Third time's the charm...a UOR trip report

ryan1 · May 13, 2021, 3:06pm

So, it appears there is no category for Trip Reports on these forums for UOR. Only for Disney!

Anyhow, who knew that a pandemic would cause our family…the family that previously would hit Florida every 2-4 years at most, to head down not once, not twice, but THREE times! Trip in August was 3 days at UOR, 6 days at Disney with the fam. Trip in December was 9 days at Disney with just the wife. This time it’ll be 4 days at UOR (plus a surprise, limited-time bonus!) with the family again.

We leave in two days (Saturday). Or at least, some of us do. I’m driving down with my DW, DD17, and DS11. My DS23 and DDIL are flying down to join us on Sunday.

We’ve rented a 4-bedroom house with pool and hot tub, etc, for the length of our stay. It is in Davenport, so the drive is a bit annoying to get to the parks…but one of the goals of this trip was being as cheap as possible. (It could have been even CHEAPER had he known in August we planned to return in May, because we could have upgraded to a Seasonal Pass and had our entry to the parks paid for!)

The Plan:

First park day is Monday. Plan to arrive for RD and focus entirely on WWoHP. We expect to be done by mid-afternoon. We may or may not pop into Disney Springs in the evening.

Second park day, Tuesday, is our Universal Studios focus. The one main thing I want to make sure I hit that I missed out on last time? The Bourne Stuntacular. The rest of it, we did in August, so will be bonus!

Third park day, Wednesday, is our IOA focus. And, we are anxiously hoping to get a chance to ride Velocicoaster since it appears to be running daily now, with reasonable wait times for a new ride!

Fourth park day, back to WWoHP focus…plus anything else! This is also the day we have a reservation at Olivia’s at OKW for 6:45 pm. Fortunately, I have enough Disney Visa Rewards dollars to completely cover the cost of the meal!

Fifth day (Friday)? This is the bonus day. We plan to hit Disney Springs in the evening for some nighttime action before heading back home early the next morning. But the bonus for me is that my AP is still active for Disney, and PM is open. So, I’m heading into MK at RD to take a spin or two or three on PM! I’ll be back to the house before noon in time to get things packed into the van for the return home.

Anyhow, that’s the overview. Details will unfold with the trip. I’ll post photos and such as I can, but not quite real-time!

vcka · May 13, 2021, 3:21pm

Safe travels!

chiisai · May 13, 2021, 4:18pm

Sounds like a great trip! We head down to UO mid June. I debated keeping or canceling, and eventually had to purchase airfare, so we are going. 3 1/2 days at UO, 3 1/2 at WDW.

Looking forward to hearing about your trip! We can’t wait to ride velocicoaster and hagrids. This is the first time my younger one will be able to ride any coasters there, so she is super excited.

Jeff_AZ · May 14, 2021, 5:00am

I’ll be following along! Your trip will end right as mine is beginning!

redboy42 · May 14, 2021, 5:34am

The pandemic had the same effect on our travel We had a family trip right before quarantine, and then ended up taking 2 additional family trips (July and December) and 1 adults-only trip during 2020, We’re now gearing up for another short trip next week, with 2 UOR days and one day at DHS. My youngest (DD7) is doing everything in her power to finally hit the height requirement for Hagrid’s and Forbidden Journey. Hopefully that works out so we can stop coming back! We’re also looking forward to trying the Velocicoaster. I hope the reasonable waits last for one more week at least.

ryan1 · May 15, 2021, 4:31pm

Day 1…

Left at 7:30 this morning. Now eating lunch just south of Florence, Y’all. We did drive through a swarm of cicadas. That was…uh…fun.

ryan1 · May 15, 2021, 11:20pm

And…we are in our hotel. Calhoun, GA. We got here faster than anticipated. So what do we do from 7:20 pm until bedtime? I guess we could have driven further. We usually stop in Chattanooga, but went an hour further. Wasn’t far enough.

ryan1 · May 16, 2021, 9:12pm

And…we’re here!

Gotta pick my DS and DDIL from the airport later, but getting settled into the house.

vcka · May 16, 2021, 11:31pm

Very nice digs!

vcka · May 16, 2021, 11:32pm

Oh I rode PM twice today. I asked to stay on at exit and they said yes.

ryan1 · May 16, 2021, 11:52pm

Plane landed. Waiting at cell lot to pick them up.

First of all…I-4 drivers are insane!

Second…$2.75 to drive like 4 miles?

vcka · May 16, 2021, 11:54pm

Lackland to WDW is most dangerous section of interstate on I-4 in the country. Drive safe. Watch out for street racers too

vcka · May 16, 2021, 11:58pm

That first sentence sux and too tired to edit. Be safe. Street racers are aggressive

Julianne_fki · May 17, 2021, 12:53am

So glad you are going to seize the opportunity to ride PM!

We had been to Florida exactly once. In 2012. Since the pandemic hit, I’ve been five times and my daughters have each been twice! So I know what you mean.

ryan1 · May 17, 2021, 2:35am

It seems to be pickup drivers! Three separate pickups passed us, weaving, going like 80+. And on the way back, we watched a pickup drive off the ramp, across the ditch grassy area and onto the freeway to avoid a backup going about 40.

Julianne_fki · May 17, 2021, 3:16am

Wow! That’s scary! Be safe down there Ryan and family!

vcka · May 17, 2021, 12:07pm

Oh well that’s a first for me (trucks) It’s always the little cars with blacked out windows racing. Always in pairs following each other too, weaving through traffic at 100 mph. One slammed breaks and blocked us in once. Pacing us and starring. That was after we changed lanes and got in their way. We looked first but When someone is driving that fast and they are back far enough you have no idea of their speed.