SpaceMtnGirl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2015
- Messages
- 619
We just returned last night from a quick 4 day Spring Break trip to Universal. We have been to Disney (Land and World) many times, but this was our first trip to Universal. It was myself and DS12.
Tuesday 3/22
We landed at MCO around 1:15PM and used a towncar service to get to the Royal Pacific Resort. We checked in and our room wasn't ready, so we checked our bags with luggage services and walked to CityWalk and had lunch at The Cowfish - YUM! After lunch, our room was ready. We were in Tower 2 on the 6th floor near the elevators. The room was nice and clean. We hit the pool but I quickly got out of it because the water was freezing cold! I could not even stay in it with a thermal long-sleeve swim shirt. I tried the hot tub but the water was lukewarm and filled with splashing, screaming young kids, so I found a lounge chair while DS swam. We didn't have a park ticket for this day but after DS got finished swimming, we wished we had. We ended up walking back to CityWalk and having dinner at Margaritaville (delicious, and I totally recommend the Chocolate Banana Colada!).
Wednesday 3/23
Our first day at the parks. We arrived for early entry at 6:40AM and a few minutes later they opened the gates. We walked with everyone else to Hogsmeade and rode Forbidden Journey. When we got done riding FJ and then the small rollercoaster next to it (I forget the name!), it was only 7:30 and so we walked right into Ollivanders. DS wasn't picked but we enjoyed the show nonetheless. We had a yummy breakfast at 3 Broomsticks... one American Breakfast was enough for us to share. We then took the train with no wait to Diagon Alley but did not explore DA yet, just went straight out into Universal Studios. We rode pretty much every ride (except Minions) and really appreciated our Express Passes. I also appreciated the advice I read here to use a waist pack instead of a backpack. We only had to get a locker once this day for RRR. We took a swim break at the resort in the afternoon although I didn't even try the water this time.
Thursday 3/24
Second day in the parks. We ran a little late this morning and arrived to Universal Studios right at 7. Our wait for Gringotts was a bit long and when we got done with Gringotts it was already nearly 8. We had breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron, explored DA a bit, then took the train with no wait back to Islands of Adventure. Again, our Express Passes came in handy and we did most all rides until we got to the water rides... we went on the rafting ride and I got as wet as if I had jumped into a pool fully clothed! We had never gotten that wet on Grizzly River Rapids at Disneyland! Wet as we were we decided to ride the log ride next door and it was fun, we enjoyed the drops. At that point though we were soaked to the bone and did not care for more wet rides so we never did ride Jurassic Park. We went back to the hotel and I did a load of laundry while DS went swimming. We went back to the park later and did more rides. DS really liked Dr. Doom's Fearfall and we did that several times, and also made a few trips to the Wizarding World for Butterbeer (which we both loved, cold and/or frozen, both great). We rode Dragon Challenge which surprisingly we loved (waiting for the front row is worth it).
Friday 3/25
It was our last day and our pickup for the airport was at 3pm. We slept until 8 then got ready and packed, checked out and checked our bags with luggage services at 10AM. I did not want to wear my fanny pack to the airport (lol) and so used my backpack instead and really appreciated and missed the fanny pack when I had to get a locker for the Mummy. The lockers were crazy, the lines for the kiosks were nuts. DS and I both decided the Mummy was our favorite ride out of all the rides in both parks so we hit that one a few times. We also rode Minions for the first time this day. It was cute but also our longest wait (35 minutes with Express Pass, 115 minutes for the regular line though!).
We enjoyed our trip and hope to return in a couple years. DS wants to try the Hulk, which was closed, and check out the new Kong ride (what they've done so far looks very cool).
Tuesday 3/22
We landed at MCO around 1:15PM and used a towncar service to get to the Royal Pacific Resort. We checked in and our room wasn't ready, so we checked our bags with luggage services and walked to CityWalk and had lunch at The Cowfish - YUM! After lunch, our room was ready. We were in Tower 2 on the 6th floor near the elevators. The room was nice and clean. We hit the pool but I quickly got out of it because the water was freezing cold! I could not even stay in it with a thermal long-sleeve swim shirt. I tried the hot tub but the water was lukewarm and filled with splashing, screaming young kids, so I found a lounge chair while DS swam. We didn't have a park ticket for this day but after DS got finished swimming, we wished we had. We ended up walking back to CityWalk and having dinner at Margaritaville (delicious, and I totally recommend the Chocolate Banana Colada!).
Wednesday 3/23
Our first day at the parks. We arrived for early entry at 6:40AM and a few minutes later they opened the gates. We walked with everyone else to Hogsmeade and rode Forbidden Journey. When we got done riding FJ and then the small rollercoaster next to it (I forget the name!), it was only 7:30 and so we walked right into Ollivanders. DS wasn't picked but we enjoyed the show nonetheless. We had a yummy breakfast at 3 Broomsticks... one American Breakfast was enough for us to share. We then took the train with no wait to Diagon Alley but did not explore DA yet, just went straight out into Universal Studios. We rode pretty much every ride (except Minions) and really appreciated our Express Passes. I also appreciated the advice I read here to use a waist pack instead of a backpack. We only had to get a locker once this day for RRR. We took a swim break at the resort in the afternoon although I didn't even try the water this time.
Thursday 3/24
Second day in the parks. We ran a little late this morning and arrived to Universal Studios right at 7. Our wait for Gringotts was a bit long and when we got done with Gringotts it was already nearly 8. We had breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron, explored DA a bit, then took the train with no wait back to Islands of Adventure. Again, our Express Passes came in handy and we did most all rides until we got to the water rides... we went on the rafting ride and I got as wet as if I had jumped into a pool fully clothed! We had never gotten that wet on Grizzly River Rapids at Disneyland! Wet as we were we decided to ride the log ride next door and it was fun, we enjoyed the drops. At that point though we were soaked to the bone and did not care for more wet rides so we never did ride Jurassic Park. We went back to the hotel and I did a load of laundry while DS went swimming. We went back to the park later and did more rides. DS really liked Dr. Doom's Fearfall and we did that several times, and also made a few trips to the Wizarding World for Butterbeer (which we both loved, cold and/or frozen, both great). We rode Dragon Challenge which surprisingly we loved (waiting for the front row is worth it).
Friday 3/25
It was our last day and our pickup for the airport was at 3pm. We slept until 8 then got ready and packed, checked out and checked our bags with luggage services at 10AM. I did not want to wear my fanny pack to the airport (lol) and so used my backpack instead and really appreciated and missed the fanny pack when I had to get a locker for the Mummy. The lockers were crazy, the lines for the kiosks were nuts. DS and I both decided the Mummy was our favorite ride out of all the rides in both parks so we hit that one a few times. We also rode Minions for the first time this day. It was cute but also our longest wait (35 minutes with Express Pass, 115 minutes for the regular line though!).
We enjoyed our trip and hope to return in a couple years. DS wants to try the Hulk, which was closed, and check out the new Kong ride (what they've done so far looks very cool).
