A May 2017 Trip Report - Our First Non-Disney Adventure (Complete)

It was really good - I enjoyed it more than the strawberry peanut butter. I love fall desserts - cobblers, apple crisp, etc. - so it hit the right note with me. The strawberry peanut butter was just that. I don't know what I was expecting but it tasted adequately of both flavors but wasn't fabulous.
 
Thanks for the info

I hate choosing a flavor and find out after two bites, I don't like it at all.....


Did that two years ago and when at the register to pay, she asked it it was good

Told her no and asked where's the trash can

Such a lovely tm as she told me to go back and get a different one

No charge to me
Was thankful but it was my error of trying something new

Now I am aware you can have a sample if you are not sure if that is the ice cream you want
 
I asked the TM what his favorites were - he said apple crumble and I think the clotted cream. I should have stuck with him but that definitely influenced my apple crumble choice!
 
Sunday May 7 – Aquatica

Today was our Aquatica day and our chance to catch up with the D Family. It was a little emotional because the dad is very close with DH who wasn’t with us. However, the kids were excited so we forged ahead. We had booked 2 cabanas for what was supposed to be 8 of us thinking that the guys could visit while we chased down the kids. Aunt P, Aunt R, and Uncle C were staying behind. They slept in and had a late lunch at NBS sports with a local friend. Lesson learned though – they were planning to hit the parks in the evening and they closed early that day. In the week we were there, the parks closed at 6 on Fridays for grad nights and there was a private event that Sunday evening. Make sure you check park hours!

Back to the water park, I had very low expectations for the day but my kids love the water. I’ve never been to the Disney water parks but I’ve been to many others – including their sister property Sesame Place in PA - and this was, by far, the cleanest I have even seen. There were two attendants in the restrooms mopping and keeping it tidy. There were misters that kept the sidewalks cool for your feet and the service was just awesome.

We left the hotel at 8 since I didn’t know where I was going. It was on the early side and we arrived at 8:21 which meant we had to sit until the parking lot opened. Ha! I had printed out the parking pass I purchased for $30 on the Discovery Cove website, the cabana rental papers, and our tickets from the DC link. When we got to the front gate, I ran over to the ticket booth while the kids held our spot (I was where I could see them). I verified that the tickets were in fact tickets and asked if she could help me with the cabana. On my reservation, it said to go to Guest Services in the park but I was hoping for good luck. She checked us in, put our 3 wristbands on, and told us we could get the other wristbands from the cabana staff since D family was running late. This worked out so well since I didn’t have to wait in a longer line inside. We were ready to go.

When the gates opened, they took our pictures, scanned our tickets (but returned them so we could use them for the rest of the week), and we were on our way. Nope – wait. There was still a rope by Loggerhead Lane holding us until exactly 9 am. We headed over to Cabanas 30 and 31 which are just over the bridge across from the Banana Beach Buffet. This wasn’t a super quiet location but it worked really well for us. It was easy for the kids to find us, we were right at the bridge so the kids could call out when they swam by, and it was very close to the restrooms. We had 24 bottles of water for the 7 of us, 8 towels, and plenty of chairs. The lockers were so convenient too.

I cannot say enough about how great this day was. It was a cooler morning and not very crowded until the afternoon when the lines did build up. The cabanas were not all booked though. Here’s what we accomplished: Dolphin Plunge, Loggerhead Lane, Tassie’s Twisters, Walhalla Wave, HooRoo Run, and then the kids jumped back into Loggerhead Lane while I went to meet the D Family. Once we all met up, the kids were stuck on repeat in Loggerhead Lane and Roa’s Rapids. They were having a blast and we let them go but, in hindsight, we missed out on the shorter lines for the slides. We did do Taumata Racer twice, Omaka Rocks, and Whanau Way with no lines but later in the day it was just too long to wait. The kids didn’t care though because they hung out in Roa’s Rapids, Cutback Cove, and Walkabout Waters so they didn’t feel like they were missing out.

We ate lunch at the Banana Beach buffet since it was right there and it was better than I expected. We took our time and visited over our meals so it was perfect for what we needed. They had pizza, hot dogs, sausage and peppers, a nacho bar, meatballs, salads, fresh fruit, and all sorts of desserts. At around 2 pm, DS1 started complaining that he was majorly chafed and his boy parts were not doing so well. My kids typically keep their liners in their swimsuits and don’t wear underwear although DS2 does sometimes. So, we improvised. I stopped in the little gift shop across from Walkabout Waters and asked if they had scissors and a dressing room. DS1 and I headed in and cut out the liner from his suit. He was much more comfortable for the last two hours but even DS2 was hurting a little by the time we were done.

We were meeting friends from Maine back at the Hard Rock for dinner at 6 so we had to get going. We left at 4:15 and stopped for pretzels on the way out. DS1 had a cinnamon sugar pretzel which he raved over. It was a slow walk to the car with the boys complaining how much they hurt. That said, the boys declared that they would like to head back again while we were there if we had the time. They boys slept in the car on the short ride the we showered, powdered, and put on some Body Glide before meeting our friends in the lobby. The S Family hails from Maine – hubby used to work with my DH when we lived there and they have two boys around my sons ages.

We walked over to NBC sports for dinner. We shared the spinach artichoke dip and the cheese curds. The dip was okay but the cheese curds were amazing! I can’t remember what the kids had but the three adults had the lamb burger (a little dry), the chicken mac n cheese (two thumbs up), and the bbq combo which was brisket, ribs, and pulled pork. It was really tasty but I probably only ate half of it. The best part was the beer list – they make their own beers there and we sampled two flights. Just like at Cowfish, we had an awesome server.

We debated dessert but were just too full so we wandered around the City Walk and did some shopping before heading back to the hotel. We bid farewell to the S family who were flying home to Maine the next day and dropped into a sound slumber. The boys requested the following day (Monday) as a rest day. However, I reminded them that it was our last day with Aunt R, Aunt P, and Uncle C. Instead, we negotiated that Tuesday would be a rest day and we would move Sea World to Wednesday. They agreed!

I didn’t wear my FitBit since we were in the water all day. If I had to guess based on other days, we walked about 5 miles.
 


I'm sorry to hear about your FIL, that is a horrible way to have to start a vacation. It sounds like you did a good job of making the best of the situation though.

I'm thinking we may be neighbors....sort of. I work about 2-3 miles from Sesame Place, and live about 15 minutes "down" the turnpike (towards KOP). I can totally related to your younger/shorter kiddo....our son is 14, and just broke 5' tall. I think he's officially 5'1". Anyway, on our last trip he was 9, and was DEFINITELY not tall enough for the big coasters, hence, the need to return for this trip. I think he was officially over 54" the summer of 2015(I think he was about 12--August to be exact, I just checked his stats, he was 56"), but we already had 2016s vacation planned/booked by then, so we sort of didn't tell him until it came time to plan this year's vacation.

In all the trips that we've been to FL, we've never done Aquatica...sounds like we may have to work in a day when we go back to Disney in 2019....
 
The portion of Aquatica is detailed and informative that others would enjoy reading

Would you consider to cut and paste that section to put it in the seaworld forum ?
 
Shame about the breakfast at Café La Bamba.......I`ve not heard great things about it from people I know, so have never done it.....but glad the character interaction was enjoyable. Universal do that well. You did well on RRR.......and I always get the Jalapeno burger in Cowfish......it`s excellent.......

Aquatica sounded like a fun day........was interesting to read as we don't go to waterparks.........I`m so glad you still managed to have fun although I`m sure your mind would have been elsewhere.........
 


I'm sorry to hear about your FIL, that is a horrible way to have to start a vacation. It sounds like you did a good job of making the best of the situation though.

I'm thinking we may be neighbors....sort of. I work about 2-3 miles from Sesame Place, and live about 15 minutes "down" the turnpike (towards KOP). I can totally related to your younger/shorter kiddo....our son is 14, and just broke 5' tall. I think he's officially 5'1". Anyway, on our last trip he was 9, and was DEFINITELY not tall enough for the big coasters, hence, the need to return for this trip. I think he was officially over 54" the summer of 2015(I think he was about 12--August to be exact, I just checked his stats, he was 56"), but we already had 2016s vacation planned/booked by then, so we sort of didn't tell him until it came time to plan this year's vacation.

In all the trips that we've been to FL, we've never done Aquatica...sounds like we may have to work in a day when we go back to Disney in 2019....

It was definitely not the start we were hoping for but it all worked out in the end!

We are definitely close - I live near the Premium Outlets off 422 so a little further out. My aunt lives in Yardley and the family that traveled with us are from Northeast Philly and Roxboro. It's a small world.

I'm glad your son, even on the short side, was a daredevil. DS2 wasn't interested in the 54" rides at Universal. He did want to try Mako though at Sea World and didn't make the grade. When are you heading back? Later this year?
 
The portion of Aquatica is detailed and informative that others would enjoy reading

Would you consider to cut and paste that section to put it in the seaworld forum ?

Done - I set up a separate thread over there and just copied the post (with a link to this report if they want the full scoop). Thanks for the suggestion and for following my report!
 
As a moderator of that forum also, I try to find ways to help most readers

So many ask about Aquatica

When I read your trip report and saw the pics, I knew your trip report and everything in it would be well received

It is great!!
:thanks:
 
Thanks! I am happy to share what I learned. I am already plotting when I can head back south. We had a fantastic time.
 
Monday May 8 Universal

It was our last day with Aunt R, Aunt P, and Uncle C before they headed back to PA and we started it out right. My family loves a good breakfast (and characters too) so we were on the road early at 6:50 for a 7:30 breakfast reservation at ‘Ohana. I was worried we might hit some morning rush hour traffic but it was no problem at all. We arrived at 7:15, parked, and waited in a short line to check in. The restaurant opens at 7:30 so we got to see the short opening show that the servers do. It was cute but we were hungry and ready for the main act.

We were seated quickly and enjoyed all the food – the biscuits and waffles were a huge hit as was the POG juice. Honestly though, there was nothing we didn’t enjoy. Character interaction was great and it was the perfect way to get a little Disney fix without seeing the parks this trip. We were on the road before 9 and waiting to get into Universal Studios by 9:30.

We headed right back to Daigon Alley and rode Gringott’s with a 15 minute wait. It passed quickly as Uncle C. enjoyed the queue since he had never ridden before. After, we cast some more spells, did some shopping, drank both frozen and regular butterbeer (the frozen is way better!) before hopping the train for IoA. We wanted to ride in both directions but, now that I did, we were good for the rest of the trip.

We rode Hippogriff and Dragon’s Challenge twice each then bought some sweets before hitting Jurassic River Adventure. We rode Spiderman twice then Hulk and bought some pretzels and popcorn for a snack before walking back to the hotel for a break.

The morning went a lot slower than I was hoping. We got a later start with breakfast and Aunt R was really fatigued. It was super hot and her knees were bothering her so we didn’t get a lot accomplished. She rested while I hit the pool with the kids. They were happy with that and had a great time. They almost were convinced to give the dance competition pool side a go but they chickened out.

We headed back out at 4 pm for an early dinner at Toothsome. Given that we hadn’t eaten much since our big breakfast, we were ready. When we arrived, we were told it was a 20 minute wait and we gave them our cell number for a text. Aunt P also told the hostess that it was the kids’ birthdays. We hadn’t even started shopping the fantastic shop (and I was drooling over the macaroons) when my text dinged and our table was ready.

After we were seated, we took forever oogling the extensive menu before deciding what we wanted. The kid’s both ordered waffles from the adult menu – one plain and one with lemon curd and fresh fruit. Huge thumbs up here! We had Chicken Bercy, Quiche Lorraine, and a beef flatbread with two sides of Brussel sprouts from the appetizer list. The sprouts were probably the best thing I ate all week. Of course, we saved room for dessert (or thought we did). DS1 tried the Chocolate Brownie Bark sundae, DS2 had the Brookies, Cookies and Cream sundae, and the adults ordered the Salted Caramel Flan sundae. The kids’ dessert came out with candles which was cute but no singing. We also never got to meet the two characters that circulate. They never even seemed to get to our area of the restaurant even though we were there until almost 6. Service was on the slower side but we really enjoyed this meal and would go back again.

We headed back out to USF for the evening and really wanted to see the Cinemagic Spectacular. We used the secret back entrance which was so convenient. Basically, there is a walkway between Toothsome and the main USF entrance that runs right behind Rip Rockit. No wait and we zipped right in. We rode Fallon (love), saw the Horror Makeup Show (first time and are now huge fans!), saw Terminator (eh – youngest hated it and the rest of us thought it needed updating), rode ET and then sat along the water right across from Animals on Location. Aunt R rested while the rest of the crew grabbed snacks – more popcorn and a big pink donut. We kicked back and waited for the show.

I loved it as did the adults. The kids liked it and were not at all scared by the horror scenes. We stood right along the water and had a fabulous view of the lake. We meandered back to the hotel after and called it a night. My FitBit said we walked 7.5 miles today.
 
We are definitely close - I live near the Premium Outlets off 422 so a little further out. My aunt lives in Yardley and the family that traveled with us are from Northeast Philly and Roxboro. It's a small world.

I'm glad your son, even on the short side, was a daredevil. DS2 wasn't interested in the 54" rides at Universal. He did want to try Mako though at Sea World and didn't make the grade. When are you heading back? Later this year?

It is...my very first "on my own" apartment was in Royersford way back in the day... before the outlets!! Our trip is in about 2 weeks, and we're chomping at the bit....just have to get through this last little bit of school!
 
Hmmmm... we LOVED Discovery Cove but did not take advantage of doing anything else that came with it. Your Aquatica review makes me think -- NEXT TIME!
 
Tuesday May 9 Universal / Break Day

Today, the kids were ready for a break so we slept in, had breakfast in our room, and headed out at 10 am. We had a different plan for today and it ended up being one of our favorite days. We stopped in the Kitchen and said good bye to Aunt R, Aunt P, and Uncle C. They were grabbing a bite to eat before heading to the airport for their flight back to Philadelphia.

The kids and I headed to IoA dressed in our bathing suits. They had sneakers on but I packed crocs and slides. I was wearing my slides and a sleeveless dress style cover-up. I carried a larger tote with me with towels, the kids water shoes, my kindle, and swim goggles plus a plastic bag to keep my kindle dry. We entered and headed back to the Jurassic play area. The kids love this place and rarely get enough time to enjoy it. I found a spot in the shade and pulled out my kindle while they ran and played. It was so hot today – high 90s – but they didn’t mind. 90 minutes later and they re-appeared.

We headed to Jurassic River Adventure next. Since we were dressed to get soaked, we took the first row and got pretty wet – the mindset makes a difference. Rather than ducking our heads and trying to stay dry, we embraced the fun. It was around 11:40 so we ran to Blondie’s for lunch. DS1 saw that they had Nathan’s hot dogs and he really wanted one. We all had foot longs and the kids gave lunch a big thumbs up. I enjoyed it but thought the value was a little low. We paid almost $60 for three of us for lunch. While the kids finished up their lunch, I dashed over to the Hulk to store my things in a locker there.

Now the real fun began. It was time to get drenched. We had never rode either Ripsaw Falls or Bilge Rat Barges because we didn’t want to walk around wet all day and we had limited time at Universal. We headed over to Ripsaw Falls and boarded within 5 minutes with our Express Pass. DS1 and I loved it so much we rode again – first time in the middle and second time DS1 sat in the front row (DS2 skipped the second ride and waited on the bridge). From there it was onto Bilge Rat Barges where we rode 3 times in a row – laughing hysterically each time. We loved it! If you have skipped these rides, you really are missing out. What a blast!

The kids explored a little the Me Ship, The Olive and then we headed to grab our bag at Hulk (no charge, we made it under the free window) and some popcorn in our refillable bucket. It was around 2:30 by now. We were soaked so we planned some swimming / pool hopping. We hoped the boat at CityWalk headed for Sapphire Falls. It was an enjoyable ride and nice to see some other properties from the water. Sapphire Falls is beautiful and the kids were asking about staying there next trip. We found some seats and they enjoyed the slide, the beach balls, and jumping into the deep end. For us, one shortfall of HRH is the lack of a really deep section in the pool.

We packed up and left around 5 but the experience ended on a low note when we waiting almost 30 minutes for another boat back to CityWalk. They decided the convenience of HRH was totally worth it. We got back to the hotel, showered, and dressed for a fantastic dinner (insert sarcasm). Both kids love breakfast for dinner, iHop in particular. We don’t have one close to home and they pushed hard for a dinner here. It was . . . iHop. They loved it. I took one for the team since DH hates iHop and we knew he was on his way – finally – to join us the next day. We watched some TV and relaxed before turning in for the night. I had two very happy kids!
 
It is...my very first "on my own" apartment was in Royersford way back in the day... before the outlets!! Our trip is in about 2 weeks, and we're chomping at the bit....just have to get through this last little bit of school!

We are definitely in the same area. I cannot wait to hear about your trip! I am already wishing we had a return trip planned. We just love it there.
 
Hmmmm... we LOVED Discovery Cove but did not take advantage of doing anything else that came with it. Your Aquatica review makes me think -- NEXT TIME!

Aquatica is definitely on our return list (as opposed to Sea World which they didn't like much at all - review to come). If you have the DC ticket, I would highly recommend checking it out. I read a review of Volcano Bay that talked about how hot the walkways get. Loved those concrete misters at Aquatica!
 
Great report.

I too am from in the Philly area. A few years ago, my teen girl discovered the Outlets on 422 (about 45 or less minutes from us, mostly if we visit on an early Saturday or Sunday morning). Since my DH has family near Hershey, my kids had only known those Route 30 outlets.

Once my youngest was mostly tall enough to do the stuff at Universal, we were hooked. Now, youngest does more of the roller coasters then the rest of us. And we also like the Busch parks in Orlando, as when buying Sesame Place's Super Grover pass, was used, it made it a cheaper vacation. We are also water park fans, though the kids are not fond of Disney's, we love Aquadica, all are looking forward to trying out Volcano Bay.
 
Oh yeah, and we also did that character meal at La Bamba years ago, when it was not as expensive, but expensive enough I was thinking one time only. Well, we too did not enjoy the food, but the characters were fun. Since my youngest is not a breakfast person, we tend not to book any meal deals. We also did the Ohana one, and really enjoyed the characters there too. Youngest ate very little, but the rest of us enjoyed the food.

Also like the ice cream, I think I liked what I had. Never been to Cowfish yet, but that sounds like a good meal for us too.
 

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