We Caught Beads… We Threw Beads! (Completed)

[wdwrule]

Welcome to another trip report! We stayed late Friday March 4- Tuesday March 8. It was myself, daughter, son (home on college spring break) and son’s girlfriend. Hubby arrived for one day to surprise the kids! We stayed at the wonderful Sapphire Falls which has become one of our favorites for sure.

We arrived at MCO from our cheap Spirit flights and whisked away by Tony Hinds. He always includes a grocery stop in his price which we usually never do. However this time around, I knew we’d be arriving late and didn’t know if the grab and go would be open to fill water in our bottles. We are all huge water drinkers. So I asked if we could stop somewhere convenient along the way to get some gallons of water or a case of bottles. He sweetly told us yes and that he would’ve even had picked some up for us. Love him! Anyways, we stopped at a 7-Eleven and grabbed a case of water bottles for a sweet price of $5.99. This case lasted us all four days and even had some to spare. We always bring our collapsible reusable bottles to fill using Freestyle machines but it was nice to have these extras to run through the coffee maker and other times when we conveniently needed one.

We then arrived at beautiful SF and the sweet smell of the lobby lovingly hit us in the face upon entering. It was late so no line to check in which is always nice. We got what we requested, Guest House 2 lobby level and towards the end of the building. We like this area because it’s convenient to the lobby and also easy to take the stairwell and out the door to the walking path. Only a ten minute walk to security .

This next hour was a bit of a downer but what the heck, we were at Universal so all was good. We were a bit hungry and we knew Jake’s from RPR would be open. It’s kind of become our tradition… late night arrival and burger at Jake’s. We walked to Jake’s with thoughts of that juicy fresh burger with excellent, fun service up at the bar. When we arrived, almost all seats at the bar were taken so we were about to sit at a table. I inquired about food and they told us they just stopped food a couple of minutes ago. What?!?! I asked about the late night menu that we’ve always used that went until 1 or 2am. (We most recently used it last month and several times before that.) They said they were just trying it out for a few months and have now discontinued it. Ugh!! So no food anywhere. It was a few minutes after midnight at this point. We went back to the room and reluctantly attempted room service for my son. He decided on a Turkey and Swiss sandwich with chips. I called and they warned us it would take about one hour and fifteen minutes. Haha son said he could make one in 5 minutes. Long story short we all went to bed a little hungry but all was good.

Up next, rides rides rides and the worry of: will we catch any beads??

 

[wdwrule]

I forgot to mention that when we checked in to SF they asked us if we wanted daily housekeeping or green housekeeping (I forget exactly what it was called but basically light housekeeping, reuse towels etc). This was the first we’ve been asked this since visiting last year. Most trips we’ve had daily housekeeping anyways though but glad things are feeling back to normal.

Anyways, daughter and I are early-ish risers to accomplish lots in the parks so off we went to Studios. Saturdays are always crazy busy in the parks especially Islands with Hagrid’s and Velocicoaster. We love both of those rides but sometimes we enjoy hitting up Studios early because crowds always seem extra low there during the morning. We leisurely walked over and started with sharing a breakfast at Today Cafe. I like to have at least some breakfasts with protein during vacation and this place never disappoints. We got the ham, egg and cheese sandwich on ciabatta and it comes with cut up fresh fruit. Oh this is always so good! We also split an iced latte and cafe con leche cinnamon roll. Delish!!


Everything is so fresh and such a friendly staff! We sat outside to people watch while we ate and the weather was beautiful. We then went to Transformers and Men in Black. I usually get the wooo from Will Smith at the end instead of the WOOO . Then walked on to Gringott’s using single rider. We got lots of our usual laughs at Jimmy Fallon then single rider at Fast and Furious. It’s become a joke that we get on F&F a few times during our trip just to laugh at how silly it is. I do like single rider at F&F because you bypass the pre-shows.

After a few more rides the rest of our party met up with us over at Islands where they had some yummy pastries at Croissant Moon. We ran around having fun then headed over to Vivo for our early 4:00 dinner reservation which is also the time they opened for the day. It was nice to be in there without a lot of people especially on a very busy warm Saturday. I love how they include free bread service and it’s so warm and fresh. Daughter and I split lasagna which was flavorful. Son and his gf split the chicken Alfredo which was a huge portion and they really enjoyed it. We also all split a Margherita pizza and that was fantastic!
This is my second time visiting this restaurant and I will keep coming back. Our experiences here with food and service was wonderful. After this we meandered around Studios taking in some rides and sights before the parade. My son was worried he wouldn’t get beads but I reassured him last month I got so many. Haha he also had my original mindset of hoping for at least one strand. Long story short we came out of the park with loads! It was so much fun watching my son and his gf view the parade because it was their first time. The look of joy on their faces were priceless! Gf was videoing snippets to send to her mom. They were so giddy! It truly is a joyous energetic parade to watch and we’re not a huge parade family. We stood at the corner of Horror Makeup Show as we heard they loop around there twice. We were so loaded with beads and getting tired that we moved along after seeing it make its first loop.

We went our separate ways and hit up a few more rides on the way out. We stopped and listened to LL CoolJ for a little. Ahh brought me back to my youth! We had ordered Voodoo doughnuts about an hour prior to leaving so daughter and I picked up those on the way back to SF. This would be our breakfast the next morning.

After getting back to the room I decided I needed a little snack and perhaps a luscious cocktail from Strong Water. So daughter and I headed there and were seated at a lovely hightop table. I wish I caught her name but there was an absolutely lovely singer there entertaining. She was wonderful! I remembered seeing her there on another Saturday evening a month or two ago. She’s amazing! She mostly sang pop tunes but with a Jamaican twist. It was very entertaining! Lenny made me one of his gin drinks he recommended last month. I don’t think there are any gin drinks on the menu as they are rum based so he hooked me up! We got the tequenos which were divine. Here’s the description:
TEQUEÑOS $12
Queso fresco, sweet ham, puff pastry, roasted pepper sauce. These were soooo yummy!


Then we kept hearing great things about their tres leche cake so we ordered that as well.
Oh my this is like eating a cloud from the heavens! So sweet yet light and airy.

Son and gf ended up eating at Red Oven at Citywalk which was good but they waited an hour! I told him I wish I knew that because I could’ve mobile ordered for him. All good though.

Then it was off to bed after such a busy day and it felt so good to lay down in the cool sheets. I chuckled to myself knowing that hubby would be surprising the kids the next morning at the parks!

 

[AuroraluvsPhillip]

You're becoming a regular with the TR's! Always enjoy hearing about your trips. The tres leche cake looks awesome.

 

[wdwrule]

You're becoming a regular with the TR's! Always enjoy hearing about your trips. The tres leche cake looks awesome.

Haha thanks! Couldn’t have done it without APs and cheap Spirit flights although next month looks grim with sky high flight rates. We’ve always gone to Disney once a year for a long time and now we’re totally hooked on UO! I’ve learned so much from these boards so I hope my TRs can help someone as they plan or at least entertain

Yea that cake was incredible and I’m even usually a chocolate gal. It was vanilla heaven!

 

[wdwrule]

Next morning daughter and I were up and at ‘em. I swear… we’d sleep in otherwise but the adrenaline just hits us and we want to go go go ! While she got ready, I walked over to Aventura’s Starbucks to grab a vanilla sweet cream cold brew for us to split. The line wasn’t too terribly bad and kept moving. I was there around 8am or so and maybe waited 10 minutes. I just loved their tip jars!!

I thought this was clever and… I’m Team Jacob I brought our caffeinated nectar over to the large, spacious, lovely scented SF lobby where daughter was waiting for me with our Voodoo doughnuts.

My favorite Voodoo doughnut… vegan PB&J

This was such a nice leisurely calm breakfast. Then off to Studios! Son and gf were still sound asleep so we walked over and the weather was just glorious. Now during this time, hubby had texted that he ubered from the airport to HRH. He was at Studios before we were. We got through the turnstiles and headed towards Transformers.

Suddenly we heard behind us in a deep Voldemort-like whisper voice “Haarrryy Pottteerrrr”. And there he was, well not He Who Shall Not Be Named, but hubby instead It was hilarious! Daughter was cracking up and quite surprised! We all chatted for awhile then headed to Gringott’s and Men in Black. We did a few more rides there and then headed over to IoA. Son and gf texted they were headed there. Haha hubby could surprise all over again. He ended up sitting on one of the carts near point of entry but they didn’t even notice. Finally he yelled out ‘no one’s going to take my picture?!’ and that got their attention. They were totally surprised too and all smiles.

We meandered along and got on more rides. Then we headed to a late lunch at Toothsome. We were able to sit upstairs at a big window seat which I love. It was so nice! I wish I had remembered our server’s name as he was phenomenal! So pleasant and bubbly and very attentive. We started with a couple of loaves of the warm chocolate bread which was yummy and placed our orders. Daughter and I split the Tour de France burger which was very good… Jake’s burger is still my favorite but this was fresh, juicy and full of flavor still. I forget what the rest of us had but everyone was satisfied. Desserts were great too. Son and gf split the marshmallow/Krispie treat milkshake while the rest of us split the strawberry shortcake sundae. I always feel like the sundaes are by far the better bargain and much easier to share. Between the three of us (hubby, DD and I) we couldn’t finish the sundae and it was a few bucks cheaper than the milkshake. I totally get the hype of the milkshakes though. Anyways, the sundae was delicious! Ironically no shortcake but cheesecake instead which is FINE by me! The ice cream was strawberry and peanut butter (I love PBJ anything!) and it also had some chocolate covered strawberries in the sundae.




It’s always a nice time splitting (or not splitting) desserts here. I love the aesthetics, architecture, and overall atmosphere of this place.

As we finished up dessert (almost finished), we noticed a worker wiping down the silverware tediously at the empty table behind us. Later our server mentioned that an executive was coming. We mentioned jokingly that maybe it was going to be Marshmello (who was performing at Studios that night). Haha another worker overheard us and said (while also chuckling) no it’s not Marshmello and that he would have let us know if it were him A family sat there so not sure who it was. I guess a higher up from the company/restaurant maybe. After very full bellies we walked back to IoA and, yep, hit up more rides. We waited in the line for Forbidden Journey and lo and behold somehow I was able to snag two spots to ride the Mardi Gras float!! Wahoo!! I had been trying the entire trip so far! I tried for three spots thinking the kids could ride and throw beads while I took pics but it glitched and only two spots were available.

I knew hubby would be back to the airport during that time so the problem became, would the two spots be for son and GF or… For myself and daughter?? This was a very tough decision. However later in the day, son told me that he and gf wanted to keep riding rides which made sense since this was her first visit and his second. Plus gf was starting to warm up to the rides (prior to this trip she wasn’t a big ride-goer). Phew! This made it easy then.

We all hung out a bit and continued on with having a fabulous afternoon, then we had to check in to sign waivers etc about an hour or so before the parade started. Once we did that, we said our goodbyes to hubby. I had told him I felt a bit guilty because he still had an hour or so before heading to the airport but he insisted that we go on the float. He said I’ve been trying like a mad woman during the last trip to get on and knew how much it meant to me. He told me to not waste the spots. All righty then!! So sweet!

The pep rally was really fun prior to the parade! We received decorative tunics to wear during the parade so we got into those then sat in the seats of the animal show area. There was a fun MC getting everyone pumped up.


Before we knew it, we climbed into the floral float and were in bead heaven. This experience was incredibly amazing! It was so much fun throwing beads to people out in the crowds! A totally different perspective! The joy on faces while trying to catch/catching beads was priceless! We saw son and gf but they were a bit far back. Haha I tried to get one far to them and it ended up landing on one of the street signs. Here is a pic that he took of where they were standing.


As I said, this was an absolute blast! After this, she and I decided we’d catch a few minutes of the Marshmello concert but boy were we wrong!! We tried to get through the thickest crowds we’ve seen and at one point couldn’t even move. This totally made me anxious because at one point we were just stuck and couldn’t move at all. Let’s just say it was thicker and closer than shoulder to shoulder. We somehow found our way out by back tracking. We were at the Diana Ross concert last month and it was Nothing like those crowds. So crazy we couldn’t even move! Anyways, we walked right on to Transformers to protect the Allspark and shortly after that, headed out.

We stopped at Strong Water and had a drink and a snack. Daughter and I split the tequenos again. Son and gf met up with us there so we ordered another round of tequenos which they loved and the chicken tenders. I knew the chicken tenders were spicy from a prior experience so warned son/gf as gf does not like spicy. They brought them out with a cup of spice on the side, and a cup of hot sauce also on the side. I thought this was perfect as son could get his heat and gf could eat them plain.

We were all very tired at this point so we walked the short walk just down the hall to our room and fell fast asleep.

Next up, a less crowded Monday that was quite eventful…

 

[wdwrule]

Monday morning… I was excited for a weekday since we typically have been visiting during weekends. This day was definitely less crowded. I think our dates thankfully hit right before the massive spring break crowds. From watching some vlogs, it seemed like the main spring break crowds hit the following weekend and continued on for a bit.

Anyways, daughter and I headed out and mobile ordered some muffins from Croissant Moon Bakery (IoA). Delicious as usual! No protein but a quick easy breakfast. I had the French toast muffin and she had the red velvet one. Both great! We sat near Green Eggs & Ham to enjoy our muffins and took all the great sights and sounds in. I’m blanking on the morning rides but I’m sure we ended up doing a quick single rider Forbidden Journey walk on and I believe Velocicoaster. I was then craving a coffee so we ordered for the very first time at Cinnabon. We tried their salted caramel cold brew which we mobile ordered in case it was busy. We got it right away and wow this was delicious! It was so pretty with the caramel drizzle on the inside of the cup and it surely hit the spot. It think it was $4 something with AP discount and seemed a lot cheaper than Starbucks.

After another ride or two, daughter had the onset of a migraine. Oh no! It was around 10:30 in the morning and I quickly tried to think of a place where she could cool down and rest in peace and quiet. Thunder Falls immediately came to mind. The restaurant just opened for the day as we got to the door. I had her sit in there while I got some waters. We probably sat here for at least 30 or so minutes. Between the quiet rest and some meds, she was up for trying some rides. She’s quite the trouper! I was so happy for her that it wasn’t a full on migraine after all.

I will apologize now that this is not too much of a picture heavy trip report. From this point on I didn’t take too many pictures as I just simply got wrapped up with having so much fun. More rides were had then we met up with son and girlfriend for a late lunch at NBC Grill. We discovered this restaurant the month prior and really liked the experience and the quality of food. We split the massive soft pretzel which is so good and warm. Here’s the pic of it from our last trip:

Then son and gf split the bang bang chicken… delish! Daughter and I split the cheesy Wisconsin burger which was great!

We then bounced around and had a blast with tons of more rides. We love thrill rides like Velocicoaster but I have to say… we also love calm rides like Cat in the Hat. The psychedelic Thing 1 & 2 crack us up!! They’re so creepy, they’re funny!! Around 7pm or shortly before, daughter and I went to Comic Strip Cafe (I think that’s what it’s called??) to try out the ramen bowls I’ve been hearing about. This was a bit of an odd experience. We walked right in but found there were nobody at the registers. Just one or two employees cleaning up in the back kitchen. I’m almost positive it was like 6:45pm or so now that I think about it. The place was empty but doors open. We assumed they were closed so we quickly mobile ordered dinner from Thunder Falls in case they were closing too. Thank goodness we did because as we collected our mobile order from them, they were beginning to clean up their food bins. As we ate, we saw people come in a bit later and were turned away. Ugh felt bad for them. I think the park closed at 9pm or so during this night and it was only a bit after 7pm.

After eating, we headed to High in the Sky to see the nighttime views. Express pass had already kicked in (we get so much use out of this after 4:00 pass) so we walked right up to the loading platform. Lol right before we were about to walk to the platform, an announcement was made that inclement weather was nearby so temporarily delayed. Got right on Cat in the Hat instead. After this ride, downpour!! We each had a little umbrella in our bag so that helped a bit. Then it got crazy!! Downpour times 10! Umbrellas helped some but not that much! We stopped under one of the entry bridges in IoA and waited it out a bit. I felt so bad for families running to the exit without umbrellas or ponchos. Most, though, were laughing and I thought this would definitely be a memorable moment/story for them. This was the same storm that flooded parts of Disneyworld if you saw any pics/videos of that. It was insane!!

After about 20 minutes and checking the weather app, I saw it wasn’t going to let up for a very long time. So off we went, deep puddles and all. And of course… we had ordered Voodoo doughnuts before rain had hit. Soooo, all the way across Citywalk to get doughnuts. Went to the pickup hut to find out they took all the orders back to the main shop. Then waited in long line to pick up but they were efficient and it only took maybe 5 minutes… and line was indoor thank goodness! Got our box of doughnuts and back to the monsoon for the walk back to SF. I learned from these boards that there’s an internal walkway from RPR to SF. If there was anytime to utilize this, tonight was definitely the night! And we did.

Let me just say, I have no idea how I got to SF this way but we made it. We had to ask several people along the way but we made it back. We always felt like we were making wrong turns because there were many conventions going on with dressed up people at little makeshift bars outside of their convention ballrooms. At one point, a woman saw my voodoo donut box and jokingly asked “how much for your Voodoo doughnuts?” I chuckled and responded “oh just some wine” and she was going to do it!!!! I was hesitant but then thought I’d better not give our next day’s breakfast away This crazy walk back made it so memorable for us and we just laughed and laughed!

During this whole time, son and gf had just made it to Jake’s at RPR for their dinner right before the rain hit. I texted him about the interior walkway so they wouldn’t have to go out in the storm and wished them luck. Haha I just told him to keep asking people the way to SF. Long story short, they made it back just fine too… and loved their dinner at Jake’s. In fact that was their favorite meal of the trip.

Oh I forgot to mention, when we stepped into RPR from the soaking rain, they offered towels to dry off which was a lovely refreshing touch.

Anyways, we walked back to our room with our sad looking box of doughnuts… a little droopy but didn’t affect the doughnuts thank goodness. Showered, change of warm clothes then off to relax in the lobby a bit. When we went to sit down we were directed to detour a bit. We then realized there was a medical scene right before us. We sat as far away from the scene as we could for the sake of the victim’s privacy. I wasn’t really watching so I’m not sure what exactly happened. I did see a conscious man go out on a gurney to the ambulance with his head all bandaged up (he had been lying on the floor in the lobby near Strong Water). A little later they had a vehicle take a woman (assuming his wife/significant other) assuming to the hospital. It totally put a pit in my stomach and hope everything was ok. Not sure if he fell from floor maybe with people coming in with wet shoes?? No idea. Could’ve been anything.

After all of wild events, we went to bed as the next day would be departure day.

Next up, front row of Velocicoaster and lunch at Mythos.

 

[erinch]

Following!

 

[disneyseniors]

Following along happily Love your trip report!

 

[wdwrule]

Following along happily Love your trip report!

Awww thank you! Glad you’re enjoying it!

 

[lebeau]

Loving the food pics! We had the best time with Mardis Gras in 2019. Got to ride the floats twice. It's such a memorable experience.

 

[wdwrule]

Loving the food pics! We had the best time with Mardis Gras in 2019. Got to ride the floats twice. It's such a memorable experience.

Such a memorable experience for sure!! So awesome you got to ride them twice!

 

[wdwrule]

Departure day… always a sad day.

We got up and got moving. Packed up quickly and dropped our bags at luggage service before we hit the parks. We ate our doughnuts while getting ready. Then off we went to Studios. We were about to walk as usual, looked over at the boat dock, and noticed there was no line for the boats. We thought we’d give it a whirl and got right on a boat. The captain was hilarious! I wish I remembered his name. He told a bunch of typical dad jokes and was just so comical!

After arriving at Studios we hopped on a bunch of rides. Studios always seems to have much lower wait times than IoA, especially during the morning hours. I guess because most people are bolting over to Hagrid‘s and/or Velocicoaster. We later took Hogwarts Express over to IoA and got on front row at Velocicoaster! I love love love front row on Velocicoaster!! If the line for front row isn’t long I always take advantage of that. It is just gloriously thrilling!! I wrote in a previous trip report that my daughter talked me into riding with arms up in the air. Long story short, it’s arms up every time on Velocicoaster now! I don’t even know how to explain it, but it’s a whole different experience in a very good way! So thrilling and invigorating!

Then it was off to Mythos for lunch. We lucked out and got reservations the day prior for a lunch reservation time. We’ve eaten here before but this was son’s gf’s first time of course. This restaurant is just beautiful and quite an experience all of its own. If anyone is visiting UO for the first time I would always recommend this restaurant for the atmosphere and experience. I don’t need to go here every trip, but I think it’s worth visiting at least once. I always request near a window and it’s just so beautiful looking out at the park all awhile feeling that you’re inside mythological caverns.


We enjoyed and were filled up from our food: calamari, fork & knife grilled cheese and chicken pad Thai. So flavorful! Service was excellent as well!

Then off to a few more rides before our pick up to the airport. We also made a stop at Honeydukes for their amazing raspberry clotted cream fudge. Oh so good! Special note: they did not accept our Mardi Gras food card here due to also selling merchandise. She thanked me profusely for being so understanding. Apparently they must have some customers that give them a very hard time about that. Then, front row at Velocicoaster again! Love short-ish lines during weekdays. Son and gf rode Hulk a few times front row. I haven’t been on Hulk in awhile because it usually gives me an instant headache with the roughness. I’ll try it again though one of these days.

We then met up and headed back to SF to collect our luggage and John from Tony Hinds car service texted that he was there ten minutes early while were walking back from the park. We quickly tried our room key to the gate and…. Deny! Ugh and I even texted earlier to be sure our room keys would still work at the hotel gates on check out day. This same thing happened to us on a previous trip. Luckily there were people about to enter the pool area and after explaining our situation they happily let us right in. We bolted over to luggage services and off we went with John. Smooth sailing! Can I just say, I would be a disaster trying to drive myself back to the airport but these guys surely know the routine! They always get us there so quickly and easily even with a bunch of traffic. All hail to Tony Hinds service!!

All in all this was a fantastic trip! Great weather (except the one night of torrential downpour), fantastic service, and wonderful memories to be had!

Some of my take-aways: weekdays are substantially less busy; take time to notice and absorb all of the fantastic details within the parks; mobile ordering can save a bunch of time and be very convenient although I have heard some have not had great experiences with it; bringing back voodoo donuts the night before makes for a very convenient & fun breakfast the next morning; if you are debating premiere AP passes, the after 4:00 Express pass is well worth it and you don’t feel like you have to be tied down to a deluxe resort (although we are stay in a hotel to sleep and shower type of people); try something new each trip. I’m sure there’s more but those are the main ones off the top of my head. I love the fact that you can plan spontaneously at UO. Amazing freedom!

Hope you enjoyed to read along and more importantly, hope this can help someone for their trip planning.

 

[macraven]

Thank you for a sharing all the details of your trip with us!

It is a fun read..

I know it will help a lot of our readers.

 

[wdwrule]

Thank you for a sharing all the details of your trip with us!

It is a fun read..

I know it will help a lot of our readers.

Thank you! I also have learned so much from these boards, which in turn, helps our own trips to be so successful.