The Joys of Traveling with Three Kids RPR Club Level 8 nights! 7/2018

Thelma and Selma...….lol...…..glad they have a sense of humour about it...….:D

Glad your daughter was the star of the show...…..bet she loved it!!! And nice she head her own cheer squad!!! Your boys are so funny with the rain...….and afternoon naps sound good!!!
 
Day 2: Hitting the parks hard

We woke up very excited to get out into the parks for our first full day of vacation. We hit the club lounge for our quick breakfast and got out into hot Florida summer. It was super hot and really early so we knew it was going to be a day to stay hydrated. We took the boat over to the parks and were very excited to see these beautiful turtles in the water by the boat dock.
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We started with Universal Studios today. Our first stop was the Minion ride. This is a great ride. The Despicable Me movies are a family favorite and we just really enjoy going on this ride over and over...we will hit it once or twice a day during our days in the park.

After our adventure with the minions we decided to get a drink. My kids like the Coke Freestyle machines so we went into the Monsters Café to get a pop. I didn't want to buy the reusable cup because I didn't want to carry the cups all day. We only wanted a drink. Come to find out you can't get just a fountain cup to use at the Freestyle machine. You can only use the reusable cups there. So when the team member said I couldn't just order a small pop and fill it at the Freestyle machine I said nevermind. I was just going to buy us bottled waters. The woman was really pushy. She's like "your drinks will be so cheap...whatever you want" I explained that's not the point, the point is I'm not carrying cups around. So we went to the stand outside Monsters Café and bought a couple Powerades and a couple bottles of water. While taking a break with our drink I noticed on of those "free refill" stations and the lines you have to wait in to get your pop. No thanks!

My daughter decided she needed to take an extended break so we took a spot in the shade in front of RRR. DH and the boys went on Transformers and we joined up after the ride feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day. Next we rode the Jimmy Fallon ride. I know on these boards it's not a popular opinion but boy did my family love this ride. The queue is air conditioned and you can walk around. That's a selling point for the kids. My kids also enjoyed the live entertainment in the line and of course #panda. The ride itself was cute. Yeah it was another simulator, but it was entertaining and funny. To me, I would have rode it a few times during the trip but my kids absolutely loved it and every day we went to Universal we rode Jimmy Fallon.
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After Jimmy Fallon we went on the Mummy. This time it was just DH, myself and DD. The boys decided to sit out this time. This is something I really love about Universal. The family can wait in line together (and with express pass it's a pretty quick line)...then whoever isn't riding can sit in a comfortable and safe room that show's cartoons and we can reunite after the ride. This trip we allowed my boys...usually just my oldest son to sit in child swap alone and we would all ride the ride. The team members didn't mind if an adult didn't stay behind and I felt comfortable leaving whoever was sitting out in the room. After the ride since DD was the only one to ride the coaster she got to try on the special head dress.
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After Mummy we gave Fast and Furious a try. DH actually really likes these movies so we were all excited to experience the attraction. This was pretty much a disappointment for everyone. I think this would have been better as a test track type attraction with smaller ride vehicles. We didn't care for the party bus...plus for as long as it took to get on the ride it felt so short! Just a disappointment all around.

Next we made our way over to MIB. My boys love this ride. It's ok...not my favorite but I don't have anything against it. So we threw my purse in a locker and rode this a couple times. By this point we were getting hungry so it was time for lunch at the Leaky Cauldron. We love quick service in both Harry Potter areas. There is always a line but we don't mind waiting, it's a nice way to just chill and get ready to eat. I think the line was about 20 minutes long. Another good thing with a bit of a wait before ordering is that middle DS cannot order under pressure. He likes to reflect on what his wants to eat and drink. The fact that when you sit down at a restaurant and the waitress will take your drink order right away...he wants to physically look at his choices...he's can't think order under pressure...lol
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So after lunch we walked thru a few shops and rode Gringotts. I was very happy because oldest DS decided he was going to ride! We don't force our kids to ride anything. DS has always been nervous about rides and sometimes it takes him a bit to build up his courage. Today was the day and all five of us rode together. After the ride he stated it was ok, but it was one and done for him. Still too a little intense for him, but he said he was happy he tried it because he's read all the HP books and wanted to see Gringotts come to life...and he did...and it made me happy.

We decided it was a good time to go swimming. Even though it was hot we decided to walk back to the room...not sure why if I'm being honest but we did. We went into the lobby and got some fruit water on the way to our room. We relaxed in the room a bit. I'm thinking DH and I probably had a water or coffee in the club lounge then we went for a swim. After cooling down we went to the club lounge and had a light dinner. It was pasta night. I remember it being good.

After dinner we decided to go back into the parks. We went to IOA this time because I wanted to ride Kong and that's exactly what we did. This was an ok ride. The queue is pretty cool. It was a little dark for my boys and made them nervous. The ride vehicle is identical to Fast and Furious. Not my favorite type of ride vehicle...however, it made more sense for this ride. I liked this ride better. I'd rather see dinosaurs and bugs and kong as opposed to guns and highways. Plus the huge Kong head at the end of the ride it very cool.

After Kong we made our way over to Hogsmeade. We rode hippogriff once with the kids and then the kids rode themselves a second time. Then we rode FJ. I think only myself and the two younger kids rode today and DH hung out in the gift shop with older DS.

So after this ride we realized we overdid it again and had a tired DD (oops)...but we made our way back to the room and all was right with the world once everyone was showered and pj'd. We had our leftover pizza and got to bed because tomorrow was our much anticipated Legoland day...View attachment 342544

My kids live the Jimmy Fallon ride too. DH and I would have gone on it once and been done. Cute but not much more than that. The kids loved it though. I think we went 4 times last year. "Hs are eh!" Was an often repeated quote in our house for a long time.

My oldest daughter is leery of rides too. We encourage her pick one new ride each trip but we don't force. Sometimes she likes them, sometimes she doesn't.

Thanks for the warning in Lego Land too. A lot of your pictures look like the same Lego creations at the Discovery Center near Chicago so I think we would be disappointed too.

Saturday!

We were now halfway thru our trip. It really was going by quick. Today we wanted to take advantage of Early Entry and made sure we got up early. We started our day with the lounge breakfast. This way by far my favorite part of Club Level. So convenient to grab items and get on with the day. I found it to be a very good value.

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Once we got into Universal Studios we wanted to hit the rides we haven't done yet on this trip....but first, we had to ride the Minions...it's right there...and so fun...can't skip it. After that we made our way to the Simpson's ride. I love the Simpsons. I can't believe the show is still on and still good. My husband has two single sisters. Long ago I had taken to calling them Thelma and Selma. Lucky they can take a joke. We had to send them this picture while we were waiting in line:
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After the Simpsons ride we watched the kids ride the saucer ride. Then we went back over to MIB and rode it twice. Still not my favorite...but kids love it.

We made our way over to Diagon Alley because the kids feel like butterbeer.
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Of course we make a detour to ride Gringotts first. I think this time we let older DS walk around Diagon Alley and meet us at a certain time at the bathrooms outside of Gringotts. He was really enjoying this newfound freedom.

This trip I did not manage to get my own glass of butterbeer. I really like butter beer but it was so hot that I was sticking to water..or lemonade. I decided when we stopped for our snack I was going to try something new and I got an ice cream code from the ice cream parlour. I picked a scoop of Earl Grey and I think salted caramel something...Ben and Jack both wanted frozen butter beer. I had not taken one bite of my ice cream when Ben informed me that he did not like the frozen butter beer. So, my ice cream enjoyment wasn't meant to be...because instead of telling him too bad...we traded. Of course he had been working on the butter beer while I ordered my ice cream..so what I was given was a slightly melted, not very appetizing looking frozen drink with the foam already consumed. I took a couple sips, tossed it...and figured...whatever...at least the kids are happy. While enjoying our snack (kind of) the puppet show was being performed. We watched it...it was cute.

We decided we should ride ET...it's a classic right? By now it was getting kind of hot and we were getting to the point where we were gonna need to take a rest or stop for lunch. But for now we were good with another ride. After ET the kids wanted to ride the woodpecker coaster. DH and I sat in the shade and they did that a couple times. By this point it was almost time for Animal Actors. My family loves this show. It's so cute. We got a bottle of water and headed over. We got a really good seat, right in the front above the seating area that is reserved for special needs.

Anyway, my daughter was picked as the first child volunteer. My oldest son was so jealous..lol. She went down to the stage and when she said she was from Buffalo, she had her own cheering section that wasn't us. We got a kick out of that. Always a hometown connection right? So she sat in the directors chair looking cute...got accused of eating a dog treat, and then got a kiss from a furry friend It was adorable:
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After the show we were going to leave the park for lunch but as we were walking out it started to rain. My boys...fearful that we will indeed melt, wanted to seek shelter. We were passing the Horror Make Up show and the next showing was only 10 minutes off. So, plans changed on the fly. We sat down and took in the show. This is an ok show. I think the actors are funny. I wish they'd show more special effects instead of being so heavy on movie clips. Still worth a watch once a trip.

Now it was finally time for lunch! We went to Toothsome! I didn't know if we were necessarily going to eat here...I knew I at least wanted to get some chocolate or a shake...but DH really wanted to try it. I'm so glad we did. This was one of the best meals of the trip. It's hard to find a restaurant that has a cool theme and good food. I remember at Disney we were so excited to eat a T Rex. Restaurant looked awesome...food and service were dreadful. So anyway, this place had it all. So many neat things to look at. A very friendly and knowledgable waitress. Service was efficient but not too fast.

This was one of the few meals I had a drink at. DH had picked some type of chocolate beer. I had a chocolate cranberry mule. Wow this was great...and strong without tasting strong. My daughter had chicken fingers and enjoyed them. Both boys had burgers and they had no complaints. DH had some type of monster blue plate burger that he really liked. I had a fried chicken BLT. We also had a couple appetizers. This was just a really nice experience. We would eat here again for sure.

Now that our bellies were full we were heading back to the room for an afternoon nap and some tea.

To be continued....

My son got to be the second child volunteer in our last trip. It's cute to see them up there.

I'm slow at reading trip reports but will keep checking back in from time to time. Thanks for sharing.
 
I love that your daughter got picked to volunteer at the Animal Actors show. :cool1: And yes- wherever you go, there is always someone from Buffalo, NY!! We are a special bunch and always so happy to meet up with someone from our hometown!!:)
 
Saturday Continued

So we made our way back to the hotel. By now we had been gone for quite a few hours and it was time for a break. DH took a nap while the kids played. I went and sat in the lounge. It's hard for me to sleep or even take it easy on vacation. I'm always go, go, go. I was just at Disney in December with my mom. She likes to sleep in and take it slow. It drives me mad. This trip we decided that I can rope drop at the parks and when she was ready to start her day she'd text me and we'd meet up. I would be out of the hotel at 7am sharp...and I'd put a good 4 or 5 hours in before she even stepped off the bus. It made for a nice trip...I wasn't constantly annoyed that we were wasting time and she wasn't feeling rushed...but I digress...

So anyway, once DH woke up he came in the lounge...I think Ben was in here at some point too enjoying the cartoons. So after we chilled a couple hours we decided to hit up some water rides. There aren't really any pictures from this afternoon. I didn't bring my phone into the parks because I didn't want it to get wet. Anyway, we started on Bluto's barges. We rode it once as a family. After that DD and I went on a second time while DS's went on the Olive ship. DH took a seat...I think he was still tired. So then Jack decided he wanted to ride the barges again...but alone...independence was a theme for him. So DD and I took a trip to the bathroom and DH and Ben waited for Jack to ride a second time and then we met up at Ripsaw Falls. This is always a fun ride... not sure why we don't do it at least a couple times in a row, because the first ride I'm always nervous about the drop...even though it's never that bad...so I feel like if we ride it twice the second time would be more fun. However, DS's sat this one out in child swap so DD, DH and I did it once and collected the rest of the family and we were off to River Adventure. I'm happy to say the entire family rode this time. It ended with everyone smiling which was in stark contrast to the first time we rode in 2014. Once we survived the drop all three kids were crying and middle DS looks at us in horror and was like "why would you take us on this" lol...it's not like we dragged them on. They liked splash mountain...they wanted to ride this..but it was a bit too intense at the time. Now that they are older, they were happy to have ridden it.

Now that we were good and soaked it was time to go back to the room again. So nice to be able to travel to and from the hotel in such a timely fashion. We dried off and headed to Orchid Café for sushi. Ben loves sushi. He loves it almost too much. I don't begrudge other people sushi..myself.. I can't bring myself to eat raw fish. As a rule I wouldn't let the kids eat raw fish either. However, Ben asked and asked for the longest time to be allowed to eat "real" sushi. So for his birthday this past January DH took him for proper sushi. That's it, it was a revelation, he loves it as much as he knew he would. Knock on wood, he hasn't gotten a tapeworm (yet), and I hope it stays that way. So anyway, this was something that Ben was really looking forward to. We told him he could order any roll on the menu that he wanted. He pointed to this like $72 platter. :rotfl2: So we quickly amended that and told him he could pick anything that was meant for one person...I can't remember what he had...but he said it was delicious.
I don't remember what the rest of us had. I think I just had a bowl of soup and Emma had something off the kids menu (probably a burger) and Jake had a sushi roll...Jack...I think just wanted edamame...those were good...and a big portion too.

After Ben had his sushi we decided to go back into the parks one more time. We wanted to catch the new night time show. We got there with 15 minutes to go so obviously...we didn't get the best seats. We were in the viewing area..but we didn't see much. We still enjoyed the show...I'm not sure how long you have to camp out for good viewing, might be nice if they add it to Express Pass. I'd like to see it again were we can appreciate the entire scope of the production...but it was nice.
 


Saturday Continued

So we made our way back to the hotel. By now we had been gone for quite a few hours and it was time for a break. DH took a nap while the kids played. I went and sat in the lounge. It's hard for me to sleep or even take it easy on vacation. I'm always go, go, go. I was just at Disney in December with my mom. She likes to sleep in and take it slow. It drives me mad. This trip we decided that I can rope drop at the parks and when she was ready to start her day she'd text me and we'd meet up. I would be out of the hotel at 7am sharp...and I'd put a good 4 or 5 hours in before she even stepped off the bus. It made for a nice trip...I wasn't constantly annoyed that we were wasting time and she wasn't feeling rushed...but I digress...

So anyway, once DH woke up he came in the lounge...I think Ben was in here at some point too enjoying the cartoons. So after we chilled a couple hours we decided to hit up some water rides. There aren't really any pictures from this afternoon. I didn't bring my phone into the parks because I didn't want it to get wet. Anyway, we started on Bluto's barges. We rode it once as a family. After that DD and I went on a second time while DS's went on the Olive ship. DH took a seat...I think he was still tired. So then Jack decided he wanted to ride the barges again...but alone...independence was a theme for him. So DD and I took a trip to the bathroom and DH and Ben waited for Jack to ride a second time and then we met up at Ripsaw Falls. This is always a fun ride... not sure why we don't do it at least a couple times in a row, because the first ride I'm always nervous about the drop...even though it's never that bad...so I feel like if we ride it twice the second time would be more fun. However, DS's sat this one out in child swap so DD, DH and I did it once and collected the rest of the family and we were off to River Adventure. I'm happy to say the entire family rode this time. It ended with everyone smiling which was in stark contrast to the first time we rode in 2014. Once we survived the drop all three kids were crying and middle DS looks at us in horror and was like "why would you take us on this" lol...it's not like we dragged them on. They liked splash mountain...they wanted to ride this..but it was a bit too intense at the time. Now that they are older, they were happy to have ridden it.

Now that we were good and soaked it was time to go back to the room again. So nice to be able to travel to and from the hotel in such a timely fashion. We dried off and headed to Orchid Café for sushi. Ben loves sushi. He loves it almost too much. I don't begrudge other people sushi..myself.. I can't bring myself to eat raw fish. As a rule I wouldn't let the kids eat raw fish either. However, Ben asked and asked for the longest time to be allowed to eat "real" sushi. So for his birthday this past January DH took him for proper sushi. That's it, it was a revelation, he loves it as much as he knew he would. Knock on wood, he hasn't gotten a tapeworm (yet), and I hope it stays that way. So anyway, this was something that Ben was really looking forward to. We told him he could order any roll on the menu that he wanted. He pointed to this like $72 platter. :rotfl2: So we quickly amended that and told him he could pick anything that was meant for one person...I can't remember what he had...but he said it was delicious.
I don't remember what the rest of us had. I think I just had a bowl of soup and Emma had something off the kids menu (probably a burger) and Jake had a sushi roll...Jack...I think just wanted edamame...those were good...and a big portion too.

After Ben had his sushi we decided to go back into the parks one more time. We wanted to catch the new night time show. We got there with 15 minutes to go so obviously...we didn't get the best seats. We were in the viewing area..but we didn't see much. We still enjoyed the show...I'm not sure how long you have to camp out for good viewing, might be nice if they add it to Express Pass. I'd like to see it again were we can appreciate the entire scope of the production...but it was nice.

Love Orchids Sushi!!! Glad he enjoyed it...…..

And how lovely you got to enjoy JP ride this time...………….
 


Just started to read. Just wanted to comment that your family sounds like mine (a little). I was thinking one kid, so we had one kid. DH was thinking we should try for another...then we got twins (all in all two boys, one girl, girl is the youngest). And the packing!

We are planning our first trip to Universal for March/April, so this is really helpful information for me. Thanks.
 
I really appreciate all your reporting on Legoland. I had considered it, but I think we will only do a 5 night trip, so I'd rather just have a non-park day relaxing (maybe movie or mini-golf or something). [I feel like we could just go to the Lego Discovery place that is local some other time to get a Lego fix.]

I also really appreciate your appraisal of PBH room size versus RPR. I think we will stick with PBH.
 
I really appreciate all your reporting on Legoland. I had considered it, but I think we will only do a 5 night trip, so I'd rather just have a non-park day relaxing (maybe movie or mini-golf or something). [I feel like we could just go to the Lego Discovery place that is local some other time to get a Lego fix.]

I also really appreciate your appraisal of PBH room size versus RPR. I think we will stick with PBH.

Yeah...Legoland just wasn't all that great. Maybe even on a different kind of trip it would have been more fun. Like we were considering going to Clearwater Beach for a couple days and seeing Kennedy Space Center...doing little day trips like that and it may have felt like the trip to Legoland fit in more. But leaving Universal Parks to go to Legoland...just not that fun.

I really like both hotels. I think you can't go wrong with either one, but with a family, especially a 5th person, the room size at PBR really makes a huge difference.
 
Sunday

Today was another sleep in day. Not my favorite way to be on vacation...but there are 5 of us so compromise is a must. By now we were comfortably into our routine of breakfast in the lounge and making our way into park of choice to hit our favorites. I think, had the weather been nicer this trip we may have done some mornings by the pool...never seemed to work out that way though.

Today we took the boat instead of walking to the parks...we met a nice mother an son. The son was named Ben just like our Ben so we got to talking about this and that. Since there was a bit of a wait for the boat I also got to look at my turtles for a bit. I guess we hit it off with our new friends because they were comfortable enough to photo bomb our picture.
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We decided to start our day in Superhero Island. DH and I decided we wanted to ride Hulk. We all went thru the line together and deposited the three kids into child swap and enjoyed our ride together. This is a great ride. Super fun. I think I could have gotten Emma and possibly Ben on the ride...but being so fast and high...I wasn't ready to have them ride it, even if they wanted to.

So after Hulk we walked over to Stormforce Acceleration. I rode once with the kids. Jake doesn't do spinny rides so he took a bathroom break and retrieved our things from the Hulk lockers.

Next it was time for Dr. Doom. I'm pretty sure that everyone but Jack rode this time. We also went on Spider Man. For some reason Ben isn't a fan of this ride. He and older DS asked if they could walk around the gift shop while DH and I rode with Emma. We let them. Maybe vacation was starting to catch up with us but we were tired today...or maybe it was just hot. Honestly I didn't take a ton of notes for today. We were having fun...just moving slow.

After Spider Man we got some drinks and soft pretzels and walked around the shops in the Marvel area. It's fun to look at the memorabilia and my DS's like those different Funko pop things...they enjoy taking it easy and window shopping. I'm sure they picked out a couple items as well.

Next we made our way to the Jurassic Park Discovery Center. My kids love it in here and it's air conditioned so we always stop a few times per trip. Jack loves that "you bet Jurassic " video gameshow thing. He's super competitive...almost embarrassing. His enjoyment is contagious though and he always has people to play with so good for him I guess..

Of course we had to make our way into Hogsmeade. I rode Forbidden Journey with Emma and Ben while DH and Jack sat in child swap. Jack says that child swap is his favorite because he enjoys the movie clips in the waiting area. Then we rode the Hippogriff coaster..(can you tell we are creatures of habit)? We were getting hungry so we went over to Three Broomsticks for a late lunch. While I enjoy both Harry Potter eating areas I do prefer the Leaky Cauldron. I like the waiting area better...just a nicer layout. Food is pretty much the same..no complaints. I think it was funny when they were going to seat us, they were really pushing to try and get us to eat outside. It was hot and humid....no thanks!

After eating we decided to visit the Suess area. We rode the Cat in the Hat twice. Nice way to stay cool and digest our large meal.

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Ben really wanted to ride the Hogwarts Express so we went back to Hogsmeade and took our ride into Universal Studios.


Coming up....hitting our favorites at US and a really yummy dinnfer
 
Sounds like it's a great day! I really enjoy meeting other people on vacation! So nice to hear about their hometown and chat about the parks! Now that's a fun photo bomb!:thumbsup2

Can't wait to hear about your dinner!:)
 
Yeah...Legoland just wasn't all that great. Maybe even on a different kind of trip it would have been more fun. Like we were considering going to Clearwater Beach for a couple days and seeing Kennedy Space Center...doing little day trips like that and it may have felt like the trip to Legoland fit in more. But leaving Universal Parks to go to Legoland...just not that fun.

I really like both hotels. I think you can't go wrong with either one, but with a family, especially a 5th person, the room size at PBR really makes a huge difference.
We did Space Center and Law Enforcement museum (stayed in Titusville) before our Disney cruise this summer.
Maybe if we get it together and do another Disney cruise, we could add on day at Legoland.
 
Macraven and I do love a good photobomb!!

We have met so many people in the parks over the years, from everywhere.......it’s one of our favourite things to do when we are there.......meet new folks!!!

I’ve never ridden stormforce acceletron........don’t think my inner ear could cope with it.......but your day so far looks so good........love some of the rides you’ve been on.........

Looking forward to more :)
 
Sunday Continued

Once we were back at Universal Studios our first stop was Gringotts. I have a feeling that Jack rode with us this time...I know he went on a couple times...I think...if he didn't he was exploring Diagon Alley. We then made our way over to Transformers because the boys really were enjoying it this trip. Again we made our way to the Mummy and Jimmy Fallon. and Despicable Me. At this point Emma and Ben and I went to the Hello Kitty Store again! while Jake and Jack explored city walk.
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I bought a set of coasters for famous movies with Hello Kitty as the star. We have Jaws, Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, and ET. They also had this adorable movie poster with Hello Kitty in Psycho. I was so sad that it didn't come in a coaster or Tervis Tumbler. I love Psycho. Of course the original is best, but (and I may be in the minority) I really liked the Vince Vaughn version. I liked that it was like a tribute to the original. They didn't mess around with it...just a fun retelling. I also really enjoyed Bates Motel on A & E....yep...love me some Psycho.

After we got our fill of retail we took the boat back to the hotel. It rained so much on this trip we were treated to a double rainbow as we got off the boat!
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Once back at the room...you guessed it!...the kids wanted to chill. They did some combination of playing with their legos/being on their phones/watching cartoons in the lounge. I settled in at the lounge with my Tea...and Jake once he finished his cat nap and just hung out. After the kids were well relaxed we decided to use our dinner voucher for Islands Dining Room. I was surprised when we got down there that there was a bit of a wait. I think it was 25 minutes. No big deal, the kids were exploring around outside and DH and I enjoyed some quiet and mostly uninterrupted conversation.

We checked out the menu...it appeared to be an abbreviated version of what is posted online at the Universal app. There was still plenty to choose from...but my advice would be not to get your heart set on something because you may be disappointed. We were seated in the back corner of the restaurant...in the corner and surrounded by windows. I liked it there and the kids liked watching the action going on outside. We were led by the "wok bar". I'm happy I got a look at it. It did appear to be a bit sad looking. I think I would have been unhappy had I ordered it. The entire station is about 2 card tables long and it looks sparse and not appealing. We were eating before 8pm...so it's not like it was the end of the night or anything...but I digress.

With this meal we were entitled to 5 drinks, 5 apps, 5 entrees, and 5 desserts. We don't normally order like this, but since it was on offer we took advantage. Our waiter was super nice and helpful. I regret his name escapes me...but I am terrible with names. He explained the menu and made recommendations. He was great with refills and so friendly. He was probably tied for the best waiter of the trip...it's hard to pick because the waitress at Toothsome was also excellent.

For our drinks we all had kiddie mai tai's …. except DH, he ordered a beer. For apps we ordered Calamari, Potstickers (2 orders), spring rolls, and edamame. The apps came out quickly and were all very tasty. For entrees DH had the Ribeye which he really enjoyed, I had General Tso's Chicken and it was really good, DS the sushi eater got Salmon and ate the entire serving, other DS got Shrimp Pad tai...it looked good..he ate the shrimp but left the veggies (not unusual for him). DD ordered off the kids menu...either a burger or chicken...she had no complaints.

The timing of the courses was perfect. We had 10 to 15 minutes between finishing our apps and dinner being brought out. After finishing our entrees we were very full but weren't going to skip dessert. We ordered 5 of the banana cream pies to go. They come in little mason jars. Presentation was adorable. We ate 2 that night back in the room and the rest the next day at various points. I'd highly recommend. Not as good as the banana cheesecake/pie at the old Emeril's place at RPR...but a decent substitution.

The entire cost for this gluttonous meal was like $14 or whatever DH's beer was...we made sure to tip on what the true cost of the meal was though...so while not at all a free meal, it was enjoyable and an excellent value considering :)
 
So how do you feel about the value of club level? I'm not sure we could swing it anyhow, but if we did, we'd probably be choosing between club level and another day (we have 5 nights booked so far but we have enough vacation time to do 6 comfortably)

I'm just thinking that with this being our first trip, we will have lots of places and snacks we want to try, so the money might be better spent on that? (We also will drive so we can bring our own drinks, easy breakfast items, and snacks relatively easily and cheaply)
 
Nice picture of the rainbow!!

Glad you enjoyed the dinner in the Islands......we`ve always had good food and service there.

Although sounds like the wok experience has gone downhill...….we`ve had gorgeous meals from there on several occasions...…..what a shame if it`s not as good......desserts weren't the best though so I ordered off the regular menu for dessert.

$14 isn't bad at all for such a lovely meal :thumbsup2
 
So how do you feel about the value of club level? I'm not sure we could swing it anyhow, but if we did, we'd probably be choosing between club level and another day (we have 5 nights booked so far but we have enough vacation time to do 6 comfortably)

I'm just thinking that with this being our first trip, we will have lots of places and snacks we want to try, so the money might be better spent on that? (We also will drive so we can bring our own drinks, easy breakfast items, and snacks relatively easily and cheaply)

Club level is nice to have....especially if your room is smaller. I wasn’t planning on booking club but it was the same price as a standard room at HRH and no standard rooms were available.

It wasn’t worth it money wise...but I didn’t regret having it. It was a nice treat.
 

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