Mega-Con? Mega People! Mom and Daughter travel again! 1/30-2/5, PTR info 4/26*

[disneyAndi14]

Just thinking of you...
I just had a flight plan come through... you've got a C17 Globemaster taking off from DLH in half an hour. Cool! Maybe you'll see/hear it.

View attachment 846774

Wow cool, a big one! We are checking it out now online, we can usually hear them but not always see them.

 

[amazingact21]

I didn't know you go through security before the boat launch. Nice!

Seuss Landing is a fun area, but I never thought about those characters being uncomfortable on the carousel. Makes sense

I really wanted to try Antojitos last summer. Your dishes sound pretty good!

 

[pkondz]

Wow cool, a big one! We are checking it out now online, we can usually hear them but not always see them.

Hope you saw it. He's about 170 miles north of me now, so... if you didn't see it... it's too late!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Hope you saw it. He's about 170 miles north of me now, so... if you didn't see it... it's too late

We looked and didn’t see it. Both my husband and I believe we heard it! How cool, did you see it?

 

[disneyAndi14]

I didn't know you go through security before the boat launch. Nice!

Seuss Landing is a fun area, but I never thought about those characters being uncomfortable on the carousel. Makes sense

I really wanted to try Antojitos last summer. Your dishes sound pretty good!

Yes it is such a nice perk, never a line really and much easier than the main entrance at the parking or bus drop off.
It is usually very quiet on the paths as well.
The characters are very whimsical, however, so uncomfortable
Put Antojitos on your list!

 

[pkondz]

We looked and didn’t see it. Both my husband and I believe we heard it! How cool, did you see it?

Only on radar.

 

[vamassey1]

We walked over to the park from the boat launch. The park was busy! It actually looked like Fantasy Land at MK on a super busy day!

That really is busy!

Andi was a little bummed because she loves this wicked rollercoaster!

Sorry Andi missed out. I don't plan to ever ride this but I can understand the bummer of not riding your favorite ride.

We did the Seuss Trolley aka Universal’s people mover.

One of the few rides I did on my one day there and really enjoyed it.

We shared the Mango Daiquiri with the extra octane (alcohol) When one is with a person in their early 20s you always get the extra alcohol

This sounds yum without the extra octane.

We had a wonderful meal and once again enjoyed our meal at Antojitos! I highly recommend this place. They also do a table side guacamole that is delicious.

You meal sound like it hit the spot.

 

[disneyAndi14]

That really is busy!

It was one of the busiest weekends I have experienced at Universal

Sorry Andi missed out. I don't plan to ever ride this but I can understand the bummer of not riding your favorite ride.

We kept trying all weekend for her to ride!

One of the few rides I did on my one day there and really enjoyed it.

It is really a cute and relaxing ride!

This sounds yum without the extra octane.

If I get my own I never get the extra octane! I have had several different ones at Fat Tuesdays and like them all.
Our meal was very good!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Early Eats at Mardi Gras is the way to go!

We both slept well and planned to be at Universal Studios at 9am which was the opening time.

I wanted to buy the AP Mardi Gras food card. It is an awesome deal! I wish Disney would offer this for the Epcot Festivals. The deal is buy the card for $120.00 and the value is $150.00. This is a great deal! It can be used at all food vendors throughout the parks and Universal owned places on Citywalk!

We planned to each buy another one on our last day to have for HHN. Plus, I also got the AP discount at the food booths! Win-Win!

While I was buying the card, so many people came up to the kiosk, I was at, and asked about buying the EP (express pass for shorter waits in line) and the cost was wild! No one purchased it when they found out the cost. It was almost $200 per person for one day! So if you have ever wondered if spending a little more to stay at a Premier resort here is worth it, yes it definitely is! Andi and I get unlimited EP for 4 days and our room was around $350.00 a night! I hope Universal keeps this perk in place!

We headed into line for rope drop. It did look busy but not crazy! Universal is doing a face recognition service when you enter the park. It seems to work well.

We headed to London with a stop to say Hi to Hashtag Panda in front of Jimmy Fallon’s ride.

I love Diagon Alley, it never gets old. We spent some time looking around before the crowds arrived.



We did ride Escape from Gringotts and celebrated with a hot butter beer afterwards! I love the hot one, it is my favorite of the three types. Hot, Cold, Frozen. Frozen is my second favorite.

We browsed some more before heading out to ride The Mummy. I love Brandon Fraser especially when he was young, lol The Mummy is a favorite movie of mine. I hope he GETS HIS COFFEE ️

This ride is wild compared to Escape from Gringotts. It was rougher than the last time I rode with my sister.

I almost flew out of my seat into Andi and it was after she told me, this is the wicked turn brace yourself! Yikes I’m so glad my back didn’t hurt afterwards!

I’m not sure I will ride this one again anytime soon.

We tried to ride the Minion blasters and it broke down while we were in line, boo The TMs had us exit the ride.

We will try again another day. It really isn’t a favorite of ours. The blaster gun is heavy!

Next up was ET. Thank goodness we both love this ride. It has a distinct smell when you walk in. Very nostalgic!

Once we finished up our adventure with ET, we wandered around The Simpson’s area. We were waiting for it to be 11:00 so we could start sampling the Mardi Gras treats!

Coming up soon!

Delicious late morning snacks!

 

[jrmint427]

While I was buying the card, so many people came up to the kiosk, I was at, and asked about buying the EP (express pass for shorter waits in line) and the cost was wild! No one purchased it when they found out the cost. It was almost $200 per person for one day! So if you have ever wondered if spending a little more to stay at a Premier resort here is worth it, yes it definitely is! Andi and I get unlimited EP for 4 days and our room was around $350.00 a night! I hope Universal keeps this perk in place!

The price really is insane! We priced out a day at Universal on our last trip and for 1 day of park-to-park tickets with the EP for 5 people (3 adults + 2 kids) it was going to be $1,900. We were able to add an extra park day at Disney for the 5 of us for ~$130 so that is what we did instead. We realized we'll need to stay onsite at one of the premium resorts in the future to make Universal worth it for our family. Can't wait to hear about the Mardi Gras food you try!

 

[Wood Nymph]

The food card is a great value. I assume that it includes alcoholic beverages.

 

[pkondz]

I wanted to buy the AP Mardi Gras food card. It is an awesome deal! I wish Disney would offer this for the Epcot Festivals. The deal is buy the card for $120.00 and the value is $150.00. This is a great deal! It can be used at all food vendors throughout the parks and Universal owned places on Citywalk!

Huh! Never heard of it. Definitely sounds like a good deal!

We planned to each buy another one on our last day to have for HHN. Plus, I also got the AP discount at the food booths! Win-Win!

So if you have ever wondered if spending a little more to stay at a Premier resort here is worth it, yes it definitely is!

Universal is doing a face recognition service when you enter the park. It seems to work well.

Really! Huh! Of course there'll be the "Big Brother" nay-sayers... fine. Stay home. Shorter lines for me!

with a stop to say Hi to Hashtag Panda

Nope. No clue who that is.

I love Diagon Alley, it never gets old.

It really doesn't. Before Galaxy's Edge, I would say that they out-Disney'ed Disney.

a hot butter beer afterwards! I love the hot one, it is my favorite of the three types. Hot, Cold, Frozen. Frozen is my second favorite.

I've never had the hot one... some day! But yes, frozen is better than cold.

The Mummy is a favorite movie of mine. I hope he GETS HIS COFFEE

This ride is wild compared to Escape from Gringotts. It was rougher than the last time I rode with my sister.

Last time I rode it I had a similar experience. I too was glad that my back was okay afterwards.

We tried to ride the Minion blasters and it broke down while we were in line, boo The TMs had us exit the ride.

Too bad. I haven't had the pleasure of riding that one yet.

Next up was ET. Thank goodness we both love this ride. It has a distinct smell when you walk in. Very nostalgic!

I've never noticed that! I'll have to see if I do if/when I go back.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

The prices for the express pass are crazy now. I remember the first year they brought it out ( yes I’m that old ) and it was around $40. We thought that was dear but we paid it because it was worth it to us. Staying onsite is definitely the way to go. I wish Disney would include genie + as a perk for deluxe hotel guests.
The AP food card is a great deal. Can’t wait to hear what you used it on.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Early Eats at Mardi Gras is the way to go!

It was time to try some food! Our first stop was the Mexico Booth.

We wanted the souvenir light up cup. You can use the cup at all the booths. It cost $17.00 initially and all refills after that are $13.00 for 20 oz. vs 12 oz. It is a good deal and I found out you can reuse it at HHN. Another plus for Universal with this deal! I wish we could reuse our refillable mugs at Disney with a discount price!

We started with

Classic Margarita
el Jimador blanco tequila, lime juice, Dekuyper triple sec, agave nectar, smoked sea salt
20 oz. Souvenir cup 17.00
Refill 13.00
12 oz. 13.00

The margarita was really good but the food was delicious!

We had

Chilaquiles Verdes
7.49
Tortillas topped with chile braised shredded chicken, salsa verde, cilantro onion mix with lime crema and cotija cheese.

This was freshly made in front of us and wow it was really tasty. We both loved it.

We had a nice table and chairs off to the side of the Mexico booth. I decided to stay here and Andi went to get food from Germany

She picked up

Chicken Schnitzel
8.99
Fried crispy chicken thigh cutlet served with mustard and a lemon wedge

This simple dish was really tasty, again made to order and the chicken was juicy and tender with a wonderful breading. The mustard and lemon really added to the dish!

We also tried

Bavarian Pretzel with Obatzda
11.49
Warm pretzel with Bavarian beer cheese dip

The pretzel was a little dry but the dip was really good.

We walked around some in the Simpson’s area again with our drink after eating.

I sent this Tshirt to Joe and told him I bought it for him, haha He said you are crazy

We notice there was the Coke A Cola booth set up. This had the famous twisted taters!

Twisted Tater
9.49
Fried spiralized potato topped with choice of seasoning: seasoned salt (vegan) ghost pepper (spicy, vegan) garlic parmesan (vegetarian) sour cream and chives (vegetarian)

I had the seasoned salt and Andi had the ghost pepper one. We had to wait a little while because again making to order. These were delicious. I loved mine. At HHN I had the sour cream and chive one and it was just loaded with the powdered seasoning and was a miss for me. This one was way better!

We also got the featured drink at the booth in our cup

Parade Punch
el Jimador tequila, pineapple-chipotle syrup, basil syrup topped with Fanta Orange®
20 oz. Souvenir Cup 17.00
Refill 13.00

I am not a huge Fanta Orange fan but this was really good. It was very fresh tasting. I also was able to get 10% discount at each booth for the food.

It was getting pretty crowded and we decided to head out after this booth.

We did stop at Voodoo donuts to pick up some donuts for our room. Andi reminded me not to go overboard lol

We got the Voodoo doll donut for me, the Captain Crunch one for Andi and the pink donut to share. I love the Voodoo doll, it is always very fresh and has raspberry jam inside.

We took the boat back to the resort to rest for a little while and to think about dinner plans.

 

[disneyAndi14]

We decided on Vivo Italian Kitchen. Concierge was able to make me a reservation for 4:45. We thought this was a perfect time. This gave us enough time to go back into Universal Studios for a short while. We both talked about the parade and neither of us wanted to watch it. It is something we have seen before and didn’t want to fight the crowds.

We took the boat to Citywalk for dinner.

Vivo is an open kitchen restaurant with seats at the kitchen counter.

We didn’t sit at the counter. We did have a good view of the chefs and pasta making going on. It was really fun to watch.

Our waiter was awesome and really nice!

Andi decided on a pizza

Wild Mushroom & Truffle - $19
truffle burrata, mozzarella, wild mushrooms, arugula, grana padano, truffle emulsion

This was delicious! The truffle burrata and emulsion gave it just the right funky flavor and the crisp arugula was a perfect addition to the truffle components.

I had the eggplant

Baked Eggplant Parmigiana(GS, V)- $24
layers of roasted eggplant, marinara, basil, mozzarella

I loved this, it was delicious.

We also had bread at the table which was perfect with my eggplant.

This was a good choice for dinner and I highly recommend! I think we will return. We may try it again in September.

It was a perfect dinner.

We walked over to Universal Studios after dinner.

The park was busy and people were lining up for the parade.

We rode the Minion blasters and Andi did better this time than our first time in September and beat me! My one time win over her at a shooter game was short lived, boo

We headed towards MIB down a side street by Tranformers and saw this big dude out! I don’t know who he is haha I called him “Big Dude”.

I got a few pictures of him.

We rode MIB next and of course Andi beat me, however a younger guy in our vehicle, maybe around Andi’s age, smoked Andi, lol I had to laugh. She usually always gets the extra bonus points towards the end and the guy got the points. I, of course, got around 30,000 which I thought was pretty good! way less than Andi and winning guy!

The new Dreamworks area near ET should be opening soon. You can see Shrek’s swamp and house, looks cool!

We wanted to get a beer at the Germany booth but it was packed so we decided to head out and walk back to the resort.

We walked through the pool area and I bought Andi a drink at the pool bar with, you guessed it, extra octane!
Pool pictures




JALAPEÑO MARGARITA
Don Julio Blanco Tequila, Cointreau, fresh jalapeño, lime and sour mix.

This was in a souvenir cup.

I tried a little sip and it was spicy! Andi enjoyed this.

I had a few bites of my cookies from Summer House. The sea salt chocolate chip cookie was really good! I liked it the best out of the two I tried. Lemon was the other one.

We relaxed and enjoyed our room and watched some TV before calling it a night!

Our plan was for early park entry at IOA so we could ride Hagrid’s and maybe Andi could ride Velocicoaster! Stay tuned to see how the morning goes!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Royal Pacific has a wonderful walking path and boat access to the parks.

I loved our stay at RPR - it was so convenient to the parks. I liked it much better than Portofino Bay for the convenience factor (although PB was a beautiful resort). You’re right, though - you can’t beat that included Express Pass!

I wanted to buy the AP Mardi Gras food card.

I heard about this deal - I agree that it’s a great deal.

I love Diagon Alley, it never gets old.

100% agree. Both Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade are SO well done.

The truffle burrata and emulsion gave it just the right funky flavor and the crisp arugula was a perfect addition to the truffle components.

Oh my goodness, this pizza looks DELICIOUS. Many of your snacks looked very tasty, too.

 

[disneyAndi14]

The price really is insane! We priced out a day at Universal on our last trip and for 1 day of park-to-park tickets with the EP for 5 people (3 adults + 2 kids) it was going to be $1,900. We were able to add an extra park day at Disney for the 5 of us for ~$130 so that is what we did instead. We realized we'll need to stay onsite at one of the premium resorts in the future to make Universal worth it for our family. Can't wait to hear about the Mardi Gras food you try!

I couldn’t believe the price the guests were being quoted and they already had tickets to enter! Yikes expensive. If you decide to do US/IOA definitely stay at a premier resort even if you stay just one night you will get EP for 2 days!

The food card is a great value. I assume that it includes alcoholic beverages

It really is and yes you can us for alcohol as well. They only offer it at Mardi Gras, however, we can use it in September at HHN, yay!

Huh! Never heard of it. Definitely sounds like a good deal!

It is! They don’t expire but are only offered at Mardi Gras event

Really! Huh! Of course there'll be the "Big Brother" nay-sayers... fine. Stay home. Shorter lines for me!

It worked so well and much quicker. No fingerprint slow down!

It really doesn't. Before Galaxy's Edge, I would say that they out-Disney'ed Disney.

I agree, sometimes it is just fun to hang out in the HP areas and immerse yourself in all the theming!

Last time I rode it I had a similar experience. I too was glad that my back was okay afterwards.

I couldn’t believe how rough it was this time. I’m scared now!

I've never noticed that! I'll have to see if I do if/when I go back.

Yes it is a unique smell, like early morning dew in the forest

The prices for the express pass are crazy now. I remember the first year they brought it out ( yes I’m that old ) and it was around $40. We thought that was dear but we paid it because it was worth it to us. Staying onsite is definitely the way to go. I wish Disney would include genie + as a perk for deluxe hotel guests.
The AP food card is a great deal. Can’t wait to hear what you used it on.

Wow $40.00 what a deal! I think it is really worth it staying at the Premier resort and yes I wish Disney would do something like that! I know they have more deluxe resorts but even if it was at 3 of the highest end ones? Universal still gives AP rates at the premier and the EP so that is awesome! The food and beverage card was such a good deal.

 

[vamassey1]

So many good food options. The drinks looked pretty good too. You really maxed out on getting deals for your food and drinks.

 

[franandaj]

I wish Disney would offer this for the Epcot Festivals. The deal is buy the card for $120.00 and the value is $150.00.

They used to offer something like that at Epcot F&W, and you could use the tabs towards alcoholic beverages. We still have the Sip & Savor pass in CA, but it's only good towards food items. I don't buy them anymore because you have to eat eight different items, and I usually end up with tabs left. I heard this year they tried virtual tabs.

So if you have ever wondered if spending a little more to stay at a Premier resort here is worth it, yes it definitely is! Andi and I get unlimited EP for 4 days and our room was around $350.00 a night! I hope Universal keeps this perk in place!

I have never wondered! If we're going to Universal we have always stayed on property.

I love Diagon Alley, it never gets old. We spent some time looking around before the crowds arrived.

I need to go back. Especially now that I'm more mobile!

We did ride Escape from Gringotts and celebrated with a hot butter beer afterwards!

I did not even know there was a hot butter beer! I've only had cold and frozen.

We browsed some more before heading out to ride The Mummy. I love Brandon Fraser especially when he was young, lol The Mummy is a favorite movie of mine.

I have a lot of movie catching up to do. I've never seen that movie.

This ride is wild compared to Escape from Gringotts. It was rougher than the last time I rode with my sister.

Hmmm....maybe I don't need to worry about this one.

Once we finished up our adventure with ET, we wandered around The Simpson’s area. We were waiting for it to be 11:00 so we could start sampling the Mardi Gras treats!

I didn't even know that they had this going on!

Tortillas topped with chile braised shredded chicken, salsa verde, cilantro onion mix with lime crema and cotija cheese.

This was freshly made in front of us and wow it was really tasty. We both loved it.

I would probably end up picking off all the cilantro, but otherwise it sounds good.

Fried crispy chicken thigh cutlet served with mustard and a lemon wedge

This simple dish was really tasty, again made to order and the chicken was juicy and tender with a wonderful breading. The mustard and lemon really added to the dish!

This sounds absolutely delicious!

Warm pretzel with Bavarian beer cheese dip

As does this!

I had the seasoned salt and Andi had the ghost pepper one. We had to wait a little while because again making to order. These were delicious. I loved mine.

I would be with you on the salted one.

Parade Punch
el Jimador tequila, pineapple-chipotle syrup, basil syrup topped with Fanta Orange®
20 oz. Souvenir Cup 17.00
Refill 13.00

I am not a huge Fanta Orange fan but this was really good. It was very fresh tasting. I also was able to get 10% discount at each booth for the food.

I'm not sure about this....mostly the Chipotle part.

We did stop at Voodoo donuts to pick up some donuts for our room. Andi reminded me not to go overboard lol

It's hard not to go overboard there! Although I'm not a big fan of cereal covered donuts.

Wild Mushroom & Truffle - $19
truffle burrata, mozzarella, wild mushrooms, arugula, grana padano, truffle emulsion

This was delicious! The truffle burrata and emulsion gave it just the right funky flavor and the crisp arugula was a perfect addition to the truffle components.

I think I'd be OK with this one without the arugula. I guess I'm not a fan of funky greens.

Baked Eggplant Parmigiana(GS, V)- $24
layers of roasted eggplant, marinara, basil, mozzarella

I loved this, it was delicious.

I wish I could eat eggplant, but it makes me feel itchy all over.

We headed towards MIB down a side street by Tranformers and saw this big dude out! I don’t know who he is haha I called him “Big Dude”.

Looks like a "transformer dude" to me.

JALAPEÑO MARGARITA
Don Julio Blanco Tequila, Cointreau, fresh jalapeño, lime and sour mix.

This was in a souvenir cup.

I have one of those cups, or I did. You lost me at jalapeño.

 

[suse66]

I wanted to buy the AP Mardi Gras food card. It is an awesome deal! I wish Disney would offer this for the Epcot Festivals. The deal is buy the card for $120.00 and the value is $150.00. This is a great deal! It can be used at all food vendors throughout the parks and Universal owned places on Citywalk!

That is an amazing deal!

While I was buying the card, so many people came up to the kiosk, I was at, and asked about buying the EP (express pass for shorter waits in line) and the cost was wild! No one purchased it when they found out the cost. It was almost $200 per person for one day! So if you have ever wondered if spending a little more to stay at a Premier resort here is worth it, yes it definitely is! Andi and I get unlimited EP for 4 days and our room was around $350.00 a night! I hope Universal keeps this perk in place!

Wow! Will definitely book a Premier resort when I finally get to Universal.

I wish Disney would include genie + as a perk for deluxe hotel guests.

Absolutely!

We wanted the souvenir light up cup. You can use the cup at all the booths. It cost $17.00 initially and all refills after that are $13.00 for 20 oz. vs 12 oz. It is a good deal and I found out you can reuse it at HHN. Another plus for Universal with this deal! I wish we could reuse our refillable mugs at Disney with a discount price!

That's another great dael!

I had the seasoned salt and Andi had the ghost pepper one. We had to wait a little while because again making to order. These were delicious. I loved mine. At HHN I had the sour cream and chive one and it was just loaded with the powdered seasoning and was a miss for me. This one was way better!

Yum!

Baked Eggplant Parmigiana(GS, V)- $24
layers of roasted eggplant, marinara, basil, mozzarella

I loved this, it was delicious.

We also had bread at the table which was perfect with my eggplant.

This was a good choice for dinner and I highly recommend! I think we will return. We may try it again in September.

It was a perfect dinner.

I would love that too.

This was in a souvenir cup.

I tried a little sip and it was spicy! Andi enjoyed this.

I had a few bites of my cookies from Summer House. The sea salt chocolate chip cookie was really good! I liked it the best out of the two I tried. Lemon was the other one.

We relaxed and enjoyed our room and watched some TV before calling it a night!

Our plan was for early park entry at IOA so we could ride Hagrid’s and maybe Andi could ride Velocicoaster! Stay tuned to see how the morning goes!

Sounds like a great end to your day.