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Old 28 Oct 17, 11:13 AM  
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#21
soraia
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DAY 4


I'm (almost) ashamed to say that for breakfast I had some of the trick or treat candy from MNSSHP yesterday (oops...)

Lauren did the more adult thing and waited until we got to Universal Studios and got an iced vanilla latte and almonds croissant from Starbucks (which ended up being quite dry, but filled a hole!).
I got myself a hazelnut latte as well.




Lunch @ NBC Sports Grill & Brew (City Walk)

We decided to head over to City Walk for lunch and I'd had a great experience last year at NBC Sports Grill & Brew so wanted to visit again.

We were seated straight away and got a really good table right next to an open window – good start!



The first thing I noticed was that there seemed to be less things on the menu than last year – I've since read online that they have indeed streamlined their menu – which I was initially a bit disappointed about as some of the things we tried and loved last year were no longer available. However, my absolute favourite thing from last year was still on the menu and was just as good as I remembered!


YAS TO MORE CHEESE CURDS!

We both agreed that, although all the cheese curds we've had so far on this trip were amazing – these are definitely the best ones so I was in heaven!

For our entrees I went for the Meatloaf Panini (Hot-pressed brisket meatloaf, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, mustard, Cuban bread) minus the pickles. This was slightly disappointing as the meatloaf was dry and the mustard was really overpowering. The tater tots were crunchy and amazing though!


Meatloaf Panini

Lauren went for the Grilled Citrus Chicken salad (Mixed baby greens, arugula, mandarin oranges, roasted beets, goat cheese, pickled red onions, bacon, balsamic vinaigrette dressing) and she asked for it to come without the goats cheese. In the end the food came WITH goats cheese which wasn't a big deal as luckily Lauren had SOMEONE sitting opposite her that wolfed it all down...


Grilled Citrus Chicken Salad

Apart from goat cheese gate, Lauren absolutely loved the salad. The chicken was well cooked, it was really fresh with just a hint of citrus and was a perfect choice for a lighter lunch.

On the whole, we both enjoyed lunch and agreed we'd be back!

Snacks @ Universal Studios

We didn't have dessert at NBC so that we'd still have room for sweet treats later on at Universal. Last time we were both at Universal together (way back in 2011) Lauren had bought a chocolate crunch cookie which she ate half of and saved for later, only for the cookie to be devoured by ants at our hotel so she wanted to get her revenge on the ants and enjoy this cookie again – 6 years later!


MMMM SO GOOD – worth the 6 year wait...!

I had a red velvet whoopie pie. I love red velvet cake and have always heard of these whoopie pies but never tried them so it was a no brainer. It was delicious – I loved the cream cheese frosting! It was very rich though and I couldn't finish it all.


GET IN MA BELLY!

Dinner @ Toothsome Chocolate Emporium (City Walk)

When I was at Universal last year, Toothsome had just opened for previews but we never managed to eat here as the waits were always outrageous so no way was I going to miss it this time!

When we got there it was quite busy and we were told there would be a 20 minute wait. They take your phone number and say you'll receive a text when it's time to come back which is quite a good system as it means you don't actually have to stand there waiting.

We got a text pretty much 20 minutes later on the dot and were shown upstairs to out table which was a 2 top in the middle of a bridge which was quite odd.




The atmosphere is different in here – it's very dark and there are big screens on the walls with cartoon like footage of inside a factory. This is when we realised that atmosphere, and specifically lighting, are both really important to Lauren as she didn't like it in here at all. I thought it was OK but definitely quirky.

To eat I went for the Patty Melt French Toast (Challah, half-pound housemade fresh hamburger patty, sunny-side up egg, grilled pork belly, cheddar cheese, lyonnaise potatoes) which was really good! The portion was HUGE (the picture doesn;t do it justice) and I hardly managed to eat even half of it. I was initially worried it might have been a bit greasy, but it wasn't at all and the flavours worked really well together. The lyonnaise potatoes in particular were phenomenal – really garlicy!


Patty Melt French Toast

Lauren chose the Quiche Lorraine with side salad which she really enjoyed. The quiche was nice and you could really taste the bacon. The random mixed berries on the plate were strange but apart from that she enjoyed the food!


Quiche Lorraine

Of course we had to have dessert here so we ended up sharing a Cream Puff & Eclair Sundae (Eclairs, cream puffs, chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream, strawberry sauce, fresh whipped cream) which was huge and I'm ashamed to say we both wolfed down!



Cream Puff & Eclair Sundae

After the meal we were both stuffed! As we headed out of the restaurant there were people outside doing surveys on our experience. Lauren mentioned she was glad she tried it but wouldn't return – mainly down to the atmosphere which she really didn't like at all. I'd come back again in the future, although there are probably other places I'd go to first before coming here. I'd still recommend it to anyone who has never been for the novelty factor!
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Old 28 Oct 17, 04:38 PM  
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Goldia
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I think MNSSHP breakfast is perfectly acceptable! Some tasty treats at universal too.
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Old 28 Oct 17, 04:55 PM  
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Originally Posted by Goldia View Post
I think MNSSHP breakfast is perfectly acceptable! Some tasty treats at universal too.
haha thanks - when you're on holiday anything goes, right?
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Old 28 Oct 17, 05:11 PM  
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DAY 5


When we woke up it was absolutely POURING (we were supposed to be going to Volcano Bay which clearly wasn't going to be happening) so we decided to have a bit of a lie-in/slower start to the day instead.

I went to the Orchid Lounge downstairs at RPR and got us some pastries and a sticky bun to share and we ate them in the room watching a movie. They were both really good!




Lunch @ Bubba Gump (City Walk)

It was still raining heavily so we abandoned our Volcano Bay plan and decided to go to the cinema in City Walk instead. We dropped by Bubba Gump beforehand for lunch since it's just across the way.

It wasn't busy in there but I showed my Landry's card anyway and we were seated right away at a nice booth. Straight away we noticed the AC was REALLY cold (maybe exacerbated by it being pouring and us being wet but we were really cold in there – so bring a jumper!).



I went for the Shrimper's Heaven (Coconut Shrimp, Grilled Shrimp, Crispy Golden Shrimp & Tempura Shrimp served with dipping sauces and fries) which I had before and was just as good as I remembered. This is definitely a big meal though and I couldn't finish it all! My favourites were the grilled shrimp and the coconut shrimp



Shrimpers Heaven

Lauren had the “Dumb Luck Coconut Shrimp” and subbed the fries for a salad. She LOVED this meal – the shrimp was really meaty and the coconut coating was crunchy and delicious. She also loved the orange marmalade dip that came with it. She was surprised she liked this meal as much as she did as she's never been to Bubba Gump and wasn't particularly excited about it beforehand but she's been converted now!



Dumb Luck Coconut Shrimp

Dessert @ Menchie's Frozen Yogurt (City Walk)

Before heading to the cinema we decided to get some fro yo from Menchie's – this was one of the highlights for me onsite at Universal last year so I couldn't wait to go back and it DID NOT DISAPPOINT! We both LOVED it!



10/10!

Dinner @ Olive Garden (International Drive)

It was still raining and we felt like the whole day had been a write off so were itching to get out and feel like we had done something today, so decided to head offsite and back to Olive Garden for dinner as it had been our favourite meal from when we were at I Drive.

We were seated straight away at a nice booth (you know how I like a booth!) and our server PJ was the biggest babe in history – he was camp as Christmas and we loved him! He was SO friendly and kept coming over for a chat throughout the night which made the whole experience really fun!



Last time we had come here I wanted to try the cheese dip but was just too full so there was no way I was missing it today! PJ also brought out our favourite salad and bread sticks as well




Italian cheese fonduta

For mains I went for the same thing as last time and had the Five Cheese Ziti al forno (because clearly I hadn't had enough cheese with the appetizer already!) and initially when they brought it out the cheese looked quite runny (I like it quite crunchy) so asked if they could cook it a bit more and this wasn't a problem. When they brought it back out it was just how I like it and it lived up to last time – although I couldn't finish it!


Five Cheese Ziti al Forno

Lauren went for the Chicken Parmesan which she really enjoyed and was better than the “create your own pasta” from last time. She was also in heaven with the bread sticks!


Chicken Parmesan

I was in a cheese coma so couldn't have another bite but Lauren had her eye on the Cookie Butter cake and she wasn't disappointed. She said this was amazing!


Cookie Butter Cake

Another great meal at Olive Garden – it's always tasty food and great value so we'll always be back!

Edited at 06:10 PM.
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Old 29 Oct 17, 11:05 AM  
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Really enjoying so far.
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Old 29 Oct 17, 08:39 PM  
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LOVING your report so far. I really fancy trying Toothsome next May. But not sure if it’s more a gimmick thing just to tick off list.
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Old 30 Oct 17, 10:20 AM  
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Originally Posted by gjdjud View Post
Really enjoying so far.
Thank you

Originally Posted by EllieP View Post
LOVING your report so far. I really fancy trying Toothsome next May. But not sure if it’s more a gimmick thing just to tick off list.
Thanks EllieP - I'd definitely recommend trying it. In reality it probably is a little style over substance but even so, I think it's nice to at least try it once and then see after that!
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Old 30 Oct 17, 01:04 PM  
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We've never been to Olive Garden, must add it to the list it always looks good in these reports...
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New pre trip report - Summer 2024

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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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Old 31 Oct 17, 09:35 AM  
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Join Date: May 11
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DAY 6

Breakfast @ Cinnabon (IOA)

I woke up ridiculously early today and couldn't get back to sleep so decided to head over to the parks and agreed that Lauren would meet me later at a more sensible hour!

I headed over to IOA and knew exactly what I wanted for breakfast – I'd been dreaming about it for months. Warm, gooey, delicious CINNABON!



SO GOOD!

I ended up going for the classic bun, but was also considering the pecan bon (which is a cinnamon roll with pecans and drizzled with caramel) – I'll definitely try that one next time. The classic bun was amazing though, just like I remembered, and it was perfect with a hazelnut latte.

When Lauren arrived a few hours later, unbeknownst to me, she ended up having pretty much the same thing as me – great minds think alike! She loved it as well



Lunch @ Mel's Drive-In (Universal Studios)

For lunch we were over at Universal so just decided to get something quick as it was our last day and we still had stuff we wanted to do. We ended up at Mel's and both went for the chicken fingers meal and shared some onion rings. Pretty standard fayre but I have to say the chicken is good (real chicken breast, not processed) and the portion is certainly very generous. The picture makes it look quite small but it was more than enough – in fact neither of us managed to finish ours!



I got a bit thirsty later on and stopped by Starbucks for an iced vanilla latte. I've always hated iced coffee drinks but Lauren got me on to this and by the end of the trip I actually really enjoyed it – I think the vanilla makes the difference!



Dinner @ NBC Sports Grill & Brew (City Walk)

As it was our last night, we had decided at the beginning of the trip that we'd go back to whatever place we enjoyed the most at City Walk. We both agreed we really enjoyed NBC Sports Grill & Brew earlier in the trip so decided to go there again. It was quite busy in there and we were seated at a booth upstairs (I didn't even realise there was an upstairs!)




I knew I wanted the cheese curds again as they are just amazing, but (as usual) decided to take it to the next level and order an entirely cheese based meal of cheese curds, Margherita Flatbread and a side of mac & cheese (!). Lauren thought this was hilarious and even our server was giving me the “are you sure” look...



This all tasted great but (obviously) I was defeated by all the cheese very quickly and clearly I hadn't learned my lesson about cheese overload at all this week! I think I managed about half of the cheese curds, half of the mac & cheese and 2 slices of the cheese flatbread. Fail. Our server gave me the “I told you so” glance and I sheepishly asked for a box to take the rest of the food to go.

Lauren was (as usual) much more sensible and went for the Smokehouse Angus Beef Brisket (Slow house-smoked, signature BBQ sauce, French fries, coleslaw, corn bread) and subbed the fries for a salad. She absolutely LOVED this meal and said the meat was SO tender and the cornbread was fantastic.



Even though we were both stuffed, we went for a walk around City Walk and SOMEHOW ended up back at Menchie's for frozen yogurt. How did that happen!?




They were amazing as usual – I think Menchie's really is a hidden gem at City Walk and is very good value. Ours were both around $5 and were MASSIVE!

Another good day but far too much food. Can't believe we go home tomorrow
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Old 31 Oct 17, 10:04 AM  
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Great updates! Love the cheese overload at NBC... I would order the same
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