Universal Excitement!
We stayed at Cabana Bay Resort - such a fun retro vibe at this bright, funky and very family friendly hotel. With two huge pools (one with a slide plus mini beach and one with a lazy river) this hotel has 4 buildings totalling 2,000 rooms! With a diner offering US classics, shake shop, arcade games room and bowling alley this is paradise for kids! Parents will love it too with family suites available with two queen beds plus a sliding door leading to a lounge with sofa bed. Suites offer two TV’s, separate shower and toilet plus a small kitchenette with fridge and microwave. The resort offers a frequent shuttle bus to the Universal Parks and City Walk (only 5-7 minutes away!) and you can even walk to Volcano Bay waterpark!
If you’re looking for a fun day in the sunshine, Volcano Bay is a fantastic destination! Open daily and offering 1 hour early park access if you stay in onsite Universal hotels this park caters for everyone, from thrill seekers to sun worshippers. On entry you receive a TapuTapu wristband that allows you to add yourself to a virtual queue at a lot of the rides. With three different villages plus the central volcano, there are free fall slides, body plunge, racing slides, log flume-esque rides, a winding river and wave machine to name just a few. What’s nice is that there are lots of different beach areas, tons of sunbeds and dining outlets so while it gets busy you can find your perfect spot.
If you’re wanting to stay on park then take a look at Loews Sapphire Falls and Loews Royal Pacific - both offer early park admission, water taxi transfers to the parks, walking path to Volcano Bay (Sapphire Falls) and shuttle bus to the parks (Royal Pacific). As Loews Royal Pacific is a Signature Collection hotel you also receive complimentary Universal Express passes!! Great family hotels with lagoon style pools and sandy beaches, Sapphire Falls is tropical themed while Royal Pacific draws inspiration from the islands of Polynesia. For those looking for a higher end hotel experience then Loews Portofino Bay is the perfect escape. Inspired by the Italian village, the resort centres around the wide open plaza that leads to the waterfront where guests can hop onto a water taxi to the parks or Universal City Walk. This relaxing resort offers three swimming pools and multiple dining options (can highly recommend Mamma Della’s Ristorante). Again take advantage of early park access, complimentary Universal Express passes, priority seating at restaurants throughout Universal and additional shuttle bus access to the Universal theme parks.
We were lucky to spend 3 fantastic days in the parks and on day 1 were sooo lucky to have a VIP Guide, Brian was a rockstar and got us to the front of so many rides, from Minion Land and Despicable Me to Transformers, Hollywood Rockit to Revenge of The Mummy and Fast & Furious Supercharged plus Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (my favourite!) plus Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure! For day 2 we used our Express Passes to skip the line at lots of rides and covered off some of the huge thrill rides including VelociCoaster and The Incredible Hulk Coaster. We also went to a couple of the shows in the Hollywood section with the Horror Make Up Show being pure comic genius and enjoyed the Wicked exhibition with tons of props from the movie. Next up was Dreamworks Land, targeted at younger fans there’s everything from nostalgic ET to Shrek, Trolls to Po’s Kung Foo Training Camp and is a short walk to the very fun Simpson’s home, Springfields.
It was Mardi Gras time when we went, which consists of around 12 floats beautifully decorated floats manned by flamboyant characters who throw multi coloured beads into the crowds. Between the floats stilt walkers and dancers get the crowd energised. The parade started at 7pm and lasted around 30 minutes and if you wanted a front row places get there at least 30 minutes prior. Proud of my cricketing skills as I dove and collected about 30 strands of beads - me competitive? Of course not
Islands of Adventure is walking distance from Universal Studios or a quick hop on the Hogwarts Express. Consisting of 6 themed lands, here you’ll find Marvel Super Hero Island, Jurassic Park, Skull Island and Harry Potters Hogsmeade plus kiddies favourites Seuss Landing and Toon Lagoon! In this park you can meet Blue and his baby raptor, fly on a “broomstick” through Hogwarts, get soaking wet on the River Adventure and Ripshaw Falls and help Spider-Man save New York City!
One of the nice surprises I found with Universal Orlando was how easy and quick it was to walk between parks and also their entertainment district “Universal City Walk”. Packed with bars, restaurants, takeaway treats (Voodoo Doughnut is off the charts!), gift shops and every type of attraction from crazy golf to cinemas and escape rooms this is the place to come at night.
If you’re looking for a fun night out away from the parks, head down to International Drive and check out Icon Park. This place radiated FUN with a plethora of attractions from the iconic Orlando Eye with pre board bar service and you can pick your own soundtrack. It also offers stunning views all the way to the newly opened EPIC Universe and its hotels Helios Grand Hotel, Stella Nova and Terra Luna Resorts. Check out the Museum of Illusions, Sealife or Madame Tussauds or for dare devils Sling Shot and with free parking it can’t be beat! Then for dinner with a difference head to Chima for an unbeatable evening of Brazilian inspired cuisine.
If you're looking for a fun, family holiday that offers something for absolutely everyone then Florida and Orlando is a sure bet - being able to mix and match theme parks, with lazy days by the pool or twin centre with a beach stay or even a Caribbean cruise and you'll make some amazing memories
