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Universal Orlando Seasonal Events Guide

January 15, 2025 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

Given that it’s a new year, I thought I would do a post highlighting the various Universal Orlando Seasonal Events that you can experience!

Universal Orlando Seasonal Events

Like most theme parks, Universal Orlando Resort tries to have something new and exciting happening in the parks pretty regularly. However, the seasonal events at UO are like no other. In fact, I firmly believe that the seasonal events is where they really shine. Everything they do is top-notch and some of the best you will encounter.

The seasonal events kick-off with Mardi Gras in early February. Then, they sometimes host some fun activities during the summer. Fall has the beloved Halloween Horror Nights. Finally, there’s the Holidays at Universal Orlando. So, here’s a look at each one of those events.

Mardi Gras

Universal Studios Florida has the best Mardi Gras event that I’ve ever experienced! In fact, I wrote a whole Universal Orlando Mardi Gras Guide a few years ago that’s still relevant. They have an amazing parade that has several classic floats and they update it each year with several new themed floats! It’s so much fun to watch the parade and catch beads. Additionally, I highly recommend riding in the parade and tossing beads at least once. You can read my review of the Mardi Gras Ride and Dine experience from 2023 at Lombard’s and my 2024 Ride and Dine experience at Finnegan’s. They also typically have concerts on most Saturday nights during the event featuring several well-known acts. Unfortunately, the schedule of concerts typically isn’t released until sometime in January. The event typically takes place from early February to the end of March.

Summer

They don’t typically have a formal summer event at the park. However, they have added some extra entertainment in recent years during the summer months. As with the other seasonal events, there’s usually a special Tribute Store to experience. They also like to open new park lands/rides at the beginning of the season. 2024 saw the new DreamWorks Land as well as a new parade and nighttime lagoon show. 2025 will bring the new Epic Universe park!

Halloween Horror Nights

HHN is probably their most popular event. In fact, it’s their only add-on ticketed seasonal event. You will be able to see some general HHN themed decor around the resort in the fall, but the props will be covered up during the day in the park. So, if you want to witness the full experience, you will have to purchase a ticket to the event. I have another Halloween Horror Nights Guide from 2023 to help you better understand what to expect at the resort during this time of the year. I also have Solo HHN Tips and did a Unmasking the Horror Tour Review. Usually, this event begins around Labor Day and goes until late October/early November.

Holidays at Universal

The Holidays at Universal usually begin in mid-November and last until the end of the year. Once again, I have a Christmas at Universal Guide that breaks down all of the things you can expect to encounter during this time of the year. The must-dos include: the Holiday Parade featuring Macy’s at Universal Studios Florida, Grinchmas at Islands of Adventure (including meeting The Grinch), and Christmas in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter across both parks.

Universal Orlando Seasonal Events

What is your favorite seasonal event at Universal Orlando Resort? Which one(s) are you planning to experience this year?

Goofy’s Kitchen Halloween Brunch at Disneyland Review

October 9, 2024 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

Last month, I was able to experience the limited time Goofy’s Kitchen Halloween Brunch character meal at Disneyland Hotel! Here’s a review of that experience to help others decide if this meal is worth the high cost.

Goofy’s Kitchen Halloween Brunch

Last year, I was lucky enough to visit this character buffet meal at Disneyland Hotel on two occasions. I first visited last year for breakfast and then again in the fall last year for dinner. You can click those links to see what the restaurant is like for regular dining. One of my complaints about last year’s fall trip to Disneyland was that they announced things too late and we missed doing any seasonal special dining. Thankfully, this year my trip was later and I was able to enjoy this one.

The Characters

This is the second year that Disneyland has hosted a special Halloween overlay at this restaurant. Last year, the characters wore their costumes from the previous year (2022). This year they are wearing last year’s (2023) costumes. I don’t know if they plan to continue rotating in the previous year’s costumes or not, but I like that I could finally get a photo with the characters with their special costumes. Last year, I managed to meet only Minnie in her costume. So, I was tickled to meet Chip, Dale, Goofy, Pluto, and Minnie in last year’s costumes!

I only wish they included Donald Duck at Disneyland character meals! Nonetheless, I enjoyed meeting the characters in their special Halloween costumes! They were adorable!

The Food

Having previously enjoyed breakfast here, I was excited to sample the brunch this time. I was happy to find a selection of typical breakfast foods (like Mickey waffles) as well as some more lunch time items. I was very happy to find some butternut squash ravioli! That’s the kind of food I was hoping to have over at Mickey’s Autumn Adventures Brunch. I was equally happy to see a selection of pumpkin and apple desserts here. I wish they had shared some of those treats with the other meal though. Also, many of the desserts had an artificial flavor to them. So, that was a tad disappointing but not overly surprising.

I have to say I was pretty impressed with the overall selection and quality of food available here. There’s something for everyone to enjoy.

Is Goofy’s Kitchen Halloween Brunch worth it?

Priced at $65/adult and $36/child, this is a pricey meal. Plus, they automatically added gratuity to my meal here. So, it’s definitely not a cheap experience. However, it was nice to get some seasonal foods and meet the characters in their Halloween costumes. I think it’s worth it if you have the budget for it and enjoy Halloween.

Mickey’s Autumn Adventures Brunch at Disneyland Review

October 1, 2024 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

I’ve just returned from another lovely solo Disneyland trip and this time I got to try the all new Mickey’s Autumn Adventures Brunch at Storytellers Cafe at the Grand Californian Hotel! So, if you are wondering if this pricey meal is worth it or not, keep reading!

Mickey’s Autumn Adventures Brunch

As I stated above, this is an all-new character meal offering at Disneyland. It’s a fall spin on the regular Storytellers Cafe character meal. Having previously done the regular Storytellers Cafe Character Breakfast last year and the Storytellers Cafe Character Brunch, I opted to do the brunch since I preferred that meal over breakfast last time. I also managed to book it on my Disney California Adventure day, since the hotel has its own entrance into the park.

The Characters

I’ll start with a look at the adorable new costumes the characters are wearing! Each one has a fall look that goes perfectly with the theme. I love how over the top with pumpkins Minnie’s outfit is! Mickey’s outfit is also amazing! It felt like the characters were ready to go to a pumpkin patch or apple orchard in their outfits. I liked that Pluto even got a new pumpkin shaped name tag on his collar. Overall, I was impressed with the costumes and it was a great way to kick off the fall season for me!

The Food

Last time I ate breakfast at this restaurant, I missed the additional options that eating brunch brings. So, I decided to return for brunch this time. Previously, when I ate brunch here, I was able to order some additional items from the kitchen in addition to visiting the buffet. This time, that wasn’t the case. Instead, the buffet was filled with both breakfast and lunch items.

Honestly, the food available was very similar to what I had last year at the regular meal. I was disappointed in the lack of seasonal items. Where’s the pumpkin or apple items? It seems like such a missed opportunity to do something special with the autumn theme and instead put out regular foods.

The food itself was fine. I know everyone says the food here is upgraded over Goofy’s Kitchen and it probably is. However, I also noticed a good bit of overlap between restaurants this time. The BBQ chicken tasted just like the BBQ chicken I had at Goofy’s Kitchen last year. Both restaurants had the beignets/donuts too. I enjoyed the fish and vegetables, but they were both available with slight variations at Goofy’s Kitchen this time too.

Overall, the food was fine. Nothing to get too excited over.

Is Mickey’s Autumn Adventures Brunch worth it?

This is a pricey meal. It’s $65/adult and $36/child. If you are looking for some fall foods, I’d say to look elsewhere. However, if you want to see the characters in some unique fall outfits, then this is the perfect meal for you. You are paying for the fall themed outfits here and not so much the food.

2024 Oogie Boogie Bash Review and Guide

September 25, 2024 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

I’ve just returned from a solo trip to California, where I had the pleasure of attending the 2024 Oogie Boogie Bash at Disney’s California Adventure at Disneyland! So, I thought I would do a quick review/guide to the event!

2024 Oogie Boogie Bash

You may recall from my 2023 post on the party or my Disney Halloween Parties compared post that OBB is the separately ticketed Halloween event held at Disneyland. The bash is held at Disney’s California Adventure park. Here’s an overview of what you can expect at the 2024 Oogie Boogie Bash!

Frightfully Fun Parade

I love the Frightfully Fun Parade at this party! In fact, this year it’s the only party exclusive entertainment. The parade is shown twice a night and is worth making the time to see. You can walk up along the parade route up until 15 minutes or so and get an ok view. Personally, I prefer the seated dessert party.

Dessert Party

I wrote a whole separate OBB Dessert Party Review last year. So, I won’t rehash everything here since this year’s was pretty similar. Although, we got a different set of treats! This year, we received a Chocolate Topped Stuffed Vanilla Cake, a Cookies & Cream Tart, a Salted Caramel Macaron, Gummy Candies, a Chocolate Marshmallow Crispy with White Chocolate Drizzle, Patchwork Sugar Cookie, and a Mini Cheesecake with Buttercream. I was surprised to discover that the stuffed cake was filled with an extremely tart lime sauce. It was easily my least favorite treat this year. I really enjoyed the caramel macaron though. The chocolate marshmallow crispy was ok, much better than last year’s cereal treat. The sugar cookie was pretty basic, but ok. The mini cheesecake would have been better with pumpkin or something. Overall, the desserts were just ok. However, I still like the idea of sitting in a chair with a plate of treats to watch the parade. It’s very nice. It’s expensive at $89/person, but very nice after a long day.

Treat Trails

One of the best parts of OBB is the Treat Trails! This year, they replaced Cruella with Hades! They also added Dr. Doofenschmirtz this year, but placed him in the building that used to house the Mickey’s Trick and Treat show. That show is now shown during the regular park day, which is good for regular park guests. However, I was disappointed by the lack of party exclusive entertainment this year.

The types of treats given out this year was a little different that last year as well. Gone are the Sunchips! However, we did receive some blueberry fig bars in their place! I managed to hit up all 12 treat trails this year and received around 4 pounds of goodies!

Villains Grove

I still adore Villains Grove. It’s so neat to walk around and see villain themed areas of the forest. Although, it did appear to be much the same as last year. I still consider it a must do when I attend the event due to the unique nature of the offering.

Character Meets

There were several special characters to meet as this party. However, I think it was mostly the same as last year’s party. I didn’t want to wait in long lines to meet any characters this year, but I appreciate the opportunity to do so.

Is Oogie Boogie Bash worth it?

While I think it’s a fun Halloween party, I’m not sure I will return if they don’t add more or different entertainment. It’s much cheaper and easier for me to attend Mickey’s Not So Scary in Florida, so I will probably return to doing that next year. However, I think this party is worth attending at least once.

Haunted Williamsburg Ghost Tour Review

September 4, 2024 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

Now that spooky season is upon us, I thought I would do a little review of the Haunted Williamsburg Ghost Tour that my husband and I did back in May.

Haunted Williamsburg Ghost Tour

Colonial Williamsburg has a couple of different night time add-on activities you can experience. On my most recent visit with my husband, we decided to try one out. We did the Haunted Williamsburg Ghost Tour! While there are other un-official tours, we decided to book the official one.

This is an hour-long candlelit walking tour of Colonial Williamsburg held at night. It’s the only ghost tour that gives you access to the buildings since it’s the only official ghost tour! On our tour, we got to go inside three historic homes. We got to learn the historic significance of each home as well as hear about unexplained happenings at each home.

Note: I will try to keep this review spoiler-free for anyone looking to book it so you can hear the stories from your tour guide.

George Wythe Home

Upon meeting up with the group at the Market House, our guide led us over to the George Wythe House. Being from southwestern Virginia, I was excited to see this house at night. My husband and I toured it in the daytime last year, so it was nice to see it in a different light. On the nighttime tour, we stayed downstairs and heard about the backdoor seemingly locking itself! I will say, being in a really old house at night with only a candlelight to see things made it creepy.

Peyton Randolph House

Next up, our guide led us over the Randolph House. Supposedly, it is the most haunted house in Colonial Williamsburg. That just means that it has the most stories about people experiencing something un-explained here. While we didn’t actually see any ghosts on this tour, we did hear something weird in this house. It sounded like footsteps. We think it was someone in the tour group walking or bumping into something, but everyone denied doing anything. So, who knows! Our tour guide had lots of stories to share about odd occurrences at this house, including some of her own.

James Geddy House

Lastly, we headed over to the Geddy House. I honestly don’t rightly remember much about this house. We did have another tour guide join our group at this point and he told a spooky story about the house. Honestly, I didn’t get much in the way of spooky vibes in this house, but that’s just me.

Haunted Williamsburg Ghost Tour Overall

This was my first ghost tour, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I thought it was neat to learn about these historical homes and to see them at night. I thought it was a nice touch that our tour guide was dressed in colonial garb and used a lantern/candle to lead the tour. Overall, it was a nice way to spend an evening. If nothing else, it’s a great way to walk off the hearty dinner we enjoyed!

This tour is great for anyone with an interest in the supernatural or spooky stuff. I think someone who doesn’t believe in ghosts but likes history could also enjoy this tour. I don’t think it’s good for kids though. They recommend it for ages 8+ but I think it should probably be more along the lines of 12 or 13, personally. Also, it is a full one hour walking tour. So, keep that in mind if you or a loved one can’t handle that.

Have you ever done or would you take a ghost tour?