September 24, 2025 • 33 mins
On this episode, Krystle and Julie tackle the ultimate challenge: if you could only choose ONE ride, ONE food, ONE snack, and ONE attraction in each land at Universal Studios Florida, what would make the cut? From the thrills of Revenge of the Mummy, to the magic of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley, to the laughs and giant pink donut in Springfield, we narrow down the best-of-the-best to help you plan your next visit.
Whether you’re hopping over to Universal Orlando for the first time, or a Universal pro looking for fresh tips, this episode will help you maximize your day, find unforgettable experiences, and create magical memories with your family.
If you haven't already listened to our You Can Only Choose One - Islands of Adventures, this is great episode to listen alongside of this one!
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-66-you-can-only-choose-one-islands-of-adventure/id1749012067?i=1000723685412
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Welcome to Wanderlust and Wishes, the
podcast where we explore theworld one destination at a time.
I'm Julie.
And I'm Crystal.
As travel agents withFantastical Vacations, we are
here to share our passion fortravel and help you turn your
wanderlust into reality.
From hidden gems to bucket listadventures, join us as we dive
into the sights, sounds, andstories of our favorite
(00:20):
destinations.
So grab your passport, pack yourbags, and let's embark on this
journey together.
Welcome to Wanderlust andWishes.
UNKNOWN (00:30):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_00 (00:33):
Hi, everybody.
Welcome to episode 70 ofWanderlust and Wishes.
Today, we're going to coverUniversal Studios.
You can only choose one.
I want to go ahead and giveeverybody a heads up that I have
a little bit of a head cold.
So my apologies if I sound alittle nasally.
First, we are going to coversome news and then we'll jump
into the topic.
(00:53):
First off, DCL is giving us apromotion, a massive promotion
for World Gratitude Week.
40% off select sailings throughthe end of 2025.
The 40% off offer is valid onlyfor select salings between
October 17th and December 19thof this year.
You must book by tomorrow,September 25th.
(01:16):
So get with us today.
We've already seen these likefill and fly off the shelves.
There are some caveats.
These are guaranteed withrestriction room categories.
You have to be paid in full andthey are non-refundable.
So guaranteed room means theship picks your room.
You don't get to pick whereyou're at.
(01:37):
But if you want to get on aDisney cruise and then get like
a snazzy little placeholder forseven days longer, this is the
way to do it.
So there's, what, a dozendifferent sailings that qualify
on the Dream, Wish, Fantasy,Magic from Port Canaveral, Fort
Lauderdale, a handful out ofGalveston, and one or two in
(01:58):
Puerto Rico.
You do get to pick your roomcategory.
You just don't get to pick thelocation of where that that room
is.
So if you want a balcony room ora veranda room, you can choose a
veranda room.
They're just going to tell youwhere that room is.
You don't get to pick where onthe ship that that's located.
But I was running like a familyfor like$2,400 for an inside
state room.
(02:18):
Yep.
I know.
I was looking at them too.
So hopefully, hopefully I canreport back that we booked
something.
I was looking at, I was justthinking like over Thanksgiving
break and over the winter break.
There's definitely dates thatwork for both of those.
(02:39):
If you're trying to, you know,go do something and stay under a
certain budget, there weredefinitely things out there for
under like$3,000 and$4,000 forlike a four or five day cruise.
They were really great options.
Okay, so the candlelightprocessional dates and narrators
have been announced.
(03:00):
I'm So many new ones.
Yeah, there's a ton of new ones.
I'm going to say new after theones that has a new narrator.
For November 28th and 29th,Constance Wu, new.
December 30th through December2nd, Jordan Fisher.
December 3rd and 4th, JenniferGarner, new.
(03:21):
December 5th and 6th, AshleyEckstein.
December 7th and 8th, RalphMacchio.
December 9th and 10th, LeslieUggams, new.
December 11th through 13th,Marlee Matlin.
December 14th through 15th,Henry Winkler.
That's new.
December 16th through 17th,Lauren Daigle.
(03:42):
That's new.
December 18th and 19th, GarySinise.
December 20th to 22nd, BrandonFrazier.
December 23rd and 24th, LouiseFonsey.
December 25th and 26th, JoelSmallbone.
That's new.
December 27th and 28th, BrieLarson.
That's new.
And last but not least, December29th and 30th, Cher So yeah,
(04:03):
there's like probably half ofthem are new narrators, which is
really cool.
I know a lot of people wereshocked that we didn't have
Uncle Jesse or Josh Gad.
And also Neil Patrick Harris ison Broadway.
So that's why he's not it's notthat he's like declined it or
anything.
It's because he has somethinggoing on.
(04:23):
So he's not gonna be there thisyear.
And people are definitely theydefinitely noticed that there's
a couple of regulars that arevery popular that are not on the
list this year.
Okay.
I'm very excited about JenniferGardner.
And I've seen Henry Winklerspeak, and he's fabulous.
He's the Fonz.
And Warren Daigle.
So, wish I was going to have cutover Christmas.
(04:46):
I would love to see JordanFisher, and I would love to see
Brandon Frazier.
They're probably the two on thelist that I would want to see
the most.
Alright, next on the list, RoyalCaribbean has halted stops to
Labadee, their island in Haiti,until April 2026.
Unfortunately, this does affectsome of my guests.
So I have a nice little emailhere about what they're doing
(05:08):
instead.
So it depends on ship and date,obviously, but some of the stops
that they're subbing in areGeorgetown, Grand Cayman,
Nassau, Bahamas.
San Juan, Puerto Rico, Bimini,Bahamas, Grand Turk, Turks and
Caicos, Falmouth, Jamaica,Morena, NASA, Porta Plata,
(05:31):
Dominican Republic.
So it affects quite a fewsalines.
If that is you, I can, if youshoot me your date, I can tell
you what is being swapped outinstead if you didn't see an
email yourself.
But I feel like these are greatswaps.
Oh, yeah.
I mean, it's not like they'regiving you a terrible option.
They're great options,especially if you're sailing
(05:53):
during the timeframe that youcan go to their new private
beach area in Nassau.
You know, you could swap thatout if you wanted to.
That's a great idea.
All right, let's jump into ourepisode today.
I think when we put this on thecalendar, we did it as in
conjunction with the pre-tripfor me being at Universal this
week.
(06:13):
But do as I say, not as I do.
And I don't even know what I'mdoing yet.
So hop onto Instagram right nowand see if I found a place to
stay Tuesday night.
Because right now I have no ideawhere I'm staying Tuesday night.
I have no idea what I'm doing.
All I know is I'm going to anRIP tour and I'm going to
probably not sleep Wednesdaytonight because I'm either
scared out of my mind or becauseI'm catching a very early
(06:35):
flight.
So I'm not going to have time tosleep.
So come follow along.
It's bound to be interesting.
I'm sure.
It's going to be a quick up andor down and back trip for her.
Yeah, we're trying to figure outmy little Reese's preschool drop
off and pick up schedule.
And I think I'm missingWednesday pick up and drop off
and maybe a drop off Thursday.
But I'm going to be back fordoing all the rest.
(06:58):
So tell my kids, you're not evengoing to know I'm gone.
You're not even going to notice.
It'll be fine.
But we will have a post trip, ofcourse.
So when she gets back, we'regoing to talk all about how the
trip went and what herexperience was like going to
Halloween Horror Nights for thefirst time and then also
experiencing an RIP tour.
I'm really excited to hear aboutit.
(07:19):
Stay tuned.
Or actually just hop on.
Hop on Instagram right now atTheProWorkWayToGo.
And hopefully I'll remember totag the podcast page because I'm
not very good at that.
Either way, we'll have thecontent out there.
You'll get to hear it or you'llget to see it.
So for today, we're going to becovering the Universal Studios
(07:40):
side of Universal Orlando anddoing a A, you can only choose
one.
When we went through Islands ofAdventure, it was very, Islands
of Adventure is literally acircle around this little like
central pond lake area.
And it's just, you know, fromone area to the next.
(08:01):
It's very easy to circle around.
You can still go from land toland in Universal Studios, but
it's a little like lopsided.
It's not a circle.
It's more like a P with a littlebit of a, maybe an R with
DreamWorks in there.
Yeah, like some littleoffshoots.
(08:23):
Yeah.
But we're going to go in orderfrom, we're going to start in
Minions Land when you first comein, then go to New York, San
Francisco, the Wizarding Worldof Harry Potter and Diagon
Alley, the World Expo,Springfield, DreamWorks Land,
and then Hollywood.
And that connects right back upinto kind of the side of minion
(08:44):
land and then you can like headout if you wanted to go all the
way around all right I'm gonnakick us off and if you're new
here the way we do this we picka ride a food a snack and an
attraction or show in each landjust to give you like a little
idea of something that you'veheard before that you can pull
out of your back pocket if youneed to so my ride I'm going to
(09:09):
villain con minion blast thinkmidway mania type but you're
standing on a little conveyorbelt you don't sit down and they
hand you like a laser gun yeahand then you go through and hit
targets it's it's a good time ithink my kids would love this
they've my kids have never beento universal preface that but i
(09:31):
think they would both get a kickout of this yeah it's fun it is
a fun ride i the first time idid it i basically spent the
first part of it completely likeconfused and trying to figure
out how to use the gun and thenI didn't score very many points.
For my food, I'm going to go toMinion Cafe.
I'm going to get the steak andcheese ray sandwich, which is a
(09:53):
French onion dipped roast beef,caramelized onions, a secret
sauce, cheesy pimento cheese ona cheddar and onion roll.
That sounds good.
Yeah.
And then for my snack, I'm goingto get something cool at the
freeze rate pops, popsicles andwhatnot.
I'm going to share my beef rightnow with Universal.
They don't share menus of theirsnack stand.
No, they don't.
(10:14):
Are there little quick serviceareas?
They don't always share menus ofthose places either, depending
on...
Some of them they do, but someof them they don't.
So if you can Google and find apicture of a menu, you might be
able to find exactly what kindof freezer egg pop you would
like, but you're kind of just...
If you're there and see it, Iwant to win.
So that's my beef this week.
(10:34):
Anyway, attraction.
I'm going to go to theIllumination Theater for a meet
and greet.
You can meet most of the Minionsfamily and or be some of the
Sing characters.
Oh, that's fun.
I don't think I realized youcould see the scene characters.
Yeah, I don't think they're outas much because there's more of
the minions to rotate.
Yeah, I mean, it's kind of, it'sMinions Land, so it's kind of
right there.
(10:55):
Yeah, but there's a couple ofthem there.
I think the gorilla, maybe thepig.
I don't remember.
All I know is my kids love thatmovie and it's a decent watch
for an adult.
It is.
Yeah, it is.
I think both of them are.
Yes.
The references to like the songsthat they sing are just, they're
just the best.
So for me, I would also do, theVillainCon Minion Blast.
(11:18):
Minion Mayhem gets a lot of loveand it usually has a really long
wait, but it's a 3D simulatorride and those are just not my
jam.
And that makes it hard for meactually in Universal Studios in
general.
That's why for the most part,like I like Islands of Adventure
better because there's a lot ofsimulator rides in Universal
Studios and they just, you know,they make me sick.
(11:40):
And even when I'm takingDramamine, they still make me
sick.
So I'm going to pick MinionBlast because it's like, you
know, web slingers or Toy StoryMania or, you know, that kind of
thing.
For food, I'm going to go alsoto the Minion Cafe.
That's pretty much the mainoption there.
They have some pretty cool stuffthere.
They have something that'scalled Lucy's Top Secret Salmon
(12:03):
and it's wood grilled salmon,coconut blue rice, Thai
cucumbers, edamame, and lipsticktaser sauce.
If you don't know the DespicableMe movies, Lucy has a lipstick
that she uses as a taser.
for my snack they have bake myday this is a really cute little
shop it has lots of things in itit has treats but it also has
(12:25):
despicable me merchandise all init and it's not all just minion
specifically themed it'sdespicable me so you can see a
bunch of different things ithink they have a unicorn
cupcake that's kind of reallywell known there obviously i
can't have that but it's it'sdefinitely worth going in there
i would probably grab a candyapple or popcorn they have
(12:46):
prepackaged popcorn in therethat I would probably grab as a
fun snack.
Just like Crystal, I would loveto meet Gru and the Minions.
I love this IP.
I love Despicable Me.
I love Gru.
I just think he's hilarious.
So meeting him and getting apicture with him would be really
fun for me.
Moving into New York, the ridethat I would choose is Revenge
(13:08):
of the Mummy.
I don't know who out there hasseen this movie.
So it's based on a movie and hasBrendan Fraser in And he's
perfection.
He's so funny.
I love this movie.
It also is a dark and creepyindoor roller coaster.
So just in general, that's rightup my alley.
It's a very good ride.
For food, they have Finnegan'sBar and Grill.
(13:31):
They have a lot of really goodoptions here, but it's kind of
heavy because it's an Irish barand grill.
So depending on how warm it isoutside, I think I would maybe
switch what I would be eating.
But for the most part, I wouldwant to keep it light.
And then I would get the pubsalad with shrimp.
(13:52):
If I was feeling a little likemore brave and I was going to
get something a little on theheavier side, they have Irish
loaded chips and they look superyummy.
They have Starbucks in thissection.
So that would be where I wouldget a coffee.
I'm stopping in a coffee.
The Blues Brothers show would bethe attraction that I would go
to.
This show is performed aroundfive times a day and it starts
(14:14):
with the Blues Brothers drivingaround the park before before
they go onto the stage.
To find the show, you can standon Delancey Street.
It's kind of an offshoot of themain drag in New York.
So you kind of have to cut downthat side street.
And there's a sign that whereyou can see where the stage is.
So you'll be able to see it onceyou cut down the side street.
(14:35):
Did you watch this show with me?
Not with you, no.
I don't think so.
We did watch it when we werethere another time.
I must have like happened uponit on my way into the park.
I think you did.
I think that you happened upon acouple of different things that
day.
I think it was the day that wemet that first time and you had
been at the park and I met youthere in the afternoon and you
(14:57):
kind of were able to go aroundand explore a little bit.
Yeah, that was a day it was sohot and I was so cranky because
I couldn't find where you wereand I was very irritated.
So I went, you know, I wentstraight back and met you at the
night bus.
For my ride, I'm also going todo Revenge of the Mummy.
I need to ride that this week.
We'll see.
Food.
I'm going to go to Louie'sItalian Restaurant and get the
(15:20):
meatball sub combo.
And it comes with a side Caesarsalad.
I love a good meatball sub.
And then for my snack, this is alittle time of year dependent,
but I'm going to say some sortof food booth.
This is where they're set up forMardi Gras, for Halloween Horror
Nights.
They're all kind of like in theNew York area.
(15:42):
It's not Central Park area, butwhatever it is.
It's kind of like that.
Yeah.
It's on like a little square.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So I'm going to say that becausethere's always something good.
I was just looking at the menusfor some of the Howling Horror
Nights.
We've had some good stuff atMardi Gras.
Yeah.
That's a very good idea becausewhen we stopped for the Mardi
Gras booth, the food was reallygood from the booth that we
(16:06):
stopped at.
Puerto Rico.
For my attraction, I also pickedthe Blues Brothers Street Show.
It was just a good time.
It was fun just to havesomething going on as you're
walking through the streets ofNew York.
And I'm going to be singing,come to New York.
Just as a disclaimer, though, Ithink that whole area in general
(16:26):
is like, there's no shade, likeat all.
So if it's in the summer, youare going to be standing out in
the blazing hot sun.
There's nowhere to stand forshade in that particular
section.
No, unless you can like get onDelancey Street and catch the
buildings just right.
Yeah.
Next up is San Francisco.
I am going to ride Fast andFurious.
(16:48):
The cool is really cool if youhave a car junkie, but a lot of
the ride is a screen simulation.
So just be prepared for that.
For my food, I'm going to go tothe San Francisco Pastry Company
and get the grilled cheese andtomato soup.
This grilled cheese sounded sogood.
It's made with cheddar, monster,and mozzarella topped with bacon
jam and served with a cup ofcreamy tomato soup.
(17:09):
Oh my gosh, that sounds so good.
I'm a cow.
I'm very excited I'm doing thisepisode today.
So I have my list ready.
Oh my gosh.
Bacon jam.
Yeah.
Tell me more.
I almost picked the shrimpAlfredo from Lombard's, but then
I saw this from the pastrycompany.
I was like, oh, yes, noquestion.
(17:31):
And then for my snack, I'm justgoing to get whatever looks good
in the pastry window at the SanFrancisco Pastry Company.
They have a variety of cakes,cheesecake, cream horns,
brownies, Napoleon's, tiramisuchocolate mocha pyramids
whatever's calling my name forthe day yeah they have it is a
just chocolate pastry any kindof dessert lovers dream in there
(17:56):
and they are it's so good for myattraction i'll probably see if
i can find the beat buildersthey're like the jameters it's
like the street and spheredrummer dudes that's always a
good time For me, for the ride,I'm skipping a ride in this
section.
The only available option isFast and Furious and it is a
(18:18):
simulated ride.
And I think it's so lame thatthey put you in this pretend bus
and they like just put screensup there.
I just think it's lame and it'sprobably going to make me sick.
So I'm boycotting that ride.
I'm going to go to Lombard'sSeafood Grill.
And I know that this is aseafood restaurant and I love
(18:40):
seafood, but a lot of theirseafood is fried or includes
some type of pasta.
So just hear me out a little bitabout this burger that they
have.
It's Angus beef, has houseaioli, pepper jack cheese,
house-made pickles, and sugarbacon.
Yum.
Sounds so good.
Holy moly.
Yum.
The other option, if I wanted togo maybe a little lighter, I
(19:01):
would probably pick the shrimpcocktail and a Caesar salad for,
you know, if I just didn't wantit.
heaviness of a cheeseburger, butthat burger sounds so delicious.
For my snack, I'm going to go tothe San Francisco Pastry
Company.
I'm going to get some type offudge there.
I feel like the last time I gotfudge there, it was some kind
of, it wasn't s'mores because itdidn't have like the graham
(19:25):
cracker in it, but I feel likethere was marshmallows in there
whenever, whatever I got thelast time.
It was so good.
I got this like big chunk of it.
This place also has some funmerch in there.
So it's not just dessertsincluded Jaws merch because it's
right next to where Bruce is inthe park Ella randomly got the
unicorn stuffy from DespicableMe whenever Agnes gets it and
(19:48):
she's like it's so fluffy shegot that unicorn from that shop
and then the attraction that Iwould do is to get a picture
with Bruce because I have acouple different pictures taking
pictures with Bruce a coupledifferent times but you can
never have too many picturesfrom the Jaws movie it's the
(20:08):
best okay So next, we are movinginto the Wizarding World of
Harry Potter, Diagon Alley.
And I will say that althoughoverall, I like Islands of
Adventure better, like that sideof the park better, I definitely
like Diagon Alley better for theWizarding World of Harry Potter.
(20:30):
I haven't been to Epic Universeyet, so obviously I could
potentially change my mind, butit would take a lot because this
area to me is just the epitomeof the Harry Potter movies.
The ride that I would do isEscape from Green Guts.
It's another dark indoor rollercoaster.
So I would love that.
At Leaky Cauldron, for the mostpart, I'm probably going to go
(20:51):
there for breakfast because Ilove breakfast and it has both
the traditional Englishbreakfast and the American
traditional American breakfast.
I would not be getting tomato orblack pudding with the
traditional English breakfast orwhere I would just like move it
to the side and throw it away.
But I love breakfast.
(21:11):
If I were to go for lunch, Iwould get the hunter's chicken
bacon wrap.
It's a bacon chicken breast withbarbecue, Monterey and cheddar
cheese and peas and chips.
Side note, I don't know why.
I love peas.
I know a lot of people, theydon't like peas, but I love
peas.
It's like one of my favoritevegetables.
(21:33):
So I'm like, oh, it says peaswith it.
I think that's probably a veryEnglish thing to do anyway.
For snack, I'm getting a frozenbutterbeer.
And for the attraction, I'mgoing to watch Celestina Warbeck
and the Banshee Show.
This is a stage show.
They perform songs in theCarkett Market.
I'm second of Diagon Alley, it'sbasically completely covered up.
(21:57):
So even if it's raining or ifit's super hot out, it's shaded.
So it's a nice little kind of adarker, cooler spot to go if you
need to have a break.
Did we catch a section of thiswhen we were getting our
butterbeer?
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
I think we caught the tail end.
I thought so.
I actually think we may havecaught the tail end of Tales of
(22:19):
Beedle the Barb.
I think they were reading.
I don't think that, I don't, Ithink it was Celestina.
I think it was the other showthat they do.
All right.
For my ride, I'm going to do...
I need to do Escape fromGreengrass.
I've just never ridden it, so Ican't say.
But I really like the HogwartsExpress, the King's Cross
station, and they have thespecial effect to get your phone
(22:39):
ready and film because you cansee yourself walking through the
wall.
For my food, I am also going togo to the Leaky Cauldron, and
I'm going to get the cottagepie.
It's a savory combination ofbeef and chunky vegetables and a
potato I picked the night busjust because since I sat there
(23:02):
and waited for you, I sat andwatched the...
What's the little thing onthere?
Are you talking about theshrunken head?
Yes, the little talk of head.
Like catcalling and hollering atother people.
And it was so fun just to sitand watch him.
And then you had...
you also had the conductor liketalking to people.
So it was just a great peoplewatching experience.
(23:25):
But also I got to give a shoutout to the shopping because
there's so many fun shops inDiagon Alley and then sit and
watch the dragon breathe fire.
Yes.
Anyone that knows the HarryPotter movies or the books, I
mean, it is a replica of DiagonAlley.
And so all of the shops that areon that street, they have them
(23:46):
all there.
So it's, it's very fun to go ineven if you don't buy anything
or even if you don't getanything just walking up and
down the street and looking ateverything and all the detail is
amazing yeah you could spend allday right there doing that I
could definitely do that allright next we're going to be
over to World Expo and it's kindof a sad little area very weird
(24:10):
yeah the only ride here is Menin Black so basically you get a
laser gun and you take outaliens and compete for points
and then there's not really anyfood there are 8 000 drink
stations there's some good likecoke refill machines but there's
also the coca-cola refreshlounge so i'm gonna go sit in
some ac and sip some very colddiet coke yes for my snack and
(24:32):
for my food and for myattraction yeah i mean and
basically the same for the mostpart it's pretty much the same
for me there's not a lot thereit's very similar to skull
island with the king kong ridein islands of adventure but It's
just the one ride and there'sreally not anything else there.
And I'm not really sure why it'snot included.
(24:53):
Yeah, I don't understand whyit's not included with another
area.
So moving on to Springfield.
So this area is calledSpringfield, USA, home of the
Simpsons.
So any of you out there that areSimpsons fans, this is
definitely a fun spot.
I watched the Simpsons, but Iwas not ever super obsessed with
(25:15):
them.
So this area is fun, but itdoesn't really...
It doesn't make me excited likethe other areas do.
Both of the rides in this areaare absolutely no-goes for me.
They're both notorious forcausing motion sickness.
So one of them is the Simpsonsride, and then the other one is
called the Twirl and Hurl.
(25:36):
I mean, it has hurl in the name,so I'm not getting on that ride.
For food, they have this littlestreet that has a bunch of
different options for food, andyou can kind of go in and they
just have a bunch of differentoptions in there that you to
choose from Luigi's pizza theyhave a gluten-free crust option
so I'm just going to cheesepizza on a gluten-free crust the
(25:59):
snack if you've been listeningyou know that me and my girls
typically try to find a slushyof some sort they have they're
called squishies but it's aslushy you can get it from a
quickie mart or there's a likelittle cart across from it
called the quickie cart that youcan also get a slushy and we We
have gotten a slushy or asquishy from the quickie cart
(26:21):
before.
For the attraction, there is anamusement park section.
You do have to pay to play thegames, but it is fun to, you
know, if you want to go and justplay a couple of different
games.
I let the girls play here.
The last time we were there,they won the three-eyed orange
fish.
I think it's called Blinky fromthe Simpsons.
(26:42):
It's the fish that's found inthe water around the nuclear
power plant for Homer Works.
And so it has three highs andthey still have that.
So fun for my ride to choosebetween the two.
I'd go maybe the twirl and hurlbecause it is kind of like Dumbo
where it's like, but I feel likethe fresh air would help with
(27:03):
the sickness over just like asimulated roller coaster.
For food, I am going to go tothe Bumblebee Man's taco truck
for some carne asada tacos.
And for my snack, I'm going togo to the Lard Lad Donuts for
the massive pink donut.
If you've seen any sort of likefood or snack pictures from
(27:24):
Universal, you've seen thispicture.
It's like head size.
I never watched The Simpsonsgrowing up, so I'm not as like
into it.
I've walked through here bothtimes, just kept on walking.
You can meet the characters.
I think they have characterswhere you can meet them if you
wanted to.
That's an option.
Next, let's go to DreamWorksLand.
(27:46):
This is their newest land.
It's Cute.
I'm going to ride the TrollersTroller Coaster.
It is a very short kiddie rollercoaster.
Both times I've been there, theline has been crazy long.
But it's cute.
For food, I'm going to go to theDreamWorks Imagination Cafe and
get a Poe's Kung Fu Bao.
(28:08):
Steamed buns filled with charsiu, pork, and chicken teriyaki.
And then for a snack, I'm goingto go to Swamp Snacks.
This was another one.
You've seen pictures of like theShrek pretzel and some other
things, but you can't find it onour menu anywhere.
So I did...
tracked down, they have a swampdog that is oozing green cheese
(28:29):
hot dog wrapped in pizza treebark, which I'd give it a try.
Let's see what it's about.
And then for my attraction, I amgoing to do the Shrek Swamp
Meet.
We met Shrek last year and itwas a good time.
And if he's there with Donkey,like Shrek was like the movie
we'd always watch in Spanishclass growing up.
(28:51):
That's funny.
So I've seen Shrek a hundredtimes.
So that's like a nostalgia thingfor me.
For me, I would also do thetroller coaster.
The food options are veryminimal for me here.
It's mostly snacks that are nota gluten-free option, like the
hot dog or a pretzel orsomething like that.
(29:12):
But they do have a soft serve atTroll Streets that I would get
as a snack.
They have a couple differentflavors.
I would want to go with thebrozone berry.
It's blue.
It's a soft serve.
And then for the attraction, Iwould want to do the imaginary
nation celebration.
I love little shows, and thisone is only about 20 minutes.
It features DreamWorkscharacters like Shrek, Kung Fu
(29:35):
Panda, and the Trolls, and it'sjust a fun little sing-and-dance
kind of show and gives you theability to get out of the heat
for 20 minutes.
So last but not least, we'll bemoving into the Hollywood
section.
Previously, I would haveselected Rip Ride Rocket because
I love that ride, but they areremoving it.
(29:56):
They shut it down.
So it's very sad.
RIP Rip Ride Rocket.
Since they don't have it, I'mgoing to pick E.T.
It's a classic that I like to dowhen I'm there.
It's the only original openingday ride left at Universal
Studios.
So to me, that's a big deal.
And it's not a screen simulator.
(30:17):
No, it's not.
Props to that.
Yeah.
I mean, it is old.
I mean, you can tell.
It's very dated.
But there's something nostalgicabout the ride in general.
And if you watched E.T.
as you were growing up, it justkind of gives you all the feels
to do the ride.
For food, I would do Mel'sDrive-In.
They have a California cobgrilled salad combo.
(30:38):
It comes with a drink.
So I would love to get a nicecold Diet Coke.
Yum.
for a snack, I would get an icecream sundae from Mel's.
You have the option to make thatgluten-free if you want.
It's, you know, ice cream andwhipped cream and chocolate
sauce.
Can't really go wrong with that.
(30:58):
And then for attraction ingeneral, this area has a great
streetmosphere.
I think very similar to probablylike the New York area as well.
Like they have Marilyn Monroe,different characters walking
around.
So it's fun.
Wicked characters recently.
Yes, I agree.
So it has a fun vibe on thestreet.
(31:19):
For sure.
My ride, I'm also going on E.T.
This is one of my very firstrides I ever went on Eversal.
So I can claim the nostalgia ofit.
For my food, I am going to go toCafe La Bamba and go get the
Baja Shrimp Rice Bowl.
That's a choice of one protein,cilantro rice, black beans,
cheese, pico, guac, sour cream,roasted corn salsa.
(31:43):
Give me a bowl.
Love a bowl.
Yeah, that sounds really good.
For my snack, if I wantsomething savory, I'm going to
stay at Cafe La Bamba and do thefresh salsa flight with salted
lime chips.
But if I need something sweet,I'm going to go to Central Park
Crepes and find a crepe.
And for my attraction, I'm goingto go see the Bourne Stunt
similar to Indiana Jones yeah Iwould agree so that wraps up our
(32:10):
our picks in Universal StudiosFlorida we hope that this has
been really helpful for you tobe able to kind of like Crystal
was saying at the beginning tobe able to just listen in and
have a quick pick for whereveryou are in the park in a
reference point so that you knowkind of what's there and what
(32:31):
options you have I think we didokay today not picking the same
things sometimes we do but forthe most part I think we gave
some different options I don'tknow why but I think today maybe
it's because I'm I'm kind ofgetting a cold that I was very
much in like a salad mood so Ithink I picked a lot of salads
today I'll tell you what I'mgonna go really listen to our
(32:51):
islands of adventure episodebefore I leave because I know I
have like three or four snackson there that I need to add to
my list so yeah I think for suregoing to mythos and what was the
there was a place that's likeright It's in like the port of
entry that had like a ton ofgreat stuff.
They have Dole Whips.
Yeah.
They're not calling.
I need to go do some marketresearch.
Yeah, for sure.
(33:11):
We need to hear back.
We need to hear back on that.
If you have time, my gosh,you're going to be like running
like a crazy person while you'rethere.
But we hope everybody enjoyedthe episode.
Thank you so much for listeningthis week.
And we will chat with you allnext week.
Bye.
(33:34):
Thanks for tuning in to anotherepisode of Wonderlust and
Wishes.
If you enjoyed today's episode,don't forget to subscribe and
leave us a review on yourfavorite podcast platform.
And remember, the world is fullof wonders waiting to be
explored.
Until next time, happy travels.
Bye for now.
Welcome to Wanderlust and Wishes, the
podcast where we explore theworld one destination at a time.
I'm Julie.
And I'm Crystal.
As travel agents withFantastical Vacations, we are
here to share our passion fortravel and help you turn your
wanderlust into reality.
From hidden gems to bucket listadventures, join us as we dive
into the sights, sounds, andstories of our favorite
(00:20):
destinations.
So grab your passport, pack yourbags, and let's embark on this
journey together.
Welcome to Wanderlust andWishes.
UNKNOWN (00:30):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_00 (00:33):
Hi, everybody.
Welcome to episode 70 ofWanderlust and Wishes.
Today, we're going to coverUniversal Studios.
You can only choose one.
I want to go ahead and giveeverybody a heads up that I have
a little bit of a head cold.
So my apologies if I sound alittle nasally.
First, we are going to coversome news and then we'll jump
into the topic.
(00:53):
First off, DCL is giving us apromotion, a massive promotion
for World Gratitude Week.
40% off select sailings throughthe end of 2025.
The 40% off offer is valid onlyfor select salings between
October 17th and December 19thof this year.
You must book by tomorrow,September 25th.
(01:16):
So get with us today.
We've already seen these likefill and fly off the shelves.
There are some caveats.
These are guaranteed withrestriction room categories.
You have to be paid in full andthey are non-refundable.
So guaranteed room means theship picks your room.
You don't get to pick whereyou're at.
(01:37):
But if you want to get on aDisney cruise and then get like
a snazzy little placeholder forseven days longer, this is the
way to do it.
So there's, what, a dozendifferent sailings that qualify
on the Dream, Wish, Fantasy,Magic from Port Canaveral, Fort
Lauderdale, a handful out ofGalveston, and one or two in
(01:58):
Puerto Rico.
You do get to pick your roomcategory.
You just don't get to pick thelocation of where that that room
is.
So if you want a balcony room ora veranda room, you can choose a
veranda room.
They're just going to tell youwhere that room is.
You don't get to pick where onthe ship that that's located.
But I was running like a familyfor like$2,400 for an inside
state room.
(02:18):
Yep.
I know.
I was looking at them too.
So hopefully, hopefully I canreport back that we booked
something.
I was looking at, I was justthinking like over Thanksgiving
break and over the winter break.
There's definitely dates thatwork for both of those.
(02:39):
If you're trying to, you know,go do something and stay under a
certain budget, there weredefinitely things out there for
under like$3,000 and$4,000 forlike a four or five day cruise.
They were really great options.
Okay, so the candlelightprocessional dates and narrators
have been announced.
(03:00):
I'm So many new ones.
Yeah, there's a ton of new ones.
I'm going to say new after theones that has a new narrator.
For November 28th and 29th,Constance Wu, new.
December 30th through December2nd, Jordan Fisher.
December 3rd and 4th, JenniferGarner, new.
(03:21):
December 5th and 6th, AshleyEckstein.
December 7th and 8th, RalphMacchio.
December 9th and 10th, LeslieUggams, new.
December 11th through 13th,Marlee Matlin.
December 14th through 15th,Henry Winkler.
That's new.
December 16th through 17th,Lauren Daigle.
(03:42):
That's new.
December 18th and 19th, GarySinise.
December 20th to 22nd, BrandonFrazier.
December 23rd and 24th, LouiseFonsey.
December 25th and 26th, JoelSmallbone.
That's new.
December 27th and 28th, BrieLarson.
That's new.
And last but not least, December29th and 30th, Cher So yeah,
(04:03):
there's like probably half ofthem are new narrators, which is
really cool.
I know a lot of people wereshocked that we didn't have
Uncle Jesse or Josh Gad.
And also Neil Patrick Harris ison Broadway.
So that's why he's not it's notthat he's like declined it or
anything.
It's because he has somethinggoing on.
(04:23):
So he's not gonna be there thisyear.
And people are definitely theydefinitely noticed that there's
a couple of regulars that arevery popular that are not on the
list this year.
Okay.
I'm very excited about JenniferGardner.
And I've seen Henry Winklerspeak, and he's fabulous.
He's the Fonz.
And Warren Daigle.
So, wish I was going to have cutover Christmas.
(04:46):
I would love to see JordanFisher, and I would love to see
Brandon Frazier.
They're probably the two on thelist that I would want to see
the most.
Alright, next on the list, RoyalCaribbean has halted stops to
Labadee, their island in Haiti,until April 2026.
Unfortunately, this does affectsome of my guests.
So I have a nice little emailhere about what they're doing
(05:08):
instead.
So it depends on ship and date,obviously, but some of the stops
that they're subbing in areGeorgetown, Grand Cayman,
Nassau, Bahamas.
San Juan, Puerto Rico, Bimini,Bahamas, Grand Turk, Turks and
Caicos, Falmouth, Jamaica,Morena, NASA, Porta Plata,
(05:31):
Dominican Republic.
So it affects quite a fewsalines.
If that is you, I can, if youshoot me your date, I can tell
you what is being swapped outinstead if you didn't see an
email yourself.
But I feel like these are greatswaps.
Oh, yeah.
I mean, it's not like they'regiving you a terrible option.
They're great options,especially if you're sailing
(05:53):
during the timeframe that youcan go to their new private
beach area in Nassau.
You know, you could swap thatout if you wanted to.
That's a great idea.
All right, let's jump into ourepisode today.
I think when we put this on thecalendar, we did it as in
conjunction with the pre-tripfor me being at Universal this
week.
(06:13):
But do as I say, not as I do.
And I don't even know what I'mdoing yet.
So hop onto Instagram right nowand see if I found a place to
stay Tuesday night.
Because right now I have no ideawhere I'm staying Tuesday night.
I have no idea what I'm doing.
All I know is I'm going to anRIP tour and I'm going to
probably not sleep Wednesdaytonight because I'm either
scared out of my mind or becauseI'm catching a very early
(06:35):
flight.
So I'm not going to have time tosleep.
So come follow along.
It's bound to be interesting.
I'm sure.
It's going to be a quick up andor down and back trip for her.
Yeah, we're trying to figure outmy little Reese's preschool drop
off and pick up schedule.
And I think I'm missingWednesday pick up and drop off
and maybe a drop off Thursday.
But I'm going to be back fordoing all the rest.
(06:58):
So tell my kids, you're not evengoing to know I'm gone.
You're not even going to notice.
It'll be fine.
But we will have a post trip, ofcourse.
So when she gets back, we'regoing to talk all about how the
trip went and what herexperience was like going to
Halloween Horror Nights for thefirst time and then also
experiencing an RIP tour.
I'm really excited to hear aboutit.
(07:19):
Stay tuned.
Or actually just hop on.
Hop on Instagram right now atTheProWorkWayToGo.
And hopefully I'll remember totag the podcast page because I'm
not very good at that.
Either way, we'll have thecontent out there.
You'll get to hear it or you'llget to see it.
So for today, we're going to becovering the Universal Studios
(07:40):
side of Universal Orlando anddoing a A, you can only choose
one.
When we went through Islands ofAdventure, it was very, Islands
of Adventure is literally acircle around this little like
central pond lake area.
And it's just, you know, fromone area to the next.
(08:01):
It's very easy to circle around.
You can still go from land toland in Universal Studios, but
it's a little like lopsided.
It's not a circle.
It's more like a P with a littlebit of a, maybe an R with
DreamWorks in there.
Yeah, like some littleoffshoots.
(08:23):
Yeah.
But we're going to go in orderfrom, we're going to start in
Minions Land when you first comein, then go to New York, San
Francisco, the Wizarding Worldof Harry Potter and Diagon
Alley, the World Expo,Springfield, DreamWorks Land,
and then Hollywood.
And that connects right back upinto kind of the side of minion
(08:44):
land and then you can like headout if you wanted to go all the
way around all right I'm gonnakick us off and if you're new
here the way we do this we picka ride a food a snack and an
attraction or show in each landjust to give you like a little
idea of something that you'veheard before that you can pull
out of your back pocket if youneed to so my ride I'm going to
(09:09):
villain con minion blast thinkmidway mania type but you're
standing on a little conveyorbelt you don't sit down and they
hand you like a laser gun yeahand then you go through and hit
targets it's it's a good time ithink my kids would love this
they've my kids have never beento universal preface that but i
(09:31):
think they would both get a kickout of this yeah it's fun it is
a fun ride i the first time idid it i basically spent the
first part of it completely likeconfused and trying to figure
out how to use the gun and thenI didn't score very many points.
For my food, I'm going to go toMinion Cafe.
I'm going to get the steak andcheese ray sandwich, which is a
(09:53):
French onion dipped roast beef,caramelized onions, a secret
sauce, cheesy pimento cheese ona cheddar and onion roll.
That sounds good.
Yeah.
And then for my snack, I'm goingto get something cool at the
freeze rate pops, popsicles andwhatnot.
I'm going to share my beef rightnow with Universal.
They don't share menus of theirsnack stand.
No, they don't.
(10:14):
Are there little quick serviceareas?
They don't always share menus ofthose places either, depending
on...
Some of them they do, but someof them they don't.
So if you can Google and find apicture of a menu, you might be
able to find exactly what kindof freezer egg pop you would
like, but you're kind of just...
If you're there and see it, Iwant to win.
So that's my beef this week.
(10:34):
Anyway, attraction.
I'm going to go to theIllumination Theater for a meet
and greet.
You can meet most of the Minionsfamily and or be some of the
Sing characters.
Oh, that's fun.
I don't think I realized youcould see the scene characters.
Yeah, I don't think they're outas much because there's more of
the minions to rotate.
Yeah, I mean, it's kind of, it'sMinions Land, so it's kind of
right there.
(10:55):
Yeah, but there's a couple ofthem there.
I think the gorilla, maybe thepig.
I don't remember.
All I know is my kids love thatmovie and it's a decent watch
for an adult.
It is.
Yeah, it is.
I think both of them are.
Yes.
The references to like the songsthat they sing are just, they're
just the best.
So for me, I would also do, theVillainCon Minion Blast.
(11:18):
Minion Mayhem gets a lot of loveand it usually has a really long
wait, but it's a 3D simulatorride and those are just not my
jam.
And that makes it hard for meactually in Universal Studios in
general.
That's why for the most part,like I like Islands of Adventure
better because there's a lot ofsimulator rides in Universal
Studios and they just, you know,they make me sick.
(11:40):
And even when I'm takingDramamine, they still make me
sick.
So I'm going to pick MinionBlast because it's like, you
know, web slingers or Toy StoryMania or, you know, that kind of
thing.
For food, I'm going to go alsoto the Minion Cafe.
That's pretty much the mainoption there.
They have some pretty cool stuffthere.
They have something that'scalled Lucy's Top Secret Salmon
(12:03):
and it's wood grilled salmon,coconut blue rice, Thai
cucumbers, edamame, and lipsticktaser sauce.
If you don't know the DespicableMe movies, Lucy has a lipstick
that she uses as a taser.
for my snack they have bake myday this is a really cute little
shop it has lots of things in itit has treats but it also has
(12:25):
despicable me merchandise all init and it's not all just minion
specifically themed it'sdespicable me so you can see a
bunch of different things ithink they have a unicorn
cupcake that's kind of reallywell known there obviously i
can't have that but it's it'sdefinitely worth going in there
i would probably grab a candyapple or popcorn they have
(12:46):
prepackaged popcorn in therethat I would probably grab as a
fun snack.
Just like Crystal, I would loveto meet Gru and the Minions.
I love this IP.
I love Despicable Me.
I love Gru.
I just think he's hilarious.
So meeting him and getting apicture with him would be really
fun for me.
Moving into New York, the ridethat I would choose is Revenge
(13:08):
of the Mummy.
I don't know who out there hasseen this movie.
So it's based on a movie and hasBrendan Fraser in And he's
perfection.
He's so funny.
I love this movie.
It also is a dark and creepyindoor roller coaster.
So just in general, that's rightup my alley.
It's a very good ride.
For food, they have Finnegan'sBar and Grill.
(13:31):
They have a lot of really goodoptions here, but it's kind of
heavy because it's an Irish barand grill.
So depending on how warm it isoutside, I think I would maybe
switch what I would be eating.
But for the most part, I wouldwant to keep it light.
And then I would get the pubsalad with shrimp.
(13:52):
If I was feeling a little likemore brave and I was going to
get something a little on theheavier side, they have Irish
loaded chips and they look superyummy.
They have Starbucks in thissection.
So that would be where I wouldget a coffee.
I'm stopping in a coffee.
The Blues Brothers show would bethe attraction that I would go
to.
This show is performed aroundfive times a day and it starts
(14:14):
with the Blues Brothers drivingaround the park before before
they go onto the stage.
To find the show, you can standon Delancey Street.
It's kind of an offshoot of themain drag in New York.
So you kind of have to cut downthat side street.
And there's a sign that whereyou can see where the stage is.
So you'll be able to see it onceyou cut down the side street.
(14:35):
Did you watch this show with me?
Not with you, no.
I don't think so.
We did watch it when we werethere another time.
I must have like happened uponit on my way into the park.
I think you did.
I think that you happened upon acouple of different things that
day.
I think it was the day that wemet that first time and you had
been at the park and I met youthere in the afternoon and you
(14:57):
kind of were able to go aroundand explore a little bit.
Yeah, that was a day it was sohot and I was so cranky because
I couldn't find where you wereand I was very irritated.
So I went, you know, I wentstraight back and met you at the
night bus.
For my ride, I'm also going todo Revenge of the Mummy.
I need to ride that this week.
We'll see.
Food.
I'm going to go to Louie'sItalian Restaurant and get the
(15:20):
meatball sub combo.
And it comes with a side Caesarsalad.
I love a good meatball sub.
And then for my snack, this is alittle time of year dependent,
but I'm going to say some sortof food booth.
This is where they're set up forMardi Gras, for Halloween Horror
Nights.
They're all kind of like in theNew York area.
(15:42):
It's not Central Park area, butwhatever it is.
It's kind of like that.
Yeah.
It's on like a little square.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So I'm going to say that becausethere's always something good.
I was just looking at the menusfor some of the Howling Horror
Nights.
We've had some good stuff atMardi Gras.
Yeah.
That's a very good idea becausewhen we stopped for the Mardi
Gras booth, the food was reallygood from the booth that we
(16:06):
stopped at.
Puerto Rico.
For my attraction, I also pickedthe Blues Brothers Street Show.
It was just a good time.
It was fun just to havesomething going on as you're
walking through the streets ofNew York.
And I'm going to be singing,come to New York.
Just as a disclaimer, though, Ithink that whole area in general
(16:26):
is like, there's no shade, likeat all.
So if it's in the summer, youare going to be standing out in
the blazing hot sun.
There's nowhere to stand forshade in that particular
section.
No, unless you can like get onDelancey Street and catch the
buildings just right.
Yeah.
Next up is San Francisco.
I am going to ride Fast andFurious.
(16:48):
The cool is really cool if youhave a car junkie, but a lot of
the ride is a screen simulation.
So just be prepared for that.
For my food, I'm going to go tothe San Francisco Pastry Company
and get the grilled cheese andtomato soup.
This grilled cheese sounded sogood.
It's made with cheddar, monster,and mozzarella topped with bacon
jam and served with a cup ofcreamy tomato soup.
(17:09):
Oh my gosh, that sounds so good.
I'm a cow.
I'm very excited I'm doing thisepisode today.
So I have my list ready.
Oh my gosh.
Bacon jam.
Yeah.
Tell me more.
I almost picked the shrimpAlfredo from Lombard's, but then
I saw this from the pastrycompany.
I was like, oh, yes, noquestion.
(17:31):
And then for my snack, I'm justgoing to get whatever looks good
in the pastry window at the SanFrancisco Pastry Company.
They have a variety of cakes,cheesecake, cream horns,
brownies, Napoleon's, tiramisuchocolate mocha pyramids
whatever's calling my name forthe day yeah they have it is a
just chocolate pastry any kindof dessert lovers dream in there
(17:56):
and they are it's so good for myattraction i'll probably see if
i can find the beat buildersthey're like the jameters it's
like the street and spheredrummer dudes that's always a
good time For me, for the ride,I'm skipping a ride in this
section.
The only available option isFast and Furious and it is a
(18:18):
simulated ride.
And I think it's so lame thatthey put you in this pretend bus
and they like just put screensup there.
I just think it's lame and it'sprobably going to make me sick.
So I'm boycotting that ride.
I'm going to go to Lombard'sSeafood Grill.
And I know that this is aseafood restaurant and I love
(18:40):
seafood, but a lot of theirseafood is fried or includes
some type of pasta.
So just hear me out a little bitabout this burger that they
have.
It's Angus beef, has houseaioli, pepper jack cheese,
house-made pickles, and sugarbacon.
Yum.
Sounds so good.
Holy moly.
Yum.
The other option, if I wanted togo maybe a little lighter, I
(19:01):
would probably pick the shrimpcocktail and a Caesar salad for,
you know, if I just didn't wantit.
heaviness of a cheeseburger, butthat burger sounds so delicious.
For my snack, I'm going to go tothe San Francisco Pastry
Company.
I'm going to get some type offudge there.
I feel like the last time I gotfudge there, it was some kind
of, it wasn't s'mores because itdidn't have like the graham
(19:25):
cracker in it, but I feel likethere was marshmallows in there
whenever, whatever I got thelast time.
It was so good.
I got this like big chunk of it.
This place also has some funmerch in there.
So it's not just dessertsincluded Jaws merch because it's
right next to where Bruce is inthe park Ella randomly got the
unicorn stuffy from DespicableMe whenever Agnes gets it and
(19:48):
she's like it's so fluffy shegot that unicorn from that shop
and then the attraction that Iwould do is to get a picture
with Bruce because I have acouple different pictures taking
pictures with Bruce a coupledifferent times but you can
never have too many picturesfrom the Jaws movie it's the
(20:08):
best okay So next, we are movinginto the Wizarding World of
Harry Potter, Diagon Alley.
And I will say that althoughoverall, I like Islands of
Adventure better, like that sideof the park better, I definitely
like Diagon Alley better for theWizarding World of Harry Potter.
(20:30):
I haven't been to Epic Universeyet, so obviously I could
potentially change my mind, butit would take a lot because this
area to me is just the epitomeof the Harry Potter movies.
The ride that I would do isEscape from Green Guts.
It's another dark indoor rollercoaster.
So I would love that.
At Leaky Cauldron, for the mostpart, I'm probably going to go
(20:51):
there for breakfast because Ilove breakfast and it has both
the traditional Englishbreakfast and the American
traditional American breakfast.
I would not be getting tomato orblack pudding with the
traditional English breakfast orwhere I would just like move it
to the side and throw it away.
But I love breakfast.
(21:11):
If I were to go for lunch, Iwould get the hunter's chicken
bacon wrap.
It's a bacon chicken breast withbarbecue, Monterey and cheddar
cheese and peas and chips.
Side note, I don't know why.
I love peas.
I know a lot of people, theydon't like peas, but I love
peas.
It's like one of my favoritevegetables.
(21:33):
So I'm like, oh, it says peaswith it.
I think that's probably a veryEnglish thing to do anyway.
For snack, I'm getting a frozenbutterbeer.
And for the attraction, I'mgoing to watch Celestina Warbeck
and the Banshee Show.
This is a stage show.
They perform songs in theCarkett Market.
I'm second of Diagon Alley, it'sbasically completely covered up.
(21:57):
So even if it's raining or ifit's super hot out, it's shaded.
So it's a nice little kind of adarker, cooler spot to go if you
need to have a break.
Did we catch a section of thiswhen we were getting our
butterbeer?
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
I think we caught the tail end.
I thought so.
I actually think we may havecaught the tail end of Tales of
(22:19):
Beedle the Barb.
I think they were reading.
I don't think that, I don't, Ithink it was Celestina.
I think it was the other showthat they do.
All right.
For my ride, I'm going to do...
I need to do Escape fromGreengrass.
I've just never ridden it, so Ican't say.
But I really like the HogwartsExpress, the King's Cross
station, and they have thespecial effect to get your phone
(22:39):
ready and film because you cansee yourself walking through the
wall.
For my food, I am also going togo to the Leaky Cauldron, and
I'm going to get the cottagepie.
It's a savory combination ofbeef and chunky vegetables and a
potato I picked the night busjust because since I sat there
(23:02):
and waited for you, I sat andwatched the...
What's the little thing onthere?
Are you talking about theshrunken head?
Yes, the little talk of head.
Like catcalling and hollering atother people.
And it was so fun just to sitand watch him.
And then you had...
you also had the conductor liketalking to people.
So it was just a great peoplewatching experience.
(23:25):
But also I got to give a shoutout to the shopping because
there's so many fun shops inDiagon Alley and then sit and
watch the dragon breathe fire.
Yes.
Anyone that knows the HarryPotter movies or the books, I
mean, it is a replica of DiagonAlley.
And so all of the shops that areon that street, they have them
(23:46):
all there.
So it's, it's very fun to go ineven if you don't buy anything
or even if you don't getanything just walking up and
down the street and looking ateverything and all the detail is
amazing yeah you could spend allday right there doing that I
could definitely do that allright next we're going to be
over to World Expo and it's kindof a sad little area very weird
(24:10):
yeah the only ride here is Menin Black so basically you get a
laser gun and you take outaliens and compete for points
and then there's not really anyfood there are 8 000 drink
stations there's some good likecoke refill machines but there's
also the coca-cola refreshlounge so i'm gonna go sit in
some ac and sip some very colddiet coke yes for my snack and
(24:32):
for my food and for myattraction yeah i mean and
basically the same for the mostpart it's pretty much the same
for me there's not a lot thereit's very similar to skull
island with the king kong ridein islands of adventure but It's
just the one ride and there'sreally not anything else there.
And I'm not really sure why it'snot included.
(24:53):
Yeah, I don't understand whyit's not included with another
area.
So moving on to Springfield.
So this area is calledSpringfield, USA, home of the
Simpsons.
So any of you out there that areSimpsons fans, this is
definitely a fun spot.
I watched the Simpsons, but Iwas not ever super obsessed with
(25:15):
them.
So this area is fun, but itdoesn't really...
It doesn't make me excited likethe other areas do.
Both of the rides in this areaare absolutely no-goes for me.
They're both notorious forcausing motion sickness.
So one of them is the Simpsonsride, and then the other one is
called the Twirl and Hurl.
(25:36):
I mean, it has hurl in the name,so I'm not getting on that ride.
For food, they have this littlestreet that has a bunch of
different options for food, andyou can kind of go in and they
just have a bunch of differentoptions in there that you to
choose from Luigi's pizza theyhave a gluten-free crust option
so I'm just going to cheesepizza on a gluten-free crust the
(25:59):
snack if you've been listeningyou know that me and my girls
typically try to find a slushyof some sort they have they're
called squishies but it's aslushy you can get it from a
quickie mart or there's a likelittle cart across from it
called the quickie cart that youcan also get a slushy and we We
have gotten a slushy or asquishy from the quickie cart
(26:21):
before.
For the attraction, there is anamusement park section.
You do have to pay to play thegames, but it is fun to, you
know, if you want to go and justplay a couple of different
games.
I let the girls play here.
The last time we were there,they won the three-eyed orange
fish.
I think it's called Blinky fromthe Simpsons.
(26:42):
It's the fish that's found inthe water around the nuclear
power plant for Homer Works.
And so it has three highs andthey still have that.
So fun for my ride to choosebetween the two.
I'd go maybe the twirl and hurlbecause it is kind of like Dumbo
where it's like, but I feel likethe fresh air would help with
(27:03):
the sickness over just like asimulated roller coaster.
For food, I am going to go tothe Bumblebee Man's taco truck
for some carne asada tacos.
And for my snack, I'm going togo to the Lard Lad Donuts for
the massive pink donut.
If you've seen any sort of likefood or snack pictures from
(27:24):
Universal, you've seen thispicture.
It's like head size.
I never watched The Simpsonsgrowing up, so I'm not as like
into it.
I've walked through here bothtimes, just kept on walking.
You can meet the characters.
I think they have characterswhere you can meet them if you
wanted to.
That's an option.
Next, let's go to DreamWorksLand.
(27:46):
This is their newest land.
It's Cute.
I'm going to ride the TrollersTroller Coaster.
It is a very short kiddie rollercoaster.
Both times I've been there, theline has been crazy long.
But it's cute.
For food, I'm going to go to theDreamWorks Imagination Cafe and
get a Poe's Kung Fu Bao.
(28:08):
Steamed buns filled with charsiu, pork, and chicken teriyaki.
And then for a snack, I'm goingto go to Swamp Snacks.
This was another one.
You've seen pictures of like theShrek pretzel and some other
things, but you can't find it onour menu anywhere.
So I did...
tracked down, they have a swampdog that is oozing green cheese
(28:29):
hot dog wrapped in pizza treebark, which I'd give it a try.
Let's see what it's about.
And then for my attraction, I amgoing to do the Shrek Swamp
Meet.
We met Shrek last year and itwas a good time.
And if he's there with Donkey,like Shrek was like the movie
we'd always watch in Spanishclass growing up.
(28:51):
That's funny.
So I've seen Shrek a hundredtimes.
So that's like a nostalgia thingfor me.
For me, I would also do thetroller coaster.
The food options are veryminimal for me here.
It's mostly snacks that are nota gluten-free option, like the
hot dog or a pretzel orsomething like that.
(29:12):
But they do have a soft serve atTroll Streets that I would get
as a snack.
They have a couple differentflavors.
I would want to go with thebrozone berry.
It's blue.
It's a soft serve.
And then for the attraction, Iwould want to do the imaginary
nation celebration.
I love little shows, and thisone is only about 20 minutes.
It features DreamWorkscharacters like Shrek, Kung Fu
(29:35):
Panda, and the Trolls, and it'sjust a fun little sing-and-dance
kind of show and gives you theability to get out of the heat
for 20 minutes.
So last but not least, we'll bemoving into the Hollywood
section.
Previously, I would haveselected Rip Ride Rocket because
I love that ride, but they areremoving it.
(29:56):
They shut it down.
So it's very sad.
RIP Rip Ride Rocket.
Since they don't have it, I'mgoing to pick E.T.
It's a classic that I like to dowhen I'm there.
It's the only original openingday ride left at Universal
Studios.
So to me, that's a big deal.
And it's not a screen simulator.
(30:17):
No, it's not.
Props to that.
Yeah.
I mean, it is old.
I mean, you can tell.
It's very dated.
But there's something nostalgicabout the ride in general.
And if you watched E.T.
as you were growing up, it justkind of gives you all the feels
to do the ride.
For food, I would do Mel'sDrive-In.
They have a California cobgrilled salad combo.
(30:38):
It comes with a drink.
So I would love to get a nicecold Diet Coke.
Yum.
for a snack, I would get an icecream sundae from Mel's.
You have the option to make thatgluten-free if you want.
It's, you know, ice cream andwhipped cream and chocolate
sauce.
Can't really go wrong with that.
(30:58):
And then for attraction ingeneral, this area has a great
streetmosphere.
I think very similar to probablylike the New York area as well.
Like they have Marilyn Monroe,different characters walking
around.
So it's fun.
Wicked characters recently.
Yes, I agree.
So it has a fun vibe on thestreet.
(31:19):
For sure.
My ride, I'm also going on E.T.
This is one of my very firstrides I ever went on Eversal.
So I can claim the nostalgia ofit.
For my food, I am going to go toCafe La Bamba and go get the
Baja Shrimp Rice Bowl.
That's a choice of one protein,cilantro rice, black beans,
cheese, pico, guac, sour cream,roasted corn salsa.
(31:43):
Give me a bowl.
Love a bowl.
Yeah, that sounds really good.
For my snack, if I wantsomething savory, I'm going to
stay at Cafe La Bamba and do thefresh salsa flight with salted
lime chips.
But if I need something sweet,I'm going to go to Central Park
Crepes and find a crepe.
And for my attraction, I'm goingto go see the Bourne Stunt
similar to Indiana Jones yeah Iwould agree so that wraps up our
(32:10):
our picks in Universal StudiosFlorida we hope that this has
been really helpful for you tobe able to kind of like Crystal
was saying at the beginning tobe able to just listen in and
have a quick pick for whereveryou are in the park in a
reference point so that you knowkind of what's there and what
(32:31):
options you have I think we didokay today not picking the same
things sometimes we do but forthe most part I think we gave
some different options I don'tknow why but I think today maybe
it's because I'm I'm kind ofgetting a cold that I was very
much in like a salad mood so Ithink I picked a lot of salads
today I'll tell you what I'mgonna go really listen to our
(32:51):
islands of adventure episodebefore I leave because I know I
have like three or four snackson there that I need to add to
my list so yeah I think for suregoing to mythos and what was the
there was a place that's likeright It's in like the port of
entry that had like a ton ofgreat stuff.
They have Dole Whips.
Yeah.
They're not calling.
I need to go do some marketresearch.
Yeah, for sure.
(33:11):
We need to hear back.
We need to hear back on that.
If you have time, my gosh,you're going to be like running
like a crazy person while you'rethere.
But we hope everybody enjoyedthe episode.
Thank you so much for listeningthis week.
And we will chat with you allnext week.
Bye.
(33:34):
Thanks for tuning in to anotherepisode of Wonderlust and
Wishes.
If you enjoyed today's episode,don't forget to subscribe and
leave us a review on yourfavorite podcast platform.
And remember, the world is fullof wonders waiting to be
explored.
Until next time, happy travels.
Bye for now.
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