Pre Trip Report, First Time Universal/Sea World Vacation!

[rowan555]

Okay, so I have the hotels booked, and I'm planning out a general idea of what we'll do. If I'm missing something important, let me know!

It will be me and my 12 year old daughter, we're leaving the boys home and taking a vacation just the two of us for the first time ever. We can't wait! We're heading to Orlando from New Orleans on August 18, and this is our rough outline of activities.

Sunday - drive all day...sigh... Check into the Best Western near Universal, eat dinner, and do something very low key like one of the million mini golf/arcades in the area, early bedtime.

Monday - Get up early (hate the time change, and we are normally late risers - this will be the challenging part!) - breakfast buffet at hotel, check out, head to Royal Pacific for 7 AM. Check in, stow luggage, get express passes, get my AP, and go straight to WWOHP. Spend the rest of the morning in the park. Afternoon, return to hotel, bring luggage to room, swim time for daughter. Eat, return to park til close. Dinner at Mythos?

Tuesday - Early entry at Universal, spend most of the day at the park exploring everything. Syd wants to eat at Monsters Cafe.

Wednesday - Breakfast somewhere off site, then hit the parks to re-do anything we enjoyed and hit anything we've missed. Break from the heat around lunch time at the hotel. Change into swimsuit and coverup, return to park to ride water rides, then pool hop at Hard Rock. Might eat there, or may just eat at City Walk on way back to Royal Pacific. Later that night, mini golf at City Walk.

Thursday - check out of Royal Pacific, last full day at Universal/IOA - winging it today, doing whatever the girl wants, lol. When she's had her fill, we'll head to Springhill Suites and check in. Evening - Dave and Busters.

Friday - Aquatica with free dining. Evening - Downtown Disney.

Saturday - Sea World with free dining - I believe we'll stay from open to close, particularly since we want to see all the shows, and we can eat/drink free ;-)

Sunday - Shuttle in the morning to Sea World, re-ride any rides she wants to catch again, see any shows we may have missed the first time around. Afternoon - totally open - return to Aquatica if the weather is nice, or go back to Universal to hit our favorites.

Monday - Totally free day. We can hit any of the four parks again, OR we can use some old park hoppers and spend one last LONG day at Disney (long shot, but I'm bringing our tickets just in case). We could also just decompress and hit the malls, outlet malls, etc, which I think may be what we choose to do after all those days of theme parks.

Tuesday - check out 6 AM and hit the road. Stop in Marianna, FL to do a cavern tour, then continue back to New Orleans.


Okay, I'm pooped just thinking about it! We're total newbies to all of this, so any suggestions are appreciated!

 

[macraven]

there are better cs than Monsters Cafe.

that place can be a hit or miss.


last year, i ended up getting a refund on the food i bought there.


it does have ambiance and that is kewl !

 

[HoosierJoy]

Sounds fun!! I love the pool hopping idea. My DD would have loved that when she was younger. I may have to add that to my plans. I totally forgot about that because we usually go to Disney where it isnt an option. But at Universal all 3 resorts are close by and I would love to see the other 2. We are staying at HRH.

 

[rowan555]

there are better cs than Monsters Cafe.

that place can be a hit or miss.


last year, i ended up getting a refund on the food i bought there.


it does have ambiance and that is kewl !

She wants to go b/c of the ambience moreso than the food - but I'll keep that in mind. We'll probably split one meal each time we eat, so it's not going to be too much food if it ends up being subpar. I think I want to check out the Simpsons dining choices myself, particularly the new "healthier" options.

 

[macraven]

She wants to go b/c of the ambience moreso than the food - but I'll keep that in mind. We'll probably split one meal each time we eat, so it's not going to be too much food if it ends up being subpar. I think I want to check out the Simpsons dining choices myself, particularly the new "healthier" options.

the lard donut will be my "healthy" choice for when i go this fall.

 

[rowan555]

the lard donut will be my "healthy" choice for when i go this fall.

LOL! As much as I'd love to try one, I'd be passed out under one of the Moe's Tavern booths if I ate one of those. I can't even eat the bun on a burger without getting seriously woozy, a donut would do me in!