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

[ArwenMarie]

Boo it's almost over! But yay, still a little bit of fun left

That's so funny about the minions, a whole suitcase!

 

[schumigirl]

Nice update!! Glad the mini onions made it home.......

How funny at Millers..........lol.........I don't mind having waiters who are a bit "quirky"........lol.......food looked good. Haven't been there since 07. Wasn't great so glad to hear it's a decent place to go now. LBV has some really nice places to eat, we travel over to a few places over there.

Sad trip is nearly over

 

[mrsabbott]

I love your TR!! So fun! And your Steve is such a sweetheart! I love how he won you another minion!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

That would be nice. When we get closer, I'll pm her. Would be a nice meet up.

Sounds awesome. I am seriously so pumped!

Quite an experience at the Ale House....I'm not sure if I would have been as entertained...well maybe I would have. I'm sorry this report is coming to and end...one of my all-time favs

Aw, thanks!! There's still a few more posts to go, though, so stay tuned!

Boo it's almost over! But yay, still a little bit of fun left

That's so funny about the minions, a whole suitcase!

lol, when we went to check the suitcase with Jeblue, he put it on the scale and it was soooo light. He looked quizzically at the weight, picked it up, put it back down, and still seemed kind of perplexed at the fact it only something like 15 pounds (but all bloated out....those minions are ROUND and really filled out my soft-sided suitcase!). He commented jokingly about wondering what I could possibly have in there, so I said "its full of minions".

Minions?

Then he just sighed and put it on the conveyor.

Nice update!! Glad the mini onions made it home.......

How funny at Millers..........lol.........I don't mind having waiters who are a bit "quirky"........lol.......food looked good. Haven't been there since 07. Wasn't great so glad to hear it's a decent place to go now. LBV has some really nice places to eat, we travel over to a few places over there.

Sad trip is nearly over

We love the options in LBV....its one of the things we like about the location of the Vistana. We definitely have no reason to go hungry!

The food was really, really great. You'll have to give it another try sometime!

I love your TR!! So fun! And your Steve is such a sweetheart! I love how he won you another minion!

Thank you mrsabbott! I can't believe I'm almost to the end!!

 

[jm106]

Aww, so close to the end now. I think this is one of the few if not the only trip report I followed all the way through. I appreciate you keeping at it with regular updates
What will I do with myself now that yours will be ending and I still have a few weeks until my trip? (And after? I have nothing to obsess over lol,)

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Aww, so close to the end now. I think this is one of the few if not the only trip report I followed all the way through. I appreciate you keeping at it with regular updates
What will I do with myself now that yours will be ending and I still have a few weeks until my trip? (And after? I have nothing to obsess over lol,)

Don't count me out just yet.....I still have our whole final day to report on. And knowing me, that will take at least 5 posts or so. I am not very good at being brief!

I appreciate how you and the other good folks on this thread have stuck it out with me over the last few weeks. Y'all have been so awesome!!

 

[chiamarie]

A) I have only been to Teak for a goodbye parties of coworkers. It's such a nice, quaint little neighboorhood establishment; now it's on the dis! Everyone's gonna head there! ;0)

B) I love that photo of steve with all his winnings; it made me laugh! I love how youthful you two are! It's no wonder Fun Kevin had to ID him!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Friday, May 8th: our final day (part 1)

Mother Nature wasn’t allowing the weather to be sad on our check-out day….it was sparkling bright and growing very, very warm as loaded our luggage into the rental car and we checked out of the Vistana . For the first time on our trip, it felt “too hot”…..and the temperatures were forecasted to rise to the low 90’s before the end of the day.

Today’s plans called for a visit to Downtown Disney to dine at Earl of Sandwich. We had purchased Groupons for this restaurant just a week or so before our trip, paying $10 for $20 in vouchers redeemable for anything on their menu. Initially, we thought we’d catch lunch at the Earl to try some of their infamous sandwiches (they sure get a lot of love here on the Dis)…….but we honestly didn’t want to be forced into returning to Downtown Disney from wherever we happened to be once the noon hour rolled around. So, it seemed logical to have breakfast there instead.



(Told you it was bright.....it even made picture taking a challenge!!)

We hadn’t been to Downtown Disney since our August 2013 vacation, so we expected to see some big changes with the ongoing conversion to Disney Springs. We drove by the area in 2014 (its soooo close to the Vistana, so it’s very convenient to do so) and it looked like a disaster area, so we didn’t even bother stopping. As we made our way there on our departure day, we were dismayed to note that the entire region still looked like it was in a state of utter chaos. It is quite possibly the slowest progress of any construction site I’ve ever seen.

At any rate, we navigated our way through the war-zone and eventually found a parking space way over at the furthest reaches of Downtown Disney property…..somewhere near the Cirque de Soleil building. We never did determine where one should turn off to enter the fancy-dancy parking structure that was apparently now open and functional. It was a gorgeous morning, though, so we didn’t mind the prospect of a stroll en route to the restaurant. Our flight was not scheduled to depart until early evening, so we had virtually an entire day to burn.

Once parked and out of the car, we walked along and took in some of the sights. We checked out the food trucks and their menus (Steve loves the shows that feature unique food trucks throughout the USA) but didn’t find anything unique enough to bring us back to try them on a future trip:





We briefly considered taking the water taxi over to the West Side, but again, figured the walk would do us good (we had a LOT of Butterbeer sins to burn off from this trip! ) so we carried on towards our destination via the legs that God gave us.



We got to see the brand new amphicars up close and in person, and they really are quite novel. For the price they charge to ride them, though, I can assure you I will never be reporting on that particular experience (nor will most families I wouldn’t think, unless their vacation budgets are way more generous than mine). Crazy, silly expensive .



Arriving at Earl of Sandwich, it was virtually empty save for another family or two. We place our order with our Groupons (which were happily received), given a pager to let us know when the hot items were ready, and took our cold accompaniments to a table to sit and wait. Within five to ten minutes, the pager went off and we were set to enjoy our morning meal.






Steve had chosen a breakfast sandwich, a fruit and yogurt parfait, and a bottle of milk:





I had the ham and cheese omelet with home fries and toasted artisan bread, with milk to drink.



Our $20 in Groupons covered the entire cost of both meals, so considering we were only $10 out of pocket, it was a very good value. The omelet platter was really big for a breakfast item, and I dare say Steve and I could have easily shared that on a normal day. After finishing off his sandwich and parfait, he helped me with some of the omelet and potatoes, but we never did manage to finish it off completely. The food quality, if measured all on its own, was quite good especially considering the price we paid. I am not sure we’d ever make a special trip back just to eat here, but I’m glad we gave it a try nonetheless.



We walked around the Marketplace for a bit, trying to find that “Disney Magic” that so many others so enthusiastically possess, but alas…..it just wasn’t there . I’m not saying it’s not a lovely area (it is), I’m not saying it doesn’t offer lots of shopping opportunities (it does), and I’m not saying it doesn’t hold any appeal (I’m sure it does for many). That said, it really isn’t our place.





Eventually, we looked at each other and said…..ready to go? And we both were . We meandered back to the parking lot, past the plethora of construction walls, and hopped back into the car.



We hadn’t quite decided what to do next, so Steve asked if I was up for a drive through Kissimmee while we discussed our options. It tends to be a bit of a vacation tradition to drive through that weird and quirky town on our final day (we never really know whether to feel sorry for Kissimmee, or love it despite all of its 1970’s garishness and oddness) so I said sure, why not!

We ended up stopping at Orange World for a few last minute Florida-themed souvenir purchases….things like gator jerky and homemade orange marmalade.



This place always makes me wish that we could take fruit over the border….my mom would LOVE some fresh, Florida citrus.





After Orange World, we finally decided where we would go from here…..we would head back to Universal for a few more hours in the parks. With annual passes and free parking, it seemed like a good way to pass the time and wouldn’t cost us a penny .

More of our final day up next!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

A) I have only been to Teak for a goodbye parties of coworkers. It's such a nice, quaint little neighboorhood establishment; now it's on the dis! Everyone's gonna head there! ;0)

B) I love that photo of steve with all his winnings; it made me laugh! I love how youthful you two are! It's no wonder Fun Kevin had to ID him!

Whoops, my apologies for setting the stage for the Great Teak Leak 2015 .

One of my boss's favourite sayings is "Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional". I try to live by that motto every day . Life is short, and gosh darn it, we're gonna have fun with it!!

 

[wiscbugs]

I always love Earl of Sandwich. We were going to do to Downtown Disney when we were down in April but it was such a zoo driving over there and with all the construction so we decided to just drive on by.

 

[Lynne G]

Final day, last hours at Universal. Ready to see some more pictures of the parks.

Having fun and enjoying life is good at any age.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I'm with you on DTD. I have never understood the appeal, but I'm not a big shopper so that could be why. I do like the gigantic Disney Store, but that takes about a half hour tops.

That's so funny, I was thinking, oh, they should have just gone back to the Universal parks for a couple of hours! And now you are!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I always love Earl of Sandwich. We were going to do to Downtown Disney when we were down in April but it was such a zoo driving over there and with all the construction so we decided to just drive on by.

I have buy one, get one free sandwich coupons in our Entertainment Books that we *might* use at Christmas time for cheap meal for the four of us....*if* (and that's a big IF, at the present speed of their progress) some of the construction woes are remedied. I thought we could visit Santa while we're there . Otherwise, we'll take a pass....because I can only imagine how the crowds + the construction will make the area feel during the holiday season !

Final day, last hours at Universal. Ready to see some more pictures of the parks.

Having fun and enjoying life is good at any age.

Amen, sister!

I'm with you on DTD. I have never understood the appeal, but I'm not a big shopper so that could be why. I do like the gigantic Disney Store, but that takes about a half hour tops.

That's so funny, I was thinking, oh, they should have just gone back to the Universal parks for a couple of hours! And now you are!

We're not huge shoppers either. We did briefly consider a ride on Characters in Flight (the big hot air balloon), but it was pretty windy.....and I wondered how much "sway" the balloon would suffer from.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Friday, May 8th: part 2

Arriving at the parks, we were immediately struck by how BUSY it was : noticeably more so than any other day of our vacation. The crowd projection was the same as the Friday before (“moderate”, as again it was a Grad Bash date) but the feel was completely different. There were large school groups of elementary aged kids in matching t-shirts at virtually every ride and attraction, in addition to more people in general. The 5-10 minute max waits over the entire week prior at rides like ET and Jurassic Park River Adventure were now 25 minutes or more.

Considering we had already conquered virtually everything we had wanted to see and do on our previous visits, we were happy to ride minimally and just spend our time shopping, people watching, and soaking up the last taste of the Florida sun (but whoo-whee, was it getting’ warm! ). We rode some of the small things…..ET, Twirl ‘n Hurl, Shrek, Hogwarts Express between parks, One Fish Two Fish, the Caro-Seuss-El….but steered clear of the major stuff. Of course, we also shared one final Butterbeer to help tide us over until we return in the fall .

On our way through Springfield, Steve was physically pained to have to pass up another chance at testing his strength on the Sledgehomer game. Today, for the first time on our trip, they had huge "Super Homer" stuffies as one of the prizes available to be won in addition to the large Duff beer bottles and cans. I must admit….they were amazingly awesome and would have made a wonderful addition to our ever-growing collection…..but we simply had no room left to accommodate it. He’s talked about that missed opportunity ever since we have come home…..and he’s vowed to make Super Homer his next big prize (assuming they are still there in October!) .

By the time the mid-day rolled around, it was hot and we were done with the crowds. Admittedly, our departure day is hard on the nerves and emotions at the best of times……I hate endings, and the closer we get to the time that we have to make that final drive to the airport, the more melancholy I feel. We opted to find somewhere “fun” for lunch to help boost the spirits, and ended up here:



It was the perfect choice . We got a wonderfully private table, a friendly and efficient server, and the atmosphere was very “uplifting”.





While the parks were crowded, the restaurant wasn’t so bad (especially in our section), so our waitress encouraged us to take our time and relax while we enjoyed the air conditioning and the last, uninterrupted hours of our vacation .





(dear God, I look weary in this photo…..you can tell it’s the end of the trip, and I’m feeling the effects!)

Neither of us were very hungry, so we decided on soft drinks and some lighter fare to eat. Steve got a grilled chicken ceasar salad, and it was humonstrous!



I just ordered an appetizer rather than an entrée: some chicken that I knew would be quite sharable. I asked for the jerk sauce to be on the side so I could control how much spice I consumed. As someone who occasionally has tummy issues while flying, I didn’t figure it would be overly wise to throw caution to the wind with an early evening departure on the itinerary .



Both items were excellent, and the entire experience exceeded our expectations. We vowed to return in October for a full meal and perhaps a fun adult beverage or two when we had a greater stomach capacity with which to work, and when there is no departing flight to darken the mood.

We throughly enjoyed our extended, relaxed meal….the beverages kept being refilled, the music kept playing, and we just soaked up our last moments of togetherness. We chatted with Jake by text (which really brought my tears to the surface…..talk about being conflicted: so sad the vacation is over, but missing that kid so painfully much!) and touched base with my mom as well. Eventually, we peeled ourselves off the chairs, covered the bill and tip (which I forgot to note the cost of….d’oh!...but our 20% AP discount applied here as well), and we headed back to collect the car from the parking garage.

We still had an hour or two to kill, and we needed something else fun to keep us busy. There was one thing we hadn’t done on this vacation that we try to do on every getaway, so I directed Steve to the nearest Congo River (which happens to be just around the corner from Universal Orlando Resort). It’s not a trip to Florida unless we feed the alligators!



For $8.50 total including tax, we were each stocked with feeding poles and gator food. I am not ashamed to admit that I glean an enormous amount of joy and entertainment from this particular activity. I simply LOVE alligators!















(this was just the perfect cure for the going-home blues! )



After our Publix wieners were depleted, we rummaged through our pockets for the balance of our American quarters to feed the turtles.



They took a little more coaxing than the gators…..they were all having good snoozes in the sunshine when we starting tossing the pellets their way…..but once one of them got moving, they all roused themselves for a little snack.



This little fellow on the back of the big dude was so sweet. And incredibly smart!



That little stop was just what we needed. We had less than an hour until we would need to gas up the rental and make the pilgrimage to the airport.

The conclusion of our final day is up next.

 

[thr33boys]

We're going to try Earl in November. I plan on signing myself and hubby up for their eclub for the free sandwiches. Just like you, this Canuck loves a good deal too

Staying at POR so taking the boat over that everyone claims is the best way to get there, shouldn't be too bad. After POR it's 2 nights at Hard Rock for our first Universal on-site stay

Obvious choice to finish out your day.....I'm guessing one more butterbeer???

 

[thr33boys]

Obvious choice to finish out your day.....I'm guessing one more butterbeer???

We must have posted at the same time or a min apart but glad to see I can read you like a book

I'm feeling so sad for you.

 

[ArwenMarie]

The last day can be rough. Glad you had fun at Universal and had a nice lunch.

I'm always sort of torn on departure-day activities...Part of me wants to milk every last minute, part of me wants to get on the first flight home and just get it over with. Now we try to do a Disney character meal for breakfast before we leave, like a late breakfast. Seems to be the perfect combo of fun and relaxing for us. (O'hana is our current favorite). And getting a full meal before the airport is always good too.

I love that feeding the alligators and turtles cheered you up! I am going to have to try that in August, I think my kids would LOVE that.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

We're going to try Earl in November. I plan on signing myself and hubby up for their eclub for the free sandwiches. Just like you, this Canuck loves a good deal too

Staying at POR so taking the boat over that everyone claims is the best way to get there, shouldn't be too bad. After POR it's 2 nights at Hard Rock for our first Universal on-site stay

Obvious choice to finish out your day.....I'm guessing one more butterbeer???

I love the boat ride from POR to DTD! It was one of our favourite evening things to do when we stayed there in 2009 .

And hey, we Canucks NEED to get some good deals for our Orlando trips....the exchange rate these days is a killer!

We must have posted at the same time or a min apart but glad to see I can read you like a book

I'm feeling so sad for you.

lol, we are so predictable .

Don't feel sad for me......we had an amazing time and were so blessed. I was just being greedy and didn't want the fun to end .

The last day can be rough. Glad you had fun at Universal and had a nice lunch.

I'm always sort of torn on departure-day activities...Part of me wants to milk every last minute, part of me wants to get on the first flight home and just get it over with. Now we try to do a Disney character meal for breakfast before we leave, like a late breakfast. Seems to be the perfect combo of fun and relaxing for us. (O'hana is our current favorite). And getting a full meal before the airport is always good too.

I love that feeding the alligators and turtles cheered you up! I am going to have to try that in August, I think my kids would LOVE that.

Ohana is our favourite character meal, too! We love that meal! Unfortunately, with 25% exchange added on to the price (since our dollar is so low versus the American buck) it seems like a pricey splurge. We had considered it for Christmas but the $28 pp price equates to $35 or more with the exchange. Painful!!

You will have to let me know how you all enjoy the gator feeding in August. I hope it brings your kids as much joy as it brings me!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Friday, May 8th: the ending

Heading back down I-Drive, we got the great idea to check out CSI: The Experience during the teeny tiny bit of time we still had left to whittle away. It had always been on Steve’s to-do list (we had done Titanic on a previous trip, and were duly impressed) but Jake….who is my budding historian, so he LOVED Titanic…. has a deep disgust for science and no interest in CSI. This couples trip seemed the perfect time to squeeze it in .

Or not . A quick chat with the fellow running the attraction confirmed we would be seriously pressed to finish in time, and when we do visit, we want to enjoy that experience without being rushed. So we took a pass this time and headed elsewhere.

Side note: it all worked out in the end, as I just snagged a Groupon for that attraction for our October vacation at 40% off. So yay! It was like destiny!

For the remainder of our time, we ended up just browsing and shopping in some of the little stores along International Drive. At this little gem, across the street from the Orlando Eye, we discovered a whole bunch of Universal themed merchandise (even some Harry Potter items) which was a complete delight considering most shops seem to be 100% Disney-focused.



Despite my pledge to buy not another thing more, I couldn’t resist purchasing a most awesome Minion t-shirt, and Steve got some Universal pins for his crazy vacation hat. The t-shirt ended up being wedged into the electronics bag with my laptop because there was no way I was chancing opening one of those suitcases .

We had just left the shop and headed in the direction of a gas station to fill the rental when Steve began to laugh right out loud. I asked him what was so amusing, and he replies “You know you’re in Florida when you’re chased to the airport by a giant crab”. So I turned around, and saw this hot on heels:



Too stinking funny!

Dropping off the rental to Dollar was quick and efficient. Much as I dreaded using them (unfamiliarity breeds worry), we were quite nicely surprised at how well the rental experience went. We would rent from them again in a heartbeat.

Our last “ride” of the trip …. the shuttle to the main terminal:



After checking our bags at the Jetblue counter, we grabbed some food at Panda Express in the food court as we wouldn’t land in Syracuse until just before 10 pm. Snacks on the plane would be free and unlimited, but we thought some “real” food might be in order (if Chinese food from the airport food court actually qualifies as “real food”! ).





Security lines were lengthy, but moved very well and we were soon on our way to the gate. We were happy to see our early evening flight was still listed as “on time”, and settled in to check Facebook messages and the Disboards while we waited for our boarding call.

About 20 minutes later, I just happened to look up at the screen by the podium (following a flurry of Jetblue reps walking back and forth between the various gates, speaking to each other in a series of hushed tones) and was totally gutted to see our “on time” flight was now marked as delayed . What the heck?!? It turned out that there was another flight that was already delayed more than two hours (for reasons unknown to us) which was supposed to be taking passengers to Washington DC. Jetblue opted to give our plane (which was still “on time” for its scheduled arrival at MCO) to the Washington passengers and delayed us to wait for the other plane originally allocated to the DC folks. I guess they decided it was better to keep two groups each waiting for a couple or three hours apiece rather than one group for a very long extended period of time? At any rate, it necessitated a gate change for us (from gate 5 to 20-something) and we were more than two hours late getting our journey home off the ground.

We called both Jake and my Mom to let them know not to expect us until the wee hours of the morning (remember that we still had a 3+ hour drive from Syracuse to home after landing) and then passed the time chatting animatedly with some great folks from Western New York. Everyone had a great attitude about the whole situation, which made the delay much easier to absorb. The replacement plane turned out to be arriving from an international destination so it apparently required some extra security clearance before they allowed us to board, but eventually we were in the air on our way home. Jetblue gave us all free movies for the journey as their apology.

The flight home was mercifully smooth and uneventful, right up to landing. We did a very dramatic side turn to the left, and then an equally noticeable side turn to the right, right in the thick of our descent, which quite honestly scared the crap out of me (Steve was a little on edge as a result, too). Definitely not something we had experienced in any of our many flights before, which made our safe landing that much sweeter. It was well after 11 pm when we collected our bags, boarded the shuttle back to our park and fly, and collected the Journey from the Holiday Inn Express long-term parking area. Sadly, the neighbourhood Tim Hortons had already closed for the night, so we were forced to make the trip without our beloved beverages to enjoy .

We made a quick stop at the 24-hour duty free store at the border crossing at Alexandria Bay, breezed through customs, and were set for our final leg of the commute. Once back in Canada, we finally found a Tim Hortons that was still open , stopped for a bathroom break and some drinks, then it was straight through to home. We pulled into the driveway at 2:30 am, bleary eyed and ready for the comfort of our own beds. We left the luggage in the Journey…..it could stay there until morning .

“Don’t cry because it’s over: smile because it happened”.

Time to count down to the next adventure: October 9th to 18th, 2015!

Stay tuned! A couple more miscellaneous posts still to come!

 

[ArwenMarie]

Scary landing. I remember as a kid we went to back home to Ireland every summer for a month and I remember the plane would burst into applause upon landing both ways. People don't seem to do that anymore, but maybe we should!