Oh, The Places We’ll Go! From the “stars” to the “sea”: Universal, SeaWorld & beyond - Spring 2016

Love all the minions!!!

Speaking of Steak and Shake, that is where my mom went to lunch today!
So many big stuffies..how to get them all home!

We didn't get to meet any minions or Gru and the girls on our last trip in 2014. We were there 1 day and I did meet Bart & Lisa's together and then Bart & Homer together, which was nice, but not the best interaction. My goal is at least a minion on our November trip, we'll have 2 park days. I'm contemplating the breakfast, just not sure how excited about it my friend will be and I only care about the minions. Plus, like you, we need to stop adding things to our trip and we're still waiting to hear about rivers of light at AK which will add a dinner at Tusker House, so... I'm sure your review of it will make me want to do the breakfast though

Glad you are enjoying the warmer weather, it really makes for a lovely relaxing weekend. The Universal day was filled with bonus character greetings

Now I don't want to be rude but ET's hair made me do a double take and gave me a chuckle

Great update! What a fun time you had with the remainder of the day.

Sad to hear of the bad experience with TF. I really like their food, and I guess I hit it last time right before closing, and they gave me so much food. It was nice eating in a empty restaurant.

Too funny Steve wanted the stuffie he did. 3 foot in length. Wow.

I love the roaming characters at Universal. When we were there we walked up to one after another just like that. It was so fun!

I'm glad you got on ET. Duncan told me he'd give it another shot when he's 6. I said, "good, you'll be 6 when we go in September". lol

I love the mini-parades at Universal! I watch the Spongebob one all the time

My goal is to get a picture with the entire Scooby Doo gang

I shouldn't have doubted the animals would be coming!

Margo, Edit and Agnes are always some of my daughter's favorite character interactions at Universal....heck, I love em too

This looks like a wonderful and perfectly exhausting day at Universal. I love that your October trip is going to include some very different choices. Orlando is a destination that can provide an array of choices.
BTW, Gina, we just got back from our trip to Quebec City. Thanks again for your tips about dining. It was a lovely trip.

juniorbugman said:

You are going to need an extra plane ticket for all the new friends and the rest that are sure to be coming home with you as well.

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Well, we didn't end up needing an extra seat on the plane (thank goodness....our return flight home was pretty much full!!) but we DID need to buy another piece of luggage to get it all home .

Ruthie5671 said:

How could these people expect the stuffies to be "stowed"?? Do they not know that they are part of the Bo-Bina family??

Those pictures are adorable.

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I KNOW!! LOL, the nerve of people who actually want space to sit when they ride the Hogwarts Express .

AK_Christina said:

Love all the minions!!!

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Thank you! I can't get enough of them either .

Callie said:

Speaking of Steak and Shake, that is where my mom went to lunch today!
So many big stuffies..how to get them all home!

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I would give my right arm for a plate of their onion rings right now. And a cookie dough milkshake . I soooo wish they were in Canada!!

afan said:

We didn't get to meet any minions or Gru and the girls on our last trip in 2014. We were there 1 day and I did meet Bart & Lisa's together and then Bart & Homer together, which was nice, but not the best interaction. My goal is at least a minion on our November trip, we'll have 2 park days. I'm contemplating the breakfast, just not sure how excited about it my friend will be and I only care about the minions. Plus, like you, we need to stop adding things to our trip and we're still waiting to hear about rivers of light at AK which will add a dinner at Tusker House, so... I'm sure your review of it will make me want to do the breakfast though

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Oddly enough, we didn't see as many Simpsons characters this trip as we normally do . We did enjoy a meet and greet with Krusty and Sideshow Bob on our last Universal day....stay tuned for those pics!

Mrs Doubtfire said:

Glad you are enjoying the warmer weather, it really makes for a lovely relaxing weekend. The Universal day was filled with bonus character greetings

Now I don't want to be rude but ET's hair made me do a double take and gave me a chuckle

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LOL, as if ET isn't strange enough, he's made even stranger when he's wearing a wig!

Lynne G said:

Great update! What a fun time you had with the remainder of the day.

Sad to hear of the bad experience with TF. I really like their food, and I guess I hit it last time right before closing, and they gave me so much food. It was nice eating in a empty restaurant.

Too funny Steve wanted the stuffie he did. 3 foot in length. Wow.

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I really think that Thunder Falls might be a winner on a different day, with different people in front and behind us. The food itself was good, and would have been GREAT if we had been able to enjoy it hot. Definitely some healthy portions!

chicagoshannon said:

I love the roaming characters at Universal. When we were there we walked up to one after another just like that. It was so fun!

I'm glad you got on ET. Duncan told me he'd give it another shot when he's 6. I said, "good, you'll be 6 when we go in September". lol

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I will keep my fingers crossed that ET makes the cut when you travel again in the fall .

Joanna71985 said:

I love the mini-parades at Universal! I watch the Spongebob one all the time

My goal is to get a picture with the entire Scooby Doo gang

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We did see all the Scooby characters at one point or another this trip, though we didn't manage to get pictures with them all (a couple of times we saw them when en route to somewhere else, and for one reason or another didn't have the time to stop). I love the fact that they are featuring all the members of Mystery Incorporated!

wiscbugs said:

I shouldn't have doubted the animals would be coming!

Margo, Edit and Agnes are always some of my daughter's favorite character interactions at Universal....heck, I love em too

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After this most recent vacation, the only Despicable Me character we haven't had the opportunity to meet is the purple evil minion. I am pretty sure they are in the park from time to time (I am virtually certain I have seen pictures on other people's trip reports) but so far, we've never seen them make an appearance. So we have another reason to go back someday .

JenLanDisney said:

This looks like a wonderful and perfectly exhausting day at Universal. I love that your October trip is going to include some very different choices. Orlando is a destination that can provide an array of choices.
BTW, Gina, we just got back from our trip to Quebec City. Thanks again for your tips about dining. It was a lovely trip.

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Glad to hear you had a good time! I hope you enjoyed some authentic Quebec poutine while you were visiting.

We are growing more excited for October by the minute. I really like the way the autumn plans are shaping up......and that there are still some new experiences in the works. I also love that we have two full weeks to enjoy all the things we have in the plans: so it should be a little less hectic and (hopefully) a tad less exhausting than our spring adventures!

What a wonderful day you had!! And all of those characters!! I've been to Universal many times and haven't seen half of those guys! As I creep into my 40's I find myself wanting to ride less, and watch more. I would love to hunt for characters on our October trip. I only hope I'm half as lucky! I think we'll book a character breakfast for the first time this October as well.
Great update!!

That sounds like a horrible wait for food, I heard their food was good there to we were thinking of trying it sometime this year.

I love all the character pics! We didn't really get to do any character meeting at Universal last time besides at HHN, so we'll have to do that this year, I'd love to meet Beetlejuice.

Hey Gina just got caught up with your TR- amazing pics as always. Thanks for the lovely message on my ptr - I tried to respond but it wouldn't let me scroll down - dam Blackberry. Lol. Here now- Fabulous except for the snakes by the pool - not kidding!!!!!! Non Venomous - but still creepy. Ugghhhhhh

Bummer about Thunder Falls Terrace! That is one of my favorites. I had a particularly delightful late lunch there one day by myself while my family rode JPRA over and over. I loved sitting near those windows and seeing the boats come down. And I think some chocolate cake and coffee might have been involved.

Wow great character day! Super fun pictures.

I love ET. It's a classic.

pigletto said:

What a wonderful day you had!! And all of those characters!! I've been to Universal many times and haven't seen half of those guys! As I creep into my 40's I find myself wanting to ride less, and watch more. I would love to hunt for characters on our October trip. I only hope I'm half as lucky! I think we'll book a character breakfast for the first time this October as well.
Great update!!

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I can't recommend the character breakfast at Cafe La Bamba highly enough....it was worth every penny and so much fun. I can't wait until I hit that part of my report, I am so excited to share our review and photos. It was one of my favourite parts of the entire vacation . If your budget will allow for the add-on, absolutely do it!

Raeven said:

That sounds like a horrible wait for food, I heard their food was good there to we were thinking of trying it sometime this year.

I love all the character pics! We didn't really get to do any character meeting at Universal last time besides at HHN, so we'll have to do that this year, I'd love to meet Beetlejuice.

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The characters are always a big part of our enjoyment of the Universal parks, as you may have guessed by now LOL. Even my guys love the opportunity to meet the characters, when the interaction is so awesome and it so much more than just a photo op. Definitely try to meet Shrek and Donkey as well....while we didn't have the chance to do so this trip, Donkey is hysterical and well worth a stop!

jump00 said:

Hey Gina just got caught up with your TR- amazing pics as always. Thanks for the lovely message on my ptr - I tried to respond but it wouldn't let me scroll down - dam Blackberry. Lol. Here now- Fabulous except for the snakes by the pool - not kidding!!!!!! Non Venomous - but still creepy. Ugghhhhhh

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OMG, snakes!?!? I'm with you....venomous or not, I want nothing to do with them. So gross!

Enjoy the rest of your vacation.....we're all wishing you sunny skies and fun times! (and no more snakes!! )

ArwenMarie said:

Bummer about Thunder Falls Terrace! That is one of my favorites. I had a particularly delightful late lunch there one day by myself while my family rode JPRA over and over. I loved sitting near those windows and seeing the boats come down. And I think some chocolate cake and coffee might have been involved.

Wow great character day! Super fun pictures.

I love ET. It's a classic.

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Those window-side seats are definitely great places to dine. And if it comes with a serving of chocolate cake, well......that's as close to vacation perfection as one can get!!

I always worry that ET will be on the chopping block as the park continues to modernize and evolve. I am truly hoping that what they say is true, and Steven Spielberg will never let that ride be replaced. I could live with a refurb, but it would gut me if it was taken away completely.

Tuesday, April 26th: the conclusion


No one was hungry enough for dinner as we left Universal, so we decided to head back to the villa for a bit before embarking on the pilgrimage for our evening meal. We all wanted some time to stretch out and rest for a bit before we ate, and I especially wanted to freshen up after being out in the sun, wind and heat all day long. I was looking a tiny bit tousled by that point, to say the least .


Once stomachs started to rumble and our legs had started to lose the rubbery feeling, we hopped back in the car and made the short drive to our dinner restaurant of choice: Steak & Shake, a family favourite and dining value extraordinaire.





While it will never win any awards for fanciness or elegance, there is little that’s not to love about Steak & Shake: the food is always fresh and tasty, the staff are consistently friendly and efficient, the shakes are to die for, and the value for the money is second to none. Burgers and ice cream are vacation staples for our trio, so we always look forward to our meal here .


We were seated promptly on arrival and immediately greeted by our server, “Kenny”. Now, Kenny was probably at least 60 years old, and I’m being generous on that age guess: something tells me 60 had long since passed for this lovable old fellow . You can imagine our surprise, then, when Kenny whips out his pad and paper in preparation for our order and immediately begins to rhyme off the menu: in Rap, no less. Jake almost fell off his chair. After we had a good laugh at Kenny’s impromptu performance, we were able to regain our composure and place our orders. Burgers, fries and a shake for each of us, and a large order of onion rings to share.


I have to say, Kenny was just an adorable old soul but he was not the best server we’ve ever had . He did, for sure, get high marks in entertainment value. At one point while we were waiting for our food, he came over and dramatically placed an item in Jake’s hand, asking him to guess what the article was……but he didn’t have a clue. It was an 8-track tape (which both Steve and I knew….yes, we are THAT old ) which of course necessitated a dramatic and colourful story from Kenny. When he was called upon to clear a table, however, he managed to drop an entire tray of dishes on the floor (most of which broke on impact in a thunderous crash) and I was beginning to think our shakes might arrive in time for dessert rather than as part of the meal. Oh, Kenny!!


Our shakes finally did make their appearance, but for some reason, they weren’t served in the fancy glasses that the dine-in shakes normally get presented in . Not sure why, but we were all given to-go cups.





They were delicious nonetheless, but the tall glasses make for a much nicer staging. Just sayin.


The food almost immediately followed our shakes, and by this time, we had grown rather peckish and were happy to see some sustenance on the table. Jake tucked immediately into his Frisco melt and fries:





Steve had ordered some sort of fancy burger (can’t remember exactly which one and I have lost my receipt for this meal, d’oh! ) with an upgrade to chili fries:





A triple steakburger, no cheese, ketchup only was my selection, with an upgrade to the parmesan garlic fries…..but alas, Kenny obviously didn’t catch those instructions either . Too busy rapping and making people laugh, I suspectt. I didn’t bother to let him know about the fries.....it was just easier....and just ate them plain (though I did use some of the fry seasoning that’s on their tables….it’s pretty good too).





Our onion rings that we ordered were also Missing In Action, and it took us a while to capture Kenny’s attention as he recovered from the Great Dish Crash of 2016. He was sincerely apologetic ….yes, he had forgotten to give that part of the order to the kitchen …. and dashed off to fetch them, stat. Rather than enjoy them as an appetizer or with our meal, they were effectivvely our “dessert” …. but they were exceptionally good and worth the wait . Kenny might have been a little scattered but the kitchen staff were spot on.





As I mentioned earlier, my receipt is also MIA (in that chaos, I have no idea where it ended up ) but the entire meal was under $30 including tax. We never get used to how inexpensive it is here, and the total on the receipt shocks us every single time.


Heading back to the resort, we used the balance of our energy to drag our sore legs and feet to the Fountains hot tubs, and that’s where we stayed until late i the evening. There was no need for a responsible bedtime that night, as tomorrow was a scheduled down-day and our first commitment wasn’t until after 10:30 in the morning. After two back-to-back park days, we were all looking forward to a slower pace on Wednesday and some much-deserved relaxing .


Our Wednesday is next…..and we kick it off in elegant fashion at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort .

You earned your day off, you packed an amazing amount of activity into Monday and Tuesday! I can't get over all the characters you met! Some rare ones in there for sure. Thankfully the minion collective has increased. I don't think they would know what to do if new friends didn't periodically appear I'm sure it wasn't funny at the time as you were hungry, but the Kenny story is priceless!

Maria

The Frisco melt looks good As for the fancy milk shake glasses, I bet Kenny may have dropped those too! I suspect you gave him a nice tip purely base on his entertainment value that evening.

Wow, what time did you hit S&S? Last trip A+ and I planned on going after a wander around Disney Springs. Got there around 8:30-9:00pm and the line was out the door! We went to Giordano's instead, which in hindsight was probably a mistake. We ordered the deep dish which takes about 45 minutes, so it was pushing towards 10:00 pm by the time we ate!