Our Trip to Helios/Epic Universe
My family and I recently stayed at the Helios Grand Hotel, a new Universal Orlando resort. It was a magical experience, to say the least. We only stayed for three nights, but I think we got the most out of it. We certainly needed that little break from reality. However, it’s been hard assimilating back into real life.
The first day, we arrived early - before 10:00 a.m. We knew we likely wouldn’t be able to get a room yet, so we left our stuff with bell services and immediately headed to the pool. Thankfully for our toddler, this pool was very baby-friendly. A good portion of the pool was only 1-2 feet deep, so the little one was able to walk around in the pool without any issues. We rented one of the cabanas for the day - a bit expensive but it turned out to be well worth it. At that point, we were already throwing caution to the wind. The cabana included a mini fridge full of complimentary sodas, a TV, table w/chairs, and a sofa (which our teenager promptly took a nap on). We also had a designated server, who was a gem. Overall, the whole day felt like a dream. My diet went out the window, I had a few High Noons, and my husband enjoyed a few Blue Moons while our children splashed around nearby. It was the kind of day you remember fondly when the tough days come along.
When we finally got a hotel room and were able to go in, I think I screamed out loud when I saw the view from our window. Our hotel room had the perfect view of Epic Universe, the new Universal theme park. You could see everything from our window, including the vibrant Nintendo World. Of course, I had to Facetime my mom and sister so they could see. Not to mention the perfection of the room itself - the navy blue color scheme, astronomy-themed patterns, and marble surfaces.
Later that day, we went to one of the hotel restaurants, Flora Taverna, which had beautiful pink flowers running along the ceiling. We enjoyed delicious food, while our toddler enjoyed her customary chicken tendies and fries. Naturally, we went back to the pool afterward for a little while. All of us were absolutely beat by the end of the night. The hotel provided us with a pack ‘n play, so my husband and I were able to sleep alone in our bed without our toddler kicking us all night long. I slept exceptionally well. I even deleted the Outlook app on my phone so I wouldn’t be tempted to check my work emails (I later re-downloaded it because I’m weak).
The second day was both amazing and exhausting (in the best way). We took our two kids to Epic Universe, which was located conveniently right outside our hotel. One of the perks of being a hotel guest was that we were able to get early park admission, but we made a huge mistake by going straight to Nintendo World, which is where everyone else went, too. We spent the first 4 hours of our time in the park waiting in line for 2 rides in Nintendo World - Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge and Yoshi’s Adventure. Both rides were super cute, but we would have better served ourselves by hitting one of the other 3 universes first.
After were were done with Nintendo World, we headed over to How to Train Your Dragon. This section was pretty toddler-friendly - there was a large playground and a water ride called Fyre Drill that does not have a height requirement. Our daughter left with plenty of adorable Toothless merch. It was at this point that my husband took one for the team by offering to take our now-sleepy toddler back to the hotel room for a nap. The convenience of having the hotel right there cannot be overstated.
While our toddler napped, my stepdaughter and I went to the remaining 2 universes - Harry Potter/Ministry of Magic and Dark Universe. As a lifelong Harry Potter fan, I totally geeked out when I saw the French-themed world they created, and subsequently rode the new ride - Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry. It was well worth the 50-minute wait time (in single riders, mind you).
I was more impressed by the Dark Universe than I expected to be. This universe contains classic monsters: Dracula, Frankenstein, Invisible Man, etc. The spooky, creepy, dark vibe is right up my alley (I am a Halloween girly at heart). There were scary/funny characters walking around talking to people, there was someone playing a violin at all times, and I don’t remember if the ground was cobble-stoned, but it felt cobble-stoned. I rode Curse of the Werewolf with an adorable British lady and her kids; they said I was very lucky to have grown up in Florida and that it’s very cold where they’re from (Staffordshire, I think it was). My only gripe with this universe was that the toilets were all black, even inside where the water is… they really didn’t have to do that.
Overall, my husband and I weren’t able to ride too many rides that day since we had our toddler with us, but we had no regrets bringing her because she had so much fun. Between Nintendo World, playing in How to Train Your Dragon, and riding the carousel, the trip was worth it for her, too.
The next morning, my husband dropped off the teenager with her mom and our toddler with my mom, and then we had the rest of the day/night to ourselves. The initial plan was to hit the pool again and relax all day long, but we ultimately decided to go to Epic again so that we could experience the rides we hadn’t been able to the day before. This turned out to be a fabulous idea because by the end of the day, we were able to ride ALL the rides at Epic except for one - Mine-Cart Madness in Nintendo World. I wasn’t too mad about it, though. More importantly, getting fun, quality time with my husband was amazing. It felt like we were dating each other all over again. Not being responsible for anyone but ourselves and not having to bring a whole bunch of stuff with us reduced our stress levels more than we expected.
My husband and I ended the night by going to Bar Helios on the top floor of Helios Hotel. The vibe was oddly casual but still very expensive, with my tiny crab cake costing about $30 and my husband’s beef skewer costing about the same (those weren’t the only things we got, either). We chatted with the bartender for a while, who told us he was from Greece. We left the bar feeling sleepy but wistful about having to depart the next morning.
When we got home the next day, it felt like we had turned back into pumpkins. It felt like we had just checked in at the hotel and now our little trip was already over. How could those three days have passed by so quickly? That’s the treachery of short trips - they’re more manageable, but they’re over in the blink of an eye. Then again, I think I could have spent a whole month at Helios and still would have felt sad about leaving.
Needless to say, me and my husband most definitely plan on returning to Helios at some point in the future.
XOXO, Alexis.