Having trouble liking Universal

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

How is breadbox? We're a big sandwich family but one of the touring guides I read didn't care for it.

I haven't been myself.

Here's a review from Steve & Ryno (from DIS Unplugged):

It's from nearly 2 years ago so it may be a bit old in its content (and probably prices lol). I would check with the menu to see if the items they got were still there. It's at least something to go off of. As always though YMMV.

 

[schumigirl]

How is breadbox? We're a big sandwich family but one of the touring guides I read didn't care for it.

Bethany we just went in March......I`m not the biggest sandwich fan, but really enjoyed it.....

Tom loved it and wants to go back in May...….I was surprised how much I did like it......you can adapt if anything doesn't suit as with most places.

 

[Bethany10]

Bethany we just went in March......I`m not the biggest sandwich fan, but really enjoyed it.....

Thanks Schumi! Seeing as how like 80 percent of our restaurant choices are coming from your trip reports it's moved up on my lets try this list. At the top? Beth's burgers of course!

 

[smiths02]

The guests are defiantly different than WDW, at least in attire and attitude. I will never forget the lady in her see-through leopard print dress , walking her toddler to the popcorn stand.

Okay, I don't have time for a long response, but are you sure about this? I have seen really crazy outfits at WDW.
I would say that I saw at least half of the people with a family Disney shirt or Mickey Mouse ears. Most of these people are the same guests.

 

[Bethany10]

mackenzie-click-mickelson i saw that, and that's the video that triggered me that maybe breadbox deserved a closer look than I was wanting to give it. My kids are incredibly picky and I have no desire to pay theme park prices for food they won't eat.

 

[Squirlz]

How is breadbox? We're a big sandwich family but one of the touring guides I read didn't care for it.

We might try it again but we weren't impressed last December. My pastrami sandwich was dry and bland and my wife's chop salad was iceberg lettuce chopped into mush with three tiny slivers of turkey.

 

[schumigirl]

Thanks Schumi! Seeing as how like 80 percent of our restaurant choices are coming from your trip reports it's moved up on my lets try this list. At the top? Beth's burgers of course!

Awwww.....glad to hear it…..

Beth`s Burgers was so good!!! I hope you like it...…..

 

[schumigirl]

We might try it again but we weren't impressed last December. My pastrami sandwich was dry and bland and my wife's chop salad was iceberg lettuce chopped into mush with three tiny slivers of turkey.

Oh that doesn't sound good...…

Tom had the pastrami and it was lovely.....didn't you take it back?

 

[ChrisM]

Compared to Disney, it's a stressfree vacation.

If I could marry this post, I'd strongly consider it.

Before I visited Universal for the first time a few weeks ago, I would never have believed I could possibly prefer it to Disney. I also didn't think it could stand as a destination vacation unto itself, so I (foolishly) wedged it in over three days prior to a Disney cruise.

I will freely admit: I was an idiot.

The "stress free" aspect in comparison to Disney simply cannot be understated. The ExpressPass perk is a complete game changer. The parks themselves are fantastic and many areas exceed Disney theming substantially.

The only thing I found "worse" than Disney was crowd routing. No matter where I was going or what strategies I was using to navigate the parks, it always felt like I was swimming upstream and people were just running around haphazardly.

Anyway, when I think about a future Orlando vacation, my mind immediately goes to a full week at Universal as opposed to a full week at Disney. I can't believe I'm a convert...but there it is.

 

[holden]

We are here right now, and I’m not loving it. We are having a nice time, but all the simulator rides are a bit much for me. The Harry Potter stuff is impressive. They did a great job there, but everything else is just ok.

We left the parks at 1:30 today, took a nap and now are at the pool. We don’t feel the need to return tonight. We still have two days for the parks and feel that is plenty of time to see and do it all.

I’m glad we came because the kids love Harry Potter, but I’m not sure we’d return.

 

[iluvet58]

How is breadbox? We're a big sandwich family but one of the touring guides I read didn't care for it.

Breadbox is great. If you like sandwiches, Blondies is also very good.

 

[bchbetha]

We are here right now, and I’m not loving it. We are having a nice time, but all the simulator rides are a bit much for me. The Harry Potter stuff is impressive. They did a great job there, but everything else is just ok.

We left the parks at 1:30 today, took a nap and now are at the pool. We don’t feel the need to return tonight. We still have two days for the parks and feel that is plenty of time to see and do it all.

I’m glad we came because the kids love Harry Potter, but I’m not sure we’d return.

I strongly suggest going back for the evening! Don’t miss the lights at Hogwarts or simply being on Diagon Alley as the park is getting ready to close. IT feels magical.

 

[Kit Jackson]

Bonine is fantastic for motion sickness. I've used it for train rides, long car trips, and other forms of transportation and it's been fantastic. There is a non-drowsy version that does not make tired at all. I have never used in the park so I couldn't tell you if it will help with simulator/screen rides.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

There is a non-drowsy version that does not make tired at all.

Yeah non-drowsy didn't mean a thing to me. Found it's a common thing too hence the suggestion to halve the pill or take it before bed so you can hopefully sleep most of that aspect off. It's kinda like how for some people non-drowsy benadryl zonks them out lol.

 

[lebeau]

If I could marry this post, I'd strongly consider it.

Before I visited Universal for the first time a few weeks ago, I would never have believed I could possibly prefer it to Disney. I also didn't think it could stand as a destination vacation unto itself, so I (foolishly) wedged it in over three days prior to a Disney cruise.

I will freely admit: I was an idiot.

The "stress free" aspect in comparison to Disney simply cannot be understated. The ExpressPass perk is a complete game changer. The parks themselves are fantastic and many areas exceed Disney theming substantially.

The only thing I found "worse" than Disney was crowd routing. No matter where I was going or what strategies I was using to navigate the parks, it always felt like I was swimming upstream and people were just running around haphazardly.

Anyway, when I think about a future Orlando vacation, my mind immediately goes to a full week at Universal as opposed to a full week at Disney. I can't believe I'm a convert...but there it is.

Our experiences were similar right down to the Disney cruise. After our last WDW trip, Mindy was fed up with all the hassles. We decided to give a cruise a try. Everyone enjoyed the cruise but it was too expensive to be a regular thing. To supplement that trip, we spent a single day at Universal. Everyone liked it, but one day wasn't enough time. We went back for a full week at RPR and our eyes were opened. Why would we ever want to go back to WDW? We have been spoiled and can't go back.

 

[billlaurie]

I second others who say that closing your eyes on the simulator rides can help. A lot of the effects are visual. I love Disney and Universal equally and appreciate them for the differences. If they were exactly alike it would be sort of boring.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

To the OP, it's not for everybody, and that's ok. It's a very different animal from WDW, and that's ok, too.

My dh isn't into amusement and theme parks at all. He tolerates them bc I absolutely adore them. He doesn't sit around and hold our bags when I tackle the roller coasters with kid #2, he and kid #1 (hates roller coasters) wander off and find something else to do. They loved browsing the markets at IOA, watching people get drenched on the drop at Ripsaw Falls, wandering the streets of NY, people watching, snacking through the lands, etc. His enjoyment is as much wrapped up in watching the rest of us have fun as riding things himself.

And even though we thoroughly enjoy the parks themselves, we're out most days by 2. We go to the resort and relax in the lazy river or rent a movie or get games from the front desk and have family time. We try to find things outside the parks to do as well, bc we have other interests too. Maybe that is what you need to do - park days for the family, and then some things that are just for you. We do try to do at least one evening in the park, bc it's a different experience in the dusk, but usually just once during the trip.

We also make sure to head to the Kennedy Space Center every trip, regardless of whether it's WDW, Uni, or the other parks. Hands down, hubby and the boys vote for our day at Kennedy as their very favorite thing from vacation. It's not enough for us to justify the drive to FL to do just KSC, but it's the perfect anti-theme park thing that fits right into the theme park vaca.

Maybe some of those strategies would help you enjoy it more.

 

[skylock]

If I could marry this post, I'd strongly consider it.

Before I visited Universal for the first time a few weeks ago, I would never have believed I could possibly prefer it to Disney. I also didn't think it could stand as a destination vacation unto itself, so I (foolishly) wedged it in over three days prior to a Disney cruise.

I will freely admit: I was an idiot.

The "stress free" aspect in comparison to Disney simply cannot be understated. The ExpressPass perk is a complete game changer. The parks themselves are fantastic and many areas exceed Disney theming substantially.

The only thing I found "worse" than Disney was crowd routing. No matter where I was going or what strategies I was using to navigate the parks, it always felt like I was swimming upstream and people were just running around haphazardly.

Anyway, when I think about a future Orlando vacation, my mind immediately goes to a full week at Universal as opposed to a full week at Disney. I can't believe I'm a convert...but there it is.

That express pass is amazing. Before we would run from ride to ride not really stopping for anything but to eat. And even that would be wolfing the food as fast as possible.

Now our visits are so relaxing. We have a chance to just enjoy the day riding this and that, having a nice long lunch, watching the street performers, meet and greets, trying new things. It has entirely changed our theme park habits.

This past visit, my group got their moneys worth from the rides. They rode hulk 10 times in one day without missing any of the other rides either.

We had a new never been to universal before person (she had done disney many times and 6 hours at seaworld) and she was just glowing. She said she had never done so many rides in her life and thanked me over and over for booking a room for EP, something she had not been in favor of before we went because she did not see the benefit of a room we were not going to stay in. But that was before she used it. Most of the EP waits were 10 min or less. She said she had the best time of her life.

I will admit we stayed in the parks longer than we usually do because she was having such a good time. We usually do what we want then leave early and have a nice dinner somewhere in orlando. Actually, even with leaving later we still had nice dinners, but had to get back to the condo to go to bed so we could do it again the next day.

 

[Vicki Rickerd]

Thanks Schumi! Seeing as how like 80 percent of our restaurant choices are coming from your trip reports

Glad I am not the only one. I have a book with restaurants and drinks and dishes to try. Think I am looking forward to the food as much as the parks