Just Booked! USO rookie/USH vet....questions

[GatorChris]

I can't believe it. I'm flying to Orlando...and not doing WDW??? Crazy. But after having to Covid-cancel a trip to TENN, I wanted to do something fun with the kids. And they loved going to US-Hollywood last year. Very cool place. We loved the vibe, rides, service, and Harry Potter. Now we're ready to do that on a much bigger scale. So I've got questions and I'm open to advice and tips. We're booked for a week in October at Cabana bay with the package. We got the 3 park 4 day tickets (on special!). So we'll have 4 park days and 2 whatever days while staying in a suite at Cabana Bay.

Dining quick-service plan looks good. Meal, snack, and a drink (frosty butterbeer of course!). What do you guys think? Seems worth it.

Gluten-free dining: my wife has Celiac Disease, so any experience with this at the park would be great.

Cabana Bay: should I be asking for a particular section? We have an exterior pool view.

Parks: We arrive on a Saturday. But I'm thinking of doing something else on Sunday and doing the parks Mon-Thur. Smart?

Lines: What are those like in a C19 world?

Extras: We're thinking of doing Cape Kennedy Space Museum one day. Any good? And is there a good beach on the Atlantic side we should hit? The gulf side seems a bit too far, though I've heard good things about Tampa-StPete.

 

[macraven]

I have a ten night stay at RP and will be at UO during your time period

Should be a decent time to be there at UO.

I have a sticky that lists info for contact for UO for dietary needs
check it out and call before your trip!

there are some peeps that have food restrictions and if you contact the TM in advance, they can guide you for places in the park that will be available for you for your dietary needs

I arrive on a Saturday but going to stay hanging around the hotels as Saturday tends to be a day many go to the parks
I plan to be in thr lark Sunday
Will hang around the hotel and city walk most of Saturday

the menus do have gluten free for some items but I am not sure which places can honor that

contact thefood service link I have in the sticky thread

if you can’t find it send me a pm and I will try to get info to you

 

[schumigirl]

I can't believe it. I'm flying to Orlando...and not doing WDW??? Crazy. But after having to Covid-cancel a trip to TENN, I wanted to do something fun with the kids. And they loved going to US-Hollywood last year. Very cool place. We loved the vibe, rides, service, and Harry Potter. Now we're ready to do that on a much bigger scale. So I've got questions and I'm open to advice and tips. We're booked for a week in October at Cabana bay with the package. We got the 3 park 4 day tickets (on special!). So we'll have 4 park days and 2 whatever days while staying in a suite at Cabana Bay.

Dining quick-service plan looks good. Meal, snack, and a drink (frosty butterbeer of course!). What do you guys think? Seems worth it.

Gluten-free dining: my wife has Celiac Disease, so any experience with this at the park would be great.

Cabana Bay: should I be asking for a particular section? We have an exterior pool view.

Parks: We arrive on a Saturday. But I'm thinking of doing something else on Sunday and doing the parks Mon-Thur. Smart?

Lines: What are those like in a C19 world?

Extras: We're thinking of doing Cape Kennedy Space Museum one day. Any good? And is there a good beach on the Atlantic side we should hit? The gulf side seems a bit too far, though I've heard good things about Tampa-StPete.

We love New Smyrna Beach.

Cocoa Beach is also very nice.

We’ve gone to both coasts and find the Atlantic side just as nice, and we’ve gone a couple of times to NSB and it’s been flat calm amd others it’s a surfers paradise.

 

[bchbetha]

-dining plan isn't for me usually. Portions are often so big that we split meals (what are you going to do with leftovers all day in the park, right?). I like flexibility too (like just snack the day away vs meals). The good news is that you don't have to pre-purchase it. You can simply buy it at the cash register at a restaurant. Though not sure how it works now with mobile ordering. I recommend reading the menus and start thinking about how you'd eat/what you'd order.
-so long as you have a pool view at CB you're in good shape. I prefer the towers with an interior hall but everyone is different.
-Kennedy Space Center is awesome. You need to get there in the morning and hit the bus tour ASAP. That's where the good stuff is and you can actually miss out if you don't plan well.
-Canaveral National Seashore is a wonderful beach area. Totally natural- just the beach and some parking spaces. Very minimal facilities so plan accordingly (no concessions...). It is such a great change of pace from a commercial beach area and it's worth a visit https://www.nps.gov/cana/index.htm

You're going to love the Harry Potter areas. Diagon Alley is fantastic!

 

[DoryGirl1963]

We had an exterior pool view last year at CBBR & loved it! We actually prefer rooms that open directly to the outside. View- wise there's no big differences - all three buildings surround the slide pool. Depends if you want to be closer to the lobby. We prefer to minimize folks walking past our room going to & fro, so our room at the far end of the Castaway building was great for us. Thunderbird will be the furthest walk to the front/lobby area, but only by maybe an extra minute max. Maybe request "close to lobby" to be put in a closer room in Starlight or Castaway if that's important to you.

Definitely recommend Mon- Thurs for the parks - the difference between weekdays & weekends is night & day right now.

We really enjoyed CBBR very much & the bus service is fantastic. It has a very fun, funky vibe & energetic atmosphere - hope you have an awesome visit !

 

[GatorChris]

-Kennedy Space Center is awesome. You need to get there in the morning and hit the bus tour ASAP. That's where the good stuff is and you can actually miss out if you don't plan well.

You're going to love the Harry Potter areas. Diagon Alley is fantastic!

Looks like the bus tour at the Space Center isn't operating. But then, I AM going while C19 is still running free.

 

[bchbetha]

Looks like the bus tour at the Space Center isn't operating. But then, I AM going while C19 is still running free.

I was worried about that. It's still cool. Another fun outing nearby is the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Merritt_Island/visit/plan_your_visit.html

 

[nkereina]

Dining quick-service plan looks good. Meal, snack, and a drink (frosty butterbeer of course!). What do you guys think? Seems worth it.

Unlike Disney, you don't need to purchase Universal's dining plan in advance. You can choose to purchase it at any point of sale if/when it makes sense for you. For example, when we ate at Three Broomsticks, the employee recommended we purchase the dining plan because what we were ordering fell within it and would be a couple bucks cheaper on the plan. By doing this, we also got additional drink credits to use any time before our trip was over. So, after that, we just did the math going while looking at menus and bought it only when it made sense.

Also, just FYI that any Butterbeer is considered a snack credit on the QS dining plan.

Cabana Bay: should I be asking for a particular section? We have an exterior pool view.

I've never stayed, but I believe the Americana section is closest to the walking path to the Volcano Bay entrance if you plan to visit there, especially more than once.

Parks: We arrive on a Saturday. But I'm thinking of doing something else on Sunday and doing the parks Mon-Thur. Smart?

I would say so! Weekends have definitely been the busiest.

Extras: We're thinking of doing Cape Kennedy Space Museum one day. Any good? And is there a good beach on the Atlantic side we should hit? The gulf side seems a bit too far, though I've heard good things about Tampa-StPete.

Cocoa Beach would be closest to Cape Canaveral. Its about 65 miles, just over an hour drive. Traffic around the Orlando area is always busy, but we find it to get noticeably less busy the closer we get to the Space Coast. But, in October, I would be concerned that the Atlantic waters could be pretty rough, especially if there's tropical storms or hurricanes somewhere. The water is usually cooler by then too. Even though its a longer drive and busier traffic, we like the Gulf beaches better. Clearwater Beach is my favorite - that's about 100 miles and about an 1 hr 45 - 2 hour drive, depending on when you're coming and going. But, you can easily park the car and not need it again until you leave. Tons of shopping and dining right in the vicinity of the beach.