This is the summary of our trip to Universal Studios in Orlando.
Hotel Resort
We decided not to stay on site and to stay at an off-site hotel - The Floridays Resort. The hotel is located near all the parks and allows us to have our own place with two bedrooms, a kitchen and laundry facilities. The resort has two pool areas and the restaurant food was very fresh and good. The weather was warm enough for the kids to comfortably take advantage of the pools.
Click here for a virtual tour of the resort
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Pre-Trip Planning
Randy spent hours looking up tips and tricks for traveling to Universal Studios. We researched and decided on "Buy 2 days - get 3 days Free with park to park and Volcano Bay access"
Toronto Airport - YYZ
Travelling thru the airport was extremely efficient. We decided to park our car at the airport, pre-purchasing our parking ticket for the week and printing a copy of the barcode. One tip is to take a picture on your phone of where you parked your car so that you can find it when you return!
Toronto Pearson Airport Parking
We also ended up using the new US CBP (Customs and Border Protection) MPC (Mobile Passport Control) app to get thru customs. You can pre-load the app with your information and the app provides you a timed entry barcode when you arrive at the airport. You have an hour to get thru the Security lines. The app allows you to bypass the general screening line and is very efficient.
Note: Take a photo of where you parked your car!! It is easy to forget its location!
I highly recommend that if you are travelling to the US from an airport that allows the use of the MPC app that you take the time to download and set up the app. It is very easy to use and it allowed us to bypass the general line much like using NEXUS! I will definitely be using this every time I travel from now on.
Travel Day
Randy's friend Dana was visiting and decided to stay at our house for the week and take care of our cats (Coco and Scrappy). She arrived and we gave her a crash course on how to use the Coffee machines, TV's, etc. and headed to the airport.
We pre-paid for our parking at Daily Parking. You can use Perkopolis to get a discount code. Our all in price was $204 for the week (Basically 10% off).
The airport was not too busy and we were able to check our bags for free (Aeroplan member) and used CBP to get to the front of the line. However, for some reason the check in only worked for myself and not the family?? Regardless, it allowed us to completely skip the lines.
We also booked our car with Hertz so I loaded their app and did the remote check in to just pick up the car when we arrive.
Got a bulkhead and grabbed some food....
The free wifi at the airport is quick enough to stream/copy from home
Delayed!! Air Canada - “We are Not happy till you are Unhappy”
Second trip in a row with Air Canada that is delayed. They are claiming that there will be an 1 1/2 hour delay.
Delayed again - got delayed again and now a gate change…
Got in a bit later than expected and had a bit of a challenge getting the car but it all worked out. Made a pit stop at a local Publix to grab some food then settled in at the hotel and watched a new Star Wars series with the kids.
Day 1 - Universal Studios
Day 1 is planned to be spent at Universal Studios so got up early (very little sleep) and headed out to the park.
Go Bag
We packed a “Go Bag” with all our beach wear in case we decide at any point to head over to a water park. We throw the bag into the car so that at any point of time we can jump over to a water park since we have a “park hopper” pass.
Arrived at park opening and headed to Gringotts and there were basically no lines. Jumped on a number of attractions and checked out the shops and photo ops.
Tanner drank a “Duff Beer” and also picked up a souvenir “Duff Cooler Can” than can hold hot/cold drinks.
Lunch at the Minions Cafe…
Right after lunch Tanner and I went on the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit - probably not the best choice after a large lunch!! This is definitely the fastest ride in the park.
By early afternoon everyone was tired from the late night so we decided not to head over to the Islands of Adventure and instead headed back to the hotel to rest and relax.
Day 2 - Islands of Adventure
Slower start to day 2 and travelled to the parks around 9am. Went to Islands of Adventure and Tanner and I jumped onto The Hulk. It stated a 25min wait but turned out to be a “walk on”. The ride is different than last time with new 4-person cars. We then jumped onto the Spider-Man ride for Riley to get a ride in.
The Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure ride did have a bit of a wait as it is the newest and most popular ride. However, the ride was worth the wait as it is a fast paced action ride that is not as violent as some other rides.
Ate lunch in Jurassic Park. Too much food but all good and after lunch we went next door to the Skull Island: Reign of Kong ride.
We decided to finish the day by taking the train over to Universal Studios as we have a park hopper pass and take some additional photos at the Harry Potter World.
Tanner started to really feel the heat (it was well over 100 degrees and was wearing a black shirt all day) so we did a cool down by heading into the air conditioned shops and decided to call it a day and make our way back to the hotel.
Back at the hotel, we cooled down, grabbed some take-out food from the pool area restaurant and ate in the room while watching movies/shows.
Day 3 - Non-Park Day - Shopping and Hotel Pool
Relaxed start to Day 3. I was up early however the rest of the team took advantage of the late start and are getting some needed rest.
The plan is to spend the day at the Hotel resort, relaxing and do some shopping later in the day.
Went to the factory outlets which are less than 10min drive from the hotel. The temperature is still over 100 degrees and the lineup was huge at the Disney store so we decided to skip it and look for a belt for Tanner at few of the designer stores. He ended up grabbing a couple Calvin Klein belts that he can wear for work as well as casual.
Day 4 - Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure
Early start today - at least most of us as folks were up late and would prefer to rest a bit… so a change of plans to have a more relaxed start to the day as we are going to delay heading to the parks to allow for some extra rest.
Made it to the parks at around 9:30am. Surprisingly it is not too busy. Walked in and jumped onto the Transformers ride which is basically a walk on…
Tried the Fast & Furious ride - also a walk on but we can see why it is not doing well as it was not that impressive.
Hoped onto the Grinbgrots ride, grabbed some ice cream and then to grabbed the train over to the Islands of Adventure.
Lined up for Hagred’s ride which had a long line (75 min). Once again is worth the wait.
Riley was a trooper as she was not feeling but continued to walk around the parks. After the Hagrid’s ride and with the rain coming in, we decided to head back to the hotel to get some rest and food.
Day 5 - Volcano Bay
Day 5 was scheduled to be at Volcano Bay but Riley is still very sick so we are allowing her to rest and spend the day at the hotel.
Late in the day Riley was feeling a bit better so we shot over to Volcano Bay for late entry (free parking starting at 6pm). They have free parking but are strict and won’t let you in early. We arrived a bit early so parked off to the side and we’re one of the first to lineup to enter at 6pm, park, walk to the bus, and head over to Volcano Bay for the last hour.
Here is me and all my friends at Volcano Bay (meaning it is empty!!) and we have our private cabana area right on the entrance to the “Fearless River”.
This is the exact spot we typically stay at when visiting Volcano Bay as it is protected from the elements and is right at an entrance “Hammerhead Beach” to the river…
Riley floated around the river a few times but then said that she was chilled - so she called it a day… A short but fun excursion.
Overall, we basically had the place to ourselves.
Once the park closed we headed back to the hotel for some dinner.
Day 6 - Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure & Travel Home
Packed up and checked out at 11am and headed to the parks.
We split up as Tanner and I headed to the Velocicoaster (35 min wait time).
Met back up at the “Cat in the Hat” and Riley grabbed a custom Spider-Man phone case for her phone.
Riley is not feeling great so we are just gonna hang out and wait for her phone case to be made then head out.
Tanner decided to re-enter the park and grab a ride on the Hulk while we wait for Riley’s phone case.
Hurricaine / Tropical Storm
The buzz is that there is a major storm arriving later tonight and into tomorrow. The cast member who checked us into the park said that folks are scrambling and cutting their holidays off early to avoid being caught in the storm. The cast members are talking to each other on how they are gonna manage during the storm. We are hopeful that our flight in the evening will leave just in time.
Looks like we are gonna get real lucky and get just ahead of the Hurricane. Here is the current radar as we sit in the airport as they ask for volunteers to get off the plane as there is a backlog of folks trying to get out.
Travelling Back Home
Plan is to check out of the hotel in the morning and head to the parks. We packed a change of clothes as we were booked on a late flight (8:15 p.m.). We gas'd up the car at the last exit (Exit 8 Jetport drive) and then headed to the airport. Heads up - you will need exact change to get thru the last toll back to the airport in coins!! ($1.50). We had the coins so Thai worked perfectly. We decided to grab some food as well and Tanner wanted Wendy’s wraps.
Arriving at MCO
Being a Tuesday evening - the airport was not very busy. If you can swing it, its a fantastic day/time to travel. hertz drop off was simple and very efficient except the drop off is located at the far end of the terminal and we had to back track to Air Canada. Despite being several hours early, the was a huge lineup probably as everyone is trying to get out of FLA before the Hurricane arrives later tonight. The rain started right after we arrived but is not heavy and won’t affect our flight. Made it to the duty free shop early and I was un to purchase some Crown Royal!!. No real stress getting thru the airport for check-in and Security. At the gate - Air Canada is no longer using the new "biometrics" gates. Settled in and watched the Blue Jay game while we waited. Also, registered with ArriveCAN on the app and will see if it needed at YYZ.
In YYZ - the exit was also very smooth, with customs using the automated machines being very efficient. No need for the ArriveCAN app. We had taken a photo of where our car was located and therefore finding the car was very smooth. exiting using a hard copy of the barcode worked seamlessly and we were home in no time...
Tips and Tricks for Car Rental, GPS, and Tolls
We rented from Hertz and there are a few tricks.
- Car Rental - When you arrive, split up. One group heads to baggage claim and the driver should head straight to car rentals. This means you are likely to avoid the long lines of folks wanting to get a car. I ended up being first in line.
- Car Rental - Return - When you come back to return the car, you need to go the return at the correct terminal. We were at Terminal B - so needed to first follow the signs to terminal B and then the car rental returns. For Budget, it was not obvious as when we went into the garage, there was a huge automated gate blocking a small entrance (we were not sure that was the entrance and had to double back). You need to drive up to the gate and it will open to allow you in.
- GPS - Most cars now require a phone for GPS. That means that you will require a data plan in order to use Waze, etc. If you have a GPS you should consider bringing it pre-loaded with the addresses that you need to get out of the airport (i.e. your hotel), You can also add the Disney parks, etc. This way you can avoid a roaming package on your phone. We tried this and we were fine without a phone (relying only on WiFi).
- Tolls - IMPORTANT - Make sure that the EZPASS is closed in your rental car - ours was left open and when we went to pay at the first toll booth the operator said that we had already registered. We asked her to reverse the charge and closed the EZPASS (we will see if they charge us!!). You can use the Toll highways as long as you go to the Cash lanes (usually to the right). Of course - make sure that you bring cash.
- Tolls - IMPORTANT - When returning to the airport - you will need to gas up so you will likely exit at the last exit (Exit 8 - Jetport drive). However, to return to the highway and go the last couple miles to the airport the entry back to the highway is exact change only!! Meaning that you will need the exact amount of change IN COINS to get back on the highway ($1.50). Make sure that you have this available!! We got caught and ended up backing up thru traffic to go get the change required!! (But that is a whole other story!).
- Parking - if you choose to park your car at Pearson. Book your parking ahead of time to save some money and print out a hard copy of your barcode to gain access to the parking lot. Leave the barcode in the car as you will need to exit when you return. Also, remember to take a picture on your phone of where you parked you car so that you car easily find it upon your return.
Trip Summary
Here is a 1 minute summary
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