 around early December and it`s mixed. Some days were very busy, usually weekends, but it wasn`t as busy as we thought it was going to be. We do love that time of year with all the Holiday stuff going on. We love not having plan things too, I would hate if it became regimented the way Disney seems to have. We have fond memories of Disney in 07/08 in September when there was hardly anyone there.....lol.....hard to imagine now.

Christmas week itself is certainly a time I`d avoid. Before the pandemic we had friends who stayed a month over Christmas, but avoided the main days around 25th onwards in the parks.

I do imagine if you live somewhere really cold, you`ll love Orlando in March....it was always lovely through the day though.

I`m glad to see you here, and hope you enjoy reading and commenting along the way.....

Thanks so much. It seems if you didn't notice spring break crowds then they must have been lower at Universal.
LOL, yes we live in extreme Northern Minnesota, 5 hours north of Minneapolis. So we get really cold, long winter, and we start dreaming of going to Florida in March
We usually went the first week of December and loved it, to disney world that is.
I guess I have to adjust my "disney" thinking when it comes to Universal!
Thanks for the helpful answers.

 

[schumigirl]

Thanks so much. It seems if you didn't notice spring break crowds then they must have been lower at Universal.
LOL, yes we live in extreme Northern Minnesota, 5 hours north of Minneapolis. So we get really cold, long winter, and we start dreaming of going to Florida in March
We usually went the first week of December and loved it, to disney world that is.
I guess I have to adjust my "disney" thinking when it comes to Universal!
Thanks for the helpful answers.

You`re so welcome.

Oh my goodness, you do get it cold up there!! You`re almost in Canada.

Don`t blame you for wanting to get to the sunshine as often as you can......of course I should have said, our trips were all pre pandemic, so I`m not sure what crowds were this year, seems most of the world now wants to get back travelling and where better than Florida!

But, having EP as we always do too, does help.

 

[schumigirl]

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Yes, we are down to 19 days till we leave (hopefully) for our overnight at the airport. I think this has been the shortest time ever to prepare for a trip, but as most things were in place, it`s not difficult, after 20+ trips to the USA, we have pretty much got everything down pat for trip planning.

Looking at reviews, we think we have decided to stay at the Radisson after all......someone we know stayed overnight last week, and said it was fine, restaurant was back to as good as it was before and he had a quiet stay which is what we want.....not that we sleep much the night before anyway, but.....still, we don`t like to be surrounded by chaos.

We`ll cancel the other hotel before the cutoff date.

This last week we have ploughed the minefield of sorting out which tests we need to have done for before and after the trip. The one going out is the worrying one of course, waiting for the results of that will be quite nerve wracking for sure, but we booked to have it before we leave rather than the airport walk through option as who wants to travel all the way up to the airport, to find you have to go all the way back home again.

On returning home, we need to test within 2 days, so we have ordered the home tests which will be waiting for us when we get back and you just email a picture of the result and it`s registered. They gave us a code when we ordered them, and 48 hours before we fly home we have to enter that number into passenger info on the Virgin Atlantic site, you won`t fly without it.

It`s been the most complicated of all our trips to organise because of the initial confusion of exactly what requirements we would need. But, showing Covid Vaccine proof certificates and making sure we have booked the correct tests were all we really needed to organise. We also have to fill in an Attestation form on the VA site too....but that`s after you have your initial Covid test result.

There have been a lot of very confused people with the amount of information being passed around.....and I don`t blame them as some of the info hasn`t always been the clearest.

I`m sure it`ll all be worth it when we get there.

And when we do get there unless opening hours change, Strong Water Bar and Orchids won`t be open as it`s a Wednesday.....we really did want to walk over to SW for dinner that first evening, but, we have a good alternative in Jake`s for dinner.

We do enjoy it in there and have never been disappointed with the food or service, so we are excited to eat there again......heck we`ll be excited to eat anywhere truth be told!!

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It really has one of the prettiest exteriors and you can also enjoy outdoor seating here too. You are directly underneath the hotel entrance bridge and many don`t know the water feature is there if they never venture down to Jake`s or walk past that area.

There are so many lovely food options here....I think over the last 13 years we have tasted every dish they offer.....except the pretzel rods for some reason.....everyone recommends them, but we`re not the biggest pretzel fans, maybe one day we`ll give them a try.

One of our favourites, and there are many favourite dishes, is the crawfish chowder......this is beautiful and definitely something we look forward to. We also love the pizzas and usually custom order to add pineapple and jalapenos which is not pizza to some folks......but we love it!!

Their wings are also very good, nice and spicy and the dip that comes with them is blue cheese, which we both despise with a passion......but the house made one here, it delicious and not at all like blue cheese. It`s also used in the Club Lounge too which is where we tried it for the first time.

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Giant sharing cocktails too are also very tempting!!!

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They don`t have a huge dessert menu, but off menu there is a flourless chocolate cake they will happily let you order. It is on the room service menu though....and it`s Kyle`s favourite after the chocolate cake from the Cheesecake Factory. This is his Flourless Chocolate cake, one of the most dense and rich cakes I`ve ever seen and this gets a 10/10 on Kyle`s chocolate dessert rankings.

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So, for a first night meal, we do have lots of options and not a bad way to spend an evening.

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[Pumpkin1172]

I understand about the testing travel requirements causing grief. I understand the " why" of doing it, but it just adds another layer of stress about timings/testing etc etc etc for the flight home.

I am hoping that by February it might look a little different - I'm not counting on it. I have a few testing kits for our flight home scoped out. I just adds little extra stress about traveling.

19 days - that will go by quickly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[schumigirl]

I understand about the testing travel requirements causing grief. I understand the " why" of doing it, but it just adds another layer of stress about timings/testing etc etc etc for the flight home.

I am hoping that by February it might look a little different - I'm not counting on it. I have a few testing kits for our flight home scoped out. I just adds little extra stress about traveling.

19 days - that will go by quickly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is so stressful for everyone.

I can`t see them getting rid of testing either, they`re making too much money out of them. We can have free testing kits from the NHS....but.....of course, for travel, they are not accepted, it has to be one of the "paid for" types. I think many feel it`s all about the money here......

I hope it does go quickly......this past year has genuinely flown by, but I`ll bet the next almost 3 weeks will drag.......always the way!!

 

[Magicbeans]

Here is to everything going well for you. We leave for a week stay on Sunday. USA based, so a bit easier for us. We also will be staying at RP. This is our first Universal trip.

 

[schumigirl]

Here is to everything going well for you. We leave for a week stay on Sunday. USA based, so a bit easier for us. We also will be staying at RP. This is our first Universal trip.

along Magicbeans......

Thank you, we certainly hope so too.

I`m quite jealous.....I`d love to experience Universal for the first time again, especially with all they offer now. I do hope you and your family enjoy everything in the parks.

And we adore everything about Royal Pacific......definitely our home from home, so I hope you love it too......and you leave Sunday? Oh please come back and let us know how it was for you......hope you love it.......

Good to see you here......

 

[kbelle8995]

I love the Christmas Decorations at Universal. Also really love Royal Pacific. Such a great hotel

And your food photos are making me hungry

 

[schumigirl]

I love the Christmas Decorations at Universal. Also really love Royal Pacific. Such a great hotel

And your food photos are making me hungry

lol....yes, not so good when you`re hungry and seeing all the beautiful food!

The decorations are wonderful at Universal and the RP tree is one of the nicest ones of the onsite hotels. Yes, it is an amazing hotel.

 

[Chickinvic]

Oh my goodness, you do get it cold up there!! You`re almost in Canada.

Actually, where that poster is from is colder than much of Canada. Here on the west coast (I'm in Victoria, BC), we rarely get below freezing. Don't get "real" winter. Just gray and drizzly/wet winters.

I hope you enjoy your trip! Can't wait to keep reading.

 

[schumigirl]

Actually, where that poster is from is colder than much of Canada. Here on the west coast (I'm in Victoria, BC), we rarely get below freezing. Don't get "real" winter. Just gray and drizzly/wet winters.

I hope you enjoy your trip! Can't wait to keep reading.

back Chickinvic.......good to see you here!

Yes, BC seems to be quite temperate in comparison to some places in Canada........oh yes, grey drizzly weather sounds like the UK for the most part. I think I could deal with BC.......looks beautiful there.

Thank you, we are cautiously excited.......lol.......hope you enjoy it too

 

[schumigirl]

​

Yep, all of a sudden we`re down to 2 weeks till we hopefully fly on the 24th.

This week has been full of ups and downs with sorting out the Antigen tests we need before we fly. We had ordered and paid for them, but when the confirmation came through, it mentioned the results weren`t within the hour completely disregarding the info on the test we ordered, it claimed it could be up till Midnight. Not what we ordered.

Called the number of the original firm after a looooooong wait.....only for her to tell me we technically weren`t booked with them as it was a clinic location so the booking was with the other firm now, despite us having to go through their site to book it......the lady was incredibly dismissive and eventually after a long and not very friendly discussion she did actually tell me to me to have a nice day.........

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Yes, I will cut my nose off to spite my face at times!!!

Roll on almost 7 hours over 3 days trying to get through to the other crowd on the phone, many, many emails that have been ignored and I`m left with a general annoyance at how time consuming it has been.

Meanwhile we have ordered another 2 Antigen tests from a company that will supervise you doing the test over a zoom meeting and you definitely get the result and fit to fly certificate (if negative of course) within 15 minutes. They have been excellent in communication and the kits we ordered arrived as promised today.

Meanwhile we have alerted the credit card company we were sold something that wasn`t as advertised and basically.......go get em.........might not be any use, but they will certainly look into it. It`s only £100 ($135) not exactly a lot of money, but it`s the principle of it.

In other news, we have added a dining reservation.......can`t quite believe we now have 3 reservations when we don`t usually have any. But our first full day is Thanksgiving, so we decided to book the Thanksgiving Buffet at Sapphire Falls for the afternoon.

We did look at Islands Dining Room Thanksgiving offerings, but there were a few additions in Sapphire`s offerings we just liked the sound of more. So, reservation made. We loved the Mothers Day Brunch in 2019 in Sapphire, so if it`s half as good as that one, I`m sure we`ll love it, the menu looks lovely and both menu`s were excellent to be fair, but we are so looking forward to enjoying our first Thanksgiving Dinner in the USA.

As we never plan, so far we haven`t even thought about any lunch reservations in the park as we have no clue what we`ll be doing on any given day. So, as always, we`ll wake up and decide what we`re doing and if we can book a lunch somewhere, we`ll do that....if nothing is available we`ll go offsite for lunch, there are a million places to eat close by.

One place we do like over and above any other park restaurant is Confisco Grille. It`s one place we always enjoy several times on trips and it never disappoints with food or service.

We`ve enjoyed many meals with friends here too, it`s ideal as it never gets too loud

They changed their menu in 2019 and added several dishes that we now consider our old favourites.......

Sweet and sour Sticky wings with goats cheese polenta

Chicken and shrimp Pad Thai

Pork Belly BanhMi sandwich

Caesar Salad with chicken

Trader Wings

Classic Burger with fries

So this is a place we do enjoy and will make sure we eat here at least once every trip, if we need to book, then we`ll try and work round that......although not convinced I want to plan that much.

One of the many things we love about Universal Orlando resort is the lack of planning necessary to have a lot of fun and to be able to eat what you like, when you like. So, I`m hoping this planning lark won`t last too long....I understand staffing issues and so on, but I do yearn for an easy time on vacation.

I`m sure it`ll be fine and we won`t starve.

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[SCSabresfan]

We also enjoy Confisco! We always skipped it until we read one of your reviews. We tried it on the next trip and it now is on the list of must-do every trip!

 

[schumigirl]

We also enjoy Confisco! We always skipped it until we read one of your reviews. We tried it on the next trip and it now is on the list of must-do every trip!

I am so glad to hear that.

It really is a fabulous place, and I used to read folks say they hadn`t even heard of it and must have walked past it every time.......lol.....

Yes, it`s one of those places that makes you want to go back again and again, glad you enjoyed it so much.

 

[shh]

So, as always, we`ll wake up and decide what we`re doing and if we can book a lunch somewhere, we`ll do that....if nothing is available we`ll go offsite for lunch, there are a million places to eat close by.

Yup. Can't imagine booking the day and time of a meal 6-12 months in advance, although I know a lot of people do it. We just wing it. But I guess that's much easier as a couple vs a big family.

 

[Pumpkin1172]

Actually, where that poster is from is colder than much of Canada. Here on the west coast (I'm in Victoria, BC), we rarely get below freezing. Don't get "real" winter. Just gray and drizzly/wet winters.

You are very lucky on the west coast!!! We get cold winters here in northern Alberta...but not as cold as Saskatchewan or Winterpeg lol!!!! I will call home lots of times, and they are colder than us here. Plus I'm also close to the rockies, so we get chinook weather like Calgary, just not as warm.

Roll on almost 7 hours over 3 days trying to get through to the other crowd on the phone, many, many emails that have been ignored and I`m left with a general annoyance at how time consuming it has been.

Meanwhile we have ordered another 2 Antigen tests from a company that will supervise you doing the test over a zoom meeting and you definitely get the result and fit to fly certificate (if negative of course) within 15 minutes. They have been excellent in communication and the kits we ordered arrived as promised today.

I'm glad you have that sorted. The test going out is easy to find here, I think I've got a few places found in the Orlando/Miami areas where we will be to get out test coming home.

It's great you booked some of your dining. And let's cross our fingers that this reservation stuff is short lived for Universal. That's why so many people like universal, that you can just do as you want...and not worry about reservations and what not.

Only 14 more day!!!! It's coming fast now!!!!

 

[schumigirl]

Yup. Can't imagine booking the day and time of a meal 6-12 months in advance, although I know a lot of people do it. We just wing it. But I guess that's much easier as a couple vs a big family.

lol...it`s crazy isn`t it!

I cannot imagine that type of planning, even the thought of reserving a couple of weeks ahead makes me twitch......so I won`t run with it.....if we end up eating offsite more, that`s ok with us......