Thou Shalt Not Cram May 2019 Day 11 IOA... and some grumbles

bootsie · 16 Jun 19, 09:55 PM

Ahh the bed at Portofino was the most comfortable bed ever and I had the best sleep. Jono woke me up at 7.30am as if we were going to Volcano Bay as planned we needed to get up. We were both still really tired after several late nights and early mornings. We debated whether to reschedule this day to Thursday instead. The decision was made for us when by chance I checked the opening times online. The receptionist at Portofino had specifically told us that Volcano Bay opens at 10am with early entry at 9am, she even wrote it down! This made sense to us as Disney water parks open at 10am and I didn't think to check. In fact Volcano Bay opened at 9am so early entry was 8am and we would have already missed it. I was pretty cross about the misinformation but at least we could catch some extra zzz's

We went back to sleep and woke up at 9.45 feeling much more refreshed. We had no intention of using Universal early entry as we just didn't think it was worth it yesterday. As a result of over spending almost every day we had to get cash out but this gave us a chance to have a better look around the hotel which is gorgeous. Even the Starbucks is a posher version! We decided to walk to the park as we loved the walk it was so pretty.

We went straight to IOA today, I personally prefer this park. I love the entrance area it is so well themed.

We walked through Marvel Land - I should say that we had no intention of going on Hulk or Rip Ride Rocket, neither of us particularly like them and I think they are too scary! We did go on Spider Man and we got on pretty quick with Express Pass - the ride was brilliant one of my favourites, I wish we had made time to go on it again.

We had a walk round and considered going on the super wet rides (Popeye and the Barges one I can't remember the real names!) but we decided it was too early for a dunking. For some reason we thought that Jurassic Park didn't get us too wet last time so we went on that. It was completely different to what we remembered and we got absolutely SOAKED. It was really good though and we were feeling the love for IOA so far today. Heres a very bad photo of us wet through after Jurassic Park.

We then went through the giant monkey mouth and onto Kong, I have heard bad reviews of this ride but we thought it was good. We were a bit disappointed that it follows the same format of most of te other rides i.e. a car that moves between 3d screens, smoke, water spray, air and then done. It became a bit of a bugbear for us that so many of the rides at Universal/IOA are like this (moaning again haha!)

We went back to Hogsmede again and I had to go onto Forbidden Journey! Even though it does follow the same format that we were literally just moaning about it is a bit different in that the seat moves. We then decided to queue for the Ollivander wand show as we had really enjoyed this last time. This time it was very poor, the presenter was really quiet, she had a strange fake cockney accent (at least I think thats what it was!) and she wasn't very engaging. The show was rushed and felt like it was over in seconds.

Gringotts was now the only ride left on our "must do" list so we got the train over to Universal. It was much quicker today and we do like the train journey! When we got to Diagon Alley we found Gringotts was closed. We hung around hoping to catch the dragon breathing fire but it didn't... of course sods law as soon as we turned the corner it did!

We went onto MIB again as we really enjoyed this and in an unprecedented scene I actually won! Only because I hit the red button first and even then I only just won but a win is a win! We carried on walking round, it was burning hot today. We went to ET. Obviously this ride isn't life changing but it is cute and at least something other than 3D screens.

By now it was 2pm so we decided to have a late lunch then a late tea tonight. We went to Mels Diner as it was close by. We both had the vegan "chicken" and avocado sandwich with chips. It wasn't bad but can't say it was good either and the service was very slow again.

By the time we finished dinner it was time for the Horror Make Up Show, this was something I had always fancied but never got chance to do. There was also a dancing fountain show on the lake at this time but we didn't watch it for long as we wanted to get seats. The make up show was brilliant. It was genuinely funny and interesting. The audience member they selected was very shy and spoke no English but the presenters were total pros even speaking Spanish to her. Jono thought they should have picked someone else but I think having a reluctant participant was part of the act. The show was a real highlight for me.

We were thinking about calling it a day now but I convinced Jono to go on Transformers again, it took longer than we expected but it was fun to ride again. There was a Sponge Bob parade going on with rollerskaters rolling around with the crowd which was cute. After saving the planet on Transformers we considered trying our luck at Gringotts again but we thought it would be a long wait even if the ride was working again. I persuaded Jono to go on Shrek 4D instead. In hindsight we really should have just gone home, the ride is OK (and I do love Shrek) but it was quite a long wait and a very jerky ride. After this we were officially done and the pool was calling our names so we headed back asap.

How funny are the Minions posters!

It was busy again but we got spots at the kiddie pool. We expected it to be busy because the pool area is just so nice, who wouldn't want to be there! We agreed you could have a great stay in this hotel without even venturing into the parks. We bought a beer and a mocktail which were extortionate at $26. After a couple of hours we got changed to go back into the park.

I should explain tonights plan. I was absolutely desperate to see the Hogwarts nighttime show and was really looking forward to it. With this in mind during the day I had spoken to a member of staff at Hogsmede to get more info. She confirmed it started at "dusk", when I asked what sort of time this meant she said 8.30. She said it runs until the park closes. I took this to mean it was a continuous thing rather than set times like the Disney fireworks are. We got back to Hogsmede bang on time at 8.30 and could not believe what we saw. There were large walk ways marked off and then areas with loads of people penned in. It was packed. Staff were telling everyone that the viewing area was full to capacity and that there was a separate waiting area for the next show at 9pm. What next show?! We wandered around trying to work out what to do and honestly I was a bit fed up. Firstly there was PLENTY of room for more people, there are more people than that walking around Hogsmede at any time during the day. Secondly if they knew the show had fixed times of 8.45 and 9pm why didn't they advertise that somewhere so people can plan. Or why don't they just say "arrive early to avoid disappointment" especially when I had specifically asked someone about it earlier that same day. We had no problem waiting, we had waited an hour for the Disney fireworks twice, but it was the lack of information and the fact it was overly limited viewing that just wound me up. I just think it was very poorly managed.

We really didn't want to wait in the holding area so we walked back through Jurassic Park hoping to catch a bit of it through the trees but you can't really see anything. There were a couple of other people doing the same thing. One of them told us that staff had told her the holding area already had enough people to fill the viewing area in anyway, if we had been turned away after that I would have lost it. So yes sorry for moaning again (the night doesn't get better by the way haha) but I had to include this as a warning for anyone hoping to see it - go early and I mean EARLY.

Feeling really deflated we went back to City Walk, we didn't even have enough time to pop onto a ride as the park was closing. We had already decided to go to Toothsome and we knew it was going to be a long wait as there were so many people outside. We were told a 30 min wait so we went to Voodoo to get our evening doughnuts first. On the way I bought a drink and in keeping with the majority of our experience here I had the rudest cashier ever. When we got to Voodoo we were told they had sold out of nearly all the vegan options so we just picked a random two out of the few they had left - tonight was doomed we should have just gone back to the room! Heres the doughnuts:

We got the text from Toothsome at exactly 30 mins and we went in quickly. We were then just told we would have to wait again with no apology or explanation grrrr. We got sat outside which I couldn't complain about because we had agreed to do so in order to just get a table but it was now cooling down and the wind was picking up. Our waitress was really nice and sorted out a dairy free chocolate milkshake for me which was nice and cheered me up so Jono ordered one as well!

Jono ordered chicken gnocchi and I ordered a vegetable pasta with no cheese etc. When the food came it honestly nearly tipped me over the edge. Jonos was absolutely tiny it wouldn't have fed a sparrow and mine was just plain pasta, oil and peppers. I was really at the end of my tether by now and we talked about never coming to Universal again. This sounds melodramatic and I know it is first world problems but it just felt like (with the exception of the hotel) it was one disappointment after another here sometimes.

I could not believe the price of Toothsome at $80 inc tip when you compared it to last night at Anjiotos which was half the cost and much better food. Maybe if we hadn't already felt a bit disappointed by the night we would have thought differently but I would not recommend it. Apologies I am moaning again! By now it was nearly 11pm and we just wanted to get in bed so we quickly walked back setting an early alarm for Volcano Bay attempt number 2!

Total Spend - I didn't even add it up today I must have really wanted to get into bed!

collybird · 19 Jun 19, 01:28 PM

What a frustrating day, I was hoping that having to drop Volcano Bay would have allowed you to recharge your batteries a bit but just one issue after another. You must have felt so deflated. We don't do Universal, not because we dislike, but because Disney is more than enough for us.

16 Jun 19, 09:55 PM	#1
	16 Jun 19, 09:55 PM bootsie Trainee Dibber
bootsie Trainee Dibber Join Date: Feb 15	Thou Shalt Not Cram May 2019 Day 11 IOA... and some grumbles Ahh the bed at Portofino was the most comfortable bed ever and I had the best sleep. Jono woke me up at 7.30am as if we were going to Volcano Bay as planned we needed to get up. We were both still really tired after several late nights and early mornings. We debated whether to reschedule this day to Thursday instead. The decision was made for us when by chance I checked the opening times online. The receptionist at Portofino had specifically told us that Volcano Bay opens at 10am with early entry at 9am, she even wrote it down! This made sense to us as Disney water parks open at 10am and I didn't think to check. In fact Volcano Bay opened at 9am so early entry was 8am and we would have already missed it. I was pretty cross about the misinformation but at least we could catch some extra zzz's We went back to sleep and woke up at 9.45 feeling much more refreshed. We had no intention of using Universal early entry as we just didn't think it was worth it yesterday. As a result of over spending almost every day we had to get cash out but this gave us a chance to have a better look around the hotel which is gorgeous. Even the Starbucks is a posher version! We decided to walk to the park as we loved the walk it was so pretty. We went straight to IOA today, I personally prefer this park. I love the entrance area it is so well themed. We walked through Marvel Land - I should say that we had no intention of going on Hulk or Rip Ride Rocket, neither of us particularly like them and I think they are too scary! We did go on Spider Man and we got on pretty quick with Express Pass - the ride was brilliant one of my favourites, I wish we had made time to go on it again. We had a walk round and considered going on the super wet rides (Popeye and the Barges one I can't remember the real names!) but we decided it was too early for a dunking. For some reason we thought that Jurassic Park didn't get us too wet last time so we went on that. It was completely different to what we remembered and we got absolutely SOAKED. It was really good though and we were feeling the love for IOA so far today. Heres a very bad photo of us wet through after Jurassic Park. We then went through the giant monkey mouth and onto Kong, I have heard bad reviews of this ride but we thought it was good. We were a bit disappointed that it follows the same format of most of te other rides i.e. a car that moves between 3d screens, smoke, water spray, air and then done. It became a bit of a bugbear for us that so many of the rides at Universal/IOA are like this (moaning again haha!) We went back to Hogsmede again and I had to go onto Forbidden Journey! Even though it does follow the same format that we were literally just moaning about it is a bit different in that the seat moves. We then decided to queue for the Ollivander wand show as we had really enjoyed this last time. This time it was very poor, the presenter was really quiet, she had a strange fake cockney accent (at least I think thats what it was!) and she wasn't very engaging. The show was rushed and felt like it was over in seconds. Gringotts was now the only ride left on our "must do" list so we got the train over to Universal. It was much quicker today and we do like the train journey! When we got to Diagon Alley we found Gringotts was closed. We hung around hoping to catch the dragon breathing fire but it didn't... of course sods law as soon as we turned the corner it did! We went onto MIB again as we really enjoyed this and in an unprecedented scene I actually won! Only because I hit the red button first and even then I only just won but a win is a win! We carried on walking round, it was burning hot today. We went to ET. Obviously this ride isn't life changing but it is cute and at least something other than 3D screens. By now it was 2pm so we decided to have a late lunch then a late tea tonight. We went to Mels Diner as it was close by. We both had the vegan "chicken" and avocado sandwich with chips. It wasn't bad but can't say it was good either and the service was very slow again. By the time we finished dinner it was time for the Horror Make Up Show, this was something I had always fancied but never got chance to do. There was also a dancing fountain show on the lake at this time but we didn't watch it for long as we wanted to get seats. The make up show was brilliant. It was genuinely funny and interesting. The audience member they selected was very shy and spoke no English but the presenters were total pros even speaking Spanish to her. Jono thought they should have picked someone else but I think having a reluctant participant was part of the act. The show was a real highlight for me. We were thinking about calling it a day now but I convinced Jono to go on Transformers again, it took longer than we expected but it was fun to ride again. There was a Sponge Bob parade going on with rollerskaters rolling around with the crowd which was cute. After saving the planet on Transformers we considered trying our luck at Gringotts again but we thought it would be a long wait even if the ride was working again. I persuaded Jono to go on Shrek 4D instead. In hindsight we really should have just gone home, the ride is OK (and I do love Shrek) but it was quite a long wait and a very jerky ride. After this we were officially done and the pool was calling our names so we headed back asap. How funny are the Minions posters! It was busy again but we got spots at the kiddie pool. We expected it to be busy because the pool area is just so nice, who wouldn't want to be there! We agreed you could have a great stay in this hotel without even venturing into the parks. We bought a beer and a mocktail which were extortionate at $26. After a couple of hours we got changed to go back into the park. I should explain tonights plan. I was absolutely desperate to see the Hogwarts nighttime show and was really looking forward to it. With this in mind during the day I had spoken to a member of staff at Hogsmede to get more info. She confirmed it started at "dusk", when I asked what sort of time this meant she said 8.30. She said it runs until the park closes. I took this to mean it was a continuous thing rather than set times like the Disney fireworks are. We got back to Hogsmede bang on time at 8.30 and could not believe what we saw. There were large walk ways marked off and then areas with loads of people penned in. It was packed. Staff were telling everyone that the viewing area was full to capacity and that there was a separate waiting area for the next show at 9pm. What next show?! We wandered around trying to work out what to do and honestly I was a bit fed up. Firstly there was PLENTY of room for more people, there are more people than that walking around Hogsmede at any time during the day. Secondly if they knew the show had fixed times of 8.45 and 9pm why didn't they advertise that somewhere so people can plan. Or why don't they just say "arrive early to avoid disappointment" especially when I had specifically asked someone about it earlier that same day. We had no problem waiting, we had waited an hour for the Disney fireworks twice, but it was the lack of information and the fact it was overly limited viewing that just wound me up. I just think it was very poorly managed. We really didn't want to wait in the holding area so we walked back through Jurassic Park hoping to catch a bit of it through the trees but you can't really see anything. There were a couple of other people doing the same thing. One of them told us that staff had told her the holding area already had enough people to fill the viewing area in anyway, if we had been turned away after that I would have lost it. So yes sorry for moaning again (the night doesn't get better by the way haha) but I had to include this as a warning for anyone hoping to see it - go early and I mean EARLY. Feeling really deflated we went back to City Walk, we didn't even have enough time to pop onto a ride as the park was closing. We had already decided to go to Toothsome and we knew it was going to be a long wait as there were so many people outside. We were told a 30 min wait so we went to Voodoo to get our evening doughnuts first. On the way I bought a drink and in keeping with the majority of our experience here I had the rudest cashier ever. When we got to Voodoo we were told they had sold out of nearly all the vegan options so we just picked a random two out of the few they had left - tonight was doomed we should have just gone back to the room! Heres the doughnuts: We got the text from Toothsome at exactly 30 mins and we went in quickly. We were then just told we would have to wait again with no apology or explanation grrrr. We got sat outside which I couldn't complain about because we had agreed to do so in order to just get a table but it was now cooling down and the wind was picking up. Our waitress was really nice and sorted out a dairy free chocolate milkshake for me which was nice and cheered me up so Jono ordered one as well! Jono ordered chicken gnocchi and I ordered a vegetable pasta with no cheese etc. When the food came it honestly nearly tipped me over the edge. Jonos was absolutely tiny it wouldn't have fed a sparrow and mine was just plain pasta, oil and peppers. I was really at the end of my tether by now and we talked about never coming to Universal again. This sounds melodramatic and I know it is first world problems but it just felt like (with the exception of the hotel) it was one disappointment after another here sometimes. I could not believe the price of Toothsome at $80 inc tip when you compared it to last night at Anjiotos which was half the cost and much better food. Maybe if we hadn't already felt a bit disappointed by the night we would have thought differently but I would not recommend it. Apologies I am moaning again! By now it was nearly 11pm and we just wanted to get in bed so we quickly walked back setting an early alarm for Volcano Bay attempt number 2! Total Spend - I didn't even add it up today I must have really wanted to get into bed! Edited at 10:03 PM.