Cruising with a Toddler. Our Photo Intense Trip Recap of the 9-7-13 Carnival Dream

[TeknikDC2]

 

After the parade show stop was finished we then made our way towards the exit of Universal Studios so that we could hop over to Islands of Adventure. You wouldn't think we would come the resort and not get a butterbeer now would you. After the short walk thru Citywalk we entered the Islands of Adventure gate.

 

[TeknikDC2]

[TeknikDC2]

 

Before getting back to the Wizarding World though we would stop in Suess Landing. This obviously was Daniels favorite area of the park and when we saw such a short wait for Cat in the Hat we decided to ride it again to see if he would do any better this time around. And he did. He really enjoyed the ride this time instead of being scared by it.

 

 

After the ride on Cat in the Hat we continued taking our time thru Suess Landing. We stopped and looked at the different shops and Daniel was really enjoy it all. Soon enough though we continued on thru the Lost Continant until we arrived at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

For how much we love the Wizarding World you'd think we would have spent the rest of the night here. But in reality this was probably the shortest amount of time that we have ever spent inside the Wizarding World. We really just made a quick stop by the Three Broomsticks and grabbed a couple of Butterbeers. Then we were done in the Wizarding World and continued on with the park. We didn't even go to Hogwarts to ride the Forbidden Journey.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

Jurassic Park was yet another area that we would just pass on thru today. Although when we got to the area where construction of the carnival games was taking place there was much more done now then there was a week earlier. All the buildings were now constructed that would house the games. When we got the T-Rex photo op Daniel was excited and quick to point out the Dinosaur. He really loves Dinosaurs.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

Toon Lagoon would also be a quick walk thru today. I did stop and consider going on the Duddly Do Right Log Flume again. We even stopped to see how wet people were getting. I ultimatly decided against it though as not only would I be soaking wet. But we would still need to check into our hotel so I wouldn't be able to change quickly ether. So it was skipped.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

We finally arrived in Marvel Superhero Island which was the place we were heading to. We finished off our Butterbeers and then headed into the Amazing Adventures of Spiderman. It was so odd to find the line practically nonexistant. It was so short that even the Single Rider Line was closed. Seriously I don't think we even waited 5 minutes. We once again split to go to Child Swap and the ride was as amazing as always. I could have rode this for the rest of the evening but we still had other plans for tonight so after our rides we left.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

We were gonna make our way to the park exit now but Kiera needed to use the restroom and change Daniel. So while she did that I went and hopped on the Incredible Hulk coaster as it too was practically a walk on. This was the first time I had rode it with the sun going down and it was alot of fun at this time of day.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

After the Hulk we really were done and headed towards the parks exit. It was crazy for being a Saturday evening how few crowds there were in the park. We could have easily rode anything we wanted with little to no wait. But as I said we had other things to do still tonight. And so we left Islands of Adventure over 2 hours before it was scheduled to close tonight.

 

 

We made our way thru Citywalk towards the parking garage to leave the resort. Citywalk was a very lively place on Saturday Night as i'm sure many people were showing up now to get there clubbing on. They also had a band performing on the Citywalk stage as we walked past.

 

 

 

 

 

And that concludes this update. One more for this day and it will be completed. Next up will be our evening at Downtown Disney and also our Hotel recap. Thanks for following along. This recap is almost a finished.

 

 

 

 

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[jenseib]

I am enjoying all the Universal pictures. I think the parade does look cute....but so short

[TeknikDC2]

Day 11, Part 3: Downtown Disney

 

We left Universal Orlando for the day but we still had a whole night ahead of us to have fun. First though we would be heading to our Hotel which wouldn't be as close to Universal as our pre-cruise hotel was. For our post Cruise Hotel I once again booked it thru Hotwire.com. However this time I booked it in the Lake Buena Vista/Downtown Disney area. I wanted to try and get a feel of the different hotel areas around the theme parks and figured for the same cost as where we stayed before our cruise that I would give this location a chance as it seemed like a good midway point between Universal and Disney.

 

I once again used my method of comparing the listed aminities on Hotwire.com to betterbidding.com and before even booking the room I was positive that we would get the Clarion Lake Buena Vista. And sure enough we did. It took about 10 minutes to get here once we exited the parking garages at Universal Orlando. This is a 3 star property according to Hotwire and I paid only $42 a night here. Not bad considering that would even be over the weekend.

 

 

Pulling into the parking lot and Check in was interesting as they have a secruity booth that you have to go by where they check to make sure your a guest of the hotel. Kinda different but it made us feel safer. Check in was a breeze and we were soon on our way to our room to drop off our stuff.

 

[TeknikDC2]

Our room was located on the 4th floor and had a view of the freeway and pool area. We never actually got a chance to go down and enjoy the pool though. I wish we would have though as it did look pretty nice. They also had a little splash pad area for kids to play.

 

 

Unlocking the door to our room was a new experiance as they utilized RFID locks instead of your standard type. Instead of swipping our room key thru a reader we just tapped it to the lock to open the door. Inside the room was very nice and spacious. There were many closests and draws to store your stuff. The bathroom area was also nice and had a seperate Toilet and shower area from the vanity which also contained a Fridge and Microwave.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

We would be very satifisfied with this hotel. So much so that its a place that I'm hoping we can get again for our vacation this summer. The hotel was very nice and the beds were comfy. Plus the location was the perfect mid point between Universal and Disney. Time will tell if I can get it again.

 

After settling into our room and relaxing a bet by watching the Disney Parks promo channel and Daniel looked thru all the Disney brochers on the counter we decided to head back out of the night for a little bit of Disney Magic. We would be going to Downtown Disney tonight.

 

 

Although I was excited about going to Downtown Disney as its something we have done one each visit we've made to the Orlando area, I kinda wish I would have researched and planned a little better prior to the trip. It was earlier this morning when sitting aboard the Carnival Dream waiting to Debark that I remembered that the Magic Kingdom's "MIckey's Not so Scary Halloween Parties" started. Since we were well under budget after the Cruise I started to look up to see if I could get tickets to the Halloween Party so that we could go to the Magic Kingdom this night instead. Unfortunatly though the Halloween Party was sold our for the weekend so we would be stuck with our original plans. Not that those plans were bad but I wish I would have thought about going to the Halloween Party before the trip had started.

 

In not gonna lie. For how close our Hotel was to Downtown Disney, the traffic to actually get to it was pretty rediculous. Then add in the fact that the Downtown Disney remodel and rebranding to Disney Springs had started and part of this expansion is the addition of a Large parking structure. Because of this Parking is now even harder to find with a large portion of the lot closed for construction. We ended up finding a spot out past the Cirque De Solie show theater.

 

We finally entered Downtown Disney in the West Side area of the complex. The night was young and the area vibrant with activity. However we were starving by this point and the place we had in mind was on the complete opposite side of Downtown Disney in the marketplace area. So off we went passing everything else as we went.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

The place we would be eating tonight would be Earl of Sandwich and it too has become a Must do thing for us whenever we are around one of there locations. There sandwiches are so good and for being on Disney property are still reasonably priced. The closest Earl of Sandwich that we have back home is in Las Vegas so Its pretty much only on vacation that we get to eat here. Its a place that I highly recommend though if you looking for a good and cheaper meal at Downtown Disney. Bare in mind though that it is very popular so the line can get very long. There also isn't much seating as we had to sit outside tonight. Good thing the weater was great.

 

[TeknikDC2]

After our amazing meal at Earl of Sandwich we could finally start checking out the many different shops at Downtown Disney. First up we would walk across the plaza and past the fountain to "Once upon a Toy". This is a large Toy store selling mostly Disney toys but they also have an assortment of Hasbro products as well. Its here where you will also have the chance to build a Lightsaber or Mr. Potato Head if you didn't inside the parks. We had a great experiance here with a Cast Member that was so nice to Daniel and gave him some stickers. It was also while we were here that I took notice to how many resort guests were still wearing there new "Magic Bands" outside of the parks.

 

 

Next up we would make our way to the Disney Christmas store. Its Christmas all year long at this store with many different holiday items. Anything and everything Disney Christmas can be found here. Its a store we always make sure we look at but as usual we didn't buy anything today. I never noticed before but right outside the shop is Winnie the Pooh photo op that Daniel just loved. They have a few different things like this thruout Downtown Disney so keep an eye out for them. Seeing Daniels response to them really showed us how real that Disney Magic is and made us wish we could have made it to a Disney Park on this trip even more.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

We next went to the World of Disney store which if I recall correctly is the largest Disney store in the World. This store usually takes awhile to get thru as there is pretty much everything and anything you could possibly want from the parks in this store. We spent a lot of time looking around at everything and even got our traditional hat picture. But in the end other then a post card (to represent our trip last year) we didn't end up getting anything else here.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

After World of Disney we stopped by another must see store which is the Lego Store. Out front there are some amazing Lego Statues depecting scenes from Disney Movies. But inside there area also some great lego models as well that you should check out.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

Across the Lagoon from the Lego Store is the Rain Forest Cafe. We ate at one of these in Vegas a few years back and weren't impressed with the sub par food at rediculous prices. However the Downtown Disney location has had some extensive work done on it to create an "Active" volcano. And for the first time tonight we saw that Volcano errupt which was pretty cool to watch. Honestly only having the Volcano at the Mirage in Las Vegas to compare to I'd say that the Rain Forest Cafe's is done even better. I loved the fire errupting out it but it was the simulated Lava flow that seemed the most convincing. It was a pretty cool thing that adds to the stuff you should see while at Downtown Disney.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

We next made a stop at the T-Rex. This restaurant is also owned by the creaters of Rain Forest Cafe so I can't imagine the food being much better. In all our years coming to Downtown Disney though we had never looked inside the T-Rex before and didn't even realize that it had a gift shop. We stopped and looked around and Daniel was once again in heaven with how much he loves Dinosaurs. Many of the Dinosaurs inside are Animatronics so they will move and even roar. The environment of the restaurant seemed very cool but once again High prices means we likely will never eat here.

 

 

Right in the middle of the Downtown Disney area is the former Pleasure Island section where Disney use to have many different clubs and adult entertainment options. However a few years ago they shut them all down with plans to redevelop the area. With Disney Springs that is finally happening so many of the old buildings have finally been torn down and construction has started on the new area. However i'm not fully sure what is coming into this area or what it will be themed around.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

We were now back in the West Side area. On the right is Festival of Flight. A Hot Air Ballon type ride that will take you high into the sky to view the surrounding area. Of course you have to buy tickets to do it though. We also made a stop into the candy shop here where we almost bought a Caramel Apple but then decided against it when we didn't want to wait in a long line. We also stopped by D-Street which is the place that has the best selection of Vinylmations if your into collecting them.

 

[TeknikDC2]

To our Left was the new Splitsville Luxury Lanes Bowling Alley. This location has gone thru many changes in our visits over the years as it use to be a Virgin Megastore, then it was a Princess Diana exhibit, then a location for Ridemakers, and finally it was repurposed into this upscale Bowling Alley. It looked nice from the outside but we never stopped in as we didn't feel like bowling and we were getting pretty tired as it was.

 

 

After passing Disney Quest and the Cirque De Solie theater we were back to where we stared and made our way out to our car. Our time at Downtown Disney was finished. We had a great time here tonight and it will always be a must do thing whenever we visit Orlando. Wether we go to any Disney Parks or not. Its a nice little side attraction that gives you a small dose of that Disney Magic. If your board with nothing to do one evening then check it out. Just remember that parking is pretty horrible right now.

 

 

Before going back to the Hotel we made one more stop at a Food Lion grocery store just down the street from the hotel. We wanted to get a few snacks for breakfast the next couple mornings to help save from having to buy stuff in the parks. This was the first time i've been in a Food Lion and well it was pretty ghetto. The store was small and the prices were very expensive. I work for a Kroger owned store so I am pretty judgemental when it comes to other grocery stores. But this was was probably the worst i've ever been in. The produce and deli and bakery products didn't even look good. Needless to say other then some milk and cereal we really didn't get anything else. And even those were expensive.

 

Finally we were back at our hotel where we retired for the night. We once again made up a baracade for Daniel so that he wouldn't fall off the bed tonight. yet somehow he still managed to fall off it in the middle of the night. We went to bed quickly as we had one full day left of our vacation in orlando. And if you hadn't guessed yet we would once again be back at Universal Orlando. But we would be taking it easy tomorrow and take our time getting there.

 

 

 

 

And with that Day 11 is concluded and in the books. Thanks everyone for following along still. 2 days left of this trip and only 1 of them is a full day in Orlando before traveling home. Thanks for the continued support even though the cruise portion of this recap is finished. I appreciate it.

 

 

 

 

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[Name Of The Game]

Great pictures of Disney and Universal. Daniel must have loved all the colors and sounds. Hope you get a chance to take him again when he's a little older. I have happy memories of those childhood vacations.

[Perfect Stranger]

Were you and your wife exhausted when you got home? That was a long trip with a two year old although he looks like a quiet little guy. Just think..next trip with him you won't need any diapers! Thanks for sharing your experience and all the nice photos.

[jenseib]

I love Earl of sandwich too. it is so good!

We ate at T-rex on our last trip for the first time and it is now one of my favorites on property. Compared to other Disney sit down places, the price isn't too bad either. I want to make it for our march trip, but I have to figure out where I can fit it in.

[josefina022]

Love your review! Your little guy seems like he is such a well behaved traveler! Glad you had such a great time.