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Old 10 Jan 22, 08:30 PM  
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Wobbles
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Putts, Balls and Snow Falls - Day 3, Our World is Universal

Back to Day 2

Another Night of $%*(^&$ Jet Lag, this time, I got to 0330 before I work up - Mr W got to 0500. Breakfast was in the dark by the pool in the WAR... I don't care it was dark, it was WARM. And we were off to Universal



It also meant we were ready for Universal at 8am in the morning. The I4 was not pleasant at that time, it took us almost an hour from Junction 58 at Champions Gate to Junction 74 - we were crawling especially passed what was Crossroads (the sign has sadly gone) so we would give the I4 three as it was not behaving at all.

We have been 2 Park Preferred Pass Holders for a number of years and in preparation for this trip, we upgraded to a 3 Park Preferred Park. Universal had given us a free parking pass due to the amount of money/days we lost during the pandemic.

We used the voucher as part payment towards Preferred Parking. Usually we expect to pay an extra $5 to upgrade our free parking in October to preferred and this was our first experience of surge payment as the Preferred parking was a whooping $50 as with our voucher it was still $27, which was worth to know we were parked close to the parks.

Safety Universal Parking and City Walk - I would give them 3 out of 5, it was very busy, There was a one way system in place in parts, Security was very busy and City Walk was rammed. Mask wearing was patchy

But we were there. We headed to Universal to upgrade our passes, which took us about 5 minutes and headed to the parks



There was a moment where we just paused... it all felt so familar and almost surreal and unreal that we were back...

On to part 2
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Howling @ the Horror 2015 (Complete)
Who knew Toronto was on the Med (Complete)
Getting Our Kicks - Pre Trippie

Edited at 10:31 AM.
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Old 10 Jan 22, 09:04 PM  
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The first place we hit for a drink was the Passholders Lounge for a drink and a chill (and a hunt for the passholder pin... we lucked out).

The Passholder Lounge is a great place to gather your thoughts and decide on what to do whist drinking Coke. The decorations were subtle and very Coca Cola Heavy :-)



Having had a drink and got used to being back in the Park, we knew there was a couple of things we knew we wanted to do. The Horror Make-Up Show was just about to start so that was Number One of the list.



We love the show and whenever anyone asks for tips for Universal, it is always our number 1 tip. This one didn't disappoint. There was lots of COVID related jokes and the show got away from the actors when it got to the "Kid Threw a Rock" bit, when a child from another part of the audience stuck up for the kid who threw the rock... we love to see the actors loose it.



After the show, we decided to head out to the City Walk for lunch. But we couldn't decide what we wanted to eat and where...



We opted for Menchies, the Frozen Yogurt Shop up by the side of Voodoo Doughnuts. If you have never been to Menchies, you pay for Frozen Yogurt by weight and you can mix flavours and add toppings (including lots of fruit) and sauces. We love it and go regularly.

Safety Menchies - I would give them 7 out of 5, They have a great systems in place with gloves and masks. It allows you to still build your own dessert. Best place we went to all holiday

They have tables, with umbrellas alongside the steps and we sat towards the front which allowed us to watch people moving around City Walk and heading to the parks. Lots of other people around us were enjoying Voodoo doughnuts and Burger King, so obviously a popular place to sit. It still felt out a little of the way and quiet.

I love the fact there is more to City Walk that just the main thoroughfare and that there are these break out areas...

On to Part 3
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Emma and Steven

Trip Reports
Howling @ the Horror 2015 (Complete)
Who knew Toronto was on the Med (Complete)
Getting Our Kicks - Pre Trippie

Edited at 10:32 AM.
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Old 10 Jan 22, 09:20 PM  
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Farewell to Shrek

There was one really must do today, and that was Shrek. It is poignant that I am writing it this today, as Shrek closed last night.

We love Shrek and do it a couple times each holiday. When we got back into the parks it was only showing a 10 minute wait (and took half that time).



The downside of the short waiting time was we couldn't really take in the details of the ride.



We will miss Shrek but as we said to ourselves, this is part of the joy of Universal, it never stops moving but sometimes it's a favorite which goes. In the words of Universal - "That'll do Donkey - That'll do"



I can't wait to see what plans Universal have for a such a prime slot.

After Shrek, we moved to around the park, looking at the main Christmas Tree and seeing the Holiday Dancers.



And then had a nose around Diagon Alley where we caught the Dragon in full flame.



and I look photos of the different shops from the Lego Diagon Alley



and the lego version


We decided we had enough (it was about 4pm by then) and we decided to head home.

Safety Unverisal as a whole - I would give them 4 out of 5, There was plenty of cleaning staff and hand sanitizer and they have adapted many of their indoor areas without reducing the enjoyment.

On to Part 4
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Trip Reports
Howling @ the Horror 2015 (Complete)
Who knew Toronto was on the Med (Complete)
Getting Our Kicks - Pre Trippie
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Old 10 Jan 22, 09:42 PM  
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Steak Steak Steak...

The 14 was a little better behaved then in the morning (it took us about 40 minutes door to door, so we give it 2 )

We decided not to go too far from supper and tried the new Longhorns at Champions Gate. We haven't been to a Longhorns since a bad experience on the 192 nearly 10 years ago. (the staff used our table to stack dirty plates whilst we were still eating as they were "busy" including remains of fish that I was allergic to - so we had to leave and they charged us full price with no apology), so I was a little wary to go to another Longhorns.

We didn't need to worry, it is smaller than the Longhorns on the 192 and are mainly booths with a few tables.



and the table (and bread) was amazing and the staff were so friendly





Mr W had the Sirlion with fries and broc and I had chopped stake with strawberry salad





The food was amazing, the steak was melt into the mouth and the salad had such a range of flavours (the little oranges were like old fashioned tinned mandarins and were lovely). We didn't have any alcohol so the whole meal came in under $50 with a generous tip.. we will go there again.

Safety Longhorns - I would give them 5 out of 5, everything was clean and the large number of booths helped give a feeling of safety.

Spend Breakdown
Additional Parking Fee - $27
Drinks in the Passholders Lounge - $8.60
Lunch at Menchies - $16.92
Supper at Longhorns - $49.56

Total Day 3 Spends - $102.08
Total Holiday Spends - £334.10
Average Daily Spend - $111.37

Back to Index

On to Day 4
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Emma and Steven

Trip Reports
Howling @ the Horror 2015 (Complete)
Who knew Toronto was on the Med (Complete)
Getting Our Kicks - Pre Trippie

Edited at 09:43 PM.
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Old 10 Jan 22, 10:01 PM  
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A good day saying bye to shrek 😧 we love a Longhorn steak


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Old 10 Jan 22, 10:30 PM  
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Loved reading your TR, thanks for sharing
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Old 13 Jan 22, 12:02 AM  
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lfc_sarah
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Aw I will miss Shrek!

Mmm Longhorns is on our list for May.
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Old 15 Jan 22, 08:41 PM  
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What? No Flo's Filet from Longhorns! I'm disappointed, LOL I love that steak. Seriously, it sounds like a great universal day, we also think the Horror Make Up show is the best show in Orlando, "you're not in Disney now folks" love it.
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Link to all my completed trip reports
2017: NYC and Orlando. Salzburg. Boston.
2018: Orlando. Berlin.
2019: DLP. Orlando. Washington DC.
2020: DLP.
2021: Jamaica. Rome.
2022: Orlando.
2023: Orlando. Niagara and Toronto.
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