Make Believe Vacations LLC - Blog

New Dining Experiences- Two Thumbs Up

7/17/2023

We tried 2 relatively newly opened dining experiences while we were visiting Walt Disney World. The first new place we tried was located right in The Contemporary Resort, the newly opened, Steakhouse 71. I made dinner reservations for our arrival day and lunch for the next day as the menu was quite different for each.

I didn't get the best photos from inside the restaurant. I mean- we all dove into our food before I could snap a photo- plus family wasn't keen on me photographing every item we ordered. LOL. Let me just say- the meals were delicious- both dinner and lunch. The atmosphere was casual- so no need to get fancied up. We would definitely go there again- but most likely only if we were staying at The Contemporary.

Roundup Rodeo was definitely a hit. I would certainly go back. Be aware- though we had reservations- it is a SLOW serving restaurant as it is ALL YOU CARE TO EAT. So table turn over can be slow. The good news is- you can take your time eating EVERYTHING- but the not so good news is you have to wait for everyone before you to get their fill. Don't let that deter you- grab a little snack to hold you over- but you'll want to be hungry when you do get seated. YUM! Expect to be there about an hour- to take advantage of all that food.

My favorite- The Rootin' Tootin' Tomato Salad- it is summer perfection. I could have eaten just that and been happy. But to be honest everything was pretty darn good.

Start by choosing either the meat-eater fixins or plant-based fixins. We chose the MEAT. Initially you also choose from 4 sides to start- but you can order ALL the other after the first round, or have your server bring MORE of your favorites. I was not keen on the corn on the cob- but had to try it.

I loved this dining experience. As a guest, you are considered one of Andy's toys and the theming is from a toy point of view. The servers stay in character throughout the meal and if Andy shows up- well, you'll just have to wait and see.

I feel like Disney missed a great opportunity to have characters come through- if nothing else- a walk and wave. The lighting changes throughout and you hear characters talking- but no actually character interactions. That in no way changes my impression of the place. I thought it was a fun atmosphere and an enjoyable meal.

StandyBy Skipper Review

6/22/2023

Be Aware:
Make Believe Vacations, LLC is in NO way affiliated with nor responsible for any experience you may have with Standby Skipper. This is simply a review of our experience.
Purchase at own risk.

I heard about Standby Skipper from other travel agents and was anxious to give it a go. You have the option to use it for 1 day at $25 or up to 7 days for $45. Since I'd wanted to try it for more than 1 day, I purchased the 7 day use. I have NO REGRETS. None.

Important details to know:

You MUST purchase Genie+ through the My Disney Experience App (MDE), as early as midnight the day of your park visit, BEFORE you can access the ride sections on Standby Skipper. You cannot use Standby Skipper WITHOUT Genie+.
You cannot use Standby Skipper to book Individual Lightning Lanes (ILL) (such as 7 Dwarf Mine Train, TRON, Flight of Passage, Guardians of the Galaxy, etc.) Those are individual purchases that can only be purchased on MDE for resort guests as early as 7AM, and at park opening time for other guests.

How I used Standby Skipper (SS) :
Day 1
I purchased Genie+ at 3:30 AM on our way to the airport on MDE. I opened the SS app and chose Jungle Cruise and selected As Soon As Possible for my ride search time because I wanted to ride that FIRST. After selecting that I changed my mind and decided I want to ride Peter Pan's Flight first, instead, so I cancelled that search in the SS app and added Pan. Since SS had not booked the Jungle Cruise, I could cancel the search in the SS app. Had they made the reservation already, I'd have to make any modifications using the MDE app.

Once I boarded, I purchased wifi so I could book my ILL for 7 Dwarfs Mine Train, right at 7AM while we were still in air. At 7AM, SS searched and booked Peter Pan, so all I had to worry about was getting 7D, which as you can see below, worked perfectly. Had they not, I could simply MODIFY the times in the MDE app. After I had my 1st selection booked, I went back to the app and added rides as I saw fit. (see below for more info on the booking process) I HIGHLY recommend MODIFYING your ride choice instead of CANCELLING. You lose your time slot if you cancel- you can always move your times or change rides entirely through the MDE app using the MODIFY selection.

For the other days of my visit- I booked Genie+ when I woke and added rides to SS dependent upon when and where we would be that day. Easy Peasy.

How To Book

To make your selection, you can narrow the ride choices by specific park, by clicking this symbol

Choose Your Park

Make Your Selection(s)

Choose Your Time Search
Note: you do NOT get to choose a time for Genie+ like you could for FastPasses. You get the 1 hour time span that is available in the MDE app.
HINT- you can swipe downward on the app to refresh over and over to try to get updated 'better' times. Sometimes it works out, sometimes not.
At time of creating this BLOG- it was afternoon, but I do believe MORNING was also an option if on app in the AM.

Select Your Party
It will only allow you to choose from Friends & Family that have Genie+ purchased. Since I am obviously not still at the parks, I could not make actual selections for this BLOG. You can choose 1 person or all, or however many want to do each choice. It is very easy and flexible.

Another Hint: Some folks like to "stack" their Genie+ selections for later in the day. Google STACKING GENIE+ for info on that. There are also some who want to book their 7AM experience for later in the morning/afternoon, so that they can book their NEXT ride right at the 2 hours after the park opens opportunity.

I chose to book my first experience ASAP- you can do it however you want. My later experiences on that first day I also used ASAP. Later in the week, especially when park hopping, I made other time selections to fit where I would be and when. Believe me- you will get the gist of it real quick- it takes all the work our of Genie+.

For this BLOG I will not discuss the intricate details of Genie+ as the entire purpose of Standby Skipper is to NOT be bogged down with that. For my clients, I do provide emailed DETAILS of how Genie+ works.

Below you will see my selections.
Note sometimes I canceled the search before a booking took place for one reason or another- but you will see how many I made and how much success I had. Scroll through the images below. Be aware- I made my own selections right through the MDE app without SS sometimes- so I did ride a LOT of rides using Genie+.There wasn't a single ride that I wanted to ride that I was unable to book at one time or another.

What my selections looked like in the MDE app

Please visit the Standby Skipper website to download the app and to see helpful info and a video, by clicking on the Standby Skipper image at the very top of this page or use this link https://www.standbyskipper.com/.

If you have any questions/comments- PLEASE comment below. I'll gladly help you or answer any questions I did not cover in this BLOG. You can also comment on my Facebook page where the link to this BLOG was added to my page.

I truly would not hesitate to purchase Standby Skipper again. It made the daunting task of trying to maximize Genie+ literally a no brainer. I did NOT spend all day on my phone booking rides- I did spend all day on my phone taking pictures- which is what I preferred to be doing. :)

Post Disney Redemption Tour- The Resort

6/19/2023

Our Resort:
Disney's Contemporary Resort
Theme Park View, Club Level

Our Room

Atrium Club Level

Is it worth the extra$$ to stay club level?
For my family, YES! I really enjoy going to get my morning coffee with all the fixins including french vanilla in liquid form from a pump and the Mickey shaped sugars. The view is awesome and seating is plenty, or you can take it back to your room.

We grabbed a quick breakfast everyday, and stopped in every time we returned from our park visits. Always grabbed a Coke or water and the daughter would grab veggies and dressing for a mid-day snack. One night she even insisted on some mashed potatoes before we headed to our dinner reservations.

The convenience of always being able to get food & drinks makes it 100% worth it to us- plus the concierge service itself is fantastic. You are welcomed with a big hello every time you return and a have a great day when you leave. The staff was helpful and informative and FRIENDLY.

The absolute BEST part was that our room was ready upon arrival- at 8:30AM. I had requested early check-in but that is never a sure thing- luckily it worked out. Such a relief not having to drop our bags with the baggage check- and instead have it in our room and to be able to freshen up from our EARLY flight that had us leaving our house at 3:30AM.

ALSO- there was a glitch in the My Disney Experience app one morning when I need to book Flight of Passage(FOP) for our Animal Kingdom visit. At 7AM, FOP wasn't showing up at all on the app to purchase as an Individual Lightning Lane. It just wasn't an option- a glitch. I immediately went to the Concierge desk- conveniently located down the hall from my room and Catie, the Concierge Queen, pulled out her laptop and saw it was available- had me grab my credit card- and we were able to add it on the spot. Had we not been on concierge level, I would have been on the phone with Disney, likely fairly mad, because without Catie's help I wouldn't have known it was an app glitch and that it was available online. In fact, when we were on the bus heading to Animal Kingdom, another visitor was worried because they had to call to get their FOP reservation and it STILL wasn't showing up after purchasing it on the app. They were worried it didn't go through. I was able to tell them to check on their phone's browser on the Disney website, instead of the app, and sure enough, their reservation showed up. I then told them to screenshot that sucker- because you need to have back up - always.

More details to follow . . .

What we liked about our stay:

The LOCATION- can't be beat. We had the best view from our room, but really just by walking outside you can see the Electrical Water Pageant on the Seven Seas Lagoon and the fireworks from Magic Kingdom and even from Epcot. If staying club level- you don't need a theme park view room- because you can watch the fireworks from the Atrium Club with the music piped in from Magic Kingdom, while munching on delicious desserts and having an evening drink.
The Monorail- again BEST way to easily get in and especially BACK from Magic Kingdom and fairly simple to get to/from Epcot. Still must rely on bus for Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom- or better yet- take an Uber, Lyft, or Minnie Van. If there is a downside (but not really) you do have to ride all the way around and stop at the transportation hub, the Polynesian, then the Grand Floridian to get to Magic Kingdom - but I actually enjoyed this little ride each time. And the BEST part is when you are ready to leave- very little wait for the monorail and you are the first stop coming back.
The Food- more on that later.
The Room decor- the addition of the Incredibles theming is just so cute. I loved it.
Ability to walk to Magic Kingdom if you choose. I never chose this option- but daughter and husband walked over one evening to speed through the park to hit all the rides they could, while I stayed and enjoyed the fireworks from our balcony.

2 weeks Out From Our Disney Redemption tour

5/30/2023

I can't believe we are only a couple weeks away from our trip. I feel like I have done way less planning for this trip than ALL the other trips I've done. Since we booked 2 After Hour events I feel like a lot of the normal stress has been lifted.

I still plan to purchase Genie+ & Individual Lightning Lanes on our 1st two days so that we can ride the coveted rides at Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. I also am considering using Standby Skipper. Click here or the image below for detailed information about it. In a nutshell Standby Skipper is a 3rd party pay service App that finds Lightning Lane times FOR YOU so you spend less time on your phone & more time enjoying your time with your family & friends.

I will for sure use Standby Skipper for our arrival day as we will literally be in the air at 7AM- when I would need to be booking my 1st Genie+ experience. I will have to purchase Genie+ at midnight the day we leave at 4AM for the airport- so that should be fun. Not sure how I'm going to work out any Individual Lightning Lane purchases as we won't land until 7:30AM and you can't purchase that until 7AM on the day of.

I will try this App out and report back post trip to see if it was worth the $25 a day or $45 for 7 days price tag- in addition to purchasing Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes.

I also did a little thing today- I called to see if there were any upgrades available and upgraded our Theme Park View room at the Contemporary to Club Level. I have never been in the Atrium Club Level and felt like it was something we should try- not knowing when we will get back to WDW after this trip- especially with that pending 10 night Disney cruise in 2024.

I will take lots of photos and post my thoughts on this club level compared to the others we have experienced.

That's all for now. Be sure to LIKE our Facebook page as I will probably do a Facebook Live or 2 while we are on our trip.

See ya real soon!

Did I Tell You I Booked A Disney Cruise?

4/18/2023

Since the world closure in 2020, I've had at least 3 DCL cruises booked then cancelled. The 9-nighter (2021) was cancelled. I believe it was reduced to 7- then just flat out canceled. The Wish (2022) sailing I had booked, we cancelled because we just don't care for the itinerary, so rebooked for 9-night Southern Caribbean (2022)- we cancelled due to restrictions still being in place.

Now that ALL restrictions are finally lifted AND the addition of a 10-night Southern Caribbean itinerary, - we decided to get back to cruising.

Why Did We Choose Another Disney Cruise?
I looked at other cruise lines- really, I did. The one I was most interested in and that we WILL sail on if we cancel this trip- is Norwegian Cruise Line. For a cruise with a family- this seems the best fit for us, besides DCL. Maybe one day we'll do an Ama Waterways, or some other river cruise, (Viking is adult only- so maybe one day) but our daughter is coming & we want her to have plenty to do.

I could probably get more bang for my buck on Norwegian in regards to room and balcony upgrades or even concierge- for what or close to what we pay for our deluxe ocean view with balcony on DCL- but it boiled down to ports of call.

I decided upon returning to DCL simply because of this itinerary. We want to travel to the Southern Caribbean. We want to visit these particular ports.

This particular itinerary, along with only 2 others, makes a stop at BOTH Castaway Cay and Disney's new island, Lighthouse Point. This is the first year for guests at Lighthouse Point. Hard to pass that up.

That being said- I will NOT hesitate to cancel this cruise if we are not happy with our June 2023 Walt Disney World redemption tour. Fingers crossed that we have a magical return visit. Otherwise, Norwegian Cruise Line, it is.

Time to Talk Dining

4/12/2023

Hard to believe it is already time to do dining bookings for our upcoming Disney redemption trip. Of course, in the past, we did this task at 180 days out and now it is at 60 days. Frankly, an improvement in my mind, as booking dining 6 months away always seemed ridiculous. Who honestly wants to think about dinner in 6 mos when likely you don't even know what you want tonight.

So anyways, today I will work through our plans and get settled on where we want to go during our shorter than usual stay. For starters, I'm leaning towards not putting a lot into planning dining this trip. I don't want to feel over-planned. I'd rather this trip be a kind of let's just see how it goes. To be honest, we were so disappointed during our last trip, that I'm not willing to go all in on this trip. Having said that, I do have some places in mind that I will be reserving.

So to start, I want to go to some places we've never been like The Garden Grill in Epcot. I have sent many happy clients here, but we've never gone there ourselves. Seem low key and the food looks like our kind of meal. I'd also like to take advantage of our location at The Contemporary & return to Chef Mickey (maybe??) and try their new family steak house, Steakhouse 71. I also would like to try the new BBQ restaurant in Hollywood Studios, Roundup Rodeo BBQ.

When planning dining I start with the current Park Reservations/park plans- and work around where we will be each day at meal time. The Park Reservation system (which I am NOT a fan) dictates which park you go to each day or the park you START in if you have Park Hopper. Currently, you can't HOP until 2PM (which I also do NOT like- look Disney- I'm PAYING to HOP- I should be able to hop as I please, when I please- see Universal park-to-park- no restrictions, easy peasy) Sorry, I digressed.
So the plan for now is as follows:

Park Reservations/Plans
Day 1- Magic Kingdom/Park Hop to ??
This day is still questionable to me. We will be up & traveling SO early- that I'm not sure how long I'll be interested in staying awake. For now- I plan to book Steakhouse 71 for early dinner, then return to MK.

Day 2- Animal Kingdom/Park Hop to ??
This will be a quip trip to AK in the AM to ride Flight of Passage, Safari, & Everest- Full Disclosure- if at 7AM, I am unable to secure an Individual Lightning Lane experience early enough in the day for Flight of Passage, we will go to a different park entirely and not visit AK this trip. Park hop to HS to eat at Roundup Rodeo BBQ, maybe even hit up MK for fireworks.

Day 3- Epcot/After Hours- HS
This will be a leisurely day as far as not trying to break world records getting to the park SO early. We'll get to Epcot when we get there & dine at Garden Grill. Night time is After Hours at HS- so I will be trying to pace myself for the late night ahead.

Day 4- Magic Kingdom/After Hours- Epcot
Again, we'll see how we feel after the late night- may just get to MK when we feel like it and have a quick service lunch. Also- may book Space 220 Lounge in Epcot before After Hours begins, just to check it out. It's not really our type of dining, but I've been told the experience is worth trying out.

Day 5 - Departure Day
Maybe Chef Mickey breakfast before we have to leave for the airport.

Everything above could change between now and 6AM on booking day. I am my own worst client.

After Hours at Walt Disney World

3/27/2023

It's a bit too early to talk about dining plans- BUT something awesome did pop up during our trip. So I'll spend today talking about that.

AFTER HOURS
Literally the best experience offered at Disney along with the now no longer available, Early Morning Magic. Both are paid entries to the parks- one After Closing, and the other Before Opening. After Hours has returned, but Early Morning Magic has not come back since the world shut down. Hopefully it too shall make a come back. (Follow this link for my review of Early Morning Magic) If this event ever returns- I HIGHLY recommend it.

What is After Hours?
Basically, it is when the theme parks stay open for 3 extra hours after the park closes for Guests with special event tickets to attend Disney After Hours.
With a ticket to Disney After Hours, you can explore one of the theme parks with lower wait times for attractions AND with ice cream novelties, popcorn and select beverages—included with the cost of admission.

See more info from Disney Website

During our stay, we are VERY excited that BOTH Hollywood Studios AND Epcot are offering After Hours. I'll keep my fingers crossed that they add Magic Kingdom too, but not likely since Magic Kingdom will be ending their current schedule for After Hours today, actually. But Hollywood Studios is scheduled through June 28, 2023 and Epcot is scheduled through August 24, 2023.

The last time I did an After Hours event was during my on-site agent training January of 2019. It was at Magic Kingdom and the only thing I would change is to have had my family there. See my review HERE.

I was SO excited to see that this event has returned and is being offered at 2 parks during our stay. My husband & daughter REALLY wanted the Hollywood Studios(HS) event so they can ride Rockin Roller Coaster (if it is finished with refurbishment) AND Tower of Terror. I want to finally ride all the new Star Wars rides. I am most looking forward to Epcot After Hours because of the 2 new rides- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, and my most loved- Soarin’ Around the World.

This will take SO MUCH pressure off me feeling like I have to be on top of *Genie+ to book all the rides at both of those parks. Now, I can focus on using it well while at Magic Kingdom. We will return to BOTH HS & Epcot parks later in the week for After Hours, with much smaller crowds and be able to ride everything without the long waits or the need for Genie+ or Individual Lightning Lanes purchases . To me that makes the additional cost so worth it.

I plan to write a detailed review upon return. Until then, our plan is to spend 4 days in the parks. Tentative plans below.

Day 1- Arrival Day (VERY EARLY FLIGHT) Magic Kingdom

Check in to The Contemporary- Hopefully make it to Magic Kingdom at or close to rope drop. I will pay for Genie+ & Individual Lightning Lane(ILL) in advance & will have booked my first ride & ILL at 7AM during travel. No plans for park hoping, but we'll see.

Day 2- Hollywood Studios(HS)/ Park Hop to ??

Plan to keep this a leisurely day. Maybe head to Disney Springs for a little bit.
This might be a good Epcot park hop day
Haven't decided if I will purchase Genie+ or not for this day.
May consider changing this to our Animal Kingdom(AK) day??

Day 3- Animal Kingdom/After Hours- HS

Maybe Pre-purchase Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane so we can ride Everest, Safari, & Flight of Passage for sure- fairly quickly- then head out.
After Hours Hollywood Studios- ride EVERYTHING.
If we do AK on Day 2 this day is kind of up in the air- except for After Hours

Day 4- Magic Kingdom/After Hours- Epcot

Likely another Genie+ and ILL day.

That is all for now.

* I will discuss Genie+ in depth in a later BLOG.

Walt Disney World: a Chance At Redemption- Coming Summer 2023

3/5/2023

After our not so great experience at Walt Disney World in December 2020, during the height of Covid-mania and our having sworn not to return- The Greenes are finally giving WDW a chance to prove they are back to sanity in their parks.

Those that know me know what went down during our trip that literally made us never want to go back- I won't rehash it here- but I will say it broke my heart and I honestly hope this trip will mend those wounds. Disney has this singular trip to prove that they are back to being the place we love- or we will wash our hands of it for our family. Seems dramatic- but it was THAT bad.

I still sent many families to Disney since our trip- but I was always honest about our experience and steered people away until WDW made the changes necessary to be the park that my clients deserve and expect it to be. Some went anyway- most decided to wait. My business suffered, but I refused to not be honest with the people that trust me to give them my honest opinions. However, I am happy to report- according to my most recent clients, the magic has mostly returned to pre-covid levels. We shall see- I certainly hope so. *fingers crossed*

So enough about that- Let's Talk Disney!!!!!

Disney's Contemporary Resort

Newly refurbished rooms with The Incredibles theming. THAT Edna Mode Pillow *LOVE*

I have booked Disney's Contemporary Resort- Theme Park View. This will be our first time staying here. As much as I love Magic Kingdom- it's kind of surprising we never stayed here- but we fell in love with The Yacht Club and Beach Club and stay at either any chance we had. BUT for this trip- we decided to stay at the very FIRST resort at Walt Disney World. It is an icon and will put us right beside- within walking distance of- Magic Kingdom and on the monorail.

After our 2020 trip- we were each comped a 1 day park hopper ticket & I purchased 3 additional days of park hopper tickets. This is a shorter than usual trip- but we are just testing the water. We will spend a total of 4 days in the parks.

As you may know, I like to add bling to our trips so in addition to our park tickets- and thanks to Disney bringing back my most beloved experience- we will wallow in the magic of AFTER HOURS. The first time I did this was at my Travel Agent training in January of 2019 at Magic Kingdom. It was THE BEST!! (Link here) Sadly, my husband and daughter were not with me so they have yet to experience this.

This year we will attend After Hours at Hollywood Studios AND Epcot. I think that adding these experiences will enhance our shorter than usual trip and allow us to relax a bit regarding riding the most coveted rides at both HS & Epcot.

I like the idea of trying out Disney's new Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes*- but with the addition of After Hours- I won't feel so pressured to stay as on top of it as I would have otherwise. As Genie was not available during our last trip and Disney has since removed the Fastpasses and added this new pay 'fastpass' system, this will be a new for us.

What rides are included in After Hours-
Hollywood Studios:

Alien Swirling Saucers
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run
Slinky Dog Dash
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Toy Story Mania!
and others

Epcot:

Frozen Ever After
Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
Living with the Land Presented by Chiquita®
Mission: SPACE
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
The Seas with Nemo & Friends
Soarin’ Around the World
Spaceship Earth
Test Track Presented by Chevrolet®
and others

That is all for now- Coming up next is booking dining- which happens mid- April.

*I will detail my experience with the new Genie+ and Lightning Lanes upon return

A Quick Universal Trip

3/3/2023

Upon arrival- we got settled and headed to the Club Level Lounge for a quick snack. We then walked down to the boat transportation area and caught a quick ride to City Walk. Spent evening shopping and returned to our room fairly early because we had an early start for the parks the next day.

Because we were only here for the 1 night- before checking out and heading to the parks- we had to get our bags together and leave our room. A bit much to do so early, I must say. We grabbed a quick breakfast at the club lounge and headed out.

We had a lovely 15 or so minute walk to Island of Adventure. We got there before rope drop and waited with the masses for park opening- and then bee-lined to Hagrid's (along with the masses). Some people ran- we did not. We got there when we got there, taking advantage of our resort early park admission- and got in line. We literally waited 90 solid minutes just to ride Hagrid's.

After Hagrid's, husband and daughter went quickly to the VelociCoaster. It and Hagrid's are the 2 rides that we couldn't use our express pass to avoid the long lines. They decided to do single rider- to ease the LONG wait- and lucked out. Walked right on the ride AND got to ride it together. That was just luck- because with single rider, your are quite likely to be split up and have to ride with a stranger.

We hit up all the sights in and around Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. It was fairly crowded so I was so happy to have the unlimited express pass. It is a MUST to be able to experience the best rides with the shortest lines, over and over again. Be aware- there will still be lines- but the express pass line is certainly shorter than the stand-by lines. On the other hand, the regular express pass is also good to have, but you only get to ride each ride once. Staying at particular resorts adds the express unlimited pass to your reservation automatically- certainly a great perk that I wish Disney would consider.

We grabbed a quick lunch and my daughter & husband went to rid Hulk and other rides that my queasy-self won't even consider. My last ride was the Minions ride- which is always cute and fun- but the line is fairly long and SLOW- so be aware of that, regardless of express pass.

I spent the rest of our time shopping at City Walk while they got their thrill ride on. It was a busy- yet short day- but we had plans to head to St. Petersburg- so we did our favorite things and headed out.

I wouldn't recommend a 1 day trip for your first visit to Universal, but if you are a repeater- and know what you like and don't- you can easily hit all your favorites using the express pass or unlimited pass and by getting there early. Be sure to purchase 2 Park-to-Park tickets so that you can enjoy the Hogwarts Express Train- as that is such a great experience and you can't ride it if you do not have park to park tickets. (yes- they check)

Universal Orlando 2023 Trip Report

2/21/2023

We had a really nice stay for our short 1 night visit to Universal Orlando. We stayed at Royal Pacific- Club Level. (See photos)

The Club level is located on one floor and only club level guests have access. The check in process for club level was very nice and smooth. We were immediately sent to our room, while it seems other guests were waiting for their room to be ready.

Since we were only there one night- we really didn't take full advantage of the club level lounge or experience all its meals- but we did stop in and grab a quick bite a couple times. Not really fair to compare- but from what I saw- the club level at Portofino Bay was certainly much larger and had a wider selection of food- but again- we spent DAYS there and only 1 night here.

The room was nice and had a GREAT view of the parks. AND although we were right above the pool area- we literally heard NOTHING from it. Unlike our experience at Yacht Club in Disney- where the pool area is quite noisy and can be heard in your room. To be fair- this room did NOT have a balcony, like Yacht Club, and it was on a higher floor.

Overall, I'd say it was a nice resort and I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again. I think I'd really like the pool area which we did not have time to take advantage of. We enjoyed a boat ride to City Walk on our arrival night and it was a very easy and lovely walk to Island of Adventure the next morning.

Next Blog will include our adventures in City Walk and the Parks.

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