nighttowll
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2013
Quick November Trip
Orlando November 8th to November 14th (Wednesday to Tuesday)
This was primarily a business trip with a couple of leisure days tacked on the end. There were 6 of us in my group in town for a conference. The conference was Wed through Saturday. Then, we all moved to Aventura for our free days, but only me and one other co-worker (S) did the parks on Sunday and Monday. We didn’t have EP, and we didn’t follow a crazy touring plan or get up particularly early either. It was just a go with the flow, see what happens trip, which was new for me, as I am usually a planner, but we actually managed way more than I thought we would.
Overall Universal impression after being away since the pandemic:
Food quality and service has gone downhill, but I think that is more a post pandemic thing, than a Universal specific thing as half our meals were off property, and what I was seeing in Orlando was similar to what I’m seeing at home.
The parks seemed relatively the same as always. I had read a few reports that said they weren’t as clean and in need of some repair, but I didn’t notice anything like that. Bathrooms were all clean, streets relatively free of litter, tables not dirty. I didn’t notice any major wear or tear on any of the rides or queues either.
Same with staff, most of the TMs we encountered were great. Only ran into two who didn’t impress me. One who was yelling instructions at people during the Bourne show. I’m sure she was frustrated with people not listening, but she just came across mean, and one in Hogsmeade who seemed extremely indifferent and like she could barely be bothered to do the minimal for her job. Everyone else was up to the normal amazingly friendly and helpful Universal standard.
Ride times seemed way down from what I am used to on past trips. I’m not sure if I just got lucky or what. The crowd calendars all had my days as moderate to above moderate, and the parks were in no way empty, so I was expecting crowds, but most rides if they had lines seemed to be averaging around 30 minutes. I noticed a few at 50 minutes at times, but many were much lower than 30 as well. They seemed to yo-yo a bit. I will say for Florida temperatures it was cold both my days and rainy on one, so I’m sure that contributed.
Staying at Aventura was a new experience for me, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It was way closer to Saphire than I realized, and I loved how compact it was. Getting back to the room at night was so quick. It also seemed a little quieter than the other hotels with less children running around which I appreciated, especially now that mine are grown. My only complaint was that the water never got hot. It was warm, but it never got hot.
Orlando November 8th to November 14th (Wednesday to Tuesday)
This was primarily a business trip with a couple of leisure days tacked on the end. There were 6 of us in my group in town for a conference. The conference was Wed through Saturday. Then, we all moved to Aventura for our free days, but only me and one other co-worker (S) did the parks on Sunday and Monday. We didn’t have EP, and we didn’t follow a crazy touring plan or get up particularly early either. It was just a go with the flow, see what happens trip, which was new for me, as I am usually a planner, but we actually managed way more than I thought we would.
Overall Universal impression after being away since the pandemic:
Food quality and service has gone downhill, but I think that is more a post pandemic thing, than a Universal specific thing as half our meals were off property, and what I was seeing in Orlando was similar to what I’m seeing at home.
The parks seemed relatively the same as always. I had read a few reports that said they weren’t as clean and in need of some repair, but I didn’t notice anything like that. Bathrooms were all clean, streets relatively free of litter, tables not dirty. I didn’t notice any major wear or tear on any of the rides or queues either.
Same with staff, most of the TMs we encountered were great. Only ran into two who didn’t impress me. One who was yelling instructions at people during the Bourne show. I’m sure she was frustrated with people not listening, but she just came across mean, and one in Hogsmeade who seemed extremely indifferent and like she could barely be bothered to do the minimal for her job. Everyone else was up to the normal amazingly friendly and helpful Universal standard.
Ride times seemed way down from what I am used to on past trips. I’m not sure if I just got lucky or what. The crowd calendars all had my days as moderate to above moderate, and the parks were in no way empty, so I was expecting crowds, but most rides if they had lines seemed to be averaging around 30 minutes. I noticed a few at 50 minutes at times, but many were much lower than 30 as well. They seemed to yo-yo a bit. I will say for Florida temperatures it was cold both my days and rainy on one, so I’m sure that contributed.
Staying at Aventura was a new experience for me, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It was way closer to Saphire than I realized, and I loved how compact it was. Getting back to the room at night was so quick. It also seemed a little quieter than the other hotels with less children running around which I appreciated, especially now that mine are grown. My only complaint was that the water never got hot. It was warm, but it never got hot.