The Trip of Firsts, August 7-11 2021

[DL1WDW2]

Enjoying your report so much and always great to remember for next time. I love Universal. Just returned from Cabana Bay . Also a great experience. A reminder of the perks for guests with early hour entry and nice to have the after 4 advantage with an AP. If you purchase your AP using AX the official Universal Studios Credit Card you can visit the AX lounge for free water and snacks. Plus I found Universal is so generous with offering discounts for AP and AX and sometimes AAA purchases.I mean getting a discount at Starbucks …. Yes please! I don’t think I ever heard the word No. Just felt like Universal exceeds my expectations repeatedly. It has become my favorite theme park For so many reasons. Universal makes every holiday a surprise to enjoy.

 

[wdwrule]

Enjoying your report so much and always great to remember for next time. I love Universal. Just returned from Cabana Bay . Also a great experience. A reminder of the perks for guests with early hour entry and nice to have the after 4 advantage with an AP. If you purchase your AP using AX the official Universal Studios Credit Card you can visit the AX lounge for free water and snacks. Plus I found Universal is so generous with offering discounts for AP and AX and sometimes AAA purchases.I mean getting a discount at Starbucks …. Yes please! I don’t think I ever heard the word No. Just felt like Universal exceeds my expectations repeatedly. It has become my favorite theme park For so many reasons. Universal makes every holiday a surprise to enjoy.

Wow that’s awesome to hear about the discounts etc! We didn’t buy the AP with Amex but did get premier for the limited EP after 4:00. I wonder if they ever adjust that 4:00 time when they close early (when they close at 6 or 7)? We do have AAA though. We also realized with premier you get valet parking included I think. We’d never have a car there but joked about maybe we could Uber to valet, show our pass then use valet’s security (heard valet has separate security). Ideal but most likely a big nope. Glad you’re enjoying the report!

ETA: does Cabana Bay have an easy walk to the parks?

 

[Lynne G]

Yay! Glad you had a great time. We love the large bathrooms at PBH. Of the three, PBH is our favorite. The way it is decorated, the Italian marble, we really like that look. Glad to hear Dockside was nice. We are spoiled, other than some partial stays at SF, we always stay at one of the top 3. Never have done club, as we are not drinkers, not early risers, and rarely eat much during our stays. We tend to have a rental car, so we go off site to eat and shop, and sometimes go to other parks.

 

[Deb1993]

Absolutely loving your report!!!!

 

[schumigirl]

Oh thank you so much for this! I was just looking at their site… awesome scents! I wonder if Loews uses similar scents for all of their hotel lobbies? Maybe the Royal Sapphire will smell like the PBH lobby too. I could’ve sworn I read somewhere that Loews used the same for multiple resorts but worth a shot! Thanks!

They have different scents for each of the lobbies. They are similar between RP and Sapphire but Sapphire has a much stronger pineapple scent. The reason I know for sure is that is one lady we know from the hotel has a serious pineapple allergy and couldn`t transfer to work at Sapphire because of that, as it affected her badly if she went over there for any reason.

But, they are beautiful scents.

Your pictures are lovely and you had some lovely meals around Citywalk and the hotels/parks. You did choose some lovely places.

Glad you didn`t find the walk too bad, some folks complain it`s too long, but in the grand scale....12-15 minutes is nothing, and it`s a beautiful walk.

And happy you enjoyed Club at Portofino. We often get asked why we have CL as we drive and eat out around Orlando and sometimes Citywalk....so, we never use the lounge for dinner as many do.....but we love the Club Lounge at RP, and it`s a lovely space to spread out in, and very social too. We do use it for our leisurely breakfast though.....perfect way to start the day.

PB club lounge does have very good reports back and glad it was a success for you.

Thoroughly enjoying reading your report.......

 

[wdwrule]

Yay! Glad you had a great time. We love the large bathrooms at PBH. Of the three, PBH is our favorite. The way it is decorated, the Italian marble, we really like that look. Glad to hear Dockside was nice. We are spoiled, other than some partial stays at SF, we always stay at one of the top 3. Never have done club, as we are not drinkers, not early risers, and rarely eat much during our stays. We tend to have a rental car, so we go off site to eat and shop, and sometimes go to other parks.

It would be nice to try some off site restaurants as well. I still have yet to try a Gideon’s cookie and really really want one. I was tempted to preorder some for pick up at Gideon’s other bakery but I think that would have been way out of the way for Tony. Pretty sure it’s off the beaten path of where we were headed. But someday my goal is to try some at one of their two bakeries. Maybe the next time we go back to Disney.

 

[wdwrule]

They have different scents for each of the lobbies. They are similar between RP and Sapphire but Sapphire has a much stronger pineapple scent. The reason I know for sure is that is one lady we know from the hotel has a serious pineapple allergy and couldn`t transfer to work at Sapphire because of that, as it affected her badly if she went over there for any reason.

But, they are beautiful scents.

Your pictures are lovely and you had some lovely meals around Citywalk and the hotels/parks. You did choose some lovely places.

Glad you didn`t find the walk too bad, some folks complain it`s too long, but in the grand scale....12-15 minutes is nothing, and it`s a beautiful walk.

And happy you enjoyed Club at Portofino. We often get asked why we have CL as we drive and eat out around Orlando and sometimes Citywalk....so, we never use the lounge for dinner as many do.....but we love the Club Lounge at RP, and it`s a lovely space to spread out in, and very social too. We do use it for our leisurely breakfast though.....perfect way to start the day.

PB club lounge does have very good reports back and glad it was a success for you.

Thoroughly enjoying reading your report.......

That’s good to know that they each have a different scent. I’m sure they’re all fabulous! That’s too bad about her pineapple allergy! I would’ve thought those scents are synthetic but wouldn’t want to chance it!

Yes the walk was no trouble at all but we do walk very often and far at home for some exercise. I used to run a lot and now don’t want to push it with my knees so it’s been a bit since I’ve run long distances. Beautiful walk though from PBH!

The club lounge was definitely a treat for us especially for breakfast as we normally just have oatmeal/cereal in the room any other time, which is fine as well. It was nice to go at a leisurely pace too instead of rushing around. Those included EPs were gold as we are big ride after ride people. We’d love to try RP along with many other resorts down the road.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

Your review of the club lounge is tempting me to inquire about whether we could upgrade our reservation to have club access at check-in (we're already in a Minions suite, which we want to keep because the boys love the Minions). But it seems like you really avoided all the quick service headaches others have been reporting.

 

[wdwrule]

Your review of the club lounge is tempting me to inquire about whether we could upgrade our reservation to have club access at check-in (we're already in a Minions suite, which we want to keep because the boys love the Minions). But it seems like you really avoided all the quick service headaches others have been reporting.

Yes that was another reason we chose club due to quick service reports. Hopefully QS is soon better though.

 

[wdwrule]

Fun in the Parks:
Sorry for the delay… kids back in school/college and me back to teaching recently.

We are a thrill ride family so we thoroughly enjoyed many of the rides at UO. One of our favorites was Velocicoaster! Wow this ride was so incredible and unique! We rode it 2 or 3 times during the trip. Our last ride on it, we waited for the front row (which at that time wasn’t long at all). The kids sat in front, then hubby and I sat in the front on the next train. I highly recommend waiting for the front seat if that front seat line isn’t too long. The views are great and I noticed the raptors more in the front seat.

We liked Hulk but enjoyed Rip Ride Rockit better. It was fun jamming to songs while cruising around. Mummy was super fun too. We enjoyed most of the simulator rides too like Spider-Man and Transformers. Transformers had a consistently long line. Even EP line, a TM quoted me 45 minutes. During our last day, we went on that ride right away in the morning with EPs and only waited a few minutes. Speaking of simulators, hubby and I were nervous of getting motion sickness due to many reviews so we each took a Bonine in the morning daily and were totally fine. Could be psychological but we didn’t want our days ruined feeling queasy. Sometimes if I ride one ride after another I get queasy. I find as we age, it gets worse.

There were many other rides we loved but can I just say… the Harry Potter area was just absolutely amazing!! So immersive and felt like I was in the movies with the sights and sounds. We loved all the rides here but especially Forbidden Journey. Truly felt like being in the movie here!! Nothing beats walking in Hogwarts! We were sure to use the standby line earlier in the morning on two occasions to not miss any details. So stunning! Hagrid’s was fun as well. We never had an issue with joining virtual queue and actually found it to be quite easy and successful. We rode it a couple times each day. I did hear they recently did away with virtual queue due to current low crowds. Not sure if they’ll start it up again once crowds are heavier. Our first time on Hagrid’s was during our arrival night. The line was actually pretty long for this time, but the silver lining was we were actually able to see most of the Hogwart’s Light Show while standing in the outdoor part of Hagrid’s queue! So cool!

Lockers weren’t as stressful as I anticipated. Daughter wore a mini backpack, I wore a small Baggallini crossbody bag, and husband wore a sling bag. 2 lockers total each time. I might try waist packs sometime in the future, just not sure. I like to have a small travel umbrella with me (and it’s UV blocked for shade which came in handy a few times), phone, sunglasses and water bottle. I read here about a roll-up bottle so maybe that would work if I went the waist pack route.

I excitedly bought a UOAP lanyard while I was there but found it a little scratchy in the heat. Daughter had a thin Vera Bradley lanyard that was perfect for comfort and lightweight. She wasn’t using it so I ended up borrowing that. Made such a difference.

But anyways, back to the fun. The whole vibe of the parks was wonderful. We saw various characters and performers which gave a good liveliness to the area. The storefronts were cool to see and I have to say, next time I’d like to visit more shops. Being our first time at UO, we spent most of our time on rides (which we love) and checking out Harry Potter areas which I’m so glad we did. However next time, I’d like to slow down a bit and check out everything UO has to offer.

We did see some shows… most of us do not like horror stuff but we all absolutely loved the Horror Make-Up Show. To be continued…

Up next, Shows and More Fun

 

[Lynne G]

Glad you had such a good time. My DD said she saw the dinosaurs better on the coaster, when it was darker out. I’m not a coaster fan, but do like the not as adventurous ones.

 

[wdwrule]

Glad you had such a good time. My DD said she saw the dinosaurs better on the coaster, when it was darker out. I’m not a coaster fan, but do like the not as adventurous ones.

That would be so cool riding it in the dark! One evening we rode it while just starting to get dim but dark would be wild!

 

[queenofthehill]

Fantastic Trip report!

 

[wdwrule]

Shows and More Fun:
We saw two shows during our trip: Bourne Stuntacular and Horror Make-Up Show. The Bourne show had some incredible effects and acting. It wasn’t my favorite, but it was very entertaining. The Horror Make-Up Show however was my favorite for sure. Again, I’m not into horror or gore stuff but this was incredibly entertaining and full of comedy. I’d have to say the highlight of this show was Beetlejuice. Omg he was so funny! Literally laughing til tears funny! The way he interacted with the audience and just his whole demeanor was a riot! In case you haven’t been to this show, Beetlejuice is the pre-show (at least I’m assuming he’s always there for the warm-up) and warms up the audience before the big show starts. The show itself continued to have many funny moments and was just overall very enjoyable. Beetlejuice and the actors/actresses were bantering back and forth with an 8-year old boy from the audience and it was so funny! I admit, I thought it would be just a nice air conditioned break but it was so much more! I could watch this again and again.

Ah Universal is just so much fun! As I had mentioned, we had planned on using the amazing looking pool at PBH but we just loved the rides and entertainment that we ran out of time for swimming. Always next time I guess! Forgot to mention, when our first ride of Gringotts ended, we were asked if we wanted to stay on for a second ride! It was in the morning but not too early… maybe around 9:30 and I don’t think there were people waiting for our particular row. At any rate, it felt like one of those magical ‘Disney moments’. I’m also a fan of dark rides and animatronics so I adored ET, Cat in the Hat, etc. Sure the animatronic technology wasn’t stellar but it was still so enjoyable and comforting.

Next up, Other Thoughts

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

I haven't heard one bad review of the Bourne show. Seems to be a must-do! We'll add it to the list. I do hope we have one warm day for the PBH pool though. My boys love water slides and the aqueduct one there looks fun. We've slowly been catching the boys up on Universal IP, so far they've seen Spiderman, Minions, ET, and Jurassic Park in addition to the Harry Potter films and of course Dr. Seuss. I don't think they'll miss Mickey and friends at all.

 

[wdwrule]

I haven't heard one bad review of the Bourne show. Seems to be a must-do! We'll add it to the list. I do hope we have one warm day for the PBH pool though. My boys love water slides and the aqueduct one there looks fun. We've slowly been catching the boys up on Universal IP, so far they've seen Spiderman, Minions, ET, and Jurassic Park in addition to the Harry Potter films and of course Dr. Seuss. I don't think they'll miss Mickey and friends at all.

I think the pools are heated but not 100% sure. Either way, I’m sure they’ll have a blast!! Kicking myself for not having pool time. Even packed 2 suits lol!! Next time, next time. That’s awesome your boys are gaining some background knowledge on some of the movies. I’m sure they’ll appreciate the rides even more! My daughter and I re-watched many of the HP movies as a refresher before the trip, although we have seen each of them several times. I could watch HP movies over and over again. Love them!! Each time I re-watch them, I pick up on a fine detail that I’ve missed previously.

Prior to this, we’ve only gone to WDW. My 19 year old son’s reaction afterwards: likes UO better than WDW. My 17 year old daughter’s thoughts: likes them both as they are two different kinds of experiences which I agree with. Borderline comparing apples to oranges… almost. You’ll have a blast!!

 

[Charade67]

I think I just gained a couple of pounds looking at the picture of the sundae from Toothsome. I love chocolate and peanut butter, and that looks heavenly.

 

[wdwrule]

That’s exactly how we felt but it was oh so good! Just today, we went to the new-ish Chocolatier restaurant at Hersheypark and ordered an over the top Reese’s milkshake… also with a slice of peanut butter pie on top. There’s just something about chocolate and peanut butter!!

 

[Lynne G]

Yum, I guess one of these days, we will drive out to Hershey. I have in law family that lives 10 miles from Hershey Park, so maybe an excuse to visit, then get some chocolate.

 

[wdwrule]

And don’t miss Hershey’s chocolate martinis if you enjoy cocktails. So yummy! Hotel Hershey is divine to visit too (and my favorite spot for that chocolate beverage), even just for dining (we’ve never stayed there but have frequently dined there).