A mini PTR for my birthday weekend getaway to Universal Orlando - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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A mini PTR for my birthday weekend getaway to Universal Orlando
I'm having a really blah day and I need these next two weeks to fly so I decided to start a little PTR of my birthday weekend Universal Orlando trip.
Here's how it REALLY started...
March of 2009 my fiance, Gary, and I took his two boys to Disney from a Tuesday to a Tuesday. We had oodles of fun, and I hadn't been to Disney since I was a kiddo so I was thrilled to be there. Within the month after our vacation, we got engaged, bought two adorable kitties, Karma and Bonsai (sisters), and then proceeded to fall into the unemployment blues. Money wasn't a terrible issue, but lack of work was down right depressing. BACKSTORY SENTENCE: Gary lost his job the day before we left for Disney.
Last year it was the beginning of June and Gary called me to ask how much credit we had available on the credit card... I told him and he continued to tell me that he just found really good flight prices through JetBlue to go to Orlando on my birthday weekend. Sweet! I then went online and started researching what hotel we would want to stay at and ticket prices. It all fit together! Gary made a quick phone call to his travel agent (after already booking the flights) and we were all set with a Friday to Monday stay at the Hard Rock Hotel with Multi-Park Passes for our entire stay! Oh, and a shuttle to get us from the airport to the hotel of course
We left bright and early on that Friday July morning, and hit about everything in Universal Studios that afternoon. Okay not about everything, we did the entire park. We did the entire Islands of Adventure Park the following day. It was perfect. Having the Express Pass, staying in luxury. We were living the life
This year, I decided to have my revenge on the business that had let Gary go the day before our Disney trip and then RE-HIRED him in October of 2009... and I booked another Disney trip for the SAME week as we went the previous year. That's where my Most Magical Moments TR comes in
So earlier THIS week, Gary sends me an email that says that JetBlue is having special $10 pricing for flights from SYR to JFK for the weekend. Well that could be cool because we have some friends down that way and a weekend trip to the city would be fun. Well it didn't work out... but it DID get me curious...
I proceeded to change my destination from JFK to MCO and change the dates from June 19th to July 2nd...
Less than 12 hours later it was booked, and we're having a repeat travel year and going back to Universal for my birthday weekend again!!
Who's Going?
Me - Melissa (23, turning 24 in two weeks!) I'm a Document Control Coordinator for a medical device company and I LOATHE it here. I'm currently looking for other opportunities
Fiance - Gary (32) He's a morning radio show host for the local top 40's radio station and he is my rock!
When?
July 2nd - July 5th
Where?
Universal Orlando
Staying at?
Loew's Portofino Bay Hotel
Add-ons?
We've scheduled a Mears shuttle for airport transportation.
We also picked up Meal Deal passes for two of the days we'll be there.
Why?
To celebrate my birthday and all the wonderful things to come in the year of 24! Universal, Disney, Jamaica, and getting married!
Up Next: More Details... Universal is much simpler than Disney unfortunately
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Great start Melissa? How didyoulikeHrH? We stayed there in 2001 and loved it. I have friends who have stayed at PBH and loved it. It'sabeautiful hotel. Looking foward to more please.
Great start Melissa? How didyoulikeHrH? We stayed there in 2001 and loved it. I have friends who have stayed at PBH and loved it. It'sabeautiful hotel. Looking foward to more please.
We didn't have an awesome view when we went last year, but the room was phenomenal! Loved the layout! And we tried to use the short walkway to the parks, but it was REALLY hot so we ended up getting those biker people with the carriages for like $5 each way.
The only complaint that we had was that we wanted to try the hookah bar at HRH and the service was terrible. We couldn't get anyone to assist us, and they told us that they were out of hookah's to give us after they had just given one to a group of kids that I'm certain were under 18. They "found" one for us and it didn't even work.
I also stayed at HRH when I was in high school and went to Universal with my parents. My mom got some deal and we were able to stay in Club level for a few days, and then we switched to a regular room. Club level wasn't much of anything to me back then, but I'm sure I would love it today!
Our first choice would have been Hard Rock if it was available. I don't know if it was because I got this three night special, or if Hard Rock and Royal Pacific are just completely booked. Gary actually was imagining ourselves at Hard Rock when we were talking about it... then I had to break it to him that it wasn't available!
Because it's Universal, I can't really tell you all of my exciting ADRs or anything because there really aren't any. After I booked the trip, there wasn't much else for me to do! Well... other than laundry and start thinking about what I want to bring...
Here's my full itinerary anyway!
Thursday, July 1st is my birthday. I'll be a big girl now and turn 24 and celebrate it with whoever shows up to Saranac Thursday. I'll only drink liquor and none of that beer stuff. It causes me some fierce headaches. I'll probably demand McDonald's on the way home. I'll hopefully have packed our one or two carry-ons by this time so I won't have to worry about them. Friday, July 2nd I've already taken off from work. I'll sleep in really long and sleep off whatever hangover I may have. If I need to pack/finish packing, that will get done this morning. Gary will be at work from 5am-1pm. As soon as he gets out, he'll come pick me and our luggage up and we'll drive the 45 minutes to Syracuse. We'll probably snack in the car on the way out there on protein bars and such. We'll go through security and chill at our gate. Our JetBlue flight leaves SYR at 4:40pm and gets us to MCO at 7:29pm. Because we did this so last minute, and were trying to be kind of cheap, the only seats available on this flight out weren't together... unless you chose the Extra Leg Room seats which were $25 extra per flight leg (?? whatever that means..) I didn't want to chance having to pay extra, so we each got a window seat in the same row. We won't be sitting together, but Gary will probably be sleeping anyway, and I'll either be sucking on ice to get rid of my hangover, watching some JetBlue satellite, or listening to my iTouch <3
Okay so we land, we get off the plane... tram... Mears check in... And we wait for the shuttle... yada yada... We get to the hotel. We'll check in, drop off our stuff in our room, and then catch the next bus or boat to CityWalk. We decided that it would be in our best interest to go to the electronic kiosks and get all of our park tickets on our arrival night, including all of our Meal Deal tickets, even though we won't be visiting a park tonight because we'll be getting in pretty late.
I haven't made a reservation, but we are only two people, so we're going to do a walk-up for Bubba Gump's for dinner. My choice. I love it here. I've been to this location twice before, and the location in NYC twice also. This is the only real sit-down restaurant we're planning on going to. Once dinner is over, we'll see how we feel and what time it is, and possibly go over to see some Dueling Pianists at Pat O'Brian's. We stopped here last year and loved it too!
The next morning we'll be up VERY early. We're planning on either getting snacky breakfast items from CityWalk or a hotel store, or bringing a box of granola bars or muffins. We'll make Keurig coffee in our room Today we will get early admission into Islands of Adventure. Our first destination will be Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. The only *must-do* without Express Pass. After we finish this, we'll probably take in Hogsmeade and then use our Express Pass to it's fullest at every single ride in the park <3 If Green Eggs and Ham is open, we'll have to eat there at some point as they have NEVER been open when I've gone to Universal before...
We'll be using a Meal Deal wristband today, which I have figured out will only be worth it if we each eat at least twice a day in the park. No big deal, early lunch, early dinner, late night dinner. We'll make it worth it! My favorite Meal Deal location in this park is Comic Strip Cafe, but I also want to try Burger Digs. Gary also might want to splurge and get a sammich from Blondie's. If I get my Green Eggs and Ham, he can have his Dagwood
The park closes at 10 tonight, so we will then make our way over to CityWalk, maybe do some dancing at the groove. Maybe some Pat O'Brian's. Maybe I'll show off my singing skills at Rising Star! Who knows!! We're planning on going out and having a good time this evening though!!
Sunday Morning, July 4th, we'll sleep in. Whenever we get up, we'll go to Universal Studios and our first destination will be Rip Ride Rockit. After we get that out of the way, we'll enjoy everything else there is to offer! My guess is that we'll do lots of The Mummy, The Simpsons, and watch the shows <3 Maybe we'll take an afternoon break...
As far as Meal Deal goes, I really love two places here! Mel's Drive-In (cause my nickname is Mel and I love burgers and fries ) and Louie's Italian Restaurant. Those will be my two choices but I also want to try the International Food place as I also love Asian cuisine.
This evening we'll take in the spectacular 4th of July fireworks at Universal Studios and just melt as our vacation will be coming to an end... We'll get to bed whenever we do this evening, making sure that all of our things are packed and ready to go for the morning.
Gary and I get July 5th off in observance of the 4th. Our shuttle will get to the hotel around 5am is what I'm guessing, and we'll probably do kiosk check in, and then make our way through security and to our gate. Our flight leaves MCO at 8:00am and gets into JFK at 10:26am. We'll probably grab a quick lunch, possibly one of the "best cupcakes ever", and then our next flight leaves JFK at 12:40pm and gets into SYR at 1:56pm. My hope is to possibly hit up Dinosaur BBQ and take it home for dinner. It might help me to decide on if I want to keep Dino BBQ for my catering services for my wedding (an update soon to come in my Destination Wedding PTR!).
Getting back early will be nice. It'll give us plenty of time to settle back into the home-scene, and get us ready for the workday on Tuesday...
Ya know, I really love writing PTRs and TRs, but I ESPECIALLY HATE having to write about the end of them!!!
Very smart to hit the ticket kiosks the day before you plan to visit the parks. That will save you time. And - I'd plan to be at the gate of IOA well before opening time, because they often open the gates early. I've seen them open the gates 20-30 minutes early.
Also, try the Midway Grill in US - it's our favorite place to eat in US. Nathan's hot dogs and awesome fries!!
Oh you've just reminded me that I forgot to put Pat O's into our itinerary this fall. I had/have 2 favourite night-time entertainment spots in Orlando. One was Adventurer's Club (Kungaloosh! ) and one is the Dueling Piano Bar at Pat's.
Your trip looks awesome, your plans look great. Enjoy!
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
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I'll hopefully have packed our one or two carry-ons by this time so I won't have to worry about them. Friday, July 2nd I've already taken off from work. I'll sleep in really long and sleep off whatever hangover I may have. If I need to pack/finish packing, that will get done this morning. Gary will be at work from 5am-1pm. As soon as he gets out, he'll come pick me and our luggage up and we'll drive the 45 minutes to Syracuse. We'll probably snack in the car on the way out there on protein bars and such. We'll go through security and chill at our gate. Our JetBlue flight leaves SYR at 4:40pm and gets us to MCO at 7:29pm. Because we did this so last minute, and were trying to be kind of cheap, the only seats available on this flight out weren't together... unless you chose the Extra Leg Room seats which were $25 extra per flight leg (?? whatever that means..) I didn't want to chance having to pay extra, so we each got a window seat in the same row. We won't be sitting together, but Gary will probably be sleeping anyway, and I'll either be sucking on ice to get rid of my hangover, watching some JetBlue satellite, or listening to my iTouch <3
Today we will get early admission into Islands of Adventure. Our first destination will be Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. The only *must-do* without Express Pass. After we finish this, we'll probably take in Hogsmeade and then use our Express Pass to it's fullest at every single ride in the park <3 If Green Eggs and Ham is open, we'll have to eat there at some point as they have NEVER been open when I've gone to Universal before...
PassPorter Guide Author
Michelle - with my step sisters!
I had/have 2 favourite night-time entertainment spots in Orlando. One was Adventurer's Club (Kungaloosh! 
) and one is the Dueling Piano Bar at Pat's.
Hybrid Mode
