Better Late Than Never?? Let's Hope. A September 2021 Trip Report ( COMPLETED 8/9/22)

[queenofthehill]

Day Three (Monday ) - Part 5

We did not have reservations for Strong Water, and I'm not sure they even take them but I just knew to get there before the kitchen closes at 11. We left Aventura and walked over around 10PM.

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I really could go on and on about the venue. But any TR from @schumigirl would do a much better job. It was through her excellent reports that decided to try them in the 1st place a few years ago and now no trip is complete without a visit. I had been following Anthony the bartender on Instagram for some weeks and I looked forward to trying his creations. The bar was fairly busy when we arrived and even though I saw he was working tonight, I didn’t want to bother him. I mentioned to my waiter that I wanted him specifically to make me a creation only if he had time. But to start I ordered a Rum Revival and DH got a Mai Tai. They were perfect!

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The menu was limited since the reopening but luckily my favorites were still available. We ordered the sliders (no pic), camerones and my absolute favorite food item, curry goat with a side of coconut rice. I don’t want this review to take up 25 pages but again, I could go on and on about how delicious the food is here. You just have to experience it.

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As I’m stuffing my face, Anthony personally brings over a creation for me. The most beautiful cocktail, strong and balanced, just like any good drink should be! He spent some time talking with me about the drink, the rum he used and I was so impressed with his knowledge. During our conversation, I mentioned my love of ginger and before long he brings another creation. Again, amazing.

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We were stuffed but there was no way I was leaving without dessert. Now I’ve eaten at least 10x my weight in cake cumulative throughout my life. I know cakes. I bake cakes. I experiment with cake recipes often. I'm planning a trip to Seattle Washington just to visit a bakery next year. Get it? Tres Leches happens to be one of my favorite kinds. Their Tres Leches is top notch. If I had a recommendation it would be to add rum and up the nutmeg but I digress. We ordered the cake to go and settled the check. The kitchen was closing so you can imagine my surprise when I got back to my room to eat a bit of cake. I don’t even know how they fit that piece in the box. Sorry, no pic. So again, we waddled back to our room, settled in to bed for the night grateful for another amazing day.

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[schumigirl]

qoth....your food pictures are amazing!! Everything looks so beautiful, and I`m so glad you love Strong Water so much too......those creations looked delicious.....I share your love of ginger too. The staff there really do know their rum.

Your park time was a lot of fun and I do like your offsite choices too, I`ve seen American Social but never knew anyone had gone, it`s so close to the hotels.

Glad you enjoyed Aventura, but Dockside does look so nice complared to what I thought it would be. You did have a nice view from that room at ventura though.

 

[OOMHS]

Travel Day / Day One (Saturday) - Part 2

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What is the garnish here? It looks like a shrimp or something but I'm assuming it must be a lemon wedge? I keep staring at it!

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[queenofthehill]

qoth....your food pictures are amazing!! Everything looks so beautiful, and I`m so glad you love Strong Water so much too......those creations looked delicious.....I share your love of ginger too. The staff there really do know their rum.

Your park time was a lot of fun and I do like your offsite choices too, I`ve seen American Social but never knew anyone had gone, it`s so close to the hotels.

Glad you enjoyed Aventura, but Dockside does look so nice complared to what I thought it would be. You did have a nice view from that room at ventura though.

Thank you I've been to Dockside 2 times since this trip and I have zero complaints. I stayed in their 2 bedroom suites and it really is a great value.

 

[queenofthehill]

Thanks for reading. The garnish was a lychee

 

[queenofthehill]

Day Four (Tuesday ) - Part 1

It’s our 1st morning at Aventura and the morning started off the way it always does. The fitness center here is a notch above Dockside’s because it had a cable system which is awesome. I arrived at the gym at 7:30AM and there not a single soul there. It remained empty until I left about 40 minutes later.

Today was supposed to be a park free day, but as I mentioned before, I like to pivot at times. I planned on having some pool time today so I thought it would be a good day to go get wet at Islands. When I got back to tell DH about the change in plans I had cooked up he decided he wanted to come to the park too! What an unexpected surprise. It was early enough to do Early Admission at Islands that morning so we lined up at Hagrid's at about 8:50AM to start the day. We were among the 1st wave of guest into Hogsmeade so I was able to snap a wizard less photo.

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I thought about riding Forbidden Journey but since DH wouldn’t be able to do it I skipped it. DH actually does have true motion issues and FJ was a one and done for him.

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VelociCoaster was showing a 15-minute wait at that point so naturally I had to ride. Again, DH would not be riding so I spared him from potential boredom by only riding it twice. By 9:30 we were ready to take a ride back in time on River Adventure. There was no one in the queue and were on the boat all by ourselves. I just love when that happens.

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[queenofthehill]

Day Four (Tuesday ) - Part 2

I typically skip the wet rides because I get cold very easily and I hate being cold. But since were going to be leaving the parks right after the rides, I was willing to get wet today. Next, we rode Rip Saw Falls. I love this gag filled queue and props. It’s hard to understand why the queue is like a ¼ mile long but then I think about the summer months and it makes sense. We rode Popeye’s after that because when you’re already soaked, it’s the just the right thing to do. The ride was showing a 10-minute wait but it was really a walk on. We just stayed seated and went around a total of 3 times. On the 3rd go round, for the 2nd time this morning, we were the only ones in our ride vehicle.



When we got off Popeye’s the crowds were starting to pick up which was our queue to exit. As we walked through Superhero Island, Cyclops and Wolverine were out to say hello.



We wanted to get some treats so off to Voodoo Donuts we went. It was empty and that’s always a welcomed surprise. We ordered 3 donuts to share, Cinnamon Sugar, Portland Cream and my favorite, Mango Tango. We found a nice table overlooking the lagoon to eat our breakfast of champions. There were all very good.

 

[queenofthehill]

Day Four (Tuesday ) - Part 3

We decided to walk back to Aventura via the walking path to Sapphire Falls. It really was such a pleasant walk back. By this point we were getting a bit tired for some reason and slightly hungry. Urban Pantry is the food service option at Aventura. I’ve never tried it before and today was as good a day as any. They have a Wok, Roast and Pizza Stations during the day. We decided on the build your own bowl from the wok station. After you choose your carb, protein, veggies and sauce, they cook it all there to order. In the meantime, DH went a few feet over to Starbucks and bought a Frap and breakfast sandwich. The bowl was fantastic. So tasty and piping hot. It took about 5 minutes to receive the bowl after I ordered it.

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After our elevenses, we went up to change out of our clothes into more appropriate attire and grab a few essentials for the plans ahead. Before long, we were back on the bus on our way to CityWalk to go see Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. I was so excited to finally see this film. I’ve been eager to see this since it was announced and it took so much will power to not see it at home. I knew I wanted to go to the movie theater a City Walk this trip and what better movie to see than this one. Seeing a movie at this location was another 1st for me. We got the obligatory popcorn and soda, found our seats and settled in for what was a very enjoyable 2 hours.

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[queenofthehill]

Day Four (Tuesday ) - Part 4

After the movies, we boarded a boat to have a relaxing afternoon at the Royal Pacific Resort. Pool hopping was back in full swing. Typically, you will need to visit the front desk at the resort to get an amenities key, but the gate was open so we didn’t bother doing that. I knew I wanted to have a relaxing pool day with pool side service this trip and while I could wait to do this when we switch to our final resort, I didn’t want to run the risk of deciding to scrap it so today we’re sticking with the plan.

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It was the perfect day to do this. The sun was shining but not offensively so, and the pool was light on swimmers. While there were plenty of loungers in use, we were able to score really great ones directly pool side. There wasn’t many servers roaming at that time but staffing may have improved since then. We ordered nachos to eat and drinks were a Mai Tai and Beer. We didn’t want to eat too much because we had huge dinner plans today.

We really enjoyed the vibe at the pool this day. There were some kids, but it was mostly an adult atmosphere. There were adults playing volleyball and a small private event at one end of the pool area. They had an open bar and many of their attendees took full advantage which made for great people watching. I spent so may hours trying to decide which resort pool to visit based on the mood I was after and I think I made a great choice. It was exactly what I expected and I will certainly do this again.

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At about 6PM we were back to our room to get dressed for dinner. I wanted a more elevated dining experience today and chose to dine at The Capital Grille. The fact that they were also participating in Magical Dining was a plus. I didn't take any pics at dinner service since it’s supposed to be a classy joint. I made reservations weeks ago and its highly recommended. Even with a reservation we still waited about 20 minutes to be seated. While I understand the desire to keep the aesthetic of a steakhouse of yore, there should be limits. The restaurant was dark and brown. For me, instead of feeling classic, it just felt old and dated. I ordered a lemon drop and from the MD menu the salad, filet , lobster tail and chocolate cake. DH ordered the french onion soup and rib eye from the regular menu. They brought over a bread basket that DH devoured. I didn’t care for it because they had some type onion topping all over it. I hate onions. He said it’s the best free bread service he's had so I guess if you like onions, you’ll be very pleased with this. I won’t drag this portion of the review on because quite frankly it was a terrible food experience. DH loved his rib-eye. It was cooked to specification and had great flavor. I thought it was good as well. I however did not have the same luck with my dishes. My drink was bad, steak over cooked, lobster was a hockey puck. They attempted to fix my dish and it came out terribly wrong for a 2nd time. I’m not a fussy diner in the least, and I can forgive some minor offences from the kitchen, but when lobster tail is so overcooked, I couldn’t even get it off my fork to send it back, we’re done. When we requested the bill, the manager came over to apologize about the issues. I did not request to speak to the manager, I really just wanted to leave. There was nothing that could be done to salvage the meal at this point. The manager comped the meal and also gave us a certificate to return and try them again. That was kind and unexpected. We tipped the value of the full bill as the wait staff was nothing short of fantastic and headed back to the hotel. I ate the rest of my tres leches cake from strong water for dinner and called it a night, still grateful to be there.

 

[wdwrule]

Day Four (Tuesday ) - Part 3

We decided to walk back to Aventura via the walking path to Sapphire Falls. It really was such a pleasant walk back. By this point we were getting a bit tired for some reason and slightly hungry. Urban Pantry is the food service option at Aventura. I’ve never tried it before and today was as good a day as any. They have a Wok, Roast and Pizza Stations during the day. We decided on the build your own bowl from the wok station. After you choose your carb, protein, veggies and sauce, they cook it all there to order. In the meantime, DH went a few feet over to Starbucks and bought a Frap and breakfast sandwich. The bowl was fantastic. So tasty and piping hot. It took about 5 minutes to receive the bowl after I ordered it.

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After our elevenses, we went up to change out of our clothes into more appropriate attire and grab a few essentials for the plans ahead. Before long, we were back on the bus on our way to CityWalk to go see Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. I was so excited to finally see this film. I’ve been eager to see this since it was announced and it took so much will power to not see it at home. I knew I wanted to go to the movie theater a City Walk this trip and what better movie to see than this one. Seeing a movie at this location was another 1st for me. We got the obligatory popcorn and soda, found our seats and settled in for what was a very enjoyable 2 hours.

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I’m a big fan of Aventura’s counter service. They have great varied choices other than the typical park food. Loving your report!

 

[queenofthehill]

I’m a big fan of Aventura’s counter service. They have great varied choices other than the typical park food. Loving your report!

I only wish I tried it before. Thanks for following along

 

[queenofthehill]

Day Five (Wednesday ) - Part 1

DH was scheduled to come to the park today. I originally had Early Admission for Islands planned but I decided to deviate a bit. Like every other day, I hit the fitness center nice and early and again today, it was empty. I went down to Starbucks at about 7:30AM and I was shocked that the line was so short. I quickly grabbed my caffeine and took a few pics of the breakfast menu to share with DH if he was awake.

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I really like to travel light but that comes with challenges. I planned on doing a mid-week laundry stop this trip. Aventura has laundry facilities on at least 2 floors. Again, the hotel foot print is so small that it’s never a trek to get anywhere. I went back to the room to gather our dirty clothes and off I went. The laundry room was bright and well equipped. It had 4 washers and 4 dryers for use. You could pay with a card, coins or the app and there was a coin machine available in the room to provide change if you needed it. Each wash/dry load was $3.00. They had laundry detergent and fabric softener sheets available for purchase at $1.00 each. I only needed to do one load so the whole thing cost $7.00 and it was well worth it. We stayed in 3 hotels this trip and I did not want to cart around lots of luggage every few days. I started my laundry load at 8:00AM. I washed, dried and folded it all and was still at City Walk by 10:20AM. Could not have had a more productive morning.

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[queenofthehill]

Day Five (Wednesday ) - Part 2

I felt it was too late to enter Islands so we went to Studios instead since it was only open for 30 minutes. This proved to be the best decision. Studios was light on crowds today.



First thing was the Horror Makeup Show. I really like this again because each actor brings a little something different. It’s the same jokes and lines for the most part but the delivery is rarely the same. Beetlejuice was hosting the pre-show and he was a crack up! I kept hoping he would not call on us because he was pretty brutal. I love it!

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After we laughed up an appetite, we were finally going to a food stand I have been so eager to try, Central Park Crepes. It took a bit of wait to get the crepe but I’m always willing to wait for fresh made items. We ordered the Smoked Brisket crepe and it was worth every minute and every calorie. It was delicious. Perfectly cooked crepe and delicious filling. I would have liked it a tab spicier but that’s just me being picky. DH and I shared 1 and it was plenty for a mid-morning snack.

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The parade was just starting right in front of us, the timing could not have been more perfect. The performers were so engaging and full of energy as if the day could get any more perfect.

 

[queenofthehill]

Day Five (Wednesday ) - Part 3

We stopped by the UOAP lounge so DH could look around and I could pick up the AP magnet. He tried the coke iceee convertor thingy, you know, for science.

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We next walked on to one of my absolutely favorite rides on property, ET. The queue still holds up to this day and in my opinion can rival many modern queues and not to mention the iconic smell. We boarded our bikes and safely delivered ET home in no time.




Like I mentioned previously, I really appreciated DH being on the is trip because I get to try foods I always wanted to but will typically ignore mainly because I can’t eat it all on my own. On that note we stopped by the Bumblebee’s Man Taco Truck. We ordered the chicken and the carne asada options which came with chips and salsa. These were forgettable and easily will be skipped in the future. Since I was in Springfield, I decided to throw money away by ordering a flaming Moe. Again, never tried it before and will never order it again. I don’t know what I expected, but for that price, the beverage itself should have been more inspired rather than only being about the dry ice. I do appreciate the food court style in Springfield. If you're traveling in a group, there is something here for everyone.

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[queenofthehill]

Day Five (Wednesday ) - Part 4

I think we went to Men In Black after tacos but I can’t remember? Think someone swiped my memory After we totally didn’t train to shoot aliens, we went on over to Diagon Alley and walked around a bit to let DH take in the atmosphere.

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It was about 2PM and I was ready for some liquid refreshments. I’ve seen all these vids of drinks from Chez Alcatraz and I was ready to get my 1st drink here. I ordered the Alcatraz and it was indeed refreshing. We took a few steps to the arepas food truck that was parked in front of the Fast and Furious exit. We ordered the picadillo variety and it was ok. We found it to be a bit greasy and heavy. We wouldn’t order this again.

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The sun was really blazing now and we wanted to take a siesta. When we got back to Aventura, DH went up for a nap and I went to the pool bar, Bar Sol. The bartender was amazing and the drinks were really good. Bar Sol had these Bacardi bucket deals going on. Excellent value if you’re a Bacardi drinker. If I planned on being at the pool today, I might have ordered one of those but alas it was not meant to be. I did meet a fantastic couple at the bar and offered some tips on their touring plans for the next day.

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There was also a local hotelier there who was taking his staff to HHN that night. They were doing a bar crawl before HHN and I wasn’t sure they would all make it through the night. It was only about 5PM at that point and a few of them were already losing their footing. They were a great group and we hung out a bit having shots and playing a bit of poolside corn in the hole, pool and foosball. I didn’t realize I spent so much time at Bar Sol. I was there for 3 ½ hours and didn’t touch the pool at all. I needed to get upstairs and possibly take a power nap because we had dinner reservations at a restaurant, I was excited to try.

 

[queenofthehill]

Day Five (Wednesday ) - Part 5

We had 830PM reservations at Mama Della. Mama Della was participating in Magical Dining this year. We took the bus from Aventura to City Walk and then another bus to Portofino. What a gorgeous resort, even at night. It lights up beautifully. At this point, I had not stayed at Portofino before. I have stayed there since this trip and I loved it! We were seated as soon as we checked in and was immediately offered bread service. From the MD menu, we ordered the Cesar Salad, Calamari, Rigatoni Bolognese, Polla Parmigiano, Gelato, Cannoli and the Gamberi Scampi from the regular menu. I also ordered a Lagurian Lemonaid cocktail.

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We really enjoyed our meal here. We had zero complaints and as we were eating, there was a roaming guitar player and singer going around to the tables and serenading the guests. When they eventually made their way to our table, he asked me to choose his next song. I picked
someone very Italian, Elvis. He then sang my favorite Elvis song ever. Seriously there was no way this night could get better. We were stuffed, but ate every single morsel. We decided to take the bus back again instead of the boat. It took about 30 minutes for a bus to come.

Later at night, the bus service to and from the premier resorts is pretty infrequent. During the long wait, we took the opportunity to just talk about our day and I ran down the plans for the following day with DH. When we got back to the room were pretty tired and passed out almost
immediately. I had on my schedule to have a night cap at Bar 17 Bistro which is the rooftop bar at Aventura but I was too tired to go up and gave into sweet sweet sleep.

 

[queenofthehill]

Day Six (Thursday ) - Part 1

We all know the routine at this point. Morning workout then off to fun. Another solo morning was planned today. Studios had EA today at 7AM and Islands would open at 9AM. I love when there is a 2 hour difference because it allows you to get more done in the early park and time to spare to power walk on over to Islands. However, I had a late start to the morning. I arrived at Studios at about 8AM and Minions had a 5 minute wait. I had not gone on yet this trip so I queued up for that. I walked on but with the line filling and the preshows it took almost 30 minutes to complete the experience.

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At that point I knew I wanted to ride Hagrids and Velocicoaster so I walked left Studios to walk to Island. My oh My it was a gorgeous day! Seriously one of the most beautiful days at the park this week.

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People were being let it a bit early into Islands today. At 9:05 I was entering Hagrids and I was happy to see my couple from the bar the previous day. I was worried that my tips wouldn’t work for them. I rode Hagrids and headed to Jurassic Park.

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[queenofthehill]

Day Six (Thursday ) - Part 2

I rode Velocicoaster a few times and went over to my other favorite land, Seuss Landing. I know this is supposed to be for the littles but I love it here. Everything smells sweet with vibrant colors and cheerful music. I rode the Trolley in the Sky first. Beautiful views day and night. Next was a walk on to The Cat in the Hat. I was in my own ride car and I must say it felt a bit scary.

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[queenofthehill]

Day Six (Thursday ) - Part 3

It was about 1030AM now and time for me to head back to the room to check out. I already packed everything up this morning, hence the reason I was late getting to the park. I called DH to let him know I was on my way back but I would be taking the walking path to Sapphire because it was such a gorgeous day. I also wanted to time the walk since it’s a frequently asked question. It took me 17 minutes from the CityWalk point to the Sapphire lobby.

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Sapphire is going to be the last hotel we check in to this trip. I’ve looking forward to our stay here and the time has come. It also meant that the trip was almost over. Very bitter sweet. After I checked in, I walked back over to Aventura. We grabbed lunch at Urban Pantry and again had a noodle bowl. We moved the car from garage at Aventura to Sapphire then took the bus to Studios. We checked out the tribute store and as usual it was impressive.

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[queenofthehill]

Day Six (Thursday ) - Part 4

Starbucks seemed like a good idea for a mid day pick me up. Next was Florean Fortescue's for Ice Cream which we shared. Then we shared a butterbeer and fish and chips from The Leaky Cauldron.

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After that we saw the adorable Animal Actors show. Because it’s been more than 5 minutes since our last meal, we needed to eat again. There was only one thing on our minds, crepes! We were being boring and ordered the brisket crepe again. It even better this time because I requested extra sauce and slaw. It was messy and delicious.

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I got the room ready text and we decided to head back. We were very happy with our room. We paid extra for the lagoon view and it was 100% worth it. After we settled in, we dozed off for an evening nap.

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