10 NIGHTS RPR...MARDI GRAS & COCKTAILS....MARCH 2018 TRIP

[schumigirl]

Your report is reminding me of a few things.... one was that when Davy and I first went to Universal (he was 3 or 4), his FAVORITE thing had been the high in the sky trolley or whatever it's called at Dr. Seuss. I had bought express pass as we were just there for the day and weren't on-site. IT was the one and done pass I believe, but because ALL Davy wanted to do was ride that train, the lady let us use the pass over and over and over... Helped that it wasn't really busy there and that Davy is so darned cute, how could you say no to him?
Second thing was Mythos -- last time we went it was SO COLD we were about to freeze to death. And, we too thought there wasn't much flavor to the meal. That may be it for us (especially since Davy would eat every meal at Three Broomsticks if he could).

lol......I can imagine, and yes he is so cute!!! He`d still be able to do it today I believe.........

Mythos can be freezing!!!!! I have left to go outside and warm up so many times when we eat in there.......didn't help my lizard reputation much......but I was so cold I was shivering one day........Kyle thought it was hilarious, said how can anyone be so cold!!!! It is too cold at times though in there......especially if you have been on water rides as Kyle likes to remind us......we got drenched one year on Ripsaw and Bluto......then went to Mythos......he wasn't thrilled......lol.......

 

[angryduck71]

"There are four lights" If you are a Star Trek Next Gen fan you`ll know what it means..........(Alice....you`ll know......lol)........so I told him I liked his tee......he smiled and asked, Ah but do you know what it means........well, a little smugly I told him yes we did.......and just said Picard.

oh... look again, my dear... I think you want to say there's five...

 

[schumigirl]

oh... look again, my dear... I think you want to say there's five...

Lol........funnily enough on sci if channel earlier tonight, TNG was on and it was that 2 part episode that was showing......we both yelled at the tv......there are four lights!! Lol.........

I went out so didn’t see the second part where he is tortured.........don’t like that bit!

But I did want that guys tee shirt..........

 

[macraven]

Oh I didn’t know it was from Tennessee.......yes, it would be worth the drive for us too if we had to! Love that spicy sandwich........only thing is I keep ordering the same thing every time I go........should really get something else for a change........haven’t tried those wedges yet.......

Yes, WG one seems to always have worse lines than WP........but both were fabulous. Thinking we may go to WG this May trip to try somewhere else that’s been recommended to us.........it’s trying to fit everything in that’s difficult!!

Glad you’re still reading along and enjoying it......

And there are plenty of them/ O'Charley in Georgia.
I go to one that is a ten minute drive from our house.

Building less than half a block away from O'Charley is a Longhorn Roadside steak house.

 

[schumigirl]

And there are plenty of them/ O'Charley in Georgia.
I go to one that is a ten minute drive from our house.

Building less than half a block away from O'Charley is a Longhorn Roadside steak house.

Oh now I’m jealous!!!!

You have so many fabulous places around you for food!!!

I could just go that sandwich from O’Charley right now!!!

 

[vyse22]

We haven't been to Universal since Harry Potter was added. Reading your trip report is making us want to plan a trip. You guys do Universal like we do Disney, very relaxed and taking it all in.

 

[schumigirl]

We haven't been to Universal since Harry Potter was added. Reading your trip report is making us want to plan a trip. You guys do Universal like we do Disney, very relaxed and taking it all in.

..........vyse22.......nice to see you post here......

Yep, we couldn't do commando all day every day....not for us, we are quite lazy really so doing it our pace works for us........yep, very relaxed. You would love Potter I`m sure......it is incredibly well done and impresses us every time we walk in........

Glad you`re enjoying it though and nice to see you........

 

[schumigirl]

WEDNESDAY CONT..........


As we leave enter Seuss, we decide not to ride again today.......we just wander through this very bright and cheerful area of the park......as I`ve said many times, we grew up as children not having a clue who Dr Seuss was and had never heard of the characters.......they are certainly interesting.

Sneetch Beach is another tiny little place that is just so cute and so many folks had no clue what I was talking about when I mentioned the little display by the water......you can see it from the trolley train if you look down as you come over the water bit when you`re quite high.

We love the views form around the lagoon.....every place you stand you can see some other are of the park, and it so pretty and colourful all around, not just Seuss.

How much am I teased still for thinking Schnectady was a made up place for year.....along with Sheboygan and a few other places too!!!! I am never allowed to forget that one!! But, I still think they don`t sound real!

The Backwater Bar is a lovely little bar to stop and have a drink and they have food too, its a place where you can eat inside or outside too and staff are so pleasant any time we have gone in......and make a mean cocktail too!!

We love the whole POE area.......visually stunning and many little surprises around if you listen.....it`s very cute and the music is very evocative.

And this was the giant fake hot air balloon in the store I hadn't noticed had been there for years.......how on earth can you miss it!!

We leave the park and walk back to the hotel so we can get changed to go for lunch. We love the walk back to our hotel, actually the walk to all four hotels is very pretty especially as you go past the water.

But, this view I think is beautiful and one of my favourites in the whole place........and the walk back is a true pleasure.

We do get to lunch eventually..........Teak Neighborhood Grill coming up........

 

[tink1957]

I love all the little out of the way places you capture in your pics ...I always manage to find something that I haven't noticed before as many times as I have visited.

 

[J'aime Paris]

Sheboygan is certainly a real place, lol!

My MIL grew up in Sheboygan.... and it's just over an hour drive from where we currently call home!

 

[klo1335]

It`s a horrible thing to be allergic to. Yes, it`s not life threatening, but it has many effects not at least headaches, a rash and severe palpitations. It also makes me feel extremely unwell and I can spend hours shivering. It`s weird, but not pleasant at all. And it`s in so many things you wouldn't expect at times.

Carole, I feel you on the allergy. While I am not allergic I have a very strong intolerance to coconut. It is sad because I love coconut and it is the "new thing" when it comes to being healthy. Not life threatening but it destroys my stomach and makes me a very unhappy Katie. Took me a while to figure out what was causing it. How did you find out about your MSG allergy?

 

[schumigirl]

The view has changed so much over the years from the beach area at Royal Pacific.......Cabana Bay was added then Sapphire which is so much prettier was added at a later date. The waterway had to be changed to accommodate the new hotel and we couldn't imagine how on earth they were going to manage it.....then we heard before it was announced that they were going to fit another in to the, what seemed such a small space, and that was going to be what is now Aventura........the plans Universal Orlando have already achieved, what they are implementing now and continue to enhance on are truly spectacular and the future is a very exciting prospect ahead for the whole area.

The beach here is somewhere we have never even sat on....it`s usually too hot for us to sit and bake there for the day. But, many do and we once saw it being set up for a wedding....it looked beautiful.

The temperature had come up slightly but it was still fairly cool..........and this was evident when we cut through the pool area.......usually even on a quiet day there are plenty of people either in the pool or sitting around........didn't even see the ducks today.......

We do love this pool area.......zero entry which is lovely if you have little ones and it does feel so safe......even for non swimmers like me......I like being in the water though, when it`s boiling hot though!!


We go up to our room and get changed........we glance out the window and see that there really isn't anyone in the pool area today.......we also love this view.......for us it is the best view there is from the hotel anywhere.....

We get freshened up and changed and head back down to go get our car and head out for lunch. The trouble is there are so many places to eat and not enough days!!! We always think of new places to try, but some old favourites we have to visit, and Teak is a place we have visited since 2007.......always enjoy it. At that time it really was a local place and I don't think there were very many tourists went to it.....according to an ex club employee who lives opposite it, so it was his local hang out for a long time. But, it is so good!!! Can get very noisy if they have live music on, but lunch is usually quieter.


The entrance to Royal Pacific is so pretty.......I always remember the first time we walked across it and were struck by just how pretty and tranquil it was........even on days where maintenance men were crossing it and you hoped one didn't slip and fall in.........those stones looked incredibly slippy!!!

Teak Grill is only a 10 minute drive away, maybe 15 with heavy traffic. But the drive is short and even the roads around Universal Orlando are pretty nice........and not far at all to hotels like the Doubletree Suites.......

Teak set in the lovely Metro West area, and it looks a very nice place to live.......

There are plenty of parking spaces available usually unless it`s a busy night, but we have always managed to get parked right at the door on lunchtimes. Only once on an evening did we struggle for a space.

It`s a very friendly local place, and during lunch it`s seat yourself time.......it is already fairly busy today but there are still tables available...........today I don't recognize the staff on, it`s been the same folks last few visits working, but we get a friendly welcome from who I believe is the owner now........very unique guy, but so friendly........

He comes over immediately and checks whether we have been before, we tell him oh yes, we`re almost regulars.......he`s glad to hear we keep coming back........Tom orders a mango lemonade and I go for an all fruit margarita......I`m not driving!!! I knew there was a reason I didn't argue who would drive this trip........

I didn't need to study the menu........I was having my old faithful.......Tom however, liked to try something new each visit.......I think his particular favourite had been the Wholly Hell burger........wow it was hotter than Hades!!!! Even I don't order that one.......so when Will came back I ordered the glazed donut burger, no cheese, side of jalapenos and sweet potato tots........he smiled at my exact and very defined order......

Tom chose the Engine Oil burger.....with fries. This comes with sautéed peppers & onions, a dark stout glaze, over easy egg, Swiss cheese & crispy potato strings on pretzel bun . And he joked his was as it comes......no additions or omissions.

It is so friendly in here........and such a nice atmosphere......it`s a place you can happily bring kids or older parents.......they have loads of seating outside, but the down side to that is folks can smoke outside, and there is nothing worse than sitting trying to eat when someone is smoking near you.....so we always opt for inside.

And our food arrives........it looks so good........you can`t even see Tom`s burger for all the stuff on top........

Honestly. So good!! Tom is positively loving his burger with some toppings he doesn't usually have at home......onions for one.....and we don't eat a lot of eggs.....so an over easy egg is a delight to him.....simple things sometimes........he even looks as though he is lost in eating it......

Mine is sublime. Sweet, meaty and spicy......can`t get better than that.........Will comes over to check everything is good......both of us had full mouths at the time so we nodded our approval and got a big smile and thumbs us back........the design of the burgers can be quite elaborate depending on what you order, but the core burger itself is lovely.......we both got them medium well, and it more medium and perfect.....we don't like burgers too red in the middle, so this was ideal.

I should have taken a picture of the almost licked clean plates.........we devoured every last drop......only the tomato ketchup was left.......and he guessed it.......we had no room for dessert.......they don't have huge selection of desserts, but we have enjoyed them in the past.....Kyle in particular enjoyed a very chocolatey one a few years back..........

We thank him and pay the check and head out into the sunshine. Teak is a place we will always come back to whenever we get the chance. It is everything you look for in a lunch place. Good food with friendly staff and a nice atmosphere. And not expensive at all. Our entire lunch was $50 including tip.

It is a little cool despite the sun but we do snap a couple of pictures as it is so pretty.......

We felt fully replenished and refreshed with lunch........

We decide we will drive to Mall at Millenia for a couple of hours.......anyone who knows us knows this is our favourite mall in Orlando. It`s never overly busy and has some lovely stores that we enjoy shopping in.

It doesn't take long, even with the road works to get there......and we get parked easily. There are plenty of spaces here, usually we try and park close to avoid the heat of the sun as we don't usually put sun screen on when going there, but as it`s a lot cooler now we can park anywhere.......and this is the day we get parked right at the last space we can nearest the mall. Always the way isn't it........

We head straight upstairs as we are going to Tiffany......not to buy anything today......we just wanted to have a look and say Hi to Amit, who helped us last year. He recognized us immediately and was very surprised to see us. We did want to look at Men`s platinum rings for Tom, but we got sidetracked by a gorgeous ring for me!!!! Not today lol........Amit did take all my jewellery and cleaned it all for me, which he had said he would do if we were ever passing, as you do,......it sparkled beyond belief when it all came back......we told him we would be back in May and then again September so would pop in for one of those visits. It was nice to see him and we were glad he was still there.

The Mall is so light and spacious.......it is a pleasure to stroll around here......and of course pop into one or two stores.......

We go for a coffee and sit for a while and again, just enjoy this feeling of not doing much and taking all day to do it........

We head to Macy and have a real good walk around there, don't buy anything although there was some bedding I was very tempted by!!

We went into Williams and Sonoma......a store I love!!! I believe they are opening in the UK, so will have to find one wherever it is. Some things are so heavy we couldn't possibly get them back home. I did buy a new little gadget though........

On the way out we go into the Tag Heuer store.......the salesmen remember us immediately........Kyle had purchased a beautiful watch from them in December as a treat to himself........and of course as expected the guys in here were very helpful. And nice too. I detest pushy sales people and will happily walk away if I feel we are being pressured or being told something just make a sale......but these guys weren't like that and they knew we knew watches which helped. Kyle loved the watch he bought from them and wore it as often as he could.......


We headed out of the Mall now and stopped to take some pictures, although it was a little breezy now.....but still so lovely.......

We get back home and drop some stuff off at front desk, then head up to room........here we Skype Kyle.......we had really missed him today and were desperate to talk to him. He was planning to go watch football tonight so we arranged to do it now........he answered as soon as we rang.......and it was so lovely to see him.......we chatted for around 25 minutes then he was heading off to watch football. But, Skype really was fabulous!!!

We headed up to the Club Lounge for an hour before we headed out to see Mardi Gras again........

As we walked in I overheard the "four lights" teeshirt guy tell another couple he had spoken to someone that morning that will have stayed here for 75 nights in 17 months........I smiled as I knew he was telling them about us........I nudged him as I walked by and he did say Oh I was just talking about you.....lol.....I know........we got chatting to the other couple who I initially thought were German due to his accent, but he was Irish and his wife was English. They asked about our stays and said we must get treated like royalty here......I concurred we certainly were always made to feel special, but they treat everyone so well in here.........

I always say to everyone, as soon as we walk up the front entrance till the moment we leave we are always made to feel like returning family and we do know a lot of folks so that makes it extra special.

We eventually went to sit down as the family were leaving.......we had a couple of glasses of wine and then went down to get changed, well, I was getting changed into something warmer as I believed it would be a little cooler tonight. So, once I got changed and grabbed our hoodies, we headed down for the boat to Mardi Gras...........

 

[schumigirl]

I love all the little out of the way places you capture in your pics ...I always manage to find something that I haven't noticed before as many times as I have visited.

Thanks Vicki.......

Yes so do we....every visit.......and some like the giant fake balloon I wonder how on earth I could missed it year after year........lol......

 

[schumigirl]

Sheboygan is certainly a real place, lol!

My MIL grew up in Sheboygan.... and it's just over an hour drive from where we currently call home!

lol.......I get so teased about these places.......

Yep, it just sounds like a cartoon name......like from Scooby Doo or Foghorn Leghhorn (remember that) showing my real age here.......

 

[schumigirl]

Carole, I feel you on the allergy. While I am not allergic I have a very strong intolerance to coconut. It is sad because I love coconut and it is the "new thing" when it comes to being healthy. Not life threatening but it destroys my stomach and makes me a very unhappy Katie. Took me a while to figure out what was causing it. How did you find out about your MSG allergy?

along klo1335........nice to have you read long too........


Oh coconut is everywhere isn't it!! You`re right, it really is the newest thing to be so good for you.....in so many ways!!! Onion and garlic is like that for me, won`t kill me but boy is the reaction unpleasant!!! I can eat a little of them both if they are ground down in seasonings and such, but not the actual product itself......and like you with coconut.......I adore them both........I`m trying coconut oil in my hair tomorrow.....bought some today......not sure yet......lol......

The MSG started with Pringles potato chips and Spicy Doritos years ago.....noticed palpitations whenever I ate them.....Kyle used to get headaches whenever he ate them so it slowly dawned on us it was that......but I had a very nasty reaction one night when I had more than palps and headaches, it was very scary. So it had gotten worse as time has gone on. So now I make sure I avoid it everywhere......it`s in so many things you don't think about.

Hope you enjoy reading along........

 

[klo1335]

but I had a very nasty reaction one night when I had more than palps and headaches, it was very scary. So it had gotten worse as time has gone on. So now I make sure I avoid it everywhere......it`s in so many things you don't think about.

Yes, this is how mine started as well. I was putting Coconut sugar in my coffee and was having horrible reactions and couldn't figure out what it was because the reaction was delayed. Went for all sort of testing and they couldn't figure it out. Finally put 2 and 2 together when I ate a coconut cake at Easter last year. I really have to check ingredients on everything. Sometimes I will eat something that you wouldn't think has coconut in it and will start to get stomach pains. I will look back and see that they have coconut oil in it

So when I see all your lovely coconut drinks and desserts on vacation, I cry a little bit But I know avoiding it is better for me to enjoy myself on vacation.

 

[pattyw]

Schenectady is a few hours away from us! We have so many funny names in our area- I grew up in North Tonawanda, we have Cheektowaga, Lackawanna...

You know- Teak Grill has become a favorite of ours- thanks!!

 

[cam757]

Another great trip report!! I am only 3 days into it but I am really enjoying all of the detail you put into the report. Thanks Schumi for sharing your trip with us again. Can't wait to read more!

 

[Disneymom2kiddos]

Absolutely loving your trip report! I love seeing all of the details that we've missed, and plan to make a list to look for them next time! We went to Teak last May and it was awesome. I had the donut burger with bacon, cheese and jalapenos. There's something about all of that salty,sweet and spicy goodness. Delicious! I love sweet potato fries too, and dip them in buffalo sauce. There is a local restaurant near us that serves them that way, and I've done it ever since. Probably weird, yet really tasty. I can't wait to read more!

 

[schumigirl]

Yes, this is how mine started as well. I was putting Coconut sugar in my coffee and was having horrible reactions and couldn't figure out what it was because the reaction was delayed. Went for all sort of testing and they couldn't figure it out. Finally put 2 and 2 together when I ate a coconut cake at Easter last year. I really have to check ingredients on everything. Sometimes I will eat something that you wouldn't think has coconut in it and will start to get stomach pains. I will look back and see that they have coconut oil in it

So when I see all your lovely coconut drinks and desserts on vacation, I cry a little bit But I know avoiding it is better for me to enjoy myself on vacation.

Oh it’s hard to see folks enjoying something you can’t have!

I’ve never heard of coconut sugar??? I don’t use sugar generally, but that sounds nice.......

Yes, testing doesn’t always show up exact allergies and intolerances..........but I’m glad you finally worked out what was upsetting your system. And yes, although I love onions, I don’t mind not eating them now.....