Glad you and your wife are having a good time, except for the two hour wait lol
Another wall of text is coming so apologies in advance again.
Monday was Magic Kingdom using FP+ and Magic Bands with Memory Maker. I've had my doubts about using the system but I'm completely sold on it in terms how well it worked and how simple it was to use. Not only that, but it's slightly made Universal and SeaWorld look severely dated. The simplicity in coming off a ride, putting my wrist to the photo and then having a high res photo within 20mins on my phone is actually incredible. In comparison to Universal if I wanted to buy an on ride photo from a coaster, I would need to go back to my locker, get my phone or some form of payment, remember the photo number and then connect it all. I'm so completely sold on this, I would maybe consider staying on site just so I could have a credit card associated with my Magic Band. I'll make a small list of things that stood out and what's new to me.
Be Our Guest was a little hectic but the food was surprisingly good and fairly reasonably priced. I also liked the magic touch of the food finding it's own way to your table.
The reservation system worked fairly well but my only complaint is that you need to cancel 24 hours in advance. I had reservations for Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen for 8:35pm but after being in the park since 7.30am, my wife and I having blisters on our feet and still being jet lagged, it was too much and we left about 7.30pm.
The park was relatively quiet considering. We managed to almost walk on SDMT first thing which was a pleasant surprise. It wasn't great but it's a solid addition to the park. Besides the 40min wait for Splash Mountain, I don't think we waited more than 20mins for anything and managed to use the FP system fairly well after with filling in the gaps. I think we used 7 FP all in.
The park was that quiet.
One thing I was surprised about was how many photographers were about and how good some of the photos turned out.
The only thing that really slightly irritated me was that Disney don't offer a refillable drink service in the parks but they do at the water parks. It's minor but it would be nice.
Tuesday was a relatively quiet day given how tired we were from Monday. We went to the outlets and then to Universal at night and filled some of the gaps from the previous trip although we arrived just as a thunderstorm hit.
Hulk was as good as ever but the whole queue is a complete disappointment. Whatever story there is, is passed by so quick, I have to wonder what the point of it even is. The on board audio is only noticeable for the first few seconds and it felt smoother than the last time I rode but it wasn't smooth. What makes that more confusing is that I rode Kraken today and for a ride that's 16 years old, it was smoother.
We almost walked on Gringotts and rode in the front this time and it felt like a totally different experience. I'm so impressed with how good it is
We went for dinner at Toothsome and it's a truly great addition to CityWalk. I'm some where between an 8 or 9 /10. The food was really good and it was really nice to have a meal here that isn't a ridiculous size. Strangely I never had a desert but I'll have something next time I'm passing by. I think it's different enough to make it a must visit place for anybody visiting UOR and it's priced well for what it is and the theming is great too. I'd compare it to Cheesecake Factory (I was there tonight) but the experience is completely different. The only negative I would say is one of the walk around characters started talking to us just a couple of minutes after our food came out. The timing felt off and she seemed a little insistent on talking.
We were at SeaWorld today and HS and AK tomorrow which I will probably create another wall of text for. The only small thing I'll say is that Mako was awesome and is probably my favourite coaster in Orlando now.
Great review. Have you tried the Star Card or whatever for Universal photos? When I had it was very similar to Disneys implementation except it was a barcode and the app was more clunky.
having a cracking time!
Just heard it for the first time last week at Pittsburgh's huge Irish Festival. Two folk singers from Nova Scotia were discussing ideas they had to name their new Canadian bar. They, tongue in cheek, said they were thinking along the UK phrase " a cracking time", and would name their tavern "The Crack House". Then they realized the other meaning and immediately squashed that idea.I have never heard this phrase before. World culture... gotta love it.
Are you doing a split stay or just staying at Universal ?
Did you say this was your first time at Food & Wine? If you like Food and Wine, I think you'd also love the Flower & Garden festival. It's a mix of food & wine and then awesome topiaries spread across the park. The difference in regards to food & wine is flower and garden focuses more on fresh, farm to table type dishes. I usually prefer Flower & Garden over F&W.Friday was meant to be a day at Blizzard Beach but on Thursday night, the rental car started having a warning saying he car needed a service in 300 miles, it was 4000 miles when I got the car on Friday and 200 miles less.
Taking the car back to sixt in Disney, I thought it would be a quick swap but it took the best part of an hour as the woman tried to fix it by googling the problem. This was concerning as I have a 3 series at home, similar model to the one I had and I know how much of a pain this can be when warnings start showing up and nothing will fix it outside of taking it to a BMW garage. After an hour I got another 3 series but it was in pretty bad shape and I got upgraded to a Mercedes e350 which was a nice turn.
After taking so long we decided to go back to the hotel and lie at the pool for a few hours as it would be too late to go to Blizzard Beach.
I think this was the first time that CBBR really started to shine with how good it can be as a resort. I'll give an overall impression of the hotel when I leave.
Friday night was a trip to Disney Springs and what a mess this place is. The printed map is all over the place. They have a map with numbers and the numbers to side aren't in numerical order, I actually don't have a clue what order they're in so it's a pain to find any reference to what you're looking at.
Went to D-Luxe burger which was relatively quiet and nice but a little expensive for what you get compared to Five Guysor Wendy's.
I thought the photographers at Disney Springs were a nice touch and the multi story car park was a good improvement but I can't see any real reason to return for the foreseeable future.
Saturday was a trip to the Kennedy Space Center. I haven't been in a long time. Last time I went they were building the International Space Station.
It was awesome as always. I've always loved the US for having the real deal visitor complexes like this. It's always incredible to be at the location of so much history and seeing what the future holds.
The new Atlantis exhibit was great. Beautifully displayed with informative videos and great displays. The show piece being the real shuttle in the middle of the room.
Saturday night was back to the outlets and the ones at the end of I Drive next to Fun Spot have really went down hill compared to the ones just past SeaWorld. Finally got to try Taco Bell for dinner which is exactly my kind of fast food.
Sunday was Blizzard Beach which was surprisingly quiet. I've always thought that I preferred TL but I can't think why now. BB felt like a superior park in almost every way minus the wave pool and water coaster. TL feels like it needs the new ride coming and just a general update for the older rides which BB still feels relatively new and modern.
It was a relatively cheap day as we could use our cups again which was only $8 to reactivate. I'm still kind of annoyed that the parks don't have the same kind of refillable cup. I'm also slightly bummed that the water parks don't have photopass photographers or if they did, we didn't see any.
Sunday night was a trip to The Melting Pot which was a nice surprise. It was better than I thought it would be and well priced especially since we use the Orlando Magic Dining menu which was recommended to us before we could ask for it. I'd recommend it to anybody looking for something a little different and more laid back than the majority of restaurants here.
It's been a long day so I feel this has all been a little more vague than normal. Today was EPCOT which has completely changed my opinion of the park for the better (I love Food and Wine!) Yesterday was Universal again but I'll give a review of both days shortly.
Yes. I actually like Flower & Garden much better. It has the positives of Food & Wine without the negatives. And the gardens & topiaries are just fantastic. That may be one reason I was disappointed with Epcot last fall. I was used to the beauty of the spring festival and Epcot felt lacking and less interesting without it.Did you say this was your first time at Food & Wine? If you like Food and Wine, I think you'd also love the Flower & Garden festival. It's a mix of food & wine and then awesome topiaries spread across the park. The difference in regards to food & wine is flower and garden focuses more on fresh, farm to table type dishes. I usually prefer Flower & Garden over F&W.
It was a relatively cheap day as we could use our cups again which was only $8 to reactivate. I'm still kind of annoyed that the parks don't have the same kind of refillable cup. I'm also slightly bummed that the water parks don't have photopass photographers or if they did, we didn't see any.