Happy Anni-birth-aversary...A 33 night Celebration & HHN too.....SF & RPR September 2022 TR

[Worfiedoodles]

I’m loving this day of sunshine and old favorites! And wow, Dudley looks so different without the water! I agree with all your thoughts on ET. The pre-show is annoying, and the ride itself is bizarre. But it is a classic!

You are adorable with your JW pose! Those Dino’s wouldn’t dare eat such a cute couple

I understand not being able to choose between the parks. That’s like choosing between your children. You love them both equally but they have their own strengths and quirks

Hopefully the EP will be back for the Mummy for your next visit. Those stand by lines are too long

 

[schumigirl]

I’m loving this day of sunshine and old favorites! And wow, Dudley looks so different without the water! I agree with all your thoughts on ET. The pre-show is annoying, and the ride itself is bizarre. But it is a classic!

You are adorable with your JW pose! Those Dino’s wouldn’t dare eat such a cute couple

I understand not being able to choose between the parks. That’s like choosing between your children. You love them both equally but they have their own strengths and quirks

Hopefully the EP will be back for the Mummy for your next visit. Those stand by lines are too long

Absolutely ET is a classic!! Could never miss it out when we`re there.

Yep, even after ALL our visits, we never get bored with either park, love them both.

EP is already back for Mummy, so come May we can go on as often as we like.....can`t wait for that!!!

Thank you.....I take all compliments........lol......

 

[DisGhost]

Absolutely ET is a classic!! Could never miss it out when we`re there.

Yep, even after ALL our visits, we never get bored with either park, love them both.

EP is already back for Mummy, so come May we can go on as often as we like.....can`t wait for that!!!

Thank you.....I take all compliments........lol......

We went on The Mummy in December - 3x. When we went to UOR for the first time it was in 2007/8, before kids. The Mummy was our absolute favorite ride, must have gone on at least 10x. Then when we FINALLY were able to come back (this time with kids so it took a while lol), our rollercoaster obsessed daughter (10yo at the time) HATED it. Refused to go on a second time. And our son (10yo), well, he HATED coasters until suddenly this past summer we went to Cedar Point and he just one day... started riding anything and everything.

So we finally convinced the kids to try it and when we came off, my daughter (now 13) laughed and said "That was awesome! Why did I hate it?" But now, our 10yo was terrified (he hates anything spooky/monsters). So I went on it with her again while husband and son went on JF. On the last day of our trip, son decided to go on again and this time he was fine with it because he knew what to expect (although he covers his eyes in the room where all the statues flip up...)

Funny, at this point it has been so long I forget what the ride was like before the refurb but it was just as fun as I remember it being!

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

I will never understand why people berate TMs/CMs/staff at various theme parks for something being down ESPECIALLY during a refurb. Like google and good old paper park maps and signs exist. And most importantly its not their fault. Just let them do their jobs.


That was a lovely picture you got of Tom on the HE.


and you were there during the ET smell chaos of late 2022. Twitter went nuts during that time

 

[SCDizFan]

Greetings and apologies Carole for a quick “off-topic” question…@SCDizFan, I’m considering taking my family to the Miami Grand Prix this year. Can you recommend a grandstand/section that would be (mostly) out of the sun? I’ve tried figuring it out with the map and have asked on TripAdvisor and elsewhere, but haven’t had a response. TIA!

Hi JaxDad! Honestly F1 Miami has one of the best layouts in F1 so I would pick seating at any of the turns. Keep in mind much of F1 is already sold out, I would grab what I could. Whatever you do, don't even think about trying to Uber to the stadium. It is in the middle of the ghetto and Uber drivers hate driving back out for pickups. Also, it surges so it is probably $250 each way. Plan on getting gouged for parking also.

Also, Fort Lauderdale is actually closer to the stadium than the parts of Miami that you would want to stay in (do not for any reason stay in Miami Gardens).

 

[KathyM2]

Is your son almost sorted for his venture over here later this month. He must be so excited.

I just got home on Jan 24th from going over with him and spending a week in London. His university is amazing and beautiful and such a perfect location to explore London. I'm very jealous lol!! We did a few touristy things before I left him there and he seems to be loving it so far!

Tom went with the Confisco BLTA......without the A, my husband never has discovered how gorgeous avocado is....he has tried, but nope, not for him.

I'm with Tom. Not a big avo fan but can manage it in small doses, but they usually put too much of it in things.

We love the rides, but for us, we can get just as much enjoyment out of walking around these beautiful parks as we do riding the rides. I know some folks think that`s crazy, but we really do.

Maybe because you two get to take such long trips and so often...so it feels like you have time to do non-ride things...when you just go for a day or two at the parks you feel like you have to pack everything in and maximize rides...at least I feel that way!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

I could feel myself relaxing as I wandered along with you soaking up the sunshine and taking it easy in your last update. I loved the HE and ET the last time we rode them and there is something so lovely about just taking your time to wander from places to place without a hard plan. I often think those are the best days

 

[schumigirl]

We went on The Mummy in December - 3x. When we went to UOR for the first time it was in 2007/8, before kids. The Mummy was our absolute favorite ride, must have gone on at least 10x. Then when we FINALLY were able to come back (this time with kids so it took a while lol), our rollercoaster obsessed daughter (10yo at the time) HATED it. Refused to go on a second time. And our son (10yo), well, he HATED coasters until suddenly this past summer we went to Cedar Point and he just one day... started riding anything and everything.

So we finally convinced the kids to try it and when we came off, my daughter (now 13) laughed and said "That was awesome! Why did I hate it?" But now, our 10yo was terrified (he hates anything spooky/monsters). So I went on it with her again while husband and son went on JF. On the last day of our trip, son decided to go on again and this time he was fine with it because he knew what to expect (although he covers his eyes in the room where all the statues flip up...)

Funny, at this point it has been so long I forget what the ride was like before the refurb but it was just as fun as I remember it being!

Isn`t it wonderful when our kids start to love things like rides that always seemed scary to them! And covering your eyes is ok at parts.....even as an adult when you don`t like the spiders on FJ

The Mummy is a fabulous ride, it`s one of those that many think is an inbetween ride from the big guns or the kiddie rides, so it covers a lot of people and most when they go on it absolutely love it.

Yes, it`s absolutely a fun ride and I`m glad your kids will happily ride it now.

 

[schumigirl]

I will never understand why people berate TMs/CMs/staff at various theme parks for something being down ESPECIALLY during a refurb. Like google and good old paper park maps and signs exist. And most importantly its not their fault. Just let them do their jobs.


That was a lovely picture you got of Tom on the HE.


and you were there during the ET smell chaos of late 2022. Twitter went nuts during that time

I detest seeing people being rude to TM`s. There`s never any excuse to yell or get annoyed at them, they`re doing their job to the best of their ability. We have seen folks be rude to staff far too often.

We sometimes think we live in a parallel universe, we never encounter rude or uninterested TM`s and I`m always a little bewildered when folks say the TM at Universal are terrible or "not like at Disney" In some cases it might say more about some folks attitude to TM`s than the TM`s themselves.

Thank you I like that picture.

I must have missed that chaos.....but I don`t do Twitter or Facebook so I do tend to miss a lot of outrage on things.....lol......but the smell was definitely lacking when we were there.

 

[schumigirl]

Hi JaxDad! Honestly F1 Miami has one of the best layouts in F1 so I would pick seating at any of the turns. Keep in mind much of F1 is already sold out, I would grab what I could. Whatever you do, don't even think about trying to Uber to the stadium. It is in the middle of the ghetto and Uber drivers hate driving back out for pickups. Also, it surges so it is probably $250 each way. Plan on getting gouged for parking also.

Also, Fort Lauderdale is actually closer to the stadium than the parts of Miami that you would want to stay in (do not for any reason stay in Miami Gardens).

I think maybe I`m glad we`re not going!!!

And I need to Google Miami Gardens

 

[schumigirl]

I just got home on Jan 24th from going over with him and spending a week in London. His university is amazing and beautiful and such a perfect location to explore London. I'm very jealous lol!! We did a few touristy things before I left him there and he seems to be loving it so far!

I'm with Tom. Not a big avo fan but can manage it in small doses, but they usually put too much of it in things.

Maybe because you two get to take such long trips and so often...so it feels like you have time to do non-ride things...when you just go for a day or two at the parks you feel like you have to pack everything in and maximize rides...at least I feel that way!

Oh I`m so glad he has settled and you both had a lovely week before coming home. Being close to London will be fabulous for him, it is an amazing City. I love how it`s large enough there`s lots to do, but a lot of the tourist attractions are still close enough to do a few on the same day.

I think that`s what put me off avocados in the first place years ago, there was just so much of it in the dish, it was a little overwhelming for a first taste. Now, I could eat a load of it!!

Yep, we are very lucky to have been able to go so many times and for the length of time we do stay. I realise many can`t do that. If we did go for shorter times we`d certainly feel we`d only do the parks. But, we certainly appreciate the privilege.

Glad to see you and happy to hear the London trip was such a success.....and he`s there till May if I remember correctly? Least he`ll see some nicer weather before he goes home, London does get quite a temperate climate.

 

[schumigirl]

I could feel myself relaxing as I wandered along with you soaking up the sunshine and taking it easy in your last update. I loved the HE and ET the last time we rode them and there is something so lovely about just taking your time to wander from places to place without a hard plan. I often think those are the best days

It really is the most relaxing way to do the parks. Although we still love the rides, especially the VC.....we don`t feel the need to ride them every day, especially after 32 days!!!

Both of those you mentioned are classics, yep, I do class the HE as a classic now. I know some folks don`t understand just walking around the parks, but we do enjoy it as much as any other day.

How`s your weather over there? I think my mum on the West coast of Scotland was due some bad weather.....but it`s never as bad as they forecast! It`s cold here, but very calm and still. Anything is better than snow and ice.

Was it you I was chatting to about Rathlin Island? I couldn`t remember who it was, but it came to mind as one of my cousins and her new partner are travelling that way in May and mentioned Rathlin, but they had heard something about the ferry not running anymore. It was several weeks ago, so I`m sure they`ve worked it out now, haven`t spoken to her since then. My friends that went a while back loved the little place.

Good to see you.......

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Weather pretty mild here so can’t complain. Wasn’t me you were talking to about Rathlin but I think they have the ferry running depending on weather though I have to admit I’ve never been across. It’s on my must do list along with so many other places

 

[schumigirl]

Weather pretty mild here so can’t complain. Wasn’t me you were talking to about Rathlin but I think they have the ferry running depending on weather though I have to admit I’ve never been across. It’s on my must do list along with so many other places

lol.....my list of places to visit is ever growing too, and some close to home places too. We meet so many lovely Americans and Canadians who are so pleased to tell us places they have visited in Scotland, and I have to openly admit I`ve never been to them and some are quite close to where I grew up......so yes, I know what you mean about a list.

I`m now trying to think who on earth I was talking to about Rathlin......lol......

It`s cold here, but no wind so it feels brisk, but we know that wind when it comes makes it a hundred times worse.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

I`m now trying to think who on earth I was talking to about Rathlin......lol......

Flip maybe it was me and I just don’t remember the conversation . I’ve a head like a sieve these days! Starting to doubt myself now

 

[schumigirl]

Flip maybe it was me and I just don’t remember the conversation . I’ve a head like a sieve these days! Starting to doubt myself now

I know that sieve feeling well!!!

We`re getting 3 rooms decorated right now and also planning an Orlando trip for one of my Godsons and his family who are going for the first time in June, and although both are running smooth as clockwork, I`m conscious they`re all I`m thinking of.....but forgetting simple daily things along the way!

I`ll remember who it was one day......lol......I assumed, right or wrong, you were in NI and my tiny little brain made the connection with you

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

I`ll remember who it was one day......lol......I assumed, right or wrong, you were in NI and my tiny little brain made the connection with you

Well you got that bit right. I’m in the north of Ireland so it could well have been me and I’m just forgetting

 

[schumigirl]

Well you got that bit right. I’m in the north of Ireland so it could well have been me and I’m just forgetting

lol......glad I got your position correct at least, I don`t remember which trip report it was and there`s too many to look back through lol.............

 

[schumigirl]

Our tummies were beginning to rumble about now, we hadn`t eaten a lot for breakfast, and we`re not big snack folks either, so come lunch, we`re usually hungry and we had only just decided where we were going to eat today.

The Blues Brothers car although wonderful to see, stinks!! My goodness, that has to be illegal the amount of fume it spews out. But, they really do put on a good show if you can catch it.

We wanted to have a quick wander round The Film Vault store again, we`ve bought some lovely memorabilia from here over the years and they do have some classic merchandise in here.

Although today I think everyone and their grandma had decided they wanted to go in the store....it was mobbed! So we left very quickly, fastest visit ever.

I had spotted this image many times of Chuck Lindberg who was Director of Merchandise for UOR for many years. I always love how they find ways to incorporate a lot of past and deceased employees in many ways around the parks. This nod to Chuck Lindberg is on the front of the main Universal store in the Studios.

We headed out the park for the last time this trip, it`s always bittersweet for us as we are sad to leave, but this time after over a month`s stay, I think we were ready to go home and visit with Kyle, although as soon as we were home I`m sure we wished we`d be back.

We never get bored with this view......

All the hotels with EP are very walkable to the parks, even PBH although it is the furthest of three, it will still only take around 15-20 minutes depending on your pace to get to it. And it is a nice walk past HRH which is our least favourite of all the EP hotels, it just doesn`t appeal in any way, it doesn`t feel like a resort to us. People say the walk is short, which it is, but for us the walk from RP is only moments longer and that suits us better anyway.

Some folks not staying onsite find it easy to get dropped off by Uber at HRH and walk to the parks from there as it`s quicker than going through the main entrance.

Portofino Bay, again, it`s a beautiful hotel but feels like an abandoned city most of the time......I swear, there`s no one here most of the time!!!

It`s pretty, but again, we`ve never considered staying here even for part of our stays. The rooms are lovely, but apart from Sal`s Pizza, we don`t care for the restaurant choices here, so there`s no real desire to stay for us.

But, Sal`s pizza is very good and worth a visit. They also do sandwiches, salads and plenty of snack choices although the potato chips they serve with the sandwiches are the worst I`ve ever tasted!! And we know our chips......

I know for most folks, and my Italian relatives for sure think it`s abhorrent I love BBQ sauce as my pizza sauce base, Kyle is the same.....Tom prefers tomato base but we like to share here so he doesn`t mind for once getting the bbq base.

I ask for the bbq chicken with added pineapple and jalapeno and that is one of my favourite pizza`s ever. I love sweet and spicy and love meat with fruit, so this works on all levels and it`s spicy......

This pizza is big enough for three, never mind two and this is the smaller size that they offer. It is one of the nicest onsite pizza`s there is at UOR, we haven`t found a nicer one yet.

Louie`s is decent for a slice, but this is better!!

We shared the pizza and ate inside at Sal`s. They give you a buzzer and you go back to pick your pizza up when it`s ready, which at this time of day is fairly quiet so you don`t wait too long and we did enjoy it.

We wandered upstairs for a quick wander round before we left, we know a few folks that work here, same as HRH some folks we knew ar RP moved on with promotions to both hotels, so we always try to see if there`s anyone we know around. There wasn`t today, we asked if one person was working but he had a day off.....we`ll catch him next time.

This hotel is almost creepy at times......although we do avoid this place at night as my nightmare is listening to opera singers!!! Holy moly......my teen memory of opera is being in Paris with school and being forced to listen to folks screeching and wailing about something or other....I love drama, but opera doesn`t do it for me. So, we avoid the nightly opera singers as it`s usually a lunchtime venue for us.

We were full, so didn`t have any gelato which is also very nice here, and we headed home as we planned to pack this afternoon. But, one of our friends was working, I say working loosely, he was in the hotel so when we met we went and sat in Orchids lounge for a couple of hours and chatted the afternoon away which was lovely and a nice way to finish off our visit.

It was after 4 before we said our goodbyes and we headed to our room, got freshened up before going over to the Club Lounge for our final evening visit.

It`s so easy to pass a couple of hours in the lounge, they are genuinely the nicest of people and are always keen to make sure everyone has an enjoyable and happy time when they are Club Level and for us it`s the nicest of the three Club Lounges that the hotels offer for various reasons.

We sit a little longer tonight and say our goodbyes to a few who we won`t see tomorrow and we thank them for making sure we had such a wonderful stay and being so kind to us.

Tonight we had decided to stay onsite and eat in Orchids again for our final meal. Usually it`s Strong Water but we had already said goodbye over there and several of the folks were off tonight with it being a Monday, and we do love Orchids.

It was fairly empty around 8.30ish which was surprising, but we had a few fellow diners sitting at the bar with us, I like a place quiet, but we do like some atmosphere too.

We opted to have some white wine tonight and although we had miso soup first, we demolished it before we got a picture.....you`ve seen it all before anyway, but it is lovely......

I had ordered the ahi tuna tini for one dish and Tom went for the Volcano sushi dish and both were lovely as always. The tuna is the freshest taste and I like the spice level......I didn`t notice though they had omitted the avocado on the dish tonight......I guess I`m not very observant.

Both these dishes were beautiful as always and it was our lovely bar lady who mentioned there was no avocado.....I said we were ordering another two dishes in a little while and I was having the same one again, she said she`d make sure they put the avocado on that one.

We noticed Chef Dan wasn`t working tonight, and Tom`s dish had an unusual addition to it in the form of a little sauce on the bottom of the dish that`s usually not there, it was still lovely though.

The bar is lovely in here since they redone it with their infamous chandelier that was long awaited for. It is a little more corporate than the previous South Pacific feel, but we still like it and the old Orchids did need a refurb.

We knew the bar staff tonight and one of them happened to tell us that a few nights ago, she thinks the first night of the hurricane there was a lady sat at the bar eating and when we walked through the bar area she pointed Tom and I out to her companion......she couldn`t remember who she was but she said she definitely knew our faces. Always interesting to hear things like that......lol......

We were loving sitting at the bar chatting and enjoying some of their nicest dishes. Orchids is and always has been the type of place you can just chill in and relax, they offer excellent food and drinks and the service is always top notch, so it`s a delight for us to spend an evening here.

Our next dish, I did order the same and I did get my avocado this time, Tom ordered the chef`s special, I do remember it had shrimp and was spicy so we thoroughly enjoyed both dishes.

We enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine and two lovely dishes each as well as our Miso soup. Not the most unique dishes for our final night meal, but we loved it and we do feel very much at home here.

Eventually it was time to leave, we had decided to leave our packing till the morning when we had plenty of time to do so.

We stopped by the desk to say goodnight to one of the night crew we know, and then headed to our room and settled down quickly for our final sleep in this room and we were out for the count in no time at all, we had a long day in front of us tomorrow.

 

[schumigirl]

TUESDAY OCTOBER 4TH

It was finally here, after almost 5 weeks in Orlando it was our leaving day and I came to the conclusion, even after 5 weeks, I wasn`t ready to leave. I thought I was yesterday, but I could now have stayed a lot longer right now, leaving is never fun.

Once we were showered and dressed we headed over to the lounge for breakfast, and we really did take our time this morning. The morning crew had our Alex on, so we were glad we could see her today, but she was upset and as soon as I saw her, I started crying too. We do get to know some folks better than others, and we had got to know Alex well, so we would absolutely miss her. I`m glad to say we do keep in touch with her too.

This wasn`t goodbye as we would be back over before we left for the airport, we could stay in our room as late as we wanted, but we had the club lounge to hang around in so we preferred to give our room up so housekeeping could get it ready for the next guest.

Tom eventually grabbed me away to get packing, I had no inclination to do so but it has to be done.

We did get nicely waylayed by Milton who is part of Bell services and I was glad we saw him today as he had been off last few days, it`s always nice to be able to say goodbye to folks we have come to know. We asked him to apologise to Rob for not saying goodbye, we assumed he`d be there but now it was his days off.

It was nice to chat though, he is a lovely man and one day I think he`ll be running the hotel!!

But, packing eventually happened and it doesn`t take long. It`s just the larger items we purchased that need careful wrapping like the huge bottle of blackberry brandy

And we managed to pack everything without them being too badly overweight.....our luggage scales are very accurate so we hoped they`d be ok with the cases being a tiny little bit over the allowed baggage weight. I don`t think we shopped as much as we usually did this trip, I got a few things for some friends and some gifts for Christmas and birthdays, and the all important Tide pens (thanks Janet again for that tip) that so many ask for.

As soon as we were packed up, we double checked the sitting area, bedroom and bathroom to make sure we hadn`t left anything, it`s amazing how you can leave something that`s right in front of you at times......a plugged in ipad charger being one of them!!!

We drop our luggage off at Bell services and head back to the lounge to sit for a while before heading down to Jake`s for an early lunch.

We didn`t want too much as we planned to have something at the restaurant in the Hyatt within MCO, so we said we`d share a sandwich which was enough. But, when we got down I wondered if they had any chicken noodle soup, it`s on the room service menu but not the general menu in Jake`s, so our waiter went away to ask......and didn`t come back.

He was gone ages.......and eventually he did appear saying he was waiting for the chef to ask him if they had the soup.......seemed odd he wouldn`t know if there was a soup available, but anyway, he said yes, we could get it, so we ordered soup and we`d share a chicken sandwich.

Jake`s used to be a firm favourite of ours for many years, but the last few years it hasn`t been the same, it`s not dreadful by any manner, and I think it is improving again, but it seems to have suffered a little for whatever reason.

Our waiter today was lovely which was nice as we`d seen a few who weren`t the high standard they usually have in here.

It is a lovely restaurant and it`ll be missed when they do eventually revamp it along with Islands, Covid delayed those improvements too, it fits with the hotel although the hotel is evolving too and losing that distinct South Pacific feel, but we do think they`ve done a good job overall.

There had been some damage here too with the hurricane, not as much as the walkway, but you could see some trees were leaning off to the side, but it wasn`t too bad in this area.

The chicken noodle soup here is beautiful, Alex had sent us two bowls when Tom wasn`t very well earlier in our trip and it does feel like medicine in a bowl. I have one Jewish friend who makes the best chicken noodle soup in the world and when she tried Jake`s version she said it was just ok.....lol......but she is highly critical of food like that, but it is very good.

We used to love Jake`s Crawfish chowder, but again over the last couple of trips, it had changed dramatically and again, I`m not sure why, but it`s just not as good as it used to be.

The chicken sandwich was lovely as well, to be honest we didn`t eat a whole lot of it and barely touched the fries, I was glad of the jalapenos as I do like a little spice on most things!

We paid our check and headed back to the lounge where we passed a couple of hours before finally having to leave.

It wasn`t the nicest thing to say goodbye, especially to Alex who was a little star and we felt a lot for her, she is kind beyond belief and is one of the best mummie`s to her little girl I have seen. Her daughter is beautiful, has beautiful manners and an amazing sense of humour, just like her mamma.....

There were tears, but we did manage to get a picture of us all, and the lovely Raphael had come in early to say goodbye to us. He is another who will absolutely go far in the industry, lovely, lovely guy who is also kind beyond belief, and very funny too!!!

Daniel has now left the lounge, he was another we had such a lovely time with over the last month, we laughed a lot too and we wish him nothing but the best as he moves on.

Jen is the Concierge manager and we did manage to have some lovely chats and spend time with her too when she had time, they are so busy, but always manage to mingle with guests which is always nice.

I love that picture!!

After many hugs, and going back to Alex for another hug, we finally headed out to get our Uber as I continually dabbed my eyes. If I cry, it`s obvious, so I tried to hide it of course and once we were in the lobby there were some more folks we had to say goodbye to as well which again, is always emotional.

Tom booked us an Uber and it was only about 3 minutes away......his car was funny as he had decorated it for Halloween and had Michael Myers headcovers on the seats, we loved it.....and never got a picture!!

And just like that, we were leaving.



Airport coming up........