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We said our goodbyes to the Beach Club
Villas and checked out pretty quickly. Express Checkout is great as
long as there is not a problem with your bill. Called down to bell
services and they quickly arrived to get our bags. Crammed everything
in the car (NOT easy) and headed off Disney property... but we'd be
back to the Beach Club for the Mini-meet on the 25th.
We had never stayed on Universal property before, so I was a bit nervous
trying to find my way (my wife would call it something other than nervous
since I get a wee bit testy when I don't know where I'm going. ) The
good news is we all survived the trip, and it wasn't that bad after all.
While Universal's property is not as secluded as the Walt Disney World
Resort, it has it's own beauty once you arrive on property. It is beautifully
landscaped, and the brick intersections are a nice touch. As we entered
Portofino Bay area, they designed the entrance to give a beautiful view
of the resort. A wonderful first impression.
We pulled up front, and the bellmen quickly helped us unload the car and
Pat at the front desk was very helpful when assigning our room. We
had booked a Deluxe room with a pool view and Nanci at Magical Journey's had
requested a balcony (thanks Nanci!) . The only balcony room available
was a smoking room, so I asked if a bay view room was available instead.
(There are VERY few rooms with balconies) Pat spent a few minutes
looking at her computer screen and came back with a Deluxe bay view room very
close to the main lobby. I get the feeling we were extra lucky to
get this particular room. Pat was quick to tell us several times that
this was a particularly nice room.
The room wasn't yet ready, but Pat put a 'rush' on it even though we told
her we'd be going to the parks. She even took our cell phone number
so they could call us when the room was ready. Nice. Disney didn't
offer to do that!
The lobby was very beautiful with an elegance that left a sense of awe.
We were very impressed with both the inside and ourside of this resort.
We grabbed our resort IDs to take full advantance of front of the
line privileges and went down to catch the water taxi to Citywalk.
It was a very pleasant ride, and a fairly short walk to either park (Universal
Studios is a little bit closer).
We had purchased Power Passes, and after the first use, had to visit Vacation
services to have our pictures taken and get new passes. I wish Disney
would provide plastic Annual Pass tickets, but it was a hassle to fill out
paper work and get the cards made. Took around 15 - 20 minutes.
That out of the way, it was off to the Hulk. Kristen and I LOVE
this roller coaster. She stayed with the kids while I headed up the
express line. Walked right on the ride. Cool. They ask
for your resort ID card (for each rider) and swipe it through a handheld
machine. They will only let you ride once per hour, so you can't just
ride something over and over. After a great ride, I met Kristen in
the exit area and she rode.
Off to Spidey next! We all did this, and while Maddy was excited
to see Spiderman, she was a bit put off by some of the scarier moments.
Brinn liked it, but once was enough for both of them. This is a great
ride, and Kristen and I both love it. The special effects and 3D are
very well done.
It was another scorcher, and we started moving a bit faster around the
park. The girls couldn't do several of the rides, but we knew that
and decided to pass on the water rides for now. We have done them in
the past, and didn't want to spend the day all wet.
We enjoyed the Jurassic Park Discovery Center with all the Dinosaur exhibits.
The girls got a kick out of these. We moved on to the Flying
Unicorn kiddy coaster. The girls loved this one. Then Mommy and
Daddy got to do the Dueling Dragons coaster. Another quick trip up the
express line, and used parent swap to ride. I love this front of the
line perk!
Next I made a mistake and took us into Poseidon’s Fury. The girls were scared by
the show, and as Maddy phased it, "Yucky show", said with a lot of attitude.
:-) I thought it was a good show, but it freaked them out quite
a bit. Maybe a bit too real for them...
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