Love is “Universal”: Our Awesome Anniversary Adventures in Orlando (May 2015 TR)

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Oh I love bubbalous......definitely can`t wait to get back this year!!!!

We definitely also have to get a Doh` nut Sundae........we never managed one last year......it`s on the list!!

Lovely pictures again Gina.......it`s great to see you had such lovely weather for your trip........

Definitely get the sundae ..... its sooooo good! And calories don't count when you're on holiday.

The weather was nothing short of superb....but it does set the bar awfully high for future trips. I figure one of these days we're going to have a vacation that's a total wash-out, just to balance the scales .

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Thursday, May 7th: part 1

How did we get to our second last day already? One week trips fly by way too quickly.

We were up bright and early after a wonderful, undisturbed and fitful sleep. It’s amazing how a good rest can make one feel like a million bucks and put a noticeable spring in a person's steps .

We had early entry this morning with our annual passes, so we grabbed a quick breakfast at the villa and headed out the door. As it had been for the entire week, the jaunt up the I4 was quick and efficient, and we were parked in a super spot in preferred parking and into CityWalk in a flash.

The Photoconnect photographers were already out and ready for guests, so we stopped for a picture on our Star Card while in Port of Entry. This section of the park is just so appealing to me, so it was awesome to have that as one of our photo backgrounds .



We wanted to take advantage of Hogsmeade while it was quiet…..so we wasted no time in heading that way. If anyone wants to know if early entry makes a difference in the overall experience, these pictures might help you get a visual.

Here is Hosgmeade on our previous visit earlier in the week:





(and quite honestly, that’s pretty low crowds for the daytime……the bonus of travelling in the off-season)

And here was Hogsmeade during early entry:






As they say on the Mastercard commercials……PRICELESS .

Steve decided he would take a ride on Forbidden Journey since the posted wait was only 15 minutes (it’s definitely outside of my ride tolerance level) while I explored the village and took some photos before the masses descended. So off he went into the castle:





…..and off I went exploring. It’s an amateur photographer’s dream here . It sure doesn’t feel like you’re smack dab in the middle of the state of Florida.















Steve emerged a short time later from Forbidden Journey, admittedly a little queasy from the ride. He missed his Photoconnect picture as a result (dang it!) and told me to forget it, he wasn’t riding again . This pic would have to do:



We strolled around for a bit, and noted that Dragon Challenge only had a five minute wait…..so Steve-o rode that one, too.



More of coaster purist versus a lover of motion simulators, Dragon Challenge didn’t bother him one bit. Go figure!

Next, we went into Honeydukes to peruse their awesome selection of treats and treasures. I always hold my breath a little when we’re shopping in this store…..the space is so narrow and my Steve is so BIG, I always wonder how he gets those football player shoulders through without knocking something flying . I can only imagine how oppressed he feels!!





One of the must-try’s on our list was a Cauldron Cake from Honeydukes, so we picked one up to share ($3.37 including tax and AP discount).



We also bought a Butterbeer to share from one of the carts ($5.50 including tax, no AP discount at the carts). We were going to need something to wash all that rich, chocolatey awesomeness down .



Having done everything we wanted to do in Hogsmeade, we took our snacks and headed to the Lost Continent to enjoy our treats without the growing crowds.




More to come in the next post!

 

[wiscbugs]

Great updates....you are right, the minion dance party is a blast. One of the times when we went in March, we had Gru and Agnes and 2 minions..it was so fun!

 

[mrsladymontague]

I'm enjoying your trip report so much! We head to Universal in a couple of weeks and your restaurant reviews and tips are so helpful. We visited IOA for just 1 day in 2011 in the middle of a Disney trip and are very excited to do a Universal trip this time!

 

[jm106]

Cauldron cake is too cute, I'm going to try. Was it great? Dh and my oldest love their chocolate. I was searching for snacks to try(I'm a big snack fan at wdw which I'm missing out on.) Butterbeer is just too sweet but The little man and I like savory snacks more.

 

[mrsabbott]

I got one of those cauldron cakes to go when we were there and ate it one evening at the condo! So yummy!! I love the pumpkin juice a whole lot! Have you tried it? It's my favorite! I have an empty one sitting in my kitchen as "decoration". LOL!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Great updates....you are right, the minion dance party is a blast. One of the times when we went in March, we had Gru and Agnes and 2 minions..it was so fun!

I was kind of disappointed that we missed out on meeting the girls and Gru over the course of our week. That will be on my to-do list for October, for sure!

I'm enjoying your trip report so much! We head to Universal in a couple of weeks and your restaurant reviews and tips are so helpful. We visited IOA for just 1 day in 2011 in the middle of a Disney trip and are very excited to do a Universal trip this time!

Welcome aboard! If there's anything specific you want to ask about, don't be shy .

You will find the parks have changed a lot since you were there in 2011. Very exciting!

Cauldron cake is too cute, I'm going to try. Was it great? Dh and my oldest love their chocolate. I was searching for snacks to try(I'm a big snack fan at wdw which I'm missing out on.) Butterbeer is just too sweet but The little man and I like savory snacks more.

Yep, we thought it was great . Not sickeningly sweet either, so it might be something you enjoy too.

Earlier in the week, we also had a "brookie" (though I didn't take a pic for some reason....I think we grabbed one on the fly on our arrival day). Its a ball of cookie dough baked into a brownie. It was nice and small (you could easily eat one yourself and not feel super bloated.....unlike the D'oh!-nut Sundae!!) and super cheap ($2.50 or something like that). If you have chocolate lovers in your family, they might want to try that snack, too .

You can see the brookie in this link, about three quarters down the page:

http://attractionsmagazine.com/how-halloween-horror-nights-differs-in-hollywood/

I got one of those cauldron cakes to go when we were there and ate it one evening at the condo! So yummy!! I love the pumpkin juice a whole lot! Have you tried it? It's my favorite! I have an empty one sitting in my kitchen as "decoration". LOL!

Pumpkin juice scares me a bit . I'm not a huge fan of pumpkin pie, so I have my doubts that I'd enjoy it in juice form. I do like the container, though....we commented on them when we walked by the Butterbeer carts!

We want to give the Fishy Green Ale a try on the next trip, and Hot Butterbeer too. Ya never know, Pumpkin Juice might just make it on the "what the heck!" list, too .

 

[dancin Disney style]

I think you've had 57 butter beers so far....do you like it?

Sorry to be the Debbie downer but PLEASE do not use hotel jacuzzi tubs. They don't often run the proper cleaning cycle. It ranks up there in grossness along with unwrapped glasses.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Thursday, May 7th: part 2


We found a nice, quiet table to sit and enjoy our snacks in the Lost Continent. There was little to nothing open in that section just yet, so it was basically just being used as a pathway through to Hogsmeade, making it wonderfully unobtrusive. The cauldron cake, especially considering the lower price point, did not let us down. It was super cute (we almost hated to eat it!) and while it looked like an amped-up Hostess cupcake, we thought it tasted much better. Or, maybe our enjoyment was a shameless product of a winning combination of sparkling sunshine, the warm and gentle breeze, the visual appeal of the cake, and the peaceful setting of our little table. Whatever the reason(s), we enjoyed it immensely…..and the Butterbeer was the perfect accompaniment in the absence of a big jug of milk .

The Lost Continent appeals to me in the same manner as Port of Entry. I love the architecture here, and the colour palate of the buildings.





We toured around a bit and took some photos before moving on to Seuss Landing. We checked out the Singing Fountain, though he wasn’t yet chatting it up with guests (don’t worry though, we’ll see that later on):









As well, I got some nice photos of the exterior of Mythos. The sheer size and magnitude of the Mythos façade never ceases to impress me!









The day was young, and we still had lots of things we wanted to do. Poseidon’s Fury in the Lost Continent was among them, but we had just missed entry to the next show, so we opted to visit Seuss Landing while we waited.


First up was a tour on the High in the Sky Trolley Train Ride….and another pic in the queue :






Side note…..it was after this photo that my sunglasses met an untimely demise . I have no idea what happened, but when I picked them up after our in-queue photo, they literally fell apart in my hand. Steve wanted to take me to one of the gift shops to buy another pair, but I still had two spares back in the villa. Why I didn’t carry one of the other pair in my purse is the million dollar question….but either way, I wasn’t spending any money on new specs when I still had two others. If you notice that I’m all squinty-eyed for the rest of the day, that’s why!


This time riding the train, we were seated on the opposite track from our ride earlier in the week, so we got to go through Circus McGurkus Café Stoopendous . Until this trip, I didn’t even realize that the train took two different routes, depending on whether you are assigned to the train on the left or the train on the right. I like the one that goes through the tent the best .













After the Trolley Train, we rode One Fish Two Fish again, as well as the Caro-Seuss-El. I chose to partake in a “spin” on the Cat in the Hat, but Steve took a pass……the last time we rode this attraction in 2012, the spinning really got him. I tried to tell him that the spinning had been reduced significantly (thanks to the Disboards for that little tidbit of information) but he was still a no-go. No worries, I was quite okay to ride alone .




As I emerged from the Cat in the Hat (which was much more pleasurable with the spinning reduced, I must say!), Steve redirected my gaze in the direction of some characters that had arrived while I was enjoying the ride. The Cat in the Hat, Thing 1 and Thing 2 had just set up for a meet and greet with park visitors. Even better, there was a roving Photoconnect photographer at the meet and greet, so the photo would be on our Star Card. While we had already met the Cat in the Hat a couple of days prior, Thing 1 and Thing 2 were both new!





It was just about time to catch the next showing of Poseidon’s Fury, so we started to make our way toward the Lost Continent again. On the way, we popped into Snookers & Snookers Sweet Candy Cookers to check out the sweet treats offered in Seuss Landing, but didn’t find anything that we wanted to try (of course, the cauldron cake and butterbeer were still swirling around in our stomachs.....too soon for more of that kind of thing!). It was fun to look around nonetheless.


Next up: Poseidon’s Fury, another potential camera catastrophe (is my photo taking cursed on this trip, or what?), Jurassic Park, and Steve meets his comic book idols at Marvel Super Hero Island.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I think you've had 57 butter beers so far....do you like it?

Sorry to be the Debbie downer but PLEASE do not use hotel jacuzzi tubs. They don't often run the proper cleaning cycle. It ranks up there in grossness along with unwrapped glasses.

Not quite 57 . But at the time, it did seem that we were trying to break the Universal record for most Butterbeers consumed in a single trip .

And Lord, woman, don't make me think about the cleanliness (or lack thereof) of that tub . Let me live in my bubble. I like it there.

 

[dancin Disney style]

We tried the Pumpkin juice and each took one sip then tossed it. It tasted like pumpkin flavoured apple juice laced with dust. We both love pumpkin pie, muffins, cookies, ice cream etc. but not that juice.

It seems to be very much a love it or hate it thing. No in between.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Not quite 57 . But at time, it did seem that we were trying to break the Universal record for most Butterbeers consumed in a single trip .

And Lord, woman, don't make me think about the cleanliness (or lack thereof) of that tub . Let me live in my bubble. I like it there.

You are most certainly the record holder...never to be tied....never to be beaten! You are the Butterbeer zen master

Not trying to burst your bubble....just trying to prevent you from contracting Ebola or ending up like this (Mwahaha....I found a use for him)

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

We tried the Pumpkin juice and each took one sip then tossed it. It tasted like pumpkin flavoured apple juice laced with dust. We both love pumpkin pie, muffins, cookies, ice cream etc. but not that juice.

It seems to be very much a love it or hate it thing. No in between.

Dust? It tasted like dust? What the heck does dust taste like? Are you doing science experiments with the contents of your fridge again?

You are most certainly the record holder...never to be tied....never to be beaten! You are the Butterbeer zen master

Not trying to burst your bubble....just trying to prevent you from contracting Ebola or ending up like this (Mwahaha....I found a use for him)

Oooohh, the "zen master". I like that. Sounds very mysterious, yet powerful .

I solemnly swear to stay out of the jacuzzi tub at the resort from now on . This guy ----> doesn't look much like a zen master to me.

 

[thr33boys]

I haven't chimed in yet but I can't hide any longer...I'm lovin' your TR! I wish it wasn't so close to the end. Maybe I'll just have to read it again Looking forward to hearing about Poseidon's Fury.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I haven't chimed in yet but I can't hide any longer...I'm lovin' your TR! I wish it wasn't so close to the end. Maybe I'll just have to read it again Looking forward to hearing about Poseidon's Fury.

Aw, that is too sweet! Thank you!

Glad you've come out of hiding to join us . And happy to know you have enjoyed the report so far .

 

[dixonsontour]

I didn't realise there were two train routes - we have always been through the cafe.

I've bought the photoconnect before prices go up as I'm loving all your photos with the borders on.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I didn't realise there were two train routes - we have always been through the cafe.

I've bought the photoconnect before prices go up as I'm loving all your photos with the borders on.

We were the same....always had been on the train that travels through the big tent. Then, earlier in this trip, we hop aboard and ..... no tour through Circus McGurkus . That's when we realized....two tracks.....two different routes.

For anyone wondering, the track to the right takes you through the cafe. The track to the left does not.

Just a heads up on the photo borders....most of the pics came with a rather plain blue Universal Studios border (even those taken in IOA), which I found rather boring for the most part. You can swap out the default border with custom ones for most of the photos (the custom options depend on what your photo is of.....for example, the Transformers borders are only options on the Transformers pics). I stumbled upon that feature rather by accident....its not really easy to find on the Photoconnect website.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Dust? It tasted like dust? What the heck does dust taste like? Are you doing science experiments with the contents of your fridge again?



Oooohh, the "zen master". I like that. Sounds very mysterious, yet powerful .

I solemnly swear to stay out of the jacuzzi tub at the resort from now on . This guy ----> doesn't look much like a zen master to me.

You know when you eat something and then want to wipe it off your tongue? That's what dust tastes like.

This--->is what happens to the zen master after using the Ebola infected jacuzzi at the resort. Most concerning is the cross hatch thing on his butt.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Love Lost Continent, so amazingly themed. I wish they would switch out that horrible Sinbad show though! Did you see that yet?

I agree, the track through Circus is the winner, although I think it's neat they have two tracks.

I'm surprised your DH didn't go on Cat in the Hat! He will do all of those roller coasters but not Cat in the Hat My husband is the same way, he can go on anything, but spinning is his enemy. They did turn down the spinning though, almost to zero. It's much better now.

 

[disney ny]

Did you say we are on the second to last day already? Oh no! I will be so sad when this trip report is over.You will have to start the pre-trip for October!