Friday, January 24th: the conclusion
It kind of seemed like it was a bit out of the way, but we decided to make the drive to CityWalk for dinner at one of our Universal favorites. We have free preferred parking with our Premier Annual Passes, so we knew we'd get a good spot in the garage (even at that time of day) and have a pretty easy walk to our dinner destination. Heading into the hub, there was absolutely no line for security so we walked straight up to one of the scanners, passed through, and were on our way to Bubba Gump's Shrimp Company.
It took us a LONG time to try Bubba Gump's......like, 9 years and about 17 trips. Neither one of us are seafood fans, so we always avoided it on the assumption that there'd be nothing on the menu that we'd eat. It killed me a little, though, because Forrest Gump is one of my all-time favourite movies, so the theming has always had a wistful appeal leaving me yearning to give it a go. A couple of trips ago, we threw caution to the wind and decided to have a meal there.....figuring it would be a one-and-done....but it was a winner. Non-fish-lovers, take note! There are other options for you besides seafood.
The restaurant was pretty much empty (that late January period really did turn out to be a low-crowd time of year!) so we had absolutely no wait to be seated. In fact, we had hardly any "neighbors" in our section of the restaurant. This pic was actually taken when it got busy(er) as our meal went on.
They have done a SUPERB job at the decor in this restaurant. If you're a fan of the movie, even just a little bit, you won't be able to stop looking at the gobs of memorabilia that adorn every square inch of the interior. It's a feast for the eyes! I especially love the bathroom humor ("I gotta pee!") that they have woven throughout the building.....and yes, you can even buy a "I gotta pee!" t-shirt in the very cool onsite gift shop.
On every table, you'll find a large steel bucket filled with brown paper towel and an assortment of condiments that you might need during your meal. There's also a set of license plates which act as a sign to your server: if you display the blue Run Forrest Run side, the staff know you're all good and don't require any assistance. Flip the plate to display the red Stop Forrest Stop, and you'll soon have a staff member at your table ready to assist (for drink refills, issues with your meal, you're ready for the check, etc.).
On previous visits, we've had the servers engage us in some fun movie trivia, but this time the mood was a little more low-key. That was okay with us, actually, since we were starting to feel our early morning and were happy for a peaceful first night meal.
We ordered a couple of drinks to start. I *love* their cocktails....they are SO YUMMY! This was, if I remember correctly, called Louisiana lemonade.....loaded with fresh strawberries.....and it was the kind of drink that I could easily have downed three of (but then I wouldn't have been able to walk without assistance LOL).
An added bonus....the drink price includes the souvenir glass. When you're finished your meal, you just head to the gift shop, show them your receipt, and they give you two brand new glasses all boxed and ready to pack in your suitcase. They look great on our bar at home, and we actually use them quite often for our own drink creations.
We had learned, on our previous visits, that portion sizes were VERY generous, so we opted to skip any appetizers and just order entrees. We often tend to over-order.....our eyes are bigger than our stomachs sometimes!.....and end up carting left-overs back to the villa. They collect and pile up throughout the week (because we never seem to ever feel hungry in the late evenings, with all the dining destinations that we build into the itinerary), then we have a whole ton of food to throw away on our check-out morning which always makes us feel wasteful. This time, we vowed to have less waste and order smarter!
As I said, neither one of us eat seafood (*shudder* ... I can't stand it). Steve enjoys a good feed of fish-and-chips from time to time (in fact, that was what he had on his very first visit to Gumps) but today, he opted to try something different: cue the rack of ribs, french fries and coleslaw.
I probably should have put a fork on the plate so you have a better point of reference as to the portion size, but you'll have to go just on my description this time. These plates are HUGE, more like small oval platters. The rack of ribs was definitely enough to satisfy even an appetite as healthy as my big Steve's.
I ordered my "usual": Mama's Fried Chicken, which also happens to be a house specialty and one of their best-selling entrees.
Served with red skin garlic mashed potatoes and corn on the cob, this meal is way more than I could ever eat in one sitting (though Lord knows I gave it my best shot). The chicken is amazing, marinated and juicy on the inside with a nice, thick, crispy coating that is perfectly spiced. Even if I actually liked a lot of the other things on the menu, I think I'd probably order this every time just because its so good.
While the dessert menu offers some pretty awesome looking options, there's no way we had room for such indulgences after such massive amounts of food (plus Steve is a diabetic, and generally avoids those kinds of "cheats", especially on vacation, to keep himself feeling good). I'd love to give some a try someday, though. Perhaps I'll throw all caution to the wind, and on a future visit, let Steve eat his fill of meat while I skip the main course and have dessert for dinner. What happens in Orlando stays in Orlando, right? ;-)
A little budget tip for anyone who might consider going someday (and I would wholly encourage you to do so....it's well worth it!): Sam's Club offers discounted Landry's gift cards which net you a sweet discount at Bubba Gump's. For $75, you get three $25 gift cards plus a bonus $15 card. Combine that savings with our passmember discount (which was, 15%?, I think? Maybe 20%?) and its a VERY good value meal.
As we were heading out of the restaurant, I was more than a little thrilled to run into the Bubba Gump Shrimp!! <3 You know me, I have never met a character I didn't like. We stopped for a quick photo after picking up our glasses in the gift shop, and then headed back to the parking garage to collect the truck.
Back at the resort, with our bellies full, our early morning start started to rapidly catch up with us.
We donned our swimsuits, went out to the hot tubs to enjoy a 15 minute soak under the stars, but then headed back to the villa. It was a race to see who would fall asleep faster.....but neither of us stayed awake long enough to determine the winner. Sleep came VERY easy that night.
It was a simply splendid first day.