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Old 17 Feb 20, 10:37 PM  
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Lisa_Lollipop
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Charlie's First WDW Adventure - Sep/Oct 2019 - Day 9: Hard Rock Hotel, Universal, IoA & NBC Grill

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Monday 7th October

It was an early start today with the alarm going off at 6am. I didn’t quite have the energy to jump straight out of bed though so allowed myself a snooze until 6:15am! We had aimed to be out of the villa by 7am to make our way over to Hard Rock Hotel but it was closer to 7:30am by the time we were walking out the door… we had so much stuff, it was hard to believe we were only going to be there for one night!

The traffic getting out of Storey Lake was pretty bad, but given the early time on a Monday morning I guess that was to be expected. The whole journey to Universal ended up being pretty slow with us arriving outside Hard Rock Hotel at 8:15am.



Paul pulled up outside the entrance and waited in the car whilst the rest of us headed inside to check-in. It was a pretty smooth process and before long we were all set with our room keys in hand. Our rooms wouldn’t be ready until after 3pm but the keys also doubled up as our Express Passes (which is new as on our trip back in 2016 we had to use the booths to get separate passes. Handy it’s all in one now!



We went back to the car to let Paul know we were all set and got the things we needed for our morning in the park (mainly the pushchair) and then Paul drove round to park up the car (we left all our cases in the car with the plan to collect them once the rooms were ready). Whilst we waited I plotted up at a table in the lobby area to give Charlie a banana as was very conscious he hadn’t had any breakfast yet.





Whilst we sat down Joan and John had a wander around taking in the sites of the lobby and reception area, it was their first time staying here so they were very excited (as were Paul and I as we loved our last stay!)











Paul soon came back and we began making our way out of the back of the hotel to get over to the parks. We opted to take the boat over to CityWalk and luckily one was just arriving at the dock as we got there (by now it was 9am).



It was a lovely cruise down the river and Charlie really enjoyed the journey! We were all really excited for our Universal days ahead!











On alighting the boat we heading in the direction of Universal Studios as this is where we had planned to spend the morning.











As we were approaching I noticed on our ticket print-outs that it said we would need ID on first entering the park… I hadn’t seen this before then so had a little panic as none of us had any on us! It was fine though as we got through no problem just by scanning the barcode and using our fingerprints. On walking in we made a quick stop by the height measurement guide… we were keen to see if Charlie would be tall enough for Woody Woodpecker (36 inches)… he was literally on the cusp so it was going to be touch and go when he stood up right against it!





As we entered the park I made a quick dash into the photo shop as I had bought the photo package before hand and I needed to collect our pass. Luckily there was no queue so this was sorted in a matter of minutes.

Next on the agenda was breakfast! As we were passing right by, we opted for the Today Café. I left the others ordering food and took Charlie outside to get him settled at≈ table. Annoyingly they didn’t have any highchairs so we had to make do with him sitting on a normal chair, which for a quick eat wasn’t too much of a problem. The dinosaurs of course came out to keep him entertained!





I had tactically planned matching Jurassic outfits for us today!



The other soon returned with the food, a selection of breakfast sandwiches, oatmeal and fruit. It was all really nice, a perfect quick eat to set us up for a busy morning!









Randomly I at this point took a photo of our room keys/express passes… I loved how they each had a different picture on plus were personalized with our names. I am glad I got this photo as one of these passes ended up not coming home with us! (Stay tuned for that drama in the next instalment!)



Once we had finished up our food We headed back towards the entrance as I wanted to get some photos taken and knew there would be photographers positioned there (there are far fewer photographers than you find in Disney so it’s key to grab any opportunity you can to make the most of paying for the package!).







On finding a photographer we had a few photos taken… including ones of just Paul, Charlie and I and then of the whole group.











With photos sorted we headed further into the park but didn’t get far as decided to make a stop at Shrek 4D. Using our expresses passes we were the first ones into the holding area and then the first ones into the theatre. I forgot what a fun show this is, we haven’t done it for a few years and Charlie thought the moving seats were very amusing!



On exiting Shrek we realised we had a bit of a code brown situation on our hands so made a speedy dash to the closest restrooms near Transformers. Once Charlie was all freshened up we emerged back outside to find the others and spotted one of the roller-skating fish out meeting and greeting so we scooted over to have a photo… Charlie was far from impressed by him!



As we were right outside, Paul, Joan and John headed on in to ride Transformers whilst I walked around with Charlie in the pushchair in hope he would have a nap.







Whilst we were walking the heavens opened so it was a run back over to the undercover seating area by the lake! At this point Charlie was refusing to entertain the idea of a nap and demanding to get out of the pushchair… ah well, maybe later!

The others soon returned and thankfully the rain had eased off so we headed off in the direction of the Woody Woodpecker rollercoaster to see if Charlie was able to ride. On making it the entrance the TM there decided he was just a little too short so we had to abandoned that idea and instead went into the play area that is right next to it. This was a whole new area for us, having never been to Universal with kids before we had never even stepped foot in this part of the park! There was so much over there and Charlie was in his element on the slide… everything was rather soggy though from the rain, not that it bothered him in the slightest!









He had a little bit of a strop when we tried to coax him away from the slide but once we showed him there was another slide around the corner he happily followed us over!











We made our way further into this children’s area and found a big splash park… I am still amazed how big this section of the park is! So brilliant for little kids! It was a little too wet to use the splash area but Charlie had a great time playing in the big top section.













We stayed here for a while but soon needed to move on… this was Charlie’s reaction to hearing he has to leave! This whole area was a huge hit for him! I was concerned there wouldn’t be enough for him to do in Universal being so little but I think he would have happily stayed in this section all day if we had let him!



Charlie was definitely in need of a nap by now so we managed to coax him into the pushchair and then set about on a walk in hope he would give in and drift off! By the time we made it over to Men in Black he had pretty much gone so Joan, John and I headed in to ride whilst Paul carried on pushing him around outside.

We literally walked on with our express passes… and Joan was the winner!





On meeting back up with Paul outside, Charlie was fully asleep so Paul then headed on to ride with Joan and John… I am sure if my memory serves me correctly it was another win for Joan!



Next up was Diagon Alley! This area hadn’t opened on Joan and John’s last trip so they were super excited to see it (plus they had watched all the Harry Potter films in preparation for this trip so were totally on board with the wizarding magic!).







On making it inside I was super keen to ride Escape from Gringotts with them so Paul kindly offered to stay back with Charlie. It’s great this now has an express pass line, the standby line was 50 minutes but we were loading within 20, which is pretty good given how long the queue is to walk through plus the pre-show! We were loaded into the very back row of the car so on that initial drop it felt very high! I was worried it might have been a bit intense for Joan and John but they loved it!







On meeting back up with Paul we found him with a cider in hand… my kind of guy! While the baby sleeps have a drink! Joan and I were after a Butterbeer fix so we headed over to The Hopping Pot. I went for a traditional Butterbeer and Joan chose the Butterbeer ice cream… so delicious!











Whilst we were sat down finishing them off I had a text come through from Hard Rock saying our rooms were ready. By now it was 2:33pm so a little earlier than expected which was nice.

On leaving Diagon Alley Charlie was still asleep so the others decided to ride Fast and Furious.



With Charlie asleep I had a bit of a wander taking in the sights.





Thinking the others would soon be off the ride I headed back over to wait at the shop where the ride exits. Whilst waiting Charlie woke up so I got him out of the pushchair so he could stretch his legs and then pulled out the dinosaurs to keep him entertained whilst we waited.







The others finally returned, it felt like they were gone a while and from what they told me there seemed to be several parts to the attraction which made it quite lengthy to get through (but only a small section was the actual ride itself). I didn’t get a chance to ride this while we were there so will definitely try on our next visit!

We decided we would head out at this point and make our way back over to Hard Rock to get settled into our rooms. As we were walking past Monster Café I stopped to grab a photo in the electric chair… Charlie wasn’t the most cooperative!





He was very interested in the flower pots there though, I did have to remind him a couple of times though that we only smell flowers and not pick them!





By the time we finally made it to the exit of the park it was 3:50pm (I am sure time was moving at double speed on this day!)



On leaving Universal Studios we turned left and over to the exit of CityWalk that leads you to the walkway to Hard Rock Hotel. It’s only a short walk back and very pretty along the river (although the sky was looking rather ominous!). As we walked past the pool we noticed it was closed which was a little disappointing as we had been hoping for a quick swim before heading out for the evening. Clearly they were expecting some bad weather!





On making it into the hotel we headed straight up to our rooms which were on the second floor and conveniently next to each other (I had booked both rooms together and had requested adjoining rooms so was pleased they had honoured it).



On entering our room we found a cot all set up ready to go (another request I made on booking). They also left a lovely little goodie bag of baby toiletries which I thought was a nice touch!



Once we had given Joan and John a tour of their room (they were identical to the room we had stayed in our previous trip), Paul and John headed down to retrieve the luggage from the car. Whilst they were gone I took the opportunity to scoot around and take some photos before we made a mess of it (apologies for those who read my 2016 report… these photos are most likely identical!)















Charlie was having a great time exploring the room and was most fascinated by the room telephone… he kept calling it a computer!







The boys soon returned with the cases and after a quick sort out at 4:35pm we headed down to the pool to get a drink and a snack (that breakfast earlier today felt like an eternity ago by this point!).



On making it down to the pool we found it still closed with very few people around unsurprisingly!







We found ourselves a table at he pool bar and set about making some decisions on what to eat and drink. Joan and I both opted for a pina colada (yum!), Paul and John both had a beer and Charlie had water.









Now we had planned on just having a light snack… I’m not sure what happened though as we ended up with a mountain of food! Paul and I both ordered the chicken quesadillas plus some nachos to share, Joan and John both had a hotdog and Charlie had chicken tenders with fries. The portions were huge!







The food was really nice but certainly not the cheapest! This actually ended up being one of the most expensive meals we had, but it was such a lovely setting to be sat there by the pool feeling very chilled and relaxed. Totally worth if for the experience! 😉 Charlie was super well behaved too and enjoyed looking at the squirrels that came over to visit… and then spent some time looking at the photos on Nanny’s camera.







Feeling very full from out ‘snacks’ we headed back up to the rooms at 6pm to get ourselves ready for the evening. We couldn’t find the remote for the TV anywhere so called down to reception and they swiftly brought us a new one up (we never did find that missing remote!). I gave Charlie a bath and then settled him down on the bed with Peppa on the iPad whilst I got myself ready. He was starting to look very sleepy at this point!







We met back up with Joan and John at 6:40pm and headed back down to make our way back over to CityWalk, again choosing the boat as our method of transport.











On alighting the boat we headed in the direction of Island of Adventure as that was where we planned to spend the rest of the evening but by this point it was 7:15pm and the park closed at 8pm so we didn’t have much time to play with! On arriving at the turnstiles Joan realised she had left hers and John’s tickets back in the room! It was an easy mistake to make to be fair, they were print-outs on A4 paper so she didn’t realise she would need them again. We knew we wouldn’t have time to get back over to the hotel and then back again before park closing so we stopped by guest services who were able to print them both new tickets on me providing confirmation of our ticket booking (and they now had nice little cardboard tickets which was much nicer than mine and Paul’s huge bits of paper!).

We finally made it into the park and with little time left before closing we made a mad dash in the direction of Kong… although we did make the time to stop for a quick photo opportunity!





On making it to Kong I originally offered to wait with Charlie whilst the other rode but we then decided to see if Charlie would be able to ride with us… the height limit is 36 inches (the same as Woody Woodpecker which he was turned away from earlier that day). On making it to the entrance the TM got Charlie to stand up against the measuring stick and said it was a very close call so sent us in so the TMs inside could make the final decision. We went through the Express Pass line but it wasn’t necessarily as it was a walk on! On making it to the loading area the TM there measured Charlie and gave him the green light to ride! (Interestingly Woody Woodpecker ended up being the only ride he was turned away from, the next instalment will see him riding more 36 inch height restriction rides without any problem).

This was the first time riding this for all of us so we had no idea what to expect… and I must admit it was a quite a bit scarier than I was expecting! If I had known I don’t think I would have taken Charlie on, but that said he didn’t seemed phased in the slightest and sat very happily between Paul and I the whole way round taking it all in! We were all happy we got to ride it together, it certainly made the mad dash to get over there worth it!

On leaving Kong we attempted to hot foot it over to Hogsmeade to see the castle projection show but due to the various construction work going on we got sent all around the houses and couldn’t get over there in time… the closer we tried to get the further away we seemed to end up! By now the park had now officially closed so there was nothing else to do but head back towards the exit, at this point we were over in the Lost Continent.





I stopped to take some photos out across the lake, I love this view of Hulk. It looks extra stunning at night when all lit up.





On our journey back to the exit we also walked through Seuss Landing and stopped for a few photo opportunities. This has always felt like an area of the park we have never really explored so it was on our hit list for tomorrow as we new there was lots there that Charlie would love.





On making it to the front of the park we stopped for a wander around the gift shop but left without buying anything.





On exiting onto CityWalk we were a little at a loss of what to do. On planning this day we had scheduled in dinner at Bubba Gump but after such a big snack at the Hard Rock pool bar earlier none of us were feeling particularly hungry! We didn’t want to head back to the hotel just yet though so decided to make a stop at NBC Sports Grill & Brew. Paul and I had enjoyed a dinner here on our last trip so were happy to stop there for a drink and maybe something light to eat. On arriving we only had to wait 10 minutes to be seated at a table.





It was at this point Charlie had somewhat of a meltdown. I had put him in a highchair and he had insisted on taking his shoes and socks off but then wanted to get down… and refused to put them back on! Obviously I didn’t want him walking around barefoot so he just lost it! I’m not sure quite how we ended up resolving it but I remember it being a fraught few minutes of letting him just scream it out! After this episode I was totally in need of wine (it was a gorgeous glass of NZ sauvignon blanc which made everything much better!)



With Charlie finally settled we turned our attention to ordering some food. We were all still so full so ended up ordering a rather eclectic mix of things that basically ended up being a starter, a main, a side and a dessert… one whole meal but shared between the four of us! We had a wonderful server called Lou who was not concerned in the slightest (and we did tip him favorably despite not really ordering very much!). Joan was a little down heartened when she saw the size of her cheesecake… it was huge! But with a little help from the boys it was polished off!









On settling up the bill we decided to make our way back to the hotel, it had been such a long day and we were all exhausted! Leaving the villa that morning felt like a lifetime ago! On getting back to our floor we let Charlie lead the way down the corridor and were amazed when he stopped directly in front of our room… how he knew which room was ours is beyond me, all the doors look exactly the same!

By the time we were back into the room it was 11:10pm. I put Charlie straight to bed and he was out like a light pretty much immediately… and we followed pretty soon after!



So that brings us to the end of our first Universal day… join me tomorrow where we spend more time in both parks, have a yummy dinner in Hard Rock Café and are faced with lots and lots of rain!

Day 10 can be found here

Edited at 06:57 PM.
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Old 18 Feb 20, 08:45 AM  
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sheluk
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Another brilliant day Lisa! You always make each place sound so much fun & immediately want to go!

Universal looks brill, so nice to see all the little areas for kids that we would have previously missed. Charlie looks like he was having a ball.

Such a shame about the pool at hard rock - hopefully you got in the next day? Although your weather warning sounds ominous. How dare the weather changed our plans made months in advance!

I remember sulking so badly when it rained on our first day in MK. It was January but you know... how dare it. I was wearing open toed sandals too.

Glad the in laws loved Gringotts - such a fabulous ride. Did they love the theming too? X
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Old 18 Feb 20, 10:03 AM  
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Rabel
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Thank you for posting. I have always thought that Universal didn't have anything for the little ones, but that play area looks better than the ones at Disney!
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Old 27 Feb 20, 06:15 PM  
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Originally Posted by sheluk View Post
Another brilliant day Lisa! You always make each place sound so much fun & immediately want to go!

Universal looks brill, so nice to see all the little areas for kids that we would have previously missed. Charlie looks like he was having a ball.

Such a shame about the pool at hard rock - hopefully you got in the next day? Although your weather warning sounds ominous. How dare the weather changed our plans made months in advance!

I remember sulking so badly when it rained on our first day in MK. It was January but you know... how dare it. I was wearing open toed sandals too.

Glad the in laws loved Gringotts - such a fabulous ride. Did they love the theming too? X
Sadly we never made it to the pool at HRH, it clearly wasn't meant to be on this trip (ah well, we will just have to return on a future trip right?! )

Joan and John absolutely loved the Harry Potter theming! They were impressed with Hogsmede on their first trip but after watching all the films this time around and experiencing Diagon Alley too they were blown away!

Originally Posted by Rabel View Post
Thank you for posting. I have always thought that Universal didn't have anything for the little ones, but that play area looks better than the ones at Disney!
I thought exactly the same and was really dubious about including Universal in our plans for this trip... but I am so glad we did as Charlie loved it (especially on the next day were we spent lots of time in Seuss Landing!)

Edited at 06:17 PM.
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Old 2 Mar 20, 02:40 PM  
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So excited to have a little mini break inside your holiday! HRH looks lovely. Those grey skies definitely do not though!
Wonder whether the moving seats in Shrek were to blame for the code brown…

Pleased to see Charlie loves a slide -he definitely doesn’t take after his mum there #Idontlikeit

Sad to see the pool was closed but happy you managed to get a poolside pina colada and some snacks in though!

Oh and I also thought Kong was really scary.
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Old 3 Mar 20, 06:44 PM  
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Originally Posted by HelenJNT View Post
So excited to have a little mini break inside your holiday! HRH looks lovely. Those grey skies definitely do not though!
Wonder whether the moving seats in Shrek were to blame for the code brown…

Pleased to see Charlie loves a slide -he definitely doesn’t take after his mum there #Idontlikeit

Sad to see the pool was closed but happy you managed to get a poolside pina colada and some snacks in though!

Oh and I also thought Kong was really scary.
Thank goodness Charlie hasn't inherited my fear of slides... no doubt on our next trip he will be whizzing down the KSC blue slide of doom without any hesitation!

Glad it's not just me, Kong is terrifying!
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Old 10 Mar 20, 09:59 AM  
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Redrach1903
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Here I am! Sorry I'm so late!

The HRC Hotel looks so lovely! I've often thought about it, but it's normally extortionately priced!

Aww love the matching JP t-shirts – cuties!

The play park bit looks fab! It's funny how much you don’t notice when it's not applicable isn’t it?!

You didn’t miss much not getting on F&F. It's utter pants.

Hehehe the photos of Charlie with the phone! So adorable!

Whoa they were some pricey bar snacks!

How amazing that Charlie got to ride Kong! I'm glad he wasn’t scared as it is quite intense in parts, isn't it?!

Lovely day! It is making me miss it!
xxx
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Old 27 Mar 20, 03:14 PM  
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Lisa_Lollipop
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Originally Posted by Redrach1903 View Post
Here I am! Sorry I'm so late!

The HRC Hotel looks so lovely! I've often thought about it, but it's normally extortionately priced!

Aww love the matching JP t-shirts – cuties!

The play park bit looks fab! It's funny how much you don’t notice when it's not applicable isn’t it?!

You didn’t miss much not getting on F&F. It's utter pants.

Hehehe the photos of Charlie with the phone! So adorable!

Whoa they were some pricey bar snacks!

How amazing that Charlie got to ride Kong! I'm glad he wasn’t scared as it is quite intense in parts, isn't it?!

Lovely day! It is making me miss it!
xxx
HRH is such a gorgeous hotel, but yes getting more extortionate by the year! (Although worth it in my opinion! )

Haha yes I wasn't too sad to miss out on F&F if I am honest!
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Old 10 Apr 20, 06:10 PM  
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The hotel looks lovely - we’ve only stayed at RPR. Shame about the pool being shut but the pool snacks looked delicious.

Can’t believe Charlie went on Kong! He did you a favour by making you miss Fast and Furious though 😂
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Old 12 Apr 20, 11:11 PM  
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Originally Posted by mrsdjh View Post
The hotel looks lovely - we’ve only stayed at RPR. Shame about the pool being shut but the pool snacks looked delicious.

Can’t believe Charlie went on Kong! He did you a favour by making you miss Fast and Furious though 😂
We so nearly booked RPR! I think we will most likely try there next time I think! (I can't imagine doing Universal without Express Passes now! )
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