eiblehs
Expedition Everest Enthusiast
- Joined
- May 31, 2017
- Messages
- 369
Hello, friends! My name is Shelbie and I recently returned home from a Universal/WDW vacation in July 2020. I went on this trip with my husband and our friends for a couples trip. Aside from my friend Keeley, the rest of us were Universal newbies. We booked this trip back in October 2019 pre-pandemic. Fast-forward a couple months before our vacation and we were left wondering if the trip was even going to happen. Thankfully, Universal opened back up and our trip was still a go.
We kicked off our vacation with a two-night stay in Loews Royal Pacific Resort with two park days. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to the parks on our arrival day until 1:30 pm. (In hindsight, we thought our one and a half days in the parks would be enough to do and see everything we wanted to do. Then the pandemic hit and Universal cut their park hours to close at 6 pm. There were some things we didn't get to see or ride that I wish we could have, but we simply ran out of time. I know we would have been able to accomplish everything had the park hours never been shortened.)
My husband, Bradley, and I landed in Orlando an hour after our friends, Keeley and Jesse, arrived. To save money, we decided to share a room for the two nights at Royal Pacific. Normally, we'd get our own room--we did at Disney after we left Universal's property--but the cost of two nights at Royal Pacific was out of our price range. We are value resort people, but the inclusion of the Express pass versus buying it on its own with a value resort stay was a better option financially. Keeley and Jesse checked into our resort and grabbed a quick bite while waiting for us to arrive. We used Universal's SuperStar Shuttle service to get from the airport to our resort. Let me start with describing how the shuttle service went because it was night and day compared to Disney's Magical Express. We had to call to let them know when we were ready for them to come get us versus checking in somewhere. Next, we waited almost 20 minutes after the phone call for them to pick us up. This part was kind of annoying because we had to pay to use SuperStar Shuttle and we booked it in advance; they knew when we'd be arriving ahead of time. Yet, we still had to call and then wait outside the airport for a shuttle bus. The driver... Well, where to begin with the driver.
He didn't load our luggage so we had to carry everything on ourselves. (I assumed this was a new practice because of Covid, but our friends said their shuttle's driver loaded their bags on for them, so who knows. Not an issue at all but kind of strange.) He also used his phone/GPS while driving which made me uncomfortable. He even talked on the phone with a coworker at some point, while using speaker phone, complaining about being sent to the airport when nobody was there. I put two and two together that he was mad about something that happened earlier in the day. I just felt it was unprofessional to be discussing that matter, or to be talking on the phone at all, while driving guests. Needless to say, I basically ran off of the bus when he pulled into Royal Pacific's drop-off zone.
Such a beautiful resort!
The view from our room!
Let the adventure begin!
We arrived in the lobby and had our temperature taken. The team member gave us a wristband to wear to show that we didn't need our temp taken the rest of the day upon coming and going. I thought that was neat. Keeley and Jesse already had our room keys, so we went straight to our room. Royal Pacific is such a beautiful resort. I have zero complaints about it. We dropped off our bags, changed masks, freshened up, and headed out the door to catch a water taxi to Islands of Adventure! I was able to snag us a virtual queue for Hagrid's while we were heading to the park. I couldn't believe my first ride of the trip--my first Universal ride ever--was going to be Hagrid's Motorbike Adventure. I was ecstatic!
On the water taxi!
So we walk through CityWalk and go to the park entrance, all of us on cloud nine, and then bam! The team member says, "Where is your park ticket?" Uh... What?
We thought our room key/Express pass was also a park ticket--Nope, guess not. (Like I said, Universal newbies.) So we had to go to guest services and get that sorted out. We were a bit frustrated but once we got our paper tickets, it was smooth sailing. We entered Islands of Adventure and headed straight for Hogsmeade. In preparation for our trip, we binge-watched all of the Harry Potter movies the week before we left to help get us hyped for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. All I can say is WOW! We were blown away with the theming and immersiveness. We headed straight for Hagrid's and jumped in the virtual queue line. At first, I was overwhelmed because the line stretched as far back as that talking fountain thing. (Universal newbie, forgive me.) But it moved quickly that we never actually stood in one spot for long. You guys... This ride was incredible. It was so, so, so much fun! I remember watching a couple vlogs when the ride first opened up, but I had forgotten a lot of the ride elements until I was actually on it. My husband rode on the motorcycle part, so I was in the sidecar. (We rode it again the next day and I got to sit on the motorcycle part; that spot made the ride 100 times better.) What an awesome start to the trip!
We got off and ventured around Hogsmeade. We stopped to get the iconic butterbeer. I opted for the frozen option and I'm so glad I did! Yum! The foam on top was my favorite part. One of my regrets from this short trip was that I didn't get a second one the next day. We took pictures in front of Hogwarts and then jumped in line for Forbidden Journey. We used the Express entrance, so we missed nearly all of the immersive queue. (We did stand-by the next day so we would get to see everything.) This ride was fun but definitely scary! I kept my eyes shut during the spider scene. The whomping willow scene followed by the dementors was mind blowingly awesome. It was a lot of fun too!
I'm a Gryffindor and he's a Ravenclaw.
We decided to grab a bite to eat but the line for Three Broomsticks was a bit crazy. We opted to head into the Jurassic Park area to dine at Burger Digs. Surprisingly, this quick service restaurant was pretty dang good. We had to use mobile order and then sit at a table until a team member brought us our food. (I will say, I prefer Universal's approach to mobile ordering over Disney's at the moment.) My husband and I shared a cheeseburger and chili cheese fries before making our way to River Adventure. Unfortunately, the dinosaur animatronic that comes out over you right before the big drop wasn't working. That was kind of disappointing... But oh my gosh did we get soaked! The four of us were in the front row, but I was not expecting to get as wet as we did. It definitely cooled us off! Next we rode Reign of Kong which was neat but the best part was the end with the giant Kong animatronic. I would have preferred more of that and less simulators and screens. (More on that later...)
We snagged a virtual queue for The Mummy ride in Universal, so we got on the Hogwarts Express to make our way over. That was a really cute ride and it sure beats having to walk. Also, we ended up just using our Express pass when we got there rather than using the virtual queue. We didn't realize The Mummy had Express... Newbies.) Let me just start by saying that I was having a blast on The Mummy until about halfway through when my hair got caught on the back of my seat. I am not exaggerating when I say that I could not move my head because my hair had wrapped around the screw on the back of my headrest. I kind of went into panic mode because all I could picture was getting scalped if we were thrown forward any. I am not kidding when I say I had no memory of anything about that ride after the backwards portion because I was so fixated on holding my head back while trying to unravel my hair. It was kind of a nightmare! When the ride ended, my friend had to help untangle (pull) my hair so I could get up. The team member at the exit was even concerned as he watched us trying to leave. Alas, I was freed and got the heck out of there. (We rode this again the next day and oh my gosh am I glad we did. It was a blast! It was like riding it for the first time because I could relax and enjoy the ride. And yes, I wore my hair up for this day. Lesson learned.)
We then got in line for The Simpsons ride and this was the start of my husband's demise. I forget that not everyone is like me in the sense that I do not get motion sickness or anything. I could ride coasters/thrill rides from sun up to sun down with no issues. My husband quickly learned that he is not so fortunate. We used our Express pass here too, but we still had to wait in a rather long line. We learned later that not all ride vehicles were operating which caused for longer waits. (Can you believe we waited the longest for The Simpsons ride than any other ride for our entire Universal trip? Kind of funny when you think about it.) If I would have thought to record my husband on this ride, I wish I would have. It's funny now because he's fine... But when I say he was getting tossed around like a ragdoll, I am not exaggerating. I looked over at one point and he was slouched completely over. I was afraid he was going to puke. Luckily, his burger and fries stayed down. But he was a goner after this ride. I have never seen him so ill before, honestly. Our friends got him some water and we sat on a bench outside. At this point, it was 5 pm, an hour before park closing. We decided to go back to the room so he could rest and take Dramamine to feel better. We lost an hour in the park, but he probably would have passed out had we pushed him any further.
The ride that almost killed Bradley. Lol
After some Dramamine, water, and a short nap, he was much better. We decided to go to CityWalk for dinner since the parks were closed and we gained our appetites back. We decided to try Antojitos and I am so glad we did! We ordered the guacamole for an appetizer. Due to Covid, it's no longer prepared table-side, but I still recommend ordering it. It was very fresh and a huge portion. The chips and salsa were delicious too. The restaurant was pretty busy and our server was clearly overwhelmed because she had several tables in her section. We didn't mind; we just enjoyed the A/C and our chips and dip. When our food did come, all of us were very pleased. There was also a live band that came out at one point which made the dining experience even more enjoyable. Overall, we had a great meal at Antojitos! We couldn't leave CityWalk without getting in line for that famous pink box. The plan was to get a late night snack and breakfast for the next day at the same time.
I tried the voodoo man donut and my husband got the double chocolate. We also got the Memphis mafia one to share for breakfast the next day. (Unfortunately, we never could finish that bad boy but it did stay fresh for two days!) VooDoo Doughnuts is a must-do stop if you're in Universal. It was one of the top things on our list and it was definitely worth the wait.
Yummmm!
We grabbed our pink boxes and took the short walk back to Royal Pacific. This is another huge perk (other than the Express pass added in) that our resort is in walking distance to the parks. Definitely worth the hefty price tag for a stay here. We ate our treats, showered, and rested up for a full park day the next day.
Stay tuned for a recap of our final day at Universal! It was full of magic and laughs, but unfortunately, even some disappointment and regrets.
We kicked off our vacation with a two-night stay in Loews Royal Pacific Resort with two park days. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to the parks on our arrival day until 1:30 pm. (In hindsight, we thought our one and a half days in the parks would be enough to do and see everything we wanted to do. Then the pandemic hit and Universal cut their park hours to close at 6 pm. There were some things we didn't get to see or ride that I wish we could have, but we simply ran out of time. I know we would have been able to accomplish everything had the park hours never been shortened.)
My husband, Bradley, and I landed in Orlando an hour after our friends, Keeley and Jesse, arrived. To save money, we decided to share a room for the two nights at Royal Pacific. Normally, we'd get our own room--we did at Disney after we left Universal's property--but the cost of two nights at Royal Pacific was out of our price range. We are value resort people, but the inclusion of the Express pass versus buying it on its own with a value resort stay was a better option financially. Keeley and Jesse checked into our resort and grabbed a quick bite while waiting for us to arrive. We used Universal's SuperStar Shuttle service to get from the airport to our resort. Let me start with describing how the shuttle service went because it was night and day compared to Disney's Magical Express. We had to call to let them know when we were ready for them to come get us versus checking in somewhere. Next, we waited almost 20 minutes after the phone call for them to pick us up. This part was kind of annoying because we had to pay to use SuperStar Shuttle and we booked it in advance; they knew when we'd be arriving ahead of time. Yet, we still had to call and then wait outside the airport for a shuttle bus. The driver... Well, where to begin with the driver.
He didn't load our luggage so we had to carry everything on ourselves. (I assumed this was a new practice because of Covid, but our friends said their shuttle's driver loaded their bags on for them, so who knows. Not an issue at all but kind of strange.) He also used his phone/GPS while driving which made me uncomfortable. He even talked on the phone with a coworker at some point, while using speaker phone, complaining about being sent to the airport when nobody was there. I put two and two together that he was mad about something that happened earlier in the day. I just felt it was unprofessional to be discussing that matter, or to be talking on the phone at all, while driving guests. Needless to say, I basically ran off of the bus when he pulled into Royal Pacific's drop-off zone. Such a beautiful resort! The view from our room!Let the adventure begin!
We arrived in the lobby and had our temperature taken. The team member gave us a wristband to wear to show that we didn't need our temp taken the rest of the day upon coming and going. I thought that was neat. Keeley and Jesse already had our room keys, so we went straight to our room. Royal Pacific is such a beautiful resort. I have zero complaints about it. We dropped off our bags, changed masks, freshened up, and headed out the door to catch a water taxi to Islands of Adventure! I was able to snag us a virtual queue for Hagrid's while we were heading to the park. I couldn't believe my first ride of the trip--my first Universal ride ever--was going to be Hagrid's Motorbike Adventure. I was ecstatic! On the water taxi!So we walk through CityWalk and go to the park entrance, all of us on cloud nine, and then bam! The team member says, "Where is your park ticket?" Uh... What?
We thought our room key/Express pass was also a park ticket--Nope, guess not. (Like I said, Universal newbies.) So we had to go to guest services and get that sorted out. We were a bit frustrated but once we got our paper tickets, it was smooth sailing. We entered Islands of Adventure and headed straight for Hogsmeade. In preparation for our trip, we binge-watched all of the Harry Potter movies the week before we left to help get us hyped for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. All I can say is WOW! We were blown away with the theming and immersiveness. We headed straight for Hagrid's and jumped in the virtual queue line. At first, I was overwhelmed because the line stretched as far back as that talking fountain thing. (Universal newbie, forgive me.) But it moved quickly that we never actually stood in one spot for long. You guys... This ride was incredible. It was so, so, so much fun! I remember watching a couple vlogs when the ride first opened up, but I had forgotten a lot of the ride elements until I was actually on it. My husband rode on the motorcycle part, so I was in the sidecar. (We rode it again the next day and I got to sit on the motorcycle part; that spot made the ride 100 times better.) What an awesome start to the trip!We got off and ventured around Hogsmeade. We stopped to get the iconic butterbeer. I opted for the frozen option and I'm so glad I did! Yum! The foam on top was my favorite part. One of my regrets from this short trip was that I didn't get a second one the next day. We took pictures in front of Hogwarts and then jumped in line for Forbidden Journey. We used the Express entrance, so we missed nearly all of the immersive queue. (We did stand-by the next day so we would get to see everything.) This ride was fun but definitely scary! I kept my eyes shut during the spider scene. The whomping willow scene followed by the dementors was mind blowingly awesome. It was a lot of fun too!
I'm a Gryffindor and he's a Ravenclaw.We decided to grab a bite to eat but the line for Three Broomsticks was a bit crazy. We opted to head into the Jurassic Park area to dine at Burger Digs. Surprisingly, this quick service restaurant was pretty dang good. We had to use mobile order and then sit at a table until a team member brought us our food. (I will say, I prefer Universal's approach to mobile ordering over Disney's at the moment.) My husband and I shared a cheeseburger and chili cheese fries before making our way to River Adventure. Unfortunately, the dinosaur animatronic that comes out over you right before the big drop wasn't working. That was kind of disappointing... But oh my gosh did we get soaked! The four of us were in the front row, but I was not expecting to get as wet as we did. It definitely cooled us off! Next we rode Reign of Kong which was neat but the best part was the end with the giant Kong animatronic. I would have preferred more of that and less simulators and screens. (More on that later...)
We snagged a virtual queue for The Mummy ride in Universal, so we got on the Hogwarts Express to make our way over. That was a really cute ride and it sure beats having to walk. Also, we ended up just using our Express pass when we got there rather than using the virtual queue. We didn't realize The Mummy had Express... Newbies.) Let me just start by saying that I was having a blast on The Mummy until about halfway through when my hair got caught on the back of my seat. I am not exaggerating when I say that I could not move my head because my hair had wrapped around the screw on the back of my headrest. I kind of went into panic mode because all I could picture was getting scalped if we were thrown forward any. I am not kidding when I say I had no memory of anything about that ride after the backwards portion because I was so fixated on holding my head back while trying to unravel my hair. It was kind of a nightmare! When the ride ended, my friend had to help untangle (pull) my hair so I could get up. The team member at the exit was even concerned as he watched us trying to leave. Alas, I was freed and got the heck out of there. (We rode this again the next day and oh my gosh am I glad we did. It was a blast! It was like riding it for the first time because I could relax and enjoy the ride. And yes, I wore my hair up for this day. Lesson learned.)
We then got in line for The Simpsons ride and this was the start of my husband's demise. I forget that not everyone is like me in the sense that I do not get motion sickness or anything. I could ride coasters/thrill rides from sun up to sun down with no issues. My husband quickly learned that he is not so fortunate. We used our Express pass here too, but we still had to wait in a rather long line. We learned later that not all ride vehicles were operating which caused for longer waits. (Can you believe we waited the longest for The Simpsons ride than any other ride for our entire Universal trip? Kind of funny when you think about it.) If I would have thought to record my husband on this ride, I wish I would have. It's funny now because he's fine... But when I say he was getting tossed around like a ragdoll, I am not exaggerating. I looked over at one point and he was slouched completely over. I was afraid he was going to puke. Luckily, his burger and fries stayed down. But he was a goner after this ride. I have never seen him so ill before, honestly. Our friends got him some water and we sat on a bench outside. At this point, it was 5 pm, an hour before park closing. We decided to go back to the room so he could rest and take Dramamine to feel better. We lost an hour in the park, but he probably would have passed out had we pushed him any further.
The ride that almost killed Bradley. LolAfter some Dramamine, water, and a short nap, he was much better. We decided to go to CityWalk for dinner since the parks were closed and we gained our appetites back. We decided to try Antojitos and I am so glad we did! We ordered the guacamole for an appetizer. Due to Covid, it's no longer prepared table-side, but I still recommend ordering it. It was very fresh and a huge portion. The chips and salsa were delicious too. The restaurant was pretty busy and our server was clearly overwhelmed because she had several tables in her section. We didn't mind; we just enjoyed the A/C and our chips and dip. When our food did come, all of us were very pleased. There was also a live band that came out at one point which made the dining experience even more enjoyable. Overall, we had a great meal at Antojitos! We couldn't leave CityWalk without getting in line for that famous pink box. The plan was to get a late night snack and breakfast for the next day at the same time.
I tried the voodoo man donut and my husband got the double chocolate. We also got the Memphis mafia one to share for breakfast the next day. (Unfortunately, we never could finish that bad boy but it did stay fresh for two days!) VooDoo Doughnuts is a must-do stop if you're in Universal. It was one of the top things on our list and it was definitely worth the wait. Yummmm!We grabbed our pink boxes and took the short walk back to Royal Pacific. This is another huge perk (other than the Express pass added in) that our resort is in walking distance to the parks.
Definitely worth the hefty price tag for a stay here. We ate our treats, showered, and rested up for a full park day the next day.Stay tuned for a recap of our final day at Universal! It was full of magic and laughs, but unfortunately, even some disappointment and regrets.
Major props to the man in the wand shop because he had me forgetting where I was for a minute. He was incredible.
Next, we popped back over to The Simpsons area. No, we weren't getting back on the ride. We didn't want Bradley to meet his maker. Instead, I wanted to grab a pink iced donut and get my picture with Chief Wiggum. I'm the only one out of our group who has any connection to The Simpsons. I grew up watching it with my dad. I remember he had the boxed sets of seasons and we'd watch them together. Of course, most jokes went over my head, but the nostalgia is there. I also got to meet and have my picture taken with Bart!
You know what goes great with a tummy full of carbs and sugar? Another ride on The Mummy. I mentioned in my previous post how I was unable to enjoy this ride the first time... Boy, I am so glad we rode it again. That was so much fun! I felt like I was riding it for the first time since I mentally checked out the first time. It was just the right mix of creepy, thrilling, and fun! Definitely in my top 3 favorite rides from Universal/IOA. As if I didn't have enough carbs, we stopped for lunch at Louie's. The pizza by the slice was huge but "meh" for the price. That's theme park food for ya.
I hope to start it this weekend!
