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

DizNee Luver

Luver of all things Disney!
Joined
Feb 2, 2009
Hi Everyone!!! What a trip we had!!! I'm Laurie and I welcome you here as I relive our amazing trip to Universal and Walt Disney World ~~ April 18 to April 25, 2018.

This trip was for my husband, Mike and I. We hadn't been away (even for one night) from our kids in 26 months. We were long overdue for this getaway. I did a pre-trip report if you're interested in a little more of our back story.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/its-long-overdue-its-time-lets-go.3669306/

Quick review for those that don't want to seek that out: Hubby and I have been married 34 years, we have 8 kids (3 biological and 5 adopted). Out of the 5 adopted kids, 4 of these are special needs. 4 of them live at home (all girls) and 3 are intellectually delayed, autistic and other things. I am the local program coordinator for the Special Olympics and work part-time/on call for the schools as an educational assistant. Hubby works full-time as an educational assistant. We spend 8 weeks of our summer volunteering at a camp for children and adults with disabilities.

We spent the week with my youngest biological son Derek and his significant other, Sara.

So now you are all caught up and we can get started with our trip report, which will have food porn, reviews and massive amounts of photos.
 
Let's get going!!! We actually left our home on Tuesday (the 17th) late afternoon and drove to Portland to stay with our oldest son and his wife. Nick is going to drive us to the airport in the morning and then come to our home to help our other son watch the girls while we are gone. We got to Portland around 8pm and picked up Nick from his work and headed to his apartment. We got to visit with Nick and Marie for a short time before we called it a day. We were going to be getting up around 5:45am so we could leave by 6:15-6:30. I didn't sleep well so getting up at 5:45 was easy......I think I was just too excited for our trip.

We stopped to get the guys Starbucks and me a Diet Coke for the trip to the airport. They live about 45 minutes away, but with traffic in the Portland area.....it can take twice as long, depending on the time of day. We actually didn't have any traffic issues and made it to the airport before 7:30am. We did curbside check-in for our 2 suitcases and then made our way inside. We both ended up with PreCheck with TSA and got to get in the short line and didn't have to take off shoes, jackets or empty backpacks of our computer, meds, etc. IT WAS AWESOME!!!!! I deal with anxiety and so the security line always freaks me out. I'm always afraid I'm going to the be the one they pull aside for a further search. The last thing I want, is someone I don't know, touching me! :eek:

We made it to our gate and took the photo every traveler takes at the Portland International Airport (maybe this is a thing at every major airport but I see our famous carpet in pictures all the time).



We were flying on Alaska Airlines.



We went and picked up something to munch on and to eat on our flight. We got a flight that went straight thru.....but that also meant 5 1/2 hours on the plane with no meal. We hung out at our gate until it was time to load.

We loaded and got to our assigned seats (you pick when you book) and 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. First I thought that was very rude to say and I take the window seat because I am claustrophobic and looking out helps. Second it's a 5 1/2 hours on a plane.....of course we're going to need to get up at least once.



Despite the rude travel partner, we had a nice flight and we only disturbed his highness once after about 4 hours. These pictures are from over the Grand Teton's in Wyoming.





These are over the Mississippi River.





We arrived in Orlando around 5:30 and rode the monorail to the terminal, grabbed our bags and headed outside to wait for Derek & Sara to pick us up. It was crazy with cars going all over the place. So when Derek got there, we threw suitcases in the car and said we'd save the hugs and proper hellos until we got to the motel.
 


Yay it's started. I loved all the pics I have seen on FB but can't wait to hear all the details and see more pics. And WOW about the guy on the aisle. That's crazy! I always sit on the aisle BECAUSE I get up a lot and usually when the 3 girls travel with me we all three sit in a row so it's not a big deal but that is really rude. I bet he couldn't GET a window seat and was using it for a way to snag it :/ Look forward to reading along!!
 
Following along! I can't wait to read your report!

:welcome:

Following along!

:welcome:

Yay it's started. I loved all the pics I have seen on FB but can't wait to hear all the details and see more pics. And WOW about the guy on the aisle. That's crazy! I always sit on the aisle BECAUSE I get up a lot and usually when the 3 girls travel with me we all three sit in a row so it's not a big deal but that is really rude. I bet he couldn't GET a window seat and was using it for a way to snag it :/ Look forward to reading along!!

I know I had people asking me stuff on the pics I posted but I just didn't have the time to go into details. Hopefully I can convince them to come on here to read about it.
The guy on the plane was annoying. My thoughts were that too.....he bought his ticket late and all the window seats were gone. I wish he had been in the row behind us with the screaming, kicking toddler.......I'm sure it was bothering him being one row in front but beside her he would have been in the kick zone......lol
 


Ah can't wait to hear all about your trip - glad you had a good time!!
 
We went to our resort before finding some dinner (it had been a long time since we ate). We ended up staying on site for Universal Studios. Both Derek & Sara work for Universal, so we were able to book a room at the Cabana Bay Resort at a very nice discount. We parked and then gave hugs all around.....now that we weren't being rushed at the airport.....lol

Our room:








This was our view from the 5th floor of the Continental Wing:








When Derek & Sara checked in, since we originally were supposed to have a suite (but as employees, they aren't guaranteed certain types of rooms) they were given 4 drink coupons to use for a alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink within the resort restaurants/lounges. (at least I think that's why were given these.....if it wasn't then I'm not sure why we got them)




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)

 
Awwww, love your trip report so far! Following along!

And I love the candy bar bouquet! I'd never have the willpower to just look at it for days!
 
After getting settled into the room, we headed over to Universal CityWalk for dinner. We were going to go to Toothsome's Chocolate Emporium. They are known for their milkshakes but I had read good reviews on their food, so we were gonna give them a try. Derek and Sara have been there for the milkshakes but not for a meal. These are from our walk into CityWalk.






















We went inside and got on the waiting list, we were told about a 10 minute wait (and this was about 7:30pm). They text when they are ready for you.
 
Mike took these as we waited to be seated........oh my goodness, look at how yummy these treats look!!!!








Where the magic happens.........








I received the text it was time to be seated and we were moved to another small area to wait for our host/hostess to come and get us. We were seated upstairs.
 
This is Mike and Sara:



This is Derek and I:



We were visited by Jacques (who talks):














This is the Chocolate Almond Bread with Salted Caramel Butter:





This was served warm, so a yummy chocolate bread that the butter melted into it. I love salted caramel, so that was my favorite part of this.


We decided to just get appetizers and then share them. This is the Totchos (Tator Tots with spicy green chili, crispy pork belly, andouille sausage and cheddar cheese sauce):





This was my choice.....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".


These are the Pork Belly Sliders and Derek's choice. (Caramelized onions, mustard aioli, arugula, chocolate dipped bacon on a pretzel bun)





I believe the ones that tried this, enjoyed it. I didn't try it, partly because I'm not one of the die-hard bacon fans.......and I was getting full on the other things.


Mike got the Kettle Chip Nachos. (Housemade chips, shredded pork, andouille sausage, cheddar cheese sauce and sweet peppers)





The chips were thick and kinda hard and the andouille sausage was overcooked.


Sara picked the Philly Cheesesteak Rolls. (Cheesesteaks with peppers and onions in a crispy wrapper, served with cherry pepper aioli)





This was hands down the best app (at least in my opinion). It was crispy and full of flavor. (if we ever go back, I'm gonna get this.......)
 
These are some pictures from the upstairs of the restaurant.














These are the over the top milkshakes. Derek and Sara got the Peanut Butter and Jelly Milkshake. (Peanut Butter Ice Cream, PB&J Sandwich, Strawberry Sauce, Crushed Peanuts, PB&J Cupcake, Fresh Whipped Cream)






Mike got the Heavenly Hazelnut Milkshake. (Nutella Ice Cream, Hazelnuts, Nutella, Cocoa Powder, Fresh Whipped Cream)






And I got the Marshmallow Crisp Milkshake. (Vanilla Ice Cream, Rice Crispies, Marshmallow Fluff, Fresh Whipped Cream)







So these are visually a knockout but some observations.......first the glass isn't glass.....it's plastic and you get to keep it. Second, it's super thick.....not sure it's from the ice cream.....I think it's more of a combo of the whipped cream, what the straw got pushed thru and ice cream combined. It's good but sweet and almost impossible to drink/eat it by yourself. We took ours as we walked through the CityWalk and then back to our room. No one finished it.

**after seeing a review that bashed these......it did make me go back and rethink our experience with these.......they commented that they weren't sure they actually use much ice cream in these. It wasn't cold and tasted mainly of the whipped cream. Harder for me to know if this was my experience since I went with vanilla and marshmallow......but I will say there was a lot of whipped cream......A LOT!**


Our tab for 4 appetizers, 2 sodas, 2 waters and 3 milkshakes: $95.88 + tax and tip


These are of the CityWalk on our way out.










Mike got a couple pictures from our room before we called it a day.







 
I'm here!!! The chocolate factory sounds like fun and everything sounds fun. How smart to take pics of your shoes at the airport :rotfl2:Wow and OMG about the guy on the aisle :mad: 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
 
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