IT`S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE...COCKTAILS, STEAKS AND CAKES..11 JOLLY HOLIDAY NIGHTS @ RPR-DEC 2019

[schumigirl]

That weird drink is Ramune. My daughter loves it! I've been away from the report with the busyness of Christmas, so it's nice to catch up. Happy New year!

Happy New Year to you and yours too Andrea.......yes, the festive season can be chaotic!

Yes, it was an odd drink......I tasted it and didn’t think much of it, but didn’t get why it was so difficult to get into......apparently it’s very trendy with the marble dropping and all the trouble to get into It!! Guess I’m not trendy.....lol......

Nice to see you and glad you had a lovely time over Christmas.......

 

[disneyAndi14]

I love all the park pictures and the light show looks amazing, minus the guy napping on the ground. Some people yikes

I love Captain America and not only because he is so very brave and honorable haha! He is so handsome!

It does look busier than your usual park days, the EP is awesome, I can’t imagine being without it when it is busy. I love that perk at the Universal Deluxe resorts.

We love the trolley in the sky, I love the views you have up there and of course the Dr. Seuss rhymes.

 

[schumigirl]

I love all the park pictures and the light show looks amazing, minus the guy napping on the ground. Some people yikes

I love Captain America and not only because he is so very brave and honorable haha! He is so handsome!

It does look busier than your usual park days, the EP is awesome, I can’t imagine being without it when it is busy. I love that perk at the Universal Deluxe resorts.

We love the trolley in the sky, I love the views you have up there and of course the Dr. Seuss rhymes.

The light show is impressive! And yes, we love the parks at night and one thing I’d change about September, I’d have the parks open till 10pm regardless of crowds......lol.......yes, folks are funny! We thought he was sitting down at first to maybe tie his laces or something, then when he laid back we were astounded at first! Weird.

I‘m now a fan of Captain America........

I don’t really think there’s such a thing as quiet times anymore......maybe a little quieter, but some days it was busier than we have ever seen it. But,yes, EP is the best!! We just wouldn’t be without it.......it completely changes your day as I couldn’t imagine waiting in some of those lines.....

The trolley train is so much fun!

 

[angshewas]

Just wanted to wish everyone a very happy New Year.

It’s always lovely to go through trips with you and read your lovely comments, it means such a lot.......and I hope 2020 is going to be a fabulous one for you all.......

Happy 2020 to you and your family! I love reading your trip reports and have been enjoying this one too. If the stars align we may get back to Universal this year... fingers crossed.

 

[NancyLuvsMickey]

You probably fell asleep watching the movie Captain America Winter Solider... It's boring... I fall asleep during it too...

 

[schumigirl]

Happy 2020 to you and your family! I love reading your trip reports and have been enjoying this one too. If the stars align we may get back to Universal this year... fingers crossed.

angshewas........fabulous to see you again!!!


Happy New Year to you too........and thank you, I’m happy you are reading along with this one too!

And yes, fingers crossed big time you get back to Universal......I’d love to read you get another trip organised........

Again, lovely to see you here, hope things are good with you......

 

[schumigirl]

You probably fell asleep watching the movie Captain America Winter Solider... It's boring... I fall asleep during it too...

lol.......I honestly have no clue.......Tom watches them now and again, so I tried to watch......but, no, didn’t work!

I tried to watch Iron Man once as I love Robert Downey Jr, but no.....load of old nonsense to me...... they’re just not my thing.......

 

[Elsaspiritanimal]

Happy New Year!! I'm so excited I get to try out some of your tips/tricks at the end of January when I head to Universal/Disney again! I just wish you were there so I could meet the legend in person!

 

[jnjusoioa]

I always enjoy your trip reports and this one is no different, I know you all take a lot of photos and I was just wondering, I saw a very quick little video thing somewhere of the, I believe it is the book shop in Seuss Landing and it looks like they have a very cute setup with What Pet Should I Get, I wasn't sure if you were able to get any photo of that or not. So just thought I would check.

 

[schumigirl]

Happy New Year!! I'm so excited I get to try out some of your tips/tricks at the end of January when I head to Universal/Disney again! I just wish you were there so I could meet the legend in person!

And a happy new year to you too Elsaspiritanimal......

Awww......thank you, you make me blush!!! You go the end of this month!!! I forgot how close your trip was......you’ll be so excited it’s so close now.....I’m sure you’re all organised and ready to go.......

 

[schumigirl]

I always enjoy your trip reports and this one is no different, I know you all take a lot of photos and I was just wondering, I saw a very quick little video thing somewhere of the, I believe it is the book shop in Seuss Landing and it looks like they have a very cute setup with What Pet Should I Get, I wasn't sure if you were able to get any photo of that or not. So just thought I would check.

along jnjusoioa…….glad to see you here!!

Yes, we do take a load of pics, but I don`t believe we even went into that store this trip for some reason! I know we have done in the past, but this time we missed it. Sorry, I wish we had now......

But, hope you enjoy this one too.......

 

[schumigirl]

Dis Daily Update thread of the day 1/03

As we left Seuss we did stop by Green Eggs and Ham just for a look, and it was busy, some folks were marvelling at the fact it was open at all as it is a rare occasion. I`m sure folks enjoyed the food, but looking at what was coming out, no it wasn`t for us. It looked like tots with just a pile of stuff on top of them, not very appealing, so I guess we still wouldn`t be trying anything from here after all.

Heading out we went straight into Confisco Grille. This place is a favourite of all three of us and always has been for many years. Kyle seems to think this was the first place we ate in all those years ago on our first visit to IOA in 07......it certainly could have been. But, it is one that has never let us down and is somewhere we really look forward to going each visit.

The restaurant is decorated fairly uniquely and is attractive, as you enter the display above has something from each of the lands in the park which is cute and unfortunately a little too high to see everything clearly.

There is no wait for a table which is usual here, but we have never been over Easter or Christmas when it can be busy, but this suits us just fine.

Kyle orders one of two strawberry smoothies straight away and I think we both get Fantas while we decide what to eat, although I already know what I`m having. Mrs Predictable me.

Once we have ordered we have some bread with the beautiful honey butter....it`s weird, I hate honey but love things with honey in the recipes like honey chicken and so on, love honey mustard dressing and honey butter. But straight honey.......

Tom on the other hand absolutely loves honey......especially if the honeycomb is still in it!!! Yuk...…...

Tom opts for the burger today, I`m not sure if it had bacon on it today, but it did have swiss cheese and cooked perfectly for him......

Kyle ordered the plain cheese pizza.....which somehow came out with fresh tomato on it which it doesn`t usually have, I guess it depends on the chef......he just picked them off as he doesn`t like tomatoes.

But the pizza itself was delicious and he devoured it!!!!

Yes, Mrs Predictable ordered those amazing ribs in a sweet and sour sauce on a bed of everything I despise.....polenta and goats cheese.....but somehow it all works beautifully together. And the ribs are as tender as any ribs we`ve ever had anywhere else.

And this is one of the reasons we love this place. Food is amazing....even a simple burger is done to the highest standard.....and service is also up there with the best!

I was asked if it is worth the money. Well, it`s not expensive to begin with, for what you get it is exceptional value. It can give most table services in Citywalk a run for their money.

And we know we`ll be back here again before we leave. Our waitress had spotted our AP and had already given us the discount.....we always forget to say we have an AP!!!So, we pay the check and head back out into the beautiful sunshine and it was gorgeous outside.......hot!!!

There really weren`t a lot of people around POE right now......

And of course it`s ideal to spend some time looking around when it`s not crowded at all the little details......

The Christmas Store is one of the best stores in both parks......and who better to welcome you back into the store than Mr Grinch himself....

We aren`t buying anything today, we`ll keep that for another day, but it`s always good to look around and see what we might pick up later.....

And this was one thing I knew I wanted.....it was a new product and I loved the traditional Christmas look it had......but, it was heavy, fairly heavy. I`d manage it somehow........wouldn't I???

And Kyle`s photobomb of the day........

Heading out the park I looked for a window I had wanted to find.... although I knew where it was, I kept forgetting to snap the image on the way out of IOA......but I got it today.

David Codiga is the former Executive Vice President of Universal Creative and one of the Architects of IOA. More recently he is responsible for among other things the High Roller, the world's tallest and most advanced observation wheel

I do love how everything is there for a reason, however obscure and I liked the nod of respect to someone who was one of the folks responsible for this wonderful place.

This whole area is colourful and vibrant and is like a little visual attraction on it`s own...….

Reluctantly we headed out but stopped to enjoy some of the most beautiful areas of Citywalk....I love this view over the waterways.

The walk back is gorgeous, and although it is incredibly hot, there is a tiny little breeze which just takes that edge of the heat. It`s almost perfect today weather wise.

And this is another pinch yourself moment as we see folks swimming and sun bathing, we do remind ourselves......It`s December!!!!

This is not like any December we really recognise.......

But, we love it........

I go straight up to the room and Tom with Kyle heads down to Jake`s to get some desserts. Both for Kyle I have to say...….

Although we are allowed to enjoy the fruit as they are deemed unnecessary as part of a dessert. Who are we to argue...….

He tucks into one immediately, and decides to keep the other one for later.....although I think he could have easily demolished both right then and there.

We passed some time and then got freshened up with showers before Tom and I headed up to the lounge, Kyle would join us later......and I had some red wine and Tom had coffee as he was driving later. As usual we would be heading out for dinner a little later.

I have no clue what the food was tonight, but some folks had joined the line and one was looking at me and smiling.......I smiled back thinking I do know that woman`s face, but not entirely sure....some folks are just smiley people.....but then she said we were here two years ago same time as them.......and I thought back and realised I did remember her.....and was just about to say so when her sister popped round the Christmas tree to say hello.......of course I knew them!!!!! The Australian family!!!!

It was so lovely to meet up with them again.....we had spent a lot of time chatting two years ago and they remembered so many things we had chatted about.....and the more we spoke the more I remembered about them too......two lovely families. Sisters, with their husbands and both had two lovely children. And they had grown quite a lot in two years, but all four children were obviously lovely kids who had been well brought up, lovely manners too. We were so happy to see them again and knew we would have some lovely chats this trip again as they had just arrived and were here for two weeks before heading to Disney for another two weeks.......

It`s so funny when you meet a group of folks you have a good connection with, and we really did, so we were over the moon to meet up again!!

They mentioned heading to the parks later, so I did say they closed early tonight.....they didn`t know, so I was glad I mentioned it, and they all headed out for a couple of hours of park time before they hit bed, as they had come an awful long way......and their flights to get to Orlando are the reason I`ll never complain about our almost 10 hour flight time again!!!!! Wow that is a journey and a half....and then some!!! And they all looked great on it too!!! I was very jealous of how fresh they looked after all those hours in the air......

Seriously.....they looked fabulous!!!! .....


We then went down to get Kyle who we thought would be starving by now, but.......told us he had eaten the second chocolate cake about an hour ago......lol.....I should have known!!! We headed downstairs to go out to get the car, stopping to speak to a few folks we knew on the way out....which is always lovely.

Longhorn was our dinner of choice tonight. So, we drove the short distance to LBV as we do like the one there.

The car park always looks mobbed, but we got seated immediately tonight.....it was busy but not overly so.

I ordered a long pour Malbec as I had already had some red wine in the lounge, Kyle ordered a strawberry smoothy and Tom a plain old lemonade.

My salad arrived incredibly quickly!!! And, they had got it right with no onions......and honey mustard dressing here is lovely...…quite thick though.

Kyle was looking forward to this......his first of two. As well as chocolate cake Kyle did love these drinks.

Ordering food tonight was easy........steaks all round. We are always amazed how good a quality of steak you get for a reasonable price in these places.......around $25 each on average, but they taste more than alright for that price.

I had gone for the smaller of the filets with a sweet potato.......and medium rare of course.

Tom went for the sirloin which for some reason they brought his fries on a separate plate tonight.

Kyle had asked for his medium and he had opted for the larger of the filets.......and his was perfect too.

So, that leaves Tom. Who`s steak was far from perfect.

It was completely cooked through with not a drop of pink never mind red, and was lacking any juiciness whatsoever. We called over our very nice waiter and showed him the steak who immediately said that`s not medium.........he apologised and said they`d do him another one.

It came back a few minutes later.......completely overdone again. Were they serious!!! Our waiter came back expecting smiles all round...…nope, maybe try again. He didn`t know what to say as it was clearly overdone again.......

At that the manager came over and apologised but did say the steak temp was perfect for medium...…really!!! No.....if it was perfect it would have been medium. He then went on to say how it was such a good cut of meat and what a shame it was wasted.......now, I felt he was suggesting Tom was being unreasonable.....which he wasn`t. So, I told him we had eaten here many times over the years and knew how good the steaks were, but those were overdone. By now Kyle and I had finished our meals. We do like to eat together, but not tonight.

The third steak came back, accompanied by the manager too. It did look better, but really wasn`t the standard we are used to here. He ate a little less than half and then our plates were cleared. Our waiter noticed he had barely touched it, but didn`t say anything.

Normally, I`d say we`ll go somewhere else for dessert if we`ve had a poor or unsatisfactory meal, but.......they have the Chocolate Stampede dessert which we knew Kyle was extremely keen to enjoy!!!!

So we ordered it and asked for three spoons......I do enjoy the ice cream off this dessert......that`s the only part I like..........this dessert is incredibly chocolatey, incredibly rich and incredibly large!!!!

They completely devoured it! Although I did help with the beautiful ice cream......and Kyle had the biggest smile on his face as he wiped his mouth when he was done!! It was a little disconcerting watching them both destroy the plate filled with indulgence......Kyle actually showed his dad where the split was and what share he could have......lol......

We got the check and our waiter had taken Tom`s meal off the final tally which was the only thing they could do really. But, we still tipped on the full amount as our waiter was excellent. The manager, not so much. We hadn`t seen him before tonight.

This was unusual for this Longhorn. Out of all our many meals here, we had never sent one back and they certainly had never taken three attempts before. It was quite disappointing but more so because we didn`t eat together.

Back in the car, we headed back home and parked the car and walked up to the hotel. We did think of heading into Orchids or Jake`s for a drink, but to be honest we were all ready for bed.

So, up we went and we did put one of the TV`s on for a while, but there wasn`t much on. I opened our drapes a little and looked down to the now empty pool.....I doubted very much we would make the pool this trip....especially at night. I hadn`t even brought a costume with me, but they had just in case.

We went through to bed and again, we were out like lights before we knew it. Kyle said he watched tv for maybe 10 minutes before he too fell asleep.


Tomorrow we had a Mall visit and a Dis Meet.........

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Omg, Carole -- did you see that you made the Dis Daily Updates email?! This thread is one people are encouraged to read! I have to go back and read, but wanted to be sure you knew you are popular and recognized!!


Maria

 

[RoliePolieColie]

Happy New Year Carole, Tom and Kyle!!! I'm sure you have said already, but when will you be visiting in May? My husband, son and I will be staying at RPR May 8th-May13th.

 

[Cara]

Happy New Year! I am here and enjoying your report!

Unfortunately, neither my February/March 50th birthday Disney trip with my family nor my June conference tagalong trip with my husband (to include Universal) will happen this year. I was diagnosed with breast cancer last month and will be undergoing treatment this year. So vacations are not in my immediate future! I'm looking ahead to 2021 though and will live vicariously through your great reports! Will you all be returning with Kyle next December?

 

[J'aime Paris]

Happy New Year! I am here and enjoying your report!

Unfortunately, neither my February/March 50th birthday Disney trip with my family nor my June conference tagalong trip with my husband (to include Universal) will happen this year. I was diagnosed with breast cancer last month and will be undergoing treatment this year. So vacations are not in my immediate future! I'm looking ahead to 2021 though and will live vicariously through your great reports! Will you all be returning with Kyle next December?

Best wishes for your treatment...kick cancer's butt!!!!

 

[I-4Bound]

[/QUOTE]

Happy New Year! I am here and enjoying your report!

Unfortunately, neither my February/March 50th birthday Disney trip with my family nor my June conference tagalong trip with my husband (to include Universal) will happen this year. I was diagnosed with breast cancer last month and will be undergoing treatment this year. So vacations are not in my immediate future! I'm looking ahead to 2021 though and will live vicariously through your great reports! Will you all be returning with Kyle next December?

Just said a little prayer for your speedy recovery!❤

 

[Tink2Day]

Yum the food at Confisco Grille all looks so yummy!!
Uhhh okay, what was with the Tots? Tots a hundred ways?

Question about the Christmas Store, we didn't go in when we were there, does it have an aroma of Cinnamon? I usually stay away since I'm allergic but the store looks so special.

Hope you got your Christmas 'lantern' , I have two of them, one with Santa and one with the Christmas Carolers. They are so pretty.

I rode the High Roller in Vegas at night. It was spectacular.

Such a shame about Tom's steak! I have the exact opposite problem, I can never get mine cooked enough!
That dessert looks so decadent.....I think I've lost track of Kyle's chocolate cake count.

Looks like you all had a blast so far. Kyle looks so happy and of course you and especially Tom always look happy.

 

[macraven]

Omg, Carole -- did you see that you made the Dis Daily Updates email?! This thread is one people are encouraged to read! I have to go back and read, but wanted to be sure you knew you are popular and recognized!!
View attachment 462208

Maria

I hope she did as I titled it to catch readers eyes for it

 

[smiths02]

I've said this before, but putting Confisco on the list for sure!
Sorry about Longhorn. We prefer Outback. While $25 is not much for a steak out, it is too much to be cooked well wrong!