Day 20
Universal Studios
Dinner at Hard Rock Cafe
September 23rd, 2016

I take a lot of photos at Disney! I can never include them all!
All the photos from this day here | Florida 2016 photo collection on Flickr here
WDW-40, 2016: Trip Report Index | Pre-Trip Report



Day 20 of WDW-40 is here! Today we visited Universal Studios, went on a few rides, and had dinner at Hard Rock Cafe. This would be our first visit back to Universal since 2013!


Our day started, as most days did on this holiday, we Steve and I driving to Disney’s All-Star Movie Resort to pick up my brother, Chris and his (now) wife Meg. Quite often a pit-stop at McDonald’s was on the cards for coffee or munchies of some sort.

Today was a visit back to Universal Orlando, after a 3 year hiatus for us. Our previous two trips involved the Deluxe Disney Dining Plan, so we had made the decision to make those holidays Disney only. But any who, back to Universal!

We parked in the Jaws area of the parking garage, and headed towards the entrance. This was the year of heightened security at the theme parks, so before you hit City Walk, there was a line of security gates/metal detectors like they have in airports, as well as security guards of course. Every guest had to go through the security gates/metal detectors – unlike at Walt Disney World where it is more of a spot check after having your bag searched. Hopefully by our next visit things will be ironed out and everything will be running more smoothly.


We finally arrived on City Walk, and it felt all very familiar – I think some shops have changed, but all in all, not much different from 2013. We headed right towards Universal Studios (Islands of Adventure is straight on) and made our way into the park.


I know we didn’t spend a full day in the park. We had got there by mid morning, and by mid afternoon were “done”. Everything was set up for Halloween Horror Nights, so the park was closing early any way – and it was very busy. Lines were long, and we just couldn’t deal with having to wait in long lines.

Luckily it was minimal for T2:3D, which we all wanted to go on, and a show was just about to start so we dashed in. Only for the ride/show to break down, and we all had to leave. We were told to come back later – which we did – twice – and both times the show was cancelled. We were given passes to use on any other ride – so we went on Transformers, which was just as awesome as I remembered. We then tried T2:3D again, and finally was able to see the show. And I’m so glad we did as I believe it has now closed down to make way for another attraction.


It’s awful when I don’t actually have that much to report in one of my trip reports, but we really didn’t do much other than checking if the Terminator ride was working again – and having a look around the rest of the park. We didn’t venture into Diagon Alley (although Steve and I did do that on another day), and we didn’t do any other rides because it was just too busy. But here are some photos from around the park.


My bro bought himself a Minions souvenir cup, don’t ask me when he bought it as he has a habit of wandering off from the rest of the group. Since I am a souvenir cup sucker, I naturally wanted one too… but I didn’t buy one. However, out on City Walk there was a popcorn stand and I bought a Minions popcorn bucket, so that kinda makes up for it! Oh, and we bought a super long corn dog too.


One thing I’ll say about Universal Studios, compared with Walt Disney World, is that it doesn’t feel as accessible for those with mobility issues and using a scooter or wheelchair. Finding a dip in the pavement/sidewalk to cross over to the other side was tricky, and the stores we went in were very tight, to the point where I couldn’t go in them with the ECV, unlike at Walt Disney World where I don’t think you feel excluded from any stores because of that. That said, I did pop into the shop here that sold Christmas ornaments as they were too cute to pass up on, and I have a thing for Christmas tree decorations!


During our time at Universal Studios we also caught the tail end of their parade – Universal’s Superstar Parade. Characters included Gru, Margo, Edith, Agnes, Vector and Minions from Despicable Me; characters from Spongebob Squarepants including Patrick, Squidward, and Spongebob himself; as well as a few more characters I am not sure the names of.

Like I said, it was the tail end of it, as the parade came to a standstill for a long while as they waited for someone to open the gates for the parade to move on (not quite as slick as Disney!). But the parade itself was cute and a nice addition to the park – I don’t recall a parade on previous visits years back. Here are my photos from said parade…


As the park started to empty out for Halloween Horror Nights, we made our way to Hard Rock Cafe. Steve and I have never so much as been in a Hard Rock Cafe, let alone the one here. But my brother and his wife have a tradition of seeking out Hard Rock Cafe wherever they are in the world!


We hadn’t made a reservation, but was able to walk in and get a table pretty much straightaway. My brother and Meg had a photo taken with some famous guitar (don’t ask me what!) which they take a charge you for. I took a sly photo of them – but apparently you’re not supposed to – whoops…

Music memorabilia covered pretty much every surface of the restaurant. Our table was sat right next to a picture of Elvis, whom I love, so that was cool! There was a pink Cadillac hanging from the ceiling, and there were some awesome stained glass windows too. On another visit I would have taken the time to take a look around at everything, but not this time around.


Hard Rock Cafe » Universal City Walk

I’m only covering the food that Steve and I ordered. It is so easy to split the bill in the USA – just let them know before and they just open two tabs.

Starters...

Us: Classic Nachos - Tortilla chips piled high and layered with three bean mix, Monterey Jack and cheddar cheeses, pico de gallo, jalapeńos and green onions. Garnished with sour cream. Add side of guacamole, grilled chicken, or fajita steak for a little extra. ($11.95 + $3)

I’m surprised that the nachos didn’t just come with guac as standard – but it was an extra, which we added. It was a HUGE plate of nachos which is enough for 4 to share – which we did.


Main Course...

Me: Original Legendary® Burger – The burger that started it all! A juicy 1/2-lb Certified Angus Beef® burger topped with smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, golden fried onion ring, crisp lettuce and vine-ripened tomato. ($16.95)


Him: Pulled Pork Sandwich – Hand-pulled smoked pork with tangy slaw and Carolina barbecue sauce on toasted brioche. ($16.95)


Us: Caesar Salad – Freshly chopped romaine lettuce tossed in Caesar dressing with Parmesan crisps and croutons, then topped with shaved Parmesan cheese. ($5)

I remember having a really hard time deciding what to have. I don’t know if the menu was really big (quite likely!) or I was just not feeling it, but I stuck with a regular burger, while Steve had a pulled pork sandwich. I find veggies lacking when on hols in Orlando, so I often order a side salad, usually a Caesar. The food was fine – nothing to write home about.

We decided against desserts as we were too full, but I wanted to include the drinks here as we got a couple of mocktails as well as the option to keep the souvenir glasses.

Drinks...

Me: Wildberry Smoothie – A frozen delight of fresh bananas, pińa colada mix, orange juice and Monin Raspberry ($5.99 + $10.99)


Him: Strawberry Basil Lemonade – Fresh strawberries and basil muddled together with made-from-scratch lemonade ($5.99 + $10.99)


The drinks were yum – I don’t mind a mocktail since I’m often the one driving – and I’m not a big drinker anyway. After paying our bill – looks like we paid in cash for the tip so no record of how much – we popped into the gift shop to pick up our souvenir glasses. Receipts tell me we made a pit stop a Cinnabon to pick up some dessert for later in the evening.

I have no clue what we did afterwards as my photos ended with the food pics! It’s likely that we dropped Chris and Meg back at their resort and Steve and I went back to ours to hang out for the evening.



Read about the day after:
Day 21: Out Of Africa »
Check In – Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village / Afternoon Tea at Grand Floridian / Dinner at Jiko – The Cooking Place

Read about the day before:
Day 19: Wilderness Explorers »
Animal Kingdom / Breakfast at Tusker House / Dinner at Olive Garden

Read ALL the days!

I love the Hard Rock 😍

Those nachos look incredible, I am craving some now!