Love is “Universal”: Our Awesome Anniversary Adventures in Orlando (May 2015 TR)

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Super duper cute swimsuit, Gina!!

Thank you!

 

[ArwenMarie]

This trip report is making me very hungry!

That's so weird about the mac and cheese, that's a relatively easy dish to make from scratch. Everything looked yummy though!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

This trip report is making me very hungry!

That's so weird about the mac and cheese, that's a relatively easy dish to make from scratch. Everything looked yummy though!

lol! We took an embarrassingly large amount of food photos. And we haven't even come to the best of them yet .

I agree on the mac and cheese....that's what surprised me about it. I guess I just expected more from the pasta dish when so much time and effort was quite obviously devoted to the meats. I guess we know what they thought was the most important!!

For the record, though, I have been known to eat Stouffers mac 'n cheese on occasion....usually when I'm feeling too lazy to cook .

 

[momof2gr8kids]

I love your trip reports Gina! It was reading your offsite non Disney reports that got me excited for our recent trip ..and got us our cheap seaworld/aquatic passes last BF sale!

While I was skimming through I saw fresh Tim Hortons coffee and thought wth - where did you get that?? Then realized you made your own. Man, what I wouldn't have given for a Timmies drive through several times when we were down there. LOL

 

[Monykalyn]

http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/15_sand_key.htm We went here with the kids on our last trip-when you are ready for the Gulf side...

I love Ihop pancakes and I am NOT a pancake fan-maybe it's the assortment of syrups?? We have a diner by us that is our go-to for breakfast though-If you ever find yourself near Branson MO (we are about 45 min north) let me know-you foodies would love it. We also have lots of BBQ places-friend of ours who owns BBQ joint wins competitions all over the place-even won world champion for potato salad in Las Vegas last year. I actually have Hog Heaven marked as a stop if we make it that way next month

GREAT beach pictures-can almost hear the waves crashing...

 

[nancipants]

Oh my goodness, you did barbecue and all you can eat meat on the same day?! My tummy aches just thinking of it! LOL! I'm looking forward to your review as we've never eaten there...yet.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

The weather seems perfect this trip.

We are planning on returning to Cocoa Beach in July and also going to another one as well. I was thinking New Symrna beach or Clearwater. We went to Honeymoon Island last time and that was beautiful white sand and blue seas.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Double post!

 

[mrsabbott]

Hubs absolutely adores BBQ! When he went to Orlando for that job interview a few months back, his brother took him to a really, really good BBQ place but I can't remember the name now. I'll have to ask him. He said it was some of the best BBQ he's ever had. I'll mention Hog Heaven to him as a potential stop. Just because the kids and I don't eat meat, I still like to make sure he gets to splurge..

I love GFS mac n' cheese. It is my absolute favorite but I never got it often because the closest GFS store is in Louisville. It just so happens that, at my last trip to GFS, I found out that the Stoeffer's and GFS mac n' cheese is the exact same... just different packaging! I was thrilled that I could get it at my local grocery store! A lot of local restaurants around here use GFS sides and stuff. I guess the BBQ place was more concerned with the BBQ being unique than the sides.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I love your trip reports Gina! It was reading your offsite non Disney reports that got me excited for our recent trip ..and got us our cheap seaworld/aquatic passes last BF sale!

While I was skimming through I saw fresh Tim Hortons coffee and thought wth - where did you get that?? Then realized you made your own. Man, what I wouldn't have given for a Timmies drive through several times when we were down there. LOL

We have often suggested that as our early retirement plan....opening a chain of Tim Hortons coffee shops in central Florida: one in Lake Buena Vista, one on I-Drive, one in Kissimmee......with all the Canadians who travel down south, we figure we'd be millionaires within 5 years . If only we had the financial resources to cover the start-up fees!

http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/15_sand_key.htm We went here with the kids on our last trip-when you are ready for the Gulf side...

I love Ihop pancakes and I am NOT a pancake fan-maybe it's the assortment of syrups?? We have a diner by us that is our go-to for breakfast though-If you ever find yourself near Branson MO (we are about 45 min north) let me know-you foodies would love it. We also have lots of BBQ places-friend of ours who owns BBQ joint wins competitions all over the place-even won world champion for potato salad in Las Vegas last year. I actually have Hog Heaven marked as a stop if we make it that way next month

GREAT beach pictures-can almost hear the waves crashing...

This was actually the first of TWO barbecue stops on our trip....and the second one was even better.....stay tuned for more!!

And thanks for that link to the gulf beach. We were going to take a pass on a beach day on our upcoming October trip, but you guys are making a good case for a day on the gulf coast .

Oh my goodness, you did barbecue and all you can eat meat on the same day?! My tummy aches just thinking of it! LOL! I'm looking forward to your review as we've never eaten there...yet.

We are gluttons for punishment .... or maybe just gluttons!

The weather seems perfect this trip.

We are planning on returning to Cocoa Beach in July and also going to another one as well. I was thinking New Symrna beach or Clearwater. We went to Honeymoon Island last time and that was beautiful white sand and blue seas.

Our weather was stunning. I cannot say how much we enjoyed the May temperatures. And literally, throughout the week we had under 10 minutes of rain......over the entire week. It was sunny and comfy and simply perfect. I don't know what we did to deserve such spectacular treatment from Mother Nature, but let me tell you....I owe her a HUGE thank you!

Hubs absolutely adores BBQ! When he went to Orlando for that job interview a few months back, his brother took him to a really, really good BBQ place but I can't remember the name now. I'll have to ask him. He said it was some of the best BBQ he's ever had. I'll mention Hog Heaven to him as a potential stop. Just because the kids and I don't eat meat, I still like to make sure he gets to splurge..

I love GFS mac n' cheese. It is my absolute favorite but I never got it often because the closest GFS store is in Louisville. It just so happens that, at my last trip to GFS, I found out that the Stoeffer's and GFS mac n' cheese is the exact same... just different packaging! I was thrilled that I could get it at my local grocery store! A lot of local restaurants around here use GFS sides and stuff. I guess the BBQ place was more concerned with the BBQ being unique than the sides.

Was the place your hubs went to possibly Bubbalous? We visited there on this trip, too, and OMG.....soooooo good! Better than Hog Heaven! Stay tuned for that review with pics! .

 

[Lynne G]

Yep, both the boy and I like BBQ - the little one, chicken fingers and fries. No BBQ for her - ever. It's a good thing the BBQ place near us has little one food choices. Had some great brisket last night. And yeah, their mac and cheese is also not one to write home about. Their mashed potatoes though, very good.

Great pictures of the beach. Have to say, we are Gulf beach fans more than the Atlantic side. When the kids were young, we vacationed the second week of December (still low season prices) at a condo on Sanibel Island. Beautiful island not far from St. Pete's.

 

[BonnieP]

Hello Gina,
I'm a long time member of the "Dis", just haven't posted much over the (15) years... My Grandmother was born near Peterborough, Ontario, so that "sort of" makes me a Canadian.. We live not far from the border and spend much of the summer at the 1000 Islands (5 miles from the Bridge).

I have enjoyed reading your past pre-trip and trip reports, especially your Orlando day trips, restaurants and now your Universal stories. We have yet to visit Universal, trying to get DH to go. I'm not into coasters, but I want to see Harry Potter . He thinks we won't get our money's worth if we don't do the (most) rides. At Disney, I will do Big Thunder Mountain, but that's my extent of coasters... No simulators!!!

You have mentioned visiting St. Augustine. That is a great town for restaurants, beaches, quaint downtown and shopping (2 outlet malls right at Rt95). We drive to Florida (Jan-Feb, we also had a brutal winter!) and St. Augustine is our 2nd night's stay for 4-5 days. Our neighbors (here at home) have a winter house in St. Augustine so we stay with them and then they come and stay in our rental house. We usually rent houses while we are in Kissimmee. It's a 2 1/2 hour drive (via Rt95 + Rt4) from their place. You would need a few days to enjoy the area. We usually take the coast road and then work our way over to Orlando.

Our new favorite Florida town is New Smyrna Beach . There are mostly all local restaurants (which we like) and a nice little downtown to walk around.

We are always looking for new restaurants to try and you have given me some new choices. We also enjoy Sweet Tomatoes!

Sorry for such a long post....just wanted to say, "keep the reviews coming"!

 

[BonnieP]

Hello Gina,
I'm a long-time member of the "Dis", just haven't posted much over the (15) years... My Grandmother was born in Peterborough, Ontario, so that "sort of" makes me a Canadian... We live not far from the border and also spend much of the summer at the 1000 Islands (5 miles from the Bridge).

I have enjoyed your past pre-trip and trip reports, especially your Orlando day trips, restaurants and now your Universal stories. We have yet to visit Universal, trying to get DH to go. I'm not into coasters, but I want to see "Harry Potter" . He thinks we won't get our money's worth if we don't do (most) the rides. At Disney I will do Big Thunder Mountain, but that's my extent of coasters... No simulator rides!!!

You have mentioned visiting St. Augustine. That is a great town for restaurants, beaches, quaint downtown and shopping (2 outlet malls right at RT95). We drive to Florida (Jan-Feb, we also had a brutal winter!) and St. Augustine is our 2nd night's stay for 4-5 days. Our neighbors (here at home) have a winter home there, so we stay with them and then they come and stay at our rental house for a couple of days. We usually rent houses while we are in Kissimmee. It's a 2 1/2 hour drive (via RT95 + RT4) from their house. You would need a few days to enjoy the area. We like to take the coast road and then work our way over to Orlando.

Our new favorite Florida town is New Smyrna Beach . It has many (local) restaurants, which we like and a nice beach and downtown to walk around.

We are always looking for new restaurants and activities to try. You have given me some new choices. We also enjoy Sweet Tomatoes.

Sorry for such a long post........just wanted to say, "keep the reviews coming!"

 

[schumigirl]

Oh I adore a good bbq place Gina.........we are hitting Bubbalous this year again........now that is the cheapest place to eat ever!!! But
the food is so good!!! Smokey Bones has various sauces on the table too......one was nicer than the other....you would like it there.....being similar meataraians....lol......

Looking forward to hearing what you think of The Knife........we saw it last year but didn`t know anyone who had been.......

 

[BonnieP]

Well, that is how long it has been since I posted.......I posted it twice (ha), sorry about that... I thought I lost it, so I retyped it...

 

[JaxDad]

You have mentioned visiting St. Augustine. That is a great town for restaurants, beaches, quaint downtown and shopping (2 outlet malls right at Rt95).

Hi Gina! I think we've exchanged posts on your consideration of spending time at St. Augustine in the future. It is our day-trip of choice, and we will even occasionally spend the night there for a sort of mini-vacation. As BonnieP said, it is a good 2 1/2 hour drive from the Orlando area, so it would not be a good day trip from there. You would probably want to fit it in at the beginning or end of one of your Orlando trips and stay downtown or out at the beach. You could easily fill a couple fun days there. Please let me kow if you ever need more information.

I'm enjoing your trip report!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Yep, both the boy and I like BBQ - the little one, chicken fingers and fries. No BBQ for her - ever. It's a good thing the BBQ place near us has little one food choices. Had some great brisket last night. And yeah, their mac and cheese is also not one to write home about. Their mashed potatoes though, very good.

Great pictures of the beach. Have to say, we are Gulf beach fans more than the Atlantic side. When the kids were young, we vacationed the second week of December (still low season prices) at a condo on Sanibel Island. Beautiful island not far from St. Pete's.

Brisket is one of my faves, too! Had some at Bubbalous this past trip and it was mouth-watering. Baked beans are my go-to side when we eat barbecue.....they're not green, but the count as a veggie still, right?

Hello Gina,
I'm a long time member of the "Dis", just haven't posted much over the (15) years... My Grandmother was born near Peterborough, Ontario, so that "sort of" makes me a Canadian.. We live not far from the border and spend much of the summer at the 1000 Islands (5 miles from the Bridge).

I have enjoyed reading your past pre-trip and trip reports, especially your Orlando day trips, restaurants and now your Universal stories. We have yet to visit Universal, trying to get DH to go. I'm not into coasters, but I want to see Harry Potter . He thinks we won't get our money's worth if we don't do the (most) rides. At Disney, I will do Big Thunder Mountain, but that's my extent of coasters... No simulators!!!

You have mentioned visiting St. Augustine. That is a great town for restaurants, beaches, quaint downtown and shopping (2 outlet malls right at Rt95). We drive to Florida (Jan-Feb, we also had a brutal winter!) and St. Augustine is our 2nd night's stay for 4-5 days. Our neighbors (here at home) have a winter house in St. Augustine so we stay with them and then they come and stay in our rental house. We usually rent houses while we are in Kissimmee. It's a 2 1/2 hour drive (via Rt95 + Rt4) from their place. You would need a few days to enjoy the area. We usually take the coast road and then work our way over to Orlando.

Our new favorite Florida town is New Smyrna Beach . There are mostly all local restaurants (which we like) and a nice little downtown to walk around.

We are always looking for new restaurants to try and you have given me some new choices. We also enjoy Sweet Tomatoes!

Sorry for such a long post....just wanted to say, "keep the reviews coming"!

Welcome, BonnieP! Glad to have you reading along.

Very cool about your Canadian connections. We are only about an hour or so from Peterborough....I have a niece and nephew who live there. My son and his girlfriend just went shopping this past weekend at Lansdowne Place. Its a small world!

Oh I adore a good bbq place Gina.........we are hitting Bubbalous this year again........now that is the cheapest place to eat ever!!! But
the food is so good!!! Smokey Bones has various sauces on the table too......one was nicer than the other....you would like it there.....being similar meataraians....lol......

Looking forward to hearing what you think of The Knife........we saw it last year but didn`t know anyone who had been.......

Bubbalous was silly cheap. And the staff were so friendly! Did you go to the one on Conroy Road? (I know there are a couple of them in the area)

Not sure if we will do Bubbalous again in October, or give Smokey Bones a whirl. You have piqued my interest!!

Well, that is how long it has been since I posted.......I posted it twice (ha), sorry about that... I thought I lost it, so I retyped it...

lol, no worries!!

Hi Gina! I think we've exchanged posts on your consideration of spending time at St. Augustine in the future. It is our day-trip of choice, and we will even occasionally spend the night there for a sort of mini-vacation. As BonnieP said, it is a good 2 1/2 hour drive from the Orlando area, so it would not be a good day trip from there. You would probably want to fit it in at the beginning or end of one of your Orlando trips and stay downtown or out at the beach. You could easily fill a couple fun days there. Please let me kow if you ever need more information.

I'm enjoing your trip report!

See, 2 or 3 hours each way still seems day-tripable to me. I guess because its not driving through snow or other inclement weather. We have made many the trip that far with the boy and his buddies just for them to play a basketball game, then return home. In the winter, no less! But maybe we'll just plan on adding a few days to the beginning or end of a future trip, with St. Augustine as our destination for those extra dates. We'll get there....someday!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Saturday, May 2nd: the final instalment.

Fresh from my nap (you know, that’s something I *never* do at home……how restful and indulgent did I feel! ), we changed clothes and readied ourselves for dinner at the Knife. We were rather of unsure of exactly what to wear: it appeared to be a little more upscale than the multitude of casual establishments that we had on the balance of our itinerary, yet we didn’t exactly bring any formal wear with us in our suitcases. Hoping to find a suitable middle ground, I switched out my purple Ron Jon’s T for a nicer blouse, Steve wore a collared shirt, and we headed out to the Crossroads for our late-ish meal. Night was already falling and darkness was setting in.



Arriving at the Knife, first impressions were quiet good….it seemed rather classy and the décor was quite elegant. Noisy, yes, but otherwise nice. Servers were well dressed in matching black suits and we were seated by a manager immediately upon arrival. As we were taken to our table, he asked if it was our first time dining there, and when we said yes, he asked how we heard about them (then rattled off “Groupon? Livingsocial? Travelzoo?” … apparently most patrons must be there with some sort of discount? ). We told him we had purchased a Groupon for a meal for two, and after seating us he indicated our server would be over to take our drink order within a few moments.

True to his word, a young male waiter came over and gave us a quick explanation of how the buffet worked, and what inclusions were part of the meal. Several of the drink options were alcoholic, but since Steve was driving and I don’t generally partake in alcohol (I have nothing against drinking, it’s just not something I particularly enjoy) we opted for the bottomless soft drinks. He actually seemed a bit annoyed at our selections, making a flip comment about “shall I call you a cab now, then?” as he left to fetch our beverages. Perhaps he was trying to be funny, but it came off more as snide .

He returned a few minute later with our beverages and a small basket of warm bread, seemingly past his disappointment in our drink order. He gave us a very fast run-down of the buffet. Basically: hot and cold, all we care to enjoy, go help yourselves. The small menu of meat options from the grill was whisked away, despite the fact that I had hoped he would leave it on the table for us to reference during the meal.

Heading up to the buffet, there was a separate and expansive selection of cold items (salads, meats, etc.) but nothing was labelled. Being an Argentinian buffet, many of the items were not easily identifiable, so we were hesitant to try them (me especially….if I’m going to eat it, I want to know what it is first ) . There was one dish that looked okay, and we narrowed it down to either a cheese product or a quiche….but which one was it? Or was it something totally different? We watched several people ask the staff about one item or another, but the answers came in half English/have Spanish coupled with a very heavy accent leaving most people more confused than before they inquired.

Steve built a small plate from the salad bar, but let’s face it….that man was there for the fire-grilled meat, so over we went to the wood fired grill. Small metal plates were provided there to take your selections back to your table. Again, nothing was labelled….there was no list of your options hanging on a wall….it was up to you to figure out what the barbecued piece of meat might be. Some things I knew I wanted to avoid at all costs….like the blood sausage (gag! )….and some of the beef and pork were hard to distinguish after being grilled over the open fire. Again, many people asked but the answers were hard to translate from Spanish. They really, REALLY need to work on their English. The other major annoyance? The cooks were rushing people past, rather than allowing you to pick more than one piece of meat at a time, so we felt awkward when they moved on to the next guest when we really also wanted a piece of chicken, or a piece of pork, in addition to that slice of steak that we asked for first. Maybe we're odd, but we wanted a little bit of several things from that first pass through, not just one chunck of steak and be gone.



A select few hot items, namely baked potatoes and grilled vegetables, were also on the hot buffet.

Back at our table, we got started on the first round of food that we were able to get from the grill before being hurried away by the chefs. Most of it was pretty good, but some of the beef was too tough to eat and there was a considerable amount of fat on some of the steak that needed to be cut away. The grilled corn was very much undercooked, and neither of us could eat it.



As we ate and discussed how rushed we felt at the grill, one of the managers/owners started going to random tables where he would sit down in an empty chair and begin belting out a song in Spanish. Some of the patrons seemed to love it, others looked mortified. Steve promptly declared that if he found his way over to our corner of the room and begin to serenade us he would punch him in the nose . It was just an odd thing to be happening (and quite honestly, disruptive), and felt very out of place.

Just when we thought the Spanish Serenade was strange, out of the back appeared a balloon lady wearing a balloon hat that was as tall as she was. She too made her way to random tables (mostly those with children) and began to make balloon creation for the little guests. Not a bad idea, and probably certainly appreciated by those parents, but it felt rather unsuited for a finer dining establishment. Also, now not only was our meal punctuated with boisterous song, but also by popping balloons as her creations took an unfortunate turn.

It was like this place was having an identity crisis. Was it an upscale restaurant, or semi-controlled chaos? Some of their “entertainment” just didn’t seem to fit.

When we had almost decided we’d had our fill of protein (Steve went back to the buffet for more meat a couple of times, I just stole from his plate when he came back….I didn’t want to deal with the dismissive grill men any more) our server came by and asked if we wanted any hot accompaniments. Mashed potatoes, sweet potato fries, regular fries, etc? Well, that would have been lovely…..half an hour or more ago . Why didn’t he offer that at the beginning of our meal? Steve had him bring some mashed potatoes, which were good, but we didn’t finish them because by this point, we just weren’t that hungry.

Except for dessert. We saved room for that.

Dessert was also included with the meal, and each person was entitled to one selection from their pretty extensive dessert menu. Taking our cue that we were ready for the final course, our server came by with the menu that outlined our choices. Some were pretty mainstream, others had a decidedly Argentinian flair. I was considering trying the flan, but when I inquired as to what the ingredients in it were, our waiter didn’t have a clue how it waas made (aside from "milk and eggs"). Sigh. I was not surprised.

We ended up playing it safe: Steve chose the cheesecake….



…..I had this:



It was dulce de leche rolled between layers of sponge cake, topped with chocolate and served with ice cream .

Let me say, we were not disappointed in the desserts. Absolutely scrumptious, both of them. And may I say that dulce de leche is some amazing stuff . Yay for the Argentinians in discovering that wonderful substance and sharing it with the world.

Despite our server being well aware that we had a Groupon for the meal (we paid $55 for the Groupon less a 20% discount offer for a total of $44), he brought us a full-price bill for $87 and quickly left the table. We assumed that failing to show the Groupon discount was to help properly calculate a tip on the full value of the meal, but who knows? We put the Groupon with the cash tip in the billfold and waited for him to come back. He never did. We waited 20 minutes or so, didn't even get a look from a staff member, then opted to hand the folder to the greeter as we headed out the door.

I’m not sure what to say. Steve was rather disappointed…..this was a huge must-do for him, and it fell far from his expectations. Thank the Lord we didn’t pay full price, because for almost $90 plus tip, I would have been really, really annoyed. For $44, it was just “okay”. The potential for a great experience is there…..but boy, are some major changes required. It wasn’t all bad, and some of it was quite good, but the rest? Well, it was just odd.

We headed back to the resort in the peace of the car…..after the exuberance of the Spanish singer, the comfortable quiet was a nice respite. We enjoyed more pool and hot tub time, meeting some great folks from Minnesota, North Carolina, Massachusetts and Vermont, then were off to bed. Tomorrow was scheduled for a full day at Universal Studios….and I was set to put on my big-girl panties and ride Gringotts. Maybe . If I was feeling brave .

Rope drop at Universal is next!

 

[ArwenMarie]

A balloon lady? That's odd alright! I could see singers if they were just wandering around, not sitting at the table!

Sounds like you were very happy to get this discounted price on this one.

 

[wiscbugs]

That restaurant sounds very...ummm...odd. Glad for the groupon there!