During our time at Universal Studios we also caught the tail end of their parade – Universal’s Superstar Parade. Characters included Gru, Margo, Edith, Agnes, Vector and Minions from Despicable Me; characters from Spongebob Squarepants including Patrick, Squidward, and Spongebob himself; as well as a few more characters I am not sure the names of.
Like I said, it was the tail end of it, as the parade came to a standstill for a long while as they waited for someone to open the gates for the parade to move on (not quite as slick as Disney!). But the parade itself was cute and a nice addition to the park – I don’t recall a parade on previous visits years back. Here are my photos from said parade…
As the park started to empty out for Halloween Horror Nights, we made our way to Hard Rock Cafe. Steve and I have never so much as been in a Hard Rock Cafe, let alone the one here. But my brother and his wife have a tradition of seeking out Hard Rock Cafe wherever they are in the world!
We hadn’t made a reservation, but was able to walk in and get a table pretty much straightaway. My brother and Meg had a photo taken with some famous guitar (don’t ask me what!) which they take a charge you for. I took a sly photo of them – but apparently you’re not supposed to – whoops…
Music memorabilia covered pretty much every surface of the restaurant. Our table was sat right next to a picture of Elvis, whom I love, so that was cool! There was a pink Cadillac hanging from the ceiling, and there were some awesome stained glass windows too. On another visit I would have taken the time to take a look around at everything, but not this time around.
Hard Rock Cafe » Universal City Walk
I’m only covering the food that Steve and I ordered. It is so easy to split the bill in the USA – just let them know before and they just open two tabs.
Starters…
Us: Classic Nachos -Tortilla chips piled high and layered with three bean mix, Monterey Jack and cheddar cheeses, pico de gallo, jalapeños and green onions. Garnished with sour cream. Add side of guacamole, grilled chicken, or fajita steak for a little extra. ($11.95 + $3)
I’m surprised that the nachos didn’t just come with guac as standard – but it was an extra, which we added. It was a HUGE plate of nachos which is enough for 4 to share – which we did.
Main Course…
Me: Original Legendary® Burger – The burger that started it all! A juicy 1/2-lb Certified Angus Beef® burger topped with smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, golden fried onion ring, crisp lettuce and vine-ripened tomato. ($16.95)
Him: Pulled Pork Sandwich – Hand-pulled smoked pork with tangy slaw and Carolina barbeque sauce on toasted brioche. ($16.95)
Us: Caesar Salad – Freshly chopped romaine lettuce tossed in Caesar dressing with Parmesan crisps and croutons, then topped with shaved Parmesan cheese. ($5)
I remember having a really hard time deciding what to have. I don’t know if the menu was really big (quite likely!) or I was just not feeling it, but I stuck with a regular burger, while Steve had a pulled pork sandwich. I find veggies lacking when on hols in Orlando, so I often order a side salad, usually a Caesar. The food was fine – nothing to write home about.
We decided against desserts as we were too full, but I wanted to include the drinks here as we got a couple of mocktails as well as the option to keep the souvenir glasses.
Drinks…
Me: Wildberry Smoothie – A frozen delight of fresh bananas, piña colada mix, orange juice and Monin Raspberry ($5.99 + $10.99)
Him: Strawberry Basil Lemonade – Fresh strawberries and basil muddled together with made-from-scratch lemonade ($5.99 + $10.99)
Hard Rock Cafe, Universal City Walk
Bill: $129.26 + Tax: $8.41 + Tip: $cash = $137.67
TiW Discount: $n/a
Total Paid: $137.67
The drinks were yum – I don’t mind a mocktail since I’m often the one driving – and I’m not a big drinker anyway. After paying our bill – looks like we paid in cash for the tip so no record of how much – we popped into the gift shop to pick up our souvenir glasses. Receipts tell me we made a pit stop a Cinnabon to pick up some dessert for later in the evening.
I have no clue what we did afterwards as my photos ended with the food pics! It’s likely that we dropped Chris and Meg back at their resort and Steve and I went back to ours to hang out for the evening.
As I said at the top of this report I aim to get it finished by September… I hope not to leave you hanging too long for the next day.
Read about the day after:
Day 21: Out Of Africa
Check In – Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village / Afternoon Tea at Grand Floridian / Dinner at Jiko – The Cooking Place
Read about the day before:
Day 19: Wilderness Explorers
Animal Kingdom / Breakfast at Tusker House / Dinner at Olive Garden