You're Going Again? - An April 2017 PTR

steviethegreat · Jan 20, 2017

Heeeey. I'm new to THIS section of the Disboards, though I'm an avid lurker. My name is Stevie. I'm 27 (28 in March). I'm from Pittsburgh, PA. And I'm a Universal/Disney fan. I would say that for the past, oh, IDK, four to five years or so, I've been obsessed with Disney and Universal.

I have a lot of history that I won't get into, but I imagine you all trust me when I say that my love for Universal and Disney runs deep. Very, very deep. (Can't get my work done, spend all day on the Disboards, my trip isn't even for 100 some days deep...)

But briefly! In 2012/2013, my mom and I were hypothesizing about whether or not we could make a Disney trip work, since we had been going to a Christian conference in Atlanta for about $2k each year between my mom, sister, and myself. She figured it was easy enough to put that money toward Disney. I was excited because I was really hoping to talk her into a Universal trip, too, to see Hogsmeade. Unfortunately, our plans fell through and we couldn't pull it off.

Then one of my best friends invited me to her wedding in Disney in June of 2014. Since I was graduating college, I figured I'd have money (and I did), so I was planning on flying down, seeing Hogsmeade, attending the wedding, and heading home. Well, it ended up turning into an epic vacation (those are the best kinds, right?) We did one day at Universal and the rest at Disney, thanks to my cousin sharing her DVC points with us. (Otherwise, we definitely couldn't have stayed that long.)

After we got back home, Diagon Alley opened to the public, basically, which prompted a full year of my wailing and moaning about having missed it when we were there. My mom and I made plans in June 2015 to go to Universal and Disney in September of 2016. (Spoiler alert! We did!) We went to Universal for three nights, two full days in the park, and then spent six days at Disney.

Unfortunately, my mom got really sick the first day at the park. And her sickness carried into the second day at the park. So basically, my mom didn't enjoy Universal at all. (And since I 100% funded that trip, I felt SO BAD that we wasted our tickets on crashing in the hotel room and that we didn't get to see EVERYTHING.)

When we came home from our trip, my mom's ankles were so swollen it took a good week for her to lose all of the water. And when the swelling went down, her ankles were black and blue from all of the walking and running around I put her through.

But I wasn't satisfied with my trip. There was a lot left that I still wanted to do. And I asked my best friend if she would consider going with me in February 2017 for a weekend trip to Universal.

At the time, she was uncertain. She was planning a wedding. She wasn't sure if she wanted to spend the money on the trip. And at that time, I was willing to put the whole trip on my credit card. Because I REALLY wanted to go. She told me she would get back to me. And she didn't. So I talked my mom into going with me again. And then I talked us both out of it.

Flash forward to the end of November. Sadly, the wedding is off for reasons I won't get into. But my bff asked me if I would take her to Universal. At this point, I had spent a lot of money I was going to save for the trip. So I told her yes, but I asked if we could post-pone until May.

We ended up deciding to set our trip dates for April 27th to April 30th at Universal. And then April 30th to May 5th at Disney. (So we could be there for May the Fourth be with You, cause..you know, Star Wars nerds.)

And that's how our trip started! (I guess I did end up long-winded. Sorry guys!)

steviethegreat · Jan 21, 2017

Okay. So, I guess I should divulge a little more about myself. I just wanted you to know the origins of my trip.

This is me. In the car. (Ignore the ears.) I thought it was a good idea to work a half day and then RUSH TO THE AIRPORT for my flight at 5pm. NBD. I'm just crazy AND stupid.

Like I said earlier, I'm 27 going on 28, and I'm in love with Universal. (But also Disney.) I spend a lot of time researching the parks to ensure that I have the best time I can possibly have. So when I'm asked by my trip companion where to eat or what to do, I'm prepared!

My favorite part of the parks will always be the Harry Potter section. Harry Potter is basically in my DNA. I'm so Gryffindor it hurts. When I went to the parks in September 2016, I bought the remaining two lanyards that I didn't have. (And then I gave my best friend, Alicia, a lanyard for a present right before I asked her to go on the trip with me in February. My have things changed!)

My favorite non-HP ride is The Mummy. Even if it's absolutely terrifying in its themeing, I love it. I can't wait to take my bff on it. I also really dig the Minions ride. And ET! ET is one of my -must dos- every time we go. IT SMELLS SO GOOD IN THERE.

The best part about my trip this time is that I'm going with my best friend, Alicia, who is my age, instead of going with either of my parents who are considerably older than me. THIS TIME, if I lose my mind like a toddler running around to do everything, I won't have to worry about if I'm killing my mom. I'll just tell Alicia to chin up and walk faster. :smooth:

Originally, we were planning our trip to be two park days, Friday and Saturday. So we would leave late Thursday, get in and settled, and then have the weekend before switching to Disney. But then BFF said she wasn't working on Thursday. (Whaaaat.) I had thought, to minimize our time gone, she would want to work. Since she wasn't going to, I might as well take Thursday off, too. So we intended on catching an early flight on Southwest. That way we could have THREE park days. (!!!)

And thus commences me looking at flights on the app, online, etc, for early flights on Thursday. See, when I got my Southwest card in September, we had 50,000 points to use for our flights. And we only used like...25,000 of them. So I had a bunch of points left! And the INTENTION was to spend as little money this time as possible.

So after, oh, IDK, about a month? I finally caved and asked BFF if she'd be down to fly out on Wednesday night, instead of Thursday morning, since I couldn't find early flights for less than 7,000 points. And since the earliest flight is NOW showing 23,000 points PER PERSON for ONE FLIGHT, I feel like we made the best decision to fly out on Wednesday. We'll have a layover in Chicago and then get to Orlando around 1am.

Oh, and I forgot to mention: Alicia has never been to Orlando. She has rarely been to Pittsburgh. WHERE WE BOTH LIVE. So getting to take her to see Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley for the first time is SUCH an honor. She's basically the glue that holds our friend group together. So I'm really, really excited to get to do this with her. (And show her Disney, ofc. Since Universal and Disney are all I talk about.)

So! We NOW leave April 26th, have THREE FULL park days, and depart for Disney on April 30th! This will be my longest trip yet at 10 days away from home! Oh, and have I mentioned that this is my FIRST on-my-own-I'm-an-adult-now-no-really-I-am trip? Like, everywhere else I've gone with SOME kind of chaperone. My mom pointed out that Alicia as an adultier adult than me, which is true, even if she's younger. But I'm a bad influence. So. We'll see about that!

Raeven · Jan 21, 2017

Following along! Our trips are ariund the same time! We're getting to Disney the day you leave.

buteraa · Jan 22, 2017

Following along! Sounds like an exciting trip!

steviethegreat · Jan 23, 2017

Raeven said:
Following along! Our trips are around the same time! We're getting to Disney the day you leave.

Yes! I saw that! We did that last time, except you left the day I got there.

Maybe someday we'll intersect and be there at the same time. Also, glad you're here!

buteraa said:
Following along! Sounds like an exciting trip!

Thank you! This is my first Universal PTR since I "illegally" put that last one in the Disney section since it was part of a much larger trip. I'm glad you're here!

steviethegreat · Jan 23, 2017

So, you know, only five more days until my counter says '2 months, 30 some days' until my trip. It's the small things, guys.

Okay! So! On April 26th, our flight leaves around 7pm from Pittsburgh. We land in Chicago. And then after a 2 hour layover, we head south (finally, right?!) to Orlando, where we'll touchdown at 12:40am. I'm waffling between Lyft and Uber. I'm not sure which is cheaper/safer. Lyft said it would be about $18 for the trip from the airport to the hotel. But I'm still really uncertain about using a car service like that. Especially in a city where we basically know no one. (Except that's a lie, I guess, since one of BFF's bffs works at Disney.) The point remains that it'll be 1:30am and we're going to have to find our way to the hotel. And it made no sense to take a shuttle from the airport at $20 a person for Universal.

I've seen people talk on here about using a specific guy for a hired car, but I also don't like calling people on the phone. (I work in a call center and you would think I'd be over it, but I'm not.) So I'm not 100% sure what we're going to do.

From there, we're going to check into Royal Pacific Resort. I actually have to call them, and I might do it tonight, and get them to add the extra room. It should only be $160 for the extra night. I'd stay somewhere else, but then we don't have the luxury of rolling out of bed the next morning and jogging down to the boat to hit the Harry Potter sections early. And since this trip is basically fueled on our mutual love of Harry Potter, I feel like the 'extra money' is worth it.

Like I said earlier (I think), the flight we were GOING to take was 5am to 7am nonstop, but the flight prices have climbed so significantly that it's nooot worth it. So I spent the points on the night before. And I think it'll be fine. We'll have trouble sleeping anyway. That first night is sooo hard when you know that the next day is going to be full of Universal fun stuffs.

The first time I went to Universal as an adult was in 2014. We were staying at Port Orleans French Quarter because we got a deal through my friend who was having her wedding down there. We took our car over and parked in the parking garage. And we walked aaaaall through Citywalk to get into IoA. And then as we walked past Seuss and Mythos and fiiiinally back into Hogsmeade, I stopped dead and CRIED. I WAS SO EXCITED.

And then, because we got there late and I hadn't eaten, I proceeded to yell at the people in line, because we went in June and I have crowd-phobia, so shouting that I had rabies and would bite kind of...helped the throng of people that wouldn't peacefully make their way to an exit otherwise. I will NEVER EVER put my stuff in Forbidden Journey EVER AGAIN. DO NOT DO IT. Their lockers are the WORST.

I'm never going to get that initial 'Oh my god' feeling back again. But each time I go with someone who hasn't seen it? That 'Oh my god' feeling is going to be there for them. So I'm SO excited to go with BFF to see Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. Because I think we're going to see all of the different things that you can't see with someone that's not in complete adoration of the books (and movies, I suppose). My parents are tolerant, they've sorted themselves, they've watched the movies. But man, the books.

Weeeell. After that long stomp through memory lane, unexpectedly...

Our plan is to enjoy JUST Hogsmeade and Diagon on Thursday. And then we'll probably hit up Toothsome's for dinner. On Friday, we'll still spend time at both Hogsmeade and Diagon (how can you NOT?!), but we'll investigate the rest of the parks a little more. I'm looking forward to the Jimmy Fallon ride! I LOOOOVE new things! And one of my favorite Disney rides is Soarin', so if it's anything like THAT, it'll be a lot of fun!

Our last day is Sunday, April 30th, and we're moving over to Disney to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. (SO EXCITED, OKAY. SO EXCITED.)

Right now, I'm trying to compile a cheat sheet list of all of the 'must try' things that I totally forgot the last time I was there. I was SO DISTRACTED by the Gringott's ride and mum being sick that I didn't try like...anything. I haven't eaten in any HP restaurant. Haven't even been in the Three Broomsticks yet.

So this is basically just me counting down and putting future food things. Cause food's important, you know?

Raeven · Jan 23, 2017

steviethegreat said:
Lyft said it would be about $18 for the trip from the airport to the hotel. But I'm still really uncertain about using a car service like that. Especially in a city where we basically know no one. (Except that's a lie, I guess, since one of BFF's bffs works at Disney.) The point remains that it'll be 1:30am and we're going to have to find our way to the hotel. And it made no sense to take a shuttle from the airport at $20 a person for Universal.

I don't know about Lyft, but Uber isn't allowed to pick up from the airport with their regular service. Only the more expensive version picks up at the airport. You can be dropped off there, but not picked up. We used a taxi which is more expensive than what Lyft quoted you, but cheaper or around the same price as the more expensive Uber. I'd say around $40.

steviethegreat · Jan 23, 2017

Raeven said:
I don't know about Lyft, but Uber isn't allowed to pick up from the airport with their regular service. Only the more expensive version picks up at the airport. You can be dropped off there, but not picked up. We used a taxi which is more expensive than what Lyft quoted you, but cheaper or around the same price as the more expensive Uber. I'd say around $40.

The $40 is what the hotel shuttle would cost anyway. :/ I wonder why Uber's like that?

Raeven · Jan 23, 2017

I wasn't sure why either, but I looked it up and:

"10 of the 40 busiest U.S. airports—including Atlanta, Orlando, Detroit, Boston and Philadelphia–don't allow pickups unless drivers have a chauffeur's license or livery plates.

The reason for the strict rules is that taxi and limo drivers must have city licenses or permits and pay fees for each pickup. Airports are one of their most profitable locations, and they've fought hard in many cities to keep Uber and Lyft out by staging protests and lobbying city and state officials."

It looks like if the cheaper ride sharing services can pick up at the airports in major cities they might drive taxis etc out of business and take money away from airports, because they aren't paying the fees to the airport, but they're cheaper than the taxis etc.

steviethegreat · Jan 23, 2017

That's really crazy. I guess I'll look into that guy Schumi's always recommending. And worst case scenario, we'll schedule the hotel shuttle. Thanks for looking that up and sharing!

macraven · Jan 26, 2017

That would be Tony Hinds she recommends

steviethegreat · Jan 26, 2017

macraven said:
That would be Tony Hinds she recommends

Yep. I hopped into the transportation thread and found his name. He sent me back a quote for $180 for 3 legs, (airport to RPR, RPR to AKL, and AKL to airport), but since we're scraping this trip together pretty late in the game, I don't think I can spend that much on JUST the to-and-from, plus a rental car at Disney. So I think we're going to utilize his service from the airport to RPR ($60) and then take an Uber for the other two. I have a quote of $15 for an Uber from RPR to AKL. And I think Lyft is cheaper. I'm not 100% sure though.

steviethegreat · Feb 3, 2017

Wooow. We're 82 days out. I'm not sure how many weeks that is because every time I count down, I get confused. :confused:

I think I just counted 12 weeks? Nooot 100% sure on that. But we'll go with it.

I had originally planned on flying down on the 27th of April at like...5am so we'd have the full three days in Universal. But then the flight prices skyrocketed and there was NO WAY I was going to get that flight for the points I had with Southwest. So like you already know, I switched to the 26th, flight wise, and saved almost 6,000 SW points.

But I still hadn't switched my RPR reservation over. So I looked into the AP rates and by the time I did the math, I realized that it was going to be a lot of work to save...$15. So I passed on that. But I did call and get my extra night tacked on. It was only about $160 extra, so that's not TOO bad.

Anyway. Our first day is all about Harry Potter. Everything Harry Potter will be experienced. (I would like to ride Gringotts at least twice. And I really want to see the train both ways!) I'm starting to write a food bucket list so I don't forget to try things like I did last time. :| Again, that's partly because mom was so sick.

Our second and third days will be spent just enjoying all the parks have to offer. But I can't wait to try the Jimmy Fallon ride! I think it'll be fun to try something so new! I was so worried it wouldn't be open!!

We definitely want to try a pink donut. (Those things are huge.) And maaaaybe Mythos. Like, generally, the food doesn't appeal to me. I just really want to go in.

We might just do an appetizer so that we can go in and see what it's like. But I don't know yet. I know we are going to try to make it to Portofino Bay to go to Sal's? My bff is Italian and I think she'd like the resort. (It's just more money than RPR right now. Maybe next time!)

As for food, we're definitely going to eat at Toothsome's. My mom and I really liked it there. And the BFF will LOVEEEE the steampunk theming. I know I want to splurge on chocolate, even though we own our own candy business. I have one brand of chocolate that I actually enjoy, so it'll be interesting to see if Toothsome's is worth the money or not. Raeven's reviews have convinced me to give dessert a try.

But I also know that I'm going to do my VERY best to try to get to the pool. Since we're ubering/lyfting, etc, and we don't HAVE to leave property, I won't feel bad about having a drink if we need to go somewhere. So we have a little more freedom if we want a drink by the pool or whatever.

I mentioned ubering/lyfting earlier. There are a lot more Disney restaurants that I want to try over the restaurants at Universal. (I'm the worst, I'm sorry.) And so I think we're going to do Toothsome's the first night. And then Uber over to Disney Springs for Raglan Road on Friday night. And then I think we're going to do Homecoming or The Boathouse on Saturday night. Now, if The Edison opens before our trip, I'll switch one of those restaurants for The Edison.

I've looked at all of the restaurants on property. But I think I've just kinda ...ruled out most of the Citywalk for one reason or another. The BFF doesn't eat fish, so Cowfish is out. I think it'd just sit wrong with her. And Antojito's is good, but she lived in Costa Rice and Mexico for a while, so we're trying to avoid too much Mexican food. And while I'm sure Mama Della's is great, we are fortunate enough to live in a very Italian part of Pittsburgh. So we have amazing Italian food here for 1/3rd of the cost of most of the restaurants in Universal.

I mean, plans could totally change! But at this point, I think we're planning on snacking and drinking. And then taking a ride off property. (But let's be real for one second. The donuts at Homecoming? LIFE. CHANGING. I think I'd walk from Pittsburgh for those.)

Update: If I did my math better this time, if I buy her ticket from UndercoverTourist and get an AP, our rate drops to $201.50 (sans tax, etc). The upgrade to AP would basically save us $184. I'm going to double-check that math again. Buuut I think I just saved us both almost $100.

tortilla24 · Feb 3, 2017

Your trip sounds like a blast! My BFF and I are planning a trip to Ireland in March and we can't wait! Traveling with your BFF is priceless. We did 2 weeks together in Italy a few years ago and still love each other, thankfully.

steviethegreat · Feb 3, 2017

tortilla24 said:
Your trip sounds like a blast! My BFF and I are planning a trip to Ireland in March and we can't wait! Traveling with your BFF is priceless. We did 2 weeks together in Italy a few years ago and still love each other, thankfully.

That sounds amazing!! I've never gone on a trip with a best friend before (or by myself). Usually I am accompanied by an adultier adult... This time, I'm the older one! (Though she's adultier than I am, so.) I have no idea what this trip will be like, but for all my planning, I really hope it's incredible.

I would say it's definitely an accomplishment if you go somewhere with ANYONE for two weeks and still love them! I'm excited for you to have a trip to Ireland! I have never been there, but I hope to go eventually! I hope you have an awesome time!

Raeven · Feb 3, 2017

steviethegreat said:
I think I just counted 12 weeks? Nooot 100% sure on that. But we'll go with it.

A little less than 12 weeks I think! :thumbsup2

steviethegreat said:
And maaaaybe Mythos. Like, generally, the food doesn't appeal to me. I just really want to go in. We might just do an appetizer so that we can go in and see what it's like. But I don't know yet. I know we are going to try to make it to Portofino Bay to go to Sal's? My bff is Italian and I think she'd like the resort. (It's just more money than RPR right now. Maybe next time!)

Mythos is so good! And I'm a really picky eater. We always get the tuscan tomato soup, burgers (I just get a regular cheeseburger) and fries, and the banana chocolate gooey cake with peanut butter ice cream. It's the BEST meal we have at Universal usually. And the inside is so cool, and the view around the back is amazing. You could also just do apps, last time we went I wasn't really hungry and only got soup and fries. Sal's is okay, but I wouldn't travel to Portofino Bay just to eat there. However I would go just to look at it. It's amazing! I'm Italian too and I love it. Plus I think RPR, HRH, and PB has a car service that's free between them.

steviethegreat said:
I know I want to splurge on chocolate, even though we own our own candy business. I have one brand of chocolate that I actually enjoy, so it'll be interesting to see if Toothsome's is worth the money or not. Raeven's reviews have convinced me to give dessert a try.

I thought the chocolate bars in their store we're only okay. They taste like any other nice chocolate I've had, but I didn't try the candies they make there so I'm curious about those. And the baked goods. And all the other desserts. The strawberry cheesecake milkshake is so good too!

steviethegreat said:
There are a lot more Disney restaurants that I want to try over the restaurants at Universal. (I'm the worst, I'm sorry.) And so I think we're going to do Toothsome's the first night. And then Uber over to Disney Springs for Raglan Road on Friday night. And then I think we're going to do Homecoming or The Boathouse on Saturday night. Now, if The Edison opens before our trip, I'll switch one of those restaurants for The Edison.

It's okay, there's just way more restaurants there and especially a lot of new ones at DS. I wonder when the Edison is coming, I don't think it will be open then but I remember hearing about it a long time ago and then hearing nothing else.

steviethegreat said:
I've looked at all of the restaurants on property. But I think I've just kinda ...ruled out most of the Citywalk for one reason or another. The BFF doesn't eat fish, so Cowfish is out. I think it'd just sit wrong with her. And Antojito's is good, but she lived in Costa Rice and Mexico for a while, so we're trying to avoid too much Mexican food. And while I'm sure Mama Della's is great, we are fortunate enough to live in a very Italian part of Pittsburgh. So we have amazing Italian food here for 1/3rd of the cost of most of the restaurants in Universal.

Cowfish also has burgers, but I didn't think they were the greatest burgers. Margaritaville is good, and I've heard NBC Grill is good too. You also have Jake's at your hotel (although the menu doesn't really appeal to me). There's some interesting places, but I understand how the DS ones appeal more. We've had good and terrible meals at Mama Dellas so I wouldn't recommend it anyway if you often have good Italian.

tortilla24 · Feb 3, 2017

steviethegreat said:
That sounds amazing!! I've never gone on a trip with a best friend before (or by myself). Usually I am accompanied by an adultier adult... This time, I'm the older one! (Though she's adultier than I am, so.) I have no idea what this trip will be like, but for all my planning, I really hope it's incredible.

I would say it's definitely an accomplishment if you go somewhere with ANYONE for two weeks and still love them! I'm excited for you to have a trip to Ireland! I have never been there, but I hope to go eventually! I hope you have an awesome time!

Thanks

My BFF and I are the same age as you - she too will also turn 28 in March. Our trip to Italy was my first time ever proper vacationing (not counting study abroad/work travel) with a non-family member so it was a bit daunting but we loved it so much, we're making it a biannual thing!

My advice to you is get to know each other's travel style. Do either of you feel that you need to wake up early for park opening? Are you go-go-go type of tourists? Talk about it all from the get-go and set expectations and be willing to be flexible. For example, not everyone is a rope dropper (or perhaps they say they want to but in reality struggle to wake up). Just try to find a nice balance between you two and understand that it's ok to go with the flow. Similar to you, when my BFF and I went to Italy, I had been once before but she had never left the country before. So I made a bucket list with a few must-do's and left the rest up to her as I had seen a lot of things before and we took it day by day. It ended up working out so well! We also get together a bit prior to our trip to plan out the things that must be preplanned (hotels, rental car, must-sees, itinerary, etc.).. we actually meet up tomorrow to plan for our Ireland trip (neither of us have been before)! :shamrock:

But back to Universal, I really recommend Margaritaville. My boyfriend hasn't been in years but still speaks fondly of the burger there and I enjoyed it when I went last June. If I were with my BFF in Citywalk we would definitely go there for the colossal nachos and all of the fun margarita choices! :rotfl:

macraven · Feb 4, 2017

Back in 2000 I would do 4 day 3 night stays during the year
When the parks grew and added more rides and entertainment. I would concentrate on all park activities

My goal was to do park rides, shows, etc
Food was secondary as it would take too much of our park time
Most of those trips I had my sons with me

I would plan two meals in advance for city walk and a park main meal
Per trip
Did burgers and quick cheap meals for a majority of our meals

Some years later I would lengthen the stay and add a new eatery each year
I felt okay of taking 90 minutes out of park time then

For your up coming trip, look at the website and plan what rides or things you want to do in the park

Plan one meal either at the hotel, city walk or park per day
Consider up to 90 minutes for this down time

You can get a lot done if you have some time frames set up in advance

You never know when a ride can go down or if the park has large crowds

schumigirl · Feb 4, 2017

Enjoyed reading about how your trip came about.........sounds like a lot of fun!

steviethegreat · Feb 8, 2017

Raeven said:
Mythos is so good! And I'm a really picky eater. We always get the tuscan tomato soup, burgers (I just get a regular cheeseburger) and fries, and the banana chocolate gooey cake with peanut butter ice cream. It's the BEST meal we have at Universal usually. And the inside is so cool, and the view around the back is amazing. You could also just do apps, last time we went I wasn't really hungry and only got soup and fries. Sal's is okay, but I wouldn't travel to Portofino Bay just to eat there. However I would go just to look at it. It's amazing! I'm Italian too and I love it. Plus I think RPR, HRH, and PB has a car service that's free between them.

I think I'll try to fit Mythos in, then. And I'll skip Sal's until I stay at PB next time. I was reading Schumi's TR and Sal's looked really good. But if we're over at the hotel, we can always poke our head in. I'm planning on popping by all of the hotels. I feel like pictures don't always do them justice. I'll let you know what we think of Mythos!

Raeven said:
I thought the chocolate bars in their store we're only okay. They taste like any other nice chocolate I've had, but I didn't try the candies they make there so I'm curious about those. And the baked goods. And all the other desserts. The strawberry cheesecake milkshake is so good too!

I think I might skip the chocolate bars then. I'm addicted to Sarris. It's just so good. :| I'll probably pick something unique and report back on that. As for their other desserts, I've heard a lot about them. I'm super picky when it comes to desserts, so we'll see what happens there. (I didn't like the chocolate bread.) Part of me still wants to try the breakfast pancake/crepe/waffle whatever was going on in that menu. I miiiight try that milkshake since you liked it so much!

Raeven said:
It's okay, there's just way more restaurants there and especially a lot of new ones at DS. I wonder when the Edison is coming, I don't think it will be open then but I remember hearing about it a long time ago and then hearing nothing else.

IDK. I'm holding onto hope. Apparently the building is basically done. But if it's not, I'll be back down eventually. So I'll snag a reservation then. But there are definitely newer restaurants that appeal to things that I like in DS. Like Homecoming, which I really liked. The Boathouse sounds so neat and has such great reviews. And then Raglan Road is a 'can't miss' for us. The bread, the atmosphere, that dessert... I didn't really feel like there were that many 'can't miss' at Universal, besides Toothsome's. But! Someday, I'll have eaten everywhere and I'll probably be content to stay on property.

Raeven said:
Cowfish also has burgers, but I didn't think they were the greatest burgers. Margaritaville is good, and I've heard NBC Grill is good too. You also have Jake's at your hotel (although the menu doesn't really appeal to me). There's some interesting places, but I understand how the DS ones appeal more. We've had good and terrible meals at Mama Dellas so I wouldn't recommend it anyway if you often have good Italian.

Jake's is good. I liked the cider there and the late night menu. But I don't know that I'd use a dinner spot for it, if that makes sense. If I didn't have the option of leaving property, I'd definitely stop there. But I have a list of places to eat this time and Jake's just isn't on it. I guess we're stopping at Margaritaville for the nachos? I love nachos. And yeah, pricing Mama Della's was fun when we were basically only getting entrees and it was still pretty expensive with tip for something we can definitely get at home. We live in a great part of Pittsburgh, so we're surrounded by all these different cultures and the food is wonderful. (Her family routinely makes big Italian dinners, so I'd hate to disappoint.)

tortilla24 said:
My BFF and I are the same age as you - she too will also turn 28 in March. Our trip to Italy was my first time ever proper vacationing (not counting study abroad/work travel) with a non-family member so it was a bit daunting but we loved it so much, we're making it a biannual thing!

That's awesome! I'm glad you're making it a thing! And I'm also glad to know that I'm not crazy for waiting so long to go by myself without a family member somewhere so far away. I mean, I went on school trips, but even in college, they're heavily chaperoned. Might as well be with your parents.

tortilla24 said:
My advice to you is get to know each other's travel style. Do either of you feel that you need to wake up early for park opening? Are you go-go-go type of tourists? Talk about it all from the get-go and set expectations and be willing to be flexible. For example, not everyone is a rope dropper (or perhaps they say they want to but in reality struggle to wake up). Just try to find a nice balance between you two and understand that it's ok to go with the flow.

This is the only thing I'm worried about. I'm like a toddler on crack. I hit the park and it's like I'm a crazy person. I want to do EVERYTHING. When I went with my mom, I slowed down because she was sick, but I felt gypped on park time, because she literally spent both days being sick. I'm trying not to have TOO many expectations for this trip, but I'm also really hoping that we have a similar travel style and she doesn't need to sit a lot. She's a lot smaller than me, so she should have more stamina. But you never know. I'm going to let her sleep however long she wants, but I'm going to also explain the benefits of getting up earlier and taking a mid-day break.

tortilla24 said:
So I made a bucket list with a few must-do's and left the rest up to her as I had seen a lot of things before and we took it day by day. It ended up working out so well! We also get together a bit prior to our trip to plan out the things that must be preplanned (hotels, rental car, must-sees, itinerary, etc.).. we actually meet up tomorrow to plan for our Ireland trip (neither of us have been before)!

How did your planning go?! I'm sure there are a lot of 'must dos' for Ireland!

I know that this trip is really hard for my friend to kind of wrap her brain around. She really doesn't know where to start planning. She's very busy, so she doesn't look on the web or anything to see what the parks have to offer. She tells me she trusts me. So we're going with that. I'm making sure we explore every crack and crevice of the Harry Potter parks. But there's a lot more than just HP. So I'm making a 'must do'/'can miss' list in case we take longer than anticipated.

tortilla24 said:
But back to Universal, I really recommend Margaritaville. My boyfriend hasn't been in years but still speaks fondly of the burger there and I enjoyed it when I went last June. If I were with my BFF in Citywalk we would definitely go there for the colossal nachos and all of the fun margarita choices

We will go and get the nachos then! We have a great burger place here called Burgatory? It has REALLY good food and shakes. So when I'm out and about, I try to order things I can't get here. But the gigantic nachos would be a great story. And my friend likes magaritas.

Thanks for the suggestion!

macraven said:
or your up coming trip, look at the website and plan what rides or things you want to do in the park

Plan one meal either at the hotel, city walk or park per day
Consider up to 90 minutes for this down time

You can get a lot done if you have some time frames set up in advance

You never know when a ride can go down or if the park has large crowds

I definitely do have one meal per day planned. I imagine we'll do a lot of snacking. My general plan is to hit the parks early, take a break, and then hit them again after we've cooled off a little. (For me, that's basically by the time we've left the park, walked the whole way to the boats, gotten on the boat and headed back to the hotel. I'd be down to just stay on the boat and head back. But again, I am one of those crazy people that hates to stop.)

In September, Gringotts was down. I was SO sad. But we decided to just do something else and come back. And we did. We went to Men in Black and ended up getting lunch, I think. Later on, it was back open and we headed back. We're definitely flexible.

schumigirl said:
Enjoyed reading about how your trip came about.........sounds like a lot of fun!

Thank you very much! I'm really excited!!! I take your advice on the boards all the time when I'm planning.

I love reading your reports!

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