Previous to this trip I had only been to Universal once and I only went one day. This trip was going to be a Disney trip, but I decided, quite late in the game, to change my trip to Universal Orlando entirely. I had even gone as far as to book a room at the WL, but between the construction there, the short time available for my trip and a few other factors I decided to make a change.

May 5th, 6th & 7th, 2016

The Cast: Me

Hotel: Loew’s Portofino

Booked through Magical Journeys

I left home on a Wednesday Night red-eye at 9:40pm from Seattle and landed in Orlando at 5:30, so I had 3 full days to experience the parks, the first one being on very short rest.

Rather than give a blow-by-blow of the trip I thought it would be better to talk about what I thought were the strengths and weaknesses of the trip for me.

The Pros:

Oddly, at the top of my list is Finnegan’s Bar and Grill in Universal Studios. It is located across from the Mummy ride. Yeah, kind of a strange place to mention first you might think, but I can’t stress enough how cool the bar is there. Now, no, I never drank more than 2 drinks anywhere on this trip, mostly because I didn’t want to get slowed down, so I’m not saying “Come get hammered at Finnegan’s!” Honestly the food is good, but not great. So why do I like the place so much. Because the employees, the bartenders there are some of the coolest people who give the best customer service ANYWHERE in any Florida park or resort (IMHO, of course). I have met some great CMs at bars in WDW too, Crew’s Cup, CG, Trout Pass Pool bar @ WL, 50’s Prime Time, Kimono’s, Tambu, you name it. You really have to go there to understand. Jim especially; a big hearted, big handed, hardworking former Marine father of 6 and foster father to more than a dozen or so more. The others, Jan, Glenn, etc. are all gems. They just take care of you well. The place has like zero turnover of employees. Chances are the people you see this year will be the ones you see again in a year or two. Have a seat and talk to the regulars; you can’t miss ‘em. I talked to two couples who have APs and all they do is come to lunch here and maybe hit one other place after. Try it sometime, but get there early, stools go fast.

I usually don’t rent a car, but the Superstar Shuttle service worked out great. Not a full size bus, but a 10 passenger van takes you to Universal. I came in before normal hours and there was virtually no waiting. Once you are in their system they text you the vehicle number, location and departure time. I thought it was very efficient despite having to leave at 4:30am, but that isn’t their fault. I am the one who booked the 7:00am departure to get home in time to cook brunch for mom.

My room at the Portofino was great. It was super clean, the bathroom was huge and it was open and well-appointed and laid out.

They really nailed it with all of the Harry Potter stuff. The Gringott’s ride is a bit short, but amazing. The Forbidden Journey is one of the best attractions in Orlando.

The boat pilots who run from the resorts to City Walk are great. They do a good job of both entertaining and keeping the passengers informed of things to do and upcoming developments.

Rip Ride Rock-it! Is a good true not watered-down roller coaster. Sadly The Hulk was closed for renovations. The Mummy is a well done ride too. Part of me wishes Disney could somehow fit in a longer more traditional roller coaster. One of the reasons I like Splash Mountain is that is isn’t over in 3 minutes.

The Simpson’s ride and area is irreverent and hilarious! Between The Simpsons, the Minions and Shreck you get plenty of quality low-brow comedy. Gotta love it!

I had two breakfasts at Trattoria del Porto. I skipped the buffet and went ala carte and the food was delivered quickly, hot and it was really high quality. The Eggs Beneditto was a great twist on the classic with a ciabatta, a bed of greens, prosciutto and perfectly poached eggs. Bon appetitto!

Oddly, I liked the compact size of the resort, especially the proximity of the 2 parks to each other and City Walk. It makes getting around a breeze and there is less time spent in your car or on a bus.

I enjoyed Citywalk. It is really nice to have a wide variety of food options, especially fast food. I enjoyed my sit down meal it Antojitos. They have pretty good Mexican food, this coming from a guy from LA. The mariachi band was pretty good too.

The Express Pass really skews my opinion, but the parks were less crowded than Disney

The Cons:

Overall the characters and other intellectual property are a bit dated. I guess the choices are hard for them. Disney is good at nailing the timeless quality. Granted, Universal is great when it comes to putting up rides in a timely manner and they did a great job with all of the Harry Potter themed stuff. The superhero stuff is good too, albeit the intellectual property of Disney. But, Dudley Doo-Right? Betty Boop? E.T.? Blondie? Hagar the Horrible? All dated and dead! I guess they couldn’t have done too much better than the Cat in the Hat, but the animation, colors and overall look are all to firmly grounded in the 60s and 70’s, at least in my warped little mind. I think Dr. Seuss may have gone bowling with Syd and Marty Kroft. At least they didn’t go that route. Imagine Bugaloos, Sigmund the Sea Monster and Lidsville (yeah, totally obscure, but google it. You’ll be horrified!) themed rides and areas. From there a 9 iron shot gets you to Ken Kesey. ‘Nuff said.

Granted they are all done pretty well, but Universal WAY overdoes it with the 3D movies and simulators. Let’s see, Transformers, Spiderman (may as well be the same ride), T2, Shreck, Minion Mayhem all in the same park. Imagine going there if you hate 3D or have eyesight issues. Now you have 3 shows and 5 rides.

There are two pools at the Portofino and they were both packed. They were just okay. I have had a lot more fun at a crowded Disney pool. The pool areas both were too small and had a bit of a closed feeling. Half the pool was kiddie depth, 18” or so, which was a bit annoying.

From a logistical and park hopping standpoint the small resort size is good, but there is just not enough there for me. I had a 3 day ticket and I stayed in one of the three resorts that include the Express Pass. I could have easily done all I wanted in 2 days. I even spent 6 hours at Disney this trip and still, there just wasn’t enough to do for me.

The other meal I had at Citywalk was at Cowfish: burgers and sushi. I should have had a burger. I had the Bento box and it, well, sucked. Plenty of sweet potato fries which were obviously a heated up Sysco product, lots of edamame, which is fine, but not traditionally part of an entrée, 4 pieces of a sushi roll which were okay and the tiniest slider you have ever seen which didn’t make it to me in one piece. It wasn’t even 2 bites.

Conclusion

I had a pretty good time at Universal, but I really don’t have the same sentimental attachment to it as I do WDW. I really like the way Disney is spread out despite the fact it adds transportation time to your day. Citywalk is cool, but too thrown together randomly. It feels like a big frenzied mall. I loved my Express Pass, but it essentially creates a caste system. There is a “haves” line and a “have nots” line. FP+ is a pain at times, but at least it feels fair. It was a fun trip, but I don’t feel the same need to return as I do with Disney. That’s the nature of addiction I guess.

While I offer criticism here I would like to remind all of us that the whole point of visiting any park, or taking a vacation is to have fun. Sure there is always something that can be done better, but I had a pretty good time everywhere. I prefer to think of my criticisms as matter-of-fact as opposed to a bitter and wrathful diatribe. Universal was a fun destination and certainly helped me forget a few worries and beats the heck out of working.