September 26-29, 2021
We LOVED Disney in 2018, but did not make time to visit “Harry Potter World” on that trip. Jason was only able to take a couple days off work which made this the perfect opportunity to use a shorter vacation to finally visit Universal Studios. Also, they don’t enforce masks (what a time to be alive!).
>>Getting Around
Universal’s Superstar Shuttle – airport shuttle service for a fee through Mears, there is no direction or signage to get to it at the airport (does Disney own the airport? lol) so look into this ahead of time
Waterway Taxis– our resort offered free water taxis directly to CityWalk with no stops in between, it was a very quick ride both ways and you are dropped off between Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure
Shuttle Buses – there is access to complimentary shuttle buses to the parks as well, but this seemed to only be used to visit Volcano Bay water park from our resort so we did not test it out
Walking Paths – there is a nice, mostly shaded walking path from the resort to CityWalk that brings you right up alongside Margaritaville and it is not a long or strenuous walk, after a long day of park hopping our feet were often calling for the water taxi vs more walking
>>Stay
Loews Royal Pacific Resort – this place was huge and lush with a ritzy Jungle Book vibe, everything was clean and our room was very comfortable, the staff was VERY friendly and helpful, room keys double as so many things (explained later), the dining options weren’t bad but do not expect anything to be very fast, the pool area was well kept and sprawling (the drinks were REALLY expensive though)
Resort Bonuses: We chose this hotel for the added bonuses of free Universal Express Pass Unlimited (room key serves as this), Early Park Admission (again uses room key), Priority Seating at select restaurants, and Resort-Wide Charging Privileges with room key (scan it at checkout to charge things to your room and not have to carry cash/cards)
>>Eat
There were no dining plans at this time due to C-vid & we knew paying for all these meals was not going to be cheap going into this
BRINGING FOOD IN: you can bring your own food and drinks in, large chock-full backpack lockers are $2 each vs a small bag or half empty backpack will fit in free lockers, we carried beef jerky and granola bars with a refillable water bottle and fit that in free lockers with hats/sunglasses/phones just fine
Jake’s American Bar – located at resort, slower service but good meal, the burger and grilled chicken sandwich were both delicious, beer on tap was nice and cold
CW Cowfish – the hostesses were a complete disaster, but our server and sushi were all very good once we finally got situated
IA Croissant Moon – grabbed a breakfast there, it was edible but nothing to write home about, the bacon egg & cheese croissant was big and filling, the cruffin was a 2/10
US Bumble Bee Mans Food Truck – this was a decently priced tasty lunch, they serve you 2 tacos with some tortilla chips
*US Fortescue’s Ice Cream – highly recommend, I had butter beer soft serve in a cone and it was the creamiest I’ve ever had, Jason enjoyed his 2 scoops of hard ice cream very much as well
*CW Big Fire American Grill – we were told to go here for steaks and the filet mignon did NOT disappoint, the prices were fair for what we got, the smoked amber beer was delicious, mac side was not impressive but salt & pepper helped
*IA Green Eggs & Ham – hefty order of loaded tots available about 4-5 different ways, I couldn’t finish my delicious buffalo chicken tots, highly recommend those
Bula Bar & Grille – ordered drinks at the resort pool and this is where they came from, the price was high but they were good sized and the alcohol was 100% there, get the Mai Tai or the Tiki Smash
*CW Toothsome Chocolate Emporium – this place is known for their crazy milkshakes but we went for a meal instead, the CHOCOLATE BREAD *drooling thinking about it* and double chocolate stout beer were worth the visit, the food was pretty good but again needed salt & pepper
*US Hopping Pot – this spot in Diagon Alley was frequented by us for drinks with and without alcohol, the Wizard’s Brew and Dragon Scale were both delicious beers on tap that you won’t find anything outside of Harry Potter areas
Islands Dining Room – main eatery of our resort, we had a really great buffet breakfast there on the day we were leaving
BUTTERBEER – there are carts selling butterbeer in the middle of the “streets” of both Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade that generally have the regular chilled version or the frozen version, Leaky Cauldron and Three Broomsticks restaurants also serve it both those ways and hot, Hopping Pot served it all 3 ways, only the above mentioned ice cream shop has the soft serve version, HOT was my favorite of the 4 ways to try it
>>Play
TICKETS: we had a 3-Day Ticket with Park to Park Option – basically we did everything within the first 24 hours of being there because of this, free upgrade due to our resort type, you MUST have a park to park ticket to ride the Hogwarts Express from one park to the other (this comes in handy because each Harry Potter area is the the very back of each park so it is a ton of walking to get from one to the other without it)
EXPRESS PASSES: there are 2 types – you can purchase a pass that lets you “skip the regular line” once per ride the accepts the passes OR one that allows you to jump the line unlimited times per ride, unlimited was included for free with our resort type, if I were paying outright for these tickets I would have been perfectly happy with the once per ride type pass
EARLY PARK ENTRY/ROPE DROP: Universal resort guests get extra time in parks that others don’t so it tends to be a less busy – plan to be waiting at the park for it to open to get in line for any major ride really want to get on without a wait (typically this will be rides you cannot use Express Pass for like Hagrid’s or VelociCoaster), only Universal Studios was doing this so we enjoyed Diagon Alley without a crowd then got in line for Hogwart’s Express about 30 minutes before Islands of Adventure opens then we could hustle into line for Hagrid’s at Hogsmeade before the big crowd was there, if you stay in the park until it’s closing you can sometimes hop on rides again with a shorter wait (if you are in line up til 1 minute before closing they have to let you stay in line to ride)
SINGLE RIDER LINES: some rides have a single rider line that has little to no wait time
My Favorite Attractions
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS: Diagon Alley (not a ride, but it’s a very fun place to be), Men in Black Alien Attack, Despicable Me Minion Mayhem
ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE: Jurassic World VelociCoaster (BEST RIDE), Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, Dark Arts at Hogwarts Castle (really cool 3D light show at dusk near Halloween), Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls (water ride), Harry Potter & the Forbidden Journey, The Incredible Hulk Coaster, High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride (chill ride with great views)
CITYWALK: this is basically a huge outdoor food court/mall with lots of options to spend time (and $$) after the parks close if you aren’t exhausted enough by 8 pm
Other Stuff Worth Mentioning – don’t try to wear cute shoes because you’re gonna walk til ya drop every day; bring a poncho (some rides will get ya wet); these parks close relatively early compared to Disney – it was barely dark out and everyone heads to CityWalk or their resort/hotel
* denotes my very favorites
Breauxs Geaux 