Buses, Bars and Bargains, January 2020. Day 3, Volcano Bay, Universal, Inchiban Buffet.

[roxie2001]

Index

Monday 13th

I woke at at 6 and Matt at 7.
Yesterday on the way back to the hotel we somehow got talked into a timeshare talk! We were offered dinner tickets to the pirates and Mango shows or $150 gift card (used anywhere)
I told Matt he would have to do the talking.
I had a quick breakfast

We had to check in at 7.30 and the lady we spoke to was really nice.
It was different to how we expected and it’s calculated on points that you can use at 4 different hotels plus discounts off other holidays. To be honest it was a lot better (and cheaper) than we thought it was going to be and maybe something worth considering in the future.
Anyway it wasn’t a really hard sell and we were out by 9.30 collecting our gift card.
The plan was Volcano Bay so we left the hotel, walked to Surfside and waited about 5 minutes for a bus there.
It’s a long walk to the entrance and then into the park. We got a small locker ($9) and as only I had my phone before it was locked away, just got the one photo.

We found sunbeds near the lazy river and went in there first.
Matt then wanted to ride the slide that drops you (don’t know the name of it, but it’s in the volcano) so off he went, I had no intention of riding. He wasn’t long and enjoyed it but he was having trouble breathing after it, mainly because he had a cold before we came and hadn’t shifted it yet.
We had about half hour in the wave pool which was fun and I liked the dance before the waves came.
We relaxed after that and as Matt still wasn’t feeling great we decided to leave everything else to another day and visit universal instead.
I know we didn’t really see a lot of this park but my first impressions were its massive and confusing with the Tapu Tapu system and how the rides are set out.
Anyway, we hopped on a bus and arrived at universal about 11.30, I think.
Rip Ride Rocket was 5 minutes, no way was I going on so Matt quickly had a go, he said he chose Bon Jovi.

We passed Fast and Furious which was showing 20 minutes, so we went on that. It was a walk on but with all the preshows it probably was about 20 minutes. I got the seat near the end and thought it was ok, I wouldn’t wait in line for it though. I haven't seen the movies so it’s not really my thing.
I really wanted to see Hogsmeade so we went there next.
Escape from Gringotts was showing 20 minutes so we joined the queue. I loved the theming. Matt has never seen Harry Potter because he has a massive phobia of snakes. Last time we came I did my research for Forbidden Journey and Matt was ok going on it.
This time I assured him he wouldn’t see any because Gringotts doesn’t feature them.
All was going well but imagine my surprise when Voldemort turns up with his snake in 3D half way through.
Matt kept his eyes closed for the rest of the ride and told me I had let him down. We made a sharp exit but Matt told me to look around and he would get some crisps and a drink.

I had a great time looking around and then met Matt outside to head out. Men in Black was posting 30 minutes but we passed Transformers showing 5 minutes so walked on. We both enjoyed this, I think I prefer Spider-Man though but maybe because it’s more familiar.
We took a bus to Surfside and walked back to the hotel for a last hour of sunshine.
As we skipped lunch we were both hungry so took the trolley to stop 3. We had a drink in Cheers bar, happy hour. It was more of a local pub and I didn’t really like it in there. It was cheap though.
We crossed the road to Inchiban buffet, Matt had found this online and it was amazing! A couple of dishes weren’t the best but the sushi was so good and loads to chose from. I’ve had to condense the photos as we were hungry and I wanted to try everything.

Cost was $12.99 each and $1.99 for a refillable drink.
Absolutely stuffed we took a trolley back to the hotel.

[mick]

Another good day


Joan

[roxie2001]

Originally Posted by mick

Another good day


Joan

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Thank you.

[yellowrose78]

What a shame about Gringotts, I have a terrible phobia of snakes too, and I was caught out on this one, I was in a terrible state. Hope he got over it quickly. Really enjoying your report so far

[Tinkermom]

Another lovely day 😊

[roxie2001]

Originally Posted by yellowrose78

What a shame about Gringotts, I have a terrible phobia of snakes too, and I was caught out on this one, I was in a terrible state. Hope he got over it quickly. Really enjoying your report so far

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Thank you. He was ok about it, I did feel bad though as normally I’m on things like that.
He said Dd wouldn’t have let him down but she did agree with me about snakes not being in the bank scene.

[roxie2001]

Originally Posted by Tinkermom

Another lovely day 😊

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Thank you.

[Melbatb]

Pour Matt with the snakes!

The buffet looks great and what good value for money!

[roxie2001]

Originally Posted by Melbatb

Pour Matt with the snakes!

The buffet looks great and what good value for money!

See more...

At least he could keep his eyes closed.

The buffet was lovely, so much choice as well.

[DisneyDaffodil]

The voucher for the time share talk was very enticing, I've never considered these talks as I feel it would be a hard sell and awkward, it's good to hear it wasn't too much pressure.

Poor Matt, not a ride he will go on again then? We haven't visited Volcano bay as it was rammed when we visited Universal as it was just a few weeks after it opened, we aren't big water park fans though, much prefer to spend our time in the parks or using the resort pools.

The buffet place looks really good, excellent value too.