What a ___ Wednesday! What a Vacation!

    I know, I know...It's been a couple of weeks since my last post but I have been going through a few life changes (quitting my job, looking for new opportunities) so I have been a little preoccupied with that recently. 

I did post a new Youtube video about a week and a half ago.  Check out my channel HERE if you would like to see it! It has to do with today's topic, which is Universal Orlando Resort!

As you saw in my last post, we went on a little 4 day trip to one of our favorite places in the world and I wanted to share a few places and spots with you all from our trip that we really enjoyed. 

We did go right at the beginning of Mardi Gras which I didn't know it was going to be happening until after I purchased the tickets but it was a nice surprise. 

Mardi Gras King and Queen

I do want to say that Universal was EXTREMELY packed for the month of February. Last year we went in June, right when the mask mandate was lifted and it was soooo busy. We researched when the "slower" times would be and the dates we picked, Feb 6th-10th, were supposed to be one of those times. Well, we were definitely fooled because it was as busy as June of 2021! We were literally in awe of how busy it was. 

Regardless of the crowds, we still had plenty of fun and we still enjoyed every minute of it. 

Here are some of our favorite spots: 

Spots in UNIVERSAL STUDIOS: 

1. Diagon Alley (and everything it entails)

Entrance to Diagon Alley (taken from inside)

Walking into Diagon Alley

At the entrance looking in at the amazing Gringotts Fire Breathing Dragon and drinking a Butterbeer :)

In Knockturn Alley (where dark wizards go)

Borgin & Burkes (shop in Knockturn Alley)

The Leaky Cauldron - Restaurant in Diagon Alley

Sticky Toffee Pudding at the Leaky Cauldron

Another picture of Gringotts from a different angle 

There is so much to do in Diagon Alley!

2. The Knight Bus

I wish I had more pictures of the Knight Bus- it's amazing! Plus you get to chat with the Conductor and the Talking Head!

3. Hogwarts Express/King's Cross Station

Hogwarts Express at Diagon Alley

Hogwarts Express at Hogsmeade 

4. Hollywood, New York and London! 

New York

LA

London

5. The JAWS corner 

and so many more spots!

The Butterbeer spot! We tried warm butterbeer here for the first time and it was DELICIOUS! 

ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE spots:

1. Spider Man Ride

This was a super fun 3D ride!

2. Hogsmeade and Hogwarts Castle

Every Flavor Beans

Amazing butterbeer!

3. Jurassic Park area

Velocicoaster

4. Poseidon's Fury Area

and so much more! 

Universal CITY WALK 

"A complex of dining, shopping, and entertainment sprawled around a gorgeous lagoon, with sweeping views of coaster skylines. It serves as the central hub of Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, and with an impressive and varied collection of shops and bites, many visitors find CityWalk to be a great place to spend a relaxing day playing miniature golf, seeing a show, or even getting a tattoo. After dark, CityWalk has a handful of vibrant nightlife options as well. Even if it’s not your final destination, CityWalk is definitely worth budgeting a bit of extra time for when passing through on the way to or from the parks." (from the Orlando Informer)

1. HARD ROCK CAFE and the view from across the pond from it :)

Inside the Hard Rock Cafe

2. PUTT PUTT GOLF - we played here on two different days and it was pretty fun!

3. All the stores especially the LEGACY store and the UNIVERSAL store. There are so many options to shop though.

4. All the little stand alone shopping spots in the middle of City Walk. 

We love Voodoo Donuts! 

Honestly, City Walk is just amazing for any time of day: breakfast, lunch, dinner or evening entertainment. It has everything you want and more. It is also such a great area if you want to have a drink and relax at one of their outdoor tables. 

All in all, I definitely recommend visiting Universal Orlando Resort at least once! This is now our go to vacation spot :) 

Until next time,

XoXo

Universal Endless Summer: Dockside Inn and Suites Review

Hi there friends!

    Today I wanted to talk a little bit about a Universal Orlando hotel. My boyfriend and I recently came back from a 5 night, 4 day stay at Universal's Endless Summer Dockside Inn and Suites Hotel and we have a few things to say about it.  

    First thing first, I do want to say that this is one of Universal's Value hotels so it's definitely not luxury and we definitely did not expect that, but we definitely had higher expectations considering it is a resort and it is Universal. 

Our room number 

I will break this down between the positives and negatives.

Positives:

1. It has a free shuttle service that runs every 10 to 15 minutes between Universal Studios and the Hotel. This was great because last time we visited Universal we didn't stay at one of their hotels so we had to use Uber or Lyft every single day and it became pricey and sometimes quite a hassle. The shuttle drops you off in the same spot and when you leave Universal Studios there are clear signs that you can follow that directs you straight back to the shuttle. The shuttle runs an hr before Early Park Admission to an hr after  City Walk closes (usually at midnight but can be later during summer). 

One of the bigger shuttles you could take to the parks

2. You get Early Park admission (you do have to have a valid Theme Park ticket). This is great if you want to get into the park earlier than people who are not staying at a Universal hotel. We didn't use this feature because, honestly, we needed to catch up on sleep on this vacation. 

Waiting for the  shuttle

3. The room we stayed in had 2 Queen beds (I don't think they have king beds? I didn't see an option for that when booking a room with them.) The beds were comfortable enough, not super firm and not super soft either. Pillows were decent. 

4. The bathroom had a big shower! (No bathtub)

5. There is a bar downstairs that opens at 4PM as well as a Starbucks and a Grab and Go. They also have something called Pier 8 Market where they offer many options for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

6. They offer free Wi Fi but if you have more than one in your party then only one device can be connected to the Wifi at a time which is definitely a downside. 

7. The room has a cute theme and is decorated in a colorful, fun way. 

Cute Nightlight Over the Bed

8. They have luggage services which is great! Check out was at 11 Am but our flight wasn't until 7Pm so we left our luggage with Bell Services and went to City Walk by shuttle to just waste some time. When we came back to pick up our luggage, it was very quick and effective. 

9. You can check out by text message, on your TV or by phone. we checked out by text and it was the easiest thing!

10. They have a huge heated pool with a pool bar. We didn't get to use it since it wasn't that warm while we were there but it definitely looked like fun!

Room View of the Pool

Negatives:

1. There are a lot of rooms and they are very close to each other and the walls are VERY thin. There was also a door inside our room that connected our room to the room next to us which we did not like very much. That is mostly for families, if they get adjoining rooms they can open that middle door and connect all rooms. Since we were there as just a couple, it was definitely something we did not expect or want. 

2. The blankets/sheets are thin and feel quite cheap. They get the  job done but they are nothing special. 

3. There is no fan in the shower/toilet room (this is something my bf noticed and was bothered by more than I did)

4. Since the hotel is so big, it was almost fully booked (even though it is February and kids should be in school) and the lines were long at Pier 8 Market

5. Which brings me to the next negative. Pier 8 Market is pretty much the only place for food in the hotel besides Starbucks. This makes it difficult when it is breakfast, lunch or dinner time because everyone just gathers in this one spot. It can get quite congested. 

Overall, we thought this was an average hotel with basic amenities. We spent most of our time at the parks so it was ok for us. I recommend it if you are on a budget and would rather spend your money on other things which is what we did! We  checked out the City Walk restaurants and spent most of our money on lots of souvenirs and T shirts haha 

Next time we visit we will definitely check out the other Universal Hotels (especially the ones that offer the water taxi. That looks like so much fun!).

I did enjoy the full length mirror at the entrance!

Until then, 

XoXo

What a ___ Wednesday! on a Thursday: Busy Day at Home

Wednesday kind of got away from me. I woke up, had breakfast, started vlogging again for the first time in over a year, filmed a makeup of the day video (which I will edit tonight and post tomorrow), started doing some laundry, and vacuumed and tidied a little bit around the house. 

Had some Jamba Juice this morning

 

After that, I sat on the couch for the rest of the evening watching "After Life" on Netflix. If you haven't seen it then I 100% recommend it! It's one of those shows that can really pull on your heartstrings but make you laugh out loud as well. Ricky Gervais did an amazing job on this show.

 

I also sat there and was worried about my bf getting home from work safe. He always has to go in on bad weather and I am always worried about him driving on these icy roads. He made it home just fine but he is right back in it tonight 😢

I live in North Texas and late Wednesday, we started getting some inclement weather. Freezing rain, below freezing temperatures and snow. That lasted into the next day (today) and it is continuing into tomorrow afternoon.

 

This meant that my store was shut down for the day so I got to stay home. I wanted to continue with the laundry and cleaning BUT I sat on the couch for most of the day doing absolutely nothing instead. I have been so tired from work (mentally and physically, but this will be a post for  a later time) that it takes all of me to actually get ready and do something when I am off of work. 

I am trying to get ready for our trip (we leave Sunday!) and I am so excited to finally have some much needed time off!  That is why I have been so adamant about cleaning and tidying and laundry. I need some clean clothes for the trip and at the same time, I do not want to come back home to a messy house. Does anybody else hate that? Coming home to a messy house? 

Makeup of the Day

Since we will be on our trip most of next week, there will not be a blog post on  this coming Sunday (day we leave) or  Wednesday but I am so excited for the content coming up for you all after that! 

Today was just a little catch up/diary entry but more exciting content coming your way VERY soon! 

Until next time, 

XoXo