It’s another perfect day here at the Universal Orlando Resort. The weather is gorgeous and the crowds are out to enjoy a day in the parks. The theme parks hit capacity before the afternoon and there were standby lines set up in CityWalk for guests hoping to get in later in the day. We decided to take a break from the crowds and hopped a boat over to the Hard Rock Hotel for lunch.
The Beachclub, located outside next to the resort’s pool, offers a variety of food and beverages in a relaxed atmosphere. We reviewed The Kitchen restaurant and loved the Blue Cheese Chips, so we ordered those as an appetizer. They were even better than we remembered, but we didn’t see any bacon on them. Our server recommended the “Philly Style” Black Angus Steak Sandwich and a Running Blind cocktail and they did not disappoint. The portions were huge and we will definitely be back again soon.
Once the parks were no longer at capacity, we made our way into Islands of Adventure first.
This poor sign at the exit of the Truffula Trees is damaged. We hope to see it get repaired soon.
It’s still busy around the parks, but not too bad.
A lot of things around Jurassic Park are getting refreshed, so we hope to see the sign return for the Watering Hole soon. It’s our favorite place to grab a drink in the park!
The Discovery Center has gotten a little more paint and is looking good. It’s all coming together!
Over at Universal Studios Florida, we stopped in to do a little shopping at the Universal Studios Store. These Hogwarts house scrunchies are a super cute way to accessories and show your house pride. They’re $12 each.
Sadly, the last remaining sign for “A Day in the Park with Barney” was removed from the Studio Directory and replaced with a restroom sign. The show recently closed and now it’s just a memory. You can watch the full show below.
We’ll miss you, Barney.
The beads are still flying around the park. It’s great to see so many guests enjoying Mardi Gras.
2 Fast 2 Furious Diagon Drift. This duo was cruising through Diagon Alley, and thankfully, the crowds weren’t bad.
Evenings in the parks are always a lot less crowded.
This Cookies & Cream Puff from San Francisco Pastry Company looks so good. We’ll have to come back and give this one a try!
This little Easter Egg from the Tribute Store is one of our favorites. We wish this was available to purchase as a print.
Most people wait until the end of the day to purchase souvenirs and the lines are usually long in the evenings.
The Universal Legacy Store is one of our new favorite places in CityWalk and they’ve started adding the equipment for the personalization area in the center of the store.
The new Universal Studios Store is making a lot of progress and the signs are now almost all lit up. The globe sign looks great at night!
Thanks for joining us around the Universal Orlando Resort today. We’ll be back again really soon, so make sure you stay tuned for more updates from WDWNT and Universal Parks News Today!