July 2021: Universal without kids

 Yes, you read that title right.  Patrick and I went to Universal without the kids.  With the opening of the new Velocicoaster we decided to take a little weekend to ourselves to enjoy the coaster our kids are too small for anyway and also celebrate our anniversary.  We've been married 11 years and we almost always take our kids with us on all our trips, so it was an amazing treat to ourselves to have this little alone time together.  We actually ended up stopping in Gainesville for our first night so that we could visit some friends.  We took our time the next morning and ended up arriving at Universal around check-in time.  

Since this was a special trip for us, we splurged a little and stayed at the Royal Pacifica Hotel.  If you've read any of my other trip reports, you know that we usually stay at the value resorts.  We were definitely spoiled this time, as the Universal deluxe resorts also come with their unlimited express passes.  I feel like we were able to accomplish so much with these passes, that we will definitely contemplate staying at a deluxe resort again just for these passes.  I guess time will tell, but they definitely were awesome during this trip.

Upon entering this hotel, you cross this bridge and are greeted by a fun scent.

Here's a detail from the bridge.

Our room was great, with a king bed and a pull out couch, that honestly we didn't ever pull out since we didn't have the girls with us.

Patrick even took a little video for you all.

This is a little overview of the pool area.

We decided to be that old couple, and we actually chose to eat at the hotel when the lounge first opened for dinner before heading to the park the evening.

We shared some sushi and enjoyed some drinks.

Another advantage of this hotel (and all the deluxe resorts) was the wonderful walking path and back entrance into City Walk.  This was taken on the extended pathway near our resort pool.

We continued along the pathway and entered City Walk by the Margaritaville restaurant.  This entrance was extremely convenient, because we never had to wait to go through security.  We of course chose to enter into Islands of Adventure.  We were of course extremely excited to ride Velocicoaster, but we didn't want to spend the entire evening there, so we didn't actually go there first.  Instead, we chose to go to the left and rode Hulk, Doctor Doom and the Amazing Spiderman.  We continued the circle skipping the Popeye's, but we did choose to ride Dudley's Do-Right Ripsaw Falls.

This picture doesn't do justice to how wet we actually were.  We continued to Kong, and then decided to ride the Jurassic River Adventure boat ride as well.

We were loving how quickly we were able to get on so many rides.  We still weren't ready to wait for Velociraptor, so we continued on to the Wizarding World. 

Hagrid's was using a virtual queue, and wasn't offering an Express Pass option, so we couldn't get on that one, but we quickly rode Forbidden Journey.  By this time, Velocicoaster was still an hour wait, but we had completed all we were able and willing to ride so we decided to get in ine.

Unfortunately, the ride was having technical issues.  We debated leaving, but let's be honest, this was why we were here.  There was also a lot of opening excitement in the queue line.  The ride had been open for a month already, but most people in line had not ridden before and most people had been waiting all day.

The ride would stop for a while and then start again and everyone would cheer.  Then unfortunately, it would stop again.  Every time it stopped, a few people would chose to leave getting us that little bit closer.  Like I said, it was kind of fun waiting with everyone.

The queue line itself is great, but the ride is amazing.  By the time we got on, the park was closed.  The ride was so exhilarating, I was pretty much speechless after this first ride.  It was a fun way to end the night, and we couldn't wait to ride it again the next day.

March 2021: Day 8, Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios

Unfortunately, this trip has come to an end.  On this morning, we were up early and packed up the car.  We polled the girls and LittleCJC of course voted to go to the park this last morning bright and early so that we could rope drop Hagrid's one last time.  So, you know we obliged and were at the gate before opening.

We made it back to Hagrid's before the sun.

LittleCGC also got a final ride on Flight of the Hippogriff.

 

We also had to perform some more magic.

We opted to take the train when we decided to switch parks.  Our goal was to grab some lunch from the Mardi Gras booths and finish up our lanyard that we purchased earlier in the week.  The girls opted for corndogs instead and LittleCJC barely finished before she crashed.

After Patrick and I enjoyed some food, LittleCGC enjoyed visiting a few characters again.

When LittleCJC woke up, she wanted to join in the fun too.

As we were about to leave, the girls had one last must do.  They decided they needed a few more beads to finish their trip.

On our way out, we stopped for some final pictures with the Universal globe.

Unfortunately, that's a wrap on this amazing visit.

March 2021:Day 7, Animal Kingdom

This was our last day going back to Disney, specifically Animal Kingdom.  So, we had to get up early again to drive back on property.

As usual, we were at the gate before the lot actually opened.

As soon as we got into the park, we moved with everyone else straight to Pandora.  LittleCJC and I waited in line first for Flight of Passage, while Patrick waited with LittleCGC.

 

Daddy always likes to take pictures all over Pandora.

When it's Mom's turn to sit out though, I opt for snacks here.  I love both the food and the drink here at Pongu Pongu.

Any time LittleCJC is lucky enough to exit the Flight of Passage ride where these hands are visible, she makes sure we take a picture.

I'm pretty sure while here in Pandora, we also rode the Na'vi River Journey.  With Pandora knocked out, we decided to take a safari.

We got a real close encounter with this rhino after he blocked the road for a long time.

LittleCJC really enjoys drawing and art, so we wanted to be sure to take part in the animation art class that is offered here.

LittleCJC loved this, but LittleCGC didn't last long.  After maybe 5 minutes, I gave up and left the class with her and we instead played outside.

When Patrick and LittleCJC finished their class, we decided to visit the affection station.

With everything finished here on Rafikki's Planet, we needed to take the Wilderness Express back to the the main park.

Next up, we made our way to Expedition Everest.  Since LittleCGC was too little, we entered the theater.  I don't know if I ever saw a sign that this was an area to get a rest from your mask, but everyone was spread out and taking a mask break.  

This ended up working out great as we were able to watch the floatellas make their rounds around the park.  LittleCGC loved seeing all these characters.

Even though Patrick and LittleCJC joined the line for Expedition Everest near the Finding Nemo theater, they said the line moved quickly and they enjoyed their time on Everest.

LittleCGC and I used our time to reapply sunscreen in between all the floatellas.

When Patrick and LittleCJC joined us, they were able to see a few characters while they reapplied some sunscreen too.

Feeling refreshed, LittleCJC and I took off for my turn on Everest.

With Asia complete, we moved on to Dinoland.

I love that this girl is always dancing.

No trip to Dino land is complete without a ride on the Dumbo Dinos.

LittleCJC was also given a little money to play a few games here.

When her money ran out, we made our way to the Dinosaur ride.  Dad waited in line first with LittleCJC while LittleCGC and I explored the dinos outside.  I normally am all against climbing things like statues that you're probably not suppose to be climbing.  However, there is no sign here and this gentleman was very persuasive so we took this quick picture.

We quickly swapped riders when LittleCJC and Patrick were done, and then returned for another ride on Triceratop Spin.

With our day coming to an end, we decided to watch It's Tough to be a Bug.

Apparently, a week takes it toll.  Both girls quickly fell asleep after the show.

Therefore, we ended up with these wonderful Tree of Life pictures.

Patrick and I also took this opportunity for a little merchandise shopping.

Once our shopping was done, we loaded up the sleeping girls in the car and headed back to the hotel for an evening swim.  Patrick lucked out and was able to enjoy a beverage poolside instead of joining the girls.

Here's some pool cuteness to finish off this post.

To finish off our day, we grabbed some dessert from the food court.