Lucy & Nick // The Superfan and the Skeptic // Day 10 - Universal Studios & Bubba Gump

Lucyjane45xxx · 14 Sep 17, 09:12 PM

Getting a bit better with updates, only about a week between this time

Trip report index can be found here

Day 9 can be found here

Day 10 - Universal Studios & Bubba Gump

Today is the day we were heading to Universal with a one night stay at Royal Pacific Resort to take advantage of the early access and the unlimited express passes. We had every intention of waking up at 6.30am in order to be ready, and get over to the hotel, checked in and to the park before opening at 9am, but when the alarm went off, Nick said that he hadn’t slept well again and was not feeling very well, so I left him to sleep for a bit longer and re-set the alarm for 8am instead.

We had already packed last night so we were out of the door by 8.45 and in the Uber by 8.55. The traffic was pretty steady, but we were still at Royal Pacific Resort by 9.25 (sorry, I did not make a note of the cost but it was no more than $15).

I made sure my outfit was fit for the occasion too…obviously!

We were the only ones at the check in desk so it was all nice and quick. Of course, the room wasn’t ready so we dropped our bags with bell services, created out express passes and then headed over to the park. I have never stayed at RPR before, only HRH but it was easy enough to find the walk way over to the parks. The walk wasn’t far at all, the same walk away from IoA as HRH is from US I would say.

Today we were headed for Universal Studios as it was open 9am-9pm. As we added Universal on afterwards, we tried to keep costs down so we bought base tickets rather than hopper tickets. I have been on the Hogwarts Express and don’t think it’s worth an extra £50.

We headed for the turnstiles and did the usual scan ticket and finger print. It is strange because this is the same as the Disney technology, however Disney just seems so much slicker than at Universal. I also have no idea why they insist on scanning your ticket for you - I am perfectly capable of putting the ticket on the scanner all by myself!

Once inside the park, I opened the app and booked a time slot for Jimmy Fallon (I didn’t realise at the time that you could use express pass for this), which was 12.20-1.20pm and took a look at the current wait times. By this point it was about 10am, and the wait time for Gringotts was only 15 minutes so we headed that way. I absolutely LOVE Harry Potter, and I love how it has been brought alive at these parks, and I am still in awe even now at how impressive it is. Nick isn’t even a huge Harry Potter fan, but even he thought it was insanely impressive. We decided we would jump on Gringotts first and then have a wander to look round properly afterwards. By the time we had walked over there and stashed our bags in the lockers the wait time had increased to 25 minutes, but we were still happy to wait this long. It seemed to move really quickly and even though we probably did wait the full 25 minutes, there is so much to see and there are so many elements to the queue you just don’t notice. When you walk into Gringotts with the goblins etc, it just takes your breath away with how well it has been done. The animatronics are so cool.

I had been on Gringotts before and knew I really loved this ride but Nick was absolutely wowed and said he had never experienced a ride like it. He thought it was brilliant. It is quite similar to quite a few of the other rides though, admittedly, so I think I do prefer Forbidden Journey, just because it is so different!

Once we came out of Gringotts we decided to do some more rides before the queues built up rather than wander round Diagon Alley, but we knew we would be back later.

Next we headed for Rip, Ride, Rocket, which is probably my favourite ride of all time and Nick loved it too. We both chose Rollin’ by Limp Bizkit. I have used that song before and think it goes with the ride so well haha!

After this we headed for The Mummy, another great ride! My family are so scared of this ride, so it was good to be able to ride it with someone who wasn’t terrified of it. Nick said that he enjoyed it. I absolutely loved the Mummy films, I used to watch them with my dad so I am glad that the movie is still referenced.

After this we did Despicable Me, as we both think the films are hilarious and the queue for this always gets stupidly long even with the express passes. You have to love this ride it is just so cute and fun - I love the minions!

By this point I could see that Nick was struggling even if he didn’t want to admit it. We decided to get some lunch to see if that helped so we headed for Krusty Burger as Nick absolutely loves the Simpsons so he really wanted to try there. We both ordered a Ribwich from Krusty Burger, I had wanted a pizza as I had one last time and it was really good, but I waited for a good 5 minutes and no one came to the counter so I gave up. The total came to about $25 (this was not including drinks as we had a refillable mug.)

As it was still only about 12pm by this point it was still quite empty so we managed to get a seat really easily. Nick barely ate anything which was a sure sign that he really wasn’t feeling very well as normally he would have eaten his and mine so we decided that we would head back to the hotel so he could have a break and some paracetamol. We made a quick pit stop at the Kwik-E-Mart to grab a big pink donut and headed back. (I do want to try the Bumblebees taco van at some point too!)

We got back to the hotel at about 12.30 and Nick took some paracetamol before having a nap. I browsed online (read a few trippies on the Dibb, of course!) and then also had a nap. When we woke up, we tucked into a bit of the lard lad each, which was absolutely amazing! I am not really a fan of donuts but this one was so moreish!

Nick was starting to feel a bit better but I didn’t want to push him too much for him to feel even worse the next day, so we relaxed a bit longer and I kept making him drink to stay hydrated. We did really like RPR, and the rooms always feel so much more spacious that Disney rooms (and the bathrooms I feel are much nicer). My heart does lie with HRH though, I just love the hotel and the pool!

At about 4.30 Nick dosed up on paracetamol again and headed back out. We were both hungry as we hadn’t really eaten much by this point (I didn’t eat much of my ribwich earlier either) and we had our Landry card with us (complete with $25 sign up bonus and $25 birthday bonus) so we decided to head to Bubba Gump.

There was a short wait if you just walked up, but with our Landry Card we were seated instantly. Our server Jess was really lovely too. I ordered a diet coke, which Nick was excited that they had Mountain Dew on tap so ordered that. I ordered the Shrimp Mac & Cheese from the appetisers menu for my main course (I had it the previous year and it was the perfect portion size for me) and Nick has the Shrimpers Heaven, which he really enjoyed, especially the tempura prawns. Mine was just as good as I had remembered too.

We had both eyed up a few desserts we liked the look of so thankfully we both had just enough room to share a dessert too. We debated for a while but eventually we settled on the cookie skillet, which was SO good, although very rich. After our Landry card balance was deducted we only had to pay $1.02 but we, of course, left 20% of the full amount of the bill for Jess.

After dinner we headed back into the park, by now it was about 6.20pm. I had changed our time for Jimmy Fallon earlier when we left the park, and it was now our time slot. We grabbed our colour card and headed upstairs, where our colour was called almost immediately. The park was so quiet, and this ride was no different, and there were only about 10 of us in the room for the ride.

The ride was alright I guess, but there were a few references that we just didn’t get as we have never seen the show. It was very similar to some of the other rides, and I have to say I prefer those.

After this we went on Transformers, which I love despite not liking the films. Nick said he didn’t enjoy this much, which was weird as he loved Gringotts, but he has said since that in hindsight he thinks it was because he was feeling ill.

We headed back to the Simpsons area to go on the Simpsons ride. I do like this but I do think it makes me feel a bit dizzy. Nick enjoyed the ride as he really likes the Simpsons.

We headed for Men in Black which I really enjoy. Nick was a bit annoyed as he always usually wins at these kinds of games (i.e. Buzz Lightyear), but on this one I won (thanks red button!). I like this so much more than Buzz Lightyear, although I still prefer Toy Story Mania.

After this we headed back into Diagon Alley to take in the surroundings and explore. We wandered through all the shops but we didn’t buy anything. I do feel sorry for families with several kids who all want robes as they are crazy expensive! I really wanted a Florian Fortescue ice cream but we had to pass as we had already had dessert and we had Butterbeer on the list for tomorrow morning.

Once we had fully explored the entire area (including Knockturn Alley, which is my favourite part!) we decided to pass on a second go on Gringotts and head to Rip Ride Rocket again instead. This time around because it was close to closing time and they wanted to turn the ride around quickly, they didn’t let us select our own music, and gave us something that they had pre-selected. I got given Pump It by Black Eyed Peas which was actually really fun for the ride, but Nick had absolutely no idea what his sone was haha. I tried to show Nick the ride videos (I had done earlier too) but for some reason it said not available. I still don’t know why!

We headed out of the park as it was only a few minutes to closing timing went for a wander in the big Universal shop on Citywalk to grab a chocolate frog for my sister as it was now a lot less hot so I thought it might actually survive the walk home in this temperature. She loves these, although I can’t work out why as I think they taste terrible. I saw a few other things I wanted (namely an E.T plush in a little zip up hoodie) but managed to pull myself away. We decided to get the boat back to RPR and we got back around 9.30pm and we decided on an early night as Nick still wasn’t feeling 100% at this point and we were hoping that by tomorrow he would be recovered.

Thanks for reading again! Will try and get the next day up over the weekend, although I don't think it will be overly exciting and there will be a distance lack of pictures.

I have to say I was feeling quite depressed typing this up. I know we have another Disney holiday booked, but we currently are unsure whether we will realistically be able to go as we have an African Safari booked for our honeymoon in June. I am excited for this as it will be a new experience, but it just makes me sad that I might not be able to do Orlando.

Floridaagogo · 14 Sep 17, 09:29 PM

Lovely day .can highly recommend the bumblebee taco truck x

collybird · 15 Sep 17, 12:16 AM

Love your outfit!

The mac and cheese at Bubba's sounds fab, Shrimpers' Heaven is my favourite but having the appetiser as your main is a good idea.

Lucyjane45xxx · 17 Sep 17, 01:29 AM

Originally Posted by Floridaagogo

Lovely day .can highly recommend the bumblebee taco truck x

Great to know, I keep looking at it but ending up in Krustyburger so next time I will definitely try the truck instead!

Originally Posted by collybird

Love your outfit!

The mac and cheese at Bubba's sounds fab, Shrimpers' Heaven is my favourite but having the appetiser as your main is a good idea.

Thanks, I loved the dress too!
The mac and cheese was really good, I would love a portion of it now, may have to convince Nick that we need to go to the London one!
It is just the perfect portion size (unlike every other american portion size haha!)

Just noticed your countdown - have an amazing holiday!

Cazzius · 30 Oct 17, 09:22 PM

Your dress is really cool. Perfect for Universal.

Sounds like Nick was a bit heat/sunstroked. We suffered from that too. So fortunate you were staying at RPR and were able to break up your day until he felt better.

Great photos of Diagon Alley.

You seem to have been really lucky with crowds at Universal.

Well doing Rip, Ride, Rockit twice, I chickened out and didn't go on once. I'm going to force myself next time as it sounds like fun.

Thanks for continuing with your trip report, it's really fun to read.

**Jaspercat10** · 30 Oct 17, 10:31 PM

Great outfit, love the report, thank you 😊

Eeyore-x · 31 Jan 18, 11:14 PM

Bit late reading your trippie but have really enjoyed it all and looking forward to the rest! Also love 'Rollin' for RRR! My absolute favourite ride

Enchanted · 23 Mar 18, 05:11 PM

I love Universal so much, I’m a huge HP fan (even have a HP tattoo!) and DP is too so can’t wait to do these rides with him!
Would definitely love to stay there! Another awesome outfit from you!

mouselover22 · 30 Mar 18, 08:46 AM

Harry Potter World is insanely good! My two boys stung us for an interactive wand each! But I must admit I like doing the magic tricks more then them

The big pink donut is pure yummyness

Hope Nick is feeling better tomorrow

Lucyjane45xxx · 4 Jun 18, 09:41 PM

Originally Posted by Cazzius

Your dress is really cool. Perfect for Universal.

Sounds like Nick was a bit heat/sunstroked. We suffered from that too. So fortunate you were staying at RPR and were able to break up your day until he felt better.

Great photos of Diagon Alley.

You seem to have been really lucky with crowds at Universal.

Well doing Rip, Ride, Rockit twice, I chickened out and didn't go on once. I'm going to force myself next time as it sounds like fun.

Thanks for continuing with your trip report, it's really fun to read.

Thanks, I loved that dress, I hope I can find it again for this years holiday but I am worried that it got lost when we moved!

I do think that it was heatstroke, poor guy! We are spending more time at Universal this year so hopefully we won't have the same again and can enjoy our time there a bit more!

We were really lucky with crowds, we barely waited for anything at all! Hopefully it's not too different in October!

Definitely try to go on RipRideRockit next time it is so much fun! Although it is terrifying too haha

Originally Posted by Jaspercat10

Great outfit, love the report, thank you 😊

Thanks so much glad you enjoyed it

Originally Posted by Eeyore-x

Bit late reading your trippie but have really enjoyed it all and looking forward to the rest! Also love 'Rollin' for RRR! My absolute favourite ride

Don't worry I was late writing it (and now replying to comments!) Thanks so much for reading

Originally Posted by Enchanted

I love Universal so much, I’m a huge HP fan (even have a HP tattoo!) and DP is too so can’t wait to do these rides with him!
Would definitely love to stay there! Another awesome outfit from you!

I love Universal too! As much as I love the atmosphere and theming at Disney, you just can't beat the Universal rides! I love HP so much too, I keep wanting to get a HP tattoo (a quote) but just keep chickening out of it!

The hotel was beautiful, definitely recommend! Thanks, loved that dress and it was so comfy, hope I can find it again for this years holiday!

Originally Posted by mouselover22

Harry Potter World is insanely good! My two boys stung us for an interactive wand each! But I must admit I like doing the magic tricks more then them

The big pink donut is pure yummyness

Hope Nick is feeling better tomorrow

Yes it is amazing isn't it, the first time i ever walked into hogsmeade / diagon alley I got so emotional, they're just so impressive!
Hahah not going to lie, I totally nearly bought myself a wand and I'm 27!

I don't even like donuts that much but the big pink is amazing!