"We Have To Go Back!" May 2021 Universal/WDW TR Completed 7/21

[Raeven]

Hey guys, long time no TR!



If you've been following my long running PTR you're probably more up to date. Basically last year like everyone else I ended up cancelling all my planned trips. We did go to Denver for a bit when the cases were very low, but it was planned really last minute, and didn't look much like our regular trips. We planned to go to Disney/HHN in Sep this year (and still do), but when restrictions started lifting earlier than I thought they would I decided to plan another trip to Disney & Universal!

For those who haven't read any of my past TR's let me introduce myself...

My name is Raeven. I'm 28, and I'm the planner, photographer, and TR writer for our trips. I love Halloween Horror Nights, Harry Potter (I'm a Slytherin), music, horror movies, taking pictures, good food, the show Supernatural, theme parks, and beating Josh at Men In Black.



Oh...and snuggling baby goats. But who doesn't?

This is my trip partner and boyfriend of 7 years, Josh:



He's 35. He likes boxing, horror movies, roller coasters, comedy podcasts, coffee, delicious gluten free food, and apparently posing like this M&M.

A little background: We took our first Disney/Universal trip in September 2015. After that trip we agreed we definitely wanted to go back every year. We've been AP holders at Universal ever since (with a brief break last year), and have been going to HHN ever since HHN 25.




We went from Friday May 7th-Sat the 15th. We stayed at Endless Summer-Dockside, the Hard Rock in Tampa, Gran Destino, and Royal Pacific. (Part of the moving around had to do with availability since we booked and then added days later on). The first few days was a mix of activities (we spent time at DS, Citywalk, Disney parks, Tampa, and did baby goat yoga). Then we spent 2 more days at Disney, and 3 at Universal.

​

Stay tuned if you want to hear about:

• My review of Endless Summer-Dockside (along with the other hotels) ​
• How the first day of Universal's new mask policy went ​
• What baby goat yoga is like ​
• Which hotel has the best choice of cable channels ​
• What we did in Tampa ​
• What weird thing we saw a man pull out of his pocket in Hollywood Studios​
• Epcot's Flower & Garden ​
• Who won at Men In Black this trip​
• & what the longest line of our trip was​

Just like on past trips I vlogged and will be posting those vlogs on Wednesdays and Fridays. I'll also share the links on here. I think we got a lot of footage, although the first vlog is a little chaotic due to the travel.



Also yes I stole the title of this TR from Lost. I used to watch Lost all the time in high school, and for some reason I thought of Jack yelling that when I was thinking of a title.



If you want to look back on the planning for this trip my PTR is here:
A 2021 PTR: HHN 30 & More

And here's my DTR link:
A Disney Food Reunion!​

 

[Raeven]

*Table of Contents*

Travel Day

Baby Goat Yoga

We're Finally Back at Disney!

2 Days in Tampa

Epcot’s Flower & Garden Festival 2021

Disney Springs Snacks, Magic Kingdom, & CBR's Bread Pudding

We’re Universal Annual Passholders! (Again)

Bourne Stuntacular, Velocicoaster & Bice

The Last Day

Wrap Up Post​

 

[schumigirl]

And......we`re off.......

So looking forward to this one Raeven......

 

[Raeven]

*video is unavailable*


​

 

[Raeven]

And......we`re off.......

So looking forward to this one Raeven......

Happy to have you along! ​

 

[CatNipRules]

Looking forward to reading all about it. I was actually getting ready to ask if you'd started your trip report yet!! Yay!!

I loved the video, but it was short. LOL!!Can't wait to read more!!

 

[Raeven]

Looking forward to reading all about it. I was actually getting ready to ask if you'd started your trip report yet!! Yay!!

I loved the video, but it was short. LOL!!Can't wait to read more!!

Glad to have you along! Lol a few of them might be a little short, but there should be a longer one next week.​

 

[jnjusoioa]

Yeah, can't wait to read along, will you be posting photos as well as the vlogs? I am just a still photo kind of person. glad you guys were finally able to take a trip and can't wait to read all about it.

 

[Raeven]

Yeah, can't wait to read along, will you be posting photos as well as the vlogs? I am just a still photo kind of person. glad you guys were finally able to take a trip and can't wait to read all about it.

Of course! I’m going to do a full write up of each day with pictures and the vlogs to go along with it. & thank you for following along! I was so excited that we got to go back. ​

 

[Raeven]

Travel Day

Since our flight was a little later in the day than usual (around 2 pm) we did some last minute packing in the morning. My dad took us to the airport, and while things were a little busier then they are in the morning; things also moved a little quicker than usual. We did travel back in September, but it seemed like they were trying to get people through even quicker than they had been then (they didn't even ask to see our tickets or to remove our liquids bags at security).

We fly Southwest and were farther down in B group so we were near the back of the plane. The good thing about flying later in the day is there's more to watch on Southwest TV. I did have an issue with my Apple Music where none of the songs would play even though they're downloaded which I think happened once before. Googling it says that just happens sometimes when the phone is in airplane mode? But it doesn't happen every time so I'm not sure what causes it.



I was so happy to get there and it feels like it's been so long since we've been to Orlando that seeing this carpet made me a little emotional.



We've never picked up a rental car at the airport, but it was pretty quick and easy. We rented through Alamo, and I found this car before the rental car prices went crazy which I was very happy about because we needed it for the first few days. (Going back and forth between Disney and Universal and we'd be driving to Tampa for a comedy show Josh wanted to see). I picked this car because I liked the color, but it made it a lot easier to spot in parking lots so I just pretended that's totally why I picked it.



I didn't drive it, but it was a good car, and fit everything we had.

The first hotel we stayed at was Endless Summer Resort Dockside Inn and Suites.

We had done the early check in online so check in was a breeze.

We went straight over to Starbucks because Josh wanted coffee and I hadn't gotten any Starbucks that morning.



I love having a Starbucks in the lobby. Josh always gets a morning coffee (and then like two others throughout the day ), and I like having the option to get a fruity drink whenever I want. (I don't like coffee).

The only common areas I didn't get to were the game room (I think those are all still closed right now), and the fitness room.

Josh went to park the car while I was checking out the room. When I walked into our room I was really impressed. It's not that I expected the room to be crappy because this is a value hotel (I was afraid I gave that impression in the video). It's just that I didn't expect to like the room as much as I did. I booked the two bedroom suite not because we needed the extra bedroom but because they were still a good price, and looked a lot roomier than an average room. And when I walked in I was really impressed with just how roomy it was, and how pretty it looked. In person the rooms color/decor was actually really pretty and the lighting was really good.

I loved having this little kitchen area:



It was great for eating a snack in.

The beds:



My only con for these rooms was the mattresses were a little hard, but I didn't think it was really noticeable when sleeping on them.

There isn't a lot of storage in these rooms (there was a small closet in the other bedroom), but since there's only two of us we usually use one of the beds as storage. And we don't usually take anything out of the suitcases.

The second bedroom:



This was useful on mornings when Josh woke up first. (Which is every morning because his job usually has him up a few hours before mine does). He got to play his video games or watch TV without me hearing it. (I'm a super light sleeper).

I always like a lot of counter space:




Tv and some hooks to hang things from:



We had booked this hotel because it was really all that was left at Disney or Universal at the price I wanted when we were looking (we added on these first 2 days later), but I'm really glad we booked it. If we had the car I wouldn't have minded staying there the whole trip because it was close to everything. Although we did take a bus to Citywalk the next day and it came immediately and was very fast.

The only con for the Universal parks is it doesn't have Express Pass which we like to have, but if you aren't looking for that I'd say this is a great hotel for a great price. I'd heard it was noisy, but I didn't think it was any noisier than living in apartments (it was quieter than that). And weirdly enough, I think the TV's here had the best choice of channels for any hotel we were at. (And they had a different selection of channels than Royal Pacific had for some reason?) With an annual passholder discount the room was $144 a night for a suite, and I think $80 something for a regular room. Now I did like having the suite for the extra room, but I will say I'd think those suites could really only fit 3-4 comfortably (because I feel like they say they can fit up to 6 though I'm not sure because I've never looked for a room for that many people).

This was our view out the window:




(I think poolside was all that was left when we booked. A regular suite will probably be a little cheaper. It was a cool view though).

Once we got there and organized our stuff a little we got ready to go to Disney Springs where we had a late reservation at Splitsville.



I wrote about our experience at Splitsville (and with all the food we had that day) in my DTR:

Splitsville/Amorette's Review

After I ate my Amorette's cake back in the room, I organized our stuff for the next day, watched some true crime, and went to bed.

Next up is baby goat yoga, Hollywood Studios, and Citywalk...



​

 

[jnjusoioa]

Yeah, I love reading your reports and so glad that you guys were able to have a trip. Excited to hear about it, my family and I just moved to Naples at the end of last year, so I have been up to Universal and Disney, not sure I want to go in the summer however as the heat bothers me. I am excited to hear about the most Instagram worthy place to eat in FL, I might have to check it out. Also curious about the baby goat yoga, I have read about that several times and I need to do that, so adorable, oh my gosh, cuteness overload. Maybe sometime we can meet up when you guys come down, I know you like HHN, I don't really like spooky stuff but we could do a meet up maybe and eat or something, that would be cool.

 

[schumigirl]

Loved the video`s and pictures are wonderful! You showed off Dockside really well and it does look very good.

Yes, seeing that carpet would be emotional and might sound crazy to some, but I get it.....lol

Hotel looks lovely, and the suite is spacious, more than I thought it would be. Glad you liked it and yes, I do wonder what you`d do with 6 people in a space like that!

Not quite understanding baby goat yoga.....but then I never quite understood yoga either......lol.....will look forward to that! I think......

Lovely start though......

 

[KathyM2]

Glad I found your TR!

My review of Endless Summer-Dockside (along with the other hotels)

This is exciting! I have been wanting to know more about this place.

Googling it says that just happens sometimes when the phone is in airplane mode? But it doesn't happen every time so I'm not sure what causes it.

Funny that you mention this. I had the exact same problem on the plane on my recent flight. Don't know what's up with that. Sometimes it happened with downloaded Netflix shows too, even though they were downloaded...so. Weird.

The second bedroom:

I love that there are two actual bedrooms. If I go somewhere with my kids we could really use that much space!! But you are right...I don't think I would want six people in there...those beds don't actually look that big..were they queens? They kind of looked like just doubles from the picture? I am spoiled....I like a queen in a hotel at least lol

 

[CatNipRules]

Following along. Can't wait to read more. I love the pictures of the room.

 

[queenofthehill]

Yayyyy another Raeven review!!! Now if @schumigirl has a trip + TR in 2021 my year will be complete!

 

[xlsm]

Yay, I'm here! Let's celebrate!

I'm ready to read all about it.

With an annual passholder discount the room was $144 a night

For a two bedroom suite? That's practically free We've been looking at some places for long weekend trips later in the summer and we've learned we're incredibly conditioned to the high prices of Disney resorts, lol.

 

[Raeven]

Yeah, I love reading your reports and so glad that you guys were able to have a trip. Excited to hear about it, my family and I just moved to Naples at the end of last year, so I have been up to Universal and Disney, not sure I want to go in the summer however as the heat bothers me. I am excited to hear about the most Instagram worthy place to eat in FL, I might have to check it out. Also curious about the baby goat yoga, I have read about that several times and I need to do that, so adorable, oh my gosh, cuteness overload. Maybe sometime we can meet up when you guys come down, I know you like HHN, I don't really like spooky stuff but we could do a meet up maybe and eat or something, that would be cool.

Thanks for following along! That's really exciting that you live so close! The Instagram worthy restaurant is coming up soon, it's in Tampa. The baby goat yoga was sooo cute! It's actually really close to the parks. Yeah maybe sometime!

Loved the video`s and pictures are wonderful! You showed off Dockside really well and it does look very good.

Thank you!

Yes, seeing that carpet would be emotional and might sound crazy to some, but I get it.....lol

Hotel looks lovely, and the suite is spacious, more than I thought it would be. Glad you liked it and yes, I do wonder what you`d do with 6 people in a space like that!

I'm not sure if the suites are meant for 4 or 6, but I always thought most suites say they sleep up to 6. Not sure where you'd put most of the people though

Not quite understanding baby goat yoga.....but then I never quite understood yoga either......lol.....will look forward to that! I think......

I don't understand regular yoga either

Glad I found your TR!

I can't believe I didn't post the links! I swore I did, but maybe the post didn't post lol

This is exciting! I have been wanting to know more about this place.

I wanted to do a review because I feel like there hasn't been a lot about it yet for some reason.

Funny that you mention this. I had the exact same problem on the plane on my recent flight. Don't know what's up with that. Sometimes it happened with downloaded Netflix shows too, even though they were downloaded...so. Weird.

I don't get it at all! All my music is downloaded, and I was able to access some of the music still through iMovie and stuff? But the music player kept closing. And it didn't happen on the way home.

I love that there are two actual bedrooms. If I go somewhere with my kids we could really use that much space!! But you are right...I don't think I would want six people in there...those beds don't actually look that big..were they queens? They kind of looked like just doubles from the picture? I am spoiled....I like a queen in a hotel at least lol

I don't know if they're meant for 6, but I feel like suites with 3 beds usually say they can sleep up to 6? Maybe it's for 4 that would make more sense. They were queen beds yeah there was plenty of room on them. ​

 

[Raeven]

Following along. Can't wait to read more. I love the pictures of the room.

Thanks for following along!

Yayyyy another Raeven review!!! Now if @schumigirl has a trip + TR in 2021 my year will be complete!

Aw thank you for your excitement lol

Yay, I'm here! Let's celebrate!

For a two bedroom suite? That's practically free We've been looking at some places for long weekend trips later in the summer and we've learned we're incredibly conditioned to the high prices of Disney resorts, lol.

I know! If I knew how much we'd like it I might've booked it for longer, because the price was great. Definitely look at the Universal resorts too! (Even if you aren't planning on just going there). Dockside/Surfside is on I-Drive and close to all the attractions. (It was easier because we had a car though). But when we added on those days there was no availability at Disney for anything that wasn't around $500-1000. And since we move around a lot and do a mix of Disney and Universal and stuff outside of them it was perfect. ​

 

[schumigirl]

Yayyyy another Raeven review!!! Now if @schumigirl has a trip + TR in 2021 my year will be complete!

lol....now that, made my morning!!! Thank you......


Yes, I think we are all so happy to see another Raeven TR.......it`s been too long

 

[Tracy161]

YAY!!! So happy to be reading another one of your TRs! Your trip sounds like it got off to a great start! I think once I finally land in MCO, I'll tear up seeing the carpet too

The views out of your suite are amazing!!! Can't wait to read more!