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

[queenofthehill]

Day Six (Thursday ) - Part 5

We had reservations at Amatista Cookhouse tonight, again another first for me and the venue was a Magical Dining participant. This is a beautiful restaurant. I really like the relaxed vibe in here. Once we were seated, we were served some of the most delicious rolls. They were buttery, slightly salty from the cheese and warm. We had maybe 2 baskets of these and requested a few to take back to the room. I ordered a cocktail, the Raspberry Rogue. It was good. Would have been better if I wasn’t thinking about a drink from Strong Water upstairs. I also ordered the Smoke Show cocktail. Both of these drinks have since been removed from the drink list.

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I went with the MD option and I ordered the grilled pineapple salad, ribeye and rum cake. DH went ala carte with the black angus burger, chicken empanadas and ceasar salad. Everything was satisfactory. I can’t say we were blown away by anything in particular but we were not disappointed in the meal either. I would return here for a future meal.

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We walked around the resort a bit after dinner. It really is beautiful at night. It's so convenient to have a full meal and be back in bed without the need for transportation. We climbed into the very comfortable bed with views of the lagoon, again grateful.

 

[queenofthehill]

Day Seven ( Friday ) - Part 1

Today was our last full day in Orlando. Couldn’t believe it was coming to an end. I wanted this day to be as relaxing as possible so I made zero plans other than my morning workout. After the workout, I walked around the resort a bit and took photos. Sapphire Falls really is a beautiful property.




I went back to the room after the resort tour to chat with DH a bit on what he thought we should do for the day. We landed on going to see the movie Candyman and hitting a happy hour afterward which was my contribution to the day of course. We went to the Regal Pointe Orlando since it was close to where we would eat later on. The movie theater was massive! It seemed like DH and I were the only patrons in whole building. The Pointe complex was an interesting place. So many closed shops and in need of maintenance. We had to get parking validated at the thereafter otherwise there is a cost associated. I can see how this place was hopping in its hay day. Hopefully it can be restored to what I can only assume was a former glory. There are many restaurants here however and when we were here a few nights before it was very busy and parking was scarce.

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[queenofthehill]

Day Seven ( Friday ) - Part 2

We thought the movie was OK and it ended just in time for happy hour to begin at Mia’s Italian Kitchen. That’s right, we went back for more. We ordered a pepperoni pizza, fungi pizza, extra side of Nonna’s gravy and the delicious minestrone soup. For my cocktail I had a cellotini.

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The pizza was delicious and perfect! Nothing more to add here. Perfection. My drink was too sweet. I had to get extra lime to adjust it to my liking. Really fantastic meal. While we were eating, we decided to spend the afternoon at the pool. As our luck would have it, it started pouring as soon as we made it to the car. The rain continued well into the night. I was so bummed I wouldn’t be going to the pool here but also grateful I did the pool day earlier in the week. We felt the next best thing would be to just go back to our room and enjoy the sound of the rain snuggled in bed.

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DH was extremely relaxed and had no interest in having dinner. I wasn’t hungry either but what’s the point of staying at Sapphire if I don’t go down to Strong Water. Unsurprisingly, that’s what I did. Anthony was there tonight and I just knew good times were ahead. It wasn’t very busy so Anthony and I were able to talk rum shop. He made me something special and I ordered one from the menu. Both were amazing. He let me try some of the new shrub he was working on and it was divine. I sampled a few rums and talked his ear off for a bit. I then said my goodbyes and headed up to bed.

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The following day was uneventful. We checked out and said goodbye to an epic week at Universal. We truly enjoyed every minute at the resorts. I hope that my TR might help someone convince others that Universal Resort is more than just rides all day and nothing else. It truly is a vacation destination with tons of options. There were many other things that we could have done as well and I had a hard time choosing.
Thank you to all that read and commented/liked and of course a big thank you to those that write these as well. I had fun reliving this trip and I plan to write another for my upcoming trip next month. It will be a solo adventure with a slight twist thrown in there. Until next time

 

[Robo56]

Wow for a first trip report you did a fantastic job. Photos were great and lots of good information on food, cocktails and new places to try.

You are right Universal Resorts are beautiful and do stand alone as a wonderful destination vacation.

I enjoyed your report and look forward to reading your reports in the future.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

I really enjoyed your Trip Report! You did so much, and had a fabulous time doing it.

Thank you for sharing your experience, can't wait to read about the next one

 

[macraven]

Thanks for sharing
I always enjoy reading trip reports!

I was a tad confused when i first started reading it as you use the same font and color as schumi uses in her trip reports

 

[queenofthehill]

Wow for a first trip report you did a fantastic job. Photos were great and lots of good information on food, cocktails and new places to try.

You are right Universal Resorts are beautiful and do stand alone as a wonderful destination vacation.

I enjoyed your report and look forward to reading your reports in the future.

I really enjoyed your Trip Report! You did so much, and had a fabulous time doing it.

Thank you for sharing your experience, can't wait to read about the next one

Thank you Both !

Thanks for sharing
I always enjoy reading trip reports!

I was a tad confused when i first started reading it as you use the same font and color as schumi uses in her trip reports

Thanks for reading! I must say one of the things I've always loved about her reports was how easily identifiable the new post are. Didn't click that i used the same as hers. Definitely will edit.