One Last Fling Before School Starts: Universal, Disney and SeaWorld UPDATED 10/6

[Eureka]

After lunch, DH and DS10 went to Soarin'. DS12 said normally he would do it but he just ate and wanted to digest (since heights are not his thing, he was afraid of feeling sick). We were going to wander the world showcase and find him some dessert, but we briefly took cover under the American Experience rotunda for a few minutes first during a downpour. Then we made our way to Les Artisans des Glaces. He loves ice cream, especially mint chocolate chip. He got a single cone of that, which I tasted. Very nice and creamy.



I was saving myself for Karamel Kuche so didn't get ice cream. We walked through to the other side of World Showcase and found a dry bench on the outer edge of Canada. We were people watching and talking and he was very funny, wondering if I thought anyone would mistake him for my husband. I said I didn't think so, since we are 29+ years apart in age and he looks just like me!

DH and DS10 found us after Soarin' and we reversed direction so DS10 could get ice cream. He chose pistachio. On the way we stopped to watch the mimes in France. One of them did stunts on top of I think five chairs stacked on top of each other. It was amazing to watch the acrobatics, but also how much you can communicate without speaking. (The one guy just blew a whistle and used gestures).



At Karamel Kuche I chose a couple things because I knew everyone would want a taste. So excited to eat that I forgot to take pictures.. The German chocolate caramel square was very good: buttery, thick caramel with coconut and pecans, wrapped in dark chocolate. I also got a caramel-topped brownie since DS12 can't each chewy caramel because of his braces. The caramel was thick, which actually made the brownie hard to cut/bite, but it tasted good.

By this time we were all tired, so we decided to ride the Gran Fiesta boat ride in Mexico and head back to Pop. We hung out in the room for a couple of hours to rest and relax. I showered, we all changed into somewhat nicer clothes and drove to Downtown Disney about 6 pm. Wandered a little before our 7pm House of Blues reservation. The Lego creations were amazing.











Our food was good, but to me, it was no better than the average chain restaurant we might go to on a weekend night. The guys got wings and said they were good, but not particularly spicy. (no pictures) I got a plain chicken sandwich with cheese and avocado. (again, no pictures). DS10 and DH split the buttermilk fried chicken - my favorite of all out entrees- and a half rack of ribs.





DS12 got a BBQ bacon cheeseburger, which was also good. After dinner, we had about 20 minutes to kill before going to the Cirque de Soleil show, so we looked in the gift shop next to Disney Quest, where DS10 finally found a 2013 Disney shirt in his size.

Then it was time for La Nouba. No words can really describe a Cirque de Soleil show. It is amazing to see all the skill, flexibility and artistic expression all in one show. Everyone should try to see them one in their lives. We all thought it was awesome. After La Nouba, we went back to the room and hit the hay. Exhausted once again.

 

[Eureka]

Friday came more quickly than most of us wanted. DS12 said he had a fun time but is ready to go home, start school and get into a routine. DS10 was having a great time and didn't want to leave. Today was our Seaworld day; we got the $50 weekday ticket deal, which saved us $150. We got up and DH got coffee and a few pastries from the food court. The kids shared a chocolate muffin, he had a cherry turnover and I had a chocolate croissant. Lots of chocolate chips on top, very yummy.

We got to Seaworld at about 9:15 am.







By the time we oriented ourselves and walked to Dolphin Cove, it was just about time to get seating for the 10am dolphin show, Blue Horizons. We were glad to get there early, because we snagged seats under the overhang, and it was very hot already. We were pretty much in the center of the stadium, well away from the splash zone. Vendors sell water, cotton candy, bubble machines and mister fans like at baseball games, so we bought some water and were ready for the show. There was some very loose storyline about a girl learning about the sea that involved dolphins, birds and aerial artists/divers dressed like birds. The diving was neat to watch, but after seeing Cirque de Soleil the night before, there was no comparison with the acrobatics. The dolphins were the stars, we really enjoyed watching their tricks. Parrots and other birds joined in too, and it's fascinating to us how synchronized the animals moved together.








After the show, we went to the new Antarctica exhibit. The main draw at this point was how cold it was inside the building! The storyline about a baby penguin learning to survive in the wild was weak, and the "wild" version of the ride was anything but, but it was a nice ride into the habitat of the real penguins.








After Antarctica it was 11:15 am, almost time to go find the Shamu theater for the killer whale show. We were getting hungry but decided a snack was all we needed, so we got soft pretzels shaped like stingrays (forgot to take a picture) and more water. (Killed me how much money we spent on drinks this week, even with bringing a case of water with us.). The Shamu show was great. There were as many as six whales in the tank at once, doing all sorts of tricks. The theme of this show, One Ocean didn't really tell a story, which was fine. We just wanted to see the whales do their stuff and even DS12 was impressed with this show.













The show let out at 12:30 and we were hot and tired. We walked across the park one more time to see the shark aquarium, and then decided to call it a day -- for Seaworld anyway. We had tentatively planned to stay until the 2pm Sea Otter show, but at this point just needed some cool temps for resting. Crossing the park to the sharks and then to leave took time, so we did not get back to Pop until 1:30 or so.

We stopped in the food court for lunch (no pics). DS12 had chicken and dumplings, which he said was good, and a chocolate milkshake. DS10 had a sloppy Joe and fries, and he liked both. DH got a southwest burger which he said was decent, and I had the tuna sandwich on a multigrain croissant. The tuna was good, not too mayonnaise-y (I hate mayo and only like enough to hold everything together). The point of a multigrain croissant, however, is lost on me. I know multigrain is healthier and I like multigrain bread and crackers, etc., but this croissant was not flaky the way it's supposed to be. I also got a vanilla cupcake with pastel rainbow frosting, which was very good. Not as moist as the BOG cupcakes, and not as fancy as those at Starring Rolls, but a nice flavor and light frosting.

After lunch, we went back to the room and hung out. By 3:30, DS10 was ready to go to MK - he was the only one not tired. DH had scheduled some FP+ for the afternoon, but DS12 was not interested so he and I stayed in the room. He watched movie trailers while I packed. The problem with going to MK, as it turned out, was that it rained (more than a passing shower) and the outdoor rides closed down. Plus Space Mountain had technical difficulties and was closed. So they couldn't use half the FP they had scheduled. But, they were able to do Pirates and got regular FP for Big Thunder and Splash, which luckily opened back up after a minimal wait.

Next up will be our grand finale, dinner at Narcoosee's

 

[Eureka]

At 6pm, DS12 and I drove over to Grand Floridian for our 7:10pm dinner at Narcoosse's. We hung out on a loveseat in the lobby, listening to the band play while we waited for DS10 and DH to come over on the ferry (the monorail was closed for some reason).





When we checked in at the restaurant, the hostess wished us a happy anniversary and handed us anniversary buttons, which we placed on the table. This made twice our anniversary was acknowledged, both at deluxe resorts.



Dinner was excellent, just as good as the one we had two years ago. We started with bread with butter that was sprinkled with pink sea salt. The bread was just fine, nothing extraordinary to me, but I loved the butter.

The guys ordered the calamari appetizer they had been talking about all week. DH had it on our last trip and said it is the best calamari he has ever had.



We also ordered the cheese plate, which we also had last time. This always works out well for us since I like the softer cheeses and DH likes the sharper ones. (not a great picture, sorry)



The menfolk all ordered steaks -- DS10 had the New York strip with mashed potatoes instead of au gratin.




DS12 and DH both had the filet. Among the three of them, they added two lobster tails so all four of us could share.



I had the wild halibut with marble potatoes and a corn and bacon dish. I got the sauces on the side like I usually do. My fish was amazing. Very tender with a good sear on it. Didn't even need a knife. The corn and potatoes were good too.



Everyone else loved their steaks, and they were huge hunks of meat. DS10, who didn't even like meat until he was 6, ate a ton of it (his was 14 oz!) and said it was his favorite steak ever.

Even though we had stuffed ourselves silly, we still had to get dessert. As we were perusing the menus, our server brought us two flutes of complimentary champagne for our anniversary! I don't even like champagne, but took my obligatory sip (and DS10 polished off my strawberry).



DH and I shared the almond-crusted cheesecake, which was to die for. Went great with the tart cherries. I think DS10 ate the white chocolate anniversary part.



DS12 had the warm baked chocolate mousse, which was bittersweet and tasted like a rich molten chocolate cake. He couldn't eat it all and it wasn't what he expected, so we all helped him.



DS10 chose the mango sorbet, which comes with three scoops on top of a fresh berry fruit salad. He scarfed down the entire thing, which isn't a big surprise. He loves fruit and anything mango-flavored.




Our meal was by far the most expensive of the trip, $322 before tip, but well worth the good food and nice time we had. The boys enjoy good food as much as we do, so it's nice to be able to do this once in a while. We talked about the trip...we decided it was fun to have done Universal (DS12's favorite part of the trip) and to have done different Disney things than on the other trips. We did a lot more "thrill" rides than we ever did before, tried new restaurants, and went to the Cirque de Soleil show. We agreed that the Royal Pacific Resort was awesome and that it's nice to be able to walk between the hotel, parks and restaurants. It would be nice sometime to stay at the Yacht Club, so that Epcot and Hollywood Studios would be walkable.

After dinner, we all came back to the room, digested for awhile, and crashed.

The next day we got up and left at 9:15am. Despite the fact that we didn't want to be leaving, we wanted to be home already, so we decided to just drive through. Luckily, we had good weather. We made a few stops for snacks and pulled into the driveway at 11:30pm.

Now, about six weeks after we are home, we're still talking about Universal. Don't get me wrong, we love Disney but after three trips in five years, I don't think we'll be going back in the next few years. It's time to do other things, see more of the world (as opposed to the World) while the kids are still young enough to want to come with us. We would love to go back to Universal though, because it's newer to us and there was a lot we didn't try.