Sunday, September 4, 2016

Universal Orlando Trip - Day 1

We just got back from spending 4 days at Universal Studios and Universal Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida, and it was a blast!  The attractions ranged from fun to amazing, the parks were clean, and the employees were friendly and efficient with lots of smiles.  The crowd levels were low, plus we had plenty of rain (which didn't bother us) which drove the numbers down even lower.

In case you forget where you are

I'd be remiss if I didn't start off by saying that although I'm not a big Harry Potter fan (the movies were fun to watch, but once was enough, and I haven't seen the last 3 or 4 of them), the Harry Potter areas and rides at Universal were nothing short of incredible.  Talk about being transported!  Hogsmeade at Islands of Adventure and Diagon Alley at Universal Studios are the most well-done, well-themed, areas I have ever seen at any theme park.  The queues and rides in those areas are so fully-immersive; it's like being in that world.  It really is worth the cost of travel and price of admission to see, and that's not even including the new Reign of Kong, or the fun Simpsons Land, or the etc., etc.

Hogsmeade at Islands of Adventure

We stayed on-site at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort, and it was also great.  We had a slight problem after checking in, and the hotel staff immediately resolved it:  The hotel rooms are all non-smoking, but when we got up to our room it smelled, strongly, of cigarette smoke.  I called down to the lobby and requested they move us.  Within 5 minutes a member of the front desk staff brought up key cards to another room, apologized for the inconvenience, and we were set.  Great service!

Now, on to the photos.


Southwest had some great deals on the flights: $44 there and $79 back.






We booked transportation with Universal in advance ($35 roundtrip per person), so after we landed at Orlando International Airport we checked in at the Universal SuperStar Shuttle desk.  They gave us a little padfolio with park and hotel information, as well as our return trip pickup time.  We went to the shuttle waiting area and received text messages with the shuttle number and make of the vehicle, and links to a live map where we could track it's location.  Universal promises a wait of no more than 30 minutes, and sure enough our white Ford van arrived within 20 minutes.  It had already picked up some other passengers at other terminals (we had watched it making stops on the map), but we were the last pickup before leaving the airport.

We arrived at the hotel and checked in.  It was early, around 1pm, and our room wasn't ready yet, so we left our luggage at the bell desk and went to the kiosk in the lobby to get our free Express Passes.  As guests at an on-site hotel, we each received a free unlimited Express Pass (normally $85 per person) that allowed us to bypass the regular lines at almost all attractions - the only rides it couldn't be used for was Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, and the Hogwart's Express train (which was fine because none of those lines were ever longer than 15 minutes).

After that was done we walked down to the dock and took the water taxi from the hotel to Citywalk - Universal's "downtown" shopping/entertainment/dining area that is the gateway to the parks.  There we met our friend Jackie for lunch at Margaritaville.  My coconut shrimp was excellent, as was the blackberry margarita.
 
Todd waiting for the water taxi with the lei he received at check-in
The landscaping was beautiful and so well maintained
Preparing to dock for lunch at Margaritaville

We had a great visit with Jackie.  By the time we were done, we had received a text that our room was ready so we took the walking path back to the hotel and retrieved our bags from the bell desk.  After switching to the second room, we unpacked and got settled.

Our room - #1742
Bathroom
Looking toward the door 
Beautiful canopy with the river below.  A bit of afternoon rain.
Park view of Islands of Adventure
After the rain.  From right to left:  The Incredible Hulk Coaster, the two towers of Dr. Doom's Fearfall, behind Dr. Doom are the Dragon Challenge coasters, and the brown pointy building to the left is Hogwarts.  Fun fact: when the Hulk coaster launches it lets out a mighty ROAR!  We could hear it from our hotel room - not loud enough to be annoying, but just loud enough to cause a smile every time it went off.
Panning to the left a little:  The blue/purple structure is the top of Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls (flume ride), and the blocky beige building behind it is the Jurassic Park River Adventure ride.  Another fun fact:  There's a piece of spinning scenery on top of Ripsaw Falls that reflects a disc of light like a lighthouse.  They don't turn it off at night.
Approaching sunset

After relaxing for a bit, we got out in the evening and walked over to Citywalk to explore.

Taking a stroll back to Citywalk.  This is the lagoon area of our hotel.  The boat dock for the water taxi is to the left on the other side of that greenery - the nose of the plane is pointing at it.  The blue sign warns to not enter the water as "Natural wildlife may be present."
The Hard Rock Cafe and concert venue and...OMG what's that?
You had me at "Dessert Foundry".  The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen:  A steampunk-inspired restaurant and chocolate shop currently open for previews ahead of its grand opening.
We ordered this monstrosity (unknowingly) from the soda fountain-like counter.  I don't remember what it's called, but I'm glad we split it.  Even then it was way too much - we couldn't finish it.
In the shop section they had these handy reference cards for the individual chocolates
Yes please





We'll see you, Universal Studios, in a couple of days - tomorrow we visit Islands of Adventure.

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