Universal Trip Thoughts - September 2022

[Skywatcher1206]

Hi All!

We are driving home to NC after our Universal trip to HRH (September 23-27). This was our boys (DS12 and DS10) first trip to Universal and DH and I had not been back since January 2016.

We had bought our tickets in 2020 (4 day 3 park hoppers under a buy 2 days, get 2 free promo). They were going to expire at the end of this year and we picked September as we figured that the Mummy would be open again at that time and we were right!

Some thoughts/observations of the trip:

• HRH is a super convenient hotel, we LOVED the location but the rooms seemed a little dated so I think that the Royal Pacific rooms looked nicer, although we enjoyed the look of the lobby and all of the memorabilia scattered about. I think we may try Portofino on our next trip, whenever that might be.
• The express passes were a huge help in seeing everything that we wanted to. We did not wait in a line with express for longer than 15 minutes. As an FYI, Mummy is still in technical rehearsal mode so the express passes do not work for it at this time.
• Our favorite rides were Velocicoaster for DH and DS12, and Hagrids for DS10 and myself. These did not have express access, but we still rode these 3 times each. Hagrids was 1 early entry (getting to the gates 1 hour before EE helped with getting on with no wait) and 2 times right at park closing, and Velocicoaster was typically not a super long wait (typically 45 minutes or less).
• Do not discount the shows, we (including the kids) LOVED the Horror makeup show. It was hilarious and interactive. Definitely a do not miss.
• We bought one wand to share (no way was I getting each kid their own at $63 each. They did not seem to be too into the spells so I think we made the right decision.
• We had 3 sit down meals (Toothsome, Bubba Gump, and BigFire). Everyone enjoyed their food at Toothsome, included the 2 milkshakes we ordered. I LOVED the Chicken Bercy dish. Definitely a place to try again. Bubba Gump (which is typically a favorite of mine) was kind of a let down on this trip. The service was pretty slow at the beginning which was weird as the place was empty for a Sunday at lunch. I also got a different dish than I typically do. I think I will stick with the shrimp New Orleans which I typically get, rather than the Surf and Surf I got this time. I just liked the sauce better. BigFire was the one I was most looking forward to, and I probably just got the wrong thing, but it was also a little bit of a letdown, but not due to the service (the waiter was fantastic as was the atmosphere). I think I just ordered the wrong thing. I got the salmon with pork Mac and cheese (which was a $2 up charge). The Mac and cheese tasted a little like the Chilis Beef Queso Dip. It just had a interesting flavor that I was not a huge fan of. It will definitely be a place I try again as I liked the service and the atmosphere. FWIW, the server did say the Shrimp and scallop dishes were very good.
• We loved Volcano Bay, especially since it has so many raft/tube slides. Due to getting there early, we were able to do everything we wanted to do once, with some of our favorites twice. We still were able to leave around 3pm to do more at IOA.

After a super fun trip, I am already dreaming of going back sooner than I had originally planned, maybe a DH and I only trip to Horror Nights, even though I am a scaredy cat.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Gr8t Fan]

Sounds like you had a great trip. Hope you're able to get back soon!

 

[jump00]

Hi All!

We are driving home to NC after our Universal trip to HRH (September 23-27). This was our boys (DS12 and DS10) first trip to Universal and DH and I had not been back since January 2016.

We had bought our tickets in 2020 (4 day 3 park hoppers under a buy 2 days, get 2 free promo). They were going to expire at the end of this year and we picked September as we figured that the Mummy would be open again at that time and we were right!

Some thoughts/observations of the trip:

• HRH is a super convenient hotel, we LOVED the location but the rooms seemed a little dated so I think that the Royal Pacific rooms looked nicer, although we enjoyed the look of the lobby and all of the memorabilia scattered about. I think we may try Portofino on our next trip, whenever that might be.
• The express passes were a huge help in seeing everything that we wanted to. We did not wait in a line with express for longer than 15 minutes. As an FYI, Mummy is still in technical rehearsal mode so the express passes do not work for it at this time.
• Our favorite rides were Velocicoaster for DH and DS12, and Hagrids for DS10 and myself. These did not have express access, but we still rode these 3 times each. Hagrids was 1 early entry (getting to the gates 1 hour before EE helped with getting on with no wait) and 2 times right at park closing, and Velocicoaster was typically not a super long wait (typically 45 minutes or less).
• Do not discount the shows, we (including the kids) LOVED the Horror makeup show. It was hilarious and interactive. Definitely a do not miss.
• We bought one wand to share (no way was I getting each kid their own at $63 each. They did not seem to be too into the spells so I think we made the right decision.
• We had 3 sit down meals (Toothsome, Bubba Gump, and BigFire). Everyone enjoyed their food at Toothsome, included the 2 milkshakes we ordered. I LOVED the Chicken Bercy dish. Definitely a place to try again. Bubba Gump (which is typically a favorite of mine) was kind of a let down on this trip. The service was pretty slow at the beginning which was weird as the place was empty for a Sunday at lunch. I also got a different dish than I typically do. I think I will stick with the shrimp New Orleans which I typically get, rather than the Surf and Surf I got this time. I just liked the sauce better. BigFire was the one I was most looking forward to, and I probably just got the wrong thing, but it was also a little bit of a letdown, but not due to the service (the waiter was fantastic as was the atmosphere). I think I just ordered the wrong thing. I got the salmon with pork Mac and cheese (which was a $2 up charge). The Mac and cheese tasted a little like the Chilis Beef Queso Dip. It just had a interesting flavor that I was not a huge fan of. It will definitely be a place I try again as I liked the service and the atmosphere. FWIW, the server did say the Shrimp and scallop dishes were very good.
• We loved Volcano Bay, especially since it has so many raft/tube slides. Due to getting there early, we were able to do everything we wanted to do once, with some of our favorites twice. We still were able to leave around 3pm to do more at IOA.

After a super fun trip, I am already dreaming of going back sooner than I had originally planned, maybe a DH and I only trip to Horror Nights, even though I am a scaredy cat.

Thanks for reading!

Thanks for your mini trip report! Glad you had a wonderful time!
Brenda

 

[Robo56]

After a super fun trip, I am already dreaming of going back sooner than I had originally planned, maybe a DH and I only trip to Horror Nights, even though I am a scaredy cat.

What a nice trip report. So glad you all had a great trip. Sounds like you all fell in love with Universal. It is a wonderful destination with great Resorts.

For sure give HHN a try. You both will love it.