Laughing Lindsay

Travel Reviews, Giveaways, & More!

Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando: Tips for Anxious Folks

By Leave a Comment

I tend to be what you might call an anxious person or easily spooked. However, I recently had a trip booked to Universal Orlando Resort during their annual Halloween Horror Nights event and decided to brave the event (along with my sixty-something year old mother). So, here are my tips if you are considering attending the event but are skittish and need some support.

Halloween Horror Nights for Anxious Folks

Halloween Horror Nights for Anxious Folks

Halloween Horror Nights, or HHN, is Universal Orlando (and technically Universal Hollywood’s) top tier scary fall event. They have some of the best themed haunted houses each year and really set the standard for what a scary event should look like. However, it’s supposed to be scary and because of that, it scares people (myself included) away. I’m here to say that the event is doable for anxious people and here’s how I did it.

  1. Arrive early. I believe it eased my anxiety knowing the park layout as well as scare zone locations prior to arriving to the park. I also recommend seeing the park in the daylight to acquaint yourself with the scare zones and theming ahead of time.
  2. Ease into it. I started with the front scare zone (Horrors of Halloween) and headed to get some food. The event has really been stepping up its game in the food department, so I knew which foods were must-gets for me and I got them immediately. I mean who doesn’t love starting an event with a pepperoni and cheese pizza skull and red velvet cake pop?! Then, I ate my goodies while taking in the nearest scare zone (Sweet Revenge). It was fun to watch the scare actors attempt to scare people and listen to the special effects being played. This was a nice way to ease into the scares.
  3. Watch a show. Next, after another scare zone or two, we watched a few shows. I will admit that the Halloween Nightmare Fuel Wildfire show has suggestive material and is not for everyone. However, I really enjoyed the music before and during the show. Plus, the show was really entertaining and not scary at all. I also watched Ghoulish, the waterway fountain show, which isn’t scary either. It was neat and kind of relaxing to view.
  4. Brace for darkness. The park takes on a more scary vibe once it gets dark. So, all of the research and prep comes in handy when you are running into massive crowds and thick fog in the park. Just don’t panic and keep walking. If you look scared, I think the actors are more likely to try to scare you. Just keep walking. Looking straight ahead seemed to help me. Meanwhile, they tried to scare my mom several times. Ha!
  5. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. The waits for the haunted houses were over an hour the night we went. So, we actually didn’t even attempt to visit any. I don’t regret it necessarily, but just know that the experience is what you make it. If you want to be scared, you certainly can be. If you just want to enjoy an adult evening at a theme park, you can do that as well.

So, there you have my tips for surviving Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando as an anxious person. Do you have any other tips? If you definitely can’t handle a few frights, might I recommend the much calmer and more family friendly SeaWorld Orlando Spooktacular Halloween or even Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party?

SeaWorld Orlando Spooktacular Halloween

By Leave a Comment

Back when I did the Dine with Orcas in February, I became a SeaWorld Orlando passholder. So, last week I made a return trip to attend the SeaWorld Orlando Spooktacular Halloween event! It’s an all day event included in the price of admission on Saturdays and Sundays in September and select Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays in October until October 31, 2022. Continue reading to see what all there is to do at this event!

SeaWorld Orlando Spooktacular

SeaWorld Orlando Spooktacular

What makes the SeaWorld Orlando Spooktacular event different from lots of other Halloween events is the fact that it’s included in regular park admission and it’s held during the day. So, that may make it more appealing to families. However, it can also make it more crowded and you can expect more upcharges to this event because it’s a “free” event. It also means you will have to deal with the high temperatures that a fall day in Orlando can bring.

Count von Count Spooktacular Breakfast

One fun way to begin your day is by attending the Count von Count Spooktacular breakfast! It’s an add-on event, priced at $34.99/adult and $18.99/child. However, annual pass discounts apply. My mom and I decided to book this breakfast since we needed to eat something and this seemed like a fun experience.

I will admit that the breakfast was a little confusing. You have to show your breakfast reservation to get through the park to the restaurant hosting the breakfast. Then, you will be seated at a table and shown the buffet. You can get as much as you want to eat! What wasn’t exactly clear in the registration is that this breakfast includes a meet and greet with several Sesame Street characters and a short two song dance routine from some characters at the very end. So, don’t leave until you see them dance and you get to meet Count von Count himself! Otherwise, you aren’t getting the full experience! Unfortunately, I saw a few families leave before the show and meeting Count von Count and I felt like they didn’t get their money’s worth.

I will say that the breakfast itself was pretty good. I enjoyed the French toast sticks, yogurt parfait, and biscuits with honey butter! They also had eggs, bacon, and sausage! It was easy to find something everyone enjoys.

It was really fun to meet the Sesame Street characters! Since it’s the SeaWorld Orlando Spooktacular Halloween event, Elmo is dressed up in a skeleton costume! Super cute! Zoe also had a special dance costume on! I also absolutely adored meeting Oscar the Grouch in his trashcan! Then, you top that off by meeting Count von Count. So, if someone in your party is into Sesame Street characters, this meal is definitely worth it.

Trick or Treat Trail

What’s a Halloween event without some trick or treating? Now, this is technically another add-on for this event as you must purchase a special Halloween event bag for $3.99 (passholder discounts can be applied) in order to receive candy. However, the kids seemed to be having lots of fun. I will caution you that on the day I went, they were somewhat stingy with the candy. Meaning, they gave out 2 pieces to each person at a time. So, if you plan on returning home with a full bag of candy, it’s going to take some work!

I did like that they had signs posted stating which specific candy was being given out at each stand. That makes it easy to avoid a candy you dislike or to deal with allergies. Also, adults are also allowed to trick or treat, if you purchase the bags! I didn’t see any chocolate being given out here. This is more Smarties/Sweet Tarts types of candy.

Meet Characters

Another neat thing about SeaWorld Orlando Spooktacular Halloween is the opportunity to meet unique characters! They have a Pumpkin Garden where you might even meet a Pumpkin Princess! You can also line up to meet pirates and mermaids! I thought it was a fun aquatic spin on Halloween! Lastly, you can see scarecrows at a DJ Dance Party!

I did want to note that I saw a booth for cookie decorating and crafts, but I never actually saw the booth open during our visit. I believe the cookie decorating kit costs extra, but the crafts are included. I’m not sure what either event offers since I didn’t see it going.

If you are considering a fall trip and want to experience some Halloween fun without the scares, then SeaWorld Orlando Spooktacular might be for you.

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

By 1 Comment

Back in February, when I Dined with Orcas, I stayed at Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Dockside Inn and Suites. So, I thought I would give you a brief review of my stay there.

Dockside Inn and Suites

Universal’s Endless Summer Resort is technically two hotels – Dockside Inn and Suites and Surfside Inn and Suites. Each is considered a “Value Resort” thanks to their typically low rates. They are across the road from one another, but each has their own unique theming and amenities. However, they do share a bus to/from the parks. The bus goes to Surfside first and then Dockside. Additionally, Surfside is the smaller of the two resorts. I’m hoping to stay at Surfside later this year for the first time, so this review is going to focus on Dockside.

Dockside Inn and Suites Room

My mom and I stayed at Dockside Inn and Suites for four nights. Upon entering the resort, we both remarked how nice it looked, especially for the price paid. Dockside Inn and Suites has a very relaxing sitting on the beach vibe. It was also comforting to know that this is a newer resort, so we didn’t have to worry about it being outdated or rundown. The room itself was simple yet stylish, perfect for us as we aren’t fancy people. I will say that I was surprised by how nice the room was considering how affordable the rate was. I will note that we booked a standard view room and was given a pool view, which is considered an upgrade. Personally, I’m not a fan of pool views since they tend to be loud. However, we were so busy this trip that it didn’t really matter.

Pros/Cons of Staying Here

As I mentioned above, this is a bigger value resort. However, I was surprised to find school groups staying at our resort since I hadn’t realized that school field trips had resumed post-pandemic. My biggest complaint about staying at Dockside Inn and Suites has to be the noise. I don’t know if it’s due to the school groups or not, but we heard noise through the connecting door to the room beside us every night of our stay. We also heard some people running up and down the hallway and experienced long waits for the elevator. So, just something to keep in mind if you decide to stay here is the possibility of groups staying here and the accompanying noise.

Another aspect I was impressed with was the affordable food options found at the resort. The food court was often crowded at the beginning of the day and towards the end of the day with those groups. However, we enjoyed all of the food we had here and were pleased with the affordable prices. I highly recommend grabbing some chicken and waffles for breakfast if you stay here!

2023 Update: Dockside Inn Two Bedroom Suites

I wanted to update this post to include a little review on the two bedroom suites. I went back for a second stay in December 2022 with my mom again. This time, we booked the suite for one night. The price was great for an on-site hotel. There was plenty of space for the two of us. However, we encountered the exact same problems I mention in my Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Surfside Inn and Suites Review. There was lots of noise to be heard. Once again, we encountered groups staying here. This time, it was for a sports competition. Additionally, the main bedroom is colder than the rest of the suite with the air directly over the bed. However, it was ok for a one night (literally 8 or 9 hours) stay. You can see pictures of our suite in the Instagram post below. Additionally, you can read my more in-depth Endless Summer Suites review here.

Is it worth it?

Dockside Inn and Suites is a great deal for staying on-site at Universal Orlando. It includes park transportation along with early theme park entry. I also enjoyed the easy going vibes. I just wish it didn’t garner tour/sports groups, but that’s to be expected with a reasonably priced resort hotel.

Dine with Orcas SeaWorld Orlando Review

By Leave a Comment

One of the post ideas that inspired me to re-start the blog is a review of the Dine with Orcas at SeaWorld Orlando. I did this dining experience with my mom back in February of this year (2022) and had a difficult time finding current reviews on it. So, I’m doing a blog post on it in case someone else is searching for a more recent review of it.

Dine with Orcas

The Food

As I stated above, this is a review of my Dine with Orcas experience at SeaWorld Orlando from February 2022. One of the biggest changes to this experience in recent years is the food. Prior to the pandemic, it was a buffet. However, as of this writing it is a seated meal with a menu of entrée selections. Everyone begins with a basic yet fresh house salad along with your beverage. Then, you are served your entrée along with a dinner roll, yellow rice, roasted vegetables, and herb roasted potatoes.

I chose the Pan Seared Salmon (my food is on the left in the collage above) and was pleased with it. My mom enjoyed her Herb Roasted Beef and stated that it was good a few times. My salmon had a good taste and wasn’t dry; as is often the case with fish served to the masses. The corn salsa gave it even more flavor then eating plain fish. The roll was really good as were the vegetables. The potatoes were probably the least exciting part of the meal, but they weren’t bad.

Finally, a plate of desserts to be shared (seen in the collage on the right) was brought to the table. Seeing as it how was just two of us, that was plenty of food. However, we did have to discuss who got to eat which dessert since there wasn’t two of each type. I would have preferred less variety so that both of us could have tried everything. Either way, you can’t leave this meal hungry!

Dine with Orcas Show

Moving on to the actual Dine with Orcas portion of the review, the show was somewhat short and sweet. I recommend arriving a little early as they appeared to seat people as they arrived. We were able to get a front row seat since we arrived early and we got to begin eating our meal before the show started. Some people arrived late, got a seat towards the back (probably still not a bad seat though), and appeared grumpy that they were served their meal towards the end of the show.

The show was probably about 20-ish minutes, so not too long for little ones to sit through. The show itself was filled with lots of fun facts about orca whales as well as neat tricks. It was simply amazing to be that close to such a huge yet graceful creature. The trainers even stayed after the show to talk with diners and answer any questions they had.

Overall, the Dine with Orcas experience at SeaWorld Orlando is something my mom and I will remember forever. My mom absolutely loved the experience and she can be hard to please. I also think it would be a great way to get out of the sun and enjoy a meal in the park if nothing else. While it can be a pricey meal, it is definitely a unique experience you won’t get at home.

Disney World Ultimate Day of Thrills VIP Tour #DisneySMMC

By Leave a Comment

If you are looking for a new experience at Walt Disney World or you are only visiting for a short time, then you should check out the Disney World Ultimate Day of Thrills VIP Tour.

Disclosure: As an attendee of the 2016 Disney Social Media Moms, I received a complimentary tour for myself and a guest (my husband).

Disney World Ultimate Day of Thrills

Disney World Ultimate Day of Thrills

Last May, I was lucky enough to attend the 2016 Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. Following the conference, I was able to set-up a VIP tour for myself and a guest. So, I scheduled my tour to take place during my Disneymoon on a Sunday. I’m happy to finally report on our experiences on the Disney World Ultimate Day of Thrills VIP tour.

There are actually two options for the Ultimate Day VIP Tours. There’s the Ultimate Day for Young Families and the Ultimate Day of Thrills. We opted to go with the Day of Thrills as it is geared more towards teens and adults in terms of rides on the tour. Both Ultimate Tours involve you and a group of other guests being led around the parks with a couple tour guides. These guides are very knowledgeable and friendly. Plus, they act as a fastpass for you to get on the rides. The tour lasts around 7 hours and it includes lunch along with special transportation between the parks.

At a price of $299 on top of a park-hopper ticket, the VIP Tour services are definitely not for the budget conscious. However, if you have only a limited time to enjoy the parks and want to make sure to hit up your favorite rides, then this is a great option. It’s also a good option if you are wanting to experience Disney World in a new way. It was fun to be led around by the tour guides who knew so much about the place. Plus, you get to go backstage to between parks. Oh, and you don’t have to stress about planning ahead of time.

We started our tour at Magic Kingdom. Our group rode Splash Mountain first thing. However, I didn’t want to get wet that early in the day. So, we sat that one out (yes, you are free to sit out rides by waiting in a gift shop or by the ride exit). We also sat out Space Mountain. We rode Haunted Mansion and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.

The site linked above outlines a typical tour, but they do say that tours can change based on attraction availability. During our particular tour, Pirates of the Caribbean was down. So, we got to ride the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train twice to make up for it. I thought that was a nice trade-off.

Disney World Epcot Sunshine Seasons Lunch

After the Magic Kingdom, they whisked us away to Epcot where we enjoyed lunch at the Sunshine Seasons. Then, we got to ride Soarin and Test Track! Following our short trip to Epcot, we headed over to Hollywood Studios. There, we sat out the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. We also tried Toy Story Midway Mania for the first time and enjoyed Star Tours again.

All in all, it was a fun but busy day. The Disney World Ultimate Day of Thrills VIP Tour is perfect for someone wanting to make sure they get to experience all of these fun rides in one day or visit.