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Old 26 Jun 19, 08:53 PM  
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gjdjud
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HEY MICKEY YOU'RE SO FINE,YOU'RE SO FINE YOU BLOW MY..MONEY. MAY 2019 Day 8:UNIVERSAL AND MOVING ON!

HEY MICKEY YOU'RE SO FINE,YOU'RE SO FINE YOU BLOW MY..MONEY. MAY 2019 Day 8:UNIVERSAL AND MOVING ON!


HEY MICKEY YOU'RE SO FINE,YOU'RE SO FINE YOU BLOW MY..MONEY. MAY 2019 Index

You guessed it. Up early as normal. This morning though I didn't wake up feeling refreshed but instead had a pretty bad headache. I have this thing that once I wake I'm up and nothing will change it so I couldn't lie in. I felt a little better once I got up and showered. The others were soon up as we had an other earlishish start. We were leaving to the Royal Pacific today so we needed to make sure we were all packed away. This didn't take too long as we had left most of our stuff in the car. We had acquired a few bits and pieces along the way. We'd be leaving our bags with bell services for the day so we could go to Universal Studios. We'd then collect them later.

While the others were getting dressed I headed to the lobby to change up another set of Dining Plan cards. The desk had moved that morning as part of the lobby refurb so it took a little while to sort out as couldn't find any cards for me!

Once back at the room I checked out via the tv which was easy to do. It was just the 2 days of Valet parking that would be taken from my credit card. We left the room with our ensemble of bags, plastic ones as well to leave with bell services. Classy. I'll post my thoughts on the hotel later on this day.



First port of call this morning was a first for us. A Universal Character Breakfast.



I have not seen many reports about the Minions character breakfast so hopefully you might find this useful if planning on going.



The breakfast is in a similar vein to Disney character one. It is prepaid though. It is situated in the Royal Pacific resort hotel which is where we were staying. There are plenty of signs directing you to where the breakfast was taking place.

Once you check-in you have a photo with Gru and a minion but there was no photographer which I think is quite poor.



I also didn’t realise that it was communal seating which for some is fine but for me is something I don’t enjoy, it makes me uncomfortable. We are with another family from the UK who were fine so it wasn’t too bad.

The room was lovely and I’m guessing there was seating for around 100 or so.





Once you seated then you go up to the buffet in the same style to a Disney one. There was quite a wide variety of food but nowhere near as much variety as a Disney buffet. There was cereals, fruits, breads, pastries and then hot items included scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes, bacon, sausages and pancakes. It was all very nice and we all ate loads.

























After a while the characters came round the tables for photos. This was a lot slower and more intermittent than the Disney character Buffets. Interaction was good though.





Overall it was good but I don’t think we do it again.

$34.99 per adult.



Once done we headed back through the hotel to begin our normal walk to Citywalk so we could get to Universal Studios. On the way the girls were arguing once again. The slightest little thing that one said or did to the other set them off. It was really getting to me this morning. We'd plead with them to stop and yet 30 seconds later they'd be back at it. I'm sure everyone's kids are the same but jeez it was hard work. I love both my girls with all my heart but they would test a Saint.

We were soon at Universal Studios, photos done outside and we were raring to get in. It looked fairly busy at the turnstiles though. I miraculously picked a good line and we were in fairly quickly. I had a feeling it was going to be a busy, hot one today. I felt a little ominous about it. We'd had a very busy start to the holiday to utilise our time at Disney and Universal and I had a feeling this would be the day it caught up with all of us. The next stage of the holiday was always scheduled to be more relaxed.

We first headed to the Despicable Me ride. This is always a popular ride with us and with the express pass we were in fairly promptly. The pre show didn't seem as long as i thought either. We enjoyed the ride as always. I do find the simulators a little bit harder as i get older though.



I wanted to try the Rip Ride Rocket again while I had the express pass but when I got there I could see that line was horrendous for Express. I'm sure it would have only been 20 minutes but I feel a little mindful of making the others wait too long. They were where I had left them in the gift shop at the Despicable Me ride exit.

We debated going on the Shrek ride for about 3 seconds and we all vetoed going on. Its the one ride we don't bother with. I can't stand the pre show bit and the wait in the room before. It feels longer than the flight to Orlando.

So next on to our other favourite ride, the Jimmy Fallon ride.



However something happened that was really disappointing. Evie asked me if we could get front row to make it easier. I asked a ride attendant and they said row one was already full. I asked to wait for the next ride which for some reason seemed to be an issue. The attendant called over the person in charge. I explained my daughter was visually impaired and would like to sit as close to the front as possible and could we wait to see the next show. He replied "It doesn't matter where she sits she can see it from anywhere." I replied that he was being condescending and how does he know what my registered blind daughter can or can't see? How would it be no different sitting in the closet row as opposed to the far row for someone who was visually impaired? I think he realised he'd said the wrong thing. I don't think he meant to say what he did but he needed to think before he said it. He apologised and said to wait for the next ride. I think Evie was mortified by it all which i felt terrible about. I kept my eyes to the floor while we waited so I didn't catch the mans eyes. I was still annoyed when i got on the ride but felt better after me and Lily started laughing to a crude joke we made about being told the ride would be starting soon. If you've been on the ride you may no what I'm talking about.

Once off the ride I tried to forget about it but later that day I did email Universal to complain. They apologised.

So onwards we went. Again I was having trouble getting my refill cup activated. I queued for ages at one stall only to be told she couldn't do it. Kelly reprimanded me after as she was saying I was moaning in the queue and making it obvious about how long it was taking. I'm a scorpion, it's what I do.

I then went on The Mummy ride alone. I still wasn't sure it would be for Lily. Even with express pass this took awhile. It kind of put a damper on the ride as I was worried about making the others wait. Its an ok ride though. I think Evie would really struggle to get on the ride as its so dark but Lily may want to try next time. I found the others who were patiently waiting but I felt guilty for taking so long.

I finally found a stall that would reactivate my refill cup. He scanned it and said it was already activated for today. They must have done it for 2 days yesterday. I definitely only paid for one so that was a little result for me!

Now on to a new ride for us. Fast and the Furious. The girls had no idea about this franchise. I've seen them but I'm not fussed by them. The ride also had mediocre reviews at best. We walked straight in with our express pass bypassing a large line but then it all stopped for ages. This turned out to be the longest wait for a ride on the holiday. I think it was having issues with the bus. The queue would move for a bit and then stop again. I had also to tell a group of kids on a school trip to watch their language as one of them kept dropping F-bombs yards from the girls. Once finally on to the ride we thought it was ok. It was very short and not worth the wait. If we'd gotten straight on it might have been better. Not really the Fast and Furious ride people envisioned when it was announced I bet. A simulator to far.

We then headed round to take a few photos with Jaws. The area was surprisingly deserted so we got some un rushed photos. It really is the ride I wished they had kept but it probably would look appallingly bad now.



Next into Diagon Alley were again it was busy and hot. It was just me and Lily riding Gringotts as Kelly and Evie didn't want to. We left them seated on a small step near the the joke shop. Unfortunately even with express passes there is still a bit of a wait so it probably took us half an hour or so before we made it back to them. We enjoyed the ride though.



We had a look around but it felt too busy and hot again.



Kelly and Evie got ice creams. Again we were able to use snack credits for these. They took these on the go as we left Diagon Alley.



A little way to the side of the Night Bus was a food stall so I got Lily a hot dog as she was hungry.



We all wanted to do Men In Black again so we headed there next after they and finished up eating. As we got to the lockers someone informed us the ride was down which was annoying so we headed into the shop to see want was different in the 2 days since we had last been in Thankfully the ride reopened as we were coming out so we headed straight on and got straight on with no wait. Again I decimated everyone with my shooting prowess.





We then walked through the Simpsons area bypassing the main Simpsons ride. We had a little look around but didn't stay here to long. Enough time for the girls to blow money on the games though!







The girls did a meet and greet with Patrick from Spongebob and a little look around the shop while I sorted out an issue with my photopass card at the photo section of the shop. My photos weren't linking to the app properly but I got it sorted.



Next on to ET. We all discussed what names we were going to use all except Evie who thought it monstrous that we'd use false names! I went with Dwight, Kelly went with Penny and Lily did the funniest thing. I was convinced she'd bottle it and say Lily but she said to the person typing that her name Sara but no H as H's are eew! What made it hilarious was that she panicked halfway through and started sprinting off in the middle of saying it, laughing as she went! They must get so bored of people who think they are comedy geniuses! Of course we didn't even get to hear the names anyway when we got to the end. An enjoyable ride and memories though.





It was so hot as we left. The girls were arguing about water as normal. Some of the characters were out so the girls met Bart Simpson along with Diego and Dora. I saw a glimpse of Betty Boo who'd aged even more horribly since last time.





I got my leave to ride Rip Ride Rocket again. As usual the line was horrendous but the others were in the big shop so I knew I'd be ok for a little bit. I do really enjoy this ride and look forward to the day the girls can join me. More likely Lily as I'm not sure Evie would like it. I was 25 minutes or so and found the ladies sitting on the wall outside the shop.

We decided we had enough for the day as we still had a lot to do with our move to our next location. Evie was hungry so I got her another pretzel as we left that she could eat on the way back to the hotel.



On the walk back everyone was looking a little red so we'd have to make sure we kept an eye on that.

We were a little early to check in at our next Resort so we chilled in the reception of the Royal Pacific Resort.



My thoughts on this few days were very positive. We all really like the hotel and enjoy our stay there. It's a shame its expensive as we'd like to stay longer. We love the Universal Parks too and I think we could learn to really enjoy Volcano Bay as well. Universal will always be part of future plans.

So once we'd had a little chill we collected our bags from Bell Services and then I walked to front of the hotel to valet parking to request our car be brought round. That was brought to us pretty quickly. Before I drove off I made sure I had all paperwork handy for our next resort as I wasn't sure what I needed to show at the gates to get in.

So we a bid a fond farewell to the Royal Pacific Resort. We did have another day scheduled at Universal later on in the holiday though.

The sat nav said about 25 minutes to our next location which was Encantada situated just off the 192. A little background on this. Kelly's cousin and her partner I believe belong to a CLC timeshare. I'm not 100% on the exact details but they knew how much we love Florida and incredibly kindly booked this for us for 2 weeks using their points at no charge to us. This was incredibly kind of them and something we were very grateful for.

This part of the holiday I was a little nervous about. I knew Encantada was going to be lovely but we'd never been offsite for so long or as far away from the parks. As we didn't book any of this part it was a little un-nerving for control freak like myself!

As we approached the 192 it became a little familiar as we'd driven this way on our last trip. It was good to see all the places I'd picked out to eat! The new water park and complex at Margaritaville looked interesting.

It wasn't long before we pulled up. It had security gates but there was someone there who let us in when I said we were checking in.



First impressions were good. We parked up and began check in. It took a nerve wracking minute or so to find our booking. It was listed under Kelly's cousins partners name! He found it and said we were good to check in although we were 5 minutes early! He gave us the code for the townhouse, internet and entry gate. He also confused us about the housekeeping but it turns out Kelly's cousin had paid for us to have this which we weren't expecting. We didn't suss this until several days later when we embarrassingly had the place tidied and rubbish removed. We weren't expecting it so it was a bit of a mess.

While I was checking the girls and Kelly were having a look at the pool area which they said was nice. We were given a map and he circled where we would be located. It looked a long way away from the pool. We headed back to the car to begin the drive to our place. My suspicions were correct and we were a long way from the pool. It would have been at least a 20 minute walk. It wasn't a massive issue as we could always drive there instead.

There was no doubting that this was big spread out resort but it did look very nice and were soon pulling up outside our place for our remaining 13 nights. I would describe it as a townhouse. From the outside it looked nice and had plenty of parking spaces outside.



I use the code for the keypad entry and we were in. It was lovely inside and very spacious. It had a large open planned fully loaded kitchen/living room area complete with large dining table and giant tv, wc downstairs with two large storage closets. This let out a typical floridian garden are that was enclosed in a protective casing from the wildlife. This area contained a hot tub. Upstairs there was a master bedroom with en suite with two good sized additional bedrooms and a seperate bathroom. The place was huge and really nice.

















Our first job was to get everything squared away and we probably took an hour or so to unpack and get sorted. We put passports, money etc in the safe and and a little relax. We saw that some bits like bread, milk etc had been put in the fridge. I'm not sure if this is standard or something Kelly's cousin had arranged for us. I had a feeling we were going to be happy here!

The girls and Kelly got in the hot tub for a bit as well!



Once they'd had a go in that we all got dressed so we could head out for dinner. We’ve never had the chance to visit Mannys before so we were really looking forward to this. Mannys is just up the road from our resort so was the logical choice for this evening.



I used the “call ahead” feature and rang to say we would be there in 10 minutes. The car park was very busy as we pulled in and there were a few people milling around outside. We checked in, said my name and were shown straight to a booth.

Rightaway we all liked the atmosphere and style of the restaurant. Our server came over and gave some menus and answered any questions. He was very friendly and pretty good throughout the meal but he did disappear at one stage for ages when we wanted some drinks.



The kids and Kelly were happy drawing on the paper on the table.



The menu was huge and again our eyes were bigger than our bellies. We keep on making the same mistake by getting appetisers but we couldn’t resist!

Kelly had the French onion soup which she said was absolutely lovely.



Lily wanted onion rings and these were fantastic. We all shared these.



Evie had mozzarella sticks. She enjoyed them.



I went for boneless hot chicken wings. These were huge! Really tasty but I left a couple due to fears of not being able to finish my main.



We were then given salad. We were a little confused if we ate it now or saved for our main. We saved it but to be honest wasn’t something we really needed. It was good though but we didn’t really want the egg in it.



For mains Lily had the chicken nuggets and fries. She didn’t really eat much again.



Evie had the chicken teriyaki that came with rice. This also came with another side and she chose fries. She really liked this.



Kelly had salmon which again came with the rice and another side and she chose and loaded baked potato. She thought this was lovely.



I had to have a steak. The only choice for me. I went to the 14 ounce ribeye. Cooked medium rare. I chose loaded mash as my side. This was good but if I’m being completely honest it still wasn’t up to the taste of the steak I had at Longhorn on our last visit.



Overall a fantastic meal. Wouldn’t be surprised if we end up back here again at a later date on this trip as it is so convenient for us and it’s really good. The service was good as well.

Overall this came to $130 including a 20% tip. Fantastic value compare to onsite but once again ordered way too much. We will learn about appetisers one day I promise!

So once we'd finished dinner we needed to get some supplies so we headed to Target at Rolling Oaks which was 5 minutes away.





The instructions were a clear, concise we are getting supplies and not casual shopping! Lily didn't heed my warnings and was a bit of a nightmare around Target trying to spend money she didn't have. Thankfully we weren't too long and bought the basics like these bad boys!


$1.50 for those. Compare that to Voodoo Donut.

So we headed back to Encantada. I probably broke a couple of traffic laws by going the wrong way to get back to Encantada. Note the road by Manny's you can't turn left but I did! I then got mixed up with where the entry pad for the security gate was and drove on the wrong side. I had to reverse back awkwardly to get to it. Now began the daily ritual of having to lean out the car so awkwardly to access the keypad. The only downsize of this car!

We made it back alive, just about anyway. We were all really tired so we chilled out before bed. A good day and our last major move of the holiday done so Kelly could relax. She doesn't like the moving about.

Thanks for reading.

George

Edited at 06:25 PM.
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Old 26 Jun 19, 09:44 PM  
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Mexy02
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I feel for you with the waking up k I’m the same but everyone else just sleeps ... weirdos lol . I also get you in the queues and universal we’re bang out of order , you shouldn’t have to email! I’m also a Scorpio so it would have bothered me for a while after if I’m honest .
Your townhouse looks stunning, hope you enjoyed it there .
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Old 27 Jun 19, 07:32 AM  
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gjdjud
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Originally Posted by Mexy02 View Post
I feel for you with the waking up k I’m the same but everyone else just sleeps ... weirdos lol . I also get you in the queues and universal we’re bang out of order , you shouldn’t have to email! I’m also a Scorpio so it would have bothered me for a while after if I’m honest .
Your townhouse looks stunning, hope you enjoyed it there .
I would have complained more but Evie would have been mortified

The townhouse itself was lovely
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Old 27 Jun 19, 09:39 AM  
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MaryMendes
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I notice you have a new countdown now. Well done!
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Old 27 Jun 19, 09:57 AM  
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DollyDimples
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I am slightly dreading being like yourself and spending our whole holiday being away at silly o'clock!

So pleased that you enjoyed your stay at RPR following on from POFQ. I have been waiting to hear what your thoughts are in advance of our trip.

We only have one child but you will have my DHs sympathies as me and DS are prone to bicker when we are tired/hungry etc... must make and effort to behave like a grown up the next 3 weeks!

How lovely of Kelly's family to not only sort out your accommodation but also throw in extras like housekeeping. Glad that your first day there was good.

Looking forward to reading the rest.
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Old 27 Jun 19, 07:48 PM  
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gjdjud
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Originally Posted by MaryMendes View Post
I notice you have a new countdown now. Well done!
May have been premature We are so many issues with the building works at our house

Originally Posted by DollyDimples View Post
I am slightly dreading being like yourself and spending our whole holiday being away at silly o'clock!

So pleased that you enjoyed your stay at RPR following on from POFQ. I have been waiting to hear what your thoughts are in advance of our trip.

We only have one child but you will have my DHs sympathies as me and DS are prone to bicker when we are tired/hungry etc... must make and effort to behave like a grown up the next 3 weeks!

How lovely of Kelly's family to not only sort out your accommodation but also throw in extras like housekeeping. Glad that your first day there was good.

Looking forward to reading the rest.
Thank you for reading . It was an amazing gesture
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Old 27 Jun 19, 08:50 PM  
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Floridafour
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A great read as always. The townhouse looks fab, so much space! Those hotel rooms can get a little too much when 4 of you are sharing & my 2 girls always argue over sharing a bed. Looking forward to more 🙂
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Old 27 Jun 19, 10:13 PM  
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Not a nice experience at your favourite ride. I don’t understand why your request was viewed as difficult in the first place, the ride attendant seems to have just been pedantic. How awful for you and Evie. You were very gracious dealing with this incident.

We haven’t been to Universal in years so haven’t ridden Fast and Furious but it is such a shame they have taken the easy route with what had the potential to be an amazing attraction.

The town house looks lovely, what a wonderful gesture from Kelly’s cousin.
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Old 28 Jun 19, 07:35 AM  
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gjdjud
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Originally Posted by Floridafour View Post
A great read as always. The townhouse looks fab, so much space! Those hotel rooms can get a little too much when 4 of you are sharing & my 2 girls always argue over sharing a bed. Looking forward to more 🙂
It was lovely and massive. I think looking back that it was nice too see both sides of things. We have our preference though

Originally Posted by collybird View Post
Not a nice experience at your favourite ride. I don’t understand why your request was viewed as difficult in the first place, the ride attendant seems to have just been pedantic. How awful for you and Evie. You were very gracious dealing with this incident.

We haven’t been to Universal in years so haven’t ridden Fast and Furious but it is such a shame they have taken the easy route with what had the potential to be an amazing attraction.

The town house looks lovely, what a wonderful gesture from Kelly’s cousin.
It was really frustrating and it’s lucky he said it to me out of earshot from Kelly as she would have let fly

They definitely went the easy route with Fast and Furious.

It was an amazing gesture
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Old 29 Jun 19, 10:39 PM  
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Such a great trip report that I’m really enjoying reading-as was your food report which has given me some ideas.
Thank you for posting.
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