Wednesday, April 27th: part 2
As we drove out of the Grand Floridian parking lot, I had a suggestion for the guys….most specifically, something in mind for the younger of my two fellows. I knew his shopping budget was nearly depleted, and that there were just a couple additional items he wished to purchase at specific stores at the Premium Outlets on Vineland. Since we had nothing more on the itinerary until that evening and we were already in the car, I suggested we stop there on our way back to the resort. Steve was agreeable, and Jake was delighted
.
While the mall was busy and parking appeared to be at a premium, we easily found an open space near the far end of the main level of the garage. None of us minded the walk, either….in fact, it would probably be the best thing we could do to combat our breakfast indulgences. Exercise is a wonderful thing
.
It was another spectacular day, but it was HOT. The covered walkways were a major blessing as the sun’s rays beat down at their mid-day strongest
.
The guys were the ones who did all the shopping on this visit: this girl didn’t find a single thing I wanted to buy. If anyone tries to claim that women are more inclined to spend money at the mall, I would gladly introduce them to my two shoppers
. In our defense, we did get some pretty favourable prices on the items they purchased, so really….it was like they HAD to buy them
.
Someone was wishing he had worn his sunglasses, though
. Holy bright sunshine, Batman!! We had to stop and purchase a couple of cold water bottles while we toured the mall as well…..temperatures were rising enough that we worried we might get dehydrated before we made our way back to the villa.
Back at the resort, we rested and relaxed…..enough so that some napping most definitely occurred for some of us. I called my mom and enjoyed an extended chat with her. We watched some TV, we checked emails and text messages, and we downloaded our pictures from the camera.
We
recuperated. It was very much needed
.
Late in the afternoon, the guys started to stir, and I suspected that their stomachs were starting to feel the effects of not having eaten since late morning. I had anticipated this would be the case (do I know my men, or what?) and had planned that we would enjoy an early-ish dinner at CityWalk. Refreshed and restored from a low-key afternoon, they were quick to ready themselves for an evening out…..and once everyone was set to go, we hopped in the car and made the trip to Universal on a surprisingly civilized I4
.
We got a great spot in the garage with our free preferred parking, and commented for the 100th time that we redeemed the value of one of our Premier Annual Passes in parking fees alone over the course of the past year. We were going to miss those passes when they expired later that week
.
Foot traffic on the moving walkways was extremely light. We breezed through the security checkpoints and were at CityWalk in a flash.
CityWalk wasn’t super busy, either. Not only were crowds generally low that week to begin with, I think we hit the sweet spot where most folks hadn’t begun to leave the parks for the day, and before the main dinner rush at the restaurants. It’s always nice when things go exactly as planned
.
Dinner at Margaritavilla was scheduled to kick off our evening: Steve and I have long since fallen in love with the festive and fun atmosphere here, but Jake had yet to experience it. With meal and mini golf passes in hand, it was also a good value for that offer and provided a menu that we all would enjoy.
We checked in at the podium, were given a pager, and instructed that it would be a 20 to 30 minute wait……very much expected considering the popularity of this establishment. We decided to stroll over and browse the merchandise available at the Universal Store to pass the time.
Judging by the displays in the window, I’m not the only one who loves the Minions! They’re everywhere!
Jake was quick to point out this big guy, only half-jokingly noting that he would be a good addition to my collection. At $250, I had no problem saying no
. Once you added sales tax and the exchange to Canadian funds, you’d be looking at dropping a cool $350+ on this stuffie
. Ouch!!
Making our way back toward Margaritaville, we stopped to listen to the musicians outside of Antojitos. They were surprisingly good, even if we couldn’t understand a single word of their songs. The only Spanish we know are the numbers one through ten (thank you, Sesame Street!
).
Our pager went off as we were enjoying the talent of the Spanish quartet, well before the 30 minute estimate. We headed back to Margaritaville, returned the pager to the podium, and were promptly ushered to our seats.
Jake was immediately impressed….the music, the décor, and the relaxed nature of the staff were right up his alley
.
We perused the special meal and mini golf menu to make our entrée and beverage choices. I am sure both Steve and Jake would have enjoyed something from their creative alcoholic menu, but alas Jake was still underage in the States (still 9 months shy of his 21st birthday, despite being long since legal age at home) so Steve took a pass as well. It was a round of “sodas” all around (‘pop’ to us Canucks), but the napkins were still pretty fun.
While we waited for our entrees, we enjoyed watching the two stilt walkers who toured the restaurant making balloon hats, swords and animals for the youngest guests in the crowd.
These two young men also enjoyed engaging several diners when the Margaritavilla song came on, placing large salt-shaped placards in their hands and encouraging them to stand up and dance. It was an enthusiastic crowd and I think virtually EVERYONE sang along…..very fun!
We had plans for an indulgent dessert later that evening, so we opted to skip appetizers at this meal to ensure we were well prepared for the sweets to come. Our entrees made an appearance quite quickly, which made the boys happy since both were notably hungry by now.
Steve had the chicken Caesar salad….take my word for it that this thing is MASSIVE. Much larger than the photo suggests:
Jake chose their signature dish, the Cheeseburger in Paradise…..minus a few of the toppings that he doesn’t like, of course.
I had the grilled chicken breast. They very kindly subbed the island rice for French fries, and the entrée also came with a very healthy portion of fire-grilled corn.
The meal got high marks all around: portion sizes were large (even though the pictures don’t reflect that very well) and the taste was superb. We received lots of attention from our serving team as one young lady was training a new staff member, so we essentially got double the love from a service standpoint. Our beverages were refilled as soon as the glasses were depleted, without asking, which is always appreciated.
For anyone considering a visit to Universal, the meal and mini golf offer is a ridiculously good deal
. The price of the golf as a stand-alone purchase is $14.99 per person. The meal and mini golf package is $23.95 each. My chicken entrée was worth $18.99 on the Margaritaville menu, and I’m sure my fountain beverage was at least an additional $3. That effectively made my round of golf worth an additional $2.00. Some posters have indicated that the package price also includes tip, but we tipped in addition to the cost of the combo tickets: tipping adequately and appropriately is VERY important to us, and our service was definitely worthy of the extra, anyway.
CityWalk was getting a bit busier as we emerged from Margaritaville:
….so we wasted no time in hitting up our next stop of the day: Hollywood Drive in Golf!
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!
I suspect you gave him a nice tip purely base on his entertainment value that evening.
. I much prefer the tropical feel of the Polynesian or the rustic charm of the Wilderness Lodge. But it’s still definitely an impressive resort, even if it’s not really my style.
Yeah, that’s a bit outside my budget 
.
It even brought a smile to his face and his nose up from being buried in his cell phone......he's such a goof 
.
.
). Much more to come in the next post!
. 
This is my baby we're talking about here!! 
. Jake, especially, has also begun to see the value of all these experiences a lot more as he grows older, too. Looking back, he's pretty grateful that he's had these unique opportunities.....many of his friends have not been nearly so lucky.
