Everthing I needed to know I learned on the DIS! Thanksgiving Week Review

DontRushMe

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
Who: Me
Hubby
DD16
DD14

What: A FIRST trip to US/IOA to visit Harry Potter

When: November 19 - 25, 2017

I wanted to post a quick review to thank all the people that take the time out of their vacations to take notes and write trip reports, because they are truly valuable and many of us don't post often but do enjoy reading.
( my original plan included photos, but I just didn't get that far)
My family finally decided we were ready to go to Universal and Island of Adventure, so I started reading and taking notes. Anything I type in red is an actual note I took and if you recognize it as yours THANK YOU!

Hotel - Having two teenage girls in high school, our vacation times are limited to school breaks. I have no desire to travel a theme park in Florida in the summer months. So Thanksgiving break it is.
In February 2017 I booked Royal Pacific mainly because of the Express Pass Included. I figured on a Holiday week, they would be needed. I really didn't look at any other hotels. I knew we would like it from the pictures I had seen and things I had read.

We loved it! It was beautiful and can't say enough about location, location, location. Walking to the parks was an easy stroll, so close you could run back to the room if you wanted a sweatshirt, needed a nap, or just wanted a break. We were given a room on the 3rd floor(lobby level) in tower one. When we checked in the front desk girl told us if we went to the far end of the hall and used the emergency stairs we would have a short cut to the walking trail. Boy did we love that tip. Coming back to hotel we couldn't get in that door but thats ok, it saved us steps on the way there.

There was a boat taxi too, but we only used it a couple times, the walk was that easy.

The only negative, we had was there was no snack or fast service option at this hotel. Sometimes you just want a snack and even chicken fingers from the pool as a carry out were pricey.
We did however find New Dutch Trading Company at Sapphire Falls that was a nice option. They had soups, hot and cold sandwiches and salad choices. It was only a quick walk in the opposite direction and perfect for our needs.

Transportation - We booked Tony Hines in May. Yes this was probably super early but again being a holiday week we wanted to be covered. Figuring we were staying on site, why pay for a car and per day parking fee. Again can't say enough good things about him and the reviews people have posted. His fare was reasonable and included a grocery stop. He was great, reliable and we would not hesitate to use him again.

Tickets - I purchased Buy 2 Parks Get 2 Parks Free from Undercover Tourist with a special they were offering in July. So we had 4 day park to park passes. No problem with our tickets, prices were good and would totally purchase from them again.

Food - We had no formal plans, other than a list of recommendations from the DIS. My husband is a burger connoisseur and will order that over anything if given the choice, so if they had a burger option we could get as adventurous as we wanted.

On our grocery stop, we bought a case of water, bananas, and breakfast bars and I few snack items for late night munchies (popcorn and pepsi), the fridge in the room was another great necessity that we couldn't like without. Any leftovers were happily eaten later.

Bula Bar Poolside at Royal Pacific - We shared chicken nachos, another great tip! Delicious and enough for a few hungry people. Afterward we heard you can actually order a "half slab" which is all the same toppings and just half the chips. Good to know for future. Although we put in a good dent. Chicken Cesar salad good, burger good. Fruit and cheese platter great for late night snacking or leftovers for breakfast. Drinks good and souvenir glass was refillable for a discount on your next drink.

Cow Fish - Hubby's burger was cold, he was unhappy, it was tasty and he said he would give them another try, but as for this trip this was the bottom of his list. D16 was on a Cesar Salad with chicken kick and ordered an Asian version and liked it but it was huge and she only ate half. I will say it held up well as leftovers and we finished it later in the room. DD14 and I got Bento boxes. Although they were fine, we would rather had a bit more burger and less edamame and sweet potato fries, California and Veggie rolls were perfect. Next time we would order two different entrees and split them.

Toothsome Chocolate Emporium - Girls ordered Brownie shake and birthday cake shake. Although they loved the cake parts, they were not thrilled with the actual shake part and only drank a small part. Kinda disappointing. DD16 had Cesar Salad with Chicken and ate it all. Hubby a burger and loved it. Said it was best one of the trip. DD14 and I decided to share thinking the shake and all would bee too hungry. We ordered crab and artichoke dip and the shrimp pasta. Although they were good, we both left feeling hungry. I guess the share idea here was not a great idea. W ended up sitting on the porch as we said first available instead of inside. I feel we missed out on the atmosphere of this place and we definitely missed out meeting Penelope and Jacques as they never ventured to our area outside. The bakery items looked fabulous but we never made it back to get any.

Jakes at Royal Pacific - Flatbread Pizza and a beer. Both great suggestions and perfect. DD16 another Cesar salad with chicken. Not her favorite, although she ate all the chicken salad was just plain. DD14 chicken fingers and fries. Standard and no complaints.

Drinks at Sweet Water Tavern outside at Sapphire Falls - although we got there too early for drinks, we got Gelato from New Dutch Trading and it was fabulous! We loved sitting on the terrace and enjoyed our time there. (note DD16 said the New Dutch chicken Cesar had he best cheese!) I had the Mozzarella and Tomato hot sandwich and I would definitely get again.

Mythos inside IOA - DD16 and I ordered the Pad Thai because that what we went for. It was different than we are used to with a sweet and sour sauce, we enjoyed it. Hubby got another burger and liked it with parmesan fries, the star of his meal. The portion was huge and he didn't finish it but said it was good. But the winner of the meal was the gnocchi! We all tried it and would order that if we ever made it back to Mythos.
This was a full service dining experience inside the park. If we didn't have 4 day passes we wouldn't have wasted precious ride time here, but as it was were were trying to kill time on a cold rainy day waiting for the parade. On our day they were quoting hour to hour 1/2 wait time for a table. They do take reservations and they will text you when your table is ready so you don't need to wait there the whole time.

Circus McGurkus in IOA - Sometimes you just need a quick fix to hold you over and in a pinch this is a good option, it was quick and not as pricey others and hot. Hubby and DD14 got chicken sandwich and both said they would get again. DD16 and I split (guess what....? ) chicken Cesar salad and I say it was my favorite from here. Fresh lettuce and dressing premixed, large chicken portion although it was not grilled chicken if you are looking for healthy.

We also tried both Three Broomsticks and Leaky Cauldron. We enjoyed our meals, but your are paying for the atmosphere not really the food. It was pricey for the portions, but we had to do it and would recommend if you are truly Harry Potter fans.

Orchids Lounge in Royal Pacific - MaiTai, sushi and a local IPA. We enjoyed all of it, we would have done it again if we had the time. Loved the lounge, drinks and the food.

Little Italy- We ordered delivery for a flier slid under the door. I know people say don't do this, but we tired and couldn't venture out. The entrees were only $6.99 and we paid cash at the door, didn't charge in advance. It was awesome! We would order again in a minute.
Spaghetti and meatballs, stuffed shells, Hawaiian pizza and chicken wings. Perfect room service, utensils included and so reasonable. We did have to meet them in the lobby.

Parks - I originally had not waned to take the girls due to their motion sickness. They used to get car sick just driving to school. We have learned the trigger: avoid dairy, eat protein and stay calm, no rushing. We ate in the room each morning and took Bonine. Happy to say we had NO incidents the whole trips airplane included.
My issues are a week neck and back, They are easily thrown out and then I can't move for a few weeks. I was very careful on what I rode in order to not have an incident. Again happy to say No Incidents!!!!

Our main goal Was Harry Potter and we hit it first at opening and rode a couple times before it got crowded. Both Gringotts and Hogwarts.
We loved them both! To prepare for this trip we listened to all the books on tape as a family and watched all the movies. I'm am sad to say these family times are probably over.

Usually Hubby and girls rode first to test the motion and then said YEP you can do it! Then we rode again as a family. This is where the Express pass cam in handy, most times the stand by line was at least an hour. For everything! The bigger rides like Harry Potter or Hulk we saw us to 110 minutes.

I rode Minions, but skipped Shrek due to bouncing. They said it was like riding in a carriage and thought it might be too bumpy. No motion problem on either for the girls.
I skipped Men in Black, due to sudden stops, but girls had no issues.
Jimmy Fallon was fun but almost did us all in due to moving nature, we only rode once.
They had no problems with Transformers so I rode too. I had no motion problems, no sudden stop problems, but it was loud and if you don't know the stories, it was just loud and car chase-y!
They rode Simpsons and Spider-man, I chose to sit out but opted to meet Simpsons and Spider-man, so I feel my experiences are a tad bit better cause I have pictures.
DD16 and I never tried Hulk but Hubby and DD14 LOVED it and rode 10 times.
Although H and DD14 liked Rip Ride Rocket to seems to be down a lot of the time. They waited at least 5 times and only ended up riding twice.
DD16 was looking for a little more adventure but not Hulk or RRR and found Mummy to be her thing and ended up riding 6 times.
I have to say my favorite was ET and Seuss Train, just the the classics I guess.

We did the Macy Holiday Parade and LOVED it. Best parade in a theme park I have seen.

Holiday lights at Harry Potter in IOA. This was cool but brought more crowds than any of you regular people have ever seen. Picture if the streets of Hogsmead hold 15 people should to shoulder, there was 25. And as far as you could see forward and back, solid people, moving like a hard of cattle little step by little step. They tried to enter you in by Suessland and move forward towards Jurassic Park letting only so many people in at a time. But it was pure chaos. Once we realized what was happening, we understood, but it took awhile in dim light and LOTS and LOTS of people. If you had a hard time walking or had small kids I can see how panic would set in. I started to panic and my kids are old enough to find their way home if separated from the pack. Fun for a one time thing but we avoided that area in the evenings after the first time.

In all there are things we didn't do. Like anything to do with water, the weather just didn't warrant it.
We did do early entry and park opening every day. 4 days was plenty of time to do everything we wanted as many times as needed. We didn't stay in parks from open to close although we did open them and close them a few times.

I rule it a successful trip but I hate to tell you all my next trip will be Disney and not Universal. There is just not enough there for my interests. Although I have no bad reviews per se, I am a Disney girl at heart. I think my girls need to try the coasters at Sea World, so if we get another family vacation that may be where we head.

Thanks again for all your tips to make this trip a success, thanks for reading and hopefully I have helped someone else in their planning!

Dawn
 
Thank you for such a lovely report!

Yep, sounds like a fun trip and glad you got to do so many things you wanted to tick off your list. I did enjoy reading and glad you enjoyed RP too........:)
 
Great review. I'm taking a trip with family soon and it gave me a couple new ideas.
Great to hear the parade was good. We were underwhelmed by the old Macy's parade, and hoped this would be better.
 


Thanks for posting. You’ve given me a few more things to think about. I’ve started a list of ideas I have gotten from reading this board.
 
Thank you for this report. Glad to hear you had a good time, and enjoyed when there. Doesn't matter if you may not be back in some time. Happy that you and family were willing to try and enjoy the time in these parks. My kids are coaster fans. Haven't been back to Disney in several years, but they wanted to spend winter break with the Mouse. But, after some consideration, asked for Universal too. We have done the SW and BGT more than a few times. Kids like both parks' coasters, so I would think you'd be happy with a day or two at SW.

Glad to hear some tips were good, and I learned at least one from your report. Yeah, every park has good and not so good food, mostly not cheap either. We did not like most of the food at Toothsome, so we only buy the milkshakes and sit in the takeout part.

Oh, and was Mythos blasting cold air? The one and only time we ate there, we had to leave the restaurant at times, to warm up. Since we are going at a very busy time, I thought a lunch sit down would be nice. Little one will be happy to hear the pasta was good. While she is a burger aficionado, she also is a cesar salad fan, with or without chicken, and loves pasta. Older one, he will eat just about anything. So, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a fish dish, he would pick that.

Hope you have a new countdown in the works.
 
I wanted to jump back to say that we did add charging privileges to our room to our hotel key. :scratchinUsually it is not something we do especially for the girls. This time it saved us more than once! With most of the rides not being able to carry bags, I took the girls purses with me as they left to go on a ride and we agreed at a meeting place in the future.:bitelip: Once they got off the ride the had no money and wanted something to drink :drinking1and the charge to the room worked well. Just something to think about! :thumbsup2 I also saw several men asking to borrow phones because they gave all their stuff to family and then went off on a ride with no plans on where to meet.:rotfl: Please plan ahead! :disrocks:
 


@DontRushMe Thank you and your DD for ordering the gnocchi at Mythos. I had it YEARS ago and I am going back in January. I am very much looking forward to it. I remember I raved about it before and I hope it hasn't changed since then. I am glad to hear you all enjoyed it.
 
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A big thank you for letting us know how your vacation went.
Sometimes we hear back from homies and sometimes we don't

Glad you came back to share with all of us!
 

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