IT`S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE...COCKTAILS, STEAKS AND CAKES..11 JOLLY HOLIDAY NIGHTS @ RPR-DEC 2019

We chilled out a little in the room and I made sure both Tom`s and Kyle`s shirts weren't creased by giving them a good old iron. Then, Tom and I went up to the Club Lounge for an hour or so. He didn`t have any wine as he was driving tonight, but I had a glass of white tonight.

The Club lounge staff try and guess whether it`s going to be red or white.....I never drink Rose as it just tastes like sugared water to me, but they do get it right somedays.......I don`t think I have a personal favourite between red and white, but if I had to choose to drink one only for the rest of my life, I think red would just win by a smidge.

We love sitting in the lounge. It`s a time to sit and chill out, switch off from everything and either catch up on the internet and have a bit of peace and quiet.....or chat to folks we know......and again, our Australian friends were in and we managed to catch up before we went downstairs to get ready to go out for dinner. We always enjoyed chatting to them when they came in.


But we did head down in a little bit to get showered and changed, and then headed down to get the car. Well, I waited and chatted with the valet guys as Tom went down for the car.....well, I did have heels on!!!

We had decided to go back to Eddie V`s tonight. We had so enjoyed our first visit in September, we wanted to take Kyle to see what he thought about this place compared to The Palm.


It`s not far away being on Restaurant Row, but it does take us almost 25 minutes tonight with traffic which is a little longer than normal, but we always leave a little early. We are the type of people that would rather be 3 hours early than a minute late. And all three of us are like that....cannot abide lateness!!!

We hand the car over to the Valet man and the valet here is complementary, just the cost of a tip which isn`t bad as some places do charge for it. And we head inside.

We get seated and it is a lovely table where we can have a lovely view of all around us, and immediately study the drinks menu where we see they don`t do a non alcoholic daiquiri the way Kyle likes them, but they try to make one similar.......but Tom ends up with it as it has something sparkling in it........Tom liked it, so he enjoyed it while I chose a couple of glasses of wine. With Tom not drinking I wasn`t going to order a bottle just for me!


I did get 2 glasses of the sonoma cutrer I like so much.





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We have a lovely water waiter, and very nice waitress looking after us, and there was another who brought the food who`s name I did forget to write down, so you really are looked after incredibly well here.

The bread was nice, but I did like the butter as it had a spiced salt on it which added something rather nice to the butter.......but we didn`t want to fill up on the bread, however nice it was.






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We really like Eddie V`s.......it`s fairly large but still has a warm feel about it at the same time.






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And we loved their wine storage room.





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We more or less knew what we were going to have. Kyle is not one to have an appetiser, but Tom ordered the Lobster Bisque and I opted for the Shrimp Cocktail.....very predictable for me, but I love them......

Tom`s Bisque was on a par with The Palm which was praise indeed as he ranks The Palm`s lobster bisque as the best he`s ever tasted. Even Ocean Prime`s bisque disappointed him as it was too creamy. So, I was glad he liked it.......






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My shrimp were huge......plump, tasty and so fresh!!! They gave you the usual cocktail sauce, atomic horseradish and another one which is more like the cocktail sauce we have back home for shrimp cocktails.....it`s like a mix of mayo and ketchup with a hint of cayenne pepper.....and my favourite sauce to have with shrimp. It was beautiful.






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They do ask if you`re in a rush, and we said no we had nowhere to go in a hurry, so we guessed there`d be a long gap between courses......it was just about right to be honest for us.

We had all opted for steaks......I had thought about the Chilean Sea Bass, but at the last minute decided against it.....the steak here last time had been sublime and we had looked forward to the same again.....

Tom, had the filet last time, but he prefers a cut with a bit more of a meaty texture.....his words.......so opted for the 18oz NY Strip, served medium rare.......and it was a very large steak.......






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Kyle an I both ordered the 12oz filet and our usual cooking preference of his medium and mine medium rare.......both plates look identical, so won`t post two. But they were cooked perfectly.






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And we shared the Au Gratin potatoes, we all love that style.....and there is plenty for three of us to share.





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The meals were lovely. Steaks were gorgeous and the whole atmosphere is lovely.

But......Kyle wasn`t as keen on the place as we were. I don`t think he could pin point one single thing, but it just isn`t for him. His steak though cooked perfectly, had too much of a crust for his liking and overall he much prefers The Palm.......so, the next time we visit with him we`ll stick to the Palm and may have him try Ocean Prime and see what he thinks of it there.

One of the managers Rachel came over to check how everything was and mentioned she remembered us visiting in September and we were visiting from RP...lovely lady.


Although we weren`t having dessert, she asked if she could send over one their sample dessert plates.....we said of course....we had seen it and it wasn`t too large and quite impressive as they douse the dessert in alcohol and light it at the table......






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Tom had a little of the banana dessert and Kyle and I had a little of the ice creams on the plate.......but we were all saving room for later!

We got the check and headed out to get the car to go back home......I was sorry Kyle hadn`t been completely wowed with Eddie V`s, but we can`t all like everywhere I guess...…we would visit in May on our own I think.






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Our drive home was quicker than getting there, so Tom dropped me off at RP valet while they went and parked the car, we headed upstairs where I changed my shoes into something a little comfier before we walked over to Sapphire.

It is always lovely walking into Strong Water and seeing everyone we know so well...except we missed Fernando tonight as he was off, but there were so many others we know well, so it`s very welcoming.


We took a table tonight as we wanted to have dessert here as well as a drink.

Kyle got his non alcoholic daiquiri.....and he loved it!!!!






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And Tom and I shared a bottle of white wine...….it`s quite funny we saw a woman who looked a little like my mum, who is a complete teetotal and just doesn't like alcohol.....whenever we open wine when we go visit her up there, she appears in her little way, with her very polite Scottish accent saying.... would you not prefer a cup of tea.....lol......I always remind her the Ten Commandments don't mention anything about sobriety......:rotfl:






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I may have mentioned it a million times, how much we love it in here and how much we think of the folks that always make us feel so welcome, and it is just everything.......staff are phenomenal and food and drinks are so good!!!

After we had settled with our drinks, we ordered our desserts.....Kyle of course went for the Spiced Chocolate Cake, which isn`t spiced at all....but he loves this dessert!!!





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Tom and I wanted to share our favourite dessert here, the Tres Leches cake........oh my......how light but rich is this dessert!!!!

And the portion we get is huge! There is no way we will ever finish this even between us!





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We thoroughly enjoyed this tonight. Staff all came over to say hello at different times so our evening passed so nicely and we just loved our time in here...…one of the managers we hadn`t seen this trip yet, came over to say a big hello and it was so nice to see him.

Not long before we were leaving I saw a face that made me sigh.......

Some of you may remember, a good few trips ago, a woman approached me in Sapphire, introduced herself and told me yes, she used to read the trip reports, but wanted me to know, in a nice way of course......that she came to visit Universal and the hotel more often than we did......weird or what...who says things like that......

The woman lived an hour away......if I lived an hour away or even a couple of hours on a plane, I`d be there every month too! But, here she was again sitting in the bar.


I had to go to the bathroom, which is when I spotted her.......and she actually waved to me.....found out later she had told one of the staff we were friendly!!!! This was getting better.....

Well, not any friend of mine, so I carried on my merry way to the bathroom. I have no time for people like that...…weird competitive behaviour like that I don`t understand. And to think she was telling staff we were friends??? What`s that all about!!

I got back to Kyle and Tom and we paid the check and said all of our goodbye`s to everyone, which takes a while, and asked Mike to give Fernando our best wishes and we`ll see him in May......then headed back home to RP.

And it is Christmas Tree central on the way back along the ballroom and convention areas.......

Yep, he sneaked a little photobomb in here too......





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We walked fairly slow as this was the last time this trip I think we would be over this way.......and of course grabbed some tree pictures.....this area is always very quiet, you see the odd person wandering between the resorts, but not too many.





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We went straight upstairs and got comfy, then watched some tv for a while......

This was another day we had just had the best time...…again we`d enjoyed some park time, some beautiful weather and some lovely food tonight.....and having the three of us here was the best of all of it.

We were heading into the last couple of days of our Holiday trip now, and we were a little sad about that, but we`d had a blast so far and would enjoy the next couple of days of course.
 
Fudge is often overly sweet. I have a serious sweet tooth and sometimes I find fudge overwhelming. The butterbeer fudge is definitely less sweet than the other flavors. I didn't hate that. It just has a very un-fudgy texture about it. I could get past that, but the girls couldn't. We tend to accumulate half-eaten sweets in the refrigerator back at the room. If they aren't eaten within 24 hours, the girls are not going to eat them. Then it's up to me to either finish them off or toss them.

I hate food waste and the girls waste a lot of food at the parks. So I won't order food for myself unless there is something that I really, really want. More often than not, I will just wait for the inevitable half-eaten food that would otherwise go to waste. Unfortunately this means I usually end up eating whatever appeals to the girls. Last year, I ended up taking those nasty burgers at Burger Digs to the toppings bar because that was the only way I could get them down!

I was telling the family about your trip report (not the first time we've talked about you guys) and how you almost exclusively eat at table service meals whereas the kids snack non-stop at Universal. As a result, we don't do a lot of table service.

If it were up to me, we would eat at more sit-down restaurants and also try some new ones. We tend to gravitate towards the same places over and over again. The girls love Cowfish and were shocked when I told them it wasn't one of your regular spots. Then they asked about Mythos which we just got around to trying last year. I told them you preferred Confisco Grill which was met with a great deal of skepticism. I explained that I had heard from several people that CG is under-rated but they remained uncertain. It took me years to get them to try Mythos, so I will have to work on them for CG whenever we go next.

We LOVE Cowfish!!!! Only the burgers though, the sushi is like toytown sushi and not the real thing though....lol.....love their cocktails too!!! We didn't go this past trip as it doesn't appeal to Kyle as he`s not really one for burgers in buns and he doesn't eat sushi....so again, we`ll keep that for May.

Yes, a lot of folks only see mythos, and that`s fine, I`m sure plenty enjoy it, it`s just we had a couple of negative experiences so, we`ll go back at some point. Yes, we very rarely snack over there......we much prefer to enjoy the meals.....although I am determined to have one of those giant cotton candy things from Seuss this next trip......pure sugar, but looks so good!!

lol.....I couldn`t imagine anything helping those burgers down!!! Tom won`t go out of his way to eat any food I leave, but he has more than a thousand times swapped meals when they arrive, as I don`t like the look of it, or it wasn`t how I imagined it.....he`s a gem!!!

Yes, fudge is just too sweet for me in any form, but I don`t have the sweet tooth you have......snacks are definitely leaning towards the sweet rather than the savoury which is my preference :thumbsup2
 
I'm laughing about your teetotaler mother, sounds like my mother-in-law. We are not big drinkers (more special occasion, we might go weeks or even months without a drink at all).

I was just listening to the Unofficial Universal Orlando Podcast and they are having a meet up on a Thursday in February at Strongwater when we are there. I feel weird trying to meet podcast/vlogging personalities, but maybe it would give me an excuse to go to Strongwater!
 
We LOVE Cowfish!!!! Only the burgers though, the sushi is like toytown sushi and not the real thing though....lol.....love their cocktails too!!! We didn't go this past trip as it doesn't appeal to Kyle as he`s not really one for burgers in buns and he doesn't eat sushi....so again, we`ll keep that for May.

Yes, a lot of folks only see mythos, and that`s fine, I`m sure plenty enjoy it, it`s just we had a couple of negative experiences so, we`ll go back at some point. Yes, we very rarely snack over there......we much prefer to enjoy the meals.....although I am determined to have one of those giant cotton candy things from Seuss this next trip......pure sugar, but looks so good!!

lol.....I couldn`t imagine anything helping those burgers down!!! Tom won`t go out of his way to eat any food I leave, but he has more than a thousand times swapped meals when they arrive, as I don`t like the look of it, or it wasn`t how I imagined it.....he`s a gem!!!

Yes, fudge is just too sweet for me in any form, but I don`t have the sweet tooth you have......snacks are definitely leaning towards the sweet rather than the savoury which is my preference :thumbsup2

I will let the kids know you like Cowfish. Might improve your credibility to the point where they will give Confisco a try! ;) We're not sushi eaters, but we like the fake sushi there. Mindy always orders the same thing - burgerooshi. Literally every time. And the kids always get the bento boxes. Terrific kid options there.

Bad news. I heard Honk Honkers closed for good. Hopefully they will relocate the cotton candy elsewhere. Apparently it was expensive to staff. The FL humidity could do terrible things to that massive mound of cotton candy. They gave us a plastic baggie and I quickly realized why. The candy crystallized within minutes of exposure to the air. Made for some great pictures though.

Burger Digs was an act of desperation. It was our last day and we were mostly bumming around IOA before we had to leave for the airport. Earlier in the trip, we had gotten a walk-up to Mythos and I foolishly though we could do it again. On some level, I knew I should have made a reservation but I didn't. By the time we got there, the kids were hungry and there was an hour long wait. I told the kids it would probably be more like 40 minutes, but there weren't having it. We walked through Hogsmeade which was insanely busy and Kara was turning up her nose at the menu anyway. Her mood was going downhill fast. The only thing that was going to make her happy at that point was a burger. Of course we get to Burger Digs and it's a freaking madhouse. It had to be a 40 minute line just to order one of those flavorless sandwiches. Thankfully, they had introduced mobile ordering. We were able to get our food in less than a minute! (Mobile ordering rules!) Mindy actually liked her grilled chicken sandwich but those burgers... ew. The toppings bar was mandatory!

Of course while we were eating we got the text that our table at Mythos would be ready soon. I asked if the kids wanted to go back for dessert but by then they were over it so I cancelled. Next time I'll try to get them into Confisco instead.

I can relate to Tom! He always seems so happy to be there!
 


I'm laughing about your teetotaler mother, sounds like my mother-in-law. We are not big drinkers (more special occasion, we might go weeks or even months without a drink at all).

I was just listening to the Unofficial Universal Orlando Podcast and they are having a meet up on a Thursday in February at Strongwater when we are there. I feel weird trying to meet podcast/vlogging personalities, but maybe it would give me an excuse to go to Strongwater!

lol......I think we all know someone like that........

Oh you should go. Any excuse to visit Strong Water is a good one......I wouldn‘t have a clue who any of those folks are....I never watch vlogs or listen to Podcasts......I’m so old fashioned........I much prefer the written word ::yes:: But, if you know these folks, Yep, definitely go, I know you would enjoy Strong Water regardless........:wave2:
 
I will let the kids know you like Cowfish. Might improve your credibility to the point where they will give Confisco a try! ;) We're not sushi eaters, but we like the fake sushi there. Mindy always orders the same thing - burgerooshi. Literally every time. And the kids always get the bento boxes. Terrific kid options there.

Bad news. I heard Honk Honkers closed for good. Hopefully they will relocate the cotton candy elsewhere. Apparently it was expensive to staff. The FL humidity could do terrible things to that massive mound of cotton candy. They gave us a plastic baggie and I quickly realized why. The candy crystallized within minutes of exposure to the air. Made for some great pictures though.

Burger Digs was an act of desperation. It was our last day and we were mostly bumming around IOA before we had to leave for the airport. Earlier in the trip, we had gotten a walk-up to Mythos and I foolishly though we could do it again. On some level, I knew I should have made a reservation but I didn't. By the time we got there, the kids were hungry and there was an hour long wait. I told the kids it would probably be more like 40 minutes, but there weren't having it. We walked through Hogsmeade which was insanely busy and Kara was turning up her nose at the menu anyway. Her mood was going downhill fast. The only thing that was going to make her happy at that point was a burger. Of course we get to Burger Digs and it's a freaking madhouse. It had to be a 40 minute line just to order one of those flavorless sandwiches. Thankfully, they had introduced mobile ordering. We were able to get our food in less than a minute! (Mobile ordering rules!) Mindy actually liked her grilled chicken sandwich but those burgers... ew. The toppings bar was mandatory!

Of course while we were eating we got the text that our table at Mythos would be ready soon. I asked if the kids wanted to go back for dessert but by then they were over it so I cancelled. Next time I'll try to get them into Confisco instead.

I can relate to Tom! He always seems so happy to be there!

lol.....oh yes, Tom is always a happy bunny!

I hope the family do give Confisco a try......I don‘t know anyone who hasn’t liked it to be honest. And we’ve never had to wait......

Yes, I can see why you ended up in Burger Digs........glad the chicken was a success though!
 
Loving your trip report! We are heading down in April over Easter with my in-laws and sister-in-law, staying at Sapphire - cannot wait to visit Strong Water again and will definitely have to have that cake!

Really brazen of that woman to insinuate she's friends with you.

Loving all the pictures - your family is so lovely.
 


Loving your trip report! We are heading down in April over Easter with my in-laws and sister-in-law, staying at Sapphire - cannot wait to visit Strong Water again and will definitely have to have that cake!

Really brazen of that woman to insinuate she's friends with you.

Loving all the pictures - your family is so lovely.


Oh it’s not that long till Easter, it’ll be here before you know it.......how lovely with such a get together......and yes, Kyle recommends that cake highly!!

Yes, why she would even for a second call us friends I have no idea......not the first time someone we barely know has told TM they’re friends of ours......weird.

Thank you........:goodvibes I’m so glad you’re enjoying reading along......:wave2:
 
Oh it’s not that long till Easter, it’ll be here before you know it.......how lovely with such a get together......and yes, Kyle recommends that cake highly!!

Yes, why she would even for a second call us friends I have no idea......not the first time someone we barely know has told TM they’re friends of ours......weird.

Thank you........:goodvibes I’m so glad you’re enjoying reading along......:wave2:

Funny you mention this, after our trip in September when we finally got to meet up we were reminiscing on the way home some of the fun events and such and our boys said it was nice to meet some of Dad’s Disboards friends! Tom and Carole are very nice!!!

My wife was even under the impression that we had met on a solo trip of mine in the past or with one of the kids, I said nope first time meeting the Dis Legends myself!!!!!

It was nice being able to catchup a few times in the lounge!!

I’m kinda getting sad the trip is winding down myself.........but I know there is always one around the corner!!!
 
More yummy food, as usual.
Too bad Kyle didn't like Eddie V's, maybe because they don't have his drink he likes that set the tone?
I'm kind of that way, if I want to have something such as a particular beverage or something it seems like it causes my take on the meal to be off....or maybe that's just me being weird.
Kyle's last Christmas tree photo bomb was hysterical!!! :rotfl2:

My thinking on your long lost 'friend' ( :sick:), she probably figured she could use that as leverage to get perks for herself since you all are such favorites of the staff
at the hotels.....uhh, doesn't work that way.. maybe if SHE was as nice as you all are she would get the same treatment? Just saying......
 
More yummy food, as usual.
Too bad Kyle didn't like Eddie V's, maybe because they don't have his drink he likes that set the tone?
I'm kind of that way, if I want to have something such as a particular beverage or something it seems like it causes my take on the meal to be off....or maybe that's just me being weird.
Kyle's last Christmas tree photo bomb was hysterical!!! :rotfl2:

My thinking on your long lost 'friend' ( :sick:), she probably figured she could use that as leverage to get perks for herself since you all are such favorites of the staff
at the hotels.....uhh, doesn't work that way.. maybe if SHE was as nice as you all are she would get the same treatment? Just saying......

lol.....he does like his photobombing!! There were a few others, but some were too fuzzy to post.......

I‘m not sure exactly all the things Kyle didn’t like about the whole evening, but yes, not having his favourite drink didn’t help......lol.......but he just preferred the Palm in so many ways. I know what you mean about something putting you off a place.......sometimes it doesn’t take much....

You know the vast majority of folks we meet are lovely, and most we have kept in touch with in different ways......but, every now and again, there‘s an oddball or two......and she certainly fitted that mould ::yes::

But, glad you’re enjoying reading along........:wave2:
 
It’s been a hoot looking for Kyle and his photo bombs
:lmao:

Thanks mac.......he did so many, but usually the ones I took went too blurry to post.......I blame him for moving too quickly.......lol.......gotta blame someone!!
 
I just love looking at all your photos, the Harry Potter ones are so great, they are even almost making me think about getting an interactive wand so I can cast some spells as I walk around. So many neat things, I went down a few years ago and saw Diagon Alley and I missed so much, when I got home and started looking at other peoples reports I was like oh my gosh, so this time for sure want to walk around and take it all in.
 
Thanks mac.......he did so many, but usually the ones I took went too blurry to post.......I blame him for moving too quickly.......lol.......gotta blame someone!!
I think it was really kewl Kyle snuck into the pictures and some you did not realize he did that until you were looking through your pictures deciding which ones to use in your report

I’ve been checking out all the pictures you show in case there is another “where is Waldo “.......

Your “man child” is always smiling when he photo bombs you

I get a kick out of it

he seems to have a fantastic sense of humor!
 
I haven't commented yet but I want you to know that I love your trip reports! You really are making me look forward to our stay at RP in November! :flower1:
 
Kyle's chocolate cake count is up to 16!!!! :cake: I swear, I've gained 5 pounds just by keeping track of how many he's had this trip!!! :rotfl2:

I know why the lady said you're "friends"... It's because you're famous and she thinks she can ride on your coattails and pretend that she's "famous" too... :rolleyes:
 
I just love looking at all your photos, the Harry Potter ones are so great, they are even almost making me think about getting an interactive wand so I can cast some spells as I walk around. So many neat things, I went down a few years ago and saw Diagon Alley and I missed so much, when I got home and started looking at other peoples reports I was like oh my gosh, so this time for sure want to walk around and take it all in.

Thank you....I love the amount of pictures Tom takes....we`ve never bought a wand for us to use, but they do look like a lot of fun for those that do have them. Any we have bought for friends kids to use next time they visit, they`ve always loved using them.

Yes, when you see something you missed when you get home, we`re like....wow how did we miss that......lol......

I`m glad you`re enjoying it.….:wave2:
 

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