Laughing Lindsay

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Sharks Underwater Grill at SeaWorld Orlando Review

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Last month, while visiting SeaWorld Orlando for the Christmas season, my mom and I ate lunch at Sharks Underwater Grill. Today I am going to give you a review of this experience.

Sharks Underwater Grill

Sharks Underwater Grill

Sharks Underwater Grill is the only full-service restaurant at SeaWorld Orlando. The park is filled with several quick food options, but this is your only option for a sit-down meal in the park. It’s odd to me though that you can’t make dining reservations in advance. In fact, I consider this the biggest downside of eating here. The only way you can get a table here is by joining the walk-up wait list in person. That means your wait can be short, but often it’s a long one. So, if you know you want to eat here, I recommend joining the list as soon as it opens at 11 AM.

My mom and I attempted to eat here back on September trip. However, the waitlist was too long. On our December trip, we headed over right at lunchtime and were surprisingly seated within 10 minutes! So, it pays to be there right when they open.

Eat with Sharks

When you enter the restaurant, you are immediately greeted by a huge aquarium filled with various fish and sharks! I don’t think there’s a bad seat in the restaurant as there are several windows and lots to see. It’s definitely a unique experience to be able to eat a meal while a hammerhead sharks swims by! I took lots of photos of the fish and sharks, which you can see in my Instagram post below.

The Food

My mom and I chose to order off of the special holiday menu while dining here. The last three pictures of my Instagram post above are of our food. I enjoyed the three cheese lobster mac and cheese, which was $19. Granted, it’s a little pricey here, but you are getting a unique meal experience, that’s more than just good food. I really liked my dish, although it was a small portion.

My mom got the bourbon vanilla glazed smoked ham with candied yams, green beans, and candied relish for $32. She enjoyed her ham and yams! She was happy to have ham as we had just had a bunch of turkey at Thanksgiving.

Then, we split the doughnut cinnamon sugar bread pudding for dessert at $13! I loved the presentation of this dessert with the sugar work on top! I know that it is difficult to make and would never attempt it. Ha! It also was a nice sweet flavor to contradict the cherry compote. We also enjoyed the combination of cinnamon sugar and caramel! It was a tasty treat for sure!

Conclusion

Sharks Underwater Grill makes for a fun and memorable dining experience. However, you do have to get on the waitlist in person. It can also be a little pricey. I’d say it’s a must do for any shark fan or if you want a more relaxing meal without leaving the park. If you are in a rush to get to the next show or ride, then I’d say just grab some food elsewhere. It may also be best to eat elsewhere if you are on a tight budget.

SeaWorld Orlando Animal Tours: What to Expect

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There are several SeaWorld Orlando animal tours you can book when you visit the theme park. Last year, my mom and I booked a different one on each of our three visits. Today, I am going to tell you what to expect if you book one of these add-on experiences.

SeaWorld Orlando Animal Tours

SeaWorld Orlando Animal Tours

When you visit SeaWorld Orlando, several shows and animal viewing options are included with admission. However, there are also several add-on experiences you can purchase for another fee to get up-close with select animals. Depending on the event, you will either be given a time or able to select a time to do the event. Then, it’s up to you to remember it. Ha! You will also need to read on the receipt (that is emailed to you) where to go to check-in for your event.

During my three visits in 2022 I was lucky to do three different SeaWorld Orlando Animal Tours: dolphin encounter, sea lions up-close, and penguins up-close.

Dolphin Encounter

On my first visit of the year, my mom and I did the dolphin encounter. This was a quick 15 minute experience wherein we learned several facts about the dolphins before getting to pet a dolphin! We also purchased photos from the park for this experience as you can’t bring any devices near the water for this one. There’s a park photographer across the water snapping pictures and it’s worth it to buy at least one, in my opinion. This experience also led my mom and I to book Discovery Cove to swim with the dolphins! So, be aware that once you do one of these, there’s the risk of wanting to do more! Ha!

Sea Lions Up-Close Tour

During our February trip, I learned that my mom likes sea lions due to their whiskers! So, for our September trip, we booked the Sea Lions Up-Close Tour. This is a longer experience, about 45 minutes. Just keep that in mind if you have a jam-packed theme park day. This tour consisted of learning lots about sea lions, feeding sea lions, and then getting to touch and take pictures with one! My mom really enjoyed this experience. I was a little intimidated as the sea lion breathed right in my face and scared me at one point. It’s worth noting that the park photographer didn’t show up until the very end of this experience, so the group simply took photos with our cell phones for each other. My advice would be to wait and see if the photographer shows up for this event before purchasing the picture package.

Penguins Up-Close Tour

On our December trip, we booked the Penguins Up-Close Tour because it felt Christmas-like to me! Plus, I really like penguins. We were also able to get this one on sale during their Black Friday sale, so it also seemed like a good deal. I will warn you that the penguin area is kept around a chilly 32 degrees. So, bring some layers to put on for this one. I loved being able to touch and take photos of the penguins. There wasn’t a park photographer for this experience, fyi. We learned so much about penguins on this tour. It was a really neat and memorable trip.

Are Animal Tour Add-Ons Worth It?

Several of the SeaWorld Orlando Animal Tours can be expensive, especially when you think about it being on top of regular park admission. However, you can sometimes catch them on sale. So, keep an eye out for deals if you have time before your trip. Additionally, annual passholders get a small discount on tours. You simply need to sign into the website to see the discount. Another aspect to keep in mind is the amount of time these things take. If you have the funds and time, I highly recommend an add-on experience.

Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Surfside Inn and Suites Review

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Last year, I reviewed Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Dockside and explained that the Endless Summer Resort was actually two separate hotels across the street from one another. Well, during my December 2022 trip, I stayed at the other hotel – Surfside Inn and Suites! So, today I’m reviewing it!

Surfside Inn and Suites

Surfside Inn and Suites

Surfside Inn and Suites is considered a “value resort” at Universal Orlando Resort. This means it has cheaper rates while still offering some of the perks of staying on-site. For instance, you get early park entry and free bus transportation to the parks. However, since it’s a value, you do not get Express Pass a.k.a. the ability to jump the line as that perk is only offered at higher tiers of resorts.

I will commend Universal Orlando for building these value resorts recently as not all parks are concentrating on these lower end hotels. In fact, from what I’ve seen, most places are building fancier places that cost a lot more. So, kudos to UO for catering to all budgets.

Also, I will say that both Surfside and Dockside have nice theming. Both of them have a relaxing vibe that feels very beachy. I also enjoyed seeing all of the surfboards around the hotel! It doesn’t scream this is a cheaper hotel when you look around the hotel, which is appreciated.

Two Bedroom Suite

Both Surfside and Dockside offer standard rooms as well as two bedroom suites. Personally, I don’t think that’s an accurate name for the suite. However, I do appreciate a value resort offering a suite. It’s really a one bedroom suite as it features a separate small bedroom in addition to a regular two queen front room.

The suite also has an adorable picnic table dining area that the standard room does not have. I found this to be a nice addition as it gives you somewhere besides the bed to sit. It does come with just one bathroom though. Also, it has only one very small closet in the separate bedroom. So, storage may be an issue for your group if you have lots of clothing.

One big issue we encountered in the suite and not in the standard room was the air vent placement. In the separate bedroom, the air vent blows air directly on the bed. So, the person(s) sleeping in the separate bedroom may get colder or hotter than the other people with the air hitting them directly.

Surfside Overall

Having stayed at both Dockside and Surfside now, I would say that they rate very similarly. Surfside is smaller and I appreciate that as that means fewer people. This also means less walking to/from your room. However, my big complaint with both places is the noise. Both of these resorts have been very noisy every night we’ve stayed in them. I thought staying in a suite would cut down on the noise. However, the walls are really thin and voices can be heard through them. I also believe I was able to hear conversations in the vent in the separate bedroom of the suite.

Additionally, we encountered groups staying here as well. This time, it was a bunch of elementary school aged football teams staying for a tournament. So, I would say to prepare yourself for student groups if you book a stay at one of these value resorts and bring ear plugs. However, they offer great rates, so I guess it depends on what you want from your hotel room: peace/quiet or just a place to lay your head.

Christmas at Universal Orlando Resort

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Having spent several days experiencing Christmas at Universal Orlando Resort earlier this month, I thought I would give everyone an overview as well as my thoughts on each offering. Thankfully, all but two of these holiday experiences are included in regular park admission!

Christmas at Universal Orlando

Christmas at Universal Orlando

Personally, when I visit a location during the holiday, I can spend hours just looking at the decor. You can certainly do this at Universal Orlando Resort. Every resort has their own themed tree! Plus, there’s a Christmas Tree Hunt across City Walk and the two parks you can do for $12! If you complete it, you earn an ornament! I didn’t do the hunt, but I did enjoy looking at all of the themed trees and garland around the parks.

Breakfast with the Grinch

One of the two add-on events you can attend during Christmas at Universal Orlando is Breakfast with the Grinch. Booking The Grinch & Friends Characters breakfast guarantees you get to meet The Grinch and Whos! Plus, it also gives you a good meal to start the day! My mom and I paid $41.99 (plus tax) each and think it’s totally worth it. You can read my full review of it in my other post.

Universal’s Holiday Tour

The other add-on event is Universal’s Holiday Tour. It’s a 5 hour, mostly after park hours, walking tour of the two parks. I wrote a whole separate blog post reviewing it last week. You can click to read my thoughts on it at the link above.

Holiday Tribute Store

Another amazing experience that happens seasonally at Universal Orlando is a highly themed shopping experience called the Tribute Store. It’s so much fun to walk around and see all of the little details. There’s also lots of Easter eggs to be found! If there’s ever a Tribute Store open whenever you visit, you must go inside to see it!

Universal Orlando Holiday Parade

This is probably the thing I saw most heavily advertised prior to our visit. Every night (around 5:30 PM), there’s an amazing Holiday Parade featuring Macy’s! It features huge balloons, like the ones seen in New York for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade! It’s awesome to see them up-close! The parade also features characters on floats as well as other fun Christmas surprises! Think walking snowmen and soldiers on stilts! It’s so much fun! We watched it twice and noticed different things each time! It’s a must-see for sure!

Christmas in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Christmas at Universal Orlando stretches to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, in both parks! The Harry Potter lands look fantastic, regardless of the time of year. However, Christmas is extra magical. I adored the Frog Choir and Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees holiday shows! So much fun! I highly recommend picking up a Butterbeer and just walking around these areas. It is sure to put you in a festive mood! I also really enjoyed the projection show on the castle, called The Magic of Christmas at Hogwarts Castle in Islands of Adventure.

Grinchmas

Even if you missed out on getting a breakfast reservation, you can still enjoy Grinchmas during Christmas at Universal Orlando! The Whos have decorated Suess Landing for the holidays and it’s amazing to see! They even have some special holiday foods, like the Grinch cookies and Roast Beast Sandwich. The sandwich had a really long wait. It took us about an hour to get one and it tasted just ok. We didn’t care for the sauce on the main sandwich. However, now we can say we’ve had roast beast!

If you wander around Suess Landing you may even spot some Whos to meet! Plus, you have to catch a showing of the The Grinchmas Who-liday Spectacular! It’s an adorable show featuring music from Mannheim Steamroller! The story manages to combine key elements from both the cartoon short film and the 2000’s Jim Carrey movie.

Meet Earl the Squirrel

A unique offering that only happens at Christmastime is the chance to meet Earl the Squirrel! In case you don’t know, there once was a real life squirrel that kept chewing the wiring in a tree. They named him Earl and now he’s basically the mascot for the holidays at UO. I love that he’s organically become this big thing. He’s featured on lots of merch this year. I met him wearing him on a shirt. It was a neat experience.

Mannheim Steamroller Concert

Last, but certainly not least, if you travel during the first two weekends in December (like we did), you can catch a Mannheim Steamroller concert! This concert is included with park admission and took place on Saturday and Sunday nights at 7 PM during the first two weekends of December. I really enjoyed the concert and was impressed that it was included with admission! It made for a unique and fun theme park day!

Holidays at Universal Orlando Resort

As you can see, there’s a lot to see and do during Christmas at Universal Orlando Resort! We spent two days in the parks, but didn’t ride many rides. So, if you are planning to ride lots of rides while there, you probably need at least 2-3 days to do everything. Have you ever been to Universal Orlando at the holidays? If so, what was your trip like?

Breakfast with The Grinch Universal Orlando

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Last week, I mentioned that there are two add-on experiences taking place during the holidays at Universal Orlando Resort: the Universal Holiday Tour and Breakfast with The Grinch. You can click that link to read my review of the tour as today I’m focusing on the delightful breakfast!

Breakfast with The Grinch

Breakfast with The Grinch

Everyone who comes to Universal Orlando at Christmastime wants to meet The Grinch and Whos. There is a free virtual queue you can join to meet The Grinch for free at Islands of Adventure. However, those spots go almost immediately and are really difficult to get. You may also run into some Whos wandering around Suess Landing. The only way to ensure you meet them both at the same time is by booking a breakfast with The Grinch!

The Characters

My mom and I paid $41.99 (plus tax) each to attend The Grinch & Friends Character Breakfast. We both had a great time with The Grinch and Whos. Everyone is really into character and fun to interact with. I wore a fun holiday cookie dress, which the Whos liked. The Who we took pictures with even told me that I could move to Whoville with my holiday spirit! Then, they told me that I would grow into my nose! The Grinch, however, informed me that my dress was too festive and happy! Besides, he doesn’t like sweets, such as cookies! He likes onions! Ha! Such good memories!

The Food

As for the food, we were pleasantly surprised here. It’s an all you can eat buffet, which usually means mediocre to bad food. However, that’s not the case here! I loved trying Who Hash, Green Eggs and Ham, and Green Eggs and Ham Pizza! The Grinch Punch was also tasty! I also appreciated that they had The Grinch cookie here so I didn’t have to wait in line and purchase it later in the day.

Learn From Our Mistake

The only negative thing I have to say about breakfast with The Grinch is the organization beforehand. We didn’t realize that we needed to retrieve paper tickets prior to getting in line for breakfast. So, we stood in line for several moments before having to head back to the front of the park to get physical tickets printed. Then, we headed back to the restaurant to stand in a long line outside. This line wrapped around the building and blocked the path to the Grinch show. It seems like this could be handled better. Perhaps, nix the paper tickets and have somewhere for people to sit while they wait? Once we entered the breakfast though, everything was well worth it. If I ever go back during Christmas at Universal Orlando, I will definitely book this breakfast again!

Book The Grinch Breakfast Early

It appears that breakfast with The Grinch is filled up for the year. So, I highly recommend booking it early next year if you want to experience this amazing breakfast! It’s definitely worth the money.