Quick trip to Universal April 2021...when 1 night becomes 3...and some Disney sprinkled in as well (5/28 Update)

[kittylady1972]

What is the thing with the resort tyedye thing? I have never heard of that and it sounds so awesome??

Oh my goodness....they have been doing it for a few years at a lot of the Disney Resorts. I know they have it at Saratoga Springs, Boardwalk and Bay Lake Tower/Contemporary for sure. Basically it's usually done in the afternoon timeframe at the resorts, for Boardwalk you could do a t-shirt or a pillowcase, there IS an extra charge for it but it's a great unique "souvenir" to take home. I think we paid $20 each or so to do the shirts, they wrapped them up for us in plastic bags and we took them home and washed them a few days later. I'll have to post photos of them but I like DHs more than mine. All the more reason to do them again, which I've already promised my daughter for this upcoming trip!

 

[jnjusoioa]

Cool, do you have to be staying at the resort or is this something you can sign up for ahead of time, I would love to do this. Thank you.

 

[kittylady1972]

Cool, do you have to be staying at the resort or is this something you can sign up for ahead of time, I would love to do this. Thank you.

Excellent question that I can't answer. It was not something that we could or needed to sign up for ahead of time that I know of and as far as staying at the resort...also not sure. They asked for our room information but that was because we were at the pool at the time with no cash on us so we charged the items to the room. If you aren't doing that it probably doesn't matter.

 

[kittylady1972]

My apologies on my delay in completing this TR. We are in the process of now planning another trip in July and that's kept me busy! I hope to wrap this up soon, at least before we take our next trip in a few days.

 

[kittylady1972]

DAY 3: Last Full Day and why planning is a good idea (continued)

So when we last left off, we were completely stuffed from dinner and ready to do some eating and drinking around the world. So I think we did some shopping and then hopped on the monorail...next stop Grand Floridian.



We got to experience the new monorail compartments...really takes away when you can't see the views on both sides of the train while travelling. In any case, we made it to the Grand Floridian and headed inside here:


This was a new to us place...so we got a nice table outside and just enjoyed the views...and some drinks.




I can't recall what they were...but they were good. Plus while here we got to see the boat parade go by...I just love this.






So I think it was while we were entering the GF Cafe that we realized...our plans would not work out. With the MK closing at 8pm, the monorail only would be running until I think 10pm at the latest? So this would be our one and only monorail bar hopping stop. We finished our drinks around 9:30pm and hopped the monorail back to Bay Lake Tower.

Once there, we stopped in the gift shop so that I could buy myself this:


I sat outside and enjoyed my one and only Mickey Ice Cream for this trip. The next day would be our last day...but don't worry there would be another trip with Disney parks in the near future.

 

[kittylady1972]

DAY 4: Sometimes you have to have priorities

So we had determined our next day would be somewhat relaxed. We had a 2:45pm flight so we figured we'd head to the airport around 1pm, or right after our planned "breakfast" at Topolino's...at 12pm.

I enjoyed some early morning time our patio:


We had a lovely standard view on the first floor. We decided to do a little bit of exploring around the grounds of our resort before checking out....and we had some fun taking some photos.










So after some walking around we decided to head over to Disney Springs and just do some walking around and maybe shopping. This was actually DH's idea not my own...so off we went.

When we got there we were walking around we walked by Gideon's and I talked about how I really wanted to check it out. It wasn't open yet so we went into World of Disney first (no lines!) and walked around there for a bit. On the way back we passed by Gideon's and they were putting people on the virtual wait list...so I added my name and was told it would be around 45 minutes. Now sadly that mean our reservation might be ready about the time of our Topolino's Reservation...and I was NOT missing that. It was around 11am so we thought we'd head over to Topolino's to see if they would take us early. Thankfully they did....we were soon seated inside this lovely restaurant and viewing Minnie:


We decided to order 3 dishes from this menu. I got the:
Quiche Gruyère
House-made Pancetta, Roasted Potatoes, Field Greens, Lemon Vinaigrette

and DH got:
Wild Mushroom Scramble
Spinach, Plant-based Eggs, Plant-based Sausage, Tomatoes (Plant-based)

and we split:
Sour Cream Waffle
Roasted Apple, Chantilly, Orange-Maple Syrup, and served with choice of Smoked Bacon, Ham, Sausage, or Plant-based Sausage

I also loved the starters:


This meal was really lovely and I loved seeing all of the characters. At least I got a few character photos:

 

[kittylady1972]

DAY 4: Sometimes you have to have priorities

Of course we finished up with all of the characters coming out together...and I got a shot with this guy:



It was during our meal that I got the text from Gideon's to head to the line...but of course we were still working through breakfast.

We finished our meal and headed back to Disney Springs with one goal...see if Gideon's would still let me in line, get some cookies and get out!



Thankfullly we were able to join the Gideon's line so we waited about 15 or 20 minutes. Everyone else who has been here is right...it is a small place. So we ordered 6 cookies (the max), one of each variety, and headed out. Soon we were back at the car with our cookies...and heading out to the airport.

Security was a bit crazy so we were thankful for TSA Precheck. Our timing was pretty good, but admittedly much later than DH would have normally liked to get to the airport. I think it was after 2pm and our bags were heading through screening...when DH's got pulled to the side.

Great.

This took forever to get somebody to look through his bad for whatever they questioned because they had another guy with a box with a mirror that they had to open and then seal again.

I was wondering if he'd every get through and as I saw them finally go through his bags I realized what they pulled out...HIS TIE-DYE MICKEY shirt, still wrapped and in the plastic bag. Thankfully they didn't make him open it.

We arrived at the gate and had some time to grab some quick snacks and then we were off. Flight was unventful. We landed at the airport and texted our family. So my DD 18 pulled up driving our big honking Toyota Sequoia SUV with her grandfather in the front seats and her younger and older brothers in the 3rd row. It's so funny because she is so small but she has no issues driving. We all headed to dinner together as that's our Tuesday evening tradition at home...dinner and then cards at home.

Plus we had cookies for dessert afterwards:


Perfect end to our day and vacation of course.

 

[mster425]

Great report thanks! What is this magical secret menu cake at The Wave????