Trip Report Our Journey to the Dark Side, plus a little bit of Disney...June 2018 **Completed**

We're back!!

Who: Me (Amy), the hubby (Brian), and our three kids, Logan (15), Lily (13), and Owen (10)
Where: Universal Orlando (Cabana Bay Beach Resort and Hard Rock Hotel) plus one day on Disney property
When: Sunday, June 10 - Saturday, June 16

I was bad and didn't take notes this trip, so my pics may need to speak for themselves at times!

Sunday, June 10
Brian and I got up at midnight to start getting ready. We had the kids up and ready and the car packed by a little after 1:00am. The drive was so much better this year than last! Some of it was that we chose to drive through the night, but we didn't hit any major construction either, which helped a lot. It was even smooth sailing through Atlanta!! We brought granola bars, Nutrigrain bars, OJ, and apple juice and ate breakfast while driving. We also packed lunch items and ate quickly at the Florida Welcome Center. We made it in plenty of time for OJ this year!
20180610_120855 by Amy Clingner, on Flickr
20180610_121053 by Amy Clingner, on Flickr

First sighting of Universal: Volcano Bay and Cabana Bay Beach Resort:
20180610_153119 by Amy Clingner, on Flickr
20180610_153129 by Amy Clingner, on Flickr

We pulled in about 3:30pm, so we made it in a little over 14 hours (took us closer to 17 last year!!).
20180610_153332 by Amy Clingner, on Flickr

 

[TheMouseFan]

Thanks for the report!

We're going to have to do Universal one of these days and I appreciate your perspectives.

You're welcome! Thanks for reading along!

I think everyone should go at least once!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Ok first off, I know I’ve been gone for a couple years but HOW DID THE KIDS GROW UP SO FAST?! The last trip report I read they were so little it seemed!!!!

Y’all look like you had a really great time! Uni and IOA definitely have some great rides but you really gotta love coasters or simulators to spend so much time there. My sister and I love those but Mom doesn’t so we usually only do 2 days at most when we go.

Volcano Bay looks AWESOME! That cabana! Amazing!! Definitely puts TL and BB at Disney to shame!!

You post about Animal Kingdom Lodge is making it that much more exciting for me to check in there next month! We haven’t done mini golf at Wintersummerland before but we’ve done Fantasia Garden and really liked it.

So glad I picked your TR to read first upon my return. I miss reading about yalls adventures!!!

 

[TheMouseFan]

Ok first off, I know I’ve been gone for a couple years but HOW DID THE KIDS GROW UP SO FAST?! The last trip report I read they were so little it seemed!!!!

Y’all look like you had a really great time! Uni and IOA definitely have some great rides but you really gotta love coasters or simulators to spend so much time there. My sister and I love those but Mom doesn’t so we usually only do 2 days at most when we go.

Volcano Bay looks AWESOME! That cabana! Amazing!! Definitely puts TL and BB at Disney to shame!!

You post about Animal Kingdom Lodge is making it that much more exciting for me to check in there next month! We haven’t done mini golf at Wintersummerland before but we’ve done Fantasia Garden and really liked it.

So glad I picked your TR to read first upon my return. I miss reading about yalls adventures!!!

They definitely need to stop growing up so fast!! Logan will be getting his driver's license at the end of the year!

We did have a great time! Brian and I were definitely done by the time our last day rolled around, though! I really enjoy the coasters, but I don't necessarily care for the simulators, no need to really ride them more than once.

Volcano Bay was awesome! We definitely got spoiled with the cabana!

I'm so jealous that you are staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge!!

Aww, thanks!!

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

Final thoughts:

I really hated the drive down and back, but it is so convenient to have the car while down there! We'll see what happens with future trips!

Hard Rock Hotel: Love it! Not sure we would stay at another Universal resort. We did really enjoy Cabana Bay, but I'm not sure we would stay there again unless it was a really slow time of year since they don't include the Express passes. You just can't beat the 5 minute walk to the parks from Hard Rock, as well as having the option to use the water taxi. We really enjoyed being able to see the dragon on top of Gringotts last year from our room, but the larger room this year was worth it!

I wouldn't be disappointed if I never return to Universal! However, that is unlikely to happen, as the kids really enjoyed it. Brian even commented after we got home about how much more relaxing the trip was than our Disney trips and how much he enjoyed it. My heart broke a little! I know he will continue going to Disney with me, but now I'll know he could be enjoying himself more somewhere else.

Food: I didn't particularly care for most of the food at Universal. I did enjoy the fish and chips and our platter meal at Three Broomsticks, but nothing else really stood out. I'm sure there are lots of fantastic places to eat, we just didn't manage to eat at them this trip or last! Our meals at Disney, however, were fantastic! Except of course the bill at 'Ohana! It hurts that my kids are "adults" now!!

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy myself and Universal is a great place, it just isn't Disney, and I'm a Disney girl through and through!

Do you think Brian found it more relaxing because you didn’t have tonworry about getting fastpasses? Or maybe because you didn’t have to worry about running off to dining reservations? We have found that our trips where we just wing it with dining(no reservations), and do counter service when we get hungry work better and are more enjoyable. No stress of worrying about making it to a restaturant on time. We would even take the car and drive or take transportation to any resort and eat there where it would be even quieter than a park. We even have ventured off property for a meal like Chuy’s which was fantastic and for 6 came to about $60 before tip.
Thanks for your tr on Universal and all the pics. I really enjoyed it and aside from Volcano Bay maybe, don’t see us going there anytime soon. Luckily my kids are super hooked on Disney. You could always do a combo trip next time as well to make everyone happy.

 

[TheMouseFan]

Do you think Brian found it more relaxing because you didn’t have tonworry about getting fastpasses? Or maybe because you didn’t have to worry about running off to dining reservations? We have found that our trips where we just wing it with dining(no reservations), and do counter service when we get hungry work better and are more enjoyable. No stress of worrying about making it to a restaturant on time. We would even take the car and drive or take transportation to any resort and eat there where it would be even quieter than a park. We even have ventured off property for a meal like Chuy’s which was fantastic and for 6 came to about $60 before tip.
Thanks for your tr on Universal and all the pics. I really enjoyed it and aside from Volcano Bay maybe, don’t see us going there anytime soon. Luckily my kids are super hooked on Disney. You could always do a combo trip next time as well to make everyone happy.

I think it is mostly the crowd level that bothers him. But he did comment on how nice it was to just ride what we wanted whenever we wanted since we had the Express Passes.

Oh, I already told them that next time is all Disney!! I may relent and add a few Universal days, but it will definitely be mostly Disney!

Thanks for following along!

 

[FlaggNL]

Thanks for sharing! Brings back our thoughts to Universal..... but as in your final thoughts.... Universal is good, sometimes great... but it is just not Disney Love the pics!!

 

[TheMouseFan]

Thanks for sharing! Brings back our thoughts to Universal..... but as in your final thoughts.... Universal is good, sometimes great... but it is just not Disney Love the pics!!

Thanks for reading! Can't wait to hear about your upcoming trip!