Live from Universal & Sapphire Falls 5/24-5/27

[pattyw]

Did you all finish the milkshake and dessert?

Yes on the milkshake- we had a taste and it was so good!! We only got through 1/2 of the chocolate mousse- VERY RICH!

Loving this live report. Great pictures too. I may have to check out that pool, when in August.

The pool is so nice! And we loved the water slide! Definitely worth a trip!

Hey Patty! Glad the rain cleared up. Gorgeous pool and room view. And holy smokes those portions look huge at lunch! And so nice the boy got to come over for lunch!

Yep- so far no significant rain! Clouds today but after a quick morning shower, it's been dry!

I hope you do some live reporting from strong water tavern

I’ve been there and like to hear others opinions of it

We are falling in love with Strong Water!!

Yay..........

Love the pictures..........Sapphire is so much fun........love the place!

Looking forward to your StrongWater pics.........we almost took root in there last week.....

And how lovely you got to see your boy..........glad you’re taking the time to post

I get wanting to not leave Strong Water- the staff has been so nice. The "run captain" Brittany is our new friend!

Great start to your trip report...love the pics

I had that blue plate burger on our last trip. It was tasty but I couldn't finish it, luckily DS was there so he ate the rest.

Looking forward to your next installment.

Yes- that burger was monstrous- DH did a pretty good job on it!!

 

[macraven]

Stay at Stillwater until they close

Have fun!

My post keep disappearing
It’s either the site or my internet connection

 

[pattyw]

So yesterday after Toothsome, we went to upgrade our Preferred AP's to Premier! Now we have the after 4 EP! We went to IOA and rode Spiderman and King Kong. Then the heat and our lack of sleep got to us and we decided to head back to the resort. Spent a few hours in our room- a little snoozing and a lot of talking with DS to catch up on what's been going on with him.

Troy left to meet up with a friend at City Walk. Joe and I freshened up an headed to Strong Water Tavern!!

We started out with drinks- Fountain of Youth for me and a Rum Old Fashioned for Joe. For food, we had beef sliders and sopes. Very tasty!

 

[pattyw]

Our server, Maggie was so sweet! She told us all about the drinks and the different rums. We then had 2 tropical drinks! Last Typhoon for me and Cayman Island Tea for Joe.

 

[macraven]

Looks great!

 

[pattyw]

And we had to get dessert! Maggie suggested the bread pudding- it didn't disappoint!

 

[macraven]

Nice!

 

[pattyw]

At this point we were ready to call it a night when Maggie came over and we again started talking rum! We are pretty much wine drinkers and a cocktail at times. Shots of liquor just aren't our thing. But, Maggie starting telling us the history of some of the over 75 varieties of rum they have and introduced us to their "rum captain", Brittany. Brittany assured us that there are all kinds of rum- some very smooth and flavored. We agreed that we would return Friday evening to experience the rum flights!

With that decided, Maggie made up two more tropical drinks and we took them "to go". Lucky our room is so close to Strong Water- only a left and a right and we're back at our room! Sipped our nightcaps and finally got some sleep!

 

[macraven]

Rum is like taking a sleeping pill

You’ll sleep solid tomorrow night

 

[pattyw]

Friday morning was lazy indeed! Splurged for some breakfast room service and relaxed! Again the service here is stellar! We pre-ordered our breakfast with the door hang tag and requested the latest time- between 10-10:30. I think it was exactly 10am when our order was delivered. So, being the exciting folks we are, we ate breakfast and watched the water taxis come and go- as well as the rides. Just love the view from our room!!

It rained briefly but soon cleared and we proceeded out to the outdoor seating at Strong Water to just soak up the sun and enjoy the view.

 

[pattyw]

Rum is like taking a sleeping pill

You’ll sleep solid tomorrow night

I hope so! Can't believe after those rum flights I'm still awake!! They're open until 2am! Maybe a walk down there in my pjs??

 

[pattyw]

Troy was off again today, but we let him sleep in as those 12 hour shifts have taken their toll on him! When he arrived, we decided to go over to HRH to The Kitchen for lunch. Their mac & cheese there is Troy's favorite! Sorry- no food pictures. I got the chicken pot pie, Joe a burger, and of course mac & cheese for Troy!

After lunch, we went to visit with some of the staff that have become like family to us. I apologized that we were"cheating" on HRH with Sapphire Falls, but we'd come over for visits!

Off to the Studios and some rides! The lines weren't too bad, but our after 4 EP came in handy and we did Fast & Furious (not too bad, but as everyone else has reported a little disappointing). We moved on to Transformers, Gringotts, and our FAVORITE The Mummy!! We went to Jimmy Fallon- one we don't do each time, but it's ok. I like the lobby!

Johnny Carson is my all-time favorite! We met Hashtag Panda while we waited. He was very cute!

 

[pattyw]

It was closing time at the Studios. We went back to the hotel and had dinner at Amatista Cookhouse. Again, I forgot the pictures but dinner was excellent! They serve cornbread and cranberry walnut rolls- so good!! I had the fish sandwich, Joe the meatloaf, and Troy a caesar salad. All very tasty and service excellent! Had to get dessert! Troy opted for chocolate cake and Joe and I split the pineapple bread pudding with coconut ice cream. On the menu it states you have to be over 21 to order this! Yep- we know why! Sauce has a kick to it! Nice lead-in to our visit to Strong Water!!

On to our rum flight experience!! Brittany, the rum captain came over and went over our likes and dislikes. I opted for the sweeter, smooth rums while Joe chose those that were more smoky and bourbon-like.

This was truly an experience! Brittany brought over our flights with all the bottles. She told us the story behind each rum and how they were made. So interesting! She explained that after each taste, take a sip of water to cleanse our palette. Also, she gave us small wooden spoons and told us to add a couple of drops of water to the rum to enhance the taste. We were really learning something!!

 

[pattyw]

 

[pattyw]

Brittany gave each of us a rum passport detailing our flight choices.



We chose our favorite of the flights to have a pour over ice. They had a guitarist entertaining tonight- so enjoyed our rum and listened to the music. And then back to the room. You'd think the rum would help me sleep, but I'm still up writing here! Hate to see such a nice evening end!!

But have to get some sleep- we have a breakfast date with the minions!

 

[Lynne G]

Ooh, your rum talk is very interesting. For a gift, I gave my Dsis a tour of a local rum making place. It is very inserting how made and what made of, changes the taste and color.

No breakfast with minions for us, so have fun with them.

Loving your drink choices and food.

 

[Owlpost23]

Fun format for a TR!

 

[ckmiles]

All of your food and drinks look so good!

Pineapple bread pudding with a kick sounds amazing!

Glad you are having such a great time!

 

[pattyw]

Ooh, your rum talk is very interesting. For a gift, I gave my Dsis a tour of a local rum making place. It is very inserting how made and what made of, changes the taste and color.

No breakfast with minions for us, so have fun with them.

Loving your drink choices and food.

Yes- it was so interesting about the rum making process and the history of some of the distilleries!

So excited to meet the minions!

Fun format for a TR!

Thanks! So happy you're following along!

All of your food and drinks look so good!

Pineapple bread pudding with a kick sounds amazing!

Glad you are having such a great time!

Yep- we are eating and drinking well. Diet HAS to begin Monday!
I've never had a dessert where you have to show ID!!

 

[macraven]

Your on the spot reporting is unique
Very easy to read and picture it

I’m making mental notes on how to drink rum

Monday is a long way off
Drink and eat now and enjoy!