Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina
Life is short. Live it well.
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2008
- Messages
- 13,826
Please tell me that the minion hat was one of your purchases!
Sharing the Love: a Gorgeous Spring Weekend at RPR and CBBR updated 3/12/17 and complete!
- Thread starter pepperandchips
- Start date
princesserin1350
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2015
- Messages
- 99
Those nachos look amazing!!! And I love the kiosk full of fluffy unicorn merchandise!!
pepperandchips
[melinda]
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2014
- Messages
- 3,499
Day 2 of Universal - 4/9 - Part Three
This afternoon's nap was a bit restless due to the noise of the pool music, blaring just outside our hotel room window. We needed to rest more than we did sleep, so this was okay for us, but I wanted to be sure to include this information in case anyone reading this has little ones that need afternoon naps. In that case, I would make sure to request a room on the opposite side of the hallway from the pool.
After resting we'd planned to meet up with our compadres in the park, so we made our way back over to Islands of Adventure. With no sign that L and D were on the way from Cabana Bay, we thought this would be a good opportunity to visit Dr. Doom's Fear Fall, as neither my mom nor sister are fans of drop rides. We did Dr. Doom twice - once we got a view towards Royal Pacific, which was fun to see the resort from high above. The second time we got a view toward the Hulk coaster rebuild, so that was a fun sneak peek. After the second trip up and bounce down, I was ready to move on. Fresh from a nap was not the best time to try for a third vertical launching.
Not wanting to get too far away from the entrance and hoping to ride Spiderman once our party was reunited, R and I looked for something to do in Marvel Superhero Island. We had not ridden Stormforce Accelatron in January so we went on that. I get really intense motion sickness, so this wouldn't ordinarily be my idea of fun, but I was wearing a scopolamine patch during our Universal visit so that I could enjoy Universal's 3D and 4D rides (especially Forbidden Journey). We still did not spin the ride vehicle much, but for some reason this ride gave me the giggles, and I was laughing the whole ride while R laughed at me laughing. After we finished riding, my mom and sister finally showed up and we rode Spiderman, which everyone liked. Even with the patch, I still have to close my eyes during the "falling" scene down the skyscraper.
We grabbed some popcorn and an Icee for a snack, and headed toward Seuss Landing again.
We rode the caroseussel as D was really into the unique characters that take the place of the horses on this ride.
We ducked into "All the Books You Can Read" to scope out souvenirs for R's forthcoming nephew (expected in August)...
... where D "tried her hand" at being a grinch
and we spotted Thing #3
R had noticed I was a little bummed earlier on our Seuss Trolley Train Ride that we wound up on the alphabet side. That was the same side we'd ridden back in January and I really wanted to try the Sneeches side. So he was adamant that we do the High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride again so that I could experience the Sneeches version. He is pretty sweet sometimes
I loved going through (a very empty) Circus McGurkus! And of course I once again very much enjoyed the views from the train.
And the Sneeches side did not disappoint! I far and away prefer the story here to the abc's narration. I love this adorable little ride. Leave it to grandma Melinda to love the slowest-moving, tamest ride in the park.
We did some ambling around, enjoying the gorgeous views of the Lost Continent at sunset.
It felt very "Florida" that evening, and it was nice just to experience the rush of being in the theme park at sundown. We are definitely night time parkgoers. It was nice to have a later closing time at the parks that night.
We headed toward Hogsmeade with the idea of using Hogwarts Express to change parks. There was about a 25 minute wait for the train, which was okay but we wished we'd gotten refreshments (Hog's Tea, anyone?) for the line. We got a fair number of comments about our plush backpacks while navigating the switchbacks in the queue below the platform.
As the sun went down, we rode the train across to Diagon Alley.
It was nighttime in Diagon Alley when we arrived, which is an incredibly beautiful thing to experience. The only thing more beautiful was getting an ice cream cone with next to no line!
R and I shared a cone with salted caramel blondie (our favorite) and sticky toffee pudding.
The sticky toffee pudding was not something I'd get again -- I didn't taste anything too wildly different from vanilla. I compared it to the sweet cream flavor from Marble Slab. And that's not meant to be a compliment. I'm not a vanilla gal, thankyouverymuch.
My mom and sister also got a cone - I believe they had salted caramel blondie and the chocolate and raspberry. We enjoyed our cones from just outside the ice cream shop, with this view:
The above photo is included in this TR just to show you the contrast between how incredible the fire-breathing dragon really is compared to the sad little cough of flame I'd captured before.
We got in line for Gringott's - I believe the wait was posted at 45 or 60 minutes, not sure which, but this was the last attraction we REALLY wanted to ride, so we were fine waiting. The massive outdoor switchback queue was in use, as was something we'd not experienced before -- locker tickets. We joined the queue (and enjoyed some beers from the cart in the outdoor area) and once we reached the point where the line goes back indoors into the bank lobby, D and I were each given a ticket to get out of line, show the ticket to the locker attendant in order to stow our things, and using the ticket, we were permitted to go back in to the bank lobby entrance and duck under the queue partitions to rejoin R and my mom. It was a strange experience, and I think it could probably be organized a bit better, but I am glad they are making it more orderly at the locker stations. We all enjoyed this attraction of course - it really is impressive. Of course on the way out, the ticket system was no longer in effect and we had an encounter with another guest who was standing in front of the computer at the locker station our bags were stored in... repeatedly pressing the screen which was repeatedly displaying the "retrieve items only" message each time, meaning all the lockers were in use. After letting her do this for a few moments, D and I kindly informed her that the lockers were in use but that we'd like to vacate some. She tartly told us that someone had just retrieved their things, but still refused to move to another locker station. D kind of just edged in and pressed the retrieval button to get her things out of the locker, and this woman was just still standing there, muttering nasty things about us while still refusing to move to another locker station. Some people...
We had just a few minutes before the park would be closing, so we booked it over to the Mummy and were able to squeeze in that as our last ride before the park closed at 10:00. We slowly, precariously, took the route to exit the crowded park as Jessie J (that night's Mardi Gras concert performer) finished up the last half "Domino" and introduced a guest to the stage to help her with "Bang Bang". That was actually extremely cool if it wasn't a planted musician - she picked a fan to come up on stage and rap the Nicki Minaj verse and he did a fantastic job. Plus I thought it was cool that we got to hear most of her performance of her two most popular hits, just by exiting at the time she was performing them. I wouldn't have waited to see her or hear them, but it was a nice bonus having this experience. #UniversalMoments
Just like the rest of the crush of guests, we slowly exited out into City Walk. It was a little after 10:00, but the restaurants were still hopping, so we put in our name with the hostess at Vivo. Before we could even order libations at the bar, I received the text that our table was ready (10 minutes on the dot from when I got the initial "wait time" text, which approximated a 30 minute wait). We were seated on the patio after requesting "first available".
R and I were each going to order a glass of wine so we ordered a bottle of the Carletto Ricco Rosso red blend.
We also had this last time we dined at Vivo, and it was neither the best nor the worst wine I've ever had. It was drinkable and smooth and went well with the dishes we ordered.
My mom ordered a vodka martini and she didn't complain, so I will assume it was as it should have been.
Meals at Vivo start with a complimentary loaf of this crusty ciabatta type bread - great for dipping in the olive oil provided. We were ravenous as it was after 10:30 when we were seated, so I ate more of this than I wanted to. The food is so good who wants to waste valuable tummy space on bread!?
I ordered a Margherita Pizza ($12) and the misti salad ($5). The pizza was tomato sauce, basil, extra virgin olive oil, and buffalo mozzarella. The salad was baby greens, fennel, radicchio, cucumber, tomato, radish, and herb vinaigrette. The salad portion was huge! I forced myself to finish all of it even though I wanted to eat more pizza and leave salad behind. The pizza leftovers would make a good breakfast, and I was in dire need of veggies after over a week in Orlando mainly eating in restaurants. The pizza was exactly what I wanted - light, chewy crust and delicious sauce and cheese. Everyone tasted this and enjoyed it and I took about 3 pieces to go which we ate the next morning. I would highly recommend this as an entree if you are in the mood for pizza.
R chose the Pork Romano - breaded pork, prosciutto, fontina, roasted tomato, pesto, linguine ($21) and also ordered a misti salad. He liked this and so did I. Think of it as chicken parmigiana with an additional ham layer. This was a large portion, and I don't think it got finished, but R finished his salad too. They were good!
My mom went adventurous and ordered the Squid Ink Seafood Pasta - shrimp, clams, mussels, calamari, white wine, basil, black spaghetti ($19). She really liked this. I had a clam, I think, and thought the sauce was good. She also had a misti salad, and it was hilarious when it came to the table because her salad was sad and flat while all the others were huge, fluffy, and fresh looking. Needless to say, they replaced the sad flat salad with no questions asked. A manager even followed up to make sure we were happy. The fluffy salad was happily devoured.
D, our resident chicken parmigiana expert, chose... you guessed it, Chicken Parmigiano - marinara, mozzarella, linguine ($16). She liked this.
We had no room for dessert after this indulgent meal, but we had great service and a wonderful dinner. With tax and tip, after preferred pass discount, the total came to $147.16. I am not sure how many martinis that included but I thought it was a very fair price for a nice dinner for four with alcohol.
We rolled back to our rooms, exhausted and satisfied. The next day was our last day in Orlando
, so we needed to get some rest.
This afternoon's nap was a bit restless due to the noise of the pool music, blaring just outside our hotel room window. We needed to rest more than we did sleep, so this was okay for us, but I wanted to be sure to include this information in case anyone reading this has little ones that need afternoon naps. In that case, I would make sure to request a room on the opposite side of the hallway from the pool.
After resting we'd planned to meet up with our compadres in the park, so we made our way back over to Islands of Adventure. With no sign that L and D were on the way from Cabana Bay, we thought this would be a good opportunity to visit Dr. Doom's Fear Fall, as neither my mom nor sister are fans of drop rides. We did Dr. Doom twice - once we got a view towards Royal Pacific, which was fun to see the resort from high above. The second time we got a view toward the Hulk coaster rebuild, so that was a fun sneak peek. After the second trip up and bounce down, I was ready to move on. Fresh from a nap was not the best time to try for a third vertical launching.
Not wanting to get too far away from the entrance and hoping to ride Spiderman once our party was reunited, R and I looked for something to do in Marvel Superhero Island. We had not ridden Stormforce Accelatron in January so we went on that. I get really intense motion sickness, so this wouldn't ordinarily be my idea of fun, but I was wearing a scopolamine patch during our Universal visit so that I could enjoy Universal's 3D and 4D rides (especially Forbidden Journey). We still did not spin the ride vehicle much, but for some reason this ride gave me the giggles, and I was laughing the whole ride while R laughed at me laughing. After we finished riding, my mom and sister finally showed up and we rode Spiderman, which everyone liked. Even with the patch, I still have to close my eyes during the "falling" scene down the skyscraper.
We grabbed some popcorn and an Icee for a snack, and headed toward Seuss Landing again.
We rode the caroseussel as D was really into the unique characters that take the place of the horses on this ride.
We ducked into "All the Books You Can Read" to scope out souvenirs for R's forthcoming nephew (expected in August)...
... where D "tried her hand" at being a grinch
and we spotted Thing #3
R had noticed I was a little bummed earlier on our Seuss Trolley Train Ride that we wound up on the alphabet side. That was the same side we'd ridden back in January and I really wanted to try the Sneeches side. So he was adamant that we do the High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride again so that I could experience the Sneeches version. He is pretty sweet sometimes
I loved going through (a very empty) Circus McGurkus! And of course I once again very much enjoyed the views from the train.
And the Sneeches side did not disappoint! I far and away prefer the story here to the abc's narration. I love this adorable little ride. Leave it to grandma Melinda to love the slowest-moving, tamest ride in the park.
We did some ambling around, enjoying the gorgeous views of the Lost Continent at sunset.
It felt very "Florida" that evening, and it was nice just to experience the rush of being in the theme park at sundown. We are definitely night time parkgoers. It was nice to have a later closing time at the parks that night.
We headed toward Hogsmeade with the idea of using Hogwarts Express to change parks. There was about a 25 minute wait for the train, which was okay but we wished we'd gotten refreshments (Hog's Tea, anyone?) for the line. We got a fair number of comments about our plush backpacks while navigating the switchbacks in the queue below the platform.
As the sun went down, we rode the train across to Diagon Alley.
It was nighttime in Diagon Alley when we arrived, which is an incredibly beautiful thing to experience. The only thing more beautiful was getting an ice cream cone with next to no line!
R and I shared a cone with salted caramel blondie (our favorite) and sticky toffee pudding.
The sticky toffee pudding was not something I'd get again -- I didn't taste anything too wildly different from vanilla. I compared it to the sweet cream flavor from Marble Slab. And that's not meant to be a compliment. I'm not a vanilla gal, thankyouverymuch.
My mom and sister also got a cone - I believe they had salted caramel blondie and the chocolate and raspberry. We enjoyed our cones from just outside the ice cream shop, with this view:
The above photo is included in this TR just to show you the contrast between how incredible the fire-breathing dragon really is compared to the sad little cough of flame I'd captured before.
We got in line for Gringott's - I believe the wait was posted at 45 or 60 minutes, not sure which, but this was the last attraction we REALLY wanted to ride, so we were fine waiting. The massive outdoor switchback queue was in use, as was something we'd not experienced before -- locker tickets. We joined the queue (and enjoyed some beers from the cart in the outdoor area) and once we reached the point where the line goes back indoors into the bank lobby, D and I were each given a ticket to get out of line, show the ticket to the locker attendant in order to stow our things, and using the ticket, we were permitted to go back in to the bank lobby entrance and duck under the queue partitions to rejoin R and my mom. It was a strange experience, and I think it could probably be organized a bit better, but I am glad they are making it more orderly at the locker stations. We all enjoyed this attraction of course - it really is impressive. Of course on the way out, the ticket system was no longer in effect and we had an encounter with another guest who was standing in front of the computer at the locker station our bags were stored in... repeatedly pressing the screen which was repeatedly displaying the "retrieve items only" message each time, meaning all the lockers were in use. After letting her do this for a few moments, D and I kindly informed her that the lockers were in use but that we'd like to vacate some. She tartly told us that someone had just retrieved their things, but still refused to move to another locker station. D kind of just edged in and pressed the retrieval button to get her things out of the locker, and this woman was just still standing there, muttering nasty things about us while still refusing to move to another locker station. Some people...
We had just a few minutes before the park would be closing, so we booked it over to the Mummy and were able to squeeze in that as our last ride before the park closed at 10:00. We slowly, precariously, took the route to exit the crowded park as Jessie J (that night's Mardi Gras concert performer) finished up the last half "Domino" and introduced a guest to the stage to help her with "Bang Bang". That was actually extremely cool if it wasn't a planted musician - she picked a fan to come up on stage and rap the Nicki Minaj verse and he did a fantastic job. Plus I thought it was cool that we got to hear most of her performance of her two most popular hits, just by exiting at the time she was performing them. I wouldn't have waited to see her or hear them, but it was a nice bonus having this experience. #UniversalMoments
Just like the rest of the crush of guests, we slowly exited out into City Walk. It was a little after 10:00, but the restaurants were still hopping, so we put in our name with the hostess at Vivo. Before we could even order libations at the bar, I received the text that our table was ready (10 minutes on the dot from when I got the initial "wait time" text, which approximated a 30 minute wait). We were seated on the patio after requesting "first available".
R and I were each going to order a glass of wine so we ordered a bottle of the Carletto Ricco Rosso red blend.
We also had this last time we dined at Vivo, and it was neither the best nor the worst wine I've ever had. It was drinkable and smooth and went well with the dishes we ordered.
My mom ordered a vodka martini and she didn't complain, so I will assume it was as it should have been.
Meals at Vivo start with a complimentary loaf of this crusty ciabatta type bread - great for dipping in the olive oil provided. We were ravenous as it was after 10:30 when we were seated, so I ate more of this than I wanted to. The food is so good who wants to waste valuable tummy space on bread!?
I ordered a Margherita Pizza ($12) and the misti salad ($5). The pizza was tomato sauce, basil, extra virgin olive oil, and buffalo mozzarella. The salad was baby greens, fennel, radicchio, cucumber, tomato, radish, and herb vinaigrette. The salad portion was huge! I forced myself to finish all of it even though I wanted to eat more pizza and leave salad behind. The pizza leftovers would make a good breakfast, and I was in dire need of veggies after over a week in Orlando mainly eating in restaurants. The pizza was exactly what I wanted - light, chewy crust and delicious sauce and cheese. Everyone tasted this and enjoyed it and I took about 3 pieces to go which we ate the next morning. I would highly recommend this as an entree if you are in the mood for pizza.
R chose the Pork Romano - breaded pork, prosciutto, fontina, roasted tomato, pesto, linguine ($21) and also ordered a misti salad. He liked this and so did I. Think of it as chicken parmigiana with an additional ham layer. This was a large portion, and I don't think it got finished, but R finished his salad too. They were good!
My mom went adventurous and ordered the Squid Ink Seafood Pasta - shrimp, clams, mussels, calamari, white wine, basil, black spaghetti ($19). She really liked this. I had a clam, I think, and thought the sauce was good. She also had a misti salad, and it was hilarious when it came to the table because her salad was sad and flat while all the others were huge, fluffy, and fresh looking. Needless to say, they replaced the sad flat salad with no questions asked. A manager even followed up to make sure we were happy. The fluffy salad was happily devoured.
D, our resident chicken parmigiana expert, chose... you guessed it, Chicken Parmigiano - marinara, mozzarella, linguine ($16). She liked this.
We had no room for dessert after this indulgent meal, but we had great service and a wonderful dinner. With tax and tip, after preferred pass discount, the total came to $147.16. I am not sure how many martinis that included but I thought it was a very fair price for a nice dinner for four with alcohol.
We rolled back to our rooms, exhausted and satisfied. The next day was our last day in Orlando
, so we needed to get some rest.
princesserin1350
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2015
- Messages
- 99
Nooo, not the last day already!!! Hoping that you break up the last day into 3+ parts as well! 
pepperandchips
[melinda]
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2014
- Messages
- 3,499
Oh yes, the weather was divine! I may have to start going every April. Who am I kidding, if I had my druthers I'd go every month even in the summer when Orlando is hotter than the face of the sun! I would love to see some entertainment in front of the Cinnabon area, I will have to keep a look out for that.
We actually don't leave until Saturday, but its getting super close. I need to buckle down and get all the last minute stuff done tonight. I am woefully behind in my packing efforts.
I agree wholeheartedly with the bolded.....life is way too short to pass up on that kind of merriment and enjoyment. Looking at your pictures, I have been thinking to myself.....my current purse/backpack looks rather boring. I may have to splurge on something equally as fun for our park days
.
I think you practically NEED a fancy bag/backpack. Although the fun minion phone case carries mostly everything you really need in the parks and doesn't require a locker!
Haha, I wish! He is actually a hat aficionado, this minion one never would have made the cut. R actually looks quite handsome in hats, I think the little googly eyes on top might undermine that in his view...
Oh man they were SO good! Now I kinda wish I was having nachos for dinner... the fluffy kiosk is actually where we ended up getting the security tag taken off of the original backpack purchase - some good it does, we walked right out of the Universal Studios store at CityWalk with the security tag still on it. No alarms sounded!
Nooo, not the last day already!!! Hoping that you break up the last day into 3+ parts as well!
You're telling me!
Already feeling homesick for Orlando. The good news is that I am officially insane and going back to Orlando next weekend.
princesserin1350
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2015
- Messages
- 99
You're telling me!
Wow, I am so jealous!!! That's awesome! I really need to upgrade to an AP the next time I go, except I'm moving to California in June so won't be able to make it back much at all
Kivara
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2015
- Messages
- 1,033
After reading your review of the place, I might be adding Vivo to our list of must-try places...like your sister, my DH is a nut for chicken parm.
I too really enjoy High in the Sky, it's sweet, great views, and just about everyone can ride it! (Though the Sneeches side wins by a mile
)
I too really enjoy High in the Sky, it's sweet, great views, and just about everyone can ride it! (Though the Sneeches side wins by a mile
)
pepperandchips
[melinda]
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2014
- Messages
- 3,499
Wow, I am so jealous!!! That's awesome! I really need to upgrade to an AP the next time I go, except I'm moving to California in June so won't be able to make it back much at all
Um, except for you'll obviously be closer to Disney Mecca... Disneyland! APs are great but dangerous. Because your park admission is already paid for, it's so easy to justify a "quick weekend" in Orlando. I have a former coworker who had expiring banked DVC points that needed to be used before the summer, and due to availability/points charts it ended up working out that she could snag me a villa at AKL - Kidani next weekend (which should have been a week after the opening of Rivers of Light), so we went ahead with the insanity and I booked a weekend at AKL just three weeks after returning from Orlando. Due to the restrictions with the DVC points and availability on a short notice, I didn't feel right about asking her to make any changes to the reservation. I'm obviously bummed that we won't be getting Rivers of Light, but it will be nice to swim in the resort pool and enjoy Flower and Garden again.
After reading your review of the place, I might be adding Vivo to our list of must-try places...like your sister, my DH is a nut for chicken parm.
I too really enjoy High in the Sky, it's sweet, great views, and just about everyone can ride it! (Though the Sneeches side wins by a mile
Oh, I didn't know the chicken parm fan club was so pervasive! Though really, what's not to love about fried chicken topped with cheese and served with pasta?
You really can't beat Vivo for convenience. Are there better Italian places nearby? I'm sure -- but the prices aren't crazy (or maybe I'm just conditioned to insane Disney prices) and it's so nice just to walk to City Walk and never have to get in your car at Universal. We're two for two on relaxing, enjoyable meals there, and I'm a sucker for a nice patio. I don't think Vivo will change your life but I do think it makes for a very pleasant evening out!
Kivara
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2015
- Messages
- 1,033
Sounds perfect! We never go anywhere by car when we go to Universal...just love being shut off from the rest of the world and I love a good patio too, can't stand AC. That's probably why we go to Margaritaville every visit, love the patio & music.
We aren't fancy eaters with sophisticated palettes by far...living in a small town area, we only have a handful of restaurants (all chains) and the only Italian place is Olive Garden. That's fine by me I'm sure there are some amazing places, but we tend to stick to simple meals (and places that offer chicken fingers and fries for the youngest, haha)
and I love a good patio too, can't stand AC. That's probably why we go to Margaritaville every visit, love the patio & music.We aren't fancy eaters with sophisticated palettes by far...living in a small town area, we only have a handful of restaurants (all chains) and the only Italian place is Olive Garden. That's fine by me
I'm sure there are some amazing places, but we tend to stick to simple meals (and places that offer chicken fingers and fries for the youngest, haha)
princesserin1350
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2015
- Messages
- 99
I plan to get a Disneyland AP, so I know exactly what you mean!
I hope you have a wonderful time at AKL! You can never have too much vacation time in Orlando, I think.
angryduck71
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2010
- Messages
- 1,330
This is such a fun report to read! I actually jumped a little at the goblin pic! He is looking into my very SOUL! I only have a little over a year to wait... sigh....
I actually jumped a little at the goblin pic! He is looking into my very SOUL! I only have a little over a year to wait... sigh....
Jupiter&Wolfe
Disney is for Gwown Ups
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2009
- Messages
- 797
Hopping in here! Just caught myself up but I've been loving all your photos, it's helping me familiarize myself with what to expect and getting me excited! Doing my first Universal trip this November - spending 3 days before heading to WDW, I have no idea what to expect. It looks like so much fun! 
I also feel slightly less weird for being excited about Seuss Landing. When I first started looking at pictures I saw that area and thought the theming looked awesome, but everyone says it's the kid area you should just "breeze past". I mean, who doesn't like Dr. Seuss?? Can't wait to hear the rest!!
I also feel slightly less weird for being excited about Seuss Landing.
When I first started looking at pictures I saw that area and thought the theming looked awesome, but everyone says it's the kid area you should just "breeze past". I mean, who doesn't like Dr. Seuss?? Can't wait to hear the rest!!
Kivara
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2015
- Messages
- 1,033
I also feel slightly less weird for being excited about Seuss Landing.
Don't just breeze past! (Or if you are trying to get to Forbidden Journey or Ollivander's early, breeze past and circle back later. We love that area (and my boys are pre-teens & teens) The theming is great, and very colorful, and the rides are fun too! (You can get some beautiful park views on High in the Sky Trolley Ride)
BTW, OP, thanks for the tip on Vivo's. We LOVED it there! DH said it was the best chicken parm ever (again, we only have chain restaurants here
) They all polished their plates clean (and it was very affordable!)
pepperandchips
[melinda]
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2014
- Messages
- 3,499
Wow, way to drop the ball at the 11th hour, Melinda! (Must be something about us Atlantans... ) Sorry for leaving you guys hanging for like... a year. I will try to remember what we did on the last day and at the very least provide the final installment of pictures. 
So glad you found my report and it's helping with your plans! We love Universal and I really enjoyed splitting trips between Universal and Disney over the last year. Not sure if you are a Harry Potter fan, but we watch the movies quite a lot and now hearing the music from the movies makes me miss Universal
I know you will have a wonderful visit! I think Universal is much easier for a first timer since there is so much less to plan. You should not feel weird at all for enjoying Seuss Landing! I will say I felt like a bit of a goon on my recent visit when we got on Seuss Trolley Train Ride and requested the Sneetches side rather than the ABC side (there are two tracks and they don't always run trains on both but it was the height of the holiday rush and since they were running both sides I wanted to enjoy the Sneetches side which has more of a story to it than the ABC side in my opinion). The Orlando theme parks are the place for every adult to feel like a kid again so there is no shame in enjoying any part of it! And yes, the theming is adorable.
Shameless self-promotion: my recent dining report (which is more like a trip report with lots of food) starts off with 1.5 days at Universal if you want to check it out! http://www.disboards.com/threads/bu...ost-2-7-boathouse-and-in-room-dining.3570910/
YUM! We love Vivo too. We should have gone there on our December visit but thought the Red Oven would be a faster option... it took forever and we still didn't get that delicious Italian comfort food. Now I'm hungry... and want to go back to Universal....
) Sorry for leaving you guys hanging for like... a year. I will try to remember what we did on the last day and at the very least provide the final installment of pictures. Hopping in here! Just caught myself up but I've been loving all your photos, it's helping me familiarize myself with what to expect and getting me excited! Doing my first Universal trip this November - spending 3 days before heading to WDW, I have no idea what to expect. It looks like so much fun!
I also feel slightly less weird for being excited about Seuss Landing.
So glad you found my report and it's helping with your plans! We love Universal and I really enjoyed splitting trips between Universal and Disney over the last year. Not sure if you are a Harry Potter fan, but we watch the movies quite a lot and now hearing the music from the movies makes me miss Universal
I know you will have a wonderful visit! I think Universal is much easier for a first timer since there is so much less to plan. You should not feel weird at all for enjoying Seuss Landing! I will say I felt like a bit of a goon on my recent visit when we got on Seuss Trolley Train Ride and requested the Sneetches side rather than the ABC side (there are two tracks and they don't always run trains on both but it was the height of the holiday rush and since they were running both sides I wanted to enjoy the Sneetches side which has more of a story to it than the ABC side in my opinion). The Orlando theme parks are the place for every adult to feel like a kid again so there is no shame in enjoying any part of it! And yes, the theming is adorable.Shameless self-promotion: my recent dining report (which is more like a trip report with lots of food) starts off with 1.5 days at Universal if you want to check it out! http://www.disboards.com/threads/bu...ost-2-7-boathouse-and-in-room-dining.3570910/
Don't just breeze past! (Or if you are trying to get to Forbidden Journey or Ollivander's early, breeze past and circle back later. We love that area (and my boys are pre-teens & teens) The theming is great, and very colorful, and the rides are fun too! (You can get some beautiful park views on High in the Sky Trolley Ride)
BTW, OP, thanks for the tip on Vivo's. We LOVED it there! DH said it was the best chicken parm ever (again, we only have chain restaurants here
YUM! We love Vivo too. We should have gone there on our December visit but thought the Red Oven would be a faster option... it took forever and we still didn't get that delicious Italian comfort food. Now I'm hungry... and want to go back to Universal....
schumigirl
It’s a bit of a roodie doodie word for lady parts!
- Joined
- May 15, 2007
- Messages
- 31,209
Yay......you made it back Melinda.........not that we`ve been waiting or anything.........
Glad to see ya.........
Glad to see ya.........
I kept checking back for the ending also schumi
Lol
Glad op returned to finish it
Yes it must be a Georgia thing as I do the same
Hope this trip report stays high o. The forum list as it has so much great info with pics and details that newbies would live to read
They can learn a lot about the darkside in the op's thread
Lol
Glad op returned to finish it
Yes it must be a Georgia thing as I do the same
Hope this trip report stays high o. The forum list as it has so much great info with pics and details that newbies would live to read
They can learn a lot about the darkside in the op's thread
pepperandchips
[melinda]
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2014
- Messages
- 3,499
Well it's only been a year but I am going to post the last few pictures and try to remember some details of our last day at Universal. The pictures help! Thank you for your patience and for reminding me to come finish up
We walked once again from Royal Pacific to Citywalk. I love the easy and beautiful paths around the Universal resort.
Upon entering Islands of Adventure, we bee-lined over to Forbidden Journey.
Passing through Hogsmeade this early was fantastic and I loved soaking in the empty-park details
We were totally thrilled that there was no outside queue at all!
Unfortunately, the line's pace began to crawl and we knew something was amiss.
By the time we got to the Gryffindor common room, they'd long since announced that they were experiencing a technical difficulty and that the team members did not know when the ride would be operational again. We waited it out and were eventually made to exit the queue, given a paper return ticket for later. All told, we were in line about an hour and a half but since it's R's favorite ride and it was our last day, we weren't willing to give up until forced.
We did the best thing possible to turn our frowns upside down:
We met the Cat in the Hat and the Lorax!
And went to look for some breakfast - it was already almost 11:00!
We walked once again from Royal Pacific to Citywalk. I love the easy and beautiful paths around the Universal resort.
Upon entering Islands of Adventure, we bee-lined over to Forbidden Journey.
Passing through Hogsmeade this early was fantastic and I loved soaking in the empty-park details
We were totally thrilled that there was no outside queue at all!
Unfortunately, the line's pace began to crawl and we knew something was amiss.
By the time we got to the Gryffindor common room, they'd long since announced that they were experiencing a technical difficulty and that the team members did not know when the ride would be operational again. We waited it out and were eventually made to exit the queue, given a paper return ticket for later. All told, we were in line about an hour and a half but since it's R's favorite ride and it was our last day, we weren't willing to give up until forced.
We did the best thing possible to turn our frowns upside down:
We met the Cat in the Hat and the Lorax!
And went to look for some breakfast - it was already almost 11:00!
-
Anaheim Ducks Day Returns to Disney California Adventure in 2026
-
What to Know About Disney World Costs in 2026
-
Do You Prefer Your Disney Characters Roaming or Stationed?
-
Vintage Disney Valentines: Chloe's Treasure Thursday
-
NEW Disney World Ticket Offers for Florida Residents
-
Disney Casts Rapunzel and Flynn Rider for Live-Action 'Tangled'
-
Lunar New Year Returns to Disney California Adventure for Year of the Horse in 2026
