BeckyEsq
Mouseketeer.
- Joined
- Oct 13, 1999
- Messages
- 671
HI everyone! I'm Becky, a long-time DIS member, and I'm just back from a November 7-11th trip with my 11 year old daughter. This was her first trip -- a surprise for her 11th birthday, and my first trip to Universal since 2003. It's just the two of us -- my husband sadly passed away from a brain tumor back in 2018. My DD is a wonderful travel companion and a huge Harry Potter fan who has read all of the books. She's in Gryffindor, and tells me I'm a Ravenclaw. 
This will be a trip report with lots of pictures but I want to start with some tips for those who are planning a first trip. I had trouble finding some of these details so I hope they will be helpful to someone!
TIME OF YEAR: We traveled from Sunday, November 7 through Thursday, November and, apart from my daughter having to miss school, this was a perfect time to visit. The weather was beautiful -- highs in the upper 60's and 70's, sunny, dry, and no rain until late on Wednesday. The crowds were low. We are not thrill seekers so we didn't do the biggest rides, but we never waited in line more than ten minutes. We got up early and took advantage of early entry for resort guests, which was in Islands of Adventure during our stay (apparently this does not alternate with any predictability -- you have to check the crowd calendar a few weeks out).
TRANSPORTATION: We flew in to MCO on Southwest and arrived midday on Sunday. I debated how to get to our resort, but finally decided to use Super Star Shuttle. I don't know why they keep this service so well-hidden or why you can't book it online. I had to call around to get the right number -- the right one is 1-800-823-4733. The cost was $39 per person, round trip. So for two of us, it likely cost a little bit more than Uber, but I felt it was safer for a mom and child alone. The shuttle is run by Mears and the experience is largely the same as Magical Express, except you pick up your own luggage (we travel carry-on only). The bus was not crowded and masks were not enforced. It stopped at several other resorts, ours was last so it took about an hour. On the return trip, they picked us up three hours ahead (they give you the time when you check in with them at the airport) and there were no other stops so we were at the airport in fifteen minutes.
WHERE TO STAY: We stayed at the Cabana Bay Beach Resort and we were very pleased with it. It was the least expensive of the Universal resorts where you could still easily walk to the parks. It was already decorated for Christmas which was nice. We enjoyed the 50's theme -- my daughter has liked the 50s ever since she got the Maryellen doll from American Girl and read her books. The food court was huge and everything was clean. Our room was perfect for the two of us. We made no special requests and were put in the American a building, which was right above the food court. We tried both the shuttles, which came continuously, and the garden path, and found the distance we ended up walking was about the same either way. We ended only using the shuttle when I didn't want to walk in the dark (again, our of an abundance of caution). The resort did not feel crowded, it was quiet and we never had to wait for an elevator. We would definitely stay here again.
REUSABLE MUGS: Upon arrival we purchased two of the reusable resort mugs. These seem to be of the same manufacture as the ones we've had before at Disney resorts, and the Christmas designs were out already:
Here are the prices. We got ours for length of stay.
This was a good decision for us. I sometimes wonder at Disney if the mugs are worth it because we don't really drink soda. Having the freestyle Coke machines and being able to get Powerade Zero and Minute Maid Light made all the difference for us.
I also enjoyed the freshly brewed iced tea, which was so much better than the Gold Peak (blech!) that Disney offers.
We did NOT buy the refillable cups in the parks. I knew we were going to try the butterbeer, and beyond that we just stuck to water since we got our fill of other drinks while back at the resort. Also, the Coke freestyle machines in both the resorts and the parks allow you to use the WATER choice with any bottle, so we just refilled our own bottles. The water was filtered and good.
TICKETS AND EXPRESS PASS: I purchased two park, three-day tickets from Sams Club with my membership there. You do not need to buy them ahead of time -- I waited until a couple of days before our trip. They email images to you that you can either print or just keep on your phone and show at the turnstiles, which I did. This probably saved me about $20 overall. Three days was plenty of time for us, but you will see from the report that we aren't big riders. We were able to take frequent breaks, go back to the room when we felt like it, and didn't feel rushed. DD sort of wanted to go to Volcano Bay at first, but since it was so cool that week, skipping it was a good call. We would probably go on a summer trip though. We did NOT purchase Express Passes and for us, they would have been a huge waste of money. We didn't have any desire to ride Hagrid's or Velocicoaster, and by arriving early and being among the first in the parks, we rode Gringotts and Forbidden Journey with no wait.
APPLE PAY: Apple Pay is available everywhere and I found this so convenient (maybe dangerously so!) I just kept my phone in my pocket to take pictures and pulled it out any time I needed to pay for something. I also used it to show my park tickets to get in to the parks, to ride Hogwarts Express between parks, and to get into the lockers. I never had to pull my wallet out at all.
LANYARDS, LOCKERS AND BAGS: I saw so much discussion about lanyards and we did not get any nor did we feel we needed them. Granted, we did not have Express Passes. I used a mini-backpack, which just barely fit in the free lockers, and DD used a string bag which fit fine and just barely fit her wand once she got it. I wore a hoodie most of the time and was able to put my phone in the interior pocket on rides. This worked fine, but I never rode anything that turned me upside down -- maybe a lanyard and paper ticket would be better in that circumstance. I had to keep my phone on me because to get into the lockers, you go to one of the screens and scan your park ticket (I used the one on my phone). Then a locker pops open. When you return, you scan your ticket again at the same screen (remember which one!) and the locker pops open again. There are screens in each bank of lockers and the locker that pops open will be very close to the screen you use. In my park bag I carried a small battery pack and short charger for my phone, a small toiletry/first aid bag, hand wipes, kleenex, a pack of gum, and my sunglasses. I had room to stuff my hoodie in there when I got warm, and often kept a small water bottle in the side pocket.
WHERE TO EAT: We ate at Bayliner Diner in the Cabana Bay hotel, Toothsome, Big Fire, The Leaky Cauldron, and Mythos. I will include reviews on these in the daily reports.
More to come!
This will be a trip report with lots of pictures but I want to start with some tips for those who are planning a first trip. I had trouble finding some of these details so I hope they will be helpful to someone!
TIME OF YEAR: We traveled from Sunday, November 7 through Thursday, November and, apart from my daughter having to miss school, this was a perfect time to visit. The weather was beautiful -- highs in the upper 60's and 70's, sunny, dry, and no rain until late on Wednesday. The crowds were low. We are not thrill seekers so we didn't do the biggest rides, but we never waited in line more than ten minutes. We got up early and took advantage of early entry for resort guests, which was in Islands of Adventure during our stay (apparently this does not alternate with any predictability -- you have to check the crowd calendar a few weeks out).
TRANSPORTATION: We flew in to MCO on Southwest and arrived midday on Sunday. I debated how to get to our resort, but finally decided to use Super Star Shuttle. I don't know why they keep this service so well-hidden or why you can't book it online. I had to call around to get the right number -- the right one is 1-800-823-4733. The cost was $39 per person, round trip. So for two of us, it likely cost a little bit more than Uber, but I felt it was safer for a mom and child alone. The shuttle is run by Mears and the experience is largely the same as Magical Express, except you pick up your own luggage (we travel carry-on only). The bus was not crowded and masks were not enforced. It stopped at several other resorts, ours was last so it took about an hour. On the return trip, they picked us up three hours ahead (they give you the time when you check in with them at the airport) and there were no other stops so we were at the airport in fifteen minutes.
WHERE TO STAY: We stayed at the Cabana Bay Beach Resort and we were very pleased with it. It was the least expensive of the Universal resorts where you could still easily walk to the parks. It was already decorated for Christmas which was nice. We enjoyed the 50's theme -- my daughter has liked the 50s ever since she got the Maryellen doll from American Girl and read her books. The food court was huge and everything was clean. Our room was perfect for the two of us. We made no special requests and were put in the American a building, which was right above the food court. We tried both the shuttles, which came continuously, and the garden path, and found the distance we ended up walking was about the same either way. We ended only using the shuttle when I didn't want to walk in the dark (again, our of an abundance of caution). The resort did not feel crowded, it was quiet and we never had to wait for an elevator. We would definitely stay here again.
REUSABLE MUGS: Upon arrival we purchased two of the reusable resort mugs. These seem to be of the same manufacture as the ones we've had before at Disney resorts, and the Christmas designs were out already:
Here are the prices. We got ours for length of stay.
This was a good decision for us. I sometimes wonder at Disney if the mugs are worth it because we don't really drink soda. Having the freestyle Coke machines and being able to get Powerade Zero and Minute Maid Light made all the difference for us.
I also enjoyed the freshly brewed iced tea, which was so much better than the Gold Peak (blech!) that Disney offers.
We did NOT buy the refillable cups in the parks. I knew we were going to try the butterbeer, and beyond that we just stuck to water since we got our fill of other drinks while back at the resort. Also, the Coke freestyle machines in both the resorts and the parks allow you to use the WATER choice with any bottle, so we just refilled our own bottles. The water was filtered and good.
TICKETS AND EXPRESS PASS: I purchased two park, three-day tickets from Sams Club with my membership there. You do not need to buy them ahead of time -- I waited until a couple of days before our trip. They email images to you that you can either print or just keep on your phone and show at the turnstiles, which I did. This probably saved me about $20 overall. Three days was plenty of time for us, but you will see from the report that we aren't big riders. We were able to take frequent breaks, go back to the room when we felt like it, and didn't feel rushed. DD sort of wanted to go to Volcano Bay at first, but since it was so cool that week, skipping it was a good call. We would probably go on a summer trip though. We did NOT purchase Express Passes and for us, they would have been a huge waste of money. We didn't have any desire to ride Hagrid's or Velocicoaster, and by arriving early and being among the first in the parks, we rode Gringotts and Forbidden Journey with no wait.
APPLE PAY: Apple Pay is available everywhere and I found this so convenient (maybe dangerously so!) I just kept my phone in my pocket to take pictures and pulled it out any time I needed to pay for something. I also used it to show my park tickets to get in to the parks, to ride Hogwarts Express between parks, and to get into the lockers. I never had to pull my wallet out at all.
LANYARDS, LOCKERS AND BAGS: I saw so much discussion about lanyards and we did not get any nor did we feel we needed them. Granted, we did not have Express Passes. I used a mini-backpack, which just barely fit in the free lockers, and DD used a string bag which fit fine and just barely fit her wand once she got it. I wore a hoodie most of the time and was able to put my phone in the interior pocket on rides. This worked fine, but I never rode anything that turned me upside down -- maybe a lanyard and paper ticket would be better in that circumstance. I had to keep my phone on me because to get into the lockers, you go to one of the screens and scan your park ticket (I used the one on my phone). Then a locker pops open. When you return, you scan your ticket again at the same screen (remember which one!) and the locker pops open again. There are screens in each bank of lockers and the locker that pops open will be very close to the screen you use. In my park bag I carried a small battery pack and short charger for my phone, a small toiletry/first aid bag, hand wipes, kleenex, a pack of gum, and my sunglasses. I had room to stuff my hoodie in there when I got warm, and often kept a small water bottle in the side pocket.
WHERE TO EAT: We ate at Bayliner Diner in the Cabana Bay hotel, Toothsome, Big Fire, The Leaky Cauldron, and Mythos. I will include reviews on these in the daily reports.
More to come!
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