Cabana Bay & Epic Universe Before Wilderness Lodge & 4 Parks & Lots More Fun at Walt Disney World - BOGP 2969

Be Our Guest WDW Podcast

Listener John shares a detailed summer trip report covering a multi-park vacation at both Universal Orlando Resort and Walt Disney World. Th

Key takeaways

• Cabana Bay offers excellent value with a mid-century retro theme and convenient on-site amenities like a lazy river.
• Universal's themed lands like Super Nintendo World provide high immersion but may lack the shade and air conditioning found at Disney.

Main topics

• Universal Orlando Resort
• Walt Disney World Vacation Planning

Notable quotes

The magic is only going to be there for so long.

Conclusion

A nostalgic and practical guide for families looking to combine the im

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:00) Happy Monday, everybody. Thank you so much for downloading or streaming the Be Our Guest podcast. I'm glad you're back to start another week with us here on the show. Of course, Monday's Mean Trip Reports, and today we're headed down to both Walt Disney World and Universal on today's podcast. Listener John joins us from Rhode Island. Hopefully he survived the big Nor'easter this past weekend, and we are talking about... His stay over at Cabana Bay at Universal, going over to Epic Universe with his family. We compare his experience over at Universal to his many, many Walt Disney World stays. Then when they switched over to Walt Disney World, they stayed at Wilderness Lodge, visited all four theme parks, and they had the most epic rest day in the middle of their stay. They went to Hoop-Dee-Doo Review. They did a carriage ride over at Riverside and saw Yeehaw Bob. His wife had a spa day over at Grand Floridian and they swam in the hotel pool. I mean, this trip is full of fun events and you're going to get to take a virtual trip down to Universal and Walt Disney World when? Right now. So stay tuned. Don't forget today's podcast is always brought to you by the Magic for Less Travel. We're standing by to help you plan an amazing Disney getaway for no additional cost to you. So check out all the details today over at themagicforless.com. Please also use our Amazon affiliate link. When you do that online shopping, just click through our website. It takes you right back to Amazon, costs you nothing extra, and it supports our podcast with every purchase. BeOurGuestPodcast.com slash Amazon. And thank you so very much to our Patreon supporters. That keeps this show going. It's just $5 a month, and when you support us, you get a bonus show as a thank you. It's called Mike in the Midwest. So come on over this week. We'd sure love to have you. patreon.com slash be our guest podcast ready Speaker 1 (1:49) to take a trip to the world you found the be our guest walt disney world trip planning podcast this is where your memories come front and center on our podcast stage Speaker 3 (2:07) Welcome to episode 2,969 of the Be Our Guest Walt Disney World Trip Planning Podcast. I'm your host, Mike Rallman from BeOurGuestPodcast.com and one of the senior agents over at the Magic for Less Travel. Happy Monday to you. Hope it was a great first weekend of fall for you wherever you are here around the states. I know, a little soggy up in the Northeast, a little windy, but hopefully you hung in there. And that's where we're headed today with Lister John out in Rhode Island. John, thanks for joining us. Glad to start the week with you. What's Speaker 2 (2:40) up? Speaker 3 (2:40) Thanks for Speaker 2 (2:40) having me. I'm Speaker 3 (2:41) glad to have you. So how is Rhode Island here? I know you guys, Nor'easter. Now, I'll say, you know, Midwest, we get tornadoes. We get the extreme cold, extreme heat, all that stuff. Never a Nor'easter. So explain that to us in the Midwest. you know, layman's terms. What's that like? Speaker 2 (2:59) It's just a real big coastal storm that moves in a northeaster direction, has nothing to do with the holiday, and just dumps rain and wind on us. And when it's right now, you know, with a lot of leaves on the trees, it can pull stuff down, but usually we get them like in the winter and the spring when there's not a lot on the trees. Speaker 3 (3:18) Yeah, because I remember there was one, I mean, I'm sure you guys have them all the time, but was there not one maybe about 10 years ago, right around? Halloween where it snowed really hard up there and it was just a big mess. It was a nor'easter. Speaker 2 (3:30) Oh yeah. We'll always get something around Halloween. It'll be a huge mess. Speaker 3 (3:34) Because I think that one had snow and frozen precipitation. It caused a lot of power outages. I think it was on Halloween night because I was watching it as we were... I'm a weather nut, so I was watching the coverage as I was handing out candy. It was at our old house. Speaker 2 (3:49) It was pre-2019, so it was quite a while ago. Speaker 3 (3:53) Yeah, it's one of those things, you know, like when you're, obviously we don't get those in the Midwest. So I was like, well, that's kind of interesting because we have a lot of listeners, you Speaker 2 (3:58) know, up that way. And I was just like, man. I Speaker 3 (4:01) was praying for him because it looked, that's, power outages are something I don't wish on anybody because we get the ice storms here every once in a while because in the wintertime, we always pray. Like, because we're always, in Missouri, where I live in the middle of Missouri, you're always on that either snow line or frozen rain line. And you never want to be like on the frozen rain where it'll get the power line, the rain will freeze on the power lines to take your electric out. You're like, give us a foot of snow, but don't give us the frozen rain. kill your power. So yes. So hopefully everybody survived it. It was doing well. And, uh, we're here to talk some dizzy and universal today. So I can't wait for that. So let's jump in. Cause you got a lot to talk about today. So what, how did this trip come about? Because it is universal and Walt Disney world. So how did you decide on this trip? Speaker 2 (4:47) Yeah. So we did a trip, um, in 23 and, uh, my wife likes to do every four years or so. I'm the catalyst for all this stuff. She's always like trying to tell me, no, we got to do something else. And this year I was starting to plan like a national parks trip, you know, maybe go out to Yellowstone. And I made a comment about my daughter who's six saying like, oh, you know, the magic is only going to be there for so long. She'll only believe in the princesses and the fairies for so long. And she's like, did you put anything together yet? And I was like, no, not yet. And she's like, maybe you want to talk to Mike and get a quote for the trip this summer for Disney. And, you know, because the magic's only going to last so long. It was it was a surprise. And then we threw Universal in there because she turned, you know, she had a post 29 year old birthday that could be kind of touchy. And she's a huge Harry Potter fan. So she decided, you know, we can do Harry Potter at Universal. and just tack it onto the trip, which is normally nine days. And so we have an extra three there. Speaker 3 (5:49) So I want to get your take on this because again, I, I, I don't do, I don't book the universal part. So I didn't do that because I don't have the, the way I look at it for my guests and I'll tell this to everybody, you know, when somebody comes to me and I book the Walt Disney World portion, I always send it to either Stacy or Ben or somebody who's very passionate about universal. They travel there a lot. They have the, they know the, you know, they know the backstory of all the attractions. I don't know that stuff. So I, I make sure if I sell a product, I'm passionate about it and I know it. And that's the Disney stuff. So I want to hear your take as a Disney fan on visiting Speaker 2 (6:22) Universal, because Speaker 3 (6:23) I had that back in 2017. I did go down for training and did all that stuff. So I am, you know, like we're going to talk about Cabana Bay here in a minute because I stayed there and I fell Speaker 2 (6:30) in love with that resort. That resort was great. Speaker 3 (6:32) But when you were there and you got to visit Epic Universe, which is obviously the newest theme park in central Florida. What was the overall feeling of being at Universal, especially, you know, your daughter's a Harry Potter fan. I mean, I'm sure that was exciting for you to see her excited about that. But what was the overall feel of being over at Universal? Speaker 2 (6:50) It was cool. It was a strange experience because I'm so used to going down to Florida and going to Disney and then going someplace new was like a big stressor for me at first. Like I'm picking up the unofficial guide to Universal and trying to find places to eat with picky eaters because my daughter will eat some things and my son won't eat the other things. But they knock it out of the park with theming. Walking around and seeing the different worlds that they create was absolutely amazing. All the stuff in Epic was fantastic. Walking through this kind of Ministry of Magic set in France felt like you were in France. Super Nintendo World felt like you were in Nintendo World. The only difference is between Disney and Universal. for me it felt like it was geared towards a slightly older audience so my son was 12. Speaker 2 (7:41) So he was like super excited. He wanted to try all the rides. And my daughter was like terrified of everything. She was just not quite at that level yet. And the other big thing would be like air conditioning where Disney has like it seems endless air conditioning, endless shade, at least at Universal and especially in Epic where it's all brand new. There are no trees that are big that are throwing a lot of shade. And there's so much walking to do there that you're not getting those little air conditioning breaks that you get when you go to Disney. Speaker 3 (8:08) Yeah, and I haven't been, you know, honest, I haven't been to Epic yet, but I will say what I'm hearing reminds me of like Toy Story Land at the studios for Epic, right? I mean, because that's the hottest land in the summer over there. You know, it's just, it's beautiful, it's fun, but I mean, it's a hot land. There's just no, there's not a lot of shade and there's hardly any places that are air conditioned Speaker 2 (8:27) unless you're going on like Toy Story Midway Mania or something like that. Speaker 3 (8:31) I hear you there. Now, let me ask you, because, you know, a lot of folks do like to double up and do this. And like you said, you know, they have older kids. They have kids interested in Potter and Nintendo and, you know, how to train your dragon, all that kind of stuff. And this is kind of a fun thing to do both of them if you can on a vacation. Was there anything that was like a sleeper hit for you guys, for the kids, something like that? Speaker 2 (8:52) My daughter absolutely loves Seuss Landing over in Islands of Adventure. She thought that was the greatest thing in the whole world. Because everything, she was afraid of everything else, and that was, like, perfectly themed for her age. So we rode, like, every ride twice. I'm trying to think of what else we really liked. I mean, when we went to Cabana Bay, that Lazy River was absolutely fantastic. Speaker 3 (9:14) Yes. Speaker 2 (9:14) Like, having that there. Even though it's small, like, you know, when you go to, like... uh, Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon, you're these massive lazy river complexes. And this is like a little small one, but you know, that was just nice to kick that back, especially after traveling. That was our first stop and just floating around for a while. Speaker 3 (9:29) But I mean, it's at your hotel. It's not at a water park. I mean, you got to in the vibe. So let's talk about that for a second. Cabana Bay. Cause I stayed there too. And we talked in the pre-show I, and I've said this, you know, years ago and it, we mentioned, Speaker 2 (9:42) you know, staying at Cabana Bay with other guests. Speaker 3 (9:44) I consider Cabana Bay kind of like pop century 2.0 or pop century on steroids because it's got that mid-century vibe. Everything is kind of retro. You get the VO5 and the zest in the rooms of the bathrooms. I love that. That's an awesome touch. It's got a bowling alley in the hotel itself. It's just a fun place to stay. To me, and this is just my take. This was before Epic, though. I haven't been to Epic. to me and again i'm old right this is old mike i swear when i started this podcast we've been doing it for almost 19 years i was i was not old mike when we started the show but i've become old mike over the years i think universal does the resorts better than the parks to me i love the resorts like i've toured all the resorts you know i just think that the resorts are so cool hard rock is awesome like i just they're just they're really cool sapphire falls um and cabana bay is really cool uh but What did you think of that considering you've been around Walt Disney World? Was that, was that a, because I think it's a good value too, considering, you know, like what you pay for a Disney hotel and stuff like that. Speaker 2 (10:47) Yeah, I thought it was great. We were originally supposed to stay in one of the towers, but we got there really early in the morning and they upgraded us to like the family suite end of things, which was great to have like a little bit extra space, especially after going on the parks. I would say like staying at, I haven't stayed at Pop Century or any of the value resorts. I stayed at. uh, Port Orleans. And one of the things that I've always said to my wife was that the, the issue that I have with the moderates and with the values is that you don't have lobby access. And when it rains in Florida, which it does every summer when we go, cause we're both teachers, um, we kind of like, you know, don't want to have to hightail it through the rain to get to food and to have just one complex that you don't really have to go outside for was fantastic, especially at that price point. Yeah. Speaker 3 (11:36) And it's, it is, I mean, it is with kids too. And this is just me too. I just enjoy being at a hotel like that. Maybe just once to just walk the kids through, you know, like a little nostalgia trip. Like this is what a, what a Commodore 64 was, or this is a roller skate, you know, similar to what I have when I was a kid, you know, and they're playing the music of, you know, sometimes it's pre, you know, me, you know, but it's like a 50, 60, something like that. But it gives, I mean, it's not. it's not educational but it's one of those things that kind of gives kids context of more than like you know just their lifetime like i think you should know that stuff yeah Speaker 2 (12:12) my my my dad was born and my mom were born in the 1950s and so going there and like looking at the old cars from the 60s and being like that's a car that granddad would have seen when he was driving around to my kids they were like super excited Speaker 3 (12:25) Yeah, I mean, like, you know, I didn't have a Studebaker, right? I didn't even know what a Studebaker was. My grandpa always talked about his Studebaker all the time, right? I mean, you know, Speaker 2 (12:32) it Speaker 3 (12:32) was a vague term through my whole childhood. He'd be like, Studebaker, Studebaker. I'm like, I have no idea what he, what's my crazy grandpa talking about a Studebaker? And then, you know, I finally saw one at a place like, you know, a place like. like cabana bay or something i'm like oh my god that's what my grandpa's been talking about it really exists like they actually did drive these cars you know so it is that's where you make those connections and it's the weirdest thing and i think that's really what kind of you know on a tangent here but that's what places like epcot do so well for us right when you're on spaceship earth you know and you're on an attraction which is you know people say it's a ride but you get that context in that 20 minutes that when you go back to school and they bring up a topic in class and you're like Boom, you can make a connection to something you heard on Spaceship Earth and it means more to you instantly. You're Speaker 2 (13:14) like, oh, I've heard that before. Speaker 3 (13:16) I've Speaker 2 (13:16) heard of Gutenberg. Speaker 3 (13:17) Yeah, Speaker 2 (13:17) we were just talking about it today because I teach world history and we were talking about glyphs and all these cultures that use hieroglyphs to communicate. And I was like, and we use a phonetic alphabet. And then I yelled, thanks, Phoenicians. None of my kids had any idea what I was Speaker 3 (13:32) talking about. You didn't. You missed an opportunity, but you got it. You got it. OK, real quick before we jump out of Universal, though. Any good meals or any places? Because, you know, that's one of the things we never talk about. Do you have any good dining over there? Speaker 2 (13:46) Yeah, we went to, I don't even remember how to, it's like the French restaurant in the Ministry of Magic area. It's a quick service. That was really good. You know, it was just light fare and just enough. My wife and I split stuff. The kids found. chicken fingers to eat there as well, which was great because, you know, you can't push them on. Like everything in Universal is themed food wise. So it's hard to find something for picky eaters. Like Harry Potter stuff was really heavy. And in the summertime, I don't want to eat bangers and mash. In Mario, everything's got mushrooms on it. So we did like the French little quick service restaurant in Harry Potter. And then Pizza Moon was fantastic, too. And that was like a sleeper. We got in there right before the crowds did, so our food came out fast and everything. But I do love their quick service setup where you scan the little things on the table. I wish Disney would do that. Speaker 3 (14:39) They did that for Be Our Guest for a little bit. Well, kind of. They had a rose or something that they would bring it to you. It was a thing for a hot minute. Okay, last thing about that, though. What was your favorite attraction, personally, out of all the three parks? The one thing you... I see it on the list. Speaker 2 (14:58) So for me, Universal was like tapping into like my, like my Nickelodeon. Shows from when I was a kid like every show ended with like and now you can do it when a trip to universe Okay. Yes. Yes. It was yeah, Speaker 3 (15:11) I can totally see the the shot. Yes, I know right so Speaker 2 (15:15) like I insisted on we've got a ride et Speaker 3 (15:17) yeah, I Was leading you down there and I was gonna see if it took it. That's exactly right And Speaker 2 (15:23) like it scared Jesus out of my daughter. She was watching the whole ride with her hands over. Oh, no terrified That was great. I loved that. And like, you know, the Simpsons ride too, because I was a big Simpsons fan when I was a kid. So riding that was a blast too. Speaker 3 (15:39) Oh, I love it. Yeah. E.T. It's such, you know, it's like back when Disney and Over-the-Epcot had