IIIEEEEEEEE.......What a Trip!

[DizNee Luver]

I'm here!!! The chocolate factory sounds like fun and everything sounds fun. How smart to take pics of your shoes at the airport Wow and OMG about the guy on the aisle For flights like those, we always bring something to eat, especially if you are diverted like I did in 2012. Mentioned the Chocolate Factory to my sister and she was impressed

The Chocolate Factory was an interesting restaurant.....thought that Jacques coming around and greeting people (and he stayed and talked with us for quite a while) was fun.
The guy on the flight was just another one of people who think they are entitled and only their needs matter.

The milkshakes do look good!

They are masterpieces!!

 

[kelmac284]

LOL about the kid behind you. To bad karma wasn't on your side and he got THAT aisle. He sounds like a real jerk. He had some nerve telling you he didn't like to get up. If he would have given you crap I would have told the flight attendant. He can't hold you hostage in your seat

Your room at Cabana Bay looked exactly like ours. I wonder if they all look the same. We had the same colors and everything. Did your room have a little sitting area in the front? Ours was on the ground floor and when you walked in we had a little kitchenette area and a couch etc and then the 2 beds and the bath. The decorating was not my mom's fave but we liked it. We had stayed in a timeshare for our DW portion and since we booked it last min and on xmas week we got a really crappy one. It was dirty and actually had roaches! Needless to say we were glad to check out and into Cabana bay for our univ days. We we right by the food court and we enjoyed it. We esp enjoyed the pools and we saw they had movies at the main pool in the middle but we never partook as we were in the parks a lot. We also did dinner at the 2 loews hotels. Our first night and our 2nd night. They are NICE and I think if we go back mom is going to want to try and stay in one of them. But Cabana was def nice and perfectly fine too. We just liked all the themeing etc of Portofino and the other one (can't remember the names).

We also went to Toothsome but it was one night after the parks. We just went for the shakes and we shared 2 between the 4 of us. I really liked them and no one told us we could keep the glasses and we left them there. Didn't try the food but that is too bad most of it wasn't good. I wonder if the entrees are better than the apps. Were you able to get any food discounts from Derek or is that restaurant separate? Just wondering.

Love the info and pics so far!

 

[DizNee Luver]

LOL about the kid behind you. To bad karma wasn't on your side and he got THAT aisle. He sounds like a real jerk. He had some nerve telling you he didn't like to get up. If he would have given you crap I would have told the flight attendant. He can't hold you hostage in your seat

Your room at Cabana Bay looked exactly like ours. I wonder if they all look the same. We had the same colors and everything. Did your room have a little sitting area in the front? Ours was on the ground floor and when you walked in we had a little kitchenette area and a couch etc and then the 2 beds and the bath. The decorating was not my mom's fave but we liked it. We had stayed in a timeshare for our DW portion and since we booked it last min and on xmas week we got a really crappy one. It was dirty and actually had roaches! Needless to say we were glad to check out and into Cabana bay for our univ days. We we right by the food court and we enjoyed it. We esp enjoyed the pools and we saw they had movies at the main pool in the middle but we never partook as we were in the parks a lot. We also did dinner at the 2 loews hotels. Our first night and our 2nd night. They are NICE and I think if we go back mom is going to want to try and stay in one of them. But Cabana was def nice and perfectly fine too. We just liked all the themeing etc of Portofino and the other one (can't remember the names).

We also went to Toothsome but it was one night after the parks. We just went for the shakes and we shared 2 between the 4 of us. I really liked them and no one told us we could keep the glasses and we left them there. Didn't try the food but that is too bad most of it wasn't good. I wonder if the entrees are better than the apps. Were you able to get any food discounts from Derek or is that restaurant separate? Just wondering.

Love the info and pics so far!

Unless the guy had sound cancelling headphones on (and I'm pretty sure he didn't).....I know he heard that girl shrieking......so I tolerated just for the HAHA factor.

So we originally were supposed to have a suite but since it was an employees reservation, we got bumped to a regular room. So just the 2 queen beds and no sitting area. We did have a small fridge and coffee maker but not the kitchenette. So a regular room but it worked out fine. Cabana Bay seems to be a favorite for those going to Universal that doesn't want to pay through the nose for a more expensive place. I'd gladly stay here again.....zero complaints!

Too bad about the glasses.....they mentioned it to us many times. We wondered about the entrees too......reviews all seemed pretty favorable about the food but most people only go there for the milkshakes.

 

[kelmac284]

Well good I hope the kid was extra loud and drove him nuts LOL.

Yea I think we orig got the "suite" if that is what they call it because when we booked the trip my dad was supposed to be going with us and we would have needed the couch for Shelby but then he didn't go. It was a nice room and I was perfectly happy with the whole resort. Mom likes the decor of the others and when we looked at the prices to go at a more "off" season they didn't seem as bad but we were there xmas week and it was crazy. Of course now with all the new stuff they have those "off season" prices have probably gone up. I am not sure when we will get back because with 2 HS graduations in 2 years and Katy wanting to go to France for study abroad and us hoping to meet her the summer after which would be summer of 21 I have no idea WHEN we will get to go. But as I said Shelby is hoping to do the college program so hopefully if/when she does that we can go at that time. I am sure we will be back eventually and we already have a 6 day ticket that my dad never used. I am kind of glad we won't be going back for a few years though so all the stuff that is being done will hopefully be complete by then.

 

[DnA2010]

I like the room colours, and neat that you can see the parks/coasters.

Yum those milkshakes look awesome, although I think Mike's needed a little something more- like a chocolate hazelnut cupcake or some ferrero rocher chocolates or something.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Well good I hope the kid was extra loud and drove him nuts LOL.

Yea I think we orig got the "suite" if that is what they call it because when we booked the trip my dad was supposed to be going with us and we would have needed the couch for Shelby but then he didn't go. It was a nice room and I was perfectly happy with the whole resort. Mom likes the decor of the others and when we looked at the prices to go at a more "off" season they didn't seem as bad but we were there xmas week and it was crazy. Of course now with all the new stuff they have those "off season" prices have probably gone up. I am not sure when we will get back because with 2 HS graduations in 2 years and Katy wanting to go to France for study abroad and us hoping to meet her the summer after which would be summer of 21 I have no idea WHEN we will get to go. But as I said Shelby is hoping to do the college program so hopefully if/when she does that we can go at that time. I am sure we will be back eventually and we already have a 6 day ticket that my dad never used. I am kind of glad we won't be going back for a few years though so all the stuff that is being done will hopefully be complete by then.

How long is the park ticket good for?

I like the room colours, and neat that you can see the parks/coasters.

Yum those milkshakes look awesome, although I think Mike's needed a little something more- like a chocolate hazelnut cupcake or some ferrero rocher chocolates or something.

It was a pretty neat view, even at night we could see them all lit up.

Mike's milkshake was pretty plain up to the other two. That PB&J one was crazy ridiculous!!

 

[Trentmom]

Officially here now. Love the décor of the rooms at Cabana Bay. If they included the express pass with their stay, we would have stayed there for sure.

Those milkshakes look pretty good. They do look hard to eat. Thanks so much for posting the menu. Big menus are intimidating when you are trying to find what you what to eat. Now I can figure out what I would like ahead of time if we decide to go there.

Can't wait for more!

 

[kelmac284]

The ticket is good for quite awhile. He never activated it. I am sure we will be able to use it before it expires. I think they said 2030 or something like that

 

[DizNee Luver]

Officially here now. Love the décor of the rooms at Cabana Bay. If they included the express pass with their stay, we would have stayed there for sure.

Those milkshakes look pretty good. They do look hard to eat. Thanks so much for posting the menu. Big menus are intimidating when you are trying to find what you what to eat. Now I can figure out what I would like ahead of time if we decide to go there.

Can't wait for more!

Glad you found me!! The Express Pass would have been nice, but we couldn't beat the discount the kids got.....it also helped we went at a slower time of year. The only "busy" day was Saturday.

We try to get the menu's.....but as you will see later in today's posts......we somehow missed getting our evening's dinner menu photographed......

The ticket is good for quite awhile. He never activated it. I am sure we will be able to use it before it expires. I think they said 2030 or something like that

Oh wow.....that's awesome!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Ok, here we go with our first park day......where did we start?? Universal~Islands of Adventure!!

We actually woke up early and made our plan for the morning. Sara works at the Animal Kingdom at WDW and their 20th Anniversary was a few days away, Cast Members were able to get a special Magic Band to commemorate the Anniversary, but she needed to go pick it up that morning. So she took off to take care of that and we headed down to catch the bus to Universal. We really had a short wait, as one bus loaded and the 2nd bus waited to move forward. We loaded on the 2nd bus and we were on our way. We arrived and made our way up to the security area.

***Universal has one security spot that covers their 2 parks AND CityWalk!! I felt good knowing that their shopping and dining area was as secure as the parks......something WDW needs to think about doing. Disney Springs doesn't have a security check and after the tragedy at Pulse (and knowing that Disney Springs was his original target), you would think Disney would get excited about securing this area as well!***

After making it through security, you walk (or power walk on the moving sidewalk) towards CityWalk. You have to walk through this area to reach the 2 parks. Universal Studios is to the right after walking through CityWalk and Islands of Adventure is off to the left.

Mike took pictures while Derek and I made our way to the Will Call Kiosks to pick up tickets for Mike & I for the day.










We made it to the gates and entered the park. Our next stop was to find the lockers to store our backpack in (these are to the left after coming through the gates). While Derek & I did that, Mike took pictures (shocker I know.....lol)








Derek & I headed inside the photo shop to get our Universal Photos card. I had pre-purchased the 3 day (which you must use the 3 days consecutively) for $89.99. This includes all the photos we have taken in the park and then a printed 4x6 and 5x7 of our choice.

***I suggest keeping track of when you stop for photos (where you are and approx time). I'm positive we are missing photos, but can't pinpoint to get them back. We did have to do that for our 3rd day......the reason we remembered was because we did very little that day and they were the last ones we did. You also can't edit them.....you will see later on why editing would be good......the frame they put on goes over our heads (and faces)......a small edit would fix that. You don't have the freedom to fix, add borders or signatures like you do for the Memory Maker at WDW.***










Derek got a text that Sara had made it to the parking garage, so we decided to hang out near the entrance. There was a photographer when we stepped out of the shop, so we went and got a few photos done.

 

[DizNee Luver]

As we waited for Sara to make it through security, CityWalk and the gates, Mike continued snapping pictures of the Port of Entry:




























Sara made it, so off we go to Marvel Super Hero Island.............

 

[DizNee Luver]

Our first stop was to see the Kung Fu Panda (I think that's what the Panda was from).......I now realize this was a Universal Photo we had done but didn't receive.




Marvel Super Hero Island:






We decided to try out the motion sickness patch Mike put on to see if it would work on Spiderman. He has issues with the motion simulator rides (which Universal has a ton of), so we got him the prescription patches to try. (you are supposed to wear it 4 hours before trying it out, but Mike only had it on a couple hours).











The Spiderman On-Ride Photo.......don't we look thrilled?? lol I actually liked the ride....thought it was fun.



Mike on the other hand, wasn't feeling 100%......so a few more hours with the patch on, would probably have helped. He did realize the motion wasn't too bad it's the "falling" that he's having issues with now.

A few more from Marvel Super Hero Island:

 

[DizNee Luver]

Next area was Toon Lagoon.....Like walking into the Sunday Funnies!!








Having fun with the doghouse:






More of Toon Lagoon~~










Derek and I had a thought..........





This was a fun one........






Outside of Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges ride......for Disney fans, this is like Grizzly River Run or Kali River.




Mike got a couple more pics as we waited for the barge ride to open up.






There are no pictures on the ride, as you get wet early and continue to get soaked throughout the entire trip. I'm talking dripping wet!! We rode with another couple and their daughter. The mom & daughter were squealing and laughing and the dad sat there, arms crossed like he was pissed off......lol I busted up laughing when he got a huge bucket of water dumped on him during the trip......lighten up dude!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Since we were soaked, it made sense to get on the next wet ride........Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls. (think Splash Mountain).








These are the Universal Photo's On-Ride pictures:






I didn't think we could be any wetter, but I was wrong!! The kids took this selfie before we headed to Skull Island.




Next up was the Skull Island: Reign of King Kong......I wasn't sure we should get on the ride soaking wet, but the kids said people do it all the time......so we headed in. (Mike did this one with us since it was a bumpy bus ride with the motion simulators on either side of us)
















I enjoyed the ride even though the story line was cheesy. Mike did ok except for the part when the bus falls off the cliff (he just closed his eyes). We did a snipet of this ride at Universal Hollywood on the BackLot Tour.....so that's why Mike knew he'd probably be fine on the full ride.

 

[DizNee Luver]

We left Skull Island and walked right into Jurassic Park. Mike caught the Jurassic Park River Adventure boat coming back from their wild trip down the river.






Some pictures from around the Jurassic Park area.






We got back to the motel that evening to look at the pictures and realized the lady that offered to take our picture forgot the dinosaur was above us and cut part of this head off......lol




We were all pretty hungry at this point (11am) and since we didn't have any breakfast, we decided to beat the rush and have an early lunch. We stopped in to Burger Digs and we walked right up and ordered. Everyone got the Bacon Cheeseburger Combo (which includes a milkshake) except for me.....I got the Chicken Fingers Platter & a Coke Zero.



The food was yummy and there were more chicken fingers than one person could eat in a serving. This could easily be shared by two.

3 Combo Meals (included milkshake), 1 platter, 1 soda = $59.15 + tax


Our view as we enjoyed our lunch.........














These cuties are inside the restaurant.

 

[DizNee Luver]

After lunch we got in line for the Jurassic Park River Adventure (now that we are almost dry). These photos were taken on the ride.




























The Universal Photo On-Ride Photo:






Everyone got wet again (not like the first 2 rides) and the camera lens got it pretty good!

 

[kelmac284]

Love the update. We just love the themeing of IOA. Didn't try Hulk eh? We love that one. I agree about spiderman. Only did it once and that was it for me. I do take dramamine by mouth for the HP stuff but I don't like to tempt fate. I tried the patches years ago fishing and they didn't work for me. I find closing my eyes helps because it is more the visual stuff then the movement. We also only did Dudley Do Right once. Never again. We got that huge bucket dumped on us. The girls did the popeye raft and got SOAKED.

 

[ALEXandFAB]

Hi! Excited to follow along.

We hadn't been away (even for one night) from our kids in 26 months.

the guy that was on the aisle with us announces that if we plan on getting up to use the bathroom very much, we should give him the window seat because he doesn't like to be bothered and planned on sleeping.

My husband travels regularly for work and the stories he's shared with me about rude airline passengers, man oh man .

Look at the cute Candy Bouquet the kids put together for us!! (it was so cute that we didn't even touch it until it was time to pack)

How thoughtful!

This is the Chocolate Almond Bread with Salted Caramel Butter:

I'm nearly drooling.

I love tots and I love nachos but I was really disappointed with this dish. The meat pieces were fried to the point of not even knowing what it was and they were super hard/crunchy. The tots were ok, but after having all the stuff on them, they got "smooshy".

We ordered the totchos when we were there a couple of years ago and were disappointed too. Soggy taters and we couldn't even find the pork belly in ours!

This dessert is RIDICULOUS in the best way possible

***Universal has one security spot that covers their 2 parks AND CityWalk!! I felt good knowing that their shopping and dining area was as secure as the parks......something WDW needs to think about doing. Disney Springs doesn't have a security check and after the tragedy at Pulse (and knowing that Disney Springs was his original target), you would think Disney would get excited about securing this area as well!***

100% agree



Mike's pictures are fantastic!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Love the update. We just love the themeing of IOA. Didn't try Hulk eh? We love that one. I agree about spiderman. Only did it once and that was it for me. I do take dramamine by mouth for the HP stuff but I don't like to tempt fate. I tried the patches years ago fishing and they didn't work for me. I find closing my eyes helps because it is more the visual stuff then the movement. We also only did Dudley Do Right once. Never again. We got that huge bucket dumped on us. The girls did the popeye raft and got SOAKED.

I debating doing Hulk the whole trip.....if I could have walked right on, I would have done it. It's the waiting part that adds to my anxiety and I would have freaked out before getting on the ride.

We were soaked on the Bilge-Rat Barges and Ripsaw Falls.

Hi! Excited to follow along.


It was way overdue.....we usually try to get away once a year but it just hadn't worked out for us time wise or financially.



My husband travels regularly for work and the stories he's shared with me about rude airline passengers, man oh man . This was our first encounter with someone like that!!



How thoughtful! Derek remembered our favorites.....even the Whatchamacallit.....which is hard to find!



I'm nearly drooling. It was pretty good.



We ordered the totchos when we were there a couple of years ago and were disappointed too. Soggy taters and we couldn't even find the pork belly in ours!
It really wasn't good and the meat chunks were hard as bricks and zero flavor since they fried them past the point of being food anymore.



This dessert is RIDICULOUS in the best way possible They really are!Th



100% agree I still can't believe Disney didn't make any changes after that........



Mike's pictures are fantastic!

Thank you......he's got a nice Nikon 7000 camera but there are cellphone pictures intermixed through out all of the posts......I just don't say who's is who's. (some are Sara's and some are off mine)

 

[Trentmom]

I remember from our trip back in 2000, Steve and I got so soaked on Dudley and Popeye ride. We will not be doing either of those..lol However, we do want to try Jurassic Ride. That looks like a lot of fun.

Enjoying all the pics. Its getting me excited for our trip next month.