Third Time's The Charm! Solo Universal PTR AND TR! COMPLETE!!!

[schumigirl]

Glad you're feeling better now

Nice update, we love Margaritaville and food is always good.......even the shrimp is lovely frozen or not.......have never had the fish and chips, looks lovely.

Love the Lucy pic.......ours never turned out with her for some reason......I blame DH of course........

Glad you had such a nice day though

 

[Shock13]

Glad you're feeling better now

Nice update, we love Margaritaville and food is always good.......even the shrimp is lovely frozen or not.......have never had the fish and chips, looks lovely.

Love the Lucy pic.......ours never turned out with her for some reason......I blame DH of course........

Glad you had such a nice day though

I will definitely return to Margaritaville. The food was delicious and I really liked the festive atmosphere. I'll have to request Bob again.

 

[Shock13]

This day unlike the others was cloudy and bit drizzling but overall it was just as beautiful since we don't get very many cloudy/rain days in Arizona so I was loving it. Still sick but trying to make the best of it, I managed to get to the parks around 8:30 with going to USO first so I could ride Gringott's again.

It was a little busier than the past days but my wait was only 30 minutes. I started talking to a very nice couple in line with me and found out that they live very close to my sister who lives outside of Philadelphia. We swapped stories about Diagon Alley and the ride. I love meeting people while in line or waiting for parades as it's always interesting to find out where they are from and what they've experienced so far. Plus it keeps it from getting lonely. After my final ride on Escape from Gringott's, I said goodbye to Diagon Alley and ventured out to check out Despicable Me which I had yet to ride. The wait time was 35 minutes and for some reason I decided to skip it thinking I would ride it later that afternoon with a shorter wait. Well, I never ended up riding it.
I started making my way to ET but the Mystery Machine started driving up the road so I followed it and got in line with a short wait to see Shaggy and Scooby.

Shaggy wasn't very talkative so it was just a quick picture and then I moved on. Then just down the way was Doc Brown.

He was so funny and just kept talking and talking. So clever too and the character was spot-on.
I finally made it over to ET passing Spongebob on the way all by his lonesome but I decided to not to do a photo op with him. I remember going on ET years and years ago as this ride used to be USH. I have to admit that the part of the ride of being chased is kinda fun and then flying over the town but the part going back to ET's world is a bit weird. Anyway, I had a very difficult time getting through the queue area. It was probably worse than my FJ experience and just like earlier, by the time I finally got to the ride vehicles, I was very frustrated and on the verge of a breakdown. I guess I could have asked the TM for other options on getting to the ride but honestly it's hard for me to ask for help. I was really trying hard to be independent and using my flashlight and cane thought it would be enough but it was obvious I really needed someone with me as a guide for that particular queue area just like FJ.

After ET, I went to one my favorites again and rode Transformers which really I could probably do multiple times in a row but once was good enough and I'm glad this ride is over at USH. Then over to Despicable Me again to check out the wait. I walked by the Shrek meet and greet area and there was a long line to see Shrek, Fiona and Donkey. Oh my gosh Donkey is hilarious!!! I hung back and watched them interact with people for a while and it was entertaining. Because the line was long I decided not to wait but later I regretted not meeting them.
Despicable Me now had a wait time of 50 minutes. Pass. I'll have to see the Minions some other time. This ride is also at USH so a quick trip to California may need to happen this summer. I said goodbye to USO and made my way over to IOA.

I really like the walk from USO to IOA. I think I passed only 2 people on the way over. I wasn't sure what rides I was going to do but I did want to do the Hulk again so I got on and still loved it. I guess after that I was done with rides because I don't have anything else listed in my notes. I decided to do lunch at Confisco!

The restaurant had just opened up for lunch so I was seated right next to window and a view of people walking by. Very nice. Bread service was pita bread with this sweet spread. I'm not sure if that is the norm but the pita was soft and warm. I didn't touch the spread. I ordered the croissant sandwich with turkey and side of potato salad. The salad was the same kind that I had at Mythos so nothing spectacular about that but the sandwich was delicious! Of course very fresh and tasty. I ate everything!

After a yummy lunch, I was pretty much done. Not only was I thoroughly sick but I was also suffering from a earache which happens often when I'm congested. I went back to the resort and returned to the gift shop to purchase the chocolate frogs and a Minion for my niece. I also bought a really expensive box of Dayquil. After taking a really long nap, I went to Bell Services to pick up my delivered packages which is such a nice convenience. After making sure I had everything I walked over to Bayliner Diner to get some dinner.
BUT not without seeing a Minion in the lobby greeting guests and taking pictures. I didn't know they did that! How fun! I didn't get a picture and of course wish I had but it really impressed me (even more) that they had characters at the resort.
For dinner it was the hot dog and fries. I'm usually picky about my hot dogs eating Nathan's or Hebrew National but this hot dog was actually very good. I definitely recommend it.

Based on the picture I guess I also got a chocolate cake.

After dinner and calling the front desk for a later check-out tomorrow, I went back to sleep for my last night in Cabana Bay.

 

[Shock13]

I'll start by saying that Saturday was nothing exciting. After sleeping in and packing and wishing we lived in such an advanced world that transporting like in Star Trek was a possibility I made my way to the front desk to check out. Although I was sad to be leaving, I was more glad to be going home just so I could rest in my own bed. I walked out to get a taxi and I ran into Rolph. If you remember he was the valet I didn't tip because I didn't have cash on me. Well, I had cash ready in case he was working so I tipped him and explained that I hadn't when I first arrived. He was so sweet and gracious! He really ended my stay perfectly.

I won't go into the horrid details of my excruciatingly painful flight due to an ear infection but I commend the FA that had to put up with my constant requests and to the woman who sat next to me offering me all kinds of pain reliever. She also gave up her peanuts and pretzels because the chewing eased my ear pain a bit. But after 4 hours I finally made it home.
I remember telling my parents on the drive home that despite my good time, I had absolutely no interest in returning to Florida ANYTIME soon! Famous last words...

Final Thoughts:
USR was amazing! I'm very excited to go back and hopefully bring along a friend/family member with me. I probably wouldn't return solo again. Most of the time I was okay by myself and I really am fine with my own company especially when dining which is difficult for most people to do. I also like having a hotel room all to myself.
But there were times I wished I could share the excitement and fun of Diagon Alley with someone else and of course that needed company while weaving through dark queue areas. But this trip was definitely a learning experience and helped boost my confidence for when I do any future solo traveling. I'm definitely not ready to do any trips to New York City or foreign countries alone but I'm looking into possible cruise trips and trying out a solo adventure on my way to Alaska or the Caribbean.

So where is my next solo trip...Walt Disney World! Yeah, remember when I said that I wouldn't return to Florida anytime soon...I totally crumbled. I wanted to go somewhere fun ON my birthday and since I had a ton of Disney gift cards I collected the last year and airline miles to use up, I planned a 7 day trip to see the Mouse. Because of my solo trip to Disneyland last year and my previous visits to WDW, I feel like I'm more prepared as a solo traveler this time around. I know exactly what rides have the dark queue areas and familiar with the layouts of all the parks. I even plan on watching MSEP one night if everything goes well. I've also been loading up on vitamins and getting healthy so I can keep my immune system in working order. I'll be bringing Sudafed as a back-up! I'm very excited for the trip and just know I'm going to have a great time!

Thank you everyone for following and offering all kinds of advice and suggestions! USR peeps are the best!

-Shock 13 (Veronica)

 

[IMGONNABE40!]

Thanks for a great report! My husband and I are heading down on Saturday--split stay Cabana Bay/Hard Rock Hotel-- and your report has helped with tips and such. Glad you didn't mean it when you said it would be a long time before you went back to FL!

 

[schumigirl]

Sorry you had such an ear infection, that is soo painful! But glad your trip was so much fun and you enjoyed your time at Universal and CB.

Glad you're getting to get back soon too........look forward to hearing about it. Thanks for such a nice report

 

[Shock13]

Thanks for a great report! My husband and I are heading down on Saturday--split stay Cabana Bay/Hard Rock Hotel-- and your report has helped with tips and such. Glad you didn't mean it when you said it would be a long time before you went back to FL!

Although it's much easier to travel to California for a few days, I do like to go to FL for those week-long trips. Have a great trip!

Sorry you had such an ear infection, that is soo painful! But glad your trip was so much fun and you enjoyed your time at Universal and CB.

Glad you're getting to get back soon too........look forward to hearing about it. Thanks for such a nice report

Thank you for following along schumi! I love reading your reports so I hope you never stop!