Trip Report An attempt to live in the moment

Hello everyone!
Our last trip was in December 2019 before the World shut down. Since then both my husband and I have changed jobs to completely different careers and have never been happier. I was super nervous about this trip because of all the changes that happened at Disney World and also because I kept hearing about issues with flights. My anxiety was on high alert while trying to plan the trip and navigate through all of the new information. The one thing I promised myself and my husband was that I was going to try my best to live in the moment and not focus on what we were going to do next. But would my anxiety let me?

Who: My husband and I

When: November 12-20
Where: Pop Century/Cabana Bay Universal
Why: My 49th Birthday

Some sad news first. I had planned on starting this trip report a few weeks ago but our beautiful boy cat, Loki, passed away. It was completely unexpected and we were devastated. We rushed him to the vet thinking he had a urinary tract infection but the test results showed stage 4 renal failure. He did not show signs until a few days before other than sleeping more and eating a bit less but he was also almost 16 years old. We miss him so much .

 

[Beastly74]

Couldn't agree more regarding late nights at MK.

Trust me, a lot of people agree with your opinion.

It doesn't help that Brian and I are not really morning people. We prefer staying up late and sleeping in a little. That definitely does not work at Disney World now.

 

[Beastly74]

Apparently we did not eat any meals yesterday. We just snacked all day .

Thursday, Nov 16 - AK/Epcot

The original plan was to spend more time exploring Animal Kingdom in the morning but it was raining hard when I woke up so I went back to bed. When I woke up again later I realized I had forgotten to get a virtual queue or an ILL . I checked and there were still ILL for GOTG available so I booked one for later in the afternoon (about the same time as you could park hop). It was still pouring when we left our room after 9am but it worked in our favour because FOP was only a 40 minute wait.


After our flight we went to see Lion King along with 1/2 the park trying to avoid the downpour. I was afraid we would not make it to the 11am show but thankfully we were able to get a seat.


We had not been on a safari yet so that was important to do next.


Terrible picture but it was nice to see the cheetahs up and moving.



The giraffe were all hiding under the trees.

Just noticed the duck at the bottom of this picture. It was perfect weather for him/her!

These 2 did not seem to mind the rain at all.
There were no lions on our safari .

We headed back to Pandora for lunch. No pictures because we both got the same as the last time. What can I say-we are creatures of habit sometimes .
Unfortunately for this trip we did not accomplish as much at Animal Kingdom as we would have liked. Normally we love to explore and take our time looking around but the weather did not cooperate.

 

[Beastly74]

We were soaked so we went back to Pop to change and we made it to Epcot in time for our ILL.

Song:"Disco Inferno"
Just for fun we checked to see if the virtual queue for 1pm was still available and it was so of course we joined. Crowd level was definitely low because we only checked after 3pm.

After another fantastic ride we stopped to buy some ponchos before continuing to the Journey of Water experience.




We also did this part with a group of people and it was a lot of fun.



We really enjoyed this new area and the rain kept a lot of the crowd away so we could take our time and explore.

Next we stopped to visit Nemo before we went to look around World Showcase.

 

[Beastly74]

On Wednesday we had explored Mexico and Norway so we started in China. I was hungry so we stopped to eat at the Lotus Blossom Cafe. Brian enjoyed his meal of orange chicken but I did not like my vegetable/noodle dish.



We continued on to Germany where I picked up dessert for myself and it definitely made up for my dull meal.


Somewhere along the way I ditched the poncho and purchased a Mickey umbrella which I love and have used again.

This was amazing! I would 100% buy this beauty again.

We toured through Italy.



Our VQ number was creeping closer and we were getting tired of the rain so we skipped to China because we love browsing the shops in this pavilion.



Then it was time for another fantastic ride on GOTG.

Sorry, I forgot to write the song name down on this one. Even though the rain was a nuisance we were grateful for another opportunity to experience this ride.

 

[Beastly74]

We did a little shopping after GOTG and we came across the place that has the free pop. I had completely forgotten about Club Cool. I tried every flavour except Beverly and I think Country Club was my favorite.


Unfortunately we didn't finish World Showcase. We opted to do some inside rides instead so we headed towards The Land pavilion. We watched Awesome Planet (I think that is the name), rode LWTL and took a flight on Soarin.


So pretty all lit up.

Then it was time to watch the fireworks so we headed back towards Canada and watched them on the bridge just before France. We took a few pictures while we were waiting. I wasn't even sure if they would have the fireworks as it was still raining.






I have to say we were not very impressed with the show but from what I have heard so far the new one is much better.

Once the show was over we hopped on the skyliner back to Pop and Brian picked up what looks like 1/2 pizza for a late night snack .


Usually I like the rain because it keeps the crowds away but I prefer the spontaneous downpours that cause the parks to empty out and then eventually stop. The continuous rain got annoying after a bit or maybe I am just getting old and cranky lol. We tried to make the best of it though and it did force me to slow down a bit.

 

[Beastly74]

Friday, November 17th-My Birthday ,

It was check out day but I was actually not sad because we were not going home and we would be coming back to Disney World for one more night. I was also really excited about our plans for the next 2 days. We took a couple pictures, checked our luggage and then took the bus to Disney Springs. We did a little more shopping and went to eat at Polite Pig again for lunch. Brian got a Thanksgiving sandwich and I got salmon again.



Brian's sandwich looks a little weird but he said it was delicious.

Before we left Pop I wanted to get some pictures of the displays they have in the lobby.





The last one brings back the most memories ♥.

We picked up our luggage around 1pm and got a cab to Universal. We were on our way to have a new adventure .

 

[erstwo]

Loving the report!

 

[Beastly74]

Loving the report!

Thanks so much for following .

 

[Beastly74]

We had never stayed at a Universal hotel before but we have been to the Universal parks a couple of times. We got a good deal on a room at the Cabana Bay because we were attending an after hours event Friday and Saturday night. It was an event I had heard about through watching YouTube videos - Orlando Informer meetup. I am not sure what I was more excited about - low wait times or the fact food was included and it was all you can eat .

I have always wanted to stay here because I love the 50's and 60's style.



Look who came for a visit .

Check in was quick and painless and we we were able to get a room earlier than I expected so we had time to check it out before we had to pick up our event tickets.

Look at the windows! They were amazing but wait to you see our view (will post pictures tomorrow).

 

[Beastly74]

The view from our huge window at Cabana Bay
]

Theme park view!


We stared in awe for a bit and then it was time to head to City Walk to pick up our tickets. We opted to take the free bus service there and we didn't have to wait long for a ride. We didn't take any pictures of the process but we thought it was extremely efficient and the staff were friendly and helpful. It was also easy to find the pick up location because once you entered City Walk they had people standing with signs directing you to your destination.


Once we got our information we decided to see how long the walking trail took to get back to Cabana Bay. It was not too bad of a hike-about 20 minutes and it was a nice walking trail too.


So far we were quite impressed with everything.

 

[fractal]

you didn't try Beverly??!!

Love the room view and looking forward to your report on Universal/IOA.

 

[Beastly74]

The event didn't officially start until 8 (after park close) but we were allowed to enter the parks at 5pm. Each guest was assigned a park that they were allowed to enter early-ours was Islands of Adventure. After entering you could park hop but had to either use the Hogwarts Express or go back through the entrance. After the party started you could take the walkway over to Universal Studios which was located in Seuss Landing.



We each received a $15 gift certificate to use for food so we stopped for a snack.

It was actually really good. Cookies were soft and chewy and the ice-cream was better than expected. Brian just got the cookies and he enjoyed them.

We decided to go see the 6:30 Grinchmas show because Brian is a big fan of the Grinch. He used to dress up as the Grinch for our local Christmas parade when his old job entered a float in it every year. He still has the costume he made but has not worn it in years.



Pup is wondering what the heck is on his head.


The show was fantastic. So glad we took the time to go see it.

Once it was done we continued on our way to Hogsmeade and took some pictures along the way.


The park was quite busy because it was still open and all of the event guests were also there.

 

[Beastly74]

you didn't try Beverly??!!

Love the room view and looking forward to your report on Universal/IOA.

We actually tried Beverly back in 2017 and once was enough . Here is a picture of Brian's face after taking a sip:

Makes me laugh every time.

The room was wonderful and the view was amazing. I would definitely stay there again.

 

[Beastly74]

We made it to Hogsmeade and it was busy but it looked like the crowds were starting to thin out.


We visited Hogwarts Castle because the wait was only 20 minutes.




After the ride the event had officially started so we headed towards 3 Broomsticks for our dinner (food was included in the price of the ticket).

Next we went to ride Hagrid's. The wait was 45 minutes (it was the only ride with a long wait all night) but we didn't make it on because it broke down .


When we finally exited we met up with a friend of Brian's. He was supposed to arrive earlier but he ran into some traffic issues on his way to Universal. So this friend of Brian's is actually someone that he has been online gaming with for over 25 years and he lives about 8 hours from Orlando. When he found out that we would be coming to Universal he asked if he could meet us and we happily agreed. He stayed with us at Cabana Bay for 3 nights and drove us to the airport when we left on Monday. Sounds a little weird but we all hit it off and had an amazing time.

The 3 of us decided to go experience the Forbidden Journey again but before we did we grabbed some more "free" butterbeer.

Then we rode Flight of the Hippogriff twice and watched the castle show from the bridge.

We all wanted to try Velocicoaster so that was next on the list.


What an intense ride but we loved it!
After we decided to try our luck with Hagrids again and this time we were able to ride it. Sorry no pictures but it was amazing. We didn't take a lot of pictures because we were just enjoying our time there but now I kind of regret not taking more.

 

[Beastly74]

Once we finally got to ride Hagrid's we took the train over to Universal Studios to visit Diagon Alley.


Escape from Gringotts was up next.




Such an amazing queue!


Our last ride of the night was Revenge of the Mummy and then we slowly made our way out of the park when the party was over at 12am.


We didn't accomplish as much as I would have liked but we did have an amazing time. Ride wait times were minimal with the exception of Hagrid's. I think between our failed 1st ride and successful 2nd ride on Hagrid's we used up almost 2 hours of our time. I apologize again for the lack of pictures but we were enjoying every moment . Buses were running late for guests and we arrived back at our resort at around a quarter to 1 excited to do it all over again the next night.

 

[meggo819]

Love the dragon in the wreath!

Did you feel like the meetup was worth the price? I’ve followed their page for years, but haven’t heard much about the event directly.

 

[Beastly74]

Love the dragon in the wreath!

Did you feel like the meetup was worth the price? I’ve followed their page for years, but haven’t heard much about the event directly.

Thanks, love that picture too .
Yes, we all agreed that we thought it was 100% worth the price. Before we went I watched every YouTube video I could on the Orlando Informer meetups. After we got home Brian's friend started talking about going to the one in February lol. Honestly if we only lived 8 hours away we would definitely go back next month.

 

[Beastly74]

Saturday, November 18

We slept in until 10am and then we went shopping at some outlet sites until about 1pm. We ended buying a new luggage bag because apparently we had purchased too many things on our vacation . Brian also bought some new shorts, shirts and socks. (I am sure we must have gotten something to eat at some point or I would not have been pleasant to be around ). When we got back to Cabana Bay we had enough time to drop off our purchases and then it was time to hop on the bus to City Walk. When we got there I realized I had forgotten my phone but we were not planning on going back to the resort so I had to rely on Brian to take all the photos. Our plan was to get a snack before it was time to pick up our tickets at 3pm and then do some shopping until we could enter the park at 5pm.

We settled on Cinnabon and I think we all got Starbucks as well.

A couple pictures on our way to pick up the event tickets.


We stopped to watch the boats that were taking guests back to their resorts.




Finally we were allowed in .




So where would we go next?

 

[Beastly74]

Since we had gone through Seuss Landing the night before this time we headed towards the Marvel section. Our 1st ride was Hulk and then Spiderman was next.



It was still early and the party didn't start until 9pm so we did a little shopping and then continued into Toon Lagoon.



Next we rode Reign of Kong but we did not take any pictures and we also explored Jurassic Park.



I am not sure where we took this picture so I will just add it here .


We decided to park hop to Universal Studios via the Hogwarts Express. We started with Minion Mayhem.

We braved Rip Ride Rockit.

And then fought alongside the Transformers.


I find the older I get the more 3D rides bother me. I have to close my eyes a lot more than I used to. Thankfully so far I can still handle the intense roller coasters. The party hadn't even started and ride wait times were amazing .

 

[Beastly74]

A very nice custodian offered to take our picture for us in front of the tree.

It was almost time for the event to start and we were hungry so we got in line to eat at Louie's Italian Restaurant. It was very chaotic and they were not prepared for the huge crowd that showed up but eventually we were able to get our food. We were so hungry that we forgot to take pictures. I know I got a slice of veggie pizza and a vegan pasta dish which was excellent. Next up was Finnegan's Bar and Grill where we got the bread pudding with whiskey sauce and Brian got some macaroni dish.

Before we left the area Brian and Mike were excited to spot The Blues Brothers.


After this we took the Hogwarts Express back to Islands of Adventure to ride Velocicoaster and Hagrid's because we had skipped them earlier as the wait times were high.



The we decided to spend the rest of the night in Universal Studios. The event went until 1am and we intended to stay until the very end. We headed over to the Simpsons side of the park and while there decided to go on the ride.

Then we fought off aliens with the Men in Black (no picture). For some reason we thought it would be a good idea to eat again so back to the Simpsons area to eat at the Frying Dutchman. Brian and I shared the Basket O'bait combo. At some point in the night I remember that Mike got a turkey leg too.

Once we were done we waddled over to Diagon Alley to finish off the night with some butterbeer.




What an absolutely amazing night. We left in good spirits but also a little sad because it was already over. Luckily we still had one more day left before we had to fly back home to the colder weather.