Cool! That’s funny he is just carrying a button down shirt on a hanger. 
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You must have kicked yourself when you later realised you should have shouted out “Josh! You ruined Disney World. You [redacted].”
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I was tempted to say we were leaving from a 4 night Universal trip because we can’t afford WDW anymore
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The breadbox sandwich looks fabulous!!
Safe travels @darkmite2.
Thanks for sharing your trip with us again. Hope your DD enjoyed it.
Awesomesauce 
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Thanks is not the word I think you meant.
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Probably a same day flight to speak somewhere and will put it on fresh and wrinklefree when he arrives. Flying first class I’m sure and they will hang it for him for the flight.
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So fun to follow along. Such a patient dad you were! What a great experience with your daughter. What was your strategy to get those yellow and red passes?
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I got really lucky with the Red Passes. Someone set them as an “auction” instead of “Buy It Now”. I bid $40 for both. However, the price never got higher than $22 + tax.
I bought the two yellow ones for $25 + tax. (Even though I wound up giving them away!)
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I have a Velocicoaster-specific one from our December trip… I’m told that you can take an expired one to GS and they’ll reissue it one time.
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Great to know, thanks!
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OK… I’m back in the office & caught up. Here are my overall thoughts / items I may have missed.
We had a great time. Hopefully this won’t be a grip list. Mostly more things / tips / “growing pains” I’ve gone through so you don’t have to!
I have only been to Orlando once in August before and now I remember why I avoided it for so long.
It was HOT!! I mean crazy hot!! I live in TN and am used to humidity, but Orlando is a different level. The sun was intense. Thankfully, we are big believers in sweat proof SPF 50 Sunblock and use it multiple times each day.
We “really” had two full days and two half days… The crowds were still there… While I’m sure they were lighter than even a week previous it was still the busiest I’ve dealt with this year. DD understood both of these things in advance so we set expectations low.
IME - Volcano Bay is a full day park. Every time I go I don’t leave until after 4pm - 5pm. Not only is it that much fun, but the waits for the top rides are unreasonable after lunch (even with Tapu Tapu)
Let’s go ahead & talk Volcano Bay because I’ve got some positives & negatives
Volcano Bay
Tapu Tapu is still a great idea!! However, frequently, the rides in the park when it’s busy are 75 - 240+ minutes.
Then when it’s your turn to go you get in line with like 0 - 6 other people. I had multiple times when we were the only people in the queue when we entered. I get that it’s supposed to make your wait easy when you return, but how can there be a 150 minute wait and no one in the queue? (Actual example)
It’s because they don’t require you to return until anytime after your your Tapu Tapuhas notified you that the slide is available. This meansg there are 150 minutes worth of passes issued. I would really like them to adjust this. (Maybe make it valid for for up to one hour after your return time notification??)
OMG am I glad we bought the Express Pass!! I paid $99 / person for the one that included ALL the attractions once. If you are getting the pass, just upgrade!! You will regret not getting the aqua coaster with the cheaper pass. It’s usually about $30 more / person
TIP - Do not link your Express Pass to your Tapu Tapu when you enter!! The reason is you start using your one ride per attraction Express Pass on the first ride. If you go to Early Park Admission you will be able to ride Krakatau Aqua Coaster at least once along with The “trap door” body slides in the volcano plus Oh Yea! / Oh No! slides.
Do all your Early Park Admission with low / no wait slides and then go to the any of the Concierge Desks to activate your Tapu Tapu to begin using your Express Pass (UXP)
I have to pause here for work stuff… I will finish ASAP
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Doing this allowed DD & I to ride Krakatu 3 times that day. (1 at start of EPA, 45 min. wait immediately afterwards, UXP) The attraction posted “Ride Full” around 2pm for a park closing at 7pm.
It was her favorite! We both agree though that it’s not worth a 100+ minute wait to sacrifice riding anything else other than lazy/fearless river and wave pool
Express Pass Set-Up
I’ve had issues so far this year buying add passes / add-ons for other people. The tickets link fine. However, it always requires each member of your party be present and have their app / ID ready. I had my phone, but she had left hers back at our lockbox. (Still using it w/ no issues!)
So, she didn’t have either ID or App…
I’m glad they are being careful about issuing the pass, but I’m the guy who paid. I have my ID, the credit card, my app showing it all linked. 
This happened when I wanted to convert my HHN dated tickets to Rush of Fear Passes. I was on hold with Guest Services for an hour because we had to keep going back & forth.
We got it done, but it took getting a more experienced person and removing her “purchasing privileges” from Tapu Tapu. (We were together all day and I was buying everything anyway it didn’t matter. It could be an issue for someone else)
Volcano Bay is so pretty, but a maze!! This is was my third trip and I still only “kinda” know where most things are. I had to ask directions all day. There are no park maps / display boards with “You’re Here” on them or paper maps. There are some signs that will get you in the right direction, but some ride entrances are tucked back a bit.
I have gone barefoot on my previous trips earlier in the year. I didn’t account for the heat and concrete. VB sprays the grounds all day, but it only helps. When it’s mid-90’s you will find it awful to walk through, I’ll be buying water shoes for my next visits. (even though it’s going to be slightly cooler, I don’t want to risk it again!) You can store the shoes at the bottom of the slides in like nets / baskets.
VB Pros
I only drink on vacation. The cocktails at VB are the strongest and consistently well made. I have had multiple drinks in the other parks and the never feel like they have much alcohol. At $15 + tip per drink I want to get a little buzzed. I love all the drinks here
Don’t miss out on Vol inside the Volcano! Always a special treat that they “don’t have” to do!
I highly recommend going, but unless you genuinely only want to ride 4 slides you need to plan a full day here! (During Late May - Labor Day)
RED & YELLOW EXPRESS PASSES
#1 - Buy at your own risk! These tickets are listed as “Not for Sale” and “Non-Transferable” right on the ticket. You have no way, until you get the tickets, to prove if they’ve already been used.
#2 - Do not buy an auction that shows the bottom UPC code of the ticket. Someone can manually input this code into the “My Wallet” section of the app and assign the code to themselves. Make sure if they’ve “scratched out” the number that it is completely dark. If you know what to look for, as the codes are all similar, you can still see it.
You have no recourse if you by tickets that are not valid as technically the sale violates eBay’s policies and Universal’s policies. eBay doesn’t really police this though and Universal won’t care as long as they haven’t already been used.
WIFI
I admit I have a low GB data plan as I’m always on someone’s network. However, the WIFI at Dockside has been almost unusable the last couple of visits. It’s, literally, fine at the bus stop outside the building and any other place.
Early Park Admission
Early Entry was always 15 minutes early! I was so glad to get on the first bus one hour before entry. Getting on Hagrid’s before most people even get through the park entry is such a big deal! That queue extends out to Lost Continent so quickly
MISC.
Breadbox Handcrafted Sandwiches is a hidden gem! So much better than the Today Café!! That sandwich I had was $10.99 and very large. I think to make it a combo w/ a side is $2.50 more…really a value! (The sodas are $4.19!!)
You can sit or grab & go. It can get a little busy at peak times, but never unreasonable. It’s tucked away in the upstairs area near Bend the Bao, Burger King, Moe’s. A lot of people don’t even know to go up there!
Antojito’s = The food was amazing! The service was mediocre. He came out and made an awesome impression. He’s the reason I got the AP menu item and I’m grateful! However, I ordered the table side guacamole and it never came. The server never checked in on us once after dropping off the water, chip & salsa. I had to flag him down to get the check. In hindsight, my belly would have burst if I’d eaten more than I did. Plus, he never added the guacamole to the check. I’m sure he just never input it when doing the order. It was frustrating though.
The Mariachi band is fun, but you aren’t getting the “authentic” experience the sign promotes outside. It was a Shakira song, the cover of Kool & the Gang’s “Celebration”, the chicken dance and multiple Happy Birthday’s… It was fun though!
Overall, it was an amazing time with my daughter. We clashed a lot during her mid-late teens as parents do when trying to be well intentioned. She’s grown up a good bit and I’ve become a lot more patient. Just hanging out with her was the best part of the trip.
TO BE CONTINUED…
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So when you buy the EP for VB do you get a physical ticket?
After you’ve exhausted the ride nows, where do you go to activate it?
You do get a confirmation e-mail and if you buy it through the app, which I did, it will automatically be linked to your account.
It is not activated until you go to a concierge desk or link it yourself through the app. However, it would only let me do mine. Plus, I wanted someone else to do it since it was my first time. The whole process took less than 10 minutes, but they made it feel stressful because I bought multiple people’s tickets at once
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Woohoo!
Are you thinking it will air next week and not tomorrow?
Note that when I did this back in May 2021, it took like an hour to link all the tickets and EPs (we had 6 people with EPs). It was super frustrating. I can’t remember what was different about our tickets that made it harder, but in any case, they recommended that next time I link them at the hotel before coming to the park. I 100% wish I had done that. We lost precious time in the park.
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You are fortunate — for an abundance of reasons — that I am not one of your children. I do not respond well to this kind of thing. I would have for sure had a tantrum.
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My 4-year-old did, too, and she has the worst tantrums. You would have fit right in.
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