My recent stay at Universal Orlando Resort was so much fun and I’m going to share and highlight my favorite moments with you. First and foremost, I stayed at the Cabana Bay Beach Resort on the property which allowed me early access (one hour) to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™. It was my first time experiencing Diagon Alley™. I took advantage of the complimentary shuttle service to Universal Studios Florida and was able to venture to Universal’s Islands of Adventure and Universal City Walk with ease.
You can also use the walking paths around the resort to access the parks and other hotel properties. I had a blast taking the Hogwarts™ Express from King’s Cross Station in the London area of Universal Studios Florida to Hogsmeade™ Station in Universal’s Island of Adventure. Experiencing Platform 9 ¾™ was such a treat and it felt surreal. The train ride was exciting, and you get to experience characters from the movies while in transit. I also had the infamous Butter Beer for the first time!
When you stay on the Universal Orlando Resort property and take advantage of multi-day park tickets, the longer you stay the more you save! You also have the option of getting one park per day tickets. I honestly was able to cover lots of ground with the park-to-park tickets. Even though I was there for three days I was able to get on all the rides I wanted to experience on day one in between Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure.
On day two we doubled back to some of our favorite rides and added some more sights to visit on our list. On day three I was able to explore Volcano Bay. It was just a short walk from the Cabana Bay Beach Resort to the entrance of Volcano Bay Water Park. We loved Race through New York starring Jimmy Fallon so much we had to do it twice. Transformers The Ride 3-D was equally fun along with Fast & Furious Supercharged. Fell in love with the tech and graphics behind each ride!
I also had an opportunity to have lunch at Bob Marley’s Café and The Chocolate Emporium in Universal City Walk. I walked up to Bob Marley’s Café with no reservations and was seated immediately and had an incredible meal. My cocktail of choice was Uncle Wray’s Rum Punch, and I had the No Woman, No Cry Jerk Chicken Salad for my entrée. It was so colorful and tasty! We had a reservation at the Chocolate Emporium, and I had the Coffee & Chocolate Stout Chicken Wings! Yum!
I thoroughly enjoyed dining at the Chocolate Emporium and couldn’t stop gravitating to the sweets shop. I mean all the goodies you can think of. After lunch, we decided to head back to Universal Studios Orlando to do some shopping. I loved the convenience of having everything all in one area. It’s just a hop, skip and jump from the Cabana Bay Beach Resort to Universal City Walk. Once you’re there it’s easy to navigate what you want to do next. We had a strategic plan daily and stuck to it!
The Park hours allow for you to have some down time and truly experience your hotel resort and enjoy the property amenities. The Cabana Bay Beach Resort has two courtyards with pools and cabanas to relax poolside or you can enjoy the lazy river. There are lots of poolside activities or maybe you want to make a reservation and head to Galaxy Bowl and enjoy a game or two with full table service restaurant and bar. You can also check out the fitness studio, on site arcade and or shop at the Universal Studio’s Store in the lobby area. The lobby is a great hang out spot!
When you’re not out and about exploring, you can enjoy your hotel room which is a whole retro style vibe! We were in a standard Queen Guest Room with two queen beds, bathroom with separate sink area. Quaint dining area with flat screen TV, Mini Fridge & Coffee Maker. One of my favorite evenings was ordering food from the restaurant in the lobby area and bringing it back to my room to enjoy while watching movies with my sons. We had a great time and can’t wait to get back soon.
